CRIME ALERT
CRIME ALERT: Four kids in a grey GMC Jimmy just broke the passenger side windows on two vehicles in front of my house in the 4500 block of El Campo. The fella across the street saw it and called the police, but didn’t get a tag number. If you’re in Fort Worth and see a vehicle matching that description, please copy the tag number and eit…her email me or call the police non-emergency number. Thanks! Ken Shimamoto; ken.shimamoto@gmail.com
MORE AIR TESTS TO BE DONE AT DRILLING SITES IN FORT WORTH
State environmental regulators plan to do more tests to determine if natural gas wells in the city are contributing to air pollution, Mayor Mike Moncrief announced. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality began testing the air around natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale in 2007, but it’s only completed a few tests in Fort Worth. Preliminary results from gas facilities in rural areas have shown high levels of benzene, a toxic chemical.
Source: http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/
RESOLVE TO VOLUNTEER THIS NEW YEAR
Ring in 2010 by resolving to spend some time volunteering for Fort Worth’s Parks and Community Services Department (PACS). The department is always seeking volunteers to help with everything from helping horticulturists plant roses at the Botanic Garden to assisting with after school activities at any of the community centers around town.
Yearly, PACS depends on the kindness of volunteers. Last year, over 26,000 volunteers spent 277,774 hours teaching classes, coaching teams, refereeing sporting events, working in the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge and much more. Volunteerism also allows participants to make new friends and develop new skills.
To learn more, call Parks and Community Services at 817-392-5778.
GARBAGE, RECYCLING, BRUSH PICKUP HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
Christmas Day — which falls on a Friday — is one of three holidays when garbage, recycling and brush will not be picked up curbside. If your normal day for these services is Friday, the Dec. 25 pickup will be shifted to Saturday, Dec. 26.
In addition:
- Bulky item pickup will continue as usual for residents assigned the fourth week of the month (Dec. 28-Jan. 2).
- Drop-off stations will be closed Dec. 24-25.
- The Environmental Collection Center — for disposal of household chemicals such as oil, gas, paints, antifreeze, brake fluid, cooking grease and more — will be closed Dec. 24-26.
- You may place up to two extra plastic bags — weighing no more than 40 pounds each — outside the garbage cart only on your first collection day after Christmas.
CITY HOLIDAY CLOSURES
The FY2010 city budget closed a $59 million shortfall in part by reducing personnel costs. Among the strategies to reduce personnel costs are furlough days. A furlough day is a day off without pay.
The next furlough day will be Thursday, Dec. 24. As a result of the furlough day, some city services and programs will be unavailable. The Fort Worth Municipal Building (City Hall), Marshall Public Safety Building (Municipal Courts), community centers, drop-off stations and most city buildings will be closed. The Fort Worth Marshal’s Lake Patrol office will be closed Dec. 24-25.
Open Dec. 24 (services as usual)
- Fire emergency services
- Police services (the Records Unit and Identification Unit will be closed to the public.)
- Weekly garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulky item pickup will take place as usual.
- Alliance, Meacham and Spinks airports
- Golf courses, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Herd, McLeland Tennis Center, Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth Water Gardens (water features will not be operating)
- Water Call Center: Payments can be made online or by phone. 817-FW-24-HRS (392-4477)
- City Call Center:
- City Switchboard: 817-392-CALL (2255)
- Environmental Management: 817-392-EASY (3279)
- Code Compliance: 817-392-1234
- Animal Care and Control: 817-392-3737
- Transportation/Public Works: 817-392-8100
Operating on alternate schedule
Except for the Central Library, all libraries will be closed Dec. 23-25. During this time:
- No library materials will be due, and due dates will be extended to Dec. 29.
- No online requests for materials will be processed.
- Book drops will be closed.
The Central Library will be open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 23. However, as with the other branches, the book drops will be closed, online requests will be unavailable and no materials will be due.
Normal operating hours will resume Dec. 26.
Closings for Holidays
All non-essential City of Fort Worth offices and all Fort Worth libraries and community centers are closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
Additionally, all offices will close at 5 p.m. Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. This will include libraries, community centers and Municipal Court, as well as City Hall and its annexes and other municipal offices.
The following city facilities and programs will operate on modified schedules:
- Fort Worth Botanic Garden/Japanese Garden: The garden is open daily from dawn to dusk. The Japanese Garden is closed Dec. 25. The rest of the holiday season, the Japanese Garden’s hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The Garden Center is closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. It will be open 10 a.m-2 p.m. Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 26-30 and Jan. 2. Normal hours will resume Jan. 3.
- Municipal Golf Courses: Closed Dec. 25; open daylight to dusk all other days.
- Log Cabin Village: Closed Dec. 25-Jan. 1.
- Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge: Closed Dec. 25. Open Jan. 1.
- Fort Worth Herd: Dec. 25 – No Cattle Drives.
- Municipal Courts (except the Arraignment Court and Warrant Section): Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 – Closed.
AH REZONING TO COUNCIL IN JANUARY
The residential portion of the Council-initiated rezoning petition as recommended by the city’s Zoning Commission will go to City Council on January 12. If you have any questions about this petition, or to see if your home is impacted, plase call the City’s Zoning department at 817-392-8028 and reference ZC-09-116. You are also welcome to contact Dave Marshall, AHNA zoning chair, at zoning@arlingtonheightsna.com to discuss the petition as it impacts the Arlington Heights neighborhood.
With the help of our residents we were able to take this Council Initiated rezoning effort to city officials….During the January 2009 General Membership Roundtable, residents identified top neighborhood issues and preserving our hosing stock (preventing teardowns) as well as keeping commercial encroachment at bay were high on the list.
This is a statement from the AHNA Executive Committee regarding this rezoning effort…
The AHNA Executive Committee believes that Council-initiated rezoning is a proactive approach to rectify land use issues our neighborhood has confronted for years. For more than seven years, AHNA has been aligning zoning with current land use on a block-by-block basis with petition-based rezoning. Even utilizing this time intensive effort, we have successfully worked with our residents to rezone more than half our neighborhood. With this council-initiated rezoning effort, the City and we can correct the remainder of zoning issues within our boundaries much more effectively and efficiently.
Our goal is simple: protect the integrity of the area by aligning the on-ground zoning to the current use of that particular property. We want to protect our residential neighborhood and ensure that the investment our property owners have made in their homes remains constant. In other words,
- Block faces that are used as single family should be zoned A5, single family
- Block faces that are used for duplexes should be zoned B2
- Multi-family (apartments) should be zoned C.
- Per the Fort Worth Development and Planning Department, businesses along our boundaries will be rezoned according to their business use.
SAMPLE LETTER IN SUPPORT OF REZONING ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
LIGHTEN UP THE HOLIDAYS ON THE T’S BUS TOUR
The T and Stockyards Station will host the annual Holiday Lights Tour of more than 200 decorated homes on Dec. 12 and 13 starting at Stockyards Station, 130 E. Exchange Ave. Ticket sales and pre-tour festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. and tour buses load from 6:30-7 p.m. for the 1½-hour tour. The price is $5 per person, with children under 5 free. Reservations are not required.
Visit The T website for more information.
CITY APPOINTS MEMBERS TO MODERN STREETCAR TASK FORCE
A new 20-member task force will guide the planning and design effort for Fort Worth’s future modern streetcar system.
The Regional Transportation Council has allocated $1.6 million in federal funds, and the City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) have allocated $200,000 each for planning and design of a streetcar system to complement the regional rail system.
Modern Streetcar Task Force appointees are:
- Nina Petty, Task Force Chair, Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council
- Bob Parmelee, Fort Worth Transportation Authority
- Roy Brooks, Tarrant County Commissioners Court
- Joy Webster, XTO Energy, representing the TIF Board
- Scott Rule, Tarrant County Hospital District, representing the TIF Board
- Fran McCarthy, Central City Redevelopment Committee
- Phillip Poole, Associated Businesses of the Cultural District
- Andy Taft, Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
- Johnny Campbell, Sundance Square
- Paul Paine, Fort Worth South Inc.
- Andre McEwing, Southeast Fort Worth Inc.
- J.D. Granger, Trinity River Vision Authority
- David DuBois, Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Adam Adolfo, Artes de la Rosa
- Janet Saltsgiver, neighborhood representative
- Rod Erakovich, Texas Wesleyan University
- Pam Minick, Historic Stockyards
- Jamie Terrell, local transit user
- Michael Morris, North Central Texas Council of Governments
- Carlos De La Torre, Oncor
The Task Force will guide the planning and design effort, recommend an initial streetcar route and submit a finance plan to City Council, The T board of directors, Tarrant County Commissioners Court and other stakeholders.
Background
In 2008, the Fort Worth City Council appointed a Modern Streetcar Study Committee to investigate the feasibility of a modern streetcar system. The committee’s fact-finding trip to Oregon and Washington determined that a streetcar system is desirable for Fort Worth.
The system would connect Downtown and Trinity Railway Express to adjacent mixed-use districts.
Preliminary cost estimate is $20 million per track mile and includes design, construction, utilities, vehicles and a maintenance facility. The total cost of the initial project, if built as recommended by the study committee, is estimated at $250 million. The initial route would rely primarily on multiple sources of local funding, including existing tax-increment financing districts and new or existing public improvement districts.
Fort Worth has joined with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and the City of Dallas in a regional grant application that could provide limited federal funding for Fort Worth’s streetcar system.
Source: City of Fort Worth
PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING UNION PACIFIC RR, DEC. 15
Union Pacific Railroad (Applicant) has filed an application with the City of Fort Worth for the city’s approval of a Municipal Setting Designation (MSD) for the Union Pacific Centennial Rail Yard located at 1500 Rogers Road , Fort Worth , Texas . This is an approximately 67 acre tract (Site) within the property boundaries of the 350-acre rail yard.
The UPRR MSD will be considered through a Public Hearing at the December 15th, Council Meeting. What that means is city staff will brief council on the actual MSD application, summarize the Public Meeting, and then make a recommendation regarding the application. During the Public Hearing anyone that wants to speak in favor or against the application has the time to do so. Following staff recommendation then Council will have to take some kind of action that may include delaying action to a future council meeting, voting against the application or voting in support of the application.
The MSD Application is available for review in three places:
- Environmental Management Department offices located at 908 Monroe Street, Fort Worth, TX – 7th Floor.
- Ridglea Branch Library located at 3628 Bernie Anderson Ave., Fort Worth, Texas
- On the internet at: http://www.fortworthgov.org/dem/info/default.aspx?id=70822
The MSD application looks quite large and potentially hard to get through. However, what contaminants are in the groundwater, what groundwater is sought to be restricted and what property will be covered by the restriction are primarily covered under Item #7 (including Attachment #2A and the LNAPL Concentration Map) and Item #11 – Site Map.
The bulk of the paper included in the application details property owners and well owners.
For general information on what an MSD is please visit:
http://www.fortworthgov.org/dem/info/default.aspx?id=8040
If you have any questions or concerns please call or email:
Michael A. Gange
Assistant Director – EMD
Phone: 817-392-6569
Fax: 817-392-6359
E-mail: Michael.Gange@fortworthgov.org
BURGLARY PREVENTION TIPS
THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON’T TELL YOU:
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week.. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4.. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
5.. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. ( Don ‘t take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the
flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)
8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON’T TELL YOU:
1. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.
2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
3. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.
4. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?
5. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.
7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation.
8. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
