Royse City — Again this month I do not have a single theme, but have several short topics and updates that I believe will be of interest to you.

School started back this week -- a joyous time for students and parents alike!  Be especially careful on the roadways.  Police will be emphasizing patrol in school zones to make sure that our children are safe.  Do your part.  Drive safely and cautiously, being especially watchful for our exuberant and not always watchful young citizens.  Also be mindful of not using your cell phones in school zones.  There is a city ordinance against the use of cell phones in school zones.

As previously reported in this paper, for your convenience, we are now accepting payment of utility bills, permit fees, and court fines by credit card in person.  You now can also pay your utility bill by credit card over the phone.  By the end of the year you will be able to pay that water bill and those court fines via the Internet as well.  There will be more information on Internet payments when we are ready to roll that service out.

You may have noticed an increase in work on the streets, especially in the Heritage District.  We have placed a renewed emphasis on patching some of the worst spots.  This is a slow process when done right, but we WILL begin to make progress.  Sections of pavement must be cut out and base materials must be placed and compacted before the hot mix is added to make the patch complete.  This does cause some temporary disruption and inconvenience, as it is a multi-day process.

With our current resource limitations, we are not able to rebuild streets or even do a systematic rehabilitation program, but we can, and will, patch as many of the worst spots that we can within these constraints.  Please bear with us (and let us know how we are doing).

I have reported previously on some of the capital projects on the horizon.  The new elevated storage tank (water tower) will be the first project to be awarded.  We are seeking bids now and will be taking the bids to City Council in September for award of contract.  The tank will be on the east side of town in the Verandah subdivision.  This location best serves the entire town.  Old elevated tanks will be decommissioned when the new tank is operational in 2011.  This project meets the needs of continued growth and satisfies the requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Planning is literally non-stop for potential commercial and residential developments, for other infrastructure enhancements, and for the roadways to support development.

As one example, we work with all three counties (Rockwall, Collin, and Hunt) and with the North Central Texas Council of Governments to ensure our adopted thoroughfare plan is incorporated in their thoroughfare plans.  This coordination is necessary to ensure that we are given due consideration in regional planning and in regional funding considerations.  Some current items of special interest are the Interstate 30 overpass at Erby Campbell, the future extension of Erby Campbell to the north into Collin County, and design of the expansion of State Highway 66.  We are working very hard to ensure that the overpass is a reality in the relative near-term.   The other two are planning efforts, but equally critical to the future of Royse City.

Your Council and Staff are nearing the culmination of much hard work and consideration on the fiscal year 2010-2011 budget (effective October 1, 2010).  The budget will be adopted and the tax rate set at the September 14th City Council meeting.  I will report on the budget next month after its adoption by the City Council.  For now, suffice it to say that we are maintaining services while being diligent stewards of your tax dollars.  In these hard times, I am proud of what Council and Staff have accomplished in maintaining services and rebuilding the financial foundation of our City.

We are served best by active citizen participation.  Let me hear from you.

 

Bill Shipp is the city manager of Royse City, and can be reached at bill.shipp@roysecity.com.