City of Frisco Mayor-Maher Maso

FRISCO — When 44-year-old Frisco Mayor Maher Maso moved to Frisco in 1992, the population was 6,500. According to Maso, the city’s population as of July 1, 2008 was 101,393, and it’s the seventh fastest growing city in the United States.

“I like the way Frisco is headed,” Maso said. “My fundamental goals of keeping taxes low and improving our roads and transportation are very quality of life oriented.

“Public safety is also important, because we have a lot of families here and people want to feel safe in their community.”

Because the city has accomplished a lot, he said that he wants to keep it moving in the same direction by partnering with the school districts, colleges and county.

“Frisco alone can’t create a successful community,” he said. “It takes many different groups working together. I firmly believe in regionalism.”

Maso also believes in open communication. Aside from city council meetings, the second Monday of each month from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. has been set aside for informal coffees on the fifth floor of city hall.

“The gatherings aren’t just to have coffee and pastries,” he said. “We have round table discussions where I learn from citizens, and they learn from me.”

As alway… I enjoy keeping you updated with Collin & Denton news….

If you know of anyone that is going to buy or sell a property…. I would greatly appreciate you support and trust.
Lili Raney, Realtor
Your Frisco Family Realtor

Tweet This Post

Breaking Ground for the New Cinemark!!

I am so excited to announce that according to www.friscoenterprise.com… Friso Square is getting a MOVIE THEATER!!

Grab the popcorn, it looks like Frisco’s getting a movie theatre west of City Hall.

Owner and developer Frisco Square Development is mum, sensitive to tenant timing of the full announcement. But Cinemark’s name is on the permit to clear land, which began Tuesday. Well, technically, the name on some of the paperwork is “CNEW;” however, Cinemark also appears on city records for permits.

City records reflect a project involving “A movie theater and retail/office and hotel on the southwest corner of Frisco Square Blvd. and Church Street. Zoned Planned Development-153- Mixed (PD-153-Mixed). Neighborhood #21.”

Building plans are under review, according to public records at the city’s development services department.

“Their building plans are not yet approved,” said department head John Lettelier. “But engineering has approved them for flatwork (site preparation), which started Tuesday.”

The detailed master plan hanging on the wall at Frisco Square Development’s office shows a movie theatre envisioned on Frisco Square Boulevard at the south end of World Cup Way. The location is marked with a bright red star in a photo taken some months ago during an interview on another topic.

Lettelier said no public meetings or commission reviews of plans are necessary because Frisco Square is zoned as a planned development. City staff can approve plans.

Opening date a bit sketchy, but it could be the summer Movies in the Square just moved a block west.

As for continuing speculation on another movie theatre on the west side of the Dallas North Toll at Main Event, Lettelier said, “There have been no submittals to the city.”

For more on this story, keep an eye on www.friscoenterprise.com and future print editions of The Frisco Enterprise.

A red star highlights the location of a Cinemark movie theatre for which site preparation is underway west of City Hall on Frisco Square Boulevard at the south end of World Cup Way.

Site preparation is easily viewed from area buildings and the Dallas North Tollway.

A bulldozer moves earth while crews erect construction fencing on the site believed to be the home of a future Cinemark movie theatre.

Thank you for checking out my blog… I am happy to be your Frisco Family Realtor. Call me if you are thinking of buying or selling you home… or know if someone buying and or selling….

Lili Raney
214-636-7290
Lili@LiliRaney.com

Tweet This Post

Citizen's Fire Academy Registration

This sounds like a lot of fun and and what a great way to meet more Frisco neighbors… enjoy!

Get an insider’s view of the Frisco Fire Department by enrolling in the Frisco Citizen’s Fire Academy (CFA.) This free educational program provides Frisco citizens and those who work in Frisco with fire safety training for the home and workplace, plus hands-on experience in emergency operations. You’ll even get to ‘ride out’ on emergency calls with firefighters! Join us – and learn more about the services your Frisco Fire Department offers while increasing your fire and life safety awareness. CFA classes are scheduled each Thursday evening from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm during each nine-week program.

For for information please click HERE… For up to date information about what is going on in Frisco… Look me up on Facebook…

Lili Raney-
You Frisco Family Realtor

Tweet This Post

Frisco’s new ALDI holds open house March 15!!

According to Star Local News….

Select discount grocer ALDI is opening a new store in Frisco as one of 30, beginning March 15. The public is invited.

Join community leaders and ALDI officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. at 6951 Preston Road. Tours of the store through 6 p.m. include product sampling. These stores will be open for sales on March 18.

About ALDI Inc.

A leader in the grocery retailing industry since 1976, ALDI has more than 1,000 U.S. stores located in 30 states primarily from Kansas to the East Coast serving more than 20 million customers each month. Beginning in the spring 2010, ALDI will enter the Texas market with 31 new stores planned for the Dallas/Ft. Worth region.

A select assortment discount grocer featuring its own ALDI select brands, ALDI applies smart and efficient operational and business practices to save customers up to 50 percent on their grocery bill.

ALDI, named 2009 Retailer of the Year by PL Buyer, sells more than 1,400 of the most frequently purchased grocery and household items in manageable, non-bulk packaging. For more information about ALDI, go to www.aldi.us.

For more information click Tweet This Post

Frisco Selected As New Host Site For NCAA Division I Football National Championship Game

Great news!!!

According to City of Frisco.com…
FRISCO SELECTED AS NEW HOST SITE FOR
NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

FRISCO, Texas ˆ Frisco is the new host city for the 2010 NCAA Division I
Football Championship game, which will played at Pizza Hut Park on January
7, 2011. The NCAA announced earlier today that the 23,500-seat
multi-purpose stadium will be the host site for the championship game for
the next three years.

„Touchdown! We can‚t wait for college football to come to Frisco,‰ said
Mayor Maher Maso. „Frisco is a sports town and a Division I Football
Championship is another chance for sports fans everywhere to not only
experience great football but to also discover all our community has to
offer. We also want to thank folks from all over the country who
supported our bid effort.‰

Less than five weeks ago, Frisco launched an online pledge drive inviting
football fans to show their support for the effort to move the
championship games to Pizza Hut Park. Frisco received pledges from people
living in 103 cities throughout Texas and from 17 other states. Frisco
estimated the pledges represented more than 8,000 tickets.
„Pizza Hut Park and Hunt Sports Group couldn‚t be more excited to host the
NCAA Division I Football games,‰ said John Wagner, President, Hunt Sports
Group. „Along with Southland Conference and the City of Frisco, we look
forward to showcasing our venue and our city.‰

The local organizing committee consists of the City of Frisco, its
Economic Development Corporation and Convention & Visitors Bureau, Hunt
Sports Group/Pizza Hut Park, the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and Frisco
based Southland Conference.

„The Southland Conference is honored and privileged to serve as the host
conference for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game,‰ said
Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett. „Since beginning the planning process
last August, our Team Frisco local organizing committee has worked
diligently to bring this national championship to Pizza Hut Park. We also
knew from the start our community would support this effort. Given all
the built-in advantages of Frisco and the greater Dallas-Fort Worth
metropolitan area, we always felt confident the NCAA would be attracted to
what we were offering the game.‰

Frisco emerged from a pool of several cities that submitted bids to serve
as the host site for the championship games, beginning with the 2010
season.
The championship game will be the culmination of a newly expanded 20-team
championship bracket. As a result of this expansion, the game will be
played a few weeks later than in years past.

The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division
I-AA, includes the conferences and institutions that compete in the NCAA
Division I Football Championship, in addition to two conferences who
choose not to participate in the football championship, the Ivy League and
the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The FCS embodies a tradition of
excellence through high level competition, student-athlete character and
sportsmanship throughout the regular season and the championship
experience.

The decision to award the championship site to Frisco, Texas, was
recommended by the Division I Football Championship Committee and approved
by the Administrative Committee of the Division I Championships/Sports
Management Cabinet.

“We are excited about the opportunity for the football championship game
to be played in
Frisco,” said Damani Leech, NCAA director of baseball and football. “With
the quality of bids that were submitted, it was not an easy decision to
make. But we feel the right decision and right place to serve as the site
for the Division I football championship is indeed Frisco.”

Tweet This Post

Here is yet another reason to move to Collin County… if you are relocation call me and I can show you why Collin County is a great place to live…
Check out this date…. HERE

Tweet This Post

Many have been asking questions… so I thought I would post this valuable information…..

For more information, please visit: Frisco Texas-Proposed Low Income/Section 8

In 2002, the Frisco City Council created the Housing Trust Fund Board. The board’s goal is to create programs which support affordable home rental and ownership options for people who work in Frisco. The Housing Trust Fund Board is also responsible for approving loan requests from the fund, which provides for two down payment assistant programs.

In 2003, the Frisco City Council established its Strategic Focus Areas (SFA), which defines short and long term goals for the City of Frisco. Frisco’s SFA plan also defines objectives and measures for achieving those goals, as determined by the Frisco City Council.

Creating and maintaining a “Sustainable City” has been consistently listed among the Council’s seven Strategic Focus Areas. To achieve ‘sustainability’, Frisco City Councils, past and present, list one of its goals as the following:

Maintain high standards and encourage the development of quality residential communities that provide a diversity of housing, lot sizes, open spaces and amenities (FY 2009-2010 Strategic Focus Areas, COF)

In June 2007, the Frisco City Council was approached by the Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. (ICP).

According to its website, ICP is “a not-for-profit organization that works for the creation and maintenance of thriving racially and economically inclusive communities, expansion of fair and affordable housing opportunities for low income families, and redress for policies and practices that perpetuate the harmful effects of discrimination and segregation.”

In October 2008, the Frisco City Council approved a resolution supporting a Local Political Subdivisions Grant Agreement between the City of Frisco and ICP. As a result, ICP agreed to provide a $2 million grant to the City of Frisco to incentivize affordable housing developments in Frisco. In return, the City of Frisco will provide the funding to developers eligible for low income housing tax credits awarded from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. There are 56 projects in Region 3 competing for $10 million dollars in available tax credits to support $86 million dollars in project needs.

“If Frisco had not negotiated the agreement with ICP, then the likely outcome would have been a federal lawsuit filed against Frisco by ICP as it did against both McKinney and Flower Mound,” said George Purefoy, City Manager. “After 14 months of litigation, the McKinney Housing Authority is negotiating a settlement agreement with ICP which establishes the same general parameters as the Frisco agreement, except it includes a longer term agreement (5 years vs. 3 years) and it pays some of ICP’s attorneys’ fees.”

No city tax dollars are utilized to develop affordable housing under the ICP agreement. Any project funded under this program will meet all of Frisco’s current ordinances and regulations. The City of Frisco is in its second year of its three year agreement with ICP. No applications from developers were received during the first year.

On February 10, 2010, the Frisco Housing Trust Fund Board agreed to support the applications from two developers, VDC Frisco Reserve I, LP and Stewart Creek, LLP.

Stewart Creek LLP is proposing to build North Court Villas, a 150 unit, low income apartment complex on 10 acres on the south side of Stonebrook Parkway, between Woodstream Drive and Preston Road.

VDC Frisco Reserve I, LP is proposing to build Residences at Frisco, a 200 unit, low income apartment complex near the intersection of Sunset Drive and McKinney Road.

Under the ICP agreement, developers must set aside 50 units or 25% of the units, whichever is greater, for Section 8 vouchers. The two proposed developments would each have 50 units.

On February 16, 2010, the Frisco City Council approved requests from the developers Stewart Creek LLP and VDC Frisco Reserve I, LP for letters of support for their 2010 9% Housing Tax Credit Applications to be submitted to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Link to item 25 on the Feb. 16 City Council Meeting agenda.

Tweet This Post

School Closing Update

www.nbcdfw.com

Tweet This Post

(February 11, 2010) Due to inclement weather, the following City of Frisco
facilities or meetings are impacted.

The Senior Center @ Frisco Square will close at 4:30 p.m. today. As a
result, tonight‚s Sweetheart Dance for seniors is postponed. The new date
is Saturday, February 20, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

All practices held at city parks for youth sports associations are
cancelled through Sunday, February 14.

Tonight‚s Citizens Police Academy meeting is cancelled.

Tonight‚s Parks and Recreation Board meeting is cancelled. The next
meeting will be held March 11 at 6:30 p.m. as regularly scheduled.

For more up to date information, please visit www.FriscoTexas.gov

Tweet This Post

New Alarm Ordinance Effective March 1, 2010

According to Frisco Texas Police Department, beginning on March 1 the Frisco Police Department will begin to enforce a new city ordinance regulating residential and business burglar alarms. The Frisco City Council passed the new ordinance near the end of 2009, but enforcement of the new regulations and fees have not yet been enforced as city officials wished to allow both residents and businesses to meet compliance prior to active enforcement by the police department.

The new alarm ordinance requires a $35 annual fee for residential and business alarms and incorporates a new fee schedule for excessive false alarms. In 2009, the Frisco Police Department responded to 9,841 alarms of which over 99.6% were false alarms, costing taxpayers over $1.1 million for a police response.

In an effort to mitigate these costs and reduce the impact on Frisco taxpayers, the following fines will be applied to excessive false burglar alarms occurring in a 12-month period preceding the last false alarm:

– $50 for more than three but fewer than six false burglar alarms;

– $75 for more than five but fewer than eight false burglar alarms; and

– $100 for more than eight false burglar alarms.

Response by Frisco police officers to more than two false robbery, fire, panic, or emergency medical assistance alarms in a 12-month period preceding the last false alarm will incur a $75 fine for each subsequent false alarm.

Additionally, alarm permit holders are required to supply alarm companies with three names and telephone numbers of contacts who are able to respond to a false alarm, and failure by the alarm permit holder or the three contacts to respond within 30 minutes of a false alarm may result in a $50 fine.

For additional information on the new alarm ordinance or to ensure that your home or business meets the new standards, please contact our Records Division at 972.292.6000 or email Records@FriscoTexas.gov. The police department’s Records Division section of our web site also has information on the alarm permit application process for those people needing to renew or apply for a new permit.

Frisco Police Announce an Online Citizen Survey

The Frisco Police Department is pleased to announce the addition of a new online citizen satisfaction survey. The survey is a collaborative effort with the Bureau of Justice Statistics and was developed by Justice Survey Software to help local police departments conduct surveys of their individual agencies.

The police department would like to encourage all citizens and members of the Frisco business community to complete the survey. In order to complete the online questionnaire, please visit the Frisco Community Survey. Once the page has opened, click “Open/Resume Questionnaire” and answer the questions provided. The survey should take only a few minutes to complete.

Thanks for your help with providing your feedback and helping the Frisco Police Department to better serve the community!

Tweet This Post