Murphy Fire Rescue is currently accepting applications for Community Emergency Response Team Training.
 
The current class is scheduled for February 16, 2012 through April 21, 2012. The classes will be held every Thursday night from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Murphy Fire Rescue, located at 206 North Murphy Road . There is no cost to attend.

No training or prior experience is required; however, you must be 18 years of age and pass a background check to be accepted. For additional information about this program please visit our website and www.murphytx.org.

Applications are being accepted through February 10, 2012.

In the Interest of Fire Safety -

By Laura Swift

The Murphy Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 23 denied a request from Forestar Real Estate Group for approval of a Specific Use Permit and Concept Plan for a hospital facility located at the northeast corner of FM 544 and Heritage Parkway.

The Concept Plan includes a 20,000 square-foot facility containing an Emerus emergency room, professional offices and a helistop. The site is bordered by the Windy Hill Farm neighborhood, Heritage Montessori Academy, Heritage Parkway and FM 544.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, multiple residents voiced concerns about the proposed facility and helistop creating safety hazards and excess noise and traffic.

Dudley Carpenter, representative for Emerus, said the company has two similar ER facilities in Aubrey and McKinney. “We feel like Murphy demographics will support this facility,” Carpenter said.

The first floor of the proposed facility is a state-licensed emergency room that has eight beds. The second level is designed for professional office use. “We’re not looking to have 400 beds. This facility is small and unique and the wait time is a lot shorter. People think this facility is a lot bigger than it really is,” Carpenter said.

“The emergency room has the capacity to treat anything that comes in. If a patient needs more than 36 hours of treatment or needs to go to a more specialized facility, we’ll stabilize them here and make sure they’re transported,” he said.

Commissioner Stephanie Merrifield asked if Murphy EMS would transport to the Emerus facility.

“No, this facility is designed for people to come in their car,” Carpenter said. “At the Aubrey and McKinney facilities they [residents] drive there. We don’t have screaming ambulances coming in. On a day-to-day basis we don’t have a lot of traffic.”

Commissioner Steve Levy said he has a lot of issues with the proposed location. “There are a lot of variances in the SUP to make this facility fit. I’m struggling with that,” Levy said. “This would be the largest office-type building in Murphy.”

The Board asked why the site plans contained a helistop.

“The helistop is there because of the level of comfort it provides the staff, knowing that they’ve got access to get a patient to a trauma center immediately,” Carpenter said. “From Jan. 1, 2011, to today, we’ve flown 16 people in Aubrey, which we think the Murphy center will be comparable to.”

Commissioner Jane Jan asked if there was another site in the city that Emerus would consider building the facility.

“We looked at several locations in Murphy and identified this as the ideal location,” Carpenter said.

Multiple residents addressed the Board in opposition of the proposed facility during the public comment period.

“This is the entrance to our community,” said Windy Hill Farm resident Amy Nutz. “We’re concerned with safety; it’s close to the Montessori. We already have the George Bush [ER] facility and the emergency center in Murphy Marketplace. Plus, if the office spaces are leased, that will add more traffic and it’s a busy intersection already. Noise is a major concern. It’s not what the area was intended for.”

Debra Chiarello said she is “vehemently opposed” to the building. “I’m a local real estate agent and this development is a great concern to me,” Chiarello said. “This and Wal-Mart will increase traffic. I don’t see how this development will appeal to anyone who want to buy a home in Windy Hill Farm. It will affect property value.”

“I’ve lived next to a hospital before,” said Brian Firmin. “The noise will impact the residents.”

After hearing residents’ concerns about the helistop, Carpenter said he would pull the helistop from site’s Concept Plan.

After taking into consideration the site plan without a helistop, the P&Z Commission denied Emerus’ application because the proximity of the facility to Windy Hill Farm was not suitable.

Chief GM Cox reports the following to his Police Officers regarding statistics for Murphy crime:

The good news is that Part I crimes fell 4.03% in 2011 from 2010. Part I offenses are those defined by the FBI as murder, robbery, aggravated assault, rape, burglary (business and residential), theft (FBI calls it larceny), motor vehicle theft and arson. These offenses are those considered the most serious by the FBI. All other offenses are classified as Part II crimes and are only counted as arrests. This is the 3rd straight year for the crime rate to go down from a high of 172 Part I offenses in 2008 to a low of 143 in 2011. That is a 16.9% drop in Part I crime in 3 years.
The MPD response times continues to be outstanding at just under a minute average. In 2007, the average response time was just over 2 minutes.
Calls have steadily risen from 15,669 in 2007 to almost 40,000 calls in 2011. This is a 154% increase in the number of calls for service in just over 3 years. Just to clarify, Calls for Service include citizen calls for service and Officer initiated calls – traffic stops, etc.
The number of arrests went up by 33.51% from 2010 to 2011. Since 2007, the number of arrests has steadily risen from 200 in 2007 to 490 in 2011. That is about a 145% increase in the number of people arrested in 2007 to 2011.
The number of offense reports written by Officers has increased about 12% since 2007. The Officers of the MPD wrote 691 offense reports in 2011 up 5.98% from 2010 (652). The number of reports referred to the Criminal Investigation division (CID) has gone up by 40%, but the number of personnel assigned to CID has dropped from 3 to 2.
On the down side, however, is the almost 60% increase in the number of traffic accidents from 246 in 2008 to 392 in 2011. Traffic enforcement activity (traffic stops) has increased by 19% from 2010 to 2011. However, the number of traffic citations issued went up by almost 23%. Since 2007, traffic enforcement activity has increased by about 26%.
Family violence calls have risen 105% since 2007 (19). MPD Officers responded to 39 family violence calls in 2011, up 21.88% from 2010 (32).
Overall, the City enjoys a low crime rate. The two most telling statistics are the number of calls for service and the number of traffic accidents. While the real number of family violence calls is small (total of 39 in 2011), that is a large number in terms of family violence for a city of our size.
Congratulations, to you all for the outstanding jobs you have all done in helping reduce reported crime in Murphy. Overall, you should be very proud of what has been accomplished in 2011 and in particular how things have trended since 2007. Overall, the department is doing a lot more work with the same number of officers, or less, that it had in 2007. It takes a team effort to produce the kinds of results you see above. A couple of areas need attention, such as Family Violence calls and Traffic Accidents. On the whole, however, 2011 was an outstanding year for the MPD. We had an overall drop in Part I crimes with an increase in the number of calls handled.

Heart Health Month prompts Fire Rescue CPR classes

MURPHY (January 20, 2012) In celebration of Heart Health Month, commemorated nationally during February, Murphy Fire Rescue is offering free classes that could save or prolong the life of persons suffering from heart-related trauma, using either an AED or their hands alone, according to Fire Chief Mark Lee.
The 15-minute classes are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 starting at 9 a.m. and continuing every 20 minutes. The last class of the day starts at 3 p.m. Classes are held in the Murphy Fire House, 206 North Murphy Road.
“Often the true first responders in a heart trauma event are people immediately around the victim. In some situations, an AED is available, but most times, there isn’t one. After completing the class, attendees will be able to deal with either situation,” he said.
AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator, a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses a potentially life threatening cardiac arrest and treats the victim through defibrillation, the application of electrical impulses which stop the heart’s irregularity, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.
The absence of an AED, however, requires “hands-only CPR” in order to restore the heart’s rhythm. CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, chest compressions undertaken manually to stimulate the heart to restart a regular rhythm.
“In most cases, there is a small window for immediate action, before permanent damage occurs. These classes can make a difference in an individual’s life,” said Chief Lee.
In addition to the classes, the Feb. 11 sessions will provide opportunities for persons to sign up for the full CPR class, leading toward CPR certification.

 
By Laura Swift


The Murphy Economic Development Corporation has developed a new initiative aimed at supporting and expanding Murphy businesses. “Buy Murphy!” will employ a multi-pronged approach to entice residents and outside consumers to shop Murphy.

Geographically, Murphy is surrounded by established (McKinney, Plano, Richardson) and small and growing communities (Wylie, Sacshse), offering consumers an expansive and dizzying array of shopping and dining choices. In Murphy alone, there are 136 businesses, in addition to 30 out-of-home businesses, as of Dec. 31, 2011.

To entice consumers to shop in Murphy, the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will roll out a business directory, shop local incentive programs, training opportunities, partnerships, marketing and a dine in Murphy program.

The Murphy business directory/database will be launching point for ShopsQA, an online marketing tool that will allow anyone to join the “Buy Murphy!” email list. ShopsQA will provide businesses free features such as links to their websites; directions on Google search; and email blasts used to announce deals, coupons and events.

Through ShopsQA, businesses will also be able to participate in in-house or on-site training from the Collin Small Business Development Center programs through Collin College. Other partnership and training opportunities will be offered through the Murphy Chamber of Commerce, which will conduct one-on-one meetings with businesses to discuss program and marketing opportunities, industry issues and growth potential.

In addition to ShopsQA, the EDC will launch R-TIP and Munch in Murphy incentive program. R-TIP, a receipt turn-in program, is geared to act as an investment to inject stimulating funds into the Murphy market and increase interest for shopping locally first.

For every $250 in receipts submitted to the city by a Murphy resident, they will receive a $25 gift card to the Murphy establishment of their choice. The program will allow a maximum of three gift cards per month per resident.

Munch in Murphy is an outreach incentive program intended as an investment to encourage consumers to think of Murphy restaurants and eating establishments by offering an in-hand incentive—Munch in Murphy Money.

Local establishments that choose to participate in the program will accept $5 Munch in Murphy Money—one per customer per visit—and then will submit it back to the city for reimbursement. The $5 voucher will include a QR code linking to the Munch in Murphy Web page.

Below is a breakdown of Murphy businesses, as well as key demographics that will impact local businesses growth:

Population: 17,700
7-year growth: 300 percent
Average household income: $110,000
Median income: $91.163
Average age: 35-44
Homeowners: 89.75 percent
Average house value: $255,000

Food: 26 Service: 25 Health: 23

Retail: 14 Spa: 12 Restaurant: 9

Realty: 5 Grocery: 5 Gas: 5

Auto: 5 Bank: 4 Private Schools: 2

Newspaper: 1 (Guess which newspaper was considered a Murphy business? It wasn’t the Messenger!)