By Ralph C. Jensen

With Murphy residents experiencing the growth of their own community, they find that new businesses aren’t limited only to the city, nicknamed, “Life Lived at Your Pace,” but also to its eastern neighbor, Wylie.

Wylie, it would seem, is busting at the seams as well. Country Club Road was recently completed near the high school, but also the Target shopping area is continually growing with new businesses signing leases and expanding their footprint in the north east part of the Metroplex. The city of Wylie recently opened its new municipal complex, which was recently featured by the Texas Society of Architects in Texas Architect magazine.

Craig Kelly, public information officer for the city of Wylie, said that Rack Room Shoes and a Ross store will soon be part of the landscape. Both stores will be located between Target and Petsmart.

Viewpoint Bank, which has been anchoring the northwest corner of the business development, will soon be joined by a Rosa’s Café. Two other smaller storefronts will soon join the lineup, including an AT&T store and Eyemasters.

Across the street from Woodbridge Crossing, construction is already underway on an Aldi Grocery store, which also will have a Cartopia Car Wash nearby.

Murphy residents stand to benefit from growth and expansion not only at home, but also from what its neighbors are doing. So, living life at your pace might mean, stepping it up to a longer stride.

By Ralph C. Jensen

Murphy’s city council did little in way of public business, but following an executive session on June 21, a few sparks were fired. The executive session was to determine the current services rendered by City Manager James Fisher and current Municipal Judge Cathy Haden.

Haden serves as an at-will employee of the city, and the city does not currently have a contract with her, nor was a contract offered to her.

City officials had been told there was a contract, but no copy of the contract was located. The council instructed Fisher to track down a copy of the prior contract, and asked him to get more information about how the court is operating.

“We will be considering the operations of the court over the next few months,” said Mayor Bret Baldwin. “It will likely be on the agenda a few more times. We are evaluating all of the processes associated with the court system.”

Once the council returned to open session, a motion made by Deputy Mayor Pro-tem Colleen Halbert, to keep Haden on the municipal bench was offered, but before a second was registered, Councilman Bernard Grant offered an opinion.

"It's a horrible idea and I hope she finds out I said it,” Grant said.

With that said, Scott Bradley seconded the motion, which passed 6-1

Also an at-will employee, Fisher does have a contract with the city. As part of his hiring process, the council asked him to complete his master’s degree, which he has done and his salary—$133,000 to $145,000 per year—has been adjusted to reflect that accomplishment or the original agreement.

The council also took the opportunity to clean up the existing contract since some of the provisions were no longer applicable. Fisher’s car allowance was increased slightly, but eliminated his ability to be reimbursed for mileage on trips outside of the Metroplex.

“This was done to eliminate the need for him to keep track of mileage and reduce the need for recordkeeping and processing,” the mayor said.

In other city business, the council approved the adoption of an ordinance authorizing the issuance of city general obligation refunding and improvement bonds and providing for the redemption of the obligations being refunded. They also approved a resolution declaring expectation to reimburse expenditures with proceeds of future debts.

By Ralph C. Jensen

By Aug. 9, the Murphy City Council will have a budget in place, but getting from here to there might be harder than climbing Mount Everest. There is one thing for certain, getting to the finish line will take lots of elbow grease and hard work from city staff.

City Manager James Fisher briefed council members May 31 at a work session in city hall, as topics were raised in a matter of priority. Fisher brought to the council, a list of three topics that should get special attention during budget sessions. They include utility funding, capital expenditures, and pay and benefits for city employees.

Citing the city staff as lean, but well run departments, Fisher said the city spends about 60 percent of its budget on employees’ salaries and benefits.

“We are stretched pretty thin at this time,” Fisher said. “We have to look at our fire department, and we have to look at the services the city provides to its citizens.”

At a recent public hearing at city hall, some Murphy residents complained about the council spending too much money, but firmly on their side, the city has a strong general fund, and an equally strengthened reserve of money. Murphy is one of few Texas cities that recorded an increase in tax revenues this year.

Following a discussion of a number of suggestions, Fisher took the council to the drawing board and recorded ideas and concepts that should be the focal point for fiscal 2012. Fisher also presented council members with possible needs through fiscal 2016, so the city could implement long-range planning.

North Murphy Road
Though not in an order of importance, the council started discussion with the construction and widening of North Murphy Road.

“We are not completely sure of the challenges, but right now we’re working on right-of-way acquisition and utilities,” Fisher said. “The idea is to move the overhead power lines to underground, and how to manage the traffic on this main artery through Murphy.”

A quote of $5 to $7 million has been given to put all overhead power lines underground, but Fisher said that number has been revised to $1.2 million from FM 544 northward.

“The overhead lines are a nuisance, but they are a fact of life,” said Councilman Dave Brandon. “It’s not worth it for $7 million. We still need to look at other possibilities.”

Widening the remainder of McCreary Road is already on the drawing board but engineers have hit a challenge in the drainage from the northwest side of the road, near The Ranch and The Gables subdivisions. City engineers are working with Wylie city staff, and expect to have a solution in four to five months by moving the drainage either through an open ditch or a piping system along the north side of McMillan Road in Wylie. Fisher said Wylie plans to widen McMillan Road, but not for at least three years. A bid for widening the road could come as soon as September.

Green Space and Medians
Trying to improve the green areas and looks of Murphy, city council members are perplexed over maintaining the green space in the medians along the city’s major thoroughfares.

Apparently the soil in the medians is not conducive to growing much of anything, but the city is determined to landscape the green spaces. City staff learned of a possible state grant program called Green Ribbon that helps pay for infrastructure enhancements and green space, and they planned to apply for funding along North Murphy Road and now FM 544.

Land Acquisition
Councilman Dennis Richmond said the city should be involved in strategic land acquisition to protect trail resources, to ensure proper zoning and set precedence for non-residential versus residential spaces. This also included redevelopment opportunities and challenges, traffic management, planning and solutions.

Social Media
Communication today has changed and the city is trying to change with it. While city staff suggested easy access for city employees to e-mail, texting and other forms of communication, implementing a new Web site and making sure it have all necessary functions is a top priority.

E-mail is a form of communication today, but council members said they often find out about city events on Facebook, via Tweets or other avenues of communication.

Green Initiatives, City Staff
The city is checking into commercial recycling programs, and is interested in implementing green waste plans and organic waste efforts.

The city also is checking out hazardous waste disposal options.

Along with capital allocations, Fisher wants to make sure the city has the right people, in the right place, doing the right jobs, as well as having the funding to have enough staff in place. He mentioned to the council that the city will have to add some positions, and look at contracting other duties.

Volunteers in the City
The mayor and city council have relied on numerous volunteers, boards and commissions and are currently in the process of re-evaluating the duties and responsibilities of these faithful residents.

The council plans to extend the terms of all volunteers through the end of the year, if each person is willing, and then in the October or November timeframe, begin an interview process to have new boards in place by Jan. 1, 2012.

The council also plans to honor all city volunteers with a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner later this year. The council wants to honor the volunteers, who help make the city move forward, but also want to examine the necessity of all the boards.

Benchmarks
City staff and council members also addressed benchmarks, and how to measure quantitatively how employees and staff can do a better job, or be more productive in their assigned duties.

“We’ve never defined what we use as benchmarks,” said Mayor Pro Tem John Dougherty. “We need to identify what we need and how our staff can reach those goals.”

Fisher said the expectations of Murphy employees is different than what is expected from surrounding communities, so council needs to keep in mind that whatever benchmarks are set should be done so with the city and its goals in mind.

“We also need to be aware and keep in mind staff turnover,” Brandon said. “I believe it would be helpful to have a work session with city staff to develop and define measurable benchmarks.”

The council also included discussion about upgrading traffic signs, signals and crosswalks, primarily with discussion centered on North Murphy Road, and taking over management of the roads in the city rather than having TxDOT define road use.

The council also expects to address use and the objective of the now under renovation of the community center, and how it will be used in conjunction with the MAC, next door.  Discussions centered on it as a gathering place for the community, and not focus on it as a recreation center, but offering soft recreation and education classes, and meeting rooms.

“I want to preserve this building as part of the city because it tells the story of Murphy; where it has been and where it’s going” Richmond said. “I don’t want to cover that up.”

The community center, which also served as a school house and city hall, was built in the 1930s as part of the country’s exit from the dark days of the economic collapse and an effort to put people back to work. The community center is expected to open for business in early 2012.

By Ralph C. Jensen

A short agenda from the Murphy Planning and Zoning Commission saw the approval of the application of the Plano ISD, requesting approval of the final plat for McMillan High School. The property is located on North Murphy Road, north of Spring Ridge Dr.

PISD submitted a plat in order to replat the addition known as the Plano ISD Complex. The original Plano ISD Complex addition was approved in 2003; however, that did not take into account fire lanes, access, utility and electric easements that are necessary for McMillan High School.

The final plat incorporates the necessary easements for the nearly completed school, as required by various city codes and regulations.

The commission also held a public hearing to consider the application from the city to amend Chapter 86 of the city’s code of ordinances regarding alternative financial establishments—check cashing business, payday advance or loan business or a car title loan business.

The current comprehensive zoning ordinance was adopted on May 17, 2004 (Ordinance No. 04-05-610). The city council adopted the 2008 comprehensive plan on Oct. 6, 2008.

City staff has proposed an amendment to Chapter 86 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance to add definitions for alternative financial establishment, which are permitted uses within the retail district, light commercial district and business park district. They also want to amend the land use under the division of “Retail District,” “Light Commercial District,” and “Business Park District” as a land use for “Alternative Financial Establishments,” “Car Title Loan Business,” “Cash Checking Business,” and “Payday Advance or Loan Business,” and designating such as allowed only by Specific Use Permit.

The term does not include a bank, savings and loan or credit union. It also does not include a pawn shop or grocery store or a convenience story or similar retail business that cashes checks or money orders or issues money orders or money transfers for a minimum flat fee.

Commission member recommended the changes to amend Chapter 86 in the city of Murphy Code of Ordinances and forwarded the application to the city council. A hearing before council will be held at a later date.

By Ralph C. Jensen

Getting power lines buried throughout the city of Murphy seems like a monumental chore, but members of the city’s Community Development Corp. took a giant step forward by suggesting that burying power lines and connections at one major intersection would be a good starting point.

With the pending construction of North Murphy Road, city directors were advised by city staff that Oncor was going to move to an underground infrastructure, joining Verizon, who has already buried its utility services underground. CoServ, Atmos and Farmers’ Electric also have high wires within the city.

“The perfect investment would be spending money on burying lines at the corners of North Murphy Road and FM 544,” said CDC vice president Eric Hemphill. “This is a key point of the Murphy city infrastructure, and where people notice Murphy the most.”

With North Murphy Road to begin a widening construction, city staff said this would be an ideal time to move utilities underground, and to the right of way. Burying utilities at the city’s busiest corners would help clean up the city.

“This is where people stop in the city,” said Director Katie Westhora. “This is where we make an impression in the city.”

CDC directors also heard a report city staff, Kristen Roberts, about the planning and possible bad weather contingency plans for Maize Days 2011.

Roberts said the annual event was going to be held, rain or shine, and that the city would stay on top of weather forecasting to have a heads up of what they needed to do. Last year, the event was canceled, though some events were attempted. This year, if inclement weather hampers the annual event, the city manager will have final say whether to proceed.

“I have concerns if we call it off as quickly as we did last year,” Westhora said. “If we stage things in the right place, such as generators, we should be able to go ahead and hold the event. We also need to keep safety foremost in our mind so residents and attendees are taken care of.”

City staff said anything that happens will be dependent upon the weather. It also was noted that in 2012, the city will have the newly refurbished Community Center and the MAC available for use to hold events.

In a final agenda item, directors are working with city staff to design a financial statement that will keep them on top of their fiscal agreements with the city, so they know the money they earmark for certain projects has either been spent or is still pending. When directors encumber certain monies for use by the city, directors want to be able to see that even though they have spent the money, the city may still be discussing its use and keep their cash flow up to date.

Directors will not hold a meeting in May, but have set June 15 as their next CDC meeting.

By Ralph C. Jensen

City planning and zoning commissioners spent more time trying to craft a suitable motion to approve the specific use permit sought by Murphy Equity Management than it took to detail changes they hoped to see at the retail location. In fact, it took three motions and a second to gain acceptance of the application.

Murphy Equity Management is the parent company for O’Reilly Auto Parts, which hopes to build a retail location on East FM 544, west of McCreary Road, next door to Elevate Church. The location is 0.831 acres of land, which will include a 6,984 square foot auto parts retail business.

A construction date has not been set yet as O’Reilly will have to appear before the Murphy City Council for final approval.

While laboring over various motions of the application for a Special Use Permit (SUP), commissioners were less than anxious to detail what they wanted specifically as far as changes to the building site. Commissioner Jane Jan said the architects, “never seem to work with our comments.”

Her argument on the building stemmed from the conversation that the O’Reilly store seemed to just be a box, in nature, and didn’t have any particular flare to it. Commissioner Steve Levy agreed, saying, “It’s all very monotonous,” he said. “It’s just a box and it doesn’t fit in Murphy.”

“Tell us what you want,” said Nick Heatherly, a representative for Murphy Equity Management Ltd. “Allow the architects the flexibility to design something you’d like to see and something that we’re equally proud off. Give us the flexibility to work with city staff to accomplish this goal. Let the client have some latitude.”

Assistant City Manager Jeff Bickerstaff agreed, saying that it is unfair to characterize O’Reilly that way because they have worked diligently with the city and have gone above and beyond to meet the recommendations.

Heatherly asked the commission to give O’Reilly the same flexibility as a competitive store about a half mile east, but it was noted Auto Zone is located in Wylie and falls under that municipality’s own zoning requirements.

The commission finally decided to ask O’Reilly to revisit their roofline and add a 24 inch vertical articulation to the south, east and west elevations. This would give the building character and decrease the boxy design. O’Reilly also agreed to encase their business sign in brick, giving it a similar character to that of its neighbor, Race Track, to the west. The commission also asked that O’Reilly consider adding a pilaster—a slightly-projected column built into or applied to the face of the wall—at least eight inches in depth to the south, east and west elevations.

“Whatever we do tonight, I’d like to make a decision,” Levy said. “It’s not fair to keep asking O’Reilly to keep going back and forth at their expense as we talk about this. Let’s make a decision and move forward.”

With that, the commission agreed to a motion and second, then approved the application requesting approval of a construction plat on the O’Reilly Addition.

Commissioners also approved the application of the city, requesting approval of a construction plat of the Murphy School Addition on property zoned planned development at the old Murphy school and the former Murphy Fitness Center, now known at The Murphy Activities Center (MAC).

By Ralph C. Jensen

The felony trial for the alleged sexual misconduct of Joseph Peter Garbarini III has been rescheduled for March 21, 2011, in the 429th District Court. Garbarini is charged with a first degree felony, sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14; and a second degree felony, indecency with a child with sexual contact. This is the second time the trial has been reset.

Garbarini is a former kindergarten teacher at Hunt Elementary School, in Murphy, when the alleged crimes took place. The case was filed for indictment on Aug. 12, 2010.

The jury trial was to take place Nov. 29, 2010 but was postponed the first time to Feb. 28, 2011 because the court was in trial on another case. Several cases are often set for trial by the court on the same day, though only one can be heard. This is quite common, especially with the number of cases to be heard, or that are pending. There is no particular reason any trial is postponed and is at the discretion of the court.

Other factors that weigh into the decision of which trial will take place include how long a defendant has been in custody, the possible length of the trial and availability of witnesses.

By Ralph C. Jensen

By the time Murphy Police Chief G.M. Cox and Fire Chief Mark Lee finished briefing the city council, city officials had to feel better about its own law enforcement, and fire and life safety divisions. Both chiefs’ annual report was encouraging and a boon to the city.

Cox was appreciative to the council for the purchase of the RUOK program, which serves the elderly in the city. The program was approved as part of the 2011-12 budget.

RUOK is a telephone system that contacts elderly participants at least twice each day to ascertain that they are alive and well. The chief said the city likely has more than 17,500 residents, of which, 682 elderly fit into this category. While senior citizens are not mandated to sign up for the daily calls, it does help law enforcement keep tabs on them.

“We are developing the guidelines for making calls right now,” Cox said. “This program is completely cyber driven. Seniors who want to participate will have to register with the police department in person, and have to do the same to unsubscribe. There also is a vacation mode that will take a registrant off the call list if a senior is out of town on vacation.

“This program allows us as law enforcement to go out and meet with our citizens.”

Lee also briefed the council on the updates within the fire department. His outline showed an increase in the fire department commercial inspection program, community outreach, and mutual aid where he meets with other city’s fire chiefs to help build community partnerships.

“One thing we are targeting as a fire department is fire and life safety,” Lee said. “Part of this includes tours of the station, block parties, an education program and CPR classes. Our goal is to have more public involvement.”

Some of the challenges for the fire department this year include fire and life safety issues, EMS and training, increasing response times of the department, emergency management within the department and acquisition of vehicles.

The council also approved a resolution, which authorizes the city manager to enter into an agreement with the HOK Planning Group of Dallas for additional park planning.

Some of the concerns council members had was the need for additional parking at The Timbers Nature Preserve Park project.

Council members also expressed concern over a potential loss of money from the Texas Wildlife Department, as the state tries to solve its own budget problems, but councilmember Colleen Halbert said that the city should proceed forward to get the state grant, and if the money does come in, it becomes funding as Phase Two of any given project.

“We’re hedging our bets when it comes to state money and just trying to adjust,” said James Fisher, city manager. “There will be cuts at the state level. Everyone knows that; everything is on the table with the state. As we keep moving forward, we’ve got to do the drainage at The Bunny Run project.”

To date, the city has spent $37,121 on Liberty Ridge Park and $38,090 on The Timbers Nature Preserve Park for surveying, schematic design and bond issuance cost. The proposed contract is an additional $296,745, including reimbursable expenses. This will include alterations to the schematic design to comply with the budget; however, city council seemed more interested in a pay-as-you-go philosophy, especially considering the fragile state of the economy and state grants.

Parks were approved for improvements by the citizens in the November 2008 bond election, which was part of the $7.5 million vote for park improvements. On Feb. 15, the council determined to maximize the project cost for Liberty Ridge Park at $750,000 and to construct a Phase I project at the Timbers Nature Preserve Park not to exceed $600,000 with the possibility of a $500,000 state grant, which would be announced in August.

The city also established a higher fee for building contractors who fail the first inspection, setting the fee at $100 for inspections thereafter. The change will have no net effect on the building permit revenue. Based on the number of fees for failed first inspections in 2010, the city collected $35,450. Since 2005, the city has collected $140,420 in revenue from failed first inspections.

By Ralph C. Jensen

It all began in the eighth grade, or, at least that’s how the story goes. From that point in time to today, Diana Estill has published three books; her newest on the sales rack just recently, “Stilettos No More...and Other Delinquet Thoughts." The subject matter aligns itself perfectly with the author, who at age 56, is accepting of the notion that it’s OK to “accept my increasing girth with a grin.”

“I’ve been writing since childhood,” Estill said. “When I don’t write, I feel like a part of me is missing.”

Pen and paper seem to go hand-in-hand with Estill, who has kept journals that date back to her 8th grade English class in the Wylie school system. And, because practice seems to make perfect, Estill’s writing progression moved organically from journals to newspaper and magazine articles, to books, and more recently, to ebooks.

If Diana Estill isn’t quite a household name, it should be. She’s from Murphy, but like a turtle returning its origins to nest, she moved back in 2003, and served time, as she likes to put it, as a member of the city of Murphy Planning and Zoning Commission.

With a little local government experience on her resume, it’s truly worth noting that her writing has been acknowledged as a 2010 International Book Awards winner, and was a finalist in the humor category in the 2008 ForeWord Book of the Year. Her marketing approach is much the same as her writing style. She’s funny and doesn’t mind sharing life’s experiences with her readers.

For instance, if you’re guilty of a few of these acts, Estill writes that it could be time to rethink your habits: You bought yourself a Snuggie; ninety percent of your blouses have three-quarter sleeves; you can’t recall what year you last received a Victoria’s Secret catalog, or if while stopped at a red light while driving and a cute guy pulls up next to your vehicle and stares at you, your first thought is: “I’m about to be carjacked.”

“For the most part, women’s issues are universal,” Estill said. “And our willingness to laugh at ourselves extends well beyond Texas, or even the United States.”

Reaching out is the critical part of her marketing and socializing plan. She has tried numerous approaches to marketing but no single plan works best.

“It’s a matter of doing a few things every day and waiting for momentum and word-of-mouth to build,” Estill said. “I’ve been marketing books for four years, now, and I’m beginning to see many of my earlier efforts compound.

“Rather than wait to be discovered inside bookstores that push mainly New York Times bestsellers, I’ve carved out a small audience online. Today, I have a sponsorship advertisement running on Kindle Nation Daily. That advertisement moved Stilettos No More into the top 10 bestsellers in Amazon’s humor essays category.”

Estill does tours and book signings, but mostly they are closer to home. Closer to home means connecting with her readers, mostly online, but she also likes to engage people face-to-face to share a few light moments about life’s triumphs and challenges.

Always on the go, Estill has a fourth book in the works although details about the next book are not forthcoming yet. She also has an idea for a novel, another humorous entry and a screenplay, all in various stages of completion.

Stilettos No More, is available now in paperback and eBook formats from Amazon and other booksellers, and as Estill puts it, “is fatigued by all the anti-aging rhetoric that pervades our current culture,” she said. “Age 50 isn’t the new 40. I’m not going to feel bad for failing to remain a size 4, OK, maybe that was a size 6 or maybe an 8. At my age, I have trouble remembering.”

By Ralph C. Jensen

Members of the Murphy Planning and Zoning commission entered a split decision on allowing city staff to remove trees from the old city hall and school building on the west side of Murphy Road. While the measure still passed and will be sent to the city council for a final decision, commissioner Ty Holcomb objected to moving the trees.

“There’s no guarantee when you move a tree that it will survive,” Holcomb said.

The city, however, has retained the professional services of landscape architect Dennis Sims, who said that moving the trees was necessary to preserve the view of the architectural work planned on the old city hall.

“Trees are a sensitive issue,” said Jeff Bickerstaff, assistance city administrator, who also told commissioners that the city plans to relocate eight trees, likely to another city property, preferably a park.

Among the trees in question are a 20 inch Spanish Red Oak and a 14 inch Oak, which were likely planted in the 1960s. The city’s plan for the community center call for restoration of the building, circa 1938, and refacing the façade back to that era. Other trees, not nearly as large and sensitive to a move, were planted within the last 20 years. The building and parking area comprise 5 acres.

Reclamation of the building and ground call for an open view of the front of the building without trees in the landscape, though architects have suggested an iron fence, similar to what would be found in the late 1930s. Sims said this building is perhaps the most colorful structure in Murphy and preservation is a good idea. Plans also call for bricking in the garage area and using the front parking area to expand the green space in front.

The parking area in back, and the north and south green space, will contain a treescape environment with five large shade trees and 20 ornamental trees. Having the front green space fenced will give the property an historical feel and provide safety for events that are hosted on site. The fence would not be any taller than 43 inches at the columns and 35 inches on the fenceline.

The property currently has an irrigation system, which would be replaced with a more efficient system, including drip lines as a back up system. On the northwest corner of the building, a rain-catch system would be deployed, averaging as much as 1,600 gallons during a normal rain season. It would function much like a cistern that would have been found during the 1930s.

In other actions, commissioners approved am exemption to Murphy homeowner Matt Neher, who requested a variance from planning and zoning requirements for alternative exterior building materials. Neher had appeared before the commission in November, and was told to bring back a more detail plan of his home addition.

His plan calls for a first floor, all brick, exterior, with hardy-plank siding on the second story. The commission had asked him to use at least 50 percent masonry siding, and in his request on Dec. 13, showed that his room addition would be 55 percent brick. City staff recommended approval of the request and all four commissioners approved the measure. The city council will hear his request during their first meeting in January.

The commission also commented on a city council request to Chapter 28 of the city code, which addresses development standards within the city. Among the suggestions that commissioners sought were to improve exterior construction standards, such as using stone or masonry only, barring synthetic materials for exterior building. The commission also wanted a stronger definition for roof-top equipment to be shielded from public view.

Commissioners postponed any formal action on the council directed request and will add the item to their agenda for action during the Jan. 24 planning and zoning meeting.