The City of Forney Parks and Recreation Department took center stage at Tuesday night's city council meeting with a proclamation from Mayor Darren Rozell and praise from council members.
"Parks are typically the happiest department we have in the City of Forney because they get to play outside most of the time," Rozell said. "Parks is a department that if they weren't there, we would be a very different looking city, and they do a lot of things to improve our quality of life here." The proclamation made July "Parks and Recreation Month" for the city this year.
The council also heard from Forney Chamber of Commerce board member Kennian Short and Jennie Moore, who are heading up efforts to determine the feasibility of a 140th anniversary celebration for the City of Forney in 2014. "Why would we do this?" Moore asked. "The last time Forney celebrated its birthday was the centennial in 1974. We have missed some great opportunities in the last 40 years to celebrate our community." Council members encouraged further discussions, but no dates or activities have yet been confirmed.
A larger-than-expected payment from the Texas Department of Transportation on pass-through financing for recent road construction projects provided welcome savings to the city.
Nick Bulaich of First Southwest Company informed council the payment of about $3.6 million will allow the early buyback of $1,590,000 in bonds that were scheduled to mature in 2031. "If you do the quick calculation, that saves a little over $1.35 million in interest," Bulaich said. "It is the beginning of me coming before the council this time every year to seek approval to redeem these bonds."
Bulaich noted that with the higher TxDOT payments, updated projections show a savings of more than $9.2 million on the bonds issued in 2008.
See separate inForney.com stories for information regarding:
- Approval of the purchase of a new $1.4 million radio system for emergency responders.
- Approval of a change to utility fees, including a reduction to water service connection deposits and the institution of a new non-refundable $25 connection fee.
- A delay in new seasonal restriction on snow cone stand businesses.
In other business, council:
- Approved parkland fees for comprehensive park planning for the multiple phases of the Cedars at Gateway development. Park money collected from activity in the development can only be used for parks in that area of the city by the city's parkland ordinance.
- Approved an escrow agreement with developer Bleriot Forney #1 Ltd. for expansion of Monitor Boulevard as the next phase of The Villages of Fox Hollow development is built.