Mayor’s message, February

As we turn the corner into February, 2012 is well-underway and the town is abuzz with progress, new projects and a myriad of activities. The town council kicked off the New Year with a strategic planning session in January. With a thorough approach to long-term planning, we prioritized and provided direction for a variety of topics including economic development, capital improvement projects and budgeting.

We also spent time during the planning session reviewing the recent town of Flower Mound resident survey. I’d like to thank all the residents who took the time to respond, complete the survey and provide us with such valuable feedback. The results were overwhelmingly positive and indicated Flower Mound residents approve of the general direction the town is taking. Respondents indicated they experience a high quality of life, view the community as an excellent or good place to live and raise children and gave the town’s service levels high performance ratings. 

The survey revealed an increase in resident satisfaction regarding the town’s transportation and traffic flow improvements, employment opportunities, and the new solid waste and recycling program. While the town’s social and cultural arts rankings were low, residents rank Flower Mound in the top three survey cities for fire service levels, ambulance or emergency medical services, municipal courts, garbage collection, recreation facilities and safety from property crimes. The results also indicated that some in our community believe we are growing too fast, while others want us to push toward job creation and attract more high-quality economic development.

We hear the residents say they want to have access to more high-quality jobs close to home. We already have several measures in place to help us achieve this goal. With several business districts incorporated into the master plan, including the Lakeside Business District, the River Walk, and the Denton Creek District, we are positioned to welcome growth as the economy rebounds and the absorption of currently available commercial space begins to diminish. We are meeting with two economic development organizations, The Retail Coach and TIP Strategies, this month to ensure the town’s business recruitment program is as effective as possible.

The Retail Coach will help the town develop a high-impact retail recruitment and development plan, allowing us to maximize Flower Mound’s retail development potential. In addition, the experts at TIP Strategies will incorporate statistical analytics demographics when meeting with the town council and staff to update our economic development strategic plan. Honing in and focusing our economic development efforts will provide us with a realistic picture of what can be accomplished, permit us to be more selective, and allow us to remain steadfast in our resolve to not settle for less when considering future commercial projects.

Good News

For the second consecutive year Flower Mound has been shown to be one of the safest communities in not only Texas, but the entire United States based on statistical data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The recently-published annual “Crime in the United States” report identified numerous favorable crime statistics for Flower Mound. The town ranked state-wide as having the fewest violent crimes, property crimes and total reported crimes within the Town’s population category. Based on the FBI report data, Flower Mound has the lowest ranking in the State of Texas categories of Crime Rate per Population, Total Reported Crime, Violent Crime, and Property Crime.

In addition to the positive state rankings, Flower Mound also ranked favorably on a national comparison with the second-lowest property crime rate, the third-lowest total reported crime rate, the fifth-lowest rate of property crimes and the sixth-lowest rate of violent crimes and total reported crimes. The data also indicates, that when evaluated based upon a percentage of reported crimes per resident, the town of Flower Mound reports significantly fewer offenses than the average of other Texas cities within its respective population group. Flower Mound reported 67 percent fewer motor vehicle thefts, 79.7 percent less violent crime, 77 percent fewer property crimes, and 78.4 percent less total crime per person than the average of all municipalities of comparable population. For a complete overview of the data, please visit www.flower-mound.com.

The year is already shaping up to be a busy one on the economic development front. I participated in a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 3 for the Flower Mound Medical Plaza, a new medical office building located near the hospital, director of economic development Mark Wood represented the town of Flower Mound at the largest hotel investment conference in the world in January, and Academy Sports submitted an application to build a store close to FM 407 and Chinn Chapel. On a related note, we would like to welcome seven new businesses to Flower Mound: Walmart Neighborhood Market, CrossFit Flower Mound, Coco Black – A Boutique Salon, K K’s Pharmacy, The Jenny Layne Bakery, Allstate Insurance/Mig Financial Group and Chiro One Wellness Centers.

In Progress

We also kicked off 2012 by encouraging all Flower Mound residents to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle with the new FM Fit program. Working with our recreation and athletic staff at the Community Activity Center, we created a fitness program in which residents of all ages and capabilities can participate and work toward manageable goals, while measuring their progress, and success. FM Fit gets people moving by highlighting the CAC and Flower Mounds 34 miles of parks and trails.

Even though Flower Mound has one of the largest trail systems in the region, many residents don’t have the opportunity to use it on a regular basis. FM Fit encourages participants to visit the Community Activity Center or walk the trails, some for the very first time. It has also encouraged many of us to get out of our offices and homes and meet our neighbors while sharing a healthy activity. Joining The Walking Women of Flower Mound on their Sunday evening trail walks, I’ve personally had the opportunity to make new friends and enjoy the local trail system. For information, visit www.flower-mound.com/fmfit.

The town of Flower Mound invites residents to participate in a survey gauging interest and support for an organic community garden. A plot in the future Green Acres Farm Memorial Park, 4400 Hide-A-Way Lane, was identified as the potential site for the garden's location in the town's Parks and Trails Master Plan. Survey results and a recommendation will be discussed at future meetings of the Parks, Arts, and Library Services and Environmental Conservation Commission Boards and a later town council meeting for further review and direction. The survey is available through Feb. 28 and can be found at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e57rlrifguihrxt6/start. For information, please call the Parks Department at 972.874.6300 or e-mail parks@flower-mound.com.

I’m excited to report the town will celebrate the opening of Dixon Lane this month with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Completed several months ahead of schedule, Dixon will serve as an important east-west thoroughfare in northern Flower Mound. The paving reconstruction of Sagebrush Drive is also ahead of schedule, but unfortunately the expansion of FM 407 and the widening of the remainder of FM 1171 have been delayed. For a complete, updated list of current thoroughfare projects, please visit www.flower-mound.com/construct/construct_info.php.

Did You Know

The town has partnered with AARP Tax Aide to ensure local seniors are receiving all the deductions and credits they are entitled to on their taxes this year. AARP volunteers will be available on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through April 10 at the Shirley Voirin Social Senior Center, 2121 Cross Timbers Road. Any resident 50 years of age or older can utilize this free service by making a reservation in person at the senior center or by calling 972-874-6110 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Users of the iPhone can have Flower Mound information at their fingertips with the new free “FM in Touch” application. Flower Mound is the first municipality to work in conjunction with ResolveTech Solutions (RTS) to create the application that features general town information; a staff phone directory; maps of town facilities, schools, and hospitals; a job listing; and local weather forecasts. iPhone users will also have the ability to report Flower Mound service-related issues to the town with the option to attach photos. Additional features will be added to the application in the future. “FM in Touch” can be downloaded through the Apple iTunes store.

With spring right around the corner, the town is gearing up for a variety of special events including the CAC Spring Break Camp, Easter Egg Scramble, Underwater Easter Egg Hunt, Truck Rodeo at the Library, Kidfish, and the Concerts in the Park series. In addition, we are excited to announce that “Smash Mouth” will headline the 2012 Independence Fest on July 4. Visit www.flower-mound.com to find information about all of Flower Mound’s special events. In addition, the Seniors in Motion Program hosts a dance at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at the Shirley Voirin Social Senior Center. Visit www.flower-mound.com/seniors for more information.

I have the pleasure of hosting quarterly informational meetings for Flower Mound’s Home Owners Associations (HOA) and non-HOA community leaders. We recently discussed current town projects, Flower Mound’s sidewalk program and received a presentation from the Flower Mound Police Department regarding drug awareness. I also attended the Denton County Mayor’s 2012 Crime Challenge in January.

Proactively working with our police department and neighboring communities to prevent crime has helped Flower Mound continue to maintain a low crime rate and remain one of the safest communities in the Metroplex. Law enforcement officials addressing the group noted vehicular burglary and identity theft as two crime categories that continue to increase. Shutting garage doors, locking cars, and shredding mail and other documents are just a few of the ways you can easily avoid becoming a victim of these crimes.

The good news and data contained in the recent FBI crime report and the resident survey confirm the town’s current course of action is on-target and addressing many of the community’s priorities. While I’m proud of the countless goals we worked together to accomplish in 2011, our work is not done. In 2012, we will continue focusing on the items you have told us are important including the superior delivery of basic town services, improving infrastructure and transportation, and attracting quality economic development to the right location. The momentum and progress we have built will continue to ensure Flower Mound remains one of the premier communities in North Texas.

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