ANNUAL STATE OF THE TOWN MESSAGE

State of the Town
Trophy Club, March 21, 2011

Good Evening. It is my honor and privilege to be your Mayor and to deliver this, my second State of the Town Address. I plan to first talk about our Council and Staff, then provide some highlights from the past year and then discuss our Strategies and Goals along with some of the things we have accomplished and those accomplishments yet to come.

I am truly grateful for the outstanding Council we have and for their dedication and commitment to our Town. As a matter of perspective, it is interesting to note that we have a relatively new Council. Councilman Glen Strother, our most senior member is completing his fourth year on Council, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Rose is completing his second year, while Councilwoman Margi Cantrell, Councilman Larry Hoover and Councilman JD Stotts are all serving their first year. For me personally, it has been amazing and gratifying how everyone has stepped up and spent the many hours in study, training and meetings needed to learn the complexities of Texas Laws and of this Town. This council has embraced the details of our work with a thoroughness and creativity that is impressive and ensures that the best interests of our citizens are being met.

In the Council - Manager form of government the Manager of course plays a pivotal role in our success. With the resignation of our previous manager, Council spent considerable time - in defining the type of person, the skills and experience we were seeking. The lengthy process included reviewing resumes, choosing semi-finalists, viewing video interviews, choosing finalists, conducting in-person interviews, gathering input from citizens who also met with the finalists, and finally choosing a manager. It was a great deal of work, but so worth it, because in Mike Slye, I believe we have a manager who will be an integral part of this community. Mike has already made extensive improvements and gained the trust and respect of staff, council and other city managers; and has done all othat in the first four months.

Turnover in staff is always a challenge for any business and Towns are no different. However, we were able to manage that change and take the time to search out the best, most experienced new manager because we already had an excellent Assistant Manager in Stephen Seidel who was able to step up and perform in the interim with outstanding expertise and knowledge of our Town. We are grateful for his willingness to do this and are pleased that he now has the opportunity for a renewed commitment to Economic and Community Development, both which are critical to our future. Likewise, we appreciate all of our staff and the commitment they make to the citizens of Trophy Club each and every day. We thank them for the efforts they have all made to ensure no area was overlooked During these challenging times.

Now I would like to move on to a brief recap of the highlights of the past year.

The Town received an upgraded AA Bond Rating by Standard & Poors. At the time only 8 cities of our size in the entire state had as good a rating. This helped us obtain a very favorable rate in the sale of the $5 million park bond as well as a $2.8 million refunding package which by itself resulted in approximately $19K interest savings per year. The Town also received its first Distinguished Budget Award by the Government Finance Officer's Association as well as being recognized by the State Comptroller's Office as a Gold Leadership Circle Award Recipient for Financial Transparency. Take a look when you have a moment at the reports and other data on our web site - you can access them from the main page. For the very first time, the Council voted last year to provide for an amount to be set aside for Capital Maintenance. $108,000 was allocated to this account, and while we recognize this is only a small portion of what will be needed, it is a start and more importantly a recognition of the importance of preparing for maintenance costs which can be expected as our infrastructure ages. Overall, with prudent planning and management, our year end expenses came in under budget and revenues were above budget, allowing us to also continue to grow our reserves, an important factor in areas such as our bond rating and overall stability. I would also like to note that while many surrounding towns saw a decrease in their overall valuation due to market downturns, Trophy Club actually saw an increase. This was primarily due to the large number of new homes which more than offset the losses in value for existing homes. 209 new homes were permitted in the last fiscal year, with an average value of approximately $440K. For the first 5 months of this year there have been 85 permits. This is a slightly lower rate than we saw last year, however the new neighborhood 8 (Abbey Moor) will shortly be coming online with a product specifically designed for those empty nesters who would like to stay in Trophy Club but move into something smaller, requiring less maintenance. We have heard demand for this product line and are very pleased to see it coming to market. The Council has also recently approved three other new Neighborhoods which will further expand the available properties.

Parks continue to be a major focus in this town. We successfully opened the Splash Park on July 4th, the largest municipally owned facility of its type in the state and a source of great fun for many of our children. Construction is underway for the Independence Park Baseball Complex and Freedom Dog Park, both of which were part of the bond issue passed by our citizens in the fall of 2009. New walking trails have been developed in Trophy Club Park and we hope to see a great turnout at the Grand Opening Event, including the official introduction of the Frisbee golf course on April 9th.

The strength of the NISD has certainly been a huge factor in attracting and keeping residents in Trophy Club. The new high school is in its second year of operation and looking forward to graduating a full class of seniors next year. The lack of seniors, however, has not held them back. Teams from Byron Nelson have done outstanding in sports, with some even advancing to district and state levels in their first year of Varsity competition. Academic pursuits were just as strong, with various teams winning state level competitions. The Medlin Middle School Destination Imagination Team won the National Championship last year and members of the High School Debate Team are headed to Nationals this summer. Theatre Arts performances have been amazing and a wonderful treat for the community. Lakeview Elementary's 3rd Grade DI team won the regional and is also headed to state. And keep in mind these are only highlights. It is helpful to stay in communication with the schools and keep up with all the opportunities. The partnership we have with the district and with the high school has been tremendous. They have graciously provided the facility for events such as our 25th Anniversary Celebration, a bicycle rodeo, various meetings and brought to our Town some events sponsored by Congressman Burgess and Denton County Transportation. This facilitates attendance for our residents, while at the same time promoting our town throughout other communities. Students from the high school have been wonderful volunteers for Town events at the school as well as elsewhere. Everyone enjoyed samples from the Culinary Arts School at the Taste of Trophy Club. Construction was completed on schedule for the intersection of Bobcat Boulevard and 377 which provides for another entrance to our Town and greatly facilitates access to the high school. Be sure to check out the newly designed and installed 'naturalized landscape' medians along Bobcat. We are still working together with the School District and Roanoke to convince the Highway Dept to install lighting for students going to and from school.

Speaking of the Highway Department, you may have noticed that work has begun on the extension of Highway 114 under Trophy Lake Drive and continuing into 170. This interchange should help significantly with the traffic problems we see during commuting hours and beyond. It will also greatly improve the safety of the intersection at Trophy Lake and what will then be the Service Road to 114. We have heard time frames for construction being anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. I am guessing it will be more like 18 months, but I would gladly be wrong if they finished sooner. Trophy Club, Westlake and Roanoke have been meeting to discuss the aesthetics of this interchange area as it is an entrance to all of our communities.

Major events in our town have become intergovernmental and regional partnerships across our various departments and with other organizations, enabling everyone to benefit from increased participation. Arbor Day, usually a Parks event, expanded to include a major safety fair with the participation of emergency service volunteers, including Citizens on Patrol, most of our police, fire, emergency management and EMS staff, Citizens Police and Fire Academy Alumni, and featured our new off-road patrol vehicle, provided by a grant from the Department of Justice. The Core of Engineers, State Wildlife and an emergency service helicopter all presented interesting demonstrations, as did the Municipal Utility District. Many volunteers helped man the various booths and bounce houses, etc. I loved this example of combining resources to create a really meaningful and fun event.

Another major event this past year was our 25th Anniversary. This was actually a 3- day event, created and managed by a team of volunteers who wanted to make this a very special celebration for our town. It included a Friday wine and cheese social, Saturday fun run and Pancake Breakfast by the Church at Trophy Lakes, Tours of Trophy Club - driven and narrated in part by our CERT volunteers, Chief Kniffen, and others, an evening celebration at BNHS with tastings from 20 restaurants and all of the current and past mayors, a day at the pool and evening youth luau by Bara Church and a Picnic on the Lawn by Trophy Club Country Club. Separate from the events but just as important were the Rootbeer Floats by the TCWC and the newspaper insert produced by this team and fully funded by donations. Again, we did need some support from staff, particularly at the events, but this was largely a volunteer-run event and the community came together for it. Thank you for that.

Speaking of community involvement, we are very proud of the work done by the Police Department in training and equipping 12 residents as members of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) as well as expanding the Citizens on Patrol group. The CERT team actually was called to respond to a flood event in September, just one month after their graduation. Very fortuitous planning! Our Chief of Police was also awarded Outstanding Crime Prevention Manager (Small Agency) for 2010 by the Texas Crime Prevention Association. We also became one of the first agencies in the Metroplex to issue personally worn video cameras (grant funded) to all officers. These become amazingly valuable for training as well as answering questions regarding any specific action.

As we have discussed many times, Economic Development is critical to our town, working to expand the Commercial Base and increase our Sales Tax Revenues in order to limit the burden on residential taxpayers while still maintaining the service levels we desire. For comparison, Trophy Club ad valorem tax base is composed of approximately 85% residential, while Roanoke is almost the direct inverse with about 85% commercial. Additionally, Trophy Club General Purpose Sales Tax revenue was around $530K while Roanoke was about $4 million. Those are rough numbers, but I hope give you the sense of the vast difference and why it is so important that we monitor our spending carefully while also working to improve our Commercial Development. At the same time, we must recognize that we will never have the land available that our neighbors do. We must define what we are, what we offer and work toward making that the best it can be.

We are pleased to have the approved site plan for Trophy Club Commons, which will consist of three new buildings, the first of which is fully committed even though they have just broken ground. Even the second building is 2/3 full. One particular change with this plan was that the Council is working hard to make things smoother and more timely for developers. As a result, we have approved a plan, but allowed for our staff - within guidelines - to make adjustments as may be needed. This has already been recognized as a better atmosphere for commercial development.

Last year I mentioned to you about how the Council had met and established Our Mission, Goals and Objectives. We have continued in this direction, ensuring that our strategy map is clear and understandable and that budget and activities are consistent with those goals. Based on the Town's Core Values, many of the goals and strategies have been clarified and expanded in an effort to further our committment to our residents and businesses.

Safe and Secure Community involves Superior Emergency Services, which we most definitely have and continue to develop, but it also involves citizen awareness which is partially addressed through the many safety programs put on by our police personnel. Additionally, it involves the vigilance of data security and as such we have recently implemented improved and updated internet firewalls at our offices, as well as working through processes to ensure prevention of unauthorized access to confidential files. Further work is being done to improve our backup capabilities and offsite backup procedures. As we continue to grow in the number of residents and businesses, we will likely need to consider additional staff in the public safety area to truly maintain a safe and secure community.

Another goal, Business Friendly Economic Development, includes new strategies for approving plans and allowing staff more latitude to make minor changes, along with our plan for developing more specific guidelines to minimize Council involvement and thus improve the turnaround time for approvals. These changes are designed to improve working relationships with businesses and developers. Work is underway on a new coupon book for existing businesses which the Economic Development Corporation B is producing to help market and support these businesses. I would also point out here that it is important that we as residents support our local businesses as well. Their success will certainly help our success. The EDCB also hosted a booth for the first time at the Texas ICSC (shopping center commission) to help market Trophy Club as a place to do business. We are looking forward to the opening of a Yogurt Shop in the Regency Center and are hopeful about recent contacts with some other businesses.

Strong Partnerships and Community Involvement is an area that is near and dear to my heart, perhaps because it is one area where the Council and myself have more direct involvement. This is particularly the case regarding regional identity and relationships. We have worked hard with the surrounding towns to develop relationships and actually have a joint meeting scheduled next week. With this goal, we also give our staff the direction to work with others as can be evidenced by the coordinated effort between Westlake, Southlake and Trophy Club to develop a regional trail connection between major employer centers, parks and residential areas. Internally, we have approved an Interlocal Agreement with the Trophy Club Municipal Utility District #1 for employee contract services. We have and will continue to partner with the MUD on various efforts to benefit all residents.

We are pleased to announce that the first printed newsletter in some time has gone to the printer and will be distributed to residents and businesses around the end of March. This is so critical as we have been communicating primarily via email and the Internet and only a small portion of residents have signed up on the distribution lists. We hope you enjoy this mailing along with the Parks and Recreation Activity Guide which will also be distributed to all residents. We will work to evaluate the impact and reach and plan to publish about 3 times per year, with more frequent online news. We also hope you liked the new Trophy Club Calendar, published for the first time and jointly with the MUD to include local schedules and Annual Report information.

Community Involvement is another building block to the very foundation of Trophy Club. We recently approved two new committees, the Ethics Commission and Citizen's Financial Advisory Board. If interested, please submit applications for these committees by April 14th. We will also be looking at two additional groups, Keep Trophy Club Beautiful and a Sustainability Committee. New classes for the Citizens Police Academy are being conducted and we are very proud of our newest program which is targeted at Senior Isolation. It is a joint program with The Town of Trophy Club, United Way, Meals on Wheels, Area Agency on Aging, and our local churches. We recently sent a mailer in the water bill and hope citizens will let us know where help is needed and volunteer to provide some of that help.

The Healthy, Picturesque and Environmentally Sound goal involves our many programs and events as well as the focus on maintaining our appearance, particularly with the medians of which we are very proud. We hope to be able to expand our programs to include some senior events, though much of what we are doing addresses the whole family. The two committees I just mentioned will help move us in the right direction.

Financial and Operational Stewardship includes much of the basics of our staff work day to day. From the recognition and retention of quality staff, to strong standards, effective processes, maintaining and improving infrastructure and assets, cost effective services and timely, responsive customer service. All of these strategies direct the way we want our town to operate. With our new manager, who has already made great progress on things such as the design for our Roundabout as a key focal point in Town and locating potential funds from Denton County to help pay for it and other road improvements, to the restructuring of positions that enhance our communication capability with a Public Information Officer/Marketing Manager, and with all of the dedicated capable individuals comprising our staff, I have great confidence in our ability to maximize these strategies.

These are the Goals, Strategies and activities that support the Trophy Club mission which Council has developed along with staff. We will continue these efforts and expand further to develop a long term vision for the town. Watch for this, as we fully intend to enlist the aid of citizens in this important effort. Feel free to peruse our website, newsletters and emails for more information, and remember if you have any questions or wish to provide input you can always join me on one of my walks.

I would like to challenge you, our citizens, to stay informed and involved in your city. Take the time to understand what is happening and voice your opinion - good or bad! Volunteer to help with one of our many committees or programs. Be a part of building our future. I would also like to thank the many citizens who have already contributed to our success. Whether you serve on an advisory board or committee, help out at events, serve as an emergency volunteer, attend public meetings/ or watch them, or just call or email with an issue or idea - you are all part of what makes our community so special. Again, I am honored to serve as your mayor. I have learned a lot, probably made some mistakes, but always performed with integrity and with my total commitment to the citizens of Trophy Club.

Thank you,
Mayor Connie White