Denton Better Block is Coming… to Sherman Drive!
Late last summer, a bunch of you gathered at the Denton Center for Visual Arts for an introduction to the Better Block concept and to brainstorm how to pull this off in Denton. The project was approved and funded by the City Council in January and potential sites have been evaluated ever since.
Recall an article I wrote in January called, “Thinking Beyond the Square: Denton’s Future Hubs of Creativity, Commerce and Culture.” In it, we identified 13 great spots with potential throughout Denton. One of those spots was the strip of Sherman Drive from Bell Ave on past the old Piggly Wiggly. Here’s a snap of the map from that article:
I’m happy to help spread the word that the Sherman Drive spot has been picked to be the first Better Block project in Denton! It’s a great area with tons of eager neighbors nearby ready to see that area pop with creative neighborhood services, better streetscape, and improved biking and walking accessibility.
But this project can not be successful without EVERYONE getting involved. Whether it is near your neighborhood or not, this is a great way to see what can be done in your neighborhood. The goal is that this serves as a great example project, ultimately spurring a bunch of other ones.
Visit the Denton Better Block website to sign-up to volunteer.
Keep an eye on the Denton Better Block Facebook page.
Show up to their first Community Walk and Talk on Tuesday, May 27 at 6:30pm at the site of the old Piggly Wiggly (619 E. Sherman Drive). This is where getting involved in the project begins.
Here’s a copy of the flyer for that event:
What to Watch For on Election Night
There’s one more day to vote. You can vote between 7am and 7pm on Saturday, May 10. There will be absolutely no lines at any of the polling places, so it should only take you about 5-10 minutes. GO HERE TO FIND OUT WHERE TO VOTE.
Before we get into what to look for on election night, let’s recap where we are after Early Voting has ended:
- There were 2910 Early Voters – that appears to be the highest early voting number ever for a city election.
- District Breakdown of these voters:
- District 1 – 257
- District 2 – 842
- District 3 – 907
- District 4 – 878
- Average Age of early voters – 62 years old
- New Voters: 857 of them, or 29.45%, do not appear to have ever voted in a city election
- These new voters are slightly younger – average age is 58
- District 3 saw the biggest amount of new voters, accounting for 43% from that district alone
Below is a a great heat map created by Devin Taylor showing the concentration of Early Voters across the city:
If you want to pay attention to election night returns, no need to depend on a news source – you can go to the same website that all the news sources will be looking at and get it as soon as they do. Go to www.votedenton.com and click on the link for “Election Results.” Early Voting results will be released promptly at 7pm (when the polls close). Election Day results will likely be reported within the next 2 hours.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR ON SATURDAY NIGHT
EARLY VOTING NUMBERS ARE PREDICTIVE
Since 2008, Early Voting has accounted for 55-58.5% of the total votes in the election – and that trend has been on the rise. It is unclear how the high number of early voters translates here. If Early Voters account for 58% of the total vote count, then we can expect a total of about 5017 voters – a 1163 total vote increase from the last at-large election in 2012. If, on the other hand, we see a sharp trend upward in the percentage of total voters the early vote accounts for, that most likely means one or more candidates had a significant get out the vote push (which typically means they are getting their voters out for early voting).
In any case, past elections show that the early voter results are highly predictive of final vote percentages – even predictive on the amount of gains or slippage a certain candidate might see between the early voting results and election day results. Consider the last two at-large elections in 2012 and 2010
Two things can be learned from this. 1) Candidates can predict a 5% gain or slip from early voting results to election day results. This is tempered a bit, however, by a high early voter turnout – down to only a 1-3% change from the early voter results and the total cumulative results (combination of both early voting and election day voting). 2) Candidates viewed as the non-establishment candidates typically benefit from a 5% bump in election day voting results. In other words, if anyone serves to benefit from a bump in election day results, it will be the non-establishment candidate. In this election, I predict that the following candidates will benefit from this election day bump: Watts in the Mayor’s race, John Ryan in the District 2 race, and Hatice Salih in the Place 5 race.
If you see a candidate up by at least 5% after the Early Voting results are in, there is a high degree of probability that that candidate will retain their lead after the election day votes are in.
THE DONNA WOODFORK FACTOR – WILL THE MAYOR’S RACE HEAD TO A RUN-OFF?
Donna Woodfork ran for Mayor in 2012 and pulled in 7.57% of the vote. That resulted in neither of the other two candidates getting across the 50% line and a run-off was triggered. She ran for School Board in 2013 and pulled in 21.78% of the votes in her race against Mia Price. Let’s assume she brings in 6% of the votes in this election. To avoid a run-off in that scenario, one of the other two candidates (Watts or Schaake) will need to retain over a 6% spread above the other. That is a pretty high spread in what is expected to be a very tight race. Don’t be surprised if the mayor’s race continues into June with a run-off.
THE FRACK FREE PETITION IMPACT
The FrackFree Denton group turned in nearly 2000 signatures this week to force a council vote on their petition to ban hydraulic fracturing in Denton. If those signatures translate into votes, that would easily turn the tide in any of the contested races on the ballot. But while it is easy to get someone to sign a petition when you place it in front of them, it is much harder to get that same person to make a trip to the polling place. The Frack Free crowd came out strongly in support of Hatice Salih for the Place 5 seat against Dalton Gregory. She is the only candidate on the ballot to have signed the petition.
If Dalton Gregory wins the race, that will tell us two things. First, the nearly 2000 signatures for the petition didn’t translate into votes in this election. Second, it will be an early indication of the uphill battle for the FrackFree vote in a November election. If the group struggles to get their candidates in during a city election with 5000 or less total voters, a successful November General Election with around 25,000 total voters will be a tall order.
IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, GET OUT AND VOTE ON SATURDAY!!
City Council Preview – May 6, 2014
Today’s council meeting begins with a Work Session at 3pm followed by a Regular Session at 6:30pm, both at City Hall at 215 E. McKinney Street. Go here for a full agenda, complete with backup material. This council meeting is anticipated to be a long one – an appropriate way to send off Mayor Burroughs, Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp, and Council Member King. This will be their last official regular session meeting as members of council.
Here are a few items that might interest you:
TEXTING BAN ORDINANCE
We will consider an ordinance making it illegal to “text” while operating a motor vehicle. The ordinance defines texting broadly to include, “any other use of the device, besides dialing telephone numbers or talking to another person, while operating a motor vehicle.” The Traffic Safety Commission originally proposed an all out ban on any use of handheld devices while driving, but the council agreed to pursue a ban specific only to texting or other similar type activities.
The above picture is to the point and is part of a study that indicates texting and driving might just be more dangerous than drinking and driving. See the video below for more:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
SETTLEMENT WITH EAGLERIDGE ENERGY
The city has been involved in global settlement negotiations since November when we first passed the “Standstill Agreement” with EagleRidge Energy. The goal of these negotiations has been to solve long-standing problems, particularly as it relates to how to adequately regulate existing well sites, many of which came into existence under different rules. Our agenda includes an action item to act on such an agreement should it be reached by the time of the council meeting.
Click here to see a November article I wrote on the problem with old well sites in the city.
BELL AVE CONSERVATION DISTRICT CONTROVERSY
We will be hearing an appeal of denials of the Historic Landmark Commission of Certificate of Appropriateness for a property located at 1807 North Bell. It is interesting to note that this home was previously owned by the former front man of Denton’s own Midlake, Tim Smith. Perhaps that alone qualifies this home for historic designation.
The current owners purchased the property and significantly altered a number of aspects of the structure in a way that violates historic guidelines outlined in the ordinance that created the Bell Ave. Conservation District. In order to resolve those issues, the applicant submitted a number of Certificate of Appropriateness applications – all were denied by the Historic Landmark Commission.
RAYZOR RANCH RAMPING UP – SEEKS ADDITIONAL TOOLS
There will be two items on our agenda tonight relating to the Rayzor Ranch development near the intersection of 380 and Bonnie Brae. You’ve no doubt seen the build out of retail stores on the North side of 380 (Rayzor Ranch Marketplace) and RED Development is now ramping up to begin work on the South side of 380 (Rayzor Ranch Town Center). One item is a second amendment to a 2010 Economic Development Program Grant Agreement and the other is a public hearing prior to considering a resolution that the proposed public improvements on the South side of 380 promote the interests of the city – in order to move forward with a Public Improvement District.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please leave them below or contact me via email or cell at 940-206-5239.
Denton Officials Invited to Visit Sriracha Plant – Help Us Sell Denton
Denton led the way in the national efforts to save Sriracha. Since then, many others, including Texas State Representatives and other city officials in other states, copied our efforts and continued the push for Huy Fong Foods to fine a more welcoming business environment elsewhere.
I am very pleased to announce that Denton has been invited to visit Huy Fong Foods in Irwindale, CA and meet with company officials to discuss possible relocation or expansion opportunities in Denton, TX.
Details are still being worked out, but I will be heading to California in the next couple of weeks, accompanied by a select team of city officials, including Economic Development Director Aimee Bissett. I will provide more details as soon as they are official.
From the start, our efforts to lure Sriracha to Denton have been community based. In order to make a pitch to Sriracha that is becoming of the creative city we are, I need you all to think up some big ideas on how to sell Denton. More importantly, I need you to jump in and help implement these ideas. We need your marketing skills, your film talents, your music abilities, your business savvy, and your collective creativity.
So throw your big ideas below or contact me via Twitter, Facebook, or email. Together we can make this happen! This is how Denton does economic development.
The Tragic Irrelevancy of the Denton Record-Chronicle
Dan’s Silverleaf was packed last night – not for a show, but for a city council debate. With four seats on the ballot, this is arguably one of the most important elections in years. Last night’s debate, hosted by the Denton Downtowners, We Denton Do It, and Drink and Think, was an attempt to capture the momentum and attention of Denton’s growing creative class, a demographic that has made itself a force to be reckoned with in Denton. They are the creators of our city, the changers of culture, and are beautifully directing their democratic impulses back to their community.
By all accounts, last night’s debate had more people than any other forum to date and, according to many candidates and attendees, it stood out as the most important.
Yet our local newspaper, the Denton Record-Chronicle, neither promoted it nor covered it. Instead, the lead story for today’s paper was about the painting of walls at the Sanger library.
The first Denton Creatives Mixer from October 2012 at Oak Street Draft House.
This isn’t new. Despite the fact that there have been growing crowds of civic-minded young professionals, artists, and families coming together to help create Denton in the areas of culture, technology, and livibility, our local paper has acted like none of this is happening. Hundreds showing up each time we have a Denton Creatives Mixer or host innovative citizen engagement events like February’s Ideas for the City Forum, yet not a single story.
Meanwhile the paper continues perpetuating the now tired and outdated narrative that “City Hall is not listening to the citizens.” I have no interest in speculating why this is the case other than to point to something that is becoming increasingly obvious. The conspiratorial fantasies of those who spend a significant amount of time commenting on dentonrc.com stories tend to find their way into the headlines. It’s as if the coverage of local politics in Denton is written with an aim of causing a commotion among these curmudgeon commentators.
And this is tragic. A robust local news outlet is essential for a robust and healthy local democracy. With local newspapers failing all over the nation, it will be up to somebody or some entity to reimagine and transform the future of local news. And I can’t think of a better place where we have all the necessary ingredients to create a new model for the power and possibility of local news than Denton, Texas. And in doing so, help return a vibrant democracy to the city.
There are armies of journalists, photographers, videographers, creative writers, cultural thought leaders, and analysts ready to join with you in this ambitious project.
But you are ignoring them.
The Candidates Debate – April 14 – Dan’s Silverleaf
With four Denton City Council seats up for grabs and early voting for those elections beginning in less than a month, the time is now to start paying attention.
Once again, a bunch of local hackers are organizing all that info over at VoteDenton.org – there you’ll find all the candidates and links to their websites and social media sites. Becayse one seat is a district specific seat (District 2), you’ll be able to use the great interactive map in order to determine your district.
There are several opportunities to catch these candidates engage the issues and ideas, but there is one you should make sure to catch. We Denton Do It, Denton Downtowners, and Drink and Think are teaming up for The Candidates Debate on Monday, April 14 at Dan’s Silverleaf at 7pm.
Local politics, with beer. Probably the way it was intended to be.
Check out all the details on the Facebook event page.
On Storms and Humanity
There is something about the onset of stress that tests one’s character. What is true of an individual is also true of a community. This is why it is often said that natural disasters bring out the best and worst in humanity. Our moral progression as a civilization is revealed when our comforts of typical life are removed.
I went swimming with my family last night at the Denton Natatorium. All of a sudden, a lifeguard ran into the pool area, quickly gave a signal to all the other lifeguards on post, and within less than a minute the entire pool area was cleared and everyone in the building huddled in one of the locker rooms. The staff was calm yet directive. The entire operation seemed to be run by a staff of teenagers, but their age was no issue here – they knew what to do and we all followed their lead.
Soon, folks started coming in from the streets. There’s a sizeable mobile home community just Northwest of this area and the city sirens and other news announcements drew many residents out of there and into the closest open building.
City personnel, city buildings, and other city resources come to the aid of the city’s most vulnerable in ways we often don’t realize. Consider the homeless who find refuge and relief on hot or cold days in one of our libraries or rec centers. Consider the poor who are often invited in to the Civic Center pool at the end of hot summer days when the staff decide to stop taking payments early. The city is made up of people who are empowered to care.
Inside the locker rooms, people took care of one another. Towels were shared, anxiety-filled kids were tended to, updates were shared as some were able to access news and social media from their smartphones.
And throughout the city, similar stories happened throughout the evening. Street crews, DME workers, high-water teams, police, and fire teams got after it. The Denton social media team was active and responsive, providing information and responding quickly to reported issues. Here’s a shot of the DME crew restoring power to homes in our neighborhood which was accompanied by Twitter hashtag #lovethistown.
But the most impressive display of character I had the privilege of observing came from a 3rd grader from Ginnings Elementary School named Jake. His family came to seek shelter from a nearby neighborhood. As we struck up a conversation with his family, Jake jumped in to help translate for his parents’ broken English. Realizing that my kids and others around us were starting to go stir crazy after being in a cramped locker room for 30 minutes, Jake called the children to himself…
“Would you kids like to hear a story? Everyone come over here and I’ll tell you a story, OK?”
When the teenagers of your town are effectively managing emergency situations and the third graders of your city are bringing hope and encouragement to the kids, you’re doing it right Denton.
Denton a Leader in PreK Innovation and Collaboration
The call for universal PreK is quickly becoming a policy priority well beyond school districts. At all levels of government, the race is on to figure out how to invest in our youngest citizens in order to fix the achievement gap before it begins. And for good reasons. We now know that a person’s academic success is greatly influenced by their first few years of life. The greatest predictor of graduation rates is 3rd grade reading scores. The greatest predictor of 3rd grade reading scores is the quality and quantity of vocabulary a child has in their head when they come their first day of Kindergarten.
I grew up in a family with two educated parents where reading, learning, and discovery were commonplace. The expectation was there from an early age that I would do well in school, go to college, and likely seek an advanced degree. Even with all that, my parents still sent me to Betty Bixler Preschool at the church down the street. But I fully recognize my relatively privileged upbringing.
A growing number of kids are entering Kindergarten without having books in the home. Many kids are raised by parents who have never understood education as a priority – in large part because it was not part of their upbringing. The stress of poverty compounds this situation and we have an epidemic of kids entering school at 5 and already having years of catch-up to do. If education is a key to socio-economic mobility in our country, then justice demands we fix this and give everyone an equal shot at success.
Many know that my wife created an innovative tool to help tackle some of this. Inspired by her days as an elementary school teacher, her work in the educational publishing industry, and role as a mother of three little ones, she created a way to put high quality preK into the hands of parents and caregivers - ReadyRosie. Through daily videos modeling everyday activities in English and Spanish designed to promote greater vocabulary, essential skills, and a love for learning, the kids’ most influential teacher (the parent) is getting the tools they need. And it is designed to be delivered daily free of charge to the families who need it the most.
While so much of the policy emphasis is on building preK centers, we cannot give up on the parents. Regardless of their background, we have to believe that parents ultimately want what is best for their kids. We can unlock the potential in kids by unlocking the potential in their parents.
Developed in Denton with Denton families and first adopted by Denton ISD and available to every family of 0-5 year olds in the district, ReadyRosie is now being utilized by communities throughout Texas and around the nation.
In order to implement this tool and establish a vision for tackling the preK issues in Denton, the Denton PreK Coalition was formed. A collaborative initiative comprised of Denton ISD, United Way of Denton County, UNT, the City of Denton, and many churches, non-profits, and businesses, the Coalition is frequently being referenced and replicated in other communities. It’s another way Denton is pulling together its resources and leveraging its assets and partnerships to lead the nation in creative solutions to tough problems.
In that spirit, I’m excited to partner with 100 UNT students this Saturday to canvass the neighborhoods surrounding the Denton ISD elementary schools with the greatest number of at-risk students. We’ll be putting resources and tools into the hands of parents of young ones. This is all part of UNT’s Big Event where over 2500 volunteers will spend the day serving the needs of our community.
GO HERE to see Superintendent Jamie Wilson’s column on the PreK Coalition.
GO HERE to sign up for your free subscription to ReadyRosie if you live in the Denton ISD district.
GO HERE to see a KERA story on ReadyRosie and their work in another community.
City Council Preview – March 4, 2014
Tuesday’s City Council meeting begins with a Work Session at 2pm, followed by our Regular Session at 6:30pm. Both meetings will be held at our main City Hall at 215 E. McKinney Street. Click here for a full agenda with backup reading material. Here are a few items of interest…
COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT AND ANNUAL AUDIT
Did you know that you can have access to all the major documents and data relating to the city’s financial budgets, plans, strategies, and reports – it’s all here. One of the major reports we receive each year is the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) – this represents the entire financial position of the city for the year of the report (in this case, ending on September 30, 2013). Each year, the city goes through an annual audit from an outside firm where the CAFR comprises one of four major components.
It is important to our values of open government that our books are open, accessible, and transparent to the citizens. We’ll be receiving the best possible report from our auditors and receiving an update on the CAFR. Because I sit on the Audit/Finance Committee of the council, I have the privilege of hearing this twice in one day!
STANDSTILL AGREEMENT EXTENSION (WITH EAGLERIDGE) and what a NO vote to this would really mean…
Up for a vote as part of the Consent Agenda will be an extension of the Standstill Agreement. As a reminder, this agreement was the initiating agreement that brought the city and Eagleridge to the table to discuss a possible “global settlement” as it relates to gas drilling operations in the city. While a certain amount of drilling activity was allowed to continue under the terms of this agreement, it also represents a “standstill” on any further drilling activity by the operator over the course of the agreement.
To be clear: the goal of these negotiations is to fix problems with a large amount of existing well sites that can’t be sufficiently addressed through municipal regulations. While our most recent gas drilling ordinance updates gave us a much more robust ordinance from the perspective of NEW gas drilling in the city limits, we will continue to be plagued with the problem of drilling OLD gas sites previously permitted and vested under earlier rules (especially as new technology and business models have sparked new interest in these otherwise old sites).
And to be even more clear: a YES vote on this standstill agreement is a YES to a continued stand down on new drilling activity by Eagleridge and a YES vote to continue negotiating in hopes of finding a solution to these old sites. Therefore, a NO vote on this standstill agreement is a vote to allow Eagleridge to pull new permits and the continued possibility of drilling in dangerously close proximity to protected uses. A NO vote on this standstill agreement is a vote to continue with the status quo. I don’t think that is acceptable. Negotiations may or may not be successful, but given the consequences of the current status quo, we owe it to the city to try.
As a reminder, here’s a post from this past November on the subject where I attempt to give a more comprehensive overview of the problems with these old gas well site.
As always, let me know your thoughts…
My Decision
I’ve heard from hundreds of you over the last couple of days. Beyond the many encouraging comments, I am most inspired by your vision for Denton and your willingness to work hard to accomplish it.
What has become most clear to me through this and over these last three years I’ve served on council: the creative class of Denton is emerging. They want a city that is smart, innovative, ambitious, and continually solving big problems. Having been reared politically through the abstract mess of national politics, they are discovering true democracy locally and becoming beautiful citizens with a love for their city. They are dissatisfied with the traditional role and scope of local government. Understanding that cities can and should be the incubators of innovation, they see government as one of the many essential platforms upon which people can be brought together to create great things and solve the toughest issues of our day.
As most of them are from elsewhere, they are frankly uninterested in hearing narratives about how far we’ve come. They want to know where we are heading. And, perhaps more importantly, they are ready to roll up their sleeves and be part of that movement forward. They want to create, innovate, tinker, and do.
They are looking for civic leaders who inspire them, involve them, connect them with others, and unleash them to create a great city. In reality, we as a city should be following them.
After taking seriously your comments, spending time assessing the political landscape, and recognizing that there will be many changes on council come June, I have decided that the best thing to do is continue my term as the council representative of District 1 and not seek the Mayoral seat.
Several of you are now paying attention to this race. Jean Schaake and Chris Watts are both good, honest, smart, and hard-working servants who love this city and want what’s best for it. Insist that this year’s election for Mayor be about vision and big ideas.
Jean and Chris – I look forward to working with either of you, helping you be a great mayor of this city, and helping move this city forward. There’s an army of our city’s best and brightest ready to help as well. Inspire them. Lead them.