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It's all about the economy
Economic vitality can be an elusive thing, especially in a time of uncertainty in the national markets and political forums.  But, the Farmers Branch Economic Development Department has figured out how to tackle the unpredictability of sketchy times. Head on. For the second year in a row, John Land and his team have landed on the Dallas Business Journal's top 10 list of biggest economic development agencies, by dollar value of deals done in the previous year. Make no mistake about it. This smallish, first ring suburb of a major U.S. city is a major player on the national economic development stage. With more than $198 million in deals in 2012, the Farmers Branch sixth place ranking was barely beat out by the Tarrant County town of Haslet and their one $200 million deal last year. However, there is no resting on laurels going on at City Hall. John and his team are on stage every day, answering phones, meeting with prospects, convincing existing businesses to stay put and beating the bushes for new ones. Businesses, large and small, see the value and the wisdom of locating in the geographical center of the Metroplex. Add to that a comparably low tax rate, business incentives and a pro-business atmosphere, and its easy to predict economic growth continuing for the foreseeable future. This is what keeps our commercial tax base high and, in turn, the cost to live in Farmers Branch relatively low, compared to our neighbors. With this kind of progress in a sketchy economy, can you imagine what things will be like when it booms?
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Audience to offer instant input at
Town Hall Meeting
FARMERS BRANCH ~ Bringing technology to the town hall meeting, Farmers Branch Planning Director Andy Gillies will be soliciting instant feedback from the audience, via handheld voting devices, during the Community Visioning discussion at next week's Town Hall Meeting.
 One of two Town Hall Meetings planned annually, this event is set from 7 until 8:30 p.m., Thursday, June 13 at the Farmers Branch Manske Library, 13613 Webb Chapel Road, at Golfing Green Drive.
Mr. Gillies, along with Senior Planner Alexis Jackson, will review local development during the past several years and facilitate a discussion on steps to take moving forward.
Following the Community Visioning presentation, the Mayor and Council will take the stage for a question and answer period.
City Staff will be on hand at 6:30 p.m. prior to the meeting as well as afterwards, at 8:30, for individual discussions with citizens.
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 Animal Adoption Center overflowing with Father's Day presents in furry packages
FARMERS BRANCH ~ Sons and daughters everywhere need gift ideas for Dad's Day while the Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center is overflowing with adoptable pets, waiting for a new place to call home. 
As a result, in honor of Farmers Branch fathers and in an effort to reduce the maxed out population at the facility, the Animal Adoption Center has deeply discounted adoption fees. Normally $85, the fee has been cut to $15, through Father's Day weekend Saturday, June 15. Officials said the adoption fee actually covers more than $200 worth of veterinary services, including sterilization, rabies vaccination, microchipping and other tests and immunizations.
The Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center is located at 3727 Valley View Lane, just east of the Farmers Branch Justice Center, under the Farmers Branch water tower. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday. However, officials added, the need for adoption is so great, the center will also be open Wednesday, June 12 in an effort to adopt as many pets as possible. For more information, call 972.919.8770.
  
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Firefighter to graduate as
valedictorian of paramedic class
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Farmers Branch Firefighter Terry Evans
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BROOKHAVEN COLLEGE ~ Farmers Branch Firefighter Terry Evans will graduate as valedictorian when the Brookhaven College Paramedic Class No. 33 holds commencement exercises next month.
Firefighter Evans has been with the Farmers Branch Fire Department for three years, assigned to B shift. He is also a current member of the United States Army Reserves and is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The graduation ceremony is set for 1 p.m., Thursday, July 25 at Brookhaven College.
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Manske Library to offer web design class for kids
 MANSKE LIBRARY ~ Meeting the call for 21st century skills, a web design workshop for kids will be offered at the Farmers Branch Manske Library every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from June 24 to July 10 at 5 p.m. Designed for kids 8 years old and up, "Little Bytes" is a workshop dedicated to teaching youngsters the basics of creating a website. Participants will learn about design, file organization, links and how to add video and images to their site. By the end of this workshop, kids will have a live website that is their creation. Sign up is required before June 23, and space is limited. For more information call the Library at 972.247.2511.
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Summer volunteers sought for Library
MANSKE LIBRARY ~ Teen volunteers are being sought for Summer Reading Club and other tasks at the Farmers Branch Manske Library.
Teens between the ages of 12 and 17 years interested in volunteering over the summer at the Library are required to attend one of two orientation sessions on either June 6 or June 20, both at 5 p.m.
During the course of the summer, teens will have several opportunities to fulfill their volunteer hours, including running the Summer Reading Club registration table, being a program assistant to Library staff, and even making Facebook and blog posts.
For more information call the Library at 972.247.2511.
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Trash placement can be tricky
FARMERS BRANCH ~ With the weather during the past month, an ever-increasing amount of trash seems to blowing from refuse bags set out for collection.
Farmers Branch Solid Waste officials reminded residents that bags should be closed, secured and only put out after 6 p.m. the night before scheduled pickup and by 7 a.m. on your pick up day.
For more information, call 972.919.2597.
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 Laudable in Lake Charles
Members of the Farmers Branch Firefighters Challenge Team celebrate their first place finish in the team relay at the regional event held recently in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Firefighters Challenge course, or the Toughest Two Minutes in Sports, is actually a series of challenges that puts competitors' firefighting skills to the test. The Farmers Branch team is (from left): Mike Mania, Michael Bilharz, Bryan Hardy, Andy Davis and Morgan Bell.
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Volume 3 | Edition 24 | Number 120 
is published weekly by the Communications Office
of the City of Farmers Branch, TX.
Two-time TAMI Award Winner for Best eNewsletter in Texas
Given by the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers
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EcoDevo retains top 10 DBJ ranking
DALLAS ~ On the strength of deals like the Mustang Station transit-oriented development project, the Farmers Branch Economic Development Department retained its Top 10 ranking on the Dallas Business Journal's list of largest north Texas Economic Development agencies.  The DBJ released their annual list last week, which shows the Farmers Branch agency as number six for the $198.5 million value for deals done in 2012. Farmers Branch was rated number five on the 2011 list. Also finishing in the top 25 was immediate and area neighbors, including the Town of Addison (7), Dallas Regional Chamber (8), Plano Economic Development (9), Allen Economic Development (13) and McKinney Economic Development (14) among others. "This speaks volumes to the resilient nature of the economy in Farmers Branch and to the unrelenting, progressive work done by John Land and our Economic Development team," said City Manager Gary D. Greer. "Finishing in the DBJ's top 10 for two years running is a badge of honor that Farmers Branch can be proud of." More>>
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VIDEO EXTRA
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'Pied Piper' closes this weekend at Library
MANSKE LIBRARY ~ The Firehouse Theatre will conclude its two-week run of the "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," at the Farmers Branch Manske Library theater on Saturdays, June 15 at both 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Based on the legendary German tale, the play follows the people of Hamelin as they look to a brightly dressed piper for help in ridding their town of rats, and the circumstances that follow. For more information or to reserve tickets, visit their website or call 972.620.3747.
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Chapel View Fountain, at the corner of Webb Chapel and Valley View, provides a picturesque setting year-round.
Photo by Derrick Birdsall
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FARMERS BRANCH ~ The weekly update on the Interstate 635 expansion project has been made available by LBJ Express, the construction team responsible for the five-year project that will completely renovate the freeway from the Dallas North Tollway to Interstate 35E. This update is for
Wednesday, June 12, 2013.
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LBJ Express Finished Project Animation
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Westbound LBJ, Midway Road, and Marsh Lane will be closed for major bridge construction work during night-time hours of June 27. Closure hours may vary due to the pace of work but will be confined to 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Southbound Midway and Marsh will be detoured on Valley View to Webb Chapel. All westbound LBJ traffic will be detoured along the westbound frontage road from the Midway exit to the Marsh entrance ramp. After the closure scheduled for June 27, there should be no more similar closures involving both Marsh and Midway.
On June 15 the LBJ freeway westbound main lanes will be reduced from four lanes to three lanes from the Marsh entrance (near Webb Chapel) to IH35E for an indefinite period during construction.
Valley View (at IH35E): The IH35E northbound frontage road left lane will remain closed at Valley View through June. In addition, there will be various lane closures along Valley View between the IH35E frontage roads for several weeks to facilitate construction of a new IH35E northbound entrance ramp over Valley View. 
IH 635/IH35E Interchange: Several major closures are being planned for June. LBJ eastbound and the ramp connecting eastbound LBJ to southbound IH35E will be closed on the nights of June 14-16. The ramp connecting westbound LBJ and the westbound Josey entrance ramp will be closed on the night of June 15. The ramp connecting IH35E northbound to LBJ westbound will be closed on the nights of June 26-30. IH35E southbound and the ramp connecting IH35E northbound to LBJ westbound will be closed on the nights of June 29 and 30.
Denton Drive: The westbound LBJ frontage road between Josey and Denton will be closed on the nights of June 12 and 14 for bridge construction. Denton will be closed for bridge work from June28 at 8 pm through June 30 at noon and from July 5 at 8 pm to July 7 at noon.
Josey Lane: Construction of the permanent paving and drainage on Josey will require various lanes closed through June. The eastbound frontage road will be closed between Josey and Bankway from June 19 until mid-September. Frontage road traffic will be detoured via Forest Lane to Webb Chapel.
Webb Chapel: Webb Chapel will be closed on the nights of June 17, June 24 and July 8. Various lanes of Webb Chapel will be closed for paving following completion of work at Marsh and Josey.
Marsh Lane: The pavement and bridge work on Marsh south of Ridgeoak will continue through June 22 when all through lanes should be reopened. All through lanes on Marsh are now open during peak periods. The westbound frontage road between Valley View and Marsh will be closed on the nights of June 18 and 19. The westbound Marsh exit is expected to be restored by September 1.
Midway Road: The southbound left turn lane on Midway Road between the LBJ frontage roads and the westbound to eastbound U-turn lane will remain closed indefinitely. The eastbound to westbound U-turn lane will be closed beginning today, June 12 for an indefinite period. Expect various lanes to be closed on Midway at LBJ during off-peak hours. The right two lanes of northbound Midway will be closed for drainage work starting on June 10 through July 10. The eastbound Midway exit is scheduled to be closed on the nights of June 12 and 13. The eastbound frontage road east of Midway will be closed during off-peak hours daily through June.
Welch Road: Welch is narrowed to one lane in each direction south of the LBJ through June 23 for drainage work.
Other Locations: Various main lanes of LBJ will be closed frequently during night-time hours. There will also be intermittent night-time closures of various LBJ entrance and exit ramps. All scheduled work is tentative as permitted by weather conditions and other factors.
For more information, visit www.lbjexpress.com.
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About the City of Farmers Branch
 An historic community in the geographic center of the DFW Metroplex, Farmers Branch boasts a residential population of 28,800 and a daytime employment population of 66,000. Located on the northwest border of the City of Dallas, the City's 27 parks and lush greenbelts feature nationally-acclaimed, award-winning soccer fields, football facilities as well as baseball and softball complexes. The city's location in the center of the Metroplex and only 15 minutes away from both DFW Airport and Love Field, along with the 2,200 hotel rooms within the city, make Farmers Branch an ideal location for residents and for business. For more information on the City of Farmers Branch, visit farmersbranch.info, visitfarmersbranch.com, lovethebranch.com
or call 972.247.3131. |
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