City moving forward with bond election,

By Rhiannon Meyers
The Daily News
Published February 28, 2009

FRIENDSWOOD — The city of Friendswood is moving forward with plans to fund $20 million in projects with a bond election and certificates of obligation.

While bonds require voter approval, certificates of obligation do not.

Voters will get the chance in May to decide whether to issue $9.6 million of bonds to build a new library, to convert the existing library into a community center and to improve parks. The city had planned to issue another $11 million in certificates of obligation to fund roads, parks, an animal shelter and a records building. But not all council members agree with that plan.

Councilman Jim Hill, who was one of two dissenting votes this week against a May bond election, said he thought all of the projects should be decided by voters. Certificates of obligation should not be issued, he said.

The city charter was amended by voters in 1997 to prohibit the city from issuing debt without voter approval that it could not finance from its own revenue streams, except in cases of emergency or “urgent public need.”

Mayor David Smith said there is a strong possibility the city could finance certificates of obligation without raising taxes, which would be allowable under the charter. Also, state law allows cities to issue certificates of obligation, City Attorney Bobby Gervais said. Despite what the charter says, the city could legally issue certificates of obligation per state law, Gervais said.

If voters approved the bond package and the city issued certificates of obligation, Friendswood taxpayers would see a tax increase, at most, of 6 cents per $100 valuation. That increase in the tax rate — which Smith called a “worst-case scenario” based on a prediction that the city would not grow at all — would push the tax rate to 63 cents per $100 valuation.

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Phones go silent at Friendswood City Hall

Phones go silent at Friendswood City Hall
By TJ Aulds

Update: City spokesman Nick Haby said the phone system was working late Monday afternoon, but was "sporadic." Crews from AT&T were still working to make the system stable. It's expected that phones would be back to normal by the time City Hall opens on Tuesday.

Phone service in and out of City Hall and the Public Works Building in Friendswood was cut off this afternoon. AT&T is working to get the phones working again by the end of the day.

Those needing to contact City Hall e-mail the city by clicking here.

Phone service was not disrupted at the police station, fire department, the 911 system, Friendswood library or the Friendswood activity building.

This is the third time in a year that phone service has been cut to a major part of the city government. The two previous times, construction crews cut through phone lines serving the Friendswood Police Department.

Stimulus May Help Area Schools

Local school administrators are dreaming about smaller class sizes and more after-school programs thanks to the federal stimulus bill signed into law Tuesday.
Texas school districts can expect a jolt of more than $3 billion over two years under the $787 billion package ushered in by President Barack Obama’s administration.

Under the bill, schools must spend much of the money on programs targeting children from low-income families and students with disabilities. That means large districts with more disadvantaged students will reap the most money — the Houston Independent School District is expected to pocket $158.6 million — though even the smaller, more affluent Friendswood ISD is slated to receive $1 million.

Officials at the Texas Education Agency, which will distribute the funds to local districts, still are reviewing the federal spending rules. But they expect tens of millions to go toward technology and also hope the federal funds can cover textbooks (the state’s book fund is short) and hurricane-related school repairs.
“I don’t think there’s a shortage of wish lists. The needs are great,” said Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokeswoman. “This could help put people to work and improve the schools. But we’ve all got to be careful how we spend it and make sure it’s on reasonable, needed projects.”

Ratcliffe said the federal funds could help districts avoid layoffs, but it’s unknown how many, if any, new school jobs will be created.
Hiring plans iffy
Local district officials said they are reluctant to hire a slew of new staff because the federal funds are scheduled to dry up in two years.

“We don’t want to hire a bunch of teachers and then have to do a reduction in force. That’s very demoralizing for your staff,” said Sarah Winkler, president of the Alief school board. “Whatever we do, it’s going to be something we think we can sustain or something we think is a temporary need.”

Alief ISD stands to receive $25.8 million, or about $570 per student. In comparison, Katy ISD, which has a smaller percentage of low-income children, will get less than $200 per student. In North Forest, where nearly all the students come from poor families, the $9.9 million payout works out to nearly $1,200 per student.
HISD’s chief financial officer, Melinda Garrett, said the district is considering using the stimulus money to lower class sizes — which would mean hiring more teachers — and to extend the school day for some — which would mean extra pay for teachers.
“That money will hit the economy through some sort of spending,” Garrett said.
The extra funding for special education also is expected to help school districts nationwide, which have long complained that the federal government greatly underfunds the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

HISD, for example, receives about $77 million a year in federal funding for special education but spends an additional $150 million on top of that. The stimulus bill would deliver an extra $55.7 million to HISD for special education.
HISD’s funding for low-income children, via the federal Title I program, would double under the stimulus bill.
In Spring Branch, Superintendent Duncan Klussmann said he is considering pouring money into after-school programs . Improving technology also is an option.

“What we have to be very careful of is, the federal dollars will be a one-time infusion of funds,” he said.
The U.S. House’s plan for $16 billion for school repairs and modernization didn’t make it into the final stimulus bill, but some school construction dollars still might be available through the state’s share of the stimulus package. A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry said no details were available Tuesday.
ericka.mellon@chron.com

Alert! Man tries to lure 12-year-old girl into car

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News
Published February 18, 2009

FRIENDSWOOD — Two cases of suspicious behavior around schoolchildren prompted police Tuesday to alert parents to take precautions.

School officials also alerted students and sent letters home to parents, detailing reports to Friendswood police of a man who tried to lure a 12-year-old girl into his car and another report of an automobile circling bus stops.

Police want to identify a Hispanic man in his 20s or 30s who might have been wearing a hat over his thick, black, curly or wavy hair. The man at 3:25 p.m. Monday stopped his dark-colored car near a 12-year-old girl who was walking in front of her home in the 300 block of Gleneagles Drive in the Sunmeadow subdivision.

The man drove away when the girl refused to get into the car, but a second report surfaced from a 4:30 p.m. incident involving an automobile seen circling the 600 block of Oak Drive.

A man driving a medium to dark blue car, possibly a 1990s model Nissan or Pontiac Bonneville with dark tented windows, circled areas where a school bus dropped children in the Polly Ranch subdivision, police said.

The car sped away when an adult moved in for a closer look. Officers were unable to find the suspicious car or cars, police said.

The school district’s transportation department was briefed and will monitor children’s safety during bus routes.

“We sent home a letter to all parents today and used an e-mail blast with the same statement,” said Thad Roher, an assistant superintendent at Friendswood schools. “We’re concerned with kids’ safety in the community.”

In December, suspicious women approaching schoolchildren and buses asking for children by name turned out to be contractors conducting health surveys for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Roher said he could recall no other similar circumstances.

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How to help Authorities asked anyone with information to call Friendswood police at 281-996-3300.

Friendswood man wins $1 million

KHOU.com staff report
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas – A Friendswood resident is Texas’s newest millionaire.

Vance Murphy won a $1 million prize from Mega Millions Megaplier after spending an extra dollar on the add-on feature.

Without the add-on Murphy would have won $250,000 with his numbers, but the extra $1 allowed him to quadruple his prize.

Murphy bought his winning ticket from the Value Discount Liquor store located on El Dorado Blvd. in Houston.

His winning numbers were 2, 17, 20, 27 and 28.