City of Grand Prairie Monthly Citizen Newsletter January 2011 Vol

City of Grand Prairie Monthly Citizen Newsletter
January 2011 Vol. 12 No. 1
WHAT'S ON TAP FOR 2011
DADDY DAUGHTER
VALENTINE DANCE
Grand Prairie Outlet Mall Still on the Books
In early November, developers announced that plans for
a retail outlet mall on I-20 and Great Southwest Parkway
in Grand Prairie are still underway. A new outlet center
company, Paragon Outlet Partners, will develop the
retail mall. Paragon was launched by the former Prime
Retail president and chief operating officer. Construction is scheduled to start March 1 with a planned opening in late 2012. Seventy percent of the mall’s retail
space has been leased. In a statement issued by Paragon,
the company says they have plenty of capital for new development.
Dallas County Courthouse Annex
On November 30, Dallas County Commissioners voted to move forward with
plans to build a $6 million courthouse annex on the site of the former ArmyNavy building in downtown Grand Prairie. The facility will house the justice of
the peace, constable, tax office, juvenile justice office and other county operations.
Parkland Clinic
Parkland Hospital will build a clinic at the site of the former
police headquarters building on Conover Drive. Construction is
scheduled to start in late spring 2011 and the clinic will open in
summer 2012.
GRAND PRAIRIE GOLF PUNCH CARDS
NEW! Pre-purchase rounds of golf at an incredibly low price! Five and 10round punch cards are now available for golf at Prairie Lakes or Tangle Ridge
Golf Courses:
Tangle Ridge:
5 Rounds for $175 (a $325 Value!)
10 Rounds for $299 (a $650 Value!)
Prairie Lakes:
5 Rounds for $99 (a $190 Value!)
10 Rounds for $189 (a $380 Value!)
Visit the pro-shop at the course of your choice to purchase. They make great
Valentine's Day gifts, too! Call Tangle Ridge 972-299-6837 or Prairie Lakes
972-263-0661 for more information.
Dream Big
Play Hard
Ruthe Jackson Center
Friday, February 11, 2011
Dinner: 7 - 8 p.m.
Dance: 8 - 10 p.m.
Daughters and
fathers of all ages
are invited to attend
this special evening
of dancing and dining. Dinner is 7-8
p.m. and dancing
is 8-10 p.m. All
participants will
receive dinner and
a memorable gift. A photographer
will be on site to take pictures for an
additional fee beginning at 6 p.m. The
cost is $20 per person. Call 972-2646890 for more information.
SUMMIT VALENTINE'S
DINNER AND DANCE
Love
is in the
air! Come
enjoy a
romantic
evening
with live music, dinner and dancing
at The Summit’s Valentine's Dinner
Dance Night on Monday, Feb. 14, at
6 p.m. The Summit is at 2975 Esplanade. Grab your sweetheart and twirl
the night away as the Russ Dorsey
Band sets the mood. Drinks are available for purchase at the cash bar. Ages
50+. For additional information about
the soiree of love call 972-237-4147.
www.gptx.org
NEW KIRBY CREEK GARDEN COOKBOOK
City of Grand Prairie-trained Master Composter volunteers at the Kirby Creek Nature Center have a new cookbook. The cookbook contains recipes developed mostly
from vegetables grown and harvested by volunteers in the
Kirby Creek garden, and are easy to prepare. The volunteers would like you to know that each of these recipes have
been taste tested by the group. The books are illustrated
with photographs and are 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" in size. A perfect
Valentine's Day gift for the cook in your life!
Black and white books are $8 and the full color version is $10. To purchase
a book, e-mail [email protected] or call the city of Grand Prairie recycling
coordinator at 972-237-8061.
FREE TAX HELP AT MAIN LIBRARY
Volunteers from the American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP) are offering free tax help
sessions for elderly and/or low-income citizens at the
Grand Prairie Main Library, 901 Conover Dr. Sessions are on Mondays and Fridays from 11 a.m. until
3 p.m. They begin Feb. 2 and continue until April 13.
Participants should bring last year’s tax return and all
W-2 and 1099 forms. Forms not provided by the AARP may be photocopied at
the library for a small fee. Tax forms are also available at www.irs.gov.
CABINS AT LOYD PARK
Impress that special someone with a romantic
stay at the Loyd Park cabins. Set on the edge of Joe
Pool Lake, the cabins come fully stocked with kitchen
utensils, bed linens and towels. All you need to bring
is your food. Relax on the front porch or snuggle
around a campfire and make this Valentine's Day a
memorable one! Call 817-467-2104 for reservations.
ORDINANCE PREVENTS ICE ON STREETS
A city ordinance makes it a violation to allow water from an irrigation
system or water system to collect on city streets on cold nights when it can form
ice and cause hazards to unsuspecting drivers. The ordinance is designed to
encourage residents and businesses to be considerate during very cold weather.
A resident or business that allows significant ice patches to form on city streets
should be prepared to face fines.
UNITY BANQUET FEB. 3, HEALTH FAIR FEB. 5
Promoting "Unity Through Diversity"
Unity Coalition Banquet and Student Art Contest, 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 3
Ruthe Jackson Center, 3113 S. Carrier
Tickets: $15 each, contact Rosa Valdez, 972-786-6042 or [email protected].
Free GPISD Health Fair, 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Feb. 5
South Grand Prairie High School, 301 Warrior Trail
Dream Big
Play Hard
THE GRAND PRAIRIE ARTS COUNCIL
PRESENTS
A FUNNY THING
HAPPENED ON THE
WAY TO THE FORUM
Broadway’s
greatest farce is
light, fast-paced,
witty, irreverent
and one of
the funniest
musicals ever written—the perfect
escape from life’s troubles! Set
in ancient Rome, A Funny Thing
Happened On The Way To The Forum
is a non-stop laugh-fest in which a
crafty slave struggles to win the
hand of a beautiful but slow-witted
courtesan for his young master in
exchange for his freedom.
Feb. 17-19 and 24-26 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 20 and 27 at 2 p.m.
Uptown Theater, 120 East Main Street
Reserved seat tickets $11, $16,
and $21 with student, senior citizen &
group discounts available.
Tickets available online at www.
artsgp.com or by calling the Uptown
Box Office at 972-237-UPTN.
For more information: 972-642ARTS or artsgp.com
Did you know that veterans and their
spouses may qualify for a pension to
cover the cost of senior living?
• The Aid and Attendance Benefit
is available for veterans and their
spouses.
• Helps cover the cost of care and
living in a senior community or
your home.
Please call 972-237-2515 to speak to
our team of VA-trained personnel.
2305 Corn Valley Road,
Grand Prairie, Texas 75051
972-237-2515
A Grand Prairie Housing Finance
Corporation property
www.gptx.org
2010 TOP 10 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
GRAND PRAIRIE
MEMORIAL GARDENS
1. Opened the new 60,000-square-foot Summit at
Central Park facility for active adults age 50+ at
SH 161 and Warrior Trail.
2. Opened the new Public Safety Headquarters at
SH 161 and Arkansas.
3. Opened the new Lake Parks Operations Center
featuring Fire Station #7, lake sector police
substation and the Lake Park Administration
building at the Lynn Creek Park entrance.
4. Opened Central Park and the first phase of improvements at SH 161
between Warrior and Arkansas trails, a 172-acre park with lakes, waterfalls
and trails.
5. Cleared former Army-Navy store site to make way for a new Dallas County
Courthouse to be built downtown.
6. Completed Mayfield Road widening from SH 360 to Great Southwest
Parkway.
7. Opened Arkansas Lane as a widened four-lane divided road from Robinson
and Carrier.
8. Cleared former police station to make way for a Parkland Clinic.
9. Rehabilitated and sold nine 4-GOV and 46 4-HOME homes, taking them
out of foreclosure and putting homeowners in them.
10. Began construction of a new Airport terminal.
Take advantage of
our NO INTEREST
FINANCING at Grand
Prairie Memorial
Gardens. You can use
this to your advantage
by purchasing property
for you or your family
members. When it
comes to pre-planning,
this is one of the best investments you
can make in your future. A trustworthy
advisor will be happy to sit down with
you and answer all of your questions.
Please call today and receive a free
information packet on pre-planning at
Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens.
972-237-3001
2011 TOP 10 GOALS
LYNN CREEK PARK
OPENS FEB. 26
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Begin building frontage roads on I-30.
Work with downtown merchants to restore the facades to their 1950s glory.
Open new terminal at Grand Prairie Airport.
Extend Lake Ridge Parkway from Polo Road to I-20; and widen it from
Polo Road to Joe Pool Lake.
Open January Lane extension between SH 161 and Randol Mill.
Extend Crossland Boulevard from Robinson Road to SH 161.
Extend Forum Drive from Waterwood Drive to SH 161.
Begin construction of Gifford Street from
Bagdad to MacArthur; and extension of Bagdad
to I-30.
Connect Sara Jane between Great Southwest and
SH 360 behind the land for the outlet mall.
Build Lynn Creek Parkway from the entrance of
Lynn Creek Park west to SH 360.
THE BEST GOLF DISCOUNTS IN GP
Introducing the brand-new website that brings you
the best deals you can find for Grand Prairie's awardwinning public golf courses – GrandGolfDeals.com.
Grand Golf Deals offers FREE printable coupons for
Tangle Ridge and Prairie Lakes golf courses. Visit
GrandGolfDeals.com to sign-up for your free account
today.
Dream Big
Play Hard
www.GrandPrairieMemorialGardens.com
Lynn
Creek Park
opens for
the season
on Saturday,
Feb. 26.
Hours of
operation
are 6 a.m.10 p.m.
Lynn Creek
Park, 5700
Lake Ridge
Parkway,
has more
than 100
individual
picnic pavilions, a playground, swimming beach,
boat ramps, sand volleyball, and
plenty of open space to toss the football. Single vehicle admission is free
for Grand Prairie residents excluding
select holidays and special events. Call
817-467-2104 for more information or
visit GrandFunGP.com.
www.gptx.org
2010 BY THE NUMBERS
Demographics
Land Area
Population
Median Age
Median Household Income
Development
New Single Family
Building Permits
Issued
Value of Average
Single Family Permit
New Commercial/
Industrial Square Feet
(Projects underway and
proposed)
80 Sq. Miles
169,350
32
$51,012
478
$217,698
629,704
Top Taxpayers
Bell Helicopter, Inc.
Oncor Electric Delivery
Vought Aircraft
Republic Beverage
Prologis
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Duke Realty Ltd. PS
AT&T Communications
Cardinal Health 200 LLC
CCDA Waters LLC
Municipal Employees
Police/Fire Civil Service
General Employees
Seasonal/Part-Time
Crossing Guards
Libraries
Main Library
Total Collection
Warmack Branch
Total Collection
Bowles Branch
Total Collection
430
715
92
72
154,191
50,173
9,749
Property Tax Rates
(Per $100 Assessed Property Value)
City of Grand Prairie
$0.669998
Grand Prairie ISD
$1.465000
Arlington ISD
$1.335000
Cedar Hill ISD
$1.440000
Mansfield ISD
$1.496000
Dallas County
$0.2431
Tarrant County
$0.2640
Retail Sales Tax Rates
City
AirHogs Ballpark
Active Adult Center
Parks Improvements
Street Improvements
Crime Control District
State
Total Sales Tax
1.00000
0.12500
0.12500
0.25000
0.25000
0.25000
6.25%
8.25%
Grand Prairie’s Top Employers
Grand Prairie ISD
3,300
Lockheed Martin Missiles
and Fire Control
3,000
Poly-America, Inc.
1,800
Bell Helicopter-Textron 1,300
Lone Star Park at Grand
Prairie
1,200
City of Grand Prairie
1,100
Triumph Aerostructures –
Vought Aircraft Industries,
Inc.
700
American Eurocopter
500
Republic National
Distributing
500
Siemens Energy and
Automation
500
Wal-Mart
500
Operating Budget (2010-2011)
(Total appropriations and reserves)
General Fund
$97,215,594
Water/Wastewater
$51,080,182
Other
$53,301,909
TOTAL
$201,597,685
Parks and Recreation
Acres of Park Land
Number of Parksites
Rounds of Golf Played
Ruthe Jackson Center
Events
(more than 105,000 guests)
5,002
58
62,349
922
The Summit Members
4,900
Special Events Attendees 25,388
Cemetery Spaces Sold
249
Utilities
Water Production
(Avg. Gallons/Day)
Fire Hydrants
Miles of Water Lines
Miles of Collection Line
Customer Accounts
24.5 million
7,134
776
752
44,228
Solid Waste
Tons of Garbage Disposed
Tons of Commercial
Recycling
(at landfill)
Tons of Residential
Recycling
at the Landfill
at the Curb
at Drop Sites
Transportation
Municipal Airport
Takeoffs/Landings
Grand Connection
Bus Passengers
164,080.08
24,978.34
5,337.46
3,748.78
1,049.52
71,140
48,800
COMING SOON TO THE
UPTOWN THEATER
Don't miss great performances
at the Uptown Theater in 2011. The
theater, located on 120 E. Main St.
in downtown Grand Prairie will soon
feature the following shows:
Tejas Brothers
Friday, March 4
CD release concert
A cool fusion of
country, rock,
blues and
Tex Mex music.
Edge of Knight
Saturday, March 19
An interactive performance of
“War of the Roses” featuring
knights in skilled combat.
Motherload
Friday, April 1 Saturday, April 2
A New Comedy:
one-woman show
by Amy Wilson that
mixes motherhood,
comedy, and true confession.
For tickets visit
www.uptowntheatergp.com
or call 972-237-8786.
Produced by city of Grand Prairie Communications Department, Contact: Cami McKillop 972-237-8108 or e-mail [email protected]