Southlake Times > News
2008 Top 10 for Southlake
Carillon gets approved
After much opposition and more than 13 months of work with the city and council, Jeff Kennemer, Hines Developer for the Carillon project, finally saw his project passed by city council, 7-0, on Nov. 18.
“It feels great,” Kennemer said.
The 285-acre mixed development project passed is much different than the original proposed development that included 500,000 square feet of retail, 600,000 square feet of office and 455 housing units.
The approved project will have no masons or attached housing, instead there will be three villas that will help serve as the transition housing between the commercial and residential district. These smaller villas will have zero lot lines and a very tasteful knee wall that will be constructed of brick pillars and wrought iron. The villas will increase in size as they are built closer to the Chateaus. The maximum number of houses now allowed will be 404.
The Hines group went to great lengths throughout various stages of planning to try and appease all those who were against the development.
The project will be completed in four phases with housing being done in each phase. The office space will be complete in two of the phases, with 150,000 square feet built in each of the two phases.
Dragon Stadium gets sushi
Sushi made its debut at Dragon Stadium on Sept. 5, the first home game of the season.
“I wanted a healthier choice option,” said Mary Brunig, Child nutritionist for Carroll ISD.
The sushi came in a sample package that included Seattle roll, California roll and Pacific shrimp. The sushi is fully cooked and came flash frozen from Seattle.
The sushi was served fresh from a tiki hut located at the stadium. The sushi is not meant to take the place of barbeque or any of the other traditional foods that are served at the stadium. It is meant to compliment those foods and give people another choice.
Sushi also made its debut at the high school and senior high on Sept. 8.
Superintendent gets housing
The decision was reached Dec. 19 that Carroll I.S.D. superintendent Dr. David Faltys would receive a $5,000 housing allowance per month.
Prior to the decision Faltys was receiving $5,000 a year housing allowance.
The decision about housing was originally approved Oct. 10 that Faltys needed to be provided with housing after Faltys was approached by search firms and individuals about other jobs, but no action was taken at that time.
“He personally has not applied, pressured the board or shared any interest in leaving. He wants to stay here, but as you can imagine some of the jobs available pay better than CISD and would be pretty hard to pass up at least considering,” said Julie Thannum, CISD spokeswoman. “This is a preemptive step on the board’s part to make the CISD job too attractive to ever want to leave.” Faltys has been with the district since January 2006. He was hired through a search firm in 2005 and was previously the superintendent of the Navasota ISD. CISD is the only Class 5A school district in the state to receive an exemplary rating and also earned a perfect score and “superior achievement” on the state’s financial integrity system. Both were received while the district was under the direction of Faltys.
New council members after May elections
City Council election took place in May for Southlake.
Laura K. Hill ran unopposed for re-election to Place 1. Hill, who was elected to fill an unexpired term in August 2004, sought to be elected to her second three-year term.
Three candidates competed for Place 6, to replace Carolyn Morris who was ineligible to seek re-election because of the two-term limit.
Candidates for Place 6 were Ralph Williams, a former member of the Southlake Planning & Zoning Commission; Pamela A. Muller, who served on the Southlake City Council from 1995-97 and Suzanne Maisto, who defines herself as “a full-time mom and part time residential realtor.”
In the race for place six, none of the three candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, so a run off election was held between Maisto and Muller on June 14. Muller won in the run-off election. Muller received 950 of the 1,645 votes cast in the runoff election. That earned her 57.57 percent of the vote while her opponent earned only 42.25 percent of the vote. Muller was officially sworn in and began her third term as part of the city council on July1.
Also part of the May elections was proposition 143 that would instate a three-member civil service board to deal with fire and police department personnel issues. The May 10th election ruled against the proposition with 1,890 residents voting against it.
Southlake teens get curfew
Acts of vandalism in the first quarter of last year prompted the Southlake City Council to pass an ordinance on March 4 instating a teen curfew for Southlake. The curfew applies to youths under 17 and is effective after 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Violators will be issued a citation, and their parents will be called. The municipal court will determine the fine, which is not to exceed $500. Teenagers going from school events or work home will be exempt from the curfew. Former Chief Wade Goolsby of the Southlake DPS said in his research of surrounding areas and his experience in other communities with curfews he found a reduction in the amount of problems in cities that have curfews.
Radio host Russ Martin arrested
Local radio host for KLLI-FM (Live 105.3), Russ Martin, was arrested by Southlake police on July 18 for charges of aggravated assault, according to police records.
The report stated his fiancé alleged that they had both a verbal and physical confrontation on July 14 at his home in Southlake. After investigating the woman’s report, an arrest warrant was issued for aggravated assault and assault-bodily injury-deadly weapon.
Martin was arrested at Larry North Fitness Center on Friday morning. He did not resist arrest and was not armed at the time. He posted a $10,000 bond at the Keller jail a few hours later.
According to the affidavit the woman had her hair pulled out, a bruise on her left thigh and an abrasion behind her right ear. Martin also waved a loaded gun during part of the fight before removing the magazine out of the gun and letting the victim leave. He also gave her back her things at this time and she left to stay with her parents.
After taking some time off Martin was allowed to return to his job as an on air radio host but was later let go in early December His termination had nothing to do with his police record that also included a DWI according to police records, but rather his station changed to an all-sports format and he was no longer needed. Martin has been doing radio in the Dallas area for more than 25 years.
Police department sees change
The police department went through some changes this year after Lt. Mike Kenney was fired last year then reinstated, Chief Wade Goolsby resigned and Fire Chief Robert Finn was made police chief. Disturbances started October 2007, when Kenny made complaint that the current Chief Goolsby was using city recourses to do unauthorized background checks and that Goolsby created a hostile work environment.
Assistant City manager Jim Blagg later issued a memo that said the search Goolsby requested was found to be against city policy and cost the department 25 cents. Goolsby was reprimanded for the personal use of city resources. The search Kenny spoke of was done by another officer and it was determined during the investigation that Kenny knew this. Based on that, Blagg stated in a January report that, Kenny “violated DPS general orders and city personnel policies by intentionally making false accusations of a criminal charge against Goolsby.” On Jan. 9 Kenny was terminated, and he was reinstated in March 2008.
The district attorney’s office concluded that information presented by the complaining witnesses did not establish a criminal event. A Tarrant County grand jury reviewed the investigation into the department and made the decision to terminate the grand jury without criminal charges.
Because it was suggested by the district attorney that some of the issues needed further study, the city council commissioned McNally and Langberg to study the matter.
McNally and Associates were hired to offer analysis into eight cases presented to a Tarrant County grand jury, related to issues within the Southlake Police Department and identified the means for improvement and change within the department.
The report goes on to say that communication was poor among most areas of the department and that Goolsby was not well received, though this perception may not have been entirely of his own accord.
The investigation concluded that in all eight cases reviewed there was no wrong doing on Goolsby’s part. Goolsby resigned prior to the June 6 release date of the McNally-Langberg report.
Finn was named Southlake’s interim police chief following the resignation chief Goolsby.
Finn was set to serve as interim chief until a qualified candidate was found to fill the position. Upon conclusion of interviews in early fall it was decided that Finn would be named the new and permanent Police Chief and that interim fire Chief Mike Starr would be name permanent new fire chief.
Carroll Education Foundation gives 28 grants
About 1,000 people gathered this October in support of Carroll Education foundation and their annual fundraiser: Culinary Celebration. The room was filled with parents, leaders in the community, school board members and the superintendent. It seemed that about everyone opened their stomachs and pocketbooks to support the CEF.
The once-a-year event featured chefs from around the area. The chefs gather to volunteer their time and offer a variety of creations during Culinary Celebration. The event to raises funds for the Carroll Education Foundation which allows the group to award grants to teachers to further education and scholarships to seniors.
The event, in its sixth year, will offer 31 chefs from restaurants including Brio Tuscan Grill, Copelands, Coal Vines, Cool River Timmaron Country Club, Bob’s Steak and Chop House and many more
Another component of the Culinary Celebration is the silent auction. One of the new items to the auction this year is a trip to Tuscany for two. The trip is a romantic getaway where the winner will have the chance to learn about Italian cooking and see the country side. The trip went for $12,000.
“We raised about $285,000 and were very pleased with that amount,” said CEF Executive Director Kacy Hankins said.
CEF was able to hand out 28 grants to deserving teachers from the money the event raised.
City improves communication with citizens through Connect -CTY
The city launched a new system to alert residents called the Connect-CTY. The system works like a reverse 911 call.
Connect-CTY works basically as a database. The city keeps a record of everyone's home phone numbers, and those who wish to add their work number, cell number or e-mail can do so through the city's Web site.
Should the city need to alert residents of something serious, like evacuations or missing children, or something less severe like a city meeting, the system will call the registered residents simultaneously and a city official's personalized voice message will be delivered.
So far the system has not been used for any major emergencies but has been used for such things as announcing SPIN meetings, alerting residents about holiday garage pick-ups gas main breaks and drought conditions and other such things.
The system can be used to call a certain section of the city or the whole city.
“Generally speaking the response to the system has been overwhelming positive,” said city spokes person Pilar Schank.
The city is still adding numbers to the database. To sign up an alternate number, to sign up a land-line number if it's unpublished, or to opt out of the program, go to cityofsouthlake.com/southlakegovernment/city_departments/citymanagersoffice/connect_cty_homepage.asp.
Southlake updates drilling ordinances
The Barnett Shale has attracted gas companies from all over the county and this year those companies made their way to Southlake trying to lease up land. The sudden interest in drilling made the city reconsider their drilling ordinances and make some changes. The old ordinances had not been updated since 2004.
The city visited many drilling sites and spent four months preparing the changers to the ordinance. The changes passed in May.
According to the city oil and gas ordinance, no well may be drilled closer than 1,000 feet from any residential structure or commercial building or within 1,000 feet from the boundary line of any abutting property with a public building, hospital, institution or day care center.
The change to the distances of drilling from structures is just the beginning of what companies must go through in Southlake.
To drill in Southlake, a company must first buy or lease the mineral rights to a piece of property, and then must apply for a specific use permit (SUP) and then a gas permit from the city. The permit fee for the SUP in Southlake is $15,000, which is double the cost of some of the surrounding areas.
Property has been leased within the city but no company has gone through the steps to apply for the SUP.
After much opposition and more than 13 months of work with the city and council, Jeff Kennemer, Hines Developer for the Carillon project, finally saw his project passed by city council, 7-0, on Nov. 18.
“It feels great,” Kennemer said.
The 285-acre mixed development project passed is much different than the original proposed development that included 500,000 square feet of retail, 600,000 square feet of office and 455 housing units.
The approved project will have no masons or attached housing, instead there will be three villas that will help serve as the transition housing between the commercial and residential district. These smaller villas will have zero lot lines and a very tasteful knee wall that will be constructed of brick pillars and wrought iron. The villas will increase in size as they are built closer to the Chateaus. The maximum number of houses now allowed will be 404.
The Hines group went to great lengths throughout various stages of planning to try and appease all those who were against the development.
The project will be completed in four phases with housing being done in each phase. The office space will be complete in two of the phases, with 150,000 square feet built in each of the two phases.
Dragon Stadium gets sushi
Sushi made its debut at Dragon Stadium on Sept. 5, the first home game of the season.
“I wanted a healthier choice option,” said Mary Brunig, Child nutritionist for Carroll ISD.
The sushi came in a sample package that included Seattle roll, California roll and Pacific shrimp. The sushi is fully cooked and came flash frozen from Seattle.
The sushi was served fresh from a tiki hut located at the stadium. The sushi is not meant to take the place of barbeque or any of the other traditional foods that are served at the stadium. It is meant to compliment those foods and give people another choice.
Sushi also made its debut at the high school and senior high on Sept. 8.
Superintendent gets housing
The decision was reached Dec. 19 that Carroll I.S.D. superintendent Dr. David Faltys would receive a $5,000 housing allowance per month.
Prior to the decision Faltys was receiving $5,000 a year housing allowance.
The decision about housing was originally approved Oct. 10 that Faltys needed to be provided with housing after Faltys was approached by search firms and individuals about other jobs, but no action was taken at that time.
“He personally has not applied, pressured the board or shared any interest in leaving. He wants to stay here, but as you can imagine some of the jobs available pay better than CISD and would be pretty hard to pass up at least considering,” said Julie Thannum, CISD spokeswoman. “This is a preemptive step on the board’s part to make the CISD job too attractive to ever want to leave.” Faltys has been with the district since January 2006. He was hired through a search firm in 2005 and was previously the superintendent of the Navasota ISD. CISD is the only Class 5A school district in the state to receive an exemplary rating and also earned a perfect score and “superior achievement” on the state’s financial integrity system. Both were received while the district was under the direction of Faltys.
New council members after May elections
City Council election took place in May for Southlake.
Laura K. Hill ran unopposed for re-election to Place 1. Hill, who was elected to fill an unexpired term in August 2004, sought to be elected to her second three-year term.
Three candidates competed for Place 6, to replace Carolyn Morris who was ineligible to seek re-election because of the two-term limit.
Candidates for Place 6 were Ralph Williams, a former member of the Southlake Planning & Zoning Commission; Pamela A. Muller, who served on the Southlake City Council from 1995-97 and Suzanne Maisto, who defines herself as “a full-time mom and part time residential realtor.”
In the race for place six, none of the three candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote, so a run off election was held between Maisto and Muller on June 14. Muller won in the run-off election. Muller received 950 of the 1,645 votes cast in the runoff election. That earned her 57.57 percent of the vote while her opponent earned only 42.25 percent of the vote. Muller was officially sworn in and began her third term as part of the city council on July1.
Also part of the May elections was proposition 143 that would instate a three-member civil service board to deal with fire and police department personnel issues. The May 10th election ruled against the proposition with 1,890 residents voting against it.
Southlake teens get curfew
Acts of vandalism in the first quarter of last year prompted the Southlake City Council to pass an ordinance on March 4 instating a teen curfew for Southlake. The curfew applies to youths under 17 and is effective after 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Violators will be issued a citation, and their parents will be called. The municipal court will determine the fine, which is not to exceed $500. Teenagers going from school events or work home will be exempt from the curfew. Former Chief Wade Goolsby of the Southlake DPS said in his research of surrounding areas and his experience in other communities with curfews he found a reduction in the amount of problems in cities that have curfews.
Radio host Russ Martin arrested
Local radio host for KLLI-FM (Live 105.3), Russ Martin, was arrested by Southlake police on July 18 for charges of aggravated assault, according to police records.
The report stated his fiancé alleged that they had both a verbal and physical confrontation on July 14 at his home in Southlake. After investigating the woman’s report, an arrest warrant was issued for aggravated assault and assault-bodily injury-deadly weapon.
Martin was arrested at Larry North Fitness Center on Friday morning. He did not resist arrest and was not armed at the time. He posted a $10,000 bond at the Keller jail a few hours later.
According to the affidavit the woman had her hair pulled out, a bruise on her left thigh and an abrasion behind her right ear. Martin also waved a loaded gun during part of the fight before removing the magazine out of the gun and letting the victim leave. He also gave her back her things at this time and she left to stay with her parents.
After taking some time off Martin was allowed to return to his job as an on air radio host but was later let go in early December His termination had nothing to do with his police record that also included a DWI according to police records, but rather his station changed to an all-sports format and he was no longer needed. Martin has been doing radio in the Dallas area for more than 25 years.
Police department sees change
The police department went through some changes this year after Lt. Mike Kenney was fired last year then reinstated, Chief Wade Goolsby resigned and Fire Chief Robert Finn was made police chief. Disturbances started October 2007, when Kenny made complaint that the current Chief Goolsby was using city recourses to do unauthorized background checks and that Goolsby created a hostile work environment.
Assistant City manager Jim Blagg later issued a memo that said the search Goolsby requested was found to be against city policy and cost the department 25 cents. Goolsby was reprimanded for the personal use of city resources. The search Kenny spoke of was done by another officer and it was determined during the investigation that Kenny knew this. Based on that, Blagg stated in a January report that, Kenny “violated DPS general orders and city personnel policies by intentionally making false accusations of a criminal charge against Goolsby.” On Jan. 9 Kenny was terminated, and he was reinstated in March 2008.
The district attorney’s office concluded that information presented by the complaining witnesses did not establish a criminal event. A Tarrant County grand jury reviewed the investigation into the department and made the decision to terminate the grand jury without criminal charges.
Because it was suggested by the district attorney that some of the issues needed further study, the city council commissioned McNally and Langberg to study the matter.
McNally and Associates were hired to offer analysis into eight cases presented to a Tarrant County grand jury, related to issues within the Southlake Police Department and identified the means for improvement and change within the department.
The report goes on to say that communication was poor among most areas of the department and that Goolsby was not well received, though this perception may not have been entirely of his own accord.
The investigation concluded that in all eight cases reviewed there was no wrong doing on Goolsby’s part. Goolsby resigned prior to the June 6 release date of the McNally-Langberg report.
Finn was named Southlake’s interim police chief following the resignation chief Goolsby.
Finn was set to serve as interim chief until a qualified candidate was found to fill the position. Upon conclusion of interviews in early fall it was decided that Finn would be named the new and permanent Police Chief and that interim fire Chief Mike Starr would be name permanent new fire chief.
Carroll Education Foundation gives 28 grants
About 1,000 people gathered this October in support of Carroll Education foundation and their annual fundraiser: Culinary Celebration. The room was filled with parents, leaders in the community, school board members and the superintendent. It seemed that about everyone opened their stomachs and pocketbooks to support the CEF.
The once-a-year event featured chefs from around the area. The chefs gather to volunteer their time and offer a variety of creations during Culinary Celebration. The event to raises funds for the Carroll Education Foundation which allows the group to award grants to teachers to further education and scholarships to seniors.
The event, in its sixth year, will offer 31 chefs from restaurants including Brio Tuscan Grill, Copelands, Coal Vines, Cool River Timmaron Country Club, Bob’s Steak and Chop House and many more
Another component of the Culinary Celebration is the silent auction. One of the new items to the auction this year is a trip to Tuscany for two. The trip is a romantic getaway where the winner will have the chance to learn about Italian cooking and see the country side. The trip went for $12,000.
“We raised about $285,000 and were very pleased with that amount,” said CEF Executive Director Kacy Hankins said.
CEF was able to hand out 28 grants to deserving teachers from the money the event raised.
City improves communication with citizens through Connect -CTY
The city launched a new system to alert residents called the Connect-CTY. The system works like a reverse 911 call.
Connect-CTY works basically as a database. The city keeps a record of everyone's home phone numbers, and those who wish to add their work number, cell number or e-mail can do so through the city's Web site.
Should the city need to alert residents of something serious, like evacuations or missing children, or something less severe like a city meeting, the system will call the registered residents simultaneously and a city official's personalized voice message will be delivered.
So far the system has not been used for any major emergencies but has been used for such things as announcing SPIN meetings, alerting residents about holiday garage pick-ups gas main breaks and drought conditions and other such things.
The system can be used to call a certain section of the city or the whole city.
“Generally speaking the response to the system has been overwhelming positive,” said city spokes person Pilar Schank.
The city is still adding numbers to the database. To sign up an alternate number, to sign up a land-line number if it's unpublished, or to opt out of the program, go to cityofsouthlake.com/southlakegovernment/city_departments/citymanagersoffice/connect_cty_homepage.asp.
Southlake updates drilling ordinances
The Barnett Shale has attracted gas companies from all over the county and this year those companies made their way to Southlake trying to lease up land. The sudden interest in drilling made the city reconsider their drilling ordinances and make some changes. The old ordinances had not been updated since 2004.
The city visited many drilling sites and spent four months preparing the changers to the ordinance. The changes passed in May.
According to the city oil and gas ordinance, no well may be drilled closer than 1,000 feet from any residential structure or commercial building or within 1,000 feet from the boundary line of any abutting property with a public building, hospital, institution or day care center.
The change to the distances of drilling from structures is just the beginning of what companies must go through in Southlake.
To drill in Southlake, a company must first buy or lease the mineral rights to a piece of property, and then must apply for a specific use permit (SUP) and then a gas permit from the city. The permit fee for the SUP in Southlake is $15,000, which is double the cost of some of the surrounding areas.
Property has been leased within the city but no company has gone through the steps to apply for the SUP.
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