A Message From The Mayor

People: Part Two

Good morning!  I wanted to take some time and provide more updates on the Leadership Team for you, Alvarado.  In addition to City Manager, as many of you are aware, we now have a new Police Chief and Fire Chief.  Teddy May joined the Alvarado Police Department in March and has already made an immediate impact.  Valuing relationships, he is connecting with both his team and the community plus we get the benefit of both his experience and vision for the Department.   We welcomed John Rodgers to the Alvarado Fire Department in May.  We deeply appreciate Richard VanWinkle for 45 years of service and wish him and his wife well during retirement.  John’s operations experience in the rapid growth community of Waxahachie and Ellis County will benefit Alvarado directly as we navigate the same issues over the next several years.  These guys are already visible out and about, give them a warm welcome when you see them.   Thank you!

Communication: Part Two

Welcome back! We started this blog by looking at communication and that particular topic has many branches. What I hope to share briefly with y'all today is Accessibility as well. As many are aware, we have our regularly scheduled City Council meetings that are open to the public and I invite you to attend. It is the best way to get your information first hand and engage those that you have elected to represent you. Not everyone can make the meetings though, and we create opportunities for engagement outside of the more formal setting of City Hall. Email addresses and contact information for your representatives can be found on the City's website and you will regularly see these folks at community events. We are also have monthly Coffee and Conversations at Starbucks with your Elected Representatives. Our Facebook page is a great place to keep up with a lot of what we have going on. As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Thank you!

Mayor Coach

We each have pivotal moments in our lives that set our feet on the path we travel. When we reflect on those, there is typically a central figure in that moment. I still remember the day Coach Richters asked me if I had ever considered running for City Council. He saw in me opportunities that I had never even considered. I had the pleasure of serving with him for eight years while he modeled love and service to our community, leading with courage and vision. His legacy continues, we love you, Coach.

Second Post: People

Hello, again Y'all!

I promise I'll quit numbering them after this one. (I hope to lose count one day because we have so many.) I led off last week with communication and want to build on that theme since that's the primary goal of this blog.

There are so many exciting things going on in the City, and we'll cover as many topics as we can, but I wanted to share one of the biggest changes with you. People are the lifeblood of any organization. (This is doubly true in Municipal Government: by its very nature, we are the people that make up Alvarado.) City Staff is the group tasked with providing all the essential services such as Police, Fire, water, and sewer. As you get to know these folks, we have a top tier team that cares deeply about you and our community. In August, Paul DeBuff came on board as our City Manager. Having served in cities such as Celina and Addison, he has the experience to lead as we grow quickly over the next short period of time. His office is at City Hall, but you're just as likely to catch him out and about. He shares our vision for Alvarado's future and I am grateful to have him leading our awesome team. He appreciates your support, and as always, if there is anything I can do for you, holler. Thank you!

Jacob

First Post: Communicating

Hey Y'all!

Welcome to our first blog post and I'm glad you're here! We all know communication is beautiful and critical, and we have been developing tools to improve that very thing between the City and Residents. One of the most exciting things we have coming is a brand new, ground up build for the City's website. Nowadays, that's our Virtual Front Door, and our old website isn't even viewable on a mobile device. A new website increases citizen engagement and improves efficiency in organization and operation. It's going to be great to view recorded Council Meetings, easily find Agendas and Minutes, and have quick access forms to submit online instead of having to go in person. I was hoping to roll out this new blog feature to introduce the website, but the experts say it takes several months before we'll be able to launch. (Edit: you are reading this on the new website now!)

In the meantime, may I ask for your help please? It would be great if we had a lot of photos of our community with permission to use. If you have any to share, email those (as well as any question or concerns you may have), to WheatJ@CityOfAlvarado.org please. Thank you!

Jacob