The city has received more goods news related to sales tax receipts.  The May sales tax revenue is up 25% year over year, and the year-to-date sales tax revenue is up 9%.   Richardson is one of only a few cities in the area with sales tax revenue higher than last year.  

Hennen's American Public Library ranked the Richardson Library number one in Texas for cities of 50K to 100K populations.  Hennen's American Public Library Rankings (HAPLR) is published each year and lists what it considers to be the best public libraries by population of the library's area of service. The Richardson library checks out an average of 302 items every hour.  In Texas the average is 33 and in the US the average is 156.  In the U.S. that record places us at 51st out of 8000 libraries.  Also good news for library patrons, an upgrade to the thirty-year-old Civic Center and Library complex is getting underway.  The City will spend $960K to upgrade the sidewalks and lighting.  Completion of upgrade is scheduled for the November time frame.

The West Spring Valley Corridor Revitalization Study has completed its second community meeting.  The third and final community meeting will be on June 10, and the final presentation to the City will be July 12.

The North Central Council of Governments estimates the population of Richardson to be 101,200.  The City will not celebrate breaking the 100,000 level until the 2010 U.S. census is released.  

All four propositions in the May city Bond election passed.  The average approval rate for propositions was 58.7%.   Approximately 12.2% of eligible voters turned out to vote. While this turnout is not lower than prior bond elections, one of the Coalition's goals is to increase voter turnout in all city elections.  The sale of the bonds is scheduled for June 28, and bidding of projects will start after that to take advantage of area constructions costs that continue to be at recent low levels.

The Tree The Town project received sponsorships from Comerica for another 100 trees to be planted along Campbell Road and from Eltek Valere for more trees to be planted along Duck Creek Park. Tree The Town is a public-private program with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for 50,000 new trees.  Tree The Town is made possible through partnership between the city and Texas Trees Foundation, and Richardson businesses.  Full details of the program can be found at the website: www.treethetown.com
 
The North Texas Council of Government's Regional Transportation Council has taken official action to seek a business partner to help fund the Cotton Belt Rail system.  This should accelerate the construction of the system.  The goal to complete the system is now 2014 rather than the original 2030 that was in the DART proposal.  Richardson is the only city in the area, other than Dallas, to have as many as four stations.  The Cotton Belt line will add a fifth station at UTD.   DART and the Fort Worth Transit Authority (the "T") had both previously approved this plan for pulling in the completion date of the Cotton Belt Line passenger service by using private funds.  The system would extend 52 miles from Fort Worth past UTD and Richardson to Wylie. The plan allows for funding by DART, the T, and private developers.  The North Texas Council of Government's Regional Transportation Council would take over much of the planning for the line and take private bids.

Hill & Wilkinson is planning to move its corporate headquarters from Plano to Richardson, and will lease 27,000-square-foot of space in the city.  It is reported that more than 100 Hill & Wilkinson employees will move into the 190 Tech Park building at 2703 Telecom Pkwy. in mid-August. The company's new office will be near the intersection of the President George Bush Turnpike and Renner and Shiloh roads, and will be slightly larger than its current headquarters in Plano.
The city of Richardson has received a federal grant worth more than $1 million to improve the energy use of its buildings, and it's joining forces with a non-profit to jump-start the process. All told, the city believes the work could generate $300,000 in annual savings on its energy bill.  Part of the grant money will be used to will install sensors at certain facilities to give the city real-time data on how its buildings are consuming energy. This will be done at city hall, the public library, the municipal court building, the public safety building, the Huffhines Recreation Center and the Charles W. Eisemann Center.

The 2010 Richardson Job Fair, sponsored by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas and Richland Community College, will be held on Wednesday, June 9 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Richardson Civic Center located in the Richardson City Hall. There is no cost for job seekers to attend, but they should bring plenty of copies of their resume. Richland College will conduct a free resume writing workshop at the Fair. Last year, over 50 companies - primarily from the Richardson area -- had booths at the Job Fair, and over 1,500 job seekers attended.  Companies and organizations planning to be at the Job Fair this year include Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas, Lennox, Boeing, Volt Workforce Solutions (a hiring arm for Texas Instruments) and The University of Texas at Dallas.

The Richardson Coalition's Award Ceremony to honor this year's Real Hero volunteer finalists was held at the Richardson Civic Center on May 11. The Real Heroes program was started to recognize unsung volunteer heroes who give of their time and talents to the betterment of our city.  They are nominated by their fellow citizens.  The ten finalists this year were:  Peggy Thorburn, Elise Bissell, David Russell, Jim Halt, Glenn McGee, Ann Payne, George Jones, Coutrney Scott, Sandra Wirtz, and Fred Berry.   You can read the volunteer bio of each at the Coalition's website. At the May 11 awards ceremony, each of the finalists was introduced and given a gift of recognition.  The two finalists awarded the "Real Hero of the Year" plaques were:  George Jones and Courtney Scott.  We congratulate all the finalists.