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City Council

Agenda Request

Agenda Of:

11-03-09

Agenda Request No:

rec-3

Initiated By:

Pat Pollicoff

communications director

Responsible Department:

Communications

Presented By:

James Thompson

mayor

Department Head:

Pat Pollicoff Pat_Pollicoff_initials sig

Communications Director

 

 

Additional Department. Head (s):

N/A

Subject / Proceeding:

Texas Municipal League Awards Recognition

 Exhibits:

N/A

Clearances

Approval

Legal:

N/A

Executive Director:

Judy janecekJudy Initials

Purchasing:

N/A

Asst. City Manager:

n/a

Budget:

N/A

City Manager:

Allen Bogard SIGNATUR

Budget

Expenditure Required:  $

N/A

Amount Budgeted/Reallocation:  $

N/A

Additional Appropriation:  $

N/A

Recommended Action

Present awards.

Executive Summary

The City of Sugar Land was recently honored by receiving two of the five annual Municipal Excellence awards given by Texas Municipal League to cities with populations over 25,000.    The awards were presented Oct. 21 to the Mayor, City Council and City management at the TML annual conference in Fort Worth. Sugar Land received the awards in the category of Communications and City Spirit.

 

TML is a voluntary association of more than 1,200 Texas cities. Its primary objective is to serve the needs and advocate the interests of Texas cities, and it is the largest organization of its kind in the United States. Sugar Land is a TML member.

 

The City’s multi-cultural program and Asian outreach effort was selected among cities as the winner in the Communications category. Judges were impressed with Sugar Land’s strong commitment to citizen communications, and especially the City’s commitment to multi-cultural communication and involvement. Led by a group of citizen leaders, existing programs were enhanced, employee training was planned and provided, new initiatives were implemented and dialogue improved with an important part of the City’s community. Whether through staff-led efforts in public safety or through the city manager’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Team, the City’s goal is to foster an inclusive, understanding and respectful multi-cultural community.

These efforts are focused on three main objectives:

 

·         Enhance the ability for the City to meet the needs of residents of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

·         Promote an understanding of all cultures among all of our residents.

·         Build opportunities for residents of all backgrounds to share in and be a part of Sugar Land, Texan and American traditions.

 

Sugar Land’s Hurricane Ike Volunteer Program was honored as the winner in the City Spirit category. On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike struck Sugar Land leaving over 80% of the City’s residents without power.  City Staff worked day and night to clear debris, ensure roadways were safe and to reestablish City services. The city organized volunteers who stepped in city wide to assist their neighbors and supplement City Staff’s efforts over the following weeks to aid in the recovery.

 

Hurricane Ike volunteers were instrumental in reaching out neighbor-to-neighbor during this difficult period. Recognizing the need for additional assistance in advance of the storm, the city’s established volunteer program, Serve Sugar Land, served as the basis for this volunteer army and was supplemented by residents who answered the call for additional volunteers. In addition to improving conditions short term during the storm, the level of volunteerism increased in the community as a result.

Exhibits

N/A