A message from Rockwall Mayor Jim Pruitt
ROCKWALL, TX (Jan. 6, 2015) I want to thank our outgoing Mayor and County Judge David Sweet for the excitement and leadership he has shown for our city over the past four years. I also want to thank my fellow councilmen who have worked tirelessly in making Rockwall not just a city but a community. I look forward to serving you as Mayor of this dynamic growing community, and want to share some of my visions for the upcoming year.
Fiscal Responsibility
We must concentrate on fiscal responsibility that focuses on the growth in expenditures. Increases in expenditures in the city should be no greater than the rate of inflation plus the increase in population. I am proud that I was part of a council that decreased the tax rate paid by our citizens this past year. I hope to continue this conservative trend.
Residential Development
We should encourage developers to increase the quality and size of homes on the remaining developable residential land in our city. Increases in size and quality of homes will add increased taxable valuation.
Business Development
This city is committed to attracting quality commercial and retail projects. Our Economic Development Corporation must continue to attract great companies like the ones that now call Rockwall home.
The downtown revitalization project should be completed in late summer and will make downtown Rockwall more visitor and pedestrian friendly. We will have entertainment activities on the new plaza and courthouse stages that will continue to support Rockwall being called “The Live Music Capital of North Texas”.
The Harbor District is a jewel that needs to be redefined to encourage its use by residents of our city as well as the many visitors that it attracts annually. The city put money into the Harbor because the council at the time believed in the project – we still believe in that original vision. However, unfortunately, in recent years, communication has broken down between the city and the group that currently owns the harbor retail center and manages or mismanages the assets. While we have on many occasions requested meetings with that group, we have instead been met with lawsuits instead of cooperation. Therefore, I am ready to move forward with developing additional property that the City still owns in the district and try to move beyond the barriers of the past. The Harbor is a jewel that needs to be enjoyed by our residents. Additional parking is a key to that enjoyment and the new parking garage that recently opened will provide some relief from the congested events in the past. I would encourage our residents to rediscover the Harbor and see what a truly spectacular complex it is.
Roadways/Transportation
The council remains committed to improving roadways and transportation. We will continue to partner with Rockwall County to provide relief in this area. But we also need to be vigilant about making repairs to existing streets that have deteriorating concrete and asphalt surfaces which are constantly requiring temporary repairs. I will be asking the city staff to do a comprehensive survey to determine the roads that need these major improvements.
Parks
We must do a better job of informing our citizens of what park facilities, bike and hike trials we already have. We must continue to invest in our existing ball fields, senior and kids programs, and camps.
We have already approved the construction of one of the first all accessible parks in North Texas. Yellowjacket Park will be a place in which children of all abilities can play together without the barriers that exist in many parks. Hopefully this new park can be used as an educational tool to promote better communications between all our residents. In the future, I would additionally like to see the City design a lakeside park which will enhance our lakeside community image.
Volunteerism
I encourage each citizen to get involved in our city in one of our many volunteer opportunities. We must do a better job of publicizing the different volunteer positions available, however. We have a lot of positions that are open. For example, we have a top notch, well trained and well-staffed volunteer fire department, but we can always use additional interested people.
If you want to get involved in this city, we will do our very best to find you a spot that gels with your experience level, interests, or available time commitment. It doesn’t matter if you have ever been involved before. If you want a voice in this city, come talk to us at city hall or go onto our website www.rockwall.com.
Schools
We must maintain a partnership with our schools and continue to put School Resource Officers on the premises of our schools to encourage a safe friendly learning environment. We also need to be vigilant to make sure that these resources are effectively used. SRO’s need to spend more time talking to kids about safety, drugs and other crime related prevention programs. The schools have some great outreach programs for parents – but sometimes they aren’t effectively publicized. We can use city resources to help publicize these great programs which include prevention against drug use, teen suicide, the dangers of the internet, etc.
Customer Service
Our city employees are our best asset. We are in a customer service business – whether you are the water meter reader or a patrol officer. We expect every employee to treat citizens with respect and to do their job as professionally as possible.
As your mayor, I plan to be very accessible to all Rockwall citizens. Open office hours for any citizen wishing discuss any topic with me will be every Monday from noon until 4:00 p.m. If you need to meet another day or another time, just call and we will work out the details. Again, I am so honored to be your mayor, and I look forward to working with each of you to make this the best city in the State of Texas.
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