Join the 2022 Waco Wonderland Parade and help spread some holiday cheer!
The City of Waco announced that entries are now being accepted for the annual holiday parade, which returns to downtown Waco Saturday, Dec. 3. If you know a group or organization that would be interested in this opportunity, please let them know. There is no cost to participate.
Presented by the Family of Faith WC Waco, the parade begins at 10 a.m. and travels down Austin Avenue, from 11th Street to 3rd Street.
Registration forms are due by Monday, Nov. 28, and can be downloaded at wacowonderland.com/parade.
By Ferrell Foster
The people are beautiful and colorfully dressed. The landscape is a luscious green of vegetation. But as I rode recently along the highways and roads of rural northern Ghana in West Africa, I asked myself, What makes this place different from home?
The answer that came to my mind surprised me. I do not normally concentrate on the subject, but suddenly out of some deep place in my mind it occurred to me that the difference is infrastructure.
This thoroughly unsexy subject is not something we often think of, but it has come to dominate my thoughts upon returning to Waco.
Jackson, Miss., is providing us the essential lesson in the importance of a city’s infrastructure. Jackson’s water system has failed, and it is extremely difficult for that city and state to navigate the situation.
We all know that every human needs plenty of clean water to drink, and a turn of the faucet delivers it readily to each of our homes. Until it doesn’t.
Water is only one part of a city’s infrastructure. There are roads and bridges, sewers and drainage, electricity and cable, safety and security, zoning and rules. Life in cities is simply unmanageable without great attention to these important matters, and yet most of us think so little about them.
We may think The Silos and Baylor and Amazon and the Brazos are what make Waco special, but none of those things suffice to make group living possible and good. Cities need solid infrastructure.
It’s easy to complain about the poor quality of streets, but we are not so keen to pay the taxes needed to pave and maintain them. It makes me think about the city budget, which, unfortunately, I haven’t even looked at. Shame on me. Shame on all of us who want to make Waco great.
The City has adopted a $694.58 million budget for 2022-23. That’s a whole lot of money, and yet I suspect most of us didn’t study it during the month between its proposal and its adoption.
There’s a nice graphic on the City’s budget web page that shows the major categories of the budget. We can all see that we are expecting the City to do a lot on our behalf:
Infrastructure is there in the midst of lots of things the City will do. I guess all of them are important, and I suspect all of us have our views on levels of importance..
I come home from Ghana thanking my City government for the things we call infrastructure. We have great leadership here in Waco, and they are trying to do what the people of Waco think is important. Maybe all of us should get more into the details — $694.58 million can go a long way.
Ferrell Foster is directing communications for Act Locally Waco. He is president of Kortabocker LLC: Communications Built on Caring. Ferrell also does communications work with Prosper Waco and TBM: Texans on Mission.
WACO, TEXAS (February 11, 2021) – The City of Waco is pleased to announce the selection of Michelle Hicks as the City Secretary, joining the City on May 2, 2022. Michelle began her career in municipal government with the City of Lacy Lakeview in 2003 and brings experience in a variety of government departments, including her most recent role as the Assistant City Manager/City Secretary.
Michelle is a member of the Central Texas Municipal Clerks Association, Texas Municipal Clerks Association, and International Institute of Municipal Clerks. Additionally, she is a Trustee for the TMCA Executive Board and served as the President of the Central Texas Municipal Clerks Association for two years. Michelle obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration through Tarleton State University.
Michelle received her certification from the University of North Texas through the Texas Municipal Clerks Association in January 2015 and completed the CPM (Certified Public Manager) program through Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public service in 2017.
The City Secretary is responsible for the maintenance of all official City records, manages the community’s annual municipal elections and is a critical member of the City leadership team; providing guidance to the Mayor, City Council, and staff throughout the organization.
City Mayor Dillion Meek said, “I am excited to announce the hiring of Michelle for this key leadership role with the City of Waco. Michelle brings expertise in ensuring open and transparent municipal government, and we look forward to having her work collaboratively with elected and appointed city leaders in serving the community.”
From the City of Waco
Five Waco’s have filed for the May 7 City Council election. Positions on the City of Waco ballot include City of Waco Mayor, Council District I and III. Also, the District II special election filing period began Feb. 2 and will differ from the general election filing.
Listed below are the names of those who have filed as of 5 p.m. Feb. 2.
| Mayor Date Filed: 1/19/2022 Dillon Meek 3317 Castle Ave. Waco, TX 76710 Phone: 361-782-8480 Occupation: Attorney | |||
| District I Date Filed: 1/25/2022 Andrea Jackson Barefield 2205 Lindsey Hollow Rd. Waco, TX 76708 Phone: 254-307-9407 Occupation: Executive Director | |||
| District II Date Filed: 2/2/2022 Armando Arvizu 1705 Park Ave. Waco, TX 76706 Phone: 254 413-3417 Occupation: Caregiver | District II Date Filed: 2/2/2022 Tiffany Vidaña 3001 Mildred St. Waco, TX 76706 Phone: 254 717-3987 Occupation: Substitute Teacher | District III Date Filed: 1/19/2022 Josh Borderud 3115 Austin Ave. Waco, TX 76710 Phone: 254 710-4244 Occupation: Attorney |
The last day to file for the General Election is Friday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. The last day to file an application for the Special Election will be Monday, March 7, at 5 p.m. Applications should be filed with the city secretary at the City of Waco City Secretary’s Office, 300 Austin Ave., 1st floor of City Hall. Contact the City Secretary’s Office during normal business hours of Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 254-750-5750 to schedule an appointment.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email the ALW team — [email protected].
Four Waco residents filed for places on the City of Waco ballot in the May 7 general election. Positions on the ballot include mayor and council member for Districts I and III. Also, a special election will be included to select someone to fill an unexpired term for District II.
The following candidates filed by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19:
Mayor — Dillon Meek, attorney
District II — Armando Arvizu, caregiver, and Tiffany Vidaña, substitute teacher
District III — Josh Borderud, attorney
The last day to file is Friday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. to have the name of the candidate placed on the ballot, should be filed with the City Secretary in the City of Waco City Secretary’s Office, 300 Austin Ave., 1st Floor of City Hall. Because City Hall is closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, call the City Secretary’s Office during normal business hours of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 254-750-5750.
By Natalie Galindo
The Waco Convention Center is turning 50 years old in 2022. A come-and-go reception will be held 3-6 p.m. Jan. 26, in the center’s Brazos Ballroom. Remarks and a retrospective of the center’s history will take place at 4 p.m. The public is invited. Light refreshments will be served.
The convention center’s original grand opening celebration took place in January 1972 and featured a week’s worth of entertainment, with top headliner Peter Nero. The original building, consisting of a much smaller footprint and cost almost $2.6 million to build.
In 1988, McLennan Hall, Bosque Theater, and DeCordova Rooms were added to accommodate larger events, at a cost of $1.2 million.
The building enjoyed a $17-million top to bottom renovation in 2012, which added a new wraparound foyer for McLennan Hall, more lobby space, escalators, and more.
“The Waco Convention Center has been the place for so many Wacoans to make memories over the years,” said Dan Quandt, Waco’s interim conventions and tourism director. “Weddings, graduation ceremonies, quinceañeras, dances, and of course conventions have all been held here. These events become part of our lifelong memories. We look forward to serving Waco for the next fifty years and beyond.”
The public is invited to share their memories through photos of events held at the Waco Convention Center over the years, for possible inclusion in the slide show. Please visit wacocc.com/share-your-memories or drop them by in person at the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Avenue. Offices are on the right inside the main doors. For more information, contact Carla Pendergraft, (254) 750-5806.
The Waco Convention Center is a department of the City of Waco.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email the ALW team — [email protected].
A More Connected Waco
Waco Transit System, the City of Waco, and Waco MPO are Reimagining Waco Transit to better serve your needs. With your help, we can improve connectivity and access for everyone in the community.
The project will involve a comprehensive public engagement process with the goal of fostering respectful and informative dialogue about the community’s mobility needs. Check this site for updates and opportunities to share your thoughts throughout the project.
Learn more about this study and take the survey: Reimagine Waco Transit (arcgis.com)
Continue Spreading the Word!
With all the exceptional responses we collected, we are looking for the chance to receive more before we close the survey on January 1, 2022 for the next phase of engagement. Please continue spreading the word with family, friends, and other interested parities in Waco through your networks, social media, and news outlets. The more people we reach, the more accurate our understanding of Waco transportation!
If you have any ideas for how we can reach more people interested in participating in our survey, please respond to this email with suggestions. We are always open to learning about better outreach and looking to improve our methods. The survey can be accessed through our website or this link: https://forms.gle/wPi4mGWqqWRR8eH86
We appreciate your help and look forward to keeping you updated in the future! Your efforts make this project successful!
By Natalie Galindo
Join the City of Waco as we celebrate the first big event at the newly opened Bridge Street Plaza 3-7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, with live performances beginning at 5 p.m. This family-friendly event will feature live music, local food trucks, vendors, arts and crafts, Skate Waco mobile unit, and much more.
This plaza was built with the talent and entrepreneurship of the East Waco community in mind, and thus most of our performers and vendors are from East Waco or have ties to it.
Due to construction on Elm Avenue, access to the plaza will be via Taylor Avenue. We are asking the public to park in designated parking lots along Taylor. These lots include the TFNB (715 Elm), Elm Ave Community Clinic (609 Elm), and City Center Waco (801 Elm).
Parking signage will be deployed to direct people, and a shuttle service will be available for those who have to park blocks from the plaza.
East Side Market at Brotherwell Brewing will be occurring on the same day. So, we are excited about the concentration of activity in the Elm corridor on that day.
City Center Waco is a nonprofit agency that serves as a bridge between community and development in
downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Natalie Galindo is public information communications specialist with the City of Waco.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email the ALW team — [email protected].
The City of Waco is pleased to announce three organizational updates: the selection of Monica Sedelmeier as director of communications and marketing, promotion of Kent George to director of economic development, and placement of Dan Quandt as interim director of conventions and tourism.
Sedelmeier will join the City in mid-December in the communications and marketing role (formerly municipal information). Most recently, she worked as chief marketing and quality officer for a healthcare system in Iowa. She brings prior experience from Houston ISD and Rice University. Sedelmeier holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing, as well as a master’s in business administration.
George was promoted at the beginning of November. He joined the City in 2018 as an economic development manager. He has more than 18 years of experience in local government, as well as prior experience in the private sector. George holds a bachelor’s degree in business. Throughout his tenure with the City, George has worked on some of Waco’s largest economic development projects to date, including the Marriott AC Hotel, the Riverfront Development, Cottonwood Creek Marketplace, and many industrial projects.
The City worked with SGR to locate and contract with an interim conventions and tourism director. Quandt, a 38-year veteran CVB director, joined the City of Waco Nov. 8. Quandt most recently served as senior vice president of the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Council for the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce. He is also a past chairman of the board for the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus and has served as a member of the board of directors for the Texas Travel Industry Association.
Waco City Manager Bradley Ford said: “I am excited to announce the selection of these three individuals for key leadership roles within our organization. Monica brings expertise in both communications and marketing along with strengths in strategic planning and change management, which will be crucial as we look to grow our Communications and Marketing team. The work our Municipal Information team produces is excellent, and we will look to Monica to build upon that team as we implement our strategic communications plan. Kent has worked on many exciting and innovative projects in his time here in Waco. I look forward to the work he will continue to accomplish leading the City’s Economic Development team, including the creation of the City’s new economic development strategic plan. I am thankful we were able to bring Dan on to lead the Conventions and Tourism team in this interim period as we evaluate the Director position posting and the industry market. The experience he brings from the travel and tourism sector is invaluable.”
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email Ferrell Foster.
By the City of Waco
Fall is severe weather season in Central Texas. Stay informed by signing up for free emergency notification by visiting the Heart of Texas Council of Governments website.
HOTCOG, along with Bosque, Hill, Falls, Freestone, Limestone, and McLennan counties, is proud to offer this service to the public at no cost.
This emergency alert system gives local emergency management, public safety, and governmental jurisdictions a chance to inform you directly in case of an emergency incident or public threat. This phone and email system is designed to provide direct emergency messages to the public, quickly and effectively.
Types of events that you may receive messages about are:
- Natural disasters such as fires, floods, tornado warnings, and other severe weather
- Man-made disasters such as bomb threats, hazardous material incidents, or terrorism threats
- Evacuation notices and criminal threats
- Boil water notices or water outages, or
- Public health threats
Sign up with accurate contact information to ensure you can be contacted when emergency messages are sent by your local officials. You will receive time-sensitive messages wherever you specify, such as your home, mobile or business phones, email address, text messages, and more. The provided information will only be used for our emergency notification system and will not be used or released to others.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email Ferrell Foster at [email protected].