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The Magnolia City Council approved a resolution April 9, to brand the central business district within the city limits as "Magnolia Town Center." This is good news for City Administrator Paul Mendes and former Economic Development Coordinator Deborah Rose Miller, both of whom have spent the better part of the last two years working on the city's comprehensive plan, which included a recommendation to re-brand the business area.

Traditionally, the legacy area of Magnolia included the streets and businesses around the intersection of FM 1488 and FM 1774, east to Magnolia Ridge and south to Unity Park – the actual Magnolia city limits area. But the heaviest population growth in recent years has been on the eastern edge of the extraterrestrial jurisdiction.

"We have worked hard to extend the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city all the way east to the edge of The Woodlands, so that Magnolia has plenty of room to expand," said Miller.

Recently, the east side around Magnolia Parkway has taken off, with new businesses going in every month. Many of the businesses on the east side of town also havelocations on the west side, within the legacy area. It is not unusual for two locations of the same business to both have FM 1488 addresses, but miles apart, with  one located on the eastern side and one on the western side. This results in confusion for customers.

"This resolution was about branding and definition," said Mendes. "We really wanted to make it easy to define location."

He also stated the city wanted to preserve the name Magnolia Town Center to prevent a developer or builder from using it first.

"It's a lot like registering a domain name for your business so that no one else can get it," he explained.

The Magnolia Town Center will also have a more defined business area. Mendes pointed out that the widening of FM 1774 is now slated to begin in June of this year and will take about 20 months to complete.

Following the widening, a sidewalk will be installed along the west side of FM 1774 from FM 1488 to the school, which will make it easier for people to walk in the area and visit multiple shops.

Magnolia businesses are ready to start defining their location as part of the Magnolia Town Center.

Several believe the new nomenclature will clear up any confusion about which part of the city they are located in and others just believe the new name has a positive ring.
Rene Benitez, owner of Las Fuentes Mexican Restaurant, appreciates the new name.

"We had a location on both ends of FM 1488 and there was a lot of confusion. This will definitely clear that up," he stated.

Papa John's Pizza has multiple Magnolia locations, which are actually owned by different franchises.

Jake Schaub, shift manager of the central Magnolia store, feels the new term will make it easier to define where his store is.

"When people call, we always need to give them directions to make sure they have the location they want," he said. "We usually say we are in the heart of Magnolia, but this name will simplify things for us."

Viren Vansadia and his wife Lila own the Magnolia Inn & Suites and haven't found that customers are confused about their location. Vinsadia does like the new name, however.

"Magnolia Town Center sounds better; it's a more upscale name than 'Magnolia West' or 'Magnolia East.' It's a good idea," he said.

Miller wants the new brand to help provide a positive connotation for Magnolia by imparting a dynamic, yet historical, identification for the central business area.

"This is one way we can demonstrate that the city population is actually more than the thousand-plus that was shown on our sign for years and years," she said. "We are now at more than 138,000 and we are starting to look like it."

Recently elected or re-elected Magnolia City Council members Anne Sundquist, Jeff Chumley and Richard Carby were sworn in at the city council meeting June 11 and Patsy Williams was re-elected Mayor Pro Tem for the city.

Council members approved $5,000 for the Renaissance Festival for its 2013 sponsorship of the city. They then agreed to approve a contract, once amendments including a reschedule date and insurance statement are added, for $10,000 to American Fireworks, for the display planned for the Fourth of July Celebration in Unity Park.
The city budget workshop is scheduled for June 18, and City Administrator Paul Mendes mentioned that now, in the fourth quarter of this year's budget, only 66% of the funds have been spent, which he says, is a reflection of good planning.

The topic of annexation came up again, with several small-acre parcels near the current city limits being annexed by the council. They approved creation of a water control and improvement district within the area of extraterritorial jurisdiction and agreed to add a realtor to the Impact Fee Advisory Committee.

Council also agreed to appointments to fill completed terms on 4A Economic Development Corporation, the 4B Community Development Corporation and the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The council authorized Sugar Land based Kendig Keast Collaborative to review all residential and commercial ordinances and make recommendations on behalf of the city's comprehensive plan which was adopted in April. Kendig Keast was instrumental in the formulation and publishing of the plan, which can be found on the city's website.

Council members approved a cost of service adjustment clause for the services of Hughes Natural Gas that will result in an annual rate evaluation, instead of going several years without a change, which could result in a sudden high cost increase. This year the rate will go down, thanks to lower natural gas prices.

Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra reported that the loose dog ordinance is being enforced and mentioned an arrest warrant will be issued if a citizen gets bitten.

Magnolia experienced a bank robbery last month, but the perpetrators were caught within 45 minutes by vigilant Magnolia PD officers and "Every dollar was returned to the bank," according to Ibarra.

The red light cameras are still bringing in city revenue, but most of the violators seem to have learned their lesson, Ibarra said. He went on to mention that 91 percent of the violators do not repeat and there has been a 73 percent reduction in violations recently. Ibarra also mentioned that most of the red light violations take place on Saturdays.

Ibarra requested that ammunition funding be allocated at least a year ahead due to the fact that ammunition is becoming difficult to obtain all over the nation. He stated that Sgt. Holman was made the supervising officer for the Police Reserve Program, and that the department recently submitted a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant application to the Federal government. If accepted, this grant could save the city up to 75% of the salary for an additional officer. 

City Administrator Paul Mendes reported that the court revenues last month were $51,000 and the code enforcement is continuing, even from the hospital bed of the code enforcement officer, who is recovering from a health issue. Mendes stated that building permits continue to rise, and a big-box store, Tractor Supply, will be breaking ground soon for its building on Buddy Riley Blvd.

Magnolia Scout Troop 1114's Michael Schneider, who recently earned his Eagle Scout rank, received a plaque from Mayor Todd Kana. Schneider is the second Troop 1114 Scout from Magnolia United Methodist Church to earn the rank of Eagle Scout in 2013. Schneider's Eagle project improved the safety of the church's parking lot using directional traffic signs. He graduated this year from Klein High School and plans to attend Lone Star College University Park in the fall.

Due to scheduling conflicts, the next scheduled Council meeting was moved from July 9 to July 16 at 8 p.m.

The Magnolia Farmers and Artisans Market, also known as Sweet Magnolia Pickins, is now offering vendors a rebate. Market manager Boo Henderson explains it is due to a new fee charged by the county.

“For vendors who sign on with the market for six months or more, we will cover the cost of the new food vendor permit, should the county require one,” she said. “Let me emphasize this is for food vendors subject to the new permit, only.”

A new state law allows counties to require a new permit for any food vendors that pass out samples or are required to keep temperatures at a constant level. While only some Texas counties have chosen to enact the new permit, Montgomery County is requiring it.

Regardless of the status, the local market wants to keep vendors. As a result, the City of Magnolia 4B Economic Development Corporation that operates the market is making the “rebate” offer.

“We have had many loyal vendors since we began in 2008,” Henderson said. “And, many people come to find these particular vendors at our markets. We don’t want this new permit to scare them away so we have found a way to recoup their possible extra expense of approximately $125 per year and are offering to cover it.”

In other news, the market will hold a costume contest for children at 2 p.m., Oct. 21. All area children are invited to turn out for this special fall market and “trick or treat” at each vendor for no fee.

The Magnolia Farmers and Artisans Market is held on the first and third Sundays of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,

There is no admission for Sweet Magnolia Pickins and parking is free. Visit, sweetmagnoliapickins.net for more information or a vendor application, or call Henderson at 832-934-2648.

Where there's smoke, there's fire and the trail of smoke in Magnolia March 22 and 23, will lead to more than 50 barbecue teams at Unity Park. The Greater Magnolia Chamber of Commerce will host its 19th annual barbecue cook-off, called the Magnolia Showdown.

Along with watching cookers at their best, tasting a few samples and seeing outstanding showmanship exhibits; there will be free live music by the Philip Griffin Band beginning at 8 p.m., March 22. 

For the third consecutive year, the cook-off will be at the 30-acre Unity Park off Nichols-Sawmill Road. Ven-dors offering specialty items return to the cook-off this year.

"This is a really big event," GMCC Magnolia Showdown Chair Gari Lynn Hessong said. "We never have a shortage of good food or fun."

Special accomodations for competitors and visitors are being offered at both the Executive Inn & Suites of Magnolia, or at Magnolia Inn & Suites. For more information visit www.executiveinnmagnolia.com, or magnoliainnandsuites.com.

The Greater Magnolia Chamber of Commerce Showdown, co-hosted by the City of Magnolia, is an International Barbecue Cook-ers Association sanctioned event. For details, email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 281-356-1488.

Magnolia resident Frank Parker (right) was recently recognized for his many years of service to the City of Magnolia  as mayor, a councilman, planning commissioner and president of the Magnolia 4B Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. Parker, was elected to  city council in 2000 and mayor in 2001. He was named the 4B board  president in 2004, where he remained  until his retirement last month. A plaque commending Parker for service was presented to him by Mayor Todd Kana (left) at a recent Magnolia City Council meeting.