Coffee, donuts and a  chat with the mayor is a good way to start off a Monday morning and the way Frisco Mayor Maher Maso starts off his Monday morning once a month.

‘Coffee with the Mayor’ is program Maso started in 2008 to maintain open lines of communication with the residents of Frisco.

At this morning’s coffee the Mayor talked about the NCCA coming to town in Jan. 2011 and what the city is doing to prepare.

Other topics he covered included the census. He is encouraging all residents to fill out their census form when it comes in mid-March and return it. There are no more long forms and this year’s form is the shortest ever.  The census was last taken in Frisco in 2000 and the city has seen tremendous growth since then. It is important that every resident in Frisco is counted because federal funding and grants are based on the population of cities.

He briefly spoke on the low income or section 8 housing project that appeared on the city council agenda last month. The city did give letters of support to the two projects that want to build in Frisco. The projects are now going through the application process and are number 31 and 40 on the list of projects that the state is considering giving grants to. The outcome of the process will not be known until July or later.

The Arts of Collin County is also something he addressed. Many residents have expressed concerns about the rising cost of the project. The bond ACC is asking for is $19 which is the same amount they have been asking for all along. Maso said the Maintenance and Operation cost of the project were estimated between $110,000 and $440,000 back in 2003 and even with the rise in operating cost it should still fall within that range. The city council is having at meeting at 2 p.m. today to decide whether or not to re-vote on the ACC project.

The topics for the meeting came for residents that attended. The program is open to any resident in Frisco. The next ‘Coffee with the Mayor’ is scheduled for April 12 at 8 a.m. on the fifth floor of the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center.