Recap of City Issues - March 6, 2009

Sue Thompson reports that the first Mayor's Breakfast of this year was held on Friday, March 6th in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.  We had approximately 30+ in attendance, including some new faces attending for the first time.  Mayor Dianne Costa welcomed everyone before asking those in attendance to introduce themselves.  The Mayor and staff made announcements about upcoming events and happenings such as the April 14th HVBA luncheon, the June 6th Red, White and Blue Festival, where to view the State of the City video and updates on FM 407 and FM 2499 construction.  The group also received an update from DCTA representatives about the future A-Train and the funding which was recently received from TXDOT for the project.  The Mayor mentioned the upcoming municipal election including the proposed Charter amendments and the late hours issue for alcohol sales in Highland Village restaurants and bars. The next Mayor's Breakfast is scheduled for June 5th.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

 FF/EMT Mel Harper provided specialized CPR & Healthcare Provider training to nine members of a local Girl Scout Troop.

The Highland Village Fire Department responded to 18 calls for service the week of Feb 27 - Mar 5th. This included: 15 medical emergencies, 1 vehicle lock out, 1 public assist, and 1 traffic accident.

On March 02, 2009 Corporal David Harney and Corporal April Roppolo presented the BHMS choir with the HVPD Student certificates for the great job they did at Rambling Oaks for Valentine's Day.

On March 02,2009 Corporal David Harney and Corporal April Roppolo presented Dillon Nickels a Marcus student with an HVPD certificate. Dillon turned in a $400 Blackberry in February and the owner was very thankful.

 STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

 The Street Division:

• Made some asphalt street repair 217 and 213 Village Tree Drive and made some concrete street repairs at 3025 Woodhollow Drive
• Cracksealed Sunday Haus Lane, Post Oak Street, Doubletree Drive, Shade Tree Drive, and Village Tree Drive.
• Finished the bicycle logo and paint the stripes on Sellmeyer Lane and stop bars in various locations.

Scott Kriston attended the TX DOT FM 2499 phase 4 weekly project meeting this week.  The TX DOT FM 2499 project status  is as follows:  The contractor is installing the pillar cross members for the proposed bridges at Poindexter Branch & installed some drill shafts on the Hickory Creek Branch of Lake Lewisville.  The contractor is installing retaining walls along the entire project.  The contractor completed the concrete pouring on the north bound lanes from the KCS Railroad to FM 407.  They are currently pouring the concrete pavement cut-outs and drive entrances.  They anticipate switching traffic to the new pavement by the end of March.

Utility crews:

• Poured a concrete pad at LS 1 to be able to dump the City's flush-vac truck liquids.
• Are assisting ITT Flygt with annual lift station preventative maintenance. All lift station pumps are pulled and thoroughly inspected and fluids are changed.
• Responded to six after hours emergency calls.
• Repaired several water line valve pads, and poured concrete to repair sidewalks and driveways that were damaged from recent excavations.
• Performed three excavations to repair a water leaks throughout the distribution system.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.

Drainage crews began installation of a gabion mattress in the creek located behind the 800 block of Highland Hills Lane.

Scott Kriston & Justin Praesel met with Prime Controls to discuss the SCADA portion of the Oak St. Well Lot pump station painting and rehab project.

Matthew Kite & Scott Kriston attended a DCTA utility coordination meeting this week for the proposed A-Train Project along I-35E.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

On Monday, Rhoda Savage,  Tommy White, Andra Boxberger, Laurie Mullens, Lori Wright, Karen Bradley, Sue Thompson, Fince' Espinoza and Heather Castillo attended the first Red White and Blue planning meeting.

North crew has been re-doing shrub beds at City Hall adding plants and topsoil.

The South crew is involved in baseball and soccer field preparation and replacing lights at all athletic fields at Unity Park.

Pilot Knoll crew is replacing the roof on the day use restroom.

Tony Palesano has been making irrigation repairs at Unity Park as well as other parks in the City.

Tommy White met with Dave Myers of VMC concerning the upcoming mowing contract with the City.

Senior Count:

Monday - Game Day - 24

Tuesday - Bridge Class and Chair Exercise - 14

Wednesday - Book Club - 35

Thursday - Game Day and Meals on Wheels - 40

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• Martha Butz attended a TMRS Funding Seminar in Austin on Monday and Tuesday. TMRS staff and pension experts provided information on funding, investments, and legislation directly related to TMRS benefit programs. Presentations included an outlook on TMRS investments in the current economy, a presentation by consulting actuaries GRS, a panel comprised of employee and city representatives, up-to-date information on important TMRS legislation in the current session of the Texas Legislature, and discussion of TMRS programs in the near and long term.
• On Thursday morning Vanesa Childers attended the NTMA Best Practices Forum in Grapevine. Topics covered were E-Verify Legal Requirements and E-Verify Practical Compliance.
• Refresher training for Supervisors was held by Human Resources on Thursday afternoon. Topics covered were recent changes at the federal level, personnel policy/administrative regulations, online applications, performance assessments and safety. Martha Butz, Jana Onstead and Vanesa Childers did a powerpoint presentation covering the topics.

Fire:

• Chief Tatum gave a tour of the fire station to a group from Altenhausen, Germany. A member of the group is a volunteer firefighter in this small town with a population of 365. He was very interested in our facility and took many photographs to take back to their country.
• Assistant Chief Collier and Captain Blount attended a radio update meeting this week.
• Assistant Chief Collier attended the monthly Fire Instructors Association of North Texas (FIANT) meeting.

Police:

• Communications Officer Jessie O'Brien attended Spanish for Telecommunicator training.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Several members of Council attended the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce "27th Annual Mardi Gras Ball" at Celebrations on Friday evening, February 27th.

Mayor Costa and City Secretary Richardson attended the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Tuesday, March 3rd at Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound.

Wednesday, March 4th Mayor Pro Tem McDearmont and Council member Calvin attended a meeting of the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee.

Members of Council joined Mayor Costa for the HVBA "Breakfast With the Mayor" on Friday morning, March 6th.