Recap of City Issues - January 30, 2009

The Street Division was prepared to handle the inclement weather that arrived this week with two sanders loaded with sand mixed with ice melt. The crew was on standby throughout the night and sanded intersections, main thoroughfares and other locations as needed prior to the rush hour traffic.

On Thursday Rhoda Savage and I met with Niels Brown, Project Manager for the Trust for Public Land. We had a very good discussion on the services the Trust can provide to governmental entities and then afterwards we toured Copperas Branch Park, Copperas Lake on the south side of Highland Village Road and the area by Lift Station No. 1., in regards to the impact of Interstate 35-E. proposed expansion by TXDOT.  Mr. Brown was very optimistic on the ability of the Trust for Public Lands to assist us with mitigation negations with TXDOT and the Corp of Engineers and he will forward to us a memorandum of understanding for us to execute on their services.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Sue Thompson reports the first Precinct Three Task Force meeting of 2009 was held this week.  Mayor Costa and Councilmembers Austin Adams and Don Combs attended, along with Sue and Dottie Palumbo, to receive the latest updates on transportation projects of interest to the City. Denton County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell provided updates on all the projects in Precinct Three, including FM 407, FM 2499, FM 1171 and others.  The current construction at FM 2499 (Sections 3 and 4) and FM 407 was discussed, as well as the bridges across the north end of Lake Lewisville as they relate to Inland Trail connections.  The next scheduled meeting will be held on February 23^rd and hosted by Highland Village.               

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Captain Vince Jones, FF/Paramedic Tony Sorsby and FF/Paramedic Matthew Luttrell assisted with the funeral proceedings in Kilgore on Thursday and Friday. The funerals were for two Kilgore firefighters that lost their lives during training exercise in Kilgore earlier this week.

Chief Tatum and Assistant Chief Collier assisted the Police Department with a Communications meeting held on Thursday.  The communication officers were able to view a Ladder and Quint truck that were brought to our station by Lewisville and Flower Mound fire departments. Some of the communication officers climbed into the bucket of the aerial for a birds-eye view of our city.

Assistant Chief Collier and Nancy Sharp participated in a demonstration provided by Vanesa Childers of the new Hiring website.  This website allows for job candidates to apply directly on-line while hiring managers and assistants are able to view the applications on-line. 

The Highland Village Fire Department responded to 20 calls for service the week of Jan. 23^rd-30^th.  This included 12 medical emergencies, 3 structure fire calls, 1 commercial fire alarm, 2 residential fire alarms, 1 grass fire, and 1 public assist call.  The Fire Department also conducted 5 inspections for new businesses.

This week the Police Department responded to 136 calls for service, made 74 traffic contacts, made 6 arrests, responded to 12 traffic accidents and performed 591 community policing activities.

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Drainage crews:

• removed debris from inlets and culvert outfalls
• removed trees andsilt from the drainage easement located in the3000 block of Shoreview
• re-gradedthe bar ditch in the 100 block of N. Clearwater

Utility crews:

• responded to four emergency calls from residents and contractors during business hours and one emergency call after hours
• clearedone sewer backup
• performed six excavations to repair sewer lines and water leaks
• performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system

Street Division:

• made concrete street failure repairs on Lake Cove, which were caused by a electrical utility trench running beneath the pavement

PARKS DEPARTMENT

On Monday and Thursday the Senior All Stars met for game day.  Tuesday the Senior All Stars met for shirt painting.

On Thursday, Fince Espinoza and Andra Boxberger met with Celebrations and Party Store at Your Door to discuss details on the Father/Daughter Dance.

Bill Aycock met with an electrical contractor regarding repairs at the Copperas Park storage building.

Tony Palesano worked on water leaks at Village Park and other areas.

• South Crew is continuing baseball field renovation at Unity Park.
• North Crew has been involved in winter tree pruning at various parks.
• Pilot Knoll Crew did repair work on several campsite water faucets that were broken this week due to the cold weather.
• Parks staff cleaned out the old storage areas at 948.
• Parks staff assists in setting up for Senior Activities.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Utility Division:

• Larry Jeurink andJustin Praesel attended WinCan software training. The training covered the various aspects of creating and reporting sewer linecamera projects.

Human Resources:

• Jana Onstead attended a webinar on"The New FMLA Regulations: What Every Employer Must Know to Comply" conducted by Fisher & Phillips, LLP.

Police Department:

• Corporal Christie Perry attended Basic Instructor School in Collin County.
• Officer Chris Carver attended Standardized Field Sobriety Testing school at Tarrant County College.
• Detective Andrea Musick King attendedInvestigative Photography at COG in Arlington.

New Employee:

• Bibiano Bautista Park Tech I on the North Crew.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Mayor Costa and Council Members Adams and Combs attended the Precinct 3 Task Force Meeting held on Monday at The Town of Flower Mound.