Recap of City Issues - June 12, 2009

Scott Kriston attended the weekly TXDOT FM 2499 project meeting.  The project status is as follows:  The contractor finished the concrete pours on the Poindexter bridge south of the lake water level.  The contractor will relocate to the north side of the lake water and continue to perform  concrete pours of the bridge spans next week starting at 6 a.m.  The pours are expected to last 10 hours each.  The contractor is prepping the southbound lanes at the railroad south to FM 407.  The contractor opened the Harlington Drive intersection.

We'd like to thank everyone who came out for our 6th Annual Red, White & Blue Festival. The event this year was the best yet. Starting in the morning and running through the evening, everything was just as good as or better than previous years. We had a record number of runners, the fish-out was a fun family event and we gave away over 100 native Texas Redbud saplings. The festival at Copperas Branch Park drew a record crowd; we estimate nearly 10,000, making it the largest attended festival yet! A highlight of the evening was a marriage proposal on stage in between the bands. The fireworks went off without a hitch and right on time this year.

I want to thank all the city staff that worked so hard to make this a great event. It begins with the Rhoda Savage and the Parks department and every department contributes. Council, we'd like to thank you for approving the funding so we can provide this fun event for our community. Our festival is truly becoming an event that the area remembers and looks forward to.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Sue Thompson and Laurie Mullens attended the monthly marketing meeting at the Shops at Highland Village on Thursday. The merchants had requested an update on traffic issues from TxDOT so Sue asked John Polster to attend the meeting. John provided information regarding FM 2499 and the request to finish the northwest portion of the project (the area closest to the FM 407/FM 2499 intersection) first to ease congestion in the area. John also spoke of construction on FM 407 and future construction on I-35E. The merchants in attendance appreciated the information and asked John to return again in a couple months. Regency Centers and several merchants commented on the success of the Red, White & Blue Festival and the newly formed Teen Board members presence there handing out gift cards. The Shops is beginning a live summer music series with local bands performing on Tuesday evenings.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Police:

• Sandra Tatum, Communications Officer with HVPD and 9-1-1 Kid Hero Jocelyn Hurtado 8yoa were honored at an awards ceremony on Sunday June 7th during the National Emergency Number Association Conference at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The 9-1-1 for Kids Local Heroes program was established in 1999 in cooperation with national and international public safety & disaster resistance organizations and government agencies. The purpose of the award is to recognize heroic youngsters who called 9-1-1 to save a life or property or to report a crime and the 9-1-1 dispatchers for their outstanding work. The heroes are nominated by public safety answering points (9-1-1 dispatch centers).
• This week the Police Department responded to 196 calls for service, made 29 traffic contacts, made 3 arrests, responded to 1 traffic accidents and performed 730 community policing activities.

Fire:

• Highland Village Fire Department responded to 28 calls for service June 5 - 11th. This included: 13 medical emergencies, 3 odor investigations, 3 fire alarm calls, 1 vehicle lock out, 1 structure fire, 2 public service calls, 3 public assists, and 2 smoke investigation calls.

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Utility Crews:

• Assisted the Parks Department with the Red, White and Blue festival on Saturday.
• Responded to nine after hour call outs and four resident emergencies.
• Performed six meter rereads, ten water turn on/turn offs, and eight meter leak checks.
• Located four areas of utility infrastructure.
• Flushed and TV inspected two sewer lines.
• Replaced 28 water meters, one curb stop and two old meter cans, and installed five greenbelt irrigation meters.
• Dressed an area where a previous infrastructure repair was made.
• Removed the lighted entryway bulletin board as well as the old phone booth, in preparation for the new Municipal Service Center construction.
• Cleared brush and installed drainage pipe at the Southwood well lot for the materials storage piles that will be relocated there permanently from the Municipal Service Center site.
• Started bringing the Lake Vista well lot online in preparation for the high water usage season.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.

Drainage Crews:

• Regraded a drainage ditch off of Inland Trail in the 2000 block of Woodside.see pic 004
• Removed debris at 5001 Village Parkway .
• Cleaned debris from culverts & creek crossings after the rain event.
• Regraded a drainage swale behind the houses in the 900 block of Kingwood.
• Assisted the Parks Department with the Red, White and Blues festival on Saturday.

Streets:

• The Street Division was out cleaning up after the storm that had came through and damaged trees throughout the City of Highland Village. The Street Crews used chainsaws to clear fallen trees that were in the streets and cleaned up debris with the loader.
• The Street Division started a extension to the sidewalk at Central Fire Station. The Street Staff dug out the area for the sidewalk and formed up the area to pour concrete. They will pour concrete Monday morning to finish the sidewalk.
• The Street Crew removed the speed humps from the Fairland Drive and Marchwood Drive and removed all the signage.
• The Street Division has a new yards dump truck in their fleet.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Kids Kamp Started Monday June 8th at Briarhill Middle School.

The Highland Village Senior All Stars met on Monday (24 attendees) and Thursday (27 attendees) for game day.

Eight Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for Bridge and Domino games.

On Wednesday, 8 Highland Village Senior All Stars went to the Ft. Worth Zoo

The Landscaping project on Brazos Boulevard started this week.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• Human Resources Specialist Jana Onstead and Human Resources Assistant Vanesa Childers attended a lunch & learn sponsored by Fisher & Phillps, LLP in Dallas on Wednesday. The topic was regarding employee issues involving social networking in the online community.
• The annual Employee Health & Benefits Fair on Thursday was a huge success. Employees had the opportunity to visit with various benefit providers, and Lewisville Medical Center staff provided screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels, and body fat measurements. Staff from the Rehabilitation Department also provided flexibility evaluations to attendees. A big thank you to Employee Benefit Committee members Alicia Richardson, Carolyn Britton, Karen Bradley, Ron Knox, Jon Richardson, Jason Collier, Autumn Aman, Justin Praesel, and Doug Bell for all of their hard work in decorating, working the various tables, and in cleaning up. Also thanks to Nancy Sharp and those on A shift at the Fire Department for all of your help with the popcorn machine!

Utilities:

• Justin Praesel took the "B" Ground Water test in Arlington this week. He is attempting to upgrade his current state licensing.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Mayor Costa and Members of Council were among the estimated 10,000 people attending the festivities for Highland Village Days Red, White and Blue Festival on Saturday, June 6th.

Thursday evening Mayor Costa attended a reception in Lewisville honoring outgoing Mayor Gene Carey for his many years of service to the community.