Recap of City Issues - March 12, 2010

The northbound Garden Ridge exit ramp off of Interstate 35 in Lewisville will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, March 15, to allow workers to install rail. Northbound motorists will need to exit Denton Road and go south on I-35 to get onto Garden Ridge. This closure is part of the construction of the A-train passenger rail that will connect Denton to Carrollton and provide additional transportation options to Denton County.

The northbound I-35 exit ramp to Garden Ridge Boulevard and the railroad crossing at Eagle Point Road in Lewisville will be closed March 15, lasting for about eight weeks.  During this time traffic will be moved to a temporary ramp and crossing just north of the existing ramp and crossing.  To build the temporary ramp and crossing, workers will close the northbound, right lane of Interstate 35 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists are asked to use caution while driving through the construction zone. The construction is part of the A-train passenger rail project that will connect Denton to Carrollton and the DART line.  

Scott Kriston reports that the TXDOT FM 2499 section 4 project contractor is painting the road striping on the south bound lanes and is in the process of barricade removal at the FM 2499 connection at FM 407.  TXDOT anticipates opening one north bound lane and one southbound lane of FM 2499 from Highland Shores to FM 407 to local traffic by the end of March, weather permitting.  They will then finish demolishing & pouring the concrete, the cut outs, sidewalks and driveway connections on the outside lanes.

Scott Kriston reports that the Highland Shores Paving project contractor is cleaning up the site.  A final walk through was performed. Contractor is finishing up the punch list items.  Pay estimate #2 is in Finance for processing.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Police:

This week, the police department responded to 107 calls for service, made 139 traffic contacts, made 5 arrests, responded to 1 traffic accidents and performed 253 community policing activities.

Police Chief Ed O'Bara met with the Farmersville City Manager this week

The Pilot Point Chief of Police visited with Chief O'Bara and the rest of the Command Staff this week.   He requested and received copies of most of our programs and affiliated paperwork.

Chief Ed O'Bara attended the Lake Cities Police Chiefs monthly luncheon and meeting.  This month, they met at Texas Land and Cattle in Hickory Creek.

Corporal April Roppolo and several other Police Department members assisted with the open house this week at Highland Village Elementary School.

Senior Animal Care Officer Michelle Burke adopted out the last of the lab mix puppies that we had at the shelter.  She spent the weekend with her "Uncle" Tango (Sergeant Morrison's lab) before being transported to her new home in Wills Point.  She will have the run of a farm with thirteen acres containing goats, pigs, and chickens. 

Fire:

Chief Tatum attended a Denco 9-1-1 Board meeting held in Lewisville on Thursday.

Nancy Sharp attended Leadership Lewisville's City Day on Thursday.

Chief Tatum and Asst. Chief Collier attended a Pipeline Training luncheon held in Denton on Tuesday. This annual program presented by Paradigm Liaison Services provides an overview of the various underground pipelines in the DFW area, products that are flowing through the pipeline, as well as emergency response procedures.

Highland Village Firefighters attended Live Fire Training at Tarrant County College on Monday.  Live Fire "hands on" training is a vital part of our continued commitment to provide the highest level of professionally trained fire suppression personnel for the residents of Highland Village.

Highland Village Firefighters participated in the 1st part of a 2 part training series provided by Heath Hudson of SR&FS over the use of specialized low-grade rescue techniques.  This is an update and review over techniques that will be used during emergency incidents along the FM 2499 corridor and bridges.

Fire Department personnel responded to 17 calls for service the week of March 5-11

• Medical Emergencies - 12
• Motor Vehicle Accidents - 1
• Public Education - 1
• Structure Fire - 1
• Public Service - 1
• Public Assist - 1

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Utilities:

Scott Kriston reports that the MSC project contractor is preparing the subgrade to pour concrete paving for the south side parking lot & started demolition of phase 3 paving along the north side of the lot.  The motor pool & fuel pumps will be closed for 4 weeks while this part of the project is completed.   The framing and dry wall contractors continue to work inside the Parks & Rec building.  The framing contractor is installing the wood framing to the slab for the Public Works building.  The fence contractor finished staining the fence along the perimeter of the lot.  The equipment building and storage building foundations subgrade is currently being laid out for a concrete pour as weather permits. 

Scott Kriston met with BW2 Engineering , Inc. & discussed the status of all open Public Works projects.

Matthew Kite & Scott Kriston met with Engineers from Halff & Associates to discuss the Denton County funded Chinn Chapel Road project & its effects on Highland Village.  Matthew Kite will be putting out a letter in the next few weeks to notify residents and Highland Village personnel. 

Utilities management & admin staff attended a short training session with HR to review the new digital application for employment process.

Utility Crews:

• Responded to three after hour call outs and two resident concerns.
• Excavated and repaired one sewer line at the intersection of Lakeland and Meadowbrook.
• Unstopped one sewer line backup.
• Located two areas of utility infrastructure.
• Flushed one section of sewer line.
• Raised one manhole and three valve stacks to grade along FM 2499 corridor.
• Assisted the Drainage Dept. with concrete work on the material storage bins at 5001 Village parkway.
• Performed annual maintenance with ITT Flygt at all lift stations.
• Performed meter rereads, water turn on/turn offs, and leak checks.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.

Drainage Crews:

• Shot grade for drainage improvements in the 3000 block of Mayfair.  Work to begin on 3-15-10, weather permitting.  Work is expected to last 2 days.
• Cleared trees from drainage easement in the 3000 block of Canterbury to restore proper flow.
• Cleaned creek crossings after recent rain events to prevent flooding.
• Located storm water main lines for HOA in the 3000 block of Castlewood.
• Poured two more concrete slabs for material bins at 5001 Village Parkway.
• Met with resident in the 3000 block of Fairfield about drainage concerns after recent rains.

Streets:

The Street Division crews removed concrete and set forms to make repairs to concrete sidewalks at 2170 and 2105 Strathmoor Drive to be poured next week.

The Street Division made two asphalt street repairs on Lakeland Drive at Meadow Drive and Lakeland Drive at Cedar Drive due to Utility service installation.

The Street Division made a concrete street flume repair due to deterioration to the concrete on Duvall Boulevard at Big Elm Street.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Construction of the Highland Village Road sidewalk and Lake Vista trail connection began on Monday.  Axis Contracting, Inc. will construct the sidewalk before they begin constructing the Lake Vista trail connection.

Parks staff met to discuss drafting a policy for the Robert and Lee DuVall Center and will be presenting it to Park Board next month.

City staff met with Verizon on Thursday and presented them with our sponsor opportunities for the Highland Village Days Red, White and Blue festival.  They seemed very interested in our event and are excited about being a possible sponsor.

Parks staff has been preparing for our Spring Clean Up scheduled for May 1st by scheduling Upper Trinity for collection of the household hazardous waste, acquiring permits from TCEQ and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contacting vendors for paper shredding and electronic recycling.  This event is for residents only and we will not allow contractors to participate.

The Parks Department would like to recognize and thank the volunteer group from  "Greater Lewisville Cares " for their participation in the clean up of several of the  Highland Village Parks,  road sides and drainage areas around the City on February 27th . Eighty five volunteers were present and as always were very successful in their efforts in trash and debris removal. 

Staff has been involved in clean up efforts at the newly acquired Marauder Park this week and it will now be added to regular maintenance schedules.  Wes Neinhuser made pre-emergent and other weed control applications to various parks and median areas in the City.

Staff at Copperas Park finished the restroom remodeling project at that park which included installing new fixtures, painting and new ceiling installation.  This is a great enhancement to the facilities there and should serve park visitors well for several years.

Staff has been installing new Park Rules signs at several Parks in the city. 

Parks staff has tentatively set the field trips for this summer's Kid's Kamp.  Some of the trips are as follows:   Ft. Worth Zoo, Dallas World Aquarium, Exposure Rock Climbing, Zone Action Park, LLELA(Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area), Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History, Museum of Nature and Science, UNT Planetarium and Hawaiian Falls.   We have plenty more exciting trips planned and look forward to this year's camp, it'll be our best one to date!

The Highland Village Senior All Stars met on Monday (23 attendees) and Thursday (37 attendees) for game day. 

Eleven Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for open game time.

 On Friday, 8 Highland Village Senior All Stars went to the the Dallas Quilt Show at Market Hall.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• Vanesa Childers met with Scott Kriston, David Clark, Gay Durden, Jannie Baughman, Justin Praesel and Bobby Salmon to provide an overview and set up for the online application system.
• An Employee Meeting was held on Wednesday afternoon.   
• On Thursday Jana Onstead, Martha Butz and Jane Ponder held orientation for our newest Firefighter/Paramedic, Richard Caudle.  We are happy to have Richard join our staff!
• On Thursday Martha Butz attended the NTMA meeting in Watauga.

Streets:

• Lupe Hernandez, Mark Rudder, Darrell Richardson, Nick Hall and Odie Benitez attended the ATSSA Roadway Safety Training Institute class in "Traffic Control Technician Grant Course" in Dallas, Texas. The class was about how to design a traffic plan and how to use  barricades, signage, safety vests and  flagging in different volume traffic situations

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Council member Meek attended the Denton County Transportation Authority President's Reception welcoming New President Jim Cline on Monday afternoon.

Council member Wilcox attended Flower Mound Leadership Class on Tuesday.

Council member Meek attended Leadership Lewisville Public Safety Day on Thursday.

Mayor Costa and City Attorney Palumbo attended the 3rd Annual Transportation and Infrastructure Convention held in Washington, D.C. from Wednesday through Friday.