Recap of City Issues - September 19, 2008

On Monday I attended the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Conference & Trade Exposition on Sustainability, Energy & Environmental Design in Addison, Texas.  The conference provide some very good insight on what the retail world is currently doing in addressing energy consumption and going "Green". The message being delivered was, "Green is essential to all of us, we must lower our cost by conservation, we must educate and motivate the public, develop our employees on sustainability for long term, brand and market ourselves Green is the right thing to do". One of the highlights that I did take away is that Wal~Mart is by far one of the leading retailers truly working on the sensitivity of being Green and addressing sustainability in the retail world.  Several case studies were provided on what works and what does not.  One item was Day Lighting, with Sky Lights used as the example.   A new Supercenter,  like the Highland Village store, will reduce it's electrical needs by $90,000 with the use of Day Lights.

Sue Thompson and Laurie Mullens attended the monthly merchant meeting at the Shops of Highland Village hosted by Nestle Toll House Cafe'.  Sue shared the good news that on September 10th the Highland Village Women's Club unanimously voted to move the annual "Our Village Glows" event to the Shops of Highland Village to be held on Tuesday, December 2nd.  With the details yet to be worked out, Regency Centers is very excited to host "Our Village Glows" event and feels the Shops provide a great venue for this annual community event.  More information will be made available in coming weeks.  Laurie took copies of the 2008 Highland Village Business Directory for the group and pointed out the listings of all the retail/non-residential developments which is a new feature of the directory this year.  She also encouraged everyone to visit the City's website and sign up for Connect CTY and to be included in the directory if they are a new business. 

Mayor Dianne Costa along with the Heritage Elementary School principal attended the Girl Scout dedication at their new Rose and Flower Gardens in memory of 911. 

HVPD Communications Officer Jack Cottongame and HVFD staff activated the new EOC (Emergency Operations Center) at the Fire Station on Saturday, Sept. 13.  The implementation occurred in preparation for Hurricane Ike relief efforts.  Assistant Chief Collier, Captain Travis Nokes and Firefighter/Paramedic Jared Middleton were deployed as part of the Denton County 80-member strike force team to the Gulf Coast area to assist in victim relief.  City Manager, Michael Leavitt was also on hand to monitor the preparations and activities of the EOC.   

The Police Department participated in the Highland Village Elementary LETS Graduation ceremony.  Corporal April Roppolo received a special "Thank You" award from the teachers and students for all of her years of service with the school programs. 

Registration for our Family Disco Dance is ongoing.

On Monday, the Senior All-Stars met at Highland Shores Community Center for game day.

On Tuesday the seniors had lunch out and went to the AMC Theater.

On Thursday, the Senior All-Stars met at Highland Shores Community Center for game day and potluck.

Highland Village staff attended a preconstruction conference with the contractor for FM 2499 and TxDOT staff. Work has begun on the storm sewer pipe in the vicinity of Saddlebrook and will be ongoing into next year.

The Street Division continues to make concrete street repairs on Hudderfield Crest. The crew has poured back the drive approach and the curb and gutter portion of the street. 

The Street Division had set a post for the optical con Len. This is to be used as a pedestal for the optical con Len that would allow the Fire Department to control the signal at Highland Village Road and Brazos for emergency situations.  

The South Crew has been applying sealant to the Kids Kastle structure at Unity Park.

Joey Hardin, Frank Furche and Robert Wise installed City banners with the new logo this week.

Wes Neinhuser applied fall pre-emergent to all Parks and Municipal grounds this week as well as rye grass seed to the soccer fields at Unity Park.

Tony Palesano has been adjusting watering cycles for irrigated areas in the City Parks.

The North Crew is involved in routine mowing maintenance as are all mowing crews. 

The Highland Village Fire Department had 20 calls for service the week of Sept 12-18.

This included: 12 medical emergencies, 1 public assist, 1 rescue at Copperas Branch Park, 1 motor vehicle accident, 1 lock out, 2 fire alarm calls, 1 hazmat and 1 odor investigation.

This week, the police department responded to 139 calls for service, made 80 traffic contacts, made 4 arrests, responded to 4 traffic accidents and performed 490 community policing activities.

Martha Butz attended a  DFW Diversity Panel Reception in Grapevine on Thursday afternoon.

Open enrollment for employee benefits was held this week.  Employees came to Human Resources to sign up for elections for the upcoming budget year.

Mark Rudder and Lupe Hernandez from the Street Department, Jimmy Brown, John Harper and Richard Skipworth from the Utilities Department, and Benny Barragan from the Drainage Department attended the Lead Worker Series training this week in Corinth.  The classes were Effective Listening Skills and Building a Respectful Workplace.

Alicia Richardson attended a writing skills training class in Southlake on Tuesday.

Justin Praesel attended a make up class in Colleyville for the Supervisory Series.

A big "thank you" to Laurie Mullens for her assistance to Terry Golden during her first Parks and Recreation Board meeting. 

Corporal David Pittinger attended Intermediate Spanish class.  This is a class necessary to obtain his Intermediate Peace Officers Certification.

Mayor Costa and City Attorney Palumbo attended the North Texas Conference at Texas Women's University on Friday.  The conference was hosted by State Representative Burt Solomons with State Comptroller Susan Combs as the Keynote Speaker.

Also on Friday, Mayor Costa met with a University of North Texas journalism student, who is writing an article regarding the City of Highland Village Veterans Monument.