Recap of City Issues - April 3, 2009

Through a cooperative effort with the U.S. Corps of Engineers the City of Highland Village Police Department will be providing presence and "safety patrol" on the property that is currently being used for horse, bike and hiking activity adjacent to our community.  Please refer to the attached map for specific location information.  The Corps has asked us to at this time communicate the following message to our residents regarding the use of this property:

Tim Musick
Acting Site Manager
Office: 469-645-9100
Fax:    469-645-9101

"Due to the safety concerns between conflicting equestrian and bike groups, the trail between Highland Village and Copper Canyon are closed to all traffic except pedestrian traffic."

The Corps of Engineers will soon be posting signage on this property that will additionally address and support this concern.  Your attention to this matter is appreciated.  Please direct your questions and concerns related to this matter to:

Lewisville Lake
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lewisville Lake Project Office
1801 N. Mill Street - Lewisville, Texas

Scott Kriston attended the TXDOT FM 2499 phase 4 weekly project meeting this week. The TXDOT FM 2499 project status is as follows: The contractor is installing the pillar cross members for the proposed bridge at the Hickory Creek Branch of Lake Lewisville. Bridge beams are planned to be delivered and installed on the Poindexter branch bridge starting April 14th through April 25th.  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 last of the concrete pavement cut-outs and drive entrances. They anticipate switching traffic to the new pavement April 13th.  The contractor installed the drainage infrastructure across the intersection of Highland Shores Boulevard and FM 2499.  They will move to the Northwood / Castlewood intersection in mid April to install that portion of the drainage infrastructure and build the concrete intersection, the road will be closed for a few months to complete that portion of the project.  KCS Railroad has ordered materials and is preparing to install the new railroad crossing on FM 2499.  The TXDOT contractor has installed the asphalt base for the northbound and southbound lanes from Highland Shores Boulevard north to approximately 1000 feet south of the Northwood / Castlewood intersection.  Concrete pavement will be poured within the next few weeks.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Fire:

• Firefighter/EMT Mel Harper conducted HealthCare Provider/CPR training on Thursday evening for 13 participants, which included residents, visitors to our City and employees.
• To date, we have provided HealthCare, CPR and First Aid Training for 137 participants. Since 2006, we have provided this valuable training to over 550 participants.
• Fire personnel conducted a tour of the fire station for Boy Scout Troop 298. The boy scouts interviewed the firefighters and asked questions that would help them earn their merit badges in Fire Safety.
• The Highland Village Fire Department responded to 19 calls for service the week of Mar 27-April 2. This included: 11 medical emergencies, 1 public assist, 3 public service calls, 1 grass fire and 3 commercial fire alarms.

Police:

• This week the Police Department responded to 138 calls for service, made 69 traffic contacts, made 7 arrests, responded to 3 traffic accidents and performed 607 community policing activities.
• On Friday Detective Musick and Corporal Doug Bell attended the annual Children's Advocacy Center of Denton County's retreat in Denton. During the retreat each year, they present a member of their multidisciplinary team with the Team Member of the Year Award. The team is comprised of representatives from every law enforcement agency in Denton County, as well as SANE nurses, and CPS personnel. This year's award went to our very own Detective Musick for her outstanding dedication and commitment to CACDC. Please find the time to congratulate Detective Musick for this prestigious award. She deserved it.
• We welcomed home Sgt Trey Harral at CME. Sgt Kimberlin, Officer Jones and Officer Oldaker. The family and the principal were very touched by the police presence and were very thankful that the police took time to be there.
• The Police Department helped Captain Corry Blount celebrate his 40th birthday! Happy Birthday Corry!!

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Street Division:

• Made concrete street repairs at Twin Cove and Highland Shores Boulevard by replacing the concrete and the brick pavers. The concrete failure was due to water.
• Crack sealed Cuero Place and Bexar Drive with a rubberized material that was used to seal the cracks and extend the life of the pavement.

Utility Crews:

• Responded to four resident emergency calls.
• Responded to four after hour call outs
• Delivered 400 door hangers to residents that would be affected by up coming smoke testing of lift station basins.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.
• Drainage crews:
• Are in the final stages of the Highland Hills Creek erosion project.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Parks staff:

• Started mowing cycles for all parks this week.
• Trimmed trees on south Highland Village Road easement in preparation for the cleanup tomorrow.
• Are in the process of repairing an electrical line connected to the pond fountain at Village Park that was damaged by beavers.
• Parks crews:
• Prepared soccer and baseball fields at Unity Park for games.
• Installed new base anchors and pegs on the practice fields at Copperas Branch Park.

Wes Neinhuser is applying spring fertilizer applications to all parks and medians etc.

Recreation staff drove and accompanied 14 Senior All Stars to the Grapevine Opry last Saturday.

Staff is preparing for the annual Easter egg hunt this weekend at Unity Park.  We will have Games 2 U, two face painters, fire engine and the Easter Bunny provided by Peter Piper Pizza.  Wal-Mart has also donated prizes to give at the hunt.

21 Senior All Stars met on Monday and 31 met on Thursday for game day.

Nine Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for bridge class and chair exercise. 

Thirteen Senior All Stars met on Wednesday at Barnes and Noble for book club.

The Senior All Stars met at Zone Action Center for the Senior Putt-Putt golf league on Friday to play against the YMCA and Flower Mound senior groups.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• Vanesa Childers participated in a Lexus Nexus Webinar on Wednesday. Background record check software was updated and training was required.
• Jana Onstead held an Employee Benefit Committee meeting on Thursday. Committee members discussed the Benefit Fair coming in June and Wellness Initiatives.

Fire:

• Chief Lonnie Tatum attended a pipeline safety emergency response program held at the Denton Civic Center on Wednesday. This program provided valuable information about the emergency response techniques needed for appropriate responses to pipeline emergencies.
• Chief Tatum, Assistant Chief Collier, Bill Parsons and Fire Department personnel performed the monthly siren warning systems on Wednesday.
• Chief Tatum and Assistant Chief Collier attended the monthly Denton County Fire Chief' meeting held at Denton County Emergency Services Office on Thursday.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Thursday afternoon Mayor Costa and City Manager Leavitt met with Denton Mayor Burroughs and Mayor Pro Tem Kamp to discuss regional transportation issues.

Mayor Costa and members of Council attended the DCTA A-Train Groundbreaking Ceremony for the MedPark Station in Denton on Friday afternoon.