Recap of City Issues - April 24, 2009

Scott Kriston attended the TXDOT FM 2499 phase 4 weekly project meeting this week. The TXDOT FM 2499 project status is as follows: The project is 35% complete as of March 31st.  The contractor is finishing the installation of the pillar cross members for the proposed bridge at the Hickory Creek Branch of Lake Lewisville. Bridge beams are delivered and installed on the southern end of the Poindexter branch bridge.  The bridge beams for the northern part of the Poindexter bridge are delivered.  Bridge decking will start to be constructed on the Poindexter bridge next week.  The contractor is installing retaining walls along the entire project.  Harlington Drive and Saddlebrook Drive access will be closed to traffic for a 3 month period so they can construct the south bound lanes of FM 2499.   The contractor has milled the old asphalt roadway and is cutting the new grade of FM 2499.  KCS Railroad has delivered the materials for the new railroad crossing on FM 2499.  The railroad contractor will have TX DOT close FM 2499 on May 5th & 6th to install the new crossing.  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.  Steel has been laid out & tied in the southbound lanes, concrete pavement will be poured within the next few weeks.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Fire:

• The Highland Village Fire Department is an active participating member of Texas Interstate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) and was deployed to assist local emergency personnel when Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast. A check for $29811.52 was received last week from FEMA as reimbursement for the Fire Department's response to the Gulf Coast during the Hurricane Ike Disaster. The reimbursement was for expenses incurred by the City; including equipment, personnel, supplies, and back fill for Station Coverage while personnel were deployed.
• Representatives from CoServ filmed a narrative for their upcoming public relations seminar using the Fire Station apparatus and bay as their backdrop. They were very appreciative to be able to use the fire station and to highlight the All-Terrain Vehicle that was received by the Fire Station as one of the many grants that CoServ provides to area organizations each year.
• The Highland Village Fire Department responded to 12 calls for service April 17-23rd. This included 10 medical emergencies, 1 motor vehicle accident and 1 public service.

Police:

• This week the Police Department responded to 147 calls for service, made 62 traffic contacts, made 9 arrests, responded to 4 traffic accidents and performed 485 community policing activities.
• The Police Department attended a book reading sponsored by Highland Village Elementary. The book "readers" were Corporal Patrick Finley, Auxiliary Karen Williams and Auxiliary Dick Williams.
• The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans for their civic commitment and spirit of volunteerism. The award recognizes individuals and groups that have achieved a certain standard - measured by the number of hours served over a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime. For the calendar year 2008, the "Highland Village Police Auxiliary Program" is the recipient of the "Gold" Presidential Award in recognition of over 1,675 combined volunteer hours. Individually, the following Police Auxiliary Members are recognized with Presidential Awards for their qualifying volunteer service:

                        Auxiliary Lieutenant Steve Jones, Bronze Award, 198 hrs.

                        Auxiliary Deputy Commander Dick Williams, Bronze Award, 191 hrs.

                        Auxiliary Chandra Artham, Bronze Award, 104 hrs.

                        Auxiliary Mike McCoy, Bronze Award, 103 hrs.

                        Auxiliary Jay Myers, Bronze Award, 101 hrs.

• Police Auxiliary of the Year Award - The Police Auxiliary of the Year Award is granted for outstanding volunteer service by a Member that brings credit to the Department and involves above and beyond performance. This includes productivity, organizational commitment, community involvement, and leadership. This year, the 2008 Policy Auxiliary of the Year is awarded to Auxiliary Lieutenant Steve Jones.
• Penny is one of our newest pets adopted out to a new home. She has fit right in with her new family and is one more of our Animal Care success stories!

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Scott Kriston attended the UTRWD 60-inch water line monthly progress meeting this week.  The project status is as follows:  The project is 38% complete as of March 31st.  The tunnel contractor completed the FM407 tunnel and has moved to the west side of the project near Barnett Blvd.  The 60-inch water pipe is scheduled to be delivered in 2-weeks and the open cut installation will begin on the eastern portion of the project.

Scott Kriston performed a final walk through on the Highland Oaks Subdivision this week.  The contractor is working on the punch list that was created.

Scott Kriston met with BW2 Engineers this week to discuss the Hillside Dr. Paving & Drainage Improvements project, phase 1 of the storm sewer system inspection project and the 2009 asphalt rehabilitation project.  

Utility Crews:

• Responded to six resident emergencies and six after hour call outs.
• Excavated 4 sewer lines.
• Flushed and TV inspected seven sewer lines to locate buried infrastructure and check for possible bad spots.
• Flushed 8,400 feet of sewer main in the Silverthorne Park Lift Station basin.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.

Drainage crews:  

• Installed the forms for the headwall & poured the concrete at the Lower Sellmeyer Park project.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

On Monday night, BW2 Engineers and Parks' staff held a public forum at the Park Board/Inland Trail Steering Committee meeting to discuss Copperas Trail and Castlewood Trail construction.

All crews are involved in weekly mowing cycles.

Staff at Copperas Park repaired and installed a gate accessing Corps property near the park.

Wes Nienhuser worked on spreading and removing fill dirt from a parking area near the Unity Park soccer fields.

Tommy White met with an electrical contractor this week concerning upgrading several campsites at Pilot Knoll Park from 30 amps to 50 amps capacity in the near future.

On Saturday, Parks staff will host a Spring Clean Up at Copperas Park from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  We will be accepting household hazardous waste, e-waste, brush and limb waste and also document shredding.

Senior All Stars:

The Highland Village Senior All Stars met on Monday (27 attendees) and Thursday (28 attendees) at the Highland Shores Community Center for game day.

Ten Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for card making and chair exercise.

On Wednesday, 39 Highland Village Senior All Stars went to the Choctaw Casino trip.

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

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• On Friday Martha Butz attended the 2009 Texas Business Conference hosted by the Texas Workforce Commission. Speakers discussed matters of ongoing concern to Texas employers.
• The Employee Activity Committee hosted a picnic for the employees at Unity Park on Wednesday. The weather was great and so was the food. Thanks to everyone who worked to make the event happen!

Fire:

• On Saturday Chief Tatum attended the Emergency Preparedness Summit in Denton. This event, hosted by Congressman Michael Burgess, focused on steps to be taken by residents before, during and after any natural disaster. Keynote speaker Greg Fields, Meteorologist for WFAA Channel 8, and local emergency management officials participated in a panel discussion identifying the numerous types of disastrous events that may occur in our area.

Police

• Jack Cottongame, Highland Village Communications Manager was awarded the Dr. Allen Groff EMD Scholarship at the March meeting of Denco 9-1-1's Board of Managers. The winners will attend the premier conference for EMD, Navigator, which will be held April 29th - May1st in Las Vegas, Nevada.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

On Friday I met with the Area Manager for ONCOR Electric Delivery.  Danny Hodges wanted to inform us that the ONCOR transmission towers that run through Highland Village have been designated as the primary route for bringing the West Texas Wind Farms generated power into the Metroplex.  The project will consist of installing additional power lines on the tower, which will be a multi-phase project with the ultimate completion of the project in 2012.  Construction will begin in Highland Village within the next 6 to 9 months.