Recap of City Issues - July 24, 2009

The City's new Recycle Cart program is now a year old and it is interesting to compare how the recycling habits of our residents have changed from June 2008 to June 2009.  Each month the City receives a refuse and recycle report from Waste Management.  Since the distribution of the blue recycling carts in July 2008, Waste Management reported the number of households participating in the recycle program has increased an average of 12% each month. For example, during the month of June 2008 the percentage of households that set out recyclable materials was 35%, but in June 2009, the percentage increased to 47%.  The number of households that participated in the recycling program in June 2008 was 9,097 compared to 11,925 households for June 2009.  Waste Management also recorded the tonnage of material recycled for June 2008 was 84.21 tons versus 135.43 tons in June 2009.  In addition to our residents recycling more, staff reports that each month two to three residents that originally chose not to receive the blue recycle cart, have requested a cart for their recycling needs.

Scott Kriston attended the TXDOT FM 2499 project meeting this week.  The project status is as follows:  The contractor completed the concrete pours of the bridge spans on the north side of the lake water level for the Poindexter bridge .  The traffic barriers are yet to be built on the bridge.  The contractor will focus efforts to building the Hickory Creek bridge.  The contractor poured concrete on the FM 2499 intersections and opened several of them, they will continue to form and pour concrete cut outs, intersections and entrances.  The cut outs and intersections are anticipated to be completed over the next few weeks.  TX DOT anticipates the FM 2499 phase 3 contractor to move east / west traffic to the new concrete section of the FM 407 / FM 2499 intersection within the next week.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Police Auxiliary Fred Clements and family toured the fire station on Tuesday. Fred's grandson is the Goodwill Ambassador for MDA in Michigan and was thrilled to see the firemen's quarters and the apparatus.  He toured the station, had photos taken and took a ride on the fire engine.

Highland Village Fire Department responded to 18 calls for service the week of July 17-23. This includes: 11 medical emergencies, 3 commercial fire alarms, 1 public assist, 1 mutual aid fire call, 1 structure fire, and 1 odor investigation.

This week the Police Department responded to 149 calls for service, made 42 traffic contacts, made 4 arrests, responded to 3 traffic accidents and performed 925 community policing activities.

Representatives from Texas Police Chiefs Association came to the Police Department this week and conducted an inspection for our Best Practices Certification.  They will be making a recommendation to the board for approval and we should have a final status in the very near future.

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

The Utilities Division initiated phase 2 of the City's water conservation plan on July 14th due to high water demands and a well pump failure.  The well is anticipated to be back in service July 27th.  Phase 2 will last a minimum of 5 weeks per the ordinance, unless extended by council action.  Utility staff is seeing an approximate 80% compliance with the phase 2 regulations in part due to the weather change.  For a complete listing of the phase 2 water conservation regulations, the water conservation plan is located on the City's website.

The Municipal Service Center Structures Demolition Project started this week.  The contractor made faster than expected headway on the demolition of the wooden structures and is currently dismantling the tin storage facilities. 

Utility Crews:

• Issued door hanger warning tags of phase two violations.
• Repaired one water service line leak.
• Replaced a sewer line clean out that was broken by a resident.
• Unstopped one sewer line back up.
• Responded to five resident emergencies and four after hour call outs.
• Performed meter rereads, water turn on/turn offs, and leak checks.
• Installed the two inch water irrigation tap for the Parks Department landscaping project on Brazos.
• Located four areas of utility infrastructure for proposed franchise utility work.
• Painted 140 fire hydrants.
• Assisted Layne Texas with the removal of the Oak St well for troubleshooting and repair of low flow readings.
• Installed a new well flow meter at the FM 407 well lot.
• Improved drainage inside the Southwood Well Lot.
• Removed the South fence & gate at the Municipal Service Center and terminated the water supply to buildings being demolished to make way for the proposed Municipal Service Center.
• Installed fence and concrete blocks for material storage piles at the Southwood storage location.
• Performed maintenance on well lots, lift stations, fire hydrants and the water distribution and wastewater collection system.

Drainage Crews:

• Built a birm along the walking trail behind the 300 block of Lake Vista to prevent further flooding.
• Regraded the bar ditch in the 100 block of Redwood to restore proper flows.
• Is regrading bar ditches in the 100 block of Cedar to eliminate flooding.
• Hauled interlock blocks to expand material bins located at the Southwood Materials Storage Site.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Wes Neinhuser and Pilot Knoll staff made roof repairs to a storage shed in the overnight camping area.

Staff is in the process of installing fencing around equipment and storage areas at the Doubletree Ranch site.

Tony Palesano repaired irrigation valves and heads on Briarhill Boulevard median and other city parks.

All crews are involved in mowing maintenance cycles in designated parks.

This is the seventh week of Kids Kamp at Briarhill Middle School. The field trips this week included Peter Piper Pizza, UT Arlington Planetarium, and a trip to American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum.

On Saturday, 37 Highland Village Senior All Stars enjoyed a cook-out and an evening of games.

The Highland Village Senior All Stars met on Monday (23 attendees) and Thursday (28 attendees) for game day.

 Three Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for social time and open game time.

On Wednesday, 6 Highland Village Senior All Stars took a shopping trip to Stonebriar Center and Sam Moon.

Nine Senior All Stars met on Thursday for the Widowed Persons Support Group.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

Tuesday morning Mayor Costa attended a Merchant Meeting at The Shops at Highland Village.

Mayor Costa, Mayor Pro Tem Combs, and Councilmembers Davis and Wilcox joined members of staff at the Third Annual "Unity in the Communities" Luncheon on Tuesday at Celebrations.  This event is sponsored by the Highland Village Business Association, the Lewisville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce and celebrates area Non-Profit Organizations.  Christian Community Action (CCA) was honored as the 2009 Non-Profit of the Year at this year's event.

On Friday and Saturday Councilmembers Davis and Wilcox attended Newly Elected Officials' Orientation in Austin.  This training, presented by Texas Municipal League and the Association of Mayors, Councilmembers and Commissioners, assists first-time elected officials, by answering many of their questions, addressing issues they will face, and helping them assume their new role with confidence.

On Wednesday myself, Chief O'Bara and his staff meet with two residents from the Northwood, FM 2499 intersection area to discuss the opening of FM 2499 and their safety concerns with a possible increase of traffic.  The meeting was very positive, with the Highland Village PD taking the lead on future initiatives to address their issues, such as future stop sign on Northwood, signage through out the subdivision, along with making their presence known with enforcement.

Our field operation crews, primarily Parks and Streets, have been installing a "Temporary" chain link fencing around our equipment and our temporary field operations facility at Doubletree Ranch.  We identified the need to protect our assets and for safety precautions with our ultimate goal of opening Double Tree Ranch this Fall to the general public.