Recap of City Issues - August 21, 2009

On Wednesday, Councilmembers Wilcox, Meek and Davis and myself attended  the I35E Proposed Improvements Stakeholder meeting held at the City of Lewisville.  At the request of TXDOT, each governmental entity from Carrolton to Denton attended, along with Denton County.  TXDOT presented the different options for financing the project, along with their new timeline, which shows a two year delay before construction can even start due to the lack of funding for this project.  Ultimately the Texas Legislators will need to determine how to fund the construction and maintenance of our highway infrastructure throughout the state.

Laurie Mullens received a call this week from Adrian McCandless, our reporter at the Flower Mound Messenger. Next week's edition of The Flower Mound Messenger is the last one for the paper. The Messenger is owned by the Ft. Worth Star Telegram parent company and the decision was made to stop publishing the Flower Mound Messenger. Adrian and her editor Lyn Pry have been transferred to the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. Highland Village will continue to be covered by the News Connection, Lewisville Leader and the Cross Timbers Gazette.

Scott Kriston attended the TXDOT FM 2499 project meeting this week.  The project status is as follows:  The contractor is working on the bridges.  The contractor is working on the intersections and 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.  The contractor has almost completed the east half of the pedestrian tunnel, with the top of tunnel to be poured next week.

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Highland Village Fire Department responded to 27 calls for service the week of Aug 13 - 20.  Included are: 10 medical emergencies, 2 motor vehicle accidents, 6 commercial fire alarms, 5 public service calls, 1 EMS Mutual Aid, 2 Mutual Aid Structure Fire calls, and 1 Fill-In at our station for the structure fire.  Fire personnel conducted annual inspections for Highland Village Schools, reviewed fire plans for one new business and conducted 1 new business inspection this week.

This week the Police Department responded to 183 calls for service, made 120 traffic contacts, made 6 arrests, responded to 5 traffic accidents and performed 594 community policing activities.

Officer Clint Webb has been selected for assignment as a Patrol Corporal effective August 24, 2009.  Help us congratulate Officer Webb on his new assignment and we look forward to working with him in his new capacity!

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

The Street Division marked all the cross walks in the school zones, upgrading school signs and flagging the school signs for the up coming school year.

The Street Division assisted Utilities in the preparation of the new water line located at 948 Highland Village Road also made repairs to Highland Village Road at the tie in of the water and sewer lines.

Scott Kriston, Justin Praesel & Tim Bruedigam performed a final walk through on the Public Works infrastructure at the new DKH Academy located on Briarhill.  A small punch list was created for the developer to complete prior to receiving a final CO.

Scott Kriston attended the UTRWD 60-inch Water Line project located along FM407.  The project is nearing completion, a final walk through is anticipated to be called for in mid September.

Utility Crews:

• Completed the new sewer main line installation for the new Municipal Service Center.
• Started installing the water line for the new Municipal Service Center.
• Excavated and repaired four water main breaks - Merriman & Sellmeyer, Highland Lake & Highland Village Rd, Desiree, and Willow Creek Estates.
• Removed phase two water conservation signage. Phase two water conservation was automatically terminated five-weeks after implementation.
• Installed a fire hydrant meter for Ed Bell Construction on FM2499.
• Set a 1-½" irrigation meter for DKH, a ¾" meter setup for a new home, and replaced a broken curb stop.
• Responded to five after hour call outs and four resident concerns.
• Located three areas of utility infrastructure for proposed franchise utility work.
• Flushed and TV inspected four sewer lines.
• 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:

• Is installing 170 linear feet of 6-inch French drain on the east and west side of Hillside in the 2700 block as part of the Hillside Paving & Drainage Improvements Project.
• Cleaned various creek crossings and culverts after recent rain event.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Parks staff has been prepping athletic fields at Unity Park for the fall season.

Park rules signs with the new City logo have been installed by staff at several parks.

The fountain at Village Park has been repaired by staff and is operating. Several Parks staff worked last week end at the Balloon Festival to help insure another successful event.

Wes Nienhuser treated various athletic fields for seasonal grubs.

Tony Palesano was involved in irrigation repairs at several median and Park locations.

Tommy White met with contractors during the week concerning remodeling and repairs to Copperas Park restroom facilities.

The Highland Village Senior All Stars met on Monday (29 attendees) and Thursday (41 attendees) at the Highland Shores Community Center for game day.

Six Senior All Stars met on Tuesday for games and Helping Hands.

On Wednesday, 43 Highland Village Senior All Stars went on the Choctaw Casino trip.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Human Resources:

• Jana Onstead attended a meeting for clients who utilize and participate in the Texas Municipal League annual salary survey.
• Benefit meetings were held on Thursday for employees. Carrier representatives briefed employees on plan changes for the new budget year effective October 1, 2009. Human Resources will be conducting open enrollment meetings by department next week.

Finance:

• Barbara Osborne attended the 2009 Texas Municipal Court Legislative Update session in Austin, Texas Friday, August 14th. Every two years the legislators meet and make adjustments to the laws. These changes effect the court, the police department and many other city departments. The biggest change for the courts this year is, after a 35 year battle with the legislators, Municipal Judges may now perform weddings. Municipal Judges have been the only Judges in the State of Texas that were not allowed to perform weddings in the past.

CITY MANAGER / CITY COUNCIL

On Tuesday, Mayor Costa, Mayor Pro Tem Combs, Councilmembers Meek, Wilcox and City Secretary Richardson attended FM Chamber Luncheon. 

On Wednesday, Mayor Costa and Councilmember Davis attended the Castlewood HOA meeting.

On Friday, Councilmember Meek attended the Texas Coalition of Cities for Utility Issues.