Recap of City Issues 10-1-10

Scott Kriston reports that TXDOT states the FM 2499 section 4 project is ahead of it's April 2011 completion schedule.  FM 2499 is now open from Highland Shores Boulevard to Orchid Hill Lane. This section of FM 2499 is still an active construction zone. The outer driving lane is closed to traffic; delays and detouring during working hours are to be expected. The posted speed limit is 40 miles per hour and will be enforced.  No parking is allowed in the construction zone.  A four-way stop has been installed at the intersection of FM 2499 and Highland Shores Boulevard / Castlewood Boulevard until the construction of the traffic signal is completed. TXDOT anticipates opening the entire FM 2499 Section 4 project October 30, 2010.  The contractor is mowing the r.o.w. as required by their contract as weather permits.  The contractor is redefining the offsite drainage areas where easements were obtained during the design process.  The contractor is constructing the Northwood / FM2499 intersection, weather permitting. 

PUBLIC SAFETY (POLICE AND FIRE)

Fire:

Calls for Service: Week of Sept 14 - 30

• Medical Emergencies -  13
• Motor Vehicle Accident - 1
• Public Assists - 4
• Rescue - 1
• Gas Leak - 1
• Structure Fire - 1
• Carbon Monoxide - 1
• Commercial Fire Inspections - 2
• Commercial Plan Review - 1

Highland Village Women's Club President Carol O'Bara met at the Fire Station with City Staff members to continue planning for the upcoming Village Glows.

STREET / UTILITY DIVISIONS PROJECTS

Streets:

The Street Division hauled dirt materials to fill in the area at Doubletree Ranch for the Parks Department.

The Street Division poured the concrete for the retaining wall at Spring Oaks Drive for the turn-a-round and removed the concrete forms.

Utilities:

Scott Kriston reports that the MSC project is wrapping up; the GC has his subcontractors working on minor punch list items.  Dallas Security is installing the access security on the site.  Redmoon Broadband is installing the video surveillance equipment on the site.   

The Oak St. GSR site improvements project GC is constructing the pump house and chemical facilities. 

Scott Kriston met with BW2 Engineering , Inc. & discussed the status of all open Public Works projects.

The Highland Village Road water line replacement project sections 1 & 2.  RKM Utility Services, Inc. has installed all of the new water line and made 15 of the 20 tie-ins.  This project consists of replacing approximately 5000 feet of water line along Highland Village Rd. from Brazos Blvd. to Lake Vista.  The contractor will be onsite through October.  You should expect minor traffic delays in the area for the duration of the project. 

Chinn Chapel Road phase 1 reconstruction contractor is on schedule.  This project is a Town of Copper Canyon project funded through Denton County bonds.  It consists of drainage improvements and road reconstruction on Chinn Chapel from approximately 100 feet north of FM 407 to Orchid Hill Lane.  The contract has 500 calendar days to final completion.  There will be traffic detours throughout the duration of the project; you should expect traffic delays in the area.

Utility Crews:

• David Clark and Justin Praesel interviewed five candidates for the open Tech 1-3 position.
• Excavated and repaired a sewer line on Desiree to repair a broken clean out.
• TV inspected one sewer line to check for problems with the line.
• Replaced one broken curb stop.
• Made three utility infrastructure locates.
• 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:

• Repaired 15" drainage pipe in the 1400 block of Highland Village Road that was excavated during a water main repair.
• Finished the Highland Hills creek erosion control project.
• Assisted a Utilities camera crew on drainage line camera inspection in the 600 block of Savanna.  Storm pipe repairs are being scheduled for the area over the next few weeks.

PARKS DEPARTMENT

Linda Cornelius, Andra Boxberger and Fince Espinoza attended the annual Texas Amateur Athletic Federation meeting most of this week. 

Parks staff will be escorting parks staff from The City of Cedar Hill on City Trail Friday from noon until two.  They will be looking at the power line easement and trail amenities to possible implementation in their city.

Marcus High School hosted a cross country meet at Copperas Branch Park last Saturday with over 2000 participants involved.

Wes Nienhuser completed a map framing project for the new Service center. 

Tony Palesano completed GPS locations of all water meters in City parks and medians.

Pedro Miranda completed over-seeding of wild flower seeds on designated areas of the City Trail. 

Pilot Knoll Park has seen high usage of pavilion and overnight campsite rentals this fall.

Parks staff has been busy taking down damaged trees at Doubletree Park as well as other locations.

HUMAN RESOURCES / STAFF TRAINING

Fire:

• Firefighter Paramedic Mel Harper conducted CPR and First Aid training for a local Girl Scout Troop this past Wednesday.
• Chiefs Tatum and Collier attended the quarterly meeting of the Texas Fire Chief's Association held at the Lewisville Civic Center.  The keynote speaker for the meeting was the Texas Fire Chief's Association Executive Director.  This informational sharing meeting provided valuable updates on Texas Forest Service Training Grants, new revisions on the ISO evaluation process and credentialing personnel for TIFMAS deployment.