Denton County Sheriff Will Travis briefed the boards of directors of Lantana’s two fresh water supply districts at their March joint meeting on public safety issues in their community.
Travis said that his deputies have stepped up patrols in Lantana and put a focus on commercial vehicle safety violations as well having more of a late night presence.
He estimated that 850 traffic tickets have been written since the beginning of the year with the majority of them issued to commercial vehicles that are out of compliance.
“We don’t want to impede construction but we do want these trucks to be safe when they’re coming and going through the community,” said Travis.
Travis said that speeding in Lantana did not appear to be a major problem.
“Believe it or not when we looked back and checked the data from our radar speed feedback signs placed in Lantana it was very low on the number of vehicles speeding. It was maybe three cars per hour,” said Travis.
Board members encouraged Travis to have his deputies be on the lookout for speeders on Lantana Trail as well as step up patrols during and after the neighborhood garage sale and other community events.
Another reoccurring problem over the years has been the theft of appliances from new unoccupied homes.
Travis said that he is talking to two different companies that are interested in giving the Sheriff’s Department radio-frequency ID chips at no cost to put into appliances in order to track them in case they are stolen.
As usual, false burglar alarms occupy most of the deputies’ time during their shifts.
“We get a lot of alarm calls during the day so that pretty much keeps us here in the neighborhood,” said Travis, who added that it was not necessarily a bad thing.
He added that motorists rolling through stop signs is a big problem in Lantana, one that he has witnessed first hand while in the development.
Travis also announced that he was able to secure a portable elevated observation tower via grant money to use at special events and problem areas when needed.
At any given time there are around 12 deputies patrolling the county, Travis said. He added that his ideal number would be 15 on the road at a time.
“I feel like we’re doing a good job out here but if we’re not I want you to tell me so we can make some corrections,” said Travis.
