Highland Village Update — April 2019

We are excited to announce a new way for our community to engage with us on topics, projects, and issues important to them.

Speak Up HV is the City’s new online community engagement tool. We are using the site to interact with the community in a time and place that is convenient for them. You can check it out at SpeakUpHV.com.

The first project on the site is the Copperas Branch Park Master Plan. We are working with professional parks and recreation planners and designers to explore options for the development of the park. We are seeking input from our residents and those who use, have used or could use the park as we set the vision and framework for the park development. I encourage you to visit SpeakUpHV.com and scroll through the 360^o photos on the site and share your ideas for the park.

Along with the online engagement tool we are also holding a kick off meeting to explain the process and gather ideas from our community. I hope you’ll join us on Thursday, April 18 at Doubletree Ranch Park. CoServ has volunteered to have their Snack Wagon on site providing dinner for those in attendance. We will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude by 9 p.m. I hope you can join us and help us begin the planning process for the park.

And speaking of parks, we are making progress on the projects included in the Park Bond. The Brazos Park Parking lot expansion is complete. Sunset Point Park improvements will be under construction this month and should be complete by the end of the summer. The new walking path at Victoria Park is expected to be completed this summer. Highland Village Road sidewalk, which will connect to the existing sidewalk at the Municipal Complex and head east along Highland Village Road to connect to the Copperas Trail adjacent to Wichita Forest Park is currently in the engineering phase.

The new softball field at Unity Park is scheduled to begin this month and will take approximately six months to complete. The pond renovation and drainage improvements are currently under design and are expected to be completed by this April. The project scope of work includes removal of accumulated silt and reconfigure the pond to accommodate a 50-year flood which will also benefit the surrounding areas. This work will impact the dog park and the Kids Kastle project. One of the design elements for drainage improvements for the pond will consist of adding drainage culverts through the narrow part of the large dog park.  Once the culverts are in place, the contractor will start work immediately to establish grass over the top of the culverts.  Users of the dog park can expect some temporary changes to the park during construction with the goal of minimizing closures.  The new pond will be larger than it currently is in order to meet the critical water retention and drainage needs for the site.  The new pond size will encroach into the current footprint of Kids Kastle.

Understanding this, city staff wants the new layout to be established before we start designing Kids Kastle.  We are expecting the site civil work for the layout of the pond to be completed by September of this year.  Once the new layout for the pond is established the city will start the community engagement process for the Kids Kastle replacement project.   The community engagement process will provide residents the opportunity to be involved in the design process.  We currently have red stone pavers from Unity Park that were donated by residents that we’d like to return to those who wish to have them. If you have a stone paver you’d like to pick up, please contact the parks department at [email protected]. Please include the names on the paver and as many details as possible in the e-mail.

April means it is severe weather season. The City has a new emergency notification system, Civic Ready, which will contact you in the case of severe weather or other important city news. If you were already signed up for the police department’s E-Watch your contact information was migrated over however you have the opportunity to add more phone numbers or email addresses to your profile and, most importantly, your address so the City can contact residents by neighborhood if necessary. Check it out at highlandvillage-tx.regroup.com. If you already had an account with us, select “forgot password” to reset the password for your account.

We have several other tools to help you and us that I hope you’ll take advantage of. The Eye on Highland Village app is a great way to let City staff know about areas in the City that are in need to attention. With the spring storms and high winds we see this time of year there may be tree limbs blocking a trail or a place where water is accumulating. If you have the app, you just snap a picture of the issue, add some info and submit. The email goes directly to the appropriate department so they can take care of the issue and let you know the progress. Just search GoRequest in your app store while you’re in the City and be sure your “location” is on.

The other tool that is extremely useful is the Eye on Water site. Here you can monitor your water usage, set up alerts to notify you when you have a potential leak and you can verify your meter reads. Just visit the City website and select Monitor Your Water Usage under Utility Billing. You’ll need your zip code, utility account number and a valid email address.

We have a new member to the Highland Village family. Fire Chief Michael Thomson began working with us in the middle of March. Chief Thomson most recently served as Deputy Chief for the Town of Addison and before that served at Division Chief of Training and EMS in Farmers Branch. We are happy to have Chief Thomson leading our team!

There are some great events coming your way this spring:

Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for April 13 at Unity Park. The Hunt begins at 10 sharp so you’ll want to arrive early. If it rains, the event will take place on Saturday, April 20.

Copperas Branch Park Master Plan Kick Off Meeting will take place on April 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Doubletree Ranch Park

Date Night at Doubletree Ranch Park will take place on April 19 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Paper Shredding Day for Highland Village resident’s personal use is April 27 at Pilot Knoll Park from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

The annual Highland Village Art Festival is set for Saturday, May 4 at The Shops at Highland Village from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

As you can see, there is a lot happening in Highland Village. I for one am looking forward to the warmer spring weather and the opportunity to enjoy the great events, parks and outdoor activities found in Highland Village!