Hello, Flower Mound! I’m thrilled to tell you about some very exciting changes that are happening this month to the Town’s website, www.flower-mound.com. For months, staff has been working with our web provider, CivicPlus, on a website redesign that incorporates an updated, light, and modern design; inclusion of more imagery and video; and a refreshed navigation system. And now, we’re finally at launch time! The new site will be live in early May.
When the website launches, you’ll have a new navigation experience from the homepage that is aimed at helping you find what you’re looking for quickly and easily. Staff has reorganized the site’s global navigation, grouping relevant topics together and adding a “How Do I?” section at the top, where you can quickly find popular suggestions based on commonly searched phrases and our top-visited web pages.
The new site also includes additional homepage buttons so that you can navigate to agendas and minutes, or the Library, or Development Services, for example. Plus, toward the bottom of the homepage, you’ll find a new Spotlight area, where we plan to highlight important topics. When we pass a new budget, you’ll be able to find it there. When we launch a new initiative or program, we’ll highlight the details in this section. Basically, this space will give us the ability to showcase longer-term news items from the homepage so that they don’t get lost among the many updates staff provides daily on our site.
At the end of the day, this website refresh will help us modernize the site. Technology changes rapidly, so a website that’s a few years old can quickly become outdated. With the redesign, the mobile site will also get a makeover. We know a lot of you visit the site from your phones or tablets, so making sure the mobile site is easy to use is a top priority. Overall, the new site will continue to have all the great functionality that you’ve come to expect – streaming live and archived videos, paying your utility bill, applying for permits – but will enhance those activities by making them easier to find and complete.
As always, let us know if you have feedback on the new site. We’re excited to launch it, and we hope that it makes your online interactions with us easier and more efficient. As the launch rolls out, there may be some tweaks here and there along the way, so please be patient with staff as they get everything up and running.
Before I go, I want to mention some great upcoming events we have in May. Our popular Concerts in the Park series is back every Friday evening in May at Heritage Park. Listen to live music, grab some grub from food trucks, and enjoy an evening with family and friends. To see the schedule and performers for the 2022 Concerts in the Park series, visit flower-mound.com/concerts.
I’ve mentioned it a few times, but our Arts Festival at Heritage Park is back for its second year on Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Heritage Park. See live performances, shop from a variety of art vendors, partake in the community mural, and much more! Learn more at flower-mound.com/artfestival.
The Town’s second annual Bike with the Blue 5K Run and Bike Race will take place on Saturday, May 14 in Lakeside DFW. The event will consist of a 5K run, youth ride where children will ride a short course with multiple law enforcement agencies, civilian bike race, and police bike race. All proceeds will benefit Journey to Dream – Kyle’s Place, a transitional living program for homeless teens working toward independence. Join us for this popular event! Learn more at flower-mound.com/bikewiththeblue.
Finally, as we close out the busy month of May, we pause to remember our military men and women who laid down their lives in sacrifice to our nation. Since the American Revolution, more than one million American men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in wars and conflicts. We must ensure our fallen heroes are never forgotten, and it is our job on Memorial Day – and every day – to remember and honor them. We remember those who left the comforts of home to fight for us and our freedom, and never returned. Each year, the Town holds a Memorial Day Ceremony, and I’d like to invite you to join us. We’ll gather at the Flower Mound Senior Center (2701 West Windsor Dr.) on Monday, May 30, at 9 a.m. I hope to see you there for this important occasion.
