Our signature summer event, Celebrate Highland Village, took place on Saturday. You’ll remember we had to cancel last year’s event due to Lake Lewisville flooding. I’m happy to say the event took place at Doubletree Ranch Park, providing more park space and amenities to improve your experience. Moving to this location also ensures we will never have to cancel due to floodwaters from Lake Lewisville.
A full day of activities was planned, including the Celebrate Highland Village 5K and Fun Run, the Highland Village Lions Club Fishing Derby and, new this year, the Fire Truck Pull benefiting Special Olympics Texas. Evening events feature live music from Escape – The Dallas Journey Tribute Band, food vendors, a kid zone and end the evening with our spectacular fireworks.
Our Parks and Recreation Department has a couple of projects that are finishing up this month. The Village Park Fishing Pier needed renovation and some drainage work to prevent erosion issues. This project was completed in-house and is ready for residents to enjoy. Pickleball has become quite popular in Highland Village. You’ll remember last year we converted the Unity Park tennis courts into Pickleball courts. The courts have become very popular among our residents and the adjacent communities for Pickleball tournaments, which helps support our business community. The department is completing the installation of windscreens on the courts, providing a better experience for users.
Public Works has also been busy with the replacement of the sewer force mains from two of our wastewater lift stations. We’ve also awarded the contract for the design of a new lift station at Doubletree Ranch Park. While these are not considered “glamorous” projects, they are needed to ensure the City provides these basic and essential services.
Phases 1 and 2 of the street reconstruction program is complete. Phase 3, which includes Meadowbrook Dr., Oak St., Redwood Dr., Cedar Dr., Ferndale Dr., Merriman Dr. from Medina to Sellmeyer Ln. and Gayle Ln., will begin in 2026 after a water line project on some of those streets. This summer, the water line replacement project will replace the existing water lines along Oak St., Cedar Dr., Edgewood Dr., Lakeland Dr., Merriman Dr. and Gayle Ln., with new, upsized PVC water lines.
We are getting closer to improvements to Highland Shores Blvd. from Briarhill to Twin Coves. You’ll remember Highland Shores Boulevard was identified for reconstruction in the Public Works Capital Improvement Project (CIP) program as part of the City’s 2021 bond issue. In that bond, the City identified funding for engineering services. The City added a Highland Shores Reconstruction Project to Denton County’s 2021 bond package. The voters approved the Denton County bond package, providing a 50% funding match to the submitted projects. The Highland Shores construction phase was estimated at $9 million. In early 2022, the City commissioned an engineering firm to perform a Highland Shores Blvd. mobility study.
City staff began presenting mobility data and preliminary road layouts to the City Council at the Aug. 9, 2022 meeting. City Council approved an engineering design contract on Sept. 12, 2023, to provide engineering and surveying services for the Highland Shores Blvd. Reconstruction (Twin Coves Drive to Briarhill Boulevard) Project. A roundabout at the Highland Shores Blvd. and Hillside Dr. intersection is part of that project. The project is currently in the design phase and is approximately 80% complete. The City is preparing a bond package for September 2025 to fund our portion of the construction and will submit for the Denton County bond funds soon after. The project is anticipated to move into the construction phase late in 2025.
Our Parks and Recreation Department is offering Summer Camp through KidVenture this summer. This eight-week camp takes place at Doubletree Ranch Park and includes athletics, art, team building, rock climbing, archery, field strips, special guests, fine and gross motor skills, and more. Kidventure’s mission is to foster meaningful character traits and strong values – valuable training for our kids!
As we close out the school year and head outdoors to enjoy summer, remember that the City has a Micro-mobility ordinance that requires all riders under 18 to wear helmets. You may be asking, “What is a Micro-mobility device?” Traditional bikes, E-bikes, E-scooters, hoverboards, Segways, skateboards, unicycles, gliders and even Razor Scooters are all Micro-mobility devices. We are seeing more and more of these types of devices being used by our youth and want to ensure they are safe and protected. These electric devices are allowed on our trails and I encourage parents to teach your kids the rules of the road and trail courtesy. Our HVPD officers will also be on the trails this summer, interacting with our residents and helping everyone understand the requirements in the ordinance.
The beginning of summer also marks the beginning of the City budget process. The City budget goes into effect on Oct. 1, and because of required public hearing dates, the budget is nearly complete by mid-August. City staff, the city manager, council members and I meet in June to receive and review the proposed budget for each department. I have participated in this process before and find it extremely beneficial to understand what is needed to provide the high level of service expected by our residents. Highland Village city staff look for every way they can provide our residents with the best service at the lowest cost.
If you want to become involved in the City, consider applying to serve on a board or commission. We are currently taking applications from residents interested in volunteering their time to the City. All the details and the application are available on the City website under Boards and Commissions. I hope you will consider serving our City; I can tell you it is a rewarding experience!
I look forward to seeing you around this summer!
