When I was campaigning, I had the opportunity to meet with so many of our residents, talk with you about my goals, and hear what is important to you and your hopes for Highland Village. I would like the opportunity to expand and continue those conversations. To that end, I hope you’ll mark your calendar and plan to attend my “Mondays with the Mayor” beginning in September. My goal for “Mondays with the Mayor” is to provide an opportunity for us to get to know each other a little better and for me to learn what is important to you. If you have a question about something or you want to tell me your opinion about something in the city, this will be a great opportunity for casual, one-on-one conversation. My plan is to hold these the first Monday of every month at Sip Stir Coffee in Highland Village from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – except the kickoff event will be the second Monday in September (September 12) so we can all enjoy the Labor Day holiday.
If you have school-aged children, you are likely either hearing that summer vacation was too short (and too hot) or an eager anticipation to get back to school to be with friends, learn and start all the activities. Either way, it is back to school time in Highland Village. Lewisville Independent School District’s first day of school is Wednesday, August 10. As we are out in Highland Village remember to slow down in the school zones, watch for the kids walking through the neighborhoods on the way to and from school, pay attention to the school crossing guards and obey their signals, and most importantly don’t text and drive. Stay focused on your surroundings so we can all have a great start to the school year.
As many of you know, here in Highland Village we have two School Resource Officers specifically dedicated to our four schools. Officer Ben McKelvey spends his time at our three elementary schools and Officer David Harney is at Briarhill Middle School. These two officers are not only at our schools to keep our children safe, they are there to develop relationships and help guide our youth through mentorship and programs that teach values. LISD provides funding for one School Resource Officer and the city has dedicated funding for the additional second officer. Our Police Department’s focus on community policing and their involvement with our youth is one of the many reasons people choose to raise their families in Highland Village. Along with Officer McKelvey and Harney, our patrol officers are also building relationships with our kids by stopping by the schools to have lunch with the kids, visiting the corner lemonade stand and shooting a hoop or two at a neighborhood basketball game. We are grateful for the work and dedication these two officers and our entire department has for our kids here in Highland Village.
Once again, the police department and the city are hosting the TXFallenPD Tribute Event to raise funds for the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Fallen Officer Fund. This year the event will take place at Doubletree Ranch Park in conjunction with our popular Concert in the Park series. We are excited to have the event at this new location to show off our beautiful Doubletree Ranch Park and have the event in a park setting. The TXFallenPD Tribute Event will take place on Saturday, October 15 and will include the 5K run/walk, an Honor bike ride for civilians and first responders, a Kid Ride with a Cop, a police obstacle course, Kid Zone, vendors, food trucks and live entertainment concluding with a concert with Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band, Texas Flood. You can register now, and at the lowest rate, for the 5K and the Bike Race – just visit TXFallenPD.com. I hope you’ll consider participating in this event in October or consider sponsoring or donating to help the City bring this event to our community. Since 2008 we have held a bike race and 5k fundraiser for the families of police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and, with the help of our community, we have contributed over $300,000 to the fund. This year’s fundraising goal is $40,000 and we need your help.
Honoring our first responders is important to me. To that end, I am working with staff to create a First Responder Monument in Highland Village to remember and pay tribute to the men and women first responders from Highland Village who are no longer with us. We are making progress on this project and I will keep you updated as I have more information.
We also value and have two different opportunities designed to honor and remember our local Veterans. The Honor Our Veterans event is specifically for Highland Village Veterans and is held around Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Highland Village Veterans are nominated by a friend or family member to be recognized on the Veterans Monument on the south side of the Highland Village Municipal Complex. The family or friend funds the plaque the city places on the stone monument. If you know a Highland Village Veteran you’d like recognized at the Honor Our Veterans event, more information and the application can be found at www.highlandvillage.org/Veteran. Then around Veterans Day in November, in partnership with the Highland Village Business Association, we hold the Salute Our Veterans event. This is a luncheon designed to provide an opportunity to honor our local Veterans and give them a time for fellowship and shared camaraderie. Veterans and one guest are able to attend at no charge as we seek sponsorships from the community to pay for the Veterans attendance and meal. Sponsorships begin at $40, which covers the cost of two veteran’s lunches. If you choose to sponsor additional veterans, the lunches are sold in increments of $20, allowing you to choose the amount of your donation, $80 for four veterans, $120 for six veterans, etc. At the 2021 luncheon over 200 veterans, representing all branches of service, from Highland Village, Lewisville, Flower Mound, and surrounding areas had their lunch paid through sponsorship funds. I hope you’ll consider becoming a sponsor. Please forward your sponsorship by October 21 to 1000 Highland Village Road, Highland Village, TX 75077, Attention: Salute Our Veterans Lunch.
Earlier this spring the city launched the “Our Village, Our Vision” initiative designed to update the city’s master planning documents to help guide our future for the next five, 10 and even 20 years. The plans we are updating are the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, the Trail System Master Plan, the Village Connection: FM 407 Corridor Plan, Opportunity Areas Plan and the Thoroughfare Master Plan. We have partnered with McAdams to help us with these plan updates. In early spring, we held an in-person open house and provided online opportunities for the community to engage with us and provide input. The city and McAdams are now completing the meetings with the landowners and businesses to gather input on their long-term goals and vision for their properties. McAdams will use the community input, property and business owner input, economic viability and feedback from Council and staff to create recommendations and concept design for these master-planning documents. Stay tuned to SpeakUpHV.com for progress and opportunities to provide input.
And speaking of SpeakUpHV.com, there are other engagement opportunities available on the site like a two-question communication survey and the Ask Us a Question project where you can submit questions you have for a response from a city employee. There are quite a few great questions there from our community, check it out and I bet you’ll learn something or it may prompt a question you have about something happening in our city.
We also used the SpeakUpHV.com site to gather questions from the community for the presentation The Shops at Highland Village made on June 30 to the City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission. Some of you have asked if answers to your questions will be provided on the site. The intent of the site was to gather questions for the developer to answer in their presentation since the joint meeting did not include an opportunity for visitor comments. Staff did provide your questions to the developer. Links to the presentation given and the meeting video are on the SpeakUpHV site. A few questions were city related, and the answers to those have been added to the SpeakUpHV site. Other questions cannot be answered or are best answered when and if The Shops actually makes a submission to the city. I encourage you to sign up for Public Meeting notifications at the Notify Me link at highlandvillage.org to receive an email when agendas are posted for board, commission and council meetings.
I am thankful to all of you for your interest and love of Highland Village, and as I said when I was elected, I promise to work tirelessly every day to live up to the trust that has been invested in me.
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