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HomeMy WebLinkAboutE-Communicator-City Publications-8/31/2012IN THIS ISSUE MUNICIPAL COURT TO MERGE ON OCT. 1 Municiple Court to Merge on Oct. 1 West Nile Virus Colleyville Rated AAA Texas Night Out Community Safety Event Oct 2 ColleyvilleCable Animal Control Services National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Recreation Staff Relocating to the On Oct. 1, the cities of Colleyville and Keller will merge Colleyville Senior Center their respective court operations into asingle municipal court. The combined court will be located in the Colleyville Atmos Energy Joins Justice Center at 5201 Riverwalk Drive. Colleyville citizens 811 Day National with business before the court, or resolving a fine or Campaign citation, will notice little difference in the new court operations. At the Senior Center The costs of the combined court will be shared between the two cities and paid in direct proportion to the percentage of citations issued. Colleyville estimates an annual operating cost savings of approximately $52,000. QUICK LINKS Keller anticipates $146,875 in annual savings. Colleyville and Keller (along with Southlake and Westlake) CITY OF COLLEYVILLE have successfully operated a combined9-1-1 dispatch CITY NEWS and jail facility since 2010 and are considering joining forces for animal control service (see story below for PUBLIC MEETINGS details). The cities share similar municipal court operational policies and procedures, and use the same software, and warrant collections. The initial contract between the cities will be for six years, with options for two five-year renewals. SEPTEMBER ACTIVITIES Staffing for the court includes a contract municipal court judge, court administrator, deputy court administrator, Computer Fundamentals senior court clerk, and two administrative court clerks. A Senior Center selection committee composed of members from both city Tue. & Thu., Sept. 4-13, councils will make a joint recommendation for the 8:30 a.m. appointment of a presiding municipal court judge. Current s, call staff members from both cities can apply for the other 817.503.1195. positions. City staffs from Keller and Colleyville began Digital Photography discussionsabout the feasibility of combining municipal Rock House at court operations last summer. A joint study group, McPherson Park including Colleyville's assistantcity manager/chief financial Tue., Sept. 4-25 officer, finance manager, and information systems 6:30 p.m. manager, manager, police chief, policesupport services For details, call lieutenant and information systems manager, examined 817.503.1180. the cities' judicial services, respective charterrequirements, staffing levels, future software needs, operational policies, and potential cost savings. Solid GoldWorkout Senior Center Last year, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 984, Thu., Sept. 6-Nov. 29, allowing cities with a contiguous border, or those within a 9:15 a.m. half-mile of each other, to conduct court in one of the For details, call cities. The cities of Colleyville and Keller may be the 817.503.1195. first in Texas to merge their court operations. Until HB 984, state law required cities to conduct municipal court within their own borders. Story Time Registration Opens WEST NILE VIRUS Public Library Mon., Sept. 10 From May to October each year, the city of Colleyville 10:00 a.m. conducts a mosquito surveillance program to test For details, call mosquitoes for the West Nile virus. There are 12 sample 817.503.1150. test sites located throughout the city; each is regularly monitored and the mosquitoes trapped at these sites are sent to the Tarrant County Health Department lab for Books 'n' Brunch Club testing. When a site tests positive for the virus, it is Public Library treated withlarvacide, which is recognized as an effective Thu., Sept. 13, 1:00 a.m treatment for mosquitoes and is utilized by many North For details, call Texas cities. Colleyville has had five positive sample tests 817.503.1150. in 2012. In Colleyville, when a sample has tested positive, citizens Volleyball Mini Camp in the vicinity of the site are notified with a non- Heritage Middle School emergencyCodeRED alertand information is posted on Sat.-Sun., Sept. 15-16, the city's website at Colleyville.com, as well as on the 1:30 p.m. city's Facebook page. It is also included in the City E- For details, call News service. 817.503.1180. The Tarrant County Health Department sets the protocol for reporting human cases of West Nile virus. Doctors are Reel Talk Film Screening required to notify the Tarrant County Health Department Public Library of a West Nile virus diagnosis. Area cities are notified of a Thu., Sept. 20 human case only after the Tarrant County Health 11:00 a.m. Department has confirmed the diagnosis. To date, the For details, call Tarrant County Health Departmenthas reportedno 817.503.1150. human cases of the West Nile virus in Colleyville. Not every mosquito bite causes illness. Very few Tennis: Tiny Tots, mosquitoes actually carry the virus, and less than one Juniors,& Adults percent of the bites from mosquitoes that do have the City Park Tennis Courts virus actually cause serious illness. However, West Nile Various dates and times virus is in Texas, and it's a good idea to reduce the risk For details, call as much as possible by eliminating mosquito-hatching 817.503.1180. grounds and by minimizing exposure to mosquitoes. To reduce the risk of contracting the mosquito-borne For a complete West Nile virus practice the four Ds: event/activity listing, visit the online - Try to stay indoors at DAWN and at DUSK. EVENT CALENDAR - DRAIN any standing water in backyard or in the neighborhood, including bird baths, old tires, flowerpots, and clogged rain gutters). These are mosquito-breeding City of Colleyville sites. 817.503.1000 - DRESS in light-colored long sleeves and pants when Suggestionsor outside. For extra protection, spray thin clothing with Comments? repellent. - Apply an insect repellent containing DEET (N, N- diethyl-m-toluamide) to exposed skin and to clothing when outdoors. Useful information and health tips, statistics, and maps are available on theTarrant County Public Health website. For sampling and treatment-related questions, contact Jimmy Brock, program manager, at 817.503.1102. COLLEYVILLE RATED AAA The city of Colleyville has maintainedits AAA bond rating according to the credit ratingcompany Fitch Ratings. FitchRatings noted the city's financialprofile as very healthy, evidencedby strong reserve levels, ample liquidity, conservative budgetingpractices, and strong financialpolicies. In its reaffirmation ofthe AAA rating, the companystated, "we believe managementwill likely remain committed tomaintaining the city's consistentlystrong financial performance,including target reserves." Fitchalso cited the city's implementationof key financial managementpolicies in their ratingstatement. In 2009, Standard & Poor'sincreased the city's rating from AA+ to AAA, the highest ratingavailable. Fitch Ratings followedsuit in 2010. The strong creditrating allows Colleyville toborrow at lower interest rates,which saves money for taxpayers.Colleyville is one of onlytwo Northeast Tarrant Countycities with the coveted rating. TEXAS NIGHT OUT COMMUNITY SAFETY EVENT - OCT. 2 Texas Night Out promotesneighborhood interaction, police-community partnerships, andheightens awareness of crimeand drug prevention activities.This year, public safety personnel in Colleyvilleare revamping the event- -eschewing the neighborhood-by-neighborhoodconstraint in favorof a safety-centered community-wide event. Even the name of theevent has been altered to reflectits thelarger scope. The Texas NightOut Community Safety Event willbe held Tuesday, Oct. 2, at CityPark (off Bransford Road). Hourswill be 6:00-9:00 p.m. This year, police and firepersonnel will team up to help deliver messages aimed to keepColleyville citizens safe. Activitiesinclude: close-up views of policecars, fire trucks, and a bombtruck; equipment displays from the Tarrant County Sherriff'sDepartment and the regional S.W.A.T. team; a raffle and silentauction, as well as a Guns (police) & Hoses (fire) softballgame rematch between policeand fire personnel. The eventalso will feature information onfire and crime prevention,Citizen Fire Academy, CitizenPolice Academy, Kids Fire Camp, and the Citizens on Patrol program, and an attendance competition for HOAs. For more information, call817.503.1230. COLLEYVILLE CABLE The city of Colleyville's governmentcable channel now featuresprogramming from the TexasParks and Wildlife Department, inaddition to programming ondealing with wild animals andother city-specific programs. City cable is carried on Time Warner(Ch. 15) and Verizon (Ch. 16). Itis also available online atColleyville.com, under LIVESTREAMING & WEBCASTS in theCITY HALL heading on the frontpage. ANIMAL CONTROLSERVICES In an additionalconsolidation move,the Colleyville City Council isconsidering an option to combineits animal control services withthe cities of Keller and Southlake.If approved, the merger wouldtake effect Oct. 1, at the start ofthe new fiscal year. The move would allow allanimal control services, includinganimal shelter services, to beoperated from Keller's existinganimal shelter. That shelter is currently undergoing anexpansion that is expected to be completed in late 2014.Colleyville currently uses the animal shelter in Hurst under aninterlocal agreement. Combining the animal controlservices is projected to savemoney, provide more shelterspace, and improve service byextending operational hours forall three cities. Under theproposed agreement, Colleyville'slong-time animal control officerwould become an employee ofthe city of Keller, but would stillbe based primarily in Colleyville. NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY Colleyville is participating in theDrug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) NationalPrescription Drug Take- Back Dayon Saturday, Sept. 29, from10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This isan opportunity for those whomay have unwanted, unusedprescription drugs to safelydispose of those medications.The program is free and open tothe public. The Colleyville sitewill be manned by members ofthe Colleyville Police Departmentand will be located in front ofMarket Street, 5605 ColleyvilleBlvd. The city of Colleyville alsooffers a year-round secure disposal program for prescriptiondrugs and other medical-relatedmaterials. For details, call817.503.1200 or visit Colleyville.com. RECREATION STAFF RELOCATING TO THE COLLEYVILLE SENIOR CENTER Effective Monday, Aug. 6, the recreation staff will be located at the Colleyville Senior Center. Many regular recreation classes are now conducted at the Senior Center and now staff will be on-hand to assist those attending classes. Registration for recreation and athletic programs can still be done online or by phone at 817.503.1180.To register forprogramsin person, please plan to visit the Center at 2512 Glade Road. ATMOS ENERGY JOINS 811 DAY NATIONAL CAMPAIGN With August 11 almost here, Atmos Energy hopes this date on the calendar, 8/11, will serve as a natural reminder for residents to call 8-1-1 prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked. This comes on the heels of a recent report which determined an underground utility line is damaged during digging projects every three minutes nationwide. Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines, and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 8-1-1 before starting. View Video AT THE SENIOR CENTER offering cookbook of favorite recipes One of the best meals in town is served every Tuesday evening at the Colleyville Senior Center, as the Center's members gather for a potluck supper and social. Now seniors are sharing their best recipes in the "Recipes to Remember" - Colleyville Senior Center Cookbook. The spiral-bound cookbooks are $10 and available through the Colleyville Senior Center at 2512 Glade Road. Cash or checks only, please. To order, call 817.503.1195 or email seniorcenter@colleyille.com.Proceeds benefit the Colleyville Senior Center activity fund. View Sample Recipe Couples' Bridge Night starting at the Senior Center Colleyville seniors are starting a "Couples' Bridge Night," from 6:30-9:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Couples' Bridge Night is free, but a partner is required. Couples' Bridge Night begins Tuesday, Sept. 11, and takes place at the Colleyville Senior Center, 2512 Glade Road. For more information, contact Carel Tornes at 817.788.5611 or by email at careltornes@gmail.com. Forward email