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2014/05/09 City news, features and updates May 9, 2014 Th i s W e e k i n H u n t s v i l l e SHSU students, City staff work together to build new ideas - page 3 Flag drive at City Hall, Walker County Courthouse - page 5 Elkins Lake lift station rehab - page 4 Youth Leadership Institute members recognized by City Council - page 2 In this issue. . . Ward 3 Town Hall meeting - May 13 at the Huntsville Public Library “Little Free Library” installed at Huntsville Aquatic Center City Council Ward 3 representative Ronald Allen will host a Town Hall meeting on May 13 to provide residents an opportunity to gain information on City projects in their area. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Huntsville Public Library Community room, located at 1219 13th Street, and all Huntsville residents are welcome to attend. “I really want to encourage our residents to come out to this Town Hall meeting and share their thoughts and concerns,” Allen said. “This is a chance for you, the citizens, to address projects, services or City initiatives you have seen and to get your questions answered.” According to City Manager Matt Benoit, several staff members including CIP Manager Mike Goebel and City Engineer Yellambalsi “Ram” Ramachandra will also be present to provide information and answer inquiries. “During the Strategic Planning process, the Council expressed interest in establishing quarterly town hall meetings as a method of citizen outreach,” he said. “This is the second ward-based Town Hall meeting we have held this year, and we look forward to continuing to provide these opportunities.” For more information, contact the City of Huntsville at (936) 291-5400. How do I know which Ward I am a part of? From the City’s homepage, www.huntsvilletx.gov, scroll over “City Government” and click on “Mayor and City Council.” Beneath the Council photos is a link for an Interactive Ward Map, which will show residents which ward they are a part of based on where their home is located. Members of the Youth Advisory Board, joined by City Council member Tish Humphrey and City Secretary Lee Woodward, commemorate the installation of a new “Little Free Library” at the Huntsville Aquatic Center on May 8. According to Vinessa Mundorff, YAB Chair, the purpose of the structure is to encourage literacy among local residents of all ages. Stop by and pick up your first free book, and leave a book when you come back! Inaugural Youth Leadership Institute participants recognized Inaugural Youth Leadership Institute participants recognized YLI participants included: Huntsville ISD: Chijindo Diokpa Laiton King Barrett Koerselman Sarah Evans Lauren Hoke Wendy Arriaza Ke’Onda Issac Alpha Omega: Elise Hester Renay Gladish Jeremy Bennett Hunter Strole New Waverly ISD: Cody Corcoran Omar Albiter Athlyn Allen Taylor Allen Jenna Drane Premier: Cara Weber Brenda Grahmann Destiny Holmes Alex Bias Danielle Hill Home school: Codey Winston Max Pendley Students from throughout Walker County take part in service projects, educational opportunities Huntsville City Council recognized the inaugural Youth Leadership Institute class during their regular session May 6. The students – juniors from Huntsville ISD, New Waverly ISD, Alpha Omega Academy, Premier High School and home schools – took part in a full school year of educational opportunities, community projects and interpersonal growth. According to Carol Smith, Executive Director of the Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce, the program was loosely modeled after the long-standing Huntsville Leadership Institute, with the goal of the program being to introduce the students to the many facets of the city. “This year has been a great start for the Youth Leadership Institute - the students really enjoyed it,” Smith said. “Over a few months during the fall and spring semesters, we had an opportunity to take our group of 23 students to a variety of different places around the community, including Sam Houston State University, Huntsville Memorial Hospital, various parks, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and even some banks in town. “We also brought in a few esteemed speakers to talk with them, including County Judge Danny Pierce, City Manager Matt Benoit, and HISD Superintendent Dr. Steve Johnson. I think it was extremely beneficial, and we look forward to working with our superintendents to continue the program.” Vinessa Mundorff, Youth Advisory Board chair, said the Youth Leadership Institute was an excellent way to develop potential leaders in the high school junior age group. “We worked closely with school counselors, principals and teachers to get the word out about this program,” she said. “We wanted to get those students who could really develop into bigger and better leaders with a little bit more exposure and networking ability, and I think we really started off strong this year.” For more information, contact Smith at (936) 295-8113. Above, the participants of the inaugural YLI class heard from Meredith Conrey, the Associate Director for the Sam Houston State University Center for Leadership and Service, about the characteristics of leadership. The City of Huntsville took part in a unique partnership this semester with a class of Rural and Urban Sociology students from Sam Houston State University. The cooperative effort, made possible through the university’s Academic Community Engagement program, allowed the students to gain unique insight into City functions over several months. Since the beginning of the year, the students have not only communicated with and spend time learning from City staff, but have also had the opportunity to hear from Mayor Mac Woodward and City Manager Matt Benoit in small group discussions. “We are truly grateful to everyone at the City for working with us this semester,” said Michael Fortunato, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Engaged Scholar with SHSU. “As Huntsville sits at an interesting nexus between urban and rural society, I thought it would be a truly educational experience for my students to get involved locally and get to know the area. “We reached out to the City Secretary’s office, and in no time, we were working together on a way to make that happen.” Throughout the course of the semester, City staff including Dr. Sherry McKibben, Neighborhood Resources Director, Building Official Mike Roempke and Deputy City Secretary Kristin Edwards worked with Fortunato and his students to provide information about City departments and functions. The group also participated in ride-alongs with Code Enforcer Jason Haecker, which provided them with an up-close look at life in various areas of the City. “I’m a commuter, so the opportunity to ride along with a City employee gave me a chance to see what Huntsville has to offer From the students’ perspective Sam Houston State University seniors spend a semester working with City staff, taking away new thoughts and ideas for how to improve life in Huntsville besides what’s located along the two main roadways,” said SHSU Senior Lainey Smith. “Seeing those features really helped me apply what we discussed in the class.” The students also had the opportunity to visit City Hall on two occasions – first, for a question and answer session with Mayor Woodward, and again to deliver their final presentations for Fortunato’s class. Each presentation focused on the students’ observations about the City as a whole and ideas they had for improving life in Huntsville and better assisting residents. “The observations to be presented by the students in their final presentations have come out of the ride-alongs, focusing on what they noticed in the context of rural and urban trends,” Fortunato said. “Our class was about understanding that the transition from a rural to an urban City is not a linear process, and the experiences the class had with the City really helped solidify that idea.” City Manager Benoit, Director of Community and Economic Development Aron Kulhavy and Roempke heard the students’ presentations on May 5. The students addressed public meetings and events, transportation challenges and opportunities, the use of City parks and facilities, interaction between SHSU students and the City and more. “Before this class, I didn’t know we could come to the City and get things done – I didn’t know it was that simple,” SHSU Senior Matthew Dunkin said. Tourism Toolkit event draws strong participation The City of Huntsville Tourism Department held a successful Hotel Occupancy Tax workshop on May 6, featuring Justin Bragiel - General Counsel for the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association – as well as Marty Prince, the executive director for the Texas Forest Trail, Dave Lieber, the “Yankee Cowboy,” and Director of Community and Economic Development Aron Kulhavy. City Police and Fire Departments participate in “Shattered Dreams” exercise Huntsville High School students witness recreated traffic accident, response Photos by Kristin Edwards The Huntsville Police Department, the Huntsville Fire Department and several other local law enforcement agencies participated in the Huntsville High School “Shattered Dreams” exercise May 1. The program, a re-enactment of a fatal traffic accident, is designed to show high school juniors and seniors the potential effects of drinking and driving. In addition to local law enforcement, Memorial Herman Life Flight also took part in the re-enactment. According to Shannon Duncan with the Huntsville Independent School District, the program is partially funded through a grant from the Huntsville Education Foundation. Work is about to begin on the Elkins Lake Post Office lift station, and at the conclusion of the project, new and safer pumps will be installed which will have no negative impact on production. According to Mark Reed, Wastewater Superintendent, the entity completing the construction – 5-T Utilities – is expected to be on-site for two to four weeks. “Beginning around mid-May, we will be rehabilitating the lift station, replacing the current pumps with new, submersible units which will be safer all around,” he said. “The current pumps are in a 10-foot deep dry pit which is experiencing structural problems and presents multiple safety concerns for our employees. The new submersible pumps are designed so one staff member can safely address repairs.” Reed said purchasing the new submersible pumps cost about the same as the potential cost of repairing the existing resources. The new pumps are also expected to reduce the amount of noise generated by the lift station. “The dry pit and the current pumps are over 30 years old, and we were going to have to spend a lot of money finding the necessary parts to replace them,” he said. “The submersible pumps will allow us to rehabilitate the lift station and address safety concerns for about the same amount of money.” Reed said area drivers should expect heavy equipment moving in and out of the area surrounding the lift station, but that – to his knowledge – there would not be any extended traffic delays. “We look forward to the completion of this project, and we are very grateful to have found a solution which will benefit the residents of Elkins Lake and protect City staff,” he said. “We certainly want to thank area residents for their patience during this process.” For more information, contact Reed at (936) 294-5763. Rehab of Elkins Lake lift station to begin mid-May Time for a new flag? Bring your worn flags to be retired! As part of his Eagle Scout project, Huntsville resident Matthew Fields will place two Flag Retirement boxes in front of City Hall and the Walker County Courthouse for public use. The boxes will be available throughout the month of May for citizens to place their worn or tattered flags in preparation for a special retirement ceremony on May 31. “[During the month of May,] I will keep checking the boxes each week,” Fields said. “On May 31 at 6 p.m., I will be showing the public how to retire both American and Texas flags properly.” Fields said the ceremony will include the retirement of two large flags, including one American Flag measuring 100 feet by 50 feet. Farmers’ Market continues tomorrow, May 10 Photos by Lindsay Lauher The first City of Huntsville Farmers’ Market for the 2014 season was held last Saturday, with nine vendors and many residents taking part, and the fun is just beginning! “We are so excited to see such a strong start for our annual Farmers’ Market,” said Lindsay Lauher, Main Street Coordinator. “The group of vendors who participated in the first event came with a broad variety of vegetables, fruits, and homemade goods, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer holds for our shoppers!” Lauher said the Farmers’ Market will be held every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. through the end of July. “The season is just starting – we’re still accepting applications for new vendors to take part in these events, and we hope to see both new and returning citizens each week,” she said. “For those local merchants interested in signing up, it’s as easy as logging on to the City Web site, www.huntsvilletx.gov. “Just print out the ‘Farmers’ Market Vendor Application and Info’ document, read through our vendor guidelines and provide us with basic information about your products.” For more information, contact Lauher at (936) 291-5920. For more information, contact the City Secretary’s office at (936) 291-5403.