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2014/05/28 City news, features and updates May 28, 2014 Th i s W e e k i n H u n t s v i l l e SHSU, City work together to uncover history- page 3 Citizens Police Academy starting strong - page 5 Richard Haas exhibit at Huntsville Public Library - page 2 Rules of Procedure changes - page 4 In this issue... Public Safety Department receives $5,000 donation from local business owner-operator The City of Huntsville would like to express their sincere thanks to local business owner and operator Siraj “Jack” Ali, who made $2,500 donations to the Police and Fire Departments on May 13. Ali – whose ten businesses are located throughout Huntsville and Walker County – said the $5,000 donation was in appreciation of the “wonderful job done” by the City’s public safety professionals during the last 20 years. “The City’s Police and Fire Departments have done such a good job since I've been in business in this area,” Ali said. “I have never had any big problems in my stores, and any time there was an incident, the City worked with us to make sure it was resolved.” Huntsville Police Chief Kevin Lunsford said he and Fire Chief Tom Grisham were very happy to have received the donations. “Mr. Ali's generosity to public safety is overwhelming and truly appreciated,” he said. Lunsford said the departments would explore several options to find the most beneficial use of the funding, but that any use would benefit the citizens of Huntsville. “To seek out and provide support to public safety organizations is probably one of the best things anyone can do,” Grisham said. “We are incredibly grateful today.” “It has been so much easier to do business here without having to worry about crime, and I am very appreciative.” - Siraj “Jack” Ali, local business owner-operator Huntsville Fire Chief Tom Grisham, local business owner-operator Siraj “Jack” Ali and Huntsville Police Chief Kevin Lunsford stand together at the Huntsville Police Department during a special donation ceremony. Photos by Kristin Edwards The City of Huntsville recently received an extremely positive report comparing its debt levels to peer cities throughout Texas, and citizens are encouraged to visit the City’s Web site to learn more. During a recent City Council meeting, Boyd London of independent financial firm First Southwest presented a study comparing Huntsville to nine Texas cities of similar size and population. The data indicated Huntsville’s comparative debt levels are far below area peers with respect to general obligation debt per capita as well as total debt per capita. “We are very proud to present the results of the general obligation debt ‘per capita’ peer comparison report,” said City Manager Matt Benoit. “Compared to cities of similar size and population, we are by far the lowest with respect to the amount of City-issued debt per capita. “Right now, our general obligation debt per capita is only $687, as compared to smaller cities which currently carry over $3,000 in debt per person. As compared to our total net taxable assessed valuation, our general obligation debt represents only 1.52 percent, which again is much, much lower than the other evaluated cities.” In the long-term, Benoit said the low levels of debt would allow the City Council to consider taking on new bonded developments and projects without affecting the tax rate. “Our debt levels are already low, but in the next five years, much of the debt we do have will be paid off,” he said. Visit the City’s Web site, www.huntsvilletx.gov for more information. Updated documents including the 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the FY 2013-14 Annual Budget Book are available for viewing. City receives positive debt comparison report Art of Huntsville Works of Richard Haas to be featured in Huntsville Public Library display Above, City Librarian Linda Dodson and Cultural Services Coordinator Linda Pease prepare to hang several framed works of Richard Haas. Several of the pieces will hang in the Library Board Room. Below, a close-up of one of Haas’ works based on the Old Town Theater. The Huntsville Public Library will soon be the home to a one- of-a-kind series of Huntsville art, and all citizens are encouraged to stop by and take a look. According to City Librarian Linda Dodson, the pieces of art - created by muralist Richard Haas - will be installed and available for viewing in the library’s Board Room by the end of the summer. “Haas, the noted muralist who created a series of outdoor murals currently featured in downtown Huntsville, has donated 49 of his related drawings and paintings to the City free of charge,” said Linda Pease, Cultural Services Coordinator. “Our public library seemed like a perfect fit as the staff is already accustomed to archiving and protecting similar works, and when we asked [City Librarian] Linda Dodson what she thought, she was thrilled to feature the work.” The Wynne Home, the Huntsville Public Library, the Huntsville Arts Commission and the Friends of the Wynne Home and Friends of the Library organizations came together to pay for the shipping of the pieces from New York City to Huntsville. For more information, contact Pease at (936) 291-5422. Photos by Kristin Edwards Coming June 2014! Want to learn more about summer programming, classes and events at the Huntsville Public Library? Don’t miss the special issue of “This Week in Huntsville” devoted entirely to the library! Sign up to receive our digital newsletter at www.huntsvilletx.gov! The City of Huntsville recently partnered with faculty and staff at Sam Houston State University to uncover a critical piece of history – an underground survey marker placed by the federal government nearly 60 years ago. According to Leonard E. “Gene” Woods, City surveyor, the recovery effort integrated public and private surveying data, and the location of the marker will provide critical data for use in future construction and development. “Several years ago, we started gathering information for a recovery effort to locate United States Coast & Geodetic Survey marker ‘SAM 2 1956,’ and with cooperation from the university, we were finally successful,” Woods said. “This would not have been possible without the assistance of SHSU professor Mike Leipnik, who assisted in getting permission for the recovery, and Terry Batterton, who coordinated the necessary equipment and personnel for the recovery effort.” Woods said published survey position for the marker would add critical and perpetual data to the City’s Mapping Control Network, which correlates with the federally established North American Datum of 1983. “This discovery is significant because the data associated with the survey marker will be integrated into a framework used for all infrastructure mapping,” he said. “The information will be used by surveyors, engineers, developers and the general public to insure that future development in Huntsville is compatible with existing structures. “The system utilizes markers with high accuracy values of latitude, longitude and elevation – values are universal in surveying and mapping. That means what we’ve found will be of practical use to any surveyor working in Huntsville in the future, which is very exciting.” Decades in the works While Woods and Terry Batterton with SHSU have amped up efforts to locate the marker within the last several months, both indicated that data collected from their own decades of experience in the private sector contributed to the recovery. “Before excavating beneath the published coordinates of ‘SAM 2’ – which happened to fall within a fairly new sidewalk on the north side of the SHSU Farrington Building – we wanted to build a significant degree of certainty that the marker was there,” Woods said. “We pulled information from Moorer and Woods, Inc. – a private surveying firm – and Harris Engineering, who had contracted with the university in the past. “Then, we cross referenced those results with the coordinates published by the National Geodetic Survey, and those three sources confirmed the location within a very small margin of error.” That certainty paid off when excavation began and the first portion of the marker was nowhere to be found. “On the day of the excavation, SHSU personnel saw-cut a small portion of the walk, centered on the location we had pinpointed for the marker,” Woods said. “Hand excavation began after we got through the sidewalk, and after getting down about six inches, it was evident that the ‘SAM 2’ surface marker had been destroyed or removed during the construction of the walkway.” Woods said he was “very disheartened” when the surface marker was not found at his calculated location, but instead of abandoning the site, the crew continued due to a critical piece of knowledge. “While it doesn’t necessarily claim it in the records of the marker, [Mr. Woods] knew it was common practice to place a subsurface marker beneath where the surface marker would typically be located,” Batterton said. “Someone without Mr. Woods’ years of surveying might have just walked off without looking deeper, but he suggested a subsurface marker might have been set, so we kept going.” Priceless discovery When excavation continued to a depth of 30 inches, the “SAM 2 1956” subsurface marker was uncovered intact. “We continued excavating until we got about two feet down, and then I took a probe rod and pushed down until I felt something solid in the location I had mapped out,” Woods said. “When we finally got down and exposed the sub-surface marker, we had recovered something that hadn’t seen the light of day for 58 years.” After confirming the location, Woods said the City and SHSU would work together to perpetuate the marker and try to preserve it for future mapping. “The effort now will be to place a cylinder over the subsurface marker with a hinged access cover,” Woods said. “This will allow all future surveyors to open the cap and place their survey rod or instrument directly onto the subsurface marker without digging it up again.” Batterton said university professors and students would also benefit from the recovery. “I think having this marker will be very beneficial for professors of Geography or Geographic Information Systems (GIS),” Batterton said. “Its proximity will make it very convenient to use for educational purposes and to let students get hands-on experience. “The marker will also be used as SHSU works with the City to expand the GIS network from the City onto the campus. As SHSU continues to grow, the need for a GIS system on campus will be increasingly important, and this marker will be used to enhance the facilities management aspect of the campus.” Uncovering history Uncovering history SHSU, City staff work together to uncover federal survey marker SHSU, City staff work together to uncover federal survey marker 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. The event will be held at the Robert A. Josey Boy Scout Lodge, located at 2201 Avenue M. The project was sponsored by McCoy’s Building Supply and Home Depot. For more information, call (936) 291-5403. The Huntsville City Council recently adopted changes to the City Council Rules of Procedure, including adjustments to the public comments process. Under the new policy, citizens may speak during Council meetings on agenda items in the same manner as previously, by completing a card in the lobby and placing it on the City Secretary's desk on the dais prior to the start of a meeting. However, instead of all agenda comments being presented as a group near the beginning of the meeting, citizens will be able to express themselves as the specific item is brought up on the agenda; each speaker still being permitted five minutes. The City Council also approved an amendment to remove the overall time limit of one hour for all comments combined. The other major update to the public comment process allows citizens to request their own agenda items for a new Citizen Participation Request portion of the agenda. To do so, individuals must submit their request in writing (methods listed below) to the City Secretary's office by noon on the Tuesday prior to a regular City Council meeting (first and third Tuesdays of the month). Once received by the City, the subject included in the request will be added to the new section of the agenda, making it eligible for Council member discussion, in accordance to the Texas Open Meetings Act. According to City Council member Joe Rodriquez, who served on the Council committee to refine the Rules of Procedure, the updated process will dramatically increase the level of interaction between Council members, citizens, and staff during regular meetings. “The changes we've made will make the public comments portion of the meeting more responsive for the citizens of Huntsville,” said Council member Joe Rodriquez. “By including the topic on the posted agenda, Council members as well as City staff will have the opportunity to prepare necessary information, making the entire meeting more productive.” Under the prior procedure, the Act prevented debate or discussion among members and options for action for items that had not been posted on an agenda, but were brought up by a resident during Public Comments, as it permitted only statements of fact be made or questions be asked. Citizen Participation Requests may be submitted in person, by mail, via email to citysecretary@huntsvilletx.gov, by fax to (936) 291- 5409, or through the City Web site's Report It feature. To reach the Web form, click “Report It!” on the left-hand side of the page, then scroll down and click “Citizen Participation Request,” fill in the required information and submit. The Action Center is also available through the City of Huntsville smartphone app. For more information or assistance, contact City Secretary Lee Woodward at (936) 291-5403. City Council updates Rules of Procedure document New public comment policy allows greater interaction Report It! Take a few minutes to skim through all of the functions of the City’s Report It! page and mobile app. From Web site feedback to pot hole or street light outage reporting, this page has it all! blooms... Summer The Huntsville Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy is starting off strong, with participants from all walks of life already taking away valuable knowledge and relationships. According to Kenneth Posey, HPD Officer and CPA organizer, the group has reached the half-way point of the 13-week program and have already covered a wide range of topics pertaining to the department. “Tonight, Sergeant Eric Scott and Patrol Sergeant Jose Valles will present information on DWI investigations, and Sergeant David Collins will discuss patrol procedures and traffic stops,” Posey said prior to the May 19 class meeting. “Throughout this process, our Citizens Police Academy participants will meet or hear from nearly 30 HPD personnel, giving them not only a comprehensive understanding of what we do, but who we are.” Thus far, Posey said the class has been on a tour of the HPD building as well as the new Walker County Jail facility, and also heard information about accident reporting, investigation and reconstruction. Citizens Police Academy offers valuable insight into HPD “During week five, we also took the class out to the gun range, where they heard a presentation from our SWAT team about their responsibilities,” he said. “As CPA continues, we’ll take our participants through ‘shoot’ and ‘don’t shoot’ scenarios where they will fire actual weapons. “They have also all signed up to go on ride alongs with our officers, and many of them have decided to go during night shifts so they can see what that’s really like.” Posey also said the group would have the opportunity to learn about other entities with whom HPD works with on a regular basis, such as the Walker County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and the Municipal Court. “I think our participants are getting a lot out of the program so far,” he said. “It’s really significant that they are volunteering their time to be here and learn about what we do. We’re excited to finish this session of CPA and get started planning the next one.” For more information, contact HPD at (936) 291-5480. While the fields of bluebonnets may be gone for the season, there are still a beautiful variety of summer wildflowers to see throughout Huntsville. Whether visiting John Henry “Rather” Park (top left), the small patch of wildflowers next door to City Hall (top right), or one of the oceans of wildflowers near the City trail system (bottom), there are a wide range of bright, camera-ready summer colors to see! Poster series to debut at Wynne Home Arts Center The Wynne Home Arts Center will present an exhibit of vintage posters entitled “No Thumbtacks! The Poster as Art,” beginning Saturday, May 31. According to Linda Pease, Cultural Services Coordinator, an opening reception will be held at the facility on the day of the opening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with collector remarks from Ralph Pease at 5 p.m. “I believe this exhibit is going to be very popular with citizens in several age ranges – the bright colors, the graphic designs and the famous names associated with the posters in this show are truly interesting,” Linda Pease said. “Every work shown will be an original poster, and while some were created in the 1890s, others will be more recent movie and travel posters. “The Friends of the Wynne Home will also showcase a new exhibit in the sales gallery, and a representative of theirs will also be on hand to answer questions.” The poster exhibit will be on display through September 30. For more information, contact the Wynne Home Arts Center at (936) 291-5424.