This is my final article as Mayor of Highland Village–the last two years have certainly flown by! I am so deeply thankful for the opportunity to serve in the city that raised me. Highland Village has always and will always have a deeply special place in my heart. When my family came to our city in 1978, the city didn’t even have 5,000 people living here but there was a construction boom underway in both the Village Estates and Willow Creek Estates part of the city. We had a volunteer fire department and a police department in the single digits of both cars and officers and our city staff worked out of portable buildings at what is now The Robert & Lee DuVall Center. That was nearly 45 years ago and while a lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same. Highland Village is still a small city on the lake with small town values. I have always said that we sit somewhere between Mayberry and Pleasantville, and I firmly believe that to still be true. I have tried to carry those values with me throughout my life and especially during my time on city council.
When I ran for mayor two years ago, there were two big issues facing our City. The first was about our comprehensive plan. Working with my colleagues on council for about a year and a half as well as city staff and our consultants at McAdams, we had a draft of the plan that we were trying to finalize. I said then that the next two years would set the stage for our city for the next 10 to 20 years and I believe that has held true as I leave office. As we publicized the plan, there were residents who had serious questions and concerns about the plan, so we took a step back, paused the progress, and listened. In the end, we approved a plan that took many of those concerns into account and also ensures that decisions about future development in our city will continue to take our residents’ wants and needs into account while also continuing to be a collaborative effort with those wishing to do business in our city. The plan also ensures that mobility and connectivity for our residents will always be a priority.
The second big issue facing our City in 2022 was whether or not apartments would become a central part of The Shops at Highland Village. As a candidate for mayor, my opinion on the issue was the question I was asked about most, and I took the position that The Shops was always intended to be the retail hub of our city and I wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Over the course of my first year as Mayor, the City Council listened to the developers and to our residents and in the end, we did not approve the concept for apartments at The Shops. Today, The Shops continues to respond to market demands to evolve and with the addition of The Cheesecake Factory, The Shops is a thriving economic driver for our city.
While those two issues were significant in the public eye, there have been numerous other great accomplishments over both the last two years and the previous eight years in which I have had the privilege of serving. While I have served on city council, we lowered property taxes twice and we’ve lowered them two additional times while I served as Mayor, the last of which was the most significant reduction in the city’s 61-year history. We have updated ordinances that have both improved the quality of life in the city as well as improving public safety. One example of this is the recently updated and adopted micro-mobility ordinance. This ordinance addresses the challenges of making sure that our residents can enjoy all of the new, modern modes of travel on our streets and trails while also making sure that they do so in a safe way for themselves and the residents that they encounter along the way. When I became mayor, I also asked city staff to review our stormwater management plan because it had not been reviewed in many years. That review is now in its final stages and once done, will avail the city to grant money from FEMA which the city can use to alleviate several pain points throughout the city and better protect the property of our residents. Additionally, we have repaired and/or resurfaced miles of city streets, which provide for safer smoother travel for our residents. A great example of this is “the curve” on Highland Village Road. For years, this curve has been a hot spot for accidents that not only endanger those driving but also a home at the apex of the curve. In the last two years, that section of road was completely resurfaced with a surface that allows better grip for cars, reducing the chances of a car sliding off of the road and we placed better signage that warns of the curve. Together, along with a better barrier around the curve, we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the number of incidents at that location. In addition, we’ve also repaired and/or replaced miles of sewage and water lines throughout the city which makes our city’s water supply safer for our residents. Finally, we also updated our ordinance that regulates “door-to-door” solicitors by amending the hours in which they could operate in the city and requiring them to wear a city-created lanyard that proves they are registered and have undergone a criminal background check. This has had a direct impact on both the quality of life for our residents in that they are no longer bothered after dark or at excessively early hours in the morning, but it also improves safety for our residents and their property.
These are all examples of collaborative efforts on the part of many people serving on city council and the city staff as well as members of the public through their input to the city and/or their own service on boards and commissions. In short, none of this was done by any one individual councilmember or mayor; all of these accomplishments were absolutely team efforts. But this is just a small sampling of so many things that so many people worked so hard on for many years.
There are also a number of things that have been set in motion over the time that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of through my service. One of those is the improvements at Pilot Knoll Park. City staff took direction from council to find creative ways to generate additional revenue through our parks system and the result was a project full of park improvements and enhancements. Staff worked diligently for two years to apply for grants to offset much of the costs of the work residents will see. In recent months, we were informed that the city will receive grants totaling about $1.2 million dollars that will be critical to improved access and infrastructure at Pilot Knoll Park as well as the construction of several cabins that the city will rent thereby generating revenue. Another great example of hard work and collaboration will be the Joint Fire Department Training Facility that we are partnering with Lewisville and Flower Mound to build and operate. This new facility will be located in Lewisville and will provide valuable training time to all three city’s fire departments at a shared cost. For Highland Village, our cost in the facility will equate to just under 8% but because it is located in Lewisville, will allow our firefighters to receive a significantly higher amount of training time. In years past, they have had travel as much as an hour away to train which severely limits the time for actual training, but this new facility’s close proximity will alleviate that challenge and the resulting increase in actual training time along with the opportunities for joint training between the three cities will have a tremendously positive impact on our residents.
These are all great accomplishments and great examples of many people working together with a common purpose of improving the lives of our residents and I leave office incredibly proud of all of this. But there are also several other things that I have thoroughly enjoyed during my time on council and my time as mayor. I have taken a great amount of pleasure in seeing and hearing from our residents at functions throughout the city such as Celebrate Highland Village, the McAuliffe Chili Cookoff and Heritage Elementary’s Hawkfest, Marcus football and softball games and even ballgames at Unity Park. Some would say that it’s a burden of service when you’re at a ball game and a resident recognizes you and takes that opportunity to bring something to your attention. I have always seen it as a benefit. My favorite part of serving has always been those interactions with residents no matter where or when they occurred. When I became mayor, I instituted the monthly Coffee with the Mayor because I have always thought it was valuable to put myself in as close proximity with our residents as possible. And those coffees were great events! The feedback and the discussions have been at least as beneficial to me and the city staff as I hope they have been to all of the residents who have attended. I still have one more left so I hope to see many of you at Sip Stir on Monday, May 6 from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. I’ve also really enjoyed the opportunities to show up at lemonade stands throughout the city when our youngest residents are trying to earn a little extra money. Showing them my support of their efforts or causes (some of them have been in support of charitable causes) has been something I’ve always felt was important and they’ve always shown such great appreciation. I will continue to do that as a former mayor too, so if you hear or see one, please reach out to me via text or instant message and I will show up!
In closing, it’s been the highest honor and greatest privilege to serve. Voters have shown a tremendous amount of trust in me, and I sincerely hope I’ve always lived up to it- that’s been my guiding principle all along. My only goal was to make this great city just a little greater during my time and I believe that as I leave office, the city is at least a little bit better than it was. I’ve been asked many times in recent weeks and months “what’s next for you” and the truth is I really don’t know for the first time in a long time. What I can say for sure though is that this is and always has been my home and my love and passion for Highland Village has only grown through my time in service. So, I am always just a phone call away and I will always be willing to serve in whatever capacity I am needed and called upon to serve. To the residents, I say thank you for this wonderful opportunity. To the city’s incredible staff, I say thank you for the great work that has been done and for the opportunities to collaborate and work alongside you. And to my wife, Gretchen and are children Reagan and Emily, I say thank you for sacrificing time with me so that I might pursue this passion and live out what I have tried to teach; the service above self is the kindest gesture any of us can make. I am confident that our city is safer, more prosperous and has many more bright days ahead and I look forward to seeing you along the trails, in the parks or at a ballgame…. And maybe at a Coffee with the FORMER Mayor!
