February 2023

February is American Heart Month and there is a lot you can do to prevent heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. One in every three deaths in the United States are related to cardiovascular disease. Make heart-healthy choices and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Choose healthy foods and drinks, keep a healthy weight, get regular physical activity, and most importantly, if you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, quitting lowers your risk for heart disease. Your doctor can suggest ways to help you quit.

Training in CPR provides the knowledge, confidence and skills to stay calm in a medical emergency and help a person in need. Individuals certified in CPR are prepared to make a difference in their community by being ready to jump into action anywhere a cardiac arrest happens. The Highland Village Fire Department conducts CPR/AED courses on an even month basis. This training covers Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for adults, infants and children and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training. Certifications are valid for a two-year period. Classes are held at the Highland Village Fire Department from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Cost is $40 for residents of Highland Village and $50 for non-residents. Class size is limited, so please sign-up up early! Our next class is February 15, 2023. Sign up at the link below or contact the Fire Department at 972-317-0890. This is not a first aid or medical professional’s course.

A Quality Neighborhood Starts with You

The Code Enforcement Division is responsible for maintaining Highland Village as a safe, clean, and livable city. Code Enforcement Officers routinely patrol neighborhoods for code violations and investigate complaints, with a mission to educate residents and eliminate conditions that threaten the life, health, safety, and general welfare of the public. Here are tree and shrub guidelines to ensure safe travel for vehicles and pedestrians, along with a few common code violations.

• Overgrown trees and shrubs endanger us all when they obstruct the path of vehicles and pedestrians, as well as the view of traffic signs, bicyclists, and other drivers on the road. It is the responsibility of the property owner to trim back the vegetation. Branches in the red in the diagram to the right must be removed. 
• Siding, shingles, and other exterior parts must be in good repair.
• Vehicles must be registered and operable, and must be parked on a paved surface.
• Pools must be maintained and enclosed with self-latching gates. Drainage of pools must be confined to the property upon which the pool is located.
• No untended grass or weeds in excess of 12”
• No signs in public right of way.
• Trash and debris are prohibited from being left in the yard and must be disposed of properly.

If you have questions, contact us at 972-899-5092 or visit our website at highlandvillage.org/CodeEnforcement or view the City code of ordinances at the link below.

The Our Village, Our Vision project is now in the final phase with Council consideration of approval by ordinance and a public hearing at an upcoming meeting. The revised plans to be considered by Council will be available on SpeakUpHV.com before the Council meeting. Sign up to receive meeting notifications at www.highlandvillage.org/StayNotified and select Public Meetings. 

In September 2021, Council approved a contract with McAdams to update the City’s planning documents including:

1. The Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan
2. The Trail System Master Plan
3. The Village Connection: FM 407 Corridor Plan
4. The Opportunity Areas Plan
5. The Thoroughfare Master Plan

Since that time, McAdams has worked through the process in phases. The first phase of the project was the community input phase with several opportunities for input in person, online, via focus groups and a random survey. McAdams then began the second phase of the project, gathering all the information provided in the community engagement, meetings with property owners, the statistically valid survey, the focus groups, the economic market analysis and input from staff, Council, and Planning & Zoning to develop the planning documents. Additional revisions have been made based on feedback from Council, residents and staff. The third and final phase of the project is review of the plans by Council and consideration for approval by Council at an upcoming meeting. A public hearing will be held in conjunction with the final approval of the plans. 

We're Hiring!

The City of Highland Village is not only a great place to live, it’s a great place to work! We have openings in our Police Department, Public Works, and seasonal part-time positions available throughout the year.  

We offer a competitive benefit package including deferred compensation, health insurance, flexible spending/dependent care, holidays and leave, life insurance, long-term disability, longevity pay, retirement, tuition reimbursement and wellness programs. 

Check out the available positions at www.highlandvillage.org/jobs.

Winter Averaging is Now in Effect - What is it?

The primary billing objective of a utility is to equitably distribute costs to provide service to all users of the system. Billing for sewer is a challenge in that there is not an effective way to specifically measure household sewer usage. However, there is a direct correlation between water usage and sewer usage. Accordingly, household water usage is thus the method used to distribute sewer charges. The only significant anomaly is irrigation usage. To address this, cities typically provide for a “winter average” water usage, which is a basis of water usage during months in which irrigation is not largely utilized that is presumed to be “typical” usage throughout the year. This does provide some benefit of doubt to residents, as it would be largely expected to have increased household usage in summer months for increased laundry, showers, etc.  

The City uses the lowest three of four months (December through March) to determine a maximum usage to use as a basis for sewer charges. Then for each month’s billing this calculated winter average usage is compared to the actual water usage, using the lower of the two. The winter average for each household is updated each year.