Duncanville Weekly Activities 13May2016

Fieldhouse Manager Selected – we are pleased to announce that we have hired Mr. Craig Brasfield to be the new Fieldhouse manager. He will begin employment on Monday, May 16, allowing for a two week transition period with the current managers for sharing information and institutional knowledge of current and past business practices. Mr. Brasfield comes to the city of Duncanville with more than 25 years’ experience in sports sales/marketing/development, business operations and management. His experience includes six years as the Vice President/General Manager of the Fort Worth Cats and Grand Prairie AirHogs baseball teams. In this capacity he oversaw all business and baseball operations including the baseball park. He has overseen construction and renovations at this ballpark as well as other parks he has managed. Mr. Brasfield also has demonstrated his ability to increase gross revenues through creative marketing and development of complementary events that further enhance visitor numbers and revenues. While most of his experience is with baseball, he has shown the ability to successfully operate and manage a sports venue, seek corporate sponsorships and fundraising, market and promote an organization to develop brand awareness, and manage budgets and personnel. In addition, he also has experience in facility renovations and construction. We believe he will be a strong asset to the City of Duncanville and the Fieldhouse as we continue to move towards making the Fieldhouse a destination facility to attract the highest level of athletic competition and provide a wide array of recreational opportunities.
Police Department – Lt. Mark LiVigni and CID Lt. Gary McDaniel have been working on a program to build communication between the Police Department and Duncanville’s faith-based community. Chief Brown attended the first Mayor’s Ecumenical Council meeting to also discuss this idea with them. Lieutenants LiVigni and McDaniel have met individually with a number of church leaders to discuss outreach ideas, especially with the youth of Duncanville. On Tuesday, June 7, 11:00a – 12:00p, the Police department will host its first “Topic of the Month” meeting. The topic for this inaugural meeting will be an overview of the department and introductions of Chief Robert Brown and Assistant Chief Brian Heard, followed by general Q&A. This is just one of several efforts on the part of the PD to foster positive relationships and communication and hopefully avoid or minimize the negative types of responses to Police incidents that we have seen in other communities.

Fire Department – There were no major fire or EMS events in Duncanville this past
week.  We have been informed that the city of Lancaster wants to join Duncanville, DeSoto
and Cedar Hill in the regional emergency management coordination program. We will
begin working on an Interlocal Agreement that can be considered by the four city
councils. This will help reduce our costs in the program, but also points to the
effectiveness of our program and the benefits of regional cooperation.  Department personnel will be going door to door again with the smoke alarm program  this Saturday, May 14. They will be visiting Fairmeadows area in District 5 this month.
Public Works – Water usage was 27.010 MG last week, up from 23.323 MG the prior
week. The weekly peak water demand occurred on Thursday, May 5 when 4.340 MG
was pumped from ground and elevated storage.
There were no positive mosquito traps reported by Dallas County this week. Dallas
County continues to forward updates to us regarding the Zika virus. There have been
no reported cases in Duncanville.

Construction Updates:
The Lions Park Erosion Control project had its pre-bid meeting on Wednesday,
May 11. Bids are scheduled to open on Thursday, May 26.

Barson Utilities has begun transferring service lines for the residents along the
Roma Drive Water and Sewer Improvements Project. This transfer also
includes the installation of new water meters.

Excel 4 Construction has completed work on two more lines that are a part of
the change order for the current pipe bursting project. Once Public Works
Administration has received, reviewed, and approved the latest pay estimate,
Excel will be notified on whether to move to the next line.

Revised plans for the design of the traffic signal at Duncanville Road and Red
Bird Lane were submitted by the consultant. Public Works staff will meet with
the consultant to discuss final design issues in more detail before the plans are
accepted for construction by the city.

Parks and Recreation – Construction has begun for the new playground at Willow Run Park. The old playground and concrete border has been removed and installation of the new equipment will begin in the next few days dependent on weather.
Recreation – Save the Date: The annual Memorial Day Celebration will be held on Monday, May 30 at 10:00a at Memorial Park. Lady Diamond will be singing the National Anthem and the keynote address will be provided by Retired Air Force Colonel Bobby G. Waddle.

Movies in the Park returns next Friday night, May 20 at Armstrong Park with a
showing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beginning around 8:00p.

Fieldhouse — Dallas Mustangs AAU Basketball will host a large, local AAU basketball tournament this weekend at the Fieldhouse for both days and using all courts. They may be playing a few games at the Recreation Center on Saturday as well. Traffic around the Fieldhouse is expected to be heavy during this time.
Economic Development — ED staff is providing assistance on the following potential projects:
 A prospective business looking at the former Enchanted Memories Event
Center. The Development Team will meet with them this week to determine if there are any potential development issues. The business wants to open as
an event center as well.

Ewing Irrigation is also having a pre-development meeting with the
Development Team as they are considering an expansion.

Also, we have heard from the property owner of the Fairmeadows Shopping
Center that Mountain View College is no longer interested in that location for a potential satellite trade program. They have indicated they are not looking
anywhere else in Duncanville either.

The DCEDC presented a check for $4805.06 to Melcor, Inc. Steve Corder on
Tuesday. You may recall that the DCEDC and the City Council approved a sign grant through the Design Incentive Program. This helped enhance the look and safety of the sign. The original sign blocked drivers’ views when they were turning out of the building onto Wheatland.

DCEDC will be getting a new website, which will be compatible with the new City website. Jorge Ruiz is working with staff to develop it. DCEDC’s website URL will be http://www.DuncanvilleEDC.com
DCEDC will hold its Annual Meeting June 9th. This is a requirement according to the DCEDC Bylaws.

Certificate of Occupancy (CO) Permits Issued:
None this week