Message from the Mayor Pro Tem

The last month of 2018 is upon us, and it will soon be a brand new year. As the year comes to an end we can come together and share in the joys of the Holidays. It is a time to reflect on the year past and embrace the new year to come. Most of all, it is a great time to spend with family and friends, and my hope is that you can gather with those that mean the most to you.

It also gives us an opportunity to serve and give back to those in our community and surrounding communities. Various of our City Departments are participating in different drives to give back so please contact the Fire Department, Library, City Hall, Animal Services, and Police Department if you are interested in blessing a child, family or four-legged friend this holiday season.

We have some great holiday events coming up that will be fun for the whole family. On December 8^th, the Hector F. Garcia Community Center will host our Breakfast with Santa from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Then our Hometown Christmas Event will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Capp Smith Park. The Library will host, “The Nutcracker”, with special guest Santa Claus on December 13, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. We hope you and your family will be able to join us!

On behalf of the City Council and City Staff, we wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas! May the New Year bring you much joy, peace, and happiness. Let us continue to work together and keep making Watauga, “A Great Place to Live.”

CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
DECEMBER 17, 2018
6:00 PM

CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
7105 WHITLEY ROAD

City Administrative Offices
will be CLOSED on Monday, December 24^th,
Tuesday, December 25^th, Monday, December 31^st,
and Tuesday, January 1^st.

The Watauga Police Department and Fire Department will be OPEN to assist as needed.

Are you Civic Ready for an Emergency?

The City of Watauga, TX has a new mass notifications system for it's citizens. CivicReady is a communication service that sends immediate alerts to Watauga's citizens who are subscribed to the system.

All users will have the ability to customize their notification preferences after signing up. Alerts can be sent via email, text, and/or phone call so you never miss important communication about an emergency event in the area.

CivicReady also has an app you can use to receive push notifications on your mobile device. The free Alert Me app is available on both the Apple and Google Play Stores. Be sure to sign up below before using the App.

Apple Store
Google Play Store

Examples of routine notifications include:

Upcoming Events
City office closings
Road closures

Examples of emergency notifications include:

Severe weather alerts
Missing persons
Evacuations

https://wataugatx.regroup.com/signup

We will contact you through CivicReady in the event of an emergency or other routine events based on your subscription preferences.

US Postal Box Moved

The US Postal Box, previously located in the parking lot behind the Watauga Police Department has been moved. The new location is by the sidewalk between Watauga City Hall and the Watauga Public Library.

The hours for collection at this location are:

Monday - Friday: 3:30pm
Saturday: 3:00pm

The last collection for this area is located at 4600 Mark IV Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76161.

Monday - Friday: 7:00pm

Saturday: 6:00pm

Event Summary: Goat Yoga

The Watauga Parks and Community Services Department would like to say thank you to everyone that came out to make Goat Yoga another successful event!! The team at Goat Yoga Richardson always does an amazing job, so we will definitely have them back for Goat Yoga #3 in spring 2019!

Trashin’ the Park

Along with Goat Yoga, Watauga’s Parks and Community Services department held a recycling event in honor of America Recycles Day! We want to thank all those that participated, including the two local Watauga Businesses that came out to provide their services, EZ Shredding and DFW Reclaimers. With your help, we recycled several electronic items that would have otherwise been disposed of improperly. In total, we also collected just over 90 boxes of paper that was shredded and recycled!

New Shade Structure

A new shade structure has been installed at Indian Springs Park!

Make Visiting a Texas State Park One of Your New Year Resolutions

Texas state parks just got easier for visitors to access with a new online reservation system set to debut in early 2019. New features include allowing visitors to reserve a specific campsite, purchase day passes in advance, and buy or renew a park pass online.

Learn more here: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/reservations.

Coming Soon…

New picnic tables at Foster Village Park!

Christmas Toy and Food Drive

The Watauga Fire Department is proud to be a sponsor of the Cowboy Santas Program INC. which is a 501 C(3) charitable organization that provides toy's to children 12 years of age and under, from low income Tarrant County families, during the Holiday Season. You may bring your donation of a new unwrapped toy to the Watauga Fire Station located at 5909 Hightower Drive between the hours of 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM from now until December the 15th.

The Fire Station is also accepting donations of non-perishable food items for the Tarrant County Food Bank at the same location and hours.

Tis the Holiday Season and helping those in need is a great way to make your Holiday shine brighter.

Citizen Feedback and Input

Your opinion truly matters! We encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the Citizen survey. Your feedback is very important and ensures the City has the best information for decision making. To take the survey, please log on to the Internet and go to the address below (the Library or City Hall lobby kiosk provides free access if you do not have it at home).

www.CobaltCommunityResearch.org/WATAUGA

Enter your account number from your water bill (With or without dashes). Your response will be strictly confidential – your name will not be released to the City for any purpose. If you prefer to complete a paper version, you can get a copy at any municipal building in the City of Watauga. Please complete the survey before January 11, 2019. Thank you for your cooperation and your insight!

Pet Therapy

Reading to therapy dogs transform kids into confident readers. Walk into the Watauga Public Library on Monday afternoons and you might just find Hermes stretched out on the floor in the children’s area, tail wagging, listening to a child read a book. Hermes is part of the library’s therapy dog reading program, in which kids have the opportunity to read aloud to a trained therapy dog, thus building important literacy and social skills. The children choose the books they want to read and spend 15 minutes or more reading with a canine companion. By providing quiet comfort, the therapy dogs transform into supportive reading buddies and trusted friends in a safe and welcoming space.

Reading skills are often associated with improved academic performance and positive attitudes about school in children.

Additional Information on Pet Therapy:
https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/12/22/dog-therapy-101/
https://thebark.com/content/therapy-dogs-help-childrens-reading-skills
https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/reading-therapy-dogs-improves-literacy-attitudes-second-grade-students-0

Meows and Howls

Texas Coalition for Animal Protection (T.C.A.P.) is joining us to provide low cost vaccinations and other various pet services, prices start at $5.00.

WHEN: Saturday, December 8, 2018

10 a.m. – Noon

WHERE: Watauga Animal Services
5203 Watauga Road

Micro-chipping

Watauga Animal Services offers pet micro-chipping and chip registration at a discounted price of $20.00 for residents and non-residents. No appointment is necessary, just stop by the Shelter during business hours with your pet and their CURRENT Rabies Certificate.

For more information, visit https://www.cowtx.org/1358/Services

Elevated Storage Tank Rehabilitation (Water Tower)

The NRHs and Watauga’s Pump Stations were damaged September 20, 2018 due to a Fort Worth water main break. The Elevated Storage Tank Rehabilitation was put on hold due to this accident. Since then the project has been back on schedule. There were a few hiccups due to weather over the past couple weeks as well. The Water Tower shall be drained and the interior of the water tank shall be cleaned and recoated to protect the tank. The project is scheduled to take 45 days and during this time, the City may experience slightly lower water pressure. However, we are working with the City of North Richland Hills who provides water to Watauga to ensure we have safe and adequate water service. The existing Water Tower has been in operation since 1999. Should any lower pressure situation occur due to main breaks, mechanical pump failures, etc., the City may enforce water restrictions and will notify the citizens of Watauga.

Rufe Snow Widening Project

The City of North Richland Hills and Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) widening project of Rufe Snow Drive from just south of Ridgetop Road to Watauga Road is in Phase II (southbound driving lanes). The current schedule shows Phase II to be complete at the end of November. Phase III, the Final Phase, (center lanes) has a scheduled completion date of March 2019. Please note, this contractor has not been able to maintain a schedule. Our estimate for project completion is Spring 2019.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact the NRH Engineering Staff at 817.427.6400 or the Watauga Public Works Department at 817.514.5753.

Shop Watauga

As you map out your holiday shopping trips this season, look no further than your own neighborhood retailers and cafés here in Watauga. Watauga enjoys the convenience of shopping at national retailers AND locally owned shops. There are over 50 restaurants and cafés here offering dining experiences to suit your hungriest crowds. Remember, making your purchases in our community will go back into it in the form of creating employment opportunities and, when you spend your dollars here, you support businesses that support Watauga. Be sure to follow City of Watauga-Shop Watauga on Facebook, and watch for specials and events. https://www.facebook.com/City-of-Watauga-TX-Shop-Watauga

Goodwill Thrift Store

7201 Rufe Snow Drive

Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m

Paul B. Moore, CPA, 6600 Denton Hwy, Suite #126 - 25 years
R.W. Townsley, DDS, 6500 Denton Hwy, Suite #1 - 25 years
Sprint Wireless, 7612 Denton Hwy, Suite #400 - 15 years
Drive-Thru Vapors, 6204 Denton Hwy - 5 years

The City of Watauga has several social media feeds available for residents to follow at www.wataugatx.org