City Manager's Report: Sinkhole repaired at Broadway and Leach Streets (2024)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Farmers Market is held downtown every Saturday in June and July

June 15 – Kilgore Legacy Foundation Juneteenth Celebration at City Park

June 19 – City Office’s Closed for the Juneteenth holiday

June 19 – Kilgore Men and Women of Alliance Juneteenth Celebration at City Park with Fireworks!

June 22 – KHPF Derrick Fest at the World’s Richest Acre

June 25 — Regular City Council Meeting at 5:30 p.m. City Hall Council Chambers

June 27 – Texas Shakespeare Festival begins

June 29 – Free Dive In Movie at Kilgore City Pool 8 p.m.

July 9 – City Council Workshop

PUBLIC WORKS, PARKS AND PROJECTS

Meadowbrook Golf and Event:

• The tree behind hole No. 6 was removed to promote healthier growth and to stop erosion.
• Regular aerification on the golf course is underway.
• Umbrellas have been purchased to place at the golf course swimming pool.
• Tuesday night scrambles have been filing up each week.
• Mini U.S. Open is scheduled for June 15 at 10 a.m.
• First Tee Meadowbrook is scheduled for July 15-18.

Parks and Facilities:

• The City Pool has been repaired and is open!
• The trails have been cleared since the most recent storms.
• Fallen trees around the city have been removed, including the trails and at the dog park.
• With the storms past us, mowing is back in full swing around the city.
• The Green Waste Yard is scheduled to be chipped and cleared this month. Wood chips will be available to the public once they are done!

Water:

• All power has been restored to all of the well sites and the surface water treatment plant has begun operations for peak summer demand.
• Influent pump station at wastewater treatment plant has been restored to nominal capacity.
• The emergency repair of the water transmission main on Texas 31 has been completed and will return to service on Monday.
• The contractor for the downtown sidewalk project has completed reconstruction of several storm sewer curb inlets.

Streets and Drainage:

• Four utility cuts have been repaired.
• The sink hole that formed at Broadway and Leach Street has been repaired and is ready to be repaved.
• 10-foot by 75-foot asphalt repair was made on Couch Street.
• Pavement repair was made on Broadway near Harris after a water valve replacement.

Collection and Distribution:

• Water main valve was replaced on Broadway Boulevard near Harris Street.
• An insert-a-valve was installed on 8-inch water main west of Skeeter Boats
• A sewer main repair was made on Woodlawn Street.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Fire Department participated in several events: the Creekside Sprint Race and Arabella Hamburger Cookout, and Chief Henderson assisted the Library with the “Creature Teacher” event at the Texan. Fun was had by all.

Emergency Management Coordinator/Fire Marshal Riley attended the TDEM conference in Fort Worth the last week of May. Chief Riley spent three days learning disaster management from various vendors, instructors and other emergency managers.

KPD’s newest telecommunications officer, Dalton Blaylock, successfully completed training.

Investigator Angela Burch has completed the transfer of all vehicles from the old to the new impound yard.

SROs Pat Davis and Tony Forbes conducted tobacco stings on several locations, with multiple violations addressed and additional follow-up checks forthcoming.

The Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Awards Luncheon was attended, and several of our officers were recognized for their commitment and dedication to drunk driving enforcement this past year. Sgt. Jon Holland’s (N-1) shift had 85 DWI arrests for this year alone. These officers received the following awards: Outstanding Service Award, Sgt. Jon Holland, Cpl. Jacob Lira, and Officer Ben Boles; Rookie of the Year, Officer Zach Torres; Distinguished Enforcement Hero Award Cpl. Cody Kemp. Our local Christus Good Shepherd ER Nursing staff also received the “Unsung Hero” Award from MADD at this luncheon for supporting our officers’ DWI enforcement efforts.

Members of the department attended Arabella’s Heroes Luncheon where hamburgers and hotdogs were served in appreciation of local first responders.

Chief Hunter attended the Texas Police Chiefs Leadership Series training in Allen.

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

A new construction permit for Walmart has been issued for an addition and remodel.

City Council approved the appointment of Donald Dixson as the new director of special services. He is relocating from Dallas and should join us in Kilgore mid-July.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Tourism Manager Megan Payne has created a Strategic Plan for Visit Kilgore and presented it to council.

Visit Kilgore continues to update the website with new material, including a storefront.

Texas Shakespeare Festival Shopping Passports have come in and will be distributed at all shows.

LIBRARY

The library had another successful Creature Teacher at the Texan on June 11 with over 300 in attendance.

Over 600 people have registered for the Summer Reading Program. Registration is still open at http://kilgorelibrary.beantstack.org.

Over 60 attended the Adventures in Trivia night at Zen Kitchen on June 6.