Friday, Jul. 25, 2008

HV Council Give Veteran's Memorial Go Ahead

Online Exclusive

By Adrian McCandless

Staff Writer

The Highland Village City Council’s unanimous approval of Cole Construction’s bid of $80,211 as the winning bid for the Veteran’s Memorial was a highlight of Tuesday’s meeting.

Action on the construction of the new memorial had been postponed from the June 24 meeting to see if funding could be raised to offset the cost of the construction.

Council member Austin Adams said he encountered several people who would accept a pledge card to donate to the funding and wanted to continue looking for donations to build the memorial.

He also said he would like to see the funding come from citizen donations, rather than paying for the construction with taxes.

“I actually don’t have a problem with the city moving forward on [the] project – we’ve worked on this for a year and the longer we wait, the more expensive the project will be,” Mayor Dianne Costa said.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County [CACD] recognized the Highland Village Police Department for its service with the group.

CACD Executive Director Dan Leal and Program Director Lori Nelson presented Police Chief Ed O’Bara, Detectives Doug Bell and Andrea Musica and Officer April Roppollo with a special recognition plaque for their work.

“The police department and Chief O’Bara are doing a wonderful job,” Leal said.

Nelson added that the Children’s Advocacy department would be nothing without the support of the Highland Village Police Department.

“It is because of detectives that we can ensure that children will not be hurt any more.

I am blessed that I get to coordinate investigations, and I am thankful that I can be here to give thanks,” Nelson said.

The City Council members also discussed forming a development committee for a Highland Village City Charter.