City of Midland Pess Release... May 21, 2007

May 21, 2007

MAY 22nd CITY COUNCIL MEETING

The Midland City Council will consider accepting a grant from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in the amount of $35,000. The funds will be used by the Midland Police Department to implement the Underage Drinking Laws Program. In 2006, the MPD recorded 22 vehicle crashes in which drivers under the age of 21 had consumed alcohol. MPD records also show that in 2006, 531 citations were issued and 479 arrests were made for minors in possession and/or consuming alcohol; 97 arrests were made for publicly intoxicated minors; and 83 arrests were made for DWI violations by persons under 21 years of age. MPD will also partner with the Midland Coalition to educate minors, parents, and the general public about the facts and issues related to underage drinking.
The Council will consider adopting the Midland SMART Downtown Plan. A public hearing was held during the May 8th meeting to discuss the plan. The Midland SMART Downtown Plan is a roadmap to move the City’s and stakeholders’ vision forward and ensure that redevelopment of downtown is accomplished in a way that balances private investment objectives with community sustainability. The series of actions and strategies outlined in the plan will capitalize on market opportunities and overcome barriers to investment.
The City Council will gather at 801 E. Pennsylvania, for the official opening of the James M. Bradford Park. The 3.5-acre park is part of the first Community Development Block Grant Target Area. The 12-block area, from Washington to California and from Atlanta to Terrell, is the site of new homes and Midland’s newest neighborhood park.
A public hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. as part of the process of developing the 2007/08 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Action Plan. A total of $929,423 in CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be allocated to the City for the 2007/08 CDBG program. This is a reduction of $1,667 from the $931,090 grant in 2006/07. The purpose of the public hearing will be to inform the public of past usage of CDBG funds, allow staff to present applications and proposals for the use of CDBG funds, and to receive input and receive comment or concerns which could be addressed with the 2007/08 funding. The City Council is expected to reach a preliminary decision regarding the distribution of funds. A second public hearing will be held on June 26, 2007, at 7 p.m.

CITY OPENS NEWEST NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
The City of Midland will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to open Midland’s newest neighborhood park. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, at 12:15 p.m. at 801 E. Pennsylvania Ave. The media is encouraged to attend.

The park is part of the first Community Development Block Grant Target Area. The 12-block area, from Washington to California and from Atlanta to Terrell, is the site of new homes as well as the neighborhood park.

The 3.5-acre park features a children’s playground, swings, Netscape, shaded picnic area, a lighted walking trail, benches, water fountains, and over 100 new trees. Crews will begin with the cleanup, street and alley removal, irrigation, and constructing a perimeter walking trail with lights and signage. Additional funding would provide an interior walking trail with lights, water fountains, benches, picnic areas, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, swings, a climber, and a playground.

Leadership Midland helped raise over $40,000 in funds for the park; including more than $27,000 from the Abell-Hanger Foundation. Bank of America contributed $25,000 for construction. Keep Midland Beautiful secured a grant to purchase the trees from the Chapman Forestry Foundation.

The park has been under construction since breaking ground in January 2006.

This is the first new park in south Midland since the development of Reyes/Mashburn/Nelms in the mid-1990’s.

NO DUMPING PLEASE!
The City of Midland is currently working with a contractor to mulch yard waste on site at the location on Smith Road just north of Veterans Airpark Lane. The location is the city’s yard waste site. Work has been slowed down as the contractor returned to the site on Monday (today) and found that someone had dumped tree branches south of the site on Smith Road.

Residents wanting a location to dump yard waste should visit Discount Materials, located at 4705 W. Industrial, until the City site reopens.

Residents should also be reminded that mattresses, toilets, lumber, furniture, bricks, and other non-yard waste materials should not be dumped at the yard waste site. Placing these types of items at the site is considered illegal dumping. Residents and business owners should be aware of the fines associated with illegal dumping.

The City of Midland has a large-item pickup program. Residents can simply call the city at 685.7278 and request a pickup for non-yard waste items. Businesses are reminded to utilize the city landfill for dumping purposes.

This is the second time the city has attempted to have a contractor mulch on site. In the past, crews have emptied the yard waste dumpster and hauled the tree branches to the landfill where they have been mulched. This new process will be more efficient; saving time as well as fuel used to make multiple trips to the landfill.

The process includes grinding the branches into smaller wood chips that are collected directly into a 30 cubic yard container. The full container is loaded onto a truck and hauled to the landfill. There, the material is used to cover the landfill.

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