Mayor and City Council Bios
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Welcome to the City of Lewisville, Texas! It is my pleasure to greet you on behalf of the City Council and all 97,000 people who choose to call Lewisville home. You have picked a very exciting time to live in, work in or visit Lewisville. There are some projects currently underway, or planned for the very near future, that will have a significant impact on this city and all of North Texas for decades to come.
Construction is nearly complete on a new Animal Shelter and Adoption Facility, something Lewisville has needed for some time. The new 14,000-square-foot facility is located on Valley Ridge Boulevard across from the north entrance of Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park (more on the park in a minute!). It will feature such amenities as indoor and outdoor get-to-know areas for potential adopters, courtyards and dog runs, larger housing areas and much more. Best of all, the entire $4.5 million project is being paid for out of cash reserves, which means no debt was issued.
Meanwhile, plans are being finalized for a beautiful new plaza park and event space in the heart of Old Town Lewisville, across the street from Lewisville City Hall. This park will include large grassy lawns for family picnics or recreation, a play space for kids, native landscaping, and an amphitheatre-style stage for outdoor concerts and programs. We hope to start work by the end of this year on the newest addition to Old Town.
Back to Toyota of Lewisville Railroad Park, this 250-acre athletic complex along the shores of the Trinity River opened in November 2010 and already is drawing more than half a million visitors each year, many of whom eat at local restaurants and stay overnight at local hotels. The park has seven soccer fields, four football fields, four baseball/softball fields, three concession stands, walking trails, the city's first skate park and the city's first dog park. Major events held, or scheduled, including Panda Cup International Soccer, AAYBA World Series youth baseball, American Southwest Conference women's softball, RAT Skateboard Tour, Dick's lone Star Shootout lacrosse, and the Texas Firefighter Olympics. Best of all, I will get to watch my grandchildren spend many wonderful hours at that park, and one day they will get to watch their grandchildren do the same.
In January 2011, we celebrated the opening of the Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theatre, another jewel in the shining crown that is Old Town Lewisville. This 40,000-square-foot facility offers two theaters, an art gallery, a dance rehearsal hall and five classrooms for both casual and serious art instruction. More than 40,000 people visited the MCL Grand during its first year of operation for such things as plays, concerts, dance performances and art display. Lewisville residents now are able to interact with the visual and performing arts in a way that we have long dreamed of but never been able to enjoy in our own hometown.
The very landscape of Lewisville has changed dramatically during the next few years, right down to how people get here from other parts of North Texas and beyond. The Denton County Transportation Authority launched commuter rail service between Denton and Carrollton in June 2011, with three stations in Lewisville. Riders can walk across a single platform in Carrollton and continue on to the rest of the Metroplex with a connection to DART light rail.
We're still waiting to hear final plans and timelines from the Texas Department of Transportation for a complete reconstruction of Interstate 35E through Lewisville. This massive project will increase the number of free lanes, introduce free-flowing managed lanes, and relieve some of the congestion that has become all too common during peak hours. The lengthy construction process will not be fun, but the result will be worth it, especially with the great one-in-a-lifetime opportunity it gives Lewisville to redevelop property along both sides of the highway with high-quality, high-demand business and other uses. Construction could start during 2012.
Lewisville is very proud of its historic roots, which date back hundreds of years to a time when Native American tribes lived along the banks of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The first settlers came to this area before the Civil War, and some of their first buildings were churches and schools. That’s because they were not creating a stopping place – they were creating a home.
Lewisville today is a vibrant and growing community of the 21st century, with major employers and thriving retail outlets that combine to create a strong economic framework for our residents. City leadership, residents and businesses share a vision of making Lewisville the best place in North Texas to live and work, to raise a family and build a business, to visit for a day or stay for a lifetime.
From great parks to an amazing range of shopping options, well-paying jobs and opportunities for family-friendly fun, Lewisville offers something for just about everyone. And since Lewisville has one of the lowest property tax rates in the DFW area, our city is not only readily accessible and easily adaptable -- it also is highly affordable.
Lewisville is truly a great city in which to live, work, and play. I hope that you will take some time to look around Lewisville and see some of what this community has to offer to you and your family, whether you are looking for a place to spend the day or a place to call home.
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