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Top 10 Reasons Grand Prairie had a marquee year in 2007! Click here to view brochure (pdf). |
- Completed renovation of Uptown Theater exterior, and
began interior design of the $3.5 million project to
transform the former movie house
into a fine arts center in 2009.
- Built a new home every 8 hours, issuing
permits for 1,066 homes, and $133
million in commercial/industrial space.
- Paid off the debt to build Lone Star Park 18 years early, which allowed citizens to pass a 1/4 cent sales tax for a new Police
Headquarters, a 1/8 cent sales tax for a
new Senior Center and a 1/8 cent sales
tax for a new minor league baseball
stadium.
- Installed red-light cameras at dangerous intersections and railroad crossings to reduce accidents.
- Opened Central Bark, Grand Prairie's first Dog Park.
- Opened Trinity Boulevard from Belt Line Road to SH 360.
- With TxDOT, completed the $9.5 million Good Link Trail from Waggoner to Mike Lewis parks, which includes 75 acres in
park land expansion, 4.8 miles of paved
trails, bridges and elevated boardwalks,
four new picnic pavilions and more than
1,300 native trees.
- Extended Fish Creek Trail three miles to connect with Arlington’s four-mile trail.
- Welcomed Lake Prairie Town Center, a power center at Camp Wisdom and
SH 360 featuring Super Target, Home
Depot and 24 Hour Fitness.
- Landed Prime Retail Outlet Mall, to build
at Great Southwest and I-20 and open by
holiday 2009.
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2007 in Review
- Worked with businesses to build more than 3.5 million new square feet and create 3,263 new jobs.
- Put GPTV Channel 16 on www.gptx.org.
- Introduced the popular new Life is Grand citizen newsletter and recreation guide.
- Broke ground on the 3.3 mile Lone Star Trinity Trail in the Entertainment District.
- Constructed large new playground and installed new white sand beaches at Lynn Creek Park; replaced Fish Creek Park playground at Allegro Street; installed new restroom at Mountain Creek Lake Park.
- Began serving Eddlemon's BBQ at Prairie Lakes Golf Course.
- Parks and Recreation was named a National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Finalist.
- Opened a meeting room at Loyd Park to complement the park's successful camping cabins.
- Celebrated first year of operations at Bowles Life Center with almost 3,000 center memberships.
- Launched the Grand Rangers, a new volunteer corps for the Parks Department.
- Added Holiday Magic, a 10-minute light show choreographed to music, to Prairie Lights. Prairie Lights attracted more than 112,000 visitors in 2007, a 30% increase above 2006.
- City employees raised $3,200 for Grand Prairie charities in a Holiday Basket Raffle.
- Built four Habitat for Humanity homes.
- Launched a Police MySpace site to advance police recruitment efforts.
- Received the prestigious CALEA Accreditation for the Grand Prairie Police Department.
- Purchased a new firetruck for Fire Station #9, remodeled Fire Station #1.
- Kicked off new city employee wellness program, WOW! Working on Wellness, to reduce insurance costs and promote healthy lifestyles. Employees lost more than 1,000 pounds in 2007.
- Installed first sun and wind powered street light in Texas.
- Grand Prairie's AirHogs American Association of Baseball League team was awarded the 2009 American Association All-Star Game.
- Began plans to open a Parkland Clinic.
- Video Traffic Management Wall at Development Center completed.
- Built a new Public Works Training Center.
- Celebrated the installation of a memorial to fallen Grand Prairie Police Sergeant Greg Hunter at the site of his death in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
- Installed traffic signals at Robinson/Warrior, Robinson/Arkansas, Bardin/Payne, SH 360/Webb-Lynn and SH 360/New York.
- Added a new bus to Grand Connection transit system; increased miles driven (264,078) and trips (37,025) to the highest ever; on-time performance increased to 98.9%; passenger wait time decreased to less than 5 minutes.
- Completed design of I-30 frontage roads and turned over to TxDOT to bid construction.
- TxDOT continued construction of SH 161 frontage roads from I-20 to SH 183.
- Completed $500,000 in sidewalk repairs and additions.
- Responded to 15,214 animal control service calls, adopted 1,458 pets and returned 818 animals to their owners.
- Invested $6 million from the 1/4 cent sales tax for street improvements to repair 13 streets and six alleys, including the major repair of Carrier Parkway from Jefferson to Dickey Road.
- Completed 2 million gallon elevated water storage tank to enhance fire protection in the peninsula sector.
- Converted softball fields into multi-purpose fields at Mike Lewis Park for softball, football, flag football and rugby.
- Completed $2 million expansion of the Small-Hill Pumping Station.
- Put in a major water transmission line on Lake Ridge.
- Finished a $6 million, 8.5 MGD sewage pumping station on the peninsula.
- Rehabilitated the 109th Street elevated water tank.
- Conducted 19,239 code enforcement investigations; made 46,174 code inspections; issued 4,915 garage sale permits; investigated 212 illegal dumping offenders, and enforced 26 site cleanups.
- Installed self-fueling hoses at Airport, which doubled monthly fuel sales; built a state-of-the-art electronic sign at the Airport entrance; began design of a new terminal; and completed 48 new T-Hangars.
- Experienced record breaking numbers in aquatics programs: 1,000 more participants in Learn to Swim program; 10,000 more swimmers at outdoor pools; 3,000 more visitors at Kirby Creek indoor pool.
- Served 20,866 lunches in the 59-day Summer Lunch program.
- Sold 263 spaces, installed 161 markers and conducted 141 burials at Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens.
(plus one to grow on) |
- Introduce a weekly news show on
Channel 16 GPTV.
- Prepare to open the restored historic Uptown Theater as an arts center.
- Open a farmer's market in downtown
Grand Prairie at NW 2nd St. and Main St.
- Complete the 3.2 mile Lone Star Trinity Trail
by Lone Star Park.
- Design Lynn Creek Parkway, a new road from
Lake Ridge Parkway to SH 360.
- Design the widening of Lake Ridge Parkway
from four to six lanes from the lake to Great Southwest Parkway; and design the extension
of Lake Ridge from Polo to I-20.
- Design Great Southwest Parkway widening from
Sara Jane Dr. to Bardin Road, including new
turn lanes at I-20.
- Begin construction of Warrior Trail across SH 161.
- See the Grand Prairie AirHogs play their first game in May 2008.
- Break ground on the new Prime Retail Outlet Mall at Great Southwest and I-20.
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11. Complete design on the new Police Headquarters and the new Senior Center, approved by taxpayers in 2007. |
More Coming Up in 2008...
- Begin rehabilitation of the historic Loyd Home in Loyd Park to be a rental cabin.
- Open Wide World of Parks, unique playground feature at AirHogs Stadium.
- Begin construction of the Ruthe Jackson Center Gardens.
- Host the United States Specialty Sports Association Boys 13 AAA World Tournament July 20-27, bringing 80-100 teams to Grand Prairie.
- Start free first Saturday of the month tours with Arts Council docents of the city's historic Copeland Home, 125 SW Dallas St.
- Continue construction of Belt Line overpass across Main and Jefferson.
- Continue building SH 161 frontage roads to open in 2010.
- Begin construction on I-30 frontage roads.
- Invest $4.5 million for new sidewalks and street repairs as part of the city's ongoing 1/4 cent sales tax for street improvements.
- Engineer a new AirTraffic Control Tower and design a new Airport terminal.
- Engineer major water lines to connect the city north to south.
- Design a Park and Ride at I-30.
- Begin construction on Fire Station #7's new location at Lynn Creek park.
- Begin design of Fire Station #10 on Estes Peninsula.
- Install six new traffic signals: Lakeridge/England, Lakeridge/N. Grand Peninsula, Bardin/Endicott, GSW/Post and Paddock, Camp Wisdom/Robinson and Mayfield/Waterwood.
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