Colleyville mayor shares thoughts on 2015

Mayor David Kelly knows 2015 is going to be a year of building and rebuilding for the city.

Kelly recently sat down with the Colleyville Courier and shared his expectations for the city and the challenges it may face.

“2015 is going to be a very exciting and productive year for Colleyville,” he said. “Productive in that we’ve been placing a lot of emphasis on infrastructure improvements.”

Kelly said over the past 10 years, the city has increased its street maintenance budget from $500,000 to $3 million this fiscal year.

“Colleyville turned 59 years of age on Jan. 10,” he said. “Just like a human as you get a little higher in age things start to wear out things need tweaking and what we’re finding with our roads is that same situation.”

The mayor and City Council recently reviewed the city’s street infrastructure and learned that 10 percent of the city’s streets are in poor condition, which means poor riding conditions, constant maintenance and more citizen complaints.

“There will be a lot of street maintenance in terms of improving our major thoroughfares and having a good sound road base that our residents can work on,” he said.

This year, the city will focus on improving its older country roads that evolved over time with the city, but were never designed to carry today’s loads.

“Our original roads are old county roads, which were essential dirt roads which then became gravel roads then tar was put on top of them and asphalt,” he said. “Then as our community started growing we had new developments come in which put in well constructed roads.”

Colleyville leadership also reviewed proposed plans to improve the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure late last year to ensure the city can meet residential and commercial demand.

In 2014, the city saw the arrival of new businesses along the Texas 26 corridor, including Whole Foods, and Mayor Kelly said there will be more developers and retail growth in 2015.

“There are new businesses on the horizon, including a shopping center on 26 and other businesses,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges for the city will be combating water usage and a drought. He said the key to water conservation is getting the word out to residents and he said the city is doing its part.

“For our part, we’ll work citywide to make sure we have energy maintenance and water conservation,” he said.

Despite the growth and construction, Kelly said the city is still a place that residents have come to know and love.

“I say Colleyville is a hidden jewel, and I still think we are,” he said. “We hope to maintain that charm, both residential and businesswise.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Colleyville mayor shares thoughts on 2015."