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Congratulations to the Class of 2022 and to the students who completed the school year!

Thank you to the teachers, coaches, support staff, administrators, school resource officers, etc. who helped navigate this school year.

This summer, there are several options available to keep our youth and community busy. At the Parks Department, the Nederland Swimming Pool is open; Open Swim is from 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

The Nederland Recreation Center is open to the public. Exercise stations were installed along the walking trail at Doornbos Park, which is well-lit at night.

And the Parks staff is preparing for the 2022 Fireworks Extravaganza July 4; details on the event are being finalized.

At the Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library, the Summer Reading Program is starting. Information on the Library’s programs can be found at ned.lib.tx.us. Unfortunately, the Library is temporarily closed for the carpet to be replaced.

During this time, curbside service is available, and many activities such as Story Time and the Summer Reading Program are being held in the meeting room. The Nederland Independent School District is also offering their Summer Recreation Program.

Budget work

This month, the City staff began the fiscal year 2022-23 budget process. In early July, the City Manager will hold a budget workshop with the City Council, and in August, the proposed budget and proposed tax rate will be discussed.

These meetings are open to the public and offer citizens and taxpayers an opportunity to address any concerns they have or to ask for more information.

In July, the City Manager will host the third 2022 Town Hall meeting that will focus on the proposed City budget and tax rate; a time and date are pending.

June 1 was the start of the 2022 Hurricane Season. Communication is vital during an emergency. The City utilizes the Southeast Texas Alerting Network (STAN) and our social media pages to push emergency notices.

If you have not already registered for STAN or have family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., register for STAN at thestan.com. In addition, you can register for STAN by calling (844) 578-7826.

Follow the City’s Facebook pages: “The City of Nederland, TX,” “Nederland Police Department,” “Nederland Fire Rescue,” “Nederland Recreation Center,” “Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library,” and “Nederland Animal Shelter.” At the start of Hurricane Season, you should be preparing for a disaster to include having an evacuation plan and having disaster supplies.

Recycling

The City has partnered with Recyclops to conduct a Recycling Drop-off Event June 11. The City Council has approved a trial program to assess demand and utilization of recycling services.

The first event held in April had very limited use and minimal collection of recycling materials; the second event held last month resulted in an increase in the collection of recycling materials but still limited use.

Recycling materials will be accepted between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at 515 Hardy Avenue (where the old recycling bins were located); the materials must be brought to the site in clear bags for inspection.

This service is available for residents and businesses in the City of Nederland city limits; residency will be confirmed on-site with a driver’s license or copy of a utility bill.

Accepted materials include: Aluminum & steel (tin) beverage & food cans; Cardboard & pasteboard; Magazines/catalogs, junk mail, paper, books; Newspapers; and Plastic beverage, food and soap containers (plastics #1-#5, #7).

Materials NOT accepted includes: Aluminum Foil; Batteries; Bubble Wrap; Fluids or aerosols of any kind; Hazardous chemical containers (motor oil, pesticides, etc.); Greasy boxes or paper (pizza boxes or used paper plates); Glass products; Paint cans; Plastics #6; Plastic bags; Styrofoam and packaging “peanuts”; Tetra packs (juice box, almond milk, etc.); and Thin film plastics.

 

Street improvements

The City Council awarded bid for the 2022 Flexible Pavement Rehabilitation project (hot mix overlays) to Texas Materials Group, Inc. dba Gulf Coast, a CRH Co., in the amount of $1,704,166.50.

The bid includes the following streets: Boston Avenue (11th St. to 9th St.), Beauxart Garden Road (Holmes/Smith Road back to the concrete pavement), Hardy Avenue (Ave A to Ave H), S. 33rd Street (Hardy Ave to Nederland Ave), S. 25th Street (Nederland Ave to Ave H), 10th Street (Helena Ave to Boston Ave), and 9th Street (Helena Ave to Nederland Ave). This road project is underway.

Previously, the City awarded bid for the 2022 Concrete Pavement Improvements project to MK Constructors in the amount of $867,449; this project includes concrete street repairs and drainage improvement on 30th Street (Nederland Ave to West Atlanta) and concrete street repairs to Avenue H (S. 14th St to S. 29th St.).

This work is on-going on Avenue H and is scheduled to be completed in July.

Finally, the Texas Department of Transportation started work on Twin City Highway between north of Luling Avenue to Avenue B. The road maintenance project includes re-surfacing the lanes. Due to TxDOT’s constrained street right-of-way, the project will not include widening the lanes or adding sidewalks.

TxDOT is scheduled to complete the project by September.

If there are any questions regarding City operations, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 409-723-1503.

Chris Duque is city manager for Nederland. He can be reached at CDuque@ci.nederland.tx.us.