Oscar Trevino announced today his bid to seek a fourth two-year term as Mayor of North Richland Hills.

“We’ve made outstanding progress in improving the city’s quality of life, safety and security, and economic development,” Trevino said, “I am just as excited to address the challenges ahead as I was during my three years as a City Councilman.”

“North Richland Hills has seen its population grow from 55,635 to 64,050 from 2000 through 2007. New development to meet the housing needs of these newcomers has helped increase the average home value from $99,905 to $144,353. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the citizens, City Council, and city staff to keep making NRH the City of Choice,” Trevino said.

Trevino pointed to the opening of the following parks since 2000 as contributing to the city’s high quality of life standard:

·         Tommy and Sue Brown Park - 8250 Shadywood Lane, off North Davis Boulevard in the Forest Glenn East Subdivision.

·         Liberty Park - 5825 Holiday Lane, at Holiday Lane and Liberty Way.

·         Clyde Zellers Park - at Snow Heights Elementary School, 4801 Vance Rd

·         Dick Faram Park - 8344 Amundson Dr.

·         Kay Granger Park - at Alliene Mullendore Elementary School, 4100 Flory St.

·         Founders Park - 7908 Brandon Ct., located in the Brandonwood subdivision off North Tarrant Parkway.

·         Legacy Park - at Foster Village Elementary School, 6800 Springdale Lane

·         Dr. Pillow Park – 7501 Continental Trail

·         Ace Park – 7751 North Richland Blvd.

·         Tipps Canine Hollow @ Northfield Park

·         Norich Park Renovations – 5400 Finian Lane

·         JoAnn Johnson Hike & Bike Trail – Blvd . 26 To NRH/Haltom City Limits at Suncrest

“These openings reflect the soundness of the master park plan I assisted with when I was on the Parks and Recreation Board in 1991. Our strategy is to put parks near where people live so they can walk to them with their families, conveniently and safely,” Trevino said.

“Although we have developed new parks in areas that were lacking park land, we are not done yet”. Our 2007 Parks Master Plan has brought some exciting new vision to the needs that remain in our community as it relates to parks and the needs of our citizens.

We also were successful in refurbishing the greens at Iron Horse Golf Course that has increased the play on this highly recognized municipal golf course. We also continue to add new life to NRH2O by the introduction of new rides and areas for families to sit and enjoy the park. This continues to make the park more attractive each year, Trevino said.

“Quality of life is not limited to a first-rate park system,” Trevino said, “As we reach an opening date of our new City Public Library we also are beginning the design work for our new city recreation center and we will build a new Animal Control facility in the near future.”  We also continue to address the planning for library services and the need for recreation facilities south of Loop 820.

Citizens have positively responded to the public celebrations the city has undertaken, Trevino said. These include the Night of Holiday Magic, Concert in the Parks Series, the Quad Cities 4th of July festivities in which North Richland Hills contributes. The placement of art pieces at city facilities and in city parks are another positive development, he said.

“City staff, Council, and I have worked really hard to give our police and fire departments the right tools so they can uphold their high response time standards as well as maintaining one of the lowest crime rates in the region,” Trevino said.

The police department has maintained a 5 ¾ minute response time on Priority 1 calls while the fire department has continued their 4 ¾ minute response on all calls, he said.

The construction of two new fire stations (Station #1, 8001 Shadywood Lane, and Station #4, 7245 Hightower Drive) allows the department to better respond to the city’s growth areas, Trevino said. The expansion of Station #2, 4001 Rufe Snow Drive, and Station #3, 5328 Davis Blvd., improves service to the remaining sections of the city, he added.

“We’ve also added a third ambulance and EMS crew to handle the increased number of calls to the south side of town,” Trevino said.

The Neighborhood Initiative Program assisted 74 NRH residents with property maintenance projects in 2007.  Volunteers painted houses, replaced fences, mowed lawns, installed wheel chair ramps and more. This initiative was undertaken by the Neighborhood Services Department at your City.

 “Economic development efforts have centered on assisting North Hills Hospital in the near completion of their $31 million expansion as well as working with the owner of North Hills Mall to develop a major commercial center to attract viable business concerns that would complement the Boulevard 26 Redevelopment initiative. This however has not been our only focus as is evident by the filling of 493,000 sq ft of vacant floor space with good businesses that include retail, manufacturing and service oriented businesses. We were also proud to have History Makers Home move their corporate headquarters to North Richland Hills. We also had 897 jobs created in the former Richland Plaza due to a successful Tax Increment Financing Zone that not only brought jobs but increased property value from less than $1 million value to upwards of $7 million” Trevino said.

“The City Economic Development department continues to work towards the redevelopment and revitalization of the business in the section of Rufe Snow that is North of Loop 820” he added.

“Infrastructure improvements is an important task the voters give to Council and the Mayor,” Trevino said, “Our Public Works Department has overseen a number of road reconstruction projects over the last two years.” These include:

·         Jannie Drive

·         Jerrell Street

·         Hawk Avenue

·         Grand Avenue

·         Smithfield Road

·         Rita Beth

·         Mark Court

·         Overlaying and sealing over 200 lane miles of city roads

·         Currently in the design in process on North Tarrant Parkway from Davis to US 377 in Keller with the preliminary alignment has been submitted to TxDOT for their review and approval.

Trevino said other significant accomplishments since 2004 include:

·         Maintaining a $0.57 per $100 valuation tax rate;

·         Continual diligence to code enforcement issues;

·         Working with the City of Richland Hills on the completed plan to renovate and revitalize of Blvd 26;

·         Strong planning and oversight to maintain the city’s AA Bond rating, which only 2% of Texas cities hold;

·         Completing the Loop 820 overlay study with input from over 800 residents;

·         Economic Development efforts along Loop 820;

·         Addressing future commuter rail stations;

T. Oscar Trevino, Jr., P.E. was elected North Richland Hills Mayor in June 2002. He has served on the City Council since 1999.

Trevino was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He is a 1978 graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He is presently president and part owner of J.L. Steel, L.P., a Heavy-Highway Contractor working throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. He is a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church and a fourth degree Knight of Columbus.

Trevino’s past service includes membership on the following:

·         Board of the Associated General Contractors of Texas

·         Texas Chapter of the American Concrete Paving Association

·         Executive Committee of Texas Good Roads and Transportation

·         Coalition for Better Transportation

·         Birdville Independent School District TEE Committee

·         (Site Base) Richland High School's Site Base Committee

·         North Richland Hills Parks and Recreation Board

·         North Richland Hills Park Facilities & Development Corporation

·         Tarrant County Board of Directors of American Cancer Society

·         Teen Court Advisory Board

Trevino serves or has served as a board member of the following:

·         BISD Foundation of Educational Excellence

·         North Richland Hills Crime Control & Prevention District

·         North Richland Hills Landscape Review Committee Capital Improvement Program

·         Serves as the City Representative on the Big Fossil Watershed Policy Committee

·         National League of Cities Transportation Infrastructure and Services Policy Committee – Vice Chair

·         North Hills Hospital Board of Directors

·         Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

·         Chair, Regional Transportation Council (RTC)

·         TEX-21 Committee

·         Public Transportation Advisory Board

·         Past President, Executive Board of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)

·         Past Chair, Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition

·         Partners in Mobility Steering Committee, North Central Texas Council of Governments

·         Advisory Board to the Civil Engineering Department at Texas A&M University

·         Advisory Board of the Texas Transportation Institute

Mayor Trevino stated that “We still have many exciting opportunities ahead of us with the redevelopment and reinvestment on Boulevard 26, the opening of the Library, design of the future Recreation Center and for the implementation of the Loop 820 Overlay plan. We also face many challenges in the implementation of a commuter rail system in the western section of the metroplex, the addressing of air quality issues, the continued congestion in transportation, especially 820 and the growth that will be occurring in the region over the next number of years.” Trevino went on to say that with the continued support of the City Council, City Staff and the Citizens of North Richland Hills these opportunities will be faced and eventually resolved.

For City business, Mayor Trevino may be contacted at NRHOscar@sbcglobal.net or at 817-427-6060. For campaign issues, you can contact him at Trevino4mayor@charter.net or 817-281-1815.