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Friday, April 19, 2024
You don’t have to be a weather expert to know it is hot outside. With temperatures soaring and summer only halfway through, we have a few more safety tips to beat the heat.
There’s nothing better than enjoying a leisurely day outside, especially with fun activities such as Stars and Stripes and the Fourth of July just around the corner. Whether you are visiting Bicentennial Park, fishing at the Bob Jones Fishing Pier, playing at the Chesapeake Park playground, or hiking at the Nature Center, with the summer temperatures often rising into the triple digits, it’s important to stay vigilant of heat-related safety risks.
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are common risks during outdoor activities in high temperatures. As you plan your Independence Day activities and summer outings, ensure you know the difference between the two to stay safe in Southlake.
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is a response to excessive sweating due to high temperatures. It’s often a precursor to heat stroke and occurs when the body overheats and dehydrates. If you experience heat exhaustion, you may feel fatigued, dizzy, nauseated, sweat excessively, and get a headache.
Heat Stroke
This severe condition occurs when the body loses its ability to control its temperature and cannot cool down. It is a serious heat-related illness that requires immediate medical attention. Heat stroke symptoms include confusion or altered mental status, loss of consciousness, profuse sweating, seizures, and very high body temperature.
While recognizing the symptoms of these two heat-related illnesses is vital, knowing how to prevent them is just as important. Here are some steps to stay safe during the hot summer months.
Knowing the difference between these common heat-related illnesses and following these prevention tips can help you stay safe in Southlake this summer.
In Southlake, we take safety seriously; our splash pads are no exception. Although there are a few types of splash pads throughout the City, checks and balances are strategically used to ensure that water play is safe wherever you go in Southlake.
Aquatics Supervisor Jennifer Blackstock and Parks Crew Leader Johnny Lopez know these systems better than anyone, so they joined Minute with the Mayor this week to discuss Southlake’s safety commitment.
There are two types of splash pads in Southlake – the first is the recirculation splash pad, and the second is the flow-through splash pad.
Blackstock mentioned that the splash pad at Champions Club uses a recirculation system outfitted with a UV disinfection system and filter. Water tests are conducted each hour to ensure quality as well. This is the same system the water in the pool at Champions Club also goes through.
The Experience Southlake page about splash pad safety says, “The UV systems at both Southlake splash pads operate above the minimum requirement of 40mj/cm2 dosing rate to ensure an enhanced level of disinfection and user safety.”
Although the same amount of fun, the splash pad at Bicentennial Park is a bit different! Lopez noted that the splash pad at Bicentennial Park is flow-through, meaning that the water is not reused, and it is the same quality of water that flows from the faucets in your home. The water from the Bicentennial splash pad drains into the pond at the park. The pond is then used to irrigate about 80 acres of greenspace in Southlake.
Our teams are dedicated to making this summer a splash while keeping residents safe. To view more in-depth information about how the splash pads work, please visit the Experience webpage.
To watch the full episode of Minute with the Mayor, click below.
Spring is a popular time to drain your pool. If you decide to drain your pool this season, please take adequate safety measures to support proper drainage and protect the environment.
Before draining your pool, verify the pH falls between 6 and 8 and the water is free of chlorine. Both parameters can be verified with a pool test kit. If you have utilized fertilizers or pesticides on your lawn recently, please wait 24 hours after application to drain your pool.
There are two main methods to draining your pool. Select which ever method best suits your circumstance.
Through your Lawn
Through Your Sewer System
For more information on draining your pool and preventing stormwater pollution, click here.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner! On this episode of Minute with the Mayor, Mayor John Huffman is joined by Fire Marshal Kelly Clements to talk about safety precautions to keep your turkey day stuffed full of fun and festivities.
Traditions can come in all forms, whether that be cooking with the little ones, watching the Thanksgiving parade on television, or playing tackle football outside. “With all the hectic schedule going on, everything we have, sometimes we forget to be safe,” said Clements.
Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and to mitigate this risk for your family, here are a few safety tips to follow:
If there is a fire, the best thing you can do is to get out immediately with family members and pets. Many civilians who are injured in home fires are often injured by trying to fight the fire themselves, according to the NFPA. Call 9-1-1 and get to a safe location so experts can help.
In addition to his Thanksgiving wishes, Mayor Huffman also expressed his appreciation for the Fire Department and the City as a whole. “I hope this Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of family, fun, food, fellowship, and a time to reflect on all the blessings we’ve been given. We live in an incredible community,” said Mayor Huffman.
For more information about the Protect Southlake Team, please visit our website.
Safety is a high priority for the Southlake team. The extraordinary men and women in our Police and Fire Departments are the poster children for keeping people safe, even if it requires putting themselves in harm’s way. The Public Works teams regularly test water quality. Building inspectors ensure homes are constructed according to code. In addition, the City even has a safety committee that works hard to promote workplace safety. There are many examples of city staff working routinely to protect the community’s well-being. But one of the most notable safety champions on the team is someone you may not always think of – Jenn Blackstock, the Community Services Aquatics Supervisor.
“Champions Club is all about offering fun experiences for our members,” said Chris Tribble, Director of Community Services. “But we also strongly emphasize safety. And when it comes to safety, no one is more focused and effective than Jenn Blackstock.”
A quick review of Jenn’s responsibilities shows the extent of her work:
“Jenn is steady as she goes, calm and level-headed; someone you can always count on in a crisis,” said Deputy Director of Community Services David Miller. “She is smart, organized, and always well-prepared. Her leadership strengthens the overall safety at Champions Club, especially in the pool and the pool area.”
For all she does to ensure that the staff and patrons of Champions Club are safe and secure, Jenn is being recognized as one of the City’s unsung heroes. Many thanks to Jenn and her team for their commitment to safety.
Can you believe it? The holiday season is here! As we prepare to shop, visit loved ones and join in on all the holiday festivities, we need to make sure that we are following safety protocols.
Here are best practices for road safety during the holiday season:
Being aware of the weather allows you to determine how long it will take to get to your destination and whether your vehicle is drivable for that particular road condition.
There’s no doubt that foot traffic increases during holiday season. Make sure you look around several times before you back up, drive through crosswalks and navigate through parking garages.
Some businesses will open sooner and close later to accommodate customers. Make sure you get an adequate amount of rest before you leave home.
For more holiday mobility safety tips, please follow the Southlake Mobility Facebook page or visit www.ConnectSouthlake.com.
With Fall well underway, there’s no telling when the weather will take a turn for the worst. What does rainy weather mean for our field availability?
There are multiple considerations our hard-working Parks Team evaluates when deciding to close a field due to weather. Today we put ourselves in the shoes of a Parks Supervisor to get a deeper understanding of the field evaluation process.
What to look for when closing a field:
1. Safety Always Comes First
The first things we look for are the safety and playability of the fields. If the field appears questionable, you need to evaluate whether someone can perform their usual actions during a game. For example, can they run and make a cutting or stopping action safely and without hurting themselves? Resident safety is our priority, and we want to eliminate the risk of accidents as much as possible.
2. Preserve Our Fields
The other thing we pay attention to is the preservation of the fields.
When you play on a field with soft or wet turf or infield areas, it becomes damaged and will not respond to these same conditions the next time we have rain. Areas with turf or infield damage will create wet spots that retain water and makes it harder to drain or flow with the pitch of the field. Consequently, this could create safety concerns and the potential for injuries.
3. Manage our Resources
The last aspect we evaluate comes from a resource management perspective. How much would it cost in time and money to address issues created by playing on fields during unideal conditions? Fixing a damaged field includes re-leveling areas with soil, reseeding, resodding, aerating, extra infield leveling, and inserting more infield material.
As you can see, a lot of thought and consideration goes into deciding to close a field due to weather. In the end, it all comes down to safety. Our mission is to create world-class experiences for those that use our fields. That includes making sure they are safe, clean, and green!
There are two aspects of the law enforcement profession that are constant: the call to act in an individual’s time of need and having to rely on others in your own time of need. Both aspects of a law enforcement career carry their own situational rules, all of which are aimed and geared towards providing a level of service to meet any identified need, regardless of the severity or quantity of people effected.
Many times officers are called upon by members of the community in times of duress, which can range from being stranded alongside the roadway in need of a tire change to other more serious instances involving a family crisis or in extreme cases, the need for protection against a family member or strangers. Without initially having all the specific facts for these types of emergencies, officers are expected to arrive prepared in their response while still acting within the confines of the law. However, what about the times when officers themselves need help, who can they call on for support?
In situations such as these, officers may turn towards their own and the assistance comes from within the agency or sometimes by other outreach groups within the community. Realizing that none of us have ever lived through the COVID-19 pandemic before, it has become a fast and accelerating learning curve for all. However, during this time, three individuals within the Southlake Police Department have worked behind the scenes and without recognition to keep all members of the agency, as well as other work groups within the City, protected when called upon to protect and meet the needs of the community.
Officer David Aldridge, Community Initiatives Coordinator Valerie Snyder and Administrative Secretary Diana Green have relentlessly searched for, coordinated and gathered needed supplies to keep officers of the Southlake Police Department in business since the beginning of the pandemic.
From the start of the COVID pandemic, Aldridge stepped up and assisted the Police Department in gathering Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other sanitation equipment. As the pandemic continued, Aldridge helped in creating a PPE and sanitation inventory to keep track of all PPE equipment for the department. During that time, he also became the main contact for Purchasing Manager Tim Slifka on receiving all PPE orders from the City and distributing them accordingly.
Aldridge worked closely with Snyder and Green to make sure items were ordered and distributed accordingly.
“Aldridge went out of his way on numerous occasions to be available for anyone who needed the PPE equipment and sort out all the shipments to make sure it got to the right department,” Patrol Captain Jose Luna said. “On top of it all, Aldridge is in charge of the patrol units for the department. During this pandemic, he also took a shipment of three new patrol vehicles and has worked hard to get them ready to hit the road. Officer Aldridge has always been a team player and makes himself available for anyone who needs assistance.”
Through coordinated efforts, Snyder and Green have reached out to numerous companies, supply chains, independent contractors and even generous citizens, in order to obtain basic needed supplies such as: hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, face shields, Tyvek suits and other sanitary products. Through their assistance, they have obtained enough supplies to build Aldridge’s inventory to allow officers to still function within the confines of the law and to respond to emergencies when called upon in time of need.
“I have directly witnessed Valerie’s assistance and the impact she has on the agency. Her ability to think outside of the box coupled with her intuitive nature, allowed her to navigate unknown systems where numerous individuals or corporations were applying and competing for the same resources,” Professional Standards Division Captain Jason Henninger said. “In many instances, it came down to the relationships she had previously built that allowed our agency to receive what was needed, which is immeasurable. Due to her ability to build these types of professional working relationships the agency recognizes her as a true and exceptional asset.”
The work of these three individuals has not been overlooked or forgotten, and will forever stand as examples of Innovation, Commitment to Excellence and Teamwork!
City Council adopted the 2020 Tarrant County Hazard Mitigation Action Plan during the January 21 City Council meeting.
The plan allows access to federal mitigation grants to minimize the risk of damage that would be caused by a man-made or natural disaster.
Although the HazMAP is designed for all of Tarrant County, it accounts for and addresses the unique needs of Southlake. The plan identifies and quantifies the risks Southlake faces and serves as a tool to identify goals, strategies and projects to mitigate these risks to ensure Southlake remains a resilient community.
The City determines the risk by looking at historical data and trends.
“The City utilized data in a risk assessment to determine what areas would be impacted in case of a natural disaster. This data helped us design a plan to be prepared for these issues if or when they occur,” Amanda Meneses, City of Southlake Emergency Manager said.
To build a multi-jurisdictional, county-level HazMAP, the plan was coordinated through a partnership with Tarrant County, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and 33 participating jurisdictions.
The plan is a continuation for the previous HazMAP which was set to expire this year. The plan must be updated every five years and adopted by resolution.
“Our priority is to keep our community safe,” Meneses said. “If the HazMAP is not adopted, it would exclude Southlake from applying for federal mitigation grants.”
The plan meets the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, State of Texas Division of Emergency standards and the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which allows access to federal mitigation grants that would otherwise be inaccessible without an approval from HazMAP.