2021 Annual Report

Mayor's

As we reflect on the past year, we are reminded of the progress we made, the challenges we faced and the lessons we learned along the way 2021 was a big year for the Richland Hills community. We dedicated a new state-of-the-art Fire Station that will serve our community for years to come. We celebrated the renovation of our Law Enforcement Center and the positive impact the improvements will have on our police and the critical services they provide We opened the City’s first shared-use hike-and-bike trail, which will become part of the regional veloweb trail system. We saw recordbreaking attendance at our Tricky Treat Trail and Tree Lighting celebrations. There were so many big moments this past year bringing the Richland Hills community together, and we are grateful to everyone that came out and helped us commemorate these events.

We saw first-hand what “community” truly means to our great city in February 2021 after Texas was hit by a record-breaking winter storm. Despite their own personal challenges, Richland Hills residents showed great resiliency and continued to help and support each other. people

2021 City Council

What makes Richland Hills a wonderful place is the people who choose to live and work here. This annual report reflects how 2021 made our community better We faced obstacles along the way, but we also made significant improvements to enhance our quality of life.

Exciting things are on the horizon for Richland Hills. With

continued growth in our tax base and a focus on infrastructure improvements and economic development opportunities, we look forward to the progress our community will make in 2022 and beyond.

On behalf of the City Council, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and this wonderful community

Douglas Knowlton

Stacey L. Morse

Curtis Bergthold

Mayor Edward Lopez

AnimalShelterImprovements

TheAnimalServicesbuildingreceivedseveral interior improvements including painting updates, door replacements, wall repairs, updates to the desk area and security enhancements The shelter established new animal care stations, which were previously confinedtothesameroomastheemployee breakroom,andadropceilingwithLEDcan lightswillbeinstalledinaportionofthelobby to help alleviate sound and lighting issues Theseupdatesprovidebothvisitorsandstaff with a better overall Animal Shelter experience

helpingpawsofnorthtexas.org/adoptablepets to view animals currently available for adoption from the shelter.

Code Compliance

CodeComplianceCaseload

CodeCompliancegenerated1,439cases in 2021, 88.6% of which have gained complianceandareconsideredresolved.

The 164 outstanding cases are actively workingtogaincompliance.Ofall2021 cases,956%weregeneratedproactively byCodeComplianceOfficers,whilethe remaining 63 cases stemmed from complaintsbythepublic

Residential Cases

In late 2021, Code Compliance changed the department's name from "Code Enforcement" to "Code Compliance." The name change better reflects the department's philosophy: to help residents improve their property, resulting in improved property values for all.

CompletedandFutureConstructionProjects

Richland Hills welcomed 50 new businesses to the City in 2021, includingtheCity'sfirst7-Eleven,whichopenedonJune1,2021

Afteroverayearandahalfofconstruction,boththeCheneyHills Elementary School and Richland Middle School projects were completedintimeforthestartofthe2021-2022SchoolYear.

In late winter, City Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the Baker Landing Townhome Development (7100 Baker Boulevard and 3209 Ash Park Drive). Baker Landing will be a 69-unit townhome development, and construction is expected to begin in 2022.

FiscalYear2021Revenue

Richland Hills was fortunate to continue to see revenue gains as the City navigated through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many cities struggledin2020and2021,online shopping and the strong construction industry presence in Richland Hills aided in the City’s strong sales tax collection during the fiscal year 2021 (FY2021). The rise in property values helped to increase ad valorem revenues, which fund the City’s operations and contribute to the funding of publicsafetycosts.TheCityfared well in its overall revenue collections, and the forecast for FY2022 remains conservatively optimistic with equally strong financialgains.TheCityofRichland Hillsdidnotissuenewdebtduring FY2021.

ExcellenceinFinancial Reporting

TheCityreceivedtheGovernment Finance Officers Association (GFOA)CertificateofExcellencein Financial Reporting for its annual financialaudit.TheCityofRichland Hillshasbeenreceivingthisaward forover10years Fewgovernments of a similar size to Richland Hills attempt to produce a financial reportofthistypetosubmittothe GFOA for award consideration, andRichlandHillsisproudtoonce again accept this certificate from theGFOA.

Fire Department

HistoricFacilityFire

The City suffered its greatest fire loss in community history on February 25, 2021 at AdvancedFoamRecycling,whichresultedina $75millionfireloss Thesizeofthefirewasso massiveitrequiredthecombinedeffortsof20 fire departments to extinguish the blaze. Fire personnelpreventedthefirefromspreadingto additional property, and after over 29 hours theywereabletofullyputouttheflames.

NewFireStation

ThenewfirestationopenedonJune30,2021.

The 10,000 square foot station has an equipment decontamination area, advanced exhaustremovalsystemforallfireenginesand ambulances,andair-tightvestibulesbetween crewquartersandapparatusroomstoreduce fume and exhaust exposure The station has sleepingcapacityforsixfirefightersandnow housesfireadministration.

2021 Major Incident Types

Over 2,600 hours of firefighting & emergency medical training

Average response time: 4 minutes & 42 seconds from initial 911 call to arrival of first Fire Department crew

More than 100 community public relations events, reaching thousands with fire prevention & safety information

Added more than 20 Knox Box rapid entry key boxes to community businesses 500+ business inspections 7 fire hydrant replacements

AthleticsandSeniorProgrammingGrowth

TheLinkbroughtinnewprogramsandinstructorsfor2021, including a new partnership with Performance Experience. Through this partnership, the Link was able to increase its athletics and fitness program offerings. Pickleball and the newgirls'volleyballprogramhavehadcontinuedgrowthin participationandinterest

Seniorprogrammingsawincreasedengagementin2021,and the Senior Lunch Bunch grew back to pre-pandemic levels withover90participants.SeniorTripsresumedafterhaving beenonhiatussincelate2019,andseveraloftheiractivities reachedcapacity SeniorTripsincludedvisitstotheFortWorth Stockyards, Best Maid Pickle Emporium, Denton County Historical Park and Gaylord Texan's Lone Star Christmas, amongothers

20,317 member visits

60 Link Learners' Academy students per month 47 Camp Connect campers per week

404 Link facility room rentals

The Link

FacilityImprovements

The Link installed an electronic monument sign outside the facility, which allows Link staff to easily inform residents about upcoming programsandclasses.TheLinkwas alsoabletoinstallanewmirrorinthe weight room, and an indoor soft playground,approvedin2021,willbe addedtothefacilityin2022.

Volleyball at the Link

Parks & Recreation

NewHike&BikeTrail

TheCity’snewHike&Biketrail,located on the north-south Oncor easement, openedonJuly24,2021.The1.22-mile paved trail runs from Glenview Dr. to SH121 frontage road. The trail has a width of 12 feet to allow pedestrians andbicyclistsaliketocomfortablyutilize thespace.

AsapartoftheParksandRecreation Department’s continued efforts to beautify Richland Hills’ public areas, staffheldawildflowerplantingeventat the new trail in November. Future improvements to the Hike & Bike trail includetheinstallationofbenches,trash cansandpetpostsalongthesidewalk.

ReturningtoIn-PersonEvents

Events began to transition back to in-person after the drive-thruEasterHippityHopCarStoponMarch27,2021

OutdoorRecreation Programming

TheRichlandHillsOutdoorProgramming andEducationSeries(RHOPES)heldits first event in October 2021 RHOPES tookfourfamilies,consistingof21adults and children, on a camping trip to Cleburne State Park to spend time enjoyingtheoutdoors.Thistripwasthe firstofseveralRHOPESeventstheParks andRecreationDepartmenthasplanned forthefuture.

The first major in-person City event held since the pandemicbeganwastheIndependenceDayCelebration Red,WhiteandYOU!onJuly3 Followingthesuccessof Red

Red, White and YOU!, Parks and Recreation helped host Fiesta de Herencia, Tricky Treat Trail and Haunted Stacks, Veteran’s Day Ceremony and Patriotic Picnic, and the City's annual Christmas Tree Lighting, all of which helped bring the Richland Hills community together.

New play equipment at Creek Trail Park

Fiesta de Herencia

Section of the Hike & Bike Trail

RenovatedPoliceStation andCommunityEngagement

ThePoliceDepartmentrenovationprojectwas completedinMay2021aftereightmonthsof construction. The project consisted of over 7,000 square feet of improvements for more efficientworkspaceareasanduseofvacated space Thegrandopeningfortherenovated stationwasheldinOctoberalongsidetheFire Stationceremony.

Community Service Programming relaunched withtheassignmentofaCommunityService Officerandtheinitiationofnewbrandingfor theNeighborhoodWatchprogram.ThePolice Department also increased the creation and distributionofbilingual(EnglishandSpanish) printmaterialsandinformationalpamphletsto better serve the entire Richland Hills community

Historical Part I Crime

Renovated Police Station Grand Opening (October 2021)

Aggravated Assault

Public Library

ExpandedLibraryServices

In fall 2021, the Richland Hills Public Library becameafoundingmemberofMetroShare,a community of local libraries that share materials, databases and catalogs. MetroSharelibrarymembersincludethepublic libraries of Benbrook, Burleson, Forest Hill, Haltom City, Keller and Watauga. The partnership allows Richland Hills library card holderstocheckoutmaterialsatanyofthe above participating libraries using their Richland Hills library card. The new shared librarycatalogsystemalsoallowstheRichland HillsPublicLibrarytoservethecommunityata lowercostthantheprevioussystem.

27,993 items checked out

9,587 total library visitors up 7% from 2020

215 free tax returns

$300 saved per return

$64,000 in total tax savings

NailedIt!

The library implemented several take-andmake,at-homeprogramsduetotheongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The library’s popular “Nailed It!” Baking Challenge provided participantswiththematerialsneededtorecreate an elaborately decorated cake (includingcakemix,icing,decoratingsupplies andpans).Bakerssubmittedpicturesoftheir masterpiecestothelibrary,andwinnerswere chosenbyCitystaff

Winning Peep diorama in the Peep Diorama Contest

Outdoor Storytime in September 2021

SummerReadingClubFinale.

RoadConstructionandCapital ImprovementProjects

TheCity'sStreetMaintenancefund,whichcollectsits revenue from a 3/8¢ sales tax, allowed the City to begin construction on the following road repairs in 2021:

Vance Road (from Dover Lane to Baker Boulevard): Replacement of curb, gutter, water lines and sewer lines. Completed in partnership withTarrantCounty.

Dreeben Drive (from Allena Lane to Baker Boulevard): Pavement reconstruction. Completed inpartnershipwithTarrantCountyandBirdvilleISD

ChaffinDrive(fromDoverLanetoRichlandRoad): Replacementofcurbandgutter,andloweringof water and service lines. Street re-pavement is currentlyinprogress.

RosebudLane (from Pine Park to Lavon Drive): Replacement of curb, gutter, water lines and service lines. Reconstruction of pavement/roadbed

InadditiontotheroutinemaintenanceofCitystreets, water, wastewater and drainage systems, the Public WorksDepartmentwasabletocompletethefollowing capitalimprovementproject:

OakParkWaterline(fromAshParkDrivetoElm Park):Watermainreplacement.Completedusing Community Development Block Grant funding receivedfromTarrantCounty.

2,000 feet of water line replaced 3,000 feet of sewer line replaced

Completed Dreeben Drive construction project.

Completed Vance Road construction project

The City of Richland Hills partnered with Nixle to alert residents in real-time about localized emergency situations and relevant community advisories. Nixle Alerts can be sent via text, email, phone call and the Nixle app instantly.

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Learn more about Nixle, and find additional ways to sign up for alerts, by visiting richlandhills.com/community/nixle.

For the full event calendar, including City Council meetings and complete event details, visit richlandhills.com/calendar