City of Bedford, TX

Welcome to the very first Bedford Lunch Break Olympics, featuring the Bedford Parks and Recreation Department! 🥇 In this 2-week series, we’ll feature different Bedford employees as they compete, highlight all the awesome things their department does for the community, and crown a Lunch Break Olympic champion! 👏🏼 This week, we’re highlighting Parks and Recreation. This team of dedicated public servants is responsible for: 🎉 Planning year-round events and programs (Check them all out at www.bedfordtx.gov/events) 🛝 Maintaining all of Bedford’s parks and playgrounds, open spaces/trails, medians, and more ⭐️ Overseeing daily programs and classes for Bedford seniors (50+) 🌊 Maintaining, operating, and staffing Roy Savage Pool. The pool offers aquatic fitness classes, swim lessons, rentals, and more every single summer. Tune in to see who takes the GOLD in our Bedford Parks and Recreation Lunch Break Olympic Games! 🏆 We’ll see you next week for another round with - the Bedford Public Library! 📚

We are incredibly grateful for our amazing City of Bedford staff and volunteers that helped make Bedford 4thFest an unforgettable celebration last week! 💙 From the months of prep work to ensuring everything ran smoothly, all of your efforts did not go unnoticed. Thank you for making this year's event spectacular! 💥

We had a BLAST with y’all at Bedford 4thFest! 🇺🇸 Thank you to everyone who braved the heat and joined us for good music, delicious food, fantastic vendors, and an incredible fireworks show to end of the night. 💙❤️🤍

Last week, the Bedford Communications Division was recognized with three first place, two second place, and one third place trophies at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (TAMIO) awards banquet. 🤩 The team was honored for the following projects: 🏆 First Place, Best Social Media Campaign (Planned) – Bedford Beats and Eats Fest 🏆 First Place, Flyers and Posters – Bedford Beats and Eats Fest 2023 Poster 🏆 First Place, Regular or Recurring Program – Bedford Police Recruiting Video Series 🏆 Second Place, Special or One-Time Program – The Paranormal Investigation of Old Bedford School 🏆 Second Place, Best Social Media Post – “Living in Texas Be Like…” 🏆 Third Place, Report – City of Bedford 2022 Annual Report The banquet took place during the TAMIO annual conference, and the organization’s 50th anniversary, which was held June 5-7 in San Antonio. This year, TAMIO had a record-breaking 688 award entries across 29 categories. TAMIO is a network of communications professionals dedicated to informing Texas citizens of important issues in municipal government. Visit www.bedfordtx.gov/awards to view each of the award-winning projects.

During the June 11 meeting, the City Council unanimously voted to approve two measures marking the final steps in selling the tract of the City-owned land commonly known as Campus West for commercial and residential development. The City purchased the 18.77-acre property located at 205, 209, and 401 N. Industrial Blvd. to ensure full redevelopment of the site and to find a quality developer(s) who will develop the site with the highest and best uses. When fully developed, the combined residential and commercial portions are estimated to generate $680,000 in annual sales and property tax revenue. In addition, the redevelopment of this site will spur further redevelopment in the immediate area, and greatly enhance the easternmost entry into the City. This highly-anticipated mixed-use development will become a gathering place for residents and visitors looking to shop, dine out, or attend an event. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁  Dickerson Development, in conjunction with David Weekly Homes, will construct 106 townhomes. All homes will have frontages that face a public street or greenspace, and a trail system will connect the open spaces and adjacent commercial areas. The townhomes will start around $450,000 purchase price and will have a “classic” look comprised of brick and stone (renderings unavailable at this time).   𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 StreetLevel/3MEBS will construct a retail center with a 23,443 square foot grocery store, flanked by two 10,500 square-foot retail/restaurant buildings. The City will make an announcement soon regarding that grocery store tenant. This portion of the development will also have approximately 18,000 square feet area dedicated as open space/plaza. 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 The sale will need to be completed and signed by all parties. Then the developer will complete civil plans, and then construction can begin. City staff anticipate construction starting before the end of 2024.

The Mayor and City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Andrea Roy as the new city manager for the City of Bedford, effective immediately. Roy has served as interim City Manager since January 19, when former City Manager Jimmy Stathatos accepted a position in the private sector (More: https://bit.ly/3SbH8iK). “We all agree there’s no one better to fill this position, to lead this talented team of Bedford employees than Andrea,” said Bedford Mayor Dan Cogan. “She knows the vision, she knows the residents, and she knows this city. We are confident in her abilities to take us to the next level and carrying out that vision to move Bedford forward.” During her time as Interim City Manager, Roy has: ◾️ Coordinated and prioritized capital projects, including funding sources ◾️ Furthered economic development efforts in the Bedford Commons property and purchase (and ultimate development) of the Campus West site ◾️ Increased focus on resolving customer service deficiencies, providing training and support where possible ◾️ Began Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget process ◾️ Implemented Incentive pay for Public Works (various certifications at the time of hiring)  ◾️ Continued fine-tuning fleet, reducing number of vehicles based on usage, providing right number, size, and type of vehicles, evaluating fuel usage and considering cost saving measures where available Now that her role is official, Roy’s immediate plans include assisting in the budget preparation for the Council to review in August and working directly with Midway Development Group, who will be determining the best type of businesses for the Bedford Commons property and engaging the community in the coming months. Roy joined the City of Bedford in January 2021 as Development Director and was promoted to Assistant City Manager in June 2022. As she officially steps into the role of city manager, Roy brings more than 25 years of experience in economic development, business recruitment/retention, state and local incentive programs, contract negotiation, planning and zoning regulation, and municipal development. During her tenure in Bedford, she helped launch the new online permitting and licensing portal, implemented the short- and long-term rental registration programs, facilitated the acquisition of the former Airport Area YMCA building to be repurposed for the City’s future Senior Center, and initiated the update of the City’s Master Plan. "I am thrilled to officially take on the role of City Manager for Bedford,” Roy said. “I'm fully committed to our community. We've got a lot to look forward to with new developments and better services. Thanks to the Mayor and City Council for their support as we keep making Bedford a great place to live, work, and do business.”

Looking for a change? Join the Bedford Public Works team and take advantage of these exciting incentives for new hires in June: 🚧 $1,000 for new employees 🚧 $500 Class A CDL-Holders 🚧 $200 Class B CDL-Holders  🚧 $300 Class B Water Distribution License-Holders 🚧 $300 Class III Wastewater Collection License-Holders Find out more and apply online ➡️ www.bedfordtx.gov/jobs

Happy National Emergency Medical Services Week! 🚑 Did you know the Bedford Fire Department requires all firefighters to also be certified paramedics? This is to provide a higher level of care to the community and to have more people responding to each call with the same high-level of training. Approximately 80 percent of all Fire Department calls are EMS-related, and our team is trained to respond to a variety of emergency medical situations, including EKG recognition, establishing IVs, defibrillation, advance airway management, medication administration, and more. Whether it’s a car crash, heart attack, stroke, or minor injury, our paramedics are professional, proficient, provide high-quality pre-hospital emergency medical care, and are always here for you. ❤️ A big thank you to our team this week, and every week. 👏🏼

Happy Public Works Week to the men and women who keep Bedford running smoothly every day! 🚧💧🚦 These folks are responsible for maintaining our roads, providing clean drinking water, repairing traffic signals, fixing water and sewer lines, caring for City vehicles, and much more. Thank you to this team of dedicated and hardworking professionals for your commitment to our community, in all weather conditions, and for always going the extra mile. 💙 If you’d like to join our team, we’re hiring! 👏 Visit www.bedfordtx.gov/jobs for all the details.

Get ready for Labor Day weekend, y’all! 🤠 The City is excited to welcome the Randy Rogers Band to Bedford to headline Bedford Beats and Eats Fest at Generations Park at Boys Ranch (2801 Forest Ridge Dr.) on Saturday, August 31. 🎶 Spending over two decades together, the Randy Rogers Band is known nation-wide for their Texas Country tunes, including “Kiss Me in the Dark” and “Buy Myself a Chance.” With several singles cracking the Billboard hot country charts and global streaming numbers in the hundreds of millions, this group will have the heart of Bedford rockin’ at this can’t miss event! Bedford Beats and Eats Fest is FREE to attend and will include more performances, plenty of food trucks, alcohol for purchase, business vendors, a kid’s zone, shuttles, and more. 🎉 Interested in becoming a vendor or sponsor? Visit https://lnkd.in/gMiWMKvu to view the application. As we get closer to August, additional details, including the entire music line-up, will be available online.