The Conroe City Limits

Population 82,919 www.cityofconroe.org Volume 17, Issue 4 April 2021 Employee of the Month SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

➢ Employee of the month ➢ Conroe Film Commission

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CVB Pg.2 The Employee of the month for March is Angela Dipolito

Tenure Awards Pg.3 The Finance Department would like to nominate Angela Dipolito for Employee Municipal Court Pg.4 of the Month.

HR & CEDC Pg.5 Angela is very diligent and detailed in getting the City’s weekly bill pay done on time and accurately. She works with every Department insuring packets are Recreation Pg. 6 Center reviewed, advising corrections and ultimately processed without error in a timely manner. Birthdays of the Pg.7 Month Angela was instrumental during the accrual period for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) process. She reviewed every invoice prior to processing to be sure they were coded to the correct period making the accrual process much smoother than prior years. She was also an asset with scanning the prior years’ invoices into the electronic storage enabling easier future vendor transaction research.

Angela has a good attitude with a knack for research, detail and organization and is an excellent member of our team.

The Conroe City Limits Page 2

CVB

CONROE FILM COMMISSION BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS ASSOCATION OF FILM COMMISSIONS

Conroe is home to a diverse group of film industry representatives including film crews, producers, actors and educators. The acting careers of Chuck Walker, Richard Bradford, Emily Neves and Teresa DePriest began in Conroe. Area’s such as Lake Conroe, the State and National Forests, and historic Downtown Conroe offers film makers a one-of-a-kind back drop. Conroe offers all the amenities of a large city while still offering that small-town feel.

Texas Association of Film Commissions members include: the Amarillo Film Commission, Austin Film Commission, Brownsville Border Film Commission, Corpus Christi Film Commission, Dallas Film Commission, El Paso Film Commission, Fort Worth Film Commission, Houston Film Commission, San Antonio Film Commission, South Padre Island Film Commission and the Texas Film Commission

Walker-Cable Productions will be the first film to be produced under the new Conroe Film Commission Designation. Be on the lookout as “The Author” will begin filming throughout Conroe in the coming weeks. For more information about this project visit The Author website. A big Congratulations to Sam Cable (formally Mr. Cable to many Conroe High School Alumni), Chuck Walker and Richey Cable on this amazing film. The Conroe City Limits Page 3 Human Resources

Congratulations to this month’s employees who have reached their Employee Milestone with the City of Conroe.

1 Year Josiah Brett– Public Works Ariel Stevenson-Police Department 5 Year Tommy Gardner– Public Works 10 Year Donald Staton -Fire Department 20 Years Cory Neitzel—Fire Department Thomas Chavis– Fire Department Matthew Francis– Fire Department Kevin Murphy– Fire Department Christopher George– Fire Department The Conroe City Limits Page 4

Municipal Court

THE RESULTS ARE IN! Congratulations to the Conroe Municipal Court for receiving the 2021 Municipal Traffic Safety Initiative Award!! The annual MTSI Traffic Safety Awards presented by TMCEC recognize those municipal courts that have done outstanding work in traffic safety and impaired driving prevention. The staff does an exceptional job in making this possible. This is the 11th year for the court to receive such award, along with one honorable mention.

UPDATE FROM THE COURT:

On March 5th, the Texas Supreme Court issued it’s 36th Emergency Order, effective immediately. This order continues to provide flexibility to courts to conduct proceedings remotely and provides revised cri- teria in order for courts to conduct in-person proceedings, including jury trials. The court must adopt min- imum standard health protocols for in-person court proceedings to avoid exposing court proceedings to the threat of COVID-19. Some of the suggested protocols that the court will require will be face cover- ings, social distancing, COVID-19 screening, including temperature checks, when appearing in-person for a court hearing. What does this mean for the Conroe Municipal Court? We will begin to schedule in-person jury trials in June of this year and all other appearance dockets will start transitioning to in-person at the beginning of April. The court will still hold Virtual appearance dockets for those that request one. The Conroe City Limits Page 5 HR

Impairment At Work Impairment at work, whether from alcohol, marijuana or opioid use is a major roadblock to workplace safety, and the effects are more common than you think. The risks are numerous. Prescription drugs can impair your ability to work and drive, so ask your doctor about any side effects before starting the medication.

Impairment begins with the first drink, so don’t try to convince yourself that you’ll be fine to work or drive after “just one". Don't take chances, not a doctor’s prescription or past experience with an impairing sub- stance is an excuse to work unsafely.

CEDC

On the employment front, the trend remained about the same as January’s preliminary unemployment rate for the Houston MSA moved to 8.3%.

We responded to new RFPs and had two virtual sales missions. We partnered with the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, Lone Star College, and Workforce Solutions to host a virtual job fair on March 30.

For our More is Made Here marketing campaign, March’s theme was “Opportunity.” We showcased that economic opportunity is abundant in Conroe, as our city and business leaders have taken steps to ensure Conroe maintains its place as an attractive economic hub. We highlighted the joint Workforce Development Committee (WDC) that we have with the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce. The WDC partners with local school districts, colleges and universities, and the business community to train individuals for careers and connect employers with job seekers. And, finally, we promoted the 9th Annual Job Fair, which used a unique virtual platform that expanded the job fair beyond those who normally attended in person, providing more op- portunities to connect businesses with job seekers.

Did you know one easy way to help promote our brand is to follow us on social media? You can find all our so- cial media links in the top right corner of ConroeEDC.org. And by liking and sharing our posts, you show our business community your support! The Conroe City Limits Page 6

Recreation Center Conroe United Youth Soccer & Conroe Youth Flag Football Leagues The spring season of the Conroe United youth soccer league kicked off on February 27 at Carl Barton Jr, Park. 590 kids comprising 60 teams ranging in age from 4-13 began their league games. The spring season of the Conroe Youth Flag Football league kicked off on March 6 at Carl Barton Jr, Park. 109 kids comprising 12 teams ranging in age from 6-11 began their league games. A great time was had by all. A big thank you to Parks Operations for ensuring the fields were ready for play and painting the lines on each field. The leagues are coordinated by Wes Wagner, Recreation Coordinator. Darryl Joseph, Dean Bowers and Noor Sheikh assist Wes with coordinating the leagues.

First Thursday Free Concert Series Invite your friends and bring the family to Heritage Place to relax to a variety of bands in this concert series held every first Thursday in the months of April through September. Bring your chairs and blankets. The concert series is coordinated by Elizabeth West, Recreation Coordinator

Apr 1 Cody Hibbard

May 6 ESC4P3 – Journey Tribute

Jun 3 Cristina Tribute Show to the Queen of Tejano

Jul 1 Tribute to George Strait show featuring Derek Spence

Aug 5 The Spicolis – 80’s Tribute

Sep 2 Hamilton Loomis

7:00pm

Kidz Fest The City of Conroe invites you and your family to Conroe Kidz Fest on Saturday, April 24 from 10am to 5pm in Downtown Conroe. Conroe’s premier family event is free to the public offering a variety of activity villages, interactive games, stage performances, water activities, inflatables and information booths that attract families to the festival. Kidz Fest is coordinated by Elizabeth West, Recreation Coordinator The Conroe City Limits Page 7

Birthdays of The Month

Jason Roper Michael Dean Greg Byrne Richard Sallee

Stephen Sylvester Joshua Johnson Trevor Mathis Randy Horobetz Michael Boone Haley Crenwelge Meagan Curtis Dana Berry Mindi Mayfield Dustin McDonald Joseph Harris Joshua Templeton Christine Cooper Billy Pounds Mark Frazier Eric Hale Carlos Salazar Clayton Story Wesley Nanny Kristopher Christenson Blaine Pyles Shari Morrison Jeff Buxton Kevin Smith Brandon Hughes Dave Powers Krista Dabney Erika Torres Katherine Andrews Thomas Chavis Cassie Smith Bud Brooks Kevin King Michael Wilson Christopher Povich Robert Engel Patrick Minor Jacob Dorman Jacqueline Gray Tommy Gardner Hugo Pena Scott Hippenstiel Adam Hunsaker Phillip Johnson Matthew Perkins Thomas Garvey Laura Trott Cj Locklear Charles Bruner Brooke Woolley Jarret Kenning LaTice Jones

Allie Moore Agustina Demagistris Chynna Contreras Erika Guzman

Cali Davenport Clarissa Martinez Brooke Woolley Lizzette Gutierrez April Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 Good Friday

5 6 7 8 9 10 Workshop Council Meeting Meeting

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Workshop Council Meeting Meeting

25 26 27 28 29 30