HP Town Council Schedules Library Week, Cancels May Election

The offices of Highland Park mayor and town council weren’t on the March 1 ballot, but votes cast that day will keep them off the ballot in May, too.

With only one candidate filing for each seat, the Town Council voted to cancel the May 7 election.

“It’s an expense we can easily avoid,” Mayor Margo Goodwin explained.

Nevertheless, this non-election election will bring change to the town with a new mayor and two new council members taking office later this year.

Will Beecherl will replace Goodwin while Don Snell and Leland White will join the council, replacing Jimmy Grisham and Mayor Pro Tem David Dowler.

Council members Marc Myers, Lydia Novakov, and Craig Penfold will begin new terms in May.

Also on March 1, Goodwin read a wordy proclamation, designating April 3 to 9 as National Library Week in the town of Highland Park.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a professional services agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. to design and prepare bid documents for the $1.1 million reconstruction of Mockingbird Lane from Westside Drive to Eastern Avenue. Kimley-Horn will receive an estimated $129,900. The total project is eligible for up to $500,000 in reimbursement as part of the Dallas County Major Capital Improvement Project. Design should wrap up in late spring, with the construction going to bid soon after that, town staff said.
• Approved signage and designated southbound Armstrong Avenue at Mockingbird Lane as “No Left Turn” from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. and 2:45 to 4:15 p.m. on school days to address traffic congestion near Bradfield Elementary School.