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Congratulations to the Class of 2024 and to the students who completed the school year. Thank you to the teachers, coaches, support staff, administrators, school resource officers, crossing guards, etc. who helped navigate this school year.

There’s 77 days “of summer vacation ‘til school comes along just to end it, so the annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it …”

This summer, there are several options available to keep our youth and community busy.

At the Parks Department, the Nederland Swimming Pool is open with expanded and new Open Swim hours. Open Swim is from 1PM to 7PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and from 1PM to 6PM on Thursdays.

Several Family Nights at the Pool are planned this summer on various Thursday nights. The Pool will only be available for pool parties on Sundays and will be closed on Mondays.

The Nederland Recreation Center is open to the public. Exercise stations are available along the walking trail at Doornbos Park, which is well-lit at night.

Later this summer, the tennis court and pickleball court repairs and improvements should be completed (pending work on the lights).

And the Parks staff is preparing for the 2024 Fireworks Extravaganza on Thursday, July 4th; details of the event are being finalized.

At the Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library, the Summer Reading Program is starting with great events and activities. Information on the Library’s programs can be found at ned.lib.tx.us.

The Nederland Independent School District is also offering their Summer Recreation Program; this year the City is providing financial support of this program.

Budge process

This month, the City staff began the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget process. In early July, the City Manager will hold a budget workshop with the City Council, and in August, the proposed budget and proposed tax rate will be discussed.

These meetings are open to the public and offer citizens and taxpayers an opportunity to address any concerns they have or to ask for more information.

Citizens or groups with ideas or suggestions regarding the budget should contact the City Manager’s Office at (409) 723-1503.

Hurricane Season

The 2024 Hurricane Season started on June 1st, and unfortunately, all forecasts are predicting a more active hurricane season. Communication is vital during an emergency.

The City utilizes the Southeast Texas Alerting Network (STAN) and our social media pages to push emergency notices. If you have not already registered for STAN or have family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., register for STAN at https://thestan.com.

And follow the City’s Facebook pages: “The City of Nederland, TX,” “Nederland Police Department,” “Nederland Fire Rescue,” “City of Nederland Parks & Recreation,” “Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library,” and “Nederland Animal Shelter.”

At the start of Hurricane Season, you should be preparing for a disaster to include having an evacuation plan and having disaster supplies.

Street work

The 2024 Concrete Street Rehabilitation project ($1,715,853) will begin this month; the scope of work includes concrete repairs to Nederland Avenue between the railroad tracks and 1st Street and 27th Street between Nederland Avenue and Avenue H.

The City has completed work with Jefferson County Pct 2 on the chip seal street projects; this scope of work included Avenue N (S. 12th St to S. 15th St), Gary Avenue (21st St to 24th St), Avenue C (S. 21st St to S. 27th St), Avenue D (S. 21st St to S. 27th St), Avenue E (S. 21st St to the dead end), Avenue F (S. 18th St to S. 27th St), Avenue G (S. 21st St to S. 23rd St), Avenue M (S. 12th St to S. 13th St), 19th Street (Detroit to Elgin), 18th Street (Detroit to Helena), Atlanta Avenue (6th St to the dead end), and South 35th Street (Nederland Ave to Hardy).

The City is waiting to award the bid for the 2024 Hot Mix Overlay Projects; the scope of work will include the following asphalt street projects: Canal Avenue (27th St to the HWY 69 frontage road), Seattle (18th St to the dead end), 19th Street (Queen to Seattle), 21st Street (Queen to Seattle), 20th Street (Canal to Queen), and Queen (dead end to dead end).

Upgrades

Quality of Life improvements are on-going.

The Doornbos Park Pond project will be completed this month; the heavy rain events in May delayed construction being completed. The sidewalk connecting the interior walking trail must still be installed as long as other necessary repairs and work.

Electrical repairs are underway at Tex Ritter Park; it was necessary to make these repairs and lighting improvements for future events at the Park.

This month, the large pavilion at Doornbos Park near the inclusive playground will be replaced.

If there are any questions regarding City operations, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 409-723-1503.

Chris Duque is city manager for Nederland. He can be reached at CDuque@ci.nederland.tx.us.