Welcome to the City of Lewisville, Texas! It is my pleasure to greet you on behalf of the City Council and all 97,000 people who choose to call Lewisville home. You have picked a very exciting time to live in, work in or visit Lewisville. There are some projects currently underway, or planned for the very near future, that will have a significant impact on this city and all of North Texas for decades to come.

Construction is nearly complete on Railroad Park, our new 250-acre athletic complex along the shores of the Trinity River, with a planned grand opening in Spring 2010. This park will include eight soccer fields, four football fields, four baseball/softball fields, three concession stands, walking trails, the city's first skate park and the city's first dog park. I will get to watch my grandchildren spend many wonderful hours at that park, and one day they will get to watch their grandchildren do that same.

In June of this year, we will break ground on the new Lewisville Center for the Creative Arts. This 39,000-square-foot facility in the heart of Old Town Lewisville will feature two theaters, an art gallery, a dance rehearsal hall and five classrooms for both casual and serious art instruction. When the center opens next summer, thousands of visitors will be able to interact with the visual and performing arts in a way that Lewisville residents have long dreamed of but never been able to enjoy in their own hometown.

The very landscape of Lewisville will change dramatically during the next few years, right down to how people get here from other parts of North Texas and beyond. The Denton County Transportation Authority expects to launched commuter rail service between Denton and Carrollton in December 2010, with three stations being built in Lewisville. Riders will be able to walk across a single platform in Carrollton and continue on to the rest of the Metroplex with a connection to DART light rail.

At about the same time rail service begins, the Texas Department of Transportation plans to begin a complete reconstruction of Interstate 35E through Lewisville. This massive project will increase the number of free lanes, introduce free-flowing managed lanes, and relieve some of the congestion that has become all to common during peak hours. The lengthy construction process will not be fun, but the result will be worth it, especially with the great one-in-a-lifetime opportunity it gives Lewisville to redevelop property along both sides of the highway with high-quality, high-demand business and other uses.

Lewisville is very proud of its historic roots, which date back hundreds of years to a time when Native American tribes lived along the banks of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The first settlers came to this area before the Civil War, and some of their first buildings were churches and schools. That’s because they were not creating a stopping place – they were creating a home.

Lewisville today is a vibrant and growing community of the 21st century, with major employers and thriving retail outlets that combine to create a strong economic framework for our residents. City leadership, residents and businesses share a vision of making Lewisville the best place in North Texas to live and work, to raise a family and build a business, to visit for a day or stay for a lifetime.

From great parks to an amazing range of shopping options, well-paying jobs and opportunities for family-friendly fun, Lewisville offers something for just about everyone. And since Lewisville has one of the lowest property tax rates in the DFW area, our city is not only readily accessible and easily adaptable -- it also is highly affordable.

Lewisville is truly a great city in which to live, work, and play. I hope that you will take some time to look around Lewisville and see some of what this community has to offer to you and your family, whether you are looking for a place to spend the day or a place to call home.