The City of Mansfield will be conducting a General election on May 12, 2012 for three City Council positions and a Special Election on May 12, 2012 concerning the adoption of the fire fighters' and police officers' civil service law for the Mansfield Fire Department.

See more details about the election.

Keep Mansfield Beautiful and the City of Mansfield are hosting a second HHW Collection Event on Saturday, May 19, 2012, at City Hall. The collection will start at 9 a.m. and end at 11 a.m., or until the trailers are full. Please enter the parking lot from Wisteria St. and exit onto E. Broad St. Businesses are not allowed to drop-off materials at this event!

A full list of items being accepted can be found here

HHW

Household hazardous wastes can include auto fluids, household cleaners, unused fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals that have the potential to be harmful. Paints, thinners, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, and photo and pool chemicals also fall into this category. HHW materials should not be placed in with garbage, poured down a sink, poured out in the street, or dumped off the side of the road. These actions can cause harm to the person or wildlife that comes in contact with those materials. Follow this link to find out how to dispose of paint at your home!

Electronics

In addition to these products, Goodwill Inc will be on site to collect used computer equipment from residents. Double Eagle Services will again be on site to erase hard drives for secure disposal. Electronic equipment should be kept out of our landfills because of the metals and other potential pollutants contained in the equipment.

Cooking Oil

The City will also be collecting used cooking oil for its “Got Grease?” program at no cost to residents. The used cooking oil the City collects is processed into biodiesel by an outside company. Cooking oil and grease should never poured down the drain because it can causes blockages, or corrode your pipes which can cause expensive damage to your home.

Plastic Bags

Keep Mansfield Beautiful is now participating in “A Bag’s Life” campaign. This campaign brings awareness to the harmful affects plastic bags have on our environment. It’s time for residents to “Get Caught in the Act with a Bag’s Life” by bringing all unwanted plastic bags, including dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags, food storage bags, plastic product wrap, and bubble wrap.

ECC

If you can not make this collection day, you may dispose of these products year round at the Environmental Collection Center, located at 6400 Bridge St., Fort Worth, TX 76112. Call ahead for hours and to make sure your material will be taken at 817-392-3279. You must bring proof (Drivers License or Utility Bill) that you are a Mansfield resident for this free disposal method.

If you can not attend this second collection, KMB and the City will have a third HHW Collection on Saturday, September 8, 2012. More information can be found at a later date

For more information about the upcoming collection visit the City of Mansfield’s homepage and click on the link for the HHW Collection, or contact Arianne Shipley at 817-276-4297 or arianne.shipley@mansfield-tx.gov.

The Mansfield Animal Care & Control Department has received several calls and complaints regarding wildlife issues, including Coyotes. Due to the recent increase in wildlife related calls it has become necessary for Mansfield Animal Care & Control to research and develop a comprehensive plan of action for wildlife related calls. Therefore, Mansfield Animal Care & Control are working closely with Texas Wildlife Services, a Division of the USDA, who has provided a specialist in the study of, and if necessary the trapping or lethal enforcement of, urban wildlife. It is expected to take several weeks to adequately complete this task and a public forum is being planned around the end of January to address these issues. In the meantime Mansfield Animal Care & Control would like to make the public aware of a few basic facts regarding wildlife.

Mansfield Animal Care & Control are primarily trained and equipped to handle domestic pet issues, ordinance enforcement of animal related ordinances, and loose pets or livestock. Wildlife are not domesticated animals and are a vital part of the ecosystem, even in heavily populated areas. wildlife, particularly Coyotes, cannot be safely trapped in most cases and if they are trapped cannot be successfully be relocated. As a general rule it is not good practice to remove wildlife, even from urban areas. The most common practice used by the majority of cities nationally is to implement a Wildlife Management Plan and make sure the citizens are aware of the behavioral patterns and natural lifestyle practices of wildlife in order to coexists with all forms of wildlife.

Until this program can be established it is important for citizens to understand that coyotes are not normally comfortable around humans. In most cases coyotes will only approach humans that they have previously encountered and have determined not to be a threat. Coyotes will normally only be in close proximity to humans if there is a viable food source close by. As a general rule, the only thing necessary for a human to do to ensure their encounter with a coyote, or a coyote pack is brief, is to make a lot of noise and movement in order to scare the coyote. This almost always works and is considered the industry standard preventative method. Should this not work a citizen should call for Animal Care & Control or if in imminent danger, call 911.

In most cases a coyote will not approach a human unless that human has a food source. Pets are definitely considered a source of food for urban coyotes as their natural food sources are limited in populated areas. Citizens who live close to parks, fields, golf courses or any other area with open, uninhabited areas close by, should be aware that wildlife does exists in those areas and pets should not be unattended, even in fenced yards. All pets are required to be on a leash, including cats, unless they are contained in a fenced yard and citizens should be aware that when walking a pet on a leash in a wooded area, or close to any possible wildlife habitat, there is a danger of being approached by various forms of wildlife seeking food. Normally humans are not in danger when this occurs and should therefore be very animated and vocal in trying to scare the predator away but keep in mind that you are holding what the predator considers to be a food source and an attack on the food source is possible. There is nothing that Animal Care & Control can do to eliminate this threat. There are no magic solutions to coexisting with wildlife so each citizen should be aware of the potential threat of wildlife. Should a citizen have a wildlife sighting and have questions about what they should do, Mansfield Animal Care & Control should be able to answer any questions. There is currently information available on our website and in print and available at the Mansfield Animal Care & Control, located at 407 Industrial Mansfield Texas 76063, at the Public Safety Building and at the receptionists counter at City Hall. This material should answer the majority of questions most citizens have regarding wildlife. We would ask that you please be patient and allow us time to address this issue in so that we are able to thoroughly investigate and research every plan of action to ensure the best possible solutions for our citizens.

Mansfield Animal Care & Control - 817-276-4799

Check out our newly upgraded online registration site for recreation programs here. The modern layout makes it easier to navigate and find what you are looking for. You can search by program barcode on the front page, or use the advanced search feature on the Programs tab.

Anyone can browse through our programs, but you will need an active MAC account and your login ID and pin to register online. You can contact the MAC Front Desk at (817) 453-5420 to obtain this information if you already have an account.

Most programs require a MAC Card which must be purchased in person at the Mansfield Activities Center at 106 S. Wisteria St. To access online registration, go to www.mansfieldparks.com and click on the blue online registration icon near the top of the page.

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Mexican artist Diego Rivera's 1939 oil painting "Girl in Blue and White" is headlining Sotheby's Latin American art auction in New York.

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