Mayor Pat Deen

Welcome to the City of Hudson Oaks online! The City’s Council, staff and appointed board members are glad you’ve chosen to visit the City of Hudson Oaks website.

The City of Hudson Oaks was incorporated in 1978 by a group of citizens who shared a desire to come together in creating a community that could create its own destiny rather than having it shaped by the taxing entities in the surrounding area. More than thirty years later, the City of Hudson Oaks is now a full-service municipality operating on a $3 million budget. But the community has retained its conservative values and approach to government finance, so the City still has never implemented a municipal property tax, and its primary source of revenue continues to be sales tax.

In recent years, the City has constructed new, state-of-the-art facilities for its City Hall and Public Safety Building, which houses both the Hudson Oaks Police Department and Hudson Oaks Fire-Rescue. The police department has established itself as one of the premier law enforcement agencies in Parker County, and it operates with an emphasis on community outreach and involvement. The regional Emergency Services District (E.S.D.) #3 (called Hudson Oaks Fire-Rescue) provides fire protection in Hudson Oaks and Annetta North as well as portions of Annetta and northern Parker County, and its staff brings tremendous talent and professionalism to the task.

In 2010, the City of Hudson Oaks sought and received its first bond rating for the sale of debt on the public market. Thanks to the City’s sound financial position, specifically its small debt load and healthy cash reserves, the City received a ‘AA’ bond rating, making it the highest-rated agency in Parker County. The key to keeping the City on track, so it can keep its commitment to the community’s “no tax” history, is continued growth of the business sector.

Even as the national economy has struggled, businesses have opened and done well in Hudson Oaks. We are home to the only cinema in Parker County, and there are plans for it to be renovated and expanded in the near future. Wal-Mart was the first national retailer to come to Hudson Oaks and it anchors a growing business district that now includes Walgreen’s, McDonald’s, Wine Styles, Anytime Fitness, Ultimate Cupcake, Kwik Kar, and many more.

Recruiting and retaining business is a primary goal of the Mayor’s Business Leaders Forum. This quarterly roundtable gives business owners/managers, the mayor, and City staff the opportunity to discuss issues of importance to the business community and to collaborate to address issues, solve problems and help promote Hudson Oaks. This forum has already been the catalyst for recent updates to the City’s sign regulations and for the development of a website and direct mail brochure designed to help promote and strengthen local businesses.

The City of Hudson Oaks and its elected and appointed officials deeply value long-range planning. This is why the City has taken a leadership role in initiatives to seek regional solutions to challenges shared by all cities in eastern Parker County. It is why the City sought, and was awarded, state and federal approval of a $10-million project to construct a three-lane frontage road between Centerpoint bridge and Lakeshore Drive; a project that will make more than 300 acres available for new development. A commitment to long-range planning is also why the City sought and obtained funding to widen the Lakeshore bridge and add a “Texas Turnaround,” thus making the business district more accessible. And it is why the City worked closely with area business owners and TxDOT to build a new exit ramp off I-20 that brings visitors right into the heart of the Hudson Oaks business district. Such projects are crucial to the City’s continued ability to rely on sales tax to fund municipal operations.

The City of Hudson Oaks will continue to focus on its top priorities: maintaining the highest quality of life for its residents and building a strong business community. I offer my special thanks to the residents of Hudson Oaks, the City Council, our appointed board members and City staff for the privilege of serving as your mayor. As our city grows, may we continue to work together to maintain the strong sense of community upon which Hudson Oaks was founded.

Respectfully,

Pat Deen
Mayor
City of Hudson Oaks