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Frequently Asked Questions
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The following is a list of questions frequently asked by citizens. You may search for specific words or phases, or shorten the list by selecting a specific category.
Administration
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Copies of City ordinances are available from the City Secretary's office in City Hall. City Ordinances are also available online |
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Agendas are posted in City Hall and on the City website 72 hours before all meetings. City Council Agendas |
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Open records requests must be made in writing by letter, email or fax to the attention of the City Secretary. |
Animal Shelter
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Animal Shelters can be difficult places for some people to go because of the barks, smells, and it is often very busy. You will see animals that are available for adoption and those that are not. Our staff will have plenty of information for you to help you through the process of adopting a new pet or finding a lost pet. |
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Initially we hold animals for a minimum of 72 hours. After that time they are evaluated for adoption. Once an animal goes up for adoption we try to hold on to him as long as possible. There is, however, no set amount of time that any animal will stay available for adoption. |
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All animals adopted or reclaimed from the Tri-City Animal Shelter & Adoption Center will be required to be microchipped. The fee for this is $25 and includes free registration with the national microchip company, 24PetWatch. Every second Saturday of the month we will chip animals for the public and the cost is $20 with proof of a current rabies vaccination. A microchip is a permanent form of identification, as long the chip is registered, and the registration is kept up to date. The registration information will be filled out prior to leaving with the pet and the shelter will mail it in to the company. The goal of requiring the pets to be microchipped is twofold: Increase the number of pets that are reunited with their owners
Increase the responsibility of pet owners who continue to allow their pets to run at large. If you have any questions about microchips, please feel free to contact the shelter.
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You must be 18 years old and have a valid Texas Driver’s License. The adoption fee is $75. You must sign an agreement to have the animal spayed or neutered, and to have it vaccinated for rabies. All adopted animals must also be microchipped. |
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First of all, look at your lifestyle. Is it fast paced or laid back? Are you allergic to cats and/or dogs? Do you live in a house with a backyard or perhaps an apartment? These are just a few things that you should consider before adopting an animal. |
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There is no guarantee that an animal will go up for adoption. Evaluation can take several days and animals can not be evaluated until their stray hold is up. Some animals will not be evaluated for the adoption program at all if they show any signs of aggression. |
Baby Moses
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You may take your baby to any hospital, fire rescue station, or emergency medical technician (EMT) in the state of Texas.
Please remember that it is VERY important to give your baby to a person working at one of these facilities. That is the best way to care for your baby.
People working at these facilities usually have some form of visible identification.
Tell the person that you want to leave your baby at the Safe Baby Site.
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You can take your baby, up to 60 days old. |
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The intent of Baby Moses law is to provide a responsible alternative to desperate mothers.
The first days of a newborns life are the most critical, and most likely the time that immediate medical attention is required.
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The people at the Safe Baby Site where you choose to leave your baby may provide you with a voluntary form to fill out that is used to provide medical information for your child. This is NOT an attempt to try to find out who you are. This information will be put in your baby’s records, and may help answer health questions in the future.
The Safe Baby Site may offer to give you some referrals and help lines that you may want to call in the future if you want to speak with someone about what you have been through.
Voluntary Health Form |
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The police will not be called if your unharmed baby (60 days old or less) is brought to a hospital, fire rescue station or EMS station and given to a person who works there.
If you leave your unharmed baby at a hospital, fire station or with an EMT, you will not be prosecuted for abandonment or neglect.
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If you leave your baby at a fire station or with and EMT, they will give the baby immediate medical care and then transport the baby to the closest appropriate hospital.
The hospital will take care of any additional medical needs that your baby may have.
The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS) will then take custody of your child.
After the legal responsibilities are fulfilled by TDPRS, your baby will be placed with caring family.
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Building
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No permit is required, however, there are regulations. Please call the Building Inspection Department at 972.291.5100 ext. 1090. |
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You can call Perin Warren at 972.780.8573. |
Citizens Fire Academy
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Well, now's your chance!
Come learn how your Cedar Hill Fire Department prepares for life-threatening emergencies and learn about all the many services our trained emergency professionals provide to the citizens of Cedar Hill. |
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This program is designed for people who have a genuine desire to learn about the daily life of firefighters, who want to increase fire and life safety awareness, and who wish to increase the awareness of the services provided by the Cedar Hill Fire Department. |
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Anyone who is at least 18 years old, who lives or works in Cedar Hill, and has never been arrested or charged with any crime. Selection of students will be made by application |
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Yes, during the 3rd week of class you will be able to sign up to ride-out with on-duty personnel to emergency and non-emergency calls. If you pick a good time slot you will even get a chance to sample some cooking, Firefighter style. Remember that all students, while on calls, will be observing ONLY. |
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There is no charge to participants. All materials, along with CFA T-shirt, are provided. |
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Classes meet one evening per week for 10 weeks. Each class is three hours in length. (6:30 pm till 9:30 pm) |
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NO, there will be some materials that will be discussed in the classroom; however there will be plenty of demonstrations and hands-on activities in which you will be encouraged to participate outside the classroom. |
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A variety of instructors are used from the Firefighters on shift all the way up to the Fire Chief. |
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Graduates are encouraged to join the Alumni Association, and participate in meetings that inform you of upcoming events. Members will work with the CHFD on local civic events and assist with various programs. |
Code Enforcement
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No, vehicles must be parked on an improved surface, concrete, in the front or side yard. |
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Yes, City Ordinance requires that weeds and grass be maintained at a height not exceeding twelve (12) inches. |
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A permit is not required for a garage sale. Garage sale signs also do not require a permit, but can only be placed on the property where the garage sale is being held. |
Connect-CTY
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The Connect-CTY service allows authorized City administrators to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the notification database. Authorized users can send thousands of messages in minutes. Only authorized officials are allowed access to the system. |
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Authorized officials record a voice message that is then delivered quickly to individual phones in the notification database. |
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Primarily messages regarding the safety or welfare of our community. This communication system will occasionally be used to remind residents about community-wide events. Examples would include severe weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road conditions inside the city or affecting local routes, and special event updates. |
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This system is not a replacement for TV and radio broadcasts, and our city web site will continue to post important announcements. Our emergency siren system has recently been upgraded and will continue to be used for severe weather warnings. |
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It is our intention and hope that every residence in our community be included in the notification database. To provide contact information, please visit the database link or call the City at 972.291.5100 ext.1007. |
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Yes, we can accept cell phones in the database and encourage you to request that your number be included. |
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Connect-CTY® is a service of The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI). NTI takes security and privacy concerns very seriously and does not sell, trade, lease or loan any data about our clients to any third party. From a technical perspective, we utilize multiple physical and virtual layers of firewalls to maintain data security. NTI only utilizes secure transmissions with its customers. No confidential information is ever transmitted between NTI and its customers using e-mail or FTP, but rather always utilizes either a VPN tunnel or SSL. Data is hosted in state-of-the-art facilities which require photo identification, thumb-print recognition, keyed access, and are manned 24/7 with full-security personnel. All data is encrypted prior to being placed on tape for offsite storage. NTI also retains an external, independent security firm to perform annual security audits. |
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The caller-ID number for calls generated by the Connect-CTY service will be: 469.272.2939. The recording will clearly indicate that it is from the City of Cedar Hill. The message content will follow this standard introduction. |
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There are several varieties of call screening devices which use differing protocols for screening. In general, the system has been found to work with these devices; but, some may require some type of pre-programming to allow our village’s telephone number to pass through. We may conduct periodic tests to assure that messages are being delivered to numbers in the notification database. |
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For non-residents or owners who reside outside of our city, you may provide additional phone numbers to be included in our database to contact during certain situations. In general, calls are sent to the primary number only, but we also have the ability to call multiple numbers for each resident. Please visit the database link or contact our Government Center office at 972.291.5100 ext.1007 to provide us with that information. |
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Should a situation arise that requires us to contact you at multiple phone numbers, we can activate the system to place a simultaneous call to all of your numbers. In most cases, we will be sending calls only to one phone number.
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Yes. The area code does not impact whether or not a call is made.
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For busy signals, the call will be repeated several times in an attempt to reach you. The same is true for No-answer and Call-waiting. If the phone is answered by a message recorder, the message will be left on the answering device. If, after several attempts the call does not successfully go through, the system will stop attempting to call. |
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Yes. Please visit the database link or contact us at 972.291.5100 ext.1007 to change the phone number in our notification database. |
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Yes, at the end of the message playback, simply press the star (*) key on your telephone to have it repeated in its entirety.
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Repeating or looping of messages happens when the system detects excessive noise in the background. This can be caused by loud radio/television volumes, people talking, or busy traffic noise. When you receive the next call, say “hello” once and turn down the volume of your radio/television or press the mute button on your telephone to allow full message delivery.
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Finance
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The City of Cedar Hill contracts with the Dallas County Tax Office to bill and collect City taxes for properties located in both Dallas and Ellis counties. Checks should be made payable to David Childs, Dallas County Assessor-Collector and sent to the following address:
Dallas County Tax Office
P.O. Box 139066
Dallas, Texas 75313-9066
The County Tax Office physical address :
2949 North Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75247Dallas County has several Branch Offices where payments are accepted.
Their hours of operation are from 7:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday – Friday,
except for Holidays. Branch Locations:
Duncanville 100 E. Wheatland Rd. 75116
Farmers Branch 2436 Valley View Ln. 75234
Garland 675 W.Walnut 75040
Grand Prairie 525 W. Hwy. 303 75050
Irving 530 N. O’Connor Rd. 75060
Mesquite 210 W. Grubb 75149
North Dallas 10056 Marsh Ln. 75229
Oak Cliff 408 S. Beckley 75203
Richardson 516 Twilight Trail 75080
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The taxable value of a property is determined by each county’s appraisal district. Dallas Central Appraisal District appraises property located in Dallas County and Ellis Central Appraisal District appraises property located in Ellis County. The contact information for Dallas Central Appraisal District:
Website:
www.dallascad.ord Mailing Address:
Dallas Central Appraisal District
2949 North Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75247 Email and Telephone:
Email for all General and Business Personal Property Inquiries: jordanc@dcad.ord
Email for all Real Property Ownership, Exemption and Change of Mailing Address Inquiries: pre@dcad.org
Customer Service: (214)631-0910
Main Switchboard: (214) 631-0520 The contact information for Ellis Central Appraisal District: Website:
www.elliscad.ord Mailing Address:
Ellis Central Appraisal District
P.O. Box 878
400 Ferris Avenue
Waxahachie, TX 75165 Email and Telephone:
ecad@elliscad.com
(972) 937-3552
1-866-348-3552
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The market and taxable values of a property are determined by the Dallas and Ellis Central Appraisal Districts. They provide each taxing entity (cities, school districts, the county and special districts) a certified appraisal roll. Each taxing entity utilizes the certified appraisal roll to determine the tax rate required to meet their budgetary needs. Each taxing entity adopts a tax rate following the procedures mandated by the Truth-in-Taxation laws applicable to the entity. These tax rates are provided to the Dallas County Tax Office for billing and collection. The Dallas County Tax Office issues a consolidated bill for the taxes due for Dallas County properties and an individual bill for the City of Cedar Hill for Ellis County properties. |
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Copies of the City of Cedar Hill budget can be obtained online (in .pdf format) under the Departments\Finance\Budget tabs. Printed copies of the budget are available for the public to view at the Lula B. Wylie Library. Printed copies may also be purchased by calling the Budget Analyst at 972.291.5100 ext. 1064. |
Fire Department
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EMS Chief Kevin Cunningham is the designated contact for EMS records. You can reach him Monday - Friday from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm at 972.291.1011. |
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The Cedar Hill City Council passed Ordinance 2002-127 on November 12, 2002, effective immediately, which prohibits all outdoor open burning except for approved TNRCC commercial trench sites. Commercial trench sites approved by TNRCC must also have a permit issued by the Fire Marshall's Office, which may include further restrictions. This does not prohibit campfires in an approved fire-ring (state park), barbeque grills, masonry patio grills, chimeras, etc. |
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The Ambulance Subscription Program provides emergency ambulance service for your household for $60.00 per year. |
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ELF & Friends, is a program that is operated by the Cedar Hill Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Cedar Hill Police Association. This program helps provide Christmas gifts for children up to the age of 15 and for Senior Citizens 62 and older. Applications are taken at the Police Store Front, 108 W. Belt Line Rd. on Friday's & Saturday's from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM, starting October 17, 2008 until November 22, 2008. Qualifications: 1. Applicant must have a current Texas Drivers License with their Cedar Hill address. The applicant must live in Cedar Hill. 2. The applicant must show proof of residency, with a lease or utility bill, not a cell phone bill. 3. The applicant needs a report card for each school age child, or a birth certificate for each non-school age child. The children must attend Cedar Hill schools. 4. The applicant must show proof of income, with a recent check stub and last years income tax return. We will use the HHS 2008 Poverty Guidelines plus 125% to qualify applicants.
Health Human Services |
Fire Prevention
Home page
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Yes. Visit the link to pay automatically each month by bank draft. Link... |
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Yes, Cedar Hill offers an alarm monitoring service in conjunction with our emergency 911 call center. Because your alarm reports directly to the 911 dispatch center, emergency services respond more quickly. This service is competitively priced at $25 per month, with the first 3 months free and no long-term contract. For more information see the link below or call 972.230.5248 More... |
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Oncor and Hilco Electric Coop provide electricity to homes and businesses in Cedar Hill. Check your electric bill to see which is your provider.
If you lose power, contact Oncor at 1.888.313.4747 or Hilco at 1.800.338.6425.
The City of Cedar Hill does not provide service or restore electric power. |
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Yes, City Ordinance requires that weeds and grass be maintained at a height not exceeding twelve (12) inches. Call Code Enforcement to request an inspection at 972.291.5100 ext. 1094 |
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Any Texas resident may have a library card free of charge (with a Texas driver's license and proof of address which includes a rental or lease agreement, voter's registration card, car insurance, and/or utility bill, etc). Library cards are available for a fee to individuals not in the above categories. You only need a card to check out materials. Fees are $20 for one year. |
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All animals adopted or reclaimed from the Tri-City Animal Shelter & Adoption Center will be required to be microchipped. The fee for this is $25 and includes free registration with the national microchip company, AVID. A microchip is a permanent form of identification, as long the chip is registered, and the registration is kept up to date. The registration information will be filled out prior to leaving with the pet and the shelter will mail it in to the company. The goal of requiring the pets to be microchipped is twofold: Increase the number of pets that are reunited with their owners
Increase the responsibility of pet owners who continue to allow their pets to run at large. If you have any questions about microchips, please feel free to contact the shelter at 972.291.5335.
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Call 972.291.5126 with complete information about the location and size of the pothole.
If it is an after-hours emergency, please call 972.780.6643 and explain the nature of the problem. |
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Many but not all subdivision have homeowners associations. To find out if there is an association in your neighborhood call Neighborhood Services at 972.291.5100 ext. 1084. |
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Bulky Items
On your trash days you are allowed to set out 1 additional bulky item or 4 bundles of brush. Bulky items are defined as:
appliances, furniture, carpet, mattresses, furniture and
fence sections (cut to 4 ft. width with no concrete). Refrigerators, ice makers, freezers and window air conditioners must be tagged by a licensed technician as free of Freon. This service does not include construction material, tires, automobile batteries or other parts, dead animals, hazardous waste or livestock stable matter of excessive weight or volume.
Yard trash and leaves will be picked up if in plastic bags. Tree limbs must be bundled, no longer than 4 feet in length and not exceeding 50 pounds each. If there is a large amount of limbs, a special pick-up must be coordinated with Waste Management at 972.315.5400. |
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No permit is required, however, there are regulations. Please call the Building Inspection Department at 972.291.5100 ext. 1090. |
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A permit is not required for a garage sale. Please place garage sale signs only on the property where the garage sale is being held. |
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Recycled material for the entire city is picked up on Wednesdays. Pickup is from the alley, if available, or the curb. No sorting is necessary. Please place the bin within three feet of the curb or alley. Recycle bins may be purchased in Utility Billing Department for $6.00 each.
More information about recycling/trash, etc.... |
Human Resources
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We have our avaliable jobs posted on this site. Access them by clicking on the following link. Current Job Listings |
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After an application is submitted, it is forwarded to the hiring manager. Those applicants chosen for an interview will be contacted by the hiring mananager. Please allow 4 weeks for this process to be completed. To download an application: |
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Please explore the below link. More... |
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You may submit an application online, fax it to 972.291.5191 or bring or mail it to the Government Center at 285 Uptown Blvd., Cedar Hill, TX 75104. To download an application: |
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Each job opportunity requires a separate City of Cedar Hill application to be submitted to Human Resources. Applications may be obtained in the Human Resources office at the Government Center at 285 Uptown Blvd. or can be downloaded from this website. Completed applications can be submitted in person to City Hall, faxed to 972.291.5191 or mailed to:
City of Cedar Hill
285 Uptown Blvd.
Cedar Hill, TX 75104 |
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You will receive a post card letting you know that your application was received. Once the position closes, the hiring manager will review all applications and call you if you are chosen for an interview. Once a position has been filled, you will receive a letter by mail. Please wait at least four weeks before calling to check on your application status. After that time, you may contact the Human Resources office at 972.291.5100 ext 1050. |
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The minimum age to work at the City is 18 if the position involves use of hazardous equipment or chemicals. There are a limited number of positions available at the City's pool and Recreation Center during the summer months that have a minimum age requirement of 16. |
Library
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