After more than three hours in executive session, Whitesboro City Council approved an Economic Development Incentive of up to $750K for Project #76. While the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) didn’t disclose many details, director Lynda Anderson provided a statement that said the project will be paid for over a period of three budget years for a provision of economic incentives to attract an incoming business to Whitesboro.
In addition to temporary construction jobs, the project will add 40 new permanent jobs for Whitesboro-area citizens. The venture’s operations will contribute revenues to the tax base for the City of Whitesboro, enabling the City to enhance services and infrastructure to the community’s residents.
Prior to executive session, Whitesboro citizen and member of the EDC Board, Jon Weems, addressed the council. He talked about Whitesboro’s Strategic Plan that was initiated in 2019. (The document can be found on the Whitesboro City website.) Weems specifically addressed page number nine, item number three on the document which says, “Develop a comprehensive infrastructure to evaluate existing versus future needs based on the 20-year vision– streets, sidewalk, water, sewage, and fiber optics.” At the top of the document it reads, “Create avenues for expanded development opportunities that enhance our family community.”
Weems said he presented this plan as a reminder to the council to re-familiarize themselves with what is on the City website in hopes to further encourage their decision to approve the incentive for the upcoming project.
In addition to approving the EDC incentive, in executive session the City Council also approved an EDC incentive in the amount of $13,050 to Your Neighbor’s House Food Pantry & Thrift Store for sidewalk construction to be done around the business.
Next, cIty department heads reported their updates for the month. The Streets Department has kept up with potholes caused by freeze with bag asphalt; poured a concrete front porch at the West Side Youth Center; and provided a load of asphalt for Urban Junkie on Main Street. The department hired a new employee a couple of weeks ago, and the department is currently working on a culvert replacement (a drain pipe under the road) on Kelly Street.
Shane Scarbrough with the Electric Department reported utility updates for the month. The department has been using SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition), automatic meter machines for the water and electric system that provide real-time readings of the usages throughout the city. The department is now in the second phase of the project.
D&C Superintendent/ Animal Control officer Bradley Williams reported a fire hydrant and water spigot was installed in the area in front of Cooks Main Street Mercantile on Main Street. This past month the department has repaired eight water leaks (most were service lines), installed four meters and replaced one.
A fire hydrant with a new water tap will be installed in front of Tender’s (formerly Dickey’s Barbecue).
The north well pump and motor were reported to be installed last week. A pump at the AB lift station is being repaired; a backup pump was installed until the repair is complete. In animal control news, three dogs were picked up and reunited with their family.
On Feb. 17, many residents attended the inaugural CPR/AED community training taught by Rustin Reedy at the Whitesboro Fire Department. The training was a great success. Whitesboro Fire Chief Steve Pinkston spoke about how busy the department has been this past month.
“We had three ambulances running this morning,” Pinkston said.
The department has been receiving many lift assist calls and they have been successful at screening those calls better through Dispatch with the Police Dept.
Pinkston said there have been 255 total incidents for the month with an average of 8.23 incidents per day. The incidents are broken down into types, such as building fires, structural fires, motor vehicle accidents and emergency medical, to name a few.
The total number of EMS patients was 244. This number is broken down by how each patient was treated, whether they were transported, treated or not treated, received a public assist/ welfare check, etc.
These are also broken down by location, which included Whitesboro, Collinsville, Gordonville, Sadler, Sherwood Shores, Southmayd and Tioga.
Great successes were reported for the fire department this month. Jeremiah Velten successfully completed his EMT National Registry Exam. Velten is reported as one of WFD volunteers and the son of Lieutenant Josh Velten.
Levi McDowell and Cody Keller successfully passed their National Registry Paramedic Exam and are now paramedics.
Chief Pinkston and Assistant Chief Jeff Patterson attended the Grayson County Association of Fire Chief’s meeting. Patterson also attended the Mandated School Safety Meeting hosted by Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt. The meeting is an emergency management responsibility for all cities and school districts mandated by House Bill 3 in the state of Texas.
EMS personnel trained with new technology, the pelvic binder, in January. This new device secures a patient’s pelvis when the paramedic finds there might be a pelvic fracture, which can cause the patient to lose a lot of blood.
The WFD also trained on new bleeding control devices and equipment. All crews have been trained in the use of the department’s new 42 vehicle stabilization struts.
City Administrator Julie Arrington was given authorization to bring in a Civil Engineer that can investigate and prepare a plan for the drainage issue occurring at the Whitesboro Public Library building.
Arrington also presented City Council with the possibility of an appointment to the Preservation Board. According to the agenda, the Preservation Board is a 13-member board made up of community leaders from other civic organizations and residents. Currently, there is only one member on the board and she is running for council. If she wins the election, she will automatically be removed from the board due to state law. After much discussion, the City Council decided to consider this further and make a decision at the next meeting.
Arrington discussed with the council about the American Tower Lease. The City of Whitesboro currently owns 5.74 acres of property located at 1440 Gunter Rd. According to the agenda, the property has a guyed tower on it that used to hold a cell phone antenna and equipment.
Several years ago, the cell phone equipment was removed. Now, there is only an empty tower left. Arrington said the current renters of the tower pay just over $13,400 a year in rent. Arrington said they are requesting to reduce the rent in stages to eventually nothing. After much discussion, no action was taken. Council will make a decision on this in a future meeting.
Moving forward, Arrington discussed the possibility of adding a Contract Engineer to the City’s payroll. She said this would be a 1099 employee instead of using a company and would be used on an as-needed basis.
“The hope is that this will keep our costs down,” Arrington said.
According to Arrington, the purpose of having a Civil Engineer on board would be to assist with infrastructure. This would be a great help to Whitesboro building inspector Dalton Fallaw since, according to Arrington, they have been receiving more building applications lately.
“Dalton can talk to the engineer and work on behalf of the City through the City lens,” Arrington said.
Next, Arrington was given authorization to enter into a purchasing agreement with Tyler Technologies for a Cemetery Module. Arrington said they are currently using pen and paper for the cemetery records. According to Arrington, this approval to move forward with Tyler Technologies will help the city be more efficient and stay current with record keeping. The annual recurring fee will be $413.
City council approved the re-appointment of Cynthia Wood to a one-year term as Chairperson and Chris Goedecke to a one-year term as Vice-Chairperson of the Whitesboro Housing Board (WHA). Wood and Goedecke were re-appointed by WHA commissioners in January during their monthly board meeting.
As recommended by the PARD Advisory Board, Amber Parish, Jeff Butts and Jim Schuessler were re-appointed to the PARD Advisory Board for two-year terms each, expiring Jan. 31, 2026.
Arrington discussed the Texoma Street project and the plan to hand-deliver letters to residents on Texoma Drive about the project the first week of March.
The City is planning a meeting to be held at the Jimmie O. Rector Community Center for residents to attend to learn more about what to expect concerning this project.