In addition to this week’s Pioneer Day festival, the City of Collinsville is preparing for another upcoming event in October. National Night Out is a community-wide event that supports and raises awareness about law enforcement and safety programs.
After this weekend, posters and flyers will go up promoting the event. For the eighth consecutive year, Perry’s Pulled Pork will provide delicious barbecue, and several organizations (Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Bo Mows and Texoma Community Center, to name a few) will have booths at the event. The city and several donors have provided some wonderful raffle items, and T-Comm will be on-site providing 9-1-1 and non-emergency notifications education.
At last week’s City Council meeting, Mayor Derek Kays read the following proclamation:
“Further, let it be resolved that I, Mayor Kays, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, October 1, 2024 as ‘National Night Out’ in the City of Collinsville, Texas.”
Read more on page 14 of this issue.
Also at the meeting, Council heard reports from local organizations. Keep Collinsville Beautiful (KCB) has completed their most recent project, a mini-park outside the local donut shop. The park includes two 46” picnic tables, three benches and a new trash receptacle. All pieces are portable so that the space is more usable than what’s been there in the past.
The organization will have a booth and parade entry in this weekend’s Pioneer Day festival. Saturday, Oct. 10 is the next Recycle Day. From 9 a.m. to noon, citizens are encouraged to drop off their used and unwanted items (especially electronics) in the Public Library parking lot. At the end of the day, collections are calculated and KCB is given a check for the items, making this a great fundraiser for the organization.
The Collinsville Park Association has approved financing for a 50’x50’ covered gazebo area at the baseball field. Half of the area will have a gazebo while the other half will feature a basketball court.
Tentatively scheduled for Oct. 12, the association will host a Trunk or Treat/Movie On the Square event. Families are invited to come watch Hotel Transylvania and allow children to collect candy from decorated cars in the parking lot.
The 50th Pioneer Day is set for this Saturday, and the Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to report that sponsorships this year are up from years past. This allows the group to offer more at this year’s event.
Marketing and advertising are underway in local newspapers and radio spots. Four highway banners are up and one sign is posted on the side of a downtown building. In addition to the parade that begins at 5 p.m. and Southern Cross Car Club Toad Suck Car Show, this year’s event will feature a fun Kids’ Zone (petting zoo, rock climbing wall, dunking booth and entertainment stage) as well as a portable museum in the Annex Building. Attendees can enjoy the bake-off and Bingo, and live entertainment includes Isaac Sloane and the Sound Brigade as well as Tex-Mex honky tonk band Tejas Brothers.
The Chamber was also pleased to report the addition of new member, Taylor Rice; the recent ribbon cutting of new downtown business Virginia Station; and reminded council about their upcoming election in October.
The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) feels that its current group has momentum. They recently partnered with the Chamber for the Virginia Station ribbon cutting and are working on other ways to be more front-of-mind in the public (for instance, having a presence at Pioneer Day and Christmas on the Square).
Council approved an increase in the EDC budget from $12,000 to $20,000 to cover additional expenses they may incur while fixing drainage problems at the baseball field.
After these reports, there was a discussion about applying for a Texas Water Utility grant to obtain funds to repair aging water lines in town. City Engineer Clint Bissett explained to council that, due to a Texas budget surplus for the fiscal year 2024, there is $435 million available for wastewater and $465 million available for drinking water. Bissett recommended the council apply for a grant to see if the city would qualify for some of that funding.
The application is due March 1; in early July the city would put out a Request for Quotes (RFQ); and, if approved, in late spring/early summer (May or June of 2025) the project would begin.
While it’s free to apply for the grant, the application process would cost $5,000-$6,000 per application for a grant writer to complete the paperwork. The City Council voted to move forward with applying for the grants.
Sheryl Reed resigned from EDC and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) boards and, in turn, will be retained as an independent contractor for the city to provide Project Management services to the EDC and IDC boards.
Jane Proffer was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Lindsey Wainscott resigned from EDC and Kristy Parrott was appointed to that board. Michael Proffer was appointed as Co-Chairman of the IDC and Carrie Lewter was appointed as Secretary.
Council approved an interlocal agreement for the fiscal year 2025 for fire protection services between Grayson County, Texas and the City of Collinsville.
They also agreed to transfer the City’s interest and sinking (I&S) fund account from 4U Credit Union to Independent Financial in Collinsville to obtain a lower interest rate. The only way 4U can lower the interest rate is for the city to switch to a CD, which they don’t want to do as they want their funds to be liquid. Now that the Independent Financial interest rate is lower, the city’s I&S funds and savings account funds will be moved there.
