As Whitesboro’s City Administrator, I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to work on a large variety of projects and programs with outstanding city employees to enhance the quality of life in Whitesboro. This week’s article covers several areas the city is actively addressing.
Buy Whitesboro
As city team members and I work through developing our budget for the upcoming fiscal year, we are looking for opportunities to buy materials and services from local providers/vendors. Buying local reinvests tax dollars in support of our local economy. If we can purchase the same level of service or quality of product locally at a competitive price, the city will purchase locally. If you offer a service or product from which you believe the city would benefit, please contact Kyle Maynard, Purchasing at [email protected] to express interest and receive information on how to register as a potential vendor.
Water Tower
I encourage you to take a drive out to the west part of town to see the water tower project – truly a beautiful site! If you travel in from the west of Whitesboro on Hwy. 82 going east, you’ll get an even more breath-taking view of how the tank will “sit” on top of the overpass at Hwy. 56 and Hwy. 82. The project is ahead of schedule, and I pray that will continue. For 24/7 online viewing of the project, please go to www.earthcam.net/projects/whitesboro-texas/ Please email Bradley Williams at [email protected] if you’d like to learn more.
City Roads
The city engaged a company to drive ALL the roads within the city limits of Whitesboro. The artificial intelligence enhanced results provide our team a prioritized list of road work areas for the next several years. While we will certainly have plans to replace sections of road where needed, we also are purchasing equipment and building skills to improve our road maintenance program. Providing our teams with the right tools to execute the maintenance program is a priority. Starting the week of August 4, the city will be chip sealing 4th Street. The 200 and 400 blocks of Bois D’ Arc will quickly follow with chip seal. We are also working with our Grayson County and the Texas Department of Transportation to jointly evaluate opportunities to improve roads and address identified drainage issues.
Brush Pickup
I am grateful for citizens’ patience as our team has been working non-stop to catch up from the brush and tree damage that occurred from the storms the last several weeks. Our team methodically worked to clear sections of town repeatedly to chip and clear the brush. Please reach out to the city at 903-564-3311 if you have brush remaining to be removed. Big thanks to Danny Martin and his team for their hard work in clearing the brush and helping make Whitesboro beautiful.
4th Street Extension
The city is working with engineers to evaluate the opportunity to extend 4th Street from N. Union Street east to connect with Hwy. 377. I believe this extension will significantly ease congestion elsewhere while also providing a more direct east-west thoroughfare. Further, opportunities for new development and access to city parks and services would be dramatically improved.
City Signage
I hope you have noticed additional signage in areas around schools. Specifically on 4th Street, after planned road maintenance, you will see markings on street to provide crosswalks and highlight to drivers that they are entering a school zone. Increasing driver awareness around schools and in neighborhoods is vital to providing a safer environment for children and pedestrians. As we completed Texoma Drive street work, we added new stop signs and ‘watch for children’ signs. The city will continue to look for opportunities to make Whitesboro safer with improved signage and markings. Please contact Danny Martin at [email protected] if you know of areas in need of additional signage.
Thank you for allowing me to serve this community. God bless you, and God bless Whitesboro. Please contact me at [email protected] with questions or comments.
Phil Harris is the City Administrator for the City of Whitesboro. He can be reached at [email protected]