A public hearing held during Monday’s Collinsville City Council meeting resulted in the approval of a zoning request for two properties in town – both of which are earmarked for new businesses coming to Collinsville.
Property owner Bruce Moulton addressed the council, explaining that he and his wife had recently purchased two neighboring properties in Collinsville with the intention of turning them into businesses. The purple house at the northwest corner of Summit and E. Woodland Streets, just east of the fire station, and the building behind it (immediately north of the fire station) are both currently zoned for residential. Moulton was requesting the council approve an ordinance that would amend the zoning to allow both properties to be classified as central area commercial.
This would allow the Moultons to fulfill their dream of bringing two food service businesses to town. The first would be a homemade ice cream shop located in the purple house. Then, over time, they’d like to move the ice cream shop into the other property and turn the purple house into a pub that would serve items like tappas, wine, craft beer and mixology.
“With the buildings’ proximity to the food trucks and other businesses downtown, this seems like a logical extension for more businesses in town,” Moulton said of his concept.
The Moultons’ idea for the use of the properties fits into the city’s comprehensive plan’s suggested land use for that area of downtown. As a result, the Planning and Zoning Committee unanimously recommended the council approve both property zoning requests.
At the meeting, the issue of parking and the historic aspect of the building in question were both mentioned. As for parking, while no concept or site plans have yet been developed, Moulton does have ideas for possible solutions. Regarding citizens’ desire to maintain the historic integrity of the building, Moulton assured those in attendance that the historic building was part of what they anticipate will attract customers to the businesses.
“The front half of the house will be converted with some slight modifications to allow for the needs of the business and small gift shop, but otherwise the house will basically remain as-is,” Moulton said.
The council unanimously approved the rezoning.
The ice cream shop and pub aren’t the only new businesses on the horizon for Collinsville. Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Board President Joseph Cartwright shared in his monthly report that he has been in conversations with the owners of Manuelito’s (formerly located in downtown Collinsville) about possible business ideas for their former location. He has been meeting with the owners of Geotex Engineering about some ideas they have, as well.
Also at the meeting, Collinsville citizen Kerry Johnson addressed the council to share concerns regarding the stray cat population in the city. This sparked a conversation among the council about possible solutions, ranging from the possibility of hosting a spay/neuter clinic to an ordinance against feeding stray animals. The council will explore some options and revisit this topic at a future meeting.
Another speaker to address the council was County Commissioner Lindsay Wright, who wanted to explain the recent city sales and use tax that was approved to appear on the ballot in November. This 1.5% tax on goods and services would only apply to residents in unincorporated areas of the county to help offset the cost of fire/EMS services. (Any extra monies would then be applied to roads/bridges and law enforcement.) The commissioners will hold a town hall on Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. at First State Bank in Whitesboro to answer questions for anyone, but especially those on the west side of the county.
The council went on to approve a number of agenda items, including:
- Prohibiting dogs on the fenced-in baseball/softball fields at City Park
- Appointing the City Administrator to be a voting member on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Grayson County Metropolitan Planning Organization
- Amending the water and sewer rates in the City’s master fee schedule, effective immediately
- Adopting South State Bank as the City’s primary depository bank
- Agreeing to an ILA between Collinsville and Whitesboro allowing each city access to firefighting vehicles/equipment should the need arise
- Changing the City’s participation in the Texas Municipal Retirement System to adopt a five-year vesting period from its current 10-year period
- Reallocating $35,000 from the General Fund Balance to pay for the purchase of a needed hydro-excavator, effective immediately
The city continues to evaluate water and sewer tap rates to determine the best course of action for the city and its citizens. The council will gather more data and re-evaluate at the next council meeting.
In department reports, Betty Graham with Keep Collinsville Beautiful (KCB) reported that their annual flag project, which allows the organization to put up and maintain American flags around town, is underway. After last year’s category 0 tornado destroyed most of the flags, KCB is working on reordering flags and poles. While the EDC has been generous with their funds, where KCB really needs help is with volunteers.
“Many of our members are in their 80s,” Graham said. “We need people who can climb a ladder, replace a flag, tighten a bracket – we need bodies.”
KCB is also preparing for Pioneer Day, where they will decorate the downtown gazebo and provide free water to attendees. The organization’s recycle day is scheduled for Oct. 4, wherein citizens can drop off their old electronics (working and not) to the truck parked in front of the library from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Lastly, Saturday, Dec. 13 is the group’s annual Tour of Homes. Anyone interested in adding their home to the tour should reach out to KCB for more information.
The Collinsville Park Association will continue to host its free movie nights and encourage the community to bring their own chairs and snacks to enjoy family-friendly movies. Next month’s meeting has been moved from the first Monday to Sept. 8 due to Labor Day. The association has also changed the bathrooms at the baseball park to be gender neutral to help families access bathrooms quickly and conveniently during games and practices. Lastly, the organization has ordered basketball goals to complete that park project.
The Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce is in the throes of preparing for Pioneer Day, to be held Saturday, Sept. 20 from 4-11 p.m. The parade will offer 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes and the Kidz Zone will include a variety of entertainment ranging from petting zoo to dunking booth. Additionally, Pirate Island is holding its Hydrate a Firefighter event, where anyone who donates a case of water/Gatorade/etc. to the fire department will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant, to be given away at Pioneer Day.
The Community Library summer reading program has come to an end, celebrated with a pool party. An art show allowed participants to display the projects they created during the program. Gate count for July was 271, and several community events were a great success. The Industrial Development Corporation project of renovating the building is about halfway done and, according to Library Board President Kelly Smith, is “looking good!” The walls are done and new lighting has been installed. Flooring and cabinets still need to be finished, but Smith hopes the project will be completed within the next 30 days.
During his EDC presentation, Cartwright revisited his plan for creating four different EDC task forces: agri-tourism, arts/creative, classic car and historical. Each of these task forces would focus on specific ways to help improve the city and ultimately attract businesses and groups to town.
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is set for Monday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
