.jpg)
COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL
Library celebrates 7th reader to hit 1,000 books
Columbus City Council members finally made headway on the construction of city sidewalks at their recent meeting Monday night, June 9, approving a second reading for a TA funding agreement between the Texas Department of Transportation and the city.
The agreement will see funding coverage split between TxDOT and the city, with the city’s portion set at $385,000, or 20% of the overall funding.
That will see TxDOT cover $1,540,000 of the project’s costs, or 80%, which will be used for the “development of preliminary engineering (plans, specifications, and estimates and environmental documentation) and construction of pedestrian and/or bicycle infrastructure.”
The agreement also states the specific location of the construction, pinpointing the new sidewalk installments to Business Hwy 71 along Houston and Montezuma St to FM 806.
These sidewalks will be connected to senior living facilities, residential facilities, City parks, and schools; and expand construction to include sidewalks from Montezuma Street along Legion Drive to State Hwy 90 connecting school football, baseball and track facilities, the city pool and golf course.
Because the agreement would see expenditures of over $10,000, the Columbus Community Industrial Development Corporation, or CCIDC, had to approve the proposal, which Columbus Mayor Lori An Gobert said they did.
“We’ve been applying for years now for a sidewalk along Montezuma up to 806,” said Gobert. “So what happens is CCIDC approves it, but because it’s over the $10,000 mark, it has to come to city council. We have to do two readings and approve it. And we did.”
City council members also recognized local preschooler Elena Tealey, who recently hit the 1,000book milestone, reading them all before entering kindergarten. Tealey became the seventh kid in Columbus to complete the program.
