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COLUMBUS — A Better Coumbus will install a handicap- accessible public restroom off the Columbus downtown Milam Street strip by late winter thanks to a $27,985 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The existing gazebo behind First State Bank and across from God’s Corner Store—and its concrete base—will be moved a few feet over to accommodate a permanent restroom building that will utilize an existing handicap ramp. The grant announcement making the project possible came during the organization’s annual meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
“There’s not a single business on the downtown strip…that is ADA (American with Disabilities Act) accessible, because you have to get a ramp to get into any of the businesses, and most of the restrooms are raised,” Coumbus Mayor and ABC Treasurer Lori An Gobert said.
The city of Columbus will be contributing towards the project with a $3,150 in kind donation for the total project cost of $35,980. ABC will fund the remaining $5,845.
Gobert estimates construction to last a few weeks with completion around the start of the new year.
OTHER PROJECTS
ABC cancelled pursuing the installation of a mural underneath the train bridge at the intersection of Highway 90 and Fannin Street after months of standstill from the Texas Department of Transportation. Gobert said TxDOT will paint under the bridge white in the near future.
ABC board director Trish Priest proposed a service project of cleaning up overgrown historical markers and headstones at Columbus cemeteries, namely one on Montezuma Street. ABC board director Barbara Peterman suggested partnering with Boy Scouts, Leo Lions and other youth organizations for the labor.
The board also agreed to look into repainting the sign at City Park for the Little League.
