The Texarkana, Texas, City Council voted Monday to make miles of new sidewalks possible.
The council voted to spend more than $37,000 in matching funds to get more than $371,000 in Texas Department of Transportation grants for sidewalks along Richmond and Summerhill roads.
Part of TxDOT's Statewide Curb Ramp and Pedestrian Improvement Program, the grants will fund more than three total miles of sidewalk in three places: along Richmond between Robison Road and College Drive, Summerhill between Summer Ridge and Kennedy Lane, and Summerhill between U.S. Highway 82 and 10th Street.
The council also voted to approve an application for a Homeland Security Grant for up to $23,700, which would pay for ballistic body armor and laser sights for the Police Department's SWAT and Special Response teams. Grant funds from this program must be used to protect against terrorism. The grant provides 100 percent funding in the form of reimbursement.
In another decision, the council voted to continue with a previously approved economic development agreement with Texarkana Aluminum, formerly known as Arconic, after a change in the company's ownership.
In August 2018, the city made an economic development agreement with Arconic worth up to $150,000 over two years to support new hiring at the metal fabrication plant.
The updated agreement has the same terms. The deal is contingent on Texarkana Aluminum reopening the facility with a minimum of 35 additional people, with wage rates exceeding Texarkana's average annual per capita income level of $20 an hour, and generating more than $70,000 per year in new wages.
The council heard first briefings on zoning and permitting measures. They include rezoning 2620 McIntyre St. and issuing a permit to allow a double-wide manufactured home there, as well as approving a site plan for a dental clinic to be built at 3424 Richmond Road.
The council's next meeting is scheduled for March 11.