WF City Council approves 4B Board project funding

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - At the Wichita Falls City Council meeting Tuesday, many 4B Board projects were approved.

The 2020-21 budget got the final go ahead from council. Amendments to that budget to allocate money to certain projects were passed.

$10,000 will go to the Arts Council for a mural downtown. It will be located on a parking garage owned by the 4B Board at the corner of Indiana and 7th St. The project has also received funding from across Texas and federally.

“This project is going to put artists to work, it’s going to attract people down, and more importantly its going to beautify an already beautiful area of our community,” Ann Arnold-Ogden with the Wichita Falls Arts & Culture Alliance said.

$100,000 will be set aside to fund the creation of bike lanes on streets across the country. Midwestern Parkway, Call Field Road, and Fairway Boulevard will be the first to get the lanes. Construction is set to begin in the spring.

“We can do for the same cost, 22 miles of shared lanes, versus about two miles of bicycle lanes so the focus is you get as much more done as we can with the amount of money that we’ve asked for,” John Burrus, Transportation Director for the city of Wichita Falls, said.

$756,516 will be used to finish parts of the Circle Trail, with a majority of that money being used on a new section spanning from the Lake Wichita Park to Larry’s Marine. The rest will finish a section near Barnett Road.

The City Council has also given the green light to apply for a $1 million FFA grant for the Wichita Falls Regional Airport.

If awarded, it would be used for bond repayments on the terminal area project. Both the Regional Airport and Kickapoo also have applied for a $50,000 TxDOT grant which would be used for repairs and maintenance.

• The city’s traffic department has also approved $120,000 to pay for new wayfinding signs around the city
• The City Council also voted to extend the city’s contract on the Lake Kemp canal and irrigation systems with Water District Number Two, a partnership going back to the 60′s
• Dr. Robert McBroom has been chosen as the health department’s local health authority
• The municipal airport has also found a new fuel supplier

Wichita Falls Mayor Stephen Santellana adds that the projects planned by the 4B Board next year will help spotlight the good happening in the city.

“I think if citizens go through there and see that we are completing trails, we’re putting murals up for downtown. Those are all projects that 4B wanted to see and these are things that council can get behind to support,” Santellana said.

The Wichita Falls City Council will meet again on Oct. 6.

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