City of Center Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CITY COMPLETES ANNUAL STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
One Year Away from Paving All Gravel Streets Thanks to Grant Project

CENTER, Texas (April 27, 2012) – There is a reason why most of Center’s streets are in good shape, especially when compared to other communities. The City recently completed its annual street reconstruction program and closed out a street reconstruction grant project.

In 1996, Center voters authorized the sales tax dedicated to street and transportation enhancements. Center collects a 2% sales tax on the purchase of taxable items. Of that ½ of a percent is allocated to the Center (4B) Economic Development Corporation for Street Improvements. “By paying for street improvements from sales tax revenue, the financial burden is shifted from our residents to a broader base consisting of those purchasing goods or services from Center businesses,” Center Mayor David Chadwick described.

The initial program borrowed funds to overlay or repave all asphalt streets in town from 1996 to 1998. The annual payments on this project were roughly half of the $425,000 annual income from these sales tax revenues from 1996 through 2003. “Each year, staff develops a list of streets which are in the most need of repair for approval by the Street EDC Board,” said Center City Manager, Chad Nehring. Recent year’s programs have averaged $450,000 for street reconstruction projects and generally consisted of twenty to twenty-five streets.

“Since 2003, we have been extremely blessed with major growth in sales tax revenues that has allowed us to expand our program and begin paving historically gravel streets,” stated Mayor Chadwick. As a result of that growth, the City began a 10-year program in 2005 for paving all the historically gravel streets throughout town costing approximately $120,000 per year. Last year, the City was awarded a $250,000 Texas Community Development Program (TCDP) grant which reconstructed Church, Brooks, Cemetery, Broadway, Fall, Hutchins, Latham, Roberts, and Brown Streets.

“The combination of the grant award plus the continued annual expenditures, shaved two years off the original 10-year program and will allow paving the remaining gravel streets within the next year,” reported Nehring.

Additionally, the City Council voted to reconstruct a portion of Ellington Street. “In late 2011, a fatality accident occurred where someone lost control of their vehicle due to excessive speed and collided with a tree,” described Mayor Chadwick. “After working with some of the residents in the area, we arrived at a solution to lower the hill improving visibility.” The work to lower the hill by about three feet and reconstruct the street was also recently completed.

The 2012 Street Program is currently being developed with anticipated construction to begin in August 2012.

City of Center
617 Tenaha Street
Center, Texas 75935
Jim Gibson
936/598-2941