Council votes to accept transportation awards

At its city council meeting on Nov. 14, the Weatherford City Council voted to accept two transportation monetary awards, one from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and one from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

The grant from the USDOT is $224,000 with a local matching amount of $56,000. The TxDOT grant is $966,000 with a $240,000 local match. Both grants are an 80/20 percentage partnership.

The USDOT grant will go toward funding of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, while the TxDOT award will go toward the Weatherford Active Transportation Plan.

“The award of both grants represents a huge win for the citizens of Weatherford," said Director of Public Works Chad Marbut. 

Marbut said through the Safe Streets for All grant from USDOT, the city will develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan to address roadway fatalities and serious injuries. Once in place, Weatherford will be positioned to compete for construction funds through the year 2026. 

Weatherford is one of only 12 cities in Texas and among only 235 nationwide to receive such a grant.

The Active Transportation Plan will allow the city to survey, catalog and analyze pedestrian and bike needs throughout the city. 

"With it, we will also perform a route study and preliminary design to extend our Town Creek Hike and Bike Trail System from downtown all the way out to Cartwright Park, effectively unlocking over 20 miles of additional trail that connects to Mineral Wells," he explained. "Both awards demonstrate how Weatherford leverages local dollars for access to substantial federal and state funding for our citizens.”

New non-patrol vehicles

The council voted to allow Weatherford School District to replace older non-patrol Weatherford Police Department vehicles with brand new ones.

The council approved the purchase six non-patrol vehicles from Southwest Ford/Gilchrist Automotive for an amount not to exceed $208,000 through an interlocal agreement with the Weatherford Independent School District.

“The vehicles are driven by detectives in the criminal investigations division and supervisors in the support and administration divisions," said Lance Arnold, Assistant City Manager and Weatherford Chief of Police. "The new vehicles will replace existing vehicles that range from 13-19 years old with well over 100,000 miles on each.

"I specified them as non-patrol because they don’t have emergency lights, markings, or other patrol equipment like computers and radios. Our detectives and other non-patrol staff use them to respond to incidents and other events after the initial patrol response.”