DAVID BARBER

davidb@vanzandtnews.com Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett made a special announcement to those in attendance Aug. 16 at the beginning of the regular monthly meeting of the Canton City Council.

“I received a call earlier this afternoon (Aug. 16) from the office of State Senator Bob Hall,” said Everett. “TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) is wanting to meet with us about a red light at Walmart (State Highway 243). I understand that they have become most reasonable about who is going to pay for it. We have been told that they want some type of participation from the city, but they are not asking us for all $300,000 that would be involved in this project. I think that news is good and exciting. More news coming on that.”

No date was announced regarding an upcoming meeting between TxDot and the city. Everett anticipates that she along with Canton City Manager Lonny Cluck and a member of the council will be involved in that meeting.

In other business during the Aug. 16 regular monthly meeting, the council held a closed executive session and announced the following action afterwards: The first action item followed a presentation from HBIC LLC regarding a requested amendment to or restatement of terms of the Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Agreement and Performance Agreement between the city, the Canton EDC (Economic Development Corporation) and HBIC LLC.

Following the closed executive session, Everett called for a motion to consider the amendment or restatement of the terms of the agreement, but the motion died for lack of a second.

Council members then agreed to terminate the Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Agreement and Performance Agreement between the city, the Canton EDC and HBIC LLC.

Council member Nathan Moore made the motion to terminate the agreement. The motion was seconded by Canton Mayor Pro-Tem Randon Sumner before the motion received unanimous approval from the council.

No other action was taken by the council members following the closed executive session.

During the open session of the Aug. 16 meeting, the council approved the consent agenda which involved the following items: Financial reports for June 2022; approved the minutes of the July 12, July 19, and July 26 council meetings; approved the adoption of a resolution approving the negotiated settlement between ACSC and ATMOS; the adoption of an ordinance regulating the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) withing the city limits; approval of an interlocal contract for city 911 database maintenance; the appointment of Matt Lombard to the Canton Main Street Advisory Board; approval of amendments to the Canton Main Street Advisory Board; and approval of a resolution designating the actingVan Zandt County Chief Appraiser of the VZC Appraisal District as an officer to calculate the No-New Revenue Tax Rate in accordance with the Texas Tax Code.

During the audience portion of the meeting, citizen Jimmy Banks addressed the council about an upcoming partial and total solar eclipse event.

“A few years ago, I saw a solar eclipse in Tennessee,” said Banks. “I just discovered recently that on October 24, 2023, there will be another solar eclipse and it will come right over Canton. This is a partial, not a total eclipse. There will be 85 percent coverage so it will be noticeably darker. I just want to advise everybody to spread the word and get your solar glasses. There will be a total eclipse coming on April 8, 2024, at approximately 12:15 our time. It will be the last one that we will have for about 58 years in the United States. If we miss this one, that would be a tragedy.

“I would recommend that the council do everything they can to try and convince the school district to work with all of the teachers and students to get the students to participate in the eclipse,” continued Banks. “I would also like to see the city and the local businesses start buying solar glasses now. I would like to see the city plan something for this event. That date is on a Monday, but I would encourage businesses to give their employees an opportunity to view the total eclipse.”

Canton EDC Director and former Canton Main Street Manager Stacy Crossley presented the amendments to the Main Street Design Guidelines to council members.

“This is the final revision for the 2022 Main Street Design Guidelines,” Crossley said to the council members. “We wanted to assure the preservation, the unique character, and the historical significance of our downtown and to provide an informed set of guidelines that will help us to continue our efforts following the 2018 downtown action plan. We wanted to be a little bit more decisive and get more information for these guidelines to make them easier to follow with less questions.

“There are a few significant categories and changes that we have made,” continued Crossley. “We have expanded the glossary terms. They are quite extensive. We wanted to expand our signage guidelines. We wanted to add some more options for our downtown. We wanted to have direction on the approval process. We addressed repairs.

“These guidelines have been reviewed by Main Street, the EDC board, our attorney, and the city staff, and we have received their approval,” emphasized Crossley. The guidelines received unanimous approval from the council.

The process involving the abandonment of Grand Saline Street between College Street and Church Street as requested by First Baptist Church of Canton was approved to proceed by the council members following a presentation by Canton City Secretary

City Manager Lonny Cluck.

City management reports were shared with the council members involving First Monday, marketing, Plaza Museum, elevation of the State Highway 243 Water Tower as well as the east outfall and the wastewater plant improvements.

It was announced that the First Monday revenue for the August weekend was $226,701, an increase of $2,900 from last year.

There have been 22 events held at the Canton Civic Center, other than First Monday, since October 2021 which has led to a profit of approximately $61,000, according to Cluck.

Austin Melton of the Canton Visitors Bureau reported that there have been 1.3 million followers on the city’s Facebook page and almost 600,000 followers on Instagram.

A budget workshop on the proposed 2022-23 budget was held at the end of the open session but no action was taken by the council members.

The next regular monthly meeting of the Canton City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 20, at Canton City Hall.