Government
BY ALEX REECE
Celina officials to consider micro-grants Celina City Council members discussed a poten- tial micro-grant program to help small businesses affected by ongoing and planned city construction during a March 7 meeting. If approved by council members at a future meeting, the grants could help local business owners ease any revenue loss tied to complica- tions with city infrastructure improvements, such as restricting access, Strategic Services Manager Anthony Satarino said. The potential grant amounts are still unknown. The big picture The idea for the program came when a down- town business owner asked city officials in Octo- ber whether any grant programs were available as downtown construction projects continued. The city and the Economic Development Corporation has the authority to create a financial program, Satarino said. Further research and two council presentations in December and February gave city staff a rough idea of how the program would look, but more work is needed before it is finalized for council Prosper, Celina talk wastewater upgrade Prosper and Celina residents could see construction to expand the Upper Trinity Regional Water District Doe Branch Water Reclamation Plant, which serves both com- munities, in the coming years, officials said. In case you missed it Celina and Prosper officials expect to share the cost of the roughly $209.9 million project—each community paying $104.95 million—for the 8 million gallons, according to a March 7 Celina meeting presentation. The plant had recently finished a similar expansion in 2021, but Prosper’s and Celina’s population booms caught developers by surprise, Celina Assistant City Manager Kim Brawner said.
Prosper creates open space focus groups Some Prosper residents are being invited to join input groups to discuss the town’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan. Consultants are starting the data-gather- ing phase for the open space master plan, which has not been updated in nearly a decade, according to a Feb. 13 presentation. Some context The advisory committees include: • The parks and recreation board • The Prosper Youth Sports Commission • Prosper ISD • The Downtown Business Alliance • The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council
Downtown construction
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approval, Satarino said. For example, the parameters businesses would need to get a grant and the turnaround time to give out the money are still being figured out, he said. Businesses may be doing poorly financially for reasons other than infrastructure improvements, council member Wendie Wiggington said. “You want to fit into that box but we don’t want to open Pandora’s box,” Mayor Ryan Tubbs said. Going forward City staff will spend the next few months researching and creating parameters for the pro- gram before council members consider it in July, according to a meeting presentation. If approved, business owners could begin sending in grant applications in September. Celina installs outdoor early warning sirens Five new outdoor early warning sirens were installed throughout Celina in mid-February and will now be a part of the city’s public safety process, Emergency Management Coordinator Elizabeth Thomas said. The gist Warning sirens are used to alert residents of severe weather emergencies. The sirens are placed throughout the city at stra- tegically-picked locations including Fire Station No. 3 and the Celina Police Headquarters. “Those locations were picked looking at differ- ent combinations of where city growth is occurring and along where the city has property and is able to easily add those sirens,” Thomas said. Celina officials will follow the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Outdoor Warning Siren Frame to determine when the sirens will be
"We’ve come a long way from when we did this [master- planning process] last time." CRAIG ANDRES, COUNCIL MEMBER
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set off, City Manager Robert Ranc said Feb. 23. Events that would set off the sirens include: • A tornado warning anywhere in Celina city limits • Severe thunderstorm warnings indicating winds of 70 mph or more • Hail 1.5 inches or more in diameter Going forward Siren tests will be conducted at noon on the first Wednesday of every month.
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