City of Plainview to install downtown speaker system with cell company grant
PLAINVIEW — The City of Plainview unveiled plans Thursday to install an outdoor speaker system along its newly streetscaped downtown corridor, thanks to a sizeable grant from a prominent cellular carrier.
Plainview's mayor, city council members, chamber of commerce representatives and business owners all gathered in front of the Hale County Courthouse along Broadway Thursday morning as representatives from T-Mobile presented a $50,000 check to the city for the project as part of its Hometown Grant Program.
"It is noticeable, of course, that our downtown has been redeveloped and reimagined in a very beautiful and accessible form," Mayor Charles Starnes said at the event, referencing a recently completed, bond-funded downtown streetscaping project. "Thanks to the hard work of Melinda Brown, who is our city Downtown Association and Main Street coordinator, we are going today to accept a very special gift from T-Mobile Corporation that will further enhance the viability of our downtown as a place for people to come to visit, to relax on the benches, to enjoy the beautiful Plainview weather and to shop in our beautiful stores."
More: Plainview celebrates completion of downtown streetscape project
The streetscape project was completed and unveiled in April and recently nominated for two Texas Downtown Association President's Awards for Best Public Improvement Under $50,000 and Best Promotion/Traditional Event Under $50,000 for its ribbon-cutting celebration.
In the new system, wireless speakers will be positioned on streetlight poles along Broadway from Fifth Street to Eighth Street, allowing the city to broadcast music, announcements, weather alerts and even live content during downtown events like parades and concerts. The system is scalable, city officials said, so it can be expanded to other blocks and streets as more of downtown is revitalized.
"That will enhance the ambiance of (downtown)," Starnes said. "Just imagine — our Christmas parade is coming up in about three months. All the guests watching the parade will be lining the street and we'll be playing Christmas music, sleigh bell songs, songs about snow, songs about people with gifts and so forth."
Plainview was one of about 500 applicants for this round of T-Mobile grants, the first recipient in northwestern Texas and one of only a handful of recipients across the state, according to city officials. T-Mobile officials said the grant program exists to strengthen rural American communities.
"Our mission is to bring more coverage and broadband equity into rural America and to these underserved communities to be on par with large cities," said Matt Cantu, T-Mobile's regional director of small markets. "But we want to do more than just bring towers and devices and open stores in your communities. We want to be a part of your community. So the Hometown Grant was a way for us to participate in city development and really be ingrained in the communities that we serve."
According to City of Plainview officials, the project is expected to be completed in about six months.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: City of Plainview to install downtown speaker system with T-Mobile grant
