Gainesville city park may give way to bigger Tom Thumb
Jun. 22—Gainesville City Council is pursuing an agreement to expand an Eastside supermarket.
The city recently voted approving the sale of Sesquicentennial Park, which is located on North Clements Street, just to the east of Tom Thumb Supermarket on Grand Avenue.
At the council meeting Tuesday evening, council members decided to pursue a bid from Albertsons, Tom Thumb's parent company, to buy the park and build a larger supermarket. No price was listed, as discussions between the two sides are ongoing. Cooke County tax records list the assessed value of the land at $320,496.
In exchange, the city gets three acres of land on Broadway Street between Pecan Tree Rehab and Wheeler Place to build a new fire station.
"It's a better place with better response times," said City Manager Barry Sullivan. "We've really overlapped our stations, and this way they will have a little bit of overlap, but a lot less overlap and get people served faster."
The decision at Tuesday evening's meeting granted Sullivan authorization to continue with discussions and make the final contract negotiations. The site development plan from Albertsons included in the proposal says the new store will be 57,966 square feet. According to the Cooke County Appraisal District, the current Tom Thumb is 37,140 square feet.
New council appointee
Jeff Johnson is the new council member for Ward 5. He will be sworn in July 18 and keep the job until the next General Election of City Officers on May 4, 2024.
Johnson has previously served Gainesville on the Board of Appeals, which determines appeals involving alleged error in the enforcement of city ordinances.
Johnson and his wife Lauri have renovated a variety of properties around Gainesville, including the building currently housing Gypsy Star's Darlings at 312 E. California St. and the building at 114 W. Main St., across South Commerce Street from the Cornerstone Cafe.
Their most recent project is Fire House 1918, located in the city's old fire station. The facility has an event center downstairs and apartments for rent upstairs.
"I am honored to be appointed as Councilman for Ward 5," said Johnson. "My goals would be to help the City of Gainesville attract business that will increase choices in activities for families, including new restaurants, entertainment venues and more diverse shopping options. Equally important goals would be making our city more appealing to our citizens, visitors and those considering moving to Gainesville by improving streets, family friendly parks and park improvements, city branding and marketing and encouraging the repair or removal of dilapidated commercial and residential real estate."
Ward 5 is the in the south part of Gainesville, south of California Street between Dixon and Clements Streets. This area includes much of the downtown area and Gainesville Junior High School.
"Jeff Johnson has a passion for Gainesville," Mayor Tommy Moore told the Register. "He expressed interest in further serving the citizens of Ward 5 and Gainesville. We were excited to have him express interest to serve."
Butterfield Expansion
Butterfield Stage Players was granted permission to expand its site at Main and Denton streets.
At the previous meeting on June 6, Frank Mahnich of the Butterfield Board of Directors explained the plans for the expansion and why it was needed. The city council needed to approve the plan due to the expansion being on city-owned land, but the project — which would expand the foyer and lobby area in the old Carnegie Library — will not cost the city anything.
This permission granted by the council did not replace the need for permits to start building, but according to Mahnich at the meeting on Tuesday the permits were already in order.
Other Business
The council approved a six percent pay increase for Municipal Court Judge Christopher Cypert. He was first elected to that position over 20 years ago.
"Thank you for doing that for him," said Mayor Tommy Moore. "He does serve our community well."
The city council meeting scheduled for July 4 has been cancelled.
Typically, council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. However, due to the first Tuesday of July correlating with the United States Independence Day, that meeting was cancelled at the meeting last Tuesday.
The next city council meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on July 18. Meetings are held at the Municipal Building at 200 S. Rusk St. in the council chamber.
