There’s an estimated $150,000 pricetag on downtown fencing at along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, and the City of Gladewater hoping residents will help foot the bill for the chance to put their stamp on the project.
The fence is a requirement of the city’s agreement with UP to acquire right-of-way in the core of the community, and council members agree they want to avoid cheap materials and focus on an aesthetically-pleasing build.
That’ll cost about $150 per linear foot for a fabricated iron/metal flat-topped fence, covering four blocks, putting a single donor’s buy-in at an estimated $1,500 for an eight-foot long, five-foot tall fencing panel with a cutout metalwork sign bearing their name.
“Those blocks run about 250 feet,” Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith told the council. “It’s for security so people will have to cross at a designated area.
“The idea was to sell these for donations for people throughout the community.”
Working with Fidelity Metalworks in White Oak, the fencing will be built in a minimum of seven sections at a time.
It’ll be necessary to get pledges up-front, councilman Rocky Hawkins said.
“I think we can go ahead and put it out there,” councilwoman Brandy Flanagan said. “As soon as we have the first seven, we can move forward with it.”
The city already had two committed donors in-hand and launched a sign-up form for the project Nov. 17: find the form at cityofgladewater.com via tinyurl.com/downtownfence.
“We can go out there now and ask people if they want to put their name on this,” according to council member Kevin Clark, who put the concept before council members at a previous meeting.
Clark’s motion set the approximate cost for each panel at $1,500 and directed city staff to offer sign-up availability to determine the number of possible donors who would fund a personalized eight-foot panel. Seconded by Flanagan, the motion passed unanimously with one absence (Micheal Webber).
“We’ll try to presale,” Mayor Scott Owens said, “before we decide what we’re going to do.”
– By James Draper