City Answers VFW Facility Pleas
La Grange VFW Post Commander Richard Gray spoke again at the La Grange City Council meeting on Monday.
He’s been a frequent speaker during the public comment period at City Council meetings lately, pleading for much-needed improvements at the City-owned VFW Hall. But this Monday, he spoke to thank the City for recent upgrades to the heating and cooling system at the hall.
“I wanted to come before you today to express gratitude for some actual work going on over at our hall now,” Gray said.
“Our meeting room was much quieter,” he added. “It was so peaceful having our last meeting. I actually loved it. The unit that was put in was less than half the cost of the replacement of the existing unit. So we saved some money for everybody and got a better product in the long run. We’re able to focus on our business again much better. So thank you all for that.”
Empty Planter
Boxes Emerges
Also during public comments at Monday’s meeting, local nurseryman Tim Patrick offered some suggestions for the empty concrete planter box along Travis St. on the Courthouse Square.
Texas Department of Transportation installed the planter boxes in 2023 as part of a traffic safety partnership with the City. The structure was intended to be a landscape feature that would prevent pedestrians from jaywalking across Travis St. on the Square. But no one thought to install a water line during construction. The planter box has sat empty ever since.
At Monday’s meeting, Patrick handed out a landscaping plan to the members of the City Council.
“I’m here to help you,” Patrick said. “I’m here to help our city. I’m not trying to make money on this. This is something I want to do for our community.”
Patrick’s plan calls for drought-tolerant and lowmaintenance plantings of red and yellow yucca parvifolia with accents of occasional yucca pendulum. He offered to assist the City with sourcing these plants at wholesale prices. Prep work would require six inches of drainage gravel at the bottom of the planter box covered by garden soil, weed-suppressing landscape cloth and gravel mulch. After planting, she said the boxes would need to be drenched once a week for two consecutive weeks. After that, he said these desert plants shouldn’t require any more irrigation. Ongoing maintenance would require a once-annual removal of spent bloom stems.
City Manager Jack Thompson said the Council could not discuss the item since it was not on the agenda that night. But Thompson said he would gather some cost estimates.
“If this is something y’all would like to consider, I’ll bring it back to Council,” Thompson said.
“I would love to see us do something,” said Councilman Ken Taylor.
“Me too, Ken,” Patrick said.
“We’ll talk more specifics,” Thompson said.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, Taylor asked Thompson about a rumor he heard about Fayette Community Theater moving into the old Prause’s Meat Market building. The La Grange Economic Development Corporation purchased the building earlier this year and authorized funds to convert the building into a new home for the community theater organization.
“The word on the street is that it’s going to be too small for plays,” Taylor said. “Is that a rumor?”
“I can say with full confidence that is unequivocally incorrect,” Thompson said. “The theater is incredibly happy have that building. They are excited about moving forward, so much so that they’ve already begun the design process and then finished phase one, which is the schematic design.”
Thompson said the architect plans to pull permits in December.