City Council OKs deals with Winco, 7 Brew
The agreement with Winco will build a new stretch of roadway east of and parallel to the busy Lawrence Road corridor.
The agreement gives the Idaho-based company up to $1.284 million in tax increment financing funds as reimbursement for Winco building a portion of South Wenonah Avenue from Kell Boulevard to Gregory Road.
The street will provide access to the new Winco store that is under construction. The company has said the store will employee about 125 workers with an opening date planned for September.
City staff said in the agenda item the deal would result in a $800,000-$1 million savings to taxpayers over what it would cost for the city to build the street alone.
Design plans are also underway to extend South Wenonah Avenue from Gregory Road to Maplewood Avenue using another $2.7 million in tax increment funds.
The agreement with 7 Brew would result in construction of a turn lane from Piedmont Place into the parking lot of a store the company plans to build at the intersection of Piedmont Place and Kemp Boulevard. 7 Brew would pay $100,000 for construction of the turn lane while the city would pay $30,000 to relocate a traffic signal to be out of the way of the lane.
Carol Murray, owner of Frank & Joe's coffee houses, spoke against the agreement, saying it would create traffic, noise and stormwater runoff problems.
7 Brew, founded in Rogers, Arkansas, is a drive-thru only coffee franchise, that already has a location at Kemp Boulevard and Southwest Parkway
The new location will be just north of the McDonald's restuarant on Kemp.
The company said it will employ 50 to 60 workers when it opens this summer.
In other business, councilors approved:
A grant for $10,000 from the National Association of County and City Health Officials for mosquito and disease control.
Appropriation of $150,000 in Opioid Settlement Funding Grants for not-for-profit organizations to aid in opioid abuse prevention.
More: A former mayor and a former City Council member die
More: Wichita Falls city planner garners recognition from Sheppard AFB
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City Council OKs deals with Winco, 7 Brew
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