Gunter staff say they’ll seek bids and coordinate with TxDOT and Grayson County on traffic, road work and a patch-truck transfer

City staff reported progress on several public-works items and said they will seek council action at the Feb. 6 meeting to award the lowest qualified bids for two street projects, while describing a cooperative plan with Grayson County to reassign a patch truck and to work with TxDOT on traffic safety near a local school.

Eric Wilhite, identified as the city’s director of planning and development, told the council staff had received bids and would bring a recommendation to approve the lowest qualified bidder for the driveway transitions project at the Feb. 6 meeting. He said a second contract recommendation — for Fox Bend Trace Road improvements, including repairs to concrete panels and storm sewer work — will also be before the council.

Wilhite described a recent staff meeting with TxDOT representatives and the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Grayson County to discuss chronic congestion at the intersection of Highway 121 and FM 289, drainage issues in front of The Woods on FM 289 and school‑zone safety near an elementary school. He said TxDOT staff and the MPO laid out multi‑year program priorities and explained that signal installation and other funded improvements require entering the appropriate funding queues.

"They asked why it feels like Gunter has been neglected — because you never asked," Wilhite said, summarizing TxDOT’s response and emphasizing the need for sustained staff engagement to get projects queued for funding.

Staff and council discussed a planned trade: the city will remove a patch truck from its asset list and transfer the vehicle to Grayson County, while the county will provide patching labor in Gunter for an agreed period. Council members said the trade will remove the truck from the city’s insurance and maintenance obligations and should be finalized after mechanical servicing.

Adam Adams, described in the meeting as director of parts and public services, and others noted that the city’s existing patch-truck crew model wasn’t large enough to operate the vehicle efficiently. Councilmembers said the county’s labor rates and the frequency of the county’s use made the exchange mutually beneficial.

Wilhite said staff and the city’s consultant (Cobb Bentley) will compile prioritized, “quick‑win” projects and begin the paperwork and warrant studies needed to request signals, crosswalk flashers and other short‑term safety measures. He said staff will pursue both near‑term moves (sign repositioning, school‑zone adjustments, a pedestrian flasher at a Dollar General crossing) and longer‑term funding solutions through the MPO or possible county bond programs.

Ending: Staff will place the driveway‑transitions and Fox Bend Trace lowest‑qualified‑bid items on the Feb. 6 consent/approval agenda, continue coordination with TxDOT and the MPO, and finalize the patch‑truck transfer with Grayson County after mechanical servicing and agreement on labor swaps.