City consultants from Kimley-Horn presented conceptual designs and options for several FY26 capital projects to the Terrell Downtown Revitalization Board, including a Catherine Street parklet and entrance plaza, US 80 lighting upgrades, Breezy Hill Park expansion and South Alley interim improvements. The board also reviewed a proposed facade and awning program and a draft RFQ to solicit redevelopment proposals for a city-owned building.

Kevin Glaser (civil) and Nick Adams (landscaping) of Kimley-Horn walked the board through the Catherine Street concept, which would install a speed table at the key intersection to calm traffic and create a unified entrance into a future Terrell Town Square. Design examples included stages, water features and flexible vendor space; consultants said final renderings would show options scaled to fit downtown expectations.

Glaser described the US 80 lighting effort as a relatively low-cost way to refresh downtown’s appearance by replacing and powder-coating existing street and pedestrian light poles and re-fabricating street-name plates to match a cohesive aesthetic. He said the work could reuse existing foundations in many places and that modern, energy-efficient fixtures may eliminate the need for major electrical upgrades.

For Breezy Hill Park, consultants proposed closing a short segment of Polk Street to join a currently severed parcel, expanding green space and adding parking stalls and a small splash pad. Kimley-Horn said an environmental tree survey would guide which trees to preserve.

South Alley interim improvements discussed included installing a right-of-way fence along the Union Pacific corridor (a 4- to 5-foot ornamental fence that improves safety and will be part of permanent quiet-zone improvements), relocating dumpsters into centralized enclosures to reduce on-street clutter and making targeted interim surfacing/parking improvements until a full reconstruction occurs.

Board members raised maintenance and aesthetics concerns for lighting choices and asked the consultants to favor a traditional look that minimizes high-maintenance glass components. One board member said local feedback favors traditional designs over modern fixtures. Consultants said they would present a few narrowed options and provide pricing once the board preferred a style.

On facades and awnings, staff described a proactive program to design and, where appropriate, fund or co-fund awnings and storefront improvements. Staff noted ongoing rooftop-lighting reliability issues and proposed encouraging building tenants and owners to consider string-light or storefront-based lighting systems rather than a single rooftop network that has proven unreliable.

Staff also said the RFQ for redevelopment of a city-owned building would be posted in October (pending council permission) with responses due in December; the city would invite an evaluation team including two board members to review submissions.

Board members recommended more detailed 3-D visualizations to show how a parklet and activation would look at the scale of Terrell’s downtown. Staff and consultants said they would prepare renderings, a draft ordinance approach for vacant building enforcement (requested by a board member) and bring more specifics on timelines and costs to future meetings. The board expects some South Alley and dumpster relocation work could proceed quickly in the fiscal year, while larger items such as Breezy Hill and the full Catherine Street build-out will follow design and funding steps.

Additional notes: the board noted a joint meeting with city council, the school board and the EDC on Oct. 6 and that CORE is under contract to prepare design specs for restroom stalls discussed previously.