City Council addresses street improvements, fire department upgrades

TYLER — On Wednesday, March 8, the Tyler City Council voted to approve a $685,432.47 contract with Missouri petroleum, LLC, for the 2023 ONYX Sealcoat Project, according to a news release. The 2023 ONYX seal coat project includes 32.85 lane miles of work on 73 City Streets.  “ONYX is a street surface preservation sealant to prevent the surface from further deterioration,” said City Engineer Darin Jennings. “Unlike the overlay and most seal coat streets, the streets being done with ONYX are in relatively good condition but are losing their asphalt content on the surface and showing cracks. This method seals the road without using a coarse aggregate.” The City prioritizes asphalt enhancement projects according to the pavement condition index scores and staff evaluations of the City’s streets. Construction is expected to begin in June 2023 and be complete by August 2023. The project is funded through the General Fund.

In other business, the Tyler Fire Department is adding six additional firefighter positions to its ranks and looking to upgrade technology at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with funding from State and Federal grant programs. The City Council agreed on Wednesday to accept a $1,451,782.08 grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and create six new firefighter positions. The grant is a non-matching grant awarded to fund the salaries and benefits of the additional firefighter positions for three years, from March 17, 2023, to March 17, 2026. The grant allows $483,927.36 annually for the three-year period. Click here and scroll down to “Tyler News” for further details on both items.