Keep Carrollton Beautiful created a venue for the City of Carrollton to make their ?Sustainable Carrollton? presentation last week. Those interested citizens in attendance came away with all the facts on what the City has come through and what is planned for the future.

Brad Mink, Director of Economic Development Director, joined the City of Carrollton in 1986 and currently oversees a small staff of 1 full-time employee. Mr. Mink has been involved in bringing in excess of $300 million in new business/economic development to the City of Carrollton. Peter Braster, Carrollton?s first Transit Oriented Development Manager, will be responsible for the development and redevelopment of Carrollton immediately around the Light Rail Transit Stations and manage the use of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful participants learned a lot about where our City has been and where it?s going: They found out who has purchased Furneaux Creek shopping center; they found out that Beltline lowering isn?t in stone yet; they got all the details on DART ? where it?s going and what?s going to be around it including trails; they also found out what is going to happen to the grain towers soon; what is going to happen to the corrugated steel buildings near Old Downtown; and they got to see the new TOD signage to brand each plaza.

Keep Carrollton Beautiful intends to create a closer community in Carrollton and this presentation really helped to get the participants up to date.

The school district is happy, Halliburton is happy and Keep Carrollton Beautiful is definitely happy. They all did a great thing on Saturday and the Outdoor Learning Center is better for it.
Keep Carrollton Beautiful paired a CFBISD bench building project with a team of hardworking volunteers from Halliburton to install six benches at the Native Plant Garden they helped to create last spring. The Science Resource teacher, Mark Schallhorn and Bill Shipp, a district volunteer, made the benches using materials left from the fence-building project. ?So it would match,? says Mark.
Braving the very cold wind Saturday morning, Keep Carrollton Beautiful volunteers from Halliburton installed the benches ? setting them and trail timbers and mulch. Now the kids can study, sketch and contemplate nature while sitting along the trail. ?Our Halliburton volunteers always come out with a can-do attitude. They have helped us on several projects,? said Sharon Goddard, founder and executive director of Keep Carrollton Beautiful. The new Native Plant Garden gives the OLC a new sense of place. See pictures at the Change Gallery. Rick?s Famous Bar-B-Que treated the volunteers to wonderful barbequed beef, sausage and turkey and all the trimmings. They even feasted on warm peach cobbler and the warm part was very much appreciated! Certainly a luscious way to end a productive Saturday morning.