BELLVILLE — Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of Bellville, the Bellville Chamber of Commerce will install a modernized community message board that will share emergency alerts and information about local events with the public.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $59,695 in matching funds from the chamber, will pay for an LED message board to replace one that no longer works. The new 8-foot-wide message board will be supported by 20-foot-tall brick veneer columns, giving its messages high-profile visibility.
The new sign will be visible from State Highway 36 when entering Bellville. As part of the project, a brick flower bed maintained by the Bellville Town & Country Garden Club will be built at the spot.
“It will be a wonderful greeting from our town, and it’s an awesome opportunity to get with 2024,” said Megan Kendrick, the chamber’s executive director. “We knew there was a need, but these signs are expensive, especially to get the quality we wanted. It’s just a blessing that we can move forward, and we’re very grateful for the grant.”
Unlike the former message board that could only be updated from one location using a dial-up modem, the new version can be updated with mobile devices using cloud-based software. The improved technology will enable law enforcement, civic groups and city, county and school officials to post alerts much more quickly.
Kendrick said the outdated message board, which was more than 20 years old, recently stopped working after a hailstorm.
“You don’t realize how many people read the sign until it’s not working,” Kendrick said. “We called the company, and they said we don’t make it anymore and we don’t have any parts for it.”
The next day, Kendrick learned that the chamber had received a CDPP grant.
“Imagine if the old sign had gone out and we hadn’t even started thinking about another sign,” Kendrick said. “At the chamber, we’re always looking to better our town. We want to modernize but still remain a small town. I think this new sign shows our commitment to our community.”
The community grant is one of 44 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency respond- ers and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. The City of Bellville is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/ cdpp.
