Just days after Thanksgiving, New Braunfels Mayor Barron Casteel signed a proclamation declaring Nov. 28, 2017, as “Giving Tuesday” in New Braunfels.

The action took place at the Nov. 27 City Council meeting in an effort to encourage residents to give back to the community in any way that is personally meaningful, whether through philanthropy, volunteerism or community service.

State transportation funding request

Council also approved an item that allows the city to request state road construction funds through the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Surface Transportation Program. Each project will require a 20 percent construction match from the city as well as 100 percent of project development funding.

City Engineer Garry Ford identified six priority projects, the first of which is located on the Loop 337 overpass at River Road. Comal County also cited the overpass as its top funding need with AAMPO.

The second priority calls for an advanced traffic management system that would install network communications and upgrade central software and hardware to the city’s 46 traffic signals, with a plan for up to 60 locations. The new system would also allow for remote monitoring and control. The total construction cost for that project would be $750,000, with a city commitment of $150,000.

The remaining four transportation projects the city will request funding for are as follows, in order of priority:

• Widen Klein Road, Walnut to FM 725
• I-35 and FM 725 improvements
• Widen FM1101, FM 306 to Kohlenberg
• Dry Comal Creek Trail improvements, Walnut Avenue to Landa Street

The Texas Department of Transportation is scheduled to announce which projects it has selected for funding in April 2018.

Landa Park Golf Course fee update

Fee changes for the Landa Park Golf Course were also approved by council Monday night. As part of the changes, the course will charge a flat $49.00 fee for members and non-members, which includes the cart fee. As it stands now, members pay $46.50, and non-members pay $59. Golf Manager Chad Donegan said he hopes the new flat rate will attract more regional play from surrounding communities, such as Seguin, Kyle and San Marcos.