Traffic-control signs to go in Granite Shoals

GRANITE SHOALS — Residents may soon start seeing signs in a newly annexed area of the city, officials said. Officials want to start adding more traffic-control signs in certain areas and streamline the process of doing so, Mayor Frank Reilly said.

“We’ll be upgrading our traffic control ordinance,” he said. “We’ll be voting to give the city manager the authority to consult with the police chief and fire chief and put signs up where they are needed.”

In the past, administrators petitioned the City Council for approval to put up road signs, which sometimes lengthened the process before the markers could be erected.

If the latest measure is approved by the council, the new signs could be coming soon to the Kingswood subdivision, with workers erecting more signs along Valley View and Prairie Creek Road, Reilly said.

He added the proposal for quicker decisions on erecting signs arose after a minor collision occurred a couple of weeks ago on one of the roads.

In other business, the city’s newly renovated municipal building is a few steps closer to completion, Reilly said. The municipal complex is located at RR 1431 and Phillips Ranch Road on 131 acres.

During the past year, the building atop the hill at that location has undergone renovations including asbestos removal, handicapped-access upgrades, a parking lot overhaul and other aesthetic improvements. The city facility is expected to be finished enough to hold council meetings by March 9, Reilly said.

City departments, aside from police and fire services, could move to the completed site sometime in April.

“We were very cramped,” he said of the existing city hall, located at 410 N. Phillips Ranch Road. “The electrical system is overloaded. (The new building) will allow us to have upgraded communications.”

The facility ushers in a new day for Granite Shoals, Reilly said.

“It’s setting a new standard for the city,” he said. “This will provide a better working environment for everyone.”