City Council Votes For New Convention Center

TYLER � The Tyler City Council approved several items on the agenda at Liberty Hall Wednesday morning, including moving forward with a planned convention center. According to KETK, members approved changing the name of their comprehensive plan from Tyler 21 to Tyler 1st. They also launched a new city website, which is said to be more user friendly and interactive. The council unanimously passed a contract with Garfield Traub Development LLC to bring a new convention center to Tyler. They will now move into a pre-development phase, including document negotiations and construction.

Other items passed were: new traffic signals on Front St. and Broadway as part of the �Revitalize downtown� initiative. Speed limit change on Earl Campbell parkway from 30 MPH to 45 MPH. And reduce speed limit to 25 mph and add a new school zone on Shiloh Road near Cumberland Academy.

Also, City Manager Mark McDaniel announced several organizational changes. Keidric Trimble has been appointed chief financial officer (CFO). The position was vacant after the retirement of Daniel Crawford in May 2012; Trimble has been serving as acting CFO since Crawford�s retirement. Susan Guthrie has been appointed assistant city manager. Guthrie has worked for the City of Tyler for five years, most recently as the managing director of external relations. And Russ Jackson has been appointed manager of the Solid Waste and Vehicle Services Departments due to the impending retirement of Dan Brotton. Jackson has been with the City of Tyler since 1986.