City acquire land near new city hall

Veterans Memorial asks for continued support

Last week, the Canton City Council approved the purchase of property located near the downtown new city hall.

The property is located at 202 W. Terrell St. “underneath the water tower,” City Manager Lonny Cluck said.

The new city hall is being built on Buffalo Street between Terrell and Groves streets.

Purchase price was $60,000.

In June, the city approved a 10-year lease for property across Buffalo Street from the new city hall site.

The city’s old water tower, what many consider to be an historic landmark, is being sandblasted, repaired and painted. The restoration cost about $150,000.

Veterans Memorial

Board members of the Van Zandt Veterans Memorial appeared before the council July 26 to ask that the council keep the memorial site in the city’s budget.

Chairman Dan Catania introduced Trustee Cary Hilliard and Director Joe Davis.

“We appreciate the significant support the city of Canton gives the veterans memorial,” Hilliard said. “No other cities give us assistance but we’ve never asked them to. We do plan to.”

Van Zandt County does fund the memorial by paying the electric bill for the memorial area, providing some insurance and doing ground maintenance.

There are more than 5,200 veterans in the county and “many of them live in Canton,” Hilliard said.

He said the memorial draws tourists from all over. “The other day I was out there and we had a visitor form southern China,” he said. “Everybody always says what a wonderful facility it is. It is a big draw for the city of Canton. It brings people here and helps make Canton a destination place. And if the museum is open, they usually buy something, so they are boosting our sales tax.”

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