Moran garden to be ready soon

By Kathy Thomson

Moran residents are working together to help out each other during the current COVID-19 threat, offering to pick up needed supplies for neighbors when they travel to area stores, lending books, sharing DVDs and other entertainment ideas, and working together to get a community garden area ready for planting.

Community Garden

Robert Skinner used his John Deere tractor to till the garden plot last Friday.

“Robert plowed the garden once, but the ground was very hard,” said land owner Teresa King. “He went over it several times, but he plans to come back and plow it again once we have a rain, so it’s not quite ready for planting yet.”

Gardeners can begin setting up raised beds, she added.

The community garden is located at the corner of Putnam Road and Woodrow Avenue and is privately sponsored.

“Although both Teresa and I work for the city, and we are the ones organizing the community garden, we want to make sure that everyone understands that this is not a City of Moran project,” said co-organizer Karen Bishop. “We are just trying to get the community working together on something that would benefit everyone who helps with the project.”

Commodities

April commodities are scheduled to be available outside of Moran City Hall from 9:00 to 11:00 on Thursday, April 2 for qualified Moran residents.

“We usually distribute them outside, out of the bed of a pickup, so I don’t expect any problems with social distancing requirements,” said King, who is also the City of Moran secretary. 

Grant Money

King said that she had completed and returned some of the required paperwork for the sewer grant.

“I’ve sent back everything that they sent me,” she said. “But when I talked to them, it sounded like they would probably be sending some more paperwork for me to fill out.”

The City of Moran has applied for $275,000 in HUD Community Development Block Grant funds for replacing approximately 2,500 feet of eight inch sewer lines running along Fisher Avenue and Grand Avenue.

According to King, the grant has been approved, but work can not begin until all of the paperwork, primarily concerning any environmental impact that could be caused by replacing the sewer lines, has been completed.

Council Election

Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the election for seats on the Moran city council has been postponed until Tuesday, Nov. 3.

COVID-19 Concerns

As of Tuesday afternoon, Moran did not have any positive cases of -COVID-19; however, King has been working on the paperwork and proclamations they will need if a positive case does occur in Moran.

Following Governor Greg Abbott’s modified executive order announced earlier this week, the Moran school building will remain closed through May 4, with instruction provided to students through distance learning.