LUBBOCK COUNTY, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock County commissioners approved $25,000 for the Slaton Economic Development Corporation to help revitalize its downtown.
The funding will help properly maintain buildings and sidewalk upkeep. This is in addition to other beautification efforts ongoing by residents in Slaton.
An outside consulting group is helping boost small business visibility and plan events with the chamber of commerce, including annual festivals.
Precinct Three Commissioner Jason Corley said the money will help move Slaton in a new direction.
“The direction that Slaton is really wanting to be is trying to be like the Fredericksburg of the plains and you don’t have to be in a big city, you can be the small city next to the big city that people like to go to on the weekends,” Corley said.
Commissioners unanimously approved the grant after declining to fully fund the project last year.
County leaders also approved a $20,000 grant to support Lubbock’s Youth Orchestra facilities and instructors.
With more than 150 students coming in this year, the orchestra is preparing them for high school and collegiate symphonies. The orchestra raised its tuition this year to help cover the cost.
Lee Schrader, manager of Lubbock Youth Orchestra, said the program costs about $100,000 a year to operate.
“We are the only orchestra that a lot of youth in the Lubbock area can be a part of,” Schrader said. “We take students from home school, from small rural towns that don’t have orchestras. Last year we had a student from Hobbs that came every week.”
The orchestra has taught children from across West Texas to perform since 1988.
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