New Tornado Memorial Ceremony & Various Road Projects in Lubbock

Wednesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, Lubbock City Councilwoman Latrelle Joy joined Dave and Matt to talk about last night's city council meeting, the 100th anniversary of the Lubbock Police Department, the results of the recent election, various projects around Lubbock, the tornado memorial ceremony, Citizens Tower, and more.

The discussion started with Joy talking about last night's city council meeting, and what was discussed. The Councilwoman said that their actual agenda did not take too long. However, there was a longer ceremony held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Lubbock Police Department being formed, where several people were recognized. When asked if the council is looking to increase the police department budget, Joy said that she is personally for that, and it was stated that other council members are in support of it as well. Another agenda item at the meeting was a 2nd reading for UMC, who is wanting to get a new property. Joy explained that it was approved, and said that it is one of several new health facilities being opened in Lubbock.

The Councilwoman also talked about several current and future projects in the city of Lubbock. Some of those projects involve the Future Needs Committee, of which she is a member. The main issue that the Future Needs Committee has been looking at is paving several unpaved roads around Lubbock, as well as building a fire station, which she says is very much in their minds as Lubbock continues to grow to the south. Joy explained that the committee looked at many unpaved roads in every district, and used the connectivity between several of them to determine which ones are in the most need of paving. Additionally, there is a dilapidated road where the new police substation will be opened in North Lubbock, and with a fire station also being located on that road, she says that it really needs some upkeep. Joy went on to note that it can be difficult to get some of these projects done, as they need to follow all of the regular city rules and regulations.

Another project that Joy discussed was the recently completed Tornado Memorial located on 7th and Avenue Q which held a ceremony yesterday, May 11th, for the anniversary of the Lubbock tornado. The Councilwoman said that this was a public-private partnership, since the land is owned by the city, but the actual project was funded with donations from the private sector. Joy has heard nothing but praise for the memorial, and says that there are a lot of neat features that she hasn't heard many people talk about. Such features include the fact that the shape of the memorial is in the same direction that the tornado moved in, several old quotes from Lubbock citizens on the memorial, as well a fountain/waterfall that has been said to sound like the wind. "For those of us who were here in 1970, I think it rings a little more true with us than people who were not, but it was such a devastating tornado and destroyed so much of our history because of that area downtown that was obliterated." Finally, the Councilwoman was asked about the repairs on Citizens Tower. Joy explained that the repairs on things like elevators and other things in the main building have been completed, however, the customer service building, where the majority of the flooding took place, is not yet done. Additionally, she has not heard any estimates on how much the repairs will cost.

Listen to the full interview with Councilwoman Latrelle Joy in the audio above.

KFYO Mornings with Dave King & Matt Martin airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.