SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The Sweetwater City Council voted to adopt the cities first comprehensive 20 year plan. A document for guiding the development of transportation, commerce, events, and a wide array of city projects.

LINK: Ignite Sweetwater City website

This plan was approved on November 8 and David A. Vela, Sweetwater City Manager, said he had thought about this before.

“When I became City Manager about six years ago, one of the first things that I did was ask about our comprehensive master plan. Y’know, where is it? I need to look at it and become familiar with it. And I found out then that we just didn’t have one,” Vela recalled.

The comprehensive plan, now dubbed ‘Ignite Sweetwater,’ has been in the works for a number of years, following a positive vote by residents back in 2018.

“Over the course of several fiscal years, we set aside money each fiscal year to go towards that plan. Once we had enough built up, we went ahead and pulled the trigger on hiring a consultant,” Vela said.

Professional planning and engineering firm Verdunity has worked with the city to turn resident input into a cohesive guide for future development.

“This is something that the residents said. This is what we want. We want affordable housing in Sweetwater. We want a trail system in our parks. We want connectivity with our sidewalks,” Vela expressed.

The plan will govern the next 20 years, but is by no means a rigid document. City staff will reassess need and update the document every three years to keep the city’s direction current and effective.

“Positive energy is what I think of when I hear Ignite Sweetwater,” Vela said. “We’ve got a good foundation, but we need to build on that and this plan, this comprehensive master plan will help us do that.”