The Crossroads, an outdoor area in downtown Dayton where Food Truck Fridays, Treat Street and other events are held, will soon have a 30-foot by 50-foot pavilion added to the features of the park. The project was approved by Dayton City Council at Monday night’s regular council meeting.
Council first approved the pavilion at a March 23, 2020 meeting. Originally, the pavilion was to have been partially funded by a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council with the City matching 50 percent of the $30,000 needed for the project. However, City Manager Theo Melancon explained that many grant opportunities, including the one for the pavilion, dried up in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had set aside our part – $15,000 – from bond money,” he told Council, adding that he could no longer count on the other half from H-GAC.
Kimberly Judge, head of the City’s Development Services, told Council that the contractor who originally won the bid for the project – Cleveland Supply Company – promised to honor its original price even through the project had not moved forward as previously scheduled. Cleveland Supply Company also built the entryways into The Crossroads, which were unveiled in June 2020.
After the entryway project, the City was able to set aside bricks and metal that were left over from that project, which may now be used for the pavilion, she added.
Instead of using money from the municipal bond, Councilman Troy Barton asked if it was possible for the project to be paid for through the City’s Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds since it could be argued that The Crossroads is bringing people into Dayton.
“Food Truck Fridays are a big hit,” Barton said.
Melancon added the City will get a lot more use from HOT funds when the two new motels that are coming to Dayton are built and in use.
Once they had been given the green light from City Attorney Brandon Davis that it was possible to use the HOT funds and after learning from Finance Director Rudy Zepeda that the HOT account has roughly $100,000, Council agreed to fund all of the pavilion costs from that account.
The City is building the pavilion so that it will not interfere with the movement of the food trucks that are vital to the success of Food Truck Fridays. It will offer a shaded area for diners during the hot summer months and have built-in lights that may be used for nighttime events.
The Crossroads is located in downtown Dayton along US 90 at N. Church Street.