News
Bill Smith’s Cafe Is Now Open
The long awaited Bill Smith’s cafe is now open! Most Van Alstynians seem to have visited the cafe at least once already, but if you haven’t had a change, it’s probably because of the anticipated wait times. Well I’m happy to report, there are plenty of times, typically 10:30am and earlier, that you can walk right in with no wait.
If you are unfamiliar with Bill Smith’s and the allure for this casual breakfast spot, you must not be from around these parts. In all seriousness, Bill Smith’s Cafe holds a permanent spot in many of our hearts who grew up in North Texas. Bill Smith’s Cafe opened in 1956 in Mckinney, TX and from that day on it was a pillar in the community. It has always been family owned and operated and Bill Smith Jr. took over 30 years ago. Long waits every weekend for the crowds of people who wanted some good ol’ country breakfast food. It became tradition, or some may even say routine, for many of us and we were all heartbroken when they closed their doors in 2023. Thankfully that didn’t last long! After moving to Van Alstyne, it was not too long later that Bill Smith Jr. and the Van Alstyne Community Development Corporation (CDC) collaborated to reopen Bill Smith’s Cafe in our historic downtown.
Located at 233 E Jefferson St in Van Alstyne, the cafe is currently open from 5am-2pm every day except Sunday when they close at 1 and Tuesday when they are closed all day. Those hours are likely to change.
We invite you to visit this wonderful cafe and explore our whole downtown!
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
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Open in new tab From the President of the CDC, Thank you!
February 26, 2024
To the Citizens of Van Alstyne,
As the President of the Van Alstyne Community Development Corporation (CDC) I want to personally thank those who participated in the community meeting hosted by the CDC on January 13th and those who contributed by providing feedback via the published survey. The turnout and your feedback were excellent! Thank you for the investment of your time and your opinions based upon your experience living in our community. We are all working hard to plan and shape our community into a great community where we all want to live.
We have received some initial ‘raw’ feedback from the DADCO Consulting team that has been working with us. The consultants are finalizing their interviews with business and city leaders and will then pull all the findings together into a summary as well as a detailed report that we will use as key input into the City’s comprehensive planning. Your feedback will help city leadership prioritize how monies are spent to ensure the priorities of our community are high on the list of projects.
From the raw feedback shared, there was a very strong desire that our community’s top priority be addressing our aging infrastructure. This involves fixing and expanding roads, water, and wastewater treatment to handle current population and future growth. This was heard loud and clear and is our City Manager’s top priority.
Below is the prioritized list coming from your survey responses:
- Infrastructure
- Establishing a Brand for Van Alstyne
- Downtown Development
- Diversifying the local economy
- Housing
- Retaining the community’s youth
- Entertainment
- Industrial Park expansion / designation
- Marketing
From the survey, “better communication” was a consistent comment: Not only between governing boards, but with the citizens regarding board decisions, current and future projects (i.e. , road and park construction) and events. We are in discussions how to better communicate amongst and between City leadership and the best avenues to reach the public. We anticipate receiving the final report from the DADCO team in March. Once the CDC and city leadership is briefed on the findings, they will be shared with the residents of Van Alstyne along with their implementation into the City’s future plans.
Thank you again for your participation as we work together to make a better and stronger Van Alstyne.
David Sileven
President
Van Alstyne Community & Economic Development Corporations
Fix My Road!
Road repair has and probably always will be a hot topic for local communities and Van Alstyne is definitely no exception. We’ve seen that it hasn’t been clear the proper way to report these pot holes and needed road repair. Despite popular opinion, it isn’t Facebook! 😱
In an attempt to not only make it easy to report concerns and get the repairs completed, I’m sharing a map below that the Public Works Department put together to notate which roads belong to which jurisdiction. There are 4 entities with road ownership in Van Alstyne, City of Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas Department of Transportation and a MUD district in Mantua.
For City of Van Alstyne roads, contact 903-482-5426 or fill out the email contact form on our website here.
For Grayson County roads, contact your Grayson County Commissioner. Most of Van Alstyne lies in Precinct No. 1 and you can call (903) 813-4327 or check out the Grayson county website to confirm your commissioner and contact information.
TxDOT has a form on their website here to report road issues, or for immediate attention, call 800-558-9368.
City Council meetings are also a great resource for information on the planned road work as well as opportunity for public comment. These meetings take place on the second Tuesday of every month at City Hall at 6:30pm.
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Reserve a Park in Van Alstyne
Van Alstyne has an incredible Parks and Recreation Department that we are truly proud of! With 5 beautiful parks to choose from, and a new one on the way, there are currently 19 facilities that can be reserved. These facilities range from the pavilions and stage in the Central Social District downtown to the sports fields at McKinney Wilson or Forest Moore Park. Whether having a birthday party or other major celebration, a sports tournament or a stage performance, Van Alstyne has a facility for your needs. Van Alstyne Parks and Recreation has also started using RecDesk to make reserving these facilities even easier for all community members.
On our RecDesk site, you can click Help in the menu for step by step instructions on setting up and account and reserving a facility. On the Facilities page, you can explore each park facility and their calendar, maps, addresses and hours.
If you have any questions about the parks or the facilities, reach out to the Director of Parks and Recreation, Tyler Bark, at 903-482-5426 ext. 2173 or tbark@cityofvanalstyne.us. And for questions on any of the amazing events in Van Alstyne, reach out to Kandi Hessel, 430-262-9439 or khessel@cityofvanalstyne.us.
Van Alstyne parks and facilities include:
Central Social District Park
West Pavilion
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
Main Stage
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
East Pavilion (Farmers Market Area)
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
Dorothy Fielder Park
Gazebo
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
COMING SOON: Eula Umphress and Robert Hynds Park
Pavilion
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
Community Center
• Refundable Deposit 150.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 100.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 150.00
McKinney Wilson Park
East Field (Big Field)
• Refundable tournament deposit 250.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (in city resident) 15.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (out of city resident) 25.00
• Tournament Rate with or without lights, per team, per day 50.00
• Field marking, per day 50.00
• Maintenance staff fee, per person, per hour 50.00
West Field (Little Field)
• Refundable tournament deposit 250.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (in city resident) 15.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (out of city resident) 25.00
• Tournament Rate with or without lights, per team, per day 50.00
• Field marking, per day 50.00
• Maintenance staff fee, per person, per hour 50.00
Forrest Moore Park
North Field
• Refundable tournament deposit 250.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (in city resident) 15.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (out of city resident) 25.00
• Tournament Rate with or without lights, per team, per day 50.00
• Field marking, per day 50.00
• Maintenance staff fee, per person, per hour 50.00
South Field
• Refundable tournament deposit 250.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (in city resident) 15.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (out of city resident) 25.00
• Tournament Rate with or without lights, per team, per day 50.00
• Field marking, per day 50.00
• Maintenance staff fee, per person, per hour 50.00
Pavilion
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
Veteran’s Memorial Park (North Park)
Field
• Refundable tournament deposit 250.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (in city resident) 15.00
• Practice Field Rate, with or without lights, per hour (out of city resident) 25.00
• Tournament Rate with or without lights, per team, per day 50.00
• Field marking, per day 50.00
• Maintenance staff fee, per person, per hour 50.00
Pavilion
• Refundable Deposit 50.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (in city resident) 40.00
• Rental Fee for 4 (four) hour block (out of city resident) 80.00
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Work at the City of Van Alstyne
Van Alstyne is growing! And with that growth comes not only additional opportunities to work in Van Alstyne, but also additional benefits!
Living and working in Van Alstyne has never been more attractive. Van Alstyne is located on an interstate highway with easy access to Sherman and Oklahoma, as well as Mckinney and Dallas. Per City-Data.com, the median household income in Van Alstyne is above the state median, and the estimated cost of living is under average, 85.6 to the U.S. average of 100. Per Niche.com, Van Alstyne is the #1 best place to raise a family in Grayson County and a big part of that is not only the incredibly low crime rate, but also the highly rated school district which has a 14-15:1 student-teacher ratio, compared to the national average of 17-19:1.
Van Alstyne is now a quickly growing town, with many exciting developments to come very soon. With honorable and highly involved city leaders, the growth and development is with a focus on maintaining the highly desirable community that has already been established. Read about the steps being taken here with DADCO consulting to help form a comprehensive plan for development in Van Alstyne.
Opportunities to be involved in a community at this part of its growth cycle are rare and we are excited to have opportunities in several departments as our needs and departments are growing with the town. Current openings include Permit Technician, Firefighter/EMT-Paramedic, Street Maintenance Technician, Utility Maintenance Worker, Police Officer, and Chief Finance Officer. The City of Van Alstyne also offers comprehensive benefits to full time employees and those benefits can be found our our Human Resources page on the city website, or linked right here. These include everything from 100% employee coverage on health, dental and vision insurance, to a retirement package that allows for 7% employee contributions with city matching 2:1.
Look into these benefits and employment opportunities on our Human Resources page for more information!
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Where To Find Information
The City of Van Alstyne has been growing and with that growth comes a lot of information, and sometimes misinformation. In an attempt to proactively share information with the community , straight from the source, we will be sharing content in a blog post each Monday right here on the city website. With each blog post will also be a video, linked above, that is posted on our YouTube channel, and then we will share links to these on our Facebook as well.
At the end of each month, these posts will be shared in a monthly newsletter. Soon, you can sign up for this newsletter to be emailed automatically, but for now, please email me and I am happy to send you a copy. We also have printed newspaper versions of this monthly newsletter and you can find them and City Hall, the Van Alstyne Public Library, the VA Senior Center, and more!
If you would like me to share about a specific topic, you can request it here!
Crystal DeBacker
Media Coordinator
City of Van Alstyne
cdebacker@cityofvanalstyne.us
903-357-1088
Van Alstyne Events Sponsorship
Looking for a way to connect to the Van Alstyne community?
The City of Van Alstyne has many sponsorship opportunities to make some of the BEST activities in the area possible! Some annual events that have open sponsorships for 2024 are the Sounds of Summer Concert series, Splash Bash, Movie in the Park, and Fall Der All.
In addition to these community favorites, exciting new events have been added including the Shop and Sample Saturdays, Downtown Palentines, Margarita Crawl, Cornhole Tournaments, a Salsa and Queso Showdown, Downtown Trick or Treating, Holiday Hangout and the Holiday Decorating contest.
In years prior, these events have attracted thousands of attendees and incredible vendors. With the immense growth in the area and the incredibly successful track record of these events, those attendance numbers are expected to increase dramatically this year and in years to come.
Follow the Van Alstyne Parks and Recreation Facebook page for event updates. And for more information on how to be a sponsor for any of the Van Alstyne Events, please call or email Kandi Hessel, 430-262-9439, khessel@cityofvanalstyne.us.