SMALL TOWN STANDS UP TO BIG BUSINESS | Press Releases

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

GUNTER, TX—Green and clean and beautiful. Or smoky and dusty and crowded with trucks. That was the choice faced by the Gunter City Council. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as door A or door B.

As it was, door A came with a $20 million payday for the city. And door B: it came with scores of passionate residents looking to preserve the small-town charm and way of life in their community, not to mention the potential for tremendous growth in the near future thanks to the town’s location in the direct path of the Dallas North Tollway’s expansion north of Frisco, Prosper, and Celina.

In the end, the choice was easy. Weeks of feverish lobbying and passionate pleas came to a dramatic end last week, when the Gunter City Council, which had been inundated by Gunterites fervent about keeping the family values for which Gunter is known in place instead of welcoming smoke stacks and a veritable parade of trucks, voted 3–1 against bringing a concrete batch plant to the city. Rodman Industries and Arbuckle Aggregates, who had planned to build on a 138-acre piece of land just off Highway 289, had previously been shut down in its efforts to build a similar plant in next-door-neighbor Celina.

"The community really came together and we were able to stop them,” said Mayor Millar. “The city stepped up and did what the people of Gunter wanted. I think it was great to see the community get involved. Everyone really wanted to be a part of this fight. Gunter is a close-knit community with small-town values and I think this victory shows the true depth of our spirit."

Estimates of $20 million in tax revenue over the next 30 years brought in by the plant to the city of Gunter were not enough to sway those who make their home there, or those, like Mayor Millar, who saw the plant as in direct conflict with the relaxed, friendly, safe and desirable way of life Gunter supports.

"Gunter has a lot of positive qualities and we wanted to preserve our way of life. It's a nice, quiet, clean place to live with friendly people and great schools. We tend to work together and get along, and this was the type of industry that the people of Gunter did not want at our front door."

"Our hope is to attract businesses to Gunter that don't pollute but provide quality jobs to our citizens. We are at the tip of the North Texas Growth Corridor and, with the Tollway expansion, Gunter is a prime spot for corporate headquarters and other businesses. I think we made a step in that direction."

Added Gunter resident Kristi Pelfrey: “We all came here and live here for a reason, and this proposed plant provided us with an opportunity to stand up for ourselves and show everyone who we are and how we feel about Gunter,” said resident. “I am proud of us, proud that we came together to protect and preserve our home, and proud to live in Gunter.”

About Gunter:
Gunter is a city of approximately 1,500 residents that lies directly in the path of growth along the Dallas North Tollway. Home to The Bridges, an upscale golf and equestrian masterplan from Bluegreen Communities, Gunter boasts one of the only exemplary school districts in North Texas, and was voted one of the Best Small Towns To Live In by D Magazine. For more information, call:

Jaymi Naciri
(661) 645-2885