Free Gift Cards For Residents Impacted By Highway Construction

COLLEYVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Colleyville residents may want to take a second look at their mail before tossing ads in the trash this week.

Somewhere in there, should be a gift card good at any local business.

One is on the way to every household in the city, part of an effort to keep local businesses alive during a multi-year construction project on the main commercial stretch.

The $10 gift card works for any $20 purchase at any city business, starting July 1. Even if a business doesn't honor the discount, residents can take their card and receipt to city hall for reimbursement.

The promotion is the third this year in Colleyville trying to lessen the impact of a TxDOT project on Highway 26, expected to last through 2019.

Local businesses have started reporting fewer customer visits as drivers find other routes around the road work.

"All the sales tax, all the purchases made in Colleyville, generally are on 26," said Mark Wood, as assistant city manager. "So that's an important revenue source for the city."

Previous promotions included awarding $80,000 in advertising grants to businesses, and a collaboration with schools and PTA groups to award campuses that could turn in the most local purchase receipts. That one accounted for an estimated $2 million return.

Donna Brown, who owns Menchie's Frozen Yogurt in the Colleyville Downs development said the first two promotions made an impact.

This third one, she still had to figure out how to get purchases at her shop up over the $20 level to make the discount kick in. She was confident though it would help more than just simple pleading from businesses for customers not to forget them.

"I hears about this $10 idea a couple months back, and I said yeah that's a great idea, let's go for it."