KEEP KATY BEAUTIFUL AWARDS

Governor's Community Achievement Awards (GCAA)

Keep Katy Beautiful is proud to have won the prestigious Governor's Community Achievement Awards, awarded by Keep Texas Beautiful, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation to Texas communities for their outstanding overall efforts to keep their communities beautiful. This award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas. Keep Katy Beautiful is proud to have won the GCAA 6 times in 2000, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2018, and 2021, totaling over 1 million dollars that KKB has been able to put back into our wonderful community.

For more than thirty years, Keep Texas Beautiful, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), has awarded the prestigious Governor's Community Achievement Awards to Texas communities for their outstanding overall efforts to keep their communities beautiful. This award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas.

Every year, ten winning communities will share $2 million in landscape awards from the Texas Department of Transportation, with the amount based on population size. The funds are used for landscaping projects along local rights-of-way.                        A community's environmental program is judged on achievements in seven areas:

Community Leadership and Coordination
Public Awareness
Education
Beautification and Community Improvement
Litter Prevention and Cleanup
Solid Waste Management
Litter Law and Illegal Dumping Enforcement

Keep Katy Beautiful is proud to have won the GCAA 5 times in 2000, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018 totaling over 1 million dollars that KKB has been able to put back into our wonderful community.

  • The 2000 project is the extensive landscaping long both sides of FM 1463 and corner at Highway 90. ($75,000)
  • In 2007, a beautiful bronze geese sculpture “The Landing” was installed at the corner of Katy Mills Boulevard and Highway 90. ($75,000)
  • The 2010 and 2013 projects mirror the original bronze sculptures but at Katy Fort Bend Rd and I10 and Pin Oak and I10. ($180,000)
  • The 2018 project is currently being designed and finalized. The hope is to install landscaping along Highway 90 in Downtown Katy. ($180,000)
  • The 2021 project includes new landscaping and a bronze tiger along the FM 1463 and Highway 90 Blvd intersection.

Sustained Excellence

The Sustained Excellence Award recognizes the communities that have scored 90 or above in the Governor’s Community Achievement Award competition for three consecutive years. Recipients of this esteemed award are recognized for their ongoing commitment to making Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation.

Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation have recognized Keep Katy Beautiful as one of the recipients of a Sustained Excellence Award as part of the 2018 Governor’s Community Achievement Awards. Since becoming a Keep Texas Beautiful affiliate, Keep Katy Beautiful has been awarded 18 Sustained Excellence Awards.

Keep Texas Beautiful Gold Star Award

The Gold Star Affiliate is a designation conferred on just 85 of the Keep Texas Beautiful 300 affiliates in 2019. Gold Star recognition is the highest status any community affiliate can achieve. Keep Katy Beautiful successfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce and recycle waste, educate local citizens, and beautify and enhance the Katy community.

Tree City USA

The City of Katy has received the award of Tree City USA beginning in the year 2011 to present. This award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Tree City USA, a community, must meet four core standards: establish a tree board or department, adopt a city tree ordinance, spend at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and host an annual Arbor Day celebration. The program, sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, requires an annual application submission.

Key Requirement Details:

  • Standard 1: A Tree Board or Department
    A municipal tree board, department, or designated staff must be responsible for planting, maintaining, and protecting public trees.
  • Standard 2: A Community Tree Care Ordinance
    An ordinance must be enacted to provide clear guidance for planting, maintaining, and removing trees in public spaces, such as streets and parks
  • Standard 3: A Community Forestry Program ($2 Per Capita)
    An annual budget of at least $2.00 per resident and must be dedicated to tree care, including planting, maintenance, and management.
  • Standard 4: An Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation
    The city must hold and annual Arbor Day event, which can include tree plantings, ceremonies, or education.

Keep America Beautiful President's Circle Recognition Award