Brownwood News – The Brownwood City Council met Tuesday morning and carried out city business in a span of 30 minutes. All Councilmen were present. Mayor Stephen Haynes presided.
Much of the time was spent on a request from Dion White to change parking in front of the Brown County Museum of History. White is Chairman of the Board of the Museum. The city staff has been working with the museum to come up with alternative parking for visitors. The downtown area is often crowded and parking is at a premium. The city public works department has received complaints, not only from the museum, but also the owner of Pecan Square office complex, of parking issues.
City staff has considered head-in parking, limited time parking, designated museum parking, building additional parking and re-striping.
Staff recommended re-striping the parking area and narrowing the drive entrance to the Enterprise parking lot to the standard width of 36-feet as opposed to the 56-foot width that is currently in use. The extra wide drive approach was designed for commercial buses when the building was used as a Trailways Bus Terminal. The estimated cost of the project is $6,542 for the re-striping and concrete curb and gutter. This would gain five parking spaces. The museum also requested that the sidewalk and handicap ramp in front of the building be replaced, which is an additional cost of $4,600.
After consideration, the Council voted 5-0 to Table the item for now for further study.
In other business, the Council approved 5-0, on first and final reading, an Ordinance updating the salary, longevity and certification pay for all Civil Service Firefighters and Police Officers.
The City and Brownwood Municipal Police Association did not come to agreement on the terms of pay through the Meet and Confer process. The existing agreement will remain in effect for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The City desires to provide the pay increase offered to the BMPA without a new agreement.
For the Fire Department, the City is adding two additional steps to Firefighter positions to equal the steps in the Police Department. There will also be one additional step per promoted position of Driver, Lieutenant and Captain. The pay per position was compared to a salary study of seven comparable cities. The Brownwood Professional Firefighters Association and the City have agreed to the pay for each position and the added steps.
The Council also authorized the Mayor to sign the Fiscal Year 2020 Senior Nutrition Contract for Congregate and Home Delivered Meals with West Central Texas Council of Governments.
