Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree explained at Tuesday morning’s city council meeting that although the drought is not letting up according to forecasts, the City of Brownwood is looking at all options to assure water can be provided to citizens if the situation worsens.
“In spite of the rains a couple of weeks ago, climatologists are reporting that the severe drought will last through the spring and could last for at least the next two years or longer; so the outlook for measurable amounts of rain is bleak,” said Rountree.
The City of Brownwood and Brown County Water Improvement District are working to develop a long term plan according to Rountree.
“We are going to consider several options including the availability of ground water in Brown County and counties to our south,” said Rountree. “Well drillers have told us the largest amount of ground water is in the northeast portion of the county near Blanket but may not be enough water to meet our needs.”
According to a release from Rountree’s office, the city has engaged a study to determine the feasibility of treating the wastewater effluent from the City’s wastewater treatment plant to bring it to drinking water standards and blend it with Brownwood’s drinking water. Hearn Engineering of Georgetown, Texas has been hired to perform the feasibility study at a cost of $4000.
Rountree said that the City of Big Spring has begun a similar project.
Brownwood’s wastewater treatment plant releases approximately 2 – 2.5 million gallons per day, depending on weather conditions, according to Rountree. The City of Brownwood uses approximately 2.5-3 million gallons of potable water per day during the winter.
“The reuse of this water would go a long way in helping provide potable water for residents,” Rountree said.
A reverse osmosis water treatment system would be required to treat the water after it was released from the wastewater treatment plant which would make it drinkable. The engineering firm will meet with TECQ officials to determine the feasibility of such a project, determine the TECQ requirements, develop cost estimates and time lines.
Rountree stated that there will be an item on the November 8th council agenda to amend Stage 3 of the Drought Contingency Plan to allow outside watering only one day per week. If drought conditions persist, elimination of all outside watering will be the next step, according to Rountree.
“There are many factors to consider, but in light of the severe drought conditions all options will be explored,” said Rountree.
In other matters on the council agenda:
*Council approved on first reading FY 2010/2011 budget amendments. Although revenue was up by $36,000, there were 8 amendments to the expenditures which totaled $91,866 (a net increase in expenses of $55,866. City Financial Director Walter Middleton explained that because the city had a surplus in this FY 2010/2011, it is still a balanced budget even with the increases in expenditures.
*An ordinance to rezone a portion of the Turtle Rock Addition was approved, on second and third/final readings, which changes the property from C-2 General Business District to MH Mobile Home District. The lots rezoned included Turtle Rock Addition, Lots 22-25 of Block 1 (3610 Golding Road) and Lots 26-28, Block 1 (3622 Milam Drive). This change in zoning will help the property owners who have been unsuccessful with selling the property under the current zoning sell to buyers who are interested in purchasing the property to place mobile homes on the mostly cement slab covered property.
*Council approved a resolution allowing the City of Brownwood employees to participate in a 457 deferred compensation plan administered through the International City Managers Association Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC).
*A resolution declaring the landfill compactor wheel as a surplus property and authorization to advertise it for sale was approved by the council. The wheel, which was purchased in 2008 for use on the CAT compactor and does not fit the current compactor used at the landfill is valued at approximately $40,000 by its manufacturer and is of no use to the city as they cannot be modified to fit the compactor.
*The rental of the coliseum by Howard Payne University was authorized by the council to be signed by the mayor for the 2011/2012 volleyball/basketball season. Last year HPU rented the facility for $29,478.32 and this year the rental amount will increase 5.1% to $31,067.44, which was based on HPU’s use of the facility and the city’s increased cost to operate it during that time.
* According to City Manager Bobby Rountree, a lease with Lamar Sign company was approved by Brownwood City Council to allow the placement of a digital sign on the property located at 402 N. Main, in front of Kroger, during an executive session of Tuesday’s council meeting.
Currently, Lamar has a standard print billboard at this location. The property was not required for use of the construction of the signalized intersection of McCulley & Main. Lamar desires to replace the existing billboard with a state-of-the-art digital sign.
Under the current lease, the City would receive $500.00 per year. The proposed lease outlines a substantial increase in the lease amount, which will increase over the 20 year period. Payments are as follows: $8000/year the first five years, $8800 years 6-10, $9680 years 11-15 and 10,648 years 16-20.
*Sunni Modawell, Tourism Manager for the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce presented the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau report to the council. According to Modawell, the second quarter brought in a good amount of tourism dollars from visitors who participated in softball tournaments. During the third quarter, the chamber sponsored and promoted 14 events, had 1800 calls, provided 1300 goodie bags for events, saw 700 walk-ins at the chamber, and gave 10 event consultations. Modawell stated that tourism in 2010 gave an economic impact of $44.2 million to the City of Brownwood, which provided $800,000 in sales tax revenue.
