Written by Amanda Coers – The Brownwood City Council met at 9 a.m. on Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall on Tuesday to discuss a number of items on the agenda.
Longtime City Engineer Donal Hatcher was honored during the council meeting by a resolution declaring a memorial street in his honor.
“The mayor and the councilmen sit up here and make policies and decisions, but it’s men like Don that impact our lives,” Mayor Haynes said. “We couldn’t have had someone who was more committed to making people’s lives better in Brownwood.”
“Think of all the roads, all the projects, he made life better in Brownwood and we thank him for that,” Mayor Haynes said.
Don Hatcher Way will be noted along the entryway to the landfill. It was Hatcher’s vision to expand the landfill’s services to accommodate several counties. The landfill is now a major revenue generator for the city.
“You had the vision when others only saw trash,” City Manager Emily Crawford said.
He received a standing ovation after his memorial presentation.
During the Citizen’s Presentation portion of the meeting Melody Nowowiejski addressed the council concerning aggressive dogs and a failure to enforce a city ordinance pertaining to dog bites.
“My son was bit by a dog in September over by the Woodland Heights area,” Nowowiejski explained. “At the time I was told by city employees they were not allowed to take the dog. My son ended up getting four rabies shots and four immunoglobulin shots, costing us $15,000.”
She went on to tell the council that if the dog had been seized, quarantined and tested, her family could have avoided a large medical expense.
“I wanted to address the city council, asking if the ordinance could be changed,” she went on to say. “It turns out you already have an ordinance in place, and the dog could have been taken at that time and could have been tested for rabies.”
“I’m here to ensure this is addressed from all sides fo the city government,” Nowowiejski said, expressing the need for better training for animal control officers as well as the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and the Brownwood Police Department.
City Manager Emily Crawford assured her the city is working on addressing the issues with both the enforcement of the ordinance, as well as looking at changing the language of the ordinance to be more proactive. Crawford also announced the city will be having an open public meeting regarding the ordinance.
After the citizens presentation, the council held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance for first reading.
The ordinance will change the zoning classification in an area located along Cordell and Hall Streets from a residential district to a business district. The request for a change comes from Erma Allen who approached the city to place a food trailer at 510 Cordell Street, across the street from the Ben E. Houston Center. The property is zoned as residential. Allen expressed an interest to revitalize the neighborhood.
The council took issue with the information presented in the ordinance as it encompassed a larger area than originally proposed.
“My concern is my community, I went to my neighbors in that area because I respect them and I needed the support of everybody in the community. I had no objections whatsoever,” Allen said.
Council members and the mayor expressed concern about changing the area from residential to commercial it would be very difficult to change back to residential. After addressing concerns, the council approved the ordinance on first reading, and promised to ‘do their homework’ before the second reading, and talk to the residents in that area.
Following that approval council members were asked to consider a ratification of the Brownwood Municipal Development District Board designating 37 acres on the east side of the BMDDs 124-acre tract as residential development property, authorizing staff to coordinate the surveying, re-platting, and re-zoning, and to transfer a 10-acre tract to the Brownwood Industrial Foundation, Inc. for the sale of the property utilizing the independent foundation exception, at a price not less than $2,500 per acre, to Trafalgar Homes.
With the completion of the Indian Creek Townhomes there is currently a demand for additional residential property in that area. The 37 acres form the 124-acre tract would align along Milam Drive with the Indian Creek Townhomes and would continue south to FM 45. Council members approved the ratification.
Next on the agenda was a recommended motion for a training grant to the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) for the purchase of an Ambulance Simulator for the EMS program at the Brownwood Campus. The grant amount is not to exceed $50,000 and will be funded from the board’s Job Training Budget.
TSTC Provost Rick Denbow spoke to the BMDD during their February meeting regarding the need for an Ambulance Simulator at the Brownwood Campus to better develop competent healthcare practitioners. TSTC in Brownwood began their EMS program in the fall of 2016. The program has experienced rapid growth according to Denbow.
Executive Director for the BMDD Guy Andrews addressed the council, recommending approval of the grant. Council members voted unanimously to approval the grant for the Ambulance Simulator.
Brownwood Fire Chief Eddy Wood next approached the council seeking approval to utilize $10,000 from the Birch Foundation Grant to repair a brush truck. The total cost for the repairs is estimated at $20,000. Wood proposed the repair be funded by a combination of the donation from the Birch Foundation and funds from the department’s maintenance budget.
Council members approved the chief’s request.
