Brownwood City Council declared the month of March as American Red Cross Month.
Mayor Pro Tem Carl McMillan read a proclamation at Tuesday’s council meeting which noted the first national proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson of “Red Cross Week” in the final months of World War I, in 1918. President Wilson then asked American citizens to “give generously to the continuation of the important work of relieving distress.”
Ordinary American citizens continue to contribute to the humanitarian efforts worldwide, despite economic hardships at home. The American Red Cross continues to plays vital role in relief operations and deploys countless volunteers to rebuild communities which are stricken by disasters of all kinds.
McMillan, in the proclamation, asked citizens in the city of Brownwood to “support the Red Cross and its noble humanitarian mission.”
McMillan spoke of taking lifeguarding lessons from the Red Cross in the 1950s and how that affected his life and helped him to play a part in saving the life of a young child who nearly drown in the pool while he was on duty.
To learn more about the Red Cross in the Brown County area, or to make a donation, visit the website of the Pecan Valley Chapter of the Red Cross.
In other matters on Tuesday’s agenda:
*Council approved an ordinance on first reading changing the zoning classification of the property known as 1609 Wood Street from R-1 Single Family Residential District to RR Residential Rural District.
*An ordinance was approved by council on second and third/final readings amending the subdivision ordinance authorizing the city engineer to approve minor plats for subdivisions and re-subdivisions in lieu of the planning and zoning committee.
*Council also approved an ordinance on second and third/final readings changing the traffic control from stop to yield for northbound motorists on Sixteenth Street at Avenue M.
*Sunni Modawell with the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce gave the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau report and noted that although hotel occupancy revenue was down for the last quarter of 2012 as compared to 2011, it is still up over 2010 numbers. Modawell stated that the quarter saw activity with Howard’s Payne’s Homecoming and the Christmas Under the Stars Festival. She stated that 2013 is looking promising with several baseball tournaments and other activities being scheduled for the year. She stated that it is expected that 2013 hotel occupancy revenue will be better than the previous year.
*City Manager Bobby Rountree stated that the city has been planning a meeting of FEMA and National Flood Insurance representatives, along with Morrison Hydrology Engineering in April. The meeting will be held at the Adams Street Community Center for the public to be able to view the map and determine if they need to purchase flood insurance before the new FEMA flood plain maps are finalized. Rountree noted that it is extremely important for homeowners to look into flood insurance because once the maps are finalized, the rates for flood insurance will increase significantly. He stated that the public can contact Don Hatcher or Jodie Kelly by calling 325-646-5775 for more information about the new FEMA map. The maps are available at city hall and online at www.riskmap6.com. Click on “Communities: Know the Risk” then select Texas and then Brown County and then the icon for “Preliminary Interactive Flood Map Index.”
Pictured above are Mayor Pro Tem Carl McMillan and Red Cross representatives West Central Texas Executive Director Janet Karcher and board member Bill Blagg of Brownwood.
