Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes gave an overview of 2012 in his annual State of the City address Friday and talked about future city projects such as the proposed water reuse plant, new fire station, and new soccer fields.
Haynes told the audience of about 125 that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has approved the city’s design for a water reuse plant which would resupply about 2 million gallons of water per day to the city’s water system from treated wastewater.
“We have now obtained TCEQ approval so if we want to build the reuse plant, we have the governmental approval to do it and we have the funding to do it through the Texas Water Development Board,” Haynes said. “Before we make that decision, we are going to make sure we know all the alternatives.”
The Brown County Water Improvement District is exploring other possible water sources to help extend the life of Lake Brownwood. Haynes said that before the city moves forward with a wastewater reuse plant, they want to know what other alternatives are available.
“What I would like to do by the fall, roughly, is to be able to compare apples to apples; be able to put the wastewater reuse plant up against what other alternatives the Brown County Water Improvement District may have and see which one makes the most sense for our community, because the reality is we probably cannot afford both,” Haynes said.
He said that if another plan to supplement the area’s water supply can be found, the city can abandon the plan for the reuse plant and concentrate on the alternative.
“If there is a better alternative out there, cleaner water at a cheaper rate, with less infrastructure; we need to abandon this idea, but if there is not, we need to consider and we need it to move forward and decide whether or not this is best for us,” Haynes said.
The proposed reuse plant would treat the city’s already treated wastewater that is released into Willis Creek and put it back into the water system. Haynes said that the new proposed plant would eliminate possible contaminates and make it safe to drink. He also said that the new system would be tested before any water is used by customers.
“In supplying the water, the plant will never be turned on; it will never operate, unless it meets the safe quality water standards promulgated by the EPA and the TCEQ,” Haynes said. “Here is the issue I have with that, if the water can pass the test and still be dangerous; we have larger problems than this water supply. Because the issue is, if the test is flawed and it doesn’t tell us the water’s dangerous, then anybody out there can already be in danger.”
Mayor Haynes showed two bottles of water to the audience. One bottle had water from the tap at City Hall and the other was filled with water from the wastewater plant after treatment. Both bottles looking the same, one audience member asked the mayor if he would drink out of either bottle. He picked up one bottle and took a drink. (see video clip below).
“One of the problems we have when we talk about wastewater and the reuse plant is people really have a skewed perspective of the quality of water that we are talking about,” Haynes said. “The quality of water that we are talking about is not what you think about; it is clear flowing water that has already been treated to an incredibly clear and clean standard.”
The mayor said that he expects the city to make a decision whether to move forward with the water reuse plant later this year after comparing any alternatives presented by the Brown County Water Improvement District.
“My plan is to give the water district some time to develop alternatives. We have about a two year water supply or more right now so it’s not something that needs to happen imminently, but the decision probably needs to be made this year,” Haynes said.
Haynes also talked about other current city projects such as the street improvements funded through certificates of obligations issued in 2012.
“We made a big step, in my opinion, in our infrastructure development and you guys know that it’s something I talked about two years ago in campaigning. It’s something I continue to talk about that is important to our city because roads and other infrastructure needs are great,” Haynes said.
The city used $4.7 million of the certificates of obligation in road repair. Haynes said that is about 15 years of road repair in the city compared to what is done in a normal year. He said that the city concentrated initial street repairs around churches and schools.
The city has also developed a plan to construct a new soccer complex where the old baseball fields were located. Haynes said that this project will also be paid for through the certificates of obligation.
Improvements like a soccer complex and the new Bert V. Massey Sports Complex do more than just enhance the quality of life, but they influence future development. Haynes said that he recently gave a CEO of a big box retailer a tour of Brownwood, which highlighted this importance of the sports complex.
“He said, ‘wow, you have a great facility,’” Haynes said. “’That is really important to me because if I am going to bring my company to a place to do business, I want to know that that community is reinvesting in itself and I want to know that I have a quality place for my employees to live.’”
Haynes said that improvements like the sports complex have impacts that are not always apparent. He said that the city is holding off a bit before moving forward with the soccer complex until the water situation improves since soccer fields will require water to deeply root the grass and maintain them.
Mayor Haynes also outlined the new Brownwood fire station that is scheduled to be built this year on Adams Street where the Red Cross building is located and behind it toward the RV park.
“When we were in the process of picking the fire location, we looked at four or five different locations,” Haynes said.
Several of the possible locations were eliminated because of visibility issues. The prospect of remodeling and updating the current fire station was also discussed, Haynes said, but ultimately eliminated as a possibility because the existing lot was not large enough, and expanding the station would require closing a city street.
Haynes showed off drawing of the exterior of the new fire station which has architectural details matching the Depot.
“It’s made to look alike, it’s made to fit in,” Haynes said.
The new fire station will also be funded by the certificates of obligation.
From an economic standpoint, Haynes said that 2012 was an overall good year with an improved unemployment rate and increased sales tax revenue. The mayor said that water sales were down because of water restrictions which offset the gains in sales tax in city revenue. He said that the real estate market was up overall in the number of transactions but was down slightly when looking at median sales price.
“Altogether I would give the economy a solid B, maybe a B+. We did well, all things considered, in the last fiscal year and especially compared to other parts of the state and nation,” Haynes said.
Pictured at top, Mayor Haynes shows off one of the bottles of water during his speech.
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