COUNCIL BEGINS QUIET ZONE PROCESS FOR FM 109 CROSSING

  

The Brenham City Council today (Thursday) voted to begin the process to designate the railroad crossing at FM 109 as a Quiet Zone. The project is a joint effort between the City, the County, TXDOT, and BNSF railroad. The crossing had been a part of the original 2011 Quiet Zone designation for the city, but was removed after it was learned that the signals did not meet the requirements. An accident at the crossing in March of this year damaged the signals and BNSF has now replaced them with new signals meeting the Quiet Zone requirements. Brenham Public Works Director Dane Rau said that the crossing will require delineators to prevent people from driving around the crossing arms and possibly some curbing. That work is expected to cost $14,000. The proposal will next go before the County Commissioners at their July 11th meeting. If approved, the project is expected to be completed in 6 to 7 months. In other action, the Council voted to approve the final payment for Brenham’s Pet Adoption and Animal Care Facility. Construction on the new facility began in May of 2015 and the ribbon cutting was held in November of last year. The facility, build adjacent to the Police Station, was originally projected to cost $2.9 million, but after several changes were made, it was completed at a cost of $2.7 million. $1.3 million dollars in private donations came from the community. The Council also voted to allow the Washington County Appraisal District to retain $47,279 in excess funds from their budget to put towards several projects. The city’s portion of the excess was $5062. The Appraisal District has to seek approval from each of the entities it serves. The Council also recognized a city employee for their service. David Herzog was recognized for 5 years of service to the Street Department.