BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL SWEARS IN KOLBY, APPROVES PURCHASE OF RADIOS AND POLICE VEHICLES

  

Brenham’s newest councilmember got right to work at Thursday afternoon’s City Council meeting.

Clint Kolby was sworn in to the Position Five seat last held by Charlie Pyle, who resigned in August due to his health. Kolby was the former Project Manager for the Brenham Economic Development Foundation.

Once in session, the council approved the purchase of ten new vehicles for the Brenham Police Department, along with roughly 150 public safety radios. Brenham Fire Chief Ricky Boeker said these newer radios will replace the subscriber units the city received when it joined the Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications System in 2008.

Of the 151 radios the city is purchasing, the fire department is requesting: 41 portable radios with lapel mics, spare batteries and chargers; 14 mobile radios; and two control stations. The police department needs 47 portable and 47 mobile radios.  The total cost of these, bid through the Houston-Galveston Area Council, comes out to over $576,000.

The council approved financing through the Bank of Brenham, due to lower interest than the two other proposals heard, as well as the bank’s experience with the city in equipment financing. The bank’s proposal comes to $596,000 on three annual payments, at a 3.5 percent interest rate.  The first annual payment is included in the 2018-19 fiscal year’s debt service fund.

Boeker said the old radios are lacking in available parts for repair, and will not be supported by Motorola by the end of 2019. Once the city has the new radios, council will come back to decide what to do with the old radios.  Boeker said selling them on www.govdeals.com is a likely avenue.

The vehicles for the police department include six patrol vehicles, two of which are for new lieutenant positions, and four administrative vehicles. After obtaining quotes from BuyBoard, the city opted to purchase the vehicles through LaRoche Chevrolet for $368,000.  The purchase price includes equipment installation for the patrol vehicles.

Police Chief Allwin Barrow said some of the department’s trucks are being replaced with SUV’s, and one of the administrative vehicle replacements is an evidence van. He said the old vehicles will be sold on www.govdeals.com, with money from sales going back into the city’s general fund.

The council amended the city’s 2018-19 budget, transferring $425,000 from the general fund to the equipment fund. This amount will take care of estimated costs for equipment, radios, and the evidence van.

The council also:

• Reappointed Brenham Municipal Court judges.  Presiding Judge Bill Kendall and Associate Judge Robert Wright were each reappointed to another 2-year term, expiring December 31, 2020.  They will also be given a 5 percent salary increase.
• Adopted new policies and procedures for Brenham boards and commissions, including establishment of term limits (3 consecutive terms), and reduction of term length to two years for all boards and commissions.  In addition, policies now provide for tracking of attendance at meetings, and potential removal of office for excessive absences, as well as a subcommittee of council to review applications for boards and commissions.
• Approved final payment to VML Construction Services, for repairs at Henderson Park from the flooding of May 2016.
• Received an update from the Tax Phase-In Compliance Review Committee.  Willy Dilworth said 2018 abatements were reviewed, and each one was in compliance.  He said the committee is now looking at avenues in 2019.
• Approved a pair of zoning district changes for property at 2834 Industrial Boulevard and 1008 Burleson Street.
• Tabled an item concerning a maintenance contract with Presidio Network Solutions, LLC, for the city’s Cisco SmartNet phone system.
• Tabled action to move the 25-foot minimum building setback requirement for lots that border a collector or arterial street, from subdivision ordinance to zoning ordinance.

The council did not take action on the executive session item dealing with possible property acquisition in the downtown area.