BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS DOWNTOWN PARKING, PARKLETS

  

The Brenham City Council on Thursday will discuss additional parking in downtown Brenham and revisit the possibility of putting in a parklet at a local business.

The city’s Public Works Department was tasked after the council’s meeting on January 19^th to look at ways to enhance parking spots.  According to the agenda packet, after the city looked at design standards and other factors like drive aisle dimensions, it was able to identify ways to add or enhance 18 spots in the downtown area.  These suggestions will come before the council in a work session.

Some of the proposed enhancements include providing dedicated parking striping to areas that are not striped but are still considered parking areas, along with tightening up spaces in order to increase parking spots due to parallel spots being larger than minimum design standards.

Stemming from the parking discussion, the council will then act on a resolution to amend the city’s parklet manual adopted in June 2022.  Two changes will be considered: allowing any downtown business, not just food establishments, to apply for a parklet; and allowing only one parklet per city street, instead of per block face.

Following that, councilmembers will re-review an application from Mescalito Coffee Company, located at 100 East Alamo Street, for a parklet on Park Street.  The request was initially rejected by the council at the January 19^th meeting, but following the city’s evaluation of downtown parking and the possibility of adding new spaces, it is being brought forth again.  City staff says the parklet application meets the criteria set in the original parklet manual, as well as the proposed manual revisions. 

Also on the agenda is an item to potentially award a request for qualifications (RFQs) for professional services related to the design and engineering of a second fire station.  The city received 11 RFQs for the project.

In other action, the council will consider adopting a new rate tariff schedule for electricity with added fees to offset rising supply and material costs.  Currently, the city does not have policy to charge any new customers for requesting service, upsizing existing services, repairing damaged service lines, or services provided by the electric department. 

The city says the added fees associated with growth are intended to remove the cost burden of new development on the electric rates.  All other new services would be based upon the actual cost of extending new lines and transformers for new equipment.

Councilmembers will also consider:

• Authorizing the publication of notice of intention to issue certificates of obligation, series 2023 not to exceed $10 million, including $8 million for the construction and equipping of a new fire station and $2 million for in-house street construction/rebuild projects.
• An addendum to the agreement between the city and Vermont Systems for credit card processing software, hardware and related support services.
• Action on a bid related to a generator at the Atlow booster pumping station.
• An agreement with Dudley Construction for the extension of the bid award deadline for a project related to the 2022 sanitary sewer improvements – Stone Hollow lift station replacement.
• A resolution authorizing the acceptance of public improvements in Phase 2B of the Liberty Village subdivision.
• Executive session discussion with the city attorney regarding Aviators Plus, LLC v. City of Brenham, Texas, Cause No. 37896, 21^st Judicial District Court, Washington County; and legal issues concerning the city’s Lake Somerville raw water intake structure, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and associated matters.

The council will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. at Brenham City Hall.   

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.