BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL ACCEPTS TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE GRANT FOR BRENHAM FAMILY PARK

  

The Brenham City Council moved today (Thursday) to officially accept a $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to move forward with the Brenham Family Park project.

The city submitted the grant application in 2018 and was approved to receive funding in 2020, but it was not until this past October that the city received notice to proceed for the project.  The city now has the contract and is ready to begin the first phase of the park.

City of Brenham Public Works Director Dane Rau said after a lengthy list of prerequisites, the city can finally bring the park to fruition.

Planned features at the Brenham Family Park include an amenity/retention pond, a 1-mile walking/biking trail, wildflowers, benches, a pedestrian bridge and restroom facility, along with accompanying parking, lighting, signage and utility extensions.  

The park will be located south of Highway 290 off of South Chappell Hill Street, north of the Brenham State Supported Living Center.  The first phase consists of 32 acres of land on over 100 acres donated to the city by Ed and Evelyn Kruse. 

In addition to the grant funding, the city will use $1.01 million in funding allocated through sales tax revenue by way of the Brenham Community Development Corporation (BCDC). 

The city is working with Quiddity Engineering to finalize the design and plans to bid the project out this spring.  The TPWD contract states that the project must be completed by May 2027, but grant recipients may extend projects up to two additional years. 

The city encourages community members to reach out if they are interested in donating toward the park for naming rights. 

Also on Thursday, the council approved orders for a general election and special election on May 3^rd.  The general election is for the Ward 1, Ward 3, At-Large Position 5 and At-Large Position 6 council seats.  The special election is to amend the city charter. 

Originally, 11 charter amendments were proposed for the May ballot.  However, the mayor and council suggested consideration of another possible amendment to allow the city manager to live in the county, not just inside city limits as is currently required.  While the council understood the benefits of having the city manager living inside the city, it felt that the restriction could potentially limit prospective applicants to the position.  The city is working on establishing a succession plan for City Manager Carolyn Miller, who initially planned to retire last year but agreed to remain in her position until this year.

The 12^th proposed amendment will be presented during second reading of the election order at the council’s next meeting.

The council also approved a cost participation agreement with Collier Construction to help with funding the expansion of South Saeger Street, on the south side of Main Street by Grace Fellowship, from 31 feet to 41 feet.  The city’s participation cost will be $285,000, with the total project cost listed at $1.29 million.  The street, along with others in the Wilkins Valley subdivision under construction, will be turned over to the city once accepted and a one-year warranty period passes.

In other business, the council:

• Approved authorizing the submission of a grant application through the Community Development Partnership Program offered by the Lower Colorado River Authority for the purchase of six thermal imaging cameras for the Brenham Fire Department.
• Approved a resolution authorizing the submission of a grant application to the Office of the Governor State Homeland Security Program to purchase three 5-gas monitors with three-year maintenance service contracts for the Brenham Fire Department.
• Held executive session to consult with the city attorney regarding the Brenham Municipal Airport, its operations and services; meet with the city attorney about a settlement demand received by the City of Brenham; and deliberate on legal matters and the possible acquisition of real property in relation to the TxDOT Highway 290/Highway 36 interchange project.  No action was slated to be taken.

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