BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL TO ACCEPT BID FOR BRENHAM FAMILY PARK, HOLD WORKSHOP ON SPECIAL UTILITY DISTRICTS

  

The Brenham City Council will potentially take a big step with the Brenham Family Park when it meets on Thursday.

Councilmembers will vote on accepting a bid for the first phase of the park, which the city says would be its first new park in 26 years. 

The initial stage of the 32-acre park will include an amenity pond, a walking and biking trail, a pedestrian bridge, wildflower areas, parking, a bathroom facility and lighting.

The city has $4.15 million in funding available for the project, split between $2.4 million in sales tax dollars budgeted through the Brenham Community Development Corporation, $1 million in Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone funds, and a $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the council will act on a professional services agreement with Strand Associates, Inc. for engineering services related to utility relocations at the cloverleaf interchange of Highway 290 and Highway 36, as part of TxDOT’s plans to overhaul the interchange.  The cost of the agreement is not to exceed $1.26 million.

Companion items will be a resolution expressing official intent to reimburse certain costs related to the aforementioned utility projects, as well as a resolution approving an interfund loan from the electric fund to the gas fund, water fund and wastewater fund to cover the cost of the professional services agreement.  The first resolution will give the council the ability to reimburse some costs from possible issuances of certificates of obligation in 2027 or 2028.  The city also says TxDOT will reimburse some engineering and construction costs for utilities that are located within an established easement. 

In other business, the council will:

• Vote on a professional services agreement with Strand Associates for engineering services related to the Knights of Columbus lift station and force main replacement projects, in an amount not to exceed $305,000. 
• Potentially authorize the revision of a Texas General Land Office contract related to the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation program.  The city received grant funds for seven drainage projects for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief and is nearing completion for the projects.  The contract revision will reflect roughly $302,297 in savings for the city throughout the seven projects.
• Act on five change orders and final payment to D.L. Meacham, LP for the first phase of improvements at Jackson Street Park.  The final payment is in the amount of $119,491, and the change orders come out to $13,955.
• Consider a contract between the city and Motorola Solutions for the BRINC “Drone As A First Responder” Takeoff Program through the Texas Department of Information Resources.  The program provides a one-year, no-cost trial of the BRINC Responder Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and Responder Station for the Brenham Police Department.
• Hold a public hearing and potentially authorize a specific use permit for an accessory dwelling unit on 0.68-acres of single-family residential land at 1307 Hidden Creek Lane.

After the conclusion of the regular meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. at Brenham City Hall, councilmembers will call a special meeting at 3 p.m. in Morriss Hall at The Barnhill Center.  The meeting will serve as a workshop on special utility districts, including public improvement districts and municipal utility districts.

The city and Washington County currently do not have any special utility districts, which are regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and are used to finance public improvements for water, sewer, drainage, streets and parks. 

Representatives from the consulting firm Hawes Hill & Associates, LLP will present information on the types of special districts, their benefits and disadvantages, their governance, the role of the city and of developers, and considerations to keep in mind before creating a district.  No action on the topic will be taken. 

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

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