A Budget Hearing was the first item on a lengthy agenda for the Brownfield City Council on Thursday morning. The Council is required to hold a hearing before adopting the new budget for next year. There were no comments from the public during the hearing.
The council also heard a report from City Manager Jeff Davis on the recent utility bill that seemed abnormally high to many customers. Davis had charts showing the temperature ranges for the month in question. The billing period ran from June 17 – July 22, so there were additional days in the period. The high temperatures for that time ranged from a low of 84 degrees on June 23, to a high of 109 on July 14. There were actually 13 days during this period where temperatures were 100 degrees or over. These high temperatures, along with the fact that many people were still at home due to quarantine during this time can account for a higher than normal usage.
Davis pointed out that our peak usage was on July 14, in which the City of Brownfield showed a usage of 21,233,000 Watt hours. “Our allotment is 22,000,000 per day, so we had to reach out to other areas for help because we have to have 12% reserve watt hours available over our usage,” stated Davis.
Peak water usage was on July 17 when the City used 1,990,000 gallons of water. Over 1.9 million gallons was used eight times during the billing period.
Davis reiterated that the City utility rates have not changed and will not be changed unless approved by the Council.
Electric and water meters are read monthly and the city has a process to verify that they have been read. “Our billing system will not allow us to bill a customer until all meters in the system have been read. Every time a meter is read, our system timestamps the readers location and coordinates at that time, and if the reading is abnormally high or low, the reader is required to take a picture.”
People are always encouraged to go to City Hall and talk with Davis or Assistant City Manager Kelly Burris if they have a question about their utility bill. They are able to pull your bill up by address and show you exactly when it was read.
In other business of the Council, the BIDCorp Incentive of $150,000 to Gore Cold Storage was approved by the Council. Any monies given by BIDCorp over $50,000 must be approved by the Council. Gore Cold Storage is already operating in a small building, which they have outgrown. Philip Gore and Mandy McQueen are in the process of buying another building which is much larger and has room for expansion, and is in a better location. The recommendation was made by Brian Brisendine, Executive Director of BIDCorp.
Brisendine stated, “We have made a commitment to do whatever we can to grow the grape industry in Terry County. What I hear over and over from grape growers in the county is that the biggest need right now is storage. I think Gore Cold Storage has a solid plan and will definitely fill this need.”
An election was called and ordered for November 3, 2020 for the purpose of electing a Mayor and three Council members from Districts 1, 2, and 3. These seats are currently held by District 1 – Ricky Rocha, District 2 – Mary Valdonado, and District 3 – Judy Besler. Rocha and Besler are eligible to run again and are running unopposed. Valdonado is not eligible for re-election (two term limit) and her position is being sought by Celso Duran, who is running unopposed. Mayor Geronimo Gonzales is running for re-election and is being opposed by current councilman Tom Hesse.
Steve Osborn, representing the Terry County Soil and Water Conservation District, gave a presentation regarding the upcoming 65th Annual Farm Tour, which will be held on Thursday, September 17. (Look for a story about the tour on TownTalk)
The Council approved a resolution from the City of Brownfield approving a negotiated settlement between the cities served by Atmos West Texas and Atmos Energy Corporation.
A request for stop signs was also approved by the Council. These signs include three-way stop signs at the intersection of North Cub Drive and and East Cactus Lane, and four-way stop signs at the intersection of East Stewart Street and North Cub Drive. These are all due to the anticipated increase in traffic flow in these areas with the building of the new high school, and the consolidation of Oak Grove and Colonial Heights Elementaries.
The Council did go into Executive Session for evaluation of the City Manager. No action was taken following return to Open Session.
The Council will next meet in regular session on Thursday, September 17, at 7:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers.
