Concerns of Parks, and North Cedar Street on topic of latest council meeting, plus golf carts.

The Brownfield City Council met Thursday morning July 6, 2023, in a regularly scheduled meeting which a heavy agenda to go through. The Council would hear public comments after the call to order, invocation, and pledges. There was one person who would make a public comment and that was former Councilman Michael Tackitt

Tackitt told the Council, “First of all I would like to say to the police department for their excellent response Sunday morning… that was a trying event for everybody. Our guys in blue did a really great job willing to go into those difficult situations. What I’m not so fond of and would like to talk about the current issues with parks and rec. There were two other gentlemen who wanted to speak, but for some reason, they were worried about retaliation against their organization… so I’m here for them. First was an issue a couple of months ago there was a transition from one person working at the baseball fields (Brownfield Sports Complex) to two. First night there we started having issues with toilet paper not being stocked… soap not in place. I had several people approach me (Telling Tackitt) never happened before… not sure why the sudden change, but you know just an issue one kept it stock, and one kept it clean. Grass… so we’re trying to fight mosquitoes this year and the Coleman Park grew pretty long… you ask us to cut our yards… we got to cut the yards at the park. I mean the mosquitoes live in that grass, if you don’t cut it short, there’s gonna be issues. We can spray them, and do what you want, but the grass is growing long. West Park… go to West Park and there are kids playing soccer and there are piles of grass everywhere. You got litter caught up in the grass… its an issue. Not really sure why it’s so deep this year… I know we’ve got a lot of rain and grass has grown long and you got issues with that, but if you cut your grass regularly you don’t end up with these big deep piles of grass that catch up the trash. So all I’m asking… take a look at these parks, take a look at the way the grass looks at the baseball fields… let’s do better for our kids, let’s keep these parks up and going.

After hearing the public comment, the Council approved the minutes from the prior meeting, then moved on to hear and consider the quarterly financial report on the Visitor Information Center (VIC) funded through the Hotel Occupancy Tax funds (HOT funds). The VIC is housed at the Brownfield Chamber of Commerce and Director Lorena Valencia reported to the council. Valencia told the Council for the quarter, they received $15,000 from the HOT funds and its expenditures for April, May, & June 2023 were $14,717.18 leaving a balance of $282.82. The next page the Council looked at was the year-to-date finances. According to Valencia, the VIC has received $43,725.00 and the expenditures totaling $43,945.77 leaving a deficit of $220.77. The balance in the HOT fund account is $763.02. The Council unanimously approved the item.

Next, Mayor Tom Hesse jumped to item 10, which was to discuss and consider funding from the HOT funds for advertising through FOX 34 in Lubbock for the “Our Town Spotlight”. FOX 34 asks that the city gives five things to spotlight for the City of Brownfield. The Council unanimously approved the item and the $5000 from HOT funds.

The Council moved on to hear the 2nd quarterly report from the Brownfield Police Department presented by the new BPD Chief Chris Kotzur. Chief Kotzur told the Council this is his first quarterly report at Brownfield and he doesn’t have anything to compare it to. However, he did say,

“From my experience, the calls for service look fairly consistent with a city this size. Two things that do stand out in my mind are the animal control calls. It’s extremely high for a city this size in my personal opinion. I think as we move forward we need to look at some public education initiatives. Maybe some deals with some vets… some rescues and some stuff to try to get more of these animals some place safe and where they belong. Thats one thing.

Number two woiuld be the citation numbers. You know I’ve driven through town and I know its not Houston or San Antonio… there’s some bad drivers in town and the citation numbers that Im looking at just don’t seem like we maybe addressing that as well as we could. Thats the two things that standout in my mind.

Chief Kotzur asked the Council if they had any questions. Councilman Leon Pope stated, “I’ve got a comment… we still have trucks going through this town going 60 miles per hour… I promise they do, I don’t have a radar but I guarantee they are busting these lights going through.” Chief Kotzur responded saying, “What I would encourage everyone to do… and please spread this to your constituents in your districts. If you’re having an issue on your street or in your neighborhood, let us know. Kinda the way I work these things is try to address the problems first. So if we know there’s a problem in this particular area we can schedule… we can get some information… when it’s happening. Is it when people are getting off work? When they’re going to work or school. If we can narrow those times down we can get some folks out there to target that area.”

Here is the list of Call for Service reports:

Here is the list of Incidents reports:

Additional information from Chief Kotzur: April was Communicators and Animal Control appreciation month, and participated in a job fair at BHS. Kids from Wellman pre-k and kindergarten as well as kids from Grace Mennonite Academy toured the PD & FD. There was the Touch the Truck in the park, officers qualified with firearms and hosted training for Hospital/EMS/Fire, Emergency Preparedness, and Parole meetings. Chief Kotzur also wanted to express his thanks to the BFRD, BRMC EMS, BRMC, and Terry County Sheriffs Dept. for all the help with the two shootings that took place early Sunday morning July 2, 2023.

Next, the Council heard from Code Enforcement Officer Juarez on the quarterly update on code enforcement. He told the Council that his inspections went way up in June 2023 due to the rain. “It’s a lot easier to drive by and see weeds grow over 12 inches than it is to stop and check out vehicles and houses. Usually, in the neighborhood, there are four or more houses with violations of tall weeds and grass as opposed to those with junked vehicles or substandard structures.” According to Officer Juarez, there were 770 inspections done in the 2nd quarter. There were 26 certified letters mailed out, 30 violations of junk vehicles, there were 519 public nuisance violations (weeds & trash), and 28 substandard structure violations. Before Officer Juarez was done, he put in his two-week notice. Juarez will become one of the two newly hired School Resource Officers for BISD.

Moving on the City of Brownfield approved the yearly “interlocal agreement” between Terry County, the City of Brownfield, BISD, BRMC, the City of Meadow, MISD, the City of Wellman, WUISD, and South Plains Underground Water Conservation District for a Joint Elections Administrator which will function under the supervision of the Joint Election Commission. The Joint Election Administrator is Krystal Valentin. The motion was unanimously approved.

Next was a much-anticipated item of business. The Council discussed and considered amending Chapter 12 of the City of Brownfield Code of Ordinances by amending Article 12.500 entitled “Operation of Vehicles Generally”, by amending Section 12.503 entitled “Golf Carts” and repealing Section 12.504 entitled “Alternative Vehicles, authorizing and regulating the use of Golf Carts on the public streets and highways within the City of Brownfield. The Council approved the measure that the City of Brownfield will use the State of Texas’ ordinances on golf carts. This will now allow golf cart to be driven within the City of Brownfield with these regulations:

SUBCHAPTER F.  GOLF CARTS


Sec. 551.401.  DEFINITION.  In this subchapter, "golf cart" means a motor vehicle designed by the manufacturer primarily for use on a golf course.

Sec. 551.402.  REGISTRATION NOT AUTHORIZED; LICENSE PLATES.  (a)  The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles may not register a golf cart for operation on a highway regardless of whether any alteration has been made to the golf cart.
(b)  A person may operate a golf cart on a highway in a manner authorized by this subchapter only if the vehicle displays a license plate issued under this section.
(c)  The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles:
(1)  shall by rule establish a procedure to issue license plates for golf carts; and
(2)  may charge a fee not to exceed $10 for the cost of the license plate, to be deposited to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund.
(d)  A golf cart license plate does not expire. A person who becomes the owner of a golf cart for which the previous owner obtained a license plate may not use the previous owner's license plate.

Sec. 551.403.  OPERATION AUTHORIZED IN CERTAIN AREAS. (a) An operator may operate a golf cart:
(1)  in a master planned community:
(A)  that is a residential subdivision as defined by Section 209.002(9), Property Code, or has in place a uniform set of restrictive covenants; and
(B)  for which a county or municipality has approved one or more plats;
(2)  on a public or private beach that is open to vehicular traffic; or
(3)  on a highway for which the posted speed limit is not more than 35 miles per hour, if the golf cart is operated:
(A)  during the daytime; and
(B)  not more than five miles from the location where the golf cart is usually parked and for transportation to or from a golf course.
(b)  Notwithstanding Section 551.402(b), a person may operate a golf cart in a master planned community described by Subsection (a) without a golf cart license plate on a highway for which the posted speed limit is not more than 35 miles per hour, including through an intersection of a highway for which the posted speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour.

Sec. 551.4031.  PROHIBITION OF OPERATION ON HIGHWAY BY MUNICIPALITY, COUNTY, OR DEPARTMENT. (a) A county or municipality may prohibit the operation of a golf cart on a highway under Section 551.403 if the governing body of the county or municipality determines that the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.
(b)  The Texas Department of Transportation may prohibit the operation of a golf cart on a highway under Section 551.403 if the department determines that the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

Sec. 551.404.  OPERATION ON HIGHWAY AUTHORIZED BY MUNICIPALITY OR CERTAIN COUNTIES.  (a)  In addition to the operation authorized by Section 551.403, the governing body of a municipality may allow an operator to operate a golf cart on all or part of a highway that:
(1)  is in the corporate boundaries of the municipality; and
(2)  has a posted speed limit of not more than 35 miles per hour.
(b)  In addition to the operation authorized by Section 551.403, the commissioners court of a county described by Subsection (c) may allow an operator to operate a golf cart on all or part of a highway that:
(1)  is located in the unincorporated area of the county; and
(2)  has a speed limit of not more than 35 miles per hour.
(c)  Subsection (b) applies only to a county that:
(1)  borders or contains a portion of the Red River; or
(2)  borders the Gulf of Mexico and has a population of less than 500,000.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1136

Sec. 551.4041.  EQUIPMENT.   A golf cart operated under Section 551.404 must have the following equipment:
(1)  headlamps;
(2)  taillamps;
(3)  reflectors;
(4)  parking brake; and
(5)  mirrors.

Sec. 551.405.  CROSSING INTERSECTIONS.  A golf cart may cross a highway at an intersection, including an intersection with a highway that has a posted speed limit of more than 35 miles per hour.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1136 (H.B. 2553), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2009.
Amended by: 
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1233 (H.B. 1548), Sec. 20, eff. June 14, 2019.

This ordinance will go into effect after the City of Brownfield has publicly announced and acknowledged it through a local newspaper.

The Council also approved the adoption of the 2021 Edition of the International Fire Code as “Promulgated” by the International Code Council, Inc. This will amend and update the current “Fire Prevention and Protection” for the City of Brownfield.

Next the Council heard from a representative of Kimley-Horn and Associates and to begin the engineering services including design, bidding, and construction phase services for North Cedar Street from Tahoka Rd to the city limits. Previously the City of Brownfield expanded North Cedar to help with the new traffic from the new high school, however, due to drainage issues the expansion did not hold up. The assessment of the project will take up to three months. When that is finished then the City of Brownfield will have the road fixed.

The Council then heard from a representative from Parkhill (formerly Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper) about the bids for a new “Sanitary Landfill Cell”. The cost of a new sanitary landfill cell and adding 20 years to the construction & demolition pit will be around $1.3 million.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Councilman JC Tijerina wanted to make a comment. Tijerina told the Council that he was also disappointed in how the Parks and Rec were doing. He felt that the parks are not looking as good as they should and that things need to be stepped up.

The meeting was then adjourned. Councilman Jimmy Garza was absent. The next meeting is slated for Thursday, July 20, 2023,

at 7:30 am in the Council Chambers at the City Hall.