Thursday, July 20, the Brownfield City Council met in a regularly scheduled meeting that was two hours long. The biggest items on the agenda were four separate hearings for zoning changes. The Planning and Zoning Board (P&Z) had previously met and heard the requests, and approved them. No one spoke against the requests in the P&Z meeting held. The city council must approve these requests, following a hearing for each one.
One of those was a public hearing to request a road name change. The road that makes the U-shape around Coleman Park known as “Park Road” had been requested to be changed to “American Legion Parkway.” The amphitheater on that road is known as the American Legion Memorial Amphitheater, and those requesting this change felt it would be a great way to honor our Veterans. No one spoke against the name change in the public hearing. In the council meeting, the vote to change the name was unanimous. City Manager Jeff Davis told the Council, “It will take a bit to get all the signage changed.”
The next hearing was held to rezone an area that has needed to be rezoned for some time. The area on Tahoka Road where the Brownfield ISD Administration Building has sat for at least 60 years, had actually been zoned residential all this time. This includes the area of all the land the district owns in a two-block area. No one spoke against this change. In the council meeting, the vote was to approve the zoning change for this area.
The third hearing was a request from an individual who owns a large lot on the Levelland Highway. He was requesting to be able to change it from one large lot to three lots for the purpose of building some houses. The area is zoned residential, however, to change one lot to three lots requires the approval of the Planning and Zoning Board, as well as the City Council. No one spoke against this move, and the request was approved in the council meeting.
The last request was to rezone an area on East Tahoka Road, just inside the city limits for business rather than residential. No one spoke against this change. The request was approved in the council meeting.
Bids were opened for the strip paving project. Only one bid had been submitted, even though 12 bid requests had been made. The bid was for $910,000 which the engineers felt was way too high for the project. The engineer’s recommendation was to not accept this bid. The council did not accept the bid and more study will be done to determine how the cost can be lowered and to attempt to find lower priced materials.
Yet another Public Hearing was held in regard to submission of an application to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a Local Parks Fun Grant. The hearing is a required portion of the application. After much discussion as to where the money from the grant would be used, City Attorney Matt Wade reminded the council that all this hearing is for is to apply. Davis also told the council that the City could apply for more grants to help with all parks, but a hearing just has to be held to qualify to even apply. The grant is a “one-to-one grant.” The idea is to refurbish the area known as “Gillham Pond and Park.” The City sent out a survey to determine what people want to see done to this area. There is a possibility of creating a disabled-accessible playground area, as well as increasing the pond area. Shade pavilions could also be created in the area.
The Fire Chief gave his quarterly report and reported on updates and work going on through the Fire Department. According to Chief Woolard, there were 42 calls for service between April 1 – June 30, 2023. 15 calls were in the City of Brownfield and 27 calls were out in the county. Chief Woolard broke down each call.
- 17 wrecks
- 12 EMS Assist
- 1 false call
- 1 vehicle fire
- 1 smoke scare
- 2 trash fires
- 6 grass fires
- 2 house fires
Chief Woolard also updated the Council on the department’s equipment and units. Unit #52 is in service, however, BFRD is awaiting parts to repair body damage. Emergency lighting has been repaired/replaced on Units 52, 54 and Rescue 1. The radiator and overfill tank have been replaced on Unit 54. We are waiting on the secondary compressor for the Station A/C to come in. The building is awaiting repair to the decorative corrugated pillar.
Chief Woolard also spoke about the department performing some prevention, looking at codes and plan reviews. According to Chief Woolard, eight inspections have been conducted and four plan reviews have been performed since May 15th. Also, a permit was issued with a site inspection for a pyrotechnics show prior to July 2023. The International Fire Code has been amended to reflect the 2021 standards and new standard operating procedures have been written in the form of a first draft for the Fire Department.
When it comes to staffing, Chief Woolard has narrowed the candidate pool down to 2 potential persons and is in the process of conducting interviews to determine the final candidate for Firefighter/EMT. As of Monday, July 24, 2023, the final candidate was hired. There are 15 volunteers for the second quarter, with one new volunteer candidate application is in the process.
Chief Woolard had some additional notes telling the Council, that the department has revamped the documentation procedures for training and continuing education and is hoping to implement web-based incident reporting in the next few weeks. The department had one member attend an active shooter train-the-trainer event at BISD’s former middle school and hopes to schedule a training on this in the future. Several personnel has attended a multi-jurisdictional Emergency Management meeting held at the FD/PD training room in June and a Stop the Bleed training is scheduled for July 25th at the same location, provided by BRMC. Also, Chief Woolard noted, that the department will have its “Basic Life Support” (BLS) protocols from BRMC shortly and will have its First Responders Organization license restored thereafter. The report was approved.
The Municipal Court Judge, David Cox, also gave his quarterly report. There were a total of 407 new cases filed in the second quarter. 168 in April, 116 in May, and 123 in June. There were 232 total dispositions (guilty or no contest) in the second quarter. 80 in April, 71 in May, and 81 in June. 120 warrants were issued, 46 in April, 30 in May, and 44 in June. Total case revenue was $37,248.00, of which $22,208.00 is the City of Brownfield’s revenue and $15,040.00 is state revenue. This was approved. Judge Cox told the Council, “I would like to thank the city council and administration for sending me to the new Judges School, It was a wonderful school and I learned a lot… There are a few things that I feel we can work on and improve. I am looking forward to working with the city administration and the council to keep the city progressing in a positive direction.”
Following a lengthy executive session, the council reconvened in open session and took no action. Following announcements, the council did adjourn. Councilman Celso Duran was the only councilman absent from the meeting.
