By Colin Killian, Public Communications Director
Welcome to our live blog from the College Station City Council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 11. It's not the official minutes.
The meeting starts after 6 p.m. and is streamed live on Optimum Channel 19 and cstx.gov/cstv19. You can participate online through Microsoft Teams by entering Meeting ID 287 987 474 175 and Passcode gZw5cS. You can also call 469-480-7460 and enter Conference Number 168 564 318#.
6:04 p.m.
The meeting has started. The Council took no action after its executive session.
6:15 p.m.
Constitution Week
Mayor John Nichols joined the local LaVillita Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in proclaiming Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week to reaffirm the ideals of our founders by protecting the freedoms guaranteed through the Constitution and remembering that lost rights may never be regained.
Sept. 17 marks the 237th anniversary of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution by the Constitutional Convention.
6:30 p.m.
Hear Visitors
Two people spoke during Hear Visitors, when citizens may address the Council on any item not on the posted agenda.
- Chuck Elliott, speaking for a group of five, thanked the Council for working against SB 1567, although it passed the Texas Legislature and eliminated the City's overoccupancy regulations.
- Ansley Brent asked the Council to consider posting agendas sooner to promote transparency.
6:37 p.m.
Consent Agenda
The Council unanimously approved the entire consent agenda:
- A resolution regarding the City's investment policy, reviewing and recording changes to the policy and strategy, and on a collateral policy, and designating investment officers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026, stating that the City Council has reviewed and approved the City's investment policy, broker-dealer list, and investment strategy.
- The Investment Policy Strategy FY 26 with exhibits.
- A No Left Turn sign on Edelweiss Avenue.
- The Atmos Mid-Tex 2025 Rate Review Mechanism Settlement and Rate Ordinance.
- An interlocal agreement with the City of Bryan to manage the Larry J. Ringer Library.
- A contract with Milsoft Utility Solutions for electric line design and staking, and a work order software system to replace the existing software systems with a one-time cost of $301,000 and an annual recurring cost of $111,300.
- A three-year contract not to exceed $356,129 with AESI-US for North American Electric Reliability Corporation compliance consulting.
- An agreement not to exceed $2.34 million with Virginia Transformer Corporation for the purchase and installation of an electric substation power transformer at the Northwest Substation.
- Bid awards to KBS Electrical Distributors ($1.34 million) and Intellogic Engineering ($16,200) for single-phase and three-phase electric transformers for electric warehouse inventory. Total awards are not to exceed $1,358,974.
- A signal interconnect agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company for the FM 2154 and John Kimbrough traffic signal.
- A signal interconnect agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company for the FM 2154 and Old Main traffic signal.
- A contract amendment not to exceed $395,000 with Corn’s Collision Center for additional funds for hailstorm and weather-related damage repairs to City-owned vehicles.
- A $4.3 million contract with Brazos Paving for the rehabilitation of William D. Fitch Parkway from Tonkaway Lake Drive to Rock Prairie Road, plus the City’s contingency of $430,557, for a total appropriation of $4.74 million.
- A $153,515 contract with American Generator Services for the replacement of the generator at Fire Station No. 1 and the Utilities Customer Service building.
- The $233,662 purchase of three 600-horsepower water well motors from Integrated Power Services.
- The annual $448,880 purchase of chlorine gas and sodium hypochlorite from PVS DX.
- An oversized participation agreement not to exceed $165,991 with Boardwalk Estates and Site Utilities and Construction for the construction of a water line along portions of Richards Street, Sterling Street, and Crest Street.
- An amendment to the real estate contract with The Corinth Group.
11:57 p.m.
Priority Power Real Estate Contract
After a public hearing, the Council unanimously voted to deny a real estate contract with Priority Power Management for the sale of about 200 acres of City-owned property in the Midtown Business Park near Midtown Drive and Corporate Parkway. Nearly 80 people spoke in opposition.
11:58 p.m.
The Council is taking a short break.
12:07 a.m.
The meeting has resumed. Due to the length of the previous item, the workshop agenda (water/electric updates and city website review) has been pulled. The regular agenda will proceed.
12:13 a.m.
Budget Amendment
The Council unanimously approved a $774,978 amendment to the City’s FY 25 budget, primarily recognizing Police Department grants and additional IT replacements due to aging and the availability of IT and computer equipment.
Also included are capital uses of the Property Casualty and Fleet Maintenance Internal Service Fund related to damaged vehicles from the March hailstorm and additional repairs to the City's fleet of vehicles. Internal Service Fund working capital uses do not increase the budget.
In addition, the amendment includes an interfund transfer from the Hotel Tax Fund to the General Fund for the USA Track & Field event for eligible expenditures. Interfund transfers also do not affect the net budget amount.
A detailed summary of the amendment items is available on Page 841 of the meeting packet.
12:51 a.m.
UDO Amendments
After a public hearing, the Council unanimously approved two amendments to the City’s Unified Development Ordinance to comply with a new state law (Senate Bill 1567) that prohibits occupancy regulation based on familial or relationship status. The City is in the process of amending related zoning regulations and removing Restricted Occupancy Overlay (ROO) and High Occupancy Overlay (HOO) zoning districts.
- The first amendment changes the definition of a family.
- The second amendment changes sections related to the ROO and HOO overlays.
The next phase of the process will be repealing the overlays and rezoning the properties to only their base zoning districts.
12:53 a.m.
Water Well Materials Procurement
The Council unanimously approved a third amendment to the Construction Manager at Risk Contract with Garney Construction, accepting the Guaranteed Maximum Price No. 3 of $9.47 million for the materials procurement packages for the Wells 10, 11, and 12 project. The City’s contingency of $946,668 brings the total appropriation to $10.41 million.
The amendment includes the procurement of pipe material, large and small diameter valves, air release valves, generators, and fuel tanks.
The project involves the design and construction of three new water wells and a collection line in the well field. Each well will have a pumping capacity of 3,300 gpm. Construction began in 2025 and will be completed before August 2028.
A budget of $69.3 million is available in the Water Capital Improvement Projects Fund. A total of $15.9 million has been spent or committed to date, leaving a balance of $53.4 million for this CMAR Contract and any remaining project expenses.
1:03 a.m.
Mayor Nichols adjourned the meeting after the Council discussed its calendar, items of community interest, committee and board reports, and future agenda items.
The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25.
About the Blogger
Colin Killian has been with the City of College Station since 2010, following a 23-year tenure as associate media relations director for the Texas A&M Athletics Department. He has also worked as a reporter and editor for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and Lewisville News. A native of Hobbs, N.M., Killian graduated from Texas Tech with a bachelor's degree in journalism/political science.
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