City of College Station Blog

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By Colin Killian, Public Communications Director

Welcome to our live blog from the College Station City Council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10. The meeting starts after 6 p.m. and is streamed live on Optimum Channel 19, cstx.gov/cstv19, and YouTube. It’s not the official minutes.

You can participate online via  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#.  

6:00 p.m.

The meeting has started. The Council took no action from executive session. Mayor John Nichols is absent tonight.

6:05 p.m.

Cheyenne Thomas, Miss Ultimate USA

Mayor Pro Tem William Wright proclaimed today as Cheyenne Thomas Miss Ultimate USA Day. Thomas is a College Station resident and Texas A&M graduate who recently earned the national Miss Ultimate USA title in Orlando.

The City acknowledges her dedication to empowering young women through her podcast called “Fearless and UNDEFINED,” as she pursues her studies in veterinary medicine. During her reign, Cheyenne plans to inspire others through national speaking engagements and community appearances.

>> Read the Proclamation

6:06 p.m.

Constitution Week

Mayor Pro Tem Wright proclaimed the week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week to commemorate the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the United States Constitution. He encouraged citizens to join the Come and Take It and the La Villita chapters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in celebrating our country’s foundational document.

Wright also urged the community to actively protect our constitutional freedoms and honor the Framers’ vision. Pictured with Wright are representatives of the organizations.

>> Read the Proclamation

6:43 p.m.

Hear Visitors

Ten people spoke during Hear Visitors, when citizens may address the Council on any item not on the posted agenda.

• Charles Elliott spoke about the City’s impervious cover policy.
• Fred DuPriest, speaking on behalf of a group of six, also discussed the impervious cover policy and changes to the exception process.
• Patricia McDermott and C.O. Patterson spoke about street flooding issues in the Historic Southside Neighborhood.
• Hali Stout, John Hamilton, Oliver Dixon, Zubair Ali, Ivan Svrcek and Cairo Lorde spoke against the use of Flock license plate readers.

6:51 p.m.

Consent Agenda

The Council unanimously approved the entire consent agenda:

• An interlocal agreement with the City of Bryan, Brazos County, and Brazos County Emergency Communications District for a backup dispatch facility.
• The Atmos Mid-Tex 2026 Rate Review Mechanism Settlement and Rate Ordinance.
• A $172,040 contract with Brazos Paving for the McCulloch Neighborhood Traffic Calming Improvements.
• The second reading of a franchise agreement ordinance with Texan Waste Services for the collection of recyclables from commercial businesses and multi-family locations.
• An interlocal agreement with Brazos County for EMS services by the College Station Fire Department.
• A $109,507 deductive change order to the contract with Weisinger Incorporated for the Well 6 Pumping Equipment Repairs Project.
• The expenditure of funds for FY 27 for items exempt from competitive bidding as described in Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 252.022, and other expenditures for interlocal contracts or fees mandated by state law that are greater than $100,000; and authorizing the city manager to approve contracts and expenditures on the exemption list.
• A $1.46 million contract amendment with Freese and Nichols for the addition of a specialized construction inspector to provide technical oversight and additional soil sampling required by TCEQ for the CCWWTP Enhanced Filtration Improvements.
• A $185,600 contract with Torres Associates for a citywide flood hazard assessment.
• A contract amendment with Arkitex Studio that adds funding requirements for two Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grants for the Texas Independence Park Project.
• Authorized the city manager to terminate for convenience the funding agreement with the Greater Brazos Partnership for services related to Plug and Play.

7:15 p.m.

Electric Utility Update

The Council heard the annual Electric Department update from College Station Utilities, a city-owned, regulated nonprofit utility operating since 1939. It is the ninth largest municipal utility in Texas and ranks in the top 100 nationally.

CSU opted out of the 2001 Texas market deregulation to remain the sole power provider within its fixed 2002 city boundaries. Although the utility does not generate its own power, it operates and maintains a complex transmission and distribution network, including eight substations costing between $6 million and $10 million each. Because it operates within the regional grid, CSU must strictly follow ERCOT compliance guidelines, where failure to comply can result in fines reaching up to $1 million per day.

To support the city’s rapid development — such as the high-density 20-story apartment complexes in Northgate — CSU continually modernizes its infrastructure while enhancing urban aesthetics through line relocation and undergrounding projects along corridors like Harvey Road and Texas Avenue. The utility also focuses heavily on efficiency and customer savings; in 2017, it spent $2.6 million replacing all local streetlights with LEDs, which cut street lighting energy consumption by more than half.

CSU maintains system durability by placing 61% of lines underground, transitioning 54% of overhead poles to non-wood materials, spending over $1 million annually on a three-year tree-trimming cycle, and investing $365,000 per year to restore pad-mounted equipment. These proactive measures allow CSU to deliver exceptionally high reliability, maintaining a 99.9962% uptime rate that translates to an average annual outage time of just 48 minutes per customer, or 20 minutes when excluding major events.

Wildlife represents the single largest threat to this reliability, as snakes and nesting birds frequently cause breaker trips in substations. To combat this, CSU invested $600,000 in specialized wildlife deterrents, which successfully eliminated all outages caused by crawling and walking critters.

8:02 p.m.

Terafab Impacts

The Council discussed the anticipated impact of the Terafab project in Grimes County and College Station’s readiness to address associated opportunities and challenges. The presentation highlighted regional growth trends, development and infrastructure capacity and housing needs.

Terafab represents one of the largest advanced-manufacturing investments in the country, with more than $16.8 billion in Phase I capital and over $100 billion total planned investment. The project will create over 1,500 direct permanent jobs, plus thousands more indirect and construction jobs.

It is a regional project with regional consequences. College Station will absorb many community and service impacts, but it will not directly receive tax revenue from the Terafab tax base since the facility is in Grimes County.

8:14 p.m.

Midtown Business Park Agreements

The Council reviewed the terms and provisions of the real estate and economic development agreements with Bass Pro Outdoor World and The Corinth Group for a 28-acre development in the Midtown Business Park. The Council expects to act on the agreements on Sept. 24.

The City entered a real estate agreement with The Corinth Group in January 2025 for 13 acres, with an option to purchase the remaining property. Multiple amendments have extended deadlines for due diligence, design work, and project refinements connected to the Bass Pro Shops development.

Under the current arrangement, Bass Pro Shops will purchase 14 acres directly from the City, while Corinth will purchase the remaining 14 acres. The combined purchase of the City-owned properties is about $10.9 million. The post-approval inspection period is 180 days after the agreement’s effective date.

Corinth Project: The planned development includes over 100,000 square feet of commercial space, depending on future tenants. The total purchase price is $5.1 million, minus the acquisition reimbursement. A maximum credit of $696,960 will be applied at closing for the plaza area.

The City may choose to invest additional funds to enhance plaza amenities beyond the base plan; this would require a future amendment. The Corinth project will use a shared detention pond as part of the overall site infrastructure.

Bass Pro Shops Project: The project features a 98,000‑square‑foot Bass Pro Shops store on 14 acres with a purchase price of $5.8 million. The $3.5 million operations reimbursement is payable after construction.

The store is projected to generate $35 million in annual sales, with at least $20 million locally taxable to support sales tax reimbursement calculations. The sales tax reimbursement averages 60% over 10 years, beginning at 80% and decreasing to 35% over the term. The construction fee reimbursement is $167,105 for building permit fees and impact fees.

The development will also use the shared detention pond, coordinated with the Corinth project. Bass Pro Shops is seeking an additional incentive from Brazos County.

8:27 p.m.

State of the City

The Council discussed a possible State of the City event. Councilman William Wright requested the item at the Nov. 13 meeting. The Council discussed the item on April 23 and directed staff to return with options for a potential event.

The goal is to attract a broad audience through partnerships, interactive elements, and multiple community-focused offerings. The event could feature food, booths for every department, registration for city programs and job opportunities.

The recommended location would be the City Hall complex and lawn area. The event could use an open-house format with a Q&A and involve partnerships with CSISD, the Arts Center, etc.

8:35 p.m.

Carters Creek WWTP Filtration

The Council unanimously approved a $23.1 million contract with CSA Construction for the Carters Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Enhanced Filtration Project, plus the City’s contingency of $2.31 million, for a total appropriation of $25.4 million.

Prioritized in the 2016 Wastewater Master Plan, the project replaces unreliable, underperforming infrastructure and adds new treatment capabilities to maintain long-term reliability and meet stringent environmental standards.

The City owns and operates two wastewater treatment plants, Carters Creek and Lick Creek, which provide 14.5 million gallons per day of treatment capacity to reliably serve our growing community.

8:38 p.m.

Mayor Pro Tem Wright adjourned the meeting after the Council discussed its calendar, items of community interest, committee and board reports, and future agenda items. The Council meets again on Thursday, Sept. 24.

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