35 Arrests In And Around The Northgate District During And After Texas A&M Football’s Win Over LSU

United Way of the Brazos Valley Community Campaign Update

Peggi Ondrasek, President and CEO, and Maggie Montoya Gray, Development Manager, visit with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber in this week’s United Way of the Brazos Valley update. Listen to “United Way of the Brazos Valley Update on WTAW” on Spreaker.

A Public Speaker Calls On The College Station City Council To Do Something About The City’s Feral Cat Population

The lone public speaker at the last College Station city council meeting (October 24) called on the governing body to do something about the city’s feral cat population. Brian Watford says for the last seven years, he has been managing a feral cat colony behind the Sonic restaurant on Harvey Road that he owns. Watford suggested the city employ a pilot program that is being used in Montgomery and Fort Bend counties. While audience members applauded Watford’s comments, mayor John Nichols said “I will indicate that the city is aware of this and is working on updating the guidelines on this issue.” Six hours later at the end of the council meeting, Nichols was suggesting public comments to address an unrelated topic when he used Watford as an example, “reminding us that we don’t have a good policy or we haven’t really addressed the feral cat issue.” Click below to hear comments from Brian Watford and John Nichols during the October 24, 2024 College Station city council meeting.  

College Station City Council 4-3 Vote Brings Back Permit Requirements For New And Expanding Bars In The Northgate District

College Station city council members vote 4-3 to bring back permit requirements for new and expanding bars in the Northgate district. The conditional use permit (CUP) requirement was dropped in 2003. Mayor John Nichols made the motion based on public safety requests from the police chief and the fire chief. Police chief Billy Couch says the more than 30 existing Northgate bars attract 10,000 customers, a number which does not include those who do not enter the bars. Fire chief Richard Mann cited 1,184 responses during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. That included 454 ambulance calls and 441 trips by fire department ladder engines. Seven public speakers opposed the return of the CUP requirement. Travis Vollmering said the public safety issues are the result of more students at Texas A&M, adding “I don’t think that we’re going to have that number decrease if you shut down Northgate. That’s just the most fun place for them to do it right now.” The owner of Northgate’s Rough Draft bar, Justin Manning, said “We feel that there is an agenda that we’re not a part of and that we have lost control and we don’t have a voice.” Joining Nichols in bringing back the CUP requirement were Mark Smith, William Wright, and Elizabeth Cunha. Voting against the permit were Dennis Maloney, Linda Harvell, and Bob Yancy. Click HERE to read and download what was approved at the October 24, 2024 College Station city council meeting. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials shown at the council meeting. Click HERE to read and download council questions and staff responses. Click below to hear comments from the October 24, 2024 College Station city council meeting.