Council met for nearly four hours Thursday night. Mayor John Nichols returned after hip replacement surgery following a fall and fractured hip. He departed the meeting at 9:00pm and Mayor Pro Tem William Wright took over presiding duties for the final 45 minutes of the meeting. During the hear visitors portion of the meeting, there was a lot of discussion about zoning and student housing popping up in residential neighborhoods. In particular, residents of South Knoll say that houses that are perfectly suitable for living, are being torn down and replaced with housing suitable only to students, such as 6BR/6BA homes. One resident mentioned that in addition to calls and letters, she has had people knock on her door asking to buy her home. Some even saying things like “this house is old,” and “why would you want to live here?” The residents urged the city to not rezone properties or incentivize the destruction of homes that families would happily purchase. On the consent agenda, item 7.3 regarding improvements at Adamson Lagoon was pulled from consideration. The remaining items were approved unanimously. It included a contract for $5,544,279 awarded for power line construction and maintenance. On the workshop agenda, there was considerable time spent discussing city owned cemeteries. Kelsey Helden, Director of Parks & Recreation, proposed adding columbarium at Aggie Field of Honor, and potentially adding a columbarium at the College Station Cemetery where plots are sold out. There is concern of companies coming in and purchasing plots exclusively for resale. They discussed prohibiting business from purchasing plots, limiting the number of plots sold to a single person, and adding a non-resident fee for anyone purchasing a plot that is not a resident of College Station. There was also a lengthy discussion on an overlay in Northgate that would limit building height from 3-5 stories. The council asked Planning & Development to look into the issue and come back with potential incentives for existing businesses to maintain their façade. Finally, there was a presentation and discussion on implementing a Safe Passing Ordinance. Among the speakers were friends and family of Hannah Rapp, who was struck and killed by a driver in July. Her fiance William Pollalis spoke as well as Hannah’s mother, Angela Rapp Grimes, who spoke remotely from Indiana. The council is in favor of moving forward in drafting an ordinance that will likely be named in honor of Rapp. Bob Yancy asked a future agenda item be risk versus reward in the use of Artificial/Super Intelligence for City Hall staff. Here is the agenda: Consent Agenda: 7.1. Adoption of minutes for September 24, 2026 Council Meeting. 7.2. Contract awarded to Integrated Power, Co. for Transmission Line Construction, Maintenance, and Repair to for an amount not to exceed $5,544,279.91. 7.3. ITEM REMOVED FROM CONSIDERATION 7.4. Contract awarded to H&B Construction, LTD on an as needed basis for electric boring and construction projects not to exceed $500,000. 7.5. Approval of an ordinance amending Chapter 38 “Traffic and Vehicles,” Article VI “Traffic Schedules,” Section 38-1014 “Traffic Schedule XIV, No Parking Here to Corner and No Parking Any Time,” of the Code of Ordinances of the City of College Station, Texas, by prohibiting parking on the east side of Big River Street from 40’ west of Little River Street intersection through Big River Street cul-de-sac. 7.6. Approve the BVWACS Annual Operating & Maintenance and Capital Budget. 7.7. Approve interlocal agreement between Bryan, Brazos County, and College Station for expenditures related to the FY 26 JAG Grant. Workshop Agenda: 8.1. Update from the Texas A&M Off-Campus Student Services Office. 8.2. Discussion of College Station and Memorial Cemetery Fund Structure and Fee Policy. 8.3. Presentation, discussion, and possible direction regarding a potential overlay district in NG-1 Core Northgate. 8.4. Presentation, discussion, and possible direction regarding the creation of a safe passing ordinance.
