Kevin O’Connor Kommentary July 14

The College Station city council hears from a dozen speakers about impact fees. That’s the charge on new development to help pay for streets and other infrastructure. Ten opponents during Thursday’s meeting (April 10) included representatives of developers, homebuilders, and realtors. Two supporters included a member of the city’s impact advisory committee and retired councilman Dennis Maloney. There were also two public speakers who called on the council to address the lack of affordable housing. Because impact fees were not an agenda item, by state law there was no response from council members to any of the public speakers. The subject of impact fees came up later in the meeting. During a discussion about the council’s legislative engagement committee, approval was given on a 5-1 vote to sending letters to state representative Paul Dyson and state senator Charles Schwertner that in part shared the council’s position that impact fees are a local and not a state matter. Councilman Bob Yancy, who voted no, said he will be testifying at an upcoming House committee public hearing in support of a moratorium on new impact fees. The council’s March 27th meeting had an extensive presentation about impact fees. Click HERE to be directed to the city of College Station blog post reviewing the presentation. Click below to hear comments from the April 10, 2025 College Station city council meeting.  

The future widening of Old Reliance Road in Bryan between Austin’s Colony Parkway to the east city limits will also include steps to reduce flooding. The Bryan city council at Tuesday’s workshop meeting (April 8) endorsed one of five options that among other things will raise the roadway by three feet and add seven culverts over low lying areas. Public works director Jayson Barfknecht says the improvements will not increase the amount of land that can be developed. And it will not change the flood threat in the Castle Heights neighborhood off Highway 21. Funding for the $9.7 million dollar project comes from more than $5 million in city bonds and more than $4 million in federal money. The drainage project is in addition to making Old Reliance a divided four lane road with a ten foot wide shared use path. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the April 8, 2025 Bryan city council workshop meeting. Click below to hear comments from Jayson Barfknecht during the April 8, 2025 Bryan city council workshop meeting.  

Brazos County commissioners approve five contracts at Tuesday’s meeting (April 8) related to the decision of taking over operations of the downtown Bryan parking garage. A citizen’s question of why the commission agreed to lease the garage from the Brazos Transit District was answered by county judge Duane Peters. He said “We (Brazos County) are the prime beneficiary of the parking over there. And rather than having to deal with paying them (Brazos Transit District) and them still running the operation over there, we chose that the best way to handle it was for them to lease it to us for a dollar a year.” The lease giving the county control begins April 15. The county takes over ownership of the garage in the year 2044. Voting against all five contracts was Fred Brown. The only explanation Brown gave to any of the no votes, was using an insurance broker instead of going out for bids to get liability coverage for the garage. He said a broker adds 10 to 20 percent to the cost. While Brown voted against the county hiring a pest control company, he complimented staff for finding a local company to provide that service. The other 4-1 votes approved contracts for the garage fire alarm monitoring, inspecting fire extinguishers and sprinklers, and for elevator maintenance. The county’s lease with the Brazos Transit District continues through the year 2044, when the county becomes the owner of the garage. Click below to hear comments from the April 8, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.