The December 4, 2023 United Way of the Brazos Valley (UWBV) update with WTAW’s Bill Oliver begins with vice president Kat Gammon providing an update on UWBV literacy programs. That is followed by president Peggi Goss providing an update on this year’s state employee charitable campaign that is administered by UWBV and an update on UWBV’s community campaign.
The filing period is officially underway for candidates in November’s College Station and Bryan city council and school board elections. As of Monday, July 22 at 5:00 p.m. Four people have filed for the College Station city council. Seeking the place three seat are David White and Valen Cepak. Linda Harvell is not eligible to run again for the place three seat due to term limits. Running for re-election in place five is incumbent Bob Yancy. And seeking the place six position is Tre Watson. Dennis Maloney is not eligible to run again for the place six seat due to term limits. Click HERE to be directed to the city of College Station elections webpage. There are no filings on the city of Bryan elections webpage. Click HERE to be directed to the city of Bryan elections website. There are no filings on the College Station ISD elections webpage. Click HERE to be directed to the College Station ISD elections website. Two people have filed for Bryan ISD school board. David Stennis has filed for the district wide at large seat. Ruthie Waller is seeking her fourth term representing BISD’s single member district four. Click HERE to be directed to the Bryan ISD elections website. The filing period continues through August 19th.
The College Station city council spent almost 12 hours over two days last week (July 15-16) reviewing the staff’s proposal for the fiscal year 2025 budget. More than 40 minutes was taken on a proposal to build a new public works facility that is currently estimated to cost $40 million dollars. Funding is divided over three fiscal years, $5 million is in the FY 2025 budget, $17.5 million in FY 2027, and $17.5 million in FY 2028. Councilman Mark Smith said he attempted to replace the 46 year old building when he was public works director. City manager Bryan Woods joined Smith and a council majority in supporting a new facility. Councilman Bob Yancy, who initiated the conversation by asking the council to reconsider the project, finished the discussion by withdrawing his request. Click below to hear comments from the July 16, 2024 College Station city council budget workshop meeting. Listen to “College Station city council discusses replacing the city's public works building” on Spreaker.
The Bryan city council adds to the city’s zoning regulations, where battery energy storage systems (BESS) can be located. After an explanation from councilman James Edge and Benjamin Johnson of the city’s planning department, the council unanimously approved restricting sites to industrial areas. In addition to being restricted to industrial areas, an applicant must also get a conditional use permit to build and operate sites that collects then discharges power during demand peaks. The Bryan fire department sought to keep battery storage sites away from commercial and residential areas in part because of the difficulty of extinguishing battery fires and how that could result in discharging waste runoff. Click HERE to read and download background information from the city of Bryan. Click HERE to read and download the ordinance and the city of Bryan staff report. Click below to hear comments from the July 9, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. Listen to “The Bryan city council adds to the city's zoning regulations, where battery energy storage systems can be located” on Spreaker.
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