UT Med-Galveston Seeing Fewer Indigent Patients

The commissioners Court approved just under $1-million in spending on amending contracts on the renovations of the Road & Bridge Office Building and the Brazos County Administration Building. There were a significant amount of final platting was approved in the consent agenda. You should expect to see new home construction in Millican Reserve, Southern Pointe, Southwest Acres, the Straub Road Subdivision, and new subdivision in Bryan called Whispering Willows Estates. Here is a breakdown of the agenda: Consent agenda items: 1 – 11: — PASSED UNANIMOUS Approval of Payment of Claims FY 25/26 Budget Amendments 25.01 – 25.08 Personnel Change of Status for Elected Officials Approval of Commissioners Court Minutes for the following dates: Approval of the proposed Road and Bridge 2027 Holiday Schedule which accommodates the department’s 10-hour work day schedule and is equivalent to the standard approved 2027 County Holiday Schedule. Approval of the following award for contract for RFP 26-087 Emergency Management Software. Recommended Award to Dais, Inc. dba Regroup. Request approval for the Final Plat of Southwest Acres Two, Lots 1R, 2R, 3R, & 4R, Block 1; being a Replat of Lots 1 – 4, Block 1 of Southwest Acres Two; 6.10 Acres; Samuel Davidson Survey, A-13; Brazos County, Texas. Site is located in Precinct 1. Request approval for Lakeside at Millican Reserve Phase 5, 8.251 Acres; Thomas Henry Survey, A-130, J.P. Mitchell Survey, A-179, Diadem Millican Survey, A-178; City of College Station ETJ, Brazos County, Texas. Site is located in Precinct 1. Consider and possible action on the Final Plat of Straub Road Subdivision Lots 1A and 2A, Block 1 along with associated Variance Requests (see attachments); 11.05 Acres, Samuel Davidson League, A-13; Brazos County, Texas. Site is located in Precinct 1. Approval of Final Plat of Southern Pointe Subdivision Section 501, 88 Lots, 16.733 Acres; Sterrett D. Smith League Survey, A-210; City of College Station ETJ, Brazos County, Texas. Site is located in Precinct 1. Request for approval of the Final Plat of Whispering Willows Estates Phase One; 71.04 Acre Tract; Thomas M. Splane League Survey, Abstract 53; Brazos County, Texas. Site is located in Precinct 2. Regular agenda items: 1 – 11 Approval of Proclamation 26-021 proclaiming September 17-23, 2026 as Constitution Week. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Approval of Proclamation 26-022 proclaiming October 4-10, 2026 as National 4-H Week. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Order 26-008 adopting the Tax Rate of 6 percent for the Local Provider Participation Fund for fiscal year 2027, approving payment for administration cost to Brazos County and designating Truist Bank as the LPPF depository. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Discuss and take action to approve variance to Section 4.07 of the Brazos County Comp-Time policy to allow Election Administration staff to be paid overtime for hours worked for the November 3, 2026 General/Special Elections. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Discussion and possible action to approve the request to fill the budgeted Buyer II position in the Purchasing Department, which has remained vacant for more than six (6) months, in accordance with the Interim Compensation Administration Guidelines and the Personnel Budget Policy, and authorize the department to proceed with recruitment.– PASSED UNANIMOUS Consider and take action on RFP # 26-088 Grant Writing. — SENT BACK TO COMMITTEE Consider and take possible action on the Fiscal Year 2027 Brazos County Interlocal Agreement for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). — PASSED UNANIMOUS Approval of Change Order #1 to CIP 26-532 Road & Bridge Office Building Renovations with Aggieland Construction, in the amount of $484,600.00, increasing the contract amount to $3,496,600.00 to add utility separation and temporary office work along with adding 60 days to the contracted time, totaling it to 268 completion days. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Approval of Change Order #2 to CIP 25-531 Brazos County Administration Building Renovations with Flintco, in the amount of $500,000.00, increasing the contract amount to $16,339,949.83 to add this amount to Owner’s Contingency Funds. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Approval of the following FY27 Community Support Contracts: — PASSED UNANIMOUS A. 27-016 Amber Alert Network B. 27-019 Boys and Girls Club C. 27-021 Historical Commission D. 27-022 Food Bank E. 27-023 Brazos Transit District F. 27-024 Arts Center of Brazos Valley G. 27-025 BVCOG – Indigent Health H. 27-027 Veterans Memorial I. 27-029 Easter Seals J. 27-031 Federal Soil and Water Conservation District K. 27-033 Health For All L. 27-034 Junction Five-O-Five M. 27-036 MHMR N. 27-040 SARC O. 27-042 Scotty’s House P. 27-043A South Brazos County Fire Department (VFD 1) Q. 27-043B VFD 2 R. 27-043C VFD 3 S. 27-043D VFD 4 T. 27-044 Voices for Children Request for Approval of Personnel Change of Status for Department Heads. — PASSED UNANIMOUS Reports Quarterly Report from the Public Defender’s Office Quarterly Report from the Juvenile Services Department Quarterly Report from the Sheriff’s Office Executive Session Meet in Closed Session to deliberate the following matters as authorized by the Texas Government Code: A. §551.074. Personnel Matters. Commissioners Court will meet in Closed Session to deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee; or to hear a complaint or charge against an officer or employee. • County Manager • Director, Project Management Meet in Closed Session to deliberate the following matters as authorized by the Texas Government Code: §551.0725. Deliberation Regarding Contract Being Negotiated. The Commissioners Court will meet in Closed Session to deliberate business and financial issues relating to a contract being negotiated. • Easterwood Airport Reconvene Open Session and consider taking action of the following matters: NO ACTION TAKEN  

College Station Police are crediting Flock cameras with assisting in the arrest of an individual wanted on multiple felony narcotics warrants. The department received a Flock alert Tuesday afternoon on a vehicle associated with 21-year-old Makhi Rayshawn Hammond, of Bryan. Officers found Hammond inside his vehicle at an apartment complex on Harvey Road. Hammond was taken into custody on his outstanding warrants for Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Penalty Group 1-B, 1–4 grams), Manufacture and Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Penalty Group 2/2A, 4–400 grams), and Possession of Marijuana (4 ounces–5 pounds). During his arrest, Hammond was found with marijuana and is facing a new charge of Possession of Marijuana, less than 2 ounces. He is being held in the Brazos County Jail on $177,000 bond. This is Hammond’s 11th booking into the jail. His previous charges include Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Theft of a Firearm, Disorderly Conduct, Failure to Identify, Resisting Arrest, and Public Intoxication of a Minor.

It’s kind of fitting that these announcements come on Voter Registration Day. First, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest of seven noncitizens who have been indicted for illegal activity related to the 2024 general election. For years, Attorney General Paxton has investigated ballot harvesting operations and illegal voting activity. As a result, numerous indictments, arrests, prosecutions, and charges have been made to protect the integrity of our elections. Attorney General Paxton had previously announced investigations into potential noncitizens voting in the 2024 election. Due to findings of the OAG, Attorney General Paxton, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the FBI, and HSI have collaborated to charge seven individuals in Texas for illegal voting activity. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas indicted the individuals last week. “Foreign influence has no place in American elections. Today, my office is announcing our efforts to arrest foreigners who attempted to cheat the system and violate our laws that uphold election integrity,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will not tolerate attempts to rig elections and silence the will of American citizens and voters. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas has free and fair elections.” Mexican citizen Carlos Salas Barrios was arrested for Voting by an Alien. Nigerian national Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom was arrested for False Statements in Relation to Naturalization. Nigerian national Helen Mayen Adams, Indian citizen Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, Mexican citizen Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, Democratic Republic of the Congo national Celestin Kuasa Katubadi, and Mexican citizen Rocio Thrasher were all five arrested for both Voting by an Alien and False Statements of Citizenship in Order to Register to Vote. Also today, the Texas Secretary of State announced that 117 cases of potential noncitizen voting have been referred to the Office of the Attorney General for investigation. The action is part of a larger update on Texas’ ongoing efforts to review voter citizenship ahead of the Nov. 3 Election. “By law and according to our Constitution, citizenship is a requirement to vote in Texas, and we have a duty to ensure that only eligible voters participate in our elections,” Secretary of State Robert Howden said. “We also have a responsibility to make sure eligible citizens can exercise their right to vote, which is why we are taking great care with this data and conducting additional layers of due diligence.” Last fall, the agency ran the names of the state’s 18 million registered voters through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database — a process that identified 2,724 potential noncitizens on the voter rolls. Those registrations were referred to county registrars to conduct their own investigations pursuant to state law. In the weeks following this initial crosscheck, the Office of the Texas Secretary of State partnered with the Department of Public Safety to conduct a manual review of the 2,724 cases. In addition, the agency asked counties to report back the results of their local investigations. This review narrowed the number of potential noncitizens. The additional review showed that 578 voters demonstrated citizenship. Of those, citizenship was proven for 506 because passport information was added to SAVE after the state’s initial run. The Office of the Texas Secretary of State advised counties to reinstate these registrations if they were removed. In 2025, Texas became one of the first states to participate in a pilot program with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to perform voter list maintenance using SAVE — the nation’s primary source for citizenship data that is widely used by state and local governments, including DPS. The deadline to register to vote in the next election is October 5th. To register to vote, or verify that you’re still on the voter rolls, visit votetexas.gov.