Brownwood City Council met in a special called meeting on Wednesday.  There were several items on the agenda.

Mayor Massey spoke regarding authorizing the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) to remove asbestos and/or demolish the former Medical Arts Hospital and Clinic, which was unanimously approved.  After the Demolition of these abandoned buildings, the property will eventually become part of the Brownwood campus of Texas State Technical College, which will allow for use the property in possible future expansions.  As Mayor Massey noted, “The building has been abandoned for years and is becoming dilapidated and dangerous.” The BEDC will cover the cost of the asbestos removal and the demolition in exchange for the city accepting the products from the demolition at the landfill at no cost.  The cost of asbestos abatement is $28,970 and the building demolition will be between $35,000 and $40,000.   For more information about the Medical Arts Hospital and Clinic, click here.

The council then moved to another item, approving the assignment of a lease agreement from Jim Burkett to the BEDC, which was also unanimously approved.  In approximately 2001 the city entered into the lease agreement with Burkett’s Flying Service.  The BEDC will purchase the lease at $90,000.  The original cost of the hanger was $180,000.  “This is a great opportunity to put the hanger back into service,” stated Bobby Rountree, City Manager.   Mr. DeHay also commented, “This is a very nice facility and put to use, will result in getting additional industry here (in Brownwood) and will create new jobs.”

The Police Chief search was reported to be going successfully.  There were 49 applicants from a diverse area.  Applicants are from Illinois, Kansas, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas, some from large cities and others from smaller cities.  19 of these were sent with written questions to the Texas Police Association for recommendations.  The others that were not selected have been notified.  Interviews will begin in early March.

Other agenda items included:

• Claims and Accounts, which were unanimously approved
• Approval of amending City’s Civil Service Classification Ordinance to temporarily increase the number of firefighters, police officers/recruits and patrol officers during testing for internal promotions.  This was explained by Rountree to allow needed staffing while cutting overtime pay costs.
• Consideration of awarding the bid for the Sports Complex:  Bobby Rountree noted that all bids were received on Friday.  He further stated, “There are a large number of alternates.  Complete analysis has not been completed.  There is some work that the city can do to keep costs down.  The project is still about $325,000 short on funding…the Fain bid is very competitive.”
• Parks Project:  The National Guard is still working on clearing the land and the pool was reported as being 26% complete.  The bath house was noted to be 29% complete.

Special guests at the council meeting included students in the Social Welfare Programs, Policies and Issues class at Howard Payne University that is taught by Dan Humeniuk

The Council took a short recess and then convened in a closed session with City Attorney, Pat Chesser, to discuss a settlement agreement in the Whitley v. City of Brownwood, et al lawsuit.