During Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, the Brownwood Municipal Development District Board of Directors voted to approve $20,000 per year for a two-year stint to the Small Business Development Center for operations of a field office, which will be located in the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.

The SBDC provides counseling, technical assistance, training workshops, and reference resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Counselors maintain the highest ethical standards of confidentiality with clients and counseling services are available at no charge. The center is staffed by professionals with proven ability to promote growth, innovation, profitability, increased productivity and improved management of small business

BMDD Executive Director Ray Tipton told the Board that the SBDC had not established an office in Brownwood since before the pandemic. Susan Banks from the SBDC office at Tarleton State University in Stephenville has been visiting Brownwood a couple of days a week for the last few months and a request was made to the BMDD to make sure funding was available to keep an office open.

The Board requested quarterly reports and details on how many hours would be worked in Brownwood per week. The Board also learned if that position were to be vacant for a stretch of one month, a reimbursement would occur.

Tipton also told the Council that seven bids have been received on concrete work for the Coggin Park basketball slab, and that the winning bid could be announced at the June 5 City Council meeting, with work beginning possibly later in the month of June.

The City is also in discussions with a 55-unit duplex project near Brownwood Middle School regarding possible incentives for water, sewer and streets.

The Station at 1017 Austin Avenue, as well as Tropical Smoothie Cafe at the Shoppes at Pecan Bayou, are now open, and Tipton also reported that the openings of 7 Brew Coffee and Panda Express have further helped boost recent sales tax figures.

Tipton added there’s currently no start date established for construction of the Shops on Commerce project, which will feature Ross, Ulta Beauty, Five Below, Bath & Body Works, and James Avery and is slated to open the first quarter of 2026.