Today’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners consisted of several routine items: (1) approval of a new employee, Dalia Gallendo, in the County Clerk’s office; (2) approval of the installation of two private water lines, on County Roads 267 and 291; and (3) decision to keep the current burn ban on.

But the biggest matter was something that was not on the agenda, a vote to approve or disapprove the placing on the ballot of the May 3 elections a bond issue for a proposed YMCA in Early.  The Commissioners chose not to include that issue on the agenda for today’s meeting.

The YMCA has been under consideration for several years and would be located in the City of Early’s Town Center project.  It would be a branch of the YMCA in Abilene, and would be called the Brown County YMCA.  This bond proposal was initially scheduled to be voted on last year, but had to be postponed because Texas law allows bond elections in May to occur only in odd-numbered years.

The proposed 15-year bond would provide public funding from all Brown County taxpayers for the construction of the facility, estimated to cost $20 million.  Brown County would then own the facility, and YMCA would occupy it and pay for the operating costs.  In addition to physical workout facilities, the YMCA would also offer basketball, volleyball, pickleball, track, swimming (all indoors), as well as public meeting rooms, classrooms, a kitchen, etc.

City of Early Administrator Tony Aaron said that the City conducted an online survey of Brown County residents, and that the overwhelming majority of the respondents indicated interest in having a YMCA in Brown County and a willingness to support a bond – and the subsequent taxes – to pay for it.  Aaron said that a family membership would cost $75/month, and that the YMCA would have to maintain about 1,400 members to break even.  If they are unable to break even, the proposed agreement would allow the YMCA in seven years to request public funding from the County for operating expenses, and that it would be up to the County Commissioners at that time to approve or disapprove the request.

Aaron explained the way that YMCAs are built and operate:  “Corporate YMCA does not open new YMCA centers.  The communities open them.  The model is that the local government builds and owns the facility.  YMCA becomes a tenant, pays to operate it, and provides all the services.”

At the Commissioners Court meeting on January 27, local citizen Allen Andrews addressed the Commissioners and urged them not to approve the bond election, because it is a violation of both the Texas Constitution and the United States Constitution for a government body to support a religious institution:  “Consider this from its (YMCA’s) web site: ‘The YMCA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.’  I would hope that all here would support the intent of this statement and therefore the Young Men’s Christian Association’s ministry.”  But, Allen pointed out that the proposed bond would violate the Texas Constitution’s (Article 1, Section 6) and the United States Constitution’s (First Amendment) prohibitions of the public establishment or support of religious institutions.

On that matter Aaron commented “On the Constitutionality matter, this is not something we came up with.  You can go back forty or fifty years and look all over the United States and see where there are partnerships between local governments and the YMCA.  We are not creating anything new.”  Aaron cited Burnet, Cedar Park, Hutto, and Midlothian as cities in Texas which have provided a YMCA facility with public money.

Aaron concluded:  “We have 1,600 persons who filled out a survey that said they felt like this was something they would like to see in the community.  We have people who said we don’t need this, I don’t want it, I don’t want to pay taxes for it.  My whole point of this discussion is that there are enough people that have interest in this topic one way or the other, that the voters should be the ones who decide that.  It shouldn’t be me, or the City Council, or the County Commissioners.  Put it before the voters.  And if it fails – or passes – we’ve done our job.”

The deadline for placing the bond issue on the May election ballot is February 14.  But the Commissioners did not include the discussion of the proposed bond issue on today’s agenda, and no more Commissioners Court meetings are scheduled this week.

When today’s meeting agenda was published last Friday, Early City Administrator Tony Aaron posted comments on Facebook, followed by comments also on Facebook from County Judge Shane Britton.  Both are shown below.

City of Early Administrator Tony Aaron:

The Brown County Family YMCA will not happen unless the Brown County
Commissioners Court takes action ahead of the February 14th deadline.

The Brown County Family YMCA bond will not be on the May 2025 ballot for
voters to determine its fate.
Late Thursday night we were informed that the Brown County Commissioner
and County Judge denied a petition to place the matter on the agenda for
discussion on Monday February 10, 2025.  The next step in the legal
process to keep the matter moving forward would be for the Brown County
Commissioner to pass a resolution before the February 14th deadline
ordering the idea of a Brown County Family YMCA to be put before voters
at the May election. The election in May would be for voters to support
or oppose the issuance of $20M in bonds to pay for the project.

To have the topic on the Commissioners Court agenda the Brown County
Judge or at least one  Commissioner would need to sponsor it. None of
them stepped forward in support of the item being placed on the agenda
for discussion and consideration. By this lack of action to discuss it in
a Commissioners Court meeting the decision has been made for voters and
it will not be on the ballot in May

Over the last three years it became clear to the leaders in the City of
Early that this project was bigger than just the citizens of Early.
There was a strong countywide interest in this project.  It was also
financially not feasible for Early to take on a project of this
financial size by itself.  This is why the partnership and support of
the Brown County Judge and Commissioners Court was necessary.  A shared
cost for all Brown County for a shared benefit for all Brown County
Citizens is the lowest financial impact to everyone and what seamed to
be the most viable option for the project.

At this point, there is no path forward for the Brown County Family YMCA
without the Brown County Commissioners court support. We have advocated
as much as possible for the matter to reach Brown County voters.

Over the course of these three years, many people have come out in
support of the project including over 1600 citizens who took a survey
confirming that.  There are also others who have shown their disapproval
for the project. This debate over the project is evident that our Brown
County community is paying attention to this project and how it can
affect our future.  For this reason alone the decision should have been
put to a vote by Brown County Citizens.

After three years working towards getting this matter on the ballot, we
are disappointed to say the least that the matter will not be decided by
the voters of Brown County.  After all it is “Your Community”. It should
be “Your Choice”

Sincerely,
Tony Aaron
Early City Administrator

Brown County Judge Shane Britton:

First and foremost, I would love to have a YMCA in Brown County. The idea of building one in the proposed location seemed perfect. It would be a great addition to the Early Town Center. However, this project, like most, comes with a cost. $20-$25 million is a lot of money, particularly in the current economy. As I speak to citizens of Brown County, the number one issue I consistently hear about is TAXES. Very simply put, people are being taxed out of the homes. Anyone who pays property taxes has noticed a significant increase the last couple of years. As the economy has worsened, prices have increased and taxes have necessarily been raised to cover basic government services. Increased taxes coupled with increases in home values have caused many in our community to pay more on their taxes than they do on their mortgages.

I work for 39,000 people, not 1600. When making decisions, I must consider the best interest of ALL the citizens of Brown County. Whether it’s the elderly couple in May living on a fixed income or the single mother of 3 in Brookesmith who is trying to get by making minimum wage; all citizens of Brown County are equal in my eyes. When considering this proposal, the commissioners and I had to consider the tax burden this would place on the citizens. Sure, $61.00 a year doesn’t sound like a lot to most people. But it is a lot to many and when you add a little here and a little there, pretty soon you have a crisis.

Additionally, I have serious reservations about the feasibility of this project. Very few people in the community even know how this project was being proposed. The County would own the building and the YMCA would operate it. The YMCA has little to no exposure because if they did not sell enough memberships to sustain themselves, the taxpayers are responsible for paying a “subsidy” to them to stay in business. Yes, you heard that right. They could not even guarantee that they would be able to operate in the black. And it is not free to attend. A family membership is $65 a month. There are currently at least 9 commercial fitness facilities open to the public in Brown County. At least 7 of those are locally owned and operated by Brown County citizens who pay taxes. None of those 9 have the luxury of seeking a tax dollar subsidy to stay open during hard times. That is coupled with the fact that Planet Fitness recently opened in EARLY. They have seen an explosion in memberships in the short time they have been open. Does anyone know what happens if the YMCA ceases to be viable, even with taxpayers subsidizing their income? They go out of business and you, the taxpayers, own a $25 million building that is worth a fraction of $25 million. You, the taxpayer would still be paying for a building that is not in operation and paying all upkeep, maintenance, utilities and insurance. Ideally the City of Early would own that building because of its location and their vested interest.

Finally, we had to consider that this is just one of many proposals or projects that the citizens of Brown County desire. There are many in the community who want a new public library. There are those who want a new rodeo/special events center to host events like ropings, rodeos, livestock shows and youth fairs. We are regularly faced with major decisions. What’s next, the city of Bangs asking us to call a bond election to build a new community center or the city of Brownwood asking us to call a bond election to build a new library? It is illogical to expect the Commissioners’ Court to call an election every time we are faced with a difficult decision. Making “unilateral decisions” is exactly what we are elected to do.

Some have suggested that we are going “against the will of the people” because many spoke in favor of the bond during a public meeting last May. The reality is that the feedback since that meeting has been overwhelmingly against this proposal. It became obvious that this bond had little chance of passing.

I commend the city of Early for the work they have put into this project. Hopefully they will be able to find a way to fund this project on their own. I appreciate the many of you who have reached out to offer words of encouragement and to express your agreement with this decision.