The Brownwood City Council, in session Tuesday morning, July 28, approved four recent actions taken by the Brownwood Municipal Development District Board of Directors.
The BMDD and City of Brownwood went through a bid process for the demolition of the old Ice House and warehouse buildings on Baker and Lee Streets, just southwest of the Coliseum. Two sealed bids were received. The BMDD Board awarded, and the Council approved, the low bid of $261,469 by local company Martin Earthworks. The other bid was $370,000 by Teinert Construction. The demolition does not include the brown brick Timmins building but does include the warehouse buildings nearby. Ray Tipton, Executive Director of the BMDD, said he would like to see the project complete by October 1. This would pave the way for a possible future event center project in that location.
The Council approved a Hotel Building Improvement Incentive Program grant to Billy V. Stewart, not to exceed $80,000, for a property at 504 W. Commerce. Stewart purchased the old Holiday Inn Express at the beginning of the year. He is in the process of renovating the entire building to reopen as a new Best Western Plus. It is a complete interior remodel with new floor coverings, drywall, fixtures and furniture. Stewart plans on spending approximately $1.5 million on the renovations and plans to open the hotel in October of this year. According to Tipton, because of the higher economic impact offered to the community by hotels, this project qualifies for the hotel version of the Building Improvement Incentive Program.
The Council approved BMDD board action for matching funds to Ranger College for $30,322 for a Texas Workforce Commission Jobs and Education for Texas Grant Program. The funds will help implement a robotics, electronics and drone technology program in Brownwood. Ranger College was approved for the JET Program for $282,420 to develop a mobile training center that will teach electronics, robotics and drone technology. The local match was required by the Workforce Commission for Ranger to receive the grant. Through the program, high school juniors and seniors in Brownwood ISD will have the opportunity to receive certificates in the three fields. “I think anytime we can get our local community colleges involved in helping our students and getting them interested in technology, that’s a great thing so I’m excited about that,” said Lindsay Smith, Brownwood high school principal. The program will provide 40 drones and will offer training for the required 107 FAA certificate to operate a drone. The unit could also be used for short course training for area industry and labs at area high schools.
The Council also ratified a BMDD board action to approve purchase of new playground equipment for Trigg Park from Child’s Play, Inc., not to exceed $25,000. In recent years, the City of Brownwood has made a significant investment in Trigg Park including a new splash pad and restroom facility. The City also partnered with Brownwood ISD to add a road through Trigg Park to help with traffic flow with student pickup and drop-off at Northwest Elementary. The City has plans to re-use some of the old playground equipment from Riverside Park at Trigg Park in addition to the new equipment.