On Tuesday, the Brownwood City Council unanimously approved entering into an agreement with Halff Associates for the development of a parks master plan for a total cost of $50,000, and ratifying the BMDD’s participation at $25,000.

A parks master plan will give a comprehensive look at the City’s park system, assess the highest and best use of each park, develop ideas and concepts for improvements to the parks, engage the community, City Council, boards and citizens in assessing needs in the parks, and make recommendations on future park improvements and developments.

Goals accomplished by having a parks master plan include:

• Opening the door for the City to apply for park grants. Having an updated parks master plan is often a requirement to apply for most park grants. The last City of Brownwood parks master plan was approved in 2001 and updated in 2008. From those plans, the City was able to secure around $1,500,000 in grants from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
• Allowing the BMDD and City to better allocate parks funding with a yearly schedule of possible improvements. The plan will help guide the development of future park improvements and their costs going forward. It will also allow the BMDD to allocate the budgeted park improvement funds to help leverage future grants.

City staff sought out two proposals for a parks master plan development. One was from Halff Associates with a proposed cost of $50,000. The second proposal was from Vista Planning at a cost of $58,975.

Although the services are similar, City recommended Halff because of the price and experience of the company. The BMDD board approved funding of a parks master plan at the Feb. 15th board meeting.

The City of Brownwood parks budget has allocated $27,800 towards a parks master plan.

Also Tuesday, the City Council:

* Authorized the City of Brownwood’s participation in the statewide settlements with Teva Pharmaceuticals and Endo Pharmaceuticals and authorize the City Manager to sign the Texas Subdivision and Special District Election and Release Form and any other documents necessary for the City to participate in the settlements.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached two statewide settlements with Teva Pharmaceuticals and Endo Pharmaceuticals. Teva is to pay $225 million to Texas and its political subdivisions in the form of direct payments and regional payments. Endo is to pay $63 million to Texas and its political subdivisions in the form of direct payments and regional payments. The City of Brownwood will receive the following direct payments:

Endo: $7,903.73

Teva: $18,623.72

The direct payments may be used on any item that has an opioid nexus, which means it is spent on something with a past or future expenditures related to opioids.

* Unanimously approved Vincent Ornelas to fill the unexpired of Emma Hall of the Board of the Brownwood Housing Authority.

* Authorized the City Manager to sign an agreement and any subsequent addendums, amendments, and acceptance of additional funds during the term of the existing grant contract on behalf of Brownwood/Brown County Health Department with Texas Department of State Health Services to continue providing Public Health Emergency Preparedness services to our community.

The Texas Department of State Health Services Community Preparedness Section is continuing/amending the FY2018 Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant in the amount of $103,507 for a six-year total of $618,616. Funds from the grant are used to maintain a comprehensive public health preparedness program, to include epidemiology service, providing personnel, supplies, and education to meet the grant statement of work. The grant terms will extend the existing agreement, which ends June 30, 2022, to July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.