Brookshire City Council examined several items of city policy at its Sept. 3 meeting. Variances were denied and approved for small structures in the city, a road repair bid was rejected and updates on trash and animal control services were provided.

First up was a discussion on whether to allow a mini house to be placed at a property on Seventh Street. Immediately following that was a request for two variances to allow a mobile home park to be built on Gassner Road. The first variance would have allowed the lot size to be 1,950 square feet, while the second would have allowed for back in spaces rather than pull through spaces. Both the request for the back in spaces and the mini home were denied while the variance for the lot size was approved due to what city attorney Justin Pruitt said was confusing terminology in the associated city ordinance.

City Council instructed Pruitt to rewrite the ordinance to add appropriate clarity regarding the lot size issue.

A bid by AAA Asphalt for the repair of Stalknecht Road was declined after Alderman Eric Green said he’d reached out to Waller County Engineer Yancy Scott to discuss utilizing an interlocal agreement with the county that would reduce the cost for repairing the roadway. Stalknecht Road is a split responsibility between the county and city from a maintenance perspective. Council directed Pruitt to review the agreement with Waller County to identify how much of the repair would be the city’s responsibility and how much would be under the county’s purview.

Council members also discussed the status of the city’s animal control department which is currently unstaffed. The city had previously directed Police Chief Brandal Jackson to hire an applicant, but Mayor Darrell Branch said he was not satisfied with that applicant and wished for other options to be explored. With the mayor acting as approval for the hiring of city staff, the situation was tabled until additional information could be examined.

Alderman Lee Jones gave a brief update regarding the rebuilding of the city’s animal shelter. While an improved and updated facility had been considered, Jones said. After looking at what the city could afford, the reconstruction of a facility similar to what the city has previously had was examined instead with estimates for the cost of the rebuild coming in at about $480,000. The facility, if approved, would include an office, air conditioning and heating for the office, kennels and a horse stall.

Other items:

• The city is still finalizing details for the upcoming renewal of trash services through Republic Waste Services and for city planning and consulting with Gunda Corporation.
• The council is working with various stakeholders to determine the status of equipment missing off one of the fire trucks the city purchased. Details will be provided to city consultants and the equipment identified for return. It was unclear whether inventory errors or theft were the cause of the missing equipment.
• City Council approved the minutes for its July 9, July 16 and July 28 meetings.
• Approval of the city’s monthly invoices were approved.
• Jackson gave a report on the city’s current COVID-19 case counts. Ten new cases had been identified, all of which were at the local rehab center. The city’s total case count is 60 to-date with no fatalities as of the meeting. Jackson did not provide the number of recoveries.

Brookshire City Council meets twice monthly and dates and agendas for their meetings may be found at:  https://www.brookshiretexas.org/meetings.