WTAW - Interviews

This podcast contains comments from the October 14, 2024 Texas A&M faculty senate meeting.

Texas A&M's chief academic officer apologizes to the faculty senate for not getting their feedback before deciding to eliminate 52 minor degree and certificate programs.

Provost Alan Sams told faculty senate members multiple times that he, A&M's president, and the senate speaker will discuss reversing his decision. 

Sams said there was no external political pressure to cancel programs that he determined had little or no enrollment.

Faculty senate speaker Angie Hill Price asked senate members to keep their constituents in the loop.

WTAW's Chelsea Reber visits with Peggi Ondrasek, CEO and President of United Way of the Brazos Valley, and Roy Harrington from Texas Ramp Project.

Jeff Capps, Deputy City Manager, visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about Texas Municipal League, providing power, water rights and issues, crime in the Northgate district, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

Pat Baker, Board Chair for the Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley, visits with WTAW's Chelsea Reber about the decision to close the currenty facility at Lake Walk and temporarily switch to events-focused programming.

Hear more about an upcoming Financial Literacy Workshop presented by Charles Schwab and Frost Bank, reading programs, holiday events, and more during an update on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from Texas A&M chief operating officer Peter Lange's visit with reporters on October 8, 2024.

As Texas A&M's president finalizes recommendations of a university wide capacity study, his chief operating officer (COO) met with reporters about a proposal to relieve above ground traffic congestion.

COO Peter Lange said a network of underground tunnels nicknamed the "Aggie Loop" could deploy as many as 60 electric vehicles to move between east and west campus, as many as 3,300 people per hour in four minutes.

Lange compared the A&M model to one in Las Vegas that transports people between that city's convention center and connected hotels.

Lange said another idea under consideration to reduce movement between east and west campus, involves more buildings where students on west campus could take core curriculum classes, live, and eat.

The tunnel route is based on the two most heavily used on campus bus routes which are routes one and three.

The “Aggie Loop”, at 30 feet below ground, would connect the Polo Road area of campus with the memorial student center (MSC), White Creek apartments and Reed Arena.

Transit time from Polo Road to the MSC would be two minutes and the transit time from White Creek Apartments to the commons area would be completed in three minutes.

The project would also require building passenger stations above and below ground.

Funding is unknown, though it is likely that A&M would need to fund this centrally and transit resources would be allocated to improving existing routes.

While A&M's president has not made any final decisions related to the capacity study, Mark Welsh has stated the possibility of freezing undergraduate enrollment for five years.

Click HERE to read and download the draft recommendations of Texas A&M's capacity study that were released in July 2024.

This podcast contains comments from the October 1, 2024 Brazos County commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners agree to divert the county's portion of future property tax money in the north section of downtown Bryan.

That is associated with an undisclosed economic development project from the Bryan city council.

County judge Duane Peters provided information about the county's involvement during the commission's October 1st meeting, in response to a citizen's question about the county paying for a new parking garage.

County documents say the creation of 300 parking spaces would serve a new development along Bryan Avenue between 22nd and Martin Luther King, Jr. Street.

The Bryan city council during its October regular meeting, approved without public comment the interlocal agreement with Brazos County and an eighth amendment to the tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) where this development will take place.

Click HERE to read and download the interlocal agreement approved by the Brazos County commission and the Bryan city council.

Click HERE to read and download the Bryan city council's approval of the eighth amendment to the TIRZ that is associated with the city-county interlocal agreement.

Click HERE to read and download Bryan city council background information about amendments to the downtown Bryan TIRZ.

Click HERE to read and download the city of Bryan's document establishing the downtown TIRZ in August 2009.

Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about Texas Municipal League, development at Midtown Park, Downtown Bryan, the Ice House on Main building, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the October 7, 2024 College Station city council meeting from members Mark Smith, Elizabeth Cunha, Dennis Maloney, Bob Yancy, and John Nichols, along with the director of College Station's community services office Debbie Eller.

The city of College Station has 32,000 rental housing units.

The last couple of years, the College Station city council has received multiple complaints from Texas A&M students about the condition of rental housing.

Monday night's council meeting (October 7) included 90 minutes of comments about a proposed voluntary rental housing inspection ordinance.

On a four to two vote, the council delayed action until their next meeting on October 24th. That would allow A&M students another opportunity to speak and the council to get a report from A&M's off campus housing office...both in an effort for the council to gauge if improvements in the city's See, Click, and Fix reporting app is enough that a voluntary inspection ordinance is not needed.

Joining Elizabeth Cunha, who made the motion to delay a vote, were Bob Yancy, Mark Smith, and Linda Harvell.

Opposed to delaying the vote were John Nichols and Dennis Maloney.

William Wright was absent from the meeting.

Click HERE to read and download College Station's proposed voluntary rental inspection ordinance.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the October 8, 2024 College Station city council meeting.

WTAW's Chelsea Reber visits with Peggi Ondrasek from United Way of the Brazos Valley and Tiger Burton from BVCASA.