WTAW - Interviews

This podcast contains comments from the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners are told that $34 million dollars need to be spent on deferred maintenance of county buildings during the next ten years.

County documents show deferred maintenance estimates are just over $18 million at the Brazos County jail, more than $9 million at the Brazos Center, $4.7 million at the courthouse, and $1.7 million at the sheriff's office.

The total amount is divided as almost $19 million in the next two years for life safety and code critical reasons, another $13 million in the next two to five years to replace systems such as heating and air conditioning, and almost $2 million in the next five to ten years for what is described as "future considerations".

Click HERE to read and download the list of deferred maintenance projects that were presented at the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

This podcast contains comments from the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

College Station city council members at their last meeting (February 26), spent more than one hour before adopting the first revision to the city's economic development master plan since 2020.

Consultants hired by the council titled their 34 page report "The College Town of Texas". And the beginning of the consultant's vision statement says "College Station will be the nation's most vibrant university community".

The city's chief development officer, Michael Ostrowski, says the 34 page report "is more strategic, it's more action focused, and it's very specific to what we need to do" compared with the prior report that he described as "more general in nature".

The day after the council's unanimous approval, a ten member steering committee started addressing more than 100 action items. The steering committee, aided by consultants by the council, is composed of three council members, five representatives of the business community, a representative of the Texas A&M president's office, and the chairman of the planning and zoning commission.

While the council unanimously approved changes, at least three members expressed a desire for more time to consider the report's more than 100 action items. After councilman David White's motion to delay a vote died for the lack of a second, he joined a unanimous vote.

The council's vote followed the city's planning and zoning commission recommending approval by a 4-3 margin. P&Z chairman Jason Cornelius said that was in part to some members expressing a desire for more time to study the findings.

Click HERE to read and download what was approved at the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials at the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

This podcast is a visit with city of Bryan assistant city manager Kevin Russell and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

In December of 2023, the Bryan city council approved an economic development agreement for a developer to bring multi family housing and a shopping center anchored by an H-E-B on land bordered by Boonville Road, Briarcrest Drive, and Green Valley Drive.

Most recently, right turn lanes off Boonville going into the site now have vertical sticks. 

A spokesman at the Bryan TxDOT district office tells WTAW News that the sticks, which are officially called "delineators", were installed by the developer in an attempt to keep people out of the undeveloped site. They will be removed when construction begins on the site.

Assistant city manager Kevin Russell, who has been part of the team that has worked nearly four years with the developer and H-E-B, says the store has until 2028 to start construction.

Russell says the developer has prepared the site for construction by adding the turn lanes and extending water and sewer lines.And the city is in the process of designing traffic signals for the intersection of Boonville Road and Miramont Boulevard.

Russell says the city wants to be as prepared in case H-E-B decides that another location is not ready to proceed.

As for the multi family housing component of the project, Russell says those officials are waiting for H-E-B to proceed.

Click HERE to read and download background information from the city of Bryan that was part of the December 12, 2023 city council meeting agenda.

Click HERE to read and download the agreement that was approved at the December 12, 2023 Bryan city council meeting.

This podcast contains comments from the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners add $975,000 dollars to the $15 million dollar renovation of the administration building.

The contract change order approved at the commission's February 24th meeting also adds 60 days to the timeline of the project, or until May of 2027.

The county's website says "funding for this change order is already in place in project reserves."

Click HERE to read and download the change order which was approved at the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

County documents say the general contractor and county officials during the initial demolition discovered a list of more needs to the former church building to address mold and water issues and to convert the one floor former sanctuary to two floors.

There is additional cost to replace wood roof decking, replace the concrete entry walkway and west side sidewalks, replace all exterior sheathing...which is the material that goes between interior walls and the exterior brick, and the additional cost for solid terrazzo flooring instead of carpeting.

Commissioners were shown photos and given an explanation by the county's project director of the additional work that is being required.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials that were shown at the February 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

This podcast includes comments from the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

College Station police goes to social media to bring up seeing numerous people on scooters being injured in crashes.

And the increasing number of scooter crashes was brought up at the last city council meeting (February 26) by police chief Billy Couch.

He shared the results of an educational campaign that took place in Northgate in February where out of 60 violations in three hours where officers issued a few tickets and some warnings.

Couch said the number of scooter crashes in College Station, reflected in a CSPD document as crashes involving "motorized conveyance" vehicles, rose from 6 in 2023 to 17 in 2024 to 28 in 2025. Couch told councilman Scott Shafer said "motorized conveyance" vehicles included both motorized and non-motorized scooters.

The document also showed the number of crashes involving "pedalcyclists" rose from 27 in 2023 to 41 in 2024 to 51 in 2025.

The number of CSPD calls to pedestrians who were struck were 28 in 2023, 55 in 2024, and 34 in 2025.

Click HERE to read and download the CSPD document detailing pedestrian crashes that was presented at the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

A CSPD Facebook post last week (March 4) also noted that officers "also see numerous drivers distracted by their cell phones while traveling. The City of College Station has adopted a Hands Free Ordinance that makes driving with your cell phone in your hand illegal."

This podcast contains comments from the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

Predatory towing of vehicles in privately owned parking lots in College Station was discussed during the last city council meeting (February 26).

As part of police chief Billy Couch's review of PD activity last year, he shared that the state regulates towing companies and wrecker drivers.

Couch brought up the different scenarios the police department has with towing companies. The chief says towing companies are supposed to report all tows to police.

The chief told the council that there are spotters, mostly in Northgate, who are watching parking lots who will contact a wrecker that is parked nearby when they see a violator.

Couch says another state regulation is the wrecker can take the vehicle only when the tow is "road ready".

The chief also says there is a state regulation that allows vehicle owners to pay a fee to release their vehicle before it is towed. Couch says that fee is much less than paying to get a vehicle out of an impound lot.

Councilman William Wright, who did not share details about a personal experience involving a predatory tow, was hoping the council could have taken some sort of action to make a difference for what he believes will be future victims.

Click HERE to read and download presentation information given at the February 26, 2026 College Station city council meeting.

This podcast is a visit with Bryan police officer Seth Waller and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

March First Friday activities in downtown Bryan will include an increased police presence.

Bryan police officer Seth Waller says the additional attention at a mass gathering like First Friday follows last weekend's mass shooting in downtown Austin's entertainment district and the war in Iran which is a week old.

Waller says this will allow visitors to "walk around and enjoy the evening as First Friday is meant to be."

Visitors are also invited to stop officers, including those on BPD's bicycle detail, and visit with them and ask any questions.

Waller also asks parents to not leave the area with unattended children. In some cases, Waller says officers find unattended children who "are causing issues".

And Waller says to reach out to an officer if you see something suspicious.

This podcast contains comments from the March 2, 2026 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

The Bryan ISD school board selects the first of what will be several architects that will work on portions of the $397 million dollar bond issue that voters approved in November 2025.

The board at its March 2nd meeting, awarded an $89,242 dollar contract to "design and administer construction services" for the new Merrill Green Stadium fieldhouse and other athletics projects.

A BISD spokesman tells WTAW News the other projects are "Athletic Scoreboards, Athletic Batting Cage Covers-BHS and Rudder Softball and Baseball, Synthetic Turf-BHS and Rudder Baseball and Softball, Synthetic Turf-BHS Track, Rudder Field and Track, SFA Field and Track, Davila Field and Track, Concessions Renovations-BHS and Rudder, BHS/MG Stadium Video Board, and Rudder Gym and Weight Room."

Click HERE to read and download the contract that was approved at the March 2, 2026 Bryan ISD school board meeting.

City of College Station public works director Emily Fisher visits with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia March 6, 2026 on The Infomaniacs. Topics includes the future home of the public works department, current and future projects, and promoting the city's See-Click-Fix app.

This podcast contains comments from the February 17, 2026 College Station ISD school board meeting.

College Station ISD school board members are now required when they want to visit a campus that is not related to attending an activity, to schedule the visit with the superintendent have the superintendent with them.

That follows a debate at the February board meeting which resulted in a four to three vote.

The change in board operating policy was requested by superintendent Tim Harkrider in a meeting with the board's leadership. 

Harkrider received support from president Kim Ege, vice president Heather Simmen, and secretary Kristin Wilson.

The board leadership was joined by Darin Paine in voting to make the change.

The three no votes came from members who were elected last November...new members Chris Field and Mike Martindale and incumbent Kimberly McAdams.

The image associated with this podcast shows the new language in red that was adopted on the 4-3 board vote.