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This podcast contains comments from the November 24, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

The College Station city council's second meeting of November was moved to Monday (November 24) due to Thanksgiving.

Purchases approved by the council included new playground equipment at three city parks. Assistant parks and recreation director Gene Ballew explained the process of selecting Castlegate, Merry Oaks, and Southern Oaks parks, which included the results of a public survey. Acquisition and installation of the $600,000 dollars of new equipment is expected to take about five months. Ballew also the council they would be considering similar action at other parks early next year.

Click HERE to read and download information about the parks playground purchase.

The council also approved spending $335,000 dollars for the police department to replace a robot that is used by CSPD's bomb squad. Lieutenant Sean Beatty, who is CSPD's special operations commander, explained the reason for replacing an 18 year old unit.

Click HERE to read and download information about the bomb robot purchase.

Those purchases were part of the consent agenda that the council unanimously approved.

This podcast contains comments from the November 18, 2025 College Station ISD school board meeting.

College Station ISD school board members spent more than 40 minutes at the end of the November regular meeting discussing in private, who will lead the board for the next 12 months. 

After the executive session, there was no public discussion before making two votes.

The first was a unanimous vote naming Kim Ege board president and Heather Simmen vice president.

That was followed by a 4-3 vote choosing Heather Wilson as board secretary.

Wilson, who voted for herself, was joined by Ege, Simmen, and Darin Paine. Kimberly McAdams, who voted for herself, was joined by newly elected members Mike Martindale and Chris Field.

This podcast contains comments from the November 13, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

Action at the College Station city council meeting on November 13th included unanimous approval was given to updates in the fire and life safety codes as presented by fire chief Richard Mann.

The chief said the biggest change is adding a section about lithium batteries.

There is also a new requirement for carbon monoxide detectors in every residence that uses natural gas to fuel appliances.

College Station's construction board of adjustments also recommended the changes.

Click HERE to read and download what was approved at the November 13, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

This week's United Way of the Brazos Valley update features partner agency Save Our Streets Ministries.

This podcast contains comments from the November 18, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.

The Monday before Thanksgiving was the start of the projected $17 million dollar renovation of the Brazos County administration building.

The county's project manager, Trevor Lansdown, told commissioners during their November 18th meeting that the current public entrance will be closed, a new sidewalk will be poured leading to a new entrance, what has been an employee parking lot on the north side of the building will be accessible to the public, and affected employees will have access to the parking garage that is between the ad building and the courthouse. 

Completion is projected to be in the spring of 2027.

Following Lansdown's update, commissioners voted 3-1 to spend $125,000 dollars to test materials being used in the project. 

There was a lengthy conversation following commissioner Fred Brown's opposition to the agreement. The expenditure is part of a multiyear contract that Brown said doesn't show whether this was the best price for the service. That and other comments resulted in responses from commissioner Wanda Watson, county purchasing agent Charles Wendt, and Lansdown.

Click HERE to read and download the materials testing agreement that was approved at the November 18, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.

This podcast contains comments from the November 18, 2025 College Station ISD school board meeting.

College Station ISD board members take the next step towards admitting out of district students.But the two newest CSISD board members did not vote with the majority on two motions during November's regular meeting.

Former superintendent Mike Martindale voted against changing CSISD's district of innovation (DOI) plan. Martindale disagreed with current superintendent Tim Harkrider, who said his leadership team met state requirements to endorse changing CSISD's district of innovation plan. Martindale said the Texas Education Agency required support from CSISD's DEIC (district education improvement committee) or an equivalent committee.

Chris Field voted against changing the DOI plan because he wanted to know first, how the superintendent would decide who would be admitted. Harkrider said "off the top of my head, grade wise would be nothing below an 85, attendance would be at least 90 and above, (and) three or less referrals with no major infractions."

Click HERE to read and download the change in CSISD's DOI plan to allow out of district students.

In a separate vote, Martindale voted no and Field abstained to change CSISD policy on allowing what is currently planned to recruit kindergarten through sixth grade students.

Click HERE to read and download the change in CSISD policy regarding enrollment of out of district students.

This podcast is a recording of the ceremonial groundbreaking of "The Big 6" expansion of Earl Rudder Freeway on November 20, 2025.

Speakers were Texas department of transportation (TxDOT) Bryan district engineer Chad Bohne, Brazos County state representative Paul Dyson, acting Brazos County judge Kyle Kacal, Bryan city councilman mayor pro-tem James Edge, College Station mayor John Nichols, the executive director of the Bryan/College Station metropolitan planning organization Dan Rudge, and Shawn West, one of the presidents of Fluor Corporation, which is the general contractor. The emcee was Rusty Surette of KBTX-TV.

College Station Councilman Scott Shafer visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about his job at Texas A&M University, The Big 6 expansion project, improving transportation safety on Texas A&M's campus, citizen input, the Northgate District, the former Macy's store, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the November 13, 2025 Texas A&M system board of regents meeting.

November's quarterly meeting of the Texas A&M system board of regents included action and discussion on nine building related projects.

After seven years of planning, construction will start soon on the new home of Texas A&M's meat science and technology center. The $114 million dollar facility will be located on the RELLIS campus. The director of AgriLife Research, Cliff Lamb, said the complex is moving from its present location on Finfeather Road because no land was available in 2018 when they started planning. While substantial completion is expected in February 2028, the complex won't open until the city of Bryan completes a sanitary sewer project that affects the entire RELLIS campus.

Click HERE to read and download background information on the new meat science and technology center.

Approval was also given to a Texas A&M baseball player development center. The $28 million dollar project demolishes the current batting cage and replaces it with a more than 34,000 square foot building. Construction is scheduled to start in December 2025 and be completed in one year.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the new baseball player development center.

Approval was given to proceed with the $20.5 million dollar renovation of the 1041 building on Texas A&M's west campus.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the 1041 building renovation.

Approval was given to proceed with the $9.4 million dollar HVAC replacement at Hart residence hall.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the Hart Hall HVAC replacement.

The regents moved up the start of construction on two buildings to this fiscal year. The west campus learning commons was scheduled to start in fiscal year 2028 and a third building for the Mays Business School was scheduled to start in fiscal year 2027.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the west campus learning commons project.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the Mays Business School building #3 project.

The regents also held a discussion about future plans to add parking on the flagship campus to replace space that is or will be taken for the Aplin Center among other current and future projects. A&M's chief operating officer Peter Lange said there is discussion for a ninth and tenth parking garage. One garage is on the university's capital plan for west campus. And Lange says nine or ten possible sites have been identified for additional parking.

The regents also discussed moving the system's audit office to a new location. Building committee chairman Randy Brooks of San Angelo said they are looking at a vacant A&M building in College Station on Texas near Dominik.

And the A&M system's chief administrative officer, Joseph Duron, presented a new $100 million dollar demolition/deferred maintenance plan where all universities and agencies can apply. The first phase will pay for demolition, beginning with vacant buildings. The second phase will continue with demolition and will address deferred maintenance on a prioritization schedule.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials about the demolition/deferred maintenance plan.

Bryan Councilman Paul Torres visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about naming Andrew Nelson as the new city manager, maintenance at Travis Field, improving facilities, working with REV, what he is hearing from constituents, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.