WTAW - Interviews

This week's United Way of the Brazos Valley update highlighted Koll Interiors' "Chair the Good" program.

This podcast is a visit with College Station ISD communications director Austin Dunson and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

College Station ISD is hosting its first ever school board candidates forum.

CSISD communications director Austin Dunson says those running for the three contested at-large seats are invited to answer questions from representatives of the Texas Association of School Boards and questions submitted by CSISD constituents.

The forum is open to the public, it will be streamed live on CSISD's YouTube channel, and the video will be archived for future viewing.

The candidates forum is Wednesday (October 15) starting at 6 p.m. in the CSISD board meeting room, located in the district's administration building on Welsh Avenue.

Click HERE to be directed to the College Station ISD webpage with information about the 2025 school board election and candidates forum.

This podcast contains comments from the October 9, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

A local businessman's idea of a public private partnership for a $55 to $60 million dollar baseball complex behind the Costco store has interest of the College Station city council.

No official direction was given at Thursday night's (October 9) council meeting.But the developer, the managing partner of College Station based construction company ABA Services, could get an answer in the next 30 days.

Thomas Rodgers provided a 45 minute presentation of the project, which includes included a 3,800 seat stadium, eight adjacent artificial turf fields, and a 20,000 square foot building which will contain a 5,000 square foot gym and 15,000 square feet dedicated mostly to batting cages and pitching lanes. 

The complex will also have hotel style lodging, single family casitas and team housing, RV parking, and a 4,000 square foot restaurant.

Click HERE to read and download Thomas Rodgers presentation materials, provided by the city of College Station.

Rodgers wants the city to spend $15 to $20 million dollars and donate or lease 80 acres of land. 

Rodgers says if soil tests allows him to build, he could open the stadium and fields in June of 2027. The city's chief development officer and city manager expected it would take more time.

The council has to decide if they pursue the public private partnership, how that will impact a smaller stadium and two additional fields at Veterans Park that are already in the design phase are approaching the point to seek construction bids.

The more than two hour discussion also included the possible impact on the Brazos Valley Bombers baseball team, which is in negotiations with the city to play at the Veterans Park stadium in 2027, and the impact on developing a land use plan for College Station's Midtown area which includes the city owned land where the new complex would be built.

This podcast is a visit with Brazos County assistant district attorney Jessica Escue and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

The Brazos County district attorney's office is trying to get a Bryan man to prison as quickly as possible.

This is after a judge on Tuesday (October 7) sentenced 27 year old Joseph Sweed to ten years after a jury convicted him in June for assaulting a detention officer in March of 2024.

Assistant district attorney Jessica Escue says since December 2022, when Sweed was booked at the jail for the 11th time in ten years, he has constantly caused problems.

Escue said Sweed has sexually abusive and threatening behavior against medical staff, jail officers, and other inmates by destroying jail property, manipulating cell doors, setting fires, sexual harassment, and making graphic threats of physical and sexual violence against staff and other inmates.

Escue says Sweed's actions have impacted the safe functioning of the jail and required more time and resources to keep other inmates and staff safe from him.

Online records show Sweed has had 25 criminal cases in Brazos County courts. He faces three more felony trials...one for biting a Bryan police officer in May 2022 and for evading arrest in May 2022 and December 2022.

News release from the Brazos County district attorney's office:

On October 7th, 2025, Judge John Brick sentenced Joseph Sweed to the maximum of 10 years in TDCJ for the offense of Assault of a Public Servant. Sweed was convicted in June of the offense after a jury trial.

On March 3rd, 2024, Sweed was incarcerated in the Brazos County Detention Center for the offenses of Assault on a Peace Officer and Evading Arrest or Detention.

While incarcerated on these charges, Sweed was instructed by officers to return to his cell in the Brazos County Detention Center Special Housing Unit. When Sweed refused, officers attempted to restrain him and place him back in his cell. Sweed responded by punching a jail officer in the face. As a result of this conduct, Sweed was convicted of Assault of a Public Servant by the 272nd District Court jury on June 23, 2025.

A punishment hearing before Judge Brick was held on October 7, 2025. During this hearing, prosecutors presented evidence from multiple jail officers and medical staff that Sweed’s behavior in the Brazos County Detention Center impacted the safe functioning of the jail and required more time and resources to keep other inmates and staff safe from him.

His conduct included sexually abusive and threatening behavior against medical staff, jail officers, and other inmates by, destroying jail property, manipulating cell doors, setting fires, sexual harassment, and making graphic threats of physical and sexual violence against staff and other inmates.

Prosecutors also presented evidence of Sweed’s criminal history, noting that he had an extensive juvenile and adult criminal history, including having served time in both state jail and prison.

While in custody between the jury’s verdict and punishment hearing, Sweed continued his behavior, setting more fires, making more sexual and violent threats.

Bryan Woods, City Manager, visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about last night's council meeting, a potential trolley system between College Station and Bryan, the proposed multipurpose event center at Hensel Park, this week's presentation about a new baseball complex behind the Costco store, non-disclosure agreements, citizen feedback, the former Macy's store building, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the September 25, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

The College Station city council gets an update on the formation of an economic development master plan.

A 40 page report was part of a 30 minute presentation at the council's September 25th meeting.

Quoting the report, the goal of the master plan is "To prepare a five-year economic development master plan that provides a roadmap for sustainable economic growth and development tailored to the needs and opportunities of College Station."

Click HERE to read and download the report that was presented at the September 25, 2025 College Station city council meeting.

Comments from consultant Jennifer Todd-Goynes included a proposed vision statement and four focus areas to accomplish the vision.

The draft vision statement is "College Station will be the nation’s most vibrant university community, a place where businesses thrive, innovation is embraced, and quality of life is unmatched, resulting in sustained prosperity and economic competitiveness."

The first focus area, identity, is defined as "Cultivate university and community synergies to create dynamic districts and authentic places that are attractive to residents, businesses, students, and visitors."

The second focus area, industry, is defined as "Expand a thriving, diverse foundation of talent, businesses and industry to create a diversified tax base and enhance economic opportunity."

The third focus area, innovation, is defined as "Establish College Station as a hub for technology-driven entrepreneurship, research and development, business formation and growth, and wraparound support."

The fourth focus area, ignite, is defined as "Position the City of College Station as a proactive, efficient, and effective economic leader that strategically collaborates with local and regional partners to optimize opportunities."

The report also provided data in areas that included affordable housing and sources of city revenue.

The master plan is projected to be implemented in January 2026.

The council approved spending up to $145,000 dollars for the master plan.

This podcast contains comments from the October 7, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.

The end of the Bryan city council's October regular meeting was spent honoring city manager Kean Register, who is retiring next month.

Register received a proclamation and all seven council members paid tribute to the longest serving manager in the city's history.

Register was named city manager on a permanent basis in August 2012 and also served as interim city manager from February 2006 through October 2006 and from September 2010 through August 2012.

Register thanked his family, Bryan city employees, and the four mayors and more than 20 councilmembers during his time as manager.

Register’s career with the city of Bryan began in September 2000 with BTU (Bryan Texas Utilities) as a group manager overseeing the public power provider’s energy services, customer service, information technology, fiscal services, regulatory affairs, power production and power marketing.

Click HERE to read and download the proclamation that was read at the October 7, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.

This podcast contains comments from the September 30, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.

A unanimous Brazos County commission gives the purchasing office additional authority not requiring prior commission approval.

Among other things, the office can approve contracts of up to $100,000 dollars. That was the subject of comments by two commissioners at their last business meeting on September 30th.

Two commissioners believed the additional authority was the result of new state laws. 

WTAW News confirmed with county officials that there are no new state laws and that current state codes gave the elected body the option of giving the additional authority.

Fred Brown said "I know there's nothing we can do about it. It gives me pause, the entire thing. This is caused by the legislature. But when you talk about $100,000 dollars that's a lot of flexibility for staff that doesn't have to come to us. Again, there's nothing we can do about it because the legislature put this in place."

Wanda Watson then said "I would believe that the purchasing department, just knowing how good our purchasing department is, there will be some discussion with that. It won't just be blindly decisions being made. We will have some idea of what is coming forward. It's just that we are making sure we adhere with what the new state laws are."

But WTAW News confirmed with county officials that what the commission approved was a request made by the purchasing director based on one section of the Texas government code that was passed in 1987 and another section that was amended in 2011. Both sections gives the county commission the option of giving additional authority to the purchasing director.

Click HERE to read and download Texas government code section 262, which includes sections 262.001 and 262.011 that were cited in the purchasing director's request to county commissioners for signature authority that was approved at the September 30, 2025 commission meeting.

The commission's vote gives the purchasing office to approve the following:

• Contracts under $100,000 including informal quotes, service contracts and change orders/amendments
• Assignments and extensions for contracts equal to or above $100,000
• Credit applications
• Authorizations for use of contingency for all contracts
• Budgeted purchases in any amount on a state or cooperative contract

The request from purchasing director Charles Wendt said "Several routine procedures including assignment (vendor name change) and extensions or renewals of contracts, would reduce the number of agenda items if Court approval is not required, and would greatly reduce the agenda item entry, processing and lag time required."

Wendt also said "The current process for approval of authorizations for use of contingency and credit applications requires the County Judge approval. Given that these are ministerial in nature, require valuable, limited time of the County Judge, and would facilitate communications and coordination with Purchasing, we would like the Court's permission to approve these documents in the future. This would expedite the processing of these often time critical steps."

And Wendt said "The Court will maintain responsibility for contracts, amendments, and change orders with a value of $100,000 or more per the Local Government Code 262.023. Purchasing reserves the right to send any contract to Commissioners' Court in lieu of approval by Purchasing."

Lacey Lively, Communications & Marketing Director, visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the upcoming household hazardous waste collection event, the newest statue at the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, and more during her appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast is a visit with Brazos County 85th district court judge Kyle Hawthorne and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

Brazos County district court's administrative judge is retiring. 

85th district court judge Kyle Hawthorne is not running for re-election in 2026.

Hawthorne tells WTAW News he was trying to "sneak out as quietly as possible", adding after he and his family made the decision he told his staff and the other Brazos County judges he "left it at that, for it to spread as it normally would in courthouse gossip."

Hawthorne was first elected in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He recalled when he decided to run he thought he would serve three terms.

He said "it was a good time to go (and) let some new eyes get on it".

Hawthorne, who thanked those who voted for him, said being judge has been the most enjoyable experience of his nearly 40 year legal career.

The upcoming vacancy has drawn at least one announced candidate. Assistant Brazos County district attorney Jennifer Hebert leads the juvenile and civil divisions.