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Vol. 68 No. 127 College Station, Texas Wednesday, June 16, 1976
Wednesday, June 16, 1976
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ollege Station fiscal budget
ihows 20 per cent increase
By JERRY NEEDHAM
Battalion Editor
The proposed 1976-77 budget for the
ity of College Station was submitted to
lie City Council by City Manager North
lardell yesterday.
Proposed budget expenditures for the
ext fiscal year total $7,481,420. This rep-
esents a 20 per cent increase over the
urrent fiscal year’s budget, and a 63 per
ent increase over the fiscal year 1974-75
nidget.
The Council has scheduled a public
earing on the proposed budget for the
egular Council meeting on June 24.
Ed Sherrill of Sherrill’s Ambulance Ser-
icelnc. was unanimously granted a per
mit by the College Station City Council
last week to continue operating his ambu
lance service in the city.
Bill Thornal of Mid-Tex Fire and Safety
in Bryan had also applied for a permit, but
the Council tabled his application until
studies are completed on the feasibility of
allowing two ambulance services to oper
ate within the city.
Sherrill also was granted a permit by the
Bryan City Council last week. The Bryan
Council denied Thornal a permit to oper
ate an ambulance service in that city.
Sherrill has operated his service in
Bryan-College Station since March 1974.
Thornal told the College Station Coun
cil that he didn’t receive a permit in Bryan
because of Sherrill’s statement that the
Hensel Park goes to the dogs
on Dog Day Saturday
The Humane Society of Brazos
County presents a Dog Day After
noon on Saturday, June 19, when
they sponsor their First Annual Mutt
Show at Hensel Park on S. College
Avenue.
All dogs of any make, model,
shape, or size are invited to enter
intoacontest to be judged in numer
ous categories. Special ribbons will
be awarded for Miss and Mister Dog
Day Afternoon, Best Personality,
Doggiest Dog, BestTrick, Bt^st Sing
ing Dog, and Best Bi-Centennial
Costume. And McDonald’s gift cer
tificates and ribbons will be awarded
to winners in many other categories.
Refreshments will be available.
Richard Moore of KTAM-radio will
emcee the events and announce
winners.
Registration for the contest begins
at 2:00 p.m. and judging will start at
3:00, or entry forms may be obtained
before Saturday at some 7-11 and
U-Tote-M stores.
A registration fee of 50 cents is
required for each dog, and all contes
tants must be restrained on a leash.
present service is losing money.
Thornal argued that service would im
prove because of competition if two ser
vices were operated in the city.
“Bryan-College Station can’t support
two ambulance services,” Sherrill said.
“As it is I have $18,000 in unpaid ac
counts.”
An intergovernmental committee,
composed of representatives from Bryan,
College Station and Brazos County, had
earlier recommended that only one permit
be issued.
College Station Mayor Larry Bravenec,
a member of that committee, said the
committee felt that with the community
averaging only three and one-half calls per
day, two ambulance services couldn’t
work.
Bravenec said that all known complaints
concerning Sherrill’s service were investi
gated and that by and large, the commit
tee found them unfounded. He said he felt
Sherrill’s problem was principally one of
public relations rather than grounded
complaints.
Thornal said he was prepared to offer
full ambulance service to the community if
granted the permit.
The Council voted to spend approxi
mately $4,500 of the hotel-motel tax fund
for advertising College Station through
the East Texas Chamber of Commerce.
According to state law, at least one-sixth
of the hotel-motel tax collections must be
used for tourist promotion.
In other action, the Council approved
the first of three required readings of an
ordinance extending the franchise for
Midwest Video and appointed Nelson
Durst as city auditor.
New Fountain
Cooling their heels in the newly-activated foun
tain in North Mall are students Lesla Andrews
(left) and Kathy Eitel. The fountain, which fea-
Photo by Steve Goble
tures waterfall-type arrangements, was acti
vated Monday, providing a moist oasis in an
otherwise barren part of the campus landscape.
Summer degree applications due
Friday, June 18, is a key date for Texas
A&M students expecting to graduate this
summer.
Degree applications are due by then,
reminded Robert A. Lacey, registrar, and
commencement is Aug. 13.
Degree application is a student respon
sibility. The entire procedure is completed
in the Richard Coke Building. Students
first pay an $8 graduation fee at the Fiscal
Office. Undergraduates then present the
fee receipt in room 7. Graduate students
report with the receipt to the Graduate
College, 209.
INDEX
Columnist Broder examines Jimmy
Carter’s campaign philosophy.
Page 2.
Major construction on the A&M
campus should be completed
soon. Page 6.
$12.9 million bond issues approaching
By JERRY NEEDHAM
and
RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN
Part 1 of a 2-part series
The City Council of College Station has
for a $12,873,000 capital improve-
lents bonds issue on June 29.
The issue will contain 9 separate items,
Mngresidents to vote for or against any
m.
The issue was worked on by a Capital
nprovements Committee composed of 18
ollege Station residents and the City
ouncil. The process began in October
175 and ended with the items presented
n the ballot.
An explanation of the first four items on
leballot follows here with an explanation
fthelast five items and the effect on the
ixrate forthcoming next week.
Absentee voting ends at 5 p.m. June 25.
he polling place is the College Station
lityHall, 1101 S. Texas Ave. The hours for
bsentee voting are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
londay through Friday.
Propositiorl 1
Proposition 1 on the ballot will be
ibeled street improvements. The proposi-
oncalls for the expenditure of $360,000 to
eased for street improvements, construc-
on of sidewalks and bikeways near
bools, and the installation of traffic signal
ghts.
Councilman and Capital Improvements
bmmittee Chairman Gary Halter pointed
lit that the following breakdown of the
mds within the proposition are not spe-
ific but are approximate amounts to be
xpended for each item. He said the item-
y-item breakdown will not be included on
le ballot.
Funds for the installation of two traffic
signal lights are provided for in the proposi
tion. These would be located at the inter
section of Jersey and Dexter streets and
Highway 6 and Southwest Parkway.
Halter said the city already has the traffic
lights in storage. The estimated installation
fee for the lights is $10,000 each.
Traffic signal lights are also being in
stalled at Highway 6 at Holleman Drive,
Tarrow Street at University Drive and FM
2154 (Wellborn Road) at Jersey Street.
Halter said these three signals are being
paid for by the Texas Highway Department
and are not included in the bond proposal.
Proposition 1 also would provide
$130,000 for the construction of sidewalks
on major streets near College Hills
Elementary and South Knoll Elementary,
and for the implementation of a bicycle
path system to serve all the schools in the
city.
The city is proposing to pay all the costs
of the sidewalks because the walks would
help insure the safety of children near the
schools. There would be no assessment
made on the property owners for the
sidewalks.
The city’s proposed bicycle path system
would conform basically to a study con
ducted by the League of Women Voters
during the past year. Halter said. These
bikeways would consist of signed routes,
striped lanes where necessary and an
offstreet path system.
Halter said some existing bikeways
would be improved while others would be
established. (Please see map at left.)
The improvement of Holleman Drive
from Wellborn Road to Winding Road
would receive $100,000 under Proposition
1. The total estimated cost of the project is
$340,000. The remaining cost of $240,000
would be paid by the state of Texas.
The city has designated Holleman Drive
as a major street. This means the street
carries more city-wide than local traffic.
Halter said. In such instances, the state will
pay for street construction if the city pays
for right-of-way and curb and gutter.
The last expenditure included in Propo
sition 1 is $110,000 for the city’s share of
costs for construction of streets in new sub
divisions.
Halter said that under existing city pol
icy, developers pay for all streets used to
serve their subdivisions. But when the city
wishes to install streets wider than that
required of the developer, the city pays for
the additional width.
Halter pointed out that the city’s
additional width comes out of the middle of
the street (pavement only) as the developer
is required to pay the more expensive costs
of curbing and guttering plus pavement of
the original width.
This policy helps eliminate future traffic
problems in areas where continuing de
velopment requires traffic flow through an
already-developed area. Halter said.
Proposition 2
Proposition 2 calls for the expenditure of
$470,000 for a fire substation, new police
station, general warehouse, maintenance
building and storage yard and expansion of
the existing fire station.
Under the proposition, the existing
building at 1207 S. Texas Ave., which now
houses both the police a.nd fire depart
ments would be converted exclusively to a
central fire station. The cost of the expan
sion would be $175,000.
The city does not propose to move the
fire department because of its central loca
tion. Any loss in response time would cause
fire insurance rates to rise. This means the
police department would have to be
moved.
The city is now below state insurance
standards on the number of pieces of fire
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equipment it possesses. Halter said. The
city plans to purchase this equipment, but
additional space in a central fire station is
needed to house it, he said.
Full time fire personnel have increased
from 4 to 22 since the existing fire station
was constructed. Halter said. This 550 per
cent increase was needed to insure
adequate fire service and meet insurance
standards.
An additional $150,000 would be ex
pended under Proposition 2 for a fire svb-
station in the southern part of the city.
Halter cites the city’s tremendous growth
in that direction and the need to insure a
good response time to all the residents as
the reasons for building this facility. In
order to keep insurance rates down, a truck
should be able to respond to a call within
five minutes, Halter said.
This fire substation would house two
pieces of fire-fighting equipment (plus any
of the county’s fire-fighting equipment), as
well as three full-time personnel. College
Station has a contract with the county to
fight fires in the southern part of the
county.
A new police station to centralize all
police functions, including Municipal
Court and training, is included in this pro
position. The estimated cost is $350,000.
Halter cites a personnel increase of 35
per cent since 1969, from 6 to 27 policemen
as the primary reason for this proposal.
The last expenditure under Proposition
2 is $295,000 for a general warehouse,
maintenance building and storage yard.
The present city warehouse facility is
very inadenuate as it consists of a 2300
square foot building with a garage that al
lows maintenance of only one vehicle at a
time. Halter said. College Station is now
leasing storage space at a commercial stor
age facility in addition to storing materials
at the old city hall on Church St.
Halter said that a careful study has been
made of the city’s present maintenance and
storage facilities with projected future
needs, and this indicates a need for approx
imately 20,000 square feet of building
space on a 10-acre site. More maintenance
space will allow the city to do much of its
own equipment maintenance. Halter said.
Proposition 3
College Station’s rapid growth has far
exceeded expectations and the result is that
the city hall, built in 1969, is now too small,
North Bardell, College Station city man
ager, said yesterday.
Proposition 3, of the bond election set for
June 29, would authorize $360,000 for ex
pansion of the present city hall. The
amount would cover the cost of all
additional office furniture and equipment
needed.
The 7,440 square feet expansion would
almost double the size of the building. It
would provide space for a city council
chamber, a conference room, offices for
planning and building inspection, storage,
a reproduction room, a data processing
room, a lounge, restrooms and mechanical
areas. The mechanical areas would house
heating and air conditioning units.
The increased space is badly needed,
because the population has doubled since
the present structure was completed, Bar
dell said. It took from 1938 until 1969 for
the city to reach a population of 17,000;
" since then, another 17,000 has been added.
That is an increase more than four times the
historical growth rate, the rate upon which
the present building was planned.
According to projections made by the
city in March, 1975, College Station will
have a population of39,500 by 1980, 45,000
by 1985 and 52,000 by 1990. These figures
already appear too conservative, Bardell
said.
The demand for city services and utilities
has increased accordingly, the city man
ager said. Electrical usage for the first four
months of 1976 increased 15.5 per cent
over the same period of a year ago. The
problem is compounded by new apartment
complexes which use individual meters for
each apartment, rather than one master
meter for the entire complex, he said.
To keep up with the growth, the city has
increased its number of employes from ap
proximately 80 seven years ago to 148 to
day. Another 18 or 19 will probably be
added this year, Bardell said.
Although the city is planning to install a
computer to handle billing for city services
and will require fewer new employes in the
future, most offices are overcrowded right
now. The electrical superintendent and the
water and sewer superintendent share a
the same desk. Things may soon get worse;
due to the workload, separate water and
sewer superintendents will be needed,
Bardell said.
The Parks and Recreation Department,
created since the city hall was built, oper
ates out of one small office and there are no
adequate offices available for building in
spection officials. Meeting space for city
staff and citizen committees and boards is
inadequate and becoming more of a prob
lem.
In the event the bond issue fails to pass,
the city may have to consider leasing
additional office space, Bardell said. Col
lege Station already leases storage space at
a commercial storage facility and the old
city hall, located on Church St., is being
used for storage.
Proposition 4
Proposition 4 would provide for im
provement of parks in the city in the
amount of $423,000.
Bee Creek Park would receive the most
funds under the proposition with $144,000.
Parks and Recreation Director Paul
Wojchichowski said yesterday, “We have
some really fine facilities at Bee Creek, but
it’s only half developed. We need to go
ahead and spend another $100,000 there
and finish it up. We have a fine ballfield
there, and no road to get to it.”
Wojchichowski said that $415,700 has al
ready been spent on the park with half the
money coming from the federal govern
ment.
The 43-acre park now has four tennis
courts, a swimming pool and one ballfield.
The bond proposal would provide four
more tennis courts and an additional
ballfield.
It would also provide for a trails system
(access, bicycle and nature), pond im
provement, foot bridges for access from the
south, restroom facilities, group picnic
shelter, parking areas and road construc
tion, and a small maintenance storage
building.
The Oaks Park at Highway 30 and Stal
lings Road would receive $54,000. The
seven and one-half-acre park is presently
undeveloped.
“We’ve had a lot of appeals to develop
Oaks Park,” Wojchichowski said. “It has
been dedicated for six or seven years and
no development has been done there,” he
said.
Plans for the park under the bond propo
sition call for two tennis courts, picnic sites,
foot bridges, water lines for drinking foun
tains, restrooms, a group picnic shelter and
trails or walkways, Wojchichowski said.
The Anderson Ridge Park, located off
Holleman Drive and Anderson Street
would receive $35,000 under the proposed
bonds issue. This would provide the unde
veloped five-acre park with a lighted
ballfield, playground, picnic sites and
walkways.
The 16.1-acre Thomas Park would re
ceive $130,000 for improvement and de
velopment.
The two existing tennis courts would be
improved, along with the construction of
two more courts and landscaping.
The major expenditure at Thomas Park
would be the construction of a neighbor
hood swimming pool (about the size of
Bryan Municipal Pool) costing approxi
mately $80,000.
Wojchichowski said that the Bee Creek
swimming pool, the only pool the city now
has, is averaging between 500 and 600 per
sons a day during public hours (1 p.m. to 9
p.m.) and 1500persons a day total (for swim
teams and instructional programs).
The Wayne Smith Park, located at
Luther and Montclair streets, would re
ceive $20,000 to pave the parking areas,
the area around the bleachers, restrooms
and concession stand. Other work that
would be done there is the improvement of
the existing bleachers and playfield and the
renovation of the lighting system.
Wojchichowski said this park is 15 to 20
years old and is in bad need of improve
ments.
The last $40,000 of the proposed parks
bonds item would go to the Lincoln Center
Park. This money would be used for build
ing improvements, paving parking areas
and developing playground areas.
The city now owns only three or four
acres of the eight-acre park, but has
reached a tentative agreement with the
A&M Consolidated School Board, which
owns the rest, to buy the remaining land.
“Were behind in development of the
parks,’’ Wojchichowski said. “The Parks
Department didn’t even exist just over four
years ago. Everyone depended on the Uni
versity.
“There is no doubt that we need this
money. Well be in pretty good shape if the
bond issue passes, but it certainly won’t put
us in any extravagant shape, by any
means,” he said.
Wojchichowski said the city staff plans to
do a lot of the park work if the bond issue
passes.
He said there is still a possibility of re
ceiving federal funds for some of the de
velopment. The city will apply for federal
assistance, and if it is received, the city
would not have to sell all of the parks
bonds, he said.
Williams improving
Dr. Jack K. Williams, president of the
Texas A&M University System, “is con
tinuing to improve,” according to Mrs.
Nelda Rowell, assistant to the president,
who talked with Mrs. Williams this morn
ing.
Williams is recovering from a heart at
tack that he suffered shortly after entering
Methodist Hospital in Houston on May 31.
Williams had gone to the hospital for a
series of tests and a period of rest.
Rowell said there is “no definite word on
when he will be released other than what
the doctors said last week.”
Roger Miller, assistant to the president,
last week said that doctors expect Williams
to remain in the hospital at least two weeks.