HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublicity Vol. 32 (Sept. 1984 - Dec. 1984)s
6_1
LEGAL NOTICE
ORDINANCE NO. 1545 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED
ON AUGUST 23, 1984, BY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF COLLEGE STA-
TION meeting in regular
session in the Council
Room of the College Station
City Hall, said meeting
having been posted In
accordarice with Art. 8252-
17.
The above - referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the
Mayor and duly recorded in
the official records of the
City of College Station, has
the following heading:
AN ORDINANCE DECLAR-
ING THE NECESSITY FOR
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A
PORTION OF GREENS
PRAIRIE ROAD IN THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
PROVIDING THAT THE
ABUTTING PROPERTY
OWNERS ON SAID POR-
TION SO CONSTRUCTED
BE ASSESSED A SHARE
OF THE EXPENSE, PRO-
VIDING FOR A PUBLIC
HEARING, AND PROVID-
ING A SAVING CLAUSE IN
THE EFFECTIVE DATE.
The City Council has
hereby declared the
necessity for the construc-
tion of a portion of Greens
Prairie Road in the City of
College Station, described
as that portion of Greens
Prairie Road from its inter-
section at Texas Avenue
eastward 5300 feet. Con-
struction of the street shall
Include raising, grading,
filling the same, and install-
ing paving and drainage
structures with necessary
incidentals and appurtenan-
ces. Cost of the im-
porvements and contruc-
tion shall be apportioned to
the City of College Station
and to the property owners
of the abutting property.
Prior to consideration and
approval of this ordinance,
the City Council of the City
of College Station held a
public hearing, notice of
which first having been duly
given to the general public
and to the owners of
abutting property.
Ordinance No. 1545 shall be
In full force and effect
following Its passage and
approval by the City Council
of the City of College
Station, Texas.
This ordinance is on file in
the official records at the
College Station City Hall,
1101 South Texas Avenue,
College -Station, Texas and
the complete text of same
may be obtained at the
office of the City Secretary.
08-31- 84,09-02 -84
THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1984
0
World headquarters is here
The world headquarters of the city of College
Station's Parks and Recreation Department is
located right here in Bryan - College Station.
A sign out in front of the department office in
Central Park modestly proclaims that fact, and to
tell you the truth, I'd never noticed it.
Last week, an observant reader took note of the
sign and called to ask just what it means. At least, I
gave him full credit for being observant until I
found out that the sign has been there since the
building was opened several'years ago. Now I'm not
so sure.
In any case, the sign is enough to make one
wonder, so I called Parks and Recreation Director
Steve Beachy to find out about it.
"Is it really the world headquarters ?" I asked.
"Yes," Beachy said, "it is. Wherever in the
world someone is when he wants something from
us, he has to come here to get it. It's the head of-
fice."
That makes sense.
Beachy explains that the sign is part of parks and
recreation department lore. He recalls that he was
driving west on U.S. Highway 290 headed for
Houston one day long ago, when the vast Cameron
Iron Works complex loomed up on his right. A sign
informed him that this was the world headquarters
of the industrial concern.
The director says that he asked himself, "Isn't
our department office a world headquarters ?"
Now, today's parks and recreation department
office is a handsome structure, featuring a two -
story stone fireplace and all the comforts of home.
It might even merit such a proud title as "World
Headquarters."
But in those days, the office was the home
economics building of the former Lincoln School
on Eleanor Street, not an imposing edifice by any
standard. That didn't matter to Beachy. His zeal
unquenched, he ordered a sign designating it as the
department's world headquarters.
"We did it with a sense of humor," Beachy says.
When the department moved td.its new building,
a city councilman asked Beachy if he weren't going
to move his sign. Challenged, he ordered a new one
made. The old one still stands, a sort of historical
marker on Eleanor Street.
Beachy is quick to note that his department does
indeed carry on international dealings. Take, for
example, the correspondence with its sister parks
department in Wellington, New Zealand, which is
surely on the other side of the world.
THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, SEPT. 2, 1984
0
The College Station - Wellington connection was
forged a couple of years ago by College Station
Parks Superintendent David Whatley and his wife
Cathy, who were traveling in that country with a
tour group. Whatley noticed the headquarters of
the Wellington department and went right in and in-
troduced himself.
Since then, the City Council has legalized the
sisterly relationship with a proclamation, and the
friendship between the two departments has
blossomed. They have exchanged flags ... a New
Zealand flag for a Texas flag ... and other memen-
tos.
In fact, New Zealand native Olive Arnold, who
now lives in town, got wind of the College Station -
Wellington relationship, and before she returned to
New Zealand for a visit this summer, she called to
see if she could take anything to Wellington for the
local folks. They took her up on the offer.
If that weren't enough, Beachy employs a pretty
international bunch at his world headquarters.
Aquatics Superintendent Charlie Szabuniewicz was
born in the Belgian Congo. Park planner Afsaneh
Yazdani is Iranian, and grounds maintenance
supervisor Sam Oliveri is from Venezuela. Parks
board member John Crompton is an Englishman by
birth.
All of this is, of course, not really the reason that
the sign was erected to begin with.
"But it's a good excuse," Beachy says.
Old World Headquarters on Eleanor Street
New World Headquarters in Central Park
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid(s) for:
45' CLASS 2 ELECTRIC
POLES - 60 EACH
until 9:00 a.m., 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09103/8
No.85 -20.
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid( s) for:
CONDUCTOR WIRE, 19
STRAND ALL ALUMINUM -
10 REELS
until 9:00 a.m.. 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09/03/
N o.85 -21.
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid( s) for:
TRANSFORMERS 3 -
PHASE- PAD - MOUNTED -2
EACH
until 9:00 a.m., 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09/03/8
No_85 -22.
any and all Irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08127/84,09103/84,Bid
N o.85 -24.
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid( s) for:
3 /4 TON TRUCK CAB -
CHASSIS ONLY - 1 EACH
until 10:00 a.m., 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with ,Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09103/
No.85 -25.
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid(s) for:
1 TON TRUCK CAB -
CHASSIS ONLY -3 EACH
until 10:00 a.m., 915/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09/03/84,Bid
No.85 -26.
DID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid( s) for:
ECONOMY PICKUP' TRUCK
- 1 EACH
until 10:00 a.m., 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City of College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
any and all irregularities in
said bid and to accept the
offer considered most ad-
vantageous to the City.
These items may be pur-
chased with Revenue
Sharing Funds.
08/27/84,09/03/84,Bid
N o.85 -23.
BID NOTICE
The City of College Station
is accepting bid( s) for:
1 /2 TON PICKUP TRUCK - 4
EACH
until 10:00 a.m., 9/5/84, at
which time the bids will be
opened in the office of the
Puchasing Agent at the City
Hall. Specifications may be
obtained at the office of the
Purchasing Agent. All bids
received after that time will
be returned unopened. The
City bf College Station
reserves the right to waive
or reject any and all bids or
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1984
L
Aggies, Aggies everywhere
REFUND FUN: Bryan Mayor Ron Blatchley and
other city officials recently met with three high -
powered bond firms in Dallas to talk about refun-
ding the city's entire revenue bond debt, which is
expected to save millions of dollars.
The first representatives to make a presentation
proudly pointed out that their firm had a Texas and
an SMU graduate on the staff.
Blatchley listened to the lengthy presentation,
and at the close asked only one question — in jest:
"How many Aggies do you have ?" The nonplus-
ed spokesman said he didn't know.
The council was to consider the refunding
measure Monday. Thursday and Friday the
spokesman for the bond firm tried frantically to
reach the mayor. When he finally got in touch with
Blatchley, he proudly told him the firm `had four
Aggies on the staff.
The firm the city chose was represented at the
presentation by two Arizona State graduates.
# ##
LONG MAY IT WAVE: Garland is thinking of
building a second wave pool after the first one paid
all of its operating and maintenance expenses plus
the losses at the city's other four pools. The city
already has the only municipally owned wave pool
in the state.
WHILE THE CAT'S AWAY...: Mayor Ron
Blatchley had to leave the Bryan City Council
meeting early Monday. Mayor Pro Tern Pies
Turner did not attend the meeting at all. When Blat-
chley left he turned the gavel over to outspoken
John Mobley, the senior councilman attending.
Mobley immediately made his presence felt by
leading the opposition on ordinances requiring
swimming pools to be fenced and setting fence re-
quirements in the East Side Historic District.
Councilman Marvin Tate finally shook his head.
"I think Ron created a monster when he left,"
Tate said ruefully.
# ##
MAKING YARDAGE: Bryan Mayor Ron Blat-
chley had just presented the "Home of the Year"
Award to a Bryan woman.
"I wonder if she does the yard or if her husband
does ?" Councilman Marvin Tate speculated.
"She does," Brazos Beautiful, Inc., represen-
tatives immediately responded.
"I'd like that pointed out," Tate said.
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
BIRTHDAY MIRTH: Bryan Councilman John
Mobley on the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial, the
150th birthday celebration:
"I hope by the time it gets here I can pronounce
it."
# ##
DEDICATION: The city supposedly was out of
money for anymore construction at Astin Recrea-
tional Area on Bryan Municipal Lake. The dedica-
tion is scheduled Sept. 9.
Municipal Services Operations Manager Ed I1-
schner wanted it to look as spiffy as possible.
So Ilschner, City Planner Cliff Miller, city land-
scaping architect Tom Barrett and planner 12obin
Harris spent a 12 -hour Saturday at the park
finishing up the carpentry on the fishing pier.
The amazing thing is that the four did it all with
just a 7- Eleven Big Gulp apiece. Not even a six -pack
of beer.
# ##
DART GAME: College Station's Fire Depart-
ment has been practicing vehicular rescues in the Ci-
ty Hall parking lot with the help of a couple of
junker cars.
As I've mentioned before, my Dodge is old
enough to get senior'. citizens discounts at most
drive -in theaters and so battered it could be deep -
fried.
Coming out of City Hall recently, I was horrified
to discover that apparently the Fire Department
hadn't made any distinction between its cars and
mine in using that Jaws of Life device. The car was
so twisted it would have made a pretzel envious.
On closer inspection, I discovered I'd parked next
to another, quite similar, Dart that was being used
as a demonstration vehicle.
But I promise, Chief Landua: No more cracks
about that new Space Age fire truck that was absent
for the big fire.
TO WHOM IT
MAY CONCERN:
The College Station Plan-
ning and Zoning Commis-
sion will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 6.20 acre tract of land on
the south side of University
Drive, approximately 1200
feet east of East Tarrow
Street (formerly FedMart
Drive) from Administrative -
Professional District A -P to
General Commercial Dis-
trict C -1. Application is in
the name of Cedar Creek
Ltd.
The said hearing will be
held in the Council Room of
the College Station City
Hall, 1101 South Texas
Avenue at the 7:00 P.M.
meeting of the Planning and
Zoning Commission on
Thursday, September 20,
1984.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning
09 -05-84
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING
The College Station Plan-
ning and Zoning Commis-
sion will hold' a public
hearing to establish uses to
be permitted in a
Neighborhood - Business
District C -N shopping cen-
ter which is located at the
southeast corner of An-
derson and Holleman
streets in College Station.
Application for Project Plan
Approval is in the name of
International Equities.
The hearing will be held in
the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall,
1101 South Texas Avenue at
the 7:00 P.M. meeting of the
Planning and Zoning
Commission on Thursday,
September 20, 1984.
For additional information
contact the Planning Office,
(409)764 -3570.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning.
09 -0584
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1984
Commission to consider rezoning cases
By LYNN RAE POVEC
staff Writer
The College Station Planning and
Zoning Commission will consider
four rezoning cases, five final plats
and two conditional use permits at
tonight's meeting:
The commission first will hear a
request from the College Heights
Assembly of God Church that a five -
atre tract of land in the Richard Car -
tet Survey, located on the'south side
of�University Drive and east of East
Tarrow Street, be rezoned a General
Commercial District C -1. The tract is
currently zoned a Single Family Res-
idential District R -1.
The commission will consider
three additional requests for rezon-
in i Brazosland Properties, Inc.
wants rezoned a two -acre tract of
land on the west side of Glenhaven
Drive south of' University Drive,
from Townhouse - Rowhouse District
R -3 to Administtative- Professional
District A -P.
• Ronald Cruse has requested re-
zoning for more than two and one -
half acres of land in the Lakeview
Acres subdivision, at the intersection
of Texas Avenue and Morgans
Lane. The commission will consider
changing the zoning from Adminis-
trative- Professional District A -P to
General Commercial District C- I .
• Eastmark Partners is requesting
rezoning for its one -acre tract of
land in Block B East Mark Subdivi-
sion Phase II, from General Com-
mercial District C-1 to Commercial
Industrial District C -2.
Aldersgate United Methodist
Church, 6501 E. Highway 6 Bypass,
is requesting a Conditional Use Per -
mit.for a softball field, a playground
and a daycare center at the existing
facilities of the church.
The commission will meet at Y
p.m. in the City of College Station
Council Chambers, 1101 Texas Ave.
THE BATTALION /THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1984
7,J
Council sets special session
The College Station City Council will meet in
special session Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the main
building at Central Park to award a contract for
repaving Southwest Parkway from Langford Street
to FM 2154.
R.T. Montgomery, Inc., bid $359,781 and 16
working days for the job, and Young Brothers,
Inc., $306,155 and 45 calendar days on the project.
CS planners to meet
The College Station Planning and Zoning Com-
mission will consider rezoning to commercial use a
church -owned five -acre tract on University Drive
when it meets Thursday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
The tract is 600 feet east of East Tarrow Street on
the south side of University. It is owned by the Col-
lege Heights Assembly of God. Staff members have
recommended apartment or office zoning.
Staffers have recommended approval of a condi-
tional use permit for a religious and educational
facility at 100 -106 Dexter Drive. The request by the
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints was
tabled in June after neighbors objected.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1984
Commission denies request
to change zoning on land
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Staff Writer
The College Station Planning and
Zoning Commission denied a re-
quest Thursday night to change the
zoning on a five -acre tract of land
south of University Drive to General
Commercial District C -1, despite
several reasons the applicant cited
for requesting the change.
The land, located east of the inter-
section of East Tarrow Street and
University Drive and zoned Single
Family Residential District R -1, is
owned by the College Heights As-
sembly of God Church.
The church purchased the tract in
1975 because it intended to relocate
from Bryan to College Station.
Membership has since increased,
and the church's pastor Calvin Dur-
ham said relocating on the tract
would be impractical.
The land would be better used as
.a commercial property because sur-
rounding property is commercial, he
said, and because University Drive, a
"main artery to Texas AM" should
not be zoned residential.
The commission unanimously
denied the church's request. It then
passed by a vote of 4 -2 a recommen-
dation to the College Station City
Council that the tract be rezoned an
Administrative- Professional District
AP.
Commissioner Ray Martyn said
rezoning the land commercial would
place a higher value on it. But that
would not be in the city's best inter-
est as the land is located in "one of
the city's last major areas of virgin "
lands," he said.
,, I still think an R-3-or, an R -4 (resi-
dential). zoning is good for that area
out there," Martyn said.
The 2A-HA 4", IFr 1 Se pie A4 toe - 7,, 1984
•
Council awards contract
•
The College Station City Council awarded a
$306,155 contract for paving part of Southwest
Parkway to Young Brothers, Inc., Friday.
The contract was let in a special council session at
Central Park because the contractor asked that the
council act as quickly as possible.
The portion to be paved is from Langford Street
to FM 2154. The contract calls for it to be com-
pleted within 45 calendar days.
The � j l e S Seipte 8, 1954
0
NOTICE TI OF CULA OF EFFECTIVE
UNENCUMBERED
PUBLICATIO��F ESTIMATED
I, Glenn Schroeder, Tax Collector for the City of College Station, in accordance with the provisions of
Section 26.04, Property Tax Code, have calculated the tax rate which may not be exceeded by more than three
percent by the governing body of the City College.Stati without holding a public hearing as required by
the code. That rate is as follows: $ .3657 per $100 of value.
The estimated unencumbered fund balance for
estimated unencumbered fund balance for Interest
CALCULATIONS USED TO DEEM M- EFFECTIVE TAX RATE
DATA
Maintenanc! & Operation Fund: $ 1,702,396.00 The
& Sinking Fund: $ 1,478,8 .00
lenn Schroeder, ax Collector
August 31, 1984
1. 1983 Total tax levy from the 1983 tax roll ............... 2,609,180.
Z. 1983 Tax rate ($ M60 and S . 311&S) ......................... .0031 lu oo
3. 1983 Debt service (ISS)
y ..... ..............................$ 2,609,180._
4. 1983 Maintenance b Operation (Mb0) ............................. $ 00.
5. 1983 Mb0 taxes on property in territory that has ceased to be aS 00
part of unit in 1984 .......... ...............................
6. 1983 Md0 taxes on property becoming exempt in 1984 .............5 00.
7. 1983 Mb0 taxes on taxable value lost because property is S 00
appraised at less than market value in 1984..........
8. 1984 Total taxable value of all property .......................S 959,652,627.
9. 1984 Taxable value of new improvements added since Jan.1,1983..$ 54,864,111.
10. 1984 Taxable value of property annexed since Jan. 1, 1983......5 6,737,101.
11. 1984 Tax levy needed to satisfy debt service (Ii,S) ...... .......1 3,509,621.
12. ,Rate to raise 1983 tax due levy to appraisal roll errors (lost
dollars divided by 1984 taxable value)(S divided
15100
by $ times 100) .................. ...............$
13. Rate to regain taxes lost in 1983 due to appraisal roll errors
(lost dollars divided by 1984 taxable values)($ ,)0 /$100
divided by $ times 100) .......................5
14. 1983 M&O Taxes used to regain lost 1982 levy ................... $ •)0
[ I , CAl.LL1L.AT[ON
t A [f.ffUWCE AND OFERAT[ON QV) TAX RATE
(A)
1983 Total tax
levy(Data 1) .. ..............................S
2,609,180.
(8)
'Subtract
1983
Debt service levy(Data 3) .................. .1
2
(C)
Subtract
1983
Taxes on property no longer in unit(Data•S) .$
'
(0)
Subtract
1983
Taxes for exemptions (Data 6) .............. .1
-0-
(E)
Subtract
1983
Taxes for productivity valuation(Data 7),..- .$
-0-
(f)
Subtract
1983
Taxes used to regain lost 1982 levy(Data 14 S.S_
-0-
(r,)
nni „<rar1
1983
Md0 levy ....... ..............................S
_
2. (A) 1984 Total taxable value of all property(Data 8)........ _ S 959,652,627.
(8) Subtract 1984 Value of new improvements(Data 9)......... _ S 54,864,111.
(C) Subtract 1984 Value of annexed property(Data 10)...... ..S 896,051,4o5.
7
(0) Adjusted 1984 Taxable value for MbO ..................... _
3. (A) Divide the Adjusted 1983 Md0 levy (1 -G above) by the
for Mb0 (2 -D above)
Adjusted 1984 taxable value
).. S
(5 00 divided S 898,051,415.
.00 _
(8) Multiply by $100 valuation ............................... x 100
S 00 /5100
(C) Effective Mb0 rate for 1984 ...........................•••
INTEREST AM S[t06 MS) TAX RATE
4. (A) 1984 I&S levy needed to satisfy debt(Data 11) ..... •••••• -S
3,509,621.
(8) 1984 Total taxable value of all property(Data 8)..........$
(C) Divide the 1984 I&S levy (4 -A above by the 1984 Total
taxable value (4 -8 above)($ 3,509, 21. divided by
($ 959,652,627.
.003657
(D) Mulitiply by $100 valuation ........ +. x
1
100
.3657 /5100
(E) Effective I&S rate for 1984 .............
APPRAISAL R1•1- MROR RATE
1983 levy due to appraisal errors(Data 12)..$
00 /5100
S. (A) Rate to raise `
lost due to errors(Data 13)••••••5
.00 /5100
(8) Add rate to regain taxes
$
00 /1100
(C) Total Rate to adjust for appraisal roll errors ............
TOTAL OTECT[VE TAX PATE FOR 1984
.00 /5100
6. (A) Effective Mb0 rate (3 -C above) ...........
/1100
• ...........5
(8) Add Effective I&S rate (4 -E above) ............. .
(5 - above )•-
.3657
00 /5100
•
(C) Add Rate to adjust for appraisal roll errors
3657 /5100
(0) 1984 Effective Tax Rate.......... ........................s
1984 Effective Tax Rate is the tax rate published as required by Sec.26.0
Property Tax Code. /s wq. ) !�E i7_ 9 / 1 9 m
E
Council to read
ordinance on
cable franchise
The College Station City Council
is expected this week to give the first
two of three required readings to an
ordinance amending the cable TV
franchise granted McCaw BCS Com-
munications, Inc.
The council meets at 5 p.m. today
at City Hall in workshop session and
Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in regular ses-
sion.
The council Thursday also is ex-
pected to:
■ Authorize a contract with Nix-
dorf Computer Corp. for installation
of a computer system at the police
and fire departments.
■ Authorize the settlement of a
lawsuit by the city against McGraw -
Edison Co. and Electric Power En-
gineers, Inc..
■ Consider authorizing the in-
stallation of a lighted scoreboard in
Central Park.
TOWHOMIT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a'public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 1.061 acre tract of land (part
of Lot 2R and part of Lot 15R) in
Block B EastMark Subdivision
Phase II, from General Com-
mercial District C -1 to Com-
mercial Industrial District C -2.
Application is in the name of
EastMark Partners.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
700 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, Sep-
tember 27.1984.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Asst. Director of Planning
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The Zoning Board-of Adjust-
ment for the City of College
Station will consider a request
fora variance in the name of:
Wallace L. Reed
205 Fireside Circle
College Station. TX 77840
Said case will be heard by the
Board at the regular meeting
in the Council Room, College
Station City Hall, 1101 Texas
Avenue at 7:00 P.M. on Tues-
day. September 18.1984,
The nature of the case is as
follows:
Consideration of a Variance to
rear setback as required by
Table'A Ordinance 850 to
allow construction of a stor-
age addition to a garage at 205
Fireside Circle.
Further information is availa-
ble at the office of the Zoning
Official of the City of College
Station. (409) 764 -3570.
Jane R. Kee
Zoning Official
09 -12 -84
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1984
E
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The Zoning Board of Adjust-
ment for the City of College
Station wiII considera request
foravariance in the Name of:
Financial Center, Ltd.
360S. Garfield Street Suite670
Denver, Colorado, 80209
Said case will be heard by the
Board at the regular meeting
in the Council Room, College
Station City Hall, 1101 Texas
Avenue at 7:00 P.M. on Tues-
day. September 18,1984.
The nature of the case is as
follows:
Consideration of a Varianceto
Section 8 -B Ordinance 850 to
allow a larger Temporary Sign
than is permitted by
ordinance.
Further information is availa-
ble at the office of the Zoning
Official of the City of College
Station, (409) 764 -3570.
Jane R. Kee
Zoning Official -
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The Zoning Board of Adjust-
ment for the City of College
Station will consider a request
for a variance in the name of
GULFOILCO.
P.O. Box 4256
Houston, Texas 77210
Said case will be heard by the
Board at the regular meeting
in the Council Room, College
Station City Hall, 1101 Texas
Avenue at 7:00 P.M. on Tues-
day, September 18, 1984.
The nature of the case is as
follows
Consideration of a Use Permit
to allow substitution of one
non - conforming sign for an-
other at 420 South Texas
Avenue (Section 11 B -3(a) of
Ordinance850).
Further information is availa-
ble at the office of the Zoning
Official of the City of College
Station, (409) 764 -3570.
Jane R. Kee
Zoning Official
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The Zoning Board of Adjust-
ment for the City of College
Station will consider request
for a variance i n the name of:
David Chapman & Pamela
Jean White Burdick
302S. Fidelity Street
College Station, TX 77840
Said case will•be heard by the
Board at the regular meeting
in the Council Room, College
Station City Hall, 1101 Texas
Avenue at 7:00 P.M. on Tues-
day, September 18.1984.
The nature of the case is as
follows
Consideration of a Variance to
side setback as required by
Table A Ordinance 850 to
allow the construction of a
. garage at 302 Fidelity.
Further information is availa-
ble at the office of the Zoning
Official of the City of College
Station. (409)764 -3570.
Jane R. Kee
Zoning Official
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station .City.
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 5.00 acre tract of land in the
Richard Carter Survey. A -8,
located on the south side of
University Drive. ap
proximately 600 feet east of
the intersection of East
Tarrow Street (formerly
FedMart Drive) and University
Drive, from Single Family Re-
sidential District R -1 to
General Commercial District
C -1. Application is in the name
of College Heights Assembly
of God.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall. 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
700 P.M. meeting of the City 1
Council on Thursday. Sep-
tember 27,1984.
For additional information,
Please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning i
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 2.52 acre tract of land (a por- I
tion of Lot 16) in the Lakeview
Acres subdivision located at
the intersection of Texas
Avenue and Morgans Lane,
from Single Family Re-
sidential District R -1 to
General Commercial District
C -1. Application is in the name
of Ronald Cruse. Trustee.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, Sep -
to m be r 27,1984.
For additional information,,
Please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning
09 -12 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College' Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the questidn of
rezoning the following
property:
A 2.009 acre tract of land on
the west side of Glenhaven
Drive, approximately 200 feet
south of University Drive, from
Town house- Row"use Dis-
trict R -3.to Administrative -
Professional District A -P.
Application is in the name of
Brazosland Properties. Inc.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the
Planning and Zoning Com-
mission on Thursday. Sep-
tember 27. 1984.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning .
09 -12 -84
•
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1984
•
E
City government
A few weeks ago I did a column of definitions. The
response was phenomenal: College Station cut off my
lights, Bryan cited me for violation of the public nui-
sance ordinance, Boston banned me and the Libertarian
Party is threatening to run me for mayor of Newark, N.J.
So, by popular demand, here's the second install-
ment: Son of the Unexpurgated and Entirely Unautho-
rized City Hall Handbook and Dictionary of Municipal
Government for the Uninitiated.
BONDS: An apt term describing a method by which
cities cater to the taxpayers of today by shackling the
taxpayers of tomorrow.
CITY ATTORNEY: A city's top legal adviser.
Known for shooting from the lip.
COFFEE BREAK: At city hall, it's not a break, it's a
compound fracture.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: A document conceived
in an ivory tower, adopted in ignorance and ignored in
reality.
CONSULTANT: An expensive alleged expert hired
when a city council knows what should be done, but
wants to share the blame for doing it.
DEVELOPER: An individual, who recognizing the
fragile nature of the land, always is willing to preserve it
in concrete.
ELECTION: A peculiar process in which the victims
choose their rapists.
ELECTRIC SYSTEM: A city's method of ensuring
that if it must give power to the people, they'll darn well
pay for it.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Fog - filled minds meeting
in a smoke - filled room.
FENCE: A rigid structure that often substitutes as a
backbone for city councilmen.
FLEET: A noun, not an adjective, as anyone who has
ever dealt with a city's fleet can attest.
GARBAGE: Something to be disposed of. Differs
from councilmen in that it can be useful if converted into
compost.
MERIT PAY: A plan under which city employees'
meanings clear
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
pay is based on performance. As actually practiced,
Custer probably would have been entitled to merit pay
for leadership demonstrated by close interaction with a
minority group.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Any two nearby homes, the
occupants of which are sufficiently literate to sign a
petition.
NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVIST: A person who re-
jects the discredited theory that the universe revolves
around the earth. He knows it revolves around his front
porch.
ORDINANCE: A local law. Ordinances must be
adopted by the city council. Understandably, their natu-
ral parents seldom want anything to do with them.
PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR: A city
official who gets high on grass only if it is still rooted. A
P &R director will name a turkey after his boss, then say
someone else has a warped sense of humor.
RASCAL: Anyone who disagrees with the city
council.
SCOUNDREL: Anyone who disagrees with the city
council and prevails.
STORM WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
Drainage ditches. City employees often have difficulty
calling a spade a spade; they think it's more acceptable
to lean on a Laborer's Bladed Support Device.
WASTE WATER: Another euphemism, this one for
sewage. Adopted on the premise, quite possibly valid,
that it is better public relations to build a cheap waste
water treatment plant that smells than an expensive
sewage plant that doesn't.
THE EA /WEDNSEDAY, SEP'T`EMBER 12, 1984
•
•
C
s fu nd
1 an er c
TeP" Cent er p ouraged andidates for
oth
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
Local community leaders, teachers
a nd even reporters will be asked to
take a bath to pay for the shenanigans
of College Station teenagers.
"Shenanigans," College Station's
new teen center, received furnishings the
ishi
contribution Monday ni hi the
and operations, and teen-age on
center's board of directors began
making plans to raise more money.
The Teen Center board will have a
dunking booth at the Bohemiari Fes-
tival at Central Park Oct. e
Bryan- College Station Jay cess is p
viding the booth. tend
The teens have several Po
' `dunkees" in mind, including
_
Mayor e
eed t G
principals, City Council m
and Eagle reporters a
with l
The Teen Center is located
the old hig a
chairs, a television a
Jersey A
frigerator, a microwave oven, a
community development f
table and some b
cated by the C
getting the center furnished.
with
said the renovation s
Anyone i
n u
contact S
The EAGLE Thursday, September 13, 1984
Lights spark jokes
• The College Station City Council indulged in a little
light humor Wednesday,afterr C ty a g r North my
dell said street lights may be
vapor to low sodium
change, Bardell said, could save the city l s
$200,000 a year because low sodium lights use less
energy and give more light — "a soft orange," in
Bardell's words. pleasing about orange light,"
"There's a lot of things pleas g
said Councilman Gary Anderson, a University of Texas
alumnus.
"Well, we can call it `coral, "' responded ho a team
longtime scorekeeper for the Texas Agg
color (for anyone who hasn't been in a College Station
restaurant) is maroon.
Councilman Bob Runnels strained to wring a more in
trendy joke from the issue. Low certainly
concluded, s HUH
keeping with the times,
NATIONS
CS electricity use creeps up
• College Station's peak electricity use is creeping up
again, utilities billing manager Linda Piwonka told the
City Council on Wednesday.
Piwonka said the city's usage peaked Tuesday at 76
megawatts, up from 73 megawatts the day before. Con-
tinual temperatures in the 90s without rainfall are
pushing usage up, she said.
The peak usage so far this year came 0 on Aug. 29,
when it reached 80.04 megawatts. If that peak holds, the
city should save between $300,000 and $500,000 in the
next year, City Manager North Bardell said.
On Aug. 20, College Station launched a month -long
program to reduce electricity use between 4 p.m. and 8
p.m. Previous predictions had been that the peak would
reach 92 megawatts in August or September; the city
through the load- management program hoped to hold
that to 87 megawatts.
BardeM said the Public Utility Commission has asked
that the city send it the materials developed for the
load - management program for use as models for other
programs elsewhere.
The council also approved the first reading, of the
three required, of an amended cable TV ordinance. The
mended ordinance contains provisions that McCaw
kCS Communications, Inc., agreed to when it was
granted the franchise earlier this year.
The ordinance already had been read once and
approved, but subsequent changes required that the pro-
cess start over. — HUGH NATIONS
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1984
0
•
Archambault is arrested
The police picked up Taco Bell owner E.C.
"Archie" Archambault Wednesday morning and
hauled him off to jail.
It looked like the real thing. But actually, Archam-
bault's apprehension was only a dress rehearsal for Bra-
zos County Crime Stoppers Jail -a -thon, scheduled for
Sept. 20 and 21 in Post Oak Mall.
On those two days, county residents will have the
chance to put each other behind bars for a worthy cause.
Already on Crime Stoppers most wanted list are such
local luminaries as Jackie Sherrill, Jeff Braun, Col-
lege Station Mayor Gary Halter, Joe Walker, J.J.
Ruffino, Marvin Tate, Jim Rolfe, Jose Montemayor
and Archambault.
After they are arrested by uniformed officers and
escorted to the "jail" in the mall, prisoners will have an
hour to raise their bail. They will be allowed to contact
relatives, friends and business associates for assistance.
All proceeds from this event will go to Crime Stoppers.
To add a name to the list, call 775 -TIPS or 846 -7788.
The fee is $10 per arrest warrant.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1984
College Station Police Lt. Bernard Kapella, E. C.
"Archie Archambault and University Police Lt. Rick
Flores
0
Tennis program dispute erupts
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
A simmering dispute between Col-
lege Station Parks and Recreation
Director Steve Beachy and a tennis
instructor surfaced publicly this week
as the parks board sought to restruc-
ture the city's tennis program.
Beachy already has curtailed the
instruction program offered by
Lynette Turek.
Tuesday night, he told the Parks
and Recreation Board that he wants to
call for proposals from other instruc-
tors to offer lessons at College Station
courts. The board in turn appointed a
committee to help choose an in-
structor.
I wanted a third party involved,
not just Steve Beachy and Lynette
Turek," Beachy said later.
Beachy, charging that Turek has
for several months "orchestrated a
very strong campaign" to preserve
her program, said a great deal of ill
feeling has developed between him
and Turek.
"We correspond only by letter
now," he said.
Beachy contended that Turek has
not cooperated with him, and that he
has received complaints about her use
of more than one court in the instruc-
tional program.
Turek, on the other hand, said: "I
have no ill feelings. I have nothing
against the man; he has something
against me.
"I owe this place a lot." Ture k
said she returned to Bryan-College
Station after a decade in Dallas t
give back to the city of her birth some
of the benefits she receives from
tennis.
"I'm not being listened to, and I
think it's a personal thing," Turek
said, noting that she is a registered
professional who has developed a
tennis instruction program serving
almost a hundred students.
Turek said it was Beachy himself
who suggested in a letter that their
dealings be conducted by letter.
The disagreement between the two
has reached such a pitch that it moti-
vated Councilwoman Pat Boughton
at an August council meeting to sug-
gest that city staffers always have
another person present when talking
to citizens in order to verify what
occurs. Boughton is the council's
liaison with the parks board.
The problems between the parks
director and the tennis instructor be-
gan inJune, with the impending com-
pletion of the new tennis courts at
Southwood Atliletic Park.
Turek for about a year and a half
has been offering tennis lessons at
Central Park courts and paying the
city 10 percent of her revenues. The
city has co- sponsored the lessons.
This summer, Turek's program ex-
panded to three additional courts, at
Bee Creek Park, where she offered
instruction to younger tennis players.
For the two fall sessions, she re-
quested that she again be assigned
courts in Bee Creek Park and that she
have the use of the Central Park pavi-
lion for registration.
Beachy denied the request for th e
Bee Creek courts and the pavilion.
He also withdrew the city's spon
sorship of the program, said th e
o agreement will be terminated Jan.
and eliminated the 10 percent provi
rn sion in favor of a flat $100 fee for th
use of the courts until Jan . 1.
Turek said the city, based on pre-
vious enrollent, should have received
about $450 in revenue under the pre-
vious arrangement.
Tuesday night, Beachy recom-
mended to the parks board that the
city ask for proposals from other ten-
nis instructors and that advanced in-
struction be confined to the South-
wood courts.
The city's current courts are avail-
able free of charge without reserva-
tions. But Southwood, because it will
have a locker room, attendant and
other amenities, will be available
only by reservation and for a fee.
The board appointed a committee
to help establish the criteria for the
instructor. Committee members are
Leslie Davis, A &M Consolidated
High School tennis coach; Mike Wal-
terscheidt, parks board member;
Susie O'Connor, of the parks depart-
ment; Larry Reynolds, representing
the local tennis association; and a
member to be named by Turek's sup-
porters.
Turek said she agreed with the
choices for the committee, and she
said she has no objection to asking for
proposals from other professior*als.
But she said that $he would like to
have her track record in initiating and
conducting the existing tennis prog-
ram considered.
The board also approved a new fee
schedule for parks programs for
1985. The schedule must be
approved by the City Council.
Most fees will be unchanged. But
the board has recommended that the
1 annual family swimming pass, which
costs $200, be expanded to include
e the Southwood tennis courts and all
three pools at the same price.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1984
0
•
C�
it's Constitution Week
The U.S. Constitution was adopted by convention on
Sept. 17, 1787, in Philadelphia.
In commemoration of that historic event, the National
Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
announces that the week of Sept. 17 -23 is Constitution
Week. At the behest of the two local DAR chapters,
Bryan Mayor Ron Blatchley and College Station
Mayor.Gary Halter have issued proclamations calling
for observance of the week of the anniversary of the
event in their two cities.
The resolution designating the week of the
anniversary of the adoption of the document as Constitu-
tion Week was adopted by the U.S. Senate on July 23,
1956, and signed into law by President Dwight D..
Eisenhower on Aug. 2 of the same year.
Oquilla Conway of Bryan is Constitution Week
chairman of William Scott Chapter, DAR, and Allie
Mae Whitley of College Station is Constitution Week
chairman for La Villita Chapter, DAR.
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1984
•
Idiosyncrasies make life interesting
N
A modem city can be cruelly unforgiving of idiosyn-
crasy.
Anonymity is available in the city for almost anyone
who seeks it. Apartment dwellers who share a common
wall usually have less social contact than neighbors in
the country who live miles apart.
As population pressure increases, those who have
been crowded together in an urban environment com-
pensate for the loss of space by giving greater deference
to their neighbors' privacy.
That privacy, that anonymnity, is available only as
long as one conforms to narrow norms. The individual
who steps outside those norms ultimately will be
brought to heel.
Monday, the (E2^agleOElran a story on a Bryan
woman who has refused to conform. Indications are that
she won't be permitted to do so much longer.
In the eyes of some, Joy Rea's transgressions are
many: She keeps goats and chickens at her home at 810
E. 30th St. She has erected a fence they think is an
eyesore. They don't like the color of her home. She has
chosen to grow weeds rather than flowers.
The most immediate objection is to the fence.
Built of landscape timbers, it does not fit in with what
the Bryan Historic Landmark Commission feels is
appropriate for the East Side Historic District. And it is
built on city right of way.
Other structures have encroached in similar fashion,
and the City Council has not forced their removal.
Houses have been built too close to property lines to
conform to the city's ordinance. Other structures have
strayed into easements. Just recently the City Council
agreed to permit the office of a used car dealer to remain.
It was built on city-owned right of way, as is Rea's
fence.
None of those, though, was a highly visible example
of individual idiosyncrasy. Rea's fence is unquestion-
ably exactly that.
It ii also something else.
It is a repudiation of the idea that conformity consti-
' 3Y NATIONS
City Hall Report
tutes beauty, that similarity carves charm soley by virtue
of its sameness.
College Station exercises more land -use controls than
other cities its size, with the possible exception of some
large and affluent bedroom suburbs of major metropol-
ises.
Signs, setbacks, even the amount of grass that a
builder plants — all are controlled in College Station.
The result there has been a bland and stultifying
saneness that falls like saltless oatmeal on the eye.
College Station looks like a complex of barracks: new
barracks, it is true, but barracks nonetheless.
Bryan is a far more interesting city . It is older, but it is
much more interesting.
It is more interesting because it is the unusual, the
unexpected, that bring interest to a city, a landscape,
even a life.
There is much to be said, it is true, for being deferen-
tial to one's neighbors. But it is also true that there is
much to be said for giving each other the leeway to
practice our harmless eccentricities, our little quirks, for
simple freedom of the human spirit.
In the urban environment, due regard must be shown
for the concept of "the greatest good for the greatest
number." Care should be exercised, though, that the
principle not be twisted into "ignore the individual to
exalt the whole." Seldom does that approach result in
exaltation of anything.
Joy Rea probably will lose her fence. I wonder,
though, if her loss will not mean an even greater loss to
the rest of us.
0
•
1 f �
u
"AUCTION OF CARING"
Saturday 22nd
Auction QW
flCrcck(5'1dC 7 -8:30 P.M. united Way
EAST CITY CREW BREAK DANCERS
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8:30 p.m.
BAND
and
DANCE
Scott Randolph
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
ORDINANCE NO. 1547 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
SEPTEMBER 13, 1964 BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
TEXAS meeting in regular
session in the Council Room
of the College Station City
Hall, said meeting having
been posted in accordance
with Art. 6252 -17.
The above- referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE DECLARING
THE NECESSITY FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF
MILLER'S LANE IN THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
PROVIDING THAT THE
ABUTTING PROPERTY
OWNERS ON SAID MILLER'S
LANE SO CONSTRUCTED BE
ASSESSED A SHARE OF THE
EXPENSE, PROVIDING FORA
PUBLIC HEARING, AND
PROVIDING A SAVING
CLAUSE IN THE EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Prior to consideration and
approval of this ordinance, the
City Council of the City of
College Station held a public
hearing, notice of which first
having been duly given to the
general public and to the
owners of abutting property.
Ordinance No. 1547 shall be-
come effective and be in full
force and effect from and after
its passage and approval by
the City Council of the City of
College Station, Texas.
This ordinance is on file in the
official records at the College
Station City Hall, 1101 South
Texas Avenue, College Sta-
tion, Texas and the complete
text of same may be obtained
at the office of the City
Secretary.
0 9-21 -64,09 -22-84
�aJ
B�
12 6 0
k��
'ra
and
The White Lightning Band
Complimentary Beer and Fajitas
Creekside - 809 E. University Dr.
Between Hilton and Inn at Chimney Hill
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
ORDINANCE NO. 1549 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
SEPTEMBER 13, 1984 BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
TEXAS meeting in regular
session in the Council Room
of the College Station City
Hall, said meeting having
been posted in accordance
with Art. 6252 -17.
The above- referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE RECEIVING
CERTAIN TERRITORY AD-
JOINING THE CITY LIMITS
OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE
STATION, TEXAS.
Ordinance No. 1549 pertains
to the annexation of an area of
approximately 25.82 acres of
land belonging to the City of
College Station, Texas, said
parcel being a part of and
situated within the College
Station Southwood Athletic
Park.
This ordinance is on file in the
official records at the College
Station City Hall, 1101 South
Texas Avenue, College Sta-
tion, Texas, and the complete
text of same may be obtained
at the office of the City
Secretary.
09- 21- 84,09 -22 -84
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, SEPT. 22, 1984
Page 8A Bryan - College Station Eagle Sunday, September 23, 1984
Accident probe continues
From page ]A
ances of the Friday night accident,
but he said the whole stretch of track
adjacent to A &M is hazardous.
Luther Street meets the track about
half a mile south of the A &M
campus.
"I had two cars run right in front of
me just before I got to A &M last
night (Friday)," Slone said. "Peoplt
are always trying to beat the lights.
"We can't stop. You saw how
long it took us to stop after we hit the
car last night." The train carried the
McDonald car half a mile before the
train could brake to a stop.
"I have an 18 -year -old son my-
self," Slone said. "We know it's not
our fault, but you can't help but think
of all those years of wasted life."
Slone said this is the second fatal
accident in which he has been in-
volved, and every trip he makes is
marked by several near misses.
"Even with signals, too many peo-
ple don't have respect for them,"
Slone said. "I wish they would stop.
I don't think there's anything any-
body can do. It's our pace of life, I
guess."
College Station City Council-
woman Vicky Reinke said the coun-
cil has talked about blocking Luther
Street at the tracks.
"We have discussed closing it off
when Holleman Drive is extended
over the tracks," Reinke said.
Holleman runs parallel to Luther,
about one - quarter mile. to the south.
Holleman is interrupted at the tracks,
but Reinke said that because Holle-
man has been developed west of the
tracks the city would like to have the
two sections connected, with a rail
crossing guarded by lights and gates.
The state highway department must
install the crossing equipment. Once
Holleman crosses the tracks, Luther
could be blocked off, Reinke said.
Reinke said the council will dis-
cuss street plans at its Wednesday
meeting.
"I know that's always been a
troublesome crossing," she said.
"I'm sure that this intersection is
going to come up at the meeting."
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H
Lynn McDonald
the U.S. population has chosen a
leader, orgam made plans. The
time has Corte Red Pride.
Nearly 600 rcuneads, who proudly
paid $10 to $25 for admission,
gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel
in San Francisco recently for the
Third Annual Redheads International
California Convention and Beauty
Pageant. There, the copper - topped
contingent browsed through an
assortment of license -plate frames,
bumper stickers, note pads, T -shirts
and hats emblazoned with slogans:
"Redheads do it in color," "Don't
mess with red" and "Red Hott."
They learned how to dress red from
Turn to COPPER, page 12A
4 "
+officials g et a charge fr Megawatts
..ss 100
92 megawatts
1984 projected peak
--- it --ar— ear— o-- -ar ----
83 megawatts
1983 peak
1984 actual peak 80.4 megawatts
/ 00MV, A
6'.'4
\/I _J 0011
V�
48. 2
lems for delaying security impr
ments at embassies consid
to be in O. -risk areas around
world.
State Department officials "to
that the fragmentation of respon
lities within the department con
Cates the administration of
(Security Enhancement Progr
and contributes to delays in
plementing the program," said
GAO investigators.
They also attributed delay
problems completing architect
drawings, internal disagreem
over proposed security impr(
ments and trouble obtaining fo
entry doors and shatter- resistant
dows.
The State Department had no
College Station Conservation
Peale Loads from Aug. 20 -Sept
month's electricity figures
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station City Manager
North Bardell and Utilities Office
Manager Linda Piwonka were as hap-
py as the parents of a beautiful brand -
new baby that weighed in at 12 mega-
watts.
"I'll have something to say as soon
as I come down off the ceiling," Bar -
dell declared.
"It exceeded my expectations,"
Piwonka said. "It was gratifying to
see everyone cooperating. It was a
fun project."
Piwonka had just compiled the fi-
gures that showed the full impact of
the city's program to reduce its peak
electrical consumption, figures that
disclosed:
■ College Station consumers will
save $425,000 over the next year as a
result of the program.
■ Peak consumption, at 80.04
megawatts, was three megawatts
under the 1983 peak.
■ It was seven megawatts under
the 87 megawatts the city had hoped
to achieve.
■ It was 12 megawatts under what
the city had projected would be the
peak before the peak -load manage-
ment program was initiated.
■ Those reductions were made
even though temperatures were sub-
stantially higher than last year during
the Aug. 20 -Sept. 20 period when the
program was in effect.
0 Nine days of rain were recorded
during the comparable 1983 period,
as opposed to only three days of rain
in the 1984 target period.
■ And despite reducing the peak
load beyond all expectations, the city
sold 1.91 million more kilowatts of
electricity during the Aug. 20 -Sept.
20 period this year than it did during
that time last year.
There were some other pluses, too.
In initiating the program, the city
had predicted that the peak would fall
either two days before or two days
after fall classes resumed at Texas
A4N+J1a"i,-f4ity. The peak occurred
o ug. 29e second day of
Turn to PEAK, page 7A
90
80
70
60
50
40
August 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1984
Daily high 95 96 97 99 97 92 93 95 38 98 98 95 96 84 89 87 91 92 93 94 9!
temperature Y
Rain '�?�
Scott Ortolon
Texas A &M senior from Katy
'You feel very individualistic.'
Cathy Robbins
Child -care worker of Bryan
`We all don't have bad tempers.'
Matt Sikes
1- year -old of Bryan
'Goo, goo.'
LA
1
ott Ortolon
xas A &M senior from Katy
)u feel fiery individualistic.'
let a charge from
lectricity figures
;closed:
■ College Station consumers will
ie $425,000 over the next year as a
ult of the program.
■ Peak consumption, at 80.04
�gawatts, was three megawatts
3erthe 1983 peak.
■ It was seven megawatts under
87 megawatts the city had hoped
achieve.
■ It was 12 megawatts under what
city had projected would be the
tk before the peak -load manage -
nt program was initiated.
Those reductions were trade
�n though temperatures were sub -
ntially higher than last year during
Aug. 20 -Sept. 20 period when the
gram was in effect.
■ Nine days of rain were recorded
during the comparable 1983 period,
as opposed to only three days of rain
in the 1984 target period.
■ And despite reducing the peak
load beyond all expectations, the city
sold 1.91 million more kilowatts of
electricity during the Aug. 20 -Sept.
20 period this year than it did during
that time last year.
There were some other pluses, too.
In initiating the program, the city
had predicted that the peak would fall
either two days before or two days
after fall classes resumed at Texas
A &M University. The peak occurred
on Aug. 29, the second day of
Turn to PEAK, page 7A
nts at U.S. embassies considered
to be in high -risk areas around the
world.
State Department officials "told us
that the fragmentation of responsibi-
lities within the department compli-
cates the administration of the
(Security Enhancement Program)
p and contributes to delays in im-
plementing the program," said the
GAO investigators.
They also attributed delays to
problems completing architectural
drawings, internal disagreements
Matt Sikes over proposed security improve -
1- year - Bryan ments and trouble obtaining forced
entry doors and shatter- resistant win -
'Goo, goo.' dows.
a
The State Department had no im-
Megawatts
100
92 megawatts
1984 projected peak
— awe----- - - a----- -- s--- --
83 megawatts
1983 peak
1984 actual peak 8014 megawatts
2
4.4
413 2
44. 8
90
80
70
60
50
40
1980, came to it ._:__Ia wtex a
visitor to the zoo called The Houston
Post to say he thought the snake was
dead,
"I never thought it would mat-
ter," Rothbard said. "It wasn't
meant to fool people, though it
did. "
Rothbard, who designed exhibits
for the Houston Museum of Natural
Science at the time the fake Vas
made, said he designed the si,ake for
the exhibit, which shows the vem.
mous snakes of Harris Count,
Hugh Quinn, the Houston zoo's
curator for reptiles and amphibians,
said coral snakes frequently die in
captivity and officials thought it was
not wise to exhibit a live one.
College Station Conservation Program
Peak Loads from Aug. 20 -Sept. 20, 1984
August
20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1'
1984
Daily high
95 96 97 99 97 92
93 95 38 98 96
95 96 84 89 87 91 92 93 94 91 95 94
lenlperalure
Hain
Allb,
1116,
90
60
70
60
50
40
12 13 14 15 16 17 16 19 20 September
1984
95 95 97 95 87 91 92 89 84
Eagle graphic by Lisa Schroeder and Jav 8rinain
Megawatts
100
Cathy Robbins
Child -care worker of Bryan
'We all don't have bad tempers.'
Council to discuss overpasses
The College Station City Council
and Texas Department of Highways
and Public Transportation officials
are to discuss the status of East
Bypass overpasses Wednesday.
The council meets in City Hall at 5
p.m. in workshop session, and
Thursday at 7 p.m. in regular session.
Other state - funded projects to be
discussed are the Holleman Drive,
Dartmouth Street and FM 2818 ex-
tensions. The council also will talk
about the laning of Holleman be-
tween Winding and Wellborn roads.
The road now is four -laned in that
area. The council will consider
whether to convert it to two lanes
with a continuous turn lane, City
Manager North Bardell said.
On Thursday's agenda, the council
is to consider:
■ Rezoning for a five -acre tract on
the south side of University Drive
about 600 feet east of East Tarrow
Street. The tract is zoned now for
residential, and the College Heights
Assembly of God Church, which
TO WHOM IT
MAY CONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 6.20 acre tract of land on the
south side of University Drive.
approximately 1200 feet east
of East Tarrow Street (for-
merly Fed Mart Drive) from
Administrative - Professional
District A -P to General Com-
mercial District C -1. Applica-
tion is in the name of Cedar
Creek Ltd.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, October
11, 1984.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Asst. Director of Planning
09 -26 -84
owns it, wants it rezoned to C -1 com-
mercial. The Planning and Zoning
Commission, on a 4 -2 vote, recom-
mended office zoning.
■ Adoption of an ordinance res-
tricting sexually oriented businesses
to C -1 zones.
■ The third and final reading of an
ordinance amending the cable TV
franchise for McCaw BCS Com-
munications, Inc.
■ Fees to be charged for the use of
parks facilities in 1985.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1984
A close look at amortization
to
College Station's appetite for land -use controls con-
tinues unabated.
By nibble and gulp, the city is chewing away at
unrestricted use of land.
Within the past several months, a landscape ordinance
has been adopted that mandates a certain level of land-
scaping for new development. The required landscaping,
will be required in perpetuity. Once a tree is in place,
either it or an acceptable replacement must stay in place.
The latest approach is amortization of non-
conforming uses. That's simply another way of saying
that once a structure that's in the wrong zone supposedly
has paid for itself, it must be torn down, rebuilt or its use
changed to conform to the zone requirements.
The first application of the amortization approach was
a few months ago, after the city annexed a sprawling
area to the south.
Within that area a landowner had begun construction
of a flea market. The flea market did not conform to what
the city considered appropriate zoning for the tract.
Staff members recommended that a rezoning request
be denied. Denial would have meant that the investment
the landowner already had made in construction to that
point would have been lost.
On a split vote, the City Council agreed to the rezon-
ing — but only for a 10 -year period. After that time, the
council reasoned, the owner would have recouped his
investment, and the land could revert to an appropriate
zoning classification.
It was the first time amortization had been applied to
zoning in the „city.
But even Before that, a citizens committee had been
considering a draft of a revised sign ordinance that
would impose amortization provisions on non-
conforming signs.
The ordinance is still in committee, which is reported-
ly opposed to the amoritzation provision. But since the
council itself made the suggestion, it appears likely that
it ultimately will be adopted.
And the momentum toward amortization of non-
conforming uses seems to be increasing.
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
Thursday, the City Council is to consider a proposed
ordinance that would require sexually oriented commer-
cial enterprises to locate only in C -1 commercial zones.
Any such business outside a C -I zone, the draft stipu-
lates, must be amortized over five years.
There are no businesses in College Station now that
would be affected by the ordinance, so the effect of the
provision presumably will be minimal.
But a use becomes non - conforming in several ways,
including:
1. Adoption of a zoning ordinance, where the pre-
existing uses do not conform to the new ordinance.
2. Annexation of an area in which the uses do not
conform to the zoning adopted by the city.
3. Rezoning a use that was authorized under previous
zoning.
Since a city can rezone property even without a re-
quest to do so by the owner, the city presumably could
require a sex - oriented business to relocate — or cease
business — every five years simply by rezoning it reg-
ularly.
The ramifications of required amortization, carried to
its ultimate, are far- reaching. Until now, the city has
applied it, or considered applying it, only to an indi-
vidual business; a type of business that does not now
exist in the city and that many don't ever want there; and
to signs, which are only ancillary to a business.
But the principle is becoming ever more firmly rooted
in the city's land -use planning, and more and more
applications for it are being uncovered.
It is a direction that the City Council and the College
Station business community should examine closely.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1984
C
CS council mum about
rail crossing solutions
Eft
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
The city of G gl�ege Station may
seek to condemn the Southern Pacific
railroad right -of -way at Holleman
Drive for use by the city, City Mana-
ger North Bardell said Wednesday.
College Station City Council
members at a Wednesday workshop
meeting on street planning were si-
lent about possible solutions to the
dangerous railroad crossing at Luther
Street near Wellborn Road.
After the meeting, Mayor' Gary
Halter said the council was "not at
liberty to discuss" the issue. Council
member Vicky Reinke added that a
impending legal matter prevented the
council from discussing railroad
crossings, but Bardell indicated the
problem did not involve any damage
suit.
After car -train collisions Friday
and Saturday left two Texas A &M
students dead and another injured,
Reinke had said she was sure the
council would discuss the issue. But
on Wednesday, no member of the
council mentioned the accidents,
Luther Street or the Holleman cros-
sing project.
Bardell said the city and the rail-
road have been corresponding for
more than a year without agreeing to
a solution of the crossing problem.
"There was an agreement worked
out with us (the city of College Sta-
tion) and the railroad that we would
open Holleman and close Luther,"
Bardell said. But the railroad and the
city both insist that the crossing at
Holleman must have signals, Bardell
said, and the city does not want to pay
for them.
The city proposed one year agg
that the cost of the signals be split
Turn to CS MAY, page 12A
CS may condemn rail crossing
From page ]A
between Southern Pacific and de-
velopers who are building apartments
and condominiums on the west side
of the railroad tracks, Bardell said.
But the railroad company has not
responded, leaving the city at an im-
passe that it may try to break with
legal action.
Bardell cautioned that closing
Luther Street without opening an
alternate route across the tracks could
create new hazards.
"If we close Luther and route con-
crete trucks through an apartment
complex, then we might have other
safety problems," Bardell said. A
concrete company is located on
Luther west of the tracks.
Carol Zeigler of the Bryan office of
the State Department of Highways
and Public Transportation, was she -
duled to talk to the council about
other street matters although his
agency slates dangerous crossings for
improved crossing signals.
Zeigler, too, avoided mentioning
the Luther Street issue, but he told the
council about his department's plans
, to repair and improve several roads
and bridges in the College Station
area.
The projects include installing
storm curbs, gutters and storm drains
on Harvey Road between Texas Ave-
nue kind the East Bypass, and repair-
ing the frontage road next to the East
Bypass near the Westinghouse plant.
Work on both projects should begin
in about a year and be completed dur-
ing the summer of 1986, Zeigler said.
The new money for highway repair
voted by the Texas Legislature in the
June special session made it possible
to advance the dates of the repairs,
Zeigler said.
Capital Improvements Director
Elrey Ash told the council that a sec-
tion of Holleman Drive near Winding
Road is now the responsibility of the
city rather than the state highway de-
partment. The section of street
switches suddenly from two four
lanes to two lanes in the middle of a
curve. The council asked Ash and the
city staff to prepare estimates of what
it would cost to re- stripe the street.
Halter complimented Bardell and
other city staffers for the recent cam-
paign to conserve energy to reduce
the city's peak electrical consump-
tion. That peak is a key factor in
setting the rate at which electricity is
sold to residents.
"We haven't figured out the exact
count," Halter said, "but we're talk-
ing about big bucks that are going to
be saved by the citizens."
9 THE EAGLE/THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1984
0
CS Council awards contracts
after protest from low bidder
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council on a divided vot
agreed Thursday to award two waterline constructio
contracts to the second lowest bidders over the protest o
the president of the low bidder.
The council also refused to rezone five -acres o
church -owned property for commercial uses, elected t
accept scoreboards with advertising for city parks — bu
not for alcoholic beverages — and indicated it may pu
the cost of swimming in the city on a more equal footing
with the cost of Little League baseball.
Diamond, Inc., had bid $291,320 on construction of a
water line on Harvey Road east of the East Bypass and
$133,158 on another line on Wellborn Road in South
College Station.
Capital Improvements Director Elrey Ash recom-
mended that the contracts go to Brazos Valley Utilities,
Inc., at $298,542, and Bella Co., at $147,477. Di-
amond, he said, is primarily a petrochemical industry
contractor and has limited experience in municipal water
line work.
Owner Travis Reaves of Diamond indicated that he
wasn't too interested in the contract anyway in light of
the staff recommendation.
said.
When I go into a place, I like to feel welcome," he
Councilman Gary Anderson said it was unfair to "ask
it (Diamond) to spend its time and money" preparing a
bid, and that the city should pre - qualify bidders.
But his motion to award the contracts to Diamond
failed 4 -3, with Councilwomen Lynn McIlhaney and
Vicky Reinke joining Anderson. A motion to award the
contracts to the second -low bidders passed by the same
4 -3 margin.
The council accepted the recommendation of a coun-
cil committee that the city accept donated scoreboards
with advertising for city parks, with two restrictions.
No alcoholic beverage advertising will be allowed,
councilmen said, • although distributors can advertise
their businesses as long as no products are mentioned. In
addition, the council said no long -term contracts for the
signs to remain in place should be permitted.
A local beverage distributor had offered to donate a
sign advertising beer, but only on condition that it re-
e main in place for 10 years.
n Last year's bruising battle, in which the Parks and
f Recreation Board recommended Little Leaguers and
other privately sponsored youth team sports be charged
f fees for the use of parks facilities, surfaced slightly
o again.
t The council had before it a list of recommended fees
t for use of parks facilities. The only privately sponsored
youth team sport to be charged a fee under the schedule
was the Bryan - College Station Swim Club, Inc., known
- as the Aggie Swimmers.
Club Treasurer Don Vietor objected to the $7.50 per
month fee levied on the members, and Mayor Gary
Halter agreed. The council unanimously agreed to
approve the other recommended fees, but sent the swim
club fee back to the parks board for reconsideration.
Last year, in the face of concerted protests by parents,
the council refused to accept the recommendation to
levy the "youth tax" on Little League and other sports.
The College Heights Assembly of God Church had
asked that a five -acre tract 600 feet east of East Tarrow
Street on the south side of University Drive be rezoned
from residential to C -1 commercial.
The Planning and Zoning Commisson already had
rejected the church's request, 6 -0, and had recom-
mended on a 4 -2 vote that A -P office- professional zon-
ing be granted instead.
The council unanimously agreed to accept the plan-
ning commission's recommendation of A -P zoning.
In other action, the council:
■ Approved for the third and final time amendments
to the cable TV franchise of McCaw B /CS Communica-
tions, Inc.
■ Approved a new handbook for members of the
College Staton City Council, boards, commissions and
committees.
■ Authorized City Manager North Bardell to lease to
the Whalen Corp. of Dallas the site where the new water
tower is being built at Rock Prairie Road and Texas 6.
Whalen will build the tower, then lease it back to the city
for 15 years.
THE EAGLE/ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1984
C
Student says trains speed
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
A Texas A &M sophomore and
radio buff told the College Station
City Council on Thursday that trains
continually speed in the area of a
crossing where two fatal car -train
crashes occurred last week.
Wednesday night, five days after
the second fatal crash, he said a
policeman clocked a train at 57 mph.
The allegations came hard on the
heels of a press conference in which
Mayor Gary Halter said Southern
Pacific Transportation Co. has failed
for almost a year to respond to a prop-
osal that would have installed a
guarded crossing in the area at no cost
to the railroad.
And the railroad refused even to
consider the crossing µntil the city
threatened to use its condemnation
powers, he said.
The city wants to close the Luther
Street crossing and put another, pro-
tected crossing, at Holleman Street.
The Luther crossing would in effect
become only a private drive for the
industries on the west side of the
tracks.
William Churchill of 400 Jersey
St., the A &M student, said after he
appeared before the council that he
monitors emergency radio traffic.
On Sept. 20 at 10:45 p.m., Chur-
chill said, a College Station police-
man reported that he had clocked a
train going 45 mph. The speed limit
in the area is 40 mph.
And Wednesday at 10:56 p.m., he
said, another train was clocked at 57
mph.
Churchill told the council that he
would like to see the fatal Luther
Street crossing closed. Automobiles
now stop on the tracks before enter-
ing Wellborn Road, he said, because
of the short distance between the
tracks and Wellborn.
The same problem would exist if
Luther Street crossing is closed and a
crossing established at Holleman
Street, which now deadends at Well-
born, he said.
In a press conference before the
council meeting, Halter said the city
had worked out an agreement with
private developers on the west side of
the railroad tracks under which they
would pay $100,000 of the cost of the
crossing and the city would pay
$35,000.
"Southern Pacific was interested
in negotiating only after the threat of
eminent domain suit," Halter said.
The agreement.went to San Fran-
cisco for Southern Pacific approval
on Feb. 10, according to a memo
from City Attorney Cathy Locke that
Halter distributed at the press confer-
ence.
Locke said that on March 28, she
discussed the crossing agreement
with Southern Pacific attorney L.B.
LaTourette, who could not tell her
what the status was.
On April 3, former City Attorney
Lowell Denton wrote LaTourette to
inquire again about the status. Locke
said the railroad attorney did not re-
spond.
On June 1, Locke said, she wrote
LaTourette, who sent her a copy of a
letter he had written to another South-
ern Pacific official. And on Monday,
two days after the last fatal accident,
Locke said she called LaTourette,
who said he would get back to her.
"I have not heard from him,"
Locke said. "To date there have been
no communications that the tentative
agreement was unacceptable to his
supervisors. It appears to be a case of
inaction on their part. They have
given me no explanation for their in-
action. "
Halter said the city could use its
power of eminent domain to con-
demn railroad property for a crossing
at Holleman. But he said that without
signals, that simply would be chang-
ing the location of a dangerous cros-
sing. And installation of signals re-
quires railroad consent, he said.
Council restricts sex businesses
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council
on Thursday night put the hex on sex.
By a unanimous vote, the council
agreed to restrict any sexually
oriented businesses to to C -1 com-
mercial zones. The ordinance also
restricts such enterprises from locat-
ing within 1,000 feet of a church,
school or similar businesses.
It also will require them to obtain a
permit. City Attorney Cathy Locke
said any criminal violations on the
premises will subject the operators to
revocation of the permit, which
effectively would put them out of
business.
The ordinance also stipulates that
if a business is a non - conforming use
— if it somehow winds up in a zone
other than C -1 or otherwise doesn't
comply with the zoning provisions of
the ordinance — it must be amortized
within five -years and shut down.
The ordinance will not apply to
businesses that derive their primary
income from the sale of alcoholic be-
verages, because they are regulated
by the state alcoholic beverage code,
or to adult movies and bookstores,
which enjoy constitutional protec-
tion.
It will apply to massage parlors,
nude dance and modeling studios,
and similar businesses.
College Station now has no such
businesses. Locke termed the mea-
sure a "preventative ordinance."
6 V THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1984
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Mayor discusses train accidents
I : I UTInesda niorht
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Staff Writer
In a press conference before the
College Station City Council's regu-
lar meeting Thursday night, College
Station Mayor Gary Halter cited
Southern Pacific Transportation
Co.'s lack of .response to the city's
proposals as the cause of the city's
failure to take action on the Luther
Street railroad crossing.
The intersection has come under
scrutiny since the deaths of two
Texas A &M students in car -train
collisions late last week. One other
A &M student was injured in the first
accident.
College Station has been trying
for more than two years to work out
an agreement with Southern Pacific
that would close the Luther Street
crossing and open one at Holleman
Street, Halter said.
The proposed agreement pro-
vided that local developers would
fund $100,000 of the cost of open-
ing the crossing, with College Station
providing 35,000.
According to a memorandum to
the mayor from City Attorney Cathy
Locke, managers for Southern pa-
cific received the terms for approval
in February of this year, but they
have taken no action despite several
promptings from College Station of-
ficials.
If the Holleman Street crossing
was opened, the Luther Street cross-
ing would not be closed, Halter said.
It probably would be made a private
drive so access of emergency vehicles
to that side of the city would not be
hampered, he said.
"There's been some talk about
moving the railroad, Halter said.
"I'd very much be in favor of moving
the railroad. I'd have no problem
with that if' somebody could explain
to me where we can come up with
the $60 million, or whatever the cost
would be today."
In its regular meeting, the council hce s clocking ate e y
didn't address the railroad crossing
issue, but when it allowed time for
city residents to express their op in-
ions on matters not on the council's
agenda, A &M student William
Churchill gave his views.
Churchill, 22, is a state- certified
Emergency Care Attendant, which
requires him to stop at any accident
and render aid. He lives on the
south side of campus in married stu-
dent housing, not far from. the Lu-
ther Street - Wellborn Road intersec-
tion where the accidents occurred.
"I heard the accidents and ran out
s there with my gear," Churchill said.
"The second ni &ht I couldn't believe
it happened again.
Churchill expressed his concern
that trains are traveling the tracks
along Wellborn Road at excessive
speeds, citing College Station po-
of a train traveling 57 mph.
The state railroad engineer has
set trains' maximum speed at 40
mph, Churchill said.
Another of Churchill's concerns is
that drivers stop tttcir vehicles on the
railroad tracks at that particular in-
tersection because of the steep grade
between the tracks and Wellborn
Road, and he said he would like to
see the Luther Street crossing
closed.
In other business, the city council
designated October as "Texas Res-
taurant Month" and "Clean Up and
Spruce Up Month."
It approved an ordinance regulat-
ing the location of sexually- oriented
commercial activities within the city's
limits, and it approved four rezon-
ing requests.
r�
Eliminate crossing
The only solution to the Luther Street railroad cros-
sing is its elimination. The City, in cooperation with
the railroad, could spend more than $100,000 to install
warning lights but the problem will remain.
Closing the crossing permanently is not a simple
matter. There are issues involved such as access to
business, aprartments and land. However, alternative
access to these properties is available.
The City Council should act immediately and close
Luther Street at the crossing. Following this action
public hearings could then be scheduled to determine if
the crossing should be reopened and if so, what safety
measures should be taken to prevent the further loss of
life at this crossing.
Hoy A. Richards t
College StAbn
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1984
J
r
ues
o e co ntln _ C P bad reputa
r aln wre rotected crossing had a traveled
the
C ar tion with engineers w tra findings about the cause of the p rest)*. -They're
BRAD pWEN5 alone, headed west on Luther Street arY
ned 24 hours, p
I which happe ulazl ,
By ter across the railroad tracks that run pa- all bad." has no the
W rite r Road, when almost ll on at me crossing l the sar roue and Col -
Street Luther crossina
Staff W fatal Collis lights,
College Station police officers
killed. to Wellborn he was Thursday night, a northbound Mis- ate and f no flashing g
killed. ht hit a car driven g
sour' Pacific freight a lege Station officials hav vent a ll � os-
Saturday identified a Texas A &M A roommate said McDonald, a student Mary KaY �
student killed Friday night in a caz- b A & M bloc biomedical science to a meeting Y sings
train accident but still wer tces of the Antonio, was on hisses dent from satisfactory condition Engineer W illiam Reuben Slone of
gating the exact circums ies for Christ, an organization Pahmeier. Pahmeier survived and re- Pacific will not
g g of Agg mained in sa h Hospital, But a
accident. at St. Josep P Kather_ Waco said Missouri a cucumst-
pastor, John Saturday A &M freshman
Lynn Cash McDonald, 20, of Antonio hlvlcDonald i s dp nts. In an assenger allow him to discuss t
an Mario St. in College Sta- w said McDonald was active ee i as Hossley, was killed. NT, pag 8A
706A S
tion, was pronounced dead �t the Lowry planning The engineer driving the Friday Turn to ACCIDE
church life and wasp if the un-
scene after a southbound Missouri naria n- night train, asked Saturday tor or
Pacific freight train hit the Ford Fair- as po ice refused to releaste veterinarian.
mont he was driving. McDonald was
• Officials get a charge from
month's electricity figures
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station City Manager
North Bardell and Utilities Office
Manager Linda Piwonka were as hap-
py as the parents of a beautiful brand -
new baby that weighed in at 12 mega-
watts.
"I'll have something to say as soon
as I comedown off the ceiling," Bar-
dell declared.
"It exceeded my expectations,"
Piwonka said. "It was gratifying to
see everyone cooperating. It was a
fun project."
Piwonka had just compiled the fi-
gures that showed the full impact of
the city's program to reduce its peak
electrical consumption, figures that
Megawatt
100
90
80
70
60
50
disclosed:
■ College Station consumers will
save $425,000 over the next year as a
result of the program.
■ Peak consumption, at 80.04
megawatts, was three megawatts
under the 1983 peak.
■ It was seven megawatts .under
the 87 megawatts the city had hoped
to achieve.
■ It was 12 megawatts under what
the city had projected would be the
peak before the peak -load manage-
ment program was initiated.
■ Those reductions were made
even though temperatures were sub-
stantially higher than last year during
the Aug. 20 -Sept. 20 period when the
program was in effect.
■ Nine days of rain were recorded
during the comparable 1983 period,
as opposed to only three days of rain
in the 1984 target period.
■ And despite reducing the peak
load beyond all expectations, the city
sold 1.91 million more kilowatts of
electricity during the Aug. 20-Sept-
20 period this year than it did during
that time last year.
There were some other pluses, too.
In initiating the program, the city
had predicted that the peak would fall
either two days before or two days
after fall classes resumed at Texas
A &M University. The peak occurred
on Aug. 29, the second day of
Turn to PEAK, page 7A
Megawatts
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
ieptember
1984
40
AugUSt 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1u
1984
Daily high 95 96 97 99 97 92 93 95 38 98 98 95 96 84 89 87 91 92 93 94 91 95 94 95 95 97 95 87 91 92 89 84
temperature
Eagle graphic by Lisa Schroeder and Jay Brittain
Rain
0
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1984
College Station Conservation Program
Peak Loads from Aug. 20 -Sept. 20, 1984
•
Plans Out For Bids
On College Station
Renovation Project
Emmett Trant and Associates,
Architect, 1505 South College
Ave., Bryan 77805, is releasing
plans and specifications for the
renovations of the Municipal
Building_: located in College
Station for the City of College
Station, owner.
Bids will be received by the
owner in the office of Elrey B.
Ash, Director of Capital
Improvements, until 2 p.m.
Wednesday, October 3.
The project will consist gypsum
board interior walls; carpet floors;
layin acoustical tile ceilings;
hollow metal, entrance, wood and
accordian doors; hollow metal
and aluminum door frames;
carpentry and millwork; painting;
moisture protection; lath and
plastering; finish hardware; glass
and glazing; undercounter
refrigerator; automatic fire
sprinkler system and plumbing,
(Continued on Page 8)
College Station —
(Continued from Page 1)
electrical and mechanical work.
Also included will be site work;
demolition; concrete planter, and
handrails.
A five percent bid bond,
cashier's or certified check is
required with each bid.
One set of plans and
specifications is on file in The
AGC Plan Rooms.
THE AGC NEW SERVICE /TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1984
E -11
•
Parties open campaign offices
Brazos County's major political parties used well -
known state figures — one symbolic and one in person
— to open their campaign offices officially this week.
The Republicans brought in state party Chairman
George Strake for a reception Tuesday night.
offices at
3130 E. 29th St. in Bryan
Strake told local party members and candidates to
ignore until after Election Day the national and state
polls showing President Ronald Reagan with a signifi-
cant lead in his race against Democrat Walter Mondale.
"I wish you would shut your ears when you hear the
polls," he said, adding that the Democrats are "organiz-
ing in a manner that terrorizes me."
The Democrats, m eanwhile, acquired the bulky bolt
cutters that Mark White used symbolically to unlock the
doors on the governor's mansion for his 1983 inaugura-
tion.
White handed the cutters over to Democratic U.S.
Senate nominee Lloyd Doggett at the recent State
Democratic Convention, urging him to use them again
in January.
Doggett originally was scheduled to make the local
Democratic opening, but he arrived in town too late to
take p Halter substituted and
So College Station Mayor Gary
clipped off a chain draped across the door of the local
party's office at 2110 S. Texas Ave. in Bryan.
Local candidates and area judicial contenders
attended the opening.
Ron Gay, Brazos County Democratic thairman, said
his troops are ready to return the county to the Democra-
tic fold in the presidential race and that the roast for
Calvin Guest should show GOP counterparts that he
means business.
FRANK
MAY
Pol itical Repo
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1984
•
Panel to consider zoning
sex - oriented businesses
•
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station's Planning and
Zoning Commission today will con-
sider an ordinance that would reg-
ulate the location of "sexually
oriented commercial activities."
The proposed ordinance would
restrict sexually oriented businesses
to C -1 commercial zones, prohibit
them from locating within 1,000
feet of a church or school, and re-
quire them to obtain an annual per-
mit at a cost of $100.
Mayor Gary Halter was out of
town, but Mayor Pro Tern Bob Run-
nels said the council has been con-
cerned for some time about the pos-
sibility of sexually oriented
businesses locating in College Sta-
tion.
"I think the concern was that as
annexation continues southward,"
Runnels said, "that is a possibility
we may have to face."
Two businesses advertising them-
selves as adult mini - movies are just
south of the current city limits; both
have been the target of a continuing
investigation by the Brazos County
sheriff's department.
"People in the community are
concerned about that," Runnels
said. "Those places seem to be very
tenacious in hanging on."
The council wants to get the jump
on the issue before it is forced to
confront it by circumstances, Run-
nels said.
"Those things are so emotionally
charged that we would like to look at
it now while there's a little bit of
detachment," he explained.
The ordinance will cover such en-
terprises as a "massage parlor, nude
studio, nude dance studio, modeling
studio, love parlor," and similar
businesses.
City Attorney Cathy Locke had
no difficulty defining any of the
•
Turn to PANEL, page IOA
Panel to consider zoning
0
sex-oriented
From page ]A
businesses listed in the ordinance ex-
cept "love parlor." She said the list
was lifted verbatim from a state sta-
tute authorizing such controls by
cities.
Locke said College Station now
has none of the businesses that would
be regulated by the ordinance.
Movie theaters and adult book-
stores will not be covered. Such
businesses, Locke said, are exempt
because of the constitutional guaran-
tee of free speech.
businesses
Nor will businesses selling alcoho-
lic beverages be covered, she said,
because they are regulated under the
state alcoholic beverage code. Also
not covered are licensed psycholog-
ists, physical therapists, athletic
trainers, cosmetologists, barbers,
physicians, and chiropractors.
The planning commission will
only recommend action to the City
Council, which will have final au-
thority over the passage of the prop-
osed ordinance. The commission
meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Drainage panel members sought
The College Station City Council is seeking applica-
tions for a citizens advisory committee on the develop-
ment of a comprehensive drainage plan. Interested per-
sons should contact the council office at City Hall,
764 -3541 or 764 -3512.
0 THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1984
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
ORDINANCE NO. 1547 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
SEPTEMBER 13. 1984 BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
TEXAS meeting in regular
session in the Council Room
of the College Station City
Hall, said meeting having
been posted in accordance
with Art. 6252 -17.
The above- referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station. has the
following heading
AN ORDINANCE DECLARING
THE NECESSITY FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF
MILLER'S LANE IN THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION,
PROVIDING THAT THE
ABUTTING PROPERTY
OWNERS ON SAID MILLERS
LANE SO CONSTRUCTED BE
ASSESSED A SHARE OF THE
EXPENSE, PROVIDING FOR A
PUBLIC HEARING, AND
PROVIDING A SAVING
CLAUSE IN THE EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Prior to consideration and
approval of this ordinance. the
City Council of the City of
College Station held a public
hearing, notice of which -First
having been duly given to the
general public and to the
owners of abutting property.
Ordinance No. 1547 shall be-
come effective and be in full
force and effect from and after
its passage and approval by
the City Council of the City of
College Station. Texas.
This ordinance is on file in the
official records at the College
Station City Hall, 1101 South
Texas Avenue, College Sta-
•
ti on, Texas and the complete
text of same maybe obtained
at the office of the City
Secretary.
09 -21- 84.09 -22 -84
TO WHOM IT
MAY CONCERN:
ORDINANCE NO. 1549 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
SEPTEMBER 13.1984 BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION.
TEXAS meeting in regular
session in the Council Room
of the College Station City
Hall, said meeting having
been posted in accordance
with Art. 6252 -17.
The above - referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE RECEIVING
CERTAIN TERRITORY AD-
JOINING THE CITY LIMITS
OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE
STATION. TEXAS,
Ordinance No. 1549 pertains
to the annexation of an area of
approximately 25.82 acres of
land belonging to the City of
College Station. Texas. said
parcel being a part of and
situated within the College
Station Southwood Athletic
Park.
This ordinance is on file in the
official records at the College
Station City Hall, 1101 South
Texas Avenue. College Sta-
tion. Texas. and the complete
text of same may be obtained
at the office of the City
Secretary.
09 -21- 84.09 -22 -84
Energy - saving
program success
College Station's month -long program to reduce its
peakload electrical consumption was a ringing success,
Utilities Office Manager Linda Piwonka said Thursday.
The program began Aug. 20 and ended Thursday.
Piwonka said the peak demand never exceeded the
80.04 megawatts registered at 6:15 p.m. on Aug. 29.
The peak came, as had been expected, on the second day
of fall classes at Texas A &M University.
Earlier predictions, before the city initiated the load
management program, were that the peak would reach
92. In asking consumers to reduce electrical usage be-
tween 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day, the city had hoped to
hold the peak demand to 87 megawatts.
Not only did the program result in a lower than ex-
pected peakload and a peakload below the 87 megawatt
target, it actually held the peakload to under the 83
megawatts registered last year.
City officials have said the reduction will save cus-
tomers hundreds of thousands of dollars during the next
year.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1984
r
CS may seal off
railroad crossing
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
College Station Mayor Gary Halter said
Friday that the city is considering blocking
off Luther Street at Marion Pugh Drive
west of the railroad tracks where two
Texas A &M students were killed last
week.
Halter said the action would seal off the
Luther Street railroad crossing from the
heavy traffic to and from new apartment
complexes on Marion Pugh Drive but
would allow trucks traveling from a ce-
ment business to use the Luther Street
crossing.
The apartment traffic would cross the
tracks at the Jersey Street crossing, which,
though congested, does have flashing sig-
nal lights. Halter said Luther Street may be
blocked with moveable barriers, which
would allow fire trucks and ambulances to
get through if necessary.
Meanwhile, Southern Pacific officials
said that an agreement to build a new sig-
nalled crossing at Holleman Drive that had
been misplaced for several months was
found this week and is on its way back to
the city of College Station to be re-
examined.
College Station negotiated for more
than a year with Southern Pacific to get a
crossing and signal installed at Holleman
Drive, which is only a few hundred yards
south of the Luther Street crossing. The
city agreed to put up $35,000 and a group
of real estate developers agreed to pay
$105,000 to have the railroad company
install the crossings and signals. Once the
Holleman crossing opened, the city plan-
ned to close the Luther crossing to public
traffic.
The city reached agreement with South-
ern Pacific's attorney, H.B. LaTourette,
and Latourette forwarded the agreement to
Southern Pacific's San Francisco office,
where they have remained since February.
The city made several inquiries about the
agreement, but the company didn't re-
spond.
Tony Aleman, public relations manager
at Southern Pacific's Houston office, said
Friday night that the right -of -way deed and
payment agreement had been sent to the
wrong lawyer's office at Southern Paci-
fic's San Francisco headquarters.
"That was corrected this week, and the
agreement is being sent back, with some
modifications, to the city and the develop-
ers for their concurrence," Aleman said.
Since the agreement has been delayed,
some of the developers have threatened to
pull out of the funding agreement.
Halter, College Station City Manager
North Bardell, Bryan Mayor Ron Blatch-
ley and Billy Eubanks, a county engineer
representing County Judge R.J. "Dick"
Holmgreen, met Friday at Texas A &M
University with the track - relocation com-
mittee of the A &M board of regents.
Committee Chairman William McKen-
zie of Dallas repeated his view that the
tracks eventually need to be moved west of
all campus development. But the universi-
ty's long -range development plans have
given track relocation a low priority.
McKenzie asked Bardell to enforce
speed limits on trains in the city. Bardell
said the city has the authority to enforce
the speed limits, but he said he is unsure
how to physically cite the trains or en-
gineers for speeding. Bardell said City
Attorney Cathy Locke is asking state au-
thorities how to enforce the speed limits on
trains.
Halter and Blatchley told the committee
that railroad companies have been unre-
sponsive to their cities' efforts to resolve
problems with railroad rights -of -way.
Blatchley said after the meeting that
Bryan has faced railroad delays in install-
ing six signals that already have been
funded.
"The railroads do it in their own time
Blatchley said. "You think the federal,
state and local governments are cumber-
some. The railroads are just beyond im-
agination. "
Locke said Friday that College Station
police still are investigating the exact cir-
cumstances of the fatal accidents, which
occurred around 8:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and
21. In both cases, cars were hit by oncom-
ing Missouri Pacific trains on the Southern
Pacific tracks.
00
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Mayors Gary Halter, left, and Ron Blatchley, center, listen as Regent
Royce Wisenbaker makes a point.
���
Co
� G
r
r 18 N �" 6 -1986
BRAZOS COUNTY
BRYAN & COLLEGE STATION
Brazos County Sesquicentennial Commission logo
In 1985, the City of College Station will begin the
development of Richard Carter Park, located at the in-
tersection of the east service road of the East Bypass and
Brazoswood Drive. The facility will be an interpretive
historical park, done in two phases.
The first phase, scheduled to be dedicated in the
spring of 1986, will include landscaping, walkways,
lighting, seating and a playground. Phase two will be the
erection of a restored pioneer house, or a reproduction of
such a structure, with exhibit space.
College Station Community Education will sponsor a
Community First treasure hunt, a competition in which
city residents will vie with one another to complete a list
of College Station superlatives, such as the name of the
city's oldest living native.
Messina -Hof Winery has set the grand opening of the
restored Ursuline Academy building, in which the win-
ery will be housed, for April 21, 1986. Owners Merrill
and Paul Bonnarigo will introduce a Sesquicentennial
label, to be used on their 1986 wine pressings.
Charles Szabuniewicz of the College Station Parks
and Recreation Department has been granted approval
for four projects being planned by the department. In
March or April 1986, the department and five other
groups will sponsor a three -day Republic of Texas Super
Triathlon, comprising a 124 -mile bicycle race from Au-
stin to Bryan; a one- to two -mile swim in College Sta-
tion; and a 26 -mile run from College Station to
Washington -on -the Brazos.
The College Station Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment and two other groups will hold a Sesquicentennial
Biathlon on Sept. 6, 1986. The event will include a
one - kilometer swim at Adamson Pool in Bee Creek Park
and then a 10- kilometer run. On Sept. 7, 1986, the
department will sponsor the Texas 1986 Bike -a -thon, a
40- kilometer bicycle race followed by a 10 kilometer
run.
A Brazos Bohemian Fest will be held under the au-
spices of the city's Parks and Recreation Department
and Texas A &M University's Recreation and Parks
Club on Oct. 10 -11, 1986, in one of the College Station
parks. The event will be a folk festival of Germanic and
Slavic cultures, featuring food, games and dancing.
To apply for the sanction of the local commission for
projects and events, call the Sesquicentennial office,
823 -1986.
Teen center sets projects
"Shenanigan's," College Station's teen center, will
be funded this year with several projects chosen by the
Teen Center Board, which is made up of several junior
high and high school students.
On Saturday, and for all Texas A &M football games
this season, the parking lot in front of the College Station
Community Center at 1300 Jersey St. will be open for
parking in return for contributions.
At the Bohemian Festival on Oct. 13, the board will
have a dunking booth, and "dunkees" will include
teachers and administrators, media personalities and
members of the College Station city council.
Shenanigan's will open when furnishing is complete.
The board wants to acquire a pool table, tables and
chairs, sofas, a television, a video - cassette recorder, a
refrigerator, a microwave and a stereo or jukebox. To
donate items or money or offer help, call Susie O'Con-
nor at the Parks and Recreation Department at 764-
3773, or Peggy Calliham at 764 -3768.
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1984
College Station Bldg. Renovs. Due Wed.
City of College Station, owner, will receive bids for the renovations of
the Municipal Building located in College Station until 2 p.m. Wednes-
day, October 3. The bids will be received by the owner in the office of
Elrey B. Ash, Director of Capital Improvements.
The project will consist gypsum board interior walls; carpet floors;
layin acoustical tile ceilings; hollow metal, entrance, wood and accor-
dian doors; hollow metal and aluminum door frames; carpentry and
millwork; painting; moisture protection; lath and plastering; finish
hardware; glass and glazing; undercounter refrigerator; automatic fire
sprinkler system and plumbing, electrical and mechanical work. Also in-
cluded will be site work; demolition; concrete planter, and handrails.
A five percent bid bond, cashier's or certified check is required with
• each bid.
Emmett Trant and Associates, Architect, 1505 South
College Ave.,
Bryan 77805, prepared the plans and specifications.
One set of plans and specifications is on file in
The AGC Plan
Rooms. Bidders: (Final publication)
Acklam Const. College Station
409 /764 -8003
Bailer Const. Katy
391 -2544
R. B. Butler, Inc. Bryan
409 /779 -3400
CRAM Const. Pearland
996 -9335
Commercial Coating Huntsville
409 /295 -8188
M. Erwin Const. Huntsville
409 /295 -6353
R. H. Owens Cons(. Bryan
409 /779 -2591
Sentry Const. Bryan
409/779 -1331
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1984
J0
■ ■
• Proposition
2
A &M Senate supp
orts PUF plans
SARAH OATES for the 26 state institutions outside more accidents or fatalities," Hacht-
By the UT and A &M systems. man said.
Staff Writer Lewis urged the senators to tell He said the city cannot completely
"If ever there was an issue that b P sition 2
block off the intersection because it
will benefit Texas A &M University,
it's Proposition 2," Neelev Lewis,
Democratic incumbent candidate for
State Representative told the Stu-
dent Senate at its Wednesday meet-
ing.
"It's a watershed issue," he said.
"Either we do it or we don't."
On Nov. 6, Texas voters will de-
cide the fate of Proposition 2, a con-
stitutional amendment to restruc-
ture the Permanent University
people a out ropo
"This issue has been in the politi- is an avenue of escape in the event of
cal arena for 10 years," Lewis said. a fire in the nearby apartment com-
"We cannot allow it to fester in years plexes on Marion Pugh Drive.
to come. We must put this issue to --
rest."
The Senate voted unanimously to
pass a resolution approving Proposi-
tion 2.
In other business, the Senate
heard a report from Mike Hacht-
man, College Station City Council
liaison, on the City's recent consider-
ations about the Luther Street rail-
road crossing where two A &M stu-
dents were killed within 24 hours in
separate accidents.
Fund.
If it passes, Proposition 2 will
open the PUF to all universities
within the University of Texas and
Texas A &M Systems. It also will cre-
ate a constitutionally dedicated
Higher Education Assistance Fund
•
"We're trying to get this intersec-
tion cleared up so we don't have any
Hachtman said the city is consid-
ering extending Holleman Drive,
which is a few hundred yards south
of the Luther Street crossing. The
city had negotiated with Southern
Pacific to get a crossing and signals
installed at Holleman Drive. It had
planned to close the Luther Street
crossing after the Holleman crossing
opened. However, the agreement
has been delayed.
The city also is considering re-
routing the railroad tracks, which
would cost about $65 million, he
said.
Planning and zoning
board meets tonight
The rezoning of a 0.096 acre lot
behind Texana National Bank will
be one of the topics of discussion at
the public hearing of the College
Station Planning and Zoning Com-
mission at 7 p.m. tonight.
James E. Jett is requesting that the
lot be changed from a high density
apartment district to a administra-
tive professsional district.
The commission also is scheduled
to consider final plats for The Rain-
bow Acres Phase 11 subdivision east
of the city limits and the Glenhaven
subdivision on University Drive next
to the East Bypass. _
The commission will consider the
preliminary plat for the David B. Le
wis subdivision phase I.
THE BATTALION /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1984
V
y
Bids opened for city hall remodeling job
n Cram
Construction Co. of Pear-
was Acklam Construction Co., Inc., The heating unit in the older cen-
land on Wednesday was the apparent
of College Station, at $337,845. tral section of City Hall, first occu-
>
low bidder, at $308,924, for a major
High bidder was Sentry Construction pied in 1969, failed last winter. The
remodeling of College Station City
of Bryan, at $456,300.. entire mechanical system is to be re-
N
t�
Hall.
Capital Improvements Director placed under the contract.
The city had estimated the con-
Elrey Ash said most of the contrac- Most of the office space in the cen-
struction cost at $391,000.
tors bidding estimated the job would tral wing and the south wing also is to
The apparent second low bidder
take about seven months. be rearranged.
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•
NOTICE TO
CONTRACTORS
(ADVERTISEMENT)
Sealed proposals addressed
to the City of College Station,
Texas will be received for the
construction of:
GREENS PRAIRIE ROAD
WATER TRANSMISSION
LINE
Cl P NO. R- 84 -00 -03
until 2:00 P.M., Monday, Oc-
tober29,1984.
Proposals will be received at
the office of Mr. Elrey Ash,
Director of Capital Im-
provements, City Hall, Col-
lege Station,TeKas77840.
Bidders must submit with
their bids a Cashier's Check
or a Certified Check in the
amount of five (5%) percent of
the maximum amount of bid
payable without recourse to
the City of College Station,
Texas, or a proposal bond in
the same amount from a Sur -.
ety Company holding permit
from the State of Texas to act
as Surety, and acceptable ac-
cording to the latest list of
companies holding cer-
tificates of authority from the
Secretary of the Treasury of
the United States, as listed in
latest Revision of Treasury
Department Circular 570, as a
guarantee that Bidder will
enter into a contract and ex-
ecute bond and guarantee
forms provided within five (5)
days after notice of award of
contract to him. Bids without
checks, as stated above, or
proposal bond will not be
considered.
In accordance with Article
5160, Revised Civil Statutes of
Texas, 1925, as amended, the
successful Bidder will be re-
d quired to furnish not only a
performance bond in the
amount of the contract, but
also a payment bond for the
protection of all claimants
supplying labor and materials
as defined in said law. The
bonds must be executed by an
approved Surety Company
holding a permit from the
State of Texas to act as Surety
and acceptable according to
the latest list of companies
holding certificates of
authority from the Secretary
of the Treasury of the United
States, or other Surety ac-
ceptable to the Owner.
The Owner reserves the right
to reject any or all bids and to
waive informalities. In case of
ambiguity or lack of clearness
in stating the price in the bids,
the Owner reserves the right
to consider the most advant-
ageous construction thereof
or to reject the bid. Un-
reasonable or unbalanced
unit prices will be considered
sufficient cause for rejection
ofany bid.
Bidders are required to in-
spect the site of the work and
to inform themselves regard-
ing local conditions under
which the work is to be done.
Attention is called to the pro-
visions of the Texas Minimum
Wage Act of 1970 and Article
5159a, Revised Civil Statutes
of Texas, concerning the
prevailing wage rate applica-
ble in municipal contruction.
Contract Documents, Pro-
posal Forms, Specifications
and Plans are on file and may
be examined without charge
in the office of Mr. Elrey Ash,
Director of Capital Im-
provements, and may be ob-
tained from Riewe &
Wischmeyer, Inc., Consulting
Engineers, 1701 Southwest
Parkway, Suite 100, College
Station, Texas 77840, upon a
:deposit of Fifty ($50.00)
Dollars.
Mrs. Dian Jones, City
secretary
3ary M. Halter, Mayor
10 -07- 84,10 -14- 84,10 -15-84
0 THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1984
Neighborhoods groups
have taken root in B -CS
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
Neighborhood associations have
really taken root — and flexed their
political muscle — in College Sta-
tion.
In Bryan, they are far less numer-
ous. Paradoxically, Bryan boasts one
of the most effective neighborhood
groups. '
College Station's Windwood
Homeowners Association is fairly
typical of the voluntary neighbor-
hood association. The group charges
annual dues of $12. President
Michael Abelson said more than 50
percent of the househols in the subdi-
vision are members.
Windwood's association keeps
close tabs on issues that affect the
neighborhood, such as the proposed
extension of Apomattox Street.
The street splits the subdivision,
and residents feared that extending it
would funnel heavy through traffic
onto a residential street.
Block captains are elected by the
residents and are members of the
association's executive committee.
Through them, the officers get a grass
roots feel of Windwood sentiment on
issues affecting the area.
The Wolf Pen Homeowners Asso-
ciation is structured much dif-
ferently.
A manadatory assessent, required
by property deeds, of $30 a month is
levied on Wolf Pen homeowners for
the maintenance of common grounds
and a swimming pool. Wolf Pen
operates much like a condominium
development.
Perhaps the ultimate locally in the
mandatory membership approach has
been achieved in Westwood Estates
on the west side of Bryan.
Bryan has no zoning, and zoning
issues have been one of the impetuses
for forming neighborhood associa-
tions. In Westwood, though, de-
veloper Ramiro Galindo incorporated
the non - profit Westwood Estates
Community Improvement Associa-
tion when he was building the subdi-
vision of about 125 homes.
As in Wolf Pen, homeowners are
required to pay assessments to the
association. The assessment is only
$5 per month, however.
Association President John Rollins
credits the organization, in large part,
with "a quality of life that we pursue
that other neighborhoods don't
have. "
That quality of life includes an
association —owned and maintained
three -acre park, donated by Galindo.
It includes a monthly newsletter of
items of interest to the neighborhood,
including new residents.
It also includes a big Fourth of July
bash and about two other neighbor-
hood activities each year.
"There's still the proverbial
`going out to the back fence' sort of
thing, though," Rollins said.
It was that sort of neighborhood
ambience that Galindo was seeking to
create in developing Westwood. He
thinks the approach, borrowed from
developments in Houston and Dallas,
has worked just as he planned. Galin-
do, in fact, lives in Westwood,
although he has always preferred to
let the residents take the lead in the
association.
The North Oakwood Association
in Bryan, however, is sort of a neigh-
borhood association and sort of not a
neighborhood association. And it
doesn't really promote any social in-
teraction between the 150 Oakwood
households except once a year — but
that once a year is a real neighbor-
hood bash.
Oakwood is between South Col-
lege and Texas avenues north of the
Texas A &M Campus. The only real
function of the association is to en-
force deed restrictions.
It is, according to President Lannes
Hope, a self - perpetuating group that
represents the neighborhood when
any property owner seeks to avoid the
deed restrictions. One notable exam-
ple of the association's effectiveness
is a house on Texas Avenue.
Several owners have tried to turn
the property to commercial uses. It
remains residential — vacant and
boarded up, but residential nonethe-
less.
On the Fourth of July each year the
residents stage their annual strolling
parade around the neighborhood,
iced tea jugs in hand, flanked by
neighborhood youngsters on bicy-
cles, and urged on by music from a
cassette tape.
Hope said up to 80 percent of the
residents turn out each year for the
parade and the general meeting which
is held at the same time.
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT
Sealed proposals for Renova-
tion and Additions, Lincoln
Community Center, 1000
Eleanor St., C011ege Station,
Texas will be received by Mr.
Elrey 9. Ash, P.E., Director of
Capital Improvements for the
City of College Station, Texas,
will be received until 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 25, 1984
and then be publicly opened
and read aloud. Bids mailed
shall be addressed to Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of
Capital Improvements, P.O.
Box 9960, College Station,
Texas 77840, and must be
clearly marked 'HOLD FOR
BID OPENING - PROJECT NO.
G- 83 -00 -15 LINCOLN COM-
MUNITY CENTER RENOVA-
TION AND ADDITIONS.
SCOPE OF WORK: The pro-
ject consists of the construc-
tion of a Gymnasium Building
and a connecting Control
Building along with re-
novations to the existing Re-
creation Building as well as
renovations to the existing
Maintenance Building and the
existing Office Building and
the enclosing of the existing
Pavilion Structure. The new
Gymnasium Building is to be
constructed by means of a
pre- engineered, metal build-
ing with concrete masonry
curtain walls; the Control
Building connecting the
gymnasium with the existing
Recreation Building is to be
constructed of light steel
framing, steel roof deck, built-
up roof, steel stud walls and
partitions with concrete
masonry veneer. Renovations
to the existing buildings is
extensive internally and will
include new metal stud and
drywall portions, new electri-
cal lighting, new ceilings and
floor covering as well as ex-
terior stucco, glass block
windows and roof facia re-
pairs, and new roof top heat-
ing and cooling units.
INFORMATION AND BID-
DING DOCUMENTS: One (1)
set of Drawings and
Specifications may be ob-
tained from the office of C.R.
Watson Associates, 1701
Southwest Parkway, Suite 105,
College Station, Texas 77840,
phone 409/696 -6971 ppon the
deposit of $50.00. Deposit
check will be returned if a bid
is submitted and the Drawings
and Specifications are re-
turned to the Architect in
good condition within three
weeks after date of bid open-
ing. Additional sets may be
obtained by Contractors,
Suppliers and Subcontractors
upon payment of $50.00 which
will not be refunded. Deposit
checks are to be made to the
City of College Station, Texas.
Drawings and Specifications
will be furnished to es-
tablished Plan Rooms without
charge or deposit.
10-08 - 64,10 -14- 84,10 - 15-84
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1984
New approach has great potential
•
The College Station City Council recently passed an
ordinance regulating sex - oriented businesses. The ordi-
nance restricts them to C -1 commercial zones, and re-
quires them to be amortized out in five years time if they
wind up in the wrong zone.
The city now has no such businesses.
I met Ima Goode Neighbors, a confidante and unoffi-
cial adviser to the council, to discuss the development
overlunch.
"Everybody's real excited about the potential this
approach offers," Ima said while munching a pork
chop, "even if there was a lot of disagreement at first. "
"Disagreement ?" I inquired.
"Yes," Ima said. "Some of the council members
wanted to outlaw the Citizens for Decency, instead of
massage parlors. They took the position that red lights
can't exist without blue noses.
"On the other hand, some councilmen felt the ordi-
nance didn't go far enough. They wanted to regulate
fast -food places that sell breast of chicken sandwiches
and force the supermarkets to take rump roasts off the
meat'counters.
"Once everybody got lined up on a reasonable com-
promise, though, everything went great. This thing just
has all sorts of potential. "
"How's that ?" I asked.
"Non- existent massage parlors are just the begin-
ning," Ima said enthusiastically. "The council's
already instructed the city attorney to draft an ordinance
regulating passenger pigeons."
"But the passenger pigeon has been extinct since
1914," 1 interrupted.
"I know," Ima said. "That's what I mean about the
potential being unlimited. There's the dodo bird, the
sabretooth tiger and all those other marvelous extinct
creatures. If they run out of things that we don't have
TO WHOM IT
MAVCONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of re-
zoning the following property:
A 0.096 acre portion of Lot 1
Courtyard Apartments Sub-
division (located adjacent to
Lot 2 Courtyard Apartments
Subdivision), from Apart-
ments High Density District R-
6 to Administrative -
Professional District A -P. Ap-
plication is in the name of
James E. Jett.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, October
25,1964.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Assistant Director of Planning
10 -10-64
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
now and definitely never will have, then they can start on
things that we just may have some day."
"Like what ?" I queried.
"Well, how about the Hare Krishna? You know how
much likelihood there is that a bunch of people carrying
tambourines and wearing orange housecoats will ever
find a home in College Station, of all places. The city
could restrict them to the terminal of the international
airport. "
"But College Station doesn't have an international
airport," I protested.
"That's the beauty of it," she explained. "The coun-
cil really will have accomplished something when they
restrict a non - existent sect to a non - existent place."
"What's next ?" I asked.
"They're looking at requiring all airport control tow-
ers over 40 feet high to locate underground. And any
intellectuals who want to move here would be confined
to the Texas A &M campus. That ought to discourage
any of their ilk.
"The only real problem the council has encountered
is an ordinance regulating barnyard animals in the city. "
"Why is that ?" I asked.
"Well, one of the council members figured out that it
would cover jackasses, and then we'd have to amortize
most of the City Council."
• THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1984
•
PAUL McKAY/ The Brazos Observer
OOM -PA -PA
Festive is the word for the upcom-
ing weekend, as separate festivals
will be held in Bryan and College
Station.
College Station's Central Park
will be the site of a Brazos Bohemian
Fest celebrating the Germanic and
Slavic cultures of the Brazos Valley.
It starts at 6 p.m. Friday and con-
tinues till midnight. It resumes Satur-
day at 1 i a.m. and continues again
until the midnight hour.
There will be food aplenty. And
plenty of refreshments, including
beer. Plenty of oompah music from a
variety of bands ... plenty of games
to keep the kids entertained.
One special attraction is a dunking
booth sponsored by B -CS Jaycees
and the "Shenanigans" Teen Center
Board. Dunking of local personali-
ties will occur from 1 -5 p.m. Satur-
day, with proceeds going to purchase
furnishings and equipment for the
College Station teen center.
This is your opportunity to dunk
the following people: Mike "Mire"
Hatcher of WTAW's Muck and Mir-
e; Hugh Nations and Brad Owens,
both of the Eagle; Roy Gene of
KORA radio; Pam Wyatt of Oak-
wood School; Leslie Schueckler,
A &M Junior High assistant prin-
cipal; and Michael St. John of KKYS
radio.
Out -of- towners will find Central
Park on the East Bypass, one mile
south of Post Oak Mall.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1984
Page 4A Bryan - College Station Eagle Thursday, October 11, 1984
•
Parks board
to meet tonight
•
The College Station Parks and
Recreation Board will meet at 7 p.m.
in the Teen Center at 1300 Jersey.
The board will hear reports on
the capital improvements of Lincoln
Center and Southwood Athletic
Park. Reports concerning the 1985
Parks and Recreation calendar and
the Brazos Bohemian Fest also will
be heard.
THE BATTALION /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1984
7 J
It's Clean -Up Month
A note from Diane Mills, executive coordinator of
Brazos Beautiful, says that October is Clean -Up and
Spruce -Up Month in Bryan, College Station and Brazos
County. Mayors Ron Blatchley and Gary Halter and
the County Commissioners Court have issue proclama-
tions to encourage local individuals and organizations to
take part in beautification projects.
"Excessive litter and poor maintenance of property
are deterrents to commercial and industrial develop-
ment," Mills says. "We want to make October the
month to clean up, paint up and pick up to restore,
maintain and enhance the attractiveness of our com-
munity. –
Brazos Beautiful is the local chapter of Keep America
Beautiful. Its office is located in East Mark Centre. 1.
For information, call Mills, 696 -5391.
Holleman to be restriped
• The College Station City Council agreed Tuesday to
restripe a part of Holleman Road from four lanes to two,.
with a third turning lane and a bicycle lane.
The restriping will be from Fairview Avenue to Wind-
ing Road. Holleman makes a sharp curve at Winding
Road. Capital Improvements Director Elrey Ash said the
project will cost $22,900. .
Ash said the major cost involved will be resurfacing
the street, required because the traffic buttons must be
removed, and the removal will damage the street sur-
face.
Ash estimated the project will take about six months
to complete.
In other action, Ash gave the council the following
schedule for the installation of traffic signals on FM
2818: Southwood Drive, fall 1984; Welsh Street, sum-
mer 1985; Rio Grande Street and Longmire Street, fall
1985. —HUGH NATIONS
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1984
0
CS rail
From page ]A
crossing remains ope
in tracking the delay of
the city of College Station and the LaTourette g
Southern Pacific railroad, which
filed as a result of the students'
deaths.
Asked if closing or restricting traf-
fic would tend to make the city look
culpable for not blocking the street
before the accidents occurred, Mayor
Gary Halter responded, "What do
you think ?" He refused further com-
ment.
He agreed with Bardell, however,
that traffic on Luther Street probably
will not be restricted until the cros-
sing can be closed completely and
replaced with a signaled crossing on
Holleman Drive.
Developers who built the new
apartments agreed to build an exten-
sion to Holleman Drive west of the
tracks. The extension was completed
several months ago, but almost -
complete negotiations for a signaled
crossing at Holleman Drive between
owns the tracks, have been stalled
since September.
Southern Pacific officials said on
Sept. 28 that documents that could
complete the agreement for the cros-
sing were sent to the wrong lawyer at
Southern Pacific headquarters in San
Francisco. The documents were sup-
posed to have been sent back to
Locke last week for another review,
but Locke said Wednesday she has
received only a letter, dated Oct. 5,
from Southern Pacific's lawyer in
Houston, H.B. LaTourette, who for-
warded the documents to San Fran-
cisco.
LaTourette said on Sept. 27 that
the documents are still being studied
by Southern Pacific management,
and the letter repeats that statement.
Locke said it would be unethical
for her to go above the head of
the documents.
"I wouldn't recommend to my
client (the city of College Station) to
go higher (beyond LaTourette), but
sometimes clients do whatever they
want," Locke said.
Sgt. Billy Stark of the College Sta-
tion Police Department said he is still
investigating the accidents, but he re-
ferred all questions about the inves-
tigation to Locke and Bardell. Locke
said Stark told her there is no reliable
estimate of the speed of the trains in
either accident, and the investigation
is based on statements from a few
witnesses to the accidents.
Bardell said Stark told him the only
witness not yet interviewed is Mary
Kaye Pahmeier, the driver of the car
involved in the Sept. 20 accident. She
has since been released from St.
Joseph Hospital.
T h e. E o��l q-
•
A
wil
the
me
I
of i
con
Mai
Z
(Train crossing
to rem ain open
indefinite time
que;
cony
Eme
Ti
subd
but (
velol
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer c
College Station officials said t
Wednesday that the Luther Street
crossing where two Texas A &M stu- i
dents were killed last month will t
probably stay open indefinitely.
Katherine Hossley, 18, of Dallas
was killed and another student was
injured Sept. 20 when their car, in
which Hossley was a passenger, was
struck at the Luther Street crossing.
Lynn Cash McDonald, 20, of Col-
lege Station, was killed the next night
in a similar accident.
The crossing has no flashing lights
or guard bars and traffic on Luther
Street has increased markedly this
year since many A &M students have
moved into new apartments west of
the tracks.
City Attorney Cathy Locke said
Wednesday she will recommend to
the City Council in closed session
today som etion concerning the
Luther Street crossing and the prop-
osed Holleman Drive crossing. She
said she had to advise the council in
private because of possible litigation
in the case.
City Manager North Bardell said
city engineers had discussed setting
up a moveable obstacle at the in-
tersection of Luther and Marion Pugh
Drive, so that cars traveling on Ma-
rion Pugh from new apartments and
condominiums could not cross the
tracks on 1/ather. But the idea no Ion-
D.. A.11 dirt
T B All
A beer distributor and a cement
ompany are located on Luther be-
ween the tracks and Marion Pugh.
Bardell said cement trucks travel -
ng near the apartments and crossing
he tracks at the Jersey Street crossing
would constitute a traffic hazard, so
Luther Street must remain open for
the trucks and for ambulances and
fire trucks:
"We haven't been able to figure
out any way to close it (Luther Street)
to passenger traffic and keep it open
to truck traffic, without having peo-
ple go around the signs," Bardell
said.
"Besides," Bardell said, "we're
not convinced that it (closing Luther)
is needed."
Bardell said the council's only in-
struction to the city staff concerning
the crossing so far has been to pro-
ceed cautiously with any changes on
Luther Street.
Attorneys representing the fami-
lies of the two students killed last
month in railroad crossing accidents
have requested regulations for filing
damage suits against the city of Col-
lege Station.
Locke Wednesday said the lawyers
asked for provisions of the City Char-
ter regarding suits for personal injury
or property damage.
The parents of Hossley and McDo-
nald have refused to comment about
possible litigation which could be
Turn K; CS 1?- ,1 .IL, page 8A
r ecor
1
3razos
v a
le y has
f voter d voters
registrat'O
year ere 's regist
By FRANK MAY Brazos Valley's I ey 1984*
Staff Writer
Texas A &M students voters led
newcomers and fir aim record year for
the Brazos Valley a s urvey o eight
f
voter registration,
area counties shows. Of
Registration rolls sw`e hdincre all
a es
the Valley counties, residential
over 1980 the last p
election year — ranging from 22,000
in booming Brazos County to about
county
700 in Robertson officials
Several voter registration
ie nificant
in the area counties said significant
jumps Were I noticeable
high b camong t students,
students and hig
blacks i rural and reas and new residentsiin rural sub -
a
divisions. istering was
The deadline for bug application
midnight Sunday,
cards could heecardsmwt through
were collected
Monday
County
Brazos
Washington
Robertson
Grimes
Burleson
Leon
Madison
Estimates
1980
59,000
37,000
13,062
10,908
9,000
8,383
8,695
7,300
8,000
5,000
7,700
6,000
4,900
3 500
Source: Counties' voter registration officials
before the deadline.
About 5,000 cards came to the
Brazos County fax Assessor -
Collector's office Monday, and most
of them were from A &M students,
said Karen riruska, a voter registra
tion clerk.
As of Thursday, some 51,500 vc
tens were registered in the count
and another 7,500 cards still were I
be processed. County Tax Assessc
Collector Buddy Winn said he w
Turn to BRAZOS, page 14A
M
Talk won't make
the crossing safer
The proper meetings have been held, the
appropriate attorneys have been consulted, all the
correct sentiments and concerns have been ex-
pressed — and yet, three weeks after back -to-
back fatal accidents, not one concrete action has
been taken to eliminate or improve a demonstr-
ably hazardous railroad grade crossing in College
Station.
All the talk boils down to just this: the city can
close the Luther Street /Wellborn Road railroad
crossing; it can restrict it to just those businesses
located on Luther by blocking the street to
through traffic; it can install warning signals or
crossing gates; or it can do nothing at all.
From a public safety standpoint, only the last of
these options is unacceptable — yet it appears that
this will be the city's choice.
This being, ironically enough, "Texas Rail-
road Crossing Safety Week," it is not unreason-
able to wonder just how many fatalities it takes to
spur action from a reticent council and staff. Does
the fear of litigation really carry more weight than
the fear of additional fatalities?
In light of its ongoing effort to obtain the neces-
sary right -of -way for a new grade crossing at
Holleman Drive, the City of College Station can-
not reasonably be held liable for either of last
month's fatalities at the Luther Street grade cros-
sing. Not only had the crossing had been open for
years without serious mishap, but the city was
working to provide even safer access to the new
apartments west of Wellborn Road long before
those apartments opened. Railroad red tape — not
municipal inattention — delayed construction of a
new grade crossing.
Even so, the events of late September should
compel the city to take interim action. Ideally,
Luther Street ought to be closed as a through
street; but if that is somehow objectionable, then
at least better warning signals ought to be in-
stalled.
About the only thing which should not be done
is nothing — which, to date, is all that has been
done.
CS Council awards contracts
The College Station City Council awarded a
$308,924 contract to Cram Construction Co. on Thurs-
day for the remodeling of the two older wings of City
Hall.
The contract calls for the installatisn of a new mecha-
nical system in the central, oldest wing and rearrange-
ment of much of the office space in the central and
southern wings. The heating system in the central wing
failed last year.
Capital Improvements Director Elrey Ash said work
should begin in about 15 days and should be complete in
about seven months.
The council also approved the payment of $72,460 to
Allen Swoboda for construction of oversized street and
drainage facilities in portions of Emerald Forest subdivi-
sion. — HUGH NATIONS
40 7 7 NE EA(,L -E Q1bPtV I OCT06 'EP ") (9 24
Council meets,
calls weekend
Bohemian Fest
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Staff Writer
"Lipping through its agenda
"Thursday night in less than 15 min-
utes, the College Station City Coun-
cil approved a bid for the Municipal
Building's renovation acid , desig-
nated today and' Saturday as Brazos
Bohemian Fest in College Station.
College Station City Manager
North Bardell said two older sec-
tions of office space in the Municipal
Building are to be redone to acco-
modate five city departments.
The departments are now
crowded into one section of the
building, and the renovation will en-
able them to make better use of the
space, he said.
about 15 days after contracts are fi-
nalized.
The council also approved a re-
quest for reimbursement for over -
size street participation payment in
the amount of $72,460.
It is the city's policy to reimburse a
subdivision developer for costs in-
curred when making the streets in
his subdivision meet city specifica-
tions, Bardell said.
The council unanimously ap-
proved the reimbursement of the
Emerald Forest subdivision devel-
oper from the city's general obliga-
tion bond funds.
The council awarded the building
renovation project to Cram Con-
struction Co., the low bidder. Cram
submitted a bid of $308,924, and
construction is expected to begin
In other business, the council ap-
proved two final plats and one pre-
liminary one. It also approved Citi-
zen Committee and administrative
personnel appointments after dis-
cussing them in closed session.
THE BATTALION /FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1984
Train crossing
to remain open
indefinite time
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
College Station officials said
Wednesday that the Luther Street
crossing where two Texas A &M stu-
dents were killed last month will
probably stay open indefinitely.
Katherine Hossley, 18, of Dallas
was killed and another student was
injured Sept. 20 when their car, in
which Hossley was a passenger, was
struck at the Luther Street crossing.
Lynn Cash McDonald, 20, of Col-
lege Station, was killed the next night
in a similar accident.
The crossing has no flashing lights
or guard bars and traffic on Luther
Street has increased markedly this
year since many A &M students have
moved into new apartments west of
the tracks.
City Attorney Cathy Locke said
Wednesday she will recommend to
the City Council in closed session
today some; atbtion concerning the
Luther Street crossing and the prop-
osed Holleman Drive crossing. She
said she had to advise the council in
private because of possible litigation
in the case.
City Manager North Bardell said
city engineers had discussed setting
up a moveable obstacle at the in-
tersection of Luther and Marion Pugh
Drive, so that cars traveling on Ma-
rion Pugh from new apartments and
condominiums could not cross the
tracks on Lather. But the idea no lon-
ger seems feasible, Bardell said.
A beer distributor and a cement
company are located on Luther be-
tween the tracks and Marion Pugh.
Bardell said cement trucks travel-
ing near the apartments and crossing
the tracks at the Jersey Street crossing
would constitute a traffic hazard, so
Luther Street must remain open for
the trucks and for ambulances and
fire trucks.'
"We haven't been able to figure
out any way to close it (Luther Street)
to passenger traffic and keep it open
to truck traffic, without having peo-
ple go around the signs," Bardell
said.
"Besides," Bardell said, "we're
not convinced that it (closing Luther)
is needed."
Bardell said the council's only in-
struction to the city staff concerning
the crossing so far has been to pro-
ceed cautiously with any changes on
Luther Street.
Attorneys representing the fami-
lies of the two students killed last
month in railroad crossing accidents
have requested regulations for filing
damage suits against the city of Col-
lege Station.
Locke Wednesday said the lawyers
asked for provisions of the City Char-
ter regarding suits for personal injury
or property damage.
The parents of Hossley and McDo-
nald have refused to comment about
possible litigation which could be
Turn CS FAUL, page 8A
Memo
Riewe and Wischmeyer, Inc.,
Consulting Engineers, 1701
Southwest Frwy., Suite 100, Col-
lege Station 77840, is requesting
bids for the construction of
Greens Prairie Rd. water
transmission line, CIP Number
R- 84- 00-03, for the City of Col-
lege Station, owner. The bids will
be received by the owner in the of-
fice of Elrey Ash, Director of
Capital Improvements, City Hall,
College Station 77840, until 2
p.m. Monday, October 29. All
work will be included in the prime
contract. A five percent proposal
bond, cashier's or certified check
is requried with each bid. Job
Number 83 -0400. One set of plans
and specifications is on file in The
AGC Plan Rooms.
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1984
-� m
C__
rn
o �
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0
m 1 ari
1d
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00
4
F amilies to sue CS crossin deaths
By BRAD OWENS
Staff' Writer
The city of College Station has been given
notice that the families of two Texas A &M
students who were killed last month in car -
train accidents intend to file personal injury
suits against the city.
City Attorney Cathy Locke said the
notices were filed Thursday. The City Char-
ter requires that notice to file a suit be given
within 30 days of an accident and that the
person suing wait 60 days after giving the
notice before actually filing the suit in court.
Katharine Hossley, 18, of Dallas, and
Lynn Cash McDonald, 20, of College Sta-
tion were killed in separate accidents Sept.
20 and 21 on the Southern Pacific tracks at
the Luther Street crossing near Wellborn
Road. Parents of the students could not be
reached for comment Friday.
Locke said the suits probably will be filed
in a local court. Because of the litigation,
Locke said, the results of a police investiga-
tion into the accidents will not be released to
the public. The notice of intent to file suit is
not public record, but a suit filed in court will
be public.
Locke said the College Station City Coun-
cil has directed the city staff to look into
setting speed limits for rail traffic in the city
limits. Locke said the city has the authority
to set minimum and maximum speed limits
if the council passes an ordinance.
Locke said she could not discuss her re-
commendations to the council regarding the
Luther Street crossing because of the pend-
ing litigation.
A representative of Southern Pacific said
the agreements that could complete a pact
between the city and the railroad to build a
signalled crossing at Holleman Drive have
been sent to Houston from Southern Pacific
headquarters in San Francisco.
The final agreements have been in South -
em Pacific hands since negotiations for the
crossing were completed between the city
and a Houston -based Southern Pacific
lawyer more than a year ago.
Tony Aleman, public relations manager
at the. railroad's Houston office, said the
agreements would be mailed to Locke next
week.
AAUW meeting is today
•
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT
Sealed proposals for Renova-
tion and Additions, Lincoln
Community Center, 1000
Eleanor St., College Station,
Texas will be received by Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of
Capital Improvements for the
City of College Station, Texas,
will be received until 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 25, 1984
and then be publicly opened
and read aloud. Bids mailed
shall be addressed to Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of
Capital Improvements, P.O.
Box 9960, College Station,
Texas 77840, and must be
clearly marked "HOLD FOR
BID OPENING -PROJECT NO.
G- 83 -00 -15 LINCOLN COM-
MUNITY CENTER RENOVA-
TION AND ADDITIONS."
SCOPE OF WORK: The pro-
ject consists of the construc-
tion of a Gymnasium Building
and a connecting Control
Building along with re-
novations to the existing Re-
creation Building as well as
renovations to the existing
Maintenance Building and the
existing Office Building and
the enclosing of the existing
Pavilion Structure. The new
Gymnasium Building is to be
constructed by means of a
pre - engineered, metal build-
ing with concrete masonry
curtain walls: the Control
Building connecting the
gymnasium with the existing
Recreation Building is to be
constructed of light steel
framing, steel roof deck, built -
up roof, steel stud walls and
partitions with concrete
masonry veneer. Renovations
to the existing buildings is
extensive internally and will
include new metal stud and
drywall portions, new electri-
cal lighting, new ceilings and
floor covering as well as ex-
terior stucco, glass block
windows and roof facia re-
pairs, and new roof top heat -
ing and cooling units.
INFORMATION AND BID-
DING DOCUMENTS: One (1)
set of Drawings and
Specifications may be ob-
tained from the office of C.R.
Watson Associates, 1701
Southwest Parkway, Suite 105,
College Station, Texas 77840,
phone 409 /696 -6971 upon the
deposit of $50.00. Deposit
check will be returned if a bid
is submitted and the Drawings
and Specifications are re-
turned to the Architect in
good condition within three
weeks after date of bid open-
ing. Additional sets may be
obtained by Contractors,
Suppliers and Subcontractors
upon payment of $50.00 which
will not be refunded. Deposit
checks are to be made to the
City of College Station, Texas.
Drawings and Specifications
will be furnished to es-
tablished Plan Rooms without
charge or deposit.
10-08- 84,10 -14- 84, 15 -84.
In announcing a meeting of the American Association
of University Women set for 7:30 p.m. today, president
Maggie Dromgoole says that politics begins at home.
"Women are in politics in Brazos County, too,"
Dromgoole says.
At the AAUW meeting, which will be held in the
Unitarian Fellowship, 305 Wellborn Road, College Sta-
tion City Councilwoman Pat Boughton, Bryan City
Councilwoman Helen Chavarria, Justice of the
Peace Carolyn Hensarling and Brazos County Court
at Law Judge Carolyn Ruffin will discuss the ways in
which women can make a difference in the political
system. A question - and -answer session will follow the
panel discussion, which will be moderated by Dr.
Grace B. Chisolm.
For information, call Dromgoole, 696 -7258.
NOTICE TO
CONTRACTORS
(ADVERTISEMENT)
Sealed proposals addresse
to the City of College Statior
Texas will be received for th
construction of:
GREENS PRAIRIE ROAD
WATER TRANSMISSION
LINE
CIP NO.R- 84 -00 -03
until 2:00 P.M., Monday, Oc
tober29,1984.
Proposals will be received a
the office of Mr. Elrey Ash
Director of Capital Im
provements, City Hall, Col
lege Station, Texas 77840.
Bidders must submit with
their bids a Cashier's Check
or a Certified Check in the
amount of five (5 %) percent of
the maximum amount of bid
Payable without recourse to
the City of College Station,
Texas, or a proposal bond in
the same amount from a Sur-
ety Company holding permit
from the State of Texas to act
as Surety, and acceptable ac-
cording to the latest list c f
companies holding cer-
tificates of authority from the
Secretary of the Treasury of
the United States, as listed in
latest Revision of Treasury
Department Circular 570, as a
guarantee that Bidder will
enter into a contract and ex-
ecute bond and guarantee
forms provided within five (5)
days after notice of award of
contract to him. Bids without
checks, as stated above, or
proposal bond will not be
considered.
e l THE EAGLE /MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1984
In accordance with Article
5160, Revised Civil Statutes of
Texas, 1925, as amended, the
successful Bidder will be re-
quired to furnish not only a
performance bond in the
amount of the contract, but
also a payment bond for the
protection of all claimants
supplying labor and materials
as defined in said law. The
bonds must be executed by an
approved Surety Company
holding a permit from the
State of Texas to act as Surety
and acceptable according to
the latest list of companies
holding certificates of
authority from the Secretary
of the Treasury of the United
States, or other Surety ac-
ceptable to the Owner.
The Owner reserves the right
to reject any or all bids and to
waive informalities. In case of
ambiguity or lack of clearness
in stating the price in the bids,
the Owner reserves the right
to consider the most advant-
ageous construction thereof
or to reject the bid. Un-
reasonable or unbalanced
unit prices will be considered
sufficient cause for rejection
of any bid.
Bidders are required to in-
spect the site of the work and
to inform themselves regard-
ing local conditions under
which the work is to be done.
Attention is called to the pro-
visions of the Texas Minimum
Wage Act of 1970 and Article
5159x, Revised Civil Statutes
of Texas, concerning the
prevailing wage rate applica-
ble in municipal contruction.
Contract Documents, Pro-
posal Forms, Specifications
and Plans are on file and may
be examined without charge
in the office of Mr. Elrey Ash,
Director of Capital im-
provements, and may be ob-
tained from Riewe &
Wischmeyer, Inc., Consulting
Engineers, 1701 Southwest
Parkway, Suite 100, College
Station, Texas 77640, upon a
deposit of Fifty ($50.00)
Dollars.
Mrs. Dian Jones, City
Secretary
Gary M. Halter, Mayor
10 -07- 84,10 - 14- 84,10 -15 -84
•
•
Lincoln Community
Project In College
Station Area Out
C. R. Watson and Associates,
Architects and Planners, 1701
Southwest Parkway, Suite 105,
College Station 77840, is releasing
plans and specifications for con-
struction of additions to and the
renovations of Lincoln Communi-
ty Center located at 1000 Eleanor
St. in College Station for the City
of College Station, owner.
Bids will be received in the of-
fice of the owner by Mr. Elrey B.
Ash, P.E., Director of Capital
Improvements, until 2 p.m.
Thursday, October 25, and will be
publicly opened and read.
The project will consist of a
one -story gymnasium building
containing approximately 9,760
square feet of floor area and a
connecting one -story control
building containing approximate-
ly 1,340 square feet of floor area
along with renovations to the ex-
isting recreation, maintenance and
office buildings and the enclosing
of the existing pavilion structure.
The work will include concrete
slab foundation; termite control;
steel framing; metal and glass
block panels and concrete
masonry unit plaster exterior
walls; builtup and metal panel
roof; gypsum board, concrete
block, and ceramic the interior
walls; carpet, ceramic and vinyl
tile floors; layin acoustical tile and
gypsum board ceilings; hollow
metal, vertical -lift, wood and
aluminum doors; hollow metal
door frames; batt insulation;
carpentry and millwork; hard-
ware; toilet accessories; glass and
glazing; basketball and volleyball
equipment; spectator seating;
miscellaneous specialties; stucco
and lath and plumbing, electrical
and mechanical work. Also in-
cluded will be site work.
One set of plans and specifica-
tions is on file in The AGC Plan
Rooms.
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1984
r 1
U
0
e
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 0.46 acre tract of land along
the west side of Sy 6 East
Bypass, south of Krenek Tap
Road (adjacent to Central
Park) from Single Family Re-
sidential District R -1 to
General Commercial District
C -1. Application is in the name
of Glynn A. Williams.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
700 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday,
November8,1964.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Asst. Director of Planning
10 -17-84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
0.601 Acres on the East side of
Wellborn Road (FM 2154) ap-
proximately 104 feet South of
Holleman, from Single Family
Residential District R -1 to
Neighborhood- Business Dis-
trict C -N. Application is in the
nameofRaymond Huff.
The said hearing will be held
In the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meetin0 of the City
Council on Thursday,
November8,1984.
For additional Information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Asst. Director of Planning
10 -17-84
TO WHOM IT
MAYCONCERN:
The College Station Planning
and Zoning Commission will
hold a public hearing on the
question of rezoning the
following property:
Lots 4C, 4D, 14C 8 14D, Block
18B Treehouse Place (located
on Sara Drive) from Apart-
ments Low Density District R.
4 to Administrative.
Professional District A -P
Application is in the name of
Discovery Properties.
The sald hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Ha11;1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the
Planning and Zoning Com-
mission on Thursday,
November 1, 1904.
For additional information,
please contact me.
Jamea M. Callaway
Asst. Director of Planning
10 -17-84
Options available
Are lawyers rather than traffic safety engineers mak-
ing decisions regarding public safety at the Luther
Street railroad crossing? (Eagle, Oct. 11, 1984). If the
lawyers will not recommend closing the crossing, at
least temporarily, there are two additional traffic safety
options to be considered: 1) The Manual of Traffic
Control Devices recommends STOP SIGNS as an in-
terim step before signals are installed or a crossing is
closed, and; 2) Operation Lifesaver, a driver education
program to be sponsored by local safety oriented orga-
nizations focusing upon young adult drivers.
Just as lawyers have responsibility to their clients,
traffic engineers have a responsibility to their clients
— the vehicle driver. Let the lawyers use the tools of
their trade to argue cause and fault of past accidents,
but at the same time, let the traffic engineers use the
tools of their profession to prevent future accidents at
the Luther Street railroad crossing.
Hoy A. Richards
College Station
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1984
Cite budget bound to be funny
0
BOUND AND DETERMINED: College Station's
city government is normally an open organization; there
is little secrecy. But last Thursday, the City Council —
apparently under the urging of the staff — blatantly,
flagrantly violated both the spirit and the letter of the
Open Records Act.
The city budget finally has been printed. At Thurs-
day's council session, Mayor Gary Halter gave me my
copy.
It was a nicely bound copy — nicely bound on the
left -hand side, and nicely bound on the right -hand side.
There was no way to open it.
The copy was embossed: "Huey Nations and the
News. "
CHECKMATE: Bryan officials, on the other hand,
were feeling more charitable toward the press. In fact,
City Manager Ernest Clark was feeling downright
grateful.
Someone had gotten hold of my checkbook. Clark last
week gave me a check drawn on my account and
stamped for deposit to the Utility Department. The
check was made out to the "City of Bryan Savior Fund"
in the amount of $481,000.
That just happened to be the amount of the utility
writeoffs for this year.
OVERDIDN'TS: Included in that $481,000 in utility
bill write -offs was one for $17.29. The customer?
Richard Smith, former mayor.
A spokesman in Smith's office said that to her know-
ledge no bill ever had been received on the account. And
Smith said that it was for a piece of property that he
manages and that the bill wasn't his responsibility in the
first place.
"It couldn't be my bill," Smith noted, "because I
have two teenagers and their bill on hot curlers and blow
dryers is more than $17. "
He paid it anyway.
Smith, of course, was not alone in being a well -
known but supposedly delinquent account. Others were
Allen Academy, for $120.10; Boy Scouts of America,
for $1.57; Jan -Wic Homes, $1,099; and Galilee Baptist
Church, for $4.36.
Several accounts for Sypcon Construction Corp. also
were written off. Sypcon just this month filed forreorga-
It HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
nization in bankruptcy.
THE WILD WILD WET: Mother Nature wasn't feel-
ing very maternal this weekend toward either College
Station or Bryan merrymakers.
Downtown Bryan's Westfest became a Wetfest about
2:30 p.m. Saturday. The same thing happened to Col-
lege Station, where Mayor Gary Halter called upon "all
the inhabitants from all the corners of the Flat and
Loamy Realm to convene in Central Park."
Abe Messarra, president of the Bryan Downtowners
Association, said restaurants and other businesses
downtown did a great business after the deluge started,
even if the festivities themselves were drenched.
Unfortunately, the Bohemianfest in College Station's
Central Park did not even break even, which is regrett-
able because Charlie "The Tuna" Szabuniewicz, the
city's aquatics director, did an excellent job in putting
together the second annual event.
LOOP POOP: Bryan Mayor Ron Blatchley has in-
structed City Manager Ernest Clark to put together a
preliminary route plan for one of his favorite projects,
the "Far East Loop."
Blatchley has for months been touting the idea of a
loop from FM 60, outside the existing East Bypass, over
to Texas 21 around the Coulter Field area. He thinks
such an artery is the key to developing some high -class
residential subdivisions in that area.
"If I could get a cowpath along that route," Blatchley
said recently, "then thereafter it would pick up steam."
CONSENT, THEN ADVISE: The College Station
City Council is still looking for residents willing to serve
on a citizens advisory committee to assist in the develop-
ment of a comprehensive drainage program. Anyone
interested should call City Secretary Dian Jones at 764-
3512 or 764 -3541.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1984
t 4 -kh"Wntee voting begins.-
Absentee voting began Wednesday and will continue
through Nov. 1, County Clerk Frank Boriskie said.
Absentee voting will be held only in the county
clerk's office at the Brazos County Courthouse, at the
corner of Texas Avenue and 26th Street in downtown
Bryan.
During the primary and a special election earlier this
year, the commissioners authorized an absentee voting
location at the College Station City Hall. But that second
location never received U.S. Justice Department
approval after a complaint was filed stating the location
would dilute the black vote.
Boriskie, who always predicts election turnout based
on the absentee vote, made a "pre- absente6 balloting
wild guess" that voter turnout this presidential election
year will reach 73 percent in Brazos County. — JANN
SNElI — r . ...
C
CS planners to meet
The College Station Planning and Zoning Commis-
sion will consider a preliminary master plat for a nine -
acre tract on the northwest corner of Tarrow Street and
University Drive tonight.
The commission meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
The nine -acre tract, across from Chimney Hill Shop-
ping Plaza, is zoned for commercial use.
The commission also will consider rezoning an iso-
lated half -acre triangle bounded by Krenek Tap Road.
the East Bypass frontage road and Central Park.
Staff members have recommended either C3 com-
mercial or office zoning.
C again thinking
.about librar
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station once again is examining the possibil-
ity of a library facility of some kind for the fast - growing
city.
The City Council announced this week that it is
accepting applications from residents who are in-
terested in serving on an advisory committee to explore
the matter.
Mayor Gary Halter said he would not place any
restrictions on the scope of the committee's explora-
tions, but that he personally would favor establishing a
branch of the Bryan Public Library in.the city, rather
than a complete new library.
"That would be in my opinion the most economical
and effective thing to do," Halter said. "I have some
reservations about a complete library, given the ex" -
pense of duplicating the Bryan collection. We're talk-
ing about an awful lot of money."
Halter said one approach might be a `storefront
branch," now common in many cities, in which a
branch is located in a shopping center or other commer-
cial area with ample parking and a high traffic count.
A similar committee was appointed four or five years
ago to study the possibility of a College Station library
but never brought back a recommendation.
Both College Station and Brazos County residents
can use the Bryan library. In fact, librarian Clara
Mounce said Wednesday that of the 315,000 books
checked out in the 1982 -83 fiscal year, one -third were
to College Station card holders.
College Station contributed $30,000 to the Bryan
library this year. And although that was 10 times the
$3,000 contributed by Brazos County, it pays for only a
/fraction of the services rendered by the library.
Mounce's operating budget for this year is
$523,330. The collection of 130,000 items is housed in
a 24,500 square -foot building that even without
shelving or furnishings — would cost $1.5 'million to
duplicate, Mounce said.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1984
College Station Lincoln Ctr. Wk. Due Nov. 1
The City of College Station, owner, will receive bids for the construc-
tion of additions to and the renovations of Lincoln Community Center
located at 1000 Eleanor St. in College Station until 2 p.m. Thursday,
November 1. The bids will be received in the office of the owner by Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of Capital Improvements, and will be
publicly opened and read.
The bids were originally scheduled to be received October 25.
The project will consist of a one -story gymnasium building containing
approximately 9,760 square feet of floor area and a connecting one -
story control building containing approximately 1,340 square feet of
floor area along with renovations to the existing recreation,
maintenance and office buildings and the enclosing of the existing
pavilion structure. The work will include concrete slab foundation; ter-
mite control; steel framing; metal and glass block panels and concrete
masonry unit plaster exterior walls; builtup and metal panel roof; gyp-
sum board, concrete block, and ceramic tile interior walls; carpet,
ceramic and vinyl tile floors; layin acoustical tile and gypsum board ceil-
ings; hollow metal, vertical-lift, wood and aluminum doors; hollow
• metal door frames; batt insulation; carpentry and millwork; hardware;
toilet accessories; glass and glazing; basketball and volleyball equip-
ment; spectator seating; miscellaneous specialties; stucco and lath and
plumbing, electrical and mechanical work. Also included will be site
work.
A five percent bid bond, cashier's or certified check is required with
each bid.
Project Number G- 83- 00-15.
C. R. Watson and Associates, Architects and Planners, 1701
Southwest Prkwy., Suite 105, College Station 77840, prepared the plans
and specifications.
Addenda Received -1
One set of plans and specifications is on file in The AGC Plan
Rooms. Bidders to date: (Final publication in later issue)
Acklam Const. College Station 409 /764 -8003
BPC,Inc. Bryan 409/779 -6492
R. B. Butler, Inc. Bryan 409 /779 -3400
Jordan & Woods College Station 409/693 -1617
Rhodes Bldg. Sys. Somerville 409/272 -8181
__.___SHC Const. College Station 409 /764 -9160
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1984
is
co
liege Station captures crown
DIVISION I
With a stout final two days of com- 1. Holditch / Jeter; 2. Calculated Rtsk
th Cit of Colle a Station CORPORATE CHALLENGE Contemporary Landscape.
petition, e y g
rallied to win the second annual
Corporate Challenge Thursday with
big points in Division III softball,
horseshoes and golf in the final three
events.
The Division II winner was Naval
Science way out front with 248 points
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1984
1. Holditch / Jeter.
to 169 for second place Getty Oil. In
with 186.67 points and General Tele-
Men's Golf
Division I Holditch / Jeter nudged
phone a scant three points back at
Calculated Risk, 250 -223.
183.5.
DIVISION 111
It was a dogfight in Division III.
College Station finished sixth in
Bryan; 1. (tie) 4. College a Station 2nd. West.
College Station won with 240.5
men's softball, tied with GTE for first
house 1.
points. Westinghouse was second
in golf and placed first and second in
'
DIVISION
1. Calculated Risk.2. Calculated Risl
in both men's and women s
Holditch /Deter; 4. College Station.
horseshoes. Horseshoes was the clin-
Horseshoes
cher for College Station.
s
Men's Horseshoes
Division II golf was won by Getty
1. College Station 2; 2. College Stal
Oil and Calculated Risk was first and
3;3.B ryan; 4. Westinghouse; 5. G..E.
second in Division I golf. Holditch/
G.T.E 5.
H2 s Horseshoes
Jeter was first and third in women's
1 College Station Sta1
1; 3. Eagle.
horseshoes and third, fifth and sixth
DIVISION 11
in men's horsehoe throwing. Bishop
g P
men's Horseshoes
1.Getty Oil; 2. Beal Ford 2: 3. Pennwz
Constructioi
Associates was first and fourth in
4. Beal Ford 1; 5. Bryan
men's horseshoes.
Beal Ford 3.
Women's Horseshoes
Republic Bank was first and
1. Republic Bank ABM; 2. Repu
second in Division II women's
Bank 3; 3. Stanford Group; 4. Pennwe
5. Getty Oil 1; 6. Pennwalt 1.
horseshoes and Getty Oil placed first
DIVISION I
in the men's division.
Men's
1. Bishop Associates; 2. Shrubber
GTE made its rush to catch Wes-
Holditch / Jeter; 4. Bishop Associates
tinghouse with firsts in both the
Holditch / Jeter 3; 6. Holditch / Jeter 2
Women's Horseshoes
men's and co -rec softball, but Wes-
1. Holditch /Deter 2; 2. Shrubbery
tinghouse held the phoners off with
Holditch / Jeter 2; 4. Shrubbry 2.
second place finishes in both events.
FINAL STANDINGS
DIVISION Ill
1. City of College Station 240.5; 2. Wes-
tinghouse 186.67; 3, General Telephone
183.5; 4. City of Bryan 112; 5. Ocean Drill-
6. Texas Instruments 87; 7. The
ing 98;
Eagle 57.33; 8. Ag Engineering 38; 9. First
City Bank 28; 10. St. Joseph Hospital 15.
DIVISION II
1. Naval Science 248; 2. Getty Oil 169; 3.
Republic Bank ABM 134; 4. Stanford
Group 123; 5. 'G' Group 93; 6. United Par-
cel Service 48; 7. Greenery 44; 8. Beal
Ford 38; 9. Bryan Construction 36; 10.
Pennwalt 15.
DIVISION I
1. Holditch / Jeter 250; 2. Calculated
Risk 223; 3. Shrubbery 80; 4. Contempor-
ary Landscape 45; 5. Bishop Associates
37.
RESULTS
Men's Softball
DIVISION Ill
1. G.T.E.; 2. Westinghouse; 3. Bryan; 4.
Ocean Drilling; 5. G.T.E. 2; 6. College Sta-
tion 2.
Co -Rec
1. G.T.E.; 2. Westinghouse; 3. Bryan; 4.
Texas Instruments; 5. First City Bank; 6.
G.T.E. 2
DIVISION II
1. Getty Oil; 2. Getty Oil 2; 3. UPS; 4.
Greenery; 5. Naval Science 1; 6. Naval
Science 2.
Co -Rec
1. Republic Bank ABM; 2. Stanford
Group; 3. Beal Ford; 4. Bryan Construc-
tion.
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1984
Monday, October 15, 1984ghe Battalion /Page 3
■
Rain d idn ' t
stop
By VIVIAN SMITH
Reporter
Rainy weather didn't dampen the
spirits of the 1,700 to 2,000 people
who attended the second annual
Brazos Bohemian Fest at Central
d , . Park Saturday.
While the rain poured outside —
E of brisket, sausage and turkey,
buckets of beer, tunes of German
polkas and friendly conversation
flowed beneath the main tent at
'Central Park.
Sponsored by the College Station
Parks and Recreation Department,
the Brazos Bohemian Fest is mod-
eled after other festivals in the area
and is good family entertainment,
festival coordinator Charles Szabu-
niewicz said.
The Fest opened Friday evening
with three. bands performing tradi-
tional German folk music for people
to sing, dance or simply listen to,
Szabuniewicz said.
Saturday began with a Vol -
ksmarch — a musical parade of the
shields from provinces of Brazos Bo-
hemia — from Anderson Park to
Central Park. Next on the agenda
was games for the children (and
adults as well) organized and oper-
ated by the Texas A &M Recreation
and Parks Club (R &P) as a fund-
raiser.
Some of the popular contests in-
cluded sack races, apple bobbings,
sponge throws and pie- eating con-
tests. The R &P club offered a face -
painting booth as well as a fortune
teller, R &P Reporter Glen McDaniel
said.
Even though the booths had to be
closed early due to rain, the club still
made more money than last year.
In addition to the games a dunk-
ing booth which featured local per-
sonalities was co- sponsored by
Bryan - College Station Jaycees and
the "Shenanigan" Teen Board Cen-
ter. Proceeds went to a fund for a
teen center to be located at 1300 Jer-
sey St. in College Station.
Workers from the Parks and Rec-
reation Department were ready to
serve thirsty, hungry festival visitors
—and serve they did.
By Saturday afternoon 300
pounds of brisket, 100 pounds of
imported Bratwurst sausage, 100
pounds of Knackwurst sausage, 350
— 400 pounds of smoked turkey
legs and 50 pounds of imported sau-
erkraut had been served, Tony Scaz-
zero, concession manager, said
The menu is not as ethnic as other
festivals because Scazzero tried to at-
tract people who are not accustomed
0 Bohemian food.
A
About 100 kegs of beer were con-
sumed by Saturday afternoon as
well, Mark Hodges, beer concession
manager, said. The dark beer has
Z selling like hotcakes and overall
we've sold much more beer than last
year."
Plans for the 1985 Brazos Bohe-
mian Fest are already underway.
"Next year's Fest will be a 3 -day
event and we are going to stress the
Volksmarch much more than we did
this year," Szabuniewicz said. "Also,
we will develop a different county
crest for the next six years to serve as
the Fest logo for each year."
THE BATTALION /MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1984
NOTICETOBIDDERS
Sealed proposals addressed
VW to Mr. Elrey Ash, Director of I
Capital Improvements for a
maintenance building, City
Project Number G83- 84 -13,
will be received in the office
of: The Director of Capital
NOTICETO
sufficient cause for rejection
Improvements, City Hall
CONTRACTORS
ofanybid.
Building, College Station,
(ADVERTISEMENT)
Bidders are required to in-
Texas, until 2:00 p.m., October
Sealed proposals addressed
spect the site of the work and
31,1984, at which time they will
to the City of College Station,
to inform themselves regard -
be publicly opened and read
Texas will be received for the
ing local conditions under
aloud. Any bid received after
construction of:
which the work is to be done.
the above closing time will be
HENSEL PARK LIFT STATION
Attention is called to the pro -
returned unopened.
ELECTRICAL
visions of the Texas Minimum
Plans and Specifications, and
IMPROVEMEMTS
Wage Act of 1970 and Article
Information to Bidders, are on
until 2:00 P.M., Wednesday,
5159a, Revised Civil Statutes
file and may be examined at
y
November7,1984.
of Texas, concerning the
the office of G. Philip Morley&
Proposals will be received at
prevailing wage rate applica-
Associates Architects, 2746
the office of Mr. Elrey Ash,
ble in municipal contruction.
Longmire, College Station,
D i r e c t o r o f C a p i t a l i m -
Contract Documents, P r o -
T e x a s . Plans a n d
provements, City Hall, Col-
posal Forms, Specifications
Specifications may be ob-
y
legeStation,Texas77840.
and Plans are on file and may.
tained by prospective bidders
Bidders must submit with
be examined without charge`.,
at the address above with a
their bids a Cashigi's' Check
in the office of Mr. Elrey Ash,
deposit of" $100.00 per set for
or a Certified Check in the
Director of Capital Im-
general contractors and sub-
amount of five (5%) percent of
provements, and may be ob-
contractors. The full deposit
the maximum amount of bid
t a i n e d from R i e w e &
will be returned to general
payable without recourse to
Wischmeyer, Inc., Consulting
contractors if the plans and
the City of College Station,
Engineers, 1701 Southwest
specifications are returned
Texas. or a proposal bond in
Parkway, Suite 100, College
intact within 7 days after the
One -half the
the same amount from a Sur -
ety Company holding permit
Station, Texas 77840. upon a
bid opening.
deposit will be returned to
from the State of Texas to act
deposit of Twenty -five ($25.00)
as Surety, and acceptable ac-
Dollars.
sub - contractors if the plans
cording to the latest list of
Mrs. Dian Jones, City
and specifications are re-
companies holding cer-
Secretary
turned intact within 7 days af-
tificates of authority from the
Gary V. Halter, Mayor
10-21- 84,10 -22- 84,10
terthe bid opening.
Secretary of the Treasury of
-23 -84
A certificate or cashier's
the United States, as listed in
check on a State or National
latest Revision of Treasury
Bankof the State of Texas, ora
Department Circular 570, as a
Bidder's bond from an accep-
guarantee that Bidder will
table Surety Company,
enter into a contract and ex-
authorized to transact busi-
ecute bond and guarantee
ness in the State of Texas, in
forms provided within five (5)
—` the amour)t of not less than
days after notice of award of
ADVERTISEMENT FORBIDS
five percent (5%) of the total
contract to him. Bids without
The City of College Station is
bid must accompany each
checks. as stated above, or
currently soliciting proposals
Proposal as a guarantee that,
proposal bond will not be
for:
if awarded the contract, the
considered.
TENNIS INSTRUCTION
Bidder will within ten (10)
In accordance with Article
PROGRAM
calendar days after award of
5160, Revised Civil Statutes of
SCOPE OF PROGRAM: The
contract enter into contract
Texas, 1925, as amended, the
City of College Station is
and execute a Bond on the
successful Bidder will be re-
soliciting proposals from in-
dependent instructors inter -
forms provided in the Con-
quired to furnish not only a
ested in operating a Tennis
tract Documents.
performance bond in the
Instruction Program at the
A Performance Bond and a
amount of the contract, but
Southwood Tennis Center in
Payment Bond in an amount of
also a payment bond for the
Southwood Athletic Park, 1600
not less than one hundred
protection of all claimants
Rock Prairie Road, for the
percent (100%) of the contract
supplying labor and materials
calendar year 1985. The Ten -
price, conditioned upon
as defined in said law. The
nis Instruction Program is to
faithful performance of the
bonds must be executed by an
be offered in conjuction with
contract and payment of per-
approved Surety Company
other City programs but
sons supplying labor or fur-
holding a permit from the
operated independently.
RECEIPT OF BIDS: Sealed
nishing materials, may be ex-
State of Texas to act as Surety
will be accepted at
ecuted by the successful
and acceptable according to
proposals
the Office of the Director of
I bidder and accompany his
the latest list of companies
the Parks and Recreation
signed contract.
holding certificates of
Department in Central Park
Proposals must be submitted
authority from the Secretary
until 2:00 p.m., Tuesday,
on the forms bound within the
of the Treasury of the United
November 6, 1984, at which
Specifications and the right to
States, or other Surety ac-
time they will be opened. The
accept any bid, or to reject any
ceptable to the Owner.
mailing address is P.O. Box
or all bids and to waive all
The Owner reserves the right
9960, College Station, Texas
formalities is hereby reserved
to reject any or all bids and to
77841. Proposals received af-
by the City Council of the City
waive informalities. In case of
ter this time will be returned
of College Station, Texas.
ambiguity or lack of clearness
unopened.
NONDISCRIMINATION
in stating the price in the bids,
INFORMATION AND BIDDNG
IN EMPLOYMENT
the Owner reserves the right
DOCUMENTS: Information
Bidders on this work will be
to.consider the most advant-
and Proposal Outlines may be
obtained by contacting Mr.
required to comply with the
ageous construction thereof
Steve Director, Parks
President's Executive Order
I No.11246.
or to reject the bid. Un- i
reasonable or unbalanced
,
andR Bread onDepartment at
j 10-14- 84 ,10-21-84,10-22-8 4
uriit prices will be considered �
6- 377 -8
1409 0 -21- 84 4,10 -240-24 - 84,1.0 -27 -84
"q° THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1984
�Ww
College Station Lincoln Ctr. Wk. Due Nov. 1
The City of College Station, owner, will receive bids for the construc-
tion of additions to and the renovations of Lincoln Community Center
located at 1000 Eleanor St. in College Station until 2 p.m. Thursday,
November 1. The bids will be received in the office of the owner by Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of Capital Improvements, and will be
publicly opened and read.
The project will consist of a one -story gymnasium building containing
approximately 9,760 square feet of floor area and a connecting one -
story control building containing approximately 1,340 square feet of
floor area along with renovations to flip_ existing recreation,
maintenance and office buildings and the enclosing of the existing
pavilion structure. The work will include cpk rete slab foundation; ter-
mite control; steel framing; metal and glass block panels and concrete
masonry unit plaster exterior walls; buiiltup and metal panel roof; gyp-
sum board, concrete block, and ceramic the interior walls; carpet,
ceramic and vinyl tile floors; layin acoustical tile and gypsum board ceil-
ings; hollow metal, vertical -lift, wood and aluminum doors; hollow
metal door frames; batt insulation; carpentry and millwork; hardware;
toilet accessories; glass and glazing; basketball and volleyball equip-
ment; spectator seating;-.miscellaneous specialties; stucco and lath and
plumbing, electrical and mechanical work. Also included will be site
work.
C. R. Watson and Associates, Architects and Planners, 1701
Southwest Prkwy., Suite 105, College Station 77840, prepared the plans
and specifications.
Addenda Received -1
One set of plans and specifications is on file in The AGC Plan
Rooms _ Bidders to date: (Final publication in later issue)
Acklam Const. College Station 409 /764 -8003
BPC, Inc. Bryan 409/779 -6492
Bel -Tex Const. Temple 817/771 -0142
R. B. Butler, Inc. Bryan 409/779 -3400
Jordan & Woods College Station 409 /693 -1617
Rhodes Bldg. Sys. Somerville 409/272 -8181
SHC Const. College Station 409/7649160
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1984
Staff changes announced
Director Steve Beachy has written about some major
staff changes in the College Station Parks and Recrea-
tion Department.
Recreation superintendent Marci Rodgers , who had
been with the department since 1979, has resigned to
devote more time to her family. She will be replaced by
Linda Cornelius Waltman before Nov. 1.
Born in Fort Worth, Waltman received a degree in
health and physical education from Texas A &M Uni-
versity in 1979. A member of the 1980 United States
Olympic track and field team, she holds the world record
l in the 800 -meter indoor pentathlon.
David Whatley has resigned his position as parks
superintendent, effective Nov. 2, and will become
director of parks and recreation for the City of New
Braunfels. He has been a member of the department's
staff since November 1977.
Whatley organized the parks maintenance operation
Od instituted the Parks Partners Program. He also is the
originator of College Station's sister parks department
agreement with Wellington, New Zealand.
:Committee meeting is today
'The Bryan - College Station Mayors' Committee for
.Disabled Persons will meet at 6:30 p.m. today in Room
f01, College Station Community Center. This body was
6rmerly the Bryan - College Station Mayors' Committee
f6i Employment of the Handicapped.
;Jim Raatz says that the issues the committee will take
up include opportunities for social activity, transporta-
tien, educational and training rights, employment,
medical services and accessibility.
For information, call Raatz, 845 -5519 or 693 -7990.
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1984
Getting together on garbage
The possibility of an unusual, local symbiotic rela-
tionship drew one step closer to reality this week.
The Bryan City Council on Monday approved a
$13,800 study to determine the feasibility of composting
the city's garbage. Previously, the city of College Sta-
tion and Texas A &M University had agreed to partici-
pate in the study.
All three agencies produce large quantities of one of
the nemeses of contemporary urban life — garbage.
For city officials everywhere, the disposal of waste is
a monumental problem. Some cities dump it at sea.
Some bum it, with varying degrees of success. At least
one city has eiperlmented with using earthworms to eat
it.
But most bury it, as do the two local municipalities
and the university.
While the cities and the university are digging holes to
put garbage in, however, another agency only a few
miles away is digging holes to take out coal.
The Texas Municipal Power Agency operates the
400 - megawatt Gibbons Creek power plant. It has purch-
ased mineral rights to thousands of acres of nearby
property rich in lignite. The lignite is strip- mined, mean-
ing the coal is removed from open pits.
After the coal is extracted, the overburden is replaced
and the area is reclaimed. But there is a problem.
Topsoil is only inches thick. And without the rich
topsoil to nurture it, vegetation has a hard time re-
establishing itself in the reclaimed areas.
TMPA is required by federal law to reclaim strip -
mined areas. Initially, it simply fertilized the overbur-
den and treated it for acidity. No attempt was made to
preserve original topsoil itself.
But upon the insistence of the Railroad Commission,
the agency last month began segregating topsoil. When
the lignite in a mine pit is exhausted and the pit is
covered, topsoil will be replaced —on top, where it was
originally.
But the topsoil segregation program is expensive.
TMPA estimates it will cost half a million dollars for the
IN HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
first year.
Topsoil essentially is decayed vegetation. Down the
road, Bryan, College Station and Texas A &M are pro -
ducing tons of vegetation in the form of garbage.
So the engineering firm of Riewe & Wischmeyer,
Inc., wants to get all four entities together. The cities
and the university would produce the garbage; TMPA
would use it.
Composting of garbage is not new. Milwaukee has
been doing it for years and markets its compost nation-
wide under the brand name Milorganite.
First, non - organic solid material is removed mechani-
cally. It is disposed of in a landfill, as it now is, or
ii.cycled. The remaining organic material then is mixed
with sewage sludge and 'cured" for about three weeks.
The end result is compost.
Although a landfill still is required for the non - organic
material, experience has shown it will constitute only
about one -ninth of the volume of garbage, thus extend-
ing the life of a landfill by about nine times.
The compost, on the other hand, would be trucked —
or perhaps even created at — the TMPA mine sites and
there mixed with the overburden.
The result: Bryan, College Station and A &M get rid
of both their organic garbage and their sludge. TMPA
gets compost for reclaimed areas, hopefully at a lower
cost than the fertilizer and topsoil segregation now em-
ployed.
The study is to determine if the process is economical-
ly feasible locally.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1984
Sewage plant to be discussed
The College Station City Council today is expected to
discuss whether it wishes a private company to build and
operate a city sewage plant in the area of the proposed
industrial park.
The council meets today at 4 p.m. in workshop ses-
sion at City Hall, and Thursday in regular session at 7
P. M.
Whalen Corp. of Dallas already owns the city's water
wells. It also is building the new elevated water storage
tank in south College Station.
Under the approach, called "privatization," a private
company builds and operates a facility, and the city pays
on a continuing basis for the services received. At the
end of a specified period, the city acquires the facility for
a nominal fee. — HUGH NATIONS
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1984
Railroad approves crossing
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
Plans for a protected railroad cros-
sing at Holleman Drive in College
Station are a step closer to reality.
City Attorney Cathy Locke said
Tuesday she received documents last
week from Southern Pacific railroad
granting final approval for a new
crossing with signals.
When the crossing is built it will
service apartments west of the rail-
road tracks near the Texas A &M Uni-
versity campus, and enable the city to
close the Luther Street crossing to the
apartment traffic.
Two Texas A &M students were
killed last month in separate acci-
dents on consecutive nights at the
Luther Street crossing.
Locke said she sent letters Monday
to five real estate developers who
have property on the west side of the
tracks. Locke asked that the develop-
ers provide signed commitments and
escrow money so that the deal with
Southern Pacific can be closed.
Under an agreement Locke said the
Turn to SOUTHERN, page 9A
c glc pnuw vy nw mio
A train approaches the location where Holleman Drive vvould cross the Southern Pacific
railroad tracks in College Station.
Southern Pacific OKs
new crossing, signals
From page ]A
city made with the developers more
than a year ago, the city will pay
$35,000, roughly the cost of the rail-
road warning signals, and the de-
velopers will share the $100,000 -plus
cost of extending Holleman Drive
across the tracks to Wellborn Road.
Holleman was expanded more than
a year ago and now stops at the edge
of the railroad right -of -way.
But developers indicated that they
will not automatically approve the
crossing deal and turn over the
money.
Edsel Jones of San Antonio, whose
company.built the addition to Holle-
man Drive, said his company wants
to be certain that all developers who
profit by the new crossing will pay a
fair share of the costs. Some new
companies have gotten involved in
the area in recent months, Jones said.
"There's probably going to have
to be some kind of a meeting with all
the developers and the city staff,"
Jones said. "The city ought to take
charge and organize it; You can't just
handle something like this through
the mail."
Jim Garcia, an employee of the
San Antonio -based Robert Callaway
Corp., which has apartments in the
area, said his company would have to
study the agreement before contribut-
ing to the project.
Jones charged that the city didn't
do enough to pursue the agreement,
which was stalled in Southern Pacific
hands for the past year.
"A lot of things have changed in
that time," Jones said.
At the time of the accidents, the
city had not heard from Southern
Pacific since April. Southern Pacific
attorney H:B. LaTourette said short-
ly after the accidents that the agree-
ments were under study by manage-
ment.
But a few days after the Eagle con-
tacted the office of a lawyer who
deals with crossings in Southern
Pacific's San Francisco headquar-
ters, a Southern Pacific representa-
tive reported that the agreements had
been sent to the wrong lawyer in San
Francisco and had been lost for sever-
al months.
No College Station city officials
conjacted the San Francisco offices.
and- Locke said it would have been
unethical for her to go "over the
head" of the Houston -based lawyer
with whom the city had negotiated.
Since the fatal accidents, the city
has chosen not to change traffic flow
on Luther Street, opting instead for
the Holleman crossing project.
Once the developers have put up
the money and the deal is closed,
Southern Pacific will be required to
begin construction within one year.
Ron Jeffries, a Southern Pacific
signal engineer who supervises this
area, said installation of a signal
usually takes seven weeks or less,
once work is started. He said there are
four construction gangs working in
his area, and they build about 45 cros-
sings per year.
Southern Pacific has four govern-
ment- funded projects pending in Bra-
zos County, according to the state
highway department. Other local
Southern Pacific crossing improve-
ments have taken up to three years
between approval and construction,
but Jeffries said a crossing like the
Holleman project, where there is only
one track, usually is built relatively
quickly because it is easier to design.
The Luther Street crossing is awk-
ward for motorists trying to see the
road across the tracks, and traffic
there has increased dramatically dur-
CSey ee t
Texas A&M
�e
campus
Apartment
c
complexes
gi <e
v
man
N
cm
Proposed
crossing
0
0
ro
a
0
w
a
0
-s
wo
N �
n
ing the past year, according tc
measurements taken by the state
highway department.
. Locke said she is preparing a re-
commendation that the city council
set minimum and maximum speed
• limits,for trains operating in the city.
Southern Pacific Division Superin-
tendent Dave Medley said his rail -
i'r',oad had set speed limits of 40 miles
per hour between Farm Market Road
2818 and Holleman Drive, and 30
miles per hour between Holleman
and the Bryan City Limits..
Locke said she will recommend
that the council set those limits, and a
minimum limit of 10 miles p4l hour,
by passing a city ordinance. Citations
are given to the person on bpitrd the
train who is responsible for gntroll-
ing the speed of the train. ;:
If the train will not stop in4esponse
to police sirens, Locke said, _Ow num-
ber of the trains can be recorded and
charges filed later. , , ,
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2¢, 1984
City Council to hear
land rezoning request
At its regular meeting tonight, the
College Station City Council will
hold a public hearing on a rezoning
request and consider a resident's re-
quest for sewer and water service.
The council will hold a public
hearing on the request to rezone
about one acre of land in the Lot 1
Courtyard Apartments Subdivision.
The land currently is zoned Apart-
ments High Density District R -6, and
the requested zoning is Administra-
tive- Professional District A -P.
The council is expected to con-
sider a resolution supporting Propo-
sition No. 2 in favor of the Perma-
nent University Fund.
A request by Weldon Jordan that
the city provide sewer and water
service to his residence in Harvey
Hillsides Subdivision will be consid-
ered by the council, and it will also
consider authorizing the city staff to
negotiate a professional contract for
traffic signal design.
The Greens Prairie Road project
also will be discussed.
THE BATTALION /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1984
College Station Lincoln Ctr. Wk. Due Nov. 1
The City of College Station, owner, will receive bids for the construc-
tion of additions to and the renovations of Lincoln Community Center
located at 1000 Eleanor St. in College Station until 2 p.m. Thursday,
November 1. The bids will be received in the office of the owner by Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of Capital Improvements, and will be
publicly opened and read.
The project will consist of a one -story gymnasium building containing
approximately 9,760 square feet of floor area and a connecting one -
story control building containing approximately 1,340 square feet of
floor area along with renovations to the existing recreation,
maintenance and office buildings and the enclosing of the existing
pavilion structure.
C. R. Watson and Associates, Architects and Planners, 1701
Southwest Prkwy., Suite 105, College Station 77840; *epared the plans
and specifications.
Addenda Received -1,2
One set of plans and specifications is on file in The AGC Plan
Rooms. Bidders to date: (Final publication in later issue)
Acklam Const. College Station 409 /764 -8003
BPC, Inc. Bryan 409 /779 -6492
Bel -Tex Const. Temple 817/771 -0142
R. B. Butler, Inc. Bryan 409 /779 -3400
Jordan & Woods College Station 409/693 -1617
Rhodes Bldg. Sys. Somerville 409/272 -8181
SHC Const. -College Station 409 /7649160
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1984
CS Council
OKs paving
in one stage
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council
decided Thursday to pave Greens
Prairie Road from Texas 6 all the way
to Rock Prairie Road instead of doing
the project in stages.
Capital Improvements Director
Elrey Ash estimated that the entire
project will cost slightly more than $1
million.
The council originally had planned
to pave only about half of the stretch
of Greens Prairie. However, Ash said
further studies indicate large volumes
of fill dirt will have to be removed
from the first stage, and large
volumes of fill will be required in the
second stage.
As a result, he said, it would be
_ `less expensive to construct the entire
project at one time.
Greens Prairie on the north abuts
the area where the city plans to de-
.velop an industrial park. The major
;entrance to the park is planned off
:Greens Prairie.
- The council also agreed to retain
:Walton and Associates to design traf-
tfic signals at seven locations, includ-
�ing signals at FM 2818 at Welsh
•Avenue; FM 215�at Southwest Park -
way and Holleman Drive; and South-
west Parkway at Anderson and Glade
-streets, Welsh, and Southwood
`Drive.
'. Ash said, with the assistance of the
,engineering firro,tall the signals can
be installed by° 96mmer< if road con -
- struction is completed by then. With-
:out outside assistance, he said, some
;of the signals might be delayed even
into 1986.
In other actions, the council:
■ Agreed to eliminate pool use
•fees for the Aggie Swim Team.
■ Adopted a resolution supporting
'Proposition.2 on the Nov. 6 election
"ballot. The proposition redefines the
:legal expenditures from the Perma-
pent University Fund.
a: ■ Agreed to .renovate a vacant
,house the city owns east of City Hall
for Community Development
offices.
■ Urged anyone interested in serv-
°1_ `ing on citizens advisory committees
for a comprehensive drainage plan
and library services to submit ap-
plications by Nov. 2.
Students to pine
for center funds
through tree sale
The College Station Teen Center
will be pining for money next month,
Community Center Director Peggy
Calliham said Thursday.
Students will be selling 14 -inch
Norfolk pine trees door to door for $9
each to raise money for the new cen-
ter. Although renovation of a build-
ing for the center is cftplete, Susan
O'Connor of the Parks and Recrea-
tion Dep,4trpent said it still needs a
stereo phonograph.
Tables for the center should be
complete by next month, she said,
and the center can open as soon as a
phonograph has been donated.
The potted Norfolk pines, suitable
for house plants, will be sold between
Nov. 5 and Nov. 19, O'Connor said,
with delivery scheduled the first
week in December. Calliham said the
center will make $4.50 for each sale.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 26, 1984
Heavy rains
cause damage
to CS streets
•
•
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station streets have suffered
up to half a million dollars in damages
from recent heavy rains, City Manager
North Bardell said Wednesday.
Munson Avenue and Francis Street
have both sustained extensive damage,
Bardell said. The older sections of the
city, such as College Hills and South-
gate, have been heaviest hit.
"A lot of it is going to have to be
extensively patched and then sealed,"
the city manager said.
Bardell said the problems have
arisen because in previous years the
city did not require adequate stabiliza-
tion of street subgrades.
That has not been true for about two
years now, Bardell said, but older
streets are still a problem. A good ex-
ample is Southwest Parkway. the city
now is in the process of repaving the
western leg of that street because the
subgrade was inadequately stabilized
initially.
Bardell said that during the recent
heavy rains water penetrated through
cracks in many streets and disinte-
grated the subgrade. In some areas, he
said, the water just washed out the
street surface.
Capital Improvements Director
Elrey Ash said that when the subgrade
deteriorates, the pavement begins
"pumping," or flexing. The move-
ment eventually destroys the pavement
in the area of the movement.
In addition, Bardell said, the rains
caused some damage to streets that are
under construction or under repair.
"I would guess if I had to make an
estimate," Bardell reported, "that we
suffered a quarter of a million to half a
million dollars damage in the last
week. "
In Bryan, Operations Manager Ed
llschner of the Municipal Services de-
partment said it would be difficult to
place a dollar amount on the damage,
but that it should not exceed $50,000.
He said the city's extensive pothole
repair and sealcoating program reduced
the potential damage.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1984
0 —i
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firm too erate s ew l ant a e CS seeks private p g p
By HUGH NATIONS Ash outlined for the council three ■ Build the plant in two equal stages, Council members elected the five -
Staff Writer approaches to the construction of the the second stage to come five years after year contract approach, authorized the
The College Station City Council plant under the "privatization" method: , the first, .with a 10 -year contract with the staff to begin negotiations with Whalen,
agreed Wednesday it wants a private company. That would cost $5 million. and instructed them to see if competitive
0 build the entire plant and contract` Ash aid the Whalen Co has esti- biddin will be necessa
company to build and operate the city's with a private company to operate h for mated he city will save 15 to 25 percent g rY
latest sewage treatment plant. five years, at a total cost of $2.9 million. of the total cost of construction and o p Whalen already is building an ele-
The plant is to be built in the area in vated water storage tank in south College
south College Station where the city ■ Build the entire plant with the com- eration if the "privatization" approach g g
tans an industrial park. pany to operate it for 10 years, at a total is taken, rather than using bond funds for Station for the city. It also drilled a water
p well for the city.
Capital Improvements Director Elrey cost of $4.76 million. its construction.
CS Council planning
more traffic signals
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council
approved Thursday night autho-
rized the negotiation of a contract
for the design of seven traffic signals
to be constructed in the city and ap-
proved a resolution supporting
Proposition 2.
The council unanimously ap-
proved a endorsing Prop-
osition 2 in support of the Perma-
nent University Fund.
"That fund is very vital to the exis-
tance of Texas A &M University and
indirectly to the city of College Sta-
tion," College Station Mayor Gary
Halter said.
He said the purpose of the resolu-
tion is "to encourage the residents of
College Station to support Proposi-
tion 2" at the Nov. 6 elections.
Also, the council authorized the
negotiation of a contract with Wal-
ton and Associates to design traffic
signals for seven intersections in the
• FM 2818 and Welsh Road
• FM 2154 (Wellborn Road) and
Southwest Parkway
• FM 2154 and Holleman Drive
• Southwest Parkway and Anderson
Road
• Southwest Parkway and Glade
Street
• Southwest Parkway and South-
wood Drive
• Southwest Parkway and Welsh
Road
Elrey Ash, director of capital im-
provements for the city, told the
council the signals could be consid-
ered under one bid, or the FM 2818
and Welsh Road"intersEction could
be considered independent of the
other six.
Ash said the city staff recom-
mended considering the intersec-
tions under one bid since consid-
ering the FM 2818 and Welsh Road
intersection as a separate project
could cost the city an additional
$14,000 srid might move the signal's
completion date up by only 45 days.
He told the council that the pro-
jects, under one bid, could be com-
pleted by the summer of 1985.
The council reallocated $25,000
in funds from the Community De-
velopment Fund to remodel the va-
cant house behind city hall.
The city owns the house at 1200
Foster St., which has been vacant for
nearly a year. The reallocation of
funds will enable the city to turn the
house into Community Devel-
opment offices.
In other business, the council ap-
proved a request from College Sta-
tion resident Weldon Jordan that
the city provide sewer and water
service to his residence in Harvey
Hillsides Subdivision, and it de-
clared the week of Nov. 11 -17 as
"Youth Appreciation Week" in Col-
lege Station.
THE BATTALION /FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1984
Red tape, costs delay
railroad signal projects
By BRAD OWENS
Staff Writer
The railroads were here first.
But now more people are here, too,
and they live near the railroads, and
they have to cross the tracks in their
cars.
And sometimes people get killed.
The best solution for railroad cros-
sing accidents, other than persuading
drivers to be more careful, is to install
flashing lights and signals at the cros-
sings.
- The signals work. While vehicle
miles traveled in Texas since 1976
have increased by one - third, the
number of car -train accidents has de-
Most dangerous crossings, 12A
clined and car -train collisions
account for about half the proportion
of accident deaths as they did eight
years ago.
About one -third of the 15,000 rail-
road crossings in Texas now have
some kinds of signals. Most signals
now being installed are the type with
long gate arms that descend and block
the road while the train passes. Other
warning signals have flashing lights
mounted either on poles or on frames
that span the road in front of the cros-
sing.
— When you put the gates in there,
the fatalities come to a screeching
halt." said John Dodson of Austin, a
state highway department engineer
who administers a federal program
for installing warning signals at cros-
sings:
But the signals don't come cheap.
Depending on the type of signal and
the complexity of the installation,
signals cost from $50,000 to
$100,000.
Since the railroad tracks pre -date
Turn to RED, page 12A
Crossings scheduled for signal t prove►iients
in Bryan and College Station
:, rth,; vvi- rruuen [munaratrdctreapprovedbased
r'•,id waiji, and a, cidoio, The federal goiernmen7 1
wppli< vnl ,._r
'nunutr�_�
lrhaun. andstrur :endkirvlgnvermnentseachadd5
¢. the pro - 4ram
� 1
th Sr�ee r7 l/ /f
Graham Road ` 2 t
29th Street
3
1. North Sims Street — Now 4
has a flashing lights signal fac- -0
ing east and a 'crossbucks' I 5
sign facing west. Visibility for dN
westbound traffic is poor be- 0
cause of brush near the tracks. a O
sharp rise in the road and a
building StatehighwayoffScials m
said the crossing is likely to be
approved for gates signals- 1
2. Graham Drive — Now has
onlycrossbucks,butfundingfor 6 e Street
gates was approved, n May 1983. pod9
Visibility ,s good except for a
tree to one side of the tracks
3.29th Street at Missouri Paci-
fic tracks — Now has flashing
lights and is being considered
for possible installation of
gates Visibility is good, but Uy
there is little; room between this A
crossing and the Southern Paci- o m�
fic crossing. y
4. 29th Street at Southern 0 N
Pacific tracks — Cantilevered m c
signals spanning the street
were recently completed, after G
being approved it 0-tober 1981. m
5. 32nd St. -- Crossbucks at o �
the crossing and a flashing light
to one side of the street. out of m
the direct line of vision of
motorists. The street crosses
both tracks and Mair: Street
Gates were approved in May o
190 This is the m'st con "01 - N w
fojai t now pending n 0
S, Dodge Street — Now has o
dash +t.,g lights facing both
directuws and was approved for v, Jilla Maria Road
gates i�r October 1983. Visibility ¢,
is good.
F S U Road :_- Gates wr;ie
installed this summer after pro- 6
iect was approved in January
1981. ! 7
Smetana Road -- Now has
crossbucks and shop signs. p ,
Gates were approved this
March but work has not started
vet.
a 7
P °
F
CS names new recreation superintendent
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By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
Linda Waltman is accustomed to hurdles. Monday she
confronted her latest one, as she took over as recreation
superintendent for the College Station Parks and Recrea-
tion Department.
The 28- year -old former
Olympic pentathlpn team
c A member is replaciri� Marci
a; Rodgers, who resigned re-
cently after the birth of her
child.
Waltman, a Fort Worth na-
tive, had been working as a
I�
computer aide at A &M 1upor
4 < High School only a few days
' when she saw an advertise -
ment for the recreation chief's
post. It was right down her
Linda Waltman alley, although "lane" might
00 be more appropriate terminology for the track and field
Pl
star.
After graduation from high school in Fort Worth, Walt-
man went off to the University of Nevada for a year on a
track and field scholarship.
She finished up her last three years of undergraduate
work at Texas A &M University, graduating .in 1979, and
went to work at A &M as assistant women' track coach.
She also went into training.
Waltman was a competitor in the pentathlon, the Olym-
pic event which includes the high jump, long jump, shot
put, 100 meter' hurdles, and 800 meter dash. Husband
Robert, an agricultural economics major at A &M, was her
coach.
A backwater country across the globe dashed her
chances, though, along with the hopes of scores of other
American athletes. The Soviets intervened in Afghanistan,
and in retaliation President Carter boycotted the Olympics.
"I was bne of the unfortunates one who made the
team," she said. "and didn't get to go."
When Robert graduated from A &M in 1980, the Walt -
mans were confronted with a decision. He wanted to go to
law school; Linda still felt the pull of the Olympic torch.
"We decided that at that point in our lives one of us was
going to have give up something for the other," the track
star said.
Linda Waltman dosed the door on her Olympic dreams.
Robert went to Lubbock to enroll in and eventually
graduate from Texts Tech's law school. Linda taught and
coached a girls cross - country track team.
For a brief spell; the Waltmans located in Arlington,
until Robert decided he'd like to he on his own and began
looking toward College Station. They finally returned;
Robert opened up the new College Station law firm of
Crowley and Waltman, and Linda took a job with the
College Station Independent School District until she ran
across the Eagle advertisement.
"I've never been around a parks and reacreation depart-
ment that is as organized as this one is," Waltman said. "I
think it's going to be a big challenge; I have a lot of good
people working for me."
The challenge right now is perhaps even bigger than it
normally would be.
Not only has Parks Director Steve Beachy had to replace
his recreation superintendent, he also is losing his parks
superintendent.
David Whatley, who has headed the parks division since
1977, has been named parks director in New Braunfels. He
leaves Nov. 2. As parks superintendent here, Whatley has
been responsible for the maintenance of grounds and build-
ings. He is one of four division superintendents in the
department.
•
C
College Station Lincoln Ctr.
The City of College Station, owner, will receive bid lllle e l onst r c-
tion of additions to and the renovations of Lincoln Community Center
located at 1000 Eleanor St. in College Station until 2 p.m. Thursday,
November 1. The bids will be received in the office of the owner by Mr.
Elrey B. Ash, P.E., Director of Capital Improvements, and will be
publicly opened and read.
The project will consist of a one -story gymnasium building containing
approximately 9,760 square feet of floor area and a connecting one -
story control building containing approximately 1,340 square feet of
floor area along with renovations to the existing recreation,
maintenance and office buildings and the enclosing of the existing
pavilion structure. The work will include concrete slab foundation; ter-
mite control; steel framing; metal and glass block panels and concrete
masonry unit plaster exterior walls; builtup and metal panel roof; gyp-
sum board, concrete block, and ceramic tile interior walls; carpet,
ceramic and vinyl tile floors; layin acoustical tile and gypsum board ceil-
ings; hollow metal, vertical -lift, wood and aluminum doors; hollow
metal door frames; batt insulation; carpentry and millwork; hardware;
toilet accessories; glass and glazing; basketball and volleyball equip-
ment; spectator seating; miscellaneous specialties; stucco and lath and
Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work. Also included will be site
work.
C. R. Watson and Associates, Architects and Planners, 1701
Southwest Prkwy., Suite 105, College Station 77840, prepared the plans
and specifications.
Addenda
One set of plans and specifications R ations e 2
is on file in
Rooms. Bidders: (Final publication)
The AGC Plan
Acklam Const.
BPC, Inc.
College Station
409/764 -8003
Bel -Tex Const.
Bryan
Temple
409 /779 -6492
R. B. Butler, Inc.
Bryan
817/771 -0142
Jordan & Woods
College Station
409/779 -3400
409/693 -1617
Rhodes Bldg. Sys.
Somerville
409/272 -8181
SHC Const.
College Station
409/764 -9160
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1984
0
Nov. 11 -17 is Youth Week
Mayors Ron Blatchley of Bryan and Gary Halter of
College Station have signed a joint proclamation desig-
nating the week of Nov. 1I -17 as Youth Appreiation
'Week.
Leslie Swick, president of the Evening Optimist Club
of Bryan - College Station, says that a major objective of
the special week is the recognition of the accomplish-
ments of area youth. He adds that the service organiza-
tion and the Eagle will award $100 United States savings
bonds to four young people during the week.
The Optimists are seeking nominations for the award.
Nominees must be area residents between the ages of
seven and 18 years.
For information about submitting a nomination, call)
Swick, 845 -8769 weekdays or 822 -7274 nights and
weekends, or Ben Woods, 845 -5317 weekdays or 693-'
3622 nights and weekends.
CS accepts bid
for water line
construction
Beardon Contracting Co. of Hous-
ton was the apparent low bidder Mon-
day for the construction of an 18 -inch
water line on Green's Prairie Road.
Beardon bid $321,000 on the pro-
ject. College Station Capital Im-
provements Director Elrey Ash said
the city's engineering consultant had
estimated the construction would cost
$340,000. '
Second low bidder was Brazos
Valley Utilities at $331,643. High
bidder was Irrigation Construction
Co. at $497,742.
The line, about 1' /z miles long,
will run from Texas 6 almost to Rock
Prairie Road along Green's Prairie.
Included in the area it will serve is the
site of the city's proposed industrial
park. Ten bidders submitted bids on
the project.
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1984
•
Cable firm,
to announce
lineup, rates
By JIM BUTLER
Television Editor
Bryan- College Station cable .televi-
sion subscribers will get an idea of the
new channel lineup and proposed. rates
when McCaw Communications holds a
press conference today.
The announcement will follow the
completed purchase of Community Cab -
levision by McCaw. The Bellevue,
Wash., corporation purchased Midwest
Video last May.
Joe DiBacco, regional vice president
for McCaw, is expected to disclose a
channel package and rate structure that
conforms closely to the recommenda-
tions of the Cable Advisory Committee
in July.
Composed of representatives from
both city councils, school systems,
Texas A &M University, senior citizens
and local churches, the CAC suggested a
single basic package containing all chan-
nels now offered by Midwest and Com-
munity on both basic and extended ser-
vice, with a monthly basic rate in the
neighborhood of $12.
Premium channels Home Box
Office, the Movie Channel and'dure
others avaialble here — will cost more
than the new basic rate.
Such a package would remove most
of the obstacles to videorecorders and
cable - ready, remote - control. televisions
posed by a two-tier package with the
second tier scrambled. A $12 rate would
represent only a $2 increase for anyone
already receiving basic and extended ser-
vice.
Those only receiving the current basic
package from one of the companies will
have their rates approximately doubled,
but those customers also will get more
than double the amount of channels they
now receive.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1984
McCaw announces packages
for cable TV channels, rates
By JIM BUTLER
Television Editor
Effective Dec. 1, Bryan- College Sta-
tion cable television subscribers will be-
gin paying a higher rate for an expanded
channel lineup if proposals by McCaw
Cablevision are accepted by the gov-
eming body of each city.
At a Wednesday afternoon press con-
ference, McCaw regional vice president
Joe DiBacco announced the new chan-
nel offering and rate schedule.
All subscribers will be offered a 29-
channel basic package at a rate of $12.50
per month. The effective date of the
change for some subscribers will depend
on when McCaw is able to deliver the
necessary equipment to individual sub-
scribers.
Subscribers who now receive only the
1 I - channel basic will pay $7.50 until'
they receive a converter allowing them
to receive the full 29 channels. At that
time, their rate will become $12.50.
Customers who now subscribe to the
extended basic package will receive the
29 channels and will pay $12.50 as of
Dec. 1. Those with converters will be
provided with McCaw converters at no
charge.
Customers with cable -ready televi-
sion, with or without converters, will
receive the new basic package and pay
$12.50.
DiBacco anticipates full conversion
will be accomplished by Feb. 1, 1985, at
which time the charge for additional out-
lets will increase to $3 each. If an addi-
tional converter is required, the charge
will be $5.
Customers who subscribe to a pre-
mium channel, such as Home Box
Turn to McCAW, page IIA
McCaw Cablevision
Proposed Rate
Schedule
Current Dec.1 Feb.1
Basic 11 29
Rate channels channels
$6.00 $7.50 ` $12.50
Additional
outlet
$2.00 $2.00 $3.00
Extended
Basic
$4.00 $5.00
Additional
outlet
$6.00 $7.00 $5.00
'Customers with cable -ready television
sets will -channel rate as of
Dec. 1.0 ther customers without conver-
ters will pay $7.50 until McCaw delivers
converters.
McCaw announces new
Fable TV rates, channels
waft
From page ]A
Office, will require a converter. The
monthly fee for each premium channel
will be $10 with a yet - to-be- determined
discount given for more than one pre-
miurD channel.
If a customer subscribes to only
HBO. the descrambling device will be
included in the basic converter. If a cus-
tomer subscribes to The Movie Channel,
Disney Channel, Cinemax or Playboy, a
sops isticated addressable, remote -
control converter will be required for a
monthly charge of $3.
"Even though the rates will rise,
cable, TV will represent a better value
when coupled with the added program-
ming quality and quantity McCaw is
offe*g," DiBacco said.
�By national or even statewide stan-
dards, Bryan and College Station have
been getting cable TV service at rates
that do not provide a fair and reasonable
rate of return to any cable TV system.
That translates into a cable TV system
that cannot afford to expand or improve
as needed.
p rate increase will yield a fair rate
of return and allow McCaw to continue
to invest in improvements that will pro-
vide the area with the level of cable TV
servige it deserves," he added.
According to the franchise ordinance
of both cities, McCaw is required to give
30 days notice of any rate change. With-
in those 30 days, the councils have the
option of suspending the increase for 30
days and scheduling a public hearing.
DiBacco notified each city Wednes-
day- but neither Bryan Mayor Ron
Blatchley nor College Station Mayor Pro
Tern Bob Runnels had yet seen the prop -
osals.
"I would imagine the council will
review them carefully and will have
some questions," Blatchley said. "We
have no authority in the area of the chan-
nel lineup, but we will look at the rate
structure ."
"If the rates are consistent with what
other cable companies charge, I suspect
the council will be inclined to accept
them." Runnels said.
The new channel lineup will include
three channels not previously offered —
Dallas independent KTVT, The Learn-
ing Channel, and Financial News Net -
wo f'� sharing time with Black Entertain -
mei$'Television.
Midwest subscribers will be required
to make the greatest adjustment since the
ne closely matches the current
Coini�nunity Cablevision offering. But
Midwest subscribers will also have the
mci�t - new channels, including Austin's
channel 36. The Weather Channel, Life -
firr0hs well as a chance to subscribe to
The Disney Channel, Cinemax and The
McCaw Cablevision
Channel lineup
(effective Dec. 1)
Expanded Basic:
2
— KTXH, Houston
3
— Channel Guide
4
— CBN
5
— KBTX, Bryan
6
— KCEN, Temple
7
— The Weather Channel
8
— The Nashville Network
9
— Cable News Network
10
— KHTV, Houston
11
— KTVV, Austin
12
— KAMU,CollegeStation
13
— KTRK, Houston
17
— C -SPAN
19
— KTVT, Dallas
21
— Spanish International
23
— Financial News Network/
Black Entertainment
24
— KHOU, Houston/
Government Access
25
— The Learning Channel/
Educational Access
26
— KUHT, Houston
27
— KVUE, Austin
28
— Nickdelodeon /ARTS
29
— WTBS, Atlanta
30
— Lifetime
31
— KPRC, Houston
32
— ESPN
33
— WGN, Chicago
34
— USA Network
35
— Trinity Network
36
— MTV
Premium Channels:
Home Box Office
The Disney Channel
The Movie Channel
Cinemax
The Playboy Channel
Playboy Channel.
DiBacco's announcement coincided
with the purchase of Community Cab -
levision by McCaw Communications
Wednesday. McCaw had previously
purchased Midwest Video.
"It will take about 30 days for us to
convert our billing to a new computer
system," DiBacco said. "When that is 4 0 V
completed, we will go forward as
McCaw Cablevision."
DiBacco said McCaw would have
technicians and equipment available to
assist, for a small charge, with the many
variations in ways to connect cable ser-
vice to televisions and videorecorders to
retain the most valuable features of each.
"In the next two months, we will be
visiting the home of every subscriber to
evaluate equipment and answer ques-
tions," DiBacco said. "We anticipate
we'll be able to make a full conversion
by Feb. 1. "
He added a caution, however.
"I encourage people not to expect a
great improvement overnight. It will
take some time to correct all the prob-
lems created in the past 12 years."
TMPA directors meeting set
•
Texas Municipal Power Agency directors will consid-
er authorizing a study of the agency's need for future
generating capacity when it meets Thursday at 10 a.m.
The board meets at the agency's office in Carlos.
TMPA operates the 400 megawatt Gibbons Creek
lignite plant at Carlos in Grimes County. The plant
supplies power to the agency's four member cities —
Bryan, Garland, Greenville and Denton.
Although the plant has been operating less than two
years, General Manager Ed Wagoner has told directors
that the construction of a new plant takes six to seven
years from the date it is permitted to the date it goes into
commercial operation.
He said the agency needs to survey its future power
supply needs in this fiscal year. Among the alternatives
available is the construction of a second unit at Carlos.
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1984
C]
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New ca bl e pl ans seem reasonable
McCaw Cablevision finally
reached the point where it could put
forth its rate and programming plans
for Bryan - College Station subscri-
bers. From the viewpoint of a person
for whom television is a significant
pastime, the proposal appears reason-
able.
Subscribers who already have ex-
tended basic will pay an additional
$2.50 per month. That compares
favorably to a city like Temple where
basic and extended basic cost $15.
The $12.50 charge for these subscri-
bers will start Dec. 1 at the same time
they will receive the new channel
lineup.
Customers who have only the $6
basic will see their bills increase by
more than 100 percent, once they are
converted to the 29--channel basic,
but these customers will also receive
more than twice as many channels.
On a per - channel basis, the cost will
actually decrease from 55 cents to 45
cents.
' Basic only subscribers will pay
$2.50 per month until McCaw repre-
s , atives visit the home and deliver a
ccl�averter if one is required to tune in
t m extra channels.
04ubscribers who have cable -ready
f vision will not need a converter to
ive the 29- channel package.
The big advantage to the McCaw
offering is that subscribers who have
invested in cable -ready sets and /or
JIM BUTLER
Television
remote control devices will not lose
this capability.
The plan is also good news for
customers with cable -ready videore-
corders. These people will still be
able to watch any non -pay channel
while recording any other non -pay
channel.
The premium channels- present a
,different situation, however. A con -
¢ter will be required 4o view' a pre-•
mium channel. Contrary to my pre-
vious story on the McCaw proposal, a
converter will not cost extra unless
the subscriber wants remote control
capability on the converter. That will
be a $3 monthly charge.
Those of you who do not have re-
mote control on your current sets
should look into this possibility. The
state -of- the -art converter demons-
trated by McCaw regional vice presi-
dent Joe DiBacco is a pretty slick
piece of equipment. It has direct ac-
cess to all channels with a digital
readout. The control device allows
for muting of the sound (useful when
the telephone rings), full volume con-
trol, and dual - programmability.
Dual programmability — DiBacco
calls it "his and hers" — allows two
viewers to select which channels they
want to scan through. For instance, if
you are not interested in what's show-
ing on C -SPAN, Nickelodeon or
ESPN, you can program the device to
skip those channels. If your partner
likes those channels, but doesn.'t like
CNN, the Weather Channej' and
Nashville Network, a flick of a
switch allows the partner to skip the
undesirable channels. This feature is
also useful if you want to prevent
children from viewing a certain
channel.
Considering the cost of remote
control, cable -ready sets, this $3
monthly converter is not a bad deal.
While any converter is going to
interfere with a TV set or VCR's re-
mote capability, an inexpensive A -B
switch, available in electronics de-
partments of several local stores, res-
tores that capability for the non -pay
channels.
Four channels not previously
offered here will be part of the new
package. Financial News Network,
which features news, interviews and
analysis of the stock market
,and other
business activity will be on during the
day. At night, Black Entertainment
Television presents mud a and
movies reflecting black inter sts.
The Learning Channel offers edu-
cational programming for all ages
with a wide variety of subject matter.
Dallas independent KTVT features
old movies and reruns. Its Sunday
schedule includes two, fishing shows,
CHiPs, Gunsmoke and five football
coach's shows: Jim Wacker (TCU),
Fred Akers (Texas), Grant Teaff
(Baylor), Barry Switzer (Oklahoma)
and Jackie Sherrill (Texas A &M)
KTVT's weekday schedule has
cartoons from 7 -9 a.m. and again
from 2:30 -4:30 p.m. Its rerun roster
features Ironside, The Fugitive and
Make Room for Daddy.
The changeover from two cable
systems to one will require some
adjustment, particularly on the part of
Midwest Video customers. But with
only one set of channel numbers to
keep track of, the eventual result will
be more choices, more easily deter-
mined.
A nice side effect is that it should
make Channels a lot easier to read.
H
Low Bidder Announced
College Station Center
Rhodes Building System,
Somerville, has submitted the low
base bid of $649,990 for the
construction of additions to and
the renovations of Lincoln
Community Center located at
1000 Eleanor St. in College
Station for the City of College
Station.
The project will consist of a
one -story gymnasium building
containing approximately 9,760
square feet of floor area.
(Continued on Page 7)
College Station —
(Continued from Page 2)
C. R. Watson and Associates,
Architects and Planners, College
Station, prepared the plans.
Partial tabulation of base bids
submitted November 1:
Rhodes ............ ............. 649,990
BPC ... ........................716,700
Jordan & Woods ................717,680
THE AGC NEWS SERVICE /TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1984
•
Ll
Speed limits
for trains on
council agenda
The College Station City Council
will be asked Thursday to approve
speed Limits for train traffic within the
city limits.
The council meets at 7 p.m. in City
Hall for its regular session. It will
meet today at 4 p.m. for a workshop
session, during which the council
will discuss its proposed priorities for
the 1985 -86 budget.
Thursday, the council also will be
presented McCaw BCS Communica-
tions' proposed cable TV rate sche-
dule.
If an amendment'to the traffic code is
approved, the r&ximum speed for
trains on the Southern Pacific tracks
that run parallel 'to Wellborn Road
will be 40 mph bgween FM 2818 and
Holleman Drive end 30 mph from
Holleman Drive•tp the, Bryan city
limits.
The ordinance sets a minimum
speed limit of 10,;.nudes per hour and
makes it illegal to-stop a train for
more than five minu[es if it is block-
ing a street crossi'ti''
The council agenda also includes
consideration of a contract with the
Southern Pacific railroad company
for construction of a signalled cros-
sing at Holleman Drive.
The agreemenf��egotiated with
Southern Pacific 7 6dIed for several
developers with ptd west of the
tracks to share in the cost of the cros-
sing, but developer Edsel Jones said
Tuesday that the group is not close to
agreeing on how the city and the de-
velopers will split the expenses.
Jones said the developers are will-
ing to pay for the street crossing, but
not the signals.
City Attorney Cathy Locke said
the developers `will explain to the
council why they object to the cost -
sharing arrangement. Locke said the
developers should have brought up
their objections sooner, and Jones
said the city took too long negotiating
with the railroad.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1984
0
Council to consider
city train regulations
0
The College Station City Coun-
cilThursday night will consider an
ordinance that would allow the city
to regulate train speeds within the
city limits.
The council will hold a. public
hearing on amending the city's ordi-
na to include regulating train
a
speeds within the city limits in its tra-
ffic code.
In other business, the council will
hold three public hearings on coning
requests.
The council also will declare the
week of Nova 12 -17, 1984 as "Heal-
thy Baby Week" in College Station.
THE BATTALION /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1984
•
•
4
Street maintenance
. top priority for
CS City Council
College Station's City Council
made it plain Wednesday that ri street
maintenance s ear I d budget.
e a to p y
item in next y
The council had scheduled part of a
workshop session to give the staff
some guidance in the upcoming
budgeting process.
Councilwoman Lin Mcllhaney
was joined by severab*er council-
men in placing street ntenance at
the top of the aney m the
that many of the newer streets
city a re showing signs of substantial
deterioration.
Other items the council said should
get priority consideration were
drainage; parks, street- lighting and
water line main Neighbor- law en-
hood Watch traffic
forcement; and physical and fiscal
separation of the Municipal Court
from the Police Department.
The council meets in at City Hall.
sion today at 7 p.m.
Among the items on the agenda is the
proposed, rate schedule for the local
cable 1`V system and establishment
ed limits for trains.
Fest deadline is Friday
Friday. is the deadline for applications to participate in
the 198"razos Bohemianfest. A note from coordinator
Charles Szabuniewicz says -that the dates for next
year's regional folk festival are Oct. 4 -6.
Szabuniewicz asks individuals and groups who wish
to take part in the Bohemianfest in any capacity to call
the City of College Station's Parks and Recreation De-
partment, 764 -3773, to make their interest known. A
planning and organizational meeting will be held later
this month.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1984
11
El-
0
Cable fees get tentative OK
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council
indicated — although somewhat ten-
tatively — that it will accept the
$12.50 monthly fee proposed for
cable TV service Thursday night.
McCaw Cablevision BCS, Inc.,
which has purchased both local cable
systems, presented its proposed rate
schedule to the council.
McCaw Regional Manager Joe
DiBacco told the council that the new
rate, which would cover a basic tier
of 28 channels, will go into effect for
cable -ready sets Dec. 1.
On that date, other subscribers will
begin paying $7.50, compared with
the current $6 per month. During the
ensuing 60 days, he said, McCaw
will be distributing converters to
those customers, who then will be
bumped to $12.50 as they obtain the
expanded programming.
Under the terms of the cable TV
franchise, the council has the right to
suspend a proposed rate increase for
30 days, after which it must permit
the rates to go into effect or call for a
hearing on the matter.
If the council takes no action at all
on McCaw's request, it will become
effective Dec. 1.
Thursday night, the council indi-
cated that it is satisfied with the prop-
osed rate schedule and that at this
point, it sees no need to call for a
hearing. But the council still has one
other meeting in which it could act
before the rates become effective.
City Manager North Bardell re-
ported to the council that a rate in-
crease recently approved by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commis-
sion for wholesale customers of Gulf
States Utilities will cost the city
$5,481,000 if it stands.
College Station buys its power
wholesale from Gulf States, then re-
sells it to customers within the city.
Bardell said he will be asking the
council at its next meeting 'for an
additional appropriation to contest
the rate hike request.
Council members denied a request
for commercial rezoning of a six -acre
tract on the south side of University
Drive 1,200 feet east of Tarrow, de-
spite a plea by the owner of nearby
property that councilmen reassert
their authority over the "God of the
Comprehensive Plan."
The landowner, Jessie Hinton, told
the council that he supported the re-
zoning, which staff members said is
contrary to the zoning the Compre-
hensive Plan recommends for the
area. Hinton said the plan, not the
council, is ruling land use within the
city.
In other action, the council:
■ Granted neighborhood commer-
cial zoning for a half -acre tract at
Krenek Tap Road and the East
Bypass frontage road. The isolated
tract is immediately adjacent to Cen-
tral Park, and is the only non -park
property on the northeast side of the
park. The Planning and Zoning Com-
mission had denied the zoning and
recommended the city buy the tract
for inclusion in Central Park.
■ Agreed to pay $46,317 for over-
size participation on sewer lines in
Walden Pond. The payment was due
because the developer, at the city's
request, installed larger sewer lines
than necessary to accommodate fu-
ture growth in the area.
■ Agreed to buy a hydraulic dig-
ger- derrick for digging utility pole
holes for $52,203 from Commercial
Body Corporation and a truck cab and
chassis from Knapp Chevrolet for
$26,115 to put it on.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1984
11
•
Local mayors aid
annual smokeout
By KAREN BLOCH
Redorter
Why did Bryan Mayor Ron
Blatchley adopt College Station
Mayor Gary Halter Monday at a
ceremony at the College Station
Ramada Inn?
The adoption, which will be of-
ficial for 24 hours beginning at
12:01 a.m. Thursday, was a pre-
lude to the American Cancer So-
ciety's Eighth Annual Great
American Smokeout.
Both mayors signed the Adopt -
a Smoker - Adoption Papers, mak-
ing it non- smoker Blatchley's re-
sponsibility to assist Halter make
it through a day of smokelessness.
By signing the adoption• pa-
pers, Blatchley has pledged to be
responsible for providing "cons-
tant encouragement, fruit and
peanuts if need be, and a shoul-
der to cry on." Blatchley pre-
sented Halter with a survival kit
containing gum, candy, nuts and
other snacks.
"We want smokers to have fun
with the smokeout." Roy Munse,
Brazos County GAS chairman
said. "This isn't a day when we
show pictures of rotting lungs
and try to scare smokers into quit-
ting. We're trying to reverse the
cigarette advertising trend that
shows people having fun while
smoking. We want to let smokers
have a fun day without smoking."
KORA, a local radio station,
will have a drawing for a hot -air
balloon ride, Munse said. Smok-
ers can register for the drawing
by turning in a package of ciga-
rettes to the -KORA booth at Post
Oak Mall on Thursday between
noon and 6 p.m.
Another radio station, KKYS,
and Keathley Hall will be distrib-
uting "Kiss Me I Don't Smoke"•
stickers by Rudder fountain on
Th arsday. People wearing stick-
ers will be "showered with roses
and kisses'.' by KKYS disc jockeys,
said Suzie Hixson, Texas A &M
smokeout representative.
Munse said four area restau-
rants — Jubilations, Fort Shiloh,
Carboes and Swenson's — will be
smokeless on Thursday. Smoking
will be discouraged and "cold tur-
key" specials will be offered.
While there are special smo-
keout activities in many commu-
nities, the Great American Smo-
keout is a nationwide campaign
sponsored by the American Can-
cer Society.
National programs include a
quitters hotline. Would -be quit-
See SMOKING, page 4
THE BATTALION /TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1984
LEGAL NOTICE
ORDINANCE NO 1557 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
NOVEMBER 8, 1984, BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION
meeting in regular session in
the Council Room of the Col-
lege Station City Hall, said
meeting having been posted
in accordance with Article
6252 -17.
The above - referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 10, TRAFFIC CODE,
OF THE CODE OF OR-
DINANCES OF THE CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS,
TO INCLUDE SECTON F.
REGULATING TRAIN
SPEEDS WITHIN THE CITY
LIMITS
Prior to consideration and
approval of this ordinance, the
City Council of the City of
College Station held a public
hearing on the question of
regulating the speed of trains.
Ordinance No. 1557 de-
termines the necessity for
regulating the speed of trains
throughout the jurisdiction of
the City of College Station,
prescribes maximum and
minimum speeds for specific
locations, establishes criteria
for calculation of speed, and
places a time limit upon train
stops made under certain
conditions.
Violations of this section of
the Traffic Code shall be con-
sidered a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine up to
Two- Hundred ($200.00) Dol-
lars, exclusive of Court costs
and taxes imposed by State
law. Citation will be issued to
the individual deemed by the
Officer to be in charge of the
operation of the train.
Ordinance No. 1557 shall be-
come effective from and after
its passage in accordance
with the City Charter of the
City of College Station, Texas.
This ordinance is on file in the
official records of the City of
College Station and the com-
plete text of same may be ob-
tained at the office of the City
Secretary at the College Sta-
tion City Hall, 1101 South
texas Avenue, College
Station, Texas.
�1 -14- 84,11 -15 -84
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1984
0
0
Staff Writer
The College Station Parks and Re-
creation Board on Tuesday night
approved a development plan for a
sprawling, 400 acres plus nature park
that would include a working farm,
fishing pond, camping and miles of
hiking trails.
City Council approval still is re-
quired before development can pro-
ceed.
The parks board unanimously
vetoed the idea of a community park,
including extensive athletic facilities,
adjacent to the nature parka
If the huge park is developed, it
would be one of the largest munici-
pally owned parks in the state.
According to the 1980 edition of'
Tomlinson's Lone Star Book of
Texas Records, Cameron Park in.
Waco at 410 acres is the "largest
municipally owned park in Texas and
fourth largest in the United States. "
Bryan Utilities Lake Park, howev-
er, is more than 1,700 acres in size,
including a lake. BULP, though, was
not purchased as a park. It is owned
by Bryan Utilities and the lake is used
as a cooling lake for the Dansby pow-
er plant. Nonetheless, it does receive
extensive use as a recreational area.
The proposed College Station park
would t located in the acreage
where t e'city plans to develop a
tg -tech industrial complex.
In presenting the proposed de
velopment plan to the board, Assis-
tant Parks Director Andy Czimskey
noted that the south end of the 1.260
" acres the city owns in deep south Col-
lege Station just off Texas 6 has about
400 acres of flood plain.
He said the site has savannahs,
along with lots of hardwoods — hick-
ory, oak and birch.
Czimskey noted that there actually
are about 750 acres in the area where
the Staff would like to develop a park,
and that with cQuncil approval, it
could be even larger than the 400
acres proposed.
Tho plan recommended by the
board includes the development of a
'rural life interpretive center, a
concept ,,su Bested by Board Chair-
man Ju*'Le'Unes. The center would
be a working farm, where " c hildren
could participate in the activities.
In addition, the development plan
calls for pedestrian bridges over the
streams that crisscross the area; a
pond with fishing piers; extensive
hiking, equestrian and nature trails;
facilities for recreational vehicle
hookups and primitive tent camping;
group shelters; restrooms with show-
ers; and a supervisor's residence.
At the urging of member John
Crompton, the board turned down the
idea of an adjacent community park.
Such a park would be about 50
acres, and would include ball fields,
perhaps a swimming pool, other
athletic facilities, a recreation center,
barbecue pavillion and concert pavi-
lion.
Crompton said such a high- activity
area would conflict with a nature
park. The board did suggest that the
City Council set aside another site in
the area for such a community park.
Former Councilman Jim Gardner
,told the board that a park of the size
under consideration should be de-
veloped by some agency other than
the city, probably Brazos County.
"I think it's going to be used by
county residents, by Bryan resi-
dents," he said. "I think it's going to
be a regional park, as it's been
termed. "
The city -owned acreage adjoins a
slightly smaller tract now owned by
W.D. "Bill" Fitch, the developer of
Southwood Valley. Fitch bought the
tract from JAC Developers, Inc.
Originally, the city had planned to
develop its acreage in conjunction
with development of the JAC
acreage. But since Fitch became in-
volved, that approach apparently has
been shelved.
Board members agreed that if in-
tensive residential development
occurs in the area, a community-park
will be needed.
� - i
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1984
Nature park plan OK'd
By HUGH NATIONS k; L
Smokers hope
to kick habit
for a da
By VIRGINIA KIRK
Staff Writer
Doors have to be left open to air out the smoke when
Bossier Chrysler Dodge salesmen hold a meeting,
General Sales Manager Paul Adkinson says.
So today, 12 sales and financial employees at the
company will try to kick the habit by participating in the
American Cancer Society's Great American
Smokeout.
Adkinson, one of the company's few nonsmokers,
thinks the smokers should have no problem avoiding
cigarettes for one day because they are doing it as a
group effort and can watch out f6t each other.. And he
will be there to help out too.
The Smokeout, now in its'e3gNth year, is trying to
involve nonsmokers this year by encouraging them to
adopt a smoker for the day, said Phairman Roy Gene
Munse, also program director fof KORA -FM.
Locally, Texas A &M Football Coach Jackie Sherrill
is the honorary chairman and'ftks�appeared in TV public
service announcements.
Five area restaurants have`agfeed to be smokeless all
day long and will serve a "cold turkey" special, Munse
said.
The restaurants are Jubilafi& Carboe's, Ken Mar-
tin's Steak House, Swensen "Oce Cream Factory and
Fort Shiloh.
A balloon liftoff will be sponsored by KORA with
Brownie Troop 1259 outside' Post Oak Mall at 4:45
p.m. today. Three hundred helium - tilled balloons will
be released —each balloon has a tip on smoking
tied to it.
The local mayors also are joining in the action. Bryan
Mayor Ron Blatchley has adopted College Station
Mayor Gary Halter and will be trying to make sure he
doesn't smoke for the day.
A survey conducted by the Gallup Poll last year
indicated that almost 36 percent of America's 52 mil-
lion smokers tried to quit for the day.
Lung cancer has exceeded breast cancer as the lead-
ing cause of cancer deaths among Texas women.
Texas ACS officials have tried to target women this
year by appointing Amanda Blake, known for her role
as "Miss Kitty" on Gunsmoke, as honorary state
chairman.
Blake quit smoking eight years ago when she was
diagnosed as having cancer of the mouth. After under-
going surgery, she is completely free of the disease.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1984
0
CS parks board to meet
The College Station Parks and Recreation Board will
hold a public hearing today at 7 p.m. on the
development of a major park in the area when the city
plans to develop a high tech industrial complex.
,The hearing will in the City Council chamber,at
City Hall.
The city owns about 1,250 acres on the east side of
• Texas 6 in far south College Station. Parks department
staffers have been examining about 400 acres in the
area, mostly flood plain, for a wilderness type park.
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1984
CS students
wrangle with
`irate' citizens
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff' Writer
Tara Sopasakis, her voice occa-
sionally choking with emotion,
pleaded with the College Station City
Council on Thursday to give her
elderly mother some relief on over-
due utility bills.
With a sympathetic Mayor David
Ockert listening intently, Sopasakis
said that her mother receives her So-
cial Security check about the third of
each month, but that her utilities bill
is due by the first.
As a result, Sopasakis said, her
mother always must pay a 10 percent
late charge. The penalty is a major
burden for someone on a limited
fixed income, she said.
A &M Consolidated student David Ockert, right, culls council meet -
ing to order.
Sopasakis should know about such
problems. She.is utility billing mana-
ger for the city.
And Ockert could afford to be
sympathetic, He and the other mem-
hers of the council won't have to deal
with the long -range effects of their
decisions.
Turn to CS STUDENTS, /OA
Eagle photo by Dave McDermand
CS students sooth
-'
citizens' complaints
From page lA
As part of Youth in Government
Day. the students were staging a
mock City Council meeting.
The supposedly mock problem
presented by Sopasakis, however, is
a very real one: The College Station
City Council is to consider the sarne
question at its Nov. 21 meeting.
"Have you ever had to live off
$300 a month?" Sopasakis deman-
ded of Ockert.
The mayor pondered only a
second.
"I would love to live off . $300 a
month," he declared emphatically.
The mayor said Sopasakis could
appear before the real council Nov.
21, if she wished, and "perhaps put
on the same performance for them. '
Peggy Calliham, a resident repre-
senting the Ladies Garden Club,
urged the council to plant red, white
and blue flowers all along Texas Ave-
nue in celebration of the state's Ses
quicentennial.
"You could probably have the
firemen and policemen do it," Calli-
ham suggested, to an undercurrent of
hisses and boos from members of
those two departments in the audi-
ence.
"Let's get the principals of the all
the schools to do it," Councilman
Doug Kille suggested.
The council agreed the floral . pJant-
ings had merit. Ockert told Calliham,
who when not representing garden
clubs at mock council meetings
usually can be found managing the
Community Center, that they would
let her know.
"But when will you know ?" Calli-
ham prodded.
"The next time I'm in office,"
Ockert shot back.
College Station Parks Director
Steve Beachy seized the opportunity
to turn the tables.
"1 want to know," he tolO 'the
council, "what you can do to have
the lights removed in Southwpod
Athletic Park ?" Til,e lights, Beachy
complained, have diminished , the
"quality of life" in the nearby neigh-
borhood where he lives.
"Do you have curtains ?" Council-
man Kille asked with commendable
logic.
Beachy said that when he moved
into the area he kkw a park was tp be
developed there,` -but he thought it
would be a botanical park.
"A botanical ball park ?" M #yor
Ockert asked somewhat incredu-
lously.
"Now they't'e playing soccer and
flag football," Beachy declated.
"There's even-foreigners Funning
around out there."
Mark Smith, who frequently #►as-
querades as a member of the city
planning division, also had a prob-
-l--he Eae �� /T lem, with a drainage easement .:The
T problem is long- standing, bad ! and
getting worse, he said.
And his many discussions with city
employees have failed to resolvt the
difficulty, Smith reported.
So City Engineer Jeff Wori man
did what any well - rounded �crty
bureaucrat does to mollify a Osky,
irate citizen who is being wal
around the mulberry bush.
"If you'd like to leave your flame
and phone number," Workman said
smoothly, "I'd be happy to getback
with you."
Just one session in the hot sea, and
he already had learned the rdulne.
College Station 20 years ago
Ernest Langford, the mayor
of College Station for 20 -plus
years, often said he wanted Col-
lege Station to be a "restful col -
lege community."
College Sta-
tion was still
very much the
restful little
town he
wanted it to be
in 1965, the
year that Lang -
Paul McKay ford retired
from local government.
But even Langford said in
early '65 that he favored "light
industry" locating in College
Station. The Eagle excerpt that
follows was taken from an arti-
cle published Jan. 26, 1965:
"The College Station City
Council wants light industry.
"In a bit of extracurricular
activity at last night's council
meeting, aldermen voted to re-
quest the Bryan - College Station
Chamber of Commerce to help
the university city attract in-
dustry.
"The council's motion,
phrased by Mayor Pro Tern Joe
Orr, asked the Chamber to help
in every way possible to obtain
industry and particularly that
type of industry closely related
to research at Texas A &M.
"The action came following
an article in Sunday's Bryan
Daily Eagle quoting College
Station Mayor Ernest Langford
as saying that city industrializa-
tion is not one of the aims of the
present city governmental
body.
"Mayor Langford explained
that he was referring to large
manufacturing industries em-
ploying several thousand work-
ers'and which could potentially
bring labor trouble. He has no
objection to light industry, the
mayor said."
Today, 20 years later, Col -
lege Station leaders talk in
terms of "high tech industry."
tion issues 20 years ago was a
proposal for a leash law. Some
of the citizens feared that such a
law would lead to some real ex-
tremes.
Consider these excerpts from
an Eagle article headed "To
Leash or Not to Leash ? ":
"A sampling of College Sta-
tion voters indicates that the
majority thinks the 'leash law'
is a good thing.
"At any rate, pet and non -pet
owners will get a chance at the
polls Jan. 7 (1964) to say
whether or not Fido should have
a leash.
"After a petition with 70
names was presented to the Col-
lege Station City Council last
month, Mayor Ernest Langford
and the councilmen unanimous-
ly agreed that residents should
vote on the proposed leash law
ordinance ...
"But one resident quipped,
'What about cats? How will
they enforce against loose
catsT
"A College Station house-
wife stated: 'I live in a neigh-
borhood where dogs bark day
and night. The dogs aren't pen-
ned and it is that way on the
campus from one end to the
other.'
"Another resident, who
would not be quoted because
'my neighbors wouldn't speak
to me if they saw my name in
the paper,' commented: 'I love
dogs, but if people have dogs
running loose all the time you
can't step on the lawn without
ruining your shoes or stepping
on old bones ......
TIRES, DOORS, SMOKE
Yet another resident ques-
tioned by the Eagle was quoted
as saying: "Next thing you
know there will be an ordinance
against squealing your car tires
on College Station streets,
slamming your front doors and
holding an outdoor cookout.
Can you imagine an ordinance
to control the flow of smoke
from burning leaves and barbe-
cue pits ?"
Voters approved the leash
law by a 2 -to- I margin in what
was, at the time, the largest vo-
ter turnout for a special election
in College Station history.
HAPPINESS IS ...
An article in a February 1966
edition of The Eagle was writ-
ten by an Aggie named Tommy
DeFrank. DeFrank is now a
senior White House correspon-
dent for Newsweek.
His Eagle article began as
follows:
"Mardi Gras revelers in New
Orleans tomorrow will likely
notice a rather conspicuous
traveling salesman taking in the
festivities along storied old
Canal Street.
"A mirthful little Texan, de-
cked out in the inevitable cow-
boys trots anu ten gallon hat
and perched atop a mound of
currency, will survey the merri-
ment from his billboard roost.
"He's the same salesman
who has already visited 13 other
major cities throughout the na-
tion and carried with him this
message to businessmen:
'Happiness is Bryan - College
Station. "'
TO LEASH OR NOT?
One of the hot College Sta-
The Texan on the billboard
was part of a promotional gim-
mick spawned by a Houston
advertising agency on behalf of
Bryan's First National Bank.
Many businessmen who saw
the Texan at the 1965 Mardi
Gras were curious enough to
write to the Bryan bank.
Paul McKav is a .staff writer for
The Eagle.
College Station's city fathers, shown here, held their first
recorded meeting in February 1939. From left to right, city
marshal John S. Hopper, aldermen Letcher P. Gabbard and
George B. Wilcox, Mayor John H. Binney, and aldermen
Ernest Langford, Alva Mitchell and Luther G. Jones. Langford
later became mayor and held the office for 24 years.
Readers with photographs of old Brazos Valley scenes are
invited to submit them to Gallery. Bring them by The Eagle,
1729 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan.
%W j (ne� E ach, ! /ScL+urcAay Illove.v \ bey I�, 1�1
Gallery
Holiday closings announced
Most public employees, except for
those in the federal service, will get long,
1 -g weekends during the Thanksgiv-
ing holiday.
Bryan and College Station city and
school, Texas A &M University, Brazos
County and state offices will be closed
both Thursday and Friday. Federal
offices will be open Friday.
In Bryan, there will be no garbage
Pickup Thursday or Friday. Those fast
food and large commercial customers
normally serviced on Thursday will be
collected late today.
Collection will resume Friday for
commercial users.
The landfill will be closed on Thurs-
day but open Friday for regular business
hours. Animal control will be on standby
both Thursday and Friday.
In College Station, regular residential
and commercial garbage pickup is sche-
duled both Thursday and Friday.
There will be no Thursday College
Station City Council meeting. Instead,
all business will be conducted at the 4
P.m. meeting today, when the council
normally would hold a workshop ses-
sion.
College Station schools will release
students at 1:30 p.m. today and will
resume classes Monday. Administrati ve
offices will close at 2 p.m. today and
will reopen Monday.
Bryan schools will let out at the regu-
lar time today. Classes will resume and
offices will reopen at the normal time
Monday.
The Memorial Student Center will be
open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. throughout the
holidays, although many of its shops
will remain closed. The Tower Dining
Room, along with most snack bars
around the campus, will close today and
reopen on Monday.
The MSC Cafeteria will be open from
6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and the
Bookstore will be open from 9 a.m. to 6
P.m. Saturday. Both will be closed for
the rest of the period.
The Sterling Evans Library will be
closed on Thursday. It will be open from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday,
and will resume regular, hours on
Sunday.
U.S. Postal Service windows will
close Thursday, although box mail will
be available. Normal delivery is sche-
duled Friday and Saturday.
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LS council to consider
three project contracts
College Station's City Council will advantaged areas of the city .
consider letting contracts on three ■ Adopting a plan for the develop -
projects approved in the 1983 -84 ment of a large nature park in south
bond elections Wednesday. College Station.
: The council meets at 4 p.m. at city
ball. There will be no Thursday ses-
sion.
On the agenda is the award of a
contract for the renovation of Lincoln
Center, which will include the con-
struction of a new gymnasium.
Rhodes Building Systems, Inc., of
Somerville was low bidder at
$649,990 and 180 days construction
time.
Award of a contract for the con -
4ruction of a maintenance building at
Southwood Athletic Park also is
Scheduled. B.P.C., Inc., of Bryan
was low bidder at $135,400.
Low bidder on a third project, the
construction of a waterline up
C,reen's Prairie Road, was Bearden
Contracting Co., at $321,365 and 90
days.
In other action, the council also is
to consider:
■ Deferring utility bill duce dates
for Social Security recipients whose
bills are due between the 25th of one
month and the 10th of the next
month.
■ Authorizing an application for
$200,000 in federal grant funds to
rehabilitate rental housing in dis-
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1984
n
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G
A
Two diverse cities side by side
Occasionally, there is talk about a consolidation of
Bryan and College Station. The approach usually taken is
that consolidation of the two cities would both improve
services and save money.
That may be true, although many elected and appointed
officials in each government probably would contest it.
And as a practical matter, consolidation is unlikely.
Neither city would countenance it today, and probably for
at least the near future.
But there is another reason that consolidation should not
be considered right now.
Bryan and College Station provide, back to back, next
door to each other, a unique opportunity, a virtual labora-
tory environment for the study of two municipalities of
almost the same size which in many substantive areas are
diametrically opposed.
The most notable example, of course, is zoning.
Bryan exercises few land use controls. And although its
situation is changing, the controls the city has imposed in
the past have frequently been ignored.
College Station, on the other hand, must be one of the
most controlled cities of its size and nature in the state.
Land use controls of the extent and restrictiveness em-
ployed in College Station are seldom found outside of some
affluent bedroom suburbs in large metropolitan areas.
Bryan is an older city which grew up around an original
mile -square township. It has the traditional central down-
town business district which, like many others across the
country, has yielded many of its customers to more attrac-
tive shopping environments.
College Station has no downtown. It has instead many
commercial nuclei — Post Oak Mall, Woodstone shopping
center, the older Northgate.
Even the complexion of businesses differs. Bryan has a
great many mom and pop businesses, numbers of the
prototypical American entrepreneurs who started on a
shoestring and may never earn the whole pair of shoes.
College Station, on the other hand, has a surfeit of
nationally franchised businesses. They look and operate
like their clones in Minneapolis and Spokane.
Bryan has about 32 percent minorities, mostly blacks
and Hispanics. College Station has about 6 percent, and
stringent zoning regulations which prerlude construction of
high- density low -cost housing probably will keep the fi-
gure low.
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
Politically, the two cities are just as diverse.
Bryan's City Council is composed of four independent
businessmen, a retired postal worker, and a housewife.
The mayor is the only council member with a Texas A &M
University connection. In fact, for years there was actual
aversion to academicians in city government. Included in
the council members are a black and a Hispanic.
College Station's council has two A &M faculty mem-
bers, one university staffer, a doctor, two housewives and a
banking consultant. The closest thing the council has to an
independent businessman is a councilman who several
months ago resigned as a bank official to become a banking
consultant.
All are middle -class whites. But the electorate has
shown no hesitancy to elect women to the council.
College Station's infrastructure — streets, water and
sewer lines, etc. — is much newer than Bryan's and
incorporates the latest technology. It's problem has been
one of how to handle explosive growth. Bryan's major
problem has been simply keeping its deteriorating infras-
tructure in good repair.
Even in their electrical utilities the two cities have taken
divergent approaches. Bryan is a member of ERCOT, the
Electrical Reliability Council of Texas. The ERCOT pow -
er grid is confined soley to Texas. If it is ever intercon-
nected with an interstate grid, ERCOT members then
become subject to federal regulation.
College Station is on an interstate grid. Even in an
emergency, it could not obtain power from Bryan.
Considering their diversity and the proximity of A &M,
it is no less than amazing that the two cities and their
characteristics have not been the subject'of intens;ve
academic study. '
If consolidation ever becomes a reality, it would indded
be a shame if someone hasn't taken a c_ose look at them
beforehand.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1984
�J
0
High court
orders trial
of lawsuit
CS park dedication
ordinance challenged
From Staff and Wire Reports
AUSTIN — The Texas Supreme
Court on Wednesday ordered a full
trial of a lawsuit challenging a Col-
lege Station park land dedication
ordinance in a decision that may have
ramifications for cities statewide.
The ordinance requires subdivi-
sion developers to give either park
land or money to the city.
The high court, overruling lower
court decisions that the city ordinance
is unconstititonal, sent the case back
to Brazos County.
The ordinance is intended to
guarantee the creation of parks in
subdivisions. Developers must give
the city one acre of land for each 133
dwellings, the ordinance says. A de-
veloper also can choose to give
money instead of land.
Turtle Rock Corp., a developer,
gave the city $34,200 in lieu of land
but went to court to challenge the
ordinance.
Former state District Judge Brad-
ley Smith of Bryan agreed with the
company. Smith granted a summary
judgment ruling that the ordinance is
unconstititonal.
But the state Supreme Court, with-
out ruling whether the ordinance is
proper, said Wednesday that there are
questions to be answered by a trial
court.
"On its face, this ordinance is not
inherently different from other types
of municipal land use regulations
such as density controls and street
dedication requirements," Justice
Ted Z. Robertson said in his opinion
for the court.
fie said the ordinance does not
.. render the developer's entire prop-
erty wholly useless nor does it cause a
total destruction of the entire tract's
economic value.
"It is a regulatory response to the
burn to STATE, page SA
State Supreme Court
orders trial of lawsuit
From page ]A
needs created by the developer's use
of the land."
But he also said,. ' `It is possible, of
course, that the ordinance may be un-
duly harsh or create a disproportion-
ate burden in the case of a particular
subdivision or developer.
"We merely hold that College Sta-
tion's park land dedication ordinance
is not unconstitutionally arbitrary or
unreasonable on its face," the justice
said.
The Supreme Court ordered the
Brazos County trial court to deter-
mine "whether these is reasonable
connection between the increased
population arising from the subdivi-
sion development and the increased
park and recreation needs in this
neighborhood." 4- -
College Station, City Attorney
Cathy Locke said the court in effect
has held that the ordinance is consti-
tutional, and the only issue to be de-
termined by a trial is whether the city
has acted arbitrarily in the one case
before the court.
The burden of proof, she said, will
be on Turtle Rock to establish that the
city has acted arbitrarily.
Many other Texas cities have park
land dedication ordinances similar to
College Station's, and the progress of
the case had been watched closely.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1984
•
e
-- 1 4 k bd(
CS councilwoman Reinke'
will not run for re- election
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station City Councilwoman Vicky Reinke
confirmed Wednesday that she will be moving out of
state and will not be a candidate for re- election in
April.
Reinke's withdrawal from the 1985 City Council
elections means at least
two of the three positions
on the ballot in April may
not have incumbents.
The one -term council -
yvoman, said her husband
ba &accepted a position on
the staff at the University
of Maryland and will be
leaving soon.
She said her own plans
as to when she will move
Vickv Reinke are undetermined.
Reinke is a technical writer with the Texas Engineer-
ing Extension Service. She defeated developer Jim
Behling in 1983 for a spot on the council.
Reinke has joined with pediatrician Al Prause and
Lynn Mctlhaney to form a council faction often
aligned with neighborhood protection causes.
Prause, now in his second term, has bought a lot in
the Nantucket subdivison south of College Station. He
said Wednesday night that he has no immediate plans
to build a home there, but he said he has yet to decide if
he will seek re- election.
First -term Councilman Gary Anderson also is up for
re- election. Anderson said he has no current plans to
step down.
But several months ago he resigned his position at
First Bank & Trust in Bryan to become a banking
consultant. He is working on acquiring a charter for a
San Antonio bank.
With one council post open next year and two more
possibly being vacated, prospective candidates are
considering campaigns for the council.
Former Councilman and Planning and Zoning Com-
missioner Roy Kelly said Wednesday night I.e prob-
ably will seek to regain a spot on the council.
Insiders indicated Tony Jones, another former coun-
cilman who is currently a school board member, also is
interested in running. Jones was not available for com-
ment.
One who apparently will not be running is Donita
Haden, who opposed Lynn Mctlhaney in the last elec-
tion. Haden, a member of the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board, has moved outside the city limits and
may be required to resign her parks board post.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1984
L_J
� Social Security
recipients get
CS billing break
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
Social Security recipients in College Station will get a
break in the future, the City Council decided
Wednesday.
The council adopted a resolution permitting Social
Security recipients to defer payment of their utility bills
without incurring a late penalty.
To qualify, recipients must be 62 or older, be current
on their utility bills and must be on a billing cycle where
their bills are due between the 25th of one month and the
10th of the next month.
Council members had asked the staff to study such a
plan after complaints that Social Security checks in some
cases do not arrive until after the deadline has passed for
payment of utility bills without a late penalty.
Those who qualify now may pay by the 15th of the
month.
The council also approved a development plan for a
nature park in south College Station. The proposed park
• would be largely undeveloped and would be located in
the area where the city plans to develop a high -tech
industrial complex.
Parks and Recreation Department staff members are
hoping for a park of about 400 acres, although the
council has yet to allocate any specific acreage for the
park. The city owns about 1,260 acres in the area.
The development plan approved Wednesday calls for
nature trails, camping facilities, a playground, and other
facilities.
In other actions, the council:
■ Let contracts for the renovation of Lincoln Center,
construction of a Southwood Athletic Park maintenance
building, Green's Prairie Road water line, and Hensel
Park sewage lift station.
■ Authorized the city to apply for $200,000 in grant
funds .to rehabilitate rental housing.
■ Authorized an additional $25,000 in fees to South-
ern Engineering to contest an electrical rate hike request
by Gulf States Utilities before the Federal Energy Reg-
ulatory Commission.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1984
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B -CS jobless rate down in October
By JEAN WALLACE
Staff Writer
Bryan - College Station's unem-
ployment rate took another healthy
plunge last month and dropped to 3.2
percent — the lowest rate in a year.
Last month, about 1,400 new jobs
were filled in Bryan- College Station,
swelling the civilian labor force to
60300.
"We're over 60,000 for the first
time since we started keeping statis-
tics in 1976," said Walt Baker, local
director of the Texas Employment
Commission. "And if that's not a
positive trend, then there isn't any
such animal."
The local community had the
second lowest unemployment rate in
the state, tagging just behind Austin's
3.1 percent unemployment rate.
Increased hiring during October
Was- reported by 24 of the state's 26
Texas metropolitan areas, dropping
the statewide unemployment rate to
5.3.percent last month. That com-
pares favorably to the statewide rate
of 6.9 percent a year ago as well as to
the current national rate of 7.0 per-
cent.
All eight counties in Brazos Valley
reported either declining or steady
unemployment rates in October.
In Bryan- College Station, the job
growth stems from hiring in both the
private and public sectors, Baker
said. Government agencies, schools
and the university continued to add to
their support staffs last month, Baker
said. In addition, many new indepen-
dently owned small businesses have
opened, just in time for the Christmas
shopping season.
The new small businesses in the
community include retail stores, res-
taurants` -and" pr6fes'sional services,
including one that takes care of dogs
and cats while owners are away.
flew shops include two in down-
town Bryan: Legacy of Time, a clock
shop, and Renaissance Fabrics. Else-
where in the community, Silver Bit
Beverages, the Good News General
Store, the Compopper and My,Jewel-
ers all have just started in business.
A number of new restaurants are
opening as well. Jubilation Res-
taurant in Post Oak Mall opened in
September, while three other eating
places —Steak and Ale Restaurant,
Fajita Ritas Restaurant and another
McDonald's Restaurant — will open
soon.
"We're definitely becoming the
retail trade center, the hub, in our
region," Baker said. "People drive
in here from Hearne, Madisonville,
Caldwell and elsewhere to do their
shopping."
Some stores have begun to adver-
tise in an effort to broaden their geog-
raphic base of customers. For exam-
ple, a recent advertisement in the
Eagle exclaims: "Your Houston
Alternative is Post Oak Mall!"
Last month, the Christmlis spirit
came early to some manufacturers,
who prepared for the Christmas shop-
ping season by hiring additional
workers for their production lines,
said John Kruse, a labor market
analyst for the TEC in Austin.
The hiring bug now is infecting
retailers, who hire most of their extra
personnel to serve Christmas shop-
pers in November.
Last month's low unemployment
rate also may lead to more competi-
tion for workers and higher salaries.
"If unemployment gets too low,
employers must compete to hire peo-
ple, and there's an upward pressure
on wages and prices that's inflation-
ary," Kruse said.
Baker noted that statewide and
national publicity of the low unem-
ployment rate locally helps to lure
new fob applicants here.
"The curious paradox here has al-
ways been that our unemployment
rate remains low while our labor
force grows," Baker said. "The new
companies coming to town always
have matched up with job appli-
cants. "
g olf course CS announce
Pl ans f or Hobson said 52 percent of the homesites in the subdi-
b 'n in the entire ld
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By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The developer of Nantucket subdivision south of Col-
lege Station announced plans Saturday for an 18 -hole
golf course in the development.
The course is to be part of a country club, to be called
The Fairways Count pool , l Tenn a ntuc k et, t hat
o fitness
club. include a swimming
club.
The golf course would expand the number of links
locally to five: The Texas A &M University course,
Bryan Municipal, Briarcrest, and Silveroaks in south-
east Bryan, now under development.
Nantucket developer Phyllis Jeanne Hobson said
some 104 additional acres were recently acquired on the
southwest side of the development, rt g g
subdivsion to a total of 700 acres.
Some 200 lots will front on the proposed course, she
said
Hobson said no contract has yet been signed with an
architect for development of the course, but she expects
to do so within 10 days.
She said the fee structure for the membership type
country club will be announced at the same time.
Within the 700 -acre subdivision is a 35 -acre lake.
Plans call for a shopping area along the lake and a
ac 13acress of
igh- density housing and eat includes
20- acre ice
park.
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vision have already been so
The Nantucket course would be located across Texas
6 from the area where the city plans to develop a high
tech industrial park.
Originally, the city had proposed to develop the high -
tech park in conjunction with a commercial -
ertye development tdevelopment adjoining
Part of that was to have been a golf
course.
However, the owner of the adjacent acreage, JA
Developers, Inc., recently sold the property to South-
wood Valley developer W.D. "Bill" Fitch. Fitch has
not indicated whether he will pursue development of a
golf course.
THE BATTALION /TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1984
Stringing in the rain Photo by MINDY HOBART
Pouring rain did not stop these workers from stringing lights versity Drive and Texas Avenue Monday afternoon. The tree
and bringing an early Merry Christmas to the corner of Uni- is sponsored by the Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center.
The question is need,, not age
0
The image of the elderly as deserving needy is a
compelling one. It is not necessarily a correct image, but
it does evoke sympathetic responses. It also frequently
results in special favors, as evidenced last week in Col-
lege Station.
The City Council approved, on a 6 -0 vote with Mayor
Gary Halter absent, a program under which certain re-
tired persons can pay their utility bills late. The exemp-
tion had been suggested by Councilwoman Pat
Boughton.
To be eligible, the customer must be current on his
bill, at least 62 and retired on Social Security, and his bill
must be due between the 25th of one month and the 10th
of the succeeding month.
The exception was adopted because some people al-
ways had to pay their utility bills late, and incur a
penalty. They receive their Social Security checks after
the due date of their bills.
The privilege extended to all senior citizens was not,
however, extended to:
■ Disabled veterans who are drawing disability
checks.
■ The needy who are drawing welfare.
■ Those under 62 who are drawing Social Security
disability.
■ The jobless who are drawing unemployment com-
pensation.
■ The injured who are drawing Workers' Compensa-
tion.
■ Students on a limited income who receive only one
check from home each month, or other monthly subsist-
ence payments.
■ Any other category of needy persons.
The percentage of the elderly below the poverty line is
not significantly different from the population as a
whole. And in College Station, that percentage is almost
certainly substantially lower than elsewhere.
No councilman questioned why age, rather than need,
should be the primary eligibility factor.
None demanded that the beneficiary swear that his
sole source of income was Social Security.
And none asked why the disabled, unemployed and
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
truly needy should not be granted a similar privilege.
In College Station, it not only pays to be the right age,
it also pays to be the right sex.
In surveying customers to determine their feelings
about setting up a program to help the needy pay their
utility bills, the utility department asked if such a prog-
ram should be adopted for "dependent mothers."
Dependent fathers presumably can scratch for them-
selves.
In Bryan, meanwhile, the city has received the results
of a study of proposed "management techniques" for
the development of a stormwater management program.
The program was prepared by three engineering firms,
at a cost of just under $40,000.
Among other things, the report:
■ Notes under a "Facts of Nature" section: "In
simile terms, rain falls and water drains downhill."
MAuggested a surcharge of up to $2.50 be added to
utr ity bills to finance a comprehensive drainage
proirm.
■ Said the city will have to launch a public relations
campaign to sell residents on the necessity for such a
program, and the required funding.
■ Reported what several other local governments
elsewhere are doing to resolve their drainage problems.
■ Included a draft of a proposed drainage ordinance .
that will have to be substantially revised by city staffers
and finalized by city attorneys.
■ Recommended design standards for city drainage;
structures.
The last item, at least, is obviously an engineering
function.
CS adds staff members
The city of College Station has named two new staff
members to its energy department, which provides free
residential and commercial energy audits to homeow-
ners, new home buyers and businesses in College Sta-
tion.
The new employees are Charlie Shear, department
head, and Colleen Roth, energy auditor. Shear will
replace Valerie Bauer, who returned to school full -
time.
The energy department also offers numerous pub-
lications on energy conservation, which are available
by calling 764 -3724.
CJ
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1984
Officials prepare for A&M bonfire
Almost all police, fire
personnel will be on duty
By DANIEL PUCKETT
Staff Writer
No one knows how it started. No
one knows exactly how much it costs.
But local officials know that the
annual Texas A &M Bonfire is an ex-
pensive and potentially hazardous
tradition.
Fire and police chiefs said this
week that when the bonfire burns at
7:30 p.m. Thursday, almost all avail-
able personnel will be on duty to
direct trA fic, control the crowd and
watch for fires.
The university allocated $8,500
last year for the bonfire, and the Class
of '84 kicked in $22,000. Many com-
panies donate equipment and their
employees' time.
It's hard to estimate the cost of
overtime for local police and firefigh-
ters, but it may top $5,000. Bob
Wiatt, A &M director of security and
traffic, estimated his overtime cost at
$2,050. College Staion Fire Chief
Aggie movie won't be shown, 3A
Douglas Landua put the cost for his
force — all members of which will be
on duty Thursday evening — at
$2,000 to $3,000.
College Station Police Lt. Mason
Newton, traffic section commander,
couldn't estimate the cost bf over-
time, but said it will be considerably
less than the fire department's cost.
Of help in reducing costs, he said, is
the use of six reserve police officers
who donate their time.
Not counted in those figures are the
inconvenience and outright danger
that officials say the bonfire pro-
duces. College Station police will
close streets south of the bonfire site
about 6 p.m. Thursday, Newton said,
and only those whose driver's
licenses prove they live in the sealed -
off area will be allowed to enter.
The affected area stretches from
Texas A &M Bonfire, 1931
Jersey Street on the north to Park
Place on the south, and from Timber
Street on the east to Welsh Avenue on
the west. The barricades will be taken
down about 10:30 p.m., Newton
said.
Police officers will be posted in
intersections around the area, New-
ton said, and the College Station
motorcycle' patrol will be on the
streets. Officers will be watching
especially for drunk drivers.
Turn to OFFICIALS, page 9A
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Texas A &M University Archives
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1984
Though alcohol and a general boister-
The most serious injury, a cut on the
comes, was referred to a local physician,
ousness have produced a few hazardous
Goswick said. But the center hasn't tre-
situations for university police, most
ated any broken bones or major injuries.
bonfire crowds are orderly, if large,
That's a great improvement over pre-
Wiatt said. Previous blazes have drawn
vious years when students untrained in
more than 20.000 people.
using axes cut themselves seriously,
To help reduce the congestion, the
for
said. And the tragedies of pre-
university police will pay a shuttle
vious years haven't been repeated.
vious
bus service leaving the parking lot by
In 1955, a student was killed when a
1
(J, J
Olsen Field. The buses, running from
9:30 drop
pickup truck slammed into a student
6:30 p.m. to p.m., will pas- .
guard post at the bonfire site. In 1981, a
�...�
sengers off across the strtet from the
student riding on a tractor that was re-
Rudder Theater Complex.
turning to A &M from the cutting site fell
Wiatt, along with other officials,
from its fender and was fatally crushed.
hopes spectators will use the buses. But
Because of the bonfire, students occa-
Landua said the probably will be
sionally have nun afoul of the law. Last
O clogged
anyway #wing the movement
yam the Travis County Sheriffs De-
of emergency velucles.
"Our main Lx)mems are with traffic
partment arrested four A &M students in
connection with the removal of an Au-
congestion and being able to supply
stin city limits sign. Traditionally, the
emergency services to the area around
"Even
outhouse that crowns the pyre bears such
the bonfire," he said. for a nor-
a sign, referring to the location of the
mal emergency,. not related to the bon-
University of Texas.
fire, like a heart attack or some other fire,
be
After that incident, the city of College
not caused by the bonfire, it. might
Station agreed to manufacture an Austin
hard to respond."
city limits sign for the bonfire . This year,
In the past, Landua said, the conges-
a Hearne company has donated two of
tion around the site hasn't proved a mat-
the signs to the bonfire.
ter of life or death, although response
Damage to participants' academic
times to the area south of the campus
careers is less well - documented, but
have been a little longer. But a major fire
Koldus said that also seems to be declin-
ct would
be a different matter.
ing because of more stringent scholastic
ct
The bonfire caused such a fire in the
mid -19" that destroyed a roof of a
requirements.
"1 think the problem within the last
house on Aberdeen Street, Landua said.
few years is much, much better." he
Since then, cinders from the bonfire
said. • •The cords is emphasizing studies,
J
have caused several minor fires, he said.
grades and scholastics, and generally,
�
The university has discussed relocat-
the kids are taking more time to study."
ing the blaze, said Dr. John Koldus,
Cadets can spend less time on the
A &M vice president for student ser-
bonfire because many non -cadets now
O
vices. But two committees have been
to find an altemate site, he said.
participate, Koldus said. Richard
(�
unable
From the early part of this century
McL.eon, a senior animal- science major
who serves as head civilian redpot, said
until 1955, the bonfire was built on the
about 2,000 non - cadets helped build this
Drill Field in front of the Memorial Stu-
year's bonfire, approximately matching
dent Center. In thatyear, it was moved to
corps participation.
the current site on Duncan Field, south
As late as 1973. Aggies were let out of
.of Duncan Dining Hall.
The committees, Koldus said, have
class for one day to work on the bonfire.
recommended only that the height of the
But that tradition was abolished, as was
bonfire be reduced below its current 60-
another that gave students a day off if
foot limit. This year's pyre, bonfire lead-
A &M beat UT on the football field.
�.�
ers said, is 55 feet tall.
Those changes, along with the focus on
have helped
Even on campus, the bonfire takes its
grades, reduce the bonfire's
negative effect on education. Koldus
toll on those who help build it. Students
said
working with sharp axes and chainsaws
invariably hurt themselves, and "red-
Nevertheless, a new committee on the
life
pots" — bonfire coordinators — some-
quality of student will consider the
effects of the bonfire tradition on
times find themselves in scholastic diffi-
culty after spending `too much time on
Aggies, said "David Alders, student body
•
the project. But both problems seem to
president. The committee, recently
established by university President'
U
diminishing.
be diminishing.
Goswick, director of the
Frank Vandiver, will consider all aspects
university health center, said the safety
of ""I' life, including the bonfire.
'm not one of those who believes in
T
record of the bonfire crew has improved
dramatically over the last few years. The
an unquestioning acceptance of all
"The tgov-
center has recorded 68 injuries this year,
bons," Alden said. student
a may well address some of the
the
O
including insect bites and poison -ivy
reactions, and none of them produced
ings,J
�mgs_ ,)hat come out of that commis-
.
any permanent injury, he said.
sion."
When tiie committee investigates the
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1984
bonfire, it will find a long- established
part of Aggie lore with a murky and
occasionally bizarre history. Sources in
the Texas A &M University Archives
and in back issues of the Eagle disagree
even on the origin of the blaze.
The late university archivist, Dr.
Emest Langford, left a note in the arc-
hives stating "that a 12 -foot bonfire was
built out of discarded boxes and trash in
1909, the afternoon before the A &M-
UT football game. Other sources in the
archives state that no bonfires seem to
have been held before that.
'But an assistant to the corps comman-
dant told the Eagle in 1976 that Aggies
built a bonfire in downtown Bryan in
1902 after defeating UT, 11 -0. After-
ward, he said, the bonfire was shifted to
the campus and burned before the game.
Yet former Bryan Fire Chief C.E.
Griesser told the Eagle last year that the
Aggies built a bonfire in downtown
Bryan after the UT -A &M game in 1915.
That fine, he said, caused the paved street
to explode.
By the 1920s, the bonfire definitely
had found a home on campus, and re-
mained a pile of trash, 'with an occasion-
al tool shed illegally thrown in. The first
bonfire built with logs, only 25 feet tall,
was erected in 1942 for the filming of
We've Never Been Licked, a'war movie
set at A &M.
After that, according to sources in the
archives, the bonfire seemed to grow
higher and more complicated each year.
From 1946 -64, the bonfire's height
generally ranged from 75 feet to 80 feet.
But in 1960, it rose to a dizzy, 101 feet,
and in 1969, it apparently set a world
record at 107 feet, 10 inches, although
the world's largest bonfire is a category
no longer listed in the Guinness Book of
World Records.
Since then, at the urging of College
Station fire officials, the bonfire has
shrunk — from 90 feet in 1970 to 70 feet
in 1974 to today's 55 feet. As the pyre
has dwindled, so have the strange inci-
dents connected with it.
In previous years, UT students vigor-
ously tried to ignite the Aggie bonfire
prematurely; the Aggies reciprocated.
The threat was real, and today's round -
the -clock guard at the site attests to the
continuing fear that the Longhorns may
try to repeat some of their earlier ex-
ploits.
In 1948, according to a 1960 issue of
Texas Parade magazine, UT students
fuzzed the bonfire in a single -engine
plane, dropping three homemade in-
cendiary bombs oh it. The first two were
duds, but the third ignited, starting a fire
among the logs.
Alert Aggies took down the plane's
identification number and reported it to
Austin officials, who action against
the UT students. Bu Mane was not
shot down, and no Could be found
for the rumor that an Aggies feed at
it.
Later, UT students buried bombs near
the Aggie pile and set them off by radio
control. But the charges were set too far
from the bonfire and caused no damage.
Since World War H, A &M has for-
gone burning the bonfire only once. In
1963, President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated after the pyre was already
built, and officials decided not to bum it.
It was dismantled and hauled away.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1984
•
College Station
plans festivities
for Christmas
U
With a $6,000 grant from Lester's,
the College Station Parks and Recrea-
tion Department will be decorating
Central Park for Christmas this year.
- The lights, which will decorate
many of the trees in the park, the
pavilion and park headquarters, will
be turned on at 7 p.m. Monday.
On Dec. 12 -13, Santa will be in the
park. Hayrides, a live manger scene
and a drop box for letters to Santa will
be offered.
College Station's third annual
open house for the city will be Dec. 5
from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Com-
munity Center, 1300 Jersey St.
Entertainment will be provided by
the Medicare Jazz Band, A &M
Women's Chorus, South Knoll Boy's
Choir, Gallery of Dance Arts break -
dancers and A &M Consolidated
Junior High School drama students.
Arts and craft demonstrations and
art exhibits by local artists also are
planned.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1984
LAI
City sets holiday festival
The third annual College Station Christmas Festival
and Open House is set for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in
College Station Community Center, l 300 the St.
Center director Peggy Calliham say s public
event will feature entertainment, art, crafts and refresh-
ments.
Entertainment will be provided by the Medicare Jazz
Band, 3 p.m.; the Texas A &M University Women's
Chorus, 4 p.m.; the South Knoll Boys Choir, 5 p.m.;
and breakdancers from the Gallery of Dance Arts, 6
p.m. Drama students from A &M Consolidated Junior
High School will present skits and readings at 3:45, 4:45
and 5:45 p.m.
Mary Lu Epps will demonstrate the construction of
holiday gingerbritad houses. Other artisans and crafts-
men giving demonstrations will be George Carter,
duck decoys; ox
Die Wootan, water -color paintings;
June Dudley, oil paintings; Beverly Sink, stained
glass; and Shelley Michel, dolls. Freddie, the College
Station Police Department's robot, will take Christmas
orders for Santa. of longtime resi-
In addition, Calliham says, a group
dents who remember when the Community Center was a
school will be on hand to exhibit their works. These
exhibitors, all members of the Brazos Valley Art
League, are Marie ita Chalk, , Ilice Riggs, Helen Perry,
Emma Gay
Shenanigans, the teen center adjacent to the Com-
m Foryinformation, call Call to festival guests.
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1984
11*1
El
Christmas festival planned
at CS Community Center
The City of College Station will
hold its third annual Christmas Fes-
tival and Open House from 3 -7 p.m.
Wednesday at the College Station
Community Center.
Entertainment will be p pvided by
the Medicare Jazz Band at ,p.ni.; the
Texas A &M University omen's
Chorus at 4 p.m.; the South Knoll
Boys' Choir at 5 p.m.; and Gallery of
Dance Arts breakdancers at 6 p.m.
A &M Consolidated Junior High
School drama students will present
skits and readings at 3:45, 4:45 and
5:45 p.m.
Center director Pclgy Calliham
says that Freddie, the College Station
Police Department's robot, will be on
hand to take Christmas gift orders for
Santa. George Carter, Doxie
Wootan, June Dudley Beverly Sink,
Shelly Michel will give arts and crafts
demonstrations, and Mary Lu Epps
of Southern Breeze Plantation will
show how gingerbread houses are
made.
Brazos Valley Art League mem-
bers Marie Chalk, Alice Riggs,
Helen Perry, Emma Gay and Mattie
Callendar will show their works.
The community center is located at
1300 Jersey St.
THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1984
r_1
6
C.S. natural gas may cost more;
impact might be less than feared
By KELLI BROGDON
Reporter
For College Station residents, it
may cost more for them to light up
their lives because utility costs will in-
crease an estimated $14 to $16 per
1000 kilowatt -hours in 1985.
City of College Station Energy
Specialist Charlie Shear said Gulf
State Utilities signed a 21 -year, low -
cost natural gas contract in 1964 that
end year. GSU saved rate pay-
ers more than $2 billion over the
contract's 21 -year life.
The contract expiration will have
less of an impact on customer bills
than what was first feared, Shear
said.
The reduction of natural gas and
the diversifying of fuel mix are rea-
sons the impact will not be as harsh,
Shear said.
GSU future plans include the
building of a nuclear plant and the
purchasing of surplus coal -fired
electricity from a neighboring utility
system. GSU also has interests in two
coal -fired generating units.
This broader selection of electri-
cal generating sources will give a
greater flexibility in providing the
customers with an economical and
reliable electrical service, Shear said.
GSU employees have come up
with several of their own cost cutting
ideas. One idea still in the research
stage, Shear said, is high - pressure
sodium street lights. If this idea is
approved, the mercury vapor lights
now being used in College Station
will be replaced. The new lights will
save an estimated $30,000 to
$40,000 per year, Shear said.
Customers can minimize cost in-
creases in several ways, Shear said.
• Insulating your homecan cut
heating and cooling bills.
• Money spent on insulation now
will be offset by smaller heating and
cooling bills in the future.
• Caulking and weatherstripping
windows and doors will take some of
the work off of heaters and air con-
ditioners.
• During the winter, Shear rec-
ommends setting the thermostat be-
tween 60 and 65 degrees for daytime
and at 55 degrees for nighttime. If
this is uncomfortable turn the ther-
mostat •ap one degree and put otr a
sweater or an extra blanket.
THE BATTALION /TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1984
0
•
4w
NOTICE OF
PUBLIC HEARING:
The College Station Planning
and Zoning Commission will
no a public hearing on the
question of granting a Con -
ditional Use Permit for a
Clinic for Scott & White to be
located in Glenhaven Estates
Subdivision at the intersec-
tion of Glenhaven Drive and
University Drive.
The request for Use Permit is
in the name of the Scott &
White Memorial Hospital.
The hearing will be held in the
Council Room of the College
Station City Hall, 1101 South
Texas Avenue at the 7:00 P.M.
meeting of the Planningg and
Zoning Commission on Thurs-
day, December 20,1984.
For additional Information,
contact the City Planner's Of-
fice,(409)764 -3570.
James M. Callaway
Assistant Director of Planning
12 -05 -84
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The College Station Planning
and Zoning Commission will
hold a public hearing on the
question of rezoning the
following property:
A 10.88 acre tract of land on
e south side of S.H. 30 (Har-
vey Road) at the intersection
of Stallings Drive and S.H. 30
from A -P Administrative -
Professional to C -1 General
Commercial. Application is in
the name of Gary Payne.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the Plan-
ning and Zoning Commission
on December 20,1984.
For additional information,
Please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Ass't. Director of Planning
12 -05 -84
SIDNOTICE
Ther City of College Station is
accepting bids for the Main-
tenance of Pecan Tree Park
until 10:00 a.m. on the 20th of
December, 1984, at the City of
College Station, City Hall,
which bids will be opened by
the Director of Finance.
All bids received after that
time will be returned
unopened.
The City of College Station re-
serves the right to reject any
and all bids or any and all
irregularities in said bids and
t6 8ccept the offer considered
most advantageous to the
City.
12 -05- 84,12 -12 -84
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1984
t Elves going on auction block
4W
Bryan Deputy City Manager Marvin Norwood will be
there, prepared if asked to play Santa for some youngs-
ter's Christmas.
Eagle Columnist Paul McKay's miniscule bartending
talents will be on the auction block. Bryan High School
football coach Merrill Green will sing for just a song.
All of those alleged luminaries will be auctioned off as
Christmas elves starting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Bryan
Utilities Building, with the proceeds going to set up a
fund to help the needy in Bryan pay their utility bills.
I'll be there, too, so I'd like to make clear that there
are a couple of restrictions. The elves can be used only
for two hours, and they can be required to perform only
Christmas -type chores.
Other elves to be auctioned off are Councilman Bill
Scasta, KORA newscaster Mike Kennedy, Eagle TV
columnist Jim Butler, Bryan High School basketball
Coach Larry Brown; BHS Principal Jerry Kirby; KORA
Program Director Roy Gene Munse; KORA air perso-
nality Sally Adams; KTAM air personality Harold Pre-
sley; KBTX reporter Dave Polakowski; KBTX sport-
scaster.Jeff McShan; city of Bryan Ombudswoman Amy
Godfrey, Deputy Sheriff Charlie Owens of Crimestop-
pers; KBTX reporter Pam Baldwin; and Councilwoman
Helen Chavarria.
The Elf Auction, the first ever, will be part of Bryan's
Citizens Appreciation Day, which will last from 2 p.m.
to 5 p.m_ There'll be refreshments and entertainment,
plus activities for children in the recreation building
across 29th Street from Bryan Utilities Building.
College Station will have its annual open house today
from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Community Center on
Jersey Street. Entertainment and refreshments will be
provided.
The last few weeks have not been particularly happy
ones for either liberal Democrats or University of
Texas graduates. College Station City Councilman
Gary Anderson is both.
A staff member was explaining to the council why
some requested information was a bit late.
"We ran into a problem with the election," she
explained.
"Several of us did," Anderson commented.
Not content with Anderson's political discomfiture,
Councilman Bob Runnels had to twist the knife a little
after the University of Houston surprised the Lon-
ghorns, 29 -15.
A Parks and Recreation Department staffer was tell-
ing the council that all kinds of wildlife can be found in
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
the area where the city is contemplating a nature park.
"Aren't cougars indigenous to Texas ?" Runnels
asked with a meaningful and unquestionably gloating
glance at Anderson. "I know over in Austin several
were found attacking the cattle."
You can imagine what kind of weekend Anderson
had starting Saturday about 6:45 p.m.
Unfortunately, Anderson apparently can't even find
any respite at home: He has children who have disco-
vered rock music.
"For an extra fee," he plaintively asked cable TV
chief Joe DiBacco during a briefing on new cable fees,
"can I get MTV scrambled on my set ?"
Claude Jenkins III, who will be the city's new fire chief
as of Jan. 2, will be one of the best - trained firefighters
Bryan has ever had.
Jenkins is a graduate of:
■ Bowling Green State
University Fire School,
Bowling Green, Ohio.
■ University of Mary-
land National Fire Service
Staff and Command
School, College Park, Md.
■ National Fire
Academy Executive De-
velopment School,
Emmitsburg, Md.
■ Greene Memorial
Hospital Paramedic
School, Xenia, Ohio.
Jenkins holds Ohio certification as a fire service and
emergency medical technician instructor and Texas
certification as a master level firefighter.
He has served as fire chief in Wilberforce, Ohio;
Albion, Mich.; and Greenville. Jenkins received a
business degree from Central State University in Wil-
berforce.
0 THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1984
Claude Jenkins
0
CS seeks comment on signs
The College Station Planning and Zoning Commis-
sion has scheduled a public hearing tonight on a long -
studied new sign ordinance for the city.
A committee has been reviewing the proposition for
months, and still has not reached a decision on what it
will recommend to the planning commission.
Among the issues yet to be resolved are whether
non - conforming signs must be amortized and limitations
on multiple free - standing signs.
Zoning coordinator Jane Key said the committee is to
meet again this afternoon to see if it can decide upon a
final draft to present to the planning commission. The
commission meets at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber at
City Hall.
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1984
City of College Station
Energy Department
0
Are those storm windows you're
considering really a
cost - effective s
home imprnvemPnt999
C %1
New Home Buyers -
How energy- efficient
is that new home
you'd like to buy ? ??
Would you like to know more
about weatherstripping,
attic insulation, and
high -EER air conditioners ? ??
ELECTRICITY For free home energy audits in College Station
—,f IT'S THE -
POWER Information on home energy y use and energy conservation -
CHOICE Call the College Station Energy Department
764 -3724
•
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Playboy
Channel
drop
By JIM BUTLER
Television Editor
McCaw Cablevision announced
Thursday that The Playboy Channel
will be discontinued from its local
programming effective Dec. 31.
Joe DiBacco, regional vice presi-
dent for McCaw, was out of town and
unavailable for comment. But a press
release issued by the company cited
low subscription numbers as the
reason for dropping the channel.
The Playboy Channel, which
offers edited X -rated movies and
other programs with strong sexual
content, was established in Novem-
ber 1982 when Playboy Magazine
bought out Escapade, an adult chan -
nel operated by Rainbow Program
Services.
Community Cablevision, formerly
of Bryan- College Station, had
offered the channel to subscribers at a
fee of $8.95 a month.
According to earlier figures from
Community, The Playboy Channel
had about 1,000 subscribers.
The McCaw press release said
another channel appealing to more
subscribers will be offered in place of
Playboy at a future date.
r 10�� , DeCe 7 1 9 8 4 -
The. �ag �e � �
•
•
Cable con job
What a con job McCaw pulled on Bryan -Co lege
Station! J.A. DiBacco, an official of McCaw, sent us
all a letter with a new rate schedule and then comes on
TV to say we are getting a real deal! He says we will get
28 channels for $.45 per channel instead of I I channels
for $.55. McCaw's rates will go up in total, though.
I'm not sure what kind of deals McCaw gets when they
buy cable programming, but it seems to me if McCaw
has the entire cable service in the two cities, they ought
to have enough purchasing power to continue I I -
channel service at some price between $.45 and $.55
per channel. It bothers me that 1 cannot get the 1I-
channel service I already have at the current rates. I do
not want 28 channels, nor do I want McCaw putting a
box on my T. V . I suspect there are a lot of people in the
two towns that feel as I do. It certainly seems to me that
McCaw is exercising monopoly power.
We will never know for sure what deals, if any, were
made between our city officials and McCaw. Howev-
er, I think the city government was seduced into think-
ing it was pulling our community into the big leagues
with Houston and Dallas -Ft. Worth. We will never
know what McCaw or city officials said to the F.T.C.
when they investigated the merger for monopoly. The
F.T.C. investigator interviewed my neighbor. He felt
the merger would be monopolistic. We do know,
however, that if we want more than 2 channels, we
have to take 28, even if we only want 11, and we have
to pay $12.50 instead of $6 to get them. I have no
choice but to have my cable disconnected. So, Mr.
DiBacco, you can cut me off. It is simply a matter of
economics. Come to think of it, I will read more books
with no cable. I should say thanks, Mr. DiBacco.
What progress we are making in Bryan- College Sta-
tion.
Robert B. Schwart, Jr.
Bryan
Cable protest
I am writing a letter of protest on behalf of all low
income families, and those on a fixed income who do
not wish to be force -fed the "extended basic" cable,
whether they want it or not, just because they are the
only cable company in town. Folks who now pay $6 for
channels 2 -13 for an average of 55 cents per channel,
can receive 2 -13 and 21 more channels for only 45
cents per channel. Of course, it will cost them 2 '/2
times what they now pay. They should have a choice! I
choose to take the extended basic; I already have it, but
it was my choice. Example: A man with little money
goes to the only store in town to buy 1 quart of milk, but
the store only sells milk by the 5 gallon, at 2 %z times
the amount of I quart. "Say, man, you get your quart
for 10 cents a quart less, by buying 5 gallons." "But
I'll have to pour the rest down the drain," replies the
buyer. "Then I won't have enough money to buy
bread, meat, etc." "Tough break, man. It's all or
nothing," retorts the store owner.
The city council should be ashamed for not forcing
McCaw to provide a package for these folks. Shame!
There is still time before Feb. 1. Get busy!
Virginia Gilmore
Bryan
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1984
n
�J
McCaw could have been more forthright
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McCaw Cablevision has
announced that the Playboy Channel
will be discontinued effective Dec.
31 due to "a low percentage of sub-
scribers using the service."
As Paul Harvey would say, "Now
for the rest of the story."
From the moment McCaw began
investigating the possible purchase of
Community Cablevision many
months ago, the company has not
been comfortable with The Playboy
Channel. It does not offer the chan-
nel, which features a lot of edited
X -rated movies and other programs
heavy on nudity, in any of its 43 other
systems.
In my first conversation with Joe
DiBacco, McCaw's regional vice
presideiit, he asked me what the com-
munity reaction to the channel had
been.
I told him, truthfully, that I had
never received a single complaint ab-
out the channel being offered. The
only complaints — and there weren't
many — were from people who were
concerned that the scrambling de-
vices were not strong enough to keep
non - subscribers from seeing blurry
o-:
JIM BUTLER
Television
images.
A standing joke around the com-
munity was that eye doctors were
doing a booming business from folks
who squinted to see what Playboy
was offering.
The conclusion was that the com-
munity had accepted the channel on
the basis that a subscriber had to pay
for it. Those not wanting that kind of
content in their homes were not
forced to have it. But it would be
better if the scrambling device block-
ed the signal more effectively.
In another discussion a few months
ago, DiBacco told me that McCaw
was seriously considering taking
Playboy off the air.
"I appreciate the right of some
people to choose that channel, but I
just don't feel like it is the sort of
thing our company wants to offer to
the community. It just doesn't fit in
with our company's policy and the
way we do business."
So when DiBacco announced the
new lineup and rates Nov. 1, I fully
expected Playboy to be gone. When it
wasn't, I asked DiBacco what the sta-
tus of the channel was. He said it was
still under consideration.
So now the decision has been
made. With DiBacco out of town at
the Western Cable Show in Califor-
nia, I was not able to ask him about
the timing of the decision. Perhaps it
had to do with contractual obliga-
tions. But that's irrelevant.
Playboy had about 1,000 subscri-
bers. At the new rates, that's $10,000
a month in gross revenue McCaw is
turning away. Perhaps McCaw can
find another pay service, such as
Showtime, that would draw more
subscribers. If so, the decision to
drop Playboy can be justified on a
financial basis.
Otherwise, why didn't DiBacco
and McCaw just step forward a few
months ago and say: "Carrying the
Playboy Channel on one of our sys-
tems does not fit with our business
philosophy. "
Businesses make moral determina-
tions all the time. It is their right,
some might even say their obligation.
The way McCaw has handled the
Playboy announcement does not fit
with its off - stated promise to get
feedback from subscribers before
programming decisions are To
my knowledge, subscribers were
never asked their opinion of Playboy.
I hope future programming deci-
sions are made in a more forthright
manner with a lot of customer input.
After all, we've been through the
other way too many times in the past.
0
C1brt'5tMa5
COLLEGE STATION . • • CENTRA PARK
• December 12th & 13th •
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Visit with SANTA
Mail your letter to SANTA In SANTA'S MAIL BOX!
(Through December in the Parks Office)
• •
Free Refreshments! Visit the Parks Office & See the Decorations!
Enjoy Christmas Carols by Local Choirs
REGISTER FOR FREE GIFTS Including: Christmas Wreaths, Surprise
Gift, Poinsettias & a Fresh Christmas � Tree
SPONSORED ST: 4e st ers & hcnr'wa�
1
let
IN COOPERATION WITH: Bryan. CaBa•o Station Jay. —$
Toxona 011200M1 Bank of Colt"* Station
a.ary.aan Partna
S. "t Gordon
Good Haar. Oonoral Store
• Iraaoa Cowl/ d•H CYA
I �
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1984
0
Committee to decide
cable TV controversy
C7
•
•
By CATHIE ANDERSON
Staff lFriter
Nearly 60 percent of' l,605 dornti-
tory residents favor the idea of in-
cluding the price of a 12- channel ca-
ble television package in their
residence hall rent, according to a
recent survey by the cable TV im
provement committee, part of the
office of student affairs.
If'the cable television fee is part of
the dormitory rent, students will not
have a choice on receiving the serv-
ice. The cable will be hooked up and
the fees automatically added to the
students dormitory fees.
The committee distributed the
questionnaire to get students' opin-
ions on the uses and improvements
of cable TV on campus, but Ron
Sasse, who heads the committee, said
the group was disappointed that
only 1,605 of' the 10,000 on- campus
residents replied.
"We dori t•want to make a decision
that excludes the students," Sasse
said. "We want their input rather
than us (the student affairs depart-
ment) just sitting over here in the
YMCA Building making decisions."
Regardless of the lack of input,
the committee will make a recom-
mendation by mid January on the
cable television situation to Ron
Blatchley, director of student affairs,
and to D.r. John Koldus, vice presi-
dent for student services.
Of those,, responding to the sur-
vey, 65 percent were not pleased
with their cable service. The biggest
reason for - students' displeasure is
the price of'the service available.
If the committee does propose
that cable costs be included in the
dormitory rent, the price will be as
low as possible, Sasse said.
Sasse said that off- campus resi-
dents of Bryan- College Station expe-
rienced a rate increase on Dec. 1,
which dormitory residents will not
see until they return to school in Jan-
uary.
"The students are sitting in their
dorm rooms, not even thinking that
it (the rate increase) applies to
them," Sasse said. "Soon they're
going to wish that they had paid
more - attention. The campus is not
immune to the increase."
Cable rates in residence halls will
cr
i eas , to $36 for the Spring 1985
' _ ester, Sasse said. But if the cable
committee decides against including
cable rates in the dormitory fees, stu-
dents could be paying as much as
$43 by the Fall.
"If we could build it into the sys-
tern the students would be paying:
far less," Sasse said, "because Nve
might be able to negotiate with them
to make it, say, S 10 instead of'$50."
Sasse said that the committee sees
several other advantages in adding
the cable rate to the students' resi-
dent hall rent.
"When they (the on- campus stu
dents) sign up for cable, they may'
not get it right away," Sasse said..
"The students sometimes wait up to
it month before they get their servi-
ce."
But if the cable service is already
part of the dormitory fee the cable
service already would be hooked up.
The committee also wants to have
it fixed rate that can't ch�.nge until
the contract expires, Sasse said.
He said that the plan would also
stop vandalism because students
wouldn't try to hook up cable tele-
vision on their owA.
The survey also asked which 12
channels the• students would most
like to have in the package, and their
decisions, ranked according to the
number of votes, are as follows:
• Music Television
• Home Box Office
• The Movie Channel
• KHTV, Houston
• KTXH, Houston
• WTBS, Atlanta
• KBTX, Bryan
• the Entertainment Sports Net-
work
• KPRC, Houston
• WGN, Chicago
• KCEN, Temple
• KTRK, Houston
Either HBO or the Movie Chan-
nel could be included in the pack -
age,•Sasse said, but not both.
He also said that five stations must
be included in any cable package.
These stations include KBTX,
Bryan; KCEN, Temple; KAMU,
College Station; KTVT, Dallas; and
KPRC, Houston.
Before McCaw Cablevision
bought Midwest Video and Commu-
nity Cable, the two cable companies
had jointly serviced the campus, and
the students were able to decide
which company they would ilatron-
ize.
At that time Jniversity officials
had considered putting the campus
out for bid to the two companies,
Sasse said. The company with the
lowest bid would have serviced the
entire campus. Now that is innpossi-
ble.
THE BATTALION /TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1984
Bryan- College Station Eagle Wednesday, December 12, 1984
CS residents rate I city
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
College Station residents are mostly happy about their
police and fire protection, their water, sewer and elec-
trical service and their garbage collection.
Their opinion of trash collection and animal control
here is somewhat lower.
As for street repairs, they're about about as happy
with them as a barracuda with a toothache.
They don't like wave pools. In fact, they really don't
like wave pools.
Even though most don't attend, they still want the
summer concerts in the park extended into the fall and
spring. And although public outcry backed down the
City Council last year when it considered charging Little
League and other youth sports for using city parks,
residents think by almost a 2 -1 margin that the youngs-
ters should have to pay.
Those disclosures were all included in a just- released
survey by the Community Education office of the Col-
lege Station Independent School District.
The survey, which has been in the works since March,
received between 300 and 325 responses from 4,000
questionaires that were sent out.
Ann Mallard, director of Community Education, said
the 4,000 recipients were selected randomly from utility
customers. She said Dr. David Hill, Texas A &M Uni-
versity pollster and developer of the Texas Poll, assisted
in the survey.
It is the third such poll taken here; the last was in 1979.
Results are to be presented to the City Council in a
workshop meeting at 4 p.m.. Wednesday at City Hall.
There were some surprises in the survey.
Not so surprising was that only 6 percent of parents
are interested in seeing electronic games prdvided in the
new youth center expected to open in January.
But the parents' views are not all that different from
those of teenagers who responded. Eleven percent of the
teenagers would jump at a chance to play Frogger. More
of them — 16 percent — are interested in dances.
A wave pool came in dead last on a laundry list of 1 I.
future park facilities.
One respondent put it succinctly: "Wave pool —
services
CS residents' likes and dislikes*
never, never, never!"
In descending order of preference, the respondents
said they want an indoor pool, jogging - fitness trails, an
`:indoor recreation center, playgrounds, tennis centers,
outdoor basketball courts, softball and baseball fields,
picnic shelters, a concert amphitheater and a nature
center.
Only 36 percent said they attend summer concerts in
the park, but 76 percent said they want them staged in the
fall and spring, too.
Better than a 4 -1 majority —•83 percent — said adult
activities sponsored by the city Parks and Recreation
Department should be self- supporting, and 64 percent
said the same should be true of city- sponsored youth
activities.
On an issue that caused a mini -furor last year —
whether privately sponsored youth team sports such'as
Little League should pay a use fee for the parks — a
hefty 63 percent said they should.
The Parks and Recreation Board last year recom-
mended that approach, but in the face of heated protests
the City Council refused to levy the use fees. The parks
in poll
board did not recommend them again this year.
.Street repairs — or the lack of them — came in for the
most pointed comments by respondents.
Only 2 percent think they are excellent, and I l per-
cent good. Fully 87 percent think the street repair prog-
ram is lacking: 41 percent said they are fair, and 46
percent think they are poor.
Not a single respondent failed to have an opinion on
that issue.
"Go to road building school," one respondent
advised. Other comments were equally pointed: "Bad
news;" "worst highway and street management depart-
ment I've seen;" "unimpressed."
Comments on other city services included:
Police: "Attitude poor;" "arrogant" "need to be
more civil;" "police officers are too fat — couldn't run
after anyone ;" "very impressed."
Water: "Tastes terrible;" "quality poor ;" not
healthy;" "salt content in water is unacceptable;'.' ".can
be compared to the Gulf of Mexico."
Electrical: "I think the employees should change their
attitude toward the public ;" "poorly handled;" '
sontiel sometimes cruel."
Animal Control: "I don'•t think College Station has
any."
Bike Lanes: "Close streets to cars;" "not enough;"
"a joke;" "badly needed all over city."
On general matters. the comments were well mixed
between kudos and complaints.
"Traffic planning is worst possible," one respondent
said. Another said: "I think College Station is a great
place to live."
City staffers took their lumps from residents.
"The staff at City Hall are rude," complained one.
"There is a lack of organization." "City employees
generally have a poor demeanor toward the public,"
another noted.
The different attitudes were illustrated by two respon-
dents who took totally opposite views.
"Our city is really clean and beautiful," the first
declared.
"This town is'deteriorating, and nothing is being done
about it," the second warned.
00
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W
Q
Q
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2
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Excel-
No
lent
Good
Fair
Poor
opinion
Police •
27 -
51
11
4
8
Fire
33
49
4
0
14
Water
24
53
15
5
3
Sewer
24
59
9
3
5
Electrical
22.
51
16
8
3
Garbage
29
48
15
5
- 3
Trash
19
36
19
7
19
AniMal Control
13
38
21
16
12
Street Repairs
2
11
41
46
0
Drainage
3
25
48
21
3
Flood Control
4
26
38
18•
- 14
' By percent of those responding
never, never, never!"
In descending order of preference, the respondents
said they want an indoor pool, jogging - fitness trails, an
`:indoor recreation center, playgrounds, tennis centers,
outdoor basketball courts, softball and baseball fields,
picnic shelters, a concert amphitheater and a nature
center.
Only 36 percent said they attend summer concerts in
the park, but 76 percent said they want them staged in the
fall and spring, too.
Better than a 4 -1 majority —•83 percent — said adult
activities sponsored by the city Parks and Recreation
Department should be self- supporting, and 64 percent
said the same should be true of city- sponsored youth
activities.
On an issue that caused a mini -furor last year —
whether privately sponsored youth team sports such'as
Little League should pay a use fee for the parks — a
hefty 63 percent said they should.
The Parks and Recreation Board last year recom-
mended that approach, but in the face of heated protests
the City Council refused to levy the use fees. The parks
in poll
board did not recommend them again this year.
.Street repairs — or the lack of them — came in for the
most pointed comments by respondents.
Only 2 percent think they are excellent, and I l per-
cent good. Fully 87 percent think the street repair prog-
ram is lacking: 41 percent said they are fair, and 46
percent think they are poor.
Not a single respondent failed to have an opinion on
that issue.
"Go to road building school," one respondent
advised. Other comments were equally pointed: "Bad
news;" "worst highway and street management depart-
ment I've seen;" "unimpressed."
Comments on other city services included:
Police: "Attitude poor;" "arrogant" "need to be
more civil;" "police officers are too fat — couldn't run
after anyone ;" "very impressed."
Water: "Tastes terrible;" "quality poor ;" not
healthy;" "salt content in water is unacceptable;'.' ".can
be compared to the Gulf of Mexico."
Electrical: "I think the employees should change their
attitude toward the public ;" "poorly handled;" '
sontiel sometimes cruel."
Animal Control: "I don'•t think College Station has
any."
Bike Lanes: "Close streets to cars;" "not enough;"
"a joke;" "badly needed all over city."
On general matters. the comments were well mixed
between kudos and complaints.
"Traffic planning is worst possible," one respondent
said. Another said: "I think College Station is a great
place to live."
City staffers took their lumps from residents.
"The staff at City Hall are rude," complained one.
"There is a lack of organization." "City employees
generally have a poor demeanor toward the public,"
another noted.
The different attitudes were illustrated by two respon-
dents who took totally opposite views.
"Our city is really clean and beautiful," the first
declared.
"This town is'deteriorating, and nothing is being done
about it," the second warned.
00
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N
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ea
X
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2
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A
B -CS needs a bowl game
What Bryan - College Station needs
is an annual bowl game.
All of the elements save one are
already in place. All that's required is
for someone to start the ball rolling.
Consider:
■ Both cities have development
foundations charged with firing up
the local economy and expanding the
tax base. The two foundations would
be the logical choice to provide the
initial leadership and the seed money.
■ Mid - December weather is nor-
mally not so inclement that it would
preclude a bowl game.
■ Local athletic facilities certainly
would be adequate for the foreseeable
future.
■ As a host team — when they
aren't playing in the Cotton Bowl —
the Aggies would provide a built -in
draw.
■ Bryan- College Station is lo-
cated right in the middle of the big-
gest population concentration in the
Southwest. A bowl game could pull
fans from Houston, Dallas -Fort
Worth, San Antonio, and Austin.
The only thing that's lacking in the
scenario is a television contract.
But if the Aggies, with their enor-
mous statewide draw, were the host
team for two or three years until the
bowl had established itself, the pros-
pects of television coverage of some
sort would be greatly enhanced.
Bowls are not only big business,
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
they are good business. And local
governments are among the benefi-
ciaries.
It is estimated that the Orange
Bowl pumps $60 million into the eco-
nomy of Greater Miami each year.
The Sugar Bowl means up to $25
million to New Orleans, and Dallas
derives about $21 million in benefits
from the Cotton Bowl.
Those ringing cash registers trans-
late into tax revenues for local gov-
ernments. New Orleans, for exam-
ple, levies a 5 percent amusement tax
and a 6 percent city sales tax over and
above the 4 percent state sales tax.
From the 1984 Sugar Bowl, the city
has received $144,843 in ticket sales
taxes alone.
Dallas nets about $150,000 from
the Cotton Bowl.
Bryan and College Station both
levy 1 percent local sales taxes. And
both levy a 4 percent hotel -motel tax.
If the local bowl game was sche-
duled one or two days after A &M
classes let out, it would no doubt keep
thousands of students — and their
checkbooks — in town a little longer.
They would be eating, drinking,
doing Christmas shopping, and in
general brightening businessmen's
days.
Nor is the bowl game itself the only
attraction in Miami, Pasadena, and
other host cities. Basketball and ten-
nis tournaments, marathon races,
even yachting races sweeten the pot.
The one thing lacking is a name for
the local bowl, and I have a sugges-
tion .
Nowadays, the Aggies really
should be the Engies; engineering
students outnumber agricultural stu-
dents by better than two to one.
So, to memorialize that ancient
and disappearing tool of the engineer,
the slide rule, let's call it the Slipstick
Bowl.
Of course, Aggies being Aggies.
that won't last long, the bowl will no
doubt acquire a nickname. Imagine,
in every corner of the world, Bryan -
College Station would then be known
as the home of the Slapstick Bowl.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1984
•
PUBLIC NOTICE
All interested members of the public are hereby notified of the acceptance
of
bids by the City of College Station for mineral leases covering oil, gas and
other hydrocarbons in, on and under the following described tracts of property
owned or claimed by the City of College Station:
Tract 1 - 47.220 acres on Krenak Tap Road and East By -Pass
Tract 2 - 1.000 acres at Foster and Walton
Tract 3- 1.800 acres at Montclair and Park Place
Tract 4 - 10.670 acres at Haines and Dexter
e Tract 5- 15.550 acres at Anderson and Southwest Parkway Y
Tract 6- 7.950 acres at Holleman and Eleanor
Tract 7 - 5.440 acres at University and Tarrow
Tract 9 - 4.560 acres at Merry Oaks
Tract 10 - 7.500 acres at Highway 30 and Stallings
Tract 11 - 1.000 acres at Munson and Francis
Tract 12 - .687 acres at Southland and Oney Hervey
Tract 13 - 44.650 acres at Research Boulevard near Graham Road
Tract 14 - 16.100 acres at Francis and Puryear
Tract 15 - 4.360 acres at Montclair and Luther
Tract 16 - 36.310 acres at Texas Avenue near Krenek Tap Road
Tract 17 - 3.500 acres at 1101 Texas Avenue
Tract 18 - 2.350 acres at Jersey and Holick
Tract 19- .200 acres at Patricia Street Parking Lot
Tract 20 - 14.650 acres at Morgan Rector League East of East By -Pass
Tract 21 - 9.740 acres out of Boriskie Tract Morgan Rector
Tract 22 - 6.500 acres near Post Oak Mall
Tract 23- 1.850 acres at Wellborn Road and Church Street
Tract 24 - 4.000 acres at Texas Avenue and Holleman '
Tract 25 - 6.043 acres at Dowling Road and Quail Run Estates
Tract 26 - 20.960 acres at Krenek and Texas Avenue
Tract 27 - 43.500 acres at Texas Avenue and Anderson
Tract 28 - 7.690 acres on north side of Southwest Parkway out of Brentwood
Subdivision
Tract 29 - 9.200 acres at Jersey and Dexter
LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS WILL BE FURNISHED WITH BIDFORMS.
Such bid forms, including the provisions of proposed leases, and all appli-
cable terms and provisions acceptable to the City, are available and may be
obtained from the City Attorney's Office on Wednesday January 2, 1985.
Sealed bids will be accepted from any member of the public wishing to bid
upon such mineral leases through 4:00 P.M., January 23,1985. Bid opening shall
be at the regular City Council meetingon January 23,1985; and bid acceptance
and award shall be atthe regular City Council meeting on January 24,1985. City
Council meetings are held at 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas
Bid acceptance and award is within the sole discretion of the City Council,
considering all proposed terms and conditions of the bids received, and the
City may reject any and all bids or offers made for the leasing of such lands.
The City will make no warranty as to title in the lands to be leased.
12- 12- 84,12- 19 - 84, -26 -84
CS to look at bond issue
• The College Station City Council on Thursday will
consider a complex bond transaction that should save the
city about $4 million during the next 17 years.
The council meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall
for a workshop session, and at 7 p.m. Thursday for its
regular meeting.
.Wednesday, the council will discuss its priorities for
the 1985 -86 budget, consider further limitations on gar-
age sales and hear the results of a purvey sampling public
opinion of the city's needs.
College Station now has some $39 million outstand-
ing in utility system revenue bonds.
The council will consider whether to float another
bond issue — called refunding bonds — of about $34
million to pay off the original bonds. In the process,
Finance Director A.E. "Van" VanDever Jr. said, the
city should save about $4 million in interest during the
17 -year life of the refunding bonds.
In other actions, the council will:
■ Hear a report from General Telephone Company
about improvements planned for the local telephone
system.
■ Consider authorizing the acquisition of easements
and rights of way for electrical distribution and transmis-
sion lines in the Rock Prairie Road area, the Dartmouth
Drive - Holleman Drive extensions, the Lincoln Street
extension to University Drive and Harvey Road sewer
and water lines.
• THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1984
Parks checks presented
•
•
Steve Nelson of Austin, the operating vice president
of Foley's regional stores, was in town for a luncheon
held Monday in Confederate House.
The occasion was the presentation of the proceeds
from Foley's benefit gala to the parks departments of
Bryan, College Station and Texas A &M University.
More than 700 persons attended the gala, which was
held on Sept. 30 to celebrate the opening of Foley's
regional store in Post Oak Mall.
Regional sales promotion manager Lynda Shanblum
of Austin presented a check for $5,000 to Tom Barrett,
Bryan city landscape architect; and checks for $3,000
each to Steve Beachy, director of the College Station
Parks and Recreation Department; and Carolyn Adair,
Texas A &M University's director of student activities.
Shanblum said that Bryan received the largest portion of
the proceeds to help bring its parks up to the level of the
other two beneficiaries.
Pending the approval of the Bryan city council, Bar-
rett said that his city's share will go to develop a park in
the Memorial Forest area. The facility will be specially
equipped to meet the needs of older and handicapped
citizens.
College Station and Texas A &M will use their shares
to build volleyball courts. Beachy said that the College
Station court will be in Central Park. The university's
court will be used for pickup games by picnickers in
Hensel Park, according to Adair.
In making the presentation, Shanblum said that the
$11,000 is in truth a contribution to the parks depart-
ments from area citizens, who paid to attend the opening
event.
"It was a total community effort," Shanblum said.
"It was just facilitated by Foley's."
Also present at the Monday luncheon were Mayors
Ron Blatchley of Bryan and Gary Halter of College
Station; Donnie Albrecht, assistant director of student
activities at the university; and Mike Billingsley, mana-
ger of the new Foley's store. Halter and Beachy pre-
sented a plaque from the College Station Parks and
Recreation Department to Nelson in appreciation for
Foley's role in local parks improvement.
Nelson told the luncheon guests that he feels right at
home in Bryan - College Station. His wife is the niece of
Alice and Pete Clary of Bryan.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1984
Ron Blatchley, Carolyn Adair, Gary Halter, Mike
Billingsley and Steve Nelson
0
County plans
to asks CS for
collection job
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
Two members of the Brazos Cen-
tral Appraisal District to a dsaid
Tuesday that they p approach
College Station officials about hav-
ing the county collect city and school
taxes.
Both the city of College Station
and the College Station Independent
School District now collect their own
taxes.
But Brazos County Tax Assessor -
Collector Buddy Winn collects taxes
for the county, and by contract per-
forms the same service for the city of
Bryan and the Bryan Independent
School District.
Winn also is head of the central
appraisal district. distt
for all five appraises all property g ric
ernments in the county, but has no-
thing to do with actual collections.
All five governments also contribute
to the district's operating expenses.
As the county tax collector, Winn
is required by law to collect taxes for
all local governments if requested to
do so.
For the city of Bry an and the Bry an
school system, he sends out tax
notices at the same time as he sends
out county tax notices.
Tuesday, appraisal district direc-
tors Lonnie Jones and Lawrence
Rurnside asked Winn wh" hP't I"
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How to save on utilities
Charlie Shear of the City of College Station's energy
department has compiled a list of tips for keeping utility
bills low while homes and apartments are vacant for the
holidays.
1. Close all windows tightly. Make sure the weather-
stripping on all doors seals tightly.
2. Turn off all faucets. Have all leaks repaired. Make
sure the toilet is not running continuously.
3. Turn furnace thermostat down to 55 degrees.
4. Defrost the freezer. Set the temperature at the war-
mest setting, unless you are leaving food in the refrigera-
tor. Make sure the refrigerator and freezer doors seal
properly.
5. Turn the thermostat on the water heater to a low
setting (100 -110 degrees).
6. Turn off all breakers except those to the furnace,
water heater and refrigerator.
7. Unplug all small appliances.
8. Place an insulation wrap on outside water faucets.
9. Read.the electric meter and water meter and make a
note of the date and the readings.
Shear also has made a list of things to do upon your
return:
1. Read the electric meter and water meter and make a
note of the date and the readings.
2. Account for water and electricity used by visitors or
house - sitters during your absence.
3. Turn on all breakers.
4. Reset the temperature on the furnaze, refrigerator and
water heater.
The College Station energy department has the fol-
lowing free pamphlets on home energy use and con-
servation:
"Energy Savers for Apartment Dwellers"
"Calculating Your Electric Bill in College Sta-
tion"
"Do -It- Yourself Projects That Save Energy and
Money in Your Home"
Specific information on caulking, weatherstripping and
insulation also are available at the department office.
For information, or to obtain the pamphlets, call 764-
3724.
'(h2 6, o,�Le, 11'hNrsplo becel^^hee, [-;, ►g194
0
C�
CS to issue revenue bonds
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
The College Station City Council
agreed Thursday to issue approx-
imately $33 million in utility system
revenue bonds.
The new bonds, of course, will
have to be paid out of utility re-
venues. But contrary to most bond
issues, the bonds won't cost resi-
dents.
In fact, they will save the city an
estimated $4 million in the next 17
years.
The new bonds will be refunding
bonds. They will be part of a complex
financial transaction to be completed
by Jan. 30. It will work like this:
On Jan. 30, the city will have some
$39 million in outstanding utility sys-
tem bonds, payable through revenues
from the water, sewer and electrical
fees.
Fbr those bonds, the city has a re-
serve, required by the underwriters to
make sure there will always be
enough money on hand to satisfy pay-
ments on bonds. The reserve is much
like an individual's savings account.
In addition to the reserve, the city
also each month pays money into an
interest and sinking fund, from which
the payments are actually made. That
fund is much like setting aside a por-
tion of each weekly paycheck to help
make a car payment due on the first of
each month.
The next payment on the outstand-
ing bonds is due Feb. 1.
Together, the interest and sinking
fund and the reserve fund total about
$7 million.
The city will sell $33 million in
new bonds. Proceeds from that sale
will be escrowed at an interest rate
essentially the same as the interest
rate the city is paying on the existing
bonds.
The $7 million in interest and sink-
ing funds, and reserve funds, will be
deposited in escrow at the highest in-
terest rate available.
From the escrowed funds, pay-
ments will be made on the new issue.
But those payments will be on the
average about $266,000 less each
year than the payments the city now is
making.
The council also agreed at its
Thursday meeting to extend the hours
for alcoholic beverage sales on New
Year's Eve to 1 a.m. Normally,
nightclubs would have to close at
midnight.
In other actions, the council:
■ Agreed to rezone a 2' /2 acre tract
on the east side of Wellborn Road
about 200 feet north of Southwest
Parkway from residential to commer-
cial use.
■ OK'd $500 for Texas A &M's
"Big Event," in which students per-
form all sorts of civic services.
■ Revised fees for use of Com-
munity Center facilities.
■ Authorized the acquisition or
condemnation of several tracts for
electrical transmission lines, the
Dartmouth - Holleman roads exten-
sions, the Lincoln Avenue extension,
and water and sewer lines.
• THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1984
Two solutions
s May I thank Virginia Gilmore and Robert Schwartz
Jr. for their letters protesting the new cable set -up here
in our twin cities. A higher rate for cable service may
be inevitable but we should be permitted to choose
what amount of service we wish to buy. As for me the
old two to thirteen range is satisfactory.
There are two solutions. Do it yourself by building
your own antenna that will pick up three Houston
stations, Austin, Temple and Waco in addition to the
two local stations at a cost in the neighborhood of
$350, or form a pressure group to harass the city
councils into bringing McCaw into line.
I am generally allergic to these eastern "missionar-
ies" coming out west to enlighten the local yokels and
line their own pockets.
Carl Nickerson
College Station
Call a spade a spade
The worst thing that happened to B -CS residents in
recent times seems to be the replacement of the two
former TV cable companies by the monopoly of
McCaw Cablevision. This company has not only in-
creased the cable charges immediately, without any
indication of their capabilities, but to add insult to
injury McCaw representative Mr. DiBacco has sent
letters telling us that we are actually getting a bargain
of 16 percent reduction in cable rates per channel. Let
us call a spade a spade. There is a 108 percent increase
in basic rate and nobody is getting any decreased rate of
any kind. Mr. DiBacco should have refrained from
telling us that we are getting cakes instead of bread.
The excuse of providing 28 channels is a poor one. I
consider the inability to provide a basic 12 channel
service to be an incompetence on part of the cable
company. How many people do really care for availa-
bility of 28 channels as a basic package? I believe the
silent majority does not.
I have no idea how FTC evaluated the situation but
the two city governments have surely sacrificed the
residents' interest. Ms. Virginia Gilmore and Mr.
Robert Schwan have expressed the feelings of many of
us through your columns and I want to express my
solidarity with them. Yes, there is plenty of time to
amend the policies of McCaw Cablevision. Let them
do so if they are least interested in the goodwill of many
customers and really want to serve the entire com-
munity.
Sen Dipankar
College Station
0 THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1984
ro
Support needed
for a CS library
Somewhere between doing nothing at all and
attempting to duplicate the Bryan Public Library
is the ideal plan for providing College Station with
a library of its own.
A 10- member committee appointed by the Col-
lege Station City Council is currently exploring
the alternatives between those extremes. The
committee's work conceivably could lead to the
establishment of a College Station library as early
as the city's next fiscal year.
Obviously, some arrangement for a branch of
the Bryan Public Library in College Station would
be ideal. Entirely funded by College Station, such
a branch library would likely contain a basic col-
lection — encyclopedias and other basic research
materials, perhaps a children's section — as well
as "sharing" material with the Bryan Library
much the way branches of large metropolitan
libaries operate.
Beyond providing College Station residents
with more convenient access to the assets of the
existing Bryan Library, such an arrangement
could further cement the cooperative spirit which
has distinguished relations between the two cities
in recent years and provide the Bryan Library
additional financial support. Carefully developed
and implemented, such an arragement would be
mutually advantageous to both cities.
But there's a lot of work yet to be done. Apart
from developing and recommending an agree-
ment acceptable to both cities, the committee will
be recommending specifics regarding the opera-
tion of the library, such as the contents of its
permanent collection and the hours it should be
open. The committee will also recommend possi-
ble locations for the facility, with visibility, con-
venience and cost being three key considerations
(one possibility being discussed, for example, is
space in a local shopping center).
Committee chairman Larry Ringer said the
group would welcome suggestions and comments
from the public. To be considered, such com-
,ments should be made in writing and sent to
Ringer in care of the College Station city hall. The
committee is slated to present its recommenda-
tions to the city council in February.
Perhaps the most productive way for the aver-
age citizen to help College Station develop a lib -
- rary is to show the city council there is support for
such a facility among the city's residents as well
as on the council. A letter to the council or city
staff voicing support for the concept is one way of
showing support; attending the council meeting at
which the committee report is presented will be
another.
A quality library can be an invaluable asset to a
city. Mayor Gary Halter, the College Station City
Council, and the 10 members of the committee
now exploring ways to bring such an asset to
College Station deserve the support and apprecia-
tion of every resident for their efforts.
Another cable view
I agree with Robert Schwan Jr. about McCaw doing
College Station and Bryan the way he is talking of
doing the two cities on cable. It seems McCaw thinks
everyone is drawing big money like them. Everyone
knows that people who are only living off of their
Social Security checks would be out of their mind to
pay such high fees for 28 channels, when I 1 channels
is more than enough if they all are shown. McCaw
should furnish 1 I channels for $6 like now for us on a
fixed income and divide the rest into two more sec-
tions; that way everyone could have what they wanted
according to their income. So I hope my cents worth
will help people to see what he is doing to us; let him
know it by writing to the paper.
Charles Toole
Bryan
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, DECEMBER 17,
1984
LS
Ell
•
CS task fore
aims to catc
drunk driver
From staff and wire reports
As many as 94 people may die on
Texas streets and highways during
the Christmas and New Year's holi-
days, the Texas Department of Public
Safety estimates.
But in College Station, police will
be making efforts to keep the roads
safer by starting a DWI Task Force
with officers from the traffic divi-
sion.
The department's new motorcy-
cles will be used at night starting
Wednesday, and stopping possible
drunk drivers will be the officers'
main function, said Lt. Mason New-
ton, head of the traffic division.
The officers will be working from
6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 7
p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Satur-
day, Newton said. The task force will
be tested until February, when Chief
Marvin Byrd will evaluate its effec-
tiveness.
On New Year's Eve four officers
will be working DWI incidents and
two reserve officers will be driving
the department's van to transport
people to the city's jail. That includes
one officer transferred from patrol
and one from the day shift.
"This is the first time we've tried
this on the motorcycles," NL
said. The traffic division has L
working in the daytime only to sta,
speed violators, Newton said.
Newton said . that traditionally
there is a lot of drunk driving on New
Year's Eve in College Station, but he
is hopeful that fewer drunks will be
on the roads this year. Community
awareness spawned by programs like
Free Ride Home, sponsored by
Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
may make drinkers think twice about
driving.
"But we'll be ready just in case,"
Newton added.
DPS officials in Austin said Mon-
day they anticipate 53 deaths during
the Christmas period and 41 during
New Year's.
During the Christmas period last
year, 34 people were killed in Texas
traffic mishaps and 39 died during the
New Year's holiday.
"This joyous season will be ruined
for many families because of traffic
fatalities," said DPS director Jim
Adams. "Troopers and local police
are working hard to increase the mar-
gin of safety for the motorist by tick-
Turn to DWI, page 12A
DWI task force to monitor
CS traffic during holidays
"i page ]A
eting — ders and removing intoxi-
cated R -v I rs from the roadways, but
even the law- abiding driver -must
have the good sense to look out for
himself and his passengers.
"I firmly believe the best defense
against an intoxicated driver is a
buckled seat belt," said Adams.
Adams said 20 people were killed
last year in traffic accidents in the two
days before Christmas.
"Law enforcement officers from
across the state are hopeful this wil)
not be repeated during the forthcom-
ing holiday," he said.
The DPS traffic toll count will be=
gin 6 p.m. Friday and continue
through midnight Tuesday. Dec. 25.
It will begin again from 6 p.m. Fri-
day, Dec. 28, through midnight
Tuesday, Jan. 1.
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1984
$500 donation
made toward
CS K -9 unit
By VIRGINIA KIRK
Staff Writer
Christmas may have gone to the
dogs this year at the College Station
Police Department, but there has not
been any growling about the latest bone
thrown the department's way.
The Dale family, owner of Pooh's
Park, approached Police Chief Marvin
Byrd last week about donating money
to the department to set up a K -9 unit.
Chris Dale, manager at the amuse-
ment park, said Monday that the $500
donation has been made in honor of his
father Don, owner of Pooh's Park.
Chris Dale's mother read an article
in the Eagle last week about the depart-
ment's desire to obtain a dog to track
criminals and lost or missing children,
as well as to search large buildings
when an alarm goes off.
Byrd said he wanted to start the unit
without having to take money from the
taxpayers, and was looking for some-
one to donate a dog or contribute
money to purchase one.
Chris Dale said his family was pretty
excited, and Byrd told them that he
would be glad to name the dog
"Pooh," Dale said.
The family decided to make the
donation as a Christmas present for
Don Dale, who recently suffered a
stroke and is currently in a rehabilita-
tion center in Dallas, Chris Dale said.
Dale will be home for Christmas and
the family is hoping to surprise him,
Chris said.
Patrol Officer Wayne Thompson
said he also received a call from Mac
Diesel Co. about a red Doberman dog
that they think may make a good police
dog. Thompson, who spent Monday
near Beaumont looking at other dogs,
most likely will be the handler after the
department gets a dog.
The department would like the dog
to be able to do drug sniffing in addition
to tracking. The dog also would be
available, to other local law enforce-
ment agencies, Thompson said
0
What's the use?
Sometimes we wonder why people don't get out and
vote. Well, you think, what's the use? We elect
mayors, councilmen, commissioners, judges, etc. to
represent us and what do they do? It seems that they are
more interested in representing big business as they
allow local phone companies, utilities and now the
television company to raise rates to their liking and the
public has no say so whatsoever. We just have to take
what they dish out and like it. So I say what do we need
with them if they are not going to represent us? The
cable company wants to force 28 channels on us with
increased rates; why can't the ones that are satisfied
with channels 2 through 13 be left alone and with the
old rate?
I signed up as a cable customer back in 1959 — paid
$125 to get connected. Shortly thereafter the connec-
tion was free, but that's all right as Midwest Video did
not raise my rate until just recently from $4 to $6. And
they made money or they could not have stayed in
business as long as they did.
The heads of government are spending us into bank-
ruptcy from U.S. Government down to state and local
governments as well as bankrupting a lot of senior
citizens. I say they do not represent us, but who do they
represent?
J.H.D. Sutton
College Station
THE EAGLE /TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1984
0
6
Where do commissioners sit?
SITTING ON THEIR ASSETS:
The Brazos Central Appraisal Dis-
trict Board of Directors was discus-
sing whether Brazos County Tax
Assessor - Collector Buddy Winn
should collect taxes for College Sta-
tion city and schools, as he does for
Bryan city and schools.
"Some of them are afraid the
county commissioners will sit on
their checks," one board mea.ber
said in explaining that the two local
governments want some assurance
that their collections will be depo-
sited immediately.
"That's not what county commis-
sioners are noted for sitting on,"
Director Larry Burnside noted.
GETTING CLARK'S ATTEN-
TION: Bryan Mayor Ron Blatchley
was talking about keeping city ex-
penditures in line.
From the other side of the room,
City Manager Ernest Clark's tele-
phoner signaller went off with a
piercing "BEEEEEP!"
"Say `balance the budget' and his
beeper goes off," Blatchley com-
mented.
GEE, GTE...: General Tele-
phone's recent announcement of ma-
jor improvements in the local tele-
phone system was about the slickest
public relations coup pulled off here
in some time.
With public relations chief John
Wallace orchestrating it, GTE offi-
cials had briefed all B -CS media hon-
chos in advance.
When the formal announcement
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
was made at a catered affair in the
�'ollege Station Community Center,
t;;:° company president was on hand,
as were local officials of all stripes.
Later, either GTE local manager
B.D. Drennan or Wallace briefed
both councils on the proposal in for-
mal open council sessions.
When it decides to, GTE apparent-
ly knows how to reach out and tell
someone.
HITTING A NERVE: And speak-
ing of telephones, local GTE mana-
ger B.D. Drennan reached out and
touched a sensitive spot when he told
the College Station City Council that
centralized emergency dispatching is
needed here.
Drennan made his comment when
asked what effect the improvements
will have on the 911 emergency dial-
ing service. He said 4,000 Bryan resi-
dents now reach the College Station
dispatcher when they call 911, and
with the improved system some Col-
lege Station residents will reach the
Bryan dispatcher.
Bryan City Manager Ernest Clark
likes the idea of centralized dispatch-
ing. College Station officials, with
their usual reluctance to surrender
any functions under their control to
anyone else, have resisted it.
College Station has taken the same
attitude toward collection of city
taxes by the county tax collector,
something that he already does for
Bryan city and school governments.
PULLING THE PLUG ON
POOLS: Bryan's Sadie Thomas Park
pool attracted less than 800 swim-
mers during all of last summer.
That's not a week, or a month —
that's for the entire swimming
season.
Sometimes there were more life-
guards than swimmers in the pool.
All four city pools totalled only
21,000 admissions. Next year, City
Manager Ernest Clark said, the city
will try to create more interest in the
swimming program, and specifically
in its little -used pools.
With the new Bryan Aquatic Cen-
ter opening at Bryan High School, he
anticipates that something will have
to be done, or the new pool will drain
even more business from existing
pools. If attendance can't be im-
proved, one or more pools will have
to close.
The aquatic center is supposed to
be ready for use in about 45 days. The
city and the school system will share
its use.
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1984
0
C
Anniversary show premieres
On Monday afternoon, the premiere showing of
"Rich Past — Bright Future," the Brazos County Ses-
quicentennial Commission's audio - visual presentation,
was held at the Brazos Center in conjunction with Brazos
County's annual holiday party. There weren't any sear-
chlights or superstars arriving in limousines, but there
was a tangible air of excitement as Brazos County Ses-
quicentennial coordinator Jody Bates started the pro-
jector.
Putting together the show, which will be used to
preview the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial celebration,
has been a community effort. Members of the Brazos
County Sesquicentennial Commission's public relations
committee began working on it about five months ago.
The show traces the history ,of Brazos County from
Moses Austin to the present. The lively script was writ-
ten by Eagle columnist Paul McKay and the photo-
graphs were taken by Eagle chief photographer Bill
Meeks, who also photographed the historic pictures and
documents which have been made into slides. The
musical score was added by David Cooper. Historic
maps and photos were collected by Gerry Holmgreen,
and Jim Dozier narrated the program.
After the first showing of "Rich Past — Bright Fu-
ture," Brazos County Sesquicentennial Commission
chairman Mary Evelyn White presented a framed Ses-
quicentennial poster to Bounty Judge R.J. Holm-
green, in appreciation for the county's part in underwrit-
ing the project.
The Cities of Bryan and College Station also sup-
ported the show, but Mayors Ron Blatchley and Gary
Halter were unable to attend the premiere. White says
the two men will receive framed posters like Holm -
green's when a showing can be arranged for them.
The Sesquicentennial program will be presented to
county organizations and school classes upon request
after Jan. 1. To reserve a date, call commission office
manager Norma Teetes, 823 -1986.
In addition, Bates says that many local businesses
have purchased postage cancellation markers to proc-
laim their support for Texas' yearlong 150th anniversary
celebration. The county and both cities will be using the
Sesquicentennial cancellation on their mail after the first
of the year.
To order postage -meter markers, call. Teetes at the
commission office. Make and model. numbers of
machines and Pitney Bowes or Friden account numbers
must be given when the order is placed.
8'
R.J. Holmgreen and Mary Evelyn White
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1984
•
•
Best interests
In reference to the recent letter interest regarding
cable service:
All local voters should keep well in mind that,
although the prospective customers of McCaw were
not allowed to vote on the proposal, they will have an
opportunity to vote on whether the current council
members remain in office. If they didn't seem to have
the best interests of local citizens at heart when this
matter was before them, then maybe the voter should
not have their best interests at heart when they ask for
the voter's support!
If the current perceived shortcomings of cable ser-
vice are not corrected, then it would be well to keep in
mind the date of the next city election, which is April of
1985. Monopolies seldom provide the desired service.
Hank Taylor
Bryan
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1984
•
•
I 1
LEGAL NOTICE
ORDINANCE NO. 1562 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
DECEMBER 13, 1984, BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION
meeting in regular session in
the Council Room of the Col-
lege Station City Hall, said
meeting having been posted
in accordance with Art. 6252-
17.
The above- referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING
FOR ESTABLISHMENTS
HOLDING A LATE HOURS
PERMIT FOR THE SALE OF
MIXED BEVERAGES OR
BEER AND WINE TO REMAIN
OPEN AND SERVE SUCH
BEVERAGES UNTIL 1:00 A.M.
ON JANUARY 1, 1985.
Passage of this ordinance is in
accordance with Sections
105.03 through 105.05 of the
Alcoholic Beverage Code and
said ordinance shall become
effective and be in full force
and effect from and after its
passage and approval by the
City Council of the City of
College Station and in accor-
dance with the City Charter.
The complete text of the
above named Ordinance is on
file at the Office of the City
Secretary and may be ob-
tained at the City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue, College
Station, Texas.
12 -21- 84,12 -22-84
THE EAGLE /FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1984
n
U
•
LEGAL NOTICE
ORDINANCE NO. 1562 WAS
PASSED AND APPROVED ON
DECEMBER 13. 1964, BY THE
— U" E;VUNGIL OF THE CITY
OF COLLEGE STATION
meeting in regular session in
the Council Room of the Col-
lege Station City Hall, said
meeting having been posted
in accordance with Art. 6252-
17.
The above - referenced Or-
dinance, signed by the Mayor
and duly recorded in the of-
ficial records of the City of
College Station, has the
following heading:
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING
FOR ESTABLISHMENTS
HOLDING A LATE HOURS
PERMIT FOR THE SALE OF
MIXED BEVERAGES OR
BEER AND WINE TO REMAIN
OPEN AND SERVE SUCH
BEVERAGES UNTIL 1:00 A.M.
ON JANUARY 1, 1985.
Passage of this ordinance is in
accordance with Sections
105.03 through 105.05 of the
Alcoholic Beverage Code and
said ordinance shall become
effective and be in full force
and effect from and after its
passage and approval by the
City Council of the City of
College Station and in accor-
dance with the City Charter.
The complete text of the
above named Ordinance is on
file at the Office of the City
Secretary and may be ob-
tained at the City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue, College
Station, Texas.
12 -21- 84,12 -22-64
THE EAGLE /SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1984
•
•
CI
Cable sentiments
I feel that I must add my sentiments to those already
expressed by your readers regarding the TV cable
situation.
I sometimes wonder about the judgment of our city
fathers who allowed a competitive business in this
town to be transformed into a monopoly, so that the
citizens of Bryan and College Station have no option
but to accept the baloney put out by McCaw. And it is
baloney. Before this acquisition we had about 11 sta-
tions. I say about because generally they were not all
coming in at one time. Most networks were duplicated
on the other stations, so we really did not have more
than five or six.
Now McCaw comes along and doubles our rates,
saying the previous ones were artificially low, (when
you have a monopoly, you can say anything) and
offering us. an 18 channel package. As far as I know,
this probably means we can get the same network
stations on three or four channels instead of two. Who
needs it.
They have also done away with bulk rates to mobile
home parks, apartments, etc. This means those of us
who were paying cable service in our rent must now
pay the whole fee, not just the increase, and will get no
rebate from landlords. I agree with the others who
wrote requesting a smaller, less expensive package for
those who do not want and cannot afford so much.
McCaw ought to realize that the greatest deterrent
they have against home owned antenna sales growing
in leaps and bounds is good service at fair prices.
Robert D. Leach
Bryan
I have read with interest the various letters of dis-
satisfaction with McCaw Cablevision. I am in full
agreement with those who decry McCaw's unwilling-
ness to provide a minimum service for those who
cannot afford (or don't really want) all those channels.
Not mentioned, but also serious is their intention (as
informed by telephone) to implement a hidden rate
increase by starting to charge a monthly fee for FM
outlets (if they know you have one), and having only
one NBC outlet while providing three for ABC (Ad in
Eagle, December 15).
Another action by McCaw which may have more
serious implications that would first appear is their
decision to drop the Playboy Channel. A number of our
self appointed guardians of my personal lifestyle will
be pleased, and I admit I can get along without this
channel. But it must be noted that this is a reduction in
service, and never in all the previous hearings was a
reduction in service ever mentioned.
McCaw's contention that there are too few subscri-
bers is an obvious smoke screen; there are certainly
some other channels that lure fewer viewers (Channel
35 ?) The real reason, as pointed out by the Eagle's own
TV column, is that McCaw has always felt uncomfort-
able with the Playboy Channel. Now I don't believe
that a monopoly, especially one that is almost a public
service monopoly, should be operated according to the
personal whims of its management. After all, one of
the big advantages of cable television is that it has the
capability of providing programming for a wide variety
of minority viewers. By its action, McCaw is showing
their unwillingness to serve such a minority simply
because of their own personal feelings. What if
McCaw were uncomfortable with Rock music and
cancelled MTV? Or, heaven forbid, what if McCaw
was uncomfortable with religious programming and
cancelled channels devoted to that subject?
What to do? I strongly suggest that our city councils
hold hearings to see if McCaw is indeed living up to the
conditions of their franchises with our cities. I realize
that these agreements were purposely made somewhat
flexible so as to allow the Cable company to operate
without too much interference, hence no violation of
these agreements may be found. However, it may still
be useful to have such hearings and show McCaw that
there may be some limits to how far they can carry their
arrogance and insensitivity.
R.J. Freund
College Station
Hidden increase
THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1984
•
•
Es
NOTICETO BIDDERS
,Sealed proposals fddressed
'to the City Council, City of
Bryan, Texas for STREET IM-
PROVEMENTS - 1983, OLD
COLLEGE ROAD, WELL-
BORN ROAD (FM 2154),
SOUTH COLLEGE AVENUE -
CITY JOB NO. 332-C I P -833 will
be received in the Office of
the City Secretary, Old City
Hall Building, Bryan, Texas
until 1:45 P.M., C.S.T., Wed-
nesday, January 16, 1W5.
Proposals will be publicly
opened and read aloud in the
Medallion Room of the City of
Bryan Utilities Building at 2:00
P.M., C.S.T. on the same date.
Any bid received after the
above closing time will be re-
turned unopened.
Plans, Specifications and In-
formation for Bidders, are on
file and may be examined at
the Office of the City En-
gineer, Atkins Power Plant,
Atkins Street, Bryan, Texas
and may be obtained by pros-
pective bidders from the Of-
fice of the City Engineer, P.O.
Box 1000, Bryan,7exas 77801,
upon the deposit of fifty dol-
lars ($50.00), which sum so
deposited v3ill be refunded if
the prospective bidder re-
turns all contract documents
in good condition to the City
Engineer within five (5) days
after the bid opening.
A certificate or cashier's
check on a State or National
Bank of the State of Texas, or a
Bidder's bond from an accep-
table Surety Company, au-
thorized to transact business
in the State of Texas, in the
amount of not less than five
percent (5 %) of the total bid
must accompany each Propo-
sal as a quarantee that, if
THE EAGLE /MONDAY,
awarded the contract, the
Bidder will within ten (10)
calendar days after award of
conract enter into contract
and execute a bond on the
forms provided in the Con-
tract Documents.
A Performance Bond and a
Payment Bond in an amount of
not less than one hundred
percent (100%) of the contract
price, conditioned upon
faithful performance of the
contract and payment of all
persons supplying labor or
furnishing materials, may be
executed by the successful
bidder and accompany his
signed contract.
Proposals must be submitted
on the forms bound within the
Specifications and the right to
accept any bid, or to reject any
or all bids and to waive all
formalities is hereby reserved
by the City Council of the City
of Bryan, Texas.
NONDISCRIMINATION IN
EMPLOYMENT
Bidders on this work will be
required to comply with the
President's Executive Order
No. 11246. The requirements
for bidders and contractors
under this order are explained
in the specifications.
Dorothy Mallett
City Secretary
12- 24- 84,12 -31 -84
DECEMBER 24, 1984
E
Stalking Big Brother in B -CS
Well, we've almost made it. Just
five more days, and the watershed
year of 1984 will be one with
Nineveh and Tyre.
You will recall that 1984 is not
only the number assigned to the year
now fast drawing to a close. It also is
the name of the George Orwell novel
of a future dystopia, a bleak reverse
utopia ruled by a mind- deadening
tyranny.
How did Bryan- College Station,
circa 1984, stack up against Orwell's
depressing.picture, in which two illi-
cit lovers ultimately lose their passion
for each other through mind - control?
Let's see ...
A TV screen was the focal point of
every home in Orwell's fictional fu-
ture. McCaw. B /CS Communica-
tions, which purchased the two local
cable TV systems, did not put a mes-
merizing TV set in every home. They
were already there.
Neither is there a Big Brother on
everybody's TV set, and fortunately
there probably won't ever be.
On the other hand, both city gov-
ernments did insist that McCaw pro-
vide them with their own separate
channel when McCaw bought the
local systems.
No one's face is threatened with
being served as an hors d'oeuvre for
ravenous rats, as happened to pro-
tagonist Winston Smith in 1984. But
B /CS residents did discover that the
skittering rodents were sharing their
pets' food.
The long drought had driven the
creatures from surrounding fields to
seek moisture in town. Rats not only
found water from outdoor faucets and
lawn sprinklers, they also found
veritable buffets available where resi-
dents fed their pets outside.
While Big Brother may not be
watching everybody in Bryan -
College Station as 1984 draws to an
end, self - appointed censors are
watching what everybody else watch-
es — or at least what they read.
The Citizens for Decency hay
HUGH NATIONS
City Hall Report
embarked upon a campaign, which
includes picketing various
businesses, to rid the community of
what they regard as undesirable sex-
ually oriented literature.
Which is especially interesting
when viewed in the perspective of
Orwell's dystopia. In 1984, you will
remember, all sex except that sanc-
tioned by the totalitarian state was
prohibited.
No "Three Minutes of Hate'
are held each day to exhort the
B /CS populace to greater vitupera-
tion against residents of their respec-
tive sister cities.
In fact, the spirit of healthy, con-
structive cooperation and competi-
tion is probably better now, under the
leadership of mayors Gary Halter and
Ron Blatchley, than it has been in
years.
Somehow, though, that flap over
moving the Chamber of Commerce
from Bryan to College Station keeps
coming to mind.
will; and College Station just told a
lot of people in a sprawling, involun-
tarily annexed area that their property
was being automatically rezoned for
non - business uses only; and College
Station also just decided that not only
will factories be denied the right to
build next to homes, but you can't
build a home next to a factory even if
you want to; and College Station just
... but that's enough. The amount of
devotion each city has to preserving
individual freedoms should be appa-
rent.
That was 1984 in Bryan- College
Station.
Have a happy, happy New Year,
folks.
Finally, we didn't have to contend
with a dictatorial state taking over
every aspect of individuals' lives.
Nothing like that happened in our
1984.
Here in B /CS, Bryan just restricted
the number of times a year residents
can sell items from their garages; and
College Station just plans to regulate
the types and sizes of signs
businesses can use; and Bryan, just
told many residents what kinds of
fences they can erect, and where; and
College Station just regulated the
amount of grass a new business has to
plant; and Bryan just ordered a lot of
property owners along Finfeather
Road to pay for paving against their
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1984
•
P BLTJ IC NOTICE
All interested members of the public are hereby notified of the acceptance
of bids by the City of College Station for mineral leases covering oil, gas and
other hydrocarbjpns in, on and under the following described tracts of property
owned or claimed by the City of College Station:
Tract 1 - 47.220
acres on Krenak Tap Road and East By -Pass
Tract 2 - 1.000
acres at Foster and Walton
Tract 3 - 1.800
acres at Montclair and Park Place
Tract4- 10.670
acres at Haines and Dexter
Tract 5 - 15.550
acres at Anderson and Southwest Parkway
Tract 6- 7.950
acres at Holleman and Eleanor
Tract 7 - 5.440
acres at University and Tarrow
Tract 9- 4.560
acres at Merry Oaks
Tract 10 - 7.500
acres at Highway 30 and Stallings
Tract 11 - 1.000
acres at Munson and Francis
Tract 12- .687
Tract 13 - 44.650
acres at Southland and Oney Hervey
acres at Research Boulevard near Graham Road
Tract 14 - 16.100
acres at Francis and Puryear
Tract 15 - 4.360
acres at Montclair and Luther
Tract 16 - 36.310
acres at Texas Avenue near Krenek Tap Road
Tract 17 - 3.500
acres at 1101 Texas Avenue
Tract 18 - 2.350
acres at Jersey and Holick
Tract 19 - .200
acres at Patricia Street Parking Lot
Tract 20 - 14.650
Tract 21 - 9.740
acres at Morgan Rector League East of East By -Pass
acres out of Boriskie Tract
Tract 22 - 6.500
Morgan Rector
acres near Post Oak Mall
Tract 23 - 1.850
acres at Wellborn Road and Church Street
Tract 24 - 4.000
acres at Texas Avenue and Holleman
Tract 25 - 6.043
acres at Dowling Road and Quail Run Estates
Tract 26 - 20.960
acres at Krenek and Texas Avenue
Tract 27 - 43.500
acres at Texas Avenue and Anderson
Tract 28 - 7.690
acres on north side of Southwest Parkway out of Brentwood
Subdivision
Tract 29- 9.200
acres at Jersey and Dexter
LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS WILL BE FURNISHED WITH BID FORMS.
Such bid forms, including the provisions of proposed leases, and all appli-
cable terms and provisions acceptable to the City, are available and may be
obtained from the City Attorney's Office on Wednesday, January 2, 1985.
Sealed bids will be accepted from any member of the Public wishing to bid
upon such mineral leases through 4:00 P.M., January 23,1985. Bid opening shal l
beat the regular City Council meeting on January 23,1985; and bid accepptance
and award shall beat the regular City Council meeting on January 24,1985. City
Council meetings are held at 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas.
Bid acceptance and award is within the sole discretion of the City Council,
considering all proposed terms and conditions of the bids received, and the
City may reject any and all bids or offers made for the leasingg of such lands.
e City will make no warranty as to title in the lands to be eased.
12- 1 2- 84,12 -19 -84,12 -26-84
THE EAGLE /WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26, 1984
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
Approximately 4.12 acres on
the south side of University
Drive, approximately 1200 feet
east of East Tarrow Street
(formerly FedMart Drive) from
Administrative- Profeasional
District A -P to General Com-
mercial District C -1. Applica-
tion is in the name of Cedar
Creek Ltd.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, January
10,1985.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Assistant Director of Planning
12 -26-84
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
A 10.88 acre tract of land on
the south side of S.H. 30 (Har-
vey Road) at the intersection
of Stallings Drive and S.H. 30
from A -P Administrative-Pro-
fessional to C -1 General
Commercial. Application is in
the name of Gary Payne.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, January
10,1985.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Assistant Director of Planning
12 -26.84
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The College Station City
Council will hold a public
hearing on the question of
rezoning the following
property:
7.99 acres of land located on
the north side of Southwest
Parkway approximately 400
feet west of Welsh Street,
from Apartments Low Density
District R-4 to Apartments
Medium Density District R -5.
Application is in the name of
Alan R. Sumner.
The said hearing will be held
in the Council Room of the
College Station City Hall, 1101
South Texas Avenue at the
7:00 P.M. meeting of the City
Council on Thursday, January
10,1985.
For additional information,
please contact me.
James M. Callaway
Assistant Director of Planning
12 -26-84
•
•
Who are they?
•
Following is a question and answer given in the
McCaw Cablevision advertisement:
Q: "Can 1 refuse the new channel selector, keep my
old Basic cable TV line -up and my old rate ?"
A: Regrettably, no. Following recommendations of
community leaders and a citizens' cable advisory com-
minee, McCaw has instituted a "Single- Service"
plan. It ensures all cable subscribers all non -pay chan-
nels. All for one price: $12.50. No exceptions.
McCaw, please publicly identify "community lead-
ers" and members of "a citizens' cable advisory com-
mittee. "
"Community Leaders," if the answer given by
McCaw is not factual, please publicly correct the re-
cord.
All of us, monopolies warrant close and continuous
scruitiny — and Eagle eyes can be crucially important
to our interests.
John C. Groth
College Station
THE EAGLE /THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1984
0
0
Local bars
open past
12 tonight
Even though New Year's Eve falls
on Monday this year, most Bryan -
College Station revelers will be able
to drink past the usual midnight dead-
line.
In College Station, the City Coun-
cil has adopted an ordinance that au-
thorizes clubs with extended -hour
permits to stay open an hour later this
New Year's Eve.
Bryan already had on the books an
ordinance that authorizes the late
closings on any New Year's that falls
on a weekday.
The late -hour permits are issued by
the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Com-
mission for clubs that wish to stay
open until 1 a.m. on Friday nights.
Neither Bryan nor College Station
will provide garbage or trash pickup
Tuesday, and both city governments
will be closed.
In Bryan, the landfill will be closed
Tuesday, and animal control will be
on standby. Major customers, which
normally have Tuesday pickup, will
be serviced late today.
I n College Station, the landfill will
be closed. Customers normally pick-
ed up on Tuesday will be serviced on
Wednesday.
Brazos County offices, the U.S.
Post Office and most state and federal
offices also will be closed Tuesday.
Public schools in Bryan will open
on Wednesday. School will start on
Thursday in College Station.
Administrative offices at Texas
A &M University will remain closed
through Wednesay. Most Memorial
Student Center offices will be closed
through Wednesday, but the post
office window will be open from 10
a.m. to noon today and Wednesday.
The window will be closed New
Year's Day.
The Association of Former Stu-
dents office will be open from 8 a.m.
to noon today and from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Wednesday.
The Beutel Health Center will be
closed until 8 a.m. Thursday. The
University Police Department and
essential physical plant operations
will maintain regular hours through
the holidays.
THE EAGLE /MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1984
Signs of the times
ICS looking
at revised
ordinance
By HUGH NATIONS
Staff Writer
Give the wrong answer to the peren-
nial question, "What's your sign' ? ",
and it could cost quite a bit of money in
College Station soon.
The city's Planning and Zoning
Commission has approved and sent to
the City Council for final action an
amended ordinance governing signs
within the city.
The council, which asked the city
staff more than a year ago to come up
with a revised sign ordinance, is ex-
pected to hold a public hearing on the
issue Jan. 24.
Among the provisions of the prop-
osed amended ordinance:
■ Fines of up to $1,000 for viola-
tions. And zoning official Jane Kee said
that is an oversight; the draft should read
$1,000 a day, up from the existing $200
a day.
■ Apartment and condominium pro-
jects of less than 24 units could not be
identified by any sign at all.
■ Portable signs would be complete-
ly prohibited.
■ Banners, pennants, streamers,
moving signs, flashing signs, aromatic
signs, noisy signs — also would be
banned.
There is some liberalization in the
proposed ordinance. Free- standing
signs, for example, are not permitted
now in the A -P zone, which is for pro-
fessional offices, but the amended ordi-
nance would authorize them.
Real estate "For Sale" signs could be
larger. And certain signs on the East
Bypass could go up to 50 feet in height,
instead of the existing limitation of 35
feet.
The biggest change is a provision
absolutely prohibiting certain signs.
Those that now fall into that category
would have to be brought into com-
pliance with the ordinance or removed
within six months, unless the Zoning
Board of Adjustment grants a variance.
Included in the "prohibited" categ-
ory are portable and trailer signs; signs
painted on rooftops; balloons or gas -
filled objects attached to any structure or
At left, the Exxon sign at Harvey Road and Texas
Avenue is too tall but -would be gran,#rghered in.
om�p the ''Sale" streamer would be a "pro-
site; banners, pennants and streamers;
flashing, blinking or traveling lights (ex-
cept for time and temperature signs);
signs with erratic or other moving parts;
signs resembling traffic control devices;
and any sign that emits sound, odor or
visible matter.
Off - premises signs also will be prohi-
bited.
The ordinance defines an off -
premises sign as one that is not located
on the site where the goods or services
are provided. A typical off- premises
sign would be a highway billboard
advertising" a truck stop two miles
ahead.
Such, signs already are forbidden in
the city, but those erected before the
existing ordinance became law were
"grandfathered" in. Although they are
non - conforming, they have been per-
hibited" sign, the bowling sign could not be built
- -because it extends over the eave of tie roo ,but
the Crazy J`s Far'niture sign is A -OK.
mitted to remain until now.
Other non- confomting signs in the
city also have been grandfathered in but
are not defined as prohibited signs under
the proposed ordinance and thus could
remain.
For example, the current height
limitation in the city is 35 feet. One
service station sign on Texas Avenue is
88 feet tall. It has stood there for years,
though, and because it predates both the
old and the proposed new ordinance, it
won't be affected.
The proposed ordinance retains the
35 -foot height limitation, but it does
pen businesses with at least 100 feet
of frontage on the East Bypass to use
signs no more than 50 feet high.
Currently, only one freestanding sign
is permitted per site. The size of the sign
is dictated by the amount of frontage for
the site and by distance from the road-
way. The proposed ordinance carries
essentially the same provision, except
that a business with lots of road frontage
can elect instead to put up "low profile"
signs every 150 feet instead of just one
large sign.
A low profile sign is defined as one of
no more than 60 square feet in area and
four feet in height.
Basically, the ordinance governs
freestanding, or detached signs. Signs
painted upon a building, except roofs,
are not regulated. Nor are attached
signs, except for those such as flashing -
light signs that fall into the prohibited
category.
Those unregulated signs can be of
any size, although signs attached to
rooftops must not extend over the eave.
THE EAGLE /SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1984