The Brownwood City Council met Tuesday morning, August 10, and received an update on COVID cases from Lisa Dick of the Brownwood/Brown County Health Department.

She told the Council that, since COVID cases are increasing again, the health department is going to report COVID cases twice per week, instead of once.  She reported 77 new cases were received Monday which included weekend numbers. One case last week was confirmed to be the Delta variant. 16 are now hospitalized with COVID in Brownwood, 6 of those in ICU, and of those, only two were vaccinated, both with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

“We still only have about 34 percent of our population fully vaccinated,” Dick said. “What is happening now as we have Delta variant in the area, which we had a confirmed case last week, it seems to be more contagious. As we’re out in the community we are all a little bit more susceptible than what we were early on,” Dick said.

She told the Council that locally COVID is now affecting a younger population. “We have school starting soon so we know there are going to be some upcoming challenges with that as well.”

On the topic of COVID, Brownwood City Council Tuesday morning approved authorizing the City Manager to sign an agreement and acceptance of additional funds to establish, expand, train and sustain the public health workforce in support of Coronavirus 2019 response.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is executing a Public Health Crisis Response Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response grant in the amount of $563,500.

Funds from the grant are used to perform required activities intended to slow the transmission of COVID-19, minimize morbidity and mortality, preserve function of the healthcare workforce and infrastructure, and minimize social and economic impacts. Additionally, funds are intended to build a sustained public health workforce to respond to future public health threats and focus on health disparities relevant to the local community. The grant term allows for reimbursement of allowable expenses in alignment with the grant award from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023.

In other business from the Council meeting.

• No action was taken after an Executive Session on the contract with the City of Brownwood and Brown County Humane Society.
• The Council authorized the City Manager to sign a contract to replace two fuel dispensers at the Service Center use funds from the 2020 tax note. Both filters can be replaced for $24,561.62 from JF Petroleum Group out of Edinburg, Texas.
• The Council approved a Resolution approving a negotiated settlement between Atmos Energy Corporation, Mid-Texas Division and Atmos Cities Steering Committee.
• The Council approved on First Reading an Ordinance revising the Industrial Pretreatment Program Ordinance and Procedures due to modifications to incorporate the required provisions of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Pretreatment Streamlining Rule. The TCEQ rule requires all municipalities receiving industrial waste to revise their Industrial Pretreatment Program Ordinance and Procedures. City personnel have made all the necessary modifications to the program in which TCEQ has found technically complete and approved.
• The Council approved the appointment of Lisa Dick to serve another two year term to the Board of Trustees of Central Texas Mental Health Mental Retardation dba Center for Life Resources.