The Brownwood City Council met Tuesday morning with much of the meeting over a proposed ordinance on keeping chickens in the city limits of Brownwood.  The Council voted to Table the Ordinance until the next Council meeting when all Councilmen could be there to vote.

The proposed Ordinance started in City Council in March then was sent to the Planning and Zoning Commission in late March.  Planning and Zoning worked on the Ordinance through April, May and June.

The proposed Ordinance goes into greater detail than does the current ordinance.

Under the new Ordinance, only chickens, no roosters would be allowed in city limits.  No other fowls would be allowed.  Chicken coops and pens would be restricted to back yards only. The maximum number of chickens allowed is eight (8) per residence, though Councilman Ed McMillan is hoping to increase that number to ten (10) saying ten hens can feed a family of four.  The Ordinance also stipulates the size and placement of coops and runs.

Look for this Ordinance back before Brownwood City Council in the near future.

In other business before the City Council (which met at Brownwood Municipal Court):

• The Council approved a vote for Mayor Stephen Haynes to serve on the Region 6 Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool Board of Trustees.
• The Council approved the City Manager to sign an agreement with the Texas Department of State Health Services on behalf of the Brownwood/Brown County Health Department to provide the Women, Infant and Children’s Nutritional Program to the community.  This grant has been awarded to the local health department since 1992.  The 2020 grant amount is $310,430.00 to begin October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020.
• The City Council went into Executive Session at 10:10 am Tuesday to discuss a possible loan/incentive for VRC Technologies to assist an expansion of the business.  Back in Open Session, the Council approved a 380 agreement for an expansion incentive loan to VRC Technologies in the amount of $185,000 from old BEDC funds payable in job credits for construction of a storage facility and creation of 21 new jobs.