During Tuesday morning’s meeting, the Brownwood City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the submission of a Texas Community Development Block Grant program application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for the Downtown Revitalization Program and authorizing the designation of a downtown district.

In January 2026, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) opened a new round of Downtown Revitalization Program grant applications. The Community Application is due on April 3. The maximum grant request is $1,000,000 and requires a $50,000 match to be most competitive. If awarded, the City can complete sidewalks, lighting, and street improvements in its Downtown area.

Council was previously briefed that TDA is accepting grant applications in two phases: the Community Application and the Project Application. The Community Application is essentially a process of the City requesting the TDA evaluate Brownwood’s demographics to determine if it scores high enough to receive a Downtown grant. No specific project selection is required for this first Community Application.

If the City scores high enough, TDA will then invite the City to submit a Project Application that will identify the specific project and budget the grant funds will be used toward. It is expected the City will know by early May if it scored high enough to move forward to the second phase.

According to the current available information, Brownwood appears to score 78.25 points out of 90. This scoring is roughly 10 points higher than the previous application the City submitted during the last round of funding. It is uncertain whether this score will be high enough to receive a grant this year, especially since TDA is no longer restricting this program to communities that are collecting an economic development sales tax.

Also Tuesday, Council approved a resolution to support Brownwood Pioneer Crossing’s application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for a tax credit senior living housing development.

In 2023, Council received a presentation regarding a proposed senior living housing development seeking 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). As part of the 2023 application, Council provided the required resolution of support.

The applicant has provided an update on the project status and is requesting Council consideration again for the 2026 TDHCA application cycle. The applicant reports that while the land was purchased and permits were obtained with assistance from City staff, the 2023 effort did not proceed to closing due to a significant decrease in syndicator interest in the rural market. The applicant stated they intend to return the previously awarded credits and reapply in the 2026 cycle, and is requesting a similar resolution of support for the new application.

The development site would remain the same at 2500 Stephen F. Austin and feature 48 units.

Per the draft resolution language, the City commits to providing reduced fees, such as building permits, or another contribution of value equal to a minimum of $250 for the benefit of Pioneer Crossing.

Brownwood Police Chief James Fuller presented the racial profiling report. Fuller told the Council that 5,515 traffic stops were made in 2025, and the Brownwood Police Department was in compliance with all relevant Texas laws concerning racial profiling, including the existence of a formal policy prohibiting racial profiling by its officers, an education and training process, a formalized complaint process, and the collection of data in compliance with the law. The analysis was conducted by Eric Fritsch, Ph.D. and Chad Trulson, Ph.D. of the Professional Development Institute at the University of North Texas.

Council also voted to cancel the May 2 general election as no one filed to run against Mayor Stephen Haynes, Ward 1 Council member H.D. Jones, and Ward 4 Council member Draco A. Miller. The three will be sworn in on May 12 following the election date.

Council also approved the mayoral appointment of Richard Hodges to replace Walter Allen on the Library Board.

Following an executive session, Council approved extending a contract to purchase properties at 521 East Baker and 116 Brown Street. Once the contracts are signed, the Brown Street property, which is a parking lot, will remain so, while the Baker property will be associated with the Brownwood Event Center complex.