College Station's older city cemetery has run out of burial plots, and the City Council spent a good part of its Thursday workshop talking about how to manage what space the city has left.
Parks and Recreation Director Kelsey Helden proposed adding a columbarium, a structure for storing cremated remains, at the Aggie Field of Honor and possibly a second one at the College Station Cemetery, where plots are sold out, according to WTAW's account of the meeting.
Concern over resale buyers
Part of the discussion centered on outside buyers. Council members raised the concern that companies could buy up plots for the sole purpose of reselling them. Ideas on the table included barring businesses from buying plots, capping the number of plots a single person may purchase and charging a fee to buyers who do not live in College Station, WTAW reported.
The item was listed on the agenda as a discussion of the cemetery fund structure and fee policy for the College Station Cemetery and Memorial Cemetery. It was a workshop item, and no fee change or new rule was adopted Thursday.
Other business at a long meeting
The meeting ran close to four hours. Mayor John Nichols, back after hip replacement surgery, left at 9 p.m., and Mayor Pro Tem William Wright presided for the last 45 minutes.
- Consent agenda: Approved unanimously, including a contract of up to about $5.54 million with Integrated Power Co. for transmission line construction, maintenance and repair, and up to $500,000 with H&B Construction for as-needed electric boring work. A planned item on improvements at Adamson Lagoon was pulled from consideration.
- Northgate height overlay: After a long discussion of an overlay that would hold buildings in the core of Northgate to three to five stories, the council asked Planning and Development staff to come back with possible incentives for existing businesses to keep their facades.
- Safe passing ordinance: The council signaled support for drafting an ordinance aimed at protecting people on the road from passing drivers, after hearing from speakers including family and friends of a woman killed by a driver in July. WTAW reported the ordinance will likely carry her name.
- Public comment: Residents of the South Knoll neighborhood told the council that livable homes are being torn down and replaced with student-oriented houses such as six-bedroom, six-bath builds. One resident said people have knocked on her door asking to buy her home. Speakers asked the city not to rezone properties or offer incentives that encourage tearing down homes families would buy.
Council member Bob Yancy asked for a future agenda item weighing the risks and rewards of using artificial intelligence for City Hall staff.
Sources
wtaw.com
