City councilmembers approved one generator bid and rejected two others during Thursday’s city council meeting at the Edna City Hall.
Councilmembers voted to approve a $171,611 bid to completely replace the backup generator for the Kleas Water Well but rejected the bids for the Sunset Lift Station generator and the City Hall generator, on the advice of City Manager Gary Broz.
Broz advised councilmembers against the lift station and city hall bids because the amount of the grant money from the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) was well short of the bids received for the purchase and installation of those two units.
Instead, the city will re-submit grant applications for those two backup generators in the hopes of securing the bidded amount.
In other business, the council:
· Approved the minutes of the Feb. 5, 2026 meeting;
· Met newly hired Edna Police Dept. Ofc. Reagan Skow during the Public Comments section of the meeting;
· Held a second reading of Ordinance 2026-02 calling for a municipal election on Sat., May 2;
· Approved a joint election agreement between Edna ISD and the City of Edna for the May 2 general election;
· Held a public hearing regarding the submission of an application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for one or more Texas Community Development Block Grant Program (TxCDBG) grants for program year 2026;
· Ratified Resolution 2026-05 approving the application to the Office of the Governor for an ALERRT Travel Assistance Grant, which would help cover the cost of sending law enforcement officers to federally mandated training;
· Ratified Resolution 2026-06 approving the application to the Office of the Governor for a Rapid Speed Trailer Grant to replace the current trailer;
· Approved Resolution 2026-07 to approve the application to the Office of the Governor for the 2027 Operation Lone Star Grant; and
· Approved payment of the city’s current bills.
The council also heard from the city’s department heads during City Staff Reports, including:
City Manager’s Report: Broz updated city officials on work being done to replace the water and sewer lines on Brackenridge Street. He also said that survey field work is beginning for the General Land Office Mitigation Grant project in District 2; that the GLO Reallocation Grant is in the bidding stage; that the city is putting together an application for Texas Water Development Board money to replace water lines; that staff is looking at what other cities are doing to control stray cat population increases; that drying, shifting ground is leading to an uptick in water leaks; and that ideas for ways to celebrate for the city’s 100th birthday as an incorporated city were discussed in an initial planning meeting. The next planning meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on March 3 at City Hall.
Finance Director’s Report: Valerie Callaway said in her report that the city’s ad valorem tax revenue received from Jackson County included $108,838.02 from Dec. 25-31 which was deposited on Feb. 3 and $58,636.17 from Feb. 1-7. The city received a $170,720.21 payment from the Texas State Comptroller for City Sales and Use Tax Allocation on Feb. 13. The city received $86,696 for solid waste sales and paid $6,952.48 in sales tax. In addition, staff has been getting audit information ready for the 2024-2025 audit, and staff has filed the House Bill 3693 compliance report and the 2024-2025 local hotel occupancy tax report.
City Streets Supervisor’s Report: Andy Brzozowski said in his report that crews have been continuing to clean out the ditch along Vanderbilt Rd.; patched potholes all over town; trimmed trees on S. Progress St.; cut down some trees on Laura St. and removed others from a ditch that needs cleaning; began cleaning the ditch between S. Colorado St. and Pumphrey St.; and helped the water department backfill a waste water tap on E. Cedar St.
Public Works Director’s Report: Brad Ryan said in his report that crews worked on the UV system, changing bulbs and sleeves; cleaned the clarifier at the plant; changed a curb stop on Third St.; repaired a two-inch water line leaks on Lincoln St. and on N. East St.; replaced curb stops at 403 S. Wells St. and on Chase St.; repaired a leak at the high school baseball field; located lines at 511 Erie St.; made sludge boxes at the sewer plant; tapped a sewer line on Erie St.; located valves for a contractor on Pumphrey St. and Brackenridge St.; and fixed a broken manhole on Peabody St.
Police Chief’s Report: Chief Kenny Pyle said that during the past two weeks EPD conducted 71 traffic stops, issued 33 citations and 69 warnings, made five arrests, and responded to 458 calls for service, of which 18 were reportable offenses. The department also completed its annual Motor Vehicle Reports/Racial Profiling Report; Lt. Matlock and Pyle taught a Stop the Bleed class at Edna High School, a class which is now mandated by the Texas Education Agency for all school districts; participated in a CJIS audit; and interviewed a candidate for a patrol position.