Residents urge Brazos County to address proposed East Loop, seek review of Quiddity contracts

Several Brazos County residents used the meeting’s public-comment period on April 29 to press the Commissioners Court to formally address the proposed East Loop (sometimes referred to in public remarks as Interloop East) and to review or cancel contracts the speakers said relate to that study.

Willis Cooper, a county resident, asked the court “that county commissioners add the interloop east as an agenda item in an upcoming meeting.” He read news postings he said linked the county to an $11,000,000 design contract and to public reporting about the study.

The appeal was echoed by Theresa Sykes, who said the route would cross her family’s 450 acres. “I am totally against the East Loop. It will go right through my property and so many others,” she said, and urged the court to consider alternatives.

Chris Barnes, a Brazos County beekeeper, described risks to pollinators and agriculture, saying “the number of colonies lost is now sitting at approximately 1,600,000 colonies since last June” and that the East Loop paths would affect forage he uses. Barnes asked the court to “cancel the current contracts the county has with John Polster and Quiddity as well as put the issues on the agenda so we can have public discourse.”

Other speakers made related points. Robert Johnson and Kyle Greenwood criticized what they described as gaps in transparency around the project and the county’s bond program; Greenwood read the bond ballot language and warned the description was broad and “wide open.” Beverly Greenwood said that some components of proposed highway projects are led by the Texas Department of Transportation and that “there is no vote that the county could or could not take to change those projects,” while also pointing to statements by outside consultants and to comments by a TxDOT commissioner in another county.

No formal action on the East Loop was recorded in the minutes. Commissioners later announced a public meeting where the study team will present maps and take public input: “May 6 from 5 to 7 at Legends Event Center,” the court announcer said; the notice said representatives from Quiddity Engineering would be available to discuss proposed and existing routes.

Why it matters: Speakers said the project could affect private property, agricultural enterprises and pollinator forage across a wide area; several asked the court to scrutinize county contracts and to provide more public review. Commissioners did not vote on a directive or take other formal action on the Interloop East during the April 29 session.

Clarifying details raised at the meeting included a cited $11,000,000 design contract and a referenced $15,000-per-month consulting fee (described by speakers as paid to a consultant named John Polster), and public reports and social-media posts the speakers read aloud. Multiple speakers contrasted county versus TxDOT authority over highway projects; one speaker quoted a TxDOT commissioner discussing county-level input in project planning. The court’s public meeting notice shows Quiddity Engineering will display maps and be on hand May 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Legends Event Center.

Speakers’ remarks and requests were delivered during the public-comment portion of the April 29 Brazos County Commissioners Court meeting; the court did not record motions to add the East Loop as a formal agenda item or to cancel county contracts during that session.

At the close of the public-comment period, commissioners moved on to the scheduled consent and action agenda.