Brazos County previews draft scope for 20'25-year master plan; commissioners advise adding resilience, water and economic-development elements

Brazos County project staff on Oct. 14 presented a draft scope for a countywide master plan designed to guide county growth, facilities and services over a 20-to-25-year horizon, and commissioners recommended the plan include explicit strategies for resource conservation, flood mitigation, mental-health services, economic development and measurable performance metrics.

"The purpose of the county master plan is to establish a long term countywide master plan that provides a 20 to 25 year road map for growth, service delivery, infrastructure, and operational efficiency," said Trevor Lansdowne, director of project management, as he summarized the draft scope.

The plan as drafted would include demographic and population projections, departments'space and operational needs, a facilities and real-estate assessment, technology and business-process reviews (including possible AI and workflow-mapping work), transportation and mobility analysis, and an engagement strategy with internal stakeholders, the public and "other AHJs in the area" to align priorities.

Commissioners requested additional explicit work in several areas. Commissioner Nettles asked staff to add resource-management strategies, including long-term county measures to reduce water and energy use, to consider water-wise landscaping and to examine options to reduce light pollution and preserve the night sky. Nettles also urged inclusion of green infrastructure and permeable-surface strategies to reduce stormwater runoff.

Commissioner Connerle emphasized floodplain management and subdivision regulation in northeast parts of the county, citing repeated flooding in newer subdivisions during unusually large rain events and urging stronger mitigation measures. "As the counties we move forward'... we've got a neighborhood out there right now that is new with half a million dollar, 3 quarter million dollar homes that have water right up to the doorsteps," Connerle said, arguing for stronger subdivision standards and floodwater mitigation.

Commissioner Brown asked staff to inventory underused county properties and explore sale options, and to pursue intercounty contracts for services such as the medical examiner's facility to better understand utilization and costs.

Commissioner Watson expressed concern about cost and limits on what the county can directly provide, noting that while the county could support mental-health services, creating a mental-health facility would involve other partners and funding. "I get a little bit concerned about the cost of those things," Watson said, asking staff to develop potential cost estimates as the scope is refined.

Commissioners also recommended adding business-continuity and disaster-recovery planning, workforce and organizational alignment informed by HR work, and measurable key performance indicators so the plan does not "sit on the shelf." Lansdowne described the draft timeline as a year to 18 months from procurement through deliverables and said the county intends to solicit qualifications from multidisciplinary firms.

No procurement decision or contract was awarded at the workshop. Commissioners described the document as a working roadmap that should be revisited periodically; Lansdowne said he expects a cadence of regular reexamination (for example, every three to five years) so the plan can be updated by future courts.

Staff will incorporate the commissioners' requested additions—resource use, flood mitigation, parks/green space preservation, mental-health planning, economic-development strategies and performance metrics—into the solicitation and return with a refined scope for the court to review.