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Navasota council accepts $39,771.75 donation for memorial highway signs, approves budget amendment and routine banking updates
Summary
City council unanimously accepted a $39,771.75 donation from the Grimes County True Blue Foundation to pay TxDOT for two Sergeant Mark Butler memorial signs, adopted a budget amendment to account for the funds, and approved multiple resolutions updating authorized signatories for city bank and investment accounts.
The Navasota City Council on Jan. 26 voted to accept a $39,771.75 donation from the Grimes County True Blue Foundation and to amend the fiscal year 2025–26 budget so the city can write a check to the Texas Department of Transportation to pay for two Sergeant Mark Butler memorial signs on State Highway 6.
Chief Mike Myles told the council the True Blue Foundation solicits donations and buys items on behalf of law‑enforcement requests; after the department submitted quotes, TrueBlue approved purchases totaling $39,771.75 for items including spike strips, an upgraded drone with thermal camera and loudspeaker, a portable pole camera, grapple bumper, hobble restraints, pepperball rounds and training ammunition, and a Lexipol digital policy/training subscription. Myles said the department uses in‑house training for most items; Lexipol carries a 50% onboarding discount (an onboarding fee quoted at $10,500) and an estimated annual subscription of about $17,000.
Myles explained TxDOT advised routing the payment through the city rather than having the donor (a non‑government vendor) submit the funds directly, which staff said would shorten processing by several weeks. TrueBlue will transfer the donor funds to the city and the city will pay TxDOT for sign fabrication and installation; Chief Myles and staff said there are no ongoing annual fees for the signs beyond their installation and placement costs.
Council moved and unanimously approved acceptance of the donation and then voted (by motion) to adopt Ordinance "10 eighty‑twenty 6" amending the FY25‑26 budget to account for the donation and authorizing expenditure to TxDOT; the transcript records all councilmembers voting 'aye' with no opposed.
Separately on the consent‑style items, staff presented a series of banking‑authority updates necessitated by personnel changes in the finance department. The council approved resolutions to amend authorized representatives for the city's Techstar and Logic public funds investment pool accounts and other bank authorizations; staff recommended packaging similar updates on a consent agenda in the future.
Council also approved the municipal court monthly report for December 2025. Councilmember Harris requested a future workshop or agenda item to review a recent decline in municipal court revenues over the previous 90 days and to examine the city/state revenue split.
Before adjourning into executive session on real property and economic development negotiations, council discussed enforcement of Chapter 6 (Health and Sanitation) ordinances; city counsel/manager said both code enforcement and police have authority to enforce municipal codes, with primary responsibility generally lying with code enforcement and police authorized to act when dispatched.
