2019 Jan/Feb Connections

What has your bank done for our community the last 10 years?

At The Bank & Trust, we’ve worked hard over the past decade to gain both your business and your trust! With your help and a shared vision, we’ve accomplished so much:

• Contributed to the development of Bryan/College Station by financing the construction of more than 5,000 new homes.

• Provided loans to turn 1,000 home buyers into homeowners.

• Loaned more than $1.5 billion for life’s necessities and making dreams possible.

• Supported local non-profits, our schools and other worthwhile causes through donations totaling more than $1 million.

• Increased employment in the region by tripling our staff.

None of this would have been possible without the people who live and work in Bryan and College Station, especially our customers. If you’re not already our customer, we invite you to come by or call to speak with our team of experienced bankers. Together, we’ll achieve more than any of us can imagine over the next 10 years!

THANK YOU FOR A DECADE OF SUCCESS from all of us at The Bank & Trust of Bryan/College Station.

FEBRUARY 2019

2/11/2019 Austin Delegation Trip

Texas Capitol, Austin, Texas

2/19/2019 Community Impact Awards

Phillips Event Center at Briarcrest

2/26/2019 Taste of Aggieland

Brazos County Expo

2/28/2019 Business After Hours

Brazos Valley Bridal Association

MARCH 2019

3/15/2019 Crawfish Boil

Brazos County Expo Center

3/28/2019 Chamber Day

The Brazos Center

3/28/2019 Business After Hours

Allen Honda

APRIL 2019

4/04/2019 Watercooler 5K

Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater

4/18/2019 Business After Hours

The Ranch Harley-Davidson

4/25/2019 Spring Job Fair

Hilton College Station

2 presidential PERSPECTIVES

3 new MEMBERS

4 business AFTER HOURS

5 volunteer FOCUS

6 chamber PROGRAMS

12 new tax law & YOUR BUSINESS 16 spotlight NEWS 18 regional MOBILITY

presidential PERSPECTIVES

Howdy,

It looks like another great year for business here in Bryan/College Station. As we move into the new year, your Chamber of Commerce is already planning ahead to deliver on our mission of enhancing the economic well-being of the businesses in the B/CS market.

I hope you were able to take advantage of the Chamber’s Economic Outlook Conference on January 23rd. It is always one of our biggest events and helps our local businesses plan for the coming year with economic data and forecasts from many different sectors. While we were glad to sell out the event, we are working on ways to make this event available to everyone next year.

Now is the time to sign up to travel with our local Chamber delegation as we head to our State Capitol in Austin for meetings with our state legislators. Our delegation will take the Chamber’s State Legislative Action Plan to all of our elected State Representatives where we will advocate for the needs of our local businesses. Our state action plan is available to view on our Chamber website, as well as a survey to help us develop our future Federal Legislative Action Plan that we will take to Washington D.C. later this year.

Our Chamber Business After Hours events continue to grow and we are pleased to see so many new faces at these functions. I look forward to seeing someone from your business there soon.

As I said before, your Chamber works to achieve our mission of “enhancing the economic well-being of the businesses in the B/CS market” in many different ways. If you have some ideas of how we can continue to develop our mission, please come by the Chamber offices or give me a call at (979) 260-5200. As we celebrate our 101st year, we want to continue to improve and grow as we promote business and commerce in our world-class community!

Glen Brewer President & CEO

B/CS Chamber of Commerce

Crystal Dupre

Immediate Past Chairman

Jason Cornelius

Vice Chair of Leadership

James Larkin

Vice Chair of Finance & Physical Resources

Susan Gipson Vice Chair of Business Development

Mary Mike Hatcher Vice Chair of Communications

Ricardo Diaz Vice Chair of Community Enhancement

Tai Lee

Vice Chair of Membership Enhancement

Brad Beard

John Bush

Austin Bryan Spencer Clements

John C. “Jack” Culpepper III

David Doss

Zach Etheridge

Jill Gallagher

Tracy Kyle

Barbie Patterson

Shane Phelps

Kori Rich

Travis Rollins

Pat Shields

Greg Zweiacker

President/CEO Glen Brewer

Community Liaison Royce Hickman

Manager of Membership

Carrie Archer

Manager of Finance

Tom Tilton

Manager of Business Programs

Jordan Prihoda

Membership Investment

Representative

Brian Miller

Communications Coordinator

Kaley Crump

Special Projects Coordinator

Allison Batte

Executive Assistant

Rachel Nave

Receptionist

Linda Espiriqueta

Voice Surge

JBG Plumbing

New Inner Circle Members

1701 Southwest Parkway, Suite 208 College Station, TX 77840 (979)431-4960 www.voicesurge.com

4425 Rock Prairie Road West College Station, TX 77845 (979) 777-4420 www.bcsplumber.com

Johnstone Supply of College Station

Memorial Funeral Chapel- College Station

Advanced Security Concepts

Texas A&M AgriLife

The Gardens at Texas A&M University

12201 State Highway 30 College Station, TX 77845 (979) 731-5700 www.johnstonesupply.com

2901 Texas Avenue South College Station, TX 77845 (979) 694-8615 www.memorialfuneralchapel.com

4344 Sulpher Springs College Station, TX 77845 (979) 571-6320 www.advancedsec.com

2402 TAMU College Station, TX 77843 (979) 845-4756 www.agrilife.tamu.edu

2142 TAMU College Station, TX 77843 (979) 845-3792 www.agrilife.org

Twin LiquorsJones Crossing

CapRock Urgent Care

HEBJones Crossing

MDX Safety and Consulting, Inc.

Maddie Joy Boutique

11675 Wellborn Road College Station, TX 77845 (979) 599-9887

www.twinliquors.com

1289 University Drive College Station, TX 77840 (979) 314-2323 www.caprockhealthsystem.com

11675 FM 2154 College Station, TX 77840 (979) 680-3200 www.heb.com

1722 Broadmoor Drive, Suite 202 Bryan, TX 77802 (979) 985-5388 www.mdxsafetyinc.com

895 William D Fitch Parkway, Suite 200 College Station, TX 77845 (979) 690-2662 www.facebook.com/pg/maddiejoyboutique

The Queen Theatre

Jersey Mike’s Subs

New Members

US Dermatology Partners College Station Mohs Surgery

Burditt Consultants, Inc.

Dowling Road Storage

Glen Thomas Homes

1605 Rock Prairie Road, Suite 300 College Station, TX 77845 (979) 485-0995

105 North Main Street Bryan, TX 77803 (979) 977-5846

10257 North Dowling Road College Station, TX 77845 (979)220-5578

1110 12th Man Circle College Station, TX 77840 (979) 204-6305

Robal App

Icing on the Cake

Legacy Business Executive Suites and Solutions

College Station Physical Therapy & Performance

110 South Main Street Bryan, TX 77802 (979) 557-8336 www.queenbryantx.com

4001 Highway 6 College Station, TX 77845 (979) 219-0854 www.jerseymikes.com

216 West 26th Street Bryan, TX 77803 (601) 906-9207

1208 Portsmouth Court College Station, TX 77845 (979) 595-5870

3206 Longmire Drive College Station, TX 77845 (979) 704-5385

3201 University Drive East, Suite 320 Bryan, TX 77802 (979) 353-2492

Business After Hours is the perfect opportunity to network with hundreds of Chamber Members, while allowing event sponsors to showcase their businesses! For more information about Business After Hours, please contact Carrie Archer at carrie@bcschamber.org.

Thursday, February 28,

Ambassador of the Month

It was a great surprise to find out I had been named Ambassador of the Month for November! I have enjoyed being an Ambassador, over the last 3 years, and look forward to continuing this opportunity. What I love most about the B/CS community is the involvement the Chamber of Commerce has on business. There are enormous amounts of networking events along with being able to meet and get to know so many key individuals in our cities on a daily basis.

Being an Aggie living in the B/CS area is something special as well. I enjoy the camaraderie that Texas A&M University brings to our businesses, especially for Hotels. I have a passion for tourism and hospitality and have worked with Home2 Suites College Station for the last 3 ½ years. We have grown tremendously in the lodging industry. The best part of my career is being able to welcome guests to our cities and offer recommendations to the wonderful restaurants, attractions, and even shopping we have here. I look forward to saying hi to you at the next Chamber event and sharing with you and others about your business and how we can work together.

Christina Hultquist Aimbridge Hospitality

Attendees will be able to sample entrées, desserts, and drinks from restaurants, caterers, hotels, and beverage companies from all over the Brazos Valley.

1 Ticket: $30 | 5 tickets: $100 | 10 tickets: $200 | 20 tickets: $400 Includes all you can eat samples from participating restaurants.

To purchase tickets, please contact (979) 260-5200 or jordan@bcschamber.org.

Reception

Monday, February 11, 2019

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Omni Austin Hotel Downtown

700 San Jacinto Boulevard

The B/CS Chamber of Commerce invites you to join our 2019 Austin Delegation Trip.

The $100 participation fee includes a Monday night reception and Tuesday legislative meetings.

Hors d’oeuvres & drinks will be served

Presenting the 2019 State Legislative Action Plan to the 86th Texas State Legislature

Legislative Meetings

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Texas State Capitol

2019 Austin Delegation Trip

chamber PROGRAMS

The Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce invites you to attend the 2019 Community Impact Awards on Tuesday, February 19 11:45 am - 1:00 pm

Phillips Event Center

Individual: $30

Reserved table of 8: $350

The Community Impact Award program was started in 2003

Crawfish Boil

chamber PHOTOS

Local farmers prepare food for the 2018 Ag Breakfast.

The B/CS Chamber of Commerce participated in 30 Days of Kindness benefiting Family Promise of BryanCollege Station by collecting household goods. Special thanks to Theresa Clark with 1st Alliance Mortgage and Brandi Trujillo with Aggieland Title Company for organizing the collection.

The Leadership Brazos Class of 2019 visit the

The B/CS Chamber of Commerce hosted its Fall Job Fair, sponsored by Axis Pipe and Tube, at the Brazos center.

Our ambassadors collected over 50 toys for the Brazos Valley Radio MASH #toydrive!

The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors collected over $1,000 in gifts and donations for The Salvation Army Bryan/College Station Angel Tree Program. A special thank you to Bryan Broadcasting for partnering with the Salvation Army to make this mission possible.

KBTX News Station

Following the success of our first Shop Local Giveaway during the 2018 holidays, the B/CS Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce

Shop Local B/CS

Please lookout for our next Shop Local Giveaway coming soon on Facebook. If your business is interested in participating in our next Shop Local Giveaway, please contact the Chamber at (979) 260-5200 or email Carrie@bcschamber.org A campaign dedicated to:

● Educating the community on the benefits of shopping locally

● Providing opportunities for local businesses to shine

● Promoting the well-being of our local economy

Thanks to those who participated in our 2018 Holiday Shop Local Giveaway

Witt’s End Boutique

Bird’s Nest Gifts & Antiques

Sabi Boutique

Half-Pint’s Liquor

Maddie Joy Boutique

The Ranch Harley-Davidson

Hemline Boutique

Legacy Ace Hardware

chamber CONNECTIONS

New Tax Law and Your Business

What to think about if you are a small business owner wondering about

the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

By Sam Sommer, CPA

Officially passed in the Fall of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was promoted as President Trump’s tax reform and tax simplification legislation. While there were many positive changes for individuals and businesses alike, it would be hard to declare the result as making taxes “simple”. The IRS, tax professionals, and taxpayers spent much of 2018 making sense of it all. If you are a small business owner trying to catch up on how it impacts your business, here are a few conversation starters (some good, some bad) to begin 2019.

New Lower Tax Rates

The new tax law created a lower corporate tax rate - 21% - for C Corporations. As the majority of small businesses are not set up as C Corporations, a qualified business income deduction of 20% was provided for pass through entities (sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, S-corps). The deduction was established to create the equivalent result of the C Corp rate reduction for all. Unfortunately, there are many factors that may leave you with a higher rate. Business owners must have a taxable income of below $157,500 if single or $315,000 if married and filing jointly in order to qualify. If your business gets its revenue through the professional services of an individual, you are not eligible at all. The primary professions this exclusion hits are attorneys, doctors, accountants, financial advisors and other business consultants. Actors, musicians and athletes also miss out, though engineers and architects do not!

If you haven’t already, you will want someone to run the numbers to understand how the rules will affect your own tax rate. With the deadline to consider entity classification not until March 15, there is still time to decide if changes are warranted to make the most of your situation.

To end on a good note, there is no longer an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for small businesses.

Qualified Production Activities

If you are manufacturer, you are probably aware of the Section 199 deduction which allowed business owners to take a 9% deduction on income from qualified production activities. This benefit was fully repealed and no longer exists.

Immediately Tax Deductible Equipment Purchases

One of the most generous changes was to the amount, and definition, of Section 179 property that can be immediately expensed in the year it is placed in service. The new maximum deduction for 2018 is $1 million and the phase-out threshold has increased to $2.5 million. The definition of section 179 property expanded to allow the taxpayer to elect to include the following improvements made to nonresidential real property after the date when the property was first placed in service:

● Qualified improvement property, which means any improvement to a building’s interior. However, improvements do not qualify if they are attributable to the enlargement of the building, any elevator or escalator or the internal structural framework of the building.

● Roofs, HVAC, fire protection systems, alarm systems and security systems. For qualified property acquired and placed in service in 2018, the bonus depreciation percentage available is 100 percent, and can include used property acquired if it meets specified requirements.

The new law also shortened the recovery period for (most all) machinery and equipment used in a farming business from seven to five years. All of these changes allow for more timely tax savings for capital additions to your business.

chamber CONNECTIONS

Cash vs Accrual Accounting

The accrual method of accounting was previously required for businesses with an average annual revenue of $5 million but has now been raised to $25 million. If your small business is inventory dependent, then going to a cash accounting method may allow you to deduct the cost of inventory when it is paid for, driving tax benefits to an earlier period.

Paid Family or Medical Leave

Depending on how much your small business pays in wages, there is a new credit for wages paid for family or medical leave. While this needs to be considered carefully because the current tax law has this credit expiring after 2019 (and it’s really hard to take a benefit away from employees after they’ve gotten used to it), the tax credit can range from 12.5% to 25%. This fringe benefit can make your benefits more competitive to job candidates in comparison to what large employers may offer.

Entertainment Expenses

One of the clear perks to owning your own business has been the deductibility of entertainment expenses (related to business of course). The new suite at the home of your favorite sports team, fine dining, the round of golf at the local club, drinks after all the fun...each of those while entertaining a client made for a 50% deductible tax expense. No longer. Deductions for entertainment expenses are eliminated entirely. If these types of entertainment expenses have always been a significant expense for your business, you are more than overdo to take a hard look at which ones truly work at making your business successful...and which ones may not be worth their full price cost.

Somewhat related, if you feed your employees on business premises, that food was formerly 100% deductible but is now only 50% deductible. (By 2025 without further tax law changes, it is not deductible at all.)

Business Interest Expense

If your business has substantial debt financing, you are likely to have enjoyed tax benefits from fully deducting interest expense. Under the new tax law, the business interest deduction is cut to 30% of your business’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). One really important exemption: if your small business has an annual average gross receipt of $25 million or less for the past three years, you do not have to apply the limit.

Employee Achievement Awards

To motivate your employees, you may have taken to giving substantial rewards to employees throughout the year in the form of gift cards. Previously, there was a lot of leniency in employee achievement awards being non-taxable as income to the employee. The new law tightened the definition of tangible personal property, which now doesn’t include cash, cash equivalents, gift cards, gift coupons, certain gift certificates, tickets to theater or sporting events, vacations, meals, lodging, stocks, bonds, securities and other similar items. So, if you have given things of this nature in the past, you need to consider what steps need to be taken to include these in an employee’s taxable earnings.

The Bottom Line

If you are small business owner, you have a lot going on. It’s important to find the right resources to guide you in areas that are essential to business but aren’t the business itself. When it comes to taxes, the right assistance can mean the difference between your business growing, shrinking or even surviving at all. The right CPA or small business advisor will be worth the expense. Be sure to put in enough time to find someone with the experience and knowledge you can trust.

chamber CONNECTIONS

10 Tax Deductions Small Business Owners Can’t Afford to Overlook

Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants

1. Auto Expenses

If you use your car in your business, you may be able to depreciate the costs of owning it and deduct the cost of operating and maintaining it. There are two methods for claiming business-related automobile expenses. You may deduct the business portion of actual expenses you incur, such as the cost of gas and oil, insurance, license and registration fees, repairs, tires, tolls, and parking. Or you can keep track of the business miles you drive, and multiply your total by the IRS standard mileage rate.

2. Home Office

To qualify for a home office deduction if self employed, you must use your home office on both an exclusive and regular basis as your principal place of business or as a place of business to meet with clients. If you qualify, you may deduct depreciation allocated to your business use of the area in your home and other indirect expenses of operating your home office. You may also claim this deduction if your home office is the only place for conducting the administrative or management activities of your business or if only minimal administrative work is done outside your home office. You can use Safe Harbor method – maximum deduction of $1,500 ($5/sq ft, up to 300 feet).

3. Legal and Professional Fees

Fees you pay lawyers, consultants, CPAs or other tax professionals generally can be deducted in the year incurred.

4. Food and Beverage Expenses

Under the new tax law, while you can no longer deduct entertainment expenses under any circumstances, the IRS did release guidance clarifying that taxpayers may generally continue to deduct 50% of the food and beverage expenses associated with operating their trade or business. Taxpayers may deduct 50% of an otherwise allowable business meal expense if: (1)The expense is an ordinary and necessary business expense paid or incurred during the tax year when carrying on any trade or business; (2) The expense is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances; (3) The taxpayer, or an employee of the taxpayer, is present when the food or beverages are furnished; (4) The food and beverages are provided to a current or potential business customer, client, consultant, or similar business contact; and (5) For food and beverages provided during or at an entertainment activity, they are purchased separately from the entertainment, or the cost of the food and beverages is stated separately from the cost of the entertainment on one or more bills, invoices, or receipts.

5. Travel Expenses

When you travel for business, you can deduct costs of plane fare, taxis, lodging, and 50 percent of meal costs. Other expenses qualify as well, such as the cost of dry cleaning, telephone calls, and computer rental fees.

chamber CONNECTIONS

6. New Equipment

Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows you to deduct up to $1,000,000 of the cost of new equipment or other assets in 2018, double from previous years. New assets may also be eligible for 100 percent bonus depreciation in 2018, also doubled. The new tax law also expanded the definition of Section 179 property, to include some additional types of improvements made to nonresidential real property.

7. Health Insurance Premiums

Self-employed individuals can deduct as an adjustment to gross income 100 percent of health insurance premiums. The deduction cannot exceed net earned income derived from the trade or business.

8. Bad Debts

You may also claim a deduction for a business debt related to accounts or notes receivable if you included the amount owed in your gross income for the year you are claiming the deduction, or included it in a prior year. If you use the cash basis method of accounting, you cannot claim a bad debt deduction if someone fails to pay you for your services.

9. Retirement Plan Contributions

Putting funds in a retirement plan such as a Keogh or a SEP plan reduces your taxable income and helps to ensure a secure retirement. If you’ve already set up a Keogh retirement plan, to qualify for a deduction you must make your contribution at any time up to the due date of your return, including any extensions. If you missed the deadline for setting up a Keogh plan, consider a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) Plan. You have until the due date of your return (including any properly filed extensions) to set up and make a deductible contribution to an SEP.

10. Interest Payments

The new tax law did add some new limits on deducting business interest expense, but businesses with less than $25 million in average annual gross receipts can find themselves exempt. Even if you are not exempt you could still possibly see your interest fully tax deductible, depending on your circumstances. This shouldn’t be an incentive to go into debt, but can help offset the cost of loans you may need to grow your business.

Chamber Spotlight

Scasta Family Eye Care is happy to welcome Terry Hill to our team after acquiring Dr. Ann Wild’s practice. Terry brings 33 years of optical experience to our office. We are excited to continue offering Dr. Wild’s patients the very best eye care!

Jim Pillans, of Brazos Valley Small Business Development Center, was awarded the State Star Performance Award at the 2018 America’s SBDC National Convention in Washington DC. This award is given to the top performing Business Advisor in the Gulf Coast Network. The BV SBDC was also the top performing center in the Network of 2018.

Rick Davis & Associates hired a new Associate Attorney, Traci Diamond, who joined the firm in August. Traci graduated from the University of North Texas in 2010 with a BA in Business and went on to attend Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she earned her law degree in 2013. Traci has been licensed in Texas for five years and the firm is happy to have her.

FIBERTOWN Data Centers and Disaster Recovery Offices is investing in a significant expansion of their fullyconcurrent data centers. They maintain data centers in Bryan and North Houston, as well as a redundant data center, control centers and disaster recovery/business continuity offices in Bryan.

Lone Star Business Center is growing quickly with their newest addition, Texas Toy Distribution! They are increasing commerce between their warehouses and large retailers nationally - 2019 is going to be an incredibly expansive year for them!

Attorney Amanda Buenger and Buenger Law, PLLC were able to participate in this year’s Brazos Valley Adoption Day 2018. The Eagle and KBTX were there to cover the event. Amanda Buenger represented 4 siblings adopted by their Grandmother Sholanda Robinson after a 3 year long journey. It was truly a wonderful day of celebrating the gift of “finding family.”

The floor is yours...

Books and a Blanket, the non profit with the mission to get books into children’s hands, reached a milestone this winter! Since its establishment seven years ago, over 100,000 books have been given to area school children, through local partner agencies, and around the world.

BCS Fitness will be opening their second training studio location in South College Station at the corner of Barron Road and William D. Fitch on December 26th. BCS Fitness is a private training studio dedicated to individualized fitness and nutrition for busy people.

The Kristi Fox Team/Unlocked Realty Group LLC at CENTURY 21 Beal was recently awarded the coveted Homes For Heroes® “100 Heroes Served” award. Only a small number of REALTOR® Affiliates across the country have achieved such a high level of giving back to our nations Heroes. Kristi is excited to pledge another $100,000 to local heroes.

The Chamber would like to invite your company to submit news that you would like to share with the community—this could be new leadership, major changes, anniversaries, employee achievements, etc. This section is to help you celebrate! Please email submissions and questions to kaley@bcschamber.org

TDI-Brooks International Inc. and Drs. James Brooks and Bernie Bernard celebrated 23 years in business serving Oil & Gas clients worldwide. We continue to enjoy hosting the CS Noon Lions Club and supporting BCS organizations.

Rock Steady Boxing College Station was recently featured in a news story on KBTXTV News. The non-contact boxing and fitness program is designed to help reduce symptoms for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The program was introduced to the BCS community in August, 2018 and offers classes three times a week.

KAGS News Anchor Jay O’Brien was honored with a Regional EMMY Award from the Lone Star EMMY Chapter for his special report on the Conservation Research Lab at Texas A&M’s project to restore several original cannons from The Alamo. Jay had stiff competition in the Texas Heritage Category, and won the only EMMY for that category.

The City of College Station Fun For All Playground Committee would like to thank Stylecraft Builders, Inc. for their $100,000 donation, Copy Corner for their $30,000 donation, and Phillip and Donna Garrett for their $10,000 donation. If you are interested in supporting the Fun For All Playground, please contact Lisa Aldrich.

legislative AFFAIRS

Regional Mobility Authority

Congestion and mobility are growing concerns in Bryan-College Station. Texas A&M Transportation Institute data suggest congestion has been increasing in the area at 4-6%/ year for decades, essentially doubling every 12-15 years. Roadways that were uncongested five years ago now experience congestion nearly every day. Figure 1 depicts some of this trend, and additional data documenting traffic congestion and infrastructure issues in BryanCollege Station can be accessed at https://bcsmpo.org/209/leveraging-local-resources.

Surveys indicate that residents are aware of this problem and give high priority to addressing it. A 2015-2016 survey of College Station residents found traffic congestion to be their number one concern. A currently ongoing survey being conducted by the Metropolitan Planning Organization shows that 75% of respondents desire congestion levels in the area to remain at or below current levels, and they also indicate a willingness to pay the price associated with accomplishing that.

Regional Mobility Authority

The leadership in the area understands that adequate mobility is extremely important to both the quality of life in BryanCollege Station as well as the capability to continue to attract and support economic development. It is recognized that the region will need to effectively use all available tools to maintain acceptable levels of mobility.

State law limits options available to cities to address transportation needs. A tool that is available is a Regional Mobility Authority (RMA).

A Regional Mobility Authority is a county-wide, independent, local government agency (political subdivision). It is a regionally-focused transportation project development entity, under local control, that works closely with the Texas Department of Transportation Bryan District and the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization to develop and implement projects. The first RMA in Texas was created in 2002, and there are currently nine RMAs in Texas.

The RMA is overseen by a board of directors. The presiding officer is appointed by the governor, the remaining board members are appointed by Brazos County Commissioners Court. The RMA does not have taxing authority; it does have powers of eminent domain. The RMA is responsible to the Texas Transportation Commission, which must approve its creation.

An RMA offers several benefits to an area, including: 1) serves as a tool to help solve transportation problems by bringing new funding sources and new approaches for developing projects; 2) provides local governments more control over transportation planning; 3) helps to build needed projects sooner; 4) improves mobility and enhances safety for motorists; 5) generates through a variety of approaches revenue necessary for

projects; and 6) coordinates projects that can involve numerous modes of transportation with a wide range of state, local, and private entities. In Brazos County, an RMA will offer a means to complete certain critical projects that otherwise would not get built. The RMA is not the silver bullet that will solve all needs, but it can be an effective tool to help maintain acceptable levels of mobility and safety.

Creation of an RMA is initiated by Brazos County Commissioners Court. The Commissioners Court has adopted a resolution and a petition requesting creation of an RMA, and that action was forwarded to the Texas Transportation Commission. The Commission reviews the request and has the authority to act upon it.

Additional information on Texas RMAs can be accessed at https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/PRC-15-41-F.pdf

The Role of the Chamber of Commerce

In considering whether to pursue an RMA, Brazos County Commissioners Court sought input from numerous stakeholders, and the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce was a key part of that discussion. The Chamber’s Transportation Committee was briefed on RMAs on multiple occasions and endorsed the Chamber supporting the RMA creation. That recommendation was subsequently approved by the Chamber’s Executive Committee, which led to a formal letter of support for the RMA from the Chamber; that letter is included in the material that has been submitted to the Texas Transportation Commission.

Dennis

Christiansen, P.E.

Agency Director Emeritus Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Dan

Rudge Executive Director

B/CS Metropolitan Planning Organization

Doug Bramwell, P.E., R.P.L.S.

Senior Vice President of Surveying Jones|Carter, Inc.

John Nichols, Ph. D. Councilman, City of College Station Chair, B/CS Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee Professor, Texas A&M University (Ret.)

Are you celebrating a milestone? Anniversary? New location? Re-branding? Let us help you! Call (979) 260-5200 or email Brian@bcschamber.org to schedule your B/CS Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting!

Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce

P.O. Box 3579

Bryan, TX 77805-3579