BRYAN, Texas — After hours of presentation, discussion, and debate in the Bryan City Council chamber Tuesday evening, a unanimous decision was made to approve Bryan ISD's zoning application.
The nearly 100 acres of land off of Harvey Mitchell Parkway and Leonard Rd will now officially be used to build the Ruby Haliburton Auxiliary Complex. The complex is set to be the hub for all BISD maintenance, transportation, food services, and custodial administrative staff.
“I'm going to celebrate the outcome. We're very thankful for the Bryan City Council tonight and for voting yes. We're excited about this outcome and, we're ready to break ground and build that much-needed facility," Bryan ISD Superintendent Ginger Carrabine said. "We can't wait to put the Ruby Haliburton name on the building and invite our staff to move in.”
Despite the decision, both Bryan ISD and the city of Bryan have not seen eye to eye on the zoning application. The City of Bryan Planning and Zoning commission previously denied two prior proposals from Bryan ISD. Both the city and school districts even published statements to the public to clarify the continued struggle between the two parties.
“We have always had a very strong relationship with the city of Bryan and I look forward to that continuing," Carrabine said. "I appreciate the comments tonight and I just want to thank them for their vote to let us build the building a need to build.”
Both parties agreed that a new transportation facility was the right thing for the school district and the city, but the location of that facility was a major point of debate. The city’s planning and zoning commission stated their disprovable for a variety of reasons including property values, and traffic, while the city council cited a lack of communication as an issue.