COLLEGE STATION, Texas — In November of 2022, John Nichols was elected the next Mayor for the city of College Station.
In addition to the new candidates, there were also multiple propositions that were approved, each of which proposed millions for projects to improve different facets in the city.
KAGS sat down with Nichols as he laid out his hopes and plans for the city in 2023.
Question
“Now that the Election is over, how does feel to officially be the mayor?”
Answer
“Well, I feel pretty comfortable with the routine things.”
Question
“One of the things your brought up before Election Day was that you wanted to usher in leadership and make sure that all the councilmembers agreed in what needs to happen to improve the city. What do you think needs to happen?”
Answer
“Well, we’ll never all agree on everything that’s for sure. As we go into the new year, it’s a budgeting year, which means we do have an opportunity to reallocate resources and reestablish some priorities.”
Question
“There were a lot of propositions on the ballot, some allocated to parks, some allocated to fire. Why are those issues necessary?”
Answer
“A new fire station to serve that area in the southern part of the city is critical as we grow. You’ve got to maintain that response time and as you grow you can’t maintain that response time if you don’t have the properly positioned equipment.”
Question
“Looking at these propositions though, it is going to cost the city a tremendous amount of money to accomplish what you guys are wanting to accomplish. Is this going to come at the expense of taxpayers though?”
Answer
“We know we can accomplish, with the current tax rate, more than what the capital projects that were approved in the bond issue. There may be other issues that require tax increases down the road, but I’m not expecting that to happen immediately.”
Question
“Is that because of inflationary needs?”
Answer
“The city’s tax revenue, on the property tax side, did increase significantly, but if you look at the current market, you’ll see that the appraisals won’t be increasing that much in (2023).”
Question
“College Station really is one city that is continuing to grow compared to other parts in Texas. One area we saw was Northgate. There was a lot going on, but I think that caused a bit of controversy. I think there’s a matter of public safety for the people that attend Northgate versus the financial profitability of the bars?”
Answer
“We’ll be looking into that early in the year and adopting some of those policies in a committee with the Northgate investors and business owners and identify the priorities that are most workable from a public safety point-of-view.”
Question
“A lot of people view College Station as a college town. Would you argue that it’s more than that?”
Answer
“Oh, it certainly is. I think we’re doing a pretty good job of attracting some of the businesses that will employ people after college.”
Question
“When you said you’ve always shown up and done the work, at the end of the day, who do you do it for?”
Answer
“There are lots of ways to serve, I’ve found that I’m comfortable with the public sector role as an elected official to commit my time to help determine the priorities, reflect the will of the citizens, and I’m willing to study those issues and make the decisions.”