Brazos County commissioners voted in favor of creating four new positions at the Brazos County Expo Complex but also vetoed other positions because of taxpayer concerns and resource allocation during the Aug. 4 meeting.
The overview
The expo is currently undergoing deferred maintenance and expansion. As previously reported by Community Impact, $11.5 million is being allocated to the complex from Brazos County taxpayers.
During the meeting, commissioners weighed opening four positions for the complex, including:
- Clerk III
- Receptionist
- Assistant manager-Fair Administration
- Event Coordinator II
While the court unanimously approved the assistant manager and event coordinator positions, commissioners questioned the use of hiring a clerk and a receptionist. Resident Peter Michelena said he thought taxpayer resources could be used more efficiently, along with the overall profitability of the Brazos County Expo Complex.
“Are these positions going to somehow generate revenue for the taxpayers?” Michelena asked. “If you add up all these positions, you’re looking at $254,000 a year added, along with benefits and retirement. That’s 16% of the revenue the complex made in 2026.”
Zooming in
County Judge Duane Peters argued the benefits of the complex to other industries, but the court agreed the revenue of the complex needs to increase for some positions to be justifiable. Precinct 3 Commissioner Fred Brown said it would be ridiculous not to want the county to make money on the events held at the complex.
“We need to start making money,” Brown said. “We need to look at it as a profit center and not as a loss, because all we’ve been doing is losing profit every year.”
The court also brought up the idea of using temp workers or filling the receptionist position with part-time employees. Precinct 2 Commissioner Chuck Konderla said he thought it would be a great opportunity for students to get real-world experience.
“I’d love to see them work in their field of study,” he said.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Wanda Watson said she would be afraid of constant training for students as temp workers because of their transient nature, along with costing the county more resources as a result.
“It’s constant training. You get a phone call and this person can only answer so many questions,” Watson said. “Receptionists don’t just answer the phone and take messages.”
The takeaway
The court did not approve the creation of a new receptionist and clerk role. While no further action was taken, Brazos County Expo Complex general manager Jacqueline Foster said the expo will likely return with combined aspects of the jobs to consolidate them into a smaller total number of roles.
