What happened: The Midland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, Oct. 13, to end the city’s contract with Flock Safety for license plate reader cameras. Council also approved the horse-grazing rezoning near Woodland Park, raised developers’ share of the cost of major roads along new subdivisions, and approved a $13.1 million renovation of Hogan Park’s Roadrunner golf course.

Key points:

  • Flock cameras: Council approved a 60-day written notice ending the city’s contract with Flock Safety. The vote affects 73 stationary city cameras and two portable units that are not in use. Staff said more than 200 other Flock cameras in Midland belong to other public entities, private businesses and homeowners associations, and Tuesday’s vote does not affect them.

Councilman John Burkholder said he has seen the cameras help catch criminals like fuel thefts but is concerned about where the data goes, the control of the data, and how far Flock has expanded. Councilman Brian Stubbs said the cameras were used twice in the past week to quickly catch a suspect but are “very powerful if they’re abused.” Mayor Lori Blong said some police officers disagree with the decision but the city had reached a point where it could either let the contract renew or end it at no cost, and that the conversation about police technology “is not over.” In February, council unanimously approved the contract at $225,500 a year, and the preview of Tuesday’s meeting reported that ending it would save that amount.

  • Horse-grazing rezoning: Council unanimously approved rezoning about nine acres near Breckenridge Drive and Woodland Park Avenue from single-family to agricultural estate so the owners can fence the vacant lot and graze horses from the nearby polo club. Because the objections reached 86% of the surrounding land, the request needed a supermajority to pass.

The applicant’s representative said the owners would give right-of-way if the road ever crosses their tract. He said the land is now mesquite and native grass where people dump trash, the owners are not home builders, and horses would be there about 16 weeks a year, turned out at night.

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Last week the Permian Press reported that P&Z recommended the request 4-2 after commissioners questioned the owners about hypothetical homes and a road the city has no right-of-way for.

  •  Developers pay more for roads: Council unanimously approved increasing residential developers’ share of major roads along new subdivisions from one-third to half. The city would cover the other half instead of two-thirds. Developers still pay the full cost of smaller neighborhood roads. Developers who believe their share is too high can request a city-hired engineer’s study to determine a fair cost based on the development’s impact.
  • Hogan Park golf: Council unanimously approved a $13.1 million renovation of Hogan Park’s Roadrunner golf course. Most of that, $11.7 million, goes to Mid-America Golf and Landscape for the course work: new irrigation, drainage grading, new greens, and changes to the tee boxes, bunkers and several holes. The other $1.4 million covers two new restrooms ($400,000), a new entrance off Fairgrounds Road ($200,000), and testing and unexpected costs ($820,000). Parks Director Laurie Williams said the contract came in more than $3 million under the city’s $15.89 million estimate. Construction starts in early November and should finish in late fall 2027. The renovated Quail course reopens Oct. 30. Williams said the golf course pays for itself without help from the city’s general fund, and that the pro shop topped $1 million in sales this year with only one course open. Council ended the golf course subsidy when it approved the Quail renovation in 2025.
  • Occidental Parkway apartments: Council approved the first reading of a 207-unit, single-story apartment development at 1201 Occidental Parkway 6-1.
  • Walmart expansion: Council unanimously approved the first reading of a Walmart expansion at 4517 N. Midland Drive to house its pickup service. Councilman John Burkholder said traffic entering from Loop 250 is already “absolutely horrendous.” The company’s engineer agreed to study a back entrance before the second reading.
  • Wadley-Barron duck pond: Council accepted a donation from Permian Resources to line the Wadley-Barron Park pond with a clay liner. City staff said the pond is a stormwater detention pond that has never had a liner. He said improved drainage now sends less runoff to it and refilling it with city water would cost more than $100,000. Public Works said the project will not raise flood risk for nearby homes.
  • Parks and roads: Council approved $500,000 each from the 2025 parks bond for C.J. Kelly Park, mostly $375,000 for new irrigation on fields Mayor Lori Blong , and Windlands Park, mostly a new entrance off Wadley to ease a parking-lot bottleneck. Council also approved $150,000, half the cost, for TxDOT to add a second southbound left-turn lane at State Highway 191 and Avalon Drive.