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TOP STORY OF THE DAY - State of the City address: Mayor Brian Wyndham speaks on Brazil and its future
During the annual State of the City address, Chamber of Commerce members and guests heard from Mayor Brian Wyndham regarding the city of Brazil and its future.
Housing
“The number one thing is housing. That seems to be something we need desperately in our community, not just Brazil but outside Brazil,” said Mayor Wyndham.
Wyndham says Brazil needs population growth; the only way to get that is to develop more housing.
“You’re not going to get people moving into the community until they have someplace to live.”
Public Safety Departments
The Brazil Police Department responded to almost 8,400 calls for service with over 1,000 full-case investigations.
“We’re always providing and promoting crime prevention education and implementing new techniques.”
Wyndham said the 14-man department stays busy and does a great job.
The department is in the process of replacing old vehicles with a fleet of new Dodge Durangos. In 2024, Wyndham says the hope is to expand the special police officer division.
“That’s worked out great to assist full-time officers in the field operation.”
And the possibility of body cams.
“I think that would be a great addition and a good tool for us to have.”
Brazil Fire Department provides excellent fire safety and prevention programs at local schools throughout the year.
A program that has been going on for some time and helps citizens at no cost is the smoke detector program.
“If you come to the fire department, the fire department will furnish them for free and even install them,” said Wyndham. “That’s been going on quite some time, and we want to keep that going.”
The department stays busy, completing over 1,500 hours of hazmat training and 130 hours of EMT training.
“These guys do a great job; they’re on call all the time. It’s not an easy job to do, but we certainly appreciate them.”
Water Department
“There are more and more regulations, but it is important that we furnish clean, safe drinking water for our community.”
Wyndham explains the water department stayed busy last year with multiple projects. INDOT relocated a bridge on U.S. 40, and the city of Brazil was required to relocate its main raw water line.
“If you notice down at Great Dane, a 100,000-gallon new water tower was put out there to help serve the industrial park. That project wouldn’t have happened without the county’s support. They were integral in making that happen, and we sure appreciate them working with us.”
Any lead and copper lines must be removed by October of this year, and Wyndham says this is a good thing.
“It’s to ensure the safety of everyone using our water supply. We’ll get it done.”
Street Department
The street department also had a busy 2023. The street department responded quickly after the large summer storm that left many trees, limbs, and people without power.
“It was something that, I’m not going to say we were unprepared for, but we hadn’t experienced. Five minutes after that storm was over, our guys were out there clearing roads.”
Wyndham said the project was an endeavor with the city renting a tub grinder and having the material ground up in two locations at Craig and Forest Park.
“We’re still dealing with the mulch and finding places to put it. That was about $30,000 just to get it ground up so we could handle it. They did a good job on that.”
Wyndham also took time to thank citizens.
“A lot of people in town were out volunteering and helping. That’s one thing we do have in this community that I think puts us ahead of a lot of others is the volunteer help we have.”
Parks
Wyndham explains Troy Farris does a great job at Forest Park Golf Course, and although golf might have fallen off in popularity, the course is up 10% in play.
“It doesn’t hurt that, for those of you who know golf, that is a Pete Dye course, a very famous designer, so there’s a good history about it.”
With new carts coming soon, the main focus for the golf course is new golf paths.
Wyndham explains Forest Park received a new basketball court last summer, the public pool received updates, and the splash pad should be ready this spring.
“That’ll be a great addition to recreation down at Forest Park.”
At Craig Park, a nine-hole disc golf course was installed, and a second softball field. The bridge for the walking track should be completed this year.
“That park has a long way to go in development, but we see improvements out there all the time.”
Planning and Zoning
In 2023, 410 building permits were issued.
“That’s a good number. That means somebody is remodeling or building.”
Wyndham also addressed the issue of unsafe buildings, 360 in 2023.
“If we go out searching for them, we’ll be overwhelmed. But if we get somebody calling in, we do address them.”
Wyndham also mentioned the installation of the Baby Box and the upcoming projects for Brazil.
“We’ve got some good projects coming up. We have been looking into solar power and the possibility of putting a solar field down at the wastewater treatment plant. 70% of our energy is used right there.”
Wyndham says the events held throughout the year make our community unique, including Kickoff to Summer, the Mayor’s Ride, Route 40 Fest, and the 4th of July Rotary Fest.
“We’ve got the concert band; that’s a diamond no one else has. Our Crusie-In is pretty neat. It’s kind of controlled chaos.”
Wyndham says the one thing all these events have in common is the volunteers.
“All these events that happen, they’re volunteer people. We are blessed with a lot of people who volunteer and give their time to make this stuff happen. These aren’t paid people, and it’s great to see that happen. Not everybody has that.”
In closing, Mayor Wyndham said Brazil has a bright future.
“I’m ready to go to work; let’s make these things happen. I’m confident we will, and I appreciate everything everybody does in this community.”
