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Vivian Brooks was born in rural Nevada County, Arkansas.
She attended a number of schools and graduated from high
school at the age of 16 in 1945. She worked and then
attended Henderson State Teachers College in
Arkadelphia, Arkansas, at age 17.
In late 1949, she moved to Bay City, Texas, and worked
for a number of companies. She began preparing income
tax returns, since her major jobs and college training
had been in business administration. She passed the
Internal Revenue Service Enrollment Test in 1976 and
practiced as an Enrolled Agent until her retirement in
1992.
Mrs.
Brooks served four years (two terms) on the Sweeny City
Council under Mayors A.M. Anderson and Harry Beverly,
and she served two years (one term) as Mayor. She was
the city's first female mayor. Prior to
her terms, she was not involved in politics, but had
always been active in church and civic activities.
When she took office, she finished the work on a grant
to repair and replace sewer lines in the city on private
property. She applied for and received a grant to
purchase a new truck and a chipping machine for starting
a city composting service. During her service, the city
purchased a new garbage truck and a new ambulance for
the Volunteer Fire Department. The city also added onto
the fire station. The city received a grant for exercise
equipment for the park, now known as Martin Luther King
Park, and for the area by the library. Brooks visited
other cities and visited their sewer plants. The
city passed a bond issue to clean and paint the water
tower and build a sewer plant to handle 15,000
residents.
She instigated the purchase of the new City Hall
Building from R.T.C. The city paid $80,000 for the
building and refurbished it to make it a City Hall for
$10,000. The city had a contest to purchase painting’s
created by local artists, and three paintings were
purchased for $800.00.
The old city hall, which became the police station, was
remodeled. Among the renovations was the addition of a
holding cell. She applied for and received a grant for
the police department to assist in having a drug dog and
other equipment needed. The city sold the old Municipal
Judge's Office (at the corner of Third & Pecan) and the
court was moved into the same building as the police
station.
During rainstorms, she inspected areas in town and found
that by cleaning some culverts and gutters, the city
could stop some homes from being flooded. The city hired
someone with the proper equipment to do this, which
provided much relief.
She served as Vice-Chairman of the State Community
Development Regional Review Committee of the
Houston-Galveston region. She attended a number of
meetings with other Mayors and Council members,
including the State Meeting of Women Mayors.
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