Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge City Commission voted Tuesday night to hire an interim city manager and an interim police chief, following last month’s announcement by current city manager Cynthia Northrop that she will be leaving at the end of November. Blake Johnson announced his retirement from the police chief job two days later; his last day was Oct. 30.

Breckenridge City Commissioner Paul Huntington, right, expresses his appreciation for Cynthia Northrop, left, who has resigned from the city manager position. Also pictured is Breckenridge City Secretary Jessica Sutter, center. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

During a two-and-a-half-hour closed door executive session, the commissioners conducted remote interviews with several candidates for each position. Returning to regular session, they voted to hire the  interim city manager through the Texas First Group, a company that provides interim management services for city governments. The interim police chief will be hired through Clear Career Professionals, a business that likewise connects local governments with experienced interim professionals.

The names of the selected candidates were not released during the meeting, pending notification of the commission’s decision.

In an email Wednesday morning, Northrop said that Breckenridge’s interim city manager will be Vince DiPiazza. According to his LinkedIn page and news stories, DiPiazza has served in city management jobs for more than 40 years. Most recently, he was the city manager of Uvalde from 2015 until he resigned in 2025. He graduated from Texas Tech University and the University of North Texas.

DiPiazza is scheduled to start working as the interim city manager on Nov. 16.

The interim police chief will be Brian Frieda. He retired earlier this year from the police chief position in Justin. He had previously served in similar roles in Ballinger, Sweetwater and Muleshoe. He has a Master of Science degree in criminal justice-criminology from Tarleton State University. He is schedule to start to work in Breckenridge on Nov. 9.

Former Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson, center, was honored with a retirement party last month. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Military and Veteran Banner Program

During Tuesday night’s meeting, Breckenridge’s new Main Street Coordinator, Austin Piccolo, announced the city’s new Military and Veteran Banner Program, an initiative to honor those who are serving or have served in the United States Armed Forces.

The banners, which will feature a photo of the veteran, their name and branch of service, will be displayed on the decorative light poles in the downtown area.

In order to have a veteran featured on one of the banners, an application must be filled out (click here to get the application). The program will be an annual program, first-come, first-served, with 51 spots available per year (the banners will be rotated throughout the year depending on how many eligible applications received.

To qualify, the honoree must be an active-duty member of the United States Armed Forces or a retired or honorably discharged member of the United States Armed Forces and have ties to Breckenridge (by family or honoree themselves). Click here to get read all of the rules of the program.

The City Breckenridge’s Main Street Coordinator, Austin Piccolo, talks to the city commission about the new Military and Veterans Banner Program. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

New Fire Station Contract

Last month, the City Commission finalized the location of a new fire station, reversing earlier decisions and deciding, once again, to demolish the existing fire station and build a new fire station in the same place. Certificates of Obligation have been sold and a request for qualifications was advertised. The City received submittals from BKV Group, BRW Architects, Jacob & Martin, Martinez Architects, Parkhill, and RPGA.

The submittals were scored by several staff and a City Commission member, Northrop said.

According to the chart displayed at the meeting, BRW Architects received the highest score, and the commissioners awarded the contract to the business.

Street Project Change Order

The city commissioners approved a change order for the Street Improvement Phase III.

“So, Mayor, commissioners, this is probably the last change order you will see with our street improvement program for phase three,” Northrop said. “Essentially … this is going to take care of a drainage issue on Merrill Street. We are … adding additional curb replacement on Williams. … We should be finishing up this project by the end of November, certainly by the end of the year, unless we have additional weather.”

The change order includes street removal and valley gutter install on Merrill Street, additional curb replacement on Williams Street, removal of existing curb and sidewalk on West Elm Street, and installation of curb, gutter, and commercial driveway on West Elm.

The change order will add $54,117 to the contract price. A previous change order added $424,676.70 to the cost. The original contract amount was $2,433,843.60. The new contract price, incorporating this change order and others, is $2,912,637.30.

The project is funded by certificates of obligation previously obtained by the City.

Other Business

The city commission held a brief public hearing regarding a zoning change request, but there were no residents who wanted to speak on the topic. However, when the same topic was addressed as an action item, Mayor Kord Trammel informed the city commission that the Planning and Zoning Commission had tabled the topic the night before. The city commission likewise voted to table the agenda item until a future meeting.

The city commissioners also honored John Wilson as the Employee of the Month and approved the following items:

• Purchase of a tandem-axel dump truck for the Public Works Department
• An agreement with the State of Texas Department of Transportation for the temporary closure of State Highway 180 for the Breckenridge Christmas Parade coordinated by the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce.
• The appointment of members to the Breckenridge Housing Authority and the Board of Adjustments
• Road closures associated with the Chamber of Commerce Mingle Jingle event to be held Nov. 20-21
• A resolution designating the Albany News as the Official Newspaper of the City of Breckenridge for public notice and designating the Abilene Reporter-News as the official newspaper for ordinance publications in accordance with Section 4.24 of the City Charter for Fiscal Year 2026-2027

City of Breckenridge Public Works Director Taylor Hardy presents the Employee of the Month award to John Wilson, who works in the water distribution department. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop presents a going away gift to Police Chief Blake Johnson during his retirement party last month. His last day on the job was Oct. 30. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: The Breckenridge Commission met on Tuesday, Nov. 3, for their regular November meeting. Pictured, from left, are commissioners Paul Huntington and Junior Fernandez, Mayor Kord Trammel, and commissioners Justin Rose and Blake Hamilton. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)