Gatesville Manager Brad Hunt Outlines Projects, Events and Development to Lions Club

Gatesville City Manager Brad Hunt told the Gatesville Lions Club during its weekly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, that local development interest has accelerated sharply, with projects rising from seven in July 2024 to an estimated 20 to 30 by April 2025. Hunt said, “In the last year, I would say that growth – interest in growth – here in our town has increased pretty significantly,” and added that “the development kind of builds on itself. The word is out amongst developers right now, and the word is: we are open for business.” KXXV neighborhood reporter Allison Hill covered Hunt’s remarks.

Hunt’s presentation to the Lions Club was framed as a city-manager-style update similar to the monthly reports he delivers to Gatesville City Council, reviewing ongoing projects, upcoming events and development activity, according to local coverage in the Gatesville Messenger. The Messenger’s page header lists Friday, February 20, 2026, though the article also displays a “Posted 2/21/26” line; the club presentation itself took place Feb. 18.

City Council documents show the kinds of departmental matters Hunt has pushed through the last year. A City Council memorandum dated Feb. 11, 2025, authored by Bradford Hunt, places a City Manager’s Monthly Report on the agenda as Item 19 and includes agenda Item 8 proposing additions and amendments to City Ordinance Chapter 12, Cemeteries. The cemetery memo notes the existing ordinance was adopted in 1988 with a single minor addition in 1994, that it outlines funding and maintenance but lacks day-to-day operational rules, and that staff seek to codify modern rules and procedures while legal advised waiting on zoning until annexation is complete.

Hunt also has pursued grant funding for public safety technology. The Feb. 11, 2025 packet references a resolution to accept SERI grant funding for new police dispatch consoles, with language indicating Hunt coordinated with several entities over the prior 12 months and that the Central Texas Council of Governments was involved in the grant application process. The resolution appears tied to Resolution 2025-017 in the packet.

Infrastructure remains a pressing priority as Gatesville pursues outside funding. Regional reporting in KWTX says repairs to a water tank will include sandblasting and recoating the exterior with an approved NSF epoxy and repairing six holes on the roof caused by old cathodic protection. In KWTX coverage, a person identified only as Carter said, “This is where our real people live,” and “So the best we can do to get our services to them means a lot. Water and wastewater is a big deal to everybody in Texas.” KWTX also summarized Hunt’s comment that “the city is grateful for the funding, noting rural communities can only do so much before it becomes too much of a burden for taxpayers.”

Hunt’s municipal role is recent but consolidated. After serving as interim city manager beginning in May 2024, Gatesville City Council unanimously promoted Brad(ford) Hunt to the permanent city manager post; he previously served as Gatesville police chief and succeeded Scott Albert in the manager role, according to regional reporting and city documents.

Local coverage of Hunt’s Lions Club appearance is available in the Gatesville Messenger, though that story is behind a subscriber wall. KXXV’s reporting by Allison Hill frames Hunt’s remarks within an ongoing city effort to channel growth while preserving what residents value about Gatesville.