VOL 9 No. 5
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2016
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Texas Energy Center is no more; Long live TxEC!
NURSING GRADUATES. Wharton County Junior College is pleased to announce the recent graduation of 11 students from its Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing program offered at the WCJC Sugar Land Campus. The graduates pictured front row left to right: Jackie Vallesteros of Houston, Kimberly Laughlin of Houston, Valeria Torfin of Bay City, Erika Vargas of Houston, Lisa Companaro of Richmond. Graduates pictured second row left to right: Karla Flores of Richmond, Blair Nixon of Houston, Troi Jimerson of Rosenberg, Lindsey Campbell of East Bernard, Erin Forgason of Hungerford. Not pictured: Tanisha Harris-Houston. For more information contact WCJC’s associate degree nursing program at (979) 532-6391.
Stafford mayor paints state of the city with cautious optimism By BARBARA FULENWIDER It’s the first time in memory that Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella delivered a dismal annual state of the city report. Yes, he sees the state of the city as okay now but is concerned about what tomorrow may bring. He began by citing the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France and California and then the decline in oil prices and how it will negatively affect Stafford as it did in 1986. He went on to note that after TI’s almost half-century reign in Stafford, the TI property is
no more. All 192-acres are now owned by StreetLevel, a Dallas developer. The development of apartments, hotels, retail shops, restaurants and offices is to begin this year and open in the summer of 2017. On that note the mayor reminded residents that Stafford has prospered and grown thanks to living within its means, having a zero property tax and no general obligation debt, avoiding a bloated city government and enhancing its productive resources.
Then Scarcella said something that has “profoundly impacted Stafford” is Councilman Robert Sobert’s continually impeding the mayor’s administration. Sorbet ran against Scarcella for mayor last year and lost with 35 percent of the vote to the long-time mayor’s 64 percent. Another problem the city now has, the mayor said, is the rare and unanticipated loss of highly-valued, experienced department heads. See STAFFORD, Page 3
By SESHADRI KUMAR The Texas Energy Center set up in 2003 by the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council, Fort Bend County, the City of Sugar Land, Gas Technology Institute and others, has been dissolved. The Texas Energy Center board met in late September 2014 and voted to dissolve the Corporation and provide its remaining assets to the GFBEDC, according to information unearthed by a blogger, Yvonne Larsen, who posts in Bigjollypolitics.com. Since the EDC meeting records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, Larsen, obtained the minutes of the EDC board meeting by making an open records request to the City of Sugar Land, which is a member of the Texas Energy Center. The city had to release the documents as per the opinion of the Texas Attorney General. In March 2006, this writer (then writing for the publication Fort Bend Sun) published an article titled “Texas Energy Center needs reality check,” stating that the center was “at crossroads, with an uncertain future.” The Austin Chronicle wrote “if the Texas Energy Center was a taxpayer-financed boondoggle for the oil and gas industry, or an economic development driver of new jobs and cutting-edge technology.” The TxEC got embroiled in national politics as well. The energy bill passed by the Congress in 2005 had a provision to fund $50 million over 10 years for ultra deep water oil and gas exploration research, thanks to the efforts of then U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. Later, President George W. Bush wanted that money earmarked for the TxEC/RPSEA project removed because he did not feel it was good use of the funds.
The TxEC’s mission was to develop and support educational, scientific, technical, commercial, industrial and economic development and improvement of all facets of the energy industry in Fort Bend County and Texas. It was to promote and facilitate the research, development, and production of energy technologies, approaches and services including alternative fuels, gasification, clean energy, fuel cells, photovoltaics, renewable energy, deep and ultra deep water and unconventional onshore oil and gas exploration and production and emission reduction technologies; and to promote the advancement of the energy industry within Fort Bend and to attract energy companies, energy-oriented research and educational institutions and organizations, and other related entities to Fort Bend County and Texas. In the first three years, the TxEC received about $4 million in grants, including $3.6 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund, administered by the then governor Rick Perry. The TxEC was set up as a way to attract $2.1 billion in federal funding to the county, through the creation of the Research Partnership for Securing Energy for America (RPSEA), a consortium of major institutions. Sugar Land contributed $250,000 and the county has contributed $150,000. Then Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace was the chairman of the task force set up to create the energy center. In July 2004, after spending about $2 million in the first 14 months on staff, and with the federal funding nowhere in sight, the TxEC was on the verge of closure. Another 20 months elapsed and the situation was not much different. The center failed to accomplish its original mission
due to lack of support from energy companies. When the center’s focus shifted from research to job creation, major energy companies were not interested in the center. Since TxEC had received state funds, it had agreed to create 1,500 jobs by 2015. Jeff Wiley, president of the GFBEDC, said the TxEC fulfilled its obligation to the state and decided to dissolve itself, because it would cost money to maintain the organization without creating any benefit. The remaining funds are managed under a separate committee comprising the existing board members of the TxEC— Fort Bend County, City of Sugar Land, University of Houston and the GFBEDC. The special committee would carry out the purposes of the TxEC and has accepted remaining assets of the Corporation upon dissolution. Though TxEC has been dissolved, the name has not been given up because the name has some value, Wiley said. To fulfill the original goals of TxEC, an identity is needed and a specific field would also be required to draw private sector interests, Wiley said. Instead of merely creating an academic program in the University of Houston, Sugar Land, a project may be identified to help create jobs as well as to provide education in energyrelated industry such as energy efficiency or home automation and so on. The TxEC is actively exploring opportunities in partnership with the private sector and the University of Houston— Sugar Land, Wiley said. Currently, there is a balance of $988,427 in the TxEC account, he said. That money will be leveraged for a future project that would benefit the Fort Bend community.
Black History Month
Missouri City staff will partner with the Black History Month Celebration Committee to host the second annual Black History Month Celebration Kick-Off Ceremony. Scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, on the steps of City Hall, 1522 Texas Pkwy., the event will include performances by area middle schools and dance groups, and presentations by elected officials. Above, Area elected officials and members of Thomas Taylor’s family celebrate the unveiling of his street name at the 2015 Missouri City Black History Month Kick-Off celebration. See story on Page 6.