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VOL 10 No. 28
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
County plans to call for $218 million Texana gets $1 million from George Foundation for Fulshear Campus mobility bond election By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County Commissioners Court is poised to call for a mobility bond election in November. According to a list of projects finalized by the four commissioners in their respective precincts, the total estimated cost of the projects all over the county is $420 million. Of this, the county’s share of funding is estimated at $218 million and the rest will be borne by area cities and other entities. According to the 2017 Mobility candidate projects posted on the county engineering department website, the total projects in Pct. 1 will cost $140.53 million, in Pct. 2 $96 million, in Pct.3 $115 million and in Pct. 4, $69 million. In each precinct the county’s share of the cost will be $56 million in Pct. 1, $55.6 million in Pct. 2, $58 million in Pct. 3 and $48.20 million in Pct. 4. The commissioners court will hold a workshop and hear public comments on a proposed Mobility Bond Election on July 25 at 1 p.m. in the
Commissioners Courtroom, on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse located at 401 Jackson St., Richmond. All interested persons can attend and provide input on the proposed election or written comments may be sent to the County Engineer at Mobility2017@fortbendcountytx. gov. Copies of the proposed projects are available at the Fort Bend County Engineers Office, 301 Jackson St., Fourth Floor, Richmond, Texas. Alternately, the proposed project map is available on the Fort Bend County website http://www.fortbendcountytx. gov/engineering/maps. During the June 27 workshop, County Judge Bob Hebert raised the Texas Heritage Parkway project, connecting FM 1093 to I-10 in the KatyFulshear area of Pct. 3. In the previous bond election, voters approved $4.5 million for this project. Hebert said if the Texas Legislature introduces a revenue cap in the special session, “We need a game plan.”
If a revenue cap is enforced, the county’s ability to pay its share of the project cost from the general fund would be limited. Hebert does not want the county to draw funds from the general fund in future years for the project. If there is no revenue cap, there will be no problem, Hebert said. He asked the county engineer to review the project cost and come up with “a game plan that works both ways,” and see if some money needs to be earmarked in the proposed bond election. At this time, whether the Heritage Parkway will be included in the mobility bond project list is not clear. If it is included, the anticipated revenue cap will not affect the funding source, as debt service is exempt from the revenue cap. When Commissioners court fine tunes the project list at the July 25th workshop following public comments, the final bond amount will be determined. The future of Heritage Parkway will also become clear.
Fort Bend County Fair entertainment lineup unveiled
Johnny Bush
Kevin Fowler
Texana Center’s Forward Together in Fulshear Capital Campaign was given a significant boost from The George Foundation with a grant award of $1 million. Two years ago Texana Center purchased a 14.5 acre tract of land located in Northwest Fort Bend County on FM 359 and Wallis Street in Fulshear following a long and unsuccessful search for an appropriate building to operate an additional campus. The need for services was great so a decision was made to purchase land for an additional campus. The planned campus will be developed in three phases with the layout taking advantage of the existing beautiful oak trees to provide shade and peaceful setting for the programs. Phase I - Décor & More… retail training center with coffee shop will serve as an ‘incubator’ to provide training and intern positions for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism and will cost $1.5 million to build. The building will have two classrooms to get an early start on programming; one classroom will house Texana’s already established applied be-
havior analysis autism program and the other will be used for classes for adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism where new programs will be piloted for the Center for Learning (Phase III). Phase II is the $5.5 million building for the Children’s center for Autism which has been purposefully designed to best meet the needs of this population. The 24,566 square feet building will have 12 large treatment rooms, 2 therapeutic integrated preschool rooms, 2 dining areas, an educational kitchen, an indoor play/physical education area, 2 group therapy rooms, 9 small treatment rooms, 11 therapist and administration offices, and space for a large outdoor therapeutic recreation/ playground. Phase III is the Center for Learning, a new concept which will be housed in a 22,195 square foot facility with an estimated individual cost of $5 million. The Center will have a “learning atmosphere” similar to a community college or vocational school with 10 classrooms, computer room, workshop with shipping and receiving area, adult day program area, storage
areas, offices, small educational kitchen, and a large commons area. George Patterson, CEO said “Texana is very excited to have received this generous grant towards our capital campaign. We are confident that we will be able to leverage this award to find additional community funds so that we can complete the first phase of the campus development. The George Foundation is highly respected in the field of philanthropy and by awarding such a significant grant, they have demonstrated their belief in our mission. This funding will enable us to increase our service capacity for our proven applied behavior analysis program for children with autism. It will also be the catalyst, for what we believe, will be transformational programming for adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism, helping them to gain the skills they will need to succeed in reaching their fullest potential”. Texana Center plans to break ground when the final $500,000 has been raised for Phase l. To learn more about the capital campaign or to donate, contact: tracey.shaw@texanacenter.com or 281.239.1311.
Chuck Stokes named president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System
Rick Trevino Left, Kyle Park A Grammy winner, a Texas Music pioneer, and an alumnus of The Voice are a few of the credentials of artists who will be performing at the 2017 Fort Bend County Fair. The entertainment lineup has been officially revealed, and fourteen singers representing Texas Music, Traditional Country, Tejano, and Classic Rock/80s will be taking the stage during the Fair’s 10-day run from September 29 to October 8, 2017. Kevin Fowler, Kyle Park, Rick Trevino, Mary Sarah, and Johnny Bush are just a few of the headliners. “We are excited to bring this group of artists together for our Fair, a few of the headliners are returning, and others will be making their debut. If you like good music, you will love our lineup,” says Ernest Lawson, Fort Bend County Fair President.
Mary Sarah Kicking off the Fair will be the old -school charm of classic Texas Music veteran and main- country music, amped up with a stay, Kevin Fowler on Friday, modern energy all on his own, September 29. Fowler returns to Kevin’s concerts are like no othour Fair and to his tremendous er. Kevin affectionately says, “I allegiance of fans he has earned think some bands have fans, but See Fair, Page 3 through the years. Steeped in
Memorial Hermann Health System on July 6 announced the appointment of longtime and highly accomplished System Chief Operating Officer (COO) Charles “Chuck” D. Stokes to President and CEO of Memorial Hermann, effective immediately. In addition to his role as Executive Vice President and COO, Stokes had been serving as interim President and CEO following the departure of Benjamin K. Chu, M.D., who left the organization in June to pursue his passion in public and health policy. Stokes, who began his career as a registered nurse, is a wellrespected industry veteran with nearly four decades of leadership experience and demonstrated success in fostering a culture of innovation and exceptional patient care experiences, with an emphasis on superior quality, safety and stellar operations. “Chuck has proven himself to be an outstanding leader during the course of his remarkable career with our organization, working tirelessly to guide Memorial Hermann on its journey toward becoming a highreliability organization with a strong focus on innovation and
Stokes transformation,” said Memorial Hermann Board Chair Deborah M. Cannon. “He has an unwavering commitment to our patients, medical staff and to Memorial Hermann, the latter of which has been instrumental in helping us transform our operational structure in order to meet the challenges and demands of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.” As COO, Stokes was responsible for overseeing operations for the System, which has 17 hospitals, more than 200 outpatient clinics, 25,000 employees and 5,500 affiliated physicians. He has a proven track record of
achieving success in service line leadership, employee engagement, physician collaboration, and leadership development. “I am honored and humbled to work alongside our exceptional employees and talented medical staff as we fulfill our mission to advance the health of all Houstonians,” Stokes said. “In its 110 years of faithfully serving this community, Memorial Hermann has grown to become a nationally recognized organization with an unrelenting focus on providing enhanced access to the safest, highestquality care, all at an affordable cost.” Most recently, Stokes’ leadership was instrumental in helping Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital become the first organization and hospital in the Houston area to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence. During his tenure, Memorial Hermann also has been perennially recognized as the country’s most successful Accountable Care Organization, underscoring the emphasis on innovative, evidence-based medicine deSee STOKES, page 3