VOL 5 No. 32
Phone: 281-980-6745
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2012
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Fashion through the decades
Sugar Land embarks on a $70 million performing arts venue By SESHADRI KUMAR The City of Sugar Land is embarking on a $70 million concert/performing arts Venue. The concert hall will be located on a 21-acre site currently owned by the City near the southeast corner of US 59 and University Blvd. in Telfair. The City has identified ACE Theatrical to assist in the planning, design, development, construction, furnishing and operation of a first-class 6,500 to 7,000 seat indoor live entertainment concert/performing arts facility for the hosting of concerts, plays, graduations and other events. The city council was scheduled to approve the execution of a Letter of Intent between the City, Sugar Land Development Corporation, and ACE Theatrical LLC. at the Aug. 7 meeting. In 2007, a Visioning Task Force identified five preferred entertainment venues for the community and prioritized three: Professional Minor
One of the many highlights of Richmond’s 175th Birthday Celebration on Sept. 15, 2012, will be the fashion show on Morton Street in Historic Downtown Richmond, Fashion through the Decades, 1830s – 1960s. Dora Moore, committee chair for the fashion show noted, J’Neen Henderson who recently did a fashion show for the Titanic
Exhibit at Houston’s Museum of Natural History, will be bringing her fashions from the 1800s. This is a chance in a lifetime to see these clothes in Richmond. The Fort Bend Museum is also donating fashions, along with Barbara Rosenberg, whose mother used to have a dress shop in the area. “This is not just a fashion show, it will be educational too.
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor
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Fort Bend Independent, (USPS 025-572) is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodicals Postage Paid at Stafford, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.
I’ll talk about the history and what the people’s lives were like during each time period as each model walks the red carpet,” Henderson said. For example, in the 1870s, hoop skirts came in with more emphasis on le derrière, then in the 1880s there were colossal volumes of materials highlighting again, le derriere. “It was like a huge iceberg, lots going on underneath dresses that weighed close to 20 pounds,” Henderson said. Moore added, “For the 1920s, we’ll have a flapper dress, for the 1950s we have a poodle skirt, penny loafers and bobby socks, and for the 1960s, we have a Jackie Kennedy suit, complete with the pill box hat.” The parade kicks-off the day’s event, Sept. 15, 10:00 a.m., with the fashion show following at 11:00 a.m.. The event is free to the public. Vendors and sponsorships are still available. For more information, visit, www. historicrichmond.org or call 832752-9645.
Quail Valley’s yard of the month
Beating the heat . . . if your garden looks a little wilted, Chester and Ellen Smith’s garden at 3230 El Dorado is a super garden to get ideas. Done in cool colors with lots of shades of pink, lilac, watermelon, and rose reds, the garden beautifully combines a variety of evergreen shrubs with perennials. A touch of yellow provides some zing. The garden looks as fresh and lovely morning or late afternoon. Crepe Myrtles provide color and “sculpture” with their beautiful trunks. A stable for Chester for summer color are Pentas. They are prolific bloomers, attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and in mild winters continue to bloom. As perennials, they return year after year and save money. A sign by the doorbell says, “Ring bell. If no answer, pull weeds.” Most gardeners will appreciate the sentiment. The Smiths received a plant from Flowers by Adela and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Quail Valley Garden Club. Drive by to get ideas from this well-designed garden.
League Baseball, Larger Festival Site and an Indoor Concert Venue. Through the vote of the public in 2008, entertainment venues were overwhelmingly determined to be in the community’s best interest. In addition to its $35 million, professional baseball venue, Constellation Field, which is now open, the City is planning for a Concert/Performing Arts Facility and Festival Site. The City approved a Memorandum of Understanding on May 3, 2011 that stated the City would exclusively enter into discussions with ACE SL LLC and outlined the process that the public / private partnership will use to achieve the following goals: • Develop a sustainable Concert/Performing Arts facility. • Create a destination attraction for Sugar Land that provides opportunities for entertainment and recreation for Sugar Land residents as well as attracting non-residents from the surrounding area. • Provide a flexible multiuse facility that provides the potential to support concerts, plays, as well as other entertainment venues and community uses. • Energize the surrounding
area through its integrated design and operation to increase economic development activity and future revenue streams to the City. The LOI has binding components that address exclusive rights regarding negotiations, planning team identification and ACE’s responsibilities associated with the planning efforts for the creation of schematic designs, funding responsibilities, planning period and levels of approvals. ACE is responsible for payment of such services, which may not exceed $912,000. Upon completion of the schematic designs and cost estimating, should the City and SLDC determine not to proceed with the project, the SLDC will reimburse ACE for 80 percent of actual costs not to exceed $730,000. The SLDC has budgeted $1.2 million in the FY12 to begin the planning efforts for this venue. Should the project continue, the actual expenses paid by ACE will be deducted from its future contribution to the financing of the project. The parties intend to complete the negotiation of, and enter into definitive agreements by no later than April
30, 2013. Assuming that the cost to design, develop, construct and furnish the project is $70 million, the financing plan includes issuance of $35 million in bonds by the SLDC to be secured by the SLDC’s sales tax receipts, with the net proceeds of such financing to be used to fund the design, development, construction and furnishing of the project; contribution by the operator of $10 million in cash and issuance of $25 million in debt to be secured by certain revenues received from the operation of the project. Based on a Market Analysis and Feasibility Study performed in 2008, it was identified that a Concert/Performing Arts Venue would promote capital investment, create new jobs, enhance educational opportunities and create unique destination activities attracting local and regional visitors. This survey also recommended the ideal venue for Sugar Land would include a concert stage and approximately 6000 to 7000 seats. Additionally, the City had the Feasibility Study updated in 2012 to reflect the current status of the market which confirmed the financial feasibility of the project.
Sales tax collection increases By BARBARA FULENWIDER Missouri City, Meadows Place and Rosenberg racked up the largest increases in sales tax collections this past May, according to July payouts, which run two months behind so reflect May sales. The three Fort Bend towns, which are among its largest, were also ahead in total sales taxes collected this year. Missouri City collected $551,211 in net pay this period compared to $446,133 a year ago for a 23.5 percent gain. So far, 2012 sales tax receipts for Missouri City have totaled $3,656,802 compared to $3,311,066 a year ago for a 10.44 percent increase. Meadows Place followed with a 14 percent gain this July and a 11.14 percent increase over 2011. Rosenberg has collected 10.56 more sales taxes this year than in 2011 and was paid $1,044,687 in July for May 2012 sales compared to $929,959 paid by the comp-
troller in July 2011. Stafford’s July sales tax receipts this year paid that city $1,230,122 compared to $1,018,909 this past July for a 20.7 percent increase. Total sales taxes Stafford has received so far this year total $8,291,698 compared to $7,679,139 for a 7.97 percent increase. Sugar Land’s sales taxes also increased “at a healthy pace,” the city reported in spite of a one-month anomaly an auditing adjustment created. The audit adjustment impacted the city by more than $797,700 and resulted in a one month decline for July. According to the Texas comptroller’s office, the adjustment was a refund to a Sugar Land utility company that overpaid sales taxes from April 2008 through November 2011. The taxes should have been paid to other jurisdictions. Without the adjustment, July collections would have been
20.6 percent higher than the adjusted July 2011 allocation. To date, annual tax revenues for Sugar Land are 6.58 percent more than the city budgeted and represent more than 50 percent of Fort Bend County’s total collections. Sugar Land collected $2,782,129 in July this year compared to $3,613,988 last year. Even with the audit hiccup, Sugar Land has collected total sales taxes this year of $24,652,366 compared to $23,250,906 collected the first seven months of 2011. The difference is a 6.48 percent increase. Sales tax totals for Fort Bend County are $47,834,707 as of past July compared to $44,325,660 in the first seven months of 2011. The difference is a 7.91 per cent increase. July sales taxes collected by the county this were $6,170,742 this year and $6,502,388 for July 2011 for a 5.10 percent decrease.