VOL 2 No. 43
Phone: 281-980-6745
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
County moves forward with MCPD celebrates state recognition University branch library
A schematic design of the proposed University branch of the Fort Bend County Library was presented to the commissioners court last Tuesday by Bailey Architects. By SESHADRI KUMAR The county will lease the The university is not reFort Bend County Com- quired to hire its own library land from the university for missioners Court last week staff, but books required for 50 years at a rate of $1 per accepted the schematic design the university students will be year, thus saving the county for a proposed county library stocked in the library. substantial land cost. at the University of Houston The university, on the other County staff will operate System Sugar Land Campus. the library during normal of- hand, need not construct a The library will be a joint fice hours. If the university library. Also, it will free up project between the county wants the library to open after space now being used as liand the University of Hous- office hours or during holi- brary for conducting classes. ton. The architects for the projdays, the university will conThe proposed library will tract with the county for such ect, Bailey Architects, hope to have a built up space of services, Patterson said. complete the design develop40,103 square feet, of which The library will be built ment by May 2010 and therethe county will pay the con- between the two existing after, the county will likely go struction cost for 35,000 buildings, the Mamie George out for bids to construct the square feet, according to building and the new building library. It is expected to take County Commissioner James which houses the Wharton about 18 months to complete Patterson. the construction. Thus, if County Junior College. The project is in Patterson’s The library will also be all goes as planned, the new precinct. used by the junior college University branch of the Fort The total construction cost students. The university and Bend county Library will likehas not yet been estimated, the junior college will have a ly be ready by October 2011. but the county taxpayers have separate agreement for the liThe county is already buildapproved $10 million in bonds brary usage. ing another library in Sienna for the library. Both the county and the uni- Plantation, jointly with the The day to day operations versity will benefit because of Houston Community College of the library will be conduct- the joint project agreement, System. ed by the county. Patterson said.
County tax rate unchanged
Doug Brinkley is new Sugar Land Police Chief Sugar Land Police Chief Steve Griffith has been appointed to the newly created position of Assistant City Manager for Public Safety, effective Oct. 19. In his new position, Griffith will oversee Police, Fire, Emergency Management, Public Safety Communication (Dispatch) and Sugar Land Regional Airport. Griffith served as Sugar Land’s police chief for more than four years before his promotion to assistant city manager. Assistant Police Chief Doug Brinkley has been elevated to the position of Police Chief to succeed Griffith. “Doug has been serving as the Interim Chief for the past six months, and during that time he has done an excellent job of providing leadership in the Police Department,” said Griffith. As an assistant police chief since 2005, Brinkley has been responsible for the oversight of the training unit, personnel, crime analyst, budget analyst, accreditation (CALEA), records, dispatch, property and evidence, jail
Brinkley and secondary employment oversight. Prior to joining SLPD in 2005, Brinkley spent approximately 14 years with the Grand Rapids Police Department in Michigan and two years with the Detroit Police Department. He has also served eight years in the United States Army Reserve. Brinkley earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Boston University. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBI National Academy.
Fort Bend County Commissioners last week adopted a $245 million budget for 2010, marking a 3.38 percent increase over the 2009 budget. The commissioners also adopted a total county tax rate of 49.976 cents per $100 valuation, same as last year. The county’s tax rate in 2004 was 52 cents per $100 valuation. The county managed to bring down the operations and maintenance tax rate from 48.3 cents to 47.9 cents, but had to increase the drainage district’s maintenance tax rate from 1.6 cents to 2 cents per $100 valuation. In the 2010 budget, $8.6 million has been allotted to the capital improvement projects. The county’s total fund balance is estimated to be $44.8 million from the beginning fund balance of $55 million. In the general fund, the total allocations have been reduced by 2.82 percent, with a majority of the departments cutting their operating budget, except the elections administration, Sheriff’s detention and facilities management .
Officer Jay McClellan, left, Officer Donna Quakenbush, Missouri City Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, with the accreditation certificate, Assistant Chief Larry Capps and Assistant Chief Pat Worrell. (Back row, left to right) Det. Weathers, Det. Tippit and Hedwig Village Police Chief Dave Barber, representing the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation. The Missouri City Police Department is celebrating its recent recognition as one of 18 in the State to attain “Recognized Law Enforcement Agency” status in Texas. The force was evaluated on 161 Best Practices standards to achieve this statewide award from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation Recognition Program. MCPD joins the Texas City Police Department and the University of Texas - Houston Police Department to attain accreditation through this award in the Greater Houston Area. Additionally, Officer Don- Capt. Mike Berezin, left, Capt. Geneane Merritt, patrol officer na Quackenbush was praised Marianne Rivera and Asst. Chief Larry Capps. by Fitzgerald for her tireless elevated to assistant chief, numerous roles from patrol efforts and diligence during with authority over adminis- officer to undercover agent to the year-long process leading trative services. sergeant. up to the police department’s MCPD also announced the Missouri City’s newest statewide award. captain, Geneane Merritt, promotion of Mike Berezin to The Missouri City Police was chosen from a nation- Captain. Department is continuing to wide pool of eight candidates. A 20-year seasoned vetbuild on its proud legacy with She will oversee the Criminal eran, Berezin will have comsome recent promotions and Investigations Division and mand over MCPD’s Patrol hires. is an exemplary law-enforce- Division. In honor of 28 years of ment officer with a proven The department also saexcellent service, making track record working and lutes two new patrol officers: myriad contributions ranging supervising criminal cases. Jazton Heard and Marianne from street patrol to criminal Capt. Merritt served on the Rivera, who joined MCPD investigations to support ser- force in Philadelphia before after working for a Constavices, Larry Capps has been coming here and excelled in ble’s Office in Harris County.
Quail Valley Garden Club Members enjoy the restful “pondless” pond of Velma and Tom Herrick. Their program was on trends in water gardening and rain harvesting by Matt Boring of Texas Ponds, who built the pond. Quail Valley is known for its beautiful gardens, and this is but one example. Visit http://traction.typepad.com/QVGC and select October Program from the Posts section to view more color photos or contact Patty McKeever at 281-437-7738 to learn more about membership.
Introducing the new Back Pain Program at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land. You don’t have to live with pain
It’s time to start experiencing relief with a personalized treatment plan from our new comprehensive Back Pain program. Our skilled health team specializes in joint and back pain, offering both minimally invasive surgical techniques and non invasive treatments. To learn more, call 281.725.5225 or visit SugarLandBackPain.com.