email: editor@fbindependent.com
VOL 12 No. 29
Phone: 281-980-6745
www.fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
County’s facilities bond proposal undergoes major overhaul
By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County’s proposed ‘Facilities Bond’ is reshaping into a ‘flood mitigation, mobility and facilities bond.’ An informal survey conducted by Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers revealed that a majority of residents in Pct. 3 overwhelming supported a bond for flood mitigation, followed by mobility. Facilities earned the least priority. This perception was further solidified after Meyers held two public meetings to get input on the proposed bond election. In the survey, 285 people responded as of July 11 and 64 percent supported a bond election. Asked to indicate ‘very important, somewhat important and not important’ projects, more than 200 of the 285 respondents cited flood mitigation as very important to them, followed by a little more than 100 saying mobility is very important and less than 50 voting for facilities as very important. Besides the public perception on flood mitigation and mobility as important, a suggested facilities bond of about $240 million, followed by another $200 million mobility bond next year, would leave no scope for any tax rate reduction for the next several years. This prompted Meyers to revise the bond proposal. Meyers has revised the plan to include 5 different propositions, worth a total of $213.4 million, leaving about $240 million unspent in bond capacity. Meyers’ first proposition allocates $66 million earmarked for flood mitigation projects, leveraging about $400 million for flood mitigation projects and lists the specific projects to be funded. The original proposal included $100 million for flood mitigation with about $40 million for unspecified projects. The second proposition for “Public Safety Facilities” includes $24 million for juvenile detention facility, $12 million for Office of Emergency Management and $3.2 million for improvements to Emergency Medical Services, totaling $39.2 million. The initial proposal in
the Facilities Bond included $30.4 million for juvenile detention, $27.3 million for a multi-purpose facility in the Fairgrounds, $23.2 million for Office of Emergency Management and $3.2 million for improvements to the EMS. While Pct. 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales is ready to pull his proposal for the multipurpose facility, it remains to be seen how much County Judge KP George is willing to reduce the proposed costs to the Office of Emergency Management. Proposition 3, suggested by Meyers under the caption Public Use Facilities/Parks allocates a total of $24.5 million — $12 million – Precinct 2 Youth Sports Center; $4.5 million – Precinct 4 Complex / Honoring SL 95; Using 10 acres at the SL 95 Site to locate a new complex for the community, bringing together Precinct 4 offices and public attention and foot traffic to the history and legacy of the site; and $8,000,000 for parks giving $2 million for each precinct. In the initial bond proposal Pct. 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage has asked for $16 million for the Youth Sports Activity Center and another $9.5 million for improvements to other sports and park facilities in Pct. 2. There is an additional $8 million requested for park improvements all over the county. Pct. 4 Commissioner Ken R. DeMerchant has asked for $7.5 million to build a new annex near the Grand Parkway @ U.S. 90 and another $3.5 million for the Sugar Land #95 memorial park and exhibition. The fourth proposition on mobility is for $66 million. It includes $36 million for mobility projects countywide and $30 million in Pct. 3. In Prop. 5, a $20 million bond would substitute the projects proposed under general obligation bonds, financed by property taxes. Fort Bend Commissioners Court will have a workshop on the facilities bond proposal this Thursday. The agenda document lists the following as the proposed projects:
Juvenile Detention Expansion Expansion and renovation of the existing campus to bring up to standards and accommodate future growth $30,400,000 Elections Administration Bldg New 25,800 sf facility to accommodate growth of the County’s elections functions $5,700,000 Precinct 4 Annex New 21,000 sf facility to provide office space for Commissioner, JP Court, Constable, Tax Office / County Clerk satellite locations and Employee Wellness Room $6,000,000 EMS Misc Improvements Various projects involving several EMS station sites $3,200,000 Multi-Purpose Facility New 102,700 sf facility to provide Deferred flexible, multiuse space for a variety of functions Deferred Fairgrounds Offices New building to provide office space for the Fairgrounds, Fair Association, and to create a formal public entry point into the grounds; approx. 10,000 sf total $2,100,000 Precinct 2 Projects Various projects throughout the precinct $25,500,000 Parks Funding for miscellaneous improvement needs at various parks within Precincts 2, 3 & 4 $6,000,000 Animal Services Campus Install wind-block components to protect outdoor runs from cold wind and rain conditions, all buildings $100,000 Education & Exhibit Building New park with an 8,000 sf facility / Passive Nature Park to provide exhibit and education space related to State prison cemetery $2,700,000 Emergency Management Center New 38,250 sf facility to house the Fire Marshal functions of the Office of Emergency HazMat Facility Management / Fire Marshal /Haz Mat response team $16,900,000. Total Proposed Facilities Bond $98,600,000.
with reinterment and memorialization of what has come to be known as Sugar Land #95. Last week, County Commissioners approved the principal terms of an Interlocal Agreement that will allow the remains of the 95 individuals discovered during FBISD’s construction of the James Reese Career and Technical Center to find a final resting place in a county-owned
cemetery. With agreement on the principal terms, the parties will now work out final details, including resolution of the existing court action. “We are thankful and appreciative of the action taken by county leaders this week,” said FBISD Board President Jason Burdine. “With this action, the Board takes another step in fulfilling its commitment to honor and preserve these
This list does not include any flood mitigation or mobility projects, which may be included in another bond referendum
Fort Bend County Fair’s Queen Enrichment Day
2019 Fair queen candidates Sedona Trevino, Bethany Anne Bromonsky, Hayley Rosilez, Maya Bergen, Zoë Holden, Amanda McDowell, Kate Rabich, Jillian Voehl, Alondra Leyva and 2018 Fort Bend County Fair Queen, Hannah Hunt. The 2019 Fair Queen Candidates and 2018 Fair Queen Hannah Hunt participated at the 3rd Annual event hosted by the Fort Bend County Fair Queen Scholarship Committee. See Story on Page 2.
Sheriff Troy Nehls won’t seek re-election
By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls will not be seeking re-election for sheriff for a third term. 2020 will bring a new era, the sheriff said in his announcement, but did not elaborate. (Nehls has been contemplating a run for the U.S. Congress in Dist. 22, currently held by Pete Olson (R). Should Nehls make an announcement that he will run for Congress, he has to resign from his current office.) Prior to his election as Sheriff in 2012, he served two terms as the elected Constable of Fort Bend County Precinct 4. He has over 24 years of law enforcement and began his career in his home State of Wisconsin. Sheriff Nehls is proud of his accomplishments since becoming Sheriff. One of the most notable is the 65% reduction in Residential Burglaries. “We aim to make you feel
Troy Nehls safe and secure in your home and when traveling around Fort Bend County,” says Sheriff Nehls. “We are one of the safest counties in the greater Houston area and I am very proud of that.” A topic near and dear to Sheriff Nehls are the Fort Bend County jail’s educational programs. “We have to set the inmates
up for success, because in my opinion the criminal justice system is broken in some areas, and I think re-entry is one of them,” says Sheriff Nehls. “Let’s do something about educating them by affording them opportunities to keep them motivated and focused on the future.” Sheriff Nehls is very proud of the fact that the Inmate Vocational Center is funded without the use of taxpayer dollars. “All of the vocational training programs are funded through inmate commissary.” Another important matter that Sheriff Nehls wants to address is the crisis with mental illness. The number of people who die by suicide in Fort Bend County is on the rise. “We can do more,” says Sheriff Nehls. “We must strive to do better for one another and for our communities. There is so much to be grateful for but also so much to work on.”
Fort Bend ISD offers 10 acres plus $1 million for the upkeep of the Sugar Land # 95 cemetery By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend ISD will convey the cemetery area and an additional 10 acres for a memorial park in the Telfair subdivision of Sugar Land as part of the agreement reached between Fort Bend County and Fort Bend ISD regarding the maintenance of the unmarked cemetery at the school site. FBISD will also pay the county $1 million that will go toward future costs associated
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individuals, not just as 95 unmarked graves, but as 95 human beings whose stories deserve to be told. We have recognized the importance of this historical discovery, while also delivering an educational facility that will benefit the students of Fort Bend and our community.” In another related development, the Texas Historical Commission, after receiving guidance from
the Texas Attorney General, recognized its authority to permit extraction of genetic material from the remains of the 95 individuals for the purposes of future DNA testing. Materials necessary for DNA analysis have been collected and will be curated at the Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas. Archaeologists believe
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that the remains are those of convicts who were leased by the State to provide convict labor to a local plantation. “We are looking forward to the next steps in this discovery, with hope that we will one day know more about who these individuals were,” said Burdine. Fort Bend ISD’s James Reese Career and Technical Center will open in August of 2019.