Government
BY EMILY LINCKE, NICHAELA SHAHEEN & JESSICA SHORTEN
County mandates power backups at assisted living, nursing facilities Under a new re code, the roughly 120 assisted living and nursing facilities located in unincorpo- rated Harris County will have until Jan. 1, 2026 to add emergency backup power systems, county leaders announced Jan. 8. The overview Harris County is the rst in Texas to implement this re code, which is designed to keep vulnera- ble senior populations safe during emergencies, Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said Jan. 8. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said the requirement for backup power systems will allow: • Safe facility temperatures to be maintained • Vital medical devices to be powered • Medications to be preserved Montgomery County o cials take o ce Ritch Wheeler, Wesley Doolittle and David Eason were sworn in Jan. 1 for various elected positions across Montgomery County. Two-minute impact Wheeler defeated incumbent James Noack in the March Republican primary election for Precinct 3 commissioner, and Doolittle won a May runo for Montgomery County sheri , replacing Rand Henderson. Neither candidate faced Democratic or indepen- dent challengers in the November general election. Eason won the Precinct 2 constable election to replace Gene Deforest, who did not seek re-election.
County invests $10.1M in solar panel project Harris County is one step closer to launching a $10.1 million pilot project to install solar panels at libraries and commu- nity centers following a unanimous vote by Harris County Commissioners on Jan. 9. What’s happening? Harris County’s two-phase Distributed Energy Resources pilot aims to make county facilities “less reliant on the electricity grid” and more resistant to power outages during weather events, according to Jan. 9 meeting documents. The project calls for solar panels, battery storage and dual-port electric vehicle charging stations. Construction on Phase I of the energy pilot is slated to begin in January and wrap up by the rst quarter of 2026.
The new re code was approved following Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Beryl—which induced widespread power outages—and resulted in:
At least 1 senior death due to extreme heat during Hurricane Beryl 14 nursing homes and 30 assisted living facilities in Harris County losing power for several days during Hurricane Beryl 10% of nursing homes and nearly 33% of assisted living facilities across Texas losing power during Winter Storm Uri 100 senior deaths due to hypothermia in Texas during Winter Storm Uri
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4 COMMUNITY IMPACT
• Emergency communications to be made • Evacuations to be safer
Facilities will be given one year to get into com- pliance with the new re code, and county leaders plan to provide guidance and support during the transition, Briones said.
Priorities and recommendations outlined in the master plan include: • Improvements to Unity and Sullivan parks and the Magnolia Stroll • A new stroll • Trail opportunities • Replacing existing playgrounds • Expanding the existing splashpad • Creating a new playground and family pavilion
Sullivan Park
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Magnolia Stroll
Unity Park
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SOURCE: CITY OF MAGNOLIA COMMUNITY IMPACT
Magnolia’s master parks plan outlines projects At its Dec. 10 meeting, Magnolia City Council approved the city’s parks and recreation master plan commissioned by Burditt Inc. How we got here Throughout a six-month period from October 2023 to April, public forums were held for residents to voice their desires regarding parks and recreation, and a community survey was conducted, Rachel Steele, executive director of the Magnolia Economic Development Corp., said during the meeting. Steele said 200 people use Sullivan Park each week, and the city will use funds from future
budgets to cover the cost of future developments and improvements. Also of note The city can choose the process of implemen- tation by picking a speci c project or working on improvements gradually, according to the presentation. Magnolia can also apply for local park grants and recreational trail grants for funding, accord- ing to the presentation. The background Steele said the city’s master parks plan had not been updated since 2007. Magnolia Economic Development Corp. approved working with Burditt to develop a parks master plan in 2023 for $72,000, according to prior reporting.
“I pledge to keep the lines of communication open and transparent.” WESLEY DOOLITTLE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY SHERIFF
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