CITY & COUNTY
Top city & county stories to watch in 2023
2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
Missouri City’s new city manager sets goals for 2023
BY JACK DOWLING
MISSOURI CITY With an eye toward transparency, Missouri City’s newest city manager, Angel Jones, said she is looking forward to 2023. Jones was sworn into o ce Dec. 5 and is the fourth city manager for the city in three years. According to Jones, her rst month has been dedicated to assessment. “One of the rst things that I’d like to do is to meet with key stakeholders and residents to get a feel for the city,” Jones said. While Jones refrained from committing to speci cs, she did say that employee compensation and retention rates were at the top of her priorities. “Compensation is one of those things that is really hard to get right,” Jones said. “But we want our employees to feel as though they’re being paid what they’re worth.” In addition, Jones said one of her goals is to ensure
Construction e orts on the EpiCenter will continue in 2023.
RENDERING COURTESY PBK ARCHITECTS
Work continues on Fort Bend County EpiCenter
Missouri City’s newest city manager, Angel Jones, takes the oath of o ce at a swearing-in ceremony during the Dec. 5 City Council meeting. (Jack Dowling/Community Impact)
employees feel like they belong, which she said is key to creating an e cient, e ective city that is able to meet the needs of its residents. “My goal is to ensure that Missouri City is the most e cient and e ective city that it can be,” she said.
BY ASIA ARMOUR
FORT BEND COUNTY Work is still underway on the 230,000-square- foot, 10,000-seat-capacity Fort Bend County EpiCenter in Rosenberg. Site developers for the county’s newest sports and entertainment complex said the project is slated for comple- tion in August 2023. The EpiCenter will rest on 52 acres of land along Hwy. 59 and Hwy. 36, a central location Fort Bend County Judge KP George called the “heart of the county.” The cost of construction remains $120 million. In addition to graduations and events, Fort Bend County intends to use the space for emergency shelter, a backup emergency operations center, and a cooling and warming center in extreme weather condi- tions. Kevin Matocha—principal at Stonehenge Holdings LLC and site developer for the EpiCenter—said creating more resources for disaster relief was of particular importance to commissioners, especially consider- ing the impacts of Hurricane Harvey.
Fort Bend County o cials identify priorities ahead of 88th Texas legislative session
REPRESENTING FORT BEND
The 88th Texas legislative session, which lasts 140 days, commenced Jan. 10. The Texas Legislature meets every other year. Here is who is representing Fort Bend County at the capitol. Texas House of Representatives District 26: Jacey Jetton R District 27: Ron Reynolds D District 28: Gary Gates R District 85: Phil Stephenson R
BY ASIA ARMOUR
them to local legislators. Per the Dec. 13 presentation, Fort Bend County looks to support bills that promote more local control, the continuation of House Bill 3 funding for schools, animal protection initia- tives and Medicaid expansion bills. Additionally, the county will look for funding support on its mental health, criminal and juvenile justice, and transportation and infrastruc- ture initiatives. It also proposed increasing transparency and accountability of special purpose districts; placing emphasis on next generation energy; and increasing funding for broadband and mobility.
FORT BEND COUNTY On Dec. 13, Fort Bend County commissioners workshopped possible legislative pro- posals, areas of interests to monitor and funding opportunities for the county’s priorities in the upcoming 88th Texas legislative session, which convened Jan. 10. Michelle Whittenburg—a legislative consultant for the county—identi ed trail accessibility in CenterPoint Energy easements, hotel occupancy tax, pension bonds and revenue caps as four priorities for the county. Whittenburg will work with the county to draft proposals and deliver
State Senators
District 13: Boris L. Miles D District 17: Joan Hu man R District 18: Lois W. Kolkhorst R
SOURCES: TEXAS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMUNITY IMPACT
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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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