$60
POTENTIAL effects The bond programs are expected to cost the owner of a $250,000 home much less than the stormwater utility fee, which the city of Pearland is no longer pursuing. The following estimates could be even lower.
Feb. 14 was the last day for City Council to put the stormwater fee on the May ballot, which council mem- bers chose not to do. “The Pearland Chamber of Com- merce appreciates City Council listen- ing to businesses and pausing on the stormwater fee,” Johnson said. City staff is now looking at the via- bility of different bond referendum options, including a $90 million, $120 million or $150 million bond. City Council did not pursue a bond ini- tially because the city has other capital needs—specifically the maintenance of existing infrastructure—it also wants to focus on, Pearson said. City staff presented the stormwater fee as a way for Pearland to dedicate money for all capital improvements, including maintenance of existing infrastructure, Pearson said. Depending on the bond package that is approved, a homeowner of a $250,000 house in Pearland could see a $12.19-$17.06 annual increase in their overall property taxes. Pearland home- owners would have had to pay $60 per year, regardless of property value, had the fee been adopted and approved, Under the initial stormwater utility fee proposition, the city of Pearland identified a list of 17 proposed projects totaling close to $59 million, according to Feb. 14 agenda documents. Those projects were primarily iden- tified from the city’s 2019 drainage master plan, which identifies flood risk areas, Pearson said. The city also looked at if projects can be done within a five-year time frame, he added. Now, city officials are looking to add more projects to the original pegged for the stormwater utility fee to create a bond package. The difference among bond packages is the number of proj- ects the city will focus on until 2028. The $90 million package includes 23 projects like subdivision upgrades in the Shadycrest neighborhood and roughly $10.17 million in drainage improvements toWest Circle Drive and East Circle Drive to ease flooding issues in the subdivision. The $120 million, 25-project package includes $28 million in work on Hick- ory Slough Creek between O’Day Road and Roy Road that features widening the existing detention basin. Lastly, the $150 million package would include multiple partner proj- ects with Brazoria Drainage District No. 4 that would have to be proposed in the future. Thedistrict didnot comment on according to the city. Packaging projects
$60
CONTINUED FROM 1
opted to look at alternatives, such as a bond package. Council members said the city needs to upgrade the infra- structure in areas identified in the city’s drainage master plan and Hurri- cane Harvey report. Pearland last did a bond program in 2019 with projects that totaled $80mil- lion, according to the city of Pearland, and is expected to be mostly com- pleted in 2024, Pearson said. City Council also formed a commit- tee Feb. 14 to identify and prioritize the city’s most needed drainage projects to include in a bond. “Drainage isn’t sexy,” Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole said. “It’s not shiny; it’s not something that is necessarily new. … But when the storm is barring down, we want to make sure that our drainage works.” Weathering the storm Before Pearlandproposed a bond ref- erendum, a stormwater drainage util- ity fee was presented and nearly sent to voters by City Council to address 17 planned projects worth about $59 mil- lion, according to the city. Pearland City Council had until Feb. 14 to place the stormwater utility fee on the May 7 ballot to let voters decide on the fee to fund specific drain- age projects city staff had identified. Per month, the fee would have charged homeowners a $5 flat fee and commercial property owners $1.79 on their property taxes for every 1,000 square feet of surfaces that do not absorb water, such as paved spaces, according to the city. It was estimated to generate $5.25 million annually. City Council agreed in June 2021 to put the fee on the May ballot but faced opposition from the community, some citing lack of information on the fee. Some of these entities, including Alvin ISD, requested to be exempt from the fee for various reasons, one of which was because none of the proj- ects would be within AISD’s boundar- ies, AISD Superintendent Carol Nelson said in a letter to council members. In a February survey done by the Pearland Chamber of Commerce, 79 businesses were polled, and 90% of them were in favor of postponing or not implementing the stormwater fee altogether. Jim Johnson, the president of the Pearland Chamber of Commerce, said business owners raised concerns about having to pay an additional tax when some had already paid for their own detention and retention projects.
$50
$40
$30
$20
$17.06
$14.63
$12.19
$10
$0
Stormwater utility fee
$90M package $120M package $150M package
17 total projects 23 total projects 25 total projects 25 total projects
+ partner projects with Brazoria Drainage District No. 4
BOND time Pearland is aiming for May 2023 to potentially send a bond to voters.
Pearland City Council opts to not put stormwater utility fee on the May ballot; approves a committee to review potential drainage bond projects; and appropriates $655,000 for preliminary engineering reports.
FEB. 14, 2022
Committee members are appointed, which include Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole and council members Tony Carbone and Alex Kamkar.
FEB. 28, 2022
FEBRUARY- NOVEMBER
City staff conducting preliminary engineering reports on drainage projects that could be funded with a future proposed drainage bond.
JUNE 1- AUG. 3, 2022
Committee will make recommendations on what projects should be included in a bond.
This is the last day to order a general or special election on a measure for the Nov. 8 election, per the Texas secretary of state’s office.
AUG. 22, 2022
NOV. 8, 2022
Election Day
This is the last day to order a general or special election on a measure for the May election, per the Texas secretary of state’s office.
FEB. 17, 2023
City Manager Clay Pearson said he believes a bond will not go on the ballot until May 2023, but the door is not sealed for a November turnaround.
MAY6, 2023
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
22
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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