Pearland - Friendswood Edition | June 2023

CITY & COUNTY

News from Pearland & Friendswood

QUOTE OF NOTE

Pearland City Council member reprimanded for unauthorized release

Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. June 26 for a regular meeting at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings can be streamed on the city’s ocial YouTube page. Friendswood City Council will meet at 6 p.m. July 10 at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood. Meeting recordings are posted to the city’s YouTube channel. MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS FRIENDSWOOD City Council approved the nal reading of an ordinance consenting to Waste Connections of Texas’ adjusted rates for its waste and recyclable disposal services May 1. Rates will increase by $1.07 to $17.79 monthly for single families using an 18-gallon container and by an additional $0.08 per month for those who utilize a 95-gallon recycle cart. FRIENDSWOOD The Friendswood Police Department, partnering with Galveston County Health District, will receive 100 doses of overdose- reversing drug naloxone, or brand name Narcan, following training on its use. The department previously applied to Texas’ federally funded More Narcan Please program, which ran out of funding following high demand. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, ON THE UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE OF THE SEMIFINALIST CANDIDATE LIST FOR THE CITY MANAGER POSITION “THESE ACTIONS ALTERED THE DEFINED AND AGREED UPON ACTION PLAN FROM THE CITY OF PEARLAND, SGR AND THE REMAINING FIVE CANDIDATES.” JEFFREY BARRY, PEARLAND

BY RACHEL LELAND

The details: Triple B Services, the lowest responsible bidder, will take on the project for nearly $2.2 million. The project will focus on Blackhawk Boulevard from south of Pennystone Way to Geneva Drive. Construction is estimated to begin in July, as previously reported by Community Impact . A partnership with Harris County Precinct 2 will cover $1.2 million of the project’s cost. Friendswood’s cost will be funded by residual bond funds from the previous Blackhawk Boulevard project, a street improve- ment sales tax and water/sewer working capital. What else?: Cole said a consul- tant from Strategic Government Resources told him someone had reached out to the Texas Municipal Police Ocers Association on behalf of the Pearland Police Ocers Asso- ciation to run background checks on the candidates. Jon Albin, Pearland Police Ocers Association vice president, said neither association performs background checks. The mayor also said the consul- tant said the external candidate the city with a $10.3 million decit and incorrect tax rates. In February, the city posted an application on the Strategic Govern- ment Resources website showing it was open for candidates. On April 24, council had narrowed it down to interim City Manager Trent Epperson and an undisclosed external candidate, Cole said.

withdrew his application due to the list being leaked and because he learned an internal candi- date applied. Kamkar defended his

Friendswood selects Blackhawk Boulevard Phase 2 contractor PEARLAND City Council Member Alex Kamkar was reprimanded by council at a May 8 meeting for the unauthorized release of the semi- nalist candidate list for the previ- ously open city manager position. What happened?: On April 23, Kam- kar used his private email to send a 107-page document including the names of the city manager candidate seminalists to both the president and vice president of the Pearland Police Ocers Association. Mayor Kevin Cole said it’s been the city’s policy to not release the identi- ties of candidates to prevent jeopar- dizing their current employment. Zooming in: The previous city manager, Clay Pearson, was red in November following a discovery of a county tax worksheet error that left

Alex Kamkar

decision to release the list to the city’s police ocers association members by saying he felt there was never condentiality in the hiring process. Epperson told Community Impact at a March 23 Pearland ISD event he had applied for the role. Next steps: On April 4, Community Impact led an open records request with the city of Pearland to access the list. As of May 9, the request is under the review of the attorney general.

CONTINUING IMPROVEMENTS

Friendswood contracted Triple B Services to resurface Blackhawk Boulevard from south of Pennystone Way to Geneva Drive.

BY RENEE FARMER

FRIENDSWOOD More improve- ments to Blackhawk Boulevard are another step closer to construction. What happened?: Friendswood City Council unanimously awarded a con- struction contract for its Blackhawk Boulevard Reconstruction Phase 2-B during its May 1 meeting.

GENEVA DR.

PENNYSTONE WAY.

SOURCE: CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COMMUNITY IMPACT

PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • JUNE 2023