CITY & COUNTY
News from Galveston County, Houston, Harris County, League City & Seabrook
HIGHLIGHTS SEABROOK The Seabrook Economic Development Corp. presented Transwestern with a $50,000 incentive Feb. 3 for the development of the Bayport 146 Distribution Center, according to a SEDC release. The incentive will reimburse the company for the cost of building permit fees necessary to develop the facility. Nearly half of the building is already under negotiations for a lease agreement. HARRIS COUNTY Commissioners opted to use a $9 million general fund surplus to help cover de cits in the Harris County Sheri ’s O ce and district attorney’s o ce Jan. 31. Harris County is projected to nish the rst quarter of scal year 2022-23 with a surplus despite a tighter budget being adopted by commissioners Sept. 13, according to a Jan. 31 presentation from the O ce of Management and Budget. GALVESTON COUNTY State lawmakers, Galveston County o cials and local cities are pushing to abolish the O ce of the Galveston County Treasurer. The Galveston County Commissioners Court voted unanimously in support of abolishing the o ce at a special meeting Dec. 23, requesting the Texas Legislature pass an amendment abolishing the o ce. Friendswood City Council also unanimously supported a similar resolution at a Feb. 6 meeting. Hank Dugie, a former League City City Council member, was elected Nov. 8 to county treasurer after running on a campaign to abolish the position. League City City Council will meet at 6 p.m. March 28 at 200 W. Walker St., League City. Meetings are streamed at www.facebook.com/ leaguecitytexas. Harris County Commissioners Court will meet for its regular meeting at 10 a.m. March 14 at 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. Meetings are streamed live at www.harriscountytx.gov. MEETINGS WE COVER
City Council approves new library review committee
BY SAAB SAHI
MEMBER MAKEUP
League City City Council voted to create a Community Standards Review Committee to review library materials. 3 members with experience in childhood education appointed by mayor and approved by City Council 3 members of the library board
LEAGUE CITY Following a contentious resolution passed 4-3 on Dec. 6, League City City Council during its Feb. 14 meeting voted 5-3 to approve an amended ordinance regarding the creation of a Community Standards Review Committee to review library materials. The council discussed the ordinance at length and went over many variations before landing upon the nal amended version that was ultimately passed. The amended ordinance has no speci c language about what library material can be challenged but will lead to the creation of a six-member Community Standards Review Committee with a board chair that will act as a tiebreaker as suggested by Council Member Sean Saunders. “I’m not against reclassifying books, but I am against banning them and removing them from the library,” Saunders said. The committee will be composed of three members with experience in childhood education appointed by Mayor Nick Long and approved by the City Council as well as three library board members. The new board will review library materials in any medium that are challenged by community members within 30 days. However, no material can be reviewed more than
6 committee members
SOURCE: CITY OF LEAGUE CITY COMMUNITY IMPACT
once within 12 months, nor is there a process outlined that would call a sustained challenge into question. There were over 100 people present at the Feb. 14 meet- ing, and dozens of people spoke out against the ordinance. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas also shared a letter in opposition to the book review committee, noting the vagueness of the resolution could lead to discrimination and possibly infringe on former Supreme Court decisions as well as the First Amendment. Public comment ran for about two hours until 8 p.m. “I want anybody that watched us tonight to understand that this decision on this committee policy was very di cult to make,” Saunders said.
Houston City Council makes plans for Galveston Bay Park
preserving the area’s oyster habitat. The GBPP is the companion project to the “infamous” Ike Dike, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin said. The Ike Dike is part of a larger coastal spine project. The SSPEED Center’s study will assess costs of items in the plan and the environmental concerns for the oyster reefs in the area. The city of Houston, the Harris County Flood Control District and the Port of Houston Authority have each contributed $250,000; Rice will contribute the remaining $250,000 for the $1 million project. The plan will use the spoils of exist- ing and continued dredging in the ship
channel to create the barrier island not only for coastal protection, but also for the creation of almost 10,000 acres of public land space, according to a brochure for the plan. The plan will cost between $4 billion to $6 billion to construct, and comple- tion is expected between 2027-30, per the SSPEED Center. Galveston Bay Park could include bike trails, shing, camping and event spaces. RENDERING COURTESY SSPEED CENTER & ROGERS PARTNERS
BY LEAH FOREMAN
HOUSTON At a Jan. 18 meeting, Houston City Council passed an agreement between the city and Rice University’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster Center for the planning of Galveston Bay Park. The Galveston Bay Park Plan entails designing barrier islands for storm surge protection and studying and
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BAY AREA EDITION • MARCH 2023
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