CITY & SCHOOLS
News from Pearland, Pearland ISD & Galveston County
COMPILED BY RACHEL LELAND
Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. May 22 and June 5 at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings are streamed at www.youtube.com/ copearland. Pearland ISD board of trustees will meet at 5 p.m. May 16 and 3:30 p.m. June 13 at 1928 N. Main St., Pearland. Meetings are streamed at www.youtube.com/user/ thepearlandisd. MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS PEARLAND On May 8, Pearland officials announced Deputy City Manager Trent Epperson as Pearland’s new city manager, effective immediately. Epperson had been interim city manager since November 2022 after the firing of former City Manager Clay Pearson. In a statement, Mayor Kevin Cole said officials are “thrilled” to have Epperson as city manager, noting he has the right combination of skills to meet expectations. Epperson has 17 years of experience in Pearland, working in various roles including director of engineering and capital projects and director of project management. Epperson also has a background in public works and transportation.
Police department to receive new breaching tools PEARLAND The city’s police department will soon have new breaching equipment to better equip them to effectively respond to active shooter situations, not only at schools, but also at other potential targets. On April 10, Pearland City Coun- cil voted unanimously to award a supply contract to purchase breaching tools for every marked Pearland Police Department patrol vehicle from supply store Dana Safety Supply. The $53,480 con- tract will be used to purchase 120 crowbars and 80 sledgehammers. Following the May 2022 shoot- ing at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the department con- ducted several self-assessments of their planned response for active shooter attacks. As part of the assessments, a
District supports $3.5M buyout from natatorium agreement with city
Galveston County judge prioritizes property assessment reform, mental health during State of the County GALVESTON COUNTY During an April 19 State of the County address, county Judge Mark Henry laid out the county’s 2023 agenda, which included continuing to press the state for “meaningful property assessment reform” and funding mental health care in the county. “We have been trying to work together to get the state to first take ownership of the system,” Henry said after explaining property assessments are run by Texas, not local government. “They do a very good job of saying it’s a local thing. The tax rate is a local thing; that’s a true statement. The assessment is not a local thing.” Henry also touched on the county’s efforts to build and maintain infrastructure for responding to mental health crises in Galveston County. “I’ll say this: Whether you know it or not, you know somebody who has a mental health problem. It may be somewhere between mild [and] manageable to requiring medication, but you know somebody with a mental health problem,” Henry said. Henry said the county had made strides to build more infrastructure to respond to mental health crises, includ- ing establishing a speciality court to process mentally ill defendants, but he believes more can be done, including
EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN The Pearland Police Department will buy 200 pieces of breaching equipment for $53,480.
"WE RUN THE WORST MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC IN THE COUNTY. IT'S CALLED THE COUNTY JAIL." MARK HENRY, GALVESTON COUNTY JUDGE
Crowbars: 120 Sledgehammers: 80
200 TOTAL:
PEARLAND ISD On April 11, the district’s board affirmed its support of a $3.5 million buyout from an interlo- cal agreement with the city of Pearland for use of the city’s natatorium at the Recreation Center & Natatorium at 4141 Bailey Road, Pearland. In 2007, the city and PISD entered into a 25-year agreement to construct and use the city’s natatorium, splitting the cost. The agreement required PISD to pay for half of all maintenance costs that exceed $15,000. “The original agreement, in my opinion, is terrible,” PISD board Pres- ident Sean Murphy said. “The intent of the agreement was wonderful, but when you read this from a legal standpoint, it’s very unclear what our side of the fence is responsible for, not just the city side.” The facility scheduled repairs that cost $7 million, which would require the school district to pay half, or $3.5
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Crowbars : $27,240 Sledgehammers: $26,240
building an extended observation unit. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, extended observation units provide up to 48 hours of emergency services to individuals in a mental health crisis who might pose a moderate to high risk of harm to themselves or others. Felicia Jeffrey, CEO of the Gulf Coast Center, a mental health service provider for Galveston and Brazoria counties, said there is a plan to build an extended observation unit for Galveston County that will likely be completed by 2024. “One thing that we have really tried to take lead on is mental health funding, and it’s unfortunate that the state has kind of walked away from that, but we’re going to do the best we can to fill the gap,” Henry said. Henry said the county had asked the state if it would commit to helping the county run an extended observation unit if the county built the infrastructure. “We run the worst mental health clinic in the county,” Henry said. “It’s called the county jail."
$53,480 COST:
N
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
million, per the agreement. Instead, PISD proposed buying out of the agreement for the same cost. Superintendent Larry Berger said the city supported ending the agreement, and Pearland City Council on May 8 voted to end it. The buyout ending the interlocal agreement has moved PISD to a lease agreement of a $122,000 annual fee for three years. The city requested an automatic renewal with a one-year notification should PISD seek to end the agreement.
six-person committee of current and former SWAT members identified equipment that allows for fast and effective response to an active shooter beyond the stan- dard equipment issued to officers, according to agenda documents. The tools would not only be able to be carried by a single officer but would enable officers to breach most barricades, according to agenda documents.
SHADOW CREEK 11023 Shadow Creek Pkwy (281) 977-1027
PEARLAND 10555 Pearland Pkwy (713) 987-9205
ALMEDA 11130 Gulf Fwy (713) 910-3941
FRIENDSWOOD 3126 FM 528 (281) 648-5473
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