News
BY AUBREY HOWELL, HANNAH NORTON & CARRIE TAYLOR
Proposed 2026-27 capital improvement plan The capital improvement plan, or CIP, outlines prioritized projects and spending for the next five years.
Katy-Fulshear government news
3 stories we’re following online
FY 2026-27
1
2
4
1 Fulshear one of the nation’s fastest growing cities
Fulshear saw the second-fastest growth in the nation last year, at 21%, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The city was led by Celina, located about an hour north of Dallas, which saw 24.6% growth in the same period. Overall, Texas was home to eight of the nation’s fastest-growth municipalities in 2025 as people continue moving to smaller cities in the state’s large metropolitan areas, the data shows. The suburban boom comes amid a slowdown in overall population growth, according to previous Community Impact reporting. 2 City of Katy to finance wastewater treatment plant expansion At a June 8 meeting, Katy City Council approved a $20.6 million financing agreement with the Texas Water Development Board for the expansion of the city of Katy wastewater treatment plant. 3 Fulshear Police Department launches drone first responder program The city’s new drone first responder program will provide a new avenue for things such as missing person searches, community event monitoring and active incidents instead of using the traditional police helicopter, department officials announced in a May 7 Facebook post. The program will assist with: • Faster emergency response capabilities • Enhanced officer and community safety • Real-time artificial intelligence for responding officers • Improved search and rescue operations • Better situational awareness during critical incidents • Traffic crash investigations • More efficient deployment with of department resources
3
5
1 Wastewater: $48.69M • South FM 1093 gravity line improvement • Primrose Wastewater Reclamation Facility 2 Water: $18.95M • Water Plant Elevated Storage Tank addition 3 Facilities, parks and technology: $1.18M • Primrose Park design and surveying, construction, equipment and furniture
4 Streets and traffic: $1.16M • Bois D’Arc realignment (FM 1093 to McKinnon Road) construction and potential utility relocation and drainage adjustments 5 Drainage: $280K • Drainage master plan, Phase 3 • FM 359 and Fourth Street drainage improvement
SOURCE: CITY OF FULSHEAR/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Fulshear officials to consider $70.25M capital improvement plan for 2026-27 budget
Fulshear officials will consider approving more than $70 million for capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2026-27 later this summer. In a nutshell At a May 19 Fulshear City Council meeting, public works staff presented the preliminary draft of its five-year capital improvement plan, or CIP. The FY 2026-31 plan includes an estimated total cost of $335.63 million to be funded by a variety of sources, including bonds and local partnerships. The details The proposed plan for FY 2026-27 includes nearly
$49 million for wastewater and $19 million for water projects, with the remainder allocated to drainage, facilities, parks, technology, streets and traffic. Licon also addressed the council’s and the pub- lic’s desire for a dynamic project status dashboard to display project updates. He said his department is working with the city’s information technology team to continue building and “working out the bugs before putting it out to the public.” Stay tuned The city’s next budget review is scheduled for July 7, where City Council will vote to approve the FY 2026-27 CIP.
NOAA officials predict less active hurricane season
2026 Atlantic hurricane season outlook National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials are predicting a below-average hurricane season for 2026.
• Three to six hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher • One to three major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher Staying prepared Although the season is predicted to be below average, National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said it’s important to remember it only takes one storm to make it a bad season.
With hurricane season underway through Nov. 30, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- istration officials are predicting the first below-aver- age Atlantic hurricane season since 2015. What you need to know According to predictions, NOAA officials are forecasting a range of eight to 14 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean with winds of 39 mph or higher, including:
Below normal: 55%
Near normal: 35%
Above normal: 10%
SOURCE: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
11
KATY - FULSHEAR EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook