CITY& COUNTY
News from Harris County & Jersey Village
QUOTEOFNOTE “THE LAST THINGWE NEEDRIGHT NOW IS FOR PEOPLE TO LET DOWN THEIR GUARDBECAUSE IF WE DO THAT, THEN THINGS COULDGET
JerseyVillage decides against bond for golf course project
BY JISHNU NAIR
that allows us to utilize the space well now but also to develop further in the future.” City sta reported at the Jan. 7 meeting that “patch repairs” had been completed, although the building continues to leak in heavy rain. The sta report described the building as “in need of major improvements” that would need requests for the scal year 2022-23 budget. The center cost was initially estimated at $7.5 million from the city’s cash on hand, although Bleess noted that cost took into account the potential bond. At a Dec. 20 council meeting, several council members expressed their wish to avoid calling a bond election. Bleess said the council expects to hear designs from architects by mid-February. He said it is unlikely the council would reconsider a bond for a revised design.
TEEING UP A PLAN Jersey Village City Council members have been discussing ways to update the golf course convention center for years.
JERSEY VILLAGE According to city manager Austin Bleess, Jersey Village City Council will not move forward with a bond election to fund its new golf course convention center. Council members decided not to call the election at a Jan. 7 workshop session. The council also decided to entirely redesign the center, Bleess said. The new design would rehabil- itate the building and add a separate building for tournaments and larger events, according to the Jan. 7 workshop packet. The rehabilitated center would span around 6,000-8,000 square feet. Restaurant space that was included in the initial design would remain, but a planned golf course maintenance facility would be taken out. “It would be a complete gut job,” Bleess said. “It will be something
City Council authorizes a study looking into remodeling the club house. The city is noti ed recommended updates would cost $682,500. Council votes to have PGAL design the facility. Construction bids on the design come back at $5.2 million-$7 million. The project is later put on hold. The project is now estimated to cost $7.5 million. Council considers calling a bond election. Architects are expected to present new designs for a more cost-e cient project.
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WORSE AGAIN.” HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE LINA HIDALGO ON THE SPREAD OF COVID 19
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Jersey Village City Council Will meet at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 at 16327 Lakeview Drive, Jersey Village. 713-466-2100. www.jerseyvillagetx.com Harris County Commissioners Court Will meet at 10 a.m. Feb. 8 at 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. 713-274-1111. www.harriscountytx.gov MEETINGSWE COVER cases, according to Hidalgo. HARRIS COUNTY In a split vote, Harris County commissioners pledged a maximum of $29.5 million for the second phase of Houston nonpro t Coalition for the Homeless’s COVID-19 housing project on Jan. 25. The Community COVID Housing Program is a joint e ort between the city of Houston, Harris County and the Coalition for the Homeless, and it was rst launched in July 2020. The program provides temporary rental assistance, permanent housing and mental health services among other resources to homeless individuals during the ongoing pandemic. During the rst phase of CCHP, 3,000 people have been housed and 7,000 households have been provided program services, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said on Jan. 25. COUNTY HIGHLIGHTS HARRIS COUNTY The number of Harris County coronavirus cases and hospitalizations began trending down in late January, but the county’s emergency COVID-19 status will not be lowered yet, County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced Jan. 25. At the time, the county reported 162,623 active cases and a positivity rate of 29.1%. Hidalgo announced Jan. 10 the county’s COVID-19 threat level would return to red, where it remained as of press time. State leaders sent 356 nurses to Harris County-area hospitals in early January to help with the sta ng issues. Some local hospitals were missing up to 10% of their sta due to COVID-19 The CCHP 2.0 will begin in June or July, o cials said.
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SOURCE: JERSEY VILLAGE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
County commissioners name new ood control director, county engineer
Harris County judge criticizes newmail-in ballot requirements
BY EMILY LINCKE
HARRIS COUNTY On Jan. 25, Harris County welcomed ve new directors who will head county entities such as the Harris County Flood Control District and the Harris County Engineering Department. In a unanimous vote, commission- ers named Christina Petersen as the ood control district’s rst female executive director. Petersen has served as deputy general manager for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District for the last three years. Alan Black served as interim exec- utive director for HCFCD after former director Russ Poppe resigned in June 2021. Matthew Zeve, who served as deputy executive director for the district, con rmed in a Jan. 26 email to Community Impact Newspaper that he will be resigning from his position, e ective Jan. 28. Milton Rahman—who previously served as the deputy chief of sta for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia—was unanimously approved for the position of county engineer. He will be the rst South Asian to hold that position, Garcia said.
BY JISHNU NAIR
HARRIS COUNTY New regulations in Texas’ Senate Bill 1 passed during the legislative session in August enacted sweeping changes to voter registration and mail ballot appli- cations. The March primary will be the rst election in which SB 1 will be in e ect. Harris County agged 35% of mail-in ballot applications for rejections, Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a Jan. 19 press conference. “It’s a solution in search of a problem,” she said. “The people who passed those laws in the last session and who are defending them now know [those rejections] could sway the election.” Harris County Elections Adminis- trator Isabel Longoria said the most common problems facing mail-in ballot applications and voter registra- tions include voters failing to include newly required information or information that is inconsistent with previously recorded data, requiring the county to track them down to con rm their identity.
Christina Petersen
Milton Rahman
“The roles of ood control district director and county engineer are integral to Harris County’s regional leadership in developing drainage and transportation infrastructure, including the implementation of the 2018 Flood Bond as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in ood mitigation projects along the county’s waterways and roadways,” a press release from the o ce of county administration said. The county administrator’s o ce on Jan. 25 also announced Daniel Ramos will lead the o ce of man- agement and budget; Lisa Lin will pilot the o ce of sustainability; and Sara Mickelson will head early childhood initiatives.
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CY FAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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