Government
BY CASSANDRA JENKINS, EMILY LINCKE & KEVIN VU
$10M contract awarded for public works facility West University o cials awarded a $10.9 million contract Jan. 13 to Austin-based company Tegrity Contractors to build the city’s new public works facility. What you need to know City sta completed the evaluation of bids submitted for the construction of the new public works facility Dec. 18. Of the seven bids, the city deemed ve to be complete. The bids ranged from $10 million to $12 million. City o cials chose the second priced option with Tegrity Contractors, whose bid came in just under $100,000 more than the top-ranked price from Patriot Contracting at $10.7 million. The project award also includes $167,777 for the city’s underground fuel storage tank for a total project cost of $11 million. Roger Roulette Jr., a representative of Tegrity
County mandates power backups at assisted living, nursing facilities Under a new re code, the roughly 120 assisted living and nursing facilities located in unincorpo- rated Harris County will have until Jan. 1, 2026 to add emergency backup power systems, county leaders announced Jan. 8. The overview Harris County is the rst in Texas to implement this re code, which is designed to keep vulnera- ble senior populations safe during emergencies, Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said Jan. 8. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said the requirement for backup power systems will allow: • Safe facility temperatures to be maintained • Vital medical devices to be powered • Medications to be preserved
‘J City’ rebrand to help city services Houston City Council member Edward Pollard of District J, which covers Gulfton and Sharpstown, has rebranded the district to “J City,” according to a Jan. 6 news release. The framework Pollard described the rebranding as if o - cials are running it like its own municipality. These services will supplement the city’s departments to get a faster, more person- alized response to community concerns, according to the news release. The programs included are J City Patrol, Supplemental Maintenance Team, Beauti - cation Team, Animal Welfare and the Good Neighborhood Program. Funding for these programs comes from the Council District Service Fund, which J City gets $1 million from every year.
County invests $10.1M in solar panel project Harris County is one step closer to launching a $10.1 million pilot project to install solar panels at libraries and commu- nity centers following a unanimous vote by Harris County Commissioners on Jan. 9. What’s happening? Harris County’s two-phase Distributed Energy Resources pilot aims to make county facilities “less reliant on the electricity grid” and more resistant to power outages during weather events, according to Jan. 9 meeting documents. The project calls for solar panels, battery storage and dual-port electric vehicle charging stations. Construction on Phase I of the energy pilot is slated to begin in January and wrap up by the rst quarter of 2026.
The new re code was approved following Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Beryl—which induced widespread power outages—and resulted in:
At least 1 senior death due to extreme heat during Hurricane Beryl 14 nursing homes and 30 assisted living facilities in Harris County losing power for several days during Hurricane Beryl 10% of nursing homes and nearly 33% of assisted living facilities across Texas losing power during Winter Storm Uri 100 senior deaths due to hypothermia in Texas during Winter Storm Uri
West University’s new public works facility will be a two- story building.
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SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4 COMMUNITY IMPACT
• Emergency communications to be made • Evacuations to be safer
NORTH BLVD.
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Facilities will be given one year to get into com- pliance with the new re code, and county leaders plan to provide guidance and support during the transition, Briones said.
Contractors, said he anticipates beginning the demolition process at the end of January into early February. Construction is expected to be complete by early 2026.
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