Government
BY ANGELA BONILLA & JESSICA SHORTEN
Montgomery County eyes $450 million bond Montgomery County commissioners on June 18 approved moving forward on a $450 million bond with a preference for a May 2025 election. The big picture In an updated presentation, John Robuck—man- aging partner of BOK Financials, the county’s bond advisory council—said the county could issue $450 million in bond funds without increasing the debt service side of the county’s tax rate. However, Robuck said that doesn’t mean that no increase will occur to the overall tax rate at any point, as the debt service rate is only a portion of the county’s tax rate. The bond would be issued in four series ranging from $100 million to $125 million over four years, he said. In their words “We are going to have so many more people in [November] than in May,” Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said. “If we proceed now, we will be six months ahead of the game. What is keeping us from doing it now?” Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack and City of Shenandoah reimbursed $327K Shenandoah’s Municipal Development District approved a reimbursement to the city for a total of $227,000 toward the con- struction of the David Memorial Drive exten- sion to Hwy. 242 at the June 26 meeting. The MDD collects sales tax in and around Shenandoah to help fund economic devel- opment projects. What to know Shenandoah Public Works Director Joseph Peart said the city is also being reimbursed $100,000 by Montgomery County for the same project. City Council previously approved at the May 22 meeting a change to the order for the contractor Brice Constructors, which incurred close to $314,000 in additional costs due to “unfavorable site conditions.”
Proposals sought for GE Betz property The Woodlands Township board voted June 20 to receive potential project plans for the GE Betz property, which has been owned by the township for nearly 10 years. How we got here Located at 9669 Grogans Mill Road in The Woodlands, the 11.6-acre GE Betz property was purchased by The Woodlands Township in 2015 for $15.2 million. A building on the property was demolished in 2023. In their words “This asset sits and generates no revenue for our taxpayers, and it generates no revenue on the tax rolls,” board director Kyle Watson said.
On the ballot, the $450M bond would be split into three propositions:
$93 million for each precinct’s various road projects
$65 million for a new animal shelter
$12 million for a new tax oce
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley disagreed with a November timeframe, stating people would not have enough time to be informed on the bond propositions before going to the ballot box during a presidential election cycle. Major takeaways While a vote to put the bond on an ocial ballot was not taken June 18, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough ended the discussion by going ahead with a May 2025 timeframe. Robuck and the county’s bond advisor, Marcus Deitz, said they could put bond language together for November or May, and the county could still choose to put a bond on the November ballot up until Aug. 19, which is the deadline to add election items for November. The Woodlands approves Bionova abatement The Woodlands Township board of directors approved the ¤nal tax abatement agreement needed for Bionova Scienti¤c and Aventus Devel- opment to build a 100,000-square-foot facility in The Woodlands. What you need to know Following the approval of a tax abatement agreement with Montgomery County on May 7, the township board approved the local agreement with Bionova Scienti¤c and Aventus Development on June 26. The township’s abatement agreement will match the county’s by reducing the full market appraised value of the project exceeding its base year value, according to the agreement. The abate- ment reduces the amount the property owner pays in taxes by exempting increases in property value from taxation for a set amount of time.
GROGANS MILL RD.
N
Amount of tax abatement The abatement exempts increases in property value from taxation for a set amount of time.
100%
2026-29
80%
2030
60%
2031
40%
2032
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIPCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Quote of note “I think it’s high time that George Mitchell’s dream of a technology and biotechnology hub was brought to fruition in its fullest form,” board member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs said. What’s next? Aventus representative Dax Goerman said Bionova is expecting to begin operations in the ¤rst quarter of 2025 and slowly expand operations into the full facility by the end of 2026.
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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