PUBLIC SAFETY Harris County ESD 11 nears completion of Phase 2 construction for new campus
PUBLIC SAFETY
SPRING CYPRESS DR.
Harris County ESD 16 to open new $14M administration, vehicle maintenance facility
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BY WESLEY GARDNER
new administrative building, is projected to cost an estimated $11.7 million, ESD 11 o cials noted. According to Ricardo Martinez— president of Martinez Architects, the rm responsible for designing and managing the project—the grand opening would be held prior to the board’s Feb. 28 meeting. “We’re getting very close to the very end here,” Martinez said. The new campus is being funded entirely through the district, which had contracted with Cypress Creek EMS for about $1.3 million per month for ambulance services until it launched its own service— ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare—in September 2021. In July, ESD 11 commissioners approved an $8.5 million loan to ensure su cient funds were available for operational costs, which o cials said was needed to reimburse about $5 million in expenses related to the launch of ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare and construction of the new campus.
TAX RATE BREAKDOWN Since launching its own ambulance services in 2021, Harris County Emergency Services District 11 has become partially funded through collections on those services. However, tax revenue still makes up a large portion of the district’s budget.
Harris County Emergency Services District No. 11 commissioners are projecting a Feb. 28 grand opening for its new administrative building, o cials said during the board’s Jan. 24 meeting. The announcement is coming as the district nears completion of the second phase of construction for its new 43-acre campus, which entails remodeling the district’s old facility to include its main administrative building, 911 call center, billing center, and eet maintenance and deployment facilities. ESD 11 o cials said the rst phase of construction—which included the district’s new 911 call center, billing center, and eet facilities—was originally projected to cost around $18 million, but in ation pushed that gure to approximately $23.7 million. Construction for rst phase of the new campus wrapped up in August. The second phase of construction, which mainly consists of the district’s
BY EMILY LINCKE
ESD 16 receives. “We were able to accomplish this project without raising taxes,” he said. The property will include enough space to build a new re station or replace an old facility, should the need arise in the future, Wilson said. A large training/multipurpose room inside the administration and maintenance facility will also be available for community use, he added. In September, ESD 16 took over services for the Klein Volunteer Fire Department, which provided re suppression, prevention and education service throughout a 52-square-mile area in unincorporated Harris County. KVFD also provided emergency medical response and hazardous materials response services. As previously reported by Community Impact , about 200 employees with KVFD were transferred to ESD 16’s payroll over the summer as part of the transition process. This transition had been in the works since 2020. ESD 16 was founded in 1984 and serves almost 174,000 individuals in the Spring and Klein communities as of 2022, according to ESD 16.
Construction is nearing completion on a new 33,000-square-foot administration and vehicle maintenance facility for Harris County Emergency Services District No. 16, according to the district’s president. The $14 million facility provides a consolidated space for ESD 16’s administrative and maintenance sta , according to Lance Wilson, who serves as commissioner and president of ESD 16. Within the building, 23,000 square feet will be devoted to administration space and 10,000 square feet will be used for the maintenance section. Wilson estimated the project—located on Stuebner Airline Road in Spring—will be completed by mid- to late-February. “Currently our maintenance and administrative sta are distributed in di erent locations due to space restraints,” Wilson said. “This will allow for a more cohesive process and convenient access to our o ces to the public and sta .” The cost of the project is funded by a loan with an interest rate of less than 2%, Wilson said. The loan will be paid o using sales tax revenue
ESD 11 property tax revenue
$19.7M
$16M $17M $18M $19M $20M
$18.77M
The new facility is located on Stuebner Airline Road in Spring. (Emily Lincke/Community Impact)
$17.78M
$17.52M
$17.28M
CONSOLIDATING COVERAGE In February, Harris County Emergency Services District No. 16 expects to complete construction on a new administration and vehicle maintenance facility at 18606 Stuebner Airline Road, Spring.
0
2019
2020
2021
2022
2018
33,000 square feet of space will be used for administration and vehicle maintenance. $14M in loans, with less than 2% interest, was secured by the district’s sales tax revenue. 173,549 individuals in the Spring and Klein communities receive re suppression, prevention and education services from ESD 16 as of 2022.
ESD 11 property tax rate (per $100 valuation)
$0.01 $0.02 $0.03 $0.05 $0.04
$0.03606
$0.033334
$0.029336
$0.034707
$0.032305
0
2019
2020
2021
2022
2018
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT NO. 16 COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT 11 COMMUNITY IMPACT
SPRING STUEBNER 6603 Spring Stuebner Rd (281) 288-0239 LOUETTA 7314 Louetta (281) 370-1986
NORTH LOUETTA 1614 Louetta (281) 350-1198 KUYKENDAHL 13313 Kuykendahl (281) 873-5220
WILLOWBROOK 6927 FM 1960 W (281) 580-1734
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