NEWS BRIEFS
Katy gives improvement projects the green light
Newelementary school to open for 2024-25 year
BY ASIA ARMOUR
service connections, Kasper said. That $288,683 project was set to begin April 18 and end June 2. Additionally, a ditch regrading and culvert replacement project was set to begin April 18 and is the first phase of a smaller-scale drainage improve- ment project to increase the system’s efficiency. The $510,585 project will replace driveways and culverts in eight different areas of the city. Two projects will take place at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, located at 25839 I-10 Frontage Road, Katy. They include rehabilitating a lift station well and installing a prefab- ricated stormwater pump station for a combined cost of more than $986,000. The lift station project will last April 18-June 17, while the pump station project will take place May 12 through Sept. 24. Meanwhile, a $159,522 sanitary
FUNDING CITY PROJECTS Many of the projects were set to begin April 18, after press time.
Six improvement projects around Katy worth $2.34 million in construc- tion costs were approved by Katy City Council in a meeting March 28. These projects will address development, transportation and drainage issues. Bids were awarded to several companies with the city having accepted bids from the middle to the end of February, ARKK Engineer David Kasper said. Kasper provided details on the six projects in a presentation to City Council. The projects are funded by the city’s fiscal year 2021-22 general and enterprise funds. Scohil Construction Services will take on the 11th Street water line replacement project, which will replace the existing water line between Drexel and Katyland drives and add new fire hydrants and
BY ASIA ARMOUR
improvement projects 6 in construction costs $2.34M
Cross Creek Ranch sold 14.9 acres of land on March 21 to Lamar CISD for the con- struction of a new elementary school anticipated to open in August 2024. The plat is located on Fulshear Bend Drive, just north of Fulshear High School. Rob Bamford, general manager of Cross Creek Ranch, said in a news release about the new elementary school that this is the fifth on-site school within the development and the first within LCISD. “It’s less than a quarter mile to the other three Lamar [CISD] schools serving Cross Creek Ranch, which parents with children at multiple campuses will appreciate,” Bamford said. The new elementary school will be located in the Creek Rush neighborhood, the 300-acre development that will fulfill the remaining land within Cross Creek Ranch. The school will be next to the recreation complex planned for the area.
SOURCE: CITY OF KATY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
sewer rehabilitation project will rehabilitate the wastewater pipes on Griffin Lane and along 10th Street from East Avenue to Drexel Drive, Kasper said. Work was set to begin April 18 and will end June 17. Lastly, the Pin Oak Road main- tenance project was set to begin April 18 and will last until July 17.
3 employees face felony indictments in COVID-19 contract case
BY EMILY LINCKE
“Prosecutors presented the evidence to a Harris County grand jury, which determined there was sufficient evidence for criminal charges,” said Dane Schiller, spokesperson for the DA’s office, in the release. Search warrants were first executed for electronic devices belonging to Dunn, Nader and Triantaphyllis on March 11 and March 16 by the Texas Rangers. The investigation began in October over the county’s canceled $11 million COVID-19 vaccine outreach contract with Elevate Strategies. A third warrant in relation to the case was executed for 14 digital Google files fromHidalgo, Dunn, Nader, Triantaphyl- lis and three other employees, per a March 10 affidavit by Texas Ranger Daron Parker from the district clerk. The warrants were granted based on evidence Parker provided in his investigation of the canceled contract with Elevate Strategies, which Harris County hired to encourage county residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. After controversy arose, commissioners voted to terminate the contract Sept. 14.
Three Harris County senior employees are facing indict- ments for the felony charges of misuse of official informa- tion and tampering with record as of April 11, according to Harris County District Clerk online records. The indictments come one month after search warrants were first executed in connection with a controversial county contract. Aaron Dunn, Wallis Nader and Alex Triantaphyllis are facing arrest warrants for the criminal charges, per the district clerk’s records. Dunn, Nader and Triantaphyllis serve as the senior advisor for public safety and emergency management; policy director; and chief of staff for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office, respectively. “I have not seen anything to suggest that my staff did any- thing but work tirelessly for the people of Harris County,” Hidalgo said in a statement on Twitter on April 12. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office published a news release about the indictments of Dunn, Nader and Triantaphyllis on April 12.
SMOKY RIDGE RD.
SYCAMORE RANCH LN.
E
N
American Community Survey shows rise inmedian, average incomes
RISING INCOMES The average and median income of Harris County residents increased between 2015 and 2020 estimates.
BY CYNTHIA ZELAYA
its survey collection, adjusting its methods to account for bias and unresponsiveness. The average and median income of Harris County residents increased between 2015 and 2020 estimates. The median income increased from $54,457 in 2015 to $63,022 in 2020, while the average income rose from
$81,214 to $93,184, per the data. Additionally, the amount of Harris County residents with college degrees increased by 16.7% in the last five years. Most degree paths saw an increase in graduates, but the amount of residents pursuing education, the arts and humanities decreased, per the data.
The 2020 census published its American Community Survey data March 17, showing changes in Harris County residents’ edu- cational attainment and income. Although the pandemic caused a disruption in predicted trends, the U.S. Census Bureau went on with
Average income
Median income
2020
2015
60K 0 20K 40K 80K 100K
SOURCE: AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
13
KATY EDITION • APRIL 2022
Powered by FlippingBook