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City manager search nears end as interim leaves Bellaire Bellaire City Council unanimously approved a motion Dec. 6 to name Fire Chief Deacon Tittle as interim city manager following the recent departure of former interim City Manager Brant Gary. Following the approval, the council directed city sta to solicit proposals and quali cations for interim city manager services and to come back to the council at its Jan. 3 meeting with options. “I do support this because it gives us exibility,” Mayor Andrew Friedberg said at the meeting. “It’s in good faith that we’re asking ... but we don’t necessarily have to act on them if we are dissatis ed with the responses we receive, or we decide not to proceed with it, or we are not ready to. We have that option.” Gary served as interim city manager since July 2020 before turning in his resignation in November. His last day with the city was Dec. 3. Bellaire City Council is expected to decide on a new city manager in early 2022, after three new council members are sworn in, Friedberg said, calling it one of the earliest decisions the council will make. Improved green footprint goal in 2022 task force recommendations The West University Place Sustainability Task Force, a citizen- run advisory board that identi es nancially responsible environmental stewardship strategies and programs, will be releasing its report to the city in April, according to West University Place city o cials. That report will go to City Council, which will take those recommendations and decide on which programs and initiatives to support with city money. Bellaire funds construction of restrooms at Mulberry Park During a Dec. 20 meeting of the Bellaire City Council, council members approved the purchase of a prefabricated restroom in Mulberry Park at the cost of $95,879. Located o Mulberry Lane in Bellaire, the park features baseball elds, a picnic table area, a playground and a tennis court, among other amenities. Construction on the new restrooms is slated to wrap up at the start of the summer in 2022. The $95,879 price tag only covers the cost of construction, and the total project cost is estimated at $148,679. Other project elements include landscaping, installing a walkway and adding electricity and plumbing to the building. OTHER CITY STORIES TO FOLLOW IN 2022
TOP CITY STORIES TO WATCH IN 2022
West U’s Virtual Gate completion expected in 2022
BY HUNTER MARROW
SAFETY&SECURITY Virtual Gate, a security camera and license plate system, is slated for completion in 2022.
WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE The installation of a cam- era system that uses license plate readers to alert police of stolen vehicles is expected to be completed in West University Place in early 2022, according to city o cials. Two phases planned for installing Virtual Gate across entrances into the city will be completed in that time- frame, con rmed City Manager Dave Beach. At a total cost of $4.5 million, the system, when com- pleted, will include live-feed cameras and plate readers at 15 locations installed through Phase 1 of the project. Phase 2, meanwhile, will include cameras and readers at 25 loca- tions within West University Place. Those exact locations were not released publicly because of security concerns, according to city o cials. The license plate cameras will be equipped with similar
40 total locations
$4.5M total cost
license plate reader accuracy rate
97.2%
SOURCE: CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACECOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
COMMUNITY IMPACT STAFF
technology used in police patrol vehicles that can detect and alert the police department of stolen vehicles, vehicles associated with Amber or Silver alerts, and vehicles that are registered with a record of crimes.
Master drainage concept plan expected to transition to planning phase in 2022
Concept C
The favored concept as of late 2021 has three main phases. Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
BY HUNTER MARROW
$380 million plan known as Con- cept C—remains in play. Concept C focuses on upsizing Bellaire’s existing systems and improving a 9,300-foot channel that runs along Bellaire’s southern border, called Cypress Slough Ditch, according to city of Bellaire o cials. In 2022, the three involved entities will decide on which options to pur- sue within Concept C, as well as the time estimates and how the projects will be funded, according to the city’s Public Works Director Mike Leech. From there, preliminary engineering on regional drainage solutions may start within six to eight months.
Total cost: $335.3M
BELLAIRE The city of Bellaire will look to leverage regional partners as it advances on a master drainage concept plan designed to reduce the ooding potential within the city and the surrounding areas. Three concepts, each with their own phases of engineering and construction, have come before the three entities that are working toward regional solutions: Bellaire, the Harris County Flood Control District and the Texas Department of Transportation. Two of those concepts have already been dismissed because of their impracticality. The third concept—a
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610
FOURNACE PLACE
LOOP 610 IMPROVEMENTS
BELLAIRE BLVD.
RICE AVENUE IMPROVEMENTS
KILMARNOCK DITCH
BEECHNUT ST.
CYPRESS SLOUGH DITCH
BRAYS BAYOU
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SOURCE: CITY OF BELLAIRE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Bellaire City Council set for 2022 with nal runo results certi ed
business, joins Winfred Frazier and Ross Gordon as the newest members of the council. Both council members won their races—for positions 1 and 3, respectively—in elections held in November. Frazier, an attorney, beat opponent Kevin Newman with 60.3% of the vote, according to Harris County election archives. Gordon, a civil and water resources engineer, beat opponent Javier Vega with 50.6% of the vote. All three council members are new to the council this year. Meanwhile, Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg ran unopposed in November to retain his seat for another term. Council members are up for election every four years, while the Mayor is elected every two years. In 2024, positions 2, 4 and 6 will be up for election.
BY HUNTER MARROW & GEORGE WIEBE
BELLAIRE Brian Witt was o cially certi ed for Position 5 on the Bellaire City Council at a Dec. 20 council meeting, nalizing who the seven members of the council will be heading into the new year. The certi cation of Witt’s win comes after he won a Dec. 11 runo election for Position 5 with 52.71% of the vote. Witt faced o against Andréa Ehlers in the race. Witt, who owns a residential property management
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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