Government
BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN
Magnolia City Administrator Chris Whittaker talks priorities Chris Whittaker, Magnolia’s new city admin- istrator, was appointed May 13. In an interview, Whittaker shared his top priorities and vision for balancing modernization, infrastructure and community needs. How do you plan to balance Magnolia’s rapid residential and commercial growth with maintaining infrastructure capacity? That’s a very difficult challenge right now. We’re under a development moratorium as our final infrastructure comes online to have that capacity to open the gates again. Folks have to realize we only control development inside the city. What happens outside the city limits—the state has made it very clear we don’t have a lot of say as a city. We have to look at what the development is. ...
We also have to think five to 10 years out: as devel- opments come online, how do we maintain that infrastructure? Where do we put new buildings to support it? Those are the ... decisions we’re making. What steps is the city taking to ensure long-term water and sewer reliability? We’re creating a five-year and 10-year capital improvement program. Right now, we have our fiscal year 2025-26 budget, but that only covers through next October. What about year two, year three, year four? ... We’ll come back and brief the council with recommendations. ... To fund that, we may need to increase water rates or go out for certificates of obligation. How will you address concerns from residents about the pace of development? We’ve had council meetings where the room was packed. ... We have to listen to people, and some- times they have great ideas. ... There are things we can affect, like code enforcement ... and things we can’t, like TxDOT projects. We just have to have strategic patience, communicate what we can control and take action where possible.
COURTESY CHRIS WHITTAKER
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com .
Dentistry for the Whole Family
TEEN CHECKING ACCOUNTS AVAILABLE TEACH YOUR TEENAGER GREAT FINANCIAL SKILLS! COME IN OR CALL FOR DETAILS. HOMETOWN REWARDS CHECKING ACCOUNT 4.5% (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) Come see us FOR YOUR LOAN NEEDS!
DYANNA MCCOY Market President of Tomball
Dr. Sarah Norman Practicing dentistry in Magnolia since 2013
New patients always welcome Cosmetic Dentistry | General Dentistry | Restorative Dentistry Children's Dentistry | Surgical | Invisalign® 281.789.7728 7030 FM 1488 Road, Suite 200 Magnolia, TX 77354
www.fsboftx.com 281.645.3003 27920 Tomball Pkwy, Ste. 260 Tomball, TX 77375
(right across from Goodson’s Café)
8
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook