NEWS BRIEFS
Previously abandoned Mud Gully expansion project to begin this spring
BY DANIEL WEEKS
construction, according to the ood control district’s update memo. Friendswood City Manager Morad Kabiri said the city’s contributions relating to Mud Gully date back to 2008, where the city gave $1 million. “This was one of the many projects that were identi ed early on that would help ood mitigation e orts in the Clear Creek area,” Kabiri said. The construction will extend the existing concrete channel by about 4,600 feet from Sagedowne Lane to past the Beamer Road bridge. The bottom of the channel will also be widened to 45 feet. While the ow in the channel will increase as a result of the widening, according to HCFCD, areas downstream will not be impacted due to mitigation from the South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin, which is another project in Phase 3 of construction. This nal phase will
Construction for the previously abandoned Mud Gully, or Beamer Ditch, project is expected to start in the spring, according to the Harris County Flood Control District. Mud Gully is a drainage channel o of Beamer Road near San Jacinto College South and the Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital. The ood control district released an update on the project Jan. 11 that states the district worked through the required legal process to restart the project after lack of progress from previous contractor Complete Concrete Inc. led to the $12 million project being abandoned. The Harris County Commissioners Court approved a new contract Jan. 10 selecting Rebel Contractors Inc. as the construction company to complete the project. The contract allows for approximately 16 months of
Construction on Mud Gully is set to start this spring. Construction will widen the channel and extend it from Sagedowne Lane to past the Beamer Road bridge.
DANIEL WEEKS COMMUNITY IMPACT
excavate more than 1.1 million cubic yards of material from the basin, according to the project page. The Beamer Ditch project is part of the Clear Creek Federal Flood Risk Management Project, which consists of several channel conveyance improvement projects, 17 bridge replacements or modi cations, and other stormwater mitigation upgrades listed on the project’s webpage. The Clear Creek ood risk project is a collaboration between several entities, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the HCFCD.
Mud Gully channel improvements
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Pearland ISD passes contentious calendar for next school year
Keep Friendswood Beautiful recommends Stevenson Park plan
DATES TO KNOW Pearland ISD’s 2023-24
calendar has a longer winter break than the 2022-23 break. Teachers and parents criticized the break’s length. Aug. 15, 2023 First day of school for students Dec. 21, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024 Winter break Jan. 8, 2024 Teachers return from break Jan. 10, 2024 Students return from break May 23, 2024 Early dismissal day for last student instructional day May 24, 2024 Graduation
BY DANIEL WEEKS
said committee members had concerns about winter break ending too early in January. She said members wanted to give parents enough time to recuperate after the holidays. The margin in which the proposed calendar passed the calendar com- mittee was not a signi cant margin, according to board members. Berger said both of the calendars that were voted on by the committee had the same winter break schedule, which the board said is the most contentious element of the passed calendar. Four calendars were created by the committee and sent to campuses for voting. The calendar that won the vote and was passed by the board was calendar B. The committee consists of one or two sta members representing each campus alongside two principals and eight parent representatives. The board expressed interest in making adjustments to the proce- dure for selecting an instructional
BY RENEE FARMER
The Pearland ISD board of trustees approved the 2023-24 school year instructional calendar at a Feb. 7 meeting after receiving criticism of the plan from teachers and parents. The approved 2023-24 calendar was criticized for its winter break schedule, particularly its length and return date, Superintendent Larry Berger said. In it, the break will last from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, with teachers returning Jan. 8 and students returning Jan. 10. “I think parents’ biggest concern is the length of the winter holiday and the fact that it extends further in January than is typical,” Trustee Crystal Carbone said. “There have been comments saying that it’s too much time, especially for kids that need any kind of extra help, that they may fall behind.” La’Kesha Henson-Vaughn, who served as a nonvoting member of the District Advisory Calendar Committee,
Following a series of public meet- ings last fall, Keep Friendswood Beautiful has chosen a concept for the Stevenson Park parking lot. KFB presented Concept C as its preferred selection to Friendswood City Council during its Feb. 6 meeting. The plan includes roughly 108 parking spaces, a covered vendor space, a stage and a picnic area. It was the most expensive of the three concepts at about $9.4 million. “There is no funding to implement this plan today,” City Manager Morad Kabiri said. The plan will be part of the city’s parks master plan, which when approved by council will allow Friend- swood to apply for more funding. “We have a plan, and we can show this to the people who have funding opportunities,” Mayor Mike Foreman said.
SOURCE: PEARLAND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
calendar in future years, men- tioning potential community opinion polls. “We’re not going to make everyone happy,” Henson-Vaughn said of the approved calendar.
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PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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