CITY & COUNTY Local drainage projects on hold due to funding gap
News from Harris County
Harris County Public Library System eliminates late fees
PROJECTS IN PROGRESS Harris County commissioners paused 33 projects totaling $303 million under the Harris County Flood Control District’s Bridge Subdivision Drainage program due to a funding shortfall.
HARRIS COUNTY The Harris County Commissioners BY JOVANNA AGUILAR
BY EMILY LINCKE
249
ZION RD.
Funding obtained: $556M Funding needed: $277M Harris County Bridge Subdivision Drainage program
HARRIS COUNTY Commissioners voted Feb. 21 to pause dozens of road and bridge drain- age projects due to a $277 million funding gap for the Bridge Subdivision Drainage program. Projects under the Bridge Subdivision Drainage program target reducing flood risk for more than 45,000 homes across Harris County. The 33 proj- ects commissioners opted to pause on Feb. 21 can be resumed once funding is obtained, according to county officials. These projects are estimated to cost a total of about $303 million to complete. “Pausing the projects is not doing away with the projects,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said. When the Harris County Flood Control District’s $2.5 billion bond was approved in 2018, the 96 projects comprising the Bridge Subdivision Drainage program were expected to cost $460 million. Now, with cost increases due to inflation and supply chain issues, the same projects are expected to cost $832 million; the county has $556 million in funding ready. Under the Bridge Subdivision Drainage program, 13 projects are almost completed, 13 are under
Total cost: $832M
Court unanimously approved a proposal by the Harris County Public Library to end library late fee fines on books and DVDs on Feb 21. “The elimination of late fees makes HCPL the open, free public resource it was always meant to be,” HCPL Execu- tive Director Edward Melton said. The HCPL has waived late fees since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of all its branch locations in March 2020, and the policy is now permanent, according to an HCPL news release. In accordance with the new policy, patrons will continue to be charged for lost or damaged items, but returning items after their due dates will not result in a fee. Outstanding overdue fines will be waived, although it might take some time before these changes are reflected on library accounts, according to the HCPL. N BAKER DR. Lone Star College - Community Library 30555 Hwy. 249, Tomball
Project status Total number of projects: 96
33: Paused 23: In design process or status yet to be determined 14: Construction to begin in 90 days 13: Near completion 13: Under construction
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
construction, and 14 are set to begin construction within 90 days. The remaining projects are in the early design process. Commissioners unanimously voted Feb. 21 to fund the 26 projects that are under construction or nearly completed. Precincts 1, 2, 3 and 4 are home to four, seven, 20 and two paused projects, respectively.
Josh W Gosnell, DDS ∙ Robert M.Turner, DDS
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