Conroe - Montgomery Edition | August 2021

NEWS BRIEFS

Districts offering free breakfast, lunch during 2021-22

SheaHomes to bringmore than 2,000 residences to Conroe areawith home sales beginning inmid-2022

BY CHANDLER FRANCE

COMING TO CONROE Evergreen, a new development by Shea Homes, is in the early planning stages.

BY EVA VIGH

Shea Homes, a homebuilding company that constructs homes across the U.S., including in Harper’s Preserve in Conroe, is designing a 740-acre development with more than 2,000 homes in Conroe, according to a July 19 news release. Evergreen, the name of the new development, is the builder’s second and largest residential development in the Houston area, according to the release. Shea Homes’ first community in the Greater Houston area is the 240-acre Del Bello Lakes in Manvel. Evergreen will be located on the northwest corner of FM 242 and FM 1314. The first phase will include 247 homesites, according to the release. “This location has excellent acces- sibility to the Grand Parkway, The Woodlands and the airport, which is one of the aspects that caught our eye,” Jim Zimmerman, vice president

Evergreen spans 740 acres.

Montgomery ISD is offering no-cost meals to students for the 2021-22 school year due to recent guidance by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,

It will include more than 2,000homes. About 100 acres will be reserved for parks, green space and amenities. Home sales are slated to start in the summer or fall of 2022.

1314

according to a July 29 release. In a typical year, a student’s household must meet income

eligibility requirements to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The traditional Free or Reduced-Price Meal Application is not required to receive breakfast or lunch in 2021-22. “This is a fabulous opportunity for all MISD families, and we are thrilled that all children can receive healthy meals, at no charge, every day,” MISD Child Nutrition Director Lena Neugebauer said in the release. The district will still offer a la carte items and snacks for purchase. Conroe and Willis ISDs are also offering meals at no cost this year, according to August announcements.

242

SOURCE: SHEA HOMES/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

of land acquisition and development for Shea Homes, said in the release. Zimmerman said the community will feature a creek that traverses the property. About 100 acres of the development will be devoted to parks, green space and amenities, according to the release. “While we will also have planned

amenities, we want to preserve as much of the land’s natural environ- ment as we can, providing ample opportunities for outdoor recreation,” Zimmerman said in the release. Home sales will begin in the summer or fall 2022, the company said. A starting price for homes was unavailable as of press time.

Conroe City Council faces budget issues over police, fire department positions

BY JISHNU NAIR

million, according to the finance office’s presentation. The total costs of proposed amendments came to an increase of almost $4 million to general fund spending. Conroe Assistant Financial Director Collin Boothe said he could not recommend going ahead with all the proposed amendments. According to Boothe’s presentation, beginning with FY 2023-24 the city of Conroe

was projected to lose more than $4.14 million. By FY 2026-27, the city was projected to lose over $15 million. “We’ll go really into the negative if we take all those ongoing items and plug them into the budget as proposed,” Boothe said. “We can’t have a trajectory like that. Even being conservative, that’s not sustainable.” Both Boothe and Steve Williams, the city’s financial advisor, said the

spending would not be advisable without an increase in revenue. City Administrator Paul Virgadamo said a 4-cent tax increase could balance the increased spending. However, Boothe told Community Impact Newspaper the finance office was not planning a tax increase currently. The budget will face a public hearing Aug. 26, before it is adopted Sept. 9.

Conroe City Council members faced a dilemma over requested additions to police and fire departments for fiscal year 2021-22 at an Aug. 11 workshop. The proposed positions consist of seven police officers, three sergeants and two lieutenants. Eight firefighter positions have also been requested. Altogether, the total costs of public safety officers come to about $2.24

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CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION • AUGUST 2021