CITY & SCHOOLS
News from Pearland, Friendswood, Friendswood ISD & Alvin ISD
QUOTE OF NOTE “FOLKS IN THE CITY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE WORKING FOR THEM.” ALEX KAMKAR, PEARLAND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, ON RESTRICTING FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY SHORTLY AFTER LEAVING OFFICE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS FRIENDSWOOD Reconstruction of Friendswood’s Fire Station No. 2, located at 2605 W. Parkwood Drive, officially started in May. Director of Engineering Jildardo Arias presented the preliminary floor plan at the May 2 Friendswood City Council meeting, which includes three apparatus bays, dorms, a kitchen, a shower and a laundry room. While construction is underway, the fire station is operating out of property owned by The Harbor Church. ALVIN ISD Two new Alvin ISD trustees were introduced at the May 10 board meeting. Regan Peterson will be the new Position 4 trustee, and David Selsky will serve in Position 5. The AISD board gave Tiffany Wennerstrom, board vice president and outgoing Position 4 trustee, and Nicole Tonini, board secretary and outgoing Position 5 trustee, the floor to say their goodbyes. Wennerstrom and Tonini were first elected in 2010 and 2013, respectively; both chose not to run for re-election, as they will be moving away from Alvin. Successors Peterson and Selsky ran unopposed. Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. June 13 and June 27 at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings are streamed and available at www.pearlandtx.gov. Friendswood City Council will meet July 11 at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood. A time for the meeting will be determined a week before the meeting. Meeting recordings are posted to the city’s YouTube channel. Friendswood ISD will meet at 5:45 p.m. June 13 at 402 Laurel Drive, Friendswood. Pearland ISD will meet at 5 p.m. June 14 at 1928 N. Main St., Pearland. Meetings are streamed at www.youtube.com/user/ thepearlandisd. Alvin ISD will meet at 7 p.m. June 14 at Tommy King Administrative Building located at 301 E. House St., Alvin. Meeting recordings are posted to the school district’s YouTube channel. MEETINGS WE COVER
Pearland to set restrictions on doing business with former council members
BUSINESS STAKE A person has a substantial interest in a business if they meet one of the following four criteria.
A person owns 10% or more of business’ voting stocks or shares. A person owns $15,000 or more of the fair market value of the business. The funds received from the business made up 10% or more of a person’s gross income the previous year. A person is related to someone who meets substantial interest requirements.
BY ANDY YANEZ
PEARLAND Council members will be barred from entering into a contract with the city of Pearland for a set time limit after they leave office. Pearland City Council at its May 23 regular meeting passed the second reading of an ordinance amending the city’s ethics ordinance, making it so the city cannot enter a contract with former council members and any business they have a substantial interest in for at least 12 months after their successor is sworn in. Texas Local Government Code states a person has a substantial interest in a business if that person owns 10% or more of the business’ voting stocks or shares; that person owns $15,000 or more of the fair market value of the business; funds received from the business made up 10% or more of a person’s gross income the previous year; or a person related to the former council member has a substan- tial interest in the business. The ordinance was originally set for the limit with former council members to last only nine months, but a motion was
unanimously passed to extend the limit to 12 months after they leave office. While the May 23 ordinance applies only to former council members, City Council had previously requested a subsequent amendment to the ethics ordinance applying the same provision to current council members. That amendment will come to council for discussion in June, City Attorney Darrin Coker said. “I think there is a commitment that the folks in the city understand that we are working for them, not trying to get money for them, necessarily, professionally,” Council Member Alex Kamkar said. SOURCE: TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Friendswood ISD approves new attendance zones for 2023-24 school year
Short-term rental owners in Pearland could soon pay $175 fee for permit
BY ANDY YANEZ
FEE BREAKDOWN Pearland City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that could establish new fees to cover the cost of permitting short-term rentals.
PEARLAND Property owners looking to rent out their property as a short-term rental on platforms, such as Airbnb or Vrbo, could soon have to pay $175 in fees first. Pearland City Council at its May 23 meeting unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to include a new fee to cover the cost of permitting short-term rentals in the city. The second reading could come as soon as June 13. City Council passed an ordinance on April 11 establishing require- ments and regulations to operate short-term rentals within city limits, including permitting requirements. The $75 permit application fee covers city staff costs. The $100 inspection fee covers the inspec- tion costs for the fire marshal’s office. In total, it is a $175 fee, agenda documents said. If a property fails an inspec- tion, the owner needs to pay an additional $50 fee to cover the cost of a representative from the fire marshal’s office’s returning
BY SIERRA ROZEN
FRIENDSWOOD ISD Newly drawn atten- dance zones for the 2023-24 school year were approved at the Friendswood ISD board’s May 9 meeting. The 2020 bond project to build the $36 million new Cline Elementary School, which is located in the West Ranch mas- ter-planned community, is one of the main reasons for the new attendance zones, according to district officials. The area around the new Cline Elemen- tary would be zoned to Westwood Elemen- tary School and Bales Intermediate School. FM 528 would serve as the major dividing line between students being zoned to either Westwood Elementary and Bales Interme- diate, Windsong Intermediate School or Cline Elementary. Additions and renovations for Westwood Elementary, located at 506 W. Edgewood Drive, and Bales Intermediate, located at 211 Stadium Lane, were also part of the 2020 bond. Costs of these projects have not yet been decided, and will be determined in the fall when they go to bid. The upgrades will enable the schools to accommodate more students.
Permit application fee ($75): covers city staff costs for permit application Short-term rental inspection fee ($100): covers fire marshal’s office cost for inspection Short-term rental reinspection fee ($50): covers cost to fire marshal’s office if first inspection fails Renewal application fee ($75): renewal for permit is expected to be every two years
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
to the property, according to presented agenda documents. Every two years, a short-term rental owner will need to renew the permit, which would cost a fee of $75 if the second reading is passed.
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PEARLAND - FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • JUNE 2022
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