CITY & COUNTY
News from Pearland & Friendswood
Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. April 24 for a regular meeting at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings can be streamed on the city’s official YouTube page. MEETINGS WE COVER Friendswood City Council will meet at 6 p.m. May 1 at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood. Meeting recordings are posted to the city’s YouTube channel. PEARLAND City Council on March 27 unanimously approved a sanitary sewer rehabilitation contract in the Old Town Site and Barry Rose area for a $2.88 million bid from Texas Pride Utilities. The construction contract includes over 20,000 linear feet of sewer rehabilitation in existing sanitary sewer pipes that caused inflow and infiltration issues, Deputy City Manager Trent Epperson said. Inflow refers to stormwater that quickly flows into sewers through roof drain downspouts, while infiltration refers to groundwater that seeps into sewer pipes through holes and faulty connections. Some of the main reasons for the rehabilitation are to reduce inflow and infiltration while reducing the size of the plant needed to handle normal wet weather conditions, Epperson said. The project to replace the failing infrastructure also includes the rehabilitation of existing maintenance hole rings, cones, covers, lining and service reconnections. Construction is proposed to begin in May and be completed by February, according to the agenda. NUMBER TO KNOW is the total cost for the Friendswood Regional Stormwater Detention Basin. The Harris County Flood Control District will contribute $13.5 million, $8 million will come from the city of Friendswood, $7.5 million will come from Galveston County, and $3.5 million from the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District. $32.5M MEETING HIGHLIGHTS PEARLAND By its April 24 meeting, City Council anticipates having the city manager search narrowed down to an unspecified number of finalists, Mayor Kevin Cole said. Pearland City Council held a special meeting before its regular March 27 meeting where its consultant provided an update on the ongoing city manager search after applications closed March 19. The council narrowed the pool of 42 candidates down to semifinalists, according to Cole, who did not specify the number of semifinalist candidates. Deputy City Manager Trent Epperson previously said he applied for the open role.
New Pearland surface water plant expected to be completed by fall
PROJECTED RATE HIKES The city is projecting future increases in utility rates to pay for its major water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
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BY DANIEL WEEKS
PEARLAND A new surface water treatment plant that will provide independence from the city of Houston for sourcing clean drinking water is expected to reach “substantial completion” in August. City staff presented Pearland City Council with the city’s capital improvement plan going into the fiscal year 2023-24 budget planning process. Each year, the city also puts together a five-year capital improvement program that details many of the city’s major developments in the design and construction phases. According to the March 20 presentation, the $175 million water treatment plant is expected to undergo final commissioning in October. In May, the city will have submitted all necessary paperwork and will then await state approval before distributing water. Pearland Director of Communications Joshua Lee previously told Community Impact the plant, which
FY 2024-25
FY 2026-27
FY 2022-23*
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
*REFLECTS CURRENT UTILITY RATES
has been in the works for over 20 years, will be able to process about 10 million gallons of raw water per day. The new plant is one of the city’s several large-scale water improvement projects, including the expansion of the Barry Rose wastewater facility, among others. City officials project the slew of major water and wastewater projects will cause future hikes in utility rates. Rate increases depend on meter size and help the city pay for the new infrastructure, according to officials. Lee previously said the 2022-23 water rate increase is primarily to help pay for the new plant.
Harris County provides update on detention basin in Friendswood
Pearland City Council presents strategic budgetary priorities
BY RENEE FARMER
BY RACHEL LELAND
FRIENDSWOOD The Harris County Flood Control District laid out a timeline and process for constructing a new stormwater detention basin in the city. The district held a public meeting March 28 to gather feedback on the Friendswood Regional Stormwater Detention Basin project. The district began the prelimi- nary engineering phase involving a detailed evaluation of the site, developing three alternative basin design concepts and recommending one in its preliminary engineering report. The report will detail the downstream benefit of the project. This stage began in December and is anticipated to be complete this fall. The district will also host another community engagement meeting by the end of 2023 to share the recommended design. Design and construction bids will follow. The project, located in the Clear Creek watershed, sits on a 105-acre tract owned by Harris County and the district. It was identified from
PEARLAND On March 27, City Council set new priorities to create greater transparency, allow businesses to thrive and enhance Pearland’s quality of life. Council voted 7-0 to affirm the priorities, including building a trusted government, strong econ- omy, safe community, sustainable infrastructure, resilient finances and a whole community. For each priority, council chose milestones, including building a foundation for water, transportation and flooding infrastructure and drawing business investments. The decision follows council’s attendance of a Feb. 18 strategic visioning retreat that discussed the priorities. City staff plans to create mea- surable tasks for each milestone to ensure progress. “When we do our budget, if our budgeted item does not tag back to one of these items, we question whether or not it’s needed,” Cole said.
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the Lower Clear Creek and Dickin- son Bayou Watershed Study. The district aims to reduce the impact of flooding in the Lower Clear Creek watershed by constructing this stormwater retention basin, which will serve as a first step by providing mitigation for future flood reduction projects. Stormwater detention basins pro- vide temporary storage for runoff of floodwaters, district Department Manager Jonathan St. Romain said. The basin will provide 1,000-1,700 acre-feet in storage. One acre-foot holds 325,851 gallons. “If we’re improving flooding in this area, we’re not just flooding another area,” St. Romain said.
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