CITY & COUNTY
News from Pearland, Friendswood & Harris County
QUOTE OF NOTE
Residents to potentially see flood insurance discounts PEARLAND Residents who live in areas affected by repetitive flooding could potentially see higher discounts on their flood insurance. BY RACHEL LELAND FLOOD HAZARD MAP The Clear Creek watershed includes Pearland and several other cities, and numerous tributaries that run through Pearland feed into Clear Creek.
HIGHLIGHTS HARRIS COUNTY Officials are moving forward with a policy that will consider property tax exemptions for affordable housing owners after Harris County commissioners voted unanimously on the measure July 18. Once completed, according to agenda documents, the policy could make it more financially feasible for certain organizations to add affordable housing units to the county’s housing stock. The incoming policy will have a fiscal impact on Harris County’s general funds that will vary each fiscal year based on determinations made by the budget office, according to agenda documents. Daniel Ramos, executive director of the office of management and budget, said his office is trying to get the application process running. KEVIN COLE, PEARLAND MAYOR ON ADOPTING FLOOD MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS “I WANT TO BE CAREFUL WITH THE BOND PROGRAM TO STATE THAT IT’S NOT GOING TO DO AWAY WITH EVERY SITUATION. BUT, IT’S GOING TO TAKE A BIG DENT INTO IT.”
Clear Creek watershed Clear Creek and tributaries
Pearland enters interlocal agreement for road paving The details: The CRS is a voluntary federal program that rewards com- munities for adopting and enforcing higher standards for development and public information than are required by the National Flood Insurance Pro- gram, according to agenda documents. Pearland has a CRS rating of 6, The setup: On July 24, Pearland City Council voted unanimously to adopt recommendations from a repetitive loss area analysis conducted by the city in 2022. The analysis is designed to increase mitigation opportunities for relatively flood-prone areas and provide credit to the city’s Community Rating System.
CLEAR CREEK
45
521
35
3
6
288
517
N SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/COMMUNITY IMPACT
which translates to a 20% discount for eligible flood insurance policyholders. By conducting the analysis and adopt- ing its recommendations, city officials hope to improve the city’s CRS rating to 5, which would make Pearland residents eligible for a 25% discount. County that would require the county to provide labor, traffic control and equipment to complete pavement restoration in areas identified by the city. The agreement requires the city to provide materials and supplies for the projects. According to agenda documents, the purpose of creating the new driving surfaces will be to eliminate rutting, which holds water and can lead to hydroplaning or loss of control for drivers, while continued maintenance or full-depth restoration ensures the sustainability of assets.
Quote of note: “The purpose for doing that is if we can improve our CRS rating, that will result in deeper dis- counts for flood insurance for Pearland residents that qualify,” City Manager Trent Epperson said. between Pearland and Brazoria County required the city to undertake base repair and pre-overlay work before the county’s team began their portions of the project. Once on site, Brazoria County staff handled all asphalt overlay and equipment operations, while city staff contributed their labor in tasks such as raking asphalt, traffic control and flag- ging, according to agenda documents. The agreement’s cost for materials is roughly $827,722. Next steps: On July 24, city officials discovered that, based on the county’s other projects, construction would not begin until September.
MEETINGS WE COVER
BY RACHEL LELAND
PEARLAND Various sections of Fite, Garden, Hawk, Hillhouse and Walnut streets totaling 4.14 miles will get repaved due to an interlocal agree- ment between the city of Pearland and Brazoria County. The gist: On July 24, Pearland City Council voted unanimously to enter an interlocal agreement with Brazoria
Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 for a regular meeting at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings can be streamed on the city’s official YouTube page. Friendswood City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood. Meeting recordings are posted to the city’s YouTube channel.
In a nutshell: Previous interlocal agreements in 2020 and 2021
SCAN AND GET A FREE INFO KIT
APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2024 FOR CHILDREN AGES 5-7! WWW.MASTERPIECEACADEMY.ORG
13
PEARLAND - FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • AUGUST 2023
Powered by FlippingBook