CITY & COUNTY
News from Tomball, Magnolia and Harris & Montgomery counties
NUMBER TO KNOW
Harris County OKs $7M Swift Water Training Facility
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The number of city-provided officers that serve Tomball ISD as school resource officers that are set to move into vacancies within the Tomball Police Department after the 2022-23 school year. City Manager David Esquivel said as there are vacancies, there will be no effect on the city’s budget by absorbing the cost of the officers. The city and TISD’s SRO contract ended in March. HIGHLIGHTS MAGNOLIA New development in Magnolia is still paused after City Council unanimously approved extending its development moratorium April 11 for 120 days due to not having enough water capacity. The moratorium was first enacted in December. MONTGOMERY COUNTY Homes within Magnolia ISD’s boundaries saw a 10%-15% appraisal increase in 2023 with the median average home at $390,000, according to a county tax presentation. Property owners have until May 15 to protest appraisal values with the respective appraisal district in Harris and Montgomery counties. Tomball City Council will meet at 6 p.m. May 15 at 401 Market St., Tomball. 281-351-5484. www.tomballtx.gov Magnolia City Council will meet at 7 p.m. May 9 at 18111 Buddy Riley Blvd., Magnolia. 281-356-2266. www.cityofmagnolia.com MEETINGS WE COVER will meet at 9:30 a.m. May 9 and 23 at 501 N. Thompson St., Ste. 402, Conroe. 936-756-0571. www.mctx.org Harris County Commissioners Court will meet at 10 a.m. May 16. Meetings are held virtually and at 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. www.harriscountytx.gov Montgomery County Commissioners Court
BY EMILY LINCKE
Court meeting. “It doesn’t take a hur- ricane or tropical storm to produce [a high water] environment.” “I think it’ll help save lives and in the long run, save money, and hopefully we can be training people from around the country,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said. Dig deeper: According to the Harris County Engineering Department, the Swift Water Training Facility will: • Take about 36 months to build; • Include about 7,200 square feet for the training area and 2,500 square feet for classrooms, facility equipment and locker rooms; • Have a five-year return on invest- ment; and • Be located at the intersection of TC Jester Boulevard and Hugh Road in Houston. What’s next: The design for the facility has not been finalized, according to the county’s engineering department,
HIGH WATER TRAINING Upon completion, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Swift Water Training Facility will be used to train emergency responders for high water rescue situations.
HARRIS COUNTY On April 4, Harris County commissioners unanimously initiated the design and construction of a $7 million high water rescue training facility to be funded by the county’s $100 million public safety bond approved by voters in 2022. The impact: The 9,500-square- foot facility will be used to train emergency personnel for high water rescue situations, said Sean Williams, program manager of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office’s Flood Res- cue Group. About 1,600 emergency personnel would be trained annually at the space, which is dubbed the HCSO Swift Water Training Facility. What they’re saying: “With the calls of service over the last eight years, we’ve seen a high response rate for high water rescues,” Williams said during the April 4 Commissioners
$7M is the estimated cost of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Swift Water Training Facility. 36 months of construction is the planned timeline. 9,500 square feet is the size of the facility.
SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, HARRIS COUNTY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
and a construction start date has not yet been set. Did you know? This facility will be the second of its kind in the U.S., according to the county’s engineering department, with a similar facility located in Georgetown.
Property tax exemption increased for area residents age 65 and older
SAVINGS FOR SENIORS
Residents of Montgomery County can apply for an age 65 and over exemption via their homestead exemption , which will see an increase after a March 28 vote. A homestead exemption reduces the home value on which taxpayers pay property tax.
BY LIZZY SPANGLER
MONTGOMERY COUNTY Montgomery County residents age 65 and older who already have a homestead exemption will now be able to claim a $50,000 exemption after the Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved raising it from $35,000 during its March 28 meeting. This is expected to save taxpayers a total of approximately $2.7 million based on 2022 figures. Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae said the county has just over 49,500 accounts for residents over age 65.
Montgomery County residents 65 and over:
$2.7 MILLION raised to
$35,000 EXEMPTION
$50,000 EXEMPTION
A total savings of
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Residents can apply for the age 65 and over exemption by way of their homestead exemption.
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1. 22485 Tomball Parkway, Suite 2100 Houston, TX 77070 2. 10425 Huffmeister Road, Suite 320 Houston, TX 77065 3. 9645 Barker Cypress Rd, Suite 110 Cypress, TX 77433
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