Pearland - Friendswood - Manvel Edition | December 2025

Government

BY RACHEL LELAND & HALEY VELASCO

Manvel city sta to draft policy for AI Manvel City Council approved city sta to develop a policy regarding articial intelli- gence at its Nov. 17 meeting. The gist The AI policy will be used to provide guidance for city sta on the use of AI tools while still valuing human judgement, City Manager Dan Johnson said. The policy will also aim to lessen the workload for employees and reduce costs through AI tools based on the city’s needs, Johnson said. “There’s now a way to show transparency that if we are using AI ... that needs to be disclosed, so that people understand who’s really the ones—is this a machine or is this a human?” councilmember Crystal Sarmiento said at the meeting.

Eminent domain used for Lake Friendswood Park Following decades of negotiations, the city of Friendswood will pursue the use of eminent domain to acquire a long-disputed 5-acre parcel of land near Lake Friendswood Park. Friendswood City Council approved the mea- sure unanimously at its Nov. 3 meeting. Why it matters City sta said acquiring the land would simplify maintenance and enhance public safety for the area around the lake, most of which the city already owns. The move is part of the city’s long-term eorts to consolidate land around the lake. In June, City Council voted to annex roughly 1.3 acres of land from the Slone subdivision. Those opposed The property owner has long resisted the city’s

LAKE FRIENDSWOOD PARKING

LAKE FRIENDSWOOD

5 ACRES

pursuit of purchasing the property, much of which is underwater. The city has made several oers to purchase the land, including six-gure oers, despite the land’s tax appraisal sitting at $40, City Manager Morad Kabiri said. In 2018, the property owner of that tract of land sued the city of Friendswood, alleging that the city had built on his private property, according to previous reporting by Community Impact. Litiga- tion is still ongoing.

Manvel city sta get increased retirement benets Manvel City Council approved the nal ordi- nance for the city’s Texas Municipal Retirement System, or TMRS, benets at its Nov. 17 meeting. This entails a 17% annual contribution to TMRS. The overview The benets include the following for all city employees: • Annually accruing service credits and cost of living adjustments for retirees and beneciaries • Remove statutory maximum contribution limit The approved measure increases benet competitiveness and addresses the funding gap— estimated at $4 million if all employees retired today—by committing the city to an annual budget cost of approximately $750,000 until the liability is fully funded.

City of Manvel’s contribution rates

20%

15%

10%

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SOURCE: TEXAS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEMCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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