CITY & COUNTY
News from Missouri City, Sugar Land & Fort Bend County
HIGHLIGHTS FORT BEND COUNTY Elections Administrator John Oldham made a case for additional support staff for the November election at a May 5 Fort Bend County Commissioners Court budget meeting. He said the county’s election team is understaffed compared to other similar-sized counties. Oldham specifically highlighted the need for a full-time trainer role, saying consistent changes to election procedures lead to as many as 150 hours of training sessions before a general election. The county’s fiscal year 2023-24 calendar states the budget office will begin analyzing requests in June to prepare for a formal recommendation. SUGAR LAND At the May 16 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a $109,560 contract with architectural design firm Stantec. The firm will conduct an economic and urban design study of Tract 5, which comprises Smart Financial Centre and the surrounding land. The study aims to create plans to make Tract 5 a livable, walkable town center. MD Anderson owns three sections of the tract and plans to construct 500,000 square feet of building space. Sugar Land City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. June 20 and 27 at 2700 Town Center Blvd. N., Sugar Land. Meetings are livestreamed and in person. 281-275-2900. www.sugarlandtx.gov Missouri City City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. June 20 at 1522 Texas Parkway, Missouri City. Meetings are livestreamed and in person. 281-403-8500. www.missouricitytx.gov Fort Bend County Commissioners Court will meet at 1 p.m. June 13 and 27 at 401 Jackson St., Richmond. Meetings are livestreamed. 281-342-3411. www.fortbendcountytx.gov MEETINGS WE COVER
Sugar Land lays out timeline for redistricting council districts
REDISTRICTING APPROACH
Sugar Land must take steps over the next year to redistrict its City Council districts.
BY RENEE FARMER
What’s next? To ensure proportional district populations and equal representation on City Council, the council must form a nine-member redistricting committee by June 6. The committee will then be respon- sible for redrawing the districts from June through August using a computer program. City Council will approve the plan this fall, and the new plan will then be filed with the county and go into effect in January. What they’re saying: “In both 2011 and 2018, the committees were able to accomplish this in just three meetings. The computer program is effective, and your committee mem- bers are determined and dedicated, and this actually goes pretty fast,” Riede said.
SUGAR LAND The city looks to balance the population in its four City Council districts with redistricting measures taken this summer and put into effect in January. What happened: Sugar Land City Attorney Meredith Riede led a discussion on the redistricting process during a May 16 Sugar Land City Council meeting. Each of Sugar Land’s four City Council districts would ideally have a population of 27,751, which is the city’s total pop- ulation divided by four. The district populations are:
Assess the district populations Form a redistricting committee by June 6 Each City Council member nominates one person; the mayor nominates two former City Council members Committee redraws the districts from June through August; residents can also submit redistricting plans Committee presents recommended plans to City Council by Aug. 15 Council approves plan Sept. 19 after workshops and public comment Plan is filed with Fort Bend County and goes into effect in January 2024
• District 1: 25,046 • District 2: 31,322 • District 3: 27,779 • District 4: 28,855
SOURCE: CITY OF SUGAR LAND/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Missouri City sees low unemployment rate, housing availability surge
BY JOE EDWARDS
have surged. However, other economic indicators of a potential recession are looming. The report estimated the unemployment rate is at 3.8%, a decrease from 8.1% in 2020. However, Hockenyos estimates unemployment will rise to 4.4% by the end of 2024. This potential rise could be attributed to rising interest rates and inflation, Hockenyos said.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Missouri City is experiencing a mix of economic changes impacting employment and housing, an economist said.
MISSOURI CITY An expert said Missouri City is experiencing a mix of eco- nomic changes impacting employment and housing. Jon Hockenyos—president of TXP Inc., a public policy and economic analysis firm—presented a report at the May 15 City Council meeting showing the city’s unemployment rate has reached near prepandemic levels, and housing prices
3.8% unemployment rate
2.3 months worth of housing inventory
$428,700 average price of a home
SOURCE: JON HOCKENYOS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Missouri City is also expe- riencing a new surge in over- all housing availability, the report said. As of February,
there were 2.3 months of inventory available versus only 0.8 months in February 2018.
HOME EDITION COMMUNITY IMPACT’S COMING SOON
LOCAL BUSINESSES: CONTACT US FOR ADVERTISING
DIGITAL
DIRECT MAIL
�866� 989�6808 � COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM�ADVERTISE
13
SUGAR LAND - MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JUNE 2023
Powered by FlippingBook