The Harris County Commissioners Court approved extensions for federal pre-disaster project grants and a study on detention basin management practices during its business court meeting Oct. 29.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo did not attend the meeting.
The overview
During the court’s last meeting of the month, commissioners approved several extensions for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grants target three pre-disaster mitigation projects the Harris County Flood Control District oversees.
One extension will allow the HCFCD more time to complete the Urban Flood Risk Study, which develops models and maps products to inform “decision-makers in Harris County about urban flood risk,” according to agenda documents.
The pre-disaster mitigation projects are for three detention basins, giving the HCFCD additional time to complete them. The basins and corresponding extensions are:
Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin: extends period of performance by 6 months and 18 days
East T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin: extends period of performance through April 1, 2027
Halls Bayou Blue Bell Detention Basin: extends period of performance through April 1, 2027
The court also approved extensions for grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One will give the HCFCD an extra 92 calendar days to complete Hurricane Beryl debris removal as part of the USDA’s Emergency Watershed Protection Program, per agenda documents.
The other extension applies to three stormwater detention basins and minor tributary conveyance improvements in the Armand, Greens and White Oak bayou watersheds, according to agenda documents.
None of the extensions from either agency come with extra money for the HCFCD.
Another detail
Commissioners also unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the University of Houston to study floating vegetated islands, an “innovative water quality and habitat enhancement feature,” per agenda documents. The islands are found at the Reverend William and Audrey Lawson Park stormwater detention basin. Studying them will allow the HCFCD and UH to evaluate the islands’ performance as a management practice for stormwater quality in detention basins.
The agreement allows the study to last three years and cost $533,444. The project also includes a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant to support implementing and evaluating practices to address non-point source pollution.
Also of note
The court did not vote on two items that would have added 20 positions to the constable workforce after Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones pulled them from the agenda.
The agenda items proposed adding 12 positions for the Constable of Precinct 4 and eight positions for the Constable of Precinct 5. All would have been effective Oct. 31.
Kirsten Budwine, a policy attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, said during public comment that she had concerns with where the county would take money from to allocate toward the positions.
“Even if the constables use their surplus for these permanent positions this year, if they do not have enough funding to cover salaries in the future, the court could be on the hook to fill the gap,” Budwine said.
The court approved pay raises for all eight elected constables, alongside other county elected officials, in August. The raises bring their salaries to $305,000 annually.
