The overview
City Manager Sharon Citino said during the meeting that the strategic plan gives the city a roadmap for the projects and goals that should be prioritized over the next three years.
The strategic plan outlined five goals focused on:
- Community
- Governance
- Infrastructure and asset management
- Public safety
- Land use and zoning
New projects added include:
- Updating the Evergreen Park Master Plan
- Developing a volunteer program for increased citizen engagement
- Replacing tennis court and softball field lights at Feld Park & adding a 30-foot netting between the tennis courts and houses
- Designing and constructing renovations to the Public Works facility
- Purchasing mobile generators and installing generator hookups at lift stations
- Installing irrigation, drainage and trees in Lofton Park
“We’re trying to get creative and do what we think we can do,” Citino said. “I think we were seeing in our first couple of years, we were being pretty aggressive in our ideas and our brainstorming, we were dumping it all in there. That can be sometimes a little intimidating for all of us, thinking that we’ve got to get through a ton.”
What else?
Citino said this new way to decide on projects led to some projects being removed from the proposed strategic plan, as they wanted to ensure the city can focus on projects that became increasingly important.
Some of these removed projects include:
- Seeking opportunities with other cities, Harris County, and state and federal agencies on regional initiatives and priorities
- Reviewing solid waste and recycling services for opportunities to reduce waste
- Exploring annual dedicated funding for park land acquisition and improvements to create and expand park amenities in all neighborhoods
What they’re saying
Council member Brian Witt questioned removing the annual dedicated park land funding and believes that there is value in having this dedicated funding, in case the city ever wants to make land acquisitions.
“Land is only going to become harder, and the conversation only becomes more difficult if we don’t already start setting money aside in a systematic way,” Witt said. “Land is finite and it’s only going to get harder.”
Citino said while the dedicated fund is a good idea, there’s “not a lot of appetite” in creating it based on community feedback. Although she said it’s not impossible, the city needs to first flush out the idea more on how the city could have a revenue stream for the dedicated fund.
Council member Ross Gordon said the city should focus on updating the parks master plan as it would give Bellaire a good idea of what the city should add or improve with their parks, allowing for a roadmap to future land acquisition and the amount of money that needs to be spent.
“There’s a severe lack of certain types of recreational facilities or so on in the community,” Gordon said. “There’s a huge demand for more pickleball courts, more baseball fields. The parks master plan not only looks at how we improve our current parks, but also looks at what the gaps are and where they may be filled. I think the hard part is that until you know what it's going to be used for, setting aside that money is difficult.”
