The H-GAC is a regional organization through which local governments consider issues and cooperate in solving area problems, per the agency’s website. It serves 13 counties, including Fort Bend County, and focuses on business and economic development, community planning, emergency and disaster planning, the environment, mobility, and public safety.
The H-GAC board of directors meets monthly and is composed of 37 elected officials representing the 13 counties, 107 cities and 11 member independent school districts in the region.
Delegate changes
Meyers, who represents the Sugar Land and Missouri City area, was designated as the first alternate representative for the board of directors. Additionally, Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage is listed as the first alternate in general assembly with Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales, who represents the Katy area, listed as second alternate in general assembly, per county designation documents.
At the Dec. 20 meeting, Meyers requested the item be moved from a consent item to discussion to ask George the basis of the decision for his removal as delegate, stating he had not heard anything from the judge’s office.
“We are moving in a different direction, and changes can happen,” George said during the meeting. “At this point, that is my answer.”
Meyers previously served as a board member in the H-GAC’s Finance and Budget Committee, which reviews the H-GAC’s contracts, budget and personnel policies, and the Legislative Committee, which studies state and federal legislation that could impact the region.
“I have served on just about every committee there is representing the people of Fort Bend County,” Meyers said. “I played a very key role in the latest effort on the distribution of flood-mitigation funds as chair of the [H-GAC] Water Resources Committee. I have been very effective in representing [the county] and the region as a whole.”
Elected officials speak up
Brazoria County Precinct 3 Commissioner Stacy Adams traveled directly from an H-GAC board meeting to advocate for Meyers' position on the board. He said the commissioner’s presence has been consistent in the 16 years he served with him and that Meyers had been an advocate for all Fort Bend County residents.
“Removing Commissioner Meyers, the most tenured member of the H-GAC board and a past chair, ... what a disservice,” Adams said. “The bottom line is, when you walk out of your courthouse and you go to H-GAC, you are looking after 5 million people—every kind of religion, every kind of person, every kind of party. You have to leave your partisan politics by the side of the road.”
Former Matagorda County Judge Nate McDonald, who retired in December after 15 years of service, also spoke on behalf of Meyers in an effort to keep him instated as the delegate for the county.
“The ferocity with which he advocates for Fort Bend County is unparalleled,” McDonald said. “During disaster recovery times, he fights for you all. We initially fight back but we always succumb because Andy is very persuasive and he makes the case. He has the facts, and he has seniority on that board.”
McDonald continued by stating the H-GAC board of directors passed a $491 million budget Dec. 20 and said Meyers would be the key to getting those funds into Fort Bend County.
Morales followed up with a statement about the tenure of Meyers.
“We are removing a gentleman who has been [on the H-GAC board] for 25 years, and commissioner, I want to thank you for all your service to the county through H-GAC,” Morales said. “If I am reading the tea leaves right, the best we can hope for is that you stay the first alternate. Unfortunately, that is the way I see it.”
The motion passed with a 3-2 vote with Meyers and Morales opposing. The H-GAC general assembly will meet Jan. 20 to swear in elected officials to the 2023 board of directors, according to the H-GAC website.
