“The Katy-Fulshear area, as we call it, is the fastest growing area—all unincorporated—[and] we need a facility to house those officers,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said.
Funding in unincorporated areas is a major problem for law enforcement agencies, Meyers said. Bond measures are the only significant revenue source for projects, he said, unlike an incorporated area that can collect revenue from local taxes to pay for neighborhood patrols.
“Fort Bend County Precinct 3 is primarily unincorporated,” Meyers said. “Ninety-five percent—about 200,000 people—live in unincorporated areas. As such, the only real broad-spectrum law enforcement is the sheriff’s office.”
The Fort Bend County sheriff’s office is located in Richmond, but some deputies share space with the constable’s office in the Fort Bend County North Annex at 22333 Grand Corner Drive, in unincorporated Katy at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and the Westpark Tollway.
“Since 2009, we’ve had a location in the Precinct 3 [North] Annex,” Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said. “Unfortunately we have outgrown the space in that building before we even moved in.”
The plan for the annex was put in motion five years before it opened.
“When we built [the North Annex]—when it was originally planned—we undersized it. By the time we got the bond [approved], the growth had outstripped the plan. In the 10 years it took for planning [and funding], growth had been 150,000 people,” Meyers said.
Meyers is also based in the North Annex facility—which houses offices for property recording, birth and death records, marriage license copies and payment of court fees in addition to law enforcement. He said the facility does not have space for expansion as the county grows.
‘Beat integrity’
A freestanding sheriff’s office would bring more deputy presence into patrol districts 2, 5 and 7, which covers the area along the Westpark Tollway and west toward Fulshear, Firethorne and out toward Simonton, Nehls said.
Among the personnel who may be housed at the new station would be up to 60 sheriff’s deputies and as many as 15 detectives, he said.
“We call it ‘beat integrity’—you need to be out among your people,” Nehls said. “I believe [the substation] could be somewhere along the Westpark Toll Road—we believe that would be a centrally located area [that could] service the whole district.”
Growth projections from the Katy Area Economic Development Council were used to determine the need for a new law enforcement facility in the Katy area, he said.
“Several months ago I was asked by the county judge to analyze current operations and try to look 20 years ahead to see what would be the needs in the next 20 years. I reached out to the [KA]EDC to see where they felt we might have [the most growth],” Nehls said.
KAEDC President Lance LaCour said several area emergency service districts are members of the council, and they interact on a regular basis. The KAEDC contracts with demographics vendors to provide population, household and employment data to create growth projection models for future planning.
Nehls said data analysis showed the most likely growth would occur north of the Westpark Tollway, so Cinco Ranch was chosen as the location.
Faster response
Sheriff deputies are often first responders in situations, such as house alarm calls, burglaries and theft cases, in unincorporated Katy, Nehls said.
“If you have [a house] alarm call in Cinco Ranch at 5 p.m.—you’re in the thick [of rush hour traffic] in there,” he said. “It’s just going to take time [to respond].”
Sheriff’s office response times in unincorporated Katy are around 13-14 minutes, Nehls said. Building a substation in Cinco Ranch would enable them to place more deputies in the area and reduce response times in the northern part of the county, he said.
“A city has more revenue sources—10 times more revenue than a county,” Meyers said. “I can’t provide the same level of services as a city as far as neighborhood patrol. It just isn’t possible. That’s the reason some MUDs and HOAs have their own dedicated deputy.”
Contract deputies
There are about 25 contract deputies that are privately hired through the constable’s office, said Rob Cook, Fort Bend County Precinct 3 constable. The deputies patrol roughly a dozen HOAs and MUDs in the Cinco Ranch area.
“Let’s say you’re having a party and you want someone on the premises just in case something happens—that’s what the subdivisions and MUDs do,” Cook said. “It’s kind of like having a security guard.”
Meyers said the new facility would increase patrol presence and incorporate holding cells and space for detective units, which would provide a broader level of public service. Under the existing system suspects must be taken to Rosenberg for processing.
“Fort Bend County is not the sleepy little [county] it once was. We’re going to get to the point where we’re going to [need more specialized services],” Cook said. “Hopefully [if the substation is built] we would gain more space because we have more contract deputies [in the North Annex] than they have sheriff’s deputies.”
The majority of the Greater Katy area is located in unincorporated Harris and Fort Bend counties, which means sheriff and constable deputies work together to provide law enforcement service to the area. In Fort Bend County, the constable’s office tends to perform civil law enforcement while the sheriff’s office responds to calls in the field.
“Fort Bend County doesn’t want to duplicate services,” Cook said. “There is no difference [between different agencies in the ability to enforce laws] … now you get to Harris County and there’s plenty of work to go around.”
Facilities projects
All four propositions within the Fort Bend County facilities bond referendum would help meet the needs of the growing county, Meyers said.
The largest proposed project is a $29.2 million expansion of the Fort Bend County Justice Center that would fund the construction of a new building containing offices and ten additional courtrooms. A new 400-car parking structure would also be built to accommodate roughly 800 jurors.
“[Passing Proposition 4] will help us provide even better law enforcement services to the northern part of the county,” Meyers said.
