The details
Trustees originally approved the project in March 2022 at a cost of roughly $3.9 million after the city of Humble committed $100,000 and Harris County committed $1 million to the project.
According to previous planning documents, officials had planned on building the detention pond upon about 35 acres of district-owned property located at the corner of Will Clayton Parkway and Rustic Timbers Drive.
During the board’s March 2022 meeting, Board President Chris Parker said the detention pond would double as a community park featuring trails for walking, jogging and running as well as three fountains with LED lights that would display school colors for home games.
However, due to projected price increases, officials said they are now reconsidering the scope of the project to include only the detention pond.
A closer look
During the board’s March 18 meeting, officials noted work on the project was initially halted in February 2023 after the previous contractor found oil residue in the groundwater at the construction site.
While the water was eventually approved to be drained from the site in July 2023, officials said cost increases to the project led to additional concerns later that year.
Officials said if the district were to move forward on the previously approved plan, the estimated price of the project would jump from roughly $3.9 million to around $8.3 million, including the cost of hauling away dirt from the project site.
Under the new proposal, the district could spend about $2.8 million on a new detention pond at the site. However, they noted the new design would not include any trails or fountains and would simply serve as a detention pond.
HISD officials said the city of Humble will no longer contribute $100,000 to the project, noting discussions have not yet been held with Harris County officials to determine whether the county will still contribute $1 million.
What they’re saying
During the March 18 meeting, Trustee Robert Sitton questioned why the pricing concerns for the project were only now being brought before the board, noting he believed any decision making regarding the project should not have been handled by the district’s Building and Planning Committee.
“I want to remind everyone, a singular board member nor a committee can make decisions on behalf of the board,” Sitton said. “Now, it appears that we're making decisions out of committee versus bringing to the board the idea of how we went from where we were and what we already approved and allocated funds for without any board discussion whatsoever.”
Trustee Robert Scarfo, who serves as chair of the district’s Building and Planning Committee, defended the decision-making process.
“The $3.9 million that was approved won't get us to where we thought ... so that's why this has been rethought," Scarfo said. "We can't accomplish what we had approved in the past with those dollars.”
What’s next
Pending board action on the project, officials said the revised project could be sent out to bid by the end of July, with construction beginning in fall of this year and wrapping up by summer 2026.
