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A $50.9 million bond package could be on the ballot in November if Friendswood City Council votes in favor of doing so at a future meeting.
The bond package proposal was presented by Bond Ad Hoc Committee Chair Robin Hall at City Council's June 1 meeting.
Cost to the taxpayers
If the bond proposal is approved by council as is and eventually passed by voters in November, the maximum estimated tax rate increase would be $0.01 per $100 valuation, according to the presentation.
For a resident with an average existing home value of $514,911, this translates to a tax increase of $41.19 per year, while the average new home would see an increase of about $59.92 per year.
Breaking it down
The proposal called flooding Friendswood’s “largest natural threat” and allocated the largest portion of the bond proposal, $20.34 million, to drainage improvements.
Unlike the 2019 bond, which focused on creeks, the 2026 bond package proposal shifts the focus to neighborhood-level storm sewer improvements and ponds, including major projects in the Falcon Ridge, Brill and Autumn Creek neighborhoods.
Items worth mentioning
A recreation center, estimated to cost between $37 million and $47 million, was omitted from the core $50.9 million package, according to the proposal.
While the committee noted the current senior center is at the end of its life cycle, they recommended placing the recreation center on a later ballot.
What residents should know
The city sent an email survey to residents June 2, asking for input by June 30 on which category is most important to them: city facilities, drainage, parks and open space improvements or streets and transportation.
The survey also asks whether residents would like to build a new recreation center.
Next steps
City Council will review survey results and consider which propositions and items to include on the November ballot at its July 6 meeting and whether to call a special election for the bond in August.
