Zooming in
On Aug. 14, City Council voted 6-0 in support of agreeing with the PEDC to allocate 20% of the corporation’s annual sales tax to fund qualified infrastructure recapitalization projects for redevelopment in targeted areas of Pearland.
The projects included Old Town drainage and utilities, Industrial Drive, Alice Street Shank Road, Woody Road, and other potential roads in and around the SH 35 and Old Townsite areas. The allocation will be averaged over a five-year period beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, according to agenda documents.
What they’re saying
Council Member Rushi Patel, who formerly sat on the PEDC board, voiced he hoped the funding from the agreement would lift the tax burden of funding these projects for Pearland residents.
“I certainly think this will help the tax base to lower the tax rate,” Patel said before adding affordability is becoming questionable in Pearland.
Mayor Kevin Cole thanked Council Members Jeffrey Barry and Joseph Koza for initiating the city’s conversation with the PEDC for the agreement in fall 2022. Cole also voiced agreements such as the one with the PEDC create a way for smaller projects to get funded.
“A lot of these projects don’t rise to the level of bond programs or something of that nature,” Cole said. “They’re a little bit smaller in nature.”
