Fort Bend County Commissioners set the date for a public hearing for housing and infrastructure recovery applications regarding the 2016 flooding events, approved the 2018 investment policy and strategy for Fort Bend County and several other agenda items during the Jan. 23 meeting at the historic courthouse in downtown Richmond. Here are a few takeaways from the meeting:

Body Armor Grant Program funds accepted
Commissioners approved a $88,960 grant from the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, for body armor for Fort Bend County law enforcement. Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said the county has participated in the program in the past whenever it was offered.

Public hearing for community development applications set
Commissioners approved an order to hold a public hearing for residents with applications for infrastructure and housing through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program from the 2016 flooding events. The public hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 6 on the second floor of the county courthouse in downtown Richmond. For more information on the hearing, click here.

Authorization for 2013 bonds
Commissioners approved the authorization on the 2013 bond issue, resulting in a 3.155 percent interest rate, which Hebert said was good rate that was beneficial to the county.

"It’s from the 2013 authorization but the series is called 2018 because that’s when the bonds are issued,” said Fort Bend County auditor Ed Sturdivant. “What [the authorization] takes into account is all the borrowing costs and the actual rates on each of the bonds over the life [of the bonds]. And we got a premium on the issue, which means that each of the purchasers of the bonds had to pay a little bit extra because of the favorable credit rating the county has, so it resulted in a true all-in interest cost of 3.155.”

2018 investment policy and strategy adopted
Commissioners adopted the 2018 investment policy and investment strategy for the county as well as the fiscal year 2019 budget policy. Hebert said the investment policy was amended to adhere to a new state law that took effect, but all of the policies are similar to last year's.

Cane Island Parkway project contract amount increased
Commissioners approved an action to increase the contract amount for the Cane Island Parkway mobility project by $198,184.04 for a total contract amount of $4,716,987.54. The length of the contract was also extended until July 12.

The next commissioners court meeting will be held 1 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Fort Bend County Courthouse. 601 Jackson St., Richmond. www.fortbendcountytx.gov