A $225,000 contract for the project, anticipated by Missouri City residents according to City Council discussion, was approved unanimously and comes after a delay in the original June 1 starting target date due to federal funding not coming to the city within the original timeframe, Mayor Pro Tem Jeffrey Boney said.
The city selected Rosenberg-based Bass Construction through the BuyBoard Government Purchasing Cooperative to satisfy bid requirements, which uses a competitive procurement process to award contracts to vendors for goods and services that the BuyBoard determines, according to its website.
Missouri City will be reimbursed through Community Development Block Grant funds allocated to the city from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said city officials. The city should receive those funds as early as October this year.
“Programming of those funds have to meet the national objectives outlined by HUD, but also has to prevent or prepare for a future pandemic, or respond to the pandemic that we’re currently coming out of,” said Jennifer Thomas Gomez, Missouri City’s development services director, during the meeting.
An exact timeline on the project was not available by press time, though the trail conversion has been in the planning stages since 2021, according to agenda documents.
The park would not be shut down completely during the conversion process, Parks and Recreation Director Jason Mangum said, but rather completed one section at a time.
“I appreciate you guys working on this project,” District A Council Member Monica Riley said during the meeting. “This is very important to the community.”
