The Katy area saw action on several issues last week with the Katy City Council holding both their regular meeting and a special session during the week. As early voting began Texas House Districts 28 and 132 were up for consideration as voters showed up to the polls in record numbers for a nonpresidential election. Katy Christian Ministries was awarded a grant from a local star and the city of Katy won a contest for its water tower murals. Here’s a recap of events from last week:

1. The city of Katy has won an award from Tnemec, a water tower coatings manufacturer, for its use of their products to repaint two water towers in the city.

The award was announced Oct. 26 via a YouTube video that reviewed runners up and announced Katy’s two geese-bedecked towers as the winners of the contest. Winners will be included in the company’s water tower calendar that it releases annually. Katy spent more than $30,000 on repainting and refurbishing equipment installed on the towers last year as part of a revitalization project. The coatings help prevent rust and decay of the towers as they are exposed to the elements, according to city staff. “The city gets to tell our visitors and new residents about the history of the community with our water tower murals,” said Katy City Council Member Chris Harris via Facebook. “I am so happy.”

2. Katy City Council held a special meeting Oct. 26 to adopt a seven-day work period for nonexempt police officers.

The council voted unanimously to approve the change to policy which Harris said was an administrative change to allow use of a new time reporting system being used by the city. “[Officers will] still [have the] same pay and pay dates, but because of their comp time we need to make an adjustment to allow for their shift work,” Harris said.

3. The Katy ISD board of trustees received a report illustrating the district’s projected growth over the next ten years at their Oct. 22 meeting.

By the end of 2018, Katy ISD expects to reach 80,000 students, officials said at a recent board meeting. According to new demographic data, about 17,500 more students will enroll in the district over the next 10 years.In the past five years, Katy ISD’s enrollment has grown by about 2,500 students each year, per the data. Among Houston-area school districts, Katy ISD added the most students between fall 2016 and fall 2017 as well as between fall 2012 and fall 2017. Find out more in this news report from Community Impact Newspaper's Katy edition’s new editor, Jen Para.

4. The Katy City Council approved an update to the city’s building safety codes Oct. 22.

Katy City Council unanimously approved an update to the city’s technical codes and construction standards Monday night. The new standards are intended to modernize the city’s construction ordinances and bring them up to the same standards most Texas cities have adopted, making it easier for developers to work within the city, Council Member Chris Harris said. The city updated the ordinances by adopting 11 publications with construction guidelines. A full list of those publications is available here.

5. Two Texas House seats are on the ballot as Katy area residents begin voting in Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties.

Incumbent Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, is facing democratic candidate Meghan Scoggins in the race for Texas House District 28. Incumbent Mike Schofield, R-Katy, is facing Gina Calanni, D-Katy, in the race for Texas House of Representatives District 132 seat. Both candidates have experience as legal professionals and are in favor of school finance reform in Texas. Candidates in both races answered questions posed to them by Community Impact Newspaper in the articles linked in the district names above.

6. Katy Christian Ministries has been awarded a grant from country music star Clint Black.

The nonprofit received a grant of more than $328,000 from Clint Black, a country music star and former Katy resident. Katy Christian Ministries will use the funds to assist area residents still struggling to recover from Hurricane Harvey, said Carolyn Chandler, grant officer for Katy Christian Ministries. “With the disaster funds [Katy Christian Ministries] had already received and distributed, we have financially [provided] an average of $3,000 per household in need,” Chandler said. Read more about what Katy Christian Ministries will be doing with the funds here.