On May 10, Missouri City residents will vote on four propositions that make up a $40 million bond package. City Council approved the bond propositions 5-2 on Feb. 27, and the propositions include drainage projects, facility improvements, construction of Fire Station No. 6 and several mobility projects.
Between January and October 2013, a city-appointed Bond Exploratory Committee comprised of 34 Missouri City residents met to discuss proposed projects for the referendum, including infrastructure improvements for drainage; roads, bridges and sidewalks; public facilities; and public safety upgrades, City Manager Ed Broussard said.
"The $40 million package was designed based on the city's capacity to sell bonds during an approximate 10-year period with no tax rate increase," he said.
The BEC presented its recommendations to City Council and staff in late 2013 following an open house in mid-October where hundreds of residents provided feedback.
"Public input was essential to the process," said Cory Stottlemyer, media relations specialist with Missouri City.
Drainage improvements
Proposition 1 calls for $6.5 million in drainage projects, specifically within the Willow Waterhole Watershed in the northern parts of the city. Projects primarily include channel improvements and detention facilities in an area where streets have often become impassable in severe storm events.
The watershed includes both residential and commercial areas, including the city's oldest subdivision, Fondren Park.
"The city's drainage goals are to eliminate structural flooding in a 100-year storm event, to maximize efficiencies of scale—more regional detention facilities—and to maintain one passable lane in each direction on all major thoroughfares in a 100-year event," Assistant City Manager Scott Elmer said. "We have had areas of repetitive flooding in this watershed. The overall goal of this project is to minimize that to the maximum extent practical."
Transportation
Proposition 2 includes $22.8 million in transportation projects. About $8.2 million would be leveraged toward the road projects outlined by the Fort Bend County mobility bond, which requires the city to provide 50 percent of total construction costs. Another $8.8 million is allocated for maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing streets, and the remaining $5.8 million is reserved for sidewalk maintenance and roadway beautification projects.
"The projects are broken down into added capacity projects—that is additional roads or expanded roads—and the rehabilitation of existing streets," Elmer said. "We inventoried every foot of sidewalk and street and ranked every roadway and sidewalk segment [to determine] the amount of need for these projects."
The proposition outlines several added capacity and rehabilitation road projects throughout the city, including the extension of Knight Road—which is expected to take an estimated 70,000 vehicles off Sienna Parkway each day—and Independence Boulevard, which will become the city's primary east-west thoroughfare.
Fire Station No. 6
Proposition 3 asks for $5 million for the construction and implementation of Fire Station No. 6, including the property purchase, design and construction, a fire engine and equipment.
Missouri City had about 4,100 people living in the city limits in 1970. Today the population is closer to 70,000 residents, according to city records. This growth has spurred development of all kinds and brought an increase in both transportation and infrastructure needs.
In 2008, Missouri City hired a consultant to conduct a fire service study and determine the future needs for the ultimate build-out of the city limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The study also directed the approximate location of the station to result in a less-than five minute response time to any area, Elmer said.
"The study showed that the next station should be constructed near the intersection of Lake Olympia and Village Brook Drive," he said. "Benefits to residents not immediately adjacent to that area is every time we have a fire call and resources are dispatched, this will keep fire resources within their district on a more frequent basis."
The additional station is also expected to reduce the service area of Fire Station No. 4, which is the largest fire district in the city. In addition to Fire Station No. 6, the 2008 study calls for a seventh station in the vicinity of Oilfield Road and Hwy. 6.
Improved facilities
Proposition 4 totals $5.7 million and consists of two parts. Of the total cost, $2.7 million would be used to replace the aging roof at City Hall, and the remaining $3 million is dedicated for improvements to the Public Safety Division.
Located at Cartwright Road and FM 1092, the Public Safety Headquarters houses the city's police department, fire administration, Fire Station No. 1, the department's information technology and data center, and the city's municipal courts.
"We have to look at the growth in all of these areas," Elmer said.
In 2003, Missouri City's Police Department had 83 full-time employees working at headquarters—which was built in 1998 and designed to house about 66 employees. Today, the city has 130 Police Department employees. By expanding and repurposing existing space within the headquarters, the department has been able to grow within the current space, Missouri City Police Chief Mike Berezin said, but changes are needed to keep the same level of services available to a growing population.
