Things to know about Tuesday’s Sugar Land City Council meeting

This week the Sugar Land City Council approved an agreement for a new city visitor center to share space with the Sugar Land Heritage Museum. In other business, contracts were approved, land was rezoned, the use of phones and other devices by drivers was restricted, and a grant for Texas State Technical College was approved.  

Drivers’ use of phones, wireless electronics restricted

Council Members voted 5-2 to place restrictions on phone use among drivers. The ordinance approved Tuesday requires that phones be set to Bluetooth or handsfree mode and mounted to the vehicle’s interior while in use. The ordinance calls for penalties of up to $500 for violating the ordinance. Council Members Amy Mitchell and Mary Joyce voted against approving the ordinance. Read the full story here.

$100,000 grant approved for TSTC

Council members narrowly approved giving $100,000 to Texas State Technical College to help pay for a training center the college is building in Rosenberg. The money will come from the Sugar Land 4B Corporation budget, which is funded by hotel occupancy taxes. The donation was approved 4-3 with Council Members Joyce, Mitchell and Harish Jajoo casting ‘No’ votes. Read the full story here.

Operational agreement with museum finalized

The council approved an operational agreement calling for the Sugar Land Heritage Museum to share space with a city visitor center inside an Imperial Redevelopment District building that is being renovated. Council members also approved an ordinance that provides $75,000 to the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation—the museum’s operator—to pay for exhibits. The museum and visitor center will be located on the second floor of a former warehouse at Imperial. The first floor will house the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center. In January the city council approved a lease of the property with Imperial Redevelopment District, where the city will pay a rent of $1 per year for 99 years for the space. Imperial will serve as landlord and will be responsible for handling maintenance and repair needs in the building, according to the lease. However, the city and the discovery center will reimburse Imperial for the cost of those repairs. All operational costs for the second-floor space, including utilities, will be paid by the city, according to the operational agreement. The visitor center will offer maps, brochures and other travel information about the local area, and it will sell tickets to local events, according to meeting documents. The lease agreement calls for the museum to open by June 1.  

Contracts awarded in preparation of Hwy. 6 widening

Council members approved contracts totaling $585,000 with two firms for services related to the project to widen Hwy. 6 between Brooks Street and Lexington Boulevard. Under the terms of the $285,000 contract with JLL Valuation and Advisory Services, the company will provide appraisals of properties the city is taking through the eminent domain process to acquire the land needed to widen the highway. JLL will also provide expert testimony as needed, with the company billing the city on an hourly basis for the testimony. The hourly rates start at $75 per hour, and increase to a maximum of $350 per hour, according to the contract. JLL’s testimony will be needed in those instances where the city is unable to agree on a price with a property owner whose land is being taken. The second contract related to the widening project was signed with law firm Edison, McDowell & Hetherington for $300,000. The firm will provide legal services in connection with acquiring the land that JLL will appraise. The contract calls for hourly rates of $250 per hour for work done by one of the firm’s partners, and $85 per hour for work done by paralegals. Eighty percent of the project’s multimillion-dollar budget is being funded by Texas Department of Transportation and federal sources, according to meeting documents.  

Land at Hwy. 6/Voss Road rezoned

City council members approved the first reading of a request to rezone 7.3 acres of vacant land at Hwy. 6 and Voss Road from residential to business use. The land—located southeast of the intersection—will see its zoning change from single family residential (R-1-I) to general business (B-2). The seven-acre site fronts Voss Road. Another parcel of land adjacent to it is zoned B-2 and fronts Hwy. 6. That land is also vacant except for a gas station. The land east of the property is zoned R-1-I, and is home to Kempner High School. When asked, Shay Shafie, representative of Johnson Development, which will develop the site, told council members his company does not know what business will occupy the site. Council Member Steve Porter expressed concern about the area’s tendency to become congested at various times throughout the day. “I would be concerned if there was a high-traffic use put there,” Porter said. “It’s hard to be excited for something if you don’t know what its going to be.” The Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the zoning change be approved.