Montgomery County Commissioners Court places $280 million road bond referendum on November ballot

The decision to approve the new bond package was reached after Judge Craig Doyal and Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley came to an agreement with The Woodlands-based Texas Patriots political action committee on the proposal, county officials said.

Riley said he removed the Woodlands Parkway extension from the list of projects and is focusing on an expansion of Keenan Cut Off Road.

“I have prioritized Keenan Cut Off Road over Woodlands Parkway because of the two new schools that Montgomery ISD will build on that road,” Riley said. “That road cannot wait for those two schools.”

Additionally, the expansion and realignment of Robinson Road has been removed from the bond project list by Noack. In exchange, Noack is including a $14.55 million expansion of Woodlands Parkway between I-45 and Grogan’s Mill Road. The expansion widens the parkway from three to four lanes in both directions and includes a dedicated turn lane, according to Precinct 3.

The Texas Patriots PAC opposed the $350 million bond referendum during the May election as well as a $200 million bond proposal in 2011.

Julie Turner, Texas Patriot PAC president, said the organization is supporting the November bond referendum because of the removal of the Woodlands Parkway extension and a new county strategy being implemented to fund maintenance projects.

“This is what the PAC would suggest, so it worked out,” Turner said. “If they don’t want our support, they can do whatever they want.”

Another criticism levied by opponents of the May bond referendum was the use of bond funds for maintenance and rehabilitation projects. To address the criticism, county commissioners placed $4 million in a new road and bridge fund in the fiscal year 2016 budget—which commissioners approved on Sept. 2.

“We added $1 million a piece to each of the commissioner’s budget,” Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said. “Maintenance issues are only going to get more challenging. We’re trying to get ahead of the congestion curve.”

Starting with the 2017-18 budget, the Commissioner’s Court will allocate 10.19 percent of property tax revenue received by the county to the fund each year for road and bridge maintenance, Doyal said.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador criticized the partnership with the PAC. However, he voted in favor of the bond referendum’s placement on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“I am disappointed in how it was done—a small group of people from a special interest group serving as a bond committee and dictating to some of the court—not me—how much each precinct would receive and what work was to be done,” Meador said. “With no input from anybody in the county except for this one group, it seems like a dangerous path that the court has taken. That defies equal representation.”

County officials said the court is also planning a 2018 road bond referendum of at least $70 million. The two bond proposals total the same $350 million figure proposed in May, but the three years between the referendums will give commissioners time to evaluate the effects of a floundering oil market, Doyal said.