Council members agreed leaving the fountain intact would be more feasible and would allow the city to keep a depot landmark.

“[The fountain is] such an entrance to the depot area now that it would be a shame to get away from that,” Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan said.

The city approved a schedule to start construction by Feb. 1  and complete the project by March 31, in time for the annual Tomball German Heritage Festival on April 1-3.

The project will either need to be complete before the weekend festival or postponed to start until afterward, according to Tomball City Manager George Shackelford.

Other improvements

Work is also set to begin on sidewalk improvements near the intersection of Quinn and Zion roads near Tomball High School. Repairs will be made to existing sidewalks along Zion Road from Alice Lane to Quinn Road, and new sidewalks will be constructed on the west side of Quinn Road and extended across Zion Road to the east side of the railroad tracks, Esquivel said.

“[For the extension] portion, plans are about 90 percent complete and currently at the [Harris County Precinct 4] office for review,” he said.

Once design plans are complete, Esquivel said the project is expected to be put out for bids by the end of February.

The city is also moving forward on design plans for proposed Broussard Park improvements that would move the existing parking lot to create more space for soccer fields on East Hufsmith Road.

Esquivel said the final size of the park will need to be determined before improvement plans can be completed.

“We’re hoping to get that finalized before we [finish] the layout of the park,” Esquivel said. “If we are able to get [additional] property, it’s definitely going to change the layout and the amenities that we can include.”