County Commissioners

Meeting notes - Feb. 10, 2009

Steve Hawley, Feb 12, 09.

Tagged with transportation, government, grand parkway

Harris County Commissioners Court
February 10, 2009, 10:00 am

Houston Tomorrow publishes notes from public meetings to help local governments in their mission to provide transparency and to allow a greater pool of Houstonians to participate in important policy discussions. These notes are not official meeting minutes, nor do they record every agenda item.

Note: The Commissioners Court covers a wide variety of topics. Houston Tomorrow only reports on issues relating to land use, quality of life, and transportation. Questions or comments regarding agenda items are discussed during the meeting, and some items may be removed. At the end the commissioners vote on the agenda as a whole.

Agenda item #20, Commissioners Court
Section (a), number 5: Request for authorization to execute the market valuation waiver agreement for SH-99/Grand Parkway.

Commissioners Steve Radack (Precinct 3) and Jerry Eversole (Precinct 4) expressed concern that Harris County could not afford the entire $5 billion cost of the Grand Parkway. One commissioner said that at least one unnamed Texas Transportation Commissioner wanted Harris County to pay for the entire project. They asked if the waiver would commit them to building Segment E and were told that it would not commit them to construction. Instead, under Senate Bill 792 (2007), it would give them six months to accept or reject proposals. Any proposals that were too expensive could be turned down. All seven counties negotiating through the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) would have to approve the waiver.

Commissioner Radack said that it can take some residents two hours to reach downtown Houston during rush hour, and he expressed the opinion that the Grand Parkway would reduce travel time. He also said that anyone running for statewide office would be a fool not to support the project.

The commissioners approved the request to waive the market valuation. A Harris County official noted that the waiver could not take effect until the other six counties involved in Grand Parkway planning also approved the waiver.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Sylvia Garcia (Precinct 2) noted that former Houston City Councilwoman Eleanor Tinsley passed away earlier in the morning. Commissioner Garcia called her a champion of greenspace and quality of life issues. A moment of silence was held in her honor.

Next County Commissioners notes (February 24, 2009)

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