Space Cowboys struggles continue with Tacoma series loss - Page 3
The Shrimp, Grits & Crab at Sugar Land’s The Roof - page 8
WEDNESDAY • SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 37 • $1.00
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Lamar CISD Sugar Land council approves revisions to board calls single-member districts $15 million Staff Reports city services. boundaries or precinct votbond for ing for county, state and City Council held a work- Federal elections. Only the Sugar Land City Counstadium cil last week approved the shop on Aug. 29 to discuss city’s single-member City citizen-led Redistricting the committee’s recommen- Council districts will be afimprovements Advisory Committee’s unan- dation, and the public was fected.”
imous recommendation for revised single-member City Staff Reports Council districts in Sugar Land to comply with fedAfter a vote by the Lamar eral law. CISD board of trustees in August, residents will vote At-large City Council November 7 on a bond elec- members will not be aftion totaling $15 million. fected by redistricting, and the redistricting plan will The single bond proposi- have no impact on decisions tion would cover renovations regarding land use or any and improvements to Guy K. Traylor Stadium, including the bleachers, foundation repairs, replacement of the turf, and the installation of LED lighting. Repairs will also be made to the roof and locker rooms. “Beyond the aesthetic enhancements, these renovations prioritize safety and functionality,” Lamar CISD Superintendent Dr. Roosevelt Nivens said in a press release. “We have to make sure that our students, our staff, and our parents, are going to a facility that is structurally sound.”
provided opportunities to provide input throughout the redistricting process. No speakers spoke at the workshop. “The redistricting project was an open, transparent process,” City Attorney Meredith Riede said in a press release. “Redistricting has no impact on school district
The release of the 2020 U.S. Census triggered the need for a redistricting process. The U.S. Constitution requires that members of an elected body be drawn from districts of substantially equal population with a
SEE REVISIONS PAGE 2
Sugar Land City Council last week approved revisions to its single-member districts. The revisions were made to comply with federal law. Photo by Ken Fountain
Morales makes case for mobility and parks bond election
The turf in Traylor Stadium was last replaced in 2013 and the average lifespan is approximately 10 years. During a 2022 bond election, two propositions did not pass, which included renovations and improvements to the stadium. Since then, the Lamar CISD Athletic Department has made several changes which have impacted student and fan access including schedules and program availability. “When we say that we prioritize safety, that means anywhere in Lamar CISD— including our fields and facilities. The proposed repairs and improvements to the stadium reflect our commitment to providing safe facilities for our students, athletes, and the entire community,” Lamar CISD Board of Trustees President Mandi Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales calls for the passage of the county’s $713 million bond referendum in November. Photo by Ken Fountain Bronsell said. By Ken Fountain that the audience was largely Meyers, in a public meeting would be financed. The facility to design projects, acquire the KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM During the same board comprised of representatives of in August leading up to the is a private-public partnership necessary right-of-ways, and calling of the bond in order to in which the county leases the relocate utilities, he said. meeting, the trustees adopted civil engineering firms. a total tax rate for 2023 that Fort Bend County Precinct persuade Meyers, well-known land to developer, Stonehenge “By the time we get those Morales said with the ex- for his staunch fiscal conser- Holdings, which leases the fais 9.28 cents less than the rate 1 Commissioner Vincent Moin effect when the Bond 2022 rales made a case for improving pected population growth in vatism, to support it. Meyers cility back to the county. The ready to go to construction was passed in November of infrastructure, including pas- Fort Bend (with an estimated had expressed reluctance county will take ownership of and put shovels in the ground, last year. The 2023 total rate sage of the mobility and parks 2 million residents by 2040), because of what he said were the building in 30 years. we’re ready to put more projis sufficient to fund the 2023 bond election recently called it’s vital that officials plan to disparities in how the bond ects in the pipeline,” Morales In the upcoming ref- said. bond referendum, according by Commissioners Court, dur- provide the necessary infra- money would be distributed to the district. ing a presentation at the Fort structure and the amenities throughout the county. erendum, $153 million is “Hopefully, the voters will Bend Chamber of Commerce desired by earmarked for parks, both new “This is meant to address parks and improvements to see that the mobility bond is last week. “It will improve mobility and the growing transportation existing ones, Morales noted. very important for the growth. Morales, a former Rosen- safety throughout the county,” and recreation needs of the Because if we don’t (pass the Morales told the audience bond), especially in Precinct berg mayor now in his second especially with projects in his county,” he said. that Fort Bend County held 1, we will be behind the eight term on the court, made a precinct, Morales said of the Morales touted the recent five mobility bond elections ball,” he said. passionate argument for the proposed bond. “We’ve been $713 million mobility and bond working on this for almost a opening of the Epicenter, a between 2000 and 2020. A complete list of the 2023 referendum which voters will year now, and there was a lot of large multipurpose facility in “I feel like, and I feel like mobility and parks projects decide on November 7. The thought put into the projects.” Rosenberg adjacent to the Fort combined bond is the largest Bend County Fairgrounds. the court has the same senti- in the November election can in the county’s history. Morales actually did a bit Morales and Precinct 2 Com- ment, that we probably need to be found at fortbendcountytx. Call 281.690.4200 of horse-trading with his fel- missioner Grady Prestage be looking at this about every gov/government/departments/ to see how we can help freshen up your impact! Given the topic of the talk, low Republican on the court, made up the committee which three to four years,” he said. county-services/engineering/ it was perhaps not surprising Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy devised the way the Epicenter It takes about that much time mobility-road-projects.
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