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Cross Creek ranch hosts art show Saturday - Page 2
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 19, 2022
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 47 • No. 56 • $1.00
Habitat for Humanity raising $600K for new development By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Hope on the Brazos is a planned subdivision by Habitat for Huamity for low-income families in Fort Bend. It would be built on 6.5 acres of land in Richmond (Contributed rendering)
The Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity has plans to construct a new subdivision for low-income families on 6.5 acres of land in Richmond, but must first raise about $600,000 to pay for infrastructure improvements
at the site, according to officials with the organization. Plans to build a new low-income housing development have been in the works for several years, starting when the George Foundation donated the land and continuing until the city of Richmond approved plats for the project over
the summer, said Jessica Holland, director of development for Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity. “Now, more than ever, the cost of everything is ridiculous,” she said. “Inf lation is bad and wages haven’t raised. And now you have companies on
SEE SUBDIVISION PAGE 6
Growing in leaps
Missouri City narrows manager search to two By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The search for who will become Missouri City’s fourth full-time city manager in three years, and its third under the current mayor’s term, has narrowed to two candidates. Angel Jones, the former city manager of Portsmouth, Virginia, and James Palenick, the former city manager of Middletown, Ohio, are the finalists for the city manager position that has been vacant since the Missouri City council in May opted to fire City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson, according to Rachelle Dickerson, the communications manager for Missouri City. Mayor Robin Elackatt did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the two finalists as of Monday afternoon. He specifically did not respond to questions asking him if he’d considered waiting until after November to name a new city manager; why residents should have confidence the newest city manager would bring stability to the position; and a question seeking more information about how the council decided who would be the finalists. The city manager spot has been something of a revolving door in Missouri City over the last few years. The council in May opted to fire Jackson less than five months after his tenure began. The move came after an investigation into allegations about Jackson’s hiring and firing practices with the city. A whistleblower alleged that Jackson fired SEE MANAGER PAGE 6 COMFORTABLE
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Park goers look out from the observation deck at Cullinan Park in Sugar Land. Work is set to begin soon on more than $1 million in improvements to the Sugar Land park. (Staff file photo)
$1.4 million project set to begin at Cullinan Park By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Crews will soon begin work on a $1.4 million construction project at Cullinan Park that will expand the park’s parking, extend the entryway and add more than 1.2 miles of new trails, according to the Cullinan Park Conservancy. Sugar Land’s city council recently accepted more than $1.2 million in donations for the second phase of construction at the park, according to a press release from the city. That, combined with a $200,000 grant from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, will fund the construction of new concrete and decomposed granite trails, along with 30 head-in parking spaces and a small lot with 45 new parking spaces, ac-
cording to the release. “The Cullinan Park improvements have truly been a demonstration of a great partnership among multiple agencies,” said Joe Chesser, Sugar Land’s director of parks and recreation. “Staff of the city of Sugar Land are excited to work with the conservancy on this second phase of Cullinan Park improvements.” Current plans have construction on the second phase of improvements tentatively set to finish sometime in April 2023, according to the Cullinan Park Conservancy. Cullinan Park is a 754-acre park that the city of Sugar Land annexed in 2016 after reaching an interlocal agreement with Houston and a memorandum of understanding with the Cullinan Park Conser-
Pictured is the green herring, one of the many species of birds seen at Cullinan Park. (Staff file photo)
vancy, said Doug Adolph, a spokesperson for the city. Under the terms of those agreements, Sugar Land will provide park security, maintenance and operations and management of design and construction projects, Adolph said. The conservancy,
then, will provide fundraising for capital improvements, Adolph said. Sugar Land first began soliciting bids for the second phase of construction in July, according to the conservancy. But inflation and a rising cost of construction materials
increased the estimated cost of the project, and three foundations helped the conservancy raise funding for the improvements, according to the conservancy. “We are so thankful for the George Foundation, the Fred and Mabel R Parks Foundation and the Wortham Foundation for their steadfast support of Cullinan Park,” said Robbin Mallet, conservancy board president. “This project would not be happening without them.” Ever since the city annexed the park in 2016, the conservancy has donated more than $2.7 million for park improvements, according to a city news release. Crews completed construction on the first phase of improvements SEE PARK PAGE 6
Questions abound about Sugar Land animal shelter future Sugar Land is working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to determine whether anyone acted criminally in connection to an investigation into unauthorized euthanizations at the city’s animal shelter, but city
leaders have yet to make long-term decisions on the shelter’s future, according to Doug Adolph, a spokesperson for the city. City leaders are still mulling all options for the shelter moving forward, including the possibility of shifting funding to a regional shelter and partnering with a nonprofit or-
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ganization to oversee operations, Adolph said. “This type of partnership would allow the city to have an agreement with another entity to perform the shelter operations, but the city would maintain the animal control operations,” Adolph said. In the more than FREE three weeks since SugESTIMATES! ar Land city within officials 25 miles of
first announced an investigation into unauthorized euthanizations at the shelter found more than 38 dogs and cats were killed without following proper procedure, residents have raised questions about how that could have happened and what might change moving forward. Claudine Vass is a
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