by Nicole Bradford
Pearland City Council on Monday took a 5-1 stance against Senate Bill 2722 and House Bill 5177, proposing legislation that would thwart plans to expand Hughes Road and complete a recreational trail.
The two companion bills change how surplus revenues from the Harris County Toll Road are dispersed, pre-emptively giving a third to the City of Houston for law enforcement and emergency assistance services, with the remaining 70 percent to be split among Harris County precincts for use on specific roadways.
Currently, each precinct may allocate the funds to any city “through partnering projects or projects they select themselves to help with transportation and connectivity,” City Manager Trent Epperson said.
“The state should stay out of this,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “If we truly believe in local control, why is the legislature stepping in and dictating?”
As a current participant in the Harris County Precinct 2 Partnership Project, the City of Pearland is slated to receive funds for the Hughes Road expansion and completion of Clear Creek Recreational Trail Segment No. 5, Province Village to Dixie Farm Park along with north side of Clear Creek.
“This directly puts those projects in jeopardy,” Cole said. “Those won’t happen at all.”
Other Houston area communities are also opposing the bills, he said, “because they’ve all had great conversations with the commissioner and he’s willing to partner on projects.”
In a letter to the legislature, the mayor writes, “Our taxpayers utilize the toll systems and roadways impacted by these two bills and oppose the use of applicable toll fees being used to fund City of Houston’s operations.”
Voting against the resolution was Councilman Rushi Patel, who said tolls were put in place to pay off debt.
“At the end of the day, taxpayers should get their money back,” he said. “I would love to see the money going to paying off the debt and making these tolls where just the OME is allowed and no surplus.”
