by Nicole Bradford
Pearland’s first cultural arts plan and a new surface water plant are among city leaders’ expectations for 2024.
In addition to a comprehensive plan update, which is in the final stages and awaiting city council adoption, the city will get its first-ever cultural arts master plan.
The arts plan was an oft-stated goal of Mayor Emeritus Tom Reid, who passed away in June 2023 — but not before the city council hired a firm to complete the plan, which is expected to be completed in 2024.
Also expected to be online this year is a long-awaited surface water treatment plant that will provide an additional 10 million gallons of water per day. Pearland currently gets water from several sources, including the City of Houston. This will continue, Mayor Kevin Cole has pointed out, even after the new plant is up and running.
“Lots of people have said once we get this shiny new plant online we don’t have a need for City of Houston anymore,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “We never said we were going to wean ourselves completely off the City of Houston.”
In fact, Pearland made a significant investment in Houston’s southeast water plant.
“We’re not just (City of Houston) buying water; we helped pay for the capital improvements to that plant 15-18 years ago,” Cole said. “We become a little bit more flexible and a lot more self-sufficient for water.”
In summer, demand for water can easily double, according to the city’s water system staff. Pearland’s peak water demand during 2023 was on Aug. 28, reaching an all-time record of 28.5 million gallons.
Meanwhile, discussions at City Hall that will likely continue into 2024 include possible changes to the city’s tree ordinance, which some have said thwarts development, and a review of the local homestead exemption, currently at 2.5 percent.
The council last year discussed looking at the homestead exemption but ran into the budget season before a conversation could take place.
