Pearland News

The City of Pearland has moved one step closer in their proposal and efforts to widen Cullen Boulevard from FM 518 to the Beltway. The stretch of road will benefit the Pearland community and Lakes of Savannah residents to accommodate more traffic. The current two-lane road will be widened to four lanes, complete with a curb and gutter drainage system as well as a bike path along the west side and a sidewalk on the east side of the roadway.

State transportation officials approved pass-through financing for the Cullen project on September 24, 2009. This was a positive step forward as an attempt at this type of financing fell apart three years ago. The program would provide reimbursement from the TxDot to the City of Pearland if the City finances and builds the roadway initially. The reimbursement would be paid over a number of years determined by traffic, and is determined by the type of roadway.

Trent Epperson, Projects Manager for the City of Pearland explained “Payback is based on the type of roadway, so we partnered with Harris County and submitted that package for financing with the understanding that Harris County would be responsible for the piece (of Cullen) in Harris County.”

This is just the first step among many, including negotiating reimbursement terms with the state and having a design engineer work on the project. The City hopes to go to the transportation commission and city council for approval in late October, with the total process taking about 30 months for completion.

Source: www.hconline.com

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Pearland Community local businesses will now have an advantage in winning city contracts thanks to a proposal by City Council members Woody Owens and Kevin Cole. They proposed the ‘Local Business Preference Program’ in June in hopes of offering Pearland businesses every advantage offered by state law. Mayor Reid was supportive in hopes that the program could help save jobs as well as keep local businesses open.

The program was approved by city council and will help local vendors win contracts of less than $100,000. Local vendors are defined as businesses that have established their primary business location within city limits. With the program a local business is automatically awarded the city’s contract as long as their bid is no more than 5% higher than the next most competitive bid for contract amounts from $50,000 to $100,000. For contract amounts between $3,000 and $50,000 a local business will automatically get the contract as long as their bid is no more than 3% higher than the next highest bid.

>Local Pearland Community business owners are already thankful. Owner and operator Ray LeBous of Dream Theaters said he appreciates the efforts, “If we live here and work here, it helps keep money in the local business economy.”

“They are local businesses, hiring local residents and paying taxes the City is spending every day to provide city services,” Owens said. Pearland residents can be thankful that the council is doing “everything possible to keep our local businesses in business.”

Lakes of Savannah entrepreneurs (future and present) should be encouraged by the City of Pearland's enthusiasm and support!

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Many residents in the Pearland area are proud of where they live and how beautiful the location is. On September 12th, Lakes of Savannah will have the chance to be a part of keeping Pearland clean. Keep Pearland Beautiful (KPB) will host its annual Fall Community Clean-up on September 12th. The project begins at 7:30 am with breakfast tacos at Stella Roberts Recycling Center, 5800 Magnolia.

People interested in helping out can check in at the location to pick up trash bags and disposable gloves to help pick up litter. KPB will be giving cash prizes to the one with the most creative photo of their clean-up results.

To submit your photos email them to cowles@keeppearlandbeautiful.org or mail them to 2947 E. Broadway Suite 300, Pearland, TX 77581. In addition, a cash prize will also be awarded by a random drawing of all of the wrap-up reports, which must be submitted by October 12th.

Last year 667 volunteers worked for 1,027 hours and collected 264 bags of trash. Let's see if we can break that record this Saturday in Pearland! Special gifts will also be made for all volunteers that come for the 2009 Fall Trash Off. For more information on Keep Pearland Beautiful call 281-652-1659 or visit their website at KeepPearlandBeautiful.org.

Source: The Journal Of Pearland

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The construction of a new recreation center and Natatorium for Pearland is currently underway. The project is a joint venture between the city of Pearland, Pearland I.S.D., the Pearland Economic Development Corporation, and the city voters' approval last May for a $16.8 million bond.

Progress is moving along nicely, and the vision of the recreation center is becoming much clearer. "Just this week, we installed the roof decking on the recreation center side," stated Assistant City Manager Jon Branson. "On the natatorium side, we just started building the framing for the pool structure." Speaking of the swimming pool, that area is already excavated. The parking lot is also fully paved along with its entrance to the main road.

>Estimates on income from the center are approximately $103,000 in 2010 and 600,000 in 2011. Revenue from school-sponsored events are also factored in. This, along with events coordinated within the recreation center will generate income for the city.

The new center will host a number of activities and classes to participate in such as yoga, Pilates, aerobics, year round swimming lessons, aquatic exercise classes, spinning, onsite personal trainers, and more. When completed, the recreation center and natatorium will also have a 50 meter pool and two 1 meter diving boards, 25 yard warm up pool, two basketball courts, a weight room, aerobics room, indoor running track, two racquetball courts, and more all within its 108,000 square foot facility.

The city plans on hiring 10 full time positions and 27 part time employees in 2010, so those living in Lakes of Savannah with an interest or expertise in fitness should keep their eyes on the new center as more news breaks.

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