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Pearland News

Welcome to the Lakes of Savannah News section. Here you will find frequently updated Southwest Houston and Pearland news regarding the community as well as model homes, events, and projects in and around Lakes of Savannah.

Lakes of Savannah residents and spectators are invited to join in an interactive conversation with the community through commenting.

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Perfect for those weekend backyard parties, the new - and very popular - Pearland Old Townsite Farmers Market now offers local produce to area residents. All produce, as well as products such as honey and crafts, must be made from local ingredients and created within 150 miles of the city.

Each market day has turned out a variety of  vendors including Fusion Beans, a specialty coffee roaster based out of Webster, Texas; Edible Earth Resources, which helps their customers with composting, rain water harvesting, herb and vegetable gardens; Proverbs Farm and Soap Shoppe which sells handmade goat milk soaps, lotions and cheese and many more!

According to the market managers, Cassie and Ron Mitchel, “It seems to me that over time Pearland seems to have lost a sense of itself as a community. That is what the market is about, trying to bring that sense of community back to Pearland.” We want to support local farmers and local families, at the Grand Opening, we saw families coming out together and kids playing in the park,” she said.

The Pearland Old Townsite Farmers Market is held at Zylinski Park located at 2243 Grand Blvd. The next market will be held Saturday, July 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. *Weather permitting; the market will be open every second and fourth Saturday until the end of November.

For more information, visit the market’s website at PearlandOldTownSiteFarmersMarket.com.


Look out Zatarains, There’s a New Boil in Town!

As a self proclaimed crawfish critic, I often venture out to the local cook-off in hopes of finding something a little out of the ordinary. And, I’m not impressed by heat alone, which seems too often to be the only differing factor.

But, at a recent backyard cook-off, I found a pleasantly delicious and surprisingly different batch of mudbugs. And, to avoid tainting the competition, I will avoid divulging the teams’ identity, but I will share the secret – because you will definitely want to try this one at home! It was simply a bag of newly created boil seasoning called White Trash Seafood Boil.


Heritage Bank Opens New Pearland Headquarters

Heritage Bank has been serving Texas proudly since 1985 and they are glad to expand their business to serve the community as they open their second Pearland location – the new Pearland Headquarters - in December of 2010. The 7,000 sq ft facility began with a ground breaking on Saturday January 23 as the Heritage Bank Board of Directors donned gold shovels and hard hats.

Heritage bank was founded in 1985 in Detroit, Texas and in 2008 local investors and organizers acquired the assets of Community National Bank in Detroit, TX from its original founders. Over the years Heritage Bank has grown, now owned by over 140 local business owners they plan to continue expanding to better serve the community. As Texas State Representative, Heritage Bank’s Chairman and CEO Dennis Bonnen stated, “Heritage is a bank owned by local business owners, for local business owners, and is based on the belief that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice the technology of the big banks to gain the service of the small.”


Pearland Secures $777K in Grant Money

The City of Pearland has been awarded $777 thousand dollars in grant money to fund five different programs in five departments, ranging from upgrades to the recycling center to crime prevention education materials. Paulette Englund, the Budget Analyst who oversees the City’s grant function shared her excitement, “The grant process is, by nature, very competitive and even more so in this time of economic ‘belt-tightening,’ so we are very pleased to have been able to apply for and secure these monies for the citizens of Pearland.”

The money was awarded to the following departments and their prospective programs

$12,861 to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance

  • To fund a Laser software program for simulated weapons training
  • To purchase crime prevention education materials for parents and children.

$31,673 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ)


New businesses are continuing to make their way to the Pearland area, home to Lakes of Savannah. The Pearland Journal reports that through financial incentives offered by the Pearland Economic Development Corporation and the State of Texas, Cardiovascular Systems Inc, a publicly traded medical device company based in St. Paul, Minn. has a new 10 year lease for large manufacturing facility to be located in Pearland.

The Journal also cited city leaders’ hopes that the new plant will create more than 100 jobs in the near future and possibly as many as 500 jobs over the next five years.

Texas’ business climate has been key in attracting new business to the state and the Houston area and Texas Governor Rick Perry was quote in the Journal article as stating that the CSI expansion is further proof that Texas remains the best state in the nation for business.
 
According to the Journal, the governor assisted Pearland in the process by offering , Inc. $600,000 from the Texas Enterprise Fund in business incentives for the 46,000 sq. ft. facility and the Pearland Economic Development Corporation owned the facility land and has already made a significant financial investment in the construction of the plant’s outer shell. The manufacturing plant is located south of Beltway 8 and west of Highway 288. The PEDC has also agreed to offer additional financial incentives to Cardiovascular Systems Inc. in the future based on the successful creation of new jobs and other collaborative business goals.

The Pearland facility represents the second operations plant for the company. The first is located in St. Paul, where it currently employs 100 workers. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.csi360.com.

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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