Plans for Rebuild Houston project detailed

Cramming two meetings into one, this year's series of Houston City Council district meetings on the Capital Improvement Plan has also included a discussion of the new Rebuild Houston drainage fund.

Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck's meeting for District C took place Tuesday, March 1, at St.Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, 6802 Buffalo Speedway.

The two-hour evening session was one of 10 council district meetings to solicit public comment on potential capital improvement projects, or big-ticket items such as road repair or park improvements.

The city's list of all such projects is called the Capital Improvement Plan, a five-year document that is updated each year.

More than half of the Tuesday session was spent on Rebuild Houston, the pay-as-you-go fund for street and drainage improvements approved by voters Nov. 2 as Proposition 1.

Mayor Annise Parker has attended all nine of the combined meetings held so far because she said she wanted to talk to people about Rebuild Houston and to hear their comments.

It was logical to combine the two topics, Parker said, because one goal of the Rebuild Houston program is to create a master list of street and drainage projects, rather than have neighborhoods compete with each other for a slot in the Capital Improvement Plan.

Andy Icken, the city's chief development officer, gave the Rebuild Houston presentation after Parker's remarks.

As approved by voters, the fund will have four revenue sources: a portion of the city property tax, a developer impact fee; payments from the Metropolitan Transit Authority and other government sources, and a property owners' drainage fee designed to collect at least $125 million a year.

The average home owner on an open-ditch street will likely pay $4.06 a month, while the same home owner on a curb-and-gutter street will pay $5 a month, Icken told the audience.

A public hearing on Rebuild Houston is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, at Houston City Hall.

City Council is expected to vote March 23 on the proposed ordinance, which must be in effect by July 1.

Sample bills are expected to be mailed to residents in May or early June, Icken said.

Parker said Houston's proposed fee does not exempt anyone, including schools and churches, although it's likely that council members will offer amendments.

The mayor said she has already begun meeting with school superintendents to work out a way that fees collected from the schools could be put back into their immediate neighborhoods.

Billy Pilgrim, a Braeswood-area resident, commented that Houston is affected by runoff from Bellaire, West University Place and Southside Place, which will not be subject to the drainage fee.

Parker said it's up to the Harris County Flood Control District to "referee" any issues that might arise over runoff from other cities.

During the Capital Improvement Plan portion of the meeting, Dan Menendez of the city's Public Works and Engineering Department said a notice to proceed had been issued Feb. 28 for reconstruction of Buffalo Speedway between Holcombe and South Braeswood Boulevards.

Work typically starts within two weeks of the notice to proceed, officials said.

carol.christian@chron.com