Howdy WHA Members!
Memorial Day weekend started with our Topgolf tournament last Thursday, May 25th and was followed up by major moves in the state legislature. On Saturday, May 27th the Texas House voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton. Monday May 29th was “Sine Die” or the final day of the 88th regular legislative session. However, the governor called the special session to start at 9pm Monday such that lawmakers just rolled right into it. In the meantime, the budget, which includes $1.25 billion for flood mitigation and storm surge protection ($625 million for the Flood Infrastructure Fund, $550 million for the Gulf Coast Protection District, and $50 million for the Lake Houston Dam Improvement Project) is on its way to the governor. Additionally, $1 billion has been earmarked for water infrastructure, pending an amendment to the state constitution this fall.
If you missed it, the 3rd Rising Leaders Topgolf Tournament “TOPGOLF: MAVERICK” was a big success! Unitas Construction was not only our Maverick sponsor but also took home the first-place trophy, congratulations to their team! You can read more about the event and the results in our wrap-up. If you missed out on taking home one of the Rising Leaders cups, sponsored by Schwartz, Page, and Harding, you can grab one from our office during an upcoming committee meeting this month.
In June the Quality Planned Development Committee is meeting on the 12th, Sustainable Infrastructure Committee is meeting on the 13th, Education & Workforce Committee is meeting on the 14th, and Regional Mobility Committee is meeting on the 19th. All these meetings are in our office, and if you would like to be added to the email list or calendar invites for these committees, or any others, please let us know.
On June 29th the Water Resources committee is hosting a panel discussion entitled “Developing Resilient Water Infrastructure.” Recognizing the challenges seen in aging water infrastructure today, this forum will feature a panel with a developer, an engineer, and a water operator, each providing their perspective on the importance of communication and collaboration from the start of a new development to ensure facilities are successful long-term.
Then on July 28th the Quality Planned Development committee is hosting a half-day forum entitled “Collaborating for Quality Growth.” This event will feature three panels providing different perspectives on the significance of collaboration between developers and government officials in the development process. The cost for this event has been generously underwritten by our Quality Growth Partners and there is no charge to attend.
Thank you for your support of the West Houston Association and working to improve quality of life for the 2,000,000+ people who live, work, and play across the region!