The Woodlands Township Board meets, requests continued fault line monitoring by SJRA

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Woodlands Township Board of Directors held a regular meeting on Thursday, October 19, 2023. The Board discussed topics including fault line monitoring by the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA), the Conroe Independent School District (CISD) Bond Referendum, the impact of a development outside of Creekside Park and more.

On the Regular Agenda, the Board received an update regarding the Groundwater Reduction Plan (GRP) pipeline and current fault line monitoring in The Woodlands, presented by Ed Shackelford, interim general manager of the SJRA. One fault is located on FM 2978 south of the intersection with Research Forest, and the other is on Research Forest, centered on the intersection with Cat’s Cradle in the vicinity of The Woodlands High School. In the past, SJRA has monitored the existing faults twice annually in March and September; SJRA proposed to change the monitoring to once a year. View the presentation.

Vice Chairman Kyle Watson noted concerns about subsidence and the need for continued monitoring of the fault lines. “We would like the monitoring to be at least twice a year,” said Watson. “We have significant concerns here in The Woodlands and in order to address those concerns for the future, monitoring should not be reduced.”

Following discussion, the Board passed a motion by Director Sekula-Gibbs requesting that SJRA continue monitoring fault lines within The Woodlands twice yearly.

The Board also discussed the upcoming CISD Bond Referendum. CISD Superintendent Dr. Curtis Null presented information to the Board at their September 25 meeting. The proposed $1,820,000,000 bond, which is broken into four separate propositions, would fund numerous projects in CISD.

After discussion, the Board voted to pass a resolution in support of the entire bond, with Director Nelson abstaining because she served as a member of the CISD Bond Committee.

“In 2019, the Township Board passed a resolution in support of the CISD bond,” said Chairman Dr. Ann K. Snyder. “We determined that it was important for our local economic development, sustaining our property values and our high quality of life within our community. We are very fortunate that CISD has been rated a high-performance and high-achievement school district for the past number of years, second to none. People move here because of our A+ rated schools and I am very much in support of us supporting public schools.”

Chief Operating Officer Nunes provided an update regarding the development of the Gosling Oaks area. The development is located outside the boundaries of The Woodlands, near Kayak Ridge in Creekside Park, and has yielded numerous concerns. The Woodlands Township does not have the ability to regulate or permit the development. To mitigate the impact of the development, the Township Board previously approved $113,089 to provide 560 trees to serve as a buffer between the Kayak Ridge neighborhood and the new development. That action included three rows of trees to ultimately create a thick forest buffer to address resident concerns. View the presentation.

“Reforestation is a priority of this Board, so much so that our staff is having difficulty sourcing the trees for this project,” said Director Brad Bailey. “This Board is listening to our residents, and we want to do everything we can to make inroads on this issue and address your concerns.”

Director of Customer Engagement Angel Nicks presented a 2023 budget amendment in the amount of $230,059.33 to fund three new detectives, along with three vehicles, uniforms, and equipment for two months (November 2023 through December 2023) for the Precinct 3 Constables Internet Crimes Against Children/Safe Harbor Program. The funding of the additional officers for this program was included in the adoption of the 2024 Township Budget; the budget amendment was requested to expedite the process. The Board unanimously approved the amendment.

Director of Parks and Recreation John McGowan presented proposed amendments to Township Park Order 019-09, related to use of the park, recreation and open space areas. The Board approved a public hearing relating to the amendment to be held during the Board meeting on October 25, 2023.

During the Consent Agenda, Item 6B was removed from consent and placed on the Regular Agenda at the request of Director Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes provided context for the decline in revenue and participation at the two Township boat houses and Texas TreeVentures when compared to previous years. Nunes explained that Texas

TreeVentures was closed for two months at the beginning of 2023 for the renovation and expansion of the facility. He also attributed some of the decline in participation to the record-breaking summer heat. Previous trends indicate an increase in activity between the months of November and December, which would likely make up for some of the summer decline. Nunes also detailed improved performance of the Town Center Trolleys and The Woodlands Express ridership in recent months.

On the Consent Agenda, which consists of routine housekeeping items that do not require Board discussion, the Board accepted the minutes for the meetings in September, accepted The Woodlands Fire Department report, approved the Amended and Restated Comprehensive Community Services Agreement with Howard Hughes, approved the contract renewal for Aquatics Facility Chemical Delivery with Big Tex Pool Supplies, accepted proposals from Hancock Pool Services, Inc., for work at Rob Fleming Aquatic Center and Ridgewood Pool, and awarded a one-year contract extension for 2024 playground fall surfacing with McKenna Contracting, Inc.

Following the Executive Session, the Board authorized the purchase of an infrastructure and disaster recovery software replacement.

Members of the public were able to address the Board at the beginning of the meeting.?

The Woodlands Township Board Meetings may be attended in person, watched live online, or viewed later at www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/meetingvideos. The agenda and attachments may be viewed at www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/991/Agendas-Minutes-and-More.