Katy hires contractor to build municipal court building

By KAREN HASTINGS CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
June 9, 2009, 12:46PM

Katy City Council members June 8 approved a contract with Rosenberg-based Bass Construction Co. to build the $1.5 million municipal court building.

The 7,500-square-foot court building will be built east of the Katy Police Department at 5456 Franz Road in Katy. The two-phase contract includes $237,660 from the city’s court technology and court security funds.

“It’s needed really bad,” said Councilman Kenneth Berger. “They meet here in the council chambers now and there’s just not enough room.”

Municipal Court Clerk Elaine Brown was happy to see the project moving forward. The new building will include a courtroom and space for jury assembly, offices and a break room.

“I’m just looking forward to having the room and all the modern technology,” Brown said.

She said on Monday she would rearrange chairs and cart boxes into the council chambers to accommodate court trials on Tuesday morning. Then, she was planning to rearrange the room again for another public meeting on Wednesday.

“The new building will be nice,” Brown said. “It’ll already be set up with a jury box, the way a jury box should be.”

Katy residents approved $7.5 million in bonds in 2007 for a number of projects, including the courts building, street and drainage improvements and renovations to the city fire station.

Development fees
The council voted to correct a “scrivener error” that left new and increased development fees, approved last year, out of the city’s zoning ordinance. Because of the error, the new fees have not been collected, City Secretary Missy Bunch said.

With its June 8 vote, council made those new filing fees effective immediately. They include $500 to request a zoning change, and $1,000 for creating or amending a Planned Development District. The previous fee for zoning changes was $50.

Property owners requesting a zoning verification letter also will pay a $50 fee, and requests to abandon an easement or right of way will require a filing fee of $100.

City Treasurer Byron Hebert said the fees are not common, so the error in leaving them out of the city code was not noticed for some time.

Homestead exemption
Council members also voted to renew the city’s 20 percent homestead exemption for the 2009 tax year. Hebert said the council is considering increasing the homestead exemption for homeowners 65 and older.

Appraisal district plan
The council also voted 4-1 to endorse a Fort Bend Central Appraisal District plan to build a $6.4 million headquarters on 12 acres north of U.S. 59 in Rosenberg. More than three dozen taxing entities in Fort Bend County, including Katy, would pay a proportionate share for the new facility, based on their tax levy.

City Councilwoman Carol Adams was the lone dissenting vote, saying the she didn’t like the location or cost of the project. Katy’s cost would be about $764 per year.

“I agree that they have some problems. But this project is unnecessary and badly planned,” she said. “And I just think the timing is completely wrong.”

Appraisal district officials say their lease is up in May 2012, and that the site is already crowded and lacks sufficient parking.