City to Receive COVID-19 Relief Fund Money

By George Slaughter

Byron Hebert – City of Katy photo

The Katy City Council Monday authorized Mayor Bill Hastings to sign the paperwork so the city can receive $838,805 in federal money for COVID-19 through the CARES Act passed earlier this year.

The money is to cover city expenses related to COVID-19 that were not accounted for in the current city budget, and were incurred between March 1 and December 30 of last year, City Administrator Byron Hebert said in a memo to council urging authorization.

Hebert told the council that the money would first be put in city budget reserves, and from there, money can be used toward future budgets.

“There’s going to be a lot of money out there for us to be reimbursed,” Hebert said. “We just have to make sure that we follow the guidelines they give us and recoup all the dollars that we have coming to us.”

Harris County received federal funding under the CARES (for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act to deal with the effects of the COV1D-19 pandemic. The act established a relief fund, of which Harris County received an $426 million allocation from the state government.

Harris County Commissioners Court approved a Small City Assistance Program to provide reimbursements to small cities in the county, such as Katy.

Council Sets Nov. 3 Municipal Election Date

The council set its 2020 municipal election for Nov. 3. The election will coincide with the national and state elections already scheduled for that date. The Katy Independent School District earlier this month also moved its school board election to Nov. 3.

The council pushed out the election, originally scheduled for May, on the urging of Gov. Greg Abbott, who urged election postponement so local governments could deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Council Member-at-Large Chris Harris, Ward A Council Member Janet Corte, and Ward B Council Member Durran Dowdle are up for re-election. All have filed to seek another term in office.

Harris has drawn no opponents. Corte will face Diane Robichaux Walker, a life insurance broker, and Dharminder Dargan, an engineer. Dowdle will face Sam Pearson, a retired peace officer and minister who serves on the city’s planning and zoning commission; Steve Pierson, a former council member-at-large and Ward B council member; and Rory Robertson, a registered investment advisor.

Other Actions Taken

In other action Monday, the council:

  • Observed a presentation of the Katy Proud Business Award by Keep Katy Beautiful to Morningstar Storage, 5333 Highway Blvd.
  • Reviewed the city’s third quarter investment report for Fiscal year 2019-20.
  • Approved a $15,000 membership dues payment to the Waller County Economic Development Partnership.
  • Approved a $3,000 membership dues payment to the Greater Houston Partnership.
  • Approved a $525 membership dues payment to the Texas Economic Development Council.
  • Approved a six-month extension for a preliminary plat for Pitts Road in the Cane Island subdivision.
  • Approved a six-month extension for a preliminary plat for section 38 of Cane Island.
  • Accepted public sidewalk improvements for the Village at Katy.
  • Designated Andrew Vasquez, finance director, to calculate no-new revenue and voter-approved tax rates.
  • Authorized Hastings to sign an agreement and forms to participate in the Harris County Small Cities Assistance Program to apply for Coronavirus Relief Fund Reimbursement.
  • Authorized Hastings to sign a clinical affiliation agreement with Blinn College. “We currently have members of our fire department attending paramedic school at Blinn College,” Russell Wilson, fire chief, wrote in a memo to the council urging approval. “Part of the process of completing the paramedic curriculum is for students to perform a series of clinical ride-outs and be evaluated in the field. During the current COVID-19 crisis, many agencies are no longer allowing students to perform these ride-outs within their organizations. This agreement with Blinn College will allow our current and future students who are enrolled in the Blinn EMS program to perform the clinical ride-outs necessary for successful completion here in the Katy Fire Department.”
  • Authorized Hastings to sign an agreement with Municipal Emergency Services for maintenance of the city’s SCUBA equipment.
  • Authorized Hastings to sign an agreement with Stryker for inspection and maintenance of the fire department’s automated equipment.