In Monday night’s meeting of the Katy city council, members voted unanimously to approve a public hearing and meeting to adopt the proposed 2024-2025 city budget and a proposed tax rate of $0.425. The hearing will be held on September 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Katy City Hall, 901 Avenue C.

In other action, council:

· Voted unanimously to terminate the disaster declaration which the mayor issued on July 11, 2024, following Hurricane Beryl.

· Voted unanimously to award a $412,778.65 bid for a water line replacement project to McKinney Construction, Inc. of Houston. The project will affect the Pineview Terrace neighborhood.

· Voted unanimously to award a $2,583,039.00 bid for Third Street drainage improvements to AR Turnkee Construction Company of Houston. The project also includes the addition of a sidewalk and an additional 113 parking spots along the south side of the street, officials said.

· Approved a construction change order request for $4,401.36 for work related to the 10th Street Bridge replacement project. Officials said that signage related to the project is “confusing” and would be improved, among other adjustments to the project. Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris recommended placement of additional signage on Avenue D south of 10th Street informing drivers of the change.

· Designated Mayor Dusty Thiele and Councilmember Gina Hicks as the representative and alternate for the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). Hicks will be replacing Councilmember Janet Corte. Harris said that during her time with H-GAC, Corte had “brought lots of money back to the city” in projects and thanked her for her contributions.

In council member reports:

· Councilmember Rory Robertson announced that the city-run Katy Dog Park located at 5414 Franz Road in Katy would be temporarily closed starting on September 23, so that the pond could be drained and cleaned.

· Councilmember Gina Hicks announced that a ribbon cutting would be held at Hutsell Elementary School, 5360 Franz in Katy, on September 26 to showcase the new renovations at the campus and that a ribbon cutting for the new murals in Katy’s historic town square at Avenue C and Second Street would be held after that. She also said that a ceremony commemorating 9/11 would be held at City Hall at 8:30 a.m. on September 11.

· Councilmember Dan Smith noted that the Rice Harvest Festival, to be held October 12-13, is one month away and that entries are still being accepted for the parade which will be October 5.

Special recognitions were presented to:

· The Katy Business Association, in honor of the organization’s fortieth anniversary (see related story on A4).

· The Star of Destiny Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, affirming the week of September 17-23, 2024, as “Constitution Week.”

The next meeting of city council will be September 23 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 901 Avenue C, Katy.