A capacity crowd filled the Community Rooms at Legacy Stadium, 1830 Katyland Drive in Katy, on February 20 for the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the City” luncheon. Katy Mayor Dusty Thiele and City Administrator Byron Hebert outlined the city’s achievements over the past year, including upgrades to infrastructure, mobility, parks and public safety, as well as providing an update on the local economy.

In the area of public works, Hebert listed improvements to the city’s infrastructure, including projects designed to hold water north of the city in order to prevent flooding of the city’s streets. Specific projects include:

· Replacement of the 10th Street Bridge, which has been lifted to allow more water to flow underneath

· Expansion of the Pitts regional detention pond

· Rehabilitation of the Danover Street area sewer and water system

· Pinewood Terrace water line replacements

· Town Park subdivision street improvements and street overlays in other areas

· Rehabilitation to the wastewater treatment plant, water plant and water well

Hebert listed four drainage projects totaling more than $12 million: Airline/Heights/Drexel at over $5 million, West Katy at just under $4 million, Village Green at just under $1 million and Third Street at $2.82 million. The Third Street project will also add 114 parking spaces for the burgeoning entertainment area which includes Katy Beer Garden.

Upcoming mobility projects to be funded through METRO include widenings of north-south corridors Katy Hockley Road and Katy Hockley Cutoff Road, and improvements to east-west corridor Morton Road, Hebert said. Improvements to Pederson Road and Pin Oak are also planned. Nelson Way will be improved so that it can function as an east-west alternative to Interstate 10 when that roadway undergoes future construction, he said.

Thiele introduced park improvements which include the addition of a multi-purpose field at Katy City Park which will add two fields and which will have pickleball courts near the current tennis courts. Hebert said that the 3B Learning Center will finish up the Fussell House and will improve the acreage behind it in preparation for a possible opening in the spring of 2026. A walkable trail of more than three miles will be built from Leyendecker Landing near Pitts and Morton to the historic downtown square, Hebert said.

Improvements to the historic downtown square – where restoration efforts started in 2013 -- include the addition of locally-themed murals at the base of the water tower. The long-awaited visitor’s center will hold a soft opening in conjunction with the city’s inaugural Katy Exchange market on March 15 from 10

a.m. to 6 p.m. The popular geese sculpture, now located at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Katy Fort Bend Road, will be relocated across from City Hall, Hebert said. Thomas Park near downtown will tie together with the Rylander Project and another piece of property to create more green space downtown, Thiele said, with an RFQ pending.

Looking toward the future, Hebert gave an economic update. Katy Court, along Katy Hockley Cutoff Road, is the last piece of residential property available for development within the city, with Phase 1 nearing completion and Phase 2 ready to start, he said. The Green at Katy Park at Morton and Katy Hockley Cutoff will have a green space larger than the LaCenterra Shopping Center, which will be surrounded by shops and restaurants and will feature a two-story office building. Hebert said that Target is coming to Texas Heritage Marketplace at Pederson Road and Interstate 10 and is expected to open in the third quarter of 2026; he said that “Others are on the way, but I can’t tell you who yet.” Katy Mills Mall, which Thiele called the “number one economic driver” of Katy, has recently added new tenants, including Coffee Fellows, True Religion Brand Jeans and BN Jewelry, with restaurant P. F. Chang’s and fashion retailer Primark coming soon, he said. The Boardwalk project is “moving,” said Hebert, with the third phase of the upper trail open. Two new loft projects – at $60 million each – are coming to the Boardwalk, he said.

Thiele touted Katy as a “smart city,” pointing to the recent creation of an IT department and hiring of on IT director. He said the city is working with a consultant on cybersecurity. The city continues to work with its license plate reader program; Thiele stated that due to the program, the city was able to solve and make arrests in 103 cases in 2024. The FLOCK cameras used in the program can also be used to acquire updated traffic counts: on Saturday, February 8, the cameras counted over 566,000 cars traveling through the city limits. “Everybody has found us,” Hebert said. Hebert added that the city has no plans to use AI at this time.

Katy Police Chief Bryon Woytek provided a live demonstration of the drone in use in a partnership with Katy Mills Mall and the Katy Management District.