Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers is proactively proposing an approach to make Fort Bend County more competitive to attract industrial investments of $1 billion or more (i.e. megaprojects) to create new jobs, broaden the tax base and relieve some of the burdens on residential taxpayers.

"Fort Bend County has nearly 900,000 residents, and it remains primarily a bedroom community, with many of our residents having to commute to employment centers in Houston and Harris County to work," Meyers said. "Fort Bend residents should be able to work closer to home."

Attracting high-quality industrial investments is becoming increasingly competitive. Today, site selectors have numerous requirements and shorter timelines as location decisions are made.

"Two recent site selection efforts totaling about $10 billion with 16,000 jobs did not come to our County, which is why I am an ardent proponent of developing a plan to make Fort Bend County more competitive," Meyers said.

Meyers wants more options for preparing shovel-ready industrial sites with required infrastructure such as roads, water, drainage, power, broadband, and rail spurs.

"Fort Bend County should be a place where residents can live, worship, play, and work," Meyers said. "That is why I took the lead in organizing yesterday's Commissioners Court workshop to discuss the County's approach, and I look forward to moving quickly for the benefit of our residents."

Meyers anticipates this effort may require legislative action that includes funding mechanisms that pay for the industrial sites and are paid for by the companies that benefit from them.