On March 31, the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the first of its two candidate forums, featuring hopefuls for City of Katy council seats for Wards A and B and the At Large position, held at the Katy High School, 6331 Highway Blvd, in Katy. The free event was open to the public and was live-streamed on the Chamber’s Facebook page.

The forum was moderated by the State Representative District 132 Mike Schofield and followed a structured, timed format. Questions were developed by the Chamber’s leadership team and media partners and were not shared in advance with the candidates.

All eight candidates on the ballot attended: Ward A J. R. Richardson and Johnston Dietz; Ward B: Michael Payne, Lyn Hunter Sullivan, Michael Meihls and Roger Lowry; and At Large: Paul Follis and A. J. Bailey.

Each candidate began with a 60-second opening statement. At Large candidate Follis outlined his 34-year career in law enforcement, demonstrating leadership and management of personnel, budgets and resources, and his volunteer service since retirement. At Large candidate Bailey said that the problems facing Katy which have developed over time – flooding, roads, crime, permitting and others -- needed to be faced with transparency, accountability and practical decision-making.

Ward A candidate Dietz said that he was hearing a lot of frustration, especially from business owners who felt like they were losing their connection to the city and that the city was entering a new period of transition in the city’s leadership “requiring a complete reset.” Richardson summarized his service to the area through board membership on the YMCA board, The Katy Christian Ministries board, the Waller EDP board, the Katy ISD Education Foundation Board and city boards and others.

Payne, Ward B candidate, said that he was passionate about Katy and knew what it was to be a small business owner. Sullivan said that she had been involved in community service all her life, serving on different community outreach boards and volunteering in her children’s schools. Meihls said that, with an all-new council coming, “experience matters” and described his nine years of work on his HOA board handing budgets, safety and infrastructure. Lowry stated his desire to be a full-time councilmember representing Ward B and that he wanted to help bring more businesses to the area.

Candidates had 90 seconds to respond to the chamber’s questions, beginning with Bailey speaking first, on strengthening public safety, and stating that he would see that departments had the necessary funding and resources. Follis said the police and fire departments are currently well-funded, with most of their budgets going toward salary; he added that more personnel would need to be added for the new substation. Richardson said that he would give the city of Katy an “A-minus” and that resources needed to be added to the police department as Houston continues to move west, especially around Katy Mills, and that the city needed to address the problem of e-bikes and similar vehicles soon. Dietz said that although public safety was currently well-funded and that needs were coming up for the new substation,

the city needed to address future conditions and that the city needed to scale for the potential population of 32,000 with a forward-looking approach. Lowry said that the city needed another fire station and that both the police and fire departments did a fine job. Meihls said that the public safety comes down to planning ahead, not catching up” and that equipment and facilities needed to keep pace with the city’s growth, and that staff retentions matters, since staffing levels directly impact response time. He also said that the fire department needed specialized equipment to deal with things such as Teslas catching on fire. Sullivan said the city was doing a lot of things right and said that she agreed that the city needed a larger patrol presence; she praised the increased social outreach of the fire, police and emergency services department. Payne said that funding for the departments should be increased and wasteful spending eliminated.

Regarding city traffic congestion, Dietz said that a close working relationship with the state and TxDOT was a start, as the city expands I-10 and Highway 90, as well as good relationships with the businesses located in those corridors and an understanding of how they might be impacted by construction. He said that he would like to see that transportation needs on the north side of the city continue to be addressed and that there were opportunities on the south side as well. Richardson said that there was already a plan in place for the past 30 years but that “no one has done anything to make it move faster.” Meihls said that the big priority was to be sure that infrastructure and development were working in tandem and that collaboration was needed with the counties and the state. Payne said that there was a lot more that could be done in working together. Lowry said that there were more people coming to the city via the toll road. Sullivan said her priorities were Ward B’s road projects and that she had already established a relationship with Harris County Precinct 4 and that council needed to listen to residents. Follis said that TxDOT would have a plan for businesses that would be affected and that plans could be developed for alternate routes. Bailey said that projects needed to be ranked effectively according to real data and traffic patterns.

Asked about the city’s use economic development incentives, Sullivan said that the city should bring businesses and tourism in. Meihls said that he was okay with incentives when they were used the right way and that the city should encourage business growth and should repair relationships with businesses. Payne said “we have been overdeveloped for the last decade or so” with too many corporate businesses and that small businesses needed to be strengthened, citing the failure of the Katy Boardwalk. Lowry said he wanted to see Morton widened and that the Boardwalk was not making progress. Richardson said incentives were needed but that further incentives were needed, giving the ongoing construction on FM 1463 as an example of a poorly-incentivized project. Dietz said he was for incentives, which needed to be evaluated to ensure that there was a net benefit to the city in alignment with the 30-year plan, in terms of jobs, wages, sales revenue and infrastructure, noting that incentives were often a lower tax rate and not a cash outlay from the city. Bailey said incentives needed to be used responsibly. Follis said that he was for incentives and that the incentives “absolutely encourage growth in our downtown area” and tourism, and that streamlined permitting was needed to encourage small business growth.

Regarding actions the city could take to reduce flooding risks, Dietz said what is important now Is maintaining a presence with other entities managing this issue, such as the Brookshire-Katy Drainage District and the Harris County Flood Control District, and knowing how their plans might affect citizens of

Katy. Richardson said flooding mitigation needed to be planned for growing neighborhoods in the next three to five years and that Old Katy needed to be brought up to specs. Follis said current administration had done a good job so far with 14 completed projects of the16 scheduled in the past four years and that “this good work” needed to continue; he echoed the need for regional cooperation. Bailey said that both a short- and long-term plans were needed, with ensuring that drainage systems were up to date and cleaned on a regular basis in the short-term and better modernized in the long-term. Sullivan said more creative and drastic solutions were needed, including individualized drainage plans for some of the city’s older homes that cannot be raised. Meihls said that the city’s comprehensive plan calls for action on flood control and that council needed to proactively fix things in neighborhoods before they become problems, with continuous monitoring of the area north of the city. Lowry said that things had gotten better north of the city. Payne said that flood control was an area where current city council was doing an exceptional job but that more could be done.

Looking ahead to the city’s biggest challenges and opportunities over the next five years, Follis said the biggest challenge is bringing more new business in, and that it takes the right leadership and right knowledge to bring in entertainment business, comparing the success of the privately-developed Katy Beer Garden to the failure of the city-funded Boardwalk. Bailey said the biggest opportunity was to provide a full-transparency system which would allow people to understand what the city is doing, and that infrastructure represented an opportunity. Dietz said that one of the biggest opportunities was to change the perception of how investors view the city in terms of its “investability” and getting through the process such as permitting. He recommended formation of a small business committee which would “chauffer” new investors through the process of bringing business to Katy and which would also seek out new businesses for the city. Richardson said he wanted to bring a sports complex to Katy which would bring money to the city, while maintaining the city’s small-town feel, and to increase development of the city’s entertainment district. Payne said his regulation is less regulation and less government overreach and proposed a new tax plan. Sullivan said her vision included transparency and improving citizens’ understanding of how city government works through civics classes and increasing understanding of how the city’s boards work. Meihls said that he would like to see Katy perceived as a “pro-business” city which would strengthen the city’s economy, and that improvement was needed in the permitting department. Lowry said the city needed to work with businesses on permitting.

In closing, Lowry thanked the chamber for hosting the event. Meihls said that that “getting decisions right” came down to experience and to planning ahead. Sullivan said that she was bringing a common-sense approach to running Katy and that the old-town Katy feel could be maintained. Payne thanked the audience as did Richardson; Richardson added that he had a “true grit to work for the City of Katy” and that his job was to fix problems for small businesses. Dietz said he was a strong advocate for small business and emphasized his executive leadership experience and perspective. Bailey said thanked attendees and recapped his governmental experience, while calling on citizens to stay engaged. Follis said that he would work collaboratively with citizens and cited his experience.

The Chamber will host a forum for school board candidates on April 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Field House at Legacy Stadium, 1830 Katyland Drive in Katy. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The election for city council seats and school board positions will be May 2.