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County approves buy-in to developer detention, $5.1M regional detention design contract
Summary
Waller County approved an amendment to buy into detention at Lakes of Cane Island (county share ~8%) to support three mobility projects and contracted for design work on a regional detention facility using $5.1 million in state grant funds; county will fund a $1.5M outfall for Morton Road.
Waller County Commissioners Court approved two linked drainage actions intended to address detention shortfalls tied to multiple road projects.
First, the court approved an amendment to a development agreement that buys county access to detention capacity through the Lakes of Cane Island development. Robert (county policy administration) said the county will pay just over 8 percent of the detention cost as a buy-in — a total program cost of about $3.4 million — and will take on the $1.5 million cost for the Morton Road outfall. "These costs are substantially lower than if we had to go out and buy detention ponds, design the detention ponds and construct the detention ponds on our own," Robert said.
Second, the court authorized contracting with the local drainage district (BKDD) to design and construct regional detention on county-owned acreage purchased from the Houston Airport System. The work will use remaining state grant funds capped at $5.1 million; staff said that amount will cover design and early work but not the entire long-term excavation or construction costs. "This $5,000,000 obviously won't get us there, but this is a good start," Robert said, noting the county retains authority over the property and design approvals.
Commissioners discussed long‑term maintenance (the developer will maintain detention bought through Lakes of Cane Island) and the county's retained control over county-owned regional land. The court voted to approve both the buy-in amendment and the design/contract authorization for the regional detention facility.
What happens next: County staff will finalize the developer buy-in terms, schedule the Morton Road outfall work, and proceed with the BKDD kickoff and design work; the county expects to return to court with further details as projects progress.
