Bellaire council approves $54 million state funding agreement for water projects

Bellaire city council on March 2 unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with the Texas Water Development Board to receive $54,000,000 in state-appropriated funding for water projects.

Beth Jones, a city staff member who described the funding item to the council, said the agreement establishes an escrow mechanism that would allow the city to draw down dollars as expenses occur. "This item is to take forward the agreement with the Texas Water Development Board for $54,000,000 — this is the avenue in which we receive the direct state appropriation," Jones said. She told the council the agreement represents the best-case scenario for how the appropriation will be deposited and accessed.

Council members asked a handful of technical and administrative questions before the vote, focusing on contract clauses the city will need to honor when spending the funds. Councilmember Gordon (S8) flagged a stray cross-reference in section 6.13 that cites a nonexistent Section 5.4; Gary (city counsel, S11) confirmed it appears to be the board’s standard template and said staff could correct the citation to point to the appropriate final-accounting paragraph. The mayor (S1) said the council was comfortable approving the resolution with that caveat.

The resolution passed without dissent. The council record notes staff will fix the template reference before final execution so the city’s obligations and final-accounting requirements are clearly stated.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the agreement language and return the corrected contract for execution; Jones said the city will then work with the TWDB project manager to submit periodic draw requests tied to project bids and progress.