Community Meeting Update

The City Council hosted a Community Meeting last night to receive comments on the new Municipal Facilities Project.  Presented at the meeting were the site plans previously approved by Council and alternative plans prepared by residents.  Additionally, Council heard audience comments on the site plans presented.

If you would like to view the meeting, please click here.

Community Meeting on the Bellaire Municipal Facilities Project

On Monday, March 30 at 6 PM, please join the Bellaire City Council for a Community Meeting on the Municipal Facilities Project, which includes the reconstruction of City Hall, the Civic Center, the Police Department, and the Municipal Court.  The meeting will be held at the Bellaire Civic Center, located at 7008 S. Rice Ave.

The City’s Architect for the Project, Jeff Gerber with PGAL Architects, will make a presentation that includes the background of the Project and the currently approved Campus Plan for the Project.  Additionally, residents John Gabriel and Kristin Schuster will make a presentation of alternative Campus Plan layouts.

Following these and other presentations, your comments will be solicited on the location and configuration of the new City Hall, Civic Center, Police Department, and Municipal Court buildings.  

Please attend to share your views. The Bellaire City Council is interested in hearing your comments and concerns regarding the site plan for the new City Hall, Civic Center, Police Department, and Municipal Court buildings.  

For more information, please contact Shawn Cox at 713-662-8276 or scox@bellairetx.gov. For the history on the Municipal Facilities Project, please visit www.bellairetx.gov/2014facilities.

Facilities Press Briefing

On Monday, February 23, the City of Bellaire held a Press Briefing to discuss the Municipal Facilities Projects.  Speaking at the briefing were Mayor Nauert, Chief Holloway, and Jeff Gerber.  The Mayor's comments from the meeting can be found below.  If you would like to view the briefing in its entirety, please click here.

Press Briefing Opening Comments by Mayor Nauert

Good morning and thank you for being here.

I would like to share three important messages with you this morning about our Municipal Facilities project.  While these are not new ideas, it is important that we take the time to ensure we are communicating clearly and concisely.

 

We would then like to answer your questions.

The three messages are:

• This project has, and always will, follow an open and public process
• This project is comprised of multiple elements, and multiple objectives
• The campus plan, and the fact that these buildings have and will have proximity to park and recreation functions, create important design considerations.

Regarding message number one, the public process:

Encouraging public input is how Bellaire does things.  On this project, public meetings specifically organized to provide pre-design input were held in the summer of 2013.  We have not lost the thread of what we heard in those meetings, and what we heard in those meetings drive what you are going to hear in message two.

The voters of Bellaire were asked to decide whether this project was worthy of an additional $11 million bond issue in November 2013.  Significant public information was provided in preparation of that bond election. 

Recent City decisions to select the campus option, select the consultant, appoint an advisory committee, and create a public input process were all made in an open and transparent way.

Future town hall meetings are planned, including on March 30 at the Civic Center.

With regard to message number two: 

Here is an overview of what we’re trying to accomplish, a list of our multiple objectives.  Again, these are driven by what we have heard from the public and the users of the buildings:

Functionality and Safety - One of the reasons we selected the design firm we’re using is because of their history and deep knowledge of our current facilities and the programs housed in those facilities.  Efficiency and safety are key elements of the inputs received from staff and appointed officials.

Aesthetics, the relationship of the buildings to the park, and to each other - The current buildings are, and the new buildings will be, in a park.  We’re asking the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to help us think through those relationships, and provide key design input into how the buildings relate to each other.  The Committee’s work is important, and I appreciate the progress they are making.

Ensure relationship to Condit and Evelyn’s Park - Our architect is aware of those projects and is ensuring those concepts play a role in our project design.

Limit negative impact on greenspace, trees, and parking - This is largely about doing the math, we do not want to move in the wrong direction with regard to greenspace, trees, and parking.

Plan for the future library - No, the future library is not funded, but should be in some point in our future, and not actively considering and planning for a future library building would be shortsighted.

Budget and Schedule - Much has been made of the “Campus Plan” selected by Council and what that decision means.  The fact is, that decision was made in response to the objectives described above, is based on a budget decision framed by the bond election, and drives the schedule we are currently attempting to follow.  It doesn't mean the Council cannot change its mind.  It does mean changing the direction has implications.  It means that changing our mind needs to be the result of facts and not false assumptions.

An overriding objective in fact, has been to ensure that Council has the ability and discretion over the final answer.  Like it or not, that’s our job.  It’s clear that the final answer won’t please everyone.  It’s also clear that a final answer that intends to please everyone won’t ultimately please anyone.

With regard to message number three:

The third message is about the “Campus Plan” and the considerations it requires about the Court and City Hall, the Civic Center and the Park, and the future location of the police department.  There have been recent public statements about these relationships that are built on false assumptions.

I’m asking Jeff Gerber of PGAL to describe these relationships, and how he plans to ensure the objectives listed above are addressed.  Later, Chief Byron Holloway will describe the functional relationship between the Court and Police department.

Comments from Jeff Gerber and Chief Byron Holloway here

We appreciate all of the input we have and will receive on this project, especially, but not only, from the Advisory Committee.  We are providing this information, using this forum, so as to ensure public opinion has the opportunity to be based on good information.  We will now respond to questions from members of the media.

Next Ad Hoc Committee Meeting - January 27 @ 7:00 PM

The Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting on January 27 at 7 PM.  Be sure to attend to see what progress has been made on the design of the new municipal facilities.  You can view upcoming agendas here.

Have an opinion on what we should consider?  Stop by the City of Bellaire Open House on February 2 at 4:30 Pm to let us know.  Be sure to stay for the State of the City, presented by Mayor Phil Nauert.  If you can’t make it on February 2, stop by Council's workshops on April 6 or May 4 to make your voice heard.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on our progress and make comments on what we've looked at so far.

Welcome to the official Municipal Facilities Project blog!

The City of Bellaire is beginning to design a new City Hall, Civic Center, Police Station, and Municipal Court.  Our goal throughout the project is to make sure you, the residents, are “In the Know.”  We want to provide numerous outlets for you to receive updates on our progress and provide us with feedback.  These are your facilities, we want to make sure you have input into how they’re designed.

This blog is one of the many ways we plan to stay in touch.  Through it we’ll provide information on meeting dates, design milestones, and links to up to date design ideas and drawings.   We’ll also have a presence on Facebook, so like our page to stay up to date Click here to go to our Facebook Page.

You can view the Ad Hoc Municipal Facilities Committee’s upcoming agendas on Bellaire’s website (Click Here for Agendas).  The Ad Hoc Committee is made up of Bellaire residents, appointed by the City Council to provide consensus recommendations for the new facilities.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions on the process or designs, comment on this blog, Facebook, or email us at facilities@ci.bellaire.tx.us.  We’ll make sure your ideas are taken into considerations.  Additionally, you’ll have an opportunity to learn more and provide feedback at the “State of the City” on February 2, 2015.

Stay tuned to this blog for more information and we hope to hear from you soon.