Can HCFCD Finish DR Projects Worth $323 Million Before Deadline?
8/3/2025 – HCFCD is running out of time to bid and complete Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief projects before a firm and looming deadline. The county could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in aid if it misses the deadline. Yet, it won’t even bid most of the projects for months.
Where Has the Time Gone?
Former Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush first announced hundreds of millions of dollars in HUD Community Development Block Grant funds for Harris County in May 2021. But it took Harris County almost four years – until January 25, 2025 – to finalize its list of projects for GLO approval.
While it took Harris County years to develop its list, it took the GLO approximately four months to review and approve 10 of the ll disaster-relief (DR) projects on it. DR projects all have a tight, firm deadline of February 28, 2027 – just 19 months away.
But subtract from those 19 months three to six months for bidding and mobilizing a project. Also subtract another two months for closing it out and turning in all the billing. That means you’re losing another five to eight months out of the 19 months. But some of these jobs could take years to complete.
The Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program, for instance, is huge. It could require several years to build according to one construction expert I consulted.
In September, 2023, HCFCD held a press conference celebrating the funding of the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basins. But that won’t even go out for bids until the fourth quarter of this year.
And even though it’s not part of the DR package below, another project is also illuminating. HCFCD awarded the bid on the Mercer Basin construction contract on August 4, 2023. It’s comparable in size to many of these projects and construction is still not finished.
Only One Project Bid So Far
So far, HCFCD has announced only one bid award among the group of 11 CDBG-DR projects. That’s for the Arbor Oaks detention basin on White Oak Bayou. And that should begin construction any day now if it hasn’t already.
Ten Others Could Take Months to Start Bidding
The latest bid outlook sheet posted on HCFCD.org shows when the ten other disaster relief projects in the HUD package should be advertised for bids.
It typically takes three to six months from when HCFCD first advertises a project until the winning bidder starts turning dirt. For instance, the county’s purchasing database shows that HCFCD advertised Arbor Oaks beginning April 18, 2025 – 3.5 months ago.
Using these examples as barometers, HCFCD will have little time to complete some of the jobs above. And the county could lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Who’s to Blame?
We haven’t lost the money yet. But when/if the house of cards collapses on itself, I suspect the head of HCFCD and the county officials who hired her will start pointing fingers at each other.
Shortly after Dr. Tina Petersen took over as Executive Director of HCFCD, I had a prophetic lunch with her. She told me how she wanted to slow things down and become “more intentional” about the way HCFCD did business. And did she ever slow things down!
- The previous management team executed projects at twice the speed she is.
- Adjusted for inflation, she’s now spending at a rate lower than before the 2018 flood bond, with billions at her fingertips.
- She lost seasoned professionals and replaced them in many cases with political hacks.
- And she has refused to tap knowledgeable resources in the local engineering community that could have helped her.
Lest this sound like a totally self-inflicted wound, commissioners court sat back and tolerated delays even when she missed deadline after deadline for explanations about a $1.3 billion shortfall in the 2018 bond program and whether CDBG projects were in danger. And in the “mixed-message” department, Commissioners gave her an almost $90,000 raise to $434,000 per year…shortly after publicly lambasting her performance in commissioners court.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/3/2025
2896 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
