Fox26 Interviews New HCFCD Director Stuckett about Priorities
8/18/26 – This afternoon, Fox26 reporter Greg Groogan interviewed new Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Marcus Stuckett about his priorities. Stuckett inherited the job just six weeks ago after the previous director resigned under pressure, when it became apparent that Harris County could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
The most immediate issue: a looming U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) use-it-or-lose-it deadline for $322 million in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR).
Interview Begins with Frank Assessment
Groogan began the interview by asking Stuckett for his assessment of situation. Stuckett replied frankly and openly. He said, “We have some challenges, but we are working through those. We have some aggressive deadlines that we’re working on with the CDBG-DR projects. They’re due February 2027, followed by CDBG Mitigation projects in March 2028.”
How Stuckett Hopes to Accelerate Projects
Then he added, “We’ve been speaking with contractors, trying to find ways to accelerate the projects and we’ve had some great conversations with them.”
Groogan likened the task to a Manhattan Project or going into the fourth quarter, down three touchdowns and expecting to win. “Can it be done?” he asked.
Importance of Decisiveness and Trust
Stuckett replied, “We can do it as long as we remain focused on the plan and we remain decisive going forward.”
Groogan then asked Stuckett who has a reputation as a leader who fixes problems, “What will you do differently than the leadership you just replaced?”
Surprisingly, Stuckett referred to restoring the public’s trust. “We understand that we are beholden to the residents of Harris County, and I want to be able to restore that trust by communicating honestly, communicating with transparency about our successes, as well as some of the challenges that we face while we work on these projects.”
Focusing More Resources on Construction and Planning
When Groogan tried to pin Stuckett down to more specifics, Stuckett focused on construction. “We’ve been meeting with contractors and trying to provide more resources.”
Stuckett also focused on planning. “In terms of our planning efforts, we just have to focus on developing solutions without having a lot of back and forth amongst ourselves and consultants when making decisions.”
Groogan then asked “That’s an important part of your role – walking into a room and saying, ‘This is the best information we have and we need to get this done.'”
Unleashing an Eager Team
As a followup question, Groogan asked, “How receptive has the team you’ve inherited been to that type of leadership?”
“The team has been great,” replied Stuckett. “Everybody’s behind it. We’re all hands on deck. I’ve gotten a lot of help from some of the senior leadership that remains here. Everybody just wants to get projects done. That something that flood control employees have that the public may not have understood. Our employees want to get the work done. We want to be responsive. And we want to provide the service that we promised.”
For what it is worth, in the six weeks since Stuckett assumed his new role, I have sensed a renewed excitement on the part of HCFCD employees and managers that I talk too. In my opinion, they show an energy that felt missing under his predecessor. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
To See More of Interview
Groogan’s interview with Stuckett continued for 15 minutes. During that time, they also talked about:
- The Texas General Land Office Relationship
- Physical challenges facing the region such as climate and flat terrain
- Planning far into the future
- Kingwood issues and projects
- Project Brays
- Working with Commissioners Court
- Readiness
- Completing the bond
- Construction capacity
To see the entire interview from start to finish, visit Fox26. I highly recommend it.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/18/26
3276 Days since Hurricane Harvey
