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Sugar Land City Council recently approved an $8 million construction contract for phase two of the city’s Public Safety Training Facility.

The facility is located west of Sugar Land Regional Airport on city-owned land that was previously part of the Central Prison Unit.

The expanded facility will accommodate simulation training involving close-quarters, non-lethal, force-on-force practice in a short-range environment. An apparatus and shoot building will include six bays for department vehicles, some of which are currently stored in covered storage areas, and an indoor shooting range for the police department. The enclosed space will allow for consolidated storage of various pieces of equipment that are stored throughout the city at various fire stations and other city facilities. This space will also allow for advanced indoor training regardless of weather conditions.

The new building will accommodate incident command simulation training, EMS training, smoke diver and “saving your own” safety programs and a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus confidence course. The facilities will also include a driving pad to enable various skills training with motorcycles, ambulances, fire engines and public works vehicles. 

Other phase-two improvements will include outdoor classrooms, restrooms, site drainage, a water line loop, electricity service and a septic system.

Construction is anticipated to be completed by the end of year 2024.

Sugar Land City Council approved a $13.9 million construction contract for drainage improvements in Austin Park and Chimneystone.

The project was part of four general obligation bond propositions totaling $90.76 million decisively approved by Sugar Land voters on Nov. 5, 2019.  The projects included in the propositions were selected based on extensive planning through various master plans, City Council input and the results of citizen satisfaction surveys that indicated drainage, public safety and traffic/mobility are the top three priorities for residents.

More than $47 million was approved for drainage improvements, including the Austin Park and Chimneystone project that is expected to begin in December and should be finished by the fall of 2026.

“A drainage study was completed after Hurricane Harvey in 2018 for areas of the Austin Park, Settlers Grove and Chimneystone subdivisions,” said City Engineer Jessie Li.  “These areas regularly experience excessive street ponding during major storm events, and some homes experienced structure flooding during Hurricane Harvey. The study identified multiple areas that far exceeded the city’s performance criteria established by the Master Drainage Plan, and they have been programmed in the capital improvement program. 

“The Settlers Park Drainage Improvements Project has been completed. We’re now ready to begin construction for Austin Park and Chimneystone. These projects will reduce structure flooding risks and reduce the ponding depths and durations during major rain events.”

City staff obtained a 30-year zero interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board for design and construction. Based on current interest rates, the loan could save taxpayers as much as $7.6 million. 

The project scope of work includes the following items:

• A large-capacity storm water pipe will be added between Ditch A and the Acacia Drive storm sewer outfall.
• Larger storm sewers will be installed along Acacia Drive.
• A second storm water sewer pipe will be constructed between the Acacia Drive storm sewer outfall and Austin Parkway.
• A drainage channel will be installed between Austin Parkway and Thistlewood Drive. 

Updates to residents during construction will include DMS signs (as needed), homeowner association notifications, website updates and social media posts. 

Visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/CIPStoryMap for updates on capital improvement projects or www.sugarlandtx.gov/NotifyMe to sign up for notifications about road closures and service interruptions caused by city construction and maintenance projects. 

For more information about the 2019 bond election, visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/GObonds.

Sugar Land City Council recently approved $996,000 for the design of a new public safety dispatch and emergency operations center building. 

The project was included in a $90.76 million bond package approved by voters in 2019. The voter-approved projects focused on public safety, drainage and traffic/mobility – the three topic priorities identified by residents in previous Citizen Satisfaction Surveys.

Voters approved more than $26 million of the total to fund public safety and facility projects, including $11.5 million for a public safety dispatch and emergency operations center.  

A new facility on 9.9 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the existing police building will provide additional space to accommodate public safety dispatch and emergency operations as the city continues to grow and make modifications to accommodate police personnel that are currently in leased spaces.

Construction of an approximately 17,000 square-foot building space will include dispatch, an emergency operations center, I.T. workroom, parking, fencing and related site work.

Public Safety Dispatch has been located on the second floor of the Police and Courts building since the building was constructed in 1996.  In 2002, City Council approved the establishment of a permanent Emergency Operations Center (EOC) based on the recommendations of the Emergency Management Task Force. The break room that was located adjacent to the dispatch center was converted to the permanent EOC.  During EOC activations -- such as Hurricane Harvey and the May 7, 2019, flood event -- it has proven valuable to have dispatch operations and EOC operations in close proximity to one another to coordinate the response efforts.

The current EOC was not designed to accommodate the city-adopted Incident Command System (ICS) structure to manage significant incidents that require organizing response by functional areas.  In 2009, a portion of the dispatch center was converted into a small conference room to be utilized during EOC activations to facilitate separation of EOC staff members by functional area assignment. 

Staffing for Public Safety Dispatch has increased over the years to manage increasing call volume.  As the front-line staff has grown, the need for administrative staff has also grown, yet the allocated workspace has not increased.  Public Safety Dispatch conducts training for new hires and holds department meetings in the EOC because there is not adequate space in the dispatch center.  When the EOC is not activated, Public Safety Dispatch utilizes the small EOC conference room as an office for the dispatch administrative manager.

The design is anticipated to be completed by late fall of 2024. Visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/gobonds for more.