Mid County cities want to make their cities better in 2018 with projects to repair streets, recover from Tropical Storm Harvey and redevelop.

Groves Mayor Brad Bailey said one of the city’s priorities for the new year is to get reimbursement from Tropical Storm Harvey related expenses.

“D. (Sosa, city manager) and I have conversed many times over the recovery and of trying to provide, as best we can, relief,” Bailey said. “At the end of the day, we have done as much as we could do with what we had. We are hoping that by this time next year we are 99 percent recovered.”

The city of Groves saw more residents with flood damage than the other two Mid County cities, mainly off 25^th Street toward Taft Avenue.

Sosa elaborated on the Harvey reimbursement issue, saying the cost for debris removal by DRC and monitoring services for each truck – Tetratech did that — were expensive. Add the cost of equipment lost, pay to employees for their work during the emergency, necessary service to vehicles after the flooding and more and it comes to about $2.5 million.

Groves needs streets

Aside from Harvey reimbursement, the city wants to double and triple its funding for the streets program. Sosa said 2018 is the last year for the city to pay on its sewer plant and savings from that payment will go toward street work.

“Especially our main thoroughfares, some of which suffered damage because they were under water for three days,” Sosa said.

A study performed last year identified streets that need work in what will be a five-year period.

The city wants to grow in the new year. Indian Springs subdivision is off to a good start; it will grow the city’s housing base and sales taxes are improving as well. Water and sewer account figures are up and more than 100 new homes were built this year, not counting Indian Springs.

While some cities experienced a loss in population post-Harvey, Groves did not.

Ninety-nine percent of the houses that were flooded are being “updated and improved,” he said. “We’re actively seeing more growth.”

The Heritage Point subdivision, one of the city’s hardest-hit areas, has seen five new homes built. In the Bryan Hebert Lane area, only one lot remains and there has been a lot of in-fill homes constructed.

Plan: Rebuild Nederland Avenue

Nederland leaders are working on plans to benefit the city for now and in the future.

Nederland Mayor Richard “Dick” Nugent said one of the city’s chief goals for 2018 is the rebuilding of Nederland Avenue from Texas 347 to U.S. 69.

“It’s a mammoth job that will be done in several different phases and each phase will require going out for bids,” Nugent, who is in his 14th year as mayor, said. “We are trying our best to minimize disruption of merchants. There have been two public hearings and public input and some are nervous but we are not going to shut businesses down.”

Ngent said the city will “demand” that each contractor have a representative on the job each day with a phone that the public, or merchants, can call to ask questions.

Programmed for progress, he said, is the city’s slogan and that’s what the city is promoting.

The Nederland Avenue project comes in at about $6 million and the city has already completed financing. City Manager Chris Duque said he anticipates council members authorizing bids in January and hopefully awarding the bids in February with work to start the week after the Heritage Festival in March. If all goes as planned and the weather cooperates, the project would take five to six months and be finished by summer.

An eye toward drainage

The city also wants to accomplish drainage improvements.

“A few years ago when we were resurfacing South 12^th Street the former public works director presented an idea to potentially save money and relieve some of the drainage issues,” Duque said. “We looked at it and it was more cost effective.”

Harvey recovery and reimbursement is also an issue for next year.

“Groves, out of the Mid County cities, had the largest amount of damage and debris and we are working n getting reimbursement for that. The state has said a few times they are going to help municipalities with the 10 percent match and we are hoping to get a portion of that.”

The city has learned there are about 20 or so residents on a list for housing assistance, which, Duque said, likely means trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Sewer lines need work

Another 2018 project is work on the city’s main sewer lines. These are not the lines that go to individual homes but to the sewer plant itself. The study showed problems that need to be addressed and the city has identified a number of worthy projects. The City Council has decided to pursue the project and certificates of obligation will be issued to finance the project that will likely start in the fall.

The sewer line project would not interfere with the Nederland Avenue project.

The main sewer line goes down Avenue H, crosses Twin City Highway, goes down 12^th Street, down FM 365 and back to 27^th Street, ending at the sewer plant. Permitting has begun since both the state of Texas and Kansas City Southern Railroad properties are crossed.

The sewer line project is more of a systemwide improvement but there are pockets of residents who may see some relief when the project is completed.

“I think the new year is going to be a year looking toward the future and planning for the next few years,” he said.

Other important issues include the city’s teamwork with the Nederland Economic Development Corp. on The Landing, which is a development project at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport and water storage capacity at the water plant.

“We’ve had three storms, Rita, Ike and Harvey, where the city water supply came under threat because of damage,” he said. “We should be planning to increase storage capacity; it would be beneficial in case we lose our water supply.”

The water storage facility would not be a water tower; instead it would be ground storage.

Port Neches has plans

Port Neches Mayor Glenn Johnson said the city is planning for riverfront development and has continued plans for downtown revitalization.

In 2015, city officials learned they were recipients of a General Land Office-Coastal Management Program grant for the City of Port Neches Riverfront Enhancement Clean-up Project. The total grant was for $227,000, with the GLO kicking in $140,000 and the city pitching in $87,000.

The removal of an old, unused dock near the Neches River Wheelhouse paves the way for an upcoming erosion barrier project. That project has been submitted to the U.S. Corps of Engineers for approval.

In addition, a special purpose district was formed to help govern the issue.