More from the Fort Bend Star on the McKeever Rd./Airport Expansion Controversy (Thanks to grass-roots community involvement minds are changed-for now)

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McKeever Road will not be realigned
according to Fort Bend Co Commissioners
By Cheryl Skinner

In a surprise move last week, Fort Bend County Commissioners exited a closed executive session and voted to halt tentative plans to realign McKeever Road. Shortly before the meeting, Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said his opposition to the plan made him a “minority of one,” however it appears the entire court had come around to Meyers’ consensus that the plan simply was not good business for the county and scarce tax dollars could be better spent.

The plan to divert Arcola’s McKeever Road had created increasing controversy as residents of the area continued to maintain that the whole plan was for the benefit of Houston Southwest Airport owner, Jamie Griffith and to the detriment of Newpoint Estates residents, the citizens of Arcola and the taxpayers of the county. The project, also known as the South Post Oak extension project, could have cost county taxpayers nearly $5 million, even though Griffith had agreed to pay $500,000 of the costs.

Meyers, who noted that other roads in Fort Bend County are in critical need of expansion due to high traffic counts and dangerous conditions, said the court had a tradition of putting projects to the top of the list when developers or, in this case, private business made commitments to contribute to the costs. He went into the closed door meeting thinking fellow court members would disregard his consensus that the project was not a good deal for the county.

However, such was not the case and after the doors were opened, commissioners and County Judge Bob Hebert voted unanimously to reject the realignment of McKeever Road “as proposed by Houston Southwest Airport.”

“Their property essentially will be intact permanently,” Hebert said. “This county judge will oppose any taking of their land.”

Hebert had discounted rumors and reports from opponents suggesting some sort of “conspiracy theory” Griffith, Hebert and members of the Greater Fort Bend County Economic Development Council. Hebert consistently said the theory was “ridiculous” and that he would study the proposal and do what was best for Fort Bend County and the taxpayers of the county. As late as Monday before the meeting, Hebert said that while he could not discuss the information he would share with commissioners in closed session, he was hoping his fellow court members would act on his recommendation to the court.

Apparently, Hebert decided it was best for all concerned to put a halt to the plan. A letter to Griffith, which was released after the meeting, noted that the county “has determined that any extension of South Post Oak from State Highway 6 to McKeever Road, is premature at this time because no justifiable right-of-way alignment exists...”

“And that runway was knowingly built in close proximity to McKeever Road’s right-of-way. Therefore, Houston Southwest Airport must correct any conflicts existing between its runway and McKeever Road under FAA regulations,” the letter to Griffith stated.

The letter also suggested that if Houston Southwest Airport offered right of way in the future, the airport owner would have to adjust the runway to remove any FAA clearance conflicts with McKeever Road and any proposed extension of South Post Oak Boulevard. And, the approval of all property owners who could face the loss of some of their land would have to be part of the agreement, the letter noted.

The proposed realignment created an outcry from several residents of the area who felt that the county was playing into a plan created by Griffith when Fort Bend County was considering the purchase of the airport as a county-run facility. That idea was eventually nixed, but opponents said all the plans associated with increasing the size of the runway were incorporated in the proposals under consideration by the county for the McKeever Road project. In order to accomplish the now dead plan, condemnation of about 100 feet of land from four private landowners in the Newpoint Estates would have been required.

Meyers said, prior to last week’s unanimous vote against the plan, that too many other roads in Fort Bend County needed attention because of severe traffic congestion and dangerous driving conditions that have resulted in serious accidents, some fatal. He said the traffic in the Arcola area did not warrant a major road expansion at this time and would be taxpayer money ill-spent. . .

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Comments: Many area residents from at least 8 area neighborhoods attended city council sessions, commissioner courts, called, emailed and helped keep the pressure up on this one. A special thanks goes out to citizen's for better gov't and Tom Hilton for his hard work & leadership on this one. We would also like to thank the commissioners for turning this around and would hope it doesn't become an issue later on in '06.