Local civic and business leaders came together Nov. 3 for an informative meeting for the new SH 249 Corridor Coalition. Leaders hope to organize to become competitive at lobbying for infrastructure improvements along the route.

Leaders from Tomball, all the way to Navasota, were invited to the meeting, held at Lone Star College - Tomball. There was a panel of speakers who talked about their experiences with past projects similar to SH 249.

The goal of the coalition is to promote a local and state partnership to not only complete the expansion of SH 249, but any infrastructure issues along the route.

Photo: The kickoff meeting for the new SH 249 Corridor Coalition was held Nov. 3 at Long Star College – Tomball. The new group is designed to help organize different entities along the route to advocate support from the federal and state levels.

“There is a limited amount of money available for all these needs,” Montgomery County Commissioner Craig Doyal told the group. “We need to find very innovative and out-of-the-box ways to solve the issues.”

That’s when Kevin Cole came into the discussion.

Cole is a former Pearland city council member and current chairman of the Greater SH 288 Partnership. The partnership was formed to help bridge gaps between state and local entities when it came to infrastructure projects along SH 288.

“We had to figure out how to get all the different entities talking,” Cole said. “We needed to have one focus, one vision and be unified.”

Cole mentioned that projections forecast that gas tax revenues in the future will barely be enough to maintain current roadways, let alone provide for expansion or new roads. That’s why many areas are forming coalitions to make sure their concerns and needs are heard at the state level, according to Cole.

“If you ask any legislator they will tell you that partnerships, coalitions like this hardly ever come out of the Houston area,” Cole said. “They have them all over the Dallas area and they’ll tell you that they hear from Dallas all the time.”

Cole talked about how the different coalitions or proposed coialitions in the Houston region need to come together when talking to legislators in Austin.

They need to hear from us,” he said. “Strength in numbers.”

He explained that his organization has a dues structure that is tiered for the type of organization wants to join. Municipalities have different rates, depeding on their size, while businesses and individuals also pay different rates.

“Be sure to include other membership-based groups as well,” he advised, “because they may view you as competition.”

Eddie Sanchez, Director of New Major Projects for TxDOT-Houston Region, also spoke. Sanchez talked about the different steps that must be taken in order to see the expansion of SH 249 through. Segment two of the project, the 11-mile stretch of new roadway to Magnolia, is projected to cost $357 million alone. The final step of the project would be to create a new roadway from Magnolia to Navasota.

Steve Vaughn was the moderator for the event. He summed up the event and committee at the end of the meeting.

“All of you are here because you are stakeholders,” Vaughn said. “We want to get organized from Navasota, all the way to Tomball.”

Those present were asked to nominate someone for the organizational board, which will be tasked with creating the organization, bylaws and goals, among other things, for the new group. To receive a nomination form or more information about the new group, contact the Greater Tomball Chamber of Commerce at 281-351-7222.

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