The Tomball City Hall chambers were packed during the Dec. 5 meeting, but for once it was not due to a controversial vote or issue. Members of Boy Scout Troop 469 and the sophomore Tomball Redcats youth football team filled the room to be honored by the council and Mayor Gretchen Fagan.

Following the lighter moments council got down to business, starting with a grant request from the Tomball Economic Development Corporation (TEDC). TEDC was seeking approval to spend a portion of their available funding for a grant to ValuBank Texas. The $15,000 grant would assist the company in opening a new office in Tomball. Council approved TEDC’s expenditure 4-1 with councilman Derek Townsend the lone nay vote.

Council then took up a motion to opt out of the Super Freeport Exemption. Opting out would allow the council to tax goods-in-transit, or goods stored in Tomball for a short period of time. The motion failed, as all members voted no.

Council then approved two zoning changes, the first a request from Tomball First Baptist Church, in order for the church to expand its campus on adjoining land. Property north of Barbara Street and east of Raymond Street was then changed from commercial to mixed use, per the landowner’s request. Both motions passed unanimously.

Council then took up a first reading on the issuance and sale of bonds that will fund the M121 drainage project and the expansion of Medical Complex Drive. The bond sale was enabled when council decided to raise property tax levy’s in order to raise funds to pay off the bonds. All five councilmen voted to approve the measure.

A proposal to pay for services related to the M121 drainage project was the next item on the agenda. Council approved measures to pay LJA Engineering nearly $1.5 million for the project’s final design proposal, while also approving nearly $35,000 to Cobb, Fendley and Associates for services related to land acquisition.

Finally, a measure to extend and repair sidewalks in Country Meadows and Spring Pine Estates neighborhoods was tabled for further discussion.

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