Primary Department: Commissioner, Precinct 4
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Lesley Briones, Commissioner of Precinct 4
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Award
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 0%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Commissioners Court Office
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Commissioner of Precinct 4 for approval to accept from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) grant funds in the amount of $1,200,000, with a required match of $300,000, for the Reconnect Alief Planning Project.
end
Background and Discussion:
Harris County’s proposed “Reconnect Alief Planning Project” includes planning from a community-centered
effort, focused on reconnecting communities along the Westpark Tollway in Harris County’s Alief community.
Reconnect Alief is an opportunity to build on this transformative infrastructure investment by leveraging the
strengths of Reconnecting Communities in one of the most socioeconomically vulnerable communities along the Tollway and to:
• Conduct deep engagement around the legacy of the Tollway on communities in Alief
• Examine the land use orientation of the surrounding communities and prepare recommendations for
Walkable Places™ designation by the City of Houston
• Identify catalyst redevelopment and connectivity projects to align new development and public
infrastructure with a multimodal Westpark Tollway.
This project is in U.S. DOT’s disadvantaged census tracts, which is an important application scoring criterion
U.S. DOT. In addition, the proposed project focuses on U.S. DOT required criteria such as equity in transportation, community connectivity, bicycle network, and safety. The grant agreement with the U.S. DOT is in the attachment for execution.
Expected Impact:
The proposed improvement will provide safe mobility and connectivity projects to align new development
and public infrastructure with a multimodal Westpark Tollway.
Alternative Options:
Not to accept the award for the FY-2023 Reconnecting Communities grant and fund the project at 100% cost.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Objective: F: Ensure safety and security for all using the county’s transportation network in alignment with the County’s Vision Zero plan.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): F1: Strengthen the County’s commitment to Vision Zero principles and goals.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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9/19/23 |
242 |
Approval to submit the FY-23 RCN Application to USDOT |
|
2/6/25 |
153 |
Approval to accept USDOT grant funds in the amount of $1,200,000 with a required match of $300,000 from Precinct 4, for the Reconnect Alief Planning project. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): Project limits Highway 6 on the west; Beltway 8 on the east; Richmond Ave on the north; Bellaire Blvd on the south.
Precinct(s): Precinct 4
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
FY-23 Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
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$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
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Total Funding Sources |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
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No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: 1070 - Mobility Fund |
$ |
$ |
$300,000 |
2 |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$1,200,000 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 9/22/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 12/1/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Anne Sung, Chief Policy & Innovation Officer, Commissioner Precinct 4
Attachments (if applicable): Approved 2/6/25 Court Action #153, Grant Funding Agreement from USDOT