The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District is again seeking county approval for a new $6.4 million headquarters proposal because the CAD board believes it’s the best of all options available.
“The board believes that the resolution they started with is the best option out there,” chief CAD appraiser Glen Whitehead said on Thursday. “If it fails, we will have to seek other options.”
That’s because current CAD offices, on F.M. 2218 in Rosenberg, are seriously overcrowded, Whitehead said, adding that office space meant for 60 people “and the crowds that accompany that” are now home to about 72 employees. More are needed, but there’s no space for additional desks, as even most of the building’s storage space already is being used for offices.
Whitehead said he had pulled an identical resolution from the Fort Bend County Commissioners Court agenda on June 9, after learning of an alterative proposal by Precinct 1 Commissioner Richard Morrison.
But after exploring that proposal, which basically involved remaining at the current offices, adding 80 parking spaces and gaining between 4,000 and 5,000 square feet of office space as the result of a building neighbor moving out, the board rejected the idea.
Whitehead said he approached county Facilities and Planning Director Don Brady, who helped arrange an engineering study at the current building. The study showed required drainage work would cost the CAD $300,000 to $330,000, bringing the cost of adding 80 parking spaces to half a million dollars.
“The board thought that was ridiculous, and we could only expand another 4,000 square feet,” Whitehead said. “Long-term, it’s a bad investment. Why do it?”
The CAD board needs approval of its plans from at least 128 of the county’s 170 or so property taxing entities. So far the vote has been mixed, with Fort Bend Independent School District turning it down last week, Rosenberg City Council approving it, but Needville Council rejecting it Wednesday night.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said earlier Thursday that a developer in his district offered to donate 10 acres to the CAD to locate in a commercial set-aside on his development.
Meyers said he thinks it would make sense to locate a new CAD facility closer to Fort Bend County’s population center than in west Rosenberg, where the CAD proposes moving.
However, Whitehead said the CAD board has been studying the best location for a new building for many months, and demographic experts all say the Richmond-Rosenberg area will be the county’s population center in a few years.
The proposed new CAD building location is a 12-acre plot at Bamore and Klauke Road. Whitehead said eventually, Texas Department of Transportation plans will change the configuration of Bamore and bring State Highway 36 adjacent to it, making the new site very accessible.
“More growth is coming to this county, and the board is looking for a long-term solution,” Whitehead said.
He added that the Fort Bend CAD has for years been making do with much less money than comparable sized districts.
For example, he said, the Montgomery County CAD has 20,000 fewer parcels than Fort Bend, yet it has a budget of $5.8 million, $400,000 less than the Fort Bend CAD’s $5.4 million annual budget.
