County judge blasts Dome referendum bill
Emmett calls plan to give voters say on $105M renovation ‘micromanaging’
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett voiced concern Tuesday that a bill filed by a veteran state senator jeopardizes the county’s plan to revitalize the Astrodome, adding that county representatives would continue to try to persuade legislators to support the $105 million project.
Emmett said state Sen. John Whitmire’s bill, the Harris County Taxpayer Protection Act, was misleading and that Whitmire’s statements that some Astrodome renovation funds could be spent on Minute Maid Park or the Toyota Center were “demonstrably incorrect.”
“This bill is an example of state government making it more difficult for local government to do its job,” Emmett said.
‘Very good safeguard’
Whitmire’s bill would require voter approval for a county plan to spend $105 million to raise the floor of the iconic, domed stadium and create 1,400 parking spaces and space for events or festivals.
Emmett, a Republican, said the county would delay a “comprehensive analysis of future operation and maintenance needs at NRG Park” until the bill’s fate were decided. NRG Park includes the 52-year-old Astrodome, NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and event venues NRG Arena and NRG Center.
At a press conference Tuesday in Austin, Whitmire and other state senators from the Houston area gathered to express their support of legislation that would effectively block — or at least delay — Emmett’s plan.
Whitmire noted that voters four years ago defeated a $217 million bond package that would have renovated the Astrodome and transformed it into a streetlevel convention hall and exhibit space,
“With the dire problems we have with home flooding, too few deputies, roads still in disrepair … I have to represent my constituents and say, ‘Go back and get voter approval,’” Whitmire said. “This puts in a very good safeguard that the public vote be honored.”
Whitmire was joined Tuesday by Democratic Sens. Borris Miles and Sylvia Garcia and Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt, whose districts include parts of Harris County.
“This is a vote that the public expects to take,” Bettencourt said. “They’ve taken it in the past.”
Garcia took issue with the county’s plans to spend $105 million to create new parking before deciding how the Astrodome would be re-purposed. Voters need to hear the entire plan before any construction starts, Garcia said.
“I’ve always loved the Astrodome. I would assist the county commissioners court and anybody who wants to keep it alive,” Garcia said. “However, I don’t think this is the right way to get there.”
Tug of war
The debate over the bill reflects the varied interests surrounding NRG Park and the tug of war over how county funds are spent there.
In 2014, the Houston Texans and the Rodeo unveiled a $66 million proposal to demolish the iconic Astrodome and turn the nearly 9-acre site into a massive outdoor space reminiscent of downtown’s Discovery Green.
Texans President Jamey Rootes was traveling and would not be able to answer questions about whether the team supported Whitmire’s bill, a club official said Tuesday.
Joel Cowley, president and CEO of the Livestock Show and Rodeo, said in a written statement: “Although the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo could benefit from the additional space if the Astrodome were brought back as an available venue, our primary focus is on consistent, high-quality upkeep and maintenance of the buildings we’re currently using — NRG Center, NRG Stadium and NRG Arena.” He declined further comment, saying he hadn’t spoken with Whitmire.
Emmett has cited the high cost of demolition as a reason for finding a new use for the building, once dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and said he believes the parking plan is an important first step.
The Astrodome has not housed a professional sports team since the Astros moved to Minute Maid Park in 2000. Two years later, NRG Stadium opened nearby to serve as the home of the expansion Texans.
The stadium, which was home to the Astros and the NFL’s Oilers and hosted countless major sporting events, including four of Muhammad Ali’s fights, has sat vacant since being declared unfit for occupancy in 2009. In 2005, it housed thousands of people from Louisiana displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The Texas Historical Commission voted last month to designate the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark.
Currently, the Dome costs close to $170,000 a year to maintain, according to county estimates.
About one-third of the $105 million project, or roughly $35 million, would come from the county’s general fund, made up largely of property tax revenue.
Another third would come from hotel taxes, with the remaining third coming from county parking revenues. These new covered spaces inside the Dome could generate top dollar, officials say.
‘Slippery slope’
In September, county commissioners voted unanimously to allocate $10.5 million for the “design phase” of the Astrodome project, and an architectural and engineering team has been working to develop blueprints for the full project. Additional expenditures would require further approval from commissioners.
County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to award the contract for the design phase to Houston-based Kirksey Architecture.
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a former longtime state senator who has aligned with Whitmire on many causes, said he would rather spend county funds on criminal justice reform, but that he supported the county’s project because it is in his precinct.
“I’m just concerned about the slippery slope of the legislature micromanaging what goes on at a local level” Ellis said.