Katy plans to expand dog park after land purchases

City officials say one of Katy’s most popular assets, as well as the city’s public works department, is ripe for expansion. Thanks to an offer by a member of two of Katy’s founding families, that expansion will now be possible.

“Belva Fussell Cardiff offered to sell us the land between the public works department and the dog park,” said city administrator Byron Hebert. “She offered to sell it to us for its appraised value.”

Hebert said the 3.67 acre tract is located on the north side of Franz Road at Drexel Drive.

“It appraised at $320,000, and that’s what we paid,” Hebert said.

“She wanted us to have it,” said Fabol Hughes, mayor of Katy, of Cardiff. “This gives us the opportunity to expand both the public works department and the dog park.”

“It actually was owned by my grandmother, Maude Fussell Hooker,” Cardiff said. “It was

originally the house and 15 acres. Over the years, some of the land got sold off, and I ended up with the house and something like 4.99 acres.

“I’m keeping the front part. I’d eventually like to see the front part become a demonstration garden or a horticultural center because my mother, Blanche Fussell, loved gardening,” Cardiff said. “I could’ve sold it to a developer for a lot more, but I didn’t want some stranger coming in and building townhomes or something.”

Hebert said the tract is located on the east side of the dog park on Franz Road, which would allow the city to move the dog park to the east and, at the same time, enlarge the dog park.

“That would leave us land on the west side of the dog park to enlarge the public works department.

“We know we’re growing and we want to be proactive,” Hebert said. “As our public works grows, we have a chance to grow to the east. We know public works needs to be expanded; they’re practically sitting on top of each other over there.”

“This pretty much locks up our ability to annex more land,” Hughes noted, “unless Houston wants to give up some of their ETJ to the north. We’ve already annexed out to the Igloo plant and Houston controls all the land around us.

“Houston has told me they’re 35 years away from being able to offer services out here, but we can provide services right now. It’s just up to Houston whether they want to give up some of their ETJ now,” Hughes said.

According to Hebert, funds to purchase the land are to come out of the city’s reserve fund.

“We appreciate the land owner giving us this opportunity,” Hebert said. Trish Johnson is a freelance writer