Several local projects in the cities of Bellaire, West University Place and Southside Place could receive a funding boost from the federal government as the House Committee on Appropriations takes requests from local Congress members.

As part of the Community Project Funding program, members of Congress across the U.S. are allowed to request funding for up to 15 projects in their communities for fiscal year 2022-23, which begins Oct. 1. U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher—who represents the 7th Congressional District, where the three cities are located—announced June 30 that requests have been made for 15 community projects to be included in the upcoming appropriations bill.

The projects, totaling more than $31 million, are moving through the legislative process and will eventually come before the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration, Fletcher said in the press release.

“Each of the community funded projects I proposed will make a positive impact in our community,” Fletcher said. “I look forward to seeing these projects come before the House, and I will continue working to deliver for our district.”

Local projects include:

• Evergreen Accessible and Inclusive Playground: This city of Bellaire project involves building an inclusive playground. The playground would allow children with wheelchairs to play with their peers by using wider ramped platforms, according to the 2023 Community Funded Project Requests. It will also include sensory play elements that incorporate touch and music and interactive educational features. The amount requested is $600,000.
• Water and Wastewater Line Replacement: This Bellaire project would include replacing water lines that are 50 years old or older, the project request said. The amount requested is $2.4 million.
• Auden Street Drainage Improvement: This Southside Place project will allow designs and construction of a new stormwater system to reduce flooding, the request said. The system would allow for the separation of an existing system in Southside Place and West University Place. The construction will be within Southside Place along Auden Street. The amount requested is $750,000.
• Milton Street Waterline Replacement: This project in the city of West University Place will replace 2,400 linear feet of pre-1939 water lines. The failure of these lines would disrupt water supply in the city, the request site said. The amount requested is $2.5 million. A design contract was recently approved by the city.

Other projects among the 15 Fletcher submitted include funding for the Houston Police Department's mobile community storefront program and for the Harris County Flood Control District to improve stormwater conveyance through Poor Farm Ditch, a body of water that also plays prominently into West University Place's drainage plans.

Although Fletcher submitted 15 projects, not all of them are guaranteed to get funding. Among the requests to be fulfilled in last year's bill was the Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin, which got just under $10 million in federal funds.

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