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Construction for the long-awaited makeover of McMorran Place Plaza begins this week after Port Huron officials adjusted the layout of new features including an ice rink, stage, and green space to help save on costs.
The city has been working on the $1 million project for more than two years after first announcing grant funds in 2018. Fundraising and planning efforts hit a snag last year when estimates for the work came back hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than expected.
Since then, the “value-engineering” effort, according to officials, has helped bring costs down with many of the same features still included from earlier design iterations. But the elements will be configured in a different way on the east-facing exterior of the entertainment complex.
But St. Joseph was in the process of selling the school building when the bonding was awarded. Now local lawmakers are seeking a change in the law. I can t fault them for that, said Sen. Jeff Howe, R-Rockville, of St. Joseph s building sale. You ve got to make the decisions the best you can at the time you re making them.
Bonding is never a sure thing, Howe said. And the 2020 bonding bill wasn t passed until October during the Legislature s fifth special session of the year.
Howe authored a bill to change the bonding provision for St. Joseph. He said it s been folded into a larger technical corrections bill.
If you live in Hays County, you can call the county s election office at 512-393-7310 or email elections@co.hays.tx.us to see if you re eligible to vote on Prop B. You can find more information on the county s elections site.
If Prop B passes, when would these changes take effect?
If Prop B passes, the ordinances would go into effect as soon as the election results are certified. Usually this takes a couple days, as the county clerks have to certify every single ballot cast in early voting and on Election Day, as well as mail-in and absentee ballots.
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The Melbourne, Australia developer seeking to replace downtown’s decaying California Theatre with a 41-story, boutique hotel and condo tower successfully sidestepped an effort by affordable housing proponents to invalidate the project’s permits.
Tuesday, the City Council OK’d the permits with district representatives voting unanimously to affirm a February decision by San Diego’s Planning Commission.
The decision came in spite of dozens of public testimonials challenging the commission’s earlier determination. Several council members also expressed reticence at signing off on a housing project in which just 2 percent of the for-sale units, or seven condos, will be set aside for buyers making 100 percent of the area’s median income.
Port Huron Times Herald
McMorran Boulevard east of Huron Avenue in downtown Port Huron is slated to close to traffic on Monday for the start of a roughly $1 million reconstruction of the roadway.
Public Works Director Eric Witter said passers-by may have already noticed signs of construction over the last couple of weeks amid survey and traffic control activities and as the decorative art fixtures on the boulevard were temporarily removed and put into storage.
The work includes replacing the aging, cracked, and pothole-ridden surface on McMorran between Huron and Merchant Street, as well as a water main replacement, and sanitary sewer installation.