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The Tomball City Council took steps to begin regulating donation canisters that are located within the city, while also hearing about a proposal for a new multi-family apartment building, during their regular meeting April 15.

The council unanimously passed an ordinance that will regulate donation boxes in Tomball.

"This will set the regulations for the type of containers that are allowable, who can operate them, where they can exist, a permitting process and then a process for violations," said Christal Kliewer Weber, Tomball Assistant City Manager.

The new ordinance will require that the containers must be operated on behalf of a non-profit organization, as well as be placed only in non-residential areas.

The new regulations also require that no more than two may be located on any lot and that they must be at least 300 feet away from any other container on any other lot.

They may not be larger than 96 cubic feet and must be neutral colored, while also maintained in good condition and emptied regularly.

The new law also requires operators of the donation boxes to get them permitted each year, at a fee of $25.

In other business, a joint workshop of the council and planning and zoning commission heard a proposal from Sean Rae, of Trammell Crow, about a planned multi-family apartment building on the northeast corner of SH 249 and Holderreith Road.

"A month or so ago we were approached by Trammell Crow Residential, wanting to talk about development of a multi-family complex here in Tomball," City Manager George Shackelford said. "We decided it would be best if they made a presentation before submitting a pro-posal."

Sean Rae, a development associate with the company, told the members about the proposal.

"This is not section eight or government subsidized housing," Rae said. "This is luxury, market rate housing."

The proposal laid out by Rae spells out a 376 unit complex on 19 acres. A formal proposal has yet to be submitted to the city.

The Tomball City Council heard about the successful week long clean up effort during their regular meeting May 6.

The Tomball public works department recently held a clean up week and consolidated recycling day for city residents.

"This is just one of those events that are at the top of the list of things that I do that are rewarding," said Tomball Public Works Director David Kauffman.

The department has held a clean up week for 14 years now, according to Kauffman. The week consists of city workers chipping and disposing of yard brush and removing various bulk items like fridges and furniture from residents homes.

For the last three years the city has added a recycling day.

"This started with myself and the chiefs getting together with Sgt. Rebecca Carlisle for the prescription drug take back with the DEA, plus the demand we had from the public for the recycling of electronics, paper shredding and that kind of thing," Kauffman said.

Kauffman reported that 150 cubic yards of bulk waste was collected, 270 cubic yards of brush and limbs, as well as 327 pounds of prescription drugs.

"When you remove that amount of prescriptions from the wastewater treatment system, it's big," he said. "If you were to flush 10 pounds of antibiotics down the toilet, then 10 pounds of antibiotics would end up in the creek. It doesn't dissipate in the treatment system."

Kauffman also said that 11,140 pounds of electronics were recycled, three tons of mixed household items, 181 gallons of used oil, 30 gallons of antifreeze and 6,000 pounds of paper was shredded.

"That amount of paper saved 52.3 trees, 10 kilowatt hours of energy, 10.2 cubic yards of landfill space, almost 22,000 gallons of water and 185.4 pounds of air pollution," he said.

In other business the council unanimously passed a proposal to sell bonds that will be used to finance the infrastructure for the Tomball Economic Development Corporation's planned business park. The TEDC will be responsible for paying the bond payments.

Kauffman also reported that the city was ready to accept a proposal to build the long-awaited restroom facility at the Depot Plaza. Council agreed to award the contract to KBR for an amount not to exceed $183,000.

More than 2,500 showed up for the inaugural Zomball in Tomball event at the Tomball Depot recently, making it the largest 2nd Saturday at the Depot event in its four year history. Pictured are (from left) the Trunk-or-Treat "Best Decorated Trunk" winners Wes and Janet Burke of Burke Carpet Cleaning Service.

The Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the annual holiday parade Nov. 17, at 10 a.m., along Main Street. This year's theme is Candy Canes and Christmas Carols. This year's Grand Marshal will be Pastor Wayne Graumann of Salem Lutheran Church. For more information visit www.tomballchamber.org or call 281-351-7222.

Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan will present, "State of the City," when she addresses the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce First Friday Networking Luncheon, Feb. 1. Fagan has served as mayor of the City of Tomball since May 2007. She also served as a Council member from 2004 to 2007. Fagan and her husband, Michael, are owners of Farmers Insurance in Tomball.
Fagan promises her address will not be the "usual," despite its conventional title.
"From transportation and connectivity to new and revitalized businesses, we have so much going on in Tomball that I want to share," Fagan said. "This will be a fast-paced overview and look at what lies ahead."
Chamber members, their guests, and the public are encouraged to attend this very informative luncheon that begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Elmer L. Beckendorf Conference Center on the Lone Star College - Tomball campus located at 30555 Tomball Pkwy.  For reservations call the Chamber at 281-351-7222 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Cost is $17 at the door and $20 if invoiced.
To learn more about the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce visit, www.TomballChamber.org.

Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan recently filed the paperwork to run for re-election. Fagan said she’s running for another term to complete several projects that she has spearheaded  the last few years. The deadline for candidates to file for municipal office is Mar. 1, for the May 11 election.

Rick Brown, Tomball City Councilman for Position 3, filed to run for re-election recently. Brown said he is proud of the work the Tomball City Council has done the last three years in planning for the future and he wants to help keep the momentum going. Brown is currently serving as mayor pro tem.

The Tomball Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be holding free training every Tuesday, Sept. 25 through Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m., at the Tomball Fire Department, 1200 Rudel Rd. The eight-week course includes training in distrater preparedness, medical triage and treatment, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness, fire suppression, CPR training and light search and rescue. To register email Barbara Tague at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 713-851-0737.

The deadline is fast approaching to sign up for the City of Tomball's annual 5K Bunny Run, which will be held April 13, starting at the historic Tomball Depot Center. There will also be a 1-mile family fun walk. To register or for more information visit www.tomballtx.gov or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Dear Editor:

I live in Magnolia (Decker Prairie area) but I do pay taxes to Tomball ISD and shop in Tomball. While it's encouraging to see revenue rising in Tomball and predicted budget surpluses, I feel it is entirely inappropriate to be spending $20,000 to send city "officials" on a junket to Germany at this time, while economic uncertainty hangs over the entire country as well as our local economies. The amount may be small potatoes as part of the overall budget, but the message it sends is much larger. Many of us had to forego vacations this summer as a result of belt tightening in our personal budgets. Shades of the federal GSA scandals we have all seen lately on a local scale.

Bill Forcht

Magnolia