Harris County Commissioners Court Public Meeting Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.

Commissioners Court will take up a request to authorize eminent domain for two fee-simple tracts tied to the Keegans Bayou Stormwater Detention Basin near Old Richmond Road Phase 2 and will consider accepting a $51,922 amendment to the Women, Infants, and Children program when the Harris County Commissioners Court meets at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 in the Commissioners Courtroom, first floor, Harris County Administration Building, 1001 Preston Street, Houston.

Agendas for the meeting are available in the courtroom on the day of the meeting or via the county’s online "Commissioners Court Agenda" link; the county page also lists "Court - Live Video" and an "Online Appearance Request Form" and provides ReadSpeaker Listen controls for the Notice of a Public Meeting, Commissioners Court Agenda, and Agenda Discussion Items. The online notice repeats a warning that "Refusal to abide by the Court’s Order may result in a Contempt of Court Citation," language that appears twice on the agenda page, and the page shows an obfuscated contact email and a truncated accommodations line referencing assistive services.

Swagit/Granicus agenda attachments released ahead of the meeting include numbered items that will be on the floor. Health items include 26-0252 194, a Public Health Services request to accept an amendment from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for $51,922 with no required match for the FY 2026 WIC Program, and 26-0258 195, a PHS request to accept an amendment from the Texas Department of State Health Services revising federal award information for the Cities Readiness Initiative Grant Program. Social-services items include 26-0304 197, a Harris County Resources for Children & Adults request to accept an amendment to a subcontract with DePelchin Children’s Center modifying the budget to $126,097.46 for the FY26 Community Mental Health Grant.

Personnel and position approvals tied to grant funding appear on the extract as well: 26-0262 196 requests a County Library position effective Jan. 10, 2026 for the FY26 Library Infrastructure Facility Improvement Expansion Program; 26-0002 198 and 26-0149 199 request position approvals for the Constable of Precinct 7 tied to the FY26 Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the FY26 Victim Assistance Grant Program, respectively.

The Flood Control District item is listed as 26-0137 130: a request to decree that the Flood Control District project serves a public purpose and public necessity and to direct the Harris County Real Property Division to acquire two fee-simple tracts for the Keegans Bayou Stormwater Detention Basin (Brays Bayou Watershed, Bond ID F-07, Project ID D518-03-00-E003, Precinct 4), authorizing eminent domain if necessary, with the stated purpose of stormwater detention to prevent future flood damage.

Harris County Clerk public notice filings tied to the Feb. 26 date include document 1624952 listing "COMMISSIONERS COURT OF HARRIS" with Count 43 and MPR-2026-5408; other filings in the extract show Metropolitan Transit Authority (doc 1625020, Count 4, MPR-2026-5476), Clear Lake City Water Authority notices (docs 1625018 and 1625019), and multiple municipal utility district notices including HARRIS-MONTGOMERY COUNTIES MUD NO. 386 (doc 1624923) and HARRIS COUNTY MUD NO. 389 (doc 1625024). Each clerk row in the extract displays two dates, 02/20/2026 and 02/26/2026.

Public-comment and transcript fragments published on the county Swagit feed show a proposed resolution calling for statewide action and a public commenter urging county preparedness. The resolution excerpt reads in part: "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER COURT CALLS FOR THE ENTIRE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS TO RESIGN AND FOR GOVERNOR ABBOTT TO REPLACE THE MEMBERS WITH DEDICATED AND EXPERIENCED INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN LEAD THE AGENCY OUT OF THIS CURRENT STATE OF FAILURE, THAT IS MY RESOLUTION THAT I'M PROPOSING. SO I'VE GOT THAT MOTION THAT [...]" Public speaker Stephanie Thomas is recorded saying in full: ">> GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS STEPHANIE THOMAS AND I WORK WITH PUBLIC COMPANIES WE ARE A NATIONAL PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATION. AND I'M VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT TODAY AND THE COMMENT AND IMPORTANT DISCUSSION I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO I THINK WE DO NEED TO RECOGNIZE AS COMMISSIONER ELLIS MENTIONED THAT THIS EVENT IS RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE THIS IS A CLIMATE DISASTER BEING CAUSE BY RAPID WARMING IN THE ARCTIC AND THAT IS CREATING THE LARGE DISRUPTIONS IN THE JET STREAM AND THESE POLAR VORTEX TYPES OF HAVE END EVENTS. IT SEEMS TANTAM THAT WE NEED TO TANTAMOUNT WE NEED TO PREPARE OUR REGION FOR ALL KINDS OF WEATHER EVENTS. IT IS LIKELY FOR US TO EXPERIENCE COLD, IT IS REALLY UNCLEAR WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS WHEN WE HAVE THESE REALLY ERRATIC WEATHER PATTERNS. AND AS [...] HOUSE AROUND 90,000. >> THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> LET ME STOP YOU UNLESS THE COMMISSIONERS WANT QUESTIONS OTHERWISE WE HAVE TO DO THIS WITH EVERY SPEAKER.

PREPARE HARRIS COUNTY WHATEVER THAT MAY BE. >> WONDERFUL, MAYOR, THANK YOU

SO MUCH FOR CALLING IN. >> THANK YOU, MAYOR. >> THANK YOU.

Questions about agenda transparency persist. A Houston Landing analysis cited that Harris County "agendas regularly include more than 400 items, varying in magnitude from sweeping propositions about updating the county jail and allocating federal funding to approving mundane budget line items amounting to as little as $10," and noted that "Not all agenda items are discussed individually. Most are passed by a single sweeping vote on what is known as the consent agenda." The piece quotes Kirkland calling the current practice "pretty problematic" and saying, "The fact that other counties do a better job is just evidence that it doesn’t have to work that way," while the county response in that story said, "Recent improvements include expanded electronic access, a new courtroom designed for greater public engagement, and the publication of the discussion list. We will continue to explore ways to make the process even more accessible and efficient for the public."

The Swagit and clerk extracts provided ahead of the meeting are partial; anyone seeking full staff reports, complete agenda attachments, or the unredacted transcript should consult the county's Commissioners Court Agenda link or obtain the courtroom agenda packet on the day of the Feb. 26 session. Votes on eminent domain for Keegans Bayou, the WIC amendment, and the DePelchin subcontract modification are among the items to watch when the court convenes at 9:00 a.m. Thursday.