Armand Bayou

Nature Center

To celebrate Earth Day, we spotlight a Precinct 2 treasure: Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC), one of the largest urban wilderness preserves in the country. The 2,500 acres of natural wetlands forest, prairie, and marsh habitats are owned by Harris County.

Watch to learn about the private-public partnership between ABNC and the county. Since 2019, the partnership has strengthened under Commissioner Garcia's leadership.

Additionally, Precinct 2 is proud to lead the way in making Harris County healthier & more sustainable for everyone. Click here to see some of what we've accomplished so far this year and read the county's Climate Action Plan.

Watch the "We are Precinct 2" series

International delegation tours

James Driver Inclusive Park

This month, Precinct 2 hosted an international delegation of adapted sports advocates and athletes at James Driver Park Inclusive Park. The group is part of the U.S. Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program and represented 16 different countries!

This is the first time the program hosts its orientation week in Houston, and Precinct 2 is honored to have been a part of it! Click here for more photos and information.

Sexual Assault Awareness month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). SAAM calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and impacts every person in the community. We partnered with the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC)and Harris County Sheriff's Office Crime Victims Assistance Unit to raise public awareness and educate our community about how to prevent it. The two-part video series provides educational information and resources available for survivors..

Prioritizing public safety

Since 2021, Commissioners Court has allocated over $39.2 million in backlog reduction efforts that affect every aspect of a case’s life cycle—from intake to empaneling a jury. Progress is underway, and the data shows it.

During the one-year period between January 2022 and January 2023, the felony backlog (361+ days) dropped by 30%, and the misdemeanor backlog (181+ days) dropped by 32%.

Behind the Scenes in Precinct 2

From honoring a fallen hero with a new monument in La Porte to preventing flooding in the South Belt community, here’s a look back at some key moments in March.

Revive2Thrive: Infrastructure project updates

Precinct 2 is now the best place live, work, and fish! After being destroyed during Tropical Storm Nicholas, the Clear Lake Park fishing pier is back and better than ever.

The $330K investment includes:

Re-designed to better handle future Hurricane storm events
Replacement of damaged structure with new and sturdier materials
Wider ADA Ramp to improve access within the pier
Twenty-Five Percent of the handrails around the pier will be at a max height of 34” to comply with ADA standards

This month in Commissioners Court, the following Precinct 2 infrastructure projects were approved:

Baytown Sidewalk Improvements Project: It includes the installation of approximately 8,825 square yards of sidewalk improvements along Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Road, Lee Drive, South Main Street, Decker Drive, and Baker Road in the city of Baytown.
Cedar Bayou East and West and Oak Glen Place Subdivision Drainage Projects: These two projects will improve and reduce flooding issues in the surrounding communities.

Precinct 2 Project Dashboard

Here2Serve: Meet Raymond

Raymond Burns

Precinct 2's IT Manager

Q: Describe your role within Precinct 2 and how it impacts our constituents.

A: I am the IT manager at Precinct 2. Growing up as a Chicago resident, I didn’t always have the greatest opportunities of building meaningful friendships within my neighborhood. I spent my time outside of school walking the neighborhood with stray dogs and looking for treasures in other people’s trash. One day I found an old NEC desktop computer that was thrown away ...READ MORE

Q: What project are you most excited about right now and why?

A: The project that excites me the most is the effort that I’m making to introduce alternative and green technology for solving our everyday utility needs. The primary key to stability in effectiveness is autonomy. Any solution that works well should be able to work well independently ...READ MORE

This month, Commissioner Garcia led or voted in favor of the following items:

$15M for the acquisition of single-family homes: This allocation of federal funds allows the Community Services Department to purchase single-family homes in Harris County that are outside the city limits of Houston and outside major flood plain areas, to resell the homes at an affordable rate to income-eligible buyers. This is the first batch of funds for the Single-Family Acquisition program. All homes in this program will be entered into the Harris County Community Land Trust, to ensure long-term affordability for homeowners through a 99-year ground lease. This is one of many steps in the countywide plan to commit more than $200 million in ARPA funds for affordable housing.

Swift water training facility: This training facility will accommodate and train up to 1,600 law enforcement officers annually in waterborne evacuations and rescues, mitigating flooding casualties in Harris County. This investment is the first of several to establish Harris County as a premier training hub for law enforcement nationwide.

Harris County Animal Shelter: Commissioner Garcia made a motion to direct the Office of County Administration to lead the effort to find a new Director for the Harris County Animal Shelter.

HCSO Women’s Empowerment Center: A $3 million-dollar investment will fund new positions to provide a holistic approach to coordinated care to meet the needs of the female jail population. With these additional resources, the Harris County Sheriff's Office will be able to provide wrap-around reentry, including social services that are gender and trauma-informed, which will help set women up for success upon their release.

Commissioner Garcia presented resolutions to:

To commemorate Earth Day on April 22. Commissioner Garcia noted the affirmative steps taken by the county to affect positive change for our environment through the adoption of a Clean Energy Strategy, Climate Action Plan for Internal Operations, and most recently by earning the SolSmart Silver designation from the United States Department of Energy for our efforts to make renewable.

To celebrate the Cámara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston (CELH) for their 30-year anniversary as business leaders and partners in the community. Formed in 1993 to support businesses and protect them from a wave of thefts, the non-profit organization includes businessmen and women of Latin American origin representing 450 member companies.
To mark Autism Acceptance Month and increase awareness about autism and promote an inclusive society for individuals with autism. The resolution was presented to representatives from Autism Moms of Houston

In the news

Clear Lake Park's rebuilt pier has reopened. Here's what you can catch

Upcoming event allows Bay Area residents to turn in old boats for disposal

More April highlights

Easter fun in Precinct 2

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