HTX-WDL: Impact 10/30/2025

The city of Shenandoah approved a utility rate increase for residential customers for the next five years at its Oct. 22 meeting in a 7-0 City Council vote.  

What to know: City staff and Bleyl Engineering engineers completed a utility rate study to determine what changes need to be made for revenues to better match expenses, according to the agenda packet. The proposed rate will cover rising operation and maintenance costs and costs for capital improvement projects for the next five years, acting City Administrator Joseph Peart said.

Zooming in: The rate structure remains tiered so that higher-usage customers pay an increasingly higher amount. Such tiered systems are common to promote conservation efforts, Bleyl said.

Preserve Physical Therapy in The Woodlands area held its grand opening on Sept. 12, an official said.

The Details: The physical therapist’s office offers services such as post-surgery rehabilitation and physical therapy targeting back, neck, knee and shoulder pain.

The business has another location in Magnolia.

• 25420 Kuykendahl Road, Ste. A100, The Woodlands

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed First Assistant District Attorney Mike Holley as the new Montgomery County district attorney on Oct. 29, according to a news release from the governor's office.

The details: Holley will serve as Montgomery County’s DA until Brett Ligon’s current term expires on Dec. 31, 2026, according to the release. Ligon resigned as the county’s district attorney on Oct. 2 to run for state Senate District 4 in the upcoming 2026 race.

Going forward: Holley will run for election in the county district attorney race in 2026, he told Community Impact.

The background: Holley has been a part of the county’s DA office since 2012, where he was a felony prosecutor and chief of the misdemeanor division. He was promoted to the first assistant of the district attorney in 2016, according to the DA’s website.

Montgomery County commissioners on Oct. 28 approved a plan to reassign courtroom and office space in the main courthouse and the James H. Keeshan Building to prepare for the addition of a new criminal district court set to begin operations Sept. 1, 2026.

The impact: The proposal—presented by Judges Vince Santini and Kristin Bays—creates space for the incoming 523rd District Court while freeing up two additional courtrooms in the existing courthouse. The project will be funded through unspent money from the courts’ fiscal year 2025 operations budget, roughly $500,000, and, if needed, supplemented by the court facilities fund—both earmarked for judicial purposes, Bays said. County officials emphasized that the plan will have no impact on the county’s general budget.

More details: Commissioners in August approved the creation of the new 523rd District Court after judges warned earlier this year that existing facilities were running out of space to handle growing caseloads.

What's next: Commissioners directed staff to return within weeks with final bids and cost estimates.

Guests are welcome to attend The Woodlands Photography Club’s 2025 Annual Contest Awards ceremony featuring an exhibition at the Mink Street Community Center.

About the program: The Woodlands Photography Club is made up of professional and amateur photographers and offers meetings, workshops, competitions and exhibitions to educate and inspire its members, per the website.
Memberships start at $20 a year and offer:

• Access the club’s private Facebook page
• Monthly mini-contest
• Annual photography contest
• Monthly Facebook Challenges

Texas homeowners could see larger property tax breaks on this year’s bills if voters approve two state propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The details: Proposition 13 would raise the property tax exemption on a Texas homeowner’s main residence, known as a homestead exemption, from $100,000 to $140,000. Proposition 11 would give homeowners who are over 65 years old or have a disability a $200,000 exemption.

The exemptions would apply only to taxes charged by public schools.

The impact: Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who authored the legislation, estimated in June that the average Texas homeowner would see about $484 in annual savings if the tax cuts are approved by voters, with roughly $950 in savings for seniors and people with disabilities. These estimates do not account for potential tax rate increases by local governments.

If voters approve the two ballot measures, the cuts will take effect for the current tax year and appear on homeowners’ upcoming tax bills, according to the Texas House Research Organization.