Jersey Village City Council members Dec. 15 authorized city staff to move forward with improvements at three water treatment plants on Seattle Street, Village Drive and West Road. 

In a nutshell: The council approved a contract totaling just under $600,000 with civil engineering firm HR Green to oversee design, bidding and construction management services for the water plant improvements, according to agenda documents. The city inspected the plants in 2023 and included the improvement project in its capital improvement plan that year, officials said.

The water plant project is one of several utility developments funded by the $20 million bond Jersey Village voters approved in November, officials said.

Also of note: Council members also approved an $898,000 design contract with Quiddity Engineering to oversee rehabilitation of the city’s wastewater collection system, which has infrastructure dating back to the 1970s, per agenda documents.

Before you go: Beginning in June, Jersey Village City Council will meet on the third Tuesday of each month, the council decided at the Dec. 15 meeting. 

A new location for EōS Fitness is now open in the Cypress-area.

The details: The 40,000-square-foot, full service gym features premium cardio and strength equipment, group fitness classes and personal training options, business officials confirmed in an email.

The new location, which opened in December, offers recovery and wellness services including:

• Cold plunge
• Hot tub
• Infrared sauna
• Massage chairs

The Fairfield Town Center development in Cypress was purchased by Big V Property Group in partnership with Principal Asset Management, according to a Dec. 15 news release from the group.

What we know: Big V Property Group is a retail real estate investment firm based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, with offices in Austin and San Antonio. According to the release, the sale was facilitated in partnership with Principal Asset Management, a global capital management firm. Fairfield Town Center is located at 28902 Hwy. 290 in Cypress and holds 355,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and other services, the release states.

Quote of note: “Fairfield Town Center exemplifies the type of property Big V builds, acquires and redevelops—well-located in growing areas, dominant, with healthy anchors and the most-desired retailers and services. This is a trophy asset, which we are proud to add to our portfolio,” Tony D’Ambrosio, vice president of acquisitions and dispositions for Big V Property Group, said.

The Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 board of commissioners will meet Dec. 18 to discuss matters pertaining to the Cy-Fair Fire Department, including regular operations reports and financial updates.

At a glance: Commissioners will take up items involving CFFD purchases, amendments to the fiscal year 2026 budget, and the district's FY 2024 audit, per the agenda. 

Also of note: The board will update the community about a pending investigation of Commissioner Rob Paiva, who over the past few months has been accused of several misconduct allegations, Community Impact previously reported.

According to the agenda, commissioners will review and discuss alleged misconduct by Paiva and “take any applicable actions deemed appropriate." Additionally, the board will discuss and take potential action on invoices totaling more than $40,000, which several commissioners said in November were unauthorized expenditures. 

The details: The Dec. 18 meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the ESD 9 administration building located at 10710 Telge Road, Houston. Community members can also find a livestream of the meeting on the district's website.

The Texas power grid is expected to hold up this winter, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Dec. 9. This is due in part to “tremendous supply growth on the ERCOT grid,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said, amid an influx of data centers coming to the state.

The overview: Since last winter, over 11,000 megawatts of generating capacity have been added to the ERCOT grid, Vegas said. That growth, which largely comes from battery storage and solar facilities, could be used to power about 2.8 million homes during periods of peak electric demand.

Zooming in: Under most weather conditions, there is a less than 2% chance of a grid emergency through February, ERCOT found.

However, Texas could be in trouble in the unlikely event that a repeat of Winter Storm Uri hits large parts of the state this winter, although ERCOT noted that the probability of such a severe storm happening again was "well under one percent." The February 2021 freeze devastated an unprepared power grid, resulting in nearly 250 deaths.