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Justin Schultz was selected as the new President and CEO of the Houston Parks Board in October after the former head of the nonprofit, Beth White, announced her retirement.

Schultz assumed his new role as CEO on Jan. 1.

Read all about it: Community Impact sat down with Schultz for a Q&A about his short and long-term priorities for the organization, as well as how he plans to lead with sustainability, private funding and community preferences in mind.

What will be your first 6-12 months’ priorities? 
We are working on building 50 new miles of trails to add to our 156 miles that already exist in the Bayou Greenways system. We are working on renovating 25 neighborhood parks throughout the city of Houston and then also making improvements to a couple of regional parks.

What is your plan for engaging local residents in planning and prioritization? 
For every single project that we do, those projects start with community engagement. It’s up to the individual community members to tell us what they want.

Bubble Bath Car Wash is preparing to break into the Houston market with a new 4,000 square foot tunnel car wash planned for South Main Street near Loop 610.

What we know: A project filing by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows that the estimated $600,000 new construction project is slated to start in May and wrap up in December, although details are subject to change.

Bubble Bath is a San Antonio-based car wash that offers standard features such as triple foam conditioner, tire shine, hot wax, polish and turbo dry.

Something to note: The company offers single washes, as well as monthly memberships, where customers can choose between four options and prices that range from $20.99 a month to $38.99 a month.

• 9696 Main St., Bldg. A, Houston

West University Place City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s existing design agreement for the west side drainage project to allow for additional stormwater modeling aimed at expanding a regional benefit to the flood relief project. Council also identified more cost-saving options for the project’s completion.

Council members voted Jan. 12 for the project amendment, which costs an additional $337,563, according to agenda documents. The west side drainage project is a multiyear, multiphase project that will install a new storm sewer trunkline along the west side of the city to help more efficiently carry water from existing storm sewers to Brays Bayou.

What’s changing? City staff identified key components of the additional modeling, including:

• Regionalizing the stormwater model and its benefits to include areas outside of West University Place, such as the city of Houston, Bellaire and Southside Place
• Identifying above-ground improvements to Kimarnock Ditch
• Opening up funding opportunities with the state
• Reviewing alternative design considerations to reduce key cost drivers

From volunteer events to parades, there are several events to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Greater Houston area. 

MLK Lonestar
The Lone Star Community Center is holding an event to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

• Jan. 19, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Free
• Lone Star Community Center, 2500 Lone Star Parkway, Montgomery

• Jan. 18, 4 p.m.
• Free
• 2200 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands

• Jan. 19, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Free
• Hope Farms, 10401 Scott St., Houston

Hundreds of Texas private schools have been approved to participate in the state’s new education savings account program, per a map released by the state comptroller in early January.

The overview: As of press time, 775 private schools and prekindergarten providers had been approved to accept education savings accounts, or ESAs. There are over 1,300 accredited private schools in the state, according to the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission. 

Of the approved schools, there are:

• 233 schools in the Houston area
• 195 schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
• 94 schools in the San Antonio area
• 70 schools in the Austin area