Tomball City Council gave the Tomball Economic Development Corporation a starting point for the future of Legacy Square on Aug. 17, voting 4-1 on a list of directions that includes preserving three buildings, demolishing others and exploring a smaller, more flexible use for the former church campus.

Diving in deeper: Staff summarized six points that emerged from an Aug. 14 workshop before council ultimately approved the direction.
Legacy Square is the roughly 4.6-acre former First Baptist Church campus in Old Town Tomball.
Under the direction, TEDC will explore:

• Converting Building A, the main sanctuary, into a multifunctional facility that could also serve community-center functions;
• Prepare Building C, the small chapel, for a potential use involving Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts;
• Develop plans for Building F, the fellowship hall, for possible retail, workshop, maker, arts and crafts or rental space.

On the heels of a week of budget workshops, Montgomery County commissioners are set to handle a range of regular business items during the Aug. 20 meeting such as approving vendors for several bond projects as well as advancing a flood mitigation project.

What you need to know: Several projects that could move forward this week include approving the vendor for debris monitoring for San Jacinto Watershed and Tributary Barrier Flood Mitigation projects, for Stewart Creek, Lake Creek and East County, according to the agenda.

In 2025, Community Impact reported that the Texas General Land Office announced $60.37 million in funding had been awarded for drainage improvements across the San Jacinto River watershed. Community Impact previously reported that the county's application was originally filed in 2022, and the funding would be used to remove obstructions, clean tributaries and repair eroding creek beds and stream banks.

Also of note: The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 20 at the Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court Building.

The Harris County Office of Budget and Management rolled out its proposed budget to county commissioners Aug. 17, with priorities for pay parity, bolstering the justice system and maintaining existing services outlined amid a $181 million shortfall.

The gist: OMB Executive Director Daniel Ramos presented the $3.096 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. However, the proposal also comes with a recommendation for a 3.5% tax rate increase, according to budget documents. 

The budget was created amid financial pressures from “rising healthcare costs, jail outsourcing, increased indigent defense expenses, state-mandated spending requirements, continued jail outsourcing and diminishing federal aid,” per a news release.

Also of note: The county also has to grapple with losing federal funding it received during the pandemic, with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, ending at the end of the year.

Many Texas students began returning to the classroom for the 2026-27 school year in mid-August.

Here are five things Texans should know as the 2026-27 school year kicks off.

The details:

• 2026 school accountability ratings issued
• New rule impacts accountability-related school closures
• 100K students using new Texas Education Freedom Accounts
• Public school closures deepen across Texas
• Check out recent public education laws