‹ Harris County Water Control and Improvement District No. 159 · All districts' issues
question
Developer reimbursement
1 conflict question
money moved
How much of the $12.21 million went to the Developer, for which park facilities, and with how much developer interest?
30 TAC §293.70, §293.50 (agreed-upon procedures; developer interest limits)
The board action behind it
2025-11-17: Approved the agreed-upon procedures report prepared by Forvis Mazars relating to the $12,210,000 Unlimited Tax Park Bonds, Series 2025, and authorized disbursement of bond proceeds in accordance with it, subject to prior receipt of a Receipt from the Developer
What else happened at that meeting
With the President absent, the Vice President called the meeting to order. The Board took several actions on the District's $12,210,000 Unlimited Tax Park Bonds, Series 2025, approving an agreed-upon procedures report by Forvis Mazars, the disbursement of bond proceeds (subject to a receipt from the Developer), IRS Form 8038-G, closing documents and an amendment to the District Information Form. It approved the bookkeeper's and tax assessor-collector's reports, accepted the engineer's report and a sanitary sewer easement for Bridgeland Prairieland Village, Section 46, and authorized the initial report to the Comptroller's Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Database and the annual eminent domain report. The attorney reported that the landowner had not responded to the District's final offer for three tracts along House Hahl Road and that a condemnation action was being prepared. The Board called a hearing for December 15, 2025 on excluding two tracts of 8.03 and 20.00 acres from the District.The law and guidance in force on 2025-11-17
| Before paying a developer from bond money, the board hires a CPA to perform set procedures on every item; report filed with TCEQ within 10 days of board approval 30 TAC §293.70
§293.70: Same text in force then and now |
Question | Board approved the Forvis Mazars report (Exhibit A, listed as 'Developer Reimbursement Audit', p.8) and authorized disbursement subject to a receipt from the Developer (p.2). Whether these park bonds needed TCEQ approval, and so whether the 10-day filing applies, is not stated; the report and any TCEQ filing are not posted. |
| Tax-supported park bonds: park debt may not exceed 1% of taxable value, or up to 3% if the district meets statutory conditions Water Code §49.4645; Tex. Const. art. XVI §59(c-1)
§49.4645: Same text in force then and nowart. XVI §59: Same text in force then and now |
Question | Park bonds outstanding at May 31, 2025 were $25,905,000 (Series 2021A, 2022A, 2023, 2024A; FY2025 audit, Changes in Long-Term Bonded Debt, HC_WCID_No_159_2025_FS_Final.pdf, PDF p.45). With the $12,210,000 Series 2025 the total is about $38.1 million, roughly 2.4% of the 2025 taxable value of $1,592,722,096 (Texas Comptroller, 2025 Special District Rates and Levies). That is above 1%, so the District relies on a condition for the higher limit; the minutes do not say which. |
| Developer interest limited to two years and to the bonds' net effective interest rate; developer pays 30% of certain costs unless exempt §293.50: Same text in force then and now§293.47: Same text in force then and now | Not shown in the record | Amounts reimbursed, interest paid and items covered are in the report, which is not posted. |
Who's involved
Forvis Mazars, LLP (auditor and agreed-upon-procedures accountant; also audits WCID 157, WCID 158, MUDs 418/419/489/490/493 and the Water Agency)
Bridgeland Development, L.P. (represented by Howard Hughes Holdings, Inc.) (developer)
Masterson Advisors LLC (financial advisor; also to WCID 158 and most Bridgeland MUDs)
Schwartz, Page & Harding, L.L.P. (SPH) (District general and bond counsel; also counsel to WCID 157, WCID 158, MUDs 418-493 and the Bridgeland Water Agency)
Possible conflicts
Forvis Mazars, LLP: The firm that checks the developer's claim is also the District's auditor and audits WCID 157, WCID 158 and MUDs reimbursing the same developer. (Consultant schedules in the audits of WCID 159 (HC_WCID_No_159_2025_FS_Final.pdf, PDF p.52), WCID 157 (HCWCID-157-Audit-Report-FYE-May-31-2025.pdf, PDF p.60) and WCID 158 (Financial_Report_2025_05_31.pdf, PDF p.44); minutes p.1-2)
Cost to the district
Proceeds of the $12,210,000 Series 2025 Park Bonds (NEIR 4.377561%, sold Oct. 20, 2025) are repaid from the District's debt service tax; the part paid to the Developer is not stated in the minutes.Money or costs moved
HCWCID 159 (bond proceeds) → Bridgeland Development, L.P. Reimbursement for recreational facilities per the agreed-upon procedures report; amount not stated in the minutes (p.2).
Why the board approved it
Recorded: “Forvis Mazars reviewed the draft report; disbursement authorized 'in accordance with same', subject to prior receipt of a Receipt from the Developer (p.2).”
The record shows the procedure but not the numbers: how much went to the Developer, for which facilities, with how much interest, and how park debt compares with the statutory limit.