Harris County commissioners set to discuss the flood control district's leader behind closed doors

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she lost confidence in the Harris County Flood District executive director, commissioners are set to have a closed-door meeting about her this week.

Harris County Flood Resiliency Task Force member Bob Rehak is anxiously awaiting what will happen at this week's Harris County commissioners court meeting.

"This is like a freight train coming down the tracks and a gasoline tanker is stalled on the tracks," Rehak explained. "You could see it coming from miles away, and nobody was saying anything."

Rehak said he's talking about flood mitigation projects that he believes have taken way longer than they should have, including the Kingwood diversion ditch.

"It's a straight-line ditch, trapezoidal, shouldn't have been a big deal, but it took them three times longer than the contract said they had," Rehak said.

A delay isn't just with that project. He couldn't believe it when he saw a report released days ago.

"I was horrified," Rehak recalled. "We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars."

A report shared with commissioners shows that eleven flood mitigation projects are using more than $300 million in federal dollars. To get the money, the flood control district said it has to meet a completion deadline next February.

The flood control district says an agreement was reached more than two and a half years ago. They told ABC13 last week to finish in time, which is why they want a nine-month extension, because the report shows more than half of the projects could miss the deadline.

The delays are expected to be brought into this week's commissioners court meeting. On Thursday, commissioners plan to discuss the Flood Control District Executive Director Tina Petersen behind closed doors.

An agency spokesperson told ABC13 that several factors contributed to the delays, and they're working to address them. They didn't say anything about the closed-door meeting.

Commissioner Adrian Garcia said he won't be pushing for Petersen to leave, citing other delay factors.

"I have confidence in our director," Garcia said. "The challenges that she's facing are none of her own doing."

Others have said they have lost confidence in Petersen, including Hidalgo, who expressed her frustration about the delayed projects at last month's meeting.

"I don't know the director," Hidalgo said. "Unless I'm missing something, I just lost my confidence in you. I don't understand what this is about."

Commissioner Tom Ramsey put the item on the agenda. His office sent ABC13 a statement saying in part:

"Being that flood mitigation is one of the most important duties of the commissioners court, he feels it's imperative for all of them to get into a room and have a discussion to ensure we continue to meet the objectives of the GLO. The executive director has a crucial role in the adherence to our project timelines, so it's obvious that would be part of the discussion. For transparency purposes, the item is written as such. According to the rules, discussions involving appointed members are to be held in executive session."

Flood Control District chief external affairs officer Emily Woodell sent ABC13 a statement saying in part:

"The Harris County Flood Control District remains focused on moving critical flood risk reduction projects forward and delivering results for the people of Harris County. Through the CDBG program, the Flood Control District has worked closely with the Texas General Land Office and HUD to advance projects quickly and efficiently. When commissioners court initially accepted the program, two to three years later than all other recipients in Texas, the Flood Control District was open about the need for additional time to deliver this work and has continued ongoing conversations with the GLO regarding necessary extensions. Despite the challenges posed by complex federal grant programs and strict deadlines, the flood control district team has moved at nearly four times the pace of other awardees. That progress reflects the District's commitment to delivering projects, meeting community needs, and maximizing the benefit of available funding."