"Harris County is the third-largest county in the nation," said Emmett. "There are more people living in Harris County than in 23 of the states."

Emmett told listeners that the County had been able to grow because steps had been taken early to improve mobility in the area.

"Transportation and mobility are what make us work," said Emmett. "The better the flow, the better the economy."

Emmett said that one of the wise things that the County had done was to devise a system of toll roads rather than dealing with them individually. He talked about the importance of dealing with other agencies because, "traffic doesn't stop at the county lines."

He said he was elected because he promised to get the much-needed overpass. He reflected on the fact that over time, growth in the area has caused the overpass to become outdated and now the intersection of Kingwood Drive and U. S. Highway 59 has been completely reworked to further accommodate traffic flow.

Emmett said that transportation is still an issue. Today, he said, people are discussing six new projects including the Grand Parkway, Beltway 8 East and an extension of the Hardy Toll Road to downtown. He also talked about Houston Metro and the importance of freight rail in the area.

On the subject of annexation, Emmett said that unincorporated residential areas were built with the idea that they would eventually be taken in by the City of Houston. He said that the annexation of Kingwood met with opposition but proceeded but The Woodlands was able to avoid annexation.

"They are no longer aggressively annexing," said Emmett. He complimented Sen. Tommy Williams on his work during the attempt to annex The Woodlands and said that had he been in office when Kingwood was annexed, there may have been a different outcome.

Emmett said that the in the unincorporated areas, Harris County did a good job with road repairs but that unincorporated areas benefit from entering into agreements with the City of Houston to handle drainage issues.

"The infrastructure is for rural areas, but they have become densely developed residential areas," said Emmett. "They can benefit from the expertise of the City."

Emmett concluded by touching on health care. He said that too many people are going to the emergency rooms instead of health clinics. He talked about lowering the cost of health care and raising the quality of care at the two, county hospitals.

"We can't have people untreated and have a pandemic," said Emmett.

Emmett opened the floor to questions from the public. An Attendee asked about the future of the aging Astrodome, which costs taxpayers approximately $2.5 million per year to maintain.

"We want to redevelop it into a profitable venture once again," said Emmett. He said that it was important to make sure that proposals such as those to make the structure into a hotel were looked at carefully to be certain that the new venture was likely to be a successful one.

When asked about the Trans Texas Corridor, Emmett said it was a bad idea. He said that neither residents in the rural areas or the urban areas were in favor of it. He said that he was in favor of upgrading U.S. Highway 59, but not in favor of a parallel highway.

Emmett is up for re-election and faces former district clerk Charles Bacarisse in the March 4 primary. He has been endorsed by Houston Councilman Mike Sullivan. For more information, visit www.judgeemmett.org.

Photos:

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett was guest speaker at an Humble Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week. Photo by Kathy Parks

Judge Emmett speaks with local business leaders at last week's Humble Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Photo by Kathy Parks