Mold Remediation in Brookshire, TX

BROOKSHIRE, Texas (KTRK) -- During a council meeting Thursday night, the Brookshire city council voted to turn over additional evidence of potential theft to the Waller County District Attorney's Office for further investigation.

According to current Mayor Pro Tem Robert Richards, Jeremiah Hill is suspected of additional theft from the city.

Hill was indicted in Waller County in mid-February on a charge of property theft, which is a third-degree felony. He turned himself into the Fort Bend County Jail on Tuesday.

RELATED: Former Brookshire council member Jeremiah Hill charged with property theft from a city group in Waller County

In that case, court records accuse him of using money from the Brookshire Economic Development Corporation, where he served as president, to pay for livestock he bought at a Royal ISD FFA auction. He asked that the check be classified as "beautification" in the accounting system, records say.

Through a subsequent investigation, Richards said they found what they believed to be an additional fraudulent check to Hill.

"There was a second check that was written in the amount of $16,400 that was supposedly given to a contractor for the roof on this very building," Richards told ABC13 outside the city's convention center.

According to Richards, who was not in office at the time, Hill said the check written from the city to the roofer bounced and he paid the bill out of his own pocket.

He said they later learned the check was never presented to the bank.

Hill filed for reimbursement from the city and filled out internal paperwork that was presented to councilmembers for approval, according to Richards, and it was given.

During the investigation, Richards said he attempted to track down the roofing company, but the person who answered the phone hung up on him several times.

"I told him I had some roofing work that needed to be done. He first agreed to meet with me and then I told him I wanted to go meet him at his place of business," Richards said. "He hung up on me. I Googled his address and a regular resident's house came up."

Hill has not been charged in this finding.

The current mayor pro tem said they are looking into other possible fraudulent transactions and who else might have been involved.

"He built himself up as a prominent figure in the community, and also at Royal ISD schools," Roberts explained. "A lot of people entrusted him and unfortunately, he let them down. He let them down. He let his family down. You know, it happens, but we're not going to have any more corruption here in Brookshire."

Hill no longer holds his roles with the city of Brookshire.

His attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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The city of Brookshire, located just west of Katy in Waller County, is a relatively small city with a population of about 6,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That’s about to change.

Development in the area is growing so rapidly that the Houston Association of Realtors named Brookshire the ”hottest” for real estate in the Houston area, with area home sales nearly tripling from 2023 to 2024.

Developers have been scooping up land in Brookshire. Legend Homes in July 2024 announced that it would be building 116 new homesites in the master-planned community of Bluestem, located in the northern part of the city.

Incoming residents, however, may find themselves struggling to fill their new kitchens.

Commercial growth hasn’t accelerated with residential growth, and many residents complain that Brookshire has become a food desert.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as an area in which at least 500 people, or 33% of their population, live more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store, according to Katherine Byers, government relations officer for the Houston Food Bank.

The USDA expands its parameters for rural areas like Brookshire; the term is applied to residential areas 10 miles from a supermarket.

Food deserts are often, but not always, found in low-income to medium-income areas. The median income of Brookshire is $62,987, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median income in Texas is $73,035.

Other fast-growing communities face similar concerns.

The newly opened Magnolia Ridge community in Magnolia saw a 55% sales growth in 2024. The nearest supermarket to Magnolia Ridge is an H-E-B located 11 miles away.

A representative for Lennar Homes, a builder in Magnolia Ridge, said the company directs residents to the Brookshire Brothers two miles away.

A Brookshire Brothers store manager declined an interview, citing the company’s policy against speaking to the press.

That a small grocery store is the only food option for a community that’s about to grow exponentially is problematic, Byers said.

“Small grocery stores will have smaller produce sections or smaller meat offerings to begin with, and then if you overload their capacity to feed a community, you’re going to see residents without access to nutritious food,” Byers said.

Fulshear, the second-fastest growing city in America, continues to expand, and will have a projected population of over 70,000 people by 2040.

The nearest supermarket is an H-E-B located north of the city in Katy.

City officials are scrambling to bring a supermarket to the area.

“We in Fulshear are aware of food deserts, especially given our rapid growth and the need to ensure that all our residents have access to fresh and affordable groceries within a reasonable distance,” said Fulshear Mayor Don McCoy.

The city has been actively pursuing grocery stores, McCoy said, by recommending potential development sites and streamlining the permitting process for supermarkets.

“Our strategy also includes collaborating with developers and retail experts to highlight Fulshear’s unique market potential as one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.,” McCoy said. “This not only strengthens the case for a grocery store but also ensures that our growth is sustainable and supports the needs of our community.”

Katy, which neighbors both Brookshire and Fulshear, has been managed to avoid becoming a food desert as it has developed, despite experiencing its own rapid growth.

The reason, said city council member Chris Harris, is that Katy management has pushed since development began to make sure that retail businesses have grown in tandem with the population.

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The city has maintained a balance of mixed-use development and residential neighborhoods by careful zoning, Harris said.

City officials in Brookshire and county officials for Waller County did not respond to requests for comment.

The Houston Food Bank lobbies for tax incentives that would draw big box grocery stores to food deserts, Byers said, but so far, the incentives haven’t been aggressive enough to woo stores such as Target or H-E-B.

H-E-B and Target did not respond to a request for comment on why they don't open stores in developing areas.

The food bank also lobbies for programs that would offer transportation to and from major grocery stores, free food delivery services and educational opportunities that teach residents to grow their own food.

The best solution, Byers said, is to incentivize developers to “build in” access to nutritious food as they build homes.

“If you think about it, a lot of these communities offer amenities like pools or a community center,” Byers said. “They could easily add small produce markets to the developments. This would go a long way to make sure people have access to nutrition.”

Byers also noted that many potential buyers don’t know they’re moving into a food desert until it’s too late.

“A lot of people buying homes will be excited by the fact they can afford a new house in a growing area without realizing they won’t have reliable access to food, unless they’re willing to drive farther away for it,” Byers said.

“If you can afford to do that, and you have the time to do it, that’s great,” she added. “But not everyone can.”

Credits

Reporting by Claire Goodman. Editing by Alan Fossler and John Tedesco. Photography by Melissa Phillip and Jon Shapley. Powered by the Hearst Newspapers DevHub.

Originally published on Jan. 26, 2025

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