Stafford, Texas

City of Stafford
—  City  —
Welcome sign
Location of Stafford, Texas
Coordinates: 29°37′27″N 95°33′48″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Fort Bend, Harris
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Leonard Scarcella
• City Council	Wen Guerra Felecia Evans-Smith Ken Mathew Robert Sorbet Cecil Willis
Area
• Total	7.0 sq mi (18.1 km2)
• Land	7.0 sq mi (18.1 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	85 ft (26 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	15,681
• Density	2,247.1/sq mi (867.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	77477, 77497
Area code(s)	281
FIPS code	48-69908
GNIS feature ID	1347777
Website	CityOfStafford.com/

Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Stafford's population was 15,681.

The city has the only municipal school district (Stafford Municipal School District) in all of Texas. Stafford is served by the Houston Community College System and has a campus within the city.

Stafford does not have a municipal property tax as of 1995 and the sales tax is 0.5% less than all of the surrounding cities. Even though it is known as a bedroom community of the greater Houston area, it is estimated that four times as many people work in Stafford on a week day, which is evidence of the large amount of commercial activity that helps the city financially. Many corporations both large and small including United Parcel Service,^{[citation needed]} and Tyco^{[citation needed]} maintain significant operations in Stafford.

As of 2008 the Mayor of Stafford is Leonard Scarcella, who was first elected in 1969 and has been a lifelong resident of the city.

History

William Stafford established a plantation with a cane mill and a horse-powered cotton gin in 1830. On April 15, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, the forces of Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana stopped at Stafford's plantation and ordered it to be burned. Stafford rebuilt his plantation and resided there until his 1840 death. A settlement called Stafford Point established itself around the plantation; it became a townsite in August 1853 when the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway began stopping at Stafford Point. Stafford Point had a post office from 1854 to 1869. Staffordville had a post office from January 5, 1869 to February 26, 1869. The settlement, now known as Stafford, operated a post office from 1869 to 1918; the post office reopened in 1929.

In 1884, Stafford had 50 residents, two general stores, and a grocer. By 1896 the settlement had a population of 300. By 1914 the population fell to 100. In 1931 320 people lived in Stafford. This increased to 400 residents in 1946. Stafford incorporated as a city in 1956.

Geography

Map of Stafford

Stafford is located at 29°37′27″N 95°33′48″W (29.624186, -95.563359).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.0 square miles (18.1 km²).None of the area is covered with water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,681 people, 5,865 households, and 4,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,247.1 people per square mile (867.4/km²). There were 6,390 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile (353.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.95% White, 18.85% African American, 0.43% Native American, 19.80% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.53% from other races, and 3.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.30% of the population. The current population is estimated to be 19,800 people.

There were 5,865 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 38.5% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,323, and the median income for a family was $58,736. Males had a median income of $41,270 versus $31,761 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,803. About 5.4% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Stafford City Hall

The Stafford Municipal Complex in located in the southern part of the city off of Staffordshire Road at Constitution Avenue

Local government

The City of Stafford stopped levying non-school property taxes in 1995. It is the only Houston-area city that does not levy non-school property taxes. It is the city with the highest population in Texas that does not levy property non-school taxes. As a result, Stafford residents have lower mortgage payments and can reinvest extra funds into their businesses. Sales and franchise taxes from businesses fund the city.

The Stafford City Hall and Stafford Police Department buildings are located on South Main, adjacent to one another. The Stafford Volunteer Fire Department operates two fire stations.

County, state, and federal representation

Stafford is partially located in Fort Bend County and partially in Harris County. Residents pay property taxes to their respective counties.

Harris County Precinct One, headed by El Franco Lee as of 2008, serves the section of Stafford in Harris County.

Much of Stafford is located in District 26 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2008, Charlie Howard represents the district. Some of Stafford is located in District 27 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2008, Dora Olivo represents the district. Most of Stafford is within District 13 of the Texas Senate; as of 2008 Rodney Ellis represents that district. Some of Stafford is within District 17 of the Texas Senate; as of 2008 Kyle Janek represents that district.

Stafford is in Texas's 22nd congressional district. As of 2008, Pete Olson represents the district. The United States Postal Service operates the Stafford Post Office at 4110 Bluebonnet Drive.

Economy

Texas Instruments facility in Stafford; Texas Instruments is Stafford's largest employer

Originally Stafford was an agricultural community. As of 2009 Stafford has operations from commercial, manufacturing, retail, service, and wholesale industries which pay sales and franchise taxes to the city. Stafford has three business parks, one shopping center, and twenty hotels and motels.

Texas Instruments (TI) operates a production facility in Stafford, where it manufactures 6-inch (150 mm) wafers used in cell phones, high-definition televisions, and solar devices. The plant first opened in 1967. In 2009 Texas Instruments, which had around 1,500 employees in its Stafford office during that year, is, as of 2008, the largest employer in the city. In 2012 the company announced that it is closing its Stafford plant because industry demand for larger, more efficient wafers increased and the company, in lieu of upgrading the Stafford plant to accommodate production of larger wafers, opted to shift production to newer plants. Of the 1,000 employees at the plant during that year, TI will lay off 500 and send 500 to another facility. Leonard Scarcella, the Mayor of Stafford, said that the closure would adversely affect Stafford. Some jobs at the plant will end in July 2012. Other jobs will remain until the factory's closure in late 2012. TI stated that it plans opening another facility in Greater Houston for the 500 remaining employees.

In 1991 BMC Software had employees in several complexes. It had leased 90,000 square feet (8,400 m²) of space at the Texas American Bank Southwest building in Stafford; around November 1991 it had leased an additional 12,000 square feet (1,100 m²), bringing the amount of leased space to 90,000 square feet (8,400 m²). In 2005 the internet service provider Internet America had offices in Stafford.

Education

Colleges and universities

HCCS Stafford Campus Administration Building

The city is served by Houston Community College System. The HCCS Southwest College includes the Stafford Campus at 9910 Cash Road.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Stafford Municipal School District administrative building

In 1977, Stafford broke away from the Fort Bend Independent School District, which caused several rounds of federal litigation and by 1981 its was finally declared that the Stafford Municipal School District was constitutional. Almost all of Stafford was in FBISD, with a minuscule portion in the Houston Independent School District. All of Stafford is now zoned to the Stafford Municipal School District, which is the only school district in all of Texas that is controlled by the city. Residents pay property taxes to the school district.

When most of Stafford was a part of Fort Bend ISD, Staffordshire Elementary was located in Stafford. Staffordshire housed Black students in grades 1-4. Staffordshire closed in September 1965 when Fort Bend ISD desegregated. The district later sold the Staffordshire property.

Private schools

Everest Academy (PreK-5), - PreK-5 a school of the Darul Arqam Schools, is in Stafford.

Public libraries

Fort Bend County Libraries has the Mamie George Branch located within the city limits of Sugar Land on Dulles Avenue right next to Dulles Middle School. The Mamie George Library, a 4,900 square feet (460 m²) library designed by Wylie W. Vale and Associates, opened in November 1974. The library was named after Mamie George, a philanthropist from Fort Bend County. The George Foundation donated funds for the building, and the Fort Bend Independent School District donated the land that the library was built on. The library was renovated in 1991. In 1996 the small-business-center materials were moved from the Missouri City Branch to the Mamie George Branch.

Parks and recreation

Stafford Civic Center

35.6 acres (144,000 m²) of greenspace in Stafford are designated as municipal parks. Stafford City Park, the largest park, covers 16 acres (65,000 m²) of land. The park includes baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, a pavilion, playground equipment, picnic benches, and soccer (football)/open fields. Gordon Fountain Lake Park, covering 9 acres (36,000 m²), is the second largest park in Stafford. It has a 1/2 mile lighted jogging trail, a lake, a pavilion, pincic benches, and playground equipment. The 4.5-acre (18,000 m²) Vaccaro Manor Park has a lighted .25 mile jogging trail, a pavilion, playground equipment, sidewalks, and soccer/open fields. The 3.14-acre (12,700 m²) Rubin Park has playground equipment and picnic benches. First Street Park has 3 acres (12,000 m²) of land and includes baseball/softball fields, a jogging trail, lighting, and picnic benches. Stafford operates a Civic Center and a City Pool in the Municipal Center. City residents pay $10 each year for pool access. Second and fourth grade classes of the Stafford Municipal School District use the city pool. In addition, the city has a Civic Center at the municipal complex.

Fort Bend County operates the 5-acre (20,000 m²) Stafford Community Center in Fifth Street, an unincorporated area near Stafford.

Image gallery

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  Stafford Municipal Court

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  Stafford Police Department, part of the J.C. "Buster" Public Safety Complex

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  Fire Station No. 1, part of the J.C. "Buster" Court Public Safety Complex

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  Northside Fire Station

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  Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts

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  Stafford Post Office

External links

• Stafford official website
• Stafford Municipal School District
• Stafford, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Muck, Patti. "Stafford, railroad on divergent tracks/1st Texas town to see a train balks at Southern Pacific's "dual' plan." Houston Chronicle. Sunday July 31, 1994. C1.