The City of Friendswood convened a 35-member Bond Ad Hoc Committee charged with identifying and prioritizing projects for potential bond funding to be recommended to City Council for a November 2026 ballot election. DroneWorks of Friendswood LLC was proud to support this effort by providing aerial imaging and photogrammetric mapping across 17 project sites throughout the city, giving the committee accurate, on-the-ground visual documentation to help inform their recommendations.
All flight operations were conducted using the DJI Matrice 4E equipped with RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) positioning — a professional-grade imaging platform that delivers survey-accurate geospatial data with centimeter-level precision. Across the 17 sites, flight crews logged approximately 33 hours of total flight time capturing roughly 57,800 individual aerial images, flown at consistent altitude and overlap patterns to ensure complete, seamless coverage of each corridor and site. Each image set was then processed in DJI Terra, DJI’s professional photogrammetry platform, to produce high-resolution orthomosaic maps and detailed surface models — a processing effort that averaged approximately 4.5 hours per location, representing over 76 total hours of computational processing across the full project. The resulting deliverables gave the Bond Ad Hoc Committee a level of site documentation rarely available in traditional planning efforts — precise, bird’s-eye visual evidence of existing conditions at every proposed project location.
All photogrammetric models and orthomosaic maps produced from this project are hosted on Nira.app, a professional-grade cloud platform purpose-built for sharing and interacting with high-resolution geospatial and 3D data. Through Nira, authorized clients and stakeholders can access deliverables directly in their web browser — no specialized software or downloads required. Users can pan, zoom, and navigate orthomosaic maps at full resolution, measure distances and areas directly on the model, annotate specific locations with comments and markups, and share links with other team members or decision-makers instantly. For the Bond Ad Hoc Committee, this meant that all 17 project sites were accessible in a single, organized platform — allowing committee members, city engineers, and council staff to explore the aerial data at their own pace, zoom into specific areas of concern, and collaborate around a shared visual reference. Nira transforms raw drone deliverables into an interactive, living document that keeps every stakeholder on the same page throughout the planning and decision-making process.
Fire Station 4 is slated for a $4,000,000 expansion to include a third apparatus bay and additional dormitory space, supporting the city’s combined career and volunteer fire department. The current facility has served Friendswood well, but growing call volumes and an expanding fleet have created the need for additional capacity. The Friendswood Volunteer Fire Department covers approximately 21 square miles and serves an estimated 38,000 residents, averaging 2,400 calls per year — a demand that requires modern, adequately sized facilities to ensure fast and effective emergency response. This investment positions Fire Station 4 to meet both the immediate operational needs of the department and the long-term growth of the city’s fire services.
Friendswood Lake Park is a beloved community gathering space, and this $2,400,000 investment will help preserve and enhance it for years to come. A new bulkhead will be installed along the Northeast corridor of the lake to reduce erosion and protect the shoreline from further deterioration. Additionally, the aging wooden boardwalk will be removed and replaced with a concrete path, bringing it in line with the existing trail system and providing a more durable, low-maintenance surface for the thousands of residents who enjoy the park year-round.
Friendswood Aquatic Center Pool Rehabilitation — $3,200,000 Base / $6,400,000 with Alternative 3
The base project at $3,200,000 focuses on the rehabilitation of the existing 25-meter pool, delivering essential upgrades to the aging facility infrastructure including pipes, pumps, drainage, gutter, and skimming systems — bringing the aquatic center up to modern standards and extending its useful life for the community.
For an additional $3,200,000, Alternative 3 takes the project to the next level with a complete transformation of the aquatic facility. The existing pool would be removed and replaced with an all-new 50-meter, 10-lane competition-grade pool, accompanied by a full overhaul of the underlying infrastructure and the construction of new support buildings sized to handle the expanded capacity. Rounding out the alternative, a new children’s Acqua Play unit would be added — designed to run entirely on manual winding and water power, with safe, secure, waterproof rubber seals that keep splashes and spills to a minimum while providing a fun, engaging water play experience for children of all ages.
Fuel Island at Blackhawk Building — $250,000
This project funds the construction of a new fuel depot at the Blackhawk Boulevard facility, serving the Harris County portion of Friendswood. The fuel island will provide a dedicated, on-site fueling solution for emergency services during critical events, as well as other city departments operating vehicles and equipment in the area — reducing downtime and ensuring readiness when it matters most.
Fuel Island at Public Safety Facility — $250,000
A companion fuel depot will be constructed at the Public Safety Building, serving the Galveston County portion of Friendswood with the same dedicated fueling capability for emergency services and other city departments. This installation will be incorporated into the expanded parking lot area of the Public Safety Building, making efficient use of the planned site improvements.
Public Safety Building Parking Lot Expansion — $750,000
The Public Safety Building parking lot will undergo a $750,000 expansion to accommodate the growing number of emergency vehicles assigned to the facility. As the city’s fleet and staffing needs continue to grow, adequate on-site parking is essential to maintaining an organized, operationally ready public safety campus.
Murphy Lane Reconstruction — $1,500,000
Aerial and ground-level imagery reveals the full extent of Murphy Lane’s deterioration. The roadway shows widespread longitudinal cracking, surface raveling, and visible base failure consistent with inadequate subgrade support — conditions that can develop over time due to soil movement, moisture infiltration, or insufficient base preparation during original construction. Patch repairs applied over the years are themselves cracking and separating, confirming that surface treatments alone cannot address what is a foundational problem. The lack of curbs and open roadside drainage ditches can further accelerate deterioration by allowing water to migrate beneath the road base. Full reconstruction from the ground up is the only lasting solution to restore a safe and durable roadway for the residents along this corridor.
Stadium Lane Reconstruction — $2,500,000
Aerial and close-up imagery documents significant deterioration along Stadium Lane, a roadway that serves both residential traffic and the heavier vehicle loads associated with the adjacent school campus and athletic facilities. The road surface exhibits deep longitudinal cracking, widespread alligator cracking patterns, and visible surface deformation — conditions consistent with base and subgrade instability that can develop over time due to soil movement, moisture infiltration, or the cumulative effects of sustained traffic loads. Areas near the parking lot entrances show particularly advanced surface breakdown, and the adjacent parking areas reflect similar stress patterns. Surface-level repairs alone are not sufficient to address the underlying conditions, making full reconstruction the appropriate long-term solution.
Bay Area Boulevard Reconstruction — $6,000,000
Aerial imaging of Bay Area Boulevard documents deterioration conditions along the full length of this corridor, from FM 528 south to the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. Unlike the other streets in this bond package, Bay Area Boulevard is a concrete roadway — and the imagery reveals progressive panel cracking, joint separation between slabs, and surface staining consistent with water infiltration through failing joints. In the heavily wooded mid-section, extensive tree canopy along both sides of the road may be contributing to subgrade instability over time as root systems interact with the underlying soil. Near the southern terminus, a prominent longitudinal crack runs the centerline of the roadway, and edge deterioration is visible where the road meets adjacent drainage infrastructure. As one of the city’s key access corridors — serving both residential neighborhoods and municipal facilities — full reconstruction of Bay Area Boulevard is essential to restoring a safe, durable roadway surface for the long term.
Community Recreation Center — $47,000,000
The City of Friendswood currently lacks a recreation facility that serves all residents, of all ages, year-round. The Activity Building at 416 Morningside Drive — originally the city’s library and later renovated to serve the Senior Citizen Program — has reached the end of its useful life, and the Bond Ad Hoc Committee identified replacing it as a significant community need. Two options were presented for consideration. Friendswood, TX
Option 1 — Replace the Activity Building at 416 Morningside Drive would construct a new multi-level Recreation Center on the existing downtown property footprint. While the location is convenient and centrally situated, the existing lot limits the overall size and scope of services that could be offered. This option would expand programming beyond seniors to serve all residents and provide year-round access within the constraints of the current site.
Option 2 — New Recreation Center at Lundy Lane would take a broader approach, constructing a larger, purpose-built facility on a more expansive site that allows for significantly greater programming space, amenities, and future growth. This option envisions a true community recreation hub serving residents of all ages year-round, with room to expand services well beyond what the Morningside site could accommodate.
Both options carry an estimated cost of $47,000,000 and represent the city’s recognition that Friendswood has outgrown its current recreational infrastructure. The Bond Ad Hoc Committee has recommended the recreation center question be placed on a future ballot, giving residents the opportunity to weigh in on which vision best serves the community.