Gulf Coast E-news

This is the first edition of Gulf Coast E-news, covering posted public meetings on the Texas Gulf Coast in Galveston County, Harris County and Jefferson County.

This electronic newsletter replaces, and expands on the mission of Galveston Fax, established by Jim and Lynda Guidry on Galveston Island on July 8, 1996; and Clear Lake Area E-news, begun on January 2, 2002.

Galveston County reporters, covering the city council meetings of all 13 municipal governments plus several school boards and special utility districts, include Jinelle Boyd, Drew Gilbert, Marcie O'Keefe, Shannon Hall, Kristina Weaver, Tom Foster and Jo Ann Gowing.

Weaver, Foster and Gowing also cover the Harris County entities surrounding Clear Lake.

Scott Nowell will cover Harris County Commissioners Court, Houston City Council, and meetings of organizations in downtown Houston. Today's lead article, the Blue Water Highway, impacting all three counties in our coverage area, was written by Scott.

Carl Guidry, representing Guidry News Service in Jefferson County, will cover Jefferson County Commissioners Court, Beaumont City Council and Port Arthur City Council. We are seeking additional reporters to expand our coverage in Jefferson County.

Gulf Coast E-news also will continue coverage of regional organizations in the Gulf Coast area.

Johnna Johnston and Terry Arnold are marketing representatives for The Online News Station. Marketing representatives are being recruited in Harris and Jefferson counties.

Subscriptions to Gulf Coast E-news are $300 per year, or $75 per quarter, plus sales and use tax. A fax-only version of the newsletter is available for $350 per year or $87.50 per quarter, plus tax. Current subscribers to Galveston Fax or Clear Lake Area E-news will automatically receive Gulf Coast E-news.

Texas tourism officials once touted Highway 87 as the "Blue Water Highway", hugging the Southeast Texas Coast as an alternate to US 90 and Interstate 10 for motorists traveling to southern Louisiana. However, ravages of hurricanes have closed Highway 87 between High Island and Sabine Pass. In addition, the bottleneck of a quaint, but slow ferry system between the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, have discouraged use of Highway 87. Scott Nowell reports on developments that could restore the Blue Water Highway, but also create a new "superhighway" serving Houston.

In 1999, the Texas Department of Transportation began studying proposals for improving transportation between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Tunnels, bridges and expansion of the TxDOT-operated ferry service were all considered. The State Highway 87 Feasibility Study determined that the best option was a four-lane bridge between Pelican Island, just north of Galveston Island, and Bolivar.

The cost of the 240-foot high bridge, which would include replacing the drawbridge linking Pelican Island to Harborside Drive on Galveston Island, as well as the ferry service, is estimated at over $230 million.

“This is really a Harborside to Bolivar project,” observed Galveston County Engineer Mike Fitzgerald.

For TxDOT to build it, Galveston County would have to put up about a quarter of the money, funds that County Judge Jim Yarborough says the county does not have. In 2000, the commissioners court asked TxDOT to determine the best way to build a bridge. According to TxDOT spokesman Norm Wigington, the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) was the only agency available.

Although TxDOT determined that building the bridge would eventually save the agency money by scrapping the ferry boats, Wigington said it cannot be done without matching funds from Galveston County. “We can’t afford it, It’s too big a project."

In February 2001, Galveston County Commissioners Court passed a resolution, inviting HCTRA to build the bridge, provided it was done at no cost to the county.

HCTRA determined that the project would be financially feasible with a $2 per vehicle toll charge, but there are potential legal problems. According to HCTRA Director Mike Strech, it is unclear whether the authority could contribute to a project that is not in its jurisdiction, nor linked to existing roadways in Harris County.

Harris County attorneys advised HCTRA that it did not think the toll authority was legally entitled to build the bridge. Strech disagrees, and has asked the Texas Attorney General’s office for an opinion on the issue. In the request last September, Harris County Assistant Attorney Don C. Whitley wrote that the bridge would “…allow traffic from the east to avoid Interstate 10 and Harris County, lessen the burden upon Harris County’s infrastructure, and contribute to air quality. The route would also serve as an additional hurricane evacuation route from the island.”

An opinion from the attorney general is due by March 18, 2003. If that opinion is that HCTRA cannot build, Strech says they will ask the Texas Legislature for an amendment to the Texas Transportation Code. The amendment would allow HCTRA to build anywhere in Texas, if invited to do so by the outside county and TxDOT. Strech is confident that his agency will be able to build a toll bridge between Bolivar and Galveston sometime between 2004 and 2010.

But there are many questions about the Bolivar project. A HCTRA-operated bridge between Galveston and Bolivar, once built, would place Galveston County residents in a position where they would have little say in the bridge’s operation. HCTRA is controlled by the Harris County Commissioners Court, elected by Harris County voters.

The Port of Houston Authority, which owns a large area on Pelican Island, is in favor of the project but prefers a higher bridge.

“Our feeling is that the bridge should be 300 feet tall,” said PHA spokesperson Felicia Griffin.

While the current bridge plan is 20 feet taller than the tallest cruise ship, Griffin says that for the bridge to be able to handle ship traffic in 50 or 100 years, 300 feet is best. Griffin says the port would likely oppose any bridge that is not at least 250 feet tall because, “Ships will get bigger and taller.”

According to Strech, the port authority plans to build a container port on Pelican Island, and this is what would make a toll bridge self-supporting. Projections are that traffic would need to at least double from the current 6,000 vehicles a day that cross on the ferry. Much of that increased traffic would likely come from 18-wheeler traffic originating from the Pelican Island container port.

Strech envisions a shoreline version of I-10, allowing travelers coming to Galveston from the east to avoid Houston. Strech says “Everybody coming from the east could cut off at Winnie.”

There are concerns about where all that traffic would go once it exits the four-lane toll bridge. The bridge would be part of Highway 87, a two-lane highway running along the shoreline through Galveston, Chambers and Jefferson counties. During the summer, the Bolivar portion of Highway 87 is already over-crowded with tourist traffic. The road also experiences frequent flooding during storms.

Highway 87 is the subject of an erosion study being jointly undertaken by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Jefferson, Chambers and Galveston counties. The project will study shoreline erosion between San Luis Pass on the west and Sabine Pass on the east.

John Johnson, assistant to Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, notes that a fifteen-mile stretch of Highway 87 in Jefferson County has been closed for 12 years due to shore erosion, and Jefferson County residents wanting to travel to Bolivar or Galveston now have to travel about 50 miles out their way.

Johnson says Highway 87 won’t be rebuilt “until erosion problems are addressed.” The erosion study will take at least another year to complete, leaving any future expansion of the Bolivar portion of Highway 87 very much in doubt. Without expansion of Highway 87, critics charge, there is little point in building a four-lane bridge leading into over thirty miles of an erosion–prone two-lane road.

But Galveston County Commissioners Court appears to be solidly behind the bridge project, because the potential for economic development on the now-secluded peninsula is enormous.

“Any way it can happen is good,” said Commissioner Eddie Barr, who represents peninsula residents on the commissioner’s court.

Houston City Council voted to expand a proposed pedestrian area in the Museum District on Tuesday. Council Member Carroll Robinson made the motion to expand the area during discussion of a $140,000 contract with SLA Studio Land, Inc. for streetscape design for Bissonnet and Binz Streets from Bayard to Crawford.

"My hope is that if we do for the other streets, what we intend to do for Binz, make them walkable to use the light rail system, we ought to do it in this entire area," Robinson explained. Listen

Robinson's amendment was unanimously approved, but the SLA contract was tabled for one week on a motion by Council Member Bert Keller.

Mayor Pro Tem Gordon Quan tagged* a proposed $165,000 contract with Winstead, Sechrest & Minick PC to "render expunction legal services" for individuals arrested outside a Kmart, a Sonic Drive-In and a James Coney Island on the weekend of August 17, to remove their arrest records from the books. Quan questioned the efficiency of the proposal and asked whether it could be done by city staff. Listen

There was little discussion of the issue at the city council meeting, but at a news conference following the meeting, Mayor Lee Brown asked City Attorney Anthony Hall to explain why the city must contract with an outside attorney. Listen

The city council named Addie Wiseman and Bruce Tatro as its representatives on the Houston-Galveston Area Council, and Gabriel Vasquez and Bruce Tatro as alternates.

The city council voted to delay, for one week, action on a $509,191 contract with John Kirksey Associates, for architectural services related to the renovation of Root Memorial Square, on a motion by Bert Keller.

The city council voted to delay, for one week, action on a $112,943 contract with the Arts Council of the Houston/Harris County Region, on a motion by Council Member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.

Several items were tagged:
An ad valorem tax exemption for the historic Scanlan Building at 405 Main Street, by Council Member Carol Alvarado;
A $50,000 contract with Sam Houston State University for evaluation of a cultural diversity training program for the Houston Police Department, by Council Member Anise Parker;
An ordinance appropriating $28,826,986 for the purchase of equipment for various departments, by Council Members Bruce Tatro, Keller, and others.

Ella Monroe complained to the city council about a vicious dog that attacked her pet in her yard at 3330 Beran Drive. Listen

Council Member Keller praised members of the Houston Fire Department who recently saved the life of a baby. “The child is alive today because of these Houston firefighters, no doubt about it." Listen

Council Member Sekula-Gibbs noted that the extension of time to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the San Jacinto Rail Project has been extended and urged the administration to meet the new deadline. Listen

Council Member Wiseman brought party favors to the city council meeting in observance of New Years Eve. Listen

*
Footnote: Under Houston City Council rules, any member of the city council may "tag" or delay action on any item appearing on the agenda for final action, unless the delay kills the issue.

Beaumont City Council approved a $569,381 finance agreement with Bank One Leasing Corporation for the purchase of a 75-foot aerial fire truck. The 5-year agreement includes a fixed interest rate of 2.735 percent. The vehicle, which will replace two existing units, was delivered in December. The first annual payment of $123,000 will be due in one year

The city council approved an increase of $201,399 in Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation of Small Diameter Mains Contract II, to provide for additional work.

The city council approved a $68,271.72 payment for customer support for the 800 MHz Trunked Communication System. The invoice also covers the purchase of radios and other equipment.

The city council approved a resolution in support of increased funding for small city and rural public transit services.

Council Member Guy Goodson reported to the city council about a new neighborhood association in his ward. Listen

Click Here for photos and a recording of the entire meeting.

Carl Guidry talked with Beaumont Mayor Evelyn Lord about the need for the New Year's Eve meeting, and her thoughts on 2003. Listen

Galveston County's 10th District Court Judge David Garner, served as master of ceremonies for a swearing-in ceremony in the Jury Assembly Room of the Galveston County Courthouse on New Years Day. Click Here for photos and a recording of the ceremony.

Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith said the commissioners court faces many challenges in 2003.

Griffith said $1 billion in new construction bodes well for the new year, but cautions that a major terrorist incident could threaten the economy of the nation, as well as Jefferson County.

"If we have another terrorist attack, and I think that's going to happen, given everything we've heard from the federal government, I think it's going to substantially impact our economy," Griffith said, noting that Jefferson County may be "a little better off" than the rest of the nation, considering the construction boom. Photo and Interview

A special New Years Eve meeting of League City City Council was not held due to lack of a quorum. Council members Barbara Meeks and Katie Benoit were concerned that the posting of the meeting did not meet the state’s requirement for at least 72 hours notice. However, the city attorney and other council members were satisfied that it was posted properly.

At issue was a final vote to create a tax reinvestment zone for a $10 million residential and commercial development.

Galveston County's first baby in 2003 was eight pound one ounce Jesus Quintanilla, Jr. from Pasadena, Texas, born at the University of Texas Medical Branch, at 10:22 a.m. on New Years Day. Photos and Audio

Pat Patton has interviewed K Moon Winters, the “Chief Executive Oracle” of the Moondreams company, as the New Years feature on the Guidry News Service Online News Station. Click Here

Scheduled Meetings
Meetings will be held in the regular meeting place of the city council or other governmental body, unless otherwise specified.

Today, January 2
4:00 Galveston Arts and Historic Preservation Advisory Board, City Hall Room 204.
5:30 Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 11, Galveston City Hall Room 204.
6:00 Galveston County Water Control and Improvement District 12, 524 Cien, Kemah.

Monday, January 6
1:30 Jefferson County Commissioners Court
4:00 Galveston Landmark Commission.
5:30 College of the Mainland Building and Grounds Committee.
6:00 Jamaica Beach City Council.
6:00 Dickinson ISD Board of Trustees.
6:30 El Lago City Council
7:00 Friendswood City Council.

Tuesday, January 7
7:00 Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District Public Hearings.
10:00 Region H Water Planning Group, San Jacinto River Authority offices at Lake Conroe Dam.
1:30 Beaumont City Council.
4:00 Galveston Planning Commission.
4:00 Galveston County Navigation District 1, 2121 Market, Galveston.
5:30 Port Arthur City Council.
7:00 Clear Lake Shores City Council
7:00 League of Women Voters Program "Galveston City Council: Current Community Issues, Rosenberg Library.
7:30 Pasadena City Council.



	© 2003, Guidry News Service Guidry News Service -- Dedicated to rapid, accurate presentation of area news since 1996.