© 2003, Guidry News
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© 2003, Guidry News
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The board of directors of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 11 has unanimously approved an amended final project plan for the Falcon Group's Towers Condominium Project on Galveston's East Beach. Photos and Audio The development is expected to increase the taxable value of the 16 acres of property by $60 million. Proposed public improvements, including water, sanitary sewerage, road projects and public beach access will total more than $4 million. The plan sets the base value of the now vacant property at $390,020. The developer will continue to pay ad valorem taxes on that value to the various taxing entities through the 30 years of the zone. However, as the value of the property increases as it is developed, taxes on the added value will be deposited in the TIRZ fund, to pay for the public improvements. Galveston City Council has agreed to participate for all 30 years, Galveston County and Navigation District 1 has agreed to participate for 20 years. Galveston College and Galveston Independent School District are not participating in the zone. Although she voted for the plan, Barbara Murdock expressed concern about $516,171 that is budgeted for a parking lot to comply with guidelines for public beach access established by the Texas General Land Office. "Who does this benefit?" Murdock asked, noting that there are currently thousands of vacant parking spaces available to visitors to East Beach. "It may not benefit the local taxpaying public, but it benefits the state of Texas," explained Doug Matthews, citing public access requirements, "It enhances the public's, the people of the state of Texas, ability to access the beach." The board approved interlocal agreements for the project, with the participating entities, as well as an agreement between the City of Galveston and the newly created Galveston Island Redevelopment Authority, which also will provide services to two other TIRZ projects. The board also approved a development agreement with the Falcon Group. All votes were 5-0, except for the agreement with the Falcon Group, which passed 4-0, with TIRZ Chair Richard Anderson, representing the Falcon Group, abstaining. Falcon Group President Arnold Tauch and Curtiss Brown, the Galveston County representative, were absent. Anderson said ground should be broken on the project this summer and construction is expected to take 30 months. A large
bay front park has been proposed for the thousand-acre site
at Bayport where the Port of Houston Authority hopes to
build a major new container port, by several elected
officials and others in the bay area. The group proposes to
name the park in honor of former Harris County commissioner
Jim Fonteno, who retired on January 1, 2003. In August, the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association made a formal submission to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department regarding the park potential of the Bayport site. In response to the Department's draft Land and Water Resources Conservation Plan, GBCPA noted that creating a bay front park at Bayport would simultaneously address several of the conservation and recreation objectives in the plan. The nearly 1,100 acres in question consist primarily of coastal prairie with prairie pothole wetlands, "prairie pimple mound" complexes, and a few forested plots. "The land formations at this location are pristine, having never been plowed or leveled," stated a news release by proponents of the park. "This type of habitat is exceedingly rare on the Texas coast. Less than 1 percent of original acreage remains, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service comments to the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year on the container port proposal." "It is our belief that this parcel of land would be of far greater service to Texas as a park than as an expansion of the Port of Houston," said GBCPA in its August submission to Texas Parks and Wildlife. "Here we have a parcel of Native Prairie and Grassland habitat, which your plan singles out as high priority; located in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion, which your plan identifies as the highest priority for conservation." A park at this location would also meet recreational goals in the plan, being well within the desired range of 90 miles from a major metropolitan center. "Consider
what a wonderful legacy a Fonteno Bayshore Park would be for
the future," said Natalie O'Neill, mayor of Taylor Lake
Village. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluation of the Bayport property went beyond identifying the rarity of coastal prairie wetlands to express the view that "the wetland complex involved is of national significance." According to documentation developed by the Trust for Public Lands and released at the December meeting of resource agency personnel and others concerned with open space, Pasadena has within its boundaries some 4,000 acres of native prairie habitat. About a quarter of this is at Bayport, which has the additional advantages of bay access and a direct surface water connection to the bay via its tributary, Pine Gully. The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail--jointly developed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Transportation, and local communities along the coast--has four sites in Seabrook. The City is developing an ecotourism program to make the most of its parks, trails, and variety of habitats and bird life. Its park system has begun hosting hiking groups, and its Ecotourism Committee has held two annual symposia on the long-term potential of nature tourism as a sustainable form of local economic development. According GBCPA, creation of a state park at Bayport would meet TPWD's goal of coordinating with local governments "to improve public access to the outdoors and increase conservation of land and water statewide." "Given that there exist alternative sites for the Port of Houston Authority's planned expansion, given that both state and federal agencies have agreed that the Bayport site is the most environmentally damaging of all the alternatives, and given that it is a stated strategy of the TPWD to support methods of port expansion that minimize impacts to marine resources, it is our contention that it is in the best interest of the people of Texas to conserve this land as a state park," concludes GBCPA's submission to TPWD. District
23 State Representative Craig Eiland says "change"
is what he expects of the next session of the Texas
Legislature. "There are a lot of new people in new places, with new roles to learn," Eiland said. "There will be some changes, but hopefully we can sort it all out and get something done." He cites "the budget and homeowners insurance" as the top issues facing the legislature this year. District 23 includes the cities of Texas City and Galveston, as well as the Bayshore area, the Bolivar Peninsula and parts of Chambers County. Friendswood Chamber of Commerce 2002-2003 Leadership
class is sponsoring a chartered bus trip to Austin for the
swearing in ceremony of Larry Taylor, State Representative,
District 24 Tuesday, January 14, 2003. The cost will be
$40.00 which includes bus trip, lunch in Austin with the
representative and refreshments on the bus. The bus departs
old Kroger parking lot (FM 3251) at 6:00 a.m. and returns at
8:00 p.m. All checks are payable to the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce.
For more information or to make reservations call (281) 482-3329 or e-mail fwdchmbr@swbell.net. Reservations must be made by Friday, January 10, 2003. Payment is due at the time of reservations and absolutely no refunds will be allowed. Jerry Patterson will take the oath of office to become the 24th Texas Land Commissioner at 4 p.m. today. Patterson,
a former state senator, first ran for land commissioner in
1998, and was elected in November 2002. Patterson and his wife Jennifer live in Austin. Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown has taken issue with an article in Men's Fitness magazine, which has named Houston the fattest city in America for the third year in a row. “We continue to take issue with the methodology used by Men’s Fitness magazine in conducting this survey," Brown said. "Many of the criteria they measure, such as the number of restaurants a city has or the quality of the city’s air, have little to do with fitness." Brown complains that the magazine has "apparently chosen to ignore" the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency said Houston’s Clean Air Plan is the most technologically advanced they have seen. “We have accomplished much since being awarded this dubious honor last year," Brown noted. "I named former Mr. Universe, Lee Labrada, as Houston’s Fitness Czar. Under his leadership, we created the Get Lean Houston program, including an informative web site with a free exercise and nutrition program for all Houstonians. To encourage Houstonians to focus on fitness, the entire City Council undertook a weight-loss program. I, myself, lost 20 pounds and have kept them off. We conducted events that promoted physical activity and good health and nutrition and created awareness of the need for good nutrition and exercise in the media. We assembled a dedicated and passionate group of specialists in our Get Lean Houston Health and Fitness council and will continue these programs and activities through the coming year." Brown also noted that the City of Houston will launch a Fat Drive and ask Houstonians to pledge to lose, collectively, half a million pounds by the end of March, which is National Nutrition Month. "We can achieve that if each person loses just five pounds," Brown said. “Also, I concur wholeheartedly with Baylor College of Medicine obesity researcher, John Foreyt, who confirms that obesity is not a ‘city’ problem, but an epidemic that is raging throughout America and the world. While Men’s Fitness magazine has increased awareness in at least one city each year with its survey, Foreyt believes picking on a few cities is not the wisest course when the entire country is overweight. Obesity is not one city’s problem. It’s America’s problem. And people are overweight because they overeat and do not exercise enough, not because they live in a certain part of the country." Brown contends that Labrada has done "a good job in raising the awareness among Houstonians of the need to be more fit and says that he is confident that the activities he has planned for the coming year will have even greater impact on the public. “We do not relish the title bestowed upon us by Men’s Fitness magazine and will continue to work to involve all Houstonians in our programs to improve the overall health and fitness of the city’s residents," Brown said. "To that end, let me encourage each Houstonian to include health and fitness as a part of his or her daily routine.” League
City Police Chief Drew Daniel has announced a new community
outreach program called “Meet the Chief of
Police.” For additional information about the program call (281) 338-4190 or (281) 338-4150 Dr. Rey Garcia, executive director of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, is scheduled to speak at San Jacinto College's faculty in-service meeting, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., Monday, January 6 in Slocomb Auditorium, located on the Central Campus, 8060 Spencer Highway, Pasadena. Garcia will speak on "Community College Funding for the Next Biennium." As part of his duties with TACC, Garcia oversees the Virtual College of Texas and STARLINK, which links all community and technical colleges in the state through a statewide satellite-based teleconference network. TACC is comprised of all 50 public community college districts in the state and represents the interests of the colleges before the Texas Legislature and state agencies. Dr. Bill Lindemann, interim chancellor of the San Jacinto College District, will also speak at the meeting. Scheduled
Meetings Saturday, January 4 |
Gulf Coast E-news, published by Guidry News Service, provides comprehensive coverage of posted public meetings in Galveston, Harris and Jefferson Counties.
This electronic newsletter replaces, and expands on, the mission
of Galveston Fax, established by Jim and Lynda Guidry on
Galveston Island in 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 covers Harris County Commissioners Court, Houston City Council, and meetings of organizations in downtown Houston. Carl Guidry, representing Guidry News Service in Jefferson County, covers 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. Gulf Coast E-news is interactive with The Guidry News Service Online News Station, providing coverage of special events and public meetings with photos and audio. 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.
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