© 2003, Guidry News
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© 2003, Guidry News
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Story Links: Houston City Council Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment Texas A&M University at Galveston Clear Lake Shores City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment |
Houston Mayor Lee Brown told reporters on Wednesday that retails sales on the Internet could be a factor in Houston's $26 million budget shortfall. Listen "If you shop on the Internet, you do not pay sales tax," Brown noted. He said mayors of other cities are experiencing the same sales tax shortfalls. "It is happening not only in Houston, it is happening throughout this state and indeed, throughout this nation." The issue was discussed by Houston City Council in the debate over the purchase of vehicles from Lawrence Marshall Chevrolet. “Why are we buying cars from outside the city when we’re talking about a budget deficit due to declining sales tax revenues?” asked Council Member Carol Alvarado, who was joined by Council Member Annise Parker in tagging the purchase, thus delaying consideration for one week. Brown responded that the city is required by law to award contracts to the lowest bidder. City Controller Judy Gray and Director of Finance and Administration Phil Scheps gave financial reports to the city council. Listen Johnson
said that sales tax revenues are running about six percent
lower than last year. Scheps said that this year’s shortfall can be addressed in part by a one-time transfer of $10 million from the debt services fund, but warned that the problem will continue. “We are looking at very serious problems in 2004.” Brown said there would not be any layoffs this fiscal year, but that “We can’t overlook the possibility,” of layoffs in fiscal year 2004, which begins July 1. Brown said there will likely be reductions in service. Probable cuts include reductions in the hours of operation at libraries and community centers, elimination of some park services and public works projects. A hiring freeze is in effect for most city jobs. The
city council's Fiscal
Affairs Committee will meet on February 12 to discuss the
2004 budget. Several
items were tagged or delayed at the request of individual
council members: A
recommendation to increase a contract from $127,200 to
$197,200 with Booth Research Group, Inc. for evaluation of
police sergeant candidates was tagged Carol Alvarado and
Gabriel Vasquez. A
recommendation for a $4,184,659 contract with Jerdon
Enterprise, Inc. for road services at Hobby Airport was
tagged by Bruce Tatro. An
ordinance approving a $567,513 contract with The University
of Texas at Houston Health Science Center for behavioral
surveillance services was tagged by Shelly Sekula-Gibbs. An
ordinance approving a contract increase from $300,000 to
$510,000 with West Group for on-line research services was
tagged by Mark Ellis. An
ordinance approving a $138,819 contract with James S. Walker
Associates, Inc. for design of the Gregory School Building
was tagged by Tatro and Ellis. A
motion to extend a contract to May 14, 2004 with Houston
Landscaping Services, Inc., and an ordinance approving an
occupancy agreement with Gulf Coast Community Services
Association in the Third Ward Multi-Service Center, were
delayed for one week on motions by Ellis. An
ordinance deleting one assistant arson investigator position
was delayed for 90 days on a motion by Carol Galloway. An
ordinance approving a contract with Electronic Data Systems
Corporation for $2,196,120 was pulled from the agenda. All
other agenda items were approved. Addie
Wiseman, Bert Keller and Carroll Robinson were absent. Several owners of businesses in downtown Galveston met with city officials and others to discuss management options for the downtown area. Consultant Barry Goodman discussed the possible creation of a downtown public improvement district or municipal management district. Under a public improvement district, property owners would be assessed additional taxes to perform additional government services, such as law enforcement or garbage removal. Under a municipal management district, a new and separate assessment would be paid by property owners to the new entity, which would provide new services. "The city would continue to collect its taxes," said Fred Wichlep, executive director of the Historic Downtown Strand Partnership. "This would be assessments in addition to ad valorem taxes." There was no interest in a public improvement district, but creation of a municipal management district appealed to many of the participants. Although most of the eighty or so participants in the meeting were positive toward the concept, the 19 attendees who would be included in the district were divided. There was a 10 to 9 vote to not move forward. However Wichlep said many of those opposed now are willing to learn more about the proposed district. Wichlep said the group will meet again to consider a request to the Texas Legislature for legislation to enable creation of a municipal utility district. Approval by the city council and an election in the proposed district would be required. Texas
City Commission The Texas City Commission voted to intervene in Texas-New Mexico Power Company's petition for approval of regulatory asset treatment of expenses related to system benefit fund payments filed at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, as well as First Choice Power, Inc.'s application to increase rates to offset increased fuel costs, also filed at the PUC. "If you'll remember, there was a freeze for the price in 2001, and if they're able to claim these benefit fund fees from 2001, that basically gets around that, so they think that's not permissible," said City Attorney Bobby Gervais. "The coalition of attorneys are recommending that we go ahead and fight this with the PUC." The city commission approved the second of three readings of an ordinance to restrict load limits on some roadways due to structural capacity of the roads and existing road conditions. "Because of comments made in our earlier workshop, we are amending the ordinance to mirror the state load limit law of 80,000 pounds," said Mayor Carlos Garza. "I want to thank everybody that participated in the workshop for bringing forth your thoughts, your concerns, and your ideas. We took them to heart and tried to come up with something very workable for everybody." The
city commission voted to provide $25,000 for professional
residential development services by Knudsen &
Associates.
The city council voted also to hire the firm in
connection with the formation of proposed municipal utility
districts.
The city commission voted to accept control and maintenance of the North Loop on the completion of improvements by the Texas Department of Transportation. The
city commission voted to join Galveston County in an
application for an $899,273 grant to support the Galveston
County Narcotics Task Force. The
city commission awarded a $952,890 bid from RWL
Construction, Inc. for the Waterline Replacement Project -
Rehab III, which is part of the city's ongoing program to rehabilitate
water lines throughout Texas City. The city commission tabled action on appointments and re-appointments of board members to the city's boards and committees, at Garza's request. "Please
forgive me, I have about 90 percent of them done, but I beg
your indulgence," said Garza. All
other agenda items were approved.
Commissioner Don Singleton was absent. Garza
swore in Carol Grady, who was re-appointed as Municipal
Court Clerk. Clear Lake Shores City Council Clarification: The new rates for rental of City Hall are $175 for residents and $275 for non residents, a $50 increase over previous rates; and there is no increase in the deposit. The changes were instituted because of citizens concerns over stolen kitchen equipment. There also was discussion of illegal parking. The
city council voted to call the May 3 election and appointed
election officials. Webster City Council voted 4-3, with Steve Waltz, Mel Donehue and Floyd Meyers opposed, to approve a plat for the subdivision of a lot in Green Acres, in the Houston Orchard Company's Webster Subdivision. The city council voted 4-3, with Mayor Donna Rogers, Sharon Martin and Lupita Armendariz opposed, to approve a design plan for a detention pond on property in the City Hall/Police Department complex. The three dissenting members preferred a different design option. The city council voted unanimously on the first of two readings of an ordinance to prohibit U-turns at 889 West Bay Area Boulevard. The city council met in executive session with the city attorney to discuss possible litigation related to water rates and the boundaries of the city, but took no action. All
other agenda items were approved unanimously. Taylor
Lake Village City Council Taylor Lake Village City Council voted 3-2, with Judy Cloninger and Carl Fontenot opposed, to approve new city employee vacation requirements, based on the length of the employee's service to the city. The city will provide one week of vacation following the employee’s probationary six-month period. The city will give another week of vacation at the one-year mark, based on the employee’s hire date. Mayor Natalie O’Neill said the city has been following this format but “has now put it into the employee manual.” Fontenot said he was concerned that an employee could take up to three weeks of vacation after being employed by the city at the one year, one-day employment mark following the employee’s hire date. The city council voted to call the May 3 elections for the positions currently held by Cloninger and Mark Sheridan. The city council unanimously voted to support a hazard mitigation plan in an interlocal agreement with Harris County. Council members took no action on a request to hire a parks maintenance worker when the candidate withdrew his application. Mayor Natalie O’Neill issued a city proclamation recognizing the death of the seven astronauts in the Columbia Shuttle accident. One of the astronauts, Kalpana Chawla, a native of India, was a resident of Taylor Lake Village. Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment The Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4-0 to approve two requests for variances Wednesday afternoon. Chair Peggy Rapp, John Thiel, David Sayler and Willie Gonzalez were in attendance. The board approved a variance from minimum lot size to facilitate a replat of two lots into three at 1109 and 1111 45th Street requested by James and Kelli McClure. The
board approved a variance from off street parking
requirements at 1901 and 1905 45th Street. The
applicant is David Smith. The defendant took the stand in the Clara Harris Murder Trial in Houston on Wednesday. Author Steven Long, who is covering the trial for a book he is writing for St. Martin's Press, said Harris had a positive impact on the jury. Listen "She was assertive, warm, she was friendly, she even joked, mocking the other woman," Long reported in an interview with Guidry News Service. "She was an extremely warm and compelling witness." The trial was recessed later in the day because Harris's attorney, George Parnham, was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in the courtroom. He is expected to be back in the courtroom on Friday when Harris' testimony resumes. Long
has been invited to appear on Court TV, the CBS Morning
Show, ABC's Inside Edition and other television and radio
programs. Brenda Hellyer of Pasadena has been named acting vice chancellor of fiscal affairs by the San Jacinto College Board of Regents. She replaces Rudy Gonzales, who recently accepted a comparable position at Tarrant County College. Previously, Hellyer was executive vice president for institutional advancement, in charge of the San Jacinto College District Foundation and worked directly with the college chancellor. She was appointed to that position in 2000 and had recently announced her resignation to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. “Working
with the administration in this position will be exciting
and challenging,” said Hellyer. “Finance and accounting
is where a majority of my professional career has been
focused and I look forward to once again having the
opportunity to work in that field.” Texas A&M University at Galveston Texas A&M University at Galveston begins its Spring 2003 lecture series entitled “The Texas Revolution” on February 12 with a speech on the Texas Revolution by T. R. Fehrenbach. Best known for his one-volume history of Texas, which was later made into a PBS mini-series, Fehrenbach has published 18 nonfiction books, mainly on historical subjects. These
include This Kind of War (1963, 2000), considered
the classic military history of the Korean Conflict and used
by U.S. ground forces for officer instruction; Lone Star
(1968, new ed. 1999) the most widely read history of Texas
and basis for the 1986 PBS mini-series; Fire and Blood
(1973, 1996), a history of Mexico; Comanches, The
Destruction of a People (1974, 1995); and Texas: A
Salute from Above (1985), a photographic essay of the
state.
He has recently contributed to Prentice-Hall’s new
7th grade Texas history textbook approved by the
Texas Board of Education in 2002. Five
other speeches are scheduled in the series: All
lectures in the series are presented by Texas A&M
University at Galveston and will be held at the Rosenberg
Library located at 2310 Sealy in Galveston, Texas at 7:00
p.m.
This lectures series is made possible in part by
grants from the Texas Council for the Humanities, a state
program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the
Trube Foundation, the Galveston Historical Foundation, and
the Friends of the Rosenberg Library. Today's
Meetings 10:30 Galveston
Park Board of Trustees Special Meeting |
Story Links, on the left side of this page, is composed of "bookmarks" to the stories in the newsletter. Click on the link to go directly to the article. Print individual articles by first clicking on the "Print Version" link, then using your regular print program. On The Online News Station, if you click on an audio cut and the photos stop loading, click on Refresh or Reload and they will resume. 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, Shannon Hall, Kristina Weaver, Tom Foster, Jo Ann Gowing and Dedra Kratts. Weaver, Foster, Gowing and Kratts 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. Terry Arnold and Barbara Ward 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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