© 2003, Guidry News
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© 2003, Guidry News
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Links: Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation Taylor Lake Village City Council Galveston Independent School District College of the Mainland Foundation
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City of Galveston officials held a news conference to respond to concerns that rowdy visitors will return for a second weekend of Beach Party. "There is a lot of talk around town about having another Beach Party, and that is really totally untrue," said Mayor Roger Quiroga. "There is not going to be another Beach Party." Quiroga said that the official Beach Party Weekend was last weekend, although there is no official sponsor for the event. Beach Party Weekend, which normally occurs on the third weekend in April was moved to the second weekend in April by Galveston City Council in hopes of avoiding rowdy crowds on the Easter Weekend. Concern about a second weekend of Beach Party began last week when Police Chief Bob Pierce announced that his sources in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Atlanta indicated that persons in those areas were planning to come to Galveston on the third weekend in April. Although Quiroga assured the community that there will not be another Beach Party, he said the city will be prepared in case rowdy crowds come anyway. "In case we can't handle the situation, and that's a very minute chance, we want to make sure that the barricades are out there so we can put them up quickly," thus they will remain in place through the Easter Weekend. "The information we have been able to gather from numerous sources, universities and colleges around the state of Texas and Louisiana - which are the primary schools that provide people for the Beach Party event - have indicated that, by and large, the majority of their students attended last weekend," Pierce said on Wednesday. "There is no major indication that we are expecting a large crowd this weekend." However, Pierce said police will be ready. "We do expect some schools to come down, as they always do for all of our weekends, and we also expect some fraternities to have their parties, as is normal," Pierce said. "We always gear up for Easter Weekend anyway." Pierce notes that Easter Weekend normally attracts more cars than Beach Party Weekend, but he notes that crowds who come for Easter events behave differently than Beach Party visitors. "Those cars normally go to churches and other family events, and the difference is they don't park on Broadway." "The City of Galveston provides a safe atmosphere for residents and visitors to spend Easter Weekend," Quiroga stressed. "You can have your Easter egg hunts, you can go to church, you can do everything that you normally do on Easter Weekend." Quiroga said the laws will be strictly enforced during the Easter Weekend. Although
many Galvestonians disagreed with city officials' contention
that last weekend was improved over previous Beach Party
Weekends, there was agreement that city employees worked well
to keep up with litter, code violations, traffic control and
other problems generated by the event. The
Port of Houston Authority on Wednesday applauded the
announcement of the approval of a permit for construction of
the $450 million Shoal Point container terminal in Texas City.
The project will be the city’s largest economic
development project in five decades.
“This is a welcomed victory for economic development in the
Gulf Coast region,” stated Jim Edmonds, PHA Commission
Chair. “As
market demands continue to rise dramatically, the need for new
container terminals is abundantly clear.
The facilities at Texas City and Bayport will
complement each other in handling all the demand.” As recently posted on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ website http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/reg/pha/default.asp, the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the PHA’s proposed Bayport facility has been delayed a few weeks to ensure adequate review and careful deliberation. Pending a favorable decision on the FEIS and the granting of a permit, the PHA expects to begin the first phase of construction at Bayport immediately. “We have confidence that the on-going review process for
the Bayport project will ensure that all of the public’s
concerns are adequately addressed,” said Edmonds. For nearly a century, Shoal Point has been a disposal
site for dredging materials from the Texas City Channel.
Stevedoring Services of America of Seattle, Washington
has signed an agreement to design, develop, operate, and
finance the Shoal Point terminal and lease the site for 30
years. The
company’s work will include extensive land stabilization at
a cost of approximately $90,000 per acre.
"Based
on faulty comparisons to Shoal Point, some opponents of the
PHA’s proposed terminal project at Bayport have argued that
another dredge material disposal site – Spilmans Island –
would be a more suitable alternative to Bayport," said a
PHA news release. "Several professional engineering studies, however, have
shown that Shoal Point largely consists of stiff clays while
Spilmans Island consists of soft silt – a highly unstable
foundation that would require two or more years to stabilize
at a cost ranging from $297,000 to $428,000 per acre.
When stabilization and other issues are taken into
consideration, the PHA estimates that a Spilmans Island
terminal would cost approximately $336 million more than the
Bayport project and take seven years longer to complete. “The
prevailing opinion among many experts is that Bayport is the
most technically feasible and economically viable location for
the Port Authority’s new container terminal,” said Edmonds. “The
Port Authority continues to work with the community regarding
this proposed facility, simultaneously setting new standards
for environmental stewardship and community responsiveness.
Our plans go well beyond the letter of the law, and we
push to exceed standards and requirements for protecting the
environment as well as responding to considerable community
input.” In 2002, the PHA became the first U.S. port to achieve ISO 14001 compliance through the development and implementation of an environmental management system that emphasizes waste reduction, recycling, lower air emissions and storm water quality. “On opening day in 2005, Bayport also will be ISO 14001 compliant because the Port Authority is committed to protecting our bay, our community and all of Texas,” Edmonds stressed. Texas
City Commission The
Texas
City Commission voted to sell $5,175,000 in general obligation
bonds on Wednesday. "In
August 2001, the citizens of Texas City approved the sale of
$20 million in general obligation bonds, which are being sold in
three phases," said Finance Director Cheryl Hunter.
"This is Phase II, and will include the
reconstruction of Logan Street." The
city commission approved a license agreement with Nextel to
lease a telecommunications tower located at the City Hall Annex. The
city commission accepted the 2002 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report by Griffin, Iles & Duvall. "The
city received an unqualified opinion, which means we had a
clean audit," reported Hunter. "So
the bottom line is it's been a good year," confirmed
Mayor Carlos Garza. The
city commission approved the third and final reading of an
ordinance making the minimum side yard setback at five feet. The
city commission approved a resolution authorizing intervention
in Texas-New Mexico Power Company's petition to reconcile
fuel costs. "This
gives us the only opportunity to evaluate the fuel cost
charged by Texas-New Mexico during the period of January
2000 through December 31, 2001," explained city attorney Bobby
Gervais.
"That way we can review their fuel cost as to over
recovery, which is very important." The
city commission awarded a $20,840.93 bid to McRee Ford, Inc.
for the purchase and delivery of a 2003 model prisoner
transport van for the police department. "The Ford van we now have is so
old…it's unfit for service," noted
Chief
Robert Circle.
"It's not safe to use anymore." The
city commission appointed Human Resource Director Mary Jan
Lantz as the city's privacy officer. Following
a public hearing in which no opposition was voiced, the city
commission approved a request from The Ruzhdi Halili Trust to
rezone 3.59 acres at the intersection of 146 and 517 from Open
Space to General Business, in conjunction with the development
of a Diamond Shamrock station. Houston
City Council
Houston City Council voted to delay for one week, on a motion
by Councilman Bruce Tatro, a $400,000 consulting contract with
Camp, Dresser and McKee for development of a stormwater
utility and fee structure, and a public hearing to create a
stormwater utility district. Both
items were tagged last week by several council members, who
have expressed concern over the consulting contract for a
variety of reasons. A prime concern is that the fee
would be applied to all property owners in the
city, even though some might be exempt under state law. “We have to decide
philisophically if we’re going to exempt institutions like
schools and churches,” Tatro
also tagged three amendments to the consulting contract that
were offered by councilman Carroll Robinson. Mayor
Lee Brown has advocated raising water and sewer rates for the
purpose of improving flood control in the city. The project
would cost an estimated $85 million per year. Robinson’s
amendments would have limited the amount the utility district
could collect to between $35 million and $50 million, provided
for a sunset provision that would have reduced that amount
even further after construction of the stormwater system was
completed and provided for the inclusion of all possible
exemptions in Camp, Dresser and McKee’s calculations. The
city council
voted 14 to 1, with Tatro opposed, for a $5,432,965 appropriation to The Houston
Downtown Management District for design and construction of
the Southeast Area Streetscape Improvement project. The
city council
approved a $2,201,098 contract with JFT Construction, Inc for
construction of drainage improvements in Frostwood West. The
city council
approved a $1,703,877 contract with C & C Services for
water line replacement in Dumbarton Oaks. The
city council
approved an additional $7,000,000 on a contract with Pate
Engineers for emergency repairs of the Almeda Road cave-in.
The original estimate from the Department of Public Works and
Engineering had been $3,000,000. Council Member Mark Goldberg
had tagged the item but withdrew his tag at the request of
Council Member Ada Edwards. Goldberg said he wanted an
explanation of why the original estimate was so far off the
mark. Brown
explained that, once Pate began work on the cave-in, workers discovered
that the damage was far worse than originally believed. The
city council
approved a $298,334 contract with PRC Roofing, Inc for roof
replacement at the police academy. The
city council
approved a $1,784,853 contract with Holliday Door & Gate
Systems, Inc. for overhead door repair at several fire
stations. Council
Member Carol Alvarado proposed that a committee be formed
between county and city officials to investigate the Houston
Police Department’s crime lab, which has done flawed DNA
work resulting in wrongful criminal convictions.
Brown spoke about the crime lab, the stormwater utility
district and the upcoming mayor’s conference at his press
conference. Listen Two
other items were tagged: A
$682,646 contract with Chief Contractors, Inc. for sanitary
sewer repairs was tagged by Goldberg. A
$1,750,000 loan agreement between the city and 2003 Garden
City, L.P. to finance a portion of the costs to acquire a
256-unit apartment building at 9601 West Montgomery Road was
tagged by council member Carol Galloway. All
other agenda items were approved. Taylor Lake Village City
Council Taylor Lake Village Parks Board representative Steve McCrory reported to the Taylor Lake Village City Council about the various engineering firms the city is considering for a plan to fix drainage problems at Taylor Lake Village Park. McCrory said five engineering firms have presented bids for engineering costs but only three of them, JKC & Assoc, JNS Inc, and Brooks & Sparks have provided estimates for surveying costs. The three companies' estimates for the combined services are $16,325, $17,000 and $32,000 respectively. McCrory added that the city’s current engineering firm, Brooks & Sparks, proposed a package that was considerably more costly than the others and contained “things we're probably not going to need.” The study will be used to determine the park's tree lines, fence lines and flood mitigation measures. The city council deferred action on the information gathered in McCrory’s report, for further study. The city council approved an ordinance that will allow homeowners to build homes covering up to 30 percent of their lots. Under current regulations non-waterfront properties can be built on 20 percent of the lot, while waterfront lots can be as much as 27 percent of the size of the property. The city council voted to accept the Lake View Police Department’s annual financial report. All other agenda items were approved.Galveston Independent School District The Galveston Independent School District Board of Education recognized teachers of the year Wednesday night. JoNell Randle was selected as teacher of the year at Alamo Elementary School, Jacqueline Lawson at Bolivar Elementary School, Amanda Parks at Burnet Elementary School, Sara Caldwell at L.A. Morgan Elementary School, Brenda Magee at Oppe Elementary School, Jan Kent at Parker Elementary School, Cynthia Marza at Rosenberg Elementary School, Aimee Moore at San Jacinto Elementary School, Vickie Holmes at Scott Elementary School, Maxine Guidry at Stephen F. Austin Middle School, Dana McComber at Bolivar Secondary School, Sharon Lewis at Central Middle School, Gerselda Bourgeois at Weis Middle School and Marshall Kimble was named teacher of the year at Ball High School. Tom Masters of Kennemer-Masters CPA reported to the school board on his audit of the school district's dropout records. "For the student leaver population, we checked for documentation and coding exceptions. We tested 167 student files from a population of 1,165 and found four exceptions," Masters said. "Given these results we are 95 percent confident that the population exception rate is 2.40 percent, plus or minus 2.32 percent." He also reported on "underreported student population." "We are 95 percent confident that the exception rate in the population could be as high, but no higher than 77.7 percent." "This, in my view, is an excellent report for the district," Masters said. "We have heard a lot about it recently, a lot of publicity, not all good; but I think it is something that Galveston can be proud of." He assured the school board that "sound internal controls" are in place. "Your personnel understand their procedures and their job responsibilities." The
report was accepted by the school board and all other agenda
items were approved. College of the Mainland Foundation Correction:
Heather Flynn's name was misspelled in Wednesday's
edition of Gulf Coast E-news. Galveston College will co-sponsor a career fair on April 23 from 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the gym. The fair is being held in partnership with the Rotary Club of Galveston and The WorkSource. Over 30 employers will be participating. For
more information, contact Jocelyn Ealim at (409) 944-1222. United States Representative Nick Lampson is in Germany this week as part of a Congressional delegation meeting with the German Bundestag. Part of the trip included a stop at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where Lampson delivered cards from Southeast Texas students to wounded U.S. soldiers. "I wanted to bring a message of hope and cheer from back home, and I thought who better to send those than our children," said Lampson. The students are in the first grade classes of Hillcrest Elementary School, middle school students from Central Middle School and middle school students from C. O. Wilson Middle School. "We delivered about 300 cards today. The teachers and students were very enthusiastic about sending get well wishes to the men and women who have sustained injuries during the war in Iraq," said Lampson. "I want to thank them for their enthusiasm, it meant a great deal to the soldiers in the hospital." Lampson said the Congressional Study Group on Germany has evolved into the largest and most active parliamentary exchange program between the U.S. Congress and the legislative branch of another country. "The goal of
the Study Group remains unchanged: to facilitate
communication, dialogue and understanding between Members of
Congress and Members of the Bundestag and other German
leaders," Lampson said. Today's
Meetings 7:30 Gulf Coast Water Authority Thomas
Mackey Water Treatment Plant Safety Meeting, 4001 5th
Avenue North, Texas City |
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