Archives

2003 Archives

Friday                  March 26, 2004

Galveston City Council

Galveston City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to oppose any school finance or tax system reforms that would negatively affect city revenues and economic development efforts.

In addition, in workshop, Galveston Finance Director Rick Glassett advised the city council to not institute a municipal property tax freeze for senior citizens and the disabled homeowners. Listen

The city council voted 5-0-2, with an abstention by Booker Price and Lyda Ann Thomas not voting because of a conflict of interest, to amend Zoning Standards to redefine a number of terms related to parking lots.

A proposed agreement with Galveston County to house city inmates in the Galveston County Jail was withdrawn from the agenda.

All other agenda items were approved with unanimous votes.

City Manager Steve LeBlanc reported that the city is prepared for Beach Party Weekend on April 16 through April 18.

"Countdown Promotions is the only promoter," LeBlanc said referring to the organization led by Ken Talton.  "He was here last year, he does small events.  He has been reputable."

Steve Greenberg, representing Landry's Restaurants, brought a proposal from Tilman Fertitta to redevelop and manage the Galveston Island Municipal Golf Course to the city council.

"Mr. Fertitta has for several years expressed an interest in developing a new golf course for Galveston Island," Greenberg said.  "A signature-level course for Galveston could improve the city's golf facilities, it would allow Galveston to compete for a number of meetings and conventions that it now just can't pursue."

City Manager Steve LeBlanc said the city will study Fertitta's offer.  Listen

The city council discussed proposals to name the new Galveston Causeway after an individual, but agreed in workshop to not go through the naming process.  Listen

Mayor Roger Quiroga commented on two major groundbreakings this week.  Listen

Quiroga also cited reports that Galveston is growing. Listen

The city council held a workshop discussion on Council Member Joe Jaworski's proposal to establish a recreation center in the East End.  Listen

Council Member Lyda Ann Thomas announced that Denny Bowman has resigned from the Broadway Beautification Committee for health reasons and that a new member will be appointed.

Council Member Cornelia Harris Banks announced that Patricia Bolton Legg has resigned from the Planning Commission to run for city council and the city council will appoint a new member.

Photos and additional audio excerpts from the meeting will be posted on The Online News Station.

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Kemah City Council

Kemah City Council voted on Thursday to oppose any school finance or tax system reforms that would negatively affect city revenues and economic development efforts.

The city council tabled action on approval of a preliminary plat of the proposed 518 Business Park, but approved an off-premise sign at FM 518 and Anders Lane for Fashion Passion.

The city council accepted a petition for annexation from Lakeland Development Company.

The city council voted to create Kemah Municipal Utility District 1.

The city council reviewed a draft parks master plan, and referred it to the Kemah Community Development Corporation.

"The plan basically provides for the development of the 57 acres adjacent to Kemah Oaks and several smaller 'pocket' parks," said Mayor Bill King in an email message to Kemah residents.  Report

"The only identified site for a pocket park at this time is between 6^th and 7^th Streets in West Kemah," King said.  "There will be a joint meeting of KCDC and the Parks Board at 7 p.m. on April 1 to review the draft plan."

The city council agreed to hold a workshop on a proposal to hold a special election in September to authorize a one-fourth cent sales tax for street improvements and to reduce the KCDC sales tax from one-half cent to one-fourth cent.

At the request of the Kemah Merchants Association, John Conrad posted an item on the agenda that would have expanded the Entertainment District from its current boundaries to 9^th Street .  The city council discussed the proposal, but took no action.

"The legal significance of the Entertainment District is that it is somewhat easier to do a commercial development inside the Entertainment District because the parking requirements are somewhat eased," King said.  "This issue was discussed at some length.  Ultimately, it was clear that most of the residents in the affected area were not in favor of the expansion and council did not approve the expansion."

All other agenda items were approved.

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Pasadena City Council

Pasadena City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve an interlocal agreement with Harris County for construction of the Armand Bayou Hike and Bike Trail.

The city council approved a $511,529 contract with SCL Engineering for services required in connection with the Pine Street Drainage Project.

The city council approved a $300,000 contract with Sparks-Barlow-Barnet, Inc. for engineering services for the new police complex.

The city council voted 8-1, with Jack Douglass opposed, to establish a job order contracting system and procedures for construction services "based on established competitively bid contracts between the City of Pasadena and general contractors Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. and Jamail Construction through the Texas Cooperative Purchasing Network and Texas Local Government Purchasing Cooperative, respectively."

The city council, by unanimous consent, agreed to defer action on the proposed $150,000 purchase of signal preemption devices for a computerized traffic control system though ACM Highway Products.

All other agenda items were approved with unanimous votes.

Daniel Vanderbrink appeared before the city council to express concerns about the Young Street Construction Project and problems that residents are experiencing, especially damages that he said his "handicap van" have endured.

Council Member Jerri Neely apologized to Daniel and the residents along Young Street for the problems that they have encountered, but she stressed that the project will be a great improvement for everyone.

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Port Arthur Seafarers Center

A group of Port Arthur residents who support the replication of the Kansas City Southern Railroad Depot at the western end of Procter Street plans to appear before Port Arthur City Council on Tuesday.

Mary Ann Duplantis said the group hopes to convince the city council of the importance of the replication. Listen

"This land was deeded to the Port of Port Arthur with the provision that the seaman's center would build a building as a replica of the old KCS Depot," Duplantis said, adding that if the additional funding for the depot replication is not raised, the seaman's center must choose a new location.

Duplantis said the seaman's center in a new location would not enhance the port or the downtown area, "that they are working so hard to revitalize."

The group has purchased an advertisement in Sunday's Port Arthur News detailing the history of the depot, which was built in 1897 and demolished in 1971.

"We lost it," Duplantis said.  "It was part of our history and we just flat lost it."

She said the ad also includes several quotes from persons interviewed by Gulf Coast E-news over the past two weeks, since the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation declined a $300,000 loan for the project.

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Galveston Park Board of Trustees

Galveston Park Board of Trustees President Gil Langley reported to a town hall meeting at the Hilton Hotel that the 2004 Mardi Gras Celebration was a success. Listen

"We raised over $600,000 this year in in-kind services for Mardi Gras, from corporations and partners to help us produce that event," Langley reported. "We have not yet received our bill from the city, but our preliminary estimates are that we have reduced our losses from Mardi Gras by at least $100,000 over last year." 

Langley said that if the city had not experienced "arctic temperatures" the first weekend, "Mardi Gras would have been profitable this year."

Langley said it has been a good year for the city and the park board.  Hotel occupancy tax receipts have increased 12.49 percent and revenues are up at Seawolf and Delanera Parks.

Langley reported that the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau has booked 21,191 room nights so far this year, and that is 47 percent of the annual goal.  The CVB has opened a sales office in Austin, added two new sales positions and created a director of tourism position.

A video recording of the town hall meeting will be televised on Cable Channel 16 in Galveston.

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Escapes!/Beach Pocket Park Two

City of Galveston and Galveston County officials and representatives of Escapes!, a national vacation ownership company, participated in the official groundbreaking for a private, mid-rise condominium on West Galveston Island and a ribbon cutting for an adjacent beachfront public park on Tuesday.

The joint projects, located on FM 3005 at 9-Mile Road on the island’s West End, include a $16 million, approximately 75-unit condominium resort for Escapes! members, a newly completed 3,314-square-foot public beach pavilion, an educational wetlands preserve, beach access points and public and private parking.  Pavilion amenities include an additional 7,299 square feet of outside decking for a great gulf view, picnic facilities, indoor showers, full wheelchair accessibility, a food concession and merchandise sales.

“Escapes! is grateful to county leaders who saw the numerous public benefits of making these projects work cohesively," said T. L. Spencer, Escapes! president.  "The county gains a financially secure private partner and tax base growth. This new resort also gives Escapes! the opportunity to introduce thousands of its vacation ownership members to Galveston Island. We are optimistic that our members will find this as appealing and special a place as we do.”

The county/Escapes! partnership agreement included an exchange of Escapes! property adjoining Frank Carmona Beach Pocket Park 2.

“This partnership is a great win-win for the county and Escapes!" said Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough.  "We helped facilitate bringing a new company to Galveston that will in turn bring thousands of tourists to Galveston and enhance the public park at no expense to county taxpayers.”

The beach pavilion, originally destroyed during Tropical Storm Francis in 1997, has been reconstructed, largely with federal funds, and will be open for the 2004 summer season.

Escapes! began construction in March, with projected completion in May 2005. The U-shaped, raised, 5-story structure features a central resort recreation area with a swimming pool overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The combined dramatic structures and lush tropical plantings throughout the development will enhance the resort-style tropical setting.

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Photos and Audio

Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority

Houston METRO will host open house meetings on the future Southeast-Universities-Hobby light rail extension from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at Pilgrim Community Center, 3118 Blodgett Street, and Thursday, April 1, at the Business Technology Center, 5330 Griggs Road.

METRO staff and consultants will be on hand to describe the alignments under consideration for the extension of the METRORail line now operating from the University of Houston-Downtown to south of Reliant Park. METRO representatives also will discuss the environmental study process currently under way on the extension project.

The Southeast-Universities-Hobby extension is included in Phase II of the METRO Solutions Transit System Plan, which was approved by Houston-area voters in November 2003. The Southeast-Universities-Hobby extension will be constructed in stages, with the first portion – a 7.1-mile section running from Downtown to Griggs/Loop 610 – to begin construction in 2007 and start operating in 2010.

For more information, call METROLine at (713) 635-4000.

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United States Congress

United States Representative Nick Lampson lauded this week's approval by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the largest one-time fiscal authorization for highway and transit funding nationwide. Release

The legislation secured $45 million in funding for numerous important transportation initiatives within southeast Texas.

"These initiatives are tremendously important for Texas's Ninth District, and will add significant value and economic growth to the Houston-area," said Lampson.  "I applaud the hard work that brought together many great community groups, businesses, and citizens to craft a strong, bipartisan bill." 

Among the reauthorization projects Congressman Lampson supported were the Houston Region Highway Forestation and Air Quality Mitigation Project at $6 million, the Port of Beaumont Intermodal Corridor Project at $6.5 million, the completion of Texas Highway 146 near Baytown, and the reconstruction of Texas Highway 87 at $7 million. 

Lampson expressed strong outrage at a report this week that the Administration will spend approximately $80 million of taxpayer money for advertisements to promote the recently passed Medicare prescription drug bill. 

"It flatly astonishes me that Republican priorities are so warped that they'd rather buy television time than to deliver affordable prescription drugs for our seniors," Lampson said.  "It's bad enough that the prescription drug bill prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug costs with pharmaceutical companies, but to waste such a ridiculous sum for televised propaganda on an already flawed Medicare bill?  That's just outrageous."

Lampson also complained this week that the President's budget shortchanges on "jobs, Texas families, and America". His comments are published on the Forum Page. Click Here

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Port of Houston Authority

The Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association took issue with the Port of Houston's rejection of the Natural Resources Defense Council's findings about pollution control efforts at the port's facilities. Click Here

"This is a farce," said Mayor Nancy Edmonson of Shoreacres. "People who live near the Port's facilities know all about the agency's high-handed methods and the damage it has done to communities. Port spin doesn't change the fact of the Port of Houston's deplorable record." 

The City of Shoreacres and a coalition of other local cities and conservation groups, including the Galveston Bay Conservation and Preservation Association, have filed suit in federal and state court challenging the Bayport plan. The federal case is scheduled to be heard on April 20 and the state case on May 6.

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Ellington Field 

A regional briefing of the “Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base – Southeast Texas Gulf Coast Community-Military Preparedness Plan” will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30 at the Bay Area Community Center at Clear Lake Park, 5002 NASA Parkway in Seabrook.

"By attending this briefing you will become an integral part of your community’s Homeland Security response assurance plan for airspace sovereignty, deterrence and first response protection of our region’s national security assets," said an invitation to participants by Marie McDermott of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.  "It is vital to partner with and help grow our military defense units at the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base."

Major national security assets in the region include the Port of Houston, Bayport and La Porte chemical industries, the Texas Medical Center, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Baytown, Texas City, Freeport and Port Arthur’s industrial complexes, UTMB’s Biocontainment Laboratory, South Texas Nuclear Power Plant, major sports venues, strategic petroleum reserves, offshore oil platforms and many others.

For information, visit http://www.supportellingtonfield.com or call Kristin McAtee at Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, (281) 486-5535.

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Galveston County Health District

Today the Galveston County Health District announced the appointment of two new directors.  After extensive searches the positions of 4C’s Medical Director, and 4C’s Dental Director have been filled. Photo and Press Release 

Dr. Abdul-Aziz Alhassan began serving as 4C’s Medical Director February 26, 2004.  Dr. Alhassan is a board-certified family physician with a comprehensive scope of practice from prenatal to newborn to geriatrics. 

Dr. Beverly M. Foster has joined the District as Dental Director of the 4C’s Dental Clinic.  She is a Hitchcock native who received her dental degree from the Georgetown University School of Dentistry in Washington D.C.  Dr. Foster has over ten years experience as a licensed dentist.  

“It is always nice when a person can return to the community that they were raised in,” states Dr. Foster. 

“Ultimately one measure of any medical clinics’ success is how well its leaders respond to patients’ needs,” said Dr. Mark Guidry, Chief Executive Officer and Health Authority for the Galveston County Health District.  “We feel that these two directors are top-quality and will bring patient-focused leadership needed to improve the medical and dental services offered through the 4C’s clinics.”   

Established in 1969, the 4C’s clinics’ provide primary health and dental care to area residents who have limited access to health care because of lack in financial resources or health care reimbursement.  

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San Jacinto College South

San Jacinto College South's choir, the Southern Singers, is performing in the Gulf Coast Intercollegiate Conference Choral Festival at 7 p.m. Friday, April 2 in the North Harris College Fine Arts Theatre, 2700 W. W. Thorne Drive, Houston.

Choirs in the GCIC, a 17-member consortium of two-year colleges in the greater Houston area, will perform at the choral festival. The South Campus is sending 32 singers.

"I am quite pleased with the musicianship of our choral singers on South Campus this year, and am confident that they will represent us very well at the GCIC Choral Festival," said David J. Sloat, South Campus music professor and choral activities director. "They are typically strong leaders at events such as this, and I expect this year's festival will be no exception. Dr. Caldwell has a fine reputation and I expect our experience singing under his direction will be a very positive one."

The choral festival is free and open to the public. Call Jeremy Garcia at (281) 484-1900 extension 3313 for additional information.

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

Today, March 26
8:00 “As You Like It,” Harbour Playhouse, 3803 state Highway 3, Dickinson
7:00 An Evening of Music to Benefit St Vincent's House Free Clinic,The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
8:00 "Heidi," Strand Theatre, 2317 Ships Mechanic Row, Galveston 

Saturday, March 27
8:00 Galveston County Republican Party Convention, Creekside Intermediate School, FM 518
8:30 - 1:30 Rivers, Lakes, Bays 'n Bayous Trash Bash 
6:30 Fifth Annual Texas City Art Festival Opening Night Reception, Charles T. Doyle Convention Center
8:00 “As You Like It,” Harbour Playhouse, 3803 state Highway 3, Dickinson
8:00 "Heidi," Strand Theatre, 2317 Ships Mechanic Row, Galveston

Sunday, March 28
2:30 “As You Like It,” Harbour Playhouse, 3803 state Highway 3, Dickinson
2:30 "Heidi," Strand Theatre, 2317 Ships Mechanic Row, Galveston
3:00 Sir James Galway, The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
8:00 “As You Like It,” Harbour Playhouse, 3803 state Highway 3, Dickinson

Monday, March 29
7:30 Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves Finance Committee
8:30 Galveston Port Facilities Corporation
8:45 Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves
9:00 Galveston County Commissioners Court
11:00 Galveston Tax Foreclosed Property Resale Committee, Prosperity Bank, 2424 Market, Galveston
1:30 Jefferson County Commissioners Court
2:00 Port of Houston Authority Commission 
5:00 Galveston Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, Holland House Community Center

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Gulf Coast E-news, published by Guidry News Service, provides comprehensive coverage of posted public meetings in Galveston, Harris and Jefferson Counties as well as regional news impacting the Upper Texas Gulf Coast.

Jim and Lynda Guidry are publishers Gulf Coast E-news and The Online News Station.

Jenna Ware is editor of Gulf Coast E-news.

Chuck Lawrence is Galveston City Correspondent.  Carl Guidry covers events in Jefferson County.  Sonja Faughn covers Texas City and La Marque.

Robert John Mihovil is a special photographic correspondent for Guidry News Service.

Ivan Arceneaux is a special correspondent. 

Drew Gilbert, who covered the Galveston City Beat, was recently reactivated into the Coast Guard for the Iraq war.