Exciting Meeting Hosted by State Rep. Allen

Just got home from the community meeting spearheaded by our neighbors, Brunswick Lakes, with the assistance of our State Representative, Dr. Alma Allen. The meeting was held at New Beginning Church, 4251 Schumier Road (the pastor extended an invitation for everyone to come back and worship on Sunday) and at least 100 people were in attendance. Before I get into a review of the meeting, let me announce that AK Babers has set up a Facebook group for all the Brunswick communities represented at the meeting tonight called The Wick. Click here to become a fan. Now we have 3 methods of communication on the 'Net. This blog, Facebook's The Wick, and the yahoo group. Join all 3 and keep fully informed! Anyone out there know how to Twitter? If so, let me know and I'll include info on it here on the blog as well.

Now, a synopsis of the meeting. And please, if you were at the meeting, feel free to supplement my review with your own comments. First, I was impressed with the number of public officials present and it's the first time I've been to any meeting where all the people we've been told to contact were in the same place at the same time. That in itself was very empowering.

• Sheriff Adrian Garcia
• Captain Kevin Radabaugh (District 3 Captain, Sheriff)
• Captain Mike Talton (Communications Captain and former District 3 Captain, Sheriff)
• Sgt. Byrd (Communications, Sheriff)
• Lt. F. Bradley and Sgt. C. Adolph (District 3 Deputies, Sheriff)
• Rhonda Sauter and the 3 Deputies assigned to our contract with WCID#89 (Sheriff)
• Constable Mae Walker
• Chief Goree Anderson (Constable Walker)
• Bessie Swindle (Congressman Al Green)
• Paul Reyes, Vickie Ward & 2 others (Principal Management Group of Houston)
• City Council Member Jolanda Jones
• City Council Member Wanda Adams
• Shavanda Johnson (Council Member Adams)
• Angela Solis (Mayor Annise Parker)
• John Beadioun (Commissioner El Franco Lee)
• WCID #89 Vice President Arthur Washington
  
• WCID #89 Secretary Victoria Lastee
  
• Christopher Richardson (General Counsel for WCID #89)
• Jim Ainsworth (Engineer for WCID #89)
• Equator Turner (Inner City Emergency Response Team)
• David Randolph (Planning Engineer - Harris County Flood Control District
• John Jones (Houston Police Department)
  

There were also the leaders of the Brunswick Lakes subdivision Ms. Johanna Williams (I'm very sorry, but I didn't catch the names of the others) who presented their concerns, along with a projected slide show that provided evidence of the problems. In a nutshell, Brunswick Lakes residents pay $480/year in HOA dues but have no control over or representation on the HOA Board. Indeed, no one from the property management group seemed to even know who the HOA Board members were. Finally, when pressed, Paul Reyes admitted that it was just the developers Joe Foggarty and John Speer, both of whom refused to attend the meeting.

Promises were made for a pool, sidewalks, jogging trails, etc. that have not been kept to Brunswick Lakes homeowners. And there was a lack of financial accountability, especially regarding the landscaping fees (sound familiar Brunswick Meadows?) There are significant safety issues regarding the lack of any type of barrier or adequate lighting around the big pond at the front of their subdivision, along with some giant hole that appeared and has yet to be explained or filled in. The streets flood after it rains and don't drain properly. Finally, they are frustrated with the lack of water quality provided by WCID #89 and so-called security provided by the contract with the Sheriff when it takes nearly an hour for a response to a 911 call. Several people raised their hands in the audience when asked if they had personally been victims of home burglaries.

Once the problems were presented, each person in the bullet list above were given an opportunity to give a response. Constable Mae Walker spoke first, saying that her office had competed for the security contract that was awarded to Sheriff Garcia by WCID #89 and because she had lost out calls for law enforcement would be directed to the Sheriff rather than her officers. Sheriff Garcia did acknowledge that there were problems with response times to calls and had Sgt. Byrd explain how 911 relied on cell phone towers to pinpoint which law enforcement official to send out on an emergency call. It seems that our cell phones bounce off a tower near Reed Road, which is in the city of Houston's jurisdiction, but land line calls show us to be outside the city limits. Some cell phones bounce off a tower near 288 and Beltway 8 and get re-routed to Pearland police and/or Brazoria County. He suggested that rather than have the 911 operator try to figure out who to send, state clearly that you need to be routed to 'Harris County Neutral' and that should cut down on the confusion.

This problem with jurisdictional responsibilities was a common refrain and reminded me of the media report last year that we were in "The Black Hole" when it comes to government services. One of the most animated conversations arose after Arthur Washington suggested that the security contract with the Sheriff was intended to secure ONLY the water district's infrastructure, not the homeowners from criminals. He was challenged by that statement and both Constable Mae and Sheriff Garcia seemed unaware that their contracts with neighborhoods were designed to protect water tanks and sewer lines. Christopher Richardson backed up Arthur Washington's statement about the security contract and suggested that it wasn't the place of the water district to tell any law enforcement official how to carry out their duties under the contract. Sheriff Garcia said that he was willing to amend the contract if it did, in fact, only protect the district's facilities.

Although we do live outside the city limits, Angela Solis, Councilmembers Jones and Adams all offered their assistance in getting the problems resolved. Councilmember Jones gave her phone number 832-393-3006 for us to call and Councilmember Adams got on her phone to ask who would respond if a 911 call was made for a house on fire. Good to know that while the Houston Police Department would not respond to us in an emergency, the Houston Fire Department will!
Another group that was willing to meet our needs in an emergency was the Inner City Emergency Response Team. They handed out cards on training they offer on how to extinguish small fires; provide basic medical aid and treatment for shock; search for and rescue victims safely; effectively assist your family & community; and, prepare for natural or man-made disasters. For more info, visit their website at www.in-cert.com or call Officer Shandenia Gay at 713-294-7331 or the Dispatch Line at 832-352-6192.

Bessie Swindle gave the most honest and helpful response in my humble opinion. She said that if Brunswick Lakes really wanted to get their problems resolved, their best bet was to hire a lawyer and sue the developer. It might take several years, but the courts would be fair.

John Beaudoin said that it is not within the power of Commissioner Lee to enforce deed restrictions or punish developers for failing to follow proper procedures getting permits for County maintenance of the ditches and retention ponds. David Randolph of Flood Control said that a plan for dealing with stormwater is offered by the developer and an inspector from Flood Control approves it. Then after a period of one year, the County will take over maintenance of the plan, but in this case, the developer had problems with the plan and the inspector pointed these out. Nothing was ever done by the developer to follow up.

Paul Reyes said he was looking forward to meeting with the leaders of the Brunswick Lakes community to try and resolve the problems. There has NEVER been a meeting for the homeowners and Councilmember Adams expressed her outrage at the property management team for not treating Brunswick Lakes the same as it did other neighborhoods it managed - she knows because they manage her neighborhood.

Final 30 minutes of the meeting was for Q&A. One had to do with who was responsible for writing the deed restrictions and covenants for Brunswick Meadows (Answer: the developer) and several others had to do with WCID 89:

• Had a backup system been put in place so that water service would not be lost in case of a natural disaster like happened during Hurricane Ike? Yes, a natural gas operated generator was installed so water service would not be interrupted.
  
• What was the current development of Plant 2 and the wastewater plant? Plant 2 construction plan is under review with the City of Houston and should take another year to complete. Wastewater plant will take longer - perhaps 18 months or more, and construction should begin at the end of 2010.
• What has been done to address the ongoing problem of substandard water quality? Testing shows the water is fine. (Much disagreement and evidence offered to the contrary by the crowd that they experience smelly brown water)
  
• Where and when will the election for WCID 89 Board members take place this year? May 8th and the place to cast the ballot will be provided in your water bill.

I invite others to comment on what I missed in this review of the meeting. I also am hopeful that we can come together and affect positive change for all our "Wick" neighborhoods. I will be posting updates on those efforts here because knowledge is power. I will also be posting a series on WCID 89 from documents I have received over the past year through the Freedom of Information Act. Should be interesting...