Helpful Information

This was posted to the Yahoo Groups website by AK. It shows the area that the Sheriff assigned to our area must cover. You might do better to call the Constable when you need immediate help. Here's the boundaries of our Pct. 7.

I would suggest that we press the HOA to enter into a contract agreement with Constable Walker to give us the kind of patrol presence we want. Click here to see the kind of services rendered. Then take a look at the statistics that they post monthly to their website about their results. I work for the County and would be happy to check into the cost. Since we have no control of our HOA at present, it might be something we have to do ourselves. I, for one, would be more than willing to pay my fair share for an ongoing police presence patroling our neighborhood. How about you?

Water District Meeting Recap

AK and I went to the WCID #89 Board meeting today. I know that several people went to the one on 7/7/09 and I invite your comments to this posting. First I'll just tell you my impressions.

Seemed very matter of fact business type meeting. Didn't have access to many of the documents that the Board had and wasn't invited to join the table. In fact, was ushered to the "peanut gallery" when I arrived by the lawyer's secretary. Introduced myself once the meeting was called to order but just said I was there to observe - which was true.

The thing that got the only real questions from the Board members was whether or not the sign to be posted about the new recreation center that they are building will be in color or black & white. Seems that bonds were sold a few years back to build this center, which is going to be located near Tom Bass Park off Cullen. The sign will have an artist's rendering of what the center will look like upon completion. Cost of the sign will be approximately $1800, which I suppose is our tax dollars at work :--)

I have made several open records requests for minutes of the meetings and tests of the water quality over the past 2 years. The WCID's lawyer, Chris Richardson, has been very cooperative. I have almost completed my research and just need my niece's input before I post my findings and suggestions. My niece, I think I've mentioned before, is the EPA consultant for the entire Permian Basin, has a Master's in Chemical Engineering, and used to work for Harris County testing water quality at the Port of Houston. She's well qualified to give us expert advice!

I understand that the folks who attended the last meeting spoke about their concerns over the lack of security and the recent snake problem since the retention ponds have been drained.

Here's what AK posted to the group e-mail site about his involvement in the meeting today:
Today I attended the WCID #89 Board meeting. As the residents know that attended the last meeting, this is a dead end. And this security contract is only intended for the water and sewage infrastructure not solely for the public safety of the residents. But after talking with Commissioner El Franco Lee last Tuesday, I truly wanted some clarification of the WCID #89 and Harris County Sheriff Department contract.

After a very open discussion after the board meeting, I still left feeling unsatisfied. But I did get them to promise that the Board will send a letter to the Harris County Sheriff Department stating that the residents of the District are not satisfied with the effectiveness of the daily patrol to help deter crimes and the misdirection of emergency calls. If we feel this is not resolved, they will proceed to cancel the contract with the Harris County Sheriff Department. Which means that we will be left with an already over-stretched patrol of Sheriff Department District 3 precinct or we must petition the WCID# 89 to sign a contract with Harris County Constable May Walker Precinct 7 to patrol the our water infrastructure as well as our community and public safety, due to the large area in the Harris County Sheriff Department District 3 that has to be patrolled by the current limited resource of deputies. I have uploaded maps of the Constable Precinct 7 and Sheriff Department District 3 on the files page of this website. I have also uploaded links to both agencies. (Editorial comment: I will have links to these and the petition made available in my next post.)

I hope that you can see the need to have this contract thoroughly reviewed by all parties involved, asap. By participating and encouraging your surrounding neighbors to get involved with the petition that has been posted on this website is one way that you can help to ensure that this gets done. Another way is to pass the word about this website; it has been a very useful tool of communication.

Thanks,
AK

MUD Meeting - Come One - Come All

Are you satisfied with our contract with the Harris County?? Are you sick of being afraid to what you might come home to??

Raise together and allow your voices to be heard. The monthly MUD District meeting is Tuesday, July 7^th at 11:30 am at 602 Sawyer Suite 205 Houston, Texas 77007.

Another one of our neighbors homes were broken into yesterday..and it took the Sheriff’s Dept almost 45 minutes to arrive..this is not what the Sheriff’s Office promised us at our Neighborhood Watch Meeting in April, and is unacceptable.

Anyone who is available to meet and discuss these concerns with our MUD District (who manages the contract with the Sheriff) please attend.

The more people there the more serious they will take our issues. If you are available to attend please let me know - ashley.r.white@nasa.gov.

Brunswick Meadows in the News Again

Click here to see the ABC news story. And here to see the Fox news story. Please send a note of thanks to the reporters who aired our concerns.

Miya Shay of ABC news ~ channel 13 ~ miya.shay@abc.com

Damali Keith of Fox news ~ channel 26 ~ damali.keith@foxtv.com

So, what can you do to help keep us safe when the media tires of reporting on our problems?

1. Attend the next MUD District Meeting on Tuesday July, 7 at 11:30am to demand attention to our safety/security issues.
   
2. Click here to sign a petition, displaying our communities need for additional officers.

This message was posted on the Silver Creek Message Board on Tuesday, 6/16/2009 - sound familiar?

Our home on Misty Grove Drive was burglarized today at approx. 2 p.m. while I was at home with my two young daughters. Below is a description of what happened but I want to alert everyone to please be vigilant about locking your doors. Also, be on the lookout for a white car with two young black women. They stole our laptop and several rings.

I arrived home this afternoon and my daughters and I were in my master bedroom/bathroom for approx. 20 minutes when I noticed that my back door was slightly open. A skinny, young (teens, early 20s) black woman was walking through my back fence toward the door when she saw me at the door and asked if Kevin was here. I told her no, locked the door, and noticed a white car (sedan, red tail light across the entire back of the car with a silver emblem in the middle of it) parked in front of our house. It drove away but I had a very uneasy feeling - I looked in our extra bedrooms and closets with my pepper spray in hand.

Then the same young woman rang my doorbell - I cracked the door and she asked if Kevin might live nearby. Gave me some story about how her mom dropped her off because he was fixing her computer and she thought he lived at my house. She left, I locked the front door and walked through my dining room to my kitchen where another black woman, a little older & heavier, was crouched down. I had my pepper spray ready and sprayed her in the face as she stood up.

She ran to my front door (with me behind her spraying like crazy screaming at her to get out of my house), unlocked it and ran out. I called 911 and Brazoria County sheriffs were here within minutes. Though several units were out searching for a white car, the women have not been caught.

They believe that 1st girl rang my doorbell to distract me so her friend could try to get out of the back door (but I'd locked it so she was trapped in the house). The officers were great and I wanted to pass along a few of their comments and recommendations:

• a lock for the back fence
• motion lights (about $10 at Home Depot),
• window locks
• adjustable door bars (about $30 at Home Depot) as one officer said it's pretty easy to kick in a back door
• and get a dog.

It's their opinion that the women didn't think anyone was home, and of course, I was an easy target with my back door unlocked. Please remember to be aware of your surroundings and lock your doors!!!

I was very aware and alert for awhile during those other home invasions a couple months back but then just relaxed again. I feel very fortunate that nobody was hurt and my children are safe and too young to really comprehend what happened.

If anyone has an idea about what make/model of car matches that description of the back end that I saw please pass it along. About the size of a Chevy Impala but I've looked at pics online and the back doesn't match what I saw.

Laura

Javier Makes Good on His Promise About the Ponds

You undoubtedly have noticed the retention ponds are thoroughly drained. Javier promised that the pumps would be turned on in June and we all appreciate his following through. Especially now that it's hurricane season. I noted that the tall grassy areas have also been mowed. Thank you!

I also wanted to let you know that I have made an open records request to our water board and received a year's worth of documents showing the monthly test results. I am going to send them to my niece, who is the EPA specialist for the entire Permian Basin, and get her interpretation of how safe our water is to drink.

I know that many of you have taken the water board and the water provider company's word for it to be safe to drink the tap water without boiling it. I am far more suspect of the quality and continue to drink only bottled water. But if my niece says it is now safe I will let you know. I will let you know whatever analysis she has given me.

I plan to visit the lawyer's office where the board meets next week and review all the minutes of monthly meetings from the past year to see what exact action has been taken on those months when our water was deemed "out of spec" (meaning that there were quality issues) and I will report that to you as well.

In 2010 there will be 2 positions on the water board up for re-election. I intend to run and hope that you will all vote for me. I also am interested in finding someone else in our neighborhood willing to run for the other position. All 5 positions are now held by people from the original Morningside neighborhood. That means the smallest neighborhood served by the water board is getting all the representation. We have 4 times as many houses as they do, and we should have a voice on the board. That's only fair....don't you think?

Dr. Root

Something for Neighborhood Watch to Watch

On 03/10/09 at the mail center on Brunswick Meadows between Sandstone Bend and Scott as early as 5:45a.m. at a very busy bus stop with no child and no other apparent business there, this man was observed by several parents who had taken their children to await the bus.



He was there for over an hour. Authorities were alerted. The next day, he moved to a different corner: Sandstone Bend, seemingly awaiting children to come to the playground area. Please be careful and keep a keen eye on the children. Yours and those of your neighbors.

Photo taken by a concerned parent here in Brunswick Meadows.

LATANYA JONES wants us to Recycle

Hello Neighbors,

I was very confused about why such a nice new community like ours, does not have a recycling program. Well after making a few calls I found out that we have to vote on it, then take it to our HOA and they have to set up a contract with our water district. There will be a slight increase in the waste (or sewer) portion of our water bill but the benefits far outweigh the cost. So I am asking all who are willing to push for recycling in our cummunity.

Here are just a few reminders about why recycling is so important:It reduces the need for raw materials(cutting down trees for paper) which saves energy, reduces pollution and saves our natural resources. It takes less energy to process recycled materials versus raw materials.

Recycling reduces trash in landfills. This allow us to reduce the number of landfills needed, thus saving money as well as habitats for wildlife.Cutting down on trash also reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases that fill the landfills and pollutes our planet.

I really could go on and on about the importance of recycling but I am going to stop here and hope these reasons are enough to convince everyone to start a recycling program. If not, please do it for the future... our children. They deserve a chance to live in a healthy clean earth as our ancestors once did. REDUCE REUSE AND RECYCLE!!!