WGIPOA Town Hall Meeting at Moody Gardens 20 Dec 2009 - Notes from Bill Hand

Here are a few notes that I took during the four hour meeting this past Saturday. A big thanks to Jerry Mohn and the WGIPOA for arranging this very informative meeting. And another thanks to the public officials and others who answered our questions and brought us up to date. Things are starting to come together and hopefully most of you are making some real progress in your recovery.

Bill Hand

Commissioner Bryan Lamb

· Call his office to report mosquito problems 409-770-5476

· Both mosquito control airplanes where destroyed when they where flooded inside the hanger at Scholes Field.

· The state has been slow cleaning up the state roads but the county is working to get them on the ball.

· All county facilities should be back up and running by mid Jan 2009.

· A lot of people are interested in the proposed “Ike Dike”. The county is also interested.

· Many ordnances on the mainland prevent the placement of FEMA trailers. There are about 500 families who qualify. There are lots of rumors about who the people are who will occupy this housing. FEMA needs to tell you who they are and people need to understand they are probably your neighbors.

· The bond issue for road improvements from 61^st to 8 Mile Rd passed. Expect some delays during the construction which should start soon.

Council Member Karen Mahoney

· City is settling in with the assessment process. Red, Yellow and Green are done. The beachside and Teichman area is still in bad shape.

· The Long Term Recovery Committee (LTRC) needs input from everyone. The next meeting will be held at Weiss School on Monday 22 Dec. at 5:00 PM.

· The first West End Town Hall meeting for the LTCR will be held in Jamaica Beach in early Jan 2009.

· Debris removal is going well, but dumping has been bad along Stewart Rd.

· Security issues are still “Out There”. It is important to report any suspicious activity and for neighbors to watch out for each others property.

Vic Pierson – Mayor of Jamaica Beach

· The traffic light is working

· Everyone on the West End needs to work together during our recovery.

Neville Cole – Ron Paul’s Office

· Call 979-285-0231 for assistance

· The office on the island will be open 9 Jan 2009.

Betty Massey – Long Term Community Recovery (LTCR)

· Karen Mahoney has been a real leader and supporter of the LTCR process.

· City Council unanimously appointed the Comprehensive Plan Committee, who have been working since the summer of 2007. They are currently working on the second draft of the CP. They where requested to be the nucleus of the LTCR. You must be a resident of Galveston to serve on the committee per the City Charter. Part timers are encouraged to participate in the grass roots effort process but can’t officially be on the committee.

· Another meeting will be held Monday 22 Dec 2009 at 5:00 PM at the Weiss Middle School cafeteria. Everyone is urged to attend.

· Please engage your neighbors about their vision for the island.

· The goal for the initial plan to be complete is April 2009.

· GCDN will set up a website to post recovery information soon.

· Contact the City Secretary if you would like to be on the LTCR or Betty Massey 409-765-9770 email b.massey@northenendowment.org

· The last round of appointments will be in Jan 2009.

· In order for other than “residents” to participate, the City Charter has to be changed in the May election. Jerry Mohn said the WGIPOA would support that change. There was other discussion from the audience expressing concern that taxpayers could not be on the LTCR if they where not full time residents.

Sgt Tim Buck – Galveston PD

· Normal patrols are in effect. 3 units and one sergeant 24/7.

· No signs on the beach and no tickets are issued for driving on the beach until signs are up. They will issue warnings as needed.

· Call volume on the West End is below normal at this time.

· Camping is not allowed except in campgrounds. Call 409-797-3702 for enforcement.

Mike Varela – Fire Chief

· Service level is back to normal call volume. GFD has contracted with the county for service on Bolivar.

· Station 5 and 4 are in temporary quarters.

· Both West End fire stations are in the regular quarters. An extra pumper with 750 gallons has been added to the West End because of water supply issues in some areas.

· All emergencies are life flighted to the mainland unless there is fog, then GFD personnel have to assist with the transport which takes some of them off the island for a while.

· Check out your fireplaces before you use them.

· Watch out for homeless people staying in vacant buildings. Call 409-797-3870 if you observe this.

· The water department installs and maintains fire hydrants. The FD inspects them annually.

· Fire trucks have maps of the streets and one has a GPS.

Wendy O’Donahue - Planning

· Her division is broken down into Planning, Building Permits and Code Enforcement.

· 5000 letters where sent out concerning assessments. 1300 where substantially damaged. You can appeal the process.

· You can get an Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) letter from planning dept.

· Code enforcement is looking for dangerous buildings. Property owners are responsible for these buildings. Call to report 409-797-3660 or planningcounter@cityofgalveston.org.

· Sheetrock permits are waived per city council vote.

· Permit fees are waived until 31 Dec 2008.

· Permits are good until the project is complete. “Drive a few nails every week”.

Daryl Kinsey – Centerpoint

· Majority of service is back up

· Some beach front is still down until poles are installed. Wait until Centerpoint is finished before you call your electrician.

· Centerpoint will be doing a final clean-up of their equipment. Most is already complete.

· Working on street lights. Each pole has a six digit ID number. Report online at Centerpoint.com or call them in. Work is usually done in about three days.

· Phone numbers for Daryl: 409-765-4026 or 4165 Email: daryl.kinsey@centerpointenergy.com

Bobby Enriquez – Texas Gas Transmission

· Gas service extends as far as Jamaica Beach.

· Call if you need service, they are working full time and most of the service is back up.

Jerry Stoddard – FEMA

· Working in partnership with the city and county

· Ken Reilly is the new Deputy Branch manager.

· 220 families are in trailers (17 moved in last week)

· 370 trailers are in the area and they require a lot of coordination to get them in service and people moved in.

· Total need is 900 to 1000 trailers on either private or community sites.

· 100 units for the island.

· FEMA trailers are a last resort. FEMA prefers rental units and many are starting to come back on line every week.

· People in these trailers are your neighbors and are not “Katrina type Evacuees”.

· FEMA will be in the area for a long time and they are assisting with the LTCR.

Brandon Wade – Asst. City Manager

· A lot of public works projects take 3 to 5 years.

· There has been a loss of 40% of the water sales revenue, which will have a big impact on funds for work.

· The water system is working, but still damaged.

· The city needs your help with the debris clean-up efforts. The city can’t remove debris from private property without a compelling reason. Lots of paperwork involved to get it done. Try to organize neighborhood clean-up projects.

· Bollards will be replaced on the beach after it is cleaned up. Target date is before Spring Break. Signs will be replaced after the sign machine that was destroyed by the storm is replaced.

· Over 2000 signs are missing around the city.

· Most of the 166 traffic signal boxes where damaged and parts are on the way to start fixing them.

· Residential debris removal ends 31 Dec 2008, but may be extended. Commercial debris removal has ended.

· The city cannot pick up debris on unimproved (vacant) property.

· Contractors will replace damaged fire hydrants (Hopefully with help from FEMA).

· Canal cleaning may be possible with a lot of paperwork. An announcement will be made after 1 Jan 2009, so stay tuned.

· The “Obama Public Works Program” may provide some help to the island…stay tuned.

· Call 797-3630 or publicworks@cityofgalveston.org for assistance. Eric Wilson- Water and Sewer, Angelo Grasso – Streets and Signs, Justin Bowling – Debris removal.

· City council hired Jeff Ward to assist the city with the hazard mitigation / buyout grants. He is an SME in the area.

· 1.3 billion (800 million for 10 Counties) from HUD. We need to show unity as a community to get this and any other future money that comes our way.

· City hired James Lee Witt firm to assist with FEMA grants and to get reimbursed for money we have already spent.

· Call the Galveston County Health District if you have septic tank issues.

Eddie Fisher – GLO

· Beach debris removal seaward of the 4.5 line is underway and moving west.

· All geo-tubes will be removed unless they are permitted for repairs.

· GLO jurisdiction is seaward of the 4.5 line and that line will be re-evaluated in early 2009.

· Emergency rules are good until March 2009. Check the GLO website for updates.

· No enforcement for removal of houses on the beach for one, and possibly two years. The GLO prefers not to get involved in the legal matters to remove these homes. They prefer buyout when possible.

· Normal beach sand recovery will take longer than originally anticipated.

· The GLO is working with the feds to show how important it is to protect the barrier islands that help protect 1/3 of the petrochemical plants serving our country.

· Sand is already being moved in front of the seawall, but will have to shutdown for turtle nesting which begins in March.

· GLO Mobile information trailers will be at Jamaica Beach 13,14,15 & 16 Jan 2009 and 3,4,5 & 6 Feb 2009. You can visit them face to face for information and assistance.

· Working with the city on a permit application program to help expedite that process.

· A team from the GLO has been tasked to restore the dunes in the effected area.

· Near shore debris removal has started but will take a long time and is very expensive. Using side scanning sonar to detect debris when possible.

Ike Dike – Dr. Bill Merrel TAMUG

· A 17 ft. seawall from San Luis Pass to High Island with end caps and three floodgates located at Bolivar Roads, San Luis Pass and the ICW.

· Barrier would protect all of Galveston Bay and the petrochemical industry.

· Dutch style current technology flood gates would be used.

· Estimated cost is 12 million dollars per mile.

· Beach in front of the seawall would require constant re-nourishment. Australians’ have a system for that.

· Could take a decade to complete