Agenda:
WEST GALVESTON ISLAND PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
AGENDA
April 18, 2009
Meeting at Moody Gardens Hotel – Vine Room
1. Call to order Jerry Mohn 9:00 AM
2. Establish Quorum Susan Gonzalez 9:01
3. Introductions Jerry Mohn 9:02
Officials/Corporate Sponsors
4. Approve 3/21/09 Minutes Jerry Mohn 9:06
5. Treasurers Report Marty Bilek 9:07
6. Gordon Morse – GARM report 9:11
7. UTMB Austin Meeting and HB 4586 9:16
8. Otie Zapp – Windstorm Insurance 9:21
Report
8. Karen Mahoney – District 6 Report 9:35
9. Brandon Wade – Deputy City Manager
“State of Galveston after Ike” 9:45
10. Other topics: 10:30
· CEPRA VI
· Ike Dike
· Bollards & Signs
· GLO Coastal Protection Plan
· ASBPA – Washington Summit/Texas Chapter
· Marquette/Anchor Bay
· Sargassum Synposium
11. Adjournment 11:00
Below is a recap of the most relevant discussion and comments that I could quickly capture with my note taking.
Several public servants were recognized including Karen Mahoney, Brandon Wade, and Joe Jaworski that voiced his support for the West End and announced that he was running for Mayor next year.
Gordon Morse gave the GARM report. Regarding Bollards he reported that the bollards will be installed in Pre-Ike locations and that the City of Galveston will amend the Beach Access Plan in approximately 3-4 weeks to reflect the current state of the beaches after Ike. Attendees stressed to him that more signs are needed to stop the vehicles that are driving on the beach.
Alice Melott, Real Estate Agent, reported there have been 27 single family sales. These sales have been within 3-7% of their listing price. There are 268 listings in the West End. She mentioned there have been low-ball offers, but these have been turned down.
HB4586 – UTMB Funding. A report was provided by J.D. Epstein which provided hope that funding is a good possibility now. If everything goes well the hospital will have 550-600 beds and we should have a Level 3 Trauma Center by summer and a Level 1 Trauma Center by next year.
Otie Zapp reported on the seriousness of the Windstorm legislation that is currently being considered in Austin. The two main bills to be defeated are SB14 and HB4733. We need 11 Senators to vote against SB14 to stop it. Help is needed from all coastal legislators and residents. A good website for more information is http://www.cwictx.org/
Karen Mahoney District 6 briefly reported on the Long Term Recovery Plan and also commented on the first two Marquette plats that have been approved.
At this point in the meeting, the Board approved a contribution to Otie Zapp’s organization to assist in his efforts on the Windstorm legislation.
Brandon Wade, Deputy City Manager, City of Galveston reported on recovery efforts and the complexity of working with state and federal agencies. He reported that the federal process is a learning experience and that FEMA has an extensive list of funding exceptions. Concerning city revenue, real estate taxes are down about 15%, sales tax slightly up, water fund down 19%, and sewer revenue down 13%. The Capital Improvement Program has been halted until they can review their 6 month financials. The City has $51 million in projects, applied for $4 million in Hazard Mitigation projects, $28 million in housing buyouts, $2 million in Federal highway projects, applied for $267 million in Block Grants ($161 million in housing, $106 million in non-housing). The city has replaced 64 traffic signal controllers, but the Central City controller is only repaired and may go down again. There are 800 signs missing throughout the city. Bollards will be replaced at Pre-Ike positions, after which bollards parallel to the dunes may be installed to prevent driving across dunes. The city has picked up $25 million of debris which is 1.4 million cubic yards.
Regarding the house buyouts – if a house is bought then nothing can be constructed on the site including the Ike Dike.
Mr. Wade discussed conditions affecting several of the older West End subdivisions which have private roads, water, or sanitary sewer issues and his efforts in addressing their needs.
The illegal signs are to be removed from along the roadways within the next two weeks. He asked for emails to be sent to him in support in case he encounters complaints.
The Police Department has 20+ vacancies due to the hiring freeze. There are only 2 cars patrolling the West End. Mr. Wade reported that he may be able to start hiring after the 6 month financials are available.
At the conclusion of his presentation, I requested that he post on the city web site the Bollard Replacement schedule to show what has been completed to date and the timeline for the work remaining which includes Pointe West. He replied that he would talk to his staff to get this posted.
Mr. Wade added that all of the Bollards should all be installed by Memorial Day.
Mr. Wade took several questions from the attendees regarding specific issues in their subdivisions.
Jerry Mohn then adjourned the meeting.
