I voted 'NO' on the Ethics Policy - Here's Why

After attending the Association of Water Board Directors annual conference in San Antonio June, 2010 - just a month after being elected as Director of WCID#89 - I noted that each Director turned in an expense report that seemed to follow his/her own conscience on what was appropriate reimbursement. President Smalls claimed an additional fee of office ($150) reimbursement for the day after the conference had ended, in order to travel back to Houston. Director Watson claimed an $82.70 lunch bill to be reimbursed, although the conference had provided lunch that day. 

Indeed, I myself had requested that my $265 auto insurance deductible be reimbursed because I had an at-fault accident on the way to the convention center the opening day of the conference. I thought that the $265 out-of-pocket expense might be allowed reimbursement since it was less than a hotel bill would have been for the required 2 nights lodging, and I had opted to stay with my sister who lives in San Antonio rather than stay in a hotel. Only Director Washington claimed a 2-night hotel stay while at the convention at a cost of $348. President Smalls claimed $609.45 for a 3-night stay for reimbursement. Directors Baber and Watson claimed $711.97 and $791.08 hotel bills, respectively. 

The District’s bookkeeper had referred my $265 deductible request for reimbursement to the entire Board for approval, which was denied. None of the other Directors' expense reports were questioned, despite the inconsistencies with the written Travel Reimbursement Guidelines for WCID#89. These written guidelines purported to be part of “a previously adopted Code of Ethics, Travel, Professional Services and Management Policies (the “Code of Ethics”) regarding reimbursement related to District business.” Although I had made repeated requests for this “previously adopted Code of Ethics” over the next several months, it was not provided by any member of the Board who claimed to have personal knowledge of its existence. Neither could the District’s bookkeeper or attorney provide me a copy of this “Code of Ethics”. 

Because the District was apparently working without a written Code of Ethics, I created a written ethics policy for the District Board members that would require a proactive effort by each individual to maximize savings for travel and accommodations when seeking reimbursement from the general operating budget for conferences, seminars, and other District business. It also included sections on Conflicts of Interest, Acceptance of Gifts, and Review and Evaluation of Professional Consultants. I presented this policy at the 11/2/2010 meeting.

After a brief discussion, reflected in the minutes of the 11/2/2010 meeting, President Smalls tabled further consideration of my proposed policy, and the other Board members requested that the District's attorney create an alternative proposal that quotes the relevant laws of the state of Texas regarding ethics and states that the District will abide by them. In this alternative proposal, Section 5 states: “The Board shall adopt such other written policies from time to time as might be required to fulfill the requirements listed in Section 49.199 of the Texas Water Code, as amended.”

Section 49.199(a) of the Texas Water Code states “Subject to the law governing the district, the board shall adopt the following in writing…(2) a policy relating to travel expenditures.” Therefore, at today's meeting, I proposed the following policy relating to travel expenditures be adopted by the Board, along with the proposed ethics policy resolution.

          

  Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 89--- Travel Expenditure Policy

1.                  In order to be eligible for expense reimbursement, a Board member must be present for and participate in all or substantially all of the activities involved in a District-related trip (such as attendance at an approved Association of Water Board Directors Conference) [hereinafter referred to as “Approved Business”]. 

2.                  All expenditures incurred that are eligible for reimbursement at an Approved Business event and are over the amount of $25.00, must be documented by an ITEMIZED invoice or receipt (non-itemized credit card or other receipts are not acceptable).  Any expenditure below the amount of $25.00 must be documented in writing and sworn to by the Board member seeking reimbursement.

3.                  If traveling by air on Approved Business, Board members may only be reimbursed for the following expenses:

a.      the costs of transportation to and from the airport of departure (e.g. shuttle service) OR the amount of actual mileage to and from the airport of departure at the then-current rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service and any applicable parking fees; AND

b.      the amount of a common carrier ticket purchased at the lowest available coach rate on the date of purchase for a direct flight from the airport of departure to the Approved Business event destination; AND

c.       the cost of a rental car (including fuel costs) in the destination city during the days on which the Approved Business event is held at a rate not to exceed the published rate for a full-sized, four-door car (not premium or luxury class) OR the costs of shuttle services if the Board member does not rent a car.

4.                  If traveling by personal car on Approved Business, Board members may only be reimbursed for the following expenses:

a.      the amount of actual mileage to and from the destination city plus actual mileage to and from the Approved Business event at the then-current rate allowed by the Internal Revenue Service; AND

                  b.   reasonable parking fees and tolls while in transit.

5.                  Each Board member who attends an Approved Business event will receive fees of office equaling the number of days for which the event is scheduled, plus a fee of office for any days of necessary travel required to attend the event on time.  The actual number of fees of office must be established by the Board of Directors prior to the commencement of the Approved Business event.

6.                  Reasonable and necessary meals consumed while attending an Approved Business event may be reimbursable to each Board member, if actually eaten and paid for by the Board member.  Meals may be reimbursed during travel time, if reasonable and necessary. No meals for a child, spouse, or guest of the Board member are reimbursable. There is no reimbursement for alcoholic beverages.  The maximum number of meals that will be reimbursed must be established by the Board of Directors prior to the commencement of the Approved Business event.

7.                  If there is a special or discount hotel rate available for participants at an Approved Business event, the District will not reimburse a Board member for more than the special or discount hotel rate, unless hotel rooms at the special or discount rate are no longer available.  In such event, a majority of the Board of Directors must approve the rate claimed for reimbursement.

8.                  The District will not reimburse for any costs associated with a spouse’s, child’s, or other guest’s attendance at an Approved Business event, including social events or programs hosted at the Approved Business event.

9.                  A Board member shall certify in his/her reimbursement package that none of the expenses submitted for District reimbursement have been reimbursed from another source. 

10.              Personal entertainment expenses, including golf, books, magazines, newspapers, in-room movies, theater tickets, sporting events, recreational activities, fishing, etc. are not eligible travel expenses and will not be reimbursed.

11.             The District’s bookkeeper shall review all expenses requested for reimbursement and will notify the Board of Directors of any items that appear inconsistent with these Guidelines. 

AK Babers had left today's meeting by the time that the discussion on ethics occurred. But the other 3 Board members did not want to accept my proposal. They held the vote on the ethics policy with no stated travel reimbursement guidelines. I voted 'NO' because without clearly stated restrictions, Board members will continue to follow their own dictates on using taxpayer money for reimbursing themselves. At the end of the meeting, I insisted that a travel reimbursement policy be on the next meeting's agenda for discussion and action.

If you care how the Board spends your taxes in reimbursing themselves, please attend the meeting on 12/21/2010 at 11:30AM. If you can't attend the meeting, please write of your concerns to the Board of Directors c/o Strawn & Richardson, P.C.
6750 West Loop South, Suite 250
Bellaire, TX 77401-4111
OR e-mail your concerns to me at jroot@wcid89.org and I will print each of your e-mails out to distribute to the Board at the next meeting. 

Specifics on District Community Building - Ethics Policy - LPAA

At the 11/16/10 Board meeting, the architect of the District Building, Mr. Mosely, presented all the design plans. In a nutshell, the building will be about 7000 square feet with a parking lot of 100 spaces and 8 designated handicapped spaces.  The building will be multi-functional and ADA compliant (meaning it is built to accommodate people with disabilities) having two offices, two conference rooms (24'x16' for one and 18'x12' for the other) and a large 50'x50' space complete with a stage (22'x15') and dressing room (8'x16') with A/V booth. The large room can be divided into four separate meeting areas, each with its own ceiling fan, and hold up to 330 people comfortably if left without dividers. A/C has been designed to function in just the part of the building being used, in order to save energy.

In addition, a fully equipped kitchen (21'x21') will be built right off the main room. There will be work tables and a grill in addition to all the appliances. The outside of the building will be made of brick and steel, with a metal roof, along with acoustical tile ceiling.  President Smalls said that the proposed building will act as a command center in case of emergency and is built to withstand hurricane weather. She was less clear on the specifics of what the command center activties might entail, and who might benefit directly by such a use.

$1.3 million has been earmarked for the construction and maintenance of the building, which comes primarily from already issued bonds. The rest comes from a $500 fee paid by the developers for each water tap installed and a $2500 fee for each commercial acre developed. Perhaps the building will be ready for use sometime in 2011 - but definitely by 2012.


Mr. Mosely will be handling the bid process, and stated it would take another 6 weeks or so to get all the necessary permits from the state and county before publishing the request for bids.  Because of the poor quality of the soil on which the foundation will rest, it will require building up that area. In case you haven't seen the sign marking the spot, the construction site is near the curve of Fellows Road  right across from Tom Bass Park II - the golf course section.

At the 11/2/10 meeting, an ethics policy that I introduced was not well received. The other members of the Board requested that the District's attorney, Chris Richardson, create an alternative policy that would quote the relative ethics laws from the state of Texas and the District Board's intention to abide by them. The one that Chris prepared will be discussed and voted on at the 12/7/10 meeting. I will have more to say about this after the next meeting.


Also at the 12/7/10 meeting will be a discussion of a Limited Purpose Annexation Agreement (LPAA) with the city of Houston. Under such an agreement, we would get to vote for 'District D' City Council races and in all other City elections (mayoral, council members-at-large, ballot proposals, etc.) but would not be paying city taxes nor receiving city services (i.e. security through HPD, emergency responders like firefighters or EMTs, garbage pickup or the other kinds of services that the District already provides). We would have to abide by City ordinances as well. Why would we want such an LPAA?


Now that we have a few commercial enterprises in the District (recent Jack in the Box on Cullen, soon-to-come Exxon/Sonic, and existing PODs facility) we can get a 50% cut of the city sales tax by entering into an LPAA. That additional revenue stream is the up side - in addition to having voting power and representation in City Council meetings. The down side, depending on your viewpoint, would be having to abide by Houston ordinances (for example, no fireworks) and that full annexation would not be allowed for a period of 30 years.

Security Report For October 1-31, 2010

This is the first monthly report from Constable 7 May Walker since we contracted with her office to provide 3 deputies. It's hard to read, but if you'll click on each table you can then print it out and see the details of the report. The contracted deputies spent 99% of their time patrolling WCID89 (although the contract only requires them to stay within the District 70% of the time) and response times for dispatched calls were on average 3-5 minutes. Quite an improvement over the Sheriff's Department. Thanks again to the security liaisons in the Brunswick neighborhoods who made this happen!

I, for one, certainly appreciate Deputy Minneweather giving so many verbal warnings rather than writing citations for all those traffic violations. But folks, beware of your driving. We're being patrolled :--)

Ethics Policy & District Community Building on 11/16/10 Agenda

After several attempts to get the Board of Directors to consider a written Code of Ethics policy for WCID#89, a draft that I developed was discussed at the last meeting. President Smalls and Director Watson were not impressed with my efforts, and requested that the District's attorney create one instead. We will be discussing it at the next meeting 11/16/10 at 11:30AM.  Please note the address for this and all meetings is the new office location of the District's law firm,

Strawn & Richardson, P.C.

6750 West Loop South, Suite 250

Bellaire, Texas  77401-4111

This is in the Frost Bank building. Free parking is available.

Also on the agenda is a presentation by the architect on the District Community Building. President Smalls had stated that the bidding process was ready to move forward on construction of the building at the 10/19/10 meeting. I requested that the Board be presented with the design and be given more information about the purpose/use of the building before requests for bids were sent out. 

The original annexation agreement between 308 Furman, Ltd. and WCID#89, dated 4/9/2002 (I finally know how  the developer got that name - 308 acres near Furman Street. Cute, huh?) noted an estimate of $300,000 to be used on the "community center" which was to have parking capacity for 132 vehicles and might also include a basketball court, tennis court, and/or jogging trail. The $300,000 was to be provided by a $500 fee for each lot sold in the Brunswick neighborhoods, and $2500 for each acre sold out of commercial reserve acreage. 

There were apparently changes made to the original concept for the community center along the way. One of these changes included the funding for construction, because one of the bonds issued by WCID#89 over the past 8 years has an $800,000 earmark for the District building. We should know more about the other changes when the presentation is made at the next meeting. 

Tax Hike - Have Your Voice Heard!

The District's financial advisor made a presentation at the September 17th meeting explaining why we needed to consider raising our tax rate. I suppose most of you know that we are not the only taxing entity having to do so.  

Current tax rate is $1.34/$100 value of property, out of which 85 cents is dedicated to debt service and 49 cents is for operations and maintenance (O&M) of the District. The total 2010 HCAD appraised value for the district is $241,322,069 but the taxable value is only $208,602,094 because of homestead, senior citizen, and disabled person's exemptions. The amount under protest by homeowners on their personal appraisals is $11,296,713, which if successful would lower the overall taxable value to $197,305,381.

Here's the facts:

• Taxable value of homes decreased by 11% between 2008 & 2009 according to HCAD. This meant a loss of $19.9 million in the tax base.
• Every penny of tax levy equals approximately $21,000 of tax revenue for the District.
• The annual operating expenditures are approximately $2,400,000 while debt service requirements are $2,750,000 for a total annual expenditure of roughly $5,150,000.
• Tax rate collection is typically in the 98% range.

The financial advisor recommended we raise the debt service tax rate to $1.04 and set the O&M tax rate to 40 cents for an overall tax rate of $1.44/$100 value of property. After much discussion, we decided to set a total rate of $1.39/$100 with $1 for debt service and 39 cents for O&M.


The public hearing for the 2010 tax rate will be held at the beginning of the next District meeting at 11:30AM on Tuesday, October 19, 2010. The new meeting place is the Frost Bank Bldg. located at 6750 West Loop South, Suite 250, Bellaire, TX. Free parking is available.

New Meeting Place in Bellaire

Beginning with the September 7th meeting, the location for WCID#89 meetings will be at the new offices of Strawn & Richardson in the Frost Bank Building.

This is near the corner of Bellaire and the West Loop South. The actual address is:
6750 West Loop South, Suite 250
Bellaire TX 77401

New Security Contract

The security contract that we had with Sheriff Garcia has been canceled. It became official on August 10, 2010 when the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a request by the Sheriff to eliminate the positions that were created by the contract. After having a presentation by Constable Walker of Precinct 7 (which covers our District boundaries) the Board voted to request a similar contract for 3 deputies from her office to patrol our neighborhoods. It has the 70-30 provision (presumes that the officers hired under the contract will be on patrol within the District 70% of the time and 30% patrolling the rest of Precinct 7) because this is the only contract that Harris County offers. Constable Walker said that we can count on upwards of 90% of the time our contracted deputies are on duty to actually be patrolling our neighborhoods.

Special thanks to CG Johnson and Dave King of Brunswick Meadows, and to Johanna Williams and several other Brunswick Lakes residents for coming to the Board meetings to represent the security concerns of their neighborhoods. I believe there was also a rep from Brunswick Place and I apologize for not knowing her name. CG and Johanna - please comment on this posting and provide the names of all those who volunteered their time to act as security liaisons. It was all of you who really made this happen!!!!!

Have An Alarm System? Then You Need An Alarm Permit From Harris County

First, let me say that Constable Walker will be at the WCID89 meeting on 8/3/10 to make a presentation. You are welcome to attend. If you have any questions you'd like to ask her, please submit them to me at jroot@wcid89.org before 10AM tomorrow morning.

Second, I am passing on some information here that the Sheriff requested. I know it's likely to just make you mad, given the lack of service that the Sheriff provided while under contract to the District. But, it is good information. If you have a monitored alarm system (one where the security company calls you when the alarm goes off) you will need to present them with your alarm permit. Please note that all the CAPITAL LETTERS in the rest of this posting are not me shouting at you. They were put in by the Sheriff on his information letter regarding alarm permits. And now, I copy and paste it for your reading pleasure...

PERMIT MUST BE ISSUED BEFORE ALARM SYSTEM IS ACTIVATED TO AVOID FEES AND/OR FINES (Note from me: I didn't have my permit the first year (2005) I had the alarm system because I didn't know anything about it. This house was the first one I ever had an alarm installed. But my monitoring company, Brinks Security, contacted me and said I needed to fax a copy of my alarm permit to them. I had no problem getting the alarm permit without extra fees or fines. But maybe the policy has changed in the last 5 years to include some sort of penalty charge. Every year when the permit is about to expire, I get a postcard from the County Auditor telling me to pay my $10 renewal fee, along with a due date.)

$35.00 New permit for residential and non-residential alarm sites

$10.00 Annual renewal for residential and non-residential alarm sites

$50.00 Reinstatement for residential and non-residential alarm sites

Incomplete or illegible applications will be returned. Applications received without the permit fee will be returned. PERMIT FEES are not required for government offices or for residential alarm sites if the permit holder is sixty-five (65) years of age or older. (Note from me: You can get a copy of the application in a Word document format by clicking here and then clicking on Forms and then on Alarm Permit Application.)

PERMIT TERM: An alarm system permit shall be valid for a twelve (12) month period from the date of issuance as stated on the permit, and shall expire on the last day of the twelfth month. The beginning for the renewal permit term shall be the first day of the month following expiration.

PERMIT RENEWAL: The permit holder, on or before the expiration of the alarm system permit shall submit to the Alarm Detail a renewal permit application, as promulgated by the Harris County - Alarm Detail, along with the applicable renewal fee.

CHANGE OF INFORMATION IN PERMIT APPLICATION: The permit holder has an affirmative duty to amend any information contained or attached to the permit application that has changed or is out of date and filed with the Alarm Detail within thirty (30) days after the information changed or was out of date.

ANY PERSON OR ENTITY OPERATING AN ALARM SYSTEM WITHOUT A PERMIT IS SUBJECT TO A SERVICE RESPONSE FEE OF $75.00 FOR EACH FALSE ALARM. In addition to the service response fee, a citation may be issued and a fine imposed by the Justice of the Peace Court for operating an alarm system without a permit.

REVOCATION OF ALARM SYSTEM PERMIT: An alarm system permit may be revoked if the permit holder:

(a) has violated a provision of Chapter 237, Texas Local Government Code (County Regulation of Alarm Systems), any provision of the Revised Rules Governing the Regulation of Alarm Systems within Harris County, Texas (“Rules”), or any order of Harris County Commissioner’s Court pertaining to the Rules;

(b) has failed to make payment in full to Harris County for any fees, fines, charges, costs and/or court judgments entered by a court of competent jurisdiction within forty-five (45) days of the date the Alarm Detail has mailed a notice to the permit holder;

(c) accrues more than nine (9) false alarms, including the first five (5) charge free false alarms, during the term of the permit;

(d) accrues three (3) or more false alarms subsequent to a reinstatement renewal permit during the remainder of the then current permit term;

(e) is required to attend alarm abuser class as set forth in Section 17 of the Rules, and has failed to satisfy this requirement prior to the expiration date of the current permit term;

(f) fails to renew the alarm system permit prior to the expiration;

(g) fails to update the alarm system permit application;

(h) submits payment by check or credit card made to Harris County, and is dishonored or charged back.

BILLING INFORMATION: Locations with a valid permit are allowed five (5) false alarms each permit year (issue/expiration date on permit) without charge.

EACH FALSE ALARM AFTER THE FIVE (5) FREE FALSE ALARMS ARE CHARGEABLE AND WILL BE ASSESSED AT $75.00 FOR EACH RESPONSE BY A COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

For all payments to the Alarm Detail for fees, fines, charges or costs, payment by check or money order should be made payable to the HARRIS COUNTY TREASURER and sent to:

HARRIS COUNTY ALARM DETAIL
9418 JENSEN DRIVE, SUITE A
HOUSTON, TX 77093

Who Are The Developers In WCID#89?

Arthur Washington, VP of WCID#89, and I attended the Brunswick Lakes HOA monthly meeting last night. An interesting discussion arose about responsibilities of the Developers versus the District in maintaining the neighborhood amenities. I thought you might find this of interest, regarding who developed what neighborhood within WCID#89 and what these developers are supposed to be doing.

In general, activities of a developer in a municipal utility district (MUD) such as WCID#89, include acquiring land for development; defining a marketing program; planning and scheduling development; securing adequate funds for development; arranging for design and construction of utilities, streets, amenities, and other improvements; and, selling developed and undeveloped land to other developers, investors, and others. Ordinarily, the developers pay 100% of the costs of paving and amenity design and construction.

The developer of Morningside Place Section 2 was Fellows Eight Development Ltd. who developed 20 acres into 103 single family residential lots during 2003 and 2004. Lennar Homes was the builder and built out these 103 homes in 2005. Morningside Place Section 2 also includes 25 acres of commercial property which PODS personal storage facility now occupies.

The developer of Brunswick Meadows is 308 Furman (a limited partnership with Lennar Homes serving as general partner) and entered into sales contracts with Trophy Homes and Gehan Homes to build out the 15 sections in this neighborhood.

245 Brunswick Lakes Ltd. is a corporation controlled by Joe Fogarty, who has been active in Houston area land development for over 25 years, and is the developer for Brunswick Lakes, sections 1, 2, 3, and 5.  Royce Homes was the builder contracted for these lots.

Finally is Brunswick Place LP, the developer for what was Brunswick Lakes sections 7-9. The president of Brunswick Place LP is Tom Moughon, who has also been active in real estate development in the Houston area for over 20 years. Choice Homes and D.R. Horton Homes are building out these lots.

A Not So Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the AWBD Conference

All the WCID#89 Board members attended the summer Association of Water Board Directors (AWBD) conference in San Antonio last month. Travel expenses were reimbursed, but I decided to stay with my sister who lives in San Antonio rather than a hotel in order to save the District some money. Unfortunately, I had a minor fender bender on the way to the first day of the conference. It was in stop & go traffic and the guy in front of me stopped, but I just kept going.

I was in my little Hyundai Accent. The guy I hit was in a beer distributing super van. His bumper had a couple of little scratches but here's how my car looked.
Was over $3000 to repair because it busted the radiator, and I wound up with 2 broken ribs and a nasty little shoulder/neck "soft tissue" injury. OUCH!!!!!! I was shocked at the amount of damage done since I was only going about 10 mph.

Believe it or not, I did attend the conference despite missing the Key Note address and the party hosted by the water company on Friday night. Got a rental car to get back home on Saturday and left my car in San Antonio at a place called Miracle Body & Paint. They do something called discounting deductibles. They give you a discount on your insurance deductible equal to 15% of the labor charge for the repair. So, instead of paying $500 for the part that the insurance wouldn't cover, I only had to pay $265 as a deductible amount.

Well, once we returned to Houston, I requested that the Board approve my $265 deductible as an allowable travel expense for reimbursement. In my mind, it would have been about the same amount of money that a hotel bill would have been for the 2 nights, and I was traveling to the event center where the conference was held when it happened.

But the Board voted against allowing me reimbursement. I understood their reasons. Hotel bills and insurance deductibles simply aren't the same thing, regardless if they are in the same ballpark money-wise. I was at fault in the accident, and even though I was on my way to the conference, it was a stretch to claim the out-of-pocket expense for my wreck as a reimbursable travel expense.

So, even though it cost me, I was glad to have been at the conference. I attended a seminar called "Directors 101" that was an introduction for new directors and had excellent information about the legal aspects of MUDs, the role of consultants, duties of directors, etc. I also purchased a book called Water Board Director's Handbook, which is specifially designed for new directors. I'm still reading through it, but I've learned a LOT from it as well.

I also had a very educational experience walking around the exhibitor hall and talking with all the various vendors who contract with MUDs. Had a lengthy discussion with a guy about various chemicals that are used in purifying the groundwater supply and spoke with several waste collection companies about recyclying programs. I followed up with these contacts when I returned to Houston and got all kinds of information on implementing recycling in our district. At the District meeting on July 20th we had presentations from two of these contacts, and I'm still working with our current vendor, Waste Management, about what they have to offer. Hopefully we can get a recycling program started soon.

Reports Are In - Water is SAFE!

After reviewing the actual test results taken over the last 15 months, I am happy to report that the problem with the water WCID#89 had 3 years ago is now a thing of the past. I will continue to filter my kitchen sink water, though, because I've gotten used to the way it tastes filtered. And the replacement filters are found on eBay fairly cheap. But the more expensive filters on my shower heads I feel confident do not require replacing any longer. HOORAY!

For those who are still experiencing discoloration or odor in their water, please contact me and I will ask the water company to flush the lines. This is more likely to happen to those who live in the northern sections of Brunswick neighborhoods because they are the farthest away from Morningside where the water is stored. Flushing the lines helps, but is a temporary solution. In the future there will be another water storage facility built in Brunswick Meadows and that should help eliminate the problem.

I always just took it for granted that when I turned on the tap or flushed the toilet it just worked. Well, you 'd be truly amazed at what it takes to treat the sewage that comes out of our houses and how complex the system is for bringing water into our homes. I have a whole new respect for the word "infrastructure" :--)

More on 2009 Water Quality Report

The good news is that the Drinking Water Quality report for 2009 reflects that overall our water, whether drawn from the ground sources (the well) or surface water (what we buy from the City of Houston) tested lower than the EPA guidelines for contamination. In fact most of the data shows our test results were well below the level that the State and Federal government consider problematic.

The not so good news is that there are two contradictory sets of statistics for the TTHM and HAA5 levels, which are created as a by-product of the chlorine put into the water to disinfect it. Test results on these factors that exceed certain levels can lead to various health problems for those who drink the water or use it for bathing. I have requested a copy of all test results for TTHMs and HAA5s taken in 2009 and 2010 to make sure that the concentration of TTHMs and HAA5s are not problematic in our water supply. Will post here what I find out. So stay tuned!

2009 Water Quality Report

Any of you who heard me campaign know that my main reason for running for the District Board of Directors was to ensure our drinking water was safe for consumption and our daily use. Recently you should have received the nice little brochure that is sent out by the District every year reporting on the quality of our water. If you haven't received yours, or thought it was junk mail and just threw it out, send me an e-mail at jroot@wcid89.org and I'll send you a copy.

I have learned a LOT about what all it takes to get water of any quality delivered to our houses. AK and I took a tour of the sewer treatment facility (definitely wanted a gasmask while touring it - eeewwww!) and the well with Laney Brown, who is our Southwest Water operator. I am pleased to report that there is now a gas-powered generator that will keep our water flowing even if electricity is knocked out by Hurricane Alex or any other hurricane that comes closer to us this season. We also have an impressive array of pumps that carry the water to our homes. But the further away the well is from the house, the harder it is to keep pressure constant. And the quality of the water is affected by the number of pipes it must travel through before it gets to your tap.

The Peanut Gallery Revisited

Several of you have visited a meeting of the Water District to voice concerns, as did both AK and I before we were elected to the Board. AK and I had referred to the area where we were asked to sit as "The Peanut Gallery" -- off to the side of the tables arranged in a large square where the Board Members and the various consultants (engineer, tax office rep, bookkeeper, attorney, etc.) sat. On every agenda there is a designated time at the beginning of the meeting to hear public comments. That is when us 'peanuts' were allowed to speak.

Well, I titled this post "The Peanut Gallery Revisited" for a reason. I have recently completed a training through the Attorney General's Office about the Open Meetings Act. Believe it or not, the point of allowing the public to attend meetings of government bodies, which has elected representatives, is so that they can watch their reps in action. I was always frustrated that I was not allowed to ask questions or make comments when something interesting was being discussed after the 'public comments' moment was over. But you know what? That's proper!

The purpose of the meeting is to conduct the business of the District. And, if it were to get bogged down with a lot of comments and questions from folks like me, who took a determined interest in their local government, but didn't really understand what the business actually entailed, it would be difficult to get through all the items on the agenda. So relegating me to be a 'peanut' was appropriate -- but only during the called meetings.

If you ever come to one of the District meetings, I hope you will understand that the amount of time and attention that can be devoted to public comments is quite limited. BUT I don't want you to feel like a peanut! Please, let me know your concerns by e-mailing me at jroot@wcid89.org and I will continue to blog here to keep you informed on the decisions we make. Together we can address the issues that you have made clear are important.

Answers for Brunswick Meadows HOA Meeting

The annual HOA meeting for Brunswick Meadows was held last month and a few concerns were raised about the detention ponds. At the most recent Board meeting I got a few answers.

First, some of us who have lived in Brunswick Meadows for 5 years or more remember that the detention ponds used to be filled with water, making them appear to be lakes - complete with ducks and other water fowl, albeit no fountain features.

Last year there was a construction project ongoing for several months to drain the ponds and we have been told that the design was for them to always be dry. This started a rather interesting discussion on the yahoo group site of the difference between detention and retention ponds. In order to convert our current detention pond into a retention pond would require additional excavation. This, of course, would come at a cost. According to the Developer, the pumps would be adequate to handle flooding no matter if it were a retention or a detention pond.

The pumps are automatically triggered when the water rises to a certain level. While there was some earlier disagreement over who was responsible to install and maintain the pumps between the District and the Developer, that has been settled. The pumps are now functional and there is no need for notification or remote access since they are automatically triggered.

Both the Engineer and the Developer said that a pond with water (what we had been calling a retention rather than detention pond) would pose no problem to the pumps preventing flooding of the neighborhood. However, it would require the additional excavation to hold the water. No funds have been allocated for such work to be done.

I also asked if the District or the Developer was responsible for mowing the areas around the detention ponds and was told that Harris County Flood Control will have responsibility for maintenance of the detention ponds in the future, including mowing. In Brunswick Meadows, the Flood Control District will not take on that duty until all the development has been completed, including the detention pond that will serve the newest section. So, it would appear that the Developer has the responsibility for now to make sure that the mowing is done.

Finally, I asked about the homeowners who were charged a premium on lots that faced the 'lake' and everyone said that those affected would need to take that up with the builders and their representatives. I remember at closing on my house that I signed something that said no promises were made to me by the sales rep either verbally or in writing that would hold Lennar liable for anything beyond what was clearly stated in the sales contract. Still, if you feel like you were cheated, it couldn't hurt to complain to the builder, or the BBB.

AK & Dr Root's Swearing In Ceremony

Although I, Dr. Root, was sick as a dog I dragged myself to the lawyer's office to attend my first WCID#89 meeting as a Director. Once we took the oath of office, the Board decided to elect officers. Sharyn Smalls will continue as President, Arthur Washington will continue as VP, and Byron Keith will be the new Secretary since Victoria Lastee was one of the incumbents that AK & I beat in the election. 107 voters cast ballots and here's the final official tally:
Jeraine R. Root 69 votes
AK Babers 72 votes
Danny Perkins 23 votes
Victoria Lastee 27 votes
So we won by a 3 to 1 margin!
I had asked about putting our concerns on the agenda, but was told I had no authority to do so until after I was sworn in. So, I'm going to keep the poll open on the yahoo group. If you haven't yet participated in the poll, please click here to join our yahoo group and let us know your concerns. Also, visit our Brunswick Meadows blog for a recap of tonight's HOA meeting.

ROOT & BABERS WON THE ELECTION!!!!!!!!!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out and voted. Not sure what the exact vote results were, but the election judge did come out with this sign that AK and I proudly held with her for the photo:


She had told us that this was the biggest turnout for WCID89 election ever! Over 100 people voted, including those who voted early. Again, thanks to each one of you for taking the time to vote and we both will do our best to be worthy of your support.

IT'S ELECTION DAY - VOTE FOR ROOT & BABERS!

I have truly enjoyed getting to meet several of my neighbors in Brunswick Meadows, Brunswick Place, and Brunswick Lakes as I walked around introducing myself and handing out flyers about today's election. Thanks for taking time to talk to me about our mutual concerns to make 'The Wick' (as AK refers to us) a better place for all of us to live.

Even if I am not elected to the WCID#89 Board today, I will continue this blog to inform everyone of what our elected officials are doing with our tax dollars. What I can glean from the minutes of the meetings, I will post here. I truly want to serve our community!!!

Jeraine Root - Qualified Candidate?

Inasmuch as all it takes to be qualified to sit on the Board of WCID#89 is to maintain a residence within the district, I'm fully qualified! However, I think that I do bring a few more credentials to the race. Although I have never run for public office, I was very active in student government from high school through graduate school. I served as Graduate Class President at Stephen F. Austin State University while pursuing my Master's Degree in Political Science.

I also have an earned doctorate in Political Science from University of Houston. I taught government classes at several local community colleges and UH-Downtown as I continued my studies. Therefore I have a very good working knowledge of local governments in Texas.

After graduating with my PhD in 1995 I went to work for Harris County and have been employed there since 1996. This has afforded me personal experience with the practical side of public service. I have been an active member of Women Professionals in Government (WPG) for the past 6 years, including serving on the WPG Board. WPG Social Event will be hosted by Mayor Annise Parker this month and several other female elected officials belong to WPG.

Water Rate Hikes Coming Soon

As you have probably heard, the City of Houston will be hiking their water rates. Since we get most of our water from Houston, our rates will also rise. At the February 2nd meeting of the Board, the rate hikes were approved. The current rates are $2.184 per 1000 gallons and were increased to $2.190 effective on April 1, 2010 -- so expect your May water bill to be higher. Just wanted you to know that AK Babers and I had no part of this rate increase. Would hate for the first thing to happen after we are elected is for everyone to think that we immediately increased your cost for water! On January 1, 2011 the rates will increase again to $2.737 per 1000 gallons.

Come Meet The Candidates

AK Babers and I were invited to meet our Brunswick Lake neighbors at their monthly meeting tonight, April 27th at 7PM. Sorry for the late notice - just got the invite yesterday - but would like for anyone in Brunswick Meadows, Brunswick Place, and/or Morningside neighborhoods to come to the meeting if you wish to know more about us.

The meeting will be at the New Beginning Church 4251 Schurmier Road, 77048 which is just off Cullen. Use mapquest or google maps. Or just go north on Cullen from the Beltway about 1/2 mile and take a right on the first street past the Brunswick Lakes neighborhood. If you get to Fuqua or Almeda Genoa, you've gone too far north. The church will be on the left of Schurmier Road, right past Old Chocolate Bayou. Hope to see you there!
Jeraine Root

Why Jeraine Root Is A Candidate

I moved to Brunswick Meadows in 2005 because I grew tired of driving 110 miles round-trip on my daily commute from Lake Conroe to downtown Houston. While I miss my home in the woods - it was a lovely house -



I enjoy having neighbors nearby and the convenience of living in the 'burbs. About a year after moving in, I was concerned when a notice was left on my door that there would be a meeting held at Christa Adair Park because of the EPA determination that our water supply was contaminated.

I attended the meeting, as did about 100 others living within the district boundaries of WCID #89 and I discovered, much to my chagrin, that most of the questions asked of the Board members and the "water expert" that was on hand, were not answered satisfactorily. And even more disconcerting was the seeming lack of a plan to address the problem beyond "more testing" being performed.

My niece, who is a chemical engineer and had been employed in the Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services Dept. as a water testing lab technician, accompanied me to this meeting. Her assessment of the meeting was that the "water expert" was downplaying what was indeed a dangerous level of contamination in our water supply. She urged me to immediately put carbon filters on all of my faucets, including the shower heads, because the particular contaminant was much more likely to be absorbed through the skin while showering than ingested. I did as she suggested. She also forwarded information to me about scrubbers that could be installed that would effectively deal with the problem at the source. I sent this information to Board President Smalls and asked to be kept informed of the progress that was being made. She told me to continue to watch the website for updates. Although President Smalls had promised at the open meeting at Adair Park that the WCID #89 website would be updated with regular reports, that never occurred.

To my knowledge, the scrubbers information was never suggested to the rest of the Board or ever considered at all. Two years later we received an annual report that stated the EPA guidelines had finally been met. That is when I decided to look more into this matter.

I made several open records requests, through the Freedom of Information Act, and had no success by dealing with either the Board or their attorney in getting the information I needed. After reporting my frustration to the Attorney General of Texas, I received word from President Smalls that the Board hired a new attorney to represent them, Chris Richardson.

Mr. Richardson was very helpful and delivered over 1500 pages of information to me, which I forwarded to my niece for review. She said that while the EPA guidelines were being met there were still high levels of contaminants, which can cause cancer, and contribute to cardiovascular problems. I'm keeping my faucets filtered!

I have also requested many more documents, available through the Freedom of Information Act, that have proved to me that our representatives on the Board have failed to address some of our most basic concerns - clean water, effective security, flood control, and good stewardship of our tax dollars. For these reasons, I am running for a place on the Board and hope you will support me. In my next post I will give more information about my personal qualifications for office.

Election Information in Your Water Bill

Did you notice? Information about the election is on your water bill this month.

Taxation Without Representation

WCID #89 has taxing authority. Since the Brunswick neighborhoods have been developed, this has reduced the tax burden on the Morningside neighborhoods. Because the tax rates are based on property values, the higher cost of homes in Brunswick Meadows, Brunswick Place, and Brunswick Lakes means that those living there pay higher taxes to the District. Yet ALL the Board members reside in Morningside.

In 2003, when Brunswick Lakes and Brunswick Meadows started selling houses, the tax rate was $1.50 per $100 property valuation. So if your house was valued at $100,000 you paid $1500 in taxes to WCID #89. For comparison, the Harris County tax rate in 2003 was 39 cents per $100, so you paid $390 in County taxes. The current rate is $1.34 per $100 property valuation. 85 cents is used for debt and 49 cents for the District's maintenance and operations.

Starting in 2005 to the present, the WCID #89 tax rate has steadily fallen. Why? Because of the growth in the Brunswick neighborhoods. More people paying taxes reduces the tax burden on each household. At every Board meeting, a report is given on how many new houses have been added to the District's tax rolls. Yet, there is NO ONE from any Brunswick neighborhood on the Board. And when concerned Brunswick citizens have attended WCID #89 Board meetings to voice concerns over the quality of the water being provided and security issues, they have been relegated to the 'peanut gallery' to speak at the beginning of the meeting, and then, seemingly ignored. Ignored not only throughout the rest of the meeting, but ignored as to any action that would meet their stated needs.

Taxation without representation is what turned loyal British citizens into revolutionaries back in the late 1700s. It is now inspiring Jeraine Root and AK Babers to seek Board membership through the ballot box. We ask that you join our mini-revolution and vote for us on May 8th so that Brunswick will get the representation we deserve!

History of WCID#89 and Info on Election 5/8/2010

This is the first in a series of postings that I will devote to understanding more about our MUD or Water District, Water Control and Improvement District #89. WCID #89 serves the relatively new developments built on the north side of Beltway 8 between Furman St and Cullen Blvd. Brunwick Lakes, Brunswick Meadows, and Brunswick Place. The other two major neighborhoods served by WCID #89 are Morningside Place I and Morningside Place II which are on the south side of Beltway 8, bounded by Cullen Blvd and Fellows Road which runs along Tom Bass Park.

WCID #89 was created March 6, 1964 and was converted to a municipal utility district (MUD) on April 11, 1984 and according to chapters 49 and 54 of the Texas Water Code, WCID #89 is empowered to purchase, operate & maintain all facilities necessary to provide water, sanitary sewer service, storm sewer drainage, irrigation, solid waste collection & disposal, including recycling, parks and recreational facilities for the residents of the District. In addition, WCID#89 can contract for or employ its own peace officers with power to make arrests and to establish, operate and maintain a fire department to perform all fire-fighting activities within the District. On April 4, 2000 WCID #89 entered into a water supply agreement with the City of Houston, which has supplemented the District's water supply from wells.

WCID #89 is governed by 5 Board members who serve 4 year terms of office. These positions were held by Sharyn Smalls (President) Arthur G. Washington (VP) Victoria Lastee (Secretary) Danny Perkins (Director) and Claudell Bradby (Director). Claudell Bradby was not qualified to sit on the Board because she had not maintained a residence within the District since 2007, yet she had continued to serve as Director. She was replaced by Byron Keith Watson, Sr. - appointed to office by the Board in April 2009.

Interesting isn't it that there was no attempt by the current Board to include a representative from any of the Brunswick neighborhoods when given the opportunity to appoint a new Board member? Especially since many of these new residents had attended meetings and voiced their concerns with various issues related to the District. AK Babers, who resides in Brunswick Meadows, had a personal meeting with Sharyn Smalls back in 2008. During that meeting, he expressed an interest in serving on the Board. He was told at that time by President Smalls that there was no need for him to serve because she was content with the current makeup of the Board, including the unqualified Director presumably.

Elections are only held when an incumbent has a challenger petition to be on the ballot. No elections have been held for any Board position since any of the Brunswick neighborhoods came into existence; therefore, all Board members are from Morningside neighborhoods. That has now changed. AK Babers and I (Dr. Jeraine Root) have requested to be on the ballot. We will be vying for the 2 positions currently held by Victoria Lastee and Danny Perkins. The candidates who receive the most votes will win the positions - there is no runoff.

The election will be held on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 7AM-7PM at the home of Election Judge Cynthia Woolridge, who lives in Morningside - the neighborhood adjacent to Tom Bass Park off Cullen - at 14719 Teck Ct. Early voting is from 9AM-5PM April 26-30 and May 3-4 and election day is Saturday, May 8 from 7AM-7PM.

We will be using voting machines rented from the County. You have to be registered with the address in the neighborhood showing on your registration card. In other words, you can't just be registered to vote in Harris County and still qualify to vote in this particular election. If you need to get registered with your Brunswick address, please let me know. I have the registration form.

The best news? I, Jeraine Root, will appear first on the ballot and AK Babers will be 2nd. We drew for places on the ballot at the lawyer's office where the District's meetings are held. And everyone will be allowed to vote for two candidates, so we won't run the risk of splitting the vote. Please vote once for Root and once for Babers if you want the Brunswick neighborhoods to have representation on the Board.