Bellaire Civic Club.com

Apparently the sky’s not really falling, since the proposed budget FY2020 presented by the City Manager increases expenditures in every major area and includes an extra million dollars so that he can plan the next bond issue.   Some takeaways:

Click to View Budget

Total bonds outstanding at September 30, 2019, will be approximately $123.8 million.  With the sale of $6.0 million of bonds from the 2016 bond election and less the $5.2 million of principal repayments, the projected debt total (principal only) outstanding at September 30, 2020 will be $126.6 million.  (pgs 156-157)   

But that’s not the whole picture.
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At the first of several City Council meetings and workshops to discuss next year’s budget, Bellaire’s City Manager had a go at shaming Bellaire residents for petitioning to vote on 4 or 5-foot wide concrete sidewalks in their front yards.  In a Proposed Budget FY2020 amounting to tens of millions of dollars, Mr. Hofmann made a point of pointing out the $80,000 cost for the Charter election scheduled for next May.

The reason for the petitions, the $4 million dollars Council diverted from street and drainage bond funds to build stand-alone sidewalks, wasn’t mentioned.

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UPDATE: Another Public Hearing was held on August 8, 2019. The developer’s request for 85′ height in the CMU.   Even though the property is not zoned for CMU.  Meanwhile the original requests from 7/11/2019 have been put on hold, no explanation given.  Video of P&Z meeting 8/8/2019

Find recent Environmental Assessment reports on the City of Bellaire website: https://www.bellairetx.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/825

“There are 82 monitoring wells on the property, and the last report that I found on the website said that 41 showed contamination,” said Charles Platt, referencing the TCEQ Continue reading →

• Have you received notification of the free Aquahawk Alerting system?
• Dealt with a water leak not far from your new water meter?
• Do you even know that you have a new water meter? 
• Or what an Aquahawk is? 

Welcome to the $12.8 million dollar City of Bellaire contract with Siemens Industry Inc.  Curious?  Almost a quarter of the $54 million bond issue was devoted to it, but not for new water lines or drainage.  Read on.    Continue reading →

“The plan takes care of “the basics” by repeatedly reinforcing the fundamental importance of neighborhood integrity in the City of Homes, as well as the priority residents place on parks and recreation opportunities, safe streets, and preservation of a small-town atmosphere amid a vast metropolitan region.”  Excerpt from the updated City of Bellaire Comprehensive Plan in 2015.

For years one of Bellaire’s biggest draws has been that, unlike Houston, we have zoning. Continue reading →

August 6, 2019: There was good news for Bellaire residents as City Council voted 6 to 1 at the August 5, 2019, Council meeting to retain the existing residential zoning in the Bellaire Boulevard Estate Overlay District (BBEOD).  Only outgoing council member Pat McLaughlan voted in favor.  Let’s hope the same attitudes carry over to the rezoning requests for the property at 4800 Fournace Place.

I planned to write an article about the Planning & Zoning vote on April 11, 2019, on an application filed by a developer to amend the official zoning map.

It would rezone the property located at 4301 Bellaire Blvd from Bellaire Boulevard Estate Overlay District (BBEOD), a low density residential area, to CMU (Corridor Mixed-Used District) to allow for the possible construction of a 22,000 square foot, two-story office building with surface parking.
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Click the graphic at left to review the 8 page draft of the end product from the recent City Council Workshop. It is a 5-year priority plan distributed by the City Manager, and a lot for citizens to digest.  For most intents and purposes, for now the future of Bellaire was basically decided in these 2 days.     Continue reading →

 Public Hearing 6pm – Tuesday – April 2, 2019

Bellaire residents in the northwest area of the City just outside the Loop are concerned about proposed affordable housing units in Houston at the corner of Glenmont and South Rice Avenue. This would impact the Imperial and Mayfair area, which is already dealing with the development of the old Texaco/Chevron property to the south, the Walmart center development to the north, and the redesign of the 610/59 interchange.
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This is from a City Council Meeting Overview issued on October 2, 2018: Presentation of the City of Bellaire World Trade Center Memorial Project, including updates on proposed concepts, stakeholder input, and private fundraising strategies. No action was requested of the City Council. Continue reading →

I watched the recent Flood Mitigation Task Force meeting held on March 26, 2019, available on Facebook.  The focus was streets and drainage.  How to prioritize what streets get fixed first.  Suggested ranking criteria was first discussed – how many houses flooded in a block.  How old the houses were.   Continue reading →

The Council meeting on March 4th was a quiet affair with one highlight – local resident Dan Sebesta registered his objections to having his engineering qualifications questioned by the the City Manager.  The highlight of his talk was his sign: VOTE NO BONDS.  He opined that giving this City Council more bond money in November was like handing booze to an alcoholic.

Speaking about the upcoming election, four council seats will be in play.  Hold that thought.

After the meeting the Council retired to a closed session and returned to the dais to vote in favor of a $6,000 raise for the City Manager.  Six votes in favor, Council member Pat McLaughlan abstained.  Video of the meeting can be found here.

Bellaire’s Debt will be $129.8 million at the end of FY2019
Not including the interest

Email your thoughts or opinions to the Mayor and members of City Council in care of our City Clerk, Tracy Dutton, at tdutton@bellairetx.gov

Back in 2017 City Council approved $50,000 for a branding study, with a no-bid contract to a company owned by a Bellaire resident.  The results of that study, a B/leaf logo, a verbal identity, and a green font, were met with derision by many Bellaire residents.
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Over half of the $23.38 million in bonds approved in 2016 for Water and Wastewater Improvements did not go toward new water or sewer lines.  It was devoted to a contract with Siemens for new water meters and improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.

According to our longtime Public Works director, who retired prior to this bond issue, the wastewater plant was in working order and in compliance with the TCEQ.   However Council approved $8 million in renovations for the plant.  Complete water meter replacement was based on tests on 70 water meters that showed ‘low flow’ was under-reported. Continue reading →

Don’t be fooled by recent City Council votes on sidewalks.  Five foot wide sidewalks are still the standard with street reconstruction.  The stand-alone sidewalks have been shelved but the funds have not been redirected by City Council to other projects like new streets or drainage, even as Council is considering another $47 million dollar bond issue in 2019 and another $36 million in 2022.  Take a look at the page below. Continue reading →

NOTE: The State of the City Powerpoint presentation from February 4, 2019, can be found at the end of this article.

Despite the large number of speakers at recent City Council meetings who opposed the Spruce/Fifth St project as planned, plus an overwhelming number of emails to members of City Council and the Nextdoor posts in opposition, the mayor and council approved the plan by a 6 to 1 vote at the February 18, 2019 City Council meeting.  Only Pat McLaughlan opposed the project.

H-E-B employee vehicles parked in public spaces in the 5200 block of Cedar

Although the 2016 bonds were promoted for the design and construction of streets and drainage systems with sidewalks on at least one side of the street, the $2.5 million dollar award to Astatus for the Spruce/Fifth project includes $360,449 just  for landscape and irrigation costs.

Further costs cannot be determined for the 7-foot wide sidewalks on both sides of the streets, curbs, angled public parking, decorative street lights, tree wells, etc. that are included in what is described as a street and drainage project.  Continue reading →

Welcome to Bellaire in the first decade of the twenty first century.  From 9/11/2001 to Bellaire’s Centennial year of 2008.  A new city manager, new parks, more bonds for streets, drainage and sidewalks, aquatics centers and municipal facilities.  Zoning changes, and more park projects.

Find Lynn’s latest chapter on our town’s history here.

All Chapters are listed under Bellaire History on the main menu.

Cost Savings and Future Costs

The Municipal Facilities cost has reached $21 million.

Council sang the praises of city staff at the January 7, 2019 council meeting for some cost savings – the cost for change orders for the Municipal Facilities was reduced to $302,516. 

So far the amount for the new structures, estimated in 2017 to run about $19 million, is now close to $21 million, paid almost entirely from bond funds.  Still to be completed is the demolition of the old city hall, the construction of a new Civic Center, parking lots,  landscaping, and miscellaneous costs.  Continue reading →

UPDATE 2/18/2019:  Find the breakdown for the final proposed cost of $5,200,890.50 for the Spruce/Fifth ($2.5 million) and Maple/Bolivar ($1.76 million) projects – plus $1 million to the engineering companies.   About 10% of the 2016 bond issue.  The project was approved on at the City Council meeting.  The full agenda can be found here. Agenda for February 18, 2019

The six (6) estimates are available at the end of this post.

Please email the Mayor and City Council via tdutton@bellairetx.com regarding these projects.  Your comments at the Council meetings matter, too!  Here’s my email of February 13, 2019.

February 5, 2019

Dear Mayor and Members of City Council,

It is important that you understand not only the financial damage that the proposed Spruce/Fifth St project as designed will inflict on our local businesses, but also the added cost to Bellaire taxpayers.       Continue reading →

The January 28, 2019, City Council meeting went off like a rocket and just kept climbing. A link to the video of the meeting is available at the end of this article.  Please watch the video, you’ll find it interesting. Continue reading →

At the November 19th City Council meeting, Denton Ragland, CEO of the Bellaire Business Association, made a presentation promoting a campaign to encourage residents to ‘Stay Local to Bellaire Resources’  and stay loyal to their local businesses, then City Manager Paul Hofmann presented his report.  Continue reading →

It was the last decade of the twentieth century. There was much speculation and even foreboding by some that the century’s end might be doomsday…

Bellaire in the 1990s was fraught with controversy, criminal charges, and a succession of mayors.  Find Lynn’s latest chapter on our town’s history here.

All Chapters are listed under Bellaire History on the main menu.

Find information on Bellaire’s recycling program.  The wrong items in our recycle bins cost us money!  Find tips on other forms of recycling via the Our Environment tab on the menu. A Holiday Note: Did you know that MOST wrapping paper is NOT recyclable?

• what can and cannot be recycled (no pizza boxes!)
• how to dispose of hazardous waste
• recycling those autumn leaves
• grasscycling – no matter who does the mowing
• water conservation and water pollution
• mosquito misting concerns
• and terrific information on plants from Aggie Horticulture

At the November 5, 2018, City Council meeting a specific use permit for a car wash business at the corner of Bellaire Blvd and Ferris St. was not approved.  The vote was 5 to 2, with Council members Pappas and Montague voting for the permit.  Council had voted unanimously to approve a specific use permit for SLS Properties’ plans for the Chevron Continue reading →

HEB dumpster service – note how far the truck extends into the current 60′ R.O.W. – over half the width. And the delivery truck at another business. (Click for larger image)

You’ve heard the phrase ‘Not in my backyard’, right? This Spruce St/Fifth St project is everyone’s back yard. We tend to spend most of our home time in our neighborhood, but just about everyone in the City spends some time in our downtown area. 

Initial Plan for 5100 block of Spruce.  Purple parking areas block existing parking lots.

The plans are about 90% complete and the City is still determined to narrow the streets and build public parking – for who?

These folks are our neighbors. Some of them have been in business for 20 or 30 years or more. A bite to eat at Jax, windshield wipers or a plug for the lawn mower at O’Reilly’s, drop off your car at Bellaire Auto or your youngster at Treehouse Learning Center. How will you replace this kind of service if these trusted longtime businesses go away? Accessing the new H-E-B won’t be easy, either, with all the traffic forced into a constricted area if this street is narrowed.
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View the August 13th City Council Session on the Proposed Budget:  http://bellairecitytx.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=1880&Format=Agenda

Click to enlarge pg 10, see Redevelopment

Thursday, May 3, 2018, the Mayor and City Council will hold an all day pre-budget planning session in the Centerpoint Energy Community Center, located over the entrance to the Aquatics Center.  For those residents unable to attend the Session you can find information on updates, fiscal forecasts, and City Council priorities in the 2018-05-03 Mayor and Council – Full Agenda-1708.          Discussion on:

• Pushing out small businesses around HEB that don’t meet Bellaire’s ‘higher standards’ (see Spruce/Fifth Streets) and see page 10 of the Agenda pdf above.  (The euphemism is “to encourage commercial redevelopment”)
  
• Adding to Bellaire’s debt with a $48.5 million bond issue in 2019
• Increasing Bellaire’s water and sewer rates over the next 5 years
• Ensuring public safety; money for infrastructure, public works and library buildings, and parks.
• Encourage new business development (see Spruce/Fifth Streets)
• Using Bellaire’s brand identity
• Property tax increase is not addressed.  Will we need one?
• and more…

PLEASE review this agenda, especially pages 54-57, in preparation for the final budget due in September.

Why would a City choose to harm its small businesses?  Spend hundreds of thousands  of dollars to do so?

In November of 2016 Bellaire voters gave the City Council and City Manager a big pot of money – right at $54 million dollars. About $34 million was available to be spent on streets, water, drainage, and sidewalks. In 2017 City Council approved about $3 million dollars of contracts to 6 engineering firms. As one Council member noted – before one drop of concrete was poured. Continue reading →