While major cities and counties throughout Texas post maps and detailed descriptions of their road-bond spending and projects, Harris County does not.
In June 2022, County Commissioner Adrian Garcia pitched bonds for roads, parks and public safety totaling $1.2 billion. It included $900 million for roads, $200 million for parks and $100 million for public-safety infrastructure.
Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle tried to slow the bond offering down until projects could be identified, prioritized, and estimated. However, Garcia, with the help of Commissioner Rodney Ellis and County Judge Lina Hidalgo, put the bond on the November ballot and it passed with little disclosure.
A series of poorly advertised and attended public meetings provided no details as to how the money would be spent except for some high-level breakdowns between roads and parks. Neither did the bond website – despite promises made in Commissioners Court that it would.
Nine months later, Harris County still has not provided any details.
Rahman Presentation to ACEC Now Public
Dr. Milton Rahman, P.E., PMP, CFM, ENV SP., Executive Director and County Engineer did provide a project update earlier this month about the bond to the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Houston. However, it provided only a little more detail than we already knew about how the money would be allocated. And it provided no location-specific data about where the money would be spent, i.e., which stretches of roads.
Looking only at transportation and drainage (second table), Precinct 3 will receive approximately $70 to $90 million less than Precincts 1 and 2and $40 less than Precinct 4.
To qualify for any funding, roads must have a Pavement Condition Index below 40 (very poor to failing). But in scoring, roads will also be ranked by their surrounding population and the number of socially vulnerable residents. (See below).
The road bond was broken up into five different segments; this was one.For those other criteria, see the slide below.Note references to population and social vulnerability. Rahman did not specify the weights given to these other factors.
Rahman did assign weights to partnership dollars, but he fails to define the factors. For instance, what does he mean by “project area” below? It gets a whopping 25% of the weight.
In short, he still won’t say wherethe money will go.
11X More for Admin than in Flood Bond 5X Larger
But Dr. Rahman does plan to take $110 million for management and administration. Compare that to the $10 million allocated for admin in 2018 flood bond that totaled $5 billion with partner funding. Dr. Rahman will take 11 times more for a bond one-fifth the size. It’s even more than the $100 million being invested in public-safety facilities which were so sorely in need of help before the election!
The County disclosed none of this to voters before they voted on the bond.
Even now, five months later, with the little information we have, I would find it impossible to make an informed decision based on this vague, high-level, process-oriented information presented by Dr. Rahman. But I do have deep suspicions that the $110 million could go to pay raises for political hires.
Rahman Withholding Pavement Condition Information
Even though Harris County has calculated a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for every road in the county, it has not published the information. Nor did the Engineering Department supply the PCI report to ReduceFlooding.com in response to a direct request.
And even through Dr. Rahmen has already allocated the money, nowhere in his report does he address the number of lane miles needing repair in each precinct.
Other Oddities
For the record, Precinct 3 will receive the least money by far. It has almost half the county’s lane miles to maintain (47%) but will receive less than one-fifth of the bond money allocated to roads and drainage.
Moreover, large portions of Precincts 1 and 2 fall within the City of Houston and other municipalities such as Pasadena and Baytown. Thus they share responsibility and costs.
Finally, before redistricting, Commissioner Garcia made sure that most of the bad roads in his Precinct 2 magically wound up in Precinct 3.
With all the other factors folded in, there’s no guarantee most of Precinct 3’s roads will ever see 2022 road bond money.
Other Areas Far More Transparent
Because of the complexity of allocating bond dollars, virtually all major cities and counties in Texas simply publish maps that show where bond money will go.
But not in Harris County! That would be too simple. And why be transparent when you can keep people in the dark and avoid complaints about fairness?
To see how transparently other areas treat their voters, consult the links below.
When governments go out of their way to conceal information as certain commissioners have here, it raises the question “Why?”
It’s time you started demanding answers to that question. Your safety is at stake.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/8/23
2017 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230308-Screenshot-2023-03-08-at-6.24.35-PM.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=16741200adminadmin2023-03-08 20:50:492023-03-08 23:44:44Other Areas Disclose Road-Bond Spending Details, But Not Harris County
The Preserve at Woodridge website indicates that the developer, Guefen, will begin leasing spacious, 763 SF, 1-bedroom, 1-bath, luxury homes beginning March 16, 2023 … for only $1365 per month. Even more spacious, 1388-SF homes will begin leasing later at just $2145 per month.
The marketing theme: “There’s room for you at Preserve at Woodridge.”
According to the website, luxury units in the Preserve offer “unparalleled amenities,” such as backyards, toilets, tubs, sinks and on-street parking – with a $0 deposit. A few lucky renters will even have the option of reserved, covered parking spots for an undisclosed fee.
But the biggest plus? Some units have enough grass for a lawn chair.
65% Impervious Cover?
Engineers claim the detention pond will hold a 100-year rain that falls in 24-hours. But they also based their calculations on 65% impervious cover. The photos below show that may have been understated.
The higher the percentage of impervious cover, the more runoff you have and the larger the stormwater detention basin you need.
It will be interesting to see how these homes fare when FEMA releases new flood maps later this year.
Oh well. Too late now!
Photos Taken March 3, 2023
The pictures show how close the homes are to completion…and each other.
Overview of Preserve at Woodridge, looking east over Woodridge Parkway.The grand entry near Woodridge Parkway built around a community pool. Those elongated structures are shared garage spaces, but most of the parking will be on-street.You’ll have to share those spacious back yards with an air conditioning unit, but you’ll have a concrete patio in case grass doesn’t grow in the shade.Twelve lucky homes will have a view of the stormwater detention basin which will hold water permanently.
With luck, the waterfront residents might even be able to shag some foul balls from the Kingwood Park High School baseball fields across the ditch.
Will Proximity of Homes be a Pro or Con?
Psychological research has documented strong positive associations between interpersonal closeness and social decisions such as cooperative behavior and trust. From that perspective, perhaps housing like this is the wave of the future.
On the other hand, overcrowding can lead to psychological distress. That, in turn, has an effect on behavior and the ability to cope with conditions. Researchers have linked lack of privacy to depression and other negative psychological consequences. But hey. It can’t be more crowded than New York.
This is a new model for development – a whole community of homes separated by only 4-5 feet. Only time will tell whether the pros outweigh the cons.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/7/2023
2016 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230304-DJI_0206.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2023-03-07 16:17:132023-03-07 17:40:19“Spacious” 763-SF Homes Available March 16
The rate of excavation for another stormwater detention basin on the Woodridge Village property picked up 47% in the last five weeks. That’s compared to the weekly average since Sprint Sand and Clay began excavating last year under the terms of its Excavation and Removal (E&R) contract with Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).
March 6, 2023, Sprint has excavated 93,023 CY, according to HCFCD.
Dividing the difference by five weeks, yields an average of 2,532.6 CY per week.
The weekly average since the start of excavation 54 weeks ago equals 1722.7 CY.
So, the February/early March data is an increase of more than 800 cubic yards per week compared to the long-term average, a 47% increase.
Demand for dirt under E&R contracts varies with housing starts and road construction. Housing starts have slowed greatly in recent months as interest rates have increased to cool inflation. It’s not clear yet whether the increased rate of excavation represents a temporary blip or the beginning of a turnaround in the market for dirt.
Then and Now Photos
Here’s the extent of excavation on the new pond as of January 24, 2023.
Woodridge Village Detention Basin #6 at the end of January 2023.Contractors have not yet connected the new basinto others.
Here’s how the new basin looks today from approximately the same location – much longer!
Same location at start of March.Sprint has not yet reached the end of S1, the detention basin on the right.Looking south toward Kingwood. Sprint has the width of four or five more houses to go before it reaches as far as the end of S1. The tree line in the background is the Harris/Montgomery County line.
Increased Rate is Welcome News
The increase in the excavation rate is welcome news for residents who flooded twice in 2019, thanks in large part to Woodridge Village construction practices. Perry Homes left the aborted development about 40% short of Atlas-14 requirements. Since then HCFCD and the City of Houston bought the site and are working on ways to reduce flood risk.
E&R contracts give HCFCD a low-cost head start on mitigation as engineers finalize plans. Knowing that they will need additional stormwater detention capacity, HCFCD established a flexible contract with Sprint for only $1,000. It lets Sprint remove up 500,000 CY and sell the dirt at market rates. This virtually eliminates a major construction cost and provides major savings to taxpayers.
Sprint is obligated to remove a minimum average of 5,000 CY per month and must place the dirt outside of the 100-year floodplain. The contract lasts three years.
Sprint will excavate within the red line. If they move the total 500,000 cubic yards, they will more than double stormwater detention capacity on the site.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/6/2023
2015 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1264 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230304-DJI_0190.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2023-03-06 15:31:292023-04-03 15:55:23Rate of Woodridge Village Excavation Increases 47%
Other Areas Disclose Road-Bond Spending Details, But Not Harris County
While major cities and counties throughout Texas post maps and detailed descriptions of their road-bond spending and projects, Harris County does not.
In June 2022, County Commissioner Adrian Garcia pitched bonds for roads, parks and public safety totaling $1.2 billion. It included $900 million for roads, $200 million for parks and $100 million for public-safety infrastructure.
Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle tried to slow the bond offering down until projects could be identified, prioritized, and estimated. However, Garcia, with the help of Commissioner Rodney Ellis and County Judge Lina Hidalgo, put the bond on the November ballot and it passed with little disclosure.
A series of poorly advertised and attended public meetings provided no details as to how the money would be spent except for some high-level breakdowns between roads and parks. Neither did the bond website – despite promises made in Commissioners Court that it would.
Rahman Presentation to ACEC Now Public
Dr. Milton Rahman, P.E., PMP, CFM, ENV SP., Executive Director and County Engineer did provide a project update earlier this month about the bond to the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Houston. However, it provided only a little more detail than we already knew about how the money would be allocated. And it provided no location-specific data about where the money would be spent, i.e., which stretches of roads.
Below are several key slides from Dr. Rahman’s full presentation.
To qualify for any funding, roads must have a Pavement Condition Index below 40 (very poor to failing). But in scoring, roads will also be ranked by their surrounding population and the number of socially vulnerable residents. (See below).
Rahman did assign weights to partnership dollars, but he fails to define the factors. For instance, what does he mean by “project area” below? It gets a whopping 25% of the weight.
In short, he still won’t say where the money will go.
11X More for Admin than in Flood Bond 5X Larger
But Dr. Rahman does plan to take $110 million for management and administration. Compare that to the $10 million allocated for admin in 2018 flood bond that totaled $5 billion with partner funding. Dr. Rahman will take 11 times more for a bond one-fifth the size. It’s even more than the $100 million being invested in public-safety facilities which were so sorely in need of help before the election!
Even now, five months later, with the little information we have, I would find it impossible to make an informed decision based on this vague, high-level, process-oriented information presented by Dr. Rahman. But I do have deep suspicions that the $110 million could go to pay raises for political hires.
Rahman Withholding Pavement Condition Information
Even though Harris County has calculated a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for every road in the county, it has not published the information. Nor did the Engineering Department supply the PCI report to ReduceFlooding.com in response to a direct request.
And even through Dr. Rahmen has already allocated the money, nowhere in his report does he address the number of lane miles needing repair in each precinct.
Other Oddities
For the record, Precinct 3 will receive the least money by far. It has almost half the county’s lane miles to maintain (47%) but will receive less than one-fifth of the bond money allocated to roads and drainage.
Moreover, large portions of Precincts 1 and 2 fall within the City of Houston and other municipalities such as Pasadena and Baytown. Thus they share responsibility and costs.
Finally, before redistricting, Commissioner Garcia made sure that most of the bad roads in his Precinct 2 magically wound up in Precinct 3.
With all the other factors folded in, there’s no guarantee most of Precinct 3’s roads will ever see 2022 road bond money.
Other Areas Far More Transparent
Because of the complexity of allocating bond dollars, virtually all major cities and counties in Texas simply publish maps that show where bond money will go.
But not in Harris County! That would be too simple. And why be transparent when you can keep people in the dark and avoid complaints about fairness?
To see how transparently other areas treat their voters, consult the links below.
When governments go out of their way to conceal information as certain commissioners have here, it raises the question “Why?”
It’s time you started demanding answers to that question. Your safety is at stake.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/8/23
2017 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
“Spacious” 763-SF Homes Available March 16
The Preserve at Woodridge website indicates that the developer, Guefen, will begin leasing spacious, 763 SF, 1-bedroom, 1-bath, luxury homes beginning March 16, 2023 … for only $1365 per month. Even more spacious, 1388-SF homes will begin leasing later at just $2145 per month.
According to the website, luxury units in the Preserve offer “unparalleled amenities,” such as backyards, toilets, tubs, sinks and on-street parking – with a $0 deposit. A few lucky renters will even have the option of reserved, covered parking spots for an undisclosed fee.
But the biggest plus? Some units have enough grass for a lawn chair.
65% Impervious Cover?
Engineers claim the detention pond will hold a 100-year rain that falls in 24-hours. But they also based their calculations on 65% impervious cover. The photos below show that may have been understated.
The higher the percentage of impervious cover, the more runoff you have and the larger the stormwater detention basin you need.
It will be interesting to see how these homes fare when FEMA releases new flood maps later this year.
Oh well. Too late now!
Photos Taken March 3, 2023
The pictures show how close the homes are to completion…and each other.
With luck, the waterfront residents might even be able to shag some foul balls from the Kingwood Park High School baseball fields across the ditch.
Will Proximity of Homes be a Pro or Con?
Psychological research has documented strong positive associations between interpersonal closeness and social decisions such as cooperative behavior and trust. From that perspective, perhaps housing like this is the wave of the future.
On the other hand, overcrowding can lead to psychological distress. That, in turn, has an effect on behavior and the ability to cope with conditions. Researchers have linked lack of privacy to depression and other negative psychological consequences. But hey. It can’t be more crowded than New York.
This is a new model for development – a whole community of homes separated by only 4-5 feet. Only time will tell whether the pros outweigh the cons.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/7/2023
2016 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Rate of Woodridge Village Excavation Increases 47%
The rate of excavation for another stormwater detention basin on the Woodridge Village property picked up 47% in the last five weeks. That’s compared to the weekly average since Sprint Sand and Clay began excavating last year under the terms of its Excavation and Removal (E&R) contract with Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).
Demand for dirt under E&R contracts varies with housing starts and road construction. Housing starts have slowed greatly in recent months as interest rates have increased to cool inflation. It’s not clear yet whether the increased rate of excavation represents a temporary blip or the beginning of a turnaround in the market for dirt.
Then and Now Photos
Here’s the extent of excavation on the new pond as of January 24, 2023.
Here’s how the new basin looks today from approximately the same location – much longer!
Increased Rate is Welcome News
The increase in the excavation rate is welcome news for residents who flooded twice in 2019, thanks in large part to Woodridge Village construction practices. Perry Homes left the aborted development about 40% short of Atlas-14 requirements. Since then HCFCD and the City of Houston bought the site and are working on ways to reduce flood risk.
E&R contracts give HCFCD a low-cost head start on mitigation as engineers finalize plans. Knowing that they will need additional stormwater detention capacity, HCFCD established a flexible contract with Sprint for only $1,000. It lets Sprint remove up 500,000 CY and sell the dirt at market rates. This virtually eliminates a major construction cost and provides major savings to taxpayers.
Sprint is obligated to remove a minimum average of 5,000 CY per month and must place the dirt outside of the 100-year floodplain. The contract lasts three years.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/6/2023
2015 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1264 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.