R. Thomas Sankey, PWS, CSE Senior Project Manager / Senior Ecologist, SWCA
Melvin G. Spinks, P.E., CFM, President, Civil Tech Engineering, Inc.
Gabriel Haddad, Developer, Romerica
New Strategy: PR Firm Goes Dark
Manlove Marketing and Communications, Romerica’s second official point of contact during the Army Corps public comment period, sent out invitations to people who signed up for their mailing list.
Neither did Manlove return telephone calls or emails to discuss the meeting format and whether they would take questions from the audience. Manlove also has not responded to inquiries from local videographer Jim Zura and the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiative about taping the meeting.
Disclaimer Debacle
Manlove originally tried to give themselves the most generous disclaimer in the history of words and websites when they printed this in small type at the bottom of TheHeronsKingwood.com: “DISCLAIMER: Users agree that John Manlove Marketing & Communications and parties involved have no responsibility for any deficiencies, inaccuracies, errors and/or omissions contained in this site or the data and/or information contained therein.”
I then pointed out that as the official point of contact for the permit, they would be held to a slightly higher standard of truth. 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 states that: “Whoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up any trick, scheme, or disguises a material fact or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years or both.” That’s when the lights went out.
So Many Questions Remain
I’m suspect the panel will do its best to avoid the real questions surrounding this development Monday night. For instance:
Why did Manlove list the “Romerica Group” and then plain “Romerica” as the developer in their website when neither is registered with the Texas Secretary of State and “Romerica Investments” filed the permit application?
How will the Developer provide the mitigation (i.e., Detention ponds) for fill and impervious cover that is required to obtain the City of Houston and/or Harris County Development permits?
Kingwood Community Center, 6:30 PM
I’m guessing that they won’t allow real questions tomorrow night. They’ll probably make people submit questions in writing before hand and then cherry pick those they want to answer. I hope I’m wrong on that point, but we’ll know for sure when its over.
As always, these thoughts represent my opinions on matters of public interest. They are protected under the first amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/17/19
365 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Woodland-hills-map.png?fit=1061%2C1024&ssl=110241061adminadmin2019-03-17 23:26:332019-03-18 14:46:07Reminder: High-Rise Developers’ Meeting Monday Night at 6:30
At the edge of the flood, nine out of ten families breathed a sigh of relief and went about the work of helping their neighbors. Donna Dewhirst was one such person. As you can see, she also had a little work of her own to do.
Raging Waters. Hurricane Harvey Flood by Donna Dewhirst. “My backyard with my outdoor kitchen …knee deep in the lake water with my dock buried along with our boat.”
Flood debris from Harvey washed up in back yard of Donna Dewhirst. “The debris line on my lot next door after the rains when the water was beginning to subside… a refrigerator was on the lot among other things… stairs from docks etc.”
Debris left after street flooding. By Donna Dewhirst. Note how lake in background is still curling around her home in the upper right.
While the debris shot is impressive, the other two shots are just plain spooky. The gray curtain of rain coming down to meet the brown torrent of floodwater with no horizon in sight. The lake creeping up the street.
It’s enough to make you want to campaign for flood mitigation. Please help by submitting your pictures of Harvey through the submissions page of this web site.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/16/2019
564 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/image1.png?fit=2208%2C1242&ssl=112422208adminadmin2019-03-16 09:09:192019-03-16 09:19:29But by the Grace of God…
On Tuesday this week, I created a post in response to a question about whether they really were taking sand out of the river. Someone thought the presence of dredges on the river was a government hoax because they didn’t see any trucks carrying sand away. Shades of Roswell and UFOs!
I explained that they were pumping it back upstream to sand pits via submerged pipelines. Placement Area #1 (PA 1) is an old pit no longer in active use. Placement area #2 (PA 2) is an active sand mine south of Kingwood College on Sorters Road.
Quantities Dredged to Date
According to Al Meyer, the Army Corps Project Manager, dredged material placed in the pits to date is approximately 418,000 cubic yards at PA 1 and 825,000 cubic yards at PA 2. That’s about two-thirds of the total estimated volume of 1.9 million cubic yards for the entire project.
Second-Hand Sand
Dozens of readers complained that they weren’t selling sand from the placement areas. Their concern: that it could wash right back into to the river. Most people wanted to see it put to use somehow…as fill for foundations, in concrete, etc…outside of the flood plain.
The Army Corps contract gives dredging companies and landowners the right to sell the material pulled out of the river. (See SECTION 02 41 01.01 45 Page 4 ) But were they? I asked the Corps. Here’s what I found out.
Placement Area #1
The abandoned pit south of the river is filling up quickly. So far, no sand has been sold from tha as far as I know and the Corps did not return a phone call on that subject.
Unconfirmed rumors say that the landowner may keep the sand and build on top of it. It certainly appears that way. I see no sorting or loading equipment on site. One bulldozer keeps relentlessly moving around, spreading and leveling the sand that has piled up. However, it could be mined and resold at a later date if the owner chooses.
At Placement Area #1 on Townsend, a bulldozer is spreading the sand around and packing it down.
Placement Area #2 on Sorters
The active pit on Sorters has received about twice as much material as the inactive pit on Townsend. But it is not filling up as quickly. That’s because they’re selling the sand.
Placement area #2. Dredged material flows in at the left and spreads out in the pit.
As it enters the pit, a dredge sucks it up and sends it to machines that cleans and sorts it. The mine then sells the coarse sand for use in concrete. They sell the fine sand for mortar in the construction trades, fill and pipeline bedding.
From there, a dredge sucks it up for cleaning, sorting, stockpiling and transportation. Placement area #1 does not have all this equipment.
Free Use of Land In Exchange for Right to Sell
According to the Corps’ Lt. Col. Williford, the sand mine operators offer the free use of their land for storage in exchange for the right to sell the material. This seems fair. It keeps the cost to taxpayers down. The material is put to good use. And, at least in the case of PA2, they are removing it from the flood plain.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/15/2019
563 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PA2-outflow.jpg?fit=1500%2C1061&ssl=110611500adminadmin2019-03-15 21:08:282019-03-15 21:12:36Yes, They’re Selling the Sand, Too!
Reminder: High-Rise Developers’ Meeting Monday Night at 6:30
On March 4, Romerica announced a “free” public meeting at which they and their suppliers plan to “discuss”:
At that time, the guest panel was to include:
New Strategy: PR Firm Goes Dark
Manlove Marketing and Communications, Romerica’s second official point of contact during the Army Corps public comment period, sent out invitations to people who signed up for their mailing list.
Neither did Manlove return telephone calls or emails to discuss the meeting format and whether they would take questions from the audience. Manlove also has not responded to inquiries from local videographer Jim Zura and the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiative about taping the meeting.
Disclaimer Debacle
Manlove originally tried to give themselves the most generous disclaimer in the history of words and websites when they printed this in small type at the bottom of TheHeronsKingwood.com: “DISCLAIMER: Users agree that John Manlove Marketing & Communications and parties involved have no responsibility for any deficiencies, inaccuracies, errors and/or omissions contained in this site or the data and/or information contained therein.”
I then pointed out that as the official point of contact for the permit, they would be held to a slightly higher standard of truth. 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 states that: “Whoever, in any manner within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up any trick, scheme, or disguises a material fact or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years or both.” That’s when the lights went out.
So Many Questions Remain
I’m suspect the panel will do its best to avoid the real questions surrounding this development Monday night. For instance:
Kingwood Community Center, 6:30 PM
I’m guessing that they won’t allow real questions tomorrow night. They’ll probably make people submit questions in writing before hand and then cherry pick those they want to answer. I hope I’m wrong on that point, but we’ll know for sure when its over.
As always, these thoughts represent my opinions on matters of public interest. They are protected under the first amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/17/19
365 Days since Hurricane Harvey
But by the Grace of God…
Donna Dewhirst’s home did not flood. But the flood came within feet of her foundation and left debris strewn across her yard.
At the edge of the flood, nine out of ten families breathed a sigh of relief and went about the work of helping their neighbors. Donna Dewhirst was one such person. As you can see, she also had a little work of her own to do.
While the debris shot is impressive, the other two shots are just plain spooky. The gray curtain of rain coming down to meet the brown torrent of floodwater with no horizon in sight. The lake creeping up the street.
It’s enough to make you want to campaign for flood mitigation. Please help by submitting your pictures of Harvey through the submissions page of this web site.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/16/2019
564 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Yes, They’re Selling the Sand, Too!
On Tuesday this week, I created a post in response to a question about whether they really were taking sand out of the river. Someone thought the presence of dredges on the river was a government hoax because they didn’t see any trucks carrying sand away. Shades of Roswell and UFOs!
I explained that they were pumping it back upstream to sand pits via submerged pipelines. Placement Area #1 (PA 1) is an old pit no longer in active use. Placement area #2 (PA 2) is an active sand mine south of Kingwood College on Sorters Road.
Quantities Dredged to Date
According to Al Meyer, the Army Corps Project Manager, dredged material placed in the pits to date is approximately 418,000 cubic yards at PA 1 and 825,000 cubic yards at PA 2. That’s about two-thirds of the total estimated volume of 1.9 million cubic yards for the entire project.
Second-Hand Sand
Dozens of readers complained that they weren’t selling sand from the placement areas. Their concern: that it could wash right back into to the river. Most people wanted to see it put to use somehow…as fill for foundations, in concrete, etc…outside of the flood plain.
The Army Corps contract gives dredging companies and landowners the right to sell the material pulled out of the river. (See SECTION 02 41 01.01 45 Page 4 ) But were they? I asked the Corps. Here’s what I found out.
Placement Area #1
The abandoned pit south of the river is filling up quickly. So far, no sand has been sold from tha as far as I know and the Corps did not return a phone call on that subject.
Unconfirmed rumors say that the landowner may keep the sand and build on top of it. It certainly appears that way. I see no sorting or loading equipment on site. One bulldozer keeps relentlessly moving around, spreading and leveling the sand that has piled up. However, it could be mined and resold at a later date if the owner chooses.
Placement Area #2 on Sorters
The active pit on Sorters has received about twice as much material as the inactive pit on Townsend. But it is not filling up as quickly. That’s because they’re selling the sand.
As it enters the pit, a dredge sucks it up and sends it to machines that cleans and sorts it. The mine then sells the coarse sand for use in concrete. They sell the fine sand for mortar in the construction trades, fill and pipeline bedding.
Placement area #1 does not have all this equipment.
Free Use of Land In Exchange for Right to Sell
According to the Corps’ Lt. Col. Williford, the sand mine operators offer the free use of their land for storage in exchange for the right to sell the material. This seems fair. It keeps the cost to taxpayers down. The material is put to good use. And, at least in the case of PA2, they are removing it from the flood plain.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/15/2019
563 Days since Hurricane Harvey