bsienk

Kirby @ BW8? , West side of town? - Gee, I'm lost?

...meaning west side for Pearlanders.

Also be aware, the street lights on the south side of the street are mounted on the telephone poles (yes, the very poles that were moved south a few feet to allow the street expansion). There are no telephone poles on the north side of the street, and who knows if the electrical service for it is in place.

Most likely this will end up being handled with permanent metal poles, just like the other big streets in the neighborhood. It just takes a little time: Just two years ago, remember, this was just a narrow country lane with ditches that flooded in those heavy rains of Spring, 2007. Such great progess since then!

Here's the Chronicle's story on the meeting last night between the police and community members at the Westside Event Center:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/6277630.html

It's good to know that crime in the neighborhood is actually down; I wonder to what degree the increase for Pearland as a whole is due to population growth:

According to statistics released at that meeting, calls for service in Pearland increased by about 2 percent last year. At the same time, in the newly developed area of town near FM 518 and TX 288, calls for service have decreased by 10 percent since last year. Home burglaries in the area have also dropped by almost two-thirds from 74 in 2007 to 24 in 2008.

I have also heard, true or not, that HOA dues have gone up simply because not everyone is paying. So those that do pay have to make up for your neighbor that doesn't pay. Because the unfortunate thing is that the cost to prosecute someone for NOT paying can be considerable. And may or not be worth it. I've paid all 4 of my years and don't know of anyone who hasn't but it actually seems fairly logical to me. I for one would like to see a detailed breakdown of revenue/expenses. Because in my opinion, the number of houses increased far more than the amount of services in the last four years. Amount of landscaping is nearly the same. I think the 3rd rec facility opened about three years ago (and the fourth was supposed to be already open but hasn't started. So where is all the money going? I guess there was maybe some overtime to fix a few hundred trees after Ike but that's all I got. Doesn't the developer also get some of our MUD taxes (to then pay the city)? I realize it's paying for different things but the idea of the MUD tax is protect the developer and the city while spreading the burden to the taxpayers.

SCR is obviously in a recession - my builder is pulling out of our subdivision for at least 6 months after they finish four more homes. But I don't really believe that SCR is actually losing residents. It's gotta be going up, even if it's very slowly. But I don't think the costs should be rising... what has really been added in the last 3 years? If they were operating at a deficit all along well, then they must be related the federal government, I guess.

The SCR monthly financial statements are on the web site at http://www.shadowcreekranchhoa.com/. You have to be registered and login to view them.

I glanced at the statements for the Village of Biscayne Bay, which are there through October, though I don't really know how to read them. If I understand what I was seeing, there was an operating surplus. On the other hand, I know that a lot of the Ike was not covered by insurance (probably due to deductibles? or damaged trees?) and quite a few trees have not yet been replaced. I browsed around but did not see the 2009 budget. The notice of the assessments increase I received did include a pretty cryptic pie chart which was supposed to show how the money is spent, but it didn't really explain what the categories ("shared"??) meant or how they were broken down into tangible things.

Guess it all depends on what you want... I shopped at the Kroger right before Christmas, and I found that their assortment was smaller than HEB's. Although it's a very nice conventional supermarket/drugstore, Kroger doesn't have as many specialty items. For example, there were maybe 1/3 as many types of pasta compared to HEB. That's fine, if you're buying regular egg noodles; if you want Amish noodles, it's HEB.

On the other hand, I usually shop mid-day mid-week, so the craziness factor is minimal.

I guess. It was just one wall though. No roof issues that I saw. And I didn't see much of any other damage around there. Like I said, typical crappy suburban strip mall construction.

Doesn't the building code here in Brazoria County require them to build to withstand 130mph winds? Or is that just for residential construction? I remember when I saw those strip centers immediately after Ike, my first thought was that there might have been a little tornado there.

About the feeder roads and the 518 traffic light timing, see this from the Chronicle:

http://blogs.chron.com/pearland/2008/12/si...elp_your_c.html

"...The feeder road construction is expected to be complete in one year and will cost $10 million. TxDOT is funding half that amount. The City of Pearland will cover $2.5 million with the final $2.5 million paid for by the tax increment investment zone that includes Shadow Creek Ranch."

Also, the traffic lights are controlled by TxDOT. The city is paying for a study which TxDOT requires before redoing the timing. This will be completed in January, after which the request to adjust the lights will be sent to TxDOT.

I guess that answers it. It's nice to know we don't have to file another form, in addition to the one with the county.

Thanks for checking.

You're welcome. Not the the $5k makes very much difference in the tax bill, but every penny helps these days.

I know the county handles the regular homestead exemption, but this thing the city passed is for Pearland residents. I would not expect the county to handle it.

OK. We moved to SCR last year, and I filed for the homestead exemption with the county this year. I just looked at my tax statement, and it shows the City of Pearland exemption applied to it, along with all the others.

There is already a Walgreens at the corner of kirby and SC Parkway. Crazy that they'll put another 2 miles away.

The Walgreens and CVS at SC Parkway are better located, since they are very close to the future hospital site. Having another Walgreens that close by is almost as strange as having multiple Chase Bank branches in Silverlake and in front of the new Kroger.

I honestly didn't realize there could be a difference in ownership. I guess I could call the city of Pearland and find out for sure.

There's a box with a TxDot logo at the corner of 2234 and the 288 ramps. I believe that contains the controls for the traffic lights. I was thinking that a state highway interchange would probably be controlled by TxDot, but you never know. It would be worth calling the City of Pearland to see if they could arrange to coordinate, assuming that it is a TxDot signal.

I estimate at least 75% of this problem is due to one light; it's the last one on 518 going eastbound just before you go under the 288 overpass. That light is on a 20 second timer, which is far too short to process the backlog of vehicles traveling eastbound. You probably saw the gridlock which frequently occurs behind it at the intersection of Business Center and 518.

Why the city hasn't fixed this light yet, I don't know, but it's been on that 20 second timer ever since the towncenter opened.

I think you're referring to the light at the interchange. Is that a city traffic light or a TxDot traffic light? I remember seeing TxDot trucks repairing signals at 288 and 2234 after Ike.

I'd wondered what had happened to the church. Before the 518 widening project started, I was never able to really read their sign when I was driving by -- it was too far from the road. Does anyone know who they are/were?

I've read that the Kroger grand opening is December 14. I heard they had employee orientation at the store Sunday and are stocking now. Perhaps there will be a "soft opening" prior to the 14th.

Agreed about the traffic. The intersection of Shadow Creek Parkway and Business Center Drive badly needs a traffic light, what with all the people trying to turn there for access to Nolan Ryan Jr. High, Bucee's, and the businesses down by HEB.

Gosh. Where do I start?

We lived in Galveston 2002-2007 and moved up here to SCR last year. Our former neighbors from across Church Street had 21 inches of water inside their elevated house, and they are camping out in a tiny apartment in Sugar Land while they wait for a contractor to made their home habitable again. That will take months. Another neighbor is sleeping on a couch in a storeroom upstairs from her job. It's going to take time for people in this situation to repair their homes or find new permanent housing, and all my neighbors -- the rich and the poor, the good and the bad -- are suffering.

It's a 100-mile round trip from my new home to my old one and back. I'd be very surprised to see temporary housing located this far away from the places where people need to be. Those who have jobs or businesses down on the Island need to be closer for commuting. People want to be close enough to work on their property. Whoever they are -- job, no job, East End mansion or public housing -- most of the Galvestonians I've met have deep ties to their home and really don't want to be made to leave.

Having said all that, I imagine some people are scared because they recall the experiences with some of the Katrina evacuees in Houston. It's worth remembering that only a small fraction of those were troublemakers or criminals. You may also remember the long-term FEMAtowns around Punta Gorda after Charlie. If Pearland or any other jurisdiction agrees to lease an area for temporary -- repeat, temporary -- housing, the local officals can look back at what worked and what didn't, and can negotiate stricter conditions on the size, placement, security, and eventual removal of the housing. And those local officials, and the state and Federal ones, can be held accountable throughout and after the process

At this point, we don't know what will be proposed, where it would be located, or any other details. It's a little early to say no. It's not too early, though, to think about what we can do -- as individuals and as a community -- to keep helping our neighbors in need.

Oh, Yes, the South Main store.

Your story is interesting, I had never heard of Target or Wal-mart using older bldgs. for their stores. Don't know of any in this city, in fact Target & Wal-mart frequently choose to build new facilities on different lots, probably because they need more space for Super-Sized stores.

The Target in the Crossroads Center in San Antonio (actually Balcones Heights) is a former Wards store. That mall, of course, is also the former Wonderland Mall. Likewise, there is a Target in San Diego's Mission Valley Center mall in a former Wards. Neither of these were cool old art-deco buildings, of course, more like aging 1960s facilities, and they (and their malls) do not retain the 60s look.

There's been some restriping on 2234 between Kingsley and Kirby. Looks like they have added a center left-turn lane so that westbound traffic will be able to access the new Alexan apartments and eastbound traffic will be able to access various stuff on the north side of the road.

Hope they take this on down to the section betweem Kirby and 288. That would make it easier to get to Buc-ee's and the UPS Store when you're headed east.

I am in Southern Trails, a new MPC just south of Shadow Creek Ranch. We do have underground utilities. We only lost power for 21 hours during Ike.

What we have here in SCR are underground connections to the houses. However, there are above ground distribution lines running along the edge of several sections (including the pole in my yard) as well as the lines on Kingsley, 2234, and yes, 518 just next to Southern Trails.

I guess the accurate description of this would be "hybrid". We still lose power -- not because of "line-drops" failing, but rather because of the system that feeds the lines that come to the house.

You guys are also a little closer to those high power lines that run catty-corner across the southern side of SCR. That's probably why you got power back faster. We were down for 4 days here on the north side of SCR.

The fact that virtually every subdivision built in the last 30 years has all underground utilities suggests to me that this is not quite the human catastrophe in waiting that your italics predicts. In fact, I'd wager that far more people die yearly from above ground electrical utilities than buried ones. Then again, maybe I was just lucky that the transformer in my parents' backyard never reached out and grabbed me all those years I played around it.

Clearly, retrofitting above ground utilities to underground is expensive, but just as clearly, they are not unsafe. But, I bet it cost less than the trillion dollars Paulson wants to spend on bad mortgages.

Huh? I live in Shadow Creek Ranch, a humongous brand-new "master-planned community," and I have power-poles in my backyard! New subdivisions are not getting underground utilities, unless someone is paying extra for them.

FWIW, there are buried lines for AT&T and Comcast. These are about an inch below the back yard surface. "Underground" for these is sort of aesthetic, but it you ever plant a garden you find them (and break them) pretty quickly.

What about running them under the sidewalks? Less traffic disturbance, and it's where the telephone poles are now anyway. Just do a cut-and-cover operation. I'm specifically thinking of Montrose which needs new sidewalks anyway and is dense enough to justify burying the lines.

Ha, ha. When I first moved to the area a few years ago, I thought of Houston as the "beautiful city of open ditches and missing or broken sidewalks!" Maybe if we had the money to build or repair sidewalks and real storm drains in all the older neighborhoods -- not just the pretty suburbs -- we could also put the power lines underground.

Seriously, I live in one of those "pretty suburbs." The new power lines on wooden poles behind my house must have been put up in just the last couple of years. If there was the will and the wherewithal to bury the power lines, that would be great, provided that we also budgeted the money to repair them after a flood. If not, maybe "hardening" the poles is a better compromise.

Is this going to be an undergrad school or a graduate school?

On the current SCR map, the facility is labeled UT Health Science Center. I've googled it but can't find any details, so I don't know if it's envisioned as a teaching facility, a clinical facility, or both.

I wouldn't cross 2234 on foot with or without stoplights for at least five years. By then, the speed limit will be 30 mph and there will be 8 to 10 stoplights from 521 to 288.

I understand that the library should be accessible to a large number of people. But some should still be able to walk to it. I mean, the most accessible place to the largest number of people would be to put it over by the HEB but I don't see that as beneficial.

FWIW, if a spot could be located on 518 between the HEB and Kingsley -- maybe near that church? -- it would be walkable from both SCR and Southern Trails. The road improvements and traffic lights here should be in by the end of the year.

Some additional thoughts: It's likely that the "service area" for this library would be much larger than just SCR. It in order to be viable, it might have to include pretty much all of Pearland west of Cullen. After all, Pearland currently can afford only one library on the east end of town. Thus, it needs to be accessible to people coming from Silverlake, Southern Trails, etc.

It's been noted elsewhere on HAIF that 2234 will be widened and improved, probably by 2010 or 2011. Hopefully some stages, including the part by Reflection Bay (the new Hyatt and shopping centers) could be improved earlier and a stop-light and sidewalks could be added there. The proposed library site is on the north side of 2234 just down from Reflection Bay.

If a permanent facility were to be built, planning, approvals, and fundraising would likely take several years. It would certainly be later than the road improvements.

I like the idea that some children will be able to walk or bike to the library, and I recognize the concern about crossing a busy street. However, I also tend to think that those who are old enough and motivated enough to go to the library on their own are also smart enough to cross with the stop-light. Most of the other undeveloped sites in SCR are already slated for something else, and I don't know if there are any in the "center" of it. In any case, a site in the "center" of SCR probably would not be as accessible to users from other parts of West Pearland.

Just to clarify, take a look at the web page for the Pearland Library: http://bcls.lib.tx.us/branches/pea/pearland.asp. It is a branch of the Brazoria County Library System. The Houston Public Library is free for residents of the State of Texas. There is an Interlibrary Loan System where the Brazoria County libraries can obtain books which they do not actually keep in their own collections.

I was just out an an errand and saw a sign promoting the group. I was going to post the information here, but you beat me to it.

The FOWPL web site has a survey asking for people to give input. I just filled it out, since I can't attend the meeting.

I think it would be great to open a small library in one of those empty storefronts on Shadow Creek Parkway. Once it's up and running, that would help with gaining volunteers, support, and fundraising for permanent facility.

I was out for a drive yesterday and decided to check the status of western SCR. I honestly didn't see much signs of change since my last check in April. Eden Cove had very few start-ups since those I saw then. Even stranger, the many empty lots did not have AVAILABLE or SOLD signs in them. I am not sure what Perry is up to here.

...

I think the developments you refer to are in the Village of Diamond Bay. Here along Biscayne Bay, things are bit different. Creekside Meadow is now completely built out. There are, I think, only two houses not yet sold and one of those is the model. The sales rep told me that Deerwood was looking to purchase lots from another builder further down Biscayne Bay Drive. Silverleaf Glen has been sold out from some time now, and Perry removed their sign months ago. Westin has a few empty lots in Nicole Terrace, but they are building. I see activity in Briarwood Glen, too. I haven't been through Meadow Trails lately, nor the developments down toward 518.