Lazybrook Information & Developments

[heightslurker]

The Houston Heights Westside constable program is now open for registration. The Westside is the area between

· W. 20th on the north,

· Yale St. on the east,

· White Oak Dr. on the south,

· N. Shepherd Dr. on the west.

Initial patrol will be 8 hours/day, 5 days/week to be determined by the Constable’s office as the highest crime time for that particular patrol area. Our program would begin on January 1, 2010.

To initiate the Constable Program on the Westside:

· Minimum of 300 people must register and pay a $255 annual fee

· Deadline is November 15, 2009

If we do not collect from the 300 minimum, all monies will be refunded. If you pay by credit card, an $8 processing fee will be deducted from your refund ($247).

More information may be found at: http://www.houstonheights.org/pdf/Constable%20Patrol%20Pilot%20Brochure.pdf

Process to pay:

· Online with a credit card (link will be sent out next week)

· Or you can sign up immediately by mailing a check payable to the West Side Constable Program, PO Box 70735, Houston, TX 77270-0735. All payments must include service address, phone number and email address.

Please come to Houston Heights Association General Meeting at 7pm on October 12 at the Fire Station at 12th and Yale Streets to meet the constable. Representatives will be available after the meeting to answer your questions and take your subscription payment.

We will need your help signing up the 300 subscribers, so please let us know if you are willing to talk to you neighbors. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: tracy@webextra.com or 713-301-3296.

[SaintCyr]

The Houston Heights Westside constable program is now open for registration. The Westside is the area between

· W. 20th on the north,

· Yale St. on the east,

· White Oak Dr. on the south,

· N. Shepherd Dr. on the west.

Initial patrol will be 8 hours/day, 5 days/week to be determined by the Constable’s office as the highest crime time for that particular patrol area. Our program would begin on January 1, 2010.

To initiate the Constable Program on the Westside:

· Minimum of 300 people must register and pay a $255 annual fee

· Deadline is November 15, 2009

If we do not collect from the 300 minimum, all monies will be refunded. If you pay by credit card, an $8 processing fee will be deducted from your refund ($247).

More information may be found at: http://www.houstonhe...%20Brochure.pdf

Process to pay:

· Online with a credit card (link will be sent out next week)

· Or you can sign up immediately by mailing a check payable to the West Side Constable Program, PO Box 70735, Houston, TX 77270-0735. All payments must include service address, phone number and email address.

Please come to Houston Heights Association General Meeting at 7pm on October 12 at the Fire Station at 12th and Yale Streets to meet the constable. Representatives will be available after the meeting to answer your questions and take your subscription payment.

We will need your help signing up the 300 subscribers, so please let us know if you are willing to talk to you neighbors. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: tracy@webextra.com or 713-301-3296.

I think $22 a month is worth having an on call law enforcement officer.... My question is, what if we get more than 300 people sign up? Does the price go down?

[heightslurker]

I think $22 a month is worth having an on call law enforcement officer.... My question is, what if we get more than 300 people sign up? Does the price go down?

good question...maybe they add on more hours until it is 24/7 or something

[kat_zor]

Post it! I'll be one that will sign up.

That makes two of us.

[outback]

good question...maybe they add on more hours until it is 24/7 or something

That's the way it's supposed to operate on the East side of Heights - they'll add hours as more sign up.

[Marksmu]

That's the way it's supposed to operate on the East side of Heights - they'll add hours as more sign up.

I will sign up too when the link is available....$255/yr is a small price to pay to have a cop at your house within minutes of being notified your alarm is going off...especially when you have 2 dogs that you are as attached to as I am.

Link is already up....I just completed registration at:

http://www.houstonheights.org/westsidepaypal.htm

[AtticaFlinch]

Um... Does anybody else find it odd that residents of the Heights have to pay extra dues in order to get what should already be coming out of their taxes and essentially provided free? Plus, has anyone noticed just how healthy the profit margins are on this? $225 x 300 people is twice the average annual cop salary. If they're charging a minimum of $76,500, they should be providing 10 shifts at 8 hours apiece, not 5 shifts at 8 hours.

[Golden Locks]

at the heights assoc meeting tonight, they said they've signed up 20 towards the "west side" goal of 311. assuming another 15 or so people signed up at tonight's meeting, still seems like a long ways to go.

if they get more than 311, the options are to increase the hours or, possibly, reduce the costs...though i don't know how likely the latter is. on the east side, they haven't even made the total number they need for the active program yet..

overall, it does sound like a great program...they said in Garden Oaks, the program cut crime by 20 percent...then went they cut the service, crime went up 20 percent.

[poyea]

Um... Does anybody else find it odd that residents of the Heights have to pay extra dues in order to get what should already be coming out of their taxes and essentially provided free? Plus, has anyone noticed just how healthy the profit margins are on this? $225 x 300 people is twice the average annual cop salary. If they're charging a minimum of $76,500, they should be providing 10 shifts at 8 hours apiece, not 5 shifts at 8 hours.

Not to mention, Harris County picks up 20% of the tab, so this makes the cost just over $96,000/year. It does seem like alot of money for a 40 hour work week. I'd prefer that the city allocate more funds to the HPD, and cut out some of the fluff. I agree that cops don't get paid for the risks that they take and the service they provide. But charging citizens extra is a bit ridiculous when you sit back and think about it. That being said, I still might sign up (idiot ).

[AtticaFlinch]

Not to mention, Harris County picks up 20% of the tab, so this makes the cost just over $96,000/year. It does seem like alot of money for a 40 hour work week. I'd prefer that the city allocate more funds to the HPD, and cut out some of the fluff. I agree that cops don't get paid for the risks that they take and the service they provide. But charging citizens extra is a bit ridiculous when you sit back and think about it. That being said, I still might sign up (idiot ).

I probably would to, but I'd want some kind of guarantee the dues-paid cop wasn't there to just write traffic tickets. I say, if his position is already completely subsidized by the community, then his job duties should be nothing more than that of a glorified security guard - with the ability to arrest people, but not to merely cite them.

[SaintCyr]

I probably would to, but I'd want some kind of guarantee the dues-paid cop wasn't there to just write traffic tickets. I say, if his position is already completely subsidized by the community, then his job duties should be nothing more than that of a glorified security guard - with the ability to arrest people, but not to merely cite them.

I'm not sure I follow you about a guarantee? From what I understood last night I believe he IS what you say as a "glorified security guard with the ability to arrest people." I mentioned to Bill that it would be a good idea to visibly post the statistics and have a tracking for each month on the HHA website to promote buy in and show the community that having the constable DOES make a difference. That being said, he gave some numbers from September and the only ones I can remember are 11 arrests, 900+ miles driven, 90 citations, 100+ citizen contacts, etc... Hopefully someone can add more detail around these numbers. These numbers do not include the times he has assisted HPD in the area. That is something else as well, he works in conjunction with HPD, using their calls as well as ones that come through his dispatch. Hopefully someone can add more detail around these numbers.

Some of the other points he made clear as well is that this officer is dedicated soley to that area, which in turn allows faster response times, better visibility when something is out of place, or someone who doesnt belong in the 'hood. Also, for those of us who travel for work quite a bit, its nice to know there is a list you can request to be on and he will personally check on your house while you are away. As with any person, since he is assigned a fixed area it would lead me to believe he cannot help but become emotionally vested which would lead to more effort and better protection.

Post any questions you might have and we can get them forwarded on to the people that can answer them.

D

[outback]

August Stats for Heights East were :

August Constable Information - Eastside

Total Arrests 6

Citizen Assists 3

Citizen Contacts 90

Vacation Watches 22

Traffic Citations 23

Miles Patrolled 902

I've not seen September yet.

They also offer a vacation watch scheme if you are a paid up member - I used the service and the constable called me up while I was away to say that he had swung by, and had moved a package that had been delivered to a less obvious location. A small thing, sure, but they were efficient and on the ball.

[AtticaFlinch]

I'm not sure I follow you about a guarantee? From what I understood last night I believe he IS what you say as a "glorified security guard with the ability to arrest people." I mentioned to Bill that it would be a good idea to visibly post the statistics and have a tracking for each month on the HHA website to promote buy in and show the community that having the constable DOES make a difference. That being said, he gave some numbers from September and the only ones I can remember are 11 arrests, 900+ miles driven, 90 citations, 100+ citizen contacts, etc... Hopefully someone can add more detail around these numbers. These numbers do not include the times he has assisted HPD in the area. That is something else as well, he works in conjunction with HPD, using their calls as well as ones that come through his dispatch. Hopefully someone can add more detail around these numbers.

Some of the other points he made clear as well is that this officer is dedicated soley to that area, which in turn allows faster response times, better visibility when something is out of place, or someone who doesnt belong in the 'hood. Also, for those of us who travel for work quite a bit, its nice to know there is a list you can request to be on and he will personally check on your house while you are away. As with any person, since he is assigned a fixed area it would lead me to believe he cannot help but become emotionally vested which would lead to more effort and better protection.

Post any questions you might have and we can get them forwarded on to the people that can answer them.

D

90 citations and only 11 arrests? Seems like the opposite of what I'd want. It seems to me if they're going to allow him to hand out traffic tickets, their price should also drop. Otherwise, he should just be employed to drive around making sure people aren't burning down or breaking into houses. So, if he averages even fewer tickets per month, say 50, and each ticket averages $100 in revenue, then over 12 months the governing body that controls this cop has grossed (added with the citizens' contribution and the Harris County contribution) well over $150,000. It costs anywhere from $30-45 annually to employ a cop and it costs an additional $10-15k to operate the vehicle, so even on the low-end of profit, the governing body has pulled in an additional $90,000 from you guys. It looks to me as if they should just add another cop to the roster for free without charging residents extra. It looks as if one extra cop would pay for himself.

[kat_zor]

Not to mention, Harris County picks up 20% of the tab, so this makes the cost just over $96,000/year.

(Adding this info to the Constable Program thread since that's really where it belongs)

I emailed one of the organizers to ask why the math doesn't appear to add up. Here is the response:

-------------------------------------

The new cost of the Constable Patrol Program is $70,277 per year. The brochure needs to change to reflect this cost. We did not want to raise the fee since the East Side had already agreed to $255. The 70,277 figure is after the 20% amount that Harris County has contributed.

If we get more than 300 households then we will lower the cost.

The administrative cost for this program has been kept to a minimum. This is why we are asking for volunteers to help. The major amount of administrative costs have been for the mail out.

Some of the bookkeeping costs are being handled by volunteers keeping track of the names etc....

Chris did speak to the Constable Program Captain to see if we could lower the cost, and we are at the minimum.

The admin costs ae covering items such as the 1900 mail out to everyone on the westside. But we are working hard to keep those cost down. As of noon today we ahve 85 subscribers.

- Lanna vonBaden

------------------------------------

[Yankee_in_TX]

So I'm just waiting on the NW side constable...?

[august948]

You might want to keep tabs on the constables to make sure you get your money's worth...

Constable office cheating homeowners

[AtticaFlinch]

You might want to keep tabs on the constables to make sure you get your money's worth...

Constable office cheating homeowners

Yeesh... At least most people aren't paying $76k to get bilked. I guess that price is Heights specific.

They generally pay around $55,000 per year per deputy to patrol their neighborhoods.

[20thStDad]

Yeesh... At least most people aren't paying $76k to get bilked. I guess that price is Heights specific.

I hear the higher price is because of all the stray shopping carts and AWP at the Kroger.

[Yankee_in_TX]

I hear the higher price is because of all the stray shopping carts and AWP at the Kroger.

HAIF post of the year. Fact.

[ChandoJMC]

Anyone have any idea what's going on there? A very large two-story addition is being built. There was some work being done (gutted it and put a new roof on) a few months back on the old main building, but now there's some serious work going on.

[SilverJK]

i've been watching this as well. I have no clue what it is going to be.

[tmariar]

The street address is 2520 Houston Ave. The owner is Licata Construction, which looks like it's owned by someone on Wroxton. The building permits list the business as "Houston Ave. Bar".

The property was listed recently at $1.5 million. I always heard that lot floods pretty bad - but I've never been able to get close enough during a flood to see it. Maybe a second story would be high enough to stay above the water?

Looks like there has been a business at that location since at least around 1913, which isn't surprising. Business names I saw included Pardo Tire (in a leaking underground storage tank database list - King Biscuit was listed, too), and White Oak Marine (in the 70's). I didn't look at the old city directories, but I may later. Seems like it would have been an historically significant location. I know that the area just to the south that is now park land was.

[arisegundo]

The property was listed recently at $1.5 million. I always heard that lot floods pretty bad - but I've never been able to get close enough during a flood to see it. Maybe a second story would be high enough to stay above the water?

Yeah, that's the intersection where they had to rescue some handicapped kids and their driver from a school bus during the March '92 flood. Nine years later, Allison made it look like this.

[kylejack]

Yeah, that's the intersection where they had to rescue some handicapped kids and their driver from a school bus during the March '92 flood. Nine years later, Allison made it look like this.

Yipes, you just talked me out of those condos around there.

[barracuda]

I guess that's why White Oak Park was never developed. I didn't realize the floodwater had reached that high.

[Arivechi]

Here's a view of Houston Ave/White Oak the afternoon after Ike came through so water level was down maybe 3 or 4 feet from peak.

They will certainly want to consider a these high water events at that location.

[AtticaFlinch]

Here's a view of Houston Ave/White Oak the afternoon after Ike came through so water level was down maybe 3 or 4 feet from peak.

They will certainly want to consider a these high water events at that location.

Looks like there has been a business at that location since at least around 1913, which isn't surprising. Business names I saw included Pardo Tire (in a leaking underground storage tank database list - King Biscuit was listed, too), and White Oak Marine (in the 70's). I didn't look at the old city directories, but I may later. Seems like it would have been an historically significant location. I know that the area just to the south that is now park land was.

Seems White Oak Marine might have been the only appropriate business for the property.

[arisegundo]

According to NOAA any time White Oak Bayou goes above 36 feet everyone on that little section of White Oak Drive is in big trouble. This has happened ten times since 1929.

Historical Crests

(1) 51.50 ft on 12/09/1935

(2) 50.43 ft on 03/04/1992 bus rescue

(3) 47.06 ft on 09/11/1998 Frances

(4) 47.00 ft on 05/31/1929

(5) 46.00 ft on 09/14/2008 Ike

(6) 44.84 ft on 06/26/1989 Allison I

(7) 44.27 ft on 09/13/2008 Ike

(8) 43.60 ft on 11/13/1961

(9) 43.50 ft on 05/20/1972

(10) 41.77 ft on 06/09/2001 Allison the Terrible

[Jessica N]

story about the new establishment at this corner.

http://swamplot.com/openings-and-closings-that-flood-of-new-establishments/2009-11-11/

[ChandoJMC]

story about the new establishment at this corner.

http://swamplot.com/openings-and-closings-that-flood-of-new-establishments/2009-11-11/

Thanks Jessica...Gotta love Swamplot. I drove by today and noticed a for lease "restaurant" space sign. I'll see if I can snap some pictures tomorrow.