Extreme Makeover

In the Daily News it was noted that a TV Show called “extreme makeover” is coming to Galveston County. Anyone interested in volunteering goods or services for this project can contact Mayor Randall’s office at City Hall. The number is 281-554-1000.

Also this notation from the December 24 Houston Chronicle about a past chapter in our city was brought to my attention and I believe it to be note worthy to our citizens.

God Bless our City and citizens and to all of you I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a safe and Happy New year !!

December Council Meeting

Hello everyone,

Please pardon the delay in getting this out to you. It has been a wild week, but I wanted you to know about the Council Meeting......

Our only Council Meeting in December was called to order with a jam-packed agenda and a full gallery. It's really great to see so many citizens in the audience! All of Council was present, with the exception of Mr. Nelson
.
Pastor Jan Paul Sattem of Good Shepherd Church gave the invocation.

It was my special pleasure to recognize some very special employees who have reached 15-plus years of Service. They are: Billy Miles, courier, 15 years; Wesley Baker, mechanic, 15 years; Quincy Goins, Accounts Manager-15 years; Liz Hopkins, responsible for Library Volunteer Program-15 years; Paula Orise, 15 years; LCPD Capt. Charles Slade, Operations Bureau Commander, 15 years; Darve Hamman, Utility Accounts Representative, 20 years; Paul Lopez, Senior Plant Operator, 20 years; Lt. Bruce Whitten, LCPD East Area Commander, SWAT & Investigations; Barbara Holt, LCPD Records Clerk II, 25 years; John Norgen, Senior Mechanic, 25 years; Robert Morrison, Project coordinator, 25 years; Shirley Murphy, Municipal Court Administrator, 25 years; Lonna Stein, Controller, 25 years; Capt. Pat Bittner, LCPD Commander of Special Services-30 years; Lt. Bruce Honings, LCPD Assistant Bureau Commander for Administrative Services, 30 years. These longterm folks are to be commended for their faithfulness to the City, through thick and thin. They really care about you, the citizen.

Presentation of Certificates of Commendation by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution was made by John Comer of the Bernardo de Galvez Chapter No 1. Presentations were made to Fire Fighter Arthur Hewitt and LCPD Officer Shawn Murray. We all remember that Art is a WWII survivor, having flown bombers and survived POW camps. Congratulations to Art and Shawn.

In recognition of the 60th anniversary of the League City Garden Club, I was delighted to name December 9, 2009, as League City Garden Club Day. This group is responsible for the bandstand-gazebo in League Park and the Rose Arbor in Helen's Garden; League city owes them a debt of gratitude for the beauty out-of-doors that has been donated by the Garden Club!

Your help is needed with the LCPD Blue Santa program, which needs donated toys. Go to the League city police dept. website

The annual appointment-reappointment of Board and Commissions was done, and I am glad to say that we did involve quite a few new folks this year--which is a positive sign of growth for the City! Congratilations to you all and thank you for your service.

The City donated 3 9" caliper oak trees that needed to be removed from their locations on City property, to the City of Galveston to replace some of their live oaks that were lost in Ike last year. This was brought to our attention by Dr. Ned Dudney, and he will be telling us about this on Channel 16, so be sure to tune in and watch this interesting story. Thanks Dr. Ned!

In Citizens Request for Hearing Before City Council, several wrecker operators in town spoke regarding the proposed changes to the ordinance on tonights agenda. A citizen from Mar Bella subdivision brought to our attention several items about the new CCISD Education Center that afffect their subdivision.

In Council Members Comments/Reports, Councilman Phalen announced that 2010 is national Census year, and that there will be a City committee aiding in the organization of our census. He also announced that part-time jobs for census takers are being offered by Uncle Sam.

The Recycling trash pick-up will be changing in some parts of town in January, so please go to the City's website to find out if the change affects you.

Councilman Lee thanked the City for the efforts made for the City float in the Holiday in the Park Parade. He especially thanked Mark Stelly and Mike Tubbs.

The Holiday schedule for the Library was announced. It will be closed December 23-28th, and Dec. 31-Jan. 4th. The holiday luncheon for volunteer workers will be held on Dec. 16th. For more information, consult the City website.

In the Mayor's Comments, I thanked our Council members who are working so hard and so well!
City Administrator Marcus Jahns announced that we have hired a new Finance Director, Mike Loftin. He also announced that we have engaged the services of David Benson to aid in our action plan process, policy,and communications.

He also announced that our ISO rating has gone up from 5 to 3, which will result in lower prices for our insurance. Many thanks to Wanda Martin, Dena McDermont for her work on this.

The LCPD needs toys for their Blue Santa Program. For information, go to www.lcpd.com

We had the first reading of the long awaited Ethics Policy, with the exception of the campaign finance section which will be coming in the near future. Motion to pass was made by Councilman Baron, seconded by Councilman Barber, and passed 4-2, with Paulissen and Sanborn voting no.

The Interim Management with the Butler Longhorn Museum, was passed with provisions for City Attorney to add 5 items. Motion was made by Councilman Phalen, seconded by Councilman Baron, voted 6-0. When signed by the Museum officers, this agreement will last until September, 2010, at which time it will be re-evaluated.

There was a big discussion about our needing to sign a contract to buy emergency water, if we ever need it. We have several plans in place to help with future water needs that we won't have to buy emergency water, but if we must have it for whatever reason, we will be able to get it. Motion to accept was made by Councilman Barber, seconded by Councilman Phalin, passed 5-1 with Mr. Paulissen voting no.

Council approved entering a contract with Dannenbaum Engineering to update the City's Master Drainage Plan, which was last done in 1990. Motion passed 6-0. This is another of the steps we are taking to correct our drainage problems, so this study will provide us with a roadmap to solutions for today and the future of League City.

The revisions to the Vehicle Wreckers and Wrecker Companies Ordinance apply to which wrecker the Police Department calls when a vehicle needs to be towed. Council approved a rotation system of operators who live in League City and store the vehicles in League City.

Council passed a resolution to certify funding and support for the statewide application to the Transportation Enhancement Program Nomination Form 2009 with the Texas Department of Transportation, for the application to receive funding to build a hike and bike trail along the FM518 Bypass and extending along the former NRG Canal to FM2094. Motion to pass was made by Councilman Phalin, seconded by Councilman Barber, and passed 6-0.

Well folks, this wraps up a long, but important meeting by your elected officials.

Now it's time to say we hope you all have a safe and happy Holiday season. Have fun helping Santa in all his surprises, and hug everyone you love!

Toni Randall
Mayor,
League City

Blue Santa

The League City Police Department’s Blue Santa program has started. This program has provided many smiles on Christmas morning to those in need in our community. Add a little more cheer to a young one this Christmas season by helping out the Blue Santa program.

Traffic Trauma?

Does League City need a traffic light 800 feet away from the intersection of FM 2094 and Twin Oaks Boulevard? Read what Thayer Evans wrote and let us know what you think. If you are so inclined you may voice your opinion to our city administration by clicking here. Really want to understand the master plan? Then click here to use the resources that our city provides to keep us all up to date and informed on this issue.

On the Agenda for 12-8-09

From: Toni Randall
Sent: Sun 11/22/2009 4:20 PM
To: mallios@comcast.net
Subject: FW:

Chris

can you please put this on your blog, I would like for the citizens to be as informed as possible.

Thank You in advance
T

________________________________________
From: Rich Oller
Sent: Sun 11/22/2009 7:32 AM
To: Toni Randall
Subject:
Mayor I will be bringing before you and council On December 8, a request to approve 3 necessary and needed studies for the City these are:

Water Distribution Model- This model is compulation of lines sizes, storage tank & pump sizes and existing pressures that exist in the water distribution system collected and analyzed by computer simulations to accurately predict low pressure areas due to inadequate booster staion location and/or line sizes within the system. The model also will ascess fire flows in the system to show areas of low fire flow under varying conditions. The benefit to the City is this becomes an interactive model for us to use in mangaing our distribution system and providing the information needed on extensions of lines and additional storage requirements. It will also give us the ability to better predict water supply needs more accurately.

Sanitary Sewer System Model- This is same concept as the water system model and is a tool that collects existing data including all lift station pump and wet-well sizes and provides us with information on the pumping capacity of the lift stations, determines if lift stations are undersized or maxed out, line sizes and their capacity to add more connections, and will identify areas within the collection system that is contributing infiltration/inflow (I/I) into the system. This is groundwater or runoff water that is getting into the sewer system and we are transporting & treating it. This water does not need to be treated and is costing the city to do so.

Master Drainage Plan- This plan was last developed in 1990 and the plan develops improvements from a City wide view point and how best to manage the overall drainage. It is tied to the Regional Drainage Districts plan and with FEMA and the Corps of Engineers plans. This plan will allow the city to know what types of drinage routes need to be dedicated as the city further develops. It will also be interactive with all of our land use models and Regional Drainage Models.

All 3 of these models will give the City the necessary tools to better plan development and growth and providing the tools we need to better operate the systems in a cost-effective performance based approach. The information will allow staff to be proactive and not reactive to all of these infrastructure needs.

And then there was one

It looks like this blog is the only public forum for the citizens of League City to voice their opinions on. It is my understanding that the other blog has gone private because it could not conduct open discussion in a civil way. I have received a letter that, from what I understand, has been delivered to one of the contributors of the other blog. This may or may not have something to do with the drastic action taken by the other blog. You decide and tell us what you think.

Cars, Cameras, Collections and Credit.

Did you know that if you fail to pay the 75 dollar (Big brother is watching) ticket you could hurt your credit rating? According to the Houston Chronicle today (can’t find the article online, but I have it in print ) if you do not pay your big brother ticket it will be turned over to a credit agency for collection. So if you dispute that you ran a red light there is no court of law you can go to. In League City you are SOL (surely out of luck). Thoughts ??

Who owns Palomino Road?

There appears to be some discussion about the ownership of the end of Palomino road. It is my understanding that a land owner is claiming the end of Palomino is a private drive. What I find interesting is that the city claims they do not know who owns the end of the street . From what I understand of our city history, at one time there was a bridge that crossed the creek (before the hurricane of 1943) at Palomino road. Sure doesn’t sound private to me. Then there is the traffic master plan in the early eighties that shows Palomino road as relief value for north south traffic. How could that be if it is a private street? Then when there was the big discussion about Clear Springs HS during which there was never any discussion about the end of Palomino being a private road. So when did this happen? There is nothing in the city records that indicate that the land or right of way was abandoned so “where’s the beef” (as Clara Peller would say) Only after the owner of the land that borders Clear Creek at the end of Palomino decided to use their property as a bed and breakfast did this claim come up by their neighbor. So what is this all about? The right of ways and the road on palomino, as well as other areas of the city, are assets and may be used for future improvements to enhance our city’s quality of life. Let’s do the legal research and find out the truth. Use our tax dollars for flooding problems not for fighting a claim in court.

Up and running

I understand that the water tank in Webster is now operational. Congrats are in order for taking action and getting to the bottom of the problem. It appears once the Mayor and Council know the problems, that have been hidden, or should I say “Dropped through the cracks”, from them, action and accountability takes over. That is a perfect example of a strong mayor form of government in action. Thoughts? Comments?

Back again !!!

Goodness it looks like I took a month off in September !! (or the whole summer) Well now … How is everybody doing ?

The city seems to be getting better. I noticed the new web site and it looks great !
I notice CCISD has a committee or two open for the public. I notice that there are also some boards and commissions in our city that are up at the end of the year. So there seems to be a lot to get involved in.

Farmers Market… any thoughts on the subject? Is it going to be for local farmers to sell produce or will someone buy produce in Houston and drive it down to League City to sell?

What about our water tank situation. Now that the council has become aware of the problem what is the progress with that? I understand that the tests did not go as hoped and that the cost will be over half a million just to get it up and running.

Also one or two last thoughts… What about the regulation of golf carts? Mr. Edelman was at the council meeting asking for greater regulation do you think that the government needs to be involved in further regulation?

RED LIGHT cameras My goodness. Any thoughts on those lovely big brother is watching tools?

Mobility Problems

League City Seeking Solutions to its Mobility Problems

League City is one of the most rapidly growing communities in the Houston-Galveston region. Unfortunately, growing pains have resulted in congestion and mobility problems for League City. As a first step toward finding solutions, the City has undertaken the development of a Master Mobility Plan. Public input is extremely important to the development of the plan because it is the residents of League City who use the City’s transportation network every day. Therefore, residents invited to attend the first of three Open Houses to discuss the City’s mobility issues. Meeting details are as follows:


Wednesday, October 7, 2009
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center
400 West Walker St.
League City, TX 77573

The Master Mobility Plan will address ways to improve citywide mobility across a broad spectrum of transportation modes including the roadway network, local transit, park and ride, commuter rail, hike and bike trails, marine transportation, and the pedestrian network. It will be the City’s first truly multi-modal transportation plan.

Unquestionably the predominant form of transportation in League City is the automobile and will continue to be. Thus, significant attention must be paid to improving traffic flow. However, the Master Mobility Plan will pay equal attention to establishing a more balanced range of mobility options.

A needs assessment is currently being conducted for the various transportation modes. Two modeling tools looking at land use scenarios and future traffic congestion will also play a big role. This information, along with public input, will be used to develop the Plan’s multi-modal mobility recommendations. The Plan will also include funding and implementation recommendations meant to guide the City as it continues to grow.

A website will be online by early October where residents can find out about the mobility planning process, access materials to be presented at the Open Houses, fill out an online survey, and offer other comments. The website address will be www.LeagueCityMobility.com.

We want to know what you think! Please join us at the Open House!

Mayors Report, August 25, 2009

Hi Everyone,

The meeting was called to order with a large audience, which I appreciate, and all Council folks present except Mr. Nelson.

Pastor Jerry Hatfield of Turning Point Church gave the invocation. Thank you, Pastor.

It was a real pleasure to present a Proclamation to Mr. Dick Benoit for his service to our community since he retired and moved here 15 years ago. Council recently, on the Parks Board recommendation, renamed the League City Prairie Preserve by adding "Dick Benoit" to the official name. Dick has, as a Certified Master Naturalist, worked on a team to create an awareness of, and need to preserve, the native Texas prairie specimen we have right here in League City! Thank you, Mr. Benoit.

The Transportation and Mobility Task Force of the League City Chamber of Commerce presented their 2009 mid-year recommendations. Chairman Jerry Graham made the report, which included the recommendation of a rail depot on Hiway 3 between 96 and 646 for the planned Commuter Rail between Houston and Galveston. They discussed the need for sidewalks and sidewalk repair on Main Street, and the planned raised median project for 2010 by TXDot for Hwy 518 from I45 on into Friendswood and ending at FM 2351. They also mentioned something called the ITS System (Intelligent Traffic System) which we will hear more about in their next report. The committee of Graham, Bob Douglas, Dale Hardy, Rick Wade, and John Towner has done some good work, and we appreciate their input.

Council approved the Budget for the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Destination League City Convention and Visitors Bureau budget. This past fiscal year produced $286,600 in Hotel Tax Revenue, which is down by 11-12%. We are hopeful for a 1% increase for next year.

In Citizens Request for Hearing Before City Council four citizens came before us: one protesting the County's proposed 6-cent property tax increase to support indigent care at UTMB; one protesting the daytime curfew for kids and how this relates to home-schooled children; the proposed city solutions for flooding in Clear Creek Village; and finally a thanks from the Landing HOA for the repairs made to Landing Blvd.

A reminder that starting Friday @ 5pm and extending to Sunday @7pm, Hwy 96 will be closed from I45 and Walker for the 96 overpass removal on I45. Please plan to avoid the area if possible, as traffic will be all snarled up!

The Library will be closed over the Labor Day weekend, and it will not be possible to renew books either online or by phone, due to the installation of new software upgrade.

There will be an organizational meeting for the Farmers Market on September 23 at 6pm at Butlers Courtyard, and everyone is invited.

Council voted on the creation of two new entities: the League City Improvement District and the Community Investment Committee, both of with are relative to the improvement of the Main Street Corridor. We are now ready to start moving forward on these ideas.

Council accepted a bequest from the Estate of James A. Martin, Jr. of the proceeds from the sale of real property. Mr. Martin's will specified that his home be sold and the proceeds be put into a special trust for the League City Animal Shelter. We are grateful for Mr. Martin's kind heart and generosity.

A report was made on the status of the SHway 3 Water Pumping Station by Jeff Peter, an engineer with CDM company. Mr. Peter requested $33,000 for variable speed controllers, etc., which will bring the station operable. Motion by Councilman Paulissen, second by Councilman Baron, passed 6-0. This vote will make it possible for CDM to start the plant and see how it will be integrated into our water system. CDM is making recommendations for a water model study to be conducted, which will help plan how future development will impact our city, waterwise.

Council held a discussion about school zone speeds at the new Ralph Parr Elementary and Education Village. The flashing red light will be installed on Hway 96 to announce the School Zone, and penalties or fines may not exceed $500.00. So please be careful, folks.

After going through the process of finding a City Attorney, staff recommended to staff that Ross, Banks be hired. This was unanimously approved by Council, which means that Mr. Polanco will continue as our City Attorney.

On a personal note, I just want to say how pleased I was to present the Proclamation to Dick Benoit. When I first started running for Mayor and was riding my moped talking to folks, I found a friendly fellow walking down the street in the older part of town. After we talked about the state of the City and just general chatting, he said "Oh, by the way, Katie Benoit (former Councilwoman) is my daughter!" After he retired from 30 years as a science teacher in Michigan and moved to League City, he has been successful in recruiting several of his adult children and their families to move here as well. Nice to know Dick and the Benoits!

Speaking of School Zones, don't forget that you may not use your cellphones as you pass through--watch for the signs!

Don't forget we can use your brain and your service on one of the City Boards or Commisions. Fall is the time for getting your application in, and this can be done online. Selections will be made in December.

Toni Randall,

Mayor
League City

Mayor's Report, August 11, 2009

Hi everyone!

I'm just back from vacation, rejuvenated and ready to forge ahead, in meeting and solving our problems. Being able to pause for reflection is a very healthy and refreshing thing, and I hope you all had time for that this summer.

The meeting opened at 6 pm, with all Council members present except Mr. Nelson. Senior Pastor Edwin L. Bamberg of Spirit and Truth Family Worship Center gave the invocation.

I was proud to present a proclamation recognizing the Texas Court Reporters Association, who will be having their Board of Directors Retreat at South Shore Harbour Resort August 14-16th. Thanks to Councilman Baron for putting this item on the agenda.

The NASA Go Texan Committee made a presentation, requesting that we renew our Ranch Hand level of sponsorship for the Rodeo in 2010. Our sponsorship helps provide for scholarships for CCISD and Friendswood High School students.

There were no Public Hearings. The Item about the Bed-and-Breakfast request for Palomino Road was pulled and will be rescheduled.

Citizens Request for Hearing Before City Council. Four citizens spoke to Council about flooding-related items, in various parts of town.

Councilwoman Sanborn told of a new state law against the operation of cell phones in school zones, so everyone please be careful!

Councilman Paulissen announced that the Calder Road change-over had been rescheduled by TXDot, in favor of being clear for the last week of summer shopping in Galveston. Originally scheduled for the weekend of August 15-16, it was rescheduled for the weekend close to September 13. It has now been rescheduled again and is now officially scheduled for the weekend of August 28th. Councilman Paulissen was helpful in getting it moved back to August, as he initiated an email campaign and contacted TXDot to complain to them about it being moved back to September.

City Engineer Jack Murphy showed his new Flooding Update Report. The report is quite comprehensive, covering all the flood districts in the City. Council persons were able to ask Mr. Murphy very specific questions about your part of town, which allows you to see theto answers in detail on Channel 16. You should be able to find his report on the City website, or you may submit a request for public information to get a copy. Your request should be emailed Diana Stapp at DStapp@leaguecity.com.
Thanks,
Jack.

In New Business, we voted to revise a 1987 water supply agreement with the Galveston County Water Control and Improvement District. setting the price of an emergency water supply at a maximum of $1.50 a gallon. We hope we never have to use this!

Council okayed funds to pay a company called CDM for their assessment work on the water plant on Highway 3 in Webster. Staff has drained and sanitized the tank, which contained one million gallons of water that had been stored there for four years, and are in the process of pumping water from under the tank with sump pumps. CDM will be testing the whole electrical system soon. We don't know yet what the complete price will be to repair the pump station; we hope to know by the end of next week. I am getting updates regularly and this is my first priority. On completion of CDM's work, the City will be be looking for a firm to assess our whole water system.

Council was notified by Director of Land Management Allender that there will be co-operative discussions between League City, Friendswood, and Webster, regarding the area where the three communities have mutual interests north of Clear Creek and west of I-45. This includes Clear Creek Shores and others on the Harris County side of League City. Council unanimously approved this activities, as those residents have often felt like orphans in the past.

After Executive Session, when Council reconvened, Councilman Phalen motioned that a Mediation Team, representing the City, be appointed to begin meetings with the citizens of Glen Cove to find a solution for the on-going bridge issue. The committee will be made up of City Attorney Polanco, Councilman Paulissen, City Administrator Jahns, and Director of Land Management Allender. Seconded by Councilman Baron, vote 6-0. At this time, there is already one lawsuit about the Bridge, and another threatened by the Glen Cove HOA.

Well, tweak the last few days before school starts, and please watch for CHILDREN and NO CELLPHONES IN SCHOOL ZONES!

Give a wave to all the City employees who are working hard to make our City a great place to live!!

Toni Randall
Mayor
League City

Marc Edelman's Latest Distortions of Reality

Marc, your disingenuous and misleading post on your alternative blog was brought to my attention this morning. (I will not dignify your trash talking tabloid with a link.) You are obviously baiting us for information with your exaggeration and hyperbole. There have been no secret meetings that I am aware of. On the other hand you appear to be trying to plant these rumors at the bidding of certain parties who are desperate to head off any attempt by the city to right its past wrongs in the Glen Cove fiasco.

Now, for the facts. In the first place, it is not rumor or allegation that we (Glen Cove residents) want the city to rebuild the bridge as originally promised to us by the city. That is a statement of fact and a matter of public record as can be seen in the demands of our lawsuit (See item 24 here.). Second, it is misleading to say that the bridge was removed to facilitate navigation. You are as aware as anyone that there was no navigable waterway above the dam until after the bridge and dam were removed. This NEW navigable waterway above the dam was artificially dug and access to the small area between the bridge and dam became possible for anything larger than a canoe for the first time in a century only after removal of the decades old bridge. It was not until after the city's illegal and secretive breaking of its promise to repair the old bridge that construction began on this new, artificial waterway that you speak of. Third, your estimates on bridge reconstruction are deliberately exaggerated. At least one disinterested third party has obtained preliminary estimates for bridge reconstruction that are well under one tenth the estimates you conjured up. Such plans will satisfy us. If a more elaborate bridge is desired by some party, then the additional costs should logically and fairly be the responsibility of those parties with an interest in creating the above mentioned artificial waterway.

Once again I ask the question, why did the city engage in a deceptive process to remove a long standing bridge without mitigation, compensation, or even notice to the affected residents and without commensurate compensation to the city as a whole when said process resulted in millions of dollars worth of private benefit?
As a side question, why do you, Marc, feel the need to continuously attack and defame the interests and rights of private citizens who have done nothing other than complain about the city's illegal and immoral taking of their rights and property in an issue that has nothing to do with you? Do you just generally like to support abusive government policy, or do you have some hidden ulterior motive?

I will not be dignifying your hit piece by joining the discussion on your alternative blog, but congratulations to Paul Morrato for being the only poster there able to maintain focus on logic and facts.


(Photograph shows destruction of the Seminole bridge in Glen Cove that commenced on a Friday afternoon after city and county offices were closed such that Glen Cove residents could not request a halt. This was done shortly after ex-mayor Shults promised the residents in response to questions about rumored destruction that such was not imminent and after the city promised to give the residents advance notice if such destruction did become imminent. Note height of bridge above the water.)

Jeff Hagen

Mayor's Report for 7-28-09

Hello Everyone,

Our meeting last night was attended by all Council persons except Mr. Nelson, who was excused for his absence. The invocation was given by Pastor Steven Yoes of Bay Area Community Church.

The audience and the agenda were both a little light, so I guess you must be out making the most of your summer vacation here at the end of July.

In Citizens Request to Speak, two citizens spoke in favor of the helipad at Bay Electric, and two others from Countryside HOA spoke about drainage trash at the Creek since the April rains. They pointed out that the Creek is re-routing itself there.

Most of the items in the Consent Agenda passed, and there was one of particular interest, #B. Centerpoint Energy Entex is seeking approval from Texas coastal cities to raise gas rates, and these cities have formed an organization and hired an attorney to oppose the amount of the proposed increase. We voted to postpone allowing the new rates to take effect until November 1st, while the Coastal Coalition works with Centerpoint to lower the increase. We, along with our neighboring towns, are working as hard as we can for you, on this deal.

There was no Old Business.

In New Business, Council passed a resolution to enter into a long term agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for the continued use of a portion of the roadway providing access to the Bay Electric Helipad. The pad is on land donated by Bay Electric and is located at the League City Parkway/Calder exit from the Freeway. It's availability for use by Lifeflight has saved many lives, and we want to guarantee it's continuing to be there and accessible. Motion made by Councilman Barber, seconded by Councilperson Sanborn, passed 6-0.

An item proposed for the City to take over the maintenance and operation of 3 old streetlights in Masters Court in South Shore Harbour. Masters Court is still a private street, so it is not on the City system. We let the residents (HOA) know that we could vote to supply the electricity, but could not assume the expense for modernizing the fixtures. The motion was made by Council Person Sanborn, seconded by Councilman Baron, to go back to the drawing board to see if at least the City couldn't remove the three old fixtures if the HOA could pay for the new ones. We will be discussing this one again.

We had two requests by folks to drill their own water well, but Council voted 6-0 against both requests. There is an ordinance about allowable distance from existing City water.

Also in New Business, Council approved the proposal for, the Professional Services Agreement for, and funding for the Master Trails Plan with a company called Clark Condon, which also worked on the Dr. Ned and Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Park. Motion by Councilman Baron, seconded by Barber, passed 6-0.

Council also approved the funding for the Countryside-Magnolia Creek Trail system, which will complete the south end link of the trail system from Countryside Park to Magnolia Creek Development's trail system. It will be 2,700 feet of 6 foot wide concrete trails. Motion made by Councilman Paulissen, seconded by Councilman Phalen, and passed 6-0.

Director of Land Management, Allender placed an item on the agenda to approve an agreement with a company called Destination Development International, to complete a community assessment of League City in regards to the community's ability to function as a marketable tourism destination. The cost will be covered mostly with funds from Destination League City. Motion made by Councilman Phalen, seconded by Councilman Lee, passed 6-0.

To go along with the prior item, Councilman Lee placed an item to approve the creation of a Community Investment Committee intended to offer support for efforts to improve League City's role as a marketable tourist destination. This would be a 7-member Board. Motion made by Councilman Phalen, seconded by Councilman Lee, passed 6-0.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned before 9 pm!

Don't forget, folks, that we are in a voluntary watering condition right now. If the usage goes up again, with lawn watering, etc., we will have to go back into Mandatory, and none of us want that!

Don't forget your sunscreen and be safe!

Toni Randall
Mayor
League City

Mayors Report, July 14, 2009

Hi everyone,

My first year has been very interesting, to say the least: from a hurricane (Ike) in Sept 08, to snow in December 08, to flood in April 09, to drought in July 09, not to mention the economic crisis our whole country is experiencing. It seems there are new surprises every week!

The good part is that there are some great folks in League City, doing great things-things to be very proud of! As I practice my mantra of "Keep your eye on the ball, " I am ever reminded that you are the "ball;" it is you that we are working for--to provide you with the solid foundation (good infrastructure, good water system, good road system) from which you can do your great things and make all of us proud.

Our invocation was given by Pastor Daniel Diaz de Leon Sr. of Faith Assembly of God, with all Council persons in attendance except Jim Nelson.

It was my pleasure to recognize the American Legion Post #554 Baseball Team who will be participating in the American Legion All State Baseball Tournament coming up. These young folks are some of the great folks I mentioned above! My thanks to Councilman Baron for bringing the team to our attention and making sure that we recognized them.

Fifteen citizens spoke in Citizens Request for Hearing, about various subjects: for the dog park, against the dog park, the proposed Palomino Road Bridge, and drainage issues. One citizen brought pictures to show the progress being done on Benson Gully which should help that area tremendouusly. He paid kudos to the city crews who worked so hard to clear the debris and brush.

Because of the number of folks in the audience about the Dog Park, Items 15. A & B were moved up. Councilman Paulissen made a motion not to fund the Dog Park, which was seconded by Councilman Phalen. After some discussion about our attention needing to be focused on infrastructure, water, and other urgencies, a vote was taken, with the count being 4-2. Sanborn and Baron voted yes.

Item 15.B was a request to allow me to enter into a contract with a professional engineering firm to determine the current operating condition and needed improvements to the League City Water Plant on Hwy 3 in Webster. Paul Lopez, a Supervisor in our Water Production Department spoke, telling us that the City had purchased the land on the corner of Hwy 3 and Magnolia in 2000 for $175,000, and the structures on the property were included by the Gulf Coast Waste Authority. Paul said that the City did some design work on the structure to bring it online with our water system. The Water Production Department has tried numerous times to start the system; however it failed each time. To date, we have spent more than a million dollars on the Plant, and have achieved nothing!

For all of you citizens, this is what I have been told by a group of our own Water Production employees, who requested to see me about the Plant. I arranged a meeting with them on July 9th, at 10 am. After that meeting, I immediately scheduled a bigger meeting at 3:30 which included 3 Water Supervisors, our acting City Administrator Mr. Jahns, City Attorney Arnold Polanco, Chief Jez, and Mayor Pro Paulissen to sit in with us. The consensus was that it is imperative that we should hire an engineering firm quickly to address this plant. This is a five year old problem that has just come out, being necessitated by the drought conditions and our use of water. Thanks to our hardworking employees, we now know about the situation and must take IMMEDIATE action to fix it. Thankfully, this is exactly what the supplemental Agenda is for, and we added this matter to it. Council was shocked that they had not known about this situation before.

I will be sending out an update with regards to where swe are with the Webster water production plant as I receive the information. Thanks to our Water Production personnel for bringing the situation to my attention!

Paul Lopez said that his employees have worked 271 overtime hours in the last two weeks, and that our water system would get some relief if this Plant could become functional ASAP! Motion to approve was made by Councilman Paulissen, seconded by Councilperson Sanborn, and passed 6-0. I have instructed our City Engineer Jack Murphy to get an engineer out THIS week.

In the Mayor's comments, I welcomed our new Interim Administrator, Marcus Jahns, and announced that he will begin a search for an Interim Public Works Director.

In Old Business, Council voted 6-0 to approve a resolution authorizing publication of Notice of Intention to issue Certificates of Obligation for the 518 Bypass. Motion was made by Paulissen, seconded by Councilman Phalen. This is the beginning of the Bypass, everyone! Engineer Murphy said, in response to a question, that the bridge over Robinsons Gully will have 16 feet mean tide clearance.

Director of General Services, Travis Doughty, asked Council to make a commitment that the City would provide a land site for a Regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site. He is preparing an application for a $600,000 grant from Houston Galveston Area Council. the motion to make this commitment was made by Councilperson Sanborn, seconded by Councilman Barber, and passed 6-0.

It has been proposed that we create a Comprehensive Plan Task Force to plan a revision of our Comprehensive Plan. Although several Councilmen said that they didn't think we were quite ready to bring in a consultant yet, nevertheless the vote to create the committee was 6-0. Motion by Councilman Baron, second by Councilman Lee.

The only item that came from Executive Session was that the Council instructed City Attorney Arnold Polanco to have a meeting with Scott Freudenburg, President of the Glen Cove HOA, regarding Cypress Bay issues.

Thank you to the folks who came to the meeting--it's always good to see you out there.

Just remember, as we continue to discover things that have been done in past administrations, that you elected me to change the way the City was going, and I am working on that EVERY day.

Thank you for your wonderful support! Do a raindance for a nice steady rain!

Toni Randall
Mayor
League City

Shades of Watergate

It appears that the tapes for the past park board meeting have disappeared. How coincidental that such a thing should occur. So that you know this is not a “grassy knoll” statement I have included the actual response to the freedom of information act requesting a copy of the tapes. The person who usually takes care of these matters and has done a great job in doing so over the many years should not be blamed for this situation. It appears that someone, who may have made some remarks during the meeting, did not want the public to know what was said and could have intentionally removed the two tapes in question. Hmmmm I wonder who that could have been?


From: "Diana Stapp"
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:39:28 -0500
Subject: Application for Public Information #09-274
Dear Requestor:

The City of League City has received your Application for Public Information regarding “audio copy of the Parks Board meeting held on July 8, 2009” (#09-274)

The City has processed your request through the Parks Department. They advised they are unable to locate Tape 1 and 2 of the meeting. They were able to locate Tape 3 which was found still in the recorder. Do you want a copy of Tape 3? The recording was done on a microcassette recorder and the only available duplication is to play in real time onto a regular size cassette recorder. Let me know if you will want a copy of the one tape.

Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions.

Diana Stapp, Records Supervisor
City Secretary's Office
281-554-1034
281-554-1035 (fax)

City of League City, 300 West Walker, League City, Texas 77573

Councilman Baron Barks

During last night's council meeting Neil Baron made a number of interesting comments during the dog park debate.

He proclaimed:
"The hundreds of petition signers I got"

I am hopeful someone will post a text of Baron's most memorable "dog park" comments.

Nonetheless, I applaud the citizens that spoke on both sides of the issue. In some cases the fuzzy logic was most entertaining. A gentleman spoke connecting the need for a dog park, pet waste, and Clear Lake clean water issues. I am glad someone else cares about Clear Lake water quality.

Does anyone else find it odd that a councilman would be a leader of a special interest group and use his elected position to advocate the group's special-use park?

Some have raised the question of a possible ethics issue. What do you think?

ps.

I did hear a good idea. A private organization could lease city land (or get private land donation) and operate the dog park by volunteer activities and donations. Why not?

The Jez Factor

Today’s Galveston County Daily news states “Jez has been fielding questions about the water supply because the city does not have a permanent city administrator, public works director or water superintendent.” It is now becoming apparent why the public works director took a job out of the country. But why is it that “The city could not immediately provide information late Monday about when it purchased the plant or how much has been spent trying to repair it.” Could it be that Mr. Jez forced the water superintendant, who has been with the city 25 years, to retire? Have we lost another long time city employee to the politics at city hall? Is it true that this employee had recommended voluntary water rationing weeks before the actual start date but was ignored because some in the administration were too busy planning Chris Reed’s going away party and the city employee’s party? So who pays for the problem? You got it …the Taxpayer.

Low pressure or no pressure?

Are you experiencing low pressure or no pressure from the water system? I’m not talking about water breaks, (3 in Newport in the past 6 days) which have been taken care of very quickly; I would like to know if you are having low pressure problems. I have received several emails regarding this problem and I am interested to know if this is an isolated incident or not. Tell me what you are experiencing.

Dog Daze

Directed by the president of the League city dog park association, city council member and council liaison to the parks board, the parks board voted to send a request for funding of a city dog park to our council. Ignoring a parks survey done by the city to set priorities as well as ignoring a phone survey taken only a few days ago that stated that out of 4873 Phone calls made to residence of Leaguer city, 1751 we hang up, 83 were wrong numbers or fax machines and only 201 voted for the park while 2778 voted against the park, the parks board rubberstamped the request. The total amount is not known but I have a spread sheet that says the total cost of phase 1 and 2 will be 377,000 dollars.

It is a disappointment that Council member Baron, who is the president of the League city dog park association, city council member and council liaison to the parks board, has made this a political pet pork barrel project for the chosen few that we must all pay for. Ethically, he should not be involved in this project as he is the president of the dog park association and his organization will directly benefit from it. All that talk about ethics during the campaign and all the citizens get is another special interest project.

A Developer’s Point of View About Dog Parks

I recently received this email. Clearly, it was widely circulated. I have NOT included email addresses.

The email originated from a local developer and list of recipients was lengthy. It was sent to all city council members, some to personal/business addresses and other to their city email address. It was sent personally to Neil Baron, Jim Nelson, The Halliseys, Tommy Cones, and Marc Edelman. The email was also sent to numerous individuals at the Galveston Daily News and many others I will not list.

I have respect for most personal emails. However, it is clear this is not a personal email. The entire text (without signature) follows:
________________________

League City imposes a $1,000 per lot Parks Fee for every building lot created by Developers. Looking around the City you can imagine how much money has been received from this requirement. This “Fee” was created to promote and build public parks for “ALL” League City residents to enjoy. This imposed fee is in addition to the required park areas that developers need to create within their projects as well. This administration and the past election cycle has demonized developers. But the fact is that Developers have improved the life styles of all League City residents. League City residents have a right to know that Developer money (and a lot more than $200,000) is sitting in this dedicated fund waiting to be used for Park areas only.

What is wasteful of our tax dollars (and something every League City resident should be deeply concerned with) is that fact that this Dog Park has already been researched, discussed, voted on and passed. Back tracking on this issue when City council and staff should be focused on flooding, traffic and other serious issues facing this City is the real waste of money, time and energy. The losers here will not be the “dogs”, it will be the people of League City.

Embarrassing for League City, yes but also down right disgraceful.
____________
end of email


My favorite comment is “But the fact is that Developers have improved the life styles of all League City residents.”

What do you think?

Mandatory water Rationing.

Starting July 2,2009 all League City Residence and businesses are required to comply with a mandatory restriction on outside water usage. Read all the details at the League City website or The Galveston County Daily News.

The winner is ….

Marcus Jahns has been named interim city administrator. Mr. Jahns lives in Seguin and is a consultant for Marcus Jahns & Associates. He was the Interim city manager of New Braunfels, 2005 to 2006. He took over for current Seabrook City Manager Chuck Pinto, who had then been hired as city administrator in League City. Read more on the Chronicle blog. I say Welcome to League city Mr. Jahns. What are your thoughts.

The finalists

Today’s Galveston County Daily news gives us some insight in the 3 “Finalists” for the interim city administrator. To me the selection seems like a no brainer. What are your thoughts on the subject? What do you think about the candidates and what is your impression of Texas first group replacement services?

Property measure headed to voters

"Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill Monday that asks voters to amend the state constitution to limit the ability of government entities to take private property using their eminent domain authority." Houston Chronicle June 15, 2009

On the surface this story does not sound like much, but it is huge win for proponents of private property rights. The US Supreme Court Case Kelo vs. City of New London in 2005 gave authority to local governments to take private property for private use. This decision was contrary to long established use of eminent domain whereby governmental entities take private property only for a specific public need and public use. Over 20 states have enacted legislation to severely limit or stop takings of private property for economic reasons.


Last year the Western Seafood (Freeport TX) case was discussed on Marc’s blog. Many argued the local governments have the right to take private property for private use to increase local tax bases and other economic reasons. Generally these types of eminent domain issues are referred to as economic takings. Another local case of interest is a recent district court decision were the Porretto Family won a lawsuit against the General Land Office over beach property.

Looks like Texans will have the opportunity to vote on this issue.

Reed Resigns

In a vote of 7-0 (at 12:36 AM)the city council voted to accept the resignation of Chris Reed effective June 30, 2009. He will get everything that his contract states in the event of his resignation. According to the Houston Chronicle Everything League City blog “As part of his resignation, Reed said he will (be)paid a year's salary and for his sick and vacation time, which he said equates to approximately $211,000.”

Texas First will “send two or three names” to the city for an “interim” city administrator. Then the city staff will go out for RFQs for a search firm to decided on a permanent city administrator. Mr. Baron wanted to hire Ron Cox’s firm and asked if this could be done now, however it was pointed out to him that the agenda item did not allow such action.

The rest of the story

When one P & Z Member decided to tape the proceedings because “there was a possibility that the commission’s vote may have opened up the commissioner’s to personal liability that would not be covered by the TML insurance.” He failed to mention that the plat vote allegedly “takes away land in the 50-foot setback behind the residents’ houses.” So I wondered what was the the rest of the story.

Well we got the rest of the story according to today’s Galveston County News. According to the story the Developer of the project Nick “Scotto plans to extend the canal within 20 feet of the Twin Timbers houses. League City subdivision rules require canals be no closer than 50 feet from abutting properties; that rule can be waived with the consent of area landowners.”

So it may appear that the Planning and Zoning Board either was unaware of the rules (which every commissioner should know ) or those that pushed for the project allegedly violated the League City subdivision rules. Either way those that voted for the project should understand that such a vote is only good to the special interests of the developer and NOT good for the citizens or city. What they have done has forced the residence to sue the city. In my opinion, those commissioners who knowingly understood the consequences of their actions regarding this despicable vote should do the city and citizens a favor and resign. The citizens have voted for change and, in my opinion, you are obviously still part of the good old boy way of doing business and a major part of the problem.

Now the city council will have to get the city out of the liability that your poor decision made.

I can’t help but reminded of the commissioner who taped the proceeding saying to me on this blog “stop framing me in other than a positive way as a citizen who is volunteering his time for the good of the city.” I ask do you really wonder why you are looked at like you are? To some it’s all about the money and business to others it’s about what is best for our city.

The moment of truth

Under the heading “Fired? Demoted? League City's administrator waits” Thayer Evans,of The Houston Chronicle and the blog Everything League City, talks about Tuesday nights agenda. The following is a portion of what he wrote.

"The agenda for Tuesday's City Council meeting will include a closed-door item to "deliberate the employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline and or possible dismissal" of the city administrator, City Councilman Jim Nelson said. The item was submitted by Mayor Toni Randall, he said.

There is also a closed-door agenda item to "deliberate the appointment or employment of a public officer or employee" as interim city administrator, Nelson said. It was also put on the agenda by Randall, he said.

After the two closed-session items, there is also an action item on Tuesday night's agenda for the city to request proposals from executive search firms that could assist with the city's potential search for a new city administrator, Nelson said. It was also put on the agenda by Randall, he said."

What are your thoughts? Should Chris Reed be the assistant city administrator? Should he be reassigned? Do you think bringing in someone who has no knowledge of the city, with Mr. Reed being the assistant city administrator, will change the way business has been and continues to be conducted in city hall? Do you think the employee’s moral will go up or down (as if it could get any lower) and do you think more positions will become vacant? And when the people voted overwhelmingly for change (70% to 30%) do you think this is what they had in mind?

Reed Runs

With all the fight being put up by Mr. Reed in the past, why has he decided to run away now? I understand that a new interim has been selected and it will be all done on June 9th. Is there more to this than just meets the eye? Or has Mr. Reed just decided to move on. Who could be the next interim and what experiance do they have in the workings of our city? What do you think?

The Butler Longhorn museum

After last night’s discussion about the future of the museum I am interested in what you all think. It is my understanding that $ 300,000 was requested for this year and $ 500,000 was requested for each year for the next few years. Do you think the museum should be turned over to an independent group who does not have to answer to the city council? If you believe it should be turned over to the independent group should our city tax dollars continue to “supplement” the museum? Or should they lease the property and pay for the salaries and work that needs to be done with their own funds? Or should the city maintain control, hire someone else and open the doors to the public using the admissions and donations as funding to finish the museum over a period of time?

Discussion anyone?

Memorial Day

I located this commentary On Memorial day and thought it said a lot. Both my mother and father served in World War II. God bless those that served so that we may be a free country. God Bless America and God Bless League City.

The League City Memorial Day Ceremony will be at 9:30 AM May 25, 2009 at the League City Sportsplex.


A Commentary by Terry Plowman

Memorial Day now suffers the same secular fate as Christmas -- its commercial value has far outstripped its original meaning.That fact is especially evident here in a resort area, where Memorial Day weekend is considered the kickoff to the busy summer season. Although there is nothing terribly wrong with that, and we couldn't change it anyway, we hope readers will give a few moments thought to the real meaning of Memorial Day this weekend.

The trouble with evoking memories from past military conflicts is that it is like looking at a grainy black-and-white photograph or newsreel (an outdated term in itself).For many Americans who can barely remember life without color photography, looking at these black-and-white images has little impact. They represent another time, one that is hard to connect with today. But for those who lived through the past few wars, there is color in the memories, and for many of those who served in the military, the color is blood red.

For them Memorial Day is not a history lesson, quickly forgotten like other lessons from our school days. For them it is the father, the brother, the son, the husband, the pal who never came home. And for those of us living today, the war dead are our vivid connection to Memorial Day -- because it is an eerie fact that many of us would not be here today were it not for a quirk of fate that allowed our fathers to survive a war.

How many of the more than 400,000 World War II dead would have fathered the geniuses, the creators, the liberators of today's generations? How many of the 116,000 World War I dead, the 54,000 Korean War dead, or the 58,000 Vietnam War dead? How many of the 500,000 Civil War dead would have fathered children whose impact would still be felt in our lives today? Actually, many of these dead patriots were themselves only 18 or 19 years old, so they were robbed of the chance to leave us any legacy other than the memory of their sacrifice.

A wounded seaman who was taken aboard a rescue vessel during the D-Day invasion was quoted in Life Magazine about the fundamental mystery of war:

"(The ship) was loaded with the bodies of sailors, soldiers, airmen; the wounded and survivors. And on board was the body of my friend Pete Petersen. He was going to be 21 on June 22. One thing you always wonder is, who makes that decision: Who dies and who doesn't?"

On this holiday weekend, let's not forget the meaning, the mystery and the tragedy behind Memorial Day.

Canvassing votes & swearing in

Tuesday May 19th in the council chambers at 6 PM the votes from the last election will be canvassed and made official. Then newly elected council members, Mick Phalen and Mike Lee will be sworn in as well as our Re-Elected Mayor pro-tem Phyllis Sanborn. It will be a GREAT night for our city. Please come and join the festivities that celebrate the citizens overwhelming victory.

Storm Stories part 2 (the Aftermath)

I received this email and was asked to place it on the blog. I thought that I would put up a thread to see if others would like to comment on this situation.


This was League City's chance to shine. Local rains produced local flooding at multiple sites throughout the city. This happened twice during the month of April 2009. April 18th was the worst for the Landing subdivision. Two 911 calls I know were made to the League City Fire Dept. (LCPD) for assistance due to flooding. More than 25 homes in the landing flooded, some had 3 inches some had 3 feet. When I went to speak to the city engineer, Mr. Murphy, on May 11th he showed me a color coded map of flooding in the Landing based on a call in log he was given. He was aware of water in the streets but not of water in peoples' homes, despite the two 911 calls that LCFD responded to.

This indicates to me a fundamental breakdown in communication between LCFD, Emergency management and the city engineer. I blame Emergency management. They failed to make the 2 known 911 calls available to the City Engineer so he can make an improved flood plan. They failed to actively gather data in order to get an accurate picture of what happened in the Landing subdiv. I was told by a representative of Emergency management that they went out and drove around after the flood on April 18th to look for damage. I asked her if she got out of the car and asked citizens about the flood damage in various neighborhoods she said no. She said she and the others just looked for trash and debris curbside. How she missed the huge volumes of trash on Knoxville and Traveller that appeared on April 19th and that Ameriwaste, the city garbage collector, still refuses to pick up, is beyond my understanding.

It would be logical to me after a flood to send someone to the home of a person and ask the simple question how much water got in your home and ask who else flooded. This person should also ask, at a minimum, the resident of the home on the right and left of the house in question, the house across the street and the house behind them. Hardly ever just one house floods. One unpaid citizen spent 4 hours covering a 6 block area and came up with approximately 25 addresses of flooded homes. A paid professional from Emergency Management came up with zero. This "professional" could not even capture the 911 calls from LCFD. I do not expect the city to knock on the door of every single house after a flood and interview. I do however, expect somebody to get out of the car and interview the immediate area of every 911 call involving flooding or any other disaster.

I have been told by Mayor Randell the city will do better next time. Chris Reed, the city Administrator, was let down by Emergency Management in my opinion. I assume Mr. Reed will locate the personnel who did such a poor job of data collection and make sure this does not happen again.

Forrest Sory
Landing Homeowner

The Butler Longhorn Museum

As we all know by now Butler Longhorn Museum curator Ms. Jennifer Wycoff-Van der Wal submitted her resignation April 30th . It appears there are many differing opinions as to what should happen next. It was stated in today’s Galveston County Daily news that she has been accused of shredding four records from her personnel file.

The City ( I guess they mean Chris Reed) said Ms. Wycoff-Van-der Wal was not forced to resign.

Ms. Wycoff-Van der Wal, has denied destroying the records and has declined to comment on her resignation.

On the agenda for tonight’s city council meeting the council will meet in executive session on what to do. Word around City Hall is her replacement has already been chosen.

What do you make of this situation and what do you think should be done?

Can you hear the citizens now?

With an overwhelming majority (69-70%) the voters of League City said NO to the wide open developer deals that has placed our city in the position we are in today.

The Unoffical returns
Council Position 3
Thomas Cones ...... 1171 (31.44%)
Mick Phalen .......... 2553 (68.56%)

Council Position 4
Mike Lee................ 2626 (70.46%)
Pat Hallisey............ 1101 (29.54%)

Council Position 5
Phyllis Sanborn...... 2571 (69.28%)
Ed Stations............ 892 (24.04%)
Dustin Gooding........ 248 ( 6.68%)

This election says a lot about many things. One states very loudly that Mr. Baron and his friends could not muster the “troops” they thought they could. It also says that not one newly elected council member received any votes from Mr. Baron or his friends. Any type of discussion to the contrary is not factually based and is only an attempt to hide the truth.

One last thought go to Mallios.com and look at the citizens polls and you will see what the citizens think. It has been very accurate over the last few years in showing what the citizens think and how they have voted.

What did this election say to you?

Election Day in League city

Tomorrow is Election Day in League City. You all know where I stand. I support Phyllis Sanborn, Mike Lee and Mick Phalen. I believe they will do what is best for our city and we, the people. Who are you supporting and why? If you did not vote early then you need to go and vote in the city and School Board elections. Exercise that right to vote. Support your candidate and get involved in the process.

The polling places for qualified and registered voters residing in the City of League City will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, May 9, 2009, and are as follows:

L. C. Pct #1 - Galveston Cty Pcts 263, 286, 455, 464, 487 and Harris Cty Pct 655 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Fire Station No. 4, 175 Bay Area Boulevard

L. C. Pct #2 - Galveston Cty Pcts 455, 487, and 488 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Old Fire Station No. 2, 411 Newport Boulevard

L. C. Pct #3 - Galveston Cty Pcts 220, 340, 389, 402, 453, 454, 471, 482, and 487 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center, 400 West Walker Street

L. C. Pct #4 - Galveston Cty Pcts 398, 452, 453, 454, 467, 471, and 490 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City - Fire Station #1, 601 Second Street

L. C. Pct #5 – Galveston Cty Pcts 165, 452, 466, 467, 470, 490, 491,492, and 493 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Ferguson Elementary School, 1910 South Compass Rose Blvd., South Shore Harbour.

School Board election locations

District 1
Bay Elementary School
1502 Bayport
Seabrook, Texas 77586

Clear Creek 9th Grade Center ** Early Voting Location**
2451 E Main Street
League City, Texas 77573

District 2
Nassau Bay City Hall
18100 Upper Bay Road
Nassau Bay, Texas 77058

Space Center Intermediate
17400 Saturn Lane
Houston, Texas 77058

Clear View Education Center
400 South Walnut Street
Webster, TX 77598

District 3
John F. Ward Elementary
1440 Bouldercrest
Houston, Texas 77062

Clear Lake Ninth Grade Center ** Early Voting Location**
2903 Falcon Pass
Houston, Texas 77062

District 4
Clear Brook High School ** Early Voting Location**
4607 FM 2351
Friendswood, Texas 77546

Brookside Intermediate School
3535 E. FM 528
Friendswood, Texas 77546

District 5
Ross Elementary School
2401 W. Main Street
League City, Texas 77573

Hyde Elementary School
3700 FM 518 East
League City, Texas 77573

Devil in the Deed Tails - Volume 2

Volume I posted by Chris Mallios on the old LC blog in March 2007

On Monday, May 5th, planning and zoning will vote to approve the subdivision plat of Nick Scotto’s Cypress Bay Section 3 (CB3).

With this plat Scotto claims ownership of a property located within the boundary of Glen Cove subdivision. From December 6, 2006 and until the last council meeting Scotto has claimed ownership of the property Seminole Bridge property.

Problem: At Tuesday night’s council meeting (4/28/09) the Glen Cove HOA President and two residents spoke to oppose P & Z plans to approve CB 3. In February 2009 a letter was given to council by the Glen Cove HOA President and the letter quoted City Attorneys Bill Helfand and Dick Gregg as stating the bridge deed from the City to Scotto was unauthorized and void. Undeniable proof of comments was given to council.

On Tuesday night after Jeff Hagen’s closing statements to council there was applause by citizens in the crowded council chambers. Several council members were wide-eyed and had a look of disbelief. Neil Baron, a proponent of the Scotto/Cones Glen Cove plan gave his famous eye-roll and (I smell) cat-poo face.

A priceless moment came after the mayor demanded no applause. A woman yells out “Well then tell Neil Baron to stop making faces!”

The message was clear – How could P & Z approve the Cypress Bay plat that included Glen Cove land Scotto did not own?

____________________

Never Fear Scotto/Cones Fans – The crafty and wise ones always have a back-up plan to deal with pesky Glen Cove folks.

The next day Scotto files a new subdivision plat dated 4/29/09 and provides a new deed to prove his ownership of the Glen Cove property. Planning Department La Shondra Holmes (surely with the help to Tony Allender - Director of Land Management) worked diligently not to delay the P & Z plat approval. After all, time is of the essence, Scotto will not accept any delay.

Problem: The new deed presented by Scotto is WORTHLESS. Ms. Holmes and Mr. Allender are clueless and no due diligence is done to verify the meaning or validity of this Mystery Deed II. Where did this duo go to get legal and real estate advice?

Deed Facts:
Type Deed: Deed WITHOUT Warranty (like a quit claim deed)
Property Conveyed: Defined as “Exhibit A”; Tract 7 a 2.274 acre EASEMENT and Tract 7 II, a .2554 acre property common called the bridge property.
Effective Date: September 15, 2006
Date Signed: April 6, 2009
Grantor: Kevin T. Howell, President NRG Texas Power, LLC
Agreed and Accepted by Nick Scotto, MB Harbour, LTD

Let’s consider the nature of this deed.

1. It is odd to have a signed date of 2 ½ years after effective date.
2. The metes and bounds legal description of the bridge tract is dated November 3, 2006, about six weeks after the “effective??” date of purchase.
3. In September 2006 Scotto purchased three tracts from NRG. This bridge tract was not included as part of the sale.
4. NRG NEVER owned the bridge property. This fact was known by NRG, Nick Scotto, Dick Gregg, and Scotto’s surveyor Steve Williams.
5. Why would Scotto acquire the Chris Reed-signed city deed if he had purchased the property from NRG in September 2006? Are two deeds better than one?

Question: After presented with these facts will P & Z approval of Scotto’s CB3 plat be postponed. Or will the final plat for Tommy Cones pet project be approved in haste and create yet another legal problem for the city. I have heard the cost of litigation of the Cones involved Glen Cove litigation exceeds over $100,000.

Please contact responsible parties and ask them to delay approval of this plat until proper due diligence is preformed by a qualified title attorney.

Nick Scotto – MB Harbour
La Shondra Holmes – Planning Manager 281-554-1079
Tony Allender – Director of Land Management
Chris Hullman – Chairman Planning and Zoning Commission
Members of Planning and Zoning Commission - (info to follow)

Please ask all parties to do what is right. We all should be accountable for our actions.

We rely on P & Z Commision to make well-informed decisions to protect the interests of the City and the citizens. A hasty ill-informed decision does neither. The information presented to P & Z lacks due diligence.

Any help posting contact numbers and email addresses would be appreciated.

Paul Smith

Center Pointe "Incident" Claification

Below is an email I received last night. I asked permission to post it on this blog. I have received such permission but did not ask for permission from those others who had been listed to receive this email. So that I could get this information up on the blog in a timely manner, I have deleted the other names from the list. I am not the only person Mr. Phalen emailed this to.

Chris John Mallios


From: J Phalen
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 8:42 PM
To: Mallios, Chris John
Subject: clarification

Hello all!

Many of you may have heard of the “incident” Wednesday night at the Center Pointe HOA meeting. Today, I have heard of a couple of embellishments to the story, so I thought I needed to send this email to return to the facts.

As many of you know, Mayor Randall has instituted a program of direct contact to the citizens of League City through visits to neighborhood HOA meetings. It also presents a great opportunity for candidates for office to meet with groups of citizens. Wednesday night’s Center Pointe HOA meeting was no different. Six of the seven candidates for City Council were in attendance.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mike Lee and I were chatting and were approached by another (opposing) candidate who said (paraphrasing) “Y’all will pay for what your campaign supporters are doing”. Mike and I were wondering what had stirred him up when Mr. Cones placed his hand on my chest to turn me to face him squarely.

Camera in hand, he took a picture of my homemade “Mick Phalen for City Council” nametag, saying “Ethics violation, ethics violation”, and walked off with his partner. I thought nothing more of it, other than it was weak, rather silly, attempt at intimidation.

Later, having found out that another of my opponent’s supporters had threatened a friend, I decided I would file a police report, only to put the event in the public record. I also requested that no action be taken against my opponent. While some have suggested that I allow the complaint to continue, I will not.

I will win this election because League City citizens deserve better representation than that given by my opponent over the last seven years. I do not care to win it by stooping to his level.

Mick Phalen

Early voting starts Monday

Notice is hereby given that a General Election is ordered to be held on Saturday, May 9, 2009, for the purpose of electing City Council Members for Position #3, Position #4, and Position #5 for a three-year term each and, if necessary, ordering a runoff election to be held on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Early voting by personal appearance will be conducted at the Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center, 400 West Walker Street, Monday April 27, 2009 through Thursday April 30, 2009 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Friday May 1, 2009 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and noon, Saturday May 2, 2009 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and Monday May 4, 2009 and Tuesday May 5, 2009 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Request for an application for a ballot by mail shall be made to Barbara F. Long, City Secretary, 300 West Walker Street, League City, Texas 77573 or you can download from the State of Texas. Completed and signed applications for ballot by mail must be received by noon on Friday, May 1, 2009.

The polling places for qualified and registered voters residing in the City of League City will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, May 9, 2009, and are as follows:

L. C. Pct #1 - Galveston Cty Pcts 263, 286, 455, 464, 487 and Harris Cty Pct 655 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Fire Station No. 4, 175 Bay Area Boulevard

L. C. Pct #2 - Galveston Cty Pcts 455, 487, and 488 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Old Fire Station No. 2, 411 Newport Boulevard

L. C. Pct #3 - Galveston Cty Pcts 220, 340, 389, 402, 453, 454, 471, 482, and 487 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center, 400 West Walker Street

L. C. Pct #4 - Galveston Cty Pcts 398, 452, 453, 454, 467, 471, and 490 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City - Fire Station #1, 601 Second Street

L. C. Pct #5 – Galveston Cty Pcts 165, 452, 466, 467, 470, 490, 491, and 493 which lie within the corporate boundaries of the City – Ferguson Elementary School, 1910 South Compass Rose Blvd., South Shore Harbour.

San Jacinto Day !!!

As we all know Texas is the ONLY state in the union that has been a self sufficient and independent Republic. It’s no wonder we are as we are. On this day, in the mid afternoon of 1836, the Texian army took 18 minutes to defeat the Mexican army and insure the destiny of Texas in what was to be known as the battle of San Jacinto. Many great individuals died before the battle of San Jacinto to make Texas a republic. On that day only 9 Texians lost their lives on the field of battle. A fact Important to remember is that many of the “Texians” who fought in the Battle of Alamo as well as Goliad and San Jacinto were from Mexico. In 1840 the estimated population of Texas was 70,000 much like the population of League City today. TOGETHER they were able to reach a common goal and establish a Republic they could live and thrive in. God bless TEXAS !!

Rain Stories

7.9 inches in Newport. The streets in Newport are under water (about 4ft or better) and some homes may be fighting off the rising water. The Mayor said she was in deep water on Houston Ave. as well as the old part of town. The creek is rising because of the 6 inches received in Friendswood. Seems like Galveston is getting the tornadoes. While we had some very strong winds, I do not believe we had any tornadoes. Must get back to what I was doing... What is your storm story?

Mayor's Report

Hello Everyone,

Tuesday evenings Council Meeting was a good one, though it lasted until 12:40 am! It was a real example of open government, with much citizen participation, lots of deliberation back and forth between council members, and many good decisions.

When I say citizen participation, just look at the variety of folks that I was able to give proclamations to this time: Recognition was made to the volunteers who picked up Hurricane Ike trash from the Dr. Ned and Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Park for 12 hours resulting in 2 tons of trash. The proclamation was made to Vaness Dudney Hamilton and Mike Mize, for organizing the pick-up.

Rex Ward was honored for his continuing work as the head of Clear Creek Environmental for the annual Clear Creek Cleanup. Since its inception, Rex and more than 6000 volunteers have removed from the Creek 4296 tires, 500 freezers, 5 pickup trucks, 1 semi, and more. Thanks to their efforts, our Creek is clean and beautiful, and we should all be very proud!

April 26, 2009, was proclaimed as "American Legion Post #554 Day" in recognition of their hosting the district 9th Annual Conference here. Their organization helps sponsor both Girls State and Boys State, and Hope Village.

Catharin Lewis, curator of the League City Historical Society's One Room School House, gave a short informational presentation about the school located on Kansas and Second Streets, telling the history of the West Bay Common School. The schoolhouse was opened to tours in October, 1993, and since then more than 83,000 adults and children have passed through their doors, 83% from outside League City. The School and Barn Museum are open to visitors most weekdays.

The history of the Ghirardi House was given by Chien Wei, our Parks Director, who sited how the Italian home came to be resting in Heritage Park in the care of the City. He was assisted by Rita Ghirardi, donor of the home, and Dorothy Ludwig, a descendant of one of the 12 Italian families who settled in League City in the early 1900's.

A special presentation was made to Ronnie and Nancy Richards of Butlers Courtyard who are tenants of the Butler Building on Second Street at Michigan Avenue. The Butler building is 100 years old this year, the only remaining commercial building from that era, having been constructed of bricks actually made in League City. A birthday celebration is being planned for later in the year.

In the Public Hearings section of the agenda, no citizen spoke up against issuing a Special Use Permit to T-Mobile for co-locate on an existing cell tower, and Council passed the item 6-1, Paulissen no.

In the other public hearing item, Council voted 4-3 to rezone 13.4 acres on 270 between Main and Hwy 96 from RSF-20 to Office Commercial, which means that it will not be strip centers but offices or an office building. Dissenting votes were Barber, Paulissen, and Sanborn.

We heard several more citizens in the Request for Hearing Before Council. Four from Clear Creek Shores spoke against a Palomino Road bridge across the Creek. Another spoke against the Ghirardi House, and one offered to help organize a Friends of Ghirardi House.

Various and sundry announcements from Council members: the April 18th City Open House at Heritage Park from 11-3 may have to be postponed because of weather. If so, citizens will be notified by phone if they have registered with the City's notification service. There will also be a Seniors 5 K Walk in connection with this Open House. Check the City website for details of this walk. The traffic light at Walker and Hwy 96 is now fully operational-hooray! The next step for the folks who are interested in a Farmers Market will be a bus tour of Houston area Farmers Markets, which has been scheduled for May 30th Everyone who has indicated an interest will receive an email with details.

Under New Business, The April 21st Council Workshop will be held at Butlers Courtyard. The vote was 5-2, with Paulissen and Sanborn dissenting.

Regarding the proposal to spend $68,000 for renovation of the Ghirardi House, there was much back and forth discussion including questions about some Master Plan issues. Although everyone in the room wanted to honor our Italian heritage, the proposal failed with a 3-for, 4-against vote. Generally the feeling was that we need to define a plan for the development of the House before we start working on it, since it is dried in against the weather at this time. For going ahead now-Cones, Baron, Nelson; against-Barber, Paulissen, Sanborn, and Samuelson.

A proposal was passed for a FM 518 Pilot Traffic Program for IH 45 at Main and at Hobbs Road. A uniformed police officer will be stationed at both of these intersections for two hours of prime traffic time morning and afternoon for four days to see if this would help the traffic move through the intersections. Chief Jez said that this experiment will cost the City about $1000 a day, and that he will make the arrangements to do this. Vote was 7-0, so keep your eyes open for this experiment and let us know what you think, if it involves you.

Council voted to temporarily suspend the $25.00 application fee for business registration permits from April 18-24, in an effort to encourage businesses that are operating without permits to either acquire them or renew expired permits. so, if you are one of those, please take advantage of the grace period.

A proposal to set a Public Hearing for April 23rd to discuss long term traffic improvements impacting FM 518 west of IH 45, including the extension of Palomino or another north/south alternative passed 7-0.

The Closed Session item regarding the City Administrators Performance Evaluation passed with no action taken.

Again, this Council meeting was a good meeting with lots of citizen involvement! Thank you for coming!

Remember that Early Voting starts on the 27th, so get to know your candidates and how they feel about the issues. Your vote gives you a say in how our City heads into the future with all of its new issues to tackle.

I invite you to email me with your comments, problems, suggestions. I want to hear what you think and promise to answer you, too.

Though it is a privilege to have you on my email list, if you choose not to receive the Mayors Report, just ask to be removed.

Mayor Toni Randall

Clear Creek Project Graduation

A break from politics y'all. This is a good thing. Happy Easter !

Project Graduation is having Spirit Nights at the Chick Fil-A in Kemah to raise money for the Alcohol free graduation party. If you are planning to eat out on any of the dates described in the email below we would appreciate you going to the Chick Fil-A in Kemah. The first Spirit Night is this Tuesday so we are trying to get out the word by email/mouth so that we get a good turn out. The address is:

Chick Fil-A
321 FM 2094 Rd (also Marina Bay Dr.)
Kemah, TX 77565

Please be sure to tell the server when you order that this is to support The Clear Creek Project.

Also, please take a minute to read the email below from the Project Graduation Chairperson.

Thanks in advance.

Hugs,
Mary : )


Please let me know what day or days you are available to volunteer for our Project Graduation Spirit Nights at Chick Fil-A. The dates are as follows, we will need 2-4 volunteers each night from 5-8 p.m.

Tuesday, April 14th
Thursday, April 30th
Tuesday, May 5th
Thursday, May 21st

I have sent a flier to the school to be approved. And will try to have it handed out Monday and Tuesday. Please let everyone know that we are doing this and that anyone that dines in or uses the drive thru just needs to let the cashier know that they are support Clear Creek Project Graduation. I have attached the flier for you to send out to friends, family and neighbors.


Thanks so much,

Sandy

Forum set for April 9th

The League City Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual forum in the council chambers. This year they will start at 6PM with the Council Candidates and include the race for school board. The candidates for School Board will start around 7:30. I understand that the forum will be televised on channel 16. What questions would you like answered at the forum?

Video of the 2009 League City Council Candidates' Forum in Glen Cove

The promised video of the 2009 Glen Cove forum for League City council candidates is finally available.

The quality had to be reduced due to the length, but even so it may take several minutes to load so please be patient. It will play as soon as the download starts, but don’t try to skip forward past the point at which it has loaded until the whole thing has loaded or it will jam. If you do have trouble, try using the ‘download’ button instead.

Please feel free to share this anywhere you like and on any forum you like. I ask only that if you choose to make any edits of your own that you ask my permission before sharing any edited version.

My apologies for the delay in getting this out; I was delayed by some necessary computer maintenance and by having to learn some new things as I was a little more ambitious this year.
We used two cameras this time to avoid loosing anything to battery changes, background noises, blocked views, etc. Editing the two tracks together for the best combination of video and audio was a bit more work than anticipated. I tried to be sure to include every word spoken by the candidates without editing for content; hopefully the result is acceptable.

All of the known and anticipated candidates were informed of this event on February 18th and it was publicly announced at that time on this blog, the League City blog, and at the next city council meeting. The forum took place on the evening of Monday, March 9, 2009.
In response, we had in attendance the following candidates: for place 3 Mick Phalen; for place 4 Mike Lee; and for place 4 Dustin Gooding and Phyllis Sanborn. (In order of appearance by place number and alphabetically.)
Chris Samuelson informed me a couple weeks in advance of an unavoidable business conflict, but ultimately dropped out. Ed Station answered a follow-up call after his late sign up that he had a conflicting HOA meeting. Tommy Cones sent me a note the Friday before the forum that he had a conflicting meeting. Pat Hallisey signed up to run at the last minute about two hours before the forum, which I learned as we were getting set up. He did not respond or appear.

Thanks are due to Brenda Watson for video and photography, Pat Logan for time keeping, Dub & Marie Mixon and Leslie Clarkson for advertising and Dub & Marie especially for cooking hot dogs. Thanks also to the residents of Glen Cove (this was not an HOA event) and to those candidates who did appear.

It is also linked from the latest post on my personal blog.

The same rules of civility regarding irrelevant and disruptive posts as used in Charles Meyer's preceding thread will apply to this thread as well.

Jeff Hagen

Topical Discussion of the Candidates and Campaign Issues Only

This thread is dedicated to discussion of the candidates and the issues of the current election. Irrelevant posts intended to malign or disrupt will not be allowed. Where does your candidate stand on:

• Residential Development
• Government Spending
• Ethics Reform
• Special Interest Influence
• Charter Revision
• The CIP

What are your issues?
Who gets your vote and why?
Who gets your goat and why?

Emails

I have received these emails and thought you might want to comment on them.

The election in May is crucial to Leauge City's future and how our money is spent.

We need people on council who will support our Mayor and the views of the people that live here. In this day and age things are changing fast locally, state and worldwide. We need conservative leaders that have moral and ethical values. We don’t need more of the good ole boy system. That is what you will get if you elect Pat Hallisey, Tommy Cones and Ed Station. If you want change you need to vote for Mike Lee, Mick Phalen and Phylis Sanborn. Mr. Hallisey, thank you for your prior years of service to League City. This is a different town and a different place from 20 years ago. Mr. Hallisey, it’s time to leave your service in the past. Mr. Cones, we thank you for your interesting service. Voting for $390K to be spent on a dog track is not using my money wisely! Your time is up; you need to move into the past. Mr. Station, I am sorry that you associate with these two candidates but your time will never come. League City citizens I urge you to get out vote and make a difference.
Submitted to Galveston Daily News.


Can League City afford 3 more years of poor decision making?


Incumbent Tommy Cones has voted for over 10 housing developments. More houses more traffic.

Incumbent Tommy Cones was investigated by the DA and Grand Jury regarding the new trash contract. He voted in favor of the new trash contract, costing the taxpayers more money.

Incumbent Tommy Cones voted in favor to pay $72,000.00 additional fees to the new trash company for trash collections during Hurricane Ike. This collection was not listed in their contract. FEMA will not reimburse the city for this money.

Incumbent Tommy Cones is involved in a lawsuit over the Glen Cove Bridge

Incumbent Tommy Cones received $5000.00 from the developer who purchased the Glen Cove Bridge. The contribution was made in a non-election year.

Incumbent Tommy Cones has received over $20,000.00 in campaign contributions from Developers, Home Builders Political Action groups; and outside interests.

Incumbent Tommy Cones has spent over $5000.00 of taxpayer’s money traveling to Colorado (where he went skiing); Florida to watch a space launch; and tour Washington D.C.

Incumbent Tommy Cones was given an all expense free trip to California to view a Big League Dream complex. Cones voted for the LC Big League Dreams Project, costing the taxpayers over $22 million dollars. League City has not received revenue from the project.

Incumbent Tommy Cones voted in favor of the $379.000.00 Dog Park, costing the taxpayers the cost of up keep, personnel, etc.
In a time of a soft economy, the Dog Park should not have been a priority.

Incumbent Tommy Cones stated at the February24,2009 council workshop that he “had attended about 90% of the HGAC meetings”. His attendance record indicated that he had attended less than 40% of the meetings.

Incumbent Tommy Cones has been notified by the Texas Ethics Commission regarding numerous alleged campaign filing violations.

Incumbent Tommy Cones demanded and voted for $5000.00 (of taxpayer’s dollars) be spent on soda to be provided at council meetings.

Can League City really afford 3 more years of poor decisions?

VOTE to continue the change

Vote for Mick Phalen


The Top Ten Reasons Why to Vote for Pat Hallisey:

1.)Pat needs a job.
His consulting gigs and his developer money from the last campaigns are all gone.

2.)Pat needs to be in a position where he can feel important.
He has never won an election and his appointed positions that made him feel important have all ended very abruptly.

3.)Pat needs credibility.
After spending tens of thousands of everyone else’s money on losing campaigns no one listens to what he has to say.

4.)Pat needs Developer money.
His friends are tired of paying for his lunches at the country club. And when Pat pays for lunch they all know they will be ordering off Taco Bell’s dollar menu.

5.)Pat needs more friends on his facebook account.
Face book monitors emailed him to say that he needs to have more than 2 people to continue to keep that sight up. (and they do not count multiple email addresses going to the same IP address as legitimate friends)

6.)Pat needs to buy a home.
He needs more room for all the files he will have when he takes those that have wronged him to court.

7.)Pat needs to have someone listen to him.
The help line at dell has blocked his phone number.

8.)Pat needs to buy a new sharpening stone.
He has many more axes to grind.

9.)Pat’s friends need some down time from him.
If you had to listen to him all the time wouldn’t you?

10.)Pat needs to buy anti hacking software
To keep everyone from taking over his computer and posting nasty, hateful thoughts on the web and blaming him.

Any commets?