Woodlands Township Government officially starts in Jan.

Following is a summary of the December 16, 2009 Board Meeting for The Woodlands Township. It was obtained from The Woodlands Township website with address shown at the bottom of the page. Note that Fire Station #8 (Indian Springs Village) will be located on the east side of Gosling Road.

News Flash - Selected
Township Board of Directors address 35 agenda items at December meeting
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (December 16, 2009) – The Woodlands Township Board of Directors addressed 35 agenda items at its December meeting held on Wednesday, December 16, 2009.
During the Board of Directors meeting for The Woodlands Township, Carl Joiner of Joiner Partnership, Inc., presented the preliminary schematic designs for the Creekside (#7) and Indian Springs (#8) fire stations. Each station will be about 12,000 square feet and will be similar to Station 6 in College Park.
Construction for Station #7 is anticipated to begin July 2010 with completion in June 2011. Construction for Station #8 is set to begin January 2011 with completion in December 2011.
An Open Forum presentation on the two fire stations will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, January 13, 2010, at The Woodlands Township Service Center, previously known as the Community Associations building at 2201 Lake Robbins Drive.
The funding for the two fire stations was included as part of Bond Proposition 1, which was approved by Woodlands voters in November 2009.
Other items approved on the Regular Agenda included:

Received and adopted the Financial Report;
Received a report from the Community Associations of The Woodlands;
Discussed proposed school district boundary changes in the May Valley area;
Received a presentation from Drew Masterson, managing director of First Southwest, regarding the next steps in the bond issuance process;
Authorized the Chairman of the Board to execute a professional services agreement to retain the professional services of Schwartz, Page & Harding, L.L.P. to serve as bond counsel in connection with the issuance, sale and delivery of all bonds to be sold by The Woodlands Township;
Approved service agreements with Center for Houston’s Future, Opportunity Houston and Leadership Montgomery County;
Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Shenandoah relating to the provision of services for areas that have Woodlands Covenants and are not within the boundaries of The Woodlands Township;
Adopted a resolution removing all overlapped properties of The Woodlands Township from Harris County Emergency Services District No. 7 and Montgomery County Emergency Services Districts Nos. 4, 8, 10, & 14;
Adopted Resolution 024-09 Adopting Investment Policies and Guidelines that included the revisions recommended by the Investment Committee with an effective date of January 1, 2010, and repealed any previously adopted resolutions or policies;
Authorized Texas Municipal League, Center for Public Management at the University of North Texas and Virtual Learning Concepts to provide training for investment officers of The Woodlands Township, as required by the Public Funds Investment Act;
Adopted a list of qualified brokers authorized to engage in investment transactions with The Woodlands Township;
Approved the First Amendment to the Waterway Maintenance, Use and Operations Agreement;
Approved the conveyance of the Waterway Square easement over the kiosk tracts from The Woodlands Development Company;
Approved the Personnel Policy Manual for The Woodlands Township; effective January 1, 2010, and repealed any previous policies or procedures;
Approved service agreements between the Village Associations’ and The Woodlands Township, and authorized the President to sign the agreements in connection therewith;
Authorized the Asset Lease and Service Agreement between The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Fire Department, Inc.;
Authorized the Real Property Lease Agreement between The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Fire Department;
Authorized the President, the Chairman or a Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors to execute any acceptances or receipts for conveyances, assignments, or transfers of real, personal, mixed or intellectual properties, filings, name changes, notices, or other documents related to the Transition Agreement;
Authorized the President to execute a new five-year lease agreement with American Business Machines because the vendor would not allow the agreement terms with The Woodlands Community Service Corporation be assumed by The Woodlands Township;
Adopted The Woodlands Township's appointments, in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Transition Agreement, to The Woodlands Fire Department Board of Directors, The Woodlands Community Service Corporation Board of Directors, and The Woodlands Recreation Centers, Inc. Board of Directors, and postponed new appointments until June 2010;
Appointed Claude Hunter as the representative to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council for a term ending June 30, 2010;
Approved the recommendation from the Committee on Governance and Nominations to appoint Chris Florack, Ken Parker, Deborah Sargeant and Michael Sawran to the Development Standards Committee for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2010;
Approved the recommendation from the Committee on Governance and Nominations to appoint Ken Anderson, Kim Hess and Robert Heineman as designees of The Woodlands Land Development Company to the Development Standards Committee;
Reappointed Mark Golibart of Tharaldson Property for a two-year term and Sheron Jones of The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center for a one-year term on the Booking & Blocking Committee of The Woodlands Township;
Adopted the Texas Secretary of State’s Uniform Election Calendar for local political subdivisions as the official uniform election calendar for The Woodlands Township’s Board of Director elections, and authorized the President of The Woodlands Township to post the required notice of the candidate application filing period relative to the upcoming election on May 8, 2010;
Approved the payment of invoices for legal services rendered by The Woodlands Township's legal counsel, Schwartz, Page & Harding, L.L.P.;
Adopted the schedule of regular meeting dates for The Woodlands Township Board of Directors for 2010
In addition to its regular meeting, the Board of Directors held a special meeting for the Economic Development Zone in which the Board:

Adopted Resolution 001-09 Adopting Investment Policies and Guidelines with an effective date of January 1, 2010 to include proposed revisions and repealed any previously adopted resolutions or policies;
Adopted Resolution 002-09 Adopting a List of Qualified Brokers Authorized to Engage in Investment Transactions with The Woodlands Township Economic Development Zone,
Approved the source of public funds investment training for The Woodlands Township Economic Development Zone Investment Officers to include Texas Municipal League, the Center for Public Management and Virtual Learning Concepts.
Executive Summaries of the above items as well as Power Point Presentations can be found on The Woodlands Township’s Web site at www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov. Every public meeting scheduled by The Woodlands Township Board of Directors has a place for public comment at the beginning of the meeting. The guidelines for public comment can be found at the Township’s Web site.
The next public meeting of The Woodlands Township will be the Executive Committee, to be held on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 9 a.m., at The Woodlands Township, 10001 Woodloch Forest Drive, Suite 600, The Woodlands, Texas, 77380. The January Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m., Wednesday, January 27, 2010. A Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, January 27, 2010, at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center.
For more information on The Woodlands Township government, please call 281.363.2447 or visit www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov.

Tea Party Debate on tape

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Tea Party debate among candidates for Congressional District 8.

The straw poll results from the event have been posted, as well as full video of the debate. According to the straw poll, Russell won the debate and Kevin Brady lost the debate, though he wasn't even there. Before the debate, 7 people intended to vote for Brady and afterward, only 1 would commit to voting for him.

There's a lot of video, so I'll just call your attention to one part that is concerning. One of the most bizarre statements made during the debate was when Tyler Russell stated that illegal immigrants were coming across the border in "armed vehicles, tanks, with light rockets, all kinds of things," and he proposed the use of armed predator drones to combat them. Frankly, those sort of egregiously false statements don't help the candidate in the credibility department and only serve to be incendiary. Not to mention that it contradicts with an earlier statement made by Russell, when he expressed his desire to have lawmakers not involved in military matters, aside from providing the overall mission. Minutes later during this exchange, he launches into his plan for eradicating illegal immigration by training Air Force pilots to fly drones and using them to go after illegal immigrants. Sounds like the words of an armchair general to me.








Congressional District 8 Straw Poll December 7th, 2009

Before this debate … I am leaning to vote for :
o 11- Scott Baker
o 7 - Kevin Brady
o 0 - Melecio Franco
o 22 - Tyler Russell
o 16 - Undecided

I believe the debate on the issues was won by :
o 18 - Scott Baker
o 1 - Kevin Brady
o 1 - Melecio Franco
o 24 - Tyler Russell
o 10 - Undecided

After this debate … I am leaning to vote for :
o 19 - Scott Baker
o 1 - Kevin Brady
o 0 - Melecio Franco
o 24 - Tyler Russell
o 12 - Undecided

Tweeting Jailbirds

Montgomery County DA Brett Ligon received some local press with his announcement that he will be Tweeting the names of those arrested for DWI this weekend. The reasoning, I assume, is that this may serve as some sort of deterrent. Those that may consider driving drunk, may think twice about it if they know their good name will be blasted all over the internet. Your mug is already guaranteed to appear in the newspaper later in the week, but this would be more instantaneous as BlackBerries and iPhones buzzed the hips of Tweeters all over Montgomery County upon your arrest.

It's uncertain how much of a deterrent this could serve to be, considering that the DA's office Twitter account currently only has 41 followers as of tonight (one is me). After some exposure on the Houston news, you'd expect them to receive a little more interest than that! At a minimum, I'd expect some people to  be a little curious about who's getting busted, especially when you have DWI-prone local elected officials like we do. Is it that people just don't care who is getting a DWI or is it the case that Twitter just isn't very widely used at this point? A cursory review of the follower list found a local lawyer and a bail bondsman. This service will make their life a little easier, I would guess.

So the jury is still out on this Twitter service by the DA's office. Although it's having a rough debut, I think it's worth a try. If you can save a life, give it a try.

MCDAO Twitter Account: @MontgomeryTXDAO

UPDATE: 12/20/09 - So on Saturday night I kept waiting, but no tweets. From what I understood, Ligon was going to tweet the names of those arrested, as they were arrested. All we got was a daily summary. Snooze. I guess this show-bird was chicken when it came to actually following through on what he told the entire Houston metropolitan area he was going to do. All squawk and no tweet?

Woodlands Alert - FAIL

If you live around here, you might be signed up for the "Woodlands Alert," an email notification service of the Community Associations of The Woodlands. Their slogan is, "Information you can use." Well, you can't use the information if you are dead.

Over the past year, I have received numerous alerts. However, they are invariably and grossly late. Watch out! Yesterday, there was a kidnapper on the loose! Watch Out! Last week, a bank got robbed!

The latest "alert" was the worst (text below). On Friday, there was an assault and robbery in the parking lot of The Woodlands Mall. This comes on the eve of one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year. So when does the Woodlands Alert go out? On TUESDAY! Really? How helpful is this to the thousands of people who shopped over the weekend without a clue that 5 assailants were on the loose? Not very helpful at all. It's pretty bad when the newspaper beats the alert system in getting the word out by FOUR DAYS. Why didn't they just send out some of those horse mounted mall cops with a bull horn and a loud bell?

These alerts could serve a useful purpose, but timing is obviously key. An urgent alert that is sent too late really has no value and is just a waste of time and money. As The Woodlands Township begins to take on many of these responsibilities, they should seriously consider either improving this service so it's actually useful, or scrapping it entirely.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "woodlandsalert@catw-tx.org"
To: austinstout
Sent: Tue, December 15, 2009 2:06:42 PM
Subject: WoodlandsAlert---Please do not reply to this message---

This Message is sent from WoodlandsAlert, a service of the Community Associations of The Woodlands.

Woodlands Mall Incident- Woodlands Watch Message

On December 11, 2009, two victims reported to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office that they were approached by a group of four black males and three black females as they left The Woodlands Mall at around 7:45 p.m. One victim was attacked and robbed of recently-purchased items by at least three of the suspects.

During a search inside the mall, two suspects were found and identified by the victims as participants in the assault and robbery. The other suspects have not been identified or arrested.


Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1.800.392.STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can also be made through the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Web page at www.montgomerycountycrimestoppers.org .
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Detective Division can be reached at 936.760.5876.

Community Associations of The Woodlands, Neighborhood Services Department, encourages you to celebrate safely this holiday season.


While shopping:
• Stay alert and be aware of what is going on around you.
• Have your car keys out and ready before you enter the parking lot.
• Park in a well-lit space. Hide bags and gifts in the trunk.
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash.
• Do not leave your purse unattended. Carry your purse close to your body, not dangling by the straps.

For information on The Woodlands Watch program, including information on the Vacation Watch program, contact the Community Associations’ Neighborhood Services Department at 281.210.3800. Have a safe and happy holiday!

MCDP opens its doors

The Montgomery County Democratic Party opened its headquarters on Sunday, celebrating with a potluck holiday party. The place was packed out with local Democrats, old and new.

MCDP Chair Adrienne Cadik recalled the 2008 headquarters fondly when she said, "it wasn't just a political headquarters, it was a community gathering place...I'm hoping this place will be the same and people will just stop in anytime." It was a headquarters that I remember fondly as well. I helped set up our Election Night Watch Party there and I will never forget the electric vibe that pulsed through the crowd that night as we watched results on twin projectors screens. When Wolf Blitzer announced President-Elect Barack Obama, the euphoria was palpable.

While that sort of energy isn't expected to exist in 2010, the feeling was starting to return as Democrats socialized and had a good time. The food was aplenty and the mood was upbeat. As I walked around the room, I heard conversations ranging from the upcoming Governor's race to Afghanistan. Montgomery County is in a unique position in this Governor's race. Houston Mayor Bill White is very popular here and he was the keynote speaker at the MCDP Spring Fundraiser. Local Democrats also hosted a fundraising event attended by the Mayor's wife, Andrea in August. On the other side, White's principal challenger in the race is Farouk Shami, a longtime resident of The Woodlands. When Adrienne Cadik made mention of the two candidates during her speech, each candidate received equal applause.  If Shami stays in the race, Montgomery County promises to be at the forefront of the primary race.

All in all, this event was a success. Many folks worked hard over the past few weeks to get this headquarters in working order; moving, painting, plumbing, and decorating. It's a true testament to teamwork.

If you weren't able to make it out, check this out:

BREAKING: Kinky Hints at Entering Ag Commissioner Race

Kinky Friedman's book tour made two stops in Montgomery County on Saturday where he also made some news. He has hinted that he will drop out of the Texas Governor's race and is seriously considering entering another statewide race like Lt. Governor or Agriculture Commissioner. 
 The Courier, the local newspaper in Conroe, Texas reports:

THE WOODLANDS – The deep pockets of gubernatorial candidates Bill White and Farouk Shami may force Kinky Friedman out of the 2010 Democratic primary. Instead, Friedman, who ran against Republican Gov. Rick Perry as an independent in 2006, may pursue another statewide post, such as agriculture commissioner or lieutenant governor, he announced at one of two campaign stops Saturday in The Woodlands.

Kinky cites the campaign war chests of fellow gubernatorial candidates Bill White and Farouk Shami as his reason for dropping out of that race, “The problem is this: With my trusty slingshot I can beat any millionaire in Texas. Can I run against multiple millionaires in a primary? That’s probably not going to happen," said Friedman.
As far as what other statewide race he would consider, he appears to be leaning towards Ag Commissioner, and sees former Ag Commissioner (and Kinky advisor) Jim Hightower as an inspiration:

Friedman said he has discussed running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner with former commissioner Jim Hightower, singer Willie Nelson and Bill White. “What I learned is that as agriculture commissioner there was almost nothing I couldn’t do that I couldn’t do as governor,” Friedman said. Among the items on Friedman’s agricultural agenda was bringing a halt to toll roads going through farmland, the idea of farmer’s co-operatives selling alternative fuels all over Texas, and placing animal rescue facilities in every county.

The Democratic nomination for Ag Commissioner is currently being sought by the 2006 nominee and former gubernatorial candidate Hank Gilbert.
Kinky acknowledges meeting with both Bill White and Farouk Shami on Saturday (Shami lives in The Woodlands). If he gives any hint of who he would support in the Governor's race, Kinky seems to be leaning towards Bill White:

"I like Bill White. I really think we can work together,” Friedman said. “Bill’s concept of government is very close to mine. It’s not about Bill White. It’s not about Kinky. It’s about making government work for the people.

He had harsh words for Farouk Shami:

“The Democratic primary should not be for sale. It should be priceless and reflect the voice of the people,” Friedman said. “Farouk has already put $10 million (into the campaign) and he’s ready to put up another $10 million. “It’s like a rich man buying a toy. He might have been better served to buy a sports team, or give it to a charity, or a children’s hospital or something,” he said.

In terms of the timing of an announcement, Kinky only said that it may be next week, though it has been reported the announcement will be on Monday.

Annise Parker for Mayor of Houston

You may not realize it, but the City of Houston extends into part of Montgomery County, and those citizens therefore vote in city elections.

Tomorrow, voters all across the City of Houston will have a chance to cast a vote in one of the most consequential elections in city history. Harris County is now Blue, and there's no better testament to that than the fact that all three major candiates for Mayor were Democrats. Now, Houston decides between Annise Parker or Gene Locke.

Here at the MoCo Report, we feel Annise Parker is the best choice for Houston. She's qualified for the job. She's competent at running the city bureaucracy. Her proposed policies are actually sound. She's a proven leader.

Whether or not the same can be said of her opponent, Gene Locke is debatable. But one thing is for sure; Gene Locke has stooped to a disgusting low in this campaign. His tacit anti-gay campaign is abhorrent and something that as a Democrat and a civil rights attorney, he should be ashamed of. He can formally distance himself all he wants from Stephen Hotze, but everyone knows that Gene Locke is counting on a coalition that includes anti-gay conservatives to put him into city hall.

Say No to the dying politics of the past and Say Yes to a new future for Houston. Vote for Annise Parker for Mayor.