City Officials Present: Steve LeBlanc, City Manager; Brandon Wade, Director of Public Works; Robert Pierce, Police Chief; Council Member Dianna Puccetti

WGIPOA Board Members present: Al Birdwell, Debbie Wright, Sharon Turnley, Jerry Mohn

Steve requested that he or any member of his staff be advised of any concern. The best way is to e-mail Steve and he will forward it to the appropriate department to handle.

Meeting began at 1:30 PM and ended at 4:40 PM.

Public Works and Maintenance Issues: Brandon Wade

Repair Potholes: Located at 8-mile road on the bay side, near Ostermeyer.

Also, potholes on Homrehaus, 99th, 103rd, and Sea Isle has patches.

Need a survey of the dirt roads in West End and who is responsible in taking care of them.

Turn Lanes: Right turn lane at Pabst Lane needs attention or a warning system like bumps or a sign that there is a stop sign and turn lane.

Bermuda Beach: Bermuda Beach Drive threshold has eroded. The catch basin on the beach side; need to coordinate something (drainage work) alongside to prevent from caving in. Concrete slabs on beach need to be removed by the County.

Warning Strips: New warning strips carved into FM 3005 before traffic light at Pirates Beach/Cove intersection may be too deep. Complaints that bumps act more like potholes.

Street Lights: Burned out light at FM 3005 and San Jacinto finally replaced. Need to develop a system to repair and replace burned out lights immediately. Street lights in Spanish Grant Bay, North and South side of street need to be serviced and better illumination. Streetlights and poles on eleven-mile road needs attention. Reliant Energy and HL&P should be notified.

Jamaica Beach: Fireplug in front of firehouse needs to be repaired.

Sand: Determine if sand taken from new sewer lines from seven to ten mile road is beach quality. If beach quality, it is to be distributed on adjacent subdivision beaches.

Dumpsites: Several illegal sites are showing up and need signs that advise "No Dumping." The City would like the subdivisions to advise the exact locations of these illegal sites so signs can be placed in appropriate areas. Take pictures if necessary of offenders and where the trash is being dumped.

Dilapidated homes on beach: Provide the address of the property and the matter will be investigated.

Hike & Bike Trails: Need a grant. Include in Comprehensive Plan.

FM 3005: Evacuation of West End during a hurricane or tropical storm is a concern to all residents and FM 3005 needs to be elevated west of the Seawall at the 7.5-mile road area. The Public Works Department will request City Council to adopt a resolution that TXDOT evaluate the drainage and exposure and to elevate the roadway for easy evacuation. Also, since sand adjacent to the road was used in the early 1960's to build the Seawall, the COE should remediate and this will be investigated. Council Member Dianna Puccetti will make the proposal at the next City Council meeting.

Septic Systems and Sewer Projects: A sanitary plan has been developed for all areas not serviced with a sewer system. Besides several areas on the West End without sewer lines, there are many on the Island that have septic systems including Pelican Island, sections of the East End, and Harbor Side Drive between 52nd to 77th streets. A new wastewater service for the treatment plant on the West End to handle the area would cost between $25-$35 million. In addition, there are millions of dollars of unfunded needs in areas where there is currently wastewater service. To upgrade the existing wastewater treatment plant for the West End would cost $15 million. The City is spending $7 million on a project mandated by the EPA to be completed soonest. The general advalorem taxes do not contribute any monies for waste treatment. The cost of retrofitting would take years before collecting any money for new treatment facilities. In essence, with the poor bond rating, the City does not have any source of funds to install new sewer systems. There are existing approved bonds that could be used to fix up the existing plants.

One solution for a new sewer system in a subdivision is the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) where it is a private and city partnership. It requires 51% of the property owners to approve of the project. For instance, rough calculations indicate a $3 million project for a subdivision could be paid off over a 10 year period that would cost a homeowner approximately $15 per month. The WGIPOA would like to pursue the PID plan and to create a task force to investigate the matter. The task force would consist of Board members plus the Presidents or designees of the property owners associations without a sewer system. The PID and task force will be proposed at the February 17 WGIPOA meeting.

Police and Communication Issues: Police Chief Robert Pierce and Sergeant Tim Galvin

Break Ins: Spanish Grant - a few burglaries occurred since the publication of complaints by Spanish Grant residents about the noise at Lazy Oaks Bar. There is concern that the burglaries are related to complaints from residents. Sergeant Galvin does not believe this is the situation and he also indicated a rumor that Rusty Oaks is for sale.

Hunting: Current ordinance allows hunting anywhere west of 99th street and north of FM 3005 and one can shoot a gun 150 feet from a home. Some residents complain during duck hunting season that when a shotgun is fired the pellets hit them. Police would like to educate the area on what is and is not permitted. It will be difficult to ban hunting since third generation of hunters live in the area. The police would like to look at areas where to hunt and to extend the distance to 400 feet. However, it is more difficult to judge the distance of 400 feet verses 150 feet.

Communications: The Police Department would like to communicate more with the public on the West End by sending out newsletters. Included would be various laws that should be followed by residents.

Patrols: West End has nine officers assigned including one Sergeant. They operate three shifts to patrol 18 miles. At times, less patrols if the car is being repaired or a police officer has retired without a replacement. No funds to increase the police patrol on the West End. Motorcycle policeman provide their own bikes and receive $400 per month car allowance.

Dunes: Sergeant Galvin advised Pointe San Luis subdivision was contributing funds to purchase a 4 wheel drive truck to go after vehicles violating the dunes on the West End of San Luis. Current police cars cannot drive on sand and the 4-wheel drive would be used to apprehend violators.

Animal Control: Police enforce with written citation when they find violators with a dog not on a lease but rarely write tickets. The Police Department would like to see subdivisions post signs before the entrance to the area and beach that indicate animals must be on a lease, no vehicular traffic (for those areas that do not allow driving on the beach), no trash, no glass containers, etc, etc. The Police Department would like to see more of the realtors that rent homes to give each renter the lease law and other "no" laws on the beach requirements.