The Board of Directors of The Aldine Community Improvement District met in its regular monthly session at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21st.
The main item on the agenda was the approval by the board of an application to the Texas Water Development Board for a planning grant to study the feasibility and cost of bringing water and sewer service to areas within the district that now lack such services.
State Representative Kevin Bailey (District 140) originally brought the proposal to the board at its February meeting. The board voted at that time to initiate the application and Hawes Hill & Associates, the firm that manages the district, begin immediately to gather the information needed to complete the application.
The grant application, originally intended to focus on a small pilot project was later expanded to include the entire district, necessitating a reworking of the application.
Because of the relatively low unemployment rate in the area (6.3%), the district will not qualify for 75-25 matching funds from the state and the total contribution it will be required to make will no longer be met by in-kind services exclusively (totaling $176,950) to be provided by Harris County and the legal firm of Bracewell and Patterson. The district will have to contribute an additional $25,000 in matching funds to the project and the board voted to authorize that expenditure.
Ms. Hill reported that it is now completed and ready to be submitted. Following one final review, it will go to the Water Development Board the first week in June. It is expected that the board will act quickly on the application.
In other action, the board voted to authorize manager David Hawes to solicit bids for heavy trash pick up in the public spaces within the district. While several directors preferred a more community-based approach to the ongoing problem of illegal dumping and remaining storm debris, Mr. Hawes suggested that we needed to get some idea of the cost of such an effort. The board voted to authorize the solicitation of bids.
Mr. Hawes went on to present the districts financial statements through May 31st, 2002. The district has received a total of $232,320 in tax revenues from the State Comptroller and has disbursed funds totaling $54,512 for legal and administrative services, leaving total assets of $177,808.
The next meeting will be on June 18th at 7:00 p.m. at Aldine Y.O.U.T.H., 4700 Aldine Mail Route.
