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Posts published in “Day: July 23, 2013”

Heavy Trash pick-up to resume in ALL of East Aldine District

July 23, 2013

The East Aldine District has been busy cleaning up, and at the board meeting last Tuesday voted to sign a contract with OFS Solid Waste Services of Channelview, to pick up Heavy Trash in every part of the district once per week for the next year.

The contract will cost the district $13,750 per month, but will fulfil a need that has been present since most of the district was taken over by Harris County Pct. 2 after the last election.

The agreement with OFS includes all of the district, including new areas to the north of Aldine-Bender and west of Hardy Toll Road.

Heavy Trash pick-ups will start every Monday, beginning August 5th. The first area to be cleaned will be the “South” zone, and will take several days to finish. Then on August 12th the next zone, Central, will be picked up, and so on. On August 19 the East Zone will be picked up, and on August 26 the North Zone.

The complete district will be cleaned once per month on a schedule like this, according to Richard Cantu, Director of Services for East Aldine. Residents with questions can contact the district at 713-595-1220. In addition to this scheduled trash collection, any neighborhood can request a temporary dumpster for a one-time clean up, Cantu pointed out. Last Saturday, the Tasfield neighborhood held a combined clean-up and garage sale, for example.

As in the past, there are some rules as to what constitutes “heavy trash.” Included is old furniture, broken wood, trees and shrubs, appliances and related items. Please separate tires. If appliances or AC units are put out, they must have freon lines cut, drained, and tagged by a licensed technician. Not acceptable are paint, oil, pesiticides, anti-freeze, gasoline cans, household garbage, or batteries.

Grand Texas Theme Park to be developed on US59 north

July 23, 2013

NORTHEAST – Developers are hard at work on two separate projects in the New Caney area, north of Humble on US59. The latest project to be announced is a theme park named Grand Texas. The Developers announced last week that they had purchased a 600 acre tract of land at the corner of US59 and Highway 242.

Principal of the developer group is Monty Galland, and operator of the park will be Chuck Hendrix of Innovative Leisure Partners. Hendrix was previously an executive with Six Flags who managed AstroWorld in the period before it was closed and torn down. He is said to be a well respected and experienced manager in the amusement park business nationally, and adds credence to the proposal and the development team.

Envisioned for the new park is a Texas- themed park with amusement rides, a water park, an equestrian center, retail shopping and parking, amphitheater, paintball arena, and an RV resort.

When completed in 2015, it is expected that it will create 300 to 400 permanent jobs, and attract up to a million tourists and visitors to the parks. Although no construction or land figures were released, industry experts say that it will cost upwards of $120 million for the park, and another $95 million for ancillary features such as hotels, restaurants, retail, and parking. Others in the industry have said that it may take as much as $400 million to build a first class facility equivalent to theme parks in other parts of the country.

This is the second proposal for a theme park and public development in the East Montgomery County area. Last year a development named Earth Quest was announced, to be a major dinosaur-themed science park, with an adjacent amusement park, and research center. This project has received State of Texas Enterprise Fund backing, and also local funding from sales tax revenue bonds.

According to Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District, this project is still on schedule and when built will not be a competitor but a complement to the Grand Texas project. The site for this project is on the east side of US59, only about three miles from the Grand Texas project.