The next meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. to be held at East Aldine Management Offices, 5333 Aldine Mail Rt. (next to Jed’s Hardware). The speaker will be Mr. Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney, who will introduce his office and the many topics their staff attorneys can speak about upon request. There will be a Q & A session afterwards so please come prepared to participate. Meetings are open to the public.
Contacts: Connie Esparza, Treasurer: (832) 306-0231 and Carmen Schnur, Secretary: (832) 443-7541.
Mayor Sylvester Turner led the Parade of 143 units, with his daughter Ashley.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner celebrated Juneteenth with his 7th Annual Juneteenth Parade in Acres Homes last Saturday, June 16.
The parade featured over 140 participating groups and organizations, including local marching bands, dancing groups, horses, floats, vintage cars and more. A number of special guests participated and there were giveaways to spectators.
The parade began at 10 a.m. at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, 6719 West Montgomery, and traveled north up West Montgomery to turn left on Dolly Wright and disband at Greater Zion Baptist Church and Drew Academy.
“Juneteenth is an important day in our community,” Mayor Turner said. “I want everyone to come out and celebrate. We’ve gone all out on the 2018 parade. You won’t want to miss it.”
Judge Ed Emmett speaking at the Rotary Club of Houston last week.
HOUSTON – In a wide ranging talk before the Rotary Club of Houston, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett spoke about a number of topics of interest. He started by talking about his appreciation for the work that Rotary does in the community, and across the world. He gave examples from his own experience of how he has been touched by and involved in this work.
Then he spoke about the upcoming $2.5 billion bond issue that will be on the ballot in a special election on August 25th. He explained that the date is the one year anniversary of the devastation when Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, causing flooding throughout Harris County and other parts of the state.
“Harvey changed a lot of lives,” he said. He noted that 154,000 homes in Harris County and Houston flooded. The Hurricane dropped 51” of rain in a four day period. Many homes were destroyed or made unlivable, and there were many deaths in the flood waters.
The map below indicates where these approximately 169 homes are located within Harris County.
HARRIS COUNTY, TX – Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, the Harris County Flood Control District has been working with its many local, state, and federal partners to address the flood risk reduction needs of the county. This includes responding to and addressing volunteers for the Flood Control District Home Buyout Program by maintaining a Home Buyout Hotline, collecting information from thousands of home buyout volunteers, reviewing and identifying properties that meet the Flood Control District Home Buyout eligibility criteria, and submitting grant applications for funding to support home buyouts in response to Hurricane Harvey.
Home buyouts are used by the Flood Control District to reduce flood damages in areas hopelessly deep in the floodplain where structural projects to reduce flooding are not cost effective and/or beneficial. Since the Flood Control District’s voluntary buyout program began in 1985, more than 2,075 structures have been purchased with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and more than 960 properties (with and without structures) have been purchased with local Flood Control District funds.
As announced by the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Harris County will receive its first allocation of FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds in response to Hurricane Harvey. $25.6 million are estimated to be received out of the total $163.5 million that the Flood Control District requested for home buyouts through HMGP. The Flood Control District will be able to purchase approximately 169 homes with $8.6 million required local matching funds and the $25.6 million in HMGP funds. Additional funding allocations from the same grant application are expected later this year.
