January 11, 2001 SJCC Leadership Meeting Minutes
Location: Atascocita Public Library
Attendance: 23
1. Prior to the meeting, attendees filled out attendance sheets and paid membership dues. In addition, Wendee Holtcamp distributed Texas Parks and Wildlife magazines in which her articles had appeared.
2. SJCC Operating as Affiliate of Gulf Coast Institute -- The first point in the meeting was that the SJCC will be operating as an affiliate of the Gulf Coast Institute, a non-profit [501(c)(3)] organization that promotes Smart Growth in the Gulf Coastal Region. More information about GCI can be obtained by contacting David Crossley, Gulf Coast Institute, 2001 Kirby Drive Suite 515, Houston TX 77019; FAX (713) 523-3057; phone (713) 523-5757; e-mail: crossley@gulfcoastideas.org; website: www.gulfcoastideas.org. This affiliation with GCI will facilitate the organization of SJCC and allow us to apply for grants as a non-profit. Membership dues will also be tax deductible. Within a year, we hope to have separate 501(c)(3) status for the SJCC. The GCI has said that even though membership checks should be made payable to GCI, that the SJCC will have access to all of these funds. These funds will be used as the SJCC decides, such as for education, a newsletter, to create a canoe trail, overhead (copies, etc), and other expenses.
3. Meeting with Mike Byers/Citizens Area Committee -- Wendee Holtcamp then briefed the group on her meeting with Mike Byers, the president of the Humble Area Chamber of Commerce. They met to discuss a Citizens Advisory Committee. Wendee said that the meeting did not set any specific meeting dates or agenda for the proposed CAC. Byers said that it would be fine if concerned citizens formed a CAC, who could serve as a liaison between the Chamber of Commerce, businesses, and the community. The formation of the CAC will be up to the citizens’ initiative. The CAC is currently forming and looking for five or so members to start. The agenda of the CAC is very open, since it has not yet been formed. It was suggested that the CAC could present non-regulatory guidelines to distribute to the Chamber of Commerce, businesses, and prospective developers. Although these would have no teeth, they could at least inform people that there are mobilized and concerned residents who desire some guidelines.
The CAC would be a separate organization from the SJCC, although there will likely be an overlap in membership.
The CAC pertains exclusively to the areas served by the Humble Area Chamber of Commerce.
It was pointed out that the Chamber of Commerce has a lot of pull in the area. Members pay to join and they vote in Chamber affairs. Because the CAC would not have regulatory powers, they could not force compliance, but it could be strongly encouraged. In addition, if Harris County did pass legislation currently being drafted to give the county ordinance-making powers, a CAC would be useful in designing, implementing, and enforcing ordinances in unincorporated areas, such as Atascocita.
The CAC is different from the Business Improvement District (BID), also proposed at the December 7 general meeting. The Chamber of Commerce is working to develop a BID through the state legislature. The BID would add one-half percent sales tax to business in the delineated area. These funds are designed for use specifically in the geographical area contained in the BID. Funds could be used, for example, for park sites, buffer zones, a community center, or similar projects. There is a cap on sales tax in Texas, so some areas (including the city of Humble) could not create one. Unincorporated Atascocita could. The BID would be managed by an elected board. Citizens in the proposed BID would have to vote on the proposal, according to one attendee. While concern exists over increasing taxes, the use of these funds in a localized area offers a great deal of potential. Montgomery County recently approved a BID (specifics unknown).
4. Media Coverage -- Attention was brought to the three articles that appeared in the Chronicle and the Observer about SJCC’s activities. Copies of the articles were distributed to those who had not read them.
5. Smart Growth Survey of Atascocita -- Diane Bates explained a current grant application on behalf of the SJCC. This grant, the Community Action Research Initiative (CARI) grant is offered by the American Sociological Association, of which she is a member. The grant offers a very small amount of money ($1,000 to $2,500) to conduct social research for a community organization. If the grant is awarded, these funds will pay for a systematic survey of Atascocita area residents. The Smart Growth survey completed on December 7 demonstrated, not surprisingly, that the people who attended the meeting were very concerned about the loss of forests and are supportive of Smart Growth. However, it is unknown if these people are representative of the entire community. This survey would hope to establish how widespread these concerns are in the general population. In addition, the CARI funded survey could be used to leverage a larger grant for a larger survey. There is a lack of data on these issues in the Houston area, so any data at all is necessary for the SJCC’s political and community ideas.
6. Upcoming Events -- We were reminded about the following upcoming events:
Jan 18 General Meeting at the Atascocita Lutheran Church. 6:30 meet and greet. 7:00 meeting.
Jan 20 Arbor Day tree give-away at Jesse Jones Park (281-446-8588). Texaco has donated 500 trees to be given away, one tree per family. Trees will be native saplings, about 2 years old. People who had received trees in the past said that the trees were about four feet high. Everyone was encouraged to contact their schools, churches, and other community organizations to get involved. Trees not going to private homes can be donated to the SJCC, as will be any left-over trees. Hopefully, some of these trees can be planted on community property. The Observer will be covering this event.
Jan 24 Community-wide Tree Planting Day. Currently several churches and schools have agreed to participate in this activity. In addition to planting, organizations will be asked to sign a “tree care pledge” to take care of these saplings. It was suggested that participants be asked to purchase tomato cages (which cost about 80 cents) to protect the saplings from mowers, dogs, and other hazards until they were old enough to take care of themselves. It was also suggested that the SJCC use some of its membership funds to purchase these tomato crates. It was also suggested that the SJCC monitor the trees planted, in order to make sure that people continue to care for the trees they plant.
7. SJCC Mission Statement -- The SJCC mission was introduced. A copy of this mission can be found at the SJCC website (www.greendzn.com/sjcc.html). Everyone seemed to agree on the intent of the mission statement, although some subtle word changes were made.
8. SJCC Organization Positions -- SJCC positions and committees were explained and established.
Acting officers: Wendee Holtcamp, president. Diane Bates, secretary.
Vacant officer positions: Treasurer (hopefully someone with an accounting background) and Vice President (duties to be determined, but most likely supporting duties of president)
Committee missions were described, with initial goals.
1. Natural Resource Committee, Debbie Dills and Nancy Simpson, co-Chairs
2. Outdoor Recreation Committee, Damien Caney, Chair
3. Smart Growth Committee, Bob Atwood and Kent Dills, co-Chairs
4. Outreach Committee, Wendee Holtcamp and Anna Wilson, co-Chairs
9. New Developments -- There were several new points to be made about developments in the area. Updates on the HEB and Walmart sites were discussed, and will be dealt with in detail at the general meeting, and as, time allows, so will the following.
Although HEB has made verbal concessions to representatives of the SJCC, but it was pointed out that HEB was already accepting bids on a design that only includes a fringe of re-planted trees around the parking lot and some “tree prisons” within the parking lot. However, HEB still claims that they are delaying final plans and decisions because of the recent newspaper articles.
In addition, a new Target has been sited at I-59 and Townsend Blvd. Public comment period has been extended to Jan 25 to allow SJCC members to provide input.
In addition, Kings Harbor is being planned on the Kingwood side of the W. Lake Houston Parkway bridge that will incorporate a hotel, restaurants, and shops. Because this project is in the pre-architectural stage, community input will be particularly effective. The area lies on a very sensitive watershed and could be potentially harmful to regional waterbirds including federally endangered wood storks and threatened bald eagles.
In addition, a Tues Jan 9 Supreme Court decision may effectively gut Corps of Engineers review of development projects on “isolated” wetlands. While this would remove the existing organization that provides oversight, regulation, and enforcement, it will increase the necessity of community groups such as the SJCC.
Bob Atwood pointed out that the SJCC shouldn’t try to stop new development, but should try to negotiate how this development occurs. For this reason, it will be important to influence development before developers have any specific plans. This requires the SJCC to stay on top of what land is slated for future development. The NHMCCD Center for Business & Economic Development publishes a quarterly newsletter, called Tempo, that lists planned development. Tempo is available at the Humble Area COC. SJCC members should find out whatever they can about planned development in the area and make this information readily available to the community. In the absence of regulations that can force compliance (such as in Kingwood or The Woodlands), it is important that the SJCC make community information distribution on new developments a high priority.
10. SJCC General & Committee Meeting Coverage and Frequency -- It was decided that general meetings will be called once a month. Each committee will make a report on its activities. In addition, these meetings should provide information and updates on current and planned developments in this region. Announcements of meetings and information from meetings should be made available through the internet and through fliers, billboards, and newsboards throughout the area. Word of mouth advertisement for meetings was also strongly encouraged. Volunteers agreed to gather information on how these might be set up.
Committees would meet according to their own schedules, coordinated through e-mail.
11. Coalition of Homeowner groups -- The SJCC hopes to build connections with local homeowners associations. To that end, volunteers agreed to try to obtain a list of appropriate associations. It may be possible to request affiliated homeowners associations to contribute to the SJCC bank, at a rate of one dollar per home (e.g., if there were 67 homes in an association, they would contribute $67 to the SJCC).
Attendees:
1 Bob Atwood
2 Diane Bates
3 Damien Carey
4 Brigitte Collee
5 Debbie Dills
6 Kent Dills
7 Cathy Ernst
8 George Eynon
9 Vicky Eynon
10 Yvonne Farrell
11 Linda Fulkerson
12 Rick Harris
13 Wendee Holtcamp
14 Farrar (Ruby) Jackson
15 Barbara Mayfield
16 Dorothy McFerrin
17 Marie Ristroph
18 Nancy Simpson
19 Brian Shmaefsky
20 Monika Straka
21 Al Wilson
22 Anna Wilson
23 Marc Wilson