The City of Bunker Hill Village Newsletter

The City of Bunker Hill Village Newsletter

Website: www.bunkerhill.net March 2010

The City Council holds its regular meetings on the third Tuesday of every month at 5:00 p.m. The agendas are posted on the website 72 hours prior to the meetings. Minutes of the meetings are also posted on the website after approval by city council.

8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. We may be reached at 713-467-9762.

Please call the Memorial Villages Police Department at 713-365-3700 for after hours utility emergencies.

The 2010 Bunker Hill Village City Elections will take place on Saturday, May 8, 2010, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Voting will take place at City Hall. Early voting will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., April 26 through May 4, with extended hours on April 26 and May 3 until 8:00 p.m.

The 2010 winter months in Bunker Hill Village have been very active. The city is involved in several issues and projects that you should know about. The most notable are detailed below:

As Bunker Hill Village residents are aware, we had a 100-plus year rain event on April 28, 2009. Bunker Hill’s or any other drainage system in and around Houston is not designed to handle a rain event of this magnitude. More than 40 homes in our city reported flood damage caused by the event; there were certainly more that were not reported. The other Memorial villages south of IH-10 experienced flooding of a similar magnitude, while flooding in the City of Houston immediately to the west of Bunker Hill was even greater. While on a percentage basis, the flooded homes represent less than 3% of the total residences in the city. This rain event gave us good information concerning weaknesses in our drainage system. The primary culprits in Bunker Hill Village where major capacity bottlenecks occurred were two of our north to south drainage channels; W151 (running north to south just west of Strey Lane between Taylorcrest and Memorial Drive) and W146 (running north to south just east of Bunker Hill Road between Taylorcrest and Memorial Drive).

Countless hours have been spent by city officials for over ten years meeting with representatives from the Harris County Flood Control, City of Houston, Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 17, and Metro National concerning particularly the needed improvements to W151. The latest study of the drainage area and possible solutions was completed in late summer 2009. That study recommended retention area in the northern watershed of W151 and channel improvements. The estimated cost of this project will approach $50 million. Given the very direct effect on our city, we have committed $6 million to the project, specifically dedicated to the channel improvements. We are disappointed that instead of stepping up with financial commitments, the TIRZ 17 is once again underwriting a more comprehensive study of the drainage area. We know where the water is coming from and what the solutions should be. Bunker Hill Village is ready to commence corrective action to independently solve the majority of the city’s problems within an acceptable project cost. If we do not, in the very near future, have cooperation from the governmental units that have studied the problem for the past ten years, Bunker Hill Village will have no choice but to implement a solution independent of the other agencies. Over the last ten years the city has spent in excess of $15 million on drainage and associated street improvements. While the majority of drainage issues have been addressed, W151, and to a lesser extent, W146 are still problems in a major event. We have a preliminary plan to address the city’s part of these two channels.

As noted in the media, the search for a new fire chief for the Village Fire Department has encountered some complications. There have been some understandable disagreements between some of our villages as to how to balance our public safety objectives (and costs) with our fiscal and other governance responsibilities. We all have come to expect superior fire and EMS services, along with fiscal prudence in spending your tax dollars. Recognizing this, we will actively participate in the selection of new leadership at our fire department to ensure that this essential public safety commitment is completely fulfilled. Rest assured, the VFD will continue with its tradition of excellence in doing what they do so well, combined with the shared governance and fiscal oversight of all participating villages.

This neighborhood is in the northeastern section of the city and is overdue for improvements. Construction is expected to begin within the next 30 days and to be substantially complete within 120 days. The project includes new underground drainage and inlets, sanitary sewer lines and manholes, a new 22 foot wide street and upgrading of various portions of undersized water lines.

Construction of drainage facilities on Blalock Lane is underway with completion expected in March 2010. Bids for paving of a new 22 foot wide street will be solicited in the first half of 2010.

City of Piney Point is repaving Blalock Road, which is in their city limits. After they complete their project, Bunker Hill Village has plans to regrade the west ditch of Blalock Road to the south from Green Oaks.

This project will connect to the City of Houston water line system at Stoney Creek and Valley Star to provide a second source of surface water. This project is required as a result of state mandates for the reduction of pumpage from our water wells and increase of usage of surface or reservoir water. The city has also included an upgrade of the distribution line to a larger size on the north end of Stoney Creek. Construction is expected to begin in March 2010 and should last for 120 days. Cost of the project is $427,520.

The Code of Ordinances is available at city hall or via our website – www.bunkerhill.net.

The city has begun publishing issued permits on the city’s web site. Residents can view any new permit at www.bunkerhill.net. This service, as well as the ordinance that requires notification to property owners in a subdivision of proposed new home construction, is an attempt to keep residents informed of planned improvements throughout the city.

We have had a tremendous response from residents wishing to receive the Crime Analysis Report generated by the Memorial Villages Police Department via email. If you wish to receive these reports, send the request via email to Ruthie Sager at rsager@bunkerhill.net

If you are going to be away from home for several days, the Memorial Villages Police Department will place your home on “house watch”. Call 713-365-3700 for more information regarding this service. This program has proven successful in deterring (nearly eliminating) burglary attempts for those who participate. Please help take our already very low crime rate down to zero!

All household trash and recycle should be placed at a back door location which is visible from the street by 7:00 a.m. Heavy trash should be placed at the curbside. The contractor will not enter a gate. Maximum number of bags per pick-up is eight (8). Residential heavy trash or bulky waste once per week, being the second day of regularly scheduled pickup. Reclyle materials, picked up on Wednesday, should be placed in containers provided by the city.

Zoning in Bunker Hill Village plays a major role in the preservation of new and existing neighborhoods. After a subdivision is complete and the homes are occupied, changes begin to occur. Over a period of time, the character of the neighborhood begins to change, and if left uncontrolled, deterioration could result. Zoning regulations serve to control these changes in response to the individual and collective needs of the community.

Effective zoning depends on the support of the citizens of the community and an understanding of the local zoning regulations. While some may resist zoning on the basis that it restricts what is allowed on private property, most recognize that zoning is essential to the quality of life and property values within a community.

Deed restrictions are a contract entered into by private parties. Even though set-back lines, common areas, and other matters required by deed restrictions may be reflected on a plat filed with the city, those matters remain a contractual relationship between private parties. Therefore, the city does not enforce deed restrictions.

The city’s financial position has continues to be very strong. Bunker Hill Village is rated “AAA” by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, one of the premier debt rating agencies. Of the 169 U.S. municipalities they have rated as “AAA”, only 13 of the cities are located in Texas. Our rating is primarily based on a solid financial position. Currently, we have $12.4 million of outstanding bond debt and assessed property values over $1.3 billion. At the end of 2009, the balance in the general fund would cover approximately nine months of operations.

At the November 2009 city council meeting, the 2010 budget and tax rate was approved.

We continue to operate the city in a very conservative and prudent manner from a cash availability standpoint. Over the last ten years, we have paid for a number of drainage and road projects with money from municipal bond issues. Currently the city has $12,400,000 outstanding principal from these bond issues. $0.10 or $1.3 million of the 2009 tax revenue is appropriated to pay principal and interest on the city’s debt.

It is also important to note that of the $3.5 million of tax revenue to support the 2010 general fund budget $2.4 million (78%) is allocated to pay for Bunker Hill’s portion of the police and fire budgets. If you were to look at those departmental budgets for both years you would find that at the fire department, 90% of the budget is personnel cost. And the police department’s commitment to personnel cost is similar. Our public safety employees continue to be among the best paid officers and fire fighters in the region.

While 2008 brought us Hurricane Ike, 2009 gave us an extreme summer drought. The total water consumption, including surface water, for the past five years is shown below:

An important point that our citizens need to remember is that we are restricted in the amount of water we can pump from our four water wells by the Harris Galveston Subsidence District. We only have one option for purchasing mandated surface water: The City of Houston, which made up 32% of our total supply in 2009

On April 1, 2010 the City of Houston water rates will increase to $2.190 a 48% increase over a three year period.

On January 1, 2011 the City of Houston water rates will be again be increased up to $2.737.

In addition to optimizing our utilization of available groundwater credits, Bunker Hill is actively discussing how to control these increases with the City of Houston and other regulatory bodies. In the future, conservation is going to become more important. Our current rate structure encourages conservation and will continue to be our philosophy. The largest users will pay the greatest cost. We will become more dependent and sensitive to the City of Houston rate structure as groundwater allowances are reduced. Unfortunately, it is not cost effective to attempt to find a new source.