VOL 3 No. 17
Phone: 281-980-6745 PRSRT STD
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U.S. POSTAGE PAID STAFFORD, TX PERMIT NO.10
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land celebrates a record first year
Enjoying a near perfect Fort Bend day, over 200 people turned out to enjoy the beauty of 8 gardens in Quail Valley. Groups from as far as Conroe attended to enjoy the plants, color, ideas and mature gardens. Hosted by the Quail Valley Garden Club, proceeds benefit community appearance and scholarships.
University Blvd. expansion raises residents’ concern
University Blvd. intersects Highway 6 near Highway 90 in Sugar Land and again near FM 1092 in Missouri City. Construction of University has been going on for several years now. It runs through the new subdivisions of Telfair at one end and Riverstone on the other. Construction is about to begin to connect the two ends that will run through the Commonwealth, Avalon and Brazos Landing subdivisions.
The stretch of University that is slated to run through Brazos Landing is causing major concerns to the residents. When the Board of Directors of the Brazos Landing Home Owners Association was informed of the Sugar Land’s plans for University through their area the board was shocked. The original City plan for the road was a 4-way intersection at University and Monarch which has now been
Jungle Book
Fort Bend Theater’s presents Disney’s The Jungle Book , from April 24 to May 23, Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. at 2815 N. Main Street in Stafford. Look for “The Bare Necessities” with Mowgli, Baloo, King Louie and the rest of the gang. The jungle is jumping in this exciting musical adventure. Tickets are $8 and on sale now at www.fortbendtheatre. com. For more information or group sales, call 281-2083333. Above, Kaa (Prari Blair) gets her hands on Mowgli (Dylan Crocker) in The Jungle Book.
eliminated by the City’s Engineer. They plan to change the initial road layout by extending the median at that intersection. What becomes a major safety issue is it will limit the access to emergency vehicles and the evacuation from the subdivision of over 200 homes to only one 4-way intersection in addition to its impact on their daily commute, according to area residents. See University, Page 3
By SESHADRI KUMAR Don Kerstetter, general manager of Classic Chevrolet in Sugar Land, is all smiles for more than one reason. After a successful completion of its first year, in Sugar Land last month, the dealership has set some records to make the car dealer proud. From being 26th in ranking in the country among Chevy dealerships, Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land is now ranked 10th in the nation. At the end of March, it was ranked 12th. Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land is the third largest seller of Camaros in the country and the top Camaro seller in the nation is none other than parent company, Classic Chevrolet, Grapevine. The Grapevine dealership sold 291 Camaros last year and the Sugar Land dealership 193. A Houston Chevy dealer sold 231 Camaros. Texas is a big Camaro market as several dealerships in the state figure among the top 10 or 15 sellers, Kerstetter said. Though the Sugar Land dealership officially opened its doors in March, the real sales did not pick up until May last year and the inventory was low until June. The Sugar Land dealership sold about 1,200 new cars in nine months last year and in the first three months this
year, 470 new cars were sold. T h e t a r g e t for 2010 is 2,000 new cars, Kerstetter said. “ T h e economy has improved. Lending has loosened up. Our inventory is good and has better mix than last year,” he said. The reported loan repayment by General Motors has boosted the company’s image and it will relieve people’s anxiety about the future of GM, Kerstetter said. Ford regained a lot of consumer confidence because it did not borrow, he said. “The issue at Toyota has forced a renewed interest among people to look at all products and it has brought more people in to our showroom,” Kerstetter said. Breaking away from the past image problem faced by the previous dealership, “We
have managed to convince the consumers,” he said. No wonder Sugar Land’s police department has placed orders for 20 police vehicles with Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land. The consumer preference for American cars has rebounded, Kerstetter said and added that “there is a new sense of consumer confidence about American cars.” The main factor: GM cars carry a 5-year/ 100,000 miles power train warranty, which is 40 percent better than Japanese cars.
Smoking ban and trash collection on Missouri City ballot
By SESHADRI KUMAR Missouri City residents will have two propositions on the ballot for their consideration at the May 8 Special Election. They are “The proposed adoption of an ordinance prohibiting smoking in certain public places and adoption of an ordinance requiring the owners or occupants of residential units to participate in a city-wide consolidated municipal trash collection program, except that existing sole source contracts may be allowed to continue until such contract’s base rate is not lower than the city solid waste collection service base rate.” The trash collection proposition has drawn a number of questions from citizens. The First Colony Community Association in its newsletter has provided some general background on this subject. City Council has been discussing a City-wide solid waste collection contract as an opportunity for efficient and economical service for all residents. The council voted to put this proposition on the May 8 ballot for residents to decide. If the proposition is approved by voters, exact wording of an ordinance will be determined at a later date and would include input from residents.
A proposed ordinance more than likely would include the following: • The level of service would be determined through consideration of an ordinance by City Council and a public hearing. • The base service rate could include twice a week pickup of garbage that is bagged, bundled, or placed in cans and less frequent pickup of bulky waste such as furniture . • Recycling may or may not be included in the rate and would depend on individual neighborhood preference. • Subdivisions that are currently paying more than they would have to pay for the City contract would become part of the new plan. • Subdivisions that have a lower-priced contract for comparable service could keep their existing option. Currently, Missouri City has a solid waste collection contract with Republic Services covering about 4,000 homes; and there are about four other trash companies that also collect garbage in the area. They contract with homeowner associations, the municipal utility districts and in a few cases, with individual homeowners. Any neighborhoods developed after 2003 are required to be on the City contract but the older neighborhoods have
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the option to choose their own service. Moving forward, service could be more efficient if the City had a larger contract because better prices could be negotiated. Residents under the City contract currently pay $18.51 per month, which does not include recycling. It is estimated that those contracting with other providers currently pay about S13 to $23 monthly, which may or may not include recycling. According to an analysis of the proposition by one FCCA resident the potential positives are: 1. More revenue and control for the City of Missouri City. This could reduce our City imposed taxes if they have more revenue. Obviously, this is a large reason for the City to do this. 2. The City will have a larger contract base and theoreti-
cally should be able to negotiate a lower price. Potential negatives: 1. Possible rate increases without due consideration of people’s input. The determination of the rate charged for garbage pick up will be turned over to the city. 2. City Council decisions will be based mainly on lowest bid without factoring service and level of service. Councilman Robin Elackatt is not in favor of this proposition. Elackatt says his constituents do not want the city to take over trash collection as they are satisfied with the current service and the rate they pay for it. Why fix something that is not broken, he says. Elackatt, however, adds that in some areas of the city trash collection is a problem and the city can take over such areas.
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 www.fbindependent.com Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor 281-980-6745 Fort Bend Independent is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodical postage application pending. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.