Nassau Bay Compass Rose Newsletter - March 2023

C mpass Rose

A monthly publication from the City of Nassau Bay

MARCH 2023

NASSAU BAY, THE MOON TREES HAVE LANDED!

Thank you to all the volunteers and residents who participated in Nassau Bay’s historic Moon Tree planting ceremonies on February 10th and 11th, honoring our community’s deep-rooted history in space. The four Moon Trees (two sycamore trees at City Hall and two loblolly pines at David Braun Park) are the next generation of trees grown from seeds carried to and around the moon by Astronaut Stuart “Stu” Roosa, command module pilot for Apollo 14. A former smoke jumper with the forest service, Astronaut Roosa carried 450 seeds into space to study the effects of zero gravity and radiation.

Highlights of the ceremony included a presentation by longtime resident and “Astronaut Maker” at NASA, Mr. George Abbey, who delivered an insider’s view of the Apollo program from inception to Apollo 17, showing slides, video, and naming each member of the crew from Nassau Bay, impressively speaking from memory with no notes. Rosemary Roosa, president of the Moon Tree Foundation, shared her father’s Apollo 14 mission and legacy with the Moon Trees. Looking to the future, Jimmy Spivey shared exciting initiatives for the next generation of space exploration with the Artemis program, which many residents are currently supporting.

Friday’s event concluded with a special reception catered by Mediterraneo, and Saturday’s event was catered by Chic-fil-a. Neighborhood children participated in the planting ceremony at David Braun Park which concluded with the launch of 14 rockets by BSA Scout Troop 1966 and Pack 1965 and a space themed rock hunt hosted by Nassau Bay Rocks.

Moon Tree Event

Annual Peninsula Cleanup

On behalf of Keep Nassau Bay Beautiful, Nassau Bay’s Parks & Recreation Committee, and the Clear Creek Environmental Foundation, thank the many volunteers who participated in the annual Peninsula Cleanup event on February 11, making it a true success!

This event grew this year over last with over 160 volunteers working on foot or from boats and kayaks. This included volunteers from Nassau Bay, League City, Kemah, El Lago, Friendswood, and Houston. It was rewarding to see entire families from Nassau Bay working together to pick up trash and having fun in the process.

Over 50 bags full of trash were collected on the peninsula as well as large debris including wooden planks, a downspout extender, and tires. This event is done every year in partnership with the Clear Creek Environmental Foundation (CCEF). The City of Nassau Bay gave a generous donation to the foundation to honor their services on the project.

Annual Peninsula Cleanup

Nassau Bay Garden Club

The Garden Club of Nassau Bay and Parks Committee will hold their Beautification Day on Saturday March 25th from 8:30AM-11AM at five gardens. The gardens are located in Swan Lagoon Park, in David Braun Park at the entrance and in the Reflection gardens, in Tranquility Arbor at Howard Ward Park, and at the Circle Garden on Upper Bay Road. Volunteers will meet at the various gardens at 8:30AM to begin planting annuals, perennials and bushes. Volunteers will need to come prepared with garden equipment such as gloves, a trowel or a spade. Volunteers may also wish to bring kneeling pads. Please consider volunteering!

St. Thomas

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Nassau Bay welcomes the Galveston Food Bank for its March food distribution. This distribution is available to any individual or family and there are no restrictions on where you live. On most distribution Saturdays, we serve over 70-100 cars seeking food assistance for 375-500 people. We serve fresh fruit, vegetables, meats and hygiene items. This event will begin in the St Thomas parking lot (18300 Upper Bay Rd., Nassau Bay) from 8:00 am until about 9:30 am. Distribution begins almost immediately after volunteers arrive at 7:45 am to package the items available. If you are interested

SWAN LAGOON PLAYGROUND

The Parks & Recreation Committee is thrilled to share that a new playground was approved for the Swan Lagoon Park! Replacement of this old equipment was long overdue, and the Parks Committee is excited to offer more challenging components for kids.

Subcommittee members Nancee Lynn and Lara Forde visited playgrounds in surrounding areas, gathered catalogs and invited vendors to present at the December Parks meeting. The selected equipment is designed by All Play, Inc. which designed the very popular Clear Lake and Taylor Lake Village Parks and will be made of high quality, durable equipment manufactured by Little Tikes Commercial. All Play designed the equipment specifically for the Swan Lagoon Park to maximize the play area. Components include multiple slides, two climbing walls, a ninja course section with hoops, rings and spinners, a balance beam, a wiggly bridge, and a tropical palm tree theme with natural colors to blend in with the surrounding area. New swings will be installed as well as an ADA/inclusive merry-go-round. The existing seesaw will remain.

The Parks Committee voted unanimously for this new equipment at the January meeting, and City Council approved the equipment 7-0 on February 13, 2023. The Parks Committee requested to utilize the BuyBoard process to achieve significant cost savings, and the equipment (including installation and removal of the old equipment) will come in approximately $50,000 under budget.

MAY 6, 2023 ELECTION

The City of Nassau Bay will conduct a General Election on May 6, 2023. Council Positions 1, 3, and 5 will be on the ballot. These positions are currently held by Don Matter, Ashley Graves, and Sandra Mossman, respectively. To view all the candidate applications and related forms, please visit www.nassaubay.com/ election.

Register to Vote by April 6th: The last day to register to vote for the May Election is April 6th. Voter registration cards are available through the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office. www.harrisvotes.com

Early Voting Begins on April 24th: Early Voting will be conducted by Harris County and will be held from April 24th to May 2nd. During the period of Early Voting, Nassau Bay residents can vote at any Harris County polling place. Dates, times, and locations will be updated on the City’s website or can be found at www. harrisvotes.com.

Application for Voting by Mail Deadline is April 25th: The last day to apply for a ballot by mail is April 25th (received, not postmarked). Eligible voters are able to submit an application for a single election ballot as early as January 1st.

Election Day is May 6th: Election Day is Saturday, May 6th. Voting will be conducted in City Hall Council Chamber from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Unofficial tabulation of results will be publicized as soon as possible after 7:00pm. For more information, contact the City Secretary’s Office at 281-333-4211 or please visit www.nassaubay.com/ election.

CANBE CORNER

Looking for a unique gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day or Graduation? Check out our Legacy Bricks or Legacy Benches! Legacy Bricks are the perfect way to set in stone your affinity and appreciation for that special loved one. Each Legacy Bench provides a dedicated place of rest for your honored person and also allows 3 more benches to be refurbished in the city. Check out these options and all the ways CANBE is dedicated to the continued enhancement of Nassau Bay at www.NassauBayCANBE.org.

CONTACT YOUR CITY OFFICIALS

Mayor Phil Johnson

281.734.1074 | phil.johnson@nassaubay.com

Councilmember Don Matter, Position 1

832.260.4626 | don.matter@nassaubay.com

Councilmember Lucie Johannes Sommer, Position 2

832.338.1828 | lucie.johannes.sommer@nassaubay.com

Councilmember Ashley Graves, Position 3

281.330.5413 | ashley.graves@nassaubay.com

Councilmember James Abbey, Position 4

979.422.2383 | james.abbey@nassaubay.com

Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Mossman, Position 5

281.333.2194 | sandra.mossman@nassaubay.com

Councilmember Michelle Weller, Position 6

832.868.8663 | michelle.weller@nassaubay.com

Council Meeting Recap

FEBRUARY 13, 2023 CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Presented a Check to Keels & Wheels in the amount of $10,000.

Received a code enforcement update from the City Attorney on a property located at 18410 Kingstown, Nassau Bay, Texas.

Received an update on EMS collections and write-offs.

Received an update from the Building Department on the construction at 2430 Baycrest, Nassau Bay, Texas.

Approved the purchase of playground equipment for Swan Lagoon Park.

Received an update on Code Enforcement plans from Chief Cromie.

Approved the first of two readings of Ordinance O2023-832 to adopt the 2021 Building Codes.

Approved the first of two readings of Ordinance O2023-833 to adopt the 2021 Fire Code.

Approved the first of two readings of Ordinance O2023-834 to update language in Chapter 8.5 of the Code of Ordinances, Provisions for Flood Hazard Reductions.

Approved Resolution R2023-2269 appointing Michelle Barecky, Neda Rajabi, Ashley Morrow, Evelyne Simpson, and Mary Nev Talbot to the Special Events Committee.

Authorized the Mayor to negotiate a contract with Brad Stafford for Interim City Manager.

Authorized the Mayor to negotiate a contract with Zina Echavarria-Tedford for Acting City Secretary.

THE NUMBERS POLICE

February 16, 2023

Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Citizens,

I feel compelled to update you on a situation important to good governance and transparency. As some of you know, we have experienced an unprecedented situation in City Hall and I want to ensure all citizens are kept up to date with the facts and to be available to you if you have any questions.

The facts are this, near the end of last year, 2 employees on City Staff approached me with the information of a personal relationship between our City Manager and the City Secretary that was causing discomfort/disruption to the operation and management of City Hall. When confronted, both the City Manager and City Secretary confirmed they were in a serious consensual relationship which apparently started approximately 3 months after the hiring of our new City Manager in June. Our Human Resource Director and City Attorney have documented the relationship and after legal consideration by both our City Attorney and an outside labor attorney, the recommendation is that both employees must be separated from our employment to ensure we eliminate the potential for a toxic work environment or any sexual harassment liability, let alone set precedents that future City Councils will have to follow. As in any professional organization, a supervisor/subordinate romantic relationship is untenable and simply does not allow for unbiased management or performance appraisal. It violates our City Charter too and is why our Council voted 7-0 to accept our counselor’s advice.

Prior to a special meeting of City Council on January 16th to address this situation, council received that same day a letter of resignation from our new City Manager. Both the City Manager and City Secretary communicated they wanted to continue their relationship and while I am happy for the 2 individuals involved, it has created an unprecedented situation not only for the City, but apparently there is no precedent for us to follow under State law. With the suddenness of the resignation, we do not have a City Manager in place to perform the responsibilities as laid out in our City Charter. The danger here is that if decisions made by either me or a member of staff, the consequence of those decisions will be at the personal expense of those individuals. As Mayor, I will not let our City Staff be subject to personal liabilities or cost based on the choices of these individuals. City Council has approved the ability for me to interface with the directors to allow our city to function bounded by the restrictions of our Charter.

Since the special City Council meeting on January 16th, Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Mossman, Councilman James Abbey, and I have worked hard to find a qualified and immediate short-term replacement for our City Manager. We have 5 candidates, one internal and 4 external candidates with extensive city manager experience available to serve. This group has now been narrowed to the top 2 candidates, which I believe will result in the employment of an Interim City Manager imminently.

Human Resource Director Chani Honeycutt has reinitiated the process for a professional search for a permanent City Manager. A selection committee will be formed, and we will update everyone on this progress at each council meeting, but I anticipate this process to take up to 4-6 months to select the right candidate to serve you as citizens.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact me at phil.johnson@nassaubay.com or on my phone at 281-734-1074. Council and I have very much appreciated all the support received during this difficult situation.

Sincerely,

Philip Johnson Mayor