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A monthly publication from the City of Nassau Bay
SEPTEMBER 2021
Nassau Bay City Hall | 1800 Space Park Drive, Suite 200 | Nassau Bay, TX 77058 | 281.333.4211
HALLOWEEN IN THE PARK - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23 The Special Events Committee is making plans for the City of Nassau Bay’s annual Halloween Carnival at David Braun Park on Saturday, October 23rd from 6-8PM. Come join the fun! As in past years, there will be a costume contest. Start planning to dress up the family! Judging will begin at 6:45PM. Prizes will be awarded according to age groups, as in previous years. New this year - there will be a prize for the best group costume! So, bring the princesses, angels, and heroes and put on your best. A hayride, games and a “trunk or treat trail” will thrill the little ones. The ever-popular DJ, haunted trail and campfire s'mores will round out the evening. We are in need of volunteers to help run the carnival games and the haunted trail, so if your teen is in need of volunteer hours, please contact staceyamdur@gmail.com. In addition, we are inviting local businesses to join in the trunk or treat fun. Businesses should contact Stacey Amdur for more information.
The City of Nassau Bay will be creating a dedicated event page on Facebook for Halloween in the Park. Check out the City's Facebook, facebook.com/nassaubay, to find the page and stay up to date!
CITY RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED BUDGET AWARD Award recognizes consistent fiscal responsibility, transparency
For the 8th consecutive year, the City of Nassau Bay has been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). “This award is a reflection of the City’s continued commitment to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency,” City Manager Jason Reynolds said. “The budget report is highly detailed yet organized and simplified in a way that the public can easily find and understand the information within the report. I would like to acknowledge the work of our entire staff, but especially that of our Finance Department under the leadership of Director Csilla Ludanyi, for this longstanding achievement.” In order to receive this award, the City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget
presentation. The guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communication tool. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual(s) or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award. This award has been presented to the Nassau Bay Finance Department. View the City of Nassau Bay’s award-winning budget at www.nassaubay.com/budget.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2021 National Night Out is designed to heighten crime/ drug prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. It is intended to send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are invested in the unity and quality of their communities. Groups organize block parties or cookouts and are visited by local emergency services and city dignitaries. The Nassau Bay Police Department, the Nassau Bay Volunteer Fire Department, Nassau Bay EMS and City staff will make their rounds to visit each registered event location. We want to bring the parties back to the neighborhoods so there is a better opportunity for residents to meet those that live next to them. This also allows the City's first responders more time to spend visiting with the residents by going to each registered block party.
To register, go to www.nassaubay.com/nno and fill out the Block Registration Form. Registration deadline is Thursday, September 30.
GULF COAST FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
In-person event cancelled, virtual screenings planned Due to ongoing concern related to COVID-19, the Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival originally planned for September 24-25 has been cancelled for in-person attendees. This cancellation includes the Gala and Awards Banquet. For more information, visit www.gulfcoastfilmfest.com.
“Out of concern for the health and well-being of all of our guests, we have been forced to cancel the 2021 Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival,” Founder Hal Wixon said. “We are planning virtual screenings of the films and will provide information on our website. We hope our festival participants will watch the films online and support our talented filmmakers.”
NASSAU BAY GARDEN CLUB
Becky Kadel, President of the Nassau Bay Garden Club As summer is winding down our gardening thoughts turn to fall. The Nassau Bay Garden Club will resume meeting at City Hall in the Council Chambers. The Club's meeting on September 14 will be a State of the City report by Mayor Bob Warters and City Manager Jason Reynolds. The meeting begins with social time at 9:30AM and meeting begins at 10:00AM. The October 12 meeting will be about edible gardening, and the Club's November 9 meeting will be on the Eastern Glades, the Jewel of Memorial Park. Dues are $35, but come join the Garden Club for a get to know experience.
CITY INVESTMENTS IN WATER/SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE - FY 2020-21 The City of Nassau Bay Public Works Department dedicates time year-round to water and sewer infrastructure improvement projects. The City’s water and sewer network is a vital community asset and the City Council is being proactive to ensure our water is safe to drink and our sewer system is sustainable for long-term use. Why are these projects necessary? A majority of the water and sewer lines in Nassau Bay are the original lines that were installed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, and improvements and upgrades are now needed to ensure adequate water pressure and capacity, and to support firefighting capabilities. To that end, throughout fiscal year 2020-21, the Public Works Department has addressed a range of water and sewer infrastructure projects as detailed below. Several of these efforts represent the first phases of multi-year projects. 1. Water lines/infrastructure -- Engineering - $100,000
Project summary: Engineering services for the rehabilitation of 22,090 linear feet of water lines, to include new water valves and fire hydrant installation, funded through the Texas Water Development Board. 2. Sewer infrastructure -- $35,000
Project summary: Elevation of Chlorine and Sulfur Dioxide tanks at the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and replacement of the existing gas feed system. The goal is to reduce the threat of tanks being punctured during a flooding event, which could potentially cause a chemical release.
3. Sewer infrastructure -- Upgrade to Sand Filter (Engineering) - $155,520
Project summary: At the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the treatment process ends when wastewater is processed through the sand filter. Sand filtration allows for the removal of suspended matter/sinkable particles as the final stage of water treatment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, as mandated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. With support from FEMA, the sand filter will be elevated once complete, which will enable the operations to continue during flood events. These funds paid for the engineering portion of this project. Tentatively, this project will be completed in March 2022. 4. Sewer infrastructure -- Spiral Screen emergency repair - $100,120
Project summary: Part of the wastewater treatment plant process, the spiral screen allows for the removal of nonsand grit. The use of a spiral screen is mandated by TCEQ, and this emergency repair process kept operations in compliance. 5. Sewer infrastructure -- Engineering - $50,000
Project summary: Engineering services for 12,710 linear feet of sanitary sewer lines to include manhole rehabilitation, funded through the Texas Water Development Board.
To continue to monitor the progress associated with these and other water and sewer projects, visit the City’s website, www.nassaubay.com, and navigate to the Public Works page.
one other street will also be replaced with construction beginning within the next two years.
A word from
New playground equipment will replace the old equipment in David Braun Park.
Mayor Bob Warters
The recent harsh winter has done great damage to our city landscaping and plans are being developed to make the needed improvements. Many of the palm trees along the NASA Parkway are dead and more are severely damaged and will have to be removed.
The next year is going to be a very busy one and will bring some much-needed improvements and changes in the City. Nassau Bay is nearing sixty years of age and some of our infrastructure needs major improvements, repair, or replacement.
Drainage of the southern portion of Upper Bay Road has been a problem for years and now the situation has been greatly improved by installing 12 pumps. Reliability of the pumps will be increased by the installation of an alternate power source along the roadway.
CenterPoint will begin work installing the new power lines soon. CenterPoint is also going to raise their power poles by about 15 feet to get them above most trees and will trim other tree limbs falling on the power lines that have been causing us to have many power outages. A total of 42 houses that have flooded in several storms have been raised and 19 more will be raised within the next two years. We will be replacing 34,800 feet (6.7 miles) of our water and sewer lines starting this year. The east end of San Sebastian will be replaced and at least
BY THE NUMBERS
All this construction will cause some inconveniences but will result in long time improvements and fewer disruptions of critical services.
We still have many problems to solve. Street parking causes one way traffic on some of our streets and this is exacerbated by some short-term rentals (STR’s) where as many as ten or more automobiles are parked on the streets, especially on the weekends. The State Legislature has severely limited what we can do to address these issues, but City legislation is being prepared as an attempt to somewhat restrict STR’s from opening in Nassau Bay, and to place more stringent requirements on these properties. Write to your State Legislators and tell them your opinion on this subject.
Loud noise from boaters on our lagoon has largely been repressed by patrol boats manned by firefighters and police officers. These patrols will continue throughout the summer, but the police department is short of personnel and every patrol may not have a police officer on board. Please let me and the other City Council members hear from you about your concerns and what you want the City to do.
Join us for the 2021 Nassau Bay
Statistics for July 2021
POLICE
Total Service Calls............................. 317 Total Reports Taken........................... 45 Total Patrol Miles.......................... 4,351 Crimes Against Persons...................... 6 Property Crimes...................................16 Arrests.................................................... 12 Avg Response Times (minutes)..... 2.25
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Total Calls............................................. 35 Fires.......................................................... 1 Rescues................................................... 3 Motor Vehicle Accident...................... 2 Hazardous Conditions........................ 4 Fire Alarm ............................................. 6 EMS Assist.............................................. 7 Cancelled in Route/Other................. 12
EMS
Total Calls............................................. 96 Total Patients in Nassau Bay........... 44
5K Run /2K Walk for Adults, Kids & Pets Saturday, Dec. 11 • 8 am • David Braun Park T-Shirt & Antler Headband for the first 150 who register
Register at NassauBayCANBE.org
COUNCIL MEETING RECAP AUGUST 9, 2021 - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
NASSAU BAY ANIMAL SHELTER The City of Nassau Bay Animal Shelter is excited to introduce Tiny, a two- to three-year-old Bullmastiff now available for adoption! Tiny is current on all of her vaccinations and is heartworm negative. Tiny would be an especially good fit for a family looking for a single pet – coming in at 132 pounds, she loves people and enjoys going for walks on a leash. Help us find a loving forever home for Tiny! Please contact Animal Control Officer Troy Bradfield at 832-574-0877 and schedule a time to meet one of our dogs or cats ready for adoption. www.nassaubay.com/animalshelter Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30am-5:30pm, Fri 7:30am-11:30am
Find us on Facebook @NassauBayAnimalShelter
During the August 9 City Council meeting, Mayor Bob Warters read a proclamation in honor of the Special Events Committee for their hard work making the Fourth of July Celebration a success! The committee attended via Zoom, dressed up as Olympic athletes, tennis players, gymnasts, even equestrians! Thank you to all the committee members!
•Heard a Presentation and held a Public Hearing on the City Manager’s Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2022. •Approved the EDC minutes of May 3, 2021 and the EDC Fiscal Year 2022 Budget. •Authorized the City Manager to sign a contract with Kendig Keast Collaborative (KKC) for consulting services on development of the Unified Development Code. •Approved action to add a regular City Council Workshop on the fourth Monday of every month (six month trial basis). •Approved a professional services proposal from ARKK Engineers, LLC in the amount of $98,150.00. •Awarded Bid No. 2021-08 to Allegiance Bank for bank depository services. •Received the Certified Tax Year 2021 Anticipated Collection Rate, the Tax Year 2020 Excess Debt amount, and the Tax Year 2020 Prior Year Tax Refunds amount from Ann Harris Bennett, Harris County Tax Assessor/ Collector. •Received the estimated taxable value required by Texas Tax Code Sec. 26.01(a-1) for Tax Year 2021. •Discussed the tax rate calculation and timeline.
During the August 9 meeting, Chief Tim Cromie announced the promotion of Corporal Jason Vain to the position of Patrol Sergeant. Jason has been with the Nassau Bay Police Department for five years. Sergeant Vain will supervise the night shift.
CONTACT YOUR CITY OFFICIALS
Mayor Bob Warters 713.962.6366 | bob.warters@nassaubay.com Mayor Pro Tem Don Matter, Position 1 832.260.4626 | don.matter@nassaubay.com Councilmember Phil Johnson, Position 2 281.734.1074 | phil.johnson@nassaubay.com Councilmember Ashley Graves, Position 3 281.330.5413 | ashley.graves@nassaubay.com Councilmember Bryce Klug, Position 4 832.474.5461 | bryce.klug@nassaubay.com Councilmember Sandra Mossman, Position 5 281.333.2194 | sandra.mossman@nassaubay.com Councilmember Matt Prior, Position 6 214.325.0520 | matt.prior@nassaubay.com
Congratulations to Sgt. Vain!
Join us for next month's Council Meeting on Monday, September 13, 2021. Visit www.nassaubay.com/CityCouncil for more details on the meeting.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, NASSAU BAY!
New to the City website: Each month, the City will be posting a single survey question at www.nassaubay.com/survey, and we encourage our residents to take just a few seconds to participate. This month, we ask our citizens: Did you know the City maintains a comprehensive Financial Transparency webpage? Use our QR code to go directly to the survey page!
