MTHA Board of Directors Monthly Meeting
When: Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. Where: Meghan Lee's Home, 15411 Old Stone Trail Agenda:
October Minutes Approval
Old Business
Discussions regarding problematic MT properties
City of Houston projects
Apartment Developments
Officer and Director Positions
Director and Officer Reports
ACC update
New Business
Annual Meeting
2023 Budget
Next Meeting - Immediately After December Annual Meeting
November Yard of the Month
714 Last Arrow Jake Massel's and Braxton Kirwan's home at 714 Last Arrow is awarded Yard of the Month for the seasonal display. And they added special lights and decorations for Halloween - hope you were able to see the display. They update the decorations for the various holidays. Their yard is difficult to landscape due to a large driveway and a small area at the edge of the cul-de-sac that is packed with large trees and roots. They have creatively planted this area with grasses and evergreens with annuals for color. The porch is decorated for the season with corn shocks, pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, lights, and leaf wreaths. The Flax Lillies and Coral Bells are always on display. The difficult area near the curb has tall grasses (planted), evergreen shrubs, and a pathway to the curb. The pathway and edge of the bed are lined with pumpkins and mums for the holiday season. [Thanks to Becky Cook for this write-up)
The Plainwood "Speed Bump"
UPDATE: The City came out today to work on the "Speed Bump", but no concrete was poured as the truck was not available.
Old Stone Trail Lift Station Project
Nothing new to update. The demolition is scheduled to start on Monday. See what we believe to be the schedule below. As mentioned in prior newsletters, the last part of the construction for this project is the removal of the bridge related to the lift stations (Old Stone Trail and Tanya Circle) as the new sanitary sewer pipes go under Buffalo Bayou and not across the current bridge. For more in-depth information, see Force Main Renewal for Plum Creek, Tanya Circle, and Old Stone Trail | Houston Public Works (engagehouston.org) Vaca Underground has completed removal of the abandoned FM Pipe. Vaca will plug the existing FM Lines at Old Stone Trail LS and MUD 107 LS using 10’’ & 8’’ Caps and will use water and disinfectant cleaner into the line pushing the waste with a 200 LF hose and a pump into MUD LS 107. Vaca removed and disposed of the FM Pipe.
Bridge with Pipe Removed
(Looking North Across the Bayou to Memorial Thicket)
The Cranes Are Coming
The Crane Company will mobilize to the job site to begin the bridge demolition the week of November 7th now. While the removal of the bridge is still proposed to be done by two cranes, they have been reversed yet again (to our benefit). The 80 ton crane (80' radius) will come in through Memorial Thicket to the north side of the bayou and the 350 ton crane (155' radius) from the south, which will still require part of the trail in Terry Hershey Park to be closed for a few days. We are looking at a number of 18-wheelers that will need to drive through our neighborhood to set up the crane as shown in one of the images below. The Crane Company will have their own flaggers, and will set-up construction signs, but vehicles will have to be off the street while the crane is being brought in and when it leaves again. Day 1: Primary Staging Area (South Side- MUD 107 LS) To lay down mats and ensure all areas are protected, the crane company will have seven 18-wheelers to deliver the mats. The Crane company will have three 18-wheelers staged along Enclave Pkwy, and drive into the Terry Hershey Trail one at a time to minimize the impact to the surrounding citizens. Estimated time per truck will be 30 minutes. Day 2: Secondary Staging Area: (North Side- Old Stone Trail) An additional 80-Ton Crane will be delivered north of the bayou to assist the larger crane. Mats will also be delivered to this side. Cars will have to be off the street to permit the 18-wheelers access. Day 2: South Side- Behind MUD 107 LS (Terry Hershey Bike and Trail) To assemble the 350-Ton crane, there will need to be sufficient clearance at Bayou Pkwy cul-de-sac to allow for five 18-wheelers to deliver the necessary equipment including the matting. Trucks will be staged along Enclave Pkwy, while one truck unloads another will be called to unload one at a time. Estimated time per truck will be 45 minutes. Following assembly, the bridge removal operation will begin on Day 2. The 80-Ton crane located on the Old Stone Trail LS will be used for one day to assist the larger crane. Days 3 & 4: South Side- Behind MUD 107 LS The crane will continue to remove the beams. To haul-off all five beams there will be three 18-wheelers set-up to deliver material to Cherry Concrete for recycling. The next step will be to remove caps and structures. Vaca will assist by cutting with a concrete hand saw. Pillars will be cut 3’ below grade and backfilled accordingly. The two sets of pillars currently in the bayou will be cut to mudline. All remaining concrete will be cut and removed from the site. Day 5: The crane company will demobilize their equipment.
Bridge Demolition Activity Dates As of 27 October 2022
*Dates are subject to change*
DESCRIPTION | START DATE | END DATE |
Install TCP/Pre Con Pictures | Monday, October 3, 2022 | Monday, October 3, 2022 |
Trimming Shrubs/Vegetation | Tuesday, October 4, 2022 | Tuesday, October 4, 2022 |
Begin removing FM Pipe | Wednesday, October 5 2022 | Friday, October 7, 2022 |
Haul Away Abandoned Pipe | Friday, October 7, 2022 | Friday, October 7, 2022 |
Mat Set-Up for Cranes | Monday, November 7, 2022 @7am | Monday, November 7, 2022 @5pm |
Mobilization for Crane & Set-Up | Tuesday, November 8, 2022 @7am | Tuesday, November 8, 2022 @5pm |
Beam Removal | Wednesday, November 9, 2022 | Thursday, November 10, 2022 |
Bridge Columns /Cut-Off & Removal | Friday, November 11, 2022 | Friday, November 11, 2022 |
Beams Hauled Off | Friday, November 11, 2022 | Friday, November 11, 2022 |
Bridge Columns /Cut-Off & Removal | Friday, November 11, 2022 @7am | Friday, November 11, 2022 @5pm |
Crane Disassembly and Demo | Saturday, November 12, 2022 @7am | Saturday, November 12, 2022 @5pm |
Haul-Away Pile foundation from Bayou | Monday, November 14, 2022 | Monday, November 14, 2022 |
Clean-Up Bayou Debris | Tuesday, November 15, 2022 | Tuesday, November 15, 2022 |
Restoration | Wednesday, November 16, 2022 | Saturday, November 19, 2022 |
VACA Demo | Saturday, November 19, 2022 | Friday, November 25, 2022 |
Voting Tidbits
Early Voting has begun and will continue until this Friday, November 4th. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th. The closest Early Voting Location is Nottingham Park Building, 926 Country Place Drive, but the lines may be long there. Go to https://www.harrisvotes.com/Polling-Locations to see other locations and waiting times. On Election Day you can vote at any location within Harris County. Precinct 95 will again be at the EconoLodge West Energy Corridor, 715 Highway 6 South (next door to the Dairy Queen). Allow time to vote as there is no longer straight party voting. Harris County has the longest ballot in the United States. You will be given two sheets of paper since the ballot is so long. Only insert the first page into the voting machine and don't insert the second until the machine asks you to do so. Insert with both hands to avoid jams. At the bottom of the ballot are bond propositions for both Harris County and the City of Houston. Harris County has Proposition A for $100 million, Proposition B for $900 million and Proposition C for $200 million for a total of $1.3 billion. Our County Commissioner, Jack Cagle, (as well as Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey) voted against putting these on the ballot as there is still $190 million of bonding authority left that has yet to be used, Precincts 3 and 4 (which includes our area) will receive less benefit than Precincts 1 and 2, and specifics about the projects to be funded has not been forthcoming. The City of Houston has Propositions A-G on the ballot for issuing bonds totaling $478 million. Our Councilmember, Mary Nan Huffman, voted against putting these bonds up for a vote as no projects are listed for our area (District G) and the lack of specificity about what projects will be included.
Go Astros
(2022 World Series)