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Ethics Comm. bails on Brown but DA to examine Garza Scott, all in all
not a bad day
Dec. 6, 1999, 8:24PM
Panel rejects complaints against Brown
By MATT SCHWARTZ
Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle
Saying it lacked jurisdiction, the city Ethics Committee on Monday dismissed a pair of complaints against Mayor Lee Brown regarding campaign contributions he received from contractors doing business with the city.
In Fact...the City Ethics Committee found that since the Mayor had returned the money to the contractor, (and HOUSNITCH was commended for following procedures & filing the complaint) there wasn't anything to investigate....But HOUSNITCH isn't finished yet......we do have some more illegal contractor funds that the Mayor has accepted & we will be back...
Dec. 6, 1999, 9:26PM
DA will investigate public-works accusations
Deputy director accused of interest conflict
By MATT SCHWARTZ
Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle
The Harris County District Attorney's office is looking into allegations that a deputy director of the city's Department of Public Works and Engineering used her position to direct city contracts to the firm that employs her husband.
The allegations involving Hilda Garza Scott, deputy director for Capital Projects, had been the subject of a lengthy investigation by the city's Office of Inspector General. The OIG turned its findings over to the district attorney's office about two weeks ago.
Scott could not be reached for comment Monday.
Actually the Ethics Committee decided to ABSTAIN from deciding whether or not Hilda had violated the city's ethics policy, until the DA has finished with his investigation....like we said before.. ONE STOOGE DOWN & TWO to go!!!!!!
Housnitch was very lucky to meet Sergeant Jim Bollig of the OIG's office. He is a very nice man, and he explained to me that they only have 25 investigators for a work force of over 30,000. And of those 25...only 2 men investigate the type of criminal activity that HOUSNITCH reports on. He says that he has over 200 boxes of documents and he is carrying a caseload of 25......HEY COUNCIL.....GIVE THESE GUYS THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOB!!!!!!!!!!
All right guys.....a little motivational talk here....What
we are endeavoring to do is no small task. We will be struggling every step of
the way.....we MUST keep helping each other.....clean government doesn't happen
all by itself. We are making strides....the more information we bring to the
public's attention the more effective we are. We have a long way to go.....and
the strides will be long....but as long as we continue to help each other we
will continue to keep the OIG & the DA busy. WE deserve better
government...OUR CHILDREN deserve better government...."The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,
but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein
YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT------YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!!! KEEP IT UP...we still have plenty of stooges to get rid of!
Thank you to the snitch who sent us the following.......
Seems there was a workshop held Thanksgiving
week...concerning the City & TxDot's work that is being done over on
Studewood....you guys know.....that's the project HILDA (our female stooge) gave
to her husband.....look at what we found on the inside of this book...section 3
Local Public Authority (that's the City for those of you who aren't into contract lingo) must ADVERTISE for Consultant work......HMMMMMMMMMM, Anna Russell has no RFP's (request for proposals...bids) on file in her office for this job....
And the contract binding the City of Houston & Tx Dot were signed on 5/19/99.....Now...did P W & E say that Hilda was part of a committee? Here she's acting for Director.....no committee here.....and if ya'll remember....the original RCA for this work was written way back in October, 1998
No committee here....(we don't know what that red line is...anybody out there who does..please let us know)......and what do you bet...as the District attorney continues with his investigation...the City won't have a committee to back up that statement....and while the City routinely hands out contracts to design consultants with out placing them up for bid....under the FEDERAL GUIDELINES...(because we're using federal dollars) YOU HAVE TO!...(watch that committee disappear QUICK!!!) Hilda will swing for this... all by herself.....and Housnitch has made this book available to the OIG...who will pass it along to Mr. Roberto Guiterrez in the Public Integrity Unit of the District Attorney's office., hey....Roberto...remember when you took all those candidates to court for filing their campaign disclosures late?......Don't let this woman off....She's a big one....put some INTEGRITY back into our City's Public Works & Engineering officials. All you senior engineers who just handed out contracts without negotiating them.....you better take note....where ever there is wrong doing....SOMEBODY'S GONNA SNITCH!!! We're mad as hell and we ain't gonna take it no more!!!!
"Following the
path of least resistance is what
makes rivers and men crooked."
(All letters and e-mail correspondence become the property of HOUSNITCH and housnitch.com. Unless otherwise expressly requested, we are entitled to publish all such correspondence. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity, and for content that might get us sued, or to withhold their publication. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of our editors or sponsors.)
The mailbox brought use a verry interesting letter:
Subj: BIG SCREW COMING
Date: 11/30/99 9:43:57 PM Central Standard Time
From:
To: HOUSNITCH
I enjoy visiting your website, but as a city employee I have to be careful as one never knows who is snooping.
Did you know that there is a new subdivision called "Royal Oaks" being built inside the City of Houston limits in the vicinity of Old Westheimer , Wilcrest and Richmond which used to be the old Andreau Airport property. (Key Map 489 W/X & 529 A/B). This will be a gated community of 900 high $$$$ homes with golf course views.
The developer has secured a few permits from the City Public Works Dept. to get the project rolling. However behind closed doors, the developer and the big bosses are feverishly working to have this area "de-annexed" quickly by creating a "Utility District". When this happens, the City loses all control, i.e. cannot collect taxes, water or sewer fees/charges etc. etc. etc. Even though the City will continue to provide the water, sewer, police, ambulance and fire protection services. The developer is paying a security guard to live on site, so he can be claimed as the one sole resident of the area at the present time. As the sole resident, this person will vote in favor of the creation of this district ; this fulfills TNRCC requirements. The Developer/Project engineer will then very discreetly get the formal approval of the City Planning Commission and the Mayor. At this point, the developer instantly collects millions of tax dollars as reimbursement for his costs.
For your information, there is a very influential engineer who is master minding this deal and pushing it through the back doors of the City approval process. Guess who it is?......."Pate Engineers". A big time $$$ donor/supporter of the Mayor. IF this district gets approved, guess who gets to feed at the public trough for the next twenty years as the district engineer?......."Pate Engineers". All of you keep a very close eye on the City Planning commission on this matter. It should be noted that the members of the planning commission are political appointees of the Mayor.
We all remember when the City was annexing Kingwood, the political spin masters had this big hoopla about how the City needs to grow.... the tax base needs to expand...annexation is good for Houston...... blah blah blah... the typical song & dance routine. Now can you imagine the same powers at City Hall who fought the residents of Kingwood over annexation justify creating a utility district just tode-annex an area that is INSIDE THE CITY OF HOUSTON LIMITS. Folks this smells bad. The citizens of Houston are getting ripped off.!
Is our OUT OF TOWN MAYOR BROWN a hippocrite or liar!!! I would like him to explain to the citizens how suddenly de-annexation is good for Houston. Maybe the Mayor can also explain how money & politics interact in back rooms.
Also, I am wondering what will Santa Claus get Mayor Brown from his good engineer friend.
Subj: Sir
Date: 12/7/99 6:04:35 PM Central Standard Time
From: HOUSNITCH
To:
Housnitch took the time to investigate this one guys....#1 sounds like a trap to see if snitch will bite....so we drove out to 11911 Westheimer.....yep...lots of development going on out there.....according to the Harris County Appraisal District's office it belongs to
Owner Name : ROYAL OAKS LIMITED PRTN
Owner Address :
% SUNRISE COLONY CO
117 ASPEN AIRPORT BUSINESS CENTER
ASPEN CO 81611-0000
Property Address :
11911 WESTHEIMER RD
HOUSTON TX 77077
| LTS 34 42 43 44 45 60 & 61 &; TRS 19B 20D 20G 35C 36 37 46C; 59 62 63 67 & 68; DAIRY OUTLOTS | ||||
| F1 -- Real, Commercial | ||||
| No | ||||
| 008 040 061 | All Values Certified | |||
|
|
||||
| Your taxes will be based on Appraised Value, less
applicable exemptions, if any. Use market value for comparison with your neighbors. |
||||
| |
||||
| Valuation : | Previous | Change | Appraised Value | Market Value |
| Land : | 10,910,420 | 20,134,830 | 31,045,250 | |
| Improvement : | 100 | 0 | 100 | |
| Ag/Tmbr/Spc : | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total Value : | 10,910,520 | 20,134,830 | 31,045,350 | |
|
According to PAUL BETTENCOURT's office the following is their tax statement for the year 2000 |
||||
And this comes from their web-site....: ROYAL OAKS
Royal Oaks Country Club, located on 490 acres in Houston, Texas, which upon completion will contain 900 single-family homes ranging in price from $300,000 to over $1,000,000, an 18-hole world-class golf course by Fred Couples, a 45,000-square-foot golf clubhouse, an 8,000-square-foot sports club containing a state-of-the-art health club, seven tennis courts, three swimming pools, and other recreational amenities. The country club will be a non-equity, private club. Construction of the community is expected to begin in the summer of 1999.
Seems like an outstanding company to us......
It's being developed by Sunrise Colony
William Bone founded Sunrise Company in 1963 and is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
|
With 26 years of experience in the real estate and home building industries, Ray Hurlbut brings extensive knowledge and expertise in the areas of sales, marketing and home construction to the Sunrise Colony Company (lives right here in Sugarland)
Mr. Levy joins Sunrise Colony Company with more than 17 years as a golf professional and 12 years in golf operations and management. He will manage all aspects of club operations and services, including golf, food and beverage, merchandising and maintenance. Also, he will oversee management and staffing of the 45,000-square-foot Main Clubhouse and the Sports Club and Spa, which will include a 9,000-square-foot Sports Clubhouse, Aquatic Center and Tennis Complex. (formerly at Cinco Ranch)
With a career spanning nearly 20 years, Mr. Curley has worked in many aspects of the golf course profession. From caddy to principal architect, he has gained exceptional skills and experience.
Doesn't seem to be anything sinister in any of these men's backgrounds to suggest what our letter writer is telling us.....we're going to opt out and believe that these people are above what is suggested in our dear reader's letter....and........ even IF we here at Housnitch are wrong....hey...they wouldn't even dare try after this!..... (but we will watch the Planning Commission! just in case)
Weekend Edition - Sunday--(click here-you will need REAL Player to hear this.. if you do not have it download now FREE)
HOUSNITCH needs $500 for incorporation papers......we also need another $2000.00 for a legal fund.....WE have no intention of just telling you what's going on.....we intend to use legal recourse if we can raise the funds.....unfortunately donations right now are not deductible....but after incorporation they will be.....YOUR money will be spent WISELY....and you will see the results...not only here but in more traditional news outlets also.....Please help us become even more effective..... Housnitch @ P.O. Box 55423, Houston, TX 77255
We know our readers aren't wealthy....but every little bit helps......Thanks guys.....
"The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands on positions of comfort and convenience but where he stands on positions of challenge and controversy. So on some questions cowardice asks, 'Is a position safe?' Expediency asks, 'Is the position politic?' Vanity asks, 'Is the position popular?' But conscience asks, 'Is the position RIGHT?'" -- Dr. Martin Luther King
Be well DARLINS...Tell 'em what you think........ya'll know we do.........