Bolivar Blueprint Electronic

Transcription

Galveston County, Texas
Office of Emergency Management
1353 FM 646 West
Suite 201
Dickinson, TX 77539
Main Telephone Number: 281-309-5002
Toll-free / 24-Hour On-call: 888-384-2000
Fax Number: 888-534-5607
Web site: www.gcoem.org
Acknowledgements
Galveston County Commissioners
Honorable James Yarbrough
County Judge
Honorable Patrick Doyle
Commissioner, Precinct 1
Honorable Bryan Lamb
Honorable Stephen Holmes
Honorable Ken Clark
Bolivar Blueprint Steering Committee
Sid Bouse
Jerry Parker
Greg Cobb
Mary Ellen Smith
Jane Ewing
Anne Willis
Claud Kahla
Keith Zahar
Galveston County Technical Committee
John Simsen
Brian Maxwell
John Lee
Connie Nicholson
Curtiss Brown
Paula Quick
Mike Carr
Myrna Reingold
William Comeaux
Ron Schultz
Lee Crowder
Ray Tuttoilmondo
Marty Entringer
Honorable Pat Vondra
Mike Fitzgerald
James Wilson
Dennis Harris
Ann Willis
Bill Heuman
Mike Wisko
Bolivar Blueprint
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Infrastructure
Brian Byrom
Clint Byrom
Tim Byrom
Lee Crowder
Marty Entringer
Robert Greb
Jim Hayes
Belinda Hickman
Michael Hurlbert
Craig Lang
Jennifer McKnight
Shawn Pachlhofer
David Redwine
Houston Sliger
Dan Syphert
Human Services
Charles Ray Bouse
Clint Wayne Brown
Mike Carr
Malcom Comeaux
William Comeaux
Brenda Cannon Henley
Robert Isaacs
David Loop
Dr. Bruce Mitchell
Curt Rodriguez
Gene Straatemeyer
Orbin Thompson
Education
Lynn Cleveland
Talisa Comeaux
Gary Kent
Cathy Parsons
Paula Quick
Cindy Rodriguez
Sandra Simmons
Parks, Recreation, Tourism
Ronnie Blizard
Susan Free
David Hoelzer
Jerry Valentine
Bolivar Blueprint Subcommittees
Environment
Economic Development
Winnie Burkett
Sam Dellolio
Marcus Comeaux
Linda Dolfi
Chuck Davis
Margo Johnson
Sam Floyd
Jan Kent
Garret Foskit
Chris Miller
Gary Kramer
Wayne Mouton
Dr. Andre Landry
Chris Rivers
Lamont Meaux
Mary Ann Rogers
Bonnie Parker
Neil Spiller
Chris Tomerlin
Terri Varner
Jeanie Turk
Edith Watson
Housing
Jack Haigh
Joni Harding
Ted Henley
Linda Kay Makin
Jeff Sjostrom
Larry Talley
Willis Turner
Chris Waters
Assistance in developing the Bolivar Blueprint was provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA provides technical assistance
to communities engaging in Long-Term Community Recovery planning processes through Emergency Support Function #14, which is defined in the
National Response Framework.
Photo Credits: Bonnie Parker, cover (butterflies, housing), inside cover (seagulls, snowman), pages iii, vi, 3, 6, 7, and 27
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Bolivar Blueprint
Executive Summary
Hurricane Ike made landfall along Galveston Island and the Bolivar
Peninsula early on September 13, 2008 as a Category 2 hurricane with
sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. Hurricane storm surge, winds,
and flooding from heavy rains devastated the Peninsula, destroying
most structures and dramatically changing the lives of its residents
forever. In the aftermath of the storm, nearly 61 percent of the homes
were destroyed and essentially all of the Peninsula’s residents and
businesses were displaced.
In the wake of Hurricane Ike, the Galveston County Commissioners
Court recognized the need to establish a comprehensive recovery
process that would get Bolivar Peninsula back on its feet. A critical
factor in achieving recovery success was the need to leverage the help
and support of numerous state and Federal agencies so that the
community could build back, better and stronger than ever.
In March, 2009 Galveston County initiated the recovery planning
process for Bolivar Peninsula in partnership with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s (FEMA) Long Term Community Recovery
Program, also referred to as Emergency Support Function (ESF) #14. A
team of planners, economists, architects, and engineers worked handin-hand with County staff, elected officials, and members of the
community to prepare the Bolivar Blueprint – an important early step to
aid in Bolivar Peninsula’s successful recovery from Hurricane Ike.
The Bolivar Blueprint: An Open, Collaborative Process
The Bolivar Blueprint is a result of the deep commitment on the part of
the community to actively participate in a process that will profoundly
affect its members for years to come. At the onset, a seven-member
Steering Committee comprised of Bolivar Peninsula residents was
formed.
Bolivar Blueprint
Under the leadership of the Steering Committee, subcommittees were
established and met on a regular basis to address critical issues and
concerns that could potentially affect the success of Bolivar Peninsula’s
recovery. The subcommittees, representing the following sectors,
included:
Education
Economic Development
Environment
Housing
Human Services
Infrastructure
Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
To further involve the Bolivar Peninsula community in the recovery
process, public Open Houses were held on April 25 and May 18, 2009.
On April 28, the Commissioner’s Court hosted a public hearing where
members of the community told the County Commissioners what was
most important to consider as the Peninsula recovered. Nearly 900
comments were received and hundreds of ideas were identified during
the public involvement process. Many of these ideas were considered
during the development of the Bolivar Blueprint and are included in
Appendix C.
Bolivar Treasures
What many residents remember about their pre-storm Bolivar
Peninsula environment and lifestyle is that it was a unique place to live.
The character of individuals, many with family ties dating back to the
1800s, is directly reflected by the character of the community. Residents
use words such as “friendly, casual, and fun” to describe the Bolivar
Peninsula community. Treasures often mentioned include bird
watching, fishing, the beach, community spirit, special events, and
starlit nights. As the community implements the Bolivar Blueprint, a
direct outcome can be the preservation of these treasures now and for
generations to come.
iii
Bolivar Peninsula Recovery Approaches and Strategies
The Bolivar Blueprint outlines guiding principles and broad strategies
that can become the foundation to rebuild stronger, more resilient, and
more economically viable continuing in the future. Subsequent planning
efforts by the County and the Bolivar Peninsula community can identify
specific recovery projects for future implementation.
Bolivar Blueprint Vision, Goals, and Objectives for Recovery
The Steering Committee, subcommittees, and Peninsula residents
established a vision for what they would like to see Bolivar Peninsula
become as it strives to recover from Hurricane Ike.
A rebuilt Bolivar Peninsula will be a resilient, affordable, and safe place
to live where residents and visitors enjoy nature and recreation in a
diverse community of small businesses, families, and neighborhoods,
close to water and beaches. It will be built with respect for the
environment and developed with sustainable land use, infrastructure,
and community services.
The Environment Subcommittee felt that it was important to achieve
this vision through education.
To better define how this vision can ultimately become Bolivar
Peninsula’s reality, the Steering Committee and subcommittees
established goals and objectives for each of the seven sectors. A
detailed list of these goals and objectives can be found in Section 5.
iv
Recovery approaches can be thought of in varying degrees – from a less
intensive level of effort with minimal investment of community
resources, to an approach that requires heavy investments and a
significant amount of political will and community commitment. The
Bolivar Blueprint lays out three broad approaches for consideration,
keeping in mind that the community can participate in choosing the
degree to which it feels that it can invest in its recovery efforts.
Priorities will be debated and tradeoffs made, however the recovery
process will allow for the flexibility to adapt with the ever changing
needs of the Bolivar Peninsula community.
Strategies that address recovery issues and concerns identified during
the Blueprint public involvement process serve as the roadmap for the
community. In Section 7, the Bolivar Blueprint begins to lay out a
number of strategies for the community’s consideration. It’s important
to understand that these are ideas that will need further thought and
deliberation as the recovery process continues.
It’s also important to keep in mind that no one strategy will fully meet
the needs of the Bolivar Peninsula community. Conversely, a single
strategy could potentially satisfy multiple goals and objectives for
multiple sectors. In order for the recovery process to be effective, the
community will need to engage in ongoing discussions to share
viewpoints and understand the consequences of how strategies will
interplay with one another – communication will be key.
Bolivar Blueprint
Thinking Ahead
Over $200 million was spent in Galveston County during the first six
months after Hurricane Ike by local, state, and Federal agencies to
address the most urgent needs, including debris removal and
emergency repairs. Many times that amount will be spent on rebuilding
the public infrastructure and private properties. Recovery decisions
should be consistent with the Bolivar Blueprint vision, goals, and
objectives. With these decisions comes a responsibility to build back
stronger and safer to reduce the potential for damage and devastation
in future storm events.
At the community level, wise, collective actions must be considered,
such as:
Reducing the risk of human suffering and financial burden in the
event of another storm;
Building a more sustainable and more resilient community;
Maximizing the use of post-storm funding and technical assistance;
and
Continuing a deliberative planning process involving the general
public.
Challenges
A number of concerns were expressed by Bolivar Peninsula residents
including beach erosion, depletion of dunes, threats of future storms,
flooding over Highways 87 and 124, drainage problems, and the
uncertainty of future state and Federal mandates regarding the beach
and dunes. The community knows it has difficult and controversial
challenges to work through and understands that they will not be
Bolivar Blueprint
resolved with this strategy. Recovery is a long-term process that
residents will need to be engaged in for years to come.
Financial Considerations for Recovery
To some extent, government and charitable organizations offset the
repair and rebuilding costs for people of Bolivar Peninsula, but they
cannot absorb all of them. Most property owners on Bolivar Peninsula
face expensive rebuilding obstacles. These obstacles include new flood
studies that may specify higher elevation requirements, insurance
premiums that are expected to increase, and the potential for special
service districts (created to provide additional public infrastructure) that
would increase the cost of owning property on the Peninsula.
In spite of a very sensitive environment and vulnerability to storms,
there are major opportunities for implementing a comprehensive, well
thought out recovery strategy for Bolivar Peninsula. Still, the community
must evaluate tradeoffs related to cost vs. safety. In addition, discrete
strategies, their associated costs, and potential funding sources will
need to be studied.
An Important Note:
While many readers of the Bolivar Blueprint will be intimately familiar
with the Peninsula, others may not know its geography and history, or
conditions that existed shortly before and immediately after the
hurricane. Appendix A of the Blueprint provides important information
necessary for readers who are unfamiliar with Bolivar Peninsula to
understand the issues and challenges faced by the community.
Appendix B provides written sources of information used in the
development of the Blueprint.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
i
Executive Summary
iii
Table of Contents
vi
List of Appendices
vi
List of Acronyms
vii
1. Introduction
1
2. Developing the Bolivar Blueprint 1
3. Public Involvement
2
4. Recovery Vision
3
5. Recovery Goals
4
6. Recovery Approaches
7
7. Recovery Strategies
10
8. Future Actions
21
Appendices
25
List of Appendices
Appendix A: Becoming Familiar with Bolivar Peninsula
Appendix B: Written Sources of Information
Appendix C: Initial List of Issues Identified by Steering Committee and Subcommittees
Appendix D: Listing of April 25, 2009 Open House Comments
Appendix E: Transcript of April 28, 2009 Public Hearing
Appendix F : How to Build Better : Excerpts from Mitigation Assessment Team Report, FEMA P-757
Appendix G: ESF #14 Long Term Community Recovery Decision Making Tool
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Bolivar Blueprint
List of Acronyms
BFE
BPSUD
CCN
CBRA
CDBG
DHS
DOC
DOD
DOI
EDA
EPA
EMS
ESD
ESF #14
FEMA
FIRM
FWS
GCAD
GISD
GIWW
Base Flood Elevation
Bolivar Peninsula Special Utility District
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity
Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982
Community Development Block Grants
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of the Interior
Economic Development Administration
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Services District
Emergency Support Function #14
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Flood Insurance Rate Map
Fish and Wildlife Services
Galveston County Central Appraisal District
Galveston Independent School District
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Bolivar Blueprint
GLO
H-GAC
HIISD
HMGP
HUD
LiMWA
MAT
MUD
NFIP
NOAA
ORCA
PA
TXDEQ
TxDOT
USACE
USDA
VFD
WWTP
Texas General Land Office
Houston-Galveston Area Council
High Island Independent School District
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
Limit of Moderate Wave Action
Mitigation Assessment Team
Municipal Utility District
National Flood Insurance Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Texas Office of Rural Community Affairs
Public Assistance
Texas Department of Environmental Quality
Texas Department of Transportation
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Volunteer Fire Department
Wastewater Treatment Plant
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1. Introduction
2. Developing the Bolivar Blueprint
The Bolivar Blueprint marks the beginning of the long-term community
recovery process for Bolivar Peninsula. Through its implementation, the
community will be a stronger, safer, and more resilient place to live,
work, and play; and will be better prepared in the face of future storms
to recover quickly. This Blueprint has been developed with the idea in
mind that it is a living and breathing document. It has been designed
with the flexibility to adapt to the potential state and Federal policies
potentially affecting the future of Bolivar.
In March 2009, the Galveston County Commissioners Court initiated a
strategic planning process to assist in making post-disaster recovery
decisions about the Bolivar Peninsula. Commissioner Patrick Doyle
representing Precinct 1, which includes Bolivar Peninsula, asked leaders
of the business community to form a Steering Committee. Steering
Committee members met on April 2 to initiate the recovery planning
process and identified seven sectors for further consideration:
Through a collaborative planning process, community members, County
elected officials, and agency representatives will further develop
specific strategies to realize the vision and achieve goals and objectives
established by the Bolivar Blueprint. The following sections discuss the
process by which the Blueprint was developed, the outcomes of the
public involvement process, the challenges to achieving recovery, and
the approaches or strategies to overcome them. Also provided is a
discussion of future actions that the Bolivar Peninsula community needs
to consider as it implements the Bolivar Blueprint.
Natural Environment
Economy
Infrastructure
Housing
Human Services
Education
Subcommittees were established for each sector to identify local
concerns and evaluate potential solutions.
The subcommittees met on April 13 and again on May 11 to identify
strengths of Bolivar Peninsula that could be the foundation of its
recovery. They also identified potential obstacles that would need to be
overcome to achieve success and began to consider how decisions
about recovery over the next several years might impact the
community. A list of issues identified by the Steering Committee and
subcommittees is provided in Appendix C.
Figure 1: Location of the Bolivar Peninsula
Bolivar Blueprint
The Steering Committee convened a meeting on May 7 to draft a vision
statement and to begin the process of crafting goals and objectives
statements for the Bolivar Blueprint. The draft vision statement, goals,
and objectives were presented to the subcommittees on May 11 and
1
further refined. The resulting vision statement and goals are discussed
in Section 4.
On April 28 a public hearing took place at Crenshaw Elementary and
Middle School. Over 100 people spoke about their hopes and fears
for recovery on Bolivar Peninsula and all were transcribed for the
public hearing record. The transcript is presented in Appendix E.
On April 30 the Technical Committee, which is comprised of County
officials, met to review the ideas of the subcommittees and the
general public.
On May 18 a second public Open House was held at Crenshaw
Elementary and Middle School to present the Blueprint vision,
goals, and objectives, and to convey next steps in the planning
process.
3. Public Involvement
The Bolivar Peninsula community played a critical role in the
development of the Bolivar Blueprint.
On Saturday April 25, the Steering Committee hosted an all-day
public Open House at Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School.
Participants were provided with the opportunity to identify the
strengths of Bolivar Peninsula, and the challenges that residents and
business owners will likely encounter as the recovery process
continues. They also had opportunities to discuss recovery issues
with members of the subcommittees. Comments provided by the
public are presented in Appendix D.
The public involvement process resulted in a lengthy list of challenges
and issues that Bolivar Peninsula residents and business owners would
like to resolve in the community’s post-disaster recovery. It also
resulted in a list of strengths and characteristics of Bolivar Peninsula
that are particularly cherished and should be preserved. In total, over
900 comments were received during public meetings and through mailin forms. These comments included ideas to consider before moving
forward with developing a plan for the Peninsula recovery.
Key recovery challenges identified through the public involvement
process include the need for affordable housing, stormwater drainage
maintenance and road repair, medical services, and economic
development. Comments also describe happy memories of pre-disaster
Bolivar Peninsula activities including fishing, crabbing, playing baseball,
and swimming; and describe the much cherished quality of life on
Bolivar Peninsula. Table 1 highlights examples of written comments
received during the public involvement process.
2
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 1: Sample Comments from Open House and Public Hearing
Comment
One feature of Bolivar that should be preserved is the large amount of open
space on the Peninsula, the spaces between buildings, and the general overall
low housing density.
I appreciate and enjoy the relative lack of regulation on Bolivar, i.e., the laissezfaire approach to development. I feel that this has given character to the
Peninsula.
We need to rebuild our dunes and replenish ground cover to stop sand from
blowing everywhere.
I am concerned about future flooding over roads and being unable to leave in
future evacuations.
Keep cars off the beach. Open access to the beaches doesn’t have to be by car.
We need a transfer station to dump trash and debris instead of leaving it on
lots and beaches.
We should provided classes on marine life and ocean studies and have camps
for kids.
We need affordable housing; but recreational vehicles should be easily
movable in case of a hurricane threat.
Stormwater is not draining to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). Physical
barriers exist and need to be corrected. In some areas, storms have washed
away top layers of cover over buried utility pipes.
protecting the natural environment, especially bird habitat and water
quality. There was agreement on the importance of enhancing the
Peninsula’s livability and increasing public safety. Committee members
concurred on the need to increase resiliency and reduce risk so that
damages will be less severe and livelihoods less disrupted the next time
a storm like Ike occurs. An analysis of the themes identified during the
public involvement process as critical to the future of Bolivar Peninsula
resulted in the following vision statement:
A rebuilt Bolivar Peninsula will be a resilient, affordable, and safe place
to live where residents and visitors enjoy nature and recreation in a
diverse community of small businesses, families, and neighborhoods
close to water and beaches. It will be built with respect for the
environment and developed with sustainable land use, infrastructure,
and community services.
The Environment Subcommittee felt that it was important to achieve
this vision through education.
4. Recovery Vision
Community members have a wide array of opinions regarding the
recovery of Bolivar Peninsula. Some residents, for example, prefer
letting Bolivar Peninsula recover and redevelop with little or no
planning. At the other end of the spectrum are those who prefer a
deliberate process resulting in more controls to guide development and
reduce the risk of damage from future storms.
Overall agreement was reached by the Steering Committee and
subcommittees regarding the importance of preserving the
characteristics of Bolivar Peninsula that make it a treasured place to live
or visit. Committee members acknowledged the importance of
Bolivar Blueprint
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5. Recovery Goals
Infrastructure
To achieve the vision, focused goals for each sector were established.
These goals were developed collaboratively by the Steering Committee,
then reviewed and refined with subcommittee input on May 11.
Similarly, objectives were identified to describe how the community
might begin to achieve each goal. On May 18 both goals and objectives
were presented to the community during an Open House at the
Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School.
Goal:
Repair facilities damaged by Hurricane Ike and support Peninsula
population and economy with appropriate systems of transportation,
drainage, water supply, and wastewater treatment.
Goal:
Repair environmental damage caused by Hurricane Ike and resume
programs focused on environmental education, protection of wildlife
habitat, improvement of water quality, and support for a balanced
ecosystem.
Objectives:
Environment
Develop an environmental education and outreach program
Re-establish and maintain the integrity of the beach/dune
ecosystem
Re-establish and maintain the integrity of the marsh ecosystem
Re-establish and maintain the integrity of the terrestrial ecosystem
During the public involvement process for the Bolivar Blueprint, a large
number of residents commented on the future of Rollover Pass and
whether it should be kept open or closed. The pros and cons have been
widely debated, especially after Hurricane Ike. The Galveston County
Commissioners Court has adopted a resolution asking the State to
conduct a study of the complex issues involved. The decision about the
Pass will be made by a legislative action of the State of Texas. The
Bolivar Blueprint includes public comments associated with Rollover
Pass for informational purposes only.
4
Objectives:
Review, update, and finalize existing Bolivar Peninsula Wastewater
Study
Develop, implement, and maintain a Stormwater Drainage Master
Plan for the entire Peninsula in coordination with local, state, and
Federal entities
Improve Bolivar Peninsula access
Harden utility facilities in a manner that reduces the risk of damage
from future storms
Manage integrity of the dune system through beach management
Review the possibility of incorporating the Peninsula
Provide a fuel depot on Bolivar Peninsula for first responders
Economy
Goal:
Establish a diverse and resilient economy on Bolivar Peninsula.
Objectives:
Establish a program to provide small business opportunities and
support
Re-establish the economy of Bolivar Peninsula by repairing park
facilities
Provide opportunities for eco-tourism
Re-establish tourism economy by providing better access, clean
beaches, public safety, and affordable housing
Bolivar Blueprint
Provide basic services such as grocery stores for residents of Bolivar
Peninsula
Develop and implement a master plan for all parks on Bolivar
Peninsula that addresses educational programming as well as
environmental protection
Support the Beach Parking Sticker Program using revenues to
enhance and maintain beaches
Utilize small areas of the beach to develop pocket parks with public
restrooms, showers, and access to the beach
Develop and implement a beach and bay use management plan that
addresses access, vehicles, vendors, dune stabilization, and
wetlands protection
Housing
Goal:
Establish safe, sustainable, and affordable housing.
Objectives:
Goal:
Create comprehensive and diverse parks and recreation opportunities,
including eco-tourism, for residents and tourists.
Replace and repair housing to ease the housing deficiency caused by
Hurricane Ike
Utilize state and Federal programs to support efforts that provide
affordable housing on the Peninsula
Rebuild homes in a manner that enables them to withstand future
storm events with minimal damage and minimizes the cost to insure
Objectives:
Investigate Federal, state, and private funding opportunities to
support improvements for ballparks and public restrooms at
Gregory Park
Bolivar Blueprint
5
Establish procedures to facilitate collaboration and communication
among various nonprofit and volunteer housing assistance
organizations
Increase percentage of homeowners on Bolivar Peninsula who are
registered to vote on Bolivar Peninsula
Promote Bolivar Peninsula as a retirement community to increase
percentage of full-time residents
Increase use of deed restrictions and/or homeowner associations to
protect property values
Develop and enforce anchoring requirements for travel trailers and
recreational vehicles that remain on Bolivar Peninsula for more than
a very short period of time
Housing (continued)
Educate homeowners and builders about “Green” building
6
practices, such as incorporating Energy Star appliances and super
insulation, and other measures to reduce energy and resource use
to make housing more affordable
Educate residents and builders about hazard mitigation building
techniques and the potential benefits of utilizing stronger, safer,
and better mitigation practices, such as reduced insurance
premiums and reduced damages from future storms
Promote awareness of available programs such as Community
Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the Hazard Mitigation Grant
Program (HMGP)
Pre-qualify housing plans so that construction of affordable units
can begin as soon as funding is available
Establish an outreach program to contact people who might qualify
for assistance through nonprofit and volunteer housing assistance
organizations
Human Services
Goal:
Rebuild, re-establish, and expand human services to make Bolivar
Peninsula a safe, functional community.
Bolivar Blueprint
Objectives:
Enhance emergency response services that serve the needs of the
community
Provide services for seniors that will allow them to remain in or
return to their homes
Provide opportunities for all Bolivar Peninsula residents to be active
in their community
Expand provision of basic medical services and an emergency clinic
centrally located on Bolivar Peninsula
Improve public safety on the Peninsula
Education
Goal:
Increase educational opportunities for students by promoting
partnerships.
Objective:
Promote youth programs and after school activities for all children
During the public involvement process for the development of the
Bolivar Blueprint, a large number of residents commented on school
issues. In some instances the comments recommended creating a single
district to serve the Peninsula; in others comments indicated that the
schools (Crenshaw and High Island) should remain open and
independent. The Bolivar Blueprint process recognizes that these issues
may be addressed by the school districts. Comments are included in the
Bolivar Blueprint for informational purposes only.
6. Recovery Approaches
Defining a vision, goals, and objectives establishes the foundation for
community recovery. Each decision the community makes should build
on the foundation. The disaster has brought significant physical change
to the Peninsula and residents are struggling with a wide range of
recovery issues. Although much was lost, there are common threads
that residents have held onto - a fierce independence, a love of the
rural, rustic character, and a desire to rebuild in a manner that is safe
and resilient. These threads become the motivation to bring individual
recovery efforts together to rebuild the Bolivar Community.
As the strategic recovery planning process unfolds, many different
factors will affect the way the Peninsula is rebuilt. Some factors are
related to the impact that the storm has had on individuals; some lost
family members, others lost their entire household and some will not
Bolivar Blueprint
7
general, Approach 1 strategies are largely influenced by market
forces and individual choices.
return. However, many see opportunities for rebirth and development.
Other factors are related to the requirements that will be administered
through county, state and Federal programs. Although some things will
not change, Hurricane Ike has forever changed the Peninsula.
Through the visioning process (Section 4), the community can better
focus on strategic actions and key programs and projects that jumpstart
the community recovery process. These strategies will be developed by
clarifying recovery issues and developing alternative solutions for
addressing them. During the public involvement process, hundreds of
issues and challenges were identified. From there, the Bolivar Blueprint
Steering Committee and subcommittees developed a series of strategic
actions that can be applied to overcome these challenges.
Approach 2 builds on the strategies in Approach 1 and adds
strategies for updating existing plans and programs to
accommodate disaster related changes and opportunities for safer
redevelopment. This approach also recommends seeking Federal,
state, and private sector funding for implementation. Strategies in
Approach 2 focus on community-wide revitalization and
neighborhood recovery; community members are incentivized to
work together towards a common vision.
Approach 3 builds upon Approaches 1 and 2 and adds strategies for
clustering development and establishing a greater degree of local
control and oversight on land development decisions. Approach 3 is
the most comprehensive and requires strong community
commitment and shared decision-making to implement plans to
ensure that all rebuilding meets minimum standards. Approach 3
also leverages the regulatory process to improve the delivery of
community and human services that historically have been too
costly for individuals to provide on their own. Table 2 provides a
comparison of these approaches.
Community recovery from a disaster is not a linear process. In fact,
there is a wide range of choices and approaches to recovery. There will
never be a point at which recovery is fully achieved. Rather it is a
continuous process during which people and projects will adjust as
conditions change.
Bolivar Peninsula is in an early phase of disaster recovery and the
Blueprint describes three broad approaches that the community might
consider as it evaluates different recovery strategies.
8
Approach 1 recognizes that certain recovery activities for the
community are currently underway. This approach focuses primarily
on education and incentive programs that guide residents as they
rebuild. Strategies under this approach leverage the State of Texas
administered Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for
voluntary buyout or elevation of flood damaged property. In
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 2: Comparison of Approaches
Characteristic
What phrase best describes this
approach?
What is the level of change from past
practices?
To what degree will this approach be a
departure from previous practices?
What is the potential for mitigation
against the effects of future storms?
If this approach is utilized, will there
be localized differences across the
Peninsula?
How easy will it be to implement this
approach?
To what extent will there be
organizational hurdles?
Is this approach fully enabled under
current state statutes, regulations and
local procedures?
Is this consistent with Hazard
Mitigation Buyouts and Enhancement
of Dune area?
Are there prerequisites to use this
approach in recovery?
Bolivar Blueprint
Approach 1
Approach 2
Approach 3
Continuing past trends
Moving forward
Taking a new direction
Modest
Moderate
Comprehensive
Slight
Moderate
Major
Modest potential as all new
structures comply with existing
standards
Increased potential
Few with continued recognition of
state and Federal guidance
regarding Open Beaches and CBRA
zones
Significant potential for increased
mitigation with infill encouraged in
safest areas buffered by dunes or
other protection
Some
Many with emphasis on rebuilding
in safer locations
Easiest with fewest changes
More difficult with some changes
Few
Modest
Moderately difficult with more
changes
Yes
Yes
May require additional authority to
guide development
Yes
Yes
Yes
Possible
Yes, would require some kind of
coordinated plan or strategy
resulting from Bolivar Blueprint
No
More
9
7. Recovery Strategies
Throughout the 34 mile length of Bolivar Peninsula, there is a wide
range of neighborhoods and diverse development styles. This rural
rustic diversity has been an important part of the character of the
community. The approaches to implementing recovery strategies have
been designed to enable residents and community leaders to maintain
this character as rebuilding occurs. Strategies do no have to be
implemented uniformly. The unique needs and opportunities of areas
within the community may require that strategies be tailored. The
overriding outcome of the recovery process is to create a community
Table 3: Environment Strategies
Key Issue
Beach, Dune and
Shoreline
Restoration
Approach 1 Strategies
Use disaster related HMGP or other
mitigation program buyout
opportunities to increase beach/dune
land area.
Develop and implement a public
education program on responsible
beach/dune practices and behavior.
where individuality and preferences can coexist with strong, safe,
sustainable rebuilding practices.
In Tables 3 through 7 the strategies are organized according to the
seven sectors identified by the Bolivar Blueprint Steering Committee.
These sample strategies for addressing the issues and concerns faced by
Bolivar Peninsula during its recovery do not uniquely belong in these
sectors. Many strategies will be critical to achieving multiple objectives,
and no single strategy will achieve a goal or objective alone. For
example, implementing an environmental strategy may create the
opportunity for local eco-tourism businesses to start-up, which in turn
will enhance the local economy.
Prepare and update the County
Beach Management Plan
incorporating small scale dune
improvements in key/vulnerable
areas.
Seek funding to implement the plan
and plant native vegetation.
Erosion
10
Seek volunteer assistance to replant and
reseed open spaces.
Provide budget in public
improvements projects for planting
and habitat restoration.
Work with the County to update
the Hazard Mitigation Plan to
incorporate a long-term hazard
buyout program for the Peninsula.
Prepare and update the County
Beach Management Plan that
incorporates to large scale dune
and vegetation improvements.
Seek funding to implement the
plan.
Incorporate “back of dune” multiuse trails and public access
walkways over dunes.
Develop public access areas with
parking and amenities.
Develop erosion and sediment
control plan.
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 3: Environment Strategies
Key Issue
Marshland
Restoration and
Protection
Public Education
Develop and distribute an educational
program related to the value of marsh
and wetlands, and associated risks and
threats related to marsh and wetland
loss.
Establish additional interpretive signs at
public parks.
Lighting
Provide education about light pollution
and safety issues.
Vehicles on Beach
Educate public on impacts associated
with driving on beaches.
Environmental
Education
Prepare informational brochures on a
variety of environmental issues on
Bolivar Peninsula for public distribution.
Approach 1: Beach Redevelopment Strategy
Bolivar Blueprint
Seek state and or Federal funding for
small scale wetland acquisition and
marshland restoration projects.
Encourage agency coordination to
address wetlands protection.
Encourage involvement of schools
and youth groups on possible
restoration activities/projects.
Seek state and Federal assistance to
fund restoration projects.
Provide strategic security lighting in
critical areas and major
intersections.
Provide alternatives to driving on the
beach.
Encourage minimizing use of
passenger vehicles on the beach.
Construct kiosks, seasonably staffed
and located in visible and accessible
locations.
Obtain state and Federal assistance
to design and construct an
environmentally sensitive barrier
system adjacent to GIWW.
Develop and adopt a
comprehensive environmental
protection plan for sensitive and
valuable habitat areas.
Adopt lighting ordinances and
restrictions.
Adopt beach access regulations.
Restrict times and locations when
vehicular traffic is allowed on
beaches.
Construct facilities that will allow
beach access minimizing impact on
dunes.
Establish a fully staffed nature
center to share information on
local history and natural
environmental assets such as
fishing.
Approach 2 and 3: Beach Redevelopment Strategy
11
Table 4: Infrastructure Strategies
Key Issue
Wastewater
Treatment
Flooding of State
Highway 87/Lack of
Access to/from
Peninsula
Stormwater
Drainage System
Water Supply and
Distribution
12
Update the current Sanitary Sewer
Master Plan to reflect current
conditions and incorporate new
treatment technology consistent with
protecting open space areas and
serving clusters of development.
Enforce existing wastewater
treatment and septic system
regulations.
Elevate State Highway 87 per current
TxDOT plans.
Work with the Chamber of Commerce
to establish a public education
campaign on ferry boat operation,
schedules, and where to get service
information.
Clean out roadside ditches and
culverts.
Develop a “Do Not Dump in Ditches”
community education program to
promote keeping ditches and culverts
free of trash and debris.
Leave current water system as is.
Make necessary repairs and continue
educating the public on water quality
and conservation programs.
Seek technical assistance from the
US Environmental Protection
Agency to help guide the
development of the Master Plan.
Conduct feasibility studies for
appropriate wastewater collection
and treatment systems for the
Peninsula considering
environmental impacts and growth
patterns.
Work with the H-GAC to secure
local and State funding to improve
the Ferry Landing location on the
Bolivar Peninsula side to include
message boards with live Ferry
information.
Develop strategies to improve
existing drainage issues and
periodically improve deteriorating
drainage ways.
Increase both ground level and
elevated storage capacity of
system.
Identify and develop sewage
treatment technologies that are
sustainable for small scale localized
treatment.
Expand Special Utility District services
to address issues associated with
wastewater collection and treatment.
Evaluate feasibility of regional
wastewater treatment system.
Work with H-GAC to develop a
program to establish alternative
transportation options on Bolivar
Peninsula.
Evaluate impacts associated with
elevating State Highway 87 and
ancillary roads relative to evacuation.
Develop a stormwater management
plan for entire Peninsula including
ways to improve the drainage facilities
and water quality.
Establish a revenue stream to provide
perpetual maintenance.
Improve water system to provide
adequate pressure and distribution for
fire protection and general usage by
homes and businesses.
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 4: Infrastructure Strategies
Key Issue
Fire Protection
System
Provide education to community
about good fire prevention measures.
Create and enforce up to date fire
codes.
Future Damage
Educate the public on value of
securing outdoor furniture and
fixtures to prevent debris related
damage in future storms.
Bolivar Blueprint
Adopt stricter flood protection
standards such as increased
freeboard above the BFE.
Establish centralized fire fighting and
emergency medical services within
centralized locations, that serve
residents and visitors with a similar
response time as found in similar rural
communities.
Incorporate multiple locations for
water access for fire fighting from
buried tanks and drafting locations
with dry hydrants at channels.
Increase size of waterline and modify
existing water system to allow for
adequate water pressure for fire
protection.
Adopt utility standards to guide future
utility construction.
Consider adopting code to amend
County Floodplain Management
Ordinance to increase BFE by 2 feet.
13
Table 5: Economy Strategies
Key Issue
Lack of Basic
Services for Small
Business
Research sources of technical
support for small business owners.
Work with the Chamber of
Commerce to promote this program
to small business owners.
Develop a small business low
interest loan program to assist local
businesses.
Diminishing Land
Values
Educate property owners, realtors,
and renters on the safety and value
of mitigated properties.
Adopt additional storm mitigation
measures to reduce potential future
storm damage.
Lack of
Opportunities for
Eco-tourism
Promote and educate the public on
presence of land holdings and
sanctuaries because habitat
protection is good for business.
Dedicate additional wetlands areas.
Work with the Chamber of
Commerce and other economic
development agencies to market
the area for eco-tourism visitors.
14
Work with the Chamber of Commerce,
County, and H-GAC to establish a
marketing program to attract industry
to Bolivar Peninsula.
Include the study of potential revenue
streams related to tourism as part of
the marketing program for the
Peninsula.
Adopt new and stricter building codes.
Develop comprehensive planning
document to determine possible land
uses.
Create comprehensive wetlands/open
space policy and develop plan to
attract more visitors.
Examine opportunities to establish an
accessible State park on Bolivar
Peninsula.
Research opportunities to develop ecolodging.
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 6: Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Strategies
Key Issue
Damaged Public Parks
Lack of Public Amenities
at Beaches
Fishing Piers
Implement Current
Galveston County Parks,
Recreation and Open
Space Master Plan
Bolivar Blueprint
Restore parks to pre-disaster
conditions.
Increase land area available for
beach/dunes system through
disaster HMGP and other
mitigation program buyout
opportunities.
Leave fishing amenities as they
are today.
Encourage private investment in
sport fishing services and new
dock/pier infrastructure.
Establish county-wide outreach
program about the assets on
Bolivar Peninsula.
Establish improvement
projects for ball fields and
public facilities at Gregory
Park.
Work with the Galveston
County Parks system to
update Galveston County
Parks Master Plan.
Include requests for planning,
design, and implementation
of beach access, parking, and
support facilities.
Fund and construct fishing
piers on both Gulf and Bay
sides of Bolivar Peninsula.
Seek funding to implement
plan elements.
Expand park maintenance and services.
Create Bolivar Peninsula parks and beach
use master plan to include comprehensive
improvements, access management vendor
management and centralized attractions.
Identify funding such as the parking sticker
program, for implementing the plan.
Expand development of Fort Travis for
educational opportunities and provide
services/facilities for recreational vehicle
parking/camping.
Study and implement improvements that
maximize opportunities to attract fishing
visitors such as piers and jetties.
Incorporate a Bolivar Peninsula Parks and
Beaches component into the 5-year
Galveston County Master Plan to include
new facilities.
Establish local revenue stream to re-invest
into community and fund elements of this
revised plan.
15
Table 7: Housing, Human Services, and Education Strategies
Key Issue
Replace Destroyed
Housing/Repair Damaged
Housing
Affordable Housing
16
Pre-qualify housing plans so that
construction of affordable units can begin as
soon as funding is available.
Utilize state and Federal programs to support
efforts that provide affordable housing on
the Peninsula.
Work with private nonprofit groups and the
County to develop home designs.
Establish procedures to facilitate
collaboration and communication among
various nonprofit and volunteer housing
assistance organizations.
Educate local business leaders on the need to
provide workforce housing for seasonal
employment.
Undertake a builder/developer program or
fair to discuss options and opportunities for
workforce housing development.
Establish outreach program to contact
people who might qualify for assistance
through nonprofit and volunteer housing
assistance organizations.
Promote awareness of available programs
such as Community Development Block
Grants (CDBG) and the Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program (HMGP).
Develop and enforce
requirements for anchoring
trailers and temporary
mobile homes.
Establish a program to
develop and organize
neighborhood associations
throughout the Peninsula.
Encourage and help
low/moderate income
residents to secure loans to
buy homes.
Identify and promote
incentives for building
clusters of homes to keep
costs affordable.
Promote the development of
subdivision regulations for all
neighborhoods to protect
property values and control
land use and development.
Identify and partner with
local volunteer agencies to
assist their efforts which
enable residents to rebuild
homes.
Develop public/private
partnerships that will enable
the construction of workforce
housing developments in
specific areas.
Bolivar Blueprint
Key Issue
Help Residents Return
Home
Create a database of homestead residents;
utilize this database to communicate with
residents.
Model Coastal Housing
Lack of After School
Programs/Activities
Lack of Programs for
Seniors
Bolivar Blueprint
Educate residents and builders about hazard
mitigation building techniques and the
potential benefits of utilizing stronger, safer,
and better mitigation practices, such as
reduced insurance premiums and reduced
damages from future storms.
Educate homeowners and builders about
“Green” building practices, such as
incorporating Energy Star appliances and
super insulation, and other measures to
reduce energy and resource use to make
housing more affordable.
Develop educational and recreational
programs to serve all residents as well as
visitors.
Re-establish County programs, such as meals- on-wheels to assist seniors as they return
home.
Promote Bolivar Peninsula as
a retirement community to
increase percentage of fulltime residents.
Rebuild homes in a manner
that enables them to
withstand future storm
events with minimal damage
and minimizes the cost to
insure.
Work with a local developer
to build a model coastal
home to display the key
elements and importance of
modern building practices
and standards.
Establish a local group that
will work to create
public/private partnerships
for project development.
Identify successful programs
in other communities to
replicate in the community.
Increase use of deed
restrictions and/or
homeowner associations to
protect property values.
Establish and promote the
use of a set of development
standards for property on
Bolivar Peninsula.
Establish an incentive based
program to assist residents to
rebuild strong, safe and
resilient homes based on
coastal building codes.
Improve the existing
community center to enable
expanded recreational
programs.
Research opportunities for
funding additional programs
to assist seniors.
17
Key Issue
Lack of Education on
Recovery Programs and
Sustainable Building
Practices
Improve Basic Medical
Services
Trash Collection
Law Enforcement
Establish an educational program on storm
mitigation practices, green building, setback
lines and programs to assist residents to
rebuild.
Provide location for distribution of health
care pamphlets and brochures commonly
distributed in medical clinics.
Educate the public on the environmental
impact of litter in critical turtle and migratory
bird habitat.
Educate the public on the negative impacts of
litter on tourism.
Create an outreach program with pamphlets
and brochures to educate the public on
beach and environmental laws.
18
Identify a location on the
Peninsula where
homeowners and builders
can obtain information on
sustainable building
practices.
Establish part-time public
health clinic.
Study possibilities for grant
or nonprofit funding to
subsidize clinic.
Build a transfer station for
residents to bring trash for
regular removal.
Increase law enforcement
during peak times and
expand services for
surveillance of environmental
areas.
Study the benefits of
implementing a
Neighborhood Watch
Program.
Request assistance from
experts to organize
educational seminars on
sustainable building practices.
Create incentives and
subsidize a full time medical
clinic
Study options for
public/private partnerships.
Create system of mandatory
trash collection for residential
and commercial users.
Establish a recycling
collection program including
curbside pick-up and drop-off
locations.
Supplement Galveston
County law enforcement
efforts with staff paid for
locally.
Develop a centralized public
safety office.
Bolivar Blueprint
Key Issue
Fire Fighting/EMS
Allow Volunteer Fire Departments at Port
Bolivar and High Island to return to previous
levels.
Encourage Crystal Beach VFD to rebuild and
re-establish services.
Educate community on fire safety and
firework dangers to public.
Request Galveston County
build combination fire and
EMS station in Crystal Beach
staffed with paid and
volunteer personnel around
the clock.
Provide incentives to attract
more volunteers.
Create and enforce necessary
building codes to reduce
damage due to fire.
Raise local funds to
supplement and improve the
County program.
Mosquito Control Program
Continue with County program requesting
expedited return to pre-storm service.
Coordinating Recovery Strategies
The recovery strategy matrixes provide a range of potential solutions for
many of the unmet needs and challenges of Bolivar Peninsula. The
community must evaluate which of these presents the best solution. To
do this, next steps include:
Defining and refining the strategies (answering the questions:
who, what, where, when, why, and how for each strategy)
Coordinating and grouping strategies from different sectors
Developing conceptual cost estimates for projects and programs
The Bolivar Blueprint Steering Committee and subcommittees should
continue to work toward completing these steps in the coming months.
Bolivar Blueprint
Request construction of
second combination station
on eastern end of Crystal
Beach to be staffed with both
paid and volunteer personnel.
Create and manage a Bolivar
Peninsula mosquito control
program as a component of
local public works or health
department.
When considering, coordinating, or grouping strategies, the following
examples have been developed to illustrate the process:
The relationship between a waste water master plan and the
development of restroom facilities for parks and beach access
areas.
The development of the County Hazard Mitigation Plan and
plans for beach and dune improvements.
The relationship between parks and natural areas and locations
where businesses can develop for eco-tourism.
Research and subsequent discussion will provide an understanding of
how one project might open doors and create opportunities for another
project, help identify alternative ideas and define benefits, challenges,
19
and stumbling blocks that might prevent a strategy from being
implemented.
This process will require committee members to take on tasks to
investigate parts of the strategy and will require committee cooperation
to bring the pieces together into a fully developed recovery project.
Included in Appendix G is the ESF #14 Long Term Community Recovery
Decision Making Tool. This document can guide community efforts in
evaluating recovery ideas and building agreement on preferred projects
and programs. As this process progresses, the information collected
forms the foundation of a community planning document that can
foster cooperation and consensus building within the community.
The advantages of a more structured planning process for Bolivar
Peninsula will help achieve solutions to complex challenges identified in
the Bolivar Blueprint. This process can help bring together the strategies
for recovery and community redevelopment in a cohesive and
coordinated manner. It can demonstrate the community’s commitment
to maintain its rustic character, restore and safeguard the natural storm
surge protection system, and to protect ecosystems by promoting
clustered development. The planning process can also help coordinate
infrastructure redevelopment in a manner that will stimulate economic
recovery and complement community and environmental goals.
Opportunities and strategies for economic development
Regulating access to new service in environmentally sensitive
areas
Analyzing the benefits attributed to reduced water pollution
Developing construction standards for safer and better
buildings
Considering methods to provide workforce housing
Protecting beach/dune and marshland ecosystems
Determining density of future development
Developing eco-tourism strategies
Creating opportunities for public/private partnerships in
housing/business/conservancy
Strategies, plans, and programs developed through this process become
a part of the continuum of recovery. Future actions related to priorities
and funding will require the community to continue to work together
for many years.
Advantages of Structured Planning Process
A more structured planning process can be coordinated with the ongoing County-wide parks planning effort as well as the development of a
waste water plan update. In all of these cases, the Bolivar Blueprint
Steering Committee should coordinate with the County and other
agencies to support these efforts. Research required to prepare for this
study may include:
20
Understanding the current utility services provided and future
potential capacities to provide services
Needs and trends related to public beach access
Post Hurricane-Ike Conditions
Future Beach and
Neighborhood Area Concept
Bolivar Blueprint
8. Future Actions
The post-disaster recovery process is a multi-year process that requires
active participation not only by local government officials but also by
community residents. The future commitment and active involvement
of the Bolivar Blueprint committees and Galveston County are critical to
the successful recovery of Bolivar Peninsula. Decisions made regarding
the future of this community will necessitate public involvement and
consent to prioritize issues and to obtain funding. Future actions will be
based on the ability to make informed decisions and obtain funding
support.
Decision-making Considerations
Before recovery decisions are finalized, alternative strategies for
addressing a problem should be identified and evaluated so that the
best strategy will be selected for implementation. All of the benefits or
positive effects as well as the costs or negative consequences should be
well understood. Benefits and costs are not necessarily monetary. There
can, for example, be benefits associated with community character and
costs associated with a lack of community cohesiveness. For some
projects, the initial investment may seem high, but this should be
evaluated in light of future benefits, such as less disruption and a
quicker recovery from the effects of a future storm.
One important consideration for future planning purposes is assessing
how an action that supports one goal will actually help the community
to achieve multiple goals. For example, strategies discussed in the
Blueprint concerning parks can positively affect the economy by
attracting additional tourists to the Peninsula.
Another important consideration is the identification of potential
unintended consequences. Before a final decision is made regarding any
strategy, serious thought should be given to not only the short term
Bolivar Blueprint
impacts, but also to long-term effects on the future of Bolivar Peninsula.
The following list of questions may be useful to consider:
How can we accomplish this goal?
What efforts are currently underway in the community to advance
the goal and ideas?
What prevents progress towards success in the goal, ongoing efforts
or ideas?
What potential projects or programs help accomplish our goal?
What opportunities exist to enhance potential projects and
programs?
What benefits and challenges do these options present?
What internal and external resources are available to pursue these
options?
What is the preferred project or program option?
What must be done to move a preferred option forward? Who will
take responsibility? What are target completion dates?
Outside Considerations
There are many decisions that will have serious effects on the recovery
process and future life on Bolivar Peninsula that will not be made by the
community. Such decisions may include those of the GLO on the limits
of the public beach and on Rollover Pass; those of the U.S. Department
of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Services regarding CBRA zone
boundaries; and those of the USACE regarding restoration of wetlands
and utilization of the GIWW. Similarly, the findings of FEMA flood
studies are beyond the control of Bolivar Peninsula residents, yet these
will affect elevation requirements and the location of Velocity or VZones.
The decision making process is difficult. Sector interests may conflict
and long-standing independent communities, separated by geography
and family history for generations, must work together. Opinions will
21
vary on what to address first, and how to allocate limited resources.
Continuing to meet and work together to resolve issues will help
maintain forward progress. The Bolivar Blueprint provides a starting
point for these conversations and guides these decisions. Once
decisions are made, funding strategies can be identified to implement
recovery projects.
Funding
Beyond the millions of dollars already expended by FEMA Public
Assistance (PA) for debris removal and emergency repairs, additional PA
funds will be available for some permanent reconstruction projects.
Reconstruction projects will include repair and replacement of some
critical facilities damaged by Hurricane Ike and will involve mitigation
measures to reduce the likelihood that such damage will be experienced
in the future.
22
FEMA also has made HMGP funding available to the State of Texas.
The State has identified property acquisition or buyouts as its top
priority for HMGP funding. To receive an HMGP grant, a local
community must identify individual projects and apply through
Texas Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency
Management.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has
also made post-disaster funding available for housing and
infrastructure rebuilding to the State of Texas. ORCA will administer
the over $165 million allocated for Galveston County for disaster
recovery (Galveston County, 2009).
To facilitate applying for grant funding, the community may benefit
from the ongoing effort to update the Galveston County Hazard
Mitigation Plan.
Funding and technical assistance for recovery projects may be
available through private organizations and state agencies, and
through Federal government programs. For information on
additional funding sources, review the Guide to Disaster Recovery
Programs, Draft update of FEMA 229(4), which is also referred to as
the Texas Community Recovery Resource Guide. It is available at
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/hurricane/2008/ike/texas_resour
ce_guide_09.pdf.
Bolivar Blueprint
Figure 2: Recovery Resource Timeline
The recovery resource timeline (Figure 2) highlights the key decision points that must be made in order to benefit from potentially available resources.
Bolivar Blueprint
23
Next Steps
In upcoming months, the Bolivar Blueprint Committee and
subcommittees, the Galveston County Commissioners Court, and
Bolivar residents will need to consider a number of actions to facilitate
post-disaster recovery. Next steps may include:
Continue meeting to define and refine recovery strategies.
Continue to monitor studies, reports, and regulatory changes from
local, state, and Federal agencies.
Broaden participation by community members in the recovery
process by encouraging membership on subcommittees.
Develop easily implementable projects to demonstrate that the
recovery process is progressing.
Explore the development of more complex recovery projects to
accomplish multiple objectives.
Engage the community in undertaking a more structured planning
process that could lead to a Bolivar Peninsula long-range master
plan.
Recovery is a process. The Peninsula has made great strides in
establishing its framework for future recovery efforts. However, more
work needs to be done. Figure 3 is a process timeline illustrating
milestones that Bolivar Peninsula may wish to consider as it continues
with its long-term community recovery.
Figure 3: Recovery Process Timeline
24
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendices
Appendix A. Becoming Familiar with Bolivar Peninsula
While many readers of this report will be intimately familiar with the
Peninsula, others may not know its geography and history, or conditions
that existed shortly before and immediately after the hurricane. This
section of the report presents background information necessary for
readers who are unfamiliar with Bolivar Peninsula and will help put
recovery challenges and the strategy options into perspective.
The Peninsula has had at least five distinct areas of settlement: Port
Bolivar on the western end, Crystal Beach on the Gulf side in the middle,
Caplen east of Crystal Beach and immediately west of Rollover Pass,
Gilchrist immediately east of Rollover Pass, and High Island at the
eastern end of the Peninsula. Each of these communities is unique with
its own personality and areas of concern.
The Bolivar Peninsula was described in a 1978 document titled Bolivar
Peninsula: Growth Management and Beach Access Study, which was
prepared by Texas A&M University, as “a place, a destination, a state of
mind. It is a fragile environment… constantly changing in configuration.”
The description of life on Bolivar Peninsula offered in the study as
“characterized by its relaxed atmosphere, its rural open spaces, its
seasonal recreational activity, and its lifestyle dependent on the bay and
Gulf” is still appropriate 30 years later (Texas A&M University, 1978).
State Highway 87 runs the length of Bolivar Peninsula and provides the
only east-west roadway that extends the entire length of the Peninsula.
Free public ferries operated by TxDOT connect Highway 87 at Port
Bolivar to Galveston Island and provide the only means of access to
Bolivar Peninsula from the west. To the east, Highway 87 connects to
Highway 124 near High Island, which runs north into Chambers County
providing the only eastern connection point to the Peninsula.
Geography
The Bolivar Peninsula is a 34-mile long peninsula between Galveston
Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The Bolivar Peninsula is connected to the
mainland to the east at High Island and is bounded on the west by the
mouth of Galveston Bay, which separates the Peninsula from Galveston
Island by approximately 3 miles. The width of the Peninsula varies from
about 3 miles at Crystal Beach to less than one-fourth of a mile at
Rollover Pass. The pass at Rollover connects the Gulf of Mexico to the
East Bay of Galveston Bay and effectively makes the western part of
Bolivar Peninsula an island. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
extends the length of Bolivar Peninsula on the north or bay side.
Bolivar Blueprint
Ground elevations on Bolivar Peninsula vary from sea level to
approximately 25 feet above sea level at High Island, which has the
highest natural elevation along the Gulf Coast between Mobile, AL and
the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The entire Peninsula, except for High
Island and a small section of Port Bolivar, is within a Special Flood
Hazard Area as identified on FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
The Peninsula has several important locations to birds and
birdwatchers. Land designated as bird sanctuary and managed by the
Houston Audubon Society totals more than 2,300 acres on Bolivar
Peninsula. Bolivar Flats, at the western end of the Peninsula, has been
recognized by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network as
an important resting and feeding location for migrating shorebirds from
throughout the Western Hemisphere. Table 8 lists conservation areas.
25
Table 8: Bird Sanctuaries on Bolivar Peninsula
Name
Habitat Features
Acres
Boy Scout Woods (Louis B. Smith Bird Sanctuary) Oaks, coastal prairie, and wetlands
60
Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary
Oaks, ponds, wetlands, and coastal prairie
143
Eubank Woods Bird Sanctuary
Woods and wetlands
9.5
S.E. Gast Red Bay Sanctuary
Woods and former pasture
8.8
Mundy Marsh Bird Sanctuary
Coastal wetlands and prairie
368
Horseshoe Marsh
Salt marsh and coastal prairie surrounding a shallow tidal lagoon
650
Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary
Salt marsh, mud flats, and beach
1,146
Population
The population of the Bolivar Peninsula grew rapidly in the 1960s and
again in the 1990s as shown in Table 9.
Table 9: Bolivar Peninsula Population
Source
Population
Change from previous Census
2000 U.S. Census
3,853
33 percent
1990 U.S. Census
2,897
9 percent
1980 U.S. Census
2,670
10 percent
1970 U.S. Census
2,424
43 percent
1960 U.S. Census
1,694
Not applicable
Population was estimated to have decreased by approximately 3
percent between 2000 and 2007 (Texas Data Center, 2008). Galveston
County officials estimate that the resident population 8 months after
the storm to be about 1,250.
According to 2000 U.S. Census data, approximately 50 percent of Bolivar
Peninsula residents were retired or not employed. Of the 50 percent
that did have jobs, 40 percent commuted less than 20 minutes; 15
percent commuted 20 to 40 minutes; and 45 percent commuted more
than 40 minutes to jobs. This suggests commutes extending to the
26
major metropolitan areas of Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, and Port
Arthur.
Abbreviated History of Bolivar Peninsula
The abbreviated history of the Bolivar Peninsula that follows shows that
the economy and infrastructure have changed radically several times in
the past, just as they may during the post-disaster recovery process. It
also shows that hurricanes and the fragility of the natural environment
have been a constant part of life on Bolivar Peninsula. Due its geological
and environmental attributes and its general remoteness, Bolivar
Peninsula has had a colorful history.
As a barrier island accessible by ship, the Bolivar Peninsula played a role
in the early history of European exploration of Texas. As with other
locations along the Gulf Coast, the pirate Jean Lafitte is said to have
visited there. The Peninsula is known to have been instrumental in the
slave trade between Galveston and Louisiana. Because the Peninsula
was also used in the early-nineteenth century by Texans who sought to
free Mexico from Spain, the Bolivar Peninsula is named for Simón
Bolívar (1783–1830), South American hero in the struggle for
independence. In addition, notorious outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde
Barrow are said to have visited the Peninsula.
Bolivar Blueprint
Rollover Pass is reportedly named for the activity of smugglers who
rolled barrels of freight across the Peninsula from ships in the Gulf to
ships in East Bay to avoid paying tariffs levied on wares imported
through the Port of Galveston.
In the 1840s, farmers on Bolivar Peninsula supplemented their incomes
by harvesting whale oil. After the Civil War, farmers on Bolivar Peninsula
had success with Sea Island cotton as a cash crop. By 1880, Bolivar
Peninsula had become the watermelon capital of Texas. By 1885, Bolivar
Peninsula also produced half of all the oysters in Texas from its 15-mile
oyster reef along the south shore of East Bay.
After the Civil War, the protruding salt dome of High Island attracted a
few settlers who covered much of it with peach and plum orchards. By
the end of the nineteenth century, the economy of High Island had
diversified into oil production and tourism.
Fort Travis, near the southern end of Bolivar Peninsula, is named for a
hero of the Alamo, Colonel William B. Travis (1806–1836). It began as an
earthwork at Point Bolivar in 1816 and was rebuilt as a mud fort in
1820. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, a brick fortress was
built on the site of Fort Travis. The fort was heavily damaged during the
1900 Hurricane and repairs included the 15-foot sea wall built around
the fort by the USACE. The fort was enlarged during World War II and
2,500 troops were stationed there.
The economy of Bolivar Peninsula in the first half of the twentieth
century was based on agriculture and ranching with some support from
oil production. The pasture to the west of Rollover Pass supported some
10,000 head of cattle and 2,000 sheep and the pasture to the east of
Rollover supported approximately 12,000 head of cattle.
In 1872, Port Bolivar acquired its most familiar landmark when the 117foot tall lighthouse was completed. The brick and cast-iron-clad
lighthouse was officially retired in 1933 and was sold by the government
as surplus property in 1947.
The North Jetty was constructed from the southwestern end of the
Peninsula into the Gulf to provide protection for the deepwater channel
between the Gulf and Galveston Bay. Jetty construction began in 1874
and was completed in 1898. In addition to protecting shipping, the jetty
is used for sports fishing and provides some beach erosion protection
for the beaches in the Port Bolivar area.
During the Hurricane of 1900, the 125 residents of Bolivar Peninsula
who sought refuge in the lighthouse were spared. But death and
destruction were everywhere on the Peninsula with almost every home
washed away and 41 people killed. The recovery of the Peninsula from
that hurricane is reported to have taken at least five years.
Bolivar Blueprint
In 1896, the Gulf and Interstate Railway began operation between Port
Bolivar and Beaumont and the railway became part of the Santa Fe
Railway in 1908. Despite destruction of rail lines and equipment by
Category 4 hurricanes in 1900 and 1915, service continued between
Port Bolivar and High Island until the Great Depression led to
abandonment of the service in 1932.
Free public ferry services began operating between Port Bolivar and
Galveston under the control of the Texas State Highway Department
27
(now TxDOT) in 1933. During 2008, nearly 1,682,000 vehicles used the
ferry service with a peak month usage of nearly 176,000 during July. The
average number of vehicles using the ferry on a single day in January
2008 was 3,584 and in July it was 5,677.
amount of damage. The most devastated areas were Gilchrist and
Crystal Beach in the center of the Peninsula.
Hurricane Ike was the ninth named storm during the 2008 Atlantic and
Gulf of Mexico hurricane season and the most significant of the three
that affected the State of Texas. Hurricane Ike was preceded in August
2008 by Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall approximately 225 miles
to the east of Bolivar Peninsula and by Hurricane Dolly, which affected
the southernmost part of Texas, about 250 miles to the southwest of
Bolivar Peninsula.
When it made landfall on Bolivar Peninsula, Hurricane Ike was classified
as a Category 2 hurricane with a recorded barometric pressure low of
935 millibars. Hurricane Ike extended approximately 275 miles from its
center and its effects were experienced from the Caribbean to the Great
Lakes and New England.
By the middle of the twentieth century, despite the continuing threat of
tropical storms and hurricanes, tourism was established as the key
component of the economy due to the warm climate and the popularity
of beach recreation, boating, and fishing.
By 1990, the permanent population of the Peninsula was about 4,000
and hundreds of vacation homes were available for summer and
weekend visitors who came to enjoy swimming, sunbathing, fishing,
hunting, beachcombing, and bird watching. As many as 20,000 people
would visit the Bolivar Peninsula on a busy summer day.
According to NOAA data, since 1871 76 tropical storms or hurricanes
have made landfall within about 55 miles of Galveston County. Of these,
11 occurred in June; 15 in July; 17 in August; 26 in September; and 7 in
October. Thirty six of these 76 events were classified as hurricanes
when they arrived in Galveston County. Four were classified as category
4 hurricanes; 5 as category 3 hurricanes; 8 as category 2 hurricanes; and
19 as category 1 hurricanes. Table 10 lists the tropical storms and
hurricanes recorded prior to the 2008 hurricane season for Galveston
County and Figure 4 illustrates the paths of these storms.
Hurricane History
The Peninsula is at great risk of damage by hurricanes. Between 2001
and 2007, seven different named tropical storms or hurricanes passed
through Bolivar Peninsula with Hurricane Ike causing the greatest
28
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 10: Bolivar Peninsula Tropical Storms and Hurricanes
Year
1854
1863
1865
1866
1867
1871
1871
1874
1875
1877
1879
1880
1882
1886
1886
1888
1888
1891
1895
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1908
1909
1914
1915
1932
1933
1934
1938
1938
1940
1940
1941
1941
1942
Month
September
September
September
July
October
June
June
July
September
September
August
June
September
June
October
July
June
July
October
September
September
June
September
July
July
July
September
August
August
July
August
August
October
August
September
September
September
August
Category 2 Hurricane
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Depression
Tropical Depression
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Bolivar Blueprint
Classification
Year
1942
1943
1945
1945
1946
1947
1949
1954
1957
1957
1959
1963
1964
1970
1971
1971
1973
1974
1978
1979
1979
1980
1982
1983
1985
1986
1987
1989
1989
1989
1995
2001
2002
2003
2003
2004
2005
2007
Month
August
July
August
July
June
August
October
July
August
June
July
September
August
September
September
September
September
September
August
July
September
September
September
August
October
June
August
August
June
October
July
June
September
August
July
September
September
September
Classification
Tropical Storm
Tropical Storm
Tropical Depression Barbara
Tropical Storm Bertha
Category 4 Hurricane Audrey
Category 1 Hurricane Debra
Category 1 Hurricane Cindy
Tropical Storm Abby
Tropical Storm Felice
Category 1 Hurricane Edith
Category 1 Hurricane Fern
Tropical Storm Delia
Tropical Storm Carmen
Tropical Storm Debra
Tropical Storm Claudette
Tropical Storm Elena
Tropical Storm Danielle
Tropical Storm Chris
Category 3 Hurricane Alicia
Category 1 Hurricane Juan
Category 1 Hurricane Bonnie
Tropical Storm (not named)
Category 1 Hurricane Chantal
Tropical Storm Allison
Category 1 Hurricane Jerry
Tropical Storm Dean
Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Fay
Tropical Storm Grace
Category 1 Hurricane Claudette
Tropical Depression Ivan
Category 3 Hurricane Rita
Tropical Storm Humberto
29
locations on Bolivar Peninsula, other than High Island, flooding has at
least a one percent chance of occurring in any given year. The maps
show that the height of flooding is generally expected to reach 16 feet
to 19 feet above mean sea level. The maps indicate that most locations
on Bolivar Peninsula are not only at risk of flooding but are sensitive to
additional damage caused by wave action (V-Flood Zone).
Tornadoes are an additional natural hazard that threatens residents and
business owners on Bolivar Peninsula. Tornadoes may occur
independently of or in conjunction with a hurricane or tropical storm.
Many parts of the country mitigate potential tornado damage by
adopting strict building codes or by including safe rooms in new and
existing residential, commercial, and public buildings.
Figure 4: Hurricanes and Tropical Storm Tracks near Bolivar Peninsula
(NOAA, 2009)
Other Natural Hazards
Hurricanes lead to flood damage and wind damage, both of which can
occur apart from hurricane systems. The Houston-Galveston Regional
Hazard Mitigation Plan of 2004 cites hurricanes and tropical storms,
flooding, and tornadoes as the hazards that are most likely to negatively
affect the area. Other hazards that are likely to cause damage on Bolivar
Peninsula are coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and subsidence. Each of
these natural hazards must be taken into account as rebuilding and
recovery projects are undertaken on Bolivar Peninsula.
Coastal erosion is another natural hazard threatening Bolivar Peninsula;
the 2004 Galveston County hazard mitigation plan indicates that
accretion or the accumulation of sand is occurring at the western end of
the Peninsula while erosion is occurring at the eastern end of the
Peninsula. USACE studied erosion along the Bolivar Peninsula in 2008;
findings were published shortly before Hurricane Ike showing that the
rate of accretion at
the western end of
the Peninsula was
19.2 feet per year
and the greatest
rate of erosion
occurred just west
of Rollover Pass at a
rate of 3.4 feet per
year. USACE findings
(unpublished) are
displayed in Table 11.
FEMA has conducted flood studies on the Bolivar Peninsula and
developed fourteen different FIRMs showing that for virtually all
30
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 11: Coastal Erosion Rates along Bolivar Peninsula
Location
Shoreline Change Rate
Bolivar Flats
19.2 feet per year
Biscayne Beach
10.7 feet per year
Strand Avenue
8.8 feet per year
Atkinson Street
6.4 feet per year
Villa Drive
4.7 feet per year
Emerald Drive
1.6 feet per year
Mr G
1.3 feet per year
Crystal Beach
1.1 feet per year
Caplen Shores
0.3 feet per year
Steinhagen Dr
-1.1 feet per year
Rollover West
-3.4 feet per year
Rollover East
-4 feet per year
High Island
0.3 feet per year
Sea-level rise is a natural hazard that should be considered on Bolivar
Peninsula as Hurricane Ike recovery actions are planned. Sea-level rise
was not included in the 2004 natural hazard mitigation plan for the
County, but has been shown to be a very real threat. Subsidence and
sea-level rise are closely associated because in coastal areas the effects
of subsidence may be incorrectly attributed to sea-level rise.
Measurements along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast show a relative
rise in sea level of one to two feet over the past 100 years, which is
approximately three times faster than the average global rise in sea
level of 0.6 foot per century (FEMA, 2009 b). The relative rise in sea
level is a function of both sea-level rise and subsidence. Subsidence in
Texas is generally attributed to natural processes and compaction of
sediments. The Bolivar Peninsula is believed to have experienced
subsidence of about one foot over the past century. Thus a sea-level rise
of 0.6 foot per century coupled with subsidence of one foot per century
results in a relative sea level rise on Bolivar Peninsula of about 1.6 feet
per century.
Bolivar Blueprint
Pre-Hurricane and Post-Hurricane Conditions on
Bolivar Peninsula
Regulatory Framework
Bolivar Peninsula is part of unincorporated Galveston County.
Therefore, by State law, residents cannot adopt land use ordinances.
Land use on Bolivar Peninsula is governed by the State, including the
laws and policies enforced by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Protection and preservation of beaches is governed by the Texas Open
Beaches Act (Natural Resources Code, Chapter 61: Use and
Maintenance of Public Beaches) and Dune Protection Program (Natural
Resources Code, Chapter 63: Dunes). Thus, the mean high water line is a
critical factor in delineation of the boundary of the public beach.
Beaches can be privately owned in Texas but the public must be allowed
free and unrestricted access to and use of the beach.
Effective September 2006, Galveston County implemented a plan for
accessing the beach. This plan, entitled “Galveston County Dune
Protection and Beach Access Plan,” dated September 13, 2006, outlines
the County’s policies regarding this issue and was the result of lengthy
discussions between Galveston County and the GLO. As a result, a beach
parking sticker program was put into effect that requires car owners to
obtain a permit from Galveston County in order to park at the beach.
The program generated over $290,000 in 2008 and over $220,000 in
2007. Funds from the beach sticker program are used by Galveston
County to provide enhancements to the beach, as well as to help defray
some of the County’s costs to maintain the beach.
Galveston County has participated in the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) since 1971. This means that the county has adopted an
ordinance requiring that structures in flood hazard areas be elevated so
that the lowest floor, or, in a coastal high hazard area where wave
action is anticipated, the lowest horizontal structural element, is at or
31
above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). The BFE is the level of flooding
that has been estimated to have at least a 1-percent chance of occurring
in any year. On Bolivar Peninsula, the BFE generally ranges from 16 to
19 feet above sea level. To determine the BFE at a particular location on
Bolivar Peninsula, Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are available at
the County Office of Emergency Management or online through the
FEMA Web site. The BFE on Bolivar Peninsula is likely to be increased
when the results of new flood studies begun before Ike are complete
(FEMA, 2009 b).
A hazard mitigation plan is currently in the process of being developed
for Galveston County; this will update the 2004 Houston-Galveston Area
Council Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Consequently, the County will
continue to be eligible to receive grant funding through the FEMA
Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs.
Land Use Patterns
vacation towns with large numbers of seasonal and vacation residents
and High Island has a traditional town layout with a high school and a
few Audubon bird sanctuaries.
Much of the marsh land on the north side of Bolivar Peninsula is
inaccessible due to the GIWW, which traverses the length of the
Peninsula. It is generally undeveloped and is an important habitat for
birds and small aquatic animals.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) removed Federal government
support, such as flood insurance, for buildings and development in
undeveloped portions of hazardous coastal areas generally referred to
as CBRA zones. Although FEMA flood maps estimate the locations of
CBRA zones, the DOI, FWS is responsible for determining and
interpreting the exact boundaries of CBRA zones. CBRA zones on Bolivar
Peninsula generally remain undeveloped and contribute to the natural
and beneficial functions of floodplains by absorbing and holding water
during heavy rains, as well as by providing important habitat for birds.
There are restrictions on what can and cannot be constructed within
CBRA zones and Federal dollars cannot be used for projects in these
locations. However, high end residential development has occurred in
spite of these restrictions.
Land near Rollover Pass near the center of the Peninsula includes
residential and commercial uses and provides for recreational fishing
opportunities. In 1955, Rollover Pass was constructed as we know it
today by the Texas Game and Fish Commission near the center of the
Peninsula to introduce sea water into East Bay. Because of ease of
access to the walls of the pass from parking lots, fishing at Rollover is
accessible to people of all abilities wishing to fish.
Environment
The Bolivar Peninsula encompasses approximately 52 square miles in
area. Based on the Galveston County Land Use maps, prior to Hurricane
Ike 82.5 percent of the land area is classified as farm/ranch, 1.7 percent
as commercial, 2.0 percent as right-of-way, and 13.8 percent as
residential land uses. Of the 13.8 percent residential land use area,
approximately 7.6 percent of the land use is for residential properties
that are platted but vacant of structures. The communities of Port
Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Gilchrist and High Island have all developed
independently over time. Port Bolivar is an old fishing community, in
recent years Crystal Beach and Gilchrist evolved into traditional beach
Dunes, which would have provided some protection to residences and
commercial buildings from the power of the storm surge, had been
repeatedly damaged by hurricanes and altered by human intervention.
Remaining dunes along Bolivar Peninsula were less than 6 feet high,
whereas historically dunes on Bolivar Peninsula were about 9 feet high
or 13 feet above mean sea level and the majority of developed areas
32
Hurricane Ike destroyed dunes and vegetation along the Gulf of Mexico
shoreline. Salt water inundation of the Peninsula killed trees and
shrubbery, destroying important natural habitats for birds and small
mammals.
Bolivar Blueprint
had little to no dune development. Some dunes had been rebuilt and
were reinforced with geotextile tubes, but virtually all of these tubes
were uncovered and destroyed by Ike (FEMA, 2009 b).
The subsurface geology on Bolivar Peninsula is mostly sand with a few
clay deposits. A few small areas of loamy topsoil exist, but these areas
are a very low percentage of the Peninsula-wide soil profile. The water
table is extremely high
and much of the
Peninsula is tidal
marshland.
In recent years,
increasing water levels
in Bay-side marshes
have compromised
pasture land and
productive coastal
marshland. As new
marshland is flooded, the displaced wildlife moves into other fragile
ecosystem locations causing disruption to the balance.
Bolivar Peninsula contains some floodprone range or ranch land used
for grazing cattle. This land also provides habitat for wild animals and
birds, as well as the natural and beneficial functions of a floodplain
during periods of heavy rain.
Bolivar Peninsula is located along a critical migratory corridor for birds
traveling in the western hemisphere. In recent years, the land use on
Bolivar Peninsula has slowly shifted from cattle farming and watermelon
fields to more retirement housing and tourism related uses, such as
beach recreation, fishing, and hunting of waterfowl.
Bolivar Blueprint
In support of Gulf Coast fishing activities, vehicles have been allowed
direct access to the beach for driving and parking. Vehicles on the beach
contribute to beach erosion. However, according to Galveston County
officials, beach parking and vehicle access restrictions were openly
debated in recent years. No changes to the policy resulted due to a
large public outcry for maintaining the status quo.
Goat Island is located north of the GIWW and west of Rollover Pass. It is
the location of a crude oil handling facility. As a result of Hurricane Ike,
some 500,000 gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico,
the marshes, bayous, and bays of Louisiana and Texas. Half the crude oil
reported spilled came from the Goat Island facility operated by St. Mary
Land and Exploration Company (Hyder, 2009).
Infrastructure
Community infrastructure includes the essential physical features
required for a community to survive and thrive. The major components
of community infrastructure include the drinking water system, the
sanitary sewer system, roadways, and stormwater drainage. On Bolivar
Peninsula, much of the physical infrastructure was severely damaged or
destroyed by Hurricane Ike.
Immediate post-hurricane infrastructure repair and rebuilding included
repairs to the Post Office and roadways, as well as debris removal.
Observations show that in the first 8 months after the hurricane, much
of the debris had been removed, but a great deal remains trapped in
now-dead vegetation, especially on the Bay-side of the Peninsula.
Debris removal efforts continue. More than 1.7 million cubic yards of
the anticipated total of 2.1 million cubic yards of debris have been
collected and removed from Bolivar Peninsula as of May 2009.
Drinking Water
For decades, drinking water on Bolivar Peninsula was provided through
individually owned and operated wells. But the quality of available
water was poor, so residents created a corporation that drilled wells in
Winnie, TX, and built a pipeline to Bolivar Peninsula for distribution. The
33
main distribution line is a 12-inch water line running along existing State
Highway 87 for the length of the Peninsula. Water quality was still not
satisfactory, so residents created the BPSUD to own and operate the
drinking water distribution system using surface rather than well water.
The BPSUD used $30 million in loans to help create the water
treatment, storage, and delivery system. It has the right to use up to 5
million gallons per day from the surface water treatment plant near
Winnie, which is considerably more than the actual and forecasted
water demands. The pre-Ike water demands for the Peninsula were 0.7
million gallons per day in winter months and 2.0 million gallons per day
in summer months. The total pre-Ike drinking water storage capacity on
the Peninsula was approximately 5.5 million gallons. The current water
storage capacity is approximately 2.5 million gallons, as three storage
tanks are currently out of service due to hurricane damage.
BPSUD was able to provide potable water to the Peninsula and the “boil
water” order was lifted.
The BPSUD water supply system is designed strictly for standard water
use only and is not designed for fire protection pressures. The hydrants
apparent on the Peninsula are for flushing or cleaning the water lines
rather than for fire protection.
In addition to its central mission of providing potable water to the
residents of the Peninsula, the BPSUD has used its influence to impose
some building standards for new subdivisions in order to make utility
locations uniform, to impose building setbacks, to require appropriately
sized meters for properties with more than one mobile home, and to
ensure adequate roadway widths.
Before the storm, the BPSUD had about 6,200 water service
connections, of which approximately 1,800 have been restored. The
BPSUD’s 5-year recovery plan outlines a schedule for having a total of
4,600 connections by 2014.
Water supply lines crossing Rollover Pass were attached to the bridges
crossing the Pass before the storm. When the storm destroyed the
bridge, it took with it the water pipes causing a system failure west of
the Pass. The BPSUD provided an emergency water supply to the
western end of Bolivar Peninsula through a pre-existing 4-inch pipe
buried below the Pass, which is owned by a private citizen. This
provided some water across the Pass, but it was extremely limited.
Once TxDOT made temporary repairs to the bridge, the BPSUD made
more permanent repairs to the water system by repairing the 12-inch
and 20-inch mains that cross the Pass. These repairs were completed
and a full supply of non-potable water became available to the western
end of the Peninsula on October 24, 2008. By February 28, 2009, the
34
Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment services on Bolivar Peninsula are primarily
individual, private, on-site septic systems. There are two small privately
owned wastewater treatment systems and one wetland sanitary sewer
treatment system in High Island. No public sanitary sewer is available.
After the storm, many of the individual systems were severely damaged.
Bolivar Blueprint
Tanks and drain field lines were torn out of the ground. Galveston
County has a system for permitting replacement systems, but it does
not have a monitoring system to check for failures.
The quality and effectiveness of the existing septic systems vary from
old installations that drain directly into waterways to new aerobic
systems. According to a 2008 study commissioned by the BPSUD,
Bolivar Peninsula had approximately 5,000 individual septic systems.
This report indicated uncertainty about the number of failing septic
systems, but noted that the average useful life of a septic system is 15–
20 years and that most of the systems on Bolivar Peninsula had been in
place for over 20 years.
One of the major issues facing Bolivar Peninsula has been the fact that
septic systems are sized according to the number of people expected in
a residence in conjunction with the resident soils, with most sized for 4–
6 people. However, during the summer months, many of these homes
accommodate 15–20 people and the septic systems are often overtaxed
causing untreated sewage to be discharged into the groundwater as an
overflow from the holding tank.
The type of septic system currently being installed on Bolivar Peninsula
is an aerobic system. Aerobic systems required a 1-foot clearance
between the bottom of the field and the water table, rather than the 2foot clearance required in conventional systems, because they do some
pretreatment before sending the effluent into the field. With this
aerobic type of system, the size of the field can also be reduced and the
minimum possible lot size can be smaller than with a conventional
system.
Two privately owned sanitary sewer systems on Bolivar Peninsula
currently convey raw sewage from residences to small waste water
treatment plants that discharge the treated effluent into the GIWW.
One system serves Laguna Harbor in Port Bolivar and the other serves
Bolivar Blueprint
Audubon Village in Crystal Beach. Both are owned and operated by
Bolivar Utility Services, L.L.C. of Beaumont, TX. The owner obtained
permits from the Texas Department of Environmental Quality (TXDEQ)
for these plants with the permission of the BPSUD. The BPSUD has the
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) from TXDEQ for the
entire Peninsula, which allows it to supply both water and sewer to the
residents. Because the BPSUD does not provide sewer service, it
allowed this private entity to use portions of its CCN to obtain permits
from TXDEQ and build and maintain these two small package plants and
their associated underground piping and appurtenances. These two
systems are completely separate from the BPSUD and are the sole
responsibility of Bolivar Utility Services, L.L.C.
A small wetlands-type wastewater treatment facility in High Island was
built for and is owned and operated by the High Island School. In
addition to the school, the system conveys the discharges from nine
residences owned by the school district. The remainder of High Island is
served by individual on-site septic systems.
Determining whether a septic system is failing is difficult and costly, due
in part to the resident soils. The soils on the Peninsula are generally so
sandy that the effluent from the systems leaches through the sand and
into the water table and it is not apparent from above ground if system
failure has occurred. As systems are brought back into service after the
hurricane, Galveston County Health District measures the degree to
which systems are intact but cannot test the effectiveness of treatment.
Stormwater Drainage
The stormwater drainage system on Bolivar Peninsula consists mainly of
roadside ditches and culverts at crossings. Many of these ditches and
culverts were in need of maintenance before the storm. After the
storm, almost all were completely filled in with sediment. This creates a
situation in which stormwater runoff floods the roads almost
35
immediately during any size rain event. All of the roadside ditches need
to be re-graded and cleaned in order to function as they were designed.
One of the main areas of concern for stormwater drainage is the system
along Route 87, which is a series of culverts, roadside ditches, outfall
ditches, and a feature known as the slough. The slough is a permanently
ponded area on the Gulf side of Route 87 that extends approximately 10
miles through the Crystal Beach area.
Telecommunications
During Hurricane Ike, both landline and cellular telephone service
experienced substantial service disruptions. Even months later, the
landline service on the Peninsula is unpredictable while cellular service
has been repaired.
Roadways
Bolivar Peninsula has three road categories. Routes 87, 108, and 124 are
owned and maintained by TxDOT; some are the responsibility of
Galveston County; some are privately owned and maintained. Many
roads on Bolivar Peninsula were damaged considerably by storm surge
and some along the Gulf were completely destroyed.
The Route 87 roadway and stormwater drainage system is maintained
by TxDOT. It is the only evacuation route from the Peninsula, so flooding
issues are a major concern for both residents and County officials.
Flooding of this roadway has been a problem for many years due to low
elevations, but the problem has intensified due to the large amount of
sediment left in the drainage ditches by the hurricane. TxDOT is cleaning
and rebuilding the ditches along Route 87. However, outfall channels
that convey runoff through private properties from the roadside ditches
to either the Bay or the Gulf were similarly filled with sediment and
debris by the hurricane. Most of the outfall channels are not within
recorded easements and the acquisition of these easements is the
responsibility of Galveston County. Galveston County staff is working to
36
acquire these easements in order to allow the necessary ditch
maintenance to proceed.
Economy
Economic conditions on Bolivar Peninsula are considerably different in
the spring of 2009 than they were in the spring of 2008. Businesses on
the Peninsula are relatively small and are generally service oriented.
Approximately 97 percent of the business establishments on Bolivar
Peninsula have had less than 20 employees and most are dependent on
the seasonal tourist market which peaks during the summer months.
Almost all of the nearly 100 different businesses that were on Bolivar
Peninsula prior to the hurricane were either severely damaged or
destroyed by the storm. According to the Bolivar Chamber of
Commerce, approximately 35 percent of the businesses had reopened
by April 2009.
The economy on Bolivar
Peninsula before the storm was
highly dependent on the
rental/tourism market.
According to the 2000 Census
data, approximately 65 percent
of the homes on Bolivar
Peninsula were summer or
rental properties and thus were
not occupied year round.
With approximately 3,600
structures either destroyed or
damaged, the rental vacation
industry on Bolivar Peninsula
has been decimated. In the first
and second quarters of 2008,
the hotel occupancy activity on
Bolivar Peninsula increased 13
Bolivar Blueprint
percent over the same periods in 2007. During the last half of the year,
the rental activity on Bolivar Peninsula decreased by 67 percent. During
the fourth quarter, there were no rentals. Due to the effects of the
hurricane, Bolivar Peninsula’s rental activity for all of 2008 was down
approximately 14 percent from 2007.
Before the storm, the taxable property value on Bolivar Peninsula was
approximately 3 percent of that of the entire County. Because the value
of a property is based on its value on January 1 of the prior year, the
financial impact of Hurricane Ike was not recognized until January 1,
2009. Per the Galveston County Central Appraisal District (GCAD), the
taxable value of properties on Bolivar Peninsula in 2008 was
approximately $640,409,000. For fiscal year 2010, GCAD estimates that
the Peninsula will have lost approximately 48 percent of its taxable
property value. This is an estimated $300 million in taxable property
value lost due to the combination of hurricane damage and the general
state of the economy. For fiscal year 2010, the taxable property values
on Bolivar Peninsula are anticipated to be approximately 1.6 percent of
the County’s overall taxable property value.
Bolivar Peninsula public expenditures are largely funded through
property taxes and the amount of these funds is based on property
values. County property taxes help to pay for the costs of road
maintenance, schools, emergency services, public health services, parks,
and beach maintenance. Management of the beaches is subsidized by
the income received through the Beach Sticker Program. The BPSUD is
funded through user fees. Public expenditures increase as beach usage
increases. Galveston County has a population in excess of 284,000 and
the population of the nearby Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area is
over 4.5 million (U.S. Census, 2000). The proximity of these population
bases provides for the expectation that there will be increased demand
for usage of the Bolivar Peninsula beaches.
Bolivar Blueprint
The economic engine driving activity on Bolivar Peninsula has been
tourism because of its 34-mile long oceanfront beach. The beach
attracts long- and short-term visitors and, before Ike, the number of
people staying on the Peninsula was estimated to swell during summer
holiday weekends from about 6,000 to over 20,000 with daytime
crowds of two or three times that number (interviews with Galveston
County Health District official and H-GAC official). With very few
businesses operating to accommodate day-time visitors and the stock of
rental units severely depleted by the storm, tourism on Bolivar
Peninsula has been severely diminished.
The Bolivar Peninsula has long been providing the Galveston County
citizens and visitors with open beaches, recreational fishing, and wildlife
observation opportunities. Over time, the visitors to Bolivar Peninsula
and citizens of the County have varied in their median ages, income
levels, and their primary interest for being on Bolivar Peninsula and
using the open spaces of the Peninsula.
The Galveston County Commissioners Court adopted the Galveston
County Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan in 1998. In
September of 2003, the Master Plan Update included an inventory, a
needs assessment, a priority ranking analysis, a 4- to 5-year action plan,
and a budget/expenditure analysis. Galveston County maintains four
parks and two boat landings on Bolivar Peninsula. Galveston County is
preparing to embark on a new Master Planning effort that is expected
to incorporate more preservation and conservation of open spaces and
environmentally significant areas in the County.
The 70-acre Fort Travis is located near Point Bolivar and prominently
features the military fortress constructed at the end of the nineteenth
century. This park is identified as a special use park and prior to the
storm provided beach access, a walking trail, a fishing pier, camping
cabanas, a volleyball court, a playground, three picnic areas, tent
37
camping areas, World War I and II structures, and restrooms with
showers.
Gregory Park is a 15-acre park located in Crystal Beach. This facility has a
picnic pavilion, four additional picnic areas with tables and grills, a
practice backstop, and an outdoor basketball court.
The Lauderdale and Erman Pilsner Boat Ramps are Special Use Facilities
maintained by the County Roads Department. These ramps are located
on Yacht Basin Road adjacent to Rollover Bay and near the North Jetty
and Fort Travis Park respectively. They each have two lanes, pier and
tie-up space, and parking. The Erman Pilsner Boat Ramp has restroom
facilities, and the Lauderdale Boat Ramp has a portable restroom.
Housing, Human Services, and Education
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were about 5,500 housing
units on Bolivar Peninsula, of which over 3,200 (60 percent) were
seasonal units. Nearly one-third of the homes were occupied by seniors
(over 65 years of age). Less than 10 percent of the households had
income in the poverty category. About 170 households had annual
incomes above $100,000. Of the 1,800 non-seasonal units, over 1,500
were owner-occupied. Only about 15 percent of the householders had
lived in their homes more than 20 years. Just over six percent of the
homes had values above $150,000.
Noble Carl Park, also located in Crystal Beach, is a community park, as
well as the location of the Criminal Justice Center, County Annex, and
the Joe Faggert Community Center. Joe Faggert Community Center
programming is managed by the American Association of Retired
Persons with no county funding. The 11-acre Noble Carl Park has a
playground, a picnic pavilion, two picnic areas with tables and grills, a
trail, and a lighted baseball field.
Approximately 60 percent of the Bolivar Peninsula housing stock was
destroyed by Hurricane Ike and another 38 percent remained standing
but were damaged. Scour was among the causes of damage and scour
depression on Bolivar Peninsula was as much as 10 feet deep (FEMA,
2009 b). Another factor contributing to the damage is deteriorated and
failing wood pilings on which homes were elevated to reduce the risk of
flooding (FEMA, 2009 b).
Due to the peculiarities and the pathway of Ike, Port Bolivar and High
Island fared better than the center areas of the Peninsula. Tables 12 and
13 show the relative levels of damage experienced by structures as
provided by Galveston County.
The Bolivar Community Center is a 15-acre site in Port Bolivar. It is a
neighborhood park with a playground, four picnic shelters, two practice
backstops, and an outdoor basketball court.
38
Bolivar Blueprint
Table 12: Number of Structures by Level of Damage
Community Complete Substantial Somewhat None Unknown Total
Port Bolivar
26
520
230
21
13 1,049
Crystal Beach
2,413
581
836
82
4 3,916
Gilchrist
916
14
22
0
0
952
High Island
4
13
15
0
0
32
Total
3,359
1,128
1,103
103
17 5,949
Table 13: Percentage of Structures by Level of Damage
Community Complete Substantial Somewhat None Unknown
Port Bolivar
25%
50%
22%
2%
1%
Crystal Beach
62%
15%
21%
2%
0%
Gilchrest
96%
1%
3%
0%
0%
High Island
12%
41%
47%
0%
0%
Total
60%
19%
19%
2%
0%
As shown in Tables 12 and 13, of the approximately 6,000 structures on
Bolivar Peninsula before Ike hit, 4,700 or 79 percent were either
substantially damaged or completely destroyed (FEMA, 2009 b). Having
such a large percentage of the existing homes unusable has had a
devastating effect on the population and it will be felt in these
communities for years to come.
Fire Departments
The fire protection system before the storm consisted of four
independent volunteer fire departments, one each at Port Bolivar,
Crystal Beach, Gilchrist, and High Island. These stations were entirely
staffed by local volunteers. Because there are virtually no structures
remaining in Gilchrist, the fire department has disbanded. The Port
Bolivar and High Island facilities received some damage but are now
functioning essentially as they did before the storm. Galveston County
has been staffing a temporary fire station in Crystal Beach at the
Crenshaw School building. The facility has been staffed since November
Bolivar Blueprint
2009 by paid firefighters from both the City of Galveston and Galveston
County.
Medical Services
In addition to fire protection, three of these fire departments also
provided EMS. The High Island EMS operated independently of the fire
department. Due to staffing problems and inability to provide sufficient
trained EMS personnel to meet the State requirement of two EMS
staffers in each ambulance, Bolivar Peninsula services received waivers
from the State of Texas that allowed operations with only one trained
EMS provided and a driver in each ambulance. EMS volunteers were the
only medical attention available on Bolivar Peninsula. Of the
approximately 700 EMS calls received annually, almost 92 percent were
received during summer weekends. The Port Bolivar and High Island
EMS locations are only staffed when qualified volunteers are available.
The temporary station at the Crenshaw School is currently staffed by
paid EMS personnel 24 hours a day.
39
For emergency medical needs, ambulances either travel across the ferry
to Galveston or to a hospital in Winnie or Beaumont. There has been no
medical facility on Bolivar Peninsula for some time. At various times in
the past, medical clinics were established, but none were in operation
immediately prior to Hurricane Ike.
it did before. The need for additional sheriff’s deputies and constables
on the Peninsula has been a matter of public concern by both residents
and County staff for some time. During the off-season, Bolivar Peninsula
is a quiet and calm place with little or no need for intervention.
However, during the summer, and especially on weekends, the
population balloons and the available staff are often overwhelmed by
the sheer number of people. They are forced to concentrate their
efforts on strategic locations and matters of public safety. The holding
cell can fill quickly requiring detainees to be placed on a bus and taken
across the channel to Galveston for further processing.
Senior Services
Galveston County offered a “meals on wheels” program to deliver meals
to the elderly that was coordinated through the Department of Parks
and Senior Services. All senior services on Bolivar Peninsula by
Galveston County have stopped since the storm. The “meals on wheels”
program has been discontinued. There are “congregate” meals provided
at the Senior Center located in the Joe Faggert Community Center in
Crystal Beach, but those meals are offered only at the facility and are
not provided by the County.
The hospital in Winnie is a small community hospital with approximately
40 beds. While it requires the shortest travel time to reach from the
Peninsula, it is limited in the types of medical issues it can address. For
more serious medical needs, patients are transported to the University
of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston or to the hospital in Beaumont.
With critical patients, it is often necessary to be transported by
helicopter to a hospital in Houston, Galveston, or Beaumont.
Public Health
Because mosquitoes naturally thrive in the Peninsula, mosquito control
is administered county wide by the Galveston County Mosquito Control
District. Mosquito control applications are generally administered to
large areas through a fog spray, either by airplane or truck. This
equipment was destroyed by the storm and will be replaced.
Application locations and frequency is determined by field testing for
mosquito populations and spraying when population thresholds are
reached.
Law Enforcement
The law enforcement location at the County Annex building in Crystal
Beach was not substantially damaged by the storm and is functioning as
Education
The children on Bolivar Peninsula attend two separate school districts.
The western portion of Bolivar Peninsula is in the Galveston
40
Bolivar Blueprint
Independent School District (GISD). Students in this area are served by
Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School on Bolivar Peninsula and Ball
High School in Galveston. The eastern portion of the Peninsula is in the
High Island Independent School District (HIISD). Students in this district
attend the High Island School, which includes elementary, middle, and
high school students. Residents on Bolivar Peninsula that are in the GISD
and wish to attend the High Island School may do so through an
agreement between the two school districts. The HIISD sends a bus each
morning and afternoon to both the ferry landing and to Winnie to serve
these students. In September 2008, approximately 112 students
attended High Island School from the GISD. This number is expected to
drop to approximately 80 for the fall of 2009.
The Crenshaw School, which opened in 2005, is elevated on concrete
columns with the bottom of the first floor beams approximately 10 feet
above grade. It suffered some wind damage during Ike but did not
Bolivar Blueprint
suffer flood damage because of elevation (FEMA 2009 b). The High
Island School did not suffer significant damage during the storm. Both
schools have been repaired and are functioning today.
Both school districts are experiencing a reduction in the numbers of
students due to a general population decline on Bolivar Peninsula as a
result of the storm. Many residents either have not returned yet or do
not intend to return. For the 2008 school year, the populations of the
two school districts fell approximately 24 percent each after the storm.
These numbers are expected to increase for the fall of 2009. In addition
to the reductions in the numbers of students, the financial health of the
districts has been affected because the funding for the schools is
directly related to the taxable value of property within the districts.
Since the taxable property value has dropped considerably on Bolivar
Peninsula, the budgets of the two school districts are expected to drop
accordingly.
41
42
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix B. Written Sources of Information
Altman, Kris, “Spring Break, the Party No One Wants to Host,” Christian
Science Monitor, March 26, 2001.
Bello, Marisol, “Not much of anything left in Crystal Beach,” USA Today,
September 16, 2008
Beven, John L. and Daniel P. Brown, “The 2008 Atlantic,” Weatherwise,
March/April 2009.
Block, W.T., “Bolivar Peninsula: Scene of Slaving, Smuggling,
Filibustering, and Farms,” retrieved May 4, 2009 from
http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/bolivar.htm.
Bolivar Chamber of Commerce, “Welcome to the Bolivar Chamber of
Commerce,” retrieved April 30, 2009 from
http://www.bolivarchamber.org.
BPSUD, “Bolivar Peninsula Special Utility District,” retrieved April 30,
2009 from http://www.bpsud.com/index.html#.
Brown, Jeff L., “Robot Inspects Damaged Bridge,” Civil Engineering,
March 2009.
Burka, Paul, “My Frail Island,” Texas Monthly volume 36, Issue 11,
November 2008.
Council on Foundations, “Philanthropy in Texas,” retrieved April 24,
2009 from
http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Government/StateGiving/
TX.pdf.
County of Galveston, Galveston County Hurricane IKE Recovery Effort,
January 2009.
Daniels, A. Pat, “A History of Bolivar Peninsula,” The Handbook of Texas
Online, retrieved April 24, 2009 from http://www.bolivar
Peninsula.com/home/content/view/26/64/.
Daniels, A. Pat, “Bolivar Lighthouse,” Bolivar, retrieved April 30 from
http://www.crystalbeach.com/light.htm.
Bolivar Blueprint
DHS, National Response Plan, retrieved April 24, 2009 from
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/nrp/index.htma.
FEMA, 2009 a, Community Status Book, retrieved April 30, 2009 from
http://bsa.nfipstat.com/comm_status/index.htm.
FEMA, 2009 b, Hurricane Ike in Texas and Louisiana: Building
Performance Observations, Recommendations, and Technical
Guidance, FEMA P-757, April 2009.
Galveston Bay Estuary Program, The State of the Bay: A Characterization
of the Galveston Bay Ecosystem, 2nd Edition, August 2002,
retrieved April 13, 2009 from
http://gbic.tamug.edu/sobdoc/sob2/sob2page.html.
Galveston County Engineering Department, 1997, Rules, Regulations
and Requirements Relating to the Approval and Acceptance of
Improvements in Subdivisions or Re-Subdivisions, March 3,
1997.
Galveston County, 2009, Hurricane Ike CDBG Disaster Recovery Funding
Action Plan and Method of Distribution, retrieved May 13, 2009
from
http://www.co.galveston.tx.us/Galveston%20County%20CDBG
%20Method%20of%20Distribution%205-8-09.pdf.
Guidry, Harlan Mark, “Hurricane IKE Public Health Ready and
Responsive,” Texas Public Health Journal, Fall 2008, Vol. 60
Issue 4, pages 27-28.
Halff Associates, Galveston County Hurricane IKE Recovery Effort,
January, 2009.
Hardy, Lawrence, “Starting Over,” American School Board Journal,
December 2008.
H-GAC, Gulf Coast Region Water Quality Management Plan Update,
2005, Appendix III:
H-GAC, Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, July 2004.
Hyder, Martha, Ed., “Assessment of Hurricane Ike Damage Continues,”
Oil Spill Intelligence Report, Aspen Publishers, October 9, 2009.
43
Appendix B. Written Sources of Information
Jacob, John S. and Stephanie Showalter, The Resilient Coast: Policy
Frameworks for Adapting the Wetlands to Climate Change and
Growth, August 2007.
NOAA (Retrieved April 30, 2009 from
(http://maps.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/viewer.html.
NOAA, Hurricane History Map, Retrieved April 29, 2009 from:
http://maps.csc.noaa.gov/hurricanes/viewer.html.
Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA), February 11, 2009, retrieved
May 4, 2009 from:
http://www.orca.state.tx.us/pdfs/ike_news_final.pdf).
Office of Rural Community Affairs, Disaster Recovery Division, State of
Texas: Plan for Disaster Recovery, prepared for U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, February 18, 2009.
Peacock, Walter Gillis, Jung Eun Kang, Rahmawati Husein, Gabriel R.
Burns, Carla Prater, Samuel Brody, and Tommy Kennedy, An
Assessment of Coastal Zone Hazard Mitigation Plans in Texas,
Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University,
January 2009.
Policy Link, “Equitable Development Toolkit,” retrieved April 16 from
http://www.policylink.org/EDTK/AH101/What.html.
Schaumburg & Polk, Inc., Regional Wastewater Study Bolivar Peninsula,
August 2008.
State of Texas, Emergency Management Plan: Annex P: Hazard
Mitigation, August 2008, retrieved April 22, 2009 from
ftp://ftp.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/plan_state/state_annex_p.pdf.
Texas A&M University, Bolivar Peninsula: Growth Management and
Beach Access Study, 1978, College Station, TX.
Texas Data Center, Estimates for the Total Populations of Counties and
Places in Texas for July 1, 2007, October 2008, retrieved April
24, 2009 from
http://txsdc.utsa.edu/download/pdf/estimates/2007_txpopest_
place.pdf.
44
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, “CDBG Disaster
Recovery funding,” retrieved April 30, 2009 from:
http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/cdbg/ike-and-dolly/index.htm
The Heinz Center and Ceres, Resilient Coasts: A Blueprint for Action,
2009, retrieved April 24, 2009 from
http://www.heinzctr.org/publications/PDF/Resilient_Coasts_Blu
eprint_Final.pdf.
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix C. Initial List of Issues Identified by Steering Committee and Subcommittees
Economic Development& Small Business Subcommittee
Unmet Needs of Small Businesses
• Funding for small businesses existing and future is vital
• Immediate gap funding to help businesses get back to where
they were or better and to help them get re-established and
reopened quickly to bring back community
Other Issues Confronting Economic Growth
• Ferry issues, need better access to bring tourists, business and
supplies to business owners
• Development of an Improvement District on the Peninsula, the
board voted in, the Peninsula keeping the money
• Public transportation i.e. shuttle service, street legal mules for
rental
• Reevaluate windstorm and flood insurance to met the needs of
coastal development residential and business
• Tie in local businesses with disaster relief companies who better
knows the community and their needs. It would also give the
local economy an immediate jump start by hiring local
• A disaster protocol for businesses, giving business owners
immediate and first access, better security, business owners
have different evacuation needs and they need to be addressed
• The need for gambling on the Peninsula
Education Subcommittee
Unmet Educational Needs of the Bolivar Peninsula
• District partnership
• Lack of daycare facilities on the Peninsula
• After school activities for all ages of children
• After school activities for children not relating to school
Bolivar Blueprint
Things We Like About Education on Bolivar Peninsula
• GISD distance learning grant
• Head start program for 3 and 4 year old children living on the
Peninsula
• We really want Crenshaw School to remain as an educational
facility for Peninsula students
• Crenshaw’s outdoor classroom – 24 acre habitat in partnership
with US Fish and Wildlife
• High Island’s Houston Audubon Society preserve
Environment Subcommittee
Things We Like About Bolivar Peninsula
• Not heavily populated
• Beach
• Marsh - waterfowl and rookeries
• Fish
• Fauna
• Birds
• Flowers
• Less regulation because not in a municipality
• Dark skies
• Variety of people
• Northernmost sea turtle nesting grounds
• Seafood-shrimp/oysters/crabs
• Low season is un-crowded
• Isolated – privacy
• Ferry ride (except for the wait)
• Lighthouse
• Eco-tourism – wildlife observation
• Seafood
• Rural atmosphere/laidback attitude and cattle grazing
• History is deep
45
Unmet Environmental Needs
• Marsh erosion/need for protection along GIWW
• Replant native vegetation and trees (habitat restoration)
• Control light pollution
• Trash pickup/waste management
• More public education on the beach
• Better fishing access/boat ramps
• Dune restoration & protection/beach nourishment (Need a
unified dune system)
• Law enforcement knowledgeable about environmental
laws/regulations (Including game wardens)
• Reestablish oyster beds
• Freshwater inflow into East Bay will reduce oyster diseases
• Beneficial use of dredged material to reduce beach erosion on
Bolivar Peninsula
•
Look at duplexes and triplex units to make homes more
affordable to families
• Most affordable beach living on the Texas Gulf Coast and in the
country
• Independent thinking/living people – plus and minus for the
community
• Freedom to use golf carts
• Not crowded with tourists in the wintertime
• Not over inspected during construction
• Affordability
• Beautiful beaches and access to fishing
• Communities and people sticking together no matter what
Housing Subcommittee
Housing Issues
• Affordable / workforce housing
• Does county have procedures in place for money set aside for
housing?
• Need to help rebuild or elevate existing homes that were
damaged
• Process/intake center for housing to screen eligible applicants
for rebuilding and elevating existing homes that were damaged
• Money for elevations is needed
• Build environmentally conscious green houses – energy
efficient; water systems tank-less, etc
• Suggested max price for replacement home $125,000 for
elevated home
• Priority to: homeowners who were uninsured or underinsured
for their loss
46
Bolivar Blueprint
Human Services Subcommittee
• Sense of community
• Continue and plan growth for 1st responders/EMS
• Meals on Wheels / Seniors’ transportation program should be
brought back
• Churches: Food Pantry programs involving County Seniors’
program
• Improve timing of evacuations
• Bolivar Volunteer Fire Department concerns – not put out of
business by not collecting fees for EMS calls
Unmet Human Services Needs
• Emergency Clinic
• Partnership with Chambers County for Hospital/Medical
services
• Include Emergency clinic in recovery center / GC Health District
• Fire Services / EMS services: plan for full-timers and controlled
growth
• Seniors: transportation / meals
• Youth programs: best practices involve parks, schools, churches
• Broader concept of Constables
• Resident Deputy program
• Expand public safety communications
• Expand operation of jail
• Improve re-entry plan for residents and property owners
• Other evacuation equipment
• Pre-stages marine landing craft
Infrastructure Subcommittee
Unmet Infrastructure Needs
• Drainage issues – storm water drainage is not getting to the ICC;
physical barriers exist and need to be corrected; in some areas,
Bolivar Blueprint
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
storms have washed away top layers of cover over buried
utilities and pipes
Master Drainage Plan needed for entire Peninsula; specific
issues are SH87 roadside drainage; county and private roadway
drainage, the slough; SH87 departing outfall ditches; 404 permit
complications
Possible creation of a Galveston County Drainage District notes;
complications would include necessary easements and longterm maintenance of drainage ways
Repair of hard surface roads
SH87 dune protection needed between High Island and Gilchrist
SH87 realignment to the north
Hardening of electric service lines: concrete, anchors, and closer
poles extending the 69 service to High Island
Need for a Comprehensive Coastal Erosion Plan including beach
nourishment, breakwaters, and levee system
BPSUD noted need to bore under Rollover Pass with a 20”
waterline; the current w/l is above grade and attached to the
existing bridge; catastrophic damage to the bridge would sever
the water service from Rollover Pass to the Ferry Landing
Need for a wastewater collection system noted; also noted
were multiple serviced provider options; some areas are harder
to reach than others; adequate treatment capacity; immediate
universal access; serviced line sizing; quality construction
methods/maintenance/upgrades
Transportation improvements to Galveston was noted; ‘ferry
system improvements and/or bridge
Improved facilities for fire fighting; not only building/structural
facilities but also larger waterlines to reach minimal flow
requirements; more hydrants are also needed
County roadways; discussion to introduce drive over dunes;
dunes help fight washouts during storms
47
•
•
•
•
•
•
Establishing a safe shelter or shelter of last resort; Crenshaw
School or old fort were discussed as possible facilities needing
upgrades to accomplish this
The need to provide workforce housing; the Peninsula is too
isolated for an adequate service industry labor supply to exist
without ample housing opportunities for lower income citizenry
Public transportation was raised as a potential Peninsula
amenity
A desire for broad band service was noted
Discussion of limiting beach access occurred; less access points
lead to less breaks in the dune system
Conversion of the SUD to a MUD was noted; this conversion
would begin to address funding and taxation opportunities to
benefit the community infrastructure and services
Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Subcommittee
Unmet Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Needs
• RV Park Fort Travis and additional cabanas and facilities to
support
• Public restrooms/showers for beaches and pocket parks
• Fishing piers – public preferred on bay and Gulf
48
•
•
•
Enhance Gregory Park with additional facilities (picnic tables,
ball fields, acreage, and public restroom)
Should Rollover Pass be removed? Alternative areas should be
developed for fishing with facilities (e.g., RV parking, restrooms)
Master Plan for Bolivar Peninsula addressing parks, ball fields,
piers, fishing should be developed by Galveston City Parks
Department with an assessment of public needs
Things We Like About Parks, Recreation, and Tourism on Bolivar
Peninsula
• Personal service from Fort Travis personnel and
facilities/historical value (70 acres)
• Would like to see it utilized more
• Point Bolivar Park (12 acres)
• Noble Carl Park (11 acres)
• Gregory Park (15 acres)
• Annual Crab Fest
• Beaches / Tourism
o Parking sticker program
o Eco-tourism / birding
o Open beaches vs. pocket parks
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix D. Listing of April 25, 2009 Open House Comments
April 25, 2009 Open House Comments
Build a community center for the residents of Port Bolivar Habitat restoration with native trees and shrubs
tennis/walking/playground.
We need to speak for ourselves as Bolivar - not Galveston. We are not
Stop scraping our Peninsula to death. Why are we killing everything Ike
Galveston. Even though we are a small community, we can still have our
didn't?
own things.
Use Crenshaw School as a base for Daycare program to give Peninsula
Advertise that Crystal Beach & Bolivar are open to public & beach is
residents a place for very young children so they can work to support
improved
family and rebuild homes.
Toll bridge with a charge of $25.00 per car except for Bolivar property
Dunes!
owners.
Stores for food.
Proper drainage & now's the time!
Get control of RV's (4 wheelers)
Yes, natural state of the Peninsula can be enhanced and used to attract
tourism dollars
Build a community center for the entire Peninsula - enclosed a/c and heat Environment issues - trash from gulf
for community and elderly functions.
Higher education needs.
Limit beach access to fewer roads w/ better roads
Get police to enforce laws fairly.
Alternative to slow erosion @ rollover instead of simply closing it
Build a medical clinic for the P.A. Bruce Mitchell who's working out of his
No cars on beach
house on East Road.
Extra summer law enforcement support from inland police agencies that
Close rollover
could be worked as "extra jobs" by partnering agencies.
If the law would ticket the tourists more than the locals, we might get
Put people first not turtles
somewhere!
We need a 24/7 medical emergency clinic.
Sewer system
Enforce parking passes.
Limited access to beach
More neighborhood patrols.
Get mosquito plane back! The only thing that did any good!
Increased patrols in neighborhoods.
Beautification committee, replant trees, palms along highway
Do we have a police force? I don't see them when you need them!)?
No more cars on our beaches! It destroys them and the wildlife!
Bolivar Blueprint
49
Get officers involved with locals that care about this community to form a No oleander needed because: 1) poisonous plant 2) no benefit to
trust without skepticism.
wildlife/migration birds. Need native yaupon and native vegetation which
will survive another saltwater intrusion
More beach patrols.
Do not burn debris piles - move them.
Back up the beach passes - enforce.
Recycle Center
Enforce existing laws before diving into new laws.
Protect marsh land no development in it, rebuild lost marshland.
Officers need to write out more tickets for littering! If they're not able to
No mandatory trash pick up
give the Parks Department or the residents the authority.
Police ticket locals, but the visitors run free and get a "warning".
Open beach to continue
4C's (health clinic) expansion.
Land erosion [comment was placed adjacent to What are the biggest
environmental issues being faced on Bolivar?]
Enforce tickets for people speeding down the beach and doing doughnuts No vehicles on this beach = privatization; protect Chapter 61
in the sand - this destroys out beaches.
A County center with Social Services and Health care.
Find a supplier of trees that are native to our area to give to home owner
so we can have shade now that so many are gone
Charge for the ferry - $1.00 per car.
Leave beach access as it is & vehicles as it is
Where does the money go, it is a service of Texas (see above)?
Rebuilding of our dunes and ground cover to stop sand from blowing
everywhere
At least a minor emergency clinic for emergency and basic needs without
Preserve the dark skies! Street light design makes this possible with night
having to travel to Galveston or Winnie.
time lighting
Need a large outdoor sign in front of Joe Faggert Community Building to
Cars on the beach are not the problem. People need to pick up their trash.
inform everyone passing by of events on Peninsula on a weekly basis.
Food program back on Monday's
Parking stickers bring in $$$
Outdoor programs for kids
Bolivar (Ind. High Island) is one of the premier wildlife observation places
on the planet. Visitors come from all over the world. Many tourist $$$
beach /bay/marsh ecosystems
Public bulletin board at AARP building.
Keep the Pass open! Put jetties out to decrease sand coming in
Lot of social groups to be involved - hope they come back.
Close the Ferry no bridge
Home health care availability.
Make Bolivar more ecofriendly
Bolivar volunteers are the best - keep them funded.
The overflow from Galveston parties needs to be addressed. The mess &
foul language isn't good enough for families
Liked Bolivar the way it was - less restrictions, less crime, more friendly
We need recycling options for paper and plastic
people, less traffic. It was a great place to live.
50
Bolivar Blueprint
There are too many developers here - kick them out.
No cars on beach golf carts only
Appreciate Volunteer Fire Department
Better mosquito control using integrated pest management - BT not
pesticides
Sorry Gilchrest VFD disbanded, but I understand why. It was a great
Minimize beach entrances to protect the Peninsula
service with great volunteers.
No long lines at businesses and get to talk to a real person that you know
A place to dispose of debris & trash other than our beaches & vacant lots
and exchange information.
No big traffic problems here, which is great.
Put some big trash receptacles on beach
Bolivar does exist east of Crystal Beach.
Marshes along ICWW need to be protected
Any Volunteer Fire Department and establishment to (provide) emergency Keep the pass open and put the jetties out to decrease the erosion; make
services for this area would be great support to our rebuilding efforts and a bridge that is higher and big boats can go under
community. We must be able to care for those coming back, visiting and
for the full-time residents.
Everybody's so carefree and wants to have a good time.
After our transfer station closed a couple of years ago, people started
dumping large items on vacant lots, beach, etc. We need a permanent
solution to a transfer station
Was an easy life. Now new rules and regulations that are not in writing are Native vegetation equals tourist $
a problem.
Human services are weak at best. Satellite 4C's (health) clinic expansion is Transfer station similar to Galveston would be good
a good idea.
I agree (see above comment)
We love our beach leave it like you found it. Take your trash!
Increase building codes, Habitat for Humanity for low income housing,
Less beach access more dunes
Limit beach access in subdivisions. Multiple access increases risk of gulf
breaching dunes, Use steel structures to build.
Eliminate 4.5' vegetation rebuild line - Use mean high tide rule as law is
Enforce litter laws to the max
written.
Neighborhoods without deed restrictions will allow full time residents to
Use buyout land for pocket parks
return. How many people can afford to build under new codes?
Tear down junky houses, some codes are needed
They should make a place to put cars when you go to the beach instead of
putting cars on the beach
Deed restrictions = tyranny! High expensive standards are lowering the #
Bird sanctuaries need trees, bushes etc. replaced
of people able to rebuild or sell!
Affordable house for middle income
Funding for parks in each area Bol, CB, Gil & HI
Bolivar Blueprint
51
Do a survey to see just how many people are having to commute to work
Need parking off of beach
here that lived here before.
Affordable rebuilding for those that TWIA is not paying.
Buy flood prone property
Rebuilding elevation assistance - Wonderful! We need!!! GREEN structures More beach depth
wonderful!
Bring together faith organizations to coordinate housing recovery
Recycling opportunities
Communicate through the schools/school children RE: recovery and
Mandatory trash
recovery planning as a way to communicate with Moms and Dads.
Grants for homestead people that did not get enough insurance money to Reduce number of roads that access beach
rebuild and are here living in RV's on their property.
No Government Housing
To what avail [In response to Reduce number of roads that access beach]
Multi family dwellings (apartments/duplexes)
Need oleander cuttings & trees
1,000 20 to 35 year old head of households have been displaced to
Texas needs returnable deposit containers
Beaumont
Quit letting State/Fed insurance screw home owners to the wall - surely
Money & material for replenishing dunes. This is high priority.
there is a competent educated forward thinking individual to oversee
W+F+H.O.'s.
Bolivar needs more houses
Be green
No housing projects
Recycle cans-bottles newspaper drop off's
Get some Habitat Homes on Bolivar Peninsula
Bigger trash cans more frequent collection. Keep our beach beautiful
Codes and Rules increase the cost of housing - no more
Needs: trees, vegetation, dunes, prevent erosion, correct drainage issues,
trash management yes, yes! Use broken concrete and other safe debris to
build up dune areas
Have rebates for those who do build "Green" thru Federal grants.
Fine beach trash leavers more receptacles
Program to get "bums" off beaches and out of parks
Recycle
Limited access to beach
Dark skies @ campground we need lights
You need some type of apartments or housing for workers.
The open areas
Low cost of housing will make it attractive - Keep rural feel - bird sanctuary Stop light pollution! There are few trees now - bright lights will be seen for
miles
What to do about insurance
Does anyone remember Crystal Beach has been incorporated 3 times
since I moved here in 1964
A-Flood Zones
Keep cans off beach
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Bolivar Blueprint
Invest in rebuilding will be higher quality rebuilding due to FEMA cleaning Limit development; encourage wildlife & wetlands
up debris
Keep Crenshaw and High Island School Open
Drainage was bad before Ike and is worse now. Need help now.
Make it easier to build apartments - Codes are "squirrely"
Bolivar's biggest asset - bird migration. Protect the habitat
Need affordable "to CODE" builders, we want to come back stronger!
Best birding in TX! Wonderful wildlife
No cars on beach - rent golf carts
Need to control light pollution. We don't need bright lights in our eyes at
night - go to the city for bright lights!
RV's
We need lights on Bolivar Peninsula by Roll Over Pass OK
Where are they now? - (people/families with an) income range less than
Let everyone who was here before Ike rebuild at a fair cost no extreme
$30K and what are there plans for coming back - community development codes
corporation/housing developer
Priority boarding at Ferry
What about Gilchrist? We live here!
Buyouts are not cool. Try to keep what you've got. You own a piece of
The people are the greatest asset of the Peninsula; no nature nazis
Texas! Be Proud!
Too many RV's already!
Coastal wetland areas are precious; Protect our local & migrating bids brown pelicans, roseated spoonbills, for even the alligators and snakes
Need a gas and grocery store in Bolivar
offshore breakwater barriers for erosion
Permits for RV's must require tie downs and anchors to not damage new
Control light pollution
construction.
The houses that are standing have got vines and there just beautiful!
No cars on beach
No long lines when you go to the grocery store, post office, etc. Unless it is Replanting vegetation let our birds come back
during the summer months. We have 9 months of living in paradise.
Knowing who to call if you need a service done and speaking to a real
Beautiful wildlife
person.
The unity of all the communities on the Bolívar Peninsula to help each
Keep the wetlands stop the land trading
other.
Knowing all of your neighbors and everyone that works in the businesses.
No building in V-zones on coastal barriers
No sitting in traffic like when you live in a big city.
The dark sky; the birds; the beautiful sunsets.
A great place to live. Good community.
The beautiful beaches; wildlife!
Bolivar Peninsula does not have all of those asinine codes that make
Protect the wildlife - you protect everything
housing so expensive, yet the new houses are good. No more codes or
rules.
Bolivar Blueprint
53
I love this place, it's God's resort!
We need tree replacement
Need grocery store in Bolivar with L gas
People with no concerns for fauna & flora have ruined other places, don't
let that happen here
This is a wonderful community
Put people first not turtles
Neighbors helping neighbors
HI - ISD already has distance learning set-up for college credits
Buyouts are the most effective mitigation!
Keep High Island High School open
Need affordable housing - such as RV's easily movable in case of hurricane Incorporate Audubon Sanctuary into environmental education programs
threat
I want all my school tax dollars to stay in Bolivar
B.P.I.S.D!
Make rebuilding for us easy - permits, etc. If rebuilding is more affordable Save our High Island School and Crenshaw School and parks
we can come back easier. Some of us may never be compensated by our
insurance.
Not too commercial - birds and wildlife make it unique.
Need activities for kids
Public restrooms and many trash bins (maintained by County)
Break from GISD!
Enforce existing laws on the beach - no glass and litter better beach clean- Providing high School grades in Crenshaw
up; more trash cans, more trash pick up
Public access to beaches does not have to include cars
There will be free summer programs for kids
Keep pass open - use jetties to prevent erosion
Stay away from Galveston ISD
Build back the wildlife please!
Keep High Island High School open love the small classes for the kids.
Close rollover; Historical festival at Fort Travis
Sometimes we have to do what is best for all our kids, they may mean to
come together as a team.
Replant more trees & foliage throughout parks to bring back birds and
One Peninsula ISD
other wildlife!!
Keep rollover pass open w/ parallel jetties (like at Grand Isle) to stop sand We need BPISD
from entering the pass
Have crab fest
With small classes and caring dedicated teachers, could be an exceptional
educational facility
Raise Hwy 87 we need a way out without getting stuck by the tides or
Join High Island District
freeway
Keep all facilities in working order and clean
United we stand divided we fall
Improve Gregory Park; covered picnic pavilion area; gulf fishing pier; cool
Galveston ISD won't support Crenshaw very much longer - Wake Up!
crab and music festival
54
Bolivar Blueprint
Close the beach to cars if parking permits are only enforced 2 to 3 days a
Cooperate for the children to create a great BPISD
month
Have a beach patrol in several locations all weekend
Keep both our schools Open - High Island and Crenshaw
Safe entertainment; no gambling sites!
Children "History of Ft. Travis" festival
More events, e.g. crab fest etc.
Get high education teachers
Fort Travis should be a National Park; it is a treasure; tourism jewel
Build a strong school that will be able to go through a hurricane
Where is our tree funding
Keep all our school tax money on Bolivar
Upgrade Gregory Park with baseball fields etc.
Create a sub district or have an asst superintendent specific to Bolivar - a
local board or advisory board.
Must have adequate (clean) "Day" use facilities; shade, bath, bathroom
Watch for (opportunities for) publicity
facilities!
Must do something about ferries! More - running more often! More
Please remember the students and what is best for them they are our
future.
New family parks/rec areas
Keep the close relations between teachers and students - High Island is a
vital part of the community and should not be forgotten. Crenshaw
withstood the worst so keep it up.
Bike and walking park like League City is building
Break from GISD! We need a Bolivar SD - our school taxes should stay here
for our children
Take the alcohol off the beach
Environmental and Wildlife Classes - Educate our kids
Casinos!
Combine resources in both districts for the good of the children
Encourage fishing & fun in the sun & beach
Join forces with HISD and become a wealthy school district! Keep our tax $
on the Peninsula
No cars on beach; no alcohol on beach
Consolidation of school districts on Peninsula away from Galveston
I'll drink to that [referring to no cars on beach; no alcohol on beach]
My wife and I do not have children but, keep Crenshaw and increase GISD
and HISD
I'll drink to that too [referring to no cars on beach; no alcohol on beach]
One District, GISD
Move to Galveston [referring to no cars on beach; no alcohol on beach]
Keep Crenshaw open
Close Rollover - stop erosion
Keep Crenshaw open
Put big (adequate) trash cans & pick up on the beach
Close Crenshaw bus to High Island
Rebuild the golf course bigger and better! 1 or 2 more festivals
High Island athletics, small classes, student teacher ratio and for the pre
school in High Island
No casino's please [unclear remainder]
Keep Crenshaw open
Bolivar Blueprint
55
Get rid of bums
Keep Crenshaw open
Protect natural resources
Make High Island and Crenshaw one
Run the bums out of the parks that prey on us by approaching us for
Make one school district
money so they can buy beer
Cleaner beaches; festivals - festivals - festivals - exercise park
Think of the children's education, Crenshaw has GREAT teachers and staff
Better beach clean up
After school programs with a bus driver to take door to door kids home if
can't get a ride
Stop cars on the beach and you will stop 85% of the trash
Keep Crenshaw open
Please don't close Rollover Pass
Keep this new beautiful program Crenshaw Campus and educational
facility for all Peninsula students.
Public restrooms on beaches
A small community gets help and resources from a large school district;
therefore our children have opportunities that they would not have
without this connection.
Better beach clean up
Let the children make-up their minds (with their parents help) <to
determine> what school they want to attend GISD or HISD.
More bathroom facilities for beachgoers; keep cars on beach
School Choice
Install trees, palms, oleanders, build dunes, keep some green space
Crenshaw recognized!
Trash barrels, porta-pottys needed on beach
Utilize all children as one common goal - THE BEST EDUCATION!
Develop Fort Travis for tourism
Need more after school program with transportation - kids need
meaningful activities
North Jetty is an asset
Classes for marine life ocean studies and camps for kids. And keep
Crenshaw open (teacher)
Build a seawall; protect homes and Hwy
Keep Crenshaw open
Public bathrooms maintained by Galveston Co parks
After school activities for teenagers, keep them busy.
Close Rollover - should never have been dug!
Keep Crenshaw open
Stingaree music festival
Houston Audubon Society presentation - wonderful idea
Talk about rollover pass filling up East Bay
Crenshaw enrollment increasing - High Island decreasing
Fill in Rollover Pass now
Please think of the kids and what we can offer them with after school
programs
Educate the youth (& parents) - kids don't play outside anymore. Get a
Kids can learn, toughen up
pier, nature center, wetlands site for hands on activities for youth. They
will grow up to take care of this area - a great investment.
56
Bolivar Blueprint
Have a historical day at Fort Travis w/ live re-enactments (kind of like the
FFA programs local community education partnerships
San Jacinto battleground does). Have a special area that kids can
participate in (dress in historic costumes, etc.) Appreciate Texas history
Texas Coastal Music and Arts Festival; feature Texas artists of all types,
This Peninsula cannot grow and thrive without a school for our children
feature fabulous seafood with small town coastal community flair
within a reasonable distance from their home.
Build piers and bulks
Bolivar education is very weak and inconsistent in regards to academics
and homework.
Build seawall from where beach is then erosion wont happen
Crenshaw school as part of GISD is a recognized campus with dedicated
students and staff. Let’s keep this heart of our community.
Mardi Gras parade
We need families. Families do not want their children to be carried 30
miles to school. Keep our schools open.
Have crab festival come
Build more churches instead of knocking them down, also home school
children until the schools are rebuilt and make it strong so if another
storm like this comes again we will make it through the storm without
rebuilding, also when schools start opening consider after school
programs to learn what they missed.
Build a public pier
After school programs, support HI School System, One community school
district
Close Rollover Pass to stop erosion
Put in a toll bridge over the ship channel.
Lose rollover (I'll miss it too); build three fishing piers - Rollover, CB, Pt. B
Casino! Please.
w/ Bay access & Gulf access
Have Crystal Land Parade come this December
Sticker program - one price for residents and one for tourists
Keep the drunks from congregating in our parks; no one feels safe taking
Casino - Yes
children there to play
One of the top 10 fishing destinations in the U.S. in 2008; people from 48
Priority loading for residents and business suppliers until a bridge is built
states and 18 foreign countries came
Have a Fourth of July parade this year; on Saturday July 4th this year
No Alcohol
Tourist love gambling
No Casinos
Keep open the pass & help the local assoc. make it better; put jetties out
Close the ferry or charge for ferry service.
Keep Rollover a pass
No bridge - give residents PB passes.
Close Rollover!!
Casinos will run off all residents - Developers and corporations will take
over.
No vehicles on beach so children can play safely
Better ferry service
Bolivar Blueprint
57
Keep Rollover open; charge a fee for use
Priority ferry boarding service to residents so we can work
Close Rollover!!! save our beach
Light bridge near Frenchtown needs to be fixed or cut through from ferry
to Frenchtown to Sixth Street.
Close it now!
More ferry boats
Leave Rollover open - as is; charge for admission
Better law enforcement
Lets have crab festival bigger this year; fix up Gregory Park
No cars on the beach
Build a skate rink for kids for Bolivar Peninsula; open Fun Town, water
No beer on the beach
slide
Make Fort Travis a tourist attraction great revenue
Owner access pass to ferry with fee or charge for ferry service
Continue to encourage community events @ parks, etc.; public fishing pier Need public bulletin board at AARP Building
(pay entry)
Neighborhoods are holding more water - flooding easily.
Need a recycling center
Concerned about future flooding over road and ability to leave in future
Yes (see above comment)!!
evacuation.
What can be done about future erosion?
Yes - Recycle!
Will 87 be repaired and go through to High Island if another storm hits?
Build a bridge.
Schools?
Form EDC for Peninsula.
I liked everything - my teacher, the beach, my friends.
No Casinos
Drainage on Verdia streets are bad!!
More ferries
Why do we need "drive-over" dunes?
Clean out the bay so shrimpers can fish it again without tearing up their
equipment.
No drive over dunes.
Sticker program - one price for residents and another for tourists.
Address sewer problem.
No Casinos
Needed - sewer system - a real system. ASAP.
No Bridge
Bury the line before it's too late.
You put casinos in and it's just going to my home and problems with the
ferry lines.
Fix drainage in all areas! Clean out ditches.
Housing is one reason year-round residents have not returned. This would
help us to repopulate our schools also.
Clean out culverts and ditches so we have drainage.
New businesses for employment opportunities
Let's immediately repair the drainage ditches - the last storm proved we
No alcohol on the beaches
are in trouble.
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Bolivar Blueprint
Yes (to above item)!!
Better access to the Peninsula. Who can afford to wait 2 hours to deliver
products to the Peninsula?
Close ferry.
We need a four lane highway on Bolivar Peninsula. Please expand in Port
Bolivar - at Route 108, can't even turn right.
Keep Rollover open.
Yes - Casinos
Please correct drainage issues and improve roadways.
I want Casinos.
What is the solution for drainage?
Go to L.A. (see above comment).
Need wider and higher Hwy 87.
No Casinos
Create new ditches along Hwy 87 for drainage.
No Bridge
Improve drainage.
Keep beach open.
Good roads - not cow trails.
No Casino
Have air strip available and for sale call P. Rogers (409-684-3553)
Build a bridge.
We need EMS 24 hours.
Gambling, please
Better Drainage
No Gambling
No public housing ever
Priority boarding passes for residents (at ferry)
No public housing and if so, we need more good cops.
No Casino
Seawall to protect us from future storms
Improve ferry.
Need dunes!
Go back to priority pass (at ferry).
Drainage Infrastructure
Form a navigation district to take advantage of Intracoastal Waterway and
access to Houston ship channel.
Sewer lines - ASAP
Residents who live here full time need to have some sort of priority
boarding (at ferry). The current situation is unacceptable for those of us
who work in Galveston.
Public transportation needed to mainland
Here, here (see above comment)
No MUD
Install a community fishing pier where residents (utility bill, copy of deed,
driver's license, etc.) get a discounted rate and visitors pay full price.
Strong pier into the gulf to stimulate the economy in our area. We need
good revenue.
Build a bridge if you’re not going to put the ferries in full service (run all of Please - no Casino. If there is one, they get competitive - first one, then
them).
another, then another. Then the Peninsula is ruined. Lake Charles is not
that far away folks.
Bolivar Blueprint
59
No MUD!
Highway 87 is incredibly dark at night. We have e-mailed Pat Doyle's and
Judge Yarborough’s offices repeatedly (neither or whom will receive our
vote again). All we are asking is that we have adequate street lights along
the highway and in the neighborhoods. There are no lights around the
new water tower or on the corner of Boyt Road where there are large dark
holes.
Need to pick up debris at Boyt Road beach access area and fill in when
Keep cars off the beach. Open access to the beaches doesn't mean it has
across both sides of road.
to be by car.
Improving water drainage
Keep cars off the beach.
Need streets repaired in our subdivision - Ocean Shores.
More and bigger trash receptacles
No public housing ever.
Eco-tourism - birders
No low income or public housing ever!
Eco-tourism, bird watchers, nature watchers are clean, law abiding
visitors. They spend $ and do not leave trash.
Repair Hwy 87 before there is no access to the Bolivar Peninsula.
Potential growth with eco-tourism - absolutely! I totally agree with you.
I'm a tree hugger and bird lover too.
Dredge bay.
Beach stickers - enforce the law.
Need a bridge - ferry system old and not up to par - a white elephant.
Better law enforcement
Bus stops
If parking stickers are not enforced daily, then on weekends charge daily
use in restricted areas only.
Sidewalks for children
Paying to park is a real turnoff. Don't have beach stickers. People don't like
it.
Bolivar SUD taking care of sewage
Put more action in the sticker law.
Move 87 back.
We need dumpsters and a transfer station here as we used to have 3 years
ago to keep people from dumping trash on our beaches.
Most canals still have debris and dredging is the only way to rid them
Enforce beach stickers - big fines.
Close Roll Over!
Thousands of birders from all over the world visit Bolivar each year. They
spend many $$.
Close Roll Over Pass!
Enforce the sticker law.
Keep Roll Over open.
Stop driving on the beach.
New sewage treatment plant.
Activate an Improvement District.
Improved Broadband (wireless and wired) service
It is important to keep beach access to all citizens. People come here
because they cannot access the beach in Galveston.
Please fix Gilchrest flashing lights and put lights over bridge on each side.
Trashy beaches run off tourists with money - they go elsewhere
60
Bolivar Blueprint
Keep our history - Roll Over Pass has a lot of memories for residents and is Bolivar - Secede!!
a good fishing spot.
Fix dunes and bridges across them.
Commercial fisheries are very important to the Peninsula economy.
Leave it alone.
Keep the beaches open to vehicles.
Kept alive
Enforcement of "mandatory" evacuation plans.
Having a transfer station to dump trash and debris instead of on lots and
beaches.
No MUD ever!!
Our tax dollars stay here. Galveston County rarely helps us here.
Close Roll Over Pass.
I love Bolivar Peninsula. I think everybody can help Bolivar Peninsula
Run the ferries - TxDOT should be accountable.
Bolivar Peninsula can be built better if we all help.
Get rid of abandoned trashy houses.
Make it more kid friendly
Close Roll Over.
No casino. Please go to Louisiana. If you can afford to gamble, can afford
to drive there. Keep our area natural. Bolivar's not that big. We don't need
that commercial crap. :)
Stop erosion.
Bolivar is a great place to live and wonderful people that care about each
other.
Build public fishing Piers.
Kick developers out. The more people you have, the more problems you
have. Look at the City. [Added by other: "I agree."]
Old Fort
Close Crenshaw.
Close the Ferry.
Casinos
Allow RV's to be used as housing (affordable). In addition, they can be
This is a new clean slate for US… not developers. WE can make it better.
easily moved in case of hurricane threat.
Put a time limit in how long RV's can be in place as not to damage new
Get the trash off the beach. Make it beautiful, not ugly.
homes from flying debris during strong winds.
A real sewer system - not 4" lines. Publicly owned and operated.
No casino
Horizontal offshore breakwaters for erosion.
No Casino. Fix up Bolivar.
Ferry system upgrades
Better access!
Close Roll Over
Rebuild the Beach. Replace the dunes -- quickly.
More public fishing areas
Let the rest of U.S. know how bad it is here.
Why would we close Roll Over? I really enjoy it.
Seawall. Raise Highway 87. Rebuild dunes. Jetties like Galveston.
Keep Roll Over Open.
If people don't litter, recycle and reuse. Bolivar will be a better place.
Close Roll Over - save the rest of the beach.
Seawall now
Bolivar Blueprint
61
Keep Roll Over Pass (4/25/09)
Seawall protection. Protect, make progress and preserve.
No Casinos
Seawall is an absolute must. Dunes have to be built up! Highway 87 raised.
No sewer system
Love living here and raising my kids. Let's protect it with a seawall and
jetties.
Put jetties at Roll Over Pass.
A tall bridge with a cost of $25 except for Bolivar property owners
No MUD
No Casino
No Bridge
Build the dunes by [back?] quickly.
Keep it simple.
Build dunes back so 87 does not flood.
Use parallel jetties to keep sand from coming into the Pass.
Thank you, GISD.
Keep the Pass open.
Better upscaled amenities and services. Clean community. Law
enforcement. More entertainment and nightlife. A "safe" place to live and
retire. Protect Highway 87 access.
Better ferry service
No Casinos - it will bring bad people to our County.
Raise 87.
No cars allowed on beach - only golf carts
County should contribute $/$ to build dunes. It's not fair that homeowners
have to pay for them yet dunes help everyone!
Bolivar should be like it always has been: cars on beach, no seawall.
Freedom for citizens to enjoy what God gave.
Combine Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Gilchrist into efficient and wellstaffed fire and EMS department.
No Casino
Stop talking about a seawall and build one.
I love everything about Crystal Beach - fishing, beach, home, school,
Let's keep our beach like it was. There is no place for parking if we do not
friends.
allow driving on the beach. Our private drives and side streets will be an
awful mess.
Give it back to the Indians.
Bolivar should not be run by realtors, developers and liquor sales.
Make flood lights point down - not at neighbors. Keep Bolivar dark at
If people don't litter then we would have a better home. We should also
night. Stars are beautiful!
build dunes to protect houses.
No more rules!!
Keep cars off the beach. Raise Highway 87. Need better drainage on roads
and entrances.
Leave Roll Over alone.
Seawall. Dunes. Better drainage to prevent erosion. Build Green and to
CODE.
62
Bolivar Blueprint
A lot of people lost everything and the last thing they need [are people]
No seawall dike
making their lives worse. Compassion!!
Close Roll Over under the bridge so people can still fish on both sides.
Stop talking about a seawall or dike. Do it.
Fort Travis needs work.
Receive feedback on becoming a village
North jetties need sand.
Better roads
Keep Roll Over open!
No cars on beach in center of Crystal Beach
Roll Over needs closing to keep the erosion ok and keep the beaches on
Move Highway 87 back. Dunes back and seawall.
Bolivar from disappearing.
Closing Roll Over will restore the oyster beds in the Bay which is silted up
Seawall protection from next "Ike." Highway 87 raised. Dunes higher.
with sand from the beaches.
Whatever it takes to protect what is left and what will be rebuilt.
Centralized fire department and EMS. All should be available 24/7.
Keep the Pass open with parallel jetties to stop the sand from entering the Sheriffs at a station on Peninsula staffed 24/7.
Pass.
Close Roll Over.
Seawall now
Restrictions on RV's placed here permanently.
Why build it if it will be destroyed again? Seawall a must!!
Amen (to above comment)!
Restore the dunes. Replenish the sand. Work on restoring drainage,
especially Crystal Beach. Seawall. Highway 87.
No golf carts on highway.
Improve drainage.
No cars on beaches - only golf carts.
Seawall to protect what we have
Charge at least $1.00 per car for the ferry.
Get cars off beaches.
Qualified County engineer
Seawall with occasional lit areas. Well help us down 87 at night or in fog,
protect our area and would be a nice to ride a bike or walk.
Building code requirements in writing
Elevation requirements
Put building codes in place and enforce them.
Good law enforcement. No cars on beach.
We need sand and other barriers to build back the dunes.
Consider possibilities of MUD district.
Need better drainage to protect remaining areas from washout.
Build a seawall. Gambling. Media help about cleanup.
Charge for ferry - $1.00 per car.
Repair bridges on Frenchtown and Fort Travis - these are our routes that
must be used for safe travel during weekend traffic.
We need Roll Over to support the bay and Intracoastal Waterway. It
provides great fishing, attracts people (which we need to support our
community) and provides water and nutrients to other areas.
Bolivar Blueprint
Make a stronger community.
Economics. New business. Full-time residents.
The reason I love Bolivar is because of the way it was. No changes needed.
63
Community leadership who will speak for local residents.
Economic opportunity. Light commercial and manufacturing. Sound
infrastructure! Utilities, especially electric with renewable considerations.
Tourism base - keeps it quiet most of the year. Definite overhaul; refine of
ferries - 5-hour waits ridiculous.
Keep Pass open
Better communication among residents.
Use mature plants and vegetation
Seawall= beach erosion. Build at your own risk!
We love our dark skies! Less light pollution, BUT we need street lights on
Fill in rollover.
the highway
Require garbage collection as part of water\sewer service
Forming an EDC specific to Bolivar.
Do not burn debris piles - remove
Protection from Gulf. Keep developers out. Better leadership.
Dump area for large trash
Raise 87. Build a seawall.
Enforce laws on glass, trash, parking permit
Help local businesses to rebuild (water slide, golf course) and provide
incentives to attract new attractions (mini golf courses and batting cages).
Native vegetation only
Better evacuation route off the Peninsula.
We need a recycle center
Home - Work - Life
We need our trees
Rebuild and revegetate dunes.
Think ecologically not self absorbed interests
More cooperation from County appeals, fewer red tape. Let people start
with few restrictions and then they plan. This was a compatible place.
Government trying to change.
Keep the community atmosphere it has. Move and raise Highway 87.
Need answers.
Rebuild dunes.
Need accurate and timely and factual communications. Too many rumors.
64
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix E. Transcript of April
28, 2009 Public Hearing
rolling. First off, I'd like to have your attention for
a few minutes to give our County Commissioner
Pat Doyle a chance to welcome you and say hello.
Galveston County Office of
Emergency Management
COMMISSIONER DOYLE: I want to first start
with thanking each and every one of y'all for
coming out tonight. We had a great weekend, not
only cleaning up the beach; but we had a great
turnout as you can see by all of the sticky notes on
the various committees' boards in comments that
were made over the weekend, the all daylong,
come and go as you please.
1353 FM 646W, Suite 201, Dickinson, TX 77539
ph 281-309-5002
BOLIVAR BLUEPRINT PUBLIC HEARING
April 28, 2009, 5:30 P.M - 8:00 P.M.
Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School, 416
Highway 87
Crystal Beach, Texas 77650
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Welcome. If you have a
card that you filled out and you'd like to make
some comments, could you, please, hold that up in
the air so we could come by and pick that up?
Hold your comment cards up so we can come get
them.
We're going to get started here real soon because
we have a number of people that want to make
their comments and then leave. So, we'll get this
rolling in just a minute.
We're going to go ahead and get started. Thank
you all so much for coming. How many of you are
full-time residents on the Peninsula, just out of
curiosity? Wow, that's fantastic. We are so glad
that you're here today. We're so glad that Bolivar
is so important to you and so important to your life
and your future.
We are really anxious to get your comments. And
we're going to set a few ground rules and get this
Bolivar Blueprint
But we appreciate you coming back out this
evening and coming to us to give us your
comments. The thing I want to begin with by
thanking Barry, the FEMA group. I know FEMA
doesn't always get the best publicity.
But from the County's perspective, they've been a
great partner for us in starting a lot of projects.
And probably the biggest and most important to
me was getting the Peninsula cleaned up after Ike.
And so, I appreciate that.
Obviously, the County folks that are here, John
Lee, John Simsen, my good buddy, Lee Crowder,
I couldn't do what I do without these folks. Tut is
here. All of the County folks, they've been equally
up to the task to get the thing rolling for us. So,
y'all know -- I know your personal issues have
been difficult.
But now we're looking at what we've been talking
about from the beginning, and that's building back
Bolivar better, if we can. And this is one of the
biggest steps in doing so. And so, we appreciate -and I want y'all to understand from the County's
perspective, this is a community-based -- this is a
FEMA assisted; but it's a community-based
project or blueprint, as John Simsen refers to it, to
help us sculpture what we want the Bolivar
Peninsula to look like over the next two to three
years.
And it will help me go back to Commissioner's
Court with something in hand and say, "This is
what the people have said. These are the different
type of things they would like to see done." And
that's what I want to have in hand so I can -- give
me an aid or a tool to do that.
So, I appreciate y'all's input in that process. As I
stated, this is a building-back process. All of the
good comments we can take -- that I can take back
to court, I really appreciate. And I appreciate all of
your time in coming out and helping me do that.
So, thank y'all for coming. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thanks, Commissioner.
It's pretty amazing to see how many things this
County Commissioner can do in a 24-hour period.
He's on both sides of the Peninsula at any given
hour of the day. Then he's on the Mainland,
working in San Leon and Bacliff. And he's just
amazing. I think we ought to give him another
hand for all of the work that he's done. (Applause.)
COMMISSIONER DOYLE: Thank you.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Barry Hokanson, with the
FEMA ESF-14 or long-term recovery group, has
been spearheading our effort to put together the
Bolivar Blueprint. They are the brains behind the
operation. They kind of have helped us figure out
what kind of meeting to conduct.
They helped us put together the open house on
Saturday. They helped us select the Steering
65
Appendix E. Transcript of April 28, 2009 Public Hearing
Committee to kind of lead the process, and they
helped us get the subcommittees together to begin
the process of actually starting this discussion. So,
they've been instrumental to it, as the
Commissioner pointed out.
So, I'm going to have Barry come up and tell you a
little bit about the ground rules for tonight and get
you up to the podium and start getting those
comments in.
MR. BARRY HOKANSON: Thank you, John.
Can you hear me okay?
First of all, I'd like to thank those of you that
turned out on Saturday, as the Commissioner said.
Could I just see a show of hands how many were
here on Saturday, also? Thank you again for
coming back. What we did on Saturday was: We
had these same display boards up. There are seven
subcommittees of the overall Steering Committee.
And the list is outside. In case some of your
friends and neighbors are on that list, You can also
speak with them individually, if you'd like.
The purpose for the Post-it notes was to either
agree or disagree with some of the comments that
are on those boards. There are still sticky notes
here tonight. And if you didn't get a chance to do
that previously, we're going to stay here until 8:30
-- excuse me, until 8:00 tonight. We'll stay longer
if you need to so that you can add -- if you didn't
get a chance on Saturday to still add some
concerns or comments to that list.
As John and the Commissioner said, this will be a
public hearing coming up next. And your
comments will be recorded and be part of a record.
And what will happen with this is: We're in the
66
process of developing a strategy with the help of
the County, with the help of the citizens such as
yourself.
important, of course. But for the purposes of this
hearing, we really want to collect the information
that is going to help us guide the Blueprint.
So, for tonight, each person will be given three
minutes to speak. John Simsen and the
Commissioner will chair that. You will be
speaking to them, but your comments will be part
of the record and will go into the final report.
John Lee and I are here to help with some of those
off-topic issues. And we'll certainly be here to
help with that. So, I guess without further adieu,
we'll move right into it. And we'll go with the first
person who's requested to speak, Alejandro
Aguilar.
I believe, if there is time after everyone has had a
chance to speak, if someone wants to speak again
for three minutes, then they're going to entertain
that as well. But on the first round, they wanted to
limit the time so that everyone gets a chance to
speak.
Is there anything else we need to -MR. JOHN SIMSEN: When you do come up to
the podium, there is a microphone there, a wireless
microphone. Sometimes you have to get a little
close to that microphone to make sure that people
can hear you. We would like you to state your
name clearly for the court reporter record.
And I guess I will just make one other comment.
Barry and the Commissioner did mention, this is a
great opportunity to look and see what other
comments have been made. So, feel free to wander
afterward to take a look at those comments.
But one other point I want to make is that initially
the point of this hearing is to get your feedback
and to get your suggestion. There are an awful lot
of other issues that people are dealing with. And
we really don't want to tie up the microphone with
individual personal issues with, say, debris
removal or, you know, your problems with an
SBA loan or things of that nature. Those are
MR. ALEJANDRO AGUILAR: My name is
Alejandro Aguilar. Most of you know me as either
customers or from the community and have
entrusted me with your auto repairs. So, I think
you will believe me that what I'm saying is true.
One of the subcommittees is for low-income
housing. Now, I've been through a battle with
DHAP. I've asked the County Commissioner
Doyle to help me, which he did very emphatically;
and I appreciate his support.
In today's paper there was a front-page article for
one of my tenants that was hit by a truck. And if
you read further through on page B5, it gives the
answer. They never called me back. I had to read
about it in the paper. "No housing assistance."
Four people live on my property right now that
DHAP will not pay for. They're looking for lowincome housing. I have a solution. It's a lose-lose
situation. Hopefully, somebody I've been talking
to, all of the agencies involved, will get together
and help out with this short-term deal to get
contractors here to build the houses. They're only
going to be here a short period of time.
That's one thing. The low-income housing
definitely is an issue. Me -- and there's other
Bolivar Blueprint
people on the Peninsula that can provide shortterm low-income housing to get some of our
houses rebuilt and fixed. It's a good idea. And if a
storm comes, we can haul them out with a truck.
It's not a big problem. It's safer. That keeps us
from losing everything.
The other alternative is we've been told we can
move off the Peninsula to Port Arthur, to High
Island or to Galveston. Anybody here want to
leave? Raise your hands. Low-income housing is
needed for someone to rebuild their houses.
The second item on my agenda is the trees. The
cleanup effort was great. Our nuisance abatement
man is pretty up on trees and the regrowth of
them. And I spoke with him myself; and I think
that a program to replenish indigenous trees to
help with the oxygen on the Peninsula, put some
greenery back, either on their grant or at a
reasonable fee to the homeowner, is a great idea.
The third thing and final thing is the drainage and
the sewer, which I've also spoke with the powers
that be; and they said it will take a little while. But
most of us know right now our streets are flooded,
and our ditches are flooded, and our yards are
flooded. (Applause.)
And how is the sewer system going to work with
all of the culverts filled and no drainage out to the
streets? We have to do something; otherwise, it's
going to be a cesspool on the entire Peninsula.
So, any of you, even if you're not seeking housing
in travel trailers or you know somebody that needs
a place to live or that has a FEMA voucher and
nowhere to rent on the Peninsula and they need to
live here to help us rebuild or to live here
permanently and become a part of our community,
Bolivar Blueprint
please call anyone you can think of to see what we
can do to have more housing here without all of
the resistance.
We've got a man that's crippled. He has a broken
collar bone, four broken ribs, a broken back and a
severed femur that is living on charity right now.
And he's got a voucher for a house. But there is no
house. He doesn't want to leave here either. And
that's about all I have to say. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you. Good
comments.
Next up we have Roger George.
MR. ROGER GEORGE: I just want to thank
everyone for coming out this evening. I'm just
going to speak briefly about High Island
Independent School District and the community.
And I've got something I wrote about as I was
growing up as a child and what I remember and
what I learned about the people from Bolivar and
being from High Island.
First of all, I want to express my deepest sympathy
to those who have lost so much due to Hurricane
Ike and its roaring waters. Your willingness to
pick up the pieces and build Bolivar back is to be
commended. Although I did not lose my
belongings, I have grieved over the losses from
friends and family from High Island all the way to
Port Bolivar.
High Island is a very special place. Thousands of
people drive down Highway 124 on the way to the
beach to Galveston and do not realize they went
through High Island. But yet thousands of bird
watchers from all over the world locate High
Island on the map before they plan their next
birding expedition on the upper Texas coast.
I work in the petrochemical industry, and I have
met thousands of people or hundreds of people -I'm sorry -- who have either owned beach houses
or frequently enjoyed the rentals on weekends.
Most of them know High Island as a great fishing
spot and "Oh, yeah, they've got a great fruit stand
right there on -- just before you go down the hill."
The other day I ran into a guy that I've known for
a long time, and he asked the following questions.
The new number one question is: "Y'all about to
get things put back together down there?" The old
number one question, which is now the number
two question is: "How's the fishing?" And the
number three question is: "Is the fruit stand open
up yet?"
You know, in my travels up and down the Gulf
Coast, working in the refineries, I've met
numerous people who lived in High Island -either lived in High Island when they were
children because their fathers worked there in the
oil field or visited their aunts or uncles and
brothers or sisters who lived in High Island and
worked in the oil fields.
They all have fond memories of summer fun from
crabbing and fishing on the pier or playing
summer league baseball and swimming at the
beach. Some of you may be old enough to
remember what High Island, Gilchrist, Crystal
Beach and Port Bolivar used to be.
I've only seen the glimpse of High Island in old
photographs. And through those photographs, I
found a sense of pride in the little town that I live
in. The pride that I'm referring to was first instilled
67
into me by my mother and dad. Dad always telling
me to mind your Ps and Qs. Mom saying, you
know, "Say 'yes, ma'am' and 'no, ma'am' and do
whatever you're told to do." Dad, you know, "Son,
don't embarrass me in front of none of these
people. I know them all."
Being the youngest of six siblings, not only did I
have big shoes to fill; but I also had several pairs
to fill. As a kid growing up, I never really knew
what it was like to be alone or without someone to
share in the fun or the trouble that we may or may
not have gotten into.
Watching my brothers and sisters participate in
football, basketball, baseball, one-act play and
band really gave me an understanding of what I
was supposed to do in school. Our parents made
sure that we understood the importance of our
grades and encouraged us to participate in any and
everything that we wanted, as long as we kept our
grades up.
Pride for High Island was instilled in me by the
time I got into the third grade. Some of my
favorite memories -- excuse me. I'm trying to read
through this. Three minutes goes fast.
Some of my favorite memories were made in the
Little League baseball field of High Island, Port
Bolivar and Sabine Pass. Three teams battled it
out to see which town would bring home the
championship. I know several of you here tonight
know exactly what I'm talking about.
I do not remember the exact time when I started
meeting other kids from Port Bolivar, but I guess I
knew some who were cousins of friends that I had
already in High Island. As I began to get to know
these other kids from down the beach, I realized
68
that they were just like me. The only difference
was they went to different schools.
During all of this time, I never realized that my
mom and dad already knew most of the people -most of the parents of the kids that I had been
playing baseball against in Port Bolivar. I'd ask
my dad about the people from Bolivar, and he sat
back and laughed a little bit. Then he told me,
"They were just like family."
He told me stories of running around the
Peninsula, playing ball and riding horses or
picking watermelons. Some of his dearest friends
were from Port Bolivar, and he talks about these
moments when I fill him in about the latest news
from down the beach.
Soon after I gained all of this knowledge about the
people of Port Bolivar that I never knew I gained a
new best friend, Rodney Kahla. We became the
best friends during the baseball season before
sixth grade. I soon became friends with about 20
to 25 more kids that came from Crystal Beach and
Port Bolivar to attend the sixth grade in High
Island. If I remember correctly, there were
approximately 42 to 46 kids in that class that year,
which is pretty amazing for that time on the
Peninsula.
The sixth grade was a wonderful time in my life. I
met several of you. Some of you, I went to school
with some of your kids. Some of you taught me.
And through my junior high and high school
years, I probably stayed in Port Bolivar more than
I did in High Island. The people of Bolivar have
always treated me like family just as they did my
dad when he was growing up.
Through this time in my life, I've learned a lot
about pride and the people of the Bolivar
Peninsula. The pride -- I'm sorry. I learned about
the pride that the people of the Bolivar Peninsula
had for their community as well. Growing up in a
small community with a 1A high school has
afforded me the opportunity to meet some
amazing people in other small communities.
The number one similarity that all of these people
had was pride in their school and the loving family
atmosphere of their community. High Island has
been a starting point for some pretty amazing
people in the past 70 years. High Island ISD has
always strived to promote the children of the
Peninsula to be their best.
Doctors, lawyers, teachers and coaches, military
men and women, business owners, preachers
engineers, Realtors, nurses, housewives,
managers, ship captains, photographers, bankers,
auto mechanics, police officers and even a few
beauty queens have walked the halls of High
Island.
High Island ISD and the Bolivar Peninsula have
had an impact on their lives, and now they're
making an impact in others' lives. What more can
anyone ask a school district to do? I've always
thought of my fellow High Island alumni as
family.
The memories that I have of school, the
friendships that were created and the families that
have had an impact on my life will be with me
forever, which leads me to believe that a small
district with loving people who strive to provide
the best education for their children and
community really sound like a family atmosphere
to me.
Bolivar Blueprint
Okay. We're going to move on to the next speaker,
Jeanie Turk.
Time?
MR. JOHN LEE: Been time.
MR. ROGER GEORGE: I'll finish in a minute.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you, Roger. We
appreciate those comments, and hopefully we'll
have time to hear some more.
Just a couple of quick housekeeping things, do try
to keep your comments to about three minutes so
that we can move through. And then as Barry
mentioned, we'll start over again and let people
talk some more.
If you could, scoot over and let some of the people
who are standing -- give them an opportunity to
sit. I know you're kind of cozy already. But we're
trying to avoid having to shoot over to the other
side because then it will be hard to capture the
comments.
While everybody is getting comfortable again, I
would like you to think about as you're coming up
to the podium -- think about some of the things
that are important to you about what Bolivar
means to you. What does Bolivar Peninsula mean
to you, and how would you like to see it come
back?
Maybe you could think about three words. How
would you sum up your reason for being here
tonight and your love of this Peninsula and where
you'd like it to go in three words, just to kind of
maybe inspire you to think about some of the
things to say?
Bolivar Blueprint
JEANIE TURK: Thank you, you-all. I'm Jeanie
Turk. And I have a second vacation home on the
Bolivar Peninsula and have enjoyed having a
business on the Peninsula for the last couple of
years and have greatly begun to appreciate all the
wonderful people and the spirit and the attitude of
Bolivar Peninsula.
My concern for the future of Bolivar is that we
have a Bolivar Peninsula. My concern is that
we've had tremendous erosion up and down the
beaches. And one of the proposals has been to
close Rollover Pass. The closing of Rollover Pass
has always been controversial. And there are many
many sides to this issue.
However, I think the very, very important thing
that everyone should remember is that 50 percent
of the Gilchrist in the Peninsula has eroded and
homes have been lost. The sand, the cubic footage
of sand is enormous. I won't go into that. I'm
going to submit some scientific studies that are
done by experts on these matters to the officials
and get them into your hands.
But it is a controversial issue again. But we need
to decide whether we truly want to have a
Peninsula or whether we want to see the continued
problems of erosion. This also affects the future in
terms of future hurricanes in the Gulf. The sand
bars also are eliminated. When you take the sand
off the beaches through the Cut and that ends up in
the Bay, there is a diminishing and a complete
destruction of the sand bars that the waves coming
into Bolivar are affected by.
The second issue that I think is absolutely really,
really important. And he said three words. I'd say,
location, location, location. The Bolivar Peninsula
actually acts as a protective storm prevention for
all the way to the Houston ship canal.
We have the Intracoastal. We have enormous
economic benefits all over the United States from
the industry, the fishing, the tourism and the future
industry that comes from the Bolivar Peninsula.
And the "Ike Dike" Proposal I would like to
strongly support. The small country of Holland,
without the resources and without the money, has
added 50 percent to their country by simply using
good common sense protective measures for their
country. I think we can do it.
And I'd like to strongly support this for
Commissioner Doyle and Judge Yarborough and
ask them to -- and thank them, thank everyone,
thank Judge Yarborough and Commissioner Doyle
for their extraordinary efforts daily and the FEMA
support. The guys that are here that are
coordinating this effort, they really have done a
wonderful job. And I think they will continue to
do a good job. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you, Jeanie.
Next up is Maureen Little.
MS. MAUREEN LITTLE: My name is Maureen
Little. I have lived here in Crystal Beach for 43
years. I watched it go from a little-bitty town to
what we had before Ike. My three words on
Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula is "This
is home." I don't want to live anywhere else.
(Applause.)
69
I would like to tell you that I, like the other
gentleman, am concerned about the drainage, the
ditches that are no longer there, that all of us have
yards that look like swimming pools. And
mosquitoes are getting worse and worse.
I can't get out there and dig my ditch, and most of
us can't. And I certainly can't afford to get
anybody out there to dig it for me. I was told that
somebody was supposed to come through and start
cleaning out the ditches, but I guess that's wrong
because I haven't heard another word about it from
anyone.
I also have a question about the RVs. I understand
the RV parks. The problem I've got is: Even down
on my street, we have houses that are no longer
there that the people have moved in RVs or
trailers, more or less; and they're just taking up
residence there. There has been no attempt to
rebuild or anything else.
And I'm just wondering if we're going to become a
place that has nothing but trailer parks after this is
over. Hurricane season starts June the 1st. And if a
storm comes through, I guarantee you, anything
not even close to Ike, they're going to be gone. So,
I'd like some answers to that question. And I thank
you. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you very much,
Maureen.
Next up we have Julie Schroeder. And while she's
coming up, if anybody else would like to make
some comments, John Lee is passing out the
comment cards.
MS. JULIE SCHROEDER: My name is Julie
Schroeder. I'm currently from High Island but a
70
previous resident of Gilchrist after not owning -you know, I had two houses there. And I don't
own them anymore. But, you know, life goes on.
So, we have taken up residence in High Island.
Otherwise, we're going to have nothing.
(Applause.)
And, you know, Rollover Pass is controversial. I
understand that. But, you know, I have two pieces
of property in Gilchrist; and I have fought to keep
Rollover Pass open. For many years, I support the
Gilchrist Community Association. I don't want to
see it close. (Applause.)
Next up we have George Hughes.
What I would like to see is somebody to step up
and help us put out some jetties out the mouth of
the Pass to deter the sand, to help us build a dike
where we have no dunes.
As we're riding down here today, I'm looking; and
I'm looking. And it's, like, oh, it was high tide
today. I can see the seaweed almost up to the
highway. You know, the highway has to be
elevated because it's a mandatory evacuation
route.
And when they elevate the highway, you know,
why not take that bridge up and over, make our
Gilchrist something that can be used, make the tax
base better because boats could go underneath the
bridge, go out to the Pass, go out through the Pass,
go out to the Gulf to go fishing.
You know, fishing is a big thing for Rollover Pass.
Rollover Pass was one of the ten best fishing spots
on the Texas coast. And I just really don't want to
see that close. I know there is a lot of controversy
about it. But I support keeping it open. And I just
hope that our local government and State
government will see that we have to do something
to keep the economic value in our little town.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you, Julie.
MR. GEORGE HUGHES: My name is George
Tinker Hughes. I've been a lifelong resident of
Bolivar Peninsula since 1950. I raised a family
there. I had a mom-and-pop grocery store, cattle
rancher and whatever. That's not why I'm here
today.
Why I'm here today is to ask you folks to go out
through the community and discuss and consider a
Peninsula-wide school district. Okay? Please put
aside your community biases, whether you don't
like me and Bolivar. And I'm sure there is
somebody that don't. But whether I don't like you
in High Island, that don't make any difference.
What we need to do is to consider what's best for
our children, our grandchildren, nieces, nephews,
what have you. As you know, school districts get
their money based on ADA, be it Federal, State or
whatever. We have drastically lost residents. We
have lost children. I'm not going to do the gloom
and doom.
But I hate to see both school districts on the
community suffer when I think together -- and
remember an old quote. And I seen one over here,
"Together we stand; divided we fall." I'm not
saying we fall. I'm just saying we'd be a hell of a
lot better off together. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you, George.
Bolivar Blueprint
Next up is Shawn Hall. Please make an effort to
speak into the microphone so the folks on the
other side can hear you as well.
MR. SHAWN HALL: My name is Shawn Hall.
I've lived in High Island for 11 years. My wife
grew up there. A couple of things, I'm with Mr.
Hughes there on the school. If we don't, then both
schools are going to go.
Another thing, I work for an organization,
nonprofit, helping people rebuild their homes. If
anybody down here does need help, we're working
with the County to rebuild homes. So, if you need
help, if you want to see me, then we'll give you the
paperwork.
UNIDENTIFED SPEAKER: Phone number?
(Applause.)
MR. SHAWN HALL: Phone number, you can
reach me at (409) 351-5151 or e-mail
[email protected]. (Applause.)
be able to stay here on the Peninsula, certainly not
in the manner to which they were accustomed.
back closer to what they used to be. Thank you.
(Applause.)
Pat and I, after the storm, thought long and hard
about what we were going to do. My daughter put
up quite a battle to get us to come to Houston,
even to the point of adding on to her house so we
could live with them, which wouldn't have worked
anyhow.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: I think we're just going to
turn this one off and see how we do. Hopefully,
that will be better.
At any rate, we got to thinking about it. And we
couldn't come up with any place in the United
States that we'd rather live. We like it here. We
like the pace. From my mind's eye, I think Ike has
done a lot to bring people together.
And all you had to do was be out at the beach
cleanup to see the number of people that were
friends with each other and talking with each other
and trying to help the Peninsula. So, things are
certainly shaping up. I have no idea what it will
look like down the road. I am sorry for those
people that may not be able to come back that
truly want to.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you, Shawn.
Next up, Gary Horn.
MR. GARY HORN: My name is Gary Horn. I live
in Cedars Cove. My wife and I have been here for
13 years. We're gratified to see the progress that's
been made on cleaning up the Peninsula. We're
gratified to see the number of people that are
rebuilding their houses and how some of the
streets in the communities are beginning to look a
little bit like they were down the road.
We're just amazed at the number of people that
because of the cost of rebuilding probably won't
Bolivar Blueprint
One other note, I wish the Water Board would
have had some sort of a forum like this to listen to
people's comments on what is going on now and
what the plans are. That really needs to be
addressed. It's not a long-range plan so much like
we're talking here. It's not high in the sky. It's
things that are happening right now.
And, Jennifer, there's got to be some way that you
can orchestrate such a meeting.
But I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to see the
progress. If the comments certainly made during
the beach cleanup are any indication, people are
willing to get down there and help and get things
Next speaker is Laurel Hendricks.
MS. LAUREL HENDRICKS: Well, I kind of feel
kind of silly right now. I thought we were going to
be addressing Judge Yarborough and some of the
commissioners. But anyway, I'm Laurel
Hendricks. I've been a resident down here in
Bolivar for ten years. I'm also a self-employed
consultant. So, not only do I have my primary
residence down here; but I also have my principal
place of business.
I'm here to speak again on the issue of the beach
erosion and the problems we're having with
Highway 87. Like the wonderful lady that spoke a
little bit earlier, the issue of closing Rollover Pass
or leaving it open has been an ongoing battle
between two factions for, the best I can tell, about
17 years.
To give you some background, I do have an
undergraduate degree in geology. And I also have
a master's in environmental science from Rice
University. But I'm not here to talk about science
or anything like that. I'm here to talk about safety
concerns as a resident here on the Peninsula.
I'm also here to talk to you as a property owner. I
have in front of me, which a lot of you have
already received, my 2009 property tax bill. For
my house, which is uninhabitable right now, I owe
the County over $2100 for this year. It's property
71
taxes, ladies and gentlemen, that pay the County's
bills.
It's time to get real, and it's time to come to a
decision about what we do about Rollover Pass
and Highway 87. I ask you, who was driving
along Highway 87 last night with me about 1:00
o'clock in the morning and had to dodge high
water and swells coming over the road from the
storms that moved through the area last night?
Who in this room watched the waves roll over
what's left of Rollover Pass and wondered if the
water had come up over the bridge yet again?
Who in this room almost ran their car into a ditch
trying to turn into their subdivision because you
couldn't see the road because of the high water
standing? And who in this room either lived to tell
the tale of surviving the wrath of Ike once they'd
been cut off from the evacuation due to high water
and the swells at Rollover Pass and had no choice
but to ride out the storm or know someone who
died during it?
I'm also a member of the Restore Bolivar Beach
Erosion Committee. And as a member, I have seen
numerous reports. I also have a copy of the most
recent report I believe that the committee pulled
together that summarized some of the findings that
have been presented in -- we've got at least 17
written reports that have been submitted and
discussed and debated over the years.
I ask the commissioners. I ask the individuals of
this community. It's time to come to a decision and
make a decision one way or the other of what to
do about the Pass. Being a geologist, I realize that
in geologic time, this strip of land is not a gift. So,
in reality, Mother Nature is going to win.
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So, let's talk about human time. In my opinion,
there are some viable solutions to mitigate the
ongoing erosion caused by the manmade cut.
Also, as a side note, I helped organize one of the
hundreds of Tax Day tea parties that were held on
April 15th.
there are those of us who are nonresidents. We do
represent quite a bit of the tax base for this
community. And we're interested. And I am here
tonight because I felt strong enough to come, and
it meant enough to me to come and say what was
on my heart.
Our group in Beaumont had over 2,000 people
show up to voice their frustration and anger about
how our elected representatives are spending our
money and not listening to us. It's time today. I ask
you -- and I feel kind of silly because they're not
here. But I'm still going to ask them today to listen
to me as one of these frustrated taxpaying,
hardworking citizens who lives and works on
Bolivar Peninsula. I'm asking you to do the right
thing with my hard-earned money to do the one
thing that makes the sense for us in the near term
and down the road as we develop a long-term
strategy to address and maintain Highway 87 and
that, in my opinion, is to close the Pass.
(Applause.)
I am on the Erosion Committee for Rebuild
Bolivar, which Ally McNeil chairs; and I support
all of its goals and its ambitions.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you. The next
gentleman is -- and I apologize if I don't
pronounce this right -- Bill Neild.
MR. BILL NEILD: You did good.
Good evening. My name is Bill Neild; and I'm
from Beaumont, Texas. I spent -- I'm 73 now. And
I've been at the beach since 1946. My dad used to
bring us down here, and we'd spend the summers
at the beach. And so, I can remember most -- a lot
of you that live here now, I've been here almost
equivalent as a resident if you divide that by half.
And I understand the frustrations of the residents.
And you're here by choice for economic reasons,
and you live with the day-to-day problems. Then
Over the years, there have been umpteen
hundreds, maybe not umpteen hundred, but many
studies made about what to do with Bolivar. Many
of them have been shelved over the years either
for the lack of funds or for the lack of agreement
or political purposes, whatever they are.
But there are good studies that have been done. In
2002, one by Pacific Engineering, which was done
by the Texas -- for the Texas General Land Office.
Dr. Watson has done some studies, and there have
been people from University of Georgia. I've read
most of them. And all of them are supposedly
scientific in nature.
But sometimes I say, like the lady said earlier
about the jetties, you know, it makes it simple that
it would work; but the studies don't agree. My
theory is that at least somebody ought to spend
some of this big money on doing a test project to
see if it will work because we really don't know.
(Applause.)
A lady mentioned about the tax problems that
we're currently having. I share her experience in
that I lost my home; and I have a piece of property
down there at Gilchrist just about three blocks
from the Cut, which is gouged out. And yet the
Tax Appraisal Board has decided not to change
Bolivar Blueprint
my evaluation. These things don't make sense to
me.
only speak for myself and give you some
comments.
Several of the things, I probably will rebuild even
at my age at some point in time when I have some
feel that the corrections are going to be made that
are worth the risk. And that will either have to be
some sort of a Geotube again or -- my house
would have never been there had it not been for it.
But even in Ike, it did not make it.
First of all, we've already had a committee
meeting. And I feel that if you're interested in the
best education for your children if you're talking
about GISD versus High Island, I would have to
say "GISD" only because we're bigger. We have
tremendous courses. We have very innovative
extensive courses.
There has to be a life-safety issue addressed from
returning Highway 87 where it's passable during
either surges or storms or just plain old high tides.
And until you can provide the safety for people
who are going to either live here or come here on
a regular basis, they're just not going to do it.
As a matter of fact, well, our homecoming queen
this year at Ball High was Nancy Macon's
daughter. So, we're very proud of that. She is in
the pharmacy school. We have a pharmacy school
over there. So, we have a lot of programs.
That's really most of the things I wanted to say.
I'm going to provided you with a copy of the stuff
that I brought here tonight. And I hope that this
community can come to a general agreement on
what needs to be done and do it rather than
continue to disagree all of the time. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you. Thank you for
your comments.
Does anybody here need to get up and talk
because they're getting ready to go to the banquet,
the Chamber banquet? Anybody who's interested
in speaking who wants to come up now? I will
take you out of order.
MS. SANDRA SIMMONS: I'm Sandra Simmons.
I am a Galveston Independent School District
trustee. I represent this Peninsula, which my
district is 17. Tonight I'm not speaking for the
Board because I cannot speak for the Board. I can
Bolivar Blueprint
Now, I would like -- what I'd like to do is -- I can
say for myself, I'd like to partner with High Island.
They have a need to educate their three-year olds
and four-year olds. And we have the ability to do
that. I, again, think that we should work together.
I'm all for that. I realize that there is -- it would be
nice to have the high school and the school here in
one place.
I don't see how that could happen because, if you
remember, we floated a 60-million-dollar bond
issue in 2003. To build the school was part of it.
And it wasn't just the people here on the Peninsula
that voted for that. There are a number of people
in Galveston that voted for that bond issue because
they knew we had the need for the school.
I don't see how we can go back. And they put the
faith in us and voted it in so we could do this. I
don't see how we could go back on that. If you
ever needed to borrow money again, you wouldn't
be able to.
But I do believe in education. I happened to grow
up very poor in Arkansas. And if it hadn't been for
education, I'd still be barefoot and pregnant. So,
I'm just saying that I do believe in the children's
education.
And if it's up to me, we will work as hard as we
can to copartner with High Island and to help them
get some of our courses and have access to some
our innovative courses. We have computers. We're
doing all kinds of things. We've all been hit hard.
But as I said, I will do what I can do. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you very much,
Sandra.
Next up we have Pete, and I'm not going to try to
read the last name on Anderson Avenue.
MR. PETE ALAROCHA: Hi, my name is P. A.
Alarocha. I live on 2013 on Port Bolivar and
Anderson. First of all, I wish we could get a
seawall built across Bolivar Peninsula. The one
way we could stop this is to get one built. We've
got until June 1st. But we can work around the
season. (Applause.) Also, we need to get these
schools and keep them open. We can do it. I'm
going to try and start a fundraiser if I have to.
The second thing, I live over there in Port Bolivar.
I don't want my house removed from some thing.
It just -- I would like the Galveston County to
please not do this because my grandpa is officially
moving in June because of this situation. It deals
with some kind of things out of the state.
We also need our signals turned on in Crystal
Beach. You know, they're flashing. (Applause.)
We also need a stop light over here on 108 and 87.
73
You still make it to the ferry. We need a stop
signal. We also need a right lane to turn into Port
Bolivar because the line gets too long. (Applause.)
I wish the Commissioner would do something
about that. It would be nice.
MS. CAROLE HAMADEY: I just want to start
out by saying, the comradery in this little
Peninsula is incredible. I've never gotten to know
my neighbors as well now. Over the last nine
years, I didn't even know half of them.
We also need the roads -- the bridges repaired on
Anderson like you're going to Fort Travis. That
needs to be done, and the one on French Town
Road. That's for the emergency purposes for the
ambulance. I am for the schools. Like I said, we
need to keep the seawalls -- let's get a seawall built
for this Bolivar. I've been here since my
childhood. Thank you. (Applause.)
The spirit is incredible. We're never going to give
up. We've got a vision that is going to be more
beautiful than ever. Nothing is going to hold us
back. We just need to get rid of some of these
houses that are falling down right in front of us
and come get debris from our yard every other
day. (Inaudible).
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you very much for
your comments, Mark.
But it's wonderful to live here, and I want to thank
everybody for their hope and encouragement. And
as a small business owner, we will make it better
than ever. (Applause.)
Carole -- is it Hamadey, Out By The Sea?
MS. CAROLE HAMADEY: I'm going to be
leaving. Can I just say something real quick? I just
want to say the comradery here in this place is
amazing. And I've been here since Hurricane Ike.
I've never seen anybody pull together. I know my
neighbors better than I've ever known before. And
the vision we all have is incredible. I don't think
anything can get us down.
I just want to ask somebody, when are we ever
going to get rid of those houses that are falling
down? I keep hearing all these stories. I'm not sure
I know the correct answer. Anybody know?
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you very much for
your comments, Carole.
Do we have any other comment cards out there or
any other speakers, people interested in speaking?
Okay. I've got Marty. I meant if there were any
additional out there that we need to pick up. Marty
is officially last but not least. So, if y'all would
like to make some comments, just let us know.
MR. MARTY BODDIE: Well, as all of you know,
we have our Federal Government. We have State
Government. We have County Government. And I
know they're all doing the best job they possibly
can.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We can't hear you.
MR. JOHN LEE: Let me do my Phil Donahue
routine here.
74
But it seems like there is something we lack on the
entire Bolivar Peninsula, and that is local
representation. (Applause.) I'm not saying we
necessarily need to have incorporated cities.
However, I've lived in a small community, a small
town about the size of High Island. We had a very
strong mayor. We had a very strong City Council.
As a result of that, we had a local advocate. An
advocate that lived right there in the community.
We could go by his office. We could go by his
house and share our concerns. To me, ideally it
would be great if we had something that was
equivalent to a mayor for High Island, Gilchrist,
Crystal Beach and Port Bolivar. (Applause).
That way each of our different communities could
share their concerns with their local
representative; and then they, in turn, could share
concerns with each other and meet with our
County Commissioner.
Again, I don't know how we can go about doing
that without forming, you know, incorporated
cities. Maybe our County Commissioner can come
up with some idea where we can have elected
local representation so all of us -- because all of us
have legitimate concerns. We just don't always
know, you know, who to share those concerns
with. And to me, that just seems like that would be
an ideal situation. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you. We do have
another card that I glazed over. My apologies.
Mark Trimble.
MR. MARK TRIMBLE: Hi, I'm Mark Trimble.
I'm a Bolivar resident. And my three words are
"Bolivar city limits." Shortly after Ike hit I found
myself in Chambers County trying to get home.
And I found myself engaged with a mob in front
of a grocery store across from the sheriff of
Chambers County.
Bolivar Blueprint
We couldn't call our City Government to come
home because we don't have one. We couldn't get
back here. We had people trapped in High Island.
We couldn't get them medicine. We couldn't get
them food. We couldn't call our chief of police
because we don't have one.
Shortly thereafter I went to work with windstorm
engineers that showed up down here with 8-foot
ladders trying to measure and photograph roofs.
We've got 16-foot elevation. So, I was down here
measuring roofs and taking photographs for two
months.
But these guys let me look into the past. Both of
these gentlemen -- one of them was from East St.
Louis, Mississippi; and the other one was from
Gulfport, Mississippi. They were destroyed by
Katrina, very similar to Bolivar Peninsula. And
this grant that we're getting ready to receive, they
have already received and in some cases
squandered because they were unincorporated.
And that money didn't go where it should have
went, and it didn't get divided properly. Like Mark
Twain said, he says, you know what, he said,
"History may not repeat itself, but it sure does
rhyme well." So, we don't want to forget that. So,
we might want to look at a few of these things.
And I don't know how you go about starting a city,
but we need one. And the only one that I know of
that's been started within the last century is on I45, Dimitri's. It starts with a stop sign. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Next we have Danny
Lovette.
Bolivar Blueprint
MR. DANNY LOVETTE: I first came to the
Bolivar Peninsula in 1992. I was fortunate enough
to be a teacher here, a coach and superintendent of
the schools for a short time. I was also a member
of the Gilchrist Community Association. Where
did you go, Julie? And I served on the Bolivar
Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. And it's one of
the neatest places I've ever been.
I want to speak as Tinker did about the school real
briefly. You know, from someone who came from
outside, the school to me was never about a city or
a town. It wasn't a Gilchrist thing, a High Island
thing, a Bolivar or Crystal Beach thing. It was
about kids.
It didn't matter if their name was Bode or Kahla or
Bloom or George or Lejer or Kent or Marrow. It
was just kids. And we took them up and down the
Peninsula in those buses and those vans. And the
kids is was what it was all about. It was a good
thing just as Roger said.
School finance today, I still work in school
business. I work with High Island ISD. School
finance today is totally a numbers game under the
current finance system. Nothing matters. Your
property taxes, believe it or not, does not fund
your schools anymore. It's on a hold-harmless
system based on the number of kids enrolled. The
only way a school stays viable is through the
number of kids in school.
Technology has rendered many of the issues that
Ms. Simmons speaks about regarding curriculum a
little bit moot. She's still correct. Galveston can
offer things at high school level that a smaller
school cannot. That's certainly true.
But the bottom line I think is what Mr. Hughes
said, you know, nothing -- you're talking about
coming back united as a Peninsula. Nothing unites
an area more than a single common school.
(Applause).
And I understand GISD's issues, and they are
valid. High Island's issues are just as valid. But
probably the issue you're concerned tonight is
about this Peninsula, from Bolivar to the hill, and
a united school district where you've got this
community and these communities more than any
other single thing.
I think Tinker said the most profound thing all
night. It is united we will stand or divided you
may fall. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you for your
comments.
Next up we have Amanda Reynolds.
MS. AMANDA REYNOLDS: My name is
Amanda Reynolds. And I'm a member of the
Gilchrist Community Association, but I am not
speaking tonight on behalf of them. I just want to
clear up some things about common
misconceptions that people that are opposed to
keeping Rollover Pass open.
I am personally in favor of keeping the Pass open.
A lot of our opposition believes that we just
believe in a free fishing hole and we don't care
about everybody else's land. And that is further
from the truth.
We all have land out here. I lost my house. My
grandparents lost their house. I have two aunts that
lost homes. So, we're definitely concerned about
75
Bolivar Peninsula as a whole. But something we
also need to look at is the economic development
that the Pass brings not just to Gilchrist but to the
whole community. (Applause.)
It affects Bolivar. It affects Crystal Beach,
Gilchrist, High Island. Even people in Winnie that
we have talked to say that their businesses are
affected by the tourism that Rollover Pass brings
here. There is 33 businesses that were located
within the Gilchrist/Caplan area from big shops
like the bait shop to small personal-owned
businesses.
So, we have people from, not only our state, but
this country and even as far as Canada that know
about Rollover Pass that bring their economy and
their money to spend at our business that help us
support ourselves.
So, I just wanted to let you know we are for
Bolivar Peninsula. We're not just about Gilchrist.
We are for the whole Peninsula. And we are most
interested in something that would help mitigate
the erosion problem. As we know, it's not going to
stop erosion, even if we close it, because we live
on the coast.
So, we're all about dikes or jetties or something
else that would help us slow down that erosion
that would allow us to keep our economy going
while keeping Bolivar Peninsula going.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Wow, we really have some
good speakers tonight. Casey Ochoa.
MS. CASEY OCHOA: Hi, I'm Casey Ochoa; and
I just wanted to say that I have always been -- am I
76
too close? Can you still hear me? Can you hear me
now?
I, with the Lord God Almighty's help, found
property that this building sits on. I have always
been and will always be in favor of one united
school district, whether it's called "Brand New
School District" and we eliminate all of the names.
But that is the only way that our Peninsula will be
united as one. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Well, we are out of cards;
but I know we're not out of opinions. Anybody
else willing to come on up to the podium here?
What's your name?
Mary Luna, come on down.
MS. MARY LUNA: I've only lived here about 12
years as a retiree from Texas City. I'm a school
nurse with a BS and a master's degree and a
teaching certificate. But I only tell you that
because one of the issues that has not been
addressed here tonight is medical care.
We have a lot of elderly people here on the
Peninsula, across the whole Peninsula; and we
have a lot of young people, too, with their children
and concerns for education. But the day that -- and
more concern now because UTMB has closed
their emergency room.
And I've seen the helicopter come down on 87 and
pick up a heart patient who had a heart attack right
in the middle of 87. So, I don't know -- I'm not
informed if there is a medical committee to look
at, you know, the possibility of access to
healthcare. You have to go to Beaumont or
Winnie, even for veterinarian care for your dogs
and your pets; or you have to go to Galveston.
What about us? Thank, God, I'm in good health.
But I know there are other people here who need
medical care. And that's my big concern. The
other concern would be for the Pope. I'm worried
about our Catholic Church. But that's another
thing. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Come on down, sir.
MR. DEWEY JONES: My name is Dewey Jones.
I've been on Bolivar Peninsula for 45 years. My
main house was blown away, but I had a rent
house. And I'm able to get back into it. I have one
comment that I haven't heard.
I wanted to put a light on my old property where I
have some things that I was able to rescue. But the
inspection department in Galveston will not let
you put a light pole on your property unless you
have an RV and you have a permit for six months.
I don't have a RV. But I would like to have a light
so I can see my property. (Applause.) Because the
house that I'm in, I can see the property; but
without a light, I can't see my stuff, my boat. And
I've tried, but they will not let you have a light.
And that's all I'd like to have is a light. (Applause.)
MS. TRISH WHITE: My name is Trish White.
Some of you might know me; some of you might
not. I formerly had a business down in Gilchrist. I
haven't lived here -- I've come here since I was a
child. I've only lived here about the last five years.
And I just kind of want to share something with all
of you. When I first started moving here, I had my
business in Silsbee. So, I was living in Lumberton
but coming here during the week. And I would
stop in Gilchrist every once in a while and talk to,
Bolivar Blueprint
you know, the regular people, the locals, I'd guess
you could call them.
And it was kind of funny because I would always
have them tell me about the Port Bolivar people
and about the Crystal Beach people. Okay. Well, I
lived in Crystal Beach at the time. A lot of them
didn't know it. And when I would come down to
Crystal Beach and kind of hang out with Crystal
Beach, you know, with the locals down there, then
I would hear about the Gilchrist kind of people.
You know?
And I've been coming here since I was a kid, and I
knew this was the place that I wanted to live. And
it really kind of blew me away that all of the
people that I've met have opened up their hearts to
me. Some of them have literally taken their shirts
off of their back and given it to me.
And then we have people that live here on the
Bolivar Peninsula but don't want to come together
as a community. You know, I'm for keeping the
Pass open. I had a business there. I met so many
people, as this young lady was saying, from
Canada, Alaska. I met people as far as England
that would come here three times a year just to
fish, just to fish.
Y'all take away the only fishing spot that this
Bolivar has, what are y'all going to have people
coming here for? What? A bunch of bars? Because
that's all we have here right now is just bars and
restaurants. That's it. We don't have the bait shops.
We don't have the other little gift shops and all of
the other stuff that we used to have here on our
Peninsula.
And, you know, there is a lot of residents and
business owners down in Gilchrist that have fear
Bolivar Blueprint
that they don't -- you know, don't know what to do
or how to come back or what to do on this
Peninsula because we got people wanting to close
the Cut. Well, that's going to put us business
owners out of work and out of business.
MS. SUZY CHAPMAN: Hi, my name is Suzy
Chapman. I had DeCoux's Restaurant. I'm sure
y'all have seen the sign. (Applause.) And we had
Hamilton Real Estate, and my family has had
property here since the '60s, right after Carla.
It's bad enough Ike came along and took, you
know, everything else from us. Why do we have
people that want to take away the one thing that I
think the Bolivar Peninsula has going for it? And
that is Rollover. I don't know if y'all read the
newspapers or not. But Jerry Patterson, wherever
he might be, he's proposing -- he wants, what is it,
52-something-million to renourish and rebuild our
dunes and then another six million to close the
Pass.
One of my immediate concerns right now is the
vandalism that's going on and the police response
and the officers only have one officer in the car.
And I know they're doing as good a job. But when
we come down to work on our house, we don't
want to have to clean up after the vandalism that's
occurred. And maybe we need to get some
neighborhood numbers, networks going, find out
who is supposed to be at houses and things like
that.
Add that up, People. My God, they could build us
another Peninsula for that. If they can't spend that
money on dunes and seawalls, then, you know, I
think they're just going to be taking up all of this
grant money for other sources.
Another thing I've come across is that really
nobody knows how devastated of a community we
are. And I think we've come a long way. But I've
talked to mortgage companies, inspectors,
appraisers, adjusters from all over the country; and
when they see the sand in the yard, they think
that's how it's supposed to be because we're the
beach. They don't realize that we had grass. We
had lawn mowing companies.
And that's all I have to say is I just really wish that
a lot of you guys that have negative feelings about
Rollover would really, really, really consider it
again because, you know what, God is going to
take this whole place one day. You know, so, why
we're living here now, why can't we come together
and just enjoy it and think of one of the reasons
why we're here? Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Who's next? While she's
coming up, I do encourage you, if you're not
interested in speaking publicly, to please look at
the boards and think about some things that are
important to you and leave us a comment card, a
suggestion card.
And when we get phone calls from people that are
renting, they think we're back to normal. And you
have to explain to these people that we don't have
beach accesses. Maybe we need to have some road
signs to show the communities or the travelers or
the Lucy Lous how to get to the beach without
having to drive on private property on lots that
have been restored. And that's it. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Anybody else that would
like to make some comments? I'm going to let Mr.
George finish from High Island unless we have
any other speakers.
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MR. HOKANSON: Before the next speaker, I'd
like to make a quick announcement. On the table
outside the door since you came in, we've added
some mitigation brochures about construction and
placement of homes and things of that kind of
information for you.
So, please feel free as you leave to grab some
information about mitigation provided by the
FEMA staff; and a couple of members of that
group will be here as well. Thanks.
MS. LINDA DOLFI: Hi, I'm Linda Dolfi. I'm a
business owner in Port Bolivar. I really don't feel
prepared to speak today. I had a pretty rough day
with engineers tearing down the front porch of my
house and told me they couldn't rebuild it after it
was taken down because the beams didn't line up
the way they were supposed to or something. But
I'm sure everybody else here is kind of going
through the same thing. Every time you think
you're moving forward, you've got to take a couple
of steps back.
Commissioner Doyle left. But maybe there is
somebody here that can express this to them. But
in my opinion and from what I've talked to a lot of
people about is the number one thing that keeps
this Peninsula for growing and from businesses
coming in and people to be able to rebuild is
access.
I have a business, and I cannot get maintenance
people to come. I cannot get supplies to my
business because no one wants to wait in a twohour ferry wait. Highway 87, you don't know if it's
going to be revived or if you're going to get stuck
here because it's flooded. These are issues that are
State issues. It's a State highway.
78
But we need our County officials to help us get
their attention and get these problems solved
because they're not going away. They were here
before Ike, and they're still here. They're worse.
As far as the ferry goes, we've spent millions of
dollars putting in a new landing; and we run less
ferries now than what we did before. (Applause.)
But I just don't see -- I mean, I've talked to
different people in the fishing industry and stuff.
We have a lot of great access to the water. We
have a lot of natural resources. However, it's not
economically feasible for them to come here
because of the transportation.
Now, I know that everybody probably is prepared
that I couldn't go without making a comment
about the school districts. And I can see where
there is a huge desire to be united. But as a mother
of two children, who are completely different, you
have to also remember that one size doesn't fit all.
And it's kind of unique and great that we have an
opportunity that if our children need a small quaint
school, they have that. If they need a 5A school
with pharmaceuticals, engineering and different
opportunities, they have that, too. (Applause) So,
it's not all with what we we have. Thanks.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: We have another speaker
making his way up to the microphone now.
MR. BOOTS FAGGARD: I'm not a public
speaker or anything. And I've been sitting here
listening to all of this stuff all night. And they
gave me this public comment form. And it says on
here, "What are Bolivar's top three strengths?"
And the first one is revenue from tourists. And the
second one is revenue from property taxes. And
the third one is future development. Okay. It says,
"What are Bolivar's top three unmet needs?"
Information and representation. (Applause.)
It says here, "In your opinion what should be the
primary goal of Bolivar Disaster Recovery?" And
I've got it here, "Bringing back infrastructure to
support future growth and recovery." And that's
what -- we're all interested in that. Because
without that, without the infrastructure, we don't
have anything.
And down here at the bottom it says, "What are
your concerns related to the disaster recovery?"
And right here I wrote, "The road from High
Island to the ferry, repairing the Geotube, how
long is outside assistance going to be available."
The good thing about these meetings is that -- I've
lived here for 67 years. And my mother and father
came here in 1929. When they came out here,
there wasn't any electricity or anything, you know.
And they stayed here. They lived in Gilchrist.
That's where -- our blood. And, you know, my
brother served as constable here forever.
And all I can say is that the people over here, we
need to make the people responsible. We have
people that are responsible. We have a County
commissioner. We have County judges. We have
a law enforcement agency. All of these people are
responsible to us. And they need to start doing
their job better. (Applause.) And that's all I have to
say, basically.
But what I would like to add is that anytime you
can get everybody from Bolivar to High Island in
a room together and not have a big argument
Bolivar Blueprint
about something, it's a pretty damn good thing.
(Applause.)
I think there is a future in this Peninsula. And we
don't need to be discouraged about outside
information about outside agencies or anything.
We're all grateful that they're here helping us
doing the cleanup and all of this. These people are
necessary. We've gotten aid, and we've gotten help
from a lot of people that we didn't know and had
never seen before, people from out of state, from
all over the United States.
They've been here helping us. And I commend
these people. And I'm just -- these meetings -these meetings are very important. And what's
important about it -- the good thing about all of
this is that there is enough comradery in this room
with all of these people from the Peninsula. We're
all glad to see each other. We're glad to see each
other back. We're glad to see each other doing
something. And that's the future of our Peninsula.
And I hope the politicians and the other people
don't forget that. Thank you. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Good comments. Next up,
Sid Bouse.
over here, we will take it in and spread it out. Is
Winnie still here? She was upset we didn't have
some of the environmental issues.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Sid is a member of the
Steering Committee that's helping to put all of this
together. And here is another member.
We worked real hard in a committee to get the
environmental issues brought up. There are
several issues out there that we haven't brought up
tonight. And y'all know what they are in the back
of your mind. The point of all of this system is to
make Bolivar better to work together. I think that's
kind of what I hear as a unified theme, is to work
together.
MR. CLAUD KAHLA: My name is Claud Kahla.
I've lived on the Peninsula for 80 years at High
Island. I've been here for every storm since I was
born. I ran the True Value Hardware Store for 53
years. I just want to add a couple of things. My
committee has made a good report here on the
committee for the Pass.
I think FEMA is here. The County is here. Jeff
Sjostrum is over here. We've got people that have
come together to help us put together a package to
help put our Peninsula back together. Please, if
you have a comment, if you have an opinion, put it
on the board. That's the only way we can address
it and work with it.
I thank everybody for coming from our end. I
really feel like this Peninsula needs an economic
generator. We have tourism, fishing. But I would
love to see us come up with a plan to have a selfcontained economic generator, whether it's
something to do with the port system. I don't
know.
MR. SID BOUSE: Howdy, everyone.
Can you hear me back there, Harold Gene?
All right. First off, if you can't hear me, I'll yell a
little louder. I think we've talked about
representation. I want to make sure everybody
understands one thing that John was talking about.
You may not all be public speakers. But this
forum that we have set up is set so you can give
your opinion. If you'll put your written comment
Bolivar Blueprint
We have an asset along the Intracoastal canal that
I feel like we as a community are not utilizing that
I think we need to look at and try to figure out as a
community how can we draw in something that
will employ our people, bring families in, get the
schools put back together. That's where I feel like
we need to be concentrating because the basis is to
get employment here where people want to live
and get a way for them to make a living. Thank
you. (Applause.)
But I just want to make a few additions to what
they've said. A misconception is that -- the Cut
down here has been maintained and supported by
the Gilchrist Community Association for many
years. Some of the people think that the County
and the State furnish all of the Porta-Potties and
the waste disposal, the cleanup and everything
down there.
But it's all been furnished by the Gilchrist
Community Association, which consists of about
300 members, all here in this area or interested in
our community. This Cut is so unique in that
you've got crippled people can drive up there
without a 20,000-dollar boat, get out and fish,
bring their children that might not otherwise have
a chance to catch a big fish.
All of these things -- and never charge a cent, can't
charge anything to help maintain it or anything.
It's all free. It doesn't cost the City or the County.
It doesn't cost the State a dime. They've got a free
ride for the best recreational area in Galveston
County. I am definitely against closing it.
Another misconception about Rollover Pass is that
if we close Rollover Pass, we're going to stop the
erosion. Folks, I've got news for you. I've lived
79
here for 80 years. At High Island, back in the '40s
and the '50s, John Meacom had a big beach house
down there with a big landing field, a quarter of a
mile down from the beach. You could land a big
DC6 airplane on it.
My dad had a cafe down there that was probably
400 feet out from the beach now, would have
been. That was back in 1943. That beach has been
eroding. You're not going to stop the beach from
eroding by closing the Cut. True enough, the Cut
does let sand infiltrate into the Bay.
But if we had some engineers that had sense
enough to go out there and build some jetties
across the front of it to where it would divert -this way and divert the sand and the current.
You've got a predominate southeast wind that's
going to always be coming in on this beach cutting
the sand away.
You put about three big rock groin, face them
right out there. The water would hit the groin, go
out, eddy behind it; and you'd have sand behind it,
all the way from there to the other end of that
north jetty. If you put some more back this way, it
would do the same thing.
When I was a kid, which has been several years
ago, we used to have a lot of oil field work. And
all of the roads had to be graveled and sanded, and
we would go out on the beach on a Monday and
load these dump trucks full of gravel and sand. I
mean, gravel, nice gravel. Haul it, dump it on the
roads. A week later you'd come back to the same
spot and do the same thing again.
We're not getting that nourishment anymore off of
the rivers. The Mississippi is not depositing a filler
on our beach line. All of the dams and everything
80
in these rivers are stopping all of the nourishment
that we've been getting for 100, 200, 300 years.
So, I can see where everybody is excited about
wanting to close the Cut to stop erosion. It's not
going to stop erosion unless we make some
corrective action. We could go out there -- if
they'd spend half the money that they do out here
on dredging every year and put about three rock
groins out there, they'd cut the -- it's not going to
cut the erosion. But it would cut the infiltration of
sand into our Bay.
And we've been getting a lot of that because there
has been nothing to stop the sand from going in
there. But there's not that much erosion. You could
look down in the Gilchrist area. The erosion there
is just as bad as it is down on this way. There is
not a bit of difference. You're going to have
erosion. But hopefully, we can get some corrective
measurements along our coastline with some
groins or some jetties or something. That's where
the problem is.
But I hope the people keep coming back; and the
Gilchrist community will rebuild, renourish itself.
And we'll have some more businesses come in.
And, of course, we need to support Crystal Beach
and Port Bolivar and all of our Bolivar Peninsula,
which we're trying to do right now. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Roger, do you want to come
up and finish yours?
MR. ROGER GEORGE: No, that's all right.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Anybody else? We can start
again, Round 2.
State your name for the record.
MS. JONI HARDING: My name is Joni Harding.
I've been here 20 years. I talked to John last
Saturday. And I told him, if he would send
somebody over here to go with me and do a
survey at the job sites, the grocery store, the
restaurants, there is a lot of people that would
actually be here living and these schools would
have more kids in them if they had some housing.
And I can go to job sites, guys that have worked
with us in lawn service that are now working for
construction companies. My son, his wife, they
drive from Galveston. They were driving from
Lumberton every day. But I talk to people every
day. They come from Lumberton, Baytown. They
are scattered everywhere. And they want to be
back here. That's where their heart is.
Some of them only get paid only $10 an hour. And
look at the money they're spending on gas just to
put the effort because they think eventually we're
going to get some housing. And if he will have
somebody come over here, I will drive them
around to the job sites, like I said, the restaurants,
to get a real number. And these are people that
have kids, too. And they will be back here and fill
up the schools. That's all. (Applause.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: We've got plenty of time
left. Would anybody else like to make some
comments? And again, I encourage you, if you've
got a few minutes to wander the maps. Look at
some of the data that's been posted up there. You'd
be amazed at the level of detail that the folks from
FEMA have brought to the table to help us do a
better job of figuring out where to go from here
with some of these projects. So, please fill out
Bolivar Blueprint
some of those comment cards and take a look at
the boards.
Who else would like to make a few comments
while you're here? Anybody else? Everybody is all
talked out; everybody is all listened out?
(Applause.)
MR. PETE ALAROCHA: If everybody would just
listen for a minute. For the future evacuation
plans, if, like, some people ain't got any vehicles
that -- I wish the County has buses for people that
can't drive to bring them to Austin for future plans.
What happened to the Gulf Coast market, we had
them try to evacuate. They were supposed to leave
on September 11th. Nobody wants to listen. I was
concerned about my community.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Barry with our long-term
recovery team is going to -- I'm sorry. We have
another speaker, Denise.
MS. DENISE PARSONS: I have a request that we
schedule a meeting when there is not two major
events because a lot of folks -- we would have
packed this place if we wouldn't have had the
Chamber meeting. And our County people would
have heard some really important comments.
Because it sends a strong message out if the
County officials are not here, in particularly Judge
Yarborough, since he makes the most decisions.
Bolivar Blueprint
He's a major player in all of this. But basically
that's all of my -- and everybody else pretty much
hit on what our Peninsula needs to do as far as the
community and all of that stuff.
And I can just give you that? This was put
together for me by the president of CrowderGulf.
This guy is Frank Ramsay, president of
CrowderGulf. He's a contractor. And he's from
Mobile, Alabama; and he knows about drains.
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: Thank you.
MR. HOKANSON: I have just one quick
announcement. One quick announcement is that
there will be another public meeting like this in
about two weeks. And you'll see the
announcements in the paper. And there will be an
opportunity to look at the feedback that your work
and the committee has put together on the basis of
the concerns you've expressed. Thank you.
(Applause.) And please do add your comments to
the board. Thank you.
(Brief recess.)
MR. JOHN SIMSEN: State your name for the
record.
MR. DON CHERRY: Don Cherry. We need a
comprehensive drainage plan for the Peninsula. It
should include reduced roads and access to the
beach. It should eliminate all culverts exploring to
the beach through the dunes because they
undermine dune development and they clog in a
storm and prevent runoff.
(Proceedings concluded at 8:00 p.m.) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 1 2 3 4 5 THE STATE OF TEXAS ) COUNTY
OF GALVESTON ) I, Meschel Hara, Court
Reporter in and for the State of Texas, do hereby
certify that the above and foregoing contains a true
and correct transcription of all portions of the
proceedings requested in writing by the parties to
be included in this volume of Reporter's Record,
all of which occurred in open court or in chambers
and were reported by me. I further certify that this
Reporter's Record of the proceedings truly and
correctly reflects the exhibits, if any, admitted by
the respective parties. I further certify that the total
cost for the preparation of this Reporter's record is
$ and was paid/will be paid by
WITNESS MY OFFICIAL HAND this the __day
of __ 2009
MESCHEL HARA, CSR, RPR
Texas CSR 6941
Expiration: 12/31/2010
P.O. Box 1795
Texas City, Texas 77592
We need to pay a particular attention to the five
drains to the Gulf, that they be obstruction free.
81
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Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix F. How to Build Better: Excerpts from Mitigation Assessment Team Report, FEMA P-757
In the wake of a disaster the size of Ike, it is natural for citizens,
businesses, and communities to want to get back to normal as quickly as
possible. Because Ike was such a destructive and widespread storm,
rebuilding to pre-disaster standards will not create a more resilient
community nor would it help mitigate potential damage from the next
storm. To ensure long-term recovery for the coastal area would require
considerable thought and planning.
Reacting to this need, FEMA deployed a Mitigation Assessment Team
(MAT) to evaluate and assess damage from the hurricane and provide
observations, conclusions, and recommendations on the performance
of buildings and other structures impacted by the wind and flood forces.
Follows are some of the recommendations for Bolivar (and the
Galveston Bay area) from the MAT Report intended to provide decisionmakers with guidance that can be used to reduce future hurricane
damage to the Peninsula and the Gulf Coast Region.
Residential ─ Flood
Scour around Foundations
Unexpected levels of foundation scour were observed between Surfside
Beach, TX, and Holly Beach, LA. The local scour around building
foundations greatly exceeded the vertical and lateral extents indicated
by current design guidance. Damage from the scour was significant and
widespread. Also, linear scour features that likely were associated with
barrier island canals and roads were observed by the MAT. Numerous
houses were undoubtedly affected by linear scour features, suffering
either damage or destruction.
Recommendations
FEMA should assist engineers and standards writing organizations in
developing new design and building code guidance, to incorporate
scour knowledge gained following hurricane Ike.
Bolivar Blueprint
Coastal land development guidance and practices should be revised
to minimize potential linear scour (and associated building
damages), and building design and construction practices should be
modified to account for potential linear scour effects.
FEMA should study foundation scour in more detail during future
post storm investigations.
Building Elevation Relative to Flood Level
Much of the damage observed by the Ike MAT resulted from buildings
not being adequately elevated to escape Ike’s storm surge, waves, and
flood borne debris. Specific observations and conclusions, with related
recommendations, follow:
BFEs shown on effective FIRMs should not be used for reconstruction
purposes in Ike-affected communities, unless communities can
demonstrate that effective BFEs are adequate. Thousands of residential
buildings were damaged or destroyed by Ike’s flooding, many of them
constructed at or above the effective BFEs. New flood studies are
underway in Louisiana and Texas; preliminary flood maps have been
produced in parts of Louisiana, but Texas preliminary maps are not
expected before the end of 2009.
Widespread damage outside the SFHA was observed; the Ike MAT
recommends providing safety against flooding to the areas beyond the
landward limit of the effective SFHA, where there are likely to be no
flood-resistant design and construction requirements (i.e., beyond Zone
A and within Zones B, C, shaded X or X), and in Zone A, which could
experience Coastal A Zone or even Zone V conditions during a base
flood.
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Appendix F: How to Build Better: Excerpts from Mitigation Assessment Team Report, FEMA P-757
Enforce ASCE 24-05’s Coastal A Zone design and construction
requirements in areas presently mapped as Zone A on the effective
FIRM. This recommendation should be implemented before the
adoption of new DFIRMs; following adoption, Coastal A Zone
requirements should be adopted in the area between the Limit of
Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA) and Zone V.
Based on damage observed to NFIP-compliant buildings throughout the
area affected by Ike, minimum floor elevation requirements in NFIP
regulations (44 CFR Section 60.3) are inadequate and allow flood
damage in Zone A, particularly by allowing the top of the lowest floor to
be set at the BFE.
Recommendations
FEMA should revise its regulations to require the entire floor system
to be set at or above the BFE, and should implement the minimum
floor elevation recommendations contained in the NFIP Evaluation
Study (American Institutes for Research, 2006). Even when buildings
are elevated and constructed to meet minimum requirements, they
are still vulnerable to flood damage when flood levels exceed the
BFE.
Property owners should be encouraged to design new and
reconstructed buildings for flood levels above the BFE. Some houses
that were advertised as enhanced code construction and intended
to withstand greater-than-design level flood events sustained flood
damage during Ike. Even though these buildings were elevated
above the BFE, the MAT observed instances where scour and
erosion exceeded the ability of the pile/column foundation to
remain vertical, and instances where lateral loads and bending
moments exceeded the material properties of the foundation piles/
columns—the piles/columns cracked or broke.
Enhanced code houses should be designed for erosion, scour, and
flood loads associated with flood levels above the BFE, not just
elevated above the BFE on otherwise minimally flood-compliant
Recommendations
Until new Digital FIRMs (DFIRMs) are available and adopted, the
MAT recommends requiring the following freeboard above the
currently effective BFEs for new construction, substantial
improvements, and repair feet. Once new DFIRMs are available and
adopted, the MAT recommends requiring new construction,
substantial improvements, and repair of substantial damage be
elevated to or above the freeboard elevation specified by ASCE 2405.
Enforce Zone A design and construction standards in the area
between the effective SFHA landward limit and a ground elevation
equal to the adjacent Zone A effective BFE plus freeboard. This
recommendation should be implemented before and following the
adoption of new DFIRMs.
84
Bolivar Blueprint
foundations. Entities certifying enhanced code houses should
review foundation calculations before granting enhanced code
status.
Flood damage to commercial buildings was, for the most part, similar to
flood damage to residential buildings.
The MAT recommends elevating commercial buildings to the same
levels and on the same types of foundations as called for in residential
recommendations.
Parking Slabs
A wide range of parking slab performance was observed by the MAT:
a)unreinforced, frangible parking slabs collapsed, as intended, with no
apparent harm to elevated houses or their foundations; b) unintended
failure of non-frangible parking slabs led to timber pile failures at
elevated houses where broken slabs remained connected to foundation
piles and transferred loads to the piles that the piles could not resist—
racked foundations and broken piles resulted; c) intact but undermined
parking slabs sometimes contributed to foundation and building
settlement, by increasing scour around the foundation (as water flowed
between the bottom of the slab and the eroded ground) and by placing
additional vertical load on the foundations.
Recommendations
Coastal house foundations subject to scour and erosion should be
designed to resist all loads imposed during coastal storm events,
where possible, without benefit of parking slabs and grade beams to
provide stiffness.
Unreinforced, frangible parking slabs should be constructed under
these houses when parking slabs are desired by the owner.
Where tall foundations cannot be constructed under coastal houses
without added stiffness, grade beams with frangible slabs are
preferred over structural slabs. This will minimize the weight that
Bolivar Blueprint
must be supported by an undermined foundation and minimize the
potential of unintended load transfer from failed slabs to the
foundation.
Siting
The widespread destruction and damage to houses situated closest to
shorelines during Ike reinforced the principle that siting of buildings is
critical to their survival during hurricanes. Siting of buildings close to
eroding shorelines puts those buildings at risk and often results in
erosion and flood damage to those buildings.
Recommendation
The State and local governments of Texas and Louisiana should
encourage siting away from eroding shorelines; employ coastal
restoration, where justified, to mitigate erosion effects; and acquire
erosion-damaged properties and prohibit reconstruction on those
properties.
Breakaway Walls
One unintended consequence of elevating houses above the BFE has
been taller and taller solid breakaway wall panels, which provide larger
and larger flood borne debris elements when they break away.
Recommendation
Lattice or louvers should be used instead of solid breakaway walls.
Louver and lattice wall panels will remain intact longer than solid
breakaway walls, resulting in less debris and less repair cost to
homeowners. If solid breakaway walls are used, designers and
owners should consider installation of flood vents in those walls—
this may help to delay the failure of the walls, reduce flood borne
debris and reduce repair costs.
85
Manufactured Homes
Destruction of manufactured housing occurred during Ike, either
because the homes were not elevated to or above the BFE (this may
have occurred through proper use of the 3-foot pier exemption
permitted in existing manufactured home parks, or by misinterpretation
of this exemption), or because homes had not been installed on floodand wind-resistant foundations.
Recommendation
All new and replacement manufactured homes should be elevated
to or above the BFE using wind- and flood-resistant foundations
such as those specified in NFPA 225-09. Manufactured home
installations should follow the guidance contained FEMA 85. Please
note that the 1985 edition of FEMA 85 is currently under revision
and is tentatively scheduled to be released later in 2009.
Residential ─ Wind
In the areas observed by the MAT, Hurricane Ike was not a design wind
event; wind speeds ranged from 90+ mph1 from the west end of
Galveston Island to 110 mph on Bolivar Peninsula.
Structural
Though major wind damage to building structures was seldom observed
by the MAT, wind damage to roof overhangs and sheathing was seen.
This type of damage, though not pervasive, was seen in Galveston
County, including some enhanced code construction homes.
1
All estimated speeds listed in the MAT Recommendations are peak gust,
Exposure C at 33 feet taken from Estimates of Maximum Wind Speed Produced
by Hurricane Ike in Texas and Louisiana (ARA, 2008).
86
Recommendation
Roof overhangs of widths up to 2 feet are routinely designed using
prescriptive standards. Roof overhangs in excess of 2 feet should be
designed to withstand wind pressures calculated using ASCE 7-05
guidelines.
Asphalt Shingles
The MAT observed a substantial
amount of wind-damaged asphalt
shingles. To achieve good wind
performance, shingles with sufficient
wind resistance should be installed. TDI
currently allows 110-mph-rated asphalt
shingles (i.e., Class F) for all wind zones
in the Designated Catastrophe Area.
Products are currently manufactured to
meet ASTM D 7158, which provides for
testing and classification of asphalt
shingles to meet 120-mph (Class G) and
130- mph (Class H) wind resistance.
Recommendation
When asphalt shingles are used, it is recommended that TDI require
the use of shingles complying with ASTM D 7158 Class G shingles in
Inland (I) and Inland (II) and Class H shingles in the Seaward Zone.
Non-Load Bearing Walls and Wall Coverings
An extensive amount of envelope wall covering, primarily vinyl siding
and fiber cement siding, was damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Recommendation
Municipalities with building code authorities, along with TDI and
their inspection program, should require that the installed products
are on the approved and tested list and are installed in accordance
Bolivar Blueprint
to industry and manufacturer’s recommendations for high wind
zone installations.
Doors, Windows, and Shutters
Few impact resistant glazed window units were observed by the MAT,
with homeowners and builders opting to use shutters to provide debris
impact protection of building openings. TDI currently requires only
homes located in the Seaward Zone and the Inland (I) to be protected
by impact resistant glazing or shutters.
Recommendation
It is recommended that where railings are installed around elevated
units, the railings either be removable or adequate space be
provided on the platform to allow servicing of the units.
Critical Facilities
Critical facilities apparently continue to be designed and constructed
without sufficient consideration of the guidance documents written to
make critical facilities more hazard resistant.
Recommendation
It is recommended that opening protection by TDI include Inland (II
[110 mph]) within 1 mile of the coastal mean high water line where
the basic wind speed is equal to or greater than 110 mph, which is
consistent with ASCE 7-05 and IRC 2003 recommendations. Roof
Recommendation
Critical facilities should be designed in keeping with available
guidance (FEMA 424, 543, and 577). Existing critical facilities should
be audited using FEMA 424, 543, and 577 and retrofitted where
appropriate.
Soffits, Fascias, and Gable Vents
Mitigation Project Performance
Some critical facilities that had received Federal mitigation grant funds
to address previous damage or known vulnerabilities were found to still
be vulnerable, either to the hazard against which they had presumably
been mitigated, or against other hazards.
Vinyl soffits and roof ridge ventilation systems frequently failed, thereby
allowing water infiltration into the homes causing damage.
Recommendation
The TDI and Building Inspection Program should ensure that vinyl
soffits are installed in accordance to industry and manufacturer’s
recommendations for high wind zone installations. Ridge ventilation
systems frequently allow wind-driven rain to enter the attic space
and should not be allowed in the Designated Catastrophe Area.
Exterior-Mounted Equipment
All observed HVAC units mounted on the outside of the homes were
elevated, per the guidelines in FEMA 55.
Bolivar Blueprint
Recommendation
Additional controls should be put in place by FEMA to ensure
mitigation projects for critical facilities are properly designed and
constructed/ implemented.
Critical Facilities ─ Flood
Critical facilities observed by the MAT were insufficiently elevated and
vulnerable to flood damage. This was the case for most of the older
buildings housing critical operations, but was also an issue for many
recently constructed critical facilities.
87
Building Elevation Relative to Flood Level
New and replacement critical facilities continue to be located within the
SFHA, and without freeboard.
Recommendation
New and replacement critical facilities should be sited outside the
500- year floodplain, where possible; where not possible, the critical
facilities should be elevated higher than the residential and
commercial building elevations called for in Recommendations #4,
#5, #6, and #10. At a minimum, critical facilities should be elevated
above the 500-year flood level or the freeboard requirements of
ASCE 24-05, whichever offers more protection to the facility.
Equipment and Utilities
The MAT continues to see critical facility equipment and utilities
damaged by flooding as a result of insufficient elevation.
Recommendation
Do not locate equipment and utilities in basements or ground levels
of critical facilities. Locate these above the BFE-plus-freeboard
elevation. If elevation of these components is not feasible for
existing critical facilities in Zone A, evaluate dry-floodproofing of
these areas to an elevation several feet above the BFE. If the
building structure cannot accommodate flood loads associated with
dry-floodproofing to this elevation, consider relocating the critical
facility or replacing with a new critical facility.
Critical Facilities ─ Wind
Critical facilities observed by the MAT had wind vulnerabilities, some of
which were quite significant. Vulnerable elements primarily pertained
to building envelopes and emergency power, but for some facilities, the
MWFRS were also susceptible to wind damage. The presence of large
numbers of wind vulnerable facilities has also been observed by MATs
in other locations of the United States and its Territories. To avoid wind,
88
windborne debris and water infiltration damage that results in partial
interruption of facility operations or entire evacuation of a facility after
passage of a hurricane, the following are recommended.
Recommendations
For existing facilities, perform a comprehensive vulnerability
assessment of the MWFRS and building envelope. As part of the
evaluation process, prioritize the identified vulnerabilities. FEMA
543 and 577 recommend such an evaluation regardless of building
age for critical facilities located in hurricane-prone regions. The
evaluation should also include assessing a facility’s capability of
coping with loss of municipal utilities (i.e., electrical power, water,
sewer, and communications). FEMA 543 and 577 provide guidance
on back-up systems and operations when loss of municipal utilities
occurs, as well as guidance for performing remedial work on existing
facilities.
The MAT recommends that design and construction of new critical
facilities follow the guidance in FEMA 543 and 577 so that wind
vulnerabilities are not built into new facilities. This approach is more
cost effective than building to minimum codes and standards and
then retrofitting a building in the future in order to decrease its
wind vulnerability.
Emergency Equipment
The MAT observed critical facilities with significant wind vulnerabilities
that were evacuated prior to hurricane landfall. However, in some
instances, equipment was not evacuated.
Recommendation
The MAT recommends that emergency supplies and equipment
(such as fire trucks) also be evacuated, to the extent possible.
Otherwise, building failure can damage supplies and equipment,
thereby making them unavailable for post-storm response and
recovery.
Bolivar Blueprint
Mitigation Project Performance
The MAT observed mitigated projects that were not sufficiently robust
and/or were not sufficiently comprehensive.
Recommendations
Before a critical facility receives a grant from the HMGP or PreDisaster Mitigation Grant Program, it is recommended that a
comprehensive vulnerability assessment be conducted. All
significant wind vulnerabilities (including those related to
interruption of municipal utilities) should be mitigated by the grant
work and for those that are not, the remaining residual risk should
be recognized and documented.
It is recommended that the guidance in FEMA 577 be considered for
healthcare projects, and that FEMA 543 be considered for all other
critical facilities. Not all of the guidance is appropriate for all
facilities, but if a recommendation is not implemented, that decision
should be based on deliberation and consideration of residual risks.
It is recommended that a two-stage peer review be implemented
for all projects. The first review should be made early in the design
process to ensure the scope and direction of the remedial work is
fundamentally sound. The second review should be conducted prior
to bidding the construction work. This later review should be quite
comprehensive.
Bolivar Blueprint
Sustainable Land Use Planning
Land use planning is critical to Galveston Island and to the Bolivar
Peninsula and the risks and vulnerabilities of these areas need to be
identified.
Recommendations
Identify the risks to and vulnerabilities of Bolivar and develop
mitigation strategies to address them as part of the community’s
master plan. Identify zoning, land ownership, resident populations,
tourism, economic activity and identify where and how vulnerable
these assets are to the natural hazard.
Prepare a Sustainable Land Use Plan that considers that more
severe hurricane impacts can be expected in the future and
incorporates geohazards mapping, and relative sea level rise for the
next 50 years as a minimum.
Allow new construction and additions only in areas that are deemed
safe with low risk, based on the Risks and Vulnerabilities and the
Sustainable Land Use Plan, which includes future trends over the
next 50 years. This will ensure that development stays out of the
fragile coastal zone that needs to be protected for dune dynamism
and growth.
Build a coalition of municipal, community, and business partners to
discuss economic investments at stake. Encourage businesses to
think about their response to natural hazards over the long-term,
both operationally and physically. Emphasize that building codes are
intended to provide a minimal level of life-safety and building
performance. In coastal areas, it is prudent to design and construct
more conservatively. This includes commercial buildings, in order to
increase their potential for being operational after a disaster.
Increase protection of dunes on Galveston Island and Bolivar
Peninsula to allow the dunes to stabilize and achieve their natural,
undisturbed heights.
Institute a dune revegetation program and other put in place
measures to allow dunes to achieve their former heights. High-
89
elevation continuous dunes effectively block storm surges and
prevent island overwash. Restoration, maintenance, and protection
of dunes are vital to ensuring storm protection, beach stability, and
increasing the economic health of the region.
Community education programs to place signage and provide
literature about importance of dunes.
Initiate a local or regional wetlands protection program. According
to the USGS report (2004), not many dune or habitat restoration
projects had been started. It is very important these projects be
initiated as soon as possible to begin to establish basic protection. It
often takes many years for dunes to become stable.
Summary
The Galveston Bay region has been struck repeatedly by hurricanes in
the past and will be struck again in the future. Reconstruction efforts
and future development on Bolivar Peninsula that considers and
mitigates these risks will result in fewer negative impacts and will be
able to recover more quickly from future storm events. Utilizing
recommendations from the Mitigation Team Assessment Report, the
Long-Term Community Recovery Team encourages creation of resilient,
storm-resistant communities, built with respect for the environment
and developed with sustainable building practices and land use,
infrastructure, and community services.
90
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix G. ESF #14 Long Term Community Recovery Decision Making Tool
SECTOR:
COMMUNITY VISION:
GOAL:
IDEAS
How can
we
accomplish
this GOAL?
92
ONGOING
EFFORTS
What efforts
are currently
underway in
the
community to
advance the
GOAL and
IDEAS?
GAPS
What
prevents
progress
towards
success in
the GOAL,
ONGOING
EFFORTS or
IDEAS?
PROJECT OR
PROGRAM
OPTIONS
What
potential
PROJECTS or
PROGRAMS
help
accomplish
your GOAL?
OPPORTUNITIES
What
OPPORTUNITIES
exist to enhance
potential projects
and programs?
CONSIDERATIONS
BENEFITS
CHALLENGES
What BENEFITS and
CHALLENGES do these
OPTIONS present?
RESOURCES
DECISION
NEXT STEPS
What internal
and external
RESOURCES
are available
to pursue
these
OPTIONS?
What is the
preferred
PROJECT OR
PROGRAM
OPTION?
What must be
done to move a
preferred OPTION
forward? Who will
take
responsibility?
What are target
completion dates?
Bolivar Blueprint
Appendix F. How to Build Better: Excerpts from Mitigation Assessment Team Report, FEMA P-757
Bolivar Blueprint
83

Bolivar Blueprint Electronic

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