Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Reducing Sheet Flooding

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Don penned an excellent article regarding flooding the other day. It was dealing with flooding from the bayous which is categorized as river flooding. That’s one part of the flooding problem. The rain tax is supposed to deal with the other end of flooding, the sheet flooding. Sheet flooding is colloquially referred to as street flooding. Specifically, it’s the flooding that occurs when sheet flow causes flooding as opposed to river flooding. If I understand the rain tax correctly, and there’s a good chance I do not since I only moved into the city 14 months ago, Costello is in charge of remedying the actual sheet flooding.

The USDA Conservation Engineering Division released Technical Report 55 (PDF file)back in the 1980s which is a good guide to use in assessing how sheet flow runoff can be impacted. The basic formula is:

Q = (P – Ia ) squared/
(P – Ia ) + S

For small watersheds like the ones in Houston the Ia value is 0.2S yielding a working formula of

Q = (P – 0.2S) squared/
(P +0.8S)

S is the variable that can remedy the amount of sheet flooding, and in turn can remedy the amount of bayou flooding. S is the amount of potential maximum retention after runoff begins.

S is plugged into a curve analysis to show how much runoff to expect as precipitation increases. The greater the precipitation, the greater the impact S will have. The question becomes what can Costello do in order to decrease the curve number so there’s less runoff. Or put another way, what can be done via the rain tax to retain or disrupt runoff so that houses don’t flood from the rain, which in turn will keep the bayous from filling as much and lower the magnitude of river flooding. The higher the curve number in the analysis, the greater the sheet flow. So in order to reduce flooding the curve number needs to be lowered.

No sweeping change can take place that will end the flood threat, but several piecemeal steps can be taken to decrease the curve number.

Paved areas have a curve number of 98
Curb and gutter roadways have a 98 also.

Now, this can be reduced by simple design change when redoing the roads such as what is currently occurring on Fondren. The road construction can be done with the new roadway having both curb and gutter system as well as metal grates with pipes connect into the gutter drainage. Since the construction will already be ongoing it’s simply a matter of planning for the pipes and grates. It’s also likely a small cost as the roads are already being busted out and rebuilt from the ground up. Simply dig a hole and accompanying trench for the pipe, add the pipe and grate, and it’s done. This will generate extra drainage that will assist in keeping the known street flooding areas passable as well as reducing the overall runoff from the storms. Both traffic flow as well as runoff problems are reduced.

The same can be accomplished in the permitting for new buildings. Grant the permits, but also require that the paved areas, parking lots for example, have a grate and pipe drain into the storm drainage system. The rain tax can bear the cost of the piping, the business simply has to make the grate space available.

A second area that can be addressed in a small cost manner is elevated medians. Any paved elevated median could have the frame remain paved, but the interior busted out and replaced with sand and grass. This reduces the curve number significantly as sand and good grass cover would have a curve number of 39 rather than 98. In a 10 inch rain the runoff for the grass on sand area is reduced from 9.76 inches to 2.23 inches.

This could be coupled with a “beautify Houston” or some such campaign where businesses are encouraged to green the areas on the peripheries of their parking lots. The rain tax could be used for grants to cover the removal of pavement and placement of sand/grass. Of if the business can bear the cost the city can handle the hauling away of the pavement. You get the idea.

In the end, I have no idea how much runoff this will eliminate, but at least the taxes are being used for their intended purposes and the flooding problem is reduced. We’re never going to be able to make the city flood proof, but if the flooding level can be reduced 2-5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} then that’s the difference between flooding and not flooding for the last row of houses that are flooded in the current events. It’s the difference between the water line being above or blow the power outlets in houses so the repair cost is reduced in flooding.

Steve Costello endorses Sylvester Turner

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This is not surprising if you followed the Houston mayoral race:

Costello endorses Turner
Cites Turner’s policy positions on infrastructure, debt as determining factors

HOUSTON – Former Houston mayoral candidate Steve Costello today officially endorsed State Representative Sylvester Turner in the 2015 Houston mayoral runoff election.

“Although Election Day did not go as hoped for our team, I’ve always maintained that the issues and challenges facing our great city must come before personal politics,” said Costello.  “In the course of the campaign, and through dozens of forums, I had ample opportunity to examine each candidate’s position relating to improving the state of city finances, prioritizing public safety and getting to work to fix our roads.”

“Sylvester and I agree that ReBuild Houston is a good baseline infrastructure program that can and must be improved to meet the needs and expectations of Houstonians,” said Costello.  “We agree that our police force needs to be increased to match the city’s growth and growing needs, and that we must get back to community-based policing so officers are connected to our neighborhoods’ challenges and successes.”

“After leaving office in January, my focus will be on finding a path forward to position Houston for its next steps in mass transportation,” said Costello.  “Sylvester Turner is the best candidate to connect all of Houston through multi-modal transportation, and I look forward to working with him on critical transportation issues like commuter rail.”

In addition to serving as chairman of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council through December, Costello will also continue his service as a member of the Memorial Park Conservancy board of directors and as a member of the Marathon Kids national board of directors.

“I am very grateful to have the support of Steve Costello,” said Turner.  “His service to this city for six years as a City Council Member, his advocacy for a pay-as-you-go funding policy to repair our streets and lower our debt, and as chairman of the region’s transportation policy council will have a lasting and positive impact on our city’s traffic and street improvements.  As an engineer, Steve knows that the foundation of a building is not a visible part of the structure but it’s makes the building stable.  Steve’s work on the city’s finances and infrastructure have laid the foundation for Houston’s future success.  I look forward to working with Steve as we unite Democrats and Republicans, business and labor and thousands of Houstonians to bring our city together and move forward.”

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I’m not someone that generally thinks endorsements make a big enough difference to matter. This one might be an exception to that because Costello is basically releasing his Republican supporters, as few as they were on election day, to pull the trigger for a liberal Democrat. Costello didn’t do well in the general election, that’s a fact and it is mostly because he simply had no base of support to rally. Democrats were more comfortable voting for a Democrat. The LGBT community, although they appreciated his support on the HERO, were savvy enough to know that he didn’t have a path to victory, so they went with Turner. Republicans in general ran away from him because he was the “architect” of the very unpopular and now illegal “Rain Tax”. But still, in a low turnout runoff, Costello releasing his supporters to vote for the liberal Democrat is fairly significant.

So, if I call Sylvester Turner a “liberal Democrat” what should I call Bill King? Moderate Democrat? Maybe but Turner’s legislative record suggests that he is actually more prone to listen to Republicans than King is. I mean, King mocks us for praying in public? King says that Catholics are backward, oppressive, and hostile? King thinks that humans are the predominant cause of the farce called “global warming”? Really?

Hey, beats me. I guess I’ll refrain from calling him anything.

BTW, on the day Costello supports Turner, King gets the support of Latinos:

BUSINESSMAN BILL KING AWED BY HISPANIC LEADERS ENDORSEMENT:
“THESE ARE THE PIONEERS OF THE LATINO BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN HOUSTON”

Businessman Bill King today professed he was “frankly a little in awe” to receive the strong backing from Houston’s leading Hispanic business leaders, many of who were among Adrian Garcia’s strongest campaign supporters. Ten chairmen and chairwoman emeritus of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Chair Hipolito “Poli” Acosta and key members of Camara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston; former Houston City Council member Felix Fraga and James Rodriguez; and Greg Compean member of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority all stood with King to endorse his mayoral campaign at Talento Bilingüe de Houston.

“Bill, I am here today with key Hispanic members of Adrian’s finance committee ready to join the team because we believe that Hispanic business owners will have a voice within your campaign, and within your administration,” said Massey Villareal, who just served as Adrian Garcia’s campaign treasurer. “Between now and election day, I am committed to making sure the Hispanic business community joins the effort and elects Bill King the next mayor of the City of Houston.” (Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lloNhfKbf7k&feature=youtu.be)

“Bill’s message is clear and is resonating with our small business owners who are tired of the inefficiencies at City Hall, tired of the neglect in our neighborhoods that over the years has not been taken care of, tired of the bureaucracy that makes it harder to start and run their businesses,” said Acosta. “I am proud to join many members of our community here, Hispanic leaders, in the effort to make sure we get the leadership of Bill King as our next mayor in Houston.”

King opened his remarks by noting that Hispanics serve at disproportionately higher rates in the U.S. military “because of their great love for this country.”

“The message we’ve carried throughout this campaign has been fairly straight forward, back to basics,” King said. “It represents what we have found visiting neighborhoods across the entire city — this incredible frustration about the city not delivering the basic services we all expect from municipal government. As mayor, I am going to put an end to the political games played at City Hall and start making sure our neighborhoods are treated fairly.”

List of today’s endorsers:

Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Lupe Fraga
George Gonzalez
Irma Diaz Gonzalez
Tony Grijalva
Gilbert Herrera
Rick Jaramillo
Gasper Mir
Armando Perez
Adan Trevino
Massey Villarreal.

Camara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston
“Poli” Acosta, Chair
Polo Becerra
Abelardo Matamoros
Jacob Monty
Rafael Ortega
Jose Rivas
Abel Sanchez

Fmr Houston City Council Members
Felix Fraga
James Rodriguez.

Harris County-Houston Sports Authority
Greg Compean

Can’t say I’m not fair on dueling press releases. I will note that the “Latino” community still doesn’t bother to vote. Even the legal ones.

 

 

Steve Costello ramps up campaign, hits Bill King

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It looks like City of Houston mayoral candidate Steve Costello is finally, I say finally!, ramping up his campaign. At fellow candidate Bill King’s expense. From the InBox:

Will the Real Bill King Finally Stand Up?

“Waffle King” once again flip-flops, this time on pensions

HOUSTON — Democrat  Republican now “unapologetically moderate” candidate for mayor Bill King has once again proven that he will say and do whatever it takes in his attempt to win over voters. This time, King dizzyingly bounced between his positions on the matter for local control over municipal pensions in just the matter of a few weeks.

Just recently, King joined other mayoral candidates, including Steve Costello, in signing a pledge issued by the group Texans 4 Local Control. Their pledge specifically binds the signatories to support efforts that give Houstonians, through their local government, control over local pensions rather than continuing to leave the matter in the hands of Austin politicians.   The organization is also purchasing cable and radio ads advocating for local control.

Support for local control has been endorsed by Council Member and mayoral candidate Steve Costello, who was the only mayoral candidate to testify on behalf of State Representative Jim Murphy’s local control bill this last legislative session.  Local control is supported by numerous local conservative officials, business leaders and even the Houston Chronicle. It is understandable why King would eventually join this growing chorus – albeit extremely late.

However, there is one important catch to King’s late arrival– he doesn’t believe that achieving local control is possible and in fact he thinks it is bad public policy. Throughout his campaign for mayor he has repeatedly told Houston voters across the city that he opposes the local control that the organization and their pledge specifically stand for. Here is King in his own words:

“This is the reason I do not favor merely returning the plans to local control.  Term limited city administrations and City Councils have not proved themselves responsible stewards of the city’s finances generally so there is no reason to believe that in the long run they would be any more responsible for managing the pension liability if left completely to their own devices.“ — Bill King, memo submitted to the C Club on March 15, 2015 (page 5)

“The last thing I want is Houston City Council in control of our pensions. That is the worst idea I have heard tonight.” – Bill King, United Republicans of Harris County Candidate Forum, July 14, 2015 (Video)

“…an effort to simply turn over the regulation of pension to local city councils is a political hill too high to climb.” — Bill King Campaign Update, billkingforhouston.com, August 18, 2015

“This two-sided, flip-flopping approach is nothing new to the Bill King candidacy and Houston voters in every corner of our city are beginning to catch on,” said Ward Curtin, Costello for Mayor campaign manager. He added, “Houstonians deserve their next mayor to be someone like Steve Costello who will consistently lead on the issues that matter so we can get Houston moving forward again rather than Bill King who changes everything from his positions, political affiliations and overall tone depending on his audience.”

To learn more, visit www.costelloformayor.com and follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

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And yesterday, he released an ad poking fun at King’s “back to basics” campaign.

The only problem I have with this is that he uses the “waffle king” term – I thought that Ben Hall’s campaign came up with that.

As I’ve said before, I think Costello would make a good mayor for Houston. And yes, I’ve gotten blasted for saying that by fellow conservatives because Costello was the driving force behind the “rain tax”. But then, these same conservatives are supporting the “waffle king”, so there’s that.

I like Costello because he is a straight shooter, or at least he seems to be. I had a chance to sit down and discuss his campaign several months ago and asked him some very tough questions. He didn’t blink an eye and answered each one of those questions in a straightforward way, knowing full well that I disagreed with his positions. For instance, when I asked him if the “drainage fee” was really a “tax”, he said of course it was but there was no way that voters would approve a tax, so they called it a fee. That honesty might come back to bite him because of the Texas Supreme Court ruling on the issue but at least he didn’t sugarcoat it. Same goes for his support of the idiotic Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). When I asked why he would vote for that, he said that he believes in equal rights for all people and that is that. No hemming or hawing, no kowtowing to my thoughts on the subject, just a matter of fact reason for his support of it.

I like honesty in ANY candidate.

The problem is that I can’t see any scenario that gets him into a runoff. There are a few west side Republicans that support him but his natural base of moderate to liberal Democrats have plenty of Democratic candidates to choose from. Same goes for his support of the HERO ordinance because the Democratic gay community has one of their own in Sylvester Turner to vote for. Bill King seems to have the Clear Lake and Kingwood Republicans locked up. Like I said, I don’t see how he gets there, which is why I think Republicans should vote strategically.

But if he somehow manages to get into a runoff, I think he could very well win the whole thing and will do a good job as mayor. In any case, it’s good to see him fighting for votes. Finally.

 

Ask Steve Costello, Ben Hall, and Bill King your best question

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Okay City of Houston Republicans, here is your chance. Your chance to ask three of the candidates for mayor of Houston your own, best question to help you decide whom to vote for.

Greater Houston Pachyderm Club logoJoin the Greater Houston Pachyderm Club this Tuesday at noon at Tony’s restaurant in Greenway Plaza as we host several of the leading mayoral candidates in this November’s elections.  This week we have scheduled Steve Costello, Ben Hall and Bill King.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, October 6th, at Tony’s Restaurant at 3755 Richmond Avenue. Tony’s website can be found at www.tonyshouston.com. Reservations are not required.

Lunch will be served from a limited choice menu for $25 at 11:30 am; the meeting begins at noon. You are asked to pay by check or with exact change at the meeting, or pay on-line with a credit card or PayPal. A $1 charge is added to this service to cover the costs.

Please print and bring your e-mail receipt with you to the luncheon.

These three are the only candidates amongst the 17 running that are actively vying for Republican votes. Two of them, Costello and King, identify more or less as Republicans, with Hall being a Democrat.

So, Mr. or Mrs. Republican, how do you decide between them? Why not ask them a question or three about something that you care about?

For instance, here is what I would ask each candidate.

  • Steve Costello – You were Mayor Parker’s point man behind the “rain tax”, also known as Rebuild or Renew Houston and have made support for the tax a pillar of your campaign. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the ballot language used for approval of the tax was misleading and confusing to voters. If elected mayor, would you put the tax back on the ballot with clear, concise language explaining that it is a tax? If not, would you continue the practice of putting misleading and confusing items on the ballot in order to get the vote to go your way?
  • Ben Hall – Your record clearly shows that you are a Democrat, having voted for Democrats and funded Democratic candidates. A two part question – why are you a Democrat and why should a Republican vote for someone that clearly doesn’t identify with the overall philosophy of the Republican Party?
  • Bill King – In your book Unapologetically Moderate, you support the idea of sanctuary cities and mock those voters who think that the rise in so-called “anchor babies” is detrimental to the city, state, and country. Given that Houston has policies in place that proclaim it to be a “sanctuary city”, if you are elected mayor, will you continue those policies as is or will you expand them to encourage more illegal immigrants to settle in the city?

You may have better questions than that or have issues that are more important to you. This is your chance to get them answered.

Guest Post: The problem with Steve Costello

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Clyde Bryan
Clyde Bryan

Fellow Conservatives,

I am a  third generation Houstonian and I worked hard, as part of the Coalition for a Greater Houston, to defeat the Drainage Fee. (Rain Tax)

While engaged in the battle, I discovered Steve Costello had ongoing contracts for City infrastructure projects while he was pushing this initiative.

I asked Mayor Parker, at City Council, if she knew that Steve Costello had these contracts when she appointed him as the Chair of the Drainage Committee.

And did she know that had had conducted the first meeting of the Drainage Committee before he turned in his Conflict of Interest Questionnaire?

Now the Texas Supreme Court, by an 8-0 margin, has confirmed what we all knew. Defective ballot language and broken promises are at the core of this ordinance.

There is a good chance that the whole ordinance will be thrown out by a lower court.

Costello ran as a Conservative but engineered the largest tax increase in the City’s history.

The program has been massive failure and the funds have been spent on City salaries and bike trails.

Are your streets any better today and is flooding problem any better? Go ask the good folks in Meyerland.

Conservatives don’t go to work for the City to benefit themselves or special interest. They go to work to improve the quality of life for everyone in the City.

The Mayor tweeted her preferences for her successor just the other day. (see below)

Screenshot of Annise Parker tweet

 

Want to continue with her same failed policies and watch our City go bankrupt? Or vote for a Conservative?

See you at the polls,

Clyde Bryan
President, The Executive Council

www.TEChouston.com

Guest Post: Steve Costello for Mayor of Houston

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Chris Busby, President, Houston Young Republicans
Chris Busby, President, Houston Young Republicans

My name is Christopher Busby, I am a Harris County Republican precinct chair, member of the Harris County Republican Party Local Governance Committee and am president of the Houston Young Republicans*. I’m writing today to urge your consideration of my friend and Houston City Council member Steve Costello in his bid to become the next mayor of Houston.

Steve is an engineer who has set forth a plan to fix our roads, prioritize public safety and protect our taxpayer dollars by getting our city finances in order. His experience as a small business owner and City Council member grants him a unique perspective on how to change our city for the better. As a professional engineer, he is the most qualified of any candidate in the race to fix our streets and cut down on traffic. His detailed plan on pension reform, located at costelloformayor.com, provides local control and puts the power back in the hands of Houstonians instead of politicians in Austin.

Steve Costello’s fiscally conservative philosophy has benefited our great city and Houston will continue to prosper when he’s elected mayor. You have the opportunity to pick someone who will not only fix our city’s problems but develop our city in a way which will grow the economy and provide a future for generations to come. Not only as a city of Houston resident but also as a Republican leader I can think of no other candidate running who has the credentials and the political fortitude to do what’s necessary for a better tomorrow.

Now many conservatives have made some claims about Steve that I would like to address, especially in regards to Rebuild Houston. Rebuild Houston(also called the Rain Tax by opponents) is a voter approved conservatively structured finance program for city infrastructure. Rebuild Houston has been hotly debated by opponents and proponents alike. The program is a pay as you go program which will in time eliminate the city’s debt related to infrastructure and drainage. Most conservatives can agree that eliminating debt and instituting pay-as-you-go financing is not only the most conservative way to finance city’s operations but also the economically smart way. By eliminating debt we save the city millions of dollars in interest payments and prevent future generations of carrying the burden for today’s services. A false accusation has floated around for years that somehow Steve has benefitted from this program, but any level of fact checking with city records will show that Costello Inc has not accepted a city contract during his entire tenure on council.

I know many conservative and Republican voters are weighing heavily which candidate to support. I would urge them to keep in mind that Steve is the only self-identified Republican who is running for mayor and the only one who has actually served on the Houston city council. Former Kemah mayor, Houston Chronicle writer, and author of the book Unapologetically Moderate is also vying for conservative votes. Having met with Mr. King on more one occasion I find some concerns about his vision for Houston including his preference for municipal bonds (more debt) for city infrastructure over the pay-as-you-go system under Rebuild Houston. His vision on pension reform is muddled as he has both claimed opposition to and support of local control of our pension systems.

Steve Costello is a family man, a businessman, and a true example of someone who has built his success on hard work and community. You the voter have a huge decision to make in deciding who will lead our city as the next mayor. In the next few years we have many obstacles to face including a looming multi-million dollar budget deficit, soaring pension obligations, and an infrastructure in need of renewal. I have taken the opportunity to personally meet with each of the major candidates for mayor and discuss their visions for the city of Houston. While many of them are good people and have dedication, it is clear that Steve Costello is the one with the highest qualifications and a vision to move our city forward.

Christopher Busby

*Note. This does not constitute an endorsement of either the Houston Young Republicans nor an endorsement of the Harris County Republican Party Local Governance Committee.