Many city council, mayoral posts up for election May 11 By Mary Alys Cherry
I
t will soon be time to vote again. Filing has begun for about three dozen mayoral and council posts and two seats on the Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees up for the voters’ decision in the May 11 city elections. Mayors whose jobs are on the line include Johnny Isbell of Pasadena, Brad Emel of El Lago, Vern Johnson of Clear Lake Shores, Jon Powell of Taylor Lake Village, Stephen Don Carlos of Baytown, Wayne Riddle of Deer Park and Bob Cummins of Kemah. Clear Creek ISD trustees up for election include the Single Member District 1 seat held by Robert Davee and the At-Large Position B Seat held by Ann Hammond. City elections for Houston, of which Clear Lake City is a party and League City will be in the fall. Seabrook does not have any seats up for election this cycle. Some current officeholders, including Ron Swofford of Nassau Bay, Steve Waltz of Webster, Jackie Welch of Pasadena and Woody Owens of Pearland are term-limited. Filing began Jan. 30 with would-be candidates given until March 1 at 5 p.m. to file for a place on the ballot. Those who are interested in filing for a mayoral or city council seat should contact the city secretary of that city for a candidate application. Wouldbe school board candidates are asked to contact Linda Bertram by email, lbertram@ccisd.net or by phone, 281-284-0181, to obtain a candidate application and information packet. To vote in the city elections, a voter must be registered by April 11, 2013. Voter registration cards are available at the Harris County Clerk’s Office. The period for submitting an application to vote by mail is March 12-May 3, 2013. Early voting will begin April 29 and continue until May 7, in most instances in the City Secretary’s Office. On Election Day, voting will be conducted at the various city halls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A voting device to assist voters with a disability will be available during early voting and on Election Day. Contact your city secretary’s office for more information. Seats up for election and the current office holder:
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Baytown Mayor Stephen Don Carlos Pos. 1 – Mercedes Renteria III Pos. 2 – Scott Sheley Pos. 3 – Brandon Capetillo Clear Lake Shores Mayor Vern Johnson Al Burns Jr. Arline Laughter Deer Park Mayor Wayne Riddle Pos. 1 – Jerry Mouton Jr. Pos. 2 – Thane Harrison Pos. 3 – Chris Richey Dickinson Pos. 2 – Mary Dunbaugh Pos. 4 – Mark Townsend Pos. 6 – William H. King III El Lago Mayor Brad Emel Pos. 1 – Robert White Pos. 2 – Amy Carr Friendswood Pos. 4 – Patrick J. McGinnis Pos. 6 – Deirdre Brown Kemah Mayor Bob Cummins Pos. 2 – Pat Buchanan Pos. 4 – Wayne Rast Nassau Bay Pos. 1 – David Braun Pos. 2 – Ron Swofford Pos. 3 – Jonathan Amdur Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell Pos. A – Ornaldo Ybarra Pos. B – Jackie Welch Pos. C – Don Harrison Pos. D -- Pat Van Houte Pos. E – Leroy Stanley Pos. F – Phil Cayten Pos. G – Steve Cote Pos. H – Darrell Morrison Pearland Pos. 1 – Woody Owens Pos. 5 – Greg Hill Taylor Lake Village Mayor Jon Powell Pos. 2 – Lilian Norman Keeney Pos. 4 – Einar Goerland Webster Pos. 3 – Mel Donehue Pos. 4 – Steve Waltz Pos. 5 – Natalie Dolan
Bay Area Houston Magazine | MARCH 2013
Golf course may become chain of lakes By Mary Alys Cherry
C
lear Lake City may be getting its own version of New York’s Central Park one day soon. Perhaps a “Land of Lakes.” After many hours of meeting with various citizen groups and conferring with hydrologists and various other experts over the past year, the Clear Lake City Water Authority has drawn up a plan to turn the Clear Lake Golf Course into a beautiful park the community can enjoy and which will add value to property in the area. As envisioned, it will be a 178-acre chain of five lakes, with a waterfall, picnic areas, hike and bike trails, practice fields, public restrooms, perhaps a concession stand, areas for canoes and kayaks – even a tree just for birds and sitting on an small island so wandering cats can’t snatch them. The plan was presented to the community at a town hall Feb. 21. The hike and bike trails, along with existing golf cart trails, would be among the first things done. Each will tie into the various Clear Lake neighborhoods, CLCWA Vice President John Branch said, adding that while the chain of lakes “is just a vision at this point,” he hopes to see become a reality in the not-too-distant future. Each lake will be six feet deep normally, except in times of heavy rainstorms, and a dam will hold all the water in. It will have no lighting and will be open
during daylight hours only for safety reasons and will have “a nice park-type atmosphere,” Branch said. Sadly, some trees will have to be removed. But 42 percent of them will be saved and hundreds more will be planted, he explained. The golf course became quite an issue a few years back when a developer bought it, shut the course down and indicated that he wanted to use it to build homes and
“Each lake will be six feet deep normally, except in times of heavy rainstorms.” apartments. He ran into a stumbling block when it was discovered that Exxon Mobil held the deed restrictions, which said the land could only be used for recreational purposes until 2021. The Water Authority, feeling development of the golf course would cause serious flooding and drainage problems for much of Clear Lake City, finally stepped in and took the land by eminent domain with the intention of using it for water detention and to avert flooding. It will be done in phases and will take time, probably one to five years to develop each of the five sections for a total of about 15 years. Grants can be used to fund much of the development, Branch added.