Category: City Issues.

The Crime in Bellaire for the week of July 8-13

July 8

  At 12:27 a.m., Officer Ortega observed a vehicle in the 5200 block of Mimosa Drive to have a defective license plate light. Officer Ortega initiated traffic stop. Officer Ortega found two occupants to be in possession of narcotics and located narcotics in the vehicle. Officer Ortega placed the occupants into custody for possession of a control substance, penalty group 3. Officer Younger and Corporal Clawson assisted in this case.

  At 12:04 p.m., Officer Lysack was dispatched to the victim’s residence in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle in the 5400 block of Bissonnet Street. An unknown suspect likely followed the victim from a bank to the location, broke the front passenger window, and grabbed a bank envelope which was sitting on the front passenger seat.

  At 1:07 a.m., Officer Younger was dispatched to the 5200 block of Mimosa Street regarding a 911 hang up call. Officer Younger arrived and contacted the resident who advised she believed an unknown suspect entered her residence and stole her purse.

July 9

  At 12:01 p.m., Officer Tim Quimby was dispatched to 5225 Bellaire Blvd., in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officer Quimby arrived at 12:05 p.m. and met with the victim. The victim stated unknown suspect(s) burglarized his vehicle between 1155 hours and 1156 hours after he left Bank of America.

  At 3:29 p.m., Officer D. Norman made contact with the reportee at 6565 West Loop South who advised his company vehicle was stolen from the parking garage. Sometime between the hours of 12 and 2:03 p.m. an unknown suspect popped the lock and stole the vehicle. The vehicle was found (stripped) in Houston on July 14.

  At 8:05 p.m., Officer Carson was dispatched to 4400 Bellaire Blvd. in regard to a burglary of motor vehicle. Officer Carson met the victim who advised her vehicle was broken into and her purse was stolen from inside.

July 10

  At 10:41 a.m., Officers Quimby and Lysack were dispatched to a welfare check in the 7800 block of IH 610 WSR in reference to a subject in a wheelchair blocking a moving lane. Subject assaulted Officer Quimby with a white post containing two screws in it. Subject was placed into custody and charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer.

  At 1:12 p.m., Officer Andrade was notified of a vehicle hanging around bank parking lots in the 7000 block of South Rice Avenue. Officer Andrade initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver and observed four passengers inside the vehicle. Officer Andrade recognized three of the passengers as subjects who were walking in the area on foot wearing hoods over their heads and carrying back packs prior to the traffic stop. After further investigation, a loaded firearm was located inside the vehicle and all five subjects were placed in custody and transported to the City of Bellaire Jail for further processing and interview. Officers Lysack, Schwausch, Quimby, and Corporal Kramer assisted in this case.

  At 7:06 p.m., Officers were dispatched to the Walgreen’s Pharmacy, 5002 Bellaire Blvd., in reference to a Shoplifting call. Officers were able to locate the Suspect in the 5200 block of Bissonnet St with the stolen item. The Suspect was arrested for theft with two or more prior convictions. Officer Trujillo and Officer Baylis completed the report.

  At 5:26 p.m., Officer Trujillo was dispatched to the above location in reference to a found property call. Upon arrival he spoke to the reportee who stated after he got home from work he found property on the lawn next door.

  At 11:47 a.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Department Lobby to meet with a reportee in reference to identity theft in the 5200 block of Pochahontas. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade met with the reportee who stated an unknown suspect used her personal information to electronically withdraw funds from her bank checking account.

July 11

  At 1:40 p.m., Officers Baylis and Trujillo were dispatched to 5216 Bellaire Blvd. in reference to a theft call. The Victim stated she left the bank and drove to the above location where an unknown black male suspect opened the unlocked passenger door and stole her purse. The suspect then got into a silver/beige SUV and departed north bound through the parking lot.

  At 8:05 p.m., Officers were dispatched to a burglary of a habitation in the 4900 block of Linden Street. Upon arrival at 8:05 p.m., Officers met with the reportee who stated that about 8 p.m. July 11, the reportee confronted an unknown black male suspect in his home. After the confrontation the Suspect exited the front door. Officers Trujillo and Baylis completed the report.

July 12

  At 12:41 a.m., Officer Rocha observed a disturbance in progress in the 5000 block of Bellaire Boulevard at Chevron. Officer Liccketto arrived and detained the two males. During the investigation, one male was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and the other male was found to be in possession of identifying information of someone else. Both males were taken into custody and transported to the Bellaire Police Department for booking and processing. Officer Rocha assisted with the case.

  At 2:39 p.m., Officers were dispatched to the 4900 block of Palmetto Street in reference to an online scam. Upon arrival at 2:44 p.m., Officers met with the victim who stated an unknown person sent an email posing as her boss to purchase several gift cards. Officers Baylis and Trujillo completed the report.

  At 11:27 p.m., Bellaire Police Corporal D. Clawson observed a blue 2015 Dodge Challenger traveling south between the 5200 block of IH 610 S/B and the area noted above while making at least two lane changes without a signal and being paced at approximately 80 mph in a 60 mph zone. I conducted a traffic stop on this vehicle for that offense. During the traffic investigation it was determined the defendant was in possession of marijuana, THC Oils, and suspected marijuana laced edibles. The defendant was subsequently arrested on misdemeanor C drug paraphernalia charges while awaiting lab results on the other contraband. Officer Younger assisted in this case.

  At 4:15 p.m., Detective Delgado was conducting surveillance at Bank of America at 5133 Bellaire Blvd. due to a receiving a large number of burglary of motor vehicle reports, stemming from bank juggings. Detective Delgado observed a gray Volkswagen sedan following a silver sports utility vehicle, out of the Bank of America Parking Lot and into the Home Depot Parking Lot. The suspects within the gray VW were observed, breaking into the silver SUV, and attempting to flee the location. Suspects were apprehended and charges were filed.

July 13

  At 11 a.m., Officer H. Lopez was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Lobby in reference to an identity theft in the 5200 block of Palmetto. The victim stated he made a mistake by giving the suspect personal information regarding his bank account. The suspect set up a ghost account under the victim’s name using a computer and was able to make the victim withdraw money from the ghost account.

  At 7:53 p.m., Officer Bailey was dispatched to HEB located at 5106 Bissonnet, in reference to a theft that occurred on Thursday, July 11. Unknown suspect stole (12) bottles of Caymus Wine valued at $1,017.62 from the location, passing point of sale and left store without paying.

  At 3:06 p.m., Officer Bailey was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Lobby in reference to a credit card abuse incident in the 5900 block of West Loop South. The victim stated an unknown suspect attempted to make four unauthorized charges to her Visa Credit Card in the amount of $85 each at the above location.



Oh ya, water bill increase in effect this month.

Since we are talking about the budget, the Mayor and City Council will spin it in a super happy and positive light, let me ask you one question.

WHY didn’t the city council and mayor for the last 20 years put into place a plan for maintaining the real cost of water and to realize that the pumping equipment does not last forever and eventually we will need millions to pay for the replacement?

To me, this is the real issue. POOR MANAGEMENT  Some of the people who are responsible for this are still on council.  It really makes no sense to me how poorly the choices were made and why no one will accept responsibility for them.  What good all are these studies and comprehensive plans if we always end up needing more money?  Why wasn’t a plan in place to increase water rates slowly each year?

It is simple, the city needs money to pay for things and it will raise taxes to achieve that.  Even though Bellaire is a small city it still has the same bureaucracy as large cities which has put us in this position.  I have said that Bellaire is a business and it needs to be run like one.  The City Manager is the CEO and city council needs to let him do the job he was hired to do.  If any real business was run like this they would be broke and closed down.  Only in government do you get to spend poorly, not save when you should and still able to function.. This is a story that repeats itself all over America.

The city needs better MANAGEMENT!  Please make sure this election you choose people who will look out for the city and try to make the changes that need to be made.  Lets all take responsibility for the poor choices and actions of the past and move forward together making Bellaire better.




My thoughts on the proposed tax increase.

Monday night city council held a meeting to discuss the proposed TAX INCREASE. I have been saying for years how the city seems to waste money and when they want to do something the money is there, but when other programs need money there is NONE available.
 
This has always bothered me and before the flood I was posting about all the things the city has wasted money on. Bellaire is one of the RICHEST cities in Texas. Money is not an issue.
 
The ISSUE is WASTE and the perceived value of the items the city spends the money on. Most people cant see anything done with the money so there is natural outrage. There is no transparency and I think it is time there is someone on city council who will speak out and call the city on the waste.
The same potholes and poor road conditions I wrote about 2 years ago, still exist. How about we spend the money on things people need and we FINALLY improve the infrastructure of the city. No more half baked fixes to save money, that requires multiple repairs which adds up to cost more money long term.
 
The city of Bellaire needs the money so we can continue to maintain the high standards residents have come to expect. We need to PAY the Police and Fire personnel at the top of the pay percentage and we need to stop comparing ourselves to West University or anyone else.WE need to set the bar, instead of always trying to copy it!
WE NEED CHANGES NOW! On November 7th elect someone who will stand up for your needs and will hold city council responsible for their choices.
#bellairetexas #proposedtacincrease #citycouncil #election #bellaireelection



Let’s talk about FLOODING and the Valerie street residents.

How can we finally solve unneeded flooding?

Since we are about to have some horrible weather this week with Tropical storm Harvey or Hurricane Harvey, still yet to be determined, I wanted to talk about FLOODING.  As a 4 time flood victim, who does not live in the flood plain and gets preferred rate flood insurance, I really feel for the Valerie Street residents around Bellaire High School.

It amazed me that Planning and Zoning did not do more to mitigate the flooding concerns with requiring construction to max out all available underground storage options and to only go with an industry acceptable percentage that should solve the issue.SHOULD SOLVE!!  I can tell you that the new construction and use of land will cause the water to flow into the backyards and cause serious issues.

Who should be held responsible for all the new damage and drainage that home owners will have to put it to try to solve the issue?

I am a member of many flood support groups on Facebook and every time a storm approaches, like Harvey, everyone goes into “Is my house going to flood again?”  I know what that feeling is like and I do not wish it upon anyone.  WE NEED TO SOLVE FLOODING NOW!  The City of Bellaire needs to prevent any future hazards that could cause houses that never flooded, from flooding.  My house floods from the raised land of the mansion next door and the empty lot on the other side that was raised up.  My house acts like a bowl and all the water from their property pours into my yard and then into my house.  There is an ordinance that states new construction can not flood your neighbor.  The City of Bellaire’s flood plan is horrible. At first is was all house were to be raised, solid ground, then that caused more trouble like it does for me. I complained and complained and nothing was ever done.  My driveway would flood just from a faulty sprinkler they had installed next door.  Now, the houses are built with pass thru, so the water goes through the houses. This is why you see some houses raised so high off the ground.  There is one on Baldwin that the foundation starts at least 10 feet high.

So, who is going to pay when the Valerie street residents all start to flood?

 

 

 

 

 

#flooding #Storm Harvey #Valerie street residents #bellairetexas #bellairepolitics #bellaireelections #timeforchange




Today’s waste of money — Evelyn’s Park

So far, roughly 12 million has been spent on Evelyn’s park, plus the ongoing maintenance that the City of Bellaire is responsible for paying.  I was there opening day and it was packed, people everywhere with lots of action and energy.  Today, the place is deserted with rarely anyone there.  I walk past the park everyday and the most I have ever seen was a family at one of the picnic tables and a few scattered people walking around.  Usually there is a few cars in the parking lot leaving lots of available parking, with those cars being the employees of Ivy and James.

I have a problem when people or in this case Evelyn’s Park Conservancy had years to plan and the actual construction period, roughly 2 years total, drops the ball and acts like an underfunded organization that does not have highly skilled individuals guiding every step of the way.  There was huge hoopla about dogs in the park and people quickly pointed out that there was NO signs up stating you can not have dogs in the park.  The excuse given at a city council meeting was basically we did not have time to get these made and they are taking longer then expected.  There is this expensive place called Fast Signs that would have made the sign that day, so I do not buy it.  In my opinion, just incompetence.

After a few weeks and lots of complaining about the dogs and parking on Camillia Ln, these signs popped up.  I took these on Sunday afternoon 8-20-17 and amazed that after months there are not more professional signs up that equal the quality of the park.

These look just like my campaign signs that cost me 2.00 each.

 

 

 

 

 

I have been seeking out anyone’s opinion of the Ivy and James.  I have yet to hear anything positive, hard to believe, but TRUE!  Who really wants to pay 16.00 for a hamburger? Even my friends who drink were floored that the lowest priced house wine was 9.00 a glass.

I mention all of this because a few weeks ago I went to Levy Park in Houston and all I can say is WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW.  For the first ten minutes I was there I was in awe and council not believe this was actually in Houston.  When Bellaire is all about parks and how much they do for the parks and how there is even a group, Patrons For Bellaire Parks, that raise money for Bellaire parks, why in the world do we not have this in Bellaire??  If you have not been, you must go.  There was someone walking around actually cleaning the park, there was an attendant that would loan out ping pong paddles or art and crafts activities.  There is a water park for the kids and overall the whole place has SHADE.

OK, there is phase 2 for Evelyn’s Park.  More money spent and if you go ask yourself what in the world cost so much money when there is nothing here but high grass and trails that go in circles.  I pulled up the Master Plan and looking for the word “Future” you can see what will be added, a lake, a river, food truck area, and a shade pavilion. Is this enough?  I do not think so. The Conservancy needs to make changes on their own before the City of Bellaire starts to pressure them to do something.  I will be the first to admit when I am wrong and it seems wanting a cross walk to protect people walking to the park really was not needed.  After new visitors come once, they will not come back as there  is nothing to do there except work on your tan.  It was amazing to me that the cones are still out.

#bellairetexas #localpolitics, #evelynspark, #election2017 #wasteofmoney




%d bloggers like this: