Category: News

Oct 22 2019 October 22, 2019 October 22, 2019 by kevin

AARK/James Andrews conflict of interest and City Council remarks and 75k contract

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AARK/James Andrews conflict of interest and City Council remarks and 75k contract

This post is for those concerned about the conflict of interest with James Andrews and AARK engineering and the City of Bellaire.

These are my interpretations of last nights city council meeting comments. I spoke before council and these are the bullet points of my statement.

The report states- James Andrews and ARKK are the logical and appropriate choice to perform this type of design work because of their familiarity with Bellaire water and wastewater infrastructure. Has the city allowed anyone else to look at the infrastructure? Has the city interviewed any other firms? Has any analysis been done for services rendered from AARK from 2012? Is AARK worth the money the city pays them? Is the city getting value from this contract or is it renewed yearly because it is easy/ DO you think it’s odd that the city pays AARK to be the city engineer and then they are also hired for all the jobs done in the city? Is it the case of the wolf guarding the hen house?

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During the city managers report Councilperson Pollard asked him if there was any truth to my statement of the wolf guarding the hen house. Mr. Hoffman replied not anymore, but it used to be! What ensued the rest of the evening was Council member Pappas and Mayor Friedberg spending considerable time trying to convince the public there was no current conflict of interest. When discussion came up for the vote to reward 75k to AARK engineering Councilman MacLaughlan said he will not vote on this because James needs to be on his own and not connected to AARK.

In a long winded round about, which is the standard for CM Pappas, Pappas got James Andrews to say that for some streets that were fixed he wasn’t involved. Over and over Pappas tried to find ways to tell the public AARK did not have anything to do with the 6 streets that were just repaired. Pappas tried hard to give Andrews softball questions to get the point out he wasn’t involved in some street projects and there could not be a conflict of interest. Pappas worked very hard to make Andrews look good.

Councilmember Montague asked how Andrew’s was going to add 5 new services to the current contract then previous year for the same price. Andrews stated — efficiency 75k has been price for last 6 years. Seems like low price so AARK keeps a foot in the door and gets all the other projects.

Friedberg asked why we don’t just hire our own city engineer. Mr. Hoffman says we have looked at it from time to time. Says current model works well. Says replacing Andrews would be hard since he is so knowledgeable It seems to me that since we hired him it was the city that paid for him to gain the knowledge creating this circle of we hire him for his info, but he only gains the info because we keep hiring him.

Mr. Hoffman says If we keep spending 8-9 mill on streets then hiring an full time city engineer is a subject for future consideration. Hoffman says he doesn’t understand when people ask about this conflict of interest and nothing inappropriate. He went on to say it is brought up just for people to spin things up. Hoffman then moved back to praising Mr. Andrews and how great he is for Bellaire and stating for now the model works. Mayor Friedberg said misinformation is false. AARK/Andrews doesn’t bid and receive the contract.

 

Mayor Friedberg worked hard to convey there is no conflict stating again Andrews can not give himself bids and there is no conflict. The new contract passed 6-1 Every meeting I speak and the council always defends what issues I bring up. I can honestly say that I would push and demand answers if I was on City Council. I would not sit there quiet and I for sure will not just take their word for things. I am still amazed by the laziness of the City and how they always take the easy path at the expense of taxpayers. We need more people to stand up to the city manager and demand the facts and truth. The City Manager said NOT ANYMORE, BUT IT USED TO BE. The council glossed over that and beat a dead horse how great AARK and Andrews was and how there is no conflict on the new street construction. They skipped over the Used to be conflict altogether. Please go vote.

Here is a link to the contract info= https://bellairetx.civicweb.net/document/13751#page=9&zoom=100,0,0

Here is link to watch the council meeting = https://www.facebook.com/bellairetx.gov/videos/393289368280757/


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Oct 01 2019 October 1, 2019 October 1, 2019 by kevin

Bellaire Police and Fire Foundation Grants

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Now the City has 3 drones. That money could have gone towards an extra patrol officer to patrol the streets.
 
The Foundation has considered the grant applications recently submitted by the Police and Fire
Departments and as approved by the City Council. The Foundation approved the following:
 
• Body Cameras with 5 years of cloud storage $34,048 (Fire Department)
• Dry Suits $13,865 (Fire Department)
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle $41,718 (Police Department)
• High Water Vehicle $25,500 (Police Department)
• Radar Trailer $8,795 (Police Department)
 
 
The Foundation decided to not approve:
• The cancer initiative (Fire Department)
• Weather station (Fire Department)
• The restraint “wraps” (Police Department)
 
The Foundation determined that the unapproved items are operational in nature and are better suited as
city-funded projects. Chief Holloway, Chief Tittel, and I greatly appreciate the Foundation’s thoughtful
consideration of all of our submittals.

Oct 01 2019 October 1, 2019 October 1, 2019 by kevin

Project Development: Bissonnet & Newcastle “Sandcastle Homes”

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On January 26, 2015, City Council approved Ordinance No. 15-002 to Sandcastle Homes, Inc., allowing for a
residential planned development to be constructed on the north side of Bissonnet Street, between
Newcastle Street and Howard Lane. Until recently, this site was tied up in litigation on an issue regarding the
title of the property, which has now been resolved. Sandcastle Homes is ready to move forward with the
project, and address assignments were recently completed by the Development Services Department. No
building plans have been submitted as of yet. The planned development will consist of twelve single-family,
two-story residences, to be known as Bellaire Gardens. The property is located within the City’s Corridor
Mixed-Use Zoning District.


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Aug 10 2019 August 10, 2019 November 3, 2021 by kevin

Vote For KEVIN NEWMAN for Bellaire City Council 2021

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     My main goal as Councilman is to listen to the needs of the residents of the City of Bellaire.
I will be available for any resident to voice their concerns and I will always maintain an open door policy.

I want to make sure there is greater TRANSPARENCY in City matters.
I want to make it easier for citizens to learn what is going on in the city BEFORE it happens.

I want the residents to know where the MONEY is going and why.

SAFETY & SECURITY
SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
INFRASTRUCTURE

My goal as COUNCILMAN is to make sure the City of Bellaire is the BEST IT CAN BE.

I am PRO POLICE AND FIRE! 

My goal is to have more POLICE patrolling the city.
My goal is to fight to make sure the Fire Department has all the equipment needed to keep us safe.
 Full participation and open access to residents.

 

Remember, go VOTE on November 2nd

 


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Aug 08 2019 August 8, 2019 August 22, 2019 by kevin

Throwback to 1978 Bellaire Political ads

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I originally posted this in the 2015 election, but it still holds true today.

 

I read an article that all the old newspapers from Bellaire were online. I kind of forgot about it since the link was not easy to remember.  While looking up some things for this election I found the link http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth567086/m1/1/ and found myself reading the papers from 1968 to 1978. I am fascinated by the store ads and seeing what used to be where things are now and business that are long gone.  Did you know that Buteras grocery used to be where the current HEB is?

I posted a few pages of the paper from The Bellaire Texan (Bellaire, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 42, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 29, 1978 and I can remember how on election day when I was going to Elrod Elementary the cafeteria would be filled with these giant machines.  We would see them for days before and after the election and as a child an election was just something we knew took over the cafeteria for a few days.  My mom would take me with her and I remember walking in and the curtain. How it was to be a secret and when other kids would ask who your parents voted for you would say you can’t tell anyone.  This first page was the sample ballot and it shows to pull the lever and how to shut the curtain.  If you notice the election was on April 1.  It also seems there were quite a few citizen groups, the B.C.A.S. and S.O.S.

The real point of this post is that after reading all the issues over the years they seem to be the same ones.  Parking, growth, police, parks, and my favorite was stopping the use of Houston ambulances.  I am sure you have heard this many times before, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana originally said this and it is something we all need to think about this election.  The City of Bellaire has been plagued with the same issues for the past 50 years and we really need to look at the past to see how we can be better prepared to handle the next 50 years.

vote for kevin newman for bellaire city council

 

vote for kevin newman for bellaire city council  vote for kevin newman for bellaire city council vote for kevin newman for bellaire city council vote for kevin newman for bellaire city council

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth567086/m1/12/zoom/


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