$2.5 million bond issue on ballot in Manvel

By John Tompkins
The Facts
Published October 16, 2009

MANVEL — City Council wanted to seek a loan for a new city hall and expanded library, but voters wanted a say.

Residents will get a chance to decide whether the projects move forward when they head to the polls on Nov. 3 to consider a $2.5 million bond issue.

The bonds would pay for a new 8,000-square-foot city hall on property next to the current 1,600-square-foot building at 6615 FM 1128. The money also would pay to expand the current city hall to 4,000 square feet to become the city library and extend city water and sewer lines to the buildings.

If passed, the bonds would increase the city’s tax rate about 1.5 cents per $100 of appraised property value. That would be an additional $15 for a home valued at $100,000.

Early voting begins Monday.

Those who support the bond issue say the city is growing rapidly as housing developments continue to expand. Opponents say the development isn’t rapid enough to justify the bonds.

U.S. Census estimates show Manvel’s population has almost doubled to about 6,057 people in 2008, compared with 3,046 people in 2000.

That growth has led to a cramped City Hall, and council members don’t have a lot of room during meetings, Councilman Buddy Williams said. If the council has a hot issue on its agenda and a lot of residents show up to listen in, most of them won’t get in the door, he said.

“We’re living in a matchbox,” he said. “Half of the people can’t come in because of fire codes.”

Residents are suffering financially in the bad economy and it’s not a good time for the city to take on debt, resident Jimmie Joe Del Bello said. If City Hall needs to be bigger, the city can expand the current building, Del Bello said.

“I don’t think we need that project,” he said of the bond issue. “We can just add on to that thing.”

The city considered several options to build and pay for the changes, including seeking a $1 million loan or passing certificates of obligation, which don’t require voter approval. Some of the proposals included making the library an addition to an expanded city hall.

“We found it wasn’t as feasible as we thought,” Mayor Delores Martin said.

The city is looking to build a new library after a dispute with the former site’s landlord. The city recently moved the library from 7104 Masters Road into its current location at 19500 Highway 6.

As council considered passing certificates of obligation for an expansion several months ago, some residents voiced concern about the plan and asked if voters could decide whether the project was needed.

Council obliged and voted unanimously in August to place the issue on the ballot.

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Thunder Over Houston Area May Be Jets!

The U.S. military has issued advanced warning that jet fighters could be scrambled in the Houston area on Oct. 6 as part of military exercises.

North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct the flights in the skies over Southeast Texas. The pre-planned flights will take place in the late morning and early afternoon and residents should expect to hear and see NORAD fighter jets as they practice intercept and identification procedures.

Although exact flight plans were not divulged, a NORAD spokesman at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado said Houston airspace “could be included” in the exercises.

NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout the United States and Canada since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Monster for sale in Manvel

MANVEL, Texas -- Homes across the Houston area have been getting bigger every decade, but nothing may compare to what’s for sale in Manvel in Brazoria County. Sitting on a 16-acre field next to cow pastures along County Road 59 is a home big almost beyond belief.

For sale: Behemoth, 65,000-square-foot home near Pearland – no joke

Realtor Joe Rollins of Shelby Estus Realty Group recently gave 11 News a tour. The home is a two-story brick behemoth, looking a bit like Southfork in the opening sequence of the 1980’s CBS soap opera “Dallas.” But this is Southfork on steroids.

“It’s 65,000 square feet,” said Rollins as he walked down the home’s second floor hallway that looked to be as long as three bowling lanes laid end-to-end.

“It’s the biggest house I’ve ever seen.”

It has a dozen huge bedrooms, a nine car garage and an indoor pool deep enough for a diving board. The kitchen is probably as big as the one at your local Luby’s and the living room like one of the ballrooms in “The Sound of Music.”

By rough estimate, it might cost $9,000 a month just to cool the place.

A local doctor built it in 1991 but he, his wife and teenage son had second thoughts and never moved in. Now for sale for $2.4 million, will anyone buy it to actually live in it?

“I think that’s a long shot,” said Rollins.

More likely, it’ll be used for commercial purposes. Some years ago, a company bought it and started to convert it to a nursing home. But that project came to a halt and was abandoned. Now, with some of the rooms partially altered (like the huge foyer where there’s now a reception booth) the home needs a lot of internal work to make it usable. The realtor said a church has recently expressed interest.

FULL STORY HERE

Actor Patrick Swayze Dies; Houston Native Had Battled Cancer

LOS ANGELES (September 14, 2009)—“Dirty Dancing” actor Patrick Swayze, 57, has lost his yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

Swayze died Monday with his family at his side, his publicist Annett Wolf said.

In March 2008, it was disclosed that the Houston native had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Despite the grim prognosis, Swayze continued to work on the A&E series “The Beast,” in which he starred, although he said the cancer put him “through hell.”

Swayze became a star in 1987 with his performance in the coming-of-age classic “Dirty Dancing.”

Three years later, his role in “Ghost” made him a big screen favorite.

Patrick Swayze was born on August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas, the eldest child of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes; b. 1927), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jessie Wayne Swayze (1925-1982), an engineering draftsman.[6][7] He had two younger brothers, actor Don (born 1958) and Sean Kyle (born 1962), and two sisters, Vicky Lynn (1949-1994) and Bambi, who were adopted into the family.[8] His surname originated with an English immigrant ancestor named "Swasey".[7]
Until the age of 20,

Swayze lived in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston, where he attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary School,[9] Black Middle School,[9][10] and Waltrip High School.[9] During this time, he also pursued multiple artistic and athletic skills, such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school plays. He studied gymnastics at nearby San Jacinto College for two years.

Patrick Swayze on Wkipedia.