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Question: What are the different positions for the possible elected officers of the new FOR San Bernard Organization (501 c3)?

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC, 6/1/06
As it stands now, the offices to be filled are President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. We will have 15 members of the Board of Directors. The bylaws, however, have not yet been filed, so it is possible that could change in the next couple of weeks. We will be meeting this weekend with our attorney, Lynn Klement, regarding the bylaws and how we should be get "here" to the point of permanent officers and a board of directors.

Question: I just recently purchased a lot on cr819 and was wondering who I need to contact in order to find out bulkhead and pier requirements as well as permit procedures. Thanks

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC, 5/5/06
You posted a question to the OC regarding bulkhead and pier requirements, and permit procedures. I'm no expert, and no one should take my word for it, but I can give you some information on that.

For your bulkhead and dock, you need to file an application for a "Coastal Easement" with the Texas General Land Office. Usually, the starting place is with the district office. In our case, that is in LaPorte. I'll put some links, addresses, etc. at the bottom. Here are a few tidbits:

• If you don't have a pier, it can take quite a while to get application approval.

• If your property already has a pier and bulkhead, then you can repair them without permission, but not modify them in any way. GLO has the precise dimensions of every pier on the river, and those dimensions have to match when their surveyors come out next. They will be there again to measure and survey.

• Easements for piers are granted for 5 years. The fee is about $125. If you just purchased the property, then GLO will want $25 as a transfer fee when the current easement is up.

• You can replace your bulkhead without permit if, and only if, you remove the old bulkhead and put the new one is precisely the same place. You cannot put a new bulkhead in front of the old one. The GLO fines are quite stiff.

• It's a good idea to call GLO before doing anything at all to your pier or bulkhead to be sure of any requirements. I certainly recommend that highly.

• On your pier, you cannot cover any new area at all without permit. That is, you cannot add a few boards to increase the deck space without permit.

• The water is public property; the river bottom belongs to the State of Texas and is regulated by the General Land Office; where there is a steep bank, the landowner owns the top one-half of the steep bank; the bottom half of the steep bank belongs to the State.

Texas General Land Office:
http://www.glo.state.tx.us/

Our Field Office:
Upper Coast Field Office
11811 North D. Street
La Porte, TX 77571-9135
Phone: 281-470-1191
Fax: 281-470-8071

Applications and Procedures
http://www.glo.state.tx.us/prof_svcs/asset_inspection/applications.html

I hope that helps!! It's a good question to post in the discussion forum too because you might get more information--something I may have missed or have wrong.

Click here to post a comment in the San Bernard River Discussion Forum

Question: Supplies for printing and distributing River Cleanup info have cost me a lot. I know Roy and Jan feel that cost as well. Are there any ideas on how we could pool our printers/ink jet cartridges (photo cart's cost a lot!) and paper to save us all some $ or use a common printing solution? (5/3/06)

Response by Eileen, webmaster and member of the OC:
Brainstorming is in order for that. We would love to hear some ideas. At this time each of the OC members is donating whatever it takes to get the job done. While the OC has received some wonderful cash donations, we have not spent any of that on printing, copying, or supplies. We have talked about how wonderful it would be if the organization could buy a used copier or even a used color copier, but that will be a decision for the officers and board of directors taking office in September.

Question: Why are all the FOR San Bernard OC folks old......there's not one young member involved. (5/3/06)

Response by Tom Valliere, member of the OC:
This is an excellent question and one that caused us to reflect on the very make-up of the OC committee.

While we may be getting a little paunchy and gray, none of us on the OC think were ready for our final rewards.:) We agree that it is desirable to have this organization reflect the community at large and it has always been our objective to be as inclusive as possible. We actually have a mix of married and single, working and retired, full time residents and weekenders and a nice gender mix on the current OC. The age spread frankly was not considered and perhaps should have been - The sad reality however, is that many of the younger people are preoccupied with raising their families and working and have little spare time to lend to this organization - and as any member of the OC can attest, the time demands have been excessive.

Also, if you look at the demographics of our public meetings, an empirical analysis would indicate that younger people are not well represented. This is clearly a gap we need to close. The challenge going forward will be to develop strategies and opportunities to engage younger people and bring them into the mainstream of the organization. One idea, as young people represent a large percentage of the recreational users, perhaps a committee on river recreation, jet skiing, or wakeboarding would interest that age group

The OC does not have all the answers, we need your suggestions and inputs on this and many other subjects.
 

Question: During calls this week thanking all the Local, State and Federal groups that supported and helped during the River Cleanup it was mentioned to me that we (FOR San Bernard) should be actively pursuing some Grant monies available to causes like our River. These Grants include Texas GLO Grants, Texas Parks and Wildlife, US EPA and several others mentioned. Some of these Grant request deadlines are quickly approaching and many are for Hundreds of Thousands of $ and some for Millions. Is the OC or Roy&Jan or anyone checking into these sources of funding to get those studies finally initiated ? If we were to get any of these Grants would the Towboat operating companies and/or Petrochemical companies match that money ? Would they match any money I would be willing to put up ? (May 3 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC, 5/3/06
It will be possible to apply for grants when F.O.R. San Bernard has official non-profit status. We have high hopes that will occur in the next few weeks.  Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation are being drawn by an attorney at this time, and we are seeking the necessary liability insurance for our organization.  Grants are generally not available to a group of people that gave themselves a name. They go to legal organizations with a little history and proof of viability. We will soon have all of that. The OC does, however, accept any donation that is offered.

The OC is the Organizing Committee. Our goal is to take the steps necessary to have a legal organization, money in the bank, and a database to hand to officers and a board of directors in September.  The Officers and Board of Directors will be deciding whether to apply for grants. The OC's job is to "organize" so that the Officers and Board of Directors can spend their time being productive for the organization rather than trying to organize it.

Here are some resources that will provide more information:

• Handout from the first public meeting 2/24/06 lists the goals of the O.C.  and how we hope to accomplish those goals. That handout is available on the web from the menu item "Organizing Committee". Here is the direct link:  Goals of the OC
• The O.C. Activity Report for April was just emailed to over 100 people on the email list. It gives more detail on the status of F.O.R. San Bernard becoming a legal non-profit organization. 

Question: What is the temperature of the river?

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC, 4/20/06:
I have not been able to find an official regular, or even periodic report of the water temperature of the San Bernard River.  I suppose we could drop a thermometer in the water to find out. There is a daily report of the temperature of the coastal water at Surfside on the Surf Cam website at http://www.netsurfing.com. Today, April 19, 2006, the temperature at Surfside is reported to be 72 deg. F. How do you suppose that translates to the river? 

Update: 4/21/06: Bob Bailey reports the following: I use my boat at least a couple of times a week and have a temperature sensor on my GPS/Depth Sounder.  The temperature yesterday was about 78-79 degrees.  When I think about it, I will add it to the depth and flow log we're keeping.  In general, it pretty much tracks the average temperature for the day over the year.

Thanks, Bob!  So it looks like the river might be 6-7 deg warmer than Surfside, as reported at http://www.netsurfing.com 

Question: When will the fishing pictures be on the web? We might have more fisher people checking the website if there were some eye candy. (April 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster and member of the OC:
Good question; good point. As many of you know, the web mistress kept fishing pictures on www.kenneda.com so web mistress already knows what's involved once we call for pictures. It takes a lot of time--especially at the beginning. Let's make a deal: Start sending me the pictures now and I will get them up within a couple of weeks. Once we get over the "just getting started hump", it's easy to keep up.

Send your pictures with fish caught April 2006--NOW using this link---or email eileen@sanbernardriver.com

Question: How do you get to the mouth of the river if you are driving from Brazoria?
(April 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC:
From Brazoria, go past the prison farm to the light at FM 2611.
Go right, toward Sargent
Cross over Churchill Bridge then turn left on FM 2918.
Follow FM 2918 for 9.67 miles to the dead end at the boat ramp on the Intracoastal Canal.
Put in your boat and follow the Intracoastal to the San Bernard (you can see it from the ramp)
Follow the river, staying close to the channel markers on the left side
Beach your boat at the nice beach just after the channel markers end.
From there, you can walk to the point that the river dead-ends--quite literally.

Here is a map from the top of Churchill Bridge on FM 2611 to the boat ramp on the Intracoastal:
Directions to Boat Ramp on the Intracoastal near River's End

Question: How and when will officers be selected? (March 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC:
The OC of Friends of the River San Bernard is very open to suggestions. We have been thinking that a nominating committee will be appointed toward the end of the summer—after we've had an opportunity to get to know each other through summer activities.

The nominating committee will nominate a slate of officers to be approved by membership (anyone reading this).

We all have times when we cannot serve—and times when we can. Anyone interested in being an officer for one year, beginning this next fall should step forth to any OC member and express that. We really, really need people to do that. I, for one, do not intend to be webmaster or an officer after the organizing period, but I am happy to serve during this time. (March 2006)

Question: There are meetings about the Mouth of the San Bernard and Quintana Beach restoration coming up. Why has there been no news or e-mails about these very important meetings about our River ? I understand that Eileen has been out of town but does anyone else have news ? There have been no post in the discussion area or direct e-mails. (March 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster, and member of the OC:
I am probably not the best one to respond to this, but I am the one willing to do so. I think you may be referring to the Brazoria County Shoreline Restoration Task Force. I know that the meetings are public. The meetings are monthly and the locations are different each month. I know that some people from the river are attending them. I don't know the dates, but the chairman of that group is Kelly Hamby of Surfside  (979-233-1531).

As for emails or notices about the meetings: If anyone attends and sends me an update as it pertains to the river (fact, not opinion), then I will definitely post it.

Regarding email updates: You are so right, We DO need to be sending email updates. I hope it happens soon. We are a small and committed group (the OC), but there is sooooo much to be done right now for the new organization. For instance, if we want to sell t-shirts, then we need a Tax ID. To get a tax id, we need to file articles of organization. Big deals all!!  We need a database with long-term design. We need to keep the web up to date. We need to be taking reporters to the mouth (and we ARE). We need zone captains and block captains. We need fundraising so that we can hand over some funds to the new officers.   We need a newsletter. We need to design merchandise with our new name. We need a mission statement and guiding principles. 

All of that is to say that we are really trying to do our parts to the fullest extent but the demand right now is extremely high. We are facing this demand so that our future officers will not have to. It is our hope that they can take office, have money in place, a list of recommended committees, a mission, guiding principles, a web, and a database. (March 2006)

Question: What info do we have about the Energy Bill payments to the State of Texas that may be passed to Brazoria County? Has anyone checked with the Texas GLO or RR Commission about info and estimates of these distributions ? (March 2006)

Response by Eileen, webmaster and member of the OC:
The Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, included an amendment named The Coastal Impact Assistance Amendment that provides $1 billion to six coastal energy-producing states: Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska and California. This will be $250 million per year for fiscal years 2007 through 2010.

The direct funding is not be subject to Congress’ annual appropriations process; it is allocated automatically based on each state’s share of energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) <that's offshore oil>. Through the formula, each state receives funds based on the amount of OCS energy leases within 200 miles its coast. Louisiana stands to receive about 54 percent.

Texas' original cut of this pie was to have been 350 million dollars over 5 years. The latest estimates of Texas' share, however, has had to be reduced (somewhere between 120 and 140 million dollars over 5 years) since the funding is based on oil production, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have damaged some of the rigs off the Texas coast.

The measure authorizes funds to be used for the conservation, protection and restoration of coastal areas and wetlands; the mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife and other natural resources; and the implementation of federally-approved marine, coastal and other conservation management plans.

Here's where Brazoria County comes in:  Coastal parishes, counties and boroughs, would receive 35% of each state’s share. There are three political entities overseeing the allocation of the funds. The Texas GLO, the Texas Railroad Commission and Tex DOT.

It is my understanding that, as it stands today, these funds will be distributed at the federal level in Spring 2007. That, of course, would put the county-level funding even further into 2007.

I was in Washington D.C. last week and visited with Rep. Dr. Ron Paul regarding the river. I know that Commissioner Payne, Precinct 1, was there during the previous week doing the same. Of course, the timing of the funding is a major concern because that can be our ticket to the needed comprehensive study of the mouth.  I know that other states and counties are also wishing that the funding will be expedited. I know that Rep. Ron Paul and Commissioner Dude Payne are doing their best to make that happen. Write them!! (March 2006)

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The following responses are from the Organization Committee

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Question: Today at the Bernard Acres Civic Association meeting, Nancy was giving a briefing on what F.O.R San Bernard was about. Flags and banners came up and I heard someone say "Why not have 'SanBernardRiver.com' on the flags and banners." I thought it was a good idea, what do you think?   Thank you for the excellent suggestion. We opted not to do this for a couple of reasons. The flags and banners main purpose is to indicate a show of unity and pride of the people of the river. A message is being delivered while trying to keep it simple and also trying to keep cost as low as possible. The more you print, the higher the cost.  Due to the fact you wouldn't be able to read the web address in small print, it was decided it would not be worth the extra expense. Question: Is this WEB site promoting Rep. Ron (Dr. NO!) Paul now ? According to the above POST Roy and Jan are now placing FOR San Bernard behind Rep Ron Pauls re-election. Is that what the majority of FOR San Bernard voted on ?  The FOR San Bernard Organization is not a political platform. We appreciate all the help we get regardless of their political standing. There have been many officials who have supported and backed the movement to open the mouth, and we thank them one and all, and support their efforts in our cause. Question: I've noticed that almost all the questions ask of the OC have been answered by Eileen. What do all the rest of the OC folks have to say about FOR San Bernard and the questions ask of it's committee ? Is Eileen the only voice ? Because the Organizing committee has much to do to get the organization where it needs to be to install a permanent board, we must divide and use our talents where they are most needed. With the support and aid of all of us, Eileen answered the questions as the voice of the OC. Question: Could someone call me in regards to advertising on this website. Thanks. Eveline Nachtegaele for the San Bernard River RV Park Done and thank you for your support. As always, we need all the help we can get.  Comment: This website looks absolutely awesome. I am soooo impressed The author of this statement is one of the FOR's best supporters. Thank all of you for the kind words and support that has been demonstrated over and over again. We can all be proud of ourselves as a community united. Comment: If you need any one to be an officer and it is something I can do via computer or from Houston, please let me know. I am a registered agent with the IRS and was an accountant for 15 years. I am very familiar with QuickBooks and have had a business setting up books for small businesses. If you need help with that stuff, I will be happy to help. Once again the wonderful willingness to use one of the many talents along the river for the good of all. Thank you for the offer, it will be recorded. (Can you help me next year on my personal return?) Comment: I have a friend that works at the chronicle and I have sent her our boat parade pic and gave her the link to the website last week. She said she would forward the link to the appropriate person that covers the gulf coast area at the paper. I have also sent the pic to our neighborhood paper The Village News, I will watch and see if they put anything in next week. Let us know how it goes, and thank you for taking the time and making the effort for all of us. Question: How do we get our advertisement on your page?? Contact any OC member either thru the link on the web page or at any time in person and we will more than glad to handle that for you. Thank you . How can I see who has already been nominated for officers? At this time, the nominees names are being gathered only for the nominating committee's use.  If you wish to nominate someone, and they are agreeable, please do so. If there are multiple nominations for the same person, so much the better. Thank you  June 2006 Is anyone monitoring these questions since Eileen has left ? Who is now the "voice" of FOR San Bernard ? Yes, we are monitoring and responding to these questions, so keep them coming. The voice is of the organizing committee as a whole.   My sister works in this type of role in Wyoming and my understanding is that this is a govermental office that exists to help groups like ours get moving. They know how to get grants etc. etc. I hope this helps some. Brian ====================== Brian, I had a good visit with your sister a few days ago. I’m sure a girl from Texas can handle anything in SW Wyoming. She informed me that you were involved in the San Bernard River Foundation and sent me the www.kenneda.com web site. I was a member of a “Community Resource Team” in the City of Brazoria a few years ago, where the five person team did an assessment of the community. While there, we discussed the San Bernard River some, but most of the discussions related to the Brazos River and its affect to the community. We had a person with the Brazos River Authority on the Team with us. Sam Houston RC&D is currently assisting the “Caney Creek Conservation Foundation” located in Wharton and Matagorda Counties. We assisted them in organization (obtaining 501c3 non-profit status) and our grant writer is working with them on some grants at the present time. I would be interest to get some background on the San Bernard River Foundation and what some of their goals may be.   Thank you Brian for help. Yes indeed, all comments and suggestions are very beneficial to the organization. You and the many other people who support this river are the eyes, ears and brains of the organization. For more information on the goals and background of the FOR San Bernard organization, please browse thru the web page or contact any OC member.  All help and concerns are more than welcome. Thank you. Concerning todays post. Brazoria County is split between 2 State Senators. Texas State Senators SENATE DISTRICT 11 - SENATOR MIKE JACKSON Capitol Office: EXT E1.806 Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0111 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711 District Address: 1109 Fairmont Parkway Pasadena, TX 77504 District Phone: (713) 948-0111 State District Offices SENATE DISTRICT 17 - SENATOR KYLE JANEK Capitol Office: CAP 3E.16 Capitol Phone: (512) 463-0117 Capitol Address: P.O. Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711 District Address: 7777 Southwest Freeway, Suite 102 Houston, TX 77074 District Phone: (713) 272-8929 State District Offices Contact both of them about the SB River Mouth.   Thank you for this information. I'm sure it will be helpful.     I saw a mention of a River Parade on Labor Day. However I checked the River Parade page (tab) and find no mention of anything on Labor Day. Is there any news about this event ? This is true. There is a Labor Day parade in the making as we speak. The route is yet to be determined, but will be posted as soon as possible. The parade will run North of the highway 521 bridge. It will be late afternoon early evening of Saturday, Sept. 2nd. The meetings will be at 7:pm on August 10th, 24th, and 31st at Dido's Restaurant. Thanks for asking and hope to see you all there. Today's post about Fridges is a repeat story of what we all have gone thru these past several years. The EPA regulations have caused us citizens a major problem, to get rid of worn out appliances that the manufactures and business's should be doing to recycle ! It will probably come down to us consumers paying a fee (similar to batteries and tires) to handle such waste, which I do not think consumers should pay, but at least there would be a simple way for us to dispose of such items properly and not just throw them in the River. Keep our River Clean ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think they are trying to get a program concerning this in parts of Europe now. The next comment refers to what they think will work. It will be interesting to keep tabs on their program to see how it is doing.   Greetings from Germany. We have a way in Germany now to get the old refrigerators and junk removed. A law was passed that the company that sold the item to you must take it back and dispose of it. Not sure how it is going to work. It is a new law. The cost goes to the end user in the end. But at least the junk is not in the river. Mark Brooks    Wow, all the way from Germany. This will be interesting to see how it works out. Will you please keep us up to speed on the way things are going with this program. Thanks  for letting us know of a possible solution and sharing with us that this is an international concern.   This is for the web person - After going to the Discussion Forum - how do I get back to the Home page? Now there is a hyper link to the Discussion Forum either from the Discussion Forum tap at the top or the link just above Notice & Reminders.  When you want to return back to the Home Page just click BACK twice.   Who is the OC? Back in February of this year, a group of fourteen people. who are passionate about the well being of the river, had a public meeting in Brazoria. At this meeting, they announced that they would like to tackle the job of beginning a river organization to address the concerns of the river, it's communities and surroundings. They wanted to get people united thru social events and get to know who could best serve the river thru the individual talents the community has to offer. In short, the goal of this committee was to organize a river organization. This September, the organization will be turned over to a permanent board and officers for the future well being of the river. The Organizing Committee, or O.C., will dissolve and be no more. They will have completed the task they set out to do. For individual names of the committee, please check the OC Members page on the web. There you will find names and pictures of the individuals of the OC.                                            Thanks for asking September 2006   I've noticed a film floating atop our river this year. My neighbor suggests it might be from the sewer treatment that discharges a couple of miles down stream of the McNeil bridge. We rode down there Saturday afternoon and sure enough, there it was...a fountain of God only knows what being spouted into our river. Do you have any information on what exactly that is (the sludge film accumulating on the bank near the fountain suggests sewer) and what, if anything, can be done to stop them from contaminating our already stiffled river? Thank you,  We're not exactly sure where you are talking about. If you are referring to the discharge at the Chevron Phillips Clemens terminal, then we are investigating that now. We have a phone call in to the company to find out what the foam contains that is being discharged there from time to time. If it is a different area, please give a more detailed description so we can check it out. Today’s post about the ASA Woodley’s visit was good, however it contained some errors..........the Zeus has not changed owners, the owner is still around but now living in Mexico..........he still owns that piece of rusting junk that he contracted to park where it’s at now..... The Texas GLO is now in charge of the Zeus removal and during the past two weeks has placed containment booms around the rig...........however it was discovered yesterday that the rig is leaking some liquids outside the containment booms..........possibly drilling fluids or diesel fluids......nothing really an environmental disaster......just nasty crud........ It has now been reported to the US Gov. Spill response hotlines...............(this may raise National attention) The cost of removal that was stated in the FOR San Bernard article ($5 Million) is not an official figure. The Texas GLO in Austin Texas I spoke with today said that $ figure came from the Port of Freeport and has nothing to do with the official group dealing with the issue. It is estimated it may cost much less for removal salvage. Also the use of this vessel for the Surfside offshore reef is in very serious doubt. It does not qualify as an artificial reef source due to it’s mechanical makeup. It would not pass many of the Government qualifications for such use. To follow the belief that this is a good option to save Surfside or other Beaches is way wrong. These are the facts I found today from our State Government agencies.  Thank you for posting this information. A lot of times we get somewhat conflicting reports depending on who we speak to, but all views are appreciated and important. Todays post included a piece about the Spaceport being located on Wolf Island. Contacts to David Stedman of the Brazoria Economic Alliance has found that the Wolf Island location IS NOT in the plans of the Spaceport project. It appears that the Wolf Island location is a third party interest that may never go anywhere. Please advise your WEB viewers that such information is just speculation and not truth at this time! Please do not confuse the FOR San Bernard followers with mis-information.  The post in question stated that IF the spaceport comes to Brazoria county and also says that Wolf Island COULD be a consideration for an orbital launch site. This is not mis-information. Wolf Island was viewed by a group of folks from several departments for this reason. All information on this or any other matter is speculation until it comes to fruition. Now that there are official Elected Board officers, how do we contact them to let them know what we the membership think and would like to see accomplished ? There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. There is a board of directors tab at the top of the homepage that will take you to a page with the Board of Directors listed. On this page you can contact any of them individually thru email. At the bottom of this and the front page is a place to contact the organization with any comments, suggestions or questions. Thanks for asking.  maybe one reason there's so many visit hits counted here is because people are visiting hoping for some new real info.........where's the news ? why has the daily/weekly news quit ? Sometimes a post will stay up for a couple of days to allow people who do not visit everyday to have a chance to view it. We try to change the post at least every other day, except on weekends, and keep the web site fresh and interesting. In the process of doing this, we realize that not every post is going to be of interest to everybody, but we are try to be of interest to the majority. This is a major undertaking and requires much dedication and effort by the people who have volunteered to work on this. We should all support and acknowledge their efforts and commitment. They do an excellent job on a very difficult task. when will questions ask here ever be answered ? Nothing has been update here in a long time. While not trying to offer excuses for not updating the answers here in awhile, there has been a lot of changes going on in the organization in the last few weeks. We are still trying to fit the roles and responsibilities into place so more of these concerns can be met on a regular basis. I guess you could say we are under construction. Please bear with us during this time and be patient as these needs are being met. Thank you I have a 1957 video of Hinkles Ferry in operation, viewed from Cobbs store, its about min. long. Would you like to have it for your site ?  Thank you for offering and the answer is a definite YES. This would be a fantastic addition to the site. You will be contacted for the information and once again, thanks so very much for offering

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