RESTORE BOLIVAR MEETING NOTES

The meeting held at the Jefferson County Courthouse Jury Impaneling Room was a standing room only crowd with an overflow in the Courthouse Lobby. There were approximately 500-600 people who attended the meeting to learn more about the future of Bolivar Peninsula. Bob Wortham welcomed everyone, opened the meeting and turned the introductions over to Commissioner Doyle. The following information is from a tape recording of the meeting:

Commissioner Pat Doyle:

He expressed his concern for everyone and their loss on Bolivar and immediately said "Put away your concerns because we are going to build back Bolivar." He said that they are working with BPSUD and TX DOT to hopefully put a 20"pipe across the section of the north section of the bridge that is being used at Roll Over Pass. He then introduced Jennifer McKnight.

Jennifer McKnight, General Mgr. Of BPSUD:

She gave the status of the service back to Bolivar. "The temporary line that is now in place @ Roll Over Pass is not large enough to get water all the way to Bolivar. However TX DOT has agreed to let them go with the 20" but it will take at least 2 more weeks to complete the repairs that are on the North side of the bridge. Once the repairs are completed, the 20" line will be completed within one week and water will be in Bolivar itself. Once Bolivar has water they will work their way backwards toward Crystal Beach. The next subdivisions we will be looking at are everything between Bolivar and Boyt Road on the Bay side, which includes Koniki, Severs Cove. Each subdivision should not take more than a week, but it depends what we find there, to get each subdivision on line. One of the problems that we have to deal with is debris, but we will be working closely with the county on that. We have meter flags in a bucket in front of the old building in Crystal Beach and there are some in front of our new office in Winnie. If you are going to be on the beach, please pick up a flag and place it where your old meter was. When service is restored to your area, we will send you a letter stating that service is now restored and available at your home. Included in the letter is a service application and we ask that you either mail it or bring it to our office. Once your application is received, we will turn water on at your home. You will need to list the legal description of your property and you can get that off of your tax statement or talk to your local real estate agent. On the financial standpoint of the district, we have about 1 year operation that we will be working off of. We are looking at FEMA assistance and are asking that our bond payment be deferred for hopefully 5-10 years, which will give us all

time to get all of our customers back on line and water system. She mentioned the election on November 4^th and said you can Early Vote at St. Matthews Church on High Island or any of the satellites around Galveston County. All will be posted on the web site. The only site to vote on Election Day is Methodist Church in High Island. Office location in Winnie is 524 FM 1406 near the Winnie Ranch Supply Store. Weekly updates are listed every Tuesday on the web site @ www.bpsud.com.

Commissioner Doyle:

Announced that he passed out a Contact Sheet to everyone in the audience. (These will be listed on the restorebolivar.com web site) He introduced the TX Dot speaker.

TXDOT: Phil Delaney

Update on the Ferry. "Operations are focused on getting one landing dredged out so they can restore passage. They are talking to the Dredge Company to expedite this and the best case scenario is early November and will keep the county updated. Currently they are only taking emergency vehicles due to the tenuous operation. Their communications are limited as they only have one hard line phone but you can call on the regular number @ 409-795-2230. As far as the bridge operation at Roll Over is concerned, I do not handle that part, it is thru Galveston but if you have questions on that, you can call me and I will get in touch with Mr. Babbington who runs that office and find out the time lines for you." He did not have an answer about the flooding early in the mornings on Hwy 87 because he was only over the Ferry.

Commissioner Doyle:

"I can tell you that on the bridge issue, the Judge and I had met with TXDOT and the best I can tell you, is that when we get it back to two lane traffic, will be before Thanksgiving. As to updates, I’m doing the best I can and will continue to send updates out thru Bob and Lynda Kay thru www.restorebolivar.com that will go out to you." He then introduced Judge Yarborough.

County Judge James Yarborough:

He expressed his appreciation that Bob held the meeting in Jefferson County and said he was looking forward to the day when we could have meetings on Bolivar Peninsula. "One of the frustrating parts of my job is putting out rumors. Let me tell you, If you don’t leave with any other message than this, Galveston County is 100% committed to helping the property owners and residents of Bolivar Peninsula to rebuild the Peninsula better than it ever was. He expressed his appreciation to the many people who were a "pipeline of communication" to what was going on Bolivar Peninsula and those who worked hard for you. A special thank you was given to Commissioner Pat Doyle who splits his time trying to make sure that everyone was covered.

New Curfews: 6am to 6pm starting Friday

TXDOT, Water and Electricity: "will really come to a positive point sometime in the 1^st 2 weeks of November." That won’t get us back to normal, but when we get power, water and access will put us on a new level.

Fire Service on the West End of the Peninsula. We’re fortunate that we have High Island and their equipment and they will continue to support everything east of Roll Over Pass. We will use both Crystal beach and Bolivar Fire Houses for the West end. We will contract with the City of Galveston for personnel for about $130,000 to $150,000/month, but we will have 24 hour service

to provide Fire and EMS Service as we get power & service back, get our volunteers back and rebuild our firehouses back. This will be put in place sometime the 1^st part of November. Right now the gap is being filled by the Galveston County Firefighters Assn and a collective group of firefighters all across the county.

Debris: There are several reasons that you haven’t seen debris removed from Bolivar Peninsula today. Number one, we wanted to make sure that the residents had time to rummage thru the debris and pick out things that were important to you. Number 2 is Missing Persons. We have done with the help of dozens of volunteers and dogs, the State of Texas, but Missing Persons is still an issue. Unfortunately that job is not over. We will begin gearing up in the next 2 weeks to go over debris piles that have not been gone over or that we have not been able to unlayer them, that are still on what I call, Bolivar Peninsula Proper, between the Gulf and the Intercoastal. The Goat Island area is another area that has to be worked and there are a lot of hurdles to overcome. We want to identify every missing person that we can, that is our obligation, that’s our goal and we will meet that goal and that is why you haven’t seen debris removed yet. Debris is not debris. Our estimates tell us that 90% of the debris is on private property. When it’s on private property, we as public entity can’t go get it. We can go get it, but we just can’t be reimbursed for it. So when you’ve got $20million debris removal on Bolivar Peninsula, minimum. We’ve got debris that’s on the public right of ways, debris that is on public streets and public property and when we turn our contractor loose on Bolivar Peninsula, they will be going after all of that debris on the public right of way and the public property. We can’t get on private property. We have been working with FEMA to try to get what is called PPDR, Private Property Debris Removal. That will allow us to go on private property, subject to right of entry, hold harmless liability and other legal aspects. If you can take debris off of your property and push it up to where the street is or was, we will get it and that will help us. But we will get the debris off of Bolivar Peninsula. The 1^st thing is public debris and the 2^nd thing is private debris. Anything you can do to help us by pushing it to a street, furniture, anything you want to throw away, washer, dryers etc. A question was asked about vehicles and the Judge said, we will get the vehicles too. Entergy will get the transformers and poles. He discussed Goat Island and said that at this date, he believes that the Corp of Engineers will do a good part of the debris on Goat Island. He also stated that the Corp of Engineers has moved debris from High Island to Bolivar in the Intercoastal, the Federal Channel. He stated that Goat Island will be a combination of clean up by The Corp of Engineers,

The GLO may have a part in that, as they are responsible for submerged areas of the island, but collectively we will have Goat Island cleaned up.

The 4^th area of debris that is difficult is called Wet Debris. Debris that is now in all of the little channels, Roll Over Bay, the area near the bulkheads of the sides of the waterways, debris that is out in the surf. We are going to work with the GLO, the Corp of Engineers and the private property owners, the debris removal program to get our land back. As you would expect, anything in the water is expensive to deal with.

QUESTIONS FROM AUDIENCE:

Heavy debris on private property. Judge said that the land owners have been hit hard enough as it is and we don’t’ want the land owners to spend any more money than you have to spend. We will work with individual property owners, it’s just going to be tedious and a time consuming task. We will have our own local staff, FEMA help, folks helping to sign you up to make sure that we go on to the right property. But if there is debris on your property, we are going to work with you to get it taken care of, but it will take time.

Slabs on beach front property, that might be somewhere between the public beach and private property. He said we are committed to work with the property owners along the beach front to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and we build back responsibly and protect our beaches. We are committed to getting the debris off of the beach. When asked if a property owner could move the debris from the beach and their property, could they move it to the county road by using their own means, he said yes.

Refrigerators and freezers with rotten food in them. Tape it up. It will be hauled off by a group that hauls off "white goods" and it will be done environmentally correct, take Freon out but they will be removed with food in them.

Septic Systems that are damaged: Again, we will work with the property owner to remove the septic tanks but if you can move it out yourself it will probably happen faster.

Sand covering the Public Right of Ways: We are already moving sand that is on the public right of ways and public streets, but bottom line is that you can not just push that sand back on the beach. It has to be sifted, environmentally correct before it can be put back on the public beach. Contact the County Judge’s office and we will have the road department to move the sand.

Sand Covering Private Slabs: If you want the sand on your property, it is your sand and that is from the GLO, because it came from the public beach. If you don’t want the sand on your property, we will treat it like debris. We can’t go on your private property to get it, get somebody to box blade it to the street and we will take it. So, if you have land on your property, you can keep it or consider it debris.

What if we need sand: Judge said that if he had a list of people who needed sand he would make sure they got that. Bob Wortham volunteered that we put a spot on www.restorebolivar.com and people can sign up that they need sand and the list will be forwarded to Galveston County.

Beach Front property that has hole where slab used to be: Hold that questions for GLO.

Debris: Judge said, there is a lot of interest in debris. We will beef up our information and have it posted on www.restorebolivar.com. It is difficult to answer & mange my e-mails, and I try to answer all of them, because that’s part of my job, but many of them are the same over and over again, and Pat Doyle gets the same kind of questions. I think we can be more effective if you funnel these questions, thru this organization, remember, they are volunteers and are not getting paid to do this, but we can put the questions thru one source, www.restorebolivar.com, they will send them to us and the answers will be posted on the web site so everyone can read the same information. http://www.restorebolivar.com,

Debris Update: Judge said, that the good news is that the debris contractor will be able to get over to Bolivar & they will be putting full force on Bolivar Peninsula and we will work with you to remove the debris, because we know that it is important to you.

Beach Out and Help Someone: Commissioner Doyle explained that the volunteers will only be allowed on the property if someone has given their permission and they will be with a member of the subdivision who has the approval of the property owners. The goal of the group is a true one and it is to help only those people who can’t do it themselves. Stephanie Johnson will meet with anyone after the meeting to get your questions answered.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE JUDGE: There is going to be Federal money available that we are going after. All of our streets, roads, bridges are damaged our services are gone. There is some other type of money for Mitigation Projects. This money is for money you can spend here and maybe we won’t have the same bad results that we did last time. Some of the things that we want to talk about for our community.

1. We need to raise Hwy 87. It will never be high enough to help us out of something like we just had, but if we raise it will get us out of harms way for high tide.

2. We need to look at rerouting Hwy 87 east of the pass over to High Island. We are working with TXDot to put talk about some short term barrier protection of the public highway. But Hwy 87 may need to be rerouted. Let’s take it out of harms way for a long time.

3. A sewer system: Another thing that we believe will be a step in the right direction is bringing a sewer system to all of Bolivar. We can do that by working with the developers etc. It’s a goal of ours to develop a sewer system.

4. Do we want to drive our cars on the entire beach front or do we want to make some areas where you don’t drive a vehicle on the beach?

5. Do we want that cut at Roll Over Pass? We need to work with the GLO, The Corp and all the right entities. Has it helped or aggravated erosion. We need to look at that. This is the time to make those types of decisions, not next week, not 6 months from now. We’re going to be working to hand in hand to recover for the next couple of years. This is an area that needs to be looked at.

6. GeoTube: There were shouts from the audience to build a seawall from High Island to Bolivar. The Judge shared their thoughts and said it may not be like the one at Galveston Island as I don’t think we can afford that, but there are other types of erosion tools out there and we plan to investigate those. The GeoTube probably won’t be in that mix. Off Shore breakwater is another technology that we think would be effective. We will work together with the community, as there is give and take on both parts.

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Judge said, before the meeting is over you will hear about 2 other areas of importance.

1. FEMA: Questions will be answered by a FEMA rep about housing, assistance

2. PERMITTING: 2 types of permits

1. Beach Related Permits. On this type of permitting, I can assure you that we will have one on one sessions with the property owners, about surveys, questions and we will figure out what to do, how do we get it done. The GLO will help answer some of these questions.

2. All other permits. North of 87, how we will do everything.

Judge introduced the FEMA rep.

FEMA: Bob Bennett, Director of the SETX Field Office

We are working very closely with the County officials to take a look at the debris removal and the infrastructure and we are working with the State very closely to get the infrastructure up and running as soon as we can. Introduced David Parks.

David Parks, Housing Operations Officer.

Spoke of Temporary Housing Programs for Primary Property Owners who’s homes were destroyed by events or destroyed where they can’t go back for 18 months. He explained that there were very simple questions designed to determine where you would be in the program. Once your application is processed you will receive a letter stating where you are in the program.

For those who have already signed up you have a FEMA # and some of you have already received a letter and or funding. There were statements from the audience that they had not received any communication from FEMA since they have applied. All fact specific questions were to be addressed outside of the meeting with the FEMA reps.

County Engineer: Mike Fitzgerald

Everyone wants to know how to get Building Permits: We do damage assessments and we need to see if the property is essentially damaged. Damage Assessment, the county has hired contractors to assist us to do the damage assessment. We are scheduled to start Bolivar on October 20^th. We think we will be through with our damage assessment, which is to drive thru, look at the structure, catagorize it in either in a Cat. 1=No damage, which there are very few or none on Bolivar Peninsula, Cat. Two=Some damage, Cat 3=Potentially, Substantially damaged. At that time we will have a list and the Category 3, Potentially, Substantially damaged structures, will need detailed inspections to confirm whether they are in fact substantially damaged. If found, any of those detailed inspections about October 27^th. Those will continue to about October 30^th. The first batch of those will be thru about 2 weeks after we begin and we will do 2 batches every week of our contract until about November 30^th. Those are the two steps that we have to do before we can begin the permitting process. I’m not going into a lot of detail, but an overview on the process, basically we have Non-GLO and non-health district type permits. Those will be the ones that will go the quickest. If it’s not a septic tank issues or not a GLO issues and those will be issues, they will be the easiest ones. We think we can begin issuing those around Nov 15^th. If it has a GLO or health issue, the GLO is going to describe what that means. There are basically the 3 categories that I described, No Damage, Not Substantial Damage or Potentially Substantial Damage. There is another Category, Totally Destroyed and we will be able to permit those as long as they agree to elevate to the 100 year flood plane. That’s kind of a brief summary of the whole permitting process and I think in the interest of time we should move on.

GLO-Jody Henneke, Deputy Commissioner Coastal Resources:

We are here to partner with Judge Yarbrough and Commissioner Doyle, as we work with you, to work toward a responsible development of Bolivar Peninsula. Hurricane Ike was a disaster of historic proportions, especially to Bolivar Peninsula. In response to this, Commissioner Patterson issued emergency rules which allowed repairs and stabilization to houses within 1000 feet of the median high tide, including those homes that may appear to be on the public beach. Those emergency rules are available to use for those structures that were not more than 50% damaged or destroyed. Those rules are in effect thru early Jan 2009 and may be extended if needed. The emergency rules do not however, authorize you to make repairs if a house is on state owned land or below mean high tide. We realize that many if not most of the homes were destroyed. Hurricane Ike storm surge obliterated the natural line of vegetation. It will likely take a year or more for the natural vegetation to reestablish itself. However, to give the property owners as much certainty as possible, and in agreement with the Texas Open Beaches Act, the GLO will use elevation to establish a line to allow for permitting for new beach front construction and new restoration. The elevation and what you use is 4.5 feet above mean sea level, which is the elevation that natural vegetation grows. Rene Truan, with the GLO will describe how we will establish that 4.5 foot line

GLO-Rene Truan, Deputy Commissioner Professional Services:

Regarding establishing a line and our crew will be in the field starting tomorrow. We have benchmarks that we already have tagged from pre-storm and they will have to go physically to determine if they can locate those pin points. One of the problems in the way is debris. We’re hoping to start by the weekend or early next week to go locate the bench marks and then we will

shoot an elevation line. This is all done with GPS equipment. The elevation line, so we can collect data and take the data back to the Land Office and we will have that information very soon. Those points will be able to be placed on a map and we will be able to make a determination on elevation up and down the coast line. Survey groups will be in the field starting on Monday and as much as possible, I ask that you let them do their job. Once they collect the data, they will get the information back to Jody’s group so that a map can be completed and you can have the information you need. They’re not going to have a lot of answers to your questions, they’re just shooting points.

GLO-Jody Henneke:

Like I said earlier, Permitting Activity will continue to go thru Galveston County for Emergency repairs and new construction. The GLO has committed to Commissioner Doyle and Judge Yarbrough that we will work hand in hand with the county. Depending on the complexity, an emergency permit may be issued on the spot. Generally your name, address and brief description of the repair is required. Galveston County will not require any more information than is needed. New construction permits include a local review and that local review is Galveston County with 10 days for GLO’s comments. We also want you to know that the GLO is working very closely with the Corp of Engineers on emergency projects in response to Hurricane Ike to utilize dredged materialize from the Intercoastal Waterways to help re-nourish areas on Bolivar Peninsula. Let me explain, that for all of us to be able to reuse that to be able to use that dredged material is on the Peninsula, this is a big dream, this is not something that we have been able to do before and we’re very excited to be able to do that. I’ve asked Ray ----from my staff, to explain briefly what that project is.

GLO-RayNewby-Coastal Erosion Response Program:

We’ve been in communication with the Corp of Engineers on what their recommendations projects are for the Peninsula. Their big project right now is emergency dredging of the Intercoastal Waterway from High Island all the way to the Houston Ship Chanel. The intention of the Corp is to place that material on the beach. The big reason is that most of the replacement area is on the North side of the Intercoastal was obliterated by the hurricane. That material is going to be high cost to the peninsula. The issues to deal with are real estate because you have to have access and we will have to have a pipe line across. We will also have to work with TXDOT

to identify how to get a pipeline across Hwy 87. We will have to build temporary ramps to get the highway over the dredge pipe. At the Bolivar Ferry area, the pipe go around to the Ft. Travis Area and the Little Beach area. Both of these projects look like they will kick off mid-November or early December, depending on how fast they are able to work with the real estate and Hwy 87 issues. TXDOT, you’ve also heard has shoal problems at the Bolivar ferry landing. We’re trying to work with them as they have an urgent need to open up the Bolivar Ferry as soon as possible. We’ve been working with the Corp of Engineers Regulatory Branch to try to get the Little Beach area permitted so the Ferry landing can open.

GLO-Jody Henneke

For those of you who are beach front, we have a hand out for you outside in the lobby and in addition to that our local phone numbers and contact information is located on the handout and on our web site. We know that we have a very difficult task ahead of you and we have committed to work together. We have published this information on our web site which is www.glo.state.tx.us . Also, this is from Commissioner Patterson, as well, we are not Sand Cops. We want you to be able to utilize that sand as much as possible. Please work with Galveston County on that issue. Angie Sunley, will give you a rapid fire report on those Emergency Rules.

GLO-Angela Sunley-Beach/Dune Team Leader

The Emergency Authorizations are about the houses that are standing at this point. If you have a house that is still with a story that is completely gone, you can still submit an application for reconstruction. We will have to take a look at every one individually to see where they are as far as the law is concerned and we will be working with the county to get that data so that we can expedite that too. Hopefully we will work closely to expedite that information. The Emergency Authorizations do not come to us for review unless there is a specific question that the county needs answered. Otherwise they can do that right on the spot. You can fix your roofs, your deck, stabilize anything that you need to make your house habitable. It doesn’t cover utilities, you will have to go to the county to get your utilities hooked up. You can do silt, a clay material, underneath your house, it doesn’t have to be sand underneath your house, & 5 feet out and around the house. Any other building on your property we would like it to somewhere close to this, but check with your local authorities and they will help you with any issues pertaining to that. If you’ve always wanted that hard deck on top of your house, that is not covered underneath the Emergency Rules. That would be under the new construction policy. These rules cover anything that you need to do to make your house stable.

Mike Fitzgerald-County Engineer:

Entergy is requiring houses on Bolivar Peninsula to have the homeowners to have licensed electrician to inspect and certify those homes in National Registry Program. We have prepared to satisfy Entergy’s requirements and it’s in the hand out you received today. It’s a 2 step form. The Homeowner acknowledgment and one that the Licensed Electrician acknowledgment form. We will forward those to Entergy when they are completed and we are ready to reach permanent power. We will accept applications by e-mails or faxes. We ask that if you have drawings or plans, you put it on letter size paper.

Judge James Yarbrough:

The GLO will be doing some surveying on the land and that’s a bench mark folks. That’s how the line of vegetation is going to end up and Mother Nature will change that line of vegetation over the next year.

Ronnie Choate-Galveston County Health District

Regarding septic tank. If you have any repairs or replacements on your septic system, please make sure that you use a State of Texas Certified Installer. You must use a State of Texas Certified Installer only for all work done. If someone comes to your home and says that they are State Certified, ask them for their card, because they all carry a card with them. If you have any questions of it they are certified or not, contact the Galveston County Health Department. If you need a building permit from the County Engineer’s office, the Health District is coming out that you get this State Certified Installer of your septic system. This report will be forwarded to the Health District and if the Installer says the system is good and is functional, you’re good to go. If it says no, there is damage or re-permitted or destroyed, then the system will have to be righted to our standards and re-permitted with the Health District. If no building is needed get the structure habitual, then we will assume that the septic system is undamaged unless there is other information to the contrary.

If you are on a generator, I’m not sure that is going to satisfy your electrical needs. If you bring a temporary trailer in, please be aware of where you park the trailer and don’t park on top of the septic tank where you could do more damage. As you have heard, the GLO is going to be a big player on the septic systems and we will be working closely with them. The web page to go to for more information is www.gchd.org.

Kevin Morgan, Galveston District Corp of Engineers:

We understand the devastation that has happened on Bolivar Peninsula. Reinforced the debris on Goat Island and the removal process. The Corp of Engineers can not just go out and do something. Congress has to appropriate funds before we can do something that we think should be done. If you want work done, you can contact your Congressional representative to express your concerns about Bolivar Peninsula. I do work for the regulatory branch and want to make you aware that if you do plan to do work, place fill material in water that you need a permit. We do have authority to stop work undertaken without a permit. If you start work on any surviving structure that may have had previous authorizations without obtaining new authorization and approvals since the storm, the work will be stopped. Everyone is encouraged to call the Corp before they start work. Some work may be given waivers but any work involving dredging requires permits. Regarding Bolivar Ferry we are working with TXDOT and that should happen next week. As far as contact information is concerned, we have a web site at www.swguface.army.mil Phone # 409-766-3925 fax 409-766-3931

Commissioner Pat Doyle:

Meeting concluded.

Galveston County, Texas - Precinct 1

Update No. 1 - October 3, 2008

 Galveston County Commissioner Pat Doyle reports that approximately 5,000 people safely entered Bolivar Peninsula on the first day of the “Look and Leave” program last Friday.

 Doyle emphatically stressed, “I want to make it very clear, the Galveston County Commissioners are not closing the Peninsula.”    The look, work and leave program will continue until such time that the Rollover Pass Bridge is again available for two way traffic, which could be within the next month.  When the bridge is fixed and both lanes are open, we will look at opening up the peninsula.

 Pods are current being operated at two sites – High Island Football Field Parking Lot between 6^th and 7^th Streets and the Joe Faggard Community Center at Crystal Beach.

 Bolivar Peninsula Special Utility District has reestablished water service in High Island with a “Boil Water Notice” in effect.   Within the next couple of weeks, the BPSUD hopes to have a trunk line to the Port Bolivar area.

 Entergy Electric is working almost around the clock to provide electric service to the Peninsula.   Power will be restored to High Island by the end of this week-end and to the rest of the Peninsula within three (3) months.

 Debris Removal is an issue that will require patience.   However, property owners should  push their debris (separated into piles – vegetative, construction demolition, appliances, vehicles and sand) to the edge of the public right-of-way to help speed the process of pick up.

 The County is working with FEMA to get approval for PPDR (personal property debris removal) and will provide updated information as soon as it is available.  The County will need assistance contacting property owners for Right of Entry documentation.  The County contact for PPDR will be Garrett Foskit and he can be reached at 409 766-4517.  This can be avoided and process expedited if property owners can privately contract to have the debris moved to the ROW.

 FEMA – It is vitally important for individuals impacted by IKE to register with FEMA for individual housing assistance and other help.  

 TxDOT – Galveston County is currently setting up a meeting to press TxDot for an earlier resumption of regular ferry service than the 3 to 6 months now being tossed around.