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| President's Message: WHA's Focus |
| Auggie Campbell, President, West Houston Association |
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 The West Houston Association’s slogan is “Leadership in Quality Growth.” For the last few months, our Executive Committee and Board have thought about what this leadership should look like. What does WHA do and what should it do? Simply put, WHA should be a leader in communicating with its members, officials, and the community on policy, projects, planning, and promotion. We will focus on the most pressing issues, work to make sure that we have well-developed plans for the future, and stay flexible so that we can respond quickly.
WHA has worked hard to improve its communications, which include this newsletter, our website, committee communications, and reports. Our members and speakers have submitted excellent content—like editorials from David Hightower and Steve Spillette and presentations from our Flood Control Forum (see links in Event Review below). Please join them; submit your articles and ideas and help us improve and educate our community.
read more |
| WHA Appoints Three New Board Members |
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| Left to right: Rob Bamford, Vice President at Johnson Development Company; Dr. Lance Hindt, incoming Superintendent at Katy ISD; Matt Schaefer, President of Texas Children’s Hospital. |
At its September 27th Board Meeting, the West Houston Association appointed three new board members to fill vacancies. Rob Bamford, Vice President at Johnson Development Company and general manager of Cross Creek Ranch, will take over for out-going board member & JDC COO, Doug Goff. Dr. Lance Hindt, the incoming Superintendent at Katy ISD, will take the spot of his predecessor, Alton Frailey. Finally, Matt Schaefer, the new President of Texas Children’s Hospital—West, is taking over as both WHA board member and Education and Workforce Development Committee. read more |
| Event Preview: State Issues Forum with Glenn Hegar - November 3 |
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 State Comptroller Glenn Hegar will speak at the West Houston’s State Issues Forum about the funding for infrastructure. From SWIFT to Prop 7, the state will be a key part to many large infrastructure investments.
Join us and find out how lower than expected sales tax and oil revenues will affect state participation in transportation and water projects. WHA will hold the luncheon event at a new venue, Embassy Suites Energy Corridor.
read more
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| Event Review: West Houston Flood Control Forum |
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 Steve Costello and Russ Poppe spoke to a crowd of over 100 people at our September 15th Flood Control Forum. Both Costello and Poppe provided informative and timely presentations (available at this link) and made major announcements. read more |
| Preview: 2016 Demographic & Economic Profile by CDS |
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 In a draft version of the 2016 Economic & Demographic Profile in October 2016, CDS predicts slightly slower population growth and slightly higher job growth in the Greater West Houston than predicted in 2014. Approximately 110,000 fewer people will move to Greater West Houston by 2020 than anticipated.
“The downturn in the energy sector in 2015 and 2016 slowed population growth in Greater West Houston, but we predict growth will rebound and continue along pre-2015 levels starting in 2017” said Steve Spillette, President of CDS.
read more |
| Join the 2016 West Houston Bike Challenge, by Kelly Rector, Energy Corridor Management Districts |
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Last year, 79 local businesses and almost 800 people signed up to the Houston Bike Challenge 2015, encouraging 203 people to try bicycling for the first time in over a year. Afterward, 66% of new cyclists reported that they expected to ride more regularly – a fantastic result.
This year The Energy Corridor, Westchase, and Memorial Management Districts are bringing the competition back with the 2016 West Houston Bike Challenge, and all workplaces are invited and encouraged to take part.
read more
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| Urbanism—Texas Style, by Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox, newgeography.com |
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 Cities, noted René Descartes, should provide “an inventory of the possible,” a transformative experience—and a better life—for those who migrate to them. This was certainly true of seventeenth-century Amsterdam, about which the French philosopher was speaking. And it’s increasingly true of Texas’s fast-growing metropolises—Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. In the last decade, these booming cities have created jobs and attracted new residents—especially young families and immigrants—at rates unmatched by coastal metropolitan areas. Approximately 80 percent of all population growth in the Lone Star State has been in the four large metropolitan areas since 2000. Texas now boasts two of the nation’s five largest metros, the first time any state has enjoyed that distinction. At its current rate of growth, Houston could replace Chicago as the nation’s third-largest city by 2030, and the Dallas–Fort Worth region could surpass Chicagoland as the nation’s third-largest metropolitan area by the 2040s. read more
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| Committee Updates & Related News |
Education & Workforce Development:
U of H Report |
| Chair: Matt Schaefer, Texas Children's Hospital |
ONext Meeting: October 17th, 2pm at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus
The October meeting will focus on providing understanding of how primary and secondary students are placed on career paths and how industry and advanced educational programs can help. Katy ISD experts will explain their process and work with committee members, which include representatives from U of H, HCC, and industry leaders. On August 15th, the committee met to review the statistics and information developed by CDS and HCC. Some of this information will be in the WHA Economic and Demographic Report. |
Flood Control, Drainage & Wetlands:
Regional Planning & Flood Control Forum |
| Chair: Lee Lennard, BGE, Inc. |
Next meeting: October 10th, 2 pm at WHA
The committee will meet on October 10th and review the Flood Control Forum held on September 15th, discuss the 2017 meeting schedule, and discuss the Flood Control section of the 205o plan. |
| Parks, Recreation and Open Space: |
| Chair: Chris Patterson, RVi |
Next meeting: November 9th, 2 pm (location to be determined)
The committee met on September 22nd and discussed best practices, upcoming meetings, and the Parks Section of 2050 Plan. RVi is developing an inventory and map of all park space in Greater West Houston, which will provide the basis for future planning. Patti Joiner of Knudson will lead a group that will develop best practices and model standards that will encourage quality growth. |
Quality Planned Development:
Cypress Creek Lakes |
| Chair: Peter Houghton, Howard Hughes Corporation - Bridgeland |
Next meeting: October 20th, noon at WHA offices
The QPD committee met at Cypress Creek Lakes’ new recreation center for a tour and continue discussing the WHA 2050 Plan and the QPD Marketing Plan. Lindsey Woodard provided an update on the QPD marketing plan, which includes Facebook marketing, content generation, and work with current QPD recipients. The deadline for QPD applications for 2016 is October 15th. Find out how to apply here. |
Regional Mobility:
Commuter Solutions |
| Chair: Mark Kilkenny, Mischer Investments |
Next Meeting: October 10th at noon in WHA’s office
At the next Regional Mobility committee meeting, David Hagy, Regional VP for Texas Central Rail, and Maureen Crocker, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Rail District, will discuss upcoming regional rail projects. WHA is working on a regional private commuter bus pilot project with partners including HGAC. We will continue working on our Red List, Yellow List, and Green List, targeting to have a draft by December 2016 or February 2017. |
Sustainable Infrastructure:
Sustainability Program Moving Forward |
| Chair: Jim Russ, EHRA |
Next meeting: October 11th, 7:30 am at EHRA’s Office
The committee met on September 13th at 7:30 am at EHRA’s office to work through classifications for recognizing development teams through a WHA Sustainability Program and associated applications. The program will provide applicants with recognition and provide WHA members with information on which sustainability programs are most effective. The committee took the basic format to the WHA Executive Committee, which provided encouragement on the concept and asked Jim Russ to keep working on development of an application and the recognition scheme. |
Water Resources:
BRA Update on Allens Creek Reservoir |
| Chair: Jack Miller, R.G. Miller |
Next meeting: November 17th, 2 pm at WHA’s Office
At the committee’s September 22nd meeting, David Collingsworth of the Brazos River Authority will provide an update on planning Allens Creek Reservoir. The committee will keep working on its 2050 Plan. The Committee is working on updated the “white paper” that is part of the 2050 Plan. Wayne Ahrens and Melinda Silva of Dannenbaum and Alia Vinson of ABHR are working on the water supply and special districts sections; and EHRA & BGE will work on the water quality section. The committee plans to have updates complete by July 2017. |
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| WHA on Social Media |
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| The West Houston Association is working to increase our presence on social media via Facebook and Twitter. Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up with the endeavors, events, committees and current issues of the West Houston Association. |
2016 Planned WHA Events
Look for more details in 2016 as these event dates and times are confirmed. |
Monday
October 3
2-5 pm |
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WHA Golf Tournament
Top Golf |
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Thursday
October 13
10 am-1 pm |
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Rising Leaders: Shell Tour & Lunch
Shell Technology Center (Highway 6) |
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Thursday
November 3
12-2 pm |
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State Issues Forum
Embassy Suites (EC) |
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Thursday
November 17
12-2 pm |
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14th Annual Tri-County Judges Forum
Embassy Suites (EC) |
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Monday
December 5
7:30 am |
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Mobility Forum
Marriott, Westchase |
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Thursday
December 15
6-9 pm |
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Annual Christmas/Year-end Party & Awards Banquet
Westin, Memorial City |
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| *Dates and venues are subject to revision based on scheduling and contract considerations. |
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