National Financial Crisis and Impact on Mont Belvieu

Those of you who read this and are not from the area (and even some of you who are in the area) may be wondering about the financial health of the City. While I am certainly not the financial guy around here (that's John Iles, and he does a fine job of it) I have come to understand some of the workings of the City and its finances. I find it very interesting, especially in light of some of the recent news out of Wall Street.

Let me assure any of you who may be concerned - our City is doing just fine. Without getting specific, our City has taken appropriate steps to provide continued services long term while still achieving goals. Mr. Easum and Mr. Iles are very conservative in their efforts to ensure that this stays the case.

One of the benefits of being tied to the petro-chemical industry as we are is that we are able to weather periodic turns in the economy differently than the rest of the world. Our unique geologic and geographic position allows us a certain amount of comfort: because we are located where we are the value of the property near us will not change drastically. You can't move underground storage tanks. So short-term, we should be OK.

Long-term, though, we need to start thinking about diversifying our economic base. When such a large percentage of our economy comes from one industry, it is always a little precarious. What if no one bought natural gas anymore? What if it all dried up? What if a hurricane or tornado damaged it beyond repair? God forbid any of these things happen. But contingencies ought to be in place. And diversification of our economy is something we should consider.

Part of attracting people to an area is the diversity of economic opportunity that exists. We are in a position to do great things with our City that will help foster the right economic environment to pull in that opportunity. Education, job training, and other general facilities and infrastructure improvements are all things that companies will look for in locating their business here. We actually have a relatively low tax rate compared with other cities around Texas. That helps. We have a wide variety of workers and good infrastructure in place as well. That all helps, also. The one area we seem to be lacking in is the education level and opportunities. People who are better educated not only earn more money, but they are better able to weather the periodic convulsions that shake our economy in general.

More on this later.

Ike and the Aftermath (I love the word "aftermath")

Two posts ago I was all worried about what Gustav was going to do to my house. Those were the days of innocence prior to Ike. Ike really opened a lot of eyes here in the community. Some of the reflections that I have:

1. Hats off again to the first responders in our community. They are truly an asset to the community - their professionalism and dedication to duty reflects well on our community. They have risen to the challenge and done wonderfully well. It is a privilege to be associated with people of this caliber.

2. Community efforts to assist those in need have been particularly heartening to watch. Whether it was my neighbors coming over late Thursday night to help me board up my windows, the meals provided for emergency personnel and staff, the volunteers handing out ice, water, and MREs out at the school, or neighbors helping to clean up yards, roads, lots, and homes - this is truly a magnificent place to live. With all that is rotten and corrupt and broken in this world, there is a strength to America and it is the neighbors reaching out to help each other in times of need with no thought of recompense.

3. We have been under a mandatory evacuation order from the County. Chambers County is considered a coastal county, surrounding Trinity Bay - the north east arm of Galveston Bay - and damage was expected to be (and ended up being) extensive. The main reason to issue an evacuation order is to prevent loss of life and limb to those folks in the evacuation area. Coupled to that is the real concern for those first responders who would be required to assist those foolish enough to stay in dangerous areas. Also of concern is the ability of the City or County to provide regular services to those in need - water, sewer, etc, services may be disrupted - and emergency personnel may not be able to even get around. The regular distribution services are vulnerable, including food, electricity, gas, and other utilities. Thus, it behooves people to get someplace safe or expect major inconveniences and disruptions to their regular routine. For the most part, people have been exceptionally patient and understanding as we get our services back on line. Our City personnel have been working incessantly to bring everything back to order and provide that level of comfort and convenience that we have come to expect here in our community.

4. There are significant lessons that were learned about the weaknesses and strengths that exist in our emergency plan. For the most part, our City weathered the storm in exceptional fashion, with some physical concerns with our facilities here at the City Hall which we are currently in the process of correcting. Those things will take time to rectify, but when they get fixed we will be in a better position than we were before the storm.

I would like to once again thank those who have worked so tirelessly for the benefit of our community. Their efforts have ensured that our people may have been inconvenienced by the storm but were never in danger of being left alone. And that's what living in a community like this is all about.

Why I do what I do...

I am sure that you wonder why someone would ever desire to become a City Planner in the first place? I mean, what motivates a City Planner? Doctors save lives, engineers build dams, and writers and artists inspire and motivate. So what's in it for a planner?

Well, other than the obvious paycheck (for which I am grateful) there is a dignity to touching the future in the way I do. With the exercise of my ability and authority, I am able to affect the property of everyone in the City. I draw lines on a map and roads appear. I designate areas of the City and stores, offices, and houses appear. I am not alone - everything I do is in concert with many, many people, and ultimately my authority comes from the people I serve via the City Council and ordinance.

But there is something sublime in being able to touch the community in the way I can. It is humbling. Robert Moses ruined many areas of New York, which is still trying to recover. On the other hand, there are many, many unsung public servants who struggle every day to do the best they can for their communities so that they can help establish the greatest towns the world has ever known.

In my mind, it all boils down to service. I was given the opportunity to pursue a higher paying vocation - it would still have been planning, but it would have been working with a developer rather than a municipality. But after evaluating my own personal priorities, I realized that there was greater potential to be found in seeking not for the dollar but for the leadership potential that exists through the more altruistic pursuit of better communities.

The Big One...

This is a radar/satellite image of Gustav immediately prior to landfall in Louisiana.

While Gustav didn't do much damage here in South East Texas, it was pretty nervous there for a little while. The reason for being prepared for the worst is that we don't know with any certainty how a storm is going to affect our community. And while we seemed to have missed most of the show this time, there always exists the potential for additional storms. Next year, next month, next week - sometime the big one will hit here.

My father echoed the thing I had always wondered about prior to moving here. He wondered why people would live here when there is the potential for devastating storms... I patiently explained that there is actually very little chance of a large storm at any given point in any given year. maybe once out of every four years. So for three years, 364 days and 18 hours, there are no problems. Then there are six hours of sheer terror, followed by a couple of weeks of clean-up. We live in a paradise. It is a truly beautiful place to live. I don't want to move. Besides, it was 31 degrees in Rexburg last night, and I would rather take the warm beautiful tropical weather than live in Iceburg...