Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM October 2017 | Page 6

Steve Paterson
President & CEO
League City Regional Chamber
In it for the long run
As I ponder this month’s column, a lot has occurred since I did this
last month. Something so incredible it would have been
unthinkable at the time, however it did occur and we will be living
with it a long time. Just in League City there were over 7,700 homes
damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. This storm now holds
the record for most rainfall ever recorded in a 24-hour period in the
United States. Lives, businesses, families have all been changed. As
was the practice with Hurricane Ike, all will be measured from this
point as we as a community and region rebuild. Referring to
Hurricane Ike, we learned much from that storm on potential
weaknesses and development mistakes which have been made on
the Texas Gulf Coast as the region as it has exploded with growth.
So, what do we do now?
The idea of a Coastal Spine to suppress storm surge, we now know
is more imperative than ever. A slight blip in the gasoline line
distribution effected prices in the southeast and here in the major
metro centers in Texas. This is more than a Houston or Texas issue
but a national issue. Please, tell your Senator and Congressman that
you support this initiative as well as your State Representatives.
Over building by developers in the Houston / Harris County market,
especially the last 10 years has not left enough or structured runoff
development that can handle the tropical depressions that frequent
our area causing ongoing flooding. We cannot let that happen here
in Galveston County.
It is even more critical while it can really happen here, that the cities
within Galveston County take a very hard look at comprehensive
master planning for their communities as well as the county, so we
can mitigate these issues going forward. League City’s
Comprehensive Master Plan Taskforce is doing great work in this
area, so we do not incur the same problems experienced by our
neighbors to the north. The taskforce is now extending its meeting
schedule to include disaster mitigation planning as part of the”
White Paper” when it is presented to City Council. TXDOT needs to
take a hard look at the construction planned for I-45, HWY 146 and
the Grand Parkway to make sure that is engineered in such a way
not to prevent flow through at the many creeks and bayous. This
needs to be engineered to make it easy to happen, so flooding in
the Clear Creek neighborhoods is avoided as with those
communities effected by Dickinson Bayou.
We are in this for the long run … and it will be expensive. Make no
mistake about that. Cities and Counties are going to have to be
creative in finding the money to solve or prevent problems.
Working together as a County to find ways to share costs, develop
joint solutions and work for the common good of our communities
will be necessary. This is especially true after the hype goes away or
the next big event steals the headlines.
Steve Paterson
2017 Board of Directors
Chairman, Ray Soto
Soto Financial & Insurance
Treasurer, Charlton Cotton
Norman Frede Chevrolet
Secretary, Jason Long
UTMB
Past Chairwoman, Jill Kaiser
UFCU
2018 Incoming Chairwoman, Rebecca Lilley
Memorial Hermann
2019 Incoming Chairman, Bill Provenzano Hometown
Bank of League City
Ben Casmer
Alliance Healthcare Partners
Laura Dupont
CCISD
Gloria Greene
Elite Care 24 Hour ER
Julie Howell
Lakewood Yacht Club
Matthew Mathias
Clear Lake Regional Medical Center
Dr. Warren Nichols
College of the Mainland
Bix Rathburn
RPC Consulting
Dan Seal
BAHEP
Becky Trout
UTMB Health
Teresa Vencil
Haute Flowers & Finds
Peter Wuenschel
CIS - Bay Area
John Baumgartner
Ex-Officio, City of League City
Theresa Rodriquez
Ex-Officio, Baytran
Lisa Howard
Ex-Officio, HOT Tax Board
Laura Teatsworth - Peggy Zahler
Ex-Officio, HOA Alliance
Amanda Fenwick
Ex-Officio, Mayor Pro Tem, Clear Lake Shores