Trees for Winlow Place: Off to a Great Start at National Night Out

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Brasil for National Night Out . It was a lovely evening with neighbors, and a fitting place to share a project we have been working on for months: restoring the tree canopy along Winlow Place streets.

Many of the trees that give our neighborhood its character are aging, and some stretches of sidewalk have little or no shade. Winlow Place has been home to tree-lined streets since 1923, and we want the next generation of neighbors to inherit the same. So the Civic Club is applying for a City of Houston Neighborhood Matching Grant to plant new street trees this winter.

The response has already been generous. In the first day after National Night Out, three neighbors gave a combined $1,000. With the City's dollar-for-dollar match, that is $2,000 for new trees, enough for 8 street trees, and already 20% of the way to our $5,000 neighborhood goal.

We are planting trees with a neighbor's commitment behind each one. We will prioritize spots where someone has agreed to water the tree through its first two summers, because the goal is not a planting day. It is shade that lasts for decades.

Our progress tracker below updates as new gifts come in, so check back to watch the canopy grow.

This tracker updates as new gifts come in.

What happens next:

• We are mapping candidate spots and matching them with neighbors who want to adopt a tree.

• Please sign up by October 23 if you can. We submit our grant application on November 1, and early sign-ups let us include your spot in the plan we share with the City. Sign-ups stay open through the end of the year.

• The City announces its decision in January, and planting begins in February.

If you have not yet joined in, you can sponsor a tree, adopt one by your home, or lend a hand. Every gift, whatever its size, is matched by the City. Thank you to Brasil for hosting us, and to every neighbor who stopped by, asked questions and signed up. Let's grow some shade.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates

Out of caution due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Winlow Place Civic Club has decided to temporarily cancel our monthly socials and general meetings in order to ensure the health and safety of our neighbors. This is in line with the CDC and Harris County’s guidelines to cancel all non-necessary events that involve being in close proximity to one another. We will continue to monitor the situation and will return to hosting socials when it is appropriate to do so.

Thank you for your understanding.

Resources for COVID-19

Here are a few trusted sources of news and information to help us get through this pandemic safely. Don’t forget to check in on your neighbors and friends—via phone/text/skype/etc. of course!

- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal agency):

- This authoritative source has extensive information for almost all your questions: how to properly “social distance,” how to effectively clean & disinfect, what to do if you’re displaying symptoms, + more. 

- City of Houston:

- The latest city updates, including on testing locations and business closures (e.g. restaurants, bars), can be found here.

- Harris County Public Health:

* Access the latest County guidance for businesses, the general public, and more, in easy-to-read formats (found below “Community Resources”).

- See the latest updates on confirmed cases in the county.

- Get information about county resources—including hotlines, mental health resources, and more.

- This site also embeds the excellent Johns Hopkins global COVID-19 case tracker.

* The latest County Public Health Guidance (dated March 12, effective until March 31, unless otherwise noted) affects events (of all sizes), workplaces, and more.

- HISD:

- Get updates on school closures.

Lanier Traffic / Parking Enforcement

Following a two-week education period starting Monday, 2/12, HPD will begin enforcing traffic and parking rules around Lanier on Monday, 2/26 for weekdays 7 am – 4 pm.

Council Member Ellen Cohen's office has arranged for extra Houston Police Department resources this month to help the Lanier and Winlow Place communities meet our shared goals of reduced congestion and increased safety in our neighborhood.

This traffic safety plan was originally put into place in 2013, but a new education and enforcement campaign will begin this month to help educate the new families at the school.

For Winlow Place residents this will mean:

1. That we are subject to strict enforcement of the signs near Lanier.
2. That traffic patterns will undergo a period of change while drivers accustom themselves to obeying the signs.  Both drivers and pedestrians should be aware that there may be some confusion and new hazards as traffic flow adjusts.
3. That new traffic problems may arise elsewhere in our neighborhood as a consequence of the enforcement of the signs near Lanier.

Also, this initiative will be new to Lanier families, many of whom will have to adjust how they get their students to and from school.  The students themselves may be walking to and from unfamiliar points.  Please be extra-careful and extra-aware of the kids as they make this adjustment!!

Finally, WPCC wants to hear from you about issues the neighborhood may experience as this new traffic plan is put in place.  No one would like to see a solution near Lanier that creates more danger and inconvenience elsewhere.  If you have questions or comments about this initiative and its results please communicate them to Emily Miller, our Lanier liaison, at ebzmiller@gmail.com.  Comments will be shared among WPCC, Lanier, and the City as appropriate, and your input (positive and/or negative) would be greatly appreciated as we seek to optimize this situation for our community.

For more information, please read this flyer.

Sewage Line Work (Update: August 2016)

SEWAGE LINE WORK UPDATE AS OF 8/3/2016

This post is a follow-up from the post on Wednesday, July 20th.

We received correspondence from the Contractor for the City of Houston, DG Medina, late in the day on Wednesday, August 3rd. Per our request, they have provided documentation of a project plan for this existing scope of work. This is outlined below.

If you have any questions regarding this work, you may contact the City directly. The Project Manager with the City, Brian Campbell, can provide more detail. He can be reached at Brian.Campbell@houstontx.gov.

The scope is actually quite limited and does NOT include work on properties that do not currently have the new sanitary sewer in the street right-of-way in front of the property (which would run with the street). Before the City can perform any rerouting of services for these blocks, they would have to install sanitary sewer in the street and then follow with sanitary service rerouting (back to front). This work will be included in potential future projects, with the City prioritizing these against other wastewater system needs. As such, this work very clearly delineates what blocks/homes are included, which are listed below.

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The document outlines the following, and is available for download here so that you can see the original. The below language is taken directly from this document.

PROJECT # AND CONTACTS:

• Project #: 4235-38, Work Order # 2
• Contractor: D G MEDINA CONSTUCTION, LLC 
• Contractor’s Project File Supervisor: Jack Wills cell 713-582-1190. 
• D G MEDINA CONSTUCTION, LLC’s Subcontractor – Foreman: Raul cell # 713-725-0457 
• City of Houston Project Inspector: Gerardo (Gerry) Navarrete cell # 832-763-9584

The information below concerning the referenced sanitary sewer rehabilitation project for 4235-78 Work Order # 2 issued to D G MEDINA CONSTUCTION, LLC. The following addresses or lots are scheduled to have a rehabilitation work within the right-of-way (on the street only). 

Locations: 1780 Kipling, 1724 Kipling, 1727 Kipling, 1807 Kipling, 1827 Kipling, 1833 Kipling, 1837 Kipling 

Anticipated Dates or Schedule (weather permitting): Mobilization and start work August 8, 2016, with approximately 2.5 weeks duration. There is not anticipated disruption of services. 

Street Closure: There will be not street closures, however work area will be barricaded with cones and traffic will continue on the street. Every day at the end of the work day all cones will be removed.

Neighborhood Benefits: This work will provide the residents to be connected eventually to the front new sewer line, preventing any sewer problem arriving from all lines. 

Notices: D G MEDINA CONSTRUCTION, LLC’s subcontractor (H-S Utilities, LLC) will pass out door hangers/flyers not less than 72 hours or more than 2 weeks to affected residents prior to work. 

Scope of Work: Cut street, excavate to install new PVC pipe from stub/cleanout to main sewer line located on the street, backfill and complete street restoration.

Sewage Line Work (Update: July 2016)

Sewage Line Work

Dear Winlow Place Residents,

We have been informed that some blocks have sewage work by the City of Houston underway through a department within PWE and the third-party contractor who was awarded the bid for this work, DG Medina Construction.

For those of you who are newer to the neighborhood, in short: our sewage lines are extremely old and beginning to fail. They currently run along the back of our properties (in the easement), which has proven challenging for maintenance by the City and would be very difficult for full replacement. As such, several new lines have already been put in within the City’s right of way at the street, and to service these lines, a new connection will need to be rerouted from the back of each of our properties to the front.

There are many nuances to this project, but that’s a general overview. Before contacting us, please hold your questions if you are at all able (I have been inundated with inquiries) and read through the following documents:

1. Original FAQ provided the the City regarding this work
2. FAQ that our residents came up with in 2013, with responses by the City on the right hand side
3. Contract DG Medina has with the City including the contract and work order # (this document also lists the homes by block as well as a map – the highlighted addresses indicate work has been started or completed at that address)
4. Original Right of Entry form

All in all this is a very good thing as the last thing any of us want are failing sewage lines. However, construction can sometimes be a frustrating/messy process, so we want to make sure that the City/DG Medina know to communicate with us proactively, and often. That has not been the case recently which is why you’re receiving this email. While the Contractors failed to contact Winlow Place prior to starting work, I have since met with both the owner of DG Medina as well as the Project Manager and key Inspectors for this work order to ensure quality and care moving forward.

I found out late Friday (July 15th) that work had started on Harold and residents weren’t given appropriate 3-day notice. I also learned that during their digging, a gas pipe was hit, which created a gas leak. We have since spoken about this mishap and they have acknowledged their obligations to notify residents, contact 811 several business days prior to beginning work, and the need to keep us informed in a timely and cordial manner. As such, I requested a copy of their Contract (link above) and rundown of the project, broken out by address/street.

As residents, we were originally informed that we would be able to have input regarding any concerns for our individual properties. As I understand it, we were never afforded the ability to weight in on the “design” step regarding input into how the connecting line from each house is routed to the new sewer line to the street. This was the primary focus of my meeting with the responsible parties as moving forward without our involvement is unacceptable. 

Finally, for those of you who perhaps did not sign the “Right of Entry” before (back in 2013 or so) or might not have even lived in Winlow Place at the time, we would recommend that you contact the Project Manager with the City, Brian Campbell, for more details on obtaining an updated copy of the Right of Entry if you want the City to complete this new sewer connection for you. If you do not provide a signed Right of Entry, the City is more or less taking this as an indication that you would prefer to pay for the new line privately, which is an option for you. Brian can be reached at Brian.Campbell@houstontx.gov.

Again, we will do our best to keep you informed as a Civic Club, however the burden of that absolutely must fall on both the City and the Contractor who was awarded the bid – DG Medina – as it is their paid job. In the interim, we’ll do our best to hold them accountable for keeping us on the loop.

– by Caroline Garry