Security Patrol Update

At our last social, we were visited by constable Al Rosen and other members of his patrol. Plans proceed apace for the new system and the website is live and running – and has the ability to accept online payments. You may also can request further information at info@mwpatrol.org.

The Mandell Winlow Security Foundation is a separate entity from the Winlow Place Civic Club, and its operations/board are separate. Winlow Place is fortunate to have both Mike Hawash and Tony Carroll on the board, and Al Amado and Jake Mase represent Mandell Place. Having the security foundation as a separate organization is a net benefit for our neighborhood as it removes us from any financial liability – but we are still able to provide access to this service to our residents.

The system will be a "subscription" service with an estimated cost of ~400/year per household. Special arrangements may be made for seniors or those on fixed incomes. Subscribers will receive benefits such as vacation watch, a direct-to-dispatch line (with an extremely fast response time), a sign for their yard (similar to ones from ADT), a home security audit amongst other things. If a home does not choose to subscribe, they still generally benefit by having a dedicated patrol around the neighborhood. Patrol officers would, of course, stop any crime they see whether the home is a subscriber or not.

The more people who participate, the lower the annual fees may be. The ~$400 annual amount is a good estimate for our goal to get a security patrol in place by January of 2016.

Please note that as the Security Foundation is completely separate from the Civic Club, your Winlow Place Civic Club dues do not count as a contribution to the Security Foundation and vice versa. The Winlow Place Civic Club appreciates your continued support.

– by Caroline Garry

Update on 1920 West Alabama

Winlow Place has been keeping in contact with the developers of the property on 1920 West Alabama (the apartment will be called Dolce Living). We recently met with the Superintendent of this project and presented him with a Q&A which collected/compiled questions from our residents. We met for roughly 2 1/2 hours and nearly every question was cleared up or resolved. Please find the documented questions in the attachments below (there were two rounds of questions sent in). We will continue to monitor their progress/keep you informed.

• Questions Round 1
• Questions Round 2

Many thanks to Denise Hanks for her support in this process.

– by Caroline Garry

Guest Speaker and Houston's First General Plan

We were pleased to welcome guest speaker Brian Crimmons, the Chief of Staff of the Planning & Development Department, to our last General Meeting. His presentation, which he was willing to share with us (available by download below), outlined several key components of any good plan – the key function being to coordinate effort and increase collaboration across all City endeavors. The plan will address drainage, transportation, housing, community spaces, culture, growth, governance and more. The vision:

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HOUSTON: Opportunity. Diversity. Community. Home.

Houston offers opportunity for all. We celebrate our diversity of people, ideas, economy, culture, and places. We promote healthy and resilient communities through smart civic investments, dynamic partnerships, education, and innovation. Houston is the place where anyone can prosper and feel at home.

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We feel like that really sums up exactly what we love about living in Winlow Place and "in the loop" – it is the way our residents care about the neighborhood that makes this such a fantastic place to live. In addition to this powerful message, a few of the practical components of how to bring this plan to life were described (more detail available within the presentation).

• Planning Coordination Tool
• Performance Indicators
• Neighborhood Enhancement Strategy
• Growth and Development Strategy
• Implementation Strategy
• Leadership
• Public Engagement/Community Events
• Timeline/Milestones

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Please download the plan by clicking here, and also be sure to sign up to receive email updates on the General Plan by going to the website, Plan Houston. To receive emails, click on the "Subscribe" button in the top right hand corner. They are also looking for opportunities for public input, so share your voice.

– by Caroline Garry

The Annual City of Houston Capital Improvement Plan Meeting is Wednesday, March 4th

Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) meetings are held every year to keep citizens updated on upcoming projects in relation to ReBuild Houston, which is the City's pay-as-you-go system to rebuild drainage/street infrastructure. At the meeting for District C, you will be able to hear from and give input to City officials, including the District C Council Member Ellen Cohen. The listing of current and future citywide CIP Projects is here: http://www.houstontx.gov/cip. An interactive website with details on street, drainage, water and sewer CIP projects can be found at http://pwecip.houstontx.gov. The meeting will also include presentations on the City's first in-progress General Plan and an updated Arts and Cultural Plan.

Details for the District C Meeting:
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: The Metropolitan Multi-Service Center (Gymnasium)
Address/Link to Map: 1475 West Gray Street

For additional information, contact Rhonda Sauter with the Mayor's Citizens' Assistance Office, a division of the Department of Neighborhoods (DON), at rhonda.sauter@houstontx.gov or 832-393-0955. To learn more about DON, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/neighborhoods/.

– by Caroline Garry

Recycling Day Change

Many of you may have recently received a letter from the City in forming you that the solid waste department is changing the recycling schedule for our neighborhood. For those of you that didn't, here's what you need to know:

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• Recycling pickup will remain every other week on Monday
• The only thing that's changing is that our neighborhood is being moved from the "B" schedule to the "A" schedule.
• The change is happening at the beginning of march.
• You should put out your recycle bins for pick up as usual until February 23, 2015.
• After that, you should put out your recycle bin for pickup on March 2, 2015, and every other week on Monday after that.

A calendar is available from the city at this link. Thank you for helping to make the city's recycling initiative a success!

– by Ben Garry