• ESD Election

  Filed under General Information
  May 4

  The following letter was received from one of our neighbors, Gary Bickford.  We post it because we believe the information it contains is important for every citizen of the Greater Mission Bend Area.  You are free, of course, to agree or to disagree with Mr. Bickford’s position.  It is very likely that no one reading this message has ever voted in an ESD election.  Let me tell you that there is a great deal at stake here.  I do have it on good authotity that citizens from Katy are voting in relatively large numbers to support the overthrow of the representatives in support of Mission Bend.  It has been my pleasure to know and to work with Mary Blondell for over 20 years.  I personally know her to be a dedicated worker whose mission is guided by her vision of the welfare of our community.  She has no unterior political agenda, other that to serve the citizens of this community.  Please take a minute to read and give thought to Mr. Bickford’s statement.

  Michael Martin, President, Greater Mission Bend Area Council 

  An Emergency Services District (ESD) is a small government board charged with delivering fire and emergency services to a specific area. The ESD in your area is called Harris-Fort Bend ESD 100 and it has five ELECTED commissioners that oversee its operation. ESD 100 was created in 1998 by voters in the coverage area. It immediately contracted for service with Community Fire Department to provide 24 hour per day emergency response out of three fire stations. The closest station to your home is at Mason and Westpark Tollroad. Community is well staffed by paid firefighters during the day and supplemented at night by professional volunteers. They have saved countless lives and property through their heroic and speedy responses using state of the art equipment and apparatus.

  ESD 100 operates much like you probably operate your home. The ESD pays for equipment as it goes; there is very little debt and their financial status is strong! Unlike almost any other government body you pay tax to, ESD 100 doesn’t buy today and pay tomorrow on your kids or grandkids money. ESD 100 has shown great fiscal restraint over the years and invests your tax money wisely for maximum outcome. Further the commissioners of ESD 100 have aggressively sought new ways to collect revenue in order to be able to reduce the ad valorem (property) tax you pay. In fact this year the commissioners of ESD 100 were able to assess a sales tax to those parties that travel into your ESD district, potentially using the service, and then leaving without paying their fair share. This tax strategy will save you money down the road as property taxes will not have to bear the full burden for the cost of service. The bottom line is that we have excellent fire and ambulance protection and the cost to the tax payer (tax rate) is about the same as other ESD districts that provide only fire protection.

  So, why all the information on ESD 100? The ESD is in the middle of an election and the commissioners that have worked hard to make sure you and your home are protected with great equipment and responders need your vote. They are being challenged by candidates backed by Special Purpose Committee which is very similar to a Political Action Committee.  These challengers are apparently well financed judging by the high quality color political advertisements they are mailing and paying a service company to deliver. Seems odd to spend all that money for a job that pays $50 a month.  Maybe these challengers just want to show interest or share their expertise of the ESD service. If that were the case it would seem like one of them would have at least attended an ESD meeting – none of the challengers has ever been to an ESD 100 meeting in the last 12 years, nor have they worked for or volunteered for Community Fire Department. Why the interest on their part all the sudden and where are they getting their money from? Why would a Special Purpose Committee be formed to run for an ESD board?

  The challengers charge that the current board has spent too much money and taxes too much. Lets look at what ESD 100 has done to secure, improve, and address the fire and emergency services for the district. The district was formed by a group of concerned citizens because there was very little funding available to the fire department. There were two front line fire trucks- neither in very good shape. It wasn’t uncommon for the first fire truck to arrive at a fire to be almost twenty years old. There was one fire station in district, on Alief Clodine near Hwy 6. A handful of firefighters worked during the daytime since the volunteers had to work. ESD 100 worked aggressively and the first thing the Commissioners did was build a fire station at 1093 and Mason to protect the “far Westside” as it was known then. Then they bought a new fire truck for that station- this is the station that protects your home today. Since then the district has supplied the fire department with a rescue truck equipped with multiple units of the Jaws of Life so that crash victims can be removed from wreckage. They bought and equipped five MICU ambulances- to put this in perspective Fort Bend County EMS has only ten units in service for the entire county. Another fire station was added neat Beechnut and Eldridge for that end of the district. Two ladder trucks have been placed- these aren’t just for commercial fires- they work well on McMansions. Finally four new fire trucks have been added to insure the fleet meets all the needs of the area. Your home sits in a very well equipped ESD with highly skilled and dedicated emergency responders.

  Don’t let your fire department be dismantled, de-funded, or stripped of its quality. Your ESD 100 board has worked hard for you and they need your help now.

  Please vote Election Day, May 8, 7a to 7p at  Fire Station #1 16003 Bellaire

  POSTED BY GARY BICKFORD

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