Hurricane Beryl Recovery Update Saturday, July 13th

Good afternoon. I wanted to update you on the recovery efforts that are ongoing.

First is our electricity situation. City Manager Harrison and I have been on numerous calls with both Centerpoint and state and county officials. We have been unable to get an estimated timeframe for complete restoration of power in the city. To make matters worse, the outage map that Centerpoint is publishing is completely inaccurate. As of the time I write this, 4:15 pm on Saturday the 13th, their map shows that Shoreacres is 100% energized. Obviously, that is not the case and very few of our residents have had their power restored. Fortunately we do have some residents with power, so that gives us hope that a larger restoration will happen before Monday. As I mentioned yesterday, I expect that some of us will not have power until mid-week, my neighborhood among them.

This isn’t the news you want to hear. It isn’t the news that I want to report. But it is the best information that we have at this point. All of the surrounding cities are in the same situation as far as communications from Centerpoint. Their response has been wholly inadequate and i have been assured that they will be held accountable by our state legislature. Hopefully they will make some major changes to their operations in very short order. The hard working men and women in the field for Centerpoint deserve better from their management.

Second, we have made arrangements to have the vegetation picked up. This will not be a quick cleanup. Each street seems to have multiple truckloads to haul off. Please remember that the cleanup will be for vegetation only. Please be certain that any pile you make is free of trash or the trucks will bypass it. Palm trees are considered trash and must be in a separate pile. 

Fortunately, only one home has been reported to have taken on water. If your home has been flooded, please report it to City Hall at 281-471-2244 or use the Contact page on the city website.

I remain thankful for the attitude that you have shown during this very difficult time. I am continually blessed by the number of neighbors helping neighbors that I see. It is awe inspiring to hear about and even more inspiring when I’m able to see it personally. Please, please check on any elderly residents that you know of and if they need anything, let me know. 

Blessings to you and your family as we recover together,

David