FLOODING PETITION
THE VILLAGES OF CREEKSIDE PARK WANT MUD 326 TO FIX DRAINAGE ISSUES.
More than 1,040 people have signed a petition started by residents in The Village of Creekside Park urging state lawmakers to create legislation to force Municipal Utility District 386 to work in the interest of its taxpayers and not developers.
The petition launched last Sunday by Creekside Park resident Stanley Okazaki and a group called Stop the Flooding in MUD 386, which began shortly after Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters wreaked havoc on Texas, aims to draw attention to the government entity – created by developers – to “provide an annual declaration of previous and current conflicts of interest with the development company,” eliminate those conflicts and prepare a comprehensive drainage remediation plan.
The village has flooded three times in the past two years and residents say it’s mainly due to a breakdown in communication between several entities, including developers, the district and The Woodlands Township.
The petition is addressed to the board of MUD 386, District 4 state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, and state Rep. Valoree Swanson, of House District 150.
MUD 386, established in 2009 by Senate Bill 2483 “to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to finance recreational facilities,” is responsible for drainage in Creekside Park, the only part of The Woodlands located in Harris County.
The residents of Creekside Park say the MUD is rigged by a “developer-controlled board of directors.”
“The Woodlands development in Texas is a preferred brand in the Houston residential real estate market – largely due to the well-engineered flood control system built under founding father George Mitchell,” the petition reads. “As ownership of The Woodlands Development Company shifted from George Mitchell to the Howard Hughes Company (NYSE: HHC), however, much of Mitchell’s original quality control and commitment to residents was lost.”
The district then uses the taxes to reimburse the developer, it further reads.
The communities of Timarron and Timarron Lakes (Creekside Park) were hit the hardest by Hurricane Harvey in late August, according to The Woodlands Township. An estimated 300 of 4,500 residences were damaged in the flooding.
To address flooding issues, the board of directors of Harris-Montgomery Counties MUD 386 are conducting a special public meeting Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 9 a.m. at the Lone Star College-Creekside Center, located at 8747 W. New Harmon Trail in Tomball.
A Woodlands Development Company representative said that they are aware of the petition, nothing has been formalized and therefore “we cannot comment at this time.”
To view the petition, visit https://www.change.org/p/harris-montgomery-county-municipleutility-district-386-stopthe-flooding-in-mud-386in-the-woodlands-texas.