Postings – 2015

Notice of Increase in City of Sugar Land Fire Protection Fee
December 21, 2015

Years ago the Greatwood Districts entered into a Fire Protection Agreement with the City of Sugar Land to build a fire station in Greatwood to bring us quick fire protection despite being outside the City limits. At the time, the closest fire station to Greatwood was many miles and heavy traffic away from us. The City operates the station and charges a mandatory monthly fire protection fee. The City just increased the monthly fire protection fee for Greatwood from $10.64 to $20.32. The Greatwood Districts charge residents only the amount we are charged by the City; there is no “add on.” For commercial properties, the charge is per each 2,000 square feet. You will see this big adjustment on your next water and sewer bill.


Eventual Annexation of Greatwood Districts
December 21, 2015

Directors of the Greatwood MUDs frequently receive inquiries regarding the annexation into and dissolution of the MUDs by the City of Sugar Land (“City”). Pursuant to the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the City: “The City shall provide the Districts with at least one (1) year prior written notice of the date of the Annexation.” The MUDs have not received any notice from the City. The date of annexation and dissolution is determined solely by City.


Brazos River Update
December 16, 2015

Residents –

According to the National Weather Service, the Brazos River in Fort Bend County is expected to crest Thursday morning, December 17, 2015. The current National Weather Service projections for the Brazos River put the crest at 42.3 feet several feet below the toe of the levee protecting Greatwood.

Residents within the community should anticipate higher than normal water levels in the lakes and drainage channels. If there is additional rainfall in the area, ponding water in the streets should also be anticipated and is a normal part of the overall drainage and flood projection system. Please avoid driving through those areas in that event. Water in the street should recede as the rain subsides.

According to LMS, LID 11’s operator, all of the District’s levee and drainage facilities are functioning normally at this time. The current and projected River levels are within the design parameters of the levee system.

The District will provide further updates on our website if conditions materially change during the remainder of the week.


Tax Notice
November 12, 2015

Taxes must be paid by 01/31/2016 to avoid penalties and interest.

If you do not escrow your taxes and have not received a tax statement, please contact the tax office at (281) 499-1223 or visit their website at http://www.taxtech.net.


Notice – Garbage/Recycling Collection Holiday
November 1, 2015

Garbage and recycling will not be collected on Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26th). Neighborhoods with Monday/Thursday service will resume garbage service on Monday, November 30th, and will resume recycling service on Thursday, December 3rd.

Also, garbage and recycling will not be collected on Christmas Day (Friday, December 25th) or New Years Day (Friday, January 1st.) Neighborhoods with Tuesday/Friday service will resume garbage service on Tuesday, December 29th. Please note that due to the New Years Day holiday, recycling service will not resume until Friday, January 8th. Neighborhoods with Monday/Thursday service will not be affected.

To see when garbage collection occurs in your neighborhood, please refer to the map image on the “trash” page of this website.


Greatwood MUDs Proposed Lower 2015 Tax Rates
September 11, 2015

The Greatwood MUDs and LID are pleased to announce that due to several years of careful planning, fiscal responsibility and increases in value by the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, all districts will lower their tax rates for the 2015 tax year. MUD residents will see a reduction in your 2015 property tax rate. All four MUDs and the LID are proposing to significantly lower your 2015 tax rates to those shown. Below are the proposed 2015 tax rates for each District as well as the 2014 tax rate and the reduction amount from the 2014 to the 2015 tax year. Each district will adopt its 2015 tax rate at their September and October Board of Directors meetings. As always, the Board welcomes your attendance and public comments.

FB
MUD 106
FB
MUD 108
FB
MUD 109
FB
MUD 117
FB
MUD 11
Proposed 2015 Tax
Rate
$0.35
$0.29
$0.44
$0.48
$0.205
2014 Tax Rate
$0.46
$0.41
$0.62
$0.65
$0.225
2015 Reduction Total
$0.11
$0.12
$0.18
$0.17
$0.02

FB MUD 117 and FBL 11 change meeting dates due to Labor Day holiday
August 27, 2015

FB MUD 117 and FBL 11 rescheduled their September meeting dates due to the Labor Day holiday.

FB MUD 117 will meet on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. at Mike Stone Associates, Inc. and FBL 11 will meet on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., also at Mike Stone Associates, Inc.


Eventual Annexation of Greatwood Districts
August 25, 2015

The Board of Directors of the Greatwood Districts (“Districts”) have received several inquiries regarding the annexation into and dissolution of the Districts by the City of Sugar Land (“City”). Pursuant to the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the City: “The City shall provide the Districts with at least one (1) year prior written notice of the date of the Annexation.” The Districts have not received such notice to date. The date of annexation and dissolution is determined by City.


Recycle collection services UPGRADE
August 3, 2015

Each resident will be provided a new green 64 gallon recycle cart by the end of September.

Red recycle bins will be collected on your last recycle collection day in September.

Please leave the red recycle bin at the curb after recycle bin content has been emptied on the last collection day in September (Thursday recycle collection September 24/Friday recycle collection September 25), a separate crew will come through to collect the empty 18 gallon red recycle bins.

If you do not want the larger green 64 gallon recycle cart, and would rather continue to use the red 18 gallon recycle bin you currently have, or would prefer to keep the red 18 gallon bin to use in addition to the new 64 gallon recycle cart, please contact Best Trash, 281-313-2378, prior to Monday September, 18 2015.

New green recycle carts will be delivered at the end of September. It will take several days to deliver new recycle carts to each resident, if you do not have a new green recycle cart by Wednesday September 30, please contact Best Trash.

Best Trash takes great pride in recycling. Ensuring the best recycle program for our customers takes time and effort by both parties. Please remove caps, liquids and food products from containers. Please only use the recycle carts for recyclable materials, not as an extra trash container.

Best Trash will collect all paper products (including cardboard), plastics 1-7, aluminum and tin cans and all colors of glass that are placed within the provided recycling container. To conserve space in your recycle cart, please flatten all boxes and condense all plastic containers. If items exceed container capacity, please place them adjacent to the cart labeled “RECYCLE” in containers, bags, boxes or bins up to 40 gallons in size. Best Trash will provide each current resident with one green 64 gallon recycle cart. Best Trash will replace any carts that are defective or otherwise become unusable due to normal wear and tear. Lost or stolen carts can be replaced at $65.00 each by calling Best Trash at 281-313-2378.


Brazos River Update
June 16, 2015

With the expected severe weather in our area, the Greatwood Districts and Fort Bend County Levee Improvement District No. 11 (“LID 11”) would like to update you regarding the current status, as well as steps being taken to protect our community. Our Emergency Preparedness Committee has met, our emergency signs are ready to be posted if needed, our emergency radio system is ready to be activated if needed, and LID 11’s new emergency operations building by the golf maintenance barn is ready to be used by our operators during emergencies.

The Brazos River water levels actually are lower than they were during the recent high water event over Memorial Day weekend. Therefore, the River will be able to hold significantly more water than before. It is important to note that during the last high water event, the levee still had six to ten feet of freeboard available. (Freeboard is basically the number of feet above the river level of protection that our levee has.) Also, our flap gates in the drainage ditch are currently operating as a gravity flow system and FBL 11 is not having to use our pumps because it is not necessary. FBL 11’s operator is currently, and will continue to, monitor the situation and act as appropriate. Current water levels and additional information regarding the Brazos River can be obtained at http://www.fbcoem.org.

The Greatwood Districts operator is currently and will continue to monitor the water and wastewater treatment plants to ensure they are functioning properly. Also, should there be a power outage, the Greatwood Districts have emergency generators to operate our water and sewer systems. These generators were recently topped off with fuel, are regularly tested and maintenanced, and are ready for action if needed. Please continue to check this website and the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management’s website at http://www.fbcoem.org for additional information as it becomes available.


Thank You
June 4, 2015

The Board of Directors of Fort Bend County Levee Improvement District No. 11 would like to extend their gratitude to the District’s operator, Levee Management Services, and engineer, LJA Engineering, for their superb service to the District during the recent high water event. The District’s consultants constantly monitored the levee, river levels, projections and rainfall events to ensure our residents were protected and helped us draft notices to post on our website to keep the public informed. In addition, they regularly coordinated with and updated Fort Bend County and the City of Sugar Land Emergency Operations Centers regarding the District’s situation.

As a part of normal operations, the District and its consultants regularly monitor the levee and District drainage facilities and prepare for events such as the high water event recently experienced in Greatwood. This event demonstrated the consultants’ vigilance and dedication to the District as well as the successful execution of emergency preparedness plans already in place. Due to the regular maintenance of the District’s levee and drainage facilities, preparation prior to and vigilance of the District’s consultants during the high water event, Greatwood remained protected and informed.


Brazos River Update
May 30, 2015

Residents,

Please see below for frequently asked questions we have been receiving regarding the levee and Brazos River along with the response from a levee district engineer:

(1) Does the Brazos in someway connect/feed into the Greatwood lakes?
The Brazos River does not feed our internal lakes. Our drainage system in Greatwood does outfall to the Brazos River.

(2) Do people on our lakes/channels need to worry about that level rising?
Residents should be aware that they should anticipate that water levels in the lakes and channels in the community could be higher than normal if additional rain occurs. Ponding water in the streets during localized rainfall events for the next few days may also occur and is part of the overall drainage system design. Any ponding water in the street should recede as the rain subsides.

(3) Will floodgates be used to control flow?
Yes, the District has floodgates which are currently being used to prevent inflow to the District from the Brazos River. Because of the use of floodgates, the District will not be able to drain runoff from localized rainfall events by gravity flow until permitted by lower levels on the Brazos River. The District has two pump stations in the community that will be operating as needed to pump water out of the District’s drainage system until the river elevations recede.

Also, please keep in mind that the current projected peak elevation of the river of 50.0 is below the 100-year flood level for the Brazos River. For reference, the levees are designed based on current Fort Bend County regulations to provide a levee height that has minimum of 4 feet of freeboard above the 100-year base flood elevation. The top of the levee in Greatwood will still be 6-10 feet above the proposed peak elevation this weekend. Further, the levee is comprised of compacted, highly impermeable soil and was designed to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements for levee construction and has been certified by FEMA and Fort Bend County.

The levee system as a whole takes into account the water flows from Rabbs Bayou. The compacted earthen dam levee system is to protect the homes from the rising Brazos River. There is backwater that is flowing from the Brazos River into Rabbs Bayou (usually it is the other way around and Rabbs drains into the Brazos…However, since the Brazos is so high currently the opposite is happening and the water is flowing back from the Brazos into Rabbs). All of this water and drainage has been contemplated by the LID engineer and the LID engineer and operator are monitoring the system minute by minute.

Of course water in the street from heavy rains is “designed” and expected. The water (from rains not the River) collect in the streets and flow to the storm sewer and out to the River.


Levee and Flooding Information
Updated: May 29, 2015 at 2:38 pm

Additional general information about levees and flooding can be found by clicking the link below.

https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/flooding_flood_risks/levee_simulator.jsp

The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management is providing regular updates regarding possible flooding. Please click the link below for information from the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management.

www.fbcoem.org


Weather Alert – Brazos River
May 29, 2015

Residents –

The Brazos River is projected to crest Saturday night at levels several feet below the top of the Greatwood levee.

According to the National Weather Service, the Brazos River in Fort Bend County is expected to crest in the late evening early morning of May 30, 2015. The current NWS projections for the Brazos River put the crest at 50 feet almost 6 feet below the top of the levee protecting Greatwood.

The River is expected to rise an additional 7 feet from its current level as of Wednesday afternoon. Residents within the community should anticipate higher than normal water levels in the lakes and drainage channels, as additional rain is anticipated for later in the week. Ponding water in the streets should also be anticipated and is a normal part of the overall drainage and flood projection system. Please avoid driving through those areas. Water in the street should recede as the rain subsides.

According to the Districts’ operator, all the Districts’ levee and drainage facilities are functioning normally at this time. The current and projected River levels are within the design parameters of the levee system.

The district will provide further updates if conditions materially change during the remainder of the week.


Wetland Planning Update

During routine inspections of the LID’s operator, LMS, and as reinforced by inquiries from Greatwood residents, the LID is looking into how to improve the wetland planning beds within the large lake, particularly along Greatwood Lake Drive. Upon completion of the lake edge reconstruction project, the LID did plant wetland plants within these beds, which are enjoyed by all Greatwood residents, but required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Lids wetlands permit. Unfortunately, shortly after planting, the lake level dropped which caused some of the wetland plants to die. The LID is investigating the cause in the fall of the lake level as well as determining best steps to prevent this from re-occurring. Once it is determined the cause of the water level fall and the best way to prevent it, the LID is committed to re-establishing plants that are attractive to the residents, but also conform to the wetlands permit.