State Says No To Bridge Plans : Good For The Bolivar Peninsula

The Texas Department of Transportation has finally made a decision to throw out any plans it had to build the longed awaited bridge. Norm Wigington, transportation department spokesman said state officials considered environmental concerns and a lack of community support for the bridge before deciding to drop the project.
Read Full Article in Daily News

Why this is good for The Bolivar Peninsula:

The Golden Triangle's 20 Billion in capital investment, the largest in Texas history, and all the new oceanfront second home activity surrounding that – stays on the Bolivar Peninsula, also called Beaumont's Beach.
The Ferry protects us from the Galveston area crime problems. Click Here to Read More
There is increased interest from Houston and Dallas to Bolivar’s new north-east end developments, like the Audubon Village Resort, which are as close to them as Galveston’s overbuilt and overpriced west-end.
The Laguna Harbor Yacht Club has announced Water Limousine service to and from Galveston Yacht club - for those second home owners who would like to visit Galveston area for shopping, etc. This provides an alternate way for homeowners to get to the Galveston side and avoid times when there is a ferry wait. Click Here to Read More
The Bolivar Peninsula housing market statistics are the best on the Texas Coast - making them the best in the nation. The Ferry has helped keep our market from being overbuilt and overpriced.

Total Sales Volume continues to rise

Total Sales Dollars continues to rise

With a median price for oceanfront property about 1/4 that of Florida and about 1/2 that of the other Texas Resorts markets, The Bolivar Peninsula is affordable to a much broader segment of the 12 million people within driving distance to its shores.

And for many of them, its price point makes it the only available oceanfront property they can afford - and lucky them - for in our opinion, it's also the best choice, with the greatest future.

The Bolivar Peninsula is so popular, the rental market for the summer sells out by February and Many from the Galveston Side will wait for hours to get on the Ferry to sample the 30 miles of our beautiful beach.

Comments

By Galveston Daily News Sunday, December 30, 2007 11:26 PM

The federal government should fund mandates requiring the state to provide security at the ferry landings, Reps. Ron Paul and Nick Lampson said in statements this week.

However, neither lawmaker revealed any plans to change the system.

“Accountability of ferry and port security along Texas’ Gulf Coast is essential to our national security,” Lampson said in an e-mailed statement. “State and federal agencies charged with protecting America’s entry points must be held to the highest standards and should be vigilant to ensure that individuals entrusted with our safety should be checked and rechecked; but responsibility must also rest with federal officials to provide funding for homeland security mandates.”

Lampson said he voted Monday to provide $35 billion in homeland security and added that Congress has taken steps to ensure homeland security remains a top priority.

His staff could not answer questions about whether any of that $35 billion would be given to the state for security at the Galveston-Bolivar Ferry. Paul’s spokeswoman Rachel Mills said the federal government should fund security measures but did not return e-mails requesting Paul’s plan to change the funding system.

Security at the Galveston-Bolivar Ferry landing has been under scrutiny since Seawolf Marine Patrol screeners walked off the job in September, laying open the company’s long-standing financial and discipline problems.

The screening was mandated by the federal government under the 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act and put in place at the ferry landing in 2006. The state, however, has never received funding from the federal government to pay for security, ferry supervisor Bill Mallini has said.

In 15 months, the state paid Seawolf Marine Patrol more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars, even though screeners were reprimanded numerous times for sleeping on the job, refusing to screen cars and leaving their posts vacant for hours, according to state records. Meanwhile, the company wasn’t paying its employees and had several federal tax liens, according to state records.

Federal lawmakers this week dodged questions about whether they thought screening at the Galveston Bolivar Ferry landing is effective. Paul said security would best be handled by local communities and their leaders, adding that the federal government should clearly define its mandates. Lampson, Sen. Kay Bailey-Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn did not answer the question.

One federal Coast Guard official has said it doesn’t appear the screeners broke any national security rules because there may be no federal rules to break. The Coast Guard inspects security at ferry landings only once a year, and only to see whether the ferry is following its own “security sensitive” plan, said Rob McLellan, the Coast Guard’s vessel security program manager in Washington, D.C. Most security information is considered classified under federal law; therefore, it’s not clear to the public when screeners are and are not doing their jobs — much less whether the government considers a sleeping screener to be a threat to national security.

There is little or no federal oversight of screeners, it seems.

There should be accountability if taxpayer dollars are being mismanaged, said Matt Mackowiak, Hutchison’s spokesman. But, he said the state appears to be taking the necessary steps to investigate this matter. Hutchison was the only Republican to co-sponsor the 2002 bill authorizing ferry security. Cornyn did not return calls seeking comment for this story.

There are no specific training regulations for the men and women searching vehicles at the ferry landing; only guidelines, or maritime security directives, which also are not publicly available because they are “security sensitive information.” McLellan has categorized problems with screeners as “internal issues” between the state’s transportation department and Seawolf Marine Patrol, rather than security incidents reportable to the Coast Guard.

A former Seawolf Marine Patrol supervisor, who said he was fired for carrying a knife, has said security at the ferry landing is a joke. Gil Valdez said he hopes scrutiny of the company and ferry security force government officials to realize that the security industry needs to be overhauled.

“Truthfully the whole operation is unnecessary,” he said. “If it ever became necessary, only a government agency could do the job correctly. The security industry on the whole does not pay enough to attract the quality of people needed to do this particular job or any other.”

Seawolf Marine Patrol screeners earned between $10 and $12 an hour.

Many Seawolf employees were hired by the new company at the ferry landing, Yale Enforcement.

Seawolf Marine Patrol is no longer in good standing with the Texas Comptroller of Public accounts for not satisfying all of its tax requirements, according to state records. The company’s Web site has been disabled and CEO Mike Fletcher’s cell phone is disconnected.

By mlmoreau Friday, June 06, 2008 12:52 PM

The ferry landing "security checks" is a big joke and a complete waste of taxpayer money.

It is another of our governments "feel good", knee jerk reactions, which accomplishes absolutely nothing. Everytime I get "inspected", I ask the personnel if they have EVER found a WMD. I always get a "no" answer", and this has been going on now for several years!

However, I can see some benefits:

1. provides employment for the needy thru a private contractor
2. If you get "inspected" you go to the front of the line!!

I guess common sense is non existent!
Mike Moreau

You must be logged in to post a comment. You can login here