Beginning on August 20th, your Inframark management team began preparations and tracking of what was known then as tropical disturbance number 13. TD 13 intensified and became tropical storm Marco. As of this Sunday morning Marco is forecast to begin a counterclockwise movement and make landfall as a hurricane on the Louisiana coast. At that point, the storm will continue on a west-northwest track taking it through Louisiana and eventually coming in to East Texas just north of Beaumont. At this point it will be a tropical depression.
Additionally, we are watching tropical storm Laura. This system is currently bringing inclement weather to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the southeastern Bahamas. Experts predict the storm will continue on a north northwest track, strengthening as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm is still too far out to forecast a point of landfall, but experts generally agree it could be anywhere from Houston all the way to Mississippi. Additionally, there is much discussion on the impact Laura may or may not exert on Marco as these two storms potentially are going to be close.

With the amount of data that we have been presented and the significant discrepancy in its interpretation by the weather experts, INFRAMARK has decided to prepare all of our clients as if both storms are going to make a direct hit on the Houston area.

Here are the steps we have taken:

• We are in direct contact with Jeff Lindner from Harris County OEM to assist us in understanding the forecast.
• We have 2 daily briefings to review the data points with our emergency team.
• All facilities have been placed in a hurricane prep condition ready to withstand the unique weather characteristics that are brought about by hurricanes.
• We have verified fuel delivery with our multiple fuel vendors.
• We have placed our Shelter in Place Packs (SIPPS) in strategic locations for our employee’s safety.
• Our customer service and billing teams are set up to perform their functions remotely via the internet.
• Our 2-way radio system is active and ready in the event cellular communications are compromised.
• We will be deploying the mobile command center (MCC) Monday AM.

The MCC is a self-contained mobile vehicle that has 100 gallons of diesel, an 85kW generator, communications tools and food to keep our 24-hour emergency team ready.

As always, we hope that this becomes a non-event and dissipates quickly. If you have any questions about anything related to the storm or your district preparation, please reach out to your designated account manager for more information. If anything changes, we will share it with another special edition of our customer first newsletter.

NHC forecasting as a Sunday morning:

On February 26th, 2020, MUD 152 hosted Atascocita HS Student Council along with MUD 152 consultants in a mock meeting. Students were able to participate, ask questions, and understand the function of a MUD board.
MUD 152 thanked Atascocita HS Student Council for their efforts and provided a $5,000 stipend for their efforts in installing over 1,100 storm inlets throughout Atascocita South and Atasca Woods.

Additional info:
https://www.cleanwaterways.org/swim/
https://www.cleanwaterways.org/downloads/brochures/SWIM%20brochure%20english.pdf

Harris County MUD 152’s water supply is provided from the Evangeline Aquifer Water Supply and is not connected to the City of Houston water supply. Harris County MUD 152 is not affected by the current Boil Water notice posted by the City of Houston.

Atascocita, Texas February 4, 2020—The Board of Directors of Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 152 (the “District”) offer their condolences to the family of the teen who was killed in Atascocita South on Sunday morning. We understand that an arrest has already been made through the effort of the deputies in Constable Precinct No. 4, as well as by other law enforcement agencies.

In light of this incident, we wanted to alert the Atascocita South and Atasca Woods neighborhoods that effective March 1, 2020, there will be six deputies from Constable Precinct No. 4 contracted to serve our neighborhoods, providing coverage on a 24/7 basis.

This change is being initiated by the District and the Atascocita South and Atasca Woods homeowners associations. Currently, the HOAs pay a portion of the cost of extra security provided by the Precinct 4 constables for several neighborhoods in the greater Atascocita area. The HOAs wanted better coverage of their neighborhoods and approached the District to discuss the best way to achieve that result. After discussion with the HOAs, the Board of Directors of the District agreed to take over the responsibility for contracting with the constables for extra security for the immediate future. The District then entered into a contract with the Precinct 4 constables to patrol the area within the District (being the Atascocita South and Atasca Woods neighborhoods). The District decided to expand the coverage to six deputies to enable there to be 24/7 coverage. Homeowners will pay a part of the cost of the security through an increase in the base rate of their water bills of $7.00. In exchange for this change in responsibility, the HOAs agreed to reduce their dues.

We believe that this change and increased security will be of benefit to District residents.

Atascocita HS Student Council, in collaboration with MUD 152, began installing the makers Dec.,5, 2019 and has continued for a few weeks. They have been out during the week with safety vests and traffic flags installing decals on 1,100 storm inlets throughout Atascocita South and Atasca Woods subdivisions. The purpose is to remind citizens not to dump pollutants into storm inlets or contribute to ordinary storm water runoff by littering, over-fertilizing, or sweeping yard debris into the street. Unlike sewage, storm water receives no treatment. Each year, student council fund raise throughout the year in order to sponsor events for the student body and community-at-large. MUD 152 directors will surprise the group during their February meeting with a stipend to commend their work in our community.

Additional info:
https://www.cleanwaterways.org/swim/

https://www.cleanwaterways.org/downloads/brochures/SWIM%20brochure%20english.pdf

On August 28, 2019, Harris County MUD No. 152 successfully refinanced its debt in order to take advantage of today’s low interest rates. The District issued $4,060,000 in unlimited tax refunding bonds to refund and redeem a portion of its outstanding debt.

By doing the refinancing, Harris County MUD No. 152 saved $261,198 net of costs, for annual savings in its debt service expense of $37,314.

The District was able to secure bond insurance on its new bonds, causing the rating on the bonds to be “AA.” The District carries an underlying rating of “A+” from Standard & Poor’s.