Dear Neighbors,

The good news is that the draining of Lake Thicket and the removal of any additional wildlife has been postponed by Skanska.  Though our team was ready, willing and able to meet, the full management meeting did not occur on Tuesday. Skanska opted instead at the last minute to have what was billed as a one-on-one meeting (but to which the Skanska representative brought his outside PR firm representative).  The primary outcomes of that meeting were that a full management meeting would be rescheduled for sometime next week and, until that meeting occurs, Skanska will not remove any more wildlife or drain the lake. 

In addition, late Wednesday Skanska decided to begin cleaning up the lake rather than draining it as earlier planned.  On Thursday morning a generator was brought on site to power the lake equipment since site power has been disconnected. One aerator already is running and some lake debris will be removed.  The uncertainty is that this equipment has not been run for a long time and it would not start or will fail.  We are encouraged by this action taken by Skanska.

Memorial Thicket and other neighborhood representatives had a successful rally on Monday which was covered by Channel 26-FoxNews on Monday night.  

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/18662032/2012/05/30/residents-rally-to-save-lake?clienttype=printable

There was more picketing along Memorial Drive on Tuesday, during the 8AM rush hour and again during lunch hour rush, and much attention was received. Posters and signs remain along Memorial and we have posters in several businesses along Memorial Drive.

Donna Paredes is serving as our Rally and Picketing chair; she plans to be getting more posters out and has handouts available to distribute. Please volunteer to assist, if you can.  

Bob Batten has agreed to be our WebMaster for the new webpage:   www.SaveLakeThicket.org

Houston Chronicle reporter Patti Hart met with Phil Richardson, Rachel El-Saleh, Kyna Agerton and Geralyn Cornelius on Wednesday and is expected to run an article with our story in this Sunday’s Chronicle. 

Our momentum is building.  While we are pleased with the recent change of Skanska’s plans, there is much work still to be done.  We must not only continue to build additional awareness of the potential loss of Lake Thicket and the wildlife habitat it has provided for many decades, but also update all of our contacts of these recent positive actions by Skanska.

We continue gathering facts, researching the history of the area and determining what steps are required to strongly discourage draining Lake Thicket.  Wildlife habitat, storm water drainage and runoff and Buffalo Bayou preservation are among the areas we need more expertise.  If you are aware of anything that can help us with the foregoing or know someone who may be able to help, then PLEASE contact one of the committee members right away.

Regards,

Next Door Committee;

Phil Richardson, Chairman; philrichardson@pdq.net

Geralyn Cornelius; corneliusrg@earthlink.net

Grant Johnston; Grant.Johnston@woodgroup.com

Simon Kanaan; slkanaan@sigmamarble.com

Abel Paredes; abel.p@greatkidspediatrics.com

Defenders of Lake Thicket worried

By Patricia Kilday Hart , Chron.com

"As his lunchtime crowd filtered in last Wednesday, Vahid Navissi, owner of the Café Benedicte on Memorial Drive, nodded to the wooden deck of his charming restaurant overlooking Lake Thicket. "The Chronicle named it one of the top five patios in Houston for dining out," he boasted of the shaded space overlooking a two-acre pond flush with wildlife.

Naturally, he's been disheartened to hear that the commercial property developer, Skanska, which recently bought the adjacent building, was considering draining the lake ...."    . Read the entire article

Rally - Terry Hershey Park, Jun 2, 9:00 am

SAVE LAKE THICKET

Join us to pass brochures to raise public awareness of the importance of

SAVING LAKE THICKET

TERRY HERSHEY PARK PLAYGROUND

9:00 AM

 SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

Contact Donna Paredes

281-531-0030 

Lake Thicket - Do a Good Job

From: Pierre Latour
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2012 11:37 AM
To: Jessica Murray, Skanska
Subject:  Lake Thicket - Do a Good Job

Jessica,
Thank you for this prompt, thoughtful reply to my text to Skanska, Matt Daniel, below. I particularly noted your fourth bullet.

Since I walked your property 2x/week for 30 years, I am well aware of the deterioration after Transocean moved out, Ike hit and summer 2011 drought damaged flora. I welcomed your purchase to fix up the place.

Like most MTHA residents and neighbors, I want your investment to succeed long term, enhance my property value if you can. Be proud to have an attractive and profitable development next door.

One rule 101 of real estate investing is check the neighborhood, talk to people, confer with them about your plans that could affect them, allay fears, convince them you know what you are doing. Many big developers offer a rendering and model of their proposed project, to win buy-in and enthusiasm from those interested and affected. So I encourage you to communicate with Phil Richardson and MTHA representatives.

I am not your adversary, I wish you well and success. I help finance keeping Memorial Thicket and my own yard in pretty good condition to attract corporate developers like Skanska. So does BP-Amoco and the Energy Corridor.

Our area is known as Westlake for a reason; nature gave us lakes and natural wildlife. This was once a giant thicket. You are surrounded by creeks, bayous, drainage ditches, natural and manmade ponds and Harris County park. Make the most of it.

You should take comfort that your new MT neighbors care so much about what you plan to do next door. You know retirees and families will pass by your property walking, jogging and riding bikes to Terry Hershey County Park, Langham Creek and Buffalo Bayou, with lots of wildlife. Surely you can understand the affection for Muscovy Ducks that hatch up to 24 ducklings annually, only to lose half within three months to natural predators (hawks, raccoons) who have a natural right to be predators. Those Texas Vultures may not be Endangered, but they are Protected Species. I saw a big flat turtle in Exxon-Mobil’s lovely lake on 26May12; Lake Thicket used to have them too. Look at those brown tree ducks standing like soldiers at attention, attached 16TreeDucks.

Besides preserving Lake Thicket to delight your future tenants and support premium rents, be sure your engineers know about the 12 inches in 4 hours rains your property has experienced every decade or so for thousands of years (that would be 100/millennium). Water drains off in several directions, hopefully to Langham Creek across the street. Some does flow through Memorial Thicket and a big pipe under my back yard. I have seen it at capacity 3x since I invested in MT. I advise you not to increase drainage flow to Memorial Thicket, to avoid damage and anger from MT property owners. But of course you already knew that and would never do such a thing. Elementary.

Seems reasonable for neighbors to expect Skanska to be a quality outfit, creating a first class development next door. Hope you find this helpful.

Pierre R Latour
Memorial Thicket Homeowner Since 1982

RALLY TIME - At gatehouse, May 28, 3:00pm

RALLY TIME!!!

Tomorrow you and your families will have the opportunity to rally to show how much you want to “Save Lake Thicket” and its wildlife.

We are scheduling a 3:00 PM May 28 rally beginning at the gatehouse and continuing as late as 5:00 PM.

We will have some signs for you to carry as we register our concerns.  You are encouraged to bring your own signs that express why you want to “Save Lake Thicket” and its wildlife. 
 

Don’t forget also to bring American flags to show how our neighborhood honors our soldiers.  And bring some drinks to share with your neighbors. 

Happy Memorial Day!!!!!

Your busy Next Door Committee

Lake Thicket - Is Skanska Really Green in Houston, Texas?

From: Don Johnson
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2012 11:08 PM
To: Karin Lepasoon, Skanska
Subject: Is Skanska Really Green in Houston, Texas?

Attached is a letter with two photographs which make a case for us, your future neighbors, to call into question Skanska's commitment to conscientious stewardship of the environment and to sustainable development. Hard copies of these attachments should arrive at your office early next week.
We neighboring homeowners do not understand the discrepancy between the stated commitment to the environment on your website and the actions of your company in regard to the treatment of our beloved Lake Thicket in West Houston. On one of your webpages Skanska praises itself at least fifteen times as being a "green" company, yet, as the attachments show, your actions have definitely not been "green".

This is especially shocking to me, for I lived and worked in Norway for six years and was president of Conoco Norway for three of those years, and during that period I came to know how deeply Scandinavians respect the environment. I recall discussing this over lunch with Gro Haarlem Brundtland, the Prime Minister of Norway and later the United Nations advocate of sustainable development. I mention this because I note that your website frequently refers to Skanska's commitment to sustainable development.

Please understand that our group is quite serious about the deterioration and probable abandonment of Lake Thicket. We have already publicized the issue on Houston television news, and an article on this subject is scheduled to appear in tomorrow's issue of the Houston Chronicle newspaper. Further action is underway, as I write, involving the United States Corps of Engineers and our elected officials.

We would like not to have these differences with you, for we want our relationship to be one of mutually respectful neighbors. Therefore, I invite you not to oppose us but to join us in our effort to protect this beautiful, natural (not man made) lake, its associated wildlife, and its wetlands by incorporating the lake into the design of your development, as the previous developer did.

Respectfully,

Don Johnson, President of the Memorial Thicket Homeowners Association

(Click Letter to Enlarge)

Lake Thicket Current Conditions

Lake Thicket Prior State

Houston Energy Corridor - Thicket Lake and wildlife to be destroyed

From: Melissa Lukens
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2012 3:32 PM
To: Skanska
Cc: (various government officials)
Subject: Houston Energy Corridor - Thicket Lake and wildlife to be destroyed

I am writing about an urgent matter and grassroots efforts involving one of your sites in Houston, TX - 15375 Memorial Drive 77079.    

Concerned neighbors, local residents & former workers who care about the lake and wildlife on this property have been communicating  with local SKANSKA personnel in efforts to preserve this wonderful community feature and amenity.  This lake and ecosystem sustain habitat of valued native wildlife.  However and unfortunately, the efforts and requests have fallen on deaf ears - concerned citizens have been put off and given little information regarding the plans for the lake - and for their plans for the wildlife.    Your personnel say the lake will be filled in.  There have been reports that several ducks have already been killed.  As a result, and as a final resort local media,  local government officials and wildlife rescue agencies are being contacted to get involved.   This lake and wildlife are a valuable part of this community and deserves to be afforded consideration of being saved.  We care about this neighborhood, environment and the wildlife that call it home.  The SKANSKA media rep response to a television news report came off as less than sincere and only exacerbated the belief that SKANSKA has no concern for the surrounding neighbors or the environment.   Perhaps, SKANSKA does not stand behind their website representations to value the environment...the following are pieces of your website - 

1)  Community Outreach - Skanska is dedicated to the idea of serving the communities in which we build.   

2)  The SKANSKA Code of Conduct says a key SKANSKA responsibility is "...our responsibilities toward the communities and environments in which we operate..."    "...we have defined some key foundations for our performance:..   - We respect...and recognize our responsibility to observe those rights that apply to...the communities in which we operate."    AND "We are open-minded in dialogue with those who are affected by our operations.  We respond to inquiries from external parties and communicate with affected parties in a timely and effective manner."

3)  A SKANSKA article and claim from the website regarding Environmental Policy touts:

POLICY AND STRATEGY

Skanska’s approach to Local Impacts is to focus on things we can directly control and directly influence.  Our Environmental Policy states that we will “….reduce harmful emissions to the air from projects, road vehicles, mobile and stationary equipment and processes” and “…….mitigate the impact of our operations on flora, fauna and related ecosystems..."   In the interest of keeping this short, I will just say that many other website articles also emphasize the goal and value of your company to be a friend to the environment.

4)  Your Case Study and Project profile on the 2005 development of the CSOB Headquarters in the Czech Republic states: Urban Redevelopment:  "...construction on a brownfield site to avoid...destruction of natural environments...Local people were informed about the site development by information boards."   The article goes on under the section titled "Sensitive incorporation into the natural environment - ...Existing trees were preserved and 730 quick growing and local species of tree have been planted on the site and in the nearby forest park..."

To the contrary, on this project, SKANSKA has not provided any development plans or information to the local community as it did in the Czech Republic.    If SKANSKA is so concerned about preserving and replacing trees - why not wildlife?    If SKANSKA is open minded to dialogue - why not work with the community to preserve the wildlife and cooperate in relocation if that is the only option?   To date, SKANSKA appears to only be interested in progressing with destruction in the name of construction - now hastily attempting to remove the wildlife on it's own to an undisclosed location - not being a good neighbor and considering preservation of the lake and it's longtime animal inhabitants.   Your representatives as recent as yesterday refused to agree to relocation to homes which have been arranged for these animals; one SKANSKA rep refused to divulge where the animals will be "relocated" to.  We believe the intent is to do away with these animals and the lake - quite contrary to SKANSKA being "dedicated" to the communities -  this is not a friendly response or an environmentally responsible stance at all.  I am hopeful this message reaches you all for your immediate consideration and response.  There can't be such an urgent or financial requirement of a company your size - to move forward so quickly with the demolition and re-development of the property, which has sat for years without tenancy in foreclosure.  

I implore you to allow time to consider alternatives to preserve the lake - and as a last resort -to at least allow the wildlife to be rescued and relocated with the assistance of the community in a humane and ethical way.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and any involvement you can afford to this urgent matter.

Melissa Lukens
Former Transocean Manager