A Letter From Mayor Wall
To the Residents of Weston Lakes,
The city of Weston Lakes has been in constant communication with the Fort Bend County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (FBHSEM) since about a week before Hurricane Beryl made landfall. Following the storm, updates on debris removal were posted to the city’s website (https://westonlakestexas.gov/). The city is working on your behalf to make sure the subdivision of Weston Lakes is included in debris pickup.
There are four (4) steps to initiating a process for debris removal:
(1) The County contracted a company to collect the debris and to oversee its proper dumping.
(2) Several sites are being secured on which to dump the debris, which took approval from several agencies to ensure the environment was not negatively impacted.
(3) Gated communities like ours must receive special permission from FEMA in order to retrieve debris from the private streets inside our gates.
(4) Residents must be allowed enough time to collect debris from their property and get it to the approved pick-up area.
The City of Weston Lakes has been working with the county to make sure we are included in the debris collection, as such we have submitted the needed information to the proper authorities. The city is part of a chain of command that has to be followed and is in contact with FBHSEM.
Monday, July 15th is the day that county-wide debris collection will begin. We have not received a schedule as to where and when each community will be serviced. We will be sure to post that information on our website if and when we receive it from the county.
Relatedly, the City of Weston Lakes has a policy to communicate official information through the city’s website or through our newspaper of record, the Fort Bend Herald. This policy stems from the fact that several years ago there was so much negativity being pushed out on social media from different sides, that the pastors in our community felt the need to call for a city-wide prayer meeting at Riverwood Park. As mayor, I have followed the city policy and stayed off of social media. We do monitor local social media and have seen several residents that have taken it upon themselves to “communicate” because they feel the city is not doing an adequate job following Beryl. The information being posted is basically the same that is on the city’s web site.
Last year the city purchased a communications application through which the Council approved official communications. We respect our residents’ right to privacy, so rather than collecting contact information from all residents and allowing those who didn’t want to use the app an opportunity to opt out, instead the city chose to allow residents to opt in if they wanted to use the app to receive up-to-the-minute communications from the city. After a year, only a handful of residents opted in and the city decided it was not cost effective to continue to spend money on something utilized by so few.
The city web site address is published in the “From the Mayor” section of every monthly Country Club magazine and the city phone number is listed on the inside of the front cover. I have responded promptly to every email and phone call since taking office in 2021. Those who choose to go on social media to ask rhetorical questions, make suggestions that don’t apply to our unique community situation, or to serve as pseudo-authorities, certainly have the right to do so. I just ask that we all be careful when reposting “official information” and that we are careful to leave speculation and opinion out of it, because that has the effect of misinforming some.
Thank you to the Weston Lakes residents that have helped your neighbors not only during Beryl but daily. It was good to see so many of you who took advantage of the cooling/charging center at the club.
Please check the city web site at westonlakestexas.gov for the latest information.
Sincerely,
Bob Wall
Mayor – Weston Lakes