To: Residents of McGee-Autrey Subdivision
From:
Don Duff
Subject: Future Drainage of water from McGee-Autrey
Subdivision
New construction at McGee-Autrey
What happened last July 23, 2008
with Hurricane Dolly was very disturbing to you as well as to me. But sometimes, something good comes out of bad situations.
The following is what I have learned from Allen Moore of the Cameron County 5th drainage district and Javier Mendez
of the City of Primera.
First we will look at what was happening
when Dolly dumped between 16" and 26" of rain in short time. Keep in mind 2 weeks before we had 10" of
rain so the ground was wet. Another factor was the farmers had just enough time to open the borders on their fields
to drain the water before Dolly hit. So the water was not contained in the fields but flowed out. I have heard
that this is near a 500 year event. That being said, we don't know when it will happen again. Frankly, if
you had told me before Dolly that we would have that much rain, I thought we all would have been swamped.
Attached is a map of the Primera area showing where the drainage water is routed.
Water flows from McGee-Autrey into the Murphy lateral then under the railroad then into the Primera lateral. The water
then flows north in the Young lateral to the Hand Road lateral. Note that the drainage from the entire area north of
Primera flows south in the Young lateral and from the west in the Wilson Tract main drain. All of this water flows into
the Hand Road lateral also. The water then follows the railroad tracks south to near Vinson Ave where it flows under
the railroad tracks. Some of the drainage from Palm Valley also flows under the railroad tracks at the same place.
So all of this drainage water flows through the same place. This is probably why it took so long for McGee-Autrey to
drain. Once there was a place for the water to go, McGee-Autrey drained quickly. It appears that the two 24"
pipes under the railroad tracks is not a problem for us.
Next is
what is being done to improve the drainage. Bids are out and money is available to put a 10' X 10' box under
Hwy 77 just east of Hand Road (see attached map). Another box will go under the railroad tracks and another at Hand
Road. Ditches will be dug from the Young lateral, under Hand Road, railroad tracks and Hwy 77 to connect to the North
Main Drain. I don't have a date for these to be completed but the drainage district appears to have the money needed
to complete. This new path for the drainage water from McGee-Autrey will have a huge impact.
This drainage will reach what is called the big ditch. Currently, the first part of the ditch is deep enough.
Longer term, this big ditch will be made deeper and wider. It will take a bit of money to do this so it is not known
now when this will happen.
Probably most of you have noticed the
water flowing into the entrance of Autrey Drive when we have heavy rains. The City of Primera is working to get some
dirt moved along the railroad right-of-way just west of Stuart Place Road to divert this water west. The drainage district
has the right-of-way to dig a ditch north (see attached map) to carry the water to the Wilson Tract main drain.
I am sure that everyone knows that a stimulus package of billions of dollars has been
signed. It appears that the widening of Primera Road is shovel ready and will be funded by the stimulus. TexDot
had scheduled Primera Road in 2011 but now it looks like the construction will be moved up to September this year and even
maybe June. There is also other good news from this maybe. Primera Road could be fully funded which could leave
Primera with the money for Primera Road to be used to overlay Stuart Place Road. I cannot say 100% that this will happen
but it looks very possible.
There is a HUD Disaster Recovery Fund
of $55 million for the RGV. It is being split up by the three counties, Cameron, Hildalgo and Willacy. Cameron
Rural is scheduled to receive approximately $2.5 million. The City of Primera is to get $127,000. $12 million
is to be distributed by the Cameron County Commissioners Court. Cameron and Hildalgo counties will receive a total of
$24,750,000 each and Willacy will receive $5,500,000. To me, this does not seem the way to divide the money since Cameron,
especially the northern part, were the one that was hit the hardest and had the most damage. Exactly what these monies
will be used I don't know yet.
Currently, there are
only two homes for sale in McGee-Autrey. You already know that I am starting another home on Autrey Drive. Two
new starts are being negotiated at this time in the second phase. I will be putting up a model home sign shortly.
I am also working on a website for Autrey Court (McGee-Autrey Subdivision). The website will be http://www.autreycourt.com/ and should be on line by the middle of March or sooner. If you know someone that is looking for a new
home in this area, I would appreciate it if you would let me know.
One
other minor point has been brought to my attention. I was asked if many of the residents of McGee-Autrey are proud of
their trash cans, since they are left out visible from the street. The neighborhood would look much nicer if you would
put your trash cans in the garage (that is where I keep mine where I live) or inside your fence or in back of your home.
When I look at the yards in the subdivision, it is obvious that you take pride in the
appearance of your homes. We have the vacant lots maintained on a regular basis.
I would like to have you send me your e-mail address if I do not already have it. That way I can keep you updated
on what is happening that concerns McGee-Autrey.
Just to let you
know, I live in Robson Ranch in Denton, Texas and I am a Realtor. You can take a look at my Robson Ranch website.
I am in South Texas just about every month and I can be reached at any time.
Donald
Duff
10012 Countryside Drive
Denton, Texas 76207-6616
817-707-8454
donduff@grandecom.net
