Last month, I had the opportunity to host the District E annual fall town hall meeting in Kingwood. Nearly 200 residents packed the Kingwood Community Center to hear updates from a variety of different city departments including Public Works and Engineering, Solid Waste Management, Houston Police Department - Kingwood Substation and the Legal Department. Burdette Huffman from Lovett Development also presented the plans for the new commercial development to be located at the corner of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway known as Main Street Kingwood. The development will feature more than 240,000 square feet of retail, grocery and healthcare tenants including a new H-E-B grocery store as well as a Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center. Additional retailers include Tenzen Steak Sushi and Bar, Pie Five Pizza Company, VERTSKEBAP, Raising Cane's and Banfield Pet Hospital. The center is expected to open in the Fall of 2016. Stan Sarman, Chair of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 10 also presented and gave updates regarding the TIRZ's latest involvement with the recent Kingwood Area Mobility Study and steps the TIRZ is taking to improve mobility in the community and surrounding area.

 

The floor was opened up to the audience for Q&A following the presentations, and one of the topics hit most upon was the nuisance of feral hogs in Kingwood neighborhoods. Over the past two years, and most recently the last two months, my office has received multiple calls from residents who are concerned about the destruction that the hogs have done to their personal property and for their individual safety as the animals run loose in the neighborhood. 

 

According to Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, feral hogs are unprotected and exotic animals with nearly 2.6 million of them occupying 79% of Texas' landscape. Destruction from these animals can be devastating to a landowner who is often unsure of how to protect their property and control the growing population of species.  Today, there are four legal methods available to reduce feral hog populations in Texas. These include trapping, shooting, snaring and the use of dogs; however, due to local law and the overall general concern for public safety most of these means of recourse are unavailable in an urban, residential environment.

 

While the City of Houston does not provide feral hog trapping or relocation services, the Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department (ARA) oversees a voluntary program for those that are willing to offer their feral hog services to Houstonians. If you are interested in participating in this program, I encourage you to contact my office at (832) 393-3008 or at districte@houstontx.gov. Additionally, my office is working with the ARA Department to explore other potential opportunities regarding similar services that could be offered to those in the Kingwood area, and hope to be able to find a productive and successful solution in the near future to help mitigate this ongoing issue.

 

Additionally, the Kingwood Service Association is intimately familiar with the damage that has been made to residential properties and is aware of the public's concerns. KSA has been monitoring the feral hog activity and encourages residents to let them know of areas that have been affected so they can better direct their efforts to hunt and trap these animals.   If you know of a particular area that has been damaged, please visit the KSA website and provide information about the location.

 

For more information about feral hogs and educational programs offered, please visit the Texas A&M Agrilife website at http://feralhogs.tamu.edu.