College Station, TX

You have just got to love kids.

One client has a 4 year old.

She sounds about 16 on the phone.

I called one day and asked to speak to her mother.

She said, "Brenda she can't come to the phone right now she's doing the laundry."

I again asked to speak to her Mother. She stated, "Brenda, she is doing laundry

for the WHOLE family."

I decided to call back later.

I was telling her Mom about this. I said, "You have quite a little secretary there."

She laughed and said, "Oh, Brenda, sometimes she answers the phone, listens for a second and hollers

TELEMARKETER and hangs up.

The Mom is thinking of hiring her out!

Dear readers,

A couple of green items came up today worth mentioning. First is a news release from The Texas A&M System yesterday titled "A&M System Saves $4 Million With “Green” Utility Contract." It goes on to say that "the estimated value of the contract, which also includes Stephen F. Austin State University, is $37.4 million. SFA’s savings are estimated at about $2 million for the period." "Fifteen percent of the energy purchased through the contract, or approximately 43,000,000 kilowatt hours per year, will be in the form of Texas Wind Renewable Energy Credits."

I know there is still a debate about REC's and what they are worth that I don't want to get into. I will say I'm pleased a system exists that makes this possible and commend the system for taking this step.

With the same thought but certainly not on the same scale, I'm happy to say that I've moved all of Websites I manage to green servers in January. I did quite a bit of research into green hosting and ran into the same question about RECs. Yes, in a perfect world, I'd love to have the whole process "off grid," and there are a couple of companies that have done that.

I finally decided on HostGator for several reasons:

• Texas Based - Although my goal was green servers, buying locally figures in my purchasing plans. Although the owner went to school in Florida, he and his company are based in Texas, with data and call centers in Houston and Dallas. This was as close to home as I could get and stay green.
• HostGator tech support past Sam’s idiot test. - I’m the one who has to deal with them.
• They are buying Texas Wind REC’s - HostGator has purchased certified Renewable Energy Credits representing 130% of the electricity used to both power and cool their servers.
• They are inexpensive and I’m pleased to say I migrated all 18 sites without incident.

Again on the subject of Texas wind energy, the City of College Station announced that they are extending the Wind Watts Program to businesses and reducing the cost. “The voluntary program allows participants to choose to get 10 percent, 50 percent or 100 percent of their power from a wind-turbine farm west of Abilene. The council's decision lowered the price of the program from $3.50 to $2 extra per month for the lowest level and from $30 to $20 a month for full wind power.” The program is a premium over the regular rates,” according to The Eagle.

It hasn’t been a very good week for water and waste-water, as a power failure in Bryan caused the Burton Creek Sewage Treatment Plant to dump a couple of million gallons of untreated sewage into the creek. Just a few weeks ago, the TCEQ reported E. coli contamination in the same creek. The facility has no back-up generators. What a mess.

Finally, don’t forget the second of the City of College Station’s second green mini-seminar of the semester:

• Feb. 12 - Recycling Markets and Economics Why doesn't College Station recycle green glass or other items? Representatives from Texas A&M University, Texas Commercial Waste and others will talk about actual market rates and costs.

The seminar will be held in the new Public Works Office located on the 2nd floor of the College Station Municipal Court on Krenek Tap Road at 6 p.m. You can find more information at the City of College Station's Green Website.

For all the latest local and international green news, follow my tweets @bcsgreenliving! You can also find me on facebook.

Blue skies,

Sam White
SamWhiteRealty.com
979-589-4487

Many individuals are not aware that if you want to divide a tract of land into smaller parcels (subdivide them) you must file a plat with the Brazos County Commissioners Court. Many individuals are under the false impression that they can take a parcel like 50 acres and just sell off tracts that are smaller. Not so. The subdivision ordinances in Brazos County are structured and rigid. To try and violate those ordinances could be costly. Before you decide to cut up a tract of land call Brazos County or the respective city offices for the city you live in or the county commisioners. Additionally if your land is outside the city limits it may fall in the city ETJ ( Extra Territorial Jurisdiction and in that event AND even though you land is not in the city, they have to be consulted with when you divide.

Another year has drawn to a close on our game management ranch in Brazos County. This is our 3rd year under a program we worked up with the assistance of a wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife at Texas A and M University. We had to harvest 3 times as many does this year most likely due to the fact that our neighbors have not been doing so. The goal is to bring the sex ratio closer to 1/1 or 2/1 does to bucks. The good news is that the bucks we did spot this year were very nice including some pretty large antlered ones. The fawn crop seemed to be healthy also with lots of twins showing up. Next year it will be time to think about taking a buck as several of them have reached full maturity and some may start declining due to age.

If you are considering choosing a wildlife management program in Brazos County, be prepared to do some work . It's not all fun...but is worth the effort.

I love the Gothic look the old Episcopal Church in Downtown Bryan. A good time to see it would be on
the monthly First Friday event held every month on the First Friday in downtown.

Copyright 2010 Milam F. "Trey" Thurmond III, Broker, CRB, GRI, SRES. For all your real estate needs in Bryan-College Station , and Aggieland Texas .....including Residential, Land, Investments, and Property Management Services. Now is a great time to buy or sell real estate. Call or email me today and I will get right to work to meet your real estate goals.

Serving Bryan -College Station, Texas for 3 decades!

Quality Service Certified Platinum O5' 06' 07'
Classic Realty Associates
3600 Hwy 6 South , Suite 100
College Station, Texas 77845
(979) 694-8844 -110 979-229-8465 cell