Home Care In Missouri City, TX

MISSOURI CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Time is running out for neighbors in a Missouri City subdivision to stop the construction of an event center and hotel right behind their homes.

A vote on the project is coming within the next few weeks, and they feel the city has been ignoring their concerns about the impact the project would have on the environment, safety, and traffic in the area.

The developer, PLACE Designers, is requesting an approximate 17-acre plot of land on Knight Road near Watts Plantation Road to be rezoned for commercial space and used to construct a new event center and hotel called "The Palace."

The property sits right up against the northeast side of the Estates of Silver Ridge subdivision. Neighbors told ABC13 the project brings a long list of concerns for them.

Dinishi Abayarathna is worried about all of the trees that would be cut down and the flooding risks that the development could bring. She said the wetlands behind their homes helped mitigate damage during Hurricane Harvey.

"They're proposing to raise this land, cement over all of it, therefore inhibiting the land's natural ability to absorb water. All the water that had previously moved to the beautiful wetlands will end up going here. While they have proposed building a small ditch, I don't think they're understanding the extent of the risks," Abayarathna said.

Travis Johnson expressed concerns about the wildlife. Residents said they've seen dozens of different species that rely on the ecosystem of the neighborhood, including bald eagles, white-tailed deer, snakes, turtles, and alligators.

"It is a phenomenal neighborhood to raise your kids and show them what is possible," Travis Johnson said. "My kids love being outside, walking to the lake, and seeing all the animals here. We won't be able to do any of this stuff."

Thomas Cague has concerns about how increased traffic could cause severe congestion in the area, believing that the current infrastructure isn't equipped for the influx of cars that the development would bring. Right now, Knight Road only has one lane going in each direction. He is also concerned about noise levels.

"We're talking about putting an amphitheater and a hotel 50 feet from people's back property line. I don't think it gets any more simple than that. I don't think anyone would be on board with having that in their neighborhood," Cague said.

Requests for comment from Missouri City and the developer were not returned as of Thursday evening. But in an FAQ sheet posted on its website, the city wrote that measures would be taken to address some of these concerns, such as leaving a 50-foot buffer of trees, increasing patrol from law enforcement, and adding more lanes to the road.

Neighbors feel these answers aren't good enough to put them at ease.

"I want children to feel safe playing outside. I want parents to feel comfortable leaving their door unlocked and not worry that someone's going to be peeping into their yard, that transients are going to potentially really be able to have such access to their homes and children that they weren't before," Abayarathna said.

Neighbors also started an online petition, which has gathered more than 600 signatures. They also plan to make their voices heard at the next city council meeting on May 6 at 6 p.m., which they say is when city leaders will be voting on the rezoning request.

Inspectors found an estimated 384,000 pieces of delayed mail at the South Houston Local Processing Center in Missouri City on Jan. 28.

MISSOURI CITY, Texas — In a newly obtained audit report, the USPS Office of Inspector General detailed a list of problems found at the South Houston Local Processing center in Missouri City that led to widespread mail delays across Houston.

In the audit, inspectors said they visited the facility from Jan. 28 to Jan. 30 and found several issues -- including a backlog of delayed mail and a lack of communication among facility management.

During the visit, they found an estimated 384,000 pieces of delayed mail at the facility. The mail was either in need of processing or waiting to be transported to another facility.

The audit revealed that the Missouri City processing center was originally opened as a temporary "peak season annex," designed to help with increased volume at the existing North Houston processing center. However, managers used an "undocumented" contingency plan to keep the facility open.

The facility is still operating as an interim processing center according to the audit, but it is expected to transition into a "traditional local processing center" by the end of the year.

Inspectors said several factors contributed to the delays, including the way in which management moved certain operations -- including sorting machines -- from North Houston to the Missouri City facility which was "not equipped" to handle the volume.

The OIG said staffing was also an issue. In one instance, a supervisor was scheduled to cover all three shifts over a 24-hour period.

The audit points to safety concerns and maintenance issues as well. At the time of their visit, inspectors said the Missouri City facility did not have enough power and had to use generators to keep machines running. There was also a lack of running water and employees had to use portable bathrooms outside for a time.

Inspectors also found that USPS did not communicate its plans to open the facility to stakeholders including the media, despite "significant media coverage around delayed packages."

The OIG recommended several changes to the postal service to remediate the issues, including assessing the backlog to see if temporary staffing is necessary and developing a process to communicate and solicit feedback from local managers when developing and implementing changes to the South Houston facility as it shifts into a processing center.

When KHOU 11 reached out to USPS for a response to the audit, a spokesperson referred us to an April 5 letter already included in the report that states:

“The postal service agrees that the findings were accurate in January 2024. At the time of the OIG visit, the postal service had already implemented actions to address the conditions in South Houston. The postal service has continued to improve conditions in South Houston over the last few months.”

KHOU 11 was the first to report on the mail delays at the USPS processing center in Missouri City. Since December, we've spoken to several people who were concerned about the whereabouts of their mail, including people concerned about their medication and wedding dresses stuck at the processing center.

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You can read the details of the OIG audit below:

Many Houston area residents haven't been getting their packages and mail on time. Some people are still waiting for Christmas gifts to be delivered. Others are hoping their medication reaches their doorsteps soon. Some are anxiously awaiting the arrival of expensive items.

When they track their late package to see where it is, a majority are all seeing the same roadblock: that its currently at a facility in Missouri City.

The problem has been plaguing the area for weeks. The postal service said this week it is the result of implementing USPS's Delivering for America plan, which is trying to modernize the postal system.

"This process, as with any such transition, takes time," USPS said in a statement. "As with any transition, some unintended and temporary disruptions may occur. We are taking steps to ensure packages are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible and apologize to any customers who may be experiencing issues with delivery of their items."

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As part of the plan, the Missouri City facility has been established as a local processing center while the North Houston Processing and Distribution Center is in in the process of becoming a regional processing and distribution center.

RPDCs are described as the backbone of this new system and serve as the distribution centers for originating mail and packages and destinating packages. LDCs are supposed to serve as the link between the RPDCs and the final delivery steps where workers will "process destination mail and transfer mail and packages to delivery," according to a Delivering for America progress report.

Implementing these changes is what has caused the delays at the South Houston Local Processing Center in Missouri City. The high traffic of holiday and post-holiday season likely didn't help matters.

The public has been very vocal expressing their displeasure on social media over the past few weeks. The complaints aren't just online, either. U.S. Rep. Al Green said over 30 people have contacted his office, including one woman hoping to locate her wedding dress.

"Nobody knows that there's a wedding dress in the container that it's in, I'm sure," said Green, who is helping her with the mission. "But that just speaks to how every piece of mail is important because you don't know what's in it."

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The Missouri City facility is located in Green's district, and Green and fellow U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia are hoping tour the facility soon. Green said Friday they are still working on figuring out a time with the postal service.

The issue greatly concerns him as mail delays can cause serious problems for people. Green is also worried about how long these problems will persist with this being an election year and millions of people expected to fill out mail-in ballots.

He understands that not everything is going to go smoothly but he said there are simply too many packages not being delivered within a reasonable time period.

"We want things to be delivered timely and appropriately," Green said.

The postal service has said anyone who has an issue can reach out to them. Green also said he wants to help as many people as he can get their packages and people are welcome reaching out to his office as well.

MISSOURI CITY, Texas – Frustrations continued for Americans as they awaited their packages that were expected to be delivered months ago.

Those packages were found to be stuck at a sorting facility in Missouri City. At this time, there is still no timeline for when USPS would fix the delays.

RELATED: Santa never came: USPS customers frustrated over packages stuck at Missouri City sorting facility

Customers tell KPRC 2′s Corley Peel they’ve been waiting for their packages since last year, while others believe they managed to work their way around the system.

For Silk Gregorie, he showed up at the post office looking for answers after his package with medication never arrived. He says he’s been waiting for his package for a week.

“I’m not feeling well right now and I need the package for healing,” he said.

Gregorie learned that his package was still stuck at the sorting facility in Missouri City.

USPS told KPRC 2 the delays are because the postal service is in the process of using new technology.

The facility is where customers across the country also have delayed packages.

Corley spoke with Rachel Stevens last week who never received her packages she ordered in November.

“I ordered so many Christmas gifts,” said Stevens.

Corley touched base with Rachel on Thursday. She said the gifts still haven’t arrived.

USPS has another sorting facility in North Houston. Corley spoke with John Dunn on who said his package is stuck there.

“My package was supposed to be here about January 4th or 5th. It’s been sitting at the North Facility since January 9th. So that’s not about nine or 10 days,” said Dunn.

One woman told KPRC 2 she did finally receive her package after contacting the seller who reported the package missing. The package arrived at her door the next day. Other customers who contacted their sellers told KPRC 2 that they still have not received their packages.

KPRC 2 reached out to USPS on Thursday with a list of questions, asking for a timeline for when customers could expect to see their packages. A spokesperson told Corley they are looking into the request, but as of Thursday evening, we have not heard back.

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Cassandra Dee (Casey) Mueller, age 43 of Missouri City, Texas passed away on February 7, 2024. Casey was born on October 3, 1980, in Seguin, Texas to Ron Mueller and Shelly Brietzke.

Casey is preceded in death by her grandparents, Gail and Bettie Brietzke and Robert Mueller, Jr.

Casey grew up in Geronimo, Texas, and was a 1999 graduate of Lifegate Christian Academy in Seguin. She double majored in Accounting and Marketing at Texas Lutheran University, in Seguin, graduating in 2003. In addition, Casey received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston in 2011.

Casey’s faith informed and guided her life. She was an active member of Christ United Methodist Church in Sugar Land which she joined in 2005 shortly after moving there after college. She was involved in numerous committees, study groups, and volunteer activities at Christ United.

She was especially thankful for the time she traveled to Israel with many of her Church family. She also completed the Emmaus walk where she would later volunteer and further enlarge her circle of friends. Casey’s Church Study Group would be a source of friendship, faith, and support for many years and she dearly cherished their presence in her life. Her involvement led her to a fuller understanding of grace and thankfulness for life’s everyday blessings and those in it.

Casey had a huge heart and love for animals, adopting several pups and cats she gave them the best days of their lives.

Casey loved running. She participated in races of all distances including trail runs, relays, numerous half-marathons, and full marathons. She enjoyed the annual Texas Independence Relay run which she participated in for many years and made many deep and lasting friendships.

Casey leaves behind her Father and Mother, Grandmother Sylvia Mueller, brother Kyle Schriewer, Aunt Sheryl Brietzke, Uncle and Aunt Rod and Michelle Mueller, Aunt and Uncle Linda and Gary Meneley, cousins Payton Mueller, Ashton Broadwell, Amber Meneley and Chase Meneley.

Special thanks to her Church group families at Christ United Methodist Church and Trinity Church in Sugar Land and the Doctors and staff at Texas Oncology Sugar Land.

A celebration of life will be held at Christ United Methodist Church, Sugar Land, Texas on Friday, February 16, 2024, at noon.

Memorial donations can be made to Friends of Missouri City Animal Shelter, 3007 Road Runner Walk, Missouri City, Texas 77459.

To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Cassandra (Casey) Dee Mueller, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.