We can now flush with confidence, for at least 10 years, I hope. Mark and Carlos from PEECO came out Thursday to install our new lift station pump.
Here they are lowering the pump into the tank. When all costs are in, I believe we will be under budget, but not my much.
Now we have to deal with the sewer lines. On Tuesday, we had to call out a plumber for a blockage from the 600 building and within minutes after the plumber left, we had to call them back for a blockage between the 100 and 200 buildings. They tell me the palm trees are getting so mature that their roots are invading the sewers. The primary cause of sewer problems continues to be grease being poured into the kitchen drains.
Thursday evening another problem popped up. One of the electrical meter connections in the 700 building bit the dust. This left us with only five meters to service six condos. A new panel will have to be ordered for a cost of about $2,000. It will take several days to locate a panel. In the meantime, Vic(712) bailed us out by allowing the power to be shut down in his condo until the panel is replaced. This allowed for the five other condos to receive power.

What red tide? Don Gormley, Mike, and George went into St. Charles Bay today and used Bass Assassins to bring in this nice catch. They had more fish, but there were no more hooks to hang them on. Most fish were in less than two feet of water.
Maghsoud(407) has fished from the Goose Island pier the last two afternoons and found trout, sheepshead, and flounder biting on dead shrimp.
Welcome to the new owners of 501 Vicki and Tom Goding as well as the new owners of 502, Mike and Sharon Loden and their children Sheryl(7) and Abby(11).
I saw this ad in the current Rockport Pilot.
KONTIKI, HARBOR
side, 1 bdrm. 1st floor, fully furnished with full size appliances & a/c less than 3 years old. Wifi, cable TV, water included in monthly dues of less than $250 mo. Boat slip 15’ away. Asking $109K. Call 218-232-0256.

I also heard that unit 321 in Phase II is being offered for $75,000, if it can be purchased before being listed with a realtor.

Larry Rabe makes the electrical connection on the tall light near 308. Larry's electrical skills have saved us some serious electrical contractor bills. He used conduit salvaged from our old pier, heavy gauge wire abandoned from the newer pier, and materials we had on hand.
This newly lighted corner should become a favorite place to fish.

Last Saturday, Pete(710) and I took my boat out the channel. The tide was moderately low, but I did not drag bottom on the way out. On the way in, Pete used the push pole to probe the water depth. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but the water seemed to be deeper than I expected. It could be possible that the repair that Scott, Ray, and Paul did on the breakwater has done some good. It could be that the hump in the area they worked on could be spreading itself out and no new sand is coming in. I wouldn't want to bet on this, but I can hope.

One of the condo management companies active here at Kontiki has put up a new website. The URL is www.kontikibeachrockport.com. I would have posted this as a link, but I haven't learned to do that. Anyone wanting to check it out will have to cut and paste or retype it.

There seems to be renewed interest in condo sales. I saw this ad in the Pilot.
WANT TO BUY:
KONTIKI CONDO

Call 979-505-0138. Not an agent. Will pay Cash.
Dec 22, 2011

The effects of the red tide are as bad as I've ever seen here. At least all the dead ones so far have been mullet. Larry Rabe is sure glad it's not our turn this month to clean the boat ramp.
About every pelican in the county is at Kontiki. They are wing to wing on the breakwater. They rest there between the feeding forays between the breakwater and pier as they predate on the dying mullet. Here in the marina in this picture the pelicans were lined up like a football team for a kickoff. They were in a line and spaced out to stay in their lanes and pick up the dying mullet as they passed by on the incoming tide. Of course, the seagulls swim around to find the dead mullet and first eat out the eyes before picking at the rest of the carcass. Trout fishing has dropped off considerably. Right now the water is dead still. I went on the pier and caught four trout, but only one was big enough to measure and it was just a bit short.
Time Warner sent a contractor by on Friday to take measurements to prepare to replace all the TV cabling on the property. We are in dire need of that.

Christmas break always brings in a younger crowd than we have seen since the summer. I counted eight bikes in all. They had a great time.

Pods of mullet like this have been seen in our marina recently. The light glare is where the mullet are breaking the surface as if gasping for air. They are tightly packed, large in size, and number about fifty. They seem to be staying under or very near the crossbridge. I think I saw why yesterday. A pod moved out about 10 feet from the pier and a pelican dove into them and picked up a pouchful. The pelican didn't seem to know just what to do with a whole mouthful. It just sat there in the water thinking about what to do to position them to go down his throat. After a while he had to let a few go to allow the rest to be swallowed. I had never seen a pelican pick up more than one fish at a time.
There have been programming problems with the cable TV here. A feud between KRIS and Time Warner has caused several stations to be blocked, including NBC. The transition from Cobridge to Time Warner has been slow too. I copied this from the Time Warner website.
Attention former Cobridge Communications customers in Rockport, Portland, Sinton, Holiday Beach, Lamar and Port Aransas: at Time Warner Cable, we work hard to prevent our customers from experiencing any programming disruptions like this, but in the rare event that a local TV station chooses to black out its programming for our customers, we do whatever we can to provide you alternate ways of seeing their shows. Unfortunately, because we just took over running your cable system last week, we haven’t yet completed the technical integration necessary to bring you some of those alternate viewing options. So you will not have access to the NBC Primetime On Demand programming. However, remember that you can still get access to programming for free over the air, or online at free sites like nbc.com, cwtv.com, hulu.com, plus amazon.com, netflix.com, and huluplus.com for a fee.

I thought we were there yesterday when PEECO showed up to install our new lift station pump, but alas about twist of events on this time consuming journey. They had assured us this model number was the one we needed. It is the right pump, but the mounting bracket would not fit our system. We are having the mounting bracket from the old pump sent back here from Houston. It should be here tomorrow and then we should have it up and running.

Frequent Kontiki guest Michael Aldrich couldn't make it here, but did well with this stringer of catfish from Calaveras Lake in Bexar County.

Jim and Jeannine Vater(401) had a recent fishing trip where they did really well. That Sheepshead Jeannine is holding is one of the biggest I ever saw. Sheepshead are tasty, but difficult to fillet.

Today will have to go down as the best fishing day of the year for me. Large trout have found their way into the marina in good numbers. I caught 5 total and none had to be measured.
All the trout hit the usual imitation DOA. All five were females. One looked to be full of eggs, but when I opened it up, she had ingested a mullet that was larger than a hot dog and just slightly smaller than the bun. Can you tell which of these two I'm talking about?
Dan Post came by this morning to insulate more condos. Oddly enough 107 already had insulation on the knee wall. I had thought all the bayside condos would have been the same. When he got to 209, he found there was no attic access. This was the case in 306 and Janet and Doug had to have one cut in when they did their insulation a few weeks ago.
Tel came by last Thursday to do the lawncare, but his riding mower was not working. He had the guys push two mowers to cut the whole campus. It took them all day, but it looks great.
Our new lift station pump is due to arrive tomorrow. It weighs over 300 pounds. I'm not sure where we will store it until I can get PEECO here to install it. It will be nice to be running on two pumps again.

When we dismantled the old pier, we saved this big light and two big, but slightly smaller light fixtures. This is a high pressure sodium lamp that has been around for about eight years. We took it down when a tropical storm was coming ashore just a year after we put it up. It was then reinstalled until this summer. The large 30 foot 8 by 8 post was the one that Rob installed at the end of the old pier. It weighs just under 500 pounds. We had planned to put it back up at the intersection of the bulkhead and the old pier to allow fishing opportunities closer to the condos in that part of the complex. We may mount the two big metal halide fixtures at a later date.
We contracted with Bill Burk to bring in his big truck. Here he backs in down between the cabana and the condos.
He parked it in position, put out the outriggers, swung the boom around to pick up the light and pole.
He used the auger to drill an eight foot deep hole, but he hit the water table and the last 18 inches started to cave in.
To clean the auger he used a shovel and put the auger in reverse to allow him to scrape the removed sand free
Bill had to climb out on the boom to position and then to remove the lifting chain and rope.
The claws were used to straighten the pole.
A level was used to be sure the pole was vertical.
The final height is about 23 feet. This should light up this corner pretty well and also provide a beacon for boats returning to our marina after dark.
The only problem now is to get it lighted. We plan to use the electrical access point that the old pier used. We might be able to retrieve enough 8 gauge wire from the old pier. We need about 140 feet and the abandoned wire on the pier is 500 feet, but may not be in usable pieces depending on how it was first installed. You might notice I had to walk out on the concrete wall to take these, bu that is what a photojournalist does.

This 16.5 inch trout was enjoying the sunset as I was when the dimming light let her mistake my fake shrimp for the real thing. I had seen two guests catch some trout in the marina this afternoon. When things finally slowed down for the day here, I walked over and went on the first finger pier I came to between the 500 and 600 buildings. The first cast was all it took. I tried about 20 more casts before it got dark, but never got another hit.
Arctic Express came by this morning to insulate four more attics. They found that in the 600 building the knee walls were already insulated so they charged $80 less. I would guess all of the 600 building is that way. I plan to watch my electrical usage on "smartmetertexas" to see if I can see any difference from last night to this evening since the outside temperatures will be about the same.
We have had about 27 individuals respond to our advertisement in the Pilot for a property manager. We have some very good applicants to choose from.
Things are starting to move with the lift station pump. A new one has been located that we can get in a few days, but the cost is pretty steep and someone would have to be found to install it. John Rice(phase II owner) put me in touch with a friend today who seems very knowledgeable and experienced with pumps and their operation. He might be able to get us a complete new system for one third of the best quote that we had. We will have all the facts in soon and make a decision.

While fishing on the pier last evening many dead mullet could be seen floating by. By this morning many fish had collected near our breakwater. I have no idea where the birthday balloon came from, but I'm sure the the red tide did not get it too. I did find breathing difficult on the pier though and did not stay out very long.
The dead mullet piled up on the HEB beach and by afternoon hundreds could be seen.


I have been hesitant to write much about the owners meeting so as not to preempt the official owners’meeting minutes, but due to several calls regarding the status of the lift station I will give a lengthy story as to where we started, where we are at and how we got here. Our board, and me in particular, have expended an inordinate amount of time in trying to resolve this issue and at least a few owners have hinted that we have not given proper attention to this. Even the following description is not in the fullest detail. If anyone reading this blog can locate a Flyte Grinder 9.4 HP Model MF3127.170 and have it delivered in less than two months, please let us know. Even an older 5 HP with the same model number would work.
The lift station was installed in 1993. Urban Engineering of Corpus designed it and PEECO installed it. Historically the control panel has been problematic. For as long as we can remember we have had electrical issues. We have had start capacitors that failed on a very regular basis (almost monthly). We have had a number of companies look at it and work on it over the years, but no one had been able to solve the problem. Mechanically we have had very few problems. The pumps have run well. Problems have nearly always been electrical issues in the control panel. We did have a pump problem in January of 2010 that JR took care of, but I can recall no others.
In January of 2011 the red light came on, on the lift station control panel. This indicated that the system had malfunctioned in either an electrical or mechanical manner. First I called the people who maintain the lift pumps for the City of Rockport. They came out at no cost, but could not identify the problem. I called out PEECO (pump/lift station company) from Corpus. They determined that one of the pumps was bad. They gave us a quote for a new pump ($6,625.50 – 8 to 10 week lead-time) and repair ($6,069.50) with same lead-time as the parts were not available locally. Our pump system is an extremely rare 230V single phase. The replacement pump can only be obtained from Sweden and this was confirmed by checking other sources.
The board approved the purchase of a new pump from PEECO. PEECO was notified immediately, they accepted and we then waited for our pump to arrive in 8 to 10 weeks. After a month of waiting, I called them to check on the status and they informed they me they had not ordered it because they were waiting on our payment. They had never mentioned that. This was the beginning of the single most frustrating, yet extremely important project, that the board and I have dealt with all year. I called ITT of Corpus who is a Flyte dealer and talked to Doug Walthall. He wanted to replace our whole system for about $30k. One problem is that we don’t have three-phase power except half way down our entrance road. I called AEP and Eric came out, but would not give me a cost to extend three phase to our lift station. Even then we would need a whole new panel. Later in February I contacted Main Tech International, LLC who assured me they could supply a Hydro-Matic pump in only 4 to 6 weeks for $4,300. This would save us $2,300 and cut the lead-time in half verses PEECO. The pump arrived at the end of March and was installed the first week of April. It failed to function properly due to unknown issues. After several weeks’ investigation and four different electricians we finally found one who could solve the issue. The issue was determined to be the panel. It was reworked and everything ran correctly for 6 to 8 weeks.
At the end of May the red light came on and it was determined the new pump failed for another unknown reason. Under warranty, Main Tech pulled the pump and took it to their supplier, Odessa Pumps. They sent it back to the manufacturer in Ohio. We waited six weeks for a new pump to return. When the pump arrived at Odessa Pumps from the manufacturer in Ohio, it failed the required bench test. They sent it back to Ohio and we had to wait another six weeks. It is now late August and the third pump arrived. It was installed and it performed well for one and a half days. By now we are all frustrated beyond belief. We have tried desperately to avoid large expenditures/assessments ($20K+) by repairing what we have, but things are not working out.
Main Tech pulled the pump again. They returned it to Odessa Pumps and now the people in Ohio said they would not warranty the pump since they did not supply the control panel. It is now September and Main Tech is trying to locate a different brand pump that will meet our unique specifications. In mid September, as we were emotionally reaching the boiling point, we decided to switch directions. Main Tech had been extremely helpful through all of our troubles and they were struggling to locate another option. The board decided since these pumps were so rare, we would try another avenue to see which would lead to a solution faster. Scott took, what PEECO said was our original pump, from PEECO to Houston to get a price to have it rebuilt or replaced. Tracy with PHI in Houston started working on the pump and found what they had given us was not our pump after all. PEECO had given us the wrong pump. They gave us a different customer’s pump. Just another crazy turn in this crazy story. So PEECO said they would ship our original pump from their shop in Corpus to PHI in Houston and they would pay to have PHI ship the wrong pump back to them. I called ten days later and they had not shipped it, but now promised to deliver it in one of their trucks. Tracy received it on November 16th, but said it was in pieces. He said in all his years this was only the third pump of this type that he had come across. He is now working on a price for a replacement or for a rebuild. The day that Tracy received our pump Jane’s(711) brother called from Corpus to say that he has a pump repair facility and there was not a pump he could not fix. If he needed parts, he could fabricate them, another cruel twist of fate in the timing.
Current status: Over the past year we have spent approximately $1,400 on parts and labor for the various calls on connections and disconnections of the pumps and reworking the panel. Included in this are several spare panel components. We have not spent any money on pumps. Main Tech has not yet asked us to pay since we do not have a working pump from them. They are stuck between us, the end user, and Odessa Pumps the supplier. They have already paid Odessa for the pump, but do not feel right billing us, as they have been unable to help us solve our problem. They are still pursuing a replacement pump. The Sunday after the owners’ meeting Olaf (707) came over and wrote down the specs for our pump and is trying to find one that might have been pulled from the naval station in Ingleside.

Future: If we do not get this resolved by the end of December, we will most likely go to the owners with an assessment for an entire new system. This will be somewhere in the range of $30K, but will bring us up to a more modern system with more readily available parts or replacements.

Dan Post of Artic Express Insulation showed up on time yesterday to insulate the attic space of 302. He was finished in about an hour. Ed had received bids from several companies and this company was the best of the lot. For $325 it looks as if he did a good job. With the new ridgevents in place this will likely be a good investment for all three bedroom owners and maybe the two bedrooms too. If any owners wish to have this done, the number to contact is on the side of his truck and his cell is 361-425-1861.
The vertical wall opposide the bedroom was insulated with the roll insulation. These are called knee walls.
Blown insulation was placed above the ceiling.