At Harris County Toll veteran Mike Strech is out

Veteran Harris County Toll (HCTRA) director Mike Strech is out. He submitted his resignation "effective immediately" on Friday and left the building not to return. Relations had been strained with executive-director, Arthur Storey, we're told.

Storey's position is two-hatted. He is executive director of the Toll Road Authority but also head of the Harris County Public Infrastructure Department, which as well as the Toll Authority has under it a flood control district, county construction programs, architecture and engineering, facilities and property management, and planning & operations. So Storey was only part-time tolling.

Strech was the fulltime, day to day boss of the Toll Road Authority. For Storey the tollroads are one of seven divsions he supervises.

66 years old, Strech has been with Harris County Toll Road Authority since the early 1990s if not longer (check year). For many years he was director of toll operations. Along with Wes Freise he saw the development of the present thriving tollroad network in the Houston area and pioneered the first retrofit of open road tolling - multiple lane highway speed electronic toll operations - into the middle of old stop-to-pay mainline barrier plazas.

HCTRA was the first established toll road network to do this kind of retrofit at all mainline plazas (8).

A man with a quiet, even diffident manner, he was nevertheless a very effective innovator, willing to try things no one else had done.

Letter to commissioners

Executive director Arthur Storey in a 2 page letter to county commissioners (called Court Members, there) dated May 31 tells them Strech has "submitted notice of his retirement" saying also that "his departure is effective immediately."

The letter says his departure "was not altogether unanticipated." Storey says he had "quietly brought back up or replacement leadership into position" in anticipation of Strech going.

Gary Stobb, planning and operations director was persuaded to delay his planned retirement to act as interim director in place of Strech, Storey writes.

On Peter Key deputy director Storey writes: "Planning for HCTRA's future, I assigned Peter as deputy director about 18 months ago. I clearly intend for him to be the agency's future leader."

Storey praises Key for his experience, education, personal integrity, ability to integrate ideas and priorities, network, and communicate. Storey adds in parentheses: "His ability to listen and to follow instructions doesn't hurt either."

Under the heading "operational posture" he says HCTRA leadership "will be, as always a team effort." He concludes assuring the commissioners that HCTRA "is in stable condition, and in good hands."

The letter says nothing about Strech's career at HCTRA.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-06-04

LATER: The Houston Chronicle reports Strech was forced out over an argument about the tollroad's annual summer picnic and having vendors as sponsors. They were recognized as bronze, silver, gold and platinum level sponsors for gifts ranging between $500 and $5,000 toward the summer picnic for tollroad staff and families at a local themepark called Splashtown - with waterslides.

Last year the appeal to vendors raised $60k total and $45k was spent on a party at Splashtown. Strech signed a letter sent out to vendors asking for donations and offering the bronze through platinum recognition.

After last year's event Storey said he told Strech not to do solicitations of vendors again. Strech said it was a tradition and harmless. As he was preparing to do a solicitation again this year Storey stepped in and stopped it proceeding and called in the Harris County District Attorney's office to investigate.

A district attorney is quoted: It would be a violation if the vendors were being solicited to do this in order to get contracts for the toll road. Nobody that we talked to felt armed-twisted to make any ontributions. We looked into a bunch of records and found...that there was nothing criminal that could be proven."

Another investigator is quoted as saying however that establishment of a separate bank account for the July event called a Toll Road Authority Celebration Committee account at a branch of the Bank of America was "clearly improper" because it was off the official books and was not audited by county auditors.

Storey said the annual event sponsored by vendors was wrong and "typical of the authority's culture." He also used the terms questionable and borderline illegal, according to the Houston Chronicle.

He said of Strech and his executive assistant Diana Wilcox who also quit: "It's not people knowingly acting wrong. It's people who don't know any better, and we're going to fix that."

COMMENT: Another little victory for righteous killjoys.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-06-04