Houston city council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.
Agenda
- Monthly Financial Report
- Public Comment
- Mayor’s Report
- Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc)
- Council Member Pop-Off
Monthly Financial Report
As usual, much of the monthly financial report continues to remain over my head. Here are two notables:
- This monthly report is the first that reflects the new Container Lease Fund, which is for garbage cans. IDK that much about it, except that it’s been mentioned quite a bit.
- The 2022 Annual Financial Report is ready and available at https://www.houstontx.gov/controller/acfr.
- Mayor Turner noted that Houston’s net worth increased from ~$3B to ~$5B. Controller Brown noted that yes, this is an exciting development, and praised this administration’s work on pension reform. He did repeat his usual warning that the city is operating under a “structurally unbalanced budget” by using temporarily available federal funding to pay for annual recurring costs.
Public Comment
Usually the public comment portion of the meeting is on Tuesdays, but because this was the first meeting back after a holiday, the two days were consolidated. I recorded 8 public speakers.
- The first speaker represented The Clean Energy Fund and advocated for the city to partner with them to help people access renewable and energy efficiency resources. Everyone was amenable!
- Several people advocated for Houston’s unhoused community. As current or formerly unhoused people themselves, they were able to speak directly to the needs of homeless people and the ways in which they are not being served by the city. The theme that stood out to me was that many homeless people don’t have the ability to access the resources the city offers, for so many reasons, and the city isn’t doing a great job of making those resources accessible, or listening to what actual homeless people say they need/want.
Mayor’s Report
Mayor Turner outlined his priorities for 2023, his last year in office. His guiding principle is “execution and implementation.” He said, “It’s about getting things done.”
- Turner wants to make major events bigger and grander. January events coming up: Chevron Marathon, MLK parade, Alief Multi-Service Center ribbon cutting, Sunnyside Multi-Service Center ribbon cutting.
- “Public safety will be huge.” Turner said that Chief Finner will be at Council next week to give a 2022 analysis.
- He mentioned solid waste, combating illegal dumping, and said more cameras will be going up in 2023 at dump sites.
- Turner wants to break ground on 3,000 single family homes and 7,000 apartment units. He says this will saturate the market and bring housing prices down.
- Homelessness will remain a priority, but Turner mentioned that homeless numbers in Houston have been going down and said “we are the model across the country.” There is a new navigation center opening this quarter and the city plans to advocate during the upcoming legislative session for $$ for mental health services.
- Turner briefly mentioned parks, street reconstruction, the climate action plan, detention basins, and the airports.
- In conclusion, he said “Let’s make 2023 a happy year.”
Agenda Items, Selected Works
- Item 6 approved final payment for a completed $1.5M contract. Work included reconstruction of sidewalks, street surfaces, curbs, etc. CM Castex-Tatum complained that the work was already crumbling and falling apart and questioned the warranty policy the city uses (it seems there is only a 1 year warranty on this work.)
- Item 7 approved a similar $1.7M contract, and CM Castex-Tatum made the same complaints. She said it is especially disappointing because she, and other CMs, use their district funds for this work, and it is already coming apart. She attempted to tag the item, but Mayor Turner asked her to refer it back to the administration. He complained that this was the first time he was hearing of this problem, and asked for CMs to come to him with problems before they get on the agenda, which implies they have his stamp of approval.
- Item 10 approved $315K to buy microchips and related supplies for BARC. CM Alcorn said “mandatory microchipping is here” in reference to a pet ordinance that I’m not 100% familiar. Alcorn said that when a similar measure was adopted in San Antonio, the return of lost dogs to their owners increased by 20%. She said this is a direct response to the stray animal issue and will help reduce animals on the street.
- Item 11 approved $150K for a marketing plan to educate people on what to do, and what not to do, when experiencing car trouble on the freeway. CM Peck voted for this item, but expressed concern that it might be wasted money. She asked for an update on outcomes and how the money is being spent.
- Items 20 and 21 approved the acceptance of funding from the State of Texas Homeless Housing Services Program. These funds “must be used by the City on activities eliminating and/or preventing homelessness.”
- Item 42 set a public hearing date on Wednesday January 11th at 9am “to update portions of the City’s Development Code, Chapter 42, to create more opportunities for walkability, affordability and equity.”
Items 8 + 9 aka MWBE ~drama~
do not despair I will explain what MWBE is, read on!
- Several CMs took issue with Items 8 and 9. Both items were to approve final payment for completed contracts, and neither contract fulfilled their MWBE goals. MWBE stands for minority and women owned business enterprises. The city sets MWBE goals for most city contracts to ensure the city is hiring and supporting minority and women owned businesses.
- For item 8 ($4.9M) Mayor Turner and CM Castex-Tatum defended the prime contractor. They argued there was no other contractor available who could perform a “static pipe burst,” therefore failing to meet the MWBE goal was justified in this case. CMs Pollard and Plummer disagreed and argued that prime contractors need to have contingencies in place for all scenarios. They both voted no, but the item still passed.
- Item 9 would have approved a $1.5M final contract for water main rehab, but after much discussion, CMs Kubosh and Thomas tagged it. The Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) gave this contractor, Integrated Corrosion Companies, an unsatisfactory rating, which I don’t remember ever happening before. Thrilling! OBO said they failed to meet the MWBE goal, didn’t use the subcontractors they said they would, and didn’t file the proper “deviation requests” or make good faith efforts to fulfill the MWBE goal.
- There was much discussion on whether the city could refuse to pay this contract and have legal grounds to stand on when we get sued (which we would). CMs Kubosh and Thomas tagged it, so it’s on hold for another week. Perhaps there will be some ~back door~ negotiations that will resolve it, we shall see!
Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?
My name is Emily Hynds and I am a small business owner, producer of the monthly storytelling series Grown-up Storytime, and lifelong Houstonian. I am not a journalist or government official. I am a local government enthusiast who believes meaningful change starts at home. These notes are presented from my point of view and with my framing, and are not comprehensive. Your notes will certainly be different, and I would love to read them if you attend.
I watched this City Council meeting via HTV: https://www.houstontx.gov/htv/
While compiling these notes I used the following sources:
https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/
https://www.houstontx.gov/controller/acfr.html
cleanfundtx.org
You can find your City Council Member and their contact info at: http://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.
