Houston city council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.

Agenda

1. Monthly Financial Report
2. A Public Hearing
3. Mayor’s Report
4. Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc)
5. Council Member Pop-Off

Monthly Financial Report

The final phase of the Open Finance project is now live. Visit openfinance.houstontx.gov to check it out. CM Kubosh hopes there will be a tutorial because if it isn’t user friendly, there’s no point.

CM Kubosh also asked Controller Brown some questions about this whole Pappas Restaurants / Airport Concession drama (more details later in the notes) and Brown’s main recommendation was that the city develop a “procurement manual” which would serve as a legal guide for further procurement processes.

A Public Hearing on the drainage impact fee

Houston Public Works director Carol Haddock explained the drainage impact fee:

• A one-time fee for new development, paid for by the developer.
• Required by the city charter and the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal (DDSR) Fund.
• The city began collecting it in 2014.
• The proposal is to increase the fee $25 per 1K square feet of impervious cover.
• What is impervious cover, you ask?? I got you. It is any type of human-made surface that doesn’t absorb rainfall, like a parking lot.

CM Kubosh asked a question about something he called “sand pits” and Director Haddock said that’s not relevant here, we can talk later about that if you want.

CM Alcorn said the drainage impact fee has raised $5M for the city (unclear on the time frame).

There were no public speakers.

The Mayor’s Report

• CERA week is going on right now. Mayor Turner said the downtown hotels are at their “highest occupancy in quite some time.”
• The Houston Rodeo is ongoing.
• He briefly mentioned the agreement reached between the federal government and TxDOT that will allow the I-45 rebuild to continue. It was put on pause two years ago.
• Remarking on the recently opened housing navigation center, Turner said that 16 people from the Chartres encampment and 5 people from Fifth Ward have been moved into permanent supportive housing.
• There is a ribbon cutting at Forum Park in District J on Saturday at 10am.
• Today is International Women’s Day.
• CM Kamin remarked on CERA week and in response to a comment CM Martin made, she said that Houston is becoming “the energy transition capital of the world, and keeping our energy companies here.”
• Finally Mayor Turner presented a certificate of appreciation to CM Alcorn for fifteen years of public service to the city.

Item 34 – Pappas Loses A Historic Hobby Airport Contract
aka The Airport Concession Drama We Didn’t Know We Needed

• Some brief and limited backstory: Pappas Restaurants has had a contract to operate at Hobby Airport for the past twenty years. The contract is ending, which means the bid process began again, only this time, Pappas came in second during the final bidding process. Areas USA, part of a Spanish company, won the final bid by 4/10ths of a percentage point. The major difference between the two proposals is the percentage of revenue the companies will send back to the city: Pappas offered ~15% and Areas offered ~22% — a pretty big difference! It amounts to about $50M spread out over the length of the contract.
• Mayor Turner made a long statement before opening the floor for discussion.
  • He pointed out this is the fourth airport concession item the council has voted on over the last several months, all using the same procurement process, and the previous ones were approved unanimously with no issues.
  • Turner thanked the Chief Procurement Officer Jed Greenfield, which probably means he has been having a hard time lately so I’m sorry to hear that.
  • The Mayor emphasized that he is not personally in charge of the procurement process. The procurement office scores all bids under requests for procurement (RFPs) and brings their recommendation to the Mayor. Turner said it would be “contrary to the law” to choose a company that did not score first in the procurement process. He said it is “wrong and illegal” to bring the second-place choice to the table.
  • “This is a competitive process, not a popularity contest.”
• The Pappas revenue offer of 15% is actually less than what the city gets from them now. He invoked solidarity with airport employees, implying a vote for Pappas would bring less revenue to the airport system and weaken its financial situation.
• He said that to vote down this item and force the process to begin again would destroy the procurement process and set a dangerous precedent. The process is actually doing what it is meant to do, protect against favoritism and promote healthy competition.
• Turner said that city contracts like this played a major role in helping Pappas achieve the success they enjoy today. He suggested that it’s time for another company to have a leg up.
• He concluded by saying that it is “inherently and fundamentally unfair” to reward a company that did not win the bidding process.
• CM Gallegos, who represents the Hobby Airport area, made an impassioned plea to not vote for this item because it would endanger the quality of the food and beverages at Hobby Airport, which has contributed to its five star status. Basically he doesn’t want to take a risk on a new vendor when Pappas has a proven track record.
• CM Martin has suggestions about how the RFP process can be improved, but he ultimately defended the process and says the percentage of revenue difference the city will see is just too great to ignore.
• CM Knox said “those who create the process are those the most capable of massaging the process.” He thinks the administration is using “the process” as a means to get “new blood” into the airport system. Mayor Turner told CM Knox that his comments did not even deserve a response. Burn!!!
• CM Kamin said that if it was a popularity contest, Pappas would have her vote. She asked City Attorney Arturo Michel to elaborate on the RFP process. Michel said “the law is clear, when there is a competitive process, it must be followed.” He also said that if this item was voted down and a new RFP began, the process would be inherently compromised. CM Kamin agreed that we need to defend the process, but said that some review and changes are advised.
• CM Pollard criticized what he called a “culture of when one person doesn’t win, there has to be something wrong with the process.” He pointed to the percentages of revenue the city can expect from Pappas vs. Areas, 15% vs. 22%, and said “the numbers are the proof in the pudding.”
• CM Kubosh said that all RFP evaluators are city employees who ultimately answer to the mayor, implying they could be pressured or compromised.
• The CMs who voted FOR the item, aka to award the contract to Areas: Turner, Kamin, Jackson, Thomas, Evans-Shabazz, Martin, Cisneros, Pollard, Castex-Tatum, Robinson, Plummer. CMs who voted AGAINST the item: Peck, Huffman, Gallegos, Knox, Kubosh, Alcorn. It’s always exciting to get to a roll call vote, because it means there was a healthy debate and discussion.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 6 approved seven people to the new Medical Center Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ). CM Martin remarked that the city is transitioning away from being the Oil and Gas Capital of the world to being the Medical Capital of the world, which is a pretty remarkable thing to say. CM Gallegos asked if anyone from Harris Health or anyone actually residing in or near The Medical Center is represented on this TIRZ board, and the answer was no.
• Item 14 approved a 5-year, $2.5M contract with UT Health Science Center for a study that will “monitor trends in the HIV epidemic … to determine populations and areas in which to focus prevention activities.” The study will focus on 1) men who have sex with men, 2) injection drug users, and 3) high risk heterosexuals.
• Item 21 approved $1M for roof repair and replacement at a few HFD and HPD locations.

Council Member Pop-Off

• Mayor Turner reminded us that next week is a council break week.
• CM Jackson plugged a Be Successful job fair at Kashmere Gardens Multi-Service Center on Saturday at 10am. She shared that Constable Rosen is funding cameras in District B at illegal dump sites, which she is excited about.
• CM Kamin plugged the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee meeting on Thursday 3/9, at 2pm.
• CM Pollard plugged the Forum Park ribbon cutting on Saturday at 10am and a March on Crime in the Gulfton area on Saturday starting at 10am.
• CM Evans-Shabazz plugged a Third Ward on Tap event at the Columbia Tap Trail near Truxillo on 3/11 and a groundbreaking at Mayberry Affordable Homes on 3/13.
• CM Cisneros plugged the Childhood and Youth committee meeting today (Wednesday) at 2pm. They will go over the potential state takeover of HISD.
• CM Robinson cheered International Women’s Day.

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.

While compiling these notes I used the following sources:

https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/education/2023/03/01/445026/rumors-swirl-about-tea-takeover-of-houston-isd-but-actual-timeline-and-decision-remain-unclear/
https://thetexan.news/legislative-primacy-at-center-of-proposals-filed-by-texas-house-chairman/
https://www.facebook.com/FTMNP/
https://houstontx.gov/solidwaste/kingwood.html

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.