Houston City Council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.

Agenda

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

A Public Hearing and The Mayor’s Report

The monthly financial report and the public hearing on a tax credit for an apartment complex were both brief and unremarkable. We will start with the Mayor’s Report. Mayor Turner was absent today, CM Martin filled in.

• Congratulations to the Astros for winning the American League West division.
• The rain has been a welcome relief, especially to the city’s drought stricken water system. CM Martin went over Houston Public Work’s (HPW) efforts to repair water main leaks. He encouraged people to call 311 to report leaks as they see them. You can also report via the city’s updated 311 app. The rain has not been enough to put a dent in the drought and drought water restrictions are still in place.
• NASA turns 65 today.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 12 approved $341K for each Houston firefighter to receive their annual state-mandated certification(s). “Certifications include firefighting, inspection, rescue, aircraft firefighting, hazmat, arson, fire officer and fire instructors. Not every firefighter holds each certification. Each individual is state certified in accordance with their job responsibilities.”
• Item 14 approved $58K for a warranty and software for the electronic surveillance equipment used by HPD.
• Item 16 approved spending $48K on fire hydrants.
• Items 17 – 27 approved emergency purchase orders for contractors to work on water main leaks, all totaling $47M.
• Item 31 approved a $200K settlement to a person involved in an automobile accident with a City of Houston employee back in 2016.
• Item 32 approved using $15.3M from the Police Consolidated Construction Fund to begin repair on a wall on the roof of HPD headquarters downtown.
• Item 37 approved the budget for the Greenspoint TIRZ. CM Jackson said she is proud of this TIRZ and that “they’re doing a great job in making sure that they’re pushing community projects.”
• Item 39 approved using $2M from the Equipment Acquisition Consolidated Fund (from the Capital Improvement Plan aka CIP) for HPD to buy two new helicopters.
  • From the support doc: HPD had two “hard landings in recent years,” causing “significant damage in each aircraft.” The loss of these two helicopters has “increased the stress and maintenance on the remaining patrol helicopters.”
• Item 40 approved an agreement with Harris County for improvements to the Selena Quintanilla Perez Park in Denver Harbor.
• Item 47 approved a date for a public hearing on November 1st at 9am. The hearing will be on the proposal to use “1,940 square feet of the Bayou Greenways – Hall Access land for [a tunnel] and 14,110 square feet for temporary construction staging area within the park.”

Council Member Pop-Off

Council Member’s normally use the pop-off section to plug upcoming events, show appreciation, etc.

Today, every CM recounted their National Night Out adventures. National Night Out is an annual “community building campaign” that police departments use to get friendly with us regular people.

• CM Gallegos plugged a Walk For Mental Health Awareness on Saturday at Stude Park. I couldn’t find anything online about that, but I did find a Mental Health Awareness Walk on Tuesday 10/10 starting at City Hall.
• In addition to her NNO remarks, CM Thomas added that public safety is also about things like lighting, safe access to streets, and ADA accessible ramps. There is a District F initiative to trim overgrown trees from street lights and she asked people to continue letting her office know about areas that could use that service.
• CM Alcorn remarked on a recent Texas Municipal League meeting, celebrating City Attorney Arturo Michel’s success fighting HB2127, an infamous “super preemption bill” that asserts state control over municipalities. She then complained about short term rental laws being shot down, with a “you win some you lose some” sentiment.
• Regarding National Night Out, CM Peck said, “The kids really love seeing the police cars and sitting in it and even turning the sirens on.” There is a District A Town Hall on October 28th at 11am, which sounds like it will also have a heavy police presence.
• CM Kamin remarked on National Domestiic Violence Awareness Month and shared Aid for Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) as a resource. Their phone number is 713-224-9911 and their website is avda.org.
• CM Evans-Shabazz plugged a a financial literacy event for small businesses on 10/11 from 6pm-8pm at the Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center.

Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?

My name is Emily Hynds and I am a writer, 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.houstontx.gov/specialevents/event-calendar.pdf
https://www.thehoustonwalk.org/home/
https://natw.org/
https://avda.org/

You can find your City Council Member and their contact info at: http://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html

Thank you to ACLU TX for supporting these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.