Houston City Council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.

Agenda

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

The Mayor’s Report

• In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Mayor Turner gave out two awards: the Youth Activist award to Marcos Delgadillo Lope and the Community Activist Award to Rachel Cevallos de Gonzales.
• Turner said, “Of course our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the state of Israel and the people of Israel” and “to all of the men, women, and children caught in this conflict.” On Monday night, City Hall was lit up in blue and white, the colors of Israel’s flag.
• On Wednesday morning the Johnson Space Center did a ~big reveal~ on NASA TV of a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020. The sample arrived on Earth on September 24, dropped from a spacecraft.
• HPD Chief Finner will be at Council next week to deliver a public safety report. Mayor Turner said that there have been 88 fewer homicides this year than in 2021, and 67 fewer than 2022. Turner pointed out that if the trend was going in the opposite direction, it would be big news.
• Mayor Turner shared remembrances and condolences on the passing of CM Pollard’s mother, Dr. Diane Jemison Pollard.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 1 approved the renewal of Houston’s annual membership in the Texas Municipal League (TML), which costs $100K. CM Thomas praised the TML and remarked on Houston as a leader in the State, often representing the interests of smaller cities. CM Castex-Tatum agreed with Thomas, using the TML conference as an example of its utility. It costs $100K to be a member of the TML, but when Houston hosted the conference, it resulted in a $4M economic boon to the City. This item passed; CMs Knox and Huffman voted no.
• Item 5 approved $120K to purchase custom millwork and cases for a new map display at HPL’s Julia Ideson Building downtown.
• Items 6 and 7 paved the way for the construction of the Bissonnet Apartments, an affordable housing complex in District F. These apartments are applying for a housing tax credit (HTC) and since they will be located near another complex also using HTC’s, Council approval was required.
• Item 9 suspended a section of the City’s Code of Ordinances to allow mobile stroke units (MSUs) from the Houston Mobile Stroke Consortium to give pre-hospital diagnosis and treatment to stroke patients. MSUs are specially equipped emergency vehicles with technicians trained to deal with stroke patients, who often need immediate care that cannot wait for transport to a hospital.
• Item 11 approved a $200K contract renewal for The Village Learning Center’s program that provides employment support to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
• Item 14 approved $2.6M in election costs. Harris County and Houston jointly conduct the elections and each pays a share of the cost, which covers polling locations, ballots, personnel, etc.
• Item 17 approved $4.5M on tasers for HPD. The cost includes accessories, supplies, warranties, training, and repair services.
• Item 19 approved $900K in records management service for HPD.
• Item 24 “de-assessed” three statues from the City’s art collection. To “de-assess” means to remove from the collection so that the City is no longer responsible for their care. The three statues are: The Christopher Columbus statue that used to be at Bell Park (returned to its creator), the Spirit of the Confederacy statue (donated to the Houston Museum of African American Culture) and the Dick Dowling statue (previously at Hermann Park; now in storage).
• Item 40 approved $173K from the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund (DDSRF) for drainage improvements in the Southbelt area. CM Martin tooted his own horn for bringing attention to this underserved community. CM Knox praised what he thinks is an appropriate use of the DDSRF, because this money will get spent on actual construction instead of design. He said, “I guess I’m getting through, finally.”

Council Member Pop-Off

• Mayor Turner wished a happy birthday to CMs Robinson, Evans-Shabazz, and Alcorn.
• CM Martin plugged a recycling event at Ellington Field on the third Saturday of this month. It’s usually the second Saturday, but Wings Over Houston is displacing it. Martin plugged two town halls: in Kingwood on 10/17 and Clear Lake on 10/19.
• CM Castex-Tatum rehashed National Night Out events, again. There are some stormwater drainage projects ongoing in Kenswick Place. She plugged a Pose in Pink yoga event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Finally, she complained about a CIP project in Westridge changing scope after being promised for ten years. Westridge people are up in arms and feel betrayed.
• CM Robinson had high praise for a new map archive going up in the Julia Ideson Building (see Item 5).
• CM Thomas plugged this Saturday’s Alief Proud Festival. She advocated for action targeting commercial businesses taking over a residential area in Piney Point and vandalism in the Synott/Ashford Point area. She applauded astronaut Jeanette Epps, who was selected for a 2024 space mission. Finally, Thomas evoked the memory of her mother who lost her battle with cancer, encouraging people to get their mammograms, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• CM Peck complained about yard waste not getting picked up in District A.
• CM Evans-Shabazz plugged the Hermann Park dog park opening this Friday 10/13, a Sunnyside Park stakeholder meeting at 1pm on Tuesday 10/17, and a shredding event on 10/14 at 9am at WLD Johnson Library.
• CM Cisneros praised an initiative to combat prostitution in the Northline area, during which HPD issued 213 felony charges and 75 misdemeanor charges. She plugged a “concha with a cop” event on 10/20 from 8am-10am at Arandas on Airline.

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://houwatch.com
https://www.thevillagecenters.org/
https://www.houstontx.gov/specialevents/hispanicheritage2023.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/11/world/osiris-rex-bennu-asteroid-sample-reveal-scn/index.html

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.