Houston City Council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.

Agenda

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

Kiss the Lizard

First things first, there was some kind of fundraiser between the CMs and whoever lost had to kiss an animal from the zoo. Today it was a lizard named Cosmo who the handler described as “at his prime.” CM Jackson lost the draw, but instead of kissing Cosmo she just kissed the bin he was in. Everyone made a big deal about how gross it was to kiss a lizard, my apologies to Cosmo on their behalf.

Public Hearings

There were nine public hearings today, all brief. The first three were to expand the boundaries of several reinvestment zones, in at least one case to enable an affordable housing complex to apply for tax credits, which they would be unable to do otherwise. Four hearings regarded the City annexing some property. The final two hearings were on the annexation of property into a Harris County Municipal Utility District.

The Mayor’s Report

• There is a gun buyback event this Saturday 11/18 from 8am-12pm at the Westchase Park and Ride. People can exchange guns for gift cards:
  • $50.00: Non-functioning firearm
  • $100.00: Shotgun or Rifle (Hunting)
  • $150.00: Revolver
  • $150.00: Semi Auto Handgun
  • $200.00: Rifle Semi-Auto
• City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic (who came up with this name??) begins this Friday 11/17 and lasts through 12/31.
• The Thanksgiving Day parade starts next Thursday at 9am. The Grand Marshal’s are Mayor Turner and “Rocket’s legends” Rudy T and Calvin Murphy.
• It’s the two year anniversary of President Biden signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Turner highlighted two grants Houston received: a $28.7M Safe Streets grant and a $36.9M Railroad Crossing Eliminations grant.
• Houston sports are on a roll. Turner congratulated the Texans on their win against Cincinnati, hyped up the Dynamo for their game against Kansas City, and praised the Rockets for a 6-game winning streak.
• No meeting next week! ‘Tis Thanksgiving. Hope y’all get some time off, and if you don’t, hope work is as easy as can be.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 10 appointed or reappointed 22 people to the Miller Theatre Advisory Board. Many nice words were said about Miller Outdoor Theatre. Item 12 appointed five people to the Independent Police Oversight Board. Nice things were also said about them.
• Item 16 approved the $5.7M 2024 budget for the Lake Livingston Project, which is operated by the Trinity River Authority (TRA), a conservation and reclamation district created by the State in 1955. Since 1964, the TRA has managed Lake Livingston for the City of Houston, with the City owning 70% of the surface water rights and TRA owning 30% of the surface water rights. Lake Livingston surface water rights are about 73% of the City’s total water rights, which are ~1.1 billion gallons per day. I try to include water stuff when possible because I have a stoner moment whenever I think about water rights. We get rights … to natural bodies of water?? What a wild thing to claim a right on. Anywayssss.
• Item 17 approved a $460K annual membership fee to the Water Research Foundation, which “funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse and storm water collection, treatment and supply systems.”
• Item 18 approved an $850K emergency repair to the cryogenic oxygen plant at the 69th Street wastewater treatment plant. Without this cryogenic oxygen plant, “the treatment process could not be completed, which would cause catastrophic environmental disasters for the greater Houston area and the state of Texas.”
• Item 19 approved $450K for the repair of flashing school signs. CM Huffman used this opportunity to advocate for a flashing school sign in District G that she wants to pay for with her council service funds, but Public Works won’t approve it. Mayor Turner said he would work with her on it.
• Item 23 approved an additional $273K grant to West Houston Assistance Ministries (WHAM) for their rehousing program for the homeless. CM Alcorn and Mayor Turner both attested to the fine work WHAM consistently does.
• Item 25 instituted a 90 day delay on a 14% Centerpoint rate increase. Centerpoint needs City approval for rate hikes and “the City [has] engaged rate experts to assist with the review and prepare a final recommendation for consideration by the Mayor and City Council.”
• Item 27 approved an agreement, with no financial obligation (yet) between the City, United Airlines, and Intercontinental Airport. United wants to spend $2.5B to redo Terminal B, making Houston a United International Hub. Houston would contribute $1.5M. This is the second week in a row that Controller Brown has withheld certification of funds available. Last week, Mayor Turner accused him of playing politics, threatened him with legal inquiry, and referred to it all as “foolishness.” This week, the Mayor outlined the benefits of the arrangement (jobs creation, better airport facilities, attracting big business, etc), and hopes to have funding available by the next meeting.
• Item 34 approved $1.3M for sewer line repair at the Houston Fire Department Val Jahnke Training Facility. “The existing underground sanitary piping and aged internal plumbing caused the main sanitary line to collapse, forcing sanitary sewage to back into the locker rooms and onto the exterior building grounds.” 🙁 🙁
• Item 35 approved $697K for temporary forensic nurses for HPD’s Domestic Abuse Response Team.

Council Member Pop-Off

• Mayor Turner wished CM Knox a happy birthday. When asked what type of pie is his favorite, Turner said it is sweet potato and also, “If the butter’s not in it, I don’t want it.”
• CM Alcorn requested City intervention for a religious group’s planned construction of congregate housing on a lot zoned for single-family housing at Banks and Hazard.
• CM Evans-Shabazz complained about excessive water bills due to water leaks. If you get an excessive water bill, don’t pay it, but DO file an appeal with the City which will start the process of figuring out what went wrong.
• CM Cisneros plugged 5 TechConnect fairs on Saturday 11/18.

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://tinyurl.com/yc8cezzw
https://www.houstontx.gov/tech-connect/
https://cp4.harriscountytx.gov/Connect/Newsroom/gun-buyback
https://www.visithoustontexas.com/citylights/
https://www.houstontx.gov/thanksgivingparade/

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.