Houston City Council notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds.
Agenda
- Mayor’s Report
- Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)
- Council Member Pop-Off
Mayor’s Report
- The Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular is this Saturday, 12/2 at 6pm at City Hall. There will be a tree lighting and Jordin Sparks will be in attendance. And singing, I presume.
- There is a new portal for vendors to bid on City projects – Turner said bidwithhouston.org but that didn’t work for me.
- Texas A&M and the Solid Waste Department are hosting a clean up of Magnolia Park on Saturday, 12/2 from 8am-2pm.
- Turner congratulated the Office of Emergency Management’s Deputy Director Thomas Muñoz on his appointment to the FEMA National Advisory Council.
- The Mayor wished luck to the Dynamo in the MLS Western Conference Final on Saturday.
- Regarding the Midtown Greyhound bus station moving to the East End, Turner said, “That’s news to me,” and said no permits have been issued or even requested at this time. This is hard to square with all the reporting around the issue and the fact that even the Greyhound website announced the move. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- During a mayoral debate on Monday, John Whitmire criticized the Turner administration for a lack of diversity in leadership, which Mayor Turner called a dog whistle.
- Turner responded by highlighting top appointments in his administration, listing Asian, Hispanic, and female individuals. Turner called Whitmire’s remarks “blatant misrepresentation” and said, “He owes me an apology. Quite frankly, he owes the city of Houston an apology.” Turner also repeatedly shamed the media for spreading Whitmire’s remarks.
- Regarding a conflict of interest allegation, Turner pointedly said, “I worked for my money … I got paid for what I did, not just [to] sit in an office and then wait for folks to come to you because you’re in the Senate.”
- Turner also asked why it’s just “people like me” that get criticized. He pointed to Whitmire’s potential conflicts of interest and asked, “Where is the equity in coverage?”
- Turner said, “All of my life my parents told me, you have to dot every I, you have to cross every T. You have to stay clearly within the lines. You have to run faster, work harder, and be better … But other folk can operate in their own little world with their own conflicts, and it’s okay.”
- Whitmire also cited the incident involving Pappas Bros losing an airport contract, which was a big hullabaloo a while back. Turner accused Whitmire of exhibiting favoritism towards his friends and manipulating the system just because he can.
Agenda Items, Selected Works
- Item 4 authorized continued compensation for full-time City employees called to active military duty.
- Item 9 approved and adopted the City’s investment policy, an annual endeavor.
- Item 11 amended the Code of Ordinances to allow the Planning Department to begin work on a citywide truck route plan, which will hopefully make safe and regular paths for big rigs.
- The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) estimates that freight tonnage in Houston will grow by 60% from 2015 to 2040. Freight cuts through traffic in residential neighborhoods, creating safety hazards, roadway damage, noise pollution, and poor air quality. The problem is especially bad in areas close to the port and rail hubs.
- CM Kamin offered assurance that today’s item only allows for the process to begin, the route has not been finalized. She said, “Relief is on its way.”
- CM Gallegos advocated for routing trucks from Telephone and Broadway to Airport, which would involve building an overpass at Mykawa. He was frustrated because he feels the Planning Department isn’t listening, so he wanted to go on record here.
- CM Robinson directed everyone’s attention to a “robust” presentation about this available on the Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure website.
- Mayor Turner lamented that the truck route could not be completed before the end of his term.
- Item 14 authorized changes to the Affordable Home Development Program (AHDP) guidelines, including down payment assistance.
- Item 16 approved $327K in grant funding for SEARCH Homeless Services.
- Since June, Ryde has been providing free electric vehicle rides to essential services for District D residents. Essential services include the grocery store, school, pharmacy, community centers, libraries, and more. Item 18 approved $218K for Ryde to purchase two more vehicles and expand services into Second Ward in District H.
- Item 19 approved the sale of 3315 Delano St to Harris County for the Riverside Hospital Site Revitalization Project.
- Item 24 awarded a $793K contract to Spay and Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide spay and neuter operations for BARC, the City’s animal shelter.
- CM Gallegos complained that Barrio Dogs, an organization providing services in the East End, was not even aware of the grant application and implied they are more deserving, especially since one of SNAP’s facilities is in Pasadena.
- CM Pollard complained that the organizations who perform the operations don’t have the capacity needed. CM Gallegos agreed and said we need more veterinarians.
- CM Kamin highlighted the vendor portal mentioned in the Mayor’s Report – bidwithhouston.org. Again, the website didn’t work for me.
- Item 25 awarded a similar but smaller contract of $181K to Houston PetSet.
- Item 28 approved a 3-year, $36M contract for security guard services at the airports. CM Kamin highlighted this because the company aligns with the City’s policy of paying employees $16 per hour and is providing healthcare benefits comparable to those granted to City employees.
- Item 29 approved $475K to support the Credible Messengers program, one of CM Jackson’s projects. Credible Messengers helps reduce recidivism by partnering people involved in the criminal justice system with mentors who have had similar experiences.
- In September, the City set up a $5M Fifth Ward Voluntary Relocation Fund, which will help relocate people currently living in or near the Fifth Ward cancer cluster. Today, Item 31 approved using $100K of the fund for the Houston Community Land Trust to set up operations. Item 32 approved using $750K of the fund for the Family Service Center of Houston and Harris County to provide administration and management.
- CMs Plummer and Jackson advocated for rigorous community involvement going forward.
- Mayor Turner agreed and cautioned that this item is just to set up the structure of the program before his tenure ends, which he felt was important to do for … reasons. CM Plummer concluded the discussion by emphasizing that “structure is important, but what is most important is trust.”
- Item 34 approved $1.2M and an agreement with the Gulfgate Reinvestment Zone (this is a TIRZ, for ppl who care about TIRZ’s) to renovate seven parks in Gulfgate. The Gulfgate TIRZ will provide an additional $3M in funding and be in charge of the work. CM Gallegos praised this as a “perfect partnership” between a TIRZ and the City.
- Item 35 allows the Solid Waste Department to apply for a $400K grant from the US Department of Agriculture for composting. Composting is a passion project of CM Alcorn’s and she spoke on its many benefits, primarily reducing waste at City depositories and reducing methane gas. CM Kamin remarked that reducing waste at landfills saves taxpayer dollars. CM Cisneros pointed out that San Antonio offers curbside composting and pointed to their solid waste fee as one reason why they can do that. Houston doesn’t have a solid waste fee and I think we should!! You can quote me on that.
- For those following along, Item 43 would have approved $150M for United Airlines to begin their revamp of IAH’s Terminal B, but the item was not received in time for a vote (again), which means Controller Brown is probably still holding it up. No discussion happened today, but I wanted to share in case any of y’all were on the edge of your seat about this one.
- Item 45 approved $316K for a consultant to help the City assess and revamp its Americans with Disabilities Act plan.
Council Member Pop-Off
Many CMs shared condolences for Alvin Byrd and Larry Payne. May they rest in peace and warm thoughts for their loved ones.
- Mayor Turner congratulated the City for receiving the Global Just Serve City Award. He encouraged people to check out a New York Times article on Houston’s (successful) approach to homelessness. He concluded his remarks by saying that, from now until the end of the year, there will be no more speeches from him, just “peace, love, and happiness.”
- CM Alcorn thanked Turner for closing out the year with $10M for sidewalks.
- CM Peck is seeking volunteers for the HFD Stocking Stuffer Toy Drive on 12/16 and plugged a pet food and human food giveaway at St. James Baptist Church on 12/22.
- CM Kamin plugged a meeting at The Montrose Center on 12/5 to explore the status of the Montrose Management District. There are several upcoming meetings from TxDOT regarding the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) aka the reconstruction of 45.
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.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/greyhound-leaving-downtown-houston-for-east-end-18520258.php
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-mayor-debate-whitmire-jackson-lee-18509930.php
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.
