Houston City Council Notes, prepared by Emily J Hynds

Agenda

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

The Mayor’s Report

• Mayor Whitmire gave a status update on Gala at MacGregor, a senior living facility in District D. After someone came to council to complain, the Mayor made a personal visit to the site and updates are in the works.
• Whitmire remarked on his first 100 days in office.
  • Whitmire has been “talking to City employees and constituents, [and] the morale of city government has been improved.”
  • His top priority is public safety, followed by infrastructure and City services.
  • Whitmire praised Council for their hard work and said, “I do not even know what day of the week it is and certainly haven’t kept up with which number in the administration it is.” #humblebrag
  • Whitmire praised collaboration with the Harris County Commissioner’s Court and is hopeful more of the same is to follow with the Texas Land Commissioner (and presumably the General Land Office (GLO)).
  • The Mayor was more subtle today with his digs at the previous administration today. He said, “We’re listening to Houstonians, in my judgment, like never before. The transparency across city government is being restored.”
  • Whitmire mentioned much work forthcoming, particularly with City finances, and said short-term rentals are a “hot button issue.” He particularly acknowledged HPD, HFD, EMS and all employees that work for the City.

Item 3: METRO Board Members

Item 3 approved four people to the METRO Board. Terry Morales was a reappointment, but the other three (Christopher McMillan, Kathy Han, and Terry Preston) are new.

• Mayor Whitmire said, “I was very deliberate in my choices, reflecting our community, people that would represent the options for our mobility.”
• There are now more women than ever serving on the METRO Board.
• Judge Han recounted her early life as a Vietnamese immigrant who depended on public transit. She said this is a way for her to give back and to help the Asian community understand and have access to the public transit options available to them.
• Pastor Brown emphasized the need for a “safe ride, a clean ride, and connectability.”
• METRO Board Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock thanked the Mayor for the board’s diversity and remarked on this historic day that marks the first Vietnamese woman on the METRO board.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 4 approved the final contract amount of $19M for work completed on the new Southwest Police Station. CM Huffman supported this item but advocated for an HPD station or storefront in District G, which has none currently.
• Item 7 approved $15K for fire hydrant repair parts.
• Item 8 amended Houston’s (colloquially known) Catalytic Converter Ordinance to align with State law. CM Kamin thanked Mayor Whitmire for his work in the TX Legislature on a similar bill. She praised this ordinance as a tool for law enforcement and advocated for more resources. Mayor Whitmire redirected Kamin’s praise back to her and the City, admitting that he and other State legislators used Houston’s ordinance as a model. In a rare moment of kindness to the previous Mayor, Whitmire said the “previous administration did a fine job.”
• Item 9 denied a Centerpoint rate increase. “CenterPoint will likely appeal the City’s decision to the Railroad Commission of Texas, where it will be consolidated into the parallel case proceeding at the Commission.”
• Item 14 approved a contract extension with the company that leases golf carts to the Parks Department and for special events. CM Peck encouraged the City to lease more vehicles (rather than purchase). She says it will save money in the long run and allow the fleet to have newer vehicles more often.
• Item 15 would have approved extending My Brother’s Keeper’s contract for an additional $800K. My Brother’s Keeper facilitates the Urban Scholars Program at six HISD schools. CM Carter attempted to refer this to a committee, reasons unclear. Mayor Whitmire encouraged her to tag rather than refer to the committee, which has a shorter timeline for resolution. Carter went back and forth with the Mayor but CM Pollard butted in with a tag, cutting off further discussion.
• Item 16 approved $3.9M for five-year contracts with 18 tow companies for HPD’s Tow and Go program. Each contractor “holds a Police-Authorized Towing Service Agreement and will patrol assigned segments of the City’s freeway system.”
• Item 20 approved a $2.4M contract for security guard services for the Health Department.
• Item 21 amends certain definitions in the agreement with the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC) that will ultimately lead to the standardization of evidence-handling processes. Several CMs remarked on the need to standardize evidence collection across agencies (HPD, Sheriff’s office, etc). Mayor Whitmire advocated for more funding for the HFSC, especially with budget season approaching. Dr. Peter Stout, Director and CEO of the HFSC, said that crime labs are missing a zero in their budgets. CM Kamin agreed with calls for standardization and more funding, calling on other partners like the County to step up with funding support as well.
• Item 24 allows HPD to accept a $53K solid waste grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). HPD will use the funds “to update server systems and cameras to stay on the technological edge of illegal dumping enforcement of the Houston area.”
• Item 37 would have approved a contract with a real estate broker for a City-owned tract of land in District K that was originally intended to be used for a 126-unit affordable housing development, funded in part through Texas’ General Land Office (GLO). Last week, four CMs tagged this item after a lengthy discussion having much to do with GLO relations. This week, CM Castex-Tatum successfully moved to refer it back to the administration, with no discussion, so this item is on hold for now.

Item 40 – The Parking Meter Ordinance

Item 40 would have amended the ordinance governing parking meters in an effort to increase City revenue. This CM-proposed item used Proposition A (passed last November), which allows a coalition of three CMs to put items on the agenda without the Mayor’s approval. This item was submitted on April 3 by CMs Pollard, Flickinger, and Thomas. After much Prop-A related discussion on a different item last week, CM Pollard tagged it.

This week, more Prop A discussion ensued. Currently, parking meters are active Monday-Saturday from 7am-6pm. The proposed ordinance change would make them active from 7am-2am. Today, CM Castillo moved to refer this item to the newly-formed Prop-A Committee for review and public engagement.

Many of the same arguments from last week made an appearance today. CM Pollard argued that referring such items to committee circumvents the will of the voters. He said, “We have to look at the city as a business. We are a $6 billion services corporation. Like any other business, we’re going to have to find revenue.” Pollard indicated that other businesses, like the Symphony and Ballet who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, are raising prices themselves and asked why the City should not also be allowed to consider such measures. He criticized the as-yet undefined Prop A Committee process and complained about “bureaucratic pile up.”

Mayor Whitmire advocated for the committee process in general. He said CMs’ request for more time should always be honored. Whitmire thinks that all items proposing new revenue sources should go to committee as a rule. He joked that this conversation was already veering towards a committee-meeting conversation.

CM Castillo said that Prop A only allows for CM-proposed items to get placed on the agenda, but that they are not “privileged” and exempt from criticism or public engagement. He agreed that not every CM-proposed item needs to go to committee, but that this one needs more work.

CM Kamin reiterated that sending this item to committee does not mean that every item brought by CMs will be sent to committee. She advocated for standardized timelines for departments to respond to questions at committees.

CM Evans-Shabazz, as Co-Chair of the Prop A Committee, cautioned against using the committee function to cherry pick and gatekeep what gets to council for a vote.

CM Pollard said that there has been little public interest around this ordinance change. He cautioned against turning the Council process into one similar to the State Legislature, saying, “We know all the dysfunction that happens in the State Legislature,” — a bold thing to say considering our Mayor just spent the last 40+ years of his career in the State Lege.

Mayor Whitmire said there has been public interest, evidenced by recent engagement. He predictably defended the State Lege and its process, saying, “It’s a pretty open process that, quite frankly, has been around longer than this body.” CM Pollard continued to make (what I considered to be) dismissive remarks about public engagement, claiming a tag is sufficient.

CM Castex-Tatum supports Prop A in general. She described it as a check and balance to Houston’s strong Mayor system. She acknowledged Mayor Whitmire’s openness to CM-led initiatives, but pointed out that mayors/councils come and go — it’s important to have those checks and balances in place down the line.

Finally, a vote on the motion to refer to committee:

• CMs that voted not to refer to the Prop A Committee (and move the amendment along for a vote today): Evans-Shabazz, Thomas, Pollard, Castex-Tatum
• CMs that voted to refer to the Prop A Committee (which would delay a vote until after that hearing): Mayor Whitmire, Peck, Plummer, Jackson, Kamin, Flickinger, Huffman, Castillo, Davis, Martinez, Ramirez, Alcorn, Carter.

This item is on hold until it’s heard at the Prop A Committee on 4/23.

Council Member Pop-Off

• CM Kamin plugged an upcoming public meeting on preserving the Freedman’s Town brick streets on April 23rd from 6-8pm at Rose of Sharon.
• CM Jackson criticized TIRZs for improper use of affordable housing funds. She asked Mayor Whitmire to investigate.
• CM Thomas plugged the Housing Committee meeting on April 16th, a deed restriction workshop on April 27th, and a 10-mile bike ride beginning at Arthur Storey Park on May 4. She joked, “Please bring your prayers. I have not been on a bike in quite some time.” She also listed several speed cushion projects rolling out soon, all paid for with Council District Service Funds.
• CM Peck plugged the Battle of the Branch, a softball game between HFD and HPD on April 13th.
• CM Martinez wants to facilitate the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ((janitors, etc)) contract negotiations at the George R. Brown Convention Center. He plugged the Hispanic Research Center open house this Saturday 4/13 at 10am.
• CM Pollard thanked the administration for their invitation to collaborate on funding sources. He sent Whitmire five funding proposals and looks forward to working on them together. He has no problem with the administration taking the lead if it expedites the process. He also said he is still waiting on a response from Whitmire on the list of questions he and CM Thomas sent the Mayor regarding the firefighter settlement.
• CM Alcorn encouraged direct action on short-term rentals engaged in bad business, like human trafficking and illegal events. She suggested parking some officers outside of these buildings now and recalled the crackdown on the Richmond strip years ago as an example. Regarding the upcoming budget season, Alcorn is working with Finance Director Dubowski on the workshop schedule. She hopes to add one more cushion week but we shall see about that.
• CM Plummer advocated for cutting through bureaucracy to take action on short-term rental bad actors. She wished Eid Mubarak to those celebrating the end of Ramadan.
• CM Castillo plugged the Hispanic Research Center event this Saturday 4/13, noting that the warehouse is under construction and is not ADA accessible (yet).

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

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.