Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on August 13, 2025
Agenda
- Mayor’s Report
- Two public hearings
- Consent Agenda (items that require a vote, like purchases, resolutions, ordinances, etc.)
- Council Member Pop-Off*
*I am not covering pop-off today.
The Mayor’s Report
The mayor invited Brian Mason, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management, to present on the city’s generator situation, relevant because of Items 67-69, which deal with the city’s disaster action recovery plan for submission to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The original plan did not include any funding for housing but after some outcry and advocacy, has been amended to move a portion of generator funding to housing.
Director Mason said that during the 2024 derecho and Hurricane Beryl, ~70K people used city cooling centers. The city has worked with community leaders, NGOs, city departments, and more to identify generator needs. The city will prioritize ~140 sites that they identified still need full back up power (out of 300 total). These include multi-service centers, police stations, fire stations, and the city’s water and power services. Mason estimates the $100M allocated in the proposed plan can accomplish “full facility generation” at those ~140 sites over the next two years.
Factors that went into choosing sites: natural gas availability, permitting, supply chain issues, size of facility, age of buildings and their current power infrastructure, and availability of Centerpoint’s mobile generators. They are also looking into solar and battery power storage.
Mayor Whitmire said several times how shocking it was to him that generator needs were never discussed before his tenure. He said that HUD prohibited Houston from spending disaster recovery funding on housing because they were displeased with the previous administration’s housing program. Mayor Whitmire said he has worked to repair the relationship with HUD, which has enabled this change.
Director Mason remarked on the weather, the inevitability of storms, and encouraged people to have a storm plan and a kit ready to go. He said, “Communities are more resilient and recover faster from an incident. So get to know your neighbor, check on your neighbor. The first person, if you have an emergency at home, that can help is going to be your neighbor.”
CM Castex-Tatum complained that a generator was cut from a recent new library because of budget shortfalls.
CM Davis rambled for a while and seemed critical of spending money on housing, although he did vote to approve these items later.
CM Martinez said, “I’m good with shifting these dollars to housing, but I also want to make sure that we continue to stay focused on the generators for the facilities as well.”
CM Plummer asked for help advocating at the state level for generators at senior facilities.
Mayor Whitmire talked again about how shocked he was to learn that this had not been taken care of before. “Some individuals have had more than four years to discuss this.” (He’s talking about other council members.) Whitmire said it’s easy to be critical and there is no perfect legislation, but he’s proud of this legislation and of city council for getting it done. Since they were already talking about it, the mayor suggested they go ahead and vote on Items 67-69.
Items 67 and 68 dealt with proposed amendments to the main item.
- Item 67 was a proposed amendment by CM Thomas to increase housing funding from $50M → $100M by decreasing generator funding. Generator funding will be ~$101M. This amendment was approved. CMs Peck, Flickinger, and Huffman voted no.
- Item 68 was a proposed amendment by CM Plummer that she withdrew. It would have similarly increased housing funding but used different funding sources. She supported Thomas’s amendment, advocated for wise use of funding, and asked for a presentation from housing on the home repair program.
And then it was time to vote on Item 69, as amended. Item 69 approved the city’s disaster action recovery plan for submission to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes $314M to use for recovery from Hurricane Beryl and the derecho, both in 2024. The original plan did not include any funding for housing but after some outcry and advocacy, was updated to include $100M for housing by reducing funding to power generator funding. CMs Peck, Flickinger, and Huffman voted no, but the item still passed. There was much applause in the audience.
- CM Thomas called this a win for the people of Houston. She said $314M is not enough to meet all of the needs but is a step in the right direction. This funding will enable post-storm activity like debris removal, line repair, and active recovery centers, as well as funding for home repairs once the storm has passed. Thomas thanked advocates and called out several CMs for their support. She said she and Mayor Whitmire often lock horns but praised him for working with her and others on this. She said, “This is a model of how we move forward together. We can fight in the public square, we can debate in the public square. But you need to know that your elected members are willing to do that fight for you at the end of the day.”
- CM Flickinger criticized the home repair process and said he wants to make sure the city is only paying for storm-related damage repair.
- CM Ramirez said, “There’s a level of trust in this administration and you personally, mayor, that exists in Austin and even exists in Washington that has not existed before. I trust you and I trust our housing director and I trust our resilience folks to administer whatever funds are spent in an honest way. I couldn’t have said that under the last administration.”
Two Public Hearings
The first public hearing was on the standards of care for the Parks & Recreation Department youth recreation programs. These standards guide after-school enrichment programs which include arts and crafts, sports, games, field trips, and special events. Houston Parks Director Kenneth Allen and another employee presented on the program, briefly.
- CM Castex-Tatum commended this program and the staff that make it possible. She said, “We can’t put a price on making sure our kids are safe, learning and having a good time at our city facilities.”
- CM Martinez said these programs are good but he would rather spend money on park maintenance. He suggested partnering with other organizations who could run programs and allow the city to spend money on maintenance.
- Director Allen mentioned that Harris County Commissioner Briones has agreed to pay for maintenance in all parks in Precint 4. Mayor Whitmire said “It’s just amazing what she’s willing to do.”
- CM Evans-Shabazz remarked on the Hermann Park redesign and said, “We need to engage the golf community before we make any concrete plans regarding redoing, revamping, refurbishing, whatever that’s going on at Hermann Park.”
- Mayor Whitmire praised the improvements to Hermann Park, and that they are “pretty darn exciting.”
- CM Evans-Shabazz reiterated that any improvements need to serve the people that use the facilities.
- CM Ramirez encouraged attendance at next week’s Quality of Life committee meeting on 8/18 at 10am, where the Hermann Park revamp will be discussed. Mayor Whitmire plugged an open house at the Hermann Park golf course club house on 8/20 that will discuss the changes as well.
- There were no public speakers.
The second public hearing covered housing tax credits for the rehabilitation of four different affordable apartment complexes in Districts I, J, and the extraterritorial district, none of which require city funding.
- CM Castex-Tatum said, “You know I love a good rehab,” especially because land is scarce.
- CM Pollard said 80% of District J residents live in apartment complexes. He supports rehabs and said that tax credits allow for improvement but keep rents affordable.
- CM Jackson supports rehabs. She said one of the complexes on the list has been a huge problem but a tax credit can help them make improvements which will make the neighborhood safer.
- There were no public speakers.
Agenda Items, Selected Works
- Item 15 would have accepted final work and approved the final payment of $8.3M for drainage and paving work, but was referred back to the administration for further review. Mayor Whitmire explained that the prime contractor was convicted of bribing a city employee in 2024 and has been debarred from doing work with the city. This payment is for the subcontractors hired under the prime. There was general agreement that subcontractors should get paid, the prime contractor should not get paid, and much discussion on contracts, legal requirements, etc.
- Item 16 would have accepted final work and approved the final payment of $216K for drainage work, but CM Martinez tagged it due to concerns about what money is going where.
- Item 18 approved funding for eminent domain proceedings for a drainage easement abutting the Booker Landfill in District E. Eminent domain is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. “The Booker Landfill-West Donovan Drainage Project intends to improve drainage and reduce the risk of structural flooding by providing for the design and construction of berm and swale drainage improvements and drainage ditches throughout the parcels for the project.” The city will pay the owner $162K and pay the court $2K in fees.
- Item 21 approved $789K over three years for pet food at the BARC animal shelter.
- Item 23 approved $9.3M for 31 garbage trucks, nine of which will be here Friday. The city is not taking the time, or expense, to paint them so if you see a white garbage truck making the rounds, this is they. Whitmire said, “Unlike previous years, these are new trucks, not used trucks, which is a good investment.”
- Item 24 approved $1.5M for 23 Ford Police Interceptor vehicles to be used at the airports.
- Item 28 approved $184K over five years for surveillance equipment for the police department.
- Item 29 approved $192K through May 2026 for ammunition for the police department.
- Items 33-36 each approved funding for organizations that operate housing programs for homeless people, totaling $11.3M.
- Item 53 approved $482K over three years for conversational language testing services for the police department, the fire department, and human resources. “The purpose of the conversational language testing services is to ensure that City of Houston employees can communicate effectively in various languages with citizens to provide them with the best service and assistance possible.”
- Item 55 approved $1.3M over two years for federal lobbying assistance. CM Huffman voted no.
Who took these notes? And what resources did they use?
My name is Emily Hynds. I am a writer, small business owner, 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.
I watched this City Council meeting via HTV: https://www.houstontx.gov/htv/
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: https://www.houstontx.gov/council/whoismycm.html
Thank you to the volunteers who proofread these notes.
My Patreon is patreon.com/emilytakesnotes.
