Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on December 3, 2025

Agenda

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

Public Hearing

Deputy City Engineer Joanna Clark presented on Houston Design District becoming a banner district, which means they can put banners up on light poles. They have already gotten approval from CenterPoint for the use of their poles. No one had any questions and there were no public speakers.

The Mayor’s Report

• Mayor Whitmire plugged The Mayor’s Holiday Tree Lighting and Concert this Saturday 12/6 at City Hall starting at 4pm.
• Mayor Whitmire said the city has used money leftover from the derecho and Hurricane Beryl in 2024 to hire a private solid waste company to pick up heavy trash in southwest Houston. “Larius (Hassan, Director of Solid Waste) is doing an outstanding job of managing that department and being very creative and proactive.”
• The mayor announced that the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved the city’s plan for $314M in disaster recovery funding. Revamping this plan to include funding for housing was a big deal several months ago. I will include a link in the resources section.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Items 4 and 5 approved $602K for expenses related to upgrading the city’s website.
• Item 6 approved $908K for fertilizer to be used at the Memorial Park and Sharpstown golf courses.
• Item 7 approved a finance bond between the Houston Finance Corporation and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs that will enable below-market mortgage loans and down payment assistance. CM Thomas praised this initiative and called it “an opportunity that provides families with permanent pathways to home ownership.”
• Item 8 approved the city’s investment policy. CM Plummer voted no.
• Item 9 appropriated $16.5M in TIRZ affordable housing funds “for multifamily, disaster recovery activities, homelessness, and administrative funds to administer affordable home activities.”
• Item 12 approved $850K for a data center refresh. The city plans to transition data storage to a cloud-based system.
• Item 15 approved $250K to replace the city’s analog / plain old telephone systems (POTS – it’s a real acronym and official title!!) to a “cellular-based solution with Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity.” This replacement will include “elevator emergency phones, fire alarm panels, and other critical emergency systems.”
• Item 21 approved the Memorial Heights TIRZ 2026 budget, which, if I’m reading it correctly, plans to spend ~$33M in 2026. CM Kamin praised the TIRZ for infrastructure improvements, such as the North Canal Project, the Durham/Shepherd improvements, and Little Thicket Park.
• Items 26 and 27 enlarged the boundaries of the Harrisburg TIRZ to “support future development of the historic Folgers coffee plant.” CM Castillo said this TIRZ is doing “fantastic work,” like improving the Harrisburg hike and bike trail and Flores Library.
• Items 28-33 approved tax exemptions for historic sites across the city. CM Flickinger voted no on all of them. He said, “The restoration of these locations has an aesthetic value that I think we can all appreciate. I just don’t think that our financial position really affords us the opportunity to do so.”
• Item 35 accepted a $28.7M grant from the US Department of Transportation for a “seven-mile rehabilitation of Bissonnet Street from South Dairy Ashford Road to Hillcroft Avenue.” The city will contribute $7.1M. CMs Pollard, Thomas, and Kamin remarked on the importance of this project, especially regarding pedestrian safety.
• Items 16 and 17 were not received and, thus, not voted on.

Council Member Pop-Off

• CM Martinez praised the New Hope senior living apartments and remarked on the importance of affordable housing. He encouraged people to prepare for the FIFA World Cup coming to Houston in 2026, talked about large crowds, and said we’ll know more after the draw on Friday.
• CM Pollard complained about HPD refusing to use his Council District Service Funds according to his plan, and then refusing the funds altogether. He asked for the mayor’s help resolving the matter. The mayor made no comment.
• CM Alcorn plugged the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting next Tuesday 12/9 at 10am.
• CM Carter plugged the Coat for a Cause drive at the Harmony House Navigation Center through 12/23.
• CM Evans-Shabazz plugged an HCDD community meeting on 12/9 from 6-8pm at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center. Visit houstontx.gov/housing for more information.
• CM Castillo plugged a meeting on 12/9 at 5:30pm at the Flores Library to discuss potential library improvements. He encouraged people to vote; early voting is until 12/9 and election day is 12/13.
• CM Flickinger plugged an electronics recycling event at the Kingwood Park and Ride on Saturday starting at 9am. He called for volunteers for a median tree planting and clean up this Saturday 12/6; email chrisbgim@hotmail.com for more information.
• CM Kamin announced Safewatch Houston, a new dashboard hosted by the Health Department that will track gun-related incidents at Houston trauma centers. She called it “a blueprint that other cities can model so that we can stem the tide of firearm injuries.” She asked for donations to the Houston Area Women’s Center’s Christmas Toy Shop.
• CM Ramirez explained Senate Bill 4 from 2017, which says “a local entity, meaning the city, may not adopt, enforce or endorse a policy that prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of immigration laws.” He said that “when people say HPD should not have any cooperation with ICE, that is simply not possible under state law.” He encouraged people to vote for their state and federal congressional representatives, who can influence immigration policy.
• CM Thomas, apparently disturbed by CM Ramirez’s remarks, took a moment to collect herself. She then remarked on Solid Waste issues, thanking the mayor for hiring private contractors to pick up heavy trash. She asked for HOA’s not to issue citations to homeowners for debris on the curb and to give the city more time to get things picked up. Her office has paid for three air quality monitors near the concrete batch plant near Westpark Tollway and Wilcrest. She remarked more on forthcoming Bissonnet improvements, especially the old Dottie Landfill and Sugar Hill Golf Course. She said, “I believe that we have an obligation to reimagine locations where we were not good neighbors. We can fix it and then offer that property back to the community.” She is hosting a roundtable on 12/5 “with community stakeholders on the west side so we can co-create our response to homelessness.”

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
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/housing/2025/08/13/528579/houston-city-council-approves-amended-disaster-recovery-plan-with-100-million-for-housing-repairs/
https://www.houstonhealth.org/safewatch

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.