Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on January 21, 2026

Agenda

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

The Mayor’s Report

Mayor Whitmire said the upcoming cold weather and potential extended freeze is predicted to hit the Houston area Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning. He said to take care of pipes, plants, pets, and people, and especially to check in on seniors who might need help preparing. He asked people to stay off the roads in the case of ice and to prepare to be in place from Saturday through Tuesday morning. The city will open 12 warming centers, four of which have generators. “There were zero warming centers with generators when I was sworn in.” He referenced county and state partnerships, including TxDOT. The city plans to use METRO to transport homeless people to warming centers.

The mayor introduced Brian Mason, Director of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

• Director Mason said the weather forecast is dynamic but will be more dependable at 48 hours out. He said we will experience “bone-chilling cold,” including continuous, below-freezing temperatures, from Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning, including the potential for ice. He lightly compared this to Winter Storm Uri in 2021 due to the prolonged sub-freezing temperatures. The county will operate warming centers in addition to the city’s 12. “Prepare your home now. Wrap all your exterior pipes … go to the grocery store.”
• CM Pollard asked how people can donate food to warming shelters. Director Mason encouraged prepackaged and sealed food to be dropped off at shelters before Saturday afternoon. Pollard asked about power. Director Mason said that ERCOT is predicting enough supply to meet demand but that ice taking down power lines could still cause outages.

• CM Kamin asked the mayor if the state plans to pre-declare a disaster, which can help with emergency response. The mayor said no but the state is “monitoring and pre-positioning assets. TxDOT is so essential and they’ve been wonderful partners since I was sworn in. They’ll play a major role with this.”
• CM Kamin asked if the city can get inspectors out to “bad actor” apartment complexes that don’t have heat before the storm. Mayor Whitmire would not commit to that but outlined post-emergency resources, like the fire department and the STEAR program. He said, again, that he inherited a system with too few generators and said they’re working on getting more. He also said, “The real hardship of the ‘21 winter storm was we had to end up boiling water.”
• CM Thomas said there are three warming centers in District F, none of which have a generator, so she asked if a mobile generator could be deployed to the area. Director Mason did not have a clear answer but said they are basing generator deployment off how many people used warming centers in the past, and will know more Thursday or Friday.
• CM Ramirez asked how the city is communicating with people who don’t speak English. Director Mason said Alert Houston messages go out in English and Spanish and the city website translates into 14 different languages. Sign up for alerts at alerthouston.org.

The mayor invited Randy Macchi, Director of Houston Public Works (HPW) to speak.

• Director Macchi said HPW has two focus points: streets and water.
• For streets: “When the streets get dangerous, just stay off of them.” The city will treat some roadways with sand and salt but not all due to limited resources. They will prioritize emergency locations like hospitals and 41 elevated roadways, like bridges and overpasses. Director Macchi also spoke to collaboration with TxDOT regarding street care, particularly if the need for snow plows arises (which is not expected).
• For water: Macchi said the city’s water plants are in relatively good condition. The only problem will be if power goes down, but they have a system of generators they hope can keep drinking water safe in the event the power goes down. Macchi asked people not to drip faucets, which causes strain on the city water system and reduces pressure, which keeps the system running safely. He suggested wrapping your pipes and if you are still concerned, shutting off the water to your home and draining the pipes. There is more pipe-care information at https://www.houstonpublicworks.org/. Macchi suggested getting to a hardware store asap because supplies will run out.
  • Macchi said the wastewater system is more tenuous because it doesn’t have enough generators. If there is a power outage, they have a plan to rotate generators, but if the system can’t keep up there could be sanitary sewer overflows.
• CM Kamin thanked city employees beyond police and fire that activate during emergencies, such as HPW, the General Services Department, janitors, and Solid Waste.

Public Comment

Normally, the public comment portion of city council takes place on Tuesdays. Because Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the two meetings were combined. Here is a selection of speakers:

• Two people opposed a bakery at 90 Dennis Street which they say has violated code and permitting and is disrupting their neighborhood. The mayor and CM Kamin pledged support.
• One speaker advocated for licensed therapists at schools and workplaces. CM Evans-Shabazz encouraged him to advocate at HISD meetings instead.
• One person advocated for maternal and infant support, citing studies that conclude Houston is the deadliest place for Black mothers.
• One person opposed ICE activity in Houston and asked for the city to do more to protect people here. She shared several anecdotes as examples, such as a 16 year old getting assaulted by ICE and people putting masks on and claiming to be ICE.
  • Mayor Whitmire expressed support for those persecuted by ICE and defended the city’s approach so far. “I can assure you in Houston, we’re taking the proper steps to reach out to the community … My office has been in the community engaging with civic leaders, and we’re going to continue to reach out. There’s no reason for anyone, anyone to fear HPD,” whom the mayor said do not care about immigration status and only report violations to ICE when required to do so by law. He said that publicly pushing back against ICE hasn’t worked in other communities. “Some activists, some special interests, would like to see turmoil here, but it’s just not going to happen if we continue to be responsible, compassionate, communicate and welcome people like you to City Council.”
  • CM Martinez expressed support for those persecuted by ICE and defended the city’s approach so far. He plugged an upcoming know-your-rights event, date TBA.

• CM Pollard criticized ICE for being unlawful and suggested the city should be doing more to combat them. “If it’s unlawful, then our officers have to do what is necessary to protect those who reside here in Houston.” He said there is turmoil in Houston “tearing families apart,” but it’s not getting news coverage like it is in other cities.
• CM Evans-Shabazz suggested reevaluating how HPD deals with minor traffic stops in order to reduce opportunities for ICE to get called.
• Mayor Whitmire called criminal justice a complex issue but said he knows Houston is handling it correctly. “We can’t politicize this. It’s not working in other cities. It’s bringing harm to the people that we claim we are concerned about. We’re doing exactly and only what the law requires. There are consequences of not following the law,” such as losing federal funding. He said the turmoil in other cities is horrible. “We’re doing everything we can to prevent those incidents in Houston. And it’s working. Will there be instances that we don’t approve of? Yes. If they violate the law, we want to know about it. But there’s a reason we’re not on the national news. It’s because we’re doing it the responsible way.” He shared anecdotes about personal relationships he has with undocumented people.
• CM Salinas expressed solidarity with the speaker. “I will be at the protest with you. I will stand up with you.”
• CM Kamin said that it’s not politicizing an issue to call out violations of due process and civil rights. She agreed with Evans-Shabazz about leniency for minor traffic violations.
• CM Ramirez remarked on the unfortunate truth that it is very difficult to prosecute a federal agent. He suggested sending the minor traffic stop idea to the Public Safety Committee.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 3 approved $304K for sludge plant replacement parts. From the support doc: “An increase in solids buildup could result in several permit violations (including elevated ammonia and suspended solids) and would affect fertilizer production obligations.” I am fascinated with the idea of the city’s feet being held to the fire for not meeting fertilizer production obligations.
• Items 20-25 established several properties in Districts C, D, and H as protected landmarks or landmarks.
• Item 27 accepted a $5M grant from the Texas Water Development Board, which will help fund the design of a drainage project in Spring Shadows. CM Peck said this will “provide flooding mitigation relief to approximately 7,300 residents.” She thanked Representative Hull for securing this funding during the last legislative session.
• Item 30 accepted a $6.25M grant from the US Department of Justice which will partially fund the salaries of 50 new HPD officers over three years.
• These items were not voted on for various reasons: the administration pulled Item 2 to allow for deliberation with HUD; Items 14 and 16 were tagged by CM Pollard.

Council Member Pop-Off

• CM Castillo is postponing the town hall he had planned for Saturday due to weather. He encouraged people to sign up for city emergency alerts and the District H newsletter.
• CM Davis plugged a town hall in February at the West Gray Multi-Service Center, date TBA.
• CM Kamin said early voting for CD-18 has begun and encouraged people to vote before the weekend. She said that community organizations are their eyes and ears during emergencies and that her staff is preparing for the weekend emergency situation. She encouraged reporting of signal breaks, water line leaks, and more to 311. “Stay warm, stay safe, and stay off the roads.”
• CM Ramirez encouraged people to prepare to be without water or power for three days, just in case.
• CM Thomas outlined the District F Disaster Plan and requested, again, a mobile generator that can be deployed at a warming center in District F. She plugged a dangerous-building-hearing for 3138 Ashlock Drive on 2/4. She shared some construction projects in District F, including sidewalk repair to be funded by a TIRZ budget CM Pollard tagged today.
• CM Peck talked about the demolition of a vacant apartment complex at Gessner and Westview that will eventually be turned into 100 acres of flood mitigation and a new police/fire station.

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://houstonoem.org/
https://www.houstonpublicworks.org/

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.