Notes on the Houston City Council Meeting on January 28, 2026

Agenda

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

The Mayor’s Report

Mayor Whitmire thanked the city staff who stepped up during last weekend’s winter weather. He thanked Houstonians for taking precautions and heeding official advice. There is another arctic blast coming Friday but no precipitation is predicted. The city will activate warming centers.

The FIRST Championship, a K-12 robotics competition, has committed to being in Houston for the next seven years, which the mayor said is predicted to boost Houston’s economy by $500M over the seven years. “These are the brightest young people from around the world.”

Items 6 – 9: Water Stuff

• Item 6 approved the $4.8M 2026 budget for the Lake Houston Facilities Project, operated by the Coastal Water Authority (CWA). From the support doc: “The CWA operates the raw surface water transportation system for the City of Houston and provides conveyance for many governmental and industrial users.” Budget increases are due to major pump motor repair and security fencing along the West Canal.
• Item 7 approved the $7.5M 2026 budget for the Lake Livingston Project, operated by the Trinity River Authority (TRA). The city owns 70% of the surface water rights and TRA owns 30%. From the support doc: “Lake Livingston surface water rights are about 73% of the City’s total water rights, which are approximately 1.1 billion gallons per day.” This contract began in 1964 and “remains in effect until all bonds are paid and for so long as the City and TRA take water from Lake Livingston.”
• Item 8 approved the $6.7M 2026 budget for the Luce Bayou System Project, operated by the CWA. From the support doc: “CWA anticipates an increase in the cost of property insurance and employees’ medical insurance policies in 2026 and will be looking for options to minimize any anticipated increases.”
• Item 9 approved the $36M 2026 budget for the Trinity River Conveyance Project, operated by the CWA. From the support doc: “CWA owns, operates, and maintains 36 miles of canals as part of the CWA raw water conveyance system. It also maintains the Trinity River intake pumping facility, the Lynchburg pumping facility, and the Bayport booster pumping facility.” Budget increases are primarily due to higher cost of chlorine and pump station repairs.

Agenda Items, Selected Works

• Item 12 accepted final work and approved the final payment of $19M for roadway improvements along Westpark from Wilcrest to Dairy Ashford. CM Thomas called this project transformational and explained some of the work done: drainage improvements, street widening, esplanades, trees, sidewalks, lighting, and more.
• Item 14 accepted a $2.1M grant from FEMA for a health and fitness program for the fire department.
• Item 15 approved $740K for a data center refresh project, which CM Castillo said aligns with the city’s “cloud first goal.”
• Items 17-19 all approved relatively small amounts of funding (under $500K) for the design phase of repair projects at the Environmental Health Administration Building in District I, the Third Ward Multi-Service Center in District D, and the Municipal Courts downtown.
• Items 21-24 approved $3.1M, $2.4M, $5M, and $6.3M for waterline, fire hydrant, and valve repairs across the city.
• Item 29 approved the Tow & Go reimbursement program between Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the city for one more year. The city tows eligible vehicles and H-GAC will reimburse up to $3.6M.
• Item 32 approved $2.6M for the design of the full reconstruction of Gessner Road from Richmond Ave to Buffalo Bayou, including storm drainage, sidewalks, lighting, intersection improvements, and more. Eventual construction will be supported by federal funding. CM Thomas will be at the Tanglewilde Civic Club meeting on Thursday to discuss and explain the project.
• Item 34 approved the 2026 budget for the St. George Place Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
• Item 35 approved the 2026 budget for the Southwest Houston TIRZ. CM Thomas praised the Southwest Houston TIRZ, specifically mentioning an upcoming sidewalk project.

Council Member Pop-Off

Two things: 1) Many CMs applauded the city’s winter weather response last weekend, especially warming centers. They also thanked residents and neighborhood partners. 2) The evening public comment session on 1/27 was rowdy, with many coming to speak regarding ICE.

• CM Castillo plugged Love Your Pet Month in February, when District H will sponsor a variety of pet-friendly events and services. He said last night’s public comment session had “robust turnout.” He encouraged revision of the check-in policy to get people in the chamber faster. He said the city needs to update the website with the current 5pm start time.
• CM Davis plugged a Town Hall on 2/9 at the West Gray Multi-Service Center. He criticized people at public comment last night for disrespecting the mayor and councilmembers. “Last night was utterly ridiculous.” He said people did not conduct themselves appropriately and encouraged people to behave with civility and respect. He said his wife is from Colombia so he understands immigration.
• CM Flickinger said that today is the 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy. “These astronauts were not just astronauts – they were neighbors and colleagues to a lot of the people down in the Clear Lake area. Their legacy continues today.”
• CM Ramirez said that the Houston Housing Authority has rebranded to Housing Alliance HTX, a move to distance themselves from their troubled past. He praised the organization’s improvements.
• CM Thomas said that District F had no city warming center but activated the District F Disaster Plan, which included local partners to provide shelter and support. She said, “We do not have a complete grasp of the social safety net that we need for those that are not presenting homeless. We literally had to go into the woods, go into the hidden parts of Houston.” She plugged the Housing Committee meeting on 2/5 at 2pm, “the Super Bowl of Housing.” She acknowledged Monique Welch-Rutherford for her work reporting that Harris County has the highest Black maternal death rate in the nation.
• CM Castex-Tatum cautioned about the upcoming freeze and encouraged people to reach out if they need help. She plugged the rescheduled paper shred event on 1/31 from 11am-2pm at The Fountain Life Center. It’s free!
• CM Martinez said he understands anxiety regarding ICE and encouraged people to keep coming to public comment. He implored the community to tone down misinformation which encourages unnecessary fear. He stressed the importance of building trust with local law enforcement. He said he prioritizes the immigrant community “first and foremost,” and highlighted the people who don’t show up to city council, “the folks that I see in my communities.” He encouraged people to be intentional and responsible, to “work together and not be divisive.” He said many immigration decisions are made at the state and federal levels. He thanked the mayor for his support and advice and said, “I’m leaning into you to ensure that folks feel safe in Houston.” He implored colleagues for their support.
• CM Pollard wants the city to do more to get unhoused people who use warming centers into permanent housing. He said the city website needs to reflect the accurate evening public comment time (5pm). He said the uproar at the end came from people stuck in line whose names were called before they made it inside, so they never had the opportunity to speak. He said that law enforcement should focus on dangerous criminals, which would solve many of the immigration issues.
• CM Alcorn plugged the joint Government Operations and Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting on 2/3 at 10am. Topics include Ernst & Young report updates; overtime at Solid Waste, police, and fire; and the Open Space Ordinance.
• CM Salinas thanked public commenters last night. “Sometimes democracy is hard and that’s part of our job here.” She decried the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. “Know that a lot of us around this horseshoe are going to do everything in our power to ensure that never happens in the city of Houston.”
• CM Carter criticized the media for misrepresenting information about immigration, specifically mentioning “reporting on our 6:00am news.” She called on the media to partner with the city and HPD to get the correct messages out.
• CM Evans-Shabazz encouraged voting. She plugged a community meeting Thursday evening at the Judson Robinson Civic Center on non-permitted structures and short-term rentals. She encouraged the city to halt minor traffic stops to reduce ICE interactions. She called ICE “rogue thugs.” She acknowledged the mayor’s strategy to not encourage ICE convergence in Houston, but suggested they still need to do something more.

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://capitalbnews.org/black-maternal-deaths-houston-harris-county/

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.