Live from the Anna Russell Council Chamber.

I will now read the captions for the council agenda for May 27, 2026.

Item one request from mayor for confirmation of the reappointment of Stephen Casada to position three of the board of directors of the East End District.

Item two request for mayor for confirmation of the appointment or reappointment of the following individuals to the Board of Public Trust.

Item three, recommendation from the Director of Houston Public Works for payment of $1,118,000 to the Harris Galveston Subsidence District.

Item 4 recommendation from the Director of Houston Public Works that Houston City Council accept the work and authorized final payment.

If any of the contract with DL Glover Inc.

Item 5, recommendation from the Direct of Houston Public Works for transfer of funds for the from the dedicated drainage and street renewal capital fund ad velorum tax to the general fund as payment for the transfer of jurisdiction of parcels LY 25-008 and LY 25-009 located at 7979 South Kirkwood Drive.

For the pavement and drainage improvement in A.

Lee Forest South Area Sub Project 1.

Item 6, Harold Beck and Sons for 20 Rotary Actuators.

Item 7, Ordinance Tabulating the Votes, Cast and Canvassing the Returns of the City of Houston Runoff Election held on May 16th, 2026.

For the purpose of filling a vacancy in the office of council member district C.

Item 8, ordinance amending chapter 47 of the code of ordinances relating to urban form water rate.

Item nine ordinance changing the street names of North Caesar Cesar Chavez Boulevard to North MSG Joe E.

Ramirez Boulevard and South Cesar Chavez Boulevard to South MSG Joe E.

Ramirez Boulevard.

Item 10 ordinance relating to retail gas rates of Psi Energy Gas LLC.

Item 11, ordinance authorizing participation with other psi energy service area cities and matters concerning Psy Energy Gas LLC.

Item 12, ordinance approving and authorizing second amendment to subrecipient agreement between the City of Houston and Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

Item 13, ordinance approving and authorizing local on system improvement project agreement between the City of Houston and Texas Department of Transportation.

Item 14, ordinance appropriating 11,390,863.

Approving and authorizing contract with Regal Inc.

Item 15, ordinance appropriating 250,000 dollars for security camera upgrades.

Item 16 ordinance appropriate 19,306,000 dollars for Houston Fire Department Fire Station 104 replacement.

Item 17, ordinance appropriating $8,278,130.10 cent amending ordinance number 2024-639 related to intercourt interlocal cost sharing agreement to provide services for the Hardy Waterline Project with North Harris County Regional Water Authority.

Item 18, ordinance appropriating $35 million for derivative derivative agreement with TD Industries Inc.

Item 19 ordinance approved author the ordinance authorizing an approving form of master contractor agreement for City of Houston home repair program to be executed by the City of Houston in Architectura Development Inc.

BRIZO Construction LLC DRC Construction LLC DSW Homes LLC Ducky Recovery LLC Galveston Piling LLC James W.

Turner Construction Limited PMG Construction Inc.

RM quality construction LLC SLSCO Limited and Stonewater Inc.

Item 20 Ordinance Approving and Authorizing Contract with the Memorial Herman Health System.

Item 21 Ordinance Approving and Authorizing Authorizing Contract with Acadian Ambalance Service of Texas.

Item 23 22 Ordinance Amending Ordinance Number 2022-47 related to contract with Sterling Info Systems Inc.

doing business as sterling item 23 ordinance amending cities master classification plan city of Houston ordinance number 1998-834 as most recently amended by ordinance number 2026-46 exhibit A and revising the pay structure as most recently amended by ordinance number 2025-495 exhibit b to add six new job classifications, add one pay grade, change one job title, change three pay grades, delete one job classification, delete classificate classification adjustments for two job classifications.

Item 24 ordinance approved and authorizing increase in the issuance of bonds and notes by Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority.

Item 25 ordinance approving and authorizing alternative untreated water supply contract with Harris County Municipal Utility District No.

359.

Item 26 ordinance finding and determining that public convenience and necessity no longer require the continued use of a portion of a 60 foot wide sleepy lane, said portion being plus minus 60,652 square feet within the replant of steel metals section one as shown on the map or plant thereof and being from Honeysuckle Lane South plus minus 1,010 feet to Rankin Road, formerly known as Horseshoe Trail, situated in the Austin R.

Bodman surveys, abstract numbers 140 and 141.

Harris County, Texas parcel S Y 23-51.

Abandoning the right of way to NPH ranking LLC Item 27, ordinance approving and authorizing purchase and sale agreement between the City of Houston, Texas, and Alchemia Luxury Homes LLC.

This completes the reading of the captions for the agenda of May 27, 2026.

Stay tuned for the next city council session to begin at 9 a.m.

And with that, be blessed to everyone.

Thank you, Mr.

Secretary.

Thank you, my number one council member.

Say that louder.

Thank you.

My number one.

Thank you.

Councilmember.

On the record.

Motion take item number seven out of order.

Cast next tape a move.

Second.

Motion made and seconded.

All in favor, say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

Mr.

Secretary, will you please call the item?

Item seven is an ordinance.

Just need a vote.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

Members, in accordance with the Texas election code, I'd like to state that the canvas of the City of Houston runoff election to fill the vacancy in the office of Councilmember District C held on May 16 has been completed.

I would ask Mr.

Panzarella to join me at the podium, please.

Good morning.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you.

I state your name.

I Joe Canzarella.

You solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

I'll faithfully execute the duties of the office.

So faithfully execute the duties of the office.

The city of Houston, Councilmember District C.

The City of Houston, Councilmember District C.

And of the state of Texas.

And of the state of Texas.

And real to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

And defend.

The Constitution and Laws.

The Constitution and Laws of the United States.

Of the United States.

And this state.

And this state.

So help me God.

So help me God.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Councilmember Panzer.

Be recognized to speak to your colleagues, and certainly you have a great delegation of friends and supporters and family here.

So the floor is yours.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you so much, Council.

Uh, truly a privilege and an honor to be here working with all of you here today.

First and foremost, I want to thank my mama.

Thank you for being here.

Ask Mom to stand, please.

Mama, can you stand, please?

Thank you.

I want to thank my wife, Stefania.

Thank you for being here.

And then my brothers and their partners and their babies are here as well.

So thank you all so much, and I look forward to the work.

Very well.

Your first opportunity is to uh lead us in the invocation, or a designated person.

Thank you.

Uh, we have here today a church that is in the heart of District C the Living Mosaic Church.

I'd like to bring forward Pastor Sue Schneider and Deacon Kennan Falk to give the invitation.

I also want to shout out Courtney Sellers is here with the Montres Grace Place, and they're kind of a kind of a pair.

Let us pray, author of life and of love, we give you thanks for this day, for the city of Houston, for its waterways and bayous, its highways, its parks, and all who call this place home or who are visiting here.

May this group of faithful leaders who are called to the significant and important work of good governance find meaning in their tasks.

May they find joy and humor even when things get hard, and may they listen patiently to one another and those they represent.

Keep them ever mindful that their primary responsibility is to restore the city, especially with an eye toward those who are most vulnerable or at risk of being marginalized or forgotten.

And we pray, especially today for my own new, newly sworn-in council member Joe Panzarella.

May each of them find that the work of being your servant in this public way is one of joy and one of fulfillment.

We pray for the city and all those who long to make it a place of inclusion and wholeness for all.

We pray this, trusting that your mercy is greater than we could ask or imagine, and trusting that we can rise above our own worst impulses to be a place of good.

Amen.

Please rise for the pledge.

Under God, individual and liberty, Mr.

Secretary, please call the role.

Mayor Whitmeyer.

Councilmember Peck.

Councilmember Jackson.

Councilmember Panzerello, Councilmember, Councilmember Evans of Oz.

Councilmember Evans of Oz?

Here.

Councilmember Flickinger.

Council Member Thomas.

Councilmember Huffman will be absent.

Councilmember Castillo?

Here.

Council Member Martinez.

Council Member Pollard.

Here.

Council Member Castax Tatum.

Here.

Council Member Ramirez.

Here.

Council Member Davis.

Councilmember Carter.

Councilmember Salinas.

And Councilmember Alcorn.

Need a motion to delay the adoption of minutes.

Cast X Tatum move.

Next second.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed nay.

Motion is approved.

Call up item number two, Mr.

Secretary.

Cast X Tatum move to take item two out of order.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

No call number two.

Is there a motion for item two?

Cast X Tatum move.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

We have uh Matt.

Matt Zias, would you please rise?

Kimberly Dixon.

Is Lenore here?

Not here yet.

We want to thank our public servants that are willing to serve on this board.

Thank you, sir, for being here.

And now you want to go to the Mayor Court.

I want to recognize Congresswoman Garcia.

Thank you.

Please rise.

Thank you for your public service.

Members were waiting for Dr.

Tran and her team.

They were upstairs on the phone.

We'll be here shortly, but let's continue with other items on the mayor's report.

Christine Rallis Representative, are you here?

Certainly.

When she arrives, we'll recognize her.

Is uh Major General Rick Norega here?

General.

If you want to come and speak, uh you're recognized to address us.

Dr.

And we'll be with you shortly.

Thanks, Mayor.

I'll be excuse me.

You recognize I'll just be extremely brief because I know you have a long agenda and want to defer to a very special item that'll be coming up item number nine on the regular order of business and defer to the family to be able to speak on this, but uh want to thank the council for their uh judiciousness and uh looking at the renaming of the street and the way they went about uh allowing the community to participate in that process, and it gives us the opportunity to see where there are more opportunities to name other things.

Thank you very much, mayor.

Thank you, sir, members.

Uh before we bring up Dr.

Tran and her team, I want to send our condolences to the Rice University and the Hispanic community, really all of Houston for the passing of Dr.

Richard Topia.

Uh was a pioneering mathematician and advocate for diversity, passed away last week at 88 years of age.

He's uh mentored so many students across this great city and will remain an iconic figure in our academic world and certainly our community engagement.

So to his family, our condolences, uh, Dr.

Tran.

Members uh I asked Dr.

Tran to come give us uh a status report on our health department and other agencies, starting with the federal government down to the city.

Um response to the Ebola issue as it affects our nation and certainly Houstonians.

Um I knew the day would come that we'd be very pleased and blessed to have a medical doctor as director of the health department.

It was certainly a consideration.

And she and her team were at the airport to 10 30 last night.

I was in touch with them all weekend.

I don't know what others were doing on Memorial Day, but I was being briefed during the day by Dr.

Tran.

I could tell you additional thoughts in terms of whose responsibility it is.

But I'm on yield to Dr.

Tran.

It's our highest priority.

I know I speak for all of us to protect Houstonians, don't compromise our health concerns for FIFA or other issues that have been brought up on social media by other elected officials.

As Dr.

Tran will tell you today, it is not a FIFA concern.

It's a national concern and certainly the highest priority for the City of Houston's health department and this leadership around the horseshoe.

I know you're getting questions or text from your uh community, and that's the purpose in this engagement with Dr.

Tran.

Feel free to answer questions to the press.

If there's remaining questions by you, I'll make my office available for interview and discussion with Dr.

Tran.

I think you'll find her to be the most competent health director in the nation, bringing uh common sense and being a practitioner and is in regular contact with the CDC, the Center for Disease Control, which responsibility I through this challenge.

I've learned it's actually the federal government's responsibility.

She'll go through the protocols until they leave the airport.

Then it's our responsibility, and it is solely the city of Houston's responsibility within the city of Houston.

If someone's a resident of the unincorporated area and they're a citizen traveling back home, they will be the responsibility of the county.

But by far, the City of Houston is the governing agency, and I'm very pleased to introduce a very competent, passionate articulate public servants.

Dr.

Tran, I will yield and take your time to give us the protocols, how they were established, where we are today, and where you think we'll be going in the future, to the best of your knowledge.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Um thank you, Mayor Whitmeyer, for inviting me here to speak in front of council and um the public.

The um, so in order to get you to where we are today and give you the level of confidence that I have in our um public health emergency preparedness system, which includes the Houston Health Department in lockstep with Harris County Public Health, with the State Health Department, Department of Um State Health Services, and the CDC and other jurisdictions, along with our infectious disease experts in the region and the hospital system, SETRAC, HFD, HPD, the Houston Airport system.

We are um it is our job to think about the zombie apocalypse, and it is what we do all day, every day, and what we've prepared for for years to do.

Um so I'm gonna give you the uh the update on where how we got to where we are today and um and then what our protocols are as of 1159 p.m.

at IAH last night.

On um May 15, 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola.

Um it's the 17th outbreak of Ebola in the DRC since 1976 when Ebola disease was discovered in humans.

There are six strains of Ebola uh virus that four of which caused diseases in humans, two of which do not cause diseases in humans.

There have only been three instances of the Boon de Buyot virus strain causing an outbreak.

There have also only been three World Health Organization designations of public health emergencies of international concern, of which this outbreak is one of them.

The other two were in 2014 with the Zaire strain, and then in 2018 also with the Zaire strain.

What's important to understand is the way that Ebola spreads and becomes a public health threat and emergency and a problem is really an infrastructure problem.

In the continent of Africa where it exists and where all the outbreaks have been in humans, there is not good infrastructure.

They do not have the things we take for granted, like clean water, sanitation, hospital systems that have modern medicine and science.

And just PPE, it's such a common thing here now, but that's the that's the big problem of why it spreads easily.

So it has been crossing borders on the continent of Africa.

Since that emergency uh declaration was the international declaration was declared, what that means is the World Health Organization is calling upon nations to pour resources into looking for things like vaccines and therapeutics and resources to help trace the diseases in an area where it's very it's very um rural, there's not a lot of infrastructure like I mentioned, and they need a lot of help in Africa in order to contain the disease.

Here on American soil, the uh U.S.

Customs Border Patrol and the Center for Disease Control or CDC has done something that they have not done before, which is created travel restrictions for individuals coming to the United States of America.

The only individuals who are allowed to come home are US passport holding citizens at this time.

They are allowed to come home and go through a screening process that I'll describe.

The um, you know, the individuals who are wanting to come to the United States from outside who have traveled uh within the three countries of DRC, Sudan, or Congo over the over the preceding 21 days from when they come here, are not allowed in if they are not passport holders.

Um, we have a team from DRC, which is setting up base camp here in a few in a couple of weeks.

And um, to my knowledge, they are in Europe, and the 21-day kind of not quarantine, but the 21-day travel restriction would have started last week, last Tuesday or Wednesday, and so as long as they are not going back into the DRC, they will be allowed to come and play along with their teams and their fans, just like everybody else.

There are no CDC or um CBP or customs exceptions for individuals who are coming to watch any big games here.

So there won't, excuse me if interrupt, there will not be a fan base leaving the Congo.

If there is, then they will only once they are in the stadium, it would have been because they have been out of the DRC or Sudan or Uganda within the past 21 days.

The reason why they use 21 days is that's the maximum incubation period for Ebola virus, meaning the maximum amount of time where a virus could live in somebody's body without causing any symptoms before they start having symptoms.

Um with Ebola, you have to have symptoms in order to spread it.

There's no symptomatic spread, and it is only spread through um contact with copious amounts of body fluid.

It is not like the diseases uh um like things like measles or COVID, which are airborne.

So if I'm standing in front of you and I cough on you, you could get sick.

With Ebola, it is um it the virus is shed through body fluids, and the people who have gotten sick and died are people who have been in contact with copious amounts of fluids or who are doing funeral services and dealing with preparing the body.

So that is already just before we even get into the processes that our emergency systems have in place and our healthcare systems have in place, that's one layer of individuals that we're just not having to necessarily deal with right now.

So we are focused on American passengers coming home from work, from you know, there's a lot of work study abroad, people going on mission trips, uh visiting family members trying to get home, and many of them are trying to get you know their plane tickets home and coming home soon.

So the three access points that have been designated have been Dulles Airport, Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, and IAH.

I was the first person to be notified by the CDC that IAH was going to be chosen as an airport, and then of course I let the airport system know and I let you know, Mayor, on Friday.

And so we locally were not uh did not really have a say in how the airports were chosen.

I presume that it has to do something with international airports within proximity of a biocontainment unit or a regional emerging uh special pathogens treatment center.

There are 13 centers across the United States, and that even that network of those centers to specially care for Ebola were set up by the government in 2014 in response to the large West Africa Ebola outbreak at that time.

So our public health infrastructure exists in a way today that it just has not existed in the past.

And that leads me to say very confidently that I do not think that in the United States of America, in Houston, Texas, Harris County, that Ebola is a public health threat, and that we have a low likelihood of it becoming a public health threat because of its epidemiology, because of the way that it spreads, and because of the public health infrastructure that we have in place.

And so, with that in mind, uh we have been in contact with the CDC, and uh last night, like you mentioned, Mayor, um we walked through the airport and saw the process, and I'll be happy to share what that is with y'all right now.

Um, so when an ind okay, before an individual ever lands on American soil, CBP has information from them as to where they've been over the past 21 days, and that's because you have an American passport and the U.S.

with US passport, they are able to track where citizens have been over the past 21 days.

If it is somebody who has been in one of the areas of concern, which is DRC, I'm just gonna call it air of concern, but you know I mean DRC, Sudan, and um Uganda.

Um by the way, there are no direct flights into the United States from any of those areas, and so those flights usually are coming from Europe or the Middle East or other parts of Africa, but um CBP knows that because of our passports.

They have a list and they're able to identify individuals before they get off the airplane.

A CDP agent and a CDC agent will uh meet the passengers on the jet bridge at the gate and escort them to a special screening area at IAH before they leave or before they even get to the passport control area.

There's a over at the special screening area, CDC prevention officers are screening them, meaning they're asking them questions as to what kind of symptoms have you had, uh, any fever, vomiting, nausea, bleeding, what kinds of activities have you engaged in health care work?

Have you been around in rural areas?

Have you been around bats because that's the um the animal vector for this disease?

Have you been in these areas of concern with the outbreak?

Have you been dealing with any dead bodies?

From there, or have you had any sick contacts?

From there, if the individual answers no to every question and the um they have to answer no to every question, um, then they are deemed low risk, and they will be allowed to leave the airport customs.

Now, before they leave customs, the um CDC officer has taken down their information and has shared it, will have uploaded it onto a platform that is shared with the local health jurisdiction where the individual is going home to, where their destination is.

So they also ask, where are you going?

Um, you know, are is there any more travel that you're anticipating while you're in the United States?

What's your phone number or WhatsApp or however we can reach you.

Once that information gets uploaded onto the platform, which is called one CDP, the local health department where the individual's going home to gets that information and then ensues the follow-up for 21 days to ensure that the person doesn't have any symptoms, or if they do, that we're able to get ahead of them and help them into health care in the appropriate facility immediately.

After the 21 days is over, that's kind of just they're they're back to normal.

It's back back to life as normal.

Um if the individual screens with any yeses to any of the questions that the CDC screener asks, they will be escorted or they'll go into a room where a medical doctor, the CDC medical officer is stationed, and they will get an exam and further questioning and further information.

And by the way, before everybody leaves the airport, they get health information, they um get a uh they get information on how they can track themselves and how to what they need to do if they're they're if they have concerns.

Um the medical officer at that point of uh interview and examination can decide whether the individual is good to go with just extra precautions or screenings or maybe there was nothing to worry about because they they tested them for or you know, or they they just don't believe that they're high risk enough to need to go to a hospital, or they will request um HFD transport EMS transport if they feel like this person is a high risk for having Ebola virus disease or um uh you know needs to be transported to a hospital, at which time our HFD has processes in place to safely transport these individuals to the correct facility for care.

So that's that's it.

That's the process.

And uh, you know, like I said, the the main risk, and when I when I talk about the risk, we have to remember that um there was there was one case of Ebola death in the United States in the history of known Ebola disease, and that was in Dallas in 2014, before any of these um screening processes or or countermeasures were in place.

And it's because of that death that there's so many countermeasures in place today.

Um that individual went to Liberia, which at the time was a war-torn country, as well as the epicenter of the large um epidemic at the time in West Africa.

Uh the individual came home to Dallas, got sick, thought that it was like the flu or a fever or something, went to the ER, was in contact with a lot of hospital personnel, went back home for 48 hours and was in contact with his family living in the same quarters with his family, and got sicker, so came back to the hospital where then he was diagnosed with Ebola, was in contact with nurses who were taking care of him as he progressively got sicker and sicker and sicker, and so therefore was vomiting more, bleeding more, having more bodily secretions.

And two of his nurses who uh had some barriers and pro PP protocol, but there is a thought, you know, that it wasn't followed appropriately, got sick.

Neither of those nurses died, they both survived, um, having Ebola, and the individual died, but none of the doctors or nurses or staff who encountered or cared for him before, or any of his family members that he was living with got got Ebola.

And so the transmissibility of this disease is just so low that our biggest concern, and where we've been having constant conversations with infectious disease doctors in the region have been about safety within the health care professionals, and that we want every hospital in the region to be prepared because you never know if somebody if you're going to need to use those preparedness protocols that are in place.

Um all of this is done in conjunction with the CDC, with State Health Department, with our epidemiology experts, um, the infectious disease experts, the biocontainment unit in Galveston, and we just feel confident that we are prepared for anything that happens, and also confident that this is not a broad public health threat and not to be conflated with any travel or um or any other diseases that we've seen.

Thank you, sir.

I guess um a lot some of the misinformation would be that it's related to preparation for FIFA.

Uh have you been in contact with our partners, the sports party, the host committee, certainly the county, the state of Texas.

As we speak today, it is not tied to any FIFA related traveling.

I guess in fact uh the travel opportunity from those from the Congo has been blocked, with the exception of the team and officials who have not returned to Congo since they were playing in Europe.

I think that's certainly some of the misinformation to the press and others, trying to tie it as a potential danger or threat to your knowledge.

Uh would you speak to that?

Yes, sir.

From my public health perspective, um, the m vast majority of individuals who are going around watching games in the United States are United States citizens and residents, and those who are coming to watch the games from other countries are uh are not going to be allowed in if they've been in the areas of concern if within the past 21 days.

So they will go through the same screening process as everyone else.

It is a coincidence and an unfortunate coincidence that the DRC team and FIFA, the World Cup is happening at the same time as this epidemic in their country where they've had, like I said, 17 epidemics before.

It is um, it it I feel my heart breaks for that country at a time when it should be of national pride for them.

The World Cup and the Ebola outbreak response are in parallel and not related, and do not impose any especially with the travel um, you know, the travel conditions that customs and border patrol are enacting are not creating a um a cross, I think, of uh of conflict um as it pertains to health.

Now, you know, economic impact or other social impacts, I think that is a different set situation, but when it comes to the public health concern, um, of travel to enjoy the games, we should all feel very, very comfortable with enjoying any activities that we would this summer.

And let me remind you that um Ebola is going to go or this outbreak will be over when the proper measures are being able to be taken in Africa, and it's not going to be dependent on any travel or anything else that's happening in the world.

Um, so uh we are prepared to um in parallel, so we've been preparing as a public health department for a while now on it on the World Cup.

My biggest concern is people spreading measles or people spreading other airborne diseases because they're not vaccinated.

Very good.

And you gave a great review of the airport personnel and leadership.

And you were there last night.

I am really super impressed with the Houston Airport system and the leadership there and how well they work, and just all of the things that they've thought about that were on my checklist and they happily already had an answer to.

Thank you, Mayor.

Dr.

Tran, thank you for the update.

Residents are watching online.

I received a text question.

And she wants to know what's being done for the passport holders or legal residents.

Will they need to quarantine or what suggestions would you have as our passport holders, folks that live in Houston return back to Houston?

Thank you.

For those who are returning back to Houston, who have within 21 days been in DRC Sudan or Uganda, awareness of how you're feeling and fevers, any symptoms of illness are the most important thing.

If you are not within that travel group, then your um the recommendation is just life as normal as usual.

Thank you very much for the update.

Yes.

If you uh I will also say if you um are a person under monitoring, you will know it because you will have gone through the screening and um your local health department would have contacted you.

If that's not the case, then you are at not you're not at any higher risk today than you were last month.

Thank you.

Councilman Thomas.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Mayor, for adding on Dr.

Tran in the Health Department to the May's report.

Uh good morning, Dr.

Tran.

Um, I have complete confidence in your expertise, your unique skill set as a medical doctor, and our public health infrastructure.

Um, and I'm sure um y'all will take the right steps.

We witnessed that during the global pandemic, and so I have complete confidence in that.

But with that being said, being in this seat during the pandemic was um there's lots of similarities, right?

Large-scale events, outbreaks, there was hysteria.

So, my request would be one to reduce misinformation on the internet, um, and to reaffirm um our local commitment to public health.

Would your office be willing to provide a summary of what you just described in the protocol so we can communicate that repeatedly?

What I recalled during the pandemic was because everyone was home, right?

We told them to go home for two weeks and we'll see you soon, and it turned out to be two years.

Um, there were just a lot lots of misinformation, and so as we um just reaffirm that this is under control in the certain protocols would love if you can share that with our offices so we can get that to um constituents as media continues to follow this and other outlets.

I think it's incredibly important for us to come out and lead and just um underscore the confidence in our public health system.

Thank you so much.

And I understand the um knee-jerk reaction and the anxiety to any public health disease threat because we were so recently recovered from the pandemic.

I was a frontline emergency physician throughout the entire pandemic, and so um I I know how fearful people are.

In 2019, we were dealing of virology and how a highly transmissible disease spreads is just as important and in understanding how nervous we didn't really know a lot about.

It was brand new to the world and was transmissible through just the air.

And that was a lot of and it was causing symptoms that were just bewildering.

Um, somebody coming in with an oxygen level in this like 60s.

So it was we it was something that we were still learning about at the time.

Ebola virus disease has a well-known virology, has a well-known natural history of disease, and has a no a well-known way of epidemiological spread.

And so we're it's a and it's a much less transmissible disease, though it does have a higher mortality rate.

Um we just know a lot more about it, and so there's not cause to be freaked out.

But I will to your question um have that guidance out.

Yeah.

Excellent suggestion.

Councilman Christie.

Thank you, mayor.

Director, thank you for being here today.

It is incredibly important to get factual, accurate information out when we have public health situations arise.

And you've done a fantastic job uh giving us the update, letting the public know uh what the current situation is, uh getting facts out around the spread and the transmission of Ebola, and uh I commend you for that because it it helps combat some unnecessary fear, but also gives folks information they need to be prepared, which is important, and so I'll continue to amplify your message uh around this to my constituents, and again, just want to thank you for being here this morning to provide a critical update.

Thank you.

Counselor Evans.

Thank you, Mayor, and good morning, and thank you, Director Dr.

Tran, for your excellent and informative reading.

Briefing rather.

And mayor, I also want to thank you for ensuring the council and the public receive clear, timely information.

Our constituents have questions and briefings like this help uh clarify misinformation, provide accurate guidance on how residents can stay safe and explain what the city and our airport system are doing to protect the public.

So I want to again say thank you, Dr.

Tran, and thank you, mayor, for making sure that Houstonians have the information they need.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

Dr.

Utran, again, thank you for the really excellent briefing.

Um I know I feel better, and I know a lot of us know that it's gonna be okay with you at the helm.

Um my one question to you is moving forward.

If Houstonians want to sort of know the most up-to-date information and where you're at and what you're working on, should we direct them to the Houston Health Department social media page?

Is there another place where you will be putting out sort of up-to-date communications?

Where should we direct Houstonians to sort of stay up to date or if they have questions to know the latest will be at this particular website or web page?

Um, so we are going to follow the guidance of the CDC and the State Health Department.

The CDC has put out guidance, and then the implementation of that guidance is guided by the by each individual state, and um, you know, we could even do local jurisdictions, but uh the way that we are going to you know deal with updated information is uh follow the guidance which is published by the CDC.

We can um we we can certainly share that information as well on our own website.

I think that's a great idea.

Um we are and uh the mayor has made it clear, I think that public safety and public health are our number one priority and uh public information, the correct information.

We're very transparent.

We want people to know what's going on.

Um I'm standing before you today telling you with confidence that um you know that I'm not worried about it being a public health threat in Houston.

If that changes, I promise you I would not be able to sleep unless I were out there telling you that I'm truly worried that um that there's something going on, or even if I'm slightly worried because there's a break in the system somewhere.

Um not because I want people to be alarmed, but also but because I want people to know like what to expect if things may look or feel different, and um what the public health system is doing to prepare and to protect from that today.

I am telling you that we are just ready, and we're not we're not um at a place where we need to to to cause panic or alarm or or anything, and we just need to Houstonians need to be um Houstonians and do what we do best, which is go out, mingle, hang out with each other, work play um take care of our families see each other uh so that that that will absolutely be my number one priority to share that message thank you that's all on a personal note how old are your babies um ten months and two years well thank you for your your dedication to your family and the public health and uh I have complete confidence in you and your team so be safe uh work with Louie and Mary if the press would like to sit down with you you're certainly welcome to use my office yes sir thank you for your for your hard work thanks again for having us be safe um secretary into the public session our first speaker remare is yes mayor thank you uh procedural motion move to suspend the rules to move Jacob Klementec to the one minute agenda list motion well we don't I don't see it an agenda list so it would be the only speaker on the agenda list one minute agenda list agenda second motion made and second all in favor say yes those opposed nay motion passes uh council davis I'd like to move to make a motion to add and Mr.

Alan Freeman to the bottom of the three minute um not agenda list very good motion made and seconded all in favor say yes those opposed nay motion pass councilman shabon excuse me counselor evidence where where do you know if those are bottom of the three bottom of the three minute yeah inquiry yes I just want to ask council member did you mean to move them to the bottom to the bottom the bottom of that three minute okay they wanted to move to the bottom all right thank thank you for the clear for sure all right very good okay first speaker please Jacob Klementach to be followed by Ben McFall.

I'm gonna be real quick okay uh item number and item number 12 is about no messages and how young you get involved with parents coming because Toronto Ms.

can uh uh affirm that uh providing the managing violence is a key feature of the world because she used to be with as and they had a domestic wellness program now the other one is about number 20 uh Momo Herman meanwhile uh uh um getting them to be with the fever and the fan zone is very good because the monsters uh the the dynamo and well um and they're in the key position to work with the fans and the dynamo section now it's aggie time uh joke time do you know what the favorite depth is or nagging uh from a maids thank you jacob thank you jacob have a good day oh i forgot to mention i think the city more accessible you did a good job of uh uh running the water around here that oh we need to move more involved with the city of houston all right be safe, Jacob.

Thank you.

Come see us.

Next ben mc fall.

To be followed by al castillo.

Good morning, Mayor and council.

Uh, my name is ben mcfall.

I'm here representing the houston apartment Association.

Uh, first I'd like to start by saying congratulations to Councilmember Panzeria um on your victory and being sworn in today.

Uh the association looks forward to working with you uh in the future.

Um second, uh wanted to say thank you to all of you, uh, but especially the mayor, uh, council member Thomas and Council Member Cassex Tatum for all of the work that y'all put into passing the apartment inspection ordinance earlier this month.

I know it was quite a lot of work, um, and I think we are pleased with where it ended up, and we look forward to being uh continuing to be in communication with and working with you you all uh as we implement that ordinance.

And then finally, um I'd like to give a shout out to the uh Houston Apartment Association 2026 Leadership Lyceum class that is here with us today.

Um and I hope that you all will uh join me in welcoming them to their casey with you.

Okay, thank you, Casey, and I've seen members.

Thank you for visiting us, go make a difference, and thank you to the apartment association.

Ben, uh Councilmember Flickinger.

Thank you, Ben for coming down here today.

I mean, it's great to see where industry can work with the government to try and craft some smart ordinances to benefit everybody.

Uh, and also uh it's really neat for the Lyceum.

Uh I think these uh people that are involved with it will certainly benefit in their professional career from going through this.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, Al Castillo.

To be followed by Mark Rodriguez.

Good morning, everybody.

Uh Honorable Mayor Whitmeyer, uh, honorable uh city council members.

My name is Al Castillo.

I live in the East End.

Uh I am concerned about our First Amendment.

Uh as provided by the Constitution and the plight of HMS uh Houston Media Source.

Uh since it's moved deeper into the uh east end community, it has woven itself into the fabric of the community, and it's a platform that we believe that is uh consistent and constant with the uh with the communication that we can provide for our not only east end communities but the surrounding communities.

I uh I am uh um a member or a uh uh invested member of a new organization that's just uh we just uh recently uh formed it's called Scene, uh Super East End Network.

And our our mission is to try to provide networking through all the communities, not only in the East End but across the cities.

Thank you.

We finished, yeah.

Well, I was about to go ahead, finish.

And uh I think because we did a number of uh uh series of town hall meetings across the underserved and uh uh under um resource communities, and we provided informational uh informational uh action to what to do when uh how do you uh fight your property taxes?

Do you have probate?

Do you have a will?

Do you have uh the schools are being uh um closed down in the east end?

There's 11 of them from last count.

So we don't have a good avenue for education unless we move across the city and we don't have a platform to to express our our discontent with what's happening to our communities.

Councilman Martinez.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Al, thank you for being here.

And I see that there's several folks that are here to speak about Houston Media Source.

Uh mayor, uh, within the last year it moved into the east end off of navigation.

Um and we are now tracking it.

We uh when we're going through budget workshops, we realized that there's uh there won't be any funding for the Houston Media Source.

So would love to sit down with uh you and your team uh to identify ways where uh this particular um asset uh could be um still in the east End and utilized for for what it's what it's worth.

Um as I was mentioning, um it provides an outlet for a community to come together.

I was at a uh a book um showing not too long ago there.

Uh but there are also opportunities for other other um high school and colleges, college students to participate in and what it takes to put on podcasts and so on.

So um I I'm just gonna speak to you right now, Al and the rest of the the folks.

Um my team and I are tracking it, and we're gonna see what what can we do uh to make sure that that space uh becomes available to it continues to be available to the community.

We really appreciate it.

Thanks for your effort.

Thank you.

Yes.

We'll be glad to meet with you, Councilmember Davis.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, thank you, Al, for coming.

There are several people who are here to speak uh in behalf of the Houston Media Source, and and I just wanted to um chime in with Councilmember Martinez in regards to the media source and what it has done in the past.

It's been very active in terms of what it does for the East End as one who has used it on many occasions on past from so many different areas.

So I agree.

I think it's um something I've met with a couple of uh people to look at how we can come up with some, you know, methods and ways about supporting the media source.

And thanks for that.

Uh it's it's a personal uh it's a personal struggle for us at scene because we have two major players uh that use the facility, and one of them is Blanca Blanco and her um uh FIMA magazine live, and the other is Tony Diaz with uh Nuesta Palabra and his uh writers having their say.

So that's essential, and we want to train the young people coming through so we'll have the next uh the next generation of leaders, and we think this platform can help us out.

Very good, thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, guys.

Next, Mark Rodriguez.

To be followed by Yosem Hernandez.

Yes, my name's Mark Rodriguez.

I'm a president of uh Oakland Fortune Civic Association, also on two business in the second ward.

First, I want to start off by thanking the mayor and his chief of staff and of course the mayor pro Tim.

Y'all are so responsive, and and I really appreciate it.

I mean that very sincerely.

Last night when I got that message, I was very impressed at the time.

And you wake up very early, Mayor, but thank you.

Next, I want to start off by addressing something to councilwoman Salinas.

Three months ago, I asked you to return my phone call, and I haven't got a phone call yet.

I said, okay, well, let me call our chief of staff, see if they can get a phone call.

I had not got a phone call yet.

It's very disheartening because I know my council members Castile, but you're an at-large, and y'all need to do better with your your staff and also council member Castillo.

I shouldn't have to address stop signs on a hike and bike trail on a weekly basis to you.

That's something your chief of staff, you give them these titles, and they don't do nothing.

How long has it been that we've been requesting these stop signs on our hike and bike trail?

Eight months ago.

And now they came up with, oh well, parks and recreation was confused.

It's very disheartening to keep asking, and I appreciate the response you give me, but you need to work more with your staff to get them more on board.

Next, I want to start off with the veterans affair.

My father's a 92-year-old veteran who needs help.

We had a stroke a month ago and now he's not doing well.

It's been over a month now.

The veterans affair department, it's like a big joke.

I mean, oh, we're gonna do a Zoom call, and I know this will have nothing to do with y'all, but I still wanted to address the problem with my father and Veterans Affairs ain't really helping.

On 419 emaccupation, I really encourage you, Mayor, and y'all don't make our community the dropping off spot for the whole city of Houston.

Clean up our community with 419 before we start going to the gallery and picking them up and dropping them off in my neighborhood.

On our hike and bike trail, I asked the council members several times for months about our stop signs, about hiding spots with brushes.

Your time has expired.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Parks and recreation don't seem like they see trees that are hiding spots for community.

But um, thank you, Mayor, again, and I commend you and your staff.

I wish all the council members were working the way y'all work.

Thank you.

Council members, you need more time.

Um actually a couple of more.

Real brief, we're gonna go.

Christopher Shanahan with Public Works.

I had an issue going on with the public works, and Christopher Shanahan straightened it out.

And I wanted to thank you again for that.

We're all working together.

We're going to address your concerns.

Council Salina.

Mark, thank you so much for coming to council.

Um, I'm not quite sure what the issue is.

I know that when we spoke last, you had asked for zoo tickets.

I know our office provided those tickets.

But my chief of staff, Chris Chu, is here if you can raise your hand, Chris.

He is more than happy to speak to you about any concerns you have.

Our focus is to make sure we always address constituent services.

I'm sorry you felt you had to come to council to get a response, but we're here to serve and hope we can do our best to help you.

Thank you, Council.

Councilman Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

And Mark, it's good to see you down here.

Um, I know that we have been engaged on a number of issues uh regarding your concerns.

And I will say, um, if my staff isn't responding to you as much as you would like, they do respond to you frequently.

You know, we're on the phone.

Uh almost every member of my team with you multiple times a week, emails multiple times a week.

We have facilitated site visits, we have facilitated ride-alongs, we have facilitated meetings, and that hike and bike trail that you're bringing up is about to get a two-point something million dollar investment from the tours.

So you're not going to see a lot of improvements come right now only to come and be undone when the tours comes through to reconstruct the hike and bike trail and add the significant improvements that the community has asked for, like the call boxes, like stop signs, like uh other features of enhanced lighting, etc.

So we're gonna continue to work with you, we're gonna continue to support.

Um, but I I don't appreciate my team being called out for not being responsive enough when you are probably the most contacted person in the district H office.

Uh, and we're gonna continue to provide that service.

Councilmember, can I?

This stop sign thing has been going on for nine months now, since I came and asked the Maripo Tim about the stripes, and they got the new striping machine.

Okay, so now Tears isn't gonna do this project for another two and a half years, okay.

So you're telling me my community don't deserve that, like the heights, or is this what's the difference between my community and the heights?

You're getting the investment that you want on that hike and bike trail.

So we have to wait almost three years to get this done.

So we're gonna have to wait three years to get stop signs where they need to be.

It's not gonna take, it's not gonna happen overnight, right?

But you're getting the investment.

You're getting the lights, you're getting the call boxes, you're getting the signs, you're getting the signs on the street in addition to the stop signs.

It's a significant investment.

And it's coming to the Harrisburg Hike and Bike Trail.

I'm reflecting it right back.

So y'all can't put some stop signs up where they need to be.

I'm not asking you to go put the lights in the call boxes.

We can wait three years for that.

We don't think we're gonna continue.

We're gonna continue to be engaged with you, Mark, and support you on all the issues that you have requested help on.

From the trail to the businesses to weeded lots, parking violations, etc.

Homelessness.

We're gonna continue to be engaged with you on it.

You have to understand my concern about the homelessness.

A homeless guy terrified my six-year-old daughter by banging on our car the other day at McDonald's, and he's very lucky I didn't get a hold of him that day.

Uh Councilmember Davis.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Mark, question.

I just wanted to refer back that you mentioned your father.

You said your 92 year old.

He's a 92-year-old Korean war veteran.

Yeah.

He was doing fine up to about six weeks ago.

He had a stroke, and right now he's half paralyzed.

And we've been trying to work with the Veterans Affair Department to try to get him help that he would need.

And they did a they said, Oh, we're gonna do a Zoom phone call, then they call us back, or they sent an email, and they said, Oh, the Zoom that would that we have to wait three weeks for the Zoom phone call.

So then my mother was very excited about it.

She's been in the hospital every every day for him.

Anyway, on the third, on the same day of the call, we get another email.

Say, oh, your your meeting's been canceled to the 21st of May.

And then on the 21st of May, then they said, now we're gonna send you a letter.

You gotta wait for the letter.

But I just say he he deserves help, and he's never asked for an absolutely from the government and we know that it comes slow with a lot of us as veterans we want to know is he at the VA he's not at the VA he was at a rehab he's he can move his arm and leg a little bit pressure on it so they they put him in my at my brother's house right now okay good so let me let me meet with you and and try to help you with you I got you you got and I appreciate you oh yeah no problem thank you just reach me thank you and I appreciate you thank you more nextem hernandez to be followed by Angela Baldwin just want to say first uh my name is David uh I'll be interpreting for you see she's going to give her testimony in Spanish and then I'll go in English.

You travel much but the other man I think so the basura are difficult for his hijos para me ahorrar for the future of his hijos in this moment what buyers of his vecinos depending on his amigos problemas de salut can permit travel at tempo completo las facturas de agua area circa un 66% de asesinco años la ciudad iscuid deliberal deliberately tal vez que lo parezca muy caro pagar silk dollars the service municipal silebo telemos que pagar el valdado la rental los villes poco a poco salido thank you ohsted crear un sistema de pago que escala con los sueldos para que los más pobres los más vulnerables la propuesta is la tarifa de recollection de basura se paga mediante móvil basada a sus ingresos valores de la mediala origres del area de Houston existe exactos de la dicha tarifa los hogares colocos del 60% de la ingresos del area tasa reducida calculando el funcionamento all right I'll say that what she said right now in English um so it's okay.

Uh I'm a health care provider.

Um my name is Yasim Hernandez, I'm a health care provider and a resident of northeast houston in district B.

I would like to address the proposed trash collection fee.

I work very hard but earn very little.

And nevertheless, one way or another, I strive to provide for my family.

This new trash fee will make it even more difficult to raise my children and save money for the future.

At this moment, Mr.

Whitmire, a large percent of my neighbors and indeed my entire neighborhood rely on fixed incomes.

Furthermore, many of my friends live with disabilities and health issues that prevent them from working full time.

Water bills have risen nearly 66% over the last five years, a consequence of the city's deliberate neglect of our sewer system.

To you, paying five dollars for a municipal service may not seem like a significant expense.

However, we are facing a rising cost for groceries, rent, and other bills.

Little by little, penny by penny, our cost of living continues to climb.

The Northeast Action Collective proposes that you establish a payment system that scales according to income, protecting the poorest and most vulnerable residents in one of the nation's poor cities.

Households with income between sixty and a hundred percent of the Houston's area's median income shall pay a fee at a reduced rate, calc calculated as a function of their income using a constant gradient.

Households with an income exceeding a hundred percent shall pay the full fee.

Uh and the trash fee paid by families shall be based on the volume of waste they generate relative to the household size, and the average household will pay the amount currently being proposed as a standard fee for all families.

I was just uh just for the general public.

Um what I'll share with Mr.

Nandez is that um you know I was probably the biggest proponent for a trash fee uh for the last two years.

I've submitted a budget amendment.

Um the last two years, this year I will not submit a budget amendment because there is a pathway now, uh as we're now moving solid waste into the combined utility system and creating that administrative fee.

Uh throughout my conversations of a trash fee, there's always also been uh talks of what does an exemption look like that has never left the conversation for me.

I grew up in a family of twelve, understand that there's sacrifices that are that are made, uh, but quite frankly, the our trash services have has been underfunded.

Uh facilities uh infrastructure has been deferred, and this is a great pathway to now uh make sure that we're providing a core service that folks really utilize on a weekly basis, sometimes twice a week.

Um, and so my commitment to Mr.

Nandez is that over the next two years, as we have this administrative fee in place, is how do we identify exemptions for working families, for seniors, veterans, whatever that might look like.

So again, this is a necessary uh um structural reform that has been needed for decades, quite frankly.

Uh so we're I'm committed to making sure that we do see uh solid ways finally funded where it's supposed to be in this year's a little bit over 130 million dollars.

Historically, it's always been a hundred million dollars.

Um and so uh the work will continue uh ultimately.

Should I just say that?

One second, ma'am.

Councilman Flickinger.

Yeah, we've had several people come and talk about having reduced rates based on income.

Did y'all have any suggestions on to how we would collect that data?

Because your income taxes aren't sent to the city, they're sent to the IRS.

So how would we go about verifying who makes what's that question to me?

Yeah, we'll do this.

Um, we do have property tax data.

And that way we that way we can determine um pretty much just we can base that rate based on the pro on the property tax.

But that only tells you what the property's worth.

Yes, but that also means like a lot of folks are living in uh pretty like low uh value homes.

Like I know our residents in District B, uh we're probably not we're well well beneath uh the eight hundred and seventy five thousand dollars that are probably uh where we would benefit from this trash fee, right?

Because I think what we calculated was that eight hundred seventy-five thousand dollars would be where uh if we set it at tax property rate.

Um, I understand there's a correlation between housing cost and income, but certainly not an exact.

It's not exact because some people may live may could be renting from a higher value home, but generally people or even living in a neighborhood that's lower income but they make higher income, right?

I mean, certainly they're probably not gonna be wealthy.

But it's very rare.

I know that in especially in the street B, there's not a very large population making over 100K.

So there's not a lot of property values that are well over eight hundred thousand dollars either.

Okay, thank you.

So a lot of the folks in my neighborhood would be uh it once it gets to $25, would be very hard to pay.

Uh because that would be $300 a year for trash.

That's I mean, three trips to the grocery, man.

That even is like probably two trips to the grocery store.

You know, that's gonna make it very hard for people to live and pay off any kind of debt they have.

Like Ms.

Joseen was saying, she's paying uh rent right now, groceries bills.

Um so it would make it very hard for her, especially because she has kids who are now graduating and going to college, and she wants them to go to school to college.

They want to go to college.

She's got to have a way to pay for that.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Scene.

Um, in response to Councilmember Fletchinger's question, and I'm curious if NAC has a view.

As I'm sure you all are aware, there is a water fund that the city currently has where they do provide discounts to people who cannot pay, and there's a mechanism by which the city already makes those determinations.

I see no reason why that couldn't extend to this administrative fee given that the bill will come under the water fund.

Does NAC have a view on that?

Thank you.

I had a question for the we could look at that, see if that's the caliph fee um can apply equally the same way, and they probably should.

Um although I don't I do know a lot of my neighbors still complain that the water bill is still too high, or maybe there's not enough maintenance being done on this meters, but um maybe that just needs to be looked at as well.

Certainly agreed more can be done, but I wanted to see if you all had a view on whether there was a system in place that could work to help alleviate the concerns of families.

Um, or something at least to look into.

Yeah, I think we are what we did propose was uh using it based on income.

If we could probably find a way to check that with the IRS and work together with uh or find a way to try to check that data, it is public.

Um, but the easiest way I think probably using the property tax data that we have.

That's okay.

Yes, thank you.

Angela Baldwin.

To be followed by Marion Wright.

Hello, my name is Angela Balling.

I'm a life.

My name is Angela Bowen, I'm a lifelong resident of Houston, a former flood survivor.

I am a member of the Northeast Action Collective.

I am here to specifically advocate for the council to invest an additional 20 million dollars into the roads, the roadside ditch reestablishment program.

So far, this program has shown that it can make a difference in the way water moves.

Ditches are one of the main defenses we have against flooding, and the city has neglected this for two decades.

It shouldn't take the threat of a hurricane coming in order for the city to act.

The people in the communities shouldn't feel scared when it rains for fear of flooding.

Many of the top neighborhoods impacted facing other threats, including City Gas, Cynic Wood, Fontaine, Place, Northwood Manor, and East Houston.

There are decades of neglect that this council can help correct.

And remember, this program will impact the whole city.

I do believe that this is not the final solution.

Ditches won't be able to hold or move the amount of water underground drainage can.

But until all that ad value money starts being used for what it's intended for, the ditch reestablishment program is the best we have.

I am asking one or more of the members of this council to sponsor an amendment for this 20 million dollar increase.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next.

To be followed by Amy Gutierrez.

Hi, I want to welcome Joe to council.

I'm very happy to see a new face at Council, more so than maybe a lot of people.

I appreciate the fact that when we spoke, you promised that you're gonna listen to the community.

I am not a member, or I don't live in District C.

My mom lives in District C.

I live in district H.

We own property in District C.

I can't tell you how many times I was told by another council member, you don't even live in my district.

Thank you for promising to listen to everybody.

Now that you're in the seat and you're there, I also want to share with you.

Thank you for being a telly and everyone always says you and I have something common.

My maiden name is Mana Bano.

So I know that's silly, but just thought I'd share with you that.

But thank you for being here, and thank you for agreeing and promising to listen to everybody and not just small groups and pockets of people.

Thank you.

Next, Amy Gutierrez.

To be followed by Richard Laredo.

Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council.

Good morning.

My apologies, City Council members.

My name is Amy Gutierrez, and I am here today representing families from Browning Elementary, Hogg Middle School, and surrounded Greater Heights communities with a clear and urgent request to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection of Northwood and Maine.

At Northwood and Maine, students and families are expected to cross four lanes of traffic with no stop sign, no protect protected pedestrian crossway, and no crossing guard.

Vehicles routinely speed through the flashing school zone lights and commute as commuters rush to and from I-45.

It's not just inconvenient, it's dangerous.

This intersection affects far more than one campus.

A safe crossing at Northwood and Maine would directly impact the students and families connected to Travis Elementary, Browning Elementary, Hog Middle School, Heights High, and numerous daycare and early childhood centers nearby.

Hundreds of children and families rely on this street every single day.

Our community has been raising these concerns for years and have had multiple 311 requests submitted dating as far back as 2016 regarding the dangerous conditions of this intersection.

Time and time again, these cases are closed, yet no meaningful safety measures are ever implemented.

Families are left feeling ignored while the danger continues.

We often hear about creating a more walkable Houston, encouraging biking, reducing traffic congestion, improving public health, but those goals only matter if residents actually feel safe enough to safe enough to use the infrastructure.

Families who want to bike to school or simply just don't feel safe.

Without a protected crossing, the community remains disconnected and vulnerable.

A hog signal at Northwood and Maine would change that.

It would create a predictable controlled crossing for children's children, parents, teachers, and residents.

It would slow traffic, it would improve visibility.

Most importantly, it would help prevent a tragedy before one occurs.

We should not have to wait for a child to be seriously injured for this intersection to become a priority.

Our community has already worked with district age council member Castillo's office, and there is acknowledgement that a safety improvement is needed, but the funding delays should not outweigh the safety of our children.

We are asking the city of Houston prior to prioritize the installation of a hawk pedestrian crossing system at Northwood and Maine and move this project forward with urgency.

We're also asking for a clear timeline because families have already waited too long for this basic safety measure.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

And Amy, thank you for being here today.

I see you're wearing the Browning shirt.

I know uh how important this particular intersection is to you and so many others.

Uh, you know, um, mayor, when I did my ride along with uh Director Mackeye, North Maine was one of the corridors we went down because it is it is a safety issue.

Uh we do have speeding, we have a lot of lanes, and we have families crossing to get to school uh without a lot of protection, and so uh it is a priority for me.

I know we have been engaging some other partners to try and bring in additional dollars.

Uh I'm committed to seeing something significant happen that will offer that protection that the neighborhood is seeking.

Um, and you coming down here today to advocate for that will help as well.

So we'll continue to stay engaged.

Um hopefully there will be some updates soon to share, but know that it is continues it continues to be a priority for me.

May I add one point as well?

Yep.

This crossing will also add um a safety measure for people to get to Monty Beach Park, which has been designated as one of the let's play Houston parks, so it will directly impact that measure as well.

Thank you for being here.

We'll work with Councilman Cristadio to make something happen.

Awesome, thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next, Richard Lareto.

Vivian Allen.

To be followed by Christopher Fields.

Good morning.

Respect you all.

My name is Vivian Allen.

I'm a resident of Dorthwood Manor.

I've been there for half of my life.

I've been in Houston for 69 years.

And today I'm speaking on two things.

First of all, I would like to speak to the council on the 20 million dollar flood into the flood ditches and retainment program.

In my lifetime, I've lived in flooded three times in our home.

And it gets harder after each flood in the Northwood Manor area.

We flood just if you if you say rain, Northwood Manor with flood.

Um my concern is not just for me, but for the residents in my area as well.

I'm in my family's home where I was blessed when my parents passed away.

My child by me and my daughters were homeless.

So now that we're there.

Left with the woods behind me.

They're in my backyard.

There are still power lines down.

I don't know what they're connected to or who they're connected to, but I'm not, I can't even allow my grandkids to play in the backyard.

We can't go in the backyard because the manhole is in my backyard as well, and there is raw sewer.

When it rains really hard, it comes up in my backyard, in my bathtub, in my toilet.

So if you after a rain sometime, you can come to our neighborhood, you'll see three or four plumbers in the driveway because the sewer is backing up, as well as there are still big tall trees in my yard that I pray every night that when it rained, God please don't let the tree fall in the house.

Not that it's a city's problem, but I was taught you have not because you asked not, I have not the funds to have that tree removed.

So I'm coming today asking the city to please look into it at least.

Has the tree already fell?

That one hasn't fallen.

The ones that fell, uh they were cut up, but it's one now that's right.

You're worried about an existing growing tree.

Yes, ma'am.

I'm I'm calling it.

No, no problem, me too.

Um the tree that you're concerned about is not a tree that's fallen down from barrel or other store.

You have a growing tree that you believe is a threat, a danger.

Right.

Okay.

I'm gonna let you talk to Rebecca Williams when you get through.

Okay, and we will find either a city, or we'll collaborate with the private sector and address that for sure.

The sewage is a challenge, and we'll have public works visit and see if there's a drainage problem, a clog problem, or what your special concerns are.

Council member Jackson.

No, thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Miss Allen for coming in and um raising these issues.

Um, there are some drainage projects that's happening right now in Northwood Manor, and I will follow up with Rebecca to make sure that you know, just see what's happening in your backyard with the tree and the power lines, but also, I would just want to encourage you.

I don't know if you work with the um the civic club or the super neighborhoods in that area, the civic club, Mr.

Um, Mr.

Woods.

I would encourage you to get connected.

I'm really, really hard on here.

Okay, but here I can.

I would encourage you to get um connected with the civic club in that area, but in the meantime, we'll talk with you out there and just make sure you're connected and get your address so that we can come out and check on the situation.

Okay, yes, all right.

Thank you so much for hearing me, and y'all have a nice day.

Thank you, Miss Allen.

Next, Christopher Fields, Sharon Chase.

To be followed by Sheila Trask.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council, Tarsha Jackson, my daughter says hi, your former employee.

This is a full circle moment for me.

Thank you guys for listening.

I was raised by public television in the mean streets of Philadelphia.

It was escapism for me.

So being here in Houston, being able to now be a producer, become a producer through their program and their training, and to have my own show on public television is an awesome moment.

And so free speech is the last of the Mohicans, as they say, that we have to protect as a citizen at the top of the organizational chart.

So I'm an entrepreneur, I have my own media company called Icon Image Media Productions, and the media gives us a voice.

You know, it gives us a voice and it preserves the voice of you guys until voting time because we come in contact with all those people on the grassroots level.

And that's the only way we can make impact is on the grassroots level.

And so, you know, I'm here because I'm really passionate about this public television because it helps to support uh civic engagement, it helps to support jobs for our youth.

So youth engagement is safety.

Where I came from, if the youth had something to do, then the streets were safe.

So the Houston media becomes then an offense, and the police become the defense.

And so the youth engagement, it also gives us visibility, which creates opportunity.

And in this time in this economy, we need as much opportunity as we possibly can.

And from what I've been told, uh Houston Media is uh continuing to upgrade their infrastructure to become a hub, which also works into the uh governor's initiative uh for talent.

They want this to be a talent hub.

There's a lot of talent in each and every one of your districts.

Um, Houston Media will also be able to supply workforce development.

And so, you know, just thinking about it being on the chopping block, um, you know, it makes me a little misty.

Uh, it makes me think about um, I'm getting ready to date myself.

Makes me think about uh when I was talking to my daughter, and I told her, I said, you know, television didn't always stay on, television went off.

She was like, What do you mean television went off?

I said, Yeah, the little broadcast thing would come on and the national anthem would be said, the little boo would come, then the snow would come.

They gave us snow, and then it blacked us out.

So I'm here to say to you today, don't black us out.

Keep our voice, amplify our voice.

No voice, no vote.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Sheila Trask.

To be followed by Christopher Gooden.

Good morning, Mayor, Council members.

I stand to you, stand with you today on behalf of Houston Media Source.

I was 65 years old, and I went into the studio.

I didn't know a thing about a camera.

I didn't know anything about editing.

I didn't know anything but how to take a picture.

That's all I could do.

And they said, Well, come to Houston Media Source Orientation, and that was eight years ago.

I'm 72 years old now, and they have worked with me as a senior, which means they had to slow down.

They had to talk English my language.

They had to give me the opportunity that I needed to become one of their successful producers.

I have a TV show.

Something good is about to happen.

It's by the committee for the community, by the community, and I also traveled and bring content to the studio.

We cannot close our doors.

We close our doors.

You're closing doors on future seniors, their grandchildren, even their grandchildren.

We're ready to have our 40-year anniversary.

40 years, Houston Media Source has been open, has been training producers, directors, screenwriters.

We can't allow this to happen.

I need a place to continue.

I have a cooking show I want to bring forth.

I have other members that are seniors that live in my building that are interested in what I do.

We have to keep going, and we have to be strong, and we can do it.

Something good is about to happen to Houston if you allow us to let it happen.

Thank you so much for hearing me.

Ma'am.

Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am.

Councilman Jackson.

Thank you, Miss Chase.

So why are the doors closing?

Well, it's funding.

Okay.

We need funding.

How much funding?

We need millions.

Millions.

We need millions.

And so, where do your resources normally come from?

They will now be coming from donations.

What were you getting from at first?

Nonprofit.

Okay, nonprofits.

Okay.

Just it was curious.

All right.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

Christopher Gooden.

George LeBlanche.

To be followed by Theodore Carrero.

Um, greetings, council members, greetings to all of you.

Uh, there's a uh handout being passed out.

Um greetings, Mayor Whitmire and City Council on May 21st.

I thank your offices and your staff for making it possible to speak with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department Deputy Director, Mr.

Prentice Collins.

On that day, Deputy Director Prentice Collins agreed with my recommendation and agreed with my initiative to appear and appeal to this city council for funding to hire two, two additional certified first responder lifeguards at each open 2026 aquatic facility.

As an aquatic supervisor of 16 years, I, George LeBlanche, have been privileged by this great city to lead, train, mentor, and inspire certified aquatic first responders, aka lifeguards, since 1988, but compounded and compacted in the midst of an epic Houston Parks and Recreations departmental recruitment and retention failure, the current minimal number of required aquatic faculty staff is unsafe for the following but not limited reasons.

Twenty-nine of the total 38 pool facilities require the minimum number of four to five lifeguards when one or two lifeguards, when one or two lifeguards are no longer employed or absent for infinite reasons, including summer obligations, activities, programs, and summer school, the operational safety minimum, faculty staffing coverage number, coverage number, is compromised and unsafe.

Respectfully, I am pleading with this mayor and this city council to avert a potential loss of life event due to critical dire understaffing of certified first responder lifeguards.

Councilor Jackson.

Was that the last time?

Yeah, thank you, sir.

We'll take it up with Kenneth Allen.

Um he assures us that it's safe.

We'll definitely have him take a second look based on your testimony.

Alright.

And uh would I first I want to thank you and your chief of staff because they really did assist me in having that communication with Mr.

Collins.

Uh so can I check back with you all if in your response?

Uh you only met uh Mr.

Allen was out on family business.

Okay, so he'll he's back this week, so I'll be taking this up with him.

Okay, thank you.

You know, we're very proud that the pools are open in recent years, they've been closed, and uh he's a very competent director, and safety is his highest concern.

So let me get with him and we'll stay in contact.

Thank you, sir.

Yeah, good.

Thank you, city council members.

Thank you.

Good job.

Thank you.

Next, Theodore Carrero.

Steve Williams, Alan Freeman, to be followed by Gerald Lebeau.

First of all, I want to.

Can you guys hear me now?

First of all, I want to say uh this must be a great day to be uh Panzarella.

Is that the guy?

Got a whole prayer by yourself, brother.

That's good.

Um this, what you know, before I start, Edward Pollard.

I just want to say thank you for being a stand-up brother.

You are very respected out there in the community.

I worked 12 years in the House of Rep for Ron Wilson, and you remind me of Craig Washington, you know, Mickey Leland.

Keep striving, brother.

And I know your mom would be proud.

She was my theater teacher.

She and Dr.

Freeman took us around in the world.

We performed at some of the best universities and theaters in the world, and uh, she was, let me tell you, she in 1984, I believe, July 12th.

She was walking around nine months pregnant and handling, and I believe a week later you were born.

Thank you, brother.

Um July 19th, you're right.

Okay, I see.

I'm a comedian, I tell the truth, I'm not a politician.

But look, uh, this reminds me of a time I spent with Sylvester Turner.

Uh this was 2016, Kevin Hart's production of Heartbeat Productions of Heart of the City and Comedy Center, come to the city to uh to do this major production.

And Kevin had the opportunity to sit down with Kevin, and they talked about the possibilities of what Houston had, what we could do in the city with the level of talent we have and producers that we have, and then that followed with BET coming and then showtime at the Apollo and all of that.

And what Kevin emphasized to Sylvester, what I think he really heard, he says, y'all missing some great revenue.

There's a lot of money that could be generated for bringing these kind of productions to the city.

This is why this is important, guys.

I mean, our my favorite comedian Stephen Colbert was just off stage.

We know why, but he's gonna end up on public access television doing a show.

It is it is important that Houston has a great wealth of talent.

The upside for us, or for a politician, it sits in a community that is being I say regenerified, but it's being made whole, and it's you know, it's funneled with primarily uh wealth of Hispanic talent.

This needs to happen, guys.

We we are missing the vote on this, and I know you guys have heard that you know, Chicago and and and Louisiana, New Orleans are getting all these major productions.

We have a facilities right on navigation, those facilities are equal to any major studio production.

I know I worked 12 years also another 12 years for uh WB and Steve Harvey, and I'm telling you, it's no different.

What they have over there is no different.

What's what I think the problem is is that it's not being utilized.

We're not tapping into the qualified talent that can make that happen.

Your time has expired.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Pollard, sure.

Councilman Pollard.

Sure.

Mr.

Good.

Thank you, Councilman Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor, and I appreciate those words.

Um didn't know if you had some more comments, but if you have anything to finish up, you can have my time.

Yeah, thank you.

Um, as I said, I have the opportunity to work closer with Steve Harvey and another talented brother Roshan McDonald, who's one of the top producers in Hollywood now representing Stephen A.

Smith and Linda Adams and some other folks.

We have access also to major producers that can come in this city and assist us.

And you know what I thought?

I thought as a comedian, when I told you when I said the words to the council that more revenue for the city that everybody would have got happy, but uh maybe we have enough money already.

Mayor, do we are we we have enough money we don't need anymore?

Oh okay, I'm just maybe the mayor does, but uh ladies and gentlemen, this is an important venture over there in that part of the city.

It is a possible Hollywood studio that can happen right there in our city.

We can bring major productions here.

We are always having you know major stars come here.

I've worked with Steve Harvey, I work with Dave Chappelle, I've worked with Kevin, I've worked with Chris Rock, they all come to the city, and you guys are not even aware because we don't have anything that we can offer to keep those people in the city and bring their productions here.

This is the fourth largest city in the world.

Uh as far as uh locales of filming, there are different types of locales here in Houston where we can create any part of the nation by going to a different part of the city and shooting in that particular city.

So I would uh I I implore you guys to make this step.

This is art as well.

And I talked about your mother, and she's a professor of theater.

It is so important that we follow up, folks.

And and the and the reason why it's important to me is because Sylvester committed to it.

He saw the vision, and we should honor Sylvester by doing what he said he would do with Kevin Hart.

Let's bring more productions to the city.

And don't close Houston Media Source because that is a crown jewel, folks.

Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for uh joining us this morning.

I graduated from the Dan Rather School of Communications at Sam Houston State from my undergrad and many of my peers in the radio television program.

I was around Old Maine too.

But they cut their teeth.

Well, Eubanks was um they cut their teeth at Houston Media Source.

Um the first time I read on the teleprompters because a friend of mine was working doing something there, and that's where we did it.

Um so I understand the value in the community.

I think you're absolutely right for all the speakers who have joined.

We have such a uh creative economy, and uh many folks in the city of Houston that have gone on to do great things, have always come back to say I would have loved to film here in my city.

Um, I think a Mo Amer, um, who filmed his Netflix special in Houston intentionally, um, for that reason, you're absolutely right.

We have the ability to recreate any part of the world, and I think it's it's more than just simply about revenue, it's really about retaining the same type of pride.

You know, the people that um grow up in this city, we want them to come back, and there's and I and I think you know, and I'm just shocked that the Houston media source that this is even a conversation that the doors, I'm that's right, um, but I think it speaks to the the larger minimization of the impact of of public communications, public TV.

I grew up on public TV as well.

I still watch our HTV, all of our all of our assets, and so you know, I think that's what council member Jackson was asking about.

Like, well, what is the what's the gap?

And I if you will allow us, I think that you know, having a public space to um raise the alarm, raise the flag to people to say if we value these communications, and you made a great point about Colbert.

He's literally on public access, generating more views than when he was on a mainstream channel.

So uh we have that same opportunity in Houston, and however I can let my support please count on it.

Well, let me say this about when you guys ask about the revenue, what's needed.

Well, by being on a major protection of WP, we need about 20 million dollars.

Now, you say it, how would you fund this?

Well, I told you that it creates revenue.

Yes, it could.

So the space needs to be open to create the revenue that we can put into these projects.

Why are we letting it Austin get away with all of the major stuff?

I mean, there are some things in life that we say, you know what, this ain't necessary.

I can do without this.

We got another thing that we need to put this cost on, but not the arts, man.

Very good.

Thank you.

Good job.

All right, thank you, sir.

Next, Gerald Gerald Lebeau.

There we go.

I think we've uh had a lot of testimony today, and I'm gonna yield back most of my time to ask questions.

I'm Gerald Lebeau, president of Houston Media Source here in Houston.

I just want to ask everybody so we can get the energy in the room, Ben.

Say I love Houston.

I love Houston!

If you believe in free speech, say I love Houston.

I love Houston.

That's what I'm talking about, and because of that love, we're here.

And we're here, we're not here to fight.

We're not here to fight.

I've gotten thousands of calls, I've gotten all kinds of celebrities that I work with that have stated that they wanted to come and champion this.

I think that there's an issue going on that's deeper than what has happened.

And I would like to talk directly with the mayor.

I've been asking to speak with you since you uh become mayor, so that we can have a conversation so we can know what kind of leadership you want us to go in.

It's very important as a leader for me to know from the leader how do you want us to motivate and galvanize this organization?

This institution has been around for 40 years.

I was there at its inception, been indirectly in and out of it throughout its uh uh tenure, and then uh when I retired from media entertainment and all the great things that God has allowed me to do, Mayor Turner brought me back in and say, Gerald, come and bring this organization into the bright light.

So the first thing was sustainability.

So we had to use that time to sustain the location and the entity.

Now it's sustained.

Now we have to galvanize and get to the community.

Now we're out there in the community, we're getting the numbers.

We're number two right now.

Don't stop now while we're number two, because I like being number one.

So wait till we're number one and then do what you want to do then.

But at least we can say we're number one.

Don't do it now.

Let's sit down and talk.

You guys are smart people up here.

Let's sit down and talk.

You're not the only smart people out there.

These people out here are smart as well.

Let's have the conversation.

I've been asking for conversation.

I have the information, our entity has the information.

If this thing goes, all that history goes.

All that history goes, you guys.

And what better information it's coming from the people?

It's owned by the people, it's operated by the people, it's for the people.

And you're here for the people.

So I ask, let's have the conversation.

Let's go deeper and let's make this happen.

Whatever you fall say, Mayor, I'm going to follow, but let's sit down and have a discussion.

Questions?

Any questions?

I yield back the rest of my talk.

Oh, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Jiro, for coming, and certainly Al.

Um, just won't express the fact, you know, we've had several conversations around Houston Media Source, and I'm sure you're well aware, if not some of the challenges that the city faces when it comes to budget.

We don't need to push that under the rug.

It is what it is.

And some of that is things that we've, you know, heritage.

Okay.

I understand.

So with that, we are certainly positive to support of Houston Media.

And by the way, too, Councilmember Evan Shabazz and our absolutes want you to know she 100% support uh the efforts, what's going on.

And of course, I'm very familiar with East End.

Yes, yes, that's my neck of the woods.

So, but here's the deal.

I just want to let you know that public-private dollars.

You know, I've often said I did a supposed one a year ago, and I talked about it, whether others agree or not.

All the money can't come from the city.

Right.

All the money can't come from the county.

We have to help to find those that are positive and support around these launch shoes, be positive and supportive of trying to get public dollars.

They help with these efforts.

I know I will.

You know, we've talked on many occasions.

Absolutely.

So we have to face the reality of some of the things we have.

They help to convince others in our efforts.

And I just want to let you know that I'm in and doing that.

100%.

So all the people that we say we know, then let's see if they will put up.

Absolutely.

Or shut up.

You know what I mean?

So all I ask, and in limited time, give us the opportunity to discuss with the city what is needed.

That's what's needed.

Then we can go out there and plight and fight for what's needed on our end to make sure that the community is getting its free speech.

Don't just send me a letter three days after I did one of your biggest events saying, oh, we're no longer funding, we're not gonna put out an RFP.

That didn't feel good.

That didn't feel good.

I didn't get to talk to you.

I should have been able to speak with you to say what do you want it to go?

What do you want it to be so we can put that together for you?

I'm here for you.

I'm here for these city council members and yourself.

Y'all work your butts off.

I'm there at your events and rallies and what you guys are doing in the community, but also the people want also a place for them to have free expression.

So let's work together.

Thank you, Mayor, and um thank you for uh all the media source um for coming in and sharing on what's going on.

And I just want to just point out um that the administration, in fact, I just had a conversation with um our director of economic development, Duane, uh met with her on last week, and one of the conversations, the conversation was about we know that there's a lot of talent in in Houston film directors, producers, etc.

And pulling those folks together so that we can have conversations and understand, come up with a strategy on how we're making sure that Houston is the place for television and film and for entertainment because I mean we're very diverse and it's happening right now.

In fact, Kendrick Sampson, um, working closely with him, um, Alex Stapleton, who just did the um Puffy documentary, and so um we're gonna be convening a the conversation is convening a um advisory committee to pull in folks together and start like mapping out you know how we bringing in those resources to keep those projects going and then also just um um the past session um we went to Austin and advocated for the tax incentives on things.

So Houston is talking about it.

You probably don't hear the conversations, but the conversations aren't happening behind closed doors, but I want you to know that something else coming, the table is coming so that we can pull those brilliant minds together.

But then if we're not there, then it'll come over us.

Right.

So the thing that makes it part of that fight, and the fight uh that to try to get the tariffs here, the incentives here.

I can promise you I'll put more money bringing activities and events here.

Our J Robo Molling Italian agency has brought more celebrities and stars and trained more around the world than most people.

That's the only artist development for in the state.

So we've trained many great, great people, and your mother was a part of that with me as well.

And that's why this is important for us not to pull the public side of it so that it can continue to happen.

It's a lot of great talent here.

LA and New York, they wish they had what we have here.

And now we can galvanize that.

I just needed leadership to say, you know what, this is where we are now.

For the past two years, we've been in an optional year of contract.

So we've been at limbo.

So I can't get with the major distributors and say this is what we need to do because we don't know for sure what that agreement will be next year.

So we can create with the big distributors to get huger funding and to do larger things in Houston.

They've been wanting to come to Houston, and in the 1994, I was a part of the initiative to bring universe pictures.

So I have one I have one more person.

So this doesn't happen overnight.

So when did you guys learn about you're gonna be getting shut down?

Thank you.

I'm just curious.

It didn't happen overnight that you guys are getting shut down.

When did you learn about?

First of all, let me restate that you guys, we're not getting shut down.

The organization stands on its own.

Yes, the organization stands on its own.

It's a 501c3.

What has happened is the uh financial part of it that we get the restricted froms from the city through the cable network or franchise fee, we're no longer getting that to our understanding.

Okay, thank you.

So we just want to wind down so we can gavanize that.

Yeah, thank you.

So work with us, mayor, and we'll make it happen.

We want to make everybody proud and happy and love Houston.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, everyone.

Dana Jones.

To be followed by Kevin Strickland.

Um Mayor, don't hello, Mayor.

Don't leave.

Ms.

Mayor.

Don't leave.

Okay, great.

I have a handout I'm gonna pass out.

My name is Dana Jones, and I live in District 8.

I'm where uh my uh councilman is, as you know, uh Councilman Castillo.

First of all, I've come before council and I want to thank everybody in the horseshoe for getting me out of a dangerous building.

I keep I kept coming, telling you about it, and you eventually did something about it.

Now I'm just back letting you know that I have the money.

We have the money in our neighborhood to get the drainage done, but we need for the county to come in and do our um to do the bio.

I just want to again thank the horseshoe for getting me out of a dangerous building.

Now I'm learning how to live, how to laugh, how to look around.

I'm learning how to smell the coffee, and I just want to say thank you.

I'm gonna give my time, Mr.

Mayor.

I'm looking for you to come.

They push our project back in 2028.

We don't want to push back again.

We need it done.

Thank you for getting me out of that dangerous building.

I appreciate it.

Thank you, Mario.

You're always number one.

Thank you.

Kevin Strickland.

To be followed by Joseph Omari.

Good morning.

Um congratulations to our new district c council member Joe Penzarella.

I look forward to working with you on the issues in district C.

Um, Mr.

Mayor, I'm here to ask you to approve the Lower West Timer Banner District, which council member came and funded the applications on your desk.

Mayor and East Parker encouraged you to approve it.

Um I appreciate that during your time in the Senate, you stood up repeatedly for the LGBTQ community, especially our trans family against the onslaught of hate from Republicans.

I hope you all understand what it feels like to be constantly vilified in the state, to have our identity erased, to be dehumanized, so haters are encouraged to come after us.

I need you to understand that it's responsible for murders, especially a black trans women, the latest person found the body.

Go ahead.

Was a trans woman.

What does any of this have to do with the banner district?

Because showing our public pride means we belong.

We don't have to hide, we are seen.

Mayor, this is an easy win for you.

Many Texas cities will put up Pride banners for Pride Month.

I don't know if there will be protests at the LGBT chamber of commerce event, but it's a great opportunity for you to tell the community there that you see us and are standing up for us.

Can we make this happen for Pride Month?

I appreciate your comments.

I would encourage you to be at the chamber luncheon where I'll be making an announcement, and uh I think you'll be pleased.

Thank you, Mayor.

I really appreciate it.

I mean uh Councilman Panzerell.

We're on top of it, is what I'm trying to tell you.

So we're on top of it.

You know, you have an existing district that's never been used.

So we're uh going to work with the council member in the chamber, and uh there'll be a there'll be a banner district.

There is one.

It's just never been used.

Councilman.

Thank you, Mayor.

I think that answered the question.

Thank you, Kevin, for being here.

Um, I look forward to working with the administration and and following through with what uh council member came in uh put forward.

Uh Joe, I brought you a pride flag, but I bikes here and I left it at my house.

So I will bring one for you for your uh new office.

Thank you very much.

Counselor Castillo.

Counselor and Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor, and Kevin.

Appreciate your comments about why it's important and why it's necessary, driving home that sense of belonging, the safe space, the fact that visibility does in fact save lives, and that's important for us to continue to remember on top of the attacks on top of the vilification uh as to why this is important and encouraged to hear there's uh an announcement coming soon that uh I think we'll all be happy with.

So thank you for being here.

Thank you very much.

What we're trying to do is make sure that they continue to be there, and we got a plan.

Thank you.

This is very meaningful for the community.

I really appreciate it.

I've been at this longer than you.

I've been a member of the community longer than you, so thank you.

I don't know.

How long you've been?

I'm older than I look, is what I'm saying.

Thank you.

I started with Ray Hill and her niece and Craig Washington, and I can go on and home.

But anyway, that's that's neither here nor there.

Uh thank you for being here.

Thank you.

Joseph Amari.

Hi, I'm doing that.

Yeah?

Good for you.

Hiya.

Uh once again, uh uh, please don't still wear my company number on the hoodie, breast eye, needed that concept, especially right on the butt.

Uh I don't have a deal on yet, but and I don't want my camp cost to shoot, you know, shooting and kill you while playing war games with gangbangers and OGs.

Any professional street uh athlete would tell you that that number on the hoodie breathted thigh, me collection concept worth a lot of money.

I don't know.

You know, I'm the designer of the raggedy concept, and uh and uh screenplay, uh I don't know if you know how much they really were, and if you don't think it's ripped that much money, my uh my screenplay the bid you have worth a lot of money, just any Hollywood teleages attention on you how much they really were what kind of retail sales volume they create in the potential of the movie box off potential sales they would create a generate, like I say.

I don't know if you know I'm the regular disease design, and uh those these have shelf like 11 years and more.

They have generated by 500 to one billion dollars store sale that uh a part of my lawsuit, 25 million dollar default lawsuit, victory.

Uh I don't like to pay the whole time.

Uh, just give it just you know, go ahead, J.

Okay.

Go for it.

Uh they don't they just need to pay me for my work, and uh well and that way we'll have I like to speak uh the backyard to you because uh brother big brother still just need to stop paying on me, but you know, I thank Houston Public B uh TV's channel for allowing me the opportunities to sit my side of story.

I don't know how many people who's told me that you have the same thing I've been through on the representative.

Law these crimes, a cases situation may or might be within the choose to law for the age of jurisdiction.

My mother, Miss Brambly kidnapped, did I did report to people for police department?

Uh it has yet to be solved, resolved or settled.

Uh before Mr.

Marshall Law Kidnapped was under judicial FBI.

The Fox by Government, uh court documents, benefits.

Wrap it up.

BIP is should be within the jurisdiction of every law for the age of Texas, Harris County, the state police, including extortion now, parental investigation, the value of case, all these communications include copyright affairs and state recognition, should be within the jurisdiction of the HPD, hash county share department has cut off, has got the office, the technology, state police, a U.S.

turn general office, and along with the FBI, U.S.

Marshall.

I don't know what's happened when it comes to the law.

30 seconds, but all these kinds of suffer the old before me to march.

These people all be in prison and jail and be separate times to be behind bars.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else that signed up and make call?

If not, uh let's move to the consent calendar, Mr.

Secretary.

Uh-huh.

Okay.

Yes, my name is Diane Lunny Brown.

I'm from South Florida.

I just moved to Houston about a couple years ago.

Um, and I told myself that when God give me the opportunity, I'm gonna tell the truth of how good he has been to me.

I am an example of what happens when you take a chance on a boy that's not afraid to fail.

I, for one, can honestly say that I know what it takes to have to do a lot of the work that's in the entertainment industry for free in order to get ahead.

I moved to the city of Houston because I saw what was taking place in Atlanta.

I believe in the talent pool that we have here in Houston in the sports community, and well as the public community in regards to creating a space that will one day, like Houston Media Source has been saying, fund the city of Houston in multiple ways in one.

What I would like to say is thank the Houston media source, and I would love to thank the city of Houston for giving someone like me an opportunity because I did not have a voice.

Because they have given me a voice, they now have allowed HBCUs like Florida AM University and the people that decided to reside here in the city of Houston an opportunity to use their establishment to raise scholarships for those that cannot have fund um to go to school.

So, like I said, I want to thank the city of Houston for what you have done so far with the Houston Media Source, and I want to thank once again, members of the Houston Media Source for once again taking a chance on me when nobody else would.

Because you have done so, I am now a sports journalist and a sports rumor, and I'm one of the many leaders and producers that hopes to do great things like fund the city of Houston, especially in the areas that they need.

So I thank you all for your time and I appreciate the love that you have given to us so far.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Secretary, if we'll proceed with the consent agenda.

All right, since your list was distributed, all items have been received under the miscellaneous category.

Need a motion for items one and three.

Martin, second.

It's been moved and second.

All in favor, any opposed.

Item carries.

Under the accept work category, item four has been removed for separate consideration.

Under the property category, item five has been removed for separate consideration under purchasing and tabulation of bids category.

Need a motion for item six.

Motion is made in the second.

All in favor, say yes.

Those opposed nay.

Motion passes.

Under the ordinances category, items eight, nine, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, and twenty-five have been removed for separate consideration.

Again, those numbers are eight, nine, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-four, and twenty-five.

Need a vote on the balance.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

Items removed for separate consideration.

Need a motion for item four.

Cast say to move.

Motions made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed nay.

Motion passes.

Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, colleagues.

This is just an accept work item, but I just for the general public want to highlight that before.2 million dollars was a part of the consent decree.

This work has been completed in District F.

Um, I think the final approvement was two million dollars, the final uh contract amount, and so this has uh been a long-standing issue.

We have gotten this uh project completed um related to the EPA TCEQ and all of those things.

Um, so just a huge right step, and it was my commitment to keep these types of projects in front of us.

We talked about this last night at the super neighborhood meeting.

Um so just happy to shout out to public works for getting this out and getting this contract to the street so we can get these serious projects completed.

Thank you.

Next, item item five needs a motion.

Cast extate to move.

Next second.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes, those opposed nay.

Motioner Thomas Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you.

Um Hallelujah and Amen for the passage of uh this item today.

This uh gives us the green light to move to acquire the old A Leaf Library for continued drainage.

This is a part of our capital improvement inventory.

We talked about this last night and uh to celebrate the movement of drainage.

Many of the residents last night were in A Leaf when the library was built, so we're gonna have a brick party.

Um so we're gonna um reserve the first hundred bricks of that building for those of you in the neighborhood that library meant so much to us, and um now it will go uh return back to the public for public use, protecting us in drainage.

So thank you to public works again in the administration for moving this across the line, a very serious project.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next item eight is an ordinance, just need a vote.

Councilmember Martinez.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, and if I could have uh the son of Joe I Ramides, this is eight.

This is eight, no, sorry.

No, that's my name.

It's ready to go.

Excited, eight, let's do eight.

Yeah, we just need to vote on number eight.

All in favor of eight, say yes, those opposed naight.

Motion passes.

Now items member Carter on eight.

I'm sorry, Councilmember Carter.

No, that's fine.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support.

We actually brought this to the administration back in March of 2024, brought it before the resilience committee, met with public works.

Thank you to legal for the constant.

Where's it at?

Where's it at for the past year and a half and uh I guess two years now?

Um, but this is a huge win for the Houston Food Bank and the urban farmers.

It's not a it's not a big cost to the city.

In fact, it's no cost to the city, it's just really making their ability to produce food to supply to the Houston Food Bank fresh produce, I might add, and the communities.

So I really appreciate your support.

And uh if Houston Food Bank is watching, finally, you have it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Item eight uh number nine.

Item nine is an ordinance.

Just need a vote.

Um, before we vote, um, Councilor Martinez and Senator, would you like to be recognized?

I will I will yield some of my time to you.

Uh I know you have a community interest in it and before us, and I will yield to you at this time.

Thank you, Mayor Whitmar and Council members, and special thank you to Councilmember Joaquin Martinez and all of you who are casting a vote uh for Mr.

Joe Ramidez.

Uh I knew him very very well and know the family and can't thank his uh family, especially granddaughter enough for all the work that they've done.

Uh also know that uh Senator Mario Gallegos is looking down and smiling.

That was his uncle, and um I am just coming from uh Adrian Garcia, Commissioner Garcia had a ceremony naming a bridge after Dr.

Dapia.

And so today, doing this, it's a great day for our community, and uh I just want to say that to the community folks that are here.

I know there are uh several members of the Magnolia community, American Post 472, and just Lou Lacker's the constituents here, General Rick Noriega, I think may also be here.

Can't thank him enough for his help.

But it's important that we remember heroes, like uh many of us call them Chaco Chaco Ramirez uh for his bravery, his resilience, and his love for his country, and after so many years, three years of being captive, and then to go back and enlist again.

Uh I don't know very many people who would do that.

So uh thank you all for the opportunity to weigh in, and I also want to thank the other elected officials who signed on to our letter.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Martinez.

Thank you, Mayor.

And yes, I I I am excited, and that's why I was jump jumping to uh to speak.

Uh but if I could have uh the son of Joey Chaco Ramirez stand up, and this is uh Brigad General uh Brigadier General Joe E.

Joe Ramirez Jr.

Uh, then his family, if they can stand up as well.

Um, Mayor, I want to say thank you to you and the planning department when I had asked to work to expedite this um initially.

Uh, I think for the general public, uh, the name Dolores What I came up.

Um, and then quickly we found that she did not want to be renamed after uh anything that um that was Cesar Chavez and the planning department.

I want to lift them up right now because it did a uh a heck of a job making sure that the public comment was being done.

Um and I want to share with my colleagues that um over 65 percent of the the comments came back for Joe E.

Chaco Ramirez.

Um I want to thank the community in that sense for uh being engaged uh for participating in the public comment coming to public session.

Uh I know my colleagues heard uh at least one other name, which was Maria Jimenez, who uh quite frankly um knowing her son very well, Carlos Villarreal, who's with the IBW, is worthy as well of a uh being named uh for a street and or another facility, um, and there were several others.

I literally got almost two dozen names.

Uh one of them was a recent fallen HFD uh who grew up in in Magnolia Park, East End Marcelo, uh, who is a Milby graduate.

And and I share all that because I I really want to make sure that uh we can take all this in and and uh speak to uh now uh what we're what has what's come before us.

The community has spoken.

Um I've attended community meetings, I've received phone calls, text messages on this, and uh uh overwhelmingly it is Joe E.

Chaco uh Ramirez that has been uh put for uh before us.

Um the name first came up at the Johnny Cervantes Veterans Group.

Uh that Dario Ariano and some of y'all around here might know who Dario is, uh, who leads this veterans group, and it allows me to speak to a little bit of Magnolia Park, which our senator was speaking to.

When you think about Magnolia Park, if you don't know about Magnolia Park, it's a rich history of uh military veterans.

Um, the ladies' auxiliary, if y'all can stand up, and anybody that's here from the ladies' auxiliary as well.

And this past memorial day, um, as the community gathered at the American Legion Post 472.

So I I definitely want to lift up the family.

Uh in the Magnolia Park area.

And because of that, I am excited to vote in the affirmative for this item, which we'll rename Cesar Chavez to Joe E.

Chaco Ramírez.

And I would ask for my colleagues to join me in that vote as well.

Thank you.

Councilmember Davis.

Councilman Davis.

Thank you, Mayor.

Just want to take a moment and thank my colleague Joaquim Martinez, Councilman Martinez for uh taking the lead in this effort.

Uh, certainly because it's personal and to him as uh citizen of that community is familiar as I am, but also I'm proud to put my vote to it uh for several reasons because I served with many, you know, Hispanic Latino brothers, and so this is a great honor to a veteran who uh gave so much uh to us, and uh it's impossible not to uh recognize the contribution.

Uh I know what it's like, and uh so for so many, and it's not often that we get an opportunity to give the recognition to many veterans.

Many of them are out on the streets, the homeless, they are uh trying to survive, and others.

So I think this is a a well-deserved honor to uh, in my opinion, a great man and a great soldier.

Thank you.

Before we vote, I would like to acknowledge that Master Sergeant Ramirez, who I had the honor of visiting and spending time with certainly his family through Mario Gagos and the Gagos family.

Mario's mother was Master Sergeant Ramirez's uh sister.

So it was if you went to the gay girls family, you were at the Ramirez family as well.

Uh the Master Sergeant is not only a community hero, he's a national hero, and this is a great opportunity to recognize a uh someone that made such a personal sacrifice for our nation and is so respected and honored throughout the east side.

Um I'm sorry we have we even had to deal with the names change.

It was unfortunate.

Uh I thought, and there was a strong consensus if y'all will recall that we would start the process to change it to the lowest word to honor the victim.

And I'm responsible because we were on a fast track to start ordering the signs.

It's amazing how your critics take advantage of what you think at the time is smart and uh supported by the community and the actually majority of the council, if not all the council.

So this brings conclusion, but it's also a new beginning for recognition of someone that we all swear to never forget.

Um I'm so excited that his family and and his son Joe's here, who I worked with when he was leading the court A and M.

So there's just a lot of things to be grateful today uh with this vote.

Uh we we respect those that were also considered.

I think we should continue that process to recognize everyone that's been brought to our attention.

But today is the day to honor Master Sergeant uh Joe E.

Ramirez for going through torture and fighting for his country and then coming back home and being such a respected hero.

So with that, Mr.

Secretary, if you'll call a row, uh we'll vote.

Mayor Whitmeyer, yes, Councilmember Peck.

Yes, Councilmember Jackson?

Yes, Councilmember Panzarello?

Yes.

Councilmember Evan Shabazz.

Councilmember Flickinger?

Yes.

Councilmember Thomas?

Absolutely.

Councilmember Huffman.

I'm sorry.

Council Member Castillo?

Yes.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Martinez.

Martinez.

Yes.

Councilmember Pollard?

Yes.

Councilmember Castax Tatum?

Yes.

Councilmember Ramirez?

Yes.

Councilmember Davis?

Yes.

Councilmember Carter?

Yes.

Councilmember Salinas?

Yes.

And Councilmember Alcorn.

Yes.

Vote.

Please join me in standing to honor our hero.

Yes.

Well done, members.

Next.

Great job.

Item 16 is an ordinance.

Just need a vote.

All in favor, say yes.

Those opposed, nay.

Motion passes.

Oh, Councilman.

Mayor just wanted to speak second on item 16.

I don't think everybody's aware, but Kingwood does not have a fire station that was built by the city.

When Kingwood was annexed decades ago, the city took over the volunteer fire stations that they had.

And although those volunteer stations work, obviously they weren't meant to actually house people.

And when we went and looked at uh the Kingwood station here a couple years ago in May, it was just deplorable the living conditions and obviously this is one more step in a long journey of actually getting something done with it.

And I was shocked.

I had not been in office but a couple of months during the Kingwood flood, and I saw the conditions that Houston firefighters were working in and staying overnight, full of mole, holes in the ceilings, hole in the floor covered with plywood, and there was a strong commitment made then that we can do better and uh show the respect and appreciation for our firefighters.

They had put their life on the line during the Kingwood flood.

I watched them save people's lives.

Then they go back to their residence, and uh it's deplorable.

But this is a new new chapter.

Well, the really nice thing about this is with combining the stations, it actually takes care of two of them.

So you're absolutely right.

I mentioned that in the agenda setting.

Great job, and thank you for your leadership.

Councilmember Carter, also you were right there with me.

Well, I just wanted to say as a resident of Kingwood, thank you for your focus on our community, because we do have three volunteer fire stations, but this takes care of two and is a huge step in the right direction for the support that our community needs, and most importantly, for our firefighters, it's a a blessing.

I can't wait to see it finished.

Thank you.

Thank thank you.

Next item 19 is an ordinance, just need a vote.

All in favor, say yes, those opposed, no, motion passes.

Item 21 is an ordinance, just need a vote.

All in favor, say yes, those opposed, nay, motion passes, I believe he's thinking, item twenty item twenty-four is an ordinance, just need a vote.

All in favor, say yes, council member Pollard tags.

Ramirez jury.

Item 24.

Well done.

By Pollard and Ramirez.

Okay.

Next.

Martin.

Item 24.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yes.

Uh will council member Pollard.

He said no.

Release the tag just briefly.

No.

All right.

He said no.

No.

Okay.

Got it.

I'm ready to go.

Council Member Twenty.

Item 25.

Item 25 is an ordinance.

Just need a vote.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed to name.

Motion passed.

All right.

Item 28.

Is a motion to receive nominations.

For the board of directors of Lake Houston Dredging District.

Position one.

Councilmember Flickin.

Councilmember Flickr.

Yes, I moved to nominate Kathleen Jordan to position number one on the board of directors.

Kathleen's here today again and uh was also uh nominated by the representative that passed the dredging bill, Charles Cunningham.

So if you got any questions, she's here and uh able to speak to you.

Very well, any other nominations.

Hearing none, is there a motion to close nominations?

Yeah, that's a move to close the nomination made and second.

Closed.

And this completes the items on the agenda.

Ms.

Jordan.

Members, I'm gonna ask the mayor pro Tim to preside while I go be with the Romeris family.

So thank you.

Good morning.

Councilmember Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.

I want to start by inviting District H residents to the first of two district H shred days.

This one is Saturday from 9 a.m.

to noon at the Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center.

This is in partnership with AARP Texas, and folks are encouraged to bring up to three banker boxes or you know bags of uh items to be shredded.

Um this will help protect residents from fraud and get uh sensitive information disposed of appropriately, and I want to thank AARP for the partnership on this next week, June the fourth, as part of the resilient age initiative.

The next phase of that will be the Cavalcade Cool Corridor pilot.

We will be hosting a community meeting in partnership with TERS 21 and the Greater Northside Management District from 6 to 8 p.m.

at the MD Anderson YMCA on Cavalcade.

This will review community input and feedback around enhancements to that corridor from Little White Oak Valley to Hunting Bayou.

Uh that will bring more shade and amenities to the area.

This is part of the resilient H initiative, which is designed to combat extreme heat in the district, and uh want to invite the community to come and participate in that meeting.

Last year, during June, I partnered with Bark to sponsor all adoptions, spay neuter services, microchips, and vaccines.

I will be doing that again this coming June.

Um we saw great success from that partnership.

Last year, 475 adoptions were facilitated, 269 animals were fostered, and uh a number of wellness visits as well.

This is in part to one encourage folks to consider bark for adoptions and also bring their pets in for checkups for microchips vaccines.

Um those wellness appointments are so important and are a part of being responsible pet owners.

So that will be happening all month of June, and I want to uh encourage folks to take advantage of that and also thank Bark for the partnership and then finally uh welcome to Council Councilmember Panzarella.

I look forward to serving with you in the months ahead.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Castillo, uh Councilmember Davis.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.

I'd like to uh thank the emancipation park conservancy uh and the parks department for hosting the Juneteenth press conference last week.

Uh asked to attend uh it was my pleasure to join our mayor and give remarks on the significance of Juneteenth and our city's celebration of this holiday.

I also like to thank the events, title sponsors, HEB, the Kinder Foundation, and KTSU 90.9 FM for making this year's celebration possible, as well as the mayor's office with special events.

The Juneteenth festivities begin at 1 p.m.

on Friday, June 19th at the Emancipation Park with a with an inaugural domino tournament, believe it or not, hosted by Terrell Owens.

Yes, Tio was at the press conference and surprised many of us when he mentioned how he's big in playing dominoes.

So there's going to be a domino tournament with being uh at 1 p.m.

on that on that actual date.

And then at 4 p.m., there will be an inaugural concert headlined by Houston's own uh Scarface, Robert Glasper, Brian Courtney Wilson.

That will also be kids on food vendors, and uh we hope to see everybody there uh at the Masturbation Park Friday, June 19th for a celebration of freedom, culture, and legacy.

Uh this event is free, and you can reserve your ticket on Event Bright.

So we hope that all of Houstons will be a part of this of the many activities that's coming to our cities.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Council Member Flickinger.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.

Uh HPD Eastside Division, alongside the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 472 and the Sons of American Legion Squadron 472.

Invite the residents to spring forward to summer community event at Meadow Creek Community Center this Friday, May 29th from 4:30 to 7:30.

Uh attendees can enjoy live music, food, community vendors and resources and connect with uh HPD while celebrating the start of summer with neighborhoods and community partners.

Look forward to an afternoon of fun engagement and community spirit.

Also, I wanted to invite everyone to our event we're gonna have out in Kingwood on Thursday, June 4th from 5 to 6 30.

It's an open house with the utilities.

Uh Center Point's gonna be out there, and I know a lot of my constituents up in that area want to speak to Center Point, but they'll have them along with the uh the cable and phone companies out there.

So everybody come on out there Thursday, June 4th, and uh speak to them.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Thomas, thank you, Councilmember Fleginger.

Thank you.

Let me get my bearings.

Uh just a quick recap uh for those who did not follow the housing and affordability committee on yesterday.

Um, the housing department reported out um uh updates related to a series of disaster recovery projects.

Good news, our DR 21, 50 million dollar allocation in response to winter storm year.

We've received over 1,200 applications.

That application portal has closed.

Um, we will exceed our goal of meeting 120 to 140 families around home repair.

Um, but don't fret because we have the DR24, 50 million dollars in response to Directro and Barrel.

Um, coming soon.

Uh we briefed those guidelines.

So uh to my colleagues and their top staff that are working with constituents around home repair.

We'll have another round of funding available.

So I want to just keep y'all's eyes um on that application, and then shout out to the housing department for aggressively getting those applications out.

Um I appreciate that.

On Saturday, I will join the Climate Action Campaign People's Hearing at the Deluxe Theater on Lions Avenue.

Uh Saturday, May 30th.

Um, we're hearing directly from Houstonians who've lived through extreme weather, which means all of us, and they're coming before um uh a panel of public uh servants to discuss uh some of their issues around that, everything from um home repair, insurance costs, you name it, the environmental burden.

Um, looking forward to to listening to the general public, and I believe you'll be able to live stream that, and if not, join us in person at the deluxe theater in District B.

I want to highlight and just give a shout out to Public Works.

I I appreciate them for moving expeditiously um in the Ashton uh uh Ashton Park, Ashford Park subdivision to address the ongoing drainage on Westwick.

Um, this is the drainage, this the flooding is so bad, the water is almost to your knees under any circumstance, and so they are already uh uh uh they've had staged a pumping uh system to make sure that they can clear the street.

But good news is that we have a notice to proceed for a project to clear the drainage, um, and that moves through beginning June 1.

So we're just going to share that with the residents who've reached out to our office via email.

We provided this in the newsletter, and we'll send a reminder on this Friday.

Also, we have another construction project happening.

We have a mill and an overlay on Senate Road between A Leaf Clothing and Bel Air.

This is a $680,000 investment.

This was a part of our major choice selection of fiscal year 26.

It'll take approximately 25 to 30 days for completion, depending on weather.

So I just want to appreciate us getting that out in the gate.

But I do want to make a note and on the record that we have a series of speed cushion applications still in the queue from fiscal year 24.

I have five neighborhoods that are in from fiscal year 24.

I have from fiscal year 25, I have four at a total of 467,000 that have yet uh to move forward.

And for the upcoming fiscal year, we already have two applications that um estimate 297,000.

So it speaks to two things.

Um I know that Public Works is working on expanding the contract to allow more contractors to get to this work, but these are we have a backlog of a couple of fiscal years, and the cost is almost doubled for less impact, and so we're unable to uh spread those funds throughout the neighborhood.

We talked about this at length at the super neighborhood last night.

So I just wanted to flag that for public works, and we'll talk about that more in detail uh with um during our quarterly briefing.

I also want to announce summer safety is back.

Our fifth annual summer of safety is back on the west side, and one of our uh signature activations is our fourth annual swim safety event.

We're hosting that on Saturday, June 13th in partnership with the Houston Parks Department, Outdoor Afro, Coach CPR, Houston Swim Waves, and a whole lot more.

Um my phenomenal team is working on standing this up, and because of the high demand, um we've added an additional uh cohort, so we'll have capacity for 42 uh swim instruction slots for children's ages four to thirteen for our parents.

We always have CPR available with Coach uh CPR on site.

Um it's a great opportunity.

We know that uh, you know, swimming is also a time of joy in the summertime, but we know in the in a uh in a second's notice uh something could happen uh seriously.

So the registration link is out, you'll hear more around that.

Um, and then also I want to acknowledge lastly, not lastly, uh June 6th in partnership with the Parks Department again.

We're her hosting first kick um as the energy of FIFA comes to our ascends to our city.

We'll be on the west side.

More details to come um from my office around that.

Last night, clearly I have no makeup on because I was up with the rest of Harris County watching election results, and so I just want to shout out um all of the candidates for putting your name on the ballot.

It's a hard job, but someone has to do it.

Um, but particularly Dr.

Darlene Brough on the West Side, uh, she uh clinched uh for House District 149, um historically held by Representative Hubert Vowe.

I want to thank Representative Hubert Vowe for his service to the West Side and representing us in the state and in the state's capital, and congratulations to our um A Leaf ISD board trustee, Dr.

Bro, on what she'll be able to do for public education in our community.

And I also want to congratulate Congressman Christian Menifee.

Um, happy to stand with you uh from day one, um, knowing that you were the right choice for CD 18 and the people of CD 18 agreed, and I want to acknowledge um my forever Congressman Al Green.

Um I've been redistricted so many times, but my affinity for Congressman Al Green remains on what he was able to do during the pandemic as a part of the uh Houston delegation and securing funds around CARES ARPA uh allow us to uh you know pause you know uh evictions and rent relief and all of the things advocating as a ranking member with financial services, his work around CUD and the financial uh the banking system during the crash of the economy in 2007 and 2008.

So thank you for your leadership.

And as Congressman Minifee said that your legacy will outlive any election.

Thank you for your service to our country.

Um that concludes my pop off.

My office can offer any support.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at District F at Houston TX.gov.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Vice Mayor Pro Tempe.

Thank you, Mayor Pritham.

Just a final reminder that tomorrow is our coffee with the council member and cops event.

It will be at 10 o'clock a.m.

at the White Oak Conference Center.

We'll have our HPD North Division captain there, and also public work.

So if there are any questions about any of the projects going on in the Inwood area, now is the time to come and ask those questions or really any questions about anything happening in the city.

Thank you.

Councilmember Carter.

Well, I was going to yield my time to Councilmember Evan Shabazz, but y'all be sure to tell her next week.

Now I just wanted to say uh thank you to I didn't get just to mention last night, but thank you to uh Mayor Pro Tim Cassex Tatum and Councilmember Alcorn for hosting the reception for uh Abby last night.

It was great to number one to be in the uh Ismali Center, but just to see the turnout and just a gathering of people from all walks of life, and it was a great event.

So thank you all for doing that.

I really was glad to participate.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I'll round it out with some announcements for District K.

Um The Planning Commission is holding their public hearing on Thursday, June the 11th at 2 30 on the plat application at 2026 0631 Pound Berry Section 2.

It's located at 1538 Homes Road along Fannon Street between Holmes Road and Fannon Speedway.

So if members of Super Neighborhood or residents around there have any concerns, you can reach out to our offices.

Um property owners within within 300 feet of the proposed plat have been notified in accordance to chapter 42.

But if there are any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us in the district K office.

Also want to amplify that there are improvements uh coming to Beula Maxi Park.

The Houston Parks Board is hosting a community pop-up on Friday, May the 29th, from 4 to 6 p.m.

at the actual park, which is located at 2625 Monticello Drive.

So residents in Almeida Plaza, let's be a part of Let's Play Houston Initiative.

Um there will be a presentation about the Les Play Houston initiative, and it'll be led by the Houston by the Parks Board.

Um so we encourage residents in Almeda Plaza to join us on Friday at this community event coming to Beula Maxi Park.

And then also we worked very diligently with the community members to revitalize our super neighborhood 40, and we're excited to announce that their first super neighborhood meeting will be held on Monday, June the 8th at 6 p.m.

at the Hiram Clark Multiservice Center.

So this is a great opportunity for the residents to meet the new board, the delegates that have been elected for the Super Neighborhood 40, and really to hear the vision of that super neighborhood and how residents can come together and join in with the engagement that's happening around that Hiram Clark area.

And then a fine event that's coming up in District K is our pizza and partnerships event that's going to be held at one of our neighborhood venues, drop of the creator at 10929 Chimney Rock Road.

It's happening on June the 11th from 6 to 8 p.m.

It's open to all the residents in District K to come out and connect with their community members, civic club members, super neighborhood leaders.

And our at-large council members feel free to drop in and meet some of our community members, and we hope to see you all there.

Look forward to uh working with everyone who put their name on the ballot and won last night, and then a special shout out to everyone who was courageous enough to put their name on the ballot because it does take courage, it's a lot of hard work.

Um, so congratulations to all of the victorious winners from last night, and y'all continue to be kind to each other and council members.

We stand adjourned.