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UH, WE ARE[Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee on April 7, 2022.]
HERE FOR, UH, THIS MONTH'S TTI COMMITTEE MEETING.WE WILL BEGIN AT 10 0 5 IN FIVE MINUTES AS WE ALLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF, UH, TO JOIN US IN CITY HALL CHAMBERS AND ONLINE.
UH, MY NAME IS DAVID ROBINSON.
I'M CHAIR OF THE TTI COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THAT'S TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S APRIL 7TH, 10:00 AM AND I'M HERE TO CALL TO ORDER THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S MEETINGS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL.
AND WITH THAT, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF THAT ARE IN ATTENDANCE, STARTING WITH THE VICE CHAIR.
THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, MY COLLEAGUE FROM THE AT LARGE POSITION NUMBER FIVE, AS WELL AS COMMITTEE MEMBER AND COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY, EXCUSE ME.
UH, WE HAVE CO COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CISNEROS FROM DISTRICT H, AND WE HAVE THE VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTHA CASTEX TATUM FROM DISTRICT K.
UH, ADDITIONALLY WE HAVE STAFF FROM, UH, THE VICE FROM THE MAYOR PRO TEM DAVE MARTIN'S OFFICE IN DISTRICT E.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS OFFICE IN DISTRICT.
I, WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER IN THE AT LARGE POSITION NUMBER FOUR.
AND WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBER FROM DISTRICT B.
AND I BELIEVE WITH THAT WE'VE COVERED THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF WHO ARE EITHER WITH US IN CHAMBERS OR, UH, ONLINE WITH OUR HYBRID MODE.
AND THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD IN HYBRID MODE DUE TO THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
THAT'S CHAPTER 5 51, THE PROVISIONS THAT ALLOWED PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD SOLELY, VIRTUALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC.
THE MEETING TODAY WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, BUT RESTRICTIONS REGARDING MASKS, ALLOWABLE ROOM CAPACITY AND SEATING ARRANGEMENTS ARE IN PLACE AS CHAIR THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE COMMITTEE.
I AM PHYSICALLY IN THE CHAMBER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 51 0.1 27 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. SO THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, WE ARE, UH, GOING TO VISIT AT THE, UH, CONCLUSION OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION FROM TWO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO'VE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
THAT REQUIREMENT IS DUE FOR SIGN UP BY THE DAY BEFORE OUR MEETING ON WEDNESDAY AT 5:00 PM AND IN THIS CASE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS THAT DID NOT MEET THAT DEADLINE CAN BE SENT TO THE AT LARGE2@HOUSTONTX.GOV EMAIL ADDRESS.
AND WE WILL SHARE THOSE QUESTIONS OR OPINIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENTS ACCORDING TO, UH, THE NATURE OF THE QUESTION IN THE MEETING.
UH, WE WILL, UH, WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH ANSWERS AND, AND HELP FOLKS UNDERSTAND MORE OF, UH, OF THEIR QUESTIONS TO THE, TO THE TOPICS.
BUT TODAY WE HAVE A VERY FULL AGENDA.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WANT TO PROCEED BY ANNOUNCING THOSE FIVE ITEMS. THE FIRST WILL BE THE MULTI-USE PARK FACILITIES.
IT'S A GUIDE TO APPLYING MITIGATION IN PARKS.
WE'LL HEAR FROM BOTH, UH, DIRECTOR KENNETH ALLEN FROM THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS PERESH LAD, THE SENIOR STAFF ANALYST FOR TRANSPORTATION DRAINAGE AND OPERATIONS WITH THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
NEXT ON OUR AGENDA WILL BE THE OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING SOFTWARE SOLUTION.
THIS IS PRESENTED TODAY BY TWO DEPARTMENTS, BOTH THE HITS DEPARTMENT, THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM, WHERE WE'LL HEAR FROM DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SUMMER SHAO, AND SUMMER IS WITH ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS FOR THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE.
AND WE'LL ALSO HEAR FROM WILL JONES FROM OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
UH, HE'S THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND WILL ALSO SPEAK TO THAT OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING SOFTWARE AGENDA.
ITEM THIRD ON OUR AGENDA TODAY WILL BE THE CITY OF HOUSTON PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
TODAY WITH US IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, GABE CASRE.
AND, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PRESENTATION FOLLOWING DIRECTOR CASTRES PRESENTATION, WE'LL HEAR FROM METRO WITH THEIR PRESENTATION ON UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY IN THAT PROGRAM WITH, WITH METRO.
UH, WITH US TODAY FOR THAT IS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RI REDDY.
WE KNOW HIM AS SRI, AND HE IS THE, UH, VICE PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF PLANNING, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION FOR METRO.
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AND, UH, FINALLY ON TODAY'S AGENDA, THE FIFTH ITEM IS PROJECT DOCS, THE ELECTRONICS PLAN REVIEW OR EPR AND THAT CONTRACT RENEWAL IS DUE.SO WE WILL HEAR FROM CHRIS BUTLER, THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, A DIVISION OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, ALONG WITH AL GARCIA, WHO'S THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, ALSO FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS REMAIN ON MUTE AND HOLD THEIR QUESTIONS TO THE END OF EACH PRESENTATION.
AND WE WILL KEEP TRACK OF THE QUEUE HERE AT THE FRONT OF THE CHAMBER.
AND SHOULD ANYONE LIKE TO SPEAK TO US, THEY CAN MESSAGE IN THE CHAT SPACE OR OTHERWISE REQUEST TO BE SPEAK, AND WE WILL RECOGNIZE YOU IN THE ORDER THAT YOU'VE ARRIVED IN THE QUEUE.
SO WITH THAT, AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WE WILL TURN TO THE PRESENTATIONS AND ASK THE SPEAKERS TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND RECOGNIZE ANY STAFF PRESENT FOR THE RECORD.
SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE DIRECTOR KENNETH ALLEN, UH, WITH THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR ALLEN, I SEE YOU ONLINE.
IF YOU WOULD PLEASE PROCEED WITH THE PRESENTATION.
CHAIR ROBINSON COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF AND, AND PUBLIC.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO, UM, TO WORK WITH, UH, PUBLIC WORKS TO PRESENT THIS, UH, PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, I, I'M KENNETH ALLEN.
AGAIN, IT'S A PLEASURE ALSO TO SERVE AS, UH, THE DIRECTOR AND AN HONOR OF THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
I'D LIKE TO OPEN THIS PRESENTATION WITH JUST A FEW BRIEF VIEW AND REMARKS OF HOW THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT IS ACTUALLY WORKING WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO SUPPORT SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE FLOODING IN HOUSTON.
OUR DEPARTMENT IS JUST REALLY PLEASED TO SUPPORT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS FOR DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS TO FLOODING AND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE AS A FOURTH LARGEST CITY IN THE NATION FACE WITH, WITH JUST WATER AND STORMS. H PARK RECOGNIZES THAT STORM WATER DETENTION NEEDS WITHIN THE CITY AND SUPPORTS THE ANALYSIS FOR UTILIZING PARKLAND AS MO USE DETENTION IN SELECTED AREAS WHERE RECREATION AMENITIES CAN ACTUALLY BE IMPROVED.
MY TEAM APPROACHED THIS WITH A DEPARTMENT'S VISION AND MISSION IN MIND.
THE TWO DEPARTMENTS AND THE CONSULTANTS WORKED TOGETHER FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS TO DEVELOP A GUIDEBOOK IN CREATING MULTI-USE DETENTION SPACES.
NOW, PERSH, HE WILL ACTUALLY GO INTO THE DETAILS, UM, OF THE PROCESS AND THE OUTCOMES IN JUST A MOMENT.
YOU KNOW, WE EXPLORED, UH, CONCEPTS FOR SITE IMPLEMENTATION OF, OF THE LISTED FIVE PARKS, EP, HILL PARK, AND DISTRICT D, EDGEWOOD PARK, AND DISTRICT D, BOOM, PARK AND DISTRICT F, AND HACKBERRY PARK AND DISTRICT F, ALONG WITH CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE PARK, AND DISTRICT K, THE POTENTIAL RECREATION DETENTION SITES THAT WERE SELECTED AND DESIGNED TO SERVE REGIONAL DETENTION FOR PLANNED DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, THESE SITES WERE, WERE SELECTED IN, IN A COMBINATION OF EFFORTS WITH, UH, HER IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
YOU KNOW, BOTH DEPARTMENT REC, BOTH DEPARTMENTS RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO ANALYZE THE RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF INCORPORATING DETENTION INTO PUBLIC PUBLICLY UTILIZED SPACES, UH, TO DETERMINE THAT FUTURE PROJECTS WOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE MISSION OF, UH, H PARK.
AS HOUSTON PUBLIC WORK PUBLIC WORKS MOVED INTO THE DESIGN PHASE, H PARK WILL FULL.
WE ARE FULLY INVOLVED IN THE DESIGN REVIEWS AND APPROVALS TO ENSURE THAT THESE PROJECTS ACTUALLY MEET H PARK STANDARDS FOR RECREATION AND LEISURE.
AS STEWARDS OF CITY PARKLAND AND THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, WE, WE HAVE CLOSELY EVALUATED THIS PROPOSAL, UH, AS IT RELATES TO CHAPTER 26 OF THE TEXAS, UH, PARKS AND WILDLIFE CODE SECTION 26.00.
ONE OF THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE CODE PROVIDES THAT THE CITY MAY NOT APPROVE ANY PROGRAM OR PROJECT FOR THE USE OF PARKLAND DESIGNATED AS PARKLAND, UNLESS AFTER A PUBLIC HEARING, ITS GOVERNING BODY DETERMINES THE FOLLOWING.
THERE IS A, THERE IS NO FEASIBLE PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE FOR THE USE OF PARKLAND FOR THE PROGRAM OR PROJECT.
AND TWO, THE PROGRAM OR PROJECT INCLUDES ALL REASONABLE PLANNING TO MINIMIZE HARM
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TO THE PARK.FOLLOWING THIS PRESENTATION, H PARK AND HPWW WILL WORK WITH, UH, CITY WILL WORK WITH DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS IN THE COMMUNITY.
IF THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTS THIS PLAN FOR MOTE USE DETENTION TO SOLVE FLOODING CHALLENGES, WE WILL INITIATE THE PROCESS REQUIRED UNDER CHAPTER 26.
I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO PEREZ FOR A DETAILED VIEW OF HOW THE ANALYSIS AND PLANNING HAS TAKEN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S NO CLEAR OR PRUDENT ALTERNATIVE TO THE USE OF THESE FIVE PARKS FOR STORMWATER DETENTION.
AND PARESH, IF YOU WOULD IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
PSH LAD WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON STORMWATER PLANNING GROUP.
UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON AND VICE CHAIR ALQUAN.
MY NAME IS PSH LAD, AS I MENTIONED WITH THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS STORMWATER PLANNING GROUP.
UM, HERE AT PUBLIC HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, OUR PURPOSE IS TO BUILD STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOLLOWING OUR FIVE TO THRIVE VALUES OF INTEGRITY, TEAMWORK, OWNERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND RESPECT.
TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL COVER OUR RECENTLY PUBLISHED MULTI-USE, UH, FACILITY GUIDEBOOK THAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE ENGAGE HOUSTON.ORG WEBSITE.
AND FOR THE, AND THE UPCOMING PARKS THAT WILL BE TRANSFORMED.
FOLLOWING THIS MULTI-PURPOSE, USE THE GUIDEBOOK.
THE GUIDEBOOK WAS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS AND THE PARKS AND REC RECREATION DEPARTMENT, THE TEAM EXPLORED VARIOUS CITIES AND THE USE OF DETENTION IN PARKS, THE PROS AND CONS IN VARIOUS STORM STRUCTURES, DESIGNED CONSIDERATIONS TO MAINTAIN ACCESSIBILITY TO A PARK, MAINTENANCE CONSIDERATIONS, AND AT THE END OF THE PROJECT TO STILL HAVE THE LOOK AND FEEL OF A PARK.
OVER THE YEARS THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS, HAS SEEN RAPID GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS THAT INCLUDE A MIX OF INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS AND, AND PRIMARILY URBANIZED AREAS AS DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE PLANNED IN MANY OF OUR URBANIZED AREAS WE'RE CHALLENGED WITH MEETING ATLAS 14 REQUIREMENTS, LARGE STORM SEWERS, LIMITED OPEN SPACE FOR DETENTION OR BEING LOCATED IN A FLOODPLAIN.
THE GOAL OF THE MULTI-USE GUIDEBOOK IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR ALTERNATIVE DETENTION SOLUTIONS WITHIN PARK PROPERTIES, CREATING RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOODS, WHILE STILL MAINTAINING THE QUALITY OF LIFE BENEFITS OF A PARK GREEN SPACE.
I'D LIKE TO SHARE THIS IMAGE OF A TYPICAL BASIN THAT MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH, YOU KNOW, FAIRLY RIGID AREAS, MAXIMUM VOLUME DEPTHS THAT WE LOOK FOR THAT SERVE THE PURPOSE OF THOSE FOR THOSE EXTREME EVENTS.
THIS APPLICATION REALLY DOESN'T WORK IN A PARK.
UM, AND WHAT THIS GUIDEBOOK DOES IS EXPLORE AND EXPLORE DETENTION APPLICATIONS, UH, IN A PARK AND HOW TO BEST UTILIZE THAT.
WE HAVE MANY REFERENCES FOR DESIGNING AND BUILDING DETENTION BASINS CRITERIA ON VARIOUS TYPES OF DRAINAGE STRUCTURES, SLOPES, WATER DEPTH, WET AND DRY BOTTOM BASINS.
THIS GUIDEBOOK REALLY TAKES A DEEP LOOK IN DESIGNING WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT DETENTION AND APPLYING THAT KNOWLEDGE AND CREATING RECREATIONAL DETENTION WITHIN A PARK FACILITY.
SO THE GUIDEBOOK REVIEWED THREE MAIN STRATEGIES FOR DETENTION THAT WE'LL REVIEW IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS ABOVEGROUND STORAGE, SUCH AS WET AND BOTTOM BASINS, UNDERGROUND STORAGE, SUCH AS VAULTS AND GREEN SOIL, GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE COMBINATION OF THESE STRATEGIES CAN BE OBLIGED TOGETHER TO, TO PROVIDE STORMWATER MITIGATION AND PARK AMENITIES, AS WELL AS ENHANCE A PARK'S AESTHETIC APPEAL.
SO THE FIRST STRATEGY WE'VE LOOKED AT WAS ABOVEGROUND STORAGE.
THIS INCLUDES MULTI-USE DRY DETENTION BASINS AND WET WET DETENTION BASINS THAT CAN BE EASILY INCORPORATED INTO AN EXISTING PARK TO ACCOMMODATE AMENITIES SUCH AS PICNIC AREAS, SPORTS FIELDS, AND WALKING TRAILS.
THEY CAN BE DESIGNED TO DRAIN QUICKLY SO THAT A FIELD CAN RESUME NORMAL USE AF AFTER A MAJOR EVENT.
WHEN DESIGNING ABOVEGROUND STORAGE, UH, IN A PARK, WE'VE REVIEWED SOME OF THE BEST, BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE, SUCH AS MAINTAINING SAFE SLIDE, SAFE SIDE SLOPES OF TYPICALLY FOUR TO ONE OR GREATER, A DRAIN DRY SYSTEM.
SO SPORTS FIELDS ARE USABLE AFTER A RAIN EVENT.
PER PERIMETER S SWES ALLOW THE WATER TO FLOW AND LIMIT PONDING TRASH AND INTERCEPTORS TO KEEP LARGE DEBRIS OUT OF A PARK AND, AND KEEP THE, KEEP STORMWATER QUALITY, MAINTAIN STORMWATER QUALITY, AND ALSO LOOKED AT SOIL AMENDMENTS TO IMPROVE STORMWATER INFILTRATION AND TURF ESTABLISHMENT.
THE SECOND STRATEGY WE LOOKED AT WAS UNDERGROUND STORAGE.
THIS APPLICATION CAN BE ADVANTAGED ADVANTAGEOUS IN HIGH USE FACILITIES OR COMPETITION SPORTS FIELDS WHERE SURFACE DETENTION MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE.
UNDERGROUND STORAGE ALLOWS FOR THE VARIOUS AMENITIES WE PLACE ON TOP OF THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
THIS STRATEGY DOES HAVE ADDITIONAL IMPLEMENTATION COSTS
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COMPARED TO SURFACE DETENTION, BUT MAY MAKE SENSE IN HIGHLY URBANIZED AREAS WHERE SPACES LIMITED.OUR LAST STRATEGY WAS GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE FOUND THAT GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE REALLY COMPLIMENTS THE OTHER DETENTION STRATEGIES PROVIDING BY PROVIDING WATER QUALITY HABITAT CREATION ALLOW FOR FLORA AND FAUNA CREATION.
AND GSI ALSO PROVIDES A MICRO DETENTION COMPONENTS SUCH AS CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS AND BIOSWELLS.
SO THE APPLICATION AND TECHNIQUES THAT WE GAIN FROM THE GUIDEBOOK WILL WILL BE APPLIED TO FIVE PILOT PARKS THAT WE LOOKED AT.
THESE PARKS AS DIRECTOR ALLEN MENTIONED, ARE EP HILL AND EDGEWOOD PARK OVER ON THE EAST OF TOWNS, UH, CAMBRIDGE PARK IN THE CENTER OF THE MAP.
AND THEN BOONE BOONE PARK AND HACKBERRY PARK LOCATED IN THE AI LEAF AREA.
SO THE FIRST PARK IS EDGEWOOD PARK.
EDGEWOOD PARK IS LOCATED IN THE SUNNYSIDE AREA, UH, ADJACENT TO SOME LOCALIZED NEIGHBORHOOD FLOODING THAT WE'VE NOTICED.
IN 2018, THE STORMWATER PLANNING GROUP STUDIED THE SUNNYSIDE AREA FOR DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS, AND THAT PLAN RECOMMENDED VARIOUS STORM TRUNKS THAT LED TO SIMS BAYOU, BUT ALSO A NEED FOR DETENTION IN THE AREA.
IN THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN THAT THAT WAS CREATED FOR EDGEWOOD PARK, WE FOLLOWED THE EDGEWOOD PARK MASTER PLAN AND INCORP THAT INCORPORATES A NEW FOOTBALL FIELD AND AMENITY TRAILS.
THE PARK WILL CREATE APPROXIMATELY EIGHT ACRE FOOT OF DETENTION AND WILL SERVE FOR FUTURE DRAINAGE PLANS ON SOUTH BANK STREET.
AND HERE'S SOME IMAGES AND RENDERINGS THAT WE'VE CREATED, UH, OF THE PARK IMPROVEMENT.
AND SO THIS IMAGE HERE IS LOOKING FROM WE, UH, FROM THE WEST AT BANK STREET, AND YOU CAN SEE THE DEPRESSED SPORT FIELDS WITH THE GENTLE SLIDE SLOPES AND THE NEW WALKING TRAILS.
AND FOLLOWING THE MASTER PLAN, IT CALLED FOR A DUAL USE FIELD.
AND SO WE'VE INCORPORATED THAT AS PART OF THE LAYOUT AS WELL.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE WE HAVE IN SUNNY SIDE IS EP HILL.
WHEN REVIEWING THIS PARK, THE TEAM INCORPORATES SOME OF THE INPUT, UH, THAT THE LANDSCAPE TEAM HAD ALREADY BEGUN WORK ON IN THE 50 50 PARK PLAN.
SO IN THE PARK, THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN EXPANDS THE WALKING TRAIL AND THE PARKING AREA.
IT REPLACES THE GAZEBO AND THE BASKETBALL COURT.
AND THEN BY LOWERING THE THE OPEN SPACE AREA, WE'RE ABLE TO GAIN APPROXIMATELY FIVE ACRE FOOT OF DETENTION TO SUPPORT FUTURE DRAIN IMPROVEMENTS.
AND HERE IS A RENDERING OF THAT PARK, LOOKING AT THE, LOOKING AT LOOKING FROM THE NORTH, UH, WITH THE NEW PARKING AREA IN THE LOWER GREEN SPACE.
AND A VIEW OF THE UPGRADED PLAYGROUND AND PICNIC PAVILION.
THE NEXT PARK WE HAVE IS CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE PARK.
CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE PARK IS LOCATED IN THE RAMBLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD BETWEEN POST OAK AND HARAM CLARK.
THE RAMBLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD IS CURRENTLY PART OF A STORMWATER ACTION TEAM PROJECT OR SWAT.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE I IMAGES ON THE RIGHT, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS EXPERIENCED STRUCTURAL FLOODING AND EXCESSIVE PONDING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
THE SWAT PROJECT WILL IMPROVE THE STORM SURGES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT BY DOING THAT, THEY'LL ALSO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL DETENTION TO LOWER THE WATER SURFACE ELEVATION AND ACHIEVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT'S NEEDED FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IN CAMBRIDGE PARK, THE DESIGN TEAM WAS ABLE TO CREATE 24 ACRE FOOT OF DETENTION AND PROVIDE THE NEEDED LEVEL SERVICE FOR RAMBLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD BY INCORPORATING THE TENSION WITHIN THE PARK.
UH, AND IN THIS CONCEPTUAL PLAN, THE PARK UPGRADES, THE WALKING TRAILS, ADDS EXERCISE STATIONS, AND THE SHADE STRUCTURE TO THE PLAYGROUND.
THE TEAM ALSO WORKED AROUND THE OPEN AREAS, UH, AND LOWERED THE CENTRAL TRAIL TO CREATE AN OVERFLOW BETWEEN THE TWO AREAS, UH, THAT YOU SEE THERE.
THIS HELPED MINIMIZE THE TREE IMPACT IN THE PARK.
AND HERE'S A VIEW OF THAT LOWERED FIELD, UH, WITH THE, UH, THE LOWER SOCCER FIELD WITH A DA RAMPS THAT LEAD TO THAT FIELD.
AND HERE'S AN OVERALL VIEW OF THOSE TWO DEPRESSED AREAS.
TWO DEPRESSED, UH, OPEN SPACE AREAS THAT ARE CONNECTED FOR DETENTION.
THE NEXT PARK WE HAVE IS BOONE PARK.
BOONE PARK IS A LARGE PARK LOCATED IN THE A LEAF AREA BETWEEN BOONE ROAD AND THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DITCH OF D 1 22, THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE SOUTH EXPERIENCES OF FLOODING AND IS ON OUR INVESTIGATION LIST WITH OUR SWAT PROGRAM FOR FEW FOR DRAINAGE REVIEW.
IN THIS CONCEPTUAL PLAN FOR BOONE PARK, UH, THE TEAM LOOKED AT, UH, REVIT REVITALIZING THE PARK AND CREATING 28 ACRE FOOT OF DETENTION.
IT CREATES NEW TRAILS, VOLLEYBALL COURTS, A PICNIC PAVILION, AND EXERCISE STATIONS.
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AND HERE'S A VIEW FROM BOONE ROAD SHOWING THE NEW VOLLEYBALL CORE AND THE, AND THE TWO LOWER GREEN SPACES.AND IN THIS IMAGE, WHAT WE'VE CREATED IS A BOARDWALK FEATURE TO ALLOW WATER TO PASS BETWEEN THE TWO AREAS.
IT ALSO PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL PLANTINGS AND BEAUTIFICATION WITHIN THE PARK.
OUR LAST PARK WE LOOKED AT IS HACKBERRY PARK.
HACKBERRY PARK WAS ORIGINALLY AN OLD GOLF COURSE THAT WAS CONVERTED TO A PARK.
THE PARK STILL HAS THE OLD COURSE MOUNDS AND SOME WATER FEATURES, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE IMAGE HERE.
SO THE CONCEPTUAL PLAN FOR HACKBERRY PARK CREATED MORE OF A CONNECTED TRAIL SYSTEM AND REMOVE THE OLD GOLF COURSE MOUNDS.
THE LARGE FEATURES, THE LARGE WATER FEATURES HAVE BEEN EXPANDED TO CREATE APPROXIMATELY 2027 ACRE FOOT OF WET BOTTOM DETENTION.
THIS WATER FEATURE TO THE RIGHT OF THE EXHIBIT CREATES BIRD HABITAT WITH A FISHING PIER AND A WETLANDS FEATURE ON THE ON THE PERIPHERY.
AND HERE'S A VIEW OF THE CONNECTED TRAIL SYSTEM AND THE EXPANDED WATER FEATURE.
SO THIS IS LOOKING FROM THE SOUTH TOWARDS THE CHANNEL WAY.
AND HERE'S A VIEW OF HACKBERRY PARK THAT SHOWS THE NEW FISHING PIER AND WETLANDS FEATURE.
THE TEAM WORKED WITH THE LANDSCAPE IN THE PARK TO REALLY ENHANCE THE SCENIC VIEWS AND CREATE MORE OF A HABITAT, UH, FEATURE IN THIS PARK.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION WITH THE PARKS.
UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO MOVING THESE CONCEPTUAL PLANS, UH, UH, TO DESIGN LATER THIS YEAR.
CAMBRIDGE PARK, UH, AS MENTIONED, IS CURRENTLY IN DESIGN AND WORKING WITH OUR TEAM TO KIND OF REALLY CREATE THAT SWAT PROJECT WITH THE, UH, PARK PROJECT TOGETHER.
UH, AND SO THAT SHOULD BE TURNED OVER FOR CONSTRUCTION LATER THIS YEAR.
WE WILL FOLLOW THE CHAPTER 26 PROCESS AND ALSO, UH, COMPLETE SOME, UH, PUBLIC PUBLIC MEETINGS AS WELL.
THE VISUALLY RICH PRESENTATION WAS, UH, WONDERFUL TO SEE.
I DO, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE BEFORE I TURN TO THEM.
I'D LIKE TO, IF YOU COULD TURN TO IMAGE NUMBER FOUR, WHERE YOU SHOWED THE MAP, UM, AND PERHAPS IF THE DIRECTOR COULD JUST ADDRESS THE NATURE OF THESE CONCEPTUAL PLANS AND THE FACT THAT THESE PARKS, UM, THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY, THE FIVE PROJECTS ARE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN.
UM, SO DIRECTOR, I KNOW YOU AND I WERE ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN JUST A DAY AND A HALF AGO, I BELIEVE, AND LOOKING AT SOME PARKS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON.
SO IF YOU COULD SPEAK PERHAPS TO HOW THESE FIVE PARKS WERE SELECTED IN DISTRICTS D, F AND K, AND, UH, WHAT THAT MIGHT MEAN TO THE CITY FOR HOW YOU HOPE TO ADVANCE THIS PROGRAM.
WELL, CERTAINLY WE WORK CLOSELY WITH PUBLIC WORKS FOR THE SELECTION PROCESS IN TERMS OF FLOODING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THESE ARE AREAS THAT THEY RECOMMENDED.
AND SO I'LL, I'LL DEFER THE DETAILS OF THAT SELECTION TO PEREZ, BUT WE'RE IN AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF THE, UM, THE FLOW OF WATER AND HOW IT MAY IMPACT THE PARK.
BUT WE BASICALLY USE YOUR RECOMMENDATION FROM THIS POINT PRS, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD BEFORE WE TURN TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS? SURE.
UH, YEAH, AGAIN, AS, AS DIRECTOR MENTIONED, WHEN WE SELECTED THESE PARKS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DID EXPERIENCE A LOT OF FLOODING.
THEY WERE CONNECTED TO, UH, EITHER CHANNEL WAVES OR OTHER, OTHER STORM STORM STRUCTURES THAT REALLY LED TO A SOLUTION BY INCORPORATING DETENTION WITH A PARK AND A-A-A-C-I-P PROJECT THAT WE'VE STUDIED, UH, IN THE AREA AND KIND OF HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ON.
SO, UM, PRESUMING THAT THIS CONCEPT IS PROVEN UP, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROGRAM HERE AND ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY.
CORRECT? UM, I MEANT THAT AS A QUESTION.
IS THAT A FAIR ASSUMPTION PER YES.
THAT IS A, AGAIN, AS A, AS A PILOT, WE WANNA TEST THESE, MAKE SURE THEY KIND OF WORK WELL.
UH, AND THEN AGAIN, WITH WORKING WITH PARKS, LOOK AT OTHER, OTHER AREAS THAT WE CAN EXPLORE, UH, THE SAME KIND OF CREATION.
WE'RE TURNING NOW TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
FIRST UP WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CISNEROS IN THE QUEUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON.
YOU, YOU STARTED ASKING MY QUESTION.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED TO TALK TO ABOUT TOO, WAS THAT, THAT SLIDE ON PAGE FOUR, UM, I, I APPLAUD THESE EFFORTS TO MITIGATE FLOODING AND IMPROVE PARKS ALL AT THE SAME TIME AND IF THIS VERY EFFECTIVE WAY.
UM, BUT I, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY ARE YOU LOOKING AT? YOU KNOW, THE, THE NORTHEAST WE ALSO KNOW, YOU KNOW, IS A, IS AN IMPORTANT AREA, YOU KNOW, HALLS BAYOU GREENS, BAYOU, THESE ARE UNDERFUNDED AREAS WITH HIGH AMOUNTS OF STRUCTURAL FLOODING AND
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ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGE VANTAGE NEIGHBORHOODS.SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I'M, I'M ANXIOUS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THE, WHAT THE PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD IS.
WE KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T THE ONLY PART OF THIS CITY THAT FLOODS, YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATIONS ON COMING UP WITH, WITH THESE.
AND, UM, LET'S MOVE FORWARD AND DO SOME MORE.
AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THESE APPROVING AS, UH, SUCCESSFUL AS I EXPECT THEY WILL.
UH, NEXT IS COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
JUST AS A REMINDER, WE ALREADY DID THIS IN DISTRICT A IN 2018 WITH JAMES LEE PARK.
SO I HOPE THAT EVERYONE'S LOOKING AT THAT AS A MODEL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING THESE AS PILOT PROGRAMS, WE'VE ALREADY DONE THE PILOT PROGRAM IN DISTRICT A.
WE'VE BEEN THROUGH ALL OF THE MEETINGS AND THE QUESTIONS AND THE PITFALLS THAT, YOU KNOW, TURNING A PARK INTO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
SO, UM, I HOPE THAT WE'RE NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL.
I KNOW EVERY, EVERY PARK IS DIFFERENT, HAVE HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS.
BUT, UM, WE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME ON JAMES LEE PARK, UM, BEING THE BACKUP DETENTION TO BRICKHOUSE GULLY.
SO NOW, UM, IN HEAVY RAIN EVENTS, UM, THAT PARK ACTUALLY FILLS UP WITH WATER AND, UM, ALLEVIATES SOME OF BRICKHOUSE GULLY.
SO IT'S BEEN WORKING REALLY WELL AND OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE HAPPY WITH IT.
I TAKE MY KIDS TO THAT PARK ALL THE TIME AND SEE IT.
SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT PARK.
UM, BUT JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE DONE THAT WORK IN DISTRICT A, UM, AND I DON'T RECALL THAT WE HAD A PUBLIC HEARING WHEN WE DID THAT WITH THIS PARK.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MAY WANNA LOOK AT WHY, WHY WE DIDN'T AT THAT TIME.
AND MAYBE THERE'S REASONS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THOSE, THOSE HEARINGS.
I MEAN, DEFINITELY MEETINGS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT JUST TO POINT THAT OUT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOOKING AT FUTURE PARKS THAT WE CAN DO THIS IN, I HOPE THAT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER JUST LAND THAT'S AVAILABLE THAT WE CAN DO A DUAL DETENTION AND PARK, FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT A, WE HAVE, UM, IN THE SHERWOOD OAKS NEIGHBORHOOD, WE HAVE AN OLD PUBLIC WORKS LIFT STATION THAT'S NO LONGER BEING USED THAT WE COULD DEFINITELY TURN INTO PARK SPACE AND DETENTION, WHICH IS VERY MUCH NEEDED IN THAT AREA.
AND, UM, SO I JUST HOPE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU'RE, YOU'RE DONE WITH THE PILOT.
YOU'RE READY TO FLY? WE'RE OKAY.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW PERSH OR DIRECTOR ALLEN, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY TO, TO THAT? UH, PERSH, DID I SEE YOUR HAND? YES, I WOULD ACTUALLY, I, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK'S COMMENT ON JAMES LEE PARK.
WE DID REALLY LOOK AT JAMES LEE PARK AND HOW THAT WAS DONE.
UM, HOW THE PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS ON THAT ONE WORKED OUT AND IT, IT, IN THE GUIDEBOOK WE REFERENCED JAMES LEE PARK.
YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THAT, THAT THAT PROJECT, HOW IT WORKED AND HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER.
AND, UH, THE PARKS TEAM WITH PUBLIC WORKS TEAM REALLY USED THAT AS A, AS OUR, OUR STARTING POINT OF WHAT HAVE WE'VE DONE SO FAR, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS BETTER? AND SO I'M GLAD THAT, UH, YOU POINTED THAT ONE OUT.
APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT PRS, UM, AND DIRECTOR, LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON IN THE QUEUE, PERHAPS LET'S TURN TO HER COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, THANK YOU CHAIR AND, UM, THANK YOU DIRECTOR ALLEN AND PUBLIC WORKS FOR, UM, THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I ECHO MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW, I DON'T, I MEAN, YOU PROBABLY ALREADY ANSWERED THIS ON HOW YOU IDENTIFIED THESE PARTICULAR PARKS.
UM, BUT I'M CURIOUS, ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE SWAT PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED TO SEE HOW WE CAN TIE IN THE SWAT PROJECTS? UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH PARKS THAT'S AROUND THE AREA TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, UM, DO MORE FLOOD MITIGATION IN AREAS THAT'S HARD HIT, UM, DISTRICT B, YOU KNOW, IT WAS HARD HIT WITH THE TAX DAY FLOOD.
THE, I'M NOT, I'M SURE THE WHOLE CITY WAS HIT, BUT DISTRICT B WAS HIT VERY HARD.
I MEAN, WE'RE HIT ALL THE TIME WITH THAT GREENS BIO, UM, THE TAX STATE FLOOD, MEMORIAL DAY FLOOD, IKE HARVEY, ALL OF IT.
AND SO JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LIKE REALLY LOOKING AT THE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THAT AREA.
I SUBMITTED A TOTAL 12 SWAT PROJECTS, AND SO HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN, AND I GUESS I'M MAKING MORE OF A COMMENT.
HOPEFULLY YOU CAN LOOK AT THE SWAT PROJECTS AND SEE EXACTLY HOW WE CAN CONNECT IT TO THE PARKS IN THE AREA, WHICH IS QUITE A FEW PARKS.
I KNOW BROCK PARK, WE JUST INVESTED, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO, UM, DO THAT PARK.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CAPITALIZING ON THOSE EXISTING PROJECTS TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THE FLOOD ISSUES WITHIN, UM, THE DISTRICTS? YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE CERTAINLY WORKING, I'M SORRY, I, I DIDN'T RAISE MY HAND, BUT I WANTED TO KIND OF JUMP IN.
UM, WE'RE CERTAINLY WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT, THAT ARE HIT RELATIVELY HARD, BUT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIT IN TERMS OF THE PROJECT AND THE PARK.
UM, OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE, WE'VE BACK BASICALLY HAVE GONE BACK AND FORTH ON WHAT, ON WHAT'S GOOD AND WHAT'S NOT
[00:30:01]
IN TERMS OF WATER MOVING THROUGH THE PARK AND ALL THE RECREATIONAL PURSUITS AND HOW THAT WILL BE IMPACTED.OUR PRIMARY, OUR PRIMARY CONCERN IS TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY AND THE SAFETY OF THE PARK WITH, WITH THESE PROJECTS ARE, ARE KEPT, UH, AND MAINTAINED AS PEOPLE RECREATE IN THESE AREAS.
UM, WE'LL EVEN IT UP TO PUBLIC WORKS TO RECOMMEND WHICH PARKS AND, UH, AND WE SUPPORT THAT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON FLOODING AND ALL OVER THE CITY, TO BE HONEST.
SO, UM, I'M HOPING WE CAN DO MORE WHERE, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE AND WHERE IT'S, UH, WORKABLE.
UM, AND ALSO TYING THAT INTO ANY OTHER PROJECTS.
LIKE WE HAVE ONE PARK THAT'S PART OF THE 50 50 PROGRAM THAT WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF COMBINE EFFORTS AND, AND PUBLIC WORKS, YOU KNOW, WITH THEIR SIDE OF THE FUNDING ADDRESS THAT.
AND THEN WITH PARTNERS, UH, FROM A 50 50 STANDPOINT WORK ON ANOTHER PARK.
SO IF THERE'S ANY, UH, PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES WITH OTHER FUNDING SOURCES OR ORGANIZATIONS, CERTAINLY COUNCIL MEMBER, WE WOULD LOVE TO, LOVE TO CONTINUE TO PARTNER IN THAT WAY.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON.
AND, UH, GOOD QUESTION ABOUT THE SWAP PROGRAM, AND I THINK PART OF THE REASON WE WANTED TO HAVE THIS PRESENTATION WITH BOTH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS IS EXACTLY THAT LINKAGE.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE'VE HEARD FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER WHO'S INDICATED THEY HAVE A COMMENT.
WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, COMMENT IN THE CHAT FROM THE VICE MAYOR PRO TEM.
I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'D LIKE TO ADDRESS, BUT SHE HAS TYPED INTO THE CHAT THAT SHE IS SUPER EXCITED ABOUT CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE UPGRADES, SO DIRECTOR AND PR UH, THAT ENTHUSIASM FROM OUR VICE MAYOR PRO TEM.
AND, UH, I BELIEVE WITH THAT, UNLESS THERE'S OTHER COMMENTS, WE WILL THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UH, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING.
SO SOFTWARE SOLUTION, WE'LL HEAR FROM HITS DEPARTMENT, DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SUMMER XO SUMMER.
ARE YOU HERE TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC, PLEASE? GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON AND GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, TODAY, UM, WE ARE HERE TO PRESENT THE OUTCOME BASED BUDGETING, UH, SOFTWARE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION.
AND I HAVE HERE WITH ME, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR WILL JONES FROM FINANCE.
WILL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF? UH, YES.
UM, AS SOMERSET, MY NAME IS WILL JONES.
I AM DEPUTY DIRECTOR HERE IN FINANCE OVER OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING AND ANALYSIS DIVISION.
SO I'M EXCITED TO KIND OF SHARE SOME THINGS ABOUT OBB WITH YOU GUYS TODAY.
SO, THE, UH, VENDOR FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS CGI.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO PROCURE PRODUCT AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO IMPLEMENT OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THE CONTRACT AMOUNT IS CURRENTLY ESTIMATED AT 1.5 TO $2 MILLION.
RIGHT NOW, DEPARTMENT USING WOULD BE ALL CITY OF HOUSTON DEPARTMENT.
THE CONTRACT TERM IS THREE YEARS PLUS TWO OPTIONAL YEARS.
AND THE MWBE GOAL ON THIS CONTRACT WOULD BE 0% FOR PRODUCT 'CAUSE IT'S NON DIVISIBLE AND 8.14% FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
AND I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO, UM, WILL JONES.
WILL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO THROUGH THE PRODUCT OVERVIEW, A PROJECT OVERVIEW? YEAH, THANKS SUMMER.
UM, AND THANKS TO THE CHAIR AND ALL THOSE IN ATTENDANCE TODAY.
UM, AGAIN, MY NAME IS WILL JONES, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR HERE IN FINANCE.
UM, AND FIRST OF ALL, LET ME START BY SAYING THAT THIS IS A PROJECT I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT.
I I HAVE BEEN DOING RESEARCH ON PERFORMANCE BASED BUDGETING OBB SINCE 2012, SO I'M VERY EXCITED, UM, THAT WE'VE MADE IT THIS FAR AND WE'RE READY TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
UM, SO THIS IS A, A GREAT STEP FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO I DO HAVE ONE SLIDE HERE, UM, BUT I WILL JUST GO THROUGH SOME, SOME INFORMATION AND, AND INFORM YOU GUYS ON, ON WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR.
AND WHAT EXACTLY IS OBB? SO, UM, IN RECENT YEARS, MORE GOVERNMENTS ARE SHIFTING FOCUS TO PRIORITY BASE, UH, BUDGET.
AND ACCORDING TO GFOA, WHICH IS OUR, UH, GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFERS ASSOCIATION, THIS IS ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING TYPES OF BUDGETING.
UM, PRIORITY BASED BUDGETING OR OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING IS A PROCESS WHERE GOVERNMENTS FIRST DETERMINE HOW MUCH REVENUE AND RESOURCES YOU HAVE AVAILABLE AND THEN ALLOCATE THOSE RESOURCES TO, UH, COMMUNITY PRIORITIES RATHER THAN DEPARTMENTS.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, THE BUDGETING APPROACH WITH OUTCOME-BASED BUDGET, UM, COMPARED TO WHAT WE HAVE NOW, UM, RIGHT NOW WE
[00:35:01]
HAVE AN INCREMENTAL, UH, BASED BUDGETING, WHICH I'M SURE MOST OF YOU COUNSEL.WE START WITH LAST YEAR'S, UH, BASE BUDGET, AND THEN YOU ADJUST UP OR DOWN.
UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT A FUTURE WITH OBB, THE DIFFERENCES, YOU DIDN'T START WITH, UH, NEXT YEAR'S GOALS.
UM, AND IN OUR CURRENT PROCESS, WE LOOK AT, UH, FUNDING, UH, TARGETS BY DEPARTMENT.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE NEED TO PUT INTO POLICE? HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE NEED TO PUT IN PARTS? UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, OBB, YOU LOOK AT FUNDING BY PROGRAMS. UM, SO IN, IN OUR CURRENT PROCESS, AGAIN, DEPARTMENT SUBMISSIONS OR HOW, HOW THE ALLOCATION WILL BE SPENT VERSUS OBB WHERE WE LOOK AT, UH, PROPOSALS TO ACHIEVE RESULTS.
UM, AND THEN WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CURRENT PROCESS, WHEN THE DEBATE OR THE DISCUSSION WE HAVE AROUND THE HORSESHOE AROUND BUDGET TIME IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT TO CUT, UH, HOW ARE WE GONNA CUT THE BUDGET? AND WITH OBB, YOU SHIFT FOCUS TO NOT WHAT YOU'RE GONNA CUT, BUT WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES THAT WE WANT TO FUND.
AND SO, UH, WHAT IS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THIS? WHEN, WHEN THE MAYOR FIRST CAME INTO OFFICE, UM, ONE OF THE VERY FIRST THINGS THAT HE DID WAS, UH, SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER ONE DASH 53.
THIS WAS BACK IN JANUARY OF 2016.
UM, AND THIS WAS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE BUDGET.
UM, THIS WAS TO ALLOW US TO MAKE INFORMED DECISION MAKING, UH, MEASURABLE RESULTS, LINKS TO GOALS, EFFICIENCY, AND TRANSPARENCY.
SO THAT IS REALLY THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND OUR FRAMEWORK FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO INTRODUCE OBB.
UM, SO THAT, LIKE I SAID, THAT WAS ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE MAYOR WHEN HE FIRST, UH, CAME INTO OFFICE.
AND I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
SHE'S BEEN A VERY, VERY STRONG ADVOCATE FOR OBB THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
UM, AND AS WELL AS, UH, MANY OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, IN ADDITION, IT WAS ALSO A PART OF OUR LONG RANGE FINANCIAL PLAN.
UH, AND SO WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR? SO WE, WE, WE ARE NOT JUST WAITING TO START WORK.
SO, UH, LAST SUMMER WE KICKED OFF OUR PHASE ONE.
UH, WE CONDUCTED OVER 45 WORKSHOPS WITH ALL OF THE, UH, THE CFOS AND THE FINANCE STAFF WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, WE HAD, WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED, UM, ALL 26 DEPARTMENTS.
WE, WE STARTED THE PROCESS OF INTRODUCING PROGRAMS, INTRODUCING THE CONCEPTS OF OBB, UM, AND HOW, HOW THE CITY WOULD PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND WE GOT ALL THAT FEEDBACK FROM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE FINANCE TEAMS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS IS THEY'RE GONNA BE THE ONES DOING THE WORK.
UM, SO THAT BRINGS US TO WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY? UM, SO WHAT'S NEXT IS WE HAVE AN OUTDATED BUDGET SYSTEM, AND WE CANNOT IMPLEMENT OBB WITH OUR CURRENT SYSTEM.
UM, WE CAN'T IMPLEMENT IT FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET OR OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.
SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET SOLUTION, UH, REDESIGN OR INTRODUCE OUR BUDGET PROCESS, UM, CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, AND REDEFINE THE TALENT EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE CAN'T DO THAT WITHOUT A TOP-NOTCH SYSTEM TO TAKE US TO THAT NEXT LEVEL.
UM, SO, AND THE GOAL IS, UH, WE'RE AIMING TO TRY AND HAVE THIS FULLY IMPLEMENTED BY, UH, THE FY 2024 BUDGET.
IT'S A VERY TIGHT, TIGHT DEADLINE WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING VERY HARD TO TRY AND MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, SO I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR MY, OUR PARTNER SUMMER AND HITS.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH US TO TRY AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
UM, SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I WANTED TO, TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT BACK OVER TO SUMMER TO GO OVER THE, THE NEXT SLIDE.
CERTAINLY VERY, VERY EXCITED TO WORK ON THIS IMPORTANT EFFORT WITH FINANCE AND ALL THE IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, ALSO INCLUDING OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO I KNOW, UH, CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THIS EFFORT TOO.
SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO VENDOR OVERVIEW.
CGI IS AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCT AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM WITH A SOLUTION THAT SUPPORTS OPERATIONS ACROSS 400 IMPLEMENTATIONS AND UPGRADES SPANNING SOME OF THE LARGEST STATE CITIES AND COUNTIES IN THE US.
CGI HAS OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH TEXAS PUBLIC ENTITIES.
CGI HAS SOLD AND IMPLEMENTED SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, UM, SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS AROUND BUDGET AND, UH, PERFORMANCE FOR ARE THE LARGE PUBLIC ENTITIES IN TEXAS.
THE CONTRACT CORE COMPONENTS, UH, CONSISTED OF, UM, FIRST PRODUCT, WHICH IS USER LICENSES.
THESE ARE LICENSES, UH, USED TO ACCESS THE SYSTEM, VIEW THE SYSTEM AND, UH, WORK ON THE SYSTEM.
AND THEN TWO IS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, WHICH ARE SERVICES NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE SOLUTION THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING TODAY.
I THINK THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR JONES, AND, UH, WE ARE OPENED UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
[00:40:01]
AND, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION, MR. JONES.UH, WE DO HAVE ONE COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE QUEUE.
THAT'S OUR VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER, SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU SUMMER.
AND WILL, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
WILL, YES, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS 2011, I THINK WE PRESENTED THIS TO MAYOR PARKER'S CHIEF OF STAFF OUTCOME BASED BUDGETING.
SO 2024, MAN, IT ONLY TAKES A GOOD 13 YEARS HERE AT THE CITY TO GET SOMETHING GOING, BUT THIS IS SUCH THE RIGHT TRACK.
SUMMER, THANK YOU FOR GETTING THE, THE SOFTWARE AND ALL THE, ALL THE COMPUTER STUFF.
I KNOW IT'S A HUGE BEHEMOTH OF A BUDGET AND IT WILL TAKE, UH, A LOT OF, OF REDOING WILL YOU REALLY OUTLINE THE BENEFITS OF IT.
BUT IF YOU'LL INDULGE ME, I WANNA READ KIND OF MY FAVORITE DEFINITION OF OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING.
I ONE THAT I THINK WILL REALLY HELP GUIDE US IN THE FUTURE.
THE FIRST STEP IS TO TURN THE BUDGET ON ITS HEAD SO THAT IT STARTS WITH THE RESULTS WE DEMAND AND THE PRICE WE ARE WILLING TO PAY, RATHER THAN THE PROGRAMS WE HAVE AND THE COSTS THEY INCUR.
THE SECOND IS TO BUILD THE BUDGET BY DECIDING TO BUY ONLY THOSE PROGRAMS THAT DELIVER THE RESULTS WE WANT AND LEAVE THE REST BEHIND.
THEN WE MUST CUT DOWN GOVERNMENT TO ITS MOST EFFECTIVE SIZE AND SHAPE THROUGH STA STRATEGIC REVIEWS, CONSOLIDATION, AND RIGHT SIZING.
USE COMPETITION TO SQUEEZE MORE VALUE OUT OF EACH TAX DOLLAR, MAKE EVERY PROGRAM, ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEE ACCOUNTABLE FOR RESULTS.
USE TECHNOLOGY TO EMPOWER CUSTOMERS AND SAVE MONEY AND REFORM HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS IN ON THE INSIDE ITS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND BUREAUCRATIC RULES TO PRO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ON THE OUTSIDE.
SO I JUST THINK THAT THAT REALLY KIND OF LAYS OUT WHERE WE'RE GOING.
IT WILL FORCE THIS COUNCIL TO PRIORITIZE AND IT FORCE US TO LOOK AT EVERY PROGRAM, EVERY ACTIVITY.
IS IT STILL EFFECTIVE OR DO WE STILL NEED THIS PROGRAM? WHAT RESULTS ARE WE TRYING TO GET? AND HOW MUCH ARE WE WILLING TO SPEND ON THEM? AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY THE DIRECTION WHERE WE NEED TO GO AS A COUNCIL.
LIKE WILL SAID, YOU DON'T WANNA START WITH LAST YEAR'S SPENDING.
YOU WANNA GO TO NEXT YEAR'S GOALS.
YOU DON'T WANNA ASK, GIVE FUNDING TARGETS TO EACH DEPARTMENT.
YOU WANNA GIVE A FUNDING TARGET TO EACH PRIORITY OUTCOME.
YOU DON'T WANNA ALLOCATE, YOU DON'T WANNA JUST HAVE THE DEPARTMENTS SUBMIT THEIR ALLOCATIONS BASED ON LIKE, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA SPEND IT.
WE WANNA SEE DEPARTMENTS BRING PROPOSALS TO ACHIEVE SPECIFIC RESULTS.
AND WE DON'T WANNA FOCUS ON WHAT TO CUT, BUT ON WHAT TO KEEP.
AND THAT, THAT'S REALLY THE, THE BULK OF IT.
WHAT I DIDN'T HEAR YOU SAY, UM, WILL, AND WHAT I THINK IS, IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING IS, AND I'M GLAD YOU MET WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND LAID IT ALL OUT IN PHASE ONE, BUT THE, BUT THE PUBLIC HAS A VERY VITAL ROLE IN OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING.
IT'S THE PUBLIC'S PRIORITIES, NOT THE DEPARTMENT'S PRIORITIES.
IT'S THE PUBLIC WHY I DO ABU A PUBLIC BUDGET SURVEY EACH YEAR.
IT'S THE PUBLIC THAT DECIDES THE PEOPLE ARE THE CITY IT SAYS ON HERE.
SO THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO GIVE US THE INPUT ON WHAT OUR PRIORITIES SHOULD BE.
I'M GONNA JUMP UP AND DOWN AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET FOR OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING.
I WILL BE WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORTING THIS CONTRACT.
I APPRECIATE YOUR CHANNELING YOUR INNER SCRIVENER.
AND, UH, AND UH, SPEAKING OF SCRIVENERS, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE BEEN JOINED HERE BY THE MAYOR PRO TEM, DAVE MARTIN IS IN THE CHAMBER, AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE, AS WELL AS STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ED POLLARD.
UH, SO WITH THAT, WE SEE NO OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE OR COMMENTS.
SO, UH, WILL, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND SUMMER FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AS WELL WITH HITS.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO INCORPORATING THIS.
SO MOVING ON NOW DIRECTLY TO THE FOURTH ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
UH, THIRD TOPIC TODAY IS THE CITY OF HOUSTON PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
UH, IN THE CHAMBER TODAY IS DIRECTOR GABE CASRE, WHO IS HERE AND APPROACHING THE PODIUM.
VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HIM HERE WITH US FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, GABE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WORK.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE MICROPHONE ON THE PODIUM ON, SO IF YOU'LL INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, UH, WE'RE READY TO PROCEED.
THANK YOU, UH, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING.
I'M GABE CASRE, DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, AND THIS MORNING I'M HERE TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT OUR PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
AND THIS REALLY SERVES AS A PRECURSOR, UH, TO
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METRO'S PRESENTATION WILL BE, THAT WILL BE AFTER MINE COVERING UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY, UH, WHICH REALLY REFLECTS, UH, OUR CITIES AND OUR PARTNERS COMMITMENT TO ENSURING THAT ALL PEDESTRIANS, INCLUDING PEDESTRIANS WITH DISABILITIES, HAVE ACCESS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.SO IF I CAN GET A VERBAL CONFIRMATION WHEN THE PRESENTATION IS UP, IT'S UP.
SO BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE MEAT OF THE PRESENTATION, I WANNA TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO TALK TO YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
YOU KNOW, I FOUND WHEN I GOT HERE ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO THAT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS ONE OF THE BEST KEPT SECRETS IN THE CITY.
AND WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE THE CASE.
UH, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO SERVE AS A LIAISON BETWEEN THE CITY ADMINISTRATION, CITY DEPARTMENTS, AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT EVERY INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY'S MAKING, THAT EVERY POLICY DECISION THAT THE COUNCIL TAKES, TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS OF HOUSTONIANS WITH DISABILITIES.
I OFTEN TELL FOLKS THAT PEOPLE THINK THAT DISABILITY LIVES IN THE NICE LITTLE DISABILITY BOX, AND THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE OUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, COWORKERS, FAMILY MEMBERS.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT OUR CITY PRIORITIES REFLECT THAT.
MY OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1993.
WE'LL BE TURNING 30 NEXT YEAR.
UH, AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS ALSO TO DEVELOP PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO PROMOTE THE FULL INCLUSION OF HOUSTONIANS WITH DISABILITIES.
AND WE DO THAT IN A NUMBER OF WAYS BY PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS IN AND OUTSIDE OF THE CITY TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY, RAISE AWARENESS AND, UH, CREATE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
NOW, WHAT DO I MEAN WHEN I SAY HOUSTONIANS WITH DISABILITIES? LOOKING AT THE 2010 CENSUS NUMBERS, HOUSTONIANS AT THAT TIME MADE UP 215,454 RESIDENTS OF THE, OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, APPROXIMATELY 10% OF OUR TOTAL POPULATION.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT AS THE NUMBERS COME IN FROM LAST YEAR'S COUNT, UH, AND AS PEOPLE CONTINUE TO LIVE LONGER AND AGE IN PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY, I FULLY EXPECT THESE NUMBERS TO GO UP.
SO WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS THAT MY OFFICE ADMINISTERS IN CONJUNCTION WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS SOMEONE WITH A DISABILITY OR SOMEONE ACTING ON A PERSON'S WITH A DISABILITY'S BEHALF TO REQUEST UP TO 1500 FEET OF IMPROVEMENT, IMPROVE SIDEWALK ACCESSIBILITY TO SAFELY TRAVEL TO ELIGIBLE SITES.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE SLIDE DECK, THERE IS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SITES THAT QUALIFY AS ELIGIBLE SITES, BANKS, BUS STOPS, EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, EMPLOYMENT, UH, UM, GROCERY STORES, HOMES, MEDICAL FACILITIES, AND PLACES OF WORSHIP.
APPLICANTS MUST BE DISABLED, AS I MENTIONED, OR ACTING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE WITH A DISABILITY.
THERE IS, UH, IN THIS SLIDE, THERE IS A BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTO OF A CURVE, UH, STRETCH OF SIDEWALK WITH A TEXTURED RAMP.
I BELIEVE, UH, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT WAS DONE IN DISTRICT C.
SO WHAT'S THE TIMELINE FOR THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM? UH, RESIDENTS OR ADVOCATES ACTING ON THEIR BEHALF CAN APPLY FOR THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM ONLINE AT HOUSTON TX.GOV/DISABILITIES.
THEY CAN REACH OUT TO US VIA EMAIL AT MOPD MAIL@HOUSTONTX.GOV, OR THEY CAN CALL US ON THE PHONE AT (832) 394-0814.
WE CAN MAIL APPLICATIONS, HARD COPY APPLICATIONS.
WE CAN ALSO ASSIST, UH, RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OR ADVOCATES TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION BY PHONE.
ONCE THE APPLICATION IS RECEIVED IN MY OFFICE, MOPD CONDUCTS AN INSPECTION TO ENSURE THAT THE PARTY REQUESTING THE SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENT IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR PROGRAM.
MOPD THEN CONDUCTS A SIDE VISIT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RESIDENT AND WRITES A REPORT, UH, DETERMINING FINDINGS TO SUBMIT TO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
IF THE PROJECT IS APPROVED BY MY OFFICE, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS CONDUCTS A CONSTRUCTABILITY SURVEY TO ENSURE THAT THE SIDEWALK CAN INDEED BE REPAIRED OR CONSTRUCTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT DRAINAGE, UH, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THE
[00:50:01]
PROCESS.IF APPROVED THROUGH THE HPW CONSTRUCTABILITY SURVEY, IT THEN MOVES ON TO THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
TYPICALLY, WE TELL FOLKS THAT THIS PROCESS FROM BEGINNING TO END TAKES 18 TO 24 MONTHS.
AND YOU MAY BE WONDERING WHY HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS SETS ASIDE $2.3 MILLION OF THEIR BUDGET FOR THE SIDEWALK SAFE SIDEWALKS PROGRAM.
THE BULK OF THAT MONEY GOES TO THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
AND IN THE NEXT TWO SLIDES, YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE NUMBERS FROM 2020 AND 21, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THESE NUMBERS FLUCTUATE.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU ONE OF THE SILVER LININGS OF THE PANDEMIC HAS BEEN THAT, UH, WE HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO MOVE A LOT QUICKER.
UH, WE CURRENTLY DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKLOG BUILDING UP BECAUSE AS I DO MORE PRESENTATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY MAKING PEOPLE AWARE OF THIS PROGRAM, WE'RE TRYING, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE ENGAGEMENT, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT.
UM, AND AS WE THINK OF BUDGETING, THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR FUNDING SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE DOING THIS PROGRAM.
ON THE 2020, UH, NUMBERS DIS THE DISTRICT OF DESTINATION, DISTRICT K WAS, UH, OUR TOP DISTRICT ENGAGED IN, UH, ENSURING THAT, UH, CONSTITUENTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY FOLLOWED BY DISTRICT K AND DISTRICT C OVERALL, IN 2020, WE SPENT APPROXIMATELY CLOSE TO $2 MILLION, $1,000,957, 1 MILLION 957, 200 $90, AND COMPLETED 24,704 LINEAR FEET OF SIDEWALK.
NOW, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH OUR, UH, RESILIENT HOUSTON ACTION PLAN.
UH, GOAL 4.5 REQUIRES THE CITY TO BUILD UP TO 50 FEET OF, UH, 50 SIDEWALKS EVERY NEW YEAR.
AND, UH, WE WORK DILIGENTLY WITH, UH, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY AND WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO ENSURE THAT OUR NUMBERS ARE COUNTED TOWARDS THAT GOAL IN THE RESILIENT HOUSTON ACTION PLAN.
IN 2021, DISTRICT K TOOK THE LEAD, FOLLOWED BY DISTRICT C AND DISTRICT I.
IN THESE SLIDES, YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE DISTRICTS THAT, UH, HAVE NOT YET TAKEN FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
AND MY OFFICE IS READY TO WORK WITH EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER TO MAKE CONSTITUENTS AWARE OF THIS PROGRAM, UM, BECAUSE IT IS, UH, I THINK UNDERUTILIZED AND OF GREAT BENEFIT TO HOUSTONIANS WITH DISABILITIES.
SO TOTAL, UH, IN 2020, WE COMPLETED 110 PARS WITH A TOTAL COST OF $2,233,911 WITH A, UH, TOTAL LINEAR FEET OF 27,635 LINEAR FEET.
UH, THE PAR PROGRAM, UM, NEAR METRO BUS STOPS IS A BIG PRIORITY FOR US.
THIS GRAPHIC SHOWS A MAP OF RED AND BLUE CIRCLES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE SCREEN, THE RED DOTS REPRESENT PAR PROJECTS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION THAT ARE NEAR METRO BUS STOPS, AND THE BLUE CIRCLES REPRESENT COMPLETED PARS PROJECTS, UH, METRO, UH, NEAR METRO STOPS.
THIS SPECIFIC AREA IS OFF OF HILLCROFT AND SOUTH SAM HOUSTON PARKWAY IN THE GULFTON COMPLETE COMMUNITY.
THIS GRAPHIC ALSO SHOWS A CUTOUT FROM ONE SPECIFIC PART PROJECT THAT IS COM THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED WITH THE RED LINES INDICATING NEWLY RENOVATED OR CONSTRUCTED SIDEWALK.
THIS ALSO SHOWS, UH, BLUE BUS STOPS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE PROJECTS.
SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT BUILDING THESE PROJECTS, OUR NUMBER ONE GOAL IS TO ENSURE ACCESS FOR RESIDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, BUT ALSO TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING A CONNECTED NETWORK OF SIDEWALKS.
THE MAYOR HAS SAID A NUMBER OF TIMES THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BUILD SIDEWALKS TO NOWHERE.
AND SO THROUGH THROUGHOUT US DOING BUSINESS IN THIS PROJECT, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE MAXIMUM BANG FOR OUR BUCK.
SO THAT'S A QUICK REVIEW OVER THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM, OUR 2020 AND 2021 NUMBERS, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
AND IF WE CAN GO, THAT'S THE, THE SLIDE WITH
[00:55:01]
YOUR NAME AND, UM, EMAIL ADDRESS AS WELL AS THE WEBSITE, HOUSTON TX.GOV/DISABILITIES IS ON THE SCREEN FOR VIEWERS TO SEE.LET ME JUST SAY THAT I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND, UH, APPRECIATE SO MUCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
I DO HOPE THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS WILL TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR SUGGESTION TO ENGAGE YOUR OFFICE AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON SO THAT WE CAN WORK, UH, DELIBERATELY FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS TO THESE SIDEWALKS TO NOWHERE AND THESE OTHER SIDEWALKS THAT ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF REPAIR.
SO WITH THAT, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE.
AND, UM, LET'S JUST START RIGHT THERE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS IN DISTRICT A OF HOW FEW HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED AND WAS KIND OF SURPRISED BY IT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE'VE SENT THE APPLICATION TO MANY PEOPLE OVER THE YEARS, AND I THINK THE RECO, THE COMMENT THAT WE GET BACK A LOT IS THAT THERE'S NOT SUFFICIENT RIGHT OF WAY TO CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALK IN THE LOCATIONS THAT ARE BEING ASKED FOR.
SO I KNOW LANGFIELD AND UPLAND ARE TWO OF MAYBE SOME OF THE MOST RECENT ONES THAT HAVE BEEN DENIED.
UM, SO I JUST HOPE THAT WHEN, IF FOR THE ONES THAT ARE BEING DENIED, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT, UM, IN THOSE SITUATIONS, THAT THEY'RE OPEN DITCHES AND SO THERE'S NOT ROOM NEXT TO THE DITCH TO CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALK.
SO I HOPE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST LEAVING IT AS A NO, BUT KIND OF LOOKING AT IT, UM, IN FOR FUTURE PROJECTS SO THAT WE CAN CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALKS.
AND, AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE DO HAVE, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS WITH OPEN DITCHES IS, UH, ENOUGH PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE ARE TALKING CONSTANTLY ABOUT HOW TO BETTER, UH, PROVIDE ACCESS IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
SO THAT I POINT WELL MADE AND WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE IT, UH, BACK.
WE WILL NEXT HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR.
AS YOU KNOW, THE CHAIR AND I ARE BIG FANS OF SIDEWALKS.
OUR SIDEWALK SUMMIT THAT YOU PARTICIPATED IN LAST YEAR, WE CERTAINLY ADVOCATE FOR A GREATER PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN SIDEWALKS.
A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF THE CIP I'D LIKE TO, UH, DEDICATE TO PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, DO YOU KNOW IF WE USE ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS IN IN LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AREAS ON SIDEWALKS? WE CURRENTLY DON'T.
BUT THAT IS A DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE STARTED, UH, BETWEEN MY OFFICE, PUBLIC WORKS AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT SO THAT WE CAN BETTER STRATEGIZE ON HOW MOST EFFECTIVELY TO USE THOSE FUNDS.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT AVENUE.
A LOT OF OTHER CITIES, UH, MAKE A LOT OF HEADWAY USING SOME CDBG MONEY FOR SIDEWALKS AND UNDER-RESOURCED AREAS.
SO I'M PUTTING PUTTING IN MY PLUG FOR THAT.
AND THAT'S THE LAST COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WE HAVE IN THE QUEUE.
I KNOW WE DO HAVE ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO'D LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS, BUT I'D LIKE TO ASK FOR THAT MEMBER TO HOLD ON FOR ONE SECOND AS THE NEXT ITEM AS DIRECTOR RES HAS ALLUDED TO IS ON A RELATED TOPIC.
AND, AND DIRECTOR, IF YOU CAN STAY WITH US, UM, I KNOW METRO, WHO'S SPEAKING ON A VERY SIMILAR AND RELATED TOPIC IS JOINING US VIRTUALLY.
SO IF, UH, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC AND FURTHER COMMENTS HERE IN THE CHAMBER, IF YOU COULD HOLD ON, WE WILL TURN TO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH WE'LL HEAR FROM METRO EXECUTIVE, VICE PRESIDENT, SRI REDDY, UM, OVER PLANNING, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION FROM METRO ABOUT METRO'S UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM.
OBVIOUSLY A RATED RELATED TOPIC.
SRI, I SEE YOU THERE AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE READY TO GO.
SO WITH THAT, AND IF WE COULD TURN TO THE PRESENTATION, UH, LET ME REQUEST THAT YOU TAKE IT AWAY.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR, UH, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME ACTUALLY PRESENT TO YOU ON THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM.
UH, I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE MR. TIM MILLS, WHO'S THE DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY AND MR. JOSE POLITO, UH, WHO IS THE DIRECTOR FOR, UH, FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
UH, THEY'RE ALSO HERE PRESENT.
UM, AND I THINK THE SLIDE DECK IS ON.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO START WITH GIVING YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND.
UH, OBVIOUSLY METRO'S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE SAFE, CLEAN, RELIABLE, ACCESSIBLE, AND FRIENDLY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE TO THE REGION.
I THINK THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AND THE
UH, TODAY WE'RE HERE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE ACCESSIBILITY, UH, PART OF OUR MISSION AND WHAT METRO HAS BEEN DOING AND WILL BE DOING IN THE FUTURE
[01:00:01]
TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL.SO, UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY IS, UH, METRO'S COMMITMENT TO DESIGN AND, AND, AND, AND, UH, AND BASICALLY CONSTRUCT FACILITIES THAT MAY ACCESS UNDERSTOOD AND USED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE BY ALL PEOPLE, UH, WITHIN THE REGION, REGARDLESS OF THE AGE, SIZE, ABILITY, OR DISABILITY.
THIS, THIS EFFORT STARTED IN 2018, BOARD MEMBER FRIEDEN AND, AND BOARD MEMBER RAM AT THAT TIME, UH, STARTED THE PROCESS, WORKED WITH STAFF, UH, OUR CEO, MR. LAMBERT AND OTHERS IN, IN, IN PROVIDING THE COMMITMENT, UH, IN TERMS OF RESOURCES AND ALSO THE DIRECTION, UH, TO IMPROVE OUR FACILITIES.
UH, AND, AND SPECIFICALLY ON THE BUS NETWORK AND ALSO ON ON THE PARK RIDE SYSTEM.
SO THE FIRST STEP REALLY WAS TO ESTABLISH, UH, WHAT THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY PRINCIPLES ARE.
UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION SHOULD BE EQUITABLE.
UH, AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE MOBILITY IN THE REGION, UH, FLEXIBILITY OF OPTIONS, UH, AND THEN ALSO ELIMINATE HAZARDS WHERE THEY, UH, EXIST ON OUR BUS STOPS OR ON THE, ON THE ROUTE.
AND, AND, AND SIMPLICITY IS, IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE PRINCIPLES, UH, SUITABILITY OF WHAT WE DO AND WHERE WE DO IT, UH, BASED ON THE CONTEXT OF THE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS AND THEN PERCEPTIBILITY FOR THE CUSTOMER.
AND THEN ESSENTIALLY ALL ROLLS UP TO, IS, IS THE FACILITY USABLE AND DOES IT IMPROVE RIDERSHIP? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, BASIC GOAL, UH, BEST EXPLAINED BY JUST A PICTURE HERE IS TO MEET OR EXCEED A DA STANDARDS.
AND THEN THE PICTURE YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS A BUS STOP ALONG THE STREET AND THE SIDEWALK, UH, RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
AND THE BUS PAD THAT WE JUST PUT IN PLACE, THE, THE INTENT OF OF, OF THIS PICTURE IS TO EXPLAIN THAT AT A VERY BASIC LEVEL.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PATRONS THAT COME IN AND WANT TO ACTUALLY GET ON THE BUS OR GET OFF THE BUS IN THIS INSTANT, UH, ACTUALLY HAVE ACCESSIBLE, AD ACCESSIBLE, UH, UH, SURFACE TO WORK FROM.
AND, AND, AND THE EXTENT OF IT IS BASICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL ACCESS POINTS ON THE BUS GETTING IN AND OUTTA THE BUS ARE COVERED.
AND, AND I THINK THIS IS JUST A ROLLOUT OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PANELS THAT WE PLACED, BASICALLY TO MAKE THE POINT THAT IT'S NOT JUST ONE ENTRY OR EXIT POINT ONTO THE BUS, BUT IT'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, SO ALL OF IT IS ACCESSIBLE.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A LOT OF BUS STOP, UH, LOCATIONS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE HOUSTON REGION.
AND YOU SEE SOME STATISTICS IN A LITTLE BIT.
UH, WHAT FIRST THING WE DID WAS CATEGORIZE THEM, AND THIS IS JUST A PICTURE REPRESENTATION OF THE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SITES.
THE FIRST ONE, OBVIOUSLY, IS THE SITES THAT BASICALLY ARE ALREADY, UH, AT THE A DA OR ENHANCED ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD.
SO THERE'S LITTLE OR NO WORK TO BE DONE THERE.
THE SECOND ONE IS THERE'S SOME LIMITED ACCESSIBILITY, BUT IT COULD USE SOME HELP.
UH, AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS COMPLEX LOCATIONS THAT HAVE CHALLENGES LIKE THE LAST SLIDE.
SO WE EMBARKED ON KICKING AN INVENTORY BACK IN 2018.
UH, I JUST WANNA TO NOTE THAT, UH, THE NUMBER OF BUS STOPS ON THE SYSTEM, UH, DOES CHANGE YEAR TO YEAR BASED ON OUR SERVICE.
SO THIS IS A DATED NUMBER, BUT IT WAS A STARTING POINT.
WE HAD A LITTLE SHY OF 9,000 STOPS, AND OUT OF THAT 25% APPROXIMATELY WERE REALLY IN CATEGORY ONE.
THEY HAD, THEY HAD, THEY WERE UP TO STANDARD.
UH, AND THEN THE MAJORITY OF 'EM WERE BASICALLY AT LIMITED ACCESSIBILITY, AND THAT'S WHERE WE WANTED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORT.
AND THEN THE LAST CATEGORY WAS REALLY LIMITED ACCESSIBILITY SITES, AND WE SAY PARTNER PARTICIPATION FOR A REASON BECAUSE THEY ARE COMPLEX.
AND I THINK, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, CESAR, UH, SPOKE ABOUT IT IN COUPLE OTHER COMMISS WHO MADE ABOUT DRAINAGE AND OPEN DITCH SECTIONS AND THINGS THAT COMPLICATE, UH, THE SIMPLE ACT OF ACTUALLY PUTTING ON A PAD, UH, AND A SIDEWALK.
SO THO THAT LAST CATEGORY IS BASICALLY, UH, OVER A THOUSAND SITES WITHIN IN THAT CATEGORY.
SO, FAST FORWARD, UH, TO 2022, AND WE STARTED OUR PROCESS BACK IN 2018.
WE FUNDED ACTUALLY THE WORK AND THE RESOURCES REQUIRED TO DO THE WORK, UH, IN 2019.
WE HAD A GOOD YEAR IN 2020, UH, 2021.
AND, AND THIS IS THE FIRST FULL YEAR OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, UH, ON
[01:05:01]
THE UA PROGRAM.UH, THIS IS AGAIN, THE SAME SNAPSHOT AS TO WHERE WE STAND TODAY.
UH, WE HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS BASICALLY ON THE CATEGORY TWO SITES.
SO THE, THE SITES, BASICALLY THEY'RE NOW ACCESSIBLE ARE, UH, UH, A A LITTLE OVER 4,973 SITES.
UH, AND IT GROWS DAILY AS WE WORK, UH, ALL OVER THE CITY.
UH, THE LIMITED ACCESSIBILITY SITES ARE STILL OUT THERE, AND, AND THE ONES WITH PARTNER PARTICIPATION ARE STILL NEED ATTENTION.
SO WE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS.
WE GOT QUITE A BIT OF WORK TO DO.
SO THIS SLIDE ACTUALLY, UH, GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW WE EVALUATED, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE TO WORK BECAUSE LIKE ANY OTHER PROJECT, THERE'S A LOT TO DO, BUT YOU HAVE TO FOCUS YOUR RESOURCES AND HAVE A METHODICAL MANNER IN WHICH YOU DEPLOY THOSE RESOURCES.
AND AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, ALL THE BUS STOPS WERE EVALUATED AND, AND IN TWO DIFFERENT, UH, UH, FRAMES.
ONE WAS A TRANSIT NEED INDEX WAS EVALUATED, UH, WHICH BASICALLY GAVE YOU AN IDEA IN TERMS OF WHETHER IT WAS A VERY HIGH TRANSIT NEED INDEX, A HIGH MEDIUM, OR A LOW.
AND THEN THE SECOND WAY TO LOOK AT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THE RIDERSHIP AT THESE BUS STOPS? WE GOT REAL TIME DATA ON A, ON A, ON A MONTHLY BASIS ON IT.
AND, AND THEN WE BASICALLY SPLIT THAT INTO A TIER ONE, TIER TWO SITES, TIER THREE AND FOUR BASED ON A SCORING SYSTEM.
A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON TRANSIT NEED INDEX.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT.
COULD YOU PLEASE GO BACK? I THINK IT, THERE WAS A LITTLE, UH, SNAPSHOT AS TO WHAT WENT INTO THE TRANSIT NEED INDEX.
THERE'S DEMOGRAPHICS, THERE'S ACCESSIBILITY, THERE'S ELDERLY, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UH, FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT.
UH, THE PERCENTAGE YOUTH THAT ARE INVOLVED, UH, IN, IN USING THE FACILITY, THE PERCENTAGE OF MINORITIES THAT ACTUALLY USE THAT PARTICULAR FACILITY, THE PRIORITY RATE, EMPLOYMENT DENSITY.
SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT GO INTO TRANSIT NEED INDEX.
AND SO THIS REALLY GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE.
AND IN THE ORDER WHICH WE ACTUALLY PROCEEDED WITH DOING THE WORK, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, THE PIE CHART AND LOOK AT THE VERY HIGH, THAT'S THE TRANSIT NEED INDEX, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED, UH, THE, THE TOP, RIGHT.
UH, AND THEN WITHIN THE VERY HIGH TRANSIT NEED INDEX SITES, WE FIRST STARTED ON THE TIER ONE SITES, THE ONE THAT SCORED THE HIGHEST AND THEN MOVED ON TO THE TIER TWO, THE TIER THREE, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
AND, AND SO TO BRING THIS CHART UP TO THE PRESENT DAY WE'RE THROUGH THE VERY HIGH TRANSIT NEED INDEX SITES, WE MOVED ON TO THE HIGH.
AND THEN AS OF 2022 CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS STARTED IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, WE WERE JUST ABOUT ON THE COST OF MOVING FROM THE VERY HIGH TO THE MEDIUM, UH, RATED SITES.
SO YOU, SO THAT, THERE'S ANOTHER GRAPHIC IN HERE, TELLS YOU THAT DESIGN OBVIOUSLY IS IN AHEAD OF CONSTRUCTION.
AND, AND THE OVERALL GOAL IS TO ABOUT A THOUSAND SITES, UH, EVERY YEAR.
AND, AND WE'RE TRYING TO PUT MORE RESOURCES, UH, EMPLOYEES TO ACTUALLY IMPROVE ON THAT.
THIS GRAPHIC ACTUALLY GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, UH, WITHIN COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
UH, THERE ARE OVER 4 61 STOPS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT'S, IT'S, UH, FAIRLY, UH, SO WELL SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS JUST IN THE COMMUNITY, COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ALL THE STOPS WE'VE COMPLETED.
THE OVERALL NUMBER SINCE WE FIRST STARTED IS NEARING ABOUT 2,400 STOPS.
SO FAR WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY.
SO IT'S REALLY, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S FROM THE STANDPOINT OF SIDEWALK AND BUS PAD AND SURFACE WORK.
THE NEXT STEP REALLY IN, UH, MAKING ALL THESE, UH, STOPS ACCESSIBLE IS TO, IS TO PROVIDE AN AMENITY OF A BUS SHELTER.
AND SO WE USE THE SIMILAR CONCEPT IN TERMS OF CATEGORIZATION ON THE SHELTER.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA ADD THAT AS A LAYER ON TOP OF WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE TO BUILD ON IT.
UH, THE AMENITY PRIORITIZATION, AGAIN, IS GOING TO START WITH A VERY HIGH TRANSIT NEED INDEX SITES, AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE HIGH AND THE MEDIUM.
WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH, UH, A BUS SHELTER MANUFACTURER, AND WE'RE IN DESIGN FOR A STANDARD BUS SHELTER.
AND SOMETIME IN THE AUGUST TIMEFRAME,
[01:10:01]
YOU SHOULD START SEEING MORE SHELTERS ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM BASED ON ON THE AMENITY PRIORITIZATION SCHEME.THE VALUATION PROCESS FOR THE AMENITY, UH, UH, PRIORITIZATION IS, AGAIN, SIMILAR BUT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
IT, IT'S REALLY BASED ON THE ROUTE TYPE.
WE HAVE THE HIGH FREQUENCY RED ROUTES, THE, THE BLUE ROUTES AND THE GREEN ROUTES, AND THE BUS SYSTEM, UH, THAT'S PART OF THE EQUATION.
AND THEN THE SHELTER CRITERIA BASICALLY ALSO HAS BEEN REVISED TO, TO DETERMINE WHERE YOU PLACE SHELTERS.
UH, TO PUT IT VERY SIMPLY, UH, IF THERE'S A NEED THAT THERE'S A LONGER WAIT TIMES AND CERTAIN BUS SHELTERS OR BUS STOPS, THEN, THEN THOSE SHELTERS PROBABLY NEED A SHELTER MORE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER ONES WHERE THE WAIT TIMES ARE LESS.
BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT.
UH, THIS GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING OUTSIDE OF THE BUS NETWORK.
UH, IN TERMS OF STOPS, THIS IS, UH, A RENDITION OF THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER IMPORTANT HUB IN THE METRO, UH, BUS NETWORK.
AND THIS IS FROM SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN IT WAS JUST CONCEPTUALIZED.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, ID ACCESSIBILITY WAS RIGHT ON TOP OF THE LIST.
UH, AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, OH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL, YOU CAN SEE.
YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL COMPLETED PRODUCT THERE.
SO AT THE POINT BEING FOR EVERY ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE DO, NOT JUST ON THE EXISTING SYSTEM, BUT ALL NEW PROJECTS, UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY IS RIGHT ON THE TOP OF THE LIST.
IT'S IN, IN, IN THE DESIGN PROCESS AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, WE GIVE IT THE HIGHEST PRIORITY.
I'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. REDDY FOR, FOR THAT AS WELL AS, UH, DIRECTOR CASTRES FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
WE DO HAVE AT LEAST A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO'VE CHIMED IN WITH SOMETHING TO SAY OR IN THE QUEUE.
AND WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, ACCESSIBILITY WITH METRO, ARE YOU EVER LOOKING AT TIMES WHERE THERE'S, UM, I, I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED ELIMINATING HAZARDS.
SO ARE YOU LOOKING AT TIMES WHERE THERE'S MAYBE LIGHT POLES IN THE SIDEWALK THAT PR ARE PREVENTING PEOPLE TO GET TO THE BUS STOP, FOR EXAMPLE? UM, ON ANTOINE, WE HAVE A 55 AND OLDER APARTMENT COMPLEX LOVE IT MANNER, AND THERE'S REALLY NO WAY FOR THEM TO GET TO THE BUS STOP ON LONG POINT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY POLES IN THE SIDEWALKS.
SO IS THAT PART OF THIS PROGRAM OR ARE YOU LOOKING INTO THAT? UM, YES, ACTUALLY, UM, I SHOULD CLARIFY.
TYPICALLY WE HAVE, OUR FOCUS IS REALLY IN AROUND THE BUS STOPS, BUT WE HAVE ACTUALLY DONE SIDEWALK WORK BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY MUCH RELATED.
UH, NOW IF IT'S, IF THE SIDEWALK IS FURTHER OUT, UH, I THINK THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS WHERE WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE CITY AND THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY BRING, UH, ACCESSIBILITY TO THE STOP, EVEN IF IT'S A FURTHER OUT BEYOND THE 40 FEET THAT WE'VE SET OURSELVES AS A GOAL.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE'LL DEFINITELY LOOK AT THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO, THROUGH DIFFERENT PROJECTS, NOT JUST THE UA PROGRAM, TO, TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SIDEWALK, UH, AND THE SIDEWALK DESIGN TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION LIGHT POLES AND, AND, AND ACTUALLY ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SIDEWALK AROUND THOSE POLES.
WE'LL SEND THAT ONE OVER TO YOUR OFFICE.
CAN YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, WOULD YOU SAY THE LOCATION OF THAT WHEN YOU SAID ANTOINE? YES, IT'S ON ANTOINE.
UM, AND TO GET FROM THE APARTMENT COMPLEX TO ANY OF THE BUS STOPS ON LONG POINT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH NOT ACCESSIBLE.
WE'RE, UH, INTERESTED IN THOSE.
I KNOW DIRECTOR CASTRES AND I VISITED A SITE YESTERDAY WITH SRI AND HIS TEAM FROM METRO AND IN FACT WE'VE POSTED AN INSTAGRAM, UH, A REEL, UM, THAT I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO CHECK OUT AT, UH, THE DWR FOR HUGH, UM, INSTAGRAM HANDLE OF, FOR WHAT WE MIGHT, UH, STAND TO HAVE SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT ON DIRECTOR, UM, CASARES.
AND I APPRECIATE YOU BEING THERE WITH ME AS WELL AS METRO FOR DEMONSTRATING SOME OF THE CHALLENGES.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER PECK AND I THINK WE'RE INTERESTED IN GETTING OUT TO OTHER SITES TO SEE IF WE CAN HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE, SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES.
WE DO HAVE A COMMENT, UM, FOR YOU SRI AS WELL AS FOR, UH, DIRECTOR CASTRES THAT COMES IN FROM OUR VICE MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM.
SHE'S ASKED THAT I READ THAT HERE AND WE HAVE HAD A RESPONSE ALREADY FROM METRO.
[01:15:01]
FOR METRO, WE HAVE ASKED FOR THE BIG BLOCKS OF CONCRETE TO NOT BE PLACED IN OUR ESPLANADES, BUT IT CONTINUES TO HAPPEN.WHEN REMOVING THE CONCRETE FROM ESPLANADES, PLEASE TAKE ALL, WHICH IS ALL CAPS OF THE CONCRETE.
THIS IS CAUSING A PROBLEM FOR OUR LANDSCAPERS.
WE APPRECIATE THE UPGRADED BUS DROPS.
UM, AND I BELIEVE TIMOTHY MILLS HAS RESPONDED THAT THAT IS NOTED.
WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR CONTRACTOR AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT STAFF TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE.
WE WILL RESTORE ALL SITES WHERE THE MATERIAL WAS STORED AND JOSE POLO FROM METRO HAS ALSO MENTIONED THAT HE HAS NOTED IT AS WELL.
SO RI UNLESS YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT, JOSE, I SEE IS WITH US AS WELL.
UH, SO I APPRECIATE THAT COMMENT.
UM, BUT UNLESS I SEE A HAND OR HEAR SOMEONE CHIME IN, WE ARE GOOD WITH THAT.
AND WE DO HAVE ONE RELATED QUESTION.
SO I THINK, UH, DIRECTOR SASE, PERHAPS IF YOU COULD TAKE A STEP AWAY FROM THE PODIUM.
UH, NOW WE WILL ASK THAT OUR SPEAKER WHO'S IDENTIFIED THAT THIS IS THE TOPIC TO WHICH HE WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION, I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE BOB CHOATE TO COME FORWARD AND BE HEARD.
HE IS IN THE CHAMBER WITH US TODAY.
SO BOB, AS YOU APPROACH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND IF YOU WOULD PLEASE, UH, LET US KNOW YOUR QUESTION.
I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO TOPICS I WANTED TO SPEAK UP, BUT THE FIRST ONE WAS SIDEWALKS.
UH, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO I WAS WALKING THROUGH MY PRECINCT WALKING UP ELLA BOULEVARD AND COUNT AND ENCOUNTERED TWO CONSECUTIVE INTERSECTIONS WHERE THE WHEELCHAIR RAMP DOWN TO THE STREET WAS ESSENTIALLY BLOCKED WITH MUD AND SENTIMENT.
SO DUTIFULLY, I SUBMIT A REPORT TO 3 1 1 AND, UH, LEARNED WITHIN 48 HOURS THAT THIS ISN'T THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY.
AND I KIND OF KNEW THAT WAS COMING 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN SIDEWALKS, UH, AND ACTUALLY RECEIVED A VERY NICE, AND I'VE LOST IT, UM, RESPONSE FROM PUBLIC WORKS, YOU KNOW, TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR YOUR FRUSTRATION.
UNFORTUNATELY, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS IS LIMITED TO FOLLOWING CITY CODE.
THE ORDINANCE WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE AND A FUNDING SOURCE WOULD NEED TO BE PROVIDED FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT JUST KIND OF STRIKES ME AS ODD THAT A CORNER LOT PROPERTY OWNER BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A WHEELCHAIR RAMP DOWN TO THE STREET.
AND WHEN I CONSULTED SOMEONE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHO IS WHEELCHAIR BOUND, THEY AGREED THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT RAMP ISN'T PASSABLE.
SO PERHAPS WE COULD WORK ON THAT.
WE HAVE A COUNCIL MEMBER TO ADDRESS YOU.
AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AND DIRECTOR KASAR, YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT YOU, THAT THAT CAN FALL UNDER THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW.
IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN NEED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU CAN ADVOCATE ON THEIR BEHALF FOR THAT RAMP AND GET ON THAT LIST FOR THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW FOR POSSIBLE FUNDING.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.
I MEAN, YOU PUT IN AN APPLICATION FOR THAT IF, I MEAN, I KNOW THAT THAT'S HAPPENED IN, IN MY OWN NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE SOMEBODY WAS ADVOCATING FOR SOMEBODY IN A WHEELCHAIR THAT NEEDED A RAMP AT THE END OF THEIR SIDEWALK.
WELL, LET ME PRESENT THIS SCENARIO.
WE'RE PUTTING 'EM IN A VIRTUALLY EVERY CORNER BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO RIDE THEIR WHEELCHAIR.
I DROVE TO METRO FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS.
AND YOU KNOW, SOME DAYS YOU HAD WHEELCHAIR BOUND RIDERS AND SOME DAYS YOU DIDN'T.
SO SOMEONE DECIDES THEY'RE GONNA GO VISIT THEIR FRIEND IN TIMBER GROVE, RIGHT? AND THEY GET OFF AT THE CORNER OF 11TH AND SHELTER WOOD AND THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH THE RAMP.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.
UM, ANY OF US WHO HAVE VOTED IN HARRIS COUNTY HAVE SEEN THE NUMEROUS VERY EXPENSIVE ALUMINUM RAMPS AT VOTING SITES THAT WAS BROUGHT ON BY A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THE COUNTY BECAUSE SOMEBODY GOT KICKED OFF BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET INTO A VOTING LOCATION AND RIGHTFULLY SO.
SO THEY ENDED UP PUTTING RAMPS AT PLACES THAT DIDN'T NEED RAMPS.
LIKE MY CHURCH HAS A PERFECTLY FINE CONCRETE RAMP, BUT BY GOSH, THERE'S A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS SPENT TO PUT THIS RAMP.
SO I DON'T THINK WE CAN ADVOCATE FOR SOMEONE WHO MAY LIVE ON THAT STREET.
'CAUSE WE DON'T, AGAIN, WE DON'T KNOW WHO'S GONNA VISIT.
I MEAN, IT, IT, I'M OKAY WITH MAINTAINING NICE, MY SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, BUT LIKE I SAID, THEY EXPECT THE CORNER LOT.
UH, AND THE REASON WHY
SO WHO CAUSED THE PROBLEM? SO THERE'S A RAMP THERE, IT'S JUST NEEDS TO BE WIDENED OR MAINTAINED BETTER.
WHERE OUR TIME HAS EXPIRED FOR, FOR THAT ITEM, MR. CHO.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE TO ADDRESS THAT QUESTION.
[01:20:01]
I KNOW YOU HAVE INDICATED THAT YOU HAVE TWO ON AN UNRELATED TOPIC IS YOUR SECOND.SO BEFORE I GO THERE, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO PAUSE AND SEE IF WE HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER ON THE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES, WHETHER FOR DIRECTOR CASTRES WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OR FOR METRO.
AND IF NOT, UH, AS I SEE NONE, I'D LIKE TO THANK, UH, BOTH METRO AS WELL AS DIRECTOR CASTRES FOR BEING HERE.
LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND MAKING ALL OF THESE CHALLENGES BETTER.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO AS REE POINTED OUT.
UM, WE HAVE QUITE A BIT OF WORK TO DO.
THAT MIGHT BE THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE DAY, REE, BUT I APPRECIATE IT.
AND YOUR TEAM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
MR. CHO, YOU HAVE, UH, ANOTHER ITEM? YES.
UM, I BELIEVE IT HAS TO DO WITH ACCESS TO THE AIRPORT.
ON MONDAY, MARCH 14TH AT APPROXIMATELY 7:00 PM I WENT TO THE AIRPORT TO PICK UP A FRIEND AND MY VEHICLE ENDED UP STOPPING TWO POINT, GOSH DARN.
I'VE YEAH, 2.1 MILES FROM THE TERMINAL.
AT THAT POINT, WE WERE MOVING AT ZERO TO FOUR MILES PER HOUR.
PEOPLE WERE ACTUALLY GETTING OUTTA THE CARS TO WALK THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE TERMINAL.
UM, SO AGAIN, I PULLED UP ON MATH.
IT WAS ACTUALLY 2.1 MILES AT FOUR MILES AN HOUR.
YEAH, IT'S TWO HOURS TO GET TO THE TERMINAL.
LUCKILY I KNOW THE AIRPORTS, I WAS ABLE TO TELL MY FRIEND, GET ON THE TRAIN, GO TO TERMINAL B, I'LL PICK YOU UP THERE.
BUT I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT ACCESS IS PRETTY MESSED UP.
AND IF WE'RE FACING THIS UNTIL 2024, WOW.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN WORK ON THAT.
AND I WOULD DARE SAY, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE SIGNAGE IS PART OF THE ISSUE IS PEOPLE ARE APPROACHING AS NARROWING DOWN TO ONE LANE AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THESE THINGS ARE BLOCKED OFF ON A SIGN AND EXACTLY WHERE TO GO.
AND, UH, AGAIN, HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIX THAT.
I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE, BUT DO APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
WE ADD ONE MORE THING TO THAT BRIEFLY, ABOUT 35 YEARS AGO, I WAS IN HOUSTON ON BUSINESS.
AND MY PARTING COMMENT BECAUSE IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO THE AIRPORT, WAS, I AM NEVER COMING BACK TO THIS CITY.
WELL, I CHANGED MY MIND, THANKFULLY.
CLEARLY WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THIS.
ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU MR. CHO.
OKAY, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
THAT'S, UM, PROJECT DOCS ELECTRONIC PLAN REVIEW THE EPR AND IT'S A CONTRACT RENEWAL.
WE'LL HEAR FROM DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
THAT'S CHRIS BUTLER FROM THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS AL GARCIA, OUR CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.
GENTLEMEN, IF YOU'RE WITH US, I SEE THAT WE HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION QUEUED UP.
SO DIRECTOR BUTLER, ARE YOU HERE? YES, SIR, I AM.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
I'M JOINED TODAY WITH MR. AL GARCIA, THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
TODAY WE'LL PRESENTING A CONTRACT RENEWAL FOR OUR PROJECT DOCS ELECTRONIC PLAN REVIEW SYSTEM.
AS PERSH LAD MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION OR IN THIS MEETING, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS STARTS ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS WITH OUR PURPOSE.
AND OUR PURPOSE IS TOGETHER WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE.
OUR FIVE TO THRIVE VALUES ARE INTEGRITY, TEAMWORK, OWNERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND RESPECT.
UH, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR, UH, BUTLER.
COUNCIL MEMBERS AND UM, AND STAFF AND THE PUBLIC.
UM, I WANNA GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE REQUEST THAT WE'LL BE COMING FORWARD TO COUNCIL WITH.
IT'S FOR RENEWAL OF A CONTRACT WITH, UH, EVOLV SOFTWARE CORPORATION.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO RENEW THE CONTRACT, UH, SUPPORTING THE CITY'S ELECTRONIC PLAN REVIEW PRODUCT, WHICH IS CALLED PROJECT DOCS.
AND THE SOFTWARE VENDOR IS CALLED EVOLVE SOFTWARE CORPORATION.
REQUESTED AMOUNT IS, UH, 2.7 MILLION AND THE REQUESTED TERM IS OVER FIVE YEARS FROM THE TIME OF CONTRACT APPROVAL.
UH, FROM SOMETIME THIS THIS YEAR THROUGH 2027, WE HAD TWO ORIGINAL, UH, CONTRACTS FROM, UH, 2014 TO 2017, AND AGAIN FROM 2017 TO THIS YEAR.
AND THE PRIMARY USER IS, UH, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, AS MR. GARCIA SAID IN 2014 WHEN WE STARTED WITH PROJECT DOCS, WE
[01:25:01]
HAD A TOTAL OF 16 USERS AND 2018 DIRECTOR HADDOCK AND MAYOR TURNER ENCOURAGED OUR HOUSTON PERMIT CENTER TO MOVE FROM A PAPER BASED SYSTEM TO ELECTRONIC PLAN REVIEW.AND IN 2018, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 1,454 USERS IN 2020.
YOU SEE OUR NUMBERS AS FAR AS PLAN VOLUME WAS 83,000, AND OUR TOTAL NUMBER OF USERS GREW TO 14,000 USERS.
AND 2021, OUR TOTAL NUMBER OF USERS WERE 19,000 USERS TO SUBMITTED 86,000 PLANS.
SO BRIEFLY, THE UH, COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CURRENT CONTRACT AND THE NEW CONTRACT.
I JUST WANNA GO OVER A COUPLE OF QUICK ITEMS. THE CURRENT CONTRACT, THE VENDOR PROVIDES REMOTE ON-CALL SUPPORT.
WITH THE NEW CONTRACT, THE VENDOR WILL PROVIDE 24 BY SEVEN MONITORING USING SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE, SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE.
IF YOU ALL USE MICROSOFT OUTLOOK OR GMAIL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IS WHERE THE VENDOR IS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING, UH, THE SOFTWARE, UH, THE SERVICE CONCEPT.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE MOVING TO FROM US HOSTING THE SOFTWARE AT, UM, AMAZON WEB SERVICES TO THE EVOLVE VENDOR BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR HOSTING THE THE SOFTWARE AT MICROSOFT'S AZURE.
WHAT THIS WILL DO IS, UH, SIMPLIFY THE OPERATIONS BECAUSE CURRENTLY THE SUPPORT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE DIVIDED BETWEEN THE CITY, THE EVOLVE VENDOR AND AWS.
WHEREAS UNDER THE NEW CONTRACT, UH, EVOLVE SOFTWARE WILL BE THE SINGLE VENDOR RESPONSIBLE FOR FOR PROVIDING, UH, THE SERVICE.
THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE CURRENTLY, UH, UNDER THE CURRENT CONTRACT CARRY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES COSTS.
WHEREAS UNDER THE NEW CONTRACT, UH, THOSE UPGRADES WILL BE DONE AT NO CHARGE.
THIS WILL, UH, ENABLE MORE TIMELY UPGRADES.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, ADDING NEW WORKFLOWS TO THE SOFTWARE CURRENTLY REQUIRES NEW LICENSE FEES.
BUT UNDER THE NEW CONTRACT, THE CITY CAN ADD UNLIMITED WORKFLOWS, UH, WITH NO ADDITIONAL LICENSE FEES.
THE OVERVIEW OF THE, UM, PROPOSED CONTRACT, UH, FOR YEARS ONE THROUGH FIVE, UH, IS AS FOLLOWS.
THE FIRST YEAR THERE'S A, UM, APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FEE TO MIGRATE THE DATA FROM THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT TO THE SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THEN, UM, IN THE YEARS AFTER THAT, THERE'S A, UH, SUBTOTAL FOR THE SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE FEE AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL $50,000 ASSURANCE SERVICES, WHICH IS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
THOSE SERVICES ARE ONLY INVOICED AS USED.
IF THEY'RE NOT USED, UH, THOSE FUNDS WILL RE, UH, RETURN BACK TO THE FUND BALANCE FOR THE BUILDING INSPECTION FUND.
SO THE FIVE YEAR TOTAL IS, UH, APPROXIMATELY 2.771 MILLION.
AND THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE, UH, TO BRING THIS, UH, TO COUNCIL FOR, UH, APPROVAL OF A FIVE YEAR SUPPORT CONTRACT VIA THE NEW AGREEMENT.
AND WITH THAT, IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'D BE, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER MR. GARCIA AND DIRECTOR BUTLER.
I, I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE.
THERE ARE NONE HERE IN THE CHAMBER.
SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR BRINGING THAT TO OUR COMMITTEE TODAY AND YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND THAT DOES BRING US TO THE END OF OUR AGENDA TODAY.
WE DO HAVE ONE OTHER SPEAKER, A PUBLIC SPEAKER WHO IS HERE WITH US IN CHAMBER.
UH, THAT'S MR. DOUG SMITH WHO IS APPROACHING THE MICROPHONE.
AND, UH, I BELIEVE THAT WILL BE OUR FINAL ITEM OF TODAY'S MEETING.
SO, MR. SMITH, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND, UH, THE MICROPHONE IS ON AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
UH, IT AMAZES ME THAT THERE IS NOT MORE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN MEETINGS LIKE THIS BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE YOU REALLY LEARN WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE CITY.
AND I LEARNED A LOT TODAY AND I GOT A LOT OF IDEAS FOR PRESENTATIONS AT OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE MEETING.
I JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME BACK ANYTIME.
I CAME TODAY BECAUSE I HAVE A LUNCH MEETING, SO IT WAS VERY CONVENIENT TO COME DOWN AND LISTEN TO YOU AND THEN GO TO LUNCH.
UH, I I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION WHEN THE, UH, WHEN GABE WAS HERE, BUT I'M CURIOUS HOW MUCH OF A BACKLOG THERE IS, UH, FOR REQUEST FOR THE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE, UH, UH, HANDICAPPED IMPROVEMENTS.
BECAUSE IN MY OPINION, THAT'S ONE OF THE BEST USES OF CITY MONEY THAT I'VE SEEN IN A VERY LONG TIME.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO MENTION RELATIVE TO THE PARKS PRESENTATION, I HOPE THEY DO.
ONE, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I CAME TODAY BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO PARKS IN MY DISTRICT, WHICH
[01:30:01]
I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE.BUT I HOPE THEY GET PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT OR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS SO THAT WE DON'T GET SOMETHING THAT THE PUBLIC DOES NOT PARTICULARLY CARE FOR.
I LIKED WHAT I SAW, BUT I THINK IT'D BE, IT'S CRITICAL THAT THEY GET OUT TO OUR MEETINGS SOON TO LET US KNOW WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING.
AND FINALLY, UH, I GO ALONG WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE OBE, UH, IMPLEMENTED AT THE CITY.
AS YOU KNOW, UH, I'M VERY HAPPY TO JOIN THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE AS, UH, USED TO BE THE LEADER OF THAT GROUP.
AND, UH, HAPPY TO GO BACK ANYTIME YOU LIKE.
I DO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
WELL, I THANK YOU, UH, AND YOU'RE WELCOME.
WE HAVE A MEETING MONDAY AND UH, CONTROLLER, UH, BROWN IS GONNA BE OUR SPEAKER, SO YOU MAY ALL WANT TO BE THERE.
UH, BUT I WAS MORE REFERRING TO OUR, IF I SAID SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, I MEANT TO THE A LEAF SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS.
AH, 'CAUSE THAT'S NEIGHBORHOOD ORIENTED.
SO YES, INDEED, YOU CAN COME TO THOSE TOO.
AND WITH THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WE ARE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY.
UH, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PRESENTATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE TTI WEBSITE.
THAT'S WWW.HOUSTONTX.GOV/COUNCIL/COMMITTEES/TTI.HTML.
I'D LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR NEXT TTI MEETING WILL BE ON THE CINCO DE IO, MAY 5TH, 2022.
THANK YOU FOR PAYING ATTENTION.