[District E Redistricting Town Hall and CIP Meeting (Kingwood/Lake Houston Region)]
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IF THE RESIDENTS WOULD MOVE TO THE CENTER.
WE HAVE A BUNCH OF CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEES HERE.
THE, THE FIRST PART OF THIS MEETING IS NOT MY MEETING, SO I'M GONNA DO SOMETHING I NEVER DO.
AND THAT IS GO ON SCRIPT BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S TELLING ME IF I DON'T GO ON SCRIPT, THEN I SAY SOMETHING WRONG, WHICH I TEND TO DO.
UH, WE COULD HAVE COURT CASES AGAINST US BECAUSE THIS REDISTRICTING IS A SERIOUS ISSUE.
SO THANKS FOR EVERYONE BEING HERE TONIGHT.
I'D LIKE TO FIRST OF ALL INTRODUCE MY STAFF WORKING IN THE BACK CHIEF OF STAFF, JESSICA BEAMER.
DUSTIN HODGINS, WHO HANDLES THE NORTH SEC SECTOR.
MARK MITCHELL, WHO HANDLES OUR SOUTH SECTOR, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IN A MINUTE, IS CLEAR LAKE IN SOUTH BELT.
ELLINGTON CAROLINA HERNANDEZ IS MY EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, AND IVAN BKE IS OUR INTERN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
SO, UM, THANK YOU TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT FOR PREPARING THE MATERIALS FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING.
TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL FOR TONIGHT'S DISCUSSION ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG/REDISTRICTING.
SO I'D ALSO LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOME OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES ARE HERE TONIGHT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, CITY ATTORNEY ORO.
MICHELLE ARTURO, COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE POSITION ONE FIVE, SAME THING, ONE FIVE SALLY ALCORN AND MY FAVORITE EMPLOYEE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
HER CHIEF OF STAFF, WHO USED TO BE MY SOUTH SECTOR MANAGER, JORDAN MCGINTY, THE PRIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
ALSO JOINING US ARE OUR NUMBER OF FOLKS FROM THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, KINGWOOD STATION, LED BY OUR GREAT COMMANDER, BRAIN BRIDGE COMMANDER, LIEUTENANT GOLDWATER, OFFICER NICHOLS, OFFICER SAVAGE, SERGEANT SCHMIDT, AND OFFICER MORALES.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
YES, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO IN KINGWOOD.
AND AS I'M PROUD TO SAY, AND THE MAYOR PROBABLY, UH, REITERATE THIS, UH, WE NEVER DEFUND THE CITY OF HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE ADD TO YOUR BUDGET EACH AND EVERY YEAR.
SO THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO.
ALSO WITH THE CITY OF HU UH, HOUSTON, TASHA FRANCIS, THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS, TASHA, WHERE IS TASHA IN THE LOBBY? MR. MARK WOLFERT.
HE'S SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR.
MARK MARK CAME IN FROM TAMPA ABOUT, WHAT, NINE MONTHS AGO NOW? SEVEN MONTHS.
ERIC DARGAN, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
SO NEXT I'LL INTRODUCE MY FAVORITE PERSON I GET A CHANCE TO WORK WITH.
ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS DRIVE AROUND KINGWOOD AND I'M GOING OFF SCRIPT AND SEE ALL OF THE ACTIVITY THAT YOU SEE.
A LOT OF THIS EMANATES FROM THE MAYOR HIMSELF.
SO WE HAVE DREDGING THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT LATER ON TONIGHT.
WE HAVE THE GATE STRUCTURES THAT HOPEFULLY WE'LL TALK ABOUT LATER ON TONIGHT.
WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF THINGS, INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED, CONCRETE PANEL REPLACEMENTS.
UH, WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD ON A LOT OF ISSUES RELATED TO STORM PREVENTION AND MAKING SURE THAT THE SYSTEMS WITHIN KINGWOOD THAT WERE NEVER MESSED WITH SINCE KINGWOOD WAS FIRST DEVELOPED IN 1960 AND WERE LEFT ALONE.
AND NOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THAT LITERALLY 50 YEARS LATER.
BUT HE'S A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE.
HE'S A DEAR FRIEND OF KINGWOOD IN CLEAR LAKE AND SOUTH BELT AND DISTRICT E THAT IT EXISTS TODAY.
UM, HE AND I ARE GETTING READY.
WE GOT, WHAT, A YEAR AND A HALF? 20 MONTHS? 20 MONTHS.
SO WE GOT A WORK, LOT OF WORK LEFT TO DO.
HE'S A BETTER MAN THAN HE IS MAYOR IN THAT SAYING SOMETHING.
'CAUSE HE DOES A GREAT JOB FOR US.
SO THANK YOU MAYOR TURNER FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
LEMME THANK THE MAYOR PRO TEM, APPRECIATE HIS LEADERSHIP AND WORKING WITH HIM OVER THE LAST, WELL, NOW CLOSE TO SEVEN YEARS.
AND IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK OUT IN KINGWOOD.
THIS IS, THIS IS OUR FIRST IN-PERSON MEETING, UH, WHICH WE ARE STARTING IN KINGWOOD.
UH, THERE ARE TWO SEGMENTS TONIGHT.
I'M NOT GONNA BE VERY LONG AT ALL.
AND THE FIRST SEGMENT IS THE REDISTRICTING PORTION.
AND SO, UH, WE ARE HAVING THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS, PUBLIC MEETINGS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, UH, ON THE BACK END WILL BE A FEW OF THE CIP PROJECTS THAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE, MIKE, UH, RUSTY AND OTHERS
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FROM PUBLIC WORKS AND A FEW OTHERS TO COVER SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS.UH, SO WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW KING WOOD, CLEAR LAKE DISTRICT E MAKEUP, DISTRICT E.
AND, UM, AS WE PREPARE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL, UH, PREPARE TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, HOW WE WILL DRAW THE LINES, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK, YOUR INPUT IS VERY MUCH WELCOME AND APPRECIATE IT.
UH, QUITE FRANKLY, IF YOU LIKE THINGS AS THEY ARE, SAY WE LIKE THINGS AS THEY ARE, IF YOU WANNA MAKE SOME CHANGES, UH, PLEASE RECOMMEND THAT.
SO, UM, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THE, YOUR FEEDBACK AND, AND WE'LL GO BACK AND KIND OF DIGEST IT AND WE'LL TAKE IT, TAKE IT FROM THERE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE MAIN PART.
AND THEN THAT'S THE PART WHERE WE HIT QUITE FRANKLY, UH, TONIGHT IS PRETTY MUCH A LISTENING SESSION, LISTENING TO YOU, UH, TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE HERE.
AND THEN ON THE BACK END, THERE'LL BE SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE CIP, UH, PROJECTS AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
AND THEN THAT'S GONNA BE IT FOR ME.
AND THEN, AM I TURNING IT OVER TO, UM, AND LEMME JUST SAY, I, I, I KNOW I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER.
UH, HE'S VERY PASSIONATE AND HE'S VERY, VERY DETAILED.
UM, AND, UH, HE'S VERY COMMITTED, UH, TO HIS DISTRICT, QUITE FRANKLY.
HE'S COMMITTED TO THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE.
SO IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE, UH, TO SERVE WITH HIM.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK, UH, WITH HIM AND WITH YOU OVER THE NEXT 20, OVER THE NEXT 20 MONTHS.
AND THEN THERE ARE A NUMBER OF BOOTHS THAT ARE OUTSIDE.
UH, WE BROUGHT, UH, MANY OF OUR KEY DEPARTMENTS HERE.
SO WHETHER THERE'S A QUESTION ON REDISTRICTING OF PROJECTS OR ANYTHING ELSE, UH, FEEL FREE TO TOUCH BASES WITH ANY OF, OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE HERE.
MOST OF THEM KEY DEPARTMENTS, UH, ARE HERE, UH, TONIGHT, UH, IN THE HALLWAY.
HAVING SAID THAT, UM, LET ME TURN IT BACK OVER TO MAYOR PRO TEMP.
THE CITY CHARTER, AS WELL AS STATE AND FEDERAL LAW, REQUIRE THAT WE ADJUST OUR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS FROM TIME TO TIME IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE DIFFERENCE IN DISTRICT POPULATIONS IS NEVER MORE THAN 10% OF AVERAGE DISTRICT POPULATION.
THE LAST TIME THE CITY ADJUSTED CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, AN ACTION CALLED REDISTRICTING WAS 10 YEARS AGO.
SINCE THEN, OUR POPULATION HAS GROWN BY 9.8% AND IS MORE THAN 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE.
EACH OF THE 11 COUNCIL DISTRICTS EXPERIENCED POPULATION CHANGE AT DIFFERENT RATES.
AS A RESULT, ADJUSTMENTS ARE REQUIRED FOR OUR CURRENT DISTRICTS BY CITY COUNCIL BEFORE THE NEXT MUNICIPAL ELECTION IN 2023.
THIS MEETING IS ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS IN THAT PROCESS.
ACCORDING TO THE 2020 CENSUS, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DISTRICT WITH THE LARGEST POPULATION, DISTRICT C AND THE DISTRICT WITH THE SMALLEST POPULATION, DISTRICT H IS OVER 66,000 PEOPLE.
THIS IS 31% OF THE AVERAGE DISTRICT POPULATION, FAR ABOVE THE MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE VARIATION.
OTHER DISTRICTS ARE ALSO ABOVE OR BELOW THE ALLOWABLE RANGE AND WILL HAVE TO BE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY.
THE GOAL OF REDISTRICTING IS TO RECONFIGURE OUR DISTRICTS TO ACHIEVE AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION IN EACH DISTRICT TO MEET REQUIREMENTS OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS.
STARTING IN 1964, THE SUPREME COURT RECOGNIZED THE PRINCIPLE OF ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE, AND THE APPLICABILITY OF THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE TO REDISTRICTING.
AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 AS AMENDED ALSO SETS FORTH REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL AFFECT THIS PROCESS.
REDISTRICTING MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR MEMBERSHIP IN A PROTECTIVE LANGUAGE.
MINORITY GROUP CITY COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED A RESOLUTION THAT ESTABLISHES THE TIMELINE CRITERIA AND RULES THAT WILL HELP GUIDE THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
THE SPECIFICS FOR EACH OF THESE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, VIETNAMESE, AND CHINESE, CAN BE FOUND ON A WEBSITE@WWW.HOUSTONTX.GOV.
OUR REDISTRICTING TIMELINE IS GUIDED IN PART BY THE DATES THAT RESULTS OF THE 2020 CENSUS BECOME AVAILABLE AND BY THE TEXAS ELECTION CODE, WHICH PROVIDES THAT CHANGES IN ELECTION BOUNDARIES.
EXAMPLE, COUNCIL DISTRICTS MUST BE ADOPTED MORE THAN THREE MONTHS BEFORE ELECTION DAY.
IT IS ALSO INFORMED BY THE 12 MONTH RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT ESTABLISHED IN THE CITY CHARTER.
AND THE CITY CHARTER ALSO REQUIRES THAT A REDISTRICTING ORDINANCE BE ADOPTED IN THE SAME YEAR AS THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION.
SO THE PLAN ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN THE FALL OF 2022 WILL BE RATIFIED BY CITY COUNCIL IN EARLY 2023, AND THE
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NEW BOUNDARIES WILL BE EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1ST, 2024.WE HAVE ORGANIZED THESE TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO HELP KEEP YOU INFORMED AND AWARE OF WHAT WE ARE DOING AT EVERY STEP OF THE PROCESS.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, YOUR PARTICIPATION IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROCESS, AND WE HOPE YOU'LL PROVIDE COMMENTS TO HELP GUIDE DECISIONS ABOUT THE CONFIGURATION OF OUR 11 COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
THESE MEETINGS WILL HAPPEN ACROSS HOUSTON THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS OF APRIL AND MAY.
IN JUNE, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, DEMOGRAPHER AND LEGAL COUNSEL WILL PRESENT A DRAFT PLAN AND MAP TO CITY COUNCIL.
PUBLIC HEARINGS WILL BE HELD FOR CITIZENS TO COMMENT ON THE DRAFT PLAN AND MAP.
THE FIRST TWO HEARINGS WILL BE ON JULY 13TH, ONE IN THE MORNING, AND ONE IN THE EVENING.
AND THE THIRD WILL BE HELD ON JULY 20TH.
CITY COUNCIL WILL APPROVE THEIR REDISTRICTING PLAN ORDINANCE IN SEPTEMBER.
THE CRITERIA ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL, WHICH SHOULD BE FOLLOWED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, INCLUDE DISTRICTS SHOULD BE RELATIVELY EQUAL IN POPULATION WITH NO MORE THAN A 10% VARIATION FROM THE AVERAGE DISTRICT SIZE, THEREBY ENSURING THE VITAL STANDARD OF ONE PERSON ONE VOTE.
THEY MUST BE COMPOSED OF WHOLE COUNTY VOTING PRECINCTS, WHICH ARE DEFINED BY THE COUNTIES, AND SERVE AS THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
WHEN PRECINCTS ARE SPLIT BY THE CITY LIMITS, ONLY THE CITY PORTION OF THAT PRECINCT WILL BE USED.
THEY SHOULD HAVE EASILY IDENTIFIABLE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES SUCH AS MAJOR THOROUGHFARES OR BAYOU.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL COUNTY VOTING PRECINCTS FOLLOW CLEAR GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES, WHICH MAY MAKE IT NECESSARY FOR CITY COUNCIL BOUNDARIES.
TO DEVIATE FROM A PREFERRED BOUNDARY, THEY SHOULD MAINTAIN COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST.
NEIGHBORHOODS, THEY SHOULD BE COMPACT AND COMPOSED OF CONTIGUOUS TERRITORY, INCLUDING FUNCTIONAL AND GEOGRAPHIC CONTIGUITY.
THE FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION MAY TAKE ON ADDED WEIGHT IN SITUATIONS IN WHICH GEOGRAPHIC COMPACTNESS MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE, IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT SOME AREAS ARE ATTACHED TO THE REMAINDER OF THE CITY, ONLY BY RELATIVELY LONG AND NARROW STRIPS OF LAND.
FUNCTIONAL COMPACTNESS AND CONTINUITY INCLUDES CONSIDERING FACTORS SUCH AS AVAILABILITY OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION, EXISTENCE OF COMMON SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND OTHER SHARED INTERESTS.
THE ABILITY OF CITIZENS OF A COUNCIL DISTRICT TO RELATE TO EACH OTHER AND TO THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ON CITY COUNCIL, AND THE ABILITY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBER TO RELATE TO HIS OR HER CONSTITUENCY.
THEY SHOULD PRESERVE INCUMBENT CONSTITUENT RELATIONS BY RECOGNITION OF THE RESIDENTS, OF EXISTING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND THEIR HISTORY IN REPRESENTING CERTAIN AREAS.
THE PLAN SHOULD NOT FRAGMENT A GEOGRAPHICALLY COMPACT MINORITY COMMUNITY OR PAC MINORITY VOTERS IN THE PRESENCE OF POLARIZED VOTING SO AS TO CREATE LIABILITY UNDER SECTION TWO OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THESE CRITERIA CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, VIETNAMESE, AND CHINESE.
TO HELP US MANAGE THIS COMPLICATED AND LENGTHY PROCESS, CITY COUNCIL ALSO ESTABLISHED THESE IMPORTANT RULES.
THE CITY'S PLAN AND ANYONE ELSE'S PLAN SUBMITTED TO THE CITY FOR CONSIDERATION MUST BE IN WRITING, BE BASED ON THE 2020 FEDERAL CENSUS MUST REDISTRICT THE ENTIRE CITY CONTAINING PROPOSED BOUNDARIES FOR ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS WITHIN THE CITY.
IF A PLAN DOES NOT REDISTRICT THE ENTIRE CITY, IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR COUNCIL TO ASSESS THE PLAN'S IMPACT ON ONE OR MORE PROTECTED MINORITY GROUPS.
THIS REQUIREMENT DOES NOT PRECLUDE CITIZENS FROM PROPOSING THAT PARTICULAR VOTING, PRECINCTS, NEIGHBORHOODS, OR LOCATIONS BE INCLUDED IN A SPECIFIC COUNCIL DISTRICT.
THE PLAN MUST CONFORM TO THE CRITERIA DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY AND BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN 4:45 PM ON JULY 20TH, 2022.
TO RUPE COHI IN THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD REGARDING YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CONFIGURATION OF THE NEW COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
YOUR INPUT MAY SIMPLY BE REGARDING NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES OR YOU MAY WANT TO SUBMIT A COMPLETE REDISTRICTING PLAN.
EITHER WAY, THERE ARE SEVERAL POINTS AT WHICH YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS, OPINIONS, OR PLANS, ONE HERE AT THIS OR OTHER SCHEDULED TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
TWO THROUGH OUR WEBPAGE@WWW.HOUSTONTX.GOV.
THREE DIRECTLY TO RUPE KOSHI IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT THROUGH EMAIL AT RUPE DOT KOSHI@HOUSTONTX.GOV BY US POSTAL SERVICE, OR HAND DELIVERY TO RUPESH KOSHI, OR FOUR AT ONE OF THE THREE PUBLIC HEARINGS THAT WOULD BE HELD IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF CITY HALL 9 0 1 BACKBEAT STREET.
IF YOU WANT TO SUBMIT A PLAN OF YOUR OWN, IT IS VITAL THAT YOU FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES CRITERIA
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AND RULES FOR THE CONSIDERATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW COUNCIL DISTRICTS.WE'RE READY TO HELP TO ENABLE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP AND SUBMIT THEIR OWN PLAN.
A COMPUTER KIOSK WITH REDISTRICTING SOFTWARE WILL BE SET UP IN THE OFFICES OF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT ON THE SIXTH FOURTH OF SIX 11 WALKER STREET, SEVEN SEVEN ZERO ZERO TWO.
PLEASE CALL 8 3 2 3 9 3 6 5 5 2 TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT SO A STAFF MEMBER CAN ASSIST YOU IN USING THE SOFTWARE.
AGAIN, ALL PLANS MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN 4:45 PM ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 20TH, 2022.
NO MATTER HOW OR WHERE YOU JOIN THIS CONVERSATION, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHERE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES ARE AND WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO KEEP A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST TOGETHER.
HOUSTON WILL BE STRONGER AS A RESULT OF YOUR PARTICIPATION.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING IN THE CONVERSATION.
SO I AM GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, MR. DOUG RAY AND OUR DEMOGRAPHER, MR. JERRY WOOD, WHO WILL TAKE INPUT ON THE REDISTRICTING PARTING WHO WILL TALK ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PART.
BUT, UH, TWO FOLKS SNUCK IN UNDER THE WIRE.
MR. KENNETH ALLEN, WHO HEADS UP PARKS AND RECREATION, KENNETH AND ALSO MR. ANDY ICKEN, WHO HEADS UP THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ALSO A DISTRICT E KINGWOOD RESIDENT.
I'M A SENIOR ASSISTANT, UH, CITY ATTORNEY.
I'VE BEEN WORKING HERE AT THE CITY FOR JUST A LITTLE OVER A YEAR, AND I WAS FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE THAT AS A ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY AND WENT THROUGH THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS WITH THE COUNTY, UM, THE LAST TIME WE DID IT.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY IS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR INPUT IN PLANNING ON HOW TO DO REDISTRICTING.
THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN WE GO BACK IN THE BACK ROOM AND COME UP WITH THIS PLAN THAT WE PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
WE DON'T WANT, WE DON'T WANT TO DO THIS IN A VACUUM.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FEELINGS ARE ABOUT THIS.
NOW, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME TODAY WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE PROPOSED MAPS OF WHAT THE CHANGES WILL BE.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROPOSED MAPS YET.
WE'RE GONNA WAIT UNTIL WE GET SOME INPUT BEFORE WE TRY TO COME UP WITH THOSE.
SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO TODAY IS, UH, COME FORWARD, UH, THOSE HAVE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, AND I THINK THAT I HAVE SOME CARDS RIGHT HERE, AND I'M GONNA INVITE YOU UP HERE.
NOW, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE, UH, YOUR 2 CENTS WORTH, LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING.
I I URGE YOU TO GET ONE OF THESE CARDS.
PUT YOUR NAME ON IT, THEY'LL PASS TO ME AND I'LL CALL YOU TO, TO COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE, TO HA TO, UH, TO, TO GIVE YOUR PEACE.
AND WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO COME UP WITH A PLAN WHERE ALL OF THE DISTRICTS, ALL 11 DISTRICTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAVE ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
THE REASON WE DO THAT IS BECAUSE IF THERE'S TOO LOW A POPULATION, THE VOTING POWER OF THAT PARTICULAR DISTRICT, UH, IS ACTUALLY GREATER IN PROPORTION TO THE INDIVIDUAL.
THEN A DISTRICT THAT HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE IN IT.
THAT SOUNDS BACKWARDS, BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS.
IF YOU HAVE A SMALL POPULATION THAT CAN ELECT A SINGLE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, THAT PERSON IS ELECTED BY FEWER PEOPLE.
THEN IF YOU'RE ELECTED FROM A DISTRICT WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE VOTING, NOW WE HAVE FIVE DISTRICTS THAT ARE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE STANDARD THAT HAS TO BE WITHIN 10% OF THE AVERAGE.
THE AVERAGE IS A LITTLE BIT OVER 209,000 PEOPLE THIS YEAR.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OVER 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE LAST CENSUS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DRAW UP DISTRICTS THAT COME CLOSE TO THAT.
SO NOW SOME OF THE DISTRICTS ARE, UH, SUBSTANTIALLY OUT OF COMPLIANCE.
THEY'RE MORE THAN, UH, 35 TO 40,000 PEOPLE, UH, EITHER ABOVE OR BELOW THAT AVERAGE, UH, DISTRICT E IS ABOUT 7% ABOVE THE AVERAGE.
SO THERE ARE OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW.
UM, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO NOW IS TO START IT OFF BY CALLING UP TO THE MICROPHONE RIGHT HERE.
AND WE'RE RECORDING ALL OF THIS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE SOME RECORD OF WHAT THE INPUT WE, UH, HAVE GOTTEN FROM THE PUBLIC IS SO THAT, UH, WHEN WE, UH, ACTUALLY COMPILE THE REPORT AND PRESENT THE
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PLAN TO THE CITY COUNCIL, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT WE BASE THAT ON.UH, THE FIRST PERSON I GOT IS RAY RHODES.
RAY RHODES, IF I COULD INVITE YOU TO COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE, WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS I'M GONNA TIME THE MICROPHONE RIGHT OVER THERE.
WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS I'M GONNA TIME YOU ON MY TRUSTEE WATCH HERE.
AND SINCE THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, I'LL GIVE YOU THREE MINUTES.
UM, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE PREMISE THAT ALL DISTRICTS SHOULD HAVE RELATIVELY EQUAL POPULATION NUMBERS IS BASED ON FALSE LOGIC.
MORE APPROPRIATELY, ALL DISTRICTS SHOULD BE COMPRISED OF POPULATIONS WITH GENERALLY SIMILAR NEEDS, ASPIRATIONS, AND OBJECTIVES.
SUBURBAN AREAS SUCH AS KINGWOOD NATURALLY HAVE LESS POPULATION DENSITY THAN THE URBAN AREAS OF HOUSTON.
AND AS SUCH, THE RESIDENTS OF KINGWOOD HAVE SIMILAR NEEDS AND OBJECTIVES IN THIS REGARD, THE PRESENT GEOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS OF DISTRICT E ENCOMPASS THOSE RESIDENTS WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS.
ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT E TO ARTIFICIALLY MANIPULATE THE POPULATION SIZE WOULD ACCOMPLISH NOTHING BUT DISTORTING THE VOTING BASE TO MEET A POLITICAL AGENDA.
THE BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT E MUST REMAIN RELATIVELY CONSTANT TO PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF KINGDOM RESIDENTS.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE THAT NEEDS TO SIGN UP, UH, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TO VISIT THE, THE LADY THERE IN THE YELLOW JACKET AND SHE'LL FILL OUT A CARD FOR YOU.
UH, THE NEXT PERSON I'D LIKE TO CALL UP IS PATRICIA MORLAN.
THE NEXT PERSON I HAVE A CARD FOR IS COLLEEN REED.
COLLEEN ROSE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IS THAT YOU? ACTUALLY, I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANYTHING.
WELL, UM, SO ONE OTHER QUESTION IS, I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY IS, I'M SORRY.
WHY ARE, WHY IS KINGWOOD LUMPED WITH CLEAR LAKE? UM, YOU ALWAYS FORGET ABOUT A TASKED AND, UM, HUFFMAN.
UM, SO WHY IS IT THAT DISTRICT E IS WITH CLEARLY LAKE, THEY'RE NOT GEOLOGICALLY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, WHEREAS A TASK C AND HUFFMAN ARE, DO YOU HAVE ANY ANSWER FOR THAT? WELL, I, I, I'LL LET MY COLLEAGUE JERRY WOODS TO HAVE A STAB AT IT.
UM, ONLY A PORTION OF ONLY A PORTION OF HUFFMAN IS LOCATED TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, MOST OF A TASK IS, I'M ASKING ABOUT CLEAR LAKE.
WHY IS CLEAR LAKE LUMPED WITH E WELL, US OVER HERE, CLEAR LAKE IS PART OF DISTRICT E IN ORDER TO, IN 1997 WHEN, UH, IT WA WHEN THE DISTRICT WAS FIRST CONFIGURED THIS WAY IN ORDER TO GET THE, UH, PLAN THROUGH, UH, PAST THE, UH, U US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, IT'S, IT'S A VERY LONG STORY, BUT IT REALLY DOES HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
SO I, I DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION.
NEXT, HOW ABOUT, UM, WHO DO I NEED TO SPEAK WITH THAT'S HERE ABOUT, UM, THE CANAL DREDGING AND ATAS SHORES? I NEED TO SPEAK TO THAT PERSON.
IS THAT PERSON HERE, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING AROUND HAVING PEOPLE SIGN THAT YOU CAN COME ONTO YOUR PROPERTY AND I'M BRINGING IN MINE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT, UM, GOING TO BE INDEMNIFYING YOURSELVES.
SO IF YOU DO ANY DAMAGE TO MY $70,000 CANAL WALL, YOU'RE NOT GONNA FIX IT.
SO, OKAY, SO WHO'S HERE FOR THAT? UM, YOU WANNA COME BACK HERE? OKAY.
WE'RE, WE'RE COVERING AT THIS POINT IN THE PROGRAM.
THE QUESTION AS TO REDISTRICTING.
I'M GONNA ASK, I I THINK, I THINK THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE BACK THERE THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU ON THAT QUESTION.
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LET'S SEE.THE NEXT PERSON I HAVE IS DIANE LANSDON.
UM, YOU CAN'T PUT A MAP UP THERE, CAN YOU, BECAUSE THAT WAS A FILM WHERE WE SAW A MAP AND CAN YOU ISOLATE THE MAP? I'M NOT SURE IF THEY HAVE THAT ABILITY.
WE DO HAVE SOME MAPS ON POSTERS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM THERE.
WELL, I TOOK THIS OUT OF THAT, UM, ZIPLOC BAG THAT THEY WERE GIVING AWAY WITH VITAMIN FOLDERS AND STUFF IN IT.
UM, BUT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO, WHAT'S THIS SECTION RIGHT HERE? THAT'S RIGHT BY I 10 THAT'S LIKE TOTALLY SEPARATED FROM ANYTHING.
UH, THE LARGER COMMUNITY'S CALLED NORTH SHORE, BUT THAT PARTICULAR AREA IS CLOVERLEAF UHHUH AND IT'S, UH, UH, I 10 AT FEDERAL ROAD.
IT CONNECTS TO THE NORTH USING THE CANAL, AND THEN IT CONNECTS TO THE SOUTH USING THE, THE SHIP CHANNEL, WHICH IS IN THE CITY FOR LIMITED PURPOSES.
WHAT WAS YOUR LAST COUPLE OF WORDS? OH, I'M SORRY.
IT'S IN THE CITY FOR LIMITED PURPOSES.
THE SHIP CHANNEL, THE NAVIGATION DISTRICT IN THE CITY FOR LIMITED PURPOSES, MEANING IT'S NOT REALLY CITY OF HOUSTON.
NO, IT'S ACTUALLY, IT IS CITY OF HOUSTON.
IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT SUBJECT TO PROPERTY TAXES, BUT ANYBODY, ANYBODY WHO LIVES IN AN AREA THAT'S ANNEXED FOR LIMITED PURPOSES IS ABLE TO VOTE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO IT'S TREATED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES FOR DISTRICTING AND, AND THE LIKE.
IT'S TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER PORTION OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN GIVE ME A ROUGH POPULATION OF THAT LITTLE SECTION? THAT'S, THAT SMALL SECTION IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF SAY, LESS THAN 10,000 PEOPLE.
AND HOW MANY PEOPLE DO WE HAVE TO BALANCE OUT OF DISTRICT E? THE AVERAGE DISTRICT POPULATION IS 209,000.
UH, THE ALLOWABLE HIGH RANGE IS ABOUT 219,000.
I BELIEVE THAT THE DISTRICT IS ABOUT 5,000, UH, OVER THE, THE ALLOWABLE RANGE OF POPULATION AT THIS TIME.
WELL THEN I SUGGEST THAT WE DO SOMETHING WITH THIS LITTLE PIECE OF ISOLATED ISLAND.
UM, I'LL, I'LL MAKE A NOTE OF, OF YOUR SUGGESTION AND YOUR SUGGESTION WILL BE ADDRESSED IN THE FINAL REPORT.
SO ALL OF THE SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE MADE TONIGHT WILL BE ADDRESSED IN THE FINAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL.
JUST WALK UP TO THE MIC IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT, I'M OUT OF CARDS, BUT IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS A QUESTION OR A STATEMENT, I I'LL INVITE YOU TO, TO COME UP TO THE, COME ON UP TO THE MICROPHONE.
I JUST NEED FOR YOU TO, BEFORE YOU TALK, WHY DON'T YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF, YOUR NAME.
I'VE BEEN THE KINGWOOD 35 YEARS.
I WAS A PART OF THE ANNEXATION.
SET THIS WHOLE PROGRAM UP, RIGHT? YOU ARE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW, WELL, LET ME GO BACK A MINUTE.
CLEARLY, KINGWOOD IS THE MOST GERRYMANDERED DISTRICT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
CLEARLY LAKE IS 70, 75 MILES AWAY.
AND WHAT YOU DID WAS WRONG, PURE, AND SIMPLE.
AND LET ME ASK YOU, MAYOR, DO YOU THINK THAT KINGWOOD, THIS DISTRICT E IS GERRYMANDERED BY THE BASIC DEFINITION? IS IT GERRYMANDERING? HAVE YOU SEEN ONE WORSE IN ALL YOUR YEARS IN IN POLITICS? HONESTLY, DO YOU WANT TO ANSWER THAT
YOU DON'T WANT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
YOU AND YOU'RE, AND I'M BEING RECORDED
UH, LEMME JUST SPEAK FOR, FOR FOR HOUSTON, UH, YOU KNOW, KINGWOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I DO TRAVEL THE FATHERS, UH, FOR, UH, IN TERMS OF DISTRICT E.
SO WE GENERALLY HAVE, WE GENERALLY HAVE TWO TOWN HALL MEETINGS, UH, FOR DISTRICT E YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, UH, IT'S, UH, WE COVER TWO ENDS.
SO, UH, SO IN TERMS OF, IN TERMS OF, UH, LET'S SAY THE MAYOR GOING FROM ONE DISTRICT TO THE OTHER, I, I TRAVEL THE FATHERS IN DISTRICT.
IN DISTRICT E LET ME JUST PUT IT THAT WAY.
DID THAT ANSWER JUST, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION?
SO I'M, I'M NOT GONNA DRAW A, A LEGAL
[00:30:01]
CONCLUSION, BUT SPEAKING FROM A FACTUAL POINT OF VIEW, OKAY, IT CERTAINLY, I, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T MAKE IT FROM, IT'D BE DIFFICULT FOR ME TO MAKE TWO MEETINGS, UH, ON THE SAME EVENING IF I'M, IF I'M IN KINGWOOD AND HAVE TO GO TO CLEAR LAKE OR CLEAR LAKE KEVIN TO COME TO KEYWOOD.LEMME JUST, THAT'S JUST A FACTUAL STATEMENT.
ALSO, THANK YOU FOR COMING UP HERE TONIGHT.
CERTAINLY ALL YOUR OTHER MAYORS WOULDN'T SHOW THEIR FACE UP HERE, BUT YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE MANY TIMES AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE UP HERE.
WELL, I REPRESENT 640 SQUARE MILES.
AND, AND, AND I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH ONE LAST THING.
KINGWOOD SHOULD HAVE A DISTRICT AND IF YOU PUT CLEAR LAKE BACK IN THEIR DISTRICT, WHITE PEOPLE, BLACK PEOPLE AND HISPANIC PEOPLE CAN WORK TOGETHER.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT ALL WHITE PEOPLE IN A DISTRICT OR ALL BLACK PEOPLE OR HISPANICS.
WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND GET ALONG, I PROMISE YOU, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT SO WELL, I DO.
I DO, I DO AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.
ALRIGHT, ANYBODY ELSE? YES SIR.
COULD YOU POINT TO KINGWOOD ON THE MAP? OKAY.
I DIDN'T HEAR MY MOUTH ON IT THERE.
I REALIZE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM DID
UH, ORDINARILY I DO THE COMEDY.
I'M NOT THE STRAIGHT MAN ORDINARILY
I WAS KIND OF HOPING TO HAVE A LOT MORE COMMENT FROM THE, FROM THE AUDIENCE.
IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO MAKE IT COME ON UP? IF I COULD ASK YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, STATE YOUR NAME FOR US.
SO I WAS HERE DURING THE ANNEXATION, ALSO THE MAYOR OF THAT TIME.
WE ARE ANNEXED FOR TWO REASONS.
MAYBE THE VOTES BECAUSE AT THAT TIME THEY NEEDED MORE WHITE VOTES IN THE SYSTEM.
SO THEY SAID, OKAY, WE'LL TAKE KINGWOOD, STATE OF TEXAS RESIDENTS HAVE NO STATES SO IN ACCUSATION.
WE'VE BEEN DOWNHILL EVER SINCE.
SO NOW YOU GUYS ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF US HAVING US TELL YOU WHAT TO PROPOSE WHEN YOU GUYS SHOULD ALREADY HAVE A DIAGRAM LAID OUT.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO.
HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE AND MYSELF GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC, A GENERAL DECISION ON SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T EVEN SEE WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY PROPOSING? BASICALLY, THIS IS A MONKEY SHOW.
WHAT EVERYBODY SAYS IN THIS ROOM OR SENDS EMAILS TO ALL YOUR OFFICES MEANS NOTHING.
BECAUSE ONCE YOU PUT PEOPLE GET BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, THAT'S IT.
YOU'RE GONNA SAY AND DO WHATEVER YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE, WE'LL NOT HAVE ONE SAY SO WHATSOEVER.
THIS IS JUST A DOG AND PONY SHOW.
IF THIS WAS A TRUE REDISTRICTING MEETING, YOU WOULD HAVE PROPOSALS UP FOR US TO SEE.
LEMME JUST, LEMME JUST SAY THIS.
IF WE HAD COME TO YOU TONIGHT AND HAD ALREADY DRAWN SOME MAPS, I THINK SOME OF YOU WOULD'VE SAID WE SHOULD HAVE COME TO YOU FIRST.
UH, AND SO IN THIS PROCESS, WE ARE GOING TO EVERY SINGLE DISTRICT, EVERY SINGLE ONE WITH THE SAME VIDEO.
THE REASON WHY THE VIDEO HAS BEEN DONE IS SO WE CAN PLAY THE SAME VIDEO IN ALL 11 DISTRICTS SO THAT NO ONE CAN SAY IT.
WE SAID SOMETHING IN ONE PLACE THAT WE DIDN'T SAY IN THE OTHER.
SO THE VIDEO IS INTENDED TO BE PLAYED AT ALL 11 TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
WE ARE COMING TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.
IF YOU LIKE THE WAY THE DISTRICT IS, IS CONFIGURED, THEN SAY, WE LIKE THE WAY WE ARE RIGHT NOW, IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY THE DISTRICT IS CONFIGURED, SAY WE DON'T LIKE THE WAY THE DISTRICT IS CONFIGURED, OR YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LITTLE SECTION AS AS THE THE, UM, THE YOUNG LADY JUST SAID.
THERE'S A LITTLE SECTION WITH ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE.
WE THINK YOU NEED TO TAKE IT OUT AND USE THAT TO BALANCE.
THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU KNOW, WE CAN CONSIDER AND WE'LL CONSIDER.
UM, AND THEN IN THE END, AFTER WE'VE GONE AROUND TO THESE 11 DISTRICTS, UH, THERE WILL BE SOME MAPS COMING OUT, UH, BASED IN LARGE PART
[00:35:01]
ON THE COMMENTS THAT WE GET AND THOSE THAT WE DON'T RECEIVE.AND THEN THOSE, UH, PROPOSED MAPS WILL BE PRESENTED AND PEOPLE CAN COMMENT ON THOSE MAPS.
AND IF YOU COME, IF YOU GO BEFORE PEOPLE WITH MAPS ALREADY DRAWN, I PROMISE YOU THE FEEDBACK WE WILL GET IS THAT YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY DONE IT.
SO WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO US? SO EITHER WAY, WE ARE GONNA GET THE CRITICISM, BUT WE ARE HERE AND I CAN TRUST YOU AND I CAN TELL YOU, UM, I CAN THINK OF A ZILLION PLACES WHERE I COULD BE OTHER THAN JUST COMING AND WASTING YOUR TIME OR WASTING MINE.
NOW, I WASN'T A MAYOR WHEN THESE DISTRICTS WERE REDRAWING YEARS AGO.
I'M THE MAYOR NOW I'M HERE AND I'M LISTENING.
BUT IF PEOPLE LIKE THE WAY THINGS ARE, SAY THAT, AND WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE DON'T SAY THAT.
AND WE ARE LISTENING JUST WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON WITH THE REDISTRICTING OF THE, THE VOTING BOOTHS.
PRECINCT FOUR, PRECINCT THREE JUST GOT FLIPPED.
SO NOW WE'RE POSSIBLY GONNA GET SCREWED OUTTA SIX YEARS OF VOTING BECAUSE OF THAT.
ALL YOU GUYS EVER LOOK AT IS A BEAN COUNTER.
YOU NEVER LOOK AT THE PEOPLE THAT VOTED FOR YOU.
AND THE LAST TIME I LOOKED, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS A REPUBLIC RAN BY A CONSTITUTION, WHICH MEANS THE GOVERNMENT'S RAN BY THE PEOPLE.
THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T RUN THE PEOPLE.
WELL, WE DON'T, WE DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOU ON THAT.
SO EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON WITH THE DISTRICT DEAN OF E THE PRECINCT FLIP, ALL OF THIS IS COMING ONTO ONE THING.
AND EVERYBODY WANTS A PIECE OF THE PIE THAT'S HIGH UP WHILE EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM ON THE LITTLE PEONS THAT WILL GET THE SCRAPS AS IT FALLS THROUGH.
SO EVERYTHING YOU GUYS ARE DOING HERE IS JUST, LIKE I SAID, GON PUBLISH SHOW BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY MADE UP YOUR MINDS.
NO, DOWN THIS ROAD TOO MANY TIMES.
IT'S BEEN PROVEN IN THE HURRICANE, IT'S BEEN PROVEN WITH IKE.
ONCE YOU GUYS MAKE UP YOUR MINDS ABOUT SOMETHING, THIS IS NOTHING.
WE GOT NOTHING BECAUSE YOU GUYS ALREADY KNOW WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS MONEY OVER HERE.
WE'RE GONNA PUT THESE PEOPLE OVER HERE.
YOU GUYS DON'T GET A DAMN ABOUT THE PUBLIC.
WELL, YOU GUYS GET ELECTED AND PUT IN OFFICE, MY JOB'S DONE.
I CAN DO WHATEVER I DAMN ALL PLEASE.
BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, INCLUDING MYSELF, WE'RE TIRED OF IT.
AND WHEN THE VOTING BOOTH COMES, YOU GUYS WILL FEEL THE PAIN.
WELL, LET ME LET, I, I DO LET, LET ME TELL, I I I, I'LL LET, I'M GONNA LET YOU SAY, LEMME SAY THIS.
WE CAN, YOU ARE CERTAINLY ENTITLED TO YOUR VIEW, OKAY? YOU'RE CERTAINLY ENTITLED TO YOUR VIEW.
I CHOOSE TO HAVE A MORE OPTIMISTIC AND POSITIVE VIEW.
UM, AND WHETHER YOU VOTE FOR ANY OF US, WHETHER YOU VOTE FOR ME OR NOT, I'M STILL GONNA REPRESENT YOU.
I'M STILL GONNA REPRESENT YOU.
I THINK EVERY TIME WE'VE HAD A TOWN HALL MEETING IN KINGWOOD, I'VE BEEN HERE.
WELL, YOU KNOW, KINGWOOD DIDN'T VOTE FOR ME.
WELL, I'M JUST SAYING 80, 90% 80% DID NOT VOTE FOR ME.
BUT EVERY TIME WE'VE HAD A MEETING, WE ARE HERE ON WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IN THE SECOND PART OF THE MEETING.
WE'VE SPENT $222 MILLION ON DREDGING IN THE KINGWOOD AREA.
MONEY COULD HAVE BEEN PUT SOMEPLACE ELSE.
WE PUT IT HERE IN KINGWOOD 200 AND $222 MILLION IN DREDGING SINCE TWENTY SEVENTEEN, TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO 7 MILLION.
THAT PROJECT THAT WAS GONNA BE BUILT, THAT DEVELOPMENT THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO BE DEVELOPED.
WE DIDN'T ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN.
THAT HAPPENED ON THIS WATCH, ON THIS WATCH.
SO I I I, I BEG TO DIFFER WITH YOU, BUT YOU'RE CERTAINLY ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION.
AND I DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN WHAT OTHER FOLK DID.
I WASN'T HERE WHEN THOSE OTHER MAYORS DID WHAT THEY DID.
BUT WE ARE HERE NOW AND PEOPLE DO CARE.
[00:40:01]
PEOPLE DO CARE.NOW WE CAN DISAGREE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN PEOPLE DON'T CARE.
SO AGAIN, UH, IT IS REDISTRICTING.
UH, I KNOW YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE PROPOSED MAPS, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS THE PROCESS THAT'S LAID OUT.
YOU GO THROUGH THIS PER THROUGH THIS STEP.
THEN WE TAKE THE COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, YOU DRAW MAPS, AND THEN WE TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT IT.
AND THEN YOU HEARD ABOUT THE THREE PUBLIC MEETINGS.
I KNOW IT IS, YOU KNOW, SO LET ME, LET ME YELL TO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO PULL ME OFF OF HERE IF I GET OUT OF OUTTA LINE, I THINK THAT THAT COMMENT WAS TOTALLY OFF BASE.
TOTALLY BRING UP THE DISTRICT E MAP.
'CAUSE I'M THE GUY THAT DRIVES 60 MILES EVERY DAY TO CLEAR LAKE, OKAY? AND LET ME TELL YOU THIS, I LOVE GOING TO CLEAR LAKE, CLEAR LAKE.
I CAN DROP A PERSON IN KINGWOOD OFF, BLINDFOLD THEM, TAKE 'EM TO CLEAR LAKE AND THEY WOULDN'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH MASTER PLAN COMMUNITY BY FRIENDSWOOD AND THEY BOTH LOOK THE SAME.
AND THE PEOPLE ARE, I LIVE HERE AND THE PEOPLE IN CLEAR LAKE ARE GREAT PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO HAVE AS YOUR NEIGHBORS.
AND THE WAY THE DISTRICT IS PROBABLY NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THIS, I THINK IT'S A DAMN GOOD DISTRICT BECAUSE THE CLEAR LAKE FOLKS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA B***H AT THE NEXT MEETING BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POPULATION TO BE THEIR, HAVE THEIR OWN GUY.
SO WHEN I GO TO CLEAR LAKE, I GET THIS.
WHEN I FIRST RAN FOR OFFICE, I GOT THIS, THIS, OH, YOU'RE THE GUY THAT, UH, THE ACCOUNTANT, RIGHT? YOU'RE THE BEAM COUNTER, YOU'RE THE SMART GUY, YOU'RE THE THIS, YOU'RE THE, THAT.
I'M NOT VOTING FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE LIVING CLEARLY.
I MEAN KINGWOOD NOW LIVE IN CLEAR LAKE.
AND MY FIRST COMMENT IS, I GET IT.
IMAGINE WHERE WE WOULD BE POST HARVEY IF I DIDN'T LIVE HERE, OKAY? WOULD BE SCREWED LEFT AND RIGHT.
AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN SITTING AROUND FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS OR WHATEVER.
I'VE BEEN DOING THIS UNDER MAYOR PARKER AND TURNER.
AND THIS GUY'S AS GRACIOUS TO US AS ANYONE YOU WANT TO GO ABOUT, TALK ABOUT ELM GROVE AND GIVING ME $7 MILLION TO KEEP THAT DEVELOPMENT, TO KEEP THOSE PEOPLE FROM FLOODING.
YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT, YOU DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER RIGHT? MAYOR, IT'S A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN DREDGING.
OH BY THE WAY, WE JUST GOT ANOTHER ORDER FOR $1 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL DREDGING.
NOW A LOT OF THAT IS FEMA MONEY.
A LOT OF THAT IS FEDERAL MONEY.
A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF CRENSHAW AND DAN HUBERTY.
BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD THINGS GOING ON IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME, RIGHT? FATHER-IN-LAW OF MY GRANDSON OR GRAND GRANDDAD TO MY GRANDSON, ROB.
SO I'VE BEEN HERE FOR OVER 30 YEARS, OKAY? I, MY KIDS GREW UP HERE, I'M GONNA DIE IN THIS AREA, OKAY? I HOPE IT'S NOT TOMORROW.
I HOPE IT'S WHEN I'M ABOUT 90
AND I GOT A YEAR AND A HALF LEFT TO GET ALL THESE PROJECTS DONE AND WE'RE GONNA GET 'EM DONE.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AREA THAT YOU TALK ABOUT, DIANE, THAT LITTLE SLIVER, THAT'S THE AREA THAT NEVER GOT ANY DOLLARS FROM ANY COUNCIL MEMBER.
YOU KNOW WHY THEY DON'T VOTE? NUMBER ONE, THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE US.
AND EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER THAT SERVED BEFORE ME IGNORED THEM BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? THEY GAVE THEM MONEY TO KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE.
WELL THAT'S THE AREA THAT I CALL THE SOUTH BELT ELLINGTON AREA THAT'S BEEN TOTALLY NEGLECTED.
AND I MADE IT A POINT TO GIVE AN EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF DOLLARS TO THOSE FOLKS.
SO WE REDID SHAVER ROAD, WE'RE GONNA REDO CRENSHAW ROAD.
THOSE PEOPLE ARE SO GRACIOUS FOR THE LITTLEST THINGS THAT THEY GET.
AND IF I WAS, I'M GONE IN A YEAR AND A HALF, BUT IF I KEPT DOING THIS FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS, I WANT THOSE PEOPLE TO REPRESENT BECAUSE THEY'RE REALLY GOOD PEOPLE.
AND AS I MENTIONED, I LOVE CLEAR LAKE.
BUT I'LL ASK THEM, DO YOU WANT TO GO WITH DISTRICT I OR DO YOU WANT TO GO WITH DISTRICT D? LET'S TALK POLITICAL IDEOLOGY.
TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN DAVE MARTIN'S IDEOLOGY.
THEY'RE PRETTY PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS THAT REPRESENT THOSE DISTRICTS.
SO WHEN I GO TO CLEAR LAKE, I'LL GIVE 'EM THAT TALK.
DO YOU WANT THAT PERSON TO REPRESENT YOU OR DO YOU WANT TO MEET, DO YOU WANT ME TO REPRESENT YOU AS SOMEBODY THAT IS OF LIKE MIND, LIKE ME AND SALLY? YOU WERE THERE, MAYOR YOU WERE THERE WHEN I GOT THE AWARD FROM CLEAR LAKE AS THEIR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR.
OKAY? THAT WAS MORE OF AN HONOR FOR ME THAN GETTING IT FROM THE HUMBLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OR THE LAKE HOUSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BECAUSE I DON'T REPRESENT, I DON'T LIVE THERE, BUT I SURE REPRESENT THEM.
SO I PROBABLY GOT IN TOO MUCH TROUBLE.
BUT I TOTALLY, THE COMMENTS WERE OFF BASE, UH, TOTALLY OFF BASE, DAVE MARTIN'S OPINION.
BUT I THINK I KNOW THIS AREA IN THIS DISTRICT BETTER THAN ANYONE.
AND I'M BUSTING MY ASS FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN SIT HERE POST HARVEY
[00:45:01]
AND TALK ABOUT PRE-RELEASE AND WATER AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T FLOOD AND WE CONTINUE TO DO THOSE PROJECTS.AND IT'S BECAUSE OF MAYOR TURNER AND HIS ABILITY TO GO IN THIS MORNING.
YOU KNOW WHY TUESDAY MORNING'S THE ONLY MORNING I DON'T MEET WITH THIS GUY.
OKAY, SO USUALLY, UH, I GO TO THE GYM.
SO I WAS AT THE GYM FOR SIX O'CLOCK, HOPEFULLY I SAW MANY OF YOU THEIRS.
AND THEN I GET HOME AND I READ THIS REPORT AND IT SAYS, DAMN PROJECT ON HOLD.
YOU KNOW, THE TRIBUNE PUT THAT IT'S NOT ON HOLD.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT IN A MINUTE, BUT IT'S NOT ON HOLD.
SO STARTED MY DAY OFF WITH THAT AND CONTINUES WITH THIS.
AND MY APOLOGIES, I JUST GET A LITTLE BIT HOTHEADED.
BUT THAT'S MY NATURE, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME GOOD AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME NOT VERY GOOD.
SO, UM, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE PEOPLE TO ASK THE QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO THE CIP PART AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT GA DAMS, DREDGING GATES, ELM GROVE, TAYLOR GULLY, KINGWOOD DIVERSION DITCH.
AND WE'LL BE HERE TILL MIDNIGHT IF YOU WANT TO KEEP ME HERE TILL MIDNIGHT.
BUT DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON THESE PEOPLE.
THEY BUST THEIR TAIL FOR US DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
AND I'LL ASK THAT YOU TREAT 'EM WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT.
'CAUSE I HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT FOR THEM.
UH, I I JUST WANTED TO MAKE IT REAL CLEAR THAT I'M NOT A POLITICIAN, I'M JUST PART OF THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF.
I I'M NOT LEAVING IN A YEAR AND A HALF.
I, I WILL KEEP WORKING, DOING MY JOB.
UH, I CAN ASSURE YOU, LET ME ASSURE YOU, THIS IS NOT A DOG AND PONY SHOW.
I'VE BEEN PART OF DOG AND PONY SHOWS BEFORE.
THIS IS NOT THAT WE'RE SINCERELY INTERESTED IN GETTING YOUR INPUT SO THAT WE, WHEN WE TRY TO COME UP WITH A PLAN AS TO HOW TO REDRAW THESE DISTRICTS, WE CAN TAKE YOUR OPINION AS TO HOW THESE DISTRICTS SHOULD LOOK INTO ACCOUNT IN DECIDING WHAT THAT PLAN SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE ONE REALLY GOOD COMMENT ABOUT ONE SECTION OF THIS, OF THE DISTRICT THAT MAYBE SHOULD BE MOVED TO ANOTHER DISTRICT.
THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING FROM THE, FROM THE CONSTITUENTS.
I WASN'T PLANNING ON COMMENTING ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING.
I WANTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE DRAINAGE ON A 40 YEAR PLUS RESIDENT OF KINGWOOD.
WE WENT THROUGH A LOT OF AGGRAVATION WITH THE ANNEXATION AND THAT'S A SORE POINT WITH MANY PEOPLE, BUT THAT'S LONG GONE NOW.
IT DOES SEEM A LITTLE UNCLEAR TO ME WHY WE ARE CONNECTED WITH CLEAR LAKE WITH THE PAST, THE WAY YOU DESCRIBED IT FROM 1997 OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
UH, THAT SEEMS A LITTLE INCONSISTENT TO ME.
BUT I'M ALSO HEARING, UH, CONGRESSMAN OR COUNCILMAN MARTIN HEARSAY THAT UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SIMILAR TYPE OF SITUATION, KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE.
AND SO I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TO KNOW WHETHER IF WE CONNECTED MORE CLOSELY WITH OTHER DI OTHER COUNCIL AREAS, WHETHER THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, UH, FOR US OR WHETHER WE'RE BETTER OFF BEING IN CLEAR LAKE.
BUT I DID WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR FOR COMING UP A NUMBER OF TIMES.
I'VE BEEN TO A LOT OF THESE MEETINGS ON PUBLIC WORKS AND DRAINAGE AND THAT'S WHERE OUR FOCUS NEEDS TO STILL BE.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE, THE DAM THAT'S BEEN ON DELAY AND NOW IS ONLY GONNA BE HALF OF WHAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRONG.
SO AGAIN, NOT TO ARGUE AND TO THANK THE MAYOR FOR COMING UP AND TALKING.
BUT I THINK THE REDISTRICTING THING IS, IS IS VERY, UH, TRICKY BECAUSE I DON'T THINK ENOUGH OF US HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO REALLY GUIDE THIS WHOLE PROCESS, BUT IT DOES SEEM TO ME AS IF CLEAR LAKE AND KING WOULD'VE BEEN A GOOD CONNECTION, BUT NOT AN IDEAL ONE WHEN YOU'RE TRAVELING ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SO, WELL, BEFORE YOU STEP AWAY FROM THE MICROPHONE, COULD I HAVE YOUR, HAVE YOU STATE YOUR NAME JUST FOR OUR RECORD? UH, STEVE CHAPMAN.
UH, MR. CHAPMAN FOSTERS MALE HERE FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, I GUESS THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE WHY KINGWOOD AND, AND, AND CLEAR LAKE ARE COMBINED IS A DESCRIPTION THAT COUNCILMAN MARTIN WAS TRYING TO GIVE TO US AND THAT THEY HAVE A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT PARTS OF THE CITY TO PUT TOGETHER INTO A DISTRICT.
AND THAT COMMUNITY OF INTEREST IS VERY SIMILAR BETWEEN THOSE TWO AREAS.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE DRIVING FACTOR.
[00:50:01]
KINGWOOD AREA AND IT'S UH, YOU KNOW, LENAR AND, AND KINGWOOD RANCH AND OR KINGWOOD AND KING RANCH AND ALL OF THAT.SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS HERE.
UM, I SPEAK SURE, COME ON UP PLEASE.
A LINE BEHIND MICROPHONE HOLD.
IF I COULD JUST HAVE YOU STATE YOUR, YOUR STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
WE, I LIVE IN, UH, THE KINGS POINT VILLAGE.
UH, I'VE BEEN THERE SINCE, UH, 1994.
UM, I HAPPEN TO KNOW, UH, MAN PRO TIM, UH, MARTIN, UH, QUITE WELL SINCE WE, UH, ARE DO HAVE A, A RELATIONSHIP.
AND UH, THAT'S UH, A LITTLE BABY BOY CALLED, UH, OLIVER, WHO WE BOTH LOVE.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK HIM, FIRST OF ALL FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HE'S DONE FOR KINGWOOD.
HE'S AN OUTSTANDING MAN AND HE'S DONE A GREAT JOB.
IF WE HADN'T HAD HIM CALLING THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE EVERY DAY FOR, HOW LONG WAS THAT? 47 STRAIGHT DAYS.
47 STRAIGHT DAYS TO GET THE GOVERNOR DOWN HERE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENED.
WE MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD ALL THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE HAD TO DO A LOT OF THE PROJECTS SAME WAY.
UH, MAYOR TURNER, I WANT TO THANK YOU.
YOU'VE COME TO KINGWOOD AND I'VE, I'VE LISTENED TO YOU SPEAK MANY TIMES AND, UH, I THINK YOU'VE HELPED US A LOT AND WE ALL, BOTH OF YOU ARE DEATH OF, UH, UH, GRATITUDE.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY WHAT THE UM, UH, COUNCIL, UH, ATTORNEY WAS EXPLAINING AS TO HOW IT WAS PUT TOGETHER, BUT WHEN, UM, AND I FORGET, I FORGET HIS NAME NOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, UH, UH, 99 IS, IS UH, DEDICATED TO HIM.
THE MAYOR AT THE TIME LAN LANIER LAN.
I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WAS SAYING 'CAUSE I WAS NEW TO THE AREA AT THE TIME.
BUT HE CAME TO KINGWOOD AND SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA ANNEX KINGWOOD.
AND NOW WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE, AND, AND I GET WHAT DAVE'S SAYING, EXCUSE ME.
UH, COUNCIL MARTIN, CLEAR LAKE AND UM, KINGWOOD ARE THE TWO AREAS THAT I WENT TO TO LOOK FOR A HOUSE TO LIVE IN WHEN I WAS COMING HERE.
'CAUSE THEY WERE VERY SIMILAR.
AND I CHOSE KINGWOOD 'CAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS BETTER.
THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR IN, IN, IN MAY, BUT THEY'RE A LONG WAY APART.
IT'S LIKE TAKING PART OF, UH, UH, NEW JERSEY AND COMBINING IT WITH PART OF, UH, WASHINGTON STATE AND SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE SAME REPRESENTATIVE HERE, UH, TO TAKE CARE OF BOTH OF THOSE.
BUT THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONCERN.
WE ARE JUST A LONG WAY APART HOW DAVE MANAGES TO GET FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.
UM, I'VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW HE'S GOT THE ENERGY AND THE TIME TO DO ALL OF THAT, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
AND I AM FROM HUFFMAN AND I REPRESENT PRECINCT 98.
AND WHENEVER I COME TO THESE MEETINGS, I CONSISTENTLY HEAR, ONLY KING WOULD MENTION HUFFMAN IS A PART OF THE CITY AND WE DESERVE TO HAVE REPRESENTATION.
I MEAN, DICK MARTIN HAS DONE A GOOD JOB, BUT WHENEVER I NEED SOMETHING DONE, IF I CALL THE CITY, IF I CALL 3 1 1, I'M TOLD I'M NOT A PART OF THE CITY.
AND THEN I HAVE TO GO AROUND AND I HAVE TO GO TO DAVE MARTIN AND SAY, DAVE, THEY CAN, THEY STILL SAY I'M NOT A PART OF THE CITY.
WELL, WE ARE A PART OF THE CITY.
UM, I HAD TO FIGHT TO GET THE CITY TO PICK UP OUR TRASH BECAUSE WHEN WE HAD THE WATER, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HOOKED UP, HOOKED US UP TO THEIR, THEIR WATER AND THEY WEREN'T PICKING UP OUR TRASH FOR MONTHS.
THEY WEREN'T PICKING UP OUR TRASH.
WE WERE PAYING A ANOTHER OUTSIDE COMPANY TO PICK UP OUR TRASH.
SO WE FINALLY HAD TO GET THAT DONE.
BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT YOU CAN'T CONSISTENTLY FORGET TO TALK ABOUT US BECAUSE WE DO PAY TAXES, WE PAY LOTS OF TAXES.
WE ALSO PAY A MUD TAX FOR THE CITY BECAUSE THE CITY CREATED A SPECIAL MUD SO THAT THE DEVELOPER COULD GET PAID BACK FOR PUTTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WE PAID THE CITY TAX AND A MUD TAX AND A COUNTY TAX AND NOBODY WANTS TO DEAL WITH US.
AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, I WANT TO STAY WITH DISTRICT E AND REDISTRICTING, BUT I JUST READ YOUR PAPER AND IT SAYS I HAVE TO REDISTRICT THE WHOLE CITY TO ENSURE THAT I CAN STAY IN
[00:55:01]
DISTRICT DI AM NOT A REDISTRICTING PERSON.AND EVEN IF I CALL AND ASK MR. UH, I, I CAN'T THINK OF THE NAME RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD PUT THAT ALL TOGETHER OR IF I EVEN HAVE THE TIME TO REDISTRICT THE ENTIRE CITY TO SAY I WANT TO STAY IN DISTRICT D.
AND AS ANOTHER PERSON SAID, WE'VE JUST WENT THROUGH, WE WERE IN HARRIS COUNTY, UH, PRECINCT TWO, NOW WE'RE IN PRECINCT THREE.
SO WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW PRECINCT REPRESENTATIVE THERE.
AND WE HAVE MET WITH HIM ALREADY.
BUT I MEAN IT HAS BEEN A CONSTANT UPHEAVAL.
AND HERE WE ARE NOW WITH REDISTRICTING FOR THE CITY.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE CITY TO PLEASE RECOGNIZE HUFFMAN AS A PART OF THE CITY.
THAT IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT YOU CAN DO FOR US.
YOU KNOW, YOU DO THE RECYCLING WELL, WE PUT OUR RECYCLING OUT TODAY WAS OUR RECYCLING DAY, OUR, OUR TRASH AND RECYCLING.
BY SATURDAY THE CITY MIGHT COME PICK UP OUR RECYCLING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CITY HAVE TO WAIT LIKE THAT, BUT WE DO FIVE YEARS, TWO YEARS TO GET DRAINAGE DISHES DITCHES FIXED.
IF DAVE MARTIN HADN'T STEPPED IN, THEY WOULDN'T BE FIXED.
WE'RE NOW GETTING FIVE YEARS LATER, WE'RE FINALLY GETTING THE UPPER HALF OF THE DRAINAGE DISHES IS FIXED.
PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO HUFFMAN.
WHEN YOU COME OUT HERE AND YOU TALK ABOUT KINGWOOD, MENTION US.
WE ARE IN THE DISTRICT AS WELL.
COULD I HAVE YOU STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD THERE? MY NAME IS ALLISON HARRELL AND I HAVE LIVED IN KINGWOOD FOR 46 YEARS.
UH, I MUST ADMIT WE WERE SURPRISED WHEN WE WERE ANNEXED BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE WEREN'T ASKED OR VOTED ON IT FOR ANYTHING THAT WAS A SURPRISE.
BUT I DISAGREE WITH THE GENTLEMAN BEHIND ABOUT, UM, THAT IT HAS BEEN BETTER FOR US.
THE POLICE ARE BETTER, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S BETTER, EVERYTHING IS BETTER.
AND I JUST FEEL THAT IT WAS UNFAIR TO SAY ABOUT THE HARVEY SITUATION BECAUSE THESE GENTLEMEN UP THERE, MAYOR TURNER, COUNCILMAN, UH, MARTIN, COULD NOT HAVE HELPED US MORE.
AND UH, BECAUSE WE WERE LITERALLY DROWNING, YOU KNOW.
AND UH, WE WENT TO ALL THE MEETINGS UP IN CONROE AND ABOUT THE LAKE BEING LOWERED, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT SHOULD BE, WHICH IT IS BEING DONE NOW.
SO YOU GET, THERE'S TREMENDOUS POSITIVE STUFF THERE.
SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY TOTALLY UNFAIR TO SAY THAT UH, THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.
AND WE THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT WHEN YOU DO.
I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR COMMENTS.
UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY FURTHER COMMENT ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING OF THE DISTRICT? YES SIR.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF THE STAFF STANDING IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM.
WE HAD, WE HAD, THIS IS THE THIRD REDISTRICTING WE'VE GONE THROUGH.
WE WENT THROUGH THE STATE REDISTRICTING.
DID ANYBODY ASK FOR YOUR OPINION FOR THE STATE REDISTRICTING? NO, WE WENT THROUGH THE COUNTY REDISTRICTING, WHICH WAS A MESS.
DID ANYBODY ASK FOR OUR INPUT ON THAT? OKAY.
BUT YET WE'RE ASKING FOR INPUT HERE TONIGHT TO TRY AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
NOW I KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO VOTE FOR 'CAUSE I LOVE CLEAR LAKE
THEY'RE GONNA COMPLAIN BECAUSE THEY WANT THEIR GUIDE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I CAN'T ARGUE THAT WITH THEM.
BUT I LOVE THAT AREA, LIKE MY OWN AND, AND UH, IT'S A GREAT AREA WITH GREAT PEOPLE.
BUT WHEN YOU SAY INPUT AND STUFF LIKE THAT, WE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE STATE, WE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COUNTY VEHEMENTLY, BUT THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAYBE SAY, HEY, DOES IT WORK WELL OR CAN WE GET RID OF DIANE? THAT LITTLE BOX UP THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE OUR OPINION.
ONE THING I WANT YOU GUYS TO KEEP IN PERSPECTIVE AND AND I, I FOUND THIS OUT MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS IN THE AIR FORCE AND THEY STATIONED ME IN NORTH DAKOTA.
NORTH DAKOTA HAS ABOUT 600,000 PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE STATE.
AND THERE'S OVER, WE WANT TO HAVE 209,000 PEOPLE IN THIS ONE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT, ONE OF 11.
AND THIS WHOLE COUNTY HAS 4.7 MILLION PEOPLE, WHICH IS GREATER POPULATION IN THIS ONE COUNTY THAN IS IN 25 OF THE STATES.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS TO SET UP A SYSTEM WHERE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD REPRESENTATION DOWN AT CITY HALL WHEN THEY HAVE THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTOOD WHAT, WHAT WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH.
WE'RE TRYING TO COME UP WITH A DISTRICT THAT WILL REPRESENT YOUR INTEREST.
[01:00:01]
209,000 PEOPLE IN IT.COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD THERE? MY NAME IS BARBARA MURDOCH AND I'M HERE TONIGHT WITH MY HUSBAND BOB, BECAUSE WE LIKE TO STAY ABREAST OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND BECAUSE WE WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
UM, WE'VE LIVED IN DISTRICT E FOR 14 YEARS AND WE WENT THROUGH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT COUNCIL MEMBERS BEFORE DAVE CAME ALONG.
AND BOY, YOU WERE THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO US BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT COMING OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH BY THE WAY IS NOT IN KINGWOOD OR CLEAR LAKE.
SO I KIND OF HAVE THINGS IN COMMON WITH THE HUFFMAN PERSON AND SOME THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT.
AND WHAT I WANT YOU TO HEAR FROM ME TONIGHT IS HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THE REPRESENTATION THAT I'VE HAD AND MY HUSBAND AND I IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE HAD FROM DISTRICT E EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT IN KINGWOOD OR CLEAR LAKE.
SO EVERY TIME I READ THE NEWSLETTER I SEE KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE.
I THINK, WELL, WHERE AM I GONNA START? YOU KNOW? BUT THE ANSWER IS I KNOW WHERE, BECAUSE I KNOW I CAN CALL AND THE STAFF WILL TALK.
ME GOING BACK TO LAUREN AND PEOPLE BEFORE, UM, JUST AMAZING STAFF HERE.
THAT ACCIDENT REALLY WAS ALMOST A HEAD ON COLLISION WHERE I WOULD'VE BEEN KILLED.
AND I GOT OUR DEVELOPER AND HE GOT COUNCIL MEMBER, MARTIN AND SOME OTHER GROUPS TOGETHER AND WHERE THE CITY REALLY DID NOT HAVE FULL, THERE'S SO MANY INTERGOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTIONS AT WORK IN THIS AREA FOR THIS METROPLEX.
SOME DAYS I WAKE UP AND WONDER, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU ALL DO AS MUCH AS YOU ARE ABLE TO DO WITH ALL THIS OVERLAP.
BUT HE PULLED THE PEOPLE TOGETHER THAT GOT THE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US ACTUALLY A TWO LANE ENTRANCE SO THAT PEOPLE DID NOT RUN INTO EACH OTHER ANY LONGER.
IT WAS ACCIDENT AFTER ACCIDENT.
YOU DIDN'T JUST DO, YOU KNOW THE, THE OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE WILL ASK YOU FOR.
AND I, AND I DON'T BLAME THEM 'CAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME RECYCLING, THE SAME MUD COUNTY AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
OH, AND DON'T SOMEBODY FORGOT THE HIGH WATER FIELDS.
ANYWAY,
WE, YOU KNOW, JUST DON'T GO THERE BECAUSE HONESTLY, I WASN'T BORN HERE.
BUT WE WILL SIT DOWN SOMETIMES ON OUR BACK PORCH.
WE'LL WATCH THE BALD EAGLES FLY OVER OUR HOUSE.
WE'VE GOT BLUE BIRDS NESTING IN OUR BACKYARD RIGHT NOW.
FIVE LITTLE BABIES, BUT THAT'S HOUSTON.
AND PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THE REAL HOUSTON UNTIL THEY COME OUT TO THE LAKE AREAS.
AND TO END UP WITH HOW MUCH WE SIT THERE AND LOOK OUT AT LAKE HOUSTON, WE SAY, IF WE DIDN'T LIVE HERE, WHERE WOULD WE LIVE? AND THE ANSWER IS, WE DON'T HAVE A BETTER ANSWER.
WE'RE GONNA BE HERE AS LONG AS YOU ARE, AND WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW OUT
BUT THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR DISTRICT E.
THANK YOU, YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THIS LITTLE TINY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT NOBODY EVEN KNOWS WHERE IT IS.
AND TRUST ME, I'M IN THE TWO KINGWOOD FOOT CLUBS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND US.
I AM TOTALLY HAPPY BEING ALIGNED WITH ALL THE WATER ON THE EAST SIDE OF HARRIS COUNTY.
UM, SIR, DID YOU STILL WANT TO, MAY I ASK YOU MAY, MAY I, ARE YOU IN FOREST CODE? NO, SIR.
YOU'RE IN LAKE SHORE? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
WHICH IS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, SURROUNDED BY COUNTY.
WE LIVE AT, YOU KNOW, WELL, LAST I LOOKED, WE WERE, WE WERE IN PRECINCT ONE BEFORE AS FAR AS THE COUNTY GOES.
BUT WE LIVED AT THE CORNER OF COUNTY PRECINCT ONE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, WHAT'S THE OTHER JUROR? THERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
BUT WE WERE RIGHT ON THE COUNTY LINE OF ONE, TWO, AND FOUR IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WE CALLED, BEFORE DAVE GOT HERE, EVERYBODY SAID, OH, NO, THAT'S NOT US.
YOU'RE IN THE SOUTHERN COUNTY.
OH, NO, YOU JUST GOT REDISTRICTED OUT OF PRECINCT THREE INTO PRECINCT FOUR.
AND I DON'T MEAN RECENTLY, I'M TALKING ABOUT GOING BACK INTO THE, UM, OH, A LONG TIME AGO.
THAT WAS 14 YEARS AGO, AND WE'VE MULTIPLIED, UH, REDISTRICTING SEVERAL TIMES.
ALL I'M SAYING IS I'M GLAD I'VE LIVED IN THE SAME PLACE FOR 14 YEARS, AND I'M GLAD FOR ALL THE WORK, THE CITY, THE MAYOR, ALL OF YOU HAVE DONE TO HELP BRING
[01:05:01]
MONEY TO HOUSTON WHEN WE WOULD'VE BEEN CUT OFF BY STATE AND OTHER, UH, GOV UH, FUNDING AGENCIES.ALL RIGHT, SIR, COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME THERE FOR OUR RECORD? SURE.
HOWARD NATIVE HOUSTONIAN, DAVE AND, UH, MAYOR TURNER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REACTION AND BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT FLOODING AND KINGLEY.
UH, CAN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SECTION THREE, CONSISTENT PIECE OF PAPERS, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY? UH, UH, ESPECIALLY WHOLE COUNTY VOTING PRECINCTS.
I'VE TRIED TO GOOGLE, IT DIDN'T COME UP.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT IF THEY COULD TALK ABOUT SECTION THREE A THROUGH EA LITTLE BIT.
WE USE, UH, THE VOTING PRECINCTS.
AS THE BUILDING BLOCKS, UH, THE ENTIRE COUNTY'S DIVIDED UP INTO PRECINCTS.
I'M SORRY, OUR COUNTY HAS FOUR OH, I'M SORRY.
THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCTS, AND THEN THERE'S A VOTING PRECINCTS.
SO EVERY POLLING PLACE IS IN A SEPARATE VOTING PRECINCT.
SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION ABOUT THE, I KEEP FORGETTING ABOUT THE OVERLAP THERE IN THE TERMINOLOGY.
SO, UH, FOR INSTANCE, IN KINGWOOD THERE ARE, UH, ABOUT EIGHT, UH, NINE VOTING PRECINCTS IN INSIDE OF KINGWOOD.
AND SO THE, THE CITY USES THOSE VOTING PRECINCTS AS THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR CREATING DISTRICTS, BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE COULD HAVE A SITUATION WHERE IN AN ELECTION, PEOPLE COMING TO THEIR POLLING PLACE WOULD HAVE, UH, TWO DIFFERENT, THEY'D HAVE TO BE SPLIT INTO TWO DIFFERENT POLLS, IN EFFECT, IN THE ELECTION, IT CREATES CONFUSION AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE USE THE PRECINCTS IN ORDER TO AVOID.
UH, COUNCIL SHOULD BE COMPACT OF CONTINUOUS TERRITORY.
SO YOUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HIGH BASED ON YEAH, ESSENTIALLY THE, THE, THE CONTINUITY HAS TO DO WITH, UM, A LEGAL REQUIREMENT THAT THE DISTRICTS BE CONTIGUOUS.
UM, I, I'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THIS IN THE PAST, AND WE HAD, FOR INSTANCE, A PROPOSAL THAT COMPLETELY SEPARATED TWO DIFFERENT AREAS THAT HAD NO CONTINUITY INTO ONE DISTRICT.
AND SO THAT'S THE CONTINUITY THAT, THAT, THAT'S REFERRING TO.
CONTIGUOUS IN THIS CASE CAN BE A BODY OF WATER, WHICH IS THE SHIP CANAL, WHICH IS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE MAP.
THAT'S WHAT CONTIGUOUS MEANS FOR KINGWOOD CONNECTED TO CLEAR LAKE.
THAT JUST MEANS IT ALL PHYSICALLY HAS TO BE CONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER.
AND SOME OF IT IS KIND OF TENUOUS.
BUT, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
AND, AND THIS, THIS COMPACT AND CONTIGUOUS THAT CAN BE OVERRIDDEN BY OTHER FACTORS.
AND, AND LIKE THE ONE I ALWAYS POINT TO THAT I THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN A DISTRICT HAVE A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST.
THAT THEY HAVE INTEREST IN COMMON THAT WOULD BE WELL SERVED BY A SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE.
UH, SIR, DID YOU STILL HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? JEFF MILLER? I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF KINGWOOD FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.
UM, WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED AND, AND HEARD THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, IT SOUNDED LIKE THE CRITERIA WAS GOING TO BE BASED ON GEOGRAPHICS.
AND IT ALSO COULD BE BASED ON POPULATION.
WE'VE GOT A POPULATION PROBLEM OR OUT OF, WE'RE OUT OF BALANCE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE.
UH, ONE GENTLEMAN SAID, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULDN'T JUST BE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS.
WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT SIMILAR INTERESTS, UH, LIKENESSES OF THE POPULATION, UH, SIMILARITIES, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY STACK UP NICELY.
I THINK DAVE POINTED OUT IS THAT HE LIKES THE WAY THAT, UM, THE TWO COMMUNITIES THAT ARE SEPARATED BY, YOU KNOW, MANY MILES THAT WE HAVE SIMILAR NEEDS.
AND, UM, I THINK THAT, THAT SORT OF MAKES SENSE.
BUT LET'S SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, DAVE LIKES THE WAY IT'S ORGANIZED, AND YOU'VE HEARD FEEDBACK TONIGHT THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIKE THE WAY THAT IT'S ORGANIZED.
UH, WHEN IT COMES ABOUT THE TIME THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, AND COME UP WITH SOME PLANS, ARE YOU GONNA LIST OUT THE CRITERIA, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MAKE THESE CHANGES.
WE'RE NOT STAYING WITH THE SAME, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SOME CHANGES, AND THIS IS WHAT THE CRITERIA'S GONNA BE.
[01:10:01]
LIKE WE SAID, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR INTEREST.YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONE COMMENT WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT PROGRESSIVES OVER HERE.
YOU MAYBE GOT, UH, CONSERVATIVES OVER HERE.
YOU KNOW, ARE YOU GONNA BASICALLY HOLD THAT INTO YOUR DECISION MAKING? AND IF IT IS, WHEN YOU ROLL THIS THING OUT, ARE YOU GOING TO LIST OUT THAT CRITERIA WHERE YOU MADE YOUR DECISIONS? OR IS IT GONNA BE NOT AS TRANSPARENT AS WE'D LIKE IT TO BE? THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED A RESOLUTION THAT SET OUT THE CRITERIA THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO USE IN, IN DOING THIS ANALYSIS.
AND, UH, THEY ADOPTED THAT AS A RESOLUTION THAT YOU CAN PICK UP A COPY OF THE RESOLUTION OUTSIDE, UH, THE ONE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED.
AND I'LL LET JERRY DESCRIBE MORE HOW HE WILL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS WHEN, WHEN WE REVIEW ALL THE EVIDENCE.
SO I, I USE THE CRITERIA SET BY CITY COUNCIL IN PUTTING TOGETHER A PLAN AND I REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL THE EXTENT TO WHICH I'M ABLE TO ADHERE TO THAT CRITERIA.
THERE MAY BE A CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHICH, BECAUSE PERHAPS BALANCING POPULATION, UH, A A SINGLE SUBDIVISION IS SPLIT BETWEEN TWO CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
THIS IS SOMETHING I TRY TO AVOID, OR WHERE WE HAVE TO USE SOMETHING OTHER THAN A BIO OR A FREEWAY OR A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE AS A BOUNDARY.
IF, IF I CAN'T, THEN I'LL REPORT IT TO CITY COUNCIL AND EXPLAIN WHY AND EXPLAIN WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IN ORDER TO AVOID DOING THAT.
SO THE CRITERIA ARE GUIDELINES AND THEY AREN'T ALWAYS ABLE TO BE COMPLETELY ADHERED TO, BUT, UM, BUT THEY ARE SOMETHING THAT WE TAKE SERIOUSLY.
AND IT'S PART OF THE FINAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL AND IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT.
AND, AND, AND, AND FOR MRS. MORLAND, UM, YOU, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO A PLAN.
YOU, YOU'VE ALREADY EXPRESSED YOUR, YOUR PREFERENCE FOR HUFFMAN'S LOCATION, AND THAT WILL GO IN THE REPORT AS WELL.
IS THAT, DOES THAT HELP TRANSPARENCY? YEAH.
MY, MY UH, POINT WAS WHETHER OR NOT THERE'D BE TRANSPARENCY YEAH.
SO WE WOULD UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE MAKING THE CHANGES.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL, YOU'LL HAVE A, YOU'LL HAVE A, A PLAN BEFORE IT GOES TO, TO CITY COUNCIL.
IT'LL BE REVEALED TO THE PUBLIC.
AND IT, IN THAT PLAN, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE'RE ABLE TO ADHERE TO THE CRITERIA.
AND SO WILL CITY COUNCIL AND CITY COUNCIL CAN AMEND THE PLAN.
AND THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE PAST HAS AMENDED PLANS.
AND WHEN WE'VE HAD THE, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS AND CITY COUNCIL AND PEOPLE HAVE MADE AN OBJECTION TO SOME ASPECT OF THE PLAN, WE'VE MADE AMENDMENTS TO THE PLAN.
AFTER THAT, THOSE, UH, OBJECTIONS HAVE COME UP FROM THE PUBLIC OR FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE'RE GOING TO PUBLISH HIS PROPOSED PLAN IN JUNE.
UH, THERE'LL BE THREE PUBLIC HEARINGS THAT WERE, UH, TALKED ABOUT IN THE VIDEO.
TWO ON THE 13TH OF JULY, ONE ON THE 20TH OF JULY, WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN COME FORWARD BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL AND EXPRESS THEIR OPINION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MAPS, THE PLANS THAT WE CAME UP WITH.
AND ALSO, IT, IT'LL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU, THE REPORT THAT JERRY, UH, CAME UP WITH EXPLAINING HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE PLANS.
AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION THERE.
THERE ARE THREE PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED SO THAT IT GIVES EVERYBODY AN OPPORTUNITY.
LIKE ONE IS IN THE MORNING ON THE 13TH OF JULY, ONE IS IN THE EVENING ON THE 13TH OF JULY.
SO YOU CAN PICK THE HEARING THAT BEST FITS INTO YOUR SCHEDULE IF YOU WANT TO COME BEFORE A CITY COUNCIL AND EXPRESS YOUR OPINION ABOUT IT.
AND BELIEVE ME, CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION, CITY COUNCIL DOESN'T JUST RUBBER STAMP THESE, THESE PLANS QUITE OFTEN THERE IS SOME AMENDMENTS THAT COME THROUGH AND THEY'RE ADOPTED AND THEY'RE BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC.
SO IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT HAS A COMMENT THAT, UH, THEY WANNA MAKE TONIGHT? UH, YES MA'AM.
MY NAME IS MARIAN ROSS AND I'VE LIVED IN KINGWOOD FOR QUITE A WHILE.
AND IT'S NOT ABOUT DISTRICTING OR REDISTRICTING, IT'S ABOUT THE STREET LIGHT AT NORTH PARK AND THE 4 94 LOOP.
IT HAS TRAFFIC BACKED UP FOR SEVERAL MILES BECAUSE THE LIGHT IS NOT TIMED.
IT IS NOT REGULATED AND PEOPLE HAVE TO TURN AROUND TO FIND ANOTHER WAY OUT.
EITHER IF IT'S TRYING KINGWOOD DRIVE, WHICH CAN SOMETIMES BE BACKED UP, OR FORD ROAD, COULD SOMEONE PLEASE ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM? I, I THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT PRO.
I THINK THERE'S A GOOD TIME TO TRANSITION.
AND THAT'S JUST WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO SAY IT.
I THINK THAT WHAT I WANTED LIKE TO DO IS TO WRAP UP THE REDISTRICTING PART OF THIS PROGRAM AND CHANGE OVER TO THE PUBLIC WORKS PART OF THE PROGRAM SO THAT THE CIP CAN BE REVIEWED.
AND I REALLY WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT AND GIVING US AS FEEDBACK.
UH, YOU CAN GO TO, UM, IS IT WE TALK HOUSTON, IS THAT THE NAME OF IT?
[01:15:01]
I'M SORRY, THE WEBPAGE? YES.YEAH, IT'S UH, WWW DOT LET'S TALK HOUSTON.ORG/REDISTRICTING.
AND YOU CAN ENTER, UH, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT REDISTRICTING THROUGH THAT WEBPAGE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE 11 MORE OF THESE, UH, TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND OTHER SECTIONS OF TOWN ONE DONE IN CLEAR LAKE.
AND ALSO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VIRTUAL, UH, ONE WHICH WE'RE GONNA PUBLICIZE.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE ON THE 25TH OF MAY.
AND YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
AND YOU CAN COME TO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS AND EXPRESS YOUR OPINION AT THAT TIME.
AND I WOULD LOOK IN JUNE FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE PROPOSED MAPS.
AND YOU CAN HAVE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THAT YOU HAVE, IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT THAT YOU WANNA MAKE ABOUT IT.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I WANT TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO WHY DON'T YOU TURN IT OVER AND, AND COUNCILMAN MARTIN, WE'RE GONNA, AND WE'LL, WE'LL TRANSITION TO THE OTHER PART OF THE PROGRAM QUESTION.
SO WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION OVER TO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORK.
SO DUSTIN, WHEN WAS THAT? WHEN WE DID OUR, TWICE A YEAR, DUSTIN AND I DRIVE UP AND DOWN KINGWOOD DRIVE AND NORTH PARK DRIVE ON SYNCHRONIZATION OF LIGHTS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE BIGGEST ISSUE THAT WE HAVE.
AND FORTUNATELY, WE'RE GETTING READY TO START THE NORTH PARK EXPANSION PROJECT, WHICH, UH, HOPEFULLY WILL ELIMINATE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WITH STACKING.
SO IN THE MORNING WE START OFF, WE DO IT ABOUT 10 30 'CAUSE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF TRAFFIC.
AND WE START AT KINGWOOD DRIVE IN 4 94 AND WE START GOING THE SPEED LIMIT.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT WORKS JUST LIKE THAT.
BUT AT FIVE O'CLOCK OR FIVE 30, WHEN I COME HOME AND YOU TURN OFF A 4 94 FOR MY ROUTE ON KINGWOOD DRIVE, CARS START STACKING.
AND YOU DON'T GO 30 OR 35 OR 40 MILES AN HOUR WHEN THEY START STACKING, THAT THROWS OFF YOUR INDIVIDUAL PATTERN WITH THE LIGHT TIMING.
IF YOU GO THE SPEED LIMIT, AND WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME, WE REROUTE ALL THE, WE RECALCULATE THE RED LIGHTS TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE GOING 35 MILES AN HOUR, WHICH IS THE SPEED LIMIT, AND THERE ARE NO CARS ON KINGWOOD DRIVE, YOU'RE GONNA GO 35 AND YOU'RE GONNA HIT A GREEN AND YOU'RE GONNA GO TO THE NEXT ONE, HIT THE GREEN AND YOU'RE GONNA DO ALL, ALL THE WAY BACK TO FOREST GARDEN.
AND FAR BY DEERWOOD COUNTRY CLUB, ALL OF THOSE LIGHTS ARE SYNCHRONIZED TO THE SPEED LIMIT.
THE PROBLEM WE HAVE IN KINGWOOD, AS WE ALL KNOW, ESPECIALLY AT THREE O'CLOCK, WHEN THE KIDS GET OUTTA KINGWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, EVERYTHING STACKS.
AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SYNCHRONIZATION.
SO I'VE TALKED TO PUBLIC WORKS, THEY DON'T LIKE MY IDEA ABOUT THIS, BUT I'M LIKE, TURN KINGWOOD DRIVE ON GREEN AND GIVE THESE FOLKS ON THE SIDE STREETS 15 SECONDS TO GET THEIR CAR ONTO KINGWOOD DRIVE.
YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I LIVE ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK 'CAUSE THERE'S NO ONE THAT GETS STUCK IN TRAFFIC MORE THAN I DO.
SO ANYWAY, BUT THEY DON'T LIKE MY IDEA OF DOING IT OR THE ELEVATED OVERPASS DIRECTLY TO BLACKSTONE CREEK LANE IN THE BACK OF KINGWOOD WHERE I LIVE THAT WAY, I GET FROM 59 ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK.
BUT WE DO THE SYNCHRONIZATION ALL THE TIME.
THE PROBLEM WE HAVE IS ON KINGWOOD DRIVE.
WE HAD MONEY ALLOCATED TO REDO KINGWOOD DRIVE AND MOVE IT FROM FOUR LANES TO SIX LANES.
AND LITERALLY 50% OF THE PEOPLE SAY, DON'T TOUCH A TREE.
AND THE OTHER 50% SAY, LET'S GET THE TRAFFIC MOVING.
SO WE REALLOCATED THANKS TO MAYOR TURNER, THE ALLOTMENT OF MONEY AND PUT IT ON NORTH PARK BECAUSE NO ONE CARES ABOUT ANY TREES ON NORTH PARK BECAUSE THERE ARE NO TREES AS AN UGLY DITCH.
SO YOUR ROAD IS GONNA BE BETTER THAN KINGWOOD DRIVE IN THE PROBABLY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY I WON'T BE ABLE TO DO THE RIBBON CUTTING ON THE NEW ROAD.
AND NEITHER WILL MAYOR TURNER, BUT, UH, SOMEBODY ELSE WILL.
BUT THE LIGHT SYNCHRONIZATION, IF ANYBODY DOESN'T BELIEVE ME, I WILL GET 'EM IN MY CAR AT 10 30 AND WE'LL DO THE ROUTE ON KINGWOOD DRIVE IN NORTH PARK AND YOU'LL BECOME A BELIEVER BECAUSE I'M TALK TALKING TO THE PUBLIC WORKS GUYS AND LADIES.
AND I SAID, THERE IS NO WAY THAT THESE LIGHTS ARE SYNCHRONIZED.
AND THEY, BUT THE ONLY THING THAT THROWS US OFF OF THE, AS YOU SEE BACK HERE, BLINKING LIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER AND THE RAILROAD TRACKS, AND IT GETS IT OFF THE SYNCHRONIZATION, IT HAS TO POP BACK ON.
BUT TRUST ME, BELIEVE ME, EH, YOU WANNA GET IN THE CAR WITH ME? I'LL TAKE YOU ON THAT PATH AND YOU'LL SEE IF THERE ARE NO CARS, WE HIT THE SPEED LIMIT AND IT TURNS JUST AS IT'S SUPPOSED TO.
AND DUSTIN'S MY EYEWITNESS 'CAUSE HE IS BEEN DOING IT.
WE DO IT A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR BECAUSE MARCH, MARCH 7TH, WHAT'S THAT? MARCH 7TH? MARCH 7TH, WE DID IT BECAUSE I AM THE BIGGEST NAYSAYER OF ALL.
I'M LIKE, THERE'S NO WAY THAT, THAT THOSE LIGHTS ARE SYNCHRONIZED.
AND I'M ALWAYS PROVEN WRONG
SO, AND, AND YES, MUCH UNTIL YOU GET TO FOUR TO WHEN YOU GET TO
[01:20:01]
FOUR BY WENDY'S.UP BACK REST, BECAUSE I JUST DID IT TODAY.
I WENT ALL THE WAY FROM ALL THE WAY WE, WE YEAH.
ON THE WAY THOSE TWO LIGHTS ARE LEFT REALLY QUICKLY.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE RAILROAD
SO WE THINK YOU GOT PROBLEMS NOW.
YOU GOT NORTH SOUTH NOW THEY WANNA RUN A SOUTH NORTH, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF IT WITH THE NORTH PARK EXPANSION PROJECT.
SO ANYWAY, CIP WHO'S GOT THE, WHO'S GOING THROUGH, COME ON UP.
YOU CAN TAKE THE BOWS AND ARROWS.
SO MICHAEL'S GONNA LEAD US THROUGH A DISCUSSION ON CIP I'M GONNA GO IN THE BACK REAL QUICK TO ORGANIZE MY COMMENTS ON, UH, THE, THE TOPICS.
WE HAD A MEETING THIS MOR THIS AFTERNOON AT LAKE HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP, THE OLD LAKE HOUSTON CHAMBER.
AND WE WALKED THROUGH SOME OF THE THINGS ON DREDGING GATES, UH, SOME OF THE CHANNELS THAT WE'RE DOING WORK ON.
AND UM, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE STAYING FOR A LITTLE BIT OR HEADING OUT OR WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, BUT, UM, A LOT OF THE, AND I'LL GET TO, I'LL, I'LL TALK REAL QUICKLY.
LET ME DO A QUICK ASIDE BEFORE HE LEADS, IS THAT ON THE GATE PROJECT? OKAY.
WE WILL SHOW YOU SOME THINGS ON THE GATE PROJECT, BUT, UH, WEEK AGO, CAROL HADDOCK, STEVEN COSTELLO HAD A MEETING WITH THE MAYOR, AND, UH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE INFAMOUS BC RATIO BENEFIT TO COST RATIO, WHICH IS DRIVEN BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
BUT THE, WE HAD, WE WANTED TO STUDY ANOTHER OPTION THAT MAY GIVE US A MORE FAVORABLE BC RATIO THAT FITS IN THE TIMELINE WITH WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO RIGHT NOW.
AND YOU'LL SEE IT CLEARLY WHEN I SHOW THE PICTURES.
AND, UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR THAT, OKAY? BECAUSE THE FEMA FUNDS ARE COMING FOR, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO MULTIPLE TYPES OF DESIGNS.
SO WE WENT INTO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND THE MAYOR GRANTED US THE MONEY AND HE SAID, I WANT THIS FIXED.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS.
AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY HE DOES THINGS.
I, YOU KNOW, I SAID IN MY OPENING COMMENTS, UM, HE'S AN UNBELIEVABLE MAYOR.
I DON'T CARE WHO THE NEXT MAYOR IS.
THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO THE HOURS THAT THIS GUY DOES BECAUSE I SEE IT AND HE'S GOING OUT OF TOWN NEXT WEEK TO DC AND I GOTTA LIVE THOSE CRAZY HOURS AND THEY'RE NUTS.
HE'S VERY FAIR IN WHAT HE DOES.
YES, I DID AS WELL, BUT A LOT OF US DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT.
THANK YOU FOR DOING WHOEVER YOU VOTED FOR, BUT HE NEVER ONCE BRINGS THAT UP WITH US.
AND IT NEVER ONCE SAYS, DAVE, I'M NOT GIVING YOU THE MONEY BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR ME.
I I'M NOT GONNA GO THERE WITH PREVIOUS MAYORS.
BUT ANYWAY, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM MAYOR TO MAYOR.
BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.
THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE IDEA, THE OPTION TO EXPLORE ANOTHER ITERATION WORKING WITH BLACK AND VEATCH AND FREEZING NICHOLS.
UH, I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD IDEA.
UH, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH TOM RAMSEY, COLONEL VALE WITH THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS.
WE HAD A MEETING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
I WAS WITH DAN HUBERTY AND, UH, CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, UH, THIS MORNING, AND WE MET ABOUT THAT.
SO, UH, I MEET HIM, I MEET WITH KARIN MIO TOO MANY TIMES, UH, WITH CRENSHAW'S OFFICE.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S COMING TO A GOOD CONCLUSION.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT A COUPLE OF VARIABLES TO MAKE SURE WE CAN FIT WITHIN THE PROJECT SCOPE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, NO MATTER WHAT WE THINK, YOU THINK ABOUT THE DAM, WE GOT $50 MILLION AT FIRST.
THEY CAME BACK WITH LIKE SIX OPTIONS, $300 MILLION.
AND WE SAT NO GUYS, WE HAVE 50 MILLION.
OH, BY THE WAY, THIS DAM WAS BUILT IN 1954, I BELIEVE IT WAS.
SO, YOU KNOW, FROM A BUSINESS RISK STANDPOINT, UH, ENGINEERS, WE HAVE ANY ENGINEERS IN THE AUDIENCE.
OKAY, SO YOU GO AWAY AND CHIP CEMENT OFF OF AN EXISTING STRUCTURE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1950.
HOW WOULD YOUR BUSINESS LIKE TO DO THAT WORK? AND DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT FROM A BUSINESS RISK STANDPOINT? NO, YOU'RE SHAKING YOUR HEAD.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TO WORK THROUGH.
[01:25:01]
MAN'S HELP, HE'S GIVEN US THE FUNDS AND THE ABILITY.AND STEVE COSTELLO, WHO WORKS FOR THE MAYOR, UH, I'M IN HIS OFFICE PROBABLY SIX HOURS EVERY DAY WORKING ON A LOT OF THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND, UH, AND THE MAYOR GIVES US THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS BEFORE YOU LEAVE, BUT I ALWAYS SAY THIS, I LOVE YOU, SIR.
YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO ME AND MY FAMILY.
YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO CLEAR LAKE, YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO SOUTH BELT ELLINGTON.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE WORKING AT YOUR SIDE AND WORKING WITH GUYS LIKE MICHAEL AND WITH ANDY AND ALL THE FOLKS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I I HAVE A YEAR AND A HALF LEFT.
YOU WANT TO PULL IN THE SIDE RIGHT NOW? NO, WE'LL WAIT, I'LL GIVE THE MAYOR THE LAST MINUTE, BUT YEAH, GET 'EM READY.
I HAVE A YEAR AND A LAUGH, A HALF LEFT.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF STUFF DONE IN THAT YEAR AND A HALF.
AND THEN I'M READY FOR THE NEXT PERSON, MAN, WOMAN, CHILD, TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND TAKE ON THIS JOURNEY BECAUSE IT'S A GUT WRENCHING 24 7 HOUR A DAY JOB THAT I ACTUALLY LOVE.
AND I LOVE WORKING WITH MAYOR TURNER BECAUSE HE'S BEEN GOOD TO ME PERSONALLY.
YOU KNOW, I'M A REPUBLICAN MAYOR, YOU'RE GONNA GET A REPUBLICAN.
IS YOUR MAYOR PRO TEM? ARE YOU NUTS? MARTIN ARGUES WITH YOU MORE THAN ANYONE AROUND HERE.
ARE YOU CRAZY? BUT HE PUT TRUST IN ME.
DON'T TELL SALLY ALCORN, WE'VE BENEFITED BY ME BEING IN HIS OFFICE EVERY DAY.
UH, AND, UH, IT'S BEEN AN, IT'S BEEN AN UNBELIEVABLE JOURNEY AND, UH, I CAN'T WAIT TO, UH, TO SEE THE FINISHED PRODUCTS OF IT.
AND THEN WITH THAT, I'LL GIVE YOU THE LAST COUPLE MINUTES BEFORE WE TURN IT OVER TO MIKEY AND GET, AND GET TO THE REAL PART.
YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING FROM, UM, FROM MICHAEL RETI, UH, VERY SOON ON, ON THE PUBLIC PROJECTS.
AND SO I'M NOT GONNA TAKE VERY LONG.
UH, YOUR YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER, MAYOR PORT TIM HAS BEEN VERY GRACIOUS, GRACIOUS WITH HIS COMMENTS.
UH, LEMME SAY IT'S ALL ABOUT RESULTS AND IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN, UH, GETTING THINGS DONE.
UH, WE WANT TO BUILD A MORE RESILIENT, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY, UH, WHERE WE ARE MITIGATING THE RISK OF FUTURE FLOODING EVENTS.
AND THE DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPENDED IS TO MITIGATE THE RISK TO FUTURE FLOODING.
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE'S HOMES FLOODED.
WE DON'T WANT THE BUSINESSES FLOODED, AND WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO BE LOOKING OUT AND SEEING THE GREAT CLOUDS AND THEN NERVOUS WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN GO TO BED AND SLEEP AT NIGHT OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GONNA WAKE UP IN A WHOLE LOT OF WATER.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO DO.
AND, UH, SO, UH, I WILL SAY YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER, WHOEVER'S GONNA COME BEHIND, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM IS REALLY GONNA HAVE TO GO SOME, OKAY? UH, BECAUSE HE IS VERY DETAILED, VERY HANDS ON.
AND MUCH OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED, UH, FOR KING WOOD, FOR CLEAR LAKE, FOR DISTRICT E HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF, UH, OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MARTIN.
GOD IS, UH, GOD HAS BLESSED THE CITY.
SO WE GONNA DO THE SLIDES? YEAH, HE, HE, MATT IS MATT IS MATT IS, IS GOOD.
BUT MATT, MATT IS VERY, VERY GOOD.
OKAY, I'M GONNA STOP AND LET ME APOLOGIZE.
UM, MY DAUGHTER JUST GOT MARRIED, UH, THREE WEEKS AGO AND I'M PLANNING SOMETHING FOR THIS, FOR THIS EVENING.
UM, UM, I'LL PROMISE I'LL MAKE THIS VERY SHORT.
UH, I KNOW TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
UH, WE'LL DISCUSS A LITTLE INFRASTRUCTURE HIGHLIGHTS, AN IMPORTANT TOOL TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY UPDATED, UH, AND PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITHIN KINGWOOD.
SO THE FIRST ONE IS THE SLIDE THAT I HAVE HERE FOR THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT.
UH, THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT IS LISTED HERE.
IT'S, UH, VERY DETAILED OF WHAT HAS BEEN DONE WITH THE MONEY THAT HAS COME.
AND ALSO THEY DO HAVE A SURVEY OF ABOUT 22 QUESTIONS.
SO THEY WANT EVERYBODY TO GO AND, AND FILL THAT OUT.
OKAY, THAT'S THE PUBLIC NOTICE ANNOUNCEMENT.
[01:30:02]
ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE.SO BUILD YOUR STEM FORWARD IS A CITY'S PROGRAM TO ENHANCE, IMPROVE, AND MAINTAIN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WITHOUT ACCRUING ANY ADDITIONAL DEBT.
UH, WE USE THREE PRINCIPLE, UH, ACTIVITIES, REPAIR, REHABILITATE, AND RECONSTRUCT TO BUILD YOU SOME.
FORWARD REPAIR INCLUDES STANDARD OPERATION MAINTENANCE, MOWING, DITCH, PATCHING, POTHOLES, AND CLEARING.
DID, UH, STORM LINES, MANY, IF NOT OF ALL THE 3 1 1 CALLS IS WHAT WE CALL REPAIR.
IT'S KIND OF DUCT TAPE ENGINEERING.
JUST MAKE IT WORK AGAIN, UH, BECAUSE WE WANT TO KEEP OUR INFRASTRUCTURE UP.
UH, THAT'S FUNDED BY PEOPLE TYPICALLY, UH, THROUGH THE CIP AND THE REHABILITATE IS EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, A LITTLE BIT LONGER IN THE FIVE TO 10 YEARS AND REPEATEDLY, UH, GETTING IT BETTER.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE, UH, LOCAL DRAINAGE PROJECTS, THE MAYOR STREET REHABILITATION INITIATIVE AND INTERSECTION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.
RECONSTRUCTION IS WHEN WE JUST CANNOT REPAIR IT OR RE REHABILITATE IT.
WE WILL REPLACE IT AND THAT TAKES A LOT MORE TIME AND A LOT MORE MONEY AS WELL.
UM, SO I WILL GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES OF REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION THAT HAS BEEN DONE SINCE WE MET THE LAST CIP NEXT SLIDE.
SO THE WESTLAKE HOUSTON PARKWAY BRIDGE, YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T NOTICE IT, BUT, UH, WE DID THIS DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE KIND OF TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE LOW TRAFFIC, SO WE WORKED ON BOTH ENDS AT THE SAME TIME.
UH, THE, THE BRIDGE WAS IMPACTED BY HARVEY, UM, AND THIS PROJECT HELPED ENSURE THAT CAN WITHSTAND ANY FUTURE SIGNIFICANT STORMS. IT WAS ABOUT 4.5 MILLION PROJECT INSTALLED, FOUR BRIDGE SUPPORTS AT THE NORTH END AND THE SOUTH SIDE.
WE REPLACED BRIDGE COMPONENTS UNDER BOTH BRIDGES AND REPLACED DECK JOINTS ALONG THE SOUTHBOUND BRIDGE.
WE NOTE A LITTLE NOTE, WE DID GET AN AWARD THIS AS A, UH, A YEAR, THE TEXAS YEAR FOR STRUCTURE WITH AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS AND ASSOCIATION.
UH, THE NEXT PROJECT IS MAGNOLIA POINT WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENT.
WE COMPLETED THIS, UH, HOMES WITH LAKE HOUSTON, A WASH WATERSHED WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, CURRENTLY INDIVIDUAL SEPTIC SYSTEMS. THIS IS PART OF THE TEXAS HOUSE BUILD.
27 14, WE INSTALLED MORE THAN 20,000 LINEAR FEET OF WASTEWATER LINES WITH STORM UPGRADES.
THE 10 $10 MILLION PROJECT ELIMINATED THE NEED FOR SEPTIC TANKS AND HOLDING TANKS.
SO THE NEXT ONE IS, I, I TOOK THIS SLIDE.
THE PICTURE YOU SEE IS DIRECTLY S SNAPSHOT FROM BUILT HOUSTON.ORG.
SO WE DO HAVE ALL OUR REHABILITATION PROJECTS.
SO ALL THESE GREEN DOTS THAT YOU SEE ARE STORM DRAIN IMPROVEMENTS OF REHABILITATION.
THESE ARE SMALL SCALE PROJECTS, BUT VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
THESE ARE, UH, OUTFALLS MOST OF THE TIME.
THIS IS WHERE THEIR LOCALIZED PROBLEMS ARE.
AND, UH, THE, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE STREETS THAT WE WORKED ON HERE AS MARKET STREET, FEDERAL AND INDUSTRIAL ROADS.
THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS DRAINAGE ISSUES ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
UH, AGAIN, YOU CAN GO TO BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD.ORG AND LOOK AT THOSE, UH, WHAT WE HAVE DONE.
THIS ONE IS, UH, THERE ARE TWO STREET REHABILITATION HAPPENING THIS YEAR.
UH, THESE ARE THE YELLOW DOTS ON THE, ON THE MAP IF YOU GO ON THAT WEBSITE.
UH, SO THIS, THIS IS UM, UH, MAJOR THOROUGHFARE AND LOCAL STREET RESURFACING PROJECTS ONGOING ACROSS DISTRICT E.
THERE IS A PORTION OF THIS WHERE THE COUNCIL MEMBER ACTUALLY HAS AN INPUT, UM, ABOUT 2% OF THE STREETS TO BE RESURFACED.
UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING IS A CRESCENT SPRING DRIVE AREA FOR LOCAL STREETS.
HUFFMAN CLEVELAND, UM, ROAD FROM PLANTATION HILL DRIVE TO MAGNOLIA POINT DRIVE IS ALSO THERE.
SO THESE ARE THE YELLOW DOTS OF FOR REHABILITATION.
SO WHEN WE HAVE LARGE PROJECTS, NOW WE USE THIS THING CALLED ENGAGE HOUSTON, ANOTHER KEY WEBSITE TO GET IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PROJECTS IN YOUR AREA.
[01:35:01]
SPECIFIC INFORMATION, WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.WE HAVE NOTE CARDS WITH THE QR CARD THAT LOOK LIKE THIS AT THE TABLE THERE.
SO IF YOU WANT TO, YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET ONTO THE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY LARGE SIZE PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITHIN DISTRICT E, UM, AND HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TABLE.
UH, THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE TO ANSWER ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON THOSE DOTS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
THEY HAVE THE TABLES THERE AND THANK YOU.
AND THEN QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT SIDE OF IT? I'M GONNA GET ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
YEAH,
SO AGAIN, HEY MATT, YOU KNOW, WE COULDN'T BE HERE, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU AND WHAT RUSS DID AND UH, OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS.
SO REALLY THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, THE LADY WHO HAD THE QUESTION ON THE DOCKS, IS SHE STILL HERE? YES.
HEY, UM, GOOD NEWS IS WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA DO IT.
BAD NEWS IS YOU'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF YOUR NEIGHBORS THAT ARE NOT GONNA BE HAPPY WITH US.
AND THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE WE STARTED ANALYZING IT.
AND SO WE'RE GETTING READY TO START IN ROGERS GULLY.
IS ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE TASK? CASITA WALDEN ON ATAS CAA ON LAKE HOUSTON GOLF COURSE.
IT'S WHERE WHOLE NUMBER 18 IS.
YOU TEE OFF ON ONE SIDE OF THE TRIBUTARY ROGERS GULLY AND THE GREENS ON THE OTHER SIDE AND SITTING RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE.
IF YOU HIT A GOLF BALL BAD LIKE I DO AND IT HITS THE MUD, IT MIGHT SKIP ALL THE WAY ACROSS 'CAUSE IT'S SOLID MUD THERE.
AND IT'S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS BECAUSE OF SEDIMENT THAT'S BEEN INVOLVED THERE.
WHAT THIS LADY WAS REFERRING TO WITHIN SOME OF THOSE AREAS OFF OF THE LAKE, THEY HAVE WHAT WE CALL FINGERS, FINGERS OFF OF THE LAKE THAT HAVE LITTLE TRIBUTARIES, I'LL CALL 'EM CANALS THAT HAVE HOUSES WITH DECKS THAT ARE RIGHT THERE.
SO YOU CAN'T JUST GO IN THERE AND START MOVING MUD BECAUSE WHAT YOU MAY DO IS COMPROMISE THE INTEGRITY OF THAT DAM BECAUSE IT'S BEING HELD UP BY A LOT OF THAT MUD THAT'S AROUND THERE.
SO I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT I'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT IT.
WE'RE GONNA LEAVE IT UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL HOMEOWNERS TO FIGURE IT OUT.
I'LL TELL COSTELLO THAT TOMORROW I WASN'T HAPPY WITH IT BECAUSE SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT I MET WITH OUT THERE WERE LIKE, GET, YOU KNOW, CLEAN IT OUT AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN.
BUT IT BECAME AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK FOR US TO DO BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA RUIN YOUR DECK THAT YOU SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON.
SO WE'RE GONNA ATTACK ROGERS GULLY THAT WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE $50 MILLION THAT WAS DEDICATED THROUGH WHAT DAN HUBERTY DID IN THE, IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE IN 2020.
AND HE WAS ABLE TO ATTACH SOME OF THAT MONEY ONTO THE BACK END OF A BILL THAT HE WORKED WITH A DEMOCRAT BY THE NAME OF ARMANDO WALLY.
I SAW ARMANDO LAST NIGHT AT THE ASTROS GAME AND I THANKED HIM FOR DOING THAT FOR US.
A DEMOCRAT WORKING WITH A REPUBLICAN.
AND I SAID, I WANT ANOTHER 50 MILLION PLUS ANOTHER 50.
AND ALSO AT THE MEETING THIS MORNING, SENATOR JOHN WHITMEYER WAS AT THE MEETING AND I TALKED TO JOHN ABOUT HELPING US THROUGH THIS NEXT SESSION BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? HE WANTS TO BE THE NEXT MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
BUT I'M GONNA CATCH HIM BEFORE HE STARTS RUNNING FOR MAYOR WHEN THEY START IN SESSION IN 2023 AND I'M GONNA GET MORE MONEY OR WE'RE GONNA GET MORE MONEY FROM JOHN BECAUSE HE PLEDGED TO HELP US.
SO GO TO THE TIMELINE OF THE DAM AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE DAM STRUCTURE.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROJECT SCHEDULE, THIS ISN'T SOMETHING WE THREW TOGETHER TODAY.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOW AT EVERY MEETING.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU WILL SEE THE TIMELINE FOR THE DAM STRUCTURE AND EVERYTHING AS TOM BRO BROAD FROM THE TRIBUNE IS A DEAR FRIEND OF MINE.
HE IS ON THE TAX INCREMENT AND REINVESTMENT ZONE TOURS.
HE SAID THAT THE PROJECT IS ON HOLD.
WELL IF IT WAS ON HOLD, I WOULDN'T HAVE MET WITH TOM RAMSEY AND COLONEL TIM VEIL WITH THE CORPS, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS THREE WEEKS AGO TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT THAT WE NEEDED HELP WITH WITH THE CORPS.
UH, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD MEETINGS YESTERDAY WITH BLACK AND VEATCH, FREEZING NICHOLS.
WHO ELSE WAS ON THERE? STEVE COSTELLO AND COSTELLO TO TALK ABOUT, UH, AN OPTION THAT I HAD.
SO, UH, DIANE WAS VERY INVOLVED IN THIS FROM DAY ONE.
UH, WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE DAM AND I MET WITH THE GENTLEMAN WHOSE NAME IS WAYNE CLOTS, WHO HEADS UP THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY CWA.
AND WE HAD LUNCH AT LAG GLIA AND I SAID, WAYNE, I HAVE AN IDEA.
[01:40:01]
THAT CAN RELEASE WATER JUST AS RAPIDLY AS THE SJRA SENT TO US.AND HE LAUGHED AT ME AND HE SAID, AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN, YOU'LL NEVER GET IT DONE.
SO FAST FORWARD TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, AND WAYNE KLOTZ IS STILL RIGHT.
ANDY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY.
AND GUESS WHO HIS PARTNER WAS WHEN HE RAN THE ENGINEERING FIRM? TOM RAMSEY.
GUESS WHO WAS OUR NEW COMMISSIONER? TOM RAMSEY.
GUESS WHO'S A BIG, HUGE PROPONENT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, TOM RAMSEY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE GUIDELINES, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE, AS I SAY, IT'S CURRENTLY IN THE DESIGN PHASE.
FINAL DESIGN IS EXPECTED TO BE IN QUARTER THREE OF THIS YEAR.
PROJECT'S GONNA GO OUT TO BID LATE QUARTER FOUR OF 2022 THIS YEAR, OR FIRST QUARTER OF 2023 IN THE CONSTRUCTION TO BE STARTED SOMETIME IN EARLY 2023, HOPEFULLY Q1, BEGINNING OF Q2.
THIS TIMELINE HAS NEVER CHANGED.
THE GENTLEMAN FROM BLACK AND VEATCH, CHRIS, I FORGOT, HE'S A PHD, UH, CAME AND TALKED TO US ABOUT IT AND IT STILL CONTINUES TODAY.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THE TIMELINE, PEOPLE SAY THE TIMELINE HAS CHANGED OR IT'S HALTED OR WHATEVER, THIS IS A TRUE STORY.
NOW I'M GONNA LET SOME INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING.
SO REMEMBER WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE OR TURN WHAT WE HAVE AS A WATER RESERVOIR DAM THAT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO RELEASE WATER.
THE ONLY WAY YOU RELEASE IS WHEN IT COMES OVER THE TOP.
YEAH, WE HAVE THESE FOUR SMALL TANER GATES AND ALL SORTS OF GATES IN THE DAM, BUT THEY WERE NEVER MEANT TO OPEN.
SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS IN 2018, IT WAS THIS TIME OF THE YEAR IN 2018 BECAUSE I'LL REMEMBER IT LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY.
IT WAS EASTER WEEK, IT WAS HOLY WEEK.
AND DAN HUBERTY AND I GOT TOGETHER BE BECAUSE WE SAW A BAD STORM COMING.
AND I WENT TO THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, CAROL HADDOCK, AND SAID, I WANT TO OPEN UP THE GATES, UH, ON MONDAY IN ANTICIPATION OF A RAIN EVENT THAT'S COMING ON THURSDAY.
SO THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY WAS A BIG VOTE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN WHICH WE WERE GONNA CHANGE THE ELEVATION STANDARDS TO BUILD TWO FEET ABOVE THE 500 YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
AND THE VOTE WAS TIED EIGHT TO EIGHT BECAUSE I MISSED ONE OF THE MEETINGS.
AND GUESS WHO WAS A SWING VOTE? YOU'RE LOOKING AT 'EM.
SO I KNEW I WAS IN THE CATBIRD SEAT.
SO ON HOLY WEDNESDAY, I'LL NEVER FORGET, OKAY? I TALKED TO THE MAYOR AND I SAID, MAYOR CAROL WON'T RELEASE THE WATER.
I WANT YOU TO RELEASE THE WATER AND IN TURN I'M GONNA GIVE YOU MY VOTE ON RAISING THE ELEVATION STANDARDS.
RIGHT MATT? TWO FEET ABOVE THE 500 YEAR PLANE.
OKAY, WHY DID I DO THAT? AND MY SPEECH WAS, I REALLY DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I CARE ABOUT THE DISTRICT I REPRESENT.
AND THAT'S KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE.
THE BUILDING STANDARDS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH KINGWOOD AND CLEAR LAKE.
WHY? BECAUSE WE'RE PRETTY MUCH BUILT OUT.
THOSE ARE FOR AREAS THAT ARE DOING TEAR DOWNS AND REBUILDS OR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE DIDN'T AT THAT TIME HAVE A LOT OF NEW CONSTRUCTION IN BOTH OF THESE AREAS.
SO IT REALLY, THIS ELEVATION STANDARD WAS NOT GONNA REALLY AFFECT US IN MANY, MANY WAYS.
SO I SAID, MAYOR, I WANT THESE FIVE PROJECTS.
NUMBER ONE ON MY LIST WAS PRE-RELEASE IN THE WATER AND I HAD A COUPLE OF OTHER ONES AND THEN I HAD TWO FOR CLEAR LAKE AND ONE FOR THAT FORGOTTEN AREA IN THE MIDDLE.
AND HE SAID, OKAY, I'LL CALL YOU TONIGHT AND LET YOU KNOW.
THIS WAS BEFORE THE MEETING ON WEDNESDAY.
AND HE CALLED ME THAT NIGHT AND HE SAID, YOU GOT 'EM, YOU GOT ALL FIVE PROJECTS.
I SAID, OKAY, MY VOTE WILL BE IN FAVOR OF RAISING THE BILL BUILDING STANDARDS.
SO EVER SINCE THEN WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, AS I CALL IT, ON A GOOD MOMENT, I CALL IT THE DAM.
WHEN I CALL IT A BAD MOMENT, I CALL IT THE DAM 'CAUSE IT IS A DAM AND IT JUST DRIVE ME NUTS.
SO GO TO THE THE, OKAY, YOU'RE AHEAD OF ME.
SO WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS STUDIED WAS OPTIONS FOUR B FOUR A IS OUR OPTION THAT BLACK AND VEATCH HAS BEEN STUDYING FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IS YOU'RE GONNA CREATE FLOW CAPACITY.
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT GATES, MOVE YOUR MIND OFF OF TALKING ABOUT GATES AND TALK ABOUT DISCHARGE THROUGH THE GATES BECAUSE WE CAN BUILD THE GATES DIFFERENT SIZES.
SO A SMALLER GATE LIKE WE HAVE ON LAKE HOUSTON, A RETAINER GATE CAN ONLY RELEASE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF
[01:45:01]
CFS PER SECOND.OKAY? BUT WHEN YOU BUILD THEM A LITTLE BIT BIGGER, THE LARGER GATES HAVE THE ABILITY TO DISCHARGE MORE WATER.
THE PROBLEM WE'RE HAVING IS THIS THING CALLED THE BENEFIT TO COST RATIO.
THAT'S DICTATED BY THE 1978 STAFFORD ACT.
OKAY? AND IN 1978, WE DON'T HAVE THE TORNADOES AND THE STORMS AND THE CLIMATE CHANGE IF YOU WANT TO CALL THAT, THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
WHICH MY ARGUMENT TO FEMA IS ALWAYS ABOUT IS YOU USING STANDARDS THAT WERE DEVELOPED IN 1978.
WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO DO THIS WITH A BENEFIT COST RATIO, WHAT THEY'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT IS THE DISCHARGE RATE THAT'S GONNA GO DOWNSTREAM FROM US SO THAT WE DON'T DO THE SAME DARN THING THAT WE ACCUSE THE SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY OF.
AND THAT IS HOLDING THE WATER, HOLDING THE WATER, HOLDING THE WATER.
OPEN THEM UP WIDE AND FLUSH IT DOWN.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS ACTUALLY HURTING US AS WE TALKED YESTERDAY WAS OUR PRE-RELEASE STRATEGY.
'CAUSE I HAVE THE DATA THAT WILL SHOW YOU THAT WE'VE PRE-RELEASED, PROBABLY, I WANNA SAY CLOSE TO 20 TIMES ALL EFFECTIVELY, RIGHT? FOR THE MOST PART.
NOW, SOMETIMES WE MISSED IT BECAUSE THE RAIN DOESN'T COME, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS REFILL THE WATER BY CALLING LAKE WATER FROM CONROE AND BY GETTING IT BACK INTO LAKE HOUSTON, WHICH SUPPLIES DRINKING WATER TO EVERYONE ACROSS THE REGION, NOT THE CITY BUT THE REGION.
SO THE THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING IS THAT THEY DON'T WANT US TO DISCHARGE WATER AT A RAPID RATE AT THE LAST MINUTE.
SO THEY BUILD THAT INTO THEIR BENEFIT TO COST METHOD, WHICH HURTS OUR DOWNSTREAM FLOW.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS THE BUSINESS RISK SIDE OF IT.
SO FOR $50 MILLION, YOU'RE GONNA ADD GATES ONTO THIS EXISTING STRUCTURE.
AND WHAT YOU'RE BASICALLY GONNA DO IS GET A JACKHAMMER AND START CONCRETE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY STRUCTURE UNDERNEATH OTHER THAN THE EARTH, OKAY? THERE'S NO POLLENS, THERE'S NOTHING THAT HAS THE STABILITY OF MOST OF THESE DAMS THAT YOU SEE TODAY.
SO WHAT WORRIES THE CONTRACTORS? WHAT WORRIES BLACK AND VEATCH IS NUMBER ONE, HOW MUCH IS THAT GONNA COST? WILL IT FIT WITHIN THE $50 MILLION BUCKET THAT YOU ONLY HAVE? WE DON'T HAVE 51, WE HAVE 50.
WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF THAT ALREADY, AL ALREADY.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS WE'RE GONNA DO THE FINAL DESIGN, THEN THEY'RE GONNA DO THE BC RATIO.
I'VE TALKED TO THE CORE OF ENGINEERS, THEY'RE TRYING TO HELP US WITH IT.
UH, I'M STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT WITH FEMA AND MAYBE WE CAN GET DAN CRENSHAW TO JUMP IN.
UM, JESSICA WAS AT THIS MEETING WHEN CRENSHAW, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE INFAMOUS DREDGING OF THE MOUTH BAR OF WHICH WE'VE ALREADY REMOVED IN THE LAKE AND IN THE RIVER, OVER 4 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF SAND AND SEDIMENT IN THE RIVER AND IN THE LAKE.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO MORE.
AND WHEN WE HAD THAT MEETING WITH THE ARMY CORPS, WHEN WE HAD THIS 96 PAGE REPORT THAT WAS FILLED WITH ANALYTICS, TRIC DATA, CORE SAMPLES, AND THE ARMY CA CORE HAD THEIR SIX PAGE TABLETOP OBSERVATION.
MATT, YOU'LL GET A KICK OUT OF THIS.
AND THE ARMY CORPS SAID OUR METHOD, WE, OUR TABLETOP OBSERVATION WAS US TAKING A BARGE OUT TO THE WATER AND LOOKING AT EVERYTHING AND SAYING, THIS WASN'T CAUSED FROM HARVEY, THEREFORE YOU GET NO MORE STAFFORD ACT DOLLARS.
AND TO THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CREDIT, WE PROTESTED IT ALL THE WAY UP TO WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON.
AND WE GOT ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS WORTH, I MEAN 1 MILLION CUBIC YARD THAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO TAKE OVER TO TAKE OUTTA THAT AREA ON THE WEST FORK TO GO ALONG WITH THE MOUTH BAR AND THE EAST FORK AND ALL THE AREAS THAT WE DID.
BUT TO GET BACK ON POINT, UH, I CAN'T WAIT FOR CRENSHAW TO GET WITH FEMA.
'CAUSE HIS FAMOUS LINE TO THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER WAS WHEN HE LOOKED AT HIM AND HE SAW WHAT WE PRESENTED AND THEY PRESENTED.
SO HE LOOKED AT THE CORPS AND SAID, IN TYPICAL NAVY SEAL FASHION.
SO YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'RE WILLING TO DIE ON THAT HILL? AND BY THAT HE MEANS, SO YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'RE GONNA RISK YOUR LIFE ON THAT SIX PAGE REPORT.
AND THAT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
SO I CAN'T WAIT FOR DAN TO HELP US WITH FEMA IN THEIR BC RATIO TO SEE IF HE COMES UP WITH, SO YOU'RE WILLING TO DIE ON THAT HILL BECAUSE WHEN WE PRE-RELEASE THE WATER, WE'RE SHOWING THE DATA THAT WE TAKE IT, THE WATER SITS AT 42 AND A HALF FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL AND WE TAKE IT DOWN SOMETIMES TO
[01:50:01]
38 AND A HALF.SO THAT'S FOUR FEET OF WATER HOLY WEEK.
WE TOOK IT DOWN TO ABOUT THEN AND OVER THE COURSE OF THAT WEEK WE SAW THE LAKE WITH RAIN REFILL UP TO A POINT THAT IT GOT TO, I FORGOT WHAT THE FIGURE WAS, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT FOUR FEET OF MARGIN THAT WE PULLED THE LAKE DOWN, WE WOULD'VE HAD SIGNIFICANT IN FLOODING IN LOW AREAS OF FOREST COVE, ATAS, ACEA, AND KINGWOOD.
HAD WE NOT BEEN PROACTIVE IN RELEASING WATER.
SO THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE THE DATA THAT THE FEMA IS LOOKING AT IS THAT YOU'VE ONLY FLOODED ONE TIME AND IT WAS DUE TO HARVEY.
AND I TELL 'EM, WELL, WE FLOODED IN 96 AND THAT WASN'T HARVEY AND WE FLOODED IN 2017.
BUT THE REASON WHY WE'RE NOT FLOODING IS BECAUSE WE'RE MANAGING THE OPERATIONS OF THAT DAM IN A SYSTEM THAT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO RERE PRE-RELEASE WATER STRATEGICALLY AND THEN LET MOTHER NATURE REFILL IT.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS WE'VE GOTTEN SOME INDICATIONS THAT THE BC RATIO, IT, IT, IT SHOULD BE ONE, BUT YOU HAVE, YOU CAN ADD IN WHAT'S CALLED SOCIAL BENEFITS AND THE BC RATIO DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ONE, IT COULD BE 0.75.
SO WE HAVE THE SOCIAL BENEFITS ALL LAID OUT FOR EVERYBODY.
SO IF WE CAN GET IT TO 0.75 AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THIS RIGHT NOW, WE'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO FOUR B ONE ONE B, I'M SORRY.
I'M GOING TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGN FOUR B, RIGHT? FOUR A FOUR A I ALWAYS GET THEM CONFUSED.
FOUR A, WE'LL HAVE THE BC RATIO FOR FOUR A TO MATCH THE DESIGN AND WE'RE OFF AND RUNNING.
SO DAVE MARTIN'S THINKING, OKAY, LET ME DO A WHAT IF, WHAT IF WE DON'T GET A FAVORABLE BC RATIO? WHAT IF WE CAN'T GET FEMA TO SEE OUR SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT? SO THAT'S WHY I MET WITH TOM RAMSEY, COLONEL VALE WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND I SAID, HEY, WHAT IF, WHAT IF WE IDENTIFIED ANOTHER OPTION WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO CHIP AWAY AND WE CAN JUST ADD GATES AND THAT'S ONE B OR A JUST ONE B, THAT'S OPTION ONE B.
SO WE'RE STUDYING OPTION ONE B.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THE FEMA MONEY THAT WE HAVE ONLY GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY AND DESIGN ONE.
THAT'S WHEN I POINTED TO THE MAYOR BECAUSE WE MET WITH HIM AND SAID, MAYOR, WE NEED MORE MONEY TO DO THE DESIGN, TO DO THE CONCEPTUALS FOR THIS OTHER OPTION.
AND THEN WE'LL PLAY 'EM AGAINST EACH OTHER AND SEE WHICH PATH WE GO DOWN.
IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THEY ALREADY HAVE A BUILT IN CHANNEL RIGHT THERE, DON'T THEY? UM, I THOUGHT OPTION TWO ON THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER OPTION TO STUDY.
BUT THEY HAVE SO MANY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO CONFRONT THAT IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE BECAUSE YOU THEN CAN'T, YOU HAVE TO BUILD WHAT'S CALLED A COFFER DAM BEFORE YOU BUILD THE EXISTING DAM.
SO THIS THING IS, I KNOW MANY LADIES IN THIS AUDIENCE, BIRTH BABIES, BUT MAN THIS IS AS COMPLICATED AS BIRTHING A BABY BECAUSE IT'S SO TIME CONSUMING AND YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO WE'RE STUDYING AND WE'RE PREPARING FOR BOTH OF THOSE OPTIONS.
AND THEN WE'LL WORK WITH BLACK AND VEATCH AND SEE WHAT THEY COME BACK WITH COST-WISE.
SO WE'VE ALREADY ALERTED THE STATE OF TEXAS SENATE AND THE STATE OF TEXAS HOUSE, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT THAT WE MIGHT BE COMING BACK ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS IF WE NEED THEM.
AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENED.
MAYBE, UH, UH, WE SUBMITTED AN APPROPRIATION, WHEN WAS THAT LAST WEEK? UH, CONGRESSMAN CRENSHAW.
THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE, UM, WHAT'S IT CALLED AGAIN? THAT THEY ATTACH EARMARKING.
THEY'RE GOING THROUGH EARMARKS AGAIN.
SO WE SUBMITTED AN EARMARK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS WORKING WITH CONGRESSMAN CRENSHAW.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE PRESENTLY ARE WITH THE DAM TIMELINE HADN'T CHANGED.
WE'RE JUST ADDING ANOTHER ELEMENT INTO IT AND I THINK IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
I THINK WHAT I DON'T WANNA DO IS TO COME BACK AND SAY IT'S $200 MILLION.
AND THEN WE KEEP DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH PRE-RELEASE AND WATER.
THE PRE-RELEASE STRATEGY ACTUALLY WORKS, BUT THE COMMITMENT THAT WE HAD FROM SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER BATTLE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW THIS, WITH THE COST OF MATERIAL SKYROCKETED, WITH THE TIME THAT IT'S TAKEN TO DO ALL THIS STUFF, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET A LITTLE COOPERATION FROM THEM.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GONNA BE OKAY FOR US TO DO, BUT WE REALLY FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE PRE-RELEASE OF LAKE HOUSTON WHEN WE SEE RAIN COMING.
THE MAYOR'S A STRONG PROPONENT AS LONG AS THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN A STRONG MAYORAL,
[01:55:01]
MAYORAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT AGREES TO DO IT.UM, NO OFFENSE TO CAROL HADDOCK OR MICHAEL, THEY CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT 'CAUSE THE MAYOR MAKES THE DECISION, NOT THEM.
SO HE'S BEEN VERY GRACIOUS WITH OUR PRE-RELEASE.
WE GOT BRIAN MASON WHO DOES IT SYSTEMATICALLY.
UH, THERE'S NO ONE BETTER THAN JESSICA BEAMER TO MONITOR THIS STUFF.
SO WE FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER.
AND IT'S PUT TOGETHER WITH BANDAID, GLUE, SCOTCH TAPE, AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
IT'S NOT THE WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD AND WE DON'T PLAN TO DO IT.
WE'RE GONNA NEED ANOTHER ROUND WITH LAKE CONROE THOUGH.
YOU KNOW, YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED GOING FORWARD, RIGHT? WE'RE GOOD.
SO ONE THING THAT, UH, ANDY DIDN'T, DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS.
SO I'M
IT WAS, UM, WE PAY HALF OF THE, WE PAY OUR 75%, WE OWN 75% OF THE WATER.
OKAY? SO WHEN I GO OUT THERE, I, I ALWAYS, I'M A SMART ALEX, I'LL GO SHOW ME MY 75% THAT YOU'RE SELLING.
SO WITHIN THE CONTRACT, WE OWE THEM MONEY FOR EXPENSES.
UH, THAT HAS TO WORK ITS WAY THROUGH CITY COUNCIL.
AND THAT'S BEEN ON HOLD FOR A YEAR, HUH? ABOUT A YEAR.
AND YOU KNOW WHY IT'S BEING HELD UP.
BECAUSE I WANNA BUILD IN THE PRE-RELEASE STRATEGY INTO ANY CONTRACT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS WITH THE SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY.
YOU WANT OUR MONEY, WE WANT THE PRE-RELEASE AND THAT PRE-RELEASE IS GONNA STATE UNTIL WE OPEN UP THE DAM SO THAT WE HAVE A CHIP.
BUT I'LL TELL YOU, THE SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY HAS BEEN VERY GOOD TO WORK WITH SINCE THEN.
JACE HOUSTON HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD TO WORK WITH.
SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
WE DON'T, IF THEY DON'T DO IT.
AND WE LOST A BOARD SEAT WHEN KAREN LEFT.
WE STILL HAVE MARK MITCHELL LETTI THAT'S ON IT.
UH, THE GOVERNOR REPLACED THAT KAREN'S POSITION WITH SOMEONE UPSTREAM THAT DIDN'T HELP US.
BUT WE, WE FEEL LIKE WE WERE, WE'RE IN KNOCK ON WOOD IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.
YOU KNOW, WE SURVIVED THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
WE JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR DAVE MARTIN, I HAVE TWO HURRICANE SEASONS TO GET THROUGH AND THEN I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE ON THIS MISSION AND WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT FROM THERE.
BUT MEANWHILE IT'S STILL FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH THE GATE PROJECT AND DOING WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
I WAS JUST GONNA ASK, SO THE ALTERNATIVE DESIGN DOESN'T IMPACT THE OVERALL SCHEDULE AT ALL? NO, NO.
NOW THE OVERALL SCHEDULE FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
WE'RE, WE'RE RUNNING WE'RE, IT'S TAKEN A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT.
SO WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT THEY WERE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CUSHION THAT WE BUILT IN.
UM, WE STILL FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE CAN STICK WITH THE SCHEDULE, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, BUT IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHEN YOU GO WITH THE DESIGNS AND YOU GO TO BID.
SO I'LL, YOU'RE AN ENGINEER, SO YOU OWN AN ENGINEER AND AND CONTRACTING COMPANY.
I'M GONNA GO TO YOU WITH A SET OF PLANS AND I WANT YOU TO BUILD MY FACILITY.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BUILDING IT ON AN EXISTING STRUCTURE THAT WAS BUILT IN 50 WITH A BUSINESS RISK SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU AND DOWNSTREAM FLOODING? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? UNKNOWN.
SO WILL YOU TAKE ON THAT OR WILL YOU PASS? I MEAN, MATT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION WE'RE IN, SORRY TO PUT, BUT IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE A DELICATE SITUATION WITH TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE GOOD CONTRACTORS THAT KNOW HOW TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY AND DO IT IN A WAY THAT'S NOT GONNA AFFECT IT.
THE LAST THING WE WANT IS TO START CHIPPING AWAY AND THEN THE DAMN THING DAMN COLLAPSES.
AND THEN WE'RE ALL SCREWED IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
YOU HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL IN ALL THIS AND, AND I I'M FROM THE COMMUNITY.
I'M GLAD MAYOR TURNER CAN SUPPORT YOU AND BEEN INVOLVED.
THAT WHAT, WHAT'S OUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE 20 MONTHS FROM NOW WHEN YOU GUYS ARE OUT THERE? I KNOW IN THE TIMELINE WE SHOULD BE IN CONSTRUCTION BY THEN, BUT YEAH, I'M NOT ENTIRELY CONFIDENT ABOUT THAT.
WHO'S FATHER BEHIND Y'ALL? WELL, I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND RUN FOR CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I'VE TALKED TO SOMEONE THAT'S IN THIS ROOM ABOUT DOING IT.
I THINK HE WAS, HE MAY HAVE LEFT, BUT, UH, UM, MY WIFE ALWAYS SAYS, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, UM, I HAVE A, I HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF PASSION.
I, I RETIRED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, MAINLY BECAUSE I COULDN'T DO BOTH AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
THE GOOD LORD'S BEEN EXTREMELY GRACIOUS TO THE MARTIN FAMILY AND, UH, I'VE ENJOYED DOING IT AND I WILL ENJOY DOING IT TILL I WALK OUT THE DOOR THAT DAY AND THEN SOMEBODY STEPS RIGHT IN AND, AND TAKES THE BATON AND RUNS WITH IT.
BUT I WON'T BE AT THE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY.
I WON'T BE AT THE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY FOR THE NORTH PARK EXPANSION PROJECT.
[02:00:02]
A A LOT OF THESE THINGS, WHICH I TALKED ABOUT NINE, 10 YEARS AGO WHEN I FIRST TOOK OFFICE.BUT, UM, I THINK THE TIMELINE'S GONNA CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.
I THINK WE'LL BE IN GOOD SHAPE AS LONG AS WE HAVE ALTERNATIVES WHERE WE CAN TURN ON THE DIME.
AND THAT'S WHAT, UM, BLACK AND VEATCH IS DOING RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE RUNNING PARALLEL PATHS WITH DIFFERENT SETS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ALLOCATE IT VIA FEDERAL MONEY.
AND THIS IS COMING FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WE FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE ABOUT THAT.
WE DON'T FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE BC RATIO AT ONE SINCE IT'S GONNA BE SEVEN FIVE WITH THE SOCIAL SIDE.
WE THINK, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT IF WE, UH, IF WE MAKE A PRETTY GOOD, STRONG CASE.
SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT IT, THE WHOLE THING IS, YOU KNOW, IF I'M DOING A PROJECT LIKE THIS AND IT'S DAVE MARTIN CONTRACT AND COMPANY, MAN, I'M GONNA CHARGE YOU AN ARM AND A LEG AND ARE WE GONNA GET BIDDERS FOR IT? OKAY.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE COME TO THE MIC SO EVERYBODY CAN HEAR.
WE CAN WRITE YOUR NAME AND CONTACT A QUESTION.
UM, MY NAME'S DIANE LANDON AND YES, I DID VOTE FOR SYLVESTER TURNER.
ONE OF 'EM IS, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE DIFFERENCE IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND BETWEEN FOUR A AND ONE A? OR MAYBE JESSICA HAS THE NUMBERS? UH, WE DON'T HAVE THE CUBIC FEET FOR THE ONE A SECTION 'CAUSE WE JUST CAME UP WITH THAT TWO WEEKS AGO.
SO WE DON'T KNOW THE DISCHARGE.
WE, WE KNOW, WE KNOW WHAT IT, IT SHOULD BE.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT WE KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
THE PROBLEM WE'RE HAVING IS WORKING WITH FEMA IN THE CORE TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T EXCEED IT THAT CAUSES DOWNSTREAM FLOODING.
THEIR, THEIR ANALYTICS THAT THEY USE IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT SJRA DID TO US.
WHAT HAPPENS, WHAT IS A CUBIC FEET PER SECOND OF DISCHARGE WHEN YOU OPEN 'EM UP AND WATER'S COMING OVER THE TOP OF A SPILLWAY DAM, WHAT DOES THAT DO DOWNSTREAM TO US? MM-HMM
SO I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO THE ENGINEERS.
AS WE SAID, THAT'S ALL BEING WORKED ON RIGHT NOW.
THE FINAL DESIGN IS NOT APPROVED, THE ANALYTICS AREN'T DONE.
SO, UM, THEY KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
THEY KNOW THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE, SO HOPEFULLY THEY CAN BRING IT TO GOOD CONCLUSION.
WHEN YOU FIND OUT, WILL YOU LET US KNOW? YES.
UM, WHICH, WHAT'S CHRIS'S LAST NAME WITH THE PHD FROM? MUELLER? MILLER.
SO HE'S WORKING ON THAT AS WE SPEAK.
'CAUSE I TALKED TO HIM LAST WEEK.
MY OTHER QUESTION IS, THE 20 MONTH THING IS SCAR US AT ALL BECAUSE LET'S JUST SAY WORST CASE SCENARIO, THE BENEFIT COST RATIO DOESN'T WORK.
FEMA, ABANDONS, AND LET, LET'S, LET'S NOT I FIRST PART.
I DON'T THINK FEMA WILL ABANDON.
WE HAVE SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, BUT YOU'RE, I GET WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM, LET'S SAY.
BUT YOUR HONOR, WHAT I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO EXPLORE IS CAN YOU PASS SOME SORT OF REGULATION TO REQUIRE THE COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY TO LOWER THE LEVEL OF, UH, LAKE HOUSTON UNTIL THE GATES GET BUILT.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO.
I THINK THE PRE-RELEASE IS WORKING GREAT.
YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT IT, IT WORKS ON A, A FRIENDLY, I DON'T THINK WE, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY UNFRIENDLY MANNERS.
WHEN WE SAY OPEN IT, IT'S OPENED.
I DON'T KNOW WHO'S GONNA BE THE NEXT MAJOR.
WELL, I'M TALKING ABOUT, I, I'M, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AFTER ME.
BUT, BUT IF, DON'T KNOW, IF YOU SPEARHEAD SOME REGULATION TO REQUIRE IT, THEN GOT IT.
WE, WE CAN SLEEP WHEN IT RAINS REALLY HARD.
COUNCIL, WE HAVE OUR RELEASE STRATEGY THAT ALREADY IS ORDINANCE.
ANYTIME THERE IS A STORM EVENT THAT IS OR ABOVE WITHIN OUR LETTER SET, THAT AUTOMATICALLY TRIGGERS OUR
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT AUTOMATICALLY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO DO.
WE PASSED AN ORDINANCE THAT, AND THAT'S GONNA WORK.
IF WE DON'T GET THE CASE, I MEAN, IT'S, I I'LL ASK YOU NOW.
HOW DID IT WORK OUT? AND I HATE TO SAY THAT, BUT YEAH.
IT'S, IT'S, IT WORKS OUT FAIRLY SYSTEMATICALLY AND REGULARLY AND IT WORKS.
AND NO PUBLIC WORKS PERSON CAN SAY, NO, NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO IT.
WELL, IN A STRONG MAYORAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT, ONE PERSON SAYS YES OR NO.
AND HE'S ALWAYS BEEN IN OUR COURT AND BEEN ON OUR SIDE.
[02:05:01]
TO COME ON, SO, SO I'LL BRING POLITICS INTO THIS.IF, IF YOU LOOK AT HAVING A REPUBLICAN MAYOR IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, GOOD LUCK AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
SO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS TO FIND A, LET'S CALL 'EM A MODERATE DEMOCRAT THAT WE CAN WORK WITH, BECAUSE GUESS WHO CONTROLS THE SWING VOTES IN THE NEXT MAYORAL ELECTION? US IN CLEAR LAKE.
WHY? BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE REPUBLICANS NOT VOTING FOR A REPUBLICAN.
SO LET'S SAY WE GOT SALLY ALCORN THAT WANTS TO RUN FOR MAYOR.
NO, BUT, AND THEN, AND THEN SALLY COMES TO US AT ALL THESE MEETINGS.
SHE'S HERE ALL THE TIME AND WE SAY, SALLY, WOULD YOU CONTINUE TO DO THIS? AND WE WILL GET THE VOTES OUT FOR YOU? AND SHE GOES, YEAH, DIANE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO IT.
YOU GOT MY PLEDGE AS THE NEXT MAYOR IF I'M ELECTED.
AND MAKE SURE WE DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE CAN CONTROL.
WE CAN CONTROL OUR FUTURE WITH OUR VOTES.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASK ME, OH, DAVE, YOU GONNA RUN FOR MAYOR? NO, HELL NO.
BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S A PATH TO VICTORY.
I'M NOT GONNA DO SOMETHING THAT I DON'T THINK THERE'S A PATH TO VICTORY.
SO WE NEED TO FIND THE MODERATE NOT NUT JOB THAT'S GOING TO BE WILLING TO WORK WITH US.
AND WE HAVE A STRATEGY THAT WE'RE LINING UP AS WE SPEAK.
STRATEGY BEING, UH, MYSELF, DAN HUBERTY, CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, TOM RAMSEY, AND A COUPLE OF OTHER FOLKS.
BOB, DAVE, HELP ME UNDERSTAND.
UM, I, LAST JULY WE SAT IN THIS ROOM AND LISTENED TO A PRESENTATION BY THE, UH, SENIOR EP FROM BLACK AND VE, I FORGET HIS NAME, CHRIS MULLER.
HE IS A PHD WITH BLACK AND VEATCH.
UM, AND ONE OF THE POINTS HE MADE WAS THAT A BENEFIT COST RATIO WAS GOING TO BE BASED ON A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD.
NOW, IF ALL THE HOMES AROUND THE LAKE ARE BUILT TWO FEET ABOVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN, HOW DO WE EVER GET TO EVEN 0.75? SO THE HOMES ARE NOT BUILT THIS DAY AND AGE.
WE DON'T BUILD ANYTHING TWO FEET ABOVE THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN.
WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE HOMES RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE BUILDING ALL THE HOMES BY THE LAKE OR ALL THE HOMES THAT ARE IN LOWER AREAS HAVE ALREADY BEEN BUILT.
I DON'T SEE ANY ELEVATION CHANGES ON THOSE, THOSE FOOTPRINTS.
I'M, I'M MISSING YOUR QUESTION.
YOU WERE, OR ORIGINALLY BUILT WAY BACK INTO THE FIFTIES GOING INTO MIKE.
I CAN'T, WHEN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT WAY BACK IN THE FIFTIES THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A REGULATION, HASN'T THERE? THAT THEY BE BUILT TWO FEET ABOVE THE HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD PLAN.
THE RULE ACTUALLY CHANGED JUST RECENTLY.
SO THAT'S A NEW PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT WENT THROUGH IN 2000, RIGHT? MATT? 2018, I THINK Y'ALL WERE THE FIRST ONES TO DO IT.
SO NO, THAT'S, THAT'S AN INCORRECT STATEMENT, SIR.
SO I THINK, I THINK BOTTOM LINE ON THE GATES IS STAY TUNED.
WE THINK THERE'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY SITTING IN FRONT OF US TO EXPLORE THE OPTIONS.
UM, WHEN WE WENT TO TURNER WITH THE GAME PLAN, THERE WASN'T ANY PUSHBACK AT ALL.
HE SAID, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO IT.
WE'VE COME THIS FAR, WE CAN'T TURN BACK.
UH, SO I'M APPRECIATIVE OF EVERYTHING THAT, THAT HE DOES.
AND ANDY'S IN ON
AND ANDY KNOWS, YOU KNOW, HE'S A PRETTY TOUGH SON OF A GUN.
HE'S PRETTY DANG CONSERVATIVE.
AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID FROM THE ELM GROVE LAND ACQUISITION TO ALL THE OTHER STUFF HAS BEEN, UM, HAS REALLY BEEN, YOU KNOW, PRETTY COOL TO SEE COME THROUGH.
SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT.
UH, I I LOVE THESE QUESTIONS, BOB.
YOU DO A GREAT JOB INFORMING EVERYBODY.
SAME THING WITH DIANE, WITH THE GRASSROOTS FOLKS THAT WE STARTED YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TELL EVERYBODY IT'S, IT'S A TEAM EFFORT.
YOU KNOW, I WORK WITH KARIN KAO, DAN CRENSHAW.
DAN HUBERTY HAS NOT STOPPED AT ALL.
CHARLES IS GONNA COME ON HIS HEEL HOPEFULLY AND DO THE RIGHT THING.
UM, NO ONE'S AS DILIGENT AS JESSICA AND DUSTIN IN THE KINGWOOD AREA.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WORKS BECAUSE, UH, WE WORK REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD AT IT.
AND I'LL PAT MYSELF ON THE BACK.
NO ONE'S GONNA HAVE HALF OF THE PASSION THAT I HAVE TO GET THIS DONE.
I CAN'T RUN AGAIN AND I'M DONE.
WHAT SNAP WITH THE TAYLOR KELLY
[02:10:01]
PROJECT? NO, SNAFU TAYLOR.SO WE HAVE TWO PROJECTS IN THE QUEUE RIGHT NOW.
ONE IS TAYLOR GULLY, THE OTHER ONE IS KINGWOOD DIVERSION CANAL.
SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS ACTUALLY WHEN WE GOT DID BEN'S BRANCH, WE DIDN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING WITH BEN'S BRANCH, BUT PULL OUT THE DEBRIS THAT'S IN BEN'S BRANCH.
THE PROBLEM WITH BEN'S BRANCH IS IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO HANDLE THAT MUCH WATER, BUT BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT'S DOING UP NORTH OF US, THE DIVERSION KINGWOOD DIVERSION CANAL NEVER RECEIVED THE WATER DOWN THE PROPER CHANNELS THAT IT SHOULD PATH.
THUS IT WENT TO BEN'S BRANCH, THUS ST.
MARTHA'S AND EVERYBODY AROUND THERE FLOODED.
SO TWO THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THE INTERESTING THING FOR US, AND, AND MATT ZEV CAN TELL YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE INTERIOR CHANNELS AND CLEAN THEM OUT, WIDEN THEM.
IF YOU'VE SEEN KINGWOOD DRIVE LATELY, RIGHT BY KINGWOOD HIGH SCHOOL ON A WEEKEND, PUBLIC WORKS CREWS ARE OUT THERE EVERY DAY.
BUT IMAGINE A BIG CULVERT THAT IS LIKE THE MOUTH OF IT RIGHT HERE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE CONCRETE GOING ON FACADE THAT CANAL, THAT WATER FLOW FROM THAT POINT IN KINGWOOD DRIVE DOWN PAST DEERWOOD COUNTRY CLUB WAS TOTALLY CLOGGED.
SO THEY SPENT THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKENDS, IT WAS DISGUSTING GUYS IN THERE IN HAZMAT SUITS TAKING MUD OUT AND CLEANING THAT HOLE PIPE THAT'S DOWN THERE.
NEXT THING WE'RE DOING IS IT'S NOT JUST THE PIPE.
WE HAVE AREA WE GOTTA GET TO, WE GOTTA GET TO THE SIDED AREAS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING AT TAYLOR'S GULLY.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING AT KINGWOOD DIVERSION.
WE'RE WORKING WITH HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL ON THAT.
THEY HAVE CONTROL OF THE INTERIOR CHANNELS.
AND WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WORKING WITH, I LOVE WORKING WITH TOM RAMSEY BECAUSE HE'S AN ENGINEER.
I'VE KNOWN TOM FOR MANY, MANY YEARS BEFORE HE RAN FOR COMMISSIONER.
AND HE'S A BRILLIANT ENGINEER.
YOU CLEAN OUT THE INTERIOR CHANNELS, YOU SEND WATER TO THE SAN JACINTO, YOU MAKE SURE THE SAN JACINTO HAS A FLOW INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO, WHICH WE'VE DONE.
AND WITH ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR THE WEST FORK THAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT, THE EXTRA 1 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS WE'RE GONNA REMOVE, WE'LL ATTACK IT EVEN MORE.
AND THEN IT'LL GO, DO WE HAVE IT WIRED? NO.
YOU KNOW WHY? AS SOON AS WE SCOOP OUT A SHOVEL OF DEBRIS, ANOTHER ONE COMES DOWNSTREAM TOWARDS US AND IT REFILLS UNTIL YOU CONTROL SPRING CREEK, CYPRESS CREEK AND THE SAN JACINTO RIVER BY BUILDING SAND TRAPS THAT CAPTURE THE SAND AT ITS FLOW POINT.
YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO FIX IT TO WHERE YOU CAN REST EASY AT NIGHTTIME.
BECAUSE AS SOON AS WE PULL OUT SAND, I MEAN YOUR, YOUR PICTURES SHOW THAT IT'S JUST COMING RIGHT BACK AT US.
BUT WORKING WITH THE SAND MINING OPERATORS WHO GIVE OUT MORE MONEY IN AUSTIN AND ANYONE IS A CHALLENGE.
AND THAT'S OUR BIGGEST ROADBLOCK IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE DO THE SAND TRAPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT CATCH THE SEDIMENT BEFORE IT GETS INTO PAST 59.
AND ARE THEY GONNA BE COMING INTO THE YOUNG GROVE AREA AND WIDENING OR YEAH, WE'RE STARTING RIGHT AT THAT MONTGOMERY COUNTY LINE.
DUSTIN, WHAT YOU GOT? PATROL DISTRICT IS THIS SUMMER? YEP.
THE ONE WILL THE PROJECT ACTUALLY START, IT STARTED, IT'S BEING LED BY COUNTY FLOOD DISTRICT TAYLOR, WE WE'RE ALREADY DOING WORK ON TAYLOR GULLY.
HARRIS COUNTY TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE CREEK.
WE'RE HOPING SAY, LET'S SAY, UH, END OF SUMMER, JULY, AUGUST, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS, THEY'LL BE HERE AND THEY'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
THEY'LL DO THIS, GET COMMUNITY INPUT AND SEE WHAT WE WANT.
AND THEN WE'LL DO THAT, THAT GIG, IF YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE, YOU'LL SEE THIS.
WHICH WEBSITE? THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL.
AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS SAND MINING SITUATION WITH THE STATE AND WHETHER WE, WHETHER THIS IS A POSSIBILITY TO GET THESE, UH, SAND MINERS ON, ON BOARD SO WHEN IT'S CHEAPER TO PAY THE FUNDS THAN IT IS TO REMEDIATE, YOU HAVE AN ISSUE.
SO IT HAS TO BE A LEGISLATIVE FIX IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
BUT THAT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS THAT EVERYBODY'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
NO, I MEAN, BUT YOU, YOU WOULDN'T, I MEAN, THE MONEY THAT THESE GUYS GIVE OUT TO PEOPLE THAT REALLY DON'T GIVE A DARN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WHERE WE LIVE IS ASTRONOMICAL.
AND, UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S OUR, THAT'S OUR PROBLEM IS THESE FOLKS
[02:15:01]
THAT LIVE IN EL PASO AND THESE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN MIDLAND AND THESE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN DALLAS AND THESE FOLKS THAT LIVE IN BEAUMONT, THEY REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT, WE CARE ABOUT IT AND WE WORK HARD.WE TRIED TO, WELL, DAN DID CREATE A ENTITY THAT WE CAN USE AS A TAX AND AUTHORITY, BUT WE COULDN'T GET ANY ABILITY TO DO THE TAXES.
AND THAT'S WHAT CHARLES HAS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN, IN 2023.
BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE A TAX AND AUTHORITY, WE CAN PULL TAXES OUT OF EVERYBODY WHO BUYS WATER FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND THAT'S NOT ONLY KINGWOOD AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THAT'S AREAS ALL OVER KATY, PEARLAND, PASADENA, AREAS LIKE THAT.
THEY'RE GONNA PARTICIPATE AND THEY SHOULD, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN MAKING SURE THAT THAT $1.7 BILLION WATER TREATMENT FACILITY THAT'S SITTING IN THE LAKE BY SUMMER WOOD WORKS EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY, AND THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT.
BUT THE SAND MINING OPERATORS ARE, UM, ARE TOUGH.
IT'S, IT'S A TOUGH BATTLE, BUT IT'S GOTTA BE A LEGISLATIVE FIX.
IT CAN'T BE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO.
SO, YOU KNOW, CHARLES NEEDS TO PICK UP THE BATON AND, AND RUN WITH IT.
BUT SALLY, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO YEAH, NOW LET, LET ME PUSH YOUR, WHAT'S THE NAME OF IT? WE'RE, YEAH, SOME OF YOU GOT THIS AT THE BEGINNING.
THE, THE MAYOR'S GONNA PROPOSE THIS 5 BILLION OPERATING BUDGET NEXT MONTH.
I DO A SURVEY TO YOUR AS YOU PRIORITIES FOR CITY SAFE.
SO WE'LL BE HERE IF YOU WANT ONE TO FILL OUT AND THERE'S A QR CODE, UM, WE BUDGET, SO FILL IT OUT AND JAM IT WITH KINGWOOD PROJECTS AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET 'EM.
WHAT THAT PLACE GETTING SO DECENT? NO, ALL THE INTERIOR CHANNELS IS HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL.
WHAT'S THAT PROPERTY? WE JUST PURCHAS YOU, PERRY HOMES.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA START DOING WORK ON THE WEST SIDE OF IT, WHICH IS THE DIVERSION CANAL AND TAYLOR GULLY ON THE EAST SIDE OF IT.
UH, ULTIMATELY WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS, UH, BUILD A CONSOLIDATED SEWER TREATMENT FACILITY UP IN THAT AREA ON HOW MANY ACRES? 80 73.
AND IT'LL BE A FEMA PROJECT, BUT IT'S, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH HARRIS COUNTY ON THE KINGWOOD DIVERSION CANAL AND TAYLOR'S GULLY ON THE EAST SIDE.
KINGWOOD DIVERSION ON THE WEST SIDE GOING DIVERSION.
THE TRUCKS FROM MINE, THEY'RE PICKING UP SEVEN O'CLOCK IN HOUR UNTIL SEVEN.
THEY'RE WE'RE GETTING CALLS FROM NEIGHBORS.
CAN YOU NOT WORK ON SATURDAYS,
ANYBODY HERE KNOW KEITH? HE LIVES OVER AT, YEAH.
SO KEITH CAME TO ME AT THE GYM AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHO HE WAS.
HE SAID, HEY, I WAS REALLY A JERK TO YOU.
AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, WHO IN THE HELL IS THIS GUY? AND HE SAID, I'M THE GUY THAT CALLED YOU EVERY DAY TO GET THE DREDGES OUTTA MY BACKYARD.
HE LIVES IN KINGS RIVER ESTATES, RIGHT ON THE SAN JACINTO RIVER.
AND THOSE DREDGES WERE RUNNING 24 7, 365.
WE WERE RUNNING THEM NONSTOP AND IT WAS NOISY.
BUT THEY START AT THIS POINT AND THEY EVENTUALLY MOVE.
AND UM, AND MY POINT IN SAYING THAT IS THAT I TOLD HIM, I SAID, KEITH, YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME EXPLAIN TO A ROOM FULL OF 300 PEOPLE WHO FLOODED, THAT YOU WANT THE DREDGES ONLY WORKING SEVEN, EIGHT HOURS A DAY MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AND NOT 24 7.
I SAID, IF YOU CAN GET THAT DONE, YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN ME.
ANYWAY, THAT'S A MY STORY FOR THE DAY TO CLOSE OUT THE SESSION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? D NO QUESTIONS.
WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE COST FOR H DEAL, WHY DO THEY EXUDING THE DAMAGE THAT WAS DONE DURING HARVEY? I MEAN, BECAUSE THE HIGH SCHOOL ALONE, 70 MILLION.
BUT THEY ALSO PUT INTO THE, THE EFFECT DOWNSTREAM.
DO YOU KNOW HOW ALL THAT WORKS, MICHAEL? YEAH, IT'S HERE.
BUT THE PROBLEM WE GOT RIGHT NOW IS THE COSTS ARE INCREASING, WHICH BRINGS THE BENEFIT DOWN.
SO, AND THE AMOUNT OF DISCHARGE THAT YOU'RE GONNA RELEASE IF YOU CUT BACK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CUT BACK THE DISCHARGE, WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE THAT'S GONNA END UP.
AS I SAY, DON'T LOOK AT GATES, LOOK AT DISCHARGE.
SO THE MORE THAT YOU DISCHARGE LESS THAN THE LESS THE BENEFIT WILL BE.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE EXPLORING THE TWO OPTIONS.
IT'S A VERY COMPLICATED PROCESS.
I THINK IT'S, I CALL IT, I CALL IT THE BS RATIO.
[02:20:01]
A BS RATIO.THEY DON'T LIKE ME CALLING IT THAT.
ALL FOUR HAZARD MITIGATION PROJECTS ARE FACING THE SAME PROBLEM.
ALL FOUR OF OUR PROJECTS ARE NOT COMING OUT WITH A FAVORABLE BC RATIO.
NOW DOES THAT TELL YOU SOMETHING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND WE'RE PROBABLY BETTER THAN INWOOD FOREST? WE'RE PROBABLY THAT THAT SHOULD BE, THAT'S YEAH.
THAT SHOULD BE DONE YESTERDAY.
BUT ALL FOUR OF OUR MAJOR PROJECTS DON'T HAVE A FAVORABLE BC RATIO AS IT LOOKS TODAY, PRELIMINARILY WITHOUT DESIGNS AND CONCEPTS.
I MEAN, SO, AND, AND THAT'S WHY I ARGUE WITH FEMA.
YOU GOT A 1978 LEGISLATIVE BILL THAT YOU'RE GUIDING THINGS ON.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE STORMS, THESE A HUNDRED YEAR STORMS ARE HAPPENING EVERY OTHER WEEK.
I WILL ASK A FAVOR OF EVERYONE.
SO, UH, OUR FRIEND STAN SOMAN, WHO RUNS THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE, NOT A FINER GENTLEMAN ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.
HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS RIGHT NOW, AND I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO BED TONIGHT, GET ON YOUR KNEES AND SAY A LITTLE PRAYER FOR STAN.
HE'S, UM, HE'S A WONDERFUL CIVIC SERVANT.
AND, UH, AND WE NEED TO, HE NEEDS PRAYERS.
AND, AND I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT NOW THAT RE THIS IS OVER.
I LIKE DISTRICT E THE WAY IT IS TODAY.
THEY'RE NEVER, THEY ONLY HAVE 30,000 PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE GONNA GO TO A, A, A, A PERSON THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY THAT I HAVE.
AND I DON'T WANNA DO THAT TO 'EM, BUT THEY'RE GONNA ARGUE WITH ME.