* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] ALL RIGHT. [Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on April 20, 2023.] UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO TODAY'S, UH, MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE. UH, THE MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER. THE DATE IS APRIL 20TH, 2023 AT 2 0 5. 2:05 PM AND IF YOU CAN MUTE YOUR COMPUTER. GREAT. UM, TODAY WE ARE GOING TO HEAR FROM, UH, WE HAVE THREE PRESENTATIONS TWO. THE FIRST TWO ARE GONNA BE FROM OUR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, ON THE OVERVIEW OF OUR ALERT HOUSTON EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION PROGRAM, UH, WHICH I KNOW SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT AS WELL AS, UH, PUBLIC, UH, RESIDENTS THAT HAVE REACHED OUT. WE'LL ALSO HAVE AN UPDATE, UH, ON THIS, THEIR, THE CITY'S HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN THAT OEM IS SPEARHEADING, UM, AND HAS BEEN DOING SOME REALLY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY OUTREACH ON THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UH, FOLLOWING THAT, WE WILL HEAR FROM HPD. UH, WE HAVE OVER, I THINK, 10, I THINK CLOSER TO A DOZEN OR, OR MORE, UH, HPD GRANTS THAT ARE GONNA BE COMING TO COUNCIL VERY SOON. SO WE'RE KIND OF DOING A PACKAGE PRESENTATION ON ALL OF THOSE SO THAT EVERYONE CAN BE AWARE, UM, NOT ONLY OF WHAT'S COMING, BUT ALSO THE GRANT PROCESS BECAUSE OF HOW IMPORTANT THESE GRANTS ARE TO THE DAY-TO-DAY FUNCTIONS AND MISSIONS, UH, OF THE CITY AND OF HPD. UH, ON IN CHAMBERS, I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES, COUNCIL MEMBERS, ROBINSON AND PECK, AND ALSO STAFF FROM MAYOR PRO TEM MARTIN'S OFFICE. UH, OUR VICE CHAIR, KNOX AND COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS. UH, ALSO ONLINE. WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S OFFICE. UH, I KNOW SHE'S, UH, GETTING READY FOR HER DAUGHTER'S WEDDING THIS WEEKEND. UH, OR SHE WOULD BE HERE AS WELL AS STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD'S OFFICE AS WELL. DID I MISS ANYONE? NO. OKAY. SEEING NONE. UH, FEW QUICK, UH, HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS, UH, IS ALWAYS, THE PRESENTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBSITE. AND, UH, THE, WE DO HAVE SEVERAL PUBLIC SPEAKERS SIGNED UP FOR THIS MEETING. YOU'LL BE CALLED AT THE END OF THE MEETING, UH, AND HAVE, UH, TWO MINUTES EACH TO SPEAK. COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN HAD REQUESTED, UH, A PRESENTATION OR AN UPDATE ON HOW MUCH, UH, THE CITY HAS SPENT ON ONE SAFE HOUSTON OVERALL. SO I HAVE THOSE NUMBERS READY FOR US TODAY. UM, OVER $70 MILLION SPECIFIC, EXACTLY $70,939,103 HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO ONE SAFE HOUSTON. AGAIN, $70,939,103. THAT IS AS OF FEBRUARY 17TH, 2023. SO I KNOW OVER A MONTH, UH, AND A HALF HAS PRETTY MUCH LAPSED SINCE THEN. UH, SO WE'LL WAIT ON THOSE, UH, MORE UPDATED NUMBERS. BUT THAT INFORMATION IS ALSO LOCATED ON THE ONE SAFE HOUSTON WEBSITE AND IS UPDATED REGULARLY. AND I SAY REGULARLY BEING FEBRUARY WAS THE LAST UPDATE THAT WE HAD, BUT IT IS NOW OVER 70 MILLION. UM, I ALSO HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF ALL OF THE KIND OF BUCKETS FOR THAT. I'LL QUICKLY GO THROUGH THOSE. 'CAUSE THAT WAS ALSO ASKED FOR, UM, PATROL ENHANCEMENTS, UM, OVER $5.7 MILLION. ADDITIONAL DOLLARS FOR PARKS DEPARTMENT AND SAFETY, 1.9 MILLION, UM, FIREARM BUYBACK INITIATIVES, 1 MILLION, UH, ADDRESSING THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER BACKLOG. UM, LET'S SEE. I HAVE 3 MILLION NOW, AND I APOLOGIZE. UM, OVER 20.3 MILLION HAS NOW BEEN ADDED FOR PATROL ENHANCEMENTS, UH, TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS AND TACTICAL SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. UH, 974,000 HPD CADET RETENTION, 7.2 MILLION. UH, AND THAT IS, BRINGS UP AN UPDATED TOTAL OF OVER $34 MILLION. UM, THAT'S FOR VIOLENCE REDUCTION IN CRIME PREVENTION. AND THEN FOR CRISIS INTERVENTION RESPONSE AND RECOVERY. UM, CREDIBLE MESSENGERS AND VIOLENCE INTERRUPTION, 3 MILLION COMMUNITY REENTRY NETWORK PROGRAMMING, 1 MILLION DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 9.6 MILLION. UH, I THINK THAT'S THE LARGEST NUMBER OTHER THAN OVER TIME. AND ADDITIONAL PATROLS. UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND CRISIS INTERVENTION, 22.8 MILLION. SO I STAND CORRECTED. THAT IS THE LARGEST BUCKET IN ADDITIONAL TO PATROL ENHANCEMENTS. SO THAT UPDATED TOTAL FOR CRISIS INTERVENTION, UM, [00:05:01] IS 36, CLOSE TO 36.5 MILLION. AND I THINK THAT IS A, THE FINAL BREAKDOWN OF THOSE BUCKETS. BUT AGAIN, EVERYONE CAN GO TO ONE SAFE HOUSTON FOR THAT. UH, FINALLY, UH, WE WILL ACTUALLY NOW HAVE A JOINT QUALITY OF LIFE AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26TH AT 2:00 PM THERE'S SOME IMPORTANT, UM, ITEMS ON RECYCLING, UH, THAT WILL BE COVERED BY THE QOL PART, BUT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, THERE'S AN IMPORTANT ORDINANCE COMING UP QUICKLY RELATED TO, UM, BYOB ESTABLISHMENTS, THERE'S BEEN SOME ESTABLISHMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CIRCUMVENTING, UM, LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALCOHOL, UM, BY SAYING THAT THEY, YOU CAN BE BYOB. SO THIS ORDINANCE SEEKS TO ADDRESS THAT. LASTLY, UH, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT THE, UH, OUR CITY AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT LOST, UH, FIREFIGHTER WILLIE NELSON JR. FROM STATION SIX, UH, RECENTLY WHILE HE WAS, WHILE HE WAS TRAVELING. AND THEN THE CITY ALSO LOST, UM, URBAN, AN URBAN PARK RANGER SUPERVISOR, UH, MR. DAVID LEWIS. ALSO, UM, ON HIS PERSONAL TIME, HE WAS RESPONDING, UH, TO HIS DAUGHTER, UH, WHO HAD A FLAT TIRE, AND HE WAS, UH, STRUCK AND KILLED, UM, ON THE ROAD. SO, A REMINDER TO EVERYONE TO PLEASE, PLEASE BE SAFE ON OUR ROADS, BE AWARE OF THOSE AROUND YOU, AND BE RESPECTFUL. UM, BUT WANTED TO RECOGNIZE BOTH OF THEM AND THE DEPARTMENTS FOR THE LOSS. FIRST UP, UH, AT THIS TIME, THE CHAIR'S GONNA CALL OEM UP. UH, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE WE HAVE CHIEF BUNI, UH, IN THE AUDIENCE WITH US, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER STAFF FROM OEM. UH, AND, UH, WE HAVE DEPUTY DIRECTOR MUNOZ, WHO'S GOING TO BE PRESENTING AND DIRECTOR. BEFORE YOU BEGIN, UM, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE AND THANK YOUR TEAM AS WELL AS ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, AND FIRST RESPONDERS WHO HAVE BEEN ON CALL. UH, I MEAN, IT'S BEEN A VERY BUSY FIRST QUARTER, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FINAL FOUR. SO WANNA RECOGNIZE ALL THE OVERTIME AND STAFFING AND, UH, JUST SLEEPLESS DAYS AND NIGHTS THAT HAVE GONE INTO THOSE EVENTS. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT. SO, WITH THAT, UH, PLEASE, DEPUTY PR DIRECTOR, PROCEED WHEN YOU'RE READY. YES. WELL, THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY. UM, SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE ALERT HOUSTON. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY, WE HAVE, UH, TWO, UH, 269,000, UH, CONTACTS THAT ARE REGISTERED, RECEIVE THE ALERTS, UM, BROKEN DOWN INTO THAT AS WELL. WE DO HAVE 106,000 REGISTERED CITIZENS NET 22,000 ALERT HOUSTON. AND THEN ON THE STEER PROGRAM AS WELL, WITH ALERT HOUSTON, WE CAN, UM, MESSAGES CAN BE SENT OUT TO INDIVIDUALS, GROUP OR GEO-TARGETED AREAS. UH, AND SOME OF THOSE ALERT CATEGORIES ARE THE EMERGENCY INCIDENTS, RECOVERY, MAJOR TRAFFIC AND TRANSIT ISSUES, MISSING PEOPLE, SEVERE WEATHER, SPECIAL EVENTS, SUCH AS YOU MENTIONED THE NCAA WAS VERY HELPFUL. AND THEN, OF COURSE, ANY AIR AWARE DAYS THAT WE HAVE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PUSHING HARD FOR WHEN WE DO THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND COMMUNITY APPROACH, UM, IS WE ENCOURAGE OUR CITIZENS TO REGISTER AT, AT OUR, IF YOU SEE OUR WEBPAGE THERE AT, UH, THE ALERT HOUSTON.ORG, SIMPLE FORMAT TO FOLLOW. THIS ALLOWS US TO HAVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN OUR DATABASE, AND WHEN WE DO SEND OUT THAT INFORMATION, THEY DO GET THAT INFORMATION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, AGAIN, ALERT HOUSTON IS BASED ON SUBSCRIBERS. THAT'S WHY WHEN WE GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITIES, WE ENCOURAGE THEM. AND WE DO HAVE SOME AREAS, UH, WE OCCASIONALLY, WE'VE HAD THE BILLBOARDS AS WELL THAT, THAT RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF SIGNING UP TO ALERT HOUSTON. WITH THIS FORMAT, WE CAN SEND VOICE CALLS, TEXTS, AND EMAILS, NO DISTINCT TONES. IT DOES HAVE ITS LIMITS. WE DO HAVE A CHARACTER COUNT OF 2,500. WE CAN ALSO POST SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, ON, AND USE THAT PLATFORM TO POST ANY SOCIAL MEDIA. AS WE MENTIONED, IT COULD BE USED FOR ANY INCIDENT. AND IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE FOR GENERAL ADVISORIES AND PUBLIC INFORMATION. IT ALSO ALLOWS US, WHICH WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, UM, THAT NOW IN OUR STAFF, WE DO HAVE MEMBERS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO NOT ONLY SEND IN ENGLISH, BUT TRANSLATE THAT IN SPANISH AS WELL. SO WE'RE VERY HELPFUL. IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO US AND THE COMMUNITY WHEN WE START DOING THAT APPROACH. THANK YOU. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WHAT IS THE PROCESS THAT WE GET? OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE INCIDENT OCCURS. UH, SOME OF THESE EVENTS, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE SOME GREAT STAKEHOLDERS [00:10:01] THAT WE WORK WITH, HPDH, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, PUBLIC WORKS, AND ANY OF THOSE AGENCIES WHERE WE DO PLAN FOR THE EVENTS. SO WE HAVE NOT ONLY THAT SPECIAL EVENT APPROACH, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE INCIDENT. WHEN AN INCIDENT OCCURS, THE RESPONDENT IDENTIFY THE SCALE OF THE IMPACT, THEN THE RESPONDERS NOTIFY OEM. AND ONCE THAT HAPPENS, WE DISTRIBUTE THIS, UH, WITH OUR PERSONNEL. CURRENTLY WE HAVE BRENT TAYLOR IN OUR OFFICE WHO'S NOW TAKEN THE FOREFRONT IN THAT, VERY LUCKY TO HAVE HIM ON BOARD. SO WE PASS THAT OUT. AT THE SAME TOKEN, WE GET THAT SAME MESSAGE, AND, AND WE TAKE THE EXTRA APPROACH OF MAKING THAT IN SPANISH AS WELL. SO OUR PIECE. SO EVERY, UH, MEMBER IN THE COMMUNITY CAN GET THAT INFORMATION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHAT I'M GONNA BE TALKING NOW IS YOU MENTIONED, YEAH, AND I'M GONNA ACTUALLY STOP, PAUSE YOU THERE BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S, UH, GERMANE TO THIS. UM, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, YOU MENTIONED TWO THINGS. UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, I SEE YOU'RE IN QUEUE AS WELL, UM, ON THE, IF YOU, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO SLIDES, UM, ALLOW, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR. ALLOWS FOR LANGUAGES OTHER THAN SPANISH AND ENGLISH. UM, SO WE DO HAVE THE CAP CAPABILITY, NOT JUST SPANISH AND ENGLISH, BUT AGAIN, SO MANY LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN IN HOUSTON, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH THE, THE, THE, THE COMPANY THAT WE'RE UTILIZING THAT. RIGHT. WE'RE, WE'RE UTILIZING THAT, BUT TO TAKE THE OTHER APPROACH AS WELL, WITH NOT ONLY THAT ONE AREA OF UTILIZING THAT MESSAGE, ACTUALLY TODAY, WE, WE ARE MEETING WITH PEOPLE THAT, UH, A, A COMPANY THAT IS ABLE TO DO OUR MESSAGES POST THAT SOMEHOW GET THAT OUT THERE IN SIGN LANGUAGE FORM FOR THE DAFEN COMMUNITY AS WELL, THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S INCLUDED ON THAT AND WORKING WITH OUR STAKEHOLDER PARTNERS IN, IN THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ARE COVERED. OKAY. GREAT. AND, UH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IF WE CAN GO TO THAT, UM, WHEN YOU SAY RESPONDERS IDENTIFY SCALE OF IMPACT, WHO ARE THE RESPO? LIKE WHO ARE THE RESPONDERS? WHAT IS THAT EXACTLY? SO FOR EXAMPLE, SAY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES HAVE AN INCIDENT SUCH AS A HAZMAT INCIDENT, THAT REQUIRES US TO POST THAT MESSAGE, RIGHT? TO ALERT THAT AREA. WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF GEOFENCING THAT AREA. I THINK WE, WE, YOU AND I RAN INTO THIS WHILE BACK WHEN WE HAD THAT WAREHOUSE FIRE, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THAT AREA. WE'RE ABLE, THIS, THIS, UH, GIVES US THE CAPABILITY TO GEOFENCE THAT AREA, COORDINATING WITH THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY, SUCH AS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT TELLS US, THEY CALLED US THAT DAY. WE HAVE A WAREHOUSE FIRE, OBVIOUSLY, WAREHOUSE FIRES MIGHT HAVE A LOT OF, DO HAVE A LOT OF CHEMICALS, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE, THE, THE TRIGGERS THAT ALLOWED US TO USE THIS TO SEND OUT THAT MESSAGE AND, AND LETTING PEOPLE TO SHELTER IN PLACE AND GIVE THE UPDATES AS YOU WELL KNOW THAT WHEN WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO PASS THAT OUT, THAT INFORMATION, SO WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO GEOFENCE THAT AS WELL. BUT WE GET THAT TRIGGER. WHEN WE DO HAVE A MAJOR INCIDENT, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL CALL US AND THEN, OR, BUT IT'S A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT THAT NEEDS TO NOTIFY OEM OF THE INCIDENT IN ORDER FOR OEM TO ACTIVATE ALERT HOUSTON. HISTORICALLY. THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS. YES, MA'AM. WE WILL GET THAT NOTICE AND THEN WE SEE THE TRIGGERS. AND THEN OF COURSE, ONCE WE HAVE THAT, IT'S, IF WE SEE THAT THERE'S THAT NEED TO SEND THAT INFORMATION AND, AND IT NOT ONLY JUST THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY, BUT OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL, THAT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING OF IMPORTANCE THAT HAS TO GO OUT TO THAT COMMUNITY. OKAY. AND I'M ASSUMING, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED WAREHOUSE FIRES. I'M GONNA PIVOT TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. 'CAUSE A LOT OF THIS HAS HAPPENED IN HER DISTRICT. UM, BUT I'LL, I'LL COME BACK IF I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, SO KIND OF FOLLOW UP WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT THE TRIGGERS. UM, CAN YOU KIND OF WALK THROUGH THAT PROCESS OF, ARE THERE, IS THERE A LIST OF TRIGGERS OF WHEN CERTAIN THINGS ARE SENT OUT THROUGH ALERT HOUSTON VERSUS A WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT? AND WHAT, WHAT DETERMINING? SO YES, THE, SO WE LOOK AT THE INITIAL IMPACT, WHAT WE GET IS, SAY IT'S JUST A COMMUNITY, A CERTAIN COMMUNITY THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE THE WHOLE CITY TO BE AWARE OF. CORRECT. SO THAT ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON THAT, THE TRIGGERS, WE LOOK AT THE IMMEDIATE IMPACT, WHAT IS HAPPENING, SUCH AS THE WAREHOUSE FIRE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT A CERTAIN PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY HAD TO KNOW. THEN WE LOOK AT THE SPECIAL EVENT SIDE OF THE HOUSE, UM, WHICH THERE WAS GONNA BE TRAFFIC ISSUES, YOU KNOW, COMING INTO DOWNTOWN, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THE REGISTERED PERSON, MOVE THAT OVER, YOU MENTIONED THE WIRELESS. AND WHEN WE HAVE THAT, THAT IS GONNA HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CITY. THAT'S WHEN WE START UTILIZING THE ALERT HOUSTON FIRST. AND THEN WE SEE THE, THE, UH, IF THERE, IS THERE GONNA BE AN IMMINENT [00:15:01] DANGER TO THE WHOLE CITY THAT WE UTILIZE THAT TRIGGER. SO NORMALLY IT'S GONNA BE THE IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY. IT'S GONNA BE IS THERE AN IMMEDIATE DANGER OR IS THERE SOME TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO KNOW TO STAY OUT OF THE AREA? OR JUST A HEADS UP, LIKE WE WERE USING NCAA, THERE'S GONNA BE HEAVY TRAFFIC ISSUES, UH, BE AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY. SO MORE OF A, THE ALERT HOUSTON IS MORE OF A JUST FYI, THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING AND OR IN YOUR AREA, THIS IS WHAT'S OCCURRING TO PASS. THAT'S ONE OF THE FORMATS THAT WE USE TO PASS THAT. SO WE UTILIZE IT FOR THE AWARENESS PIECE. AND THEN OF COURSE, ANY LIFE SAFETY ISSUE THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING IN THAT, IN THAT AREA. SO WE USE THOSE TRIGGERS, NOT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE, WE'RE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO JUST INUNDATE WITH INFORMATION THAT AFTER A WHILE PEOPLE JUST GET IMMUNE TO IT. SO WE UTILIZE IT WISELY TO THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE EXTRA CONGESTED THIS, THIS WEEKEND. OR THERE IS AN AREA, AS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE WAREHOUSE, YOU KNOW, IN THAT AREA. WE GEOFENCE THAT AND LET PEOPLE KNOW THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, IN YOUR AREA IN JUST A NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AS WELL. SO IS THE GEO TAGGING JUST BEING DONE FOR ALERT HOUSTON AND NOT THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS WITH THE, WITH THE WHEEL? WE CAN DO THAT, WE CAN DO THE GEOFENCING CAPABILITIES AS WELL, THAT HAS THE CAPABILITIES. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT WITH THE WEA, AS YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO SCRIBE TO THAT. CORRECT. AND THERE'S THOSE PERIMETERS THAT HAVE TO BE MET, RIGHT? AND SO WITH THE WEA, IT ALLOWS THE UNSUBSCRIBED MEMBER TO DO THAT. SO THERE'S MORE OF AN ONUS ON THE CITY TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT'S OCCURRING, YOU KNOW, NATURAL DISASTER SCENARIO THAT ALLOWS IT. SO THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS ALERT, YOU SUBSCRIBE THAT WE, UH, IT'S UNSUBSCRIBED THAT WE CAN DO THE GEOFENCE AND FOLLOW THAT PROCESS. UM, WHEN WE HAD THE SHELTER IN PLACE, UM, WHEN THERE WAS A HAZMAT SITUATION IN DISTRICT A, I KNOW ALERT HOUSTON WAS BEING UTILIZED, BUT PEOPLE WEREN'T NECESSARILY GETTING THE MESSAGE BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE REGISTERED AT THEIR WORK ADDRESS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T PICKING UP WHERE THEY ACTUALLY LIVED OR VICE VERSA. SO IN THOSE SITUATIONS, ARE WE USE UTILIZING THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT? IS THAT ONLY IN EXTREME SITUATIONS? BECAUSE, AND, AND THAT'LL BE IN A VERY, VERY EXTREME SITUATION. AND, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE PUSH HARD ON REGISTERING THE COMMUNITY, SAYING THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING. BUT AT THE SAME FORMAT, WE'RE ALSO UTILIZING THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN THAT AREA AND UTILIZING THE MEDIA PLATFORM AS WELL. SO WE UTILIZE THOSE PLATFORMS THAT, FOR THAT AREA OF IMPACT, THAT THAT COMMUNITY, SAY THE THREE OR FOUR SQUARE MILES IS WHAT'S THE CASE? I THINK IN THIS CASE IT WAS LIKE TWO SQUARE MILES, THREE SQUARE MILES, BUT THAT WAS JUST AN ADVISORY. THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA. SO YEAH, THE PERIMETER, WE LOOK AT THAT AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE, WE PLAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY ARE. AND WHEN WE START THAT CRISIS MANAGEMENT PIECE IS WHAT WE UTILIZE FOR THAT. OKAY. UM, I MEAN, JUST IN GENERAL, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS. I DON'T KNOW HOW EVERYONE ELSE FEELS ABOUT THAT, BUT I JUST KNOW THAT IN MY DISTRICT, THAT PEOPLE WEREN'T GETTING THAT MESSAGE BECAUSE EITHER THEY DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR ALERT HOUSTON OR THEY WEREN'T SIGNED UP. UM, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE IN THAT AREA, BUT THEY WERE SIGNED UP TO COVER A DIFFERENT AREA. AND SO, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, I WASN'T GETTING THOSE MESSAGES BECAUSE I AM NOT REGISTERED THAT CLOSE TO WHERE THAT WAS HAPPENING AT THAT TIME. BUT I THINK THAT IF IT WAS JUST, IF IT JUST AUTOMATICALLY WENT TO PEOPLE'S PHONES, IF THEY WERE IN THAT AREA, I THINK THAT IN EXTREME SITUATIONS, LIKE PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO KNOW IF THEY WERE WALKING INTO A SITUATION THAT MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T BE IN. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. YEAH, AND I APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, I KNOW WHEN WE'VE SPOKEN AND I'VE RAISED THE ISSUE, THERE'S ALWAYS THAT BALANCE. UM, SOME AREAS LIKE YOURS AND MINE HYPER ENGAGED AND WANT TO BE HYPER AWARE. AND THERE'S OTHER TIMES WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RECEIVING COMPLAINTS. WHY ARE WE GETTING ALL THESE NOTIFICATIONS? WE DON'T WANT THEM, ET CETERA. SO I, I UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO BALANCE THAT, AND I THINK WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS, UM, HAVING SOME JUST CLEAR THRESHOLDS OR PARAMETERS, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, WE'VE NEVER SEEN CERTAIN THINGS BEFORE. SO IT'S, IT'S A DECIDE ON THE GO AND WE APPRECIATE THAT SENSITIVITY. UH, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I THINK YOU WERE, UH, HINTING AT COUNCIL MEMBER WAS GOING BACK TO THE RESPONDERS. MM-HMM . YOU ALL CAN'T GET THE, THE NOTICE OUT IF YOU'RE NOT PROPERLY NOTIFIED IN TIME. HAVE WE BEEN CONTINUING TO, AND IT'S ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO DO THAT OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE TRYING TO DO. UM, BUT LET'S SAY WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS THAT AREN'T TRADITIONALLY AS FAMILIAR WITH COORDINATING ON ALERTS, ARE WE STARTING TO IMPROVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS [00:20:01] OR WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE TO KINDA SHORE UP THAT SMOOTH NOTIFICATION PROCESS SO THAT OEM IS NOTIFIED TIMELY AND CAN GET THE WORD OUT? GREAT QUESTION. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR OFFICE IS STRIVING AS WE GROW AND WE MEET OUR STRATEGIC GOALS IS JUST THAT COLLABORATED EFFORT WITH EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY. AND AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT AS WE'RE GETTING OUR TEAM TOGETHER, THAT IS THE BIG APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING THE, THE TRANSPARENCY OF COMMUNICATION. HOW DO WE REACT IN A, IN A FASHIONABLE MANNER, IN A, IN A SAFE MANNER FOR THE CITIZENS? AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GETTING IS THE CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING ON CONTINUOUSLY. UH, CASE IN POINT, WE'RE HAVING THE, THE HURRICANE EXERCISE, AND WE'RE STARTING THE MAIN, ONE OF THE MAIN CORE CAPABILITIES IS JUST THAT OPERATIONAL COMMUNICATION. WHAT WE'RE ALSO DOING FROM OUR OFFICE IS NOW, AS I MENTIONED, UH, VERY BLESSED TO HAVE BRENT TAYLOR IN OUR OFFICE. WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON SETTING UP THE CLASSES, THE JOINT, THE JIC CLASSES THAT WE, WE STARTED DOING. BUT WE TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, BASICALLY JUST TALK ABOUT OUR COMMUNICATION PLAN. UH, WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING ALREADY MEETINGS. WE, YOU KNOW, MEETING WITH HPD AND HIV, HOW'S THAT GONNA WORK? RIGHT? AND SO WITH THAT, THE ANSWER IS YES. WE'RE, WE'RE IDENTIFYING THOSE SHORTFALLS. HOW DO WE WORK BETTER? AND HOW DO WE GET THAT PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION IN A TIMELY MANNER, AND THEN PLAN FOR THOSE EVENTS SUCH AS WE DO, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE MAJOR EVENTS, ESPECIALLY EVENTS THAT WE KNOW, UH, WHAT, HOW DO WE REACT IN THE EVENT OF A, OF AN INCIDENT? AND THAT'S HOW WE TREAT THOSE MAJOR EVENTS, UH, A POTENTIAL INCIDENT AND THEN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESSES THERE. SO YEAH, WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD WITH THAT. GREAT. WELL, I APPRECIATE, AND YOU, YOU GAVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO BRENT, AND I AGREE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT FOLKS THERE TO, UM, CONTINUE TO IMPROVE AND BUILD UPON THE COMMUNICATION APPARATUS THAT, UM, THE CITY HAS. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. NO, THANK YOU. THANKS FOR THE QUESTION. UH, SEEING NO OTHER QUESTIONS, LET'S GO ONTO THE NEXT PRESENTATION. SO THE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN, UM, BEFORE WE STARTED THIS, WE, WE, WE TAKE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH, AND THAT INVOLVES EVERYTHING FROM THE COMMUNICATION PIECE TO THE INPUT. SO THE HAD, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, THE HAZARD MITIGATION PLANNING, UH, REDUCES THE LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY BY MINIMIZING THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS. AND IT BEGINS WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IDENTIFYING THE NATURAL DISASTER RISKS AND VULNERABILITIES THAT ARE COMMON IN OUR AREA. AFTER IDENTIFYING THESE RISKS, WE STARTED THE LONG TERM, UH, STRATEGIES OF PROTECTING PEOPLE AND PROPERTY FROM SIMILAR EVENTS. BUT THE KEY THING IS THAT MITIGATION PLANS ARE A KEY TO BREAKING THE CYCLE OF DISASTER DAMAGE AND RECONSTRUCTION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF SOME OF THE HAZARDS THAT WE LOOKED AT. AND DURING OUR, OUR, OUR STUDIES, WE LOOKED AT THE COMPARISON RATE OF THE, UH, 2022 HAZARD RANKINGS. AND IF YOU SEE, PRETTY MUCH THE TOP FOUR STAYED THE SAME FROM 2018, WHICH WAS FLOOD, HURRICANES, TROPICAL STORMS, EXTREME WEATHER, EXTREME HEAT, EXCUSE ME, AND THUNDER AND THUNDERSTORM WINDS. SO IT, IT SEEMS THAT THAT'S THE PRIMARY THAT WE FOCUS ON. THE OTHER ONES THAT WE, UH, WE STARTED LOOKING AS A DROUGHT, RIGHT? THAT IS, THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING. WE'VE SEEN THE CHANGE TO NOW IT'S A MODERATE, UH, HAZARD THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE DROUGHT PROCESS. SO, UH, THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING, AND THAT'S HOW THE RANKINGS CAME OUT IN OUR STUDIES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME OF THE AREAS. A A A QUICK, QUICK SNAPSHOT OF THE AREAS THAT WERE ASSESSED WAS EVERYTHING FROM THE DAM, THE DAM TO THE LEVEE FAILURE. AND THEN YOU SEE THE ANNUAL OCCURRENCE, OF COURSE, WITH THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE. SO WE LOOK AT ALL THESE AND LOOK AT ALL THE CONCEPTS AS, AS WE MENTIONED IT, AS TO, UM, THESE ARE GONNA BE THE MI THIS IS THE KEY MITIGATION THAT WE USE TO REDUCE, UM, LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY BY MINIMIZING THOSE IMPACTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. PART OF THAT ALSO HAD A VULNERABILITY DISCUSSION THAT WE LOOKED AT. AND, AND, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, THE VULNERABILITY, RIGHT? WE, WE TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE MAJOR AREAS IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY, IN OUR CITY, THAT ARE VULNERABLE TO THOSE TYPES OF DISASTERS AND ACCOUNT, AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT THAT IT HAS IN OUR COMMUNITIES AFTER A STORM OR PRIOR TO A STORM. AND THIS ALLOWS US TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, THE MITIGATION STRATEGY THAT WE USE, AS I MENTIONED, WAS THE MITIGATION GOALS WERE BASED UPON FINDINGS OF THE RISKS AND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM PREVIOUS AND ONGOING MITIGATION PROJECTS, WHAT IS WORKING, WHAT IS NOT, AND IDENTIFY THE IDENTIFICATION ANALYSIS OF MITIGATION PROJECTS, ADDRESSING THE NATURAL HAZARDS. UM, AND [00:25:01] ONE OF THE KEY THINGS, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, THAT WE'RE REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF IN, IN, IN, IN OUR TEAM AND WITHIN OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT, IS THAT WHEN WE STARTED DOING THESE, THESE ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES, SOME KEY DATES THAT WE HAD. WHEN I SAY THAT WE HAD THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH, WE DID HAVE A WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH. UH, AS FAR AS SURVEYS, I DO HAVE THE SAMPLES OF THE SURVEYS THAT WE DID, BOTH IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH AND OTHER LANGUAGES, THE VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE AS WELL. BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE DID WITH THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE IT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH, WE DID HAVE THE UPDATES ON HOW TO PRO, HOW TO, WE PROMOTED THE AWARENESS AND THE INVITE PARTICIPATIONS. WE HAD THE PUBLIC SURVEYS PRINTED, AND THEN WE STARTED MEETING WITH CERTAIN AREAS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT HISTORICALLY HAD NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN STUDIES. SO WE STARTED WORKING WITH THEM. AND ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE'RE PROUD OF IS THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WORKED WITH. UH, PART OF THIS ALSO INCLUDED THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING DEVELOPMENT ALONG WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE COMPLETE COMMUNITIES. WE STARTED MEETING WITH THEM TO SEE ARE WE MISSING AND THINGS, EXCUSE ME, COUNCIL MEMBER. YEAH. SO WE, WE WANTED TO TAKE THAT AND REALLY FOCUS ON THAT AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE INPUT FROM THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND THE OUTREACH AND PUBLICITY THAT WE HAD WAS OBVIOUSLY GET THE LOCAL NETWORKS OF WHAT PEOPLE AND INVITE THEM TO HAVE THE PARTICIPATION AND THE VOICE OF WHEN WE STARTED MAKING, MAKING THIS MITIGATION PLAN, ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING TO HAVE THE OWNERSHIP IN THE COMMUNITIES FIND OUT HISTORICALLY WHAT HAS OCCURRED AND HOW DO WE PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING? UH, WE STARTED DOING EMAIL BLASTS, BULLETINS, AND THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN THE, THE, THE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES THE NET, THE, THE OLD GRASSROOTS APPROACH. WE FOUND THAT, THAT IT REALLY WORKS REALLY WELL. UH, WE ALSO DID OUTREACH TO THE, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL. AND AS I MENTIONED, THE SOCIAL MEDIA POST AND THE COMMUNICATIONS INCLUDED THE LINK TO THE SURVEYS SUBMITTING TO INVITATIONS. WE ALSO HAD THE SPANISH AND A LS TRANSLATION, WHICH WE WERE COMPLIMENTED ON BECAUSE A LADY FROM THE COMMUNITY DID MENTION ONCE. AND I THINK THAT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS STORY FOR US. SO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT'S EVER BEEN DONE IN SPANISH. SO WE THANK YOU. ALONG WITH THE A SL. SO IN A NUTSHELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, WITH THE HAZARD MITIGATION. UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN TOMORROW, IT IS GOING UP FOR TEEM FOR REVIEW. UM, SO THAT BE GOING OUT THERE. UH, AND THEN WE SHOULD HOPEFULLY RECEIVE SOME FEEDBACK. WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH TEEM, UH, HOPEFULLY NO LATER THAN MAY 22ND OR THE 22ND OF MAY. AND THEN WE'LL JUST SUBMIT THAT THE, ANY CHANGES TO SUBMIT THE FINAL DRAFT ON MAY 24TH TO, TO . SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AS WELL. A LOT OF WORK'S BEEN GOING INTO THIS. THEN THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. OKAY, GREAT. UM, COUNSEL OR STAFF? ANY QUESTIONS? RIGHT. WELL, I HAVE A FEW. UM, JUST SO THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS, THIS WILL ENABLE, THE REASON THE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN IS SO IMPORTANT, ONE, NOT ONLY IN ASSESSING, BUT, AND ALSO I'M ASSUMING DRAWING DOWN DOLLARS, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HPD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE TO DRAW DOWN THOSE DOLLARS, AND THIS ENABLES THAT AS WELL. ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO EVERY FIVE YEARS, THIS PLAN HAS TO BE UPDATED, SENT TO TET, IM, AND THEN APPROVED BY FEMA. AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WITHOUT THIS MITIGATION PLAN BLESSING, 'CAUSE IT'S IDENTIFIED THE, THE, THE AREAS THAT NEED THE IMPROVEMENT, WE WILL NOT GET THE FEDERAL FUNDING. SO THIS IS A VERY BIG LIFT FOR THE OFFICE AND, AND SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD ON. OKAY. GREAT. AND I NOTICED, UM, I RECEIVED A NOTE, I THINK OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS DID THAT THE DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK IS, UH, TOMORROW, APRIL 21ST. MM-HMM . IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. AND I'LL VERIFY THAT AND SEND THAT IF, IF THAT'S WRONG. OKAY. I JUST, FOR THE PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE, AGAIN, AS OF NOW, THE DEADLINE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THIS PLAN IS, UH, TOMORROW APRIL 21ST. UM, AND YOU CAN, I BELIEVE, GO TO OEM'S WEBSITE CORRECT. TO PROVIDE THAT INPUT OR CALL, UM, IF YOU CAN'T DO SO, UH, THE PHONE NUMBER IS (713) 884-4500. SO I JUST, I WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. THANK YOU. UM, AND IF I'M WRONG, BRENT OR SOMEONE, JUST TELL ME, UH, LASTLY, I WANTED TO NOTE, I APPRECIATE THAT Y'ALL HAVE ELEVATED THE RISK OF DROUGHT. UH, MY AREA THAT I REPRESENT IS ONE OF THE HARDEST, IF NOT MOST REPETITIVELY HIT BY FLOODING IN THE REGION. AND [00:30:01] SO WHILE WE KEEP THE FOCUS ON FLOODING, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT IT IS EARTH DAY, IT IS, OR THIS WEEKEND, IT'S EARTH WEEK, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WE'RE SEEING MORE SEVERE DROUGHT AND WILDFIRE. AND IN HOUSTON, WE OFTEN DON'T THINK OF THAT. UH, YOU DID HIGHLIGHT THAT ONE OF THE CONCERNS RELATED TO DROUGHT, UM, WAS PERSONS, UH, INDIVIDUALS. MY QUESTION IS, AS WE'VE HEARD FROM PUBLIC WORKS AND THE WATER DIVISION, AND AS WE'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE STATE, UM, WATER RESOURCES, AS MUCH AS IT BLOWS OUR MIND IN HOUSTON TO SAY, WATER RESOURCES ARE GONNA BE GETTING MORE SCARCE, THEY CAN BE GETTING MORE SCARCE IN THE FUTURE. SO ARE WE LOOKING AT WATER SHORTAGE, UM, AS ONE OF THOSE RISKS AS WELL AS EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE A SHORTAGE OF WATER, WE'VE SEEN MILLIONS OF GALLONS LOST FROM INFRASTRUCTURE AND PIPE BREAKS. SO THE ABILITY TO GET THAT WATER RIGHT, AND THOSE OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE RISKS, IS THAT BEING ASSESSED AS WELL AS PART OF THIS COUNCIL MEMBER? I COULD LOOK INTO THAT. UM, AND I, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THAT IS ALWAYS A CONCERN AS FAR WATER CONSUMPTION, ESPECIALLY DURING THE SUMMER DAYS. UM, WHERE WE, WE DO WORK WITH, WHEN WE HAVE THE MAJOR EVENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE, WE TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER, THE HYDRATION, THE ELDERLY POPULATION, THE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. SO THE AN THE ANSWER TO THAT IS WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT. UH, AND THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION THAT I COULD PRESENT TO THE TEAM AS I GET BACK. OKAY. I APPRECIATE, 'CAUSE AGAIN, IT'S JUST DROUGHT IS A HOLISTIC ISSUE, JUST LIKE FLOODING IS. AND, UM, THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, I, I KNOW OUR, OUR CHAIR OF TTI JUST HAD TO STEP OUT, BUT, UM, IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT, BUT I, I DID WANNA ELEVATE THAT Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT THAT FOR, UM, THE PUBLIC'S AWARENESS, MA'AM. SO THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. MM-HMM . UM, SEEING NO QUESTIONS. AGAIN, THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT FOR EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING. NO. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AT THIS TIME, UH, CHAIR RECOGNIZES HPD, UH, WE HAVE A FEW OF OUR, UH, OF THE HPD TEAM WITH US. I KNOW, UH, CFO SMITH IS HERE, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, OUR, ONE OF OUR, THEIR STAFF ANALYSIS, UH, MS. COURTNEY LITTLE. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU BOTH. UM, RHONDA, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO KICK THINGS OFF. YES, THANK YOU. AND OH, LET'S, THERE WE GO. AM I? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBER C COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS MENTIONED. MY NAME IS RHONDA SMITH, AND I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND JOINING ME TODAY IS, UH, COURTNEY LIDLE, AND COURTNEY ACTUALLY HANDLES ALL OF OUR GRANT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. AND SO TODAY WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS OUR ROBUST, UH, GRANTS MANAGEMENT EFFORTS. UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WE'RE GOING TO BRIEFLY GO OVER OUR GRANTS UNIT OVERVIEW, AS WELL AS THE ACTIVE AND PENDING GRANTS WE HAVE, AND THE FORTHCOMING GRANTS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL IN THE NEAR FUTURE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO BEFORE PASSING THE PRESENTATION OVER TO MS. LIDLE, UH, WHO WILL PROVIDE MUCH MORE DETAIL THAN I CAN EVER DO, I WANTED TO AT LEAST PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME CONTEXT ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR GRANT INITIATIVES, UH, BY SHARING A FEW FACTS. SO WITHIN HPD, WE, WE HAVE FOUR BUCKETS OF FUNDING, OF COURSE, THE MAJOR ONE BEING THE GENERAL FUND, BUT WE HAVE SPECIAL FUNDS, GRANTS, AND OF COURSE THE CIP FUNDS. AND OF THAT GRANTS REPRESENTS ABOUT 5% OF THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION, OUR SUCCESS RATE. SO FOR LAST YEAR, WE HAD ABOUT, UH, 39 GRANTS, AND OUT OF THAT 29, 28 WERE AWARDED, RESULTING IN A SUCCESS RATE OF 72% THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. AND FROM A MONETARY PERSPECTIVE, THIS TRANSLATES TO AN APPLICATION FOR 39.7 MILLION THAT WE APPLIED FOR, AND WE RECEIVED 26.8 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO, UH, PASS IT ON TO MS. LIGHTLE, AND SHE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE GRANTS AND OUR PURPOSE, AS WELL AS GO OVER SOME OF OUR GRANTS THAT, UH, WE PLAN ON SUBMITTING. AND MS. LIDLE, I APOLOGIZE, I MISPRONOUNCED YOUR LAST NAME, SO I AM SORRY FOR THAT. GO AHEAD. THAT IS OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU. SO OUR PURPOSE, UM, IN THE GRANTS UNIT, UM, OF COURSE, IS TO PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT IMPACT OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE. UM, EACH, UH, GRANT CYCLE, OUR TEAM MEETS AND WE ASSESS THE [00:35:01] NEW AND CURRENT GRANTS, UM, THAT HPD HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR. WE ALSO HAVE INSTITUTED UNIQUE, UM, ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH INITIATIVES. SO BEGINNING IN 2022, THE GRANTS UNIT DEVELOPED A SERIES OF ONLINE AND IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS TO INFORM AND EMPOWER OUR DIVISIONS IN THE UNITS ON HOW TO PREPARE PROPOSALS, AND ALSO TO INFORM THEM ON OUR GRANT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES. UM, WE DEFINITELY PRIDE OURSELVES IN OUR STRONG RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE'VE CULTIVATED AT HPD, UM, WITHIN THE LAST 20 YEARS, RELATIONSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE HOUSTON AREA, GALVESTON COUNCIL, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, AND ITS AFFILIATES. NEXT SLIDE. SO, UM, WE DEFINITELY HAVE OUR FEDERAL AND OUR STATE FUNDING PARTNERS. UM, THEY'RE MENTIONED HERE, UM, THE U-S-D-O-J AND, UM, MOTOR VEHICLE CRIME PREVENTION AUTHORITY, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE. AND AGAIN, HG SORRY, I'M SORRY. WE HAVE A LITTLE DELAY ON THAT ON SLIDES. YEAH, WE HAVE A LITTLE DELAY ON THE SLIDES. LET'S JUST GIVE IT A SECOND TO CATCH UP. SLIDE SEVEN. YES, I'M ON SEVEN, SLIDE SEVEN. SO REALLY STILL ON THIS SLIDE? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. SO REALLY THE GRANTS, UM, LISTED FROM THESE AGENCIES ARE REALLY THE BACKBONE OF OUR FUNDING. UM, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO GREEN LIGHT SOME PROJECTS AND ALSO CONTINUE PROJECTS FOR US. UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE GRANTS THAT WE AWARDED IN 2020 WAS THE GULF STATE'S REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANT. UM, THAT WAS UNDER THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE. THIS WAS A $2.7 MILLION GRANT THAT WAS AWARDED TO THE GANG DIVISION. UM, IT WAS A PILOT PROJECT TO GATHER AND SHARE INTELLIGENCE WITH LOCAL, COUNTY, AND FEDERAL PARTNERS WITHIN THE GULF COAST. ANOTHER SUCH EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE MOTOR VEHICLE, UM, PREVENTION AUTHORITY GRANT. AND THIS GRANT PROVIDES LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, UM, THE ABILITY TO COMBAT MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT, BURGLARY FROM MOTOR VEHICLES AND FRAUD RELATED MOTOR VEHICLE CRIME. WE HAVE BEEN AWARDED THAT GRANT FOR THE LAST 32 YEARS. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE HAVE A, UM, DIAGRAM ABOVE YOU THAT IS GOING TO HIGHLIGHT HPDS GRANT FUNDING. SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE A FUND OF, UH, 70.67 MILLION IN ACTIVE GRANTS AND WANTED TO LIST, UM, QUICKLY, THE TOP THREE CATEGORIES ARE OVERTIME, SALARIES, AND EQUIPMENT. THOSE ARE THE MAJOR CATEGORIES THAT WE RECEIVE FUNDING WITHIN. NEXT SLIDE. SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE FORTHCOMING RCAS THAT WILL BE COMING BEFORE COUNCIL. ONE OF THE GRANTS, UM, IS THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CRIME GUN INTELLIGENCE CENTER GRANT. THIS IS GOING TO BE THE SECOND YEAR THAT HPD WOULD BE AWARDED THIS GRANT. WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING THE MAX OF 700,000 OVER THE COURSE OF 36 MONTHS. UM, IF AWARDED, IT WOULD GO TO THE SOUTHEAST CRIME SUPPRESSION TEAM. BUT ONE OF THE GOALS, UM, IS TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM THAT SEEKS TO, TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE LINKED TO GUN CRIMES. JUST TO NOTE, IN 2019, HPD WAS THE RECIPIENT OF THIS GRANT, AND IT DID RECEIVE THE FULL FUNDING OF $700,000, AND THAT WAS AWARDED TO THE NORTH, UM, PATROL CRIME SUPPRESSION TEAM. AND WITH THAT SYSTEM, THEY WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE A BULLET DETECTION SYSTEM WITH CAMERA VEHICLES AND ATTEND THE CRIME GUN INTELLIGENCE TRAINING WITH A TF. NEXT SLIDE. OUR NEXT GRANT IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST RESPONDER MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM GRANT. THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST AWARD IF RECEIVED. WE ARE SEEKING $150,000. THIS WOULD BE OUT OF THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR. THIS WOULD BE ALSO A DURATION OF 12 MONTHS. SO THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO EXPAND THE PEER SUPPORT UNIT TO ADDRESS THE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND WELLBEING OF BOTH HPDS FIRST RESPONDERS AND RESPONDERS OF SURROUNDING, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. SO PEER SUPPORT WANTS TO USE THIS MONEY FOR TRAINING, TRAINING PROGRAMS TO BE, HAVE TO BECOME TRAINED. THE TRAINERS ALSO USE THE RESOURCES TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE TRAINING, UH, FOR APPLIED SUICIDE INTERVENTION SKILLS, AND ALSO MANDATORY TRAINING ON WELLNESS RESILIENCY AND COPING [00:40:01] FUNDS WOULD ALSO BE USED TO CONTINUE THE CORTICO APP, WHICH SERVES AS AN ONLINE RESOURCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING, PROVIDES INFORMATION NOT ONLY TO HPD OFFICERS, BUT CIVILIANS AS WELL ON HOW TO SEEK HELP FOR MENTAL HEALTH. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT WE HAVE THE GENERAL VICTIMS' ASSISTANT GRANT, SEEKING $197,000 OVER THE COURSE OF 12 MONTHS. THIS WOULD BE AWARDED TO OUR VICTIM SERVICE UNIT IF AWARDED, THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME THAT HPD WILL RECEIVE THIS AWARD. SO PRIMARILY VICTIM SERVICES, UM, USES THIS MONEY TO SERVE SURVIVORS OF HOMICIDES, CRIMINAL FATALITY, ACCIDENTS, UM, AND BY EMPLOYING, UM, THREE OFFICERS WITH THIS GRANT, WE WOULD USE THE MONEY FOR SALARIES. THESE ARE A SERIES OF RETIRED OFFICERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCE IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS, COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS. SO THEY FEEL THERE'LL BE AN IDEAL FIT TO ASSIST THESE VICTIMS, UM, DURING THEIR TIME OF NEED. NEXT, WE HAVE THE VIOLENT CRIME PROGRAM, SEEKING $125,000 OVER THE COURSE OF 12 MONTHS. THIS WOULD GO TO THE NORTHEAST DIVISION. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE INITIATIVE IS, OF COURSE, TO ARREST AND DETER VIOLENT, UM, I'M SORRY, DETER VIOLENT CRIME THROUGH THE NORTHEAST AREA OF HOUSTON IS THE PRIMARY FOCUS. SO WITH THE, THE GOAL IS ALSO TO SURVEIL EFFECTIVELY ARREST VIOLENT SERIAL CREWS, GANGS, AND UNWANTED FUGITIVES. THE NORTHEAST CRIME SUPPRESSION TEAM WORKS IN COLLABORATION WITH MULTIPLE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, STATE DEPARTMENTS, AND FEDERAL AGENCIES TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE AND ADD MANPOWER TO ASSIST PLANNED OPERATIONS. WITH THIS GRANT, UM, THEY'RE SEEKING MONEY FOR OVERTIME FOR ABOUT 11 OFFICERS AND ONE SERGEANT TO MAN THE NORTHEAST DAY SHIFT TACTICAL UNIT. EXCELLENT. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE HAVE A LIST HERE FOR YOU OF OTHER NOTABLE GRANTS THAT ARE FORTHCOMING. WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED, UM, AN APPENDIX IN THIS PRESENTATION, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ, UM, AT YOUR LEISURE, THOSE OTHER GRANTS COMING BEFORE COUNCIL. NEXT SLIDE. DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MS. LIDLE. UH, I DO NOT SEE ANYONE IN QUEUE FOR QUESTIONS. UM, I DID WANT TO NOTE FOR THE PUBLIC ONE, ALL OF THE GRANTS THAT ARE COMING BEFORE COUNCIL ARE LISTED IN THE APPENDIX WITH THAT SAME LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT WE SAW FOR THESE KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED AND SPOTLIGHTED, UM, GRANTS. SO I ENCOURAGE THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL MEMBER AND STAFF TO LOOK THROUGH THOSE, UM, BECAUSE THEY WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL. AGAIN, THESE ARE THE RE THE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, FOR THE GRANT SO THAT WE CAN GO OUT, OR HPD CAN GO OUT AND SEEK THOSE. UM, FOR THAT SUP, THOSE SUPPLEMENTAL DOLLARS. THAT IS, UH, RHONDA, YOU SO APTLY POINTED OUT ARE NEEDED FOR SOME OF THE SPECIAL PROGRAMS. MS. LIDLE, THERE WAS ONE, UM, I KNOW Y'ALL DID AN AMAZING JOB CONSOLIDATING AND CONDENSING A LOT OF INFORMATION. UM, FOR US, THERE'S A FEW OTHER GRANTS I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I THINK ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW ABOUT, UM, INCLUDING THE, UH, COMMUNITY BASED GRANTS THAT YOU ALL ARE WORKING FOR UNDER ONE SAFE HOUSTON. AT THE BEGINNING OF, UH, THE COMMITTEE MEETING, I, I DISCUSSED THE, THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY UNDER MAYOR TURNER AND THIS COUNCIL ARE PUTTING FORWARD TO ADDRESS CRIME AND VIOLENT CRIME HOLISTICALLY. UM, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THAT WITH VICTIM SERVICES, WITH, UH, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR OUR OFFICERS. OFTENTIMES THAT GOES VERY MUCH OVERLOOKED AND THOSE NEEDS, BUT THERE'S ALSO GRANTS, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND TOUCHING ON ONE OR TWO OF THOSE, I BELIEVE THAT RELATE TO COMMUNITY, UM, SUPPORT AND EFFORTS, AGAIN, COMING AT THIS FROM A HOLISTIC APPROACH. UM, SO THE SAFE POLICING EITHER THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT OR ANOTHER KIND OF EXAMPLE OF WHERE HPD IS FOCUSING ON, UM, THOSE COMMUNITY BASED EFFORTS? LET'S SEE, PROJECT, WE DO HAVE THE, UM, PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS GRANT, UM, THAT WOULD BE WORKING WITH OUR GANG DIVISION. AND SO THOUGH THEY ARE WORKING, UM, ALONG [00:45:01] WITH THE CRIME SUPPRESSION TEAMS AND HOMICIDE DIVISIONS, OF COURSE WE HAVE, UM, OTHER PARTNERS, UM, THEY DO USE THIS FOR OVERTIME. UM, AND IT IS OF COURSE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS AND THEY DIVIDE THAT MONEY OUT TO DIFFERENT DIVISIONS. BUT WE DO SEE, UM, SOME DEGREE OF, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH, UM, GANGS. AS FAR AS REPORTING, UM, I BELIEVE THE VARIOUS DIVISIONS HAVE A GANG SUPPRESSION TEAM. AND SO WITH THOSE, THEY DO GET MORE OR LESS TIPS AND INFORMATION. SO THE OVERTIME MONEY WOULD BE USED IN THOSE INVESTIGATIONS. AND, UM, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD ALLOW AT LEAST SOME DEGREE OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE. OKAY. AND BUT YOU ALSO HAVE, UM, AND THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME ON THAT AWARD. YEAH. UM, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN. YES. IAC AND THOSE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATED GRANTS. UM, AND AGAIN, WANTING TO JUST SPOTLIGHT, UM, THE POLICE INTEGRITY AND VALIDATION PROGRAM, AGAIN, THE HOLISTIC APPROACH. UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL GO BACK THROUGH, BUT I ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO LOOK AT THOSE APPENDIX, UM, FOR THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. UH, LASTLY, THE, BECAUSE THE BUDGET, UH, SEASON IS COMING UP, I DO WANNA AGAIN POINT OUT, RHONDA, YOU BROUGHT UP 91% OF H HPDS GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS WHAT COUNCIL APPROVES IS STRICTLY PERSONNEL COSTS. CORRECT. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE GRANTS AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, AGAIN, THESE PROGRAMMATIC ASPECTS? YES, THANK YOU. SO AS YOU MENTIONED, 91% OF OUR BUDGET IS OUR PERSONNEL COST. AND WE MAKE UP A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE, OF THE GENERAL FUND BECAUSE OF THE, THE, WE'RE LABOR GEN GENERATED. SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH TO GO AROUND. SO WE LOOK FOR OTHER WAYS TO ACTUALLY SUBSIDIZE, UM, AND SUPPLEMENT OUR GRANTS OR SUPPLEMENT OUR FUNDING AND RESOURCES. AND BECAUSE OF THE GRANTS OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE, WE ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO HAVE MORE OUTREACH. AND AS YOU MENTIONED ABOUT ONE SAFE HOUSTON, WE ACTUALLY ARE ABLE TO USE A LOT OF OUR GRANT EFFORTS IN ORDER TO HAVE THAT HOLISTIC STANDPOINT. SO WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT GRANTS AND WE WERE LOOKING AT THE TYPE OF GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, WE'RE KEEPING THAT IN MIND. WE'RE KEEPING WHAT ARE OUR GOALS? WHAT, WHAT'S THE PURPOSE AND WHY ARE WE HERE? AND WHAT'S THAT HOLISTIC PORTION? SO THAT 5%, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY SOUND SMALL TO YOU, IS SIGNIFICANT. IT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BECAUSE MONEY IS TIGHT, AS YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE BEEN SUBSIDIZED BY A LOT OF THE ARPA FUNDING AND THE CARES FUNDING, WELL, THAT'S GOING TO, UH, GO AWAY AT SOME POINT. AND SO WE WILL LOOK FOR OTHER WAYS TO SUPPLEMENT. SO IN THE MEANTIME, WE ARE AGGRESSIVELY PURSUING GRANTS AND, UM, MISS LIDLE DOES IT WITH, UH, THREE OTHER FOLKS. AND SO THIS IS, I WAS GONNA SAY, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YES, ANY OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS IF THEY'RE HERE? YES. AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY SHE DOES IT WITH THREE OTHER FOLKS. AND THIS IS GRANT SEASON, SO WE'LL BE KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR QUITE A BIT. UH, AND WE'LL COME BACK PROBABLY IN THE FALL ALSO. SO ALSO WE ALSO HAVE, UH, PENAL PATEL AND PENAL IS OUR POLICE ADMINISTRATOR, AND HE ACTUALLY MANAGES THE GRANTS, BUT HE MANAGES SEVERAL OTHER SECTIONS ALSO. AND, UH, SONYA OAT WHO IS HELPFUL, AND EVERYBODY KNOWS SONYA, SO SHE IS OUR LIAISON AND SHE KEEPS US, UH, MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO THANK YOU BOTH OF YOU. GREAT. UM, THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE WORK ON THIS. UH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO REVIEWING IT FURTHER, UH, FOR COUNSEL. THANK YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU. WE PRESENT THE OPPORTUNITY. THANK YOU. UH, BEFORE WE GET TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS, AND WE'LL, WE'LL BE RIGHT THERE IN JUST A MOMENT. UM, AGAIN, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, THE NEXT MEETING IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE ON APRIL 26TH. THERE WILL NOT BE A MAY PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE MEETING BECAUSE OF, UM, BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETINGS. SO I RECOMMEND THE PUBLIC, UH, PAY ATTENTION TO THAT SCHEDULE BECAUSE EVERY DEPARTMENT THAT, UH, THIS COMMITTEE WILL BE COMING TO BFA FOR THAT. UM, WITH THAT, UH, FIRST, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKER, AGAIN, WE HAVE THREE SIGNED UP. UH, LAURA GALLIER, I JUST, MS. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES IF, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. AND I BELIEVE YOU GAVE US A HANDOUT AS WELL. YES. OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE OFFICE OF POLICE REFORM AND ACCOUNTABILITY. I BELIEVE [00:50:01] THE PROCESS THAT LED TO ESTABLISHING OPRAH MEANT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND FOR THE PROCESS OF HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. TO BE TRANSPARENT, I REPORTED SOMETHING I SAW TO OPRAH IN JULY, 2022, COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS AND VIDEO. IN MARCH, I RECEIVED A SHORT LETTER NOTIFYING ME THAT THE INVESTIGATION WAS COMPLETE. THE LETTER LEFT ME WITH MANY MORE QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD LIKE ANSWERED. THIS PROCESS DID NOT REPRESENT WHAT I THINK OF AS ACCOUNTABILITY OR TRANSPARENCY, EXCUSE ME, FROM THE LETTER, THE ALLEGATIONS HAVE RESULTED AS SUSTAINED. WHAT WERE THE ALLEGATIONS THAT WERE SUSTAINED? THIS FINDING HAS ALSO RESULTED WITH DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST THE OFFICERS INVOLVED. WHAT LAWS, POLICIES, OR PROCEDURES WERE VIOLATED, AND WHAT DISCIPLINE DID THEY RECEIVE? WAS ANY RETRAINING UNDERTAKEN? WERE ANY POLICIES REVISED? IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS HPD DOING TO PREVENT THIS HAPPENING WHEN THERE ISN'T A WITNESS? HOW IS THE CITIZEN NOTIFIED OF THE INVESTIGATION AND ITS RESULTS? I'M ASKING BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S HOMELESS. WAS THE INDIVIDUAL CHARGED WITH ANY CRIME AS A WITNESS, TAXPAYER AND CITIZEN? I FEEL I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW IF HE DID ANYTHING TO WARRANT THIS USE OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES AND PHYSICAL FORCE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. HOW WAS THE INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED? DID THEY REVIEW DASH CAM AND BODY CAM FOOTAGE, THE FOOTAGE FROM THE BUSINESS ACROSS THE STREET? DID THEY INTERVIEW THE OFFICERS AND DISPATCH TO FIND OUT WHY SO MANY OFFICERS WERE IN THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME? DID THEY INTERVIEW THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS HOGTIED? I WOULD LIKE ANSWERS TO EACH QUESTION. I BELIEVE THE PROCESS THAT LED TO ESTABLISHING OPRAH MEANT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND FOR THE PROCESS OF HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO BE TRANSPARENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. GALLIER. AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WE'VE BEEN HELPING IN FACILITATING YOU SPEAKING WITH, UM, THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE ABOUT THAT. AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT, AND WE APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THIS AS WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, AARON COKER. HEY, HOW YOU DOING? GOOD. WELCOME. THANK YOU. UM, I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, SO EXCUSE ME, IF I DON'T KNOW THE PROCESS OR THAT'S A PIECE AT THE CORE. THAT'S OKAY. YOU'LL, YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES. UH, THE TIMER'S GONNA START IN JUST A SECOND WHEN YOU START TALKING. AND, UH, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP. COOL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, MY NAME IS AARON COKER. I'M A NATIVE HOUSTONIAN FATHER, UH, VETERAN. I'M ALSO A DREAMER. I DREAM A LOT EVER SINCE I WAS A YOUNG KID. AND I HAVE A DREAM THAT OCCURS TO ME ALMOST NIGHTLY, THAT HOUSTON, TEXAS CAN BE THE SAFEST METROPOLITAN CITY IN THIS COUNTRY, IF NOT THE WHOLE DANG WORLD. AND THAT'S WHY I STARTED CITADEL SECURITY FORCES TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING ROBOTIC SECURITY GUARDS COMPLETE AND STANDARD WITH GUN DETECTION, ABLE TO DETECT A BRANDISHED WEAPON IN UNDER ONE SECOND. AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE FORUM TO DO THIS ON. I'M NOT MUCH OF A SALESMAN. I'M NOT MUCH OF A PUBLIC SPEAKER EITHER, BUT I WANNA KNOW IF I COULD SCHEDULE SOME TIME WITH THIS COUNCIL TO SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHAT MY ROBOTS CAN DO TO HELP MAKE THIS CITY A SAFER PLACE FOR ITS CITIZENS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND UNDER TIME. THANK YOU. GREAT. AND LAST, UH, WE HAVE BOB CHOATE. BOB CHOATE. IF YOU'RE CALLING IN, PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE, GOING ONCE, TWICE. OKAY. UM, THAT CONCLUDES, UH, OUR COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY. I WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR PRESENTERS AND DEPARTMENTS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF, AND OF COURSE OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UH, FOR JOINING US. UH, SPECIAL THANKS TO HTV AND IT, THEY'RE ALWAYS BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THIS RUNS SMOOTHLY. UH, AS OF NOW, OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING, AGAIN IS APRIL 26TH. UH, IT'S A JOINT MEETING WITH QUALITY OF LIFE. UH, ALL THE AGENDAS AND PRESENTATIONS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE ON THE COMMITTEE'S WEBPAGE. A RECORDING OF THE MEETING IS POSTED TO HTV ON THEIR WEBSITE. UH, WITH THAT, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 2 59. UH, AND THANKS TO ALL AND BE SAFE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.