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VICTOR, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL?[2:00 PM - ROLL CALL]
MAYOR WHITMEYER.[PUBLIC SPEAKERS]
TO ITEM ONE, THERE'S A PUBLIC SPEAKER.SECRETARY, YOU CALL SPEAKER NUMBER ONE.
UH, MR. BOSWELL, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO Y'ALL.
MY NAME IS ALAN BOSWELL AND MYSELF AND MY FAMILY, UH, LIVE IN THE OAK FOREST NEIGHBORHOOD OFF OF EL BOULEVARD IN DISTRICT C.
WE ARE CURRENTLY ON DAY EIGHT OF NO POWER FOLLOWING THE CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE THAT CAME LAST MONDAY.
ONLY THIS MORNING DID WE SEE ANYONE FROM CENTERPOINT SHOW UP IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THE DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES, LET ALONE THE GETTING ELECTRICITY BACK UP AND RUNNING.
THIS HAS BEEN AFTER REPEATED CALLS, TEXT TWEETS AND SOCIAL MEDIA POINT, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA POST TO CENTER POINT.
THE MAYOR, THE GOVERNOR, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL.
AND LET ME BE CLEAR, I ONLY HEARD FROM ONE MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AND QUITE FRANKLY, THAT WAS POLICE CALL CENTER POINT, LET ALONE WE ARE NOT VERY HAPPY WITH THE RESPONSE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AT ALL TO WHAT HAS OCCURRED DURING THIS HURRICANE.
YOU ALL IN CENTER POINT HAD A PREVIEW OF THIS DEBACLE IN MAY, MORE THAN A MILLION HOMES AND BUSINESSES LOST POWER IN MAY MANY, INCLUDING OURSELVES, DID NOT HAVE POWER FOR OVER A WEEK.
HERE ARE THE ISSUES THAT WE SEE THAT CENTER POINT, CENTER POINT, AND YOU ALL HAVE FAILED TO ADDRESS DOWN POWER, POWER LINES AND CENTER POINT.
CENTER POINT HAS SET UP A SYSTEM THAT MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK TO ANYONE, ANY REPRESENTATIVE, AND GET ANY UPDATE ON DOWN LINES AND WHEN TO EXPECT A REPRESENTATIVE TO SHOW UP.
CENTERPOINT'S TRACKER MAP, THIS IS BY FAR, FAR THE MOST USELESS PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT HAS EVER BEEN CREATED BY A BUSINESS AND SERVES AS YET AGAIN, THE FRUSTRATION ABOUT THE LACK OF CREDIBLE COMMUNICATION, CENTERPOINT'S PRIORITIZATION PROCESS, WE WOULD APPRECIATE JUST KNOWING THE PRIORITIZATION OF WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO OCCUR IF WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOWN FURTHER ON THE PRIORITIZATION LIST, OBVIOUSLY HOSPITALS, WATER TREATMENT, PLACES, IT, THINGS THAT ARE AT THE TOP.
IF WE KNEW WE WERE AT THE BOTTOM, WE COULD MAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACCOMMODATIONS.
HAVING NO TRANSPARENCY AT ALL LEAVES US WITH LITTLE TO NOTHING TO GO OFF OF.
THIS WAS THE SAME NUMBER OF CREWS THAT WERE DISPATCHED FOR THE STORM IN MAY.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAD 2.4 MILLION UNITS THAT WERE OUT IN THIS STORM.
SO OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO EVEN DEAL WITH WHAT HAPPENED TO OCCUR IN MAY, LET ALONE THIS AND THEIR PR AND UH, THEIR STATISTICS THAT THEY PUT ON THEIR WEBSITE, THOSE ARE IN-HOUSE.
I'M SURE THAT THEY SHOWED US AS BEING ENERGIZED AS WELL.
MAYOR WHITMORE, YOU HAVE SAID SEVERAL TIMES THAT YOU'LL HOLD CENTERPOINT ACCOUNTABLE.
WHY DID YOU NOT HOLD THEM IN ACCOUNTABLE IN MAY? WHY DID NOT YOU ALL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN MAY? THAT WAS A PREVIEW OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE IN THE LAST WEEK.
THE CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE FOLLOWING THIS DISASTER.
IF ACCOUNTABLE MEANS, UM, THAT, UH, THERE'LL BE SOME RESTITUTION COMING BACK TO FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN FORCED OUTTA THEIR HOUSEHOLD, UH, RECOVERING PERISHABLE FOOD THAT OBVIOUSLY IS ALL ROTTEN AT THIS POINT.
AND OBVIOUSLY THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE, SADLY, THAT HAVE LOST LOVED ONES THAT HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES.
WE ARE CURRENTLY AT D 15 WITHOUT POWER AND WE EXPECT MORE.
VERY GOOD COUNCILMAN, SIR, LET ME, UH, IF I COULD FIRST THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I THINK I SPEAK FOR THE COUNCIL AND, UH, PROBABLY MOST HOUSTONIANS, WE UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGER.
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JUSTIFIED.I JUST LEFT A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GOVERNOR ABBOTT, I THINK, UH, THE PEC CHAIRMAN WAS PRESENT.
SO EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE, UH, THE MESSAGE THAT YOU HAVE DELIVERED ON BEHALF OF MILLIONS OF FOLKS.
AND I MEAN IT IN ALL ACCURACY, THAT THEY WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND THERE'LL BE SOME DRASTIC, DRASTIC MEASURES FROM DAY ONE.
I'VE CRITICIZED, TALKED TO 'EM ABOUT THEIR COMMUNICATION.
UH, AS YOU SAID, PEOPLE WOULD JUST LIKE TRANSPARENCY AND TO KNOW, UH, WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT.
SO, UM, YOU'RE EXPRESSING THE FRUSTRATION AND ANGER OF, UH, MOST HOUSTONIANS AND CERTAINLY REPRESENTING THOSE HOUSTONIANS.
UH, WE WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE AT THIS TIME.
COUNCILMAN CAYMAN? THANK YOU MAYOR.
AND MR. BOSWELL, I REALLY WANTED TO THANK YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND FOR COMING TODAY.
UM, THIS GOES BACK EVEN BEFORE MAY.
UH, SO FOR THE NORTHERN PART OF OUR DISTRICT AND THE SOUTHWEST PART OF OUR DISTRICT MAYOR, WE HAVE HAD TO HAVE SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH CENTER POINT, BRINGING RESIDENTS TOGETHER OVER THE CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, THE INSTABILITY OF THE POWER AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE AREA.
AND I KNOW THAT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES.
SO OUR DISTRICT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST HIT DURING MAY, AND WE ALL SAID, OH, THIS, THIS IS A PROBLEM AND WE'RE NOT READY, THAT WE'RE NOT PREPARED.
BUT IT GOES BACK EVEN BEFORE THAT.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW THAT, UM, THE, I WANNA ALSO THANK YOU ALL AND, UH, OTHERS ALONG YOUR STREET WHO EMAILED OUR OFFICE.
I THINK Y'ALL WERE ONE OF THE FIRST EMAILS WE GOT AND WE IMMEDIATELY STARTED ESCALATING TO CENTER POINT.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, MAYOR, ABOUT THE TRANSPARENCY AND THE PRIORITIZATION, WE ESCALATE THOSE AND WE HAVE SPECIFIC PEOPLE WE ARE EMAILING AT CENTER POINT, BUT WE DON'T KNOW FROM THERE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEND THOSE IN AND SEND THOSE IN.
UM, AND BY OUR COUNT, UM, I MEAN, WE HAVE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF EMAILS SIMILARLY.
UH, SO I, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR COMING BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU ARE ONE OF THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, IF NOT MILLIONS OF VOICES, UM, EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION AND DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, WITH THIS RIGHT NOW.
AND MAYOR, I KNOW A LOT OF THIS RESIDES AT THE STATE LEVEL.
A LOT OF THE REGULATION, A LOT OF THE, UH, LEGISLATION THAT HAS BEEN PASSED PREVIOUSLY, THAT'S ACTUALLY TAKEN SOME OF THE ABILITY TO REGULATE AWAY FROM THE CITY.
BUT THAT BEING SAID, I REALLY HOPE THAT AS A COUNCIL WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE OUR OWN, UH, COMMITTEE HEARINGS AS IT RELATES TO, UH, WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT, AND, UH, DEMAND THOSE ANSWERS.
SO AGAIN, MR. BOSWELL, THANK YOU BECAUSE YOUR VOICE IS THE VOICE OF RIGHT NOW, OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
UH, AND I KNOW THAT IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME TO COME DOWN HERE IN THE MIDST OF EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON IN THE CITY RIGHT NOW.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ANY DIRECTION ON THEIR OPERATIONS GOING FORWARD BE COMING OUTTA THE PUC.
THAT'S THE, UH, STATE OVERSIGHT REGULATORY BODY THAT I KNOW ARE PREPARED.
UH, IN FACT, GOVERNOR ABBOTT GAVE HIM VERY DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS.
PU C'S GONNA HAVE A HEARING, UM, IN JULY 27TH.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DATE I GOTTA, BUT IT'LL ALL BE AIRED OUT NOW.
AND OUR DIRECTION COLLECTIVELY IS FOR CENTERPOINT TO GET THE POWER ON.
IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING WE DEAL WITH, CERTAINLY, UH, QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, LIFE SAFETY, OUR HOSPITALS, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
YOU, UH, SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND I'M CERTAIN CENTER POINT, UM, IS WATCHING QUITE FRANKLY, WHERE WILL THAT MEETING BE IN JULY, SIR? WHERE WILL THAT P UH, PUC BE, BE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? YOU KNOW, I JUST LEFT, UM, LET ME FIND OUT FOR YOU.
UH, I WAS, I I'M GUESSING IT WOULD BE IN AUSTIN AND I'LL GET THE EXACT DATE.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR PROTE, CASTEX TATUM.
MR. BOSWELL, I, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING DOWN.
I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A DISTRICT C RESIDENT, BUT YOU ARE EXPRESSING THE SENTIMENT OF SO MANY HOUSTONIANS TODAY, AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE RECOGNIZE YOUR FRUSTRATION AND THE FRUSTRATIONS OF HOUSTONIANS AND PEOPLE ALL OVER THIS REGION.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN ON, UM, ELECTED OFFICIAL CALLS WITH CENTER POINT.
CENTER POINT HAS, UM, SAID THAT THEY RECOGNIZE THE, UM, THEIR MAPPING AND MESSAGING, UH, DEFINITELY NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
UH, AND WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SHARE THAT MESSAGE WITH SO MANY OF THE RESIDENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE FRUSTRATED WITH THE,
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UH, MAP SAYING THAT THEY ARE ENERGIZED AND THEY ARE NOT ENERGIZED.UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT, UM, WHEN ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW IS WHEN WILL MY POWER BE BACK ON? UM, THEY HAVE SAID THAT THEY WILL OWN THAT FAILURE.
UM, THEY ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THAT.
UM, WE WILL WORK WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY IMPROVE THAT BECAUSE I THINK PART OF THE FRUSTRATION CAN BE ALLEVIATED IF PEOPLE JUST KNOW HOW THEY CAN PLAN.
IF I KNOW MY POWER'S GOING TO BE OUT UNTIL FRIDAY, I KNOW I NEED TO PICK UP MY CHILDREN AND MY MY ANIMALS AND MOVE OUT OF THIS HOT SWELTERING HOUSE.
I KNOW THAT EVERY DAY I NEED TO GO TO A COOLING CENTER.
I CAN MAKE BETTER PLANS FOR MY FAMILY WHEN I KNOW WHEN, OR AT LEAST AN ESTIMATED TIME WHEN MY POWER WILL BE OUT.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR HOUSTONIANS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A SYSTEM THAT WORKS BETTER, UH, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN PLAN BETTER.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, YOU ARE EXPRESSING THE FRUSTRATIONS OF SO MANY HOUSTONIANS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK TO TRY TO GET EVERYONE'S POWER RESTORED AND DO BETTER.
UM, THERE WILL BE LOTS OF TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS STORM.
THEY SAID THE SAME THING IN MAY.
I MEAN, IT, UNFORTUNATELY, THE STORMS ARE COMING, UH, MORE FREQUENTLY.
UM, AND QUITE FRANKLY, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WASTE TO BE BETTER, AND WE'VE GOT TO BE BETTER TODAY.
AND I, I GIVE YOU OUR COMMITMENT AS A, AS A COUNCIL.
UM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS BEEN IN THE COMMUNITIES TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND WE'LL KEEP DOING THAT, UM, UNTIL EVERYBODY'S POWER IS RESTORED.
AND WE'LL KEEP WORKING WITH CENTER POINT, UM, AND WE'LL KEEP TRYING TO IMPROVE EVERY DAY.
I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE, AND I KNOW YOU'RE FRUSTRATED AND I KNOW THAT SO MANY HOUSTONIANS ARE FRUSTRATED, BUT WE WILL KEEP WORKING TO TRY TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR OUR CITY.
THE HEARING'S JULY 25TH IN AUSTIN AT THE PUC BUILDING.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS YOU.
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAD PLACED, YOU KNOW, SENT MANY EMAILS AND NO ONE RESPONDED.
YOU KNOW, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR FRUSTRATION BECAUSE I AM FRUSTRATED TOO.
I WAS NEVER SO HAPPY IN A LONG TIME WHEN EIGHT O'CLOCK ON SATURDAY NIGHT, I FINALLY GOT THE WORD THAT OUR HOSPITAL AT THE FRONT OF KINGWOOD DRIVE, OUR HOSPITAL THAT SERVES A HUGE COMMUNITY FINALLY GOT POWER.
I WAS NEVER SO EXCITED THAT FIVE O'CLOCK YESTERDAY TO SEE THAT WE HAD GENERATORS AT EACH TRAFFIC LIGHT IN OUR COMMUNITY TO ALLEVIATE THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
NOT ONLY WERE THERE GENERATORS THERE, HPD WAS GUARDING THOSE GENERATORS BECAUSE OF THE ACTS OF FOLKS THAT I GUESS HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO.
MY COMMUNITY DOESN'T HAVE POWER EITHER.
BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THE REASON MY OFFICE, AND I'M SURE EVERY OTHER ONE IN THIS ROOM HAS NOT RESPONDED, IS BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN OUT THERE AND WE HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING THESE NEEDS.
AND WHILE I AM SORRY FOR YOUR FA FAILURE, YOU KNOW, YOUR POWER FAILURE AND AS WELL AS MY OWN AND EVERYONE AROUND, AND THE LOSS OF, OF ROOFS AND, AND GARAGES AND CARS, THE MINIMAL LOSS OF LIFE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN.
AND I, I CAN REASSURE YOU THAT WE ARE BEHIND YOU 100%.
I KNOW PERSONALLY I AM, AND I, I AM SURE YOU HEAR MY FRUSTRATION, BUT KNOW THAT YOUR EMAIL DID, DID NOT GO UNANSWERED BECAUSE IT WAS ANYTHING OTHER THAN WE ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND, AND TRYING TO HELP AND TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN.
I HOPE THAT YOUR POWER GETS BACK ON SOON, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, I'M WILLING TO WAIT FOR THE HOSPITALS.
I'M WILLING TO WAIT FOR THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS, AND I'M WILLING TO WAIT FOR THOSE 98 YEAR OLDS WHO ARE SITTING THERE THAT ARE ON OXYGEN AND HAVE POWERED IN THEIR HOME.
SO I THANK YOU FOR COMING, FOR TAKING THE TIME AND, AND BRINGING YOUR VOICE FOR ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS.
I'LL BE BEHIND YOU AND I HOPE CENTER POINT GETS TO YOU SOON.
COUNCILMAN CAYMAN ON A MATTER OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.
REALLY QUICKLY AS WE TALK ABOUT THE RECOVERY AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING, I DO KNOW WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE IN THE AUDIENCE, UM, MARLEY WITH THE TOOL BANK.
UH, CAN YOU STAND REAL QUICK? UH, MAYOR, AS YOU KNOW, THE TOOL BANK HAS BEEN AN INVALUABLE PARTNER IN ALLOWING US IN OUR DISTRICTS TO HELP OUR MOST VULNERABLE.
UM, SHE HAS BEEN WORKING 24 7 SINCE, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, DAYS BEFORE THE STORM TO HELP US PRE-POSITION, UH, GETTING US GENERATORS FOR SOME OF OUR SENIOR HOMES, UH,
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INCLUDING IN FOURTH WARD, FRIEDMANS TOWN BLUE TARPS, UH, FOR SENIOR FACILITIES WHOSE ROOST FOR DAMAGES.THE LIST GOES ON, ALL OF US HAVE STORIES ABOUT THE TOOL BANK, BUT I DID WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE, UM, YOUR WORK PERSONALLY, BUT ALSO OUR APPRECIATION FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM AT THE HOUSTON TOOL BANK.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE, PRESIDENT, LIKE TO SPEAK? IF NOT, UM, GRAHAM SECRETARY, YOU
[1.
ORDINANCE authorizing Mayor of Houston to extend or continue a Proclamation of a Local State of Disaster for the City of Houston beyond the seven-day period after the Proclamation period began due to Hurricane Beryl
]PLEASE CALL UP ITEM NUMBER ONE.THIS ITEM IS AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OF HOUSTON TO EXTEND OR CONTINUE A PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL STATE OF DISASTER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON BEYOND THE SEVEN DAY PERIOD AFTER THE PROCLAMATION PERIOD BEGAN DUE TO HURRICANE BERYL.
ANYTHING ELSE COME BEFORE THIS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING? NO, SIR.