* 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. [00:00:02] [Apartment Ordinance Community Meeting on February 19, 2026.] THE LIGHTS ARE BRIGHT. I WILL, I'M TIFFANY D. THOMAS, HOUSTON CITY COUNCIL MEMBER. I WANNA WELCOME YOU TO DISTRICT F ON THE WEST SIDE, THE BEST SIDE, AND THE ALE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER. IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME AT THE CENTER, UM, I WANNA WELCOME YOU, AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE, UH, GOVERNMENT CAN BE. WE HAVE THREE DEPARTMENTS HERE, HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ON THE SECOND FLOOR WITH OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART TECH LINK, THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, THIS TOOK 32 YEARS, $60 MILLION, AND SO WE'RE HERE. IT'S THE ONE OF THE KIND IN THE CITY. SO, UM, HOPEFULLY AFTER THIS, YOU'LL, UM, TAKE THE TIME TO WALK DOWN THE HALL AND SEE THE ACTIVITY AS YOU, YOU CAN SEE. UM, I ALSO SERVE AS A CHAIR OF HOUSING COMMITTEE, HOUSING AND AFFORDABILITY COMMITTEE. SO WE WANNA WELCOME YOU TO THE FIRST COMMUNITY MEETING RELATED TO THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE. WE KNOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS FOR SOME TIME, UM, IN MEDIA AND ALSO IN THE HORSESHOE. UM, AND SO TODAY WE'RE TAKING, UM, SOME FIRM NEXT STEPS TO ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC, LANDLORDS, OPERATORS, PROPERTY MANAGERS, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE MOST PERFECT, MOST HOLISTIC, MOST IMPACTFUL COMMON SENSE, UH, ORDINANCE ON THE BOOKS. AND, UM, THIS MEETING TONIGHT AND THE ONE ON THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH, IS REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REVERSE WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST OF JUST HAVING THINGS ON THE BOOKS WITHOUT ENFORCEMENT. SO, WE ARE WORK, WE ARE INTENTIONAL ABOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, HEARING YOUR FEEDBACK TO THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE DOWN THE HALL. YOU HAVE, UH, WE HAVE ENLARGED THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE, UM, FOR YOUR VIEWING FOR THOSE, UH, THAT SPEAK VIETNAMESE, MANDARIN, AND SPANISH. WE HAVE THE, THIS TRANSLATED IN THE QR CODE SO YOU CAN CONSUME, UM, ON YOUR TIME. UM, AND SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE YOUR INPUT INCLUDED ON THIS. UM, UM, BEFORE I INTRODUCE MAYOR PRO TEM, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY STAFF, THE DISTRICT FTE. I PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR THEM WHEN THE, UH, UH, THE ADMINISTRATION ASKED MAYOR PRO AND I TO GET THIS TO THE FINISH LINE. THAT MEANT THAT OUR TEAMS HAD TO WORK DOUBLY HARD, UH, TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT IN ADDITION TO THE EFFORT. SO I JUST WANNA PUBLICLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THIS AND, UM, STANDING THIS UP. AND SO, UM, I'VE USED MY WORD COUNT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. AND SO I'M GONNA PASS THIS OVER TO MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM. SHE'LL GIVE US INSTRUCTIONS FOR TONIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS AND I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME. SHE DEFINITELY IS THE BEST HOUSING CHAIR THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS EVER HAD. SO, UH, I'M MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, THE MAYOR, PRO TEM OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ALSO THE COUNCIL MEMBER OF DISTRICT K. UH, I AM ALSO THE CHAIR OF OUR CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMITTEE. SO WE ARE JOINTLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE GET THIS APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE OVER THE FINISH LINE. SO, CONSEQUENTLY, THERE ARE TWO COMMUNITY MEETINGS. YOU ARE HERE AT THE FIRST ONE, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS SAID. WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE. IF YOU KNOW OF OTHER TENANTS, OPERATORS, LANDLORDS THAT WANT TO PARTICIPATE, THEY WILL HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY ON MARCH THE FIFTH AT THE HARRIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUILDING. SO, UH, SPREAD THE WORD AND LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE, UH, INSPECTION ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. UH, TONIGHT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WE WILL HAVE SOME PRESENTATIONS FROM DEPARTMENTS, AND THEY WILL TALK ABOUT THEIR PART OF, UH, THE HABITABILITY AND THE INSPECTION ORDINANCE, UH, MOVING FORWARD. AND THEN WE WILL BREAK OUT INTO TWO ROOMS. IF YOU ARE A TENANT, YOU WILL BE IN THE FIRST ROOM WITH COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS AND HER TEAM, AND A REPRESENTATIVE FROM EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS. IF YOU ARE A OWNER OPERATOR OR A LANDLORD, UH, YOU WILL BE IN THE SECOND BREAKOUT ROOM WITH ME AND OUR TEAM. AND BASICALLY WHAT WE'LL DO IS, UM, DO A LITTLE WORK SESSION. WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK. WE WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHANGE OR ADDED TO, UH, THE DRAFT APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE. UH, SO THAT WHEN WE TAKE THIS TO OUR JOINT COMMITTEE AT THE END OF MARCH, WE HAVE SOMETHING COMPREHENSIVE THAT WE CAN PRESENT TO OUR COLLEAGUES ON CITY COUNCIL. AND WITH THAT, I DO WANT TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, WHO IS HERE. SHE'S YOUR AT LARGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, I DID SEE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AMY PECK'S OFFICE IS ALSO HERE. SO, UH, THANK YOU TO OUR COLLEAGUES WHO ARE MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL. UH, THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE'LL BE PARTICIPATING TODAY, THE FIRST WE WILL HEAR FROM IS HFD. SO IF YOU WILL GO AHEAD AND COME DOWN, UH, THE SECOND PRESENTATION WE [00:05:01] WILL HEAR WILL BE FROM HHD AND THEN HCDD. AND THE FOURTH WILL BE FROM HPD. UH, THEN THE FIFTH PRESENTATION YOU WILL HEAR IS FROM DON, THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS. AND THEN THE FINAL PRESENTATION BEFORE WE GO INTO OUR BREAKOUTS WILL BE WITH HPW. UH, ONCE WE COMPLETE THE PRESENTATIONS, WE'LL GO INTO THE BREAKOUT ROOMS, AND THEN WE WILL RECONVENE AROUND SEVEN 30. UH, UNLESS Y'ALL JUST GET EVERYTHING DONE REALLY FAST AND YOU SAY, HEY, WE'RE READY TO RECONVENE. WE ARE FLEXIBLE. WE'LL MOVE AT THE PACE OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE ARE GIVEN. UM, WE DO EXPECT, UH, MAYOR, UH, JOHN WHITMEYER TO, UH, POP IN, UH, IF HE CAN, HE'S COMING FROM ANOTHER EVENT. BUT JUST TO SHOW THE, UM, IMPORTANCE OF THIS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. HE DOES WANT TO PARTICIPATE AND, UH, BE A PART OF THESE CONVERSATIONS. SO WE ARE GOING TO ASK EACH OF OUR PRESENTERS, IF YOU WILL, SPEAK SLOWLY. UH, WE DO HAVE TRANSLATION SERVICES THIS EVENING. UH, IF YOU WILL SPEAK SLOWLY SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT ANYONE UTILIZING OUR TRANSLATION SERVICES CAN UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S BEING SAID HERE TONIGHT. SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. WELCOME TO THE INCREDIBLE ALE CENTER. UH, AND SHE WAS NOT JOKING WHEN SHE SAID IT TOOK 32 YEARS FOR THIS TO COME TO FRUITION. SO, UH, THIS IS A CROWN JEWEL IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE TONIGHT. OUR FIRST PRESENTATION WILL BE FROM HFD, SO I'LL ASK, UH, HFD IF YOU WILL, COME FORWARD, INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND SHARE YOUR COMMENTS FOR TONIGHT AS WE TALK ABOUT OUR APARTMENT INSPECTION ARTISTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JIM CLARK. I AM A CHIEF INSPECTOR WITHIN THE, UH, HOUSTON FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE. I OVERSEE THE RESIDENTIAL TEAM, WHICH ENCOMPASSES APARTMENTS, CONDOS, AND TOWN HOMES. UM, CURRENTLY WE HAVE 18 INSPECTORS ON OUR TEAM, NOT INCLUDING ME AND OUR SENIOR INSPECTORS. WE WORK ROUGHLY ON A FOUR YEAR, UH, CYCLE INSPECTION CYCLE. THAT INSPECTION CYCLE IS HAND MANAGED BY OUR, UH, OUR RECORD ADVANTAGE SYSTEM CALLED INFOR, WHICH ACTUALLY MANAGES, OR I KEEP SAYING THE SAME WORD, UH, MANAGES OUR CYCLE. SORRY. UM, WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OTHER SYSTEMS THAT WE WORK OUT OF. WE WORK OUT OF WHAT'S CALLED A BRIER SYSTEM. THIS COVERS OUR LIFE SAFETY SYSTEM. SO IT, IT TRACKS THAT FOR US, WHICH HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP FOR US, BUT IT ALSO INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF EXTRA WORK WE HAVE TO DO. I'LL COME BACK IN JUST A MINUTE. OUR INSPECTIONS ARE BASED ON THE HOUSTON FIRE CODE, WHICH IS THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE AMENDED FOR HOUSTON. UM, AND WE ALSO WORK OUT OF THE LSB STANDARDS, WHICH ARE INTERNAL STANDARDS THAT WE BASE OFF OF THE FIRE CODE, BUT IT, IT KIND OF CONDENSES IT AND COVERS THE GRAY AREAS THAT THE FIRE CODE DOESN'T COVER. AND LASTLY, WE ALSO WORK OUT OF WHAT'S CALLED CHAPTER 42. IT'S AN ORDINANCE FOR ACCESS ROADS FOR APARTMENTS, AND THAT'S PRE-CONSTRUCTION. BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE MUCH BETTER ACCESS, UH, FOR OUR FIRE PERSONNEL TO GET INTO THE STRUCTURE. UM, NOW WE ALSO HANDLE ABOUT 500 COMPLAINTS PER YEAR, JUST ON THE APARTMENT TEAM. IT'S NOT THE DIVISION AS A WHOLE. AND THEN THE BRIER TEAM, LIKE I, UH, THE BRIER SYSTEM I EXPLAINED A WHILE AGO, GIVES US ABOUT A THOUSAND RED TAGS ON SPRINKLERS, FIRE ALARMS, FIRE PUMPS, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO ON TOP OF OUR INSPECTIONS, WE'RE GOING OUT THERE AND HANDLING THAT AS WELL. THE COMPLAINTS COME FROM, UH, YOU GUYS, THE RESIDENTS OF APARTMENTS AND OR CONDOS, AND WE GO OUT THERE AND WE HAD, WE TRY TO HANDLE THOSE WITHIN 24 HOURS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS OKAY AND SAFE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, CORRECT THAT AS FAST AS WE CAN. AND THEN LASTLY, WE DO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY, UH, H-P-W-H-P-D. WE WILL FORM SOMETIMES A TASK FORCE GO OUT THERE TO TRY TO HANDLE THINGS TOGETHER. OR IF WE'RE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH GETTING SOMETHING SOLVED, WE CAN CALL THEM IN FOR BACKUP, BASICALLY TO HELP US THROUGH THAT. UM, AND THAT'S ABOUT ALL I HAVE TONIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UH, MY NAME IS ROGER SEALEY. I AM AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. UH, ONE OF THE AREAS I TAKE CARE OF IS OUR HABITABILITY PROGRAM, OF COURSE, UH, IT'S THE MISSION OF THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF ALL HOUSTONIANS. UH, AND PART OF THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT EVERY HOUSTONIAN HAS A RIGHT TO NOT ONLY SAFE, BUT A HEALTHY LIVING ENVIRONMENT. UH, WHAT OUR, UH, HABITABILITY TEAM DOES [00:10:01] IS RUNS, UM, UH, COMPLAINT BASED INSPECTIONS. SO IF A RESIDENT HAS A COMPLAINT, THEY SHOULD CALL 3 1 1. UH, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP WITH, ONCE IT'S ROUTED TO US, UH, IN THE INTERIOR OF A, UH, OF A MULTIFAMILY DWELLING, UH, AC AND HEAT ISSUES, UH, AC AND HEAT SHOULD BE IN WELL WORKING ORDER, UM, PEST INFESTATION, UH, NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO LIVE WITH THAT. UM, VENTILATION ALL SCREEN, IF THE AC ISN'T WORKING, SCREENS SHOULD BE IN PLACE IN ALL, ALL UNITS. UM, HOT WATER SHOULD BE WORKING AND AVAILABLE. UM, NO WATER INTRUSION LEAKS, CRACKS, UM, HOLES IN THE CEILING, UH, ANYTHING LIKE THAT WE CAN HELP WITH. UH, BUT ALSO, UH, WE DO SOME WORK ON THE, UH, OUTSIDE OF DWELLINGS AS WELL. UH, HARBOR BRIDGE ERODED, UM, OVERGROWN GRASS, OVERFLOWING DUMPSTERS, UM, SEWAGE OVERFLOWS, SANITARY, SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS CAN BE ROUTED TO HEALTH. AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP WITH. IF WE FIND A SEVERE VIOL VIOLATION, WE WILL ISSUE A NOTICE OF VIOLATION TO THAT, UM, RESPONSIBLE PARTY. AND THEY'LL HAVE ABOUT 24 TO 48 HOURS TO GET THAT RECTIFIED. WE WANNA BE FAIR AND BALANCED IN THAT, BUT IF IT'S NOT RECTIFIED, WE WILL ISSUE A CITATION AND IT WILL GO TO COURT. UM, I'LL, I'LL KEEP MY REMARKS BRIEF. WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP, YOU KNOW, ALL HOUSTONIANS, AND I JUST CAN'T, UH, SAY ENOUGH. CALL 3 1 1 IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, AND WE, WE WILL SHOW UP. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HI, GOOD EVENING. UH, MY NAME IS AMY CONNOLLY. I'M AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND WITH ME IS, UH, OUR DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RYAN BIBBS. UM, OBVIOUSLY HOUSING IS IN THE NAME OF OUR DEPARTMENT. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US. BUT OUR ROLE IS GOING TO BE SUPPORTIVE AND INFORMATIONAL TO THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE TEAM. UM, MOSTLY THAT'S BECAUSE OUR DEPARTMENT IS LARGELY IN CHARGE OF PROVIDING FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, UH, PASSING THROUGH FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS AND ENCOURAGING AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS. UM, SO WHILE WE DON'T HAVE AN ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF ANY DEVELOPMENT IS IDENTIFIED AS HIGH RISK, THAT WE WILL, UM, MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S, UH, IF THERE IS FEDERAL OR STATE MONEY IN THAT DEVELOPMENT, THAT WE WILL BRING TO BEAR THE FEDERAL AND STATE RESOURCES TO HELP US, UM, FURTHER THE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. UM, MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IF THE, IF THE DEVELOPMENT HAS HAD A TAX CREDIT OR IF THE DEVELOPMENT HAS, UM, HOUSING VOUCHERS, UM, THAT THERE ARE FEDERAL RESOURCES AND STATE RESOURCES THAT WE CAN BRING TO BEAR IN ADDITION TO WHAT THE CITY IS ADDITIONALLY DOING, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE APARTMENTS ARE HABITABLE, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE TAKEN CARE OF. AND THAT'S ALSO PART OF THE REASON WHY WE WANT TO DO MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN HOUSTON, THAT HAS INCENTIVES THAT ARE PASSED THROUGH FROM THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THOSE ADDITIONAL, UH, ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS. UM, SO WE'LL ALSO WORK WITH THE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS, THE HOUSTON HOUSING AUTHORITY, UH, PUBLIC FACILITY CORPORATIONS, AND ANY OF THE OTHER TYPES OF, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPERS THAT ARE THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, HOUSTON RESIDENTS ARE TAKEN CARE OF. UM, ALSO, IF ANY RESIDENTS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR APARTMENTS, UH, AND THE CONDITION OF THEIR APARTMENTS, WE DO TAKE CALLS FROM RESIDENTS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CONNECTING THOSE RESIDENTS TO, UH, RESOURCES THAT THEY MAY NEED, WHETHER THAT BE, UH, US HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMPLAINTS, OR WHETHER THAT BE STATE AGENCIES. SO WE'RE HERE TO HELP AND WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT THE ENTIRE ORDINANCE. AND, UM, WE'VE BEEN A PART OF THAT TEAM FROM THE BEGINNING, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH OUR OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN FOR YOU. THANKS. GREETINGS. UH, MATTHEW SIMON. I'M ASSIGNED TO THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT'S FIELD OPERATION OFFICE. UH, PROBABLY ABOUT 10 MONTHS AGO, ONE OF MY, UH, ASSIGNMENTS WAS I TOOK OVER THE DEPARTMENT'S DEPARTMENT ENFORCEMENT UNIT. AS MANY AS Y'ALL KNOW, THERE, TASKING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY, SIGNIFICANTLY REALIGNED TO MORE, UH, MORE PERFORMATIVE FIELD PRODUCT. AS SUCH, THIS OR THE PREVIOUS ORDINANCE, IT IS TIME FOR AN UPDATE. UH, I, MYSELF AND THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT THE CHANGE IN THE ORDINANCE. PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO HOLD PROPERTY OWNERS MORE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONDITION OF THEIR PROPERTY, AND IF NEEDED, THE TENANTS MORE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR ON THAT PROPERTY. UH, I THINK I'M THE ONLY ONE HERE FROM HPD, BUT I'M GOING TO BE WITH THE, UH, I'M GONNA, I'M SURE I'M GONNA GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM THE OWNERS AND, UH, UH, THE MANAGERS. SO I'LL, I'LL BE IN THAT BREAKOUT SESSION AGAIN. MATTHEW SIMON. THANK YOU. [00:15:06] GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M VERONICA HERNANDEZ, SENIOR COMMUNITY LIAISON WITH THE, UH, MAYOR'S ASSISTANCE OFFICE. DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, HAS RECEIVED, UH, VARIOUS, UH, CONCERNS FROM TENANTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND ALSO LANDLORDS. SO OUR DEPARTMENT, PRIOR TO THE CREATION OF DEPARTMENT NEIGHBORHOODS, THE MAYOR'S ASSISTANCE OFFICE WOULD HANDLE A LOT OF THE CONCERNS AND WORK WITH THEIR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TO RESOLVE TENANTS CONCERNS. WE ALWAYS TELL THE COMMUNITY TO CALL 3 1 1 TO LOG IN THEIR COMPLAINT, TO MAKE SURE IT IS LOGGED, AND THAT THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HANDLE EACH INDIVIDUAL VIOLATION CAN GO OUT THERE AND INSPECT. SO WITH THE LAST 20 SOMETHING YEARS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE HAVE BUILT A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOME OF THE MANAGERS AND LANDLORDS IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO. SO WE HAVE HELD THE, UM, LANDLORD AND TENANT RIGHTS, UH, MEETINGS, AND WE TRY TO, UH, BRING A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY THAT DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE. AND THEN WE BRING IN DIFFERENT, UH, LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITY. SO WE ALSO WORK A LOT WITH DRT, OUR DRT OFFICERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE THEY, UH, RECEIVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT COME INTO THE STOREFRONTS OR THE POLICE STATIONS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS WITHIN DEPARTMENT COMPLEXES. AND WE ARE THE POINT PERSON TO WORK WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS NOW THAT THE INSPECTIONS, UH, DIVISION HAS GONE UNDER PUBLIC WORKS. AND WE ALSO ASSIST WITH COORDINATING SOME OF THE SWEEPS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN SOME OF THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. SO WITH THE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HAS, UH, WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND PRIOR TO THE CREATION APARTMENT NEIGHBORHOODS, WE WOULD, UH, DO A LOT WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION WHEN THEY WERE UNDER THAT. AND THEN ALSO DURING DIFFERENT ADMINISTRATIONS WHEN THE CREATION OF THE MULTIFAMILY. SO WE'VE BEEN THROUGH ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PILOTS, SO WE'RE HERE TO ASSIST AND, UH, WE'LL BE HERE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER SHANAHAN. I AM AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, SERVING AS A, THE BUILDING OFFICIAL. UM, REGARDING, WELL, WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT IS TO TALK ABOUT THE HABITABILITY ORDINANCE AND SOME OF THE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE TAKING AS A GROUP TO MAKE THE ORDINANCE A BIT STRONGER. UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WITHIN OUR BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT TEAM, WE HAVE ROUGHLY, UH, JUST SHY OF 300 INSPECTORS THAT PERFORM INSPECTIONS ACROSS THE MULTIPLE TRADE INSPECTIONS. WE HAVE INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION, OUR OCCUPANCY, AND SPECIFICALLY A HABITABILITY INSPECTION TEAM THAT CAME ON BOARD IN 2009 AFTER THIS ORDINANCE WAS INITIALLY CRAFTED. UM, WITHIN THAT TEAM OF THE HABITABILITY INSPECTION TEAM, WE HAVE 12 INSPECTORS, THREE SUPERVISOR INSPECTORS, AND ASSISTANT CHIEF, AND OVERSEEN BY A DIVISION MANAGER. UM, ULTIMATELY REPORTING UP THROUGH ME THE BUILDING OFFICIAL. UM, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, THE, THE FRUSTRATION I SEE WITH SOME OF THESE TENANTS IN SOME OF THESE APARTMENT COMPLEXES, I, WHEN I CAME TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, I DID SERVE AS AN INSPECTOR, AN INVESTIGATOR IN THE FIELD. I WAS FIRSTHAND ON THESE SITES, MET WITH PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, MET WITH RESIDENTS, AND I HEARD THE CONCERNS, AND I WITNESSED IT FIRSTHAND. AND, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO ISSUE NOTICES. LET THESE OWNERS AND MANAGERS KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GET THE BUILDINGS INTO COMPLIANCE. UH, OUR BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT, WE, WE FOCUS ON CODE COMPLIANCE. WE'RE ENFORCING THE INTERNATIONAL CODES. SO BUILDING CODE, FIRE CODE, VARIOUS PLUMBING, MECHANICAL CODES, OUR CODE OF ORDINANCES. UM, IN MARCH OF 2025, VERONICA, UH, DID, UM, ALLUDE TO IT THAT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TOOK ON THE INSPECTION AND PUBLIC SERVICES GROUP OUT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS. THAT IS THAT CODE ENFORCEMENT LEG DEALING WITH DANGEROUS BUILDINGS, YOUR NUISANCES, WEEDS, HIGH GRASS TRASH. UM, WE HAVE MOLDED THAT TEAM OF INSPECTORS INTO OUR OPERATION, AND WE'VE REBRANDED THEM KNOWN AS COMMUNITY CODE ENFORCEMENT. SO, UM, I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN SOME OF OUR INSPECTORS OUT IN VARIOUS, UH, PARTS OF TOWN. YOU SEE THE YELLOW, THE YELLOW PLACARDS, IF THERE'S, UH, VIOLATIONS. BUT, UM, WE ARE CERTAINLY HERE TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS AND I, AND, AND TAKE ANY INPUT AND FEEDBACK THAT YOU GUYS MAY HAVE. I'M GLAD TO, UH, LISTEN TO YOUR THOUGHTS AND GIVE SOME DIRECTION SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS ORDINANCE MEANINGFUL, GIVE US [00:20:01] SOME MORE TEETH, AND SO THAT WE CAN ENFORCE AND MAKE THESE, THESE PROPERTIES SAFE. UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE, THESE APARTMENTS FROM GROUND UP CONSTRUCTION ARE ISSUED A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. AND A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY IS TELLING US THAT THAT BUILDING IS LIFE SAFETY COMPLIANT. IT'S, IT'S COMPLIANT WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THE CODE. WE KNOW THAT OVER TIME, 10 YEARS, 20 YEARS, 15, 30 YEARS, SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS, 60, 70, 80 YEARS OLD, UM, THEY DEGRADE, THEY FAIL. THEY START FALLING APART IF THEY'RE NOT MAINTAINED. UM, A HUNDRED YEAR OLD BUILDING CAN BE TOP-NOTCH IF IT'S MAINTAINED REGULARLY. AND YOU HAVE A, UH, PROPERTY OWNER WHO'S WILLING TO, UH, STEP UP AND PUT A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY BACK INTO THE PROPERTY. UM, SO IT'S ALSO OF VALUE TO KNOW THAT THESE APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT YOU, WE SEE TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THEY CHANGE HANDS AND OWNERSHIP, UM, THAT CREATES A CHALLENGE. UH, CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY MAY GET LOST, DESTROYED. THEY ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO PRODUCE THEM. AND THEN THEY START THIS PROCESS OVER AGAIN TO GET A NEW CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, WHICH IS A, IT'S A CUMULATIVE LIFE SAFETY INSPECTION OF THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR COMPONENTS OF THAT STRUCTURE. OUR HABITABILITY INSPECTION TEAM THAT, THAT ENFORCES THE HABITABILITY ORDINANCE, INSPECTS THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDINGS, GIVEN THAT THE BUILDING HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED WITH CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. SO WE'RE INSPECTING THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDINGS FOR LIFE SAFETY VIOLATIONS, MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, STRUCTURAL CODE VIOLATIONS. UM, THE TEAM IDENTIFIES THAT, PRODUCES A LIST, PRODUCES IT, GIVES IT TO THE OWNER, AND SOMETIMES THEY MAY HAVE TO PURCHASE PERMITS TO MAKE CORRECTIONS. UM, AND THEN WE FOLLOW UP AND PERFORM ROUTINE FOLLOW UP INSPECTIONS UNTIL WE HAVE VERIFIED THAT THEY'RE CODE COMPLIANT. UM, AND THEN WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE. UH, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 4,800 JUST SHY OF 5,000 REGISTERED APARTMENTS, MULTIFAMILY, UH, RENTAL BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON. SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE TASK AT HAND, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN I, WHEN I HAVE 12 DEDICATED INSPECTORS TO, TO THIS INITIATIVE. HOWEVER, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT TEAMS THAT ARE HERE TONIGHT, HPD, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS HOUSING, WE WORK WITH THESE, THESE FOLKS EVERY DAY. WE'RE COMMUTE, WE'RE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, A GREAT GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS. WE, WE GET OUR TEAMS TOGETHER, WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER, AND WE, WE TACKLE ALL THESE PROBLEMS HEAD ON. UM, SO AGAIN, I CAN REITERATE WHAT, WHAT OTHER FOLKS HAVE SAT HERE TONIGHT. CALL 3 1 1. UH, THAT IS THE, OUR PREFERRED METHOD OF REPORTING. UH, OUR TEAM, OUR INVESTIGATIONS TEAM REGARD TO HABITABILITY COMPLAINTS RECEIVES WELL OVER INTO THE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS EVERY YEAR. AND WE RESPOND TO THOSE, UH, AS SOON AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. SO, AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU GUYS, AND I, I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU TONIGHT. UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR THOSE PRESENTATIONS. THAT'S A GREAT PRELUDE INTO THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TONIGHT. I DO WANNA KIND OF TAKE A PULSE OF THE ROOM. WE HAVE IT SET UP TO DO TWO BREAKOUT ROOMS. COUNCIL MEMBER, THOMAS, YOU WANT TO KIND OF LOOK AND SEE HOW MANY FOLKS ARE HERE REPRESENTING TENANTS, OR IF YOU ARE A TENANT AND YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT TENANT ISSUES. OKAY. AND HOW MANY FOLKS ARE HERE REPRESENTING OWNERS? UH, OWNER OPERATORS, LANDLORDS. OKAY, SO WE COULD, WE COULD STILL DO THE BREAKOUTS. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. UH, WE ARE EXPECTING MAYOR WHITMEYER IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES. UM, I DO WANT US TO GO AHEAD INTO OUR BREAKOUT SESSIONS, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, UM, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, COUNTY JUDGE ALGO DOES HAVE STAFF HERE, AS WELL AS COMMISSIONER BRIANIS. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP AND, UH, THIS WORK. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, HEARING FROM YOU AS WELL. SO, IF YOU ARE A TENANT REPRESENTING TENANTS AND ARE INTERESTED IN THE TENANTS PORTION OF THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE, YOU CAN GO WITH COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS AND HER TEAM, AND THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DEPARTMENTS INTO THE FIRST BREAKOUT SESSION. IF YOU ARE AN OWNER OPERATOR, A LANDLORD, UM, WILL BE PROPERTY MANAGER, OR PROPERTY MANAGER WILL BE IN THE SECOND BREAKOUT ROOM. AND LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, HEARING FROM EACH OF YOU. AND THEN WE WILL RECONVENE APPROXIMATELY SEVEN 30. DON'T BE SHY, DON'T BE SHY. BE SHY. COME ON, DARRYL. GIVE US A WALK IN MUSIC. . UH, WONDERFUL. SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UH, GET STARTED. THIS IS AN ACTIVE SESSION. SO THIS ISN'T THE TYPICAL TOWN HALL. I HATE THESE PODIUMS, [00:25:02] UH, THE TYPICAL TOWN HALL. I DO WANT TO INTRODUCE JULIA ORONA, UH, WITH THE TEXAS HOUSERS. UH, WE HAVE, UH, PARTNERS, UH, THAT ARE CO-CREATING THIS WITH US, THE TEXAS HOUSERS. WERE INVOLVED IN, UH, FEEDBACK OF THE ORIGINAL ITEM AND HOW IT'S CHANGED. AND THEN NEXT DOOR, THE, UH, HOUSTON DEPARTMENT ASSOCIATION IS, UH, UH, THAT REPRESENTATIVE THERE IN THE ROOM. 'CAUSE THEY ALSO INFLUENCE. SO TONIGHT'S INTERACTIVE, WE REALLY WANT TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK, UM, ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING. UH, IT IS A GUIDED DISCUSSION 'CAUSE WE WANNA MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME. AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE WANT TO GET SOMETHING TO OUR SPECIAL CALL. WE WANNA GET SOMETHING TO OUR DEPARTMENTS AFTER THE MARCH 5TH MEETING THAT HAS YOUR FEEDBACK IN MIND, THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE WITNESSING, UH, AND EXPERIENCING AS TENANTS OR IF YOU'RE WORKING WITH LEASE HOLDERS. SO WE'RE GONNA WORK THROUGH THAT CONVERSATION TODAY. UM, AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA START. ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO MENTION BEFORE WE GET STARTED? YEAH. OKAY. SO NUMBER ONE. WHO'S EVER CALLED 3 1 1? WE'VE CALLED 3 1 1. YEAH. MAYBE NOT. OKAY. SO WHEN YOU'VE HAD A COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR MULTIFAMILY UNIT, DID YOU CALL 3 1 1 OR YOUR PROPERTY MANAGER FIRST? PROPERTY MANAGER. THAT'S IMPORTANT. LET'S GO AHEAD AND START, DOCTOR. SO AND SO, SO A PART OF THIS IS ALSO EDUCATION, UM, AND TRAINING. UM, SO WE CAN GET A KIND OF LEVEL SET ON MAKING SURE THAT Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS, AS A TENANT. AND OUR INTENTION AND ULTIMATE GOAL IS ONE, THIS ORDINANCE WON'T BE A CURE-ALL. UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW ISSUES WILL STILL HAPPEN AT MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, THE ORDINANCE WILL PROVIDE CLEAR GUIDANCE AS TO WHAT IS AVAILABLE. YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A LEASE HOLDER ON WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OR YOUR LANDLORD. AND THEN THEY NEED TO BE, UH, BE CLEAR ABOUT IF THERE'S A FINE OR A TIMELINE AND WHEN TO RESOLVE. RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS. SO, 3 1 1. SO WHEN YOU DID CALL 3 1 1 AND YOU MADE A COMPLAINT, WHAT WAS THE COMPLAINT THAT YOU MADE ABOUT YOUR MULTIFAMILY UNIT? UM, MOLD. UH, LIKE A HOLE. WATER, SOMETHING. OKAY. YEAH. UM, YEAH, ALL MY CLOTHES MOLDED OUT. SO YOU HAD MOLD IN THE ROOM. SO YOU HAD A CEILING FALL. WAS IT DUE TO A RAIN OR DISASTER? IT'S RAIN. RAIN. SO THE CEILING CAME OUT, THERE WAS A LEAK? YEAH. ULTIMATELY CAME OUT DAMAGED YOUR CLOTHES. SO THE FIRST, UM, PERSON YOU CALLED WAS THE PROPERTY MANAGER OR 3 1 1, UH, PROPERTY MANAGER NUMBER ONE. SO THEN YOU CALLED 3 1 1, LIKE, LET ME GET THIS ON THE BOOKS. AND THEN WHEN YOU CALLED 3 1 1, UM, DID YOU, HOW WERE YOU COMMUNICATED? DID THEY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU? AND THEN, AND DO YOU RECALL HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR THEM TO FOLLOW UP? UM, THEY WERE LIKE IMMEDIATE. WHAT'S IMMEDIATE? UH, WELL, IT WAS THROUGH TEXT, SO. OKAY. THEY WOULD TEXT OR THEY WOULD CHECK IN PERIODICALLY. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. SO THEN WHEN YOU, WHEN, SO WHEN YOU MADE THE CALL TO THREE ONE ONE, WHEN WERE YOU INFORMED IF YOUR ISSUE WAS RESOLVED? HOW DID YOU KNOW YOUR ISSUE WAS FIXED? UH, I HAD TO WAIT IN MY OWN APARTMENT UNTIL IT WAS FINISHED, AND THEN I TEXTED. SO HOW LONG DID THAT TAKE? ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF. SO IT TOOK A WEEK AND A HALF FROM WHEN YOU CALLED 3 1 1 AND THE PROPERTY MANAGER FOR THEM TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE IN YOUR UNIT? YES. OKAY. AND YOU HAD ONGOING COMMUNICATION? YES. THAT'S REALLY GOOD TO KNOW. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN SHE COULDN'T EVEN LIVE IN THERE. SHE ASKED ME ABOUT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT DEPART. DEPART. RIGHT. BUT DURING THAT TIME, YOU HAD TO GET OUT OF THAT, UH, UNIT, RIGHT? THEY NOT. OKAY. SO DID THEY OFFER TO, UM, UM, GET YOU TO ANOTHER UNIT? REPLACEMENT UNIT? THEY SENT IT, BUT THEY NEVER CONTACT, NEVER REACHED OUT. LIKE, I'M STILL IN MY APARTMENT. WHAT, WHAT DISTRICT DO YOU LIVE IN? UH, HARRIS. RIGHT. BUT TELL ME WHAT'S YOUR, UM, WHAT'S, DO YOU HAVE A CITY? 56. YOU'RE ABOUT SIX. YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABOUT GALLERIA? YEAH. YEAH. SO YOU'RE PROBABLY G YOU'RE NORTH OR WEST TIMER? ARE YOU SOUTH OR WEST TIMER? MAYBE. LIKE, YOU LITERALLY LIKE PROBABLY SIX FIVE FROM THE GALLERIA, BUT LIKE NORTH OF THE GALLERIA OR SOUTH OF THE GALLERIA. ARE YOU CLOSER TO, ARE YOU CLOSER TO GRAND LUX? ARE YOU ON THE GRAND LUX SIDE? ARE YOU ON THE GALLERIA SIDE? ON WEST TIMER? LIKE RICHMOND. OKAY. THAT MIGHT BE JAY. THAT MIGHT BE JAY. OKAY. I'M STILL IN THE UNIT THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH, AND I WANNA GET YOUR ADDRESS, AND I WANT MAKE SURE THAT WE TRACK WITH THE CITY REPRESENTATIVES TO MAKE SURE WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE QUEUE. SO THEN WHEN THAT HAPPENED AND THEY SAID, OH, WE'RE GONNA GET YOU TO, IN YOUR LEASE, DOES IT SAY THAT THEY HAVE TO GET YOU TO A REPLACEMENT UNIT? THERE'S NO COMMUNICATION AROUND THAT. OKAY. GOT THE OLD SHED. [00:30:01] THEY STILL, SO THIS IS STILL A HUGE, HAVE AN ABILITY ISSUE WITH MOLD RODENTS. I EVEN WENT TO CORPORATE OFFICE AND MY, AND THAT WAS A WEEK. AND THAT WAS A WEEK AGO? YES. OKAY. IT'S TWO WEEKS. TO THE PROPERTY MANAGER OR TO A CITY INSPECTOR? CITY INSPECTOR. PROPERTY MANAGER. SO A CITY, SO A CITY INSPECTOR CONTACTED YOU, YOU SHARED INFORMATION RELATED. OKAY. THEY CAN'T REALLY SWAP THE MOLD BECAUSE THE IS NOT, UM, MOLD TESTERS THE MOLD, BUT THE MOST THEY CAN DO IS WHO'S IN HERE FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. YEAH. I MANAGE THE DEPARTMENT TWICE. YOU GOT IT. OKAY. SO YOU GOT, YOU GOT YOU TAKING NOTES. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. GOT IT. I WAS JUST MAKING SURE WE GOT EARS. ONE OF MY HEALTH PERSPECTIVES WENT OUT THERE. OKAY. SHE LIVES IN A HOTEL. SHE CAN'T EVEN HOOK THE WHOLE TIME. NO, I, NO, I, NO, I, I GOT YOU. I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ADDITIONAL EARS SO THEY'RE TRACKING AT THE SAME TIME. SO WITH THEIR HEALTH, THEY'RE AT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AS WELL. THEY'RE GONNA FOLLOW UP WITH YOU TONIGHT, BUT I, BUT I, I NEEDED THAT INFORMATION. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU CALL 3 0 1 ON YOUR MULTIFAMILY ISSUE? RELATED TO WHAT, WHAT WAS THE ISSUE? ANYONE ELSE? SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WITH THE ISSUE. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING. NO, I, NO, I UNDERSTAND. RIGHT. WE NO, NO, I UNDERSTAND. AND WE SEE IT ON THE NEWS. WE SEE IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WE SEE IT ALL THE TIME. UM, MAYOR WHITMEYER, THANK YOU. COME ON UP. SHE HAD TO GO BUY MORE CLOTHES. MAYOR WHITMEYER IS JOINING US. WE CAN PUT OUR HANDS TOGETHER. HE COULD BE ANYWHERE IN THE CITY. UH, HIS ADMINISTRATION, HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS SIGNALED THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY SUPPORT. ONE, IT REAFFIRMS THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THEN ALSO TO MAKE SURE WE TAKE CARE OF HOUSTONIANS. SO THERE'S SUCH A DEMAND ON EVERYONE'S TIME. BUT HE WANTED TO MAKE A POINT TO BE HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. WE'RE JUST TALKING TO RESIDENTS AND THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW THEY CALLED 3 1 1. THERE WAS MOLD, THERE WAS A LEAKY ROOF, UH, WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS. AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE HEARING ABOUT, UM, THEY CALLED, THEY DID GET A RESPONSE BECAUSE 3 1 1 FOLLOWED UP VIA TEXT, PERIODIC CHECK-INS. THEY DID ALL OF THAT. UM, AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S HERE, THEY'RE TAKING NOTES, THEY'RE FOLLOWING UP. AND SO WE'RE JUST GETTING A SENSE OF HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THAT. SO THE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES ARE HERE. ANYONE ELSE IN RELATED? AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, TELL ME ABOUT, IS IT THE SAME LEVEL AS THREE? ONE ONE? NO, NO. THREE. ONE ONE'S MORE RESPONSIVE THAN YOUR YES. THAN YOUR DEAL. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. WE, WE GET A LOT OF CRITIQUE AROUND 3 1 1. SO IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT THAT HAS IMPROVED AND YOU'RE GETTING MORE FEEDBACK AROUND THE CITY SERVICE AND THE INSPECTORS. ANYONE ELSE AROUND ISSUES AROUND MULTIFAMILY BEFORE I TELL YOU WHAT I SEE. GO AHEAD, TAMMY. SO I, I'M HERE ON, UH, HOLD ON, TAMMY, LET HER GET YOU THE MIC. AND IF YOU CAN TELL US YOUR NAME AND THEN YOUR DISTRICT. OKAY. MY NAME IS TAMMY RODRIGUEZ. I AM A RESIDENT OF ALEVE, BUT I'M ALSO SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF, UH, GULFTON CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL. SURE. WHERE WE RECEIVE COMPLAINTS AND I WORK, UH, CLOSELY WITH VERONICA ON APARTMENTS. OUR MAIN CALLS, UH, TO US ARE THE CRIME, UH, THE RODENTS. YEP. THE, UH, UPKEEP. YEP. THE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. ELEVATOR'S NOT WORKING. YEP. UH, AND THEY CALL AND THEIR FEAR OF REPORTING IT YEP. IS THE RETALIATION. YEP. UH, AND WE KNOW FIRSTHAND THE RETALIATION IS REAL. YEP. 'CAUSE THE UPPER MANAGEMENT IS NOT OVERSEEN THE LOWER MANAGEMENT ON HAND. RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHEN THEY, THEY COME AND REACH OUT TO VERONICA OR THEY REACH OUT TO ME. BUT THAT IS MOSTLY OUR COMPLAINT. AND A LOT OF THEM, YOU KNOW, THE, THEY'VE EVEN HAD BATS IN THEIR WALLS. UH, IT JUST, IT IT IS ONGOING. UM, AND BEING IN THE APARTMENT, I DIDN'T KNOW WHICH SIDE TO SIT ON. YOU CAN FLEX. UH, SO BEING IN THE APARTMENT INDUSTRY FOR 35 YEARS. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THE INSIDE OF THAT, THAT TRADE. BUT FOR THEM TO GET, UH, YOU KNOW, A SENSE OF, YOU KNOW, A QUALITY OF LIFE IN THEIR APARTMENTS, IT'S KIND OF HARD AND WANT, YOU KNOW, THEY REPORT TO US TO KEEP QUIET. SURE. YOU KNOW, AND SEE IF WE CAN GO IN SNEAKING WISE AND GO INTO A HEALTH AND NOT, YOU KNOW, SAYING THAT THEY WERE REPORTING IT BECAUSE OF THE, THE CHANCE OF RETALIATION. SURE. UH, ANOTHER ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES THAT WE HAVE TOO, IS THAT WHEN THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE, UH, IMMIGRANTS AND THEY'RE NOT KNOWING THEIR RIGHTS, THEY'RE BEING LOCKED OUT OF THEIR APARTMENTS AND THEY'RE NOT GIVEN, LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE THEIR KEYS WITHIN, ONCE THEY CONTACT THEM, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO RELEASE THOSE KEYS BACK TO THE RESIDENT. AND THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO STAY, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO GO IN POINT OF LOCKOUT IS TO GET THAT RESIDENT FACE TO FACE WITH MANAGEMENT TO TELL 'EM, HEY, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING THROUGH A HARD TIME. I'M GONNA PAY OR WHATEVER. SURE. SOME OF THESE MANAGERS, IF THEY'RE LATE ON RENT, YES. OKAY. BUT SOME OF THESE MANAGERS, THEY LOCK 'EM OUT AND THEY JUST, YOU KNOW, IF THEY DON'T KNOW THEIR RIGHTS, THEY LEAVE THEM OUT IN THE PARKING LOT. SURE. AND THEN A CALL GOES TO VERONICA OR A CALL COMES TO [00:35:01] ME. SURE. SURE. SO, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANNA SHARE, AND JULIA, FEEL FREE TO, TO JUMP IN HERE. UH, WHAT WE ARE ASKING PUBLIC WORKS TO DO, AND THEY'RE WORKING ON PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION, RIGHT, IS IDENTIFYING OUR TOP 25 IN THE CITY. SO WE HAVE THE TOP 25 IN THE CITY THAT HAVE STRUCTURAL ISSUES FROM PUBLIC WORKS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE TOP 25 FROM HPD CALLS FOR SERVICE DISTRICT FI HAVE THE SECOND HIGHEST ONE RIGHT OFF THE ASHER POINT IN DAIRY ASHFORD. RIGHT. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CRIME, LET ME BACK UP. ARE Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH SEPTIC? HAVE Y'ALL EVER HEARD OF SEPTIC? I SEE SERGEANT DEION IN THE BACK FROM WEST SIDE. THEY, THEY HOLD US DOWN. I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. SO ACRONYM OH YES. YES. CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN. WHEW. WE LOVE A ACRONYM. AND SO ESSENTIALLY WE DEPLOY HPD TO DO A ACCEPTED, AND THEY GO INTO MULTI-FAMILY PRO, UH, PROPERTIES. AND THEY AUDIT, THEY LOOK AT THE, THE STREET LIGHTS WORK. THEY LOOK AT IF THE SHRUBBERY NEEDS TO BE CUT, IF THE POOL NEEDS TO BE DRAINED. 'CAUSE IT'S DANGEROUS IF YOU NEED TO BOARD OUT, BOARD UP, YOU KNOW, UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN OPEN AND AND EXPOSED. AND I, AND OUR OVERTIME IS DEDICATED TO WEST SIDE TO DO THOSE THINGS. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE EVER HEARD OF THAT? HAVE YOU EVER REQUESTED THAT? DO YOU KNOW THAT THAT EVEN EXISTS? NO. MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THAT EXISTS. SO HPD DOES THAT YOU HEARD FROM, UM, THE SERGEANT THAT SITS ON THE ASEC TEAM, UM, THAT THEY HAVE AN APARTMENT INSPECTION UNIT. WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS ORDINANCE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS, THE, THE THINGS WE NEED TO CONSIDER MAKING SURE WE HAVE. SO AS A TENANT, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SAFETY, WE JUST LEFT A PROPERTY, THE GATE WAS, THE GATE DIDN'T WORK, THE DOORS BOTH BUSTED OPEN, THE LIGHTS DON'T WORK. THAT'S A SAFETY ISSUE. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THAT ORDINANCE, WOULD YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IF ACCEPTED WAS COMPLETED ON YOUR PROPERTY AND TO KNOW THOSE RESULTS? SO WHEN HPD GOES IN AND THEY SWIPE AND THEY PUT, THEY OFFER THE RECOMMENDATION AS A TENANT, WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL TO KNOW MY APARTMENT COMPLEX MAY NOT BE IN COMPLIANCE. WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL TO KNOW? GO AHEAD. HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? HOW WOULD WE KNOW WHAT? RIGHT. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS IN TERMS OF THE COMMUNICATION PIECE THAT WE, WE NEED TO THINK THROUGH, UH, ONCE WE GET TO THE MARCH 30TH. UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SO I OWN A HOME, RIGHT. BUT EVEN BEFORE I PURCHASED A HOME, AND I LI WHEN I LIVED ON AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, ANYTIME THERE WAS A MAJOR UPDATE, THE PROPERTY MANAGER WOULD TAPE SOMETHING ON MY DOOR. EVEN WHEN I VOTE FOR MY HOA BOARD MEMBERS, THEY TAPE IT ON MY DOOR SAYING THERE'S A VOTE. SO THERE'S A MEAN, THERE'S A MECHANISM AND THERE'S A WAY THAT ALREADY EXISTS. BUT I, I DON'T THINK MOST HOUSTONIANS AND RESIDENTS KNOW THAT THAT'S A TOOL THAT ALREADY DEPLOYS, THAT IS A PUBLIC SAFETY TOOL TO MOVE THESE, UH, PROPERTIES DOWN THE LINE. AND THEY PROVIDE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OPENLY. JUST FOLLOW SURE. IF THIS IS A PROBLEM PROPERTY, LIKE HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT, LIKE IF, IF IT HAS ACCEPTED, LIKE HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT, THAT THE, THE THING GOES ON THE DOOR? 'CAUSE IF IT'S ALREADY A PROBLEM PROPERTY, RIGHT? WE HAVE, HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE DO IT? YEAH. WE DO ACCEPT THIS ON PRIVATE PROPERTIES. LIKE, OKAY, YEAH, WE DO. YEAH, NO, NO. ON A, IF NO, I'M SAYING IF IT'S A PROBLEM PROPERTY, IT'S A PROPERTY THAT'S, THAT'S ALREADY LIKE, SO IS THE POLICE DOING THE TAPING OR IS THE OWNERSHIP DOING THE TAPING? IT WOULD BE OWNERSHIP. UM, AND IT'S, I'M NOT DECLARING THAT THAT WILL BE, I'M JUST SAYING OKAY. THERE. BUT YOU UNDERSTAND THE, THE GAP THAT I'M TRYING TO, I DO. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT IN TERMS OF, UH, ONCE THIS ORDINANCE GOES LIVE WITH ALL COMPLETE FEEDBACK. YEAH. WHAT TYPE OF COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND THINGS THAT NEED TO BE EMBEDDED IN THAT? SO RESIDENTS ARE AWARE OF THE STATUS OF THEIR PROPERTY. OKAY. BECAUSE MOST RESIDENTS ARE NOT AWARE OF THE CONDITIONS OF THEIR PROPERTY, RIGHT? YES. THEY MAY SEE IT ON THE NEWS OR INSTAGRAM REEL. SOMEONE TAKES A VIDEO AND THEN THAT'S HOW THEY FIND OUT. SO IN ORDER FOR A COUPLE OF THINGS FOR RESIDENTS TO KNOW THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THOSE DEPARTMENTS ARE ON IT AND HAVE IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING THINGS, RIGHT. RESTORES CREDIBILITY FOR US. AND SO THEY KNOW THAT OUR EYES ARE ON IT. AND THEN SECONDLY, MANAGEMENT HAS TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO RESIDENTS. AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'LL CAPTURE. I DON'T WANNA COLOR IN THE LINES FOR TENANTS, BUT IN MY MIND, BECAUSE I KNOW AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I DEPLOY SEPTIC ON PROPERTIES. AND THEN WHEN WE GET THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE SHARE THAT WITH, WE SHARE THAT PUBLICLY, AND THEN THEY KNOW OUR EYES ARE ON IT. AND HPD WORKS DIRECTLY WITH THE PROPERTY MANAGER, THE OWNERS. THEY'RE CONSISTENTLY IN CONVERSATION WITH THEM TO GET THESE ISSUES RESOLVED. SO THERE ARE SUCCESSES. AND SERGEANT DEION, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE AROUND THAT? IN ADDITION TO, IN ADDITION TO THAT, CAN YOU COME OVER HERE WITH THE MIC PLEASE? SO, REALLY QUICK, MY NAME'S SERGEANT EDNA DEION. I'M WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, WEST SIDE. SO WITH THE SEPTS, I, I WORK FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSE TEAM. SO WHAT IT IS, IS QUALITY OF LIFE. I DO THE SEPTS, MY SQUAD AND MYSELF. IT'S AN EDUCATION WE BRING FORTH AND EDUCATE THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. THESE [00:40:01] ARE YOUR PROBLEMS. THESE ARE HOW YOU PREVENT CRIME. IT COULD BE A, ANY TYPE, ANY TYPE OF LOCATION, UH, TYPE OF LIVING, APARTMENTS, CONDOS, EVERYTHING. UM, ONCE THE EDUCATION PART PASSES, AND WE HAVE GIVEN THEM ALLOCATED ENOUGH TIME, TALKED TO THE MANAGERS OF THE PROPERTY, THE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, EVEN ALL THE WAY UP TO OUTSTATE OWNERS. AND WE ARE NOT GETTING ENFORCEMENT DONE FROM THOSE LEVELS. ENFORCEMENT HAPPENS ON THE HPD SIDE. SO THAT'S WHERE THE CITATIONS COME INTO PLAY. AND WE LOOK AT EVERYTHING. WE CAN ISSUE ANY AND ALL TICKETS THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE, AND IT CAN GO UP TO THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. WE CAN ISSUE 'EM DAILY. DO WE ISSUE THEM DAILY? NO. WE NEED TO AFFORD THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT IT ONCE ENFORCEMENT STARTS HAPPENING. BUT YES, WE DO FOLLOW UP. WE DO GO BACK AND WE GET IN WITH ALL OF THE OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE OUT HERE, UH, BUILDING ENFORCEMENT, FIRE MARSHAL, UM, EVERYONE THAT WE CAN THINK OF. YES MA'AM. AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH , YOU KNOW, TO GET YOUR CAR INSPECTED. , THE PROPERTIES HAVE TO HAVE CERTAIN PERMITS, ANNUAL PERMITS THAT THEY HAVE TO GET ONCE THEY GET THOSE PERMITS. YOU KNOW, IF THEY, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY IN HERE HAS HEARD OF THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM PROGRAM, WHICH HAS GONE AWAY, BUT IF WE WERE TO IMPROVE THE PROPERTIES AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THE SEPTIC, YOU KNOW, UH, ORDINANCES AND EVERYTHING, THEN ONCE THEY'RE INSPECTED, IF THEY MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL, THEN THEY CAN GET THEIR, THEY CAN GET THEIR PERMITS. SO I WOULD SAY FOR THE PROPERTIES TO BE INSPECTED, AND THEN FOR THEM TO GET THE ACTUAL, UH, BLUE STAR, UH, APPOINTMENT, YOU KNOW, TO THEIR, THEIR PROPERTY. BUT TO ME, I THINK IT WOULD HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE ONCE THEY'RE NOT, OTHER THAN THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY SINGLE PROPERTY. AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S SEVERAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT REGISTERED ONLINE THAT NEED TO BE, AND IT'S PART OF THE ORDINANCE, BUT AS TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, PUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE IF YOU HAVE THE, THE FOUR STARS NEXT TO IT, THEN YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE. IF THEY HAVE NO STARS ON THERE OR YOU KNOW, THEN THEY KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT A GOOD PROPERTY, BUT I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO BE REGISTERED. WHO IS IT FOR? PUBLIC WORKS. PUBLIC WORKS. IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN TERMS OF THE PERMITTING PIECE? ACTUALLY, WE, UH, ACTUALLY WE HAD A, WE ACTUALLY HAD A BIG MEETING. USE THE MIC. UM, SO IN THAT MEETING WE DISCUSSED A LOT OF THE, THE, THE BLUE STAR AND EVERYTHING ELSE. SO RIGHT NOW WITH THE PERMITTING, THE WE'RE GONNA BE WORK. LIKE I SAID, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING THROUGH THAT ORDINANCE. I CAN'T REALLY TALK A LOT ABOUT IT BECAUSE I'M, I'M ACTUALLY THE, ONE OF THE CHAIRS FOR THE ASEC BOARD AS WELL. UM, SO THE ENFORCEMENT PIECE, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF ENFORCEMENT THAT HAPPENS OVER THE NEXT, ONCE WE GET TO THIS TRIAL PERIOD. I KNOW YOU HAD MENTIONED COUNCIL MEMBER THAT YOU SAID IT WAS 25. WE'RE GONNA, WHEN WE RUN THAT PILOT, IT'S GONNA BE THE 13 THAT WE HAVE. SO WE HAVE THE 13. THAT'S GONNA BE THE PROBLEM. RIGHT? I'M, I'M AWARE THAT, BUT IN TERMS OF HER QUESTION IS MORE ABOUT THE PUBLIC FACING COM, COM COMMUNICATION. ONCE THEY HAVE THEIR PERMIT AND THE BUILD, THEY MEET BUILDING STANDARDS. AT WHAT POINT WILL RESIDENTS KNOW THAT THEY'RE STILL IN COMPLIANCE EVERY FOUR YEARS? EVERY FOUR YEARS. SO EVERY FOUR YEARS, THAT BUILDING SHOULD BE GOING THROUGH A HABITABILITY INSPECTION. DOES THAT, HOLD ON, LET'S JUST GET YOUR MIC. HOLD ON ONE SECOND. THANK YOU. EXCUSE ME. SO SORRY. YES. SORRY. I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAY, DOES THAT INCLUDE WHEN THERE'S A CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP, DO THEY HAVE TO DO THEY START FROM ZERO? OR LIKE WHEN THEY CHANGE OWNERSHIP, THEY SHOULD BE COMING DOWN THERE 30 DAYS TO COME BACK IN. OKAY. AGAIN. OKAY. AND SO THAT'S GOOD. THEY'LL GET ANOTHER ION. OKAY, GOOD. GOOD QUESTION. YEAH, WE SEE THAT A LOT. LOTS OF CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP, NUTRITION WITH THE OWNERS. LOTS OF TR YEAH. OKAY. FUTURE. UM, I HAD A PROBLEM IN MY APARTMENT COMPLEX, AND I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU SAID YOU HAVE A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU LOOK AT, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT JUST EXTERNAL TO THE APARTMENTS? LIKE THINGS THAT ARE OUTSIDE, LIKE THE ELEVATORS, THE POOL, OR YOU KNOW, LIKE ALL THE THINGS LIKE THAT? OR IS IT ALSO INSIDE? BOTH. IT'S INSIDE AND, OH, YOU CAN LOOK AT BOTH. YEAH. SO MOLD HAPPENING INSIDE THE UNIT, HABITABILITY, IF THERE'S YOUR CEILING IS FALLING OUT, THERE'S A STRUCTURE ISSUE. UH, WE HAVE, I SEE OUR ALE TRUSTEE, OUR BOARD CHAIRS HERE, WHEN MANY OF THE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS DO HOME VISITS AT THESE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. MY OFFICE RECEIVE A LOT OF UPDATES. WE'VE HAD WHERE THE, THE, UM, THE STAIRCASE WAS, THE PATIO WAS DETACHED AND FALLING THROUGH, AND WE'VE HAD TO WORK WITH PUBLIC TO GET THAT SITUATED. SO ABSOLUTELY, IT NORMALLY STARTS WITH 3 1 1. UM, BUT MORE FOLKS ARE JUST, THEY TYPICALLY JUST CALL THEIR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. AND SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T MAKE ITS WAY TO US. SO IF THERE'S AN ISSUE INSIDE THE UNIT, BACKED UP, SEWAGE, [00:45:01] UH, MOLD, ANY OF THAT, THAT CAN ALL BE REPORTED. AND THERE'S A REPRESENTATIVE AT THE CITY DEPARTMENT THAT CAN ADDRESS THAT. IS THAT ALL STED OR DIFFERENT? SEP IS DIFFERENT. THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING ABOUT. YES. SEP IS DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT. THAT'S A DIFFERENT FUNCTION. SO THAT'S, IS THAT JUST THE OUT EXTERIORS PART SECTION? YEAH, THEY DO EXTERIOR. IT'S THE EXTERIOR FUNCTION. RIGHT. FROM, FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE. RIGHT. BUT IF THERE'S MOLD, WATER, BACKUP, ALL OF THAT, THAT'S INSIDE THE HOUSE. WE HAVE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE PUBLIC WORKS. OKAY. AND, UM, THE PROBLEM THAT I HEARD FROM THE OTHER PEOPLE IN, IN WHO ARE PRESENT AND AS WELL FOR ME WAS, WE HAVE A LOT OF FLOODING IN HOUSTON. WE HAVE A LOT OF WATER ISSUES WHEN THESE, UH, CLIMATE EVENTS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE HAVE WATER COMING IN. TYPICALLY, THE, THE PROBLEM WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT IS MOLD. BUT WE HAVE, DO WE EVEN HAVE MOLD INSPECTORS? THIS IS WHAT WE KEEP HEARING IS THE INSPECTORS ARE NOT CERTIFIED FOR MOLD. SO THEY CAN'T DECLARE THIS IS MOLD OR, YOU KNOW, DO ANY MITIGATION ON THAT, IT FEELS LIKE. GOOD QUESTION. IS THERE CLARITY ON THAT? WHAT IS, I DON'T THINK ANY CITY, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE ANY CITY, UM, MUNICIPAL HAS MO INSPECTORS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRY BECAUSE IT, YOU HAVE TO TEST OUT THE MODE, TAKE IT TO THE LAB. WE DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD BE SAFE OR NOT. I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIABLES. THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO MODE TESTING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. SURE. SO THEN WHEN, UH, THERE'S AN INCIDENT OF MOLD AND THEY CALL 3 1 1 YES. AND THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT COMES OUT, AND THEN AN INSPECTOR SEES MOLD, THEIR RECOMMENDATION WILL BE PERFECT. EXAMPLE IS, SO IF, UM, LIKE THIS YOUNG, UM, PERSON WAS SAYING, SHE WAS EXPLAINING THAT SHE CALLED 3 1 1, AND THEN, UM, IT GOES TO CHRIS SYSTEM, TO THE HEALTH CODE. YEP. AND WE RECEIVED THE COMPLAINT. AND ONE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT INVESTIGATORS GOES OUT THERE. WE DO NOT TEST FOR MOLD, BUT IF THERE'S ANY WATER INTRUSION LEAKS OR CRACKS, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY, THE MANAGEMENT, THE OWNERSHIP HAS TO FIX THOSE ISSUES. SURE. AND IF THEY DON'T, THEY, ENFORCEMENT HAPPENS. UM, SOMETIMES WE COULD TALK TO MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP, SAY, HEY, THIS IS A VERY UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT. UM, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THEY COULD MOVE TO ANOTHER UNIT OR CAN YOU HELP THEM? AND SOMETIMES THEY WOULD SAY, OKAY, WE CAN, WE COULD EVEN GET THEM OUT THE LEASE WITHOUT ANY TERMINATION. BUT IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS ON THE OWNERSHIP AND THE MANAGEMENT. BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES OWNERS DON'T EVEN LIVE IN RIGHT. IN TEXAS, THEY LIVE IN NEW YORK. RIGHT. DIFFERENT PLACES. AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS CHANGE OF MANAGEMENT ALL THE TIME. IT DEPENDS ON WHO'S IN MANAGEMENT AND WHAT THEIR APPETITE IS AND THE FLEXIBILITY. BUT THAT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE. SO THEN IF AN INSPECTOR GETS THERE, THEN MOLD IS PRESENT. THEY COMMUNICATE TO THE LEASE HOLDER. WELL, WE CAN'T SEE, WE, WE CANNOT SAY IF IT'S MOLD OR NOT. SO YOU CAN'T EVEN SAY THIS IS MOLD. YES. YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO REALLY TAKE IT TO THE LAB TO REALLY DETERMINE IF IT'S, SO THEN THE, SO THE INSPECTOR'S COMMUNICATING TO THE LEASE HOLDER. YEAH. THE MANAGEMENT AND OWNERSHIP. HEY, THIS IS SHEET ROCK. THIS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SO USUALLY WHEN YOU REPLACE THE WHOLE THING, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT CLEANS OUT WHATEVER, UH, MATERIAL OR PARCO. SURE. SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT EXPLICITLY SAYING MOLD. IT'S SAYING, YOU NEED TO REMOVE THIS SHEET ROCK. YES. REMOVE THE SHEET ROCK, FIX THE LEAK AND CRACK. AND THEN SOMETIMES MANAGEMENT WILL TRY TO DO A RUBBER BAND AND JUST CLEAN IT UP. CLEAN OVER IT. YEAH. AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. THAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I LIVED IN AN APARTMENT. OKAY. THEY DID THAT TOO. UH, BECAUSE, BUT YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM REALLY TAKES IT, UH, ON OURSELVES TO MAKE SURE TO ENFORCE, IF YOU'RE NOT COMPLIANT, WE WILL ISSUE CITATIONS. WE'LL KEEP COMING BACK AND ISSUE CITATIONS. BUT USUALLY, UH, WE TRY TO GET RESOLUTION AND TRY TO GET THE, UM, TENANT TO BE MOVED. SO I JUST REALLY WANNA KNOW ABOUT HER CASE. SURE. SO WE COULD, UM, OUR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR IS HERE TOO, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. SO WE COULD DEFINITELY HELP HER. BUT THERE'S MANY CASES, LIKE HER CASE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE, THE TOUGH SITUATION IS THE OWNERSHIP. SOMETIMES THEY WILL SAY, I I'LL TAKE THE CITATIONS. YEAH. I DON'T CARE. YOU KNOW, WE'LL PAY IT INSTEAD OF FIXING THE ISSUE. AND WHAT'S THE AMOUNT, DO YOU KNOW OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD THE AMOUNT OF THE CITATION? UM, THE MAX. I MEAN, IT DEPENDS. IT COULD BE UP TO 1000 TO 2000. IT REALLY DEPENDS. WE HAVE A COUPLE OWNERSHIPS OWNERS WHO HAVE HUNDREDS OF TICKETS, HUNDREDS OR MAYBE EVEN CLOSE TO A THOUSAND TICKETS, AND THEY GET THEIR LAWYERS INVOLVED AND PUSH BACK THE DATE AND TRY TO SURE. YOU KNOW, SO IT'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HELP AND COMPLY. BUT IF WE HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MANAGEMENT, UM, THEY TRY TO COMPLY. BUT IT'S TRUE. LIKE THEY DO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES TENANT DO GO TO THE MANAGEMENT, HEY, GET THIS FIXED, AND MANAGEMENT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING. SO THEY CONTACT 3 0 1 AND WHEN THE HEALTH INSPECTORS COME, OH YEAH. WELL, THEY NEVER PUT IN A, A TICKET OR NEVER CALLED US OR A PORTAL. I DON'T SEE ANY INFORMATION. SO THEY TRY TO GET IT, YOU KNOW, COMPLIED BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE'RE GONNA KEEP COMING BACK AND BACK. YES. I'M SORRY, HOLD ON. SOMEONE ELSE. RIGHT. AND THEN JULIA ASKED, UH, GO AHEAD. CAN I GO? OKAY. [00:50:01] UM, SO THE OTHER THING IS, UH, WHEN, WHEN YOU GUYS BROUGHT UP, UH, THE QUESTION OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A RETALIATION. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE NECESSARILY UNDERSTAND WHAT RETALIATION IS BECAUSE FOR A LOW, LOW INCOME PERSON OR SO ANYBODY WHO'S IN THIS SITUATION ALREADY, UM, THE LANDLORDS HAVE THE, UH, HAVE THE CHOICE OF MOVING YOU TO ANOTHER UNIT OR SIMPLY JUST SAYING, OKAY, WELL, WE'LL LET YOU OUT TO YOUR LEASE. LIKE, THAT'S THEIR BIG BENEFIT TO YOU. BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO EAT THE MOVING COST. EVEN IF YOU'RE MOVING FROM THIS APARTMENT ON THE SECOND FLOOR TO ANOTHER BUILDING THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE MOLD, THAT IS A BIG, UH, EXPENSE. SOMETIMES IF YOU DON'T HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS TO HELP YOU, IT'S, IT WAS A $2,000, UH, MOVE FOR ME, WHICH WAS NOT COVERED BY FEMA. FEMA COVERED LIKE $400 OF IT. AND I DON'T EXPL I DON'T UNDERSTAND DAMAGE BECAUSE OF DISASTER. YES. DISASTER. IT WAS DURING HURRICANE BARREL. IT WAS BARREL. OKAY. SO I APPLIED FOR THE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOVING BENEFIT AND, UH, BECAUSE MY, MY UNIT WASN'T FIXED PROPERLY. BUT, UM, BUT THAT IS SUFFICIENT RETALIATION TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM EVEN SAYING ANYTHING. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT COULD BE CHANGED. BUT THAT'S WHY WHEN THIS, UM, WHEN THIS UH, PROPOSAL CAME UP ABOUT THE APARTMENT, UH, COMPLEX, I SAID, COULD WE TAKE SOME OF THESE FINES THAT YOU'RE FINING THEM AND IT'S NOT MAKING ANY DIFFERENCE TO THEM? AND SAY, PUT THAT IN, PUT THAT IN A FUND TO HELP PEOPLE MOVE. IF THEY CONTINUALLY DON'T REPLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T COMPLY. THIS GIVES THE TENANTS A LOT MORE POWER. IF THEY HAVE MONEY IN THEIR HANDS THAT THEY CAN SAY, I CAN AFFORD MY MOVING FEES, THEN I WILL SPEAK UP. THANK YOU. WE TAKE PROPERTY TAXES FOR IT FOR THE CITY AND ALSO HAVE A EIGHT MONTH FOR THAT. I MEAN, PROPERTY GO UP EVERY YEAR. I PAY PROPERTY. IT'S RIDICULOUS. DON'T EVEN SEE ANY CHANGE PROGRAM. I HAVE MOVED RIGHT NOW TO KATIE IN ORDER TO BE SAFE. AND WHERE I WAS BEFORE WAS 7, 7 0 4 9. I'M NOW AT 7 7 4 9. AND TO KIND OF TEASE ON THAT SAME LIKE, UM, RETALIATION IDEA, HAVE PEOPLE FELT RETALIATION OR FEARED RETALIATION IN ORDER TO NOT SPEAK OUT? UM, I TELL YOU BECAUSE, UM, THEY TOLD THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THEY WERE LETTING ME OUTTA MY KNEES, BUT I GUESS, SO I HAD, UH, SEWAGE WATER BACK IN MY APARTMENT AND THEY LEFT IT IN THERE FOR THREE, LIKE TWO, IT DRIED UP BASICALLY. SO I CALLED THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND I WENT TO THEM AND TRIED TO TELL THE MINIATURE WHAT HAPPENED. AND LIKE, HE, I FORGOT WHAT I WAS SAYING, BUT YES. SO THEY, SO I CALLED THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT BECAUSE I TRIED TO GO TO THEM AND TELL THEM LIKE, MY APARTMENT IS FLOODED. AND SO I END UP CALLING THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. NOBODY CAME. SO I GUESS LIKE THEY WERE GONNA LET ME OUTTA MY LEASE, BUT BECAUSE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT CAME, I'M NOT OUTTA MY LEASE NOW. EVEN THOUGH THEY TOWED IT TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT THAT THEY WERE, AND I'M STILL IN THERE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, EVEN SOMEBODY GOT SHOT, USE THE MIC. OKAY. THEY GET SHOT UP. THEY, SOMEBODY GOT SHOT, SOMEBODY GOT SHOT RIGHT NEXT TO HER. THE GATES NEVER BE CLOSED. AND WHEN MY DAUGHTER FIRST MOVED IN THERE, SHE CALLED ME CRYING. I BEGGED THEM TO LET HER OUT BECAUSE WHEN SHE MOVED IN, WHEN WE MOVED OUT THAT ONE APARTMENT, SHE WENT IN THERE FIRST, THEY SAID THEY GONNA FIX IT ALL UP. SHE WENT IN THERE, WIRES WAS HANGING EVERYWHERE. UH, MOLD, WATER COMING ABOUT THE TUB, BUTTER FACET, WE LIKE, OH MY GOD. SO SHE WAS CRYING, SAYING, PLEASE LET ME OFF THE LEASE. SO IT'D BEEN A WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR. NO, EIGHT MONTHS. EIGHT MONTHS. SHE JUST NOW WHAT THEY DO CLEAN THE REFRIGERATOR NOW? YEAH. THEY JUST GAVE ME A REFRIGERATOR. JUST GAVE HER A REFRIGERATOR IN JUNE. I DID NOT JUST GAVE HER A REFRIGERATOR. SHE AIN'T BEEN ABLE TO COOK THERE RIGHT NOW TO THIS DAY. AND I'VE BEEN BEGGING THEM LET OUT. SO WE HIRED A INSPECTOR, WHAT THEY CALL THE MOLD, A MOLD INSPECTOR. HE SAID, THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN. IT'S, IT'S THE MOLD COMING THROUGH, THE VENT, THROUGH THE WINDOW, THROUGH THE WINDOWS. THE WINDOWS ALL STILL ARE DIRTY. AND MOW THE DOG, HER PO DOG, SHE WAS JUST CRYING SO BAD. AND I I SAID, Y'ALL PLEASE LET HER OUT. YEAH. SO UNDER, GO AHEAD. SO UNDERSTANDING THAT THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS. AND, AND SO WE'RE HEARING SHE CAN'T LIVE THERE. SHE HASN'T LIVED THERE, WHAT A MONTH NOW UNDERSTANDING. AND SHE'S STILL PAYING HER RENT. AND WE WENT TO THE OWNER MM-HMM . WHAT WAS THAT? WE FOUND THE OWNER, SHE STILL DOES NOTHING UNDERSTAND. AND, AND SO WE'VE HERE, HERE THAT MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ENFORCEMENT OR FOR SUPPORTING TENANTS IS HELPING TENANTS OUT OF THEIR LEASE. AND MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY CAN SUPPORT OR HOW THAT'S BEEN DONE. COMMUNITY. UM, I DUNNO IF MARIA WANTS TO, UH, MARIA THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR, WE JUST, WE UM, SHE JUST STARTED, WELL, SHE'S BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS, BUT, UH, WE NEEDED A COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM BECAUSE OF, OF YOUR STORIES. 'CAUSE I, WE REALLY CARE ABOUT TENANTS, YOU KNOW, AND WE REALLY WANT [00:55:02] PEOPLE TO LIVE IN SAFE ENVIRONMENTS. AND YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN IN PUBLIC SERVANT FOR A LONG TIME AND, AND THE ENVIRONMENT INVESTIGATORS WHO GO OUT THERE, THEY'RE LIKE THE, UM, THERAPISTS TOO. THEY'RE LISTENING. THEY'RE TRYING TO MEDIATE, THEY'RE TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE. UM, SO WE, UM, WERE ABLE TO THANK, YOU KNOW, BLESSING TO GET MARIA SO SHE COULD EXPLAIN SOME SERVICES THAT SHE TRIES TO HELP GET PEOPLE. YEAH. OKAY. UH, MARIA CISNEROS AND I AM THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATOR IN THE DEPARTMENT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. SO BASICALLY I'M TRYING TO GATHER RESOURCES FOR A LOT OF OUR TENANTS, YOU KNOW, UH, PARTNER WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE CAN'T, DON'T OFFER ALL OF THOSE SERVICES THAT OUR TENANTS MIGHT NEED. SO THAT'S, UH, BUILDING RELATIONSHIP AND FINDING RESOURCES FOR OUR TENANTS IS WHAT I BASICALLY DO. OKAY. UH, A LOT OF TIMES THE, WHEN THE, WHEN THE INSPECTOR GOES OUT, BASICALLY THEIR JOB IS JUST TO DO THE INSPECTION, BUT THEY DO LISTEN TO WHAT ARE THE TENANTS ARE SAYING AND THAT'S HOW THEY SENT SOME OF THE TENANTS TO ME. UH, AND THAT'S WHEN I REACH OUT TO THEM AND FOLLOW UP WITH THEM. AND, AND CAN YOU SHARE, UH, UH, EXAMPLES OF SERVICES PROVIDED? UH, WE, I'VE HELPED SOME WITH, UH, MOVING COSTS. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES, UH, UH, ESPECIALLY OUR SENIORS DON'T HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS OR, UH, DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO MOVE. SO REACHING OUT TO CHURCHES TO DIFFERENT SOURCES AND HELPING PEOPLE, UH, MOVE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. UH, WE'VE ALSO HAD SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD TO BE MOVED OUT OF THE PROPERTY ITSELF INTO ANOTHER PROPERTY OF TRYING TO WORK WITH HOUSING AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY, THEY HAVE, THEY'RE UNDER HOUSING, A CERTAIN HOUSING PROGRAM THAT HAS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THEM, OR SPECIAL FUNDING. SO YOU KIND OF HAVE TO CALL DIFFERENT APARTMENT IS MAKING SURE NOT EVERYBODY'S ACCEPTING HOUSING VOUCHERS ANYMORE. SO THAT BECOMES A PROBLEM FOR, FOR, IN OUR AREA AS WELL. SO, FOR, FOR, I WANNA ASK A VERY POINTED QUESTION AND KIND OF GET INTO A BRAINSTORMING. WE'RE HEARING ABOUT GETTING OUT OF A LEASE. WE'RE HEARING ABOUT MOVING COSTS. HOW CAN WE SUPPORT TENANTS LIVING IN THESE SPACES THAT WOULD LIKE TO MOVE OR LIKE TO RESOLVE THE SITUATION? ARE THERE OTHER IDEAS THAT COULD BE EMBEDDED INTO OPERATIONAL IN THIS ORDINANCE TO SAY, WHAT IS THE ENFORCEMENT OR WHAT IS THE SUPPORT FOR THE TENANTS? ONE, I SAY SOMETHING THAT COULD HELP A LOT. JUST SEEING WE DEAL OVER THOUSANDS. UM, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, IF YOU REALLY LOOK AT RESTAURANTS, THEY HAVE PRE-INSPECTIONS. IF WE HAD PRE-INSPECTIONS OF UNITS BEFORE A, A TENANT, A RESIDENT LIVES GOES THROUGH THERE, THAT COULD REALLY HELP. I BELIEVE IN PREVENTIVE MEASURES, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO LEAKS OR CRACKS. BECAUSE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE COMES, THEY'RE EXCITED, THEY MIGHT SHOW THIS UNIT, AND THEN THEY MOVE THE TENANT TO ANOTHER UNIT AT THE END FOR CLOSING. YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPENS A LOT. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE'S ALL THESE ISSUES INSIDE THAT UNIT. SO IF WE HAVE SOME, SOMETHING LIKE A PRE-INSPECTION WHERE INVESTIGATORS GO OUT THERE, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS A LIVABLE SITUATION, I THINK THAT WILL REALLY HELP THE PROBLEM. RIGHT? BUT REMEMBER THE, UH, LIAISON FOR PUBLIC WORKS? I THINK HE SAID THAT THERE WERE 12 INSPECTORS, THREE SUPERVISOR FOR US, FOR US, FOR THE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE EIGHT, EIGHT SPEAKER, RIGHT? SO THEN THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CITY. BUT WE, BUT THE MONTH, THE THING IS, IF YOU HAVE PRE-INSPECTION CHARGING THE, UM, OH, I DON'T, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOU. I'M SAYING FROM THE CAPACITY COUNCIL MEMBERS PERSPECTIVE, LIKE WHEN WE GET TO BUDGET TABLE, RIGHT? AND IT IS TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT DEPARTMENTS HAVE WHAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO MEET THIS DEMAND. MM-HMM . 'CAUSE IF WE, UM, GET TO THE, THE PROPOSED ITEM WILL BE DISCUSSED ON MARCH 30TH. THE PROPOSED ITEM WILL BE DISCUSSED ON MARCH 30TH. AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN FROM THE FEDERAL STANDARD, LIKE WITH THE, THE, UH, SECTION EIGHT, IF YOU'RE ON A VOUCHER, THERE'S A PRE-INSPECTION OF A UNIT BEFORE SOMEONE CAN MOVE IN. AND THERE THEY, WE NEED TO NOODLE ON ADOPTING SIMILAR LANGUAGE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, WHICH THEN REDUCES OVEREXTENDING CITY DEPARTMENTS. 'CAUSE WE WOULD'VE HAD PROACTIVE MEASURES, RIGHT? SO I'M JUST SAYING THAT I SUPPORT IT, BUT THAT MEANS THAT'S PERSONNEL AND THAT MEANS THAT'S INVESTMENT IN DEPARTMENTS. AND THEN THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE BUDGET TABLE, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SUPPORT THE ASEC TEAM SO THEY COULD DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO. 'CAUSE LET'S SAY THEY, WE ROLLED THROUGH THE, THE FIRST 20, OKAY, YOU STILL HAVE ANOTHER 20. YOU GOTTA DO, YOU STILL HAVE TO DO ANOTHER. 'CAUSE THIS ORDINANCE IS STILL NOT A CURE-ALL RIGHT? THIS GIVES THE, THE DEPARTMENTS AND THE, THE COLLABORATIVE TEAM, UH, TEETH TO GO IN AND ADDRESS OUR TOP BAD ACTORS TO BUILD CAPACITY AROUND THAT TO START DOING MORE, RIGHT? SO I'M WITH YOU ON THAT. I'M JUST SAYING THAT'S GONNA COST MONEY AND THAT'S STUFF THAT WE GOT [01:00:01] TO CARRY. IT'LL GONNA COST A LOT OF MONEY, BUT I WOULD FALL ON THE OWNERS TO PAY LIKE PERSPECTION $50 PER UNIT AND THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT WHOLE BUILDING. LIKE, SO THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, REALLY PUT IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS GOING TOWARDS LIKE, TO HELP WITH OTHER, YOU KNOW, FOCUS. IT'S NOT COMING OUT FROM US, COMING FROM, FROM THEM. BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THESE OWNERS HAVE A LOT OF MONEY. THEY'RE EXPECTING THESE TENANTS TO PAY THEIR RENT, BUT THEY DON'T DOWN PAYMENT ALL OF THAT. FIRST TO LAST MONTH. FIRST TO LAST MONTH. AND SO THE OWNERS, YOU KNOW, LIKE $50 PER UNIT, I THINK THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, TRY TO HELP, JUST TRY TO HELP BECAUSE I SEE TENANTS ARE LIKE STRUGGLING. SAY, OH, WE GET YOU OFF POLICE, BUT DON'T HAVE MONEY TO MOVE OUT. I GOT, SO LET'S HEAR FROM HERE, HERE AND, AND THEN TO THE BACK. SO, UM, I'M AT ADVOCATE FOR THE TENANTS AND ONE OTHER MAJOR CONCERNS YOU GUYS KEEP TALKING ABOUT SAFETY IS THE CRIMES. AND, UM, WELL, I READ THE ARTICLE WHERE THEY INTERVIEW YOU, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND I GUESS IN THE ARTICLE IT SAYS SOMETHING LIKE, UH, THE CRIME, UH, IS THE LANDLORD'S FAULT. SO IF THE CRIME AND THE PROPERTIES AND THE SQUATTING PROBLEM IN THE PROPERTIES IS THE LANDLORD'S FAULT, IS THE CRIME EVERYWHERE ELSE, THE POLITICIAN'S FAULT. BECAUSE YOU CAN WALK OUT RIGHT HERE, ANY ARTICLE THAT I'VE BEEN QUOTED AND SAYS THAT CRIME IS THE LANDLORD'S FAULT. YES. A C 13. I READ IT. NO, I CAN PULL IT UP, BUT THAT WAS LEMME ANSWER. BUT LET ME ANSWER QUESTION. THAT'S IN, THAT'S INADEQUATE AND I THINK THAT THAT'S, IT'S INACCURATE. UM, AND, AND SO WE, WE DEPLOY A LOT OF, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY STRAI STRATEGIES, UM, ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO MITIGATE CRIME. NOW, CRIME IS SUCH A BROAD WORD. NOW WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT SQUATTING, THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE, RIGHT? SO SQUATTING IN THIS, IN THIS PAST LEGISLATURE, UH, GOVERNOR ABBOTT JUST, UH, STRENGTHEN EVICTION, UH, RULES, PARTICULARLY AROUND SQUATTING. SO LANDLORDS HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS THAT SPECIFICALLY. NOW, SECONDARILY, WE HAVE A DOCUMENTED LIST OF LANDLORDS THAT HAVE VACANT UNITS, THAT HAVE ALL TYPES OF THINGS, UH, WHERE THEY HAVE NOT DONE RIGHT WITH THEIR PROPERTY. THE GATE DOES NOT WORK. UH, THE DOOR, THE, THE UNITS ARE BUSTED OPEN. IT IS, IT IS CLEAR. AND I CAN SHOW YOU THOSE JUST ON THE WEST SIDE THAT WE DEAL WITH. YEAH. BUT YOU, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, WE DO HAVE LANDLORDS THAT ARE PROACTIVE, THAT ARE ON THOSE PROPERTIES THAT ARE WORKING WITH US AND THAT ARE INUNDATED WITH THOSE THAT ARE BREAKING INTO VACANT UNITS BECAUSE OF OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING. AND WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM TO DO THAT, AND OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WORK WITH THAT TO DO THAT. SO I WOULD WANNA REDIRECT YOUR, YOUR ENERGY AND YOUR QUESTION, UM, TO, TO, TO ADDRESS AN ISSUE AS AN OWNER THAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING RELATED TO CRIME SPECIFICALLY. SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT IN THE ORDINANCE THAT WE ADDRESS THAT, I MEAN, YOU CALL THE POLICE, THEY DON'T SHOW UP. WE, WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH PEOPLE SPEEDING. YOU CALL 3 1 1, THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. SPEEDING PEOPLE'S CARS OVER. SO CAN YOU, SO TELL ME WHERE YOUR PROPERTY IS. TELL ME WHERE YOUR PROPERTY IS IN WHICH DISTRICT? IT'S COUNCIL J. SO YOU'RE IN J OKAY. AND THEY, WHICH ARE YOU COMFORTABLE GIVING CROSS STREETS? ARE YOU COMFORTABLE? IT'S ON RISS AND, UM, SOUTH DRIVE. OKAY. AND I, I HAVE SPOKE TO POLICE OFFICERS ABOUT JUST LAST WEEK THERE WAS A CAR THAT FLIPPED OVER BECAUSE THEY SPEED THERE. A CHILD WAS HIT BY A POLICE OFFICER VEHICLE WHILE THEY WERE GETTING OFF THE BUS BECAUSE THEY'RE SPEEDING ON SOUTH DRIVE. A CHILD WAS HIT BY HPD. YES, YES. AND NOW THE BUS STOPS HAVE TO, AND THAT WAS NOT IN THE NEWS. HAVE TO HIT, HAVE TO, THEY CAN'T, THEY HAVE TO DO AN ANGLE. SO PEOPLE LAMBDA STOP BECAUSE THEY DON'T, WHEN THE CHILDREN ARE COMING NOW, LAMBDA LAMBDA GO GET DEION, GO GET DEION. AND UM, AND THEN THAT'S A MAJOR CONCERN. I MEAN, I TALKED TO A POLICE OFFICER ABOUT SPEEDING, AND THEY TOLD ME IT'S HARD TO PROVE I CAN'T GIVE TICKETS. UH, WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO? AND I SAID, WELL, I ALREADY STARTED A PETITION WITH THE CITY HOUSTON, THE NEIGHBORHOOD THING TO GET SPEED BUMPS ON SOUTH DRIVE. AND HE SAID, OH, DON'T DO THAT. DON'T DO THAT. THAT'S GONNA MAKE MY JOB HARD. SO YOU'RE TELLING ME WHAT SHOULD I DO TO PROTECT CRIME? CRIME SPEEDING IS A CRIME. AND AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO. BUT MY SUGGESTION IS A HORRIBLE IDEA. I MEAN, OKAY, SO SPEED BUMPS, YES, YOU CAN DO THEM. UM, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT, THAT'S EASY TO DO. WE DO SPEED BUMPS. I'LL DO IT. SERGEANT DEION, WE HAVE A, A RESIDENT THAT'S AN, AN OWNER OPERATOR OFF OF SOUTH WILCREST IN SOUTH THAT'S STILL WEST SIDE. YES. YES. AND SO SHE'S SAYING THAT THERE'S SOME, UH, ISSUES OF ONGOING SPEEDING THAT'S HAPPENING AND THAT AN EIGHT, UH, WEST SIDE OFFICER, UM, RECOMMENDED NOT TO INSTALL SPEED BUMPS ON SOUTH DRIVE. AND THAT HPD UH, HIT A CHILD AT THE, AT THE INTERSECTION. THIS IS WEST SIDE. SO I CAN'T TELL YOU ABOUT THE HITTING OF THE CHILD OR THAT CALL IT, IT WOULD JUST REQUIRE, OBVIOUSLY FOR ME TO DO SOME RESEARCH. I'M HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT WHEN I CAN DO SIGN UP, BECAUSE I WAS TAKING, I WAS KNOCKING DOORS, GETTING [01:05:01] THE, THE SIGNATURES THAT I NEED FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD BUMP. SO YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A SPEED BUMP ON THE PROPERTY OR ON THE, ON THE SITTING ON THE CITY STREET. THAT'S EASY. THE BELLWAY AND THEY SPEED ALL THE TIME AND CARS SLIP OVER. SO WHAT WE DO IS WE HEAR YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND WE FORWARD IT TO THE CITY. UM, WE, WE GO THROUGH CITY WORKS, WE FORWARD IT TO THEM AND THEY DO AN ALL OUT PLAN. I I UNDERSTAND THAT SPEED. RIGHT? BUT THE, BUT WE HAVE THE ABILITY IN THE COUNCIL OFFICES TO FUND THOSE. AND WE DO THAT. AND THOSE ARE USED AS PUBLIC SAFETY MEASURES. AND SO SPEED CUSHIONS ARE A TOOL THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICE CAN ABSORB. AND SO TECHNICALLY YOU DON'T EVEN NEED THE SIGNATURES IF YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER HAS SIGNALED THAT THEY'LL PAY FOR IT. I'M DOING $200,000 WORTH OF SPEED CUSHIONS 50 51 IN LEEWOOD ALONE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, IT'S NOT, THEY'RE WORRY ABOUT THE AREA BECAUSE WE LIVE IN 80 AND WE'RE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES. THEY DON'T CARE. WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE WE'RE GONNA WORK TO GET THAT DONE. LOW INCOME. I, I GET IT, BUT LOW. YEAH, BUT THAT'S NOT ACCURATE. AND THERE'S NOT ACCURATE. I, THE AVERAGE INCOME THAT I REPRESENT IS LIKE $47,000. RIGHT. AND WE'RE HANDLING BUSINESS FOR THESE PEOPLE. UM, 'CAUSE I LIVE HERE TOO, AROUND THE C LIKE, THIS IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD. WE'RE GONNA WORK TO GET YOUR SPEED BUMPS. I DON'T WANT YOU TO WALK OUT DISHEARTENED AROUND THAT. UM, UM, TAMMY IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW WE'VE DONE SPEED BUMPS IN, IN HER COMMUNITY AS WELL. SHE, FOR YEARS WAS WAITING ON SPEED BUMPS AND OTHER ISSUES. WE CAN DO THAT ALLOW ME TO ASSIST AND FACILITATE TO GET THIS DONE. OKAY. THE OTHER, SOME OF THE TENANTS, THEY DON'T WANNA COME. SURE. WHAT'S GOING ON. RIGHT? PLEASE DO. AND THAT'S WHAT, AND, AND WE, AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE, UM, CREDIBILITY WITH YOUR TENANTS, THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU'RE HERE. SO YOU CAN SHARE WITH THEM. BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO WALK OUT DISHEARTENED THINKING ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'RE DEPLOYING ARE NOT WORKING BECAUSE THEY CAN WORK. AND WE CAN GET SPEED BUMPS ON SOUTH DRIVE STREET. AND BACK IN THE DAYS, I REMEMBER LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO, THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE SOMEBODY FROM THE CITY STICKER IN CAR. SURE. DON'T THAT ANYMORE. THE CAR PARKED THERE LIKE A WHOLE WEEK, TWO WHOLE THREE MONTHS. AND IT CRIME BECAUSE UNIT GO. CAN I REITERATE? BECAUSE I HAVE BUT UP TO SOUTH AND I I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE SHE'S TALKING ABOUT. AS YOU GET OFF OF THE BELTWAY EIGHT, IT, YOU CAN TAKE SOUTH IF YOU WANT TO, YOU KNOW, AVOID, UH, KIP YOU KNOW, KIP WAY OR MISSING IT. SO THEY TAKE THAT STREET AND I'M WITNESS THAT THAT IS THE ONLY STREET THAT DOESN'T FLOOD. AND, BUT THE THING IS THAT THEY HAVE THE BLEED OUT OF THE CARS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PARKING INSIDE THE PROPERTY. THEY'RE STOPPED. THEY'RE PARKED ON THE SIDE. WE GOT IT. I, BECAUSE WE'RE LIMITED FOR TIME, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME TAKEAWAY. SERGEANT DEON, WOULD YOU MIND ASKING AN ASIDE AFTER THIS SO WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE WE GET, UH, ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE. AND IF YOU HAVE NOT CONSUMED IT THERE, ENLARGED, UH, EXAMPLES OF THE ORDINANCES ALL DOWN THE HALLWAY. TAKE PHOTOS OF THAT, CONSUME THAT FOLLOW UP. WE'RE NOT RUSHING THIS. WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD? BECAUSE WE WANT BE ABLE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, UM, SOME OF THE TAKEAWAYS THAT I HEARD. ONE, THE SPECIFIC AND UNIQUE THAT WE REALLY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT, RIGHT? VERY EXPENSIVE. YEAH. VERY EXPENSIVE. WE, WE, IT ALL COSTS. BUT NUMBER TWO, THE FINANCIAL OBLIGATION, EVEN IF YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR UNIT, WHAT YOU HAVE TO ABSORB, UM, UH, WITHOUT POSSIBLE PLANNING. UH, AND THEN ALSO JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE PROCESS PUBLIC EDUCATION ON THE 3 1 1 SYSTEM. JULIA, IS THERE ANYTHING ? UM, THE OTHER QUESTION IS JUST ABOUT REPORTING THE INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY FOR TENANTS. IS THERE INFORMATION THAT YOU BELIEVE WOULD BE GOOD TO BE ABLE TO SEE? UM, WHERE WOULD THIS LIVE ON A WEBSITE, ON A DASHBOARD? IS IT MAILED TO PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, MAILING IS A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE, BUT IF PEOPLE HAVE THOUGHTS OR IDEAS OF WHAT THE REPORTING OF THIS LOOKS LIKE? SO THERE'S TRANSPARENCY FOR TENANTS, SO YOU ALL FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S HAPPENING. THOSE IDEAS WOULD BE REALLY GOOD. 'CAUSE THAT IS ALSO PART OF THIS ORDINANCE OF HOW IS THIS COMMUNICATED OUT TO THE PUBLIC, TO THE TENANTS. UM, THE IDEA OF THIS ORDINANCE IS TO CREATE THIS, UH, HIGH RISK, UH, PROPERTY PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY WHAT PROPERTIES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE BEING, UH, MOST CALLED OUT FOR CODE VIOLATIONS OR HAVING THOSE CODE ISSUES. UM, AND SO TENANTS NEED TO KNOW THAT INFORMATION TO KNOW WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO LIVE, WHAT OWNERS, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT OWNERSHIP SOMETIMES IS A LITTLE AMBIGUOUS. THERE'S [01:10:01] A LOT OF LLCS THAT HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES. THERE MIGHT BE SOME DIFFERENT OWNERS THAT, THAT ARE INTO, UH, A SINGLE DEAL. UM, THERE MIGHT BE TAX CREDITS OR CITY FUNDING OR COUNTY FUNDING ATTACHED TO THAT, THAT MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING ON THAT VEIN ABOUT REPORTING OR TRANSPARENCY THAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IN THESE LAST COUPLE OF MINUTES THAT WE'RE TOGETHER ALSO, UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT FROM THE PROPERTY MANAGERS THAT HIRED OR MANAGER. MY, MY DEAL WAS I DID THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ON MY PROPERTIES WHERE, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TURNAROUND ON MY GUYS. SO WE DID THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. AND IT'S USUALLY MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS OR MANAGEMENT, UH, COMPANIES WILL DO THAT EVERY QUARTER. IT TO BE ABLE TO GO INTO EVERY SINGLE UNIT. WHAT I'M, WHAT I AS A RECIPIENT TO A CITY INSPECTOR. TO ME, IF THE INSPECTOR WERE TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M, I HAVE MOLD REPORTED, I HAVE MOLD REPORTED IN THIS APARTMENT, CAN YOU PLEASE SEND ME A COPY? EVERY SINGLE MANAGEMENT, THERE'S NOT ONE OUT THERE THAT HAS A PAINTER CONTRACTOR THAT IS NOT CERTIFIED BY MOLD. SO THEY CAN CALL THEIR CONTRACTOR AND THEY CAN GET IT INSPECTED. AND IT IS A, A UNBIASED BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO STATE REGULATION, HAS TO HAVE THEM DO A CORRECT MOLD. BUT IF YOU DON'T ASK FOR IT AS AN INSPECTOR, THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO IT. THAT SHOULD FALL BACK ON THE LANDLORD FOR THEM TO DO THAT INSPECTION AND HAVE THEM PROOF FACTS TO THE CITY TO PROVIDE THAT. YOU KNOW, THAT IT IS MOLD. SO WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING IS THAT THE INSPECTOR TELL THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TO GET AN ACCURATE MOLD TEST, OR THAT THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES THEM TO SHOW PROOF THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THAT. THAT THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES THAT THE INSPECTORS TELL THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OR THE OWNER TO DO A MOLD TEST THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FINANCIALS OF THAT. AND THEN THAT WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK, UM, TO THE INSPECTION TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO MOLD. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, I WANTED TO ADDRESS A BUNCH OF THINGS REAL FAST. OKAY. SO THE PRE-INSPECTION, UM, I WAS USING A HOUSING VOUCHER AND STILL AM. AND SO I GET THE PRE-INSPECTION, BUT IT'S NOT A MAGIC BULLET BECAUSE AGAIN, THE PHYSICAL INSPECTOR CAN ONLY SAY IT'S LEAKING IF IT IS RAINING RIGHT NOW. AND SHE SEES A LEAK COMING RIGHT NOW. SO EVEN THOUGH, UM, I TOLD HER THIS IS A LEAK AND I SAW IT, YOU KNOW, SINCE IT'S NOT LEAKING RIGHT NOW, THEY CAN'T WRITE IT DOWN AND THEN THEY CAN'T, YOU KNOW, AND WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU'RE VERY RUSHED, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INSPECTORS AND YOU'RE JUST GOING IN AND OUT, THIS WOULD ALLOWS THE, THE, UM, THE APARTMENT OWNERS TO SAY, I'M JUST GONNA PAINT IT OVER EVERY TIME. 'CAUSE I, WHEN I PAINTED OVER, NOBODY CAN TELL FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. IT'S NOT GONNA GROW OUT. RIGHT. SO, UM, BUT HOWEVER, I AM IN FAVOR OF PRE-INSPECTIONS BECAUSE, UM, THAT EQUALIZES THINGS. NOW, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT PEOPLE ALWAYS TELL ME THEY DON'T WANT THE HOUSING VOUCHER PEOPLE AND TO BECOME THEIR TENANTS IS NOT BECAUSE THEY DON'T EVEN LIKE US. THEY, THEY, THEY THINK WE'RE FINE. AND THEY ALSO, THEY'RE, THEY LOVE HAVING STEADY MONEY COMING FROM THE GOVERNMENT, BUT THEY DO NOT ENJOY ALL THESE INSPECTIONS AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE, ALL THE PAPERWORK THEY HAVE TO FILL OUT AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT IF EVERYBODY HAD TO DO A PRE-INSPECTION THAT EQUALIZES THINGS, MORE REGULAR TENANTS WILL ALSO REQUIRE AN INSPECTION. AND THAT MAKES IT SO WE ARE NOW COMPETING ON A MUCH MORE FAIR BASIS. AND I LIKE THAT. UM, SO THAT, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UM, ANOTHER THING IS, UH, THE THE, OKAY, BACK TO, UH, WHY PEOPLE DON'T SPEAK UP. WE DON'T SPEAK UP BECAUSE AGAIN, FIRST OF ALL, WE CAN'T HANDLE THE EXPENSE OF MOVING. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE POSSIBLE REMEDIES IS THEY JUST TELL YOU TO MOVE. AND THEN THE, YOU FEEL LIKE, YO, WELL THAT'S JUST PUNISHING ME, YOU KNOW, FOR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED. BUT ANOTHER, UH, REMEDY IS YOU HAVE TO GO TO, UM, THE, THE JUDGE BY YOURSELF AND YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE, WHAT IS THE, THE, THE JP COURT. SO EVEN WHEN YOU GET HELP FROM PEOPLE, THEY SAY, WELL, YOU HAVE TO GO TO GP COURT AND YOU DON'T GET A LAWYER THERE, YOU GOTTA DO IT YOURSELF. AND SO NOW YOU'RE OVERWHELMED BECAUSE YOU'RE THINKING, WELL THE, YOU KNOW, THE APARTMENT COMPLEX OR WHOEVER IS THE MANAGER OF THE PARTY, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEX, THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LAW. THEY, THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE IN FRONT OF THE JUDGE. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING WE'RE GONNA LOSE. AND IT'S GONNA BE SO MUCH WORK. PLUS YOU CAN'T GET YOUR DOCTORS TO WRITE YOU A NOTE 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT PAID TO DO THAT. THERE'S NO MONEY TO PAY A DOCTOR TO SAY, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS MOLD RELATED OR NOT MOLD RELATED. SO THERE'S NOTHING THAT WE CAN, UH, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH HARD EVIDENCE IN OUR CASE, YOU KNOW, SO, SORRY. NO, I, I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. I WANNA, I WANNA, I WANNA HONOR EVERYONE'S TIME. UH, WE DO HAVE THREE MINUTES BEFORE WE RECONVENE, UH, THIS, UH, WORK GROUP NEXT DOOR. UH, THEY ARE ALSO WRAPPING UP. SO ALL OF THIS IS HELPFUL. IT'S ALL REALLY GOOD. JULIA AND I WERE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS WE JUST DID. SO I THINK WE'RE ON TREND. UH, WE DIDN'T WANT TO COLOR IN THE LINES AND ASSUME THAT THIS IS WHAT, THAT WE WERE THINKING THE SAME THING. AND I THINK WE LEARNED SOME ADDITIONAL [01:15:01] RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND PRE-INSPECTION THAT WE WEREN'T, UM, ON TRACKING FOR. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS, SYNTHESIZE THIS, UH, SOME HOUSEKEEPING. I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU SIGNED IN. ALLOW US TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU WITH YOUR EMAIL. ALLOW US TO HANG BACK SO WE CAN GET WITH SERGEANT DALEY AND YOU AND WITH THE SPEED BUMPS. UM, AND SO WE WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, INVITE YOU TO THE MARCH 5TH LOCATION IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US AGAIN. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA INVITE YOU TO THE MARCH 30TH SPECIAL CALL MEETING BETWEEN THE HOUSING COMMITTEE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO WE CAN SHOW THE PROPOSED ITEM WITH YOUR INSIGHTS INCLUDED. OKAY? OKAY. YEP. UM, THERE ARE ALSO SOME INDEX CARDS. IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SAY, PLEASE WRITE IT DOWN AND SHARE IT WITH US. YOU CAN WRITE IT DOWN TODAY. YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL THE DISTRICT EMAILS, UM, TO BOARD COUNCIL MEMBER OR US. IT DOESN'T MATTER. IF YOU THINK OF SOMETHING TONIGHT OR TOMORROW, EMAIL IT TO US. LET US KNOW SO THAT FEEDBACK CAN BE COVERED. THERE MAY ALSO BE A SURVEY GOING OUT JUST TO BE WIDELY. SO PLEASE SPREAD THAT TO EVERYBODY. AND ANYBODY THAT YOU KNOW THAT CARES ABOUT APARTMENTS AND APARTMENT CONDITIONS, WHETHER THEY'RE HOMEOWNER OR I MEAN HOMEOWNERS TOO, BUT PROPERTY MANAGERS, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS OR TENANTS ALIKE, THE MORE INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK WE CAN GET, THE STRONGER THIS ORDINANCE CAN BE. AND WE CAN SUPPORT OUR PROPERTY OWNERS AND OUR TENANTS AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I'LL PASS THIS BACK. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE CAN RECONVENE. THANK Y'ALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE IN THE FRONT WITH SOME RECAPS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUST KIND OF JUMP RIGHT IN. UH, AGAIN, I'M MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, THE MAYOR, PRO TEM, CITY OF HOUSTON, ALSO THE CHAIR OF OUR CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING. UM, MANY OF YOU HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE. UH, HOPEFULLY YOU'VE READ THROUGH IT. UM, AND YOU WANT TO COME AND PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK TO US. TONIGHT, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS WE WILL GATHER ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HEAR FROM, UH, THE OWNERS, THE, UH, OPERATORS, LANDLORDS, UH, IN THIS MEETING. WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER MEETING ON MARCH THE FIFTH AT THE HARRIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, UH, BUILDING. AND WE WILL DO THE SAME THING. AND THEN ON MARCH 30TH, WE WILL HOST A JOINT HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING. AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE WILL, UH, WORK THROUGH ALL OF THE CONCERNS WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND THEN WITHIN 30 DAYS, WE SHOULD ACTUALLY SEE THE ORDINANCE ON THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR A VOTE. UM, FOR, FROM THE, UH, ADMINISTRATION AND EACH OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PROCEDURES? PROCESS? CLEAR? ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WHO'S GONNA BE THE FIRST PERSON TO SAY I READ IT AND THESE ARE MY CONCERNS? ALL YOU WANT ME TO START? CONCERNS? UM, SO AS I ALLUDED AT YOU PREVIOUSLY, MATTHEW SIMON ASSIGNED TO FIELD OPERATIONS, MY PREDECESSOR WAS SERGEANT BROCK, ASSIGNED TO THE APARTMENT UNIT. ARE Y'ALL FAMILIAR WITH THAT APARTMENT ENFORCEMENT UNIT? THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM? MM-HMM . YES. SOME OF THE OTHER, IS EVERYBODY CLEAR ABOUT THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM? YOU WANNA USE THE MICROPHONE? OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. SO, UH, AGAIN, MATTHEW SIMON ASSIGNED TO FIELD OPERATIONS. MY PREDECESSOR WAS SERGEANT ROCK, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM. SO, IF I WAS JUST TO ASK YOU THE OLD ORDINANCE, WHAT IS THE METHODOLOGY THE CITY OF HOUSTON USES TO CALCULATE A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING? ANYWAY, I KNOW IT, IT'S EXTREMELY COMPLICATED. IN FACT, THE ORDINANCE SAYS SECTION 28, 2 81 SAYS, HEY, CITY OF HOUSTON, SPECIFICALLY, HPD IS GOING TO PERFORM A MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION. IT'S SO COMPLICATED. WE'RE NOT EVEN GONNA CODIFY IT AND PUT IT IN THE STATUTE. YOU'RE GONNA REFER TO A MANUAL. AND THEN THE MANUAL WITHIN THAT MANUAL HAS THE MATHEMATICS THAT YOU PERFORM. SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT, AS AN OWNER OR OPERATOR OF AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, I PUT MYSELF IN Y'ALL SHOES. HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS CONVOLUTED EQUATION. AND THEN THE GOVERNMENT'S COMING TO ME AND COMPELLING ME TO DO CERTAIN THINGS. THAT WAS ONE VARIABLE. TWO, ON AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT, AS WE WORKED TOGETHER WITH CHRIS AND SOME OF THEM, OUR OTHER NEIGHBORS OR OTHER DEPARTMENTS I QUESTIONED OFFICERS HAVE THE POWER OF ARREST, SEARCH AND SEIZURE. WHY ARE OFFICERS WHO, AGAIN, WE DON'T TRAIN VERY WELL IN STRUCTURAL REPORTS, AND AT BEST, ASBESTOS IN SEWAGE, WE CAN, WE CAN ATTEST TO SURFACE LEVEL VIOLATIONS, BUT THE MORE CONVOLUTED VIOLATIONS, LET'S LEAVE THAT TO THE PROFESSIONALS. WE'RE HERE TO HELP. IF WE NEED TO GET A WARRANT, IF THERE'S A CRIMINAL NEXUS, WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU. THAT LEADS US INTO THIS ORDINANCE. MUCH EASIER METHODOLOGY [01:20:01] TO DETERMINE IF YOU'RE ON A, HOW DO I SAY, A NAUGHTY LIST. AND THEN IF YOU'RE ON THE NAUGHTY LIST, THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT'S NOT SOLELY BEARED WITH IT, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE NOT EXPERTS IN EVERYTHING, BUT WE CAN REACH OUT TO OUR PARTNERS ON THE AS ASEC COMMITTEE. MM-HMM . IS IT A COMMITTEE OR IS IT JUST ASEC? IT'S A COMMITTEE. YEAH. ASEC COMMITTEE. WE'RE ALL GONNA COLLABORATIVELY WORK TOGETHER AND SAY, THIS IS A PROBLEM DEPARTMENT COMPLEX. IS IT A MANAGERIAL ISSUE OR IS IT A TENDENCY ISSUE? DO WE HAVE A, A GREAT MANAGER WHERE THERE IS UNFORTUNATELY A GANG ELEMENT, A NARCOTIC ELEMENT, PROSTITUTION ELEMENT THAT THEY NEED THE HELP WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT? OR IS IT A MANAGERIAL ISSUE WHERE THERE'S STRUCTURAL, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL? OKAY, LET'S REACH OUT TO Y'ALL. AND THEN THERE'S A, AGAIN, I'M NOT GONNA DISCUSS THE WHOLE ORDINANCE, UM, BUT THERE'S A STEPS YOU HAVE TO PERFORM. SO DURING FEEL FREE, INTERJECT DURING AN, UH, WHEN ASEC MEETS, AND WE SAID, OKAY, APARTMENT A HAS GOT, HAS THE, HAS THE FOLLOWING ISSUES, A, B, AND C. IF ONE OF THOSE ISSUES, C IS CRIME, THAT'S WHERE I COME IN. BUT IF THAT APARTMENT JUST HAS ISSUES, A, B, AND D, LET'S SAY AIR CONDITIONING, BUILDING AND DRAINAGE, LET'S LEAN OUT TO MY PARTNERS. OKAY. SO THAT'S JUST, AGAIN, I'VE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UM, AS TO WHY WE DON'T DO BLANKET BLUE STARS ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, IS THIS OPERATIONAL, HOW MANY BLUE STAR APARTMENT COMPLEXES ARE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON PREVIOUSLY? AGAIN, DON'T QUOTE, OH, EXCUSE ME. PREVIOUSLY, DON'T QUOTE ME ON IT. I WANT TO SAY, AND THIS IS AGAIN, ANOTHER OPERATIONAL ISSUE FOR THE, FOR FIELD OPERATIONS. PREVIOUSLY, I THINK WE HAD SIX OFFICERS REPEATEDLY GOING TO ANYWHERE FROM 500 TO A THOUSAND APARTMENT COMPLEXES DOING ASSESSMENTS. AND AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST ASSESSMENTS. WHAT WE CAN ASK YOU TO IMPROVE UPON, HEY, APARTMENT OWNER, A, WE THINK IT'D BE GREAT IN OUR PROFESSIONAL OPINION AS CRIME PREVENTION, UH, UH, EXPERTS IF YOU DO ONE, TWO, AND THREE. IF YOU DON'T DO ONE, TWO, AND THREE, UNLESS YOU WERE ON THAT NAUGHTY LIST, IF YOU DON'T DO ONE, TWO, AND THREE, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO REPERCUSSION. SO I POSED THE QUESTION, WHY ARE FIELD PERSONNEL VENTURING REPEATEDLY OUT TO A LITANY OF APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND PERFORMING CRIME PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS WHEN THEY'RE NOT ON A HIGH, HIGH RISK, OR THEY'RE NOT CONSIDERED A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING? SO, CAN I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT? YES, SIR. WE HAVE A MICROPHONE FIN FALL WITH THE, SORRY, WITH THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, BI MCFALL. AND I THINK THAT WAS, UH, PART OF, ONE OF OUR MAIN, OR ONE OF OUR CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS WE HAD, WAS WHEN THIS FIRST ORDINANCE CAME OUT, IT MADE MANY REFERENCES TO THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM, WHICH WAS TALKED ABOUT MM-HMM . MM-HMM . OUR UNDERSTANDING AND OUR RECOLLECTION OF THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM WAS THAT IT WAS A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM THAT WAS ENROLLED IN BY APARTMENTS WHO WANTED TO BECOME BLUE STAR CERTIFIED TO SHOW THAT THEY HAD GONE THROUGH THE NECESSARY REMEDIATION SO THAT THEY COULD BE CLASSIFIED BLUE STAR, STAR , BLUE STAR, START YELLING. I, UM, SO THAT WAS KIND OF ONE OF OUR INITIAL, I GUESS, POINT, NOT REALLY A POINT OF CONTENTION, MORE OF A POINT OF CONFUSION WAS THE, WHAT WAS BEING REFERRED TO AS BLUE STAR WAS SOMETHING WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND AS THE BLUE PROGRAM. UH, THAT WAS ONE. AND THEN, I GUESS ANOTHER THING I WAS QUESTION QUESTIONING WAS, UM, IN THE WHAT'S EXISTING, WHAT'S IN THE HABITABILITY ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 2009, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANYTHING IN THAT ORDINANCE THAT ACTUALLY DESIGNATES A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I BELIEVE THAT IS A NEW DESIGNATION IN A NEW TERMINOLOGY THAT'S COMING ABOUT IN THIS NEW ORDINANCE. UM, SO LIKE THE CAL, SO THAT YOU'RE, TO YOUR POINT OF THE NAUGHTY LIST AND THE CALCULATION THAT WAS, THAT WAS DETERMINED, UM, YEAH, THAT WOULD BE THE, WHAT'S, WHAT'S IN THIS, I THINK IS A, A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO MAKING A CLEAR DESIGNATION OF WHAT IS THAT HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING AND, UM, IDENTIFYING THAT FOR THE PROPERTY OWNER. SO THOSE WERE JUST TWO CO HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT I'LL, YOU KNOW, CLEAR CHIME IN THROUGH THE NIGHT. SO THE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. THE BLUE STAR PROGRAM IS, UH, VOLUNTARY AND THIS IS A NEW DESIGNATION, UM, WITH THE INSPECTION ORDINANCE. YEAH. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM HPD? ANY THINGS THAT YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE? ANY ORDINANCE WHEN IT, UM, COMES TO SITUATIONS THAT HPD WOULD TEND TO? I SAW YOUR HAND UP. DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? D RIGHT HERE? HERE. NO, RIGHT HERE. I HAVE A LOT VOICE. OKAY. UM, SO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE OVERALL PROCEDURE. WHEN SOMEBODY MAKES A COMPLAINT, SORRY, THIS CUTS IN AND OUT. UM, SO MY QUESTION IS, IS WHAT HAPPENS? AND THE REASON WHY I ASK IS THERE ARE A LOT OF APARTMENT OWNERS WHO HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, PEST CONTROL WHERE SOMEBODY COMES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK AND AS LONG AS THE, UH, A TENANT PUTS IN A WORK ORDER AND [01:25:01] SAYS, HEY, I'D LIKE MY, MY APARTMENT SPRAYED ON FRIDAY. RIGHT? THEN THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT DONE. AND IT'S IN A LOT OF APARTMENTS. IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, LIKE THEY CONSTANTLY LET TENANTS KNOW. SO MY QUESTION IS, IS LET'S SAY I'M A TENANT AND I CALL 3 1 1 AND COMPLAIN, WELL, I'VE GOT A ROACH INFESTATION. WHAT'S THE PROCESS? DOES THE, DO YOU AUTOMATICALLY GO OUT AND DO AN INSPECTION OR DO YOU, OR DO YOU IMMEDIATELY, DOES SOMEONE FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONTACT THE APARTMENT AND FIND OUT WHAT THEIR PROCEDURES ARE? YEAH, I HAVE NO CLUE. WHICH ONE? HELLO? YEAH. ROGER SEALEY AGAIN. UM, HEALTH DEPARTMENT. SO IF, IF AN COMPLAINT IS MADE, WE WILL INVESTIGATE IT, BUT WE ALSO DON'T JUST TAKE IT AT FACE VALUE, WE WILL GO OUT IN PERSON FIRST. WE'LL MAKE CONTACT WITH THE COMPLAINANT, FIND OUT WHAT THE NATURE OF THEIR COMPLAINT IS, AND I SAID, IF THEY SAY I'VE GOT ROACHES ALL OVER THE PLACE, I CAN'T LIVE HERE, WE WILL SEND AN INVESTIGATOR OUT TO INVESTIGATE IT. THEY'LL TAKE PICTURES IF THEY DON'T SEE ANY EVIDENCE OF ROACHES, IF THEY, IF THE APARTMENT CAN, UM, PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF, YOU KNOW, THE CASE MANAGEMENT LIKE A WEEKLY PROGRAM OR SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD HAVE PARTICIPATED IN, THEN WE WILL CLOSE THAT OUT AS NOTHING FOUND. OKAY. GOT IT. YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T JUST ASSUME THAT IT'S RIGHT, BUT WE WILL ALWAYS INVESTIGATE IT. AND IF WE DO FIND THAT THE PEST CONTROL PROGRAM ISN'T ADEQUATE, WE'LL MAKE THOSE RESERVATION, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN NOTICE OF VIOLATION. THAT'S GREAT. BUT OTHER, THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THAT IS EQUALLY TRUE. THAT IF WE FIND THAT WHAT'S BEING DONE IS ADEQUATE, WE'RE NOT GONNA TRY TO UNDULY HOLD YOU, YOU KNOW, ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE DON'T WANNA HOLD GOOD ACTORS YEAH. ACCOUNTABLE FOR THINGS. 90% OF THE DEPARTMENT COMPLEX OUT THERE ARE PROBABLY GOOD ACTORS AND OR HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT FROM, FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR THIS ORDINANCE, BUT THE ONES WHO AREN'T, IT'S ABOUT HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. GREAT QUESTION. DO, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE AS INSPECTORS, UM, TO HANDLE THE COMPLAINTS? UM, I, OUR INSPECTORS WORK INCREDIBLY HARD AND THEY ARE INCREDIBLY BUSY AND, UH, WE GET THE JOB DONE. I WOULD NEVER SAY NO TO MORE INSPECTORS. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT IT WOULD MAKE OUR JOB EASIER OF COURSE. BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY WORK HARD AND, AND THEY GET IT DONE. YOU'RE ABLE TO GET TO ALL COMPLAINTS WITHIN 24 HOURS. DON'T SAY 24 HOURS, BUT WE, WE GET OUT THERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. OH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE CRIME. AND I'M GONNA BE, I'M A HOMEOWNER. I OWN A TOWN HOME. I DON'T, I DON'T RENT IT OR ANYTHING, BUT, UM, IN THE INTERVIEW THAT TIFFANY DID ON A BC 13, SHE SAID THAT THE CRIME IS THE LANDLORD'S FAULT. SO IS IT THE POLITICIAN'S FAULT OF THE CRIME EVERYWHERE ELSE? BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU CALL THE POLICE AND THEY DON'T EVEN SHOW UP. SO WHY WOULD WE BLAME THE LANDLORD'S? I MEAN, I'M FOR BOTH TENANT AND LANDLORD. I'M A OWNER OF A TOWN HOME, AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE THE HO'S FAULT YOU GUYS FIND THEM BECAUSE A HOMEOWNER DOESN'T WANNA DO PEST CONTROL. THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE HO A I THINK A CRIME IS A PERSONAL CHOICE AND IT SHOULD BE BLAMED ON THE PERSON THAT'S COMMITTING THE CRIME, NOT THE LANDLORD. THE ONLY REASON NOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU, I LIVED ON MY PROPERTY BEFORE AND WE HAD SQUATTERS THERE, AND THE POLICE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. AND NOW IT'S BETTER BECAUSE OF THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL BECAUSE NOW IT'S EASIER FOR YOU TO KICK HIM OUT. BUT I SEEN WHERE SOUTH DRIVE PEOPLE SPEED THERE ALL THE TIME. I TALK TO A POLICE OFFICER AND HE TOLD ME THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT SPEEDING. IT'S HARD TO PROVE. RIGHT? AND THEN I SAID, OKAY, WELL, I CALLED 3 0 1. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. KIDS GOT HIT BY, BY A POLICE OFFICER WHEN THEY GET OFF THE SCHOOL BUS. WHOSE FAULT THAT THE POLITICIANS, 'CAUSE YOU GUYS ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING. BUT YOU GUYS WANNA BLAME THE LANDLORDS ABOUT SQUATTERS AND CRIME. WELL, LET'S BE CLEAR. I'M NOT TRYING TO BLAME LANDLORDS. THAT'S WHAT THE, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT TIFFANY, I MEAN, IS THEY DID AN INTERVIEW ABOUT ANYTHING. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TODAY IS HAVE A WORKING DOCUMENT THAT'S GONNA BE BENEFICIAL FOR ALL OF US IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. SO EVERYONE , BUT YOU, YOU GUYS KEEP DETAINED ABOUT SAFETY. SAFETY IS EVERYBODY'S SAFETY. BUT WE'RE NOT SAFE IN OUR STREETS. I MEAN, OUTSIDE BIG CRIME. I MEAN, WE WALK OVER THERE A HOMELESS PERSON RIGHT. DOING ILLEGAL THINGS AND THEY'RE JUST THERE. RIGHT. I MEAN, YOU DON'T EVEN GOTTA STOP IN THE STOP SIGN. I, I DO UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION, UM, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HEAR FROM EVERYONE. AND IF YOU HAVE SOME SPECIFIC ISSUES ABOUT YOUR AREA, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE, HAPPY TO. I HAVE A ONE I JUST HAD LAST CON LAST CONCERN I HAVE IS I CALLED 3 1 1 AND THEY ALWAYS CLOSE MY TICKET. I JUST CALLED 3 0 1 LAST WEEK BECAUSE THERE'S 18 WHEELERS ON THE PUBLIC STREET FOR OVER TWO WEEKS. WHERE WHERE DO YOU LIVE? IT'S ON SOUTH DRIVE IN THE BELTWAY. WHAT DISTRICT IS THAT? JAY IN. JAY. SO I TELL YOU WHAT, UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT DISTRICT J KNOWS GETS HER CONTACT INFORMATION [01:30:01] . HE KNOWS I ALREADY REACHED OUT TO THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY RESPONSIVE. SO THEY YEAH, THEY, THEY'RE RESPONSIVE. THEY CAME OUT MAYBE THREE MONTHS AGO AND THEY CAME OUT ONE TIME TOW SOME VEHICLES TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY IN THE AREA, AND THEN THEY NEVER SHOW UP AGAIN. THEY HAVE THE J PATROL, THEY, THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. SO, AND THE OTHER THING I WANNA MAKE A COMMENT THAT THREE ONE ONE IS A CALL SOON. SO WHEN PEOPLE CALL 3 1 1, IF YOUR TICKET SAID IT'S CLOSED, THAT MEANS IT WAS FORWARDED TO THE DEPARTMENT THAT IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE. WE HAVE BEEN BEGGING 3 1 1 TO CHANGE THAT TERMINOLOGY. THEY, THEY SHOULD, BECAUSE THAT MAKES ME FEEL THAT THEY DON'T CARE. ISSUE IS CLOSED. BUT THAT IS A CALL CENTER. AND WHEN THEY FORWARD YOUR ISSUE TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT, THEY CLOSE THE TICKET. BUT MAY I SUGGEST THAT WHEN YOU CALL 3 1 1, GET THAT SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER AND CALL THE DIRECTOR OF CONSTITUENT SERVICES IN DISTRICT J SO THAT THEY CAN FOLLOW UP ON YOUR ISSUES. THAT'S HOW MOST OFFICES HANDLE THOSE SITUATIONS. I JUST THINK THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS SHOULDN'T BE BLAMED ON LANDLORDS BECAUSE THERE ARE TENANTS THAT THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LANDLORDS AS WELL. I DON'T DISAGREE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACCOUNT. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU FOR THE MEETING. AND ACTUALLY I, UM, ACTUALLY IS A NEW OWNER FOR ACCOUNT ABOUT A YEAR MOVING FROM ZORIA COUNTY TO HARRIS. UH, I AM IN A DISTRICT K, UM, THE CONDOMINIUM. YEAH, I HAVE, WE HAVE SO MUCH PROBLEM, EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RO AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK THE PROBLEM, THE BASIC PROBLEM IS MANY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE HA AND THEY, THE HA AND THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, THEY ARE SAME, BUT THEY'RE DIFFERENT. AND I THINK IF OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE GROUP OF THE RESIDENT, UNDERSTAND HOW TO ACTUALLY, UH, SET UP THE HOA PROPERLY, LEGALLY, AND, UH, UH, GIVE A GUIDELINE MM-HMM . UM, YES, EVERYBODY REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO THE INSPECTION, YOU, YOU DO THE FINE STILL COME BACK TO THE OWNER. WE WERE RESPONSIBLE TO PAY THE FINE, WE RESPONSIBLE. ARE YOU ASKING FOR EDUCATION ON THE ? I THINK WE NEED ENFORCEMENT AND GUIDELINE BECAUSE WHAT WE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, CHAPTER AND TALKING ABOUT HOA, THERE'S NO GUIDELINE. AND WHEN THERE HAS SOME WRONG DOING, THERE'S NO ENFORCEMENT. AND IT'S SO FRUSTRAT WHEN YOU SEE NO ENFORCEMENT FROM THE HOA AT THE PARTICULAR CONDOMINIUM, NO, ACTUALLY NO ENFORCEMENT FROM THE LOCAL GO. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. BECAUSE WE, WE HAVE A, LIKE IN, IN MY CONDOMINIUM, WE HAVE GROUP PEOPLE. THEY, UH, NEW IN THE COUNTRY FOR TWO YEARS. THEY JUST SEEK THE OPPORTUNITY AND THEY DECLARE THEMSELVES AS A HOA AND DOING ANY ALL KIND OF WRONG, WRONG THING. THEY ARE HOMEOWNER, THEY BECOME A MANAGER, THEY WRITE A CHECK TO PAY THEMSELF, THEY SET UP THE RULE THEY AND FIND THE NEIGHBOR FOR NO REASON. AND THAT'S RIDICULOUS. SO LET, LET ME GET YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE SOME INTERNAL HOA STUFF GOING ON AND MAYBE WE CAN, UM, GET AN ATTORNEY THAT CAN WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH, AS FOR NOW, WE DON'T HAVE HOA WE WENT TO THE CIVIC COURT AND THAT'S THE OTHER THING. THE LAWS TAKE SO LONG AND THE THE COM THE COMMUNITY IS BREAKING UP. OKAY. I JUST, FOR DISTRICT KATE, LET, LET US GET YOUR CONTACT AND THEN WE CAN, WE CAN DIG DEEPER INTO THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE. UH, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I DO WANNA KIND OF PAUSE THE CONVERSATION. THE MAYOR HAS JOINED US. UH, I'LL ASK, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER IF HE, HE WILL. UH, HE'S SHAKING HIS HEAD, BUT, UH, I, I, I'M JUST HERE TO, TO OBSERVE TO AN EXCELLENT JOB AND THANK MIKE BEING HERE. UH, TOGETHER WE'RE GONNA REALLY GO UP A GREAT ARGUMENT, BUT THAT I'M HERE JUST TO, UH, LEND MY SUPPORT. THANK YOU, COUNCIL. THANK YOU MAYOR FOR BEING HERE. UH, MANY OF YOU, UH, KNOW THAT, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER HAS, UM, SENT THE CHARGE TO COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS AS THE CHAIR OF HOUSING, UH, AND TO ME AND THE CHAIR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO TRY TO GET THIS ORDINANCE OVER THE FINISH LINE. SO WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR HIS SUPPORT, UM, AND THE ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF AS IAN. SO MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR, UM, [01:35:01] LETTING OUR OWNERS AND OPERATORS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. OKAY. AND I SAW WE HAD ANOTHER COMMENT IN THE BACK. YES, SIR. UM, THANK YOU. SO, UH, I'M WITH ASHFORD COURT, UM, WITH GEMSTONE. UM, I HEAR YOU SPEAKING ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY IN REGARDS TO THE, UM, BILL OR WHATNOT. UM, BUT IS IT BOTH WAYS? BECAUSE I CALL AT IN THE MORNING FOR ASSISTANCE. I'M GETTING A CALL BACK AT 10:00 PM ASKING, DO I STILL NEED ASSISTANCE WHEN I CALL 3 1 1 FOR ASSISTANCE WITH LIGHTING ON THE STREET STREETS, FLOODING, YOU NAME IT. I MEAN 3 1 3 1 1 IS HERE. YOU CAN VERIFY. I'VE BEEN CALLING SINCE SEPTEMBER FOR A LOT OF THINGS AS I'VE BEEN CALLING THE POLICE, THE RESPONSE TIME IS, POOR CLOSING TICKETS IS RIDICULOUS. NO ONE FOLLOWS UP. I RECENTLY CALLED TO FIND OUT WHO HANDLES MISSING MANHOLE COVERS BECAUSE WHO STEALS A MANHOLE COVER? YOU KNOW, AND THEN THAT WAS A, A BIG TO-DO. THEY KEPT CLOSING THE TICKET. I WAS PERSISTENT. SOMEONE FINALLY CAME OUT WHEN I FINALLY GOT ASSISTANCE, THEN I'M GETTING A CITATION. I MEAN, WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY IF WE, WHAT WAS THE CITATION FOR? SO THE CITATION WAS FOR THE MISSING MANHOLE COVER, IT WAS ALSO FOR THE OVERFLOW, WHICH I CALLED THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR ASSISTANCE BECAUSE IT'S A MANHOLE. SO I'M THINKING IT'S CITY OF HOUSTON. SO I'M TRYING TO SORT THAT OUT. AND THEN I'M SPEAKING TO THE PEOPLE, BOTH GUYS, AND THEY EXPLAINED EVERYTHING, WHAT I NEEDED TO DO, WHAT I NEEDED TO GET, WHICH I GOT IT'S RESOLVED. BUT WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY IF I'M DOING EVERYTHING THAT I NEED TO DO, ASIDE FROM ADVOCATING FOR MY RESIDENTS, FEEDING THEM, HELPING THEM FIND JOBS, DRESSING THEM FOR SAID JOBS, GIVING BACK, HELPING THEM WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH PAY GRADE. WHERE'S MY ASSISTANCE? RIGHT. WHEN IS SOMEBODY GONNA COME OUT DISREGARD YOU? I'M AN F AN F. YES. AND WE FACE A, B AND C AS YOU SAID, AND WHEN POLICE DON'T COME, I'M OUT THERE KICKING IN DOORS, PUTTING PEOPLE OUT MYSELF BECAUSE THEY DON'T SCARE ME. BUT WHERE'S MY ASSISTANCE? WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY? IF YOU'RE GONNA SPEAK ON IT, SPEAK ON IT ACROSS THE BOARD. I THINK IT SHOULD BE FAIR. WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS GOOD, BUT I THINK IT NEEDS TO GO HAND IN HAND FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BECAUSE A LITTLE SOUNDBITE THAT YOU PUT ON TV WITH ME NOT BEING AWARE, I DON'T APPRECIATE THAT THAT BROUGHT ON A LOT OF STRESS. BUT I FEEL LIKE I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE THAT CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. RIGHT. WELL, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, BUT LET ME JUST SAY THAT, UM, ONE OF THE, UH, SPEAKERS MADE THE COMMENT THAT, HEY, EVEN 90% OF OUR OPERATORS ARE DOING IT RIGHT. AND THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY TO TRY TO MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR OUR OWNERS AND OUR OPERATORS. THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HOLDING THOSE BACK AFTER THE FOR THE HABITABILITY ISSUES THAT WE FACE IN THESE APARTMENT COMPLEX. UM, IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EDUCATE TENANTS. IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE AND THAT THIS IS NOT A MAGIC BULLET. UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE THAT WHEN THIS PASSES, ALL OF A SUDDEN THE APARTMENTS AREN'T GOING TO ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL BE PERFECT. THIS IS A TOOL THAT WE WILL USE AS A CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT IN MANY PEOPLE WE HELP, WE WILL DO THAT. BUT THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENTIATION. THERE ARE SOME APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT ARE JUST PRIVATE APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND THERE ARE SOME APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT RECEIVE TAX CREDITS AND MONEY FROM THE CITY OR MONEY FROM THE STATE. WE MAY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, FLEXIBILITY WITH WHAT WE CAN DO AS FAR AS HOLDING FOLKS ACCOUNTABLE. BUT THERE ARE A MYRIAD OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO EDUCATE THE TENANT AS WELL AS WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD WITH THIS ORDINANCE. SO I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO LEAVE FEELING LIKE THIS IS PUNITIVE AND THAT WE ARE OUT TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING HARMFUL TO THOSE LANDLORDS. AND THEN I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IF YOU ARE CALLING 3 1 1, UM, THAT YOU ALSO PLEASE GET THAT SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER AND SEND IT TO YOUR COUNSELOR. 'CAUSE THAT IS GOING TO BE THE BEST WAY FOR US TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH YOUR ISSUE. BECAUSE AGAIN, THREE ONE ONE IS A CALL CENTER. YES. YOUR ISSUE TO PUBLIC WORKS, THEY CLOSED YOUR CASE AND THEY SENT YOU AN EMAIL THAT SAID YOUR CASE WAS CLOSED, BUT YOUR CASE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CLOSED. MAYOR, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I I SAY ALL THE TIME, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET 3 1 1 TO CHANGE THAT VERBIAGE TO SAY YOUR ISSUE HAS BEEN FORWARDED INSTEAD OF YOUR ISSUE IS CLOSED, BUT IT'S JUST NOT 3 1 1, IT'S THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS WELL. RIGHT. FROM THE INFORMATION WE RECEIVE WHEN WE CALL, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE CALL, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE AN ATTITUDE BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GET ASSISTANCE. IF YOU HAVE ATTITUDE, FIND ANOTHER JOB. RIGHT? [01:40:01] 3 1 1, EVERYTHING'S DOCUMENTED. WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FORWARD ANYTHING. JUST LIKE I GET AN EMAIL, IT SHOULD BE DOCUMENTED ON THE BACK END. YOU GUYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOG IN AND LOOK. I MEAN, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. AND WE CAN IN OUR OFFICE, AND THAT'S WHY WE ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, IF YOU FORWARD YOUR SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER TO OUR OFFICE, WE CAN LOOK THAT UP. BUT IF YOU DON'T FORWARD THAT SERVICE REQUEST TO OUR OFFICE, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO GET THROUGH THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE CITY MM-HMM . THAT ARE CALLING ONE ONE. SO IT'S A KIND OF STEP PROCESS WHEN YOU CALL 3 1 1 AND GET THAT SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER, IF YOU WILL THEN FORWARDED TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND YOU CAN EVEN FORWARD IT. SOME PEOPLE FORWARD NOT ONLY TO THEIR COUNSELOR, BUT THEY'RE AT LARGE COUNSELOR. AND SO NOW YOU GOT SIX PEOPLE LOOKING AT YOUR ISSUE AND FOLLOWING UP ON THAT. BUT IF YOU TAKE THAT NEXT STEP, I DO, I'M VERY CONFIDENT THAT IT WILL HELP ME GET SOME RESOLUTION A LITTLE CLEAR. OKAY. UM, THE ISSUE WITH HPD, UH, MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO HIRE MORE HPD OFFICERS. UM, WE PUT IN OUR BUDGET FOR MORE CADET CLASSES. UM, THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN VERY, UH, INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE WE HAVE INCREASED THE SALARY FOR OUR, UM, STARTING POLICE OFFICERS. WE, UH, NOW HAVE AROUND 5,400, UH, POLICE OFFICERS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. UM, AND WE ARE MAINTAINING THAT NUMBER AS OPPOSED TO GETTING NEW OFFICERS AND LOSING OFFICERS. SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A NET GAIN OF HPV OFFICERS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. SO WE HEARING YOU, UH, AND WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING ON IT EACH AND EVERY DAY. I HAVE ONE. SURE. OKAY. UM, RESIDENTS WITH MENTAL HEALTH, UM, THEY NEED ASSISTANCE. UM, WHEN THE POLICE ARE CALLED AND WE ARE ASKED, DO THEY APPEAR TO HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS, THAT SHOULDN'T BE A FACTOR. IF WE'RE CALLING YOU, YOU SHOULD STILL COME. WHEN WE SAY YES, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS, NO, THEY DON'T. THEY COME LATER HOURS LATER, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR PROPERTY. AND THESE PEOPLE HAVE WEAPONS, THEY HAVE, YOU NAME IT, AND I'M LEFT TO DEAL WITH IT BY MYSELF. I DON'T PUT MY GIRLS IN JEOPARDY. RIGHT. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AGAIN, WHERE'S MY ASSISTANCE? RIGHT? SO WE DO HAVE SOME C TEAMS. UM, I, I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO GET YOUR INFORMATION BECAUSE I DO WANNA DO A, A FOLLOW UP WITH, UM, H AT THE C TEAM BECAUSE IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU'RE CALLING AND NOT GETTING, UM, THE SERVICE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO LOOK INTO AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE, WHAT IS THE ACTUAL ISSUE, MS. MA'AM KNOW. OKAY. 30, 30 MINUTES FOR LIKE THE . OKAY. I HAVE, I HAVE A FEW, UH, COMMENTS ON THIS SPECIFIC WORK. LET'S GO BEN. UM, EE CAN YOU BRING THE MIC OFF? SURE. SO, UH, JUST A, JUST A FEW THINGS THAT WE, THAT AGAIN, ASSOCIATION, A FEW THINGS THAT WE NOTICED IN THE MOST RECENT VERSION OF THE ORDINANCE AND A FEW SUGGESTED CHANGES THAT WE THINK WOULD IMPROVE THE ORDINANCE. UM, THAT WERE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND I THINK PRETTY SIMPLE THINGS. UM, ONE OF THEM IS RELATED TO SECTION 10 DASH 1 73, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE WORD MANAGER. IT HOLDS OWNERS AND MANAGERS LIABLE. WE THINK IT'S A BAD PRACTICE TO HAVE THE MANAGER BE HELD LIABLE BECAUSE OFTEN THAT PERSON IS NOT THE ONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY PAY FOR OR UH, 10 DASH 1 73. SO IT HOLDS THE OWNER OR MANAGER LIABLE. AND SO WE THINK THAT HAVING THE PROPERTY MANAGER, THAT'S NOT THE APPROPRIATE PERSON TO HOLD, UH, CRIMINALLY LIABLE, I BELIEVE IT IS, WHERE 'CAUSE THE OWNER IS REALLY THE ONE THAT PAYS FOR AND ACTUALLY REMEDY THESE PROBLEMS. THAT'S ONE. UM, 10 DASH 1 71 B UH, IS THE SECTION THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB. AND I COMMEND, UH, THE MAYOR'S ADMINISTRATION, UH, MAYOR PRO, TIM, THE WORK Y'ALL HAVE DONE VARIOUS, UH, DEPARTMENTS, UH, 10 DASH ONE B DOES OUTLINE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE, UH, THAT ARE GONNA FALL AND CLASSIFY A MULTIFAMILY RENTAL BUILDING AS HIGH RISK. UH, BUT THOSE THINGS REALLY RANGE IN THE TIME AND THE LABOR THAT GO INTO REPAIRING THOSE OR REMEDYING THOSE PROBLEMS. AND I THINK IT'S COMMON, IT'S PRACTICE AMONGST THE DEPARTMENTS FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN, FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE TIMES TO MAKE THOSE REMEDIES WILL BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. I THINK IT MIGHT BE WISE TO MAYBE PUT SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF THAT I GUESS DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE ISSUE, THAT THE TIMING WOULD BE ADEQUATE TO GIVE THE OWNERS ENOUGH TIME TO REMEDY TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. YES MA'AM. SO LIKE IF IT'S A FOUNDATION ISSUE, CLEARLY THAT'S GONNA TAKE LONGER SAYING THE, THE TIMELINE [01:45:01] FOR THE REMEDY, WERE NOW THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR SEVERE VIOLATION IN 48 7 2 HOURS. AND MOST OF OUR THINGS ARE WOULD BE HARDEST THING. YEAH. MOST THINGS ARE FOR ARE STANDARD UNIFORM MORALE, PES CONTROL. SO, UM, MAYBE IT MAY NOT MAKE SENSE TO CODIFY IN THE ORDINANCE BECAUSE IT IS VARIOUS ON VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. BUT SOMETHING THAT POINTS TO, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT I THINK I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T, AN INSPECTOR DOESN'T COME OUT AND HIT SOMEBODY FOR A CITATION FOR A FOUNDATION ISSUE AND THEN COME BACK TWO DAYS LATER EXPECTING THAT FOUNDATION TO BE REPAIRED. IT'S JUST NOT GIVE ADEQUATE TIME FOR REMEDY. AND I DO THINK THAT'S THE POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S Y'ALL'S DEPARTMENTS. I'M JUST THINKING THAT MAY, IT MAY BE, IT MAY ALLEVIATE SOME CONCERN PERHAPS ACTUALLY SPECIFIED IN THE ORDINANCE YES. TO, TO BE REASONABLE. THE TIME REPAIR THERE SECTION IN THERE THAT DOES TALK ABOUT, UH, TIMELY REPAIR, BUT IT'S IN A DIFF IT'S IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIVISION AND A DIFFERENT SECTION RELATED TO THE HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDINGS. NOT TO THE, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK HERE. SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE POINTED OUT TO BEING, UH, WE THOUGHT WOULD BE A GOOD CHANGE TO MAKE. UM, AND I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE. I'M HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, FOLLOW UP YOUR OFFICE OR OTHERS AT A SEPARATE TIME. I DON'T WANNA TAKE ALL THE TIME. UM, BUT I WILL POINT OUT ONE MORE THAT WE'VE, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS ORDINANCE AND EVERY VERSION THAT'S COME OUT, WE'VE THOUGHT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UM, COULD BE LOOKED AT IS THE RE-REGISTRATION. ONCE SOMEONE IS DEEMED A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE PROPERTIES, UM, ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, I THINK MOST ARE ALREADY REGISTERED WITH THE CITY UNDER THE HABITABILITY ORDINANCE. AND SO THE CITY IS IN THIS ORDINANCE, THEY ARE THE ONES SAYING THEY'RE, THEY'RE DESIGNATING YOU AS A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING BECAUSE YOU MEET THESE, THIS CRITERIA OF 10 CITATIONS IN A SIX MONTH PERIOD. BUT THEN ASKING THESE SEEMINGLY THESE OWNERS WHO ARE SEEMINGLY ALREADY NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES TO THEN GO FOLLOW ANOTHER RULE AND RE-REGISTER WITH THE CITY, IT SEEMS LIKE AN EXTRA LAYER THAT MAY NOT, THAT MAY BE DUPLICATIVE AND ALSO MAY BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO ASK THIS GROUP TO GO AND THEN RE-REGISTER WITH THE CITY WHEN WE ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY ARE. AND WE ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DESIGNATED AS A HIGH RISK ANGLE BUILDING. SO, SO YOU DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE TO RE-REGISTER AFTER THEY'VE BEEN DESIGNATED HIGH RISK? THAT THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S OUR KIND OF, OUR POINT OF CONTENTION IS HAVING THEM DESIGNATED AS A HIGH RISK AND IT'S ALREADY IN THE ORDINANCE THAT THAT INFORMATION WILL BE MADE PUBLIC ON A CITY WEBSITE AND THAT THE OWNER WILL BE NOTIFIED THAT THEY'RE A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING. SO WE'VE ALREADY TOLD THEM THEY'RE SUCH, THEY'RE ALREADY PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE, THEN ALL IT WOULD BE IS THEM JUST HAVING TO RE-REGISTER, WHICH IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT COULD POTENTIALLY EVEN SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS IF WE'RE WAITING ON THIS PERSON WHO MAY OR MAY NOT EVEN BE REGISTERED WITH THE CITY IN THE FIRST PLACE TO RE-REGISTER. SO THAT'S JUST A FEW OF OUR CONCERNS. SO I'LL, I'LL PASS THE MIC. YOU'LL YES MA'AM. YES MA'AM. SHOULD THAT BE HELPFUL? WE'LL USE IT, UM, WHEN WE GATHER ALL THE FEEDBACK FOR OUR JOINT. CERTAINLY. ANY CONCERNS FROM OPERATORS? I SEE DONNA . OH, MAYOR, YOU WANT, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET OFFICER LEY ON WITH GENTLEMEN. OKAY. SHE HAS A GREAT EXPLANATION. NEXT DOOR FOR RESIDENT, I PUT HER, THE GENTLEMAN THAT SEEMS BE HAVING WITH THE, UH, CONTACT WITH HP. OKAY. IF THAT'S OKAY, HONOR. PERFECT HAND. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU HONOR. UH, DONNA, I SAW YOUR HEARING AGAIN. WE POST FROM THE, OH, I'M SORRY. I'M TERRIBLE AT THIS. FROM THE YOUTH DEPARTMENT ASSOCIATION. WE COULD POST THERE. ABSOLUTELY. THAT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL. I WANTED TO FIRST START ABOUT THE INSPECTION FEES. HOW IS THE FEE AMOUNT DETERMINED? HOW ARE THEY ASSESSED? AND ULTIMATELY WHERE DO THOSE FEES GO? SO THE COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE ACTUAL AMOUNT THAT WE WILL EXPECT THROUGH A RA COMING UP WITH THE ACTUAL COST OF THE FEES. FEES WILL GO TOWARDS MAKING SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH INSPECTORS TO, UH, INSPECT THE APARTMENT . SO, UM, THOSE ARE ALL ISSUES THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH. UM, BUT WE'RE LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK THE FEE IS NOT ENOUGH OR YOU THINK THE FEE IS TOO LOW, WE WANT TO HEAR THAT FEE. THAT IS, IS THE FEE ON A A PER APARTMENT COMPLEX BASIS? YES. OR IS IT BASED ON THOSE THAT ARE DEEMED HIGH RISK OR IS IT ACROSS ALL APARTMENT COMMUNITIES? SO THERE IS A FEE BASED ON THE ACTUAL APARTMENTS. I MEAN, YOU WOULDN'T PAY IT UNTIL YOU ARE DEEMED YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A CITATION UNTIL YOU ARE DEEMED A HIGH RISK. OKAY. SO THE FEE IS HIT, A APARTMENT COMPLEX IS [01:50:01] HIT WITH AN INSPECTION FEE ONCE IT'S DEEMED HIGH RISK. RIGHT. SO IT'S NOT DETERMINED ON ANY APARTMENT COMMUNITY THAT'S OUT THERE THAT PAYS A, AN INSPECTION FEE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ANNUAL INSPECTIONS OR PERIODIC INSPECTIONS OF THOSE PARTICULAR APARTMENT COMMUNITIES. WOW. THE REGISTRATION PROCESS THREE PRIOR TO THREE. RIGHT. JUST SO WE KNOW THE, SO THERE'S NO COST TO BREAKFAST. YOU GET A CITATION IF YOU'RE CONSIDERED. ALRIGHT. AND THEN ALSO, ONCE YOU'RE DEEMED A HIGH RISK RENTAL BUILDING OR APARTMENT COMPLEX, WHAT ULTIMATELY HAPPENS TO THOSE APARTMENT COMMUNITIES? I MEAN, CAN YOU TAKE THE COS AWAY FROM THOSE? IT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS A, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT IS RECEIVING DOLLARS. UM, MAYBE LIKE FROM THE TAX PREMIUM APARTMENT. RIGHT, RIGHT. THERE CRITERIA THAT THE STATE WOULD SURE. RECEIVING FUNDS FROM THE CITY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY WITH HOW WE CAN HANDLE THOSE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. UM, WHERE IF THEY TRY TO, UH, GET FUNDS FOR ANOTHER COMPLEX, THIS PARTICULAR OWNER, UH, COULD POTENTIALLY NOT BE QUALIFIED TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON. SO IT DEPENDS ON A TYPE OF APARTMENT COMPLEX. AND THAT'S PART OF THE EDUCATION THAT WE WANT TO, UM, DO DURING THIS PROCESS IS IT'S, IT'S NOT GONNA BE BLANKETED FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT COMPLEX IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. RIGHT. SO THERE'S, UM, SOME VARIATIONS ON WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF APARTMENT COMPLEX, UH, WE'RE DISCUSSING. OKAY. WELL I HAVE SEVERAL MORE, BUT I'M GONNA LET, I'M GONNA PASS IT ON TO SOME OTHER FOLKS. THANK YOU. ANY, ANY OTHER WHAT DO, WHAT TIME IS IT? DID? 13. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES MA'AM. I EXPERIENCED SIMILARLY EXPERIENCE RELATED HOA AND OWNER. MM-HMM . AND, UH, LAND, YOU KNOW, NOT LAND EIGHT. I HAVE THE EXPERIENCE SIMILARLY, LIKE THE LADY IN THE BACK, LIKE THE, UH, HOA AND THE HOMEOWNER. IT'S LIKE, AND HIGH CRIME IN THE APARTMENT COMPLEX, AND THEY NOT DO ANYTHING. HOW DO I GO SEEING IT IN A RESOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE? SO THE HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION AND THE CITY, THE CITY CAN'T, OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A CITY IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. UM, FOR TENANTS AND THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION. THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION WORKS FOR THE HOMEOWNERS. SO IF THE HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION IS NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OF THOSE HOMEOWNERS, THEY NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND GET A DIFFERENT HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION. AND I KNOW THAT IS, I'M NOT TRYING TO SIMPLIFY THAT PROCESS BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S NOT AN EASY PROCESS, BUT THE CITY ACTUALLY DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THE HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION THAT THE HOMEOWNERS HIRED. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? NOW, IF THERE ARE CRIMES HAPPENING IN THE PROPERTY, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO INVOLVE HPD. IF THERE ARE SOME HABITABILITY ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THOSE PROPERTIES, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO INVOLVE THE APPROPRIATE, UM, DEPARTMENT. DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? SALLY? JUST ONE LAST THING. I THINK, UH, SO I THINK WAS TALKING ABOUT HOA KNOW, IF YOU LOOK THE, THE UPSTATE, YES. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, UH, I WHERE WITH I HAND, THE PEOPLE HAVE GET INVOLVED, THEY DON'T HAVE KNOWLEDGE AND THEY JUST HAVE A LITTLE BID, UH, RIGHT. THAT THEY GET PUT. PEOPLE GIVE, FIRST OF ALL, THEY DO NOT REGISTER THE CORNER ASSOCIATION PROPERTY AND THEN TO SET UP AS A NOTFOR PROFIT. MM-HMM . UH, THEY HAVE NO, SHE LET THINK THEY PUT, SO LET ME, LET ME GIVE YOU SUSIE RICE'S CONTACT INFORMATION. SHE IS A PROPERTY CODE ATTORNEY. UM, AND SHE HAS HELPED US WITH SOME COMMUNITIES IN OUR DISTRICT THAT HAD ISSUES WITH THEIR HOAS AND THEIR BOARDS. UM, AND SHE IS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE. SHE'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF THE PROPERTY CODE. UM, AND MAYBE SHE CAN HELP YOU WORK THROUGH THE, SOME OF THOSE HOA ISSUES. THEN, YOU [01:55:01] KNOW, THE, THE OLDER RESIDENT CHANGE, THIS IS SOMEONE THEY , WE RIGHT. SAY, WELL, SHE WOULD BE A NEUTRAL PARTY. SO SHE WOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM SHE, YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT AN HOA PERSON IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. SHE WOULD BE A NEUTRAL PARTY. YEAH. THAT'S ONE OF . ABSOLUTELY. I TOTALLY AGREE. WE'LL DEFINITELY SHARE THAT RESOURCE WITH YOU. MAKE SURE WE GIVE HER SUSIE RICE'S NUMBER. YES, MA'AM. I HAVE CONCERN. ONE OF THEM IS THE PEN ONE, EXCUSE ME. PROPERTY MANAGER. OKAY. UM, DO YOU KNOW HOW DISHEARTENING IT WAS WHEN I GOT A PHONE CALL AND IT SAID, HI MS, SO AND SO, UM, YOU HAVE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST? AND I SAID, OH, OKAY. WHY DO I HAVE A WARRANT FOR MY ARREST? I HAVEN'T BEEN STOPPED, I HAVEN'T BEEN ANYTHING. AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, WELL, BECAUSE YOU MANAGED THIS OTHER PROPERTY. BY THE WAY, I DIDN'T EVEN WORK FOR THAT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ANYMORE, BUT I STILL HAD A WARRANT OUT FOR MY ARREST. SO, KIND OF LIKE THE GENTLEMAN WAS SAYING, FROM THE H FROM HA, WHY ARE WE ASKED FOR OUR DRIVER'S LICENSE WHENEVER THESE PEOPLE COME ONTO OUR PROPERTY TO DO THESE REPORTS? WHY IS MY NAME TAKEN DOWN? WHY DO YOU WANNA PUNISH ME FOR TRYING TO HELP MY RESIDENTS TRY TO MAKE A BETTER HOME FOR THEM? WHY IS THAT? WHY DOES THAT FALL ON ME? SO I I'M GONNA ASK, UM, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR, UM, SOME OF THE, THE INSPECTORS, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE PROCESS WHEN YOU GO TO ACTUALLY, UM, LOOK AT A PROPERTY WHERE THERE'S BEEN A COMPLAINT? ARE YOU ASKING THE ACTUAL PROPERTY MANAGERS FOR THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE? OR DO WE DO THAT ONLY WITH THE OWNERS? WE DO, BUT, UM, OUR, OUR PRIORITY IS ALWAYS TO HOLD THE OWNER ACCOUNTABLE. BUT, AND, AND THERE'S OWNERS HERE THAT ARE PROBABLY VERY ACCOUNTABLE, BUT IN, IN SOME CASES IT'S VERY HARD TO FIND AND GET AHOLD OF THAT OWNER. AND THE NEXT STEP IS THE MANAGER AND SOMEONE WE CAN ACTUALLY GIVE A CITATION TO AND MAKE AND MAKE THAT. SO THAT'S HOW, HOW WE END UP IN THAT OUR FIRST, YOU KNOW, CHOICE IS ALWAYS TO DEAL DIRECTLY WITH THE OWNER. IT'S JUST THAT IN SOME CASES, THAT'S JUST NOT OPTION. I'M SORRY, BUT ISN'T THE OWNER'S NAME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE? IT IT, BUT ACTUALLY GIVING THEM A CITATION, IT CAN BE VERY, CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT. SO THEN ALL MANAGERS ARE GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE. THEN WHY DO WE WANNA DO THIS JOB? HOW ARE YOU HELPING ME WANNA CONTINUE TO DO THIS JOB LONG TERM? I'VE BEEN DOING THIS 20 YEARS AND IN THE 20 YEARS, IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE EVER GOTTEN THAT KIND OF CALL. AND IT WAS SO DISHEARTENING. I WANTED TO QUIT. AND I AM THE PERSON THAT GOES AND TAKES ON THESE PROPERTIES THAT GET FORECLOSED ON. THEY CALL ME TO GO WORK ON THESE THINGS AND SAY, HEY, COME FIX THIS. COME MAKE THESE COMMUNITIES BETTER. I WANTED TO QUIT BECAUSE OF THAT CALL. SO YOU'RE NOT HELPING MANAGERS WANNA STAY IN THIS JOB TO HELP YOU BETTER THESE COMMUNITIES. SO IF YOU WANNA HOLD SOMEONE ACCOUNTABLE, GO AHEAD, BUT DON'T HOLD THE MANAGERS. 'CAUSE YOU'RE WRONG FOR THAT. NOW MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU GUYS ACTUALLY WENT TO THESE COMMUNITIES AND WHO WROTE THIS REPORT THAT ACTUALLY WENT AND HELPED THESE COMMUNITIES GET BETTER? BECAUSE YOU HAVE A SIX MONTH PERIOD, YOU NEED TO EXTEND THAT BECAUSE THAT WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR THESE COMMUNITIES, FOR THE ONES AND THOSE VARIATIONS THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT, THE ONES THAT AREN'T CLASS A'S OR B'S OR EVEN C'S, THOSE COMMUNITIES, THE ONES THAT FALL UNDER THAT, IT TAKES A HELL OF A LOT LONGER TO GET THEM BACK UP. AND I'M NOT, NOT TALKING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE MY OWNER MONEY. I'M TALKING TO BE ABLE TO BUILD A COMMUNITY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE. AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE HAVING THESE MEETINGS. SO IF YOU THINK THAT THE SIX MONTH PERIOD IS TOO SHORT, THAT'S FEEDBACK THAT WE WANNA GET. SO WE CAN BRING THAT BACK BEFORE WE TAKE A FINAL VOTE ON THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. BECAUSE YOU DO THE JOB, WE SAY IT ALL THE TIME, PEOPLE CLOSEST TO THE ISSUES A LOT OF TIMES HAVE THE BEST SUGGESTION. SO IF YOU DON'T THINK THAT THE SIX MONTH PERIOD IS AN APPROPRIATE TIME, MAKE, MAKE A SUGGESTION SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT AS WELL. I WOULD TELL YOU AT LEAST A YEAR, BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T JUST GO AND MAKE A REPAIR TO A BOILER. IT, WE HAVE TO GO AND GET A FEW BIDS JUST LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO. WHENEVER YOU HAVE TO FIX SOMETHING IN THE CITY, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T JUST SEE A WATER LEAK OUT THERE AND SAY, OKAY EVERYONE, LET'S GO FIX THAT LEAK. NO, YOU'RE GONNA GO BID IT OUT. YOU'RE GONNA GO FIGURE OUT WHO'S THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB. YOU'RE GONNA GO LOOK AT THE REPUTATION. YOU'RE NOT JUST GOING TO GIVE THAT LEAK TO JUST ANYONE. SO WE DON'T DO THAT EITHER. NOT IN THESE COMMUNITIES. IT TAKES US TIME TO FIGURE OUT WE'RE GONNA DO IT. AND BY THE WAY, BOILERS AREN'T ALWAYS PURCHASED IN TEXAS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET THEM OUT FROM OUT STATE SOMETIMES IN ORDER TO FIT IN THESE OLDER COMMUNITIES. OKAY, [02:00:01] THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THOSE COMMENTS. YES, SIR. YES. SO MY QUESTION, JUST GOING ALONG WITH THAT, BECAUSE I MANAGED LARGE PART MAKES BEFORE AND, AND SHE IS RIGHT, THAT, IS THERE NOT A WAY TO, UM, CITE, I MEAN EVEN IF IT'S NOT A SPECIFIC OWNER, THE LLC OR, OR LIKE THE APARTMENT COMPLEX AND NOT SO MUCH THE MANAGER, BECAUSE IT IS TRUE, IT'S REALLY HARD TO FIND AND MAIN AND RETAIN, UM, REALLY GOOD MANAGERS AND GET 'EM TRAINED AND MM-HMM . AND SO THE TRUTH IS, IS THAT I DO UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES A MANAGER IS BROUGHT INTO A COMMUNITY THAT HAS BEEN PURCHASED AND IT'S A STRUGGLING COMMUNITY AND THAT MANAGER COMES IN AND THEY'RE DOING AMAZING THINGS AND THEN FOR THEM TO BE PERSONALLY CITED WOULD, WOULD BE VERY DISHEARTENING. RIGHT? BECAUSE I, I'VE, I, YEARS AGO MANAGED PINES OF WESTBURY, UH, 940 UNITS. AND WHEN I WALKED IN, I IMMEDIATELY STARTED WORKING WITH POL, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSTON GANG UNIT AND WORKING WITH POLICE. AND AFTER SIX MONTHS, I REMEMBER RESIDENTS SAYING, WOW, YOU DONE WITH THIS COMMUNITY IS AMAZING. BUT IT WAS, I MEAN IT WAS, THERE WERE MAJOR PROBLEMS WHEN I TOOK OVER THAT COMMUNITY AND I CAN'T IMAGINE I'VE BEEN CITED PERSONALLY LIKE A WEEK AFTER BEING ON THE JOB OR A MONTH OR WHATEVER. AND HERE I'M DOING GOOD. SO, SO OWNER RECEIVES A CITATION, WOULD THE OWNER NOT, I MEAN, WOULD THE PROPERTY MANAGER NOT CONTACT THE OWNER AND SAY SOMEBODY WAS ON THE PROPERTY? CORRECT. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. EVEN IF IT, IF EVEN IF THE COP SOMEHOW RECEIVED, UM, A, A CITATION, NOT SO MUCH THE MANAGER, RIGHT? BECAUSE I'M, I'M, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT THAT MIGHT BE CLEANING UP THE PROPERTY AND, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY GET A CITATION THAT, THAT IS SCARY. SO, OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. YES, SIR. SO ON, UH, I CAME FROM THE HAZMAT TEAM BEFORE I CAME OVER TO RESIDENTIAL AND I BROUGHT SOMETHING WITH US AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WOULD HELP, BUT, UM, WE DO ACTION PLANS. SO WE SAY LIKE WE WOULD SAY WE, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF GIVING YOU ONE MONTH TO FIX THIS BOILER OR OR WHATEVER FIRE CODE, WE WOULD SAY, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU THIS TIME, BUT IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT, HOW ABOUT YOU SET UP AN ACTION PLAN SO YOU'LL HAVE THIS MUCH TIME TO, YOU KNOW, TELL US WHAT STAGE YOU'RE IN. AND THEN NEXT, YOU KNOW, IT, IT KIND OF GOES DOWN A, A LINE LIKE SUBMITTING PLANS. AND THEN I HAVE MY BID AND THEN I HAVE THE CONTRACTORS COMING IN. AND THEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ME WHEN BUILD OUT, IT COULD TAKE LONGER, BUT AS LONG AS WE HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE THAT KIND OF COVERS US AND THE APARTMENT COMPLEX AND IT'S ACTIONABLE. SO IF YOU'RE NOT MEETING THE TIMELINE AND YOU DON'T CONTACT, IF YOU CONTACT US, SAY, HEY, WE, WE CAN'T MAKE THE TIME, WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE THIS LIMIT. AND WE GET A LETTER SAYING WHY WE CAN EXTEND IT, BUT IF WE DON'T HEAR FROM YOU, THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD TAKE ACTION AND HAVE FEES WOULD COME IN AND FINES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING BETTER IF YOU THINK, DID YOU GET A WARRANT TAKEN CARE OF? NO, IT'S STILL IN MY NAME. OKAY. WE NEED TO GET US, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD HELP OR NOT. AND I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR HEALTH, BUT YOU KNOW, AND WE DO HAVE A PROCESS TO ISSUE YOU AN LLC OR OTHER, I MEAN, ISSUING A A ACTUAL CITATION TO THE MANAGER WOULD BE A LAST RESORT FOR US IF WE CAN'T GET HOLD OF ANYBODY ELSE. AND IT, IT ALWAYS SHOULD BE. I I I'M, I MEAN, DO YOU KNOW, WAS IT A HEALTH CITATION? UH, IT WAS, UH, YES, IT WAS ME CITY AND I WAS THERE LESS THAN A MONTH. SURE. I, I LEFT AFTER A FEW MONTHS. I WAS, I WASN'T EVEN THERE SIX MONTHS, SIR. SO YOU WERE ALREADY GONE WHEN YOU GOT THE CITATION, SO, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY HADN'T HIRED A NEW PROPERTY MANAGER. SO YOUR NAME WAS STILL THE PROPERTY MANAGER OF RECORD MM-HMM . YEAH. SO IS THAT YES. PROBABLY BE AN ISSUE TOO. DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD TO THAT? I'M SORRY THAT HAPPENED. WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY TRY TO HELP. NO, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THE PROPERTY MANAGERS, THAT'S OUR FIRST LINE OF CONTACT TRADITIONALLY. UM, AND YOU GUYS BEING IN THE MANAGEMENT FIELD ARE OWNERSHIP, YOU KNOW, AND SOME OF THESE COMPLEXES, THERE'S A HIGH TURNOVER, RIGHT? I MAY SEND AN INSPECTOR OUT TODAY AND I HAVE MANAGER JOHN SMITH. I GIVE HIM A NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS AND SAY, LOOK, WE, WE NEED TO GET ALL THESE ITEMS FIXED. WE'RE GONNA COME BACK AND SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS, MAYBE 30 DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE VIOLATION. AND THEN THE INSPECTOR RETURNS HOPING TO SEE JOHN SMITH AGAIN AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW EVERYTHING'S GOING. AND NOW IT'S SUSIE JOHNSON. NOW WE'VE CHANGED MANAGERS. AND SHE SAYS, WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. AND THEN, THEN THE, THE CYCLE PERPETUATES, RIGHT? AND THEN SO NOW WE'RE HAVING TO EDUCATE THE NEW PROPERTY MANAGER. AND I HEAR YOUR FRUSTRATIONS AND I'M SORRY, SO IN THE PROPERTY, IS THERE NOT IN THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE OWNER? NO, NOT ON THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, NO. I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO HAVE THE OWNER'S CONTACT [02:05:01] INFORMATION IN THE LEASING OFFICE SO THAT IF THERE'S ANY CITATION GIVEN THAT CAN GO DIRECTLY TO THE OWNER AS OPPOSED TO THE PROPERTY MANAGER. SO WE CAN MAYBE PUT SOMETHING IN THE ORDINANCE THAT WHEN YOU REGISTER, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO TO PLACES OF BUSINESS, THEY HAVE THE CONTACT. IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT OR AN ISSUE, THIS IS WHO YOU SHOULD CONTACT. SO THAT MAKES A FANTASTIC POINT BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, MOST APARTMENT COMPLEXES ARE LIKE BRIARWOOD, LLC. YEP. RIGHT? AND, AND SO YOU HAVE TO LOOK UP RIGHT BRIARWOOD, LLC, AND IT'S USUALLY REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF WHOEVER THE ATTORNEY WAS THAT REGISTERED THE LLC. RIGHT? RIGHT. AND SO I AGREE WITH YOU THAT IT'S REALLY HARD TO TRACK DOWN AN OWNER, BUT IF YOU DID REQUIRE THAT FOR APARTMENTS TO HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE OWNERSHIP MM-HMM . THEN AT LEAST YOU REALLY ARE GOING WHERE THE MONEY IS, YOU REALLY ARE GOING WHERE THE ACCOUNTABILITY IS. AND THE TRUTH IS, IS THAT IF IT IS A TROUBLED ASSET MM-HMM . THEN THE TRUTH IS, IS SO MANY MANAGE THE MANAGEMENT CAN TURN OVER A LOT BECAUSE THEY GET THERE AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHOA, I BIT OFF MORE THAN I, I CAN CHEW. THIS IS A REALLY ROUGH PROPERTY. AND SO A AGAIN, IN HER SITUATION, THAT'S GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT. 'CAUSE YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST CHANGED SOMETHING FOR, FOR EVERYBODY. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I YES, DONNA, THAT EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY. ONE ADDITIONAL HONOR MANAGEMENT COMPANIES ARE THIRD PARTY MANAGEMENT THAT HAVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS BETWEEN, I'M SORRY, MORE TIME BETWEEN THE OWNER AND THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY. SO THAT ONSITE MANAGER IS BEING PAID BY THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT IS BEING PAID BY THE OWNER THROUGH A THIRD PARTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT. SO EACH OF THE PROPERTIES SHOULD MAINTAIN, AT LEAST WE HAVE TO T-D-H-C-A, UH, LITECH PROGRAMS HAVE AN ONSITE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THAT OWNER, IF YOU WILL. AND THAT THAT CAN BE PROVIDED THROUGH THE THIRD PARTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE A, AN EMPLOYEE OF, BUT THEY'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT OWNER AT ALL. IT'S A THIRD PARTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY. GOT IT. SO YOU BROUGHT UP A REALLY GOOD POINT THERE. GOT IT. ALRIGHT, SO IT IS SEVEN 30. UM, WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE, BUT I, I DON'T WANT Y'ALL TO THINK THAT IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA, A CONCERN THAT YOU CAN'T GIVE IT TO US, UM, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR CONCERNS. UM, WE'LL STAY AFTER, UH, GIVE YOU OUR CARDS CONTACT INFORMATION BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET ALL OF THIS INFORMATION. THEN THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA MAKE OUR APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE BED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. GOOD DISCUSSION WAS HAPPENING IN THE, UH, WORK SESSIONS. NO DISCUSSION. STILL HAPPENING ON THE STEPS. THANK YOU'ALL SO MUCH. UH, WE HAD A, THE TIME WENT BY JUST LIKE THAT. UH, BUT I THINK THAT HEALTHY DISCUSSION ON BOTH SIDES, WE LEARNED A LOT HEARING FROM LEASE HOLDERS. WE ALSO HAD, UM, OPERATORS IN OUR SESSION AS WELL. UM, DEFINITELY I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE ON TREND WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM LEASE HOLDERS DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR CAPACITIES AND ALSO OPERATORS. I WANT TO, UH, JUST REITERATE THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CO-CREATE SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD FOR ALL OF US, UM, FOR OUR DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN LAND THEIR PLANE AND DELIVER ON THE ORDINANCE THAT COUNCIL PUTS ON THE BOOKS, BUT ALSO AS AN, UH, AN OPERATOR OR A LEASEHOLDER, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS AVAILABLE. AND THEN THE EXPECTATION, UH, AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, WHICH IS WAS A, A COUPLE OF TRENDS, UH, UH, JUST FOUR TRENDS THAT WE HEARD IN, IN OUR SESSION AROUND INSPECTIONS. UM, WHAT WAS UNIQUE TO FIND OUT IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE MOLD INSPECTORS, RIGHT? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CITYWIDE, UH, NATIONWIDE, THAT'S NOT UNIQUE TO HOUSTON. UM, AND THAT'S A COST FOR, UH, OPERATORS TO DEPLOY A PUBLIC COMMUNICATION OF, UH, UH, UH, MULTIFAMILY, UH, DEVELOPMENT THAT MAY NOT MEET HABITABILITY STANDARDS. HOW WOULD RESIDENTS KNOW, UM, THAT THE CITY IS WORKING WITH OPERATORS TO CURE CERTAIN ISSUES FROM THE LEASE HOLDERS? WE HEARD THAT IF THEY HAVE TO MOVE A UNIT AND IF, UH, A LANDLORD ALLOWS THEM TO BREAK THEIR LEASE OR RELOCATE, THERE'S AN UNEXPECTED COST THAT THEY HAVE TO INCUR WITHOUT PLANNING. AND WHAT WE ALSO HEARD, AND I'M SURE FOR OPERATORS IN THE ROOM, Y'ALL KNOW THIS, THERE'S A HIGH TURN OVER TURNOVER OF CERTAIN PROPERTIES. AND I'LL JUST SAY, BECAUSE Y'ALL [02:10:01] ARE HERE, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GONNA SAY Y'ALL ARE THE GOOD ONES. , RIGHT? THE GOOD ONES SHOW UP. THE GOOD ONES HANDLE BUSINESS. THE GOOD ONES ARE ON PROPERTY. IT'S NOT A, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD ONES ARE ACTIVELY COMMUNICATING AND TRYING TO RESOLVE ISSUES WORKING WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. SO ON THAT SIDE, THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD. WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE ROUTE UP, UH, THE, UH, NOTES FROM THAT SESSION AND WE'LL INCLUDE THAT WITH MAYOR PRO TEM, MAYOR PRO TEM. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR BEING HERE. UH, I THINK WHAT I AM TAKING AWAY FROM OUR CONVERSATION WITH THE OWNERS, UH, OWNER OPERATORS AND THE LANDLORDS. ONE, UM, BLARING THEME WAS MAKING SURE WE HAVE TIME TO CURE WHEN THERE IS A SPECIFIC ISSUE. AND THEN ALSO LOOKING INTO WHO ACTUALLY RECEIVES THE CITATION WAS A BIG TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. SO WE'LL TAKE ALL OF THAT FEEDBACK, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED THAT HAS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. DON'T HESITATE, HESITATE TO SEND THAT TO DISTRICT A@HOUSTONTX.GOV OR DISTRICT F@HOUSTONTX.GOV. AND AGAIN, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE OUR JOINT C COMMITTEE MEETING ON MARCH THE 30TH, UM, AFTER WE HAVE OUR SECOND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING ON MARCH THE FIFTH AT HARRIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUILDING ON IRVINGTON. SO, UM, IF THERE IS NOTHING FURTHER, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. UM, WE'LL STICK AROUND FOR A FEW MINUTES. I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS ANY INDIVIDUAL CONCERNS YOU MAY HAVE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'LL COME BACK ON THE FIFTH WITH SOME NEW IDEAS AND BRING SOMEBODY WITH YOU THAT MAY HAVE SOME IDEAS. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING THIS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE TOGETHER. THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU. * 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.