* 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. [District B Disaster Preparedness Town Hall Meeting on June 5, 2026.] [00:00:07] AND AGAIN, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR JOINING US. UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A SPECIAL, SPECIAL DAY THANKS TO ALL OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, UM, THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UTILITY PARTNERS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, I KNOW SOME OF OUR RESIDENT NOT HERE, BUT THEY WILL GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, CHECK OUT THIS MEETING, UM, ON ONCE IT'S REPORTED. AND SO, AS WE ALL KNOW, HOUSTON IS NO STR, NO STRANGER TO HURRICANES, FLOODING, SEVERE, SEVERE STORMS, POWER OUTAGES, AND OTHER EMERGENCIES. OVER THE YEARS, OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND THE CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY. AND THOSE EXPERIENCE HAVE TAUGHT US THAT PREPAREDNESS IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE RESIDENTS. AND SO TODAY'S FORUM IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN OPEN AND HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, DISASTER RESPONSE, AND RECOVER RE EFFORTS. UM, WE WANT RESIDENTS TO LEAVE HERE, AND WE WANT ALL OF YOU TO LEAVE HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE RESIDENTS. YOU LIVE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY, CITY OF HOUSTON. UM, WE WANT ALL OUR RESIDENTS TO LEAVE HERE WITH PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT EMERGENCY ALERTS, EVACUATION, FLA, SHELTERING OFF, UM, UM, SHELTERING OPTIONS, DRAINAGE AND FLOODING CONCERNS, DEBRIS REMOVAL, UNI UTILITY RESTORATION, AND THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO HELP FAMILIES RECOVER DISASTER. AND WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE IN TODAY'S DISCUSSION. WE HAVE PERSONS PRE-WRITTEN. THEY HAVE BEEN PRE-WRITTEN DOWN ON THE NO CARDS PROVIDED, AND THERE ARE NO CARDS PROVIDED. AND MARTI WOULD BE COLLECTING THE CARDS. WHERE'S MARQUI RAISE YOUR HAND. MARQUI WOULD BE COLLECTING THE CARDS THROUGHOUT THE EVENT, AND WE'LL PROVIDE THEM TO THE MODERATOR, WHICH IS MS. THOMAS, THANK YOU, AND WHO WILL ASK AS MANY PERSONS AS TIME'S ALLOWED. SO WE ALSO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO VISIT THE DEPARTMENT TABLES. I HAD OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE TABLES, HAVE A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION AND RESOURCES. UM, AND OF COURSE THERE ARE GIVEAWAYS FOR THE RESIDENTS. THIS INFORMATION IS BEING SHARED TODAY. IT CAN HELP THE INFORMATION BEING SHARED TODAY CAN HELP, UM, PROTECT YOUR FAMILY, YOUR NEIGHBORS, AND OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE WHAT YOU LEARNED AND SHARE WITH OTHERS, ESPECIALLY YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT HERE TODAY. AND SO, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SIGN UP FOR THE DISTRICT B NEWSLETTER, WHICH IS CALLED THE BUS. UM, YOU CAN SIGN UP BY CALLING YOUR TEXAN 8 3 2 3 9 3 3 0 0 9. OUR NEWSLETTER PROVIDES IMPORTANT UPDATES ABOUT IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, FOOD, WATER DISTRIBUTION, UM, DRIVES, SHELTER INFORMATION, DISASTER RECOVERY RESOURCES, AND OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE DISTRICT D OFFICE. AND SO STAYING CONNECTED IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO STAY INFORMED DURING, AFTER, AND AFTER A STORM. AND WE ALSO DON'T, WE WANNA STRESS CONTACT 3 1 1. WHENEVER YOU SEE ILLEGAL DUMPING, CLOGG DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, DAMAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, OR ANY OTHER, UM, CONCERNS, WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO CALL 3 1 1 TO REQUEST HELP. AND THEN MAKE SURE THAT YOU CONTACT OUR OFFICE AFTER CALLING 1 3 1 1. ONCE YOU HAVE SUBMITTED YOUR REQUEST, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UM, FOLLOW UP. MY OFFICE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, UM, AFTER YOUR 3 1 1 REQUEST. AND SO, AS WE DISCUSSED PREPAREDNESS TODAY, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE FOCUS ON NEEDS OF ALL RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY SENIORS AND FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITY AND HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. AND EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD DESERVE ACCESS TO TIMELY INFORMATION, CRITICAL RESOURCES, AND EFFECTIVELY EMERGENCY RESPONSE. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR BEING HERE. AND SO I, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THOMASINA, OUR MODERATOR. THANK YOU, MA'AM. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. UH, MY NAME IS THOMASINA BURNS. I HAVE THE ESTEEMED PLEASURE AND HONOR OF SERVING AS THE CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR AN ORGANIZATION HERE IN OUR CITY CALLED HOUSTON RESPONSE. WE ARE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT STARTED EIGHT YEARS AGO, UM, IN RESPONSE TO HURRICANE HARVEY TO COORDINATE THE EFFORTS OF OUR CHURCH PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHERE THEY CAN COLLABORATE ON REALLY HELPING THE FAMILIES THAT WERE IN NEED AT THAT TIME. OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, OUR ROLE HAS REALLY BEEN A BACKBONE ORGANIZATION FOR CHURCHES, NONPROFITS, UH, FOR-PROFITS AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER, SO THAT WAY THEY [00:05:01] CAN COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS IN SERVING THE COMMUNITY. AND SO IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE AND HONOR TO ACTUALLY, I GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A LOT OF THESE AGENCIES THAT ARE HERE TODAY AND SOME OF SOME OF THOSE OUT HERE. AND EVEN A COUNCILWOMAN AS WE TRY TO WORK TOGETHER TO REALLY ADDRESS THE CRITICAL THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING TO FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS IN OUR CITY. IT TAKES A UNIFIED EFFORT, AND OUR ROLE HAS BEEN HELPING PULLING GROUPS OUT OF THEIR SILOS SO WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO MULTIPLY THE IMPACT. AND SO I'M REALLY HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY TO BE ABLE TO FACILITATE THIS DISCUSSION AS BEING IN THE DISASTER WORLD OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARN EVERY YEAR THAT WE ALWAYS THINK WE'RE PREPARED, BUT THEN IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IN A DISASTER THAT WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY PREPARE FOR. BUT ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS THAT AS LONG AS THAT WE ARE COMMUNICATING WITH ONE ANOTHER, WE ARE, UM, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES IN THAT WAY. WE ARE SHARING WITH THE RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY THE INFORMATIONS THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW SO WE CAN ALWAYS BE PREPARED. AND SO EVEN IF IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE NOT PREPARED FOR, WE'RE STILL PREPARED FOR SOMETHING. AND SO, UM, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY. AND SO LET'S JUST, UH, DIVE ON IN. WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH INTRODUCTIONS FROM EACH OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT ARE HERE TODAY. SO I'LL START HERE WITH THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. OOH HAT, MIKE. UM, I AM HERE WITH THE HOUSTON, UH, PERMITTING CENTER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER. MY NAME IS DEIDRE GREEN. UM, I WORK IN THE FLOOD PLAIN DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO BE HERE. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS SIERRA MCLEAN. I AM THE FOUNDER OF WE GOT US. WE ARE DISASTER RELIEF ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES ON HELPING MOTHERS AND FAMILIES WITH SMALL CHILDREN IN THE AFTERMATH OF STORMS. WE PROVIDE DIAPERS, WIPES, FORMULA, AND WATER. AND I'M EXCITED TO BE CONNECTED WITH SO MANY OF YOU HERE TODAY. HELLO, MY NAME IS TERRENCE WILLIAMS. I'M WITH THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HERE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO JUST, UH, SAY IS THAT I WORK FOR YOU GUYS. I WORK FOR EACH AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU IN THE COMMUNITY. THAT'S MY JOB, AND I TAKE PLEASURE IN MY JOB AND WHAT I DO. SO IF YOU DON'T TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THIS, REMEMBER I WORK FOR YOU. OUR DEPARTMENT WORKS FOR YOU. UM, I'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING THIS JOB SINCE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, AND I'M HERE IN HOUSTON TO HELP YOU AND TO HELP US MAKE A BETTER COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS JORDAN BLAKE. I'M WITH CENTERPOINT ENERGY. I HAVE THE DISTINCT PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGER WITHIN THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TEAM. AND I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR GREATER HOUSTON RESILIENCE INITIATIVE AND THE BROADER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING AT CENTERPOINT. WONDERFUL. NICELY. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. THANK YOU. HELLO, MY NAME IS, UH, SENIOR CAPTAIN REYES, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. UH, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE AND IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW AND BETTER WAYS TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME'S MEL BARTIS. I AM THE ASSISTANCE DIRECTOR WITH THE HOUSTON OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, MITIGATION, AND RECOVERY ACTIVITIES FOR THE ENTIRE CITY OF HOUSTON AND WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE REGION. UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE TO TALK WITH YOU TODAY AND ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO HEAR FROM YOU ON THE THINGS THAT ARE MOST CONCERNING TO YOU AND HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THEM. THANK YOU. MICHAEL WILSON HERE WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS. UH, I OVERSEE, UH, THE STORMWATER OPERATIONS AS AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS UAM BUREL. I WORK AS SUPERVISING ENGINEER WITH STORMWATER ENGINEERING GROUP UNDER TRANSPORTATION AND DRAIN OPERATIONS. IT'S A PART OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, OUR GROUP, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING ENGINEERING PROJECTS RELATED TO DRAINAGE FOR CIP AND PROJECTS LIKE SWAT AND LTP PROJECTS. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS NANCY CLIPPARD. I AM THE PROGRAMS THAT OPERATION DIRECTOR AT THE HOUSTON TOOL BANK. WE ARE A NONPROFIT THAT SERVES THE COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING TOOLS AND SUPPLIES, ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF A DISASTER. UM, AND I'M SO EXCITED TO SHARE MY PROGRAM WITH Y'ALL TODAY. WONDERFUL. WELL, IT IS A PLEASURE MEETING ALL OF YOU, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, JOINING US TODAY. AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU ALL ARE EAGER IN, IN ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, PREPARED. SO I'M GONNA START OFF WITH THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND IF YOU CAN KIND OF SHARE WITH US WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, UM, EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEMS THAT RESIDENTS NEED TO BE SIGNED UP FOR AND KNOW ABOUT? I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED. UM, ALERT HOUSTON IS OUR PRIMARY METHOD OF, OF ALERTING THE PUBLIC, AND THAT'S A SYSTEM THAT YOU OPT INTO. AND YOU CAN DO SO BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE AT HOUSTON OE M.ORG, OR YOU [00:10:01] CAN WAY MORE EASILY TEXT ALERT HOUSTON ALL ONE WORD TO 8 8 8 7 7 7. AGAIN, THAT'S ALERT HOUSTON TO 8 8 8 7 7 7 TO SIGN UP FOR EMERGENCY ALERTS. ALSO, FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NEED ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE IN AN EMERGENCY, YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE REGISTRY, OR WHAT WE CALL STEER. AND THAT WILL GIVE YOU SOME ADDITIONAL MESSAGES ABOUT PREPAREDNESS WHEN WE EXPECT SOMETHING TO OCCUR. AND THEN ALSO AFTERWARDS, THERE'S CERTAIN SITUATIONS UNDER WHICH, UH, THE FIRST RESPONDERS WILL DO WELLNESS CHECKS. AND, UH, IF YOU ARE IN THAT SYSTEM, WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO WELLNESS CHECKS UNDER THOSE CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHEN THERE'S EXTENDED POWER OUTAGES, WATER OUTAGES, GAS OUTAGES. AND WE MAY DO THEM IN OTHER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES TOO, DEPENDING ON OUR AVAILABILITY. BUT THERE ARE, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES YOU MAY HAVE ACCESS TO IF YOU END UP SIGNING UP FOR THAT STEER. AND THAT IS, THAT IS PRIMARILY PEOPLE REACHING OUT TO YOU TO SEE IF YOU NEED EVACUATION ASSISTANCE OR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE IN SOME SORT OF TROUBLE AFTER A DISASTER AND YOU, YOU, SOMEONE COMES TO CHECK ON YOU AND YOU NEED HELP, YOU'RE GONNA GET A RIDE TO A, TO A HOSPITAL. RIGHT? LIKE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT THAT HAPPEN IN THE STEER PROGRAM. SO PLEASE KNOW THAT THAT EXISTS. UM, CERTAINLY, UH, ANYBODY IN IN A CHALLENGING SITUATION CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO 2 1 1 TO SIGN UP, OR YOU CAN GO TO THE STEER, UH, WEBSITE TO SIGN UP FOR THAT PROGRAM. BUT, UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO THOSE RESOURCES. THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION IS WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS ON YOUR PHONE. UH, IT IS SOMETIMES FRUSTRATING. I KNOW FOR ME, WHEN I GET THOSE WIRELESS ALERTS FOR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT MAY BE NOT HERE, MAYBE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE STATE, UH, YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES. BUT I'LL TELL YOU THAT FOR THE MOST, UH, MOST CRITICAL SITUATIONS, WE WILL PUSH A WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT. AND DEVIN, OVER AT THE OEM TABLE, UH, IS ONE OF THE GUYS WHO PUSHED, PUSHES THOSE BUTTONS. SO, UH, YOU WON'T GET THOSE A WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT ENABLED ON YOUR PHONE. SO PLEASE, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THAT TURNED ON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UM, THAT'S GREAT INFORMATION. UM, I HOPE YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO CAPTURE ALL OF THAT, THAT SHE SHARED. SO I WANNA GO NOW TO OUR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT AND, UM, THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO YEAR ROUND. I KNOW RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN HURRICANE SEASON, SO EVERYTHING'S KIND OF ALERT AS, AS WE PREPARE FOR A POSSIBLE TYPE OF DISASTER OR FLOODING. UM, BUT CAN YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM ACTIONS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN TO REDUCE FLOODING AND IMPROVE DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR EAST HOUSTON CITY GAS? AND HOW CAN RESIDENTS TRACK PROGRESS, UM, AND HOLD THE AGENCY ACCOUNTABLE? I KNOW I SAID A MOUTH FULL. SO LET'S JUST START WITH WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU ALL ARE SPECIFICALLY WORKING ON TO HELP REDUCE, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DRAINAGE? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. SO I'M GONNA REPLY BASED ON ENGINEERING SIDE OF IT. UM, CITY OF HOUSTON, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS HAS SEVERAL, UH, SHORT TERM AND LONG-TERM PROJECTS IN OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THIS AREA. WHEN IT COMES TO SHORT TERM, WE CALL IT SWAT PROGRAM AND LDP PROGRAM. UM, WHEN IT COMES TO LONG-TERM PROGRAM, UH, THERE IS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH IS, UH, THE IDEA IS WE TAKE LONG TERM SOLUTION WISE TO TAKE CARE OF THE TRAINERS THAT THAT GOES AND TIES TO CIP PROJECTS. WHEN IT COMES TO SHORT TERM PROJECT, WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING WHICH WE CAN DO IN FEW MONTHS TO A YEAR. THE IDEA IS, UM, WHEN WE SEE IMMEDIATE DRAINAGE ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, WE WANT OUR RESIDENTS TO GIVE US A, A 3 1 1 CALL, UM, OR PROVIDE THAT, UH, ISSUE INFORMATION THROUGH ANY OF THE CHANNEL, THROUGH EMAILS, THROUGH PHONE CALLS. UM, WE ENGINEERING TEAM, WE COME TO THE SITE, WE EVALUATE THE ISSUE. ONCE WE EVALUATE THE ISSUE, WE COME AND COME IN OUR OFFICE, WORK ON THE ENGINEERING SOLUTION TO SEE IF THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE CAN BE RESOLVED BY THE SHORT TERM SOLUTION, WHICH COULD BE LTP OR SHORT PROGRAM. IF IN CASE IT DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR THAT SOLUTION, WE REACH OUT TO OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM WHERE WE BRING UP THIS ISSUE AND THEY'LL WORK ON LONG-TERM SOLUTION, WHICH COULD TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONG TIME. NOW, GOING BACK TO OTHER QUESTION REGARDING HOW CAN, UH, OUR RESIDENTS, UH, TRACK THESE PROJECTS, RIGHT? UH, WE HAVE A MAPPING TOOL [00:15:01] WHICH, UH, OUR RESIDENTS CAN GO TO GOOGLE, THEY CAN TYPE IN DUAL LINK FOR CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THE FIRST LINK GOOGLE SOURCE, YOU CAN CLICK THERE AND TYPE THE AREA NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH YOU WANT TO FIND THE PROJECT, RIGHT? UH, ONCE YOU DO THAT, IT'LL SHOW YOU BUNCH OF PROJECTS. SO IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT SCHWAR, LDP, YOU NEED TO CHECK THOSE BOXES. UM, YOU'LL FIND THE PROJECT, WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS IS GOING ON. AND SAME GOES WITH THE CIP PROJECT AS WELL. SO THESE ARE THE TOOLS WHICH WE HAVE CURRENTLY, WHICH OUR RESIDENTS CAN USE IT TO TRACK THE PROJECTS. UM, AGAIN, LET'S SAY THERE ARE ANY SORT ISSUES GOING ON WISE, OUR CITIZEN CAN CALL 3 1 1, UM, MAKE THAT CASE HARD TO THE CITY, RIGHT? AND THEY CAN GO BACK AND AGAIN, CALL 3 1 1 TO CHECK THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON, HAS CITY WORK STARTED WORKING OR NOT ON IT OR NOT. UM, THAT'S ON THE ENGINEERING SIDE. I WOULD LET MIKE TALK ON THE OPERATION SIDE OF IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALRIGHT, I WANNA SWITCH TO CENTERPOINT AS WE ARE IN THE SPACE OF ALL THE THINGS WE'RE DOING TO PREPARE. AND, UH, FOR THAT, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU COULD SHARE ABOUT WHAT CENTERPOINT, UM, IS DOING IN THEIR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RECOVERY, UH, EFFORTS IN IN PREPARATION FOR UPCOMING SEASON? ABSOLUTELY. SO OBVIOUSLY WE ARE IN IT, RIGHT? JUNE 1ST BROUGHT US RIGHT INTO HURRICANE SEASON, AS WE'RE WELL AWARE FOR US, PREPAREDNESS IS A 365 DAY A YEAR JOB, AS IT IS FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY UP ON THIS PANEL. AND I HAVE ONLY BEEN WITH CENTERPOINT FOR 10 MONTHS. I'M NEW TO HOUSTON AND NEW TO THE COMPANY, BUT MANY OF THESE EFFORTS HAVE LONG PREDATED MY PRESENCE HERE. SO I'LL START WITH THE GREATER HOUSTON RE RESILIENCY INITIATIVE. AND I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY HEARD THIS IS, UM, A, A POWERFUL MESSAGE THAT WE'VE TRIED TO SHARE BECAUSE WE WANT TO REALLY ENGENDER THAT TRUST AND THAT CONFIDENCE LEVEL ACROSS THE ENTIRE BASE OF OUR CUSTOMERS. SO SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ARE TO INSTALL STRONGER, MORE STORM RESISTANT POLES. AND AT THIS POINT WE'VE GOT MORE THAN 60,000, EXCUSE ME, I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY OVER 65,000 AT THIS POINT. AND WE'VE GOT A PLAN FOR MORE THAN 35,000 TO GO IN DURING 2026. ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE INSTALLED WHAT ARE REFERRED TO AS SELF-HEALING DEVICES ON OUR GRID. AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL. A SELF-HEALING DEVICE IS, UM, IF YOU GUYS HAVE RECENTLY, WE'VE HAD SOME STORMS IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, AND I'M GONNA BE WILLING TO BET THAT MAYBE YOUR LIGHTS FLICKERED, BUT THEN STAYED ON MM-HMM . THAT IS LARGELY DUE TO A SELF-HEALING DEVICE THAT WE HAVE INSTALLED IN THE WIRES. AND WHAT THAT DOES IS IT'S A SMART DEVICE, WHICH SAYS IT DOES A QUICK ASSESSMENT AND SAYS THAT THERE MAY BE DAMAGE ELSEWHERE ON THE SYSTEM, BUT MY SPECIFIC AREA RIGHT, IS SAFE. AND SO IT WILL LEAVE THAT POWER ON. WHAT THIS DOES IS IT REDUCES OUTAGE MINUTES AT THE CUSTOMER LEVEL. AND THAT'S REALLY OUR GOAL, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW MANY POLES WE'VE INSTALLED. WE CAN TALK ABOUT, I ACTUALLY JUST HEARD SOMEBODY SAY THAT THEY SAW SOME OF OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT TEAMS, UM, OUT IN THIS AREA RECENTLY, AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN MILES AND MILES AND MILES OF WHAT WE CALL PROBLEM VEGETATION. MEANING THESE BIG HEAVY TEXAS TREES WITH THESE BIG HEAVY TEXAS LIMBS LIKE TO TAKE OUT POWER LINES, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT NATURALLY COHESIVE. AND SO WHAT WE'VE GOT IS OUR CREWS ARE WORKING EVERY DAY ON THE LINES TO REDUCE THAT HAZARD VEGETATION AGAIN, TO REDUCE MINUTE OUTAGE, EXCUSE ME, OUTAGE MINUTES AT THE CUSTOMER LEVEL. UM, WE'VE ALSO TAKEN THE CAUTION AND THE TIME TO UNDERGROUND SOME OF OUR POWER LINES, WHICH JUST PROTECTS THEM, RIGHT? IF THERE AREN'T POLES TO BE KNOCKED DOWN, LESS LIKELIHOOD THAT WE'RE GONNA LOSE THAT, THAT POWER AS WELL. THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU MADE A REALLY GREAT POINT. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW OFTEN YOU PREPARE OR HOW MANY STORMS YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING NEW, RIGHT? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN OR WE HAVEN'T SPECIFICALLY PLANNED FOR. SO PART OF OUR JOB IS TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS AND SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS THAT WE CAN AHEAD OF TIME. MM-HMM . THAT'S WHERE THAT RESILIENCE INITIATIVE COMES IN, RIGHT? WE WANNA DO THAT. WE WANNA SOLVE PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY BECOME PROBLEMS. MM-HMM . BUT THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS BUILDING THE MUSCLE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION TO MANAGE AND RESPOND AND ACTION THOSE RESPONSE, UM, PRIORITIES DURING AN ACTUAL INCIDENT. RIGHT? SO SINCE 2024, WE HAVE ALSO TRAINED MORE THAN 750 MEMBERS OF, UM, CENTERPOINT WITH FEMA ICS TRAINING. WE'VE ESTABLISHED, UH, AN OVERARCHING, UH, CONTROL ORGANIZATION WHICH BRINGS TOGETHER ALL OF THE OR, UM, DIFFERENT BUSINESS UNITS WITHIN OUR COMPANY TO AFFECT THE RESPONSE, UM, VERY QUICKLY. THAT'S WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. AND YOU SAID SOMETHING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN, UH, BEFORE SOMETHING BECOMES A BIG PROBLEM. AND SO I WANT TO ASK OUR NEXT QUESTION. I WANNA ASK, UM, MR. WILLIAMS WITH SOLID WASTE AS WELL AS, [00:20:01] UM, MICHAEL FROM, UM, OUR, UM, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. SO WHAT CAN RESIDENTS DO, UH, WHEN ILLEGAL DUMPING OR DEBRIS IS BLOCKING DRAINAGE? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT AFFECTS A LOT OF THE ENGINEERING THAT WAS SHARED. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS FROM YOU ALL'S PERSPECTIVE THAT RESIDENTS CAN DO? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE, UM, NOT IN ANY HARM'S WAY. YOUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS YOUR SAFETY FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. UM, THE SECOND THING YOU WANNA DO IS YOU WANNA REPORT THAT TO 3 1 1. AND IF IT'S AN EMERGENCY, IT'S AN IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY, THEN YOU WANNA CONTACT 9 1 1. UM, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS DURING THIS HURRICANE SEASON, UH, YARD WASTE DEBRIS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, DON'T PLACE THOSE NEXT TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE DRAINAGE DITCHES 'CAUSE THOSE WILL ACTUALLY CLOG IT UP AND DON'T ATTEMPT TO MOVE, UH, LARGE DEBRIS YOURSELF. REMEMBER, YOUR SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE IMPORTANCE IN THIS SITUATION. UM, AND, AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, WELL, I ALREADY SAID THAT, SO DON'T PLACE THINGS NEXT TO THE DRAINAGE DITCHES, AND I THINK YOU'LL BE SAFE ON THAT PART. OKAY, THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. BUT JUST TO REITERATE THAT, UM, SMALL TRASH DEBRIS THAT COULD GET CLOGGED, UH, WE DO ASK RESIDENTS, HEY, CAN YOU REMOVE THAT? UH, ALSO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT ABOUT SEEING SOMETHING AND SAYING SOMETHING, UH, ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE ILLEGALLY DUMPING, UH, IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND IN THE AREA. UH, BUT WE DO ASK THAT IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT, UH, CAN BE REMOVED SAFELY, THAT YOU REMOVE THOSE ITEMS, UH, CALL US. WE'LL COME PICK UP ANY OF THE HEAVY DEBRIS, SOLID WASTE, UH, ALSO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. UM, WE HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT, UH, TO MOVE, YOU KNOW, COUCHES OR ANY OF THAT HEAVY DEBRIS THAT YOU HAVE OUT THERE. UH, BUT PLEASE CALL US AS SOON AS YOU SEE IT. AND A LOT OF TIMES, UH, PEOPLE CAN DRIVE BY. UH, BUT WE ASK THAT, REPORT IT TO US, UH, AND WE WILL ADDRESS IT. THANK YOU. THAT'S REALLY GOOD. YES, SIR. GO AHEAD. ONE MORE THING. I HAVE, UH, EXCUSE ME. UM, MAKE SURE WHEN YOU REPORT THOSE, UH, DEBRIS, YOU WANT TO GIVE US THE LOCATION AND IF YOU CAN TAKE PHOTOS, TAKE PHOTOS, UM, MAKE SURE THAT YOU REPORT THAT TO 3 0 1. GIVE 'EM AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEBRIS, THE LOCATION AS POSSIBLE, AND SUBMIT THOSE PHOTOS. THAT'S WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. YES. LOCATION AND PHOTOS IS, IS REALLY KEY. DID YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. SO AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SAFETY, I WANT TO NOW GO OVER TO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND IF YOU COULD JUST TALK TO US ABOUT, UM, JUST SOME SAFETY MEASURES THAT RESIDENTS CAN TAKE AS IT RELATES TO GENERATORS OR DIFFERENT GRILLS, THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD BE PLACING, UH, GENERATORS IN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU COMMONLY SEE THAT CAUSES MORE HARM AS IT RELATES TO, UM, IN OUR DISASTER AND FLOODING. SURE. THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS WHEN IT COMES TO GENERATORS OR PROPANE TANKS IS CARBON MONOXIDE. IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH CARBON MONOXIDE, IS WHAT WE CALL THE SILENT KILLER. YOU CAN'T SMELL IT, YOU CAN'T SEE IT, YOU CAN'T TASTE IT. BUT ONCE IT GETS A HOLD OF YOU, YOU'RE IN TROUBLE. SO THERE'S NO POINT IN TAKING THE RISK. ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES WE SEE DURING, UH, STORMS, UH, ANY KINDA STORM ICE STORM, IS THAT PEOPLE BRING THE GENERATORS INSIDE THE HOMES TO STAY WARM. THAT'S A BIG, BIG MISTAKE BECAUSE THERE'S NOWHERE FOR THAT CARBON MONOXIDE TO GO. UH, YOU CANNOT BRING THE GENERATORS OR PROPANES INSIDE THE HOUSE OR AT ANY, ANY ENCLOSED AREA, MEANING YOU CAN'T BRING IT INSIDE YOUR GARAGE. IT'S NOT SAFE OR AN ENCLOSED, UH, PATIO. IT'S NOT SAFE. ANYTHING THAT'S ENCLOSED, THAT CARBON MONOXIDE HAS NOWHERE TO GO AND IT'S GONNA CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS. SO THE, UH, SAFETY AGENCIES, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY HAVE A 20 FOOT RULE, 20 FOOT AWAY FROM ANY DOOR WINDOW OR ANYWHERE WE CAN BE ACCESSIBLE TO Y'ALL. SO 20 FEET AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, AND THE EXHAUST NEEDS TO BE FACING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE ALSO. SO IT HAS TO BE AN OPEN AREA. NOW, SOME QUESTIONS COME TO CONCERN WHEN WE BRING THAT UP IS ABOUT THEY DON'T WANNA GET THE GENERATOR TO BE DAMAGED FROM, UH, WEATHER AND DEBRIS AND THAT KINDA STUFF. THERE ARE, UH, UH, TENTS, STUFF YOU COULD BUY TO PROTECT THE GENERATOR. THEY'RE STILL KEEPS IN THE OPEN, BUT IT PROTECTS THE GENERATOR. SO SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO. UH, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE GENERATOR OR PROPANE OR USE, UM, BY ALL MEANS RE REACH OUT TO, TO US. REACH OUT TO 3 1 1, REACH OUT TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, AND FROM THIS LOCATION, THERE'S ACTUALLY THREE FIRE STATIONS RELATIVELY CLOSE. WE'RE MORE THAN WELCOME. HAPPY TO HELP Y'ALL OUT IF Y'ALL WANNA GO IN THERE AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING BEFORE THE STORM HAPPENS, I, I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST. UM, ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES THAT? OH, YOU HAD MENTIONED THE PROPANE USE. UH, IF YOU'RE GONNA USE ANY KIND OF PROPANE GIL GRILL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, UH, YOU NEED TO INSPECT IT THOROUGHLY IF IT'S, IF IT'S BEEN SITTING OUT IN THE STORM. SO, UH, INSPECT THE LINES. UH, MAKE SURE THERE'S NO LEAKS WITH THE GAS LINES. UH, INSPECT THE DEVICE ITSELF. AND AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT SURE, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT ALL THOSE PROFESSIONALS ON, ON PROPANE GRILLS. SO, A AGAIN, ASK, MAKE SURE IT'S, IT'S SAFER TO ASK THAN TO TURN IT ON AND, AND SOMETHING GOES SIDEWAYS. SO JUST, UH, KEEP THAT IN MIND. AND I'LL BE AROUND HERE TOO IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT'S REALLY GREAT. SO I'M GONNA SWITCH OVER TO OUR PERMITTING CENTER, . JUST GONNA SHARE WITH US SOME OF THE, AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DISASTER AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUILDINGS AND THINGS, SHARE FROM [00:25:01] US, FROM YOUR AGENCY PERSPECTIVE ON SOME THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW IN PREPARING AND WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING. ONE OF, ONE OF MANY THINGS THAT WE STRESS WITH THE FLOODPLAIN DEPARTMENT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET YOUR PERMITTING DONE. UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE ASK FOR RESIDENTS TO BE PROACTIVE, SO FLOOD PROOFING YOUR HOME, SUCH AS GETTING FLOOD VENTS, UM, GETTING FLOOD INSURANCE, WHICH IS SEPARATE FROM HOME INSURANCE. I CANNOT REITERATE THAT ENOUGH. UM, UNFORTUNATELY DURING HARVEY, WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE, UM, NOT HAVING FLOOD INSURANCE. UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT WHEN THEY GET HOME INSURANCE, THAT THAT INCLUDES FLOOD INSURANCE. IT DOES NOT. IT'S TWO SEPARATE INSURANCES. UM, WE HAVE REITERATED ALSO WHEN IT'S TIME TO EVACUATE, EVACUATE WHEN IT'S YOUR TIME TO EVACUATE. MM-HMM . UM, FLOODING TYPICALLY HAPPENS NORTH TO SOUTH. UM, AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET CAUGHT IN TRYING TO LEAVE BEFORE THE PERSONS THAT ARE FURTHER OUT, UM, HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET TO SAFE GROUND. ALSO, UM, THE STREETS THAT ARE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ARE DESIGNED TO BE A MAKESHIFT FLOODWAY. AND WHAT THAT IS, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER GETS OUT OF THE SUBDIVISIONS AND NEIGHBORHOODS. SO MY MAIN TAKEAWAYS OR THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT IS TO MAKE SURE YOU GIVE FLOOD INSURANCE. FIND OUT IF YOU ARE IN A FLOODPLAIN AREA, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THAT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME TO OUR TABLE. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THAT'S REALLY GOOD. MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, PREPARED. SO I WANNA GO TO MS. MCLEAN WITH, WE GOT US, AND I KNOW YOU ALL WORK WITH A, A PARTICULAR VULNERABLE GROUP OF POPULATIONS. SO IF YOU CAN JUST SHARE WITH US WHAT ARE, UM, THE SUPPLIES AND FAMILIES WITH BABIES, UM, AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE FIRST 72 HOURS AFTER DISASTER. UM, THAT, THAT THEY SHOULD, SHOULD KNOW. YEAH. SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED WHEN WE'RE STOCKING UP ON THINGS LIKE CANNED GOODS AND WATER ARE ITEMS THAT OUR BABIES NEED. THINGS LIKE DIAPERS AND WIPES. UM, WE GENERALLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE A WEEK'S WORTH OF DIAPERS. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FAMILIES WITH BABIES, AND AS WE SAY DIAPER AGE CHILDREN CAN DO IN PREPARATION, IS FIGURE OUT HOW MANY DIAPERS YOUR CHILD USES IN A WEEK. MOST FOLKS DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT IT'S HARD TO PREPARE FOR A WEEK IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY DIAPERS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH IN A WEEK. ASIDE FROM THAT, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FOLKS WHO ARE PREGNANT, WHO, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER POPULATION THAT WE SERVE, UM, MANY FOLKS HAVE A PLAN FOR THEIR BIRTH. THEY KNOW WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO GIVE BIRTH, BUT WHAT WE RECOMMEND WHEN IT COMES TO DISASTERS IS THAT YOU FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE CLOSEST MEDICAL FACILITY. IT MAY NOT BE WHAT WAS ON YOUR BIRTH PLAN, WHAT YOU WERE HOPING FOR, BUT IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE CLOSEST FACILITY YOU CAN GO TO. AND THEN SOME OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER IF THERE ARE YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLD. IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN IN A POWER OUTAGE WITH A SMALL CHILD, THEN YOU KNOW THAT BOREDOM HAPPENS, BOREDOM STRIKES, AND THAT BOREDOM CAN AFFECT THE ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD. MM-HMM . AND SO WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE NON ELECTRICITY USING TOYS AND GAMES ON HAND. UM, ANYONE REMEMBER THE OLD SCHOOL LIGHT BRIGHT, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT, TOYS THAT LIGHT UP, THINGS THAT CAN KEEP CHILDREN OCCUPIED AND ENTERTAINED. UM, WE DO HAVE AT OUR TABLE A FAMILY CENTER DISASTER PREP CHECKLIST. THAT'LL INCLUDE A LOT OF THESE ITEMS THAT I'M MENTIONING. AND THE LAST ITEMS THAT I WANNA NAME ARE, UM, ITEMS NECESSARY TO SANITIZE THINGS LIKE BOTTLES AND PUMP PARTS. IF YOU'RE PUMPING AND FEEDING, UM, SANITIZING WITHOUT ELECTRICITY IS POSSIBLE. AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A GUIDE FOR THAT AS WELL. IF YOU STOP BY THE TABLE, WE'VE GOT THREE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN SANITIZE WHEN ELECTRICITY IS NOT AVAILABLE, BUT YOU DO NEED TO PREPARE WITH SUPPLIES IN ADVANCE. OH, THAT'S REALLY GOOD. AND AS A MOTHER OF TWO, WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE OUT, THAT BOREDOM KICKS IN REAL FAST, REAL FAST. SO I APPRECIATE THE RESOURCES THAT YOU HAVE ON THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GONNA GO DOWN TO NANCY WITH THE HOUSTON TOOL BANK. I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE A, A PARTNERSHIP WITH DISTRICT B AND A LOT OF RESOURCES, UM, THAT YOU ALL SHARE. SO IF YOU COULD SHARE WITH US WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, THE, UH, LIKE THE GENERATORS OR DIFFERENT EQUIPMENTS THAT YOU ALL HAVE IN PARTNERSHIP THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH, UM, SOME OF THE, THE SENIOR, UM, POPULATION OR JUST THOSE THAT ARE IN NEED. WELL, FIRST OFF, WE HAVE THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON. UH, WITHOUT HER BEING SO PRESENT IN HER COMMUNITY, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SERVE EVERYBODY THAT'S IN THIS ROOM TODAY, THANKS TO OUR COUNCILWOMAN, WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE A GOOD STOCK OF GENERATORS, DEHUMIDIFIER, AC UNITS, MUCKING, GUT KITS, PPE, ANY EMERGENCY SUPPLIES YOU NEED, SHE'S OUT THERE HELPING HER COMMUNITY AND WE ARE SERVING HER THE BEST WAY WE CAN. UM, SO WE ARE VERY HONORED. I'VE ACTUALLY HAD THE PLEASURE. I SHOULDN'T, I DUNNO IF IT'S THE PLEASURE OR THE WORRY OF GOING THROUGH A FEW STORMS WITH YOU NOW. UH, BUT I, DURING BARREL, YOU KNOW, WE HAD PROBABLY 15 GENERATORS OUT GETTING PEOPLE BACK ON OXYGEN, GETTING THEM AN AC. SHE HAS AN AMAZING HOT TEAM THAT'S OUT THERE INSTALLING [00:30:01] THOSE GENERATORS PROPERLY. UM, SO THE HOUSTON TOOL BANK, WE REALLY CONSIDER OURSELVES SUPPORT IN THIS. WE ARE MANAGING THE ITEMS AND ALL OF THAT, BUT IT'S FOR PEOPLE LIKE OUR COUNCILWOMAN, OUR OTHER DISTRICTS, OUR NONPROFITS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS OUT THERE ACTUALLY DOING THE DIRECT SERVICE. SO REALLY IT'S OUR GOAL JUST TO EQUIP Y'ALL WITH ALL THE SUPPLIES YOU NEED IN TIMES OF DISASTER, WHERE OUR PROGRAM IS COMPLETELY FREE, WHETHER WE ARE PREPPING FOR DISASTER OR YOU'RE RECOVERING FROM IT. SO, LIKE I SAID, THE HOUSTON TOOL BANK MAIN MISSION IS JUST TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY, SUPPORT OUR COUNCILWOMAN, AND JUST SUPPORT ALL THE PEOPLE HERE STRUGGLING DURING TIMES OF NEED. WE ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUNDS, ALL HANDS ON DECK, EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE POWER FOR A WEEK, YOU'LL FIND US OUT THERE STILL RUNNING GENERATORS AND ALL OF THAT. BUT OUR GOAL REALLY IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE GET ALL THE ITEMS THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON HAS IN OUR INVENTORY OUT TO DISTRICT B AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR HOMES ARE GETTING TAKEN CARE OF IMMEDIATELY. ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE GETTING SAFETY IMMEDIATELY, AND WE ARE JUST LIKE THE MIDDLEMAN FOR THE WOMAN IN ACTION. I LOVE THAT. THANK YOU. AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP, . THANK YOU. OKAY. SO WE'VE KIND OF, UH, STARTED THIS OFF WITH OUR PRE PREPARATION AND, AND PREPAREDNESS. SO I WANNA WANNA SWITCH TO, UM, DURING A, DURING A DISASTER AND POST-DISASTER AS WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY AND KIND OF HOW DO WE RESPOND OR THINGS THAT THE RESIDENTS NEED TO KNOW. SO I WANNA START OFF WITH, UM, SOLID WASTE. IF YOU COULD SHARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SOME POST-DISASTER CLEANUP PLANS FOR DISTRICT B AND HOW WILL RESPONSE TIMES IMPROVE, UM, COMPARED TO THE RECOVERY EFFORTS DURING HURRICANE HARVEY. AND WE'VE LEARNED A LOT IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, SO JUST KIND OF SHARING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE NOW. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. UM, WITH OUR UPPER MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP, UM, DIRECTOR HASSAN, UM, DIRECTOR FLOOD, UM, MR. BATES AND MR. RICHARDSON, UM, THEY LOOKED AT WHAT HAPPENED AS FAR AS HARVEY WAS CONCERNED, AND THEY LOOKED AT AS FAR AS WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER TO PREPARE OURSELVES GOING FORWARD. SO THEY CAME UP WITH A STRICT STRUCTURE PLAN, AND THIS PLAN IS ACTUALLY DESIGNED TO GO INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND GO INTO THE AFFECTED AREAS FIRST. LIKE THE, UM, ROADWAYS, WE WANNA CLEAR THOSE FIRST SO THAT THE FIRST RESPONDERS CAN ACTUALLY GO IN THERE AND SERVICE THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO THIS, YOU KNOW, UM, IN A SAFE WAY FOR THE RESIDENTS AND FOR THE PEDESTRIANS AND AND SO FORTH THAT ARE TRAVELING UP AND DOWN THE ROADWAYS. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THEY CAME UP WITH SOME PLANS, AND THAT IS ONE IS RAPID ASSESSMENT TEAMS. SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS ONCE WE HAVE A, UH, HURRICANE OR A NATURAL DISASTER THAT COMES OUT, WHAT THEY'LL DO IS THEY'LL SEND SOME FIRST RESPONDERS FROM OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, TO GO OUT THERE AND ASSESS THE AREAS. AND WHAT WE DO THEN IS WE'LL COME BACK AND WE'LL FEED THEM THE DATA AND THEN THAT WAY THEY CAN SEND OUT THE HEAVY TRASH TRUCKS TO ACTUALLY START CLEANING UP DEBRIS AND ROADWAYS IN THAT AREA. UH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DO. WE ALSO ARE GONNA COORDINATE WITH DIFFERENT COLLECTION ZONES. SO WE'LL HAVE CONTRACTORS AND SO FORTH. THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA STAND, BE ON STANDBY SO THAT WE CAN HAUL OUT HEAVY LOADS QUICKER THAN WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR AND QUICKER THAN WE DID, UH, DURING HARVEY. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE COME UP WITH. ALSO, WE HAVE GPS COORDINATION AND WE HAVE ROUTE WEAR AND WE HAVE DIFFERENT SOFTWARE TECHNIQUES THAT WE'RE USING THAT'LL GUIDE US FOR OUR VEHICLES SO WE KNOW WHERE OUR VEHICLES ARE GOING AND WE CAN REDIRECT THEM TO GO INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS QUICKER AND BACK OUT TO THE LANDFILLS AND GET IT DONE IN A, IN A TIMELY FASHION. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ACTUALLY CAME UP WITH. UM, AND THEN WE, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE MORE CONTRACTORS THAT ARE GONNA BE ON STANDBY TO HAUL OUT HEAVY DEBRIS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO, UM, AND PRETTY MUCH IT. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I THINK YOU MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE AGAIN, WHAT IS THE DEDICATED HOTLINE FOR DISTRICT B IF THEY WANT TO REPORT ANY TYPE OF TREE REMOVAL, UH, AFTER THE DISASTER. SO THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE 3 1 1. OKAY. NOW, IF IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S, UM, THAT'S IMPEDING YOU FROM GETTING TO AND FROM OR BLOCKING YOUR ROADWAYS, THAT'S AN EMERGENCY, THEN YOU WOULD NEED TO CONTACT THE 9 1 1. OKAY. BUT KEEP IN MIND WHEN YOU DO THAT, MAKE SURE YOU KEEP YOUR CASE NUMBER, THAT WAY YOU CAN REPORT THAT TO YOUR COUNCILMAN OR COUNCILWOMAN AND THEN THEY CAN DO A FOLLOW UP. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THAT'S REALLY GOOD. SO I WANT TO ASK IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SAFETY, I WANTED TO, UH, GO TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND CAN YOU SHARE JUST SOME THINGS THAT RESIDENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ELECTRICAL DANGERS THAT THEY SHOULD BE AWARE OF AFTER FLOODING OR EVEN AFTER A MAJOR STORM, OR ANY OTHER DANGERS WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF AFTER DISASTER? SURE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WATER IS IT'S A, IT'S A CONDUIT FOR ELECTRICITY. IT'S A VERY GOOD CONDUIT FOR ELECTRICITY. SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SEE AFTER A STORM, UH, PEOPLE DON'T TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. AND SO, UH, ANYTIME THAT YOU HAVE AN ANYTHING HAS TO DO WITH ELECTRIC, IF YOU THINK IT'S BEEN UNDERWATER OR IT'S ANYWHERE NEAR WATER AND YOU GOTTA, OR YOU HAVE TO STAND IN WATER TO REACH IT, DON'T DO THAT. DON'T DO IT AT ALL. THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE SEE IS, ESPECIALLY IN HOUSTON, IS A LOT OF FLOOD AREAS AND EVERYTHING GETS REALLY WET. AND THEN ON THE OUTSIDE YOU HAVE ELECT, UH, ELECTRIC BOXES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT YOU WANNA BE ABLE TO REACH TO. WELL, IF YOU HAVE [00:35:01] THE STAND IN WATER TO REACH TO IT, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU JUST JUST SHOULD NOT DO. AND IT JUST LEADS TO BAD, BAD THINGS. UH, ANOTHER THING IS APPLIANCES. ANY ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES, UH, IF THERE, IF YOU THINK THAT IT'S WET OR YOU THINK IT'S BEEN UNDERWATER AT ALL, DON'T MESS WITH IT AT ALL. EVEN IF IT LOOKS DRY, THE INTERNAL PARTS OF IT COULD BE WET. AND THAT'S HOW PEOPLE GET SHOCKED AND YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT'S GONNA HAPPEN. UH, AGAIN, IT'S A LOT OF MOISTURE THAT SITS INSIDE. SO, UH, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IS JUST ANY, ANYTIME ELECTRICITY AND WATER JUST DOESN'T ADD UP TO GOOD THINGS FOR, FOR PEOPLE. LIKE I SAID, WATER IS A, IS A GOOD CONDUIT FOR ELECTRICITY. AND AGAIN, IT LEADS TO BAD THINGS AND WE SEE IT HAPPEN MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT IT, UH, REACH OUT TO AN ELECTRICIAN, AGAIN, REACH OUT TO US CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, 3 1 1, ASK A QUESTION. I'D RATHER BE SAFE THAN SORRY WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTRICITY. SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND, UM, I'M GONNA SWITCH OVER BEFORE WE GET, WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE AUDIENCE THAT WE'LL GET TO. UM, BUT BEFORE WE GO THERE, I WANTED TO GO TO CENTER POINT AND IF YOU CAN JUST KIND OF SHARE, AS HE WAS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WATER AND ELECTRICITY DOESN'T MIX, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LIKE DIFFERENT DOWN POWER LINES AND YOU MENTIONED THAT EARLIER AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IF YOU COULD KIND OF SHARE WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE DO IF THEY'RE SMELLING GAS OR IF THEY SEE DOWN POWER LINES OR JUST DIFFERENT THINGS AS RELATES TO SAFETY AFTER DISASTER. IF YOU COULD SHARE THAT. ABSOLUTELY. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU SMELL GAS, YOU WANNA DIAL 8 1 1. OKAY. EXCUSE ME. NO, I'M SORRY. IF YOU DIG, YOU WANNA DIAL 8 1 1. IF YOU SMELL GAS, HELP ME. TRACY, WHAT DO WE DO IF WE SMELL GAS? AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SMELL OF GAS, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR KIDS, PLEASE GO VISIT TRACY. SHE'S ACTUALLY GOT SCRATCH AND SNIFF STICKERS THAT WILL EDUCATE YOU TO WHAT GAS SMELLS LIKE. OKAY. SO THAT'S NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, STAY AWAY FROM DOWN POWER LINES GUYS. JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE DOWN DOES NOT MEAN THEY'RE OFF. OKAY. AND IN SOME CASES, ESPECIALLY IF WE'VE SEEN LARGE SYSTEM OUTAGES, THOSE DOWN POWER LINES COULD BE CARRYING HUGE AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY AS, UM, CAPTAIN REYES FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT MENTIONED WATER IS A GREAT CONDUCTOR. SO IF YOU SEE DOWN POWER LINES IN A BODY OF STANDING WATER, DO NOT ENTER THAT WATER. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH IT. DO NOT CROSS IT. OKAY. ONE OTHER THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT. WE TALKED ABOUT DURING PREPAREDNESS, ANOTHER COMMITMENT THAT CENTERPOINT HAS MADE IS TO COMMUNICATE IN AS CLOSE TO REAL TIME AS POSSIBLE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS. AND SO I REALLY JUST WANNA SHARE THREE SPECIFIC AREAS THAT YOU CAN GET INFORMATION AT ANY TIME, 365 DAYS A YEAR, YOU CAN GO TO OUTAGE TRACKER. OKAY. SO THAT'S CENTERPOINT ENERGY.COM/OUTAGE TRACKER, OR YOU CAN JUST GOOGLE IT AND THAT'S GONNA SHOW YOU ANY PLACE WHERE ANY POWER IS OFF WITHIN OUR SYSTEM. OKAY. NOW, DURING AN EVENT, WE HAVE DEDICATED EVENT COMMUNICATION, DEDICATED INCIDENT COMMUNICATION, AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND THAT AS AT THE EVENT CENTER. AND THEN IF YOU ARE A PERSON LIKE ME WHO REALLY LIKES INFORMATION, 'CAUSE KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, YOU CAN ALSO SIGN ALL UP UP FOR WHAT WE CALL THE POWER ALERTS SERVICE. AND THIS WILL GIVE YOU TEXTS, EMAILS, AND PHONE CALLS ABOUT YOUR POWER STATUS. OKAY. SO PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE THINGS. ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE GONNA CONDUCT DAILY OPERATIONAL BRIEFINGS WITH OUR PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS THE STATE. WE'RE GONNA PUSH A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY GENERATIONALLY THAT'S GONNA BE A PRIMARY POINT OF COMMUNICATION. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY RA RADIO AND LOCAL NEWS. THANK YOU. THAT'S REALLY GOOD INFORMATION AND I KNOW THEY CAN GET THOSE FROM YOUR TABLE ALSO AND SIGN UP. THAT'S WONDERFUL. ALL RIGHT, SO I'M GONNA TAKE A QUESTION, UH, THAT WE HAVE FROM THE AUDIENCE ABOUT OUR DRAINAGE . HE SAID, THAT'S FOR ME . UM, SO IF YOU COULD, I'M JUST KIND OF A TWOFOLD QUESTION. SO, UM, IF YOU COULD SHARE, UH, HOW OFTEN THE STORM DRAIN IN THE ROADSIDE DIS DITCHES AND BIOS ARE, UM, INSPECTED AND CLEARED BEFORE HURRICANE SEASON. AND THEN ON ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS TALKING ABOUT THE PARKING LOT HERE AT TIDWELL PARK AND WHEN IT RAINS, THE PARKING LOT FLOODS AND THEY NOTICE THAT THE CITY PERIODICALLY USES A SINK TO UNCA IT. BUT WHAT CAN BE DONE TO FIX IT MORE PERMANENTLY OR WHAT'S BEING DONE? LEMME SAY IT THAT WAY. SO THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS. MM-HMM . UM, THE CITY HAS AN EXTENSIVE, UH, INSPECTION PROGRAM WITH OUR ENCLOSED SYSTEM AS WELL AS OUR OPEN DRAINAGE CHANNELS. UH, THEY DO PROACTIVE, UH, INSPECTIONS WHERE THEY GO AROUND THE CITY, UH, TO DO THESE INSPECTIONS, UH, LETTING US KNOW WHAT THE COVID LOOK LIKE, LETTING US KNOW DO WE HAVE SOME DETERIORATION IN OUR PIPES OR IN OUR, ALONG OUR CHANNELS. UH, WE ALSO, FROM THOSE INSPECTIONS, UH, THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT HAPPEN. UH, ONE IS WE CREATE, UH, WORK ORDERS FOR OUR REPAIR CREWS TO GO OUT AND ADDRESS THOSE IMMEDIATELY. UH, SOME ARE PART OF THE DITCH ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM, UH, WHERE WE COULD GET THE CONTRACTORS AS WELL AS OUR IN-HOUSE TEAMS TO GO OUT AND REGRADE OR REESTABLISH THE CHANNELS AS WELL, UH, AND FLUSH THOSE CULVERTS. UH, SO, BUT SOME [00:40:01] THINGS, UH, ARE HAPPEN TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN JUST, UH, MAINTENANCE. AND SO THOSE THINGS HAVE TO BE ENGINEERED. AND SO WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT SOME OF THE LDP AND AND SWAT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE. UH, BUT WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE, UH, INSPECTION AS WELL AS REPAIR PROGRAM IN TECH, UH, NOT JUST DURING HURRICANE SEASON, UH, BUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. OKAY. UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PARKING LOT, UH, BEING FLOODED. UM, A LOT OF THE PARKS, UH, DRAINAGE SYSTEMS ARE HANDLED WITHIN PARKS. UH, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE SPECIFICALLY. UM, I DO KNOW THAT THEY DRAINED TO ONE OF THE CHANNELS, I THINK IN THE BACK. AND I KNOW THERE'S AN ISSUE. IT'S A HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL CHANNEL. UH, AND I KNOW THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH A PART OF THAT DRAINAGE PRO, UH, PLAN. UH, WE SPOKE WITH, UH, PARKS I THINK ABOUT A WEEK AGO. UH, AND WE ARE WORKING ON A SOLUTION WITH THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. I SEE WE HAVE A NEW PANELIST DOWN THERE. HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY, SIR? YOU WANNA JUST GIVE US A INTRODUCTION OF WHO YOU ARE AND THEN JUST SHARE AS YOU INTRODUCING YOURSELF? WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT PREPAREDNESS. WE WERE STARTED OFF WITH JUST SOME THINGS THE RESIDENT NEEDS TO KNOW IN PREPARING FOR A DISASTER, AND THEN NOW WE'RE IN, IN THE PRE DURING DISASTER AND POST ON SOME SAFETY THINGS FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, FROM YOUR AGENCY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. I'M OFFICER MILES WITH THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, NORTHEAST DIVISION DRT. UH, SO FAR ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING IS VERY, VERY, VERY VALUABLE. UH, FROM A POLICE STANDPOINT, WE ARE STILL ON THE ENFORCEMENT SIDE DOING A NATURAL DISASTER, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIMITED DEPENDING ON HOW FLOODED THE STREETS ARE, UH, DOWN POWER LINES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. OUR PRIORITY IS GOING TO BE PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, HUMAN SAFETY ALSO. BUT ONCE THE STREETS ARE CLEAR, THEN WE CAN GET BACK TO RESPONDING TO CALLS, UH, RESPONDING TO BURGLARIES AND THINGS OF OF THAT NATURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU LATER. I ACTUALLY HAVE A, A QUESTION HERE ABOUT, UM, CHECKING SOME TRUCKS ON THE ROAD, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU TIME TO GET YOU READY TO ANSWER THAT ONE. OKAY. SO IS THERE, IS THERE A SUCH THING AS TRUCK DEPARTMENT IN HPD TO TECH TO CHECK TRUCKS ON THE ROAD? WHEN YOU SAY TRUCKS, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT 18 WHEELERS? DEIDRE? YEAH, THERE'S THE, UH, HPD TRUCK ENFORCEMENT UNIT. THEY, THEY NORMALLY COME OUT AND ENFORCE ANYTHING, UH, INVOLVING HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS, 18 WHEELERS, ET CETERA. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND THEN I WILL PASS THIS ON TO, THIS WAS JUST, WE HAD MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT IF YOU HAD, UM, SOME DITCHES THAT NEED TO BE CLEANED, UM, INTO SOME TRASH AND DEBRIS. SO THEY HAS A ADDRESS HERE. SO I'LL JUST PASS THIS ALONG TO YOU. UM, REQUESTING FOR, UM, SOME UNCLOGGING OF THE DITCHES AND FLOODING OF THE STREETS. OKAY. SO WE'LL PASS THAT TO GO. THANK YOU. UH, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A TABLE SET UP. SO ANY DRAINAGE CONCERNS OR ANYTHING INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD NEED ABOUT THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM OR WHAT WE DO, HOW WE DO IT? YOU NEED TO REPORT SOMETHING. WE DO HAVE A TABLE HERE. UH, WE HAVE OUR MAINTENANCE MANAGERS, UH, THAT ARE HERE AS WELL. SO ANYTHING THAT YOU HAVE DRAINAGE CONCERN RELATED, PLEASE COME BY THE TABLE AND SEE US AFTER THIS. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO I WANNA GO BACK TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. CAN YOU SHARE ANY EMERGENCY PLANS FOR APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND SENIORS LIVING ALONE? SO FOR THE, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEXES, UH, EACH APARTMENT COMPLEX SHOULD HAVE THEIR APARTMENT MANAGER AND THEY, YOU SHOULD GET WITH YOUR APARTMENT MANAGER AND, AND ASK THEM ABOUT THAT. THEY SHOULD ALREADY HAVE STUFF IN PLACE. UM, AGAIN, FOR, FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, THEY SHOULD HAVE, UH, EXIT PLANS. THEY SHOULD HAVE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE EXITS ARE ACCESSIBLE. UH, THEY'RE NOT BEING BLOCKED AT ALL. THEY SHOULD HAVE A A, A LOCATION, UH, MEETING POINT, LOCATION AFTER THE, AFTER THE FACT. ALL THAT SHOULD BE IN PLACE AGAIN, DOES YOU HAVE TO GET WITH YOUR APARTMENT MANAGER TO FIND OUT. UM, AS FAR AS THE, UH, SENIOR CITIZENS LIVING ALONE, THE BEST WAY I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THAT IS, IS GONNA BE PREPAREDNESS BEFOREHAND. SO WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, UM, FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU'RE LIVING ALONE, IT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A SUPPORT NETWORK. IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE INSIST ON IT THAT WOULD SUPPORT NETWORK. THAT'S, UH, NEIGHBORS THAT YOU TRUST. FAMILY MEMBERS, UH, JUST HAVE A MIX TO CHECK ON EACH OTHER. MAKE SURE Y'ALL HAVE EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL NEED. UH, MAKE SURE DURING A DISASTER THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH THOSE PEOPLE. UH, SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD. IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD SUPPORT NETWORK AND INVOLVED. UM, ANOTHER THING TO HAVE, AND WE SHOULD HAVE ALREADY ANYWAYS, WHAT THEY CALL IT, WHAT WE CALL A GO BAG. IT'S, IT'S ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS, ALL YOUR, UH, MEDICAL HISTORY, UH, INSURANCE INFORMATION, EMERGENCY CONTACT, ANY PRESCRIPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, MAKE SURE IT'S IN A ZIPLOC BAG AND PUT SOMEWHERE SAFE AND READY TO GO. UH, THAT WAY WE, WE ARE AWARE OF IT. UH, Y'ALL HAVE IT IF Y'ALL NEED IT. AND IT'S REALLY, IT MAKES THINGS SO MUCH EASIER, UH, IF YOU ACTUALLY DO NEED ASSISTANCE. ANOTHER THING IS, UM, REGISTRIES, THEY HAVE LOCAL [00:45:01] REGISTRIES. YOU CAN PROBABLY GET WITH YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND GET MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. BUT THERE LOCAL REGISTRIES THAT YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR. AND AS YOUR NAME, YOUR INFORMATION, UH, MEDICAL HISTORY, ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA PUT ON THERE. AND THAT WAY WHEN THE DISASTER HITS THE REGISTER WILL CHECK ON YOU, MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED. IT'S BASICALLY LETTING LOCAL, UH, LOCAL AUTHORITIES KNOW THAT YOU'RE YOU, THIS IS YOU, AND THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA NEED ASSISTANCE DURING A DISASTER. SO, UH, DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT. UH, WE CAN ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS ON THAT. WE DO HAVE A TABLE SET UP IN THE BACK AS WELL. UH, WE CAN ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT REGISTRIES. LET'S SEE. BUT THAT'S GONNA BE THE KEY IS REALLY JUST MAKE SURE YOU PREPARE EVERYTHING BEFOREHAND BEFORE THE DISASTER STRIKES. 'CAUSE ONCE THE DISASTER STRIKES, IT'S GONNA BE CHAOS TRYING TO GET OUT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE THE THE BIGGEST KEY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE BAGS THAT HE MENTIONED FOR YOUR EMERGENCY. THEY'RE WATERPROOF, EMERGENCY DOCUMENT BAGS. THERE'S PLENTY OVER HERE THAT YOU CAN GRAB AND THEN TAKE SOME FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, UM, THAT AREN'T IN THE HOUSE WITH YOU, UM, AS WELL. SO MAKE SURE YOU GRAB THAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT RESOURCES. SO WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS HERE, UM, ABOUT, UM, WHEN, WHEN THERE'S A DISASTER, AND THIS IS FOR OEM AND THEN ANYONE ELSE ON THE PANEL THAT WANTS TO ANSWER. BUT, UM, IN A TIME OF DISASTER, KNOWING IN THIS AREA OF DISTRICT B THERE'S A LIMITED, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO BE ABLE TO GET TO GROCERY STORES OR WHEN THERE'S A, UM, A PROLONGED UH, POWER OUTAGES. WHAT ARE SOME, UH, RESOURCES OR PLANS THAT ARE IN PLACE THAT OEMI KNOW YOU ALL PARTNER WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND CHURCHES, UM, AND NONPROFITS THROUGHOUT, THROUGHOUT THE CITY. BUT WHAT ARE SOME PLANS THAT ARE IN PLACE THAT ARE GONNA HELP BRING THE RESOURCES INTO THE, INTO THE DISTRICT FOR THOSE FAMILIES THAT NEED THEM? THANK YOU. AND, AND JUST TO ADD ON TO THE REGISTRY FROM THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, IT IS THAT STATE OF TEXAS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE REGISTRY. UM, AND IF YOU WANTED TO ASK EITHER FIRE OR US, WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON IT. UM, AND YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR IT BY CALLING 2 1 1. UM, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SUPPORT ALL HOUSTONIANS WITH, WHETHER IT'S SHELTERING OR A WARMING CENTER OR A COOLING CENTER OR A PLACE TO DISTRIBUTE EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, THE PLAN IS REALLY FLEXIBLE. UH, BECAUSE WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO BE MOST CRITICALLY IMPACTED. WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW, UM, WHERE THE NEEDS ARE GOING TO BE. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF PRE-IDENTIFIED LOCATIONS. WE DON'T COMMUNICATE THOSE ALWAYS IN BLUE SKIES BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO ASSUME THAT THAT SITE SPECIFICALLY WILL BE OPEN. 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO BE OPEN . WE'VE GOT TO HAVE THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT IT. PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET TO IT. AND SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF IDENTIFIED LOCATIONS FOR SHELTERS. I WENT BACK ACTUALLY BEFORE THIS TOWN HALL AND LOOKED AT, AT OUR SHELTER LIST. AND YES, THERE ARE SHELTERS, UH, IN THIS AREA. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN ONE OF THEM NOW. UM, THAT IS, UH, BUT IT MAY NOT BE OPEN. I'M JUST TELLING YOU THIS IS, THIS IS, WE WILL COMMUNICATE ALL AVAILABLE LOCATIONS WHEN THE DISASTER OCCURS AND YOU, AND YOU CAN ACCESS THAT INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE IF OUR WEBSITE IS DOWN. BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES TECHNOLOGIES ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN EMERGENCIES OR YOU CAN'T, YOU DON'T HAVE THE POWER OR INTERNET TO GO GET IT. WE WILL COMMUNICATE THAT THROUGH SIGNAGE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GIVE THAT TO THE, THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT ARE OPEN. WE'LL GIVE THAT TO THE RESPONDER PARTNERS. WE WILL PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO 3 1 1 AND TWO ONE ONE. SO IF YOU CALL EITHER NUMBER, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHERE THOSE RESOURCES ARE. SO THE PODS, THE, THE SHELTERS, ANYTHING. WHEN I SAY POD, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I ALWAYS USE THE ACRONYMS AND I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT. A POINT OF DISTRIBUTION WHERE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ACCESS WATER, ICE AND, AND RE'S MEALS READY TO EAT. UM, AND ANY OTHER RESOURCES WE MAY HAVE AVAILABLE TO US, UH, THAT THOSE ARE TYPICALLY WHEN THERE'S AN EXTENDED POWER OUTAGE OR THERE'S A WATER OUTAGE, WHICH IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT CAN OCCUR. BUT, UM, THOSE ARE NOT EVERY DISASTER. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISASTERS THROUGH WHICH WE'VE, WE'VE HAD POINTS OF DI DISTRIBUTION IN THE RECENT PAST, BUT THOSE ARE NOT EVERY ONE OF THEM. A LOT OF TIMES WE'LL HAVE SHELTERS. SO WE WILL WORK WITH, UM, OUR PARTNERS IN THE FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY AS WELL. A LOT OF TIMES THOSE FACILITIES ARE EVEN BETTER THAN CITY FACILITIES AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY HAVE VOLUNTEERS BUILT IN MM-HMM . AND THEY WANNA HELP. AND SO WE ARE OPEN TO EXISTING AND NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH ANY FACILITIES, FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE AND HELP. OKAY. WONDERFUL. AND THAT, UM, ADD ON TO, TO WHAT YOU MENTIONED FOR THIS QUESTION. UM, SO IN THOSE, UM, DISASTER SHELTERS OR IN THOSE, [00:50:01] UH, WARMING OR COOLING CENTERS THAT ARE THERE, CAN YOU JUST SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE? 'CAUSE THEY USUALLY HAVE CHARGING STATIONS AND DIFFERENT RESOURCES. I KNOW YOU SAID SOME OF THE, THE FAITH-BASED PARTNERS HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT THIS QUESTION WAS JUST ASKING, YOU KNOW, MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CHARGING STATIONS. UM, AND WOULD THEY BE AVAILABLE, LET THEIR FAMILY KNOW WHERE THEY ARE IF THAT HAPPENS? YES. WE'RE ACTUALLY ACTIVELY WORKING WITH TO PUT OUT MORE. OKAY. UM, YOU, YOUR MICROPHONE. SAY IT ONE MORE TIME. UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING, UM, COMCAST HAS DONATED SOME MEDICINAL ONES WONDER AND WE'RE ON, UH, THE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE ACROSS THE CITY AND ALSO IN KEY AREAS OF NEED. OKAY. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. I THINK WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE. SHE'S GONNA COME AND AND SPEAK TO THE MICROPHONE. THANK YOU. OKAY. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN AND ALL THAT ARE ASSEMBLED FOR COMING THIS MORNING TO PUT THIS TOGETHER. IT'S A GREAT EVENT. VERY NECESSARY. AB BE ABBE. WE'RE ACTIVELY IN HURRICANE SEASON. WE ARE STILL VULNERABLE IN THIS COMMUNITY. UM, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE ON THE PANEL THAT I PERSONALLY KNOW, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND EVERYTHING, BUT DITCH REESTABLISHMENT. HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE DEFICIENT. WE JUST EXPERIENCED DITCH DITCH REESTABLISHMENT IN THE CLAREMONT PLACE COMMUNITY THAT'S BETWEEN LAY ROAD AND TIDWELL IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS. IT'S NOT WORKING. PEOPLE ARE HAVING WATER IN THEIR DITCHES THAT NEVER HAD WATER TO REMAIN. SECONDLY, THE DITCHES ARE BEING DUG TOO LOW BENEATH THE COVID. SO IT'S FLAT AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO SHOOT THE GRADE. SO WE NEED TO GIVE SOME ATTENTION TO THAT MATTER. ILLEGAL DUMPING. THE REASON WE KEEP STRESSING ILLEGAL DUMPING IS BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS IT A ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE, IT'S ALSO CRIMINAL. WE KEEP ASKING IN THESE FORUMS FOR THE MAYOR AND ALL THOSE THAT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO PLEASE TICKET PEOPLE FOR LITTERING. THE REASON LITTERING IS A GATEWAY TO LEGAL DUMPING IS BECAUSE LITTERING GOES INTO YOUR INLETS, IT GOES INTO YOUR COVID AND IT GOES INTO YOUR BIOS AND YOUR WATERWAYS AND WATER NEEDS TO LEAVE. IT'S NOT ABLE TO DO THAT WHEN YOU CREATE DAMS. OKAY. UH, LIGHTING CENTER POINT. THANK YOU. WE GLAD YOU'RE HERE TOO. WE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE A HUNDRED YEARS, 95 YEARS, 75 YEARS IN SET GAS. NEXT YEAR WILL BE 130 5-YEAR-OLD BECAUSE OF THAT JOE POSE AND THE LIGHTS, THE SIX DIGIT CPE NUMBERS, THEY'RE FADED. THEY'RE MISSING. SO WHEN WE CALL THOSE IN AND THERE'S HIGH VEGETATION AROUND THOSE NUMBERS. SO WHEN WE ATTEMPT TO REPORT THOSE NUMBERS, BECAUSE WE KNOW LIGHTING IS VERY IMPORTANT, WE CAN'T DO, SO WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO GO ON THE MAP AND FIND THE MAP, BUT IT WAS NOT WORKING LAST WEEK. SO I HAD TO WAIT TILL THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR TO GO OUT AND PHYSICALLY GET THOSE NUMBERS. UH, TA SHOPS, THERE'S NO ZONING IN HOUSTON. WE NEED TO BRING THAT BACK ON THE BALLOT. IT SERVED A VERY VIABLE PUR PURPOSE BECAUSE THERE'S NO ZONING. WE ARE INUNDATED WITH CONVENIENCE STORES, GAS STATIONS AND TIRE SHOPS, COMMUNITY TIRE SHOPS. WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM? BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO HEAVILY SATURATED IN OUR AREA RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE ONE AT THE CORNER OF T WELLING NORTH WAY SIDE AND A FAMILY DOLLAR CLOSED DOWN. AND IT'S TWO STREETS FROM THAT TIE SHOP AND THEY PUT A BANNER OUT THAT SAYS, COMING SOON DO AND USE TIRES. THERE ARE NINE TIRE SHOPS ON THAT BOULEVARD. ARE WE GONNA GO EVERY COUPLE OF BLOCKS AND NEED A TIRE SHOP? AND THEY'RE NOT SELLING SAFE TIRES BECAUSE THERE'S NO REGULATION. SO I KNOW THAT WAS LENGTHY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. BUT THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO ADDRESS. AGAIN, DITCH REESTABLISHMENT ATTENTION, UH, ILLEGAL DUMPING. IT'S ALREADY ON THE PURVIEW. LITTERING, LIGHTING, TIE SHOPS, ZONING. AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO ANYONE ON THE PANEL WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER OR SHARE ANYTHING AS IT RELATES TO, YOU HAD A QUESTION, I FORGOT TO IDENTIFY MYSELF. THAT'S OKAY. UH, I'M VICKI MARTIN ON THE PRESIDENT OF SUPER NEIGHBOR OF 49 50 EAST HOUSTON. CGAS MET YOU ON THE PHONE. THANK YOU FOR RESOLVING THAT AND EVERYBODY, I, WE OKAY. NO, NO, IT'S OKAY. . ALRIGHT. YOU WANNA SHARE SOMETHING? YES. UH, YES. THANK YOU MS. MARTIN. UH, WITH THE DITCH REESTABLISHMENT, UH, PROGRAM AND, AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, WITH THE DITCHES, UH, WE DO TRY TO CUT THE DITCHES FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE COVID PIPE TO THE OTHER. UH, SOMETIMES WE CAN SEE THAT THE CULVERTS MAY BE OFFSET. UH, WHEN WE HAVE THOSE TYPE OF CHALLENGES OR ISSUES, UH, WE MAY ELEVATE THAT TO AN ENGINEERING, UH, STANDPOINT, UH, TO WHERE WE HAVE A LOCAL DRAINAGE PROJECT OR WE HAVE A SWAT OR THERE'S, UH, MAYBE A CAPITAL PROJECT BECAUSE OF [00:55:01] THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT IT'LL TAKE TO GET THAT DONE. UH, BUT WE ARE TRYING, AND IF YOU SEE THOSE IN YOUR AREA, 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE, WE'RE REESTABLISHING THE DITCH WHEN IT'S DRY. UH, AND A LOT OF TIMES WE DON'T UNDERSTAND THOSE CHALLENGES UNTIL IT RAINS. AND SO WE STILL NEED THE COMMUNITY TO SAY, HEY, MR. WILSON, THAT DIDN'T DO IT. AND SO WE WILL COME BACK OUT, REEVALUATE THOSE SITUATIONS AND MAKE THE PROPER COURSE OF ACTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THAT'S REALLY GOOD. YOU WANNA GO? YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? GO AHEAD. UH, AND THIS IS TO, UM, ADDRESS, UM, THE ILLEGAL DUMPING, AS SHE SAID IN HER CASE. UM, I KNOW THAT BEFORE WE HAD ACCESS TO CAMERAS THAT WE PUT UP IN CERTAIN AREAS THAT, UH, DISCOURAGED ILLEGAL DUMPING. SO WHAT I WILL DO WITH THAT, UM, YOU HAVE MY NUMBER. UM, IF YOU GIVE ME A LIST OF THE ADDRESSES THAT ARE HEAVILY AFFECTED, THEN WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL GET BACK WITH UPPER MANAGEMENT AND SEE IF WE STILL HAVE THOSE CAMERAS AVAILABLE AND WE'LL GET THOSE SET UP IN YOUR AREA. THAT WAY WE CAN DISCOURAGE SOME OF THAT ILLEGAL DUMPING. YEP. ALRIGHT. GO AHEAD SIR. AND I WAS GOING TO ADD, AS FAR AS ILLEGAL DUMPING, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU MONITORED THE UH, HPD SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, BUT AS OF LATE, UH, THEY'VE BEEN POSTED PEOPLE WHO THEY'RE ABLE TO DO CAMERA CAPTURES OF LIKE ACTUAL DUMPING WITH GOOD LICENSE PLATES AND THOSE PEOPLE END UP GOING TO JAIL FOR THAT OFFENSE. UH, THE MORE CAMERAS THE BETTER. UH, BUT JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT THE WORKLOAD IS HEAVY. UH, AND EVEN WITH THE POLICE REPORT ABOUT DUMPING, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S A CONNECTION FROM THE REPORT TO THE ACTUAL CITY OF HOUSTON PICKUP. MM-HMM . UH, I KNOW FOR A WHILE THERE WE WERE SHORTHANDED IN ALL CITY DEPARTMENT AREAS, BUT HOPEFULLY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS WE CAN PICK THAT UP. BUT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GETTING ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING WARRANTS. UH, OUR DRT UNIT GOES OUT WITH SOLID WASTE AND OTHER CITY OFFICIALS TO LIKE RECORD THIS STUFF TO TRY TO GET IT SOLVED. UH, ALSO AS FAR AS, UH, TIRE SHOPS, I A 3 1 1 COMPLAINT, LIKE YOU EXPECT THAT THEY'RE NOT REGULATED. I THINK AUTO DEALERS WILL GO OUT JUST TO CHECK PERMITS. OH. UH, ONCE THE CITY OF PERMITS, IT'S KIND OF A TOSS UP TO KIND OF CATCH THEM DOING CUTTING CORNERS, THINGS OF, OF THAT NATURE. BUT I DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU DO THE 3 1 1 COMPLAINT OR SEND AN EMAIL TO OUR DRT SERGEANT AND LIKE MAYBE WE CAN GO OUT AND JUST DO THE BASIC INSPECTION AND GET OUT RIGHT THERE TO SEE IF THEY'RE REGULATED. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS WILL BE OUR LAST QUESTION. OH, GO AHEAD. LEMME SAY ONE MORE THING. UH, IF YOU HAPPEN TO NOTICE THAT THIS ILLEGAL DUMPING IS IN A DITCH OR IT'S BLOCKING THE DRAINAGE INLET, UH, NO SOLID WASTE HAS A SCHEDULE OR THEY MAY COME OUT, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO US AS WELL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S IMPACTING DRAINAGE AND WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. MM-HMM . SO, UH, I KNOW YOU MAY REACH OUT TO SOLID WASTE, BUT ALSO REACH OUT TO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO, UH, STORMWATER OPERATIONS AND WE CAN ADDRESS THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO OUR LAST QUESTION IS GONNA BE FOR ALL OF OUR PANELS AS WE CLOSE OUT OUR PANEL DISCUSSION. UM, SO EACH OF YOU CAN JUST KIND OF SHARE, UH, HOW CAN RESIDENTS SUPPORT YOU ALL IN YOUR AGENCY, AS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS, AND THEN SHARE IF THERE'S ANY TYPE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO VOLUNTEER WITH THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, AND THEN SUPPORT SOME OF THAT AS WELL. SO WE'LL START WITH YOU MS. GREEN. OUR MAIN THING FOR THE, UH, PERMITTING CENTER IN THE FOOT PAIN DEPARTMENT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET YOUR PERMITS. I UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE ARE IN EMERGENCIES, WE'RE READY TO JUST HURRY UP AND GET THINGS BACK TO NORMAL. UM, BUT ONE OF THE MAJOR ISSUES THAT WE SEE, UNFORTUNATELY, IS PEOPLE DON'T COME INTO THE OFFICE TO FIND OUT HOW THEY CAN MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS. SO THEY'LL MAY MAKE AN IMPROVEMENT, BUT IT MAY NOT BE UP TO CODE, AND THEN YOU GET A VIOLATION, THEN IT STARTS THIS WHOLE SNOWBALL EFFECT. SO WE SUGGEST THAT IF YOU ARE IN THE AREA, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE AREA, COME AND TALK TO US. WE DON'T BITE. WE, WE ARE HERE TO ANSWER AND TO HELP AND TO SERVE YOU. UM, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME TO THE OFFICE. YOU CAN SEND US AN EMAIL. WE WILL EVEN SEND OUT INSPECTORS TO TRY AND GIVE YOU ANY, UM, ADVICE OR IDEAS ON HOW TO BULLETPROOF YOUR HOME. UM, THE OTHER THING IS, WHEN THERE IS AN EVACUATION, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO SIGN UP FOR THE ALERTS. MAKE SURE THAT YOU LEAVE WHEN THEY ASK YOU TO LEAVE. MM-HMM . UM, I KNOW SOMETIMES WE'RE PARTIAL TO STAYING, UM, IN OUR HOMES, BUT SOMETIMES THAT'S NOT IN YOUR BEST INTEREST. UM, THEN ALSO FOR MY SENIORS, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT CHECKS ON YOU. MM-HMM . THAT'S GOOD. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF RESOURCES. I KNOW EVERYONE IS NOT TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY, BUT REACH OUT TO SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR NEIGHBORS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU KNOW YOU NEED ASSISTANCE. AND LEAVE AHEAD OF TIME. TRY NOT TO WAIT TILL THE VERY LAST MINUTE, UM, TO HELP SAVE NOT ONLY [01:00:01] YOURSELF, BUT OTHERS. THANK YOU. HI, SIERRA. WITH WE GOT US, YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY HELP US COMMUNITY. WE GIVE DIAPERS, WIPES, FORMULA, AND WATER TO FAMILIES THAT NEED IT. AFTER STORMS, DIAPERS, WIPES, FORMULA AND WATER ARE NOT FREE. WE ACCEPT DONATIONS OF THESE ITEMS. WE ARE A MUTUAL AID ORGANIZATION, WHICH MEANS THAT WE PULL OUR RESOURCES TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO THOSE OUR, OUR NEIGHBORS, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO NEED IT. AND SO WE ARE ALWAYS ACCEPTING DONATIONS OF THOSE ITEMS. WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER WAYS, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT US FINANCIALLY SO THAT WE CAN USE THOSE FUNDS TO GO AND PURCHASE THE ITEMS THAT ARE NEEDED. UH, WE HAVE INFORMATION AT OUR TABLE OVER THERE. AND I ALSO JUST WANNA PIGGYBACK, I'VE HEARD A FEW OF YOU SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING OUT FOR VULNERABLE FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY. I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT HOW TO SET UP A SUPPORT NETWORK WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY. WE ACTUALLY WROTE AN ENTIRE GUIDE ON HOW TO DO SO. AND SO IF YOU STOP BY OUR TABLE, I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU. BUT YOU CAN ALSO STOP BY AND TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET THOSE DIAPERS WIPED, FORMULA AND WATER. THANK YOU. UH, I AM TERRENCE WILLIAMS, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO JUST, UM, BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT'S REAL IMPORTANT IS THAT WHEN YOU CALL THREE OH ONE, WHEN YOU CALL 3 1 1, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THEM AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. UM, BECAUSE THOSE, THAT INFORMATION GETS FILTERED DOWN TO, UH, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT. AND WHEN I SEE THESE SERVICE REQUESTS OR THESE SR NUMBERS, THERE'S NO INFORMATION EXACTLY KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. THERE'S NO PHONE NUMBER, THERE'S NO CONTACT INFORMATION, THERE'S NO DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM. IT'S JUST LOGGED THAT YOU CALLED. THAT'S IT. SO AS MUCH INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN GIVE US, WE CAN RAPIDLY GET OUT THERE AND ASSESS THE SITUATION TO GET IT HANDLED IN A TIMELY MANNER. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, THEY DEFINITELY WOULD SAY THAT WE NEED WHEN YOU CONTACT 3 1 1. THANK YOU. SO I THINK THE QUESTION WAS WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT US? AND IN TRUTH, AS WITH ALL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SUPPORT YOU AS A COMMUNITY. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE REALLY ENJOYED ABOUT SITTING ON THIS PANEL IS HEARING ABOUT THE MULTITUDE OF RESOURCES AND PREPAREDNESS, UM, ADVICE AND TIPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE. SO, IN TRUTH, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO REALLY SUPPORT US IS TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES AND TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS, AND TO BE READY IN THE CASE THAT THE LIGHTS DO TURN OFF RIGHT. AS OUR SACRED RESPONSIBILITY, AS HOUSTONIANS AND AS MEMBERS OF THE CENTER POINT COMMUNITY TO GET THOSE LIGHTS BACK ON. BECAUSE IT IS OUR JOB TO ENABLE EVERYDAY LIFE, RIGHT? WHEN, UH, THOSE ARE BLUE SKIES AND BEAUTIFUL. OR WHEN TEXAS LIKES TO SHOW IT, HOW IT CAN, UH, THROW A, A DARK SKYPE PARTY, RIGHT? SO I THINK, AGAIN, PLEASE INFORM YOURSELVES, EMPOWER YOURSELVES WITH INFORMATION. MAKE YOURSELVES, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, AVAIL YOURSELVES OF OUR VARIOUS COMMUNICATION OPTIONS. PLEASE CONNECT WITH MY TEAMMATES AT THESE TABLES TO GET THOSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT SOME CARDS AND SOME NUMBERS. GET THAT INFORMATION AS IT'S AVAILABLE. AND THEN AS MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES UP HERE HAVE STATED, WE HAVE THROUGH THE, UM, EXCUSE ME, THROUGH OUR WEBSITES, WE ALSO HAVE WAYS FOR YOU TO REPORT OUTAGES, REPORT ISSUES, RIGHT? DAMAGE, SPOTTING, DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP US EARLY ON. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING, REPORT THAT THROUGH THE VARIOUS, UM, AVENUES AND MEANS AVAILABLE IN CENTERPOINT MM-HMM . BECAUSE YOU AT THE COMMUNITY ARE GONNA BE SOMETIMES OUR VERY BEST SOURCE OF EARLY INFORMATION ON HOW BADLY DAMAGED THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS. AND THAT INFORMATION SYNTHESIZES RIGHT BACK TO MY TEAM, RIGHT BACK TO OUR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER PRIORITIZE OUR RESPONSE CAPABILITIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US, INVITING US INTO YOUR COMMUNITY AS WELL. THANK YOU. SO FOR THE USE OF OUR DEPARTMENT, OUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY, OF COURSE IS EMERGENCY RESPONSE. AND I THINK WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT WHAT WE DO. UH, WHAT'S ACTUALLY NEW TO US IS WE HAVE A, A PROGRAM CALLED THE, UH, PROACTIVE CONSUMER NEEDS TEAM, P, C AND T. THAT TEAM IS FOR MORE NON-EMERGENCY STUFF. SO IF, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU STILL NEED HELP, BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AN EMERGENCY, THIS WOULD BE THE TEAM TO CONTACT. AND THEY'RE GONNA GO OUT THERE AND, AND, AND, UH, TALK TO Y'ALL AND GET Y'ALL WHATEVER Y'ALL NEED, UH, WHATEVER DIRECTION Y'ALL NEED, WHETHER IT BE SOCIAL SERVICES OR WELL, WHATEVER IT IS, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN GET THE HELP YOU NEED. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO CALL 9 1 1. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THE LIGHTS AND SIRENS AND, AND BLAZING AT YOUR HOUSE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT NECESSARY. SO AGAIN, WE'LL GET YOU THE HELP THAT YOU NEED. AND THIS, THIS TEAM IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD PCNT FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. I'LL BE BACK AT THE TABLE BACK THERE AND I CAN ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS. AS FAR AS BEING THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER AND OUR, UH, PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION, UH, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY. WE WORK WITH THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, WE, UH, TRY TO DO PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. AND YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO US IF YOU WANT US TO COME OUT THERE AND JUST TALK TO Y'ALL, WHETHER IT BE, UH, TALKING TO, UH, SCHOOLS OR LIBRARIES OR, UH, COMMUNITIES, WHAT WHATEVER IT IS, UH, WE'RE MORE THAN OPEN TO TO, UH, COMING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND, AND TALKING AND ANSWERING [01:05:01] QUESTIONS AND, AND, UH, BASICALLY JUST GET TO KNOW Y'ALL. SO, AGAIN, WE HAVE A TABLE BACK THERE. WE HAVE, UH, FIREFIGHTER HARRISON AND FIREFIGHTER TRAN BACK THERE ARE, ARE EXPERTS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS. SO WE'LL BE BACK THERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AGAIN. I'M MEL WITH THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. AND OUR BIGGEST PREPAREDNESS MESSAGES ARE TO MAKE A PLAN, BUILD A KIT, STAY INFORMED, STAY CONNECTED IN YOUR COMMUNITY. EACH OF THOSE SOUNDS SO SIMPLE AND SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY NOT. WHEN YOU'RE LIVING WITH A DAY TO DAY OF, LIKE TRYING TO GET THROUGH LIFE, GET YOUR GROCERIES, LIKE TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY, DO EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO DO, UM, HAVE A TINY BIT OF WHAT, HOW I THINK ABOUT THAT FOR MY OWN FAMILY WITH EACH OF THOSE THINGS. SO THE MAKING A PLAN, THIS IS NOT A LONG ELABORATE PLAN. THIS IS JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION AT THE DINNER TABLE ONE NIGHT WITH YOUR FAMILY. IT'S LIKE, IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, WHAT WOULD WE DO? WHERE WOULD WE GO? JUST HAVING THAT CONVERSATION CAN BE YOUR PLAN, AS LONG AS EVERYBODY REMEMBERS IT. MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR BUILD A KIT. THIS IS NOT HAVE TO BE A BIG ELABORATE THING. MOST OF THE THINGS ARE IN YOUR HOME. BUT WHAT I TRY TO DO IS WHEN I'M AT THE STORE AND I SEE SOMETHING ON SALE THAT I KNOW IS SHELF STABLE, I GET EXTRA OF IT. UM, SO THAT I TIP MY KIT OR STRENGTHEN MY KIT THAT I HAVE AT HOME OF THINGS THAT I KNOW MY FAMILY CAN USE. IF, IF, IF THINGS, THINGS GO AWRY, UM, KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBORS AND STAYING CONNECTED, YOU'RE ALREADY DOING IT BY BEING HERE. AND I REALLY APPRECIATE AND, AND, AND I, I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU ALL. UM, AND, AND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, UM, THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM, UH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A TRAINING THAT YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM. UM, THAT'S RUN THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY. THERE'S AN EIGHT WEEK PROGRAM OF THREE HOURS A WEEK THAT CAN BE DONE AT THE CONVENIENCE OF THE GROUP. AND, AND THAT'S, WE OFFER IT IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. UH, THERE'S A LITTLE, THERE'S A QR CODE THAT DEVIN HAS OVER AT THE TABLE RIGHT NOW. IF, IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN THAT OF TAKING IT THAT STEP FURTHER AND CREATING A COMMUNITY OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY. THANK YOU. MICHAEL WILSON. TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS. STORMWATER OPERATIONS. AND I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR, UM, HAM AND MYSELF. UH, THE BIGGEST THING THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN DO FOR US IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL TRASH AND DEBRIS IMPACTS THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM. ALL, ALL OF IT. UM, SO IF YOU COULD SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH FAMILY, UH, WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, THAT, HEY, ANYTHING THAT YOU DUMP DOWN, ANY LOOSE DEBRIS IN YOUR YARD IMPACTS THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM. AND YOU MAY THINK, WELL, IT'S JUST MINE AND IT'S NOT, NO, IT'S YOURS AND IT'S THEIR, AND IT'S SOMETHING COMING FROM DOWN THE STREET. UH, SO EVEN THEN WE ASK THAT, UH, IF YOU SEE IT, IF YOU CAN GET IT BEFORE IT GOES INTO THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM, PLEASE GET THAT. AGAIN, NOT THE HEAVY STUFF. WE KNOW WE CAN'T PICK UP ALL THE HEAVY STUFF, BUT SOME OF THE, UH, THE LIGHTER THINGS OR, UH, A HUB CAP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT CAN REALLY IMPACT DRAINAGE IN YOUR AREA, WE ASK THAT YOU HELP US BY TRYING TO GET THAT STUFF OUTTA THE WAY SO THAT IT DOESN'T IMPACT YOU AS MUCH. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO START BY SAYING, UH, WE GET A LOT OF RAIN IN HOUSTON. UM, DATA HAS SEWN FROM PAST 20 YEARS OR SO. AS HOUSTON, CDU WISE, WE GET A LOT OF RAIN. AND ATLAS 14 IS THE UPDATED RAINFALL DATAS. THAT'S THE ENGINEERING SIDE OF IT. UM, SO MY SESSIONS TO OUR, UH, RESIDENTS IS, UM, WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED EARLY. THAT MEANS, LIKE MIKE WAS SAYING, TAKE CARE OF TRASH, TALK TO EACH OTHER, MAKE SURE, UH, WE DON'T ILLEGALLY DUMP INTO OUR, UH, DRAINAGE DITCHES. UM, TAKE CARE OF ANY TRACE, UH, GOING TO THE INLETS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, UM, THIS DRAINAGE SYSTEM IN HOUSTON HAS BEEN BUILT 20, 30 YEARS AGO. AT THAT TIME, WE HAD LESS RAIN EVENT AS COMPARED TO THESE DAYS. UM, SO WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED OURSELF, UH, GET FAMILIAR WITH THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM. WHAT, WHAT KIND OF SYSTEM IT IS IN HOUSTON, TWO OF THE MAJOR SYSTEMS ARE OPEN SYSTEM, WHICH IS DITCHES. AND CLOSED SYSTEM IS LIKE CULVERT OR STORM SHORE PIPES. SO IF WE TAKE CARE INDIVIDUALLY, IT'LL HELP BECAUSE HOUSTON LIMITS IS VERY BIG, RIGHT? SO OURSELVES, WE DO OUR PART AND YOU AS A RESIDENT, YOU LET US KNOW IF YOU SEE ISSUES AROUND, PLEASE GIVE US A CALL. THREE ONE ONE, [01:10:01] CALL OUR ENGINEERING TEAM AND MIKE'S TEAM. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS A SOLUTION. THERE IS ALWAYS A SOLUTION. AND OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO SAY DURING HURRICANE SEASON, PLEASE CHECK THE WEATHER BEFORE YOU DRIVE. ESPECIALLY WE GET, UH, WITHIN 15, 20 MINUTES OF, UH, TIME PERIOD, WE GET A LOT OF RAIN AND WE SEE, YOU KNOW, ROADWAYS ALL COVERED WITH WATER, RIGHT? SO I WANT EVERY RESIDENTS TO BE SAFE. AND WE CAN DO THAT BY CHECKING OUR WEATHER, CHECKING NEW CHANNELS, STUFF LIKE THAT. AND, UH, FROM CITY OF HOUSTON, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, UH, WE WANT TO WORK WITH YOU ALL. UM, IF YOU LET US KNOW, WE'LL WORK TOWARDS THE SOLUTION. IT COULD NOT BE, IT MAY HAPPEN IN FEW DAYS, YOU KNOW, SOLUTION WISE IT COULD TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TIME THAN THAT. BUT, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU FOR INVITING US. UM, WE WANT TO WORK WITH YOU ALL. THAT'S ALL. THANKS. THANK YOU. HELLO. OKAY, SO THE FIRST LIKE TO MENTION ABOUT HOUSTON, I'M AN OUT OF TOWNER. I'M NOT BORN AND RAISED HERE, BUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT HOUSTON IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS I'VE SPENT HERE IS THE COMMUNITY. WE ARE BLESSED TO LIVE IN A COMMUNITY THAT ACTUALLY SUPPORTS EACH OTHER, SHOWS UP FOR EACH OTHER, AND IN TIMES OF DISASTERS ARE THERE FOR EACH OTHER. I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SUPPORTING SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, BUT HONESTLY EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS SUPPORTED ME BACK. UM, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER SUPPORT AND ALL OF THAT, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IS SAFE IN TIMES OF DISASTER. MY TEAM MIGHT BE SMALL, BUT WE'RE MIGHTY. WE WILL BE THERE. WE KNOW WHO TO CALL, BUT I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THIS A MONTH. UH, ENOUGH. TALK TO YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL MEMBER. I HAVE TO SHOUT OUT MS. JACKSON ONE MORE TIME. IF IT WASN'T FOR HER, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO ALL THE WORK WE DO IN THE COMMUNITY. COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON HAS HER HOT TEAM AT MY WAREHOUSE THREE TIMES A WEEK. MOWING LAWNS, CLEARING DITCHES. THEY ARE A SMALL TEAM AND THEY'RE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN. SO JUST REMEMBER THAT EVERYBODY UP HERE IS AN AMAZING RESOURCE. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO TO GET CONNECTED TO, CALL US. WE'LL CONNECT YOU WITH THE RIGHT PERSON, BUT ALSO COUNT CALL YOUR COUNCILWOMAN. SHE ACTUALLY CARES. SHE'S OUT THERE. AND IT'S NOT JUST HER. I HAVE TO SHOUT OUT HER TEAM. YOU KNOW, MISS JESSICA MARQUI, I HAVE MARY FREDERICK. THEY'RE IN MY EMAILS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. YOU KNOW, FRED AND MARKEE COME TO MY WAREHOUSE ALL THE TIME. MISS MARY IS CALLING ME BEFORE A DISASTER HITS. JESSICA IS THROWING COMMUNITY CLEANUPS AND EVENTS ON A BIWEEKLY BASIS, IT FEELS LIKE AT THIS POINT. SO THIS, THIS DISTRICT HERE REALLY DOES SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY. WE ARE JUST A PARTNER OF THIS DISTRICT AND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT Y'ALL. BUT I REALLY DO SUGGEST THAT Y'ALL MAKE SOME FRIENDS TODAY. MAKE SOME FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE SUPPORTING EACH OTHER. OKAY? SO EVERYBODY HERE IS ALREADY ONE STEP AHEAD OF EVERYBODY ELSE 'CAUSE Y'ALL ARE TAKING DISASTER SEASON. UH, SERIOUSLY. BUT THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR, MAKE THAT RELATIONSHIP, AND WORK TOGETHER FOR THE NEXT DISASTER. THANK YOU, NANCY. AGAIN. UH, MY WORDS WOULD BE TO BECOME, UH, MORE SELF-AWARENESS. AND I KNOW MOST OF YOU HERE IN THE ROOM, SO YOU ALREADY KNOW ALL OF THIS STUFF. UH, WHAT I MEAN IS WE ALL KNOW SOMEBODY THAT LIVE NEXT DOOR OR DOWN THE STREET FROM US THAT JUST SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ANYONE TO LIKE, LOOK OUT FOR MM-HMM . UH, SHARE INFORMATION WITH THEM. I COME FROM WHERE MY MOM AND MY GRANDMOTHER, THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE STUFF UNTIL IT HAPPENS. SO LATELY HOUSTON HAS BEEN GETTING A LOT OF RAIN, RIGHT? SO WHENEVER THE NEWS OR ADVISORIES COME OUT ABOUT TO VACATE THE AREA, WE REALLY NEED TO DO THAT BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS, UH, THEN YOU LOOK FOR FIRST RESPONDERS TO BECOME MORE AWARE TO COME AND GET, YOU HAVE A SECONDARY PLAN. LIKE IF YOU LOSE POWER, HAVE A PORTABLE, UH, BATTERY TO WHERE YOU CAN AT LEAST CHARGE A PHONE OR LIKE MAKE SOME CONTACT, UH, EVEN IF YOU ARE FLOODED IN. SO WE CAN'T COME AND GET YOU. HPD HAS A, UH, BIG FIVE TON TRUCK NOW, UH, TO WHERE WE COULD HELP SERVICE. FOR THE MOST PART, I THINK AWARENESS IS PROBABLY THE MOST HELPFUL. AS OF LATE. OUR HOUSTON CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY, THEY'VE BEEN DONATING A PALLET NORTHEAST. SO, UH, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO DONATE TO THAT, OUR NEXT PIP MEETING IS GOING TO BE, UH, JUNE THE NINTH. AND I WILL ADJUST. SORRY. UM, OUR CITIZEN, I DON'T KNOW IF THE MIC IS GOING IN AND OUT. OKAY, GOOD. UH, SELF-AWARENESS DONATE TO THE CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY TO HELP, UH, PROVIDE WATER TO THE OFFICERS THAT ARE STUCK AT THE STATION DURING [01:15:01] THE SUMMER MONTHS. I ALSO MADE, UH, A NOTE OF ONCE THE STREETS ARE STARTING TO BE CLEAR, Y'ALL WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE DECIDE TO DRIVE WHEN THE CITY ISN'T OPEN. MM-HMM . IT SLOWS FIRST RESPONDERS DOWN WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY STILL TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE. SO I KNOW I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANY OF YOU IN HERE, BUT I WISH THAT WE COULD SPREAD THAT MESSAGE TO WHERE WE COULD KEEP THE STREETS CLEAR TO ALLOW US TO DO MORE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO DO MORE FOR THEMSELVES. THAT'S REALLY GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE MR. UH, DANIEL HARRIS WITH HOUSTON PARK DEPARTMENT. IS GONNA JUST SHARE SOME WORDS AND GIVE US A WELCOME. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. GOOD MORNING. I, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. MORNING. I DIDN'T WANNA BE HERE EITHER. COMING TO WORK ON A SATURDAY, HAVING TO GET UP. BUT I AM SO BUOYED BY THE ATTENDANCE THAT'S HERE, ESPECIALLY THE FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CAME HERE. DISTRICT B TARSHA JACKSON, THANK YOU FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR HAVING STUFF HERE AT TIDWELL PARK. LET'S GIVE THEM A HAND. THANK YOU FOR MY OTHER FELLOW CITY EMPLOYEES FOR BEING HERE. GETTING UP ON A SATURDAY. TO REPRESENT YOUR DEPARTMENTS. GIVE YOURSELVES A HAND. UH, I JUST WANNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THIS IS YOUR PARK. TIDWELL PARK IS YOUR PARK. I'M JUST THE MANAGER HERE AT TED WILL PARK. I JUST WANTED TO BRING GREETINGS. WELCOME. UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE TABLES THAT ARE HERE. TALK TO THE REPRESENTATIVES THAT ARE HERE. UH, GET SOME INFORMATION, SPREAD THE INFORMATION, GET SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. UH, THE PARK. WE FEEL PARKS ARE THE HUB OF THE COMMUNITY. SO IF YOU WANNA HAVE AN EVENT OR YOU WANT TO HAVE A FAMILY EVENT, YOU'RE WELCOME HERE. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A A SOCIAL EVENT, YOU'RE WELCOME. WE EN WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO RENT THE SPACES, TO ENJOY THE PARK. BRING YOUR KIDS TO THE PARK AFTER SCHOOL OR AFTER WORK JUST TO GET THEM TO GET THAT ENERGY OUT. BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY WELCOME AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING. AND IF OUR TABLE IS HERE, THIS SHAMELESS PLUG FOR THE H PART, TINA'S HERE, LET'S GIVE HIM A HAND RIGHT THERE. OUR TABLE RIGHT THERE. PLEASE COME BY AND VISIT FOR THE KIDS. WE GOT A COUPLE GOODIES FOR YOU. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU MR. HARRIS FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE TODAY. AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU ALL TO OUR PANELISTS. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE, YOUR WISDOM, YOUR TIME. AND JUST TO SUM UP EVERYTHING THAT WE HEARD TODAY. UM, WE HEARD ABOUT GETTING CONNECTED. MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE CONNECTED TO ALL OF THE ALERTS AND TO ALL OF THE, THE INFORMATION THAT'S PROVIDED FOR YOU ALL. MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING YOUR PREPARATION WORK, YOU'RE GETTING YOUR PERMITS, EVEN GETTING, GETTING YOUR QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT THAT. UM, GETTING CONNECTED WITH THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE, WHETHER IF YOU NEED RESOURCES OR YOU WANNA VOLUNTEER TO, UH, OR EVEN DONATE RESOURCES AS THOSE THAT ARE NEEDED. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE HEARD ABOUT PARTNERSHIP. THESE AGENCIES ARE ALL HERE TO SERVE YOU, BUT THEY'RE ASKING YOU TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM. SO THEN THAT WAY WE CAN ALL TOGETHER REALLY DO WHAT'S NEEDED FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING OUT AND SERVING ONE ANOTHER. SO THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN FOR ORGANIZING THIS AND ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THE PROGRAM. AND I'LL ASK YOU TO COME BACK UP AND SHARE ANY WORDS YOU HAVE. LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR ALL OUR PRESENTERS. UM, OUR PANEL AND THOMASINO, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MODERATING THIS IN VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. UM, PARKS. MR. HARRIS, FORGIVE ME FOR NOT GIVING YOU GUYS A SHOT OUT FOR HOLDING IT DOWN TO FRANK, FRANK SEALS GYMNASIUM. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AND ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT. UM, THIS WAS A GREAT CONVERSATION AND AS I'M SITTING HERE REFLECTING ON THE CONVERSATION AND WHAT I, WHAT I'VE HEARD, AND I'M GONNA TELL A BRIEF STORY. WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, ABOUT 10, UM, WE LIVED IN LAKEWOOD WHEN HURRICANE, UM, HURRICANE KATRINA, NOT KATRINA, UM, ALICIA, ALICIA HIT. AND OUR LIGHTS WAS OFF, UH, QUITE SOME TIME. IT WAS LIKE MONTHS. SEEMED LIKE MONTHS. AND MY DAD, WE HAD A GENERATOR AND HE FELL ASLEEP WITH THE GENERATOR IN THE HOUSE. AND AT THE TIME MY MOM HAD EIGHT KIDS. MY MOM HAD TO HAVE A TOTAL OF 16. SO I THINK IT WAS EIGHT OF US AT THE TIME. AND MY OLDEST SISTER, WHICH SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE LIKE TERRIBLE 16 YEAR OLDS, SHE SNUCK OUT OF THE HOUSE AND SHE CAME, AS SHE CAME BACK IN THE HOUSE, WE WERE ALL JUST KNOCKED OUT. AND SHE KNEW SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS IN A DEEP SLEEP. AND THEN SHE JUST STARTED PULLING US OUT OF THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW, OUT THE HOUSE. AND IT WAS THE CARBON MONOXIDE FROM THE GENERATOR IN THE HOUSE. AND MY, AND JUST SO HAPPENED, MY MOM WAS AT THE HOSPITAL HAVING A BABY. SO SHE WASN'T AT HOME. MY DADDY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR US. AND SO, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. Y'ALL THE MAN WAS RESPONSIBLE, BUT WE, BUT, BUT GOD, WE WERE ABLE, WE HAD SOMEONE THAT HAD A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW SHE HAD AND SHE GOT OUTSIDE OF THAT HOUSE. AND TODAY, MY WHOLE FAMILY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE STILL HERE. AND SO JUST TAKE HE TO THE INFORMATION, THE SUGGESTIONS, THE ADVICE, THE BEING PREPARED IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US. AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVING THAT, THIS, THIS [01:20:01] CONVERSATION, WE KNOW EVERY TIME IT RAIN, IT'S SOMETHING GOES ON. IT'S CHAOS AND CONFUSION AND BEING PREPARED ACTUALLY HELPS US MINIMIZE THAT CHAOS AND CONFUSION. AND OF COURSE NANCY, I WANNA GIVE YOU A SHOUT. I THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS HERE, WE DON'T DO NOTHING. BUT THANK YOU NANCY FOR LIKE, BEING THAT, THAT WITNESS TO WHAT DISTRICT WE DO EVERY DAY OF THE SEVEN DAYS. SEVEN DAYS, I WOULD SAY SEVEN DAYS. 'CAUSE OUR PHONE IS ALWAYS, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ON OUR PHONE. BUT OUR HOT TEAM, THE STAFF, MARY, YOUR CHIEF OF STAFF, SHE'S WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD DAILY, DAILY FOR THE DISTRICT. AND I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, THIS BUDGET THAT'S COMING UP AROUND THE DISTRICT ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM. I AUTHORED THE REESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM TO REESTABLISH IT, UM, IN 2023. AND I JUST WANT YOU TO ASSURE YOU THAT IT IS FULLY FUNDED. IT IS $50 MILLION APPROXIMATELY IN THIS BUDGET. AND I WON'T BE PRESENTING A BUDGET AMENDMENT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT, WE'RE AT WHERE WE WANT IT TO BE TO HAVE IT AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED TO WHY WE DON'T HAVE TO DO BUDGET AMENDMENTS. THAT IS A PRIORITY OF THE CITY. AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS ADMINISTRATION, IT IS HIS PRIORITY. IF WE, IF YOU SEE THE DITCHES NOT WORKING, REACH OUT TO US. LET US KNOW. WE DON'T KNOW. THINGS ARE NOT WORKING IF YOU'RE NOT TELLING US. SO IF YOU WANT TO GO GET SOME WATER AND ALL THAT IN THE DITCHES, COME DO IT BEFORE BUDGET. WE, WE ARE CONSTANTLY IN COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO LET US KNOW SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THE ISSUE IS TAKEN CARE OF. CONTACT OUR OFFICE BECAUSE THERE IS SOME MISINFORMATION BEING PUT OUT THERE. CONTACT US SO THAT WE CAN CLEAR UP THE MISSED INFORMATION. JUST KNOW THAT MY, THE DISTRICT OFFICE, THE ADMINISTRATION, WE KNOW OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY NEGLECTED THAT WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A WHOLE LOT. AND WHY WE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP. US WORKING TOGETHER, CIVIC CLUB, SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS, SHARING INFORMATION WITH THE DISTRICT OFFICE AND OF COURSE THE DISTRICT OFFICE IN RETURN EXECUTING. AND SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL. FIRE, FIRE DEPARTMENT CENTER POINT. YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT THE VEGETATION AROUND THE, THE POLLS, PEOPLE LIKES GOING OUT THAT DON'T NEED TO GO OUT, BUT, AND IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING TO MITIGATE THAT SITUATION. UM, HPD, THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. YEAH, REPRESENTING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND OF COURSE, PAMPERS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WE DON'T THINK ABOUT THE SMALLEST THINGS OF PAMPERS. BOTTLES MILK, THINGS THAT PARENTS NEED. AND SO WE ALL NEED TO BE PREPARED. SHARE THIS WITH YOUR INFORMATION, WITH INFORMATION WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS. AND THEN, UM, ONE THING, WE GOT OUR DISTRICT B POSTCARDS. SIGN UP FOR THE BUZZ. IT COMES OUT EVERY FRIDAY. EVERY FRIDAY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE, IN DISTRICT B, THE BEST DISTRICT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, SIGN UP FOR THE BUZZ AND THEN YOU'LL GET THE NEWSLETTER AND WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND THEN ALSO, POVERTY HAS BEEN OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY, TACKLING POVERTY THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. OUR BE SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE, IT'S ABOUT GETTING OUR CONSTITUENTS, OUR RESIDENTS, OUR NEIGHBORS CONNECTED TO GOOD PAYING JOBS. AND SO IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY THAT NEED A JOB, HELP SEND 'EM MY WAY. AND THAT'S GONNA KEEP THEM OUTTA YOUR HOUSE. OKAY? SO SEND 'EM MY WAY SO WE CAN GET THEM SOME TRAINING, GET THEM SOME SKILLS. WE GOT SOME CERTIFICATIONS, PROGRAMS THAT'S COMING UP ON AVIATION. WE'RE GONNA BE PARTNERING WITH TSU, SEND 'EM MY WAY SO THAT WE CAN GET OUR YOUNG PEOPLE CONNECTED. SOME GOOD PAYING JOBS. AND THEN AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, OUT OF YOUR HOUSE. AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THANK YOU ALL. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SATURDAY AND HAVE A BLESSED DAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN. SO JUST REMEMBER TO ATTEND, GO BY EACH OF THE BOOTHS THAT ARE HERE AND THEN THERE'S PLENTY OF FOOD IN THE BACK. THAT'S FOR EVERYONE AS WELL. * 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.