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MY NAME IS COREY HARRINGTON, AND I GET THE HONOR OF BEING NORTH BELT DIVISION'S CAPTAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THIS STATION.
UH, TODAY, I HAVE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY OF OUR NEW STATION.
UH, BEFORE WE BEGIN THOUGH, I'D LIKE TO SAY QUICK THANK YOUS, UH, TO EVERYONE THAT HELPED OUT ON THIS PROJECT.
UH, FIRST TO, UH, CODY, BRYANT, AND AUSTIN WITH SPA GLASS.
THEY ARE OUR GENERAL CONTRACTORS, UH, AND GREG WITH, UH, GENERAL SERVICES DIVISION.
LIKE TO REALLY PERSONALLY SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE MODIFICATIONS AND DEALING WITH, UH, HOW I WAS DURING THE PROJECT.
I ALSO LIKE TO SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO SERGEANT JIM HUTKINS FOR THE SAME THING.
THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME OUT AND, UH, UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM FROM THINGS.
AND THEN, UH, LASTLY ON MY PART, MY ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF, SERGEANT MONICA LOPEZ AND MY ADMIN LIEUTENANT, TYLER ZAKOW, THEY, UH, WERE WITH ME THE WHOLE STEP OF IT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO KICK OFF THE CEREMONY OF INTRODUCING OUR LONGTIME SUPPORTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER.
THANK YOU, CAPTAIN, AND, UH, THANK EVERYONE THAT'S HERE TODAY.
CERTAINLY MY COLLEAGUES, COUNCILMAN JACKSON, I BELIEVE WE'RE SITTING IN YOUR PROUD DISTRICT.
UH, COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ, WHO REPRESENTS OUR ENTIRE CITY, AND CERTAINLY TONY LAWRENCE WHO, UH, WORKED SO CLOSE WITH, WITH ME AS A SENATOR AND CERTAINLY WAS A LEADER FOR SEVERAL ELECTIONS AT CITY HALL.
YOU KNOW, UH, TODAY IS A REAL STATEMENT OF, UH, FIRST COLLABORATION.
THERE'S COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, COME RIGHT IN AND JOIN US.
TODAY IS, UH, A STATEMENT OF WHAT WE CAN DO.
I GUESS FIRST I COULD SAY IF WE DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHO GETS CREDIT FOR IT, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY INDIVIDUALS, THE TERS, THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, CERTAINLY CITY COUNCIL, BUT HBD AND HOUSTON FIRE.
CAN'T SAY ENOUGH FOR THEM TO HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF KNOWING THAT WE'RE ALL PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THAT WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
TO BE ABLE TO SHARE A LOCATION TOOK A HELL OF A LONG TIME FOR US TO, TO GET IN THE POSITION OF, OF BEING SMART ABOUT OUR RESOURCES AND OUR COLLABORATION.
THERE'S ANOTHER SITE VERY SIMILAR TO THIS IS BEING BUILT ON GESSNER AND I-10.
IT SHOULD BE THE MODEL GOING FORWARD OF HOW WE GET THE MOST OUT OF THE, UH, AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
BUT IT ALSO LETS THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT WE'RE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY.
CERTAINLY, IT'S BEEN MY HIGHEST PRIORITY SINCE MANY DAYS BACK WHEN I WAS A STATE SENATOR AND I BROUGHT THAT SAME CAN-DO ATTITUDE AND PUBLIC SAFETY PRIORITY TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
SO IF WE'RE NOT SAFE, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME WORKING ABOUT TALKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOLID WASTE AND PARKS.
BUT THIS, THIS IS THE BASIC RIGHT HERE.
TO OUR RANK AND FILE HPD OFFICERS, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO ON A DAILY BASIS.
YOU HAVE A REALLY, REALLY TOUGH JOB.
AND FOR THAT, THE CITY, CITIZENS OF HOUSTON APPRECIATE YOU.
SO WHAT A NICE STRUCTURE, UH, WITH THE, UH, COMPLETION OF THIS, THE KNOCKING DOWN OF THE OLD NORTH LINE MALL, THE NORTH LINE CORRIDOR IS DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY ON THE WAY BACK.
WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL MANY YEARS AGO, THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE WANTED TO BE.
WENT THROUGH SOME CHALLENGING TIMES, BUT NOW WE WANT EVERYONE THAT CAN HEAR OUR VOICE TO KNOW NORTH LINE, NORTH SIDE, EVERY COMMUNITY IN HOUSTON DESERVES OUR RESPECT AND CONTRIBUTION.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, MANY YEARS OF SERVICE OUT OF THIS SITE AND, UH, HOUSTONIANS APPRECIATE IT.
WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATION LOYALTY TO US.
NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME SOMEONE THAT WORKS JUST AS HARD AS EVERYBODY ELSE, CHIEF NOE DIAZ.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND FIRE ON THIS MOMENTOUS OCCASION.
THIS IS A BIG DEAL IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR US TO GET SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA LAST 30, 40 YEARS THAT WILL BE A LIGHT IN THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? IT'S A BEAUTIFUL FACILITY.
[00:05:01]
UM, THE ARCHITECTURE WAS DONE WELL.IT'S CENTRALLY LOCATED TO THIS COMMUNITY AND IT WILL IMPROVE THE GREENSPOINT AREA, RIGHT? IT WILL CHANGE, UH, HOW GREENSPOINT IS VIEWED.
IT'LL NO LONGER BE CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES, RIGHT? BY THE UGLY NAME THAT I WON'T USE TODAY, RIGHT? IT'LL BE CALLED A NEW COMMUNITY.
UH, THE MALL'S BEING DEMOLISHED AS WE SPEAK.
SO THE COMMUNITY DESERVES SOMETHING LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT EQUITY IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, EVERY PART OF THE CITY DESERVES A STATION LIKE THIS BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO WITHSTAND STORMS. IT'S GOING TO BE A LIGHT.
UH, IT'S GOT A THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF SPACE WHERE THE COMMUNITY CAN COME HAVE THEIR MEETINGS, AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE AS AN ORGANIZATION ARE ALWAYS COMMUNITY FACING, COMMUNITY DRIVEN, AND SERVANTS TO THE COMMUNITY.
CAPTAIN HARRINGTON, THIS WILL BE YOUR LEGACY BECAUSE I KNOW I PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON HIM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T CUTTING CORNERS, THAT WE WEREN'T BEING WASTEFUL WITH A RESOURCE, BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME THAT WE'RE MANAGING AND THAT WE'RE GIVING THE VERY BEST PRODUCT FOR THE RESOURCE THAT THE COMMUNITY GIVES US.
SO I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY INVOLVED.
I WANNA THANK THE COMMAND STAFF FOR BEING HERE AND GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND I WANNA THANK THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR MAKING THE DIFFICULT CHOICES BECAUSE THIS IS A RESOURCE THAT COULD'VE BEEN SPENT ELSEWHERE, BUT YET IT'S HERE.
AND I WANNA THANK MAYOR WHITMEYER FOR HIS FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY, FOR HIS DRIVE.
UH, I, I JOKE WITH HIM, HE'S THE HARDEST WORKING MAYOR IN THE COUNTRY, RIGHT? IT'S NOT A 40 HOUR, IT'S A 60, 70 HOUR WORK WEEK FOR US MOST OF THE WEEK, AND THE RESULTS ARE IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON A DAILY BASIS.
THANK YOU TO HPD AND CONGRATULATIONS TO GREENSPOINT AREA.
NOW I'D LIKE TO, UH, ASK FOR INTERIM DIRECTOR OF GENERAL SERVICES, RICHARD VELA TO COME UP AND SAY A FEW WORDS.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR WITTMEYER, CHIEF DIAZ, AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN BRINGING THIS PROJECT TO FRUITION AND FOR YOUR ONGOING COMMITMENT TO THE SAFETY OF ALL HOUSTONIANS, ESPECIALLY THE RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT B REPRESENTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON.
I'M HONORED TO SERVE AS THE INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
OUR TEAM WORKS BEHIND THE SCENES TO SUPPORT HFD, HPD, AND MANY OF OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH EVERYTHING RELATED TO BUILDINGS, INCLUDING REAL ESTATE, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.
IT'S WORK WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN BECAUSE FACILITIES LIKE THIS DIRECTLY SUPPORTS THE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS WHO KEEP OUR CITY SAFE.
NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO, THIS SITE WAS A VACANT PIECE OF LAND.
11 YEARS AGO, WE BUILT FIRE STATION 84 NEXT DOOR, AND TODAY WITH THE NEW HPD STATION, WE COMPLETE SOMETHING TRULY SPECIAL, THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S FIRST PUBLIC COMPLEX, SAFETY COMPLEX.
THIS COMPLEX REPRESENTS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN HPD UNDER CHIEF DIAZ AND HFD UNDER CHIEF MUNOZ, AND IT'S A MODEL FOR HOW OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES CAN WORK TOGETHER MORE EFFECTIVELY.
THIS NEW STATION WILL BE THE PERMANENT HOME FOR THE NORTH BELT DIVISION, WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING OUT OF A TEMPORARY SPACE FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS.
WE ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO THE, UH, NORTH HOUSTON DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CHAIRS 11.
AND, UH, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE NORTH DISTRICT FOR PROVIDING THE TEMPORARY LOCATION.
AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SALLY BRADFORD AND TO GREG SIMPSON FOR YOUR STEADY FEST SUPPORT OF PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE BUILDING YOU SEE BEHIND ME THAT WAS DESIGNED BY PERKINS AND WILL AND, UH, THE ENGINEERS WAS JQ ENGINEERING.
INFRASTRUCTURE ASSOCIATES WERE THE MVP DESIGNERS AND FOUR IN ONE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.
SPAW GLASS CONSTRUCTION WAS THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR, AND WHAT A GREAT JOB YOU'VE DONE.
THE DESIGN WORK BEGAN IN THE MIDDLE OF COVID, AND EVEN WITH SHIFTING CONSTRUCTION WORKING CONDITIONS, WE HAD THE GROUNDBREAKING IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR.
REMEMBER, MAYOR, WE'RE OUT HERE, AND MOVED, UH, HPD 13 MONTHS LATER.
THIS PROJECT INVOLVED 40 DIFFERENT TRADES, CONSTRUCTION TRADES, AND EMPLOYED SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS.
THANKS TO THE ARCHITECTS, JOHN STRAUSS, UH, MEREDITH, UH, AND ILIC AND THE CONTRACTOR TEAM, UH, ROGER BERRY, JOE MEDIC, AUSTIN TUCKER, AND BRIAN CARRASQUILLO AND CODY WILSON.
[00:10:01]
AN AWESOME JOB ON THIS PROJECT.THIS 27,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY SITS ON TWO ACRES AND INCLUDES A LARGE DETENTION POND.
INSIDE, THERE'S A COMMUNITY ROOM, A FITNESS AREA, A LOCKERS ROOM, SHOWERS, AND A NEW VEHICLE MAINTENANCE BUILDING THAT WILL HELP PATROL UNITS ON THE ROAD WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED THE MOST.
BECAUSE THE SITE IS IN THE 500-YEAR FLOODPLAIN, IT WAS ENGINEERED WITH FLOOD PROTECTION FEATURES THAT CAN WITHSTAND WATER RISING UP TO 30 INCHES ABOVE GROUND.
THE TOTAL INVESTMENT WAS, UH, $23.4 MILLION.
AS PART OF OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH HFD, WE ALSO CREATED A SHARED PUBLIC PLAZA BETWEEN THE TWO FACILITIES.
AT THE CENTER IS A BEAUTIFUL INTERACTIVE SCULPTURE TITLED COMMUNITY RINGS BY ARTIST O.B.
GRANT, A CELEBRATION OF UNITY ACROSS OUR PUBLIC SAFETY TEAMS AND OUR COMMUNITY.
INSIDE, ARTIST JELSON LEMUS CREATED A MURAL TITLED TOGETHER AS ONE, HONORING THE SERVICE OF BOTH FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS.
WE APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP OF DIRECTOR LEAL FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND ALISON KILLEN AND GRACE ZUNIGA FROM THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLI- ALLIANCE HELPING US BRING THESE PIECES TO LIFE.
AND AS ALWAYS, IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
PROJECTS LIKE THIS ONLY SUCCEED BECAUSE CITY DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE CHIEF COLLEY, SERGEANT HUTCHINS, LIEUTENANT ZACO, AND SERGEANT MONICA LOPEZ FROM HP- HPD, OUR TRUE PARTNERS IN THIS.
AND, AND FROM MY OWN TEAM AT GSD, WE HAVE OUR PREVIOUS, UH, DIRECTOR, CJ MESSIAH, CRAIG QUINTERO, OUR SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, THANK YOU, DMITRI CARAVIAS AND OUR ASSISTANT, UH, DIRECTOR IN REAL ESTATE DESIGN AND CONS- CONSTRUCTION, JAMES REDDINGTON.
OUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IS ON SITE AS WELL, UH, BECAUSE THEY'RE, FROM NOW ON, THEY'LL BE TAKING CARE OF THIS BUILDING AND LET'S MAKE SURE WE KEEP IT UP AS GOOD.
WE ALSO WANT TO GIVE A BIG THANKS TO OUR CITY PARTNERS.
AGAIN, WE CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS.
THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, GWENDOLYN THILIPSON, MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, MICHELLE LIAL, FINANCE.
WE HAVE MELISSA AND CHRIS WHO HELPED US.
HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, UH, PERMITTING, RANDY AND, AND, UH, LOUIS VILLESANA AND RUDY ALL HELPED US TO GET THROUGH HERE.
HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, FLEET, AND THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TO CELEBRATE THIS MILESTONE FOR THE NORTH BELT AND FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THANK YOU AND GIVE IT BACK TO YOU, CAPTAIN.
AND NOW, UH, I WOULD ASK EVERYONE UP HERE TO JOIN ME IN THE ACTUAL RIBBON CUTTING, AND AS WE GET PREPARED FOR THAT, I ASK EVERYONE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME INSIDE INTO THE COMMUNITY ROOM.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, SOME REFRESHMENTS.
UH, WE ALSO PREPARED A SLIDESHOW OF THE PROGRESS PHOTOS, UH, FROM THE WOODS UNTIL NOW.
AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER THAT, WE'LL BE GIVING TOURS OF THE STATION.