Vol. 3, Issue 16 – 06.24.22
DISTRICT F NEWS
Happy Summer,

It’s a hot one! In addition to protecting ourselves from the heat, there are main water leaks throughout the city, particularly in our district. Remember, your first line of service is with 311; the customer service representative will receive your complaint and route it to the appropriate department. The 311 customer service representatives do not have detailed information to provide you with the following steps; however, you can follow the status of your issue via the service number you receive. Any substantial update is shared in the newsletter and on social media.

HPW has actively responded to the main leaks in the Alief, Briarmeadow and Eldridge/West Oaks area.

In District F, as of June 23, there are thirty-two open 311 cases regarding water leaks from 77063, 77036, 77072, 77082, 77099, and 77042. Houston Public Works is working tremendously hard to address the water breaks in our neighborhood and city.

I have a water break in my neighborhood as well. Please be patient with Houston Public Works and my office as we work together to provide you with meaningful updates and resolutions. To learn more about the timeline of a routine water leak please see graphic here.

More on water.

The City of Houston has entered Stage One of the City’s Drought Contingency Plan, effective Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Please see the press release here.

Stage One drought response calls for the following voluntary water conservation efforts:

Limit outdoor watering to twice a week between the hours of 7 PM and 5 AM with the following schedule:
Sundays & Thursdays for single-family residential customers with even-numbered street addresses
Saturdays and Wednesdays for single-family residential customers with odd-numbered street addresses
Tuesdays and Fridays for all other customers

Thank you to everyone that joined us for a lively discussion at the 2nd Annual District F Public Safety Town Hall at Tracey Gee Community Center. There were significant takeaways from the discussion. Please stay tuned for more developments from this meeting, primarily active shooter and gun license training for district f residents. I heard you. If you were unable to watch via Facebook Live, please take time to watch the recording at the bottom of the newsletter.

Last week during the city council meeting, Mayor Turner announced he would increase the Storm Water Action Team allocation by $20M. This allocation will come from our fund balance, and each council district will receive an additional $1.7M towards local drainage projects totaling $3.4 for each office. This is excellent news as one of the top three concerns I receive is regarding drainage and flooding. This will allow me to identify and address local drainage problems in our neighborhoods. More to come on this.

Lastly, the Capital Improvement Project process has begun, and the recommendation is to defer street and drainage projects again for another four-year cycle. For those who did not attend the District F CIP meeting, here is an additional opportunity to share your support and advocate for your project within Catalina Square, Ashton Park, and Briarmeadow (south) for projects that have been planned but not funded. To refresh your memory of the status of those projects, please visit the recorded CIP meeting from May 17.

Please see the details below if you are interested in participating in public comments in person or virtually. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.

Sincerely,
Councilmember Tiffany D. Thomas

WEEK OF JUNE 13
HOT SPOT TEAM HIGHLIGHT
  • Total Work Orders Completed: 43
  • Hotspot of the Week: South Drive @ South Course
  • Total Man Hours Worked: 72
  • Tree Waste: 270 lbs.
  • Mattresses: 4
  • Furniture Waste: 19 pieces
  • Tires: 15
  • Trash Debris: 600 lbs.
  • Shopping Carts: 5
  • Bandit Signs: 276
  • Landscaping: none
  • Update: none

 

We are excited to welcome our summer interns back to City Hall! Tommy and Cha’Liyah are returning to the District F team this summer. New to the team are  Fredrick and Izabella. You will see them in the district supporting our public safety town hall, yoga day event and constituent services. This opportunity is funded by  Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hire Houston Youth Summer Job Program.
On June 14th, Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas closed her day in Carver Crest, the historic Piney Point, a Freedmen’s Town, to discuss Amanda Lane, a proposed site for Mayor Turner’s single-family home initiative. The city is proposing 8-10 single-family homes with a possible pocket park to create a quality outdoor experience for seniors choosing to age in place. The District F team is working closely with the Houston Land Bank and the Housing and Community Development Department. We are looking forward to the ribbon cutting on Amanda Lane in 2023. Stay tuned for an FAQ for the community to answer questions.
On June 16th, the District F interns canvassed the Westchase area to promote our upcoming Mindfulness + Yoga event on Saturday, June 25th at 8AM.
On June 21st, City Council Member Thomas meet with Scout Troop 355 to educate them on the roles and responsibilities of a Council Member.
On June 22nd, District F intern Tommy Wan testified to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission on behalf of District F and shared concerns about environmental quality. District F has experienced ecological challenges related to Chromium 6, Air Quality, and the use of former waste sites. This event was sponsored by Senate District 13, Senator Borris Miles.
On June 22nd, Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas held a Public Safety Town Hall at Tracy Gee Community Center. District F residents joined and were able to engage and discuss public safety with judges, officers, and elected officials. Powerful and notable words were given by April Aguirre, aunt of Arlene Alvarez, a 9-year-old who was shot on valentines weekend getting pizza with her family.

The town hall provided updates on the gun buy-back program, ARPA fund investments in mental health services, response time, transparency, bail bonds,  and new technology regarding crime prevention.

The District F team would like to thank Judge Shannon Baldwin,  Executive Assistant Chief Satterwhite, Chief Sam Pena, and DIG Crystal Okorafor for their participation.

Watch local media coverage of the event:

  1. ABC 13
  2. Fox 26
  3. Houston Style
PROJECT NOTIFICATION WORK AUTHROZATION 

Please be advised that Work Authorization No. 11 has been issues to remove and replace sidewalks along Pagewood Lane from Stoney Brook Drive to Freshmeadows Drive. Construction has been scheduled to commencen on July 11, 2022 and is anticipated to end by August 1, 2022. The project contractor is JFT Construction, Inc.

Learn more here.
Community Meeting for Westpark Paving and Drainage
Project Number: N-000815-0001
Notice to Proceed for Construction: Wed. June. 29, 2022
Project Scope: Design and construction of concrete paving with storm drainage, curbs, sidewalks, driveways, street lighting, and necessary underground utilities.

Level of Engagement: Virtual Community Meeting

Engagement Details:

  • Date/Time: Tue, June 28, 2022 @ 5:30pm
  • Location: (Microsoft Teams)
  • Meeting Materials: The PowerPoint presentation and all meeting documents will be made available on our website

Please tell your friends and neighbors to join us! Any questions and/or comments prior to this meeting can be emailed to [email protected] or posted onto Engagehouston.org.
Project Map

CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS

DISTRICT F COUNCIL ITEMS

June 14th  

Item #27 SET A PUBLIC HEARING DATE regarding the implementation of multi-use detention in five Pilot Park Projects.

Learn more here.

June 22nd
Item #5 Approval of a Citywide program consisted of de-silting, regrading, and clearing and grubbing of open drainage systems.

  • 9310 Highmeadow Drive from Highmeadow to Rockarbor Drive
  • 9108 Clarkcrest Street from Jarvis to Cheer, Beverly Hill, Gabriel, Topaz, and Clackcrest Street

Learn more here.

COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS JUNE 15TH COUNCIL SESSION POP-OFF
To View City Council Agendas
To Watch Videos of Previous City Council Meetings
COMMUNITY NEWS
SUBSCRIBE TO NEIGHBORHOOD UPDATES

Phone messages in English and Spanish
notify residents about city services,
new programs & civic engagement opportunities

Voice/text messages a convenient service
for residents without easy access to internet sources

The Department of Neighborhoods (DON) invites residents to subscribe to Neighborhood Updates to receive brief voice or text messages in Spanish or English about essential services and resources.

The messaging service is for everyone, especially for seniors and others who may not have easy access to online information, persons with disabilities who need information in audio or written format, and residents who prefer notices in Spanish.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Learn more about the lifeguard shortage here.
Backpacks, school supplies, school vaccinations, and COVID-19 testing and vaccines will be available for Alief residents at the Alief Community Health Fair that will be held at Bush Elementary School on Saturday, July 30.

Visit www.aliefisd.net/healthfair for more information.

HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY EVENTS
Summer Reading with Jerry Craft! Thursday, June 30, 2022
10:30am – 12:00pm
Central Library, Jesse H. Jones Building
Join us as we welcome Newbery Medal winner himself, Jerry Craft, for our Summer Reading Author series!
Jerry will be sharing his journey as an author as well as fun facts about his books and writing process along with a special illustrative demo!

 

Star Party  
Thursday, July 7, 2022
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza at the Houston Public Library
Explore the solar system at HPL’s Star Party! We’ve got telescopes, HPL’s new Astronomy Dome, NASA, and our first ever “Space Story Walk”! Also featuring out-of-this-world activities, snacks, and crafts. All ages welcome.

Summer Reading with Kwame Mbalia!
Saturday, July 23, 2022
11:00am – 12:00pm
Central Library, Jesse H. Jones Building
Tristan Strong fans do we have a treat for you! Join us this summer as we host Kwame Mbalia at HPL as a part of our Summer Reading author series! Hear Kwame talk about his books, writing process and so much more!

HMRC Presents: Meldrum Room Open House
Thursday, July 21, 2022
5:00pm – 6:30pm
Meldrum Room- Julia Ideson Building
Houston’s first permanent library, a Carnegie funded building, was built in 1904. Norman and Minnie (nee Sweet) donated funds to create a children’s room in honor of their eight-year-old daughter, Norma, who died of scarlet fever in 1899.
What began as an active children’s library is now a retrospective research collection for the study of children’s literature from the 1800s to the 1970s. The room is normally locked and only opened for prescheduled tours.