The Thomas Telegraph – Vol. 1, Issue 1

July 9, 2020 7 min read

Early voting continues through Friday, July 10th for the Primary Runoff Elections taking place on Tuesday, July 14th.

DISTRICT F OFFICE

SAVE THE DATE:
Saturday, July 18, 2020

In honor of their birthdays, Council Members Tiffany D. Thomas and Edward Pollard will provide free COVID testing, masks, and food in various locations of District F. More details to come!

Minimice el contacto con otras personas y evite salir de casa, excepto para las necesidades esenciales, tanto como sea posible. Para aquellos que trabajan en ocupaciones esenciales y deben salir de su hogar, la solución es hacer lo siguiente de manera consistente y de manera simultánea:

Usar una mascarilla o una cubierta de tela cuando esté en público. Su mascarilla ayuda a proteger a las personas a su alrededor y la mascarilla de ellos le ayuda a protegerse a usted.
Distanciamiento social manteniéndose al menos a seis pies de distancia de otras personas.
Lavarse las manos con frecuencia con agua. Si no puede lavarse las manos, use desinfectante de manos.
Hágase la prueba. Es GRATIS, seguro, confidencial y no necesita seguro ni prueba de ciudadanía. Visite houstonemergency.org o llame al 832-393-4220 para obtener información sobre cómo hacerse la prueba y para programar una cita en una de las ubicaciones en la ciudad.

#todosjuntosmejor

GRATIS Houston Pruebas de COVID-19

CIP PROJECT UPDATE:
Chelford City Diversion Package #2

After a recent slew of accidents at the Westpark and W Houston Center intersection, our office asked Public Works for an action plan. Public Works has since recommended that the contractor add additional signage, pavement markings, and replace signal heads to improve the signal operation at this location. The improvements are anticipated to be completed by Friday, July 10th.

Funded through our office’s Council District Service Fund, the Tanglewilde I NTMP (speed cushion) project is moving ahead to the public comment phase. Please be aware that this project will be accepting public comments until July 24, 2020.

Council Member Thomas Dedicates Pop-Off Remarks to
Paul Dominique Williams and Minority Mental Health Awareness

The Alief/Westwood Complete Communities Virtual Public Meeting – will be taking place on Monday, July 13th from 6pm – 8pm. The draft of the Action Plan will be shared with the community for review and comments. Participants will also be able to prioritize the projects that are important in Alief and Westwood. You can join the Zoom meeting to participate through the link below or via phone.

Zoom Meeting:
Phone: 301-715-8592 or 312-626-6799 or 646-558-8656
Meeting ID: 963 9471 2899
Password: 8k455f

Information is also provided through this Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/725498054936511.

Please share this with your neighbors!

THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP

To recognize Heads UP Houston’s commitment to serving families through daily education and enrichment programming amid the coronavirus pandemic, the City of Houston will proclaim July 13th as “Heads UP Houston soHtown Day.”

Ask your Small Business Questions Daily at 9am!

SBA leadership will answer your small business questions in this virtual 30 min. daily interactive session (limited to first 30 participants).

Thursday, July 9 & Friday, July, 10 at 9:00am CDT
CLICK HERE TO JOIN (ID: 716 6417 0243; Password: 0Hmj2F)

LIVE Q&A

Spend your Friday afternoon talking to SBA Houston District Office. SBA rep Easter Wright will be available to answer your questions.

Friday July 10- 2:00pm CDT: JOIN HERE (ID: 923 9541 0419; PW: 2A4Jvf)
Friday July 10- 3:00pm CDT: JOIN HERE (ID: 942 3645 4881; PW: 7jeQ7A)

PPP Loan Forgiveness

The Houston SBA District office will discuss key factors the borrower should consider when completing the Loan Forgiveness Application. The presentation will also include helpful tips, and cover some of the most frequently asked questions.

Friday 07/10 at 11:00am CDT: JOIN HERE LIVE

FOR MORE TRAINING EVENTS, CLICK HERE.

Bounce Back Westchase is available to help any business in the Greater Houston Area. The goal is to help you get new customers. If you sign up at BounceBackWestchase.com and offer a discount, BBWC will advertise your business to thousands of potential customers for FREE.

The Bounce Back Westchase Kick-off Event will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 10^th at Salata, located at 10898 Westheimer Road.

SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 25

Alief ISD Superintendent HD Chambers says school officials have decided to begin the school year online.

Alief ISD’s Meal Curbside Pickup program continues on Mondays-Thursdays through July 30th (parents will pick up meals for both Thursday and Friday on Thursdays).

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Governor Abbott Issues Mandatory Mask Order

CITY COUNCIL

Yesterday, the Agenda Session again took place virtually.

Here were some of the notable Agenda items passed:

Item #15 – PULLED – GT DISTRIBUTORS, INC for approval of spending authority for purchase of Tactical Equipment Supplies through the Texas Local Government Purchasing Cooperative (BuyBoard) for the Houston Police Department – $166,159.46 – Grant Fund
- This purchase consists of four hundred and fifty-four ProTech Delta-4® IIIA ballistic helmets, ProTech® non-ballistic face shields, and ProTech® R2S Ratchet Retention suspension systems with mesh. The tactical equipment supplies are made from advanced aramid fibers that provide lightweight robust protection from fragmentation projectiles, as well as low odor chemicals and biohazardous threats. Houston Police Department’s Crime Suppression Team will use the tactical equipment supplies for the protection of their officers while responding to active shooter situations, high-risk populated demonstrations/protests, and during the enforcement of arrest warrant round-ups. The tactical equipment comes with a (5) five year manufacturers warranty.
Item #19 – ORDINANCE approving and authorizing a Subrecipient Agreement between City of Houston and THE MONTROSE CENTER to provide up to $670,220.00 in Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Coronavirus (“HOPWA-CV”) Funds for Short-Term Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance, Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, and other Supportive Services for HOPWA eligible clients impacted by COVID-19 to help prevent homelessness – 1 Year
- The Montrose Center will provide Short Term Rental, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance (STRMUA), Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA), and supportive services to a minimum of 180 HOPWA-eligible households impacted by COVID-19 to prevent homelessness. Supportive services include permanent housing placement services (PHPS), case management, professional counseling and other supportive services.
- The Montrose Center is one of the participating agencies in the City’s HOPWA program and has been selected to expand their capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic to further assist in homeless prevention. This agreement provides funding for a 12 month period from July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021.
Item #20 – ORDINANCE authorizing the acceptance of an award of $66,373.00 in State of Texas Homeless Housing and Services Program Funds and approving and authorizing first amendment to contract between City of Houston and TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS to assist persons experiencing homelessness and at risk of homelessness economically impacted by COVID-19
- On March 23, 2020 TDHCA informed the City that additional funds would be available for Houston to utilize in COVID relief efforts if approved by their governing board. TDHCA’s Governing Board approved a wavier that permits the use of 2018 and 2019 HHSP reallocated funding to assist persons experiencing homelessness and at-risk of homelessness economically impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.
Item #21 – ORDINANCE approving and authorizing a Grant application to TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION (HHSC) FOR THE HEALTHY TEXAS WOMEN PROGRAM (“Grant”); declaring the City’s eligibility for such Grant; authorizing the Director of the Houston Health Department to act as the City’s representative in the application process, to accept and expend the Grant Funds, as awarded, and to apply for and accept all subsequent awards, if any, pertaining to the Grant; approving and authorizing a contract between the City and HHSC under the Healthy Texas Women Program.
- Funding from this grant is cost reimbursement for services that promote and increase access to health and family planning services to avert unintended pregnancies. Funding will allow HHD to continue to provide low-income Texas women age 15 through 44 who meet program eligibility as determined by HHSC access to safe and reliable no cost services which include screening, diagnostic, follow-up services, appropriate referrals, along with, public information and education programs. If awarded, HHD anticipates serving 1,752 unduplicated clients annually.