I hope you have enjoyed a safe and fun summer with friends and family. Things were busy at City Hall over the past few months with passage of the city's operating and capital improvement budgets. Several important construction projects are either in progress or being planned for District G and this newsletter will provide you with an update.

 

Addressing the city's pension challenges is a primary focus for this fall. Mayor Turner plans to have agreements with the municipal, police and fire pension boards by December in time to head to the state legislature in January. The unfunded pension liability is currently $5.5 billion and growing, and the city's annual pension payments continue to crowd out other city services. I look forward to working with the mayor and my colleagues to bring meaningful pension reform to the city in the coming year.

 

Also on the financial front, City Council approved a contract yesterday with an outside consulting firm to prepare a 10-year financial plan. Rating agencies have demanded the city have a plan to address its challenges - more on this later in the newsletter.

 

Please remember my staff and I are here to advocate for you at City Hall. As you may know, I spend most Tuesday evenings at George's Pastaria, 1722 South Dairy Ashford, and I invite you to stop by and visit. Please check with my council office Tuesday afternoon or check my Twitter feed (@TravisDistrictG) to make sure I will be there. One of the best parts of this job is to meet new friends and neighbors.

 

It is an honor to serve you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Greg Travis

On Friday, August 26, 2016, Council Member Travis attended the decommissioning ceremony of the USS Houston (SSN-713) at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington. Since World War I, sailors of four vessels carrying the USS Houston name have served our nation with honor, dedication and courage. USS Houston (SSN-713) joined the fleet as the 132nd nuclear powered submarine and the 20th of the Los Angeles class. Commissioned in 1982, the Houston has made nine Western Pacific Deployments earning two Navy Unit Commendations and a Meritorious Unit Commendation.

The current warship Houston has served for more than 30 years. The name USS Houston has a proud place in the history of the U.S. Navy. From 1917 to 1921, the first Houston (AK 1) transported vital supplies and equipment across the Atlantic to support the war effort. The second Houston (CA 30) served our nation in World War II, from 1930 to 1942, and is the most famous of the Houston legacy. The heavy cruiser was a favorite of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's and was nicknamed "the President's Yacht" because he traveled on the ship so often. In February 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait, the USS Houston was sunk after a heroic battle against a Japanese force. The 368 crewmembers who survived the battle were captured by the Japanese soon after and placed in forced labor camps. In March 1942, 1000 sailors were sworn into duty in downtown Houston. These Houston volunteers replenished the ranks of those feared to be lost after the Battle of Sunda Straight, and in October 1942 a light cruiser was renamed Houston (CL 81). The third USS Houston served in the Pacific in WWII until she was struck by several Japanese torpedoes.

 

 

There will be a ribbon cutting and grand re-opening for the newly renovated Jungman Library, 5830 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77057, on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 10:00 A.M.

 

The J. Frank Jungman Neighborhood Library, originally constructed in 1975, has been closed for two years undergoing a $6,788,000 major renovation. This project consisted of a complete renovation of the existing 18,530 square foot library. Only the foundation, concrete wall panels and roof structure were reused. The project includes new window wall and storefronts, new roof system, new mechanical, electrical and plumping systems, enhanced electrical power to service a large increase in computer services, new finishes, a new monument sign, and the re-configuration of internal spaces. The new facility will accommodate a separate space for adult reading, a quiet room for adults, a children's reading room with space for toddlers and a gaming area. Additionally, there will be a separate area for teens and a meeting space for use by the public. The parking lot, landscaping, irrigation and site elements were repaired or replaced as required.

While the city of Houston curbside recycling program no longer accepts glass, the Solid Waste Department has established a number of locations throughout the city that will accept glass for recycling. This includes all Neighborhood Depository/Recycling Centers and all Neighborhood Recycling Drop-Off Centers, plus eight new Community Glass Recycling Drop-off Centers.

Through a new partnership with Strategic Materials Inc., North America's largest glass recycler, the city of Houston is able to offer residents a more convenient way to recycle glass. Strategic Materials is working with industry partners and local communities to cover the cost of glass recycling drop off boxes at a total of ten locations throughout Houston with the goal of continuing to expand the program. The first eight locations are now open.  They are available to everyone, regardless of whether you have city of Houston solid waste service or are under a sponsorship agreement.

 

 

 

Recycling Locations & Additional Information: http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/recycling.html

Council Member Greg Travis honored Edward Alexander "Alex" Howe with an official proclamation declaring August 30, 2016 "Alex Howe Day" in Houston, Texas.

 

Alex Howe, 28, has volunteered in many capacities at BARC. He has assisted BARC veterinarians with spay and neuter surgeries, become a certified adoption counselor, and worked on the mobile adoption vehicle and satellite adoption events around Harris County. What is so inspiring about Alex's volunteer participation is that he continued to serve even after suffering serious injuries from a devastating fall in February 2015.

 

Alex is a 2006 graduate of Episcopal High School, a 2010 graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, and since 2014 has been an honors student at the University of Houston taking science prerequisites for veterinary school. He is currently making his applications to attend veterinary school so he may devote his life's work to the care of animals.

 

Rating agencies evaluating the city's financial strength and creditworthiness have emphasized the city's need for a plan to address its challenges. This plan will direct the city to achieve a structurally balanced budget (where revenues cover expenditures and pensions are fully funded). PFM consultants will reach out to members of City Council and other key stakeholders for input to include in the plan and recommendations. A platform to track the city's progress over the plan's implementation period will also be put in place. PFM has developed similar plans for other cities including Providence, Baltimore, Memphis, Pittsburgh and Youngstown.

At the Wednesday, August 31, 2016, meeting of the Public Safety Committee, council members were presented with a list of 48 recommendations for the Houston Fire Department (HFD). The city engaged FACETS Consulting last year to perform a response time and staffing analysis. Kevin Roche, founder and principal of FACETS, presented the results of the $297,000 study, highlighting areas needing improvement. FACETS reviewed several deployment functions including: staffing level and shift adequacy; response times; dispatch; effectiveness of command function on multi-unit incidents; apparatus workloads; fire station and apparatus locations; use of overtime; use of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) transport units; EMS and paramedic credentialing process; telemetry process and clinical outcomes.

 

The FACETS report recommends keeping HFD's current all-hazards deployment model. All-hazards deployment means HFD will dispatch the closest unit (fire truck or ambulance) to evaluate the emergency. Over 86 percent of incidents to which HFD responds are EMS calls, not fire. The report also recommended HFD remain with its four-shift model and that ambulance service not be privatized. Other key recommendations include: establishing a fleet replacement fund and decentralizing fleet personnel; dedicating two procurement professionals solely to HFD needs; improving recruiting to reflect a more diverse force; adding ambulances and medic units; constructing three new fire stations, one in southwest Houston, one in north central Houston and one along the Sam Houston Parkway corridor; changing the medical credentialing process and utilization of paramedics; changing dispatch procedures; maintaining staffing at a minimum of 3,634 and providing resources (vehicles, technology) for fire inspectors.

 

Most of the 48 recommendations require additional funds which will prove difficult in the city's current financial state. The FACETS report does suggest cost savings may be found in dispatch, overtime management, and increased use of technology and purchasing. Since the release of the report, Mayor Turner has indicated the need for further review saying, "This report was commissioned before I got here, and I wanted to wait for its completion. There is some useful information regarding efficiencies and the need for additional sources of revenue, but the report contains no cost savings and refers to national standards that no fire department in the nation is meeting. I want another look with someone under my control."

The City of Houston will host a public meeting regarding the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) in Frostwood on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at the Memorial Drive Lutheran Church, 12211 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77024. At this meeting, the NTMP will be explained, the results of the traffic study will be presented, and the concept plan for installing speed cushions will be reviewed. Citizens will be able to ask questions and make comments at the meeting. Written comments will be due by October 4, 2016.

 

The city's consultant, Traffic Engineers, Inc., will present its concept plan for installing speed cushions in the neighborhoods bounded by Beltway 8 on the west, I-10 on the north, Gessner on the east, and Memorial Dr. on the south. The NTMP, and the placement of speed cushions on neighborhood streets, seeks to reduce excessive vehicular speed and thereby enhance safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

 

If you have any questions about the NTMP or this concept plan for this area, you may contact Eleni Pappas, 281-606-0307 or [email protected]

 

Please note that due to construction at Askew Elementary School, the location for the City of Houston Public Works & Engineering Department public engagement meeting for the Kirkwood Paving & Drainage Project, CIP #N-100029, on September 29 at 6:30 P.M., has been changed to Paul Revere Middle School (10502 Briar Forest Dr.), Houston, TX 77077.

This project will reconstruct Kirkwood Road from Buffalo Bayou to Westheimer Road in two sub-projects, and add substantial in-line detention underneath the new roadway. The first sub-project goes from Buffalo Bayou to Briar Forest Drive, the construction of which is currently anticipated to begin in FY2018. The second sub-project goes from Briar Forest Drive to Westheimer Road, the construction of which is currently anticipated to begin in FY2020. The public engagement meeting will cover both sub-projects, so will be of interest to anyone who lives or works near or utilizes Kirkwood Road from Westheimer Road to Buffalo Bayou.

Council Member Travis welcomed two of his youngest constituents to City Council's public session on August 23. Sebastian Manero and Charles Martin are District G residents and are new members in Boy Scout Troop 730 at St. Anne Catholic Church. Both boys attended council to work on their very first merit badge, "Citizenship in the Community."

 

 

The Standards Review Committee (SRC), Department of Public Works and Engineering (PWE) has been established to review, revise, and update PWE's Standards and Documents. Public input and participation is requested by the submittal of proposals for suggested changes, comments, recommendations and other information.

 

The year 2016-2017 annual review cycle involves review of general requirements, specifications and standard details (Infrastructure Design Manual Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). The SRC is seeking input from all parties with expertise and interest in the subject matter. Please visit the following link to get further details on the process of providing input:

 

http://edocs.publicworks.houstontx.gov/engineering-and-construction/standards-review-committee.html

 

The SRC is requesting all the interested parties to provide comments for changes by no later than October 30th, 2016.

 

Submittals should be made by e-mail to [email protected]

 

or by mail to:  

 

Standards Review Committee

Office of the City Engineer

1002 Washington Ave., 2nd Floor

Houston, TX 77002

 

Contact Rajiv Arya at (832) 394-9131 or by email: [email protected]  for more information.

 

 

Two extremely well-attended public engagement meetings have been held to share plans with and solicit comments from the public:

 

We are currently hosting information on this project on the District G website (www.houstontx.gov/council/g)

 

• Project Area
• Design Meeting Presentation
• Design Meeting Handout
• Kirkwood Traffic Study
• Protection to Public Trees
• Proposed Esplanade Cuts

Status as of 8-31-2016:

• WBS #: M-000247-0002-3 (Yorkshire; Sub-Project #2)
• Consultant Firm: CivilTech Engineering, Inc.
• Design Notice to Proceed: 4-6-2005 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 2-6-2006 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 4-8-2016 (actual)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 4-14-2017 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 8-9-2017 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2018
• Estimated Construction Cost: $4,918,051

 

N-000798 - Memorial Drive Paving and Drainage (Kirkwood to N. Eldridge Parkway)

 

The Memorial Drive reconstruction project is currently ongoing, and is approximately 12.5% complete. The project is three days behind schedule due to weather events, with substantial completion still scheduled for July 23, 2018.

 

The District G website contains links to most of the information that is important to residents and local business owners: http://www.houstontx.gov/council/g/memorialdrive_reconstruction.html  Probably the most useful item is the Progression Schedule, which shows the currently anticipated phasing of this project.

 

At this link, you will also find contact information should you have a comment or complaint.

 

WBS #: N-000386-0002-3

Consultant: AIA Engineers, Ltd.

 

Project Map:

 

As originally proposed by PWE, this project consisted of three sub-projects, and would have widened Gessner from its existing four lanes to six lanes and constructed a bridge along Westheimer (grade separation).

  

The current plan from Westheimer to Buffalo Bayou is to maintain the four lanes, to complete some minor concrete panel replacements, to close a couple of the esplanade cuts for better traffic management, and to completely reconstruct the intersection with Briar Forest. Design is ongoing, with construction scheduled for FY2019.

Status as of 8-31-16:

 

 

S-000035-0200-3 - Water Line Replacement in Westchester II Area

• WBS #: S-000035-0200-3
• Consultant Firm: Charles D. Gooden Consulting Engineers, Inc.
• Design Contract Award Date: 10-7-13 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 10-14-13 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 2-28-14 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 11-1-16 (expected)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 2-24-17 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 5-17-17 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2017
• Estimated Construction Cost: $2,499,333

 

Status as of 8-31-2016:

• WBS #: S-000035-0183-3
• Consultant Firm: Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc.
• Design Contract Award Date: 1-4-12 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 1-19-12 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 4-17-12 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 5-1-14 (actual)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 9-30-16 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 1-4-17 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2017
• Estimated Construction Cost: $2,734,274

 

Status as of 8-31-16:

• WBS #: S-000035-0212-3
• Consultant Firm: Charles Gooden Consulting Engineers, Inc.
• Design Contract Award Date: 5-7-14 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 6-18-14 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 1-14-15 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 1-3-17 (expected)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 5-5-17 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 7-20-17 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2018
• Estimated Construction Cost: $3,153,665

 

Neighborhoods Effected (based on City of Houston subdivision platting records):  

• Memorial Bend
• Sleepy Hollow Woods
• Ethan's Glen
• Briargrove Park (north of Briar Forest)
• Town and County Townhomes
• Bunker Hill Gardens
• Memorial City Sec. 3 Replat
• Rainhollow/Rainhollow Plaza
• Tealwood
• Ashford Village Secs. 1 & 2
• Briar Lake Sec. 1

 

 

Status as of 8-31-16:

• WBS #: S-000035-0228-3
• Consultant Firm: Charles Gooden Consulting Engineers, Inc.
• Design Contract Award Date: 5-7-14 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 6-18-14 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 1-14-15 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 1-18-17 (expected)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 6-23-17 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 9-13-17 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2018
• Estimated Construction Cost: $4,595,511

 

 

Status as of 8-31-16:

• WBS #: S-000035-0214-3
• Consultant Firm: Van De Wiele Engineering, Inc.
• Design Contract Award Date: 4-15-15 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 5-11-15 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 9-8-15 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 8-12-16 (actual)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 8-7-20 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 10-28-20 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2019
• Estimated Construction Cost: $4,631,692

 

Neighborhoods Effected (based on City of Houston subdivision platting records):  Charnwood, Hammersmith, River Bend, Tanglewood Sec. 14, Marble Arch Condos, and Woodway Condo/Townhomes

 

Status as of 8-31-16:

• WBS #: S-000035-0218-3
• Consultant Firm: Isani Consultants, L.P.
• Design Contract Award Date: 4-29-15 (actual)
• Design Notice to Proceed: 6-1-15 (actual)
• Preliminary Engineering Report Approval Date: 8-28-15 (actual)
• Planned Design Completion Date: 8-31-16 (delayed)
• Planned Advertisement Date: 3-30-18 (expected)
• Construction Contract Award Date: 7-4-18 (expected)
• Targeted CIP construction FY: 2019
• Estimated Construction Cost: $5,673,810

 

Neighborhoods Effected (based on City of Houston subdivision platting records):  Reflections Sec. 1, Heathershire Patio Homes, and Autumn Chase Townhomes