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May 3:
Council authorized an agreement between the Houston Airports System and Texas Southern University to create an aviation education facility at the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport. The two-acre facility will include an aircraft hangar, classroom space, training space, and ancillary facilities to educate and train the next generation of aeronautical professionals. The initial contract is for five years.
Council approved spending authority for $5.1 million in fuel cards to purchase fuel over the next year for police and fire vehicles. Both departments use these cards to purchase fuel in areas of the city where there is not a nearby city-owned fueling facility, which includes southwest Houston, Kingwood, and the Greenspoint areas.
Council approved spending $160,000 to purchase a generator for backup power at the Wastewater Laboratory. The new generator is required to ensure the laboratory can be operational if the facility loses power. This new unit will replace a piece of equipment that is well beyond its useful life expectancy. The current unit is nonoperational, and repairs would be noneconomical.
Council approved spending $5.4 million to renovate eight restrooms at Hobby Airport in the East Concourse. These eight restrooms are located between Gates 20 and 32. This project is a continuation of ongoing projects at the airport to maintain its 5-Star rating.
May 10:
Council approved final payment of $17.6 million to pay for the Chelford City Diversion Package in southwest Houston. This project is part of the city’s lift station renewal and replacement program and ensures regulatory compliance. This project consisted of 4,875 linear feet of 60-inch and 48-inch diameter gravity sanitary sewer along Westpark Drive, then another 1,000 feet north, then another 625 feet east, ending at the Alief Central Lift Station.
Council approved payment of $6.8 million to pay for asphalt street overlay work performed at six locations around the city. This contract is similar to other contracts to improve the street surfaces throughout the city. The locations included W. Fuqua near Bazel Brook, Jensen from Clinton to Navigation, Jensen from Collingsworth to Quitman, Memorial from Beltway 8 to Wilcrest, Voss from Riverview to Huntington Cove, and Richmond from Gessner to Dunvale.
Council approved the purchase for $309,980 of fire and rescue equipment. This purchase consists of spreaders, blade cutters, telescoping rams, and forcible entry tools. These extrication tools are used daily by fire department personnel to rescue victims in vehicle accidents.
Council authorized payment of $845,598 to pay for picking up and properly disposing of illegal dumping. This vendor augments the city’s solid waste department work that they perform. This is one of several ongoing contracts the city has to remove illegal dumping.
Council approved extending the contract term through the end of 2023 and providing additional funds of $1,020,000 to Search Homeless Services to provide shelter and services for homeless persons. This program provides long-term housing and supportive services to homeless individuals and families to assist them in housing stability. The funds for these services are provided by the state and federal government and TIRZ housing funds.
Council approved spending authority of $1.2 million to rent a temporary chiller and to replace the existing chillers at the HPD Westside Command Station. A temporary chiller is necessary to keep the building operable until the new chillers are delivered and installed.
Council approved payment of $3,034,897 for work performed to inspect and clean out sewers throughout the city. The city has several other similar contracts in place to inspect and clean out sewer lines.
May 17:
Council approved final payment of $18.9 million for the installation of a 48-inch water line to allow the decommissioning of groundwater plants, improving water system pressures, and providing additional surface water in the south and southeastern parts of the city. The 12,500 linear-foot line is in an area bounded by Almeda Genoa Road on the north, Fuqua Street on the south, Moers Road on the east, and Forbes Road on the west.
Council authorized payment of $11 million for work performed on the 69th Street Wastewater Treatment Plant Substation. The project consisted of the replacement of the generators and related electrical equipment at the substation. The project also included the installation of a new storm drainage system.
Council approved the purchase of two hundred pedestals and eighty controllers for pedestrian traffic management at crosswalks throughout the city. The LED Walk/Don’t Walk with countdown pedestals improves pedestrian access at various intersections. The $265,380 needed to purchase these items was provided by Metro.
Council approved spending authority of $24.4 million to purchase technology related products and services for the I.T. Department. This funding will allow I.T. to purchase technology and services to benefit all city departments. This spending authority is expected to sustain the various departments for the next year.
Council approved increasing spending by $1.9 million in federal ARPA funds to purchase outsourcing services for the Houston Forensic Science Center. This outsourcing is needed until the HFSC is adequately staffed. A backlog of toxicology requests currently exists, and the timely processing of these cases is directly tied to public safety for the city.
May 24:
Council approved an ordinance to regulate Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) establishments within the city. According to the mayor, this ordinance will create a safer environment for after-hours clubs. This ordinance regulates establishments open to the public between midnight and 7:00am that allow patrons to bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises for possession and consumption up until 2:15am. HPD has stated that many crimes occur at these establishments, including weapons violations, assault, theft, etc. This ordinance requires a number of safety-related items, including interior and exterior cameras, metal detectors, security guards, and criminal background checks on owners.
Council approved payment of $4.8 million for Phase II of the Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza located at the downtown library. This portion of the project included new plaza paving, planters and trees, irrigation, adult reading room area, children’s reading room area, a large video display, lighting, and a water wall.
Council authorized the purchase of a generator for Public Works for $278,458. This trailer mounted generator is an essential piece of equipment that will supply power to Public Works’ Wastewater Operations treatment plants and lift stations when power is lost from the service provider. This unit will keep equipment operating, prevent permit violations, and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO).
Council approved payment of $208,742 for an emergency transfer pump repair for the Public Works Department. This emergency repair of the 60 million gallon-a-day transfer pump at the East Water Purification plant was necessary for the health and safety of Houstonians. This pump failed during operation, resulting in decreased production at the plant. This pump is a critical component in ensuring system demands and pressures are met as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to offset potential regulatory violations that could result in a Boil Water Notice event.
Council approved an interlocal agreement with the Houston Parks Board and committed an additional $2.5 million in park renovations at eleven parks located throughout the city. This agreement is part of the city’s 50/50 Park Partners Initiative to bring together a public and private partnership to provide funding, in-kind support, ideas, and volunteers for improving 50 neighborhood parks. The city and HPB entered into an agreement to outline each party’s financial and operational responsibilities for the initiative. These funds are in addition to the $3.5 million the city previously committed to this park initiative.
May 31:
Council authorized the purchase of a Quickzoom Sewer Camera for $24,216 for the Public Works Department. This Quickzoom Sewer Camera will be used to inspect the city’s storm sewer lines. Public Works has been using these cameras to assist in gathering videos and pictures of storm sewer defects. This visual information helps determine if storm sewers require cleaning, repair, or further inspection.
Council approved payment of $41,551,531 to fund Year 3 of a 10-year agreement with a vendor to provide parking and ground transportation operations and management services for the Houston Airport System at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). These funds cover Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1, 2023. During the 10-year life of the contract, parking revenues are forecast to be approximately $1 billion. The Director of the Houston Airport System may terminate this contract at any time with 180 days’ notice to the contractor. The scope of work includes managing 32,000 parking spaces in 8 parking garages and 4 surface lots. The parking operation services provide self-parking, valet parking, employee parking, economy lot parking with 56 shuttle buses, an ambassador program that operates 15 courtesy carts in the Terminal C Garages and HOU Ecopark to assist customers from vehicles to the terminal, and ground transportation services.
Council approved a contract with a vendor to remove two aging underground fuel storage tanks at Fire Station 82, located at 11250 Braesridge in southwest Houston. The work also includes disposal of aqueous liquid, backfilling, compaction, waste classification, loading, hauling, and proper disposal of waste generated during site activities in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. A larger, two-compartment fuel tank will be installed at the station.
Council approved a five-year contract for $2 million for tire repair services for the city’s Fleet Management Department. The scope of work requires the contractor to furnish all supervision, labor, parts, tools, materials, transportation, equipment, and supplies necessary to perform tire repair services on City-owned/leased agricultural equipment, industrial equipment, light and heavy-duty trucks, trailers, passenger cars, mower/tractors, ambulances, and fire trucks. The contractor will also be required to repair tires and/or tubes that have gone flat as a result of damage from punctures or leaks. This service will be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
Council approved a $25 million contract to reconstruct South Kirkwood Road between Briar Forest and Westheimer in west Houston. This project consists of a four-lane divided concrete roadway with improved storm drainage, curbs, sidewalks, driveways, street lighting, traffic control, and necessary underground utilities. The Contract duration for this project is 815 calendar days, and construction is expected to begin later this fall.
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