This Week: Imelda Aftermath: Updates and Resources; Meeting Recap: Proposed New Montrose Library; Voter Registration Deadline Approaching; Center St Roadside Ditch Project Underway; District C Observes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Imelda Aftermath: Updates and Resources
REPORTS
Please report ALL home/structural flooding to the City’s 311 hotline or 311@houstontx.gov. These reports are critical because they help determine if Houston is eligible to receive any federal recovery resources from FEMA.
Recovery resources are available at HoustonRecovers.org.
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
The Solid Waste Department is completing rounds of debris pickup as needed in neighborhoods impacted by the storm. Please submit any requests for pickup to the 311 hotline and copy our office at DistrictC@houstontx.gov.
IMELDA ASSISTANCE FUND
Mayor Sylvester Turner, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Jim “Mattress Mac” MacIngvale announced the creation of the Imelda Assistance Fund and encouraged residents to donate to help those who were displaced or sustained home damages with immediate housing needs.
The fund is coordinated by the Greater Houston Community Foundation, which administered the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund on behalf of the City of Houston and Harris County. Like the Harvey Relief Fund, the Imelda Assistance Fund will work with nonprofit organizations that are vetted and have experience to deliver support to affected residents.
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
Over the past year, the City of Houston has partnered with the Houston Advanced Research Center and the C40 to draft a Climate Action Plan for Houston.
After four 500-year floods in five years, including the largest rain event in North American history, climate change is an unprecedented challenge for Houston. Sustainability and resiliency go hand-in-hand and this plan is essential to the health and economic vitality of Houston’s future.
The Climate Action Plan provides evidenced-based measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preventative measures to address the negative outcomes of climate change. The plan will demonstrate how the City will adapt and improve its resilience to climate hazards that impact the city today as well as risks that may increase in the coming years.
Please read the draft Climate Action Plan and submit your feedback by Monday, September 30th.
Meeting Recap: Proposed New Montrose Library
Mayor Pro Tem Cohen hosted a public meeting to discuss a proposal to build a new Montrose Library within an upcoming new development on the corner of Montrose Blvd and Westheimer Rd, to be entitled the ‘Montrose Collective.’ Designed by Radom Capital LLC, who developed the Heights Mercantile on Yale St, the project is bounded by Montrose Blvd, Westheimer Rd, Crocker St, and California St.
Accessible above a planned cafe, the new library will include state-of-the-art technology and an outdoor garden reading area. Although a smaller footprint than the current Eleanor Freed Library, the layout will be more efficient, with additional community meeting area.
A 600+ space below-and-above ground parking garage is planned to serve the Montrose Collective, with 25 spaces reserved exclusively for library patrons. The Montrose TIRZ is in discussions with Radom Capital LLC for a development deal that will allow for an additional 100 spaces within the garage to be open to the public as well as streetscape improvements. Additional public meetings are planned to discuss this opportunity to fill Montrose’s long-known dearth of public parking.
The Montrose Collective will be a low-to-mid rise, mixed-use development wtih retail, restaurant, and office space, with an emphasis on local businesses (no residential units will be included.) Existing tenants Uchi, Aladdin, the Rosemont, Southside Espresso, and the Burger Joint have all committed to long-term leases. However, Theo’s and the Montrose HPD Storefront will not be part of the new development.
Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo discussed the decision to remove the storefront with attendees, explaining that, when introduced by then-Police Chief Lee Brown in the early 1980s, neighborhood storefronts were an advancement in the concept of ‘community policing’ because they gave residents a chance to interact with the officers who serve them directly. However, the rise of technology has meant that storefronts are no longer an efficient way for officers to be involved in their communities because email and apps like Nextdoor allow them to build their relationships with their constituents even more directly and without the expensive overhead of a brick-and-mortar facility. He stressed that emergency response times will not be impacted at all because those officers already report from the Central Division station. He shared that, in fact, closure of the storefront actually allows for improved service because the storefront officers can serve more efficiently out of the station.
The new development will operate on a unique ‘condominium model,’ and an item is slated to come before Council this fall to allow for specialized legal serevices to work out this agreement. The developers hope to break ground by the end of 2019, and the current Eleanor Freed Montrose Library will remain open until the new library is complete in the next few years.
Voter Registration Deadline Approaching
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the November election. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th and Houstonians will vote in races for Mayor, City Controller, and all 16 Council Member seats.
Eligible voters must print, complete, and mail in a physical copy of a Voter Registration Application to the Harris County Tax-Assessor Collector and Voter Registrar’s office. Applications and instructions can be downloaded online and physical copies of the application are available at your local US Post Office, library, high school, Texas Department of Public Safety site, and other government offices.
Center St Roadside Ditch Project Underway
On Thursday, September 26th, the Public Works Department commenced construction on the 5200 block of Center St, from Detering St to Reinerman St, to regrade existing ditches and install a 24-inch diameter storm sewer. The project is expected to be complete within approximately two months.
District C Observes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
This weekend marks the commencement of the Jewish High Holy Days. The first of these is Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Sunday, September 28th at sundown. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Those of the Jewish faith traditionally gather in synagogue for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and refrain from work on these holy days. In observance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the District C office will be closed on Monday, September 30th and Wednesday, October 9th.