Ok, I now have the backup for this week’s city council agenda on hand, and I’m going to run through it, hitting the high points, or where I had questions. People who want the full document may obtain it here for about one week (until Friday night at the least), after which I plan to replace it with next week’s version. Since I’m going to be hitting the high points and skipping some items entirely, you may find looking at the raw document to be better. Then again, it is 131 pages, and maybe you’d prefer my summary, eh?

Public Comment, 6/27, 2-5 pm:
I’m not going to cover this every week, but I do think the list is funny enough to cover once. The topics range from the banal to the controversial to the, “excuse me, but WTF?” This week’s speakers are:
Mr./Coach R.J. Bobby Taylor — Behavior Coward Consiracy Felicia Huntsburry Allen Family partaker 9 Why. (Yes, that’s what it says… A lot to pack into 3 minutes.)
Mr. Robert B. Gallant — Ambulance Services
Mrs. Anna Martin — Weeds and Drainage.
Mr. Brian Conner — Sewer Lines
Ms. Melody Garza — Safe Clear Program

The following people are listed under “Previous” and have a 1 min. time limit.
Mr. William (Beal) Reagan (of a CA address) –Sprit Grave Yard Walker comes up and out. (oooookaaaaaaaayyyy)
Ms. Sudapon Kinney — Identity Theft. (You go girl! Find out what they’re doing, if anything!)
Mr. Joseph Omo Omari — Jim Crow, Hitler, Uncle Tom, Sambo children driven Government. (What, no equal time for Stalin and Pol Pot?)

Action Meeting: 6/28, 9:00 am, COUNCIL CHAMBER – SECOND FLOOR – CITY HALL – 901 BAGBY

Mayor’s Report:
No subject listed.

Items 1 & 2: Miscellaneous
Nominations to local Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones. It turns out these have some biographies or resume’s attatched. Oh boy!

1. EAST DOWNTOWN ZONE (Zone #15):
· Position Four – MR. JOSHUA ESPINEDO, Project manager with Hines since 2003. IT management background; before that he was with SBC developing product lines and sales strategies for clients like Clear Channel and Landry’s; with Charlie Thomas Dealerships before that. B.A. from HH in Corporate Communication. Speaks English and Spanish, member Eastwood Civic Association Board and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
· Position Seven – MS. JESSICA ROSSMAN MARTIN, Senior Attorney with Continintal Airlines for Latin America and Scandinavia, since 2001. Associate at Bracewell and Patterson L.L.P. before that. Did her legal clerkship in Peru, BA from UT, JD from UC-Berkeley. Featured in several magazines. Board of Directors member Planned Parenthood of Houston and SE Texas. Served in several minor roles with the State Bar of Texas. Involved with the Grand Opera and Fine Arts Museum, served on George Biggs for Houston City Council campaign committee, volunteered for children’s causes.

2. UPPER KIRBY REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (Zone #19):
· Position Two – MR. SYDNEY (BUDDY) S. BAILEY, appointment as Chair; with Edward Jones as an investment representative since 1998. Before that, 15 years as a “consulting CFO to various privately owned Houston based companies.” and before that, a background in banking. He’s been the chair since 2000, which means he was there when the UKMD browbeat AAA into selling their headquarters below market value through threatening emminent domain. Also he’s the SuperNeighborhood Chair of the executive committee since 2001, and involved in several Christian school/church affairs. Also, He’s the President of HC MUD#342. If that sounds familar, it should be. Remember district with the really good annexation deal? Degrees from UH and Stanford.
· Position Three – MR. MORRIS C. CHEN, background in finance and accounting, currently with Cameron Management as a General Manager/Analyst. degrees from UH and A&M, licensed in real estate, involved in housing volunteering and dabbled in foreclosed homes as rental investments.
· Position Four – MR. EMIL PEÑA, reappointment, with a DOE background in the Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology. (Wasn’t White in the DOE? Hmmm. But Pena was originally appointed in 2000.) He’s worked in Public Affairs for ARCO and Government Affairs at Miller Brewing. Involved with several Latino/Mexican-American business associtions and serves on several boards of petrochemical companies I never heard of. BA MA in Environmental Managemen from UT-SA, BA in PoliSci from Texas A&I in Kingsville.
· Position Five – MS. MONIQUE WARD, Business Development manager with “The Guess Group” with a background in urban land use; involved with Blueprint Houston, Urban Land Institute, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and other associations. Generally, I’m avoiding snarkiness in this section, but her resume screams “talker and schmoozer, not real businessperson.” How else am I to interpret “Providing consultation and creative direction to local civic organizations?”
· Position Seven – MR. CHARLES N. PENDERGRAFT, age 78 (!), professional engineer, attended Texas A&M and Texas Tech, BS in Electrical Engineering. Army reserve and duty with the Merchant Marine in WW2, service in Korea and Japan (after the conflicts), remained in the reserves until 1987, was Commandant of the 4151st US Army Reserve School in Houston.

Items 3 & 4: Property

3. Appraisal services for the ALDINE-WESTFIELD PAVING PROJECT.
The total of the payments was $150,000. Essentially, they charged $1500-3k per property they appraised.

4. WEST WHITE OAK BAYOU TRAIL HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL EXTENSION
We’re paying $35,555. for 60,207 sq.ft.

Items 5-11: Purchasing and Tabulation of Bids.

5. ANALYTICAL COMPUTER SERVICES — As I suspected, this contract is to ensure security of our hardware, software, database, and email solutions. We’ve outgrown the prior solution. This one is in use by 99% of Fortune 500 companies and several major cities.

6. RANGE KLEEN MFG. INC for Fat Trapper Bags, Holders and promotional supplies Turns out to have nothing to do with the CMC; it’s part of an upcoming Public Works drive to get people to stop pouring grease down the sink. It’s a real problem, I can tell you. Sure, it’s easy for you… until all that grease gets into the neighborhood’s sewer line, cools down and congeals…or reaches the sewer treatment plant and gums it up.

7. R & B GROUP, INC for Valve Replacement Project for Public Works & Engineering Department. $285,000.00 and contingencies for a total amount not to exceed $299,250.00.
More valves than I thought; it’s 30 of them at ten locations, all water production facilities (treatment or wells).

8. ALLIED TUBE & CONDUIT CORPORATION $285,810.00 minus a commission fee for Internet-based reverse auction services for a net award not to exceed $280,093.80 – General Fund.
Wasn’t E-bay; reverse auction is the standard term for the bid process. Curious item: this contract received an M/WDBE waiver, because the previous (Houston-based) company employed a minority owned local delilvery service, whereas this out of town company can only ship point-to-point.

9. JERZY INDUSTRIES, INC dba JERZY SUPPLY for Hoses and Fittings for Various Departments $608,662.35 – General and Enterprise Funds

10. MSE ENVIRONMENTAL for spending authority for Household Hazardous Waste Collection, Transportation and Disposal Services through the Interlocal Agreement for Cooperative Purchasing with Houston-Galveston Area Council for Various Departments – $1,846,219.00 – Storm Water Utility Fund
Big “D’oh” on me. The city allows residents (for free) and non-residents (for $75.00) to drop off hazardous wastes like used motor oil, old paint, antifreez, pesticides, etc. This is to pay a company to dispose of that stuff properly.

11. Scott Air Paks & Replacement Parts Contract for Various Departments, awarded to ORR SAFETY CORPORATION.
Using Homeland security to upgrade HFD from 30 minute air packs to 45 minute packs. Also recieved exemption from M/WBDE

Items 12-46: Ordinances Ah, the good stuff.

12. ORDINANCE relating to the City’s Civic Art Program; AMENDING CHAPTER 2.
The backup for this item is missing.

13. ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 12-63 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, HOUSTON, TEXAS, relating to Fees for Parking at the Theater District Garage.
Raising the rates to $7 for evening/weekend and $6 for event parking.

14. Utility bonds

15. ORDINANCE relating to the Retail Water & Sewer Rates of VERGIL D. MARTIN dba H&J UTILITY aka MATCO
The backup for this item is missing.

16. Selling a small amount of land to Harris county for $3,276.00, and other consideration. Purpose is to extend Southwood Trace Lane over and across a portion of the West Canal

17. Selling a small amount of land to the State of Texas for the completion of West Airport Boulevard, from Hiram Clarke Road to FM 521. Payment is $500.00.

18. ORDINANCE consenting to the addition of 1.2167 acres of land to BRIDGESTONE MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT, for inclusion in its district

19. ORDINANCE consenting to the creation of HARRIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 406

20. ORDINANCE consenting to the creation of HARRIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 422

21. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing contract between the City and the GREATER HOUSTON CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU for the Promotion of Tourism and the solicitation of convention business.
So, who pays whom? Well, we pay them… “The City of Houston enters into an annual contact with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (“GHCVB”) to solicit convention business and promote tourism . The City makes quartedy payments to the GHCVB in an amount equal to 23 percent of the City’s gross hotel occupancy tax receipts. Based on estimated HOT revenues of $47,000,000, it is projected that the GHCVB will receive $10,810,000 in FY07.” Let me get this straight. We’re paying an association of businesses that make money from tourism and convention business, to go out and drum up more tourism and convention business. Shouldn’t they be footing the bill for their own advertising? Or do I just not understand “how government works?”

22. ORDINANCE adopting first amended and restated Administrative Guidelines for the City’s Good Neighbor Next Door Housing Assistance Program.
Turns out this is down payment assistance to 100 teachers, police officers, EMT’s and firefighters to buy homes in target neighborhoods. I’ve heard of this program before but here’s the good part… “The applicant must be low-to-moderate income, defined for purposes of this program as having a gross annual income that does not exceed 80% of the City median income adjusted for family size….” For 2005, a 1 person household, the limit was $34,150.

Yes. I qualify. In fact, my pay is about eight percent below that amount. So the next time we get together at Byzantio’s, someone else is buying–at that price for a drink, I expected nekkid tits to deliver it. 😛

23. ORDINANCE adopting second amended and restated Administrative Guidelines for the City’s Homebuyer Assistance Program.
Accidentally skipped this, will have to come back and get it tomorrow.

24. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing interlocal agreement between the City of Houston and METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY OF HARRIS COUNTY (METRO) for Metro’s participation in the Major Accessory Shop Enforcement/14 Grant.

25. Add FORT BEND COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE to same.

26. Turned out I guessed right. These three items were in regards to tracking down stolen car parts and chop shops. Metro is being added to the task force, and will supply one investigator. Maybe they’re being added because more than just loose items are disappearing from Metro Park n’Loot’s?

27. Pech Road Footbridge replacement.

28. Settlement of a claim with FB Subsidence District: The city pumped too much water from some of the wells in the district. Rather than fine the city or shut down its wells, the District is forcing the city to fund 1,000 students in the district’s indoctrination er, conservation training program.

29. ORDINANCE relating to Energy Legal Services. It looks like it does have something to do with the Mayor’s windmill plan.
“The City of Houston has previously engaged two law firms, Andrews Kurth L.L.P. and Locke Liddell & Sapp L.L.P., to provide legal services related to recent energy management initiatives. Services have been provided under an Engagement Agreement (C57252) with Andrews Kurth for $25,000, and by purchase order in the amount of $25,000 issued to Locke Liddell by the Building Services Department. In order to continue these services, the Legal Department recommends that City Council approve a Restated and Amended Agreement with Andrews Kurth L.L .P., establishing a maximum contract amount of $235,000. Under the agreement, Andrews Kurth would continue to assist with issues related to the City’s energy agreement with the Texas General Land Office and Reliant Resources, Inc. The Legal Department further recommends that City Council approve an Agreement for Legal Services with Locke Liddell & Sapp L.L.P., establishing a ma)dmum contract amount of $75,000 . Locke Liddell would continue to assist in drafting documents to create a local government corporation that will be used for diversification of the City’s supply of power and to access the wholesale energy market, and will advise on Internal Revenue Service issues related to possible access to Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBS).”
So the mayor’s really putting money towards this waste. How many officers could we fund for $360k? The bad part is that it’s not just paying for police wages or training. It’s equipment–and sure as rain, the city will have allowed the logistical end to atrophy too. Even if we produced 1000 new cops tomorrow, we won’t have the vehicles to put them in, the vests to issue, or anything else they should have.

30. ADS ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES for Hydraulic Modeling Field Support.
Modeling the sewer system, especially in Homestead, Clinton Park, and Northwest wastewater treatment plant service areas

31. ORDINANCE appropriating about $8 million in bonds, plus cash from the Water & Sewer System, plus an agreement with TxDOT for Edgebrook Drive from IH 45 to SH 3. Reconstruction into a modern 4-lane boulevard, with sidewalks. The state pays 80% of the pavement costs and we pay 100% of the ancillaries.

32. ORDINANCE awarding contract to RLS INTERESTS, INC dba PRIME SYSTEMS, INC for Computer Repair Services for Houston Police Department; providing a maximum contract amount 3 Years with two one-year options – $1,436,625.00 – General Fund
It’s for post-warranty coverage of 3,200 desktops, 2,000 notebooks, and 1,000 printers. I’d feel even more gypped if it weren’t for the fact that one of the six bids came in at almost five million!

NOTE: 7:30 PM 6/26… I am going to have to stop here temporarily due to other demands on my time. I will complete the rest of this article with an update tomorrow night. Sorry.