It’s time for the weekly City of Houston Council Agenda post, and it’s the first one to appear here at blogHOUSTON! There was no council meeting last week, so I was able to devote more time to the Danger Train outing, then goof off for the rest of the week (Sorry all, I got a little burned out, and still am). No rest for the weary though; I’m back with more!
Readers are cautioned that I delete what I judge to be extraneous text, and often paraphrase in order to make the legalese a lot more readable; also that comments added are a mix of my own opinions, best guesses, snarking, and judgments, and therefore may not be entirely accurate. Such deletions may accidentally result in a key omission; if you wish to read the original text, please follow this link to the posted agenda. For a permanent link to the backup, go here.
This week, the RCA and backup were not available on Friday, so this post was delayed considerably. The agenda length is also backed up a bit, possibly due to the extra week off, and the backup ran some 210 pages, which is another reason I’m late with it.
TUESDAY – JULY 25, 2006 – 1:30 P. M.
COUNCIL CHAMBER – SECOND FLOOR – CITY HALL – 901 BAGBY – HOUSTON, TEXASPRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Council Member Clutterbuck
1:30 P. M. – ROLL CALL
ADOPT MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
2:00 P. M. – PUBLIC SPEAKERS
There are a lot of public speakers this week, and some of them are doozies. Mr. Coach Bobby Taylor is back to speak on the usual subjects (“Behavior Coward Conspiracy Who’s Major Germany, William Stevenson? July 4, 1974, Korea Wentbrook Jackson.”). Mr. Lee L. Mercer wishes to inform everyone that he is a candidate for President of the United States; apparently he’s trying to unseat President Joseph Charles, who has signed up to speak on “Global, Court Conviction, Federal Case — City Government w/HPD, Death Penalty.” They will be followed by Senator Robert Horton: “All Embassy’s [sic] are guilty –I dont’ [sic] appreciate officers threatening me.” Mr. Louie Garvel wants to know why 411 can’t connect to 911. (Me, I want to know how he hit the 4 instead of the 9. They’re not even on the same side of the keypad!) Ms. Mary Pruitt will be present to tell everyone that she needs a place to live since she was kicked out of Allen Parkway, a distinction she shares with lots of other people. Hopefully she can show it was a baseless eviction, so she can get hugged, patted on the head, and then completely forgotten, like some other people have (see page 10). All in the name of progress and fair housing practices! Against this backdrop, the three people who signed up to talk about the curfew, one about the HPD survey, and one making a “Complaint about a Council Member Carol Alvarado” seem almost quaint. Anyway, who let a mere council member in here? I’m surprised there’s room, what with all the Presidents and Senators packing the place.
5:00 P. M. – RECESS
RECONVENE WEDNESDAY – JULY 26, 2006 – 9:00 A. M.
HEARING – 9:00 A.M.
1. City Council will conduct a hearing regarding the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance (Ch. 28, Art. V, City of Houston Code of Ordinances) to determine whether the Curfew Ordinance should be modified. Copies of the Curfew Ordinance and data provided by the Houston Police Department are available for inspection in the Office of the City Secretary.
You can also read it in the backup, I also summarized my thoughts about it in the prior agenda article.
MAYOR’S REPORT – General Obligation Bond Authorization
This is going to be a lot more important than the single line would indicate; it has to do with refinancing the city’s debt and the Mayor’s attempt to deal with the revenue caps..
Items 2-4: MISCELLANEOUS
2. REQUEST from Mayor for confirmation of the appointment of the following to the BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION:
PANEL D:
Position 3 – MS. MARCIA A. PERRY, for a term to expire December 31, 2006
Position 4a – MS. SUSANI N. H. CLAYTON, for a term to expire December 31, 2007
Perry? Any relation or connection to Perry Homes? She’s got an AA in Interior Design from HCCS, and works as a Pest Management Technician (read: exterminator). Guess we know what AA degrees in Interior Design are worth now. However, she’s also got a long history of volunteerism with a variety of neighborhood/community causes, including being the Past Secretary and President of SuperNeighborhood #22. Member or past member of the I-45 coalition, the Sierra Club, and Mothers for Clean Air.
Clayton is a lawyer with Colorado, Texas, and AmerIndian Bar memberships (I didn’t know indian tribes collectively had their own Bar Association, but they do) and a brief list of memberships in various womens, minority, and educational organizations. No land use or neighborhood issues background to speak of, but hey, she’s a lawyer.
Of course we can’t let complete neophytes and ordinary people sit on the board; only people with a working knowledge of law or neighborhood issues should sit on the boards that oversee building standards. Not people that have firsthand experience with shoddy construction practices. No, nothing to worry about, Houston home buyers are completely protected by Texas’ model safeguards. Or not.
3. REQUEST from Mayor for confirmation of the appointment or reappointment of the following to the HOUSTON COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES:
Position One – MS. PAM MACKIE, appointment, for an unexpired term ending July 26, 2007
Position Two – MS. ROBBIE MARIE ARRINGTON, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Position Four – MS. SOPHEAK PEN, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Position Six – MR. DAVID A. FOWLER, reappointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Position Seven – MS. TERI WATHEN, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2007
Position Eight – MR. SCOTTY MACCLYMONDS, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Position Ten – MS. E. VERNELL JESSIE, reappointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Position Twelve – MS. EVE CUGINI, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Alternate Position Two – DR. STANLEY J. ZIMMERMAN, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Alternate Position Four – MR. DIEGO DEMAYA, appointment, for a term to expire July 26, 2008
Most of these are the usual people active in disability causes, but a few stand out. Mr. MacClymonds, who battled back from polio (including a stint in an iron lung) to become a sucessful businessman, volunteer, and radio/TV personality. E.Vernell Jessie, who worked for Advantage Communications Consultants, with Jesse Jackson on the Gary Graham case; also on publicity for “a national event” about the Kyoto Protocols. “Putz of the Week” award goes to Dr. Stanley J. Zimmerman, who, for his alternate position, submitted in the place of a simple resum
