Spring is my favorite time of the year; the flowers bloom, and the weather is warming up. Over the last few weeks, I have met with significant stakeholders to advocate for the priorities in our district, from OutFront Media, Houston Apartment Association, AT&T, and Greater Houston Partnership to Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones.
Commissioner Briones has expressed her support of District F and, more importantly, collaborating to expand services and invest financial resources where the City is limited. Our meeting yielded immediate commitments to address subdivision drainage, city-county collaborations, federal earmarks, and our share of the Hurricane Harvey Bond (2018) related to our infrastructure. There is more to come on this. Stay tuned for more.
Alief has an AARP Chapter, and they invite you to join them at their next meeting on Thursday, April 6 at 10AM at the Salvation Army Church at 7920 Cook Road. I had a fantastic experience with some of the most energetic seniors on this side of Beltway 8. If you are interested in social connection, opportunities to take trips and volunteer consider attending.
There are growing homeless encampments, and I have received additional locations from residents identifying Beltway 8/ 59 (detention pond) and Beechnut at Cook Rd. If there are growing encampments with more than five tents, please feel free to take a photo and send an email to[email protected]. I am compiling a list and sending this over to the Mayor’s Homeless Outreach Team.
The Alief Neighborhood Center continues to be in high demand – which is GREAT. There are many questions regarding reserving the space, programs, and hours of operation. Please visit this website for additional details for scheduling your event.
The Mayor’s Assistance Office and Office of New Americans will provide limited office hours at the Alief Neighborhood Center. Services include 311 assistance, issues related to referrals for food, social services, and wrap-around services for students in Alief and Houston ISD. Happy to have additional resources available in the community. To schedule your appointment, please get in touch with Veronica Hernandez at 832-395-9914 or veronica.hernandez@houstontx.gov.
Here are a few neighborhood updates:
Briarmeadow: The streetlights were repaired by Centerpoint Energy on Friday, March 30. Thanks to Gordon M. for being an extra set of eyes and working with me to complete this.
Westmont: The Westmont Civic Club hosted a phenomenal meeting on Thursday, February 23. We discussed challenges with AirBNBs, Conservation Districts, Junk Motor Vehicles, and homeless encampments. As a follow-up to our discussion regarding public safety, Midwest HPD, in partnership with Walgreens, is hosting a Coffee with a Cop on March 23 from 10 AM-12 PM at Store #6484 / 9600 Westheimer Rd. 77063. See details here, and feel free to bring a neighbor.
Carver Crest/Blossom Heights: Midwest HPD, Piney Point Elementary, Pilgrim’s Rest Missionary Baptist Church, and the District F office will host a Community Easter Egg Hunt on April 1, from 11 AM-2 PM at Rasmus Park on 3721 Jeanetta St. For more details, please see flyer here. If you or your business is interested in serving as a sponsor for the event, please reach out to [email protected].
Spring Break is upon us, and that means ZOO TICKETS! Sign up here and enjoy one of Houston’s greatest assets, the Houston Zoo, at no cost. As a reminder, tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and 5 tickets per household. The list will close by May 31, 2023. Please send us a few photos to feature you in the following newsletter.
Spring also allows us to clean out our homes and examine how we can serve others with the excess of our abundance. I am partnering with WHAM on Rogerdale to help increase the Resale Shop Inventory. Watch the PSA here. I hope you are motivated to clear out the clutter in your home like I did last week to bless someone else. Like, share, and post on your personal social media networks and help me spread the word.
Happy Women’s Month – so many amazing women in District F and throughout our City are leading the way in their careers, loving their families, and living their most authentic life, and I appreciate you. If you want to continue the conversation and learn more about the women in our area, please attend a series of table talks with leading women at Tracey Gee Community Center every Wednesday in March at 6 PM. Click here for more details.
Rarely do I not receive an inquiry regarding deed restrictions and a request for the City of Houston to enforce private covenants. The City is unable to offer legal advice regarding your deed restrictions. Therefore, I am hosting a Deed Restriction Workshop on Saturday, April 29, at 9:30 AM at HCC-Hayes West Houston Institute at 2811 Hayes Rd. I HIGHLY encourage you and your HOA board, neighbors, and management company staff to attend and hear from the Law Office of Rice and Rice regarding enforcement, amending documents, collecting feeds, and architectural guidelines. The flyer is in the body of the newsletter and here. PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS WORKSHOP.
I want to speak to the impending HISD takeover by the Texas Agency on Education. As a proud public school graduate and former ISD Trustee, It is disheartening to learn of the possibility that our school district is at a crossroads with the TEA. However, I will continue working with Piney Point, Emerson, Briarmeadow Charter, and Wisdom High School to ensure our students and families have what they need — and, more importantly, for HISD to retain local control. Please reach out to your State Representative and ask them to HALT the HISD Takeover.

Sincerely,

• Total Work Orders: 26
• Hotspot of the Week: 8600 Wilcrest Tree Planting
• Total Man Hours Worked: 72
• Tree Waste: 720 lbs.
• Mattresses: 2
• Furniture Waste: 11 pieces
• Tires: 13
• Trash Debris: 570 lbs.
• Shopping Carts: 0
• Bandit Signs: 197
• Landscaping: none

March is Tree Waste Month. “Tree Waste” is defined as “clean” wood waste such as tree limbs, branches, and stumps. Lumber, furniture, and treated wood will NOT be accepted.

More info is located http://bit.ly/3uaKMg9

For more information on the Neighborhood Depository and Recycling Centers, please visit our website https://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/depositories.html.
We understand these delays in collections are frustrating and we thank you for your continued patience.

For more information about SWMD and our services, visit us atwww.houstonsolidwaste.org, “LIKE” us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/houstonsolidwaste, and follow us on Twitter@HoustonTrash, or call 3-1-1, the City of Houston’s Customer Service Helpline. Download our app HTX Collects on Google Play or IOS Store to Never Miss an Update again!

Facebook- Updated daily
Link: City of Houston Solid Waste Management – Posts | Facebook

HTX Collects- an app used to update you about your service in real-time. You can also use the link on the website to get an update.
Link: http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/htxcollects.html

HUD AWARDS $5.6 BILLION IN ANNUAL GRANTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING,
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $5.6 billion in funding and Texas will receive $411 million in funding to address pressing local needs, providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies.

Click here for more information.

There are several opportunities for you to engage with your neighbors and receive accurate information from community partners, elected officials, and public safety leadership regarding District F and the greater Houston area.

Schedule

Constituent services: 

• 311- Creating service requests, researching cases, routing to appropriate departments, follow-up on cases
• Inspections and Public Service DON- provide specific information on Inspections – abandoned / dangerous building,  heavy trash violation, high weeds, junk motor vehicle, nuisance of property and vacant lots
• Site visits and complaint investigations

Outreach services:

• Help coordinate Neighborhood-Cleanups and informational sweeps
• Collaborate with Civic Clubs, Neighborhood Organizations and Homeowner Associations

Referral services:

• Provide referrals for food, housing, rental and utilities assistance
• Assist Wrap Around Specialist in AISD and HISD for resources for students
• Connect constituents to social services

Item 4.  Approval of final contract amount and acceptance of work on contract with Specialized Maintenance Services for Sanitary Sewer Cleaning and Television Inspection in support of rehabilitation

Item 5. Approval of final contract and acceptance of work on contract with T Construction for Wastewater Collection System Rehabilitation and Renewal

Item 6. Approval of final contract and acceptance of work with CSI Consolidated for Sanitary Sewer Cleaning and Television Inspection in support of rehabilitation

Meeting Date: 2/28/2023

Item 3. Approval of final contract and acceptance of work on contract with ISI Contracting for On-Call Neighborhood Traffic Management Program

Phone messages in English and Spanish
notify residents about city services,
new programs & civic engagement opportunities

Voice/text messages a convenient service
for residents without easy access to internet sources
The Department of Neighborhoods (DON) invites residents to subscribe toNeighborhood Updates to receive brief voice or text messages in Spanish or English about essential services and resources.

The messaging service is for everyone, especially for seniors and others who may not have easy access to online information, persons with disabilities who need information in audio or written format, and residents who prefer notices in Spanish.