CITY & COUNTY
News from the city of Houston & Harris County
Houston City Council will meet for public comment at 2 p.m. March 14 and regular business at 9 a.m. March 15 at City Hall, 901 Bagby St., Houston. Meetings are streamed at www.houstontx.gov/htv. Harris County Commissioners Court will meet for its regular meeting at 10 a.m. March 14 at 1001 Preston St., Ste. 934, Houston. Meetings are streamed live at www.harriscountytx.gov. MEETINGS WE COVER City Council meeting, council members approved entering an interlocal agreement with Harris County that will involve creating a partnership between their health departments. Both entities will meet monthly to discuss current and future collaborations, which could include establishing a communitywide coordinating council and the creation of a data-sharing platform. HIGHLIGHTS HARRIS COUNTY At a Feb. 21 meeting, Harris County commissioners voted to pause dozens of road and bridge drainage projects due to a $277 million funding gap for the Bridge Subdivision Drainage program, which is part of the county’s 2018 bond program. The 33 a ected projects, totaling about $303 million, can be resumed once funding is obtained. Four paused projects are in Precinct 1, while two are in Precinct 4. HOUSTON O cials with the Harris County Flood Control District and the Army Corps of Engineers announced Feb. 14 that an agreement had been reached over how to move forward with ood mitigation studies targeting Bu alo Bayou. The HCFCD will contribute additional funding and technical assistance while also taking the lead on certain elements. It will have roughly one year to complete its evaluation. HOUSTON At a Feb. 22 Houston
City of Houston moves forward with North Canal Project HOUSTON On Feb. 8, Houston City Council approved an advanced fund- ing agreement on the North Canal Project with the Texas Department of Transportation. The North Canal Project is an extensive ood deten- tion and mitigation plan designed to reduce the risk of ooding. In addition to the north canal channel, which is to be built at the con uence of Bu alo Bayou and White Oak Bayou, the project also entails a south canal channel along Bu alo Bayou’s southern side at I-69. Improvements will also be made to White Oak Bayou at the Yale Street and Heights Boulevard bridges. Worth about $131 million, the proj- ect will begin in winter 2025 and is expected to be complete in fall 2029, according to Houston Public Works. The city is working with TxDOT on two phases of construction. TxDOT will reimburse the city about $1.22 million for Phase I and about $18.7 million for Phase II. Houston City Council members BY LEAH FOREMAN
also approved $10.5 million for the design, construction and mainte- nance of Plum Creek, which is also being carried out with the Harris County Flood Control District.
The North Canal project entails three main components along White Oak Bayou. FLOODWATER DIVERSION KEY
STUDEMONT ST.
Proposed North Canal Proposed South Canal Yale and Heights area bridges
WHITE OAK BAYOU
69
10
JENSEN DR.
BUFFALO BAYOU
The North Canal channel is proposed at Bu alo Bayou and White Oak Bayou. RENDERING COURTESY CITY OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS
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SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS COMMUNITY IMPACT
Houston collects just under 800 guns at third buyback event
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
a safe space to dispose of their guns. We remove guns that were unwanted and had the potential of falling into the wrong hands,” Turner said in com- ments before the third event. Gift cards ranged from $50-$200 depending on the type of gun, and guns are disposed of by local author- ities, Turner said. The city does not accept 3D-printed versions of guns or ghost guns, which are unserialized or untraceable rearms that can be bought online or assembled at home. Melissa Enaje contributed to this report.
OFF THE STREETS Houston has hosted three gun buyback events since July.
HOUSTON O cials with the city of Houston and Harris County collected 793 guns during the city’s third gun buyback event Feb. 18 at Alexander Deussen Park in northeast Houston. The event—part of the One Safe Houston initiative launched by Hous- ton Mayor Sylvester Turner in February 2022—allows residents to anonymously trade in guns for gift cards. Since the rst event in July, the city has collected more than 2,800 guns. “The success of the two events demonstrated that people do want
ROUND 1
Date: July 30, 2022 Guns collected: 845
Date: Oct. 8, 2022 Guns collected: 1,208
ROUND 2
Date: Feb. 18 Guns collected: 793
ROUND 3
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • MARCH 2023
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