Transportation
Government
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
BY MELISSA ENAJE & CASSANDRA JENKINS
Freedmen’s Town street plan advances
Harris County revives nonviolent 911 program Harris County commissioners voted 4-1 on June 4, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ram- sey dissenting on all three votes, to continue and expand a countywide program that aims to use hospital-based interventions for nonemergency 911 calls instead of law enforcement. The details The Holistic Assistance Response Team pro- gram, referred to as HART, was created in March 2022 to improve community health and safety by providing responses to residents experiencing homelessness, behavioral health issues, or none- mergency health or social welfare concerns. HART dispatches 911 calls to interdisciplinary, unarmed rst responder teams trained in behav- ioral health and on-scene medical assistance. The program was paused in May after commis- sioners failed to reach an agreement on whether
Houston adopts budget, approves settlement
HART engages underserved residents by linking them to needed services. People served by HART since 2022
Details are emerging on a project seeking to improve street surfaces and underground infra- structure along two streets in Freedmen’s Town, with o cials emphasizing the preservation of the town’s historic brick streets. O cials with the Houston Public Works Depart- ment and TEI Planning + Design—the engineering rm brought on to lead the development of a design concept report—gave updates on the project at an April 23 community meeting. Goals include: • Upgrading underground utilities, some of which are more than 100 years old and contribute to street ooding issues • Improving walkability • Designating street car tracks in a way that recog- nizes their historical signi cance Freedmen’s Town was founded by freed African Americans shortly after the emancipation of slavery in Texas in 1865, with early founders
laying brick streets by hand. The process of preserving the historic streets has involved a visual assessment almost by the square foot, said Geo Carleton, a senior principal with TEI. The city of Houston has committed to bringing a cultural monitor on board to oversee the process. Other design options are being considered with an eye toward highlighting the community’s history, including blue tile street names, ways to designate the historic street car track and other street scape elements. O cials are also looking to make use of a triangular section of city-owned land at West Dallas and Wilson streets that could function as a gateway to the community. Project o cials said work on a design concept report is nearing completion, at which point a cost estimate will be released. Procuring a design consul- tant could take 8-12 months, and design work could take another year. Construction could take 18-24 months depending on the direction of the project.
Mental health/substance use
172
Housing/shelter
118
Houston City Council approved a $6.7 billion balanced budget for scal year 2024- 25 that will focus primarily on public safety infrastructure and drainage. Breaking it down The city’s general fund totals $3.3 bil- lion, an increase of $74.3 million from FY 2023-24. The budget funds a 10% base pay increase for re ghters, a 3.5% pay raise for police, and six police cadet classes and ve re cadet classes. Houston City Council members also voted June 12 on the issuance of a $650 million refunding bond related to a settlement to end a pay parity dispute with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.
Food assistance
69
Other
60
The historic brick streets of Freedmen’s Town were laid by freed African Americans shortly after emancipation.
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY IMPACT
to pay Disaster Emergency Medical Assistance Consulting and Management, the vendor oversee- ing it. At the June meeting, commissioners also voted 4-1 to pay the vendor’s $200,000 invoice and improve the contract’s language to avoid further discrepancies. They also voted 4-1 on a seven-part plan to create an internal county system to oversee the HART program instead of contracting with an outside vendor.
SHAWN ARRAJJ COMMUNITY IMPACT
. D A L L A S S T .
45
ANDREWS ST.
N
HOUSTON SUPERSTORE 2410 Smith Street (713) 526-8787
WESTCOTT AND MEMORIAL 5818 Memorial Dr (713) 861-4161
SHEPHERD 1900 S Shepherd (713) 529-4849
Powered by FlippingBook