CITY & SCHOOLS
News from the city of Houston & Houston ISD
COMPILED BY SHAWN ARRAJJ & LEAH FOREMAN
NUMBER TO KNOW from the Environmental Protection Agency to invest in 25 new low- emissions school buses, including 15 electric buses $6.2M A grant Houston ISD received HIGHLIGHTS HOUSTON ISD The Houston ISD Police Department announced Nov. 15 the introduction of a new system to collect tips from students, families and community stakeholders related to criminal activity or threats on school campuses. Called the Axon Citizen for Communities, the online portal allows users to upload videos, pictures and documents that will be used by police o cials. HOUSTON In a Nov. 9 meeting, Houston City Council approved two Texas Enterprise Zones, which allow communities to partner with the state for job and economic growth. Macquarie Holdings will receive a $29 million investment over the next three years for a 13,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s space on Dallas Street. Men’s Warehouse will receive $15 million over the next ve years with $13.5 million going to a distribution center at 10485 W. Bellfort Blvd., Houston. HOUSTON Construction began Nov. 14 on the new $16 million Dr. Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library at 5505 Belrose Drive, Houston. Once open in 2023, the library will feature areas for children, teens and adults as well as a meeting room; a conference room; computers; and a TechLink area equipped with video, music and multimedia technology. WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE Water rates are slated to increase for users in the city of West University Place on Jan. 1 with new rates re ected on February bills for residents. Rates will increase roughly 6% for water use, 3% for sewer and 3.5% for solid waste. For the rst 3,000 gallons, the rate per 1,000 gallons will go up from $4.40 to $4.66 for regular meters. Houston ISD will meet at 5 p.m. Dec. 8 at 4400 W. 18th St., Houston. Meetings are streamed at www.houstonisd.org. West University Place City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at 3800 University Blvd., Houston. Meetings are available via teleconference. Find details at www.westutx.gov. Houston City Council will meet for public comment at 2 p.m. Dec. 6 and regular business at 9 a.m. Dec. 7 at City Hall, 901 Bagby St., Houston. MEETINGS WE COVER
City of Houston moves forward with intentions to purchase Ru no Tract
HOUSTON The city of Houston is moving ahead with a long-dis- cussed plan of turning land belong- ing half to the city of Bellaire and half to the city of West University Place into a ood detention zone. The zone, which involves land known as the Ru no Tract, is being pitched as a way to bene t parts of southwest Houston and curb the threat of ooding with the next severe weather event. The Houston City Council voted in favor of a resolution at its Nov. 2 meeting for the city to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with West University Place for acquiring its portion of the land—approxi- mately 70.87 acres along the south- ern bank of Keegan’s Bayou and east of I-69. If the purchase and sale agreement is settled between both cities, the land title would be transferred over to Houston. “Once we reach an agreement
with [West University Place], then we will move quickly to close on the property,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said during the Nov. 2 council meeting. Next, the city will submit a Title IX land mining application to the Texas Commission on Environ- mental Quality, Houston Chief Recovery O cer Stephen Costello said. The land was at one point used as a land ll, and its matter will need to be relocated. More recently, the area was a golf course and then open green space. It could take three to nine months for the TCEQ to review the city’s application and move the land ll, Costello said. The city intends to purchase the plot of land before the end of 2022. “I’m just glad Houston is looking to purchase this land,” said David Beach, West University Place city manager. “My hope is ... that Houston can continue working towards improving ood relief for its residents.” The next steps on the Bellaire side include conducting appraisals to assess the land value. Bellaire City Manager Sharon Citino said the city is still in the beginning stages of this process. The Bellaire property is desig- nated as park land. If both cities move forward in the agreement, it will need to be voted on in Bellaire for that status to be changed. School in 1997. He later became an associate principal at the district’s Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center before joining as Waltrip’s principal in 2018. Niggli will take the place of Bellaire High School Principal Michael McDonough, who resigned in October and has announced his intent to retire in January. McDonough was temporarily reassigned in May after the district opened an ongoing investigation at the school, though the district has declined to provide additional details about the investigation. McDonough was rst named
Houston o cials signed a training agreement Nov. 10.
COURTESY HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
City, college ink re ghter training agreement HOUSTON The city of Houston and Houston Community College announced a three-year agreement Nov. 10 to train Houston re ght- ers in emergency medical services. “Every employee trained is one more skilled rst responder able to help our community mitigate the impact of an event that threatens our citizens or property,” HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said. The agreement will make use of HCC’s Resiliency Center of Excel- lence, a $30 million investment unveiled in April at the system’s Northeast Campus. The center was launched with the goal of helping Houston better pre- pare for the next big ooding event while also o ering training for other hazards, including freezes, res, chemical hazards and pandemics. Training includes disaster simulation, Community Emer- gency Response Team programs, rescue safety, safe debris removal and business continuity during disasters, among others.
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Michael Niggli named new principal of Bellaire High School HOUSTON ISD Waltrip High School Principal Michael Niggli was named the new principal of Bellaire High School in October less than two weeks after o cials with Houston ISD hosted an Oct. 17 community meeting to gather feedback amid a search process. Niggli rst joined HISD as an English teacher at Austin High
principal of Bel- laire High School in 2012. Prior to being named principal at Bellaire High School, Niggli
went through an interview process that included interviews with the district’s area superintendent, a community interview panel and Superintendent Millard House II, according to a pre- sentation on the search process made at the Oct. 17 meeting. A start date for Niggli has not been announced. Michael Niggli
Meetings are streamed at www.houstontx.gov/htv.
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