The Houston City Council heard from Diane Hanson Lambrecht during the public comment period of their July 13 council meeting. Lambrecht spoke on behalf of the Hometown Pride Committee. She shared that the committee had been formed by a group of women 12 years ago to “monitor what was going on in the community.” The ladies who are now in their 70s and 80s wanted to let the council know what they have done as “watchdogs for the city.”
According to Lambrecht, they had worked to get an abandoned house condemned and removed, worked with the state fire marshal to get an exposed pipe on a house dealt with, refurbished the landscaping near the Houston sign by planting maintenance free shrubs in place of flowers, cared for the Cox garden, and funded the hanging flowers in town as well as fall and Christmas decorations.
Since they are getting older, the group asked for new volunteers to help them. They wanted to know if the city would be taking care of the sign at the Trailhead and who was responsible for the weeds on the boulevards downtown.
The group will continue to care for the planters, but will not be doing the Cox garden. Lambrecht ended,“It’s not the flower fairies that have been doing the work!”
Eileen Loken, who owns property between Nesler Auto Repair and the ballfield, addressed the council as well. She explained that parking for the ballfield has become her problem. She complained that no parking was provided near the ballfield, and, as a result, people were parking on her private property. Faded signage says no parking and another has an arrow pointing to another area for parking. Loken asked that the signs be replaced by the city.
Steve Westby told Loken that it was her responsibility as owner of the property to put up her own no trespassing signs. Danny Todd agreed. The city will do some research to find out who put up the original no parking signs.
Spruce Street Update
Derek Olinger of Bolton & Menk informed the council that the Spruce Street project was “pretty close to the original schedule with no major problems.” Olinger told the council street lights for the project will cost $11,000. Olinger asked for concurrence on the purchase and direction to staff regarding the funding. The council chose to add the street lights expense to the project’s bond.
Fire Department
The Fire Department requested the council approve an amendment to the Houston Fire Contract contingent on the adoption of a proposed ordinance and to schedule a public hearing to consider the adoption of the ordinance. This would allow the fire department to bill for services as required by insurance companies. The council approved the amendment and set a public hearing on August 10 at 6:15 p.m.
The Fire Relief Fund asked for permission to concrete over two grassy areas on the north side of the fire hall to reduce mowing and trimming. The council gave the permission; the relief fund will cover the expense.
Personnel
PWD head Josh Hongerholt’s status was changed from probationary to regular effective in June; Hongerholt has been PWD head for six months.
After interviews for a public works laborer, the personnel committee recommended the hiring of Adam Gaustad. Gaustad has heavy equipment experience, holds a Class A CDL and has simple fabrication experience which will complement the current skills on the team.
Danny Todd noted that he had heard pushback on why the hiring was needed. Todd pointed out that the team had gone from 45 years of experience to 6 or 7, and the current employees are carrying a heavy workload. He noted that this was about supporting the employees they were invested in. He made a motion to hire Gaustad. The motion was passed quickly.
The council accepted the resignation of Mayor Scott Wallace. Quinn told the council they could appoint a replacement or they could wait until filing was closed in two weeks. If only one person filed, they could appoint that person. If the council does not fill the position, they would need to be careful to ensure a quorum at meetings.
The council decided to “chew on” that decision until the August meeting, which will be Wallace’s last meeting.
Other Business
In other business the council:
• Approved the fireworks permit and street closures for HoeDown;
• Approved paying the flower care attendant until after the Design Team visit in September;
Authorized sending out letters to landowners about needed mowing and approved hiring the mowing of noncompliant properties;
• Approved CMS doing the service plumbing reviews for commercial plumbing.
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