'We need to pay our bills': New Houston City Council gets to work

After a flurry of mayoral and council activities over the past month, the mostly brand-new Houston City Council got to work during a special city council meeting on Monday.

The agenda was brief, focusing primarily on items having to do with the incomplete transfer of authority from the previous administration to the new mayor and deputy mayor.

The other pressing item centered around the condition of the roads, which remains a high priority for the council and a majority of the residents.

“There’s no simple solution,” said Robert Hall during public comments. “Money is going to be a big factor and understanding what you want to do and how best to address the problem is going to take everyone talking-the council and the people in the community, and the road service people.”

Hall went on to remind everyone that there are only a few weeks left until the first snow, which will bring its own set of problems, and urged people to remember this will not be solved overnight.a

“The more you (the council) work with advisors and get a real solid picture of the problems. You have issues to going to have to figure out over the next few months, but the reality is you have maybe a couple of weeks until the snow shows up.”

Several current and retired members of the Mat Su Borough Road Service Area Advisory Committee also took time to speak to the council about road services, specifically the current open bid that Houston has for a contractor to provide snowplowing, sanding, and snow removal services. The bid opened under the previous administration

Bill Haller, who serves of the Local Road Service Area Advisory Board (LRSAAB) for Big Lake, commented that like Houston, his area in Big Lake has roads that present challenges

“We have roads that are not really considered standard roads and it’s always a challenge to keep them maintained,” Haller said, urging the council to ensure the city offers and maintains a good contract with the contractor.

“It’s the most important facet of our road service that we have it. Without clearly defined expectations of what he’s expected to do, when he’s expected to do it, it really opens a whole can of worms over who is supposed to do what and when.”

“It’s different grading a road that gets flooded every year than it is grading a road that got topping on it that doesn’t require grading so often.” He said, pointing to the need for clearly defined areas of needs and the level of care required to maintain the roads for the residents.

While most residents applaud the efforts the city council is taking to improve road conditions, there were a few who asked if the priority for a new grader is the most efficient means is of tackling the road problems.

“I appreciate who you are trying to do. However, this is going to cost us a half a million dollars by the time it’s all said and done. How is that half a million dollars going to fix all of our roads and all of our problems?” asked Houston resident Christine Nelson. She went on to say the city currently does not have a qualified mechanic and believes this is due to current salary offerings.

“The roads to our house, for an entire year, have been flooded across the road,” Nelson said, stating that her family has shoveled the area to create a channel so the water can drain off.

“There’s no drainage ditch to prevent this. We have a lot more issues than just one road grader. So, I ask that you consider that when thinking about the roads.”

Nelson added that she would like to see stronger code enforcement procedures to take care of “junk” properties.

“Something has to start because we’ve got junk cars and junk trash. Who is out there talking to the owners and cleaning up?”

One resident called the council to task in their need to get to work, questioning if the council violated the Open Meetings Act with the calling of the special meeting.

“Reasonable notice shall be given as to the date, time, and place of the meeting,” said Jim Johansen, who noted that clerical errors including the wrong date and day of the meeting were announced in the original meeting agenda posted on the city’s website and document, which could be construed as misleading.

“Clearly, the notices do not meet the definition of reasonable public notification of the day or date, as it was incorrect resulting in confusion,” Johansen said, before concluding it was a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act. He also pointed to specific agenda items that did not warrant a special meeting.

Councilmember Sandy McDonald did address those concerns, say that the agenda item in question, which was the introduction of an ordinance that would allow the purchase of a new road grader, was only being introduced and not discussed or voted on. She also made certain to note that all city council members were present in-person and telephonically.

City Clerk Rebecca Rein added that, according to Houston Code, a special meeting may be conducted with less than 24 hours’ notice and that no business shall be transacted at any special meeting of the council “except that which is specifically stated in the notice of the meeting.”

The only specific item on the agenda requiring action was a resolution authorizing banking authorization and signature go to the new mayor and deputy mayor to act on behalf of the city, as the transfer is routinely conducted with the selection of a new administration and the city remains without a treasurer.

“We need to pay our bills, that’s why we needed to do this,” said McDonald.

Meanwhile, the council continued to ask for patience as they work to get adjusted to their new roles and work to overcome learning curves and address tasks for the city.

“You guys can’t do everything overnight,” said resident Carla Manrey.”We appreciate that you’re volunteers to get this stuff done and you have community support.”