The overview
The $30 million Houston Public Works projects would impact “dangerous buildings throughout the city,” and include assessing buildings, getting rid of asbestos, removing hazardous materials and demolishing structures, according to Dec. 17 meeting documents. City Council considered three contracts with firms for the projects before pushing the decision to a future meeting.
According to a document sent to Community Impact by City Secretary Mary Benton on Dec. 17, each Houston City Council district has at least one building included in the work recommended by Houston Public Works. However, 86% of the buildings are located in districts B, D, I and H with the totals being:
- 112 buildings in District B
- 86 buildings in District D
- 50 buildings in District I
- 48 buildings in District H
During the meeting, multiple Houston City Council members expressed concern about whether Storm Water Funds could be used to demolish buildings. The city’s controller also advised city council not to use those funds for the project, council member Edward Pollard said.
“We know that the Storm Water Fund has very specific purposes for what it can be used for: primarily maintaining our drainage system,” Pollard said. “So the question becomes ... ‘Why are we using $30 million from the Storm Water Fund for the demolition of [buildings]?’ I think that this sets bad precedent.”
Illegal dumping at the selected buildings is clogging up the city’s storm and drainage systems, and therefore should be funded by Storm Water Fund dollars, Houston Public Works Director Randy Macchi said.
“When you go throughout the districts, you find that most of that trash somehow ends up in our open ditches and then later on in the storm systems themselves. ... What we intend to do here is ensure that when we are using this particular contract, that there is a direct nexus into our storm water system,” Macchi said.
City Attorney Arturo G. Michel said he believed using the $30 million from the Storm Water Fund for the proposed projects would be legal.
Mapping it out
A map of the identified buildings as part of the $30 million project was not available as of press time Dec. 19, Benton said via email.
