Humble City Council opts to appoint new member to fill vacancy

Humble City Council members at their Nov. 10 meeting announced they would appoint a new council member in the coming months to replace outgoing Council Member Charles Cunningham until the city’s next election in May.

Cunningham, who was elected to represent District 127 in the Texas House of Representatives in May, will vacate his position on the council following the city’s December meeting. Cunningham ran unopposed in the May election after securing his party's nomination in the March primaries.

According to Mayor Norman Funderburk, the individual appointed to fill the vacant position will serve the remainder of Cunningham’s term until a new council member is elected in the May 6 election. Funderburk said the appointment will come along with the stipulation that the individual selected will not be eligible to run for the seat.

“I feel that’s the most fair approach to fill the position,” Funderburk said. “This will just be a placeholder, so to speak.”

Funderburk said the city will be accepting applications to fill the vacant seat until Dec. 2. He noted council members will likely announce the appointee at the city’s next meeting.

In other business, council members approved an agreement with the Texas Downtown Association to assess the city’s downtown area in advance of a planned revitalization project.

According to City Manager Jason Stuebe, the assessment will likely begin in the first quarter of 2023.

“We’re in the queue right now,” Stuebe said. “It does take time to do these things.”

Stuebe noted the city hopes to receive the results of the assessment by spring of next year.

In January 2020, the city held the first of several planned workshops to discuss revitalizing the downtown area, but those efforts were ultimately put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.