January 15, 2003

Houston City Council
 by Scott Nowell

Houston City Council on Wednesday voted 11-3, with Shelly Sekula-Gibbs, Mark Ellis and Addie Wiseman opposed, to award a contract to RFP Depot L.L.C. to provide a service that will allow the purchase of surplus city property on the Internet.  RFP will receive an eight-percent commission on all transactions.

The city council voted 13-1, with Bruce Tatro opposed, to grant a reverse auction service contract to Texas Procurement Center, L.L.C., which will earn a three-percent commission on purchases of city supplies.

The city council approved, on first reading, 43 contracts with solid waste disposal contractors.  Council Member Carroll Robinson noted that 15 of the companies owed the city back taxes. Robinson said he would tag, or delay for an additional week, each of those 15 contracts at next week’s meeting if the companies had not made arrangements to pay their back taxes by then.

Individual city council members tagged several items on Wednesday's agenda:
   - a $88,135 change order on a contract with Pyramid Waterproofing, Inc., for roof replacement at the Animal Control Center, by Mark Ellis;
   - a $294,000 contract with Patch Management, Inc. for the rental of asphalt road patching trucks for the public works department, by Wiseman;
   - allocations of $862,998 for a contract with Voss Electric Supply dba Voss Lighting, $55,000 for a contract with Turtle and Hughes, Inc., and $202,950 for a contract E. Sam Jones Distributor, Inc., for electrical lighting for various departments, by Bert Keller;
   - an $198,699 amendment to a contract with Bondresource Partners LP for arbitrage services, by Wiseman;
   - a $2,441,065 contract with P.E.S. Ventures, Inc. for heating, ventilation and air conditioning services for various departments, by Keller; and
   - a $264,901 appropriation for the city's share of the Blackhawk Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Renovation Project, by Ellis.

Council members voted to delay several items for one week:
   - approval of $594,827 for work by Jimerson Underground, Inc. for construction of IRA Street storm sewer outfall, on a motion by Mark Goldberg;
   - an extension of the expiration date for the purchase of safety footwear for various departments from February 16, 2003 to August 15, 2003, on a motion by Goldberg; and 
   - award of a $2,436,021 contract to Direct Action Uniforms and a $100,514 contract to L&N Uniform Supply for apparel for the various departments, on a motion by Wiseman.

All other agenda items were approved.

Council Member Wiseman spoke at length about problems she has experienced with the Department of Public Works. She complained that trash service in parts of her district is substandard, that traffic lights in Kingwood have not been operating correctly for months, and that misinformation supplied to her by the department had been passed on to her constituents. Wiseman said she had been put off about the status of projects that were months behind schedule, and has been left uninformed on public meetings on street repairs in her district. 

“Public Works is an oxymoron,” Wiseman said, speculating that she is being retaliated against for tagging several projects. 

Council members Carol Galloway and Carroll Robinson voiced similar concerns.

Members of the Super Bowl Host Committee addressed the city council. Chuck Watson said the Super Bowl on February 1 will attract 100,000 visitors to Houston, providing a $300 million economic impact. 

“We want to be placed on the list of cities that regularly host the Super Bowl,” Watson said.