The District J Journal – September 5, 2014

Organizing for Good in Westwood . . .

Last year, your District J staff and I worked closely with the Gulfton community in establishing the Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council. Since January, under the direction of energized and enthusiastic neighborhood leadership, the Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council has been coming together to envision the future of that community. I am excited about all ways the Gulfton community is looking to improve their homes and businesses in that part of District J!

This year, I am hoping to jumpstart that same conversation within the Westwood community. I am looking forward to Tuesday, September 9th, when your District J office will be holding our second Westwood Social Service Meeting at Betty Best Elementary School at 6:00 P.M. Not only will we be discussing the re-vitalization of the Westwood Super Neighborhood Council, we will also begin a conversation about possible future improvement plans for Forum Park.

Speaking of parks, I wanted to also remind Sharpstown residents that our Lansdale & Crain Parks Update Meeting will be at the Lansdale Community Center on the evening of Thursday, September 11th at 6:30pm. We will be reviewing design plans for the new water spray-ground at Lansdale Park, the walking trail improvements to Crain, as well as the creation of an advocacy organization for the parks in the Sharpstown community. If you are able, please join me for these meetings!

Thank You,

–Mike Laster, Council Member – District J

Just a friendly reminder – as this is an odd numbered month, please place your tree waste at the curb no earlier than 6PM, the Friday before scheduled pickup. As this is not a heavy trash month, do not place your large junk items at the curb – it will not get picked up and you could get a ticket from the City!

Click below for your specific area’s date for pickup:

77031

77036

77057

77063

77074

77081

77099

Speed Cushions for Bonham Acres

After months of persistent advocacy from Council Member Laster, an ordinance passed this week providing funding to the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP). One of our District J neighborhoods, Bonham Acres, will be included in this round of financing and should see  construction of speed cushions in their neighborhood in the near future.

All neighborhood requests for traffic calming measures must go through procedures put forth in the NTMP. To find out more about the process, click on the brochure here. As always your District J office is available to help if you have any questions about the NTMP.

In 2010, the University of Texas School of Law released the Texas Problem Properties Toolkit  highlighting policies that Texas communities can utilize to combat problems created by abandoned and vacant properties.

Although this report is a few years old, the information it provides is still applicable to many of our neighborhoods, and it is recommended reading by some of our City of Houston Department of Neighborhood inspectors.

If you’d like to learn about how other cities around Texas and the nation compare with our own in terms of combatting blight and dealing with code violations, click on the links above to access this free and insightful resource!

Health Events at ECHOS

The Texas Children’s Super Kid’s Mobile Pediatric Clinic will be on site at ECHOS this Monday, September 8th, providing immunizations for children who bring their shot records and are eligible. Hours are from 9:00am to 11:30am and 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Appointments are preferred, so please call 832-824-6780.

To view all events happening during September at ECHOS, click here.