The Houston City Council held a brief meeting Monday that included discussion about new equipment at city parks.
Following approval of new pavilion roofs at Emmett Kelly Park, Lloyd Wells, city administrator, said that about $85,000 is left in the 2026 budget for playground structures.
“In all honesty, I think we should look at doing other things at the park this year and have the parks board make a recommendation for what is truly needed,” Wells said.
With Don Romines, Ward III alderman, absent and lacking information on next steps at the park, the council decided to postpone a decision to the June 15 meeting.
“Quite honestly, the bathrooms [at Emmett Kelly Park] need to be updated,” said Wells. “It needs to be done, and it needs to be done right.”
Meeting items
- A local resident asked the city to consider putting pickleball lines on courts that will be in the new recreational facility near Spruce Street.
- A $100 bid from OK Tire was approved to clean up property at 216 Mill St. The business owns the property. “If it’s not done by the July 1 deadline, the city will do it,” Mayor Sam Kelley said.
- A $36,104.93 bid from WinWater was approved for drain tile at the outdoor recreational facility near Spruce Street. Decisions on electrical, mechanical, plumbing and interior finishes were postponed to the June 15 meeting.
- A rezoning of property at 900 Bryan St. from residential to commercial was approved. Fencing on the north and east sides of the building is required.
- Wells gave updates around the city, including dangerous buildings, the pool being open after some mechanical issues, several nuisance violations have been reported, the city is working on a plan for social media archiving for sunshine requests, streets are being patched and a police vehicle that was recently purchased has had several issues.
The meeting adjourned into closed session at 6:16 p.m., after 46 minutes.
