New councilman focused on Kirkwood repair
Responding to complaints about the state of Kirkwood Drive, south of Buffalo Bayou to Westheimer, Greg Travis, the new councilman for District G, said he’d spend his discretionary funds, if necessary, to temporarily fix the busy thoroughfare.
While the road is on the city of Houston’s schedule for major repairs and drainage work, the project won’t get underway until the start of 2018 at the earliest, and that’s too long for Travis.
“People have been crying out for this for the last 10 years,” said Travis, who is six weeks into his four year tenure. “I know other streets are bad, but Kirkwood— you need a Humvee to get down there.
“My goal is to get that done as soon as possible.”
Travis is in the process of negotiating the cost for the repairs, which would entail resurfacing, panel replacements, or other rehabilitative measures to smooth out the street for the next couple of years.
For last two years each council member has received $1 million for discretionary funding, but since Travis came in midway through the fiscal year, he has half that to spend.
Kirkwood is emblematic of the state of the roads across the city, he said.
Travis said about 75 percent of the 16,000 miles of the city’s roadways are in disrepair, but a looming budget deficit, which he predicted could be as high as $200 million, will require sacrifices and patience.
He said he supports the payas-you-go system under ReBuild Houston to pay for roads and drainage, but added that will take time to catch up.
“As a city we need to start delivering the services we said we would, and number one for me is roads,” said Travis, who won the District G seat vacated by the term-limited Oliver Pennington in the November election.
The district, the city’s wealthiest, stretches roughly from Shepherd to Texas 6 be--
tween Interstate 10 and Westheimer.
City priorities
So, what are Travis’ priorities?
Travis, an attorney who specializes in commercial litigation, corrected himself and put rising public employee pensions costs at the top, with roads and drainage at second and third.
Travis, who serves on a pension subcommittee, said the city needs to have local control of the firefighters’ pension fund, which would require a change in state law.
He said that fund and the underfunded police and city employee pension funds have created a massive debt problem for the city.
“We really have to address the pensions and the debt,” he said. “We have to do that today. Every council member has to understand how important it is.”
Travis said they have to look at partnering with the county to consolidate services, such as mowing, and make deep cuts across the board — even his own city employee benefits— to balance the budget and start paying down the debt.
He said the city has a responsibility to provide basic services, including police and fire services, roads, drainage, sewer and water.
Beyond that, he said the city has to create an environment that spurs economic growth, citing as an example efforts to streamline the permitting process for construction anddevelopment.
He said raising taxes is not the answer.
“It’s not a revenue problem,” he said. “We have to live within whatever revenue we bring in.”
While he takes on the challenges of the city as a whole, Travis is working on other improvement projects, as well as Kirkwood, on behalf of his constituents.
He is assessing which of three sites in west Houston will be most cost effective to install a detention area to cope with flooding. He also is pushing for a dog parkin Bendwood Park.
Travis acknowledged the impact of the plunge in oil prices on his district, which encompasses the Energy Corridor, but was philosophical.
“There are winners and losers in anything,” he said.
The winners, he said, are those who can take advantage of cheaper office space, lower rent and softer real estate market.
Upcoming meetings
Travis will be attending a number of upcoming public meetings about infrastructure in District G.
1. The annual District G Capital Improvement Plan meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 3 in the auditorium of Stratford High School, 14555 Fern Drive.
2. Public Works and Engineering is hosting a final public meeting about the Memorial Drive Reconstruction Project, slated to start within the next 90 days. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on March 24 at Bridge Point Bible Church, in the youth activity room, 13277 Katy Freeway.
3. A community engagement meeting about Gessner Road, also hosted by Public Works and Engineering, is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 13 at the Tracy Gee Community Center, 3599Westcenter Drive.
To contact the District G office, email districtg@houstontx.gov or go to www.houstontx.gov/council/g/