District K Friends,
 
November is a month of gratitude! As I reflect on that which I am grateful, my thoughts are of our phenomenal District K Team. I am truly grateful for this dedicated group of servant leaders. They diligently work alongside me each day, as we all strive to restore people’s faith in government and make District K, and Houston better every day. It is my hope that each of you knows how much we enjoy representing and serving you in the community. Thank you for making your neighborhoods stronger, safer and more resilient.
 
I count my blessings every day for the simple pleasures and I’m looking forward to sharing some quality time this month with my friends and family. No matter what trial you may be facing, there is always, always something to be thankful for. The sooner we get started recognizing those good things, the sooner we’ll discover even more.
 
In service,
Martha
 
 

District K Celebrates Astros World Series Win
 
Congratulations again to our World Series Champion Houston Astros. It has been an incredible season and we enjoyed the downtown parade. What an amazing time to live in Houston. The eyes of the world were on Houston as we celebrated our Houston Astros during the World Series Parade. I enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of so many fans as the parade route traveled 1.7 miles through downtown.
 
Congratulations to Mr. Reginald Washington and the Westbury High School Band members and staff on their exciting performance. We are District K proud to announce you were the only high school band in the parade and your preparation and dedication to your craft was evident. Over 1 million Houstonians lined the streets of downtown to celebrate our Houston Astros and saw you perform in excellence.
 
 
 
 

District K Neighborhoods Celebrated
National Night Out 2022 in Grand Fashion!
Texas National Night Out was scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 2022. District K residents were eager to celebrate, as many neighborhoods are reconnecting, after the pandemic caused many of our meetings to move to a virtual format.
 
NNO which is always the first Tuesday in October, happened to fall on a Jewish holiday, prompting many residents to consider alternate or additional dates to celebrate with their neighbors. The District K Team enjoyed visiting with our residents and recognizing your neighborhoods for safety measures and getting to know your neighbors, the constables and HPD officers that keep us safe. The “Start Here First” events at Fiesta and the HPD Substation were a great way to get the events started, followed by your individual neighborhood celebrations.
 
Thank you for registering your events with the District K office and here are some of the wonderful photos we have from our month of celebrating NNO in District K. Let’s make NNO 2023 bigger and better. ENJOY!
 
 
  • Braesridge Apartments
  • Brays Oaks Management District
  • Chasewood Meadows
  • Chasewood Improvement Association
  • Coppertree HOA
  • Fairway Villas
  • Five Corners Improvement District & HPD Southwest Command
  • Keswick Place-Ramblewood Park Civic Club
 
  • Knollwood Village Civic Club
  • Linkwood Civic Club
  • Northbrook North Townhomes
  • Northfield I & II POA
  • Quail Run Community
  • Westbury Civic Club
  • Westwood Civic Club
  • Willowbend Civic Club
  • Willow Meadows Civic Club
  • Woodshire Civic Club
 
 
 

Houston Celebrates our Veterans
Texas has the 2nd largest veteran population in the nation with over 250,000 veterans in residence. Vice Mayor Pro Tem Castex- Tatum was proud to join Mayor Turner and several other elected officials in paying tribute to our men and women in the military at the annual “Houston Salutes American Heroes Veterans Day Celebration”. This civic celebration honored and celebrated the brave men, women, and families who have fought and sacrificed for our liberty and freedom. May God continue to bless our service men and women.
 
 

District K Gateways Lit Purple
This Veterans Day, our 5 District K Gateways were lit in purple, as we joined the National Flag Foundation and the Military Order of the Purple Heart (the only Congressionally Chartered Purple Heart Organization in our country), in honoring the 240th Anniversary of the Purple Heart Award. We are proud to join cities across America in the Light to Unite efforts.
 
 

Spark Park Ribbon Cutting –
Anderson Elementary School Today
 
It’s Spark Park Week and we hope you can come join the celebration today at 8:30am. The community has been anxiously awaiting the upgrades to the Spark Park and we’re ready to make more amazing memories with our family and friends.
 
Hope to see you there!
 
 

Groundbreaking of the Dr. Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library Today!
 
We’re breaking ground on the new state of the art neighborhood library today also! You won’t want to miss the ground-breaking ceremony at 5505 Belrose in Westbury at 11:00am. I’m excited to share more about our new addition to District K!
 
 
 

Concrete Panel Replacements in Quail Glen
 
Council District Service Funds at Work! Residents in the Quail Glen community will soon see much needed street improvements. Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Castex-Tatum has dedicated $343,500 to replace the existing damaged concrete pavement panels at Quail Park and Quail Burg: 17007, 17026, 17042 Quail Park; 16910, 16918 Quail Glen; 17315 Edgehaven, and 8435 Bird Run.
 
Construction is scheduled to commence November 14, 2022 and is anticipated to end around mid-January. Please take extra precaution when driving through the construction sites in the neighborhoods. We are looking forward to these improved streets in Fort Bend, Houston. The project contractor is JFT Construction, Inc.
 
 

Side Walk Improvements in Brays Oaks
 
Existing sidewalks will be removed and replaced with new concrete wheelchair ramps at 7800 Creekbend Drive at Valley Hills Drive (North side) and at 7700 Creekbend Drive at Kitty Brook Drive (South Side) in the Brays Oaks community. Construction is scheduled to commence on November 21, 2022 and is anticipated to end by December 5, 2022.
 
 

Storm Sewer Improvements in
Keswick Place-Ramblewood Park
 
Residents in the Keswick Place-Ramblewood Park community will soon have improved storm drainage. The Notice to Proceed with construction was issued the first of November 2022 and is expected to be completed the first week of March 2023. Houston Public Works Storm Water Operations Senior Project Manager A.J. Kessinger is managing this project. The construction contractor is T. Construction, LLC.
 
 

Mayor Turner Delivers the State of the City Address
 
Mayor Turner delivered his seventh State of the City, address “A Bridge to the Future”, November 2, 2022. Mayor Turner shared his vision for Houston and gave updates on some key initiatives: One Safe Houston, Complete Communities Resilient Houston, and the innovative public/private partnerships that promote economic development and enhance quality of life.
 
Did you miss the State of the City address? You can view it here:
 
 

City of Houston Open Finance Initiative Provides Financial Transparency
 
The City of Houston is enhancing the use of technology to engage citizens and increase financial transparency. The second phase go-live of the Open Finance initiative, Open Payroll, was launched November 3, 2022. Open Payroll publishes City of Houston Payroll information to allow Houstonians to see how city employees are being compensated.
 
In April 2021, the City of Houston created the Open Finance initiative to provide more transparency around the City’s finances. The City is launching an open finance initiative to allow Houstonians to track how public funds are being utilized. This includes publishing relevant, accessible datasets about the City’s budget, checkbook, and payroll. It also provides simple data visualizations to help the public explore the City’s financial activities.
 
The objectives of Open Finance (https://openfinance.houstontx.gov) are:
  • Achieve a high standard of financial transparency by providing metrics, interactive visualizations, and downloadable data for Open Budget, Open Checkbook, and Open Payroll to the public 
  • Publish information that is accurate, compliant, sustainable, consolidated
Open Finance initiative includes three phases:
  • Open Budget (July 2022) dataset is structured by two aspects: revenue and expenditure data depicted as both budget and actual. 
  • Open Payroll (November 2022) will provide employee payroll data that can be filtered by payment period, department, function, and other dimensions.
  • Open Checkbook (Est. January 2023) will detail expenditure-level payment information, detailing expenses remitted to various vendors and/or payment recipients.
The City of Houston’s Finance department accepts feedback/questions at the following locations:
Finance Department
611 Walker, 10th Floor
Houston, TX 77002
Ph: 832.393.9120
 
Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department
611 Walker, 13th Floor
Houston, TX 77002
Ph: 832.393.8501
 
 

Houston Housing and Community Development Department
 
 
 
 
 

Thanksgiving Share Baskets at
New Faith Church
 
Vice Mayor Pro Tem will partner with New Faith Church in blessing families in need with Thanksgiving Share Baskets. The event will take place on Thursday, November 17th from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm-7:00 pm. Those who will receive Turkeys must pre-register. Registration is online or use the QR code.
 
Please feel free to register at newfaithchurch.org/featured-events or scan the QR Code if you are interested in making a charitable donation towards this event. Let’s make sure all of our neighbors have the necessities for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.
 
 
 
 

A Turkey on Every Table for Thanksgiving
 
Thank you, Bee Busy Wellness Center and Riceville Mount Olive Church for making sure every resident in District K can have a turkey on the table for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to volunteering and participating in the 9th Annual Turkey Give Away.
 
 

Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade 2022
 
The 73nd Annual HEB Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place on Thursday, November 24, 2022., this event is the oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade in the country. Each year, several thousand Houstonians line the streets to cheer on participants. The parade starts at 9 am near City Hall on Smith Street. It travels down Walker, then turns on Milam, west on Pease, north on Louisiana, west on Clay and back to Smith Street, where seating is located. The Grand Marshall for 2022 is Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
 
We hope to see you along the parade route or catch us on tv while preparing to celebrate with family and friends.
 
 

A.I.R. Project Gives Back to the Community
 
A.I.R. Project – Abuse Is Real held its Soles for A.I.R. community outreach event October 29, 2022, at the Billy Reagan K-8 Educational Center gymnasium and it was a success! Families attending received free shoes, food and resources to help make their lives better. A.I.R. Project’s mission is to empower the powerless and help defeat abuse. District K commends A.I.R. Project for your advocacy!
 
 
 

Chick-Fil-A Opens in Meyerpark Soon
 
Congratulations Jesse Chaluh on a wonderful premier opening. We are looking forward to having the new location open on December 1, 2022. Thank you for the sneak peek of the new Chic-fil-A in Meyerpark and welcome to District K.
 
 
 
 

Tri-Party Holds Hybrid Community Meeting
The Five Corners Improvement District, TIRZ 9 and TIRZ 25, the Tri-Party, held a fall hybrid community meeting November 1, 2022. Presentations from exhibitors and partners highlighted improvement updates and upcoming projects in the District. Thanks to the Tri-Party, IMPACT Strategies Consultants, Halff Associates, Inc., Huitt-Zollars, METRO, The Edison Foundation, the Houston Parks Board, and Harris County Commissioner Precinct One for your efforts in making this event happen.
 
Be sure to visit the Southwest Livable Centers Study web page for updates and meetings information: Southwest Livable Centers Study.
 
 

Madison High School Senior
Information Meeting
 
 

COVID-19 Services and Resources
 
Make sure you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines by getting all recommended doses, including a booster when eligible. Vaccination helps protect you from serious illness, hospitalization, and death; it also helps reduce spread. In addition to HHD sites, vaccination is available at doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and clinics. Find vaccines near you at vaccines.gov.