Howdy WHA Members!
Election day is next week, November 7th!
At the state and county level there are a number of important ballot initiatives going on, and of course the City of Houston elections.
Speaking of elections, it looks like we finally have a Speaker of the House in Washington, Mike Johnson (LA-04) who was elected October 25th. Now the business of congress can continue. Meanwhile, we have a different Speaker of the House, Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives coming to speak with us at WHA on November 16th as part of a special Texas Legislative Update. As a real estate developer, Speaker Phelan is uniquely positioned to comprehensively understand the intricacies and challenges associated with quality planned development and the establishment of sustainable infrastructure.
Last month we held our Public Officials and Awards Reception where we recognized Bill Callegari with the WHA IMPACT Award! This award was last bestowed in 2019 and is WHA’s highest honor. We also recognized City of Katy Administrator, Byron Hebert with the 2023 Star of Excellence, and WHA Member Andrew Lang (BGE) with a Compass Award.
Continuing the trend of a WHA Member written piece each month, this month we are highlighting the Sustainable Infrastructure initiatives that are taking place at the Houston Zoo. Our goal with this piece is also part of a larger initiative to better connect with the public on better understanding the issues that WHA is engaged with. If you have an interest in contributing an article in the future, please let us know.
This month we have also started working on the 2060 Plan update. The West Houston 2060 Plan was released in 2018 and our region has undergone some significant changes over the past 5+ years. This update will take those changes into account and refine some of the challenges and opportunities previously identified. We plan to release the update in Fall of 2024.
We also have a handful of committee meetings taking place between now and Thanksgiving. On November 13th we have both the Government Affairs Committee and the Flood Control & Drainage Committee meetings. On November 14th the Sustainable Infrastructure Committee will be meeting. The Quality Planned Development Committee is planning a development site visit the morning of November 16th, and our Water Resources Committee is meeting on the 16th directly after the luncheon with Speaker Phelan. At the bottom of this month’s newsletter you will also find a new short video about our Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces committee. If you would like to be added to the email list or calendar invites for these committees, or any others, please let us know.
Thank you for your support of the West Houston Association and working to improve quality of life for the 2,000,000+ people who live, work, and play across the region!