Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher has submitted funding requests for important community projects in TX-07 to the House Appropriations Committee.
Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2023– although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.
In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Congresswoman Fletcher has certified that she, her spouse, and her immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects she has requested.
Congresswoman Fletcher and her staff worked with members of the community to ensure the projects below qualified for submission. She will continue to work with the community to advocate for federal support for community-supported projects.
Project Name: Evergreen Accessible and Inclusive Playground
Amount Requested: $600,000
Amount Received: $600,000
Recipient: City of Bellaire, 7008 S Rice Ave, Bellaire, TX 77401
Description: The $600,000 proposal is to build an inclusive, world-class playground that goes beyond ADA requirements. For example, the new play structures would allow kids in wheelchairs to play alongside their peers thanks to wider, ramped play platforms and structures that let wheelchairs roll without incident. It will include sensory play elements that incorporate touch and music, as well as interactive educational features. The inclusive design is not just for the kids as we want to incorporate the entire family into the fun, mindful that there are plenty of parents and grandparents with disabilities or mobility impairments who could also benefit from inclusive design.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Water and Wastewater Line Replacement
Amount Requested: $2,400,000
Amount Received: $2,400,000
Recipient: City of Bellaire, 7008 S Rice Ave, Bellaire, TX 77401
Description: Bellaire is seeking a $2.4M investment into water and wastewater line infrastructure that has reached the end of its 30 to 50-year useful service life. The majority of the work for this project entails the replacement of cast iron waterlines that are 50 years in age or more.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Virtual Reality Training Equipment
Amount Requested: $100,000
Amount Received: $100,000
Recipient: Harris County Sheriff’s Office, 1200 Baker Street, Houston, TX 77002
Description: The purpose of the project is to provide an effective de-escalation training tool through the utilization of technology. Virtual reality equipment would provide a different training atmosphere where law enforcement personnel could better their de-escalation techniques when encountering an individual in a mental health crisis.
Certification Letter
Project Name: ACCESS Harris (Accessing Coordinated Care and Empowering Self Sufficiency)
Amount Requested: $2,700,000
Amount Received:$ 1,000,000
Recipient: Harris County Public Health, 2223 West Loop South Houston, TX 77027
Description: ACCESS Harris is a county-wide safety net service delivery model designed to provide coordinated, client--centered services to improve the health, well-being, sustained recovery, and self-sufficiency of the County’s most vulnerable residents that are in need of services across the safety net systems and programs. By coordinating cross-department and community-based services, ACCESS Harris creates seamless access through a “no-wrong-door” approaches that removes the barriers to services that were previously siloed within the County. ACCESS Harris is governed by the Safety Net Collaborative, comprised of the executive leaders from Harris County Safety Net departments that provides executive-level strategic direction and oversight for how to serve the shared clients that often receive or are in need of services or are intersecting with their systems. . The departments include Harris County and community-based organization that support health, human, community, adult and children protection, education, housing, and justice services.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Poor Farm Ditch Conveyance Improvements
Amount Requested: $10,000,000
Amount Received: $9,886,000
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District, 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77092
Description: The primary goal of the project is to avoid a failure of the existing channel by constructing an entirely new channel structure. In addition, channel rehabilitation will reduce flood risk by improving hydraulic capacity, as well as improve the Flood Control District’s ability to provide maintenance. The configuration of the new channel structure will includes several unique cross-sections along the project reach, provisions for future maintenance access by Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), reinforced concrete vehicular access ramps, and reinforced overbank pavement for inspection and maintenance by foot on top of the channel banks. If funded, up to 523 structures and 1,036 people would benefit.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Black Maternal & Child Health Pilot Program
Amount Requested: $1,431,174
Amount Received: $1,431,174
Recipient: Harris County Public Health, 2223 West Loop South Houston, TX 77027
Description: The Black Maternal and Child Health program will address the significant health inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes, specifically for Black mothers and infants. Harris County Public Health (HCPH) will use the Healthy Families America (HFA) approach to support families navigating their parenting journey. HFA is an evidence-based home visitation model rooted in the belief that early, nurturing relationships are the foundation for life-long, healthy development. During the pilot year, the project team will recruit a cohort of up to 100 participants through HCPH clinical sites, Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) and Early Childhood program and referral partners to help guide Black expectant mothers, post-partum mothers, breastfeeding mothers, and mothers that have delivered a baby within the last year. Each Community Health Coordinator will be matched with 12-13 mothers to help navigate them through every step of the prenatal and post-partum process. The early childhood curriculums provide guidance for each CHC to routinely evaluate the mothers and their children to support, monitor, and escalate as needed.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Library Lockers for District 7
Amount Requested: $139,212
Amount Received: $139,212
Recipient: Harris County Public Library, 5749 S Loop E Fwy, Houston, TX 77033
Description: The funding would be used to install four library lockers in locations not currently served by Harris County Public Library or Houston Public Library in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District. These standalone lockers allow citizens to access library materials much like other pickup lockers and provide a cost-effective way to bring library services to unserved locations. They are beneficial for older adults and people with disabilities as they bring library services closer to home.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Project GRAD
Amount Requested: $578,000
Amount Received: $578,000
Recipient: Harris County Public Library, 5749 S Loop E Fwy, Houston, TX 77033
Description: Project Grad is a Houston org that helps people with their college and career paths. It opens GRADcafes, which are one-stop shops of information, resources, and experts offering free guidance to students and parents preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in a higher education institution of their choice and completing their college and career plans.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Youth Digi-Lit Project
Amount Requested: $2,000,347
Amount Received: $2,000,347
Recipient: Houston Public Library, 500 McKinney Street, Houston, TX 77002
Description: The project will support the current efforts of the Houston Public Library (HPL) that strive to ensure that all Houston area youth have equitable access to digital literacy resources. Providing children and youth with increased access to digital literacy resources will assist in the development of their appropriate reading levels throughout early childhood and adolescence. The requested funds will be used primarily to increase HPL’s digital book and educational video collections and associated technologies like tablets and laptops. HPL’s Learning Link library card program provides 544,000 local students with a library card the day they enter school which includes the children and youth in District 7. With this funding the Houston Public Library will be able to develop a more robust digital literacy collection that will ensure that there is an increased equitable distribution of materials for children and youth in District 7 and across the city. HPL’s budget currently provides just under 10,000 titles for the 544,000 students with Learning Link library cards. On average, digital resources for youth costs $40. With additional funding, HPL will greatly expand the number of e-books, streaming videos and other digital resources for early literacy and grades K-12. Further, the funding will allow for access to thousands of educational videos for all ages that could also be used by teachers in a classroom setting.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Houston Police Department Mobile Community Storefront Program and Equipment
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Amount Received: $1,000,000
Recipient: Houston Police Department, 1200 Travis, 17th Floor, Houston, TX 77002
Description: The Houston Police Department had to close nearly all of its community police storefronts due to personnel and financial limitations. The Mobile Community Storefront will be a specially built and equipped trailer to be deployed in high-crime and problem areas throughout the City. This trailer will house officers, investigators, and crime victim specialists in order to respond instantaneously to violence and make resources available to residents. The Houston Police Department will collaborate with business management districts in the area to help garner public trust and educate the community of HPD's mission to keep them safe and protected. This proposal follows the recommendations contained in the City of Houston Mayor’s Taskforce on Policing Reform report, which was crafted, by a diverse group of 45 members of the community for improving police and community relations. The City of Houston, like most major cities in America, has experienced a 44 percent increase in murder for 2020 versus 2019, and in 2021, the city was ravished with 479 murders giving us a 18 percent increase versus 2020. Having the ability to imbed investigators alongside crime victim advocates in the community would have direct impacts on retaliatory acts of violence by engaging with victims immediately following an incident. Studies have shown that being shot, being shot at, or witnessing a shooting doubles the probability that a young person will commit a violent act within two years. MCS imbedded in the community will help break the destructive cycle that is driving violent crime.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Westheimer BOOST Project
Amount Requested: $5,000,000
Amount Received: $5,000,000
Recipient: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), 1900 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77208
Description: The Westheimer BOOST is an east-west crosstown bus route offering frequent service to major employment centers including Downtown Houston, Greenway Plaza, Uptown, and Westchase, connecting dense residential neighborhoods to employment centers, key destinations, and essential services. In addition, the 82 Westheimer connects to 64 bus lines in METRO’s local and regional network, including several of the other highest-ridership, BOOST routes and the METRORapid Silverline (BRT). The route is the highest-ridership bus route in the METRO system, and in all of Texas, with over 13,000 boardings on the average weekday. Improvements will consist of bus stop enhancements, new bus shelters, improved passenger information, and easier boarding platforms and safe all-door access. Certain elements such as new shelters and sidewalk improvements in some segments have already been constructed.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Auden Street Drainage Improvement
Amount Requested: $750,000
Amount Received: $741,450
Recipient: City of Southside Place, 6309 Edloe Street, Houston, Texas 77005
Description: This project provides for design and construction of a new stormwater conveyance system for the City of Southside Place, that will have the capacity to covey a city standard storm event (2-year storm), resulting in significant flood reduction in a large portion of the city. This project provides a regional approach to stormwater management for the area. This new stormwater system would allow for separation of an existing shared system with the City of West University Place, which is significantly undersized to serve both cities. As a result of this project, both cities (Southside Place and West University Place) will benefit. This drainage improvement construction project will be within Southside Place city limits along Auden.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Harwin Drive and Hillcroft Avenue Intersection Improvements Project
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Amount Received: $3,000,000
Recipient: Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority, P.O. BOX 22167, Houston, TX 77227
Description: Hillcroft Ave between Westpark Dr and Harwin Dr is designated as being on the "High Injury Network" due to its historic rate of high crash incidence and severity. The proposed project will improve the intersection's safety for all users to reduce crash rates moving forward. The project will also rehabilitate failing pavement, improve stormwater conveyance, enhance sidewalks, and improve signalization. The purpose of the project relates to safety, access management, mobility, stormwater management, and overall infrastructure state of good repair.
Certification Letter
Project Name: East and West Greenridge Intersection Safety Improvements Project
Amount Requested: $800,000
Amount Received: $750,000
Recipient: St. George Place Redevelopment Authority, 3200 Southwest Fwy #2600, Houston, TX 77027
Description: The purpose of the project is to improve the intersections located at Beverlyhill Street and East and West Greenridge to improve safety for pedestrians who travel through these intersections to and from adjacent multifamily housing units and Wisdom High School and Pilgrim Academy. The intersections are dangerous to use for pedestrians and motorists and present safety concerns for the community. The intersections as currently structured also serve as locations for community nuisance concerns such as vehicles driving through them, littering, illegal dumping, and other similar activities. The project will improve multimodal traffic flows through the intersections, hardscape them to prevent the nuisance concerns, and provide lighting to both address safety and the nuisance conditions.
Certification Letter
Project Name: Milton Street Waterline Replacement
Amount Requested: $2,500,000
Amount Received: $2,500,000
Recipient: City of West University Place, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, TX 77005
Description: The funding would be used for the replacement of approximately 2,400 linear feet of pre-1939 cast-iron water distribution lines, which, due to age, have exceeded their useful lifespan. Failure of these distribution lines would disrupt the water supply to the City of West University Place.
Certification Letter
