| | Fast Summer Summer is a time when some things slow down. That's not true at H-GAC, or at most of the region's local governments. Rather, we are planning for next year, and preparing budgets, at the same time we are executing this year's activities. This month's Regional Focus highlights several important and innovative H-GAC activities, including our Commute Solutions program, the Clean Rivers program, and a new workforce training program we are helping to support in Liberty County. These are examples of H-GAC serving our region today. There are many more. Please let me know if H-GAC can help you as we together meet the challenge of serving a growing, dynamic region. Jack Steele
Executive Director |
How's the Water? |  H-GAC Clean Rivers Program's 2007 Basin Highlights Report is designed to answer that question for the waterways in the H-GAC region. The report was delivered last week and is now available for public distribution. This publication gives a brief synopsis of the quality of area waterways and outlines programs designed to protect them. To view the report online click here . To order multiple copies of the report email Todd Running at todd.running@h-gac.com or call 713-993-4549. |
| 2007 Commute Solutions Leadership Awards and Luncheon |  The Houston-Galveston Area Council and its Commute Solutions partners will recognize companies and organizations for their outstanding contributions to commute alternative programs at their annual Commute Solutions Best Workplaces for Commuters Luncheon. This year's event will be held on Thursday, August 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at The Downtown Aquarium in Houston. The luncheon will feature a pre-event sponsor showcase, and a welcome by Mayor Bill White and County Judge Ed Emmett. More than 250 business leaders, transportation experts and elected officials will be in attendance. The luncheon will provide an excellent opportunity for organizations to receive visibility and provide network opportunities with other professionals who care about transportation issues and the environment. For more information, contact Veronica Baxter-Lamb at 713-993-4573 or visit www.commutesolutionshouston.org to learn more about the Commute Solutions program. |
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| Environmental Management Systems | H-GAC will host TCEQ Environmental Management System Aspect/Impact training sessions for the Houston area. This special session will focus on Commute Solutions and will include a brief introduction to Clean Texas and integrating those into an EMS. This session will train local governments in adopting Commute Solutions programs to improve air quality. This session is open to any public or private organization wanting to develop a Commute Solutions Program. Commute Solutions programs offer ways for employees to reduce their number of trips to work. Typical commute solutions include compressed work weeks, alternative work hours, telecommuting, carpooling, vanpooling, taking public transportation, or other ways to reduce driving to work alone. These programs save both organizations and employees a lot of time and money. This session will be held on Monday July 23, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided at no cost for the first 50 registrants. Lunch will be provided for a nominal cost of $5 per person for anyone registering after the initial 50 attendees. The session will be held in H-GAC's Conference Room A, 2nd Floor, 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston, 77027.
Please RSVP for this session with Deanna Koelzer, training coordinator, at 512-934-4760, or by email to deanna@culturetechnologies.com by Friday July 20, 2007. |
| 2007 Regional Water Quality Management Plan | H-GAC's 2007 Regional Water Quality Management Plan identifies wastewater collection and treatment needs and provides an estimate of the costs to provide these services based on our 2035 population forecasts. A public hearing to receive comments will be conducted at the August 2, 2007 meeting of the H-GAC Natural Resources Advisory Committee. |
| H-GAC Awards Grant to Liberty County Workforce Academy | H-GAC recently awarded a $50,000 grant through the Houston-Galveston Local Development Corporation to the Liberty County Workforce Academy. The grant will be used to fund training scholarships and will put about 50 local people to work as welders, pipe fitters, and electricians. Liberty County Workforce Academy is making history as the first "county-wide" group of independent school districts, in conjunction with four area colleges, coming together to provide alternative education for students who seek an alternative to college and adults in need of workforce education. Liberty County Judge Phil Fitzgerald and County Commissioners Norman Brown, Todd Fontenot, and Lee Groce present a proclamation announcing June 28, 2007 as Liberty County Workforce Day. |
| Transportation Improvement Program | On Tuesday July 17, 2007 H-GAC will host a public meeting on the Draft 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The public is encouraged to attend and provide comments to H-GAC. The 30-day public comment period for the Draft 2008-2011 TIP began on May 1, 2007 and has been extended until 5:00 p.m., August 3, 2007. Revisions to the Draft 2008-2011 TIP since the May 15, 2007 public meeting include:
· Inclusion of additional segments of the Grand Parkway (SH 99);
· Revisions to the recently selected projects and contingency lists; and
· Transit programming for section 5307 The TIP is a list of transportation projects that will be implemented over the next four years in the Houston-Galveston area which includes Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Chambers, Montgomery, and Waller counties. The TIP includes Federal Transit Administration funding assistance for the following transit providers: Colorado Valley Transit, Connect Transportation operated by the Gulf Coast Center, The District (formerly Brazos Transit District), Fort Bend County Transit, Harris County RIDES, the City of Galveston's Island Transit and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO). The TIP development process will also serve as the public participation for the Gulf Coast Center, Connect Transit; City of Galveston, Island Transit. Comments may be forwarded to Transportation Public Information, Houston-Galveston Area Council, P.O. Box 22777, Houston, Texas 77227-2777, email to tip@h-gac.com, or fax to 713-993-4508. Copies of the Draft 2008-2011 TIP are available on the H-GAC Transportation Web site for review at www.h-gac.com/transportation. |
| H-GAC Board of Directors | | The agenda and attachments for the Board of Directors meetings are posted on our website at www.h-gac.com. The documents are posted the week before each meeting. Board meetings are held at 10:00 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month on the second floor at 3555 Timmons Lane, Houston, Texas 77027. |
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