Event Preview: West Houston Flood Control Forum Left: Russ Poppe, HCFCD Executive Director. Right: Steve Costello, City of Houston Chief Resilliency Officer Houston Flood Control Forum Keeping with WHA's Policy Priorities, Steve Costello and Russ Poppe will speak at our September 15th Flood Control Forum at the Westchase Marriot. Registration opens at 7:30 am. Steve Costello has often spoken about the complementary and interdependent roles between the District and the City of Houston on flood control issues. This forum will explore that interdependence and the ways that each entity has and will approach flood control in West Houston and Western Harris County. Photo courtesy of Houston Chronicle On August 9th, the Harris County Commissioners voted to appoint Russ Poppe as the new Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District, effective August 31st. WHA is very pleased to see that such an important job is being passed from one very capable set of hands to another. Mike Talbott retired from the District on August 30th after 35 years of service, with 18 years as the Executive Director. Before Russ's promotion, Russ served as the District's Director of Operations and held the same position at the County prior to coming to the District. WHA thanks Mike for his service and accomplishments and wishes Russ long and sustained success in his new role. Steve Costello is the City of Houston's first Chief Resiliency Officer, a former Houston city council member, candidate for Houston mayor, and the founder of the successful engineering firm that bears his name. Steve has contributed to WHA's discussion on flood control for many years, and WHA appreciates his commitment to public service and ability to bring people together and to find practical solutions. For more information about the event, please visit our Flood Control Forum web page or email Mary at mharmon@westhouston.org.