Houston, TX contracts/MOUs re: Houston Processing Center

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act , I hereby request the following records:

All contracts (and their amendments) and memorandums of understanding entered into by the City of Houston, TX for services and activities related to the Houston Processing Center (https://www.cca.com/facilities/houston-processing-center)

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Beryl C.D. Lipton

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 3, 2015. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

Hi there,

I'm wondering if I may revisit this request using the following language and if that might yield any additional responsive material.

Thanks so much,
Beryl

All contracts (and their amendments), memorandums of understanding, intergovernmental service agreements, and any agreements of any sort entered into by the City of Houston, Texas for all services, equipment, and activities involving/provided by/contracted for regarding the Houston Processing Center and any facilities associated with it through any of the aforementioned agreements regarding the facility.

Responsive materials should include but not be limited to:

• the initial Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposal, or equivalent call for contractors
• the responsive materials provided by the winning bidder
• all other vendor responses
• all evaluation material, scorecards, reports, and notes generated in the selection process
• the current contract
• all exhibits
• all amendments
• all invoices/receipts detailing compensation received as a result of any agreements
• all agreements related to the provision of services, such as water, sewage, natural gas, garbage, etc.
• all financial agreements (such as loans or bonds) entered into as a result or in association with any of the aforementioned agreements
• all agreements, invoices, and related materials regarding the use of inmate labor by any of this agency's divisions or jurisdictions

Hi there!

Thank you very much for your message. Though the contract itself may be maintained with another agency, it is not uncommon for the jurisdiction within which the facility is located to also be party to IGSAs with the contracting agencies, to be responsible for utility provision, or to partake of inmate labor. I would be interested in all of those materials, even if the City of Houston does not contract for inmate detainment.

Thanks again for your request for clarification. I appreciate your work on this and all of my requests.

Have a great afternoon,
Beryl