Houston, Alaska

For the city in Texas, see Houston.

Houston
City
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Matanuska-Susitna
Area
• Total	23.5 sq mi (61 km2)
• Land	22.4 sq mi (58 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (3 km2)
Elevation	249 ft (76 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,202
• Density	53.7/sq mi (20.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99694
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-33800
GNIS feature ID	1416613

Houston is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,202 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Houston is located at 61°36′30″N 149°46′25″W (61.608309, -149.773719)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.5 square miles (61.0 km²), of which, 22.4 square miles (58.0 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (3.0 km²) of it (4.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,202 people, 445 households, and 292 families residing in the city. The population density was 53.7 people per square mile (20.7/km²). There were 581 housing units at an average density of 25.9/sq mi (10.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.03% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 8.24% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 5.49% from two or more races. 2.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 445 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,615, and the median income for a family was $46,818. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $30,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,213. About 13.1% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

History

"Houston Siding" was first listed on a blueprint map of the Alaska Railroad in 1917. Houston was incorporated as a city in 1966. A June 1996 wildfire destroyed more than 37,500 acres (152 km²) in the Houston and Big Lake area, including 433 buildings and homes valued at $8.9 million.

Notable residents

• Medal of Honor recipient James Bondsteel lived in Houston until his death in 1987.

Controversy: In March of 2010, the city held public hearings over the actions of Mayor Roger Purcell, who while acting under city code, exercised police powers, including wearing a badge and a gun. Purcell is a former police officer who allegedly served in a questionable manner in several Alaska police departments during the 1980's and 1990's including Hoonah, Bethel, Valdez and more recently Seldovia, where he was most recently forced to resign. Purcell fired the town's lone police officer, Sgt. Charlie Seidel, who previously reported Purcell for reckless driving in a police car, which was captured on police car's dash camera. The video was a sensation on Youtube. Motorists reported that Purcell stopped them on Houston highways that prompted a call for legislative changes to Alaskan home rule provisions for cities limiting the scope and authority when and how elected officials may act as peace officers. Alaska's Police Standards Council stated that Purcell acted improperly. In May of 2010, Mayor Purcell filed for bankruptcy that month. Purcell garnered controversy for driving a used fire truck from the lower 48 to Houston, at a cost of over $10,000.00 to the city, to bring in a truck that was of questionable use to the city. Also in May of 2010, the city attempted to disband its police force, but ultimately decided not to do so in the face of public uproar. The city of Houston was scheduled to hold a referendum in June 2010 to decide whether to recall Purcell from office, but he resigned as mayor before hand.

References

Template:Www.houstonrecall.com-Roger Purcell Recall