* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [1. Call to Order ] [00:00:05] IT IS 5 59 ON JANUARY 8TH, 2024. AND WE WILL NOW CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. PAUL, ITEM NUMBER TWO. NO, THERE ARE NONE. EXCELLENT [3. Introduction and acknowledgement of newly appointed CDC director, Patrick Powers. ] INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NEWLY APPOINTED CDC DIRECTOR MR. PATRICK POWERS. GOOD EVENING. UM, PATRICK POWERS WAS APPOINTED BY MAYOR AARON GROFF AT THE DECEMBER 19TH COUNCIL MEETING. SO TONIGHT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO GIVE HIM A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO, UM, SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIS BACKGROUND AND WHY HE DECIDED TO APPLY AND SERVE ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD TYPE A. SURE. THANK YOU. IT'S A PLEASURE TO SERVE WITH YOU ALL. ALSO WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPOINTMENT AND FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, SO I, I, ORIGINALLY WE MOVED, UH, MY WIFE AND I, WE MOVED TO TAMRON, UM, AND WE DISCOVERED STER ACCIDENTALLY JUST DRIVING THROUGH HERE ONE DAY, DRIVING THROUGH CROSS CREEK RANCH AND JUST THE, THE NATURE AND THE WILDLIFE AND THE LAKES AND THE PARKS AND THE TREES, UM, AND THE, AND THE FLOWERS. AND WE SET A GOAL THAT WE WERE GONNA MOVE HERE ONE DAY. AND SO WE, WE'VE KIND OF MADE OUR DREAM A REALITY WHEN WE, WE MOVED HERE IN AUGUST OF 2022 WITH OUR 2-YEAR-OLD, UH, EVELYN. WELL, SHE'S TWO NOW. AT THE TIME, SHE WAS NOT EVEN ONE. UM, BUT, UH, BUT I'VE, I'VE PLANNED TO BE HERE FOR THE LONG TERM, UH, PLAN TO RAISE MY DAUGHTER IN THIS COMMUNITY. AND SO I WANT TO HAVE A VOICE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'VE RAISED HER IN. UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY, MY PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND. I WORK AS A PROPERTY TAX CONSULTANT AT A LAW FIRM. UM, WE, UH, SPECIALIZE IN WORKING WITH COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, UH, IN ALL OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. UM, I'M ALSO INVOLVED IN VARIOUS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, FULL CIRCADIA AREA CHAMBER, FORT BEND CHAMBER, AMONG THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP. UM, HOWEVER, MY FAVORITE PART OF THE WEEK IS, UH, IS, UH, OUR BRAZOS RIVER ROTARY CLUB, UM, THAT BRIAN IS ALSO A MEMBER OF. UM, AND IT'LL BE MY GOAL THIS YEAR FOR EVERYBODY ON THIS, UH, BENCH TO COME CHECK OUT ONE OF OUR MEETINGS. UH, UM, BUT YEAH, IT'S A PLEASURE TO SERVE WITH YOU ALL. I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW EVERY ONE OF YOU. THANK YOU. GLAD YOU'RE HERE HERE. [7. Consideration and possible action on the adoption of the Fulshear Farmers’ Market performance agreement for FY24. ] NUMBER FOUR, WE'RE GONNA MAKE A CHANGE, RIGHT? GO AHEAD. I'M GONNA MOVE ITEM SEVEN, WHICH IS THE, UH, SRE FARMER'S MARKET, UH, PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT, UM, TO ITEM FOUR. OKAY. UH, IN YOUR PACKETS, YOU HAVE AN UPDATED, UH, SRE FARMER'S MARKET PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 24. WE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED THIS AT OUR NOVEMBER MEETING. SO WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK THE AGREEMENT DRAFT DRAFTED BY OUR LEGAL TEAM, UM, THAT WE HAD USED THE LAST TIME FOR LAST FISCAL YEAR, AND WE UPDATED TO REMOVE THE LANGUAGE, UH, MENTIONING THE PLANTERS AND THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. AND THEN WE ADDED, BASED ON THE DISCUSSION, A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, THAT YOU, YOU HAD ASKED FOR, UM, JUST INCLUDED SOME REPORTING FOR METRICS, WHETHER THAT'S SALES TAX OR TRAFFIC INCREASE TO BE REPORTED BACK. UH, YOUR TOTAL CONTRIBUTION WOULD BE $4,650. IT WOULD START MARCH 2ND AND END AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, THE, THE CLOSEOUT OF OUR FISCAL YEAR. AND THIS WOULD COME OUT OF OUR PROMOTIONS BUDGET. TELL, UH, TELL ME AGAIN, WHAT DID YOU, WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE PLANTERS. SO, PREVIOUSLY, WHEN THEY HAD COME LAST FISCAL YEAR, THEY ASKED FOR A ONE-TIME, UH, DONATION TO COVER IN INSTALLATION OF PLANTERS AND AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM, UH, AT THE FARMER'S MARKET. I DID FIND ON PAGE TWO UNDER ARTICLE THREE, I DO HAVE TO MAKE ONE EDIT THERE WHERE I DIDN'T REMOVE THAT LANGUAGE. UM, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, WE DID TRY TO REMOVE IT FROM ANYWHERE ELSE. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I SAW. THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING ABOUT. OKAY. OKAY. IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WE NEED TO HAVE? ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? WE, WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS FULLY. I JUST, I JUST WONDER WHY IT STARTS MARCH 2ND AND NOT SOONER. ARE THEY NOT STARTING MUSIC UNTIL MARCH 2ND? UH, THAT'S RIGHT. WE, RAMONA AND I MET AND JUST HAD DISCUSSION ON THIS. UM, AND SHE JUST SHARED THAT THE, THIS MONTH, BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER [00:05:01] AND IT BEING COLD, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT LESS OF AN AUDIENCE. AND SO WANTING TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THOSE FUNDS, WE CHOSE TO PICK IT BACK UP IN MARCH WHERE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE CHANCE OF THE WEATHER IMPROVING AND BETTER TRAFFIC COMING OUT THERE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, B BOARD WILL ALSO HAVE TO ADOPT THIS AGREEMENT. UM, THEY WON'T MEET TILL THE 22ND, SO IT GIVES US A LITTLE CUSHION ROOM IN BETWEEN. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT. CAN I GET A MOTION FOR ADOPTION OF THE FULL SERVE FARMER'S MARKET PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT FISCAL YEAR 24? I'LL MOTION AND A SECOND. SECOND. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? OPPOSITION? OKAY. WITHOUT ANY OTHER OPPOSITION. THE MOTION PASSES. OKAY. [4. Presentation on duties and allowable projects for a Type A sales tax corporation. ] ITEM WHAT WILL NOW BE ITEM NUMBER FIVE, PRESENTATION ON DUTIES AND ALLOWABLE PROJECTS FOR A TYPE A SALES TAX CORPORATION. CHARLIE WILL TAKE IT OVER FROM HERE. . UM, BUT WE HAD DISCUSSED HAVING, UM, HIM MAKE A PRESENTATION AND WE'RE LUCKY ENOUGH THAT ONE OF, OR THE LEADING ATTORNEY IN PRETTY MUCH THE STATE WHO DOES THIS PRESENTATION FOR, UM, MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CONFERENCES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, IS HERE WITH US TONIGHT TO SHARE AND PROVIDE SOME CLARITY ON WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO. UM, SO PLEASE TAKE GOOD NOTES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO ASK. HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING TONIGHT? IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. I, I DO, I GIVE THIS PRESENTATION TO, UH, AT THE T-M-L-E-D-C CONFERENCE EVERY YEAR. I'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR YEARS, NOT THIS YEAR. I HAPPENED TO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ATTENDED, MY LAW PARTNER, DAN SANT DID IT. I WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY. SO THIS IS, THE YEAR WAS THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME. I HAVEN'T PRESENTED AT THAT CONFERENCE. THIS IS A TRUNCATED VERSION OF THAT PRESENTATION. UM, INCREDIBLY TRUNCATED PRESENTATION , UH, UH, THAT I DO AT THAT CONFERENCE. IT'S MOSTLY FOCUSED THAT AT THAT CONFERENCE. IT'S, IT'S TYPE A AND TYPE B, AND IT'S ALSO FOCUSED ON HOW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS AND CITY COUNCILS INTERACT TOGETHER AND HOW THEY GET ALONG. THIS ISN'T PART OF THAT PRESENTATION. THIS IS ALL JUST REALLY MORE ABOUT, UH, THE AUTHORITY YOU HAVE AS A TYPE A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. UM, I DI I'M NOT GETTING INTO THE WEEDS WITH THIS STUFF. IT'S ALL STATUTORILY DRIVEN. UM, AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU WHERE THOSE STATUTES ARE AT AND SO THAT, UM, SOME EVENING, UH, WITH YOUR ADULT BEVERAGE OF CHOICE, JUST AS YOU'RE TRYING TO GO TO SLEEP, YOU CAN READ IT TO HELP YOURSELF GO TO SLEEP, RIGHT? UM, BUT OF COURSE, I AM ALSO YOUR GENERAL COUNSEL. SO, UM, I'M ALWAYS, I'LL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST AND ASK, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. SO HOW DO I JUST PUSH A BUTTON HERE? AND, ALRIGHT, THAT LITTLE ARROW BUTTON TOO. SO I KEPT PART OF IT IN HERE IS LIKE, UM, SORT OF THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PRESENTATION. PART OF THIS IS, SO, UH, I THOUGHT I'D LEAVE IT IN HERE AND I'D JUST ASK YOU'ALL THE QUESTION, WHAT IS THE ROLE OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION? Y'ALL ON THE BOARD, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY? WHAT IS THE ROLE OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION? WE'LL HIT THIS BACK AT THE END TOO. I KEPT THIS IN 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S KIND OF FUN. SO IT'S A LITTLE MORE THAN, THAN JUST THE AUTHORITY, BUT SO, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYWHERE, UH, TO GO WATCH THE GAME UNLESS WE START ANSWERING QUESTIONS, . SO, UH, WHAT IS THE ROLE OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION? OUR ROLE IS TO GROW THE ECONOMY OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THIS CASE, FORTUNATELY, THAT'S A GOOD ANSWER. WHY DON'T YOU SHOW UP MY CONFERENCES? YOU SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED WHAT I GET. BUT WHAT ELSE? I MEAN TO IS THAT IT, IS THAT IT JUST TO GROW THE ECONOMY, IS THAT THE ONLY WE HAVE MONEY TO SPEND, YOU HAVE MONEY TO SPEND, YOU HAVE TAX MONEY TO SPEND TO SPECIFICALLY, WE HAVE TO SPEND TAX MONEY. SO, WELL, IF YOU TALK TO SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, YOU DON'T, YOU SHOULD SEE SOME OF THE, UM, UH, HUGE AMOUNTS OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE THAT IS, THAT IS, IS SITTING IN THE BANK. AND, BUT THAT'S MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF PROJECTS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP THAT INCENTIVE MONEY THERE FOR, FOR THOSE PURPOSES. AND THOSE ARE POLICY DECISIONS, OBVIOUSLY, THAT CITY COUNCIL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS WORK ON TOGETHER, UH, IN THE, IN BEST PRACTICES AND BEST WORLDS THEY WORK ON TOGETHER. ANY, ANYBODY ELSE GROW THE ECONOMY OF THE, IS THAT IT? THAT'S JUST IT. OUR POLICY STATEMENT IS GROW THE ECONOMY FOR THE CITY OF SRE. SO IF MORE SPECIFICALLY TO, TO SRE, I MEAN, ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN AROUND HERE KNOWS THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE YET FOR THE COMMERCIAL GROWTH THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. AND SO WHEN I, I MEAN, THE MAIN REASON WHY I SIT HERE TODAY IS TO HELP PUSH THAT FORWARD. WONDERFUL. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING ON YOUR SLIDE NUMBER 10 IN PARTICULAR. AH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THERE'S NO FAIR LOOKING AHEAD. ALL RIGHT. YEAH, NO CHEATING. BUNCH OF CHEATERS. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. SO THAT WAS FUN. OH, UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO, WE'LL, WE'LL GET, WE'LL SORT OF GET BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND. SO WHAT IS OUR AUTHORITY? WE CAN EASILY [00:10:01] FIND OUR AUTHORITY IN THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. DO Y'ALL KNOW HOW TO FIND A COPY OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE? ANYBODY? ANYBODY. BUELLER BUELLER, BY THE WAY, I WAS AT A DINNER THE OTHER NIGHT. THERE'S A WINE CALLED BUHLER. IT'S AMAZING HOW FUNNY YOU CAN BE WITH TWO GLASSES OF WINE AND EVERYONE'S ASKING FOR BU MORE BUHLER WINE. UH, NOT THAT FUNNY TO THE WAITER APPARENTLY. UH, BUT SO HERE'S HOW YOU GET A COPY OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. YOU JUST GOOGLE, UH, TEXAS LEGISLATURE. THE FIRST, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THING THAT POPS UP IS A LINK TO THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE. CLICK ON THAT ON THE WEBPAGE. THERE'S A, THERE'S ANOTHER LINK ON THERE THAT TAKES YOU TO, TO STATUTES. CLICK ON THAT LINK, AND THEN THAT LISTS ALL THE CODES OF, OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. UM, AND THERE'S A FEW OF THEM. UH, BUT THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE IS ONE OF THEM. CLICK ON THAT LINK AND THEN SCROLL DOWN AND GO FIND, UM, THESE PARTICULAR CHAPTERS THAT WE'RE GONNA GO OVER. THEY'RE EASY TO FIND. YOU CAN JUST, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE INTERNET. UM, I ALSO KEEP A COPY OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE IN MY CAR. IT'S A PHYSICAL COPY. YOU PROBABLY ARE FAMILIAR WITH THOSE PHYSICAL COPIES OF THOSE CODES. YOU'D THINK I'D KEEP IT IN THERE BECAUSE I WANT ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION AT MY FINGERTIPS. I DON'T, I KEEP IT IN THERE BECAUSE IT GETS ME OUTTA SPEEDING TICKET SOMETIMES. SO THAT'S VERY HELPFUL. FOR THE RECORD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A COPY OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE? OH, I HAPPEN TO REPRESENT C SOMETIMES AS A PROSECUTOR AND HELP KEEP POLICE OFFICERS OUTTA JAIL. OH, OKAY. WELL, PLEASE SLOW DOWN. SO IT'S VERY HELPFUL. UH, SO WHERE'S OUR AUTHORITY? TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 5 0 1, CHAPTER 5 0 2, CHAPTER 5 0 4, CHAPTER 5 0 5 IS IN THERE, BECAUSE THAT I'M IS WHERE YOU FIND YOUR AUTHORITY AS A TYPE B. REMEMBER, WE'RE A TYPE A CORPORATION, SO YOU'LL NEVER GO TO SECTION 5 0 5 UNLESS, UH, THE CITY HOLDS AN ELECTION GIVING YOU THAT AUTHORITY BECAUSE YOU USED TO HAVE IT. NOW YOU DON'T. THAT'S WHY WE'RE SPLIT UP. SO 5 0 1 IS THE PROVISION, UH, THAT DEALS SPECI, THAT GIVES ALL AUTHORITY FOR BOTH TYPE A AND TYPE B CORPORATIONS. UM, 5 0 2 HOLDS ALL THE PROVISIONS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO BOTH TYPE A AND TYPE B CORPORATIONS. THEY'RE MORE PROCEDURAL THAN THEY ARE AUTHORITY FOR PURPOSES OF PROJECTS. UM, BUT THAT, UH, THAT CHAPTER EXISTS. AND THEN CHAPTER 5 0 4 DEALS VERY SPECIFICALLY WITH, UH, TYPE A CORPORATIONS. ALSO, HOW MANY OF YOU KNEW THIS? THE TEXAS NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS ACT IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO TYPE A CORPORATIONS. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT. UM, TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 5 0 1 0.054 SPECIFICALLY LAYS OUT THAT WHERE THERE IS SILENCE IN THE CODES THAT WE JUST MENTIONED, YOU GO LOOK AT THE TEXAS NON-PROFIT, NON-PROFIT CORPORATIONS ACT, CHAPTER 22 FOR ANY ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY LIMIT OR LIMITATIONS. SO THAT CHAPTER IS OUT THERE AS WELL. IT DOESN'T DEAL WITH AUTHORITY, IT DEALS MORE WITH PROCEDURES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. BUT IT IS ONE OF THE CODES THAT WE LOOK TO FOR PURPOSES OF HOW WE OPERATE AS A TYPE A CORPORATION. SO AS STATED EARLIER, WE HAVE MONEY TO SPEND. WHERE DO WE GET THAT MONEY? WELL, IT'S REVENUE GENERATED BY SALES TAX DOLLARS. AND THOSE SALES TAX DOLLARS GO TO A PARTICULAR FUND IN A TYPE A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS AUTHORIZED TO SPEND THAT IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY. I DON'T USUALLY READ SLIDES. I USUALLY USE THEM JUST AS PROMPTS. BUT I'M GONNA READ THIS ONE BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. THE TAX IS PRIMARILY INTENDED FOR MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, PRIMARY JOB CREATION, AND MAY BE USED TO ACQUIRE OR PAY FOR LAND BUILDING EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES, EXPENDITURES, TARGETED INFRASTRUCTURE AND IMPROVEMENTS. ALRIGHT? SO THAT'S RIGHT OUT OF THE CODE. THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN SPEND YOUR MONEY ON FOR THE PURPOSES RELATED TO, AND THIS IS THE NEXT PART IN THAT PARTICULAR PROVISION, MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES, MILITARY FACILITIES, RECYCLING FACILITIES, DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, SMALL WAREHOUSE FACILITIES, CAPABLE OF SERVING AS DECENTRALIZED STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION CENTERS. PRIMARY JOB TRAINING FACILITIES FOR USE BY INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. THAT'S IMPORTANT. I OFTENTIMES HAVE TYPE A CORPORATIONS COME TO ME AND SAY, WE WANNA BUILD A TRAINING CENTER AND OPERATE IT OURSELVES. CAN'T DO THAT. RIGHT? THERE'S ANOTHER OPTION IN HERE AS WELL, BUT THIS IS RIGHT OUTTA THE STATUTE IN THIS PARTICULAR PROVISION OR REGIONAL OR NATIONAL CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. NOTE IN HERE THAT IT SAYS PRIMARY JOB CREATION, RIGHT? PRIMARY JOB CREATION IS THE MAIN USE OF THOSE SALES TAX DOLLARS FOR THESE PURPOSES. HOW DO WE KNOW IF SOMETHING IS A PRIMARY JOB? GO TO THE STATUTE. IT'S GOT A LIST OF, AND I CAN'T EVER REMEMBER THE NAME OF WHAT IT IS, BUT OF, [00:15:01] THERE'S A, THERE'S, UM, CODES THAT, THAT HAVE NUMBERS THAT DICTATE, UM, WHAT INDUSTRY IT'S RELATED TO. AND IT LISTS, IT'S GOT A LIST IN THERE OF WHAT IS A PRIMARY JOB. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO DO IS WE GO DOWN THAT LIST AND SAY, OKAY, DOES THIS FALL WITHIN THAT LIST? WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING A PARTICULAR PROJECT UNDER THIS SECTION, NOTICE I HAVE SOME THINGS CROSSED OUT HERE. UM, THIS IS BECAUSE 5 0 1 IS APPLICABLE. CHAPTER 5 0 1 IS APPLICABLE TO BOTH TYPE A AND TYPE B CORPORATIONS. TYPE B CORPORATIONS CAN DO THE ONES THAT ARE STRUCK OUT, TYPE A CORPORATIONS CANNOT DO THE ONES THAT ARE STRUCK OUT. AND, UH, THAT'S IN THE LIMITATIONS PROVISION. WE'LL SEE THAT IN A SECOND. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE CHEATED AND MOVED FORWARD, YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW THAT. SO, SO ADDITION TO THE PRIMARY JOB CREATION UNDER, WITH THOSE PARTICULAR, UM, INDUSTRIES, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL PROJECTS THAT WE CAN DO AS TYPE A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS. THAT IS, UM, STREETS, ROADS, RAIL SPURS, WATER, SEWER FACILITIES, ELECTRIC UTILITIES OR GAS UTILITIES, DRAINAGE SITE IMPROVEMENTS AND RELATED IMPROVEMENTS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET IMPROVEMENTS OR BEACH REMEDIATION ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO. THESE ARE WHAT I REFER TO AS THE NON-PRIMARY JOB CREATING PROJECTS THAT AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CAN DO. IT. SO LONG AS I'M GONNA GO BACK, SO LONG AS THERE'S A FINDING BY THIS BOARD THAT A PARTICULAR PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AS LISTED HERE, STREETS, WATER, AND SEWER FACILITIES, ET CETERA, WILL PROMOTE NEW OR EXPANDED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. YOU CAN DO THE PROJECT, THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO EARLIER, I'M ASSUMING, RIGHT? WHICH IS, HEY, WE DON'T, WE'VE GOT THIS GREAT PIECE OF OPEN LAND THAT'S IN THE CI WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, UM, OR EVEN OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. YOU CAN DO PROJECTS THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE STANDARD LIMITS, UM, SO LONG AS IT BENEFITS THE ECONOMY, ALL THE SO SAID. UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE. WE DON'T HAVE WATER, WE DON'T HAVE SEWER, WE DON'T HAVE GOOD STREETS. IT'S, UM, WELL, YOU CAN USE THESE SALES TAX DOLLARS. YOU HAVE THE REVENUE STREAM FOR A TYPE A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO PUT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE SO LONG AS THERE'S A FINDING THAT IT WILL PROMOTE NEW EXPANDED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. SO THAT MEANS WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO IT IF IT'S GONNA BE A RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION, ALTHOUGH I'VE HAD PEOPLE ARGUE TO ME THAT, WELL, WE NEED HOUSING IN ORDER TO HAVE, UH, EXPANDED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. SO, UM, THIS IS INDIRECTLY DOING THAT. I'VE TAKEN THE POSITION THAT I HAVE TO PUT A BAG OVER MY HEAD TO MAKE THAT ARGUMENT. AND SO I'M NOT WILLING TO MAKE THAT ARGUMENT. UM, I STILL HAVE CLIENTS WANNA TRY TO DO IT, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT WITH, IT'S NOT WITH MY BLESSING. NOW THAT'S DIFFERENT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO DO LOW INCOME TYPE HOUSING, NOT LOW INCOME JOB, YOU KNOW, LOWER COST HOUSING THAT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR JOB, YOU KNOW, LURING OTHER JOBS IN, I'VE HAD A COUPLE CLIENTS WHERE I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DOT THE I'S AND CROSS THE T'S ON THAT. UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S MOST, IT'S GOTTA HAVE THAT FINDING. WILL IT PROMOTE NEW AND EXPANDED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES? AND THEN IF IT DOES, YOU CAN DO, YOU CAN PAY FOR THIS INFRASTRUCTURE QUESTION. YES. AND THAT'S EVEN THOUGH, LIKE ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, I NOTICED THAT WATER AND SEWER WERE CROSSED OUT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING THAT IS CORRECT. DEPOSIT FOR PRIMARY JOB CREATION. THIS THAT'S CORRECT. AND THAT THIS, THIS, UM, IS A SEPARATE PROVISION, A SEPARATE PROJECT PROVISION THAT IS CALLED OUT IN THE STATUTE THAT ALLOWS US TO DO THIS. IN ADDITION, UH, YOU CAN PAY FOR LAND BUILDINGS, EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES, IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPENDITURES FOUND BY THE BOARD TO BE REQUIRED OR SUITABLE FOR USE FOR A CAREER CENTER. IF THE AREA TO BE BENEFITED BY THE CAREER CENTER IS NOT LOCATED IN THE TAXING JURISDICTION OF A JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT. I'VE NEVER HAD A CLIENT UTILIZE THIS PARTICULAR PROVISION, BUT IT EXISTS. YEAH. FUN FACT. WE ARE NOT IN ONE OF THOSE DISTRICTS. OH, WELL, THERE YOU GO. SO IF YOU WANTED TO CREATE A CAREER CENTER, YOU COULD DO SO. WHAT, WHAT WAS YOUR INTER INTERPRETATION OF CAREER CENTER? UH, I'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED THAT QUESTION. . UM, I, I, I HAVE LOOKED AT THAT IN THE PAST. UH, I MEAN, I THINK YOU COULD LOOK AT ANY JUNIOR, ANY COLLEGE AND DETERMINE WHAT A CAREER CENTER LOOKS LIKE FOR PURPOSES OF HELPING PEOPLE GET JOBS. AND, UM, I THINK HERE'S A PRETTY, THERE'S A PRETTY BROAD RANGE OF THINGS THAT YOU COULD DO WITH, WITH, WITH CAREER CENTER IN THAT, IN THAT DEFINITION, WE WOULD FIGURE IT OUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO DO. UM, THE THING I DIDN'T, THAT IS NOT LISTED IN HERE, AND I, THAT'S MY FAULT. I ACCIDENTALLY TOOK IT OUT WHEN I WAS, WHEN I WAS SHAVING THIS OUT TO BE NOT DEALING WITH TYPE B CORPORATIONS, BUT WE JUST DID IT, IS YOU CAN SPEND UP TO 10% OF YOUR ANNUAL REVENUES FOR PROMOTIONS AND [00:20:01] MARKETING. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT'S TECHNICALLY, IT'S THE PROMOTION OF THE CITY, RIGHT? PROMOTING THE CITY. UM, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. UM, I THINK IT MEANS, WHAT IS THIS OPEN? I THINK IT, I THINK IT MEANS WHATEVER THIS BOARD AND WHAT CITY COUNCIL THINK IT MEANS WITHIN, WITHIN REASON, SO LONG AS IT'S NOT ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS. UM, THERE WAS A RE QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS WAY TOO LONG, 15 YEARS MAYBE, UM, A REQUEST BY THE CITY OF HU WHO'S, UM, UM, MASCOT RIGHT IS A HIPPO, AND THEY WANTED TO SPEND MONEY ON A GIANT HIPPO TO PUT OUT AT THE CITY LIMITS AND USE EDC FUNDS. AND SOMEONE REQUESTED A TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION. OF COURSE, THE AG SAID, WE'RE NOT GONNA, WE DON'T MAKE FACTUAL DETERMINATIONS AND FINDINGS. BUT THEY DIDN'T SLAM THE DOOR ON IT. THEY SAID, IF THE BOARD FINDS MAKES THE APPROPRIATE FINDINGS THAT PUTTING A GIANT HIPPO OUT IN FRONT WILL, YOU KNOW, PROMOTE THE CITY OF HU THEN YEAH, THAT'S AN APPROPRIATE EXPENDITURE. SO I DO BELIEVE THAT, UH, THAT DEFINITION IS AS PROBABLY AS BROAD AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS A PUBLIC PURPOSE WHEN IT COMES TO CITIES AND HOW THEY CAN SPEND THEIR DOLLARS, RIGHT? IT HAS TO BE, HAS TO MEET A PUBLIC PURPOSE TEST. AND THE COURTS HAVE SAID FOR A LONG TIME THAT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH AT, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNING BODY. AND SO, UM, I DEFER QUITE, YOU KNOW, I, WHENEVER ASKED, EVERYONE ASKS ME, IS IT LEGAL TO DO X? I SAY, WELL, IF THIS BOARD CAN MAKE THAT FINDING, AND I USUALLY SAY, WITHOUT PUTTING A BAG OVER THEIR HEAD, THEN IT'S PROBABLY PROBABLY APPROPRIATE TO USE THOSE DOLLARS FOR THAT. BUT THAT IS ANOTHER PROPER USE OF THE EXPENDITURES UP TO TENS PERCENT OF YOUR ANNUAL REVENUE THAT DOES ROLL OVER. SO, UM, IF YOU, UM, HAD A HUNDRED DOLLARS IN ANNUAL REVENUE, YOU COULD USE 10 OF IT ON PROMOTIONS. IF YOU ONLY USE $5 OF IT, THAT $5 ROLLS OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR SO THAT THE NEXT YEAR, IF YOU HAD A HUNDRED DOLLARS IN REVENUE, YOU WOULD NOW HAVE $15 TO SPEND ON PROMOTIONS. SO THESE ARE THE LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF YOUR SALES TAX DOLLARS. A CORPORATION MAY NOT PROVIDE A DIRECT INCENTIVE TO OR MAKE AN EXPENDITURE ON BEHALF OF A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. THAT'S A KEY TERM BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. UM, UNDER ANY, ANY, I'VE GOT THE SECTIONS LISTED HERE, BUT THAT'S BASICALLY UNDER ANY AUTHORITY FOR A PROJECT. UM, WITHOUT ENTERING INTO A PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT, WHICH WE JUST RECENTLY DID, UH, WHICH YOU AGREED TO EARLIER THIS EVENING. BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IS A KEY TERM THERE. WHAT WE DID WAS NOT A TECH, WHAT I, WE CALLED IT A PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT, BUT IT'S NOT A TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT. IT'S MORE OF AN AGREEMENT TO MAKE SURE THE MONEY IS SPENT IN THE RIGHT WAY. UM, BUT A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE MEANS HAVE BEEN A NON A FOR-PROFIT BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. THAT'S ALWAYS REQUIRED. IN ADDITION, UM, THE PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT MUST PROVIDE THE SCHEDULE OF ADDITIONAL PAYROLL OR JOBS TO BE RECA RETAINED OR CREATED AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT TO BE MADE AS CONSIDERATION. UH, I HAVE AS, AS WELL AS MY LAW PARTNER, AND I GUESS I WOULD SAY OUR LAW FIRM HAS ALWAYS INTERPRETED THAT MEAN YOU COULD SET YOUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT AT ZERO IF YOU SO CHOOSE. UM, I'VE NEVER INTERPRETED THIS TO MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE BOTH, UM, ADDITIONAL PAYROLL OR JOBS AND A CAPITAL INVESTMENT. ONE OR THE OTHER IS, IS IS HOW I'VE IN, I'VE INTERPRETED IT, UM, WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW Y'ALL HAVE DONE THINGS IN THE PAST, BUT I'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, UM, MULTIPLE CLIENTS WHERE REALLY WE'RE NOT LOOKING. IT'S, WE'RE REALLY NOT ABOUT JOB CREATION. WE'RE REALLY ABOUT CAPITAL INVESTMENT. WE'RE REALLY ABOUT GETTING THOSE, UM, BUSINESS ENTERPRISES ON THE GROUND AND GENERATING SALE, UM, NOT SALES TAX, BUT PROPERTY TAX INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX REVENUES. AND SO IT'S THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT. AND SO I'VE HAD, UH, CLIENTS WHERE THE JOB CREATION WAS ABSOLUTELY ZERO. THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO CREATE ANY JOBS, UH, BUT THEY DID HAVE TO PUT, YOU KNOW, QUITE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ON THE GROUND, UH, IN ORDER TO TO, TO GET THE INCENTIVES. IN ADDITION, IT HAS, THE PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT HAS TO SPECIFY THE TERMS UNDER WHICH REPAYMENT MUST BE MADE. IF THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE DID NOT, DOES NOT MEET THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THAT'S IN THERE. BUT FOR YOUR PURPOSES, AND I THINK SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, MY PREFERENCE IS THAT THEY PERFORM AND THEN THEY GET PAID. UH, THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE IF A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE DOESN'T PERFORM 99.9% OF THE TIME, IT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE FAILED [00:25:01] FINANCIALLY. AND SO THE ODDS OF GETTING YOUR MONEY BACK ARE OFTENTIMES SLIM TO NONE. AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M A BIG FAN AS LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO SAY, PERFORM. THEN YOU CAN GET REIMBURSED OR GET YOUR INCENTIVE. AND I'LL HAVE CLIENTS COME TO ME AND SAY, BUT CHARLIE, THE BUSINESS CAN'T AFFORD TO DO WHAT IT WANTS TO DO. THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY UP FRONT. AND MY ANSWER IS, DO YOU REALLY WANNA INCENTIVIZE A COMPANY THAT CAN'T AFFORD TO DO WHAT IT WANTS TO DO? THAT'S JUST ME. Y'ALL GET TO MAKE THAT DECISION. UM, BUT THAT'S THE WAY I RECOMMEND THE APPROACH. BUT IN CASE WE DO HAVE A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE AN INCENTIVE UPFRONT, UH, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE THIS PROVISION IN HERE THAT TALKS ABOUT HOW WE GET OUR, OUR MONEY BACK IF IT'S, IT'S A DIRECT INCENTIVE FOR MONEY. FINALLY, AND THIS IS THAT LIMITATION THAT I TALKED, I THINK I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. A CORPORATION MAY SPEND TAX REVENUE RECEIVED UNDER THIS SUBTITLE, WHICH IS THE SUBTITLE, DI BELIEVE, UM, FOR JOB TRAINING OFFERED THROUGH A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, ONLY IF THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISES HAS COMMITTED IN WRITING TO CREATE NEW JOBS THAT PAY WAGES, ET CETERA, OR INCREASE ITS PAYROLL TO PAY WAGES. SO WHAT IS THIS? THIS MEANS THERE'S A SEC SEPARATE PROVISION IN THE STATUTE. IT'S GOT ITS OWN SEPARATE, UM, STATUTORY NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH IT THAT SAYS THAT A TYPE A CORPORATION CAN OFFER JOB TRAINING THROUGH A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. THEY CAN PAY FOR JOB TRAINING THROUGH A BUSINESS ENTERPRISES A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. I HAVE A CLIENT THAT'S, UM, A LITTLE FURTHER TO THE COAST THAT I REPRESENT AS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. AND THERE'S A TRUCK DRIVING COMPANY, , AND THEY PAY THE TRUCK DRIVING COMPANY TO PROVIDE JOB TRAINING TO PEOPLE AS THEY COME IN THE DOOR SO THAT THEY CAN GET THE TRAINING THROUGH THE COMPANY IN ORDER TO THEN DRIVE THE TRUCKS. AND THIS IS PART OF THEIR AGREEMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THESE THINGS IN ORDER TO DO THAT. SO THIS GIVES YOU AUTHORITY TO DO JOB TRAINING IN A SITUATION OTHER THAN THROUGH, UM, UM, UH, UH, A, UH, INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, THE COLLEGE. SO THAT'S THE AUTHORITY TO SPEND THE MONEY. THAT WAS A VERY HIGH LEVEL, AGAIN, VERY HIGH LEVEL I THINK. BUT I THINK IT GIVES YOU THE BROAD PARAMETERS THAT YOU NEED TO HEAR. UM, AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO READ THE STATUTE. IT'S A LOT OF FUN. AND THEN AS WE GO THROUGH TO DETERMINE PROJECTS, I'LL GIVE YOU THE NOD OR THE WINK TO LET YOU KNOW WHETHER OR NOT I THINK IT'S OKAY OR NOT. IF IT'S REALLY CLOSE, I PROMISE YOU I WILL GIVE YOU AN, AN OPINION, A WRITTEN OPINION. UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. UM, AT LEAST ONCE IN EACH 20 MONTH, 24 MONTH PERIOD, THE CITY ATTORNEY, THE ADMINISTRATOR, OR THE CLERK OF THE MUNICIPALITY, WHICH I'VE ALWAYS FOUND TO BE WEIRD MUNICIPAL CLERK, UM, THAT AUTHORIZED THE CORPORATION, WHICH WOULD BE THE CITY AND THE CORPORATION'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARE ONE OF Y'ALL. THE EXECUTIVE RECORD. YOU'RE THE EXECUTIVE. I COULDN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE, I'M SORRY. HAS TO TAKE THIS, UM, TRAINING COURSE. Y'ALL ARE NOT REQUIRED TO TAKE THE TRAINING COURSE, BUT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU TAKE THE SAME TRAINING. UM, WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT THAT PUTS THAT UP THERE FOR YOU? IT'S CASEY. YEAH. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GO DO IT. IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE, UM, VERY HELPFUL. IT'S NOT JUST FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, BUT IT'S OTHERS. AND IT'S, IT GIVES YOU A NICE, BROAD EXPERIENCE. I ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GO TO THE TML, THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, CONFERENCE THAT THEY HAVE EVERY YEAR. 'CAUSE THEN YOU GET TO SEE THIS PRESENTATION ON A MUCH BROADER SCALE. AND I'M A LOT FUNNIER, AND I CUSS DURING THAT PRESENTATION, BY THE WAY, AT LEAST THREE, SIR, AT LEAST THREE TIMES. THERE ARE SOME REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. THIS ISN'T REALLY SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT STAFF AND I MAKE SURE THAT THIS HAPPENS. BUT THERE ARE SOME RE UH, SOME REPORTING REQUIREMENTS THAT, THAT THEY ARE, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO DO, UM, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT GETS TAKEN CARE OF ANNUALLY. AND THEN FINALLY, THIS IS JUST A LITTLE LEFTOVER. UM, UM, THE GOV, THE CITY'S GOVERNING BODY APPOINTS AT LEAST A FIVE MEMBER BOARD DOLLAR A FIVE MEMBER BOARD TO A TERM NOT TO EXCEED SIX YEARS. AND Y'ALL'S TERM IS TWO YEARS. IS THAT TWO YEARS? NEIL'S TERM IS TWO YEARS. SO ALL THAT'S SET BY ORDINANCE. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. OH, WAIT, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT TRUE. WE WENT, I FORGOT WE, I KEPT THIS IN THERE. SO AFTER GOING THROUGH ALL THAT, DOES ANYBODY KNOW, DOES ANYBODY HAVE A DIFFERENCE OF A, IT'S A LITTLE WEIRDER BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO THE WHOLE THING THAT I NORMALLY DO. BUT IS THERE ANY CHANGE IN IDEA OF WHAT THEIR, WHAT THE ROLE OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS? DON'T SKIP FORWARD. MR. POWERS, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, . I SAW HIS, LIKE, I'M GONNA HIT THE FORWARD BUTTON. YEAH, DON'T DO THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS KIND OF A COOL LITTLE THING, I THINK, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ACCURATE. SO FIRST OF ALL, WELL FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T HAVE IT MEMORIZED BECAUSE I'M ALMOST 60 YEARS OLD. UM, CITY COUNCIL GOALS. SO FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE CITY COUNCIL GOALS, RIGHT? UM, [00:30:01] AND LET ME TELL YOU THAT I THINK YOU'RE, AS A GENERAL MATTER, I FULLY AND COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOUR STATEMENT THAT IT IS TO INCREASE THE ECONOMY OF THE CITY OF SHORE. BUT I THINK IT'S MORE THAN THAT. UM, AND THIS IS WHAT I THINK THE ROLE OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS, AND WE'RE GONNA GET TO THAT ANSWER WITH THIS VENN DIAGRAM IN JUST FOR, IN JUST A MOMENT. BUT LET'S REMEMBER, AND THIS IS PART OF MY BROADER CONVERSATION THAT I HAVE WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BOOK TYPE A AND TYPE B AND HOW CITY COUNCILS AND EDCS GET ALONG. REMEMBER, THIS CORPORATION IS EXISTS AS STATED EARLIER, PURELY AT THE WILL OF THE CITY COUNCIL. THEY APPOINT THE BOARD MEMBERS. THEY APPROVE THE EXPENDITURES, THEY APPROVE THE PROGRAMS, THEY CAN REMOVE THE BOARD MEMBERS AT THE WILL OF WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T LIKE COLOR OF YOUR SHIRT, RIGHT? SO I LIKE PERSONALLY LIKE IT, BUT MAYBE THEY DON'T. AND SO THEY REMOVE YOU, RIGHT? SO REMEMBER, IT'S COMPLETELY AT THE WILL CITY COUNCIL. SO WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS PART OF, AS THE BOARD, RIGHT? WE DON'T WANT TO GO ALL, YOU KNOW, CRAZY. WE'RE INDEPENDENT. WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE. WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CITY, NOT WORRY. WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF CITY COUNCILS, RIGHT? AND THAT IS THEIR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. AND REMEMBER, THEY'VE GOT GREATER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAN WE DO. BROADER SCOPE OF, OF CONCERNS. UM, THEY'VE GOT DEVELOPMENT ISSUES, REGULATORY ISSUES, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THOSE AND REMEMBER THEIR DEVELOPMENT, HOW THEY WANT TO DEVELOP THEIR REGULATORY ISSUES. ALL THAT KIND OF PLAYS INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, RIGHT? ALL RIGHT, SO WE ALSO HAVE THE LAW, RIGHT? DON'T FORGET ABOUT THAT. I MEAN, OTHERWISE I'LL BE OUT OF A JOB. WELL, ACTUALLY, IF YOU FORGET ABOUT IT, MY JOB IS USUALLY, I USUALLY MAKE MORE MONEY WHEN PEOPLE FORGET ABOUT THE LAW, UM, QUITE HONESTLY. BUT WE HAVE THE LAW OUT THERE. SO THAT'S PART OF THIS. WE JUST WENT THROUGH IT, RIGHT? CHA ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE CHAPTERS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE ARE APPLICABLE AND THE NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS ACT, RIGHT? AND THEN OF COURSE THERE'S TEXAS AG OPINIONS AND CASE LAW THAT INTERPRETS ALL THIS STUFF. SO ALL THAT STUFF IS OUT THERE. THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT. AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAVE THE EDC GOALS, WHICH IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND IN THIS CASE SOUNDS LIKE IT'S PROMOTING THE ECONOMY OF THE CITY OF RE AND ALSO GETTING SOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GROUND TO HELP ENSURE THAT WE CAN BRING THOSE EXPANDED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO THE COMMUNITY. SO WHERE DOES ALL THAT LEAVES US IN ALIGNMENT, WHERE ALL OF THESE THINGS COME TOGETHER ON THIS NICE LITTLE VENN DIAGRAM WHERE CITY COUNCIL'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES MEET IN THE MIDDLE WITH THE EDCS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND WHERE THE LAW ALLOWS IT. THAT'S WHERE WE WANT TO BE, BE WE WANT TO BE RIGHT THERE IN THE CENTER WITH THAT ALIGNMENT. AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT Y'ALL DO IT, I'M GETTING A LITTLE OFF OF WHAT Y'ALL ASKED ME TO DO, BUT I THINK IT'S THAT IMPORTANT. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS BODY AND ALSO OUR TYPE B CORPORATION AND OUR CITY COUNCIL ARE MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS BASIS, AND HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT THAT ALIGNMENT LOOKS LIKE FROM, WITH RESPECT TO THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF, OF THE COMMUNITY. IT'S ESPECIALLY, I THINK IT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT WITH, WELL, IT'S IMPORTANT WITH BOTH. I THINK IT'S A LITTLE MORE IMPORTANT WITH A TYPE B. 'CAUSE A TYPE B CORPORATION HAS OTHER TYPES OF AUTHORITY THAT A TYPE A CORPORATION DOES NOT HAVE SOME EXPANDED AUTHORITY, UM, THAT INCLUDES SOME QUALITY OF LIFE PRODUCTS, PROJECTS, UM, THAT A TYPE A CANNOT DO. AND SOMETIMES CITIES LIKE THOSE QUALITY OF LIFE PRO, I'VE GOT ONE CLIENT, THEY DO A TON OF QUALITY OF LIFE PRO, UH, PROJECTS WITH THEIR TYPE B CORPORATION. SO, AND THEY HAVE POLICY REASONS FOR DOING SO. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP ALL OF THAT IN MIND. WE HAVE THOSE MEETINGS WITH, UH, JOINT MEETINGS BETWEEN OUR, THE CORPORATION AND THE CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, MOVING DOWN THE SAME ROAD TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL. UH, A MORE MICRO GOAL THAN JUST PROMOTING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE BROADER GOAL THAT OF COURSE, WE'RE ALL TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. AND I THINK NOW THAT'S IT. AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, AND I HOPE I DIDN'T BORE YOU TOO MUCH. YOU GOOD? AWESOME. ALL RIGHT. I'LL SIT DOWN. THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT. [5. Update on Harris Street reconstruction. ] OKAY. MOVING ON TO ITEM WILL NOW BE ITEM NUMBER SIX, UPSTATE UPDATE ON THE HARRIS STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT. GOOD EVENING BOARD. I'LL STAY UP HERE. IT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE IN YOUR PACKETS, I'VE INCLUDED, UH, A CONCEPT PLAN FOR THE PLAZA SPACE, UH, ALONG HARRIS STREET. THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY ALREADY OUT OF DATE. UM, SO I WILL SHOW YOU THE, THE MORE RECENT ONES, BUT THE IDEA REMAINS THE SAME. UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU GUYS KIND OF A, A BETTER LOOK AT WHAT WE ENVISION THE PLAZA SPACE TO BE, UM, AND GIVE YOU GUYS SOME, [00:35:01] UH, INSPIRATIONS THAT WE KIND OF TOOK WHEN WE WERE PLANNING THIS. UM, THIS, UH, PLAZA SPACE THAT YOU COULD SEE DOWN ON THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER THAT'S IN BESON, TEXAS, TEXAS, UM, AN AREA THAT I WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH. AND ACTUALLY WHEN WE WERE COMING UP WITH THIS IDEA, I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT I WAS RECALLING THAT UNTIL WE TOOK A, A CLOSER LOOK. AND, AND, BUT YES, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE, UM, FOR THIS PROJECT. UM, SO IN THIS CONCEPT, YOU CAN SEE, UM, THESE XS THAT ARE KIND OF CROSS OVER THE TOP. THOSE ARE ACTUALLY STRING LIGHTS. UM, AND THEY'LL BE ATTACHED TO THE LIGHT POLES THAT KIND OF DOT THE STREET OR THE, UH, PLAZA SPACE, AND THEY'LL CARRY ON THROUGH THE REST OF THE STREET AS WELL. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PLANT LIFE, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, STAMPED CONCRETE, UM, WITH SOME COLOR VARIATIONS TO GIVE US A BETTER, UH, MORE APPEALING LOOK THAN JUST RAW CONCRETE. UM, KIND OF DIFFERENTIATES THE, UH, THE NORMAL STREET AND SIDEWALKS TO THE REST OF HARRIS STREET. UM, AND THEN AS WELL AS THE, THE FOURTH STREET, UH, INTERSECTION, HAVING A BIG STAMPED AREA. THIS ONE SHOWS THE, UH, THE CIRCLE TURE SEAL. UM, THAT'S ACTUALLY NOT ONE OF THE OPTIONS. I'LL SHOW YOU THE OTHER TWO OPTIONS. UM, AND TONIGHT JUST KIND OF GET YOUR, UH, JUDGE YOUR TEMPERATURE ON THE TWO, UH, CENTER POINTS THAT WE HAVE. NO, NO DECISIONS OR ANYTHING TONIGHT. JUST TRYING TO GET AN IDEA WHEN WE PASS THIS ALONG. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS ONE OF THEM. THIS IS ACTUALLY A, UH, A LOGO THAT WAS DESIGNED, UM, WHEN THEY DID OUR LAST GO ROUND OF, UM, BRANDING GUIDELINES. UM, AND THIS WAS MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT. UM, IN THIS ONE, THERE'S A BUNCH OF SMALLER DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS THAT ARE KIND OF STAMPED THROUGHOUT THE PLAZA. UM, STAFF KIND OF SEES THAT BEING A LITTLE TOO BUSY. UM, WE'D REALLY RATHER HAVE JUST ONE, UH, MAIN FOCAL POINT ON FOURTH STREET. UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE SLIMMED DOWN THE, UH, THE NUMBER OF TREES AND FOCUS MORE ON LARGER TREES THAN A BUNCH OF SMALL ONES. WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S OPENED UP. UM, SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE THE BUSINESSES WHEN YOU'RE WALKING DOWN THE PLAZA RATHER THAN A ROW OF TREES AND KIND OF HAVING TO DUCK UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING. UM, SO, BUT GENERALLY THE SAME IDEA THAT YOU, THAT YOU GUYS SAW, UM, VARIATIONS IN THE STAMPED CONCRETE AND THEN THAT CENTER, UH, STAMP ON FOURTH STREET. UM, THE OTHER OPTION WE HAVE IS A VARIATION. THIS IS OUR, A VARIATION ON THE ACTUAL CITY SEAL. UM, IT LOOKS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, BUT THIS GIVES A MORE CLEAN IDEA AND IT'S MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO BE A LOT EASIER TO MAINTAIN THAN THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT STAMP. UM, AND THIS ONE YOU CAN SEE IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY, UM, SMALLER STAMPS THROUGHOUT THE PLAZA. UM, IT JUST FOCUSES ON THAT ONE BIG ONE. AND THEN, UM, STILL HAS THE, THE STRING LIGHTS AND, AND LIGHT POSTS THROUGHOUT. UM, SO I GUESS TONIGHT JUST SOME GENERAL DIRECTION ON WHAT YOU GUYS LIKE ABOUT IT, DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT, AND THEN, UH, REALLY WHICH UH, LOGO YOU GUYS PREFER OF THOSE TWO. WHEN YOU SAY EASIER TO CLEAN, TO ME THAT MEANS IT COSTS THE CITY LESS MONEY. SO TO ME, THE SECOND OPTION I LIKE BETTER. I ALSO LIKE IT ONLY IN ONE PLACE AS OPPOSED TO IN MULTIPLE. UM, AND I WAS GOING TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT ALL THE TREES THAT WERE THERE THAT ARE NO LONGER THERE. SO THAT'S GREAT. HAYDEN ON THIS MAP IS WEST TO THE TOP. I BELIEVE SO, YES. SO, SO THE ORIENTATION, I MEANT TO MENTION THIS AS WELL. UM, YOU'LL SEE THE ORIENTATION IS MADE. WE FIGURE A MAJORITY OF THE TRAFFIC IS GONNA BE COMING OFF OF MAINE, RIGHT? UM, TO CROSS OVER. SO WE WANT IT LEGIBLE FROM THAT ANGLE. UM, WE WERE KIND OF ALL OVER THE PLACE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, WELL, WE WANT IT TO LOOK GREAT FROM EVERY SIDE, BUT IT'S KIND OF DIFFICULT WITH ANY OF THE LOGOS THAT WE HAVE, FRANKLY, UM, AT LEAST THE STARS KIND OF EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE THE STAR IS. NOW, IS THIS OKAY, AS I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS LOGO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, I'M THINKING OF LIKE A PHOTO OP. YES, THAT IS ONE, ONE CONCERN. UM, BUT UH, THE REAL REASON TO HAVE IT THERE IS TO GET TRAFFIC TO SLOW AS IT AS IT [00:40:01] CROSSES. OKAY. INSTEAD OF HAVING SOME SORT OF PLANT OR SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE OF IT OKAY. TO GET TRAFFIC TO SLOW AT THE TOP. OKAY. SO IN THAT CASE THEN WE WOULD DEFINITELY WANT THE TRAFFIC. THE TRAFFIC'S GONNA BE FASTER COMING OFF OF MAINE THAN IT WOULD ANYWHERE ELSE. MM-HMM, . AND IF IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING LEGIBLE FOR THEM TO READ, THEN THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO SLOW THEM DOWN THAN IT POINTED IN ANY OTHER DIRECTION. YEP. AND, AND MORE THAN LIKELY, UM, AS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES THROUGH DOWNTOWN, THE SPEED LIMIT WILL GRADUALLY LOWER. UM, YOU KNOW, FINGERS CROSSED ANYWAYS. UM, SO, BUT THAT WAS THE IDEA FOR HAVING SOMETHING IN THE CENTER. HISTORICALLY, HOW OFTEN DOES THE CITY GO THROUGH UPDATING ITS REBRANDING GUIDELINES OR UPDATING ITS BRANDING? I WANNA SAY BEFORE THIS PAST ONE HAD BEEN AT LEAST 10 TO 15 YEARS. UM, AND THAT WAS ANOTHER REASON FOR WHY WE ASKED THEM TO INCLUDE THE, THE ACTUAL CITY SEAL ON THERE. AT LEAST THAT WILL BE TIMELESS. UM, WHERE I, I, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, THE BRANDING THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW JUST GOT PAST, I THINK THE YEAR BEFORE LAST. SO IT, IT'S GOING TO BE AROUND FOR A WHILE. UM, BUT WE KNOW THE SEAL WILL BE THERE AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO CLOSE THIS INTERSECTION DOWN FOR EVENTS, RIGHT? BUT THERE'S NO, LIKE, I GUESS YOU DON'T SEE THE, THE BOLLARDS THAT WOULD RAISE AND LOWER, WOULD THOSE JUST BE CONES PLACED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR SO FOR THE CROSS STREET ON, ON FOURTH STREET, UM, THEY WOULD PUT OUT BARRICADES. UM, YOU CAN SEE THE BOLLARDS FOR THE, THE PLAZA SPACE. AND IT ALSO, UM, WE'RE REQUESTING THAT THEY HAVE IT IN PLACE AT THE ENDS OF THE STREET AS WELL, OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO INSTALL BOLLARDS. UM, BUT, BUT FOR THE CROSS STREET IT'D PROBABLY BE JUST, UH, BARRICADES. CAN I SQUIRREL A LITTLE BIT AWAY FROM THE CENTER? YES. UM, SO THE WAY THAT WE ENVISION THIS PLAZA BEING USED, WOULD THERE BE THE POTENTIAL FOR VENDORS TO BE PLACED ON HERE AND DO WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE ALLOWED ENOUGH SPACE FOR VENDORS AND THEN ALSO, UM, LIKE ACCESS TO POWER SHOULD THE VENDOR WANT POWER? IS THERE A CONSIDERATION FOR THAT IN THESE PLANS? WE HAD, UM, LOOKED AND MOST LIKELY THE POWER POLES WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE CONNECTED. UM, AS FAR AS THE, THE SPACING FOR, FOR VENDORS, THAT WAS ANOTHER REASON THAT WE DECREASED THE AMOUNT OF TREES AND JUST MADE THEM LARGER THROUGHOUT THE PLAZA. SO WE CAN FIT THOSE STANDARD SIZE TENTS, UM, THROUGHOUT, THROUGHOUT THE SPACE. AND WE FEEL LIKE THE POWER OUTLETS THERE WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE VOLTAGE? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. NUMBER SEVEN ON HERE. IS THAT A LIGHT POLE? OKAY, SO NUMBER SEVEN. SO IS EVERY LIGHT POLE GOT AN OUTLET THAT WE DON'T KNOW AND THE POWER POLES ARE NOT ACTUALLY WITHIN THE SCOPE AS IT SITS CURRENTLY. UM, IT WOULD BE AN ADULT, UM, ONTO THE PROJECT. UM, SO AS WE GO THROUGH, WE JUST GOT SOME SUGGESTIONS ON STYLES TODAY. UM, WE'RE GONNA TRY AND LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT'S INTEGRATED INTO 'EM. I JUST WANNA MAKE A NOTE THAT IN EVERY SINGLE MEETING WE'VE EVER HAD ON THIS TOPIC, SOMEONE HAS BROUGHT UP POWER. SO I JUST, WE SHOULD START THINKING, I KNOW IT'S AN ADD-ON AND WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THAT, BUT AT SOME POINT, BECAUSE I THINK EVERYONE WHO CARESS ALL ABOUT THAT A LOT. YES, SIR. AND, AND, UH, THE POINT ON THAT WE HAD ACTUALLY REQUESTED TO HAVE IT WITHIN THE, LIKE THE CENTER AREA OF THE PLAZA, AND IT WAS SUGGESTED TO US BY THE ENGINEERS TO RELY MORE ON THE POLES THAN TO HAVE RECESSED OUTLETS ANYWHERE FOR WATER AND OTHER DAMAGE. SO AS WE LOOK AT THE POLES, THAT'LL BE, UH, MORE AND MORE CLEAR. CURRENTLY FOR FUNDING, THIS IS BEING SPLIT WITH A, UH, WITH B BOARD. YES, SIR. KNOWING HOW MUCH OUTSIDE TREES HAVE THE OUTSIDE OF , I DON'T KNOW IF IT SAYS ON HERE. UM, BUT I, I WANNA SAY IT CONTINUES THE SAME WIDTH AS THE, THE REST OF THE SIDEWALKS ON, ON THAT SIDE, AND THOSE ARE 11 FOOT SIDEWALKS. OKAY. AND THERE SHOULD BE A LITTLE BIT EXTRA SPACE IN THE PLAZA AREA ON THAT SIDE OF THE, UH, OF THE PLAZA SPACE [00:45:04] PROBABLY THAT SHOULD BE ON. UM, IF THERE WERE TO BE ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT BUILT ON EITHER SIDE OF THAT PLAZA, JUST THAT THERE WOULD BE EASY ACCESS IN AND OUT OF ANY RETAIL OR COMMERCIAL SPACE. AND, AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE LEFT, UM, A GOOD BUS SPACE ON THOSE SIDES AND WITH OUR NEW DOWNTOWN CDO, UM, WITH THOSE BUILDINGS HAVING TO BE BROUGHT CLOSE TO THE STREET, WE WANT TO GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO UTILIZE SOME PATIO SPACE. AND IF IT ENCROACHES ONTO THE SIDEWALK A LITTLE BIT, THAT THAT'S OKAY. WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF SPACE TO WORK WITH. UM, SO THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR, OUR PRIMARY GOALS WHEN WE SET THAT OUT. AND SO JUST IF YOU DIDN'T CATCH THAT WITH OUR CDO, AND I THINK THIS IS A FAIRLY NEW ADDITION, BUT BUILDINGS THAT WILL, COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS SET UP IN DOWNTOWN DISTRICT, THERE'S A NEW REQUIREMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO BE CLOSER TO THE STREET THAN BEFORE. SO THAT'S WHY WE DON'T WANT BUSHES ALL THE WAY UP, RIGHT? WE COULD THEN WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO OPEN THE DOORS. WHAT WAS THE ACTION NEEDED? UH, NO ACTION, JUST BASICALLY JUST KIND OF TAKING ROOM TEMPERATURE ON WHICH LOGO YOU GUYS PREFERRED. UM, WELL, I HEARD, UH, SUPPORT FOR THE EASIEST TO MAINTAIN LOGO AS A, AS A HIGHLIGHT OR AS A HIGH LEVEL FEEDBACK. AND WE PREFER JUST THE SOLITARY LOGO NOT INTERSPERSED THROUGHOUT. THAT IS WHAT I HEARD. UNDERSTOOD. AGAIN, BACK TO LESS CLEANING. YES. THANK YOU, SIR. ANY MORE QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UH, WELL, HOW'S TIMING GOING? UH, THAT WE DON'T KNOW YET? UM, THERE ON TRACK STILL. UM, THE HOLIDAYS HAVE KIND OF STEPPED IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, BUT WE'RE STILL ON TRACK WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS TO, TO WRAP UP, UM, DESIGN AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION. OKAY. SO WHERE, WHAT PERCENT DESIGN ARE WE AT? DO WE KNOW? I DON'T KNOW. I THINK THE LAST WE HEARD WAS 80%. UH, SO THIS IS THE, THE FINAL END. THIS WAS KIND OF THE, THE MAJORITY OF THE HOLDUP, I THINK. AND WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL OF OUR FEEDBACK ON YOU, AND WE'LL BE FEEDBACK WITH THOSE TWO. OKAY. FOR OUR FINAL. GREAT. SO IN OUR NEXT MEETING, CAN WE GET A, UM, LET'S, I THINK I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THIS IS GONNA BE DONE. YES, SIR. , OR WHEN, WHEN SHOVELS ARE GOING TO DIG UP SOMETHING. YES, SIR. RIGHT? YEAH. AND, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY, UH, TRY AND HAVE A GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR EVERYBODY TO BE OUT THERE, UM, ONCE THAT TIME COMES. UM, BUT YES, WE ARE, WE ARE JUST AS ANXIOUS AS YOU GUYS, UH, TO GET THIS ROLLING AND, UH, HAVING THESE CONCEPTS IS, IS GREAT AND IT'S PROVIDING A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, EASE ON THE ANTICIPATION, AT LEAST . EXCELLENT. THANK YOU, HAYDEN. THANK YOU. UM, ONE OTHER THING. SO THINKING ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND PUTTING UP THE LIGHT POLES. I KNOW THAT IT'S AN ADDITION, BUT I KNOW HOW CONSTRUCTION WORKS AND IF THEY DON'T PLAN FOR IT, THEN IT MAKES IT HARDER LATER AND MORE EXPENSIVE LATER. ARE WE LOOKING TO DO THE ADDITION FROM THE GET GO SO THEY NO MATTER WHAT, EVEN IF WE DON'T, UM, ADD THE LIGHT POLES INTO THIS PROJECT, THE, UM, THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS AND STUB OUTS FOR EV, ALL OF THEM ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. UM, SO, BUT WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY LE LEFT OVER IN THE BUDGET AS IT SITS CURRENTLY, UM, THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADD IT, UM, INTO THIS PROJECT AND ORDER 'EM THROUGH THE CITY, UM, AND HAVE 'EM INSTALLED, UH, PRETTY EASILY. AND, AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY OUT, PEOPLE CAN SEE THIS, PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE. HAS ANYBODY SHOWN ANY INTEREST? HEY, I WANT TO MOVE TO THAT AREA. I WANT TO BUILD THERE. I WANT TO, HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING? WE HAVE. WE, WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS, UM, WITH, UH, LANDOWNERS DOWNTOWN THAT HOLD QUITE A BIT OF PROPERTY AND THEY'VE BEEN PICKING OUR BRAIN. WE'VE BEEN PICKING THEIR BRAIN AND KIND OF, UH, TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT DOWNTOWN COULD LOOK LIKE. UM, NOT ONLY AT THE PLAZA SPACE, BUT THEN SPREAD OUT MORE DOWN HARRIS STREET AND THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN AS A WHOLE. SO VERY POSITIVE MEETINGS. UM, WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT DOWNTOWN. OKAY. UM, I DON'T KNOW, PAUL AND I WERE GONNA SWITCH OFF ON ODD AND EVENS, BUT WE GOT MESSED UP AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ON AN ON EVEN, BUT WE'RE GONNA START [6. Economic Development Report ] NEXT UP [00:50:01] IS OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT. AND NOW YOU HAVE A FEW THINGS TO SHARE WITH US, I BELIEVE. AND SO ARE YOU READY TO LISTEN? YES, SIR. I'LL START OFF WITH OUR RETAIL COACH UPDATE. SINCE, UH, WE LAST MET IN NOVEMBER, WE'VE HAD PIATA, CHIBA HUTT AND FIRST WATCH OPEN. UM, WE HAVE TRIED TO MAKE IT, UH, WE TRIED PIATA, THEY BROUGHT IT TO US. UM, WE DID VISIT CHIBA HUTTON, FIRST WATCH, BOTH JUST GREAT PLACES TO DINE. THEY'VE BEEN REALLY BUSY. WE'VE GOTTEN REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK, SO THAT'S EXCITING. UM, THE RETAIL COACH WILL BE REPRESENTING US AT ICSC, THE RED RIVER CONFERENCE IN DALLAS, JANUARY 31ST THROUGH FEBRUARY 2ND. THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT ONE OF US MIGHT ATTEND, BUT THAT HASN'T BEEN FINALIZED. IF ANY OF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, UH, GOING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN WORK THAT OUT. UH, AARON IS ALSO WORKING RIGHT NOW TO GET US, UH, ANOTHER MEETING WITH HEB, JUST TO, YOU KNOW, STAY ON THEIR RADAR, SEE WHAT THEY'RE UP TO, SEE IF WE CAN GET ANY, ANY OTHER INFORMATION FROM THEM. WE HAD MET, UM, EARLY LAST FALL WITH THEM. I THINK JUST KIND OF AN INTRODUCTION SINCE WE WERE BOTH NEW THAT YEAR, AND I THINK THEIR PERSON OVER THIS PROPERTY CHANGED US WELL. SO WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO CONNECT WITH THEM AGAIN, UM, SOMETIME IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. AND THEN HE'S ALSO REACHING OUT TO HOME DEPOT SINCE THEY'VE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN BEING HERE IN SHORE. SO JUST KIND OF SEEING WHAT THEY NEED FROM US AND HOW WE CAN HELP THEM MOVE FORWARD, UM, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. UM, MY ITEM TWO FOR UPDATE IS, UH, THAT WE ATTENDED TMLS EDC CONFERENCE. SO, UH, I ATTENDED ALONG WITH PAUL AND BONNIE ON A BOARD AND THERE WERE LOTS OF TAKEAWAYS. UM, IT WAS SHORT, BUT IT WAS PACKED WITH REALLY GREAT INFORMATION. AND FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING I MIGHT MISS HERE. UM, BUT I THINK A LOT OF WHAT WE LEARNED IS JUST THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING OUR CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE, UM, UPDATED AND MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE EXPLORE THE INCENTIVES THAT ARE OUT THERE, NOT JUST WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH HERE LOCALLY, BUT WHAT OUR STATE OFFERS AND HOW WE CAN, UH, UTILIZE THAT TO OUR BENEFIT HERE. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT ESTABLISHING SOME WORKING GROUPS AND HAVING, UM, YOU ALL GET MORE INVOLVED ON A DAY-TO-DAY LEVEL HERE ON THINGS THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN. SO WE'VE BEEN KIND OF EXPLORING JUST DIFFERENT TOPICS AND WE'LL, WE'LL BRING A MORE DETAILED LIST, UM, TO JUST LET YOU KNOW HOW, HOW YOU COULD HELP AND JUST BE INVOLVED AT A DEEPER LEVEL THAN JUST A ONCE A MONTH OVERVIEW. BONNIE, PAUL, ANYTHING Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO ADD ON THAT? NO, I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB. YEAH, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND. GREAT. SOUNDS GOOD. LOT OF INFORMATION. YES. ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, I, UH, A WEEK AFTER THAT, OR A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER THAT, I WENT TO ATLANTA, GEORGIA AND ATTENDED ECONOMICS, WHICH IS ANOTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE, UH, FOR THE US AND JUST GOT TO SPEND TIME WITH MORE OF OUR DIRECTORS HERE IN THE REGION IN FORT BEND COUNTY, GET TO KNOW THEM, GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES. AND, UM, IT WAS, IT WAS JUST GOOD TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, STEP BACK FROM JUST FULL SHARE AND SEE ALL THE POSSIBILITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE AND HOW THEIR COMMUNITIES ARE DOING DIFFERENT THINGS. UM, IT WAS REALLY NEAT. WE, CHER GOT A SHOUT OUT. WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THOSE DINNER RECEPTIONS AND THEY SAID, UM, THE, THE CONSULTANTS WERE VERY IMPRESSED AT HOW MUCH THE DIRECTORS ARE ALL TRYING TO COME UP WITH A REGIONAL APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND HOW INTENTIONAL WE'RE BEING ABOUT SPENDING TIME WITH EACH OTHER. UH, AND THEY DON'T NECESSARILY SEE THAT IN A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITIES. SO THAT WAS REALLY NEAT. UM, ITEM FOUR, THE TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL HOSTED A VIRTUAL SALES TAX COURSE. SO BOTH HIDDEN AND MYSELF COMPLETED THAT. UM, AND I, I BELIEVE IT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR BOTH OF US TO DO THAT. SO, UM, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE MEMBERSHIPS TO TEDC, I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE THAT, UM, ANY OF YOU HAVE A MEMBERSHIP, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU THAT WE HAVE BUDGETED FOR. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, THEY OFFER A LOT OF VIRTUAL TRAININGS AND DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO REGISTER YOU FOR ANY OF THOSE, UH, OTHER NEW BUSINESSES OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE RETAIL COACH HAS BEEN WORKING ON. WE GOT A NEW ICEBOX, UH, CRYOTHERAPY LOCATED AT 6 6 3 0 FM 1463. UM, WE GOT A SPIDER MART, UM, IT'S LIKE A CHILDREN'S TUTORING CENTER AT 5 7 5 7 7 LL AND OAKS LANE. AND THEN HERE NEXT DOOR WE GOT L THREE KRAFT COFFEE. IT'S 2 8 8 3 0 FM 10 93. WE GOT TO STOP BY THERE AND HAVE SOME LATTES THE OTHER DAY AND IT WAS GREAT. I THINK TOMMY WENT BY AS WELL. [00:55:01] UM, SO HAPPY TO JUST SEE ALL, ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF BUSINESSES COMING TO OUR COMMUNITY. UM, ITEM SIX. UH, AS FAR AS BICENTENNIAL GOES, WE ARE ALL HANDS ON DECK TRUCKING ALONG EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY IS WORKING ON, UM, THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMITTEES SUBCOMMITTEES FOR THE EVENT. UM, WE'RE WORKING TO FINALIZE MOST OF THE DETAILS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, UH, AND THEN LAUNCHING OUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN. SO PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT RIGHT NOW. THE BEST WAY THAT YOU COULD HELP US IS BY FOLLOWING OUR CITY OF SHORE, UH, FACEBOOK PAGE OR THE WEBSITE AND SHARING ANY POSTS AS IT RELATES TO THE BICENTENNIAL, THE VENDOR CALL OUTS. UM, WE'VE BEEN PUSHING THAT THIS WEEK AND THE APPLICATIONS ARE JUST ROLLING IN. SO, UM, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, WHETHER THAT'S A CRAFT VENDOR, A FOOD VENDOR, A NON-PROFIT, HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION AND BE PROCESSED AND INCLUDED IN THE CELEBRATION. UM, THE VERY EXCITING THING IS THAT THE BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION WILL CLOSE OUT WITH A FIREWORK AND DRONE SHOW. THERE'LL BE 200 DRONES THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT, UM, JUST DIFFERENT IMAGES, UH, FOR OUR HISTORY AND KIND OF ALL OF THAT. SO WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED TO, TO BRING THAT TO THE COMMUNITY. WE THINK IT'LL JUST BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE THAT ALL THE FAMILIES CAN ENJOY. SO BEFORE YOU KEEP GOING, UM, SHE DID MENTION ABOUT FOLLOWING THE CITY OF RE SO IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY FOLLOWING THE CITY OF RE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, I RECOMMEND YOU DO SO AND YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY A BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL VIDEO, UH, A VERY OWN NE DOWNTOWN TALKING ABOUT WHAT EVERYONE ALWAYS WANTS TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH IS WHY WE DON'T DO MORE EVENTS DOWNTOWN. MM-HMM. . UH, AND THEN THAT DOES LEAD INTO OUR HISTORY PROJECT. SO, I'M SORRY, OUR, OUR HAIR STREET PROJECT. MM-HMM. . SO, UH, HAVE A, HAVE A LOOK, HAVE A FOLLOW OF OUR FOR SURE. SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEN IF YOU CAN TRY TO SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS JUST TO GIVE THEM SOME PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING. SURE. STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB AT JUST BEING REALLY PROACTIVE AND, UM, WE HAVE STARTED THIS NEW INITIATIVE TO TAKE QUESTIONS VIA EMAIL OF THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS CONCERNED ABOUT OR WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT. AND, UM, I THINK AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THOSE VIDEOS HAVE FALLEN ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, BUT IT'S JUST ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY A A GREAT WAY TO JUST BE TRANSPARENT AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY AND SHOW THE COMMUNITY THAT THAT INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IN A WAY THAT'S ACCESSIBLE TO THEM. SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING OR ENGAGING WITH ANY OF THAT CONTENT. UM, NUMBER SEVEN, THE FORT BEND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL. UM, I HAD MENTIONED THIS PREVIOUSLY IN MEETINGS LAST FALL, THAT THERE WERE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THAT ORGANIZATION, WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE. UM, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW, JANUARY 9TH, FROM ONE TO 3:00 PM WE'LL HAVE THAT ON THEIR AGENDA TO DISCUSS. AND THEN THE FOLLOWING DAY, JANUARY 10TH AT 7:30 AM THE FORT BEND, EDC WILL HAVE A BOARD MEETING. WILL, THEY WILL UPDATE, UM, WHAT THAT FUTURE LOOKS LIKE. SOME OF THEIR, UM, STAFF HAVE, UM, RECEIVED SEVERANCE PACKAGES, THEY'RE MOVING ON. SO I THINK THE PURPOSE OF THAT ORGANIZATION'S BEING REDEFINED, I WILL SAY, I THINK IN OUR REGION FOR SURE, HAS MAYOR GR ATTENDS THOSE MEETINGS. UM, I THINK OUR ROLE IS A LOT MORE MINIMAL COMPARED TO OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES, BUT STILL IMPORTANT FOR US TO KEEP A PULSE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HAPPENING AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL AND HOW THAT COULD IMPACT US IN THE FUTURE. UM, RIGHT NOW I THINK THE DIRECTORS ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA MARKET THE REGION MOVING FORWARD, BECAUSE THEY WERE, UM, SO, SO WE WERE MEMBERS OF THAT ORGANIZATION AND A BIG PART OF THAT WAS THEM MARKETING US AS PART OF PORT BEND. UM, SO NOW WE'RE ALL JUST KIND OF TRYING TO PICK UP THE TORCH AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. NOW, THERE WAS A, UH, WHAT THEY CALL THE FAMILIARIZATION TOUR, UM, THAT CONSULTANTS WERE GONNA COME FROM ALL OVER THE US AND WE WOULD TAKE THEM FROM COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY ON LIKE A CHARTER BUS TOUR. YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE GOT. THESE ARE OUR AVAILABLE PROPERTIES NOW THAT'S BEING POSTPONED BECAUSE OF THIS UNTIL WE FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO MOVE FORWARD. SO THAT WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR LATER THIS FALL. UM, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MEET AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THE BALL ISN'T DROPPED. UM, I THINK EVERYONE'S REALLY INVESTED AND CARE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES, SO I DON'T FORESEE ANY ISSUES, BUT I'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT WEEK AND WHAT THEY DECIDE TO DO MOVING FORWARD. UH, LET'S SEE. I THINK AT OUR NOVEMBER MEETING WE SPOKE ABOUT OUR GATEWAY SIGNS AND, UM, STEPHANIE FROM KGA DEFOREST CAME IN AND GAVE YOU ALL A PRESENTATION AND KIND OF A REFRESHER OF WHAT THOSE DESIGNS LOOKED LIKE. UM, I DON'T THINK THERE WERE ANY CONCERNS EXPRESSED BY ANY OF YOU ALL. UM, SO NOW [01:00:01] WE ARE, WE HAD A PHONE CALL WITH HER THIS, THIS PAST WEEK. JUST KIND OF GET AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S NEXT. UM, SHE IS WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM THIS TO THE BOARD. YEAH, THE THP BOARD, UM, THEY HAD REQUESTED THAT SHE RESUBMIT THE DESIGNS AGAIN, I THINK ORIGINALLY A YEAR AND A HALF AGO WHEN THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A POLICY THAT OUTLINED, SO THEY SAID, WAIT, WE'LL COME UP WITH ONE, AND THEY STILL HAVEN'T. SO THEY SAID, JUST RESUBMIT AND WE'LL CONSIDER ASIS AND WE'LL FORWARD. SO, UM, WE JUST NEED TO SEND HER AN EMAIL THAT SAYS, OKAY, WE'RE READY. WE'RE OKAY WITH THIS DESIGN AND THE PROPOSED LOCATIONS SHE PRESENTED TO YOU ALL, AND THEN GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND THEN BRING IT BACK IF, IF THEY'RE REQUESTING THAT WE CHANGE SOMETHING, WHETHER IT'S THE DESIGN OR THE LOCATION. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, BUT IT IS A PROJECT THAT WE BUDGETED FOR AND COUNCIL APPROVED, SO WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT MOVE FORWARD. NUMBER NINE, THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ALLIANCE. UH, WE DID GATHER A GROUP TO MEET AT PIER 36 ON DECEMBER 12TH AND DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY OF A DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ALLIANCE AND STARTING IT. UM, AND THIS KIND OF GOES BACK TO THE QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT, UM, BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN INTERESTED IN THE HARRIS STREET PROJECT, AND THIS IS KIND OF OUR PROACTIVE WAY OF ENGAGING THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS AND BUSINESSES THAT MAYBE THEY'RE ALREADY DOWNTOWN, BUT THEY'RE KIND OF ON THE OUTSKIRTS AND THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN BUILDING UP ALONG HARRIS AND MOVING, EXPANDING. THEY'RE TALKING TO OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY, UM, AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN WHO WANT TO BE DOWNTOWN. UM, SO WE SAW JUST A LOT OF POSITIVE CONVERSATION, A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT WE DO HAVE INTEREST IN JUST GETTING THAT 5 0 1 C3 REGISTERED AND, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISHING MEMBERSHIP AND ALL OF THAT. SO WE'RE JUST EXCITED TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER AND REALLY TO JUST GIVE THEM A VOICE AND AN ABILITY TO, TO LET US KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE NEEDING. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE GETTING IT STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE. AND SOMETIMES OUR MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT AT THE BEST TIME. SO MAKING SURE THEY HAVE ANOTHER AVENUE TO, TO TALK TO, TO US AND GET THAT INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK TO US IS GREAT. SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THAT OFF THE GROUND. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, I WILL BE WORKING WITH OUR LEGAL TEAM THIS MONTH, UM, TO COME UP WITH A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR OUR PROPERTY. WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO BE A LITTLE MORE PROACTIVE IN PUTTING WHAT WE WANT OUT THERE AND SEEING IF SOMEONE'S INTERESTED IN BRINGING IT, UH, TO FULLER. SO WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT READY TO, TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL AT NEXT MONTH'S MEETING. BUT JUST WANTED TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THAT. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE PURCHASED THE PROPERTY, AND WE REALLY WANT TO SEE SOMETHING GOOD THERE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. NEXT ITEM WOULD BE NUMBER EIGHT. SORRY, I HAD A QUESTION. UM, SO THE RETAIL COACH, UM, I GUESS, SO SOME OF THE RESTAURANTS THAT WERE RECENTLY MENTIONED, UM, JUST FORGIVE MY, IF I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING, BUT THEY HAVE A KATY ADDRESS. ARE, ARE WE ACTUALLY SEEING TAX BENEFIT FROM PIATA, CHIBA, HUTT, ET CETERA? YES, WE ARE. OKAY. MM-HMM, , JUST MAKING SURE. YEAH. ZIP CODES AND ADDRESSES IN SHORE ARE A LITTLE WEIRD, AND THEY'RE ALL DETERMINED BY THE, UH, THE POSTMASTER. UM, SO FOR INSTANCE, LAKES STILL HAS A FULL SHIRT ZIP CODE, UM, THOUGH THEY'RE NOT IN THE CITY, SO IT'S KIND OF DOTTED ALL OVER THE PLACE. I KNOW EVEN CHIBA HUTT, UH, THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE IN KATY. UM, SO ON THE INSIDE THEY HAVE A, UH, A MURAL PAINTED ON THE WALL WITH THE KATY WATER TOWER, AND I THINK A COUPLE OF, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES WENT BY AND WERE LIKE, HEY, YOU GUYS KNOW YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY IN K AND IT WAS TOO LATE BY THE TIME THEY ALREADY HAD IT UP. SO IT IS CONFUSING, ESPECIALLY ON THAT SIDE OF TOWN. UM, BUT YES, WE ARE, WE ARE SEEING TAX BENEFIT. OKAY. AND JUST SINCE WE SEEK CONTINUED GROWTH IN THAT AREA, HE IS ALSO WORKING ON BRINGING BUSINESS TO DOWNTOWN, CORRECT? YES. UM, SO IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE SEEING THAT SIDE BUILD OUT, UM, TO THE POINT THAT WE ALMOST DON'T HAVE ANY AVAILABLE PROPERTY LEFT ON THAT SIDE OF TOWN. UM, SO NOW NATURALLY THE SHIFT WILL COME DOWN 10 93 AND, UH, 3 59. UM, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A CONVENIENCE FOR A LOT OF PLACES RIGHT NOW. THEY KNOW THE TRAFFIC IS HEAVY, UH, ON 1463 AND, AND RE BEND, UM, AND GOING INTO CINCO RANCH, IT'S, IT'S CONVENIENT. THEY KNOW THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TRAFFIC OUT THERE, SO IT'S AN EASY SPOT TO PLACE THEM. UM, BUT YEAH, IT'S, IT'S ALMOST COMPLETELY [01:05:01] BUILT OUT AT THIS POINT. UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE IT MOVE DOWN THIS WAY. AND AARON'S, UH, BEING PROACTIVE ON THAT AS WELL. AND WE'RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT ANY, UH, CONFLICTS IN TERMS OF, UH, DISTANCE AND SUCH. LIKE SOME FRANCHISES HAVE TO BE, BE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DISTANCE AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, SO WE DON'T SEE ANY POTENTIAL THERE. SO THAT, THAT IS A CONCERN. AND, AND AARON, UM, IS, IS AWARE OF THAT. UM, IT, IT, IT JUST DEPENDS. UM, SOME FRANCHISES OR, OR, UM, OR BUSINESSES, UM, THEY'LL GO OFF OF, UM, HOW MANY MINUTES IT TAKES TO DRIVE TO A LOCATION, WHICH AS YOU GUYS DRIVE AROUND, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE TWO MILES DOWN THE ROAD AND TAKE 15 MINUTES TO GET THERE. UM, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND, AND, AND AARON HAS KIND OF TARGETED FALL OUTSIDE OF THAT RANGE ANYWAYS. UM, BUT THAT IS A CONCERN AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT AREAS ARE ALREADY SO BUILT UP THAT THEY CAN KIND OF SNAG, UH, AS THEY COME IN. UM, I KNOW WE WERE, WE WERE FIGHTING PRETTY HEAVILY FOR LULU, UH, IN TOWN AND IT'S, IT POPPED UP IN, UM, IN KAIA, NOT TOO FAR AWAY, BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, THAT IS A CONCERN. UM, BUT IN, IN MANY CASES IT'S STILL WITHIN REACH. OKAY. THANK YOU. THESE ARE GOOD POINTS. I MEAN, YEAH, WE WANT, WE BEING, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE SITTING UP HERE, RIGHT? AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE CONCLUDING YOU, BUT, AND YOU DON'T WANT TO BE, BUT UM, YOU KNOW, WE DEVELOPMENT IN DOWNTOWN, DEVELOPMENT IN, RIGHT? WE, WE, I I DON'T, IN MY OPINION, I'M NOT AN EXPERT. 1463 DOESN'T NEED OUR HELP. I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, AGAIN, I'M NOT AN EXPERT, BUT THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE NEEDING OUR HELP, YOU KNOW, THE DOWNTOWN, UH, OTHER AREAS THAT ARE EASIER TO GET TO THAT ARE MORE CONVENIENT TO A GREATER SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION TO GROW DOWNTOWN F AND DEVELOP IT THE WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE LIKE, I THINK IS THE, THE, AT LEAST THE A GOAL. YEAH. AND THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. AS, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE, WE CAN RELY ON AARON TO KIND OF GUIDE THINGS THAT FIT FULL SURE ON 1463, BUT AS, AS ALL OF YOU GUYS ARE AWARE, WE HAVEN'T PROVIDED ANY INCENTIVES FOR, FOR THOSE PLACES. NOBODY'S NEEDED OUR HELP TO PLACE ON 1463. THOSE ARE ALL BIG ENOUGH COMPANIES THAT CAN POCKET WHATEVER THEY NEED TO TO BE ABLE TO MOVE IN THERE. UM, WHICH GIVES US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE'VE HELD ONTO OUR MONEY WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE INCENTIVES AND, AND KIND OF SHAPE HOW WE WANT. 10 93 AND 3 59 TO LOOK. MM-HMM. , ANYTHING ELSE? [8. Consideration and possible action on Services and Software Agreement for EDC website. ] OKAY, MOVING ON THEN TO NUMBER EIGHT, CONSIDERATION AN IMPOSSIBLE ACTION ON SERVICES AND SOFTWARE AGREEMENT FOR THE EDC WEBSITE. UH, NOW GIVE US A LITTLE REFRESHER ON THAT. YES, SIR. AGAIN, IT'S BACK. UM, OKAY. SO, UH, LATE LAST YEAR, WE WERE INFORMED THAT ATLAS INTEGRATED, THE COMPANY THAT HAD DESIGNED OUR WEBSITE AND WAS POSTING IT, UH, WAS SOLD OFF TO HOUSTON, UM, THIS NEW COMPANY. AND WE HAD A MEETING WITH THEM. THEY BASICALLY GAVE US THE RUNDOWN. THEY WOULD HONOR THE, THE PRICE AND THE CONTRACT THAT WE HAD WITH ATLAS, GET EVERYTHING MOVED OVER. UM, WE OPTED TO JUST MOVE EVERYTHING OVER OPERATING UNDER THE AGREEMENT WITH ATLAS UNTIL WE BROUGHT IT TO THE BOARD. UM, SO OUR WEBSITE IS STILL LIVE BUT IS NOW BEING HOSTED BY HOUSTON UNLESS Y'ALL DECIDE SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO TODAY WHAT I'M BRINGING TO YOU IS, UM, A KIND OF JUST SUMMARY OF WHAT THE NEW COMPANY OFFERS. AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU KIND OF A LITTLE A RUNDOWN. THIS AGREEMENT, I DIDN'T GET IT FROM THEM UNTIL VERY LATE, UH, THIS PAST WEEK. SO IT'S STILL PENDING, UH, REVIEW BY OUR LEGAL TEAM, BUT ESSENTIALLY UNDER THE PREVIOUS AGREEMENT, YOU WERE PAYING $2,500 PER YEAR. SO ABOARD WAS PAYING $1,250 PER YEAR FOR THAT. THE HOSTING OF THE WEBSITE STAFF WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THE UPDATES AND YOU COULDN'T MAKE ANY DESIGN CHANGES. UH, UNDER THIS NEW COMPANY, WE HAVE THE OPTION TO GET A COMPLETE REDESIGN OF THE WEBSITE AND HAVE THEM DO ALL OF THE UPDATES, WHICH WOULD SAVE SIGNIFICANT STAFF TIME, UM, FOR A TOTAL OF 6,711 DO DOLLARS SPLIT WITH BOTH BOARDS. UM, SO YOU WOULD PAY $3,355 50 CENTS. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD PLAN AND THE NEW PLAN FOR YOU WOULD BE $2,105. [01:10:01] AND I WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU WOULD REALLY CONSIDER THAT IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO US. I KNOW THAT I SHARED WITH YOU ALL, UH, THE DESIGN OF THE WEBSITE HAD BEEN COMPLETED BEFORE HAYDEN AND MYSELF GOT HERE, AND IF WE COULD GO BACK AND REDO IT, THAT WAS THE DREAM. BUT WE HAD INVESTED, I THINK, UH, RIGHT AROUND 30,000, $33,000, UM, FOR THAT WHOLE PROJECT. AND WE FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE, LET'S JUST ROLL WITH IT. SO IN A WAY, THIS IS KIND OF A RELIEF THAT WE GET TO STEP IN FOR ONLY $6,711, GET THE WHOLE REDESIGN, GET OUR WEBSITE, LIKE WHAT WE WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE, AND THEN ALSO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GOING IN AND LEARNING THE SYSTEM AND HOW TO UPDATE IT ALL. UM, SO WE, WE JUST ASK THAT YOU WOULD THINK ON THAT AS AS YOU VOTE. UM, AND THEN IF YOU DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, THE SPECIFIC PACKAGE FROM THE NEW COMPANY IN HOUSTON, UH, WE WOULD SEND THE AGREEMENT TO CHARLIE AND UM, WE'D MOVE FORWARD ONCE HE APPROVES IT. SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS WOULD MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER? YES. FOR $2,105 MORE . AND THIS IS, UH, OUR, OUR BUDGET IS HEALTHY AND WE COULD AFFORD THIS, UM, OUT OF OUR SOFTWARE. UH, AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT. MAINTENANCE, MAINTENANCE. THIS IS JUST FOR THE WEBSITE, NOT INCLUDING, UH, FACEBOOK. THAT'S RIGHT. THE EDC ACTUALLY DOES NOT HAVE THEIR OWN FACEBOOK PAGE. ANY EDC CONTENT GOES THROUGH OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER AND THE CITY OF BOL PAGE. WE DO HAVE LINKEDIN THAT STAFF MANAGES. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW YOUR, WE'RE TRYING DESPERATELY TO GROW THAT PAGE, UH, AS IT'S PRETTY NEW FOR US TOO, TO GIVE, UH, SOME BROADER PERSPECTIVE. IF WE GO BACK IN TIME, UM, BASICALLY THE SHORT VERSION IS WE SPENT A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY ON A WEBSITE, UM, THAT WASN'T VERY USEFUL OR PRACTICAL AND IT DIDN'T EVEN INCLUDE HOSTING, I BELIEVE. YEAH. UM, SO WE SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY AND WE HAVE, UM, A USABLE WEBSITE THAT NOW REQUIRES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF STAFF TIME TO MAINTAIN AND UPDATE. AND THE REQUEST NOW IS, CAN WE SPEND JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY TO BASICALLY BE WHAT FOR MOST OF US WOULD BE A NORMAL SITUATION AT A BUSINESS WHERE YOU ARE NOT A WEB DEVELOPER, YOU HAVE AN ISSUE, YOU CALL THE WEB DEVELOPER AND YOU SAY, THIS IS WHAT I WANT AND IN FIVE DAYS, UH, EVERYTHING IS FIXED IN WONDERFUL AND GREAT. IS THAT A YEAH. OKAY. YES. THIS NEW OPTION WOULD ALSO BE MORE SECURE. I MEAN, IT'S A LONG LIST OF IMPROVEMENTS AND WE EXPECT IT TO BE ABOUT THE SAME IN THE FUTURE. I MEAN, THERE'S NOTHING BIG OUT THERE ON THE HORIZON. NO, THERE SHOULDN'T BE. AND YOU NEED US TO APPROVE, UH, WHAT IS THE AMOUNT? I IT'S 3000 THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE FIFTY PENDING THE OVERVIEW. OKAY. IS THAT WRITTEN DOWN SOMEWHERE? I'M MISSING THAT, YEAH. ON THE COVER SHEET. OH YEAH. SO YOU'LL SEE THE TOTAL AND SEE IT NOW. AH, YES. PER BOARD. OKAY. GOT IT. THANK YOU. DO I HEAR A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE AN ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE OF $3,355 AND 50 CENTS PENDING LEGAL REVIEW? SO MOVED. SO I HAVE A SECOND. SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NO DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY, ANY OPPOSED? I HEAR NONE. THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. YOU BACK TO ME. BACK TO YOU AGAIN. OKAY. SORRY, I'M ALL MESSED UP NOW. OKAY. [9. Consideration and action on financials and payables for the Corporation for the period ending October 31, 2023. ] UH, ITEM NUMBER NINE. CDC, FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES. HAYDEN. THESE ARE ACTUALLY THE FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE, UM, APPROVED LAST MONTH. UM, DUE THE CANCELLATIONS. THESE ARE THE OCTOBER, UH, FINANCIALS AND MINUTES. UM, THIS ONE DOES INCLUDE, UH, SALES TAX INFORMATION. UM, SO WE ARE ALREADY ABOVE UH, PROJECTIONS, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, EACH BOARD COLLECTED $140,923 AND 38 CENTS, WHICH WAS UP FROM 17%, UH, LAST YEAR AT THE SAME TIME. [01:15:01] DO I HEAR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BUDGET? WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION AFTER THE MOTION. UH, I'LL MOTION TO APPROVE. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY, HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? DO NO OPPOSED. AND THE BUDGET IS APPROVED FOR THE $4,389 AND 69 CENTS. UM, GOING FORWARD ON THE BUDGET, CAN WE SEE OUR CHECKING ACCOUNT OR THE FUND BALANCE? SO THERE IS, UM, FUND BALANCE SHEET. YEAH. UM, IS THAT ON? I DUNNO WHAT PAGE IT'S, IS THAT ON PAGE 52? UM, I CANNOT TELL FROM THE PAPER COPY. OKAY. UM, BUT IT IS RIGHT AFTER, 'CAUSE WE HAVE AN OPERATING FUND AND A PROJECTS FUND. IT'S THE, IT'S THE ONE PAGE THAT ONLY HAS LIKE TWO LINES ON IT. YEP. YEP. AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT IS 5,883,965. YES, SIR. OKAY. AND THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY IN THE OPERATING FUND. IT'S OKAY. THAT WE CAN USE FOR PROJECTS. CORRECT. OKAY. HOW MUCH OF, OR IS ANY OF THIS EARMARKED FOR HARRIS STREET OR IS THAT A SEPARATE UH, IN THE OPERATING FUND? THERE, THERE IS. UM, SO THAT'LL INCLUDE THIS YEAR'S OPERATING BUDGET AS WELL. CONSIDERATION AN ACTION ON MINUTES OF A CORPORATION FOR NOVEMBER. THERE ARE NO SALES TAX NUMBERS. WE WILL PROBABLY NOT GET THOSE UNTIL NEXT WEEK. UM, OH, SORRY, HE CALLED MINUTES. BUT WE NEED TO, UM, CALL, UH, FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES FOR PERIOD ENDING IN NOVEMBER 30TH. OH, WE SKIPPED ONE. SO THAT WOULD BE FOR WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN THIS MEETING BECAUSE WE JUST APPROVED THE MEETING. WE SKIPPED OVER. WE, WE, OKAY. [10. Consideration and action on financials and payables for the Corporation for the period ending November 30, 2023. ] BACKING UP THEN, CONSIDERATION AND ACTION. FINANCIALS AND TABLES FOR THE CORPORATION PERIOD ENDING NOVEMBER 30TH, 2023. SO THESE WILL NOT HAVE SALES TAX NUMBERS. UM, WE SHOULD GET THOSE NEXT WEEK. UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND THEM OUT TO YOU OR INCLUDE THEM IN UM, NEXT MONTH'S SALES TAX REPORT AS WELL. UM, THEY'RE KIND OF SPORADIC WHEN THEY COME IN. UM, USUALLY IT'S ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE MONTH. OKAY. I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE $9,357 AND 24 CENTS. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. [11. Consideration and action on minutes of the Corporation for the November 13, 2023, meeting. ] CONSIDERATION AND ACTION ON MINUTES OF THE CORPORATION FOR THE NOVEMBER 13, 20 THIR 2023 MEETING. ANYTHING WE NEED TO HIGHLIGHT THERE, HAYDEN? NO SIR. OKAY. SO DO I HAVE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES? I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES. DO I HEAR A SECOND? SECOND? ANY DISCUSSION? NO DISCUSSION. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. [12. Future agenda items ] FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DO WE HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ANYBODY WANTS TO ADD? UM, CAN YOU REPORT BACK TO US ABOUT SO THAT WE KNOW? SURE. DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY AGENDA ITEMS? UM, I'LL DEFINITELY HAVE ANOTHER HARRY STREET UPDATE AND WE'LL HAVE THE MONUMENT SIGN ON THERE AS WELL. THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT UPDATE. AND THEN WE WILL ALSO, UH, BE MEETING WITH THE CANNON JOHN LAMBERT. SO WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT AS WELL. CAN WE GET AN UPDATE ON ALL OF THE OTHER PROJECTS? WEST SIDE DRAINAGE? YOU ALL, ALL OF THE PROJECTS? YES. SO WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR, JUST, I KNOW WE CAN'T HAVE DISCUSSION, BUT TO CLARIFY, [01:20:02] GIVE US SOME RUNWAY AS OPPOSED TO SOMEONE SHOWING UP AND SAYING, SAYING, HEY, CAN WE HAVE $8 MILLION? UM, GIVE US SOME RUNWAY ON, HEY, WE'RE AT, WE'RE HAVING THIS THOUGHT, WE ARE 10% THROUGH OUR DESIGN. UM, IF WE CAN, YEAH, I MEAN, AND THAT'S FINE IF WE'RE THREE YEARS AWAY, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO HAVE SOME RUNWAY 'CAUSE WE NO. ANY OTHERS? AND JUST TO NOTE IF, UH, DOES EVERYONE HAVE MY EMAIL ADDRESS? UH, OKAY. UM, THE, IF YOU HAVE ANY AGENDA ITEMS YOU WANTED TO ADD, YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ME. YOU CAN SEND THEM TO NOW YOU CAN SEND THEM TO HAYDEN. UM, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO JUST, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IN THIS MEETING. IF ANYTHING COMES TO YOU LATER, IF YOU HEAR ANYTHING OR IF SOMETHING POPS UP, UM, FEEL FREE AND WE CAN ADD IT TO THE AGENDA. CAN YOU SEND AN EMAIL TO, I KNOW NORMALLY YOU CO BLIND COPY EVERYBODY, BUT CAN YOU SEND AN EMAIL TO ALL OF US THAT'S NOT BLIND COPY SO THAT WE HAVE EMAIL? YEAH. EACH OTHER'S EMAIL ADDRESS? YES. WE'LL SEND OUT A CONTACT SHEET. AND THEN FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE STILL GETTING TO YOUR NON-CITY EMAIL, YOU SHOULD HAVE A CITY EMAIL SET UP IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT ALREADY. UM, FROM NOW ON, ALL THE CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE GOING TO THE CITY EMAIL. UH, I THINK EVERYBODY'S GOOD NOW. UH, BONNIE AND DEVIN WERE THE LAST? YEAH. ARE YOU GOOD, PATRICK? PATRICK'S GOOD. OKAY. OKAY. EXCELLENT. YEAH, SO NOW THAT EVERY, IF YOU CAN SEND AN EMAIL OUT JUST SO WE ALL HAVE EVERYONE CITY EMAILS. YES SIR. AND WE WILL ATTACH, UM, AND PHONE NUMBERS. OKAY. YEAH. THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN NEEDED AT RANDOM, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST. SO IF YOU COULD SEE THAT AND WE'LL GET THAT FROM B BOARD AS WELL IN CASE. OKAY. ANY, YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. [13. Announcements ] OKAY, LAST ITEM ANNOUNCEMENTS. DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? I HEARD THERE'S A FOOTBALL GAME ON TONIGHT. THE ONLY, WELL, THERE WE GO. THERE'S OUR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE EVENING. I DO HAVE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. OH, UH, XFINITY HAS BEEN OPEN HERE IN SHORE, BUT THEY ARE HOSTING THEIR GRAND OPENING THURSDAY, UH, THIS THURSDAY, JANUARY 11TH FROM EIGHT 30 TO NINE 30 I'LL BE ATTENDING. UM, I KNOW, UH, COMMISSIONER MORALES WILL BE THERE AS WELL. UM, AND THEY'LL JUST HAVE A SMALL CEREMONY, UH, KIND OF A GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION. SO IF ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN, PLEASE DO SO. AND THEN OUR FOR B BOARD, JUST TO GO AHEAD AND PUT THIS OUT THERE, THE NEXT MONDAY WHEN THEY WOULD HAVE MET IS MLK DAY. SO THEY WILL BE MEETING THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, JANUARY THE 22ND. GREAT. THANK YOU. WHERE'S THAT XFINITY LOCATED? UH, 6 4 2 0 FM 1463. PARDON? GO AHEAD. MINUS THE DATES IF YOU HAVE 'EM. IF NOT, THAT'S FINE. OF, UM, CITY COUNCIL APPLICATIONS. WE'LL SEND IT OVER FOR, AND ALSO, UH, OUR WEBSITE HAS ALL THE MEETING DATES AND THEN, UH, THE BUDGET BOOK IS ALSO FOR THE ENTIRE CITY IS ON THE WEBSITE. SO IF YOU JUST WANT TO REFRESH, I KNOW YOU ASKED EARLIER, LIKE, DOES THIS INCLUDE, YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF ALL THE PROJECTS THAT WE APPROVED AND ALL OF THAT. IF YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AT ANY TIME FOR ANY OF THESE. EXCELLENT. OKAY, SO I THINK WE'RE AT THE END. DO I HEAR A MOTION? A MOTION TO WHAT? TO TO LEAVE. TO ADJOURN. TO LEAVE. MOTION TO LEAVE. DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THE MOTION TO LEAVE A SECOND? I HEAR A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. I, WE CLOSE THE MEETING AT 7 24 ON JANUARY 8TH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.