[00:00:03]
ALL[I. Call to Order]
RIGHT.WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE AT THE TOP OF THE HOUR.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE RE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEETING TO ORDER ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 2024 AT 6:00 PM.
UH, JUST TO NOTE, WE DO HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
UH, JAMES BUSIER IS CURRENTLY NOT HERE, AND LEO O'BRIEN, OUR EX-OFFICIO MEMBER.
BUT, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
I KNOW SCHEDULES ARE HECTIC AND BUSY, AND, UH, APPRECIATE Y'ALL MAKING THE EFFORT TO BE HERE AND WANNA WELCOME OUR GUESTS THAT WE HAVE.
UH, SOME WILL BE SPEAKERS AND SOME WILL LISTEN.
I GUESS MAYBE BE A, BUT, UH, WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, WE DO NOT.
CAN WE MAKE SOMEBODY MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT? ITEM THREE
[Business - A]
IS BUSINESS.SO THREE A IS THE FULL SURE FAST TRACK PROGRESS PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION.
UM, WE HAVE MATT Y HERE WITH US TONIGHT.
UM, BUT BEFORE I CALL HIM UP, I JUST, UM, WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND OF WHERE WE ARE.
UH, WE ARE PLANNING TO PRESENT TO COUNCIL IN JANUARY NEXT MONTH, AND GIVE THEM A FULL UPDATE AND KIND OF OPEN THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION ON THE METRICS THAT WE'VE BEEN USING AND GET THEIR INPUT.
AND SO BEFORE WE WENT TO THEM, WE WANTED TO COME BACK TO YOU ALL.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED THE METRICS AND, UM, OUR IDEA OF WHAT WE WANTED FULL SHARE, FAST TRACK TO BE WHEN WE STARTED HAVING THAT DISCUSSION AND NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, SINCE THEN, WE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH, THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS, HAVE IDENTIFIED JUST DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE WE'D LIKE TO CREATE SOME SMALL SHIFTS AND, UM, ALSO AREAS THAT WE, WE'VE BECOME AWARE THAT WE DIDN'T DO A GREAT JOB IN THE BEGINNING OF EXPLAINING MAYBE THE PURPOSE OR WHY THAT METRIC IS THERE.
AND SO WE JUST REALLY WANTED THIS TO BE A PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION WHERE WE GET YOUR INPUT AND YOUR QUESTIONS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PREPARED TO REALLY, UM, EXPRESS THE VALUE OF THE PROGRAM AND WHY WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT CONTINUE.
AND SO, IN YOUR PACKET, YOU HAVE A PROGRESS UPDATE FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
SO THIS, THE METRICS THAT ARE LISTED IN THIS PROGRESS UPDATE WAS WHAT, WHAT WAS DECIDED WHEN WE STARTED THE PROGRAM.
UH, AND THEN I, UM, SENT AN EMAIL LATER THIS AFTERNOON THAT HAS KIND OF THE EXPLANATION ON HOW WE INTERPRET THOSE METRICS AND WHAT THEY MEAN TO US.
UM, SO YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN ONCE WE HAVE THAT DISCUSSION, WE WILL KIND OF SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR NEXT YEAR, THE CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, SO TAKE, TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE ITEMS AND THEN LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
MATT IS HERE TONIGHT, UM, TO SHARE JUST SOME STORIES, SOME OF HIS EXPERIENCE AND, AND BE ABLE TO TALK THROUGH ALL OF THIS WITH YOU ALL BEFORE YOU GET STARTED.
IS THIS IS THROUGH NOVEMBER, CORRECT? YES.
WELL, THE, SO THE PROGRESS UPDATE HERE IS THROUGH NOVEMBER, BUT SOME OF THE, THE OTHER SHEET THAT YOU WERE GIVEN TODAY IS A LITTLE BIT MORE UPDATED.
YEAH, THERE WAS JUST ONE SENTENCE IN HERE THAT REFERRED TO AUGUST, SO I THINK THAT WAS YOUR PREVIOUS REPORT.
AND THEN I WOULD JUST BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL BRINGING THIS BACK TO US.
I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION AT ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS IN THE PAST ABOUT WHAT WE WERE DOING, HOW WE WERE SPENDING THE MONEY, AND I THINK THIS IS, YOU KNOW, BEING VERY PROACTIVE.
UM, AND ALSO WHAT DAY WOULD BE THE COUNCIL MEETING? IS THAT ON THE 21ST OF JANUARY? OKAY.
I WOULD DEFINITELY, THAT'S RIGHT, TOMMY.
I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IF ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE AVAILABLE TO ATTEND THE COUNCIL MEETING JUST TO SHOW SUPPORT.
UH, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
SO JUST HOW WOULD THAT CONFLICT WITH THE ADVISORY MEETING? BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THE F FT ADVISORY MEETING THAT, THAT DAY TOO, ON THE, ON THE 12TH, UH, 21ST ON THE CALENDAR.
UH, THAT WOULD BE THE, THAT, SO IT WOULD, IT WOULD NOT CONFLICT.
WELL, WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU MATT.
AND YOU WANT TO KINDA GIVE US AN UPDATE OF YEAH, I'LL, I'LL JUST KIND OF, UM, JUST, JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, MY, MY GOAL AND, AND BEING HERE AND, AND HELPING, UH, THIS PROCESS IS THAT WE, WE WANNA DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE CITY.
I WANNA BE ABLE TO DO WHAT STARTS THE CITY.
AND SO THERE'S THINGS, ADJUSTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE, MADE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, ACCURATELY REPORT OR, OR GIVE METRICS THAT,
[00:05:01]
THAT MAKE SENSE.LIKE LET'S, WE'RE OPEN TO THAT DISCUSSION AND HOW WE CHANGE THAT AND HOW WE COMMUNICATE THAT EFFECTIVELY AND BETTER AND ALL THAT KINDA GOOD STUFF.
AND SO WE WANT TO, WE WANNA DO THAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT THIS DISCUSSION IS ABOUT IS ARE THERE THINGS THAT YOU SEE THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE, UM, OR NEED SOME CLARIFICATION THAT WE CAN GO BACK AND CLARIFY? DO WE WANNA MAKE SOME DIFFERENT METRIC CHANGES? UH, WE ARE OFFICIALLY SORT OF DONE WITH THE 2024 CONTRACT, IF YOU WILL, THE FIRST YEAR.
BUT WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, IN APRIL.
AND SO THE METRICS, YOU KNOW, ARE KIND OF A LITTLE BIT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE, WHAT, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE OFFICIALLY END AND WHEN WE OFFICIALLY START BECAUSE OF, OF THE LAUNCH TIME.
AND SO WE JUST WANNA DO A MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN, UH, TO MAKE SURE THOSE METRICS MATCH WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO DISCUSS.
AND IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS, CONCERNS, HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER, UH, WE'RE OPEN TO THAT.
GO AHEAD IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
I HAVE A, I I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
HAVING NOT BEEN AROUND WHEN THIS, UM, WHEN THIS STARTED, UM, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO SEE THE, UM, THE BUSINESS STAGES OF PARTICIPATION MM-HMM
I MEAN, IT WAS PRETTY, THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS PRETTY EVENLY DIVIDED.
UM, WHICH IN MY OPINION IS A GOOD THING.
UM, SO ARE YOU SAYING, IS IT MOSTLY LIKE PEOPLE TRYING TO BE, BECOME RETAIL OR SERVICES? OR IS IT A MIX OF, OF THINGS? YEAH.
MOST OF THE MOST, SO FAR, MOST OF THE BUSINESS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING ARE SERVICE BUSINESSES.
SO ACCOUNTANTS, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE, UH, TRYING TO START COACHING BUSINESSES.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE MOST, MOST ARE GONNA BE SERVICE INDUSTRY OR, OR SERVICES THAT PEOPLE ARE PROVIDING, UH, TO OTHER FOLKS.
MARKETING, UM, IT, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
THAT'S, THAT'S MOST OF KIND OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS THAT ARE, LIKE A LOT OF APPAREL COMPANIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE HAVE APPAREL THAT THEY'RE TRYING, THEY'RE WORKING TOWARDS GETTING COMPANIES TO, UM, PURCHASE, YOU KNOW, AND REBRANDING AND ALL THAT KINDA STUFF.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
WE'RE NOT, UH, WE'RE NOT SEEING SORT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO START RESTAURANTS OR, UM, UH, START RETAIL BUSINESSES OR RETAIL BUSINESSES OR ANYTHING.
WELL, AND THAT KIND OF LEADS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION SINCE, SINCE A LOT OF THE, UM, VISION, I GUESS, UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING ACROSS THE BOARD ON DIFFERENT PLANS IS, YOU KNOW, THE LIVABILITY OF, UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE HERE MM-HMM
SO IT SEEMS LIKE THAT SORT OF RETAIL, UH, RESTAURANT TYPE THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU'D WANNA PURSUE SURE.
AT A HI AT A HIGHER LEVEL, UM, TO GET THAT LIVABILITY FACTOR REALLY TACKLED.
UM, BUT I, I MEAN, I'M NOT, HAVE Y'ALL THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? OR IS THAT IN THE MIX? OR, AND AGAIN, I WASN'T AROUND WHEN THIS WAS FIRST DEVELOPED.
SO, YEAH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE, AS, AS WE GET TO KNOW AND, AND CONNECT WITH MORE PEOPLE, UH, I, I, THE MORE THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT, WHAT IS NEEDED AND BE ABLE TO CREATE AVENUES AND WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT WITH THOSE PEOPLE AND GET THOSE THINGS STARTED, THERE ARE, THERE ARE STARTING CONVERSATIONS ALREADY AROUND SOME RE THERE, THERE'S AN INITIAL CONVERSATION GOING ON WITH THE RETAIL AND RESTAURANT SPACE.
BUT THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS, WE HAVEN'T MET ALL OF THOSE FOLKS IN THE SENSE OF THE MAJORITY OF FOLKS HAVE BEEN SERVICE INDUSTRY FOLKS.
I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, OUR INTENTION IS TO GO FIND THOSE FOLKS, RIGHT.
CONNECT WITH THOSE FOLKS, BUILD THAT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
UM, AND YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR INTENT.
UM, SO HOW ARE PEOPLE, I MEAN, I'M, I'M ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SURE.
AND I, YOU KNOW, SEE ALL THAT.
HOW ARE PEOPLE FINDING YOU? UH, PRIMARILY, HONESTLY, FACEBOOK HAS BEEN THE, THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE'VE DONE TO GET THE WORD OUT.
AND, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE FINDING US THROUGH FACEBOOK.
ON THE, I WAS EXCITED ALSO TO SEE YOU DID THE SURVEY AND YOU DOCUMENTED THE RESPONSES HERE.
IT SAYS ALL THE RESPONDENTS RATED THEIR EXPERIENCE FIVE OUT OF FIVE.
WAS THAT LIKE FIVE PEOPLE, 15 PEOPLE? YES.
SO WE, SO, UH, WE, WE TRIED TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY AS POSSIBLE.
THERE WAS 11 PEOPLE WHO OUT THE SURVEY, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING AN END OF YEAR SURVEY AS WELL.
UM, THAT CURRENTLY WE PUSHED OUT ON FRIDAY.
WE HAVE A SIX RESPONSE, SO SIX RESPONSES SO FAR.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET FOLKS, WE'RE GOING THROUGH ALL OF DECEMBER.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA PUSHING AND PUSHING THAT.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GUYS COULD REALLY HELP US WITH.
AND SO PUSH IT THROUGH FACEBOOK.
UM, IF YOU SEE THAT FACEBOOK POST OR THAT LINKEDIN POST THAT WE CREATE, WE'D LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO PUSH THAT OUT TO Y'ALL'S NETWORKS, UM, FOR FOLKS THAT POTENTIALLY HAVE
[00:10:01]
PARTICIPATED IN THE FULL FAST TRACK.'CAUSE WE WANT TO CREATE AS MUCH DATA AS POSSIBLE TO SEE HOW WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT NEED TO HELP AND WHAT STAGE OF BUSINESS THEY'RE IN.
SO WE CAN, WE CAN PROVIDE SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE A STARTUP PHASE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS THAN PEOPLE WHO ARE IN MANAGEMENT PHASE.
AND SO WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY PROVIDE WHAT THEY NEED, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT STAGE MAJORITY OF THE FOLKS ARE IN AND WHAT STAGE OF BUSINESS THEY'RE IN.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THAT SURVEY IS FOR.
AND THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL IF YOU GUYS HELP TO KIND OF PUSH THAT UP IN YOUR OWN NETWORKS AS YOU SEE THEM COME ACROSS ON FACEBOOK.
AND IF YOU'RE WATCHING FACEBOOK LOOK FOR IT.
UH, WE'D LOVE FOR YOUR INPUT AND SURVEYS RESULTS.
AND I DO LIKE THE EXPLANATIONS THAT YOU HAVE ON THE, THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, BECAUSE I THINK THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU, YOU SEE THAT SOME THINGS ARE VERY EASY TO MEASURE AND QUANTIFY, OTHER THINGS ARE NOT.
AND IT GIVES, I THINK IT'LL GIVE THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL A GOOD IDEA WHAT'S GOING INTO EACH OF THESE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND NOT EVERYTHING IS JUST A GLOWING POSITIVE.
IT'S LIKE, WELL, MAYBE THIS ONE OVERLAPS WITH THE OTHER ONE.
MAYBE WE SHOULD COMBINE THESE.
UH, THAT ONE'S HARD TO MEASURE.
AND IF WE NEED TO CREATE NEW ONES, RIGHT.
TO, TO BETTER, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, EVENTS OR RETURNING, UH, FOLKS WHO HAVE RETURNED.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF I HAVE SOMEONE WHO JUST CAME TO AN ADVISOR SESSION ONCE, THAT'S A METRIC, BUT ALSO PEOPLE WHO COME OVER AND OVER AND OVER, RIGHT.
TO MULTIPLE SESSIONS THAT HAVE MULTIPLE COACHING AND PROGRESSION.
I THINK THAT'S A GOOD METRIC WE CAN ADD IS NOW COUNTING, UM, FOLKS WHO HAVE MULTIPLE, UH, ENCOUNTERS WITH US TO, TO BUILD THEIR BUSINESS VERSUS JUST A KIND OF A ONE TIME ONE, ONE OFF.
THE ONE THING THAT STANDS OUT OBVIOUSLY IS THE NEGATIVE.
IT'S LIKE THE ONLY NEGATIVE ON YOUR ENTIRE REPORT, BUT EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THE, UM, NEW JOB CREATION IS A NEGATIVE 10.
SO IT'S, IT'S ESTIMATED, SO IT'S NOT A, IT'S, SORRY, IT'S A SQUIGGLY LINE.
APPRO APPROXIMATELY, APPROXIMATELY 10.
BASED ON, BASED ON THE, THE NEW BUSINESS THAT STARTED KIND OF APPROXIMATELY ABOUT 10.
OH, AND I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THE TWO, UH, METRIC CATEGORIES THREE AND SIX THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW.
THOSE ARE JUST TWO METRICS THAT ONE WE FELT, UH, WAS REDUNDANT.
SO WE JUST THOUGHT WE'D COMBINE THREE WITH TWO.
AND THEN, UM, SIX IS JUST, IT'S KIND OF USELESS BECAUSE IT'S VERY HARD TO MEASURE RIGHT NOW THE SURVIVABILITY OF A BUSINESS SEVEN MONTHS IN WHEN WE'RE JUST WORKING ON REVIEWING THE BUSINESS PLAN AND GETTING THE BUSINESS LAUNCHED.
UM, SO I DON'T IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY IDEAS ON WHAT THAT COULD TRANSFORM TO SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST COMPLETELY REMOVED.
UM, BUT OTHERWISE, JUST BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT MATT SEES EVERY DAY, IT'S HIS RECOMMENDATION TO REMOVE SIX AND THEN COMBINE, UH, THREE WITH TWO.
WELL, I, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SIX CAN BE AN NA, RIGHT? IT'S JUST SO, IT'S SO NEW.
IT'S, IT'S NOT APPLICABLE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF A PROGRAM, RIGHT.
YOU'RE CREATING THINGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, YEAR 2, 3, 3, 4.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT ONE TO NECESSARILY MIX BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE IMPACT, IMPACT, UH, ON THE LONG TERM.
SO MAYBE AN NA WOULD BE MORE REPRESENTATIVE AND TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION.
BUT, UM, THE ONE THAT KIND OF STICKS OUT TO ME, I'VE, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT EDUCATION.
I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UM, NETWORKING MM-HMM
WHICH IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF THE HUB, AND IT IS THE FIRST STARTING PROGRESS.
UM, BUT FUNDING AND SPONSORSHIPS, I THINK, UM, ARE SOMETHING TO, TO REALLY, TO REALLY GROW ON.
UM, HOW DO YOU SEE THAT PROGRESS COMING AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THIS YEAR TO HELP WITH THOSE FACETS, UH, IN THE FUTURE YEARS? YEAH, SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE, WE DID WITH THE, THE HOME BUSINESS ACCELERATOR WAS HAVE MOODY BANK AND, UM, WALLACE BANK THERE TO HELP KIND OF WITH THE, THE CONNECTIONS WITH FUNDING MM-HMM
AND SO ALL OF, A LOT OF THEM HAD A LOT OF REALLY GOOD CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS.
AND, AND I CHECK, CHECK BACK IN, AND ONE OF THEM IS IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING A FURTHER CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF THE ATTENDEES.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE WAY THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE DOING THAT.
AND SO, SO CONTINUING ON AND ENCOURAGING THOSE FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH BANKS THAT HAVE SBA, UM, CONNECTIONS.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED FOR 2025.
ONE OF, OF THE, I WAS GONNA MENTION WHEN WE GET TO 2025, BUT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE GOALS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON, THAT WE'VE ALREADY STARTED INITIAL CONVERSATIONS ON, IS CREATING, UH, MULTIPLE INVESTOR GROUPS OF SHORE,
[00:15:01]
UM, RESIDENTS TO INVEST BACK INTO SHORE BUSINESSES.AND SO THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE, ARE, ARE, AND THEY'RE VERY INFANCY PHASES OF CREATING ESSENTIALLY TWO, OR OUR HOPE WOULD BE TO POTENTIALLY CREATE TWO, UM, INVESTOR GROUPS, UM, WHERE WE CAN POTENTIALLY AT THE END OF THE YEAR, NEXT YEAR, KNOCK ON WOOD, BE ABLE TO, TO, TO PRESENT, PRESENT BEFORE THOSE INVESTMENT GROUPS, SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO INVEST IN, UH, AT THE CHRISTMAS, UH, LIGHTING, WE HAD A BOOTH.
AND, UH, IT WAS REALLY COOL BECAUSE OF TWO, TWO DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS CAME UP, UH, TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH ME AND WAS ASKING ABOUT WHAT THEIR BUSINESS IS.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, NO, I DON'T HAVE A, I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA START A BUSINESS.
I WANNA INVEST IN THE BUSINESSES HERE IN SHORE.
AND SO WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME INTEREST IN SHORE RESIDENCE THAT WANT TO INVEST BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY, WANT TO HAVE BUSINESSES MM-HMM
AND SO WE'RE, WE HEAR THAT ALREADY AND SORE NOW WE'RE, IT'S THE PROCESS OF GETTING THOSE PEOPLE TOGETHER INTO A GROUP THAT WE CAN START INVESTING BACK INTO FULL SHARE.
EVEN INCLUDING THAT ON YOUR MAIN FACEBOOK PAGE AS, AS A HUB FOR STARTING THAT PROCESS WITH A, UH, A CAVEAT OF, OF THE NDA AND HELPING THE BUSINESS OUT.
AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO MANAGE THOSE DISCUSSIONS WOULD BE, UH, REALLY GREAT.
AND ALSO ALONG THOSE LINES, UM, WE'RE ANOTHER 2025 THING THAT WE'RE GONNA START, UH, IS, IS CONNECTION WITH THE, THE, UH, LIKE A THURSDAY THINK TANK WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO GET FOLKS TOGETHER THAT ARE BUSINESS PEOPLE TO BASICALLY JUST BRING AN IDEA, UM, TO THE TABLE AND SEE WHAT STICKS, AND THEN HOPEFULLY MOVE THAT IDEA TO FORMATION.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE FOLKS THAT HAVE COME UP WITH AN IDEA, WE'RE GONNA START MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.
WE'RE STARTING TO SIGN PROBABLY SOME NDA, SOME AGREEMENTS AROUND, LIKE HOW DOES THAT WORK? UM, BUT THEN GET THOSE PEOPLE FUNDING TO DO THAT THING THAT STARTED, BECAUSE THAT IDEA CAME FROM SHORE AND, AND MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO THERE'S ANOTHER, JUST ANOTHER INITIATIVE TO GET, GET THINGS STARTED AND GET PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT STUFF SO THAT WE CAN FUND AND, AND CONNECT PEOPLE WITH THAT FUNDING.
SO IT LOOKED LIKE NEXT YEAR WE HAVE PLANNED TWO OF THE, UM, HOME BUSINESS ACCELERATOR EVENTS.
SO IF, IF YOU'RE ALL GOOD, I'LL JUST KIND OF MOVE ON TO SOME 2025.
IS EVERYBODY GOOD? JUST KIND OF WHAT KIND OF WHAT'S COMING THAT WE'RE, UH, PLANNING? YOU HAVE A, YOU HAVE A CALENDAR IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, AND THIS IS, THIS IS A TENTATIVE CALENDAR, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT SET IN STONE.
UM, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE TENTATIVELY WORKING ON.
WE WANT TO DO ANOTHER HOME, LIKE THE HOME BUSINESS ACCELERATOR EVENT WAS REALLY, REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
A LOT OF REALLY GREAT, GREAT FEEDBACK FROM THAT EVENT.
SO WE WANNA DO ANOTHER ONE JUST LIKE WE DID IT, BUT ALSO WE WANT TO, WANT TO, WANT TO DO ONE IN THE EVENING TO SEE IF WE CAN'T GET A WHOLE NOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BE, TO BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF IT, BECAUSE IT WAS IN A DAY.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA KIND OF, THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER TEST CASE FOR US TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER FOLK GROUP OF FOLKS.
SO WE, WE PLAN TO DO TWO MORE.
WE'RE LOOKING, WE'RE KIND OF, WE LOOKING AT OUR EDUCATION SERIES THAT WE WERE DOING, UM, AND WHAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT, AND WHETHER WE SHOULD DO SORT OF SMALLER INDUSTRY FOCUSED EVENTS, UM, THAT ARE VERY SPECIFIC TO HELP FOLKS OUT, UM, IN SERVICE OR RESTAURANTS OR WHATEVER.
WE CAN GET THOSE SPECIFIC PEOPLE, GROUPS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S A BETTER USE OF TIME AND POTENTIALLY CREATING A TOPIC THAT FOUR PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN VERSUS, YOU KNOW, A LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF WRESTLING WITH THAT.
JUST SOME THINGS I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW ABOUT ARE COMING UP IN 2025, IS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, THE, WE'RE, WE'VE CREATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FOUNDERS INSTITUTE, WHICH IS A GLOBAL STARTUP ACCELERATOR AND ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND SO THEY'RE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO COHORTS, AT LEAST TWO COHORTS OVER THE COURSE OF NEXT YEAR.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE 30 PEOPLE, UH, ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF THAT COHORT THAT, THAT, THAT BOOT CAMP.
IT'S GONNA BE KINDA LIKE A FRIDAY, SATURDAY EVENT WHERE IT'S JUST, UH, IT'S EDUCATION, IT'S TEACHING, AND IT'S, IT'S SMALL GROUP INTERACTIONS AND, AND REALLY WALKING AWAY FROM A VERY SPECIFIC DETAILED, UH, UM, COLLATED EVENT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE NEEDS HERE IN SHORE.
AND SO THOSE TWO THINGS CAN BE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? SO IF, IF IT'S A STARTUP ONE OR IT'S A, UH, PHASE FOUR BUSINESS ONE, WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO, THEY'LL, THEY'LL DRAFT IT AND CRAFT IT JUST FOR OUR SPECIFIC NEEDS.
AND IT'LL BE OPEN TO 30 FOLKS.
UM, WE, UH, ARE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION, UH, WITH 2080 VENTURES, WHICH IS, UM, A GLOBAL STARTUP, UM, AND SMALL BUSINESS AND SMALL, SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES ACCELERATOR AND VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM.
UM, IT'S HERE IN THE US AND THE CEO AND THE COO OF 2080 VENTURES ACTUALLY LIVE IN SHORE.
AND SO IT'S A GLOBAL, IF YOU LOOK UP 2080 VENTURES, UM, IT'S A GLOBAL STARTUP AND IN AN INCUBATOR AND COMPANY THAT'S, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA BEGIN TALKING RELATIONSHIP BY HAVING A MEETING WITH THEM NEXT MONDAY
[00:20:01]
ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO PARTNER TOGETHER, UH, WITH THEM ON A GLOBAL, POTENTIALLY A GLOBAL SCALE.RIGHT? UM, SO THERE'S THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT INVESTOR GROUP.
I, WHICH, AND I MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, WE WANNA BEGIN IN 2025 STARTING CONVERSATIONS WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS ABOUT HOW WE CAN INCLUDE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND, AND ENCOURAGE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS KIDS TO BE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND, AND WHAT KIND OF EVENTS THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY DO.
SO THAT'S WHY THE CALENDAR MAY CHANGE A LITTLE BIT.
SO IF WE HAVE AN EVENT, UM, FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS OR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, OR EVEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS TO GET THEM INTO THAT ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA START CREATING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WELL.
I MENTIONED, UM, ALSO WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, STARTING IN JANUARY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ONE-ON-ONE OR ONE-ON THREE MENTORSHIP COHORTS THAT ARE GONNA BE EXISTING.
THE FIRST ONE'S GONNA BE AROUND MARKETING, IT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT THAT'S GONNA BE IS LIKE A SIX WEEK, UH, ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING PROGRAM WITH SOMEONE IN MARKETING TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES FIGURE OUT THEIR MARKETING PLAN AND EXECUTE THEIR MARKETING PLAN A ONE-ON-ONE BASIS, OR ONE ON THREE BASIS, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY PEOPLE SIGN UP.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE FINAL THING I WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF IS WE'RE REALLY COGNIZANT OF THE DIGITAL PLATFORM, AND IN JANUARY WE'RE GONNA ROLL OUT A KIND OF A, A 2.0 VERSION, UM, TO GET MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ENGAGED IN THAT.
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO ACCESS, UM, UH, AND SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS WITH LOCAL ADVISORS HERE IN THE FHI AREA, BUT ALSO, UH, GL GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM, CANON WIDE ECOSYSTEM, GLO, UH, ADVISORS THAT MAY BE IN GALVESTON OR MAYBE IN HOUSTON, UM, OR THE WOODLANDS.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO CONNECT WITH THOSE FOLKS ON A BIGGER SCALE IF THEY CAN'T FIND WHO THEY NEED HERE, SORT OF LOCALLY IN SHORE.
AND SO THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA BE ROLLING OUT IN 2025.
MATT, CAN YOU CLARIFY, UM, WHEN YOU SAY WE ARE PARTNERING HOW THOSE, FOR LIKE THE BOOTCAMP AND STUFF? I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR THAT, UM, THIS IS NOT ADDING ANY ADDITIONAL COST TO THE CONTRACT THAT RE HAS WITH THE CANNON AND THE PROGRAM LABELED RE FAST TRACK.
IT'S JUST ONE OF THE PERKS OF WORKING WITH THE CANNON THAT THEY'RE ADDING THESE NEW TOOLS, RESOURCES, NEW NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES THAT NOW WE GET TO TAP INTO AND TAILOR TO OUR RESIDENCE AND BRING IT LOCAL.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THEY HAVE TO TRAVEL OUT OF THE CITY TO, TO REACH.
AND AGAIN, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT NO COST TO INDIVIDUALS.
AND THEN, UH, ALONG THE EVENTS, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ON THE CALENDAR YET, BUT I DID WANNA ADD THAT HAYDEN AND MYSELF MET WITH A LIFESTYLE DIRECTOR FOR CROSS CREEK.
AND AS YOU KNOW, UM, DEBRA BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION.
THEY HOST E EVENTS, UM, FOR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE WENT AND LET THEM KNOW ABOUT SHORE FAST TRACK AND THAT BEING A RESOURCE AND ASKED IF WE COULD BE INVOLVED.
AND SO OUR PLAN IS TO MEET AGAIN WITH THEM EARLY NEXT YEAR AND SET A SPRING AND A FALL DATE FOR THOSE.
UM, I'M NOT, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY CALL THEM, UM, BUT IT'S ESSENTIALLY A MARKET WHERE THOSE BUSINESSES GET TO SHARE THEIR SERVICE OR THEIR PRODUCT, UM, WITH THEIR OWN NEIGHBORS.
AND, UM, WE THINK THAT IT'S ANOTHER GREAT WAY TO REALLY MAKE THE COMMUNITY AWARE OF WHAT THEY, THEY CAN, UM, UTILIZE AND, YOU KNOW, EV EVERY, ALL THE ADVISORS THAT THEY CAN COME TO.
AND OUR PLAN IS TO CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF THE OTHER MASTER PLAN COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE SOME KIND OF PROGRAMS DIRECTOR, AND THEY ALL DO THESE SMALL DIFFERENT, WHETHER IT'S ART OR, UM, SERVICES OR BUSINESS, THEY DO THESE MARKETS.
AND SO WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY TO FIND AND IDENTIFY THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE BEING RUN FROM HOME.
UM, WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE? LASTLY,
WE PROVIDED FOUR DIFFERENT DATES, UH, THIS MONTH AND NEXT MONTH FOR THEM TO TOUR THE CANNON IN PERSON.
WE JUST FEEL IF YOU'VE BEEN THERE, YOU KNOW WHAT A LIGHT BULB MOMENT IT IS.
WHEN YOU STEP INTO THAT BUILDING, YOU FEEL THAT ENERGY AND IT JUST HAS A WAY OF MAKING EVERYTHING CLICK.
YOU CAN SEE IT IN PAPER, YOU CAN HEAR WHAT WE MEAN TO DO, BUT WHEN YOU'RE THERE AND YOU SEE IT ACTUALLY WORKING, IT'S JUST SUCH A GAME CHANGER.
AND SO WE FELT THAT IT, IT WOULD GIVE IT A BETTER CHANCE OF THEM TRULY CAP CAPTURING, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE AND WHY WE FEEL LIKE IT'S WORTHWHILE TO CONTINUE THE EFFORT.
AND, UH, I'VE HEARD FROM THE CITY SECRETARY THAT FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE RESPONDED WITH A DATE THAT THEY CAN INTEND.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT RESPONSE SO FAR.
I JUST WANNA TELL YOU, LIKE, UM, ALSO, GUYS, I'M, I AM FREE OPEN IF YOU WANNA SIT DOWN AND HAVE A, HAVE A MEETING AND GRAB SOME COFFEE AT MY SECOND OFFICE CALL SECOND OFFICE AT HUMBLE GROUNDS.
UH, LIKE, JUST FEEL FREE AND, AND FREE TO SIT DOWN AND ANSWER QUESTIONS, WHATEVER.
I JUST KNOW THAT I'M, I'M, I'M AN OPEN BOOK AVAILABLE FOR ALL THOSE THINGS.
[00:25:02]
GO AHEAD.I'VE BEEN TO THE COUNTER, SO, UM, IT MIGHT HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN, BUT SO I DIDN'T RESPOND.
UM, ONE THING I WAS THINKING ON THIS FIRST METRIC, MENTORSHIP, COACHING, WOULD IT BE OF ANY VALUE TO TRY TO HAVE SOME GRANULARITY THERE? I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE, I MEAN, TO ME THAT'S ONE OF THE VALUABLE THINGS IN THE MEMBERSHIP WITH THE, WITH THE MENTORING AND THE MENTORSHIP AND COACHING.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, OKAY, HOW DO I CREATE MY OPERATING AGREEMENT FOR MY LLC? WHICH IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU NEED TO DO IF YOU WANNA CREATE AN LLC.
YOU FIRST NEED AN OPERATING AGREEMENT MM-HMM
UH, SO ARE THERE, AND AND YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, SOME MENTORSHIP ON MARKETING.
SO THERE SOME, SO IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME GRANULARITY WITHIN THAT ONE TO SHOW MAYBE WHERE, OR AT LEAST EVEN MAKE, UH, MAKE IT MORE APPARENT TO EVERYONE, UM, WHERE PEOPLE ARE, ARE SEEKING HELP.
SO IF I HEAR YOU RIGHT SAYING, UH, SOMEONE HAS SCHEDULED A TIME SPECIFICALLY FOR A MARKETING CONVERSATION.
ARE THEY NORMALLY THAT SPECIFIC WITH IT, OR ARE THEY JUST, ONCE THEY GET IN, THEN YOU KIND OF SEE, YEAH.
SO THEY MAY FOCUS ON ONE THING, SO, AND THEN YOU CAN PULL THAT OUT OF THAT MEETING, I GUESS.
SO, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY, UH, THE WAY THAT A LOT OF THE COACHING HAS INITIALLY STARTED IS SOMEONE WILL COME AND SPEAK, ONE OF ADVISORS WILL SPEAK ON FINANCE, ONE WILL SPEAK ON SALES, ON MARKETING, AND THEN FROM THAT, THAT THAT EDUCATIONAL, UH, EVENT, A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE COME AND SAY, HEY, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FINANCIAL STUFF.
BUT, BUT A LOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IS, IS THAT, UM, PEOPLE ARE COMING AND THEY WE'RE JUST SITTING DOWN AND, AND THEY'VE NEVER HAD ANYBODY SORT OF ASK THEM QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS.
AND SO WE'RE TALKING KIND OF VERY BASIC CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MARKETING PLANS, WHO'S YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO'S YOUR, WHO'S YOUR PRIMARY CUSTOMER? WHO ARE YOU GOING AFTER? AND PEOPLE JUST NOT REALLY HAVING ANSWERS TO THAT, NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY IN SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE VERY, VERY BASIC.
DON'T EVEN KNOW, HAVEN'T EVEN HAD AN OPERATION AGREEMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE SOLOPRENEURS ARE DOING IT ON THE SIDE.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT EVEN THINKING IN THAT SPACE YET.
AND SO, UH, THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT OUR CONVERSATIONS ARE, IS SORT OF THAT INITIAL VERY BASIC, LIKE, HERE'S YOUR PLAN.
LIKE WHAT IS YOUR, YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN? WHAT IS YOUR, UH, BUSINESS PLAN? VERY BASIC STUFF.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'VE BEEN.
WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD, UH, A LOT OF WHOLE CONVERSATIONS PER SE, AROUND MARKETING, EXCEPT, EXCEPT ONE THAT WAS, THAT OUR SORT OF, UM, OUR POSTER CHILD OF THE FULL SHEAR FAST TRACK IS, UH, UH, HOUSTON APPAREL COMPANY WHO WENT TO A MARKETING EVENTS AND THEN, UH, DOVE RIGHT INTO THAT MAR LIKE, CONNECTED WITH A PERSON WHO, UH, PRESENTED AND DOVE RIGHT INTO WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND HAVE NOW BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE, UH, IN THE LARGER HOUSTON AREA ECOSYSTEM WITH, UH, DIFFERENT NETWORKING EVENTS.
AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE NOW BECAUSE OF THAT INITIAL CONVERSATION ABOUT MARKETING AND HOW TO GET THEMSELVES OUT AND, AND MEET WITH PEOPLE.
AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF OUR POSTER CHILD OF, OF THE SUCCESS OF WHAT THIS IS.
AND THEY, THEY, THEY WILL SAY UP AND DOWN, IT'S COMPLETELY CHANGED THE FACE OF THEIR BUSINESS BECAUSE OF WHAT WE'VE PROVIDED FOR THEM AND THE CONNECTIONS THAT WE'VE PROVIDED FOR THEM, UM, ON THE KNOW-HOW OF HOW TO GET OUT AND ABOUT AND DO THAT STUFF.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THAT GRANULARITY, UM, IN THAT PARTIC PARTICULAR EXAMPLE.
BUT A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING AND SEEING IS SORT OF VERY BASIC BEGINNING, UH, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TO KIND OF PLAN THINGS OUT.
THE LAST THING THAT I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON, AND THIS IS KIND OF THAT SURVIVABILITY COMMENT, LIKE, WE'RE KIND OF GOING TO THE NEXT STEP.
THE NEXT STEP IS ALSO JUST KIND OF, TO BE QUITE HONEST, ONCE THEY'RE AT A CERTAIN STAGE FOR YOU, YOU CAN KIND OF PASS 'EM OFF.
WHICH IS TO PASS 'EM OFF TO THE CHAMBER.
TO PASS 'EM OFF TO, UM, SOME OF OUR, UH, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND SUCH THAT COULD UTILIZE THESE SORTS OF SERVICES AND, AND, UM, OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO JUST WANT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT SURVIVABILITY ARGUMENT IS JUST TURNING IT OVER TO THAT, THAT THE NEXT DAY THAT'S DESIGNED TO SURVIVE THEM.
WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, RIBBON CUTTINGS AND ALL THAT OTHER GOOD STUFF.
SO, UH, KEEP THAT IN MIND AS, AS THIS LIST GROWS AND GETS TO THAT CRITICAL STEP.
AND YOU CAN SAY, HEY, I'VE TAUGHT YOU EVERYTHING.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
[00:30:05]
SURE, YEAH.WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO GET MORE, I MEAN, YES, I HAVE, I HAVE ENCOUNTERS AND TESTIMONIALS.
WE'RE WORKING TO GET THOSE ON.
THAT'S ONE OF THE, ON THE SURVEY IS TO GET LIKE, ACTUAL THINGS WE CAN PUT ON THE WEBSITE.
WE CAN PUT, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, WE JUST NEED MORE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MATT, THANKS FOR, UH, BEING HERE THIS EVENING AND ANELLE AND THANK Y'ALL FOR, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER THE INFORMATION, HAVING THE SUMMARY REPORT.
I THINK THAT'LL GO A LONG WAY TO AT LEAST, UH, KEEPING EVERYONE INFORMED WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE MORE THING, TOMMY, BECAUSE WE WILL SHARE THIS WITH COUNSEL AS WELL.
SO JUST TO KEEP Y'ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, UM, THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR EDC STAFF TO REACH OUT TO THE SBDC AND TO SEE IF WE COULD GET THE, THE SERVICES THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH VOLPARA THROUGH AN ALREADY EXISTING ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND SO WE DID, WE SCHEDULED A MEETING WITH THEM AND KIND OF WENT OVER EVERYTHING THEY OFFER.
UM, LONG STORY SHORT, THEY COULD, BUT IT WOULD ESSENTIALLY TAKE AN AGREEMENT AND WE'D HAVE TO PAY, UM, TO EVEN GET SOMEONE LOCAL.
RIGHT NOW, THEY WOULD, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER HAYDEN, WHERE I THINK THEY HAVE AN OFFICE IN MISSOURI CITY.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE THE CLOSEST.
UM, AND THEY'RE VERY, VERY, VERY SPREAD THIN.
UM, SO I DON'T THINK THAT, UM, WITH THE CURRENT SETUP FOR THE SBDC, IT, WE COULD ACHIEVE ANYTHING NEAR WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH BOLSTER FAST TRACK.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'LL REPORT BACK.
WE, WE ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS, KIND OF LOOKED AT THE SERVICES, AND THERE'S JUST NO, UM, NO BANDWIDTH FOR THEM TO HANDLE ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND ESPECIALLY NOT BRINGING IT LOCAL, WHICH WE FEEL IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT OUR CITIZENS HAVE SOMETHING IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY.
THANKS FOR SHARING THAT WITH US.
[Business - B]
ON TO ITEM THREE B, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE EDC STRATEGIC PLAN.AND I FEEL BAD ANNOUNCING THIS WHEN JAMES IS NOT HERE.
I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, UH, CAN WE GO ON
IT DOES FEEL FUNNY 'CAUSE I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING HE'S WANTED TO SEE FOR LIKE SIX MONTHS.
UM, BUT THANKFULLY IT'S RECORDED AND WE CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO JOHN.
UM, SO JOHN, UH, CAR IS HERE FROM TIP STRATEGIES AND, UM, AS YOU ALL REMEMBER, WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSION THE LAST FEW MONTHS ABOUT, UH, IS IT TIME TO DO A, A REFRESHER OR AN ALL NEW STRATEGIC PLAN? OUR LAST STRATEGIC PLAN WAS COMPLETED IN 2019 BY TIP STRATEGY.
SO WE THOUGHT WE'D BRING THEM BACK.
UM, I KNOW A LOT THE LAST TIME WE DISCUSSED THIS, YOU ALL HAD SOME VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS.
WE DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE OUR DIFFERENT OPTIONS? COULD WE DO MAYBE A, A WORKSHOP OR A TOWN HALL THAT INCLUDED THE EDC AND COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE WE ALL HAVE THE, THE SAME GOALS AND THEY'RE ALL ALIGNED.
AND SO I'VE SHARED A LOT OF THAT CONVERSATION WITH JOHN, AND SO HE'LL MAKE A PRESENTATION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND THEN HE'LL TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS.
AN, UM, SO I GUESS I'LL, I'LL USE THIS KIND OF AS A BACKDROP FOR THE CONVERSATION, BUT, UH, GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, UH, GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL.
AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON, UH, WHO TIP IS, UH, FOR THOSE REFRESHER FOR SOME OF Y'ALL.
UM, TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS AND AT LEAST BASED ON THE INITIAL CONVERSATIONS, UH, WITH THE STAFF, UH, WHAT OUR UNDERSTANDING IS OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN A POSSIBLE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.
AND WE HAVE BEEN, UH, VERY ACTIVE, UH, NOT JUST IN RE BUT IN FORT BEND COUNTY, IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA AND ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO I'LL SHARE A FEW, I THINK, RELEVANT EXAMPLES, UH, JUST AT A HIGH LEVEL OF OTHER COMMUNITIES AND THEN KIND OF END ON, UH, WHY WE THINK WE WOULD, UH, BE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH Y'ALL.
BUT MOSTLY, UH, HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU ALL AND WOULD LOVE TO GO INTO A DIALOGUE.
SO, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
OUR FIRM TIP STRATEGIES, WE'RE BASED IN AUSTIN.
UH, WE WORK ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY AND OUR CORE BUSINESS IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
WE WORK WITH CITIES AND COUNTIES AND REGIONS AND STATES.
UH, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR, COMING UP NEXT YEAR IS OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE FIRM FOR 10 YEARS.
UH, WE'VE DONE, UH, PROJECTS ALL OVER AND WE ALSO DO A LOT OF TALENT AND WORKFORCE STRATEGIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING AS WELL AS DATA AND ANALYTICS TO SUPPORT THAT WORK.
BUT, UH, WE'RE, ONE THING TO TO POINT OUT IS WE'RE AN INDEPENDENTLY OWNED SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, WE REALLY ARE, WE REALLY SPECIALIZE ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING.
UM, SO WE, WE, WE VALUE OUR, OUR CLIENTS AND WE
[00:35:01]
HAVE MANY REPEAT CLIENTS.UH, SO THAT KIND OF IS A TESTAMENT TO OUR, OUR LONG-TERM COMMITMENT.
AND OUR MISSION IS REALLY ABOUT ENGAGING AND INSPIRING THE LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE WORK IN SO THAT YOU ALL CAN BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN SERVING YOUR BUSINESSES, YOUR RESIDENTS, AND HAVE A THRIVING COMMUNITY.
UM, THE, THE FOUNDERS OF OUR FIRM, SOME OF Y'ALL MAY RECOGNIZE, UH, TOM STILLMAN.
HE WAS THE PRINCIPAL THAT LED THE PLAN IN 2019.
UM, ALSO TRACY MCDANIEL, SHE'S OUR FIRM'S PRESIDENT.
SHE'S BEEN WITH THE FIRM NOW FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS LEADING A LOT OF OUR WORK FOR FORT BEND COUNTY.
UM, AND THEN JEFF MARCEL ALSO HAS LED A COUPLE OF OUR PROJECTS HERE.
UH, MOST RECENTLY, THE WORK THAT WE'RE FINISHING UP IN RICHMOND, UH, AS WELL AS THE WORK THAT WAS COMPLETED IN ROSENBERG.
AND ACTUALLY JEFF AND I WORKED, UH, OVER IN MISSOURI CITY BACK IN 2018 AS WELL.
TOGETHER, THE, THE LARGER TEAM, I WON'T, UH, GO INTO EVERYBODY'S BACKGROUND, BUT A COUPLE OTHER FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED ON THE, THE FORT BEND COUNTY WORK, ALEX COOK, UH, JEN TODD GOINS, ALEXIS ANGELO, AND THEN LUKE SHEFFIELD ON OUR CONSULTING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING IN RICHMOND AND ROSENBERG.
AND WE HAVE A FANTASTIC, UH, RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION TEAM BEHIND THE SCENES THAT THEY, THEY CRINGE WHEN THEIR, THEIR FACES ARE SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC.
BUT I LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THEM EVERY CHANCE I GET.
'CAUSE THEY DO A LOT OF THE GREAT WORK THAT THAT MAKES US, UH, UH, PARTNER WITH OUR CLIENTS AND BE SUCCESSFUL.
SO OUR, THE WAY WE APPROACH STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, IT'S REALLY A A THREE PHASE PLANNING MODEL THAT, THAT WE'VE, UH, HONED OVER OUR, OUR THREE DECADES IN BUSINESS.
AND IT'S FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTIVE ENOUGH, UH, BUT PROVIDES A SOLID STRUCTURE AND A TYPICAL STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT'S A SIX TO NINE MONTH PLANNING PROCESS.
THE DISCOVERY PHASE IS REALLY STARTING, UH, WITH KIND OF A BROAD FUNNEL GATHERING AS MUCH INFORMATION, QUANTITATIVE AS WELL AS QUALITATIVE.
UM, TOURING THE COMMUNITY ON THE GROUND, MEETING WITH FOLKS, UH, ONE-ON-ONE GROUND TABLE GROUPS.
UH, CLIENT ENGAGEMENT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US.
AND THEN WE TAKE THAT INFORMATION, WE START TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES.
THAT'S THAT SECOND PHASE THAT WE CALL THE OPPORTUNITY PHASE.
AND THEN THE THIRD PHASE, WHICH, UH, I WOULD ARGUE IS AT THE END OF THE DAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT IS ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, ASSIGNING THE, THE TIMELINES, THE METRICS, AND DEVOTING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE GONNA BE REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
SO EACH OF THOSE THREE PHASES KIND OF BUILDS ON, UH, THE FIRST BUILDS ON THE SECOND, UH, AND THEN THE SECOND BUILDS TOWARD THE THIRD.
AND THROUGHOUT EACH OF THOSE PHASES, IT'S NOT LIKE WE STOP GATHERING INPUT IN THE DISCOVERY PHASE.
WE CONTINUE GATHERING INPUT AND GETTING IDEAS FROM THE CLIENT TEAM, UM, AND THE, THE BOARD AND THE, THE LARGER COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
SO THAT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO RAISE AWARENESS AND GATHER INPUT, BUT ALSO TO START BOUNCING IDEAS OFF OF THOSE WHO WILL BE, UH, PARTNERS IN IMPLEMENTING THEM SO THAT WE CAN START THINGS SOMETIMES BEFORE THE PLAN IS EVEN FORMALLY ADOPTED.
THERE CAN BE THOSE QUICK WINS TO GET MOMENTUM GOING WITH IMPLEMENTATION.
SO JUST A QUICK KIND OF RECAP OF WHERE WE, UH, WHERE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING BOTH IN SHORE.
I MENTIONED THE, THE WORK THAT WE DID IN MISSOURI CITY, UH, THAT WAS A, A PROJECT THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2018, UM, AS WELL AS THE, THE PROCESS THAT I ACTUALLY, UH, DID NOT GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THE ORIGINAL PLAN, UH, FOR RE, BUT I CAME AND INTERVIEWED WITH THE SELECTION COMMITTEE.
UH, THIS WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS IN 2018.
AND I REMEMBER AT THE TIME THE, THE EDC OFFICES, AND I'M ASSUMING THE CITY OFFICES WERE OVER IN A SORT OF A FLEX SPACE BUSINESS PARK.
UM, SO YOU'RE NOW IN THIS AMAZING CLASS A FACILITY.
SO IT'S KIND OF COOL TO SEE HOW RAPIDLY THE COMMUNITY HAS SORT OF GROWN UP AND TRANSFORMED IN JUST A SHORT FIVE, SIX YEAR TIMEFRAME.
UH, THE, THE FEEL BEFORE WAS SORT OF A, A, A SMALL TOWN BECOMING A, A GROWING, RAPIDLY GROWING COMMUNITY THAT WAS PART OF A LARGER REGION AND NOW RE FUEL'S KIND OF LIKE A, A LARGE CITY WITHIN A LARGE METRO AREA THAT'S KIND OF BECOMING A MORE PROMINENT PLAYER WITHIN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT, JUST MY OWN KIND OF PERCEPTIONS DRIVING IN FROM AUSTIN THIS AFTERNOON AND COMING TO THIS BUILDING QUITE, QUITE IMPRESSED.
UM, SO WE, I ALSO MENTIONED THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING IN, UH, FOR FORT BEND COUNTY AND FOR THE FORT BEND, EDC, UH, FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND WE HAVE COMPLETED THAT, UH, THAT COUNTYWIDE FIVE YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN, UH, AND DELIVERED THAT TO THE CLIENT A FEW MONTHS AGO.
THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF FIGURING OUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF IMPLEMENTATION THERE.
AND WE ARE, UH, CONTINUING OUR WORK WITH FORT BEND COUNTY ON A, A BUSINESS DIVERSITY STRATEGY, LOOKING AT HOW TO BETTER SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, PARTICULAR WOMEN OWNED AND MINORITY OWNED AND, UH, VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
AND SO THAT BRINGS US TO, UH, TODAY WHERE WE ARE DISCUSSING THE POTENTIAL UPDATE TO THE RE EDC
[00:40:01]
STRATEGIC PLAN AND LOOKING AHEAD TOWARD THE NEXT YEAR AND THEN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS BEYOND THAT.SO OUR INITIAL UNDERSTANDING IS YOU'RE KIND OF AT A CROSSROADS LOOKING FOR, UH, AN UPDATE TO THE 2019 PLAN.
AND, UH, THE QUESTION OF HOW, UH, HOW MUCH TO STICK TO THE, UH, THE MAJOR GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE ORIGINAL PLAN, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT CALL A, A REFRESH, KIND OF TAKING THE CURRENT PLAN AND JUST MAKING SOME TWEAKS AND ADJUSTMENTS ON KIND OF ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM WOULD BE REALLY STARTING, UH, NOT COMPLETELY FROM SCRATCH BECAUSE YOU DO HAVE A SOLID PLAN.
I WAS GOING BACK AND REVIEWING IT, UH, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS, BUT REALLY TAKING A FRESH, COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE, UH, TO YOUR ENTIRE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
AND THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I WOULD LOVE TO GET Y'ALL'S INPUT ON, UH, OF WHETHER TO, TO DO A REFRESH OR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
AND THE COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHENEVER THIS QUESTION IS POSED TO US BY CLIENTS IS, UH, THE ON ON THAT SPECTRUM, SHOULD YOU JUST TAKE THE CURRENT PLAN AND MAKE SOME TWEAKS OR SHOULD YOU START AND DO A COMPREHENSIVE NEW PLAN? SO ONE, ONE QUESTION IS JUST THE TIME THAT IT'S BEEN SINCE THE ORIGINAL PLAN.
WE HAD A NUMBER OF PROJECTS WHERE WE HAD COMPLETED A PLAN IN 20 17, 20 18, AND THEN THE PANDEMIC ROLLED AROUND AND 2020 HIT AND CLIENTS CAME AND THEY SAID, HEY, WE'RE THREE YEARS INTO OUR CURRENT PLAN.
CONDITIONS ARE OBVIOUSLY CHANGING.
UH, SO IF IF YOU'RE KIND OF A FEW YEARS INTO A PLAN BUT NOT DONE WITH IMPLEMENTATION, THAT MIGHT CALL FOR A REFRESH.
BUT IF YOU'RE KIND OF PAST THAT FIVE YEAR HORIZON, THEN IT MIGHT CALL FOR MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
UH, ANOTHER QUESTION IS JUST THE LEVEL OF CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY.
IF THINGS HAVE CHANGED DRAMATIC DRAMATICALLY BASED ON THE, THE GROWTH PATTERNS OR, UH, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, MAJOR NEW INDUSTRIES COMING IN, NEW RESIDENTS, UM, THAT WOULD CALL MORE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE IF THINGS ARE KIND OF, WELL, LARGELY THE SAME, BUT WE'VE HAD SOME MINOR CHANGES THAT MIGHT CALL FOR MORE OF A REFRESH.
UM, ANOTHER ONE I THINK IS THE, THE LEADERSHIP IN THE COMMUNITY.
IF YOU HAVE A WHOLE NEW SET OF, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEADERS, UH, CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, UM, KEY PARTNERS, CHAMBER O, OTHER PARTNERS, THEN IT MIGHT BE TIME MORE CALL FOR MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
IF IT'S THE SAME LEADERS THAT HAVE BEEN IN POSITION FOR, UH, SINCE THE PREVIOUS PLAN, THAT MIGHT CALL FOR MORE OF A REFRESH.
THOSE ARE JUST KIND OF, UH, SOME GUIDELINES, NOT NECESSARILY, UH, HARD, HARD RULES.
BUT JUST A FEW QUESTIONS TO KIND OF ADD ON TO A LAYER TO THIS QUESTION.
AND WE CAN CERTAINLY COME BACK TO THIS 'CAUSE I THINK THAT IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
UM, BUT I DID JUST WANT TO POINT OUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD REALLY BE EXCITED ABOUT, UH, WORKING WITH Y'ALL AGAIN ON AN, AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
THE GROWTH, OF COURSE, IS SOMETHING THAT BRINGS WITH IT CHALLENGES, BUT IT'S, IT'S AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, IT'S KIND OF FUNNY TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE POPULATION PROJECTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS PLAN.
IT'S LIKE, OH, Y'ALL WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO HIT THAT POPULATION UNTIL SOMETIME AFTER 2030 AND YOU'VE ALREADY BLOWN PAST IT.
THE THE SIGNS COMING IN ARE ONLY 1-YEAR-OLD AND THEY'RE ALREADY OUTDATED BY, UH, ABOUT 25%.
UM, AND WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO, WE'RE GONNA CROSS THAT MAGIC 50,000 POPULATION THRESHOLD, MAYBE TWO YEARS, BUT, UH, POTENTIALLY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, UH, FROM LIVING IN SOUTH AUSTIN AND SEEING KYLE THE SECOND THEY PASSED THAT 50,000 POPULATION THRESHOLD, THE AMOUNT OF MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT AND SIGNIFICANT NEW RETAILERS FROM COSTCO TO, UH, MANY OTHERS, UM, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF ONE OF THOSE MAGICAL NUMBERS THAT, UH, THAT KIND OF BUMPS YOU INTO A WHOLE DIFFERENT CATEGORY.
UM, NOT EVEN TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE, THE TREMENDOUS EDUCATIONAL AND INCOME LEVELS THAT YOU HAVE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
I, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW BUSINESS RECRUITMENT.
VERY EXCITING TO HEAR ABOUT THE SHORE FAST TRACK PROGRAM FOR, UH, AND IN PARTICULAR LEVERAGING NOT JUST EXISTING BUSINESSES, BUT POTENTIAL INVESTORS.
AND THAT KIND OF GETS TO THE STRONG TALENT PIPELINE THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY.
YOU ARE ATTRACTING PEOPLE HERE.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE SIGNIFICANT SITES IN CORRIDOR, MANY OF THOSE ARE THE SAME ONES THAT WE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
UM, BUT WHAT KIND OF ADDITIONAL EDC AND CITY, UH, SUPPORT FOR POTENTIAL PUBLIC-PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS COULD BE MADE IN THOSE AREAS.
AND THEN I THINK ABOUT THE, THE LAST ONE THERE, THE OPPORTUNITY THERE, THERE REALLY ISN'T, UH, I I THINK A LOT ABOUT THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA VERSUS THE HOUSTON AREA IS TWO SIMILAR, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT MARKETS.
AND, UH, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA, THERE'S A NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE REALLY KIND OF PUT TOGETHER MAJOR DESTINATIONS FOR BUSINESS ATTRACTIONS, AMENITIES, UH, WE'VE WORKED IN MANY OF THOSE COMMUNITIES AND IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT AS MANY STANDOUT COMMUNITIES THERE, BUT I THAT ARE KIND OF, UH, THE
[00:45:01]
DESTINATION.YOU CAN MAKE A CASE FOR THE WOODLANDS, UH, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, BUT I, I SEE RE AS HAVING THAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITY TO BE KIND OF THE DESTINATION FOR HIGH QUALITY GROWTH AND, AND AMENITIES IN BUSINESS WITHIN THE LARGER AREA.
SO, LOTS OF QUESTIONS FOR Y'ALL THAT I THINK, UM, WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE TODAY, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A WINDOW INTO HOW WE WOULD THINK ABOUT A, A STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE, LOOKING BACK AT WOULD'VE BEEN THE BIGGEST WINS, UH, OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS WOULD'VE BEEN MAYBE THE, THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THEN LOOKING AHEAD, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE MOST PROMISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS ATTRACTION FOR, UH, SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES, WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, THINKING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME MORE OF A HUB FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE KIND OF THE CONSTANT QUESTION ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL GROWTH VERSUS COMMERCIAL TAX BASE IS CRITICAL FOR THE CITY'S FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY.
AND THEN WHAT ARE THE, THE BOLD PROJECTS THAT COULD REALLY COME IN AND TRANSFORM THE, THE COMMUNITY'S, UH, ECONOMY, UH, AND THE COMMERCIAL TAX BASE OVER THE NEXT FIVE, 10 YEARS BEYOND THAT.
AND THEN WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE BRAND OF THE COMMUNITY? UM, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY HAVE A POSITIVE IMAGE OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT THERE, THERE MAY BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE, UH, IT, IT DOESN'T HAVE THAT RECOGNITION YET THAT IT COULD HAVE.
SO WHAT COULD THAT BRAND BECOME OVER THE NEXT FIVE, 10 YEARS? AND THEN OF COURSE, THE, THE ROLES OF THE TYPE A, THE TYPE B, THE CITY, UH, MENTIONED THE CHAMBER, SOME OF THE OTHER PARTNERS AT REALLY, UH, DRIVING THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.
SO MAKE SURE WE'RE OKAY ON TIME HERE.
UM, SO I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THESE, BUT JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, A SENSE, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE FORT BEND COUNTY WORK THAT, THAT WE'VE WRAPPED UP RECENTLY.
UM, THE, THE PLAN THAT WAS COMPLETED RECENTLY FOR ROSENBERG, UM, COUPLE OTHERS THAT, THAT I'VE BEEN PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN MISSOURI CITY, THE PASADENA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
WE DID THEIR PLAN IN 2018 AND THEN COME BACK IN AND DID A, A REFRESH COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
AND THEN, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT I MENTIONED IN THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA, WE JUST COMPLETED A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE FOR THE CITY OF IRVING.
UH, WE DID THEIR PLAN ORIGINALLY BACK IN 2015 AND 2016, AND THEY WERE READY FOR REALLY A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE, UH, THAT WAS JUST COMPLETED A FEW MONTHS AGO.
THE, UH, ARLINGTON EDC IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE, UH, WE WORKED WITH THE CITY OF ARLINGTON BACK IN 2014 AND THEY HAD A, A NEW SALES TAX CORPORATION FROM THE SUN SETTING OF THE, THE BALLPARK IN ARLINGTON.
UM, SO REALLY KIND OF AN INVESTMENT STRATEGY FOR THE EDC AND BUILDING OFF OF THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT TO BE MORE, UH, MORE THAN JUST TOURISM.
AND THEN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH WAS ANOTHER ONE WHERE WE DID A VERY LARGE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN 2017 AND THEN CAME AND DID A MORE NARROWLY TARGETED UPDATE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
AND, UH, JUST TO THROW ONE OUT OF TEXAS EXAMPLE, UH, BECAUSE I SAW A LOT OF PARALLELS WITH, WITH FULCHER, UH, THE TOWN OF SA RITA, THEY JUST CELEBRATED THEIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY AS A COMMUNITY.
THEY WERE INCORPORATED IN 1994, AND THEY'RE A, A VERY FAST GROWING SUBURB SOUTH OF TUCSON, AND THEY HAVE A VERY LARGE MASTER PLAN COMMUNITY, RANCHO SORITA, THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE DOMINANT RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.
AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE HAD SOME OF THE SAME CHALLENGES OF BALANCING RESIDENTIAL WITH COMMERCIAL AND UH, THEY ALSO DON'T HAVE A HOTEL YET, BUT WE'RE KIND OF WORKING WITH THEM TO, UH, WORK WITH THEIR LANDOWNERS AND TRY TO PUT TOGETHER SOME PROACTIVE RFPS TO, TO BRING IN, UH, POTENTIALLY A COUPLE OF HOTELS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST ONE OTHER EXAMPLE, BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY OTHER ONES THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH IN OTHER MAJOR METROS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
SO I'LL, I'LL END ON, ON THIS.
AND I THINK I'VE TOUCHED ON MOST OF THESE ALREADY, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN AROUND, UH, FOR 30 YEARS ALMOST NOW, AND WE HAVE A PORTFOLIO AT THE LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE LEVEL HERE.
UM, A COUPLE OTHER THINGS THAT I'LL POINT OUT IS WE REALLY, UH, WE REALLY FOCUS ON THE ENGAGEMENT WITH NOT JUST YOU ALL, UM, THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, BUT THE EMPLOYERS AND THOSE, UH, IN THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY AND OTHERS THAT WOULD BE CRITICAL FOR, UH, MAKING THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT LEAD TO SOMETHING ON THE GROUND.
AND WE TAKE A PRACTITIONER'S APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE THOSE OF US, UH, THE PRINCIPALS AND ON THE CONSULTING TEAM, WE'VE BEEN IN Y'ALL'S SHOES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OR IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUPS, UH, HAVING TO RESPOND TO ELECTED OFFICIALS AND BOARDS.
SO WE, WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT'S LIKE.
AND, UH, I'LL JUST END ON THE, THE LAST ONE, THE, THE THREE CS.
UH, WE TRY TO BRING CREATIVITY, UH, COMPETENCY AND COMMITMENT TO OUR CLIENTS.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL UH, HAND IT OVER TO Y'ALL FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
WELL, I, I THINK YOUR PRESENTATION
[00:50:01]
KIND OF SEE IS WHERE CHER'S AT AND THERE ARE SOME BIG QUESTIONS IN THERE THAT WE ALL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT.UM, SO I I, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION AND I THINK YOUR ON TRACK WITH WHAT, WHAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT, UH, IN THE YEARS AHEAD.
I WAS KIND OF, I HADN'T HEARD THE INFORMATION ABOUT REACHING THE 50,000 POPULATION LIMIT.
I THINK IN CHER'S CASE, WE, WE LOOK BACK ON WHERE WE WERE AT IN 2019.
I THINK SOME THINGS ARE THE SAME, BUT WE HAVE SOME THINGS ARE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? WE'RE STILL STRUGGLING TO, UH, INCREASE OUR COMMERCIAL TAX BASE, BUT WE'RE STILL HAVE STEADY, SOLID GROWTH OF RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE HAVE THAT GOING FOR US, THAT THAT'S AN ASSET CHALLENGES, BUT THAT BRINGS OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT YOU MENTIONED THE 50,000 LIMIT AND THAT KIND OF TRIGGERS SOME MAYBE PUTTING YOU AT THE NEXT LEVEL WITH DEVELOPMENT.
IS THERE ANY BENEFIT TO WAITING TO THAT LEVEL BEFORE YOU DO LIKE A, DO YOU HAVE TO WAIT TILL YOU HIT 50,000 BEFORE YOU DO LIKE A FULL BLOWN, UH, NEW PLAN, MAJOR UPDATE, OR THERE'S ANY VALUE DOING IT TWO YEARS BEFORE YOU HIT THAT POINT? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
IT'S, IT'S KIND OF AN ARBITRARY NUMBER AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, SAME WITH, UH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND POPULATION IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S USED BY A LOT OF THE NATIONAL RETAIL CHAINS AND DEVELOPERS.
UM, SO GETTING AHEAD OF THAT AND KNOWING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE CROSSING THOSE THRESHOLDS, UH, I WOULD ARGUE FOR PLANNING EARLIER RATHER THAN WAITING MM-HMM
BUT THOSE ARE KIND OF ARBITRARY BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DID MENTION COD, YOU ADOPTED THE PLAN AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT? WE HAD COVID, UM, WE, SO WE WENT THROUGH THAT.
WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, CHANGES TO OUR STAFF GROWING PAINS THAT SOME OF THAT HAS BEEN WORKED THROUGH.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE STILL GROWING, UH, NEW LEADERSHIP ON MAYOR CITY COUNCIL.
UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE DEFINITELY GOING WELL, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH DID SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T HERE ANYMORE INFLUENCE THE PAST PROCESS VERSUS WHAT WE WOULD GET NOW AND THE INPUT.
I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT.
AND, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WOULD THE VISION FOR THE ECONOMIC STRATEGY CHANGE WITH, UH, THE VOLUME OF NEW PEOPLE WE HAVE THAT ARE HERE TO WEIGH IN ON THE, A NEW PLAN.
BUT I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS IN, IN YOUR, UM, MINDSET.
I, UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO GET YOUR KIND OF PERCEPTION BOTH OF THE DETAILS OF TIME AND ALSO WHAT WOULD THE DIFFERENCE IN, IN YOUR HEAD BETWEEN THE REFRESH AND THE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE? I MEAN, YOU, YOU'RE NOT CHANGING THE GOALS YOU ARE IN BOTH OF THEM, OR JUST A BRIEF, UM, FROM YOUR PERCEPTION.
SO I, I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE WOULD, WE WOULD LEAN TOWARD TREATING IT AS A BUILDING OFF OF A SOLID BASE, BUT REALLY A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE GIVEN HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED.
UM, BUT WHERE THE, THE TIME AND THE, THE LEVEL OF EFFORT, UH, CAN BE RATCHETED UP OR DOWN IS REALLY MOSTLY IN THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
AND TO A LESSER DEGREE IN THE DATA ANALYSIS, UM, WE WOULD WANT TO RUN A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF EMPLOYMENT DEMOGRAPHIC, REAL ESTATE TAX BASE, UH, RETAIL DATA REGARDLESS.
SO IN THE, UH, NOT TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT SURE.
SO IN LIKE THE REFRESH, YOU WOULDN'T BE DOING THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT? WE WOULD, BUT WE WOULD, WE STILL WOULD KIND OF OKAY.
TAR, UH, MAKE IT MORE TARGETED AND DO OKAY.
SO THE TIME CAN BE AT PROBABLY AT THE LOWER END OF THAT SIX TO NINE MONTH, UH, FOR A REFRESH AND THEN MAYBE STILL WITHIN THAT RANGE, BUT MAYBE LONGER TOWARD THE EIGHT TO NINE MONTH, UH, PROCESS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
AND PART OF THE TIME IT IS REALLY HAVING, THERE, THERE HAS TO BE SOME AMOUNT OF BACK AND FORTH AND GOING THROUGH THOSE THREE PHASES.
UH, NO MATTER HOW INVOLVED OR OR NOT INVOLVED, THE, THE PLANNING PROCESS IS JUST TO BE ABLE TO GET REACTIONS FROM YOU ALL FROM THE LEADERS THAT ARE GONNA BE, UH, SIGNING OFF ON AND, AND FUNDING AND STAFFING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN.
UH, SO IT'S THE, THE IDEA OF DOING
[00:55:01]
A STRATEGIC PLAN OVER A, A TWO DAY RETREAT, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT.UH, WE THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY ALLOW FOR THE TIME TO GET FEEDBACK AND BRING IT BACK AND PRESENT IDEAS AND COME BACK AND REFINE THEM AND HAVE THOSE DIALOGUE AND DISCUSSIONS AND ALLOW PEOPLE TIME TO, TO THINK ABOUT HOW THESE, UH, THESE BIG CHANGES WOULD, WOULD ROLL OUT IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND IN THEIR BUSINESSES.
SO THIS KIND OF ALONG THAT SPECTRUM, I GUESS WOULD BE THE ANSWER.
IS THERE A, IF THE BOARDS SO CHOSE TO EMBARK UPON ONE OF THESE PROCESSES, IS THERE AN OPTIMAL TIMEFRAME TO BEGIN THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY? UH, BECAUSE I KNOW, IS IT BETTER TO BEGIN MAYBE LIKE IN THE SPRINGTIME, SO YOU FINISH BEFORE YOU GET TO HOLIDAYS, OR CAN IT OVERLAP EVERYTHING AND YOU JUST WORK AROUND IT? YEAH, WE, WE'VE CERTAINLY HAD SUCCESSFUL PLANS THAT, THAT HAVE STARTED AT EVERY MONTH AND ENDED AT EVERY MONTH.
BUT YOU DO HAVE TO KIND OF BE MINDFUL OF THE THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAYS, YOU TEND TO LOSE A MONTH OR TWO OF MOMENTUM.
UM, AND ALSO THE, THE SUMMERTIME, UH, PEOPLE OFF WITH SCHOOL AND KIDS AND VACATIONS, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO STARTING TOWARD THE BEGINNING, THE FIRST QUARTER AND ENDING UP, UH, WITH A PLAN TOWARD THE FALL WOULD BE, I GUESS, GIVEN WHERE Y'ALL ARE AT, MAYBE AN IDEAL SETUP, BUT IT COULD BE, IT COULD BE PUSHED BACK A QUARTER, ANOTHER QUARTER AFTER THAT AND STILL BE FINE.
THAT WAS GONNA BE MY, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS, BUT THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, DOES THAT NORMALLY COME PROBABLY IN THE FIRST MAYBE QUARTER OR A THIRD OF THE TIME? THE SCHEDULE IT, YEAH.
IT'S REALLY FRONT LOADED IN THAT FIRST, UH, IN THE DISCOVERY PHASE.
AND THEN A STEERING COMMITTEE, WHICH WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE WOULD BE THE B AND A BOARDS AND POTENTIALLY OTHER LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY WOULD MM-HMM
BE ENGAGED ON A MONTHLY BASIS THROUGHOUT THE, THE SIX TO EIGHT MONTH PROCESS, OR SIX TO NINE MONTH PROCESS, ROUGHLY MONTHLY.
MY ONLY COMMENT IS, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, STAKEHOLDERS IS THE KEY TO THIS, IN MY OPINION.
UM, AND SO HAVING THE STAKEHOLDERS ON BOARD ABOUT THE PROCESS STARTING, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T, I GUESS ONE WAY OF SAYING IT, THIS ISN'T JUST AN EDCA OR EDCB DECISION.
THIS IS A CITY OF B******T DECISION.
SO, YOU KNOW THAT, BUT I, I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS HEADING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE NEED TO, UM, STEER, I MEAN, THAT ARE BEING STEERED IN THE LAST NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, AND WE'RE AT THE END OF OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, PLAN, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, THERE'S LONG TIME FOR, BUT I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S THE CITY OF
UM, YOU ARE THE FIRST TO HEAR IT, SO A BOARD WILL HAVE, HOPEFULLY A PRESENTATION FROM JOHN AS WELL IN JANUARY.
UM, AND I WILL SAY, JUST AS I'M SITTING HERE LISTENING TO THIS PRESENTATION AND AFTER OUR CONVERSATION, UM, IF WE WERE TO DECIDE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT OUR OPTIONS NEXT MONTH AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WORK THROUGH AN AGREEMENT AND ALL OF THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BEST CASE SCENARIO, WE START IT FIRST HALF OF NEXT YEAR AND NINE MONTHS FROM THAT.
SO YOU, WE WOULD BE GETTING A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN SEVEN YEARS ROUGHLY AFTER THE, THE LAST ONE WE'VE HAD.
SO SEVEN YEARS IS A LONG TIME AND A LOT HAS CHANGED.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING KIND OF THAT I HADN'T THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG UNTIL WE ACTUALLY HAVE A NEW WORKING DOCUMENT.
UM, BUT YEAH, I, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A BIG INVESTMENT, UM, AND IT SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN LIGHTLY.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR HAVING THE STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, AND I'M GLAD WE HAD THE ORIGINAL ONE IN 2019, BUT I THINK IF WE, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, HAVE AN UPDATE TO THE PLAN THAT JUST SHOWS OUR COMMITMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT, HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNITY, AND PROVIDE SOME IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, TO THE NEW BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE TALKING TO ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO I THINK THEY LIKE TO HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY, SOME RELIABILITY.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WANDERING ALL OVER THE
[01:00:01]
PLACE.NO, THIS IS A VISION AND WE CAN ALL POINT TO THIS AND SAY, HERE'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED, UH, DO IT WITH US.
AND WE DID KNOW THAT THIS WAS, UH, UM, ONE OF THE PRIORITIES FOR THE BOARD TO DISCUSS THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND SO WE PREPARED AHEAD OF THAT BY BUDGETING, UM, BOTH BOARDS, UM, TO GO THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH IN THAT SENSE, COUNSEL DID SEE THAT BUDGET AND APPROVE IT.
UM, OF COURSE, ALL THE DETAILS OF THAT, WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO GO TO THEM FOR AN EXPENSE, UM, OF THAT MAGNITUDE TO GET THEIR FINAL APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
IF WE HAVE A BUDGET OF ALREADY, DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH LIKE, UM, AN ADVERTISEMENT PROCESS? WE DO NOT.
I THINK, UH, I THINK IT DEFINITELY FROM A EDC BOARD MEMBER PERSPECTIVE, NOT MAYOR PRO TEM OR COUNCIL, I THINK THIS DEFINITELY NEEDS A REFRESH, A RELOOK, BECAUSE IF YOU GO AND START LOOKING AT THE SWOT ANALYSIS, YOU GO DO IT, AND TOMORROW IT'S GONNA LOOK VERY MUCH THE SAME.
THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THERE'S SOME IN PROGRESS.
BUT YOU COULD LITERALLY, UH, TAKE THIS FROM FOUR YEARS AGO AND IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE SAME TODAY.
THE CHALLENGES, THE OPPORTUNITIES, THOSE THINGS HAVE NOT CHANGED.
UM, THE ONE THING THAT HAS CHANGED IN MY VIEW, AND LIVING HERE FOR 15 YEARS, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN RE IN 15 YEARS IS THAT WE NOW HAVE 36,000 PEOPLE.
NOTHING ELSE HAS CHANGED, RIGHT? IT'S STILL RE IT'S STILL THE SMALL TOWN RE IT'S STILL THE, THE, THERE'S STILL A, A RESISTANCE TO CHANGE.
UH, NO ONE WANTS THE BIG BOX DEVELOPMENT.
SO ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE SAW THERE AS, UH, WEAKNESSES AND THREATS, THOSE THINGS ARE STILL THERE.
SOME OTHER THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN THAT THE, THE, UM, THE CITY'S ABILITY TO, UM, SELL BOND, WHICH WE'VE DONE THE LAST TWO YEARS, UH, IS A BIG DEAL, RIGHT? SO BEFORE THEN, WE FINANCIALLY COULD NOT DO MUCH OF ANYTHING, BUT WE ARE ABLE TO DO THOSE THINGS NOW, AND I'M, I'M GUESSING WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO SOME OF THOSE EITHER THROUGH SPECIAL BOND ELECTIONS OR OTHERS.
BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THAT WE NEED BIG STEP IMPROVEMENTS, RIGHT? UH, TO FIND INVESTORS AND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO COME IN AND PARTNER WITH THE CITY TO BUILD THE NEXT NEW GREEN ENERGY, UH, BUSINESS OR THE NEXT THING THAT'S GONNA SUSTAIN THE CITY FOR 10, 20, 25 YEARS FROM A, FROM A TAX BASE STANDPOINT.
BUT WE START, I GUESS, WITH REFRESHING.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO REDO THE WHOLE THING FOR SPEND NINE MONTHS, UH, UH, DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE QUITE HONESTLY, I DON'T THINK IT'S, IT'S GONNA CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, BECAUSE I THINK THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE BEEN, ARE STILL THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE NOW.
NOW, WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT ENGAGEMENT, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE ENGAGING IN, PROBABLY STARTING TO ENGAGE WITH MANY OF THE SAME PEOPLE.
THERE ARE NEW PEOPLE, BUT REALISTICALLY, MOST OF THE PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, WHO HAVE BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR SIX PLUS YEARS OR NOW COMING ON COUNCIL OR OR BEING MAYOR, HAVE BEEN MAYOR, WHATEVER.
THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS NOT OUR EXPERTISE.
THERE'S VERY FEW PEOPLE, IN MY OPINION, THAT ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, PARTICIPATING WITH THE CITY, THAT HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE.
UH, I CERTAINLY HAVEN'T BEEN IN A JOB BEFORE DOING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR A PRIVATE FIRM IS VERY DIFFERENT.
SO, UH, I THINK I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE WHAT WAS, UH, THE RESULT OF THE PLAN FOR FORT BEND COUNTY FOR THE FIVE YEAR PLAN.
THERE SHOULD BE SOME THINGS THERE THAT WOULD VERY MUCH PARALLEL THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT WE AS FULL SURE.
BEING THE CITY OF THAT COUNTY SHOULD BE DOING.
I REALLY THINK I WOULD, I WOULD THINK IT REFRESH.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I GUESS THE, WE'LL
[01:05:01]
THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING, THEN WE WILL, THAT'LL GIVE US TIME TO DIGEST IT.THINK ABOUT IT, YOU'LL PRESENT IT TO THE A BOARD, GET THEIR FEEDBACK, AND THEN MAYBE AT OUR MEETING IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, THEN WE WOULD, WE CAN CAN REVISIT REVISIT IT.
YEAH, MAYBE, UM, DEPENDING ON A BOARD'S FEEDBACK, WE CAN DISCUSS A, A PROPOSAL, FORMAL PROPOSAL.
WE CAN GET LEGAL TO REVIEW IT AND THEN PRESENT THAT AS AN OPTION TO YOU ALL.
I WAS ALSO THINKING ON THE, UM, LIKE JOEL JUST SAID, IN MY MINDSET WAS ALSO KIND OF THE, THE, I'M GLAD IT WAS PUT UP ON THE SCREEN THE WAY IT WAS BE, BUT I WAS THINKING MORE REFRESH ALSO.
IN ADDITION TO LIKE THE POPULATION, OBVIOUSLY MOBILITY HAS, UH, AND TRAFFIC HAS, HAS CHANGED AND CONTINUES TO CHANGE.
ALONG WITH THAT, WE HAVE HAD, UH, SOME SUCCESSES WITH THE TEXAS HERITAGE PARKWAY AND GETTING SOME OF THOSE THINGS DONE.
SO, I MEAN, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED, AND NOW REFRESHING WOULD, WOULD MEAN LOOK AT THAT NOW.
AND SO NOW THAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED SOME OF THE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES THAT COME WITH THIS TODAY? OKAY.
ANYTHING ELSE? JOHN? APPRECIATE YOU, UH, PUTTING THE PRESENTATION TOGETHER AND BEING HERE TONIGHT.
SO, UH, I THINK, UM, I'M GLAD YOU'VE DONE SO MUCH WORK IN FORT BEND COUNTY IN SIMILAR CITIES, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP CRAFT CHER'S VISION.
UM, WHILE FORT BEND COUNTY HAS A LOT OF SIMILARITIES, YOU KNOW, EACH OF OUR COMMUNITIES PROBABLY HAS ITS IDIOSYNCRASIES, WHETHER IT'S THE ELECTED OFFICIALS OR OTHERS, THE BOARDS, I'M SURE WE ALL, YOU PROBABLY RUN ACROSS DIFFERENT BODIES THAT HAVE SOME DIFFERENT THOUGHTS AND, UH, SOME ARE VERY PROGRESSIVE WITH DEVELOPMENT, OTHERS ARE NOT.
BUT, UM, DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INVITATION.
[Business - C]
THREE C IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON SELECTION OF RETAIL RECRUITMENT REPRESENTATION.UM, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA TO KIND OF REVIVE, UM, THE SUBJECT FOR A FEW REASONS.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO RECAP THE TWO OPTIONS THAT WE HAD A STAFF PRESENTED TO YOU ALL.
UM, MOSTLY BECAUSE WE ARE JUST LOOKING AT NEXT YEAR'S CALENDAR AND, UH, IN JANUARY, LATER HALF OF JANUARY, WE DO HAVE, UM, ICSC RED RIVER IN DALLAS COMING UP.
AND SO IDEALLY IT'S GREAT TO HAVE, UM, A PARTNERSHIP WITH A RETAIL, UM, RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT TO HELP US TACKLE THOSE TYPES OF EVENTS.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO DO A, A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THOSE TWO OPTIONS.
IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, THE FIRST OPTION THAT WE HAD PRESENTED WAS RETAIL STRATEGIES.
UM, LACEY BEASLEY HAD COME IN AND DONE A PRESENTATION.
IT WAS VERY THOROUGH IN ALL THE, THE SERVICES THEY COULD PROVIDE.
AND THEN THE SECOND OPTION WAS THE RETAIL ATTRACTIONS.
UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF RECAP A LITTLE BIT, UM, WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES, LACEY PRESENTED A PROPOSAL FOR A THREE YEAR CONTRACT, WHICH, UM, YOU CAN REVISIT OR WITH 30 DAY NOTICE END AT ANY TIME YOU CHOOSE.
THE COST FOR ONE YEAR OF RETAIL STRATEGY SERVICES WOULD BE $45,000.
AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UM, THEM PROVIDING DATA AND CONSUMER ANALYSIS, REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS, A RETAIL RECRUITMENT PLAN, A CUSTOMIZED MARKETING GUIDE, UM, DIRECT RETAIL RECRUITMENT ON THEIR END AND CONFERENCE, UH, REPRESENTATION FOR THE CITY.
UM, AND ONE OF THE, THE THINGS WE REALLY LOVED ABOUT THEM, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR, UM, KIND OF CONCERNS PAY PAIN POINTS WITH OUR PREVIOUS CONSULTANT WAS THAT WE WOULD HAVE THREE STAFF MEMBERS AVAILABLE TO US, UM, TO ASSIST US WHEN WE WERE, YOU KNOW, ENGAGING IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH RETAILERS, RETAILERS WHO ARE RECRUITING, UM, AND A VERY QUICK TURNAROUND TIME IN TERMS OF DATA AND INFORMATION REQUESTED, UM, OR JUST ANY KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT WE NEEDED CLARIFICATION ON.
UM, THAT WAS VERY, VERY, I THINK, ATTRACTIVE TO US IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE WE WERE MOVING THINGS FORWARD IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST THE, THE LENGTH OF THE CONTRACT, KNOWING THAT IT TAKES 12 TO 18 MONTHS FOR A RETAILER FROM THAT FIRST CONVERSATION TO ACTUALLY HAVING THEM OPEN THEIR BUSINESS HERE, THAT YEAR TERM SEEMED, UM, MORE REASONABLE TO US, UM, WITH RETAIL ATTRACTIONS.
THE PROPOSAL THEY SUBMITTED WAS
[01:10:01]
A SIX MONTH SERVICE AGREEMENT, UH, FOR THE TOTAL COST OF $30,000.SO, UM, THEY WERE MUCH MORE FOCUSED IN DOING A KIND OF A MARKET STUDY OF
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY IT WAS GONNA BE THEM PROVIDING A LIST OF CONTACTS.
UM, AND SO JUST LOOKING AT THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENTS AND THE COST, I THINK AS STAFF WE JUST FELT A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE RETAIL STRATEGIES OPTION.
UM, WHEN WE PRESENTED THE RETAIL ATTRACTIONS CONTRACT TO YOU ALL, YOU'D REQUESTED KIND OF A FOLLOW UP, UM, VIRTUAL CALL WITH RICKY HAYES, UM, WHO'S THE OWNER THERE.
AND I MADE A COUPLE OF ATTEMPTS TO GET THOSE SCHEDULED, BUT I COULDN'T GET EVERYONE'S SCHEDULES TO LINE UP.
UM, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THIS BACK BEFORE YOU TO SEE IF YOU HAD QUESTIONS, IF WE COULD GET SOME DIRECTION ON WHAT YOU'RE THINKING OR WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO HEAD.
I DIDN'T, UM, I, I JUST HAVE A LOT OF HESITATION.
I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE RECOMMENDING RETAIL ATTRACTIONS AT ALL.
UM, AND SO I JUST DIDN'T WANNA KEEP ATTEMPTING TO MAKE THOSE CALLS AND SCHEDULE AND LOSE THAT TIME OF HAVING A RETAIL CONSULTANT, ESPECIALLY HEADING INTO THE NEW YEAR.
I DIDN'T WANNA LOSE THAT MOMENTUM.
AND SO I GUESS TONIGHT I'M JUST, UM, HERE BEFORE Y'ALL ASKING FOR A LITTLE DIRECTION AND KIND OF TO GAUGE WHERE YOU'RE AT WITH THIS.
UM, IF YOU WANT US TO MOVE FORWARD AT ALL, WE FEEL IT WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE AND WOULD HELP US MOVE THINGS FORWARD TO HAVE A RETAIL, UM, CONSULTANT TO WORK WITH.
ANYTHING ELSE? HAYDEN, I FORGOT THAT.
DO YOU JUST, I DON'T, YOU MAY NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION ON THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, BUT DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT WE WERE PAYING PER YEAR WITH, UH, RETAIL COACH? UH, YES.
IT WAS $20,000 PER YEAR, UH, TOTAL.
UM, ARE YOU SURE? I REALLY DON'T THINK SO.
I THINK IT WAS TOTAL 'CAUSE WE'VE DOUBLE MM-HMM
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE IS THE COST BEING MORE, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S MORE SERVICES.
YEAH, THERE ARE A LOT MORE SERVICES.
THEY ALSO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL, UM, COMPONENT OF THEIR COMPANY, WHICH WE FIND VERY INTERESTING, WHICH IS THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP A, A PLAN SPECIFIC TO DOWNTOWN.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE FEEL WE COULD REALLY START TALKING ABOUT AT THE END OF NEXT YEAR TO POSSIBLY, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE WITH THEM IN THAT ASPECT IN, UM, 2026 ONCE WE SEE THE COMPLETION OF HARRIS STREET IN THE, THE DRAINAGE PROJECTS COMPLETED AS WELL.
SO JUST SEEING THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE, UM, AND ALREADY, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING A SOLID BASE OF WORKING WITH THEM AND THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF, UM, OF THE CITY OF SHORE.
WE FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE TOTAL COST FOR, UM, RETAIL COACH WAS 25,000.
SO THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SPLIT IN HALF BETWEEN A AND B BOARD.
IT DOES SAY IN THE AGENDA, MEMO MEMOS IS A MUCH BIGGER NUMBER.
UH, SO THE LINE ITEM THERE WHERE WE PULLED, UM, FOR THE RETAIL COACH, THAT'S GONNA BE THE AMOUNT BUDGETED IS FROM OUR PROMOTIONAL ACCOUNT.
WHICH IS WHERE, UM, OUR ATTORNEY'S, UM, ADVICE THAT WE PULL FROM COMING FROM THAT.
SO THAT I, THAT NUMBER YOU SEE THERE CO COVERS LIKE ALL OF OUR PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS AND ALL OF THAT.
IT'S A VERY SIMPLE CONVERSATION FROM ME.
ANELLE, UM, THIS IS ONE THAT YOU WORK WITH DIRECTLY TO DO DAY-TO-DAY TYPE THINGS, SO I VALUE YOUR OPINION, PERIOD.
I, I WOULD, COULDN'T REMEMBER WHERE THE, SO THEY'LL HELP US AT LIKE ICSC OR TRADE SHOWS, BUT WILL THEY HAVE A, A PRESENCE THERE AS FAR AS A PHYSICAL PRESENCE? YES.
AND ARE WE GONNA HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL COST FOR THAT? THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL COST FOR THEM ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE AND REPRESENTING US.
RETAIL STRATEGIES FOR RETAIL ATTRACTIONS.
I BELIEVE THERE WAS, THERE WAS ALSO AN ADDITIONAL COST WITH THEM TO CREATE ANY MARKETING MATERIALS, WHICH THE MARKETING MATERIALS CREATED ARE PART OF THE 45,000 WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES.
[01:15:01]
A, LIKE A BOOTH AT THE CONFERENCE? YES.DID HAVE, DID YOU, DID WE SEE THEIR BOOTH LAST SHOW? IT, IT LOOKS PRETTY SIMILAR TO THE SETUP THE RETAIL COACH HAS.
UH, JUST RETAIL COACHES BLUE AND THEY'RE GREEN, SO THEY KIND OF
I THINK I WAS JUST WORRIED ABOUT THEM NOT BEING SUPER FAMILIAR WITH OUR REGION, UM, BEING BASED IN FORT WORTH.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES THEY WOULD NEED TO TRAVEL DOWN HERE, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL FOR THEIR ATTENDANCE AT OUR MEETINGS.
UM, I MEAN THOSE WERE, I JUST WASN'T YEAH, THAT'S FINE.
I THINK, UH, THEY'RE CITIES IN TEXAS.
THEY'VE WORKED WITH BAY CITY, BRIDGEPORT, BUTTA, UH, DUMAS, FOREST HILL, EDINBURG, EL CAMPO, FREEPORT, LAMAR, LA MEA, ORANGE COUNTY, PFLUGERVILLE, PITTSBURGH, PLAINVIEW, SELMA, SNYDER, SPRINGTOWN, WHARTON, WILMER, AND WOOLWORTH.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY WORK WITH SEVERAL, SEVERAL LOCAL CITIES, AL CAMP WHARTON.
AND I THINK YOU HAD, Y'ALL HAD TALKED TO SOMEONE THAT THEY WERE WORKING WITH WHEN YOU INITIALLY MET THEM, OR YOU JUST INITIALLY MET THEM? MEADOW? YEAH, THAT, THAT WAS THE FIRST THING WE ASKED FOR WAS REFERENCES.
'CAUSE WE JUST REALLY WANTED TO HEAR FROM THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, UM, INDIVIDUALLY.
AND WE GOT NOTHING BUT JUST GLOWING REVIEWS FROM, UM, JUST OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORS WHO HAD WORKED WITH THEM WHEN THEY WERE IN THESE COMMUNITIES OR WHO MAYBE DON'T HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM NOW, BUT DID IN A PREVIOUS JOB OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT ALL HAD VERY, VERY GOOD THINGS TO SAY.
I MEAN, I JUST, I KNOW THAT IT DEFINITELY IS MORE OF A COST, BUT IF WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S GOING TO GIVE US THE VALUE AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVELY HELPING US, BECAUSE AGAIN, I STATED EARLIER THAT WE STILL HAVE THE SAME CHALLENGES AS JOEL MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO EXPAND, UH, SOLID FOUNDATION ON OUR COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL BASE.
UM, AND ANY HELP WE CAN GET DOING THAT I THINK WOULD BENEFIT, YOU KNOW, THE THE CITY LONG TERM.
AND JUST TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, UM, WE LOOKED AT OUR, UM, DATA IN SAC TAX AND, UM, I, I WON'T SAY THE NAMES OF THE RESTAURANTS, BUT, UM, THESE ARE RESTAURANTS THAT WHEN WE DEBRIEFED WITH, UH, THE RETAIL COACH THEY HAD, HAD EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH AND FELT LIKE THEIR PRESENCE IN SHORE WAS A RESULT OF THE RETAIL COACH WORKING WITH THEM.
SO THE FIRST RESTAURANT THERE GENERATED $21,000 IN SALES TAX IN THEIR FIRST YEAR.
UM, ANOTHER RESTAURANT, $12,500 AND A THIRD RESTAURANT, $23,500 IN ONE YEAR.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY AND SAY, OKAY, IF WE WORK WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES $45,000 AND GET TWO GOOD RETAILERS HERE, IT'S WORTH THAT INVESTMENT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE KEEPING THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD QUICKLY.
WE DO, WE DO GET A LOT OF REQUESTS FOR DATA AND UM, WE USED TO ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, CALL AARON AND GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION, UM, RIGHT NOW EVEN FOR AN UPDATED DEMOGRAPHICS.
UM, AND I'LL, I HAVE A LITTLE MORE OF THAT ON MY REPORT, BUT, UM, TO GET SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS RECENT, WE REACHED OUT TO A DIFFERENT CONSULTANT AND WE PAID FOR A DEMOGRAPHICS PROJECTION AND THE, THE DATA'S NOT QUITE THE SAME.
UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE KIND OF VALUE THAT IT ADDS TO BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND HAVE SOMEONE RUN THOSE TRAFFIC NUMBERS FOR THAT LOCATION AND, UM, PROJECTIONS FOR THAT AREA THAT THAT RETAILER WANTS AND FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO IT IN A TIMELY MANNER IS CRUCIAL TO THEM PICKING US OVER ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE STATE.
I WOULD JUST, IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET SOMEONE ACCLIMATED AND UP AND RUNNING AT OUR SPEED WITH WHAT WE NEED.
SO WHICHEVER DIRECTION WE HAD, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE, YOU KNOW, GET SOME OFFICIAL REPORT, MAYBE LIKE QUARTERLY TO START OFF WITH SO THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, GET DOWN THE ROAD TO NINE MONTHS OR A YEAR AND THEN SOMETHING'S NOT WORKING RIGHT.
LET'S TRY TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY WORKING, ARE THEY FULFILLING THAT THEIR SCOPE AND MISSION FOR US AT THREE MONTHS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO START OVER AGAIN.
AND THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT, UH, WE DID ASK FOR EXAMPLES FROM, UH, RETAIL STRATEGIES ON THAT REPORTING STRUCTURE, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
[01:20:01]
AND THEY HAD PROVIDED, I THINK IT WAS IN THAT PRESENTATION, AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.AND IT INCLUDED A LOT OF DETAIL ON, YOU KNOW, WE REACHED OUT TO THIS RETAILER, THIS IS THE DATE, THIS WAS THE RESPONSE, THESE ARE THE BARRIERS.
AND SO WE CAN USE THAT INFORMATION TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO MOVE FORWARD AND GET THOSE BUSINESSES HERE.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT, UM, KIND OF INVESTMENT FOR US.
AND, UM, I MEAN I SUPPORT YOUR DIRECTIVE ON WHO TO KIND OF GO WITH.
UH, I WOULD SAY PERSONALLY I LIKE THE IDEA THAT THEY HAD A SEPARATE PLAN OR A, UH, MAYBE A MORE FOCUSED PLAN, TARGETED PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN.
I REALLY LIKE THAT, UM, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT VULTURE WILL ALWAYS HAVE, UH, A HEART AND A HEARTBEAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT, UM, THIS RETAIL STRATEGIES.
IS ABODY SEPARATE LOCAL DOWNTOWN? NO, THAT I, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, I THINK THAT WOULD BE LIKE A SEPARATE ENGAGEMENT IF WE WANTED A DOWNTOWN PLAN.
SO THAT WOULD BE, UH, ENTIRELY ADDITIONAL COST.
BUT YES, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POTENTIAL OF THIS PARTNERSHIP BEING LONG TERM AND UM, HAVING THE COMPONENTS OF WHAT WE KNOW OUR FOCUS AREA TO BE SPECIFICALLY DOWNTOWN, UM, I DO THINK THAT THAT AT ITS DUE TIME WILL BE A GOOD INVESTMENT AS WELL.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR US TO MAKE A MOTION OR TAKE ACTION ON THIS THIS EVENING? UM, I THINK A, A RECOMMENDATION.
ON, IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH US SEEKING AN OFFICIAL PROPOSAL WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES, UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
IF THERE'S ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU'D LIKE ME TO GATHER, WE CAN DO THAT AS WELL.
YOU JUST NEED A CONSENSUS 'CAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO JUST ASK FOR A PROPOSAL, RIGHT? MM-HMM
DOES EVERYONE JUST GENERALLY HAVE CONSENSUS ON RETAIL STRATEGIES? OKAY.
[Business - D]
3D IS CONSIDERATION AND ACTION ON MINUTES OF THE CORPORATION FROM NOVEMBER 18TH, 2024 MEETING.I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE CORPORATION FOR THE NOVEMBER 18TH, 2024 MEETING.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? A SECOND.
MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED TO APPROVE OUR MEETING MINUTES.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
A ALL OPPOSED THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
[Business - E]
CONSIDERATION AND ACTION ON THE FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES FOR THE CORPORATION FOR THE PERIOD ENDING OCTOBER 31ST, 2024.UH, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT OUR SALES TAX REVENUES RECEIVED IN DECEMBER WERE UP 13% FROM THE SAME PERIOD THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND WE ARE, UH, AT A TOTAL OF 7.8100000000000005% OF THE BUDGET FOR 8% OF THE YEAR.
SO JUST A LITTLE BIT UNDER, YEAH, THAT'S A NICE WAY TO GET THE FISCAL YEAR STARTED.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.
CAN WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 7,000 763 41? I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE, UM, EXPENDITURE OF $7,760 AND 41 CENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING OCTOBER 31ST, 2024.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND.
MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALRIGHT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF SAY AYE.
CARRIES AND ELLEN HAYDEN HAVE BEEN PAID.
[Recurring Items - A]
ITEMS FOUR A IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT.ALL RIGHT, SO I HAVE, UH, SIX ITEMS HERE TO REPORT ON TONIGHT.
FIRST I'LL START WITH OUR MURAL.
[01:25:01]
A NICE PACKET WITH OVER 10 RENDERINGS.UM, ALL WERE GREAT, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAD A LOT OF EDITS AND A LOT OF CUT THIS FROM VISION ONE AND THREE AND FOUR AND CREATE, UM, WHAT REALLY WE REALLY HAD IN MIND.
UM, AND SO ACTUALLY FRIDAY, I THINK, UM, THE ARTIST SENT ALL THE, THE REVISED, UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY ONE REVISED VERSION.
UM, AND I THINK WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE EDITS AFTER DISCUSSING IT TODAY.
UM, SO ONCE THAT'S FINALIZED, WE WILL SEND THE ARTWORK OVER TO THE PROPERTY OWNER FOR THEIR APPROVAL, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE, UM, THE REQUESTS THAT THEY HAD MADE DURING OUR INITIAL MEETING WITH THEM.
AND, UM, IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE TIME AND KEEP THE PROJECT MOVING FORWARD, THE CITY LEGAL STAFF REQUESTED THAT WE GET EDC LEGAL COUNSEL TO DRAFT THE EASEMENT AGREEMENT.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO, UM, MAINTAIN, INSTALL THE MURAL ON THEIR BUILDING BUILDING AND THEN MAINTAIN THAT FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
AND SO WE, THEY, THEY TURNED THAT AROUND PRETTY QUICKLY AND WE'VE SUBMITTED IT NOW FOR FINAL REVIEW BY THE CITY'S LEGAL TEAM.
SO THE AGREEMENT WILL BE REALLY BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE PROPERTY OWNER AT THE REQUEST OF THE PROPERTY OWNER.
I THINK THEY JUST FELT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE CITY AS AN ENTITY, NOT REALLY KNOWING WHAT AN EDC DOES, BUT OF COURSE, UM, WE WOULD BE MENTIONED IN THE AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF BEING THE FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE, THE INSTALLATION AND THEN THE, UM, MAINTENANCE OF THE MURAL.
SO, UM, THINGS ARE LOOKING GOOD.
WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, WE TRIED TO INCLUDE AS MUCH AS WE COULD OF FULL HISTORY AND THEN, UM, JUST CURRENT LANDMARKS AND ALL OF THAT.
SO, UM, WE'LL SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL ONCE THE, THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS APPROVED, UH, TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES.
ITEM TWO, UM, SO LIKE I MENTIONED, ICSC IS COMING UP MID-JANUARY AND THEN HAYDEN HAS ALSO REGISTERED FOR THE BASIC EDC COURSE THROUGH TEDC, SO HE WILL BE ATTENDING THAT IN EARLY FEBRUARY.
UM, SO WE ALREADY HAVE A, A GOOD START TO OUR YEAR ITEM THREE HOTEL RECRUITMENT.
SO I KNOW, UM, AGAIN, JAMES ISN'T HERE TONIGHT,
UM, BUT WE HAVE BEEN, UM, HAVING A FEW MEETINGS WITH TWO DIFFERENT DEVELOPERS ON TWO SEPARATE SITES IN DOWNTOWN.
BOTH OF THEM ARE INCLUDING, UM, OR CONSIDERING INCLUDING A HOTEL AS PART OF THE CONCEPTS.
BOTH OF ARE PRETTY SERIOUS ABOUT HAVING IT ON THERE.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS ALREADY, UH, HAVING CONVERSATIONS AND HAD A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE HOTEL GROUP INCLUDED AS PART OF THE MEETING.
SO AS WE'RE ABLE TO SHARE MORE DETAILS OR IF THOSE SITE PLANS DO COME IN, WE'LL SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
BUT WE FEEL VERY POSITIVE ABOUT THOSE DISCUSSIONS, UM, AND THE MOMENTUM GOING FORWARD, UM, WITH THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
SO I DID WANNA SHARE THAT 'CAUSE I THINK THAT BOARD HAVE BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE A HOTEL ANYTIME SOON, BUT IT'S IN THE WORKS.
AND THEN, UM, ITEM FOUR, HOLIDAY EVENTS.
SO JUST TO DO A LITTLE RECAP, WE STARTED OFF THE MONTH AT DOZIER'S BARBECUE AND WE HOSTED THE, UH, UGLY SWEATER AND KARAOKE CONTEST.
UM, I HOPE YOU SAW SOME OF THOSE PICTURES BECAUSE PEOPLE PUT SOME EFFORT INTO THOSE SWEATERS,
UM, AND I THINK THAT IT, IT HAS POTENTIAL TO GROW NEXT YEAR.
SO WE WILL, HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE THAT, THAT EFFORT THERE.
UM, IT WAS A REALLY GOOD START AND THEN THE, THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY, THIS PAST SATURDAY, WE HAD AN EVENT AT TIFFANY'S TINY FLOWER TRUCK AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL.
I MEAN, FROM BEGINNING TO END IT WAS JUST JAM PACKED.
UM, THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT VENDORS THAT PARTICIPATED AND I SHARED WITH STAFF THIS MORNING WHEN, WHEN WE THOUGHT OF THIS, UM, KIND OF PLAN, YOU KNOW, TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SHOP LOCAL AND GIVE FAMILIES SOMETHING TO DO DURING THE HOLIDAYS THAT WAS FUN AND FESTIVE.
UM, WE, WE INVESTED MINIMALLY.
WE DIDN'T WANNA ADD THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE A, A BIG MONETARY BURDEN TO KEEPING IT UP.
AND WHAT REALLY STRUCK ME THE MOST WAS THE TIFFANY SUNFLOWER TRUCK AND ALL OF THE VENDORS THERE IS THAT THEY MATCHED OR EXCEEDED, UM, THE EDCS CONTRIBUTION AS WELL.
SO THEY DONATED A LOT OF THEIR PRODUCTS, LIKE THEIR HOT CHOCOLATE PLAY-DOH SENSORY KITS THAT CHILDREN MADE.
UM, SO IT JUST WAS REALLY, REALLY BEAUTIFUL TO SEE THAT GENEROSITY IN ACTION WHERE PEOPLE WERE DRIVING UP AND THEIR KIDS WERE BEING ABLE TO DO THESE ACTIVITIES AT NO COST TO THEM.
UM, SO IT MEANT THAT MOMS COULD SPEND MORE ON THE BOUTIQUE ITEMS,
I THINK, UH, IT WAS, THE EVENT WAS FROM 10 TO ONE AND AT 10 35 THEY HAD COMPLETELY
[01:30:01]
RUN OUT OF FLOWERS.THEY HAD THE TINY FLOWER TRUCK, YOU KNOW, FULLY STOCKED WITH FLOWERS SO PEOPLE COULD COME UP AND MAKE A BOUQUET TO TAKE WITH THEM.
I MEAN, PEOPLE WERE HAVING TO SWAP AND RECHARGE.
THEY, IT WAS JUST MADNESS IN THE BEST WAY.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN, UM, OUR LAST EVENT THAT THE A DC IS, UM, PARTNERING WITH DOWNTOWN WILL BE AT DOGWOOD LANE, AND THAT'LL BE THIS SATURDAY FROM TWO TO FOUR.
AND THAT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DOGWOOD LANE AND SUGARBERRY, UM, COOKIES.
THEY'RE DOING A COOKIE DECORATING CLASS, UM, L THREE CRAFT COFFEE, HEARD ABOUT AND SAW ALL THE BUS ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE AND SOCIALS.
SO THEY REACHED OUT AND SAID, HEY, WE WANNA BE A PART OF THIS.
CAN WE BE PRESENT AND DONATE COFFEE? WE'RE LIKE, THAT'LL BE PERFECT.
SO, UM, WE'VE SET, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT CONNECTION THERE.
AND SO WE'RE JUST, WE'RE JUST GRATEFUL OF HOW MUCH THIS COMMUNITY GIVES BACK TO, TO THEIR NEIGHBORS.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN REALLY NICE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN.
SO, UM, WE HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR WE CAN CONTINUE THAT AND START EARLY IN NOVEMBER TO CREATE THAT CALENDAR AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, AT THE VERY LEAST AS AN EDC, WE CAN DO OUR BEST TO MARKET AND PROMOTE THE EFFORTS THAT BUSINESSES ARE ALREADY MAKING TO INVEST THEIR OWN DOLLARS INTO CREATING THOSE EXPERIENCES FOR RESIDENTS AND FOR FAMILIES.
UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR RESIDENTS GET USED TO HAVING THAT ONE PORTAL THEY KNOW THEY CAN VISIT THAT GIVES THEM A WHOLE CALENDAR OF FUN THINGS TO DO WITH THEIR FAMILY.
SO IT ALL AROUND IT, IT'S BEEN GREAT.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO JUST THANK JENNIFER FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS.
SO FOR DOGWOOD LANES AND THE OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS, I THINK IT'S, UH, GREAT FAMILY ACTIVITIES.
UH, ONE QUESTION I HAD THOUGH ANOTHER, IT'S GONNA BE COOKIE DECORATING.
CAN WE JUST GO FOR COOKIE EATING?
AT LEAST DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT ATTENDED LAST YEAR.
I REMEMBER, UM, THE, THE SANTA CLAUS PHOTO BOOTH WE SET UP IN THE LOBBY DOWNSTAIRS, UM, SANTA ALWAYS COMES WITH MRS. CLAUSE AND SHE SAID, I KNOW LAST YEAR I HAD TO GO DO A LAP ON THE, AROUND THE PARKING, UM, TO GO GET PEOPLE TO COME INSIDE AND TAKE A PICTURE.
AND THIS YEAR THE LINE WAS OUT THE DOOR, LIKE PAST THE AWNING THE ENTIRE TIME.
I MEAN 10 MINUTES AFTER IT STARTED.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD TO CUT OFF A LOT BECAUSE WE'RE LIKE, SANTA'S BEEN HERE 30 MINUTES OVER HIS SCHEDULED TIME, LIKE, HE'S TIRED, HE HAS TO GO.
UM, SO JUST SEEING, UM, SEEING THAT EVENT, I THINK NEXT YEAR WE'LL DEFINITELY HAVE TO DO THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE LOT BECAUSE IT WAS JUST VERY, VERY WELL ATTENDED AND PEOPLE HAD A LOT OF FUN.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO INTERJECT IT, BUT I REALLY THINK THE DECORATIONS IN DOWNTOWN LOOK REALLY GOOD THIS YEAR.
SO YES, WE, WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF REALLY, UM, POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON THAT.
SO I THINK IT WAS A GOOD, A GOOD MODIFICATION TO WHAT WAS THERE PREVIOUSLY.
UH, NUMBER ITEM NUMBER FIVE, UM, SONDER DEMOGRAPHICS REPORTS.
WE, WE HAD A GLITCH WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO UPLOAD YOUR AGENDA AND GET IT POSTED AND WE WERE RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK TO, UM, DO THINGS LEGALLY HERE.
SO
WE DID GET, UM, NEW DEMOGRAPHIC REPORTS WITH PROJECTIONS AND WE FEEL IT'S MUCH, MUCH MORE ACCURATE, UM, TO WHAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER JUST WITH PERMITS AND ALL THAT.
UM, SO WE'LL GET, WE'LL GET THAT SENT OUT TO YOU AND THEN IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, LET US KNOW.
AND LASTLY, UM, IN YOUR POCKET, UM, I THINK WE HAD, I THINK IT WAS AN, A BOARD MEMBER THAT HAD REQUESTED A CALENDAR, BUT WE CREATED A CALENDAR WITH ALL OF THE UPCOMING MEETINGS SO THAT YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND PUT THAT ON THERE.
CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE IN THERE AS WELL FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN ALL OF OUR HOLIDAYS, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO REVISIT FOR.
UM, SO YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S ONE BLUE HIGHLIGHTED MEETING ON THERE.
THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT FALLS OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL ORDER.
UM, SO IT WILL BE MOVED TO JANUARY 27TH, WHICH IS INCLUDED ON THERE.
IT FELL ON THE 20TH, WHICH WAS MLK DAY AND CITY HALL IS CLOSED.
UM, SO ALL THE DATES IN YOUR TYPE B CATEGORY, THOSE ARE THE CORRECT DATES.
DOES, DOES IT, DOES IT COMPLICATE, MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR Y'ALL? I MEAN, ALMOST EVERY ONE OF OUR PARTICULAR MEETING DATES IS THE DAY BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
SO, SO WHEN WE WERE ADJUSTING THE SCHEDULE, I GUESS LAST YEAR WHEN THE BOARD SPLIT, UM, IT WAS DONE ON PURPOSE THAT WAY, ON THE OFF CHANCE THAT WE HAD TO GET SOMETHING TO B BOARD BEFORE CITY COUNCIL TO HAVE IT THAT DAY.
[01:35:01]
IF WE MOVE IT TO THE FIRST WEEK, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF THE REPORTS THAT WE WOULD PRESENT FOR YOU GUYS.UM, SO THE SALES TAX AND EVERYTHING, UH, A BOARD ACTUALLY MISSES OUT A LOT ON THE SALES TAX REPORTS AND HAS TO GET 'EM THE NEXT MONTH BECAUSE OF THE DATE IT FALLS ON.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY NOT A HUGE DEAL.
WE DON'T TYPICALLY HAVE A TON OF AGENDA ITEMS ON CITY COUNCIL AND THOSE ARE RARE INSTANCES THAT WE DO.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE ON MY REPORT.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR FORELLE OR HAYDEN? ALRIGHT, ITEM FOUR
[Recurring Items - B]
B IS PRESENTATION BY CITY COUNCIL LIAISON.SO THE NOVEMBER 19TH REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING WAS, UM, ONE OF THE LONGEST CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS I'VE BEEN A PART OF IN SIX AND A HALF YEARS.
AND, UH, WE MADE THE DECISION NOT TO GET TO EVERYTHING AND THAT WAS IN ON THE EXECUTIVE SESSION SO THAT WE COULD JUST, UM, GO HOME.
BUT, UM, A FEW CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE RELEVANT TO THAT BECAUSE, UH, BASICALLY, I MEAN, ONCE YOU START AND YOU START HAVING A MEETING AND YOU'RE THREE, FOUR HOURS IN PEOPLE, YOUR, YOUR ATTENTION SPAN, YOUR ABILITY TO GIVE THE DILIGENCE TO THE AGENDA ITEMS AND THE DISCUSSION REALLY STARTS TO WANE.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS COME OUT OF THAT IS COUNCIL, WE'VE DONE A COUPLE OF THINGS.
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS NOW START AT SIX.
SO IF THERE'S TIME FOR PEOPLE TO GET THERE TO MAKE, UH, CITIZENS' COMMENTS.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS, IS THAT WE HAVE AGREED TO RESERVE THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH FOR SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS IF THEY'RE REQUIRED.
SO COUNCIL ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH JUST BECAUSE OF THE, THE, THE RATE OF GROWTH AND THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE FOUR HOUR, UH, REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO TAKE CARE OF THAT WITH HAVING A SLOT FOR SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
SO IN THE MEETING, UM, EVERYONE WAS PRESENT.
UM, THERE WERE MANY CITIZENS' COMMENTS.
MANY HAD TO DO WITH, UH, THE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING THAT WE HAD LATER ON.
UM, THE CITY MANAGER'S UPDATE.
I THINK THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE WATER PLANT NUMBER TWO, THE PUMP STATION AND GROUND STORAGE TANK.
IT'S CURRENTLY 56% COMPLETE BASED ON DOLLARS SPENT.
I BELIEVE THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE FINISHED SOMETIME NEXT YEAR.
UM, THE ELEVATED STORAGE TANK IS 86% COMPLETE, AND THAT IS, UH, EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED BY THE END OF 2024.
SHOULD I GO THROUGH ALL OF THE ANNOUNCEMENTS ON THE STAFFING CHANGES? YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF THEM.
SO THERE WAS A PUBLIC HEARING, UM, UH, THE 2.9138 ACRES OF LAND THAT'S UP ON, UH, 3 59 NORTH OF, UH, THERE AT ROGERS ROAD.
UH, REGARDING, UH, ANNEXATION OF THAT LAND.
THERE WAS ALSO A PUBLIC HEARING, UH, ON THAT SAME, UH, TRACK OF LAND, UH, REGARDING A, UH, REZONING.
AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 45.112 ACRE TRACK OF LAND THAT'S ALONG MCKENNAN ROAD.
UM, AND THAT WAS A PUBLIC HEARING FOR REQUEST TO REZONE.
UH, SO THO THERE WERE A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF COMMENTS, A LOT OF TIME TAKEN ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM.
UH, I WOULD SAY 30, MAYBE 40 MINUTES.
[01:40:01]
SO THATUM, SO THERE WAS DISCUSSION ON, ON SEVERAL OF THEM.
UM, THEN ON, ON BUSINESS WE HAD AN UPDATE.
SO, UH, CAMERON MILLER, UM, FULL RESIDENT IS RE REPRESENTATIVE ON THE FORT BEND, BEND COUNTY SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
SO HE CAME AND, UM, GAVE A, GAVE A PRESENTATION ON, UM, THE ANNUAL GROUNDWATER REPORT THAT HAD, WAS RECENTLY RELEASED BY THE SUBSIDE DISTRICT.
UH, ALSO THE, UH, I'VE FORGOTTEN THE GENTLEMAN'S NAME, WHO'S THE, THE, UH, UH, I DUNNO IF HE'S THE, HE'S NOT THE COO, HE'S THE OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR THE, UH, FOR THAT BOARD.
AND SO THEY BASICALLY GAVE A A PRETTY GOOD REPORT ON THE, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE SUBSIDENCE IN, IN FORT BEND COUNTY.
AND AGAIN, MAKING, UM, I GUESS SUPPORTING THE, THE, UH, THE TAXES THAT WE HAVE FROM THE NORTH FORT BEND WATER AUTHORITY.
THE NEXT, UH, ITEM, ACTUALLY, I'M JUST NOT, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE.
I HAD THEM ALL UP IN A, IN A WINDOW TO GO THROUGH, BUT I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM.
I KNOW YOU GUYS DON'T WANNA SPEND.
UH, SO WHAT, WHAT WAS, UH, WHAT DID HAPPEN WAS, UH, ON THE, THE, THE SMALL ACRES ACRES, UH, SMALL ACREAGE OF LAND UP ON 3 59, UH, WE DID ANNEX THAT LAND.
WE DID, UH, APPROVE A SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY OF SHORE AND THE OWNER OF THAT LAND.
AND THEN WE DID REZONE IT TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL.
AND THE PLAN IS THAT THERE WILL BE A GAS STATION BUILT THERE, UH, ON THE LARGE, UH, PLOT OF LAND.
THERE WAS A DISCUSSION, BUT THERE WAS REQUESTED BY THE DEVELOPER THAT NO ACTION BE TAKEN.
SO BASICALLY WE HAD A PRETTY LENGTHY DISCUSSION ON THE, THE BENEFITS AND THE WOES OF, OF REZONING.
AND, UM, SO, SO THAT DID NOT, THAT DID NOT HAPPEN.
THE LAST COUPLE OF BUSINESS ITEMS WE DID, UH, APPOINT 0.2, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS TWO ADDITIONAL, UH, ALTERNATE MEMBERS FOR THE ZBA FOR THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
SO WITH THE HOPE OF BEING ABLE TO, UM, SCHEDULE ZBA HEARINGS WHEN, WHEN REQUESTED.
AND SO I THINK OVER THE PAST IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO GET ALL THE VENDORS AVAILABLE.
UH, THAT'S USUALLY A MEETING DURING THE DAY.
SO HAVING ALTERNATE MEMBERS, ADDITIONAL ALTERNATE MEMBERS, THE IDEA IS THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO GET, UH, A QUORUM, ACTUALLY A FULL BOARD, UH, QUORUM.
THEN I'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE CHANGES FOR HAVING A SPECIAL, UH, COUNCIL MEETING THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH.
SO THAT WAS, UH, DISCUSSED AT LENGTH WITH THE FEAR THAT JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE ALLOTTED FOR A POSITION, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
BUT, UH, AND I THINK THAT'S IT.
THERE WAS, UH, THERE WERE, UM, YEAH, SO WE DID HAVE EXECUTIVE SESSION, BUT THERE WAS, UH, NO, NO ACTION.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR PRO, TIM, APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE.
HOPEFULLY YOUR MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT WON'T GO FOUR AND A HALF HOURS.
[01:45:01]
IF IT KEEPS GOING LIKE THAT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO ASK FOR ANOTHER RAISE.[Recurring Items - C]
FOUR C IS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I THINK, UH, WE'VE PROBABLY GOT A FEW FROM OUR MEETING TONIGHT.ANYTHING SPECIFIC OR ADDITIONAL, WHAT IS JAMES SAYING? TIP STRATEGIES OR STRATEGIC PLAN? UH, ITEM D
[Recurring Items - D]
OR ANNOUNCEMENTS? UM, I DID SEE, AND I DON'T HAVE A LINK TO IT, MAYBE WE CAN GET ONE OUT, BUT, 'CAUSE I TALKED TO SOMEONE TODAY THAT'S WORKING ON THE STUDY FOR THE HARRIS COUNTY TOW ROAD AUTHORITY FOR THE WEST PARK TOLL TOLLWAY.I SAW SOME POSTING OF THE STUDY OR SOLICITING COMMENTS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO DISTRIBUTE TO OUR BOARD.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WEIGH IN ON THAT, ON WHAT YOU THINK THAT SHOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
BUT, UM, AS WE, OUR LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR, I JUST WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S WORK ON THE BOARD.
I FEEL LIKE OUR YEAR HAS BEEN REALLY PRODUCTIVE.
UM, WE WENT THROUGH A LOT OF CHANGE EARLY IN THE YEAR AND WITH ELECTIONS AND THAT'S ALWAYS A LITTLE UNNERVING, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE DEFINITELY HAVE, WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND HAVE SOME GREAT PROJECTS IN PROCESS AND SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL SUPPORTING THE CITY IN THAT WAY AND WANNA WISH EVERYBODY A MERRY CHRISTMAS.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION? ARE WE HAVING TOO MUCH FORM?
MOTION'S BEEN MADE AND SECONDED TO ADJOURN.
ALL OPPOSED? WE ADJOURNED AT 7:47 PM.