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[I. Call to Order]
6 0 1 ON MONDAY, JANUARY 13TH, AND WE ARE READY TO CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A BOARD.DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? UH, NO SIR.
[Business - A]
ITEM NUMBER THREE, A BUSINESS PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ON THE EDC STRATEGIC PLAN.UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, CALL JOHN CRESS UP TO THE FRONT.
HE, UM, IS HERE REPRESENTING TIP STRATEGIES AND, UM, AS REQUESTED BY YOU ALL IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS.
HE'S GOING TO SHARE WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE IN TERMS OF UPDATING OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, THAT WE LAST, UH, HAD, I GUESS, COMMISSIONED IN 2019.
UM, SO AS A REMINDER, WE HAD DISCUSSED TWO SEPARATE OPTIONS.
ONE IS COMPLETELY REDOING A, A, A FRESH NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, AND THE SECOND WAS JUST UPDATING WHAT WE HAD.
SO HE'LL GO THROUGH JUST THE PROCESS, A REFRESHER OF WHAT ALL THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT DATA IT INCLUDES, AND, UM, NOW IS YOUR TIME TO ASK ALL YOUR QUESTIONS, UM, STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE ON ANYTHING, FROM PRICING TO TIMELINES TO STAKEHOLDERS, ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I'LL LET YOU TAKE IT AWAY.
UH, GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M JOHN CARIS WITH TIP STRATEGIES AND PLEASED TO BE HERE, UH, SORT OF AGAIN, UH, THE, THE, THE DATE ON THIS PRESENTATION IS FROM DECEMBER 16TH.
'CAUSE THIS IS THE SAME PRESENTATION THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THE B CORPORATION BOARD JUST A FEW SHORT WEEKS AGO.
SO, JUST WANTED TO GIVE A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ON, UH, WHO TIP STRATEGIES IS HOW WE APPROACH STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, OUR UNDERSTANDING BASED ON OUR PAST WORK HERE IN SHORE AND IN THE COUNTY AND THE REGION, AS WELL AS CONVERSATIONS WITH EDC STAFF.
AND THEN, UH, JUST GIVE A FEW VERY BRIEF EXAMPLES OF SOME, SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN HERE IN THE AREA, AND SOME SIMILAR PROJECTS IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS TEXAS AND AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN WE WILL, WE WILL END ON, UH, KIND OF WHY WE THINK WE WOULD BE A GREAT PARTNER TO WORK WITH YOU ALL AGAIN, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, HAVE A DISCUSSION AND HAVE, UH, SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO GET INTO.
SO, UH, JUST AGAIN, BACKGROUND.
UH, TIP WAS FOUNDED IN 1995, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY CELEBRATING OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR, UH, AS A FIRM.
WE WORK WITH CITIES AND COUNTIES AND REGIONS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND OUR MISSION IS REALLY AROUND ENGAGING AND INSPIRING THE, THE COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, LIKE YOURSELVES SO THAT YOU CAN THEN SERVE YOUR, UH, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN THRIVE ECONOMICALLY.
AND I'VE BEEN WITH THE FIRM, UH, NOT THAT FULL 30 YEARS, UH, A LITTLE OVER 10 YEARS NOW.
UH, BUT I DID WANT TO POINT OUT A, A FEW PEOPLE, UH, ONE, OUR FOUNDER AND CEO TOM STILLMAN, SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER.
HE WAS THE PRINCIPAL THAT LED THE 2019 PLAN, UH, ALONG WITH CAROLINE ALEXANDER, THAT WAS OUR PROJECT MANAGER FOR THAT EFFORT.
ALSO, TRACY MCDANIEL, OUR FIRM'S PRESIDENT.
SHE HAS BEEN LEADING A LOT OF OUR CURRENT AND RECENT WORK FOR FORT BEND COUNTY AND THE FORT BEND, EDC, AS WELL AS JEFF MARCEL, WHO HAS LED A, A LOT OF OUR OTHER PROJECTS, UH, CURRENTLY WITH THE RICHMOND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HERE IN FORT BEND COUNTY, UH, RECENTLY WITH ROSENBERG, UH, DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND WITH MISSOURI CITY.
UH, BOTH JEFF AND I WORKED ON THAT PLAN SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
AND THERE'S, THERE'S A WHOLE BIGGER TEAM THAT I WON'T INTRODUCE ALL OF THEM, BUT I DID WANT TO POINT OUT A COUPLE MORE FOLKS.
UH, ALEX COOK, JEN TODD GOINS, AND ALEXIS ANGELO HAVE ALL BEEN WORKING WITH FORT BEND COUNTY ON OUR WORK THERE.
AND LUKE SHEFFIELD HAS BEEN WORKING WITH RICHMOND AND ROSENBERG HERE IN FORT BEND COUNTY.
UM, AND THE BEHIND THE SCENES FOLKS, THEY, THEY DESERVE A LOT MORE CREDIT THAN THEY GET.
THEY, THEY DON'T LIKE ME SHOWING THEIR FACES ALL THE TIME IN PUBLIC MEETINGS, BUT, UH, THEY DO GREAT RE WORK ON RESEARCH AND DELIVERABLES.
SO IT IS WORTH POINTING OUT THAT WE DO HAVE A, A FANTASTIC TEAM BEHIND THE SCENES AS WELL.
SO, THE WAY WE APPROACH STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, WE HAVE A, A THREE PHASE MODEL THAT WE HAVE, HAVE BEEN, IT'S BEEN FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO APPLY IT TO JUST ABOUT ANY ENGAGEMENT OVER OUR, OUR FIRM'S HISTORY.
THE, THE FIRST PHASE WE CALL THE DISCOVERY PHASE, THAT'S WHERE WE START TO KIND OF GATHER, UH, JUST A MOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION, INCLUDING QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION, BUT ALSO A LOT OF QUALITATIVE INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS.
AND, UH, REALLY LEARNING AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM PAST PLANNING WORK, FROM WHAT THE DATA TELLS US AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM, UH, STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
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TRANSITION THAT INTO THE SECOND PHASE WHERE THE BIG IDEAS, THE POTENTIAL PROJECTS, UH, PROGRAMS, THE VISION FOR THE ORGANIZATION, THE COMMUNITY START TO COALESCE.UH, SO THAT'S WHAT WE CALL THE OPPORTUNITY PHASE, WHICH IS KIND OF RIGHT IN THE MIDPOINT OF WHAT IS TYPICALLY A, A SIX TO NINE MONTH PLANNING PROCESS.
AND THEN THE, THE THIRD AND FINAL PHASE, UH, YOU COULD CERTAINLY MAKE A CASE THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.
THAT'S THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT, THE, THE SPECIFIC ACTIONS AND TACTICS AND, UH, TIMEFRAMES AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WILL, UH, WILL HELP GUIDE A STRATEGIC PLAN OVER THE COURSE OF TYPICALLY A FIVE YEAR PLAN.
UH, BUT SOME PLANS ARE SHORTER IN THE THREE YEAR TIMEFRAME.
OTHERS ARE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TOWARD THE 10 YEAR TIMEFRAME.
UH, BUT MOST OF THE, THE STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING THE, THE MOST RECENT, UH, PLAN HERE IN RE WAS A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
NOW, OVER THE COURSE OF THAT SIX TO NINE MONTH PLANNING PROCESS, WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IS A KEY TO NOT JUST GETTING IT RIGHT AND GETTING THE RIGHT IDEAS AND STRATEGIES AND THE PLAN, BUT ALSO, UH, BUILDING THE MOMENTUM AND THE BUY-IN FROM THOSE THAT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EITHER HAVING THE LEAD ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN STRATEGIES OR A SUPPORTING ROLE.
UH, SO OUR UNDERSTANDING IS REALLY YOU, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THE, THE TYPE A AND TYPE B ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS WILL BE THE PRIMARY IMPLEMENTERS OF MANY OF THE STRATEGIES, BUT THERE WILL BE OTHER PARTNERS FROM THE CHAMBER TO FORT BEND COUNTY, UH, GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP.
THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF OTHER PARTNERS THAT WILL BE INVOLVED IN SUPPORTING, UH, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN A, A STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.
SO, UH, THE TIMELINE OF, OF HOW WE GOT HERE, I THINK YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, UH, WITH SOME OF THIS.
UH, I DID WANT TO JUST POINT OUT WE'VE BEEN ACTIVE IN FORT BEND COUNTY EVEN SINCE BEFORE OUR, OUR WORK HERE IN IN SHORE.
WE ACTUALLY COMPLETED THE PLAN FOR MISSOURI CITY BACK IN 2018.
UH, WE HAD HURRICANE HARVEY THAT CAME THROUGH IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT PLANNING PROCESS.
SO THAT ONE, UH, ADDED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO THAT EFFORT, BUT RESULTED IN A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC PLAN NONETHELESS.
AND I REMEMBER ACTUALLY COMING TO MEET WITH THE, THE JOINT BOARDS OF THE A AND B CORPORATIONS BACK IN 2018 HERE IN FULCHER, IN THE RE BUSINESS PARK, THE KIND OF FLEX SPACE, UH, THIS BUILDING DIDN'T, THIS BEAUTIFUL FACILITY DIDN'T EXIST.
SO IT'S KIND OF, UM, UH, GRATIFYING TO COME BACK AND SEE HOW MUCH GROWTH AND, AND HOW MUCH NEW QUALITY DEVELOPMENT HAS HAPPENED IN THE COMMUNITY IN REALLY JUST A RELATIVE SHORT FIVE, SIX YEAR TIME HORIZON.
SO 2019 IS WHEN THE, THE LAST PLAN WAS COMPLETED, UH, HERE IN FULCHER.
UH, WE DID START WORKING WITH THE FORT BEND COUNTY AND FORT BEND, EDC BACK IN 2022.
AND THAT WORK, UH, HAS WRAPPED UP JUST, UH, A FEW MONTHS AGO.
AND YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE, THE ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE, THE FORT BEND CHAMBER, KIND OF TAKING ON SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE FORT BEND, EDC.
AND WE ARE STILL ENGAGED WITH FORT BEND COUNTY, UH, WORKING WITH CARLOS GUZMAN'S TEAM OVER THERE ON, UH, A BUSINESS DIVERSITY PLAN TO, TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
AND I, I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES WE'VE WORKED IN ROSENBERG, RICHMOND, MISSOURI CITY.
BUT WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO TODAY IS REALLY KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE, THE NEXT STEPS OF A POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PLAN, UPDATE, UPDATE TO GUIDE SHORE'S FUTURE GROWTH OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF, UH, SITTING WITH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR EITHER A REFRESH OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN, OR SOMETHING MAYBE A LITTLE MORE AMBITIOUS, UH, IN TERMS OF A REALLY A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY? AND THESE ARE KIND OF, THEY, THEY SOUND LIKE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
UH, I'LL TRY TO EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, IT'S REALLY A SPECTRUM OF THE AMOUNT OF PROBABLY STAKEHOLDER WORK AND DATA GATHERING THAT IS REALLY THE DIFFERENCE MAKER BETWEEN EITHER A REFRESH OF THE CURRENT PLAN VERSUS A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
IN ANY CASE, IF WE WERE TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH YOU AGAIN ON AN UPDATE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE WOULD BE, NO MATTER WHAT BUILDING OFF OF WHAT'S, UH, BEEN ACCOMPLISHED AND TAKING THAT EXISTING PLAN, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE NEW CONDITIONS, UH, LOCALLY, REGIONALLY, NATIONALLY, AND COMING UP WITH NEW OR EXPANDED STRATEGIES BASED ON THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES.
AND, UH, THE, THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT IS IT, UH, SORT OF A, A DECISION FORK IN THE ROAD OF WHETHER IT'S JUST A, A REFRESH KIND OF KEEPING YOUR EXISTING PLAN IN PLACE VERSUS A COMPREHENSIVE NEW UPDATE.
THERE'S PROBABLY THREE BIG BOXES
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YOU COULD THINK ABOUT JUST THE OVERALL TIMEFRAME, UH, IF IT'S BEEN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, AND YOUR BLAST PLAN WAS THE FIVE YEAR PLAN THAT MAY CALL FOR MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE VERSUS A REFRESH.UH, WE, WE DID A LOT OF, UH, PLANS FOR, UH, PAST CLIENTS DURING THE 20 20, 20 21 SORT OF COVID UNCERTAIN TIMES WHERE WE HAD COMPLETED A PLAN IN 2017, AND IT WAS NOW 2020, BUT CONDITIONS HAD CHANGED.
SO WE DID SOME, I GUESS WHAT YOU COULD CALL A REFRESH FOR, UH, FORT WORTH, GREEN BAY, A COUPLE OTHER CLIENTS.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE IS JUST THE TIME THAT HAS PASSED SINCE THE LAST PLAN.
ANOTHER CATEGORY IS REALLY THE AMOUNT OF CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO HAS THERE BEEN JUST A, A COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION IN TERMS OF THE TYPES OF INDUSTRIES, THE COMPANIES, THE LEVEL OF GROWTH THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE.
UM, IF THINGS ARE KIND OF THE WAY THEY WERE A FEW YEARS AGO AND YOU'RE APPROACHING IT WITH A NEW LENS, THEN IT MAY CALL FOR MORE OF A REFRESH.
BUT IF THERE'S BEEN TONS OF NEW GROWTH, LOTS OF NEW EMPLOYERS, NEW INDUSTRIES, UH, EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE CHANGES THAT ARE SUBSTANTIAL, THAT MAY CALL FOR MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
AND THEN THE, THE THIRD AREA THAT I WOULD SAY IS JUST, ARE THE PEOPLE THE SAME PEOPLE OR ARE THERE A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE? UH, AND, AND I MEAN, IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, SO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STAFF, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, MAYORS, CITY COUNCIL, UM, OTHER, OTHER KEY PARTNERS.
SO IF IT'S THE SAME CAST OF, OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE KIND OF IN LEADERSHIP, THAT MAY CALL FOR MORE OF A REFRESH.
BUT IF IT'S AN ENTIRELY NEW GROUP OF, OF LEADERS THAT MAY CALL FOR MORE OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
AND THIS IS REALLY JUST, UH, TO KIND OF GUIDE THE DISCUSSION.
IT'S, THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY AN EITHER OR A WRONG OR RIGHT ANSWER.
UM, JUST A FEW THINGS THAT, UH, I WON'T GO INTO A TON OF DETAIL, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF ASPECTS THAT, ABOUT CHER'S OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL TO WORK WITH Y'ALL AGAIN, UM, THE, THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH THAT YOU'VE HAD OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND WHERE YOU'RE LIKELY HEADED IN TERMS OF CROSSING THAT MAGICAL 50,000 POPULATION THRESHOLD, POTENTIALLY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND SEEING SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, OR IN FACT THAT IN MY BACKYARD IS, IS KYLE, WHICH IS JUST SOUTH OF, OF AUSTIN.
AND ONCE THEY PASS THAT 50,000 POPULATION THRESHOLD, THE AMOUNT OF NEW RETAILERS AND MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, IT IT'S ONE OF THOSE KIND OF SEMI ARBITRARY, BUT SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES THAT, UH, MORE COMPANIES KIND OF WILL LOOK AT YOUR COMMUNITY REGARDLESS OF IF YOU EXPAND OUT INTO THE ETJ, YOU'RE ALREADY WELL ABOVE 50,000 POPULATION.
BUT, SO THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH, I THINK IS EXCITING.
AND THEN THE, UH, JUMPING DOWN TO SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT SITES THAT YOU HAVE IN CORRIDORS, AND I WAS JUST KIND OF DRIVING AROUND THE, THE OLD KIND OF HISTORIC GRID IN THE COMMUNITY, THE INVESTMENTS THAT Y'ALL ARE MAKING THERE.
AND IT, IT JUST FEELS LIKE IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE SOMETHING REALLY A, A A AMAZING QUALITY OF PLACE IN THAT PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
BUT ALSO JUST THE MAJOR MASTER PLAN COMMUNITIES THAT YOU HAVE IN THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE BUSINESS, UH, ACTIVITY, POTENTIALLY OFFICE SPACE MEDICAL.
I KNOW THAT WITH THE MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT, JUST, UH, DOWN 10 93 TO THE EAST, THAT WILL BRING ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY.
AND THEN I THINK THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SHORE TO REALLY BE AMBITIOUS, UH, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITIES IN THE GREATER HOUSTON ORBIT THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO KIND OF RISE ABOVE AND ESTABLISH SORT OF A, A BRAND AND IDENTITY AS THE DESTINATION FOR QUALITY, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, SOME OTHER MARKETS, I, I THINK A LOT ABOUT THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA, AND THERE'S A HANDFUL OF COMMUNITIES, FRISCO, MCKINNEY, ARLINGTON, IRVING, THEY ALL KIND OF JOSTLE FOR, UH, UH, REALLY SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS.
AND IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, THERE'S, UH, YOU CAN MAKE A CASE THAT MAYBE THE WOODLANDS, OR IN THE PAST, MAYBE SUGARLAND HAS KIND OF TAKEN THAT OR PER LAND A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, I THINK FULCHER COULD RISE UP AND BE THAT KIND OF THE PREMIER DESTINATION FOR BUSINESS GROWTH, UH, OVER THE NEAR TERM AND THE LONG TERM.
SO OF COURSE, LOTS OF QUESTIONS THAT WE, WE COULD GET INTO.
UM, THIS IS MORE JUST KIND OF A PREVIEW OF THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO, UH, TO START ASKING AS PART OF A STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST WINS, WHAT HAVE BEEN MAYBE SOME OF THE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES? AND THEN WHERE DO YOU SEE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT BUSINESS RECRUITMENT, UH, OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS? HOW CAN YOU, I KNOW WITH THE FAST TRACK PROGRAM, Y'ALL ARE DOING A LOT TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS.
HOW CAN YOU CONTINUE TO DO THAT? HOW CAN YOU ALSO KIND OF PLAN A FLAG AS A PLACE FOR STARTUPS AND INVESTMENT IN HIGHER GROWTH COMPANIES? AND THEN THERE'S THE, THE EVER PRESENT QUESTION OF THE RESIDENTIAL GROWTH VERSUS THE COMMERCIAL GROWTH.
WE KNOW THAT'S, THAT'S A KEY CONSIDERATION FOR, FOR ANY, ANY CITY, BUT ESPECIALLY A RAPIDLY GROWING, UH, COMMUNITY LIKE
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FULCHER.AND THEN AGAIN, BACK TO THAT, ESTABLISHING THE, THE BRAND.
WHAT ARE THE BOLD PROJECTS THAT COULD HELP ADVANCE IT? AND WHAT CAN THE, THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TYPE A AND TYPE B CORPORATIONS, AS WELL AS THE CITY AND OTHER PARTNERS, B, TO MOVE THOSE POTENTIAL BIG IDEAS FORWARD.
SO JUST A FEW OF THE EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS THAT WE'VE WORKED ON IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS HERE IN FORT BEND COUNTY.
I, I WON'T GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL ON THE ONES THAT I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED.
UH, FORT BEND COUNTY, ROSENBERG, MISSOURI CITY, UM, BUT A COUPLE OTHER ONES THAT I THINK CAME TO MIND.
AND MOST OF THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF SOME FORM OF AN UPDATE, WHICH IS WHY I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THEM.
UH, SO THE, WE DID A, A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE PASADENA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
THEY'RE A TYPE BEDC ONLY, UH, BACK IN 2018.
AND THEY WERE ONE OF THOSE WHERE, UH, KIND OF IN RESPONSE TO THE CHANGES IN THE PANDEMIC, THEY WANTED TO DO A REFRESH TO THAT PLAN.
SO WE STARTED ON THAT IN 2022 AND COMPLETED THAT EARLY 2023.
UM, ANOTHER ONE IS, UH, THAT WE JUST WRAPPED UP A FEW MONTHS AGO WAS A PLAN FOR THE CITY OF IRVING, THEIR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM UP RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA.
AND WE HAD COMPLETED THEIR FIRST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN BACK IN 2017.
UM, AND THEY WERE READY FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE TO THAT, UH, THAT WE INITIATED IN IN 2020, UH, 2023, AND THEN FINISHED THAT UP, OR EXCUSE ME, INITIATED IT IN 2022 AND THEN FINISHED IT UP IN 2023.
I'M GETTING THOSE DATES WRONG, AREN'T I? THEY, THEY STARTED THE, THE PLANNING WORK FOR IN 20, I, I KEEP FORGETTING, WE'RE IN 2025 ALREADY
SO WE STARTED THAT IN 2023, BUT WE STARTED TALKING TO THEM ABOUT, UH, AN, AN UPDATE AND GETTING AN IN ADVANCE OF THAT IN 2022.
UM, ARLINGTON WAS ANOTHER ONE WHERE WE HAD ACTUALLY COMPLETED THEIR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN BACK IN 2014.
AND THEY, UH, AND AFTER IMPLEMENTING, AFTER COMPLETING THAT PLAN, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, CORPORATION, THE SUN SETTING OF THE BALLPARK IN ARLINGTON FUNDS THAT WERE FREED UP FROM THE LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX, THEY ACTUALLY CREATED A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, THAT NOW HAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDING, I THINK SOMEWHERE ON THE ORDER OF 15 TO $20 MILLION A YEAR COMING IN.
ARLINGTON IS, OF COURSE, A MUCH LARGER CITY, AND THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF RETAIL, UH, SALES COMING IN.
BUT THEY REALLY WANTED, UH, A MORE FOCUSED STRATEGY, SORT OF AN INVESTMENT STRATEGY JUST FOR THE EDC TO KIND OF GUIDE THEIR, UH, THEIR OPERATIONS AND INVESTMENTS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
AND I MENTIONED THE, UH, THE FORT WORTH EXAMPLE.
WE, WE COMPLETED A VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UH, THEIR FIRST EVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN IN 2017, AND THEY, THEY WANTED A MORE NARROWLY FOCUSED, UH, UPDATE TO THAT, THAT WE COMPLETED IN 2022.
AND THE ONLY ONE OTHER EXAMPLE, JUST WANTED TO THROW ONE OUT OF TEXAS EXAMPLE, UM, SINCE, UH, THERE WERE A LOT OF SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THIS, UH, VERY FAST GROWING COMMUNITY, I DUNNO IF ANY OF Y'ALL HAVE HEARD OF SAA.
IT'S A, UH, SUBURB OF TUCSON, AND THEY HAVE A VERY LARGE MASTER PLAN COMMUNITY CALLED RANCHO SAA.
AND THEY'VE GONE, THEY INCORPORATED 30 YEARS AGO, AND THEY'RE AT ABOUT 35, UH, 37,000 POPULATION NOW.
SO THEY'VE GROWN REALLY QUICKLY, AND THEY'RE KIND OF, UH, TRYING TO BECOME MORE THAN, UH, MORE THAN JUST A BEDROOM COMMUNITY AND ATTRACT MORE EMPLOYERS INTO THE AREA.
UM, SO I SAW SOME KIND OF PARALLELS BETWEEN THEIR GROWTH IN FULL.
OF COURSE, TUCSON AND HOUSTON ARE, THERE'S AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE DIFFERENCE IN SIZE ALMOST THERE.
BUT, UH, JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WE'VE GOT EXPERIENCE WORKING IN, IN OTHER MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREAS AROUND THE COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF TEXAS TOO.
SO JUST TO KIND OF, UH, SUM IT UP, I WON'T GO OVER ALL OF THESE, BUT JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT WE, WE DO HAVE A, A STRONG PORTFOLIO OF EXPERIENCE, UM, NOT JUST IN FORT BEND COUNTY AND IN THE GREATER HOUSTON MARKET, BUT REALLY ALL AROUND TEXAS, UH, WORKING WITH DOZENS OF, UH, TYPE A AND TYPE B ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, AND ALSO WORKING IN A LOT OF OTHER METRO AREAS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND, UH, SINCE THE, THE LAST TIME THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH SHORE, WE'VE REALLY, UM, INNOVATED AND OUR, OUR TOOLS AND DATA ANALYTICS ARE MUCH MORE INTERACTIVE NOW.
SO I, I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPORT WITH A HUNDRED PAGES OF CHARTS AND TABLES, UH, AND GRAPHS.
UM, THERE, WE STILL PULL OUT THE RELEVANT DATA FINDINGS, BUT, UH, WE USE, UH, TABLEAU INTERACTIVE VISUALIZATIONS TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE DATA, BUT PULL OUT THE INSIGHTS MORE EASILY AND ALLOW YOU ALL TO KIND OF DIVE INTO THAT AS WELL.
AND I, I MENTIONED EARLIER, IMPLEMENTATION REALLY IS AT THE FOREFRONT.
AND, UM, WITH THOSE THREE PHASES,
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IT'S NOT LIKE WE, WE IGNORE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION UNTIL WE GET TO THE END.WE START THINKING ABOUT THAT FROM THE OUTSET.
AND PART OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR TEAM.
WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROLES ON THE GROUND BEFORE BEING CONSULTANTS.
SO WE, WE UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO, TO ACTUALLY GET THESE THINGS IMPLEMENTED.
AND WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KIND OF TAKE THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY HAPPENING AND ROLL THEM INTO THE PLAN AND SUPPORT EXISTING INITIATIVES, UH, RATHER THAN JUST COMING UP WITH A BUNCH OF EXCITING RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN HANDING THEM TO YOU AND HOPING YOU'LL FIGURE OUT SOME WAY TO DO IT.
WE TRY TO BE AS REALISTIC AND COLLABORATIVE AS POSSIBLE.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UM, THAT'S THE END OF THE PRESENTATION PORTION, BUT I WANTED TO BE HERE TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT, UH, OUR PROCESS OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE AS IT RELATES TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.
APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO COME AND, AND WALK US THROUGH THIS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH,
UM, SO Y'ALL HAVE DONE A NUMBER OF THESE UPDATES REFRESHES SINCE 2020 AND 2021 WHEN COVID MORE OR LESS TERRORIZED THE UNITED STATES AND THE ENTIRE WORLD.
UM, AND PART OF THE IMPETUS FOR HAVING Y'ALL COME AND MAKE THIS PRESENTATION IS OUR COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS FIVE YEARS OLD NOW.
I THINK IT GOT APPROVED IN LATE 2019.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY ONE OF THE B BOARD MEMBERS HAS, UM, STATED SEVERAL TIMES THAT COVID HAS CHANGED SO MANY THINGS.
Y'ALL HAVE DONE ALL THESE REFRESHES.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY GENERALIZATIONS YOU CAN MAKE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE ONGOING, UM, CONTINUED IMPACT FROM COVID HAS BEEN ON, UH, VARIOUS CITIES THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH? YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S, UH, HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU HAVE? NO, I'M KIDDING.
YEAH, JUST A FEW THINGS THAT REALLY JUMP OUT.
UH, SO IT, THERE WERE A LOT OF TRENDS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN THE ECONOMY THAT WERE SORT OF IN THE BACKGROUND THAT WERE ACCELERATED, UH, BY THE PANDEMIC.
ONE OF THOSE IS THE WORKFORCE SHORTAGES THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT, REALLY FOR WELL OVER A DECADE NOW IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLD.
AND THE, THE FIGHT FOR LOOKING FOR SKILLED WORKERS FOR COMPANIES AND COMMUNITIES COMPETING FOR ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TALENT, UM, THAT REALLY WAS ACCELERATED BY THE PANDEMIC.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT, THAT I THINK ABOUT IS THE IMPACTS TO THE REAL ESTATE MARKET.
EVERYTHING FROM RETAIL SALES, UH, TO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN THE OFFICE MARKET.
UM, AND THEN KIND OF LINKING THE WORKFORCE IN, IN REAL ESTATE, THE, THE WHOLE QUESTION OF REMOTE WORK AND PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME, THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE TRENDS THAT WAS KIND OF GROWING IN THE BACKGROUND THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE PAYING ATTENTION TO BEFORE 2020, BUT IT WAS CERTAINLY A GROWING PART OF THE WORKFORCE ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND WE'RE NOW AT ABOUT TWO AND A HALF, UH, TO THREE TIMES MORE PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME STILL, EVEN IN 2023, THE LATEST, UH, DATA FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU, UH, AFTER KIND OF A DOWNTURN FROM 2021.
SO EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE ARE GOING BACK TO THE OFFICE, THERE'S STILL A WHOLE LOT OF, UH, WORKING FROM HOME.
AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO LIVE AND SPEND MORE TIME DURING THE DAY, UH, AS OPPOSED TO THE GALLERIA OR DOWNTOWN HOUSTON.
AND THAT'S, I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN SOME OF THE IMPACTS ON THE TAX BASE OF PEOPLE SPENDING THEIR MONEY MORE, WHERE THEIR, UH, ALTHOUGH POTENTIALLY THAT COULD HELP, UH, SUBURBAN LOCATIONS.
UH, NEW OFFICE BUILDINGS WITH ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES AND TECHNOLOGY, UM, AS PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE NEW OFFICE BUILDINGS, THAT COULD BE A PLUS ON A, ON ATTRACTING, UH, REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO OUR AREA.
IF WE COULD GET ANYONE TO, IT COULD BE THE, THE VACANCY RATES IN DOWNTOWN AND SUBURBAN OFFICE WERE GOING BACK A COUPLE OF DECADES, PRETTY MUCH NECK AND NECK.
THERE WERE NEVER MORE THAN TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS DIFFERENCE.
AND NOW THE DOWNTOWN VACANCY RATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE ABOUT 7% HIGHER THAN SUBURBAN VACANCY RATES.
HAVE, DID SUBURBAN RATES, SORRY, GO DOWN OR DID THEY JUST KIND OF HANG? THEY'VE KIND OF HUNG STEADY OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
NOW THERE, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF NUANCES WITHIN THAT, STILL OLDER KIND OF CLASS B SPACE.
IF YOU GO OVER TO, I WOULD IMAGINE PORTIONS OF THE ENERGY CORRIDOR AND THE GALLERIA, THEY'RE, THEY MAY BE CLASSIFIED SUBURBAN, BUT
[00:25:01]
THEY'RE ALMOST MORE URBAN IN THE WAY THEY FUNCTION.I WOULD SAY GALLERIA AND LIKE EVEN BELTWAY EIGHT, YOU KNOW, IF IT, IF YOU GO THROUGH A TRAFFIC JAM TO GET THERE, THEN I THINK IT'S KIND OF AN URBAN AREA.
SO THOSE ARE JUST A, A FEW OF THE THINGS.
BUT FEDERAL FUNDING IS ANOTHER ASPECT THAT WAS AS A RESPONSE TO, UH, THE PANDEMIC AND SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS.
AND, AND THEN THE, THE TRYING TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THE, THE WORKFORCE SHORTAGES AND, AND TRYING TO GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK.
THERE'S JUST SO MUCH MORE FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE, EVEN STILL NOW.
I MEAN, THERE'S UNCERTAINTIES NOW WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION COMING IN OF HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK.
BUT, UM, YEAH, THOSE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE TRENDS THAT KIND OF COME TO MIND, WORKFORCE, REAL ESTATE WORK FROM HOME.
SO ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH, UH, SOME OF THE MAIN GOALS THAT WERE, UH, PUT FORTH IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WAS DONE IN 2019 FOR THE CITY OF SHORE? YEAH.
UH, WHAT, WHAT COMES TO MY MIND IS, UM, WE WERE HOPING TO GET SOME, SOME OF THE GOALS WERE, UH, PRIMARY EMPLOYERS, ESPECIALLY IN THE ENERGY AREA, UH, REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS TECH, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WAS ANOTHER TARGET AREA.
UM, BUT THEN WE ALSO HAD LISTED, UH, LIFESTYLE CENTER, SOMETHING LIKE A CENTARA OUT HERE, WHICH MAYBE THAT'S, UM, MAYBE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE FOR HITTING A POPULATION TARGET OF 50,000 OR SOME, SOME BIGGER NUMBER.
UH, AND THEN ALSO, UH, REDEVELOPMENT OF OUR DOWNTOWN AREA.
AND WE HAVE MADE BABY STEPS ON REDEVELOPMENT OF DOWNTOWN BECAUSE WE HAVE DONE, UH, AND HAVE ONGOING SOME INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO ENABLE THAT.
UH, AND OUR EDCS BETWEEN A AND B ARE BOTH, UH, PUTTING QUITE A BIT OF MONEY INTO THOSE AREAS.
BUT OBVIOUSLY WE DO NOT HAVE A LIFESTYLE CENTER.
UH, AND WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T SO FAR BEEN ABLE TO ATTRACT ANY REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO LOOKING AT THAT, DOES THAT TELL YOU WOULD, I MEAN, GIVEN WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SINCE 2019, AND GRANTED COVID WAS A HUGE, YOU KNOW, DISRUPTION IN THAT, BUT WITH THOSE GOALS, UH, DOES IT, DO YOU HAVE ANY OPINIONS ON WHETHER WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING AS A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE VERSUS JUST A REFRESH? I MEAN, ON THE ONE HAND, WE STILL HAVE VERY HIGH, UH, EDUCATION LEVELS OUT HERE, HIGH, UH, SALARIES, MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME WE HAVE THAT YOU CAN MAYBE TALK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU THINK ANYTHING HAS CHANGED IN K-D-I-S-D.
BUT I, I LOOK AT THE K-D-I-S-D SCHOOLS AND ALSO THE LAMAR CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS, AND I THINK ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC OUT HERE, AND I THINK THEY ALL WANT TO RETAIN THAT POSITION.
SO I DON'T REALLY SEE, LIKE, THERE'S NOT, TO ME, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF CHANGE IN, UH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF FULL SURE.
IT'S JUST SINCE 2019, MOST OF THE CHANGES HAS BEEN ADDITIONAL SINGLE FAMILY HOME RESIDENTIAL, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
UH, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY MADE MUCH PROGRESS ON SOME OF THOSE KEY GOALS THAT WE HAD, THE LIFESTYLE CENTER, THE REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND WOULD A REFRESH INCLUDE LOOKING INTO, WELL, WHAT WERE THE STUMBLING BLOCKS AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO OVERCOME THOSE TO, TO, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THAT SOME OF THESE WOULD PROBABLY STILL BE GOALS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO REACH.
YEAH, JUST, UM, THINKING ABOUT IT AT A HIGH LEVEL, THOSE, A LOT OF THOSE GOALS STILL SOUND RELEVANT AND THE CONDITIONS TO SUPPORT THEM OR THE BARRIERS AGAINST THEM MAY BE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT NOW.
BUT, UH, I, I THINK MOST OF THOSE WOULD STILL BE RELEVANT GOALS.
SO IT WOULD BE A QUESTION OF LOOKING AT THE TACTICS AND DO YOU CHANGE DIRECTIONS OR DO YOU DOUBLE DOWN ON CERTAIN GOALS, OR DO YOU TAKE A DIFFERENT TIMEFRAME? UH, MAYBE IT'S SETTING THE SEEDS FOR SOMETHING OVER FIVE YEARS, BUT EXPECTING IT MAY NOT BE FOR 10 OR 15 YEARS UNTIL YOU SEE THE, THAT END RESULT.
SO IF WE WERE INTERESTED IN THAT, WE COULD MAKE THAT PART OF THE DELIVERABLES FOR A REFRESH TO LOOK INTO, YOU KNOW, SO WHY DIDN'T WE MAKE MORE PROGRESS HERE AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO DIFFERENTLY? I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF THE REASON, UH, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE ON WHY
[00:30:01]
WE WERE VERY INTERESTED IN SHORE, FAST TRACKED.IF WE CAN'T GET A REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS TO TRANSFER OUT HERE, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN'T TRY TO, YOU KNOW, GROW ONE ON OUR OWN ORGANICALLY MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, SO, WHICH WE'RE MAKING INCREMENTAL STEPS, BUT WE'RE ONLY ONE YEAR INTO THAT EFFORT AS WELL.
SO STILL GETTING THE WORD OUT TO SOME DEGREE, BUT WITH SOME REALLY GOOD SUCCESSES UNDER OUR BELTS.
YEAH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S EXCITING.
I LOVE THAT YOU'RE EXPLORING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES AND INVESTORS THAT YOU HAVE LOCALLY.
YOU MENTIONED THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE INCOME LEVELS AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT.
THAT'S A REAL STRENGTH THAT HAS ONLY INCREASED, OR AT LEAST IT'S THERE.
THERE'S MORE OF THOSE HIGH INCOME, HIGHLY EDUCATED PEOPLE HERE NOW, WHICH ARE POTENTIAL INVESTORS IN THE COMPANIES THAT YOU HAVE OR THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO, UH, ATTRACT OR GROW.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS? NO, I, I'M GONNA ASK IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
OH, UM, SO I THINK YOU PHRASED MY QUESTION WELL, WHICH I WAS BASICALLY GONNA ASK HOW HE, HOW YOU FELT LIKE WE SCORED
WHAT WE SET OUT TO ACCOMPLISH VERSUS WHAT WE ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED AND, AND YOUR INSIGHTS INTO THAT.
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE KIND OF COVERED THAT.
I, SO I'LL GO TO GREAT MINDS THINK A LOT.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF, YOU GUYS PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT WORKING WITH SHORE AGAIN, I GUESS, IS THERE, DID YOU HAVE ANY HEARTBURN ABOUT WORKING WITH FULCHER AGAIN? WELL, THE, THE ONE BIG CHALLENGE FACING SO MANY SUBURBAN AND KIND OF EX-URBAN COMMUNITIES IS THE WHOLE ETJ RESTRICTIONS.
I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COMMUNITIES AROUND FORT BEND COUNTY AND AROUND THE STATE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY HANDLE THAT.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, CONCERN ABOUT WORKING SPECIFICALLY WITH RE, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THOSE, YEAH, WELL, THAT'S A CHALLENGE THAT DIDN'T EXIST IN 2019.
SO HOW WOULD, HOW WOULD THAT BE THOUGHT OF IF YOU'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT A, A MAJOR COMPANY INTO AN OFFICE BUILDING AS PART OF A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT'S NOT WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, WOULD THE CORPORATIONS BE HA HAVE SOME INVOLVEMENT IN INCENTIVIZING THAT, EVEN IF IT WASN'T DIRECTLY? SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SOME THORNY QUESTIONS THAT
NOT THAT, NOT THAT THAT'S A HUGE BUCKET OF MONEY, BUT IT'S A LITTLE MONEY.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE THING THAT COMES TO MIND.
BUT, UM, JUST THE TYPICAL CHALLENGES OF A RAPIDLY GROWING COMMUNITY AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND HOUSING AND, AND THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS.
SO, AND I DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY COVID PLAYS A ROLE, BUT, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE LIST OF, OF GOALS THAT WE HAD, UM, AND WHERE WE ARE IN ACCOMPLISHING THEM, IS THAT SORT OF 50,000 POPULATION THRESHOLD? IS THAT LIKE, HOW, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS HOW BIG IS THAT IN RELATION TO ONE OF THE, LIKE, WHY WE DIDN'T ACHIEVE OUR GOAL IS DID, DID WE START OUR PLAN TOO EARLY? I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S EVER TOO EARLY TO PLAN, BUT MAYBE THE, THE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF WHEN SOME OF THE GOALS MIGHT BE ACHIEVED, MAYBE THOSE WERE A LITTLE TOO, WEREN'T TAKING, MAYBE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE OF A 10 YEAR GOAL IN SOME CASES.
AND THEN, UM, I GUESS, DID YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES, UM, OF, YOU TALKED ABOUT BRANDING, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING FULL SURE THE KNOWN SPECIFICALLY UNIQUE.
UM, I GUESS, DID YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF WAYS THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS, HAS DONE THAT FOR ANOTHER COMMUNITY? YEAH, I THINK, UM, IT, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS WHERE IT, IT CAN BE DONE THROUGH EXISTING EMPLOYERS.
IT CAN BE DONE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UM, SO I, I THINK IN SOME CASES, THE COMMUNITY ALREADY HAS A BRAND THAT CAN BE BETTER AMPLIFIED OR LEVERAGED.
UM, TO TAKE A KIND OF AN ODDBALL, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL, NFL FOOTBALL, THE BUFFALO BILLS BEFORE THE, THE MEETING.
AND WE DID A LOT OF WORK FOR THE GREATER GREEN BAYIT CHAMBER, AND YOU CAN ALL THINK OF WHAT THE BRAND IS OF GREEN BAY, IT'S THE PACKERS AND, UH, LEVERAGING THE EXISTING BRAND IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE PACKERS DID WAS THEY WERE TRYING TO KIND OF DO WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING WITH SHORE FAST TRACK
[00:35:01]
IS HELP CREATE MORE OF AN ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM IN GREATER GREEN BAY.IT'S VERY MUCH A MANUFACTURING KIND OF BLUE COLLAR COMMUNITY.
AND THEY INVESTED 5 MILLION TO CREATE A, A VENTURE FUND, AND THEY PARTNERED WITH MICROSOFT TO INVEST 5 MILLION TOO.
SO THEY CREATED TITLETOWN TECH, WHICH IS AN ACCELERATOR ENTREPRENEURIAL, UH, STARTUP PROGRAM.
AND THEY'VE, THEY'RE ON THEIR SECOND ROUND OF THAT.
SO THEY'RE UP TO ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR THAT FUND TO KIND OF HELP HOMEGROWN STARTUPS, ATTRACT STARTUPS FROM ELSEWHERE.
UM, AND THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOT A, A DISTRICT NEXT TO LAMBEAU FIELD CALLED THE TITLETOWN DISTRICT.
UM, SO WE WERE INVOLVED IN HELPING TO KIND OF GUIDE SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND ENTREPRENEURIAL GROWTH IN, UH, KIND OF LEVERAGING THE BRAND OF THE PACKERS AND TRYING TO ALIGN WITH, WITH THAT.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE KIND OF MAYBE QUIRKY EXAMPLE.
BUT, UM, YEAH, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S SO MANY WAYS THAT COMMUNITIES, I THINK SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES HAVE THAT ARE GROWING, HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
THINKING ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE PLACES IN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA, FRISCO, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT A, A RECENT CLIENT, BUT THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF ATTRACTING MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS.
AND THEY'VE, I THINK, UH, BEING CREATIVE ABOUT NOT JUST COMPANIES OR RETAIL ENTERTAINMENT, BUT UNIVERSITIES, THEY INCENTIVIZED UNT, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS TO COME IN AND THEY HAVE ONE BUILDING NOW, BUT THEY'VE GOT BOLD PLANS FOR A MAJOR CAMPUS.
SO THINK ABOUT, UH, SUGARLAND, UM, ROUND ROCK IS ANOTHER ONE, UH, CLIENT LONG TIME AGO WHERE THEY, UH, THE ROUND ROCK HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER, WHICH IS A KIND OF A UNIQUE COLLABORATION OF TEXAS STATE, TEXAS A AND M AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AROUND HEALTH INFORMATION AND, AND NURSING.
UM, SO THOSE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES THAT THAT COME TO MIND.
UH, ONE OTHER QUESTION THAT JUST CAME TO MIND ON OUR 2019, UH, THERE WAS A HUGE, I'LL CALL IT A SPREADSHEET IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OR WHAT HAVE YOU, AND IT HAD, UM, MAJOR OVERARCHING GOALS, BUT, AND, AND SOME OF THEM WERE LIKE, OH, YOU NEED NEW SOFTWARE? WELL, WE BOUGHT NEW SOFTWARE, WE PUT IN THE NEW SOFTWARE.
WE HAVE SINCE THROWN OUT THAT SOFTWARE BECAUSE WE FOUND BETTER, BETTER TOOLS TO USE FOR THAT.
UM, AND I HONESTLY THINK THAT THAT WAS PROBABLY HIGHLY, UH, BIASED BY A FORMER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR WHO WANTED NEW SOFTWARE.
BUT ANYHOW, UM, THAT, THAT WAS PRETTY EASY TO DO.
I MEAN, YOU GO OUT, YOU FIND OUT WHAT SOFTWARES ARE AVAILABLE, YOU EVALUATE 'EM, AND YOU MAKE A CHOICE AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, AND YOU PAY FOR IT AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO TRYING TO ATTRACT, UH, LIFESTYLE CENTERS, TRYING TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT, TRYING TO GET REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS OUT HERE, I THINK WHAT MIGHT BE USEFUL IS LIKE, HERE'S SPECIFICALLY WHO YOU NEED TO GO TALK TO, AND THE PEOPLE YOU NEED TARGET AND COMPANIES, AND HERE'S HOW YOU GO AND APPROACH THEM AND, AND TYPE.
I MEAN, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW, AM I WRONG? I'M THINKING WE NEED MAYBE MORE HANDHOLDING IN THAT DIRECTION, BUT ANELLE OR HAYDEN, Y'ALL CAN CHIME IN ON THAT.
UM, WELL, FIRST I'LL SAY WE ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THAT MATRIX, UM, STAFF AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UM, AND KIND OF ASSESSING WHAT ALL HAVE WE DONE? AND IT'S, WE'RE RUNNING INTO EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED.
LIKE SOME OF THESE WERE DONE, BUT THEY'RE UNDONE NOW.
UM, SO HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD? DO WE IDENTIFY A DIFFERENT SOFTWARE? UM, A LOT OF THE ITEMS IN THERE ARE JUST ONGOING.
THEY'RE NEVER TRULY COMPLETED.
SO, OKAY, DO WE NEED TO SET OUT A SPECIFIC GOAL, RIGHT.
RECRUIT X NUMBER OF THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS, OR, UM, WHAT HAVE YOU.
I'LL SAY, I DON'T PERSONALLY BELIEVE THERE'S EVER SUCH A THING AS TOO MUCH COLLABORATION.
I THINK ANYWHERE, UM, WHERE YOU CAN GET A SPECIFIC STEP BY STEP IS HELPFUL TO ALL OF US.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT A LOT OF THE GOALS THAT WE'RE SET OUT FOR THE EDC IN THERE WERE DEPENDENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND WE'RE DEPENDENT ON EVERYTHING MOVING FORWARD, UM, AT ONE TIME.
AND, AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE.
I MEAN, IT'S VERY CHALLENGING, UM, JUST FINDING THE FUNDING FOR ALL THOSE PROJECTS AT ONCE.
UM, SOME OF THE PROJECTS LIKE OUR DRAINAGE PROJECTS ARE DEPENDENT ON EACH OTHER, OUR STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, UM, YOU ONE MIGHT BE READY, BUT, YOU KNOW, AND ANOTHER IT IMPACTS ANOTHER PROJECT.
SO, UM, THE COST OF THAT, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COME TO MIND, BUT IT'S A LOT OF DETAILS TO TALK ABOUT.
NOW, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS, UM, IT DOES REQUIRE A LOT OF COLLABORATION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS.
WE FEEL GREAT RIGHT NOW, UM, JUST IN HOW THE CITY'S OPERATING AND IN THE LEADERSHIP AND THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS.
[00:40:01]
I DON'T KNOW.I'VE, I'M GOING INTO MY THIRD YEAR HERE.
I'LL BE HERE TWO YEARS IN MARCH.
UM, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT USED TO LOOK LIKE, BUT I WILL SAY WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO WORK WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR, OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM, UM, AND REALLY TRYING TO ALL HAVE THAT SAME VIEW AND MAKE SURE OUR GOALS ARE ALIGNED AND FIND OUT HOW CAN WE MOST EFFICIENTLY ORDER THE PROJECTS WE'RE WORKING ON TO MOVE THEM, UM, FORWARD FASTER, SPEND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY, DO THEM.
UM, SO YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT DIG, DIG ONCE.
AND I WASN'T THINKING SO MUCH INTERNALLY, BUT EXTERNALLY, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW DO YOU ATTRACT A REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS? WHO, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU TARGET? IS IT THE SITE SELECTORS? IF IT IS, WHERE ARE THEY? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, I HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT SITE SELECTORS.
I WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE ONE IF HE WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, THAT I WAS THINKING KIND OF MORE EXTERNALLY, BUT, AND A LOT OF OF THAT DOES, UM, OUR EXPOSURE AS STAFF TO SITE SELECTORS DOES COME A LOT FROM OUR FORT BEND COUNTY LEADERSHIP AND OUR NEW DIRECTOR, UM, CARLOS GUZMAN THAT, UH, JOHN MENTIONED HE'S BEEN WORKING WITH EARLIER.
UM, SO YES, I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF IDENTIFYING WHAT WE NEED AND THEN GOING TO THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN IN THE FIELD THE LONGEST, WHO HAVE THOSE CONTACTS, WHO KNOW HOW THE PROCESS WORKS FOR US.
IT WOULD BE, UH, THE COUNTY, IT WOULD BE, UM, TDC AS AN ORGANIZATION.
UM, IT WOULD BE RETAIL RECRUITMENT FIRMS. OKAY.
RETAIL CONSULTANTS, UM, WHO, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE THESE CONTACTS AND UM, THEY HAVE THESE RELATIONSHIPS.
AND I'M FORGETTING THE NAME OF THE, AS A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS A REALLY LONG TIME DIRECTOR OF THE KATY AREA, EDC, CAN'T REMEMBER HIS NAME, UH, BUT HE, HE RETIRED FROM THEM FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND, BUT WHEN HE STARTED WITH THE KATY AREA, EDC, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, 20 OR 30 YEARS AGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HE SAID WHAT HE TARGETED, UH, WAS EVERY COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKER, UH, IN THE AREA AND BROUGHT HIM OUT TO KATIE AND DID TOURS AND, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE, NOT ONLY WHAT ARE THE TACTICS, BUT WHAT ARE THE STEPS MM-HMM
I GUESS, YOU KNOW, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY GETTING GRANULAR WITH SOME OF THAT STUFF.
AND IS THAT PART OF A REFRESH OR IS THAT PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE? YEAH, I, I THINK THAT, UH, I LOVE THAT IDEA AND THAT, I WOULD SAY THAT SHOULD BE PART OF EITHER, EITHER ONE IS REALLY ENGAGING WITH THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, THE, THE REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE COMMUNITY SITE SELECTION COMMUNITY IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
AND AS, AS AN ELLEN HAYDEN MENTIONED ACROSS TEXAS AS WELL, THAT WAS A BIG THING IN FORT WORTH.
UH, WHEN WE DID THAT ORIGINAL PLAN, THEY JUST DIDN'T, THE DALLAS BROKERS AND DEVELOPERS KIND OF IGNORED THE FORT WORTH SIDE OF THE METRO AREA, AND THEY'VE BEEN VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT HOSTING EVENTS IN FORT WORTH FOR THE ENTIRE REGION AND DEVELOPING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
AND THEY'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND COLT MCCOY JUST OPENED UP A BROKERAGE IN, IN FORT WORTH.
SO THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN DIRECTLY TRACE THAT TO THE PLAN, AND THEN THE, UH, THE
SOMEONE HELPED ME USE COLTON MCCOY,
I'M THINKING ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL LATELY.
I I REALLY DON'T WATCH MUCH FOOTBALL.
SO WE ARE AN ABOARD, AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO TALK ABOUT BRINGING INDUSTRY INTO THE CITY LIMITS, WHICH WE DON'T ACTUALLY WANT TO DO.
AND INFRASTRUCTURE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE NEED A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THAT.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE DO, WE CURRENTLY HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FUND THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW WE WANT, LIKE THE EAST SIDE, THE EAST SIDE, THE EAST SIDE, TRIBUTARY IN THE WEST SIDE, DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
SO WE'VE BUDGETED FOR WHAT WE HAVE COMMITTED TO SUPPORT, WHICH IS THE HARRIS STREET RECONSTRUCTION AND, UM, PARTIAL FUNDING OF THE EAST SIDE DRAINAGE, UM, PROJECT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PUBLIC WORKS.
SO IT'S ABOUT HALF OF THE FUNDING FOR THE TOTAL COST OF THAT PROJECT.
AND THEN FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE HAD BUDGETED AN AMOUNT THAT A BOARD CAN CONTRIBUTE TO AN UPDATE STRATEGIC PLAN.
WELL, I GUESS MY, MY, WHAT I'M WANT, LET'S SAY WE HAVE $10 MILLION AND WE HAVE $15 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO FUND THAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO FUND.
[00:45:01]
CANNOT GROW STER UNTIL THESE DRAINAGE PROJECTS ARE DONE.I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT A FIVE YEAR PLAN.
WHEN, WHEN ARE THESE PROJECT, WHEN ARE THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS GOING TO GET DONE? FIVE YEARS MAYBE.
WHY DO WE NOW NEED TO SPEND MONEY ON A STRATEGIC PLAN? AND I'M SURE IT WOULD BE GREAT, BUT NO ONE CAN COME HERE AND, AND THE, AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT A PLAN UNTIL WE GET THE INFRASTRUCTURE DONE AND PAID FOR.
WELL, THAT'S SPECIFIC TO DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? OKAY.
WELL, I MEAN, YOU CAN'T, WE'RE, WE'RE F OKAY, SO WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO CURRENTLY FUND ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE, PRO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS JUST FOR DOWNTOWN, MUCH LESS ALL THE, THE REST OF THE CITY.
AND SO THAT'S MY FIRST CONCERN.
I IT'S NOT, I WELL, THAT, GO AHEAD.
I'M THINKING PART OF THAT TOO MAY BE A DISCUSSION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY EVER WANNA DO ANY KIND OF A BOND ELECTION WHERE THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, AMORTIZE THOSE COSTS OVER 20 OR 30 YEARS AS OPPOSED TO PAYING AS YOU GO.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW WE ARE PAYING AS WE GO ON ALL OF THOSE PLANS.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE ONE QUESTION IF, IF THEY WOULD CONSIDER THAT POSSIBLY.
UH, BRIAN, TO, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I THINK FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT REALLY, UM, I THINK MOTIVATE US TO PURSUE A REFRESH.
AND I THINK THE FIRST IS THERE HAS TO BE SOME SENSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE BOARD TO STAFF, FROM THE PUBLIC, TO THE BOARD TO STAFF AND FROM COUNCIL.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS JOHN MENTIONED IS THE CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP, WHICH WE'VE HAD CHANGES PRETTY MUCH ALL ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, COUNCIL, THE MAYOR, AND, UM, I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
AND IF I KNOW THAT IF CHARLIE AND DAN, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, WERE, WERE HERE, THEY'LL TELL YOU WHEN THEY PRESENT AT TEDC, THEY HAVE THIS VENN DIAGRAM, AND THEY ALWAYS SAY THE MAGIC HAPPENS IN THE MIDDLE.
AND THAT'S THE CROSS SECTION BETWEEN THE EDCS GOALS, UM, THE, THE COUNCIL'S GOALS AND, AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND IF, IF WE DON'T REASSESS RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS, GET ON THE SAME PAGE AND ESTABLISH HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE, WHETHER THE MONEY'S THERE OR NOT, WE'RE ALL GONNA BE WORKING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FOR MAYBE YEARS.
UH, AND IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE INEFFICIENT AND IT'S GONNA BE INEFFECTIVE.
SO I THINK, UH, ASSESSING WHERE WHAT WE'VE DONE RIGHT, WHAT WE'VE DONE WRONG, WHERE WE NEED TO ADJUST, AND FOR US TO RECEIVE MARCHING ORDERS THAT HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE AND GIVE US DIRECTION, UM, OUTSIDE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, ONCE A MONTH, COUPLE HOUR LONG MEETINGS, I THINK IS REALLY, REALLY VALUABLE.
AND I THINK A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, UM, THE POTENTIAL THAT WE HAVE TO IMPACT THE, THE FUTURE OF THE CITY IS, IS A LOT LARGER THAN JUST THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE HAVE IN OUR BANK ACCOUNT.
IT'S FINDING CREATIVE WAYS TO FUND THIS, TAPPING INTO, UH, RESOURCES PROVIDED BY, UM, BY THE STATE, BY THE COUNTY.
A LOT OF TIMES THE COUNTY SAYS, HEY, IF WE FIND THE RIGHT PROJECT, WE WILL MATCH WHATEVER CONTRIBUTION YOUR EDC IS GIVING.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT THERE IS BIGGER POTENTIAL THAN JUST WHAT WE HAVE IF WE FIND THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIPS AND THE RIGHT PROJECTS TO MOVE FORWARD.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THIS IS A PLAN, AND I, I THINK KAY BROUGHT IT UP.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM CAN PUT TOGETHER WHAT, WHAT THE PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO BRING IN ANOTHER GROCERY STORE.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO BRING IN, YOU KNOW, A MINI LOSS IN TARA.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T, THAT WE DON'T, IN MY OPINION, WE NEED LESS OF A PLAN AND MORE OF SOMEONE TO HELP US WITH OKAY.
RIGHT? THIS IS WHY WE'VE GONE WITH THE RETAIL COACH.
THIS IS WHY WE'RE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY SPECIALIZE IN THEORY ON HELPING US EXECUTE TO OUR PLAN.
UM, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I'M CONFUSED ON, I THINK THERE'S A GAP IN MY UNDERSTANDING ON, YOU KNOW, YES.
HAS OUR, HAS RE CHANGED A LOT IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
BUT THE GOALS HAVEN'T CHANGED IN MY, I'VE NOT, I MEAN, WE'RE STILL POINTED IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
WE JUST HAVE MORE HOUSES HERE NOW
[00:50:02]
AND MORE RESTAURANTS ON 1463AND UNLESS THE PLAN IS, THIS IS WHAT HERE THE THREE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO PUT A LIFESTYLE CENTER ON THE NORTH PART OF, OF DOWNTOWN SHORE, I DON'T, WHICH IS NOT GOING TO.
YOU'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM WE'RE FACING IS WE HAD, THE PLAN ISN'T GOING TO TELL US HOW WE CAN, UH, WORK IN THE ETJ, ESPECIALLY WITH THE WAY THAT THE DIRECTION IS HEADED NOW WITH CITIES HAVING LESS AND LESS OPTIONS OF WORKING WITH OTHERS IN TJS.
WELL, I DO THINK THERE POSSIBLY NOT ALWAYS, IT'S NOT A SLAM DUNK, BUT I DO THINK POSSIBLY THERE MIGHT BE DEVELOPERS, UH, THAT DON'T WANNA TAKE ON, UH, PUTTING IN THEIR OWN WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES.
UM, AND THEY MIGHT WANNA TAKE, TAKE ADVANTAGE LIST OF THOSE DEVELOPERS, RIGHT? PARDON? DON'T WE NEED A LIST? WE WOULDN'T, WE, YOU, I THINK WE, YOU AND I WOULD AGREE MM-HMM
THAT WE WOULD RATHER HAVE A LIST OF THOSE DEVELOPERS OR THE, OR THE SITE SELECTORS OR WHOEVER MAKES HAPPEN, OR, OR, OR A LIST OF SITE SELECTORS OR WHOEVER MAKES THAT HAPPEN, RATHER THAN SPENDING MONEY ON, ON UPDATING A STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH I, I WOULD BE JUST SHOCKED, JUST SHOCKED IF IT CAME BACK MUCH MORE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT KAY AND I COULD WRITE.
UM, I MEAN, I, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE PRETTIER GRAPHS,
UNLESS, UNLESS I'M MISSING SOMETHING AND PIGGYBACK OFF OF BRIAN, OH, SORRY.
ON, WELL, WELL, BUT ALSO MAYBE THE LOOK BACK ON, UH, WHY DID WE HAVE STUMBLING BLOCKS? WHAT WERE THEY, HOW CAN WE OVERCOME 'EM? WHAT, WHAT PRECLUDED US FROM MAKING MORE PROGRESS ON THE 2019 PLAN? TO ME, THAT COULD BE VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION ALSO, AND, AND MAYBE CHANGES IN LEADERSHIP WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.
I MEAN, I, I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT OF VIEW AND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM, BUT I ALSO, UM, I MEAN, ALL OF THE INPUT FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT, THAT DRIVE THOSE GOALS, UM, IT'S NOT THE 12,000 PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE.
UM, SO MAYBE WHAT THE DESIRES OF THE COMMUNITY ARE, MAY HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY SHIFTED THAT WOULD IMPACT THE GOALS THAT, THAT WE HAVE AND WHAT, WHAT THEY WANNA SEE FROM US.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I COULD SEE BEING DIFFERENT.
UM, I WILL SAY, RIGHT, RIGHT NOW AS STAFF, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN A DEVELOPER REACHES OUT AND THEY ASK TO SEE A COPY OF, OF OUR PLAN, AND BASICALLY EVERY GRAPH, EVERY NUMBER, EVERY POPULATION PROJECTION IN IT IS COMPLETELY OFF
UH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT EMBARRASSING, UM, FOR IT TO BE, UH, JUST THAT OUTDATED IN THAT SENSE.
SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A HAPPY MEDIUM JUST FROM STAFF OF, UH, A REFRESH AND JUST A NEW, UM, TEMPERATURE CHECK ON WHAT, WHAT DO THE CITIZENS WANT? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR US TODAY? AND, AND MAYBE WE ARE IN BETTER SHAPE.
I MEAN, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET AND COMMERCIAL SPACE POST COVID, THAT, UM, SUBURBAN EX-URBAN LOCATIONS, YOU KNOW, NEWER OFFICE BUILDINGS THAT ARE COMPLETELY WIRED FOR EVERY TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN THINK OF, UM, MAY MAYBE THAT WOULD GIVE US MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD IN 2019.
UH, IF THE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND REMOTE WORKERS, ALTHOUGH YOU DO HEAR THINGS ABOUT CHASE BANK ORDERING ALL OF THEIR EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE OFFICE AND, AND I DON'T KNOW.
THEY, THEY MAY WIN THAT ONE, THEY MAY LOSE THAT ONE.
IT'LL DEPEND ON HOW MANY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES SAY, YOU KNOW, SIGN R I'M NOT GONNA DO IT.
WHO KNOWS? UM, SO I, I CAN SEE THE BENEFIT OF A REFRESH, BUT I'M THINKING IT MIGHT NEED TO GET MORE GRANULAR IN SOME AREAS, I GUESS.
OH, IT WAS JUST IN REGARDS TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
I MEAN, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING THAT WE NEED FIRST, BUT IT'S EVEN THE ROADWAYS JUST TO GET HERE.
WE LOOK LIKE WE'RE ACCESSIBLE, BUT WE'RE NOT, YOU CANNOT GET INTO FULL SUR FROM ANY DIRECTION RIGHT NOW.
1463 IS BEING EXTENDED OUT TO POSSIBLY LIKE
[00:55:01]
20, 26, 20 27 NOW.SO JUST TO GET DOWN 1463 HERITAGE PARKWAY, FINE, BUT YOU CAN ONLY TAKE SO MANY CARS THROUGH THERE TO GET FM 3 59 OR FM, WHAT ARE WE, YEAH, YEAH.
3 59, YOU KNOW, WIDEN, I KNOW DEVELOPMENT HAS TO COME WITH THAT.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN REALLY, IN MY OPINION, I WANT TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES, BUT HOW WE CAN PHYSICALLY ATTRACT SOME OF THE LARGER THINGS IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE WITHOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE FIRST.
I MEAN, I WORK FOR A VERY SMALL COMPANY, RIGHT IN FUL, AND WE WERE ACQUIRED BY A COMPANY THAT THEY'RE PAYING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CITY CENTER, AND THEY WOULD RATHER HAVE US MOVE TO CITY CENTER AND PAY TENS OF THOUSANDS DOLLARS THAN DRIVE OUT TO SHORE.
THEY'RE LIKE, IT'S NOT WORTH, IT WAS NOT WORTH THEM COMMUTING TO US RIGHT NOW FOR ANY OF THE STAFF.
SO UNTIL WE FIND A WAY OF GETTING THE ROADWAYS, YOU ADD A UNIVERSITY OR, YOU KNOW, THESE OFFICE BUILDINGS AND SOME OF THAT IN HERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW OUR ROADWAYS WILL GET THERE.
WE WILL EVENTUALLY, AND THEN IT WILL BE GREAT.
BUT I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE A GOOD YEAR OR TWO MINIMUM THEN PUT IN.
NOW WHEN WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE, WHAT CAN WE ATTRACT? THAT'S JUST MY OPINION.
NO, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
I, I MEAN, I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT 1463
BUT I MEAN, EVEN, UH, 10 93, WELL, 10 93, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT SHORE CAN'T EVEN GET TO SHORE AT THIS POINT.
THE, THE, THE RESIDENTS COMING HOME AT THE AT NIGHT CAN'T EVEN GET HOME, LET ALONE IF WE HAVE MORE PLACES AND WE WANT PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF SHORE TO ALSO COME INTO SHORE, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT, BUT WE LITERALLY CALL THAT LIGHT THE FOREVER LIGHT.
I TEXT MY HUSBAND, I'M AT THE FOREVER LIGHT ORDER FOR ME BECAUSE MAYBE THE FOOD WILL BE AT THE TABLE BY THE TIME I ACTUALLY GET TO THE RESTAURANT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, UM, AND SO I, I LOOK AT IT AND I THINK, DO WE, INSTEAD OF MAKING THIS SMALLER, I'M GONNA MAKE IT BIGGER.
UM, DO WE NEED TWO STRATEGIC PLANS? DO WE NEED A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR, DO WE HAVE A VERY CLEAR GROWTH OF WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THAT WE NEED FOR THE GROWTH THAT WE WANT TO SEE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS? AND IF WE HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC PLANS AND GOALS THAT WE HAVE FOR GENERATING REVENUE TO GET THERE? BUT THEN ALSO LIKE, YEAH, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN TERMS OF ROADWAYS? HOW ARE WE WORKING WITH TDOT? I KNOW THAT WE DON'T CONTROL THE ROADS PER SE, BUT WHAT DO WE, IT HAS TO BE A COLLABORATION THERE, THERE HAS TO BE, SO THIS BUSINESS IS GONNA NEED TO SAY, HEY, IN ORDER FOR ME TO COME HERE, TDOT, THIS IS WHAT I NEED.
RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU, THE TRAFFIC STUDIES CAN BE DONE.
THEY KNOW WE NEED IT, IT JUST DOESN'T GET DONE.
AND THERE'S NOT AN URGENCY TO GET IT DONE WITHOUT THAT COMPANY OR THAT BUSINESS OR THAT DEVELOPER SAYING, LOOK, I'M NOT COMING, OR WE CAN'T DO THIS UNTIL YOU DO X, Y, AND Z.
RIGHT? THAT'S THE PARTNERSHIP THAT, UM, YEAH.
AND MAYBE THAT'S WHERE LIKE TALK, YOU KNOW, BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE OTHER CITIES AND, AND COUNTIES AND COMMUNITIES AROUND US CAN HELP IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE JOIN WITH FORT BEND COUNTY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THREE 50 OR WHAT 1463 LOOKS LIKE ON BOTH SIDES OF 10 93? YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES 3 59 LOOK LIKE FURTHER? UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE IT'S FULLY BUILT OUT AND, AND YOU KNOW, AND PARTNER WITH WALLACE AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING WALLACE COUNTY FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW ARE WE BUILDING OUT THERE? AND SO, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK BRIAN, I THINK YOU MADE A REALLY GREAT POINT THAT AS FAR AS A BOARD'S VIEW ON THIS IS MY CONCERN IS MORE ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE BUILDING FORWARD FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO GROW.
UM, ECONOMIC, YOU KNOW, FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE, I ABSOLUTELY ALSO UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT.
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE PUTTING UP A GRAPH AND BEING LIKE, SO THE NUMBERS AREN'T EXACTLY THIS ANYMORE.
SO I GUESS TO CIRCLE BACK,
HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO DO A REDO? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.
SO THE STANDARD TIMEFRAME FOR, UH, A FULL STRATEGIC PLAN IS SIX TO NINE MONTHS.
IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO A LOT OF IT IS THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU WANT TO BUILD IN FOR REACHING OUT TO THE STAKEHOLDERS AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY LOCALLY, UH, KEY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
[01:00:01]
FROM THE CHAMBER TO FORT BEND COUNTY.AND THEN NOT JUST MEETING WITH THEM ONE TIME, BUT ENGAGING THEM AS PART OF A, A STEERING COMMITTEE OF SORTS TO, ALRIGHT, HERE'S THE KICKOFF TO THE PROJECT, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE INITIALLY SEEING, HERE'S WHERE THE PLAN IS HEADING, HERE'S THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE PLAN.
SO YOU HAVE TO ALLOW FOR PROBABLY AT LEAST FOUR TO SIX MONTHS, I WOULD SAY, EVEN FOR A MORE FOCUSED REFRESH.
SO IT'S SOMEWHERE IN THAT SIX MONTHS OR A LITTLE BIT LESS VERSUS SIX MONTHS AND LONGER FOR A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE.
AND I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE TONIGHT, UM, IT'S JUST A RESPONSE OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD IN THE PAST.
WE JUST WANTED, UM, TO BRING JOHN IN SO THAT Y'ALL COULD ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE PROCESS WOULD BE LIKE IF WE DECIDED TO DO THAT.
BUT THERE'S NO OFFICIAL DECISION THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TONIGHT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, JUST WANNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING JOHN HERE AND, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.
WELL, I THINK THE CONVERSATION'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND I THINK EVERYONE UP HERE HAS RAISED SOME REALLY GOOD POINTS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
SO I APPRECIATE HAVING THE AGENDA ITEM.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE.
YEAH, THANK Y'ALL FOR THE INVITATION.
[Business - B]
B, FULL SURE.FAST TRACK PROGRESS PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION.
WHO NAMES THESE
WE'LL, UM, SWITCH GEARS HERE TO SHORE FAST TRACK.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY MATT COULDN'T BE HERE THIS EVENING TO GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE, UH, HIMSELF, SO I'LL DO MY BEST TO GIVE MY MATT UPDATE
UM, IN YOUR PACKETS, YOU HAVE THE PROGRESS UPDATE, UM, UH, FROM NOVEMBER.
AND, UM, YOU ALSO HAVE A SUMMARY WITHIN THAT PROGRESS UPDATE OF A SURVEY THAT WAS DONE FOLLOWING THE HOME BUSINESS ACCELERATOR EVENT.
UM, YOU'LL ALSO FIND THERE'S SOME, UH, REVIEWS OR, UM, FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED FROM SOME PARTICIPANTS ON WHAT THEY'VE FOUND VALUABLE IN THE PROGRAM, AND THEN A CALENDAR OF WHAT'S PLANNED FOR 2025.
AND SO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE LAUNCHED IN APRIL, 2024, AND WE'VE MADE SOME GREAT PROGRESS ON THE METRICS THAT WERE AGREED UPON IN THE INITIAL CONTRACT WITH THE CANNON.
UM, AND THAT'S, THOSE METRICS ARE WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PROGRESS REPORT.
UM, ADDITIONALLY AT YOUR SEEDS, YOU FOUND A, WE PLACE A PRINTOUT THAT WE, UM, FORGOT TO ATTACH TO THE ACTUAL PACKET.
WHAT THAT PRINTOUT HAS IS A DEFINITION PROVIDED FOR EACH OF THE METRIC CATEGORIES.
UM, WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WAY THAT STAFF IS INTERPRETING, UH, IS THE WAY THAT YOU ARE READING WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT THAT NUMBER REPRESENTS.
UM, AND TONIGHT WE REALLY WANTED TO GIVE YOU ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, ASK ANY, UM, QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATION YOU MIGHT NEED ON WHAT THOSE NUMBERS MEAN, WHAT, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
UM, BECAUSE WE WILL BE PRESENTING TO COUNCIL, UH, NEXT WEEK, WE'LL, WE'LL ESSENTIALLY PROVIDE THEM WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, AND THEN DO A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A HISTORY, UM, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND WHERE, UM, RE FAST TRACK CAME FROM AND WHERE WE'RE HOPING TO GO WITH THE PROGRAM.
UM, SO WE CAN KIND OF OPEN UP THAT, THAT DISCUSSION.
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, I WILL SAY, UM, JUST FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE, BEBO DID SAY THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE A BREAKDOWN OF THE TOPIC TRENDS OF MENTORSHIP SESSIONS.
SO IN THAT PROGRESS UPDATE, THE VERY FIRST, UM, CATEGORY SAYS ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS RECEIVING ADVISORY, MENTORSHIP COACHING.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THOSE CATEGORIES ARE, WHETHER IT'S HUMAN RESOURCES, MARKETING, UH, WEB DEVELOPMENT, UM, FINANCING, THOSE, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
THEY JUST WANNA SEE WHAT'S BEEN MOST POPULAR, CAN YOU BREAK DOWN THOSE CATEGORIES? AND SO WE'RE GONNA PLAN TO INCORPORATE THAT, UM, INTO THE NEXT REPORT.
UM, THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF THEIR QUESTIONS THAT RESULTED IN, IN A CHANGE TO THAT.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES THAT WE FELT LIKE, UH, WERE A LITTLE BIT REDUNDANT, UM, AND SO WE'LL BE REMOVING THOSE GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND THAT'S THE, THE THIRD CATEGORY, THE BUSINESS OUTCOMES, UH, NEWER EXPANDED SPACES, UM, WE FELT LIKE IT WAS A REPEAT OF THAT SAME METRIC ABOVE IT, NEW BUSINESS STARTS.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST GONNA COMBINE THOSE TWO.
[01:05:01]
WAS THE BUSINESS SURVIVABILITY WE'RE SO EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS, AND, UM, SO MUCH OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, OUR BUSINESS PLAN REVIEWS AND HELPING PEOPLE REALLY HONE IN ON WHAT IT IS THEY WANT TO LAUNCH, THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA REMOVE FOR NOW, BUT KIND OF STILL KEEP A, A TRACK OF OR TRY TO KEEP IN THE BACK OF OUR MINDS TO BRING BACK, UM, ONCE WE GET A LITTLE MORE INTO THE PROGRAM OUTSIDE OF THAT, EVERYTHING IS PLANNED TO STAY ON THERE.UM, AND IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU FEEL ISN'T CAPTURED IN THE CURRENT METRICS WE'RE TRACKING, WE'RE HAPPY TO ADD ANOTHER CATEGORY OR ANOTHER METRIC.
UM, BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK, I DON'T HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL METRICS, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS, I KNOW YOU AND HAYDEN HAD MENTIONED THAT Y'ALL WERE, UH, GONNA HAVE A CONVERSATION, I THINK WITH MCKINNEY OR MAYBE SOME OTHER TOWN ABOUT THEIR METRICS.
DOES THIS KIND OF INCORPORATE WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED FROM OTHER CITIES? SO, UH,
SO UNFORTUNATELY WE, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, TO REALLY SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND TALK THROUGH IT.
BUT I THINK OUR, OUR NEXT PLAN IS JUST TO COMB THROUGH THEIR AGENDAS AND ITEMS AND SEE IF WE COULD FIND A COPY OF THAT CONTRACT AND OKAY.
I WILL SAY THAT, UM, THE, THE ORIGINAL METRICS THAT WERE SUGGESTED, UM, I THINK WE CUT OUT A LOT OF THE, OF THINGS THAT WEREN'T RELEVANT TO THE CITY OF SHORE, BUT IT CAME FROM THE CANON AND THEY'VE WORKED WITH DOZENS OF COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, IN SURROUNDING AREAS AND EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE STATE.
UM, SO BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE, WE FEEL LIKE THIS WAS A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR US.
I MEAN, IT DOES SEEM PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE TO ME, BUT THANK YOU.
UM, FOR ME, I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE HAVE, IF WE CAN COUNT THE FOUR NEW BUSINESSES STARTED, IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW WHAT THOSE FOUR NEW BUSINESSES ARE, UM, WHAT SERVICES OR GOODS THEY PROVIDE, UM, MAKE SURE WE'RE FREQUENTING THEM IF POSSIBLE, UH,
AND THEN I WOULD ACTUALLY PUSH BACK AND SAY, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT TWO AND THREE ARE THE SAME.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ABSOLUTELY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, DOING A LINE EXTENSION AND LAUNCHING AN ENTIRE NEW PRODUCT.
AND, UM, THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, COULD BE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, THE LEVEL OF EFFORT AND SUCH.
BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, I WOULD SAY THEY'RE BOTH WORTH COUNTING.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, A NEW OR EXPANDED SPACE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT IF SOMEONE HAD TO MOVE OUT OF A, YOU KNOW, A SMALLER STOREFRONT INTO A BIGGER STOREFRONT, UM, BECAUSE THEIR BUSINESS IS GROWING THAT, THAT'S GREAT AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAPTURE THAT.
BUT THAT'S NOT A NEW BUSINESS, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, HAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OTHER PIECES AROUND IT.
SO I, I WOULD SAY THAT WE COULD KEEP THOSE SEPARATE.
I'LL, I'LL PASS THAT ALONG TO MATT AND IF THERE'S SOME REASONING THAT HE HAD THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW UP AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU NEED FROM US BEFORE YOU GO TO CITY COUNCIL? UM, NOPE.
JUST ANY, ANY THOUGHTS YOU MIGHT HAVE ON, UM, IF THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROGRAM THAT YOU'VE FELT HAS ADDED VALUE THAT YOU WANT US TO HIGHLIGHT, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW.
AND WE'RE, WE FEEL PRETTY PREPARED.
WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THE PARTICIPANTS AND LOCAL RESIDENTS ATTENDING THE MEETING AS WELL.
WE'VE ASKED THEM TO PREPARE A COUPLE MINUTE TESTIMONY ON HOW THEIR, THEIR BUSINESS HAS BENEFITED FROM THE PROGRAM.
AND, UM, WE MADE SURE THAT THE STORIES WEREN'T, UM, HIGHLIGHTING THE SAME SERVICE BENEFIT SO THAT IT SHOWED JUST THE DIFFERENT FACETS OF FULL SHARE, FAST TRACK.
AND, UM, I THINK NOW WITH, WITH SIMONA ON THE TEAM, WE ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO SHARE A LOT MORE OF THOSE SUCCESS STORIES MORE REGULARLY AND THROUGH DIFFERENT MEDIUMS. UM, SO YEAH, WE JUST, JUST WANTED TO OPEN UP THE DISCUSSION AND, AND LET Y'ALL KNOW WHERE WE ARE, WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS.
UM, AND IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE METRICS, I CAN SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EVENTS THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR THIS YEAR.
SO YOU HAVE A CALENDAR, IT'S KIND OF A, A CALENDAR DRAFT, A GENERAL, GENERAL GUIDELINES OF WHERE WE'LL BE HEADING TO MONTH BY MONTH.
UM, AND SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS, WE'VE GOT ABOUT SIX, UM, I GUESS INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS, YOU, YOU COULD CALL THEM, UM, BUT YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WE'RE LAUNCHING A 10 WEEK ONE-ON-ONE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
THE FIRST ONE IS FOCUSING ON MARKETING.
WE SAW A LOT OF, OF GREAT ENERGY AND FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, THE APPLICATIONS ARE ROLLING IN, SO WE FEEL LIKE ALL THOSE SEATS WILL BE TAKEN.
AND THE IDEA THERE IS JUST TO HAVE THAT ONE COHORT GO THROUGH THE 10 WEEK PROGRAM TOGETHER SO THEY CAN HOLD EACH OTHER
[01:10:01]
ACCOUNTABLE.UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO LAUNCHING THAT.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A NEW, NEW SERVICE THAT'S BEING OFFERED THROUGH THE CANON, WHICH IS, UM, THE, THE BUSINESS BOOTCAMPS.
THESE ARE GONNA BE LIKE A FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY TYPE OF TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, INTENSIVE WEEKEND BOOTCAMP.
AND IT'S, IT'LL BE TWO SEPARATE, UM, CYCLES OF 30 SEATS EACH.
SO WE WILL DETERMINE THOSE DATES, THOSE THERE WILL BE APPLICATIONS FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT WHEN IT WAS SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HAD SO MANY SHARES IN COMMENTS.
SO AGAIN, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THESE KINDS OF RESOURCES.
UM, WE ALSO, I DON'T KNOW HOW FAMILIAR YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO GET WITH THE INITIAL, UM, DIGITAL PLATFORM, THE WEBSITE THAT WAS LAUNCHED BY THE FULL FAST TRACK, IT WAS GREAT, BUT THERE WERE DEFINITELY SOME CHALLENGES THAT WE, WE SAW, UM, JUST ON THE USER SIDE.
SO THE WEBSITE'S BEEN COMPLETELY REVAMPED.
THEY'VE COMPLETELY CHANGED THE, THE PORTAL THAT IT WOULD TAKE YOU TO AS, AS A PARTICIPANT IN THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEY'RE ALSO WORKING ON AN APP THAT, UM, PARTICIPANTS CAN USE.
SO ALL OF THAT WE'VE ALSO GOTTEN GRADE FEEDBACK ON, THERE'S A LOT MORE ENGAGEMENT ON IT NOW THAN THERE WAS PREVIOUSLY.
SO THAT'S STILL@SHOREFASTTRACK.COM? YES, MA'AM.
YEAH, IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL THE SAME WEBSITE.
UM, AND LET'S SEE, WE'LL CONTINUE PLANNING A SPRING, UM, HOME BUSINESS ACCELERATOR EVENT.
YOU ALL HEARD ABOUT, UM, WHAT A GREAT SUCCESS THAT WAS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE PLANNING TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE THIS YEAR.
UM, AND, UH, LET'S SEE, ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION.
SO, UM, KIND OF STILL KEEPING A LITTLE BIT OF THAT SOCIAL NETWORKING COMPONENT, UM, BUT MORE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FINANCING AND THINGS OF THAT SORT.
AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, INVESTOR GROUPS FOR LOCAL STARTUPS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS PAST YEAR WE'VE REALLY WORKED ON MAKING THE COMMUNITY OF WHERE THAT FULL SURE FAST TRACK EXISTED, ROUNDING UP ALL THE BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE PEOPLE WITH THE IDEAS.
AND IT'S BEEN THROUGH THAT, THAT VERY ORGANICALLY, JUST LIKE THE CANON STAFF PREDICTED.
UM, RIGHT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, PEOPLE STARTED COMING TO US AND SAYING, BUT DO YOU NEED AN INVESTOR? AND WHAT CAN I INVEST IN? SO I THINK THIS YEAR WE'RE REALLY SHIFTING, UM, MORE ATTENTION ONTO THAT AND WE'RE GONNA BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT PURSUING INVESTORS AND CREATING THAT INVESTOR NETWORK, UM, WHICH WE FEEL REALLY PROUD ABOUT.
AND, UM, JUST VERY EXCITED TO, TO BE ABLE TO TELL OUR LOCAL RESIDENTS, HEY, IF YOU HAVE MONEY TO INVEST, YOU CAN ACTUALLY INVEST IT SOME TO AN IDEA FROM A ONE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS AND KEEP ALL THAT WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE ON THE CALENDAR IN SOME SHAPE OR FORM.
A LOT OF THESE DATES ARE TO BE DETERMINED BASED ON WHO PARTICIPATES AND ALL OF THAT.
BUT, UM, I CAN SAY WITH CERTAINTY THAT AT SOME POINT IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR, THESE EVENTS WILL TAKE PLACE HERE IN THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THE CANNON VISITS THAT ARE SCHEDULED IN JANU, WELL, YOU ALREADY HAD ONE ON THE SEVENTH IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER ONE ON THURSDAY THIS WEEK.
UH, I DON'T, IS THAT JUST FOR CITY COUNCIL OR IS THERE A TARGET GROUP OR, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY ON THIS BOARD, IF ANYONE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING AS WELL, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ASK, THEY WERE ORIGINALLY, UH, INTENDED TO INVITE COUNCIL TO COME TAKE A LOOK AT THE PHYSICAL SPACE SO THAT WHEN WE EXPLAINED WHAT WE WERE WORKING TOWARDS, THEY COULD REALLY SEE THAT VISION.
UM, BUT IT'S OPEN TO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN.
UM, ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT EVER WANTS TO GO, JUST GET WITH US AND WE'LL MAKE SURE TO GET, UM, A TOUR SCHEDULED ON A TIME THAT WORKS WITH YOUR SCHEDULE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WE READY TO MOVE ON ITEM
[Business - C]
C, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON SELECTION OF RETAIL RECRUITMENT REPRESENTATION.DID Y'ALL LIKE PUT THE AGENDA IN THE CHAT, GBT AND SAY, MAKE THIS AS ALLITERATIVE AS POSSIBLE?
I MEAN, I GUESS I WAS IN A GOOD MOOD THAT DAY.
UM, DISCUSSION ON SELECTION OF RETAIL RECRUITMENT REPRESENTATION.
UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO REVIVE THIS CONVERSATION.
WE ARE, UM, HEADING INTO THIS NEW YEAR.
WE HAVE ICSC RED RIVER COMING UP, UM, JANUARY 29 THROUGH THE 31ST.
UM, I WILL BE ATTENDING ALONG WITH OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, KELSEY, UM,
[01:15:01]
MS. KELSEY LEE.SO, UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAD PRESENTED YOU WITH TWO SEPARATE OPTIONS LAST FALL.
UM, OPTION ONE BEING RETAIL STRATEGIES, AND IF Y'ALL WOULD, UH, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER, MS. LACEY BEASLEY ATTENDED A MEETING AND DID A PRESENTATION FOR YOU ALL.
AND THEN OPTION NUMBER TWO, WE HAD REACHED OUT TO JUST, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD AND, UM, ENGAGED WITH RETAIL ATTRACTIONS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF RECAP, UM, OUR POINT OF VIEW AS STAFF AND THE TWO OPTIONS THAT WERE BEFORE YOU AND JUST ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES.
SO, RECAPPING THE TWO OPTIONS, RETAIL STRATEGIES, UM, THEY SUBMITTED THEIR PROPOSAL.
THAT WAS THE PRESENTATION YOU ALL SAW.
IT WAS FOR A, A THREE YEAR TERM WITH A OPTION OF TERMINATING AT ANY POINT WITH A 30 DAY NOTICE.
UM, THE ANNUAL COST OF THEIR PROPOSAL WAS $45,000.
AND THAT INCLUDED DATA AND CONSUMER ANALYSIS, A CUSTOMIZED MARKETING PLAN, UM, ACTIVE RETAIL RECRUITMENT AND CONFERENCE REPRESENTATION AT CONFERENCES SUCH AS ICSC, RED RIVER, ICSC, VEGAS, UM, AND, AND A HANDFUL OF OTHERS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MOST ATTRACTED TO US THAT WE HAD RAN INTO CHALLENGES WITH OUR PREVIOUS CONSULTANT WAS, UM, JUST THE TURNAROUND TIME AND THE AVAILABILITY OF A STAFF MEMBER TO, YOU KNOW, BE ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE WHEN WE NEEDED EITHER FRESH NEW DATA BECAUSE A CERTAIN RETAILER OR DEVELOPER WAS REQUESTING IT.
UM, AND RETAIL STRATEGIES COMMITS TO HAVING THREE STAFF MEMBERS ASSIGNED TO THE CITY OF RE AT ANY GIVEN TIME, AND USUALLY CAN TURN AROUND DATA, A PHONE CALL OR CONVERSATION WITHIN 24 HOURS, WHICH IS, IT'S PRETTY GOOD.
AND THEN, UM, LET ME SEE, MAKE SURE I'M NOT, OKAY, SO THAT'S RETAIL STRATEGIES.
AND THEN OPTION TWO, RETAIL ATTRACTIONS.
UM, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, MR. RICKY HAYES SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL THAT WE SHARED WITH YOU ALL.
THEY, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND, UM, BUT WE SHARED THAT AND THEIR PROPOSAL WAS FOR SIX MONTHS AND THAT CONTRACT WAS FOR $30,000.
THEIR IDEA WAS THAT THEY WOULD JUST COMPLETE AN INITIAL MARKET STUDY, AND THEN WHAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE TO US AFTER PUSHING OUT THAT THE MARKET STUDY RESULTS TO THEIR CONTACTS WOULD BE A LIST OF 12 TO 16 HIGHLY QUALIFIED DEVELOPERS WHO HAD DELIVERED THE PRODUCT WE WERE LOOKING FOR IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO I THINK WHEN WE, JUST LOOKING AT THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT AND THE COST AND THE INVESTMENT THAT IT IS, OUR PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, RETAIL STRATEGIES.
UM, JUST JUST THINKING OF THE PRICE AND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, IF YOU REMEMBER, THEY ALSO HAD A COMPONENT FOR A DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN.
UM, OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE AN ENTIRELY NEW CONTRACT AND AN ADDITIONAL COST.
BUT WITH THE, THE HARRIS STREET PROJECT MOVING FORWARD, UM, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CONSIDER IN 2026 TO REALLY HELP US CREATE A VERY SPECIFIC STRATEGY FOR HOW WE'RE GONNA DEVELOP DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO JUST HAVING THAT POTENTIAL THERE, UM, FOR US IS GREAT.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? SO ONE THING THAT I REMEMBER IN THE CONVERSATION REGARDING RETAIL ATTRACTIONS WAS THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE GONNA HIT SIX MONTHS AND DO THIS IN-DEPTH STUDY AND REALLY UNDERSTAND, UM, BUT THAT WAS IT.
LIKE, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA PAY THEM $30,000 TO DO THE STUDY, UM, AND THEN MAKE THE DETERMINATION IF WE WANTED TO ENGAGE THEM TO, TO TAKE ACTION.
SO I GUESS, DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW LONG RETAIL STRATEGIES INTENDS TO CONDUCT THEIR RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF SHORE? UM, ESSENTIALLY WHEN COULD WE REASONABLY START TO SAY, TO BE CONCERNED IF WE'RE NOT SEEING RESULTS? I THINK THAT'S UP TO US IN THE, IN THE NEGOTIATION OF THE CONTRACT, WHICH OUR LEGAL COUNSEL DID ADVISE THAT, UM, WE PUT IN SOME KIND OF METRIC.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY LIKED IS THEIR STYLE OF REPORTING BACK TO STAFF.
IT WAS VERY THOROUGH, JUST LIKE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT BRIAN.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE EITHER.
SO IT WOULD LIST THE RETAILER, YES, THEY'RE COMING, NO, THEY'RE NOT COMING, AND THIS IS WHY, HOW DO WE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, UM, MOVING FORWARD? UM, SO I, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF BUILT IN ACCOUNTABILITY.
UM, IN THAT WAY
[01:20:02]
FROM, AND I DON'T REMEMBER THE NAMES, BUT NUMBER TWO MM-HMMWAS THAT AFTER THE, THE IN DEPTH ANALYSIS THAT WOULD TAKE ABOUT SIX TO NINE MONTHS, THEY WOULD GIVE US 12 TO 16 NAMES OF DEVELOPERS, RIGHT? NOT RESTAURANTS, BUT HERE IS A DEVELOPER WHO CAN IMPLEMENT, YOU KNOW, HERE ARE THE NAMES OF 16 THOSE, OR 12 TO 16 DEVELOPERS WHO CAN IMPLEMENT WHAT WE WANT THE PLAN TO BE.
IS THAT, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT I THINK WE NEED, IS THAT, AM I, YOU KNOW, WE CAN COME UP WITH NAMES OF RESTAURANTS OR WHAT OTHER RETAIL, BUT IF THEY DON'T HAVE A PLAY, IF THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO, IF THEY'RE WAITING ON A DEVELOPER TO BUILD, UM, OR BY LAND, RIGHT? I MEAN, 'CAUSE WE HAVE LAND, WE, WE HAVE THE LAND WHO'S OWNED, THAT'S OWNED BY SOMEONE, NOT US
RIGHT? SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS TO BUY THAT LAND AND DEVELOP THAT LAND, AND THEN A RETAILER NEEDS TO GO INTO THE DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE ARE, UH, RETAIL TEAM NUMBER ONE.
UH, ARE THEY JUST GOING TO TELL US ALL THE RETAILERS THAT WE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT FIT FOR FULCHER IF WE HAD THE LAND, UM, THE LAND WAS DEVELOPED BY THE DEVELOP, RIGHT? AND I MEAN, NOW WE'RE STUCK IN THE SAME PLACE, I THINK.
SO KNOWING RETAIL STRATEGIES AND LOOKING THROUGH THEIR PLANS AND ALL OF THAT, THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE THE SAME CONTACTS FOR THE DEVELOPERS THAT THEY WORK WITH THROUGH THE RETAIL, UM, RECRUITMENT PROCESS OF THINGS.
SO I, I DON'T THINK THAT RETAIL STRATEGIES IS ONLY RETAIL CONTACTS.
I THINK IT ALSO OPENS UP THE DOOR TO ALL OF THOSE DEVELOPERS AS WELL.
IT'S WHERE RETAIL ATTRACTIONS JUST LOCKS YOU INTO THAT SIX MONTH PROCESS.
AND BONNIE, YOU HAD KIND OF ASKED THIS, BUT THE TYPICAL TIMELINE FROM WHEN YOU REACH OUT TO A RETAILER AND THEY'RE OPENING THEIR DOORS IS 12 TO 18 MONTHS.
THAT'S ASSUMING THEY HAVE A PLACE TO GO, WHICH THEY DON'T RIGHT NOW.
YEAH, I MEAN, UNLESS WE'RE JUST THAT, UNLESS WE'RE JUST FILLING STORE, THIS WILL STOREFRONT, THIS WILL, THIS WILL BE THE QUESTION I ASK WITH EVERY SINGLE REPORT.
WHERE ARE WE BUILDING? WHO'S, WHERE ARE WE BUILDING? WHAT ARE WE BUILDING? WHO'S THE DEVELOPER? 'CAUSE WE DON'T, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, NAME YOUR CASUAL, FAST CASUAL PLACE THAT WE WANNA SIT DOWN AT OR THE HIGH END RESTAURANT OR WHATEVER.
WE DON'T HAVE THE LAND OR THE BUILDING TO PUT THEM IN RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S, IT'S KIND OF A CHICKEN OR AN EGG QUESTION THOUGH, BECAUSE THE DEVELOPERS ARE NOT GONNA MOVE FORWARD UNTIL THEY KNOW THAT THERE'S A RETAILER READY TO RENT THAT SPACE TOO.
SO I CAN THINK OF LIKE RE CENTRAL SHORE MARKETPLACE, SHORE GATEWAY, ALL THESE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE AT ONE STAGE OF THE PROCESS OR ANOTHER, AND THEY'RE SAYING, HEY, WE NEED HELP.
FULL CENTRAL IS SAYING, HEY, WE NEED HELP.
WE HAVE THIS MUCH SQUARE FOOTAGE OF RETAIL SPACE.
WHAT RETAILERS DO YOU WANT? AND CAN YOU HELP US MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS? UM, SO I DO THINK THERE'S VALUE I ON THE WOOD PROPERTY WHERE, WHAT'S HIS NAME? ANDERSON SMITH.
HAS THAT LOCKED UP? THAT ACREAGE LOCKED UP? YES.
AND THAT'S AN ONGOING CONVERSATION WE HAVE IS, ARE THE RETAILERS READY? BECAUSE NOBODY'S GONNA BUILD A BUILDING THAT'S GONNA SIT EMPTY.
THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THEIR TENANTS ARE READY TO GO AND SIGN THAT CONTRACT BEFORE THAT BUILDING'S BUILT.
SO, SO PART OF WHAT YOU COULD DO, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU CHOOSE IS MAYBE, UM, HAVE THOSE FOLKS ALSO TALKING WITH ANDERSON SMITH AND SHORE CENTRAL AND AND WHOEVER.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD ALWAYS DO.
AND WHOEVER THOSE OH, THE GATEWAY.
THE GATEWAY PEOPLE ON NORTH 3 59.
SO FROM YOUR CONVERSATIONS AND RESEARCH INTO RETAIL STRATEGIES, YOU BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE THE RELATIONSHIPS TO NOT JUST IDENTIFY THE FAST CASUAL RESTAURANT, BUT TO, YOU KNOW, DO A MEET CUTE BETWEEN THE FAST CASUAL RESTAURANT AND THE, AND THE DEVELOPERS OUT THERE? YES, DEFINITELY.
YEAH, AND WE, SO WE'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, DIRECTION FROM B BOARD WAS TO MOVE FORWARD IN PURSUING, UM, AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM.
SO WE'VE HAVE A DRAFT OF THE AGREEMENT THAT'S BEEN REVIEWED BY OUR LEGAL COUNSEL AND, UM, WENT BACK TO RETAIL STRATEGIES, UM, WHICH WE'RE HOPING WOULD GET FINALIZED
[01:25:01]
AT NEXT MONTH'S MEETING.UM, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE MAIN PRIORITIES THEY HAVE, UM, AT THE TOP OF THE LIST IS THE QUALITY OF, UM, RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS THAT WE WANNA SEE HERE IN SHORE.
HOW, HOW DO WE ATTRACT THAT? AND, UM, RIGHT NOW THE PLAN IS TO, UM, MEET WITH THEM AND HAVE MORE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS AT ICSE, SO WE CAN KIND OF WORK THROUGH, THROUGH THAT IN PERSON.
AND OUR PORTION IS HOW MUCH, UH, SO IN THE PAST, WHAT THE EDC HAS DONE IS SPLIT THE COST 50 50.
UM, THE, THE TOTAL COST OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CONTRACT IS $45,000.
SO HALF OF THAT 22,500 MM-HMM
UH, AND, UH, AND, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THE A BOARD IS ALLOWED TO INVEST MONEY IN.
AND YOU'LL SEE, SEE, UM, THE AMOUNT BUDGETED IN YOUR PACKET IS PRETTY HIGH.
THIS ACTUALLY COMES FROM OUR PROMOTIONS BUDGET LINE.
SO YES, A, A BOARD IS ABLE TO, TO, UM, FUND PART OF PART OF THIS.
I GUESS MY ONLY QUESTION IS THIS KIND OF JUST BACK TO THAT, I, I KNOW IT'S THAT HORSE BEFORE THE CART, AND THE SAME THING WITH THE DEVELOPERS, BUT EVEN IF THEY CAME UP WITH FIVE BUSINESSES OR FIVE RESTAURANTS THAT WERE COMING HERE, AGAIN, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE PUTTING THEM AND HOW ARE THEY DEVELOPING? I MEAN, BESIDES A JACK IN THE BOX AND A WHATABURGER, I THINK IT'D THE SAME ANSWER I SHARED EARLIER.
UM, AND I'D ALSO ADD THAT, UM, UNFORTUNATELY YOU DO SEE A LOT OF BUSINESSES CLOSE.
SO, UH, MOST RECENTLY WE SAW A SALAD AND GO CLOSE.
WE JUST GOT WHO CLOSE PLANS FOR SALAD AND GO ON 1463, BUT WE JUST A GO.
UM, I KNOW
THEY'RE LIKE, WHERE AM I GONNA STOP FOR LUNCH? NO, I, I THINK SHE'S BEING PERFECT.
WHERE'S THE, I DON'T THINK SHE'S BEING SARCASTIC OR JOKING.
SHE'S PERFECTLY SERIOUS CALLED, AND THEY TRIED TO SAY THAT OUR AREA WASN'T FREQUENTED ENOUGH.
AND I'M LIKE, IT WAS OVERSATURATED THIS, THEY OPENED TOO MANY LOCATIONS, TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, BUT NOW THERE'S A NEW TENANT THAT'S GOING THERE, AND I'M SURE THAT'LL WE'LL SHARE THAT SOON.
BUT, UM, SO IT'S, IT'S ALSO THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO BEING ABLE TO SAY, HEY, THIS BUSINESS IS CLOSING.
WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE X AMOUNT OF SQUARE FOOTAGE EMPTY.
WHO'S THE NEXT PERSON THAT'S SHOWN INTEREST? THERE'S NOW A BUILDING AVAILABLE.
UM, WE HAVE, WE JUST HAVE DIFFERENT MEMBERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT FOR THE LONGEST TIME HAVE WANTED TO START A RESTAURANT AND THEY'RE JUST WAITING FOR, OKAY, NOW WE WE'RE HAVING THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED DOWN.
THEY HAVE A, A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IN THE SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR, UM, PATRONS THAT YOU NEED.
UM, SO IT'S THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
BEING ABLE TO DO THAT QUICKLY AND REACH OUT AND HAVE THOSE PEOPLE, UM, WITH THE CONTACTS AT THE READY AND THAT RELATIONSHIP THERE.
UM, BECAUSE WHAT UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT WE FACE A LOT IS WE REACH OUT, BUT THEY'RE LIKE, I, I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS IS.
SO IT JUST TAKES SO MUCH LONGER TO GET, FOR US TO GET A RESPONSE THAN IT WOULD FOR LACEY OR HER TEAM AT RETAIL STRATEGIES TO CALL THE PERSON THEY'VE PROBABLY BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH FOUR TIMES THAT MORNING ALREADY ABOUT OTHER COMMUNITIES.
MINE IS JUST ALL ABOUT THE TIMING OF IT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INVESTING AT THE RIGHT TIME THAT WE COULD REALLY MOVE FORWARD.
I MEAN, I ALREADY SEE A LOT OF EMPTY SPACES AND OFFICE SPACES, OR NOT OFFICE, BUT LIKE THE RETAIL SPACES THAT ARE GETTING EMPTIER AND EMPTIER.
SO, I MEAN, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN HELP, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE, BUT HELP OFFICIALLY FILL THEM.
WELL, I, AND YEAH, I, I THINK THAT'S PART OF MINE IS THAT IF, IF THEY CAN SECURE THAT NEW STANDALONE, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT WHAT I ALSO WANT TO SEE FROM THEM IS THAT HOW DO YOU, THESE OPEN STORE FRONTS START FILLING UP WITH BUSINESSES.
WE, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, RETRACTIVE I FOUND 13 YEAH.
OPEN JUST BETWEEN CROSS CREEK AND IWS AND RE AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE NEW ONE THAT'S GONNA BE BUILT WITH THE STORAGE FACILITY.
AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING IF LIKE THE LEARNING FROG, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, BECOMES ANOTHER STRIP CENTER MCDONALD'S.
THAT THOSE NEED TO GET FILLED AS WELL.
UM, AND THOSE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT ON DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S A BUILDING RIGHT THERE.
SO I JUST, THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S FOR ME GONNA BE A LOT OF THE GAUGE THAT WE CAN IF WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY ACTION.
AND THE REASON FOR IT BECOMES THAT CONVERSATION OF, WELL, IT TAKES TIME TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND WE DON'T HAVE THE
[01:30:01]
DEVELOPMENT IN PLACE YET.MY, THERE IS, IF YOUR JOB IS TO BRING RETAIL, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES IN, THERE'S RETAIL SPACE AVAILABLE TODAY FOR YOU MM-HMM
SO I JUST, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MOVEMENT.
UM, IS THE GATE IS THE GATEWAY THING UNDER CONSTRUCTION? YES MA'AM.
AND I, I, IF I RECALL, I THINK THAT WAS ONE THING.
I THINK IT WAS A ZACH GOODLAND IDEA THAT THEY HAD TO BUILD THE, THE COMMERCIAL SPACE UP FRONT AND GET THAT DONE BEFORE THEY COULD START ON THE STORAGE BUILDING BEHIND IT.
SO THAT, AND IF THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION, THEN THEY'RE GONNA HAVE SPACE TO FILL UP OH.
AND IT'S QUITE, AND IT'S QUITE A BIT OF SPACE THERE AND THEN THERE'S 600 UNIT APARTMENTS THAT ARE GOING RIGHT NEXT TO IT.
RIGHT IN FRONT OF, RIGHT NEXT TO AWS KIND OF ACROSS AND KIND OF ACROSS FROM T TSAN CAFE.
I THINK IT'S LIKE, UH, DEL WEB, LIKE RIGHT ACROSS FROM DEL WEB.
SO IT'S A 600 UNIT APARTMENT THAT'S GONNA GO THERE AND INTO THE FARMER LAND AND THEN UNIT.
SO WE HAVE QUITE A FEW EMPTY RETAIL SPACES ALREADY.
WELL, UH, LIKE I SAID, I REALLY DO THINK THAT WE WOULD GREATLY BENEFIT FROM A PARTNER IN RETAIL, UM, RECRUITMENT.
AND FOR US TODAY, BASED ON THE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE, RETAIL STRATEGIES WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION.
SO WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US? I JUST NEED YOUR APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT CONTRACT.
UM, CHARLIE, OUR, UH, LEGAL COUNSEL HAS ADVISED OF THE AGREEMENT BE BETWEEN B BOARD AND RETAIL STRATEGIES.
AND THEN WE WILL WORK IN AGREEMENT, UM, INTERNALLY FOR THE, THE COST SHARE TO STILL BE THERE.
UM, BUT THAT'LL BE KIND OF A BEHIND THE SCENES.
SO YOU NEED US TO ONLY FOR THE B BOARD ONLY THE B BOARD WILL HAVE IT.
WE WILL GIVE MONEY TO THE A BOARD OR WE WILL GIVE MONEY TO THE B BOARD.
UM, WELL, I'M JUST THINKING IF IT'S THE A BOARD THAT DOES IT, YOU COULD GET GOING ON AT IMMEDIATELY.
'CAUSE THE B BOARD DOESN'T HAVE A MEETING UNTIL WHEN THIS MONTH WE, WE STILL, WE WOULD NEED LEGAL COUNSEL HERE FOR THE ACTUAL AGREEMENT TO BE EXECUTED.
UM, AND WE'D HAVE TO PRESENT THAT AGREEMENT TO YOU.
RIGHT NOW THERE'S A FINAL ROUND OF EDITS THAT NEED TO BE APPROVED BY COUNSEL, UH, BY YES, BY OUR LEGAL COUNSEL THAT WERE EDITS MADE BY RETAIL STRATEGIES.
SO WE PROBABLY WON'T, THEY, WE, THEY PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HELP US WITH ICSC IN RED RIVER NO MATTER WHAT.
WE'LL, SO OUR B BOARD MEETING NEXT WEEK, WE COULD HAVE AN AGREEMENT OR YES, THE WEEK AFTER IS THE MONDAY BEFORE ICSC THAT THURSDAY.
SO WE'VE SCHEDULED THAT MEETING TO KIND OF START THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, WE COULD COUNSEL A MEETING IF THE AGREEMENT DOESN'T GO THROUGH, BUT IT'S THERE AS A PLACEHOLDER.
UM, SO THE MOTION WOULD BE FOR US TO SHOW CONSENSUS THAT WE'RE OKAY WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES AND ARE WILLING TO ENTER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE B BOARD.
THAT YOU'RE, YOU APPROVED, UH, STAFF TO CONTINUE PURSUING AN AGREEMENT WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES AND YOU'RE WILLING TO FUND 50% OF THE COST OF THAT AGREEMENT.
I KNOW WE, IF YOU, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO DO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO, LEGAL IS, I KNOW, ADDING SOME THINGS, BUT IS IT POSSIBLE TO ALSO ADD LIKE SOME OF THOSE LITTLE FINER, HERE'S OUR EXPECTATION, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, OF LIKE, INTO THAT LANGUAGE? UM, SURE.
WE COULD SHOW KIND OF WHAT, WHAT WE'VE ALREADY ASKED OF THEM.
I CAN SEND ALSO THE LINK OF, UM, WELL WE HAVE A 30 DAY CANCELLATION NOTICE WITH THEM.
SO THAT'S IF AT ANY POINT THAT'S YOU'RE DISSATISFIED, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED.
IF WE'RE UNHAPPY FOR ANY REASON, IS THERE A PENALTY ON EARLY CANCELLATION? THERE'S NOT.
OH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THE EXPECTATION SET.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? CAN IT'S CLEAR FROM US THAT THEY CAN WATCH THIS? THE SMOOTHEST.
AND I, I WOULD FOLLOW UP THOUGH, HOW IS ABOARD, LIKE, I GUESS DID ABOARD HAVE A SIM WHERE ABOARD WHERE A B BOARD
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN EQUAL VOICE IF WE ARE NOT, WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE SEEING THIS THE LEVEL OF RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT.
UM, I, I CAN SEND THE LINK, UM, FOR YOU TO SEE THAT DISCUSSION.
I DON'T WANNA LIKE OVERGENERALIZE, I THINK THAT, UM, IT WAS VERY OVERWHELMING, UM, SUPPORT
[01:35:01]
FOR STAFF TO PURSUE WHAT WE FELT WAS LIKE REALLY HELPFUL.UM, I THINK THERE WAS ONE MEMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A LITTLE INDIFFERENT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T MATTER TO THEM IF WE DO THIS OR NOT, UM, BUT KIND OF YIELDED TO THE MAJORITY, UM, SENTIMENT.
UM, THERE'S SOME THAT ARE THE EXTREME OPPOSITE.
THEY'RE VERY CONCERNED AND THEY'RE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THERE EVER BEING A LAPSE IN RETAIL RECRUITMENT SERVICE.
UM, I THINK, I THINK THAT WAS TWO MEMBERS THAT JUST ABSOLUTELY HAD SO MUCH HEARTBURN WHEN WE TERMINATED THE CONTRACT WITH RETAIL COACH WITHOUT HAVING A CONTRACT READY.
SO THEY'VE BEEN REALLY ANTSY ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE UP-TO-DATE DATA AND REPRESENTATION AT THE CONFERENCES THAT WE'RE NOT ALWAYS ABLE TO ATTEND TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF SHORE.
DO I HEAR A MOTION? UM, I WILL MOVE THAT THE, A BOARD GIVE APPROVAL TO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, PURSUING A CONTRACT WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES AND THAT THE, A BOARD IS, UM, WILLING TO FUND 50% OF THE COST IN A COST SHARING AGREEMENT WITH THE B BOARD.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
[Business - D]
NEXT ITEM DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON APPROVAL OF A RELOCATION OF THE TEXAS HERITAGE PARKWAY GATEWAY SIGN.ALL RIGHT, SO THIS ONE SHOULD BE PRETTY SHORT.
UM, WE GOT OUR RESPONSE FROM, UM, THE TEXAS HERITAGE PARKWAY GROUP.
UM, IN, IN THE MAP IN YOUR PACKET, YOU'LL SEE THEIR PROPOSED LOCATION JUST MOVES IT FURTHER UP NORTH, UM, AT THAT INTERSECTION AND, UH, PETERSON ROAD AND THP.
AND SO I JUST NEED YOUR APPROVAL TO REPORT BACK TO THEM THAT WE ARE OKAY WITH THAT RELOCATION OF THE SIGN FURTHER UP NORTH TO MOVE FORWARD.
UM, JUST AS A REFRESHER, THE, THE LAST TIME THAT WE SUBMITTED ALL OF OUR PLANS TO THEM, THEY HAD TO VISIT WITH THE ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.
AND SO THIS IS, THEY REACHED OUT AND THIS IS THE FEEDBACK THEY RECEIVED.
THEY JUST HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, CREATING CONFUSION AND DISTRACTION, HAVING IT BE SO CLOSE, UH, RIGHT AFTER THAT ROUNDABOUT.
AND SO THEY, THEIR SOLUTION WAS TO JUST CREATE A LITTLE MORE DISTANCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO LANDMARKS.
SARCASTIC, UH, I MOTION TO APPROVE THE, UH, RELOCATION OF THE TEXAS HERITAGE PARKWAY GATEWAY SIGN.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? AND THE AYES HAVE THE MOTION.
IT WAS IN REGARDS TO THE DISTRACTION.
SO THE FOUR FEET WEEDS, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN'T SEE AROUND THE ROAD.
ANYWAYS, THERE'S MY TWO SIDES ITEM
[Business - E]
E CONSIDERATION ACTION ON FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES FOR THE CORPORATION FOR THE PERIOD ENDING NOVEMBER 30TH.AT OUR LAST MEETING, WE DID NOT HAVE, UH, THE DATA AVAILABLE FOR YOU YET.
SO IN YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, YOU'LL SEE THE SALES TAX REVENUES RECEIVED IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER WE'RE UP 13% FROM THE SAME PERIOD THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
AND THEN BENEATH THAT, YOU'LL SEE THE REPORT FOR THIS MONTH, WHICH IS SALES TAX REVENUE RECEIVED IN JANUARY WAS UP 10% FROM THE SAME PERIOD THE PREVIOUS YEAR, JANUARY, DECEMBER, DECEMBER, THEN JANUARY.
IS IT BACKWARDS ON YOUR SHEET OR SO? NO.
UM, THE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACTION, FINANCIALS AND PAYABLES FROM NOVEMBER, CORRECT.
SO THE SALES TAX REPORT THAT WE GET BACK IS TWO MONTHS IN ARREARS.
WELL, ACTUALLY ALL OF THE REPORTS WE GET ARE TWO MONTHS IN ARREARS.
SO IT JUST KINDA LOOKS FUNNY ON THE REPORT FOR THE LAST MEETING, WE DID
[01:40:01]
NOT HAVE THE SALES TAX DATA IN, IN DECEMBER AVAILABLE TO US YET.SO WE JUST INCLUDED IT IN THIS.
BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ITEM E OR ITEM F OR BOTH? THIS ITEM E IS ITEM E.
DO I HEAR A MOTION REGARDING ITEM E? YES.
I WILL MAKE A MOTION THAT THE A BOARD APPROVE A PAYABLE IN THE AMOUNT OF $17,900 AND 32 CENTS.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? UH, THE MOTION PASSES.
[Business - F]
CONSIDERATION ACTION ON MINUTES OF THE CORPORATION FOR THE DECEMBER 9TH, 2024 MEETING.I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE DECEMBER 9TH MEETING.
SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
AND THE MOTION PASSES RECURRING.
[Recurring Items - A]
FOUR, A RECURRING ITEMS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT.WE HAVE EIGHT ITEMS TO REPORT ON THIS MONTH.
THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF, UH, UNFORESEEN SETBACKS THAT HAVE IMPACTED THE TIMELINE OF THE HARRIS STREET PROJECT.
SO ONE OF THOSE WAS A SAFETY INCIDENT BY A SUB-CONTRACTOR, UM, BECAUSE IT WAS A SUBCONTRACTOR, DETAILS ARE LIMITED.
IT WAS A SAFETY INCIDENT INVOLVING A POWER LINE.
UM, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO KEEP Y'ALL IN THE LOOP AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, THE SECOND WAS AN UNEXPECTED EIGHT INCH WATERLINE THAT INTERFERED WITH THE FUTURE STORM PIPE THAT WAS DISCOVERED.
SO TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE, THE WATERLINE WILL HAVE TO BE RELOCATED.
AND THIS CREATES AN ADDITIONAL COST OF $22,155 AND 15 CENTS THAT WILL BE FUNDED OUT OF THE CURRENT CONTINGENCY FUND OF $75,000.
SO IT'S NOT, UM, ANY ADDITIONAL REQUEST OR ASK OR INCREASES THE AGREED AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THAT THE EDC COMMITTED TO THE PUBLIC WORKS TEAM.
UM, CAN I ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION? YES, MA'AM.
DOES THE CITY'S GIS CAPABILITIES, DOES IT SHOW WATERLINES? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY, UH, KEEP DATA ON IN THE WHOLE GIS MAPPING THING? IT IT IS, BUT THEY RELY ON OTHER DATA PROVIDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S UP TO DATE AND SOMETIMES THAT DATA IS INCORRECT OR IT LAGS.
AND SO IT REQUIRES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF REVIEW, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO OUR BEST TO KEEP UP WITH IT.
BUT YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS JUST, UM, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE, THE DATES THAT THOSE PLANS WERE CREATED AND, YOU KNOW, DIGITIZING THEM AND INCLUDING THEM, IT JUST WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS UNFORESEEN.
SO THEY'RE CORRECTING THAT IN THE GIS DATABASE NOW? YES, MA'AM.
THAT, THAT'S EXPECTATIONS THAT, UM, THIS IS GOING TO BE FOR EVERY PROJECT WE DO IN DOWNTOWN OR IN THE SHORE AREA.
THIS IS, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE RUNNING INTO THIS CONSTANTLY.
I WOULD ASK, CAN WE GET FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, THEIR PROACTIVE PLAN TO MITIGATE ANY ADDITIONAL WATER LINES, UM, AS THEY CONTINUE WITH THE RE STREET HARRIS STREET DEVELOPMENT? YES, MA'AM.
I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE HAD PEOPLE COME OUT AND TELL ME WHERE MY IRRIGATION SYSTEMS LINE AR LINES ARE, BUT I DON'T KNOW, UH, THOSE ARE ABOUT FIVE OR SIX INCHES DEEP.
THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PROBABLY SEVERAL, SEVERAL, SEVERAL FEET DEEP MM-HMM
EVEN WITH, UM, THOSE SETBACKS, THE ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE REMAINS LATE SUMMER.
SO IF THAT CHANGES, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO REPORT BACK, BUT I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE TO REQUEST THAT, UM, AND GET BACK WITH Y'ALL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON HARRIS STREET OR EAST SIDE DRAINAGE? OH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS, OH, SORRY,
OKAY, NUMBER TWO, EAST SIDE DRAINAGE.
SO, UM, FOR THIS PROJECT, UH, DRAINAGE EASEMENT IS REQUIRED.
[01:45:01]
AND PAS UH, LAND ACQUISITION CONSULTANT SENT AN OFFER PACKAGE TO THE LANDOWNER ON JUNE 24TH.UM, THE LANDOWNER RESPONDED TO THAT OFFER ON JULY 17TH.
SO CITY STAFF AND THE PROPERTY OWNER ARE IN CONTINUED NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING THAT EASEMENT.
UM, ARE CITY MANAGERS NOW HANDLING THAT DISCUSSION WITH THE LEGAL TEAM AND THE LANDOWNER? UM, SO UNTIL WE HAVE THAT EASEMENT WORKED OUT, THERE REALLY ISN'T A WAY TO ESTIMATE, ESTIMATE WHAT THE COMPLETION OR START DATE ON THAT PROJECT COULD BE.
UM, I KNOW THE, THE LANDOWNER HAS, UH, I BELIEVE SWITCHED LEGAL COUNSEL AND HAS TWO ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING DIFFERENT ASPECTS.
UM, SO IT'S JUST CR CREATED A LITTLE BIT OF A COMPLICATION, BUT THE CITY AND THE CITY'S LEGAL TEAM IS DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN ON THEIR END TO KEEP THAT MOVING FORWARD.
SO IF, IF WE DO HEAR BACK FOR A FINALIZED AGREEMENT, WE'LL REPORT BACK AS WELL.
ITEM NUMBER THREE, OUR, OUR DOWNTOWN MURAL.
SO ARE WE, SORRY, ARE WE CLEAR THAT, UM, WE HAVE LIMITED GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DOWNTOWN FULL AREA BECAUSE OF A DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN LAND VALUE WITH A PROPERTY OWNER? ARE WE IN A AGREE OR, I MEAN, WHAT I JUST SAID IS FACTUALLY CORRECT.
IS THAT TRUE FOR THIS PROJECT? FOR THIS PROJECT THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OR BARRIERS STANDING IN THE WAY OF MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT? YEAH, SO MY POINT IS THAT ANYONE LISTENING OR WATCHING OR INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE CITY OF SHORE IS LIMITED IN ITS ABILITY TO GROW AND BRING IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE RETAIL THAT WE WANT BECAUSE OF LIMITATIONS IN NEGOTIATION WITH THE CURRENT LANDOWNER.
CAN THE, CAN THE CITY MOVE FORWARD AND I FORGET, WHAT'S THE TERM WHEN THEY JUST, IT'S NOT INDEMNIFICATION.
WHAT'S IMMINENT? THE TERM YOU'RE NAME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS IMMINENT DOMAIN.
YEAH, THAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR, IS THAT DOES THAT, THIS AND THE STATE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR OUR CITY MANAGER AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR.
BUT YOU CAN, AND LEGAL TEAM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN GOOGLE ON YOUR OWN MM-HMM
UM, HOW THE, THE, THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF OWNERS, UM, HAVE GROWN AND CITIES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LIMITED, AT LEAST COMPARED TO OTHER PLACES, WHICH THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO BOTH.
IT'S JUST THIS IS THE WORLD WE'RE LIVING IN AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE STUCK RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, I THOUGHT THAT, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAD THE POWER OF IMMINENT DOMAIN FOR ROADS.
I GUESS THE QUESTION I HAD IS, DOES THAT ALSO WORK FOR DRAINAGE EASEMENTS? BUT WHATEVER.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A LEGAL COUNSEL, CITY MANAGER QUESTION.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON EAST SIDE DRAINAGE PROJECT? ALL RIGHT, I'LL MOVE TO ITEM THREE, OUR DOWNTOWN MURAL.
SO WE'VE FINALIZED THAT, OUR ARTWORK AND OUR, IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, FINALIZING THE LEGAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE CITY, UM, AND THE ARTIST.
ONCE THOSE ARE, UM, COMPLETED, WE WILL PRESENT THE RN THE AGREEMENT TO THE PROPERTY OWNER FOR THEIR APPROVAL.
SO WE'LL KEEP YOU ALL POSTED ON THAT.
AND AS REQUESTED BY YOUR BOARD PRESIDENT, MR. BRIAN WHITE
SO THAT IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 10TH AT 6:00 PM AND I THINK HAYDEN INCLUDED IN, WAS IT LAST MONTH'S PACKET OR THE PACKET BEFORE THAT MATRIX ALSO THAT HAD, UM, THAT CHART WITH ALL OF THE UPCOMING DATES.
SO UNLESS THERE'S A, A CONFLICT OR WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE WE HAVE TO RESCHEDULE, THOSE ARE THE SCHEDULED DATES FOR OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS.
ITEM FIVE, JUST A HOLIDAY EVENT RECAP.
IT FEELS KIND OF FUNNY TO DO THIS, BUT, UM, THE MAJORITY OF OUR EVENTS THAT WE HOSTED DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER WE'RE AFTER OUR, UH, DECEMBER MEETING.
SO JUST, UM, RECAP TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HOSTED THE THREE SATURDAYS BEFORE, UM, CHRISTMAS FOLLOWING THE TREE LIGHTING AT THE END OF THE MONTH IN NOVEMBER.
UM, THE FIRST ONE WAS AN EVENT AT DOER'S BARBECUE.
THE SECOND SATURDAY WAS AN EVENT AT TIFFANY'S TINY FLOWER TRUCK.
AND THE LAST WEEK WAS AN EVENT AT DOGWOOD LANE.
[01:50:01]
VERY WELL BY THE COMMUNITY.UM, SOME WERE EXTREMELY WELL ATTENDED, SOME HAD A REALLY GOOD CROWD THAT MADE IT REALLY FUN, BUT DEFINITELY COULD USE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE'RE REASSESSING WITH THOSE BUSINESS OWNERS AND, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT EFFORT IN THE COMING YEARS OF REACHING OUT.
UM, NOT JUST IN PARTNERING WITH BUSINESSES, BUT MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO MARKET THE EVENTS THAT OUR, UH, LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE PUTTING ON THEMSELVES AND INVESTING THEIR DOLLARS INTO.
SO, UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, WE CREATED A QR CODE AND BANNERS THAT WE'LL USE YEAR AFTER YEAR.
AND THAT TAKES RESIDENTS TO A HOLIDAY CALENDAR AROUND THE CITY.
SO ANY HOLIDAY THEMED EVENT THE WHOLE MONTH OF DECEMBER, IF THAT BUSINESS OWNER SUBMITS IT TO US, WE WILL ADD IT TO THE CALENDAR.
AND NOW ANY RESIDENT CAN SAY, OKAY, WHAT'S THERE TO DO THIS WEEKEND? AND WE DID HAVE A FEW THAT WERE ON THE SAME DAY, UM, THAT WE ADDED TO THE WEBSITE.
SO THEY HAD SOMETHING TO DO EVERY DAY, ALL, ALL THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
AND IF THERE'S ANY IDEAS THAT YOU ALL SEE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HERE, PLEASE ALWAYS SHARE THOSE WITH US.
UM, EVEN IF THEY ARE FOR OTHER HOLIDAYS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN REWORK AND REBRAND TO BE FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
UM, ITEM SIX, WE JUST WANTED TO KEEP Y'ALL AWARE THAT, UM, AN OUTLINE WAS PROVIDED TO CITY, CITY LEADERSHIP, UM, FOR THEM TO UTILIZE FOR THIS UPCOMING, OR I GUESS WE'RE IN IT NOW, THE A DA LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, A LOT OF, ESSENTIALLY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ASKED, UM, IT WAS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT SHARE THEIR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE SUPPORT BILLS THAT ENCOURAGE THIS AND OPPOSE BILLS THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, LIMIT THIS CITY, UM, FUNCTION.
AND SO, UM, HAYDEN SITS ON THE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE FOR, UM, TEDC.
AND SO WITH THAT, THEY SEND A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PURSUING AS A WHOLE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
SOME OF THOSE ITEMS DON'T APPLY TO CITIES THE SIZE OF OURS, BUT THOSE THAT DID, WE DID PASS ALONG.
AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS REPORTING TO COUNCIL ON THAT.
SO THEY'RE GONNA MAKE A, AN EFFORT THIS YEAR RECOGNIZING THAT A LOT OF THAT LEGISLATION CAUSES BIG IMPACTS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING INFORMED AND BEING AS PROACTIVE AS POSSIBLE AS WE CAN IN, IN THE PROCESS TO REALLY, UM, EXPLAIN TO OUR LEGISLATORS HOW HOW THOSE PROPOSALS ARE WOULD IMPACT, UM, OUR BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOCALLY.
UM, SO I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH A LIST OF THAT IF YOU'RE CURIOUS, UM, THROUGH TEDC AS WELL, WHICH IF YOU WANNA BE A MEMBER OF, WE HAVE A BUDGET ITEM TO HELP WITH, UM, TRAINING AND ALL OF THAT AVAILABLE TO YOU.
SO YOU CAN ALSO FORM PART OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE OR, UM, JUST PARTICIPATE IN ANY WORKSHOPS AS THEY UPDATE THROUGH THE SESSION.
BUT WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO KEEP YOU POSTED ON ANYTHING THAT'S COMING UP OR ANY CHANGES THAT YOU KNOW, COULD BE MADE TO CURRENT LEGISLATION.
UH, ITEM SEVEN, FILM FRIENDLY AND BREW CITY DESIGNATIONS.
SO WE'VE, UM, OFFICIALLY BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE BREW CITY TEXAS PROGRAM THROUGH THE TEXAS CRAFT BREWER GUILD.
AND, UM, THE REASON THIS PROGRAM EXISTS IS TO PROPEL TEXAS TO THE FOREFRONT OF CRAFT BEARD GENERATED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM.
SO, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, UM, THAT INDUSTRY HAS GENERATED AN ESTIMATED $4.5 BILLION TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY, UH, ECONOMY ANNUALLY.
AND SO WE WERE JUST HOPING TO JUST TAP INTO A RESOURCE THAT GETS THE NAME OF FULL SHARE OUT THERE ON, ON A STATE WEBSITE AS PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERING WHERE THEY CAN TRAVEL AND REALLY DO OUR BEST TO, TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, HALO PROJECT.
THEY WERE IN IT, IF I HAD TO GUESS, THEY COULD PROBABLY USE A BIGGER BUILDING THAN THEY'VE MOVED INTO.
THEY HAVE JUST REALLY MASTERED, UM, THE, THE ART OF HOSTING EVENTS WHERE, UM, THEY'RE ALSO BRINGING IN FOOD TRUCKS AND JUST REALLY ACTIVATING THAT PARKING LOT.
SO WE JUST WANNA CONTINUE TO SHARE THAT AND FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT THAT WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, WE'LL ALSO BE PURSUING THE FILM FRIENDLY COMMUNITY DESIGNATION THAT PROCESSES A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT IT'S IN THE WORKS AND JUST WANTED TO KEEP Y'ALL INFORMED ON THAT FRONT AS WELL.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE UPCOMING TRAVEL AND TRAINING.
SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, MYSELF AND KELSEY WILL BE ATTENDING ICSE JANUARY 29TH THROUGH THE 31ST.
AND THEN, UM, I WILL BE ATTENDING THE AUSTIN LEGISLATIVE SESSION THROUGH THE FORT BEND LEADERSHIP PROGRAM, UM, IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND HAYDEN WILL BE COMPLETING THE TEDC BASIC COURSE IN WACO, FEBRUARY 10TH THROUGH THE 14TH.
AND HE ALSO STARTED HIS VERY FIRST DAY AT TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY
[01:55:01]
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR MY REPORT.
UM, AND CONGRATULATIONS, HAYDEN.
WE'RE GONNA NEED HELP IN LAND AND DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION, SO IT'S, IT'S GOOD CHOICE.
[Recurring Items - B]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, ANY TOPICS YOU WANNA SEE IN THE FUTURE.AND WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO ADD ITEMS. WE, WE HAVE ALWAYS ADDED ITEMS SO FAR AT THIS POINT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF ITEMS ON THE LIST.
CAN I MOVE TO THE NEXT? OKAY, SURE.
YEAH, IF Y'ALL THINK OF ANYTHING, AS ALWAYS, LET US KNOW.
[Recurring Items - C]
ANNOUNCEMENTS TO BE MADE.UM, SO I WAS ACCEPTED TO THE INAUGURAL CLASS OF THE FULCHER ACADEMY FOR CIVIC TRAINING AND SERVICE, WHICH IS A EIGHT WEEK, SIX WEEK, I SHOULD KNOW THIS, UH, PROGRAM.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE EACH MONDAY STARTING NEXT WEEK.
UM, SO, UH, WELL I MAY OR MAY NOT BE IN ATTENDANCE TO THE EDC MEETING BASED OFF OF WHAT THE SCHEDULE LOOKS LIKE FOR THAT.
UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY IF I'M NEEDED FOR A QUORUM, I CAN BE AVAILABLE.
I CAN MISS UP TO TWO SESSIONS, BUT I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND JUST LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR LOCAL CITY GOVERNMENT AND HOW EVERYBODY ALL WORKS TOGETHER.
IT'S EIGHT WEEKS, I THINK IT'S EIGHT WEEKS.
THEY, I THOUGHT THEY SAID EIGHT WEEKS, BUT I FEEL LIKE THE MATH DIDN'T 10 WEEKS.
YEAH, IT, IT MIGHT BE 10 WEEKS TECHNICALLY, BUT I THINK ONE'S LIKE A QUICK ORIENTATION BEFORE.
SO, AND I'M, SO I DON'T REMEMBER WITH CERTAINTY BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE PART OF ALL THE CONVERSATIONS OF, SHOULD THIS BE A SIX WEEK OR A 12, I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE
WELL AND I THINK, AND THEN I STARTED LIKE, YEAH, DOING THE MATH OF LIKE, IF IT'S LIKE 10 WEEKS, BUT YOU CAN MISS TWO, WELL THEN IT'S EIGHT.
ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? OKAY.
DO I HEAR A MOTION TO ADJOURN? I MOVE.
I SECOND WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
AND WE CLOSE THE MEETING AT 7 59 ON RIGHT UNDER THE LONGEST.