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[1. Establishment of a quorum and call to order. ]
WE GOOD? CITY MANAGER.UH, SORRY ABOUT THE, TO THIS, UH, COUPLE OF, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS.
WE ALL, WELL, I HAD AN APPOINTMENT THIS MORNING, SO I HAD TO BE A LITTLE LATE, AND I DID INFORM, UH, THE, OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
SO AT THIS TIME, WE WILL GET STARTED.
NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DOWNTOWN TURF.
WE'LL HOLD A MEETING IN PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER THE 14TH AT 10:00 AM ON THE FIFTH FLOOR OF THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT 4 44 FOURTH STREET, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
THIS MEETING WILL ALSO BE HELD BY TELEPHONIC AND VIDEO CONFERENCE.
IN ADDITION TO ALLOW THE PERSONS AND ATTENDANCE, A QUORUM OF THE TURF BOARD WILL BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR CHAMBERS ON THE FIFTH FLOOR.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DIAL IN, THE NUMBER IS, UM, EXCUSE ME, THE NUMBER IS 1 8 1 8 77 8 5 3 5 2 4 7.
THE MEETING ID NUMBER IS 8 78 2 9.
SO AT THIS TIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO START THIS MEETING.
WE WOULD ASK OUR CITY ATTORNEY IF SHE WOULD ESTABLISH A FORM.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS KINLAW.
CHAIRMAN, CITY OF PORT ARTHUR PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER, CITY OF PORT ARTHUR.
PRESENT COUNTY COMMISSIONER MICHAEL SHANE SINEGAL.
JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONER.
JEFFERSON COUNTY DRAINAGE DISTRICT NUMBER SEVEN.
COMMISSIONER SABINE NATURES NAVIGATION DISTRICT.
COMMISSIONER PORTER, PORT ARTHUR.
UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, YOU HAVE A QUORUM.
[2. Approval of Minutes from the previous Downtown TIRZ #1 Board Meeting held on October 20, 2022. ]
NUMBER TWO, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS DOWNTOWN TURF NUMBER ONE BOARD MEETING HELD IN OCTOBER THE 20TH, 2022.MAY I HAVE A MOTION, JOE MOVE? MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.
AND SECOND THAT WE APPROVED THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER THE 20TH, 2020 SECOND.
ANY QUESTIONS? IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, I NOW CALLED FOR A VOTE.
ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
THOSE OPPOSE THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
NEXT NUMBER THREE, PRESENTATION
[3. Presentation by Freese and Nichols regarding the City of Port Arthur's Downtown Plan. ]
BY FRIES NICHOLS REGARDING THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR DOWNTOWN PLAN, CITY ATTORNEY.YES, WE, UH, HAVE OUR, TODAY IS OUR WORKSHOP, WHICH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN OUR STANDARD BOARD MEETING.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO WAS, UM, KIND OF TALK ABOUT OUR DOWNTOWN PLAN IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR TURS PLAN.
AND, UM, SO WE HAVE INVITED FREEZING NICKS TO GIVE A PRESENTATION FOR US, AND I BELIEVE THEY HAVE SOMETHING ON THE OVERHEAD AS WELL.
SO AT THIS TIME, IF THEY'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR, UH, DOWNTOWN PLAN AND GIVE US A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT THAT.
AND MRS. IS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, WILL INTRODUCE THEM.
UM, WE ARE EXCITED TO BE HERE, UH, TO JUST GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2016.
I'M JUST UP HERE TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW BEFORE OUR GROUP WITH FRIESEN NICHOLS, UM, GIVES MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE SECTION OF THAT PLAN.
IN 2014, OUR THEN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR RONALD BURTON, WHO IS NOW OUR CITY MANAGER, RECORDING IN PROGRESS HEAD THE VISION TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR THAT WOULD BUILD ON DECADES OF EFFORT, HISTORY, AND CULTURE SUCCESSES, URBAN CONTEXT AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS.
THE PLAN WAS TO BE USED AS A POLICY DOCUMENT TO GUIDE PUBLIC FUNDING AND ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENTS, WHILE PROVIDING A PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK LAYOUT AND CATALYST ACTIONS TO PROMOTE THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
WHILE THE PLANS FOUNDATION WAS BASED ON EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM THE PAST, ITS FOCUS WAS TO PROVIDE A FORWARD OUTLOOK ON MARKET POTENTIALS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, AND PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULD GIVE DOWNTOWN AND EVEN MORE ROBUST AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.
WITH THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OF THE PORT ARTHUR.
SECTION FOUR, A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, AND THE MARDI GRAS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED RESOLUTION NUMBER 14 DASH 180 6.
THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZED A CONTRACT WITH THREE S INCORPORATED, WHO IS A TEXAS BASED ENGINEERING PLANNING, ARCHITECTURAL,
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AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT FIRM, ESTABLISHED IN 9 18 94 TO SPEARHEAD THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PORT ARTHUR DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PLAN.THE PROJECT WAS DIVIDED INTO THREE PHASES, WHICH INCLUDED DATA COLLECTION, COLLABORATION, AND ANALYSIS, AND PLANS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE CITY'S PLANNING STAFF AND THE PROJECT TEAM OF FRIES AND NICHOLS CONDUCTED SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS, REPRESENTATIVES OF LAMAR STATE COLLEGE, PORT ARTHUR, AND THE PORT ARTHUR INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE PORT, THE PORT OF PORT ARTHUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND DOWNTOWN STAKEHOLDERS.
THE MEETING'S PURPOSE WAS TO GAUGE EACH REPRESENTED GROUP'S NEEDS, DESIRES, AND FUTURE PLANS IN DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR.
BECAUSE MUCH HAD BEEN STUDIED IN SEVERAL LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS HAD INDIVIDUAL PLANS FOR PORTIONS OF DOWNTOWN.
THE PROJECT TEAM APPROACHED THIS EFFORT AS AN IMPLEMENTATION FOCUS PLAN IN WHICH PREVIOUS ACTIONS WERE COMBINED WITH NEW MARKET DRIVEN STRATEGIES.
AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE PLAN'S INCLUSIVENESS.
WHAT WAS A 10 YEAR OLD STREET BEAUTIFICATION PLAN FUNDED BY EDC WAS INCORPORATED BECAUSE IT PROVIDED IDEAS OF INCREASING THE ATTRACTIVENESS AND WALKABILITY OF THE AREA OF PROCTOR STREET, BETWEEN THE PAVILION PEOPLE'S PARK, AND 5 0 1 PROCTOR STREET.
ONCE THE UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA WAS EXAMINED WITH SMOKE TESTS AND CAMERA FOOTAGE, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE UNDERGROUND STORM SEWER LINES AND INLETS WERE FAR TOO SMALL TO HANDLE INCREASED FOOT AND ROAD TRAFFIC.
THE DRINKING WATER AND SANITARY SEWERS ALSO NEED MARKED IMPROVEMENTS BEFORE ANY STREETSCAPING COULD BEGIN ABOVE GROUND TO PREVENT DESTROYING ANY ABOVE GROUND BEAUTIFICATION EFFORTS.
THE PLAN BECAME THE FIRST IN THE NATION TO INTEGRATE A MARKET ANALYSIS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK, INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, AND URBAN DESIGN INTO ONE DOCUMENT.
THIS EARNED THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION'S TEXAS CHAPTER LONG RANGE PLANNING AWARD ON NOVEMBER 4TH, 2016.
TOGETHER, LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL TRENDS HAVE LED THIS PLAN TO THE UNDERLYING BELIEF THAT A VIBRANT AND HEALTHY URBAN SETTING IS THE BEST FORMULA TO MAINTAIN A DOWNTOWN SIGNIFICANT ROLE AS THE HUB OF ACTIVITIES, A HEADQUARTER FOR BUSINESSES AND A FOCAL POINT OF CIVIC INSTITUTIONS.
THE DOWNTOWN PLAN HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED IN PART UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE FOLLOWING TRENDS AND ASSUMPTIONS.
THE MILLENNIAL POPULATION HAS EXPECTATIONS REGARDING URBAN ENVIRONMENTS AND MIXED USE URBAN AREAS, IN PARTICULAR, KNOWLEDGE-BASED WORKERS SUCH AS ENGINEERS, DOCTORS, ARCHITECTS, SCIENTISTS, ACCOUNTANTS, LAWYERS, AND TEACHERS FIND DISTRICTS APPEALING THAT INCLUDE WALKABLE ENVIRONMENTS WITH SMALL SCALE AMENITIES SUCH AS CAFES, GALLERIES, AND INDEPENDENT STORES.
CONSUMER PREFERENCES ARE CHANGING BASED ON THE RISE OF CREATIVE CLASS, AS DEFINED BY RICHARD FLORIDA.
THIS INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE SECTOR OF THE WORK WORKFORCE COMPRISES 40 MILLION WORKERS.
THERE IS A PENT OF DEMAND FOR WALKABLE PLACES, AND THE NEED FOR WALKABLE URBANISM WILL REPRESENT AT LEAST ONE THIRD OF THE US HOUSING MARKET EXPERIENCE IN PLACE MATTER.
WHEN CHOOSING A SHOPPING LOCATION, MANY BUYERS EXPECT SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN A VARIETY OF AMENITIES.
NOT ALL INDIVIDUALS WANT TO LIVE IN WALKABLE URBAN PLACE, BUT THEY ALL EXPECT THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO AT VARIOUS TIMES IN THEIR LIFE.
THEY WILL GRAVITATE TO METRO AREAS THAT OFFER MUL MULTIPLE HOUSING CHOICES FOR THIS PURPOSE.
HOUSING NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS ARE CHANGING BASED ON NATIONAL AND LOCAL TRENDS, INCLUDING SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS, DECREASED HOUSEHOLD SIZES, AND AGING POPULATIONS.
THIS RELATES DIRECTLY TO SMALLER HOUSEHOLD SIZES, THE INCREASE IN SINGLE PERSON HOUSEHOLDS AND HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT CHILDREN, AND TO AMPLIFY DEMAND FOR HOUSING VARIETY ASSOCIATED WITH AN AGING BABY BOOMER POPULATION.
DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR SHOULD POSITION ITSELF TO ATTRACT NEW WORKERS, AND THOSE THAT EMPLOY THEM, CAPITAL AND TALENT OR MOBILE AND SOME PLACES, WILL MAKE THE INVESTMENTS TO ATTRACT THEM AND PROSPER WHILE OTHERS WILL NOT.
DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR SHOULD POSITION ITSELF AS A VIBRANT, VIBRANT DISTRICT THAT ENTICES AND SERVES THE NEXT GENERATION OF COMPANIES PROFESSIONALS, UCA EDUCATORS, AND RESEARCHERS, POSITIONING DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR'S PARTNERSHIP WITH LAMAR STATE COLLEGE, PUBLIC SCHOOL AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS WHERE CREATE A DESTINATION FOR
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LIFELONG LEARNING.THESE AFFILIATIONS WILL MOST LIKELY YIELD SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND IMAGE BENEFITS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE PRESENT AND FUTURE COMPANIES, RESIDENTS AND WORKERS.
TODAY, I HAVE ASKED MR. SHAD COMO, MR. RICHARD WEATHERLY AND MR. HECTOR ALMOST WERE FREE AND NICHOLS, TO JOIN US TO DISCUSS THEIR WORK IN STUDYING THE UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE IN DEVELOPING THE WATER WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER MODELING FOR THE DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR AREA.
FOR AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN OBTAINING A DIGITAL COPY OF THAT PLAN, IF YOU PLEASE CAN GET WITH ME FOLLOWING TODAY'S WORKSHOP, I WILL ENSURE THAT YOU DO GET A COPY.
WE CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS TIME,
UM, BUT GOOD MORNING TO THE, TO THE CHAIRMAN AND TO THE, TO THE TUR BOARD.
I'M A PRINCIPAL AND VICE PRESIDENT AT FRIES AND NICKELS, LOCATED IN OUR APPAREL LAND OFFICE.
AND IN 2015 16, I HAD THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE AS A PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
I ALSO HAVE WITH ME, UH, HECTOR, ALMOST, WHO, UH, SERVED AS THE STORMWATER LEAD FOR THE DOWNTOWN PLAN INFRASTRUCTURE SIDE, AND RICHARD WEATHERLY, WHO SERVED AS THE WATER WASTEWATER, UM, LEAD ENGINEER, UH, FOR THE PROJECT.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH A, UH, A BRIEF, WE'LL GO THROUGH A BRIEF, UH, PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL COMMENTS, UM, AT THAT TIME.
SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU, UH, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW, HIGHLIGHT SOME THINGS THAT, THAT PAM MENTIONED, UM, EARLIER IN HER INTRODUCTION AROUND THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
UM, IT WAS, IT WAS ESTABLISHED AS A, AS A VISION PLAN, BUT IT ALSO HAD A, AS PAM MENTIONED, UH, PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME, MANY DOWNTOWN PLANS DO NOT INCLUDE AN INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT TO THE DEPTH THAT, UH, WAS, UH, TAKEN ON THIS PROJECT WITH ENGINEERING MODELS AND TESTS DONE AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, IT WAS SUCH A, UH, IMPRESSIVE PROJECT, UH, THAT THE CITY TOOK ON THAT IT WON THE AMERICAN PLANNING, UH, TEXAS MAN, TEXAS AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION AWARD IN 2016.
UM, THIS WAS THE STUDY AREA, UH, THAT WAS, UH, LOOKED AT AT THAT TIME IN 2016 HOUSTON AVENUE ON THE WEST, UH, LAKE LAKE CHARLES ON THE EAST SEVENTH STREET TO THE NORTH, AND THEN ALL THE WAY TO THE INTERCOSTAL, UH, INTERCOSTAL, UH, CANAL.
UH, SO A VERY BROAD, UH, STUDY, UH, STUDY AREA.
AND IT WAS VERY, UH, A LOT OF, UH, BIG ENTITIES AT THE TIME.
LAMAR STATE COLLEGE, OF COURSE, THE, THE, THE CITY, UM, POLICE STATION AND SOME OTHER ENTITIES WERE, UH, WITHIN THIS STUDY AREA.
UH, THE MAJOR COMPONENTS TO THIS PLAN, AS MENTIONED, WAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT, UH, LOOKING AT THE STORM WATER, WASTE, WATER AND WATER COMPONENTS.
IT ALSO HAD AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMPONENT AS WELL, AND A MARKET ANALYSIS.
AND THEN WHAT'S WAS REALLY IMPORTANT AT THE END OF THE PLAN, IT, IT BROUGHT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OR WHAT WE CALL THE SHORT TERM, UH, WORK PROGRAM TO GET SOME THINGS IN PLACE TO, TO, UH, KICK OFF THE PLAN.
THIS WAS THE OVERALL MASTER PLAN THAT WAS DEVELOPED.
UH, THE YELLOW, UH, COLOR THAT YOU SEE THERE REPRESENTED, UH, SING EITHER SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL OR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
UH, THE RED REPRESENTED COMMERCIAL RETAIL PURPLE, UH, WAS, UH, LIGHT, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, UM, SLASH INSTITUTIONAL.
AND SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE WAS, UH, VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF CATALYST AREAS THROUGHOUT THE, UH, STUDY AREA.
SO HERE YOU'LL SEE THESE, UH, SIX CATALYST AREAS.
UM, IF YOU, UH, CAN SEE, UH, SOME OF THOSE, THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE OF THOSE CATALYST AREAS TODAY THAT HAVE ACTIVITY OR PROJECTS, UM, THAT ARE, ARE, UH, BEEN BUILT, ARE CURRENTLY BEING BUILT.
UM, IT WAS NICE TO SEE THE MULTIFAMILY, UH, RESIDENTIAL TOWN HOMES, UM, THAT ARE, ARE BEING BUILT RIGHT DOWN THE STREET.
AND I THINK IT WAS PRETTY MUCH EXACTLY WHERE, UM, THE, THE PLAN AND VISION IT.
AND SO, UH, THIS JUST, UH, SHOWS THAT PLANNING IS VERY IMPORTANT AND KUDOS TO THE CITY FOR TAKING ON THIS, THIS, UH, PROJECT AND THIS PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO LAY A FOUNDATION, UH, FOR WHAT YOU ALL ARE SEEING HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN TODAY.
SO, JUST QUICKLY, JUST GOING THROUGH SOME IMAGES, UH, OF SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE IN THE PLAN.
UH, THE PEOPLE'S PARK WAS, WAS RECOMMENDED TO BE ENHANCED AT THE TIME OF THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
THE EDC WAS ALREADY, UH, BEING RENOVATED.
UH, THE EC HAD MADE THAT CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST DOWNTOWN TO SHOW THEIR INVESTMENT.
UM, AND SO THEIR, THEIR FACILITY WAS BEING RENOVATED, UM, UH, AT THAT TIME, THE PAVILION AS WELL.
UM, AND THESE ARE JUST SOME IMAGES OF, OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT COULD BE, UH, SEEN HERE HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE.
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SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER, HECTOR TO TALK ABOUT THE STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE.SO ON THE STORMWATER SIDE, I WANT TO GUIDE YOU, WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE FOLLOW TO COME UP WITH THE STORM WATER COMPONENTS I MADE INTO THE PLAN.
SO AT THE VERY FOUNDATION, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE, WHAT KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE WITHIN THE STUDY AREA.
SO WE SPEND A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME WITH PEOPLE IN THE FIELD, BOOTS ON THE GROUND, IDENTIFYING HOW THE WATER, HOW THE STORM WATER IS BEING INTERCEPTED FROM THE STREETS TAKEN UNDERGROUND, AND THEN WHAT, WHICH PATH IT TAKES ONCE IT'S UNDERGROUND, OR IF THE RAINFALL IS JUST SO INTENSE THAT IT HAS TO FIND A PATH ABOVE GROUND.
ONCE WE HAD THAT INFORMATION, WE PUT TOGETHER SOME ENGINEERING MODELS TO TRY TO EVALUATE A SERIES OF STORM EVENTS.
AND KEEP IN MIND, ALL OF THIS WAS DONE BACK IN 20 15, 20 16, AND I'M NOT REALLY SURE IF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S OUT THERE IN PLACE TODAY IS SIMILAR OR IF IT HAS CHANGED TO WHAT WAS BACK, WHAT WAS IN PLACE BACK THEN.
ONCE WE, WE HAD THE EXISTING CONDITIONS EVALUATED, WE THEN KNEW WHERE THERE WERE ISSUES WITH THE, SORRY, ONE.
WE KNEW WHERE THERE WAS A NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS, AND WE NEEDED TO FOLLOW CURRENT DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA AT THE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SIZE THE THING, THE, THE INLETS AND STORM DRAINS CORRECTLY, SO THAT WE COULD THEN PROVIDE A GOOD LEVEL OF SERVICE TO ALL THE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD BE BUILT AS PART OF THIS MASTER PLAN.
AND YOU WILL SEE HERE IN A MINUTE, A COUPLE OF EXHIBITS SHOWING YOU THE, THE END RESULT OF, OF THAT EVALUATION.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS WHOLE AREA IN DOWNTOWN DRAINS SOLELY WITH THE HELP OF THE STONEWATER PUMP STATIONS THAT ARE BY THE SEA WALL.
SO, DD SEVEN HAS TWO STONEWATER PUMP STATIONS THAT HELP TAKE THAT WATER OVER THE SEA WALL AND OUT INTO THE HS RIVER.
AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT HERE IN A MINUTE.
ONCE WE HAD THE ULTIMATE PICTURE OF WHAT WE NEEDED IN TERMS OF STONEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE, WE THEN PARCELED OUT IN TERMS OF CATALYST PROJECTS.
SO WE WORKED TOGETHER WITH CHAD AND HIS TEAM, AND WE IDENTIFIED ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT VARIOUS CATALYST PROJECTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO GO BACK LATER ON AND RIP OUT THE NEW STREETS AND, AND MAKE ANY CHANGES IN THE FUTURE.
THIS MAP SHOWS THE RESULTS OF THE EXISTING CONDITION ANALYSIS, AND YOU SEE A LOT OF BLUE.
SO BLUE MEANS AREAS THAT WOULD BE INUNDATED.
AND THIS STORM EVENT IS A FAIRLY FREQUENT STORM EVENT.
SO IT'S ABOUT A FIVE YEAR STORM EVENT, IF I BELIEVE, UH, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY.
SO, UH, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, YOU SEE THE HOUSTON PUMP STATIONS OVER TO THE LEFT, AND THEN THE SHREVEPORT PUMP STATIONS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
THOSE ARE THE TWO PUMP STATIONS THAT TAKE CARE OF ALL THAT WATER THAT, THAT IS COLLECTED BY THE STORM SEWER SYSTEMS AND PUMP IT OVER THE SEA WALL.
WE IDENTIFY THAT ALMOST ALL OF THIS INFRASTRUCTURE WAS PASSED BEYOND THEIR USEFUL LIFE, UH, ABOUT 40, 50 YEARS OLD.
AND MOST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STREETS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
WATER JUST CANNOT BE CAPTURED FROM THE STREETS AND TAKEN UNDERGROUND AND INTO THE PUMP STATIONS.
AND THE VERY LITTLE WATER THAT MAKES IT TO THE PUMP STATIONS IS JUST OVERWHELMS THE PUMP STATIONS AND RESULTS IN FLOODING.
SO THE PLAN THAT WE CAME UP WITH IS SUMMARIZED HERE ON THE SCREEN.
THE VARIOUS LETTERS REPRESENT CATALYST AREAS.
SO WE HAVE CATALYST PROJECTS, A, B, AND D, AND F AND THEY'RE COLOR CODED TO IMPLEMENT THE FIRST CATALYST AREA.
A, WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT ALL THE RED, UH, IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THESE ARE FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT, UH, STORMS, WATER IMPROVEMENTS ALL UNDERGROUND AND AS WELL AS IN THE SURFACE.
BUT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT ALL WORK, WE ALSO HAVE TO FIX THE, OR IMPROVE THE PUMP STATIONS, UH, PUMP STATION HOUSTON, WHICH IS IN THE BOTTOM LEFT, HAS TO DOUBLE IN CAPACITY.
AND THE ONE STRIP SHREVEPORT IN THE MIDDLE HAS TO TRIPLE ITS CAPACITY JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT THE PLAN THAT WE HAD IN MIND THAT WE DEVELOPED FOR DOWNTOWN AND, AND WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE HAD ADDITIONAL, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THOSE ARE SUMMARIZED HERE ON THE SCREEN, BUT THOSE ARE FUTURE CATALYST PROJECTS, AND THAT WOULD BE COME AT A LATER DATE.
ONE THING I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT, UH, THIS PROJECT WAS COMPLETED BACK IN 2016.
THIS IS WHAT, BEFORE HURRICANE HARVEY HIT THIS AREA, AND AS WELL AS BEFORE, UM, TROPICAL STORM INELDA ALSO AFFECTED THIS AREA.
SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, UH, A SERIES OF EVENTS, WELL, A SERIES OF CHANGES HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN TERMS OF THE DESIGN STANDARDS THAT ARE USED TO SIZE ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
I JUST MENTIONED DD SEVEN, JEFFERSON COUNTY, DD SEVEN IS
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IN THE PROCESS OF UPGRADING SEVERAL OF THEIR PUMP STATIONS, AND I APPLAUD THEM FOR THAT.UH, WE WILL HAVE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH DD SEVEN TO IDENTIFY IF THEY ALSO INTENDED IMPROVING THE TWO PUMP STATIONS THAT SERVE THIS STUDY AREA.
SO THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH, UH, OTHER AGENCIES IN THE AREA AND, AND TRY TO MAKE THIS PLAN COME TO FRUITION.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE COST OF BUILDING ANY PROJECT HAS INCREASE THEM DRAMATICALLY OVER THE LAST, UH, FEW YEARS.
SO THE COST THAT WE IDENTIFIED BACK IN 2016 WOULD HAVE TO BE UPDATED AS WELL AS THE, THE SIZES OF ALL THIS INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, UM, IF, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTION, I'LL BE, I'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE THEM AFTER, AFTER RICHARD, ANY, UH, DIRECTORS WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
WHEN YOU GO BACK TO THAT LAST SCREEN, YOU SAID THE FAR LEFT PUMP, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT LOCATION? IS THAT THE LOWEST POINT IN THE AREA THAT'S GOING WEST? THAT IS THE ONE OF THE LOWEST POINTS.
THAT'S WHERE WATER WOULD NATURALLY WANT TO WANT TO TRAVEL.
IF IT HAD NO, NO, NO OTHER PLACES JUST BY GRAVITY, IT WOULD TEND TO GO TO THOSE TWO LOCATIONS, THE HOUSTON AS WELL AS SHREVEPORT.
BOARD DIRECTOR'S QUESTIONS? YES.
UM, YES, WE HAVE, UH, SINCE THEN EXTENDED THE PARAMETERS OF THE ZONE, AND SO IT NOW ACCOMMODATES THE PORT OF PORT ARTHUR, MM-HMM.
UM, SO WAS THAT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REVISIT? WE WOULD HAVE TO REVISIT THAT AREA AS IT WAS NOT, MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT WAS NOT WITHIN THE REGIONAL EXTENT OF THIS STUDY, SO THE STUDY WOULD HAVE TO BE UPDATED TO BRING THAT AREA AS WELL.
SO I'M GONNA HIT ON TWO, UH, SEPARATE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS, STARTING WITH THE, UH, WASTE WATER FIRST.
UM, BOTH ON WATER AND WASTE WATER, THERE HASN'T BEEN AS BIG OF A CHANGE AS THE STORM WATER, BECAUSE AGAIN, THE HURRICANE HARVEY IMPACT IN THE ENTIRE REGION, UH, HAS, HAS CHANGED, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING, UH, DRAMATICALLY.
UM, ON THE, ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, VERY SIMILAR TO THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
EVERYTHING IS SERVED BY, YOU KNOW, THE WASTEWATER ENTERS THE SYSTEM AND FLOWS BY GRAVITY TO PUMP STATIONS, WHICH ARE THEN PUMPED, UH, TO THE RIGHT ON THIS MAP, UM, TO THE CITY'S WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, WHICH IS GOING UNDERGOING AN EXTENSIVE, UH, RENOVATION CURRENTLY.
UM, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES SINCE THE LAST SIX YEARS IS THAT, UH, THE, THE WASTEWATER PLANT WILL BE, UH, MUCH MORE ROBUST, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW FACILITY.
UM, SO ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT HECTOR WENT OVER ON DRAINAGE ON THE EXISTING SYSTEM, UH, WE IN INSERTED, UH, WASTEWATER FLOW MONITORS IN UNDERGROUND INTO THE SYSTEM ON THE PIPES TO GET A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF WASTEWATER FLOW, UH, IS, UH, COMING FROM THIS PART OF TOWN, UM, AND NEEDS TO BE, UH, DELIVERED TO THE WASTEWATER PLANT.
UM, AND THEN TAKING THE CATALYST AREAS AND ADDING THE FUTURE WASTEWATER FLOW, UH, FROM THOSE CATALYST AREAS ON TOP OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM AND SEEING CAN THE EXISTING SYSTEM HANDLE THESE FUTURE FLOWS, UH, OR DO WE NEED TO UPSIZE, UH, IN CERTAIN AREAS.
SO, UM, ON THE, AND ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO THE QUESTION CHAIRMAN JUST ASKED IS, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING FLOWS BY GRAVITY TO THE SOUTHWEST AND A LITTLE BIT TO THE EAST.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE WHAT IN WASTEWATER TERMS IS CALLED A LIFT STATION, WHERE IT LIFTS THE WATER UP OVER TO THE WASTEWATER PLANT.
SO WE HAVE THE LAKE SHORE LIFT STATION, AND THEN THE LAKE CHARLES, UH, ON THE, ON THE BOTTOM LEFT IS THE LAKE SHORE LIFT STATION, AND THEN THE LAKE CHARLES LIFT STATION IS ON THE, UH, FAR RIGHT, WHICH THE LAKE SHORE LIFT STATION PUMPS INTO.
UM, AND IT'S A MUCH, UH, MUCH MUCH LARGER LIFT STATION ON THE, ON THE SOUTHEAST, BUT REALLY ON LOT OF THE CATALYST AREAS, UM, EVERYTHING WILL, MOST OF EVERYTHING FLOWS TO THE, TO THE LEFT AND TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MAP TOWARDS THAT LAKE SHORE LIP STATION.
UM, SO THOSE, UH, LINES IN RED, YOU CAN SEE ARE LINES THAT WERE, UM, OVER HAD HAD TOO MUCH FLOW FOR THE, FOR THE WASTEWATER LINES.
SO WE HAD, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO, UH, EXPAND THAT, THAT LINE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN SIMILAR ON THE, ON THE, UH, DRAINAGE SIDE AND THE WASTEWATER SIDE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE COLOR CODED PROJECTS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, UH, UPSIZING OF WASTEWATER LINES, YOU KNOW, GOING A, B, C FOLLOWING THE CATALYST AREAS.
THE ONE THING THAT'S CRUCIAL ON THE WASTEWATER
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SIDE IS YOU CAN'T PICK A CATALYST AREA UPSTREAM OF, UH, OF WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENT.YOU GOTTA START DOWNSTREAM AND YOU GOTTA WORK YOUR WAY UP.
YOU CAN'T HAVE A BIG LINE GOING INTO A SMALL LINE.
YOU GOTTA START AT THE BOTTOM AND WORK AND WORK YOUR WAY UP.
SO THAT'S WHY WE, WE KIND OF HAVE THOSE IN AN ORDER AS WELL, LIKE PROJECT A, YOU KNOW, SHOULD GET DONE BEFORE OTHER PROJECTS.
UM, IS, IS IS THE WAY THAT WE HAD IT PHASED OUT, UH, ON THE, ON THE WATER SIDE.
UM, SO WATER'S A COMPLETELY SEPARATE SYSTEM THAN, THAN THE WASTE WATER.
UM, SIMILAR TO THE, YOU HAVE LINES GOING DOWN EVERY SINGLE STREET.
AND WHAT WE HAVE SHOWN HERE IS, IS THE CITY'S FIRE HYDRANTS.
WHAT WE DID ON THE WATER SYSTEM IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE, WE, WE CAN SET PRESSURE RECORDERS.
EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH DELIVERING WATER PRESSURE, UH, SUFFICIENT WATER PRESSURE TO MEET STATE REGULATIONS.
SO WE PUT PRESSURE RECORDERS OUT ON FIRE HYDRANTS TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF PRESSURE ARE WE GETTING IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, JUST UNDER CURRENT DAY, WHICH WAS 2015, UH, CONDITIONS.
UM, AND THEN WE ADDED THE FUTURE WATER DEMANDS THAT THE NEW CATALYST AREAS WOULD, UH, ADD, UH, TO THE SYSTEM.
AND, AND WE USED OUR MODELS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE SYSTEM WAS ADEQUATE FOR THE FUTURE CATALYST AREAS.
SO YOU CAN, WHAT THE WAY THAT WE MARKED THE CAPACITY ON THIS MAP IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE A GREEN FIRE HYDRANT WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, GOOD, UH, FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITIES, PRESSURE, UH, AND THEN RED WOULD BE LOW.
AND THERE'S A, EVEN A YELLOW ORANGE THAT'S KIND OF A MEDIUM, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE WE'D STILL LIKE TO IMPROVE, BUT RED IS ONES THAT WE HAD TO IMPROVE WITH SOME PROJECTS.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE OUR PROJECTS HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, NETWORK OF LINES, UH, THIS ONE ISN'T AS CRITICAL FROM THE DOWNSTREAM UPSTREAM THAT WHAT I TALKED ABOUT ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE.
UM, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DO CERTAIN PROJECTS BASED ON WHEN THEY'RE NEEDED, BUT I THINK ON THE, ON THE WATER WASTEWATER, EVEN THE DRAIN IS SIDE, A LOT OF THESE LINES MATCH UP ON THE SAME STREET.
DO THOSE PROJECTS ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GO AND TEAR THINGS UP ONCE ON A STRETCH OF STREET, YOU SHOULD BE DOING THE WATER, THE WASTE WATER, AND THE DRAINAGE ALL AT THE SAME, SAME TIME.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL MENTION ON THE WATER SYSTEM IS A LOT OF THE WATER LINES ARE IN THE ALLEYS BEHIND BUILDINGS.
AND WE HAD A RECOMMENDATION AND, AND INCLUDED THE COST TO BRING THOSE INTO THE FRONT OF, OF THE BUILDING.
UM, AND YOU'LL JUST NEED A NEW CONNECTION, NEW METER.
UH, AND WE INCLUDED THOSE IN THE COST.
UH, JUST LIKE HECTOR SAID, YOU KNOW, 2015 COST ESTIMATES ARE WHAT'S IN THE REPORT CURRENTLY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, 2020, YOU KNOW, GETTING THOSE COSTS UP TO 20, $22 IS, IS AN IMPORTANT STEP.
UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY EVEN IN THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, THINGS HAVE GONE, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THEY USED TO BE.
BUT EVEN THEN, YOU KNOW, GOTTA GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2015 TO BRING THOSE COSTS UP TO REALLY 20, $23.
CUZ WE'RE, WE'RE ALMOST THERE.
I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ON WATER AND WASTE WATER QUESTIONS.
YES, I HAVE, UH, ONE QUESTION.
UH, IN TERMS OF THE PRESSURE RECORDING SYSTEM THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, WHO MAIN, WHO ACTUALLY MONITORS AND MAINTAINS THAT AND THE, WHAT ARE THE ASSOCIATED COSTS WITH THOSE? SO WE, WE PUT THOSE OUT FOR A TWO WEEK PERIOD JUST FOR THE TESTING FOR THIS STUDY.
AND, UM, THOSE ARE, I MEAN, FREE AND NICHOLS OWNS, OWNS OUR OWN RECORDERS.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE 500 TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS DEPENDING ON WHAT CAPABILITY THEY HAVE.
AND WE SET OUT, YOU KNOW, FOUR TO SIG YOU IN A GOOD GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION IN THIS STUDY AREA.
UM, BUT WE, BUT WE BUY OUR OWN, BUT WE HAVE THE CITY INSTALL 'EM CAUSE THE CITY'S FIRE HYDRANTS AND YOU JUST SCREW THEM ONTO A FIRE HYDRANT AND THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD 'EM TO A COMPUTER LATER.
UM, AS FAR AS ONGOING PRESSURE, MAINTENANCE OR MONITORING, YOU KNOW, THE CITY, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE CITY AND THE STATE, MONITOR THE PRESSURE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, FOR FOREVER, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT ALL EVERY DAY, ALL DAY.
UH, BUT THAT, THAT WAS JUST THE, WHAT WE DID IS JUST FOR THIS STUDY.
UH, IN THIS PARTICULAR ZONE, HOW MANY, UH, FIRE HYDRANTS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, HOW MANY ARE WE REPLACING OR HOW MANY ARE THERE? HOW MANY ARE THERE THAT YOU HAD TO DO YOU STUDY WITH? UM, WELL WE, SO WE, WE, WE, WE, WE MONITOR ALL OF THEM IN OUR MODEL.
WE ONLY DID THE FIELD TESTING ON ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE OF 'EM, JUST GETTING ONE FROM KIND OF THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH.
UM, ONCE YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, AND YOU, YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN GET YOUR MODEL TO MATCH UP AT THOSE FOUR OR FIVE POINTS, YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT ALL THE LOCATIONS AS WELL.
UM, JUST THE WAY THAT THE WATER SYSTEM HYDRAULICS WORKS, YOU DON'T NEED TO MEASURE ALL HUNDRED OF THEM.
UH, BOARD DIRECTORS, CITY MANAGER GOT SOMETHING.
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UM, THE CITY IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE.UM, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT, UM, AND I DON'T SAY DEREK HERE, DEREK HOLLAND, UM, THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE GRADUAL IMPROVEMENTS LIKE THE, THE, THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS DOING NOW ON FOURTH AND FIFTH STREET, AND WE'RE IMPROVING THE, THE STORMWATER SYSTEM THAT WE CONTINUE TO INTEGRATE THAT INTO OUR GIS SYSTEM THAT WILL ASSIST TREMENDOUSLY IN UPGRADING THE PLAN.
SO THAT, AS, AS YOU INDICATED, IT'S ABOUT SIX YEARS OLD AND IT'S ABOUT TIME RIGHT NOW FOR US TO, TO, UM, UM, UPDATE THE PLAN, UM, AND INCLUDE THE WEST SIDE WITH THE PORT.
BUT THAT WOULD IN ASSIST US TREMENDOUSLY IN PROVIDING SOME SORT OF UPDATE AND, UM, REDUCING THE COST, YOU KNOW, OF, UM, REVIEWING THE PLAN BECAUSE WE HAVE DONE WHAT WE NEED, UM, AS A CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PAINT A TRUE AND ACCURATE PICTURE OF THE CONDITION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
HANEY AND HIS TEAM VIN ARE DOING PIPE BURSTING OUT THERE AS WELL IN MANY OF THE AREAS.
UM, YOU SEE THE MATERIAL THAT'S BEING USED IS BEING UPGRADED TO A VERY GREAT EXTENT.
SO THE CITY CONTINUES TO INVEST IN THE TOS DISTRICT.
UM, BUT IT'S A PARTNERSHIP, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE VARIOUS ENTITIES.
YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO INFORM THE, THE GENERAL PARTNER ABOUT THAT.
EXCUSE ME, UH, TO THE ENTIRE FREE NICHOLS TEAM, AND I'M SORT OF, I THINK REITERATING WHAT THE, UH, CITY MANAGER TO SEE.
HAVE YOU ALL THOUGHT ABOUT, UH, CONTACTED ANYONE WITHIN THE CITY OR HAS ANYONE IN THE CITY FROM THE PLANNING MAYBE DEPARTMENT CONTACTED YOU FOR AN UPDATED STUDY? YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WAS ADOPTED BACK IN 2016.
UH, WE ARE NOW A FEW DAYS FROM 2023, SO, YOU KNOW, PROJECTED, UH, PROBABLY START DATE FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS WOULD BE 23 OR 24.
SO IS THERE ANY PLANS OR WHAT WOULD BE THE PROCESS FOR AN UPDATED STUDY AND PRESENTATION? I WOULD ASSUME, UH, A TOTALLY UPDATED, UH, YEAH.
2020 PRESENTATION OF THE ENTIRE THAT'S RIGHT, YEAH.
OF THE ENTIRE, UH, DOWNTOWN, UH, STUDY, WHICH HAS BEEN REAL GOOD AND IT IS GOOD.
NOW WE HAVE, UH, ENLARGED, UH, THE SIZE OF THE TUR.
UH, WE HAVE ALL THE PLAYERS I THINK, IN PLACE NOW.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY COME UP WITH SOMETHING, UH, THAT THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSION IN REGARDS TO, UM, WORKING THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE UPDATE OF THE, THE, THE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PLAN, AS WELL AS THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BECAUSE WE'RE AT THAT MARK AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN TO REDEVELOP OUR SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS.
SO INTERNALLY WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE PRIORITY LISTING ON WHICH SHOULD COME FIRST.
UM, WE NORMALLY GO THROUGH H G A C, UH, FOR PROCUREMENT FOR THIS.
SO WE WORK WITH THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS BEING PROCURED APPROPRIATELY.
BUT YES, THAT IS PART OF OUR DISCUSSION.
I GUESS, UH, YOU GUYS ARE THROUGH WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
[4. Discussion regarding possible updates to the City's Downtown Plan and the Downtown TIRZ #1 Project and Finance Plans. ]
FOUR, DISCUSSION REGARDING POSSIBLE UPDATES TO THE CITY DOWNTOWN PLAN AND THE DOWNTOWN CHURCH.NUMBER ONE PROJECT FINANCIAL PLAN, UH, CITY ATTORNEY WHO YOU GOT DOING THAT MYSELF.
AND, UM, I KNOW MR.
WE JUST, WERE GONNA KIND OF HAVE A OPEN DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT, UM, WE'VE NOW TALKED ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND UM, I WANTED TO JUST POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT THE CURRENT, UH, PROJECT PLAN AND FINANCE PLAN.
UM, AT THE LAST MEETING, I KNOW WE PASSED OUT COPIES TO THE BOARD AND, UM, JUST IN LIGHT OF TODAY'S CONVERSATION, UM, IN 2019, ON MAY SEVEN, SEVENTH, 2019, WE UPDATED THE, UH, PROJECT PLAN AND FINANCE AND PLAN FOR THE TURS BOARD, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY SET IN PLACE IN 2013.
AND WE MADE CERTAIN AMENDMENTS.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT IT WAS APPROVED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
AND SO I KNOW THAT THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT WHY YOU WANTED TO HAVE THIS MEETING, CUZ THESE ARE
[00:35:01]
THINGS THAT KIND OF GO HAND IN HAND.UM, SO AS AMENDED THE, THE ZONE AND NOW WE'VE RECENTLY UPDATED THE BOUNDARIES, THAT WAS ONE OF THE GOALS, HAS MORE ACREAGE IN DOWNTOWN AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR DOWNTOWN PLAN.
AND, UM, WE WANTED TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO TO PROMOTE AND JUMP JUMPSTART REVITALATION REVITALIZATION EFFORTS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE MAYOR JUST SAID, AND YOU ALL JUST SAID ABOUT UPDATING THE DOWNTOWN PLAN, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THESE TWO DOCUMENTS HAVE TO WORK HAND IN HAND.
UM, ORIGINALLY WE HAD A MAYBE A 13, UH, MILLION DOLLAR, UH, PLAN, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WOULD EVENTUALLY MAKE 13 MILLION, UM, IN IMPROVEMENTS TO DOWNTOWN.
BUT NOW IN 2019, OUR GOAL WAS 16 MILLION TO, UM, TO, UH, PUT ALL THESE CHANGES IN.
SO SOME OF THE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROPOSED USES AND, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY WE WANTED IN TO PUT INTO, UH, PROJECT COST TO HELP WITH RELOCATION.
JUST TO KIND OF EMPHASIZE, I WAS GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT SOME OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS WERE, CUZ IT KIND OF GOES HAND IN HAND WITH WOOD FREEZING.
NICKS JUST SPOKE OF, UM, WE WANTED TO, UH, TALK ABOUT IMPROVING UP TO 4.5 MILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE WITH THROUGH THE TURS, UM, STREET SCAPES.
WE HAD TALKED ABOUT 5 MILLION, 5.6 MILLION, UM, AS THE CITY HAS BEEN WORKING HARD WITH DEMOLITION ENVIRONMENTAL 500,000.
AND THEN WE HAD A BUDGET PRO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND, UM, FINANCING COSTS.
AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, THESE FUNDS WOULD HELP OPERATE THE ZONE.
SO, UM, WE NOW HAVE A NEW PARTICIPATING ENTITY.
SO WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO ALSO UPDATE OUR TERRACE PLAN PLAYING, UM, BECAUSE WHEN WE ORIGINALLY DID IT IN 2019, IT WAS THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, JEFFERSON COUNTY, DD SEVEN SABINE NATURE'S NAVIGATION DISTRICT.
SO WE, WE KIND OF LIKE TO MAYBE TAKE A LITTLE MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT UPDATING OUR PLAN AND, AND PUTTING THESE GOALS TOGETHER.
AND OF COURSE NOW ADDING THE PORT ON IT.
UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING IS, UH, JUST FOR PURPOSE OF THE DISCUSSION, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR BOTH PLANS PRETTY MUCH FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND HAVING IT READY SO THAT PEOPLE COULD, UH, BE DOWN IN THIS AREA, UM, TO, TO HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT.
AND SO, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT AND MORE LIKE BEAUTIFICATION, THE LIGHTING, THE TREES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PARK DOWNTOWN NOW, SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT MIRRORS THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND I KNOW THE MANAGER'S GONNA ELABORATE, BUT WE KIND OF LIKE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF THINGS WITH THE GROUP, UH, THE GROUP OF CITIZENS WE HAVE HERE AND THE BOARD, UM, LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN.
CUZ WE BASICALLY, THESE ARE GONNA BE KIND OF ALMOST MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER, IS WHAT I WOULD THINK.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE TO PUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, THE BEAUTIFICATION.
AND THEN THE BIG QUESTION OF THE, IN THE, UH, WILL BE WHEN WE GET TO NUMBER FIVE IS WHERE HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE TO, TO, TO, TO BUY INTO THE MARKETING.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SHOW THOSE, UH, SIMILARITIES AND SEE IF YOU ALL HAD ANY THOUGHTS OR IDEAS AS WE'VE KIND OF OVERVIEWED DOWNTOWN AND WHAT OUR EXISTING PLAN IS.
CUZ BOTH OF THEM WILL HAVE TO, UH, I WOULD THINK THIS GOAL FOR EARLY THIS 2023 WOULD BE TO GET THEM BOTH UPDATED.
AND THAT'S, UM, UM, THAT'S A GOOD, UM, INSIGHT INTO IT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE PLAN IS THAT THE ORIGINAL DOWNTOWN PLAN COST ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS AND IT WAS NOT, UM, AN ACADEMIC EXERCISE IN FUTILITY.
IT ACTUALLY, IT HAS ACTUALLY PRODUCED RESULTS OVER THE YEARS AND WE SEE IT, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, UM, SOME OF THAT MONEY, ABOUT HALF OF IT, OR TWO THIRDS OF IT CAME FROM THE EDC.
UM, MARDI GRAS, UM, PROVIDED A GRANT THAT THEY HAD AT THEIR DISPOSAL OF ALMOST 200,000 AND IN THE CD CHIPPED IN THE REST.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE TURDS RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT, WHAT, $75,000, UH, BUT MAYBE ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN TAXES, UM, THAT COULD BE PUT TOWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH SLASH PLANNING FOR THE TURDS DISTRICT.
UM, WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT WE HAVE ALSO EXTENDED THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TURDS DISTRICT.
SO THAT HAS, UM, SOME ATTENTION HAS TO BE PEED AS PEED TO THE ASSESSMENT OF THE
[00:40:01]
INFRASTRUCTURE AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED.UM, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THE, THE, THE, THE THIRDS BOARD NEEDS TO SIT WITH THE CITY BECAUSE THE CITY, UM, HAS INVESTED HEAVILY INTO THE TWOS DISTRICT, WHICH IS PART OF THE CITY AS WELL.
SO WE NEED TO SIT DOWN AS TWO ENTITIES AND DECIDE HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO PARTNER, UM, TO, AND, AND PRIORITIZE WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE, UM, FOR THE TWOS DISTRICT.
AND, AND IN TERMS OF, AS, AS THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SAID, WHAT PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WE CAN ACCOMMODATE IN THE NEXT BUDGETS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AS, AS WE MOVE AHEAD.
AND THAT WILL SERVE AS A CATALYST TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THE TAXABLE VALUES OF THAT HAS SHARED WITH THE, WITH THE TRADES, UM, FOR PROPERTIES THAT'S WITHIN DISTRICTS.
SO WE'VE GOT TO PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO THIS AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE ON.
UM, UM, WE HAVE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN THE, IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UM, FROM MOTIVA AND OTHER ENTITIES.
WE HAVE SEEN A, A, A, A DEFINITE WILLINGNESS ON BEHALF OF THE PORT, YOU KNOW, TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH US AND, AND, AND, AND THE TRANSIT DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE ALSO HAVE MONIES AVAILABLE 3.7 MILLION THAT'S, UM, FROM AN ED GRANT, UM, FOR UNDERGROUND, UM, UM, FIBER OPTICS, THAT'S ALL GOING TO BE SPENT IN THE THIRD DISTRICT.
SO THAT'S GRANT MONEY THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE IT ON THE BOOKS AND, AND, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE USED TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
ALL THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
SO I THINK WE'RE WELL ON TRACK, UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO INVEST WHEN I SAY WE ARE IN THE CITY, BUT WE'VE GOT TO CONTINUE TO CONSOLIDATE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOURIST DISTRICT AND WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO MAKE SURE WE CAN ACHIEVE ALL OF THIS TOGETHER.
UH, MANAGER, UH, BE YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE? UH, THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR THAT ONE THAT YOU WANNA SPEAK.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE WOULD LIKE TO, UM, WORK TOWARD, UM, UPDATING OUR PLAN AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS AT THE END OF JANUARY AND MAYBE ADOPTING THE UPDATE BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, THIS BOTH PLANS AND I CAN SPEAK MORE ON THE TOURS WAS JUST LIKE THE FIRST BUILDING BLOCK, BUT NOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE THROUGH PLANNING, WE ARE AT IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE WOULD LIKE, I HAVE A NOTE HERE THAT WE WANNA, MR. WILLIAMS AND I, WE'LL GET TOGETHER AND WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT MAKING SOME EDITS, GETTING SOME INPUT, HAVING THE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING AND MAYBE UPGRADING IT, INCLUDING ALL THE INFORMATION FROM THE PORT BY JAN BY FEBRUARY FOR SURE.
SO, MR. SHERMAN, WHAT WE COULD DO, IF ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO DO, UM, AS A RESULT, ANY ACHIEVEMENT AS A RESULT OF THIS MEETING? IF YOU COULD GIVE US, WHEN I SAY US, BOTH THE CITY AND THE THIRDS, A MANDATE IS TO COME BACK TO YOU WITH SOME SORT OF RFQ RFP FOR A DOWNTOWN, A STUDS PLAN, AN UPDATE BOTH THE UPDATING OF WE WILL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE THIRDS TO UPDATE THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND TO CREATE A PLAN FOR THE THIRDS DISTRICT PRIORITIZING WHAT, UM, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT FOR THE NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS.
AND WE COULD CREATE OUR, THE THIRDS CAN CREATE ITS OWN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN THAT WILL WORK TOGETHER THE CITY AS PARTNERS TO FINANCE BOTH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE RESOURCES THAT THE CHURCH HAS AVAILABLE AND BASED ON THE, THE, THE, THE LONG TERM VISION THAT THE CITY SEES FOR THE, UM, FOR THE TURDS DISTRICT AND FOR THE CITY ON HOLD.
SO IF YOU COULD GIVE US THAT MANDATE, WE WILL GO TO WORK FOR YOU.
WELL THANK YOU, UH, MANAGER, UH, MAYOR BART, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN AND TO THE GROUP, AND MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW, IVAN MAYBE CAN ANSWER THIS FOR ME.
HAVEN'T WE BEGUN TO INFRASTRUCTURE WORK IN THE CHURCH FOR WITH GRANT MONIES THAT WERE, UH, YET FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IN, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, WHICH IS A PART OF THE TOURISM, UH, OF WHAT, WHERE WE ARE MET? YEAH, MAY, IF I, UM, REMEMBER, I THINK WE HAVE AWARDED, UM, WE HAVE AWARDED A CONTRACTOR, GENERAL CONTRACTOR EWC I THINK GOT THE CONTRACT AND UM, WE GOT, UM, FORGOT THE NAME OF THIS COMPANY WHO IS DOING THE REPORTING FOR THE, THE, THE GRANT THAT WAS RECEIVED, THE 3.7 MILLION.
[00:45:02]
UM, SO WE ARE WELL ON THE WAY WITH THAT.UM, AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED, WE WERE LOOKING AT THE, THE MODELS AND, AND UM, THE DESIGNS THAT THE SOLO GROUP, I SEE MR. SOKO IS HERE.
UM, UM, SO THAT WE COULD ADOPT THAT.
UM, WE HAVE HAD EXTENSIVE MEETINGS WITH, UM, ENERGY AND THE OTHER UTILITY PROVIDING, UM, UM, ENTITIES.
I THINK WE HAVE HAD SOME DISCUSSION WITH THE UTILITY, OUR UTILITIES DEPARTMENT BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE AHEAD, ALL THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, WHEN WE IMPLEMENT THEM.
SO WE ARE WELL ON THE WAY WITH THAT.
I DUNNO WHETHER MR. SOKO, IVAN, IVAN, YOU WANT TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE BECAUSE IVAN HAS HIS OWN PORT OF MONEY THAT HE'S USING APART FROM THE, UM, ED AND, AND EXCUSE ME, I WASN'T ASKING IF YOU WEREN'T PREPARED.
IT WAS JUST THAT WE WERE DISCUSSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD, SO
YEAH, SO WE ACTUALLY, UM, JUST DID THE A HUNDRED PERCENT PLANS FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.
ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, UM, WE RECEIVED AN FTA GRANT FOR DRAINAGE AND, UM, OTHER IMPROVEMENTS AROUND TRANSIT UNDER EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND RELATED TO, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS HURRICANE HARVEY.
SO THOSE PLANS HAVE JUST BEEN, UH, RELEASED BY, UH, THE SOCO GROUP.
UH, WE PLAN ON BIDDING THOSE OUT.
UM, CAN'T REMEMBER THE COST ESTIMATE.
I THINK THEY'RE ESTIMATING ABOUT WHAT, A MILLION OKAY.
IT
UM, WE'RE GONNA REPAVE, UM, THE SECTION OF, UH, DALLAS AND FORT WORTH BETWEEN FOURTH STREET AND PROCTOR.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS, WHEN IT RAINS HARD, UM, THERE'S ALSO SOME, UM, DIPS IN THE ROAD.
UM, A LOT OF THE, THE, THE ASPHALTS COMING UP.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE DOING CURB SIDEWALK, EVERYTHING.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PROJECTS I'M USING, USING FEDERAL DOLLARS.
UM, THAT SHOULD SEE A GREAT IMPROVEMENT.
AND I BELIEVE HOPEFULLY NEXT TWO WEEKS IT'S ON THE STREET FOR BID AND SOMETIME BY EARLY FEBRUARY WE CAN AWARD IT TO A CONTRACTOR.
AND THEN STARTING IN MARCH, APRIL OF NEXT YEAR, UM, IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL, CONSTRUCTION WILL START.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PROJECTS I'M DOING INFRASTRUCTURE WISE.
UM, I ALSO HAVE FUNDING FOR, UH, WORK IN THE ALLEYWAY BEHIND MY FACILITIES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, BUT THE ALLEYWAY THAT BASICALLY RUNS ALL THE WAY PARALLEL TO PROCTOR BETWEEN PROCTOR AND FOURTH STREET.
SO WE ARE GONNA INVEST MONEY IN THAT.
THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE CITY MANAGER'S TALKING ABOUT WHERE THERE'S ANOTHER 3.7 MILLION FROM THE, I THINK YOU SAID ED EDA, EDA.
SO WE'RE GONNA, I CAN'T NECESSARILY MIX MY MONEY, BUT WE CAN PARTNER TOGETHER TO, UM, DO A PROJECT WITHIN TRANSIT AND THAT LEAVES MORE MONEY TO DO, I GUESS FURTHER EXPAND AND MAKE SURE THAT PROJECT IS DONE.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE SOCO GROUP REVIEWING THAT PROJECT.
UM, HE'S WORKING WITH, UM, THE UTILITIES RIGHT NOW, UH, G SPECTRUM, UH, I THINK IT'S AT AND T IS IN AN ALLEY ALSO.
UM, AND SO WE'RE JUST WORKING ON A PLAN TO GET EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND COORDINATE.
BUT I THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS, LIKE WE WERE SAYING WAS THE PARTNERSHIPS.
IF WE DON'T TALK, UM, IF WE'RE NOT PARTNERING, UH, THESE PROJECTS AREN'T GONNA GO AS SMOOTHLY AS THEY CAN GO.
SO THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TOGETHER NOW IS MAKING SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE AND ONCE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE, WE CAN, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD HOPEFULLY WITH, WITH AT LEAST THE PROJECTS I'M WORKING WITH.
AND WHAT WE, UH, I THINK YOU DID ALLUDE TO IT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RELOCATING THOSE UTILITIES TO UNDERGROUND AND ALL AND, AND ALL OF THIS WAS A PART OF THE, THE GRANT PROCESS OR THE PROCESS, IF I'M RECALLING CORRECTLY OR IS NOT.
YEAH, SO THE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES IS A SEPARATE GRANT THAT I HAVE, UM, THAT I CAN USE FOR IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN MY FACILITIES.
SO IT IS GRANT MONEY, UM, I THINK THERE'S LIKE A 10% CITY MATCH, SO THERE WILL BE A SMALL MATCH FROM THE CITY.
BUT OVERALL WE ARE GONNA MOVE THOSE UTILITIES ON THE GROUND.
UM, AND IT ALLOWS ME, I THINK I WAS SAYING THIS LAST TIME, IT ALLOWS ME WHEN THE, SAY THERE'S A STORM COMING THROUGH, UM, HOPEFULLY IT PREVENTS LINES FROM COMING DOWN.
WE CAN CONTINUE TO FUNCTION BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S ON THE GROUND.
IT'S MORE PROTECTED VERSUS BEING ABOVE GROUND THAN, YOU KNOW, THINGS HAPPEN WHEN STORMS COME THROUGH.
UM, AND, AND WITH THE, EXCUSE ME, I MEAN, WE JUST, JUST INFORMATION.
WE HAVE BEEN MAKING SOME OR WE'VE BEGUN TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENT IN THE TUR AND WITH EVEN I THINK IN CONJUNCTION WITH WHAT YOU ALL PLAN IS, BUT UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE EVERY EVERYBODY
[00:50:01]
TOGETHER THAT WE CAN REALLY BEGIN TO MOVE FORWARD.SO, UH, BUT, AND THAT WAS WHY I ASKED THAT.
NOT TO PUT YOU ON SPOT, ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UH, BUT NO, I WAS ASKED TO CUB, SO I FIGURED THAT QUESTION WAS GONNA COME UP.
YEAH, SO I SAID OVERALL THOUGH, UM, I THINK WE'RE GONNA, WE HAVE SOME INVESTMENTS WE'RE MAKING, UM, HOPEFULLY I CAN MAKE MORE IN THE FUTURE AS I CAN, UH, GET MORE MONEY COMING IN.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, THE PARTNERSHIPS ARE CRITICAL THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING TOGETHER, TALKING, COOPERATING, YOU KNOW, UM, FINDING WAYS TO, TO PULL OUR MONEY TOGETHER TO GET STUFF DONE.
UM, THAT'S, I GUESS THAT KIND OF ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION MORE OR LESS.
AL ALSO, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UM, WE CONTINUE TO SEE, UM, WITH THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM FOR STREET REHAB AND, AND RECONSTRUCTION, WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
UM, IN TERMS OF RESURFACE IN STREETS, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE PAT CAN ATTEST TO THAT.
UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN STREETS WHEN YOU RIDE DOWN IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, MUCH MORE IMPROVED THAN THREE, FOUR YEARS AGO.
UM, SO THAT HAS ALL BEEN PART OF INVESTING IN OUR DOWNTOWN AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
UM, UM, AND THAT WAS LEAD THE, THE, THE PLANS WERE LEAD BY, UM, FORMER, UM, UM, UM, DIRECTORS OF PUBLIC WORKS AND ALBERTO AND BEFORE THAT.
AND WE SEE MISS, UM, ROBERTS CONTINUING TO TO WORK THOSE AND THE COUNCIL CONTINUES TO GIVE ITS BLESSING TO THOSE.
SO WE, WE APPRECIATE THAT, THAT AS WELL FOR, UM, LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR FUTURE, UM, INVESTMENT, UM, IN OUR DOWNTOWN AREA.
AND I, I THINK ONE THING ALSO, NOW I'LL SAY ANYMORE, BUT ONE THING I THINK WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER IS, UH, AND MAYBE YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY, BUT LAND ACQUISITION, I KNOW PART OF THE, UM, I GUESS DEVELOPING DOWNTOWN IS, UH, AT SOME POINT I BELIEVE SOME LAND'S PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO BE ACQUIRED.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S PART OF THE ONGOING CONVERSATION REGARDING, UH, LAND ACQUISITION AND HOW DO WE GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND WHO'S GOING TO LEAD IT AND HOW THAT WORKS.
BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S CRITICAL CUZ I KNOW THERE ARE SOME, UM, THINGS I'VE SEEN AND HEARD REGARDING PIECES OF PROPERTY THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE ACQUIRED.
UM, THAT'S PART OF THE OVERALL IMPROVEMENT.
CAUSE A LOT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, A SMALL PLOTS THAT ARE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS OR MAYBE SEVERAL PEOPLE.
AND, UM, THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THE CITY'S GONNA DEFINITELY HAVE TO WORK THROUGH IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH THESE LAND OWNERS IF LAND HAS TO BE ACQUIRED IN THE FUTURE FOR DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, MOSES, WE, AND I GUESS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AGO, FIGURING OUT SOME OF THESE FAMILIES THAT MAY HAVE SOME OF THOSE PROPERTIES.
SO WE KIND OF GOT THAT IN THE BACK BURNER JUST TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE, THE PROPERTY TO ACCOMMODATE THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT REAL HARD TOO.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A CHALLENGE
WELL, GOOD LUCK TONIGHT WITH YOUR, YOUR, UH, TEAM, YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM.
I KNOW YOU'RE PLAYING IN THE EAGLES, SO JUST GOOD LUCK.
I KNOW, I I HAD TO SAY THAT MANAGER, I'M SORRY.
HE'S A BIG WASHINGTON OLD REDKIN FAN, BUT THEY'RE PLAYING THE 80 NO EAGLES TONIGHT.
WHEN WE JUST WANNA ON, WHEN WE SELL THE TEAM IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, IT'S GONNA BE, WE'RE GONNA TAKE THE SUPER BOWL.
YOU KNOW, YOU GO J IN QUARTERBACKS FROM TEXAS.
I'M JUST, I'M GONNA STOP YOU GUYS TRYING TO GET ME STARTED.
YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE? UH, ON NUMBER FOUR WHERE YOU CAN GO TO NUMBER FIVE?
[5. Presentation regarding a proposed Marketing Plan and Strategy for the Downtown TIRZ #1 Reinvestment Zone in conjunction with the City's existing Downtown Plan. ]
OKAY.PRESENTATION REGARDING PROPOSED MARKETING PLAN AND STRATEGIES FOR DOWNTOWN CHURCH.
NUMBER ONE REINVESTMENT ZONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY'S EXISTING DOWNTOWN PLAN VAL.
AND WE HAVE TODAY MR. NICK HUNTER, WHO'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT, UM, MARKETING STRATEGIES.
HE IS LOCATED ALSO HERE IN, UH, PORT ARTHUR IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA ABOUT, UH, HELPING US, YOU KNOW, GET UP AND RUNNING WITH OUR MARKETING STRATEGY.
SO AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO TURN OVER THIS, UH, PORTION OF THE MEETING TO MR. HUNTER AND HE'S GOING TO GIVE US SOME IDEAS.
WHAT TIME IS IT? I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH TIME ANYMORE, BUT, UH, THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, WHAT WE, WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED WITH THE TUR ZONE IS BRINGING IN THE MOST PROFITABLE, UH, ENTITIES TO BUILD THE TAX BASE, WHETHER THAT BE FROM MANUFACTURING, FROM RETAIL SPACES.
WE INITIALLY ARE GONNA JUMP IN AND DO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT MARKET RESEARCH.
[00:55:01]
THE, THE, THE ESSENTIAL PLAN IS TO SELL THE FACT THAT YOU GET TO BE PART OF REBUILDING DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR.WE HAVE ALL THE HISTORY HERE, BUT ALL THE MONEY THAT'S FLOWING THROUGH THIS AREA, AND NOT JUST FOR LOCAL ENTITIES, BUT TO BE LOOKING TOWARDS, UH, MANUFACTURERS THAT LOOK FOR PORTS THAT THEY CAN SHIP GLOBALLY.
UM, WE HAVE SO MANY RESOURCES RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY.
THAT'S WHY I MOVED MY BUSINESS DOWN HERE.
AND PART OF THE MARKETING PLAN THAT WE PROPOSE ON DOING IS TO DOCUMENT OUR GROWTH AS WE ACQUIRE A BUILDING AND BUILD OUR STUDIO HERE IN DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO WHERE WE GO IN AND WE TARGET SPECIFICALLY THROUGH, UM, THE ALGORITHMS THAT WE KNOW HOW TO MANAGE ONLINE.
BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY WITH ONLINE MARKETING, ALL YOU'RE DOING IS PICKING YOUR CUSTOMERS.
SO WE JUST GOTTA MAKE SURE WE PUT TOGETHER THE RIGHT PROFILES TO GET THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS THAT ARE ONE, LOOKING TO NOT ONLY BUILD A LASTING LEGACY, BUT CAN HELP BUILD AND, UH, GROW OFF THE LEGACY THAT PUT ARTHUR'S ALREADY ESTABLISHED WITH THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT FLOW THROUGH THIS TOWN WITH THE REFINERIES AND, AND THE NUMBER OF BUSES THAT TRANSPORT PEOPLE OUT OF THE TOWN.
WELL, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO HELP, UM, CREATE A CREATOR CULTURE THAT NOT ONLY FOCUSES ON MANUFACTURING, BUT RETAIL AND ALSO UTILIZING, UM, THE RESOURCES THAT THE INTERNET PROVIDES.
UM, ONE OF THE, THE BIGGEST ASPECTS THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE ONE OF THE BIGGEST PREVENTERS THAT YOU HAVE FROM HAVING RETAIL SPACES COME DOWN HERE, OR RETAIL ORGANIZATIONS COME TO DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR, IS THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE'S A, A GROWING BASE OF, OF CUSTOMERS.
WELL, THE INTERNET TAKES THAT AWAY, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE THE PORT, WE'VE GOT THE TRAINS, WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO TAKE CARE OF, SHIPPING, MANUFACTURING, ALL THAT STUFF.
SO WITH THE SPACE AND ALL OF THE RESOURCES THAT YOU GUYS ARE PUTTING TOGETHER, WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A PLAN THAT'S GONNA MAKE SURE WE ARE TARGETING THE, UH, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ARE GOING TO BE REINVESTING IN THE COMMUNITY, HIRING EMPLOYERS, AND LOOKING AT COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING TO BRING, UM, THEIR ENTIRE STAFF AND RELOCATE.
THERE'S A TON OF GRANTS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW FOR, UH, BATTERY, BATTERY MANUFACTURERS.
SO WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE HAVING A GREEN, UH, COMPONENT TO THE MARKETING MARKETING PLAN.
SO ESSENTIALLY IT'S GONNA BE SHIFTED BETWEEN FIVE DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WANTING TO TARGET.
LARGE MANUFACTURERS, SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, EXISTING COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING TO RELOCATE, AND THEN GREEN COMPANIES THAT ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A LOT OF THE FEDERAL GRANTS THAT ARE, ARE OUT THERE CURRENTLY.
I KNOW I TALK FAST, SO IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, JUST START THERE.
WELL, I KNOW, UH, I KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN MOSES, THAT'S OUR BABY AND, AND DIRECTOR, UH, JOHNSON WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME TYPE OF MARKETING STRATEGY.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE WEBSITE? CAUSE SOME OF THE MAJOR CITIES HAVE THOSE YEAH.
THAT, THAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE A HUGE COMPONENT OF IT IS YEAH.
IS REDESIGNING THE WEBSITE AND HAVING A SPECIFIC TES ZONE WEBSITE.
ONE NOT JUST TO TO PROMOTE INFORMATION, BUT TO REALLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WAY THE ALGORITHMS WORK TO COLLECT THAT DATA TO WHERE YOU CAN BUILD A, A QUICKER DATABASE TO ATTRACT THOSE ENTITIES HERE.
THE WEBSITE'S GONNA BE A HUGE COMPONENT OF IT.
I APPRECIATE I'VE SEEN SOME OF YOUR WORK, UM, OVER AT THE PRESS BUILDING.
AND SO BASICALLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND, AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE PRESENTING AND THE REASON FOR THE WHOLE WORKSHOP IS BASICALLY, SO THE COUNT, THESE OUR, UH, COMMISSIONERS CAN BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE WE STARTED WITH FREEZING NICKELS WAY BACK AND BRING US UP TO DATE BECAUSE A LOT OF US DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT THE STORY OF PORT ARTHUR IS BEING TOLD.
SO THE TURS BOARD IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TO PEOPLE THAT CAN GO TO ANYWHERE AND JUST LOOK AND SAY, WHAT'S THE TURS BOARD ALL ABOUT? WHAT, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT T R I Z, RIGHT? I DUNNO WHAT THE ACRONYM MEANS.
SO OFTEN PEOPLE CAN GET, UH, YOU KNOW, CAUGHT UP AND NOT KNOW YOU.
WE KNOW WHAT TES MEANS SITTING HERE, BUT THE COMMUNITY DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A CLUE.
AND SO, UM, UH, REMEMBER EDC BACK IN THE DAY HAD BUILD AT SHIP AT RAIL, IT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SIGNS, WE HAD MARKETING, WE HAD BOARDS, WE HAVE TO DO SOME SIMILAR THINGS LIKE THAT SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MATERIALS, UM, POSTERS, FLYERS, YEAH.
THERE'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE, THERE'S ALWAYS PHYSICAL COMPONENT TO ANY MARKETING CAMPAIGNS THAT WE DO, RIGHT? UM, BUT IT, IT'S MORE OF AN AFTERTHOUGHT BECAUSE OUR EXPERTISE IS REALLY BEING ABLE TO GO IN AND USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO MM-HMM.
SO FROM THERE, ONCE WE DESIGNED, OKAY,
[01:00:01]
WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE CUSTOMER? WHAT DO WE WANT TO BRING HERE? ONCE WE DESIGN THAT I ENTITY.SO DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA AFTER BEING IN THIS MEETING ON HOW TO GET THAT ACCOMPLISHED? AND WHAT'S YOUR TIMEFRAME TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION OF KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'VE COME UP WITH FOR TEZ? THAT'S BASICALLY, WE NEED TO, WE NEED, WE NEED A CALENDAR.
I NEED TO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO KNOW WHEN, SO WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER SO FAR.
WE'VE GOT A A 90 DAY INTRODUCTORY MARKETING PLAN TO WHERE WE GO THROUGH AND SET EVERYTHING UP, AND THEN FROM THERE WE'LL HAVE, UH, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ADJUST AS NEEDED, ESSENTIALLY.
UH, DO YOU, HAVE THEY SEEN VAL, HAVE THEY SEEN THE PROPOSAL THAT WE SENT TO YOU? UH, WE, WE WERE, WE ARE GOING TO PRESENT THAT TO THEM, YES.
SO VAL HAS THAT PROPOSAL, UM, AND IT HAS TIMELINES AND SCHEDULES IN THERE, AND WE CAN MAKE IT AS AS DETAILED AS YOU NEED IT.
AND WHY'D YOU GET THAT PROPOSAL TO VAL? I COULDN'T TELL YOU RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
MY ASSISTANT TAKES CARE OF THAT PART OF IT NOW.
SO IT, WE HAVEN'T DRAFTED THAT.
WE WERE, WERE GOING TWO HOURS, SUBMIT AND HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I COULD GIVE YOU A COPY OF IT TODAY, BUT IT'S A DRAFT WHERE WE WILL, UH, HAVE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT AS WELL.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR A CONTRACT TOO.
SORRY, NICK, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
AND JUST TO KINDA PIGGYBACK ON COUNCILMAN MOSES, WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE FAST BECAUSE AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE ALL THE PLAYERS ON BOARD, LIKE THE MAYOR STATED, WE REALLY WANT TO TELL OUR OWN STORY.
LIKE YOU ASKED THE QUESTION, I THINK NOBODY CAN TELL THE STORY BETTER THAN WHAT WE CAN IN PORT ARTHUR, BUT WE JUST GOTTA GET THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE AND MAKE SURE THAT QUALITY INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE OR SOMETHING JUST TO GET THE PROMOS OUT THERE.
AND I KNOW THAT'S HER BABY OVER THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN, WE JUST CAN'T, WE HAVE TO MOVE FAST.
I BUILT MY COMPANY OFF OF, OFF OF ZUCKERBERG IDEA, MOVE FAST, BREAK THINGS AND FIX SOME, FIX 'EM LATER.
SO WE GOT ALL THE FIXING DONE.
WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE 90 DAYS.
YEAH, WE, WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE FAST.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? DIRECTORS? UH, UM, MARTIN? YEAH.
UH, MY QUESTION, UH, IS ABOUT THE, THE MARKETING PLAN.
SO IN BETWEEN, UH, LET'S SAY THE TWO ENTITIES OF INDUSTRIAL AND RETAIL, WHICH ONE OR ANYONE IN BETWEEN DO YOUR MARKETING PLAN WEIGH HEAVIER TOWARDS? WELL, WE DON'T KNOW YET, RIGHT? SO THERE'S GONNA BE MORE MARKET RESEARCH THAT IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE THAT.
AND WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER, THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF IT, RIGHT? IS THAT WE PUT DIFFERENT WEIGHTS ON, WHETHER IT BE INDUSTRIAL, RETAIL, UM, INTERNET BASED, WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE MANUFACTURING, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, RIGHT? SO PART OF THE FIRST PART IS FOR US TO HAVE THAT MARKET RESEARCH SO THAT WE CAN BUILD THOSE FIVE ENTITIES.
THEN HOW WE WEIGHT THOSE AS FAR AS THE DOLLARS THAT WE SPEND TO, TO TARGET THOSE.
UH, WELL, YEAH, YEAH, GOOD MORNING.
WE'RE STILL IN THE MORNING NOW.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, AND, AND AS, UH, A COUNCIL MEMBER MOSES SAID WAS THAT THE, I HAD AN INTEREST IN THE MARKETING, UH, STRATEGY OF THIS WHOLE THING.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE POINTS THAT I WAS I MADE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THOSE WHO, UH, NAVIGATED THROUGH THE CITY'S WEBSITE, WHETHER IT BE JUST COMMON CITIZENRY, UM, THEY ARE ABLE TO BE INFORMED AND EDUCATED AND ALSO SPUR A, A, AN INTEREST IN WHAT THE TURS IS ALL ABOUT AND WHAT BENEFIT IT WOULD ADD TO NOT ONLY THE AREA, BUT THE ENTIRE PUT ARTHUR COMMUNITY, RIGHT? SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UH, THAT I REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOCUSED ON BECAUSE I TRULY BELIEVE IF YOU, THE BEST TYPE OF CUSTOMER I HAVE IS AN INFORMED CUSTOMER.
SO THAT WAS THE PREMISE OF HAVING YOU HERE TO KIND OF EXPLAIN WHAT IDEAS YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO THAT INITIALLY.
SO LIKE WHAT YOU'RE ON, WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING ON, ON MAKING SURE THAT THE, HAVING THAT INFORMED CUSTOMER, UM, THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEDIUM IS VIDEO, RIGHT? AND LIKE YOUR DIRECTOR WAS SAYING, YOU WANNA BE ABLE TO TELL THAT STORY.
NOBODY CAN TELL THAT STORY BETTER FOR YOU.
SO IT'S REALLY JUST A MATTER OF US SCHEDULING IT.
WE ALREADY HAVE SET DESIGNERS, WRITERS, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, TO GET THAT FIRST PIECE OF CONTENT UP, AND THEN FROM THERE, BUILD THE REST OF IT AROUND THERE TO HAVE THAT SAME INFORMATION THAT GOES INTO THE SCRIPT, PUT ONTO THE WEBSITE IN MULTIPLE DIFFERENT PLACES.
SO WHETHER THEY SEE THE VIDEO OR THEY CLICK ON THIS ONE ASPECT OF THE
[01:05:01]
WEBSITE ARE A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF THE WEBSITE.THEY LEAVE THERE WITH MORE INFORMATION THAN THEY GOT.
AND A, A A SENSE OF COMFORT WITH THE CHURCH PROGRAM.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? DIRECTORS? OKAY.
IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, VAL, YOU GOT ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR, SO I GUESS WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, AS FAR AS THE MARKETING PLAN, WE WERE GONNA HAVE IN OUR NEXT MEETING, WE CAN HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT CONTRACT, AND THEN, UH, YOU CAN, IF YOU STILL WANT TO PRESENT ANYTHING IN MORE DETAIL, I KNOW WE WERE GONNA HAVE A POWERPOINT TODAY, BUT THAT DIDN'T, UM, NECESSARILY HAPPEN, BUT THAT COULD BE THE FOCUS OF OUR NEXT MEETING.
AND, UH, WHAT KIND OF TIMEFRAME ON THAT MEETING? IS IT TWO WEEKS? UH, WE'LL PROBABLY BE MEETING THIS MONTH.
UM, WE'LL PROBABLY BE, WELL NOT THIS MONTH, BUT WE'LL PROBABLY BE MEETING AT THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER.
WE'RE PRETTY, WE'RE PRETTY FLEXIBLE ON WHATEVER DATE THE BOARD WOULD LIKE.
ALL RIGHT, VAL, IF WE THROUGH WITH THAT, I GUESS WE GO TO NUMBER SIX,
[6. Discussion regarding possible incentives within the boundaries of the Downtown TIRZ #1 Reinvestment Zone. ]
DISCUSSING REGARDING POSSIBLE INCENTIVE, UH, WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DOWNTOWN TURF.NUMBER ONE REINVESTMENT ZONE, VAL, WHO YOU GOT ON THAT.
UM, AND IT GETS THIS NUMBER SIX AND SEVEN ARE TYPICALLY, UM, KIND OF FOR OPEN DISCUSSION.
SO NOW WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE TYPE OF INCENTIVES THAT WE OFFER.
UM, AND SO WE CAN KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT.
ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE DO, UH, WE OFFER DEVELOPMENT PLANS, UM, AND WHAT WE HAVE, WE'VE HAD I THINK ONE DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT WE'VE ENTERED INTO, UH, WITH MOTIVA, UH, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT RATHER, SOMEONE LIKE A THREE 80 AGREEMENT.
AND WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE OFFER.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE OFFER IS ASSISTANCE WITH, UH, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, I GUESS, AND TAX INCENTIVES FOR A BUSINESS IS TO COME IN.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT BASICALLY, UH, IF OTHER TYPES OF INCENTIVES.
I KNOW MR. WILLIAMS IS HERE AND HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT, KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD A QUESTION.
UH, COUNCILMAN MOSES? I'M SORRY.
UM, BACK TO IT GOT PAST ME, IF YOU WOULD SEND US THE PROPOSALS ON.
IT'S LIKE AN INVOICE, BUT IT'S NOT A FULL PROPOSAL.
BUT I WOULD SEND IT TO, WE SEND THE PROPOSAL EMAIL PRIOR TO THAT.
MR. PER IS NOT AVAILABLE, SO, UM, I'M STANDING IN FOR HIM.
UM, I THINK THE REAL INCENTIVES OF, AGAIN, THREE 80 AGREEMENTS WE DRIVE, THE TAX INCREMENT GETS BIGGER IF SOMEBODY PUTS TAXABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ZONE.
SO ONE OF THE WAYS TO DO THAT, OF COURSE, IS TO ENCOURAGE THAT IN DEVELOPMENT.
IF WE CAN'T DO IT, IF WE CAN'T ISSUE A BUILDING PERMIT IF WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE IMPROVEMENTS IN PLACE TO DO THE DEVELOPMENT.
BUT I THINK THE REAL, UH, IDEA HERE IS TO GET THOSE INCENTIVES, MAKE THOSE AVAILABLE, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY DRIVES THE MARKETING.
THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA BRING PEOPLE DOWN HERE.
THAT'S WHAT GETS, I KNOW WE'VE WORKED ON THE HOTEL, FOR EXAMPLE.
I KNOW MORE ABOUT 1929 HOTELS THAN I EVER THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LEARN.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS AND WE CAN IDENTIFY WHEN YOU STEP UP WITH THAT DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT TRIGGERS YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN, THAT IDENTIFIES A PRIORITY FOR YOU ALL.
SO THE WHOLE THING, DRIVE IS DRIVEN ON INCENTIVES, GETTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO INVEST THAT PRIVATE SECTOR IS WHERE THE TAX INCREMENT COMES FROM.
THAT'S HOW YOU DRIVE THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
SO IT'S A THREE 80 AGREEMENTS.
I'LL USE THE EXAMPLE IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, THERE'S BEEN A WHOLE SERIES OF NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THERE BECAUSE THERE'S INCENTIVES THAT ARE OFFERED FOR APARTMENTS.
THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO HERE, BUT THAT'S HOW YOU CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN DOWNTOWN.
AND HOUSTON WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD FIRE A GUN
YOU COULDN'T HIT ANYBODY BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL GONE.
YOU CAN MAKE THE SAME THING HAPPEN HERE.
IF YOU HAVE THAT HOTEL REDEVELOPED, YOU HAVE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS, HAVE PEOPLE COME DOWN HERE, START PAYING TAXES.
BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO PUT ALL OF THIS TOGETHER THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE HAS TO BE THERE.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO INTEGRATE THE TWO PLANS.
UM, QUESTIONS, DIRECTORS, YOU WANNA CHIME IN MANAGER ON ANYTHING? YES.
UM, AGAIN, UM, THANK YOU CHARLES FOR RERATING THAT, UM, SO I GUESS IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE LEAVE THIS MEETING WITH A MANDATE FOR WHOEVER GETS THE, THE CONTRACT, WHETHER IT'S FRI, NICKS OR WHOEVER IT IS.
I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR ANY ONE GROUP HERE THAT
[01:10:01]
WE PUT THAT PLAN TOGETHER.WE GET AN RFQ, AN RFP, WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE NEED TO GET OUT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, LONG BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
UM, IF THE BOARD COULD GIVE US THAT MANDATE, WE WILL WORK WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT AND THEY PUT THIS IN DEPARTMENT AND WE COULD GET THAT DONE FOR YOU.
SO THAT WE GET TO WORK AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE IN JANUARY.
UM, BOTH REVIEWING THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND PUTTING A PLAN TOGETHER WITH ALL ASPECTS THAT ARE NEEDED, INCLUDING, UM, IDENTIFYING FUNDING.
WHO WILL DO THE PLAN? WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO THE TURDS PLAN IN HOUSE THOUGH, BECAUSE IT EXPLAIN, EXPLAIN.
SO WITH REGARD TO UPDATING THE TURS PLAN, UM, BUT WE CAN DO AN RFP IF YOU LIKE, BUT USUALLY THAT'S A LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT WE'LL WORK ON THE UPDATE, CUZ THE FIRST AMENDED AND THE ORIGINAL WE DID.
BUT I THINK THE INFORMATION FROM THE DOWNTOWN PLAN HAS TO BE ADDED AND WE CAN DEFINITELY DO AN RFP OR WHATEVER IS NEEDED.
YEAH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE PORTION OF IT, OF COURSE IS GONNA COME FROM, FROM ENGINEERING.
THE CITY ATTORNEY DOESN'T DO ENGINEERING, BUT WE HAVE THAT, THAT BLOCK IN THERE AND SAYING THESE ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS WE NEED TO DO AND WE JUST LOOK TO PROFESSIONALS FOR THOSE THINGS AND THEN IS PRIORITIZED.
UH, THAT IS PLUGGED IN THOSE, SO THE TWO HAVE TO RUN TOGETHER.
SO WE'LL HAVE THE PROJECT PLAN AND THE FINANCE PLAN REVISE, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE NUMBERS ABOUT WHICH PROJECTS ARE GONNA GO IN THERE AND WHEN.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE A FUNCTION OF, UH, ENGINEERING.
I'M KINDA LIKE, OKAY MAN, I'M LIKE A MAYOR.
LIKE WHEN CAN WE GET, UH, COMPLETE PLAN WHERE WE CAN GET ALL THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WE'RE STARTING HERE AND WE'RE GONNA END UP HERE.
I'M, I'M, YOU KNOW, LET'S TRY TO DO THAT.
AND I KNOW THAT MY BOARD MEMBERS WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF THINKING THE SAME WAY.
MAYOR BROUGHT IT UP EARLIER THAT WE NEED TO HAVE AN UPDATED PLAN.
SO WHERE CAN WE, HOW SOON, I MEAN, TO GET THIS INFORMATION TO HAVE A COMPLETE, OKAY.
GIVE US ABOUT, UM, 60 DAYS CITY 30 TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER FOR YOU.
WELL, RIGHT, SO IF YOU WANT, WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE'RE UPDATING, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WHAT WE ALREADY HAD.
SO WE WOULD UPDATE THE TURS PLAN BASED ON, UH, THE ENGINEERING NEEDS THAT WOULD BE IN THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.
SO, UM, WE WANNA GO AHEAD AND WHEN WE START THIS PROCESS, LIKE WE SAID EARLIER, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS IN JANUARY, GO AHEAD AND CALL FOR THE PUBLIC HEARINGS.
AND CUZ WE HAVE TO HAVE LIKE A LITTLE PUBLIC HEARING ON IT.
AND THEN WE WOULD, OUR GOAL WOULD BE FOR THE ADOPTION IN FEBRUARY.
I DON'T THINK THERE WOULD BE A PROBLEM WITH THE ADOPTION IN THE MEANTIME.
WE WOULD BE WORKING WITH THE ENGINEERING FIRMS TO, UH, TO ADD THAT PROVISION.
THERE'LL BE BLOCKS IN THERE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO.
AND SO WE'RE, WHAT YOU NEED TO, WHAT YOU DO UNDERSTAND NOW IS THAT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE INTEGRATED SO THAT PLAN GETS TOGETHER.
UM, BUT IT'S BASICALLY WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE YOU WANT TO PUT AND WHEN.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE DRIVEN BY HOW CAN, CAN YOU GET SOMEONE TO DO THE INVESTMENTS.
SO IT'S, I THINK IT WAS GREAT THAT THEIR, THEIR WHOLE INFRASTRUCTURE IS BASED ON, EXCUSE ME, ON UH, ON IT'S DRIVEN BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
THIS IS WHERE WE WANNA MAKE THE EMPHASIS HAPPEN AND THEREFORE THE PLAN WILL, WILL HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY IN, AND I BELIEVE BASED ON WHAT DEVELOPERS COME UP WITH AND WHAT AREAS YOU WANNA DEVELOP, THAT WILL DRIVE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN.
SO TO, FOR A MORE DETAILED TIMETABLE, I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS FROM THIS POINT NOW UNTIL, UH, JANUARY, WE WILL WORK WITH PUTTING THE, THE DOCUMENT TOGETHER WITH THE ENGINEERS, RIGHT? IN JANUARY, HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARINGS WHERE WE CAN REALLY GET OUT AND BLOSSOM AND TALK ABOUT IT.
AND THEN THE ADOPTION AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING WOULD BE IN FEBRUARY.
SO, YOU KNOW, START RIGHT NOW ON GETTING THE MEAT OF IT DONE, GETTING THE ENGINEERING WORK DONE.
I'M NOT SURE IF WE WOULD HAVE, DEPENDING ON THE COST, WE MAY NOT NEED AN RFQ.
UH, WE WOULD, WE CAN ASSESS THAT, BUT IF WE DO, WE COULD PUT SOMETHING OUT RIGHT AWAY, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ENGINEERING PORTION.
SO BASICALLY THAT ENGINEERING PORTION, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL DO THE CORRECT PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR THAT.
START WORKING ON ONM, THE, I CALL IT THE MEAT OF THE DOCUMENT, THE, THE, THE REAL CONTENT OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
PUBLIC HEARINGS IN JANUARY, ADOPTION IN FEBRUARY.
AND THEN WE CAN GIVE YOU UPDATES AT THE, IF WE'RE HAVING A DECEMBER, JANUARY AND JANUARY TES MEETING AND BE READY TO ADOPT IN FEBRUARY.
BUT WE'LL BE TALKING TO YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
UH, AND I'M HEARING DIALOGUE IS GOOD BECAUSE NOW WE ARE DISCUSSING THINGS WITH DOING THINGS I BELIEVE THAT WILL MOVE US FORWARD.
[01:15:01]
NOW ARE FREEZING NICKELS HERE, THE VICE PRESIDENTS HERE? UH, UH, I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT THE RFQ AND I, UH, IF, IF, IF THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN, BUT THE DATES THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE, ARE THOSE SOME DATES THAT IF YOU ALL WERE GIVEN THIS TASK THAT COULD, YOU ALL COULD WORK WITH ON, BECAUSE I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA PUT HOW YOU SAY THAT THE HEART BEFORE THE COURT, IF WE DON'T HAVE THE PLAN, THEN IT, IT'S GONNA BE REAL, REAL DIFFICULT TO DISCUSS ANYTHING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING, TO, TO MAKE A FINAL DECISION, YOU KNOW, AND ALL OF IT.SO I THINK RIGHT NOW, IT, EVERYTHING IS BASICALLY BASED UPON A CONTINU UPON THE FACT OF AN UPDATED STUDY BEING PRODUCED, UH, UH, OF MR. CUOMO, THIS, UH, OR SOMEONE FROM YOUR TEAM.
IF YOU WERE TO DO AN UPDATED STUDY OF WHAT YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED, HOW LONG WOULD THAT YOU THINK THAT WOULD TAKE YOU ALL TO HAVE THAT BACK TO THIS GROUP IF YOU WERE GIVEN THAT TASK? LET ME, UM, BEFORE HE ANSWER THAT QUESTION, LET ME, UM, IT, UM, LET ME NOT PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.
IT HAS TO GO THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
WELL, WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING, SO NO, BUT I DID IT TO INSTIGATE YEAH, YEAH.
SO IF WE ALREADY NOTICED, LET'S NOT SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH THE WHAT IFS.
LET'S TALK ABOUT PROPS, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT'S DEFINITE AND I CAN DO THAT TOO.
WHAT'S THE CHAIRMAN? CAN WE DO THAT? OKAY, LET'S MOVE THAT.
AND LET ME, MAYOR, LET ME, MR. CHAIRMAN AND MAYOR, LET ME DO THAT FOR YOU THIS WEEK.
OKAY? BEFORE THE DAY'S UP BEFORE THE DAY UP.
LET ME SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH THE BUDGET.
AND LET ME START THAT BALL ROLLING.
I CAN GET THAT DONE THIS WEEK FOR YOU.
I MEAN, DIALOGUE IS GOOD BECAUSE I GET THAT DONE.
PUT IN A COURT CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
THANK YOU, UH, MANAGER, YOU GUYS.
AND MAY I ASK ONE THING BECAUSE MAYOR, IF IT'S, YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THE AUTHORITY ALREADY.
IF IT'S UNDER $50,000, $25,000, I CAN BEGIN TO GET THE BALL ROLLING FOR YOU RIGHT AWAY.
OKAY? WHAT I DON'T WANT US TO DO, AND, AND, AND, AND AGAIN, NOT BEING A DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, BUT I GUESS I AM, I DON'T WANT US TO LEAVE HERE.
WHAT A FALSE PERCEPTION OF WHAT WE'VE SAID WE ARE GOING TO DO.
I'VE BEEN THERE SEVERAL MEETINGS IN THE PAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, YOU KNOW, DEALING WITH THE COUNCIL AND DEALING HOW WE DO SOME THINGS AND WE LEAVE WITHOUT ACTUALLY, BECAUSE WE'RE MAKING A DECISION BASIC, BASICALLY UPON MAYBE OUR EMOTIONS AT THE MOMENT, BUT NOT FACTS THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED.
SO YOU JUST TOLD US WHAT WE NEED TO DO FIRST.
THAT'S I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO FIRST.
UH, VAL, ARE WE WITH AN ORDER? DO WE HAVE TO VOTE OR TELL US WHAT WE, UH, US SO UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTIVE.
UH, THE MANAGER NOW, OR HE UNDERST YEAH, WE UNDERSTAND THE DIRECTIVE IT, SO WE ARE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND THEN, GOT IT.
UH, LIKE I SAID, TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT TIMETABLE IS RIGHT AWAY AND THE MANAGER AND I WORK TO GET SOMETHING DONE NEXT WEEK.
SO WE'LL BE VERY, UH, SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING THAT TIMETABLE DONE.
ALL RIGHT? NOW, WHILE, WHILE, WHILE, WHILE I'M, UH, TALKING OR, OR YOU KNOW, PREACHING THING, WHILE SOME OF THOSE PREACHERS SAY THIS, I'M GONNA PUT THIS IN THE GUMBO WHILE I'M OVERSTANDING OVER THE POT, RIGHT? I SPOKE UNOFFICIALLY ABOUT HAVING SOME PERSON TO HANDLE THE ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES FOR THE CHURCH.
SO DO WE SEE NOW THE NECESSITY IN HAVING THAT PERSON AND MAYBE THE MOVEMENT, MR. CITY MANAGER, SINCE YOU ARE THE, UH, UH, A FINANCIAL GROUP, FAR AS AT THE MOMENT OF BEING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE IN PLACE SOME INDIVIDUAL THAT, THAT WE ALL AGREE UPON ON THIS BOARD.
UH, WHO WOULD BE THE PERSON? BECAUSE SEE WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, WE ARE ADDING DUE THIS TO THE CITY ATTORNEY.
OKAY? NOW, WHEN SHE DOESN'T DO IT, THAT'S GOING IRATE.
NOW SEE, I'M JUST TALKING BACK AND, AND I'M NOT, AND, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY NOT LIKE ME CAUSE I'M GONNA JUST TELL THE TRUTH, OKAY? AND THEN WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? AND I GET THIS DUTY CUZ THAT'S MY FRAT BROTHER'S WIFE, BUT NOT THAT.
BUT WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE IT, BECAUSE WE ARE GIVING YOU TOO MANY TASKS AND WE HAVEN'T DECIDED THAT MAYBE WE NEED SOMEONE, WE ARE GROWING NOW.
SO I WOULD WANT US TO CONSIDER WHY WE IN WORKSHOP MODE AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.
YOU ARE OUR PROFESSIONAL RULES.
WELL, UM, OH, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M SORRY, BUT YOU NO, YOU, YOU MAKE SOME VALID POINTS, MAYOR, BUT, UH, TELL US, AND I GUESS EXPRESS TO US, UH, CITY ATTORNEY, IF THE TASKS THAT WE ARE GIVING, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE DIRECTORS THAT WE NEED A PERSON? I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA BE OUTTA LINE, BUT I AGREE BECAUSE WE ARE, WE ARE MOVING FAST AND IF WE DON'T KEEP UP,
[01:20:01]
WE MAY LOSE SOMETHING, SOME THOUGHTS OR SOMETHING THAT WE DECIDED THAT WE'RE GONNA DO.WE NEED TO GOTTA GET SOME DIRECTION FROM YOU.
WHAT, WHERE COULD WE GO? WELL, WE ALL KIND OF WORK TOGETHER.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST MYSELF, BUT THE MANAGER AND MS. LANGFORD AND OUR TEAM, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WILLING TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I THINK AT SOME POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT ONCE, ONCE FINANCIALLY YOU'RE, WE'RE ABLE, WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO GET SOMEONE, I THINK WHEN WE BRING IN THE MARKETING COMPONENT, THEN THAT'LL HELP.
UM, I THINK AT SOME POINT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE SOMEONE IN.
BUT LIKE I SAID, IT'S NOT JUST ME BY MYSELF.
WE REALLY DO ALL WORK TOGETHER ON THIS TO TRY TO GET THE TASKS DONE.
SO, UM, WE'RE FLEXIBLE AND, AND REALLY HERE TO DO WHATEVER THE BOARD NEEDS.
I THINK ONE OF THE THING IS THAT, LIKE WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WRITTEN DOWN, WE HAVE SOME SET DATES THAT WE WANNA GET THINGS DONE BY.
SO, UH, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THOSE SET DATES.
UM, SO WE ARE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH OPEN, BUT WE WORK TOGETHER ON THIS ALL, ALL TOGETHER, COUNSEL.
SO IF YOU CHOOSE TO AND IF WE HAVE THE FINANCIAL ABILITY, THAT'S FINE.
UH, WE'RE WILLING TO DO WHATEVER WE'RE ASKED TO DO.
UH, MAYOR, THANK YOU AND CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU.
BUT I REALLY AGREE WITH, UM, THE MAYOR AND, AND I DO THINK THAT AT THIS POINT THINGS WILL, UM, HAVE FALLEN THROUGH THE GROUND.
I THINK WE NEED A WRITTEN JOB DESCRIPTION FOR A TES BOARD DIRECTOR.
AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO SET A SALARY RANGE, UH, AND COMPENSATION FOR A PERSON THAT CAN HEAD IT UP AND BE ABLE TO STAND IN FOR THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE ARE ASKING TO BE DONE WILL BE DONE.
AND IT'S NOT, UM, CONTINGENT UPON US WAITING FOR THE MANAGER, THE MAYOR, UM, I MEAN THE MANAGER OR THE CITY ATTORNEY TO, UH, HAVE, YOU HAVE A LOT OF DUTIES GOING FORWARD ALREADY.
SO I REALLY DO BELIEVE YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKE A DEPARTMENT HEAD OR, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT OR AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR SOMETHING, UH, PUT IN PLACE WHERE THERE'S WRITTEN.
UM, OF COURSE WE CAN'T HIRE ANYBODY UNLESS WE KNOW WHAT THEIR JOB DUTIES WILL BE.
SO I'M A HR PERSON, SO WE NEED A JOB DESCRIPTION WRITTEN AND WE SHOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A JOB DESCRIPTION WRITTEN FOR THIS PRESENTED TO THIS BOARD, UM, AT LEAST BEFORE THE FIRST OF THE YEAR SO THAT WE CAN HIRE SOMEBODY TO STAND FOR THE BOARD AND BE ABLE TO, UH, PUT OUR INTEREST, UH, ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY'S INTEREST AT THE FOREFRONT AND MAKE SURE THESE THINGS ARE BEING DONE.
WE HAVE, WE'RE FLEXIBLE AND FLUID.
WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING AT THE SAME TIME, ALL OF US SITTING HERE.
SO SOMETIMES I MIGHT REMEMBER SOMETHING ON TURS AND I MIGHT REMEMBER SOMETHING FOR THE COUNCIL.
UM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO REMEMBER THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
SO I THINK THAT WE DO NEED TO HIRE SOMEONE AT A CONSIDERABLE, AT A, AT A, UH, AGREED UPON SALARY RANGE THAT WILL HELP TO GET THIS NAVIGATED TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'VE BEEN HITTING AND MISSING FOR THE LA I'VE BEEN ON THE CHURCH BOARD AT LEAST THREE YEARS AND I, THIS IS THE FURTHEST I'VE SEEN IT COME.
AND SO I THINK IN ORDER FOR US TO MOVE IT FURTHER, THE MANAGER DOESN'T WANNA PUT THE MONEY UP, BUT HE CAN.
WE CAN MAKE BUDGET AMENDMENTS AND CHANGES AS A COUNCIL AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD QUICKLY.
I'M TIRED OF MOVING IN SLOW MOTION AND I THINK THAT'S THE, THE SENTIMENT OF MOST OF US HERE ON THIS, UH, THE COMMISSIONER SERVING, UH, HERE.
WE NEED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AND WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AND IT JUST NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE WILL HAVE A JOB DESCRIPTION AND A SCOOP OF WORK ATTACHED TO THAT JOB DESCRIPTION.
THICK PEN IS AT THE BACK THERE.
WE WILL GET THAT READY FOR YOU FOR YOUR NEXT STUDENTS MEETING, I PROMISE YOU.
UH, COACH GA, HIT YOUR LIGHT COATS.
COACH, THE CITY MANAGER WILL FIND THAT MONEY FOR US.
I, I, I, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE FINANCIAL DIRECTOR IS NOT HERE, BUT WE'LL SEE WHETHER WE COULD LOAN THE TO SOME MONEY.
[01:25:01]
LOAN.I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, I DUNNO WHETHER THAT'S PRESSURE ON, BUT WE'LL SEE.
LET ME, I WILL PROVIDE YOU ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS AT YOUR NEXT MEETING.
I, I JUST DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE HERE TODAY THINKING THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A PERSON, UH, TO REPRESENT US LIKE THAT.
SO THAT WAS WHY I ASKED THAT QUESTION.
YEAH, I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ANSWER TO THOSE.
WELL, CITY MAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU FEEL THAT PRESSURE, BUT HEY, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
UH, VAL ARE WE, WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE WITH THAT OR DO WE NEED NO, WE READY FOR THE LAST, UH, NUMBER SEVEN.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO NUMBER SEVEN.
[7. Comments from the Board and Community Stakeholders. ]
FROM BOARD AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS.VAL, YOU WANNA START OFF? YES, JUST UM, WE HAVE AN AUDIENCE HERE TODAY.
WE INVITED A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY AND I WANTED TO THANK UH, THE CHAMBER FOR HELPING US WITH THAT.
THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL IN GETTING SOME COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS HERE.
SO THIS PART WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE AN OPEN FORUM BEFORE WE CONCLUDE AND BREAK FOR, UH, LUNCH.
IS THAT, UM, WE WANTED TO HEAR IF THE JUST GENERAL COMMENTS AND SEE WHAT THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS THOUGHT AND GET ANY INPUT IF ANYONE WANTED TO COME AND SPEAK TO THE BOARD, KIND OF LIKE AN OPEN FORUM.
ANY THOUGHTS OR CONCERNS? I SEE MR. SOKO HAS HIS HAND UP.
YOU WANT TO COME UP AND PAT YOU WANT TO COME UP AND INTRODUCE YOUR PARTY AND THEN WE CAN HAVE, UH, AND THANK MS. AVERY CUZ SHE REALLY, REALLY HELPED.
YEAH, WELL YEAH, MOST DEFINITELY.
SHE KNOWS THE, I PUT HER ON THE SPOT, KNOWS THE COMMUNITY AND WE APPRECIATE THAT PAT HAS BEEN GOOD TO THE COMMUNITY.
WELL WE HAVE HERE TODAY WE HAVE SHELLY BAT TANZA FROM B A SF TOTAL ENERGIES.
WE HAVE JESSICA HILL FROM ENERGY, WE HAVE DEBORAH D DRAGO FROM ENERGY.
I KNOW THAT AMY WAS HERE, SHE'S STILL HERE.
NO, SHE, AMY MILLER WAS HERE FROM GENERE.
AND WE HAVE MOSES, I CAN NEVER SAY YOUR LAST NAME.
MOSES MARILLO FROM SHANE AS WELL.
WE ALSO HAVE MOTIVA HERE AND YOU ALL KNOW, UM, RANISHA,
AND I THINK THAT'S ALL THE COMPETENCE.
WE HAD A COUPLE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS THAT WERE HERE, UM, BUT THEY HAVE, HAVE LEFT.
I LOVE WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING.
THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT FOR OUR CITY AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR, YOUR EFFORTS TO GET THIS DONE QUICKLY.
MISS SOLO, YOU, YOU WANT TO, YOU'RE A GREAT GUY.
THAT PRESSURE ON YOU THOUGH, THAT PRESSURE IS ON YOU SOLO.
YEAH, THANK YOU BOARD MEMBERS.
AND, UH, FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE JUST TWO ITEMS FOR YOU IF YOU DON'T MIND.
I'M KELVIN SOKO WITH THE SOCO GROUP.
WE'RE BASED HERE IN THE PRESS BUILDING RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
UH, JUST WANT TO ADD A LITTLE BIT OF CLARITY TO WHAT, UH, OUR TRANSIT MANAGER REPORTED EARLIER.
JUST, JUST SO YOU KNOW, UH, THANK YOU ALL.
WE'VE BEEN RETAINED TO KIND OF HELP TRANSIT.
UH, BASICALLY THE LIMITS OF OUR WORK IS OF COURSE ABOUT THE 300 BLOCK OF PROCTOR AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE 200 BLOCK.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE YOUR TRANSIT BUSES, YOUR ELECTRIC AND YOUR GAS BUSES HITTING FOURTH FORT WORTH AVENUE GOING AROUND THE FOURTH STREET AND GOING AROUND TO DALLAS TO GET INTO THEIR FACILITY.
SO WE'RE BASICALLY TAKING THAT WHOLE CAMPUS AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO MODERNIZE IT.
SO I'M GONNA JUST, I'M GONNA BRIGHTEN UP THAT CORNER.
I DON'T HAVE THE WHOLE CITY, BUT I WILL BRIGHTEN UP ONE CORNER.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF I WANT TO JUST KIND OF REFER YOU TO.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BY YOU, YOU PROBABLY NOTICE WE GOT RID OF AN UGLY CONCRETE FOUNDATION.
WE PUT GRASS DOWN AND GIVE YOU SOME GREEN, MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT PRETTIER.
SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE FIRST ITEM.
THE SECOND ITEM I HAVE FOR YOU.
CAUSE I WANT TO THANK YOU AND OF COURSE, EDC AND THE CHAMBER.
UH, THERE'S SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING GOING ON AT THE PRESS BUILDING RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE HEARD FROM MR. NICK HUNTER.
AND IN ORDER FOR US TO ADDRESS YOU TODAY, ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS WALK ACROSS THE STREET AND COME HERE IS VERY CONVENIENT.
BUT, UH, WE'RE BUILDING A COMMUNITY OVER THERE.
SO I'VE ALREADY, MY FIRM HAS HIRED, UH, NICK HUNTER AND HIS TEAM TO HELP US WITH SOME OF OUR PROMOTION WORK AND DIAMOND SHINE IS OVER THERE AND THEY'RE INTRODUCED TO ME TO A CLIENT AND WINNING.
AND SO WE'RE ALL KIND OF WORKING TOGETHER.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING FOR CHRISTMAS.
SO, SO IN OTHER WORDS, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR BUILDING A BUSINESS COMMUNITY RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET IN THE PRESS BUILDING.
UM, OKAY, VAL, WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? PUT YOUR MIC ON VAL MIKE.
THIS WAS JUST, UH, THE LAST PART WAS JUST TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY AND SEE IF ANY OF THE STAKEHOLDERS HAD ANY COMMENTS AND OTHERWISE, UH, WE'LL WE CAN GO OUT.
UM, I GUESS WE CAN ADJOURN TO THE FOYER AREA AND WE CAN KIND OF FURTHER DIALOGUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, OKAY, DURING OUR LUNCH BREAK, OUR LUNCHTIME, I GUESS WE'LL BE ADJOURNING AND THEN WE CAN CONTINUE
[01:30:01]
OUT IN THE HALL HALLWAY AREA.WELL, UH, BEFORE WE DO THAT, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GONNA ASK COUNCIL MEMBER MOSES, IF SHE WOULD CLOSE THIS OUT WITH A PRAYER.
WE DIDN'T OPEN UP WITH A PRAYER.
SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND DOING THAT FOR US AND THEN I GUESS WE CAN DO, DO AN, A MOTION TO ADJOURNMENT BEFORE THAT.
GRACE AND GRACE AND DO TO GRACE WOULD WHERE YOU STAND, PLEASE, FATHER GOD, WE JUST GIVE YOU THANKS AND PRAISE AND GLORY FOR WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED IN THIS MEETING ON THIS MORNING.
GOD, WE THANK YOU AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO PUT ARTHUR GROWING AND EXPONENTIAL NUMBERS.
WE THANK YOU ALL GOD FOR OUR DOWNTOWN AREA BEING A FOCAL POINT OF OUR CITY.
WE THANK YOU, GOD FOR WHAT ALL AND ALL THE WORKERS, THE CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS, UH, ALL OF THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
WE THANK YOU FOR OUR CITY MANAGER, UH, THIS TOURIST BOARD THAT'S COLLECTIVELY WORKING TOGETHER FROM DIFFERENT ENTITIES, OUR CITY ATTORNEY, ALL OF OUR, UH, COMPANIES THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
OUR CHAMBER, GOD, WE JUST GIVE YOU THE GLORY BECAUSE WE LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT OUR CITY IS ABOUT TO BE.
GOD, WE THANK YOU FOR AND WE GIVE YOU HONOR FOR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO RECEIVE, FOR THE NOURISHMENT OF OUR BODIES AND FOR THOSE HANDS THAT HAVE PREPARED IT AND FOR ALL OF US WHO WILL PARTAKE OF IT.
THERE ARE NO MORE FURTHER BUSINESS TODAY.
I CALL FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURNMENT.
IT WAS MOVED TO SECOND QUESTIONS THERE.
I NOW CALL THIS MEETING AND ADJOURN.