* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
           
          [Economic Development Committee]
          [00:00:23]
IT IS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER THE 18TH, AND IT IS 2:01 PM AND I'M VICE MAYOR PROTE. 
          MARTHA CASTEX TATUM CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. 
          AND I LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER, UH, WANT TO WELCOME ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF AND GUESTS WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE TODAY. 
          WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK IN CHAMBERS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS, COUNCIL MEMBER MARY ANNE HUFFMAN. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LETICIA PLUMMER IS ALSO HERE. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KNOX'S OFFICE IN THE CHAMBER. 
          UM, AND ONLINE WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ASH'S OFFICE AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER DAVE MARTIN'S OFFICE. 
          THERE ARE FOUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY. 
          IF THERE ARE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS THAT ARE IN THE CHAMBERS THAT HAVE NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN UP, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET RIGHT OUT FRONT, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU SIGN UP TO SPEAK. 
          PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESENTATIONS, AND ANY QUESTIONS CAN BE EMAILED TO DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV, AND WE'LL BE FORWARDED TO THE RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENTS, AND THEN THEIR RESPONSES WILL BE DISTRIBUTED. 
          ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC JOINING VIRTUALLY, PLEASE USE THE CHAT POD TO POST YOUR QUESTIONS ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. 
          UH, FIRST UP, WE WILL HAVE THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY DIRECTOR, MARSHA E MURRAY, AND CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER JEBEDIAH GREENFIELD, AND THEY WILL PRESENT ON THE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AND MWBE INCLUSION. 
          SO WE ARE READY TO HEAR FROM THEM NOW. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          GOOD, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF. 
          UH, YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, IN, IN TALKING OF OUR, UM, COOPERATIVE PROCUREMENTS, WE WANTED BACK ONE. 
          YEP. 
          WE JUST WANT TO START OFF BY QUICKLY IDENTIFYING WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COOPERATIVE PURCHASING. 
          UH, COOPERATIVES ARE ORGANIZATIONS OR ENTITIES THAT, UM, HAVE COMPETITIVELY BID COMPLIANCE SOLICITATIONS AND ONE AGENCY DOES IT, AND ANOTHER AGENCY IS ABLE TO USE THAT COMPETITIVELY BID PROCESS. 
          AND SO IT'S A, IT'S A WAY TO, UH, ALLOW US TO, TO UTILIZE THOSE CONTRACTS. 
          SO WE JUST WANTED TO START OFF THERE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          JUST WANTED TO SHOW, UM, AND HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THE COMMON COOPERATIVE AGENCIES THAT ARE UTILIZED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          AGAIN, WHEN WE VET A COOPERATIVE UH, AGENCY, WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THEIR SOLICITATIONS, UH, ARE COMPETITIVELY BID THAT THEY FOLLOW THE STATE PROCUREMENT LAW. 
          UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF COOPERATIVES. 
          A LOT OF THE COOPERATIVES USE WHAT'S CALLED A LEAD AGENCY MODEL, IN THAT THE ORGANIZATION USES ANOTHER ENTITY, SOMETHING LIKE THE CITY OF HOUSTON OR ANOTHER CITY COUNTY, UM, POLITICAL AGENCY. 
          THEY ACTUALLY SOLICIT THAT BID AND THEN THE AGENCY USES THAT, UH, TO LET OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES DO THAT. 
          THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME COOPERATIVES THAT HAVE AUTHORITY TO SOLICIT ON THEIR OWN THAT ARE AGENCIES, UH, SUCH AS BYOR, WHICH IS AN AGENCY OF THE STATE DIR. 
          AND SO THEY ACTUALLY SOLICIT DIRECTLY NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO AGAIN, JUST ON THAT LEAD AGENCY CONCEPT, UM, THE LEAD AGENCY PREPARES FOR AND ISSUES THE SOLICITATION SUPPLIERS RESPOND TO THOSE SOLICITATIONS, AND THE LEAD AGENCY EVALUATES AND THEN AWARDS THE CONTRACT. 
          SO IT'S THE AGENCY THAT DOES IT, AND THEN THE CONTRACT IS MADE AVAILABLE TO OTHER AGENCIES, GOVERNMENT ENTITIES BY THE COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION. 
          SO THAT'S THE LEAD AGENCY MODEL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, COOPERATIVE CONTRACTING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          WHAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE WEIGHING, UM, OPTIONS OF UTILIZING A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT, UH, OR BIDDING ONE, WE, WE LOOK AT THE DEMANDS ON OUR PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING IN. 
          WE WEIGH WHETHER OR NOT IT MAKES SENSE TO USE A COOPERATIVE OR WHETHER WE SHOULD GO OUT WITH A BID, FOR INSTANCE, WHEN WE GET FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS, UH, WE PREFER TO BID THOSE OUT BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS, UH, THAT THE FEDERAL AGENCIES REQUIRE. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD TAKE THROUGH AND DO OUR OWN BID ON. 
          WHEREAS SOMETHING ELSE WE MAY LOOK AND SAY, THIS MAKES SENSE TO DO IT UNDER A COOPERATIVE. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS TOO THAT WE'VE USED RECENTLY IS REALLY THIS BACKLOG 
          [00:05:01]
OF PROJECTS. 
          UH, AND SO WHEN I, UH, CAME INTO SPD, SOME OF THESE PROJECTS HAD BEEN SITTING FOR A YEAR PLUS, UH, AND HADN'T BEEN TOUCHED. 
          AND SO IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO QUICKLY GET THOSE OUT SO THAT DEPARTMENTS HAD WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO THEIR OPERATIONS AND FULFILL THEIR MISSIONS. 
          AND SO WE UTILIZED A LOT OF COOPERATIVES RECENTLY TO GET THROUGH THAT BACKLOG, RIGHT? SO WE'LL ASSESS THE IMPACT OF WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT HAS ON OUR OPERATIONS AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN LOOK AT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES LIKE EMERGENCIES OR EXPEDITED PURCHASES. 
          IF THERE IS A COOPERATIVE CONTRACT THAT I CAN UTILIZE VERSUS JUST GOING DIRECTLY FOR AN EMERGENCY PURCHASE, I CHOOSE TO GO THAT WAY BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN COMPETITIVELY BID AND ALLOWS ME TO HAVE THAT COMPETITIVELY BID PRICING. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND THEN WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, AND THIS WAS HIGHLIGHTED SOMEWHAT, UH, TODAY OUR, OUR SMALL SUPPLIER OPPORTUNITIES. 
          AND SO CERTAINLY THE MESSAGE THAT WE'VE HEARD IS, WHILE WE'RE UTILIZING THESE COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS, LET'S LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UH, SO THE SMALL SUPPLIER OPPORTUNITY, UH, THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED IS TO, SPECIFICALLY ON OUR SUPPLIES, UH, COOPERATIVES, IS TO LOOK AT WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WE CAN CREATE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. 
          AND SO WE HAVE THESE, UM, FOR INFORMAL BIDS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT OUT, THERE ARE SEVEN THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, AND I'LL ECHO, UH, WHAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SAID TODAY IS, UH, WE, WE ENCOURAGE SMALL BUSINESSES TO GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND LOOK AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND PROVIDE US BIDS. 
          UH, WE WILL THEN TAKE THAT, UH, AND THEN ON A GO FORWARD BASIS, PRODUCE ONE TO THREE OF THOSE, UM, SUPPLY CONTRACTS ON OR SUPPLY, UH, PROCUREMENTS ON OUR INFORMAL PROCUREMENT PAGE. 
          AND REALLY THAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY CAN PROVIDE, AND ARE THERE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT FROM A PRICE STANDPOINT THAT MAKES SENSE TO DO SOMETHING LARGER IF NEEDED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, STANDALONE, UH, SMALLEST SUPPLIER OPPORTUNITIES, I, YOU KNOW, I DO, I KNOW THERE, THERE'VE BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND HOW MWBES, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ROLE ARE THEY PLAYING IN THIS COOPERATIVE, UH, APPROACHES AND APPROACH. 
          AND SO I DO WANT TO JUST, UH, MAKE CLEAR THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS ASSESSED COOPERATIVE PURCHASING, COOPERATIVE CONTRACTING FOR MWBE PARTICIPATION. 
          THAT'S A PART OF OUR NORMAL PROCESS FOR YEARS, WHENEVER THE CITY WAS GOING TO PROCURE SOMETHING VIA A CO COOPERATIVE CONTRACTING, WE ALWAYS MADE, ASSESSED WHETHER OR NOT WERE THERE MWBES AVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE WORK. 
          AND, UM, AND THE, THE VISIBILITY OF THE WORK ON THAT PARTICULAR PROCUREMENT. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN A STANDARD PART OF OUR PROCESS. 
          NOW, THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES IN WHICH WE HAVE DRAWN THE CONCLUSION THAT IN FACT, THOSE TWO CRITERIA NOT MET, RIGHT? AND IN, IN PARTICULAR, UM, NOT EVEN JUST THE AVAILABILITY PIECE OF MWB EAST, BUT REALLY THE DIVISIBILITY OF THE, OF WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE PURCHASING. 
          SO OFTENTIMES WE WILL USE, UH, COOPERATIVE CONTRACTING, UM, TO PURCHASE VEHICLES. 
          SO THERE'S NO REAL DIVISIBLE COMPONENT TO THAT PARTICULAR, UM, UH, PURCHASE BECAUSE THE ONLY ELEMENT WOULD NORMALLY BE DELIVERY. 
          AND SO THOSE PRODUCTS ARE ACTUALLY DROPSHIP, A LOT OF SUPPLIES ARE DROPSHIP. 
          SO THERE ISN'T THAT OPPORTUNITY TO INSERT AN MWBE INTO THAT CONTRACTING PROCESS BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A DELIVERY, UH, COMPONENT. 
          WE'VE ALSO COME ACROSS, UM, INSTANCES WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UM, UM, GETTING SUPPLIES, UH, FROM A MEMBER OF A COOPERATIVE AND THE WAY THERE'S NO, WHILE THERE'S NO SUBCONTRACT AND OPPORTUNITY, THERE ARE, UH, THEY ENGAGE MWBE DISTRIBUTORS, RIGHT? UM, SO THERE ACTUALLY FUNCTIONING THOSE MWBES ARE FUNCTIONING AS PRIMES, REALLY, THAT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY PROVIDE THE SUPPLIES DIRECTLY TO, THEY WOULD, THEY, THEY WOULD BE PROVIDED SUPPLIES DIRECTLY TO THE CITY. 
          THAT'S NOT A SUBCONTRACT AND OPPORTUNITY, THAT'S JUST A STRUCTURE WITHIN THE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING SPACE THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MATCH WITH HOW WE SET MWBE GOALS, WHICH HAS REALLY BEEN FOCUSED ON SETTING SUBCONTRACTING GOALS USED, ANALYZING THOSE TWO ELEMENTS OF THE VISIBILITY, UM, AND AVAILABILITY. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE, WE RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, AS WE USE THIS METHOD MORE AND MORE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, THAT WE MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, FOR MWBES. 
          SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY IN ADDITION TO, AND THEY'RE NOT SET ASIDE IN ADDITION TO CARVE OUTS FOR SMALLER BUSINESSES, UM, WE WANNA, WE, WE ALSO WANNA EXPLORE OTHER WAYS IN WHICH TO SUPPORT MWBE. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE HAVE RECOGNIZED IS THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE SOME BASELINE EDUCATION OF THE MWE COMMUNITY AROUND WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN THE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING SPACE. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, TO JUST KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT COOPERATIVE PURCHASING IS, HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER, WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ACTUALLY EXIST 
          [00:10:01]
IN THAT SPACE? SO, UM, SPD AND OBO PARTNERED TO CREATE A THREE PART SERIES IN SEPTEMBER WHERE WE HELD THE FIRST PART OF THAT SERIES WAS TO HAVE AN INFORMATIONAL UNC COOPERATIVE PURCHASING. 
          UM, AND THEN THE SECOND PART, WE ACTUALLY HAD, UM, COOPERATIVES ACTUALLY COME AND TALK ABOUT, UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST THERE, AS WELL AS MEMBERS, MEMBERS, UM, SUCH AS, UH, TDI, WHO WE DO BUSINESS WITH MSC TO TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR EXPERIENCE AS A COOPERATIVE MEMBER. 
          WHAT IS INVOLVED, WHAT IS INVOLVED, AND ACTUALLY ARE THERE FEES INVOLVED? AND NOT EVERY COOPERATIVE ACTUALLY INVOLVES A FEE, BUT JUST TO BE ABLE TO, FOR THE MWBES TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LANDSCAPE IS. 
          AND, UH, WE ALSO ADDED A THIRD PART THAT REALLY FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, TEAMING. 
          YOU KNOW, SOME FIRMS ARE TOO SMALL TO TAKE ON, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN PROJECTS, BUT IF THEY TEAM UP WITH ANOTHER SMALL FIRM, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE TO REALLY KIND OF TACKLE, YOU KNOW, A LARGER, A LARGER PROCUREMENT. 
          SO WE HAD ABOUT, I I SAY WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 70, 70 BUSINESSES ATTEND. 
          UM, OUR, OUR SERIES, WE DO THINK IT'S JUST A START, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY JUST INTRODUCING THIS FROM OUR OFFICE, UH, TO THE MWB COMMUNITY. 
          SO WE REALIZE THE NEED TO INTEGRATE DISCUSSION, CONTINUED DISCUSSION AROUND COOPERATIVE PURCHASING INTO OUR PROGRAM. 
          AND, UH, WE ARE AT OUR MEET THE BUYER, UM, ANNUAL, UM, EVENT IN DECEMBER, WHICH IS, WILL BE ON DECEMBER 9TH. 
          WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A, SOME COOPERATIVE MEMBERS COME OUT AND, UH, BE AVAILABLE TO TALK TO BUSINESSES THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN, UH, INTERESTED IN THIS SPACE. 
          WE HAVE A QUARTERLY, I'M CERTIFIED WHAT'S NEXT, UM, FOR NEWLY CERTIFIED COMPANIES WHERE WE ACTUALLY INTRODUCE THEM TO, YOU KNOW, THE CITY'S LANDSCAPE IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, SOLICITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES. 
          AND WE'LL INTEGRATE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS, THIS OPTION, UM, INTO THAT, INTO THAT PROGRAM IN, UM, AS WELL. 
          AND GRAINGER, I BELIEVE, HAS COMMITTED TO PARTICIPATING IN OUR INTER-AGENCY MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAM, WHICH WE DO WITH OTHER AGENCIES IN THE REGION. 
          SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE, WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE THROES OF JUST OPERATIONALIZING, INTEGRATING, UM, COOPERATIVE PURCHASING, JUST AS PART OF OUR STANDARD, UM, UM, ANOTHER TOOL, YOU KNOW, TO TREAT THIS ASANO, ANOTHER TOOL THAT MWBES CAN ACTUALLY, UM, USE TO, TO GROW, UH, THEIR BUSINESSES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO THE, THE LAST ONE HERE, JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SO I MENTIONED THE, UH, SMALL SUPPLIER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE THROUGH OUR BIDS. 
          WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THE BACKUP EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT MAY BE STARTING THAT DON'T KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE, UM, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. 
          UH, SO IN SPD FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE HAVE, WE'RE SET UP A VENDOR ENGAGEMENT TEAM. 
          THEY'RE ON THE GROUND, THEY'RE DEVELOPING TRAININGS CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, AND WE ARE LAUNCHING A NEW, UH, VENDOR PORTAL BIZ WITH HU. 
          UH, AND THAT PORTAL CAN BE FOUND@BIZWITHHUE.ORG, WHERE VENDORS CAN GO NOT ONLY TO SEE OUR SOLICITATIONS, UM, BUT TO FIND TRAININGS AND, AND UNDERSTANDING. 
          SO SOME OF OUR LIST OF TRAININGS MAY BE THINGS THAT ARE SIMPLY LIKE HOW YOU FILL OUT THIS FORM CORRECTLY, HOW YOU FILL OUT THIS FORM CORRECTLY. 
          BECAUSE WHAT WE SEE SOMETIMES IS SOMEONE, UH, SUBMITS A BID THAT MAY BE AN ERROR, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IF THAT'S THEIR FIRST TIME IN DEALING WITH, UH, PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN THINGS. 
          AND SO DEVELOPING TRAINING AROUND THAT. 
          SO WE WILL HAVE MORE TO COME ON THAT, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE TO SHARE THAT IF WITH YOUR OFFICES AS WE GET READY TO LAUNCH, UH, THAT PORTAL. 
          AND THEN LAST SLIDE, JUST OUR, OUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. 
          AND I THINK I GOT A CORRECTION FROM ONE OF MY TEAM MEMBERS MEET THE BUYERS ON DECEMBER 7TH, NOT DECEMBER 9TH. 
          THANK YOU, . 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          I THINK THAT, UM, WE ALL HAVE BEEN VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE TYPE OF TRAINING THAT HAPPENS THROUGH, UM, EACH OF, UM, YOUR OFFICES SPECIFICALLY IN OBO. 
          UM, THEY DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF PROVIDING THE TRAINING, BUT SOMETIMES WHEN WE ARE SO USED TO DOING THIS WORK OVER AND OVER, UM, WE NEED TO REVISIT AND SEE WHAT ELSE WE CAN OFFER TO OUR MWBES AND SMALL BUSINESSES. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A WELL RECEIVED ADDITION, UM, IN OUR, OUR BOOK OF TRAINING. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, I DID WANT TO ASK, UM, THERE WERE TWO TERMS USED, AND I KNOW THAT, UM, A CARVE OUT AND A SET ASIDE, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          UM, AND, UH, I, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE LEGALITY OF, OF THAT IF, UM, WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS, IS ON THE SAME PAGE, AND THAT WHAT 
          [00:15:01]
WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING, UM, IS, IS GOING TO BE A BEST PRACTICE, UM, FOR US. 
          AND IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE DO, UM, ALREADY AS AN OBO OFFICE IN PROCUREMENT. 
          SO SET ASIDES, UM, ARE, ARE NOT, ARE PROHIBITED FOR, UH, RACE AND GENDER CONSCIOUS FOR, YOU KNOW, SET ASIDE FOR, FOR MINORITIES AND WOMEN. 
          UM, SO SMALL BUSINESS, UM, SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS ARE PERFECTLY, UH, FINE. 
          I, I DON'T WANNA GIVE TOO MUCH LEGAL, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS AS ONE, AS THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY, I LIKE THE ONE THAT JED DESCRIBED AS IS PERFECTLY FINE WHEN IT'S JUST FOCUSED ON THE SIZE OF A BUSINESS AND NOT THEIR RACE, NOR THEIR GENDER. 
          YEAH. 
          IT'S REALLY GEARED TO, LET'S, LET'S PUT OUT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ON THE SUPPLY SIDE MM-HMM . 
          OF THINGS WHERE WE SEE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE OPPORTUNITIES. 
          RIGHT? YEAH. 
          AND, AND THEN THE O OTHER QUESTION I HAD, UM, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUSINESSES THAT ATTENDED THE TRAINING? UM, YOU KNOW, WERE, WAS THIS NEW INFORMATION FOR THEM OR DID THEY, THEY FIND THIS INFORMATION TO BE, TO BE HELPFUL FOR AN ADDITIONAL WAY FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE HAVE HERE AT THE CITY? SO I, I, SO I DON'T HAVE THE, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS ABOUT THE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE ATTENDED, BUT I THINK THE GENERAL SENTIMENT IS THAT, WOW, THIS IS, THIS IS NEW INFORMATION AND THIS, THIS IS USEFUL. 
          YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT REALLY A SPACE THAT I, I MEAN, I'VE HEARD OF, BUT I HAVE NOT BEEN INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH. 
          AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY, ACTUALLY LOOK AT. 
          AND I THINK WE GOT SOME REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS AT THE LAST, THE LAST, WAS THAT THE SECOND OR THE LAST ONE? YEAH, ACTUALLY WE HAD SOME REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT WHERE THEY WERE REALLY POINTED IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF WHAT, WHERE, WHERE DO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES EXIST MM-HMM . 
          WHERE WE CAN UTILIZE, YOU KNOW, A, A SYSTEM THAT'S REALLY GROWING ACROSS PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AGENCIES NATIONWIDE. 
          AND SO IT'S, LET'S MAKE SURE WE'RE TYING IN TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF, OF HOW TO UTILIZE THAT AND HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          WE HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, UM, STAFF, WELL, WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR JUST ALL THE WORK AND, UM, REALLY JUST TRYING TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. 
          UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN REALLY TRYING TO HELP FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY I CAN, UM, AND HOW WE CAN DO THIS. 
          AND SO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT MAY HAVE TO GET BACK IN, INTO QUEUE. 
          UM, DIRECTOR MURRAY, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY BRIEFLY, UM, THE INABILITY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO INFLUENCE CO-OPS, SO IN, IN THE, UM, IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY MM-HMM . 
          RIGHT? CONTRACTS COME IN, WE LOOK TO SEE, MAKE SURE THERE'S A 20%, UM, YOU KNOW, PROMISE OF THE PRIME, ET CETERA. 
          IN CO-OPS, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT. 
          CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, I MEAN, YOU'RE ADVISING AND YOU'RE REVIEWING, BUT YOU'RE NOT, THE, THE OOBO DOESN'T, UM, DOESN'T SPECIFICALLY HAVE TO PUT IN A PERCENTAGE OF INVOLVEMENT. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? SO, UH, NO, NOT EXACTLY. 
          SO CO-OPS COVER NOT JUST SUPPLIES, BUT ALSO SERVICES AS WELL. 
          OP, SO WE, SO I'M SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY OF, UM, SUPPLIES. 
          OKAY. 
          SUPPLIES, YES. 
          SO WE ACTUALLY, UH, SO THE DEPARTMENT INITIATES THE REQUEST TO US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHATEV THE COOPERATIVE, UH, PURCHASE. 
          AND SO THEY DO AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT. 
          SO IT'S THE EXACT SAME PROCESS THAT WE, WE FOLLOW FOR NON-COOPERATIVE PURCHASES. 
          SO THEY LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE DIVISIBLE ELEMENTS AND, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE AVAILABLE FIRMS, THEY, THEY DO THAT INITIAL, UH, REVIEW AND THEN THEY COME TO US WITH A RECOMMENDATION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THERE SHOULD BE A GOAL. 
          UM, AND THERE'VE BEEN INSTANCES THAT WE'VE PUT A GOAL ON, ON, ON, ON CO-OPS. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, WE WILL REVIEW TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S ACTUALLY JUSTIFIED BASED ON THE DOCUMENTATION. 
          UM, SO WE ARE, WE ARE FULLY ASSESSING FOR WHETHER OR NOT A GOAL COULD ACTUALLY BE PLACED. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, ALRIGHT, THAT'S GOOD INFORMATION. 
          SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GRAINGER CONTRACT MM-HMM . 
          WE KNOW THE LIST OF ITEMS THAT WERE ON THERE. 
          I'M JUST GONNA SPEAK OF THAT ONE JUST 'CAUSE WE JUST PASSED IT. 
          UM, THEY'RE CLEARLY ITEMS ON THERE THAT COULD HAVE HAD SOME LEVEL OF MD MWBE INVOLVEMENT, NOT IF THEY WERE, THEY'RE BEING DROP SHIPPED. 
          IF THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO THE, THEN THERE'S, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE AN OPPORTUNITY. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT WE, BUT ON THE GRANGER DEAL, THEY'RE NOT, THERE WEREN'T LARGE CARS OR, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THESE WERE ITEMS MM-HMM. 
          THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE DROP SHIPPED, MAYBE NOT BY A MI A SMALL BUSINESS, BUT MID-SIZE, UM, MWB. 
          SO I DON'T THINK THE SIZE OF THE ITEM IS NECESSARILY DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT, UH, DROP SHIP IS A METHOD OF DELIVERY. 
          NO, NO, I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          BUT, BUT, BUT I AM AWARE THAT SOME OF THE SMALLER MID-SIZE, UM, M WBS DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DROP SHIP. 
          [00:20:01]
SO, SO TO SERVE AS DISTRIBUTORS, UM, TO GRAINGER? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. 
          I MEAN, WE USE GRAINGER TO DO A LARGE CONTRACT MM-HMM . 
          THERE ARE MANY ITEMS ON THAT CONTRACT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE UTILIZED THROUGH AN MWBE, YET THERE WAS NO, NO MWBE REQUIREMENT ON THAT CONTRACT. 
          SO I'M NOT SURE WHERE THE OPPORTUNITY WOULD BE EXCEPT THROUGH A DISTRIBUTOR TYPE OF FUNCTION, OR ARE THEY SOURCING THE, THE ITEMS FOR GRANGER? UM, YEAH, I MEAN, THEY COULD HAVE PLAYED A SUBPRIME ROLE OR I MEAN A SUB ROLE, OR THEY COULD HAVE BEEN A PRIME. 
          MY POINT IS, IS THAT THE WAY IN WHICH THE CO-OPS ARE BEING UTILIZED, IT IS VERY CHALLENGING FOR A SMALL BUSINESS. 
          AND THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO WHERE THAT SMALL BUSINESS, MIDSIZE WHATEVER MEAN MM-HMM . 
          WE USE THAT SMALL BUSINESS TERM SO LIGHTLY, I DON'T EVEN WANNA SAY THAT OTHER THAN A LARGER, UM, LARGER CO-OP. 
          THERE, THERE WOULD, THERE WOULD BE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, UM, TO BE ABLE TO FULFILL THOSE NEEDS. 
          AND EVERY CO-OP THAT WE SEE COMING FORWARD NOW THAT I'M LEARNING COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY HAD AN MWBE REQUEST. 
          I WAS NOT AWARE OF THAT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, WE'RE SEEING IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IF THEY'RE NOT. 
          SO I WILL SAY THAT JUST BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A SUBCONTRACT, SO LIKE I MENTIONED, JUST THE WAY THAT THE CITY'S MWB PROGRAM IS STRUCTURED, WE LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES ON A SUBCONTRACTING LEVEL, BUT NOTHING, UM, NOTHING NECESSARILY PREVENTS US FROM I, FROM RECOGNIZING THOSE DISTRIBUTORS DOES MWB DISTRIBUTORS, YOU KNOW, AS, UM, AS A WIN FOR THE MWB COMMUNITY. 
          WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COUNT IT IN OUR NUMBERS. 
          MAYBE THERE'S A DIFFERENT WAY WE COULD TRACK IT, BUT IF WE'RE ENGAGING DISTRIBUTORS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT THE USUAL WAY, NEW USUAL STRUCTURE WE WE SEE FOR OUR WARS REPORT, WE CAN STILL RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S, THAT, THAT THERE'S STILL THAT INTEGRATION OF MWBE'S IN THAT PROCESS. 
          THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY THERE. 
          IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST NOT IN THE FORM THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY SEE IT. 
          THAT THE, THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE, THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS THAT, AND YOU KNOW HOW THIS WHOLE THING GOES MM-HMM. 
          IF WE DON'T WRITE IT DOWN, IT NEVER HAPPEN . 
          AND SO WE CAN HOPE, RIGHT? THAT THESE LARGER COMPANIES ENGAGE M WS, WE CAN TRUST THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ENGAGE THEM. 
          UM, BUT UNLESS WE, AND THIS IS NOT A, NOW THIS IS A DISCUSSION, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, BUT IF WE, I BELIEVE THAT IT'S, AS WE MOVE TOWARD CO-OPS, 'CAUSE AS, AS WE ALL SEE MM-HMM . 
          UM, WE ARE MOVING MORE. 
          I JUST, IN THE FOUR YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE BEEN HERE, WE'RE SEEING IT DEFINITELY MORE OF A CONVERSATION IT WAS BEFORE. 
          UM, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A WAY IN WHICH WE CAN, UM, IF WE'RE UTILIZING CO-OPS AND AN MWB AS AN OPTION MM-HMM . 
          IN THAT AGREEMENT, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, NOT EFFORT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US TRY TO DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER ON, ON ENGAGING THEM. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, AND I THINK TOO, SO THE, THE, WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR SMALL SUPPLIER, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, THE BIDS THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW IS, YOU KNOW, AS WAS SAID, WE CAN'T TAKE, WE CAN'T TAKE A A SET ASIDE AND SAY, BECAUSE YOU CAN PROVIDE THESE SAME X, Y, Z ITEMS, WE CAN'T SUBDIVIDE THOSE ITEMS. AND SO TO SAY THAT YOU WOULD PROVIDE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THOSE ITEMS FALLS BACK INTO THAT SET ASIDE. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, IS WELL, LET'S CREATE THIS WHOLE NEW OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU CAN COME OUT AND YOU CAN BID ON, SO THAT WE'RE GEARING THAT TOWARDS OUR, OUR SMALL SUPPLIER COMMUNITY. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CHAIR. 
          , YOU, YOU IN THE QUEUE. 
          YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? YEAH, I STILL THINK THAT, GO AHEAD. 
          I FEEL LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE CLARITY, UM, JUST, JUST ACROSS THE BOARD, BECAUSE INITIALLY WHEN I HEARD ABOUT CO-OPS, IT WAS A STATE, UM, YOU, YOU HAD TO BE OBVIOUSLY CERTIFIED BY THE STATE. 
          IT WAS THE IDEA THAT IT WAS, UM, THE LOWEST PRICE, RIGHT? AND THE ABILITY TO, UM, BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE EFFECTIVELY. 
          UM, AND THERE WAS NO OPPORTUNITY TO PULL OUT ANYTHING THAT DEALS WITH THE MINORITY BUSINESS. 
          THAT WAS MY ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING. 
          BUT NOW HEARING IN MY, BUT SO NOW YOU'RE SAYING TO ME THAT IF YOU HAVE A CO-OP, THERE CAN POTENTIALLY BE AN MWBE ENGAGEMENT. 
          OH, THERE CAN BE. 
          YEAH. 
          YOURS. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT IS NOT NECESS. 
          I DON'T THINK THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF PHONE CALLS THAT I GET TO MY OFFICE FROM SMALL BUSINESSES, WHEN THEY SEE CO-OP ON THERE, YOU KNOW HOW WE GET A BACKGROUND INFORMATION, THEY SAY, OKAY, THERE'S 20% WE'RE GONNA USE, WE'RE GONNA USE A MINORITY OR A SUB VENDOR AT 20% ON OUR BACKGROUND INFORMATION. 
          WE DON'T GET THAT INFORMATION. 
          AND SO IT'S ALMOST SEEMS AS IF EVERY CO-OP THAT WE SEE HAS LIKE EXCLUSIVE, LIKE IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PASS. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S CONCERNED ABOUT. 
          AND THEN, AND I DON'T WANNA SOUND UNGRATEFUL, BUT THEN WE SEE 
          [00:25:01]
THE SMALL BUSINESSES, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GIVE THEM A MILLION DOLLARS AND WE ALL GOT THAT DOCUMENT. 
          BUT WHEN YOU'RE DOING $30 MILLION IN CO-OPS, THAT'S WHERE THAT KIND OF, THE DISCONNECT AND CONFUSION HAPPENS. 
          AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYONE CLEARLY UNDERSTANDS THAT IF YOU HAVE A CO-OP, THERE IS STILL AN MWBE COMPONENT TO IT, BUT OBO IS MAKING THE DECISION IF WE'RE GOING TO, IF IT'S THE BEST FOR, FOR EVERYBODY THAT WE CHOOSE AN MWB IN THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE BASED ON THE LIST OF ITEMS THAT YOU LOOK AT, THE CRITERIA THAT YOU LOOKED AT. 
          YEAH. 
          SO IT'S A JOINT, IT'S A JOINT, UH, REVIEW BETWEEN, UM, US AND THE DEPARTMENT TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE CARVED OUT TO BE, UH, SUBCONTRACTED TO MWBES. 
          AND IF THERE, AND WOULD THAT BE DETERMINED BY JUST, IS IT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DIVISIBILITY? THAT'S EXACTLY IT. 
          SO WES, EXACTLY IT IN A SITUATION LIKE WHAT WE HAD WITH GRAINGER, THE, THERE WAS NO DETERMINATION OF DIVISIBILITY BESIDES DISTRIBUTION, IF I RECALL THAT THAT'S, THAT THAT IS IN FACT THE CASE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO I THINK WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER IS, UM, REALLY ADVOCATING FOR IS HOW CAN WE TAKE THOSE BIG CONTRACTS AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES, LET, LET'S SAY THEY NEED 100 WIDGETS. 
          UM, CAN WE DIVIDE THAT UP? AND INSTEAD OF JUST ONE COMPANY BUYING THE 100 WIDGETS, UM, TWO COMPANIES BUY, UH, 50 WIDGETS AND 50 WIDGETS, OR 20 WIDGETS AND 80 WIDGETS. 
          IF IT CAN BE, IF IT COULD BE DIVIDED, I, I THINK IT GETS A LITTLE BIT MORE THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S BEYOND OUR MWBE ANALYSIS. 
          THAT'S, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I ALSO KNOW WHAT'S LEGAL AND WHAT'S NOT LEGAL, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND THE HAPPY SPACE WHERE WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT IS, UM, NOT ALLOWED, BUT ALSO PROVIDING THE MAXIMUM OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR MWBE UM, PARTICIPANTS. 
          SO, CHAIR, IF I COULD, IF I COULD, IF I COULD JUST SPEAK MM-HMM . 
          SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT. 
          AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT IS BY GOING BACK TO THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF DOING IT AS INFORMAL AND FORMAL BIDS. 
          YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? AND SO WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. 
          WE'RE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE SHIFTING MORE TOWARD THE CO-OP OPTION. 
          SO WHEN THAT HAPPENS, IT DOES, IT CHANGES THE WAY IN WHICH WE LEGALLY CAN, CAN BE INVOLVED. 
          BUT IF THESE ITEMS, WATER, BOTTLED WATER SANITIZER, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE SIMPLE THINGS THAT WE KNOW ARE MID-SIZE, SMALL, WHATEVER, CAN DROP SHIP. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT THOUGH THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EVEN ENGAGE BECAUSE NOW WE'RE MOVING TO A CO-OP. 
          EXACTLY. 
          AND THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE PROBLEM. 
          AND THESE COMPANIES ARE, HAVE CAPACITY AND THEY ACTUALLY CAN DO IT. 
          AND OFTENTIMES GRANGER WILL RUN OUT OF THINGS AND THEY'LL CALL WITH SMALL BUSINESSES AND, AND THEY WILL BUY. 
          YEAH. 
          YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? AND SO, BUT THE CO-OP OPPORTUNITY REALLY DOES, IT SHIFTS THINGS. 
          AND LIKE YOU MENTIONED BEFORE, BECAUSE THEY'RE LEGAL PIECES OF THAT. 
          SO WOULD, WOULD YOU, WOULD, WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SAY THAT WE ARE UTILIZING THE CO-OPS BASED ON THE LOWEST BECAUSE OF THE ADVANTAGE FOR THE PRICE? SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THE SLIDE I HAVE, THERE ARE SEVERAL OPTIONS THAT WE WOULD LOOK FOR A CO-OP. 
          A LOT OF IT IS THE, THE TIME TO PROCURE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A BENEFIT THAT WE HAVE TO ANALYZE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH BACKLOGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          WE CAN LOOK AT THE, THE PRICING AND, AND ACTUALLY A GREAT WAY TO CHECK THE MARKET ON PRICING IS WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW WITH THOSE, UM, INFORMAL BIDS SO THAT WE CAN SEE, HEY, LOOK AT THIS, LOOK AT THIS ITEM. 
          IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN EXPAND THROUGH A, A FUTURE BID? BUT, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF, IF I WAS PUTTING A BID TOGETHER FOR SHOVELS, WE'RE GONNA SPEND HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN SHOVELS OVER TWO YEARS, I WOULD GO THROUGH THIS SAME ANALYSIS WITH OBO, WHICH MOST LIKELY WOULD RESULT IN A ZERO GOAL BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SUBDIVIDE THE PURCHASE OF A SHOVEL, RIGHT? SO WHETHER I, I BID IT OR NOT, BUT YOU CAN'T SUBDIVIDE THE NUMBER OF SHOVELS, THE NUMBERS THAT YOU BUY. 
          AND, AND, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TAKING IT. 
          AND WE'RE SAYING RATHER THAN PURCHASING EVERYTHING THROUGH THIS LARGER CONTRACT, LET'S START TO LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT WE CAN PULL AND PUT OUT FOR BID TO DO IT. 
          YOU KNOW, LEGALLY THESE ARE A WHOLE SEPARATE BID. 
          AND LET'S SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE, WHEN WE BRING THOSE OUT TO MARKET. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          ANY, UH, WE DO HAVE A QUESTION FROM STAFF, UM, FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KNOX'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON SLIDE SIX WHERE YOU HAVE SEVEN INFORMAL BIDS RELEASED AND THEN ONE TO THREE INFORMAL BIDS. 
          DO YOU, UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE A SET OF GOALS OR BENCHMARKS THAT, YOU KNOW, 12 MONTHS FROM NOW WE'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE THIS A, B, OR C? OR ARE WE TOO MUCH IN THE INFANCY HERE? BUT I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, BECAUSE WE WANT TO SEE IF THE PROGRAM WORKS OR NOT. 
          SURE. 
          WE'RE TRYING TO SET A FLOOR AND NOT A CEILING. 
          AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE IN THE MEMO THAT THAT WENT 
          [00:30:01]
OUT TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, RIGHT? WE, WE ARE PULLING THAT, THAT MILLION DOLLARS ASIDE TO UTILIZE, AGAIN, THAT'S THE FLOOR. 
          IF THIS IS SUCCESSFUL, HEY, LET'S, LET'S RAISE THAT UP. 
          AND, AND THE POINT THAT WAS BROUGHT UP TODAY, THESE CONTRACTS THAT WE, THAT THAT COUNCIL THAT YOU ALL VOTE ON ARE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNTS, NOT GUARANTEED AMOUNTS, RIGHT? SO IF, IF WE FIND SOMETHING VERY SUCCESSFUL IN A NEW MODEL AS WE'RE APPROACHING THIS, UH, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO MOVE BUDGET CATEGORIES AND DO NEW SOLICITATIONS BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING OUT IN THE MARKET. 
          OKAY. 
          I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IN SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WE CAN SAY, HEY, WE DID A GOOD JOB, OR NO, WE NEED TO ABSOLUTELY PROGRESS OVER ON THIS SIDE. 
          SO, ABSOLUTELY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEP. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION. 
          AND THE OTHER, UM, QUESTION I HAD IS, DO WE HAVE A TIMELINE ON THE BIZ WITH HUGH.ORG SITE? I THINK THAT'S A PHENOMENAL IDEA. 
          IT'S A GOOD WAY TO HAVE, UM, A PLACE TO SEND EVERYONE TO WHERE THEY CAN GATHER ALL THE INFORMATION THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE LOOK, ARE LOOKING FOR. 
          UH, YES. 
          AND I AM, I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS LAUNCH. 
          UH, ONE THINGS THAT I HEAR FROM ALL THE SUPPLIER COMMUNITY IS TRYING TO NAVIGATE SPD, DO YOU PROCURE THIS OR IS THIS DONE THROUGH THIS? BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THREE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE DELEGATED AUTHORITY FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS. 
          HOW DO I FIND THOSE? RIGHT? SO THIS CENTRALIZES ALL THE INFORMATION IN ONE SPOT, UM, TO DO THAT. 
          THE SITE IS LIVE RIGHT NOW. 
          YOU CAN GO THERE RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, WE HAVE A FEW THINGS THAT WE'RE ADDING AND TWEAKING, AND THEN WE'LL DO A LARGER LAUNCH, BUT WE HAVE A SOFT LAUNCH THAT WAS, THAT, THAT'S AVAILABLE NOW. 
          UM, BUT AS WE FINISH THOSE FEW THINGS, WE'LL BE PROVIDING TO COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT INFORMATION, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS REALLY GONNA BE SIGNIFICANT IN SHOWING THAT WE ARE HERE TO HELP SUPPORT THE VENDOR COMMUNITY IN NAVIGATING WHAT CAN BE SOMETIMES A DIFFICULT, UH, CUMBERSOME PROCESS. 
          SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS WE HAVE QUEUED UP QUICK, YOU KNOW, HOW TO VIDEOS, UH, WHERE IT'S, HOW DO YOU FILL OUT THIS DRUG FORM BECAUSE WE GET THOSE BACK AND IT'S, WE GET ERRORS AND THAT SLOWS DOWN THE PROCESS. 
          AND SO WE WENT CLEAR BACK AND SAID, WELL, LET'S, LET'S HELP THE VENDORS ON THE FRONT END RATHER THAN GO THROUGH THIS AND SLOW THE PROCESS DOWN. 
          SO ANYTIME THAT WE SEE THAT, AND, AND WE'RE GONNA BE OPEN FOR FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL, AND FROM THE VENDOR COMMUNITY ON, HEY, THIS PIECE OF THE PROCESS, I JUST DON'T GET, ALRIGHT, LET US KNOW. 
          LET US DEVELOP A TRAINING ON IT AND LET US POST IT ON THE BIZ WITH YOU WEBSITE. 
          AND I THINK THAT WE, WE NEED TO DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, UM, TOUTING THIS, UM, SITE, UH, WHETHER THAT INCLUDES, UM, YOU KNOW, PRESS CONFERENCES, RECEPTIONS WITH THE CHAMBERS. 
          I MEAN, WE HAVE TO GET THE WORD OUT. 
          SO MANY TIMES WE CREATE THESE THINGS AND WE ALL KNOW ABOUT 'EM, BUT THE PEOPLE IN, IN THE PUBLIC IN THE CITY, THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT UNTIL THEY CALL AND THEY SAY, OH, HAVE YOU GONE TO BIZ WITH HUGH.ORG? AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BIZ WITH HUGH.ORG. 
          AND, AND THAT'S THE REALLY HARD PART ABOUT GOVERNMENT WORK SOMETIME, IS MAKING SURE THAT, UM, PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          THAT, I MEAN, PEOPLE ARE RUNNING THEIR BUSINESSES AND TRYING TO PAY PAYROLL AND DO ALL THOSE THINGS ON A DAILY BASIS, SO THEY AREN'T, YOU KNOW, AS ENGAGED AS WE ARE. 
          SO WE'VE GOT TO BE VERY DILIGENT ABOUT GETTING THIS INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN USE IT, BECAUSE WE PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO IT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          COUNCILMAN PLUM, YOU'RE IN THE QUEUE AGAIN. 
          I DO, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, ON THE, ARE WE, HAVE WE SHIFTED OVER FROM, I KNOW WE WERE TALKING ABOUT USING A DIFFERENT, UM, PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE. 
          HAVE WE SHIFTED THAT YET? NOT YET. 
          NOT YET. 
          THANK YOU FOR ASKING. 
          SO THAT, THAT'S PART OF THIS WHOLE NEW LAUNCH. 
          GREAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UH, DECEMBER 4TH IS THE GO LIVE OF SAP ARIBA, THAT'S OUR NEW E BIDDING SYSTEM. 
          UH, AND, AND ACTUALLY WE'RE MAKING A BIG PRESENTATION AT MEET THE BUYER. 
          THIS IS A MEET THE BUYER THIS YEAR THAT YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          UH, BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE SOME FANTASTIC THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE THERE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW SYSTEM, BECAUSE EVERY VENDOR'S GOING TO HAVE TO REREGISTER. 
          SO IF THAT MESSAGING HAS STARTED OUT IN SOME WAVES NOW, UH, AND WE ARE GOING TO HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, IS WHEN WE DO OUR BIG LAUNCH ON INFORMATION, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION TO YOUR OFFICES TO HELP US IN GETTING THAT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY. 
          'CAUSE WE WANNA REALLY MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE NEW SYSTEM AND, AND THE BENEFITS. 
          AND, AND I'LL JUST TELL ONE OF THE BIGGEST BENEFITS I THINK FROM THE, UH, VENDOR COMMUNITY IS ON DECEMBER 4TH WHEN WE GO LIVE, VENDORS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PHYSICALLY COME DOWN TO CITY HALL ANNEX AND DROP OFF THEIR BID. 
          THEY CAN SUBMIT IT ELECTRONICALLY. 
          SO WE ARE, THAT'S HUGE . 
          YEAH. 
          THAT'S SO VERY CONVENIENT. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          YES. 
          WELL, WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT. 
          UM, KEEP US INFORMED AND LET US HELP TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THESE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AND, UM, WE WILL DO OUR PART, PUT IT EVERY, I THINK MOST COUNCIL OFFICES HAVE NEWSLETTERS. 
          WE WANT TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OUR, OUR CONS, CONSTITUENTS AND, AND BUSINESS OWNERS SO THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH HERE IN THE CITY. 
          'CAUSE WE WANT EVERYBODY TO BE SUCCESSFUL. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK. 
          WE APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK 
          [00:35:01]
YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE WILL HEAR FROM THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STAFF ANALYSTS ANDREW BUSKER, AND HE WILL PRESENT THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROPOSALS. 
          MR. BUSKER. 
          BUSKER, SORRY. 
          WE'RE READY FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MY SLIDES. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          SO MY FIRST PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE ON TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROPOSALS. 
          WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THIS ROUND OF PROPOSALS ARE FOR THE DECEMBER 1ST, UH, APPLICATION DEADLINE TO THE STATE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, AS AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM, IT'S BASED ON, UH, TECH TEXAS TAX CODE CHAPTER 2303. 
          THE PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
          UH, IT'S A REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE SALES AND USE TAXES FOR QUALIFYING PROJECTS. 
          EVERY STATE BIENNIUM, UM, MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES ARE EACH ALLOTTED NINE NOMINATIONS. 
          UM, IF THEY ARE NOT USED BY THE END OF THE BIENNIUM, THEY FORFEITED, AND THEN WE GET A NEW SET FOR THE NEW BIENNIUM. 
          SO THE DECEMBER 1ST DEADLINE IS THE FIRST ROUND OF THIS BIENNIUM, AND IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE'RE PROPOSING TO USE ONE OF OUR NINE NOMINATIONS. 
          UM, SINCE THE COUNTY CAN NOMINATE A PROJECT, UM, IN ORDER TO DO SO, THEY EN ENTER INTO AN ILA WITH THE CITY WHERE THE PROJECT EXISTS. 
          UM, AND THEN SINCE IT IS A REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE SALES AND USE TAXES, UM, THERE'S NO, UM, FUNDING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MUNICIPALITY. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THE PROPOSAL I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY IS TOSHIBA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, AND THE PROJECT SITE IS 1 31 31 WEST LITTLE YORK ROAD IN HOUSTON. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO IN 2018, THE HOUSTON LOCATION OF TOBA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION WAS AWARDED A TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE DESIGNATION FROM THE STATE TEZ DESIGNATIONS LAST A MAXIMUM OF FIVE YEARS, AND NOW TOSHIBA IS RETURNING FOR A SECOND NOMINATION. 
          THE PROJECT SITE IS LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF NORTH ELDRIDGE PARKWAY AND WEST LITTLE YORK ROAD IN THE CITY'S ETJ. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, A $35 MILLION INVESTMENT, UH, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, CONDUCT BUILDING MODIFICATIONS AND NEW EQUIPMENT, UH, TO PRODUCE NEXT GENERATION FULLY BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE FOR AUTOMATED MOTORS. 
          UM, THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW HOUSTON IS CONTINUING TO BE A LEADER IN ENERGY TRANSITION. 
          UM, AND WITH THAT, THEY PLAN TO RETAIN 745 EXISTING JOBS AT THE SITE. 
          UM, HOWEVER, WITH THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM, A MAXIMUM 500 JOBS CAN BE, UM, CONSIDERED IN, IN THE APPLICATION FOR REIMBURSEMENT. 
          THE AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY FOR THESE RETAINED JOBS, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $106,700. 
          SINCE THE PROJECT IS NOT LOCATED WITHIN A CENSUS DESIGNATED ENTERPRISE ZONE, 35% OF TOSHIBA'S NEW EMPLOYEES AT THIS LOCATION MUST MEET THE STATE'S ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED ENTERPRISE ZONE RESIDENCY OR VETERAN REQUIREMENTS. 
          IN ADDITION, THE COMPANY HAS EXPRESSED ITS DESIRE TO CONTINUE ITS COMMUNITY BENEFIT COMMITMENTS TO THE CITY, WHICH INCLUDE PARTICIPATION IN THE HIGHER HOUSTON YOUTH PROGRAM, UTILIZING LOCAL AND COMMUNITY JOB RECRUITMENT AND EXERCISING LOCAL HIRING. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THE TARGET DATE FOR THIS NOMINATION TO BE, UH, UP FOR CONSIDERATION BY CITY COUNCIL WILL BE NOVEMBER 8TH. 
          AND, UM, THAT GIVES US AND THE COMPANY PLENTY OF TIME TO SUBMIT THEN FOR THE DECEMBER 1ST DEADLINE. 
          UM, SO NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE'LL WRAP UP MY PRESENTATION. 
          SO I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOMINATION. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, THOMAS, YOU'RE IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          UM, CAN YOU RETURN TO PAGE THREE, PLEASE? SO, UM, BULLET NUMBER TWO SAYS, UH, QUALIFYING PROJECTS. 
          CAN YOU GIMME A DEFINITION ON QUALIFYING PRODUCTS? AND THEN CAN YOU ALSO PROVIDE IF THERE ARE ANY GUIDELINES FOR THE LAST BULLET? A COUNTY CAN ONLY NOMINATE A PROJECT THROUGH AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT. 
          YOU KNOW, I'M A LITTLE SALTY, THE COUNTY DID NOT ACCEPT OUR PROJECT, SO I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO OVER AGAIN. 
          SURE, SURE. 
          [00:40:01]
AND WITH THE GUIDELINES IS FOR THAT, AND SO I CAN KNOW WHAT TYPE OF QUALIFYING PROJECTS CAN GENERATE FROM THIS PROJECT. 
          SO A QUALIFYING PROJECT, THERE'S SEVERAL, AND QUALIFYING IS DETERMINED BY THE STATE. 
          THE STATE DETERMINES WHAT, WHAT'S QUALIFYING. 
          AND HERE IT'S A CERTAIN INVESTMENT AMOUNT, WHICH RANGES FROM ANYWHERE FROM I THINK, UH, HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ALL THE WAY UP TO MULTIMILLION MASSIVE PROJECTS. 
          THERE'S DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. 
          SO IT GOES FROM SOMETHING CALLED A, UH, HALF ENTERPRISE ZONE PROJECT, WHICH ARE THE SMALLER ONES TO A DOUBLE JUMBO PROJECT, IS, IS THE NAME FOR IT. 
          UM, THE, THERE'S A MINIMUM. 
          EACH STAGE HAS THRESHOLDS. 
          SO YOU CAN HAVE 250 NEWER RETAINED JOBS AT THE SMALLER END IS THE MAXIMUM CAP, AND THAT'S BASED ON INVESTMENT. 
          AND THEN ON THE MAX END, YOU CAN HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 500 JOBS THAT ARE ONLY NEW JOBS. 
          AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, THE WINDOWS WE'RE PLAYING WITH AS FAR AS QUALIFYING AS WELL, THEY REQUIRE FOR THESE APPLICATIONS THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF JOBS IN, IN THE APPLICATION, THE AVERAGE SALARY ACROSS ALL OF THOSE JOBS HAS TO MEET OR EXCEED THE COUNTY'S AVERAGE, AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME. 
          THE AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE IS HIGHER. 
          AND SO WE, WE'VE SEEN CHANGES IN OUR APPLICATIONS BASED ON THAT METRIC ALONE. 
          UM, SO THAT, THAT'S A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF QUALIFYING PROJECTS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, USUALLY IT'S A MANUFACTURER RETOOLING OR IF A OFFICE SPACE IS EXPANDING AND THEY'RE GETTING NEW EQUIPMENT. 
          THOSE ARE SORT OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THIS IS HELPFUL. 
          AND ALTHOUGH THIS IS A STATE PROGRAM, WE DO, WE HAVE, WILL WE HAVE LOCAL GUIDELINES BASED ON THE PRIORITIES OF THE CITIES AND THE CITY AND THE THINGS THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN GROWING IN TERMS OF INDUSTRY AND NEIGHBORHOODS? RIGHT. 
          SO, UH, OUR OFFICE HAS A SCORING, UH, METRICS THAT WE USE AND EACH PROPOSAL IS ASSIGNED TO A POINT VALUE BASED ON THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDE US. 
          AND IF IT MEETS A CERTAIN MINIMUM THRESHOLD, THEN WE PROVIDE IT FOR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL. 
          I WOULD BE INTERESTED MADAM CHAIR IN SEEING THOSE CATEGORIES. 
          OKAY. 
          WE CAN GET THOSE TO, TO THE COMMITTEE. 
          SURE. 
          AND THE, THE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EVER EVALUATE THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE BENEFITING FROM THESE T ZS THAT ARE IN THE CITY VERSUS THE ONES THAT ARE, I GUESS THAT WOULD KIND OF BE EMPLOYEE INFORMATION. 
          I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'M, WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS, ALTHOUGH IT'S IN THE ETJ, UM, ARE WE EMPLOYING A LARGE NUMBER OF CITIZENS FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON? I WOULD, I WOULD ASSUME THAT WE ARE. 
          UM, BUT IS THERE ANY INFORMATION THAT WE GET FROM THESE COMPANIES AND WHEN WE ARE DOING THE REEVALUATION FOR THE NEXT, UM, APPROVAL WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY ACTUALLY HIRING PEOPLE FROM, UM, THESE AREAS THAT THEY ARE TARGETING TO HIRE FROM? IS THERE A CHECK ON OUR EXPECTATIONS? YEAH, SO SOMETHING OUR OFFICE DOES AS WELL IS, UH, WE'VE STARTED IN THE PAST THREE YEARS OR SO, IS ENTERING INTO MOUS WITH, UH, COMPANIES SINCE A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION IS REPORTED DIRECTLY TO THE STATE. 
          AND THOUGH EVEN THOUGH WE NOMINATE, WE DON'T SEE A LOT OF THEIR PROGRESS OVER TIME. 
          SO WE'VE ENTERED INTO MOUS WITH THE COMPANIES WHERE THEY PROVIDE US HIGH LEVEL EMPLOYEE DATA, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT NEW JOBS OR RETAINED JOBS ARE RELEVANT TO THEIR APPLICATION, UH, WHETHER AND LIKE WHICH, UH, DESI, WHICH ENTERPRISE ZONE CATEGORY THEY FIT. 
          SO WHETHER SOMEONE IS EMPLOYED OR FROM ONE OF THE DESIGNATED CENSUS TRACKS, WHETHER THEY'RE A VETERAN, UH, WHETHER, UM, THEY HAVE, I THINK IT'S A ECONOMIC, UH, HARDSHIP IS THE OTHER CATEGORY. 
          SO WE'RE GETTING SOME OF THAT INFORMATION. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, AND THEN, UH, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM, WE WILL MOVE TO THE PROPOSED TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE ACTIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          [00:45:01]
SO I WILL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, SOME CHURCH PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE TO SHARE WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THE FLOW OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL GIVE SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE TURS PROGRAM AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO THE PROPOSALS. 
          AND THEN AT THE END I'LL PROVIDE A TIMELINE ON, UH, WHEN YOU SHOULD ALL EXPECT TO SEE SOME OF THESE, UH, BEFORE COUNCIL. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, UH, FIRST OFF, UH, WE HAVE, UH, TWO, UH, FRAMEWORKS THAT WE FOLLOW FOR OUR OFFICE. 
          UM, THET PROGRAM IS ROOTED IN CHAPTER THREE 11 OF THE TEXAS TAX CODE. 
          UH, EVERYTHING THE CITY DOES IN THIS PROGRAM AND EVERYTHING THE TOURS BOARDS DO IN THEIR ZONES CAN BE REFERENCED BACK TO CHAPTER THREE 11. 
          AND THEN EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED ORDINANCE, UH, 2023 DASH 7 26, WHICH ADDED THE TURS PROGRAM INTO ITS, UH, TO THE CITY'S FINANCIAL POLICIES. 
          AND OUR OFFICE REFERS TO THIS, UH, ORDINANCE AS THE TURS POLICY. 
          AS A QUICK REVIEW, I'LL HIGHLIGHT THE PORTIONS OF THE CITY'S TOURS POLICY THAT ARE RELEVANT TO TODAY'S PROPOSALS. 
          ON NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          FIRST WE HAVE, UM, UH, THE SUMMARY OF THE LIFE EXTENSION POLICY. 
          SO LIFE EXTENSION OF AN EXISTING TOURS WILL BE EVALUATED AND CONSIDERED FOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SCENARIOS. 
          UM, THE PROPOSED EXTENSION IS REQUIRED TO SECURE FINANCING FOR AN APPROVED PROJECT TO EXPEDITE CONSTRUCTION. 
          WE'LL PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO COMPLETE AN APPROVED PROJECT. 
          WE'LL GENERATE REVENUE FOR PROJECTS REFLECTED IN A PROJECT PLAN IF SUPPORTED BY A PLANNED NEW INVESTMENT IS NEEDED TO LEVERAGE NEW LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL OR PHIL PHIL PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING. 
          UM, SO WE HAVE TWO, UH, LIFE EXTENSION PROS PROPOSALS TODAY, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MOMENT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, THE THIS HERE WE'RE REFERRING TO BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS. 
          NOW BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS CAN INCLUDE ANNEXATIONS OR DE ANNEXATIONS, AND HERE WE'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT ANNEXATIONS. 
          UM, SO AN ANNEXATION INTO AN EXISTING TURS WILL BE EVALUATED AND CONSIDERED FOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SCENARIOS. 
          THE PROPOSED ANNEXATION WILL FURTHER THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TURS PROJECT PLAN AND ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN THE PROPOSED AREA TO SUPPORT AN APPLICATION TO THE STATE OR FEDERAL HOUSING AGENCY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF LOW INCOME HOUSING SUPPORT, AN APPLICATION FOR STATE, FEDERAL, OR PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION, PARK OR OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AND WE HAVE ONE OF THESE PROPOSALS TODAY. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO IN ADDITION TO USING THE TURS POLICY AS OUR FRAMEWORK, WE'RE ALSO SCORING THE PROPOSALS BASED ON EIGHT METRICS. 
          AND THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, URGENCY, UH, ALIGNMENT WITH, UH, THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES. 
          UM, HOW THE PROPOSAL AFFECTS OUR 25% CAP, WHETHER THE PROPOSAL IS IN THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE, UM, HOW MUCH UNDEVELOPED OR UNDERUTILIZED LAND IS BEING CONSIDERED HERE. 
          UM, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT VALUE, UH, AS WELL AS WHETHER OR NOT THE PROPOSAL WILL HAVE IMPACTS WITH, UH, FLOODING MITIGATION AND HOW THE PROPOSAL ALIGNS WITH, UM, PUBLIC WORKS AS CIP PROJECTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT CAP, UM, THIS IS ALL CERTIFIED TAX YEAR 22. 
          UH, SO ON THE SLIDE HERE, WE'VE GOT ABOUT $63 BILLION WORTH OF PROPERTY, REAL PROPERTY IN THE TS PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, AND THAT'S COMPARED AGAINST ABOUT $266 BILLION OF REAL PROPERTY, UM, DESIGNATED WITHIN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, SO LOOKING AT THOSE TWO NUMBERS HERE, WE'RE SITTING AT ABOUT 23.7% OUT OF OUR 25% CAP. 
          SO WE'RE CLOSE. 
          AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'RE MONITORING THINGS VERY, VERY THOROUGHLY. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO HERE, UM, THIS IS THE ONE ANNEXATION THAT WE'LL DISCUSS TODAY. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, WITH OUR CURRENT PERCENTAGE BEING AT, UH, 23.0, SORRY, 23.703, THIS ANNEXATION IS 4000TH OF A PERCENT OF OUR 25% CAP. 
          SO THAT'LL PUT US IF IT'S APPROVED BY 23.707%. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO HERE'S AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSALS I'LL SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY. 
          UM, I'LL DISCUSS EACH OF THESE IN GREATER DETAIL, STARTING WITH TS SEVEN. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WITH TS SEVEN, THEY'RE CONSIDERING AN ANNEXATION. 
          THE WILLIAM A. LAWSON INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY, ALSO REFERRED TO AS WALLET, IS A 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFIT OPERATING SINCE 1996 IN 
          [00:50:01]
2005, WHILE CONSTRUCTED 50 APARTMENT, UH, APARTMENTS DESIGNED TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR SENIORS LIVING IN THIRD WARD. 
          THE DEVELOPMENT RECEIVED, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FROM THE CITY AND IS PARTICIPATING IN A 20 YEAR LAND USE RESTRICTION AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY'S HOME PROGRAM. 
          FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, THESE APARTMENTS HAVE BEEN NEARLY 100% OCCUPANCY. 
          WHILE IT PLANS TO EXPAND ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SENIORS BY ANOTHER 69 UNITS ON PARCELS ADJACENT TO ITS EXISTING HOUSING. 
          AND WHILE IT WILL APPLY FOR A DEPE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAX CREDITS TO SUPPORT THE EXPANSION, THE ANNEXATION AREA INCLUDES THE BLOCKS SURROUNDING GRANTWOOD STREET NEAR THE CORNER OF SOUTHMORE BOULEVARD IN SCOTT STREET BY ANNEXING WALLOP INTO ITS SURROUNDING PROPERTIES, SORRY, BY ANNEXING WALLOP, AND ITS SURROUNDING PROPERTIES INTO TURF SEVEN WALLOP WILL HAVE A STRONGER APPLICATION TO D-D-C-H-A-A AND THEREFORE, UH, GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF RECEIVING THE DESIRED, UH, T-D-H-C-A AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAX CREDITS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS, UH, TURNS 18, UH, CONSIDERING A LIFE EXTENSION. 
          SO LAST YEAR, CITY COUNCIL ENTERED INTO THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY AND THE KINDER FOUNDATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEVERAGING PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING FOR PARK SPACE AND RECREATION FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS. 
          IN THIS AGREEMENT, BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY WILL PROVIDE FUNDING FOR MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS. 
          TURS 18 IS ONE OF TWO TS TAKING ON THE MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY AND COUNTY IN ORDER TO ABSORB THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST EXPANSION. 
          A LIFE EXTENSION IS REQUIRED, TURNS 18 IS EXPECTED TO ABSORB 25% OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OBLIGATION COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST MAINTENANCE. 
          THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDES A THREE YEAR LIFE EXTENSION, MOVING THE TERMINATION YEAR OF TURNS 18 FROM 2049 TO 2052. 
          AFTER DECEMBER 31ST, 2050. 
          CITY PARTICIPATION WILL BE REDUCED FROM 100% DOWN TO 10% OF THE CITY INCREMENT UNTIL THE NEW ZONES PROPOSED TERMINATION DATE OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2052. 
          NEXT SLIDE, TS 23 IS ALSO CONSIDERING A LIFE EXTENSION. 
          AND SIMILARLY, TS 23 IS THE SECOND TS TAKING ON THE MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY AND COUNTY FOR THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST EXPANSION. 
          IN ORDER TO ABSORB THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH BUFFALO BAYOU EAST BY LIFE EXTENSION, FORT 23 IS REQUIRED AS WELL. 
          TS 23 IS EXPECTED TO ABSORB 75% OF THE COUNTY AND CITY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS. 
          THIS PROPOSAL INCLUDES A 12 YEAR LIFE EXTENSION MOVING THE TERMINATION YEAR OFTS 23 FROM 2040 TO 2052. 
          AFTER DECEMBER 31ST, 2040, THE WHENT THREE WAS INTENDED TO TERMINATE. 
          CITY PARTICIPATION WILL BE REDUCED FROM 10%, OR SORRY, FROM 100% DOWN TO 10% TO OF CITY INCREMENT UNTIL THE ZONE'S NEW PROPOSED TERMINATION DATE, DECEMBER 31ST, 2052. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND FINALLY, WE HAVE TS 24 IS JUST A, A PROJECT PLAN AMENDMENT. 
          SO IN 2021, HARRIS COUNTY'S COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT RELEASED A 10 YEAR HOUSING STRATEGY FOR THE COUNTY. 
          THIS REPORT IDENTIFIES A NEED FOR 200,000 HOUSING UNITS WITHIN A 10 YEAR HORIZON, UH, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO COST APPROXIMATELY $47 BILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          TERRA 24 PLANS TO SUPPORT HARRIS COUNTY'S 10 YEAR HOUSING STRATEGY BY ESTABLISHING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND, BUILDING OUT ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE ZONE, AND DEVELOPING A TENANT ATTRACTION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT LIFE SCIENCE EMPLOYEES IN FINDING AFFORDABLE PLACES TO LIVE NEAR WHERE THEY WORK. 
          SINCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS NOT AN EXISTING PROJECT CATEGORY INT 24 IS PROJECT PLAN, THIS AMENDMENT IS REQUIRED TO INITIATE THESE PROJECTS. 
          T 24 IS UNIQUE IN THAT ITS PROJECT PLAN IS DIVIDED BY CITY PROJECTS AND COUNTY PROJECTS. 
          THE COUNTY INCREMENT ONLY FUNDS COUNTY PROJECTS AND THE CITY INCREMENT ONLY FUNDS CITY PROJECTS. 
          THESE PROPOSED CHANGES TO CHURCH 20 FOUR'S PROJECT PLAN ARE ONLY TO THE COUNTY SIDE RESPONSIBILITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE PROJECT PLAN. 
          AND SO THEREFORE, THERE'S NO IMPACT ON CITY INCREMENT OR CITY FUNDED CAPITAL PROJECTS WITHIN THE TS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO HERE'S OUR TIMELINE. 
          UH, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S, UH, THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS HERE. 
          SO GROUP ONE, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT TS SEVENT 18 S 23. 
          WE AIM TO HOLD 
          [00:55:01]
PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR THESE THREE PROPOSALS ON NOVEMBER 8TH WITH THE PROPOSALS ON THE AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 15TH. 
          SINCE THE TERRA 24 PROJECT PLAN AMENDMENT NEEDS TO BE APPROVED BY THE HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT BEFORE CONSIDERED BY COUNSEL, IT WILL MOVE ON A DIFFERENT TIMELINE. 
          OUR OFFICE WILL BEGIN STEPS NECESSARY FOR JURORS 24 IS PROJECT PLAN AMENDMENT TO BE CONSIDERED BY COUNSEL FOLLOWING COMMISSIONER'S COURT'S CONSIDERATION OF THE ITEM AT THEIR OCTOBER 31ST MEETING. 
          WE ALSO RECEIVED ANOTHER OF OTHER PROPOSALS AND OUR OFFICE IS REVIEWING THOSE PROPOSALS NOW, UM, IF ANY OF THOSE PROPOSALS MOVE FORWARD TO BE RECOMMENDED FOR COUNCIL ACTION THIS YEAR, UH, WE WILL PRESENT THEM AT THE NEXT ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, WHICH IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 15TH. 
          SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE WRAPS EVERYTHING UP, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL HAPPILY TAKE THEM. 
          UH, MY FIRST, THE FIRST THING THAT STANDS OUT TO ME, UM, MR. BUSKER IS FOR TS 18 AND TS 23, THIS IS 2023. 
          THEIR TERMINATION WAS SCHEDULED ON 18 AT 2049. 
          HOW DO WE ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY NEED A THREE YEAR EXTENSION AND THEN FORTS 23, THEIR TERMINATION WAS SCHEDULED FOR 2040. 
          HOW DO WE KNOW THEY NEED A 12 YEAR EXTENSION? SO WHAT DID TIME IS THAT THE BAYOU EAST AGREEMENT IS 30 YEARS. 
          AND SO SINCE IT STARTED IN 2022, WE PROJECT THAT OUT TO 2052. 
          SO THAT'S THE LENGTH OF TIME FOR THE AGREEMENT. 
          SO THESE, UH, THESE EXTENSIONS CONNECT THE TUR AS TO THE, THE FULL TERM OF THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST AGREEMENT WAS THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST AGREEMENT IN PLACE WHEN THE TURS ORIGINALLY STARTED. 
          UH, I'M, I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DETERMINES THE LENGTH OF TIME FOR THE EXTENSION AND DOES IT CORRELATE WITH SOMETHING, DO WE HAVE SOME METRICS FOR THE EXTENSION? THE, THE EXTENSION'S PURELY TIED TO THE BUFFALO BAYOU EAST AGREEMENT. 
          SO IN ORDER FOR THE TOURS TO GENERATE ENOUGH INCREMENT TO PAY THE, THE, THE MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS FOR THE AGREEMENT, WE'RE PUTTING IT TOGETHER, THE LIFE EXTENSION, WHICH IS ALSO WHY WE'RE REDUCING CITY PARTICIPATION. 
          SO THE, THE INCREMENT GENERATED BY THESE TWO TOURS JUST PAY FOR THE OBLIGATION COSTS AFTER THEIR INITIAL TERM EXPIRES. 
          SO ONCE THE INCREMENT GOES DOWN OR THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION GOES DOWN TO THE 10% MM-HMM . 
          THE, THE LION'S SHARE OF THE FUNDING WOULD ONLY COME FROM WHAT THE TURS IS GENERATING. 
          YEAH. 
          SO ONCE, ONCE CITY PARTICIPATION DECREASES WHATEVER IS REMAINING IN THEIR INCREMENT THAT IS BEING PAID, THAT IS FUNDING THE MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS FOR THE, FOR THE TURS. 
          SO WE'D EXPECT THERE OTHER PROJECTS TO BE WINDING DOWN AT THAT POINT. 
          SO THE ONLY THING LEFT IS FINALIZE, LIKE FINALLY OUT THE BUFFALO BAY EAST AGREEMENT. 
          OKAY. 
          WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE. 
          WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TYING THESE TWO, OUR NEWLY DONE POLICIES. 
          VERY, VERY GOOD. 
          UM, AND I WAS REALLY ASKING ABOUT THE, THE 10% TOO. 
          UM, IF YOU COULD JUST EXPLAIN THAT AGAIN, LIKE WE'RE, THAT'LL BE TOWARDS THE END OF THE AGREEMENT. 
          SO THEY WILL BE ASSUMING MORE AND MORE OF THE NO, WHAT, WHAT AM I GETTING WRONG HERE? ON THE, WHEN WE'RE TAKING 10%, SO THE REDUCING IT TO 10%, SO RIGHT NOW THET IS RECEIVE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF CITY, UH, INCREMENT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND THEY'LL, AND THEY'LL, OKAY. 
          YES. 
          SO THEY'LL ONLY GET 10% OF THE INCREMENT. 
          YEAH. 
          LET ME, LET ME HELP WITH THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THE AGREEMENT ITSELF, UH, CAME AFTER THE TURS, BUT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS JUST INCREASE THE LENGTH OF THE TURS TO ONLY PAY THE MAINTENANCE. 
          IF YOU RECALL, WHEN I BROUGHT THAT AGREEMENT UP TO COUNCIL, I SAID, THERE'S NO CITY COST TO THESE AGREEMENT. 
          THERE ARE ONLY TURS COSTS. 
          SO WE ARE JUST EXTENDING THESE TURS AS JUST FOR THE MAINTENANCE OBLIGATION IN THE BUFFALO BA EAST AGREEMENT. 
          NOT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, NOT FOR ANY OTHER PROJECTS. 
          SO THEY'RE ONLY GETTING 10% OF THE INCREMENT AT THAT POINT? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          THANK YOU THAT, THAT WAS MY QUESTION. 
          AND ON THE, SORRY, APPRECIATE ON THE ONE, THE, ON THE, UM, SUPPORTING THE APPLICATION JUST, AND, AND, UM, THE CHAIR OF HOUSING MIGHT KNOW THIS, THIS, THIS HELPS, UM, WITH TAX CREDIT DEALS TO BE PART OF A TURS BECAUSE THEY'RE INSURED OF THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND THE ONGOING ALSO, THEY EARN POINTS, THEY EARN POINTS. 
          GOT. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, FOR GROUP THREE, FOR THE, UM, ADDITIONAL HERS THAT WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS. 
          HAVE DECISIONS BEEN MADE ON WHICH TERMS 
          [01:00:01]
WE'RE LOOKING AT SPECIFICALLY TURS 17. 
          I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, BOTH THE EXTENSION OF LIFE AND THE, UM, ANNEXATION AS WELL. 
          DECISIONS HAVEN'T BEEN MADE AT THIS POINT. 
          UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH ALL THET THAT HAVE SUBMITTED PROPOSALS. 
          SOME OF THEM, UH, WE'RE WAITING ON INFORMATION BACK OR SOME, WERE STILL FINALIZING, FIGURING OUT WHERE THE NEED IS AND, AND YEAH, IF, IF ANDY WOULD LIKE TO EXPAND, HE CAN, BUT NO, NO, YOU'VE GOT IT. 
          RIGHT. 
          WE WE'RE WAITING ON THE HR GREEN STUDY ON TERRA 17. 
          WE WILL BE, HOPEFULLY HAVE SOMETHING I'M IN CONTACT WITH STEVE COSTELLO RIGHT NOW ON THAT. 
          WE OWE YOU ANSWERS ON THAT, AND AS SOON AS WE GET THOSE, WE'LL BE BACK TO YOU. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          I MEAN, WHILE WE'RE WAITING ON THAT, WE DO HAVE OTHER PROJECTS THAT NEED TO MOVE FORWARD THAT WE'VE JUST BEEN WAITING ON BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF THAT CHARTER. 
          SO WHETHER WE GET THAT SOON OR NOT, WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO YEAH, MOVE THE REST OF THE PROJECTS FORWARD WOULD BE APPRECIATED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, WE, WE UNDERSTAND. 
          THANKS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MY QUESTION WAS SIMILAR TO COUNCIL MEMBER PAX. 
          SO FOR GROUP THREE, HOW MANY OTHER PROPOSALS ARE Y'ALL LOOKING AT IN GROUP THREE? IT'S PROBABLY A GOOD SIX, OR I, I DON'T KNOW THAT OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, THERE, THERE'S A HANDFUL. 
          THERE'S, THERE'S QUITE A FEW. 
          THERE ARE MULTIPLE ONES. 
          WE'RE TRYING TO PUT A PRETTY TIGHT REIGN ON THIS AS WE DID AND SET IN THE POLICY RIGHT NOW THAT THERE REALLY ARE PURPOSEFUL PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PROJECT, SEEING IF THEY DO NEED THE EXTENSION. 
          UH, BUT WE WILL HAVE ANSWERS TO ALL OF ANY THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED RIGHT NOW. 
          I DIDN'T REMEMBER WHETHER IT WAS FIVE, SIX, OR SEVEN THAT HAVE COME IN, IN ADDITION TO THESE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY IT'S A NEEDS BASIS IN THE PROJECTS, BUT YOU KNOW, FROM THE GROUP THREE, I MEAN, IS THERE A, I KNOW THERE IS, THERE ARE LIMITS, BUT IS THERE A LIMIT OF THOSE PROJECTS OR THE PROPOSALS? NO, NO. 
          IF YOU RECALL, WHEN WE DID THE TS POLICY CHANGE, UH, THE CRITIQUE ON US WAS WE JUST EXTENDED TS AND LET THEM GENERATE PROJECTS THAT WEREN'T NEEDED. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PROJECTS WOULD MEET THE CRITERIA THIS COUNCIL WILL SUPPORT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          SO IT'S PROT, UH, I'VE SAID THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, ARE EXIST BECAUSE THERE ARE IMPORTANT PROJECTS TO DO IN THAT GEOGRAPHY. 
          THAT'S THE CRITERIA WE HAVE TO MEET. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, TAKING A PLAYBOOK, UH, A, A PAGE OUT OF THE PLAYBOOK, FORTS 24 WITH THE HOUSING FUND. 
          UM, I SEE THAT OTHER TS IS DON'T HAVE THAT, ALTHOUGH OVERALL CONTRIBUTE TO OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRIORITIES IN THE CITY AND SUPPORT FUNCTIONS THAT FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS CAN'T DO. 
          UM, UM, HOWEVER, ONE COULD ARGUE THAT AS WE GENERATE PROJECTS, IMPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THAT THE ABILITY TO AFFORD TO STAY IN THAT AREA WOULD BE CHALLENGED, RIGHT? YEP. 
          SO, I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING, UM, TO HAVE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND IS MASTERFUL BECAUSE WE NEED IT, BUT I'M INTERESTED TO SEE HOW WE CAN BAKE THAT INTO ALL OF THEM. 
          AND THEN IF SO, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE HARRISBURG, UM, ALL OF THET THAT ARE GOING INTO 24 0 9 TO CONTRIBUTE. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST TO REMIND, UM, THE, THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME PROJECT THAT WE'RE DOING, THE 3000, THE MAYOR INITIATIVE GENERATED OFF THE UPTOWN BOND, WHICH CITYWIDE IMPACTS EVERYONE. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THESE TURS IMPACT AFFORDABILITY. 
          SO, BUT IN THE PLANS, HOW COULD THAT BE BAKED IN? SO, UH, I'LL GO BACK TO BASIC STATE LAW. 
          IF A, IF A TOURIST IS CREATED BY PETITION, FOR EXAMPLE, THE UPTOWN TUR, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE A AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCREMENT. 
          SO WE HAVE SEVERAL, SIX OR SEVEN, WE CAN GIVE YOU THAT LIST OF PETITION S OVER TIME. 
          SOME TS LIKE 24 HAVE COME TO US AND SAY, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCREMENTS. 
          SO WE BUILD THAT INTO WHAT IS CALLED THE TRI-PARTY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, THE TS, AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          THE ONES THAT DON'T HAVE AND HAVEN'T ASKED FOR THAT SPECIFICALLY. 
          UH, THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT WE CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE TURS ON, AND WE CERTAINLY SHOULD HAVE THAT DIALOGUE, BUT IT'LL BE A TURS BY TURS DECISION AS OPPOSED TO A POLICY DECISION. 
          SOME OF THET IS DO HAVE SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, AND THAT WILL PUSH OUT THAT OTHERS DO NOT. 
          AND I THINK WE WANT TO HAVE THAT DIALOGUE WITH THOSE CHURCHES AND WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS REPRESENTING THOSE CHURCHES. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          THANK YOU MUCH. 
          OKAY. 
          I HAVE NO OTHER QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, MR. BUSKER AND, UH, MR. AIKEN FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION. 
          UH, WE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, UM, THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE STAFF ANALYST, JENNIFER CURLEY, AND SHE WILL PRESENT ON THE WEST CHASE CHAPTER THREE 80 AMENDMENT 
          [01:05:01]
PROPOSAL. 
          HEY, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          MY NAME IS JENNIFER CURLEY. 
          I'M WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          UH, TODAY I AM GONNA BE PRESENTING THE WESTCHASE PROGRAM PROPOSAL. 
          SO TO GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT THE PROGRAM, IN 2004, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE WEST CHASE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BEGAN THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE LONG RANGE PLAN FOR THE WEST CHASE AREA TO GUIDE REINVESTMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA. 
          A CONSULTANT TEAM WAS HIRED AND THE PLAN WAS DEVELOPED AFTER TWO YEARS OF INPUT FROM AREA BUSINESS OWNERS, PROPERTY OWNERS, TENANTS, RESIDENTS, AND HOUSTON QUAL QUALITY OF LIFE ORGANIZATIONS. 
          THE VISION INVOLVED CHANGES TO THE PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT THAT DEVELOPERS WOULD LEVERAGE TO ACCELERATE INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC VALUES IN THE WESTCHASE DISTRICT. 
          THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PLAN INCLUDED CREATING A CONNECTED SYSTEM OF OPEN SPACES, MAKING STREETS MORE ATTRACTIVE AND CONVENIENT, IMPROVING TRANSIT AND SHARED PARKING, BREAKING UP SUB SUPER BLOCKS INTO SMALL GRIDS, DEVELOPING A CANAL NETWORK AND BRANDING. 
          THE DISTRICT CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CREATION OF THE WESTCHASE THREE 80 PROGRAM ON OCTOBER 16TH, 2013. 
          THE PROGRAM INCLUDES PROJECTS SELECTED FROM THE LONG RANGE PLAN AND PRIORITIZED IN A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TO BE CONSTRUCTED OVER A TERM OF NO MORE THAN 30 YEARS. 
          IN THREE 10 YEAR SEGMENTS, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE FIRST 10 YEAR SEGMENT WHEN THE PROGRAM WAS APPROVED. 
          PROJECTS IN THE SECOND AND THIRD TENURE SEGMENTS MAY, MAY NOT BE PURSUED WITHOUT CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL. 
          AND JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE, THOSE PARTICULAR PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE LONG RANGE PLAN DO ALIGN WITH THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES, FLOOD MITIGATION AND, SORRY, AND FLOOD MITIGATION. 
          THIS SLIDE REF REFLECTS THE INVESTMENTS BY CATEGORY AND SOURCE OF FUNDS SHOWING THAT 70% OF THE INVESTMENT WAS PUT INTO STREET RECONSTRUCTION AND PARKS. 
          ADDITIONALLY, 45% OF THE FUNDING FOR THE PROJECTS CAME FROM OTHER SOURCES LIKE FEDERAL GRANTS, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, HOUSTON PARKS DEPARTMENT, PRECINCT FOUR, AND WESTCHASE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES NOT LISTED IN THE SOURCE REVENUES. 
          IN THE SLIDE IS THAT LOCAL PROPERTY OWNERS DEDICATED MORE THAN 100 EASEMENTS VALUED AT 5.7 MILLION TO SUPPORT THE PROJECTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THIS SLIDE REFLECTS ALL OF THE PROJECTS PURSUED IN THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF THE PROGRAM. 
          THE TABLE WITH THE LIGHT GREEN HEADER, THOSE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. 
          THE BLUE AREA, OR THE SECOND SET OF PROJECTS, ARE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. 
          SO TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, ON WEST, ON WALNUT BEND RECONSTRUCTION, UM, 22.5 WAS SPENT APPROXIMATELY 8.6 MILLION WAS, UH, FUNDED BY THE, THE THREE 80 PROGRAM. 
          12 MILLION OR 13 MILLION WAS, WAS FUNDED. 
          UM, WERE OTHER FUNDING FUNDED ARE FUNDS FROM ANOTHER, UM, SOURCE, UM, FEDERAL GRANTS AND YOUTH IN PUBLIC WORKS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE KIND OF GIVES YOU COUNSEL ON A, AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WALNUT BIN LOOKED LIKE IN 2007 BEFORE THEIR CONSTRUCTION WAS DONE. 
          AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE SECOND SLIDE, THAT IS WHAT THE PROJECT, THAT, THAT'S THE COMPLETED, THAT'S A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMPLETED PROJECT. 
          SO IMPROVEMENTS WERE DONE ALONG A 1.8 MILE SEGMENT OF WALNUT BIN LANE FROM WESTHEIMER TO WEST PARK DRIVE. 
          IT INCLUDED, UM, ROAD ROADWAY RECONSTRUCTION, BACK OF CURB GUTTER SIDEWALKS, LANDSCAPING, A DA RAMP, RAMPS, PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING AND TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
          IT ALSO INCLUDED REPLACEMENT OF WATER AND STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UM, THIS PARTICULAR PRODUCT, THIS PARTICULAR PICTURE IS AT THE CORNER OF WALNUT BEND 
          [01:10:01]
AND WESTHEIMER ROAD. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IS KAND PARK. 
          THIS, SORRY. 
          IT, IT, IT'S CURRENTLY A, WELL JUST, IT JUST BECAME CAMDEN PARK OR RENAMED FROM WILCREST PARK. 
          UM, THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT WILL COST $20.1 MILLION. 
          IT'S A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THE WEST CHASE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT. 
          IT'S A 3.4 ACRE PARK. 
          IT'S EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN 20, IN 2024. 
          IT WILL FEATURE A RESTAURANT PERFORMANCE STAGE, A FLEXIBLE LAWN, BOTANICAL GARDENS, CHILD, CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA, DOG PARK, FOOD TRUCK AREA, OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES, AND EXERCISE STA STATIONS. 
          THESE ARE JUST AN EXAMPLE OF, OF A FEW OF THE PROJECTS THAT THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT HAS COMPLETED OR IS IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING AS PART OF THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF THE THREE 80 AGREEMENT. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THIS SLIDE RE REFLECTS THE PROJECTS TO BE PURSUED IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS WITH MORE THAN 50% OF THE INVESTMENT GOING TOWARDS STREETS AND DRAINAGE. 
          AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE CHART, IT SHOWS THE FUNDING SOURCES. 
          AND SO 59% OF THE FUNDS WILL BECOME FROM THREE 80 PROGRAM FUNDS. 
          2020 9% WILL COME FROM FEDERAL GRANTS PRECINCT FOR AND FUNDRAISING DONE BY THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT. 
          12% WILL COME FROM, IS PLANNED TO COME FROM PUBLIC HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO IN THIS LAST SLIDE, IT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE CURRENT CONDITIONS FOR RICHMOND AVENUE. 
          THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WILL BE IN THE SECOND 10 YEARS. 
          IT, IT WILL COST APPROXIMATELY $42.5 MILLION. 
          IT'LL BE A COMPLETE STREET REBUILD. 
          IT'LL BE 1.4 MILES OF RICHMOND AVENUE WEST OF BELTWAY EIGHT TO WOODLAND PARK DRIVE. 
          THE IMPROVEMENTS WILL INCLUDE MORE LANES, NEW UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, CURB AND GUTTER WIDE, WIDER SIDEWALKS, LANDSCAPING, LIGHTING, AND UPGRADED TRANSIT, TRANSIT STOPS IN STREET FURNITURE. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. 
          DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION. 
          I MEAN, JUST LISTENING TO THAT, I'M JUST THINKING, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF ENVY ON THIS MANAGEMENT DISTRICT HERE. 
          WHEN I RIDE BY IN WEST CHASE IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND ALL, AND I ALWAYS TAKE PICTURES AND I SEND TO MY MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS IN DISTRICT K AND GO LOOK AT WHAT THEY HAVE. 
           UH, COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS IS IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I DON'T HAVE ANY, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          DEFINITELY SOME COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU, MS. JENNIFER, UM, FOR PRESENTING THIS ITEM. 
          AND, UM, VICE MAYOR'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. 
          UH, THE WESTCHASE MANAGEMENT DIS DISTRICT HAS DONE A YEOMAN'S JOB WITH THIS THREE 80 AGREEMENT. 
          AND, UM, WHAT IT REALLY, UH, DEMONSTRATES IS WHEN WE HAVE THESE TYPE OF PARTNERSHIPS, HOW WE CAN IMPROVE DRASTICALLY MM-HMM . 
          OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          UM, WILCREST PARK IS GONNA BE TRANSFORMATIONAL. 
          SIMILAR TO LEAD TO WHAT THE A LEAF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER IS. 
          UM, ONE OF THE FIRST AUTHORIZATIONS OF COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS WAS FOR ONE OF THE PROJECTS IN, UH, THE, THE AGREEMENT, UM, $75,000. 
          AND MY TEAM AND I DID A SITE VISIT LAST YEAR TO LOOK AT THE PROGRESS, AND IT'S CHANGED THE AREA. 
          UM, SO THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT, UM, AS VICE MAYOR SAYS, UH, UH, WE HAVE TO INSPECT WHAT WE EXPECT. 
          UM, AND WE, AND WHAT WE HAVE INSPECTED OVER THE YEARS IN THE PROJECTS THAT ARE REPORTED IS THAT THEY'RE MEETING AND EXCEEDING OUR EXPECTATIONS. 
          UH, AND THEY'RE HELPING US KEEP THE WEST SIDE THE BEST SIDE. 
          WE'RE COMING FOR Y'ALL THOUGH. 
           NOW DEFINITELY GONNA SHARE THIS PRESENTATION WITH, UM, OUR, OUR TWO MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS IN DISTRICT K, UM, TO AT WHAT OUR, OUR BIG SISTER WEST CHASE IS DOING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          OH, CONGRATULATIONS. 
          THIS, THIS IS GREAT. 
          THIS IS GOOD FOR HOUSTON. 
          UM, AND WE SHOULD ALL, UM, LOOK TO EMULATE AND MAKE OUR OUR SPACES BETTER, MORE BEAUTIFUL. 
          I WILL TELL YOU THE, THE LANDSCAPING IN WEST CHA ALONE IS A, I'M RIDING DOWN THE FEEDER AND I'M JUST LIKE, NO, WHAT , YOU KNOW, AND I, AND I THINK I SHOULD JUST TEXT HER AND SAY, JUST SO NO,  NO, IT'S GREAT. 
          I I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. 
          AND, AND WE, WE WANT TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE EMULATING THAT TYPE OF EXCELLENCE AROUND THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          AND IT'S PROGRAMS LIKE THIS THAT ALLOW US TO, UM, OPERATE IN THAT TYPE OF EXCELLENCE FOR OUR, OUR CONSTITUENTS, FOR HOUSTONIANS. 
          PEOPLE WANNA LIVE IN A BEAUTIFUL SPACE. 
          UM, 
          [01:15:01]
AND THAT MANAGEMENT DISTRICT HAS DEFINITELY TRANSFORMED THAT AREA INTO A BEAUTIFUL SPACE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          IF NO OTHER, UM, QUESTIONS ON THIS, WE WILL MOVE TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS. 
          OUR FIRST SPEAKER ON THE LIST FOR TODAY IS MR. BRANDON PIERCE. 
          HELLO, MR. PIERCE, HOW ARE YOU? UH, I'M GREAT. 
          HOW ARE YOU DOING? I'M WELL. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          YOU CAN HAVE A SEAT IF YOU LIKE. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          I WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR ALLOWING THE OPPORTUNITY. 
          UH, I WANT TO THANK, UM, UH, JEDI GREENFIELD. 
          I THINK IT'S THERE. 
          AND, UM, DIRECTOR MARSHA MURRAY. 
          AND, UM, ESPECIALLY, UM, UM, THOSE WHO ARE ADVOCATING FOR US. 
          UM, LETITIA IS ALMOST FEELS LIKE SHE'S WORKING JUST FOR US. 
          UM, I KNOW SHE HAS A THOUSAND THINGS GOING ON, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          UM, AND THANKS FOR THE, THE COMMITTEE. 
          SO WHAT I WANT TO SPEAK OF IS, UM, MR. JUDI GREENFIELD HAS BEEN DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB AND, AND WE'RE VERY GLAD THAT HE IS IN THE POSITION HE'S IN. 
          UM, AND WE CAN APPRECIATE HE WANTING TO FULFILL THE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENTS, GET THE WAREHOUSES UP TO SPEED, BECAUSE THAT'S VERY NECESSARY FOR THE GUYS, UH, ON THE STREETS AND THE, YOU KNOW, DOING ALL THE WORK AND THE HEAVY LIFTING FOR US TO HAVE ITEMS THAT THEY CAN USE. 
          UM, I'M EXCITED TO HEAR TODAY THAT WE CAN BE INCLUDED IN THE CO-OP IN REGARDS TO A PERCENTAGE AS A SUB. 
          UM, A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT WE WEREN'T INCLUDED, UH, BECAUSE WE AND MANY OTHERS AND THOSE WHO, UH, THE GENTLEMAN I SHOOK HIS HAND HAVE BEEN WITH THE CITY ALMOST OVER 20 YEARS. 
          AND WE HAVE ALL THESE ITEMS. IF IN OUR WAREHOUSES, NOT, NOT, NOT, YOU KNOW, THE QUANTITIES, BUT THE RAZORBACK SHOVELS THAT THE CITY USES, THOSE ARE SITTING IN OUR WAREHOUSE RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, WE CAN DROP SHIP 'EM. 
          UM, ALSO WE WORK WITH MSCA LOT. 
          THEY'RE GREAT PARTNERS. 
          UM, THEY HAVE OPPORTUNITIES, RESELL OPPORTUNITIES WHERE THEY SET UP RESELLERS SUCH AS MYSELF, WHERE THEY WILL GIVE US SPECIAL PRICING. 
          THAT WAY WE CAN RESELL TO THE CITY AT A COMPETITIVE PRICE. 
          UH, THOSE ARE ALL OPPORTUNITIES. 
          THAT'S WHY WE WERE VERY CONFUSED IN WHICH WE SAW THESE COOPS COME THROUGH AND WE'RE LIKE, HOW ABOUT US? YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN YOUR PARTNER FOR ALL THESE YEARS. 
          ALL THESE ITEMS ARE SITTING IN OUR WAREHOUSE, YOU KNOW? UM, AND WE COULD PROBABLY SELL IT TO YOU A LOT LESS THAN WHAT YOU'RE BUYING 'EM FOR, NOT GUARANTEED, BUT WE CAN BE VERY COMPETITIVE. 
          AND WE'RE SMALL. 
          WE'RE LOCAL. 
          WE'RE H TOWN, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE ALL WANT TO GET EXCITED ABOUT OUR SPORTS TEAMS AND CLAIM WE H TOWN, BUT HOW ABOUT GETTING EXCITED ABOUT US? WELL, MI MR. PIERCE, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR COMMENTS. 
          WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE'RE DEFINITELY EXCITED ABOUT YOU. 
          UM, I, I, I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU THOUGH. 
          UM, ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN A CO-OP OR DO YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A CO-OP? IS, DOES THAT WORK WITH YOUR BUSINESS MODEL TO PARTICIPATE IN A CO-OP? WELL, YOU KNOW, AS I CAME, HAD SPOKEN LAST WEEK ON THE PUBLIC SESSION, THE CO-OPS ARE REALLY NOT DESIGNED FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE BECAUSE AS DURING THE PRESENTATION, THERE ARE CONTRACTS THAT IN WHICH THEY WANT TO PUT TOGETHER FOR ALL MUNICIPALITIES TO BUY OFF OF. 
          SO YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BE A GRAINGER IN WHICH YOU HAVE WAREHOUSES ALL OVER THE NATION, YOU KNOW, HUNDRED THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES AND MSC, WE'RE NOT AT THAT LEVEL. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND WE DON'T WANNA BE AT THAT LEVEL. 
          NO, I GET IT. 
          IT, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, GRAINGER DIDN'T GET STARTED OVERNIGHT. 
          UM, SO, BUT WE ARE HERE IN HOUSTON AND WE CAN SATISFY THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, WE HAVE WAREHOUSES ACTUALLY IN EDO, UM, IN RICE MILITARY ALL OVER THE WOR ALL, ALL OVER THE CITY. 
          UM, SO MATTER OF FACT, I GOTTEN STARTED 13 YEARS AGO. 
          A FRIEND OF MINE WAS A MANUFACTURER IN PASADENA, AND HE INVITED ME TO BE A DISTRIBUTOR TO SELL THE SAME PRODUCTS TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          SO WE ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE MANUFACTURER, JUST AS CLOSE AS GRANGER IS. 
          AND WE WORK WITH MSC ON ITEMS WE DON'T STOCK. 
          WELL, WE APPRECIATE THE, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE 
          [01:20:01]
WITH YOU AND FOR YOU TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS. 
          DID YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THE, THE TRAININGS THAT OBO OFFERED? WERE YOU, DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THOSE, THE TRAININGS THAT OBO OFFERED ABOUT THE CO-OP? BECAUSE WHAT, WHAT I WANNA MAKE SURE IS THAT WE CONNECT THE DOTS SO PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES ARE ALSO, UM, GETTING THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRAINING OF THE SERVICES. 
          SO WHEN WE GET THE FEEDBACK, UM, WE KNOW WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO US IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HOW WE SHOULD REALLY STRUCTURE SO THAT EVERYONE, UM, CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE, UM, PROCUREMENT PROCESS. 
          UH, I WASN'T AWARE, BUT I AM NOW ATTENDING HERE. 
          UM, SO WE'RE GLAD. 
          JUST, I JUST WANNA ADD ONE NOTE HERE IS, SO MY COMPANY HOLDS, UH, A PORTION OF THE, UH, PAINT AND SOLVENTS CONTRACT. 
          AND THIS WAS BID ON BEFORE COVID. 
          UM, I, WE HAVE A LOT OF ITEMS, SPRAY CANS, A LOT OF MIXED PAINTS, UM, PAINTS THAT GO ON THE FIRE HYDRANTS, THE BLUE STUFF. 
          AND SO WE WON A PORTION AMOUNT. 
          PPG WON A PORTION SOUTHWEST PAINTS, WHICH HAS BEEN AROUND OVER 70 YEARS, RIGHT THERE IN MONTROSE, SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS. 
          WE LOVE THEM A LOT. 
          THEY WON A PORTION. 
          BUT, UM, AND SO THAT WAS DONE THROUGH A FORMAL BID PROCESS MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          IN WHICH WE ALL, EVERY MAN HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO STEP UP AND PROVIDE THE BEST VALUE FOR THE CITY, THE BEST DELIVERY TIMES AND THE CORRECT MATERIAL. 
          AND WE WERE SUCCESSFUL. 
          BUT IF THAT WAS ON A CO-OP AND PPGS ON A CO-OP, SHERWIN WILLIAMS IS ON A CO-OP, SOUTHWEST PAINTS IS NOT ON A CO-OP BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO SMALL, THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN ANY OF THAT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT NOW, THE DIFFERENCE ON WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN A CO-OP, WHO CAN'T. 
          SURE. 
          WE WOULD LOVE TO BE A MINORITY PARTICIPANT, BUT WE ARE ACTUALLY CAN BE PRIMES TOO. 
          RIGHT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          WELL, WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION CONTINUING TO, UM, BID ON PROJECTS AND WIN SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, YOU HAD A, A QUESTION. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          NO, JUST A COMMENT. 
          UM, MR. PIERCE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EDUCATING ME ON THIS AND TO MY COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER, I'VE REALLY LEARNED A LOT THROUGH THIS ENTIRE LAST, YOU KNOW, MONTH OF DISCUSSION OF DISCUSSING THIS. 
          AND, AND I THINK THAT'S MORE OF A, A FORMAL BID SITUATION WOULD BENEFIT THESE COMPANIES MORE THAN US JUST GOING DOWN KNEE JERK TO THE, TO THE CO-OP. 
          NOW, I HAVE SPOKEN WITH JED, AND, AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THERE IS A NEED FOR THE CO-OP ON SOME LARGE KIND OF EMERGENCY TYPE THINGS. 
          AND THERE, THERE, I, I SEE THAT THERE'S A PLACE FOR IT. 
          BUT INSTEAD OF GOING THE DIRECTION OF MORE CO-OP COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT, OKAY, THE CO-OP MEANS WE'RE GETTING, WE'RE GETTING THE CHEAPEST PRICE. 
          I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'VE KIND OF, I'VE BEEN AT CITY HALL A LONG TIME YEAH. 
          ALWAYS THOUGHT, OKAY, THAT'S BEEN VETTED, THAT'S THROUGH THE CO-OP, WE'RE GETTING THE CHEAPEST PRICE. 
          I'M GOOD WITH THAT. 
          BUT, UH, YOU GUYS HAVE REALLY EDUCATED ME ON, UH, PERHAPS NOT, AND PERHAPS WE DO NEED TO NOT, UM, GO IN THE DIRECTION OF MORE CO-OPS, BUT PROBABLY LESS AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSTON BUSINESSES AND TO, TO HAVE A PIECE OF THE PIE. 
          SO, I MEAN, THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND I, AND I PROBABLY CAN STILL BE EDUCATED A LOT ON WHICH CATEGORIES OR WHICH, WHICH CIRCUMSTANCES ARE BETTER SERVED BY A CO-OP MM-HMM . 
          UM, BUT YOU'VE CERTAINLY EDUCATED ME ON, ON THIS WHOLE PROCESS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND, AND TO COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER FOR BRINGING THIS UP. 
          THIS IS A, A A, YOU KNOW, WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AT THE CITY. 
          WE BUY A LOT OF WIDGETS MM-HMM . 
          . 
          AND, UH, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE GIVING HOUSTON BASED COMPANIES A A GOOD SHOT AT THESE CONTRACTS. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU TO BRANDON AND, AND REALLY FOR WHO YOU REPRESENT, UM, AND WHO YOU SPEAK FOR. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE JUST DON'T HAVE TIME TO COME DOWN HERE AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND EDUCATE. 
          I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE LEARNED, I MEAN, I'VE LEARNED A LOT TOO. 
          AND, UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A WAY, UM, FOR EVERYONE TO WIN. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE JUST HAVE TO KIND OF KEEP ON MOVING ON IT AND KEEP ON HAVING CONVERSATIONS. 
          AND, UM, AND, AND I WANNA, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, THANK YOU BECAUSE OFTENTIMES CHAIR, YOU KNOW, THE SMALL BUSINESS, THEY WON'T COME TO US AND TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON FOR, FOR, FOR MULTIPLE REASONS. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU'RE ENGAGED AND COMMITTED TO THIS. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. 
          AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE IN THE ROOM TODAY. 
          I THINK YOU'VE GOT OUR COMMITMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA DO OUR LEVEL BEST TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS DONE FAIRLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UM, JED, WE GOT YOU BACK IN AN EMERGENCY NOW. 
          OKAY. 
           OUR NEXT SPEAKER. 
          YOU GET CALL US ANYTIME. 
          THANK, THANK YOU MR. PIERCE. 
          WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY. 
          THANK Y'ALL. 
          OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. CARLA HORN. 
          IT'S MS. HORN IN CHAMBER. 
          [01:25:01]
OKAY. 
          WE DON'T SEE HER ONLINE. 
          UH, MR. GEORGE BURTON. 
          GEORGE BURTON, PATRICIA MCFARLAND, MS. PATRICIA MCFARLAND IN. 
          NOPE. 
          THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE INCOMPARABLE DOUG SMITH. 
           DOWN. 
          I DIDN'T COME HERE TODAY WITH ANYTHING PARTICULARLY TO TALK ABOUT, BUT ON THE WAY HERE, I WALKED THROUGH TRANQUILITY PARK, WHICH I HAVEN'T DONE IN A LONG TIME. 
          AND WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM CITY HALL. 
          WHY DID THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT REDO BAGBY INSTEAD OF REDOING TRANQUILITY PARK? THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY. 
          COUNCILMAN ALCORN. 
          YOU WANNA RESPOND, MA'AM? I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TRANQUILITY PARK FOR A LONG TIME. 
          SOMEBODY'S IN HERE SINGING MY SONG. 
          UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE BAGBY, BUT, BUT IN ADDITION TO, BUT WHEN I WAS SITTING AT THE LYNN WYATT PARK, YEAH. 
          OH MY GOSH. 
          IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO WONDERFUL. 
          WHAT A TRANSFORMATION. 
          AND AS I WALKED BACK TO THE OFFICE THROUGH T QUALITY PARK, I THOUGHT THOSE, THOSE, THOSE FOUNTAINS HAVE NOT WORKED IN OVER 15 YEARS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I MEAN, OVER 15 YEARS. 
          IT'S, IT'S CRAZY. 
          SO I'M WITH YOU, I'M WITH YOU. 
          I DON'T KNOW, WE PUT IT IN A BOND PACKAGE. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION MIGHT DO, BUT THAT'D BE, THAT'D BE THE, A MAJOR, UH, PRIORITY THAT WOULD'VE BEEN IDEAL, UH, USE FOR ARPA FUNDS. 
          IT'S A ONE-TIME FIX. 
          UH, AND THAT'S WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED. 
          BUT HOPEFULLY SOMETHING WILL GET DONE WITH THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION. 
          BUT I, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME. 
          I WALKED THROUGH, I TOOK THE TRAIN DOWN HERE AND IT'S EMBARRASSING. 
          SO I JUST HAD TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, MR. SMITH. 
          WE AGREE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          IF NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I'D LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE OUR NEXT SCHEDULED ECONOMIC I YEAH. 
          COME ON UP, SIR. 
          TELL ME YOUR NAME. 
          RALPH WALTON. 
          MR. WALTON, COME ON UP. 
          I SPOKE ACTUALLY LAST WEEK AND, UH, I'M WITH MSC INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY COMPANY. 
          CAN GO AHEAD AND GET ON THE, ON THE, UH, ON THE MICROPHONE. 
          I'M WITH MSC INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY COMPANY AND I'D LIKE TO THANK MS. PLUMMER AND MS. ALCORN, YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          DE DI I'M MS. MARSHALL WITH THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. 
          UH, I'M HEARING A LOT ABOUT CO-OPS AND ACTUALLY IN THIS CASE, I LIKE A CO-OP. 
          THE REASON I DO IS BECAUSE WE TRIED TO DO BUSINESS AS MSC WITH THE CITY FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND WAS UNABLE TO, AND WHEN JADA CAME INTO OFFICE, HE ALLOWED US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE MRO CONTRACT WITH GRANGER. 
          SO IN SHARING THE MRO CONTRACT WITH GRANGER, I'VE COMMITTED TO SHARE MY SHARE WITH BRANDON AND THE OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES WITHIN THE CITY. 
          UH, I HAVE A PLAN THAT I'M DISCUSSING WITH JETTA DI AND THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S COMPLIANT WITH ALL OF THE CITY AND EVERYTHING THAT'S REQUIRED, UM, TO SHARE, BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE, WE'RE A LARGE NATIONAL COMPANY TOO, BUT I WANT TO HAVE A COVERAGE MODEL THAT ACTUALLY COVERS THE CITY TO GIVE THE CITY A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE. 
          AND I'M GOING TO NEED THE SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE CITY TO WORK WITH ME TO HELP DO THAT. 
          SO IT'S MY GOAL TO EXPAND, UH, MY OFFERINGS OUT INTO THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND WORK DIRECTLY WITH JEDI. 
          AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MEETING LATER ON, UH, TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE IDEAS I HAVE AND HOW WE CAN GET THAT DONE. 
          SO I ASSURE YOU THAT HE'LL PROBABLY BE MAKING SOME AMENDMENTS TO THE AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE SLIDING SOME OF THAT NUMBER OVER TO THE SMALL BUSINESSES. 
          SO, WELL, WE THANK, WE APPRECIATE YOU ADDING YOUR COMMENTS. 
          UM, I, I KNOW THAT THE OFFICE OF, UH, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IS WORKING AND HAS HELD SOME TRAININGS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMING UP, UM, AND HOW BUSINESSES CAN WORK TOGETHER TO PROVIDE THOSE TYPE OF SERVICES, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE CO-OPS LIKE WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING. 
          UM, AND THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF, UM, MOVES THAT WE, WE, WE WANT OUR BUSINESSES IN HOUSTON TO MAKE, UM, THE, THE CO-OPS PLAY A A SIGNIFICANT ROLE, UM, IN GOVERNMENT PURCHASING MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND SO IF, UH, SMALL BUSINESSES CAN TEAM TOGETHER TO HELP US MA MAXIMIZE, UM, WHAT WE'RE PURCHASING SO THAT EVERYONE EATS PER SE. 
          YES. 
          UM, THAT IS DEFINITELY THE, THE WAY TO GO. 
          YEAH. 
          SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO TEAM UP AND SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND BRING SOMEONE ELSE ALONG. 
          UM, THAT'S THAT, YES, MA'AM. 
          THAT, THAT IS A, A HOUSTON WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO THRIVE 
          [01:30:01]
AND BE SUCCESSFUL. 
          YES. 
          SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND MS. AND MS. I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MS. JACKSON FROM YOUR OFFICE TOO. 
          SHE'S BEEN A GREAT, UH, ASSET AS FAR AS BRINGING ME IN AND LETTING ME KNOW WHAT'S COMPLIANT AS WELL. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE DO HAVE A COMMENT FOR YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER. 
          RALPH, I FINALLY AM MEETING YOU. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          , I HAVE HEARD SO MANY GREAT THINGS ABOUT YOU. 
          HONESTLY, YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          SO WHATEVER YOU PUT TOGETHER, HOWEVER YOU AND JED WORK TOGETHER, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE, LET'S SHARE THAT WITH GRAINGER. 
          OKAY. 
          I WILL. 
          OKAY. 
          SET THE STANDARD. 
          I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THEM NOW. 
          WHAT Y DO I KNOW, BUT I'M GONNA MAKE SURE. 
          OKAY. 
          WHATEVER YOU'RE WILLING TO, HONESTLY. 
          'CAUSE I THINK IF YOU SET THE STANDARD AND YOU WRITE HOW IT IS AND HOW WE CAN ALL BE INVOLVED AND, AND HOW WE'D MENTION HOW TEAMING UP, I MEAN, I THINK WE NEED A, WE NEED A, A, A RECIPE OF HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. 
          AND SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. 
          UM, I'M INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL AND, UM, I KNOW A LOT OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE TOO, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO AGAIN, BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I'D LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT OUR NEXT SCHEDULED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER THE 15TH AT 2:00 PM AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING, YOU CAN CONTACT THE DISTRICT, A OFFICE AT DISTRICT A@HOUSTONTX.GOV. 
          THE TIME IS 3 32 AND WE ARE ADJOURNED. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.