* 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] [00:00:12] GOOD AFTERNOON. IT IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL THE 17TH, AND THE TIME IS 2:00 PM I'M MAYOR PRO TIM, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, THE CHAIR OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. AND I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME IN ATTENDANCE TODAY. WE DO HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN , JU JULIAN, UH, RAMIREZ, RAMIREZ, COUNCIL MEMBER TWILA CARTER. WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO'S OFFICE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S OFFICE AND STAFF, ALSO FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY. THE MEETING WILL BE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ HAS JUST JOINED US AS WELL. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD IN HYBRID MODE. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M ASKING IF YOU WILL JUST HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. IF YOU'D LIKE TO ANSWER, ASK ANY QUESTIONS AT THAT TIME, WE'LL, WE'LL RECOGNIZE YOU. WE DO HAVE ONE PUBLIC SPEAKER WHO WILL, UM, WILL CALL UP AT THE END OF THE MEETING. IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER PUBLIC SPEAKERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, SIGN UP TO SPEAK TODAY, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET ON THE DESK OUT FRONT, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU, UH, LATER TODAY. ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, YOU CAN PUT THAT IN THE CHAT AS WELL. ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, WE HAVE STAFF ANALYST ANDREW BUSKER, WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHO WILL PRESENT ON TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE NOMINATIONS IN THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH MONTGOMERY COUNTY. MR. BUSKER, IF YOU WILL PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION, WE ARE READY TO HEAR FROM YOU NOW. THANK YOU, AND GOOD AFTERNOON. SO, I'M ANDREW BUSKER WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I'M ADJUSTING MY CHAIR. HOLD ON. I'M, THERE WE GO. OKAY. SO THE FIRST, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA THAT I'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU ALL WILL BE, UM, OUR TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, THE ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM, I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW IT WORKS AND THE NOMINATIONS, UM, AND, AND THAT SORT OF PROCESS. UH, RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE THE JUNE 3RD APPLICATION ROUND FOR THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE, UH, OPERATES UNDER, UH, TAX, TEXAS TAX CODE CHAPTER 2303. UH, SO IT, IT'S ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS. IT HAS A QUARTERLY ROLLING APPLICATION PROCESS. UM, THE INCENTIVE THROUGH THE STATE IS A REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE SALES AND USE TAXES FOR QUALIFYING PROJECTS. SO BOTH MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES ARE ALLOTTED NINE NOMINATIONS PER STATE BIENNIUM FISCAL YEAR. UM, UNUSED NOMINATIONS ARE THEN FORFEITED. SO IF WE DON'T NOMINATE NINE PROJECTS IN THE BIENNIUM, WE WILL LOSE WHATEVER WE DON'T NOMINATE. SO, JUNE 3RD IS THE FOURTH NOMINATION ROUND, UH, IN THIS BIENNIUM CYCLE. SO WE HAVE FOUR ROUNDS LEFT. UH, SO FAR, UH, IN THIS BIENNIUM, WE'VE NOMINATED ONE PROJECT, AND IN THIS PRESENTATION WE'RE PROPOSING, UH, TWO NOMINATIONS, UM, OUT OF THE EIGHT REMAINING NOMINATIONS THAT WE HAVE. SO SINCE THIS IS A STATE FUNDED INCENTIVE PROGRAM, UH, THERE'S NO, UH, FUNDING REQUIREMENT FROM THE MUNICIPALITY. AND A COUNTY, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM CAN NOMINATE PROJECTS ON THEIR OWN. UH, BUT TO DO SO, THEY NEED TO GO THROUGH AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS LOCATED. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, HERE'S A EXAMPLE OF THE FUNDING BRACKETS THAT THE STATE HAS PUT TOGETHER FOR THIS PROGRAM. UH, SO THE, AN INVESTMENT AMOUNT RANGES SIGNIFICANTLY, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE TABLE. UM, MOST OF OUR PROJECTS OCCUR IN THE SECOND ROW HERE. UM, THE 5 MILLION TO $149 MILLION INVESTMENT RANGE WITH 500 TOTAL IN NOON RETAINED JOBS. UM, WHEN A PROJECT IS APPROVED BY THE STATE, THEIR TZ DESIGNATION IS ACTIVE FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS. SO THE, THE TOTAL MAXIMUM REFUND AND MAXIMUM REFUND PER JOB ALLOCATED VALUES ARE THE TOTAL AMOUNTS THAT THE COMPANY CAN RECEIVE OVER THE FIVE YEAR DESIGNATION. SO THEY'RE NOT GETTING THAT ALL OF ONCE THAT'S BROKEN OUT OVER FIVE YEARS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO NOW I'LL [00:05:01] GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE TWO NOMINATIONS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR THE JUNE 3RD, UH, NOMINATION ROUND, AND THEN WE'LL DISCUSS NEXT STEPS AFTER THAT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO THE FIRST ONE HERE IS, UH, KPH CONSOLIDATION INCORPORATED. SO, UH, THEY ARE, UM, AN ENTITY OPERATING OUT OF KINGWOOD MEDICAL CENTER. UM, SO THEY ARE LOOKING AT A $25 MILLION INVESTMENT THAT INCLUDES, UM, AN EXPANSION OUT OF THEIR, FOR THEIR OUTPATIENT SURGERY AREA, AS WELL AS THEIR CENTRAL STERILE SERVICES DEPARTMENT. AND FOR THE OUTPATIENT SURGERY, THEY'RE LOOKING AT FOUR NEW OPERATION ROOMS, TWO NEW ENDOSCOPY SUITES, UH, A NEW SURGERY PREPARATION AND RECOVERY AREA, AND A NEW POST-ANESTHESIA CARE UNIT. SO A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT, UM, HEALTHCARE SERVICES ARE BEING EXPANDED IN, UH, DISTRICT D AT KINGWOOD MEDICAL CENTER HERE. AND SO WITH THIS EXPANSION, THEY'RE INCLUDING 200, UH, NEW JOBS, AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO RETAIN, UH, 300 JOBS AS WELL. AND, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE NEW JOBS BEING CREATED ARE REGISTERED NURSES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO THE NEXT NOMINATION, UH, I HAVE FOR YOU ALL IS, UH, KIEWIT ENGINEERING GROUP, AND THEY'RE ONE OF THE LARGEST CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING FIRMS IN NORTH AMERICA PROVIDING ENGINEERING SERVICES, UH, FOR, UH, INDUSTRIAL AND OIL AND GAS, CHEMICAL POWER, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND WATER INDUSTRIES. UM, THEY ARE, UH, LOOKING TO RENOVATE FIVE FLOORS IN THEIR CURRENT OFFICE SPACE. AND SO THAT'S GONNA INCLUDE A BUILD OUT FOR, UH, NEW OFFICE, UM, TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, 15 ADDITIONAL JOBS. UM, THEY'RE RETAINING THEIR EMPLOYEES HERE, AND IT'S ALSO, UM, CREATING CONFERENCE ROOM SPACE, TRAINING ROOM SPACE, AND SOME ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEE AMENITIES. SO SOMETHING THAT'S INTERESTING WITH, UH, THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM IS IT'S ONE OF THE FEW INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, UM, THAT WE CAN, UM, THAT HEADQUARTERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICE TYPE COMPANIES, UM, CAN APPLY FOR. A LOT OF OUR OTHER INCENTIVE PROGRAMS DON'T NECESSARILY FIT THAT SORT OF BOX. SO WITH THIS APPLICATION PROCESS, WE SEE A, UM, A LOT OF SIMILAR, UM, PROJECTS LIKE THIS ONE. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, UM, A LITTLE, UH, I DON'T KNOW, WRINKLE MAYBE FOR THE, UM, THAT'S COME UP RECENTLY. SO LAST WEEK WE WERE INFORMED BY THE STATE THAT THEY'RE REQUIRING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO UPDATE THEIR TZ ORDINANCE. SO ORDINANCE NUMBER 2015 DASH 5 35 IS OUR ENABLING ORDINANCE THAT ALLOWS US TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TEZ PROGRAM. SO WE RECEIVED LAST WEEK THAT THERE'S A MANDATORY UPDATE, UM, THAT WE'LL HAVE TO DO FOR OUR ORDINANCE TO, UM, CONFIRM THAT WE ARE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER 2303. SO OUR OFFICE, UH, IS CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT ON AMENDING THE ORDINANCE. UM, AND AT THIS TIME, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE HAS NOT RELEASED GUIDANCE ON HOW THE JUNE 3RD ROUND OF NOMINATIONS WILL BE AFFECTED IF WE NOMINATE THEM UNDER OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE. UM, SO RIGHT NOW OUR OFFICE AIMS TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE PRIOR TO SENDING THE JUNE 3RD NOMINATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL. UH, BUT THAT'S ALL KIND OF FLUID RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE WORKING ON IT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, HERE'S OUR PROPOSED TIMELINE. UM, IDEALLY WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE AMENDED ORDINANCE TO CITY COUNCIL BY MAY 1ST. UM, AND THEN FROM THERE THE FOLLOWING WEEK, WE WOULD HAVE THESE TWO, UM, NOMINATION RESOLUTIONS BEFORE CITY COUNCIL. THAT WAY IT GIVES THE COMPANIES ENOUGH TIME TO FINALIZE THEIR APPLICATIONS TO SEND IT TO THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, UM, BY JUNE 3RD. UM, SO THESE ARE THE TWO NOMINATIONS, UM, THAT WOULD IMPACT OUR NINE TOTAL NOMINATIONS WE CAN DO PER BIENNIUM. IF WE GO INTO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL TALK ABOUT THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, UM, WITH MONTGOMERY COUNTY. HANG, HANG ON ONE SECOND. SURE. I, I DO WANT TO, UM, STOP RIGHT HERE AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL MAY HAVE BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SURE. UH, ITEM ON OUR, ON OUR AGENDA, UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. TELL ME WHO OVERSEES THE JOB RETENTION AND THE ADDITION OF THE NEW JOBS? WHO DOUBLE CHECKS TO MAKE SURE THAT 200 JOBS WERE ADDED AND THE 15 JOBS WERE ADDED? WHO, WHO WOULD BE THE OVERSEER OF THAT? RIGHT. SO THE COMPANIES SUPPLY THAT DATA DIRECTLY TO THE STATE. UH, WE ENTER INTO MOUS WITH COMPANIES THAT, UH, WE ASK THEM IN THAT MOU TO PROVIDE [00:10:01] THAT SAME DATA TO US ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, UH, BECAUSE THE STATE DOESN'T REALLY COMMUNICATE THAT INFORMATION TO US. SO WE ENTER INTO A SEPARATE MOU, WHICH DOESN'T AFFECT THEIR DESIGNATION. IT'S, UH, PURELY JUST TO SHARE THEIR INFORMATION WITH US. SO THE PRIOR NOMINATIONS THAT WE'VE, UM, APPROVED, WE'VE GONE BACK AND MADE SURE THAT THEY'VE ADDED THOSE PARTICULAR JOBS AND THEY ARE IN COMPLIANCE. YEAH. WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON'T ADD THE JOBS? DO THEY LOSE THE TAX BENEFIT? SO IF THEY DON'T ADD THE JOBS, UH, FOR THE, THE STATE PORTION OF THIS INCENTIVE, THEY JUST DON'T GET THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY, UH, ARE COMMITTED TO. SO SAY, UM, IN SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, AND YOU CAN HAVE UP TO 500 JOBS WHERE THEY'RE NEW AND RETAINED. IF THEY ONLY ADD, SAY, A HUNDRED JOBS WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO 150, THEY'D ONLY GET REIMBURSED FOR THAT A HUNDRED JOBS FOR THE A HUNDRED JOBS. OKAY. AND THEN ON THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT, WHAT WOULD CHANGE? WE'RE REALLY JUST ADDING A SENTENCE SAYING THAT WE'RE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH CHAPTER 2303, AND THEN A COUPLE OTHER, UH, PIECES JUST TO FORMALIZE THAT SENTENCE. BUT THAT'S REALLY ALL IT IS. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES, CHAIR. UH, SO JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO THIS, THE PROCESS OF IT, RIGHT? SURE. UM, SO DEADLINE'S JUNE 3RD. YEAH. WHEN DID THE PROCESS BEGIN? UM, HOW IS IT COMMUNICATED OUT TO FOLKS? AND THEN, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET THOSE SIX THAT WERE NOT NOMINATED AND FIND OUT WHY? UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY THAT WERE NOT NOMINATED. SO THE WAY THIS PROCESS WORKS, THE COMPANIES APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE STATE, BUT IN THAT STATE APPLICATION, THEY REQUIRE APPROVAL FROM THE CITY SAYING THAT WE APPROVE THE PROJECT. SO THAT'S WHAT THE NOMINATION RESOLUTION'S ABOUT. SO INTERNALLY, IN OUR PROCESS, WE'RE TYPICALLY WORKING WITH A CONSULTING FIRM THAT'S SAYING, HEY, THIS COMPANY IS SEEKING THIS INCENTIVE. AND WE WORK WITH THAT CONSULTING FIRM TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS PREPARED. SO ON OUR END, THE MAIN THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WE RECEIVE, WE HAVE A APPLICATION FOR THE COMPANIES TO SUBMIT TO US TO REQUEST THIS NOMINATION. RIGHT. SO THEN FROM THERE, WE REVIEW IT TO MAKE SURE IT MEETS OUR STANDARDS, AND THEN IF IT MEETS OUR STANDARDS, WE PRESENT IT TO YOU ALL. AND THEN IT'LL GO BEFORE CITY COUNCIL, UM, AS A RESOLUTION. AND THEN THAT RESOLUTION GETS ADDED TO THE STATE APPLICATION, WHICH THEN THEY SUBMIT TO THE STATE. UN UNDERSTOOD. SO Y'ALL RECEIVED EIGHT APPLICA OR TOTAL OF EIGHT? NO. OR 10. SO WE'RE, OR NINE THE STATE NINE WITH THE, THE ONE THAT'S GOT IT. YEAH. THE ONES THAT ARE PROPOSING TWO OF THE EIGHT REMAINING NOMINATIONS. SO Y'ALL RECEIVE THOSE EXTRA NOMINATIONS AS WELL. SO AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY BIENNIUM, WE NINE NOMINATIONS, AND THEN WE WHITTLE THAT DOWN OVER THE TWO YEARS. SO Y'ALL DO KNOW WHO THOSE OTHER NO, WE DON'T, BECAUSE IT'S A ROLLING APPLIC APPLICATION PROCESS. WE HAVE, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPROVE NINE OF THESE GOT IT. DURING THAT BIENNIUM, AND WE'VE ONLY DONE ONE, AND NOW WE'RE DOING TWO MORE. GOT IT. SO WE'LL HAVE, SO WE'LL HAVE SIX LEFT. SIX LEFT. OKAY. FOR THE REST OF THE, BUT THEY HAVE NOT APPLIED YET. WE JUST HAVE NINE SLOTS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE TWO YEARS. OKAY. AND SO THIS WILL BE THREE. IF THESE TWO PASS, THEN WE HAVE SIX, WE WILL DONE THREE. AND WE STILL HAVE TIME TO DO SIX MORE. AND SO HOW, HOW ARE FOLKS BEING ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS? IS IT JUST THAT THOSE COMPANIES KNOW ABOUT IT OR THEY KNOW ABOUT IT? YEAH. DO WE DO ANY AHEAD, DO WE DO ANY, UM, ANY OUTREACH TO PROMOTE IT TO COMPANIES? NOT PARTICULARLY. UH, THE, WHAT WE DO IS COMPANIES WILL REACH OUT TO US IN GENERAL ABOUT INCENTIVES BECAUSE THEY'LL HAVE A PROJECT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF INCENTIVES FOR. AND IN THAT PROCESS, WE'LL ENGAGE THEM ABOUT TAX ABATEMENTS, THIS PROGRAM, OTHER PROGRAMS, AND THEY CAN CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE OR NOT. A LOT OF TIMES, UM, THE COMPANIES JUST COME TO US DIRECTLY, SO WE DON'T DO A LOT OF, UH, PUSHING FOR THIS ON ITS OWN. UM, I'LL, I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE OR NO, GO AHEAD. YEAH. SO FOR ME, RIGHT, WE'RE LOOKING AT IN DISTRICT GUY AND THE HOBBY AIRPORT AREA. I'D LOVE FOR FOLKS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. UM, HOW WOULD I BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THAT TO THOSE JUST THE GENERAL COMMUNITY? I CAN SEND YOU, UH, A SUMMARY THAT I HAVE FOR THE, FOR THE PROGRAM THAT YOU COULD, UH, SPREAD THE WORD FOR AND THE LINK ON THE STATE'S WEBSITE, THE CORPORATIONS KNOW THAT THE, THE LINK IS THERE, BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO ADVERTISE LIKE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR SOMETHING. PERFECT. WE COULD GET HIM THE, THE LINK TO THE YEAH. STATE'S SITE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. AND THIS MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN RAISED, I APOLOGIZE. AS I WAS LATE. UM, WE SAW ON THE FIRST ITEM IN DISTRICT E THAT THE, UM, PROPOSAL WOULD ADD 200 JOBS, RIGHT? IN ADDITION TO SECURING 300 JOBS. THIS CURRENT PROPOSAL, [00:15:01] UM, I BELIEVE, UH, ONLY ADDS 15 JOBS. AND AGAIN, RETAINING JOBS IS IMPORTANT AS WELL. 784, THAT'S A VERY LARGE NUMBER. WE WANNA KEEP THOSE JOBS HERE IN HOUSTON. UM, BUT MY, MY QUESTION IS HOW DO WE, HOW ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT OR QUANTIFYING THE VALUE OF ADDING ADDITIONAL JOBS? UH, SOME COMPANIES, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT THIS PARTICULAR COMPANY WOULD DO SO, BUT SOME COMPANIES MAY SAY, WELL, IF WE DON'T GET THIS, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE. RIGHT? THEN WE'VE LOST THOSE JOBS. HOWEVER, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY MAY SAY THAT NOT, MAY NOT BE THE REALITY. THERE MAY STILL BE THE INTENT TO RENOVATE THEIR BUILDING. THEY'RE GOING TO DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE AND SEE EVERY WHICH WAY THEY CAN FUND. BUT WHEN I ONLY SEE ADDING 15 JOBS COMPARED TO 200, HOW ARE WE QUANTIFYING THAT? UM, AND IS THAT A FACTOR THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING? IT'S, IT'S A FACTOR WE CONSIDER WHEN WE'RE PROPOSING, WHEN OUR OFFICE ANALYZES THESE PROPOSALS TO SEE WHETHER WE'RE GONNA BRING THEM FORWARD TO YOU ALL. WE HAVE A, A MATRIX THAT WE GO THROUGH, AND NEW JOBS IS A STRONG COMPONENT OF THAT MATRIX. SO THIS, UH, PROJECT PASSED OUR THRESHOLD TEST OF, UM, IT BEING A, A QUALIFYING PROJECT ON OUR PERSPECTIVE. UM, BUT THEN AT THE STATE LEVEL TOO, THE PROJECTS WITH A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF NEW JOBS TEND TO SCORE BETTER AT THE STATE LEVEL TOO. SO THERE'S THAT STATE INCENTIVE TO, TO HAVE NEW JOBS. UM, AS FAR AS THEM MOVING, I CAN'T NECESSARILY SPEAK TO THAT YET. RIGHT. AND THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO SHOW THAT, BUT I JUST MEAN IF WE ONLY HAVE NINE SLOTS AVAILABLE, UM, AND I'M ASSUMING THIS IS A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE PROCESS, UH, TO SEE JUST 15 JOBS CREATED. I'M SIMPLY ASKING THE QUESTION. YEAH. IT'S CERTAINLY COMPETITIVE AT THE STATE LEVEL. UH, LAST YEAR WE DID NOT USE ALL NINE. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH US BEING HALFWAY THROUGH THE, UM, THE BIENNIUM, NOW, WE MAY OR MAY NOT USE ALL NINE. UM, BUT IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GET DOWN TO OUR, UH, MAYBE FOUR NOMINATIONS LEFT, THEN WE START TO BE A LOT MORE STRINGENT, UM, WHERE WE COULD STILL HAVE APPLICATIONS IF IT'S A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE ROUND ON OUR END, UH, WE COULD HAVE SEVERAL GO AHEAD, UH, APPLICATIONS THAT ALL PASS, BUT THEN WE'D HAVE TO JUDGE AMONG THOSE, BUT WE'RE NOT AT THAT POINT YET. OKAY. GREAT. AND, UH, CHAIR, IF I MAY, JUST ONE FINAL QUESTION ON THIS. UH, AND I'M SURE THIS WILL COME UP IN TAX ABATEMENT AS WELL, BUT, UM, DO WE HAVE CRITERIA, ARE WE LOOKING AT WITH THIS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE RESILIENT CITY'S RESILIENCY PLAN AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, WHEN THEY'RE PROPOSING EITHER NEW CONSTRUCTION OR RENOVATIONS, UM, IF THEY ARE OF A STANDARD THAT THE CITY IS ASKING, UM, OUR COMMUNITY AND PRIVATE PARTNERS TO STEP UP IN, LEAD IN, NO PUN INTENDED WITH LEAD CERTIFICATION, BUT OTHER TYPES OF RESILIENCY COMPONENTS IN BUILDINGS, ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT WITH THESE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. WE'RE NOT DOING THAT AT THIS TIME FOR THE TEZ NOMINATION. SO CHAIR, I WOULD, UH, RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE, WE LOOK AT THIS ONE AS A COUNCIL, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE DEPARTMENTS OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PLACES, IF SOMEBODY IS COMING TO US ASKING FOR CITY ACTION, THAT WE'RE ALSO INCLUDING THOSE AS FACTORS, UM, TO CONSIDER. ABSOLUTELY. THANKS. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. ANDREW, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH NAME. UH, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. UH, CURIOUS ABOUT STANDARDS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE AS FAR AS WHEN YOU NOMINATE AND WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU CHOOSE NOT TO, TO, TO COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S POINT, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT FAIR TO COMPARE KIWI TO, UM, THE OTHER PROJECT, BUT, UH, AGAIN, ONLY 15 JOBS ADDED $32 MILLION IN INVESTMENTS. SO WHAT, WHAT STANDARDS DO YOU HAVE THAT YOU CAN QUANTIFY FOR US? SO WE, WE LOOK AT THE, UM, THE NUMBER OF NEW JOBS, UM, THE NUMBER OF RETAINING JOBS, WHERE IT'S LOCATED IN THE CITY, UM, WHAT, UH, BENEFITS THEY'RE PROVIDING TO THEIR EMPLOYEES, WHETHER THAT'S JOB TRAINING OR THOSE SORT OF THINGS. UM, AND THEN HOW IT ALSO ALIGNS WITH, UM, THE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES THAT WE WANNA SUPPORT AS A, AS A CITY AS ADMINISTRATION. UH, BUT I CAN SEND YOU OUR RUBRIC TO, TO LOOK AT IF YOU'D LIKE. IS THAT LIKE A SCORING MATRIX YEAH. THAT YOU HAVE YEAH. LOVE TO SEE THAT. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY. AND, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT JOBS, JOBS RETAINED IS THE IMPLICATION THAT, UH, IF THEY DON'T GET THIS TAX BENEFIT, UH, UH, THOSE JOBS MIGHT GO AWAY POTENTIALLY. UM, THE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS A KEY REQUIREMENT IN THE STATE APPLICATION. SO WE MIRROR THE STATE APPLICATION. SO THE, [00:20:01] THE STATE WANTS TO KNOW NEW AND RETAINED JOBS FOR THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM. SO WE TRACK THAT AS WELL. AND MY UNDERSTANDING, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS THAT, UM, IF THE COMPANY FALLS SHORT OF ITS COMMITMENTS IN TERMS OF JOBS CREATED AND JOBS RETAINED, UH, THEY COULD BE FORCED TO, UH, REPAY TO THE STATE IN THIS CASE, UH, THE TAX BREAK. IS THAT CORRECT? I'LL HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT, BUT IT SOUNDS RIGHT. OKAY. AND I TAKE IT BY, UH, YOUR RESPONSE THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THE CITY CHECKS UP ON. WE DON'T TRACK THAT BECAUSE THAT'S ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. DO YOU ALSO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE AVERAGE SALARY OF THE JOBS CREATED? WE DO, YEAH. SO THE AVERAGE SALARIES HAVE TO MEET OR EXCEED HARRIS COUNTY'S AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN OUR AREA MEDIAN INCOME. UM, AND SO THE, RIGHT NOW, IF YOU ANNUALIZE, UH, HARRIS COUNTY'S AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AROUND, I WANNA SAY IT'S $85,000 NOW. OKAY. AND, AND THESE 15, UH, JOBS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED ARE AT ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE SIX HUNDRED FORTY FOUR FOR THEIR AVERAGE SALARY. SO THE, THESE, THESE ARE GOOD PAYING JOBS. AND I WOULD ASSUME THAT, UM, THE RETAINING 784 JOBS, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE AVERAGE SALARY IS ON THOSE JOBS? SO THE, FOR THIS APPLICATION, THE AVERAGE SALARY FOR ALL OF THE JOBS IN THEIR APPLICATION IS A HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE SIX FORTY FOUR. OKAY. UM, FOR THE NEW JOBS, UM, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE, UM, 15 JOBS ARE ENGINEERS, WHICH ARE ABOUT 88,000 STARTING. OKAY. AND THAT, SO THAT WOULD BE THE SAME FOR THE OTHER ONE, THAT PERCENTAGE. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I DID. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, I NOTICED THAT EACH PROJECT SITE YOU INDICATED WAS LOCATED IN ENTERPRISE ZONE, AND IT'S, AND IT STATED A CENSUS BLOCK GROUP WITH GREATER THAN 20% POVERTY. SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN ON EACH ONE, OR AS ONE AS AN ADD OF 200 NEW JOBS AT THE 20%, AND THE OTHER ONE IS ADDING 15 JOBS AT, UM, THE SAME 20% BLACK GROUP, GREATER THAN, GREATER THAN 20% POVERTY. SO WHAT, WHAT'S THE, THAT A STATE, UM, REQUIREMENT? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WHY IS IT THE BLACK GROUP WITH GREATER THAN 20% POVERTY? WHAT IS IT THE PURPOSE? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION. SO THE, UM, AT THE CORE ESSENCE OF THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM, THE STATE IS TRYING TO ENCOURAGE NEW JOBS AND AREAS WHERE THERE'S, UM, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF POVERTY. UM, SO IN THE STATE APPLICATION, IF YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR PROJECT OR DOING YOUR INVESTMENT WITHIN A, UM, ONE OF THESE, WHAT THEY'RE CONSIDERING AN ENTERPRISE ZONE, WHICH IS A CENSUS TRACK THAT HAS 20% OF POVERTY OR, OR GREATER, UM, THEN YOU NEED TO HAVE 20% OF YOUR NEW JOBS HAVE TO BE, UM, ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PEOPLES, WHICH ARE VETERANS, PEOPLE FROM A LOW INCOME CENSUS TRACT. UM, THAT SORT OF CLASSIFICATION THAT'S DEFINED BY THE STATE. IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR THIS PROGRAM AND YOUR PROJECT IS NOT IN ONE OF THESE ALREADY DESIGNATED ENTERPRISE ZONES, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE 35% OF YOUR NEW JOBS TO ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE. UM, AND SO THAT IS SET BY THE STATE. UM, GOT IT. SO DOES THAT HELP? YEAH, THAT DOES, DOES NOW DOES THAT ALSO SUGGEST THAT THE, THAT THEY CONSIDER THE LEVEL OF POSITIONS BASED ON THAT IN THEIR NEW HIRE? IS THAT, IS THAT, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW. THAT WOULD BE A STATE QUESTION FOR HOW THEY WOULD EVALUATE THEIR YEAH. THEIR APPLICATIONS. BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE SALARY RANGE, IT WOULD, IT WOULD, I'M SURE MOST OF THESE SALARY RANGES WOULD BE SOMEONE AT, AT A LEVEL OF CERTAIN EDUCATION PROFESSION TITLES, WHICH WOULD MEAN ENGINEERS ELECTRIC, THAT TYPE OF THING. SO IF THEY'RE TARGETED IN A PARTICULAR ENTERPRISE ZONE WITH A BLOCK GROUP WITH GREATER THAN 20% POVERTY RATE, THEN I WOULD THINK THAT THEY NEED TO HIRE, RIGHT, YEAH. PEOPLE FROM THAT PERCENTAGE. [00:25:01] RIGHT, RIGHT. AND HISTORICALLY, THIS PROGRAM USED TO SEE A LOT OF INDUSTRIAL, UM, AND MANUFACTURING PROJECTS IN IT. UM, BUT AS HARRIS COUNTY'S AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE KEEPS CREEPING UP FROM OUR OTHER INDUSTRIES MM-HMM . MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL ISN'T PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROGRAM AS MUCH ANYMORE. GOT IT. GOT IT. IF NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE SECOND ITEM ON OUR AGENDA. AND, UM, STAFF ANALYST, ANDREW BUSKER WILL AGAIN, UH, PRESENT ON THE TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE RENEWAL. OH, WE STILL HAVE THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT PORTION OF, I'M SORRY, THIS PRESENTATION. I'M SORRY. IT'S OKAY. I'M, I'M READY TO MOVE ON . SO WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO THIS, UH, MUCH QUICKER, I THINK. UM, SO WE HAVE THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH MONTGOMERY COUNTY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, GOING BACK TO, UM, HOW THE STATE HAS STRUCTURED THIS DISINCENTIVE PROGRAM, UM, A COUNTY, UH, CAN ONLY NOMINATE A TZ PROJECT IF IT RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM THE MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS LOCATED. SO TODAY, UM, I'LL DISCUSS A PROJECT THAT'S LOCATED IN OUR ETJ THAT'S IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY IS SEEKING TO NOMINATE IT. SO IT DOES NOT IMPACT THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS WE CAN NOMINATE THIS BIENNIUM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, HUNTSMAN INTERNATIONAL IS A GLOBAL PRODUCER OF POLYURETHANE'S ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS THAT SUPPORT A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES LIKE AEROSPACE AND ROBOTICS, AND THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY THERE. THEIR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IS IN THE WOODLANDS, AND THE COMPANY OPERATES, UH, OUT OF 25 COUNTRIES AROUND THE GLOBE. UM, SO THE PROJECTS WE HAVE IN THIS APPLICATION ARE IN OUR ETJ. UM, THERE'S THE HUNTSMAN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CENTER, AND THEN THE CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. AND SO THEY'RE DOING IMPROVEMENTS AT TWO DIFFERENT SITES, WHICH COMBINED, UM, WILL BE RETAINING 500 JOBS. AND IT'S, UH, 6.95 MILLION, UM, IN INVESTMENT. SO LOOKING AT THE, UM, HUNTSMAN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CENTER, UM, THEY'RE DOING FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS, UH, ROOF IMPROVEMENTS, SOME AIR DRYER SYSTEMS, UM, SOME COOLING, UH, TOWER GEAR BOXES, HVAC IMPROVEMENTS, AND THEN THEY'RE DOING NEW, UH, EQUIPMENT FOR THEIR TESTING LAB. UM, LOOKING AT THE, THE HEADQUARTERS, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT SYSTEM UPGRADES THEY'RE DOING AT THE SAME TIME. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT HVAC IMPROVEMENTS FOR THEIR COMPUTER SERVERS. UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT SECURITY UPGRADES, AUDIO VISUAL UPGRADES, THOSE SORT OF THINGS. UM, SO THAT IS THE SUMMARY REALLY FOR THIS, UM, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO HERE, UH, WE'D FOLLOW THE SAME TRACK AS WE WOULD OUR, UM, NOMINATION. SO THEY'D ALL BE ON THE AGENDA ON THE SAME TIME, WHICH RIGHT NOW WE'RE TARGETING FOR MAY 8TH. UM, AND THEN BECAUSE IT'S AN, UH, AN ILA AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY IS NOMINATING THIS PROJECT TO THE STATE, UM, THE TARGET DATE WOULD BE MAY 21ST FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSIONER COURT TO NOMINATE THIS PROJECT. AND THEN FROM THERE, THE COMPANY WOULD COMPILE THEIR APPLICATION AND SUBMIT IT TO THE STATE BY JUNE 3RD. ANY QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? ALL RIGHT. NEXT WE WILL MOVE ON, UH, TO THE TAX ABATEMENT, ORDINANCE RENEWAL, AND PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. WE ARE READY, MR. BUSKER, WHEN YOU ARE. OKAY. MAKING SURE THE SLIDES ARE UP FOR YOU ALL. OKAY. UM, SO FOR OUR TAX ABATEMENT, UM, PROGRAM, I WILL BE, UH, SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR, UH, TAX ABATEMENT RENEWAL PROCESS. UM, SO, UH, WHEN THE SLIDES ARE UP, I'M ON PAGE THREE FOR YOUR SLIDES RIGHT NOW. UM, OUR, UM, TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM, UM, IS OPERATED OUT OF TEXAS TAX CODE CHAPTER THREE 12. UM, THAT, THAT CHAPTER GIVES US THE AUTHORITY, UH, TO ENTER INTO TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS. UM, THE ORDINANCE, UM, SO OUR TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE CAN BE FOUND IN CHAPTER 44 OF OUR CODE OF ORDINANCES, UM, THAT ESTABLISHES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA USED TO ENCOURAGE COMPANIES TO INVEST IN HOUSTON TO RETAIN BUSINESSES, AND TO INCENTIVIZE PROJECTS THAT ALIGN WITH THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. OUR TAX ABATEMENTS ARE ABATEMENTS ON PROPERTY TAXES, UM, AVAILABLE FOR UP TO 90% OF THE VALUE FOR A MAXIMUM TERM OF 10 YEARS. WE CAN'T GO ANY LONGER THAN 10 YEARS, UH, BY STATE STATUTE. UM, AND ALSO STATE LAW REQUIRES US TO RENEW OUR ORDINANCE EVERY TWO YEARS. NEXT SLIDE, [00:30:01] PLEASE. SO, OUR PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1988, AND SINCE THEN, UH, WE'VE DONE, UM, SEVERAL REVISIONS OVER TIME. UH, WHAT'S BENEFICIAL ABOUT HAVING A TWO YEAR TERM IN OUR ABATEMENT IS THAT IT, IT TURNS INTO A LITTLE BIT OF A, A LIVING BREATHING ORDINANCE WHERE WE CAN UPDATE IT AS WE ALIGN WITH, UH, WHAT EMERGING TRENDS ARE HAPPENING WITH OUR INDUSTRIES OR WHATEVER NEEDS ARE IDENTIFIED WITHIN THOSE TWO YEARS BETWEEN ORDINANCE UPDATES. SO, UM, THERE'S A FEW THAT I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT. WE'RE GONNA GO, UM, THE PAST, UM, FEW YEARS HERE. SO, UM, LET'S, OKAY. UM, WE'VE UPDATED FOR SOME LEAD STANDARDS WE'RE INTRODUCED IN, UH, 2011, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME IMPROVEMENTS FOR DEMOLISHED SITES, BUT I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT IN 2014. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, IN, UH, 2016, UH, WE PROVIDED, UM, THE OPTION FOR COMPANIES TO INCLUDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS INTO THEIR ABATEMENT APPLICATIONS. AND THEN IN 2018, WE MADE THAT A REQUIREMENT FOR, UH, ANY, UM, ANY PROJECT THAT'S, UH, INVOLVING JOB CREATION OF SOME FORM. SO THEN NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THEN IN 2020, UM, WE ADJUSTED OUR COMMUNITY BENEFITS THEN TO REFLECT SMALLER PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE LOCATED IN, UH, QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY ZONES. AND THEN IN ALSO IN 2020, WE ADDED THE GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ABATEMENT, AS WELL AS ADJUSTED THE, UM, ABATEMENT AMOUNTS FOR OUR LEAD ABATEMENTS. AND THEN TWO YEARS AGO, WE READOPTED THE, UH, TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE WITH NO MATERIAL CHANGES. WE JUST RENEWED IT. SO, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, CURRENTLY OUR, UM, TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM IS OPERATIONAL THROUGH MAY 19TH, 2024. UH, AT WHICH POINT, UM, IF THE ORDINANCE IS NOT RENEWED BY THEN, WE WOULD PAUSE EX LIKE TAKING ANY, UM, APPLICATIONS UNTIL WE, THE ORDINANCE WOULD BE RENEWED. SO HERE'S OUR LIST OF OUR ABATEMENT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. SO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT IS OUR TRADITIONAL TAX ABATEMENT THAT YOU CAN THINK OF WITH JOB CREATION AND THAT SORT OF STUFF. UM, THE BROWNFIELD ABATEMENT IS AN ABATEMENT TO OFFSET THE COST OF BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION FOR A SITE. THE LEAD ABATEMENT LEAD STANDS FOR LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND DESIGN, AND THAT'S AN ABATEMENT TO OFFSET COSTS OF CONSTRUCTING, UH, PREMIUM ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS, AND AS WELL AS OBTAINING THE LEAD CERTIFICATION FOR THAT BUILDING. UM, THE GSI OR GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ABATEMENT, UM, IS AN ABATEMENT TO OFFSET THE COSTS OF LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT ON A SITE. AND THE DETERIORATED AND DEMOLISHED PROPERTY ABATEMENT IS AN ABATEMENT TO OFFSET DEMOLITION COSTS. UM, SO IF YOU HAVE, UH, A PROJECT THAT YOU WANT TO BUILD ON A CERTAIN AREA, BUT THERE'S SIGNIFICANT BLIGHT OR OTHER DETERIORATED STRUCTURES, THIS ABATEMENT COVERS THE COST OF THAT DEMOLITION. UM, AND THEN THE PROPOSED, UH, CHANGES TO THE ORDINANCE, UH, ARE RELATED TO THE GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ABATEMENT. NEXT SLIDE. SO AS A WHOLE, UM, A BOTH MINOR AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGE THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS ABATEMENT IS WE'RE RENAMING IT FROM GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE TO LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT, AND THAT BETTER ALIGNS WITH INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY. UH, ONE ISSUE WE'VE HAD WITH, UH, MARKETING THIS ABATEMENT IS THAT THE NAME, UM, FRANKLY WAS A LITTLE OFFPUTTING TO DEVELOPERS BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY WITH STORMWATER. UM, BUT THEN THERE'S OTHER AREAS OF THIS ABATEMENT THAT QUALIFIES FOR. UM, AND THEN WITH THAT, THE CITY'S DESIGN MANUAL REFERS TO THE TYPES OF ELEMENTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ABATEMENT AS LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND NOT GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE. SO WE'RE ALIGNING WITH EXISTING, UH, CITY TERMINOLOGY AS WELL. AND THEN, UM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT COVERS A LARGER TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT THAN JUST WHAT GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE DOES ON ITS OWN. UM, SO WITH THAT, WE'RE ALSO, UM, BY CHANGING THE NAME THERE, WE'RE CHANGING, UM, UPDATES TO DEFINITIONS AND THE APPLICATION CRITERIA AS WELL AS THIS ABATEMENT PROGRAM. AND WITH THOSE, UH, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, WE'RE ALSO INCLUDING AN INCREASE IN THE ELIGIBLE ABATE AND MAINTENANCE COSTS FROM TWO YEARS OF [00:35:01] MAINTENANCE TO FIVE YEARS OF MAINTENANCE UNDER THE NEW LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT, UM, THIS INCREASE IN ELIGIBLE ABATED MAINTENANCE COSTS BETTER ALIGNS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS. UH, THESE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS AIM TO INCREASE THE UTILITY OF THIS TAX ABATEMENT INCENTIVE, WHICH WILL THEN IN TURN INCREASE THE EFFICACY OF THE RESILIENT HOUSTON PLAN AND OTHER ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS THAT ARE THROUGH THIS ABATEMENT. UM, SO, UH, WE HAVE, YEAH, NEXT SLIDE. UM, OUR PROPOSED TIMELINE HERE, SO WE'LL, UM, AT NEXT WEEK'S MEETING SHOULD BE THE 24TH. UM, WE WILL HAVE A MOTION TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING, UH, ON THE AGENDA. AND THAT PUBLIC HEARING IS, UH, PROPOSED TO BE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 8TH, AND THEN UPON WHICH, UM, THE, UH, OF AMENDED ORDINANCE WOULD BE ON CITY COUNCIL AGENDA FOR MAY 15TH. SO AT THIS TIME, I'LL HAPPILY TAKE QUESTIONS. COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, Y'ALL KNEW I WAS GONNA HAVE QUESTIONS ON THIS. OF COURSE. I KNEW IT. UH, SO FIRST OFF, THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT THIS SIMILAR FOR, UH, COLLEAGUES THAT WERE NOT HERE LAST TERM. UM, THE LEAD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM WAS NOT AS SUCCESSFUL AS IT SHOULD BE, AND THERE WERE CHANGES MADE TO MAKE IT MORE AVAILABLE, MAKE IT MORE SUCCESSFUL, FIRST AND FOREMOST. HOW IS THAT GOING? IS IT GETTING BETTER? WE, LAST YEAR WE APPROVED OUR FIRST LEAD ABATEMENT, UM, SO THAT, UH, WE'LL BE TAKING EFFECT, UH, WHEN WE RECEIVE THE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION AND, AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS. SO THAT WAS, THAT'S OUR FIRST ONE. AND CURRENTLY THAT'S THE ONLY ONE, RIGHT? SO I, I RAISED THAT BECAUSE, RIGHT. HOLD ON. I STAND CORRECTED. WE'LL, THAT'LL BE OUR SECOND. SO WE HAVE ONE THAT'S THE, UM, THE OFFICE TOWER, RIGHT BY DISCOVERY GREEN. THAT'S, THAT'S THE FIRST ONE. AND THEN WE HAVE A SECOND ONE THAT'S OUT IN WEST HOUSTON. GREAT. UM, AND I'M OBVIOUSLY FOR LEAD CERTIFICATION, WHICH SHOULD NOW AT LEAST IN BUILDING, BE A BASELINE, RIGHT? YOU SHOULDN'T NEED AN INCENTIVE FOR THAT, BUT SO BE IT. WE NEED IT. UM, MY POINT BEING THAT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE CHANGING A NAME. I DON'T THINK A NAME CHANGE IN AND OF ITSELF NECESSARILY DOES SOMETHING TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM. I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE COORDINATING WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THE IDMI WOULD JUST ASK FOR VERIFICATION, UH, BECAUSE I DO KNOW THERE WILL BE CHANGES INTO THE IDM THAT DO INCORPORATE GSI FOR THIS UPCOMING MODIFICATION. SO IF GSI IS BEING USED AS TERMINOLOGY, BUT YET WE'RE SAYING, NO, IT'S NOT BEING USED, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S ACCURATE. SO I FLAG THAT FOR, FOR YOU ALL TO JUST DOUBLE CHECK. LET'S CROSS OUR T'S, DOT OUR I'S BECAUSE GSI IS BEING INCORPORATED FURTHER INTO THE IDM, UM, AS WE SPEAK, WHICH IS A GREAT THING. IT'S A GREAT OPTION, UM, THAT WE WANNA GIVE DEVELOPERS TO MAKE THIS EASIER. BUT MY QUESTION IS, I I, I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE'RE GOING FROM TWO TO FIVE YEARS TO EXPAND THAT BENEFIT. MY CONCERN HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH OUR, I'M GONNA STILL CONTINUE TO CALL IT GSI ABATEMENT UNTIL WE CHANGE IT. OUR GSI TAX ABATEMENT, THE THRESHOLD ITSELF TO QUALIFY IS WAY TOO HIGH. UM, IT'S EXTREMELY LIMITING IN TERMS OF WHO CAN APPLY FOR IT. SO IS THAT BEING LOOKED AT AS WELL? I THINK THE NUMBER, AND IT AGAIN, ONLY PERTAINS TO VERY LARGE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, IS IT SUCH A HIGH THRESHOLD? AND THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT LOWERING THAT THRESHOLD AS WELL? YEAH, SO, UM, FOR THE, THE COMMITTEE, THE CURRENT, UH, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE GSI ABATEMENT IS A TOTAL PROJECT COST OF AT LEAST $3 MILLION. AND OF THAT $3 MILLION, AT LEAST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WOULD BE DEDICATED TOWARDS GSI, UH, IMPROVEMENTS OF SOME KIND. UM, NOW WE HAVE LOOKED AT THAT IN THE CHALLENGE. UH, WE HAVE, SINCE IT'S A TAX ABATE WHERE WE'RE TAKING A PERCENTAGE OFF OF THE BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAPPENED. SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT PROJECTS THAT WERE SMALLER THAN $3 MILLION, UM, THEY'RE NOT GENERATING ENOUGH INCREMENT OVER THOSE YEARS TO PAY OFF THEIR INVESTMENT. SO THAT, SO IT NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST $3 MILLION TO THEN, UM, HAVE THE ABATEMENT PROPERLY OFFSET THEIR DEVELOPMENT COSTS. OKAY. AND I, AND I HEAR THAT. I THINK THE ONLY QUESTION I WOULD POSE, AND THIS ISN'T A DISAGREEMENT, IT'S A QUESTION. UM, THE BENEFITS TO, FOR EXAMPLE, A GREEN ROOF OR LARGER SCALE BIOSWELLS IS NOT JUST THE INCREMENT IN THE BUILDING THAT IT'S CREATING, IT'S THE BACKEND COST OF, UH, PREVENTING FLOODING, COOLING A NEIGHBORHOOD DOWN, CLEANING THE [00:40:01] WATER AS IT'S ENTERING OUR SYSTEM. SO THERE'S ALL THESE ADDITIONAL BENEFICIAL COSTS, INCLUDING HEALTH BENEFIT COSTS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY, UM, I'M SURE THERE'S A WAY TO QUANTIFY IT. I'M LOOKING AT SOME OF THE MAYOR'S TEAM THAT'S SITTING IN HERE, AND I KNOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE NUMBERS PEOPLE, SO I'M SURE THERE'S A WAY TO QUANTIFY STUFF. BUT I WOULD ASK FOR MORE CONVERSATION, MAYBE OFFLINE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THIS MORE EFFECTIVE. AND WITH ALL OF OUR TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAMS, IT ALSO TAKES EDUCATION AND OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITY. SO THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE BEEN, WE'VE HAD LEAD ON THE BOOKS FOR HOWEVER LONG THAT WE'VE ONLY HAD TWO, UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S AN ISSUE NECESSARILY WITH THE PROGRAM. IT'S AN ISSUE AND A CHALLENGE WITH BEING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, MEETING WITH DEVELOPERS TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S THE MENU OF WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO US. SO I WOULD ASK FOR PARTNERSHIP IN THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING A GREAT JOB AND THERE'S A LOT TO TACKLE HERE, BUT IF WE WANT THESE PROGRAMS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, UH, WE HAVE TO BE ALSO DOING, BE DOING OUTREACH AND BEING PROACTIVE TO GO, YOU KNOW, LIKE A ROAD SHOW OF, HEY, HERE'S WHAT WE HAVE GOING ON, WHO'S INTERESTED IN THIS? AND WHAT WOULD MAKE THIS EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL FOR YOU AS BUILDERS FOR YOU AS DEVELOPERS, UM, SO THAT YOU'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS. ABSOLUTELY. UM, WE HAVE IN OUR GSI APPLICATION, UM, A WAY TO QUANTIFY THOSE CO-BENEFITS. AND SO THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE ABATEMENT AMOUNT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT AN APPLICATION. SO, SO WE ARE TRYING TO CAPTURE THAT AS BEST AS WE CAN BASED ON, UM, PEER REVIEWED, ACCEPTED RESEARCH BEST PRACTICES. YEAH. TERRIFIC. THANK YOU. AND AGAIN, UH, CHAIR, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS, SO HOW I, AGAIN, THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS DO KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM SO THAT AS THEY'RE DESIGNING, THEY'RE COMING TO THE CITY WITH THAT IN MIND TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF? THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, ANDREW, A FEW MORE QUESTIONS. SO SURE. IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, IT'S PROPOSED THAT WE RENEW THESE PROGRAMS TO GRANT TAX ABATEMENTS IN QUAL IN, IN CASES WHERE ENTITIES QUALIFY, FOR INSTANCE, THE LEAD STANDARDS, UM, NEW IMPROVEMENTS ON DEMOLISHED SITES AND SO FORTH. SO IT'S PROPOSED THAT WE RENEW EACH ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS, THESE REPRESENTED IN THESE BULLET POINTS. IS THAT RIGHT? ALL THESE CURRENTLY EXIST? YES. OKAY. AND YOU WANNA RENEW THEM? WE, YES. OKAY. SO LOOKING AT PAGE THREE, FIRST BULLET POINT, CHAPTER THREE 12 OF TEXAS TAX CODE GIVES AUTHORITY TO CITIES TO ENTER INTO TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS. SO WHO AT, AT THE CITY WOULD APPROVE ANY INDIVIDUAL COMPANY OR PROJECT TO RECEIVE A TAX ABATEMENT? WOULD IT BE CITY COUNCIL? WOULD IT BE? SO OUR OFFICE RECEIVES THE APPLICATIONS. WE HAVE APPLICATION AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, AND TYPICALLY A COMPANY IS TALKING TO US ABOUT THEIR DEVELOPMENT BEFORE THEY EVEN SUBMIT THE APPLICATION. SO WE'RE USUALLY INVOLVED PRETTY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS. THEN THEY SUBMIT TO US, WE REVIEW IT, WE HAVE OUR EVALUATION PROCESS FOR IT, AND WHETHER IT MEETS OUR CRITERIA, WE WILL THEN, UH, EITHER WORK WITH THEM TO SEE IF THERE'S AREAS THAT THEY CAN IMPROVE OR WE'LL DECLINE TO PROVIDE THEM A, AN ABATEMENT. UM, IF THEY MEET OUR CRITERIA AND IT PENCILS OUT, WE WILL, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ABATEMENT, WHICH THEN WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE ME PRESENTING HERE BEFORE YOU. AND THEN ONCE WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, WE WORK ON A ABATEMENT AGREEMENT AND ORDINANCE FOR, UH, WITH, WITH THE COMPANY. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING. AND AT THE PUBLIC HEARING WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT, THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT, WHAT'S GOING ON, UH, WITH THE ABATEMENT. AND THEN AFTER THAT, BEFORE CITY COUNCIL, YOU'LL RECEIVE TWO THINGS. ONE IS A CREATION OF A TAX ABATEMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE, WHICH IS THE PHYSICAL SPACE WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT WILL OCCUR. AND THEN THE SECOND THING WILL BE, UM, THE TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT, WHICH WILL THEN BE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COMPANY ON THE ABATEMENT TERMS. SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS I WOULD GO BEFORE COUNCIL. SO FIRST IT GOES THROUGH US, THEN IT GOES TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, THEN IT DOES PUBLIC HEARING, AND THEN IT GOES BEFORE CITY COUNCIL. SO EACH IN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT GETS, GETS APPROVED OR NOT APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL. YEAH. OKAY. SO, AND AS YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN ASSERTED THAT THE CITY IS BROKE. SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS TO, TO THE CITY IN TERMS OF LOST TAX. SO TAX ABATEMENTS ARE GREAT FOR THE CITY, UH, BECAUSE WITH THE REVENUE CAP, A TAX ABATEMENT IS JUST SAYING, WE'RE ABATING THIS TAX, IT'S NOT A REIMBURSEMENT OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND, WE'RE JUST NOT COLLECTING IT. SO IT [00:45:01] ACTUALLY REDUCES THE IMPACT OF THE REVENUE CAP YEAR OVER YEAR. SO, UH, IF WE COULD HAND OUT MORE ABATEMENTS, HAPPILY, IF YOU'RE A COMPANY LISTENING TO THIS, PLEASE APPLY. UH, WE, WE COULD DO A BUNCH OF TAX ABATEMENTS THAT WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE GENERAL FUND. DOESN'T THAT NECESSARILY RESULT IN, IN FEWER TAX DOLLARS BEING COLLECTED? NO. 'CAUSE WITH THE REVENUE CAP, NOW, SINCE THE ABATEMENT IS ON PROPERTY TAXES, OUR REVENUE CAP IS ALREADY CAPPING OUR REV, OUR PROPERTY TAXES. SO OUR ABATEMENT IS, UM, IT, IT HAS NO IMPACT TO THE PROPERTY TAX BECAUSE OF THE REVENUE CAP. BUT IF YOU GIVE EVERYBODY IN THE CITY A TAX ABATEMENT, THEN WE DON'T HAVE ANY TAX REVENUE. DO WE? IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE SCALE OF THE TAX ABATEMENT. MM-HMM . THAT'S THEORETICAL. OKAY. UM, SO AGAIN, WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE MEETS THE, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS? SO THE, UH, IT VARIES BY APPLICATION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FIVE OR SO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, UH, FROM A TRADITIONAL TAX ABATEMENT. WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THEIR JOB CREATION. UM, THERE'S SEVERAL STANDARDS IT SIMILAR TO THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE, WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW IT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING LIKE A CHART SHOWING THE IMPACTS FROM THE PREVIOUS PROJECTS THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED? I'M SURE WE COULD CREATE ONE. OKAY. THAT, THAT'D BE, THAT'D BE NICE TO HAVE. OKAY. JUST TO SEE HOW, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST. AND SO, UM, AND AGAIN, ONCE SOMETHING IS PASSED, WHO, WHO FOLLOWS UP AND ENSURES THAT THE BUSINESS ENTITIES ARE DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE IT'S EFFECTIVE? SURE. GREAT QUESTION. UM, SO ONCE CITY COUNCIL PASSES A TAX ABATEMENT, UM, AGREEMENT THROUGH, THROUGH AN ORDINANCE, UM, WE SEND, OUR OFFICE SENDS THAT INFORMATION OVER TO HCA BECAUSE HCA DOES THE EVALUATIONS. SO THEY'LL KNOW BASED ON THE PARCELS THAT ARE INVOLVED WITH THE TAX ABATEMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE, UH, WHAT ABATEMENTS ARE BEING APPLIED TO THAT PROPERTY. SO THEN WHEN THEY DO THEIR TAX ASSESSMENTS, THAT ABATEMENT IS IN THEIR DATA AND THEY'LL CREATE THAT ACCORDINGLY. SO THEN THAT GETS SENT OVER TO THE ASSESSOR COLLECTOR, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE ON PEOPLE'S TAX BILLS WHETHER THERE'S AN ABATEMENT OR NOT. OKAY. BUT WHO GOES BACK AND ENSURES, FOR INSTANCE, THAT A BUILDING HAS BEEN REFURBISHED TO L-L-E-E-D STANDARDS? RIGHT. SO HA DOES, UM, ANNUAL WALKTHROUGHS ON EVERY, UH, DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE A TAX ABATEMENT ON. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE A CITY EMPLOYEE WHO ACCOMPANIES THEM ON THAT. BUT THEN, UH, IN OUR TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS, EVERY YEAR THAT COMPANY SENDS US A, UM, A COMPLIANCE REPORT, AND THEN WE REVIEW THE COMPLIANCE REPORT. SO THERE, FOR THE 10 YEARS OF THE ABATEMENT, OR UNTIL THE ABATEMENT AMOUNT HAS BEEN REACHED, THEY'RE SENDING US ANNUAL COMPLIANCE AND THEY DON'T EVEN RECEIVE THE ABATEMENT UNTIL WE RECEIVE CERTAIN CRITERIA, SUCH AS THE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION. UM, AND THEN IF FOR THE LEAD ABATEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE TO SEE THAT THEY'VE RECEIVED THE LEAD ACCREDITATION BEFORE WE EVEN ISSUE THE ABATEMENT. SO, SO HCA AND THE CITY TOGETHER FOLLOW UP ON A YEARLY BASIS? THAT'S CORRECT. AND, AND ENSURE THAT, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS ARE MET AND, AND THE ENTITIES WILL SUBMIT A YEARLY REPORT AS WELL? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, JUST TO CLARIFY, ON A LEAD CERTIFICATION, YOU HAVE A CERTIFICATION ON A FACILITY, AND THEN YOU HAVE LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, LEAD CERTIFIED VERSUS LEAD GOLD OR BRONZE OR SILVER, WHICH IS AN OPERATIONAL, BUT THE COUNTY DOESN'T REALLY FOLLOW UP ON THE OPERATION OF A LEAD FACILITY. THE COUNTY DOESN'T. UH, WE DO, NOR DOES, NOR DOES THE CITY. SO LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF I BUILD A BUILDING AND IT'S LEAD CERTIFIED, BUT IT ALSO OPERATE LEAD, THE COUNTY DOESN'T, OR THE CITY DOES NOT COME BACK TO ME, NOR DOES THE COUNTY TO SEE IF I'M OPERATING THE BUILDING AT A SILVER OR GOLD LEVEL. THAT'S A DIFFERENT, I THINK WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ TO BE ASKING, AND WHAT I UNDERSTOOD YOUR ANSWER, REALLY KIND OF TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. SO ON THE, ON THE, ONCE YOU'RE CERTIFIED AS LEAD, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU'RE LEAD CERTIFIED ON A, ON A PROJECT, THE, THE CITY DOESN'T COME ALONG AND MONITOR THAT. THAT'S, THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT, THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT DIFFERENT TOPIC. LIKE [00:50:01] THERE'S NO CHECK, LIKE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA COME BACK TO YOU EVERY YEAR AND SAY, OH, IS IT SILVER? OR NOW YOU ARE A GOLD, ARE YOU JUST CERTIFIED? ARE YOU BRONZE? LIKE, THAT DOESN'T, THAT'S NOT A CHECK AND BALANCE PROCESS, IS IT? SO THE, AS FAR AS THE LEAD ABATEMENT'S CONCERNED, WHEN A DEVELOPER SAY BUILDING A LEAD OFFICE TOWER, UM, THE LEAD ABATEMENT COVERS THE DESIGN COSTS TO MAKE THAT BUILDING LEAD AS WELL AS THE COST TO GET THE BUILDING CERTIFIED AT WHATEVER STANDARD IT'S GOING TO BE. UM, AND THEN AT THAT POINT, BASED ON THE STANDARD, THEY'LL RECEIVE A CERTAIN ABATEMENT AMOUNT. SO FOR, UM, I WOULD SAY SILVER IS 5%, GOLD'S 10%, PLATINUM IS 15%. AND THEN ANNUALLY, WHEN THEY SUBMIT THEIR, UM, REPORTS TO US, WE'LL NEED TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE STILL CERTIFIED. AND SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT DIRECTLY CHECKING, THEY DO NEED TO MAINTAIN THEIR CERTIFICATION. PERFECT. CAN YOU JUST, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, THANK YOU. YEAH, I, I WASN'T GONNA ASK ABOUT LEAD, BUT SINCE WE'RE ON THE CONVERSATION, THERE MAY BE SOME CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT LEAD IS AND ISN'T IN TERMS OF QUOTE UNQUOTE MONITORING AND COUNCILLOR CARTER, THIS IS MAYBE WHERE YOU WERE GETTING AT, BUT IF NOT, I DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH. LEAD CERTIFICATION GENERALLY RELATES TO THE WAY IN WHICH A BUILDING IS BUILT AND THE MATERIALS WITHIN THE BUILDING ITSELF, THE WIRING, THE ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES, ET CETERA, IT'S NOT A, OH, ARE YOU SWITCHING OUT THE LIGHT BULBS FOR AN LED LIGHT BULB AND KEEPING UP WITH THOSE LIGHT BULBS. SO THE, THESE ARE FACTORS THAT ARE VERIFIABLE THAT GO INTO THE BUILDING AS IT'S BEING BUILT AND REVIEWED, UH, BY THE CITY PRIOR TO ANY APPROVAL OF SAID, UM, ABATEMENT BEING AUTHORIZED BY COUNSEL. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT, YES. OKAY, GREAT. UM, AND THEN GOING BACK TO SOME OF THESE OTHER ITEMS, COULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN, THE WAY I RELATE TO TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAMS IS IT STANDS FOR SOMETHING THAT CITY WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF AND SEES A BENEFIT IN PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, THE PRIVATE SECTOR OR NGOS TO STEP UP AND PARTICIPATE IN BECAUSE IT STANDS FOR SOMETHING THAT THE CITY BELIEVES IS USEFUL. FOR EXAMPLE, COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY IT MAY BE IMPORTANT? I MEAN, ALL OF US KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DETERIORATED OR DEMOED PROPERTIES, UH, AND THE BENEFIT OF THAT AND WHY WE WOULD WANNA INCENTIVIZE THAT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT A LITTLE BIT AND WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT? ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO I'LL START FROM THE TOP AND WORK MY WAY THROUGH THEM. UH, SO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT, OF COURSE, WE WANT THE CITY'S ECONOMY TO GROW AND FLOURISH, AND WE WANT TO HAVE, UM, JOB CREATION IN AREAS THAT NEED JOBS. AND SO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT GOES TOWARDS INCENTIVIZING THE RIGHT KIND OF JOBS IN THE RIGHT PLACES. UM, THE BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT, UM, WHEN, SO AS, AS WE KNOW IN HOUSTON WITH, UM, OUR LACK OF ZONING, WHICH HAS BEEN GREAT AT KEEPING THE CITY NIMBLE, THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THE USES OF BUILDINGS CAN CHANGE. SO A BUILDING COULD HAVE BEEN AN INDUSTRIAL SITE THAT IS NOW A BROWNFIELD, UM, UNDER, YOU KNOW, BROWNFIELD CLASSIFICATIONS. UM, BUT NOW SAY WE WANT IT TO BE A MULTIFAMILY MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT WITH ALL THE, THE COOL BELLS AND WHISTLES OF A MIXED USE FACILITY. UM, THAT MAY NOT HAPPEN IF IT'S ON A BROWNFIELD SITE. SO REMEDIATION HAS TO OCCUR TO MAKE THE SOIL, UM, SOLID BEFORE, UM, BEFORE THE MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT COULD BE BUILT ON IT. SO IN THAT EXAMPLE, UH, BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT WOULD GO A LONG WAY FOR THAT DEVELOPER TO OFFSET THOSE BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION COSTS. UM, LEAD, UM, SO WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT. WE KNOW WE WANT ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACROSS THE CITY. UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THAT'LL REDUCE, UM, A LOT OF THE ENERGY NEEDS, UH, THAT ARE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL. UM, SO THE LEAD ABATEMENT HELPS DESIGN FUTURE BUILDINGS TO BE, UM, MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT. THE GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ABATEMENT, UH, WE'RE LOOKING NOT ONLY AT STORMWATER RUNOFF, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS. WE'RE, UH, LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT BY HAVING MORE STREET TREES AND PERMEABLE SURFACES, THOSE SORT OF THINGS, WE CAN REDUCE FLOODING AND OTHER IMPACTS, UM, BY HAVING LESS CONCRETE IN PLACES AND, YOU KNOW, MORE TREES OR MORE BIOSWALES, THOSE TYPES OF INVESTMENTS. [00:55:02] UM, BUT THOSE INVESTMENTS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JUST PUTTING IN CONCRETE DETENTION. SO THIS ABATEMENT IS DESIGNED TO INCENTIVIZE THOSE SORTS OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE ONE MORE PRETTY AS TO WALK THROUGH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE IN A RETAIL FACILITY AND THERE'S TREES AND THAT SORT OF STUFF, RATHER THAN A MASSIVE CONCRETE PARKING LOT. UM, SO THAT'S WHAT THIS ABATEMENT'S INTENDED TO DO. AND SO, WHICH GOING BACK TO WHY WE'RE DOING THE AMENDMENT IS, UM, WITH URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT DOESN'T NECESSARILY FALL UNDER GREEN STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT IT IS CONSIDERED LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT. 'CAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO REDUCE OUR PHYSICAL IMPACTS ON SITES. UM, SO THEN THE FINAL ONE, DETERIORATED AND DEMOLISHED PROPERTY. UM, IT CAN BE USED AS A BLIGHT REMOVAL TOOL, BUT ALSO, UM, THE CITY AND, YOU KNOW, NATIONWIDE, UH, WE'RE HAVING TRENDS TO DENSIFY. AND SO THE DETERIORATED AND DEMOLISHED PROPERTY OF BAYBANK CAN GO TOWARDS INFIELD DEVELOPMENT FOR, UM, ALL OF YOUR DISTRICTS. SO THAT IS, UH, ONE, WE'RE NOT SEEING A WHOLE LOT RIGHT NOW, BUT IT COULD BE ESPECIALLY RELEVANT AS WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES DENSER AND MORE WALKABLE. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. YES, THANK YOU. JUST A COUPLE MORE FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS. SURE. ANDREW? YES. UM, I'M UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF INCENTIVIZATION. UM, WE SPOKE ABOUT LEAD STANDARDS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER WAYS IN WHICH, UH, COMPANIES CAN QUALIFY FOR AN ABATEMENT. FOR INSTANCE, UM, CREATION OF MID-SKILL JOBS, REENTRY JOBS, INTERNSHIPS FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS AND WORKFORCE AND OR HOUSING. AND THEN THE NEXT BULLET POINT, UM, WELL, LET'S SEE TWO, THERE'S ANOTHER RELATED BULLET POINT THAT DEALT WITH, UM, JOB CREATION. SO WHO GOES BACK AND FOLLOWS UP TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE JOBS STILL EXIST AT WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS OR HOWEVER LONG THE, THE PROGRAM WILL LASTS? OUR OFFICE DOES. YOU DO MM-HMM . OKAY. TO EACH INDIVIDUAL COMPANY AND, AND VERIFY THAT THOSE JOBS STILL EXIST. YEP. THAT'S PART OF THE TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT. SO IF THEY FAIL TO DELIVER ON THOSE THINGS, WE CAN, UH, END THE ABATEMENT. AND SO THAT, THAT'S PART OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS PORTION OF THE TAX ABATEMENT. SO YOU CAN'T GET A TAX ABATEMENT JUST BY CREATING JOBS. UH, YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE YOUR DEVELOPMENT AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS. AND SO THOSE JOB CREATION ELEMENTS THAT YOU LISTED, THOSE ARE REQUIREMENTS OF THAT TAX ABATEMENT. UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE TELLING THEM IN ORDER TO GET THE ABATEMENT, YOU HAVE TO DO THOSE THINGS. MM-HMM . AND THEN WE, WE FOLLOW UP. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE'LL MOVE ON NOW. THANK YOU MR. BUSKER. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY AND FOR ALL THAT GOOD INFORMATION TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS. THE FIRST PUBLIC SPEAKER WE HAVE SIGNED UP IS DOUG SMITH. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE NEW IN CONS KNOW THAT I HAVE A THING FOR, UH, LANE STRIPING OR LACK THEREOF ON CITY STREETS. AND I SUGGESTED LAST YEAR THAT, UH, MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS AND TOURS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THE STRIPING IN THEIR DISTRICTS, UH, WAS DONE. UH, AND I SAID THAT WAY, NOT ONLY WILL THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THOSE DISTRICTS BENEFIT, THE WHOLE CITY WILL BENEFIT, AND YOU VERY GENEROUSLY LAST YEAR GAVE ME CREDIT FOR ROGER DALE. I SAID, I WASN'T SURE WHETHER THAT WAS DONE BECAUSE OF WHAT I HAD TO SAY, BUT YOU SAID I COULD GET CREDIT FOR THAT. SO I APPRECIATED THAT. AND NOW, UH, SAN FELIPE, UH, BETWEEN POST OAK AND SIX 10 HAS BEEN DONE. UH, THERE WAS BASICALLY NO STRIVING AT ALL, UH, IN THAT DISTANCE THAT'S BEEN DONE. SO THERE'S ONE LEFT THAT I TALKED ABOUT LAST YEAR, AND THAT IS WEST PARK BETWEEN RICE AND SIX 10. AND I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO, UH, UH, HAVE TUR 16 DO THAT BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF THE REASON, UH, THAT STRIPING WENT AWAY WAS BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SILVER LINE, UH, SOUTH, UH, TERMINAL. UH, AND THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME PLACES WHERE THERE ARE FIVE LANES, UH, TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION AND A CENTER LANE, AND THERE IS NO STRIPING WHATSOEVER. SO IT'S REALLY KIND OF DANGEROUS. SO I JUST WOULD LIKE TO STRESS THAT. THEN I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, UH, ASK A QUESTION. UH, IN LOOKING AT THE COMMITTEES THAT ARE CONSTITUTED THIS YEAR, UH, THE TTI COMMITTEE IS GONE AND THEY USED TO, UH, COVER SOME VERY IMPORTANT, UH, AREAS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, UH, WATER DEPARTMENT AND TECHNOLOGY WITH ALL OF WHICH SPEND LOTS OF MONEY. AND I'M CURIOUS WHAT IS GOING ON. AND WE USED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE AIRPORT AND SOME OF THE THINGS THEY WERE DOING IN THIS DEPARTMENT, BUT I'M [01:00:01] CURIOUS WHAT THE THOUGHTS ARE, UH, REGARDING THAT. AND THEN FINALLY, I TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST YEAR. UH, IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ACROSS THE STREET TO TRANQUILITY PARK, UH, I WOULD URGE YOU TO DO THAT AND SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. UH, IT'S EMBARRASSING FOR THE CITY TO HAVE A SQUARE BLOCK IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY LOOKING LIKE THAT. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLAQUE, YOU WILL SEE THAT ALL OF THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE CITY, UH, CONTRIBUTED MONEY TO GET THAT DONE. AND THIS WAS DONE, UH, AT THE BICENTENNIAL OF, UH, THE UNITED STATES. AND IN TWO MORE YEARS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY. SO I AM SUGGESTING THAT, UH, SOMETHING BE DONE TO GET THAT FIXED. UH, THERE, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH WHOEVER ELSE IS WILLING TO DO THAT. I KNOW COUNCILMAN ALCORN WAS A REAL CONCERN ABOUT THAT. AND COUNCILMAN CARTER, YOU HAVE DONE GREAT MONEY OR GREAT JOB IN RAISING MONEY FOR THE AS FOUNDATION. THIS IS GONNA TAKE MONEY TO DO IT. AND I ALSO SUGGEST THAT MAYBE MIKE NICHOLS WHO I WAS GONNA CONTACT, AND NOW HE'S WITH THE CITY, HAS DONE A GREAT JOB IN, IN, UH, REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE TO GIVE MONEY FOR HOUSING IF SOME OF YOU COULD HELP ME. AND I'VE ALSO TALKED TO, UH, HOUSTON FIRST, WHICH DID THE, UH, LYNN WYATT SQUARE. I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT BEFORE THE, UH, 250TH ANNIVERSARY, SOMETHING BE DONE WITH THAT SQUARE BLOCK. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. THANK YOU DOUG, FOR BEING HERE. UM, WE DO HAVE STRIPING PAINT NOW IN PUBLIC WORKS. SO WE ARE, WE DO HAVE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO GET MORE, UH, LANES STRIPED. UM, OUR CROSSWALKS DONE. WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL. UM, SO WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. WE WILL DEFINITELY TAKE ALL THAT ADVICE AND CONTINUE WORKING ON, UH, THE PARK. AND THOSE ARE THE ITEMS THAT YOU'VE REQUESTED. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? UH, DOUG, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS. YOU SAID SIX 10, UH, SORRY. WEST PARK BETWEEN SIX 10 AND SOUTH RICE, RICE AND SIX 10. OKAY. AND THAT I BELIEVE WOULD BE DISTRICT J, WHOEVER'S DISTRICT IT IS, WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE AS WELL. I KNOW I PERSONALLY, UM, HAVE REACHED OUT TO SOME OF OUR TOURS IN THE PAST AND HAVE NOT HAD SUCCESS IN ASKING THEM TO STRIFE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR STRIPING MACHINES. IT WAS, HEY, CAN WE, CAN WE GET THINGS MOVING? SO I THINK IT'S A TERRIFIC IDEA. WE APPRECIATE IT. AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF US ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE SPACE ACROSS THE STREET, UM, AND ANY OF YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ARE WELCOMED AND VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. BUT ON THE STRIPING, UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT GETS TO, TO THE COUNCIL MEMBER AS WELL. YEAH. IF YOU HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS ON THE PARK ACROSS THE STREET, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. 'CAUSE I'D LIKE TO BE A PART OF THAT. AND JUST TO MY POINT, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TTI COMMITTEE? OH, RIGHT. ANY THOUGHTS, DOUG, ON WHERE, UM, PROJECTS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE COULD GO BASED ON THE COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? LET ME LOOK AT IT AGAIN. UH, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY. SO WE, WE HAVE 12 COMMITTEES AND I THINK THAT, UM, THE ADMINISTRATION KIND OF LOOKED AT WHERE THEY COULD SPREAD THOSE AROUND. UM, SEVERAL OF THOSE CAME UNDER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, SO THEY, THE FUNCTIONS ARE STILL THERE, JUST PROBABLY UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME, DOUG? MM-HMM . UM, LET, LET ME LOOK THROUGH THE LIST AND SEE, AND I'LL SHOOT YOU A EMAIL WITH THE ACTUAL PLACES WHERE THEY LANDED. OKAY. UM, BECAUSE I THINK WE WENT FROM SEVEN TO NOW 12 COMMITTEES. MM-HMM . SO TRUST AND BELIEF THAT TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE HAS A PLACE TO BELONG. GOOD. BECAUSE, AND WE WILL DISCUSS IT AND WE HOPE THAT YOU'LL BE A PART OF IT. YEAH. 'CAUSE THERE'S HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY IN ALL THREE OF THOSE, AS YOU ALL KNOW. SO THANK YOU. RIGHT. I APPRECIATE IT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. YEAH. MARTINEZ, DOUG. OH, I'M SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT FOR DOUG? YEAH, JUST ABOUT THE PARK ACROSS THE STREET. OKAY. DOUG. UH, SO MY PREDECESSOR, UH, HE, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS. I USED TO WORK FOR COUNCILMAN ROBERT GALLEGOS, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE DONE. THERE'S A PARKING LOT UNDERNEATH, THERE'S WATER STRUCTURE, RIGHT? YEAH. SO IT'S A HEAVY LIFT, BUT, UH, KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I DEFINITELY WANT TO CONTINUE TO, TO WORK ON AND SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S SOME GOOD COLLEAGUES AROUND THE HORSESHOE AND NEW NEW ADMINISTRATION THAT WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING TO YOU ABOUT IT AS WELL. YEAH. IF I WERE THE FAMILIES THAT GAVE ALL THE MONEY TO CREATE IT AND CAME OUT AND LOOKED AT IT RIGHT NOW, UH, I WOULD BE APPALLED AT HOW MY MONEY WAS SPENT BECAUSE, UH, IT, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. SO ANYWAY. YEAH. THANKS. THANK YOU DOUG. UH, RONALD BANKS. HELLO, MR. BANKS. GOOD AFTERNOON. HOW ARE YOU? I'M [01:05:01] BLESSED, THANK YOU. GOOD. UH, I'M WITH GENESIS INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS AND, UH, WE PLAN TO, UH, OPEN UP, UH, UH, SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTER HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AND THE REASON I'VE ATTENDED THE MEETING THAT WANT TO FIND OUT, UM, HOW, UH, YOU ALL CAN ASSIST US, WE, WE PROJECT ABOUT, UH, WE PROJECTING 18 MILLION FOR A YEAR, 2025. UH, AND IT IS TECHNOLOGY BASED. UH, RIGHT NOW, UM, THERE'S A NEW TREND GOING ON CALLED NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY AND DEVICES, WHICH IS PRIMARILY THROUGH TELECOMMUNICATIONS. UH, AND THOSE, ONE OF THE PRIMARY COMPANIES WHO'S ACTUALLY LEADING IN THAT EFFORT AND DOING, MAKING A GREAT IMPACT IS AMAZON WEB SERVICES. SO THERE ARE SEVERAL, UH, POSITIONS THAT WE WERE GONNA BE HIRING FOR MM-HMM . UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE ACTUALLY GOING AFTER SOME OF THE FEDERAL CONTRACTS, BUT WE MADE A DECISION TO COME HERE TO HOUSTON. UH, WE WERE FORMERLY LOCATED IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND WE DID FEDERAL CONTRACTS THERE. WE WORKED WITH THE, UH, ARMY, UH, AIR FORCE, INSTALLING PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEMS, 9 1 1 CENTERS, PSAPS. UH, WE ACTUALLY OPERATED THE, UH, PSAP AT FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY. UM, AND NOW WITH THE NEW TECHNOLOGY, WITH THE NEW GENERATION TREND COMING ALONG, UH, WE HAVE BEEN, UH, ASKED BY SEVERAL LARGE COMPANIES TO BE THERE, MIGHT BE TO PARTICIPATE AS A MINORITY CONTRACTOR IN, UH, ACTUALLY BRINGING SOME OF THESE, UH, UH, JOBS AND SKILLS, UH, TO OUR COMPANY. AND WE JUST DECIDED TO LOCATE HERE IN HOUSTON. SO I'M, I'M HERE AT THIS MEETING TO BECOME EDUCATED ON WHAT AND WHO CAN I TALK TO ABOUT, UH, WHAT INCENTIVES, UH, THE CITY HAS TO OFFER A NEW COMPANY THAT WANTS TO RELOCATE HERE. WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING AND YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT MEETING, 'CAUSE I'M GOING TO CONNECT YOU WITH ANDREW, UM, WHO COULD, CAN HELP YOU, UH, TALK ABOUT THE INCENTIVES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AND THEN YOU ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU, UM, GET CONNECTED WITH THE OFFICE OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. AND ANDREW, IF YOU CAN JUST KIND OF GIVE HIM THAT INFORMATION AND HE CAN, UM, CHIT CHAT WITH LENCIA AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. UH, WE WANNA GET YOU SIGNED UP FOR OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, NEWSLETTER AND DISTRIBUTION LIST SO THAT YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT OUR, OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS AND HAVE THOSE DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR TOO. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE AGENDAS SO YOU CAN KNOW IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY OR EVEN IF YOU WANT TO COME IN AND HAVE SOMETHING ADDITIONAL TO SAY. AND, UH, BEST WISHES TO YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING HOUSTON FOR THE LOCATION OF YOUR, YOUR COMPANY. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'M SORRY, HIS NAME? RONALD BANKS. RONALD BANKS, YES. MR. BANKS. YES. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UH, ONLINE IS HILLARY CONSULTING SERVICES ONLINE. ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK IS PUSH STAR SIX TO UNMUTE HILLARY CONSULTING SERVICES. IF NOT, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, I DO WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR JOINING US TODAY. AND BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I'D LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT OUR NEXT SCHEDULED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH AT 2:00 PM UH, JUST FOR NOTE, THIS IS OUT OF OUR NORMAL SEQUENCE DUE TO OUR BUDGET WORKSHOPS. SO, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TODAY. UM, JUST ONE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT, THE HARM CLARK FORT BEND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY WILL HOST THIS QUARTERLY DEVELOPERS NETWORKING RECEPTION ON THURSDAY, MAY THE SECOND AT 6:00 PM AT THE FOUNTAIN LIFE CENTER. UH, WE'RE INVITING ALL OF OUR, UH, STRATEGIC PARTNERS TO LEARN HOW TO ACCESS CAPITAL FUNDING RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, ENTREPRENEURS, AND STARTUPS. SO FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN VISIT THE HARM CLARK FORT BEND.COM WEBSITE AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE NETWORKING RECEPTION ON THURSDAY, MAY THE SECOND, MR. BANKS, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING YOU MAY WANT TO ATTEND. SO, UM, IF YOU NEED THAT DATE OR THAT INFORMATION, WE'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU. UM, IT IS NOW THREE 10 AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. * 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.