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[Joint Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs and Arts & Culture on October 1, 2024.]
SALLY HORNE, CHAIR OF THE CITY'S BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, AND I CALL THIS JOINT MEETING OF BUDGET, FISCAL AFFAIRS AND ARTS AND CULTURE.WE HAVE A, A TWO FOR TODAY, UM, TO ORDER AND WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE.
DO WE HAVE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SHABAZZ? IS SHE ON LINE? NO.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME VICE CHAIR OF BOTH COMMITTEES, COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO.
WE HAVE STEVEN FROM COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ'S OFFICE.
WE HAVE JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER JO MARTINEZ, COUNCIL, UH, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK, MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ.
COUNCIL MEMBER MARY NAN HUFFMAN, STAFF FROM DISTRICT B STAFF FROM DISTRICT C COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIE DAVIS.
GOOD SHOWING TODAY LARGE FOUR AND STAFF FROM, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER AT LARGE FOUR IS ONLINE.
SO WITH NO FURTHER ADO, WE'VE GOT A FULL AGENDA.
SO WE WILL START WITH THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT AND, UM, CONTROLLER AND DIRECTOR DEBOSKY.
UH, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND STAFF.
I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDED AUGUST 31ST, 2024 IN THE GENERAL FUND.
THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PROJECTING AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 302.1 MILLION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
THIS IS $18.6 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT DUE TO A LOWER REVENUE PROJECTION THAN FINANCE.
BASED ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTIONS, THE FUND BALANCE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY $111.8 MILLION ABOVE THE CITY'S TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO IN RESERVE.
THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 BEGINNING FUND BALANCE IS $35.6 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE FY 2024 ENDING FUND BALANCE REPORTED IN THE JUNE 30TH, 2024 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
THE INCREASE IS DUE TO YEAR END ADJUSTMENTS TO REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES THAT WILL NOT BE FINAL UNTIL THE FY 2024 ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IS PUBLISHED.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR REVENUE PROJECTION BY $0.9 MILLION FROM THE JULY, 2024 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT TO REFLECT A HIGHER CHARGEBACK FOR POLICE SERVICES AT GEORGE BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT.
OUR EXPENDITURE PROJECTION INCREASED BY $8.2 MILLION FROM THE JULY, 2024 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT DUE TO THE FOLLOWING, AN INCREASE OF $5.4 MILLION IN POLICE FOR CADET SALARY INCENTIVES AND OVERTIME FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL AT GEORGE BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT.
AN INCREASE OF $2.3 MILLION FOR THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT FUNDING FOR THE CREDIBLE MESSENGER AND COMMUNITY VIOLENCE PROGRAMS, AND AN INCREASE OF HALF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY TO REFLECT FUNDING FOR THE MOBILE TECHNOLOGY LIBRARY PROGRAM FOR ENTERPRISE FUNDS IN THE AVIATION OPERATING FUND, OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 0.9 $0.9 MILLION DUE TO HIGH, EXCUSE ME, DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED GARAGE PARKING REVENUES AND OPERATING EXPENSES INCREASED BY $0.9 MILLION DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED POLICE SERVICES WE'RE PROJECTING NO CHANGES FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTHS AMOUNTS IN THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM FUNDS, CONVENTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OPERATING FUNDS, THE STORMWATER FUND OR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUNDS FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PAPER AND BONDS.
THE CITY'S PRACTICE HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOLL OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF DEBT IN A VARIABLE RATE STRUCTURE.
AS OF AUGUST 31ST, 2024, THE RATIO OF UNH VARIABLE RATE DEBT FOR EACH TYPE OF OUTSTANDING DEBT WAS WELL BELOW THAT THRESHOLD.
MR. CHAIR, IF YOU'D ALLOW ME A BRIEF MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE LATER THIS MONTH, MY OFFICE WILL BE HOSTING THE NINTH ANNUAL CITY OF HOUSTON INVESTOR CONFERENCE HELD HERE IN DOWNTOWN ON OCTOBER 22ND.
THE CONFERENCE WILL ALLOW ATTENDEES TO GAIN INSIGHT FROM LEADERS IN PUBLIC FINANCE AND HEAR UPDATES ABOUT MAJOR PROJECTS TAKING PLACE ACROSS HOUSTON, INCLUDING OUR AIRPORTS CONVENTION CENTER AND MUCH NEEDED PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS.
WE'RE ALSO PROUD TO SHARE THAT STEVE KEEN, CEO OF THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP WILL BE KEYNOTING A LUNCH PORTION OF THE AGENDA WHERE HE WILL DISCUSS THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE CITY AND THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION.
I HOPE THAT COUNCIL AND STAFF WILL CONSIDER JOINING US FOR WHAT WE ARE CONFIDENT WILL BE AN INCREDIBLE, AN INCREDIBLE EVENT.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, CARTER RAMIREZ AND DAVIS, UH, FOR, UH, ATTENDING OUR HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION.
UH, WE HAD A GREAT CELEBRATION, UH, HONORING SOME REAL HEROES IN THIS COMMUNITY AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOU ALL, UH, FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
IN CLOSING, UH, I WANT TO TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO WORK IN AND AROUND THE PORT OF HOUSTON AS A NATION'S LARGEST PORT BY TONNAGE, PORT HOUSTON IS NOT ONLY AN ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR THE REGION, BUT ALSO A LIFELINE FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WORKING WORKERS
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AND THEIR FAMILIES.WE'RE GRATEFUL TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMAN'S ASSOCIATION FOR ALL THAT THEY DO, AND WE WISH THEM THE BEST AS CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE.
STRIKES HAVE ALREADY STARTED UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST, AND THEY'RE EXPECTED TO BEGIN TODAY HERE IN HOUSTON.
NOW, WE MAY NOT FEEL THE IMPACT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL IMMEDIATELY, BUT IF THE TWO SIDES DON'T SHAKE HANDS IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, HOUSTONIANS WILL START TO EXPERIENCE EMPTY SHELLS AT THE GROCERY STORE AND HIGHER PRICES FOR SOME OF THE GOODS THAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED IN OUR DAILY LIVES.
ON THE BROADER SCALE, JP MORGAN ESTIMATES THAT STRIKES WILL COST THE US ECONOMY SOMEWHERE AROUND $4 BILLION EVERY SINGLE DAY UNTIL A DEAL IS STRUCK.
UH, NOW IN THE MIDST OF THESE CHALLENGES, I REMAIN HOPEFUL THAT BOTH SIDES CAN COME TOGETHER AND REACH AN AGREEMENT.
THE LONGSHOREMEN AND WOMEN ARE THE BACKBONE OF OUR SUPPLY CHAIN AND THEIR HARD WORK KEEPS OUR ECONOMY MOVING.
IT'S ONLY RIGHT THAT THEY RECEIVE A FAIR SHARE OF THE WEALTH THAT THEY HELP TO GENERATE.
I BELIEVE THAT WITH GOOD FAITH AND WITH MUTUAL RESPECT, A FAIR AND TIMELY RESOLUTION IS WITHIN REACH.
WE'LL MOVE TO DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI.
THIS IS THE TWO PLUS 10 FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING AUGUST 31ST, 2024.
PROJECTIONS ARE BASED ON TWO MONTHS OF ACTUAL RESULTS AND 10 MONTHS OF PROJECTIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
OUR REVENUE PROJECTION IS 3.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND 882,000 HIGHER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH.
THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH'S PROJECTION IS PRIMARILY IN THE DIRECT INTER FUND SERVICES DUE TO THE HIGHER CHARGEBACK FOR POLICE AIRPORT SERVICES.
THE EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS ARE 8.1 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE ADOPTED BUDGET AND THE PRIOR MONTH, THE VARIANCE FROM THE PRIOR MONTH'S PROJECTIONS ARE DUE TO, AS THE CONTROLLER MENTIONED, A $5.4 MILLION INCREASE IN POLICE DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT THE CADET SALARY, INCREASE IN INCENTIVES AND POLICE OVERTIME FOR THE TRAFFIC CONTROL AT THE GEORGE BUSH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
$2.3 MILLION INCREASE IN THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR CREDIBLE MESSENGER AND COMMUNITY VIOLENCE PROGRAM AND A $500,000 INCREASE TO THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE MOBILE TECHNOLOGY LIBRARY PROGRAM.
WITH THOSE CHANGES TO THE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING THE ENDING FUND BALANCE TO BE $320.7 MILLION, WHICH IS $5 MILLION LOWER THAN THE PRIOR MONTH AND REMAINS, UM, ABOVE 12% AT 12.6% OF ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES, LESS DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
THAT FUND BALANCE REPRESENTS $130 MILLION ABOVE THE TARGET OF HOLDING 7.5% OF EXPENDITURES, EXCLUDING DEBT SERVICE AND PAY AS YOU GO.
AND I KNOW IT'S EARLY ON IN THE FISCAL YEAR, BUT WE DO TRACK SALES TAX.
UM, SO JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE OUR SALES TAX, UH, RECEIPTS CAME IN, UM, THE PRIOR MONTH, THE SALES TAX RECEIPTS FOR JULY, UM, WERE ABOUT 3.6% HIGHER THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, AND ARE ABOUT 5.8% HIGHER THAN BUDGET FOR THE MONTH.
UM, IT'S DEFINITELY WAY TOO EARLY IN THE FISCAL YEAR TO TALK ABOUT MAKING ANY ADJUSTMENTS, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING WE OBVIOUSLY TRACK ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO THAT COVERS THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE ENTERPRISE SPECIAL REVENUE AND OTHER FUNDS.
UM, AS THE CONTROLLER MENTIONED, THE AVIATION FUND OPERATING REVENUES INCREASED BY 850,000 DUE TO HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED GARAGE PARKING AND THE OPERATING EXPENDITURES INCREASED, UM, BY THE SAME AMOUNT FOR THE ANTICIPATED POLICE SERVICES LIKE WE MENTIONED EARLIER.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO WELCOME DISTRICT A COUNCIL MEMBER, TIFFANY THOMAS, DIRECTOR, AND YOUR FIVE YEAR FORECAST, UM, THAT YOU DID AT BUDGET TIME.
YOU HAD SOME ASSUMPTIONS IN ON, UH, YOU OBVIOUSLY HAD TO PUT SOME ASSUMPTIONS IN ON THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, UH, RAISES.
YOU COULDN'T PUT 'EM IN THERE 'CAUSE WE WERE STILL NEGOTIATING THEM, BUT NOW THAT YOU HAVE THOSE NUMBERS, UM, HOW WILL THEY IMPACT, IF AT ALL, THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST? SURE.
UM, SO JUST IN TERMS OF THE IMPACT TO THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, UM, WE INCLUDED, UM, COMPENSATION CONTINGENCY WHILE THOSE NEGOTIATIONS WERE ONGOING.
UM, SO THE, THE RAISES THAT WERE AGREED TO AND THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT, UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 ARE, UH, RATE ON PAR WITH WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED.
UM, SO THERE'S NO IMPACT TO THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET, UM, VERSUS WHAT WAS ALREADY ADOPTED, UH, FOR THE OUT YEARS IN THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, WE ALREADY MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE THINK THE OUT YEAR COSTS ARE GOING TO BE FOR, UM, FUTURE CONTRACTS.
UM, AND THEY'RE DEFINITELY IN THE RANGE WITH WHAT WE, WHAT WE HAD PLANNED.
SO, SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT A A AT ABOUT A
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$230 MILLION BUDGET GAP IN FY 2026 WITH THOSE NUMBERS CORRECT.ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT? COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ.
UM, AND THIS IS, I GUESS FOR BOTH DIRECTOR AND CONTROLLER.
UH, THE, UH, 5.4 MILLION INCREASE IN POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT.
UM, IS THAT SEPARATED WITH THE, UM, UH, AT GEORGE, UH, AT, AT THE AIRPORT WITH THEIR, UM, THE, THE TERM JUST LEFT MY MIND, BUT THEIR ENTERPRISE FUND, IS THAT BEING COVERED THROUGH THAT? IS THERE A SEPARATION BETWEEN THE 5.4, NOT THE WHOLE 5.4? SO THE, THE AMOUNT THAT'S COVERED BY THE AIRPORT IS FOR THE INCREASED POLICE OVERTIME FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL, AND THAT'S ABOUT 800, 900, ABOUT 890,000.
AND THE REMAINDER OF THE 5.4 MILLION IS FOR THE CADET, UM, SALARY INCREASE IN INCENTIVE PAY, AND THAT'S FUNDED OUT THE GENERAL FUND.
JUST WANTED TO SEE WHERE, WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS AND, UM, AND AS WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THE TAX RATE, RIGHT, UM, THIS INCREASE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY WANTS TO SEE, UM, I MEAN THE POLICE CADET CLASS SALARY EVERYBODY WANTS TO SEE HAPPEN AS WELL, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR THAT AS WELL AS WE START TALKING ABOUT THE TAX RATE TO OUR CONSTITUENTS.
ANYONE ELSE? 'CAUSE THE, THE MACHINE WASN'T REALLY LIGHTING UP, SO RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
AND WE MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM THREE, UPCOMING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.
SO FINANCE DIRECTOR MELISSA DUBKE WILL ADDRESS THIS AGAIN.
UH, WE JUST HAVE ONE FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TO PRESENT TODAY.
SO GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, IT'S, UM, RELATED TO THE HARRIS COUNTY HOUSTON SPORTS AUTHORITY REVENUE REFUNDING BONDS.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SO YOU DON'T HEAR US TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT THE SPORTS AUTHORITY, UM, SINCE THE SPORTS AUTHORITY DEBT IS NOT, UM, DEBT OF THE CITY AS FAR AS WHAT WE RECORD ON OUR FINANCIALS, UM, BUT DUE TO THE CREATION DOCUMENTS OF THE HARRIS COUNTY HOUSTON SPORTS AUTHORITY, SINCE IT WAS A JOINT CREATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UM, ALL OF THEIR BOND TRANSACTIONS HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY BOTH THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
UM, SO YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT, UM, THE DIFFERENT VENUES THAT ARE FUNDED WITH THEIR DEBT.
AND THE THE DEBT IS, UM, PLEDGED BY BOTH HOT AND MOTOR VEHICLE RENTAL TAXES.
SO THE PORTION OF THE HOT TAX THAT IS DEVOTED TO THIS DEBT IS NOT THE SAME PORTION OF HOT THAT COMES TO THE CITY, UM, OF THE TOTAL, UM, HOT TAX, YOU KNOW, THE CITY RECEIVES 7% OF IT, THE STATE GETS 6%, THE COUNTY 2%, AND THE SPORTS AUTHORITY GETS 2%.
SO IT'S THE SPORTS AUTHORITIES 2% THAT IS PLEDGED TOWARDS THIS DEBT.
UM, SO THE AUTHORITY IS LOOKING TO, UM, REFUND $353 MILLION OF DEBT THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE OUTSTANDING.
THAT, AS I MENTIONED, IS PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES AND ALSO THE MOTOR VEHICLE TAXES.
UH, SO THE, THE REFINANCING THAT THEY WANNA DO IS NOT A RESTRUCTURING, IT'S A REFUNDING FOR SAVINGS.
UM, SO THEY'RE SEEKING TO REFINANCE THE $353 MILLION TO GENERATE, UH, SAVINGS BECAUSE THE INTEREST RATE, UM, AT THE TIME THAT THE BONDS THAT ARE OUTSTANDING WAS ISSUED IS ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN THE CURRENT INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT.
SO THE BONDS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO REFUND THE, UH, EXISTING INTEREST RATE IS ABOUT, UM, YOU DON'T SEE THE EXACT FIGURES ON HERE, BUT IT'S ABOUT 5.5%.
AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO REFUND AT THE INTEREST RATE THAT THEY COULD CURRENTLY GET IS 4.3%.
SO YOU SEE THAT, UM, ON THE BULLET POINT NUMBER TWO, THAT THIS WILL REDUCE THEIR INTEREST RATE BY ABOUT 1% AND WILL CREATE, UM, SAVINGS OF APPROXIMATELY NET NET PRESENT VALUE SAVINGS FOR THEM OF APPROXIMATELY $22 MILLION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THE FIRST BULLET THAT, UM, THE, THE SPORTS AUTHORITY DEBT IS NOT AN OBLIGATION OF THE CITY.
UM, BUT LIKE I MENTIONED, THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT DO HAVE TO APPROVE THIS ISSUANCE, UM, AS THEY HAVE IN THE PAST.
SO THE NEXT STEPS ARE THAT, UM, YOU'LL SEE AN RCA IS COMING TO COUNCIL TOMORROW FOR COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION, AND THE SPORTS AUTHORITY IS PLANNING TO, UM, DO THE BOND PRICING IN LATE OCTOBER, AND THE CLOSING IS SCHEDULED FOR MID-NOVEMBER.
SO THESE INTEREST RATES ARE ASSUMPTIONS AT THIS POINT UNTIL THEY GET TO THE BOND PRICING.
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CONCLUDES MY, MY PRESENTATION.ANY QUESTIONS? SEEMS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIRECTOR.
WE APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, THE AGENDA ITEM COMING ON OCTOBER 2ND.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS NOW? ALRIGHT.
AND NOW WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS THE ARTS PORTION.
AND WE, WE COMBINE THESE COMMITTEES BECAUSE OF THE, THE LIMITED ENGAGEMENT WE HAD WITH OUR SPEAKER.
SO I'M GONNA RELINQUISH THE CHAIR TO THE VICE CHAIR OF ARTS AND CULTURE, MARIO CASTILLO, UM, TO TAKE IT FROM HERE.
THIS ITEM, UH, WILL BE A PRESENTATION BY RANDY COHEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS.
RANDY COHEN IS VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AT AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS, THE NATIONAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION FOR THE ARTS, WHERE HE HAS BEEN EMPOWERING ARTS ADVOCATES SINCE 1991.
HIS WORK AT AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS HAS PROVIDED NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE NONPROFIT ARTS.
HE RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTS AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY SIX, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR AUDIENCES AS AMERICANS SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE ARTS.
IN 2023, A NATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION STUDY ABOUT THE ARTS.
RANDY LED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL ARTS INDEX, THE ANNUAL MEASURE OF THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF ARTS IN THE US AND THE NATIONAL ARTS POLICY ROUNDTABLE.
AN ANNUAL CONVENING OF LEADERS WHO FOCUS ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF AMERICAN CULTURE.
LAUNCHED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROBERT REDFORD IN THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE IN 1990, OR IN THE 1990S, HE COLLABORATED WITH, UH, THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES TO CREATE COMING UP TALLER, THE WHITE HOUSE REPORT ON THE ARTS PROGRAM FOR YOUTH AT RISK AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO PRODUCE YOUTH ARTS PROJECT.
THE FIRST NATIONAL STUDY TO STATISTICALLY DOCUMENT THE IMPACT OF ARTS PROGRAMS ON AT-RISK YOUTH.
HE IS THE 2024 RECIPIENT OF THE SYDNEY YATES ADVOCACY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF THE PERFORMING ARTS IN AMERICA.
HIS 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS BLOG RECEIVE THE GOLD AWARD FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF MEDIA AND PUBLISHING THEIR TOP HONOR FOR BEST BO POST POST OF THE YEAR, SOUGHT AFTER SPEAKER.
HE'S GIVEN SPEECHES IN ALL 50 STATES AND REGULARLY APPEARS IN THE NEWS MEDIA, INCLUDING WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES CSPAN, CNBC AND NPR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, I'VE GOT A GOOD NEWS STORY TO TALK ABOUT TODAY, AND I FIRST WANNA JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS, THE CITY'S INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS.
UM, AND IT OBVIOUSLY IMPROVES OUR QUALITY OF LIFE LIVABILITY.
UM, BUT THE FACT IS YOU'RE ALSO INVESTING IN AN INDUSTRY, AND THAT'S THE STORY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY, RIGHT? WE ALL APPRECIATE HOW THE ARTS, YOU KNOW, CREATE MORE LIVABLE COMMUNITIES.
THEY MAKE US FEEL CREATIVE AND INSPIRE US.
BUT THE FACT IS, IT'S AN INDUSTRY SUPPORTS JOBS, GENERATES GOVERNMENT REVENUE.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA EXPAND, UH, THE CONVERSATION, UH, THAT WAY TODAY.
HOUSTON, UH, IS ONE OF 373, UH, COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT WERE PART OF THIS NATIONAL STUDY, LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR AUDIENCES.
UH, AND SO WE DRAW A VERY SPECIFIC BOX AROUND THOSE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, OUR PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS, OUR, YOU KNOW, MUSEUM, VISUAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, OUR FESTIVALS, OUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS, ALL THE PLACES IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE THE ARTS CONNECT, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE, THE ARTIST CONNECTS TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY, JUST GIVE YOU A COUPLE LITTLE BACKGROUND PIECES ON IT.
HOLLYWOOD MOTION PICTURES, THE COMMERCIAL ART GALLERIES, ARCHITECTURE FIRMS, WHICH ARE ALL AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CULTURAL ECOLOGY, JUST NOT PART OF THAT STUDY.
AND WHY IS THAT? WELL, TYPICALLY WHEN THE CITY OR OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY INVEST IN THE ARTS, THAT'S WHERE THOSE DOLLARS ARE GOING, THOSE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
AND IT'S AN APPROPRIATE QUESTION TO ASK, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE PUBLIC'S ROI FOR THAT INVESTMENT? YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY CULTURAL BENEFITS.
NOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC BENEFITS.
COUPLE BACKGROUND ITEMS. UM, UH, WE TAKE A VERY RELIABLE APPROACH TO ECONOMIC IMPACT.
WE'VE GOT A TEAM OF ECONOMISTS.
WE USE AN IMPLANT PLATFORM, UH, TO CUSTOMIZE MODELS SPECIFICALLY FOR HOUSTON.
UM, AND THAT'S 'CAUSE 50 BUCKS SPENT IN HOUSTON'S GONNA HAVE A DIFFERENT ECONOMIC IMPACT THAN 50 SPENT IN DALLAS OR AUSTIN.
SO, UH, IT'S THE SAME SYSTEM, MORE THAN A
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THOUSAND CITIES AND STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY USE.WE TAKE A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO ECONOMIC IMPACT.
UH, WORKING WITH THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE, WHO DID A GREAT JOB SURVEYING THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND THE ATTENDEES, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THEY SURVEYED ABOUT 1100 ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HEARD BACK FROM 169 OF THEM.
WE ONLY USE DATA FROM THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE IT.
WE DON'T MAKE ESTIMATES FOR NON-RES RESPONDENTS.
SO EVERY MEMBER I TALK ABOUT TODAY, WE CAN PUT OUR HANDS ALL OVER, BUT ALSO REALIZE THERE'S A LOT MORE OUT THERE, UH, AS WELL.
SO WHAT DO WE FIND OUT? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ARTS AND CULTURE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN 2022, UH, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST REALLY THE BOUNCE BACK YEAR, POST PANDEMIC, UM, $1.3 BILLION INDUSTRY, THAT IS BILLION WITH A B RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND AS YOU COULD SEE, THAT NUMBER IS MADE UP OF TWO PACIFIC FINGERS.
FIRST IS SPENDING BY THE ORGANIZATIONS THEMSELVES, $664 MILLION OF SPENDING JUST BY THOSE 169 ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THAT RIGHT THERE, AGAIN, IT'S A MYTHBUSTER.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL LOVE THE ARTS, BUT THIS REMINDS US, THEY'RE BUSINESSES THAT EMPLOY PEOPLE LOCALLY THAT PURCHASE GOODS AND SERVICES FROM OTHER BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY.
THEY'RE MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE GOOD BUSINESS CITIZENS NOW, LIKE ANY BUSINESS, RIGHT? THERE'S A MEASURABLE ECONOMIC IMPACT THERE, YOU KNOW, BUT FEW INDUSTRIES GENERATE THE KIND OF EVENT RELATED SPENDING THAT THE ARTS DO AND THINK ABOUT THE LAST TIME YOU WENT OUT TO AN ARTS EVENT, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU PROBABLY MADE A WHOLE EXPERIENCE OUT OF IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE PAID FOR PARKING AND HAD DINNER AND, YOU KNOW, CAME HOME AND PAID THE BABYSITTER, MAYBE HAD SOME LODGING.
THERE'S ALL KINDS OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY THAT HAPPENS RELATED TO WHEN PEOPLE ATTEND THE ARTS.
UM, AND SO WE'LL GET INTO SOME SPECIFICS THERE.
BUT IF YOU TALLY THAT UP IN 20 22, 650 $9 MILLION GOING TO LOCAL MERCHANTS BY PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTENDING THAT ARTS EVENT.
SO THE QUESTION THEN IS, WHAT'S THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THAT $1.3 BILLION OF SPENDING? WELL, THE FIRST THING WE LOOK AT IS JOBS.
19,552 JOBS, AGAIN, RIGHT HERE IN HOUSTON.
LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT THESE JOBS.
FIRST ARTS ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOY MORE THAN ARTISTS AND CURATORS AND PERFORMERS.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE GOT A CULTURAL FACILITY, YOU'VE GOT PLUMBERS AND ELECTRICIANS, AND WE'VE ALL GOT ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS AND LEGAL SERVICES AND SECURITY STAFF AND MARKETING AND BOX OFFICE PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO AN ARTS EVENT, YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING A BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED PROGRAM, RIGHT? PRINTERS, PRINTERS MAKE BANK OFF THE ARTS.
YOU KNOW, UH, ALL, EVERY TIME YOU GO TO AN ARTS EVENT, YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING SOME NICELY DESIGNED, PRINTED MATERIALS.
SO THEY SUPPORT A WHOLE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS NOT AN INDUSTRY THAT'S GONNA BE OFFSHORE.
WE NEED THE CURATORS IN OUR MUSEUM HANGING THE ART.
WE NEED THE PERFORMERS IN OUR ARTS CENTERS AND THE ARTS EDUCATORS AND THE SCHOOLS AND THE ARTS THERAPISTS IN THE HOSPITALS.
BOTTOM LINE ARTS, NOT JUST FOOD FOR THE SOUL.
PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR 19,552 HOUSEHOLDS RIGHT HERE IN HOUSTON.
UM, WE ALSO LOOK AT TOTAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL, UM, IT'S ABOUT $207.5 MILLION RIGHT HERE.
IT'S $31.8 MILLION, UH, AS A RESULT OF YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS.
UH, WHICH THEN LEVERAGES PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO MATCH THOSE CITY DOLLARS, AS WELL AS ALL THAT EVENT RELATED SPENDING.
AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WE THINK LIKE, YEAH, OF COURSE WE LOVE THE ARTS AND WE SUPPORT THE ARTS, BUT IT'S EASY TO THINK OF THEM AS LIKE, WELL, YEAH, THOSE ARE ODD DOLLARS ARE ON A ONE WAY TRAIN OUT OF TOWN.
BUT THIS REMINDS US THAT IT'S AN INVESTMENT, SMALL INVESTMENT, BIG RETURNS.
UH, THAT'S WHAT WE GET WITH THE ARTS.
AND I'LL TELL YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, A MILLION DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, AN AN ADDITIONAL SPENDING THAT'S GONNA SUPPORT, UH, ANOTHER 27 JOBS, ANOTHER 47,000, UH, DOLLARS IN GOVERNMENT REVENUE.
BUT YOUR CITY INVESTMENT DOESN'T END THERE.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS WITH THE ARTS.
IT LEVERAGES PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OUR BUSINESSES, FROM OUR FOUNDATIONS, FROM OUR INDIVIDUALS, MORE THAN EIGHT TO ONE.
SO REALLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOUR MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT, UH, IS, YOU KNOW, 470, UH, FOUR JOBS, UH, OR 200, I'M SORRY, 272 JOBS.
FOUR $94,000 IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE.
[00:25:01]
SO AGAIN, YOU THINK OF IT AS AN INVESTMENT AS WELL AS, UH, AN ENHANCEMENT, A QUALITY OF LIFE.UM, JUST TO NOW THAT, AGAIN, GET BACK TO THE REAL VALUE ADDED ASPECT OF THE ARTS.
UM, WE DID, UH, 1,385, UM, RANDOM AUDIENCE INTERCEPT SURVEYS AT A WHOLE RANGE OF ARTS EVENTS TO SEE HOW MUCH DID YOU SPEND RELATED TO THAT ARTS EVENT THAT YOU'RE ATTENDING THAT.
AND THERE'S 15.6 MILLION ATTENDEES JUST AT THOSE, UH, 169 RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS.
THE TYPICAL ATTENDEE SPENDS $41 AND 9 CENTS PER PERSON PER EVENT, NOT INCLUDING THE COST OF ADMISSION.
41 0 9 GO INTO LOCAL BUSINESSES.
AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE DOLLARS BREAK DOWN ABOUT HALF ON FOOD.
THESE ARE PRETTY SIMILAR, UH, RATIOS.
I WILL SAY THIS IS A COUPLE DOLLARS HIGHER, UH, THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
UM, SO YOU COULD SEE PARKING AND YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING AT, SAY, LODGING IN THERE.
YOU KNOW, CAN YOU STILL GET A ROOM FOR $3 AND 45 CENTS? RIGHT? AND WOULD YOU WANT IT IF YOU COULD GET IT? NO.
UM, NOT EVERYBODY HAS A LODGING COST.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND THIS, THIS IS AN AVERAGE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LIKE TO CALL OUT IS WE ONLY COUNT ONE NIGHT OF LODGING.
AGAIN, PART OF THIS VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, BECAUSE WE ONLY WANNA SEE THE SPENDING RELATED TO PEOPLE ATTENDING THAT ONE EVENT.
SO YOUR TOURISM DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, THOSE NUMBERS WILL BE A LOT LARGER BECAUSE THAT'S MULTIPLE NIGHTS AND ALL THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, WE ASKED, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
IN ADDITION TO HOW MUCH DID YOU SPEND RELATED TO THIS ARTS EVENT, WE ALSO ASKED FOLKS FOR THEIR ZIP CODE.
'CAUSE WE WANNA FIND OUT, DO YOU LIVE IN HARRIS COUNTY? WE USE THE COUNTY MEASURE FOR LOCAL ATTENDANCE, OR ARE YOU FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTY OR ARE YOU NON-LOCAL? 32% OF ATTENDEES CAME FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTY TO AN ARTS EVENT IN HOUSTON, ONE IN THREE, AND THEY SPEND DIFFERENTLY.
THEY DO $53 AND 82 CENTS PER PERSON PER EVENT, NOT INCLUDING THE COST OF ADMISSION.
AND WE ASKED THOSE NON-LOCAL ATTENDEES ONE MORE QUESTION, WHICH WAS, WHY ARE YOU HERE? WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE.
ARE YOU HERE ON BUSINESS HERE VISITING FRIENDS AND FAMILY? TWO VERY COMMON REASONS PEOPLE TRAVEL, RIGHT? 83% OF THOSE NON-LOCAL ARTS ATTENDEES SAID, WE CAME HERE SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS ARTS EVENT.
ONE IN THREE ATTENDEES FROM OUTSIDE THE TOWN, FOUR AND FIVE OF THEM SAYING, THIS IS WHY WE'RE HERE.
AND THAT IS DRIVING ALL THAT REVENUE, ALL THAT, UH, BUSINESS TO LOCAL MERCHANTS.
UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LODGING, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S GOT A BIG IMPACT.
SO 32% OF ATTENDEES FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTY, 9.8% OF THOSE FOLKS HAD A LODGING COST.
THEY AVERAGE $199 PER PERSON PER EVENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU GET THAT HEAD IN THE BED, THAT'S WHEN THE CASH REGISTERS START RINGING.
HEADS IN BEDS, CHEEKS AND SEATS, BARRIERS AND CAFE CHAIRS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE DOING ALL THIS GREAT, UH, BUSINESS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
UM, SO I'M IN DC AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS.
UH, AND MANY OF YOU'LL RECOGNIZE THESE ORGANIZATIONS, THESE LOGOS HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE LAND OF NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, BUT WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF NATIONAL PARTNERS ON THIS STUDY THAT INCLUDE THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERNATIONAL CITY COUNTY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION, UM, ON THE BUSINESS SIDE, THE CONFERENCE BOARD, YOU KNOW, THE TOURISM FOLKS, DESTINATIONS, INTERNATIONAL, ALL PARTNERS ON YOUR STUDY, BECAUSE ONE, THEY TOO BELIEVE ARTS CULTURE FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT OF A HEALTHY, VIBRANT COMMUNITY.
AND TWO, THEY BUY INTO THE METHODOLOGY AND THEY BUY INTO THE RESULTS.
TRUST ME, IF THEY THOUGHT THIS THING WAS GONNA STINK DOWN THE ROAD, THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYWHERE NEAR IT.
SO YOU CAN FEEL REALLY CONFIDENT WORKING FROM THESE DATA.
SO, UM, I FOLKS HAVE WONDERED LIKE, WELL, HOW ARE WE DOING? YOU KNOW, HOW'S HOUSTON DOING? WELL, AS YOU COULD SEE HERE, UH, COMPARED TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES AND, UH, THESE AREN'T ALL THE CITIES IN TEXAS THAT PARTICIPATED, BUT SUPER STRONG.
DALLAS IS SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND, YOU KNOW, HALF MILLION LOWER, YOU KNOW, AT 854 MILLION.
AND THESE ARE 2022 AND, AND ON DOWN THE LIST.
SO, UH, WE'RE COMPETING WELL HERE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS THE POWER OF YOUR INVESTMENT IN THE ARTS.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR HAVING ME.
UH, AND, UM, EVERYTHING YOU DO TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, TO INVEST IN THE ARTS IS IMPORTANT.
WE'RE GETTING, UH, BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE, STRONGER ECONOMY.
YOU KNOW, IF WE ADD MORE TIME OR ANOTHER COMMITTEE, WE COULD TALK ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW,
[00:30:01]
YOUNG PEOPLE IN EDUCATION, RICH IN THE ARTS, ARE PERFORMING BETTER ACADEMICALLY.WE'RE HEADED TO GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP NEXT, HOW THE ARTS HELP ATTRACT WORKFORCE AND BUSINESSES TO THE COMMUNITY AND KEEP HOUSTON COMPETITIVE, UH, IN THAT REALM.
SO A LOT OF GREAT BENEFITS TO THE ARTS, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU BACK AT THIS COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, VERY, VERY GREAT PRESENTATION.
A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION, HARD FIGURES AND FACTS AND, AND DIRECT IMPACT.
ONE, ONE THING YOU MENTIONED WAS YOU TALKED ABOUT THE MILLION DOLLAR, UH, INCREMENT AND SPENDING AND WHAT THAT RELATED TO.
AND THEN WITH CORPORATE MONEY ALSO, WHAT THAT RELATED TO.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT FUNDING THE ARTS, AND AS WE LOOK AT HOW MUCH WE'RE ALLOCATING TO THESE PROGRAMS, WHEN WE DECIDE NOT TO, OR TO REDUCE SPENDING, LET'S SAY BY A MILLION, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT IMPACT LOOK LIKE? SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONSEQUENCE OF THAT $1 MILLION CUT HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT.
AND IF YOU WERE BASICALLY JUST TO DO ALL THE MATH ON THAT, UM, YOU ARE LOOKING AT, UH, UH, 272 FEWER JOBS AND $474,000 AND LESS LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA GO TO CHAIR ALCORN.
YOU'RE A GREAT ENTHUSIASTIC, UH, PROPONENT FOR THE ARTS AND ENJOYED YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE STUDY THAT I'VE LOOKED THROUGH AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE METHODOLOGY.
IT'S OFTEN HARD TO GET YOUR ARMS AROUND WHAT REALLY ARE THE FIGURES ABOUT ART.
UM, SINCE YOU DID INTERVIEW SO MANY ORGANIZATIONS IN SO MANY DIFFERENT CITIES, AND YOU HAVE KIND OF A NATIONWIDE, UH, VIEW, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT, I MEAN, WE ALL DO HOT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES TO FUND ARTS, BUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER WAYS OTHER CITIES INVEST IN, IN THE ARTS, UM, BIG CITIES.
WELL, WE SEE, UM, AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES, CERTAINLY, LIKE YOU SAID, A BIG ONE.
A NUMBER OF CITIES HAVE ONE 10TH OF 1% SALES TAX, UH, WHICH GOES TO THE ARTS METROPOLITAN, UH, AREA OF DENVER, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS THAT, UH, THAT LAST I SAW THAT WAS 80 SOMETHING MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, UH, WE SEE PERCENT FOR ART, UH, AND SOMETIMES 2% FOR ART TOWARDS PUBLIC WORKS PROG, UH, PROJECTS.
UH, AND, UH, THAT GENERATES, UM, UH, FUNDING FOR ARTS, UH, PUBLIC ART.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYWHERE I TRAVEL THESE DAYS, EVERYONE'S DOING ROUNDABOUTS, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE STREETS AND THE ROADS WORK.
AND, UM, WE SEE, UM, UH, WORK, UH, FUNDING FOR THE ARTS GOING THERE TOO.
BECAUSE WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PROMOTES THE TRAFFIC CALMING AND THUS THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ABOUT A ROUNDABOUT, IS THERE NEEDS TO BE A VERTICAL PRESENCE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, AND A PERFECT PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WE SEE IT IN TRANSPORTATION, UH, PUBLIC HOUSING, YOU KNOW, WE SEE, UH, ARTS BEING INVESTED IN THERE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND IN THIS STUDY, UM, WE DID SOME SOCIAL IMPACT QUESTIONS AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ALL DOLLARS AND CENTS.
UM, ABOUT 86% OF ATTENDEES TO ARTS EVENTS, UH, IN HOUSTON SAID THIS ARTS EVENT IS A SOURCE OF PRIDE AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY.
AND A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE SAID, I'D FEEL A SENSE OF LOSS IF THIS WERE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
UH, AND SO, UM, THOSE INVESTMENTS, UH, IN PUBLIC ARTS SHOW UP THAT WAY.
THOSE INVESTMENTS IN ROUNDABOUTS THAT WAY.
I MEAN, YOUR, YOUR AIRPORT ART, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE WORLD RECOGNIZED.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, I MEAN, LITERALLY TWO YEARS IN A ROW, TOP PUBLIC ART AIRPORT IN THE WORLD.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, THE INVESTMENT THAT WAY.
UM, ALSO, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S, UM, JUST WITH, UH, JUST DIRECT FUNDING OF FESTIVALS, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S NOT ALWAYS RE-GRANTING, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST BRINGS PEOPLE TO DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IMPROVING THAT PRIDE.
UM, IN EDUCATION, YOU KNOW, WE SEE ARTS, UH, AND I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, SURE HOW THE, IT CONNECTS HERE WITH THE, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
BUT, UM, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF ATTRACTING, UH, AND DEVELOPING 21ST CENTURY CREATIVE ECONOMY WORKERS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE SEE IT HAPPENING.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WORK ON THIS.
UM, I JUST WANNA OFFER COMMENTARY.
UM, I SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE THINGS FOR THE ARTS.
AND AS SOMEONE THAT OWNS AN TYRE IN HER HOME, UM, I LIKE TO BRAG ABOUT THAT.
UH, 'CAUSE WHEN I GO BROKE, YOU KNOW, I'M A PAWN IT OR SEND IT TO SOTHEBY'S 'CAUSE IT'S HIS SIGNATURE'S ON IT.
SO, UM, I I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT THE, UM, THE POWER OF ART.
UM, I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL AND I HAD A CLASSMATE WHO, UM, WAS SPENT HIS TIME IN GEOMETRY CLASSES, DOODLING, AND THAT'S ALL HE DID IN SCHOOL, RIGHT? UM,
[00:35:01]
HE WON HOUSTON RODEO AWARDS, HE DID ALL OF THAT.UM, HE, TODAY, HE'S THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE LA LATIN FILM FESTIVAL IN HOUSTON.
DAVE RERO WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH HIM, RIGHT? BECAUSE HE HAD PATHWAYS IN SCHOOL IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
AND IS CREATING AN ECONOMY IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND IT'S HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE VERY BEST TALENT IN OUR CITY.
I SEE OUR, UH, SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD TREASURER, UH, DOUG SMITH IN THE ROOM, AND CONSTANTLY IN THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD CONVERSATIONS, THEY'RE ASKING FOR MORE PUBLIC ART IN COMMUNITY.
THE CHALLENGE WE FIND AND WE RUN AGAINST YOU IS WE HAVE CREATIVE PEOPLE THAT DON'T IDENTIFY AS AN ARTIST.
THEY SEE IT AS SOMETHING THAT THEY JUST DO, UH, WHEN THEY REALLY COULD BE PARTICIPATING IN AN ECONOMY AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS, AND THEN SUPPORTING US IN OUR CITY.
I SEE MY A LF CLASSMATE, ALICIA LAWYER IN THE BACK, THE FOUNDER OF ROCO, WHO WAS JUST HERE LAST WEEK AS WE CELEBRATED WHAT SHE DOES IN COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN I VISITED MEXICO CITY, UM, AND HOW VIBRANT THEIR CITY WAS BECAUSE OF THE INVESTMENT OF NOT JUST THE GREEN SPACE, BUT PUBLIC ART MM-HMM
RIGHT? IT ALLOWS US TO TELL OUR STORY.
AND I THINK HOUSTON IS RIGHT THERE AT IT.
UM, GOOD TO HAVE THIS INFORMATION AND, AND THANKS FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT ALL OF OUR ART PARTNERS CONTINUE TO DO.
IT'S PART OF WHAT MAKES A WORLD CLASS CITY.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW YOU COMPETE GLOBALLY.
COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, NOW ON, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT COLUMNS, UM, SPECIFICALLY UNDER THE DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT AND THERE'S ORGANIZATIONS, AUDIENCES, AND THE TOTAL EXPENDITURES, WHAT MAKES UP THE ORGANIZATION'S COLUMN? SO, UM, WE SURVEYED, UH, 1100 ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HEARD BACK FROM 169 ORGANIZATIONS.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S THE DATA WE USE.
AND WE ASKED EACH OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 40 QUESTIONS, PRODUCTION COSTS, RENT, UTILITIES, UH, PERSONNEL, UM, PAYROLL, PAYROLL TAXES, ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DIFFERENT EXPENDITURES THAT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE.
UH, AND SO THAT IS THEIR TOTAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET, BASICALLY, UH, IS WHAT, UM, THAT COMPRISES.
AND SO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ARE, UM, ARE THEY GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS? ARE THEY NONPROFITS? SO THEY'RE, UM, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
SOME OF 'EM, WE INCLUDE PUBLIC SECTOR, UH, ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S A 58 PAGE REPORT FOR CITY OF HOUSTON.
IF YOU ACTUALLY GO IN A COUPLE PAGES FROM THE BACK, YOU CAN SEE ALL THE 169 RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, BUT, UH, YEAH, SO WE SAY NONPROFIT, THAT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE PUBLIC SECTOR.
IT ALSO MIGHT INCLUDE SOMETIMES IN OUR UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES MIGHT BE THE LIBRARY WHERE THERE'S A GREAT ARTS PROGRAM HAPPENING OR A SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION.
AND SO WE'LL GO AFTER THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.
WE DON'T INCLUDE THE WHOLE LIBRARY BUDGET, JUST THAT ARTS PROGRAM.
SO WE REALLY DO TRY TO REACH DEEPLY INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, IT'S, UM, WE TRY TO MAKE IT AS INCLUSIVE, UH, AS POSSIBLE.
WE TRANSLATE THE SURVEYS INTO 24 LANGUAGES.
AND OBVIOUSLY IN A HIGHLY DIVERSE REGION LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT HELPS PEOPLE FEEL MORE ENGAGED AND PARTICIPATE.
SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE IS GOVERNMENT SECTOR? UM, NOT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I MEAN, WE COULD GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT NUMBER FOR SURE, COUNCILWOMAN.
UM, ALSO I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE HERE, THE EMPLOYMENT JOBS, UM, TOTAL IMPACTS IS ABOUT 20,000.
AND I WAS READING AN ARTICLE FROM MINNEAPOLIS THAT HAS A, MINNEAPOLIS HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 450,000, AND THEY REPORTED THAT, UM, THEY ALSO SUPPORT ABOUT 20,000 JOBS.
AND THE POPULATION OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS, YOU KNOW, IN THE MILLIONS.
SO HOW DO WE COMPETE WITH OTHER CITIES? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IF MINNEAPOLIS HAS A POPULATION OF 450,000 AND THEY'RE SUPPORTING 20,000, DO 20,000 JOBS, UM, HOW DO WE LOOK COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES? WELL, UM, MORE THAN SOME CITIES AND LESS THAN OTHERS.
MINNEAPOLIS IS A HUGE INVESTOR, UH, IN ARTS AND CULTURE.
UH, THE CITY, UH, THE STATE, UM, INVESTS HEAVILY, AND THEN THEY'VE GOT A LOT OF CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS AS WELL THERE.
SO THEY'RE SORT OF SIMILAR IN THAT WAY.
UH, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THAT LEVERAGING ASPECT THAT PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT AND, YOU KNOW, IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, IS OFTEN THE FIRST ONE IN THE TRENCHES ON THIS WORK.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE, UH, PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOLLOW THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, THE CITIES THAT YOU ALL COMPETE WITH.
UM, I MEAN, I GUESS I COULD THINK OF SOME THAT ARE MORE IN AND SOME THAT ARE LESS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S A STRONG INVESTMENT, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT THE HIGHEST, UH, OUT THERE.
UM, AGAIN, I CAN TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, DENVER AREAS, UH, YOU KNOW, $80 MILLION, UM, YOU KNOW, SAN FRANCISCO'S
[00:40:01]
PROBABLY, I DUNNO, 35 OR 40 MILLION.UM, SAN DIEGO, A COUPLE POTS, IT'S OVER 20 MILLION.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S OTHER, YOU KNOW, AND THEN SOME CITIES LIKE CHARLOTTE, YOU KNOW, IS, IS EVEN HIGHER, YOU KNOW, AS WELL.
SO SOMETIMES IT'S SMALLER CITIES, UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S MORE THAN OTHER CITIES AS WELL.
AND THANK YOU RANDY, FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.
UM, CERTAINLY THE ARTS ARE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES HOUSTON THE GREAT CITY THAT IT IS.
AND WE ALL LOVE ART HERE AT THE HORSESHOE, I'M SURE.
UM, QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR METHODOLOGY.
UH, WITH THIS STUDY, RANDY, UM, THESE ARE QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED OF FOLKS WHO ARE, UH, LEAVING, UH, VARIOUS EVENTS AND EXHIBITS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IS THAT RIGHT? UM, ON THE WAY IN THERE, BUT YEAH, IT'S ONSITE AT THE EVENTS.
UM, WITH REGARD TO MUSEUM DISTRICT, UH, I KNOW THERE'S SOME, THERE'S LOTS OF FACTS AND FIGURES IN BOTH COLUMNS.
UH, TOTAL ATTENDANCE, UH, BREAKDOWN LOCAL VERSUS NON-LOCAL AVERAGE PER PERSON PER EVENT EXPENDITURE.
I'M LOOKING DOWN IN THE, ABOUT THIS STUDY PORTION.
IN THE PARAGRAPH IT SAYS SURVEYS OF NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE AUDIENCES.
UH, THE LAST SENTENCE IN THAT PARAGRAPH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE ABLE TO FOLLOW ME OR NOT.
ARE YOU ABLE TO FOLLOW ME? UH, I DON'T HAVE IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I'M FOLLOWING YOU SO FAR.
WELL I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST READ IT.
IT SAYS, IN THE HOUSTON MUSEUM DISTRICT, A TOTAL OF ZERO VALID AUDIENCE INTERCEPT SURVEYS WERE COLLECTED FROM ATTENDEES TO NONPROFIT ARTS AND CULTURE PERFORMANCES, EVENTS, EXHIBITS, AND SPECIAL EVENTS DURING THE PERIOD FROM MAY 22 THROUGH JUNE 23.
IS, IS THAT AN ACCURATE STATEMENT? UM, WELL, I'D NEED TO, UH, I NEED TO CHECK ON THAT.
PROBABLY IS ACCURATE, BUT IS, I'M JUST WONDERING IF, IF THERE WERE ZERO VALID AUDIENCE INTERNET SUR INTERCEPT SURVEYS, HOW WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, FILL OUT THE ORGANIZATIONS AND AUDIENCES COLUMNS WITH REGARD TO THE MUSEUM DISTRICT AT AT LEAST.
UM, SO MAYBE IF SOMEONE COULD GET BACK TO US ON THAT.
I, I'M, UH, I'M GUESSING, WHAT IS THAT? THE, THE REGIONAL, THE, THE HOUSTON $41 AND NINE, UH, CENTS PER PERSON FIGURE WAS, UH, APPLIED TO THAT.
BUT YEAH, WE WILL GET BACK ON THAT.
AND I, I NOTICE THE GENERAL METHODOLOGY WAS, UH, INTERCEPT FOLKS GOING TO AT LEAVING FROM, UM, EVENTS AND EXHIBITS.
CAN, CAN YOU TELL US WHETHER ANY SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED AT PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS VERSUS, YOU KNOW, PERFORMING, UM, UH, NOT JUST SPECIFICALLY AT A PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION? THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS EVERYONE'S BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.
HOW DO YOU QUANTIFY ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THAT, BUT, RIGHT.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S PRETTY MUCH, UM, KIND OF EVENT TRANSACTIONAL FOCUS.
NOT PEOPLE WALKING BY A PUBLIC ART PIECE.
DO, DO WE KNOW WHETHER ANY SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED AT, AT ANY OF THE INSTALLATIONS AROUND TOWN? NOT, UM, FOR THE PURPOSE OF THAT INSTALLATION, UH, IT'S POSSIBLE IF THAT INSTALLATION WAS IN FRONT OF AN ART CENTER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT COULD HAVE BEEN PROXIMAL.
BUT AGAIN, THE INSTALLATION ITSELF WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS.
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE REVENUE FOR THE ARTS? UH, SO, UM, IN TERMS OF LIKE, UH, THE AUDIENCE SPENDING OR THE ORGANIZATIONS TYPE OF, NO, I MEAN, IS IT, UH, CONCERTS? IS IT SPORTING EVENTS? WHAT? RIGHT.
SO, UM, ACTUALLY IN THE REPORT WE'VE GOT A VERY DETAILED LIST.
WE USE A STANDARD SET OF CODES FOR TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO IT'S GONNA BE PERFORMING, IT'S GONNA BE VISUAL ARTS, UH, IT MIGHT BE ARTS, EDUCATION, SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.
IT MIGHT BE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVING COLLECTIONS, THE ZOO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE SPORTS, UM, DOESN'T INCLUDE THE COMMERCIAL, UM, INSTI, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, LIKE, LIKE A HOLLYWOOD, WELL, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS HOLLYWOOD MOTION PICTURE WORK HAPPENING OR SOMETHING YOU WOULD EXCLUDE.
WOULD THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT BE INCLUDED? NO, TAYLOR SWIFT, WHO'S
SO, UH, YEAH, BUT SHE WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN THIS.
BUT THE ZOO IS? THE ZOO IS, YES.
UM, WHAT TYPE OF SPENDING DOES THE CITY DO TO FUND THE ARTS? I MEAN, I KNOW WE'VE GOT OUR PERCENTAGE
[00:45:01]
OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.UM, OBVIOUSLY WE SPEND MONEY AT THE ZOO MM-HMM
UM, WHAT OTHER TYPE OF ITEMS IS THE CITY SPENDING MONEY? WELL, UM, I'D PROBABLY NEED SOMEBODY LOCAL TO KIND OF FILL THIS OUT BEYOND, YOU KNOW, THE TOT DOLLARS, THE HOTEL DOLLARS.
UM, SO I CAN'T GIVE AN ACCURATE FIGURE, BUT, UM, MAYBE SOMEBODY BEHIND ME OR IN FRONT OF ME COULD, WELL, YOU, DO YOU KNOW WHAT TYPE OF ACTIVITIES, IF NOT THE FIGURES, I MEAN, WHAT IT IS THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY FUNDING? OH, WELL, YEAH, IT'S, UM, WELL, I DON'T HAVE A LIST OF THE TOT, BUT, UH, WHERE THOSE DOLLARS ARE GOING OR THE GRANT MAKING.
UM, SO I, I CAN'T SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO IT.
I WILL SAY THIS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE FULL REPORT AND YOU GO IN A COUPLE PAGES FROM THE BACK COVER, YOU COULD SEE THE LIST OF RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHO'S INCLUDED, UH, IN ALL OF THAT.
UM, AND REALIZING THAT THE SURVEY UNIVERSE WAS MUCH BROADER.
BUT, UM, I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE, UH, I'M SURE THAT LIST EXISTS OF WHERE THOSE TOT DOLLARS ARE GOING, BUT I THINK, I THINK PRETTY BROADLY ACROSS THE COMMUNITIES, THE SENSE I GET.
AND I THINK IT WAS COUNCILMAN HUFFMAN ASKED EARLIER ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE THE GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTES TO IT, AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE THAT FIGURE.
YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF BALLPARK OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OR TAX DOLLARS? UM, WELL, UH, LET'S SEE.
THE, LET, WELL, AGAIN, I WOULD LOOK TO, UM, I WOULD LOOK TO, YOU KNOW, OTHER FOLKS, UH, WITH MORE SPECIFIC LOCAL DATA.
THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE PROBABLY HAS THAT.
UM, I WILL SAY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT DOLLARS ARE MATCHED, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT EIGHT, UH, A LITTLE OVER EIGHT TO ONE.
UH, AND THEN THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL EARNED INCOME DOLLARS.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, UH, IT'S A PIECE OF THE OVERALL, BUT, UH, IF IT'S EIGHT TO ONE, SO OUTTA 663 MILLION, THAT WOULD BE LIKE 70 MILLION.
WELL, THEN THERE'S ADDITIONAL, UM, THEN THERE'S THE EARNED INCOME, THE TICKET SALES, AND THOSE TYPE OF THINGS, UH, THAT ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THAT.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THOSE, WE'VE GOT THE EXPENDITURES OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AND I THINK WE CAN JUST GET SOMEBODY LOCALLY TO ADD UP THE TOTAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE EXPENDITURES AND THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THAT.
WE DIDN'T STUDY THE INCOME, UH, SIDE OF THIS.
IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER ON THE LOCAL SIDE, WE CAN WORK WITH THE GROUPS THAT MIGHT HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND GET IT TO YOU.
COUNCIL, UH, MAYOR PROAM, CASTEX TATUM.
WE APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.
AS A, A STRONG PROPONENT OF THE ARTS, UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SHARE SOME PRACTICAL, UH, STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND IN THE DISTRICT.
WHEN DISTRICT K WAS ORIGINALLY FORMED, THERE WAS ONE PIECE OF PUBLIC ART IN THE ENTIRE DISTRICT.
AND THE FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER GREEN, WAS A VERY BIG PROPONENT OF THE ARTS.
UM, ACTUALLY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN STARTING THE MINI MURAL PROGRAM.
THE VERY FIRST MINI MURAL WAS IN DISTRICT K.
UM, AND FROM PROJECTS AS SMALL AS A MINI MURAL TO WHAT WE ARE NOW WORKING ON, THE EDISON, UH, PROJECT, WHICH IS A THEATER, UH, THAT HAS REMOVED BLIGHT IN AN OLD KROGER THAT WAS ABANDONED FOR 20 YEARS AND WAS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF, UM, CRIME GRAFFITI, ILLEGAL DUMPING, A BIG NUISANCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE ARTS COMMUNITY TOOK OVER THAT PROJECT.
UM, THEY PUT IN PRIVATE DOLLARS.
SO WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT EIGHT TO ONE SPENDING, WE HAVE, UM, CITY DOLLARS, COUNTY DOLLARS, FEDERAL DOLLARS, ALL BEING A PART OF THIS TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECT IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAS TAKEN AWAY TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF BLIGHT.
AND BRINGING FORTH, UM, NEW ENERGY, A NEW CULTURAL AREA IN THE COMMUNITY THAT STARTED WITH HOUSING.
UM, THERE IS AN AFFORDABLE, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT WAS, PHASE ONE ALSO INCLUDES A FREE PRE-K PROGRAM FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THAT, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEX.
THERE WILL BE A 400 SEAT THEATER THERE, WHICH WAS THE GENESIS OF THE PROJECT THAT ALSO HAS A HEALTH CLINIC RETAIL SPACE.
UM, SO THE RESIDUAL IMPACT OF THE ARTS IS ASTRONOMICAL IN THAT PARTICULAR SPACE.
AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS REMOVAL OF BLIGHT WILL BE A MODEL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE THERE ARE GRANTS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, GIVEN TO THIS PROJECT AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, CITY DOLLARS, COUNTY DOLLARS, FEDERAL DOLLARS.
UM, AND IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE THIS RESIDUAL INCOME, UM, ONCE EVERYTHING IS, IS BUILT OUT.
SO, AND THE ARTS SPURRED THIS KIND OF TRANSFORMATION IN OUR COMMUNITY.
[00:50:01]
ON THE GROUND PROJECT THAT WE CAN ALL SEE, FEEL, TOUCH, AND PUT THE DOLLARS TO IT.UM, SO NOT ONLY THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS, BUT THE COMMUNITY, UM, IMPACT THAT THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE, WILL BE VERY TRANSFORMATIONAL AND, AND MAKE A HUGE IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND I ALSO JUST READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE $1 MILLION, UM, GRANT FROM BLOOMBERG THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON RECEIVED, UM, FOR THE MIDTOWN PUBLIC ART PROJECT.
UM, SO WE CAN GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE TRUE IMPACT OF THE ARTS.
NOT TO MENTION, UH, MY SON WHO WAS A TUBA PLAYER THAT GOT SCHOLARSHIPS THAT, YOU KNOW, HE GRADUATED WITH, WITH NO DEBT.
STATISTIC, THE BEST ABOUT THE ARTS.
UM, BUT I MEAN, IT REALLY DOES MAKE AN IMPACT IN OUR LIVES, AND I LOVE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CORRELATION OF THE EIGHT TO ONE, BECAUSE IT IS TRUE AND WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT WORKING AND HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND RANDY JUST WANNA TAKE A GREAT PRESENTATION AS WELL.
UM, IT SHOWCASES REALLY THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT IN HOUSTON SPECIFICALLY.
UM, AND I ALSO, UH, AND I THINK IT'S, I JUST ASKED FOR, I DON'T KNOW IF THE DIRECTOR, CHAIR, DIRECTOR IRVING, BUT I WOULD ASK FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE, UH, TO, TO SOME, SOME INFORMATION FOR WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER IS, UH, REQUESTING.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAJORITY IS HOT TAX, WHATEVER IT IS FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
IT'D BE GOOD SO THAT WAY FOLKS, UH, CAN KIND OF DIFFERENTIATE AND HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE THESE ART DOLLARS ARE COMING FROM.
UM, AGAIN, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION A FEW MONTHS AGO AND IT WAS PRETTY CONTENTIOUS.
UH, DON'T PUT THIS, UH, MURAL UP.
DON'T PUT THIS, UM, UM, ART PIECE UP.
I'D RATHER HAVE MY DITCHES, UH, TAKEN CARE OF TWO SEPARATE POTS OF MONEY, TWO SEPARATE WAYS OF HOW DO YOU SPEND THEM.
AND I THINK THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR ACROSS THE BOARD.
SO NOT NOT ONLY AROUND THE HORSESHOE, BUT THE COMMUNITY AT WHOLE UNDERSTANDS, UH, WHERE, WHERE WE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECEIVE THESE DOLLARS, HOW WE EXPEND THEM AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I WANNA FOCUS MORE ON THE JOB SUPPORTED THE 20,000, UM, THAT ARE IN HOUSTON ROUGHLY, UM, IF NOT IN HOUSTON, WHERE WOULD, OR ACTUALLY TAKE IT BACK A BIT MORE, UM, WHAT'S BEEN THE GROWTH OF JOBS IN HOUSTON IN THIS, FOR THIS SPACE? UM, WELL, I'LL SAY, UM, HOUSTON'S PARTICIPATED IN THIS STUDY BEFORE, AND THERE HAS BEEN GROWTH IN SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY, UH, AND JOBS, UM, OVER TIME.
UH, 2022 IS KIND OF A ROUGH YEAR FOR THE ARTS, ACTUALLY, NATIONALLY, LOCALLY, IT WAS THE FIRST BOUNCE BACK YEAR.
DEBT PANDEMIC WAS DEVASTATING FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS FIRST TO CLOSE, LAST TO REOPEN.
UM, SO YET EVEN IN THAT, JUST BOUNCING BACK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT 19,552 JOBS.
UM, BUT AS THE INDUSTRY GROWS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SEE, UM, GROWTH AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LARGER MACRO CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY AND ALL INDUSTRIES WE'RE SEEING, UM, YOU KNOW, FEWER INDIRECT, UH, JOBS SUPPORTED JUST THE WAY THE NATION'S ECONOMY'S CHANGING AND PEOPLE ARE PURCHASING AND, UM, NON-LOCALLY IN THAT TYPE OF THING.
SO ARTS ARE AN INDUSTRY THEY, THEY, THAT THEY, THAT OCCURS WITH THEM AS WELL.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALL TALKED ABOUT DURING THE PANDEMIC RIGHT, WAS, YOU KNOW, END OF STIMULUS ARTS, YOU KNOW, SHOVEL READY, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS INVE INVESTMENT, YOU KNOW, AND THE ARTS EPITOMIZE, SHOVEL READY, YOU KNOW, YOU MAKE THAT INVESTMENT, UH, IT'S GONNA BE MATCHED AND IT IS GOING TO CREATE PRODUCT RIGHT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, FOR THE RESIDENTS.
AND THEN ALSO GENERATING THAT COMMERCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE JOBS THAT ARE ALSO CONSIDERED THERE AS WELL.
SO, UM, AS THE INDUSTRY GROWS, YOU KNOW, JOBS GROW TOO.
SO IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT WE SHOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE'RE SIMILAR TO MINNEAPOLIS, WE SHOULD PROBABLY BE INVESTING MORE IN ORDER TO SEE THAT JOB GROWTH.
AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF UNTAPPED HEADROOM HERE.
AND AGAIN, I, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET THE FULLER REPORT ON ALL THE REVENUES, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PLENTY OF OTHER CITIES THAT ARE, ARE, YEAH, I'M PRETTY SURE INVESTING QUITE A BIT MORE.
WELL, AGAIN, JUST THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, MY INTEREST IS IN JOBS, MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS CAN LIVE AND, AND WORK YEAH.
AND THRIVE IN, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND, AND THIS IS ONE ASPECT OF IT.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, JUST HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, CONCERNS IN YOUR PRESENTATION, WHICH WAS GOOD.
BUT I, OUR MAYOR PRO TEM TAPPED A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT I WAS CONCERNED WITH IN TERMS OF THE, THE PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT SHE'S SPEAKING ABOUT IN EDISON EDISON PROJECT THAT KIND OF CREATED SOME, UH, NEW ATTITUDE AND IN, IN A COMMUNITY THAT WAS BLIGHT.
[00:55:01]
DIDN'T SEE IN YOUR REPORT, HOW MUCH DO, DID YOUR NUMBERS COME UP IN RECEIVING GRANTS? DO YOU HAVE A, A DOLLAR AMOUNT IN TERMS OF HOW MANY, UH, GRANTS OR FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT YOU RECEIVED? UM, NO, I DON'T.BUT AGAIN, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD TALK TO THE FOLKS AT THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE WHO HAVE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR REVENUES.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT, I WAS JUST BASICALLY LOOKING AT WIDER, UH, UH, MACRO DATA SETS OF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF TOTAL NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, TOTAL.
UH, SO I DON'T KNOW SP PROJECT SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, WHAT PARTS OF THOSE ARE CONTRIBUTED AND EARNED AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALWAYS, UH, FOR US SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH REVENUE, WHICH COMES INTO THE CITY, AND PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT JOBS MM-HMM
WE, WE ALWAYS WANT TO SEE THAT.
THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK, UH, IS ABOUT INTERACTING WITH THE ARTS, WITH SCHOOLS.
YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP IN SCHOOLS WHERE ART WAS A BIG THING.
UH, THE EXERCISE OF THAT BUSING TO DOWNTOWN SYMPHONIES AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO DO YOU HAVE ANY NUMBERS, INDICATORS AS TO THE ARCH PARTICIPATION OR, OR IN REGARDS TO THAT, DO YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER? UM, I DON'T HAVE LOCAL DATA, UM, FOR THAT, BUT I WILL TELL YOU, UH, THERE'S, UH, NUMEROUS STRONG NATIONAL STUDIES THAT SHOW, UM, WHEN A STUDENT HAS THE ARTS AS PART OF THEIR EDUCATION, THEY'RE PERFORMING BETTER ACADEMICALLY, WE SEE BETTER GRADES, BETTER STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES, LOWER DROPOUT RATES, AND THOSE ARE FINDINGS THAT CUT ACROSS ALL SOCIOECONOMIC STRATA, I'LL SAY AGAIN NATIONALLY.
YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THE MILEAGE VARIES LOCALLY, BUT WHAT WE'VE ALSO SEEN, UM, OVER THE PAST COUPLE DECADES IS STUDENTS OF COLOR, STUDENTS ATTENDING TITLE ONE SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES LOSING THEIR ARTS EDUCATION, UH, AT A MUCH MORE RAPID RATE.
UM, SO AGAIN, THAT'S A QUESTION TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, SEVERAL SECRETARIES OF EDUCATION AGO ACTUALLY CALL THAT PHENOMENA A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE, BECAUSE THE RESEARCH IS SO POWERFUL ABOUT HOW A STUDENT WITH AN EDUCATION, PRE-K, ALL THE WAY TO 12 IN THE ARTS ARE PERFORMING ACADEMICALLY, UM, AND EVEN INTO YOUNG ADULTHOOD, THE TREND DATA, MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SOME COLLEGE GOING MORE LIKELY TO BE IN CAREER ORIENTED JOBS, UM, MORE ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF POWERFUL BENEFIT TO ARTS EDUCATION.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WORTH LOOKING INTO HERE.
AND WE'LL WORK TO GET THAT LOCAL DATA.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ.
MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ SUPPORTS THE WELLBEING OF OUR VETERAN COMMUNITY IN DISTRICT D.
I'M LOOKING AT YOUR REPORT, 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS IN 2024.
ITEM 10 SPEAKS TO THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF VETERANS.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, OF, OF IF THERE ARE ANY PROGRAMS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO TAP INTO FOR OUR DISTRICT D VETERANS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
THERE'S, UM, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, UH, AND, UH, AMERICAS FOR THE ARTS AND DEPARTMENT OF, UH, DEFENSE VETERAN AFFAIRS.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR MORE THAN A DECADE WE'VE BEEN WORKING, UH, WITH, ESPECIALLY WITH RETURNING SERVICE MEMBERS.
UM, AND, UH, SO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH WALTER REED, UM, NATIONAL MEDICAL MILITARY CENTER IN DC, UH, AND THEIR NATIONAL INTREPID CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE.
UH, AND SO THEY'RE SEEING BECAUSE OF THERE'S SO MANY MORE TOURS OF DUTY NOW, YOU KNOW, FOR, UM, OUR YOUNGER SERVICE MEMBERS, UM, MUCH HIGHER CASES OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, UH, PTSD ISSUES.
AND SO WHEN THEY COME BACK STATESIDE, UM, THEY'RE WORKING WITH THESE RETURNING SERVICE MEMBERS.
AND AT WALTER REED, THEY HAVE OVER 40 DIFFERENT, UM, UH, HEALTHCARE, UM, INTERVENTIONS, REMEDIATIONS AND, UM, BOTH THE CAREGIVERS, THE MEDICAL STAFF, AND THE PATIENTS, UM, SAY THE ARTS PROGRAMS, ARTS, MUSIC ARTS, BIG UMBRELLA ARE AMONG THE TOP FOUR MOST EFFECTIVE, UH, PROGRAMS IN HELPING PEOPLE RECOVER, UM, HELPING, UH, RECONNECT, UH, WITH FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.
AND OBVIOUSLY IT'S A BIG ISSUE, YOU KNOW, VETERAN, UH, AFFAIRS, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO WE GOT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE COMING BACK WITH A WHOLE LIFETIME AHEAD OF THEM.
AND SO THE ARTS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH NOW SHOWING, UM, ARE PART OF A VERY IMPACTFUL, UM, UH, INTERVENTION.
YOU KNOW, AND I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO SILVER BULLETS IN THIS WORLD, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE ARTS ARE PART OF A WELL THOUGHT OUT STRATEGY, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH VETERANS.
AND THERE'S GOOD RESEARCH ON THAT,
[01:00:01]
THAT 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS.HOPEFULLY, UM, EVERYBODY HAS OR WILL RECEIVE IT DIGITALLY.
IF YOU CLICK ON THE HEADER ON THAT, IT'LL TAKE YOU TO MORE INFORMATION.
BUT ALSO YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR ARTS AND HEALTH IN, UH, IN THE MILITARY.
AND, AND YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF VERY POWERFUL RESEARCH, UM, OF HOW IT'S BENEFITING, UH, COMMUNITIES, FAMILIES RETURNING SERVICE MEMBERS.
BEFORE WE MOVE TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER, WE WILL BE TAKING PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, AFTER YOUR PRESENTATION, AND WE DO HAVE SOMEONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
IF ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, YOU CAN SIGN UP, UM, AT THE FRONT TABLE BY THE DOORS, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET.
UM, AND WE WILL BE TAKING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM, UH, SHORTLY NEXT, WE'LL MOVE TO STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M GONNA BE GOING THROUGH Y'ALL'S FULL FINDINGS.
THANK YOU FOR ALSO LOOKING AT THE SOCIAL IMPACT.
YOU SPOKE BRIEFLY ABOUT SOME OF THE IMPACT YOU'VE SEEN WITH PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE WAY OF THE ROUNDABOUT.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT I'VE READ THAT BEAUTIFICATION EFFORTS AND PUBLIC ART PROGRAMS HAVE ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO POSITIVELY AFFECT CRIME RATES.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN SPEAK TO? UM, THERE IS RESEARCH, UH, THAT SHOWS, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, THE COUNCILMAN WAS SPEAKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY DO MURALS AND IT'S, IT'S ARTISTS WORKING, YOU KNOW, WITH THE COMMUNITY.
IT'S NOT LIKE A PLOP ART TYPE OF THING, YOU KNOW, OR SOMEBODY FLIES IN FROM OUTTA TOWN, PUTS UP A MURAL, IS ON THE NEXT PLANE, RIGHT? IT'S A VERY COMMUNITY ENGAGED PROCESS.
UM, VERY RARELY ARE THOSE TAGGED OR VANDALIZED, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S A PRODUCT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE SEE WITH THESE PROGRAMS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF REBUILDING AROUND ALL OF THAT.
AND SO, UH, AND IT SHOWS UP IN THE DATA.
UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, 86% OF ATTENDEES AT ARTS EVENTS SAID THE EVENT THAT THEY WERE ATTENDING OR THAT VENUE, A SOURCE OF PRIDE IN COMMUNITY IDENTITY.
I CAN TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, WE'VE, WE'RE PUBLISHING A BIG NATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY.
LARGEST OF ITS KIND EVER CONDUCTED, MORE THAN 3000 INTERVIEWS, AND 72% OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SAYS THE ARTS CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARED EXPERIENCES WITH PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT, UM, RACE, ETHNICITY, AGE, OR FAITH.
A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE, 72% SAID, UM, THE ARTS PROVIDE A SAFE SPACE FOR IMPORTANT COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE, UH, ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, 63%.
UM, SO TWO THIRDS THE ARTS HELP ME UNDERSTAND OTHER CULTURES IN MY COMMUNITY, RIGHT? AND SO COMMUNITY UNITY AND RECONNECTING OUR COMMUNITIES IS, IS A BIG DEAL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ARTS, UH, IN THE PUBLIC'S MIND.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RESEARCH, UM, YOU KNOW, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND OTHER PLACES HAVE SHOWN, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY BENEFITS IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THESE COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAMS. SO YEAH, IT'S DEFINITELY MORE THAN THE ECONOMY.
UH, AND I JUST FOUND AN OPPORTUNITY, SINCE YOU'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION TO, UH, SHOUT OUT, UH, BOTH GONZO AND DONKEY BOY.
UM, THOSE ARE TWO HOUSTONIANS, UH, EAST END, SOUTHEAST HOUSTON.
UM, THAT, TO YOUR POINT, RIGHT, PUBLIC SAFETY BECOMES A, A, YOU KNOW, A A HUGE ASSET.
IT, IT TURNS INTO AN ASSET WHEN YOU START PUTTING UP MURALS AND ARTS AND, AND THOSE, THOSE TWO INDIVIDUALS GREW UP IN, IN THE EAST END.
AND SO WHENEVER THERE ART IS UP, IT'S RESPECTED.
GROWING UP IN THE, IN THE NINETIES, UH, WHEN GANGS WERE VERY PREVALENT, UM, YOU KNOW, GANG GRAFFITI WAS, WAS BEING, UH, PRETTY MUCH EVERY CORNER.
AND AS, AS THE EASTERN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT STARTED ADDRESSING, UH, GRAFFITI ABATEMENT, BUT THEN PUTTING MURALS, IT JUST TRANS, IT JUST TRANSFORMED THE EAST END.
AND FOLKS NOW WANT TO GO AND MOVE AND LIVE AND AGAIN.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO BOTH DONKEY BOY AND GONZO TRANSFORMATION.
THAT'S A GREAT MICHELLE BONTON.
RANDY, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR COMING DOWN TO, TO HOUSTON, SHARING THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION.
UM, IT, IT REALLY DOES PUT A FACE TO THE IMPACT, UH, OF OUR ECONOMIC ART OR OUR ART INVESTMENT, UM, AS A CITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S EASY TO THINK ABOUT THE PAINTING OR THE SHOW, AND, AND MAYBE YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE FOLKS THAT WORK AT THE RESTAURANTS THAT THESE PEOPLE GO TO WHEN THEY GO SEE A SHOW, OR THE VALET ATTENDANT WHO IS TAKING THE CAR TO THE PARKING LOT, UM, WHILE YOU'RE, YOU'RE GOING TO, TO SEE A SHOW OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE GONNA SEE.
BUT, UM, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT DEPEND ON THIS, AND THAT'S WHERE THIS INVESTMENT REALLY TRANSLATES TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF, OF THE CITY, AND BEYOND JUST ITS IMPACT ON ARTS AND CULTURE.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS HERE, UH, AND FOR SHARING THIS.
[01:05:01]
HAVE YOU BACK, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS YOU LISTED.UH, WE'RE GONNA NOW CALL IT PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MICHELLE BONTON.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE.
MY NAME IS MICHELLE BONTON, AND I REPRESENT THE ANDERSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS.
AND I AM, UM, DELIGHTED TO BE HERE TO JUST KIND OF, UM, I ACTUALLY WANT TO RESPOND TO A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL, UM, ASKED IN SUPPORT OF THE ARTS.
I THINK IT WAS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ALCORN ASKED ABOUT, WHAT ARE OTHER CITIES DOING? WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO ADD TO THE INVESTMENT, UM, IN THE ARTS? AND JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, STRUCK ME WERE, UM, FRAMING THE NARRATIVE IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT IN THE ARTS SECTOR.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT STORYTELLING, SO YOU ALL CAN BECOME STORYTELLERS, UH, FOR THE ARTS AS YOU ARE TALKING TO PEOPLE.
I'M GONNA PICK UP ON SOMETHING THAT, UH, MR. COHEN SAID, FRAME THE NARRATIVE AROUND THE FACT THAT THE ARTS ARE MORE THAN JUST FOOD FOR THE SOUL.
SO YOU CAN BEGIN THAT CONVERSATION.
THE OTHER THING THAT I WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO THINK ABOUT, I KNOW THAT THE CITY DOES THREE 80 AGREEMENTS, UH, FOR DEVELOPMENT.
UM, MAYBE, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COULD BE DONE IS ADD POINTS, UH, FOR DEVELOPERS WHO ARE GOING TO INCLUDE, UM, FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ARTS OR THE ARTS AS PART OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT THEM AND, UM, THEY WANT THOSE DOLLARS.
AND SO THAT IS ANOTHER, UM, THING THAT WE COULD DO.
AND THEN THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, I KNOW THAT WE DO A LOT AROUND THE CITY TO PROMOTE THE CITY, UM, UM, AS, YOU KNOW, AN INTERNATIONAL CITY, HIGHLIGHT THE ARTS MORE, HIGHLIGHT, UM, THAT, UM, LET'S DO A PSA CAMPAIGN AROUND THE ARTS.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME SUGGESTIONS THAT I HOPE ARE PRACTICAL AND THAT YOU ALL WILL CONSIDER.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
AND THOSE WERE SOME VERY GOOD, UH, SUGGESTIONS.
IS ANYONE ELSE, UH, INTERESTED IN SPEAKING ON THIS ITEM? OKAY.
THEN WE WILL TURN THE MEETING BACK OVER TO CHAIR ALCORN.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE ON FOR THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE REBUILD HOUSTON UPDATE, BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD, WHICHEVER YOU'D LIKE TO CALL IT, RENEW HOUSTON.
I'VE, I'VE KNOWN IT UNDER THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
UM, BUT, UM, DOUG, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU.
DOUG HAS BEEN ASKED, DOUG SMITH HAS BEEN ASKING FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND WHEN WE LOOKED BACK, IT WAS ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2018, SINCE WE'VE HAD A BIG BRIEFING LIKE THIS ON THE FUNDS GENERATED BY THE BUILD HOUSTON FORD, UM, PROGRAM.
SO VERY EXCITED FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO SAMIR SLANKY, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, AND DAVID WARDLOW, SENIOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT PUBLIC WORKS FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT, UH, BILL HOUSTON FORD PROGRAM.
AS I RECALL, I THINK IT WAS IN AUGUST OF 2018, THE LAST TIME WE DID THE PRESENTATION.
I'M JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE HERE, UH, SENIOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DAVID WARDLOW.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUMP INTO THE SLIDES.
TO GIVE YOU A QUICK BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW, UH, BILL HOUSTON FORWARD, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS REBUILD HOUSTON, WAS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN NOVEMBER, 2010, WHICH CREATED A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE TO IMPROVE STREET AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, SOME OF THE COMPONENTS, UH, INCLUDE TO CREATE A PAY AS YOU GO FUND, WHICH ESSENTIALLY JUST MEANS IT'S CASH FUNDED, IT IS PRIORITIZED BY NEEDS DATA.
AND, UH, THREE, UH, PARTS OF IT INCLUDE THE REPAIR, THE REHABILITATE, AND LARGER RECONSTRUCTION FOR THE PROGRAM.
FIRST WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE FUNDING.
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, UH, BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD CONSISTS OF FOUR DIFFERENT BUCKETS WHEN IT COMES TO FUNDING.
THE FIRST ASPECT IS THE ADV VALOREM TAXES.
NOW, KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FUNDING COMES IN HERE AFTER WE HAVE PAID OFF SOME OF THE OLD PRE-BUILT HOUSTON FORWARD DEBT, UM, THAT FUNDS THINGS SUCH AS STREET AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS, TRAFFIC SIGNALS, AND SIDEWALK PROJECTS.
THEN WE RECEIVE SOME THIRD PARTY FUNDING, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, METRO AND TDO, UH, TO FIX ALSO STREET AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS, TRAFFIC SIGNALS, PEDESTRIAN BIKE PROJECTS, AND
[01:10:01]
SOME OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.THEN WE HAVE THE DRAINAGE CHARGE, WHICH IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR STREET AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS, WHICH INCLUDES PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS, PLANNING, UH, DESIGN SERVING AND CONSTRUCTION, AND, UH, SOME OPERATIONS AND, UH, MAINTENANCE COSTS AS WELL.
THEN WE ALSO HAVE WHAT'S THE DEVELOPER IMPACT FEE NOW THAT FUNDS A STREET AND DRAINAGE FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
I'M GONNA GO BACK A LITTLE BIT AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, SINCE THE LAST UPDATE WE DID PRESENT, UH, FOR THE FISCAL YEARS 2012 TO 2017, THE REVENUES THAT WERE RECEIVED UNDER THE PREVIOUS REBUILT HOUSTON PROGRAM.
AND YOU SEE IT THAT'S BROKEN UP BY THE DIFFERENT, UH, BUCKETS THAT WE HAD JUST TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AGAIN, ONCE AGAIN, WANTED TO POINT OUT THE AVALOR TAXES IS AFTER PAYING THE PRE-BUILT HOUSTON TO FORWARD DEBT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL COLUMN, UH, FROM THE YEARS FISCAL YEARS 2012 TO 17, THE REVENUES WERE ABOUT $1.57 BILLION WITH A B.
AND AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD TO THE CURRENT TIMEFRAME, WE'RE LOOKING AT FISCAL YEARS FROM 2018 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2024.
AND I DO WANNA POINT OUT WE ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING OUR BOOKS OUT.
SO THIS IS A VERY BROAD ESTIMATE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE YEAR FISCAL 2024, AND THOSE NUMBERS COULD, UH, COULD CHANGE MATERIALLY.
UM, AGAIN, SAME THING BROKEN UP BY THE FOUR FUNDING SOURCES.
UH, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOTAL REVENUE NUMBER, WE ARE ROUGHLY UP TO ABOUT $2.2 BILLION FROM FISCAL YEAR 2018 THROUGH 2024.
NOW, THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT.
UH, LAST UPDATE THAT WE DID ON THE DEBT PAYOFF.
THIS IS, THESE ARE DEBTS THAT, UH, THAT WERE INCURRED PRIOR TO THE BUILT HOUSTON REBUILT HOUSTON PROGRAM.
AND THE LAST UPDATE THAT WE DID IN AUGUST, 2018, WE SHOW THAT WE OWED ABOUT $1.3 BILLION IN DEBT.
AND I'M PLEASED TO SHOW THAT CURRENTLY WE ARE RIGHT DOWN TO ABOUT $538 MILLION THAT'S CURRENTLY OWED.
AND THE KIND OF SHOWS YOU TOWARDS, UH, THE PROGRESS AND THE REMAINING TIMELINE IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT PAYOFF IS GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR BOTH PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST.
AND SO, AGAIN, THIS IS A, A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT, WHAT THAT SNAPSHOT LOOKS LIKE AS FAR AS THE DEBT TO PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS AND WHAT OUR PAYMENT SCHEDULE ESSENTIALLY LOOKS LIKE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
THIS SLIDE TALKS ABOUT WHAT THE REVENUE FORECAST LOOKS LIKE OVER, UH, UH, THE, THE FUTURE YEARS.
AND IT, AGAIN, IS BROKEN DOWN BY THE FOUR BUCKETS THAT WE HAD SPOKEN ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, THE DRAINAGE CHARGE, THIRD PARTY AVALOR TAX, AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPER IMPACT FEES.
AND WHAT YOU'LL NOTICE IS AS WE START TO PAY OFF MORE OF THE DEBT, MORE OF THE FUNDING ACTUALLY COMES INTO THE PROGRAM.
ALRIGHT, I WILL KICK IT OVER TO DAVID WARDLOW TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE.
SO, AS A FRAMEWORK FOR YOU ALL TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PROGRAM, WE'VE KIND OF KEPT WITH THIS SAME KIND OF FRAMEWORK.
SO WE TALK ABOUT THEM IN TERMS OF REPAIR ACTIVITIES, REALLY THOSE O AND M ACTIONS, NORMAL POTHOLE REPAIRS, SKIN PATCHES, OH, YOU'RE TOTALLY GOOD.
3 1 1, UH, TYPE OF RESPONSIVE ACTIVITIES ARE IN THAT KIND OF CATEGORY.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK TO MORE PERMANENT OR DURABLE LONG LASTING CAPITAL ACTIVITIES, WE'VE BROKEN THIS INTO THE REHABILITATION ACTIVITIES.
SO THE LDP LOCAL DRAINAGE PROGRAM PROJECT, THE SWAP PROGRAM, WHEN WE DO PANEL REPLACEMENTS, MOST OF THE WORK YOU DO THROUGH THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND USING METRO DOLLARS, THAT FALLS INTO THIS REHABILITATION BUCKET.
AND THEN ON THE LARGER SCALE, WHEN WE'RE RECONSTRUCTING ASSETS OR CREATING NEW ONES, THOSE FALL INTO THAT RECONSTRUCT, UH, BUCKET.
SO WHEN WE'RE GOING INTO DOING MAJOR TRUNK LINES, UH, FOR STORM SEWER UPGRADES, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, RENEWAL, IF WE'RE GOING IN AND DOING FULL SCALE STUFF, WHICH WE DO LESS OF THAT LATELY, UH, STREET RECONSTRUCTION, UM, THAT KIND OF STUFF FALLS INTO THIS BUCKET.
SO THAT'S THE KINDA FRAMEWORK WITH WHICH WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE, UH, THE ACTIVITIES.
ALRIGHT, SO THE REPAIR ARE THE O AND M ACTIVITIES, AGAIN, REPORTING IN THESE FOUR KIND OF BUCKETS.
UM, KIND OF CONTINUE ALONG AND WE TALK ABOUT THESE IN TERMS OF THE DRAINAGE ACTIVITIES.
YOU'LL SEE, WE REALLY DEPEND ON THE DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE.
IN TERMS OF REVENUES THAT HAVE COME INTO THE D-D-S-R-F OR THE DEDICATED DRAINAGE AND STREET RENEWAL FUNDS.
UH, WE DON'T USE A WHOLE LOT OF, IN FACT, ANY ADVIL ARM TAX, UH, OR THIRD PARTY FOR THE DRAINAGE O AND M ACTIVITY.
UH, AGAIN, JUST AS A HIGHLIGHT, A LOT OF THAT FOR DRAINAGE HAPPENS IN THE STORMWATER FUND OUTSIDE OF BUILT HOUSTON FORD, OUTSIDE OF D-D-S-R-F.
UH, THIS IS THE CONTRIBUTION FROM D-D-S-R-F
[01:15:01]
TO THOSE ACTIVITIES.UM, AND THEN YOU SEE UNDER ADVIL ALARM TAX AND THIRD PARTY, THE ACTIVITIES FOR TRANSPORTATION RELATED THINGS.
SO PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT, UH, MOBILITY ACTIVITIES.
UH, AND THEN THE LAST LINE THERE IS KINDA JUST THE GENERAL OVERALL COST OF DOING BUSINESS, UH, FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION DRAINAGE OPERATION, FOLKS.
ALL RIGHT, SO THIS IS JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED, UH, OVER THE LAST, I THINK, SEVEN YEARS, UH, ON THE, UM, REPAIR SIDE OF THINGS.
SO, UM, STORM SEWERS CONTINUING TO MAKE PROGRESS OF ADDRESSING OUR STORM SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE.
NOW MOVING INTO FOCUSING ON OUR ROADSIDE DITCH INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AS WELL AS JUST PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT, UH, THROUGH, AS I MENTIONED, POTHOLE, SKIN PATCHES, UH, DEALING WITH DITCH WORK, AS WELL AS STREET SWEEPING AS WELL.
UM, YOU'LL NOTE IN THE CHARTER IT HAD A LIMITATION ON THE AMOUNT OF APPROPRIATED, UH, REVENUES THAT COULD BE SPENT FOR O AND M, THAT'S COL COLLECTIVELY THE 25% TEST.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE STILL AT THIS POINT KIND OF BELOW THAT.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE 24 ON THERE YET.
I WOULD EXPECT IT TO TAKE UP A BIT.
UM, BUT UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE'RE OKAY.
AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S AN INTERESTING CALCULATION.
I SAY READ THE CHARTER AND YOU CAN KIND OF, UH, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, LET US KNOW ABOUT HOW THAT WORKS.
ALRIGHT, SO REHABILITATION, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AMOUNT OF SPENDING IN THIS CATEGORY VERSUS WHEN WE REPORTED TO YOU IN 2018.
AND THAT REFLECTS RIGHT THIS ALLOCATION OF REVENUES TO, UH, PROGRAMS LIKE SWAT, LIKE LDP AND THE MAYOR STREET REHABILITATION INITIATIVE.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT BORNE OUT IN THESE FIGURES FOR DRAINAGE PAVEMENT AND MOBILITY ACTIVITIES.
OKAY, AGAIN, ABOUT 600 ISH MILLION DOLLARS.
AND ON THE RECONSTRUCTION SIDE, THIS IS WHERE WE START SEEING GRANT FUNDING SHOW UP.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT NUMBER THERE FOR PAVEMENT AND MOBILITY FOR THIRD PARTY INCLUDES NOT JUST FUNDING WE MIGHT GET FROM METRO, BUT LARGELY THAT'S GONNA BE WHERE WE RECONSTRUCT A STREET.
SO LIKE THE WEST PARK PROJECT, THE GREENS ROAD PROJECT, UH, YOU'LL SEE THOSE REVENUES SHOW UP THERE.
SO AGAIN, AVALOR TAX, UH, KINDA LEADING THE WAY FOR, UM, OR I GUESS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND THIRD PARTY FUNDS.
AND THEN DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE, STILL KIND OF CARRYING THE BULK OF OUR INVESTMENT FOR RECONSTRUCTION AT THIS POINT.
UH, IF YOU REFER BACK TO THAT PROJECTED GROWTH AND REVENUES OVER TIME, WE'LL SEE A LOT MORE AD VALOR TAX COME INTO THE MIX, UM, KIND OF REGARDLESS OF THE 11.80 CENT QUESTION.
UH, SO WE WILL SEE MORE AD VALOREM SHOW UP IN OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, ACTIVITIES FOR CIP.
SO WHEN WE COME TO YOU FOR COUNCIL ACTION ON DESIGN CONTRACTS AND CONSTRUCTION ACT CONTRACTS, YOU'LL SEE A LOT MORE AVALOR SHOW UP THERE.
ALL RIGHT, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN IDEA OF WHERE WE'RE GOING FROM HERE.
I DO WANT TO NOTE, I THINK IT'S OCTOBER 23RD, THE NEXT SERVICE DELIVERY COMMITTEE MEETING, WE'RE SCHEDULED TO COME PRESENT TO YOU ALL ON WHAT'S COMING FOR DRAINAGE.
SO I'M NOT GONNA STEAL THEIR THUNDER, BUT THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A PREVIEW FOR THAT.
SO, UM, AGAIN, REALLY LOOKING TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS, I THINK IS THE GENERAL MESSAGE HERE, RIGHT? SO LOOK, WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE COUNTY, WITH THE STATE, HOW, HOW WE CAN TO IMPROVE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TRYING TO GET LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR THINGS VERY CRITICAL, UM, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE OUR COMMUNITIES ARE COMING ALONG.
AND ONE ASPECT I WANNA DO HIGHLIGHT ABOUT THAT IS OUR STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT I THINK EVERY YEAR SINCE I'VE BEEN IN THE CITY.
UM, SO WE'VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN THAT.
IN FACT, UM, I THINK THE WEBSITE IS ABOUT READY AND WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING A ROUND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT COMING UP.
THEY'RE GONNA TALK EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THAT AT THE MEETING LATER THIS MONTH.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A KIND OF IDEA OF THAT, IT BUILDS OFF OF PRIOR EFFORTS IN A MORE HOLISTIC FASHION, RIGHT? SO GOING BACK INTO THE NINETIES, WE DID HAVE COMPREHENSIVE DRAINAGE PLANNING GOING ON.
UH, BUT THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO US, THE DATA AVAILABLE WAS RELATIVELY LIMITED.
UH, WITH THIS MASTER PLAN, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEVELOP A SUITE OF MODELS THAT COVER THE ENTIRE CITY AND ALL OF ITS DRAINAGE SYSTEMS. SO NOT JUST STORM SEWERS, NOT JUST DITCHES, BUT ALSO IN AREAS THAT ARE REALLY ONLY SERVED BY SHEET FLOW.
UH, WE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW RAIN FALLS AND WHERE IT GOES, UH, TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE THERE ARE DEFICIENCIES WITHIN THE WHOLE SYSTEM.
WE CAN PAIR THAT UP NEXT SLIDE WITH, UM, OTHER DATA ON POPULATIONS AND STRUCTURES AND VULNERABLE FACILITIES AND ROADWAYS TO KIND OF GENERATE A OVERALL SCORING FRAMEWORK, RIGHT, FOR HOW WE THEN LOOK AT AND PRIORITIZE WHERE INVESTMENTS SHOULD GO.
SO LOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS COMING LATER THIS MONTH.
UM, I KNOW OUR TEAM IS EXCITED TO ROLL THIS OUT.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME AND A HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK.
ALSO CAN'T NEGLECT, UH, A LOT OF ATTENTION ON FOLKS ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT PAVEMENT CONDITIONS.
UM, WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO COMPARE THIS BACK, UH, SINCE,
[01:20:01]
UH, THE LAST TIME, BUT YOU'LL SEE YOU'RE SEEING A LOT OF, I THINK THE IMPACT OF THE MAYOR STREET REHABILITATION INITIATIVE, PARTICULARLY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, THAT YOU'RE SEEING MORE GOOD AND SATISFACTORY PAVEMENT CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM, UM, AND LESS FAIR AND POOR AND VERY POOR.SO, UH, THIS IS A CONTINUED FOCUS.
WE STILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT DEDICATION OF, OF PLANNED INVESTMENT, UH, TO ADDRESS, UH, PAVEMENT AS A ROADWAY CONDITIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS PEOPLE'S DRIVING EXPERIENCE OR IF THEY'RE IN THE BUS, UM, AFFECTS THEM TOO.
AND I THINK WE HAVE BEHIND HERE, I'M NOT GONNA COVER THESE, BUT SOME COMMON QUESTIONS SHOW UP.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE IN THE PRESENTATION DECK, UH, SO THAT IF FOLKS AT HOME MIGHT HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SOME OF THIS WORKS, IT'S AT LEAST, UH, AN INITIAL PLACE THEY CAN GO TO TO ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS.
THE, THE SLIDES ARE POSTED, I BELIEVE, UH, JORDAN, SO, UM, WITH THAT I THINK WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER WHAT QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
YEAH, AND I ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO LOOK AT THE GLOSSARY AND OTHER STUFF IN THERE.
UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM, AMY PECK, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN.
I FEEL LIKE SO MANY THINGS THAT WE'VE TRIED TO CHANGE OR DO IN REBUILD HOUSTON OR BUILDING HOUSTON FORWARD IS ALWAYS LIKE, WELL, WE, WE JUST NEED TO WAIT FOR THAT PLAN TO COME OUT.
SO I'M EXCITED THAT IT'S GETTING TO THAT POINT.
UM, I KNOW YOU SAID MORE INFORMATION IS TO COME ON THAT, BUT DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE ANY OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE QUEUE IN BUILD BUILDING HOUSTON FORWARD? OR IS THE PLAN TO KEEP EVERYTHING THE SAME AND THEN GOING FORWARD? SO THAT'S A CLEAR, CLEAR POLICY QUESTION, RIGHT? SO I THINK IT'S A, LET'S LOOK AT IT AND SEE, IT MAY BE SOMEWHAT CONTEXT SENSITIVE IN GENERAL.
KIND OF WHAT I'VE SEEN SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE IS WE'VE CONTINUED OUR COMMITMENTS TO PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE PROGRAM.
UH, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CYCLES WHERE WE'VE HAD TO REVISIT WHAT FITS WITHIN THAT FIVE YEAR WINDOW, WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE.
AND WHEN WE SEE WHERE THOSE DEFICIENCIES REALLY ARE, IT'LL BE A CHANCE TO SEE HEY, AS THE INVESTMENT IN THE PLACES WE NEED IT TO BE.
SO I THINK IT'LL BE SOMEWHAT CONTEXT SENSITIVE.
AND I KNOW YOU AND I TALK ABOUT THIS EVERY YEAR THAT WE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CIP, BUT CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON HOW MUCH MONEY THIS FISCAL YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT IN PROJECTS THAT ARE PLANNED FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR VERSUS ACTUAL MONEY THAT WE HAVE? YEAH, YOU'RE HITTING ON EXACTLY THE, UH, THE PIECE OF INFORMATION I SHOULD HAVE PRINTED OUT FOR YOU.
UM, BUT I WOULD REFER BACK TO THE ADOPTED CIPI THINK IT SHOWS, OOH, I I DON'T WANNA GUESS, UH, FOR, FOR THE FIGURE THAT SURE CURRENTLY SHOWS AS PROGRAM FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, BUT WE ARE IN SOME OF A CATCH UP MODE, RIGHT? WE'VE HAD A LOT OF PROJECTS PROGRAMMED THAT HAVEN'T QUITE YET GOTTEN TO CONSTRUCTION TO FOR AWARD, THAT'S
AND THEN, UM, THE, THE LAWSUIT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY ADD MONEY TO THIS PROGRAM OR, I KNOW THIS MIGHT BE MORE OF A QUESTION, A QUESTION FOR THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY UPDATES ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I DO NOT HAVE ANY UPDATES.
WE, WE DO HAVE SUZANNE, SUZANNE CHAUVIN FROM THE GENERAL LITIGATION SECTION WHO MIGHT, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, YES, YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE THAT, UH, IN THE COURT OF APPEALS RULED AGAINST THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN THE MOST, UH, RECENT THE JONES CASE.
UM, THE ISSUE IN THAT CASE IS WHETHER THE CALCULATION OF ALLOCATION OF FUNDS THAT GO INTO THE D-D-S-R-F, UH, FACTORS IN THE REVENUE CAP, UM, AND ESSENTIALLY THE OTHER SIDE WOULD ADVANCE AN INTERPRETATION THAT DOES NOT FACTOR IN THE REVENUE CAP.
SO THE CONSEQUENCE, IF THE RULING STANDS IS THAT AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY WOULD BE TAKEN FROM PROP PROPERTY TAX REVENUE AND WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE USED FOR THE CITY'S OTHER NEEDS.
SO WE WON IN THE TRIAL COURT, UH, APPELLATE COURT RULED AGAINST US.
UH, WE ARE NOW IN THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT, TEXAS SUPREME COURT COULD RULE IN THE SPRING OF 2025 IF THEY GRANT REVIEW.
UM, IT MAY BE LATER THAN THAT.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE CHARTER LANGUAGE SUPPORTS THE CITY'S POSITION, THE PLAIN LANGUAGE OF THE CHARTER.
SO THE EARLIEST IS SPRING OF 25.
WE BELIEVE THE EARLIEST IS SPRING OF 25.
THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT, YOU KNOW, IS NEVER OUR HANDS.
BUT, UH, I MEAN IT COULD BE EARLIER, IT COULD BE MUCH LATER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE.
UM, THANK, UM, YOU GUYS GREAT PRESENTATION.
I'D LIKE TO JUST LOOK A SECOND AT THE SLIDE WITH THE DEBT.
[01:25:01]
MEAN, THIS IS REALLY THE STORY HERE, RIGHT? I MEAN THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE IF YOU, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN AROUND A WHILE.SO I REMEMBER WHEN THAT, WHEN WE WERE AT THE TOP OF THAT, OF THAT DEBT, UH, WE WERE WAY UP THERE MM-HMM
I MEAN, WE WERE BASICALLY PAYING DOUBLE FOR EVERY PROJECT BECAUSE OF THE DEBT WE HAD.
$1 IN A PROJECT WAS ABOUT $2 IN DEBT.
SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A BIG STORY ABOUT REBUILD HOUSTON.
UM, REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU ARE IN THE LAWSUIT AND EVERYTHING, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PAY DOWN DEBT, WHICH HAS ALLOWED US TO HAVE MONEY FOR OTHER THINGS, THE DEBT SERVICE AS IT GOES DOWN.
AND IT HAS ALLOWED US TO CONTRIBUTE MORE TO ACTUAL PROJECTS.
SO SEEING THAT NUMBER DOWN TO $538 MILLION OWED IS PRETTY OUTSTANDING.
THE, THE DRAINAGE FEE ORDINANCE HAS A TIME LIMIT ON IT, CORRECT? IT'S, IT'S, I MEAN IT'S LIKE SUNSETTED OR SOMETHING AT A CERTAIN, IT'S 2032, I THINK IS WHAT IT'S IN THERE AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNSEL TO REVISIT.
THAT'S THE DRAINAGE FEE ORDINANCE.
AND BEFORE REBUILD HOUSTON WAS PASSED AND BEFORE THE DRAINAGE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED, WE HAD NO DEDICATED CONTINUOUS REVENUE SOURCE FOR DRAINAGE.
OTHER, OTHER THAN STORM WATER.
WE, WE DID DEPEND ON GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
OF COURSE, WHEN WE TURN THAT INTO DEBT, IT NOW BECOMES DEDICATED TO PAYING FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THE METRO AGREEMENT CONSTRAINTS WHAT IT CAN BE SPENT ON.
UH, BUT YEAH, WE DIDN'T HAVE A FRAMEWORK BUILT INTO THE CHARTER THAT REALLY ESTABLISHED A QUASI ENTERPRISE, UH, FOR DRAINAGE AND STREETS FOR DDS.
FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, YOU WANT TO LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE AROUND IT.
THERE WASN'T REALLY THAT DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE, BUT THE, THE DDS HARPER IS WHAT IT CREATED THAT SOURCE, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND THE METRO FUNDING MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF THAT THIRD PARTY FUNDING.
AND THAT'S ABOUT HOW MUCH PER YEAR? OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, IT VARIES A BIT, I THINK ON THE O AND M SIDE, SOMEWHERE AROUND 70, 80 MILLION ISH A YEAR.
AND I KNOW IT'S A COMP A MORE COMPLEX CALCULATION, BUT GENERALLY HOW IS THAT, HOW, HOW IS THAT AMOUNT DETERMINED? SO THAT IS A STRAIGHT ALLOCATION, IT'S A QUARTER'S PENNY, RIGHT? WELL, CORRECT.
SO METRO COLLECTS A A PENNY RIGHT ON THE SALES TAX WITHIN THEIR SERVICE AREA.
UM, AND THEN THERE IS A BUY AGAIN BY THE VOTERS WILL, UH, UP TO 25% OF THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR THE GENERAL MOBILITY PROGRAM.
AND THEN THERE'S A SERIES OF CONTRACTS THAT ALLOCATE THAT OUT BETWEEN THE PARTICIPATING ENTITIES.
UM, AND I THINK WE ACTUALLY PRESENTED TO THE RIGHT, I REMEMBER THAT'S, THAT WAS, THERE WAS A LOT OF CALCULATIONS IN THAT.
BUT WHAT, UH, ABOUT WHAT PERCENT OF THAT QUARTER ARE, ARE WE GETTING FROM METRO? OH, IT'S, THE VAST MAJORITY IS ACTUALLY US, IT HOUSTON, BUT ARE WE UP TO THE FULL QUARTER? NO.
SO ABOUT WHERE ARE WE? NO, UM, FROM METRO, I WOULD HAVE TO DEFER TO METRO ON THAT.
THE DIFFERENCE TO THE QUARTER IS REALLY GONNA BE DRIVEN AGAIN BY SOMETHING THAT WENT TO THE VOTERS OKAY.
AFTER 2014 WAS SPLIT BETWEEN THE LOCAL PARTNER ENERGIES AND METRO ITSELF.
SO THE AFTER 2014 BASELINE, IF SALES TAX GROWS, THEN UM, HALF OF THAT STAYED WITH METRO, HALF OF IT STILL WENT INTO THE GMP ALLOCATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON REBUILD HOUSTON? IF NOT, WE'LL GET STRAIGHT TO DOUG SMITH 'CAUSE I KNOW HE WANTS TO COME UP HERE AND SAY SOMETHING.
OH, I'M SORRY JULIE, YOU DIDN'T POP UP.
UM, WITH, WITH REGARD TO, LET ME TRY TO PULL IT BACK UP HERE.
SLIDE NUMBER FOUR TITLED FUNDING, UH, UNDER NUMBER TWO THIRD PARTY FUNDS YOU HAVE LISTED UNDER, UNDER METRO TXDOT, PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE PROJECTS.
IS THIS INDICATING THAT THESE SORTS OF PROJECTS, PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE PROJECTS WERE ONLY FUNDED THROUGH METRO AND TXDOT FUNDS? NO, NO, NO.
THESE, SO THE LIST OF ACTIVITIES HERE IS LARGELY ILLUSTRATIVE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
WHAT THINGS HAD COME TO COUNCIL, WHAT WERE IN BUDGETS IN DIFFERENT PLACES, UM, REALLY BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S IN THE STREET RIGHT OF WAY IS PART OF OUR STREET INFRASTRUCTURE, PART OF OUR DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.
ANY OF THE FUNDING SOURCES HERE COULD, COULD PARTICIPATE IN THOSE.
[01:30:01]
THOSE METRO FUNDED CONTRACTS OR IN-HOUSE RESOURCES TO, TO IMPROVE SIDEWALKS OR, UM, CONSTRUCT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE STREET RIGHT OF WAY.SO IF I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY, UH, DRAINAGE CHARGES COULD HAVE BEEN USED TO FUND BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECTS WITHIN THE STREET RIGHT OF WAY WITHIN A STREET RIGHT OF WAY.
AND DO WE KNOW, HAVE ANY FEEL FOR HOW MUCH WAS SPENT ON THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS FROM THE DRAINAGE FEE? AGAIN, DRAINAGE CHARGE HAS NOT HISTORICALLY BEEN ASSIGNED TO THOSE TYPES OF CONTRACTS.
UM, AND THERE COULD BE ANCILLARY IMPROVEMENTS.
SO LIKE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE RECONSTRUCT THE STREETS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT INCLUDES NOW SCOPE FOR SIDEWALKS, RIGHT.
THERE COULD HAVE BEEN SOME PROJECTS THAT HAD A TRAIL IN THEM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO WE WOULD TAKE SOME RESEARCH WORK ON OUR PART TO FIND THOSE SCOPE ITEMS TO REPORT THAT BACK OUT TO YOU.
UH, WE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD LIKE A DEDICATED BICYCLE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT USING THE DRAINAGE CHARGE.
QUESTION REAL QUICKLY, WHICH ONE OF THESE CATEGORY FUNDS IS THE DRAINAGE FEE? THE DESIGNATED DRAINAGE FEE? YES.
DID EVERYBODY GET CHARGED ON THEY WATER? WHERE IS IT IN THIS? CORRECT.
THAT'S THAT, IT'S MARK NUMBER THREE, THE DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE, RIGHT.
FOR THE OPERATION AND UPKEEP OF THE DRAINAGE.
SO THAT DESIGN ON NUMBER THREE NUMBER, THAT'S WHAT I KIND OF FIGURED.
NOW, SO IS THAT, IS THAT DESIGNATED OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND AND SPENDING OF THE REST OF THE CORRECT, IT IS, IT IS SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO THE OPERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE UTILITY BOTH BY CHARTER PRIMARILY, RIGHT? YES.
SO HOW MUCH IS THAT NOW? WHAT'S THE DOLLAR AMOUNT? UM, CAN YOU GO TWO SLIDES FORWARD AND THAT'LL SHOW US THE REVENUE I THINK FOR THE LAST PERIOD.
YEAH, THAT WAS, SO THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA AND, AND ABOUT $120 MILLION A YEAR, ROUGHLY SPEAKING.
IT DEPENDS ON A COUPLE OF FACTORS EACH YEAR, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO IT'S ABOUT 120, CORRECT? MM-HMM.
AND WE HAVE NOT AT THIS POINT CHANGED THAT FEE RIGHT FROM THE, FROM ITS ADOPTION.
UH, THE LANGUAGE IN THE, OR IN THE CHARTER, UH, DID NOT ALLOW US TO, I THINK IT MAY BE ACTUALLY IN THE DRAINAGE ORDINANCES DID NOT ALLOW US TO ADJUST THAT FOR 10 YEARS.
IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 10 YEARS.
SO THE PER UNIT, PER SERVICE UNIT KIND OF CALCULATION, UM, THAT, THAT FEE AMOUNT HAS NOT, NOT CHANGED.
SO IS THAT THE BALANCE? IS THAT THE BALANCE AMOUNT RIGHT NOW? NO, THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE REVENUE OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME THAT THAT'S NOT A FUND BALANCE FIGURE ANNUALIZED REVENUE.
SO, SO BASICALLY YOU SAYING WE, 1819, I'M LOOKING AT THE CHART AVERAGE OF 150.
WELL, WELL STARTED AROUND ABOUT ONE 15.
I'LL, I'LL, I'LL I'LL JUST ASK SOMETHING LATER.
COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, THE DRAINAGE FEE IS BASED ON NONPERMEABLE SURFACE AREA, CORRECT? YES.
WHY DID IT GO DOWN IN 22 AND 23? WE, WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AND SEE.
UM, BUT IT'S PROBABLY DUE TO SOME JUST ADJUSTMENTS IN, I MEAN, I WOULD'VE THOUGHT AS CONSTRUCTION INCREASES THAT THAT AMOUNT WOULD SLOWLY INCREASE, WHICH IT IS.
RIGHT? AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE LONG TERM TREND, YOU SEE SOME SMALL RIGHT, IT BOUNCES AROUND A LITTLE BIT.
BUT IT'S LARGELY IN AN UPWARD ISH TREND, UH, OVER TIME.
BUT IT'S, IT JUST KIND STRUCK ME AS ODD.
AGAIN, THESE ARE ANNUAL REVENUE FIGURES, UH, JUST BASED ON, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT.
SO MAYBE SOME TIMING ISSUES WHEN, WHEN IT WAS PAID OR CORRECT.
SO THAT LITTLE BUMP IN 21, I'M GONNA GUESS THAT'S JUST A SPECULATION AND IT COULD BE TIED TO RESOLUTION OF SOME OUTSTANDING, UH, UNPAID AMOUNTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT, OKAY.
UM, YEAH, WE CAN, WE COULD GET INTO THE SPECIFICS OF YOU.
I, I JUST, LIKE I SAID, IT STRUCK ME AS ODD.
SEE NO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE.
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION.
WE WON'T WAIT SIX YEARS TO DO THE NEXT ONE.
UM, AND INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THAT DRAINAGE FEE COULD BE ADJUSTED AFTER 10 YEARS.
DOUG SMITH, THANK YOU FOR KEEPING US ON OUR TOES AS ALWAYS.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, RELATIVE TO THIS PRESENTATION, UH, THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE DRAINAGE FEE, AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK, OH, THAT'S GOING TO HELP FOR FLOODING.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, REBUILD
[01:35:01]
THE DISHES OR DO SOME BIG, UH, THINGS THAT WILL GET RID OF THE WATER.THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE BECAUSE STREETS ARE CONSIDERED PART OF THE DRAINAGE AND A LOT OF THE MONEY GOES TO REPAIRING STREETS.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S A LOT OF CLARIFICATION ON THAT, UH, BY A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UH, SECONDLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PRESENTATION, UH, ONE THING THAT POPPED OUT TO ME WAS SLIDE 20, WHERE IT SHOWED THE CONDITION OF THE STREETS.
AND IF YOU, UH, WOULD DRAW A NORTH SOUTH LINE ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY, UH, YOU WOULD SEE THAT ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE CITY, THERE IS A HECK OF A LOT OF RED, WHICH IS, UH, IT'S NOT EVENLY DIVIDED.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO ABOUT THAT IN THE FUTURE, BUT, UH, IT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING THAT DESERVES ATTENTION, I THINK.
AND EXCUSE ME, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA CLARIFY DOESN'T RELATE TO THIS, BUT A MISUNDERSTANDING THAT I'VE HAD RELATIVE TO THE PFC 3 0 3 PROGRAM.
UH, AND IT WAS MY THINKING THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, WAS, UH, INCLUDED IN THE REVENUE CAP WHEN THE PROPERTY TAX WAS CALCULATED.
AND I HAVE MADE THAT COMMENT IN THESE MEETINGS, AND I THINK OTHER PEOPLE ARE UNDER THE SAME IMPRESSION, AND THAT IS NOT CORRECT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION, IF IT, IF IT IS CLASSIFIED AS PFC 3 0 3, DOES NOT FALL UNDER THE REVENUE CAP.
UH, AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I WAS CONFUSED ABOUT.
I'M STRUGGLING WITH THE ARTS, UH, PRESENTATION.
THEY SHOWED $600 MILLION OF REVENUE ON THE ARTS SIDE AND $600 MILLION OF EXPENDITURES ON THE PUBLIC SIDE.
AND WHAT'S GOING THROUGH MY MIND IS ISN'T THAT THE SAME DOLLARS? BECAUSE DOESN'T THE PUBLIC BUY TICKETS THAT ARE USED BY THE ARTS ORGANIZATION IN THEIR 600 MILLION? SO I DON'T KNOW, YOU CAN CLARIFY THAT, BUT IT COULD BE DOUBLE COUNTING IN MY MIND.
AND DOUG, I JUST, UH, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT ON THE, UH, THE ASSESSMENTS ON THE STREETS.
UM, I THINK WE ARE ALL, UM, ARE IN NEED OF, UH, OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
UH, AND I'VE SAID THIS SEVERAL TIMES MORE RECENTLY, UH, SPEAKING TO THE TAX RATE, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE GOES BACK DECADES.
UM, AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOU HIGHLIGHTING WHAT IS MOSTLY THE, UH, DISTRICT EYE, THE EAST END.
UH, SOME OF YOUR, SOME OF YOUR OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS, SOME OF YOUR MOST OLDEST NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE IN THAT AREA YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BLUE OR GREEN AS MUCH AS THE REST OF THE CITY.
NOW YOU DO HAVE A LOT OF ORANGE, YELLOW, AND RED.
AND SO, UM, I, I, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH PUBLIC WORKS TO SEE HOW WE CAN ENSURE THAT OUR PROJECTS CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AS WELL.
AND TO YOUR POINT ON, UM, THE 3 0 3 PFCS MM-HMM
UM, SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT, UH, THE NEW CONSTRUCTION DOESN'T FIGURE INTO THE, UH, TAX RATE CAP.
IS THAT RIGHT? IF IT'S BEEN CLASSED AS 3 0 3, IF IT'S JUST GENERAL NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE CITY, THAT IS ADDED TO THE ALLOWED CAP.
AND THAT'S WHERE I WAS CONFUSED.
NON NON PFC NEW CONSTRUCTION IS ADDED TO THE CAP, BUT PFC CONSTRUCTION IS NOT.
WELL, ALL THESE, THE 3 0 3 PFCS, UH, THAT HAS THE EFFECT OF SPREADING THE TAX BILL, UH, AMONG THE REST OF US.
UH, IN OTHER WORDS, THE DEVELOPER DOESN'T, DOESN'T PAY.
HAVE TO MAKE, MAKE UP FOR IT, RIGHT? MM-HMM
AND THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR HANGING IN ON THIS, UH, VERY BUSY BFA ARTS AND CULTURE MEETING.
AND OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH AT 10:00 AM THANK YOU VERY MUCH.