[Economic Development Committee on July 16, 2025.]
[00:00:12]
THE TIME IS 2:00 PM I'M COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER, PRESIDING CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.UM, HAVE IN THE COUNCIL, I'M SORRY.
OH, A THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, UH, SALLY, COUNCILMAN ALCORN, COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ.
AND THEN WE HAVE STAFF FROM ABBY CAYMAN AND ALSO STAFF FROM MARIO CASTILLO.
THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND IS BEING HELD IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY.
WE ARE ALSO BROADCASTING VIA HOUSTON HTV, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF.
PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF PRESENTATION.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION AND ARE PRESENT IN THE CHAMBER REQUEST TO SPEAK, OR IF YOU'RE JOINING VIRTUALLY, TYPE REQUEST TO SPEAK IN THE CHAT POD AND YOU'LL BE RECOGNIZED IN ORDER.
YOU'LL BE ADVISED WHEN THE TWO MINUTES HAVE EXPIRED, COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTENDING VIRTUALLY.
PLEASE USE, PLEASE USE THE CHAT POD IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS. UH, THERE WERE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY.
IF THERE ARE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS PRESENT HERE IN THE CHAMBER WHO WISH TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET AT THE FRONT TABLE ON YOUR RIGHT.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE PRESENTATIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS CAN BE EMAILED TO DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV AND WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENTS FOR RESPONSES.
UH, THE AGENDA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JENNIFER CURLEY, WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WILL PRESENT ON THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY STRUCTURE.
UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CURLEY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, THANK YOU MR. CHAIR AND, UM, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BRIEF THE COMMITTEE ON ITEMS THAT YOU WILL SEE ON CITY COUNCIL'S AGENDA IN THE COMING WEEKS REGARDING THE GREATER HOUSTON TOURS.
OUR OFFICE IS NOT REQUIRED BY CITY'S FINANCIAL POLICIES TO BRIEF CITY COUNCIL ON THESE TOURS RELATED ITEMS. HOWEVER, DUE TO UNIQUENESS OF THE GREATER HOUSTON TOURS, WE THOUGHT IT WAS VALUABLE TO PROVIDE THIS BRIEFING.
TO PROVIDE SOME HISTORY, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CREATION OF THE GREATER HOUSTON IN 2012 TO ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT TO DEVELOP OVER 2,973 ACRES OF VACANT OR UNDERDEVELOPED LAND, OLD OIL FIELDS AND UNDERUTILIZED INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY, AND 4,136 ACRES THAT MAY PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT.
ON THE SLIDES IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU CAN TAKE, YOU CAN SEE THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE ORIGINAL ANNEXATION AREA ON THE LEFT, AND THEN THE SOUTHERN SECTION OF THE ORIGINAL ANNEXATION AREA.
THAT SOUTHERN SECTION IS THE, IT COVERS THE NRG AREA, INCLUDING, UM, THE FORMER ASTRODOME AREA.
A FEW YEARS LATER, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED AN ANNEXATION OF AN INDUSTRIAL AREA FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.
UM, THE AREA THAT'S DEPICTED THERE, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA THAT'S JUST RIGHT ACROSS THE FREEWAY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN CAMPUS, UM, IF YOU REMEMBER WHERE THE OLD FINGERS WAREHOUSE AREA IS, THAT'S THE AREA THAT'S GENERALLY THE, THE SAME AREA A FEW YEARS LATER.
AS YOU MAY BE AWARE, THE GREATER HOUSTON TURS WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED TO BE A COUNTY LED TOURS.
HOWEVER, THE CITY INCREASED ITS PARTICIPATION FORMALLY IN 2022 TO FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BE REQUIRED AS PART OF THE NORTH HOUSTON HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, WITH THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING GREEN SPACE AND CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON AND VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS, INCLUDING SECOND WARD EAST, DOWNTOWN, THIRD WARD, FOURTH WARD IN MIDTOWN.
THE INCREASED PARTICIPATION WILL ALSO FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE UNDERDEVELOPED AND UNDERUTILIZED AREAS NEAR NRG AND HIGHWAY 2 88.
[00:05:03]
IN 2023, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A THIRD AMENDED PROJECT PLAN, WHICH INCREASED THE PROJECT COST FOR HARRIS COUNTY RELATED PROJECTS AND ADDED AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO THE PROJECT PLAN.THE PLAN ALSO COM CONTEMPLATED A DEBT AUTHORIZATION.
AND IN EARLY 2024, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A DEBT AUTHORIZATION OF 65 MILLION IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024.
BEGINNING, UM, IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE ARE SEEKING COUNCIL'S APPROVAL ON CREATING AN LGC STRUCTURE THAT ALLOWS FOR INCREMENT TO GO INTO THE SAME FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF ISSUING BONDS AND SETTING UP DEBT INSTRUMENTS.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE GRAPHIC, THAT TAX INCREMENT WILL FLOW INTO THE LGC PAY DEBT SERVICE FILL IN ANY RESERVES REQUIRED, REIMBURSE DEVELOPER PAYMENTS, AND PAY ANY FUND OPERATING COSTS SUCH AS TRUSTEE FEES AND FINANCIAL ADVISORY FEES.
ONCE THESE ITEMS ARE PAID, THE REMAINING FUNDS WILL FLOW INTO THE CITY AND HARRIS COUNTY PROJECT FUNDS.
SO FOR CITY COUNCIL'S JULY 30TH AGENDA, WE WILL SUBMIT A RESOLUTION TO CREATE THE HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY LGC, ALONG WITH THE BYLAWS TO SUBMIT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE.
ONCE THOSE ITEMS ARE APPROVED, WE WILL SUBMIT OTHER AGREEMENTS THAT WILL DETAIL THE CITY'S AND HARRIS COUNTY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LGC.
THAT'S THE END OF MY BRIEFING.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GET TO THE QUESTIONS? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ HAS JOINED ONLINE AND ALSO HERE IN CHAMBERS, WE HAVE, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS, AND CUSTOMER COUNCILMAN ALCORN.
AND THANK YOU TO, UM, JENNIFER.
SO I GUESS WE CREATED THIS TO, I MEAN, I REMEMBER ALL THIS, BUT UM, REFRESH MY MEMORY, IT WAS BASICALLY BECAUSE THEY WERE PARTICIPATING IN THE EAST HOUSTON TOURS.
WE WERE DOING THIS FOR THE COUNTY, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, BECAUSE THEY PARTICIPATE AND SO THEY CON AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THEY CONTRIBUTE, UM, HARRIS COUNTY FUNDS TO THE EAST DOWNTOWN TURS.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT PARTICIPATION, AND IF YOU RECALL, THAT WAS FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DYNAMO, DYNAMO STADIUM.
SO, UM, HARRIS COUNTY IS A PARTNER WITH THE CITY IN THE, THE, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION OF DYNAMO STADIUM.
AND WE REIMBURSED THAT THE, IN THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THEN WE GOT MORE INVOLVED.
THAT'S THE CITY GOT MORE INVOLVED.
SO WE WENT FROM 5% TO 75% OF THE THAT'S CORRECT.
BUT ORIGINALLY THIS TOURS GREATER EASTERN TURS WAS CREATED FOR, TO PRIMARILY FOCUS ON COUNTY LED PROJECTS.
WE PARTICIPATED AT 5% ORIGINALLY, AND THEN AROUND 2022 IS WHEN WE INCREASED OUR POTENTIAL I TOO PARTICIPATION.
SO NOW TO PERCENT, THEY'RE CITY LED PROJECTS, BASICALLY? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, AND IS THIS A, ARE WE CREATING A NEW LGC AT HERS IS AN LGC, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
BUT THIS LGC IS BEING CREATED FOR THE PUR FOR THE SIM, THE SINGULAR PURPOSE OF ISSUING DEBT TO FUND THESE PROJECTS.
JUST, JUST FOR THE DEBT ISSUANCE? YES.
WHY COULDN'T IT BE DONE WITH THE EXISTING LGC HARRIS COUNTY CANNOT ISSUE DEBT.
UM, AND, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, QUESTIONS BOTH THE GREATER HOUSTON TURS AND THE EAST DOWNTOWN TURS ARE ENTIRELY WITHIN THE CITY, IS THAT RIGHT? YES.
AND, UM, THE GREATER HOUSTON TOURS WILL FOCUS ON COUNTY INITIATED PROJECTS, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL.
UM, IT, IT, THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL INTENTION, BUT THE CITY HAS STARTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT, IN THAT PARTICULAR TOURS.
IT'LL BE, UM, MORE STRUCTURED LIKE IRE TOURS IN THAT IT WILL FOCUS ON BOTH CITY AND COUNTY, UM, PROJECTS AND, UH, EVEN ON THE COUNTY INITIATED PROJECTS, UH, THEY'LL BE ENTIRELY WITHIN THE CITY, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, AND THAT WAS A, JUST TO, UM, IN THAT SLIDE PRESENTATION, THERE WERE A LIST OF COUNTY RELATED PROJECTS THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT.
I BELIEVE, I'LL TELL YOU WHICH SIDE THAT WAS
[00:10:01]
ON SLIDE FOUR HAS THE, UM, PROJECTS THAT THE COUNTY'S CONTEMPLATING FOR THE, UM, DEBT ISSUANCE.IF THAT'S NOT READABLE, UM, I CAN SEND YOU THE, THE MORE LEGIBLE FILE.
UM, I WAS LOOKING AT THAT AND, UM, THEY SEEM TO BE, UM, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, JUST SORT OF PURE INFRASTRUCTURE.
I MEAN, REPLACE CONCRETE PAVING SIDEWALKS, WASTEWATER LINES, UM, AND SO FORTH.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE ALL WANT TO SEE BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE, SO THAT'S A GOOD THING.
UM, AND THESE PROJECTS ARE ALL WITHIN THE CITY? YES, SIR.
SO UNDER THE PROPOSED PLAN, UM, HOW LONG WILL THIS LGC BE IN EXISTENCE? THIS LGC WILL BE IN EXISTENCE ONLY UNTIL THE LIFE OF THE TUR ENDS.
I BELIEVE THE LIFE OF THE TURS ENDS AT 2042 UNLESS, UNLESS, UNLESS RENEW, UNLESS CITY COUNCIL EXTENDS THE LIFE.
SO IF THET WILL LIVE UNTIL 2042, THEN, UH, DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THE, THE DEBT WILL BE ISSUED FOR? IT? IT, IT, IT WOULD ONLY BE ISSUED FOR, IT CAN'T BE ISSUED FOR LONGER THAN THAT PERIOD.
AND IT WILL BE CALLED THE HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY LGC? YES, SIR.
IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN LGC AND A REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY? SO THAT IS MORE OF A LEGAL QUESTION, SO I'LL HAVE TO ASK.
UM, I, I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT I'M NOT AN ATTORNEY, SO I BETTER, I I BETTER WAIT AND VISIT WITH AN ATTORNEY, BUT I CAN GET AN ANSWER FOR YOU ON THAT.
AND SO ON SLIDE FOUR THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, THE THIRD AMENDED PLAN CALLS FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET OF A HUNDRED MILLION.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT? WHAT KIND OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND WHERE, OR DO WE KNOW THAT THE COUNTY DID A PRESENTATION A FEW YEARS AGO ABOUT, AND, AND I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT WITH ME, BUT I DID NOT.
BUT THEY HAD A GOAL OF CREATING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOUSING IN A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
I'LL SEND THAT OVER TO YOU SO YOU CAN SEE IT.
THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS PART OF THEIR PLAN.
I'LL SEND YOU THE THIRD AMENDED PROJECT PLAN, WHICH SPEAKS TO THIS PARTICULAR ITEM ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND THAT, UM, THAT PRE THAT, UM, UH, THEY DID A RESEARCH STUDY FOR THE HOUSING, AND I'LL SEND YOU BOTH.
AND, UM, THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN, DOES IT CALL FOR ALL OF THE HOUSING TO BE CONSTRUCTED WITHIN THE CITY OR NOT? I DON'T KNOW.
I'LL, I'LL TAKE A LOOK AND SEE, UM, IF SOME OF THE PIECES WILL ONLY JUST BE IN THE HOUSING, BUT I'M NOT SURE ON THAT.
SO THIS WILL COME BEFORE US ON JULY THE 30TH, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR.
I, WELL, ACTUALLY, ONE, ONE MORE QUESTION.
SO, UM, THE LGC WILL HAVE A BOARD, I ASSUME? YES, SIR.
AND WHO WILL, UM, PICK THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD? THE BOARD WILL BE, THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WILL BE MADE UP OF CITY AND, UM, COUNTY BOARD MEMBERS.
DO YOU, SO DO YOU REMEMBER THE BREAKDOWN, HOW MANY FOLKS TOTAL ON THE BOARD AND HOW MANY PICKED BY THE CITY? HOW MANY BY THE COUNTY? IT'LL BE THREE AND THREE.
UM, COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ HAS A QUESTION.
BEFORE WE DO THAT, RECOGNIZE STAFF FROM COUNCILWOMAN.
CAROLYN, EVAN SHABAZZ HAS JOINED US.
UH, SO FIRST I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, THANK YOU, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M, I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS TERMS AS IT WAS EX, UH, WHEN IT EX EXTENDED INTO DISTRICT I, AND WE STARTED SEEING SOME OF THESE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEN OF COURSE THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAVING THEIR FACILITY THAT'S THERE, UM, JUST, UH, EAST OF MILBY.
UM, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS THE, SO THE REASON FOR CREATING, UH, THE LGC IS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ISSUE DEBT, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
IS THERE A PROJECT PLAN OR SOME IDEA OF WHAT, WHAT THE DEBT WILL GO TO? UM, JUST WANTED MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU, YOU'RE CREATING ANOTHER ENTITY TO BE ABLE TO ISSUE DEBT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, UM, WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING SOME OF THE SAME WORK THAT'S BEING DONE RIGHT
[00:15:01]
NOW THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE TURS.UM, AND JUST WANT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SO ANY IDEA WHEN OR WHAT THE I, WHAT IT'LL BE WHEN, WHEN WE START SEEING WHAT THE PROJECT PLAN WILL BE? YES, SIR.
SO ON SLIDE FOUR, THERE'S A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT THE COUNTY SUBMITTED FOR THEIR 65, UH, MILLION DOLLARS DEBT AUTHORIZATION.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE PURSUING AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT.
IF THAT'S NOT CLEAR FOR, FOR EVERYONE, I CAN SEND YOU A, A LARGER PDF OF THAT.
I WAS READING THROUGH THEM, UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU PULLING IT BACK UP.
SO ITEMS LIKE NEED AN UNDERPASS, UH, GRADE SEPARATION, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY SUPPORTIVE OF.
AND I JUST, I GUESS, UH, IF YOU CAN JUST SEND A, A LARGER PRINT OF THAT, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, WE JUST WANNA, AGAIN, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS, AS WORK IS BEING DONE WITH THE, WITH THE TURS, THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING SOME OF THESE DOLLARS TO BE ABLE TO FULFILL, UH, IMPORTANT WORK IN, IN THE EAST END AREA, EASTWOOD SPECIFICALLY, UM, MOVING FORWARD AS WELL.
SO, AGAIN, APPRECIATE ALL YOUR WORK AND IN THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER MAR MARTINEZ, THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS.
IS THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? NOPE.
AND I DO NOT BELIEVE WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
ANY, ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS IN THE CHAMBER THAT HAVEN'T SIGNED UP? NOPE.