* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Economic Development Committee on October 30, 2025.] [00:00:11] IT'S 1102. I'M COUNCIL MEMBER FRED FLICKINGER, PRESIDING CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER, UH, WANT TO WELCOME EVERYBODY THAT'S IN ATTENDANCE TODAY. COUNCILMAN JULIA RAMIREZ IS HERE. AND WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCILWOMAN CAYMAN, COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON, COUNCILWOMAN THOMAS, AND THEN VICE MAYOR PECK'S OFFICE. COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ. AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLOS AND MAYOR CAST MAY, OH, I APOLOGIZE. AND ALSO MAYOR PROAM CASTEX TATUM. UH, THE MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND IS BEING HELD IN PERSON VIRTUALLY. WE ARE BROADCASTING VIA HOUSTON, HTV, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF. PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION AND OUR PRESIDENT OF 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. UH, ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTENDING VIRTUALLY, PLEASE USE THE CHAT POD IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS. UH, THERE IS ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY. IF THERE ARE ANY PUBLIC OR ANY, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKERS PRESENT HERE IN THE CHAMBER WHO WISH TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK, THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET AT THE FRONT OF THE 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 DEPARTMENT'S ENTITIES FOR RESPONSES. UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CURLEY, UH, FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WILL PRESENT ON THE FINANCIAL POLICIES. MS. CURLEY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. PLEASE PROCEED. UM, GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIR. COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. TODAY I'LL PRESENT AN UPDATE TO THE FINANCIAL POLICIES. AS YOU MAY BE AWARE, A 1987 ORDINANCE CODIFIED THE FINANCIAL POLICIES OF THE CITY. UPDATES TO THE POLICY ARE INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET ORDINANCE. FINANCIAL POLICIES IS AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK WHEREBY THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY CONTROLLER, FINANCE DIRECTOR, AND ALL DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS SHALL DEFINE AND ADHERE TO PRESENCE OF INTEGRITY, ETHICS, COMPETENCE, AND A POSITIVE INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE LOCATED IN THE BUDGET ORDINANCE UNDER SECTION M, LOCATE LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THANK YOU. I QUOTE AND I QUOTE, THE MAYOR'S DESIGNEE SHALL REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE DETAILING THE PROGRESS OF EACH ACTIVE PROJECT IN WHICH THE CITY HAS PROVIDED AN INCENTIVE THROUGH THE TAX ABATEMENT AND CHAPTER THREE 80 PROGRAMS. SUCH REPORTS SHALL BE PUBLISHED PROMINENTLY ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE WITHIN 30 CALENDAR DAYS OF PRESENTATION TO THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE. I WILL BEGIN WITH THE TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM, FOLLOWED BY THE CHAPTER THREE 80 PROGRAM. THIS PRESENTATION ALSO INCLUDES COMPANIES NOMINATED BY CITY COUNCIL TO THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE CITY'S TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1988, AND ITS PART OF CHAPTER 44. ARTICLE FOUR ARE THE CITY'S CODE OF ORDINANCES. THIS PROGRAM IS GUIDED BY STATE LAW, WHICH REQUIRES THAT THE TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA EXPIRE AFTER TWO YEARS AND LIMITS THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT TO 10 YEARS. THE MOST RECENT AMENDMENT TO THE GUIDELINES WAS IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE NEXT TWO SLIDES SHOW NINE ACTIVE TAX ABATEMENTS. THIS IS THE LAST YEAR FOR ENERGY PROPERTY PARTNERS, UPS, AND THE KROGER COMPANY. YOU WON'T SEE THESE ON NEXT YEAR'S REPORT AS THE TERMS END THIS YEAR. M-C-O-P-L-L-C IS SHOWN HERE. I'M SORRY. NEXT SLIDE. M-C-O-P-L-L-C IS SHOWN HERE, BUT THEY WERE INELIGIBLE FOR TAX ABATEMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE 38 JOBS, BUT 21 OF THOSE JOBS ARE CONTRACT. BOTH SKANSKA [00:05:01] AND PLEXI EXCHANGE ARE LEAD ABATEMENTS. INTEGRA MISSION CONTROL, UH, SORRY. INTEGRA MISSION CRITICAL PRESENTED AN UPDATE TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IN SEPTEMBER, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE ECONOMIC EV VALUE OF THE PROJECT AS MEASURED BY MARKET VALUE AT THE TIME THE AGREEMENT WAS EXECUTED. THAT'S THE FIRST COLUMN. THE SECOND COLUMN NEXT TO IT COMPARES, UM, THE ECONOMIC VALUE AT THE TIME THAT WE TIME WE EXECUTED THE AGREEMENT VERSUS WHERE THE PARTICULAR PROJECT STANDS CURRENTLY. SO THE VALUE IS BASICALLY SHOWING THE YEAR TO DATE PLUS A, A PROJECTION OF HOW MANY YEARS THE PROJECT HAS LESSER. FOR EXAMPLE, ON CULLEN'S PROJECT, THEY HAVE ONE MORE YEAR. THAT'S THE, THE AMOUNT THAT'S SHOWN AT 48.2 MILLION IS YEAR TO DATE, PLUS ONE MORE YEAR WORTH, WORTH OF PROJECTED VALUE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. CHAPTER THREE. THE CHAPTER THREE 80 PROGRAM WAS CREATED BY ORDINANCE 1999 DASH 74, AND IT HAS BEEN USED TO REIMBURSE FOR PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE OR TO LEVERAGE THE STATE'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. THE PROJECTS ONLY RECOVERS IF IT'S PERFORMED AS PLANNED. TYPICALLY, IT'S REIMBURSED BY ITS OWN INCREMENTAL GROWTH. THE DEVELOPER ASSUMES THE RISK IF THEY FAIL TO BUILD THE PROJECT. ANY PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE BUILT AS PART OF THE PROJECT BECOMES A CITY OWNED ASSET. TYPICALLY, WE USE THREE 80 PROGRAMS TO INCENTIVIZE JOB CREATION OR PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE SPACE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS SLIDE REFLECTS THE CURRENT ACTIVE LIST OF THREE 80 PROGRAMS. THESE AGREEMENTS HAVE NOT REACHED THE END OF THEIR TERM WITH THAT. UM, WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY PAYING A REIMBURSEMENT FOR CENTER POINT HOTELS CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL, AND, UM, WI EIGHT WOIH PARTNERS BECAUSE WE, THEY HAVE NOT SUBMITTED THE DOCUMENTS TO BE REIMBURSED. WESTHEIMER RANCH AND WOLF MEOW WOLF ARE PENDING AS THEY ARE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF SUBMITTING INFORMATION FOR US TO REIMBURSE THEM. AS YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST, OMB, UM, RECEIVE THEIR FINAL PAYMENT IN JULY, SO THEY WON'T BE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT NEXT YEAR. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AS THE PROGRAM HAS EVOLVED, WE BEGAN INCLUDING COMMUNITY BENEFITS INTO THE AGREEMENT, AND THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS THOSE BENEFITS FEATURED IN THE WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL AGREEMENT, WESTHEIMER RANCH AND MEOW MEOW WOLF AGREEMENTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS. IT IS DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE PRIVATE INVESTMENT AND JOB CREATION IN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREAS OF TEXAS THROUGH STATE SALES AND USE TAX REFUNDS AND OTHER INCENTIVES. AS YOU MAY BE AWARE, THE AWARD IS BASED ON THE COMPANY'S PLAN, CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND JOB CREATION AND OR RETENTION. AT THE QUALIFIED BUSINESS SITE, THE COMPANY'S APPROVED FOR ENTERPRISE ZONE DESIGNATIONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR REFUNDS ON THE OF THE STATE SALES AND USE TAXES THEY HAVE PAID DURING THE DESIGNATION PERIOD ON QUALIFIED EXPENDITURES UP TO THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE REFUND. THE CITY OF HOUSTON, LIKE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, ITS SIZE IS ALL, IS ALLOTTED NINE NOMINATIONS PER BIENNIUM. THE NOMINATIONS DO NOT REQUIRE ANY FUNDING FROM THE CITY. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HARRIS COUNTY CAN ONLY NOMINATE A PROJECT THROUGH AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS LOCATED. SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SLIDES 13 AND 14 REFLECT A LIST OF THE NOMINATIONS THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS APPROVED SINCE FISCAL YEAR 2020. UM, UNITED AIRLINES AND POWELL ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT NEXT YEAR. UM, THIS IS THE END OF MY PRESENTATION. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCILMAN? THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ. [00:10:02] THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU, UH, JENNIFER, FOR THE PRESENTATION. I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM IN GENERAL. UM, HOW DO YOU ALL EVALUATE WHETHER OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, UM, A TAX ABATEMENT BE AGREED TO, UM, WHEN Y'ALL GET THESE APPLICATIONS, ANDREW? SURE. WE HAVE AN EVALUATION PROCESS, UM, INTERNALLY WHERE WE LOOK AT THEIR, UM, INVESTMENT AMOUNT AND WHETHER OR NOT, UM, IT, IT MEETS OUR ORDINANCE CRITERIA. SO THERE'S, EACH TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM, UM, IS DEFINED BY ORDINANCE ON WHAT'S ELIGIBLE FOR A PROJECT, UM, AND THEN OF THOSE COSTS, UM, IF, IF IT PROJECTS OUT TO BE, UM, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE ULTIMATELY WORTHWHILE. SO THEN IT'S A NEGOTIATION THEN WITH THE, WITH THE COMPANY FROM THERE. SO YOU JUST LOOK TO SEE IF THE, UH, NUMBERS IN THE APPLICATION MATCH WHAT IS REQUIRED BY THE ORDINANCE. YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE FIRST THRESHOLD THERE. AND THEN FROM THERE IT'S LIKE, DOES THIS ALIGN WITH THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES? DOES THIS ALIGN WITH, UM, THE, UM, ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT WE WANT TO SEE? ARE THERE ANY INTERNAL CRITERIA, UH, THAT YOU ALL USE ASIDE FROM WHAT YOU'VE JUST SAID? OR IS THAT IT? IT'S, IT'S MOSTLY THE, THE ORDINANCE IS, IS WHAT GUIDES US AND THEN, AND THEN ALL OF THE, ALL OF THESE PROPOSALS, ONCE THEY REVIEW, ONCE WE DO THE EVALUATION WITH THEM, WE ALSO, UH, MEET WITH THE MAYOR AND THEN, UM, WITH HIS APPROVAL, WE MOVE FORWARD TO PRESENTING. AND WHAT, WHAT SORT OF NUMBERS IS THE COMPANY SEEKING BANK REQUIRED PUBLIC SPEAKING FOR WHAT? REQUIRED TO, UH, WITH MAIL PRO TEMP TODAY? LIKE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, UH, PUBLIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SAY THAT AGAIN. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. YEAH, YOU CAN JUST STAND BY. THEY KNOW YOU THERE. OH, THEY DO? OH, I DIDN'T KNOW. I WAS JUST LIKE, UM, YEP, THEY KNOW YOU THERE. THEY CAN SEE YOU. OKAY. ALRIGHT. TAKE CARE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. YOU'RE WELCOME. BYE-BYE. BYE. WHAT, WHAT SORT OF, WHAT SORT OF NUMBERS IS THE COMPANY REQUIRED TO PRESENT IN ITS APPLICATION? SURE. SO THERE'S, UM, WHAT THE PROJECT COSTS ARE GOING TO BE, UM, WHETHER THAT'S THE HARD PROJECT COSTS FOR EITHER MACHINERY EQUIPMENT OR BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS, THOSE SORT OF THINGS. THE NUMBER OF JOBS THAT THEY MIGHT BE, UH, UH, CREATING OR RETAINING. UM, THAT'S, UH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL REALLY. THOSE, THOSE CATEGORIES. DO, DO WE DO ANY SORT OF ANALYSIS OR CHECKING TO, TO, UH, ENSURE THE ACCURACY OF THOSE NUMBERS THAT THEY SUBMIT OR WE JUST TAKE, UH, TAKE IT AT FACE VALUE? WE DO. WE, UM, WE INTERVIEW WITH THE COMPANY, BUT THE THING IS, UM, THEIR INVESTMENT AMOUNT IS ULTIMATELY THEIR, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO REPORT TO US. WE, WE CAN'T REALLY DO A DUE DILIGENCE ON WHAT A COMPANY'S GOING TO SAY THEY'RE GOING TO INVEST IN A PROPERTY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. WE, WE CAN'T DO D DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT, UH, THAT, THAT THEY'RE BEING TRUTHFUL WITH US. WELL, THE, THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU SAY, SAY WE HAVE A COMPANY COMING IN AND THEY WANT TO BUILD A MANUFACTURING FACILITY. IF THEY TELL US THAT THEY PLAN TO INVEST $50 MILLION INTO A MANUFACTURING FACILITY FOR TO, TO BUILD A BUNCH OF WIDGETS AND CREATE A HUNDRED JOBS, WE HOLD THEM TO THAT THROUGH THE TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT. SO IF THEY DON'T PERFORM, THEN THEY DON'T GET AS MUCH OF AN ABATEMENT. BUT WE CAN'T SAY TO A COMPANY IF THEY WANT TO BUILD IN HOUSTON AND HAVE A $50 MILLION PROJECT, LIKE FROM OUR END, HOW DO WE EVEN AUDIT THEIR OWN COMPANY TO SAY, OH, WELL, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO INVEST THIS MUCH. YOU KNOW, SO IT, AS A PRIVATE COMPANY, THEY HAVE THE, THE RIGHT TO SAY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO PLAN TO INVEST THIS MUCH. AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY END UP INVESTING MORE THAN WHAT, UM, THEY ORIGINALLY APPLIED FOR, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS, IS GREAT FOR, FOR HOUSTON. IT SEEMS TO ME WE SHOULD HAVE A MORE RIGOROUS PROCESS. 'CAUSE THE, THE TAX ABATEMENTS ARE QUITE VALUABLE TO THESE COMPANIES. UM, AND IF WE'RE TAKING THE POSITION, THERE'S NOT MUCH WE CAN DO OTHER THAN TO TAKE THEIR FIGURES AT FACE VALUE. I'M NOT SURE THAT'S A WISE, WISE USE OF, OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES. I MEAN, THE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE TAX ABATEMENT, UH, PROJECTS, UM, INDICATE THE COMPANY WOULD HAVE MADE THE INVESTMENT, [00:15:01] UH, ANYWAY, REGARDLESS OF THE, THE ABATEMENT. AND SO THEY'RE GETTING, ESSENTIALLY GETTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. BUT I, I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL COME UP WITH SOME HARD CRITERIA TO EVALUATE THESE, THESE APPLICATIONS GOING FORWARD. LET ME ASK YOU AS WELL ABOUT, UM, COUPLE OF YOUR SLIDES. UM, LOOKING AT COMPLIANCE UPDATE, TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT, LET'S SEE WHICH NUMBER OR PAGE NUMBER, THIS IS SLIDE SIX. TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE NUMBERS. SO IF YOU LOOK AT SH APARTMENTS, YOU GO TO THE FAR RIGHT, UH, THE LAST TWO COLUMNS ARE NEW JOBS SLASH RETAIN JOBS COMMITTED. AND THEN THE NEXT COLUMN OVER IS NEW JOBS SLASH RETAINED JOBS. ACTUAL, SO THE COLUMN NEW JOBS RETAINED OR NEW JOBS SLASH RETAINED JOBS COMMITTED. WHAT, WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN EXACTLY? SO WHAT'S THAT, THAT, WHAT THAT IS REFERRING TO IS IF IN THEIR AGREEMENT THEY HAVE AGREED TO EITHER ADD NEW JOBS AND OR RETAIN JOBS, AND THAT IS A PART OF THE AGREEMENT, UM, THEN WE'RE REPORTING THE ACTUAL JOBS IN THAT FAR, FAR RIGHT COLUMN. AND SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE ON KROGER, THEY'RE SHORT OF THE JOBS THAT THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD HAVE. AND SO THEIR REIMBURSEMENT WAS REDUCED BY THAT NUMBER. SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, HOW WE CALCULATED THE REIMBURSEMENT IS WE TOOK 1 59 OVER ONE 70, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT 94%. SO THEY ONLY RECEIVED ABOUT 95, 90 4% OF THEIR REIMBURSEMENT THIS YEAR. SO, SO ON THE, OKAY. LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A DIFFERENT SLIDE UP. I'M SORRY. UM, LET'S SEE. UM, I HAVE IT AS SLIDE SIX. WHAT'S THE TITLE ACROSS THE TOP, SIR? COMPLIANCE UPDATE, TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS. OH, OKAY. SOME, SOME OF THESE HAVE THE SAME TITLE. AND SIR, WHICH ONE WERE YOU? SO YOU WERE LOOKING AT NEW JOBS, RETAINED JOBS, COMMITTED THIS, AND THEN NEW JOBS, RETAINED JOBS, ACTUAL RIGHT. OKAY. SO IN THE AGREEMENT, AND JUST KIND OF BACK UP TO, UM, SOME OF THE CONVERSATION YOU HAD WITH, UM, ANDREW. SO THE COMPANY'S WERE, UM, FILE A REPORT TO, UM, TO HCAD. AND THE NUMBERS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT ARE COMING FROM THAT REPORT THAT THEY CERTIFIED AND SUBMITTED TO HCA. SO THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT AS WELL AS THE JOBS ARE TAKEN FROM THAT PARTICULAR REPORT. AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE GETTING THE INFORMATION WITH REGARD TO WHETHER OR NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE AGREEMENT THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE GONNA INVEST 145 MILLION. WELL, IN THE REPORTING THAT THEY'RE SUBMITTING TO A, UH, TO, UM, HCAD, THEY'RE SHOWING THAT THEIR INVESTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH ENERGY, UH, PROPERTY PARTNERS, THAT INVESTMENT AMOUNT IS 154 MILLION. AND THEN THEY'RE GOING ALONG AND SAYING, OKAY, HOW MANY JOBS DID THE AGREEMENT REQUIRE US TO HAVE? AND IN THIS PARTICULAR, UM, INSTANCE FOR ENERGY PROPERTY PARTNERS, THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE GOING TO RETAIN 2,700 POSITIONS. WELL, IN ACTUALITY, THEY RETAINED AND OBVIOUSLY HIRED 5,565 POSITIONS. SO THAT'S HOW TO READ THAT. UH, THIS PARTICULAR, SORRY, IN THIS PARTICULAR AGREEMENT, ENERGY PROPERTY PARTNERS, THEY DIDN'T, UM, THEY DIDN'T SPECIFY NEW JOBS. WHAT THEY DID WAS SPECIFY RETAIN JOBS. SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW, IN THAT PARTICULAR INSTANCE, THAT'S HOW TO READ ENERGY PROPERTY PARTNERS. BUT IN THE OTHER, UM, THE OTHER LINEUPS THEY DID, THEY SAID, FOR EXAMPLE, THE KROGER COMPANY SAID THAT THEY WOULD CREATE 15 NEW JOBS AND RETAIN 300 JOBS, WHEREAS THEY ACTUALLY CREATED 35 JOBS AND THEY RETAINED 300 JOBS. OKAY. AND SO BELOW CULLEN SH APARTMENTS? THAT'S CORRECT. THEY COMMITTED TO CREATE FIVE NEW JOBS, DID NOT COMMIT TO RETAIN ANY JOBS. AND THEN IN ACTUALITY, THEY CREATED ZERO NEW JOBS, BUT RETAINED EIGHT JOBS. THAT'S CORRECT. SO THAT'S ON THE LATEST REPORTING. SO IF YOU LOOKED AT THE REPORTINGS FOR PRIOR YEARS, THEY ADDED EMPLOYEES. SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO REPORT HERE IS BASICALLY, UM, THE INFORMATION THEY SUBMITTED TO, UM, [00:20:01] CA AND WE GOT A COPY OF THE REPORT ON THE REPORT, IT JUST WILL SHOW THAT THEY RETAINED EIGHT JOB. THEY, THEY HAVE RETAINED A JOB. SO, BUT DIDN'T, DIDN'T CREATE ANY NEW JOBS. NOT THIS YEAR. WELL, HOW, HOW MANY JOBS DID THEY HAVE TO BEGIN WITH? I'D HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE REPORTING TO SEE WHAT THAT WAS. OKAY. UM, MAYBE I'M ALONE IN, IN LOOKING AT THOSE TWO COLUMNS, BUT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING TO ME. UM, LET ME ASK YOU AS WELL YEAH. ABOUT YOUR SLIDES ON, UM, THE CHAPTER THREE 80 AGREEMENTS. AND I AM LOOKING AT, LET'S SEE, SLIDE 11, DEALING WITH THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT ON, UM, THE, THE, THE TOP LINE WOIH PARTNERS. IS IT THAT'S THE, UH, THAT'S THE MUSIC VENUE? YES. THAT'S WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL, WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL. OKAY. UM, COMMUNITY BENEFITS, COMMITTED FREE PUBLIC PARKING AVAILABILITY. WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO ON THEIR PARTICULAR, UM, AT THEIR VENUE SITE, UM, THERE IS MULTIPLE PARKING, UM, LOTS THAT ARE AROUND THAT VENDOR AND AROUND THAT, AROUND THEIR PROJECT SITE. AND SO PART OF THE AGREEMENT IS THEY ALLOW FOR PUBLIC PARKING ON THOSE PARTICULAR SITES. UM, AND HOW THEY DEMONSTRATE THAT IS THAT THEY HAVE A SIGN THAT SAYS PUBLIC PARKING AVAILABLE. OKAY. SO THEY, THEY ALLOW FREE PUBLIC PARKING? THAT'S CORRECT. NOT ONLY DURING THE EVENTS, BUT JUST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, WHEN THEY'RE NOT HAVING EVENTS. OKAY. AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY SPACES THEY COMMITTED TO MAKE AVAILABLE? IT SEEMS LIKE, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, PARKING WAS AN ISSUE WHEN THEY HELD HOLD THEIR, YES. THEIR EVENTS THERE. UM, LET, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT NUMBER OFFHAND, BUT I CAN, I CAN REPORT TELL YOU THAT THOSE PARKING AREAS ARE GRAVEL LOTS, SO THERE'S NO SPACE MARKERS, BUT WE COULD PROBABLY REACH OUT TO SEE HOW ABOUT HOW MANY CARS FIT IN THAT AREA. BUT, BUT THEY'RE NOT PAINTED SPACES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS KIND OF FOLLOWING UP ON SOME OF JULIAN'S. UM, I MEAN, I THINK THESE INCENTIVES ARE FANTASTIC WHEN THEY INCENTIVIZE COMPANIES TO DO SOMETHING THEY WOULDN'T DO OTHERWISE. I GUESS THE DIFFICULTY IS MEASURING, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY WOULD'VE DONE ANYWAY VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY DO. UM, NOW FOR THE JOBS, DID I HEAR CORRECTLY THAT WE'RE GETTING DATA FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT? THERE'S A REPORT THAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TO THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT THAT WE GET A COPY OF IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THEIR ABILITY TO GET THE ABATEMENT. OKAY. SO WE'RE TAKING THE INFORMATION OFF THAT, THAT REQUIREMENT FOR THE, THE, UM, APPRAISAL DISTRICT, AND WE'RE PUTTING IT IN THIS REPORT THAT WE'RE SUBMITTING TO COUNSEL. OKAY. AND I, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT REPORT. IS THAT ONLY REPORTING THAT'S DONE FOR SOMEONE THAT IS APPLIED FOR THESE INCENTIVES? THAT IS ACTUALLY RECEIVING IT, ACTUALLY RECEIVING THE ABATEMENT. OKAY. SO THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THESE PEOPLE, NOT SOMETHING THAT THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT COLLECTS FROM EVERYBODY? NO, BECAUSE THEY, SO THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT, HOW IT WORKS, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT IT INTO THEIR SYSTEM, WHAT THE EXEMPTION IS. AND SO TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT HOW MUCH THE EXEMPTION'S GONNA BE, THEY NEED TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION FROM THE COMPANY. OKAY. JUST A AND THEY NEED US TO VERIFY THAT THAT'S CORRECT AS WELL. SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE A TWO-PRONG SYSTEM THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IT, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SUBMITTING A REPORT. OKAY. JUST A SUGGESTION. UM, I WOULD THINK THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO USE TOTAL PAYROLL AS, UH, THE BENCHMARK AND, YOU KNOW, MY PAYROLL IS X TODAY, I'M GOING TO ADD 30% TO THAT PAYROLL OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. UM, YOU KNOW, WITH FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH THEY'VE ACTUALLY ADDED OR HAVEN'T ADDED. I MEAN, TO YOUR POINT, WHAT A CUSTOMER OR WHAT A, SOMEONE APPLYING FOR THIS ABATEMENT SAYS THEY'RE GOING TO INVEST IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE PRIOR TO THEM ACTUALLY INVESTING IT RIGHT AFTER THEY'VE INVESTED IT. WE CAN GET INVOICES [00:25:01] OR WHATNOT AND SAY, YES, YOU DIDN'T ACTUALLY INVEST THIS MUCH. AND I THINK IT'S THE SAME WAY WITH KIND OF RETAINED EMPLOYEES. UM, I THINK RETAINED EMPLOYEES IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCERN WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE GONNA RETAIN THOSE EMPLOYEES ANYWAY, OR WHETHER OR NOT THE ONES LEFT. UH, SO I MEAN, I THINK IF WE DID TOTAL PAYROLL, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND, UH, I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY TRY AND SHY AWAY FROM RETAINING EMPLOYEES RATHER THAN JUST SIMPLY GROWING YOUR PAYROLL. UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD, THE KROGER MM-HMM . ONE. DO YOU KNOW OFFHAND WHAT THE KROGER, UH, INCENTIVE WAS, WAS FOR? WHAT DID THEY DO THAT? SO THERE WAS PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS MADE ON THAT SIDE. THIS IS THE STUDENT MOCK KROGER, UM, ACROSS FROM, UH, UM, ACROSS FROM, UM, IT, WHAT'S THAT OLD, UM, THERE'S A SUPPLY SHOP OVER THERE, BUT IT'S, UM, MONT AND I 10 IS THAT KROGER OVER IN THAT LOCATION. AND SO WHAT THEY DID, THAT PARTICULAR SITE, THAT SITE WAS BLIGHTED BEFORE THEY BUILT THAT PARTICULAR KROGER. SO WE, THEY PUT IN SIDEWALKS AND SOME PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. AND SO THAT'S IN A LIGHT, I BELIEVE, AT THAT INTERSECTION. SO THOSE ARE THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY'RE, THAT WE ARE REIMBURSING THEM FOR. AND WE'RE ALMOST DONE WITH THAT. WE'RE REIMBURSING THEM. OKAY. SO ESSENTIALLY THEY MADE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE ENTIRE PUBLIC? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. TERRIFIC. THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN THEY WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE A HUNDRED, UM, HAVE 170 EMPLOYEES ON THAT PARTICULAR SITE. OKAY. AND SO WE DO IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE, HAVE THE PAYROLL. WE DON'T HAVE THE PAYROLL REPORT. WE HAVE A PAYROLL LISTING THAT THEY GIVE US EVERY YEAR. OKAY. THAT'S HOW I KNOW IT'S 1 59. TERRIFIC. THAT'S PERFECT. THANK YOU. AND DO WE HAVE ONE IN THE QUEUE FOR THE PUBLIC? OH, WE STILL HAVE SENIOR ONE. OH, I'M SORRY. . THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME, . OKAY. UH, SENIOR STAFF ANALYST, ANDREW BUSKER, WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WILL PRESENT ON THE INCENTIVE PROPOSAL FOR OWENS CORNING ROOFING AND ASPHALT. MR. BUSKER, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. PLEASE PROCEED. OF COURSE. OKAY. UM, OKAY. OUR SCREEN UPDATED HERE. HOLD ON. WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. UM, SO THERE'S, I'M COVERING TWO, UM, INCENTIVE PROGRAMS WITHIN THIS ONE PRESENTATION, BUT ALL OF IT IS RELATED TO OWNS CORNING. UM, SO LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION OUTLINE, FIRST I'LL TALK ABOUT THE TAX ABATEMENT PROPOSAL, THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT TEXAS ENTERPRISE ZONE, AND AT THE END, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE QUESTIONS. UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, IF YOU'RE UNFAMILIAR WITH OWENS CORNING, THEY ARE A FORTUNE 500 COMPANY, UH, WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR PINK, UM, UH, INSULATION. UM, AND SO THEY HAVE, YOU'VE SEEN MANY COMMERCIALS PROBABLY GROWING UP ABOUT THE, UH, PINK PANTHER AND OWENS CORNING'S, UM, COMMERCIALS IN THERE. THEY'RE HEADQUARTERED IN TOLEDO, UM, BUT THEY HAVE TOO MANUFACTURING SITES IN TEXAS. ONE IS, ONE IS IN HOUSTON. UM, THE COMPANY IS INTERESTED IN, UM, DOING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT IN THIS FACILITY HERE THAT HASN'T SEEN INVESTMENT IN WELL OVER A DECADE. AND SO THEY'VE GOT, UM, A NEW ROOFING MATERIAL THAT THEY PLAN TO BRING FROM OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY INTO THE US. IT'LL BE THE FIRST TIME IT'S EVER PRODUCED IN THE US AND IT'S USING NEWER TECHNOLOGY. UM, AND FOR THEM TO DO THAT, THEY'RE CREATING A WHOLE NEW PRODUCT LINE AT THIS FACILITY. UM, AND WHICH REQUIRES, YOU KNOW, AN EXPANSION OF MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT, AND JOB CREATION, THAT SORT OF THING. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OWENS CORNING FOR, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS, UH, TIMELINE FOR OVER A YEAR NOW ON THIS PROJECT. SO WE'RE HAPPY TO FINALLY BRING IT TO YOU ALL TO, TO TALK ABOUT IT. UM, SO WE WERE FIRST, UH, INTRODUCED TO THIS PROJECT THROUGH THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP. WE MET WITH THEM IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR. UM, THE COMPANY QUICKLY FILLED OUT A TAX ABATEMENT APPLICATION, UM, FOR US, AND WE WENT THROUGH THAT REVIEW PROCESS. UM, DURING THAT REVIEW PROCESS, UM, THE COMPANY DECIDED TO APPLY FOR THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND PROGRAM, WHICH IS A STATE PROGRAM. UM, IT'S ALSO PRETTY LABOR INTENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING FOR THE COMPANY AND THE, THE STATE SIDE. SO, UH, BECAUSE OF IT BEING A, A STATE PROGRAM THAT IMPACTS US, WE PAUSED ANY PROCESS ON THE TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM UNTIL THE TEF STUFF WAS RESOLVED. SO IN JULY, UM, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AWARDED THE COMPANY A TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND AWARD, UM, WHICH THEN ALLOWED US TO START MOVING FORWARD WITH THE TAX ABANDONMENT, UH, PROCESS ON, ON OUR END. UM, AND SO WE'RE HERE TODAY THEN TO, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE, THE LOCAL INCENTIVE, UM, REQUIREMENT OF THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. OKAY. SO HERE'S MORE INFORMATION ABOUT [00:30:01] THE, UH, PROJECT ITSELF. SO IT'S LOCATED AT, UH, 83 60 MARKET STREET, UM, WHICH IS IN DISTRICT B. UM, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THEY'RE ADDING A PRODUCT LINE. UM, THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT IS ABOUT $39 MILLION. UM, THAT'S INCLUDING SITE IMPROVEMENTS. THE MACHINE UNIT EQUIPMENT, UM, ABOUT, I WANNA SAY 33 MILLION OF THAT INVESTMENT IS NEW MACHINE UNIT EQUIPMENT THAT'S GONNA BE BROUGHT INTO THE FACILITY. UM, THERE'S, UM, 105 JOBS RETAINED, SO PLEASE FORGIVE THE, THE TYPO. THE CHART ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE IS ACCURATE. UM, SO 105 JOBS, UM, THAT ARE BEING RETAINED. BUT OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT, UH, THREE YEARS OR SO, THEY'LL BE, UM, CREATING 75 JOBS AS THAT, UM, MANUFACTURING LINE, UH, GETS UP AND RUNNING. SO, UM, OWENS CORNING HAS THREE, UH, MANUFACTURING FACILITIES THAT FUNCTION THE SAME ACROSS THE NATION. AND SO HOUSTON IS ONE OF THOSE. THE OTHER TWO FACILITIES THAT COULD HAVE TAKEN THIS INVESTMENT ARE IN, UH, AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA OR FORT SMITH, UM, ARKANSAS. SO, UH, OWENS CORNING WAS LOOKING AT PUTTING THIS INVESTMENT IN ONE OF THOSE THREE FACILITIES. AND SO THE, THE ABATEMENT ORIGINALLY WAS FOR US TO LOOK AT, UM, ENCOURAGING THEM TO INVEST IN HOUSTON RATHER THAN ONE OF THESE OTHER TWO LOCATIONS. UM, AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE, UM, THE BOTTOM CHART ON THE RIGHT HAND SLIDE, THE, UM, STATE INCENTIVE FROM THE, UM, TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND WAS A SIGNIFICANT HELP IN, UM, BRINGING THIS INVESTMENT TO HOUSTON. SO THE TAX AGREEMENT HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE NEW JOBS CREATED, IT'S A, UM, WHAT THAT RAMP UP COST WOULD BE FOR THE COMPANY, UM, AND HOW MUCH WE COULD, UM, HELP OFFSET THOSE RAMP UP COSTS FOR THEM TO COME HERE TO BE MORE OF A BREAK EVEN FOR THE COMPANY TO CONSIDER HOUSTON A MORE EXPENSIVE LABOR MARKET COMPARED TO THESE OTHER TWO LOCATIONS WHICH HAVE A LOWER LABOR COST. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, UH, THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE MAYOR'S, UH, PRIORITIES, UH, FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS. FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, THIS IS NEW, INNOVATIVE, UM, ROOFING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE BEING, UM, UM, MANUFACTURED. SO THIS, THIS IS ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, SO THAT FITS WITH OUR TIER ONE CITYWIDE INDUSTRY PRIORITIES. UM, ON TOP OF IT, UM, THE LOCATION OF THIS FACILITY IS IN AN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY, WHICH, UM, GENERATING THESE, UM, JOBS IN THAT AREA IS, IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, TO LOOK FOR, UM, IN, IN OUR OFFICE. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT ONE AS WELL, UM, THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND REQUIRES SOME LOCAL INCENTIVE. AND SO TAX ABATEMENT FOR US IS THE MOST, UM, PRACTICAL WAY TO OFFER THAT LOCAL INCENTIVE FOR THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND. UM, AND SO THOSE ARE REALLY THE THREE MAIN REASONS WHY WE ARE RECOMMENDING THIS PROJECT. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, LOOKING AT THE, UM, ABATEMENT ITSELF, IT'S, UH, ROOTED IN, UM, ORDINANCE 2024 DASH 6 24, WHICH IS THE MOST RECENT RENEWAL OF OUR TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE, WHICH YOU ALL APPROVED LAST YEAR. UM, WE'VE GOT FIVE ACTIVE TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAMS CURRENTLY, AND THIS ONE FALLS UNDER THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ABATEMENT BUCKET. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, TO COVER THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, TAX ABATEMENT, UH, REAL QUICK, IT'S GOTTA PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO THE CITY, AT LEAST $1 MILLION IN INCREASE IN PROPERTY VALUE. UM, THE PROJECT WILL CREATE, RETAIN OR PREVENT THE LOSS OF PERMANENT JOBS. UM, AND THEN IF IT MEETS THOSE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, UM, THE ABATEMENT COULD BE UP TO 90% ON, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT, UM, THINGS AS LONG AS THEY'RE ELIGIBLE COSTS. AND, AND THEN PER OUR, UM, ORDINANCE FOR OUR TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE, UM, THESE PROJECTS ALSO HAVE TO REQUIRE SOME AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY BENEFITS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO HERE IS A VIEW OF THE PROPERTY. UH, THE BUILDING IS REALLY THE, THE LONG RECTANGULAR, UM, STRUCTURE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE. AND THEN THEY HAVE SOME, UM, OUTSIDE STORAGE AND SOME OTHER MACHINING EQUIPMENT THAT TAKES PLACE OUTSIDE OF THAT BUILDING. THE TAX ABATEMENT WOULD COVER ONLY THE [00:35:01] COMPANY'S PARCEL AND, UH, NOTHING ELSE. UM, YOU CAN SEE ON THE, THE SMALLER MAP CORNER ON THE RIGHT, UM, HAND CORNER THAT IT'S ON. UM, IT'S IN DISTRICT B ON THE EDGE OF DISTRICT B AND DISTRICT H. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, LOOKING AT THE, UH, ABATEMENT ITSELF, WE'RE EXPECTING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE ABATEMENT, WHICH WOULD BE THE YEAR THAT THE ABATEMENT, UM, IS, BECOMES ACTIVE. AND THE COMPANY WOULD START SEEING IT ON THEIR TAX ROLL WOULD BE JANUARY 1ST, 2027. THE, UM, ELIGIBLE COSTS BASED ON, UM, THEIR INVESTMENT AMOUNTS. WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, UM, LITTLE OVER 31 AND A HALF MILLION IS GOING INTO MACHINERY EQUIPMENT. UH, ALMOST TWO AND A HALF MILLION IS GOING INTO BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS AND SITE IMPROVEMENTS. UM, THE TOTAL ABATEMENT AMOUNT THAT THEY'D BE ELIGIBLE FOR IS ABOUT THREE POINT, OR, SORRY, $1.36 MILLION. UM, BUT THEY HAVE 10 YEARS TO, TO GET THAT. SO IF MORE INVESTMENT HAPPENS, UM, THEY COULD REACH THAT 1.36 FASTER THAN THE 10 YEARS. BUT ONCE THEY HIT THE THREE POINT, THE 1.36, THE ABATEMENT ENDS, UH, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S TOOK THEM 10 YEARS TO DO THAT, OR THREE YEARS TO DO THAT. UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. HERE'S OUR PROJECTION FOR, UM, THE, UM, 10 YEAR ABATEMENT PERIOD. UM, WE SEE THE, RIGHT NOW, BASED ON THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT AND CURRENT PROPERTY VALUES, WE'RE ANTICIPATING, UM, THAT OVER 10 YEARS, THE COMPANY, UM, WOULD GET MAYBE ABOUT 1.22 MILLION IN, UM, AN ABATEMENT. SO THERE'S A CHANCE THAT THEY MAY NOT HIT THEIR ENTIRE ELIGIBLE COST. UM, BUT IF MORE INVESTMENT HAPPENS OR SOMETHING, OR PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES FASTER THAN OUR PROJECTION, UM, THEY COULD HIT THEIR 1.36, UM, CAP FOR, FOR ABATEMENT. OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO FOR THE, UH, TIMELINE FOR THIS, UH, THANK YOU ALL LAST WEEK FOR, UM, APPROVING THE MOTION TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS. SO THEN, UM, NOVEMBER 12TH WILL BE THE PUBLIC HEARING WHERE, UH, WE'LL, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, PROGRAM AGAIN IN A LARGER OPEN FORUM. UM, THEN THE TWO ORDINANCES REQUIRED FOR TAX ABATEMENTS, UM, ONE IS TO CREATE THE REINVESTMENT ZONE. THE SECOND IS TO VOTE ON THE ACTUAL AGREEMENT ITSELF. THOSE TWO ORDINANCES WILL BE ON THE DECEMBER 3RD MEETING. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THEN MOVING ON TO THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE, UH, ZONE. SO THERE'S A NEW ROUND OF, UM, APPLICATIONS DUE TO THE STATE FOR DECEMBER 1ST. AND SO THIS IS A QUARTERLY ROLLING APPLICATION PROCESS. UM, SO DECEMBER 1ST IS THE NEXT ROUND COMING UP. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THERE'S, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT, UM, PROJECT CATEGORIES THAT THE STATE USES FOR THIS PROGRAM. UM, OWNS CORNING IS APPLYING FOR THE ENTERPRISE, UH, CATEGORY FOR THIS PROGRAM, WHICH IS LOOKING AT 500 TOTAL NEW AND RETAINED. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO A QUICK SUMMARY. THIS IS INFORMATION JENNIFER ALSO HIGHLIGHTED IN THE FINANCIAL POLICIES. UM, BUT WE ARE ALLOTTED NINE NOMINATIONS PER EACH STATE BIENNIUM. UM, THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST NOMINATION OUT OF THE NINE THAT WE HAVE FOR THE BIENNIUM. UM, DECEMBER 1ST IS THE SECOND ROUND IN THIS, UM, NOMINATION CYCLE. SO WE'LL HAVE SIX MORE, UM, FOLLOWING TO, TO USE, UM, THE REST OF THOSE NOMINATIONS IF WE SO CHOOSE. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO HERE'S ANOTHER MAP OF THE PROJECT SITE JUST WITH A LARGER CONTEXT OF, UM, THE ENTERPRISE ZONES. UM, SO IT IS CURRENTLY LOCATED IN AN ENTERPRISE ZONE, WHICH MEANS THAT, UM, THE CENSUS BLOCK GROUP HAS, UM, 20% OR MORE FOR, UM, DESIGNATED POVERTY BASED ON, UM, CENSUS DATA. SO AGAIN, UH, RETAINING 105 JOBS, CREATING 75 JOBS, $39 MILLION INVESTMENT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE TIMELINE FOR THE, UM, ENTERPRISE ZONE NOMINATION WILL BE NEXT WEEK'S AGENDA FOR THE NOMINATION RESOLUTION. AND THEN, UM, FROM THERE, UM, OUR OFFICE WILL PACKAGE THAT UP INTO A CERTIFIED COPY TO SEND OVER TO THE COMPANY FOR THEM TO INCLUDE IN THEIR STATE APPLICATION. SO AT [00:40:01] THIS TIME I'LL TAKE, UH, QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, THIS PROJECT, THE, UM, TAX ABATEMENT ENTERPRISE ZONE, UM, WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT. COUNCILMAN RAM, COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ. UH, THANK YOU, UH, MR. CHAIR AND THANK YOU, UH, ANDREW FOR THE PRESENTATION QUESTION. UM, FIRST OF ALL, IS THERE ALREADY AN ENTERPRISE ZONE EXISTING FOR THIS PROPERTY? PROPERTY, UH, FOR ENTERPRISE ZONE? YES, BECAUSE THOSE ARE AUTOMATICALLY CREATED BY THE STATE BASED ON THE, THE CENSUS DATA OR THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. AND WHEN WAS IT CREATED? UM, IT WOULD'VE BEEN CREATED, UM, BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS. UM, I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING, IS IT, WAS IT CREATED FOR THIS APPLICATION OR FOR AN EARLIER APPLICATION? OH, NO, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S JUST CREATED. SO THERE WASN'T A, A PURPOSE OF FOR THIS PROJECT OR A, A PAST PROJECT. SO, SO THE PROPOSAL IS TO GRANT, UM, OWEN'S CORNING A TAX ABATEMENT, UH, OF PROPERTY TAXES THAT WOULD COME TO THE CITY, IS THAT RIGHT? THE, YES, THE TAX ABATEMENT WOULD BE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL, YES. UM, WOULD THEY ALSO BE GETTING A BREAK ON THEIR TAXES THAT WOULD GO TO THE COUNTY? NO, THE, THIS ABATEMENT WOULD PURELY JUST BE FOR CITY OF HOUSTON. AND ARE THEY GETTING ANY SORT OF BREAK ON, ON ANY STATE TAXES OR OTHER REVENUE? SO, UM, THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE TEXAS ENTERPRISE FUND AWARD, WHICH WAS, UM, $750,000. AND SO THAT IS, UM, KIND OF MORE OF A, A GRANT TYPE PROGRAM WHERE THE STATE JUST AWARDS THEM THE MONEY, BUT THEN THERE'S CERTAIN STIPULATIONS THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW IN COMPLIANCE THAT IF THEY DON'T FOLLOW THAT COMPLIANCE, THE STATE CAN GRAB THAT MONEY BACK OR, OR CANCEL IT. AND THAT WAS HOW MUCH? $750,000. SO THEY GOT $750,000 FROM THE STATE? CORRECT. YEAH. UM, AND THE, THE PROPOSAL IS TO GIVE THEM AN ABATEMENT WORTH 1.3 MILLION OVER 10 YEARS OF CITY TAX REVENUE, IS THAT RIGHT? CORRECT. UM, YOU LISTED THERE'S A COMPETITION, I GUESS, OR THEY'RE CONSIDERED, THEY WERE CONSIDERING TWO OTHER LOCATIONS, ONE IN SOUTH CAROLINA, ONE IN FORT SMITH. UM, AND THE COLUMN ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL WAGE FOR NEW JOBS FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA SITE WAS 3.48 MILLION. FORT SMITH, 3.1 MILLION, HOUSTON 5.21 MILLION. WHY DOES THIS SHOW THAT, UH, WAGES IN HOUSTON WOULD BE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE? UM, BOTH OF THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER THAN HOUSTON, WHICH IS A SIGNIFICANT SMALLER LABOR COSTS. SO, UM, SO THE LABOR COST WOULD BE BASED SOLELY ON THE LOCATION WHERE THE FACILITY WOULD BE, WOULD, WOULD EXIST? I CAN, I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THE COMPANY FOR MORE DETAILED, UM, BREAKDOWN ON WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. WE WERE, WE UNDERSTAND IT TO BE, THAT'S THEIR, THE WAGES FOR THAT, THE 75 NEW JOBS, THAT IS WHAT THAT, UM, ANNUAL WAGE NUMBER WOULD BE FOR THAT FIRST YEAR. SO FOR 75 NEW JOBS IN THAT, UH, FOR AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA WOULD BE 3.48 MILLION FOR THE 75 NEW JOBS. UM, 3.1 MILLION FOR 75 NEW JOBS IN FORT SMITH, UM, ARKANSAS. BUT FOR HOUSTON, GIVEN OUR SIZE, UM, THE LOCATION IN THE CITY, UM, THE WAGES THAT ARE EXPECTED, BECAUSE AGAIN, UM, MANUFACTURING IS A SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRY FOR HOUSTON. SO THERE'S A LOT OF COMPETITION AMONG FACILITIES TO HIRE QUALIFIED PEOPLE. SO THAT'S GONNA INCREASE YOUR WAGES BECAUSE YOU NEED TO ATTRACT TALENT. IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT THEY TOLD YOU, OR ARE YOU WELL, THAT'S THE, JUST THE, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ARGUMENTS, THE NATURE OF HAVING, UM, A, A CITY AS LARGE AS OURS WITH A DOMINANT INDUSTRY BEING MANUFACTURING. IF YOU LOOKED AT THE SIZES OF, UM, AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA AND FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, THEY'RE SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER COMMUNITIES. THEY'RE THE, UM, OWENS CORNING ALREADY HAS A SIGNIFICANT LABOR DRAW IN THOSE FACIL IN THOSE COMMUNITIES. SO JUST BY, BY NATURE OF COMPETITION AND THEN JUST COST OF LIVING IN A BIGGER CITY, YOUR YOUR WAGES ARE GONNA BE HIGHER. OKAY. UM, I THINK MY MATH IS RIGHT HERE, BUT I'M DIVIDING AND TELL ME IF I'M OFF BASE HERE, DIVIDING 5.21 MILLION BY 75, THE NEW JOBS CREATED, AND I'M GETTING 69,466. [00:45:02] AM I DOING THIS WRONG? UH, COULD YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, UH, SURE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS, PLEASE? I'M JUST IN, AND IF I'VE GOT THE WRONG METHODOLOGY HERE, LET ME KNOW. SO HOUSTON, IT SAYS ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL WAGE 5.21 MILLION. SO I DIVIDED THAT BY 75, WHICH IS THE NEW NUMBER OF NEW JOBS IN THE ECONOMIC, UH, BENEFITS SECTION OF THAT SLIDE. MM-HMM . AND, UM, I'M GETTING 69,466 AS THE AVERAGE SALARY. OKAY. UM, THESE WERE NUMBERS PROVIDED TO US BY THE COMPANY. I WILL, I'LL FOLLOW UP. RIGHT. AND SO, I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST, IT JUST SEEMS SURPRISING TO ME THAT THE SAME JOB IN HOUSTON, THEY'D HAVE TO PAY, UH, THAT EMPLOYEE SO MUCH MORE. UM, LET ME SEE IF I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR YOU. SO UNDER THIS PROPOSAL, THEY WOULD NOT GET ANY BREAK ON THEIR PROPERTY TAXES PAID TO THE COUNTY, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH COMMISSIONER'S COURT TO GET A TAX ABATEMENT FROM THE COUNTY. OH, WELL, DO YOU KNOW IF THEY INTEND TO DO THE SAME THING? UM, THEY HAVE TALKED TO THE COUNTY AND, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S NO MOVEMENT THERE. THERE'S, THE COUNTY IS NOT CONSIDERING A TAX ABATEMENT FOR THIS PROJECT. SO THE COUNTY HAS REJECTED AN ABATEMENT. I DON'T THINK ANY FORMAL APPLICATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THERE TO BE A REJECTION, BUT THE COUNTY IS NOT MOVING FORWARD. UM, THEIR TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE HAS LAPSED JUST LIKE, SO, JUST LIKE US, WE HAVE TO RENEW IT EVERY TWO YEARS. THE COUNTY ALSO HAS TO RENEW IT EVERY TWO YEARS. THERE'S EXPIRED, I WANNA SAY AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR. AND AT THIS TIME, THEY HAVE NOT HAD ANY RENEWAL APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER'S COURT. SO, SO RIGHT NOW THEY CAN'T, JUST BY LAW, THEY CAN'T EVEN APPROVE ANY SORT OF TAX COMMITMENT. BUT EVEN BEFORE LAST YEAR, BEFORE THAT EXPIRED, UM, THE COUNTY WAS NOT INTERESTED IN PURSUING A TAX ABATEMENT. CAN OWENS CORNING GO BACK TO THE COUNTY ONCE THE COUNTY, UH, OPS THEIR ORDINANCE? WELL, I MEAN, THEY CERTAINLY COULD. THAT'S WITHIN THE RIGHT, SO THEY COULD GET AN ADDITIONAL TAX BREAK, UH, ASSUMING IT'S APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER'S COURT. OKAY. SO IN, IN REGARDS TO THE 75 NEW JOBS, THEY'RE SAYING 89,992, AVERAGE SALARY. DO WE KNOW WHAT THOSE JOBS WOULD BE? YEAH, A LOT OF THEM ARE. UM, THE, FOR, I, I DON'T HAVE THE, THE NAMES HERE, BUT ESSENTIALLY THE LINE WORKERS FOR THESE MACHINING EQUIPMENT, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO ARE HANDLING THE ACTUAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS. OKAY. AND, AND, UH, LAST QUESTION. ONE OF YOUR SLIDES HAD, UH, HAD THIS PROJECT STARTING IN LATE 2025. LET'S SEE. YEAH, SLIDE FOUR CONSTRUCTION BEGINS LATE 2025. HAVE THEY ALREADY STARTED CONSTRUCTION? THEY HAVE NOT. THEY HAVE NOT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. COUPLE QUESTIONS. SURE. DO WE VERIFY THE WAGE DATA THAT THE COMPANY PROVIDES TO US? WE DO. UM, SO THEY DO SUBMIT, UM, TO THE STATE THEIR, THAT WAGE DATA, UM, AND THEN WE, UH, AS PART OF THE COMPLIANCE, IF THEY'RE REQUIRING, UM, JOB, SO THIS ONE IN OUR TAX PAYMENT ORDINANCE, WE SAY THAT THE COMPANIES, UM, OR YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE GOING TO COMMIT TO, UM, A MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE OF $25 AN HOUR. OKAY. I, I GUESS I WAS REFERRING TO, UM, THE COMPARISON WITH THE TWO OTHER FACILITIES THAT WERE POTENTIAL SUITORS. NO, WE, WE DON'T COMPARE, WE HAVE, I KNOW THAT THEY PULLED THAT DATA FROM OWENS CORNING'S HR AND OKAY. SO, SO I KNOW THAT THE DATA THEY'RE GIVING ME IS DIRECTLY FROM THE COMPANY'S HR DATA. OKAY. TO COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ'S POINT, YEAH, I KNOW THAT DATA IS READILY AVAILABLE. UM, THE COMPANY I WORKED FOR YEARS AND YEARS AGO WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL US THE LOCATION THAT WE'RE PUT IN A FACILITY THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR THESE DIFFERENT POSITIONS. IN FACT, I WAS KIND OF SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT, UH, [00:50:01] AT THE TIME WE WERE LOOKING TO MOVE IN A FACILITY IN HOUSTON AND TO PUT IT ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE TOWN, UH, FOR THE TYPE OF EMPLOYEES WE WERE LOOKING FOR, IT WAS ACTUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN BECAUSE THEY WERE COMPETING WITH ALL THE REFINERIES AND EVERYTHING ELSE, UH, OUT THERE. SO I KNOW THAT DATA IS READILY AVAILABLE, AND I THINK THAT'D BE A GOOD EXERCISE FOR OUR HR DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO, TO LOOK THAT UP AND SAY, YEP, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S THIS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE IN THIS LOCATION VERSUS THAT. IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME IN THE LEAST THE, THE NUMBERS AND, AND I'M NOT DOUBTING WHAT THEY'RE CLAIMING BECAUSE THAT ACTUALLY KINDA MAKES SENSE TO ME. BUT I, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING WE PROBABLY SHOULD GO THROUGH AND AND VERIFY. AND ACTUALLY, I MEAN, ON THIS OWENS CORNING, AND JUST RATHER THAN A QUESTION, JUST A, A COMMENT, UH, I THINK THIS IS, IS SOMETHING THAT I LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKS. UM, THERE WAS THREE POTENTIAL LOCATIONS THEY COULD HAVE CHOSEN FROM. UM, SO OUR CHANCES OF GETTING IT WERE ONE OUT OF THREE. UH, I THINK THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO PUT SOME INCENTIVES FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT IT IS A GOOD THING. UH, ALSO THE PROPERTY TAXES AFTER THE 10TH YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE COLLECT WHOLLY RATHER THAN HAVING TO GIVE ANY OF IT BACK. UH, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA THAT THIS IS A NEW MANUFACTURING, I MEAN, I, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT MAKES A LOT OF, A LOT OF SENSE, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S SOME WORK WE CAN DO TO JUST KIND OF VERIFY IT AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD ABOUT, YES, OKAY, THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. ALSO, I'M KIND OF SURPRISED THAT WE DON'T LOOK AT THIS ON A, YOU KNOW, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COUNTY. UM, I WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT, AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR ORDINANCES LAPSED. UM, BUT I WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT, I MEAN, WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE COUNTY IS GOOD FOR US. WE BOTH BENEFIT FROM US. MAYBE IF WE WORK FROM A UNIFIED POSITION, WE'D BE ABLE TO ATTRACT MORE COMPANIES AND MAYBE EVEN, UH, YOU KNOW, REDUCE, UH, I MEAN, 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF, IF THIS AMOUNT IS ENOUGH TO GET 'EM TO COME HERE, WELL, IF THE COUNTY HAD POED UP PART OF THAT AMOUNT, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER FOR US, RIGHT? YEAH. SO I, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT MAYBE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEM AND KNOW THE MAYOR'S BIG ON COLLABORATION, SO THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT GOING FORWARD WE CAN DO, WE DO WORK WITH, UM, THE COUNTY PRETTY QUICKLY. UM, BUT A LOT OF TIMES, UM, THEY OFTEN TRY TO GO TO THE COUNTY FIRST BECAUSE THERE'S MORE LINES ON THE, ON THEIR TAX BILL FROM THE COUNTY. AND THEN WHEN THE COUNTY WORK, THEN THEY COME TO US SAYING, HEY, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ONLY ONE LINE. OR, OR SOMETIMES IF THEY'RE FULLY OUT OF, UM, STATE AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO COME HERE, WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY ONE LINE, UH, ON YOUR TAX BILL, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO TO, TO, WELL, AND ALTHOUGH WE'RE PROBABLY A MORE SIGNIFICANT LINE THAN MOST OF THOSE ON THE COUNTY, RIGHT? I MEAN, THEY GOT A LOT OF REAL SMALL LINES. SO COUNCILOR RAM MAYOR, UH, COUNCILOR RAMIREZ. YEAH, JUST TYING THE KNOT. UH, ARE THERE ANY NUMERICAL BENCHMARKS THAT YOU GUYS LOOK, LOOK FOR WHEN YOU'RE EVALUATING THESE, THESE PROPOSALS? NUMERICAL BENCHMARKS? UM, COULD YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE, PLEASE? SURE. UH, THAT MIGHT HELP, UH, INDICATE THAT IT'S, IT'S WORTH, UH, OUR WHILE TO, TO GRANT THE TAX ABATEMENT. SURE. UM, SO THAT CAN COME FROM THE PROJECTION. TYPICALLY IF, UM, IF FROM, FROM THAT PROJECTION, IF THEY'RE ONLY GETTING MAYBE A, A COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS OUT OF, UH, AN ANNUAL ABATEMENT OR SOMETHING, BUT THE INVESTMENT AMOUNT IS STILL LIKE SIGNIFICANT, IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING WE WANNA PURSUE. THE ORDINANCE ITSELF HAS, UM, NUMERICAL BENCHMARKS OF A COMPANY NEEDS TO INVEST X AMOUNT OF MONEY, OR I NEEDS TO PROVIDE X NUMBER OF JOBS. THOSE BENCHMARKS ARE WRITTEN INTO THE ORDINANCE. UM, SO ON THE BACKEND, REALLY THE, THE NUMERICAL BENCHMARKS WE USE ARE, DOES THIS, DOES THE ABATEMENT AMOUNT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE MAKE SENSE, UM, FROM EITHER THE TENURE YEAR PERSPECTIVE OR THE ANNUAL ABATEMENT PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN THERE'S SOME CASES WHERE IF THAT ANNUAL ABATEMENT SEEMS REALLY LOW, AND WE, WE TALK TO THE COMPANY ABOUT IT, THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, THAT'S NOT GONNA, WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE THIS BACK EVEN IN OUR LEGAL FEES. SO THEY'RE, THEY WON'T BE INTERESTED IN THE ABATEMENT. UM, IN OTHER CASES WHERE, WE'LL, UM, THE INVESTMENT COULD BE SO HIGH THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 10 YEAR ABATEMENT, IT'S LIKE, WELL, BASED ON THEIR ELIGIBLE COSTS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'D BE TRYING TO SELL THE FARM TO GET THIS ABATEMENT FOR THEM. AND SO WE'RE LIKE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT, BUT WE CAN OFFER, UM, LIKE SOMETHING THAT, THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. SO, SO MAYBE IT'S LIKE 50% OF THE MACHINERY EQUIPMENT OR SOMETHING. SO WE, WE WILL ADJUST THE ABATEMENT PERCENTAGE, UM, TO TRY AND DO A BEST FIT SCENARIO FOR WHAT WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE. OKAY. AND, AND, AND AGAIN, NOTHING, NOTHING HARD, UH, IN TERMS OF NUMBERS THAT, THAT YOU GUYS APPLY. IT'S JUST KIND OF A, THIS LOOKS PRETTY GOOD KIND OF THING OR WHAT, BECAUSE EVERY PROJECT IS UNIQUE. WE TRY TO AVOID A STRICT NUMBER FOR A LOT OF THESE, THE STRICT NUMBERS [00:55:01] COME FROM THE ORDINANCE. SO THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE YOUR, UH, MINIMUM INVESTMENT NUMBERS, YOUR JOB CREATION NUMBERS, THOSE KEY NUMERICAL BENCHMARKS ARE IN THE, THE TAX ABATEMENT ORDINANCE ITSELF. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IN 2026 ARE ORDINANCE WILL BE UP FOR RENEWAL AGAIN. SO, UM, NOW IS ACTUALLY THE PERFECT TIME. IF YOU ALL HAVE IDEAS ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN MODIFY THIS ORDINANCE TO FIT, UH, MAYBE WITH WHETHER IT'S MORE SPECIFIC OR MORE STRICT CRITERIA OR HOWEVER YOU'D LIKE TO, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PROJECTS ALSO MEET THE QUALITY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, UM, NOW'S THE BEST TIME THAT WAY, UM, GOING INTO 2026, WE CAN MAKE THOSE REVISIONS AND THEN PRESENT THAT ALL TO YOU FOR, FOR THE RENEWAL NEXT YEAR. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. BUSKER. I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE, UH, ONE MORE PRESENTATION. SURE DO. SO WE LOVE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES, BUT WE ALSO LOVE TALKING ABOUT TS. UM, SO THIS ONE IS, THIS YEAR'S, UM, PROPOSED, UM, TS UM, CHANGES, I GUESS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD. SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. I'M GONNA DO A QUICK SUMMARY OF OURT POLICY. UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW MUCH CAPACITY WE HAVE IN OUR TOUR PROGRAM. THEN I'LL GO OVER PROPOSALS AND HOW THAT, UM, ANY, THE PROPOSING IS ANNEXATIONS ARE GOING TO IMPACT OUR CAPACITY. AND THEN THE, THE ROUGH TIMELINE FOR, UM, GETTING ALL THESE PROPOSALS THROUGH, UH, FOR, UP TO YOUR, UM, CONSIDERATION AT CITY COUNCIL. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE QUESTIONS AT THE END. UM, SO AS JENNIFER MENTIONED, THERE'S, UM, THE CITY OF HOUSTON FINANCIAL POLICIES. SO THAT IS KIND OF THE, THE MIDDLE STACK OF OUR, UM, TS POLICIES. SO THE TAX AND REINVESTMENT ZONES ARE ALL ROOTED IN CHAPTER THREE 11 OF THE TEXAS TAX CODE. UM, THAT COVERS ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. IT COVERS, UM, WHAT A TOUR CAN AND CAN'T DO. IT ALSO COVERS WHAT TOURISM ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT CAN AND CAN'T DO. UM, WITHIN CHAPTER THREE 11, WE ALSO HAVE SECTION N OF THE, UH, FINANCIAL POLICIES, WHICH COVERS THET FINANCIAL POLICIES. AND THEN INTERNALLY IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE ALSO HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES THAT WE USE, UM, TO THEN GUIDE, UM, THESE, THE TOURISM ADMINISTRATORS AND OURSELVES ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROGRAM ALIGNS TO OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, WHICH IN TURN ALIGN, WHICH CHAPTER THREE 11. SO THOSE ALL, WHICH VERY LONG-WINDED TO SAY THAT WE HAVE A GOOD FRAMEWORK TO, TO MAKE SURE OUR TOUR PROGRAM DOESN'T GO OFF THE RAILS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO FOR THE TOUR POLICY, UH, ONE PIECE THAT, UH, WILL BE RELEVANT FOR THE CONVERSATION TODAY ARE LIFE EXTENSIONS. AND SO, UM, WE HAVE A VERY, UM, SPECIFIC, UH, JUSTIFICATIONS FOR WHY WE WOULD WANT TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF A TURS. UM, AND SOME OF THAT IS JUST SECURE FINANCING FOR, UM, FOR PROJECTS TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL TIME TO COMPLETE PROJECTS, UM, TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL INCREMENT, UM, TO SUPPORT PROJECTS THAT ARE APPROVED BY THE PROJECT PLAN, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, LEVERAGE OUTSIDE FUNDING TO SUPPORT A PROJECT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THEN, UM, ANOTHER PIECE, RELEVANT OR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS. SO THAT CAN INCLUDE ANNEXATION OR DE ANNEXATION. UM, AND THE REASONS WE WOULD WANT TO ANNEX OR DE ANNEX WOULD BE TO, UH, ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT TO, UM, SUPPORT, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, OR TO, UM, TO ALSO LEVERAGE OUTSIDE FUNDING FOR, FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, LOOKING AT OUR, UH, TOURIST CAPACITY, THIS IS ALWAYS A ROLLING TARGET. SO RIGHT NOW THE DATA ON YOUR SCREEN IS THE CERTIFIED VALUES FOR TAX YEAR 2024. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, THE CERTIFIED VALUES FOR TAX YEAR 2025 FOR THE CITY, UM, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS. WE WILL NOT GET THE TAX YEAR 2025 CERTIFIED VALUES UNTIL NEXT YEAR SOMETIME. SO THIS IS A SLIDE THAT SHOWS ALL THE CERTIFIED VALUES, SO IT'S CONSISTENT. UM, SO HERE THE, UM, CHAPTER THREE 11 REQUIRES THAT WITH A CITY OF OUR SIZE ONLY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TEXTABLE VALUE CAN BE WITHIN, UM, YOUR TOURS PROGRAM AT ANY GIVEN TIME. AND SO THE STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT, UH, LESS THAN 25% OF THE CITYWIDE TAXABLE VALUE IS WITHIN THET PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, BASED ON THE TAX YEAR 2024 CERTIFIED VALUES, WE'RE LOOKING AT 22.875% OUT OF THE 25. SO, UM, THAT LOOKS LIKE A REALLY, IT [01:00:01] LOOKS LIKE WE'RE CLOSE. UM, BUT THAT'S STILL BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF PROPERTY VALUE TAXABLE PROPERTY VALUE THAT, UM, IS STILL IN THERE. SO WE, WE STILL HAVE WIGGLE ROOM. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. HERE'S A SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSALS. I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT EACH ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALLY AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDES. UM, RIGHT NOW WE'VE, THERE'S SEVEN HERE I BELIEVE THAT WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH. UM, AND THEN A HANDFUL OF ANNEXATIONS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO STARTING WITH TOURS THREE, UM, THIS IS TO GET THE PROJECT PLAN IN ALIGNMENT WITH, UH, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN, UM, THE TOURS THE CITY AND HARRIS COUNTY THAT, UM, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED EARLIER THIS YEAR. UM, SO THAT WAS ORDINANCE 2025, UH, SIX 40. UM, AND SO REALLY IT'S, UM, ADJUSTING HOW HARRIS COUNTY PARTICIPATES IN THE ZONE. UM, AND SO REALLY WE'RE, YEAH, IT IS JUST AN AMENDMENT TO GET THE PROJECT PLAN TO ALIGN WITH THAT NEW AND LOCAL AGREEMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE OTHER PROPOSAL HERE IS TS EIGHT. UM, LOOKING AT, UH, ANNEXATION, THERE'S, UH, TWO AREAS THAT THE ZONE IS REQUESTING TO ANNEX. ONE OF THEM IS THE ALAMEDA MALL, WHICH, UM, IS, UM, ANTICIPATED TO GO UNDER REDEVELOPMENT SOON. SO, UH, CAPTURING THAT, UM, THAT NEW CONSTRUCTION AND THE REVITALIZATION OF THAT AREA INTO THE ZONE WOULD THEN BUILD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INCREMENT THAT THEY CAN USE FOR, FOR PROJECTS. UM, SIMILARLY, THERE'S, UM, A VACANT LOT, UM, THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED FOR BUSINESS PARK DEVELOPMENT FOR QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW. AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY MOVING AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE ACTION ON THAT, UM, SITE SOON. SO ANNEXING THAT AREA, UM, WILL ALSO GENERATE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INCREMENT THAT THE ZONE CAN THEN USE FOR, FOR PROJECTS. UM, OVERALL WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT, UM, ALMOST 181 ACRES WOULD BE WHAT THE SAND STATION IS. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, IT'S, UM, BETWEEN BOTH THOSE SITES TOGETHER, IT'S ABOUT, UM, 78, ALMOST 79 MILLION OF, OF TAXABLE VALUE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. TOWARDS 11. UM, THIS IS A, A ANNEXATION WHERE THE DEVELOPER, UM, IS ANTICIPATING TO BUILD, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS. AND SO IT'LL EITHER BE, UM, TOWN HOMES OR, UM, SOME OTHER STRUCTURE THAT'S STILL TO BE DETERMINED, BUT THE DEVELOPMENT, UM, IS APPLYING FOR, UM, LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS. AND, AND SO THOSE, THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE STRONGER IF THAT PROPERTY IS LOCATED WITHIN A A TS. AND SO WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT, UH, WE SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS, AS BEST AS WE CAN. AND SO IN THIS, UM, SCENARIO TOO, WHAT'S, UH, UNIQUE IS THAT THE PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY UNDER AN AG EXEMPTION, WHICH IS WHY THAT TAXABLE VALUE IS SO LOW. AS SOON AS THEY CONVERT THAT OVER INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, THAT'S GONNA CHANGE INTO RESIDENTIAL VALUED PRICES. AND SO THE, THE VALUE OF THAT PARCEL IS GOING TO SHOOT UP SIGNIFICANTLY. UM, THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WITH FOR THE TURS TO THEN CAP ANNEX THIS NOW WHILE IT HAS AN AG VALUE VALUATION, SO THAT WAY WHEN THAT PROPERTY VALUE CHANGES, THAT'S INCREMENT IMMEDIATELY RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, UM, INCREMENT GROWING OVER TIME LIKE WE SEE IN A LOT OF AREAS OF VI TURS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO HERE'S ANOTHER ANNEXATION. THIS ONE, UM, IS ALSO UNIQUE BECAUSE THERE IS NO TAXABLE VALUE BECAUSE THEY'RE ONLY ANNEXING RIGHT OF WAY. UM, AND THIS IS TO SUPPORT A COLLABORATION BETWEEN, UH, PRECINCT FOUR AND, UM, THE TURS. THEY'RE DOING A ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT ALONG, UH, SEAMUS DRIVE. UM, AND SO RIGHT NOW SEAMASS DRIVE IS ONLY PARTIALLY COVERED BY THE, UM, THE TURS. AND SO THIS WOULD BE THE ENTIRETY OF SEAMASS DRIVE WITHIN BE ANNEXED WITHIN THE ZONE FOR THIS PROJECT. UM, AS WELL AS THERE'S AN INTERSECTION OF ELLA AND GROVE WOOD, UM, JUST ON THE EXISTING EDGE OF THE TURS, BUT IT'S TECHNICALLY NOT IN THE ZONE NOW. AND, UM, COMMUNITY HAS REQUESTED SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS FOR THIS INTERSECTION FOR A WHILE. AND SO THIS IS, UM, THE TURS HAS OPPORTUNITY TO GO IN THERE AND MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT, UM, THE COMMUNITY IS, IS ASKING FOR, FOR THIS SITE. SO NO TAXABLE VALUE FOR THIS PROPERTY OR FOR THIS, UM, ANNEXATION. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. TERRA 13 IS, UM, REQUESTING A LIFE EXTENSION, UM, WHICH [01:05:01] WE'D LOOK AT. UM, A, OUR OFFICE IS PROPOSING A 22 YEAR EXTENSION. UM, AND THAT WOULD BE TO ALLOW FOR SEVERAL LARGE SCALE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO ACCOMMODATE THE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH THAT'S HAPPENING, UM, WITHIN TURS 13. UM, SO TUR 13 WAS CREATED IN 1998 BY PETITION. SO A THIRD OF ITS INCREMENT AUTOMATICALLY GOES INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND. UM, THEY, UM, THEY'VE EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF GROWTH JUST WITH, REALLY WITHIN THE PAST DECADE. SO THE, THE 15, 20 YEARS LEADING UP TO THAT WAS VERY SLOW GROWTH. SO EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE, THE T HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A WHILE, THEY HAVEN'T HAD THE FUNDING TO DO SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS REALLY UP UNTIL NOW. AND SO, UM, THE EXTENSION WOULD CONTINUE, UM, A THIRD OF THE INCREMENT GOING INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND. UM, BUT THEN THE, THE REMAINING INCREMENT WOULD BE, UM, FOCUSED ON A LOT OF THE, THE PROJECTS THAT YOU SEE ON THE, ON THE SLIDE. THERE'S A LOT OF OLD ORIGINAL INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THIS AREA OF THE CITY, AND THERE'S NEW APARTMENT BUILDINGS, A LOT OF NEW ACTIVITY HAPPENING IN THIS AREA THAT JUST CAN, UM, IT'S MORE, MORE DEVELOPMENT THAN WHAT THOSE ORIGINAL INFRASTRUCTURE WAS INITIALLY DESIGNED TO, TO HOLD. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. HERES 21. JUST AMENDING THE PROJECT PLAN. SO SEVERAL OF THESE, UM, TS UM, DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE COUNTY PARTICIPATION, BUT THE COUNTY, UH, WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THEM, WHICH WOULD MEAN ANOTHER REVENUE SOURCE FOR THET TO THEN BE ABLE TO DO EITHER BIGGER PROJECTS OR HIGHER QUALITY PROJECTS, OR DO PROJECTS FASTER. UM, AND SO FOR THE CASE OF CHURCH 21, UM, A PROJECT PLAN AMENDMENT IS REQUIRED TO ADD HARRIS COUNTY PARTICIPATION INTO THE ZONE. UM, BUT THAT IS REALLY THE ONLY PROPOSAL CHANGE THAT WOULD, THAT'S RELEVANT TO TOUR 21. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. TOUR 23. UH, WE HAVE A INCOMING REDEVELOPMENT, UM, THAT IS ADJACENT TO EXISTING TOUR BOUNDARIES. UM, IT'S A 8.2 ACRE SITE BETWEEN NAVIGATION AND CANAL. UM, AND RIGHT NOW IT'S, YOU KNOW, LOCALLY KNOWN AS THE FORMER COFFEE PLANT SITE. UM, BUT THE PLAN IS TO REDEVELOP THAT INTO A MIXED USE CENTER THAT INCLUDES AN, UH, MUSIC VENUE, CHARTER SCHOOL, SOME RETAIL, UH, RESTAURANTS, UM, MAKERSPACE, ART GALLERY ARTIST LOFT. SO VERY, UM, A VERY DIVERSE USE TO CREATE A BIG CENTER OF ACTIVITY. SO RIGHT NOW THAT VALUE, UM, IS ABOUT $3.2 MILLION IN TAXABLE VALUE. UM, BUT WHEN THAT REDEVELOPS, THAT COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO LOOKING AT THE FOUR TSS THAT HAVE ANNEXATIONS, UM, LET'S GO. YEP, THERE WE GO. THANK YOU. UM, SO BEFORE WE HAD ABOUT 22.8% ON OUR, UM, CAP, UH, BASED ON THESE ANNEXATIONS, THAT WOULD PUT US AT AROUND 22.9% ON, ON OUR CAP. SO WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF SPACE TO, UM, FOR, FOR FUTURE ANNEXATIONS IF, IF NEEDED. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE'RE DOING THIS IN, UM, SOME STAGGERED GROUPED, UM, TIMING. AND A LOT OF THAT IS, UM, JUST BASED ON THE BANDWIDTH OF THE CITY'S LEGAL DEPARTMENT. UM, THEY ARE CURRENTLY SHORT STAFFED AND WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT, UM, ANYTHING WE DO HERE HAS THE HIGHEST LEGAL QUALITY. SO WE'RE BREAKING THIS INTO SEVERAL PIECES. SO THE FIRST THINGS FIRST FOR IS EIGHT 11 AND 23. WE'RE GONNA BRING THOSE ANNEXATIONS FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL, UM, BY THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT THEN EARLY NEXT YEAR WE'RE, WE'LL ALSO FOCUS ON TOUR THREET 12 AND TOUR 13 TO GET THOSE, UM, THROUGH. AND THEN AS WE WORK WITH HARRIS COUNTY ON, UM, THE COUNTY PARTICIPATION, ONT IS 8, 11, 21, AND 23, ALL OF THOSE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD ONCE THAT PLAN IS SOLIDIFIED. UM, SO THREE GROUPS RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR THIS FIRST GROUP, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THAT'S, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE TIMELINE FOR THE FIRST GROUP. SO, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LAST WEEK APPROVING THE MOTIONS TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARINGS. UM, THOSE PUBLIC HEARINGS WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 5TH, SO NEXT WEEK. UM, AND THEN, UM, THE ANNEXATION PROPOSALS WILL THEN BE ON DECEMBER [01:10:01] THIRD'S, UM, AGENDA. SO AT THIS TIME I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS ABOUT THET PROPOSALS. COUNCIL MAYORS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. UH, ANDREW AGAIN. SO, UH, LET ASK YOU ABOUT SLIDE NUMBER FOUR, UM, TS POLICY SUMMARY LIFE EXTENSIONS. SO THESE ARE THE CRITERIA FOR LETTER THAT ARE CONSIDERED WHEN, UM, UM, CONSIDERING LIFE EXTENSION, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERING WHEN, UH, AURS WILL, WILL END? WE DO, YEAH. AND, AND WHAT ARE THOSE? UM, IT'S BASED ON THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT PLAN. SO WHEN, IF THE PROJECT PLAN IS, UM, MORE OR LESS BUILT OUT, IF THAT ZONE IS, UM, DEVELOPED AND THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY SIGNIFICANT, UM, INVESTMENTS THAT REMAIN, WE WILL BEGIN PHASING DOWN THAT TURS. UM, THAT, UM, THAT PROCESS LOOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BASED ON THE STATE OF THE TURS. SO IF THE TURS CURRENTLY HAS DEBT, WE WOULD, UM, CALL, CALL THAT THE PREDETERMINATION PHASE WHERE THE TURS IS NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE ON ANY NEW PROJECTS. IT ONLY EXISTS TO PAY OFF ITS DEBT. AND THEN ONCE THE DEBT IS PAID OFF, THEN WE WILL TERMINATE THE, THE ZONE. IN OTHER CASES, IF THE ZONE IS, UM, IS MORE OR LESS BUILT OUT AND THERE IS NO DEBT, WE COULD WORK ON TERMINATING THAT PRETTY QUICKLY. THE OTHER, UM, OPTION TO CONSIDER TOO IS IF A ZONE IS CREATED AND IT'S NOT PERFORMING, INVESTMENT IS NOT HAPPENING IN THAT ZONE. WE DO HAVE, UM, A GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURE ON HOW TO TERMINATE AN UNDERPERFORMING TURS TO THEN LOOK AT, UM, EITHER MAYBE CREATING A DIFFERENT TOURS ELSEWHERE OR JUST FREEING UP THAT SPACE IN THE, IN THE CAP. UM, SO, SO WE HAVE AND THREE DIFFERENT OFF-RAMP OPTIONS REALLY FOR, FOR OUR TOURS PROGRAM. AND HOW MANY TOURS HAVE WE ACTUALLY, UH, TERMINATED? FINISHED JUST ONE. UM, SO THAT WAS UMTS FOUR AND IT WAS CREATED, UM, TO HELP FUND A SCHOOL, IF I BELIEVE, RIGHT? YEAH. YEP. SO, UM, ONCE, ONCE THE DEBT PAYMENTS BASED ON THE SCHOOL WERE COMPLETED, UM, THAT THAT TS WAS TERMINATED. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE I WOULD ASSUME YOU'D SAY IS IN PRE TERMINATION PHASE, AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT CHAVEZ HIGH SCHOOL OR NOT. IT'S, IT'S CLOSE, I WOULD SAY. YEAH, IT'S, IT'S SET TO EXPIRE. UM, BUT THE, THE DEBT PAYMENTS TO HISD AREN'T COMPLETE YET. UM, SO, SO THOSE, YES, THOSE TWO ARE TSAS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED FOR ONE SPECIFIC PROJECT, IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, BUT THE WAY WE HAVE DONE THE OTHERS IS A GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE STATE OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, I MEAN, WE COULD, WE COULD IDENTIFY PROJECTS TO DO, YOU KNOW, IN PERPETUITY. IT, IT WOULD SEEM IN SOME AREAS. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT THE REAL GUIDELINES FOR TERMINATION ARE. NO, I, I AGREE THAT, UM, THE WAY THIS TURS PROGRAM HAS BEEN STRUCTURED, UM, DOES LEND ITSELF TO AN APPEAL TO HAVE TURS IS EXIST FOR PERPETUITY. AND, AND THAT'S THE, THE NATURE OF, UM, SEVERAL, SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, THE REVENUE CAP FOR, FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE REALLY HURTS. UM, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY THAT YOU, YOU COULD BE USING. UM, AND SO THEN THE T ASSIST WITH PROVIDING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN AREAS WHERE THE CITY THEN DOESN'T HAVE TO SPEND THAT MONEY. UM, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE UNIQUE NATIONALLY AS FAR AS CHURCH PROGRAMS GO, UM, MANY CITIES USE THEIR CHURCH PROGRAMS PURELY AS, UM, A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS. SO SIMILAR TO OUR TAX ABATEMENTS WHERE WE CREATE A ZONE JUST FOR A PARCEL. UM, SOME CHURCH PROGRAMS WORK JUST LIKE THAT AS WELL. WELL, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, THAT IF YOU LIVE IN A TURS WITHIN TURS BOUNDARIES, YOU'RE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE THAN IF YOU DON'T. YEAH. AND THAT'S BECAUSE TOUR CAN TYPICALLY OPERATE FASTER THAN THE CITY CAN AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING PROJECTS GO OUT TO BID, GOING TO CONSTRUCTION, THAT SORT OF T TYPICALLY WORK FASTER THAN, THAN THE CITY. LET, LET ME JUST SAY THAT DOESN'T SEEM FAIR TO ME. 'CAUSE MOST OF HOUSTON, MOST HOUSTONIANS DO NOT LIVE WITHIN A T. UH, AND SO IF, IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE, [01:15:01] I, I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A, A DEEP DISCUSSION AND, AND DO SOME HARD THINKING ABOUT, ABOUT THAT, UH, QUITE FRANKLY. BUT LET ME, LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT A FEW OF YOUR SLIDES HERE. UH, LET'S SEE. COVERED. SLIDE 12 IS TS 13, THAT'S THE LIFE EXTENSION, THE PROJECTS THAT THEY PROPOSED TO WORK ON REQUIRING THE EXTENSION. UM, DO YOU KNOW WHEN THOSE PROJECTS WERE IDENTIFIED? WHEN THEY WERE IDENTIFIED? UM, IN I BELIEVE 2023. OKAY. SO THIS PARTICULAR TURS, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY WORK ON AN ACTIVE LIST OF, TO DO A, TO-DO LIST OF PROJECTS THAT THEY CAN, UM, ONCE THEY HAVE THE FUNDING, THEY CAN PURSUE. UM, A LOT OF TIMES THE ISSUE WITH TURS 13 IS THAT THEY HAVEN'T HAD THE FUNDING. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A PETITION. TS 13 IS A PETITION TS, SO A THIRD OF THEIR INCREMENT COMES BACK TO THE CITY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO THAT JUST LEAVES THEM TWO THIRDS TO DO PROJECTS WITHIN THEIR BOUNDARY. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT SLOWER FOR THEM TO GET PROJECTS DONE JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE FULL, UM, USE OF INCREMENT. AND IN THE PAST THEY HAVEN'T, UM, GEN GENERATED ENOUGH INCREMENT SO THAT THEY CAN ISSUE THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. LAST THING I'LL SAY, AND THEN I'LL, AND THEN I'LL BE DONE. UH, I SUGGEST THAT WE ADOPT, UH, TRANSPARENCY POLICIES THAT ARE UNIFORM FOR TST 14. UH, I TAGGED BECAUSE, UM, THEY DON'T PUT THEIR BOARD BOOKS, UH, ONLINE OR MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC PRIOR, PRIOR TO THE MEETINGS. AND, AND I THINK THEY SHOULD BE FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES SO THAT HOUSTONIANS CAN KNOW WHAT THEIR T ARE ARE ACTUALLY DOING. UH, SO I, I BROUGHT THIS UP WITH, WITH YOUR DIRECTOR AND UH, I HOPE Y'ALL WILL MAKE THAT THAT HAPPEN VERY SOON. THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTION. OKAY. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKER, RASHIM MUHAMMAD, HIT SIX. HIT STAR SIX AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK, I DUNNO. RASHEEM, ARE YOU THERE? GO AHEAD AND END IT MUTE. IT'S STAR SIX RASHEEM. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SPEAK, PLEASE PUSH STAR SIX. MAKE ME SIT AWAY. OKAY. NOT SURE. GO AHEAD AND CONCLUDE. OKAY. UM, SINCE WE CAN'T, UH, SEEM TO GET RASHIM ON, EVEN THOUGH HE'S ONLINE, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CONCLUDE THE MEETING. UH, WANT TO THANK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PRESENTATIONS. UH, IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE, GREATLY APPRECIATED. AND, UH, THANK EVERYONE FOR JOINING US TODAY. UM, LASTLY, OUR NEXT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING IS GONNA BE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH AT 2:00 PM. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING INFORMATION ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, PLEASE CONTACT THE DISTRICT K OFFICE AT DISTRICT K@HOUSTONTX.GOV. THE TIME IS 1220 AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANKS SO MUCH ON THE FEEDBACK ABOUT THE ANALYSIS. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.