* 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. [00:00:03] I'D LIKE TO BRING OUR, OUR MEETING TO ORDER HOLD THE TIME [1. CALL TO ORDER AND CERTIFICATION OF A QUORUM] IS, UH, 6 31. UM, NATHAN, WOULD YOU, UH, PROVIDE US COLIN COKER? HERE? MATTHEW SAER. WALTER WILSON. I'M HERE. DEREK CORICK? HERE. CLINTON WILLIAMS? HERE. ISRAEL GARCIA. PATRICK SPIES. WE HAVE QUORUM. OKAY. EXCELLENT. AND I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM MATT, BUT HE, HE'S NOT COMING. OKAY. AND THEN ISRAEL JUST SENT ME A NOTE THAT HE WON'T BE HERE. HE HAD SOMETHING COME UP WITH HIS FAMILY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. BEAR WITH ME FOLKS. OKAY. UM, I'LL, UH, CLINTON WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE THE INDICATION AND, AND START US OFF WITH A PLEDGE? DEAR LORD, PLEASE GOD US TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, UM, AND, AND, AND KEEP OUR FAITH, UH, IN THE RIGHT PATH AND, UH, HELP OUR COMMUNITY FORWARD. AMEN. DID YOU TURN TO THE FLAG AND I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU. I. ALRIGHT. UH, WE WILL NOW, UH, [3. PUBLIC COMMENTS ] MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. ANY PERSON WITH BUSINESS RELATED TO THE DICKINSON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MAY SPEAK TO THE BOARD. ANYONE WISHING TO SPEAK SHOULD INFORM THE BOARD OF THEIR NAME. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM THREE MINUTES PER INDIVIDUAL SPEAKER IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. THE BOARD MAY NOT DELIBERATE OR TAKE ACTION ON ITEMS NOT APPEARING ON THE AGENDA, BUT MAY CONSIDER PLACING AN ITEM ON A FUTURE AGENDA IF DELIBERATION IS NECESSARY. AND IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE ONE PERSON HAS SIGNED UP. GARLAND, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK? SIR? MY NAME IS, IS THIS ONE. MY NAME IS GARLAND COPELAND. I LIVE 37 17 K DICKINSON. UM, THE REASON I ASKED TO SPEAK TONIGHT IS THAT I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THAT Y'ALL DO THE AGENDA. CITY COUNCIL DOES IT DIFFERENT IN THIS RESPECT AND THAT IS THAT THEY GET THE REPORT FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER, UH, BEFORE PUBLIC COMMENTS INSTEAD OF AFTER PUBLIC, PUBLIC COMMENTS. THE WAY Y'ALL DO IT, YOU DON'T GET TO THE STAFF REPORT OR THE, THE, UH, UPDATE UNTIL AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION. AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANNA WAIT AROUND. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL ARE BEING CRITICIZED FOR IS LACK OF TRANSPARENCY. AND SO MY SUGGESTION IS SIMPLY MOVE THAT UP THE AGENDA SO THAT YOU TALK ABOUT IT BEFORE I TALK. THAT'S IT COUNCIL AND I AM WILLING TO MAKE A CHANGE TONIGHT TO HELP YOU WITH REGARDS TO THAT. I WON'T GET IT BEFORE COMMENTS, BUT I'LL, I'LL MOVE IT UP, SEE IF IT'LL HELP TONIGHT. HOW'S THAT? ALL GOOD. HARD AS YOU CAN. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT. UM, [4. CONSENT AGENDA] I'D LIKE TO, UH, MOVE TO THE NEXT SESSION, WHICH IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. SO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE CONSIDERED ROUTINE BY THE DICKINSON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND WILL BE ENACTED BY ONE MOTION. THERE WILL NOT BE A SEPARATE DISCUSSION ON THESE ITEMS UNLESS REQUESTED BY A BOARD MEMBER, IN WHICH EVENT THE ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND DISCUSSED AFTER THE CONSENT AGENDA. SO WE HAVE, UH, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT FIVE HERE. SO FOUR A IS CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM DEDC REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MARCH 24TH, 2025. FOUR B IS CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY, 2025 DEDC FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT REPORT. FOUR C CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY, 2025 DEDC ACCOUNT STATEMENT FOR TEXAS FIRST BANK AND TEX POOL FOUR D CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE MARCH, 2025 MONTHLY ADMINISTRATION SERVICE FEE TRANSFER REQUEST, AND FOR E CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE MARCH, 2025 PAYROLL TRANSPORT REQUEST. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE OR THE MOVE TO APPROVE AGENDA? [00:05:01] WE HAVE WALTER WILSON WILSON WHO MOVES TO APPROVE. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? CLINTON WOULD BE OUR SECOND. ANY COMMENTS DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. OKAY. GIMME JUST A MOMENT. LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO, UM, OLD [5. OLD BUSINESS] BUSINESS AND THEN WE'LL MOVE, UM, DAVE, WE'LL DO O OLD BUSINESS REAL QUICK AND THEN WE'LL MOVE YOUR STAFF UPDATE. AND I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME MORE DETAIL TO SHARE IN ADDITION TO THE STAFF UPDATE WITHIN YOUR, YOUR SECTION. CORRECT? CORRECT. EXCELLENT. OKAY. SO THE OLD BUSINESS IS POSS UH, CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO AUTHORIZE DEDC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO PROVIDE STRUCTURE TONE SOUTHWEST. A NOTICE TO PROCEED UPON RECEIPT OF GMP, WHICH IS A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE AT OR BELOW THE AUTHORIZED BUDGET OF 2.2 MILLION AND START CONSTRUCTION IN MAY, 2025 ON THE DICKINSON PICNIC GROUNDS. OKAY. UM, SO AS EVERYONE IS AWARE, UH, WE'VE HAD TO DRASTICALLY REDUCE SCOPE. UM, WE DID SEND EVERYBODY AN EMAIL WITH, WITH SOME, UH, RENDERINGS AND INFORMATION ON THE BUDGET. UM, WE DO HAVE A PATH TO WITHIN BUDGET THAT THE MAIN, I, THE MAIN ELEMENT THAT THAT IS BEING LOST IN THAT IS OBVIOUSLY THE, UM, THE 4,400 SQUARE FOOT, UM, EVENT SPACE BUILDING, UM, THAT JUST WAS DRIVING A LOT OF SITE WORK AS WELL AS COST. UH, CURRENTLY WE ARE SITTING AT, UM, A PROJECTED BUDGET OF, OF 2.235. UM, I EXPECT THAT TO GET BELOW THE 2.2. UM, THAT IS, WE STILL ARE REDOING THE DESIGN, SO THE, WE'RE SORT OF CONSERVATIVE WITH THE REDUCTION IN SITE WORK. WE THINK THAT MIGHT COME DOWN SOME MORE. UM, IT'S JUST DIFFICULT TO TELL. SO THEY'RE REDOING THE CIVIL DRAWINGS, THEY'RE REDOING THE LANDSCAPE DRAWINGS. UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON. UM, THE WHOLE REDESIGN, ISS GONNA TAKE PROBABLY TWO TO THREE, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT THREE WEEKS, AND THEN THEY HAVE TO REPRICE IT WITH THE SUBS FOR THE ACTUAL FINAL GMP. UM, BUT WE DO EXPECT TO GET WITHIN BUDGET. UM, SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TONIGHT IS SIMPLY IF THAT ONE, IF THAT GMP COMES IN AT OR BELOW BUDGET THAT I MAY, I MAY GIVE THEM A NOTICE TO PROCEED TO START CONSTRUCTION IMMEDIATELY, WHICH THEY ARE SLATED TO DO ON THE CURRENT SCHEDULE IN MAY, 2025. SO JUST SO, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE, I'LL, I'LL REPEAT BACK KIND OF WHAT I UNDERSTOOD, WHICH IS THAT IT, AT ONE POINT WE WERE LOOKING AT IT A PICNIC GROUND AND IT WAS GONNA HAVE A PRETTY SIMPLE COVER WITH, YOU KNOW, UH, A PLACE TO, YOU KNOW, GATHER LITTLE, LITTLE, LITTLE, UH, PLAYGROUND, THAT SORT OF THING. MM-HMM . AND, UM, WE HAD A BUDGET APPROVED OF THAT FOR 2.2 MILLION MM-HMM . AND THEN AT SOME POINT WE STARTED ACTUALLY DOING THE DESIGN WORK ON THE BUILDING AND A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS CAME IN MM-HMM . AND PEOPLE WANTED, YOU KNOW, A, A MORE FULSOME BUILDING AND MAYBE EVEN TURNING IN MORE OF A, AN EVENT CENTER THAN A PICNIC GROUND AT THE END OF THE DAY IS KIND OF WHAT IT TURNED INTO. EXACTLY. YES. UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE LOOKED AT IT, WE TRIED TO PRICE IT, LOTS OF, LOTS OF COSTS WENT UP IN THE INTERIM AND NOW THAT WE LOOK AT IT, HAVING AN CREATING AN EVENT CENTER IS REALLY EXPENSIVE. UH, AND, AND MORE THAN WE BUDGETED FOR GOING BACK TO, SO THIS IS REALLY JUST GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF A, OF A PICNIC GROUND. YEAH. UM, THE ORIGINAL, THE ORIGINAL BUDGET AND TWO, THE BUDGET WAS SET SEVERAL YEARS AGO. RIGHT. AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S BEEN A LOT, IT'S TRANSPIRED IN THE MARKET, BUT THE ORIGINAL BUDGET WAS, WAS SET AT A 2,400 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING, UM, WITH, WITH NO RESTROOMS TO A 4,400 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING WITH RESTROOMS. NOW WE ARE STILL GONNA HAVE RESTROOMS, A RESTROOM BUILDING ON SITE. UM, THE ORIGINAL BUDGET DIDN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT 18 INCHES RAISED WITH SELECT FILL EITHER. DID IT? IT DID NOT. YEAH. ALL THE, ALL THE GROUNDWORK RIGHT? THERE WAS, YEAH. THE GROUNDWORK IN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET WAS A TOTAL OF $120,000 AND SIMPLY SAID, SITE LEVELING WELL WITH THE CODES WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO RAISE. RIGHT. UM, SO THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY, I BELIEVE AT ONE POINT IN TIME WE WERE AROUND 3.3 MILLION AND A LITTLE OVER 500,000 OF THAT WAS JUST GOING INTO THE GROUND. UM, SO WE'VE HAD TO REALLY PULL THAT BACK TO GET WITHIN BUDGET. UM, IT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO A MORE JUST SIMPLE BASIC PLAYGROUND VERSUS SORT OF THIS NATURE PLAYGROUND. UM, JUST BRINGING IT BACK KIND OF BACK WITHIN BUDGET. AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, TOO, UH, WE [00:10:01] ARE GONNA BUILD THE PAVILION UP SO THAT WE CAN ADD THE EVENT CENTER LATER ON IF WE SO CHOOSE. RIGHT. UM, SO WE ARE GONNA ELEVATE THAT UP 18 INCHES SO WE CAN ADD A BUILDING DIRECTLY TO IT IF WE NEED TO. UM, IF THERE'S A CHALLENGE WITH THE BUDGET, THEN WE WILL NOT ELEVATE IT. WE'LL JUST KEEP THE PAVILION AT GRADE. OKAY. OKAY. THANKS. OKAY, GREAT. CLINTON, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I UNDERSTAND YOU COMPLETELY. OKAY, THAT'S GOOD. HOW ABOUT YOU WALTER? NO. OKAY. NO QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT. NOT IT, UM, WELL, DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, WELL BEFORE WE COULD DO A MOTION, UM, SINCE WE'VE GOT SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTENDING WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE HERE FOR THE PICNIC GROUNDS, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN THIS UP TO THE PUBLIC RIGHT NOW. IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO HOW THE PICNIC GROUNDS HAVE SHAPED UP, WHAT, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE FOOD TRUCKS, ABOUT THE PICKLEBALL COURTS, ABOUT THE CHILDERS'S PLAYGROUND, ABOUT THE PAVILION, ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE STILL GOING ON. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE? AND WE'RE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO, UM, OPEN UP SOME DIALOGUE. WE'RE STILL MAINTAINING THE LIGHTING, THE LIGHT, THE WHOLE AREA. THE THERE IS, SORRY, THERE IS LIGHTING IN THE, IN THE PAVILION AND ELECTRIC AND POWER AND, AND SOME CEILING FANS IN THE PAVILION. UM, THE LIGHTING, WE NEVER HAD A WHOLE BUNCH OF LIGHTING. WE NEVER HAD OUT EXTERIOR LIGHTING OR POLES OR ANYTHING. WE NEVER HAD THAT BUDGETED NO. WITH THE REDUCTION OF TAKING THE EVENTS CENTER OUT THAT CASH, BUT I THINK LIGHTING WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT. SECURITY. YEAH. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD LOOKED AT ALONG IN PROCESS TOO WERE SOME SOLAR POWERED LIGHT POLES. UM, I CAN CERTAINLY SPEAK TO THEM AND, AND ADD THAT AS, AS AN ALTERNATE. UM, AND LOOK AT PUTTING THOSE AROUND BUDGET, BUDGET ALLOWING, OF COURSE THERE'S STILL SOME ADDITIONAL EXPENSIVE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, GREATER LANDSCAPING THAN WHAT HAD BEEN ANTICIPATED IN THE BUDGET. SO THERE HAD BEEN EARLY DISCUSSION AND I THINK WE'RE ALL STANDING BY THAT AS WELL AS, UH, AS, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER A TREE PROGRAM WORKING WITH, UH, DICKINSON, UM, UH, KEEP DICKINSON BEAUTIFUL, UM, TO WHERE WE CAN HAVE SPONSORS THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, BUY THE TREE AND GET A REMEMBRANCE PLAQUE. WE'RE ALSO DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH A NICE, IS IT BRASS OR BENCHES? THE PARK BENCHES? YEP. UH, YEAH, THERE'S, THEY'RE STEEL COATED, UH, PARK BENCHES. OKAY. UM, WITH THE, AND THOSE AREN'T, THOSE AREN'T INEXPENSIVE, BUT ALSO HAVING REMEMBRANCE PLAQUES ON THOSE AND WE WILL SEEK DONATIONS FOR THOSE. WE'VE GOT CLOSE TO A DOZEN. UM, I I THINK THERE'S 14 LOCATIONS. OKAY. UM, BENCHES THAT WE'LL PUT THROUGHOUT THE PARK AS WELL. YEP. WE WERE RETAINING THE PICKLEBALL SLASH STAGE PARKING AREA, NOT STAGE THE PICKLEBALL COURTS WAS INTENDED TO BE, UH, USED, UH, ADDITIONALLY AS OUR DANCE FLOOR MM-HMM . RIGHT. SO IT WAS KIND OF A DANCE FLOOR PICKLEBALL COURT. THE STAGE AREA WILL STILL BE THERE TO BUILD A STAGE AT A LATER STAGE IF WE FEEL THAT IT STAGE IS NECESSARY TO BUILD OR BRINGING IN TEMPORARY AND, AND THAT AREA WILL HAVE, STILL HAVE THE POWER FOR A TEMPORARY STAGE. RIGHT. UM, SO, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO. WE'VE EVEN TALKED ABOUT, WELL, SHOULD WE CONTEMPLATE IF THE BUDGET ALLOWS TO RAISE THE PAVILION THE NECESSARY 18 INCHES TO BE ON IN PARITY WITH A BUILDING THAT COULD OR COULD NOT COME LATER. UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY, UM, THAT'S NOT A PRIORITY. I MEAN, YOU COULD EASILY HAVE A STEP DOWN, YOU KNOW, TO THE PAVILION AREA FROM, FROM THE BUILDING IF WE EVER DECIDE WE REALLY NEED A BUILDING. BUT I THINK YOU, AND, AND, UH, GAYLEN LAST MONTH WERE HELPFUL IN HELPING EVERYONE FOCUS ON IS THE BUILDING REALLY NECESSARY BECAUSE IT CAME DOWN TO SUCH A BEAST. AND SO, UM, I I'M HAPPY WITH THE, THE, THE SHAPE THAT WE'RE TAKING RIGHT NOW AND, UM, I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITH IT SO WE CAN GET SOMETHING MOVING. AND ARE WE ELIMINATING THE SHIPPING CONTAINERS SLASH STORAGE? YES. UM, WITH, WITHOUT THE EVENT SPACE, WE REALLY DON'T NEED THE STORAGE. YEP. YEP. SO ANYWAY, DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON DO, DO WE NEED A, A MOTION TO GIVE YOU APPROVAL TO PROCEED IF THEY COME BACK WITH THE NECESSARY? YES, WE DO. GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE? YES. OKAY. SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO PROCEED? EXCUSE ME. SO THEY HAVE TO BE, THE WAY I UNDERSTAND THIS TO BE, THEY HAVE TO BE BELOW THE 2.2? THAT IS CORRECT, SIR. OKAY. 'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT THE DEAL RIGHT NOW. IT'S 2.2 0.2 0.35. AGAIN, [00:15:01] UH, THESE ARE PRELIMINARY. WE DO THINK THAT'S GONNA COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT. UM, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDST OF DOING ALL THE REDESIGN. THAT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER PROBABLY TWO TO TWO AND A HALF WEEKS JUST OF REDESIGN. UM, SO BASICALLY THIS IS, THIS IS THEIR BEST GUESS ESTIMATE AFTER ALL, ALL THE SCOPE REDUCTION. SO WE'RE GIVING, WE'RE GIVING PERMISSION BASED ON THIS APPROACH THAT AS LONG AS THEY CAN GIVE A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF 2.2 MILLION OR LESS, THAT DAVID HAS THE AUTHORITY TO GO AHEAD AND TELL 'EM TO GO. SO IF THEY COME BACK WITH THIS BUDGET HERE, THEN I WOULD NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE IT. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I'VE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM THE PUBLIC THAT WE NEED TO STAY WITHIN BUDGET. OH YEAH, I AGREE. WHAT, WHAT WE'RE TALKING THREE WEEKS OR SO TO GET THE DRAWINGS. WHY NOT JUST WAIT TILL WE GET THE DRAWINGS SO THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE GOING BUILD OUT THERE? I MEAN THEY, YOU KNOW, WELL, ONE THING THAT I TRUST, DAVID, WELL, BUT THE THING IS, IF YOU TELL A CONTRACTOR, SORRY, THAT UH, UH, HEY, OUR BUDGET IS 2.2 AND YOU DO WHAT'S NECESSARY TO GET TO 2.2, GET STUFF, WE WON'T BE SAVING ANY MONEY. WELL, THAT, THAT'S A PROBLEM. THAT'S, WE CAN'T, THAT'S THEIR PROBLEM. YEAH. THAT, THAT, WELL THAT'S THEIR, THAT'S THEIR CHALLENGE. BUT ALSO THE 2.2 IS NOTHING NEW BILL. THE 2.2 WAS OUT OF THE BAG RIGHT IN THE BEGINNING, EVEN WHEN WE STARTED WITH THE FIRST CONTRACTOR. SO WE'VE ALL BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, AWARE OF, OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK TO AND GET THE MAXIMUM FOR THAT MONEY. BUT WHAT WE'VE ALSO HEARD IS, LOOK, IF, IF YOU GUYS CAN'T GET THIS THING DONE, LET'S KILL THE PROJECT. WHICH IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. SO IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE WHAT, BUT YOU DO, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH, BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, BILL, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE GONE BACK TO THIS FIRM AND BEEN CHARGED A SUBSTANTIAL FEE TO COME UP WITH DRAWING SIMPLY TO SEND THEM BACK AGAIN BECAUSE WE WANTED ADDITIONAL REFINEMENT ON THE BILLING OR SOMETHING ELSE? IT IS TIME TO MOVE FORWARD, IN MY OPINION AS A, AS, AS, AS A POSITION I'VE TAKEN TO, TO TRY TO GET THIS THING DONE AND GIVE DAVID THE POWER THAT HE NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE APPROPRIATELY. AND IF, IF HE CAN'T GET IT DONE FOR 2.2, THAT'S FINE. WE'LL, WE'LL WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO IF WE NEED TO, UH, ASK FOR WHAT, $35,000 MORE? NO . CORRECT. I MEAN IT'S GETTING DOWN TO A POINT NOW WHERE IT'S GETTING RIDICULOUS. WHOOP. YES SIR. ONE OF THE POINTS THAT YOU NEED TO, THAT IS, UH, SHOULD BE BROUGHT UP ALSO IN HERE IS, YOU KNOW, THAT I'M LOOKING AT THE, UM, UH, PRICING PRICING LIST OF WHEN IT WAS 3.3 AND I'M LOOKING AT THE ONE THAT WE WERE JUST HANDED TODAY, WHICH IS DATED APRIL 11TH. AND IF YOU TOOK IT THE VERY TOP ONE, THERE'S ALREADY A $64,000 INCREASE WITH DESIGN. OKAY. YES, SIR. THAT, THAT IS THE, UM, THAT LEMME GET TO WHAT I'M AT. THAT, THAT, LEMME GET, LEMME GET TO WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS REAL QUICK. SO, OKAY. SO MY POINT IS, IS THAT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DRAWINGS AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF, I MEAN THEY'RE GONNA, IT, IT'S RUNNING UP ONE END WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO SAVE ON THE OTHER. 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME YOU CHANGE YOUR DESIGN AND STUFF, SOMEBODY'S GOTTA PAY FOR IT. AND I WAS NOT IN A MEETING WITH DAVID, BUT I'M ASSUMING THAT, UH, DAVID DID WHAT WE INSTRUCTED HIM TO DO, WHICH WAS TALK TO STRUCTURE TONE, TELL 'EM EXACTLY WHAT WE HAD DISCUSSED ON HOW TO PROCEED WITH THIS AND THEN TO PROCEED WITH THIS. UM, THEY CAME BACK, IF YOU WANNA KNOW THE TRUTH, THEY CAME A LOT BACK, YOU KNOW, A LOT CLOSER THAN I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT US HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, PUT A RED INK PIN TO IT. BUT, UH, IF THEY, LIKE I SAID, I, I SAID ALONG, I'D LIKE IT TO COME IN IF YOU ACTUALLY KNOW CLOSER TO 2 MILLION A LITTLE BIT UNDER, 'CAUSE I, I KNOW CONSTRUCTION, I KNOW THAT'S GONNA CHANGE AND ALL, BUT IF IT'S A HARD MONEY CONTRACT THAT SAYS THAT YOU WILL BUILD THIS UPON APPROVAL FOR THIS NUMBER OF DOLLARS, AND I THINK WE SHOULD GO WITH THE PROJECT AND I THINK WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, GO AHEAD AND, UH, ALLOW DAVID TO DO HIS JOB, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE INSTRUCT HIM TO DO CERTAIN THINGS AND, AND THEN HE, HE TAKES IT FROM THERE AND, YOU KNOW, WAITING DOESN'T DO ANYTHING IN CONSTRUCTION, BUT RUN THE PRICE UP NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. WELL SAID. I AGREE. SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR? I MOVE TO, I MOVE TO AUTHORIZE, UH, THE, UM, TO AUTHORIZE DAVID THE, WHAT IS HIS TITLE? GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE TO GUARANTEED, YOU KNOW, TO [00:20:01] AUTHORIZE THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF 2.2 MILLION OR LESS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO STRESS THE OR LESS PART, YOU KNOW, AND BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND SIGN THE CONTRACTS AND LET'S, LET'S BREAK GROUND. WE'RE AT THE TIME OF THE YEAR THAT YOU SHOULD BE BREAKING GROUND ON PROJECTS. MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY CHANCE AT ALL TO GETTING THESE THINGS EVER DONE. WE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE STRUGGLED THROUGH THIS FOR THE, THE BAD WEATHER. SO ANYWAY, THAT'S MY MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. WALTER WILSON FIRST MOTION. WE'VE GOT DEREK WITH A SECOND. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU, SIR. OKAY, SO BEFORE I MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO [9. STAFF UPDATE] MOVE THE STAFF UPDATE, UM, AND ALLOW DAVID TO, UM, PROVIDE COMMENTS. AND I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME INFORMATION THAT I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO MAY BE LISTENING ONLINE AND THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE ATTENDED IN PERSON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BUT I THINK, UH, I THINK HE'S GOT A FAIRLY COMPELLING STORY TO TELL IN ADDITION TO THE UPDATES. DAVID. YEP. UM, CAITLIN'S GONNA PULL THIS UP FOR YOU. UM, EACH OF EACH BOARD MEMBER SHOULD HAVE THIS SHEET IN, IN FRONT OF YOU. UM, THERE'S BEEN, UM, QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE INCENTIVES THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WE'RE OBLIGATED. UM, CAN YOU BLOW THAT UP? YEAH. CAN YOU MAKE THAT BIGGER? YEAH. UM, UM, UH, THE INCENTIVES THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING, UM, AND SORT OF WHAT, WHAT THOSE ARE DOING, HOW IS THAT DRIVING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT IS OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT? UM, SO WE'VE PUT, I PUT THIS SHEET TOGETHER. THIS IS STARTING WITH, UM, THE HUGHES ROAD RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT. CAN, CAN YOU ALL SEE THAT OUT IN THE AUDIENCE? CAN YOU READ IT? OKAY. THIS IS IMPORTANT. WE NEED TO GET, OKAY. YEAH. THAT'S, DOES THAT HELP? YEAH. WE'LL HAVE HER MOVE IT AROUND IF WE NEED TO. YEAH, THERE YOU GO. YOU'LL HAVE TO NAVIGATE. UM, SO WE HAVE OUR ASSOCIATED PROJECTS THAT INCLUDE OUR HUGHES ROAD RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, THE ZIGLARS, THE, THE NEW STREET THAT WE PAID FOR TO ACCESS IN AND OUT OF ZIEGLER'S, WHICH IS, UM, 44TH STREET, UM, ROAD. AND AGAIN, THAT WAS DONE LA UH, PAID FOR LAST YEAR WAS WHEN THE ZIEGLER'S FAMILY WAS NEGOTIATING AND WE INVESTED THAT MONEY FOR THE, THE STREET WORK TO BE DONE. AND THAT WAS PRIOR TO THEM SELLING THE PROPERTY. UH, IT INCLUDES, UM, THE PICNIC GROUNDS, UM, THE WATER STREET PARKING GARAGE DEVELOPMENT. AND I HAVE THIS KIND OF BROKEN OUT IN SORT OF YEAR BY YEAR. UM, SO SOME OF THESE PROJECTS ARE GONNA REPEAT. UM, THERE'S BAYOU VILLAGE, UM, THE ELS PROJECT, UH, BAYOU VILLAGE, UM, RESIDENTIAL, A WATER STREET, UM, DEVELOPMENT, THE LIFT STATION, UM, THE BAYOU VILLAGE SPORTS PARK. DON'T HAVE A NUMBER FOR THAT. JUST YOU OR WATER STREET DEVELOPMENT. UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PER OUR CONTRACT AND OUR, OUR PARKVIEW UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. UM, AND I REALIZE THE DATES, MY APOLOGIES, THE DATE ON PARKVIEW IS INCORRECT. UM, I WILL GET THAT CORRECTED. BUT, UM, SO WANTED TO GO THROUGH THOSE, THOSE, UM, VARIOUS PROJECTS, WHAT OUR ED UM, EDC INVESTMENT HAS BEEN IN EACH, UM, TO, TO GET DOWN TO THE BOTTOM LINE THERE. A COMMIT A COMMITMENT. YEAH. WHAT OUR COMMITMENTS ARE BASED ON PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES. CORRECT. SO, UM, THE BOTTOM LINE COMMITMENT, UH, IN ALL OF THESE ARRANGEMENTS, IF YOU SEE IS A TOTAL OF 3.99 MILLION. SO ALMOST, BUT, BUT THE 2.5 LIFT STATION IS A DMD COMMITMENT. THAT'S NOT EDC. UH, YES. UM, OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE 3.5. THE DMD IS TWO POINT, UH, 2.5 IS DMD. SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OVER 11. YES. SO THE, THE DEDC IS IS JUST OVER 11, UM, INCLUDING THE DMD IN TOTAL FOR DMD FUNDS, WHICH IS GOING TOWARDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. OKAY, GOTCHA. WE'VE GOT JUST UNDER $14 MILLION COMMITTED FOR SPECIFICALLY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S BASED ON PAYOUTS OR INCENTIVES BASED ON PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES THAT ARE REACHED. CORRECT. AND, AND CERTAIN THINGS ARE, UM, IF YOU TAKE THE HUGHES ROAD FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WAS PROPERTY THAT WAS ACQUIRED AT, AT SOME POINT BY THE DEDC. SO THAT'S JUST THE LAND, THE LAND VALUE, [00:25:01] UM, THAT WAS PUT PUT TOWARDS THAT. UM, AND GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT WAS STRUCTURED. WERE YOU ABLE TO GET AN IDEA FROM DANIEL ON THAT? YEAH, SO TALK TO DANIEL. SO THAT WAS JUST, IT WAS BASICALLY, UM, THE LAND VALUE OF THE PROPERTY. SO THE ONE PROPERTY WAS ROUGHLY, IF I RECALL, ABOUT 1.1 0.2 MILLION AND THE OTHER ONE WAS ABOUT 160, $170,000. UM, IN, AND THEN WHAT HE'S GONNA DO IS THE NEW RE TAXABLE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY VALUE'S GONNA BE 45 MILLION. UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TAX GENERATION OFF THAT PROPERTY, BUT HOW WAS, HOW WAS THE PAYOUT OF, OR THE, THE, THE, THE RELIEF FROM THE LOAN, IF YOU WILL, OR THE G THE, THE WILLING OF, OF THE PROPERTY. HOW WAS IT STRUCTURED? IS IT OVER TIME? UH, MY, NO, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, IS THAT THAT LAND WAS, WAS PART, WAS HIS INCENTIVE. OKAY. SO THAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM UP FRONT WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING. I THINK BILL MAY BE ABLE TO PILE ON THAT ONE. OR BILL, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER ONE? DANIEL BOUGHT THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY FROM C FOR THE EXACT AMOUNT THAT WE HAD. OKAY. OKAY. SO SAY, WELL THEY HAD SEVEN $50,000 IN THE LAND HE PAID OVER. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO. YEAH, I THOUGHT WE I THOUGHT THE DDC BOUGHT IT. YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR THAT. PAID FOR THAT. PAID FOR THAT. OKAY. YEP. SO HIS WAS JUST THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEVEN 50 AND NINE, CORRECT. OR THE NINTH HE MADE OVER A MILLION, I DUNNO, EXACT NUMBER. OKAY. OR WHAT I REMEMBER IS OVER A MILLION. OKAY. SORRY TO GET HUNG UP ON THAT, BUT NO, IT'S, SORRY THAT WAS A LAST MINUTE AD 'CAUSE UM, WE'D FORGOTTEN ON THAT ONE AND JUST QUICKLY TEXTING WITH DANIEL. UM, BUT IF YOU LOOK, IF YOU LOOK AT ALL, ALL OF THESE AGAIN, GETTING DOWN TO THAT BOTTOM LINE, IT JUST UNDER $14 MILLION BEING INVESTED FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IF YOU SLIDE OVER, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS THE INVESTMENT IN DICKINSON, UM, TO TAXABLE NEW PROPERTIES, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOT NEW, NEW RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES AND INVESTMENT IN DICKINSON OF, OF 144 MILLION COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, 99 MILLION. SO THAT OVERALL INVESTMENT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE GETTING FOR THAT IN RETURN FOR THAT $14 MILLION IS JUST UNDER $250 MILLION. AND THEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS OUR ROI, RIGHT? I MEAN EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GENERATE NEW TAX REVENUE STREAMS, RIGHT? SO ONCE THESE PROJECTS ARE ALL SAID AND DONE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT SIX AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF NEW TAX GENERATION THROUGH BOTH YOUR RE ANNUALLY THROUGH BOTH YOUR TAX, UM, YOUR RESIDENTIAL TAXES. AND THIS IS AT CURRENT RATES. SO, UM, AND YOUR SALES TAX. SO LOOKING AT ALL, ALL THE ELEMENTS HERE, WE'RE GENERATING $6.5 MILLION A YEAR ONCE THE PROJECTS ARE ALL COMPLETE. SO YOUR 10 YEAR ROI IS OVER $65.3 MILLION. UM, SO, SO LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT. SO THE COMBINATION OF RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS THAT THE DDC HAS BEEN WORKING WITH DEVELOPERS ON MM-HMM . IN ADDITION TO THE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS MM-HMM . SOME ARE COMBINED. SO BY, YOU KNOW, PARKVIEW FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD A BOOK BE A COMBINED RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED USE RETAIL? CORRECT. SO I TRIED TO SEPARATE THOSE TWO NUMBERS OUT WITH, WITH BRAD. OKAY. SO THE ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY ONCE IT'S COMPLETED IS WHAT YOU'VE GOT NOTED HERE. CORRECT. ALRIGHT. AND THAT THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE ANYTHING WITH REGARDS TO, UH, JOB CREATION. THIS, THIS, THIS DOES NOT. UH, WE'RE, WE'RE EARLY ON. UM, SO I'VE BEEN TRYING TO, I'M TRYING TO GET SOME JOB CREATION NUMBERS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE, UM, BAYOU VILLAGE, WE HAVE THREE QSRS, RIGHT? SO I'M TRYING TO CONTACT SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, CHURCHES AND FOLKS LIKE THAT BACK IN MATH LOOKING AT THIS HOTEL, UM, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S A HOTEL, BUT YOU'VE GOT MULTITUDE OF RESTAURANTS AT WATER STREET, YOU'VE GOT THE EAST SIDE DEVELOPMENTS. THIS DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE THE 54 ACRES. WE THAT IS CORRECT. CORRECT. OKAY. SO I WOULD SAY THIS, THIS IS REPRESENTATIVE OF HUNDREDS OF JOBS. OH YEAH. IS THAT, WOULD THAT BE A FAIR STATEMENT? I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A FAIR STATEMENT. UM, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST ON THE, ON THE QUICK MATH. OKAY. I'M, I'M JUST, I'M GONNA TRY TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT TO COME UP WITH A NUMBER. BUT I MEAN IT'S, OKAY. SO THIS ALSO DOESN'T CONTEMPLATE ANCILLARY ECONOMIC BENEFITS SUCH AS WHEN THE EMPLOYEES COME TO TOWN AND NOW WORK HERE MM-HMM . HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'RE [00:30:01] ACTUALLY SPENDING AT THE RESTAURANTS. CORRECT. PURCHASES OF GOODS, UH, SHOPPING, UH, ADDITIONAL LIVING DID NOT, I ACTUALLY, I ACTUALLY BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THAT THE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY IMPRESSIVE, I ACTUALLY TRIED TO TAKE AS CONSERVATIVE OF A APPROACH ON THIS AS I, AS I COULD. OKAY. SO DOES THIS MAKE SENSE TO YOU, GENTLEMEN? SO JUST TO RECAP WHAT I'M SEEING HERE, BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE THE EDC AND I, I HOPE THIS IS CLEARLY ON PUBLIC RECORD, BOTH FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTENDING AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLINE AND THE PEOPLE WHO INTEND TO POST THIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, IS THAT THERE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS FOCUS ON WHAT IS PERCEIVED TO BE COSTS AND EXPENSES THAT THE EDC HAS BEEN FACILITATING THAT ARE UNJUSTIFIED AND HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO SHOW A RETURN. AND THERE'S BEEN EVEN DISCUSSION THAT I'VE RECENTLY READ THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR THE BETTER PART OF A MONTH ABOUT DISCUSSIONS ON HOW THE CITY SHOULD ELIMINATE THE EDC. SO FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO STAY ON THAT SHIP, I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU TO SHOW ME A PLAN WHERE IN THE COURSE OF, I DON'T KNOW, BILL, WHAT, WHAT IS THIS? MAYBE THE LAST, BECAUSE I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE ABOUT FOUR YEARS, THIS PROBABLY IS A CULMINATION OVER WHAT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS OF WORK, A MAJORITY OF WHICH HAS BEEN IN THE LAST HAVE BUSINESSES NOT ON THIS LIST THAT ARE ALREADY PRODUCING. RIGHT. AND I MEAN, SO THAT, THAT EVEN MAKES THE MONTEREY HOUSE CHEMIC. YEP. BUT I DON'T WERE THOSE EDC RELATED? YEP. SO SO THAT MAY EVEN MAKES THE PROPOSITION MORE COMPELLING. YEAH. I WOULD TAKE THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT EXPENSE FOR THE LIFT STATION OFF OF THERE BECAUSE, WELL, IT'S IMPORTANT I THOUGHT BECAUSE IT DEMONSTRATES ROUGHLY 20, MORE THAN 25% OF THE TOTAL COMMITTED FUNDS THAT ARE BASED ON PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE IS SPENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE. AND THAT'S SOME OF THE OTHER CRITICISM THAT THIS GROUP HAS BEEN RECEIVING, THAT WE DON'T SPEND ENOUGH MONEY ON STREETS WHICH DON'T NECESSARILY PROVIDE ANY TYPE OF RETURN. SO MY POINT IS, AND THE REASON I'M GOING ON THIS A BIT OF A RANT HERE IS THAT I HAVE NEVER, IN ALL OF THE CRITICISM THAT'S BEEN POSTED AND THREATS OF, OF ELIMINATING THE EDC AND I FEEL FOR SOME OF OUR, OUR, UM, CITY OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES, THEY FEEL UNDER PRESSURE TO ACQUIESCE AND POTENTIALLY MAYBE EVEN THE THOUGHT OF, OF JUMPING ON BOARD WITH THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS GROUP HAS ACCOMPLISHED. AND IT'S NOT JUST THIS GROUP, IT'S YEARS OF VOLUNTEER WORK. BILL WAS INCLUDED IN THAT TOO WHEN HE WAS LEADER OF, OF THE EDC AND ON IT FOR MANY YEARS. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ESPOUSING, LET'S GET RID OF THE EDC, LET'S TAKE THE MONEY AND FUND STREET REPAIR. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY BUSINESS PLAN ON HOW THAT'S GOING TO BOOST THE ECONOMY AND BRING $65 MILLION TO THIS COMMUNITY OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. YOU TAKE THIS BUSINESS MODEL TO ANY CORPORATION IN AMERICA, THEY WOULD SAY DONE, I'LL TAKE IT BECAUSE IT'S SO COMPELLING. SO I CHALLENGE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN CRITICAL OF THE EDC, WHO HAVE NEVER ASKED WHAT ARE THE UPSIDES, BUT ONLY FOCUSED ON WHAT PERCEIVED COST IT IS. I CHALLENGE YOU TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR FELLOW BOARD MEMBER OR DAVID FUNK, THE DIRECTOR. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A SINGLE PHONE CALL, A SINGLE QUESTION, AN EMAIL. CAN WE MEET FOR COFFEE? CAN WE DISCUSS IT? NONE, NOT ONE. AND I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NEVER HEARD OF A PLAN THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO RETURN THIS TYPE OF REVENUE TO THE CITY AND TAKE THE TAX BURDEN OFF OF THE RESIDENT. ONLY 13% OF OUR TAX REVENUE TODAY IS COMMERCIAL. 67% OF THE BURDEN IS ON THE RESIDENTS. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. AND THIS TEAM AND THE ONES WHO WERE BEFORE US WHO HAD A PROACTIVE BUSINESS APPROACH AND WERE NOT FEARFUL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CRITICAL. KUDOS TO YOU TOO, THAT THIS SHOULD BE [00:35:01] REFLECTIVE OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH AND THE VALUE THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE THROUGH THIS BOARD. SO THERE YOU GO. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YEAH, I WOULD AGREE. I WOULD AGREE WITH BILL, THOUGH. I THINK THE TWO 2.5 MILLION THAT'S EDCS REALLY DOESN'T BELONG IN THIS. 'CAUSE IT SHOWS THAT YOU HAVE A, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN $12 MILLION INVESTMENT. YES, IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT EDC AND DMD WORK TOGETHER AND IT JUST SHOWS THAT IT CAN HAPPEN. BUT I THINK IT SHOWS AN EXPENSE THAT REALLY WE GET, WE GET IZED FOR ENOUGH EXPENSES THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY OURS. I I THINK THAT'S FAIR. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO, OR OR AT LEAST NOTE THAT IT IS, 'CAUSE THERE'S NO NOTATION IN HERE TO WHAT IT IS. WELL, THE ONE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT, MAYBE IT'S, IT'S A SIDEBAR OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING, UM, TO TALK ABOUT. BECAUSE ANOTHER POINT THAT WASN'T MENTIONED WAS IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE PAST CITY MANAGER IS THAT WHEN, WHEN HE NEGOTIATED WITH THE WCID THAT WE WOULD BEAR THIS EXPENSE IS THAT THE W-S-C-I-D SAID, YES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND THAT MONEY TO, TO, UH, ENHANCE THE LIFT STATION BECAUSE WE CAN NOT ADD ONE SINGLE MORE COMMERCIAL METER OR ANY COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN UNTIL THAT IN INVESTMENT'S MADE. SO THAT GOES TO SHOW THAT THIS IS NOT ONLY BENEFITING THAT DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT BENEFITS THE ENTIRE CITY, ESPECIALLY THOSE RESIDENTS AND, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN STARTING BUSINESSES. WELL THAT THERE'S ON WEST SIDE TOWN, THERE'S AN INDUSTRIAL PARK THAT'S, I BELIEVE IS BEING HELD UP EXACTLY FOR THAT ONE REASON THAT THE LAND WAS PURCHASED AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GO PROCEED FORWARD BECAUSE OF THE, THE CAPACITY, EXCUSE ME, FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR BUSINESS. BUT THAT WAS PART OF THE NEGOTIATION, I THINK WAS THE DEC, UH, WOULD PICK UP FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PROJECT AS LONG AS DMD COULD HELP ON THE, ON THE FUNDS. WELL, THE ONLY THING I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS, THIS PARTICULAR PAGE, LIKE THIS IS THIS FIRST OFF IS, IS, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW ALL THE NUMBERS. I MEAN, I'VE SEEN SOME OF 'EM, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN ALL OF 'EM IN THIS FORM. AND I'M SURE IT'S GONNA BE CRITICIZED ANYWAY. BUT, UH, AS, BUT I MEAN I I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN STUFF THAT, YOU KNOW, HELPED CREATE THIS, YOU KNOW, JUST ONE VOTE, BUT ALSO DO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THIS OTHER LAND THAT'S OUT THERE THAT'S NOT UNDER CONTROL OF EDC OR WHATEVER OUT THERE ON THE, THE WEST SIDE OF FIVE 17, WHAT YOU'RE STILL IN THE CITY LIMITS. IT'S COMMERCIAL LAND. AND THEY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE GONNA HAVE TO BE DONE SOONER OR LATER. AND THE WATER DISTRICT, I MEAN, THEY'VE GOT A LOAD THAT, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO JUMP UP THERE AND DO THIS, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THEY DO, IT'LL BE DONE IN A BOND. SO SOMEBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO PAY IT ANYWAY. SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S TIME TO, IN THE ECONOMY, WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY THIS INTEREST RATES OF STUFF, WHAT'S HOLDING UP A LOT OF STUFF FROM BEING DONE. THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO KICK OFF ON AND THE THE RATES TO BORROW ARE JUST TOO HIGH. SO, NO, I THINK THIS IS, I THINK THIS IS GREAT. YOU KNOW, I, OF COURSE I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST OF US SITTING AROUND HERE ARE GONNA BELIEVE THIS, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE IS NOT. YOU KNOW, AND, AND LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, BILL WAS AROUND FOR THIS, THIS ALL STRUCK, THIS ALL STARTED. AND I'M SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I GET TOLD EVERY, I GET TOLD EVERY DAY BY BY FRIENDS OF MINE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T BEEN DOING ANYTHING BUT SPENDING MONEY. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M USED TO IT. . I THINK THIS IS A NICE SNAPSHOT. UM, I THINK THE, A COUPLE OF THINGS AND WE'LL, WE'LL, I THINK WE'LL REFINE COMMUNICATION OVER TIME, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IS KIND OF CLEAR. SO THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY MONEY THAT HAS BEEN SPENT, IT'S MONEY THAT, YOU KNOW, IS CONTINGENT MONEY. I THINK THAT PART OF IT, IT KIND OF NEEDS TO REALLY BE EMPHASIZED BECAUSE, UM, 'CAUSE THIS LOOKS LIKE MAYBE AT RISK MONEY, I SPENT THE MONEY, MAYBE I'LL GET THE OUT OUTCOME. WHERE IN THIS CASE WE'RE SAYING NO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SEE MILESTONES SO WE HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE GONNA GET THESE OUTCOMES. UM, AND THEN JUST MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND I KNOW IN A SPREADSHEET IT'S TOUGH, BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICITY MM-HMM . ON, UM, YOU KNOW, ON EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PROJECT IS AND WHY WE THINK IT'S GONNA DELIVER, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT'S GONNA DELIVER. SO IN THE CASE WHERE WE SAY, HEY, IT'S GONNA DELIVER X NUMBER OF JOBS, WHY? WELL, BECAUSE THIS NUMBER OF THINGS IS GONNA GO IN, YOU KNOW, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. UM, BUT I, I THINK IT'S A GREAT SNAPSHOT, IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO START. AND NOW I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF US GOING THROUGH AND STARTING TO SORT OF REFINE THE COMMUNICATION AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET EVERYONE, EVERYONE TO FOCUS ON THE VALUE. YEAH, EXACTLY. YEAH. AND THAT'S THE THING I LIKE ABOUT IT, IS IT TURNED IT FROM A COST DISCUSSION TO A VALUE DISCUSSION, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. SO WELL DONE. SO THANK YOU. AND THEN I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, UM, GIVE KUDOS TO DAVID. DAVID, YOU, YOU CAME INTO THIS POSITION VERY QUICKLY AND HAD TO HIT THE ROAD RUNNING FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT DOING THE JOB VERY WELL PRIOR TO YOUR ARRIVAL. UM, AND WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE IN THE HUSTLE. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, CONTINUING ON, [00:40:01] UH, ON THE STAFF UPDATE OBVIOUSLY HAS BEEN THE, THE HOT TOPIC ABOUT OF KROGER'S. UM, SO JUST TO MAKE THE BOARD AWARE, UM, LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING, UM, SURPRISE CALL FROM, FROM CHASE THAT, THAT KROGER'S HAD MADE THE DECISION TO PULL OUTTA DICKINSON AFTER BEING A COMMUNITY PARTNER FOR 45 YEARS. UM, I PLACED NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS IN THE REPRESENTATIVES AT KROGER'S. UH, DID NOT RECEIVE A CALL BACK UNTIL SATURDAY, WHICH WAS BASICALLY, UM, A CALL BACK TO SAY WE WANTED TO RETURN YOUR PHONE CALL, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE YOU ANY INFORMATION, UM, AS TO WHY. SO WE DON'T KNOW WHY THEY, THAT DECISION HAS BEEN MADE. UM, REGARDLESS, I'M WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TARANTINO, UH, PROPERTIES ON TRYING TO FIND REPLACEMENT TENANTS. UM, SO IFS THE OWNER, THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY, UM, SO I, I'VE SPEAK, I'VE SPOKEN WITH THEM DAILY, UH, UM, EVERY DAY, WELL, EVERY DAY EXCEPT FOR SUNDAY, I THINK I'VE BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH THEM. SO WE ARE CONTACTING, UH, MULTIPLE GROCERY STORE CHAINS. UM, THINKING ABOUT JUST ABOUT ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY THAT, THAT WE CAN TO AT LEAST OFFER THE SPACE TO, UM, IF IT'S, UH, A CHAIN WITH A SMALLER FOOTPRINT, WE WE'RE DISCUSSING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DIVIDING UP THE SQUARE FOOTAGE, ALL OPTIONS. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY, I THINK IN THE WEEKS TO COME, UH, TO SEE WHAT WE CAN, WE CAN DO TO REPLACE THAT AND NOT JUST, NOT JUST REPLACE THE GROCERY STORE TOO, BUT GETTING BACK TO PART OF OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, JUST REPLACING THE JOBS, UM, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WE'RE LOSING THERE WITH THAT KROGER. SO, UM, WE ARE, WE ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THAT PROCESS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THERE? THERE HASN'T BEEN TOO MUCH TO DATE. I CAN'T GIVE OUT TOO MANY NAMES. UM, BUT DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME OR NO? THE ONLY THING THAT I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO CORRECT IT OR NOT, BUT LIKE I SAID, IF YOU, UH, I DON'T KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T READ THE G THE GALVESTON NEWSPAPER ANYMORE. BUT ANYWAY, THEY HAVE A, A, A WEEKLY ISSUE CALLED THE BIZ BUS. AND THEN THE BIZ BUS, IT, IT STATED THAT KROGER WAS CLOSING FROM, FROM LACK OF BUSINESS. AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. I SHOP AT KROGER'S. THAT'S NOT, AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE LADY GOT THE INFORMATION, BUT I THINK, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE CORRECTED BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE SUPPORTED KROGER. THEY ALWAYS HAVE, AND I, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME OTHER REASON THAT IT'S HAPPENING. I DON'T THINK THAT'S IT. I DO KNOW, UM, I DO KNOW ONE OF THE EXECUTIVE STAFFS THAT I MET AT AN, AT AN ANOTHER EVENT, UM, BACK IN, SO THIS WOULD'VE BEEN IN 24. I DO KNOW THAT THEY WERE SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS NET OPERATING LOSS IN 2023. AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME THAT IN 2024, ALTHOUGH I DON'T HAVE THE DATE FOR 24. SO IF YOU'RE AT A NET OPERATING LOSS TO THAT DEGREE, REGARDLESS OF HOW BUSY YOU ARE, THAT'S AN AT RISK BUSINESS PROPOSITION. WELL, AND I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE H BUT DOES, DOES THAT CONSTITUTE A STATEMENT THAT SAYS BASICALLY THAT THE PEOPLE OF DICKINSON DID NOT SU DID NOT SUPPORT THE KROGER STORE? WHO, WHO MADE THAT STATEMENT? IT WAS IN, IT WAS IN THE BMA LAST SUNDAY. I'LL, I'LL BRING YOU AN ARTICLE. YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S A RIDICULOUS STATEMENT. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. BUT THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT SAID, YOU KNOW? YEAH. I I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THAT. I KNOW THAT I SPOKE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GOT IT EITHER. OKAY. YEAH, I, I SPOKE TO THE CHRONICLE AND THE A BC 13. UH, I, THOSE FOLKS DID NOT REACH OUT TO ME FOR, WELL, TRUST ME, THE BIZ BUZZ, THIS WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME THEY'VE HAD SOMETHING WRONG. WRONG. WHAT IS, WHAT IS BIZ BUZZ? I DON'T, I DON'T, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, A PORTION OF THE PAPER, A SECTION OF THE PAPER THAT TALKS ABOUT TON COUNTY PAPER IN THE STON COUNTY PAPER. OKAY. IT TALKS ABOUT ALL THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE OPENING AND, AND COMING TO, TO GALVESTON OR ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTY, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM TANGER MALT, BUCK EAST TO ALL THESE PLACES. ANYTHING, ANY BUSINESS THAT'S COMING OR ANY LOCATION THAT'S BEING BUILT THAT NOBODY KNOWS, THEY'LL, THEY'LL TRY TO IDENTIFY WHO IT IS THAT'S COMING TO IT. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY, THIS WAS, THIS WAS THE TOP STORY AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE LEAD STORY WAS ABOUT THE KROGER STORE CLOSING AFTER 45 YEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, WELL, I, I THINK, UH, FROM WHAT I'VE UN UNDERSTAND REAL ESTATE WISE IS, YOU KNOW, HEB DOWN THE ROAD AT 6 46 HAS BEEN EAT THEIR LUNCH FOR QUITE SOME TIME. UH, BUT NOW THAT WHEN THEY DECIDED TO PUT THE, UH, NEW HEB STORE OVER BY LAGO MAR, UM, AND SHOULDER 'EM BOTH, AND I, AND I THINK KROGER'S PROBABLY KNOWN ABOUT THAT FOR SOME TIME TOO. SO AT AN EXECUTIVE LEVEL, THEY'VE PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, MADE [00:45:01] THIS DECISION BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST GETTING SQUEEZED OUT. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST BUSINESS. THAT'S A, THAT'S A TOUGH ONE. YEAH. BUT AN UNDERPERFORMING STORE AND A STATEMENT THAT SAYS THAT THE, THE, THE PEOPLE OF THE AREA DID NOT SUPPORT THE THING. IT'S TOO DIFFERENT. YEAH. THAT'S RIDICULOUS. IT'S TWO DIFFERENT, IT'S TWO DIFFERENT STATEMENTS. YEAH. THAT'S, AND IT'S A BLACK EYE TO THE COMMUNITY. I'M SORRY, MY OPINION. YEAH. THAT'S, THAT'S WRONG. YEAH. AND, AND I DON'T, IN MY UNDERSTANDING, IN TALKING WITH THE OTHER NEWS OUTLETS, KROGER HAS NOT PROVIDED ANY COMMENT TO THEM WHATSOEVER. YEAH. UM, SO I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I I I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO SUPPORT THAT STATEMENT. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY CAME. I DON'T THINK KROGER PROVIDED THAT STATEMENT TO THE PERSON. YEAH. TO, WELL, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ANYTHING WE NEED TO KEEP OPINING ON HERE. YEAH. NO. SO 45 EMPLOYEES, HUH? IT'S 45 PEOPLE WORKING FOR KROGER. FOR KROGER, YEAH. SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING BASED ON THEIR UNION REPRESENTATIVES THAT THEY'RE, THEY HAVE TO GIVE THEM A RELOCATION OPTION. THERE'S LOTS OF KROGER STORES IN THE, IN THE AREA FROM TEXAS CITY ALL THE WAY TO CLEAR LAKE. UM, BUT IT, THAT IS A, UH, VERY UNFORTUNATE, BUT AGAIN, THOSE THINGS DO HAPPEN IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS, AND IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING TO AUGMENT OR INCREASE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, YOUR STREET FUND TODAY IS GOING TO BE HALF OF WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR. SO IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST, UH, UNFORTUNATE. BUT I, I THINK WHAT YOU'VE PRESENTED TODAY, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GET OFF MY, MY STAND HERE IS, UH, VERY GOOD. WELL DONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I THINK WE GOT SOME, SOME WORK TO DO, BUT THAT'S GREAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BORDER? ANYONE ELSE ON KROGER'S? OKAY. UM, MOVING ON. UH, WANTED TO UPDATE, UM, UH, WE HAD A FALLEN TREE ON OUR PROPERTY AT 32 0 2 OHIO. UH, THERE'S ACTUALLY TWO TREES DOWN THAT, THAT HAVE DAMAGED THE, UH, SECTION OF THE NEIGHBOR'S, UH, FENCE. UH, AND, AND THEY DO HAVE CATTLE ON THAT PROPERTY. SO, UM, I WAS, I SPENT, UM, SOME TIME OUT THERE TODAY WITH THE FENCING COMPANY LOOKING AT THAT. PUBLIC WORKS IS GOING TO PULL UP THE TREE. THE FENCING COMPANY WILL REPAIR, UM, THAT PROPERTY. I DON'T HAVE THE BIDS IN JUST YET FROM THE FENCE COMPANY, BUT WANTED TO MAKE THE BOARD AWARE THAT THERE WAS A SITUATION OUT THERE. IF ANYBODY MENTIONS ANYTHING TO YOU, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO, UM, CORRECT AND RESOLVE THAT. UM, SPOKE, UM, SPOKE TO THE NEW OWNERSHIP OF ZIGLAR'S, I BELIEVE LAST MEETING. I SAID JUNE OPENING. UM, THEY ARE NOW TELLING ME JULY, AUGUST. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO UPDATE THE BOARD ON THAT. UH, LAST WEEK WE MET WITH THE LEAGUE CITY REGIONAL CHAMBER, UM, UH, JUST TO, WE, UM, ARE DEVELOPING SOME PARTNERSHIPS WITH THEM, LOOKING AT SOME WAYS TO COLLABORATE AND WORK TOGETHER. UM, GOOD TIMING WITH THE KROGERS. 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY I CALLED THEM VERY QUICKLY TO, TO HELP COME UP WITH ANY IDEAS, UM, IN CONTEXT THERE. I ALSO WANT TO, UM, UH, INFORM THE BOARD, UM, AND, AND JUST RECOGNIZE OUR PARTNERS AT BAY H. UM, BARBARA INGER, UH, HAS BEEN IN CONTACT SEVERAL TIMES ALREADY. UM, JUST, JUST HELPING TO DEVELOP IDEAS, CONCEPTS, DIFFERENT, UM, FOLKS TO, TO APPROACH. SO, UM, JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR AREA PARTNERS THAT ARE ALSO ASSISTING US IN THIS SITUATION. AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO CAITLIN. UH, SO WE ARE GOING TO BE HAVING AN ACCESS TO CAPITAL PANEL IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SBA, UM, ABOUT A MONTH FROM TODAY ON TUESDAY, MAY 13TH FROM 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM HERE IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. UM, IT'S OPEN TO WHOEVER FREE OF COST. UM, LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED AND YOU CAN SIGN UP ON OUR WEBSITE. AND THEN THE LINK HAS BEEN SHARED, UM, ON ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIAS. AND OBVIOUSLY I'LL BE POSTING UPDATES AND WHATNOT, UM, LEADING UP TO THE EVENT. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE PUSHED OUT VIDEO NUMBER TWO TODAY, UM, ON OUR EDUCATIONAL SERIES, IT'S ON YOUTUBE. AND AGAIN, THE LINK HAS BEEN POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND VIDEO NUMBER THREE IS DONE. I FINISHED EDITING IT LAST WEEK, SO THAT WILL BE POSTED, UH, IN THE COMING DAYS. NICE WORK. THANK YOU. COULD YOU JUST, COULD YOU JUST GIVE A REAL QUICK SUMMARY AGAIN, WHAT IS THE VIDEO SERIES AND WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? YEAH, SO DAVE CAME UP WITH IT. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY A, BASICALLY WE STARTED FROM THE BEGINNING OF, YOU KNOW, HOW WHAT AN EDC IS, UM, HOW IT WAS CREATED. AND THEN WE'RE GOING FROM THERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT POWER, I GUESS, EDCS, UM, HOLD AND BASICALLY TAKING EVERYONE THROUGH THE [00:50:01] PROCESS, THE PROCESS OF HOW THEY'RE CREATED TO HOW WE GOT TO WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT EARLIER, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND, AND SORT OF EACH SEGMENT. THEY'RE VERY, THEY'RE VERY SHORT. UM, THE GOAL IS TO EDUCATE AND INFORM THE, THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THIS PROCESS LOOKS LIKE, WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO, WHY, WHY DO WE EXIST, WHY DID TEXAS SAY A COMMUNITIES NEED TO HAVE THESE ORGANIZATIONS. UM, THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, LATER ON, WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED IS WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT A DEVELOPMENT DEAL AND WHAT THOSE MILESTONES ARE, HOW THOSE ARE CREATED, HOW THEY'RE NEGOTIATED, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE EVALUATE WHEN WE'RE GONNA INVEST X, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR? WHICH AGAIN, IS THE RESULTS YOU SAW ALREADY. SO KAITLYN, YOU KNOW, UM, HUMOR ME FOR A MOMENT. US UH, US OLD CODGERS. SO IF I'M LISTENING ONLINE OR I HEAR ABOUT THIS, HOW DO I FIND THOSE VIDEOS? UM, YOU CAN GO TO YOUTUBE AND THEN SEARCH DICKINSON, EDC AND THE SEARCH BAR, AND IT'LL PULL UP OUR ACCOUNT. AND FROM THERE YOU CAN ACCESS THE VIDEOS OR YOU CAN GO TO OUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT. AND I POST EACH LINK EVERY TIME I POST IT. SO, AND THE FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS IS DICKINSON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. AND I ALSO REPOST ON THE CITY'S ACCOUNT AS WELL. SO IF YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING US, WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO, IT, IT THE CITY WEBSITE AT ALL? NO. OKAY. OKAY. THAT'S GOOD. ARE WE POSTING IT, UH, TO ANY, LIKE, TALK, TALK OF DICKINSON, PLACES LIKE THAT WHERE WE CAN START TO GET MORE TRACTION AND LIKE, LIKE FOR THE FIRST ONE YOU PUBLISHED, WHAT KIND OF, WHAT KIND OF AUDIENCE ARE YOU GETTING? WHAT KIND OF TRACTION YOU GETTING? UM, WE GOT 60 VIEWS ON THE FIRST ONE. OKAY, GOOD. AND ARE, ARE, SO ARE YOU LOOKING AT OTHER PLACES TO KIND OF PUBLISH IT, PROMOTE IT OUT, AND JUST PROMOTE IT? MM-HMM . OKAY. ALRIGHT. EXCELLENT. GOOD WORK. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . WELL NEEDED. OKAY. SO VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH OUR EDUCATE AND INFORM MANTRA. EXCELLENT. OKAY. UM, AND JUST TO TOUCH BASE ON THE, UH, SBA LENDER PANEL, THAT'S, THAT'S A S UH, SERVICE THAT WE'RE REALLY DOING WITH OUR, UH, FOR OUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES. UH, WE'VE HEARD FROM SEVERAL JUST BEING OUT AT EVENTS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ACCESS TO CAPITAL. AND AGAIN, I WANT TO THROW OUT, UM, UM, A THANK YOU TO OUR, OUR, OUR AREA PARTNERS. WE DID EXP EXTEND THIS, UH, INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE OUT TO TEXAS CITY AND LEAGUE CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE AREA LENDERS, UM, IN OUR OWN AM AM ENERGY BANK RIGHT HERE. UM, HAVE, HAVE HELPED PUT THIS TOGETHER AND CAITLYN, WELL, I GUESS THEY'RE HELPING YOU A LITTLE BIT, BUT MOSTLY IT'S CAITLYN . UM, AND THIS IS A, I THINK A VERY POSITIVE THING OF, OF NOT JUST LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT DEALS THAT WE SAW ON OUR SPREADSHEET EARLIER, BUT ALSO JUST THE DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS RETENTION AND SMALLER BUSINESS SERVICES THAT WE, WE TRY TO DO TO HELP OUR CURRENT BUSINESSES BE SUCCESSFUL. AND I BELIEVE THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR STAFF UPDATE. ALRIGHT, GREAT. SO COPELAND, I BROUGHT IT UP SO NEXT TIME WE'LL TRY TO BRING IT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER. I HAVE ONE QUESTION. SURE. COME ON. I THINK I WAS EXPECTING TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT PROJECTS FOR, HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN SCOPE OF THE, DAVE MAY BE ABLE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL. HE TALKS TO SCOTT ABOUT TWICE A WEEK. YEAH, I, NO, UH, CHANGE OF SCOPE? NO, NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, SIR. NO. UM, IS THERE A CONCERN REMODELING THE, THE, THE BUILDING IN THE BACK YEAH. THE CLASSROOMS THAT, THAT'S NOT PART OF, OF, OF OUR, OF OUR, I MEAN, THEY OWN THAT PROPERTY THAT'S, THAT'S THEIRS TO, TO RENOVATE. UM, BUT THE MAIN FOCUS FOR US IS, IS BRINGING THE HEADQUARTERS IN AND, AND RENOVATING THE PROPERTY. UM, WHO'S DEALING, WORKING WITH THAT? I WOULD ASSUME THEY ARE THAT THAT WOULD BE UP TO THEM. UM, IS THERE, THERE IS A REASON YOU, YOU WOULDN'T ASK SCOTT IF THERE'S A CONCERN? I, I WAS THINKING THAT THAT BACK PROPERTY WAS PART OF THE WHOLE TRACK THAT CONVEY TO THAT COMPANY. I DON'T THINK THAT RESTRICTS THEM FROM MANAGING THEIR OWN PROPERTY THOUGH PART WORK INTO OFFICES, SANCTUARY EVENTS, SOMETHING THAT, SO, UM, I MEAN THE, [00:55:01] THE, THE SANCTUARY SPACE, I MEAN, THEY'VE LOOKED AT A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS, UM, THAT IS ULTIMATELY KIND OF UP TO THEM TO, TO RENOVATE AND, AND WHAT THEY WANNA DO WITH THAT PROPERTY. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, AS FAR AS THE, THE CLASSROOM BUILDINGS GO, I MEAN THERE'S NOTHING THAT, THAT WAS IN THAT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO PRECLUDE THE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THEIR PROPERTY. IF THEY'VE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT, YOU, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THAT PRECLUDES THEM THEN I'M, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANYTHING IN THAT CONTRACT. OUR CON OUR CONCERNS FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IS THAT THEY PERFORM TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE. AND AS LONG AS THEY DO THAT, THEY OWN THE PROPERTY AND THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER REMODELING. THEY SO CHOOSE. AND, AND IF I RECALL THEM, AND CORRECT ME, IF I, YOU KNOW, THE KEY THINGS ARE THE EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS AND THE ASSESSED OVERALL ASSESSED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY, RIGHT? CORRECT. IF, IF HE IS READING THE SCHEDULE OF THE WORK YEAH. AND THE, YEAH, THE SCHEDULE OF THE WORK, WHICH, WHICH THEY CONTINUE TO BE ON TRACK WITH, UM, WE DO SPEAK WITH THEM FREQUENTLY ABOUT THAT. UM, BUT I MEAN, IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM, IF THEY'RE ELECTING TO REMODEL OTHER PORTIONS OF THE PROPERTY THAT DOES NOTHING BUT INCREASE THE VALUE, THAT, THAT WOULD BE MY ASSUMPTION. YEAH. I HEARD THAT THERE SOME KIND OF ENGINEERING PROBLEM DESIGN , HAS THAT BEEN ? YEAH, I MEAN, I, I CAN'T OPINE ON ANY HEARSAY. UM, COULD YOU, I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T QUITE HEAR YOU. SORRY, I APOLOGIZE. EXCUSE ME. WORD ON THE STREET WAS THAT THERE WAS A, THEY'RE HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING THE PROPER, UH, REDESIGN OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE TWO STORY BUILDING. UM, SO YEAH, THEY ARE, THERE IS A REDESIGN. I KNOW THERE'S SOME, A REDESIGN WITH THE ROOF AND THEY ARE WORKING ON NEW ENGINEERING PLANS, UM, WHICH SHOULD BE DONE. BILLY, YOU WERE IN THAT ONE MEETING THAT SHOULD BE DONE SHORTLY, RIGHT? MM-HMM. UM, SHOULD BE DONE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH. END OF THIS MONTH, THEY ADDED A SECOND FLOOR MEZZANINE FROM THE ORIGINAL, UH, DISCOVERY. YEP. AND THEN THEY'RE HAVING VALUE TO REDO ALL THE WIND STORM. MM-HMM. AND THERE'S SOME THAT INVOLVED THAT, BUT THEY'VE ALREADY, THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THAT. YEAH, I THINK I, I THINK THEY HAVE THE SOLUTION. IT'S JUST FINALIZING THE DESIGN AND THE PLANS, WHICH IS IN PROCESS. I DO KNOW YOU MENTIONED A FOUNDATION PROBLEM. UM, I KNOW THAT THE FOUNDATION AND BILL, IF I'M, IF I'M OFF AT ALL FEEL, PLEASE JUMP IN. BUT I KNOW THEY FOUND, THEY WERE LOOKING AT, AT MAYBE DOING BACKYARD BREWING IN THE SANCTUARY SPACE, BUT THE FOUNDATION IN THAT SANCTUARY SPACE WAS TOO THIN TO HOLD THAT EQUIPMENT SO THAT THAT WAS ABANDONED. UM, SO I DO KNOW THERE WAS THAT FOUNDATION CHALLENGE WITH THE SANCTUARY. THE FOUNDATION, THE FOUNDATION CHALLENGE I THINK EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IS SCOTT TOLD US IN HERE THAT THE, UM, GYMNASIUM WAS A POST-TENSION SLAB, THEREFORE IT DID NOT HAVE THE, UH, STRUCTURE TO HOLD THE SECOND STORY MEZZANINE. SO THEY WERE GONNA HAVE TO REDESIGN OR DESIGN FOR THE MEZZANINE, WHICH WOULD MEAN, YOU KNOW, GETTING INTO THE FLOOR FOUNDATION OF THE FIRST FLOOR TO SUPPORT THE SECOND FLOOR. HE TOLD US THAT IN HERE. OKAY. THE ONLY OTHER THING I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THAT I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT HE CAME IN HERE AND TOLD US THAT HE HAD SIGNED A THINKING ONE YEAR CONTRACT OR WHATEVER WITH WHAT SPACE HE'S LEASING. YOU KNOW, HE'S, HE'S BEEN TIED UP WITH ASBESTOS AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS AND THE CLOCK IS RUNNING. I MEAN, HE MAY BE LOOKING AT MOVING HIS OPERATION DOWN TO THOSE CLASSROOMS SO WE CAN GET INTO HIS REGULAR OFFICES AND SAVE MONEY ON THAT RENT. I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, THE THING TO DO IS HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HIM, UH, BUT I SAW, YOU KNOW, SOME ELECTRIC, I SAW ELECTRICIANS WORKING OVER THERE, SO, AND NORMALLY THAT MEANS SOMEBODY'S PUTTING IN MORE PLUGS OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WHICH IF OFFICE SPACE, YOU NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PLUGS. WELL, BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS I ASKED IS THERE ANY BEEN ANY CHANGE IN THE SCOPE? BECAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A CHANGE OF SCOPE AND SCOPE OF NOBODY. NOBODY HERE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON. SCOPE, SCOPE OF THE EDC AGREEMENT WITH THE GENTLEMAN OR THE SCOPE OF THE SCOPE, THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT, THE SCOPE. WELL, ISN'T THAT, I MEAN, I KNOW THAT HE HAD TO REMEDIATE, UM, THE ASBESTOS TILES IN, IN THE CLASSROOMS. I HAD HIM READ DOWN THE SANCTUARY TOO, I THINK, YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HOPE TO HAVE AN EFFICIENT MEETING OF QUESTIONS THAT WOULD PERTAIN TO THE EDC IF IT'S PERTAIN. IF IT'S QUESTIONS THAT PERTAIN TO BUILDING CODES, REQUIREMENT CHANGES, THINGS LIKE THAT. I THINK THAT WOULD BE CODE ENFORCEMENT OR THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT [01:00:01] HERE WITHIN THE CITY. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT WE STILL OWE THEM POSSIBLY $350,000 BASED ON PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES. SO EDC IS NOT OUT OF THE PICTURE. EDC HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION. SO JUST, JUST SO I, I, I UNDERSTAND. SO MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOT OBJECTIVES, THEY'VE GOT A TIMELINE, AND THEY'VE GOT AN EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENT. THAT IS CORRECT. IF I MEET THOSE THINGS, THEN THEY GET THE BENEFIT. IF THEY DON'T MEET THOSE THINGS, THEY DON'T GET THE BENEFIT. THEY DON'T GET THE BENEFIT. AND SO WHATEVER ELSE THEY'RE DOING, ISN'T THAT RELEVANT TO US, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA MEASURE THEM ON THOSE THREE THINGS. THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. IT'S THAT SIMPLE. IS THAT FAIR? OKAY. THAT THAT ALRIGHT? VERY GOOD. BE ACCURATE. THANK YOU. BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, DARLING. UM, OKAY. AT THIS, AT THIS TIME [6. NEW BUSINESS] WE WILL MOVE TO, UH, SIX, A NEW BUSINESS CONSIDERATION, IMPOSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPOINT ONE OF ITS OWN MEMBERS AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER OF THE DEC BOARD. SO THERE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT BRINGING ON A NON-VOTING MEMBER TO THE BOARD. UH, I, I PERSONALLY THINK IT'S, IT'S A VERY FAIR IDEA. UM, ALWAYS HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I, I WANTED THIS TO BE DISCUSSED IN, IN OPEN FORUM. UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, I MEAN, CLINT, I DON'T THINK YOU WERE IN THE LAST MEETING WITH NO. OKAY. AND I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T CAUGHT UP WITH YOU INDIVIDUALLY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, DEREK, I, I DON'T RECALL WHICH MEETING YOU WERE OR NOT IN, OR ANY DISCUSSIONS, BUT I'VE JUST OPENED TO THE FLOOR. ANY, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO MAKE WITH REGARDS TO A, UH, SOMEBODY THAT'S ON THE COUNCIL THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO JOIN US IN A NON-VOTING CAPACITY, PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE, A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT OF WHERE WE WE NEED TO GO? YEAH, I, I WOULD, UH, I WOULD THINK TRAVIS MAG LITTLE WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD CHOICE, UM, IF I CAN PUT THAT NAME FORWARD. OKAY. I GOT A QUESTION. SINCE THE CHARTER ALLOWS FOR A, A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL UP TO FOUR, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, UH, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE EDC BOARD AND FULLY VOTING. SO WHY, WHY WOULD THEY BE A NON-VOTING MEMBER? I MEAN, WELL, WE HAVE, THEY CAN DO, THEY CAN DO THIS IF THEY WANT TO, ACCORDING TO THE CHARTER. WELL, WE HAVE A FULL, WE HAVE A FULL BOARD RIGHT NOW IF WE'RE ALL HERE. WELL, HOW MANY MEETINGS IN HISTORY HAVE ALL MEMBERS BEEN AT EVERY MEETING? DOESN'T, DOESN'T HAPPEN. WE DO NEED SOME MORE ALTERNATES FOR CERTAIN, RIGHT. YEAH. WELL, I, I, I THOUGHT THE ALTERNATES WERE A GOOD IDEA. UH, 'CAUSE MATTER OF FACT, THERE WAS ANOTHER COMMITTEE THAT THEY HAD ALTERNATES ON, BUT THE ALTERNATES DON'T SIT IN ON, UM, EXECUTIVE SESSIONS. RIGHT. UM, THEY ALSO DON'T, UM, HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH COUNCIL AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE, THE GUIDANCE THAT MAY BE NECESSARY FOR US WHEN WE'RE HEADING A CERTAIN DIRECTION ON HOW COUNCIL MAY VOTE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. SO I, I THINK AT LEAST THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD, I'M, I'M WILLING TO, UM, BRING A COUNCIL MEMBER IN. 'CAUSE I THINK IT MAY BE HELPFUL NON-VOTING BECAUSE, UH, I, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER FOLKS, UM, FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ANY COUNCIL, ACTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WERE ON THE BOARD THAT NEEDED TO RESIGN BECAUSE THE EDC WAS DESIGNED AND ESTABLISHED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY. NOW THE COMMUNITY OF ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT WE HAD A PAST MAYOR THAT LIKED TO STACK THE BOARD ANYWAY, HE HAD A CHANCE TO MULTIPLE BOARDS. MY POINT TO LIZ IS THAT BEFORE THE CHARTER WAS CHANGED, THE EDC HAD NON NON-VOTING MEMBERS. AND USUALLY IT WAS THE MAYOR OR MAYOR PROTON. SO, BUT I MEAN, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THIS AS IT'S BROUGHT UP. I'M JUST SAYING THAT THEY CAN BE ON, BY, BY THE, UH, CHARTER, THEY CAN BE ON THIS AS A VOTING MEMBER. THEY THEY CAN AND THEY CAN POINT, UH, I MEAN, WE COULD HAVE A RECOMMENDATION TO HAVE TRAVIS IN, BUT THE COUNCIL COULD APPOINT SOMEBODY ELSE. BUT I, I'M, I'M TRYING TO, TO INITIATE THIS FROM THE BOARD'S PERSPECTIVE. DO YOU SEE VALUE IN THIS? AND IF SO, WHO WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE? AND IF SO, IF WE DECIDE ON SOMEBODY THAT MAKES SENSE, WE CAN GET ON COUNCIL AGENDA. WELL, I'VE ALWAYS, PERSONALLY, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT VALUE IN COUNCIL MEMBERS BEING A COUNCIL MEMBER, BEING ON THE BOARD EVEN WHEN THEY WERE NON-VOTING. OKAY. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, [01:05:01] THAT'S JUST ONE PERSON'S OPINION. THAT'S MINE. WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING ONE IN, YOU KNOW, AND AS FAR AS EDCS GO, THERE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF EDCS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT ARE IN COMMUNITIES OUR SIZE ARE SMALLER, WHERE THE EDC BOARD IS THE CITY COUNCIL. SO, WELL, WELL, I, I'VE BEEN MY SHARE OF TRUCK SHOWS AND I HAVE YET TO MEET ONE, WELL, THEY WERE THERE, LET'S SAY, CHANGED THEM, BUT LIKE I SAID, THEY WERE THERE. SO, BUT I'M JUST, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S WAS THE WAY THE BOARDS WERE SET UP, IT WAS, IT WAS AT, UH, IT KNOW THAT YOU COULD DO IT OR NOT DO IT. SO. OKAY. I THINK IT ADDS VALUE. UH, IT GIVES US A DIRECTION. AND I THINK WHENEVER I FIRST JOINED, UM, THEY HAD THE VOTING RIGHTS AND I THINK THERE WAS, THERE WAS ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF THEM HAVING THOSE VOTING RIGHTS TO KIND OF, UH, GUIDE US IN THE DIRECTION THEY WANTED US TO GO VERSUS US STAND FOR THE COMMUNITY AND ACTUALLY FIGURE OUT IF, IF, IF IT WAS EVEN WORTH US PURSUING IN A CERTAIN DIRECTION. UM, SO BY GIVING THEM THE, THE, THE NON-VOTING RIGHT, KIND OF, WE CAN, WE CAN SENSE WHETHER IT'S WORTH IT, UM, AND THEN GET THE COMMUNITY'S BUY OFF ON IT. SO I, I, I AGREE. I THINK IT ADDS A LOT OF VALUE. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS OR? I WOULD AGREE WITH DEREK TRAVIS IS GREAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY. SO LET'S TAKE THIS TO, UH, ANY, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT SUGGESTION? DO WE NEED A MOTION FOR THIS? UH, YES SIR. RESOLUTION. ALRIGHT. IT IS A RESOLUTION. OKAY. SO YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND FORMALIZE YOUR MOTION? SURE. I'D MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, INVITE TRAVIS NALA TO COME ON BOARD AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER OF THE EDC. OKAY. SECOND CLINTON. LET, LET, LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT CLINTON'S SECOND MOTION. YES, SIR. ASK ABOUT A CORRECTION ON, ASK ABOUT A CORRECTION ON THE MOTION THAT IT'D BE LIKE DESIGNATED AS A MAYOR RATHER THAN BECAUSE IT, IF TRAVIS IN A YEAR OR NOT, IS NOT MAYOR. YEAH. OKAY. SURE. UH, I, I, I MAKE A MOTION TO INVITE THE, UH, MAYOR TO COME ON BOARD AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER OF THE EDC. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. ALRIGHT, ALL THOSE IN ANY, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. ALRIGHT, VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. UH, SIX B CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING, NOW AGAIN, JUST TO CLARIFY, THAT'S A SUGGESTION. THAT'S, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION WE'RE MAKING TO COUNCIL, BUT COUNCIL CAN APPOINT WHOEVER THEY, THEY WISH, UM, SIX B CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE COMPETITIVE SEAL BIDS RECEIVED FOR THE WATER STREET PARKING GARAGE PROJECT AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO AWARD A CONTRACT FOR THE SAME. UH, YEAH. UM, SO WE HAVE MEMBERS, UH, OF THE, UM, LOW BID FIRM WITH US TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. UM, WE WILL NOT NEED, UH, ACTION TO AWARD CONTRACT 'CAUSE WE WERE GONNA BE ENTERING INTO AND FINALIZING CONTRACT. WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE THE MOTION AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING TO OFFICIALLY SIGN SAID CONTRACT. UM, BUT THIS BEING A LITTLE BID SITUATION, UM, WE HAD BIDS WERE DUE AT NOON. WE HAD BID OPENING AT 1:00 PM UM, OUR WINNING BID FOR THE BASE BASE BID PRICE, UM, WAS 5,260,000. THE ALTERNATE, UM, ALTERNATE ONE, WHICH WOULD BE THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO PUT A A A, UH, A SECOND LEVEL ON WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL 96,000. SO, UM, THAT GOT US UP TO, BUT THE, THE 5.3, UM, 3 5, 3 6, RIGHT. UM, RANGE. UM, ALTERNATE ADD TWO WOULD WHICH BE ADD ANOTHER LEVEL WOULD BE 202,000 ADDITIONAL. AND THEN ALTERNATE THREE WOULD BE 117,000. UM, SO LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY TO ACCOMMODATE THE STRUCTURE. TO ADD A SECOND STORY. YEAH. SO THE BASE BID, 'CAUSE WE PLANNED ON DOING TWO STORIES ALL ALONG, RIGHT? OH YEAH. THE, THE BASE BID IS, IS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, GRADE PLUS ONE. RIGHT. AND THEN THE ALTERNATE BID WOULD BE THE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS TO BUILD GRADE PLUS TWO. OKAY. SO WE'LL NOT INCLUDE THAT THIRD LEVEL, IF YOU WILL. OKAY. BUT IT'S JUST THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS THAT IF WE WANT TO ADD THE THIRD LEVEL LATER ON FOR ONLY $96,000 MORE. CORRECT. WHICH IS WHY I WANTED TO BRING IT UP TO THE BOARD BECAUSE I HAVE TO, UM, WE HAVE TO, WE NEED [01:10:01] TO DISCUSS WHICH OF THE ALTERNATES TO ACCEPT. UM, TO ME OUR BASE BID 5.26, UM, TO DO ALTERNATE ONE IS ANOTHER $96,000. WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES HERE FROM THE FIRM. IF YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF HERE IN A MINUTE, UM, I THINK WE, UM, WE MAY WANT TO CONSIDER DOING THAT ALTERNATE FOR, FOR 96,000. AND AM I, AM I DESCRIBING THAT CORRECTLY? YOU ARE. YOU HIT IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD. UM, MY NAME IS GERALD HURD. I'M THE PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR, FOR FLINT GO. THERE'S MYSELF AND A COUNTERPART, UH, KENDRA, UH, IN THIS MARKET. UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. YOU'RE WELCOME. UH, DAVE, I THINK YOUR DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT IS, IS SPOT ON. UM, IT MAKES SENSE, I THINK ECONOMICALLY AND BASED ON, UH, WHAT I'VE SEEN HERE WITH THE TYPE OF GROWTH THAT DICKINSON IS EXPERIENCING, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS AND THE OPTION TO, TO CONTINUE TO BUILD FORWARD. UM, IT, IT, IT JUST MAKES SENSE. I THINK IT'S THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT. SO, SO ULTIMATELY THAT'S A DECISION OF THE BOARD. UH, WE ARE OBLIGATED AS, AS Y'ALL KNOW, TO, TO BUILD THAT PARKING GARAGE. UM, THE 5.2, I THINK THE NEXT CLOSEST BIDS, UM, OR THE OTHER TWO BIDS THAT WE CAME IN, WERE BOTH ABOVE THE FIVE, ABOVE 5.8. UM, SO, UM, I THINK GLENCO TWO, I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO, WE, WE INCLUDED, UH, INFORMATION IN YOUR BOARD PACKAGE, THE PROJECT EXAMPLES, PROJECTS THAT YOU ALL COMPLETED. YES, SIR. THAT'S AN IMPRESSIVE LIST. YEAH. THANK YOU. SO JUST FOR THE, FOR THE SAKE OF THE PUBLIC AND THOSE LISTING ONLINE, SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY, COLISEUM PARKING GARAGE, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, MULTI-SERVICE BUILDINGS AND GARAGE, UH, FORT BEND TOWN CENTER METRO GARAGE, WALMART PARKING GARAGES, CHICKASAW NATIONAL EVENTS CENTER PARKING GARAGE, BLANCO MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, EAST 55TH STREET, HOTEL AND PARKING GARAGE. VERY NICE. SAY WE'VE BUILT A FEW GARAGES. YOU'VE YEAH. DONE. DONE A FEW. GOOD. TIM. GREAT. THEY ALSO DID MCLEAN STADIUM AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY, JUST TO PUT THAT OUT. DID YOU GO TO BAYLOR? I DID. OKAY. DID YOU, DID DID YOU GRADUATE IN FOUR YEARS? I DID FOR, UH, THREE. OH, VERY NICE. VERY NICE. WELL, WELL GOOD. WELL WELCOME. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF US, SIR? I DON'T. UM, WE'VE, MORGAN IS WITH ME. SHE'S OUR, OUR BUSINESS TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. UM, SHE'S DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF STAYING IN TOUCH AND CHASING THIS PROJECT. UM, WE LOVE THIS PART OF TOWN. I PERSONALLY GREW UP IN THIS AREA, UM, GRADUATED CLASS OF 98 FROM, UH, CLEAR CREEK, UH, HIGH SCHOOL. UH, WE BEAT Y'ALL ALL THREE YEARS, UM, . UM, BUT, BUT IT'S JUST IN, THAT'S HIS, THAT THAT WAS HISTORY . THAT WAS HISTORY. THAT'S RIGHT. BUT DICKON DICKINSON HAS GOTTEN MUCH BETTER OVER THE YEARS. I'VE WATCHED IT GROW AND KEPT UP WITH IT, BUT, UH, WE, WE, WE JUST LOVE BEING A PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND, AND HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO, UM, THIS GROWTH. UM, I REMEMBER WHEN 96 WASN'T EVEN A THING AND, AND, UH, ONCE YOU GOT PAST, UM, FIVE 18, IT KIND OF DIED DOWN. SO TO SEE IT WHERE IT IS NOW, UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, IT'S DUE TO THE, TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE AND YOUR LEADERSHIP AND THE TUTELAGE OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED, UH, PREVIOUSLY TO, TO GET IT TO THIS POINT. SO WE WOULD, WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY. WE'RE HONORED TO, TO BE HERE AND, AND IF YOU SO AWARD US, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE IT OUR BEST AND, UH, BE PROUD. OKAY. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR NOTHING? OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. SURE. THIS IS 96. DOES THAT ACCOMMODATE ONLY LEVEL THREE OR DOES THE NINE SIX ACCOMMODATE THREE AND FOUR? NO, NO, NO, NO, SIR. UH, SO TO GET TO THE FOURTH LEVEL IS AN ADDITION IS 96 PLUS 2 0 2. UM, SO THE 96 WILL GET US TO THE ABILITY TO ADD THAT THIRD LEVEL. UM, IT WOULD BE ABOUT $300,000. RIGHT. IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY, TO GET TO THAT FOURTH LEVEL. THAT'S CORRECT. THERE'LL BE AN CUMULATIVE BUDGET, IF I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY, TO GIVE YOU THAT FOURTH LEVEL. SO, AND ESSENTIAL, ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT DOES IS IT'S A, IT'S A VALUE ADD. THE MORE THAT YOU BUILD, THE MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, IF YOU WILL, YOU, YOU RECEIVE. BUT THE 96 WILL GET YOU THE INFRASTRUCTURE IF YOU SO CHOOSE TO BUILD THAT, THAT ADDITIONAL STORY YOU HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE [01:15:01] TO DO. SO IS IT 96? I WANT GET TO FOUR STORIES. WHAT'S THE COST FROM THE BASE BID TO THE FOURTH? ADD 96 PLUS 2 0 2, YES. OKAY. SO ALMOST $300,000 INCREMENTAL. $300,000 TO PREPARE YOU FOR, FOR FOUR STORIES. 298 TO PUT YOU IN A POSITION TO HAVE FOUR TOTAL STORIES. THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. EXCELLENT. OKAY. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU'ALL. THANK YOU, BILL. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THAT ONE OR NO? UH, I JUST NEED TO, UH, UNDERSTAND HOW THE BOARD WOULD, WOULD LIKE ME TO PROCEED AS FAR AS, UM, WORKING OUT THE, THE CONTRACT AM I WORKING TOWARDS, SO HOW DOES THIS EQUATE TO YOUR ORIGINAL BUDGET? SO THE ORIGINAL, SO THE ORIGINAL BUDGET, AND I WANT TO JUST, I WANT IT WASN'T OUR BUDGET. IT WAS, YEAH. IT, UH, WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE PARKING GARAGE. $3 MILLION IS BEING PROVIDED BY THE EDA. WE HAD A MINIMUM, RIGHT. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A BUDGET. WE HAD A MINIMUM MATCH OF 1.5 WITH THESE NUMBERS WE'RE NOW LOOKING AT, AT ROUGHLY 1.7. RIGHT. AM I DOING THAT RIGHT? NO, NO, NO. I'M SORRY. UM, UH, 2.2. CORRECT. SO IT, IN, IN LIEU OF THE 1.5 WE HAD COMMITTED, CORRECT. THAT WAS A MI JUST I'VE KNOWN SPLIT NOT COMMITMENT. IT WAS JUST YEAH, THAT WAS THE EARLY KIND OF GUESSTIMATE. IT WAS A MINIMUM, MINIMUM OBLIGATION PER THE GRANT. OKAY. WAS WAS THE 1.5. AND I THINK SOMEWHERE, AND IN TODAY'S WORLD, IT'S GONNA BE CLOSER TO 2.2. CORRECT. 2.2 TO 2.3 DEPENDING ON WHAT WE GO, I MEAN, MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO ADD, YOU KNOW, FOR 96,000, I THINK THERE'S GOOD VALUE TO HAVE THE FEATURE ABILITY TO ADD THAT THIRD LEVEL. UM, I THINK WE CAN AFFORD THAT. I DON'T THINK WE CAN AFFORD ALTERNATE TWO. WELL, BASED ON THE NUMBERS OF THE PROJECTS AND THE VALUE THAT WE'RE CREATING ON THOSE PROJECTS IS $65 MILLION OVER 10 YEARS. UM, AND THE ECONOMIC BOOM THAT COMES WITH THAT. I, I WOULD TEND TO AGREE WITH YOU. I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE EVER REALLY CONTEMPLATED BUILDING A FOURTH LEVEL. I THINK IT MAY, IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE, BUT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT MAYBE THE COUNCIL WOULD SEE IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT DIFFERENTLY THAT CAME ABOUT WITH THE HOTEL THAT, THAT NEEDED TWO LEVELS JUST FOR THE HOTEL PART. OKAY. THAT CAME THREE AND FOUR BECAUSE WE CAN'T CHARGE FOR PARKING AT ALL WITH THE GRANT GROUND AND , BUT WE CAN ON, YOU KNOW, LEVEL THREE. YEAH. I I WILL SAY WHEN I WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, THERE WAS A FOURTH AND I THINK EVEN A FIFTH LEVEL CONTEMPLATED AT ONE POINT. UM, INTERESTING THOUGH. 'CAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IF YOU CAN'T CHARGE FOR THREE AND FOUR, UM, THEN, I MEAN THAT NEEDS TO BE CALCULATED INTO THE, YOU MEAN JUST DECIDE IF IT'S A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT, RIGHT? 'CAUSE IF IT'S JUST MONEY SPENT AND IT'S JUST BUDGET THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT OUT NOW, MAYBE YEAH. AS IT'S, MAYBE IT'S ROUGH, BUT IF WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO RECOUP IT, WE CAN SHOW THE, THE, THE RECOUPING IT OVER TIME. SO AS, AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW WITH THE EDA MONEY, WE CANNOT CHARGE FOR PARKING IN THAT GARAGE FOR 20 YEARS. UM, OH, NOT AT ANY LEVEL. HMM. I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULDN'T CHARGE FOR LEVELS ONE AND TWO, BUT WE COULD CHARGE FOR THREE AND FOUR GROUND AND LEVEL ONE. RIGHT. BUT IF WE WERE TO PUT TWO AND THREE ON TOP OF IT, YOU CAN CHARGE ON OUR DIME. WE STILL GOTTA PAY THE EXTRA MONEY TO ACTUALLY BREAK THE TWO AND THE THREE NO, NO, NO. NOT JUST THAT. IT WOULD COST THE COST OF THE, THIS IS TO PREP IT FOR THAT. THAT'S RIGHT. THIS IS JUST PREP ONLY. YEAH. UM, WELL, I MEAN, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO KIND OF START THE CONVERSATION OF YES, I THINK WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. YES. IN LIGHT OF CONCRETE, GOING FROM ONE 30 A YARD TO 1 65 A YARD, UM, AND THE, AND OUR SUCCESS OF THE WATER STREET DEVELOPMENT IS CONTINGENT UPON US BREAKING GROUND AND GETTING THE, THE MINUTE WE BREAK GROUND ON THE, UH, ON THE PARKING GARAGE. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING IN OUR PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT WITH SPENCER IS THAT THEIR CLOCK STARTS TICKING AND THEY GOTTA START MOVING. YEP. CORRECT. THAT IS CORRECT. YEAH. OKAY. SO I'M, I'M, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I'M, I'M GOOD WITH THIS. I'M READY TO, READY TO GO. AND I THINK THE INCREMENTAL 96 TO, TO PUT IT IN A POSITION TO GO TO THREE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A, A WORTHWHILE SPEND AS WELL. UM, PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MAY OPINE ON THIS AND IF THEY REALIZE THIS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT, THEY MAY EVEN WANT TO ADD THE OTHER 2 0 2 TO MAKE IT WORTHY OF FOUR, YOU KNOW? YES, SIR. I MAY, [01:20:01] UM, IN MY EXPERIENCE IN BUILDING GARAGES, I, I WANNA COMMENT ON TWO POINTS THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE SPEAKING TO THERE. ONE, I, I'VE NEVER BUILT A, A GARAGE WHERE IN THE END THEY WISH THEY HADN'T DONE MORE. EVERY SINGLE TIME I'VE DONE A GARAGE, I'VE GOT 21 YEARS IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS, AND EVERY SINGLE TIME WE'VE DONE PARKING OR GARAGES, THERE'S USUALLY A PARKING STUDY OR SUCH. AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, BEFORE WE'RE EVEN FINISHED WITH THE PROJECT, THEY'VE ALREADY GOT US BIDDING OUT. HOW CAN WE INCREASE, UH, 0.2 THAT I WANTED TO MAKE IS, IS I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF ABREAST OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND THE EFFECTS OF, OF TARIFFS AND RAW MATERIALS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. IT, IT, I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THINGS ARE GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. I THINK WE'VE, UH, DAVE WAS SPEAKING TO A PROJECT EARLIER WHERE WE REFERRED TO IT AS YESTERDAY'S DOLLARS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO LOCK IN PRICING ON CERTAIN ELEMENTS, INCLUDING THE STRUCTURAL PIECE. MAINLY I'M LOOKING AT THE STEEL, UH, CONCRETE HAS REMAINED FLAT FOR ABOUT THE PAST FOUR YEARS, UH, WITH INCREMENTAL INCREASES. WE HAD A SPIKE PROBABLY IN, UH, 2022. UH, THERE WAS A SPIKE AND IT KIND OF LEVELED OFF AND IT'S COME BACK DOWN. UH, BUT THINGS ARE KIND OF UNCERTAIN RIGHT NOW. UH, I, WE DAILY HAVE CALLS WITH CLIENTS AND, AND PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF TREPIDATION AROUND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT. BUT I THINK THE, THE CONSENSUS AROUND THE WORLD, UH, IS THAT THINGS ARE GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. AND IF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOCK IN PRICES, UH, ON CERTAIN ELEMENTS, WHICH I THINK WOULD AFFECT A PROJECT LIKE THIS, IT, IT JUST MAKES MORE SENSE, UM, TO MY EARLIER STATEMENT, MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AND WITH THE, THE, THE GROWTH THAT YOU HAVE FORTHCOMING. I, IT, IT ECONOMICALLY, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE. EXCELLENT. GOOD INPUT. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU. UM, WELL, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT CONSIDERATION OF POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING, UM, THIS TOPIC. SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS OR WOULD THERE BE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO PROCEED IN, IN ADDITION TO ADD AL AN ALTERNATE ONE OR TWO OR THE COMBINED, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO PROCEED WITH THE PROJECT AND THEN ALTERNATE ONE WHICH WOULD ENABLE US TO DO A THIRD FLOOR IF, IF WE SO CHOOSE. YEAH. WHICH WOULD ENABLE THE PROJECT TO GO FORWARD WITH, UH, HAVING A THIRD FLOOR ON IT. OKAY. SO, SO THAT'S THE FIVE POINT, LIKE HE SAID, THE WHOLE PROBLEM, THE WHOLE DEAL WITH THIS IS, IS IT'S IN, IT'S IN THE FOUNDATION IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT THIRD FLOOR, CORRECT? CORRECT. UH, IT'S, IT'S STRUCTURAL STEEL. YEAH. BUT IT'S ALL, IT IS ALL BASICALLY IN THAT FOUNDATION, THE, THE, THE FILINGS THAT ARE GONNA HOLD UP EVERYTHING IS WHERE IT'S ALL AT. YES. SO FILINGS WOULD BE OVER INTO THE SURE. WITHAND THE THIRD AND FLOOR. EXACTLY. BUT THE PRECAST WILL 96 WILL GET TO THE THIRD FLOOR INFRASTRUCTURE. EXACTLY. ANYWAY, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE, THE PROJECT MOVE FORWARD. THAT'S MY MOTION. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE 5.26 IN AN INCREMENTAL 96 TO ENABLE A THIRD FLOOR. AND, AND, AND JUST BECAUSE WE, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AND DECIDE THAT WE WANT TO RECOMMEND THE MOVE FORWARD, THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD STOP US FROM DOING THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER. SO WE JUST SHOULD, WELL, I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE'D HAVE TO ASK, UH, THIS GENTLEMAN HERE, IS THAT HOW LONG WILL WE HAVE BEFORE WE COULD POTENTIALLY ADD THE 2 0 2 INCREMENTAL? I CAN GO BACK AND FORGET IT. IT WOULD'VE BEEN SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF 60 DAYS, 90 DAYS, 20 DAYS. I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT WAS , ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS WE SUBMITTED. UM, YEAH, WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE CONTRACT. SO I THINK WE, WE WERE DISCUSSING, WE'RE GONNA BE FINALIZING THE CONTRACT WITHIN THE NEXT, WHAT, 30 TO 40, 30 DAYS OR SO? 40 DAYS. THIS STILL REQUIRES COUNCIL APPROVAL, CORRECT? RIGHT. UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE SO. IT'S PART OF, IT WAS BEFORE MY TIME, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD'VE ALREADY ACTED TO APPROVE THE FUNDING FOR THIS. IT WAS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. YEAH, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY ASKING MORE THAN THAT THAN IT WASN'T BUDGETED, I GUESS THE TERM WELL, IT, IT WASN'T, IT WAS JUST AN EARLY ESTIMATE. IT WASN'T A BUDGET. IT WAS, IT WAS A MINIMUM GRANT MATCH COMMITMENT. OKAY. RIGHT. SO THE REMAINDER OF THIS IS OB IS, IS PART OF OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION TO THE WATER STREET DEVELOPMENT FIELD. OKAY. SO IT'S REALLY NOT OUTTA BUDGET, IT'S JUST WHAT WE WOULD BE COMMITTING TO. CORRECT. AND LIKE WHAT, WHAT DAVE WAS SAYING, UH, SINCE THE CONTRACT APPROVAL WILL COME BACK AT A FUTURE DATE, AT THAT APPROVAL, IF THE BOARD DECIDES THAT IT WANTS TO GET, UH, ALTERNATE TWO [01:25:01] ON AS WELL, THEN YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE DONE THEN. OKAY. ALRIGHT. VERY GOOD. THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THAT. OKAY. YES. SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE 5.26 PLUS THE INCREMENTAL 96 TO GET US THE THIRD FLOOR IF WE SO CHOOSE IN SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? MY ONLY HESITATION IS THAT I, I I, I, I, I I, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT GROWTH AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE HOTEL AND I'M THINKING ABOUT HOW LONG IS IT TILL WE WANT A FOURTH AND, AND YOU KNOW, ARE WE, THAT'S MY ONLY, IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED BECAUSE I'M WITH YOU. I'M WITH YOU PROVING THIS DOESN PROVING THIS DOESN'T STOP YOU FROM DOING THAT. YEAH. YEAH. YOU HAVE, LIKE I SAID, THERE'LL BE A, THERE'S A TIMEFRAME IN THERE. 60, 90 DAYS. I DON'T KNOW. SOMEWHERE IN THERE. 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THAT THING UP NEXT WEEK, SO YEAH. YEAH. THERE IS SOME TIME IN THERE. OKAY. YEAH. SO HOW UP WAS THE EMAIL TODAY WAS THE DEFINITIVE WINDOW OF, MUST HAVE THE ANSWER WHETHER WE'RE BUILDING FOR OR NOT. AND THEN, SO FOR EXAMPLE, AT OUR NEXT MEETING, IF WE ALL MM-HMM . THINK WE'RE KIND OF LEANING THAT WAY, WE COULD ADD THE ADDITIONAL 2 0 2 MM-HMM . UH, YES SIR. ACTUALLY THE, THE MEETING AT WHICH YOU GUYS APPROVE THE CONTRACT ITSELF, ONCE WE HAVE THE CONTRACT FINALIZED, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE STRONGER MOTION THAN LIKE TODAY'S REALLY MORE INTERIM. OKAY. A SECOND. OKAY. SO WE HAVE FIRST BY, UH, WALTER WILSON. WE HAD SECOND BY DEREK. UH, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE PRECONTRACT, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS MORE WITH OUR PRE-CON GUY AND TALK NUMBERS AND DATES AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT AS WE ALSO TALK ABOUT CONTRACTS. SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A DEFINITIVE DECISION TONIGHT. OKAY. WE CAN DISCUSS IT FOR, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS JUST GET THIS THING STARTED. YEAH. WE WANNA GET IT STARTED. YEAH. . OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE 5.26 PLUS THE INCREMENTAL 96 TO GET US IN A POSITION TO ADD A THIRD FLOOR AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE IF WE CHOSE TO DO SO. AND WE HAVE A SECOND BY DEREK QUIRK. UH, NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. CONGRATULATIONS SIR. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE IT. CONGRATULATIONS. EDC BOARD MEMBERS. THIS IS ACTUALLY THE, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING. THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AND THIS, UH, THIS, THIS WILL START THE CLOCK WITH WATER STREET CONSTRUCTION. OKAY. FINALLY. VERY GOOD. VERY GOOD. OKAY, SO NOW WE, [7. EXECUTIVE (CLOSED) SESSION(S)] THE TIME IS, UH, I'VE GOT, UH, 7 58 ISH. DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT? 7 58. AND WE ARE ADJOURNING. AND, AND WE WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. * 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.