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Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met April 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority (the “Authority”) convened in regular session, in person and open to the public, at the Authority’s office, located at 1221 McKinney Street, Suite 4250, Houston, TX 77010, on the 11th of April 2023, and the roll was called of the duly constituted officers and members of the Board, to wit:
Curtis Flowers Chair
Michele Sabino Vice Chair
Barry Mandel Secretary
Regina Garcia Director
Keith Hamm Director
James Harrison Director
Sherman Lewis Director
Tiko Reynolds-Hausman Director
William Taylor Director
and all of said persons were present except for Secretary Mandel and Directors Hamm and Lewis. Also present were Allen Douglas, Executive Director; Kris Larson, President; Jana Gunter, Director of Finance; and Jamie Perkins, Executive Assistant & Paralegal, staff members Jenna Beasley, Varun Cidambi, Brett DeBord, David Gwin, Lonnie Hoogeboom, Jamie Perkins, Albert Sanchez, Ann Taylor and Candace Williams; and Algenita Davis, consultant to the Authority.
Team Members from Street Sense participated virtually to present at the meeting. Attendees included Executive Director Donna Oetzel, Andrea Lee, Shelby Mras, and Claire Strickland. Andrew Busker with the City of Houston’s Office of Economic Development was present from the public.
DETERMINE QUORUM; CALL TO ORDER
Chair Flowers conducted a roll call. A quorum was established, and the meeting was called to order at 12:05 PM.
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chair Flowers invited all meeting attendees to introduce themselves and welcomed all. Next, President Larson took a moment to introduce the Authority’s newly hired Administrative Assistant and Board Liaison, Candace Williams.
Chair Flowers asked if there were any comments from the public. There were no comments from the public.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The Board considered approving the minutes of the March 14, 2023 regular joint board meeting. Hearing no questions or need for discussion; Chair Flowers made a motion, moved by Director Harrison and seconded by Vice Chair Sabino, and the minutes of the March 14, 2023 regular joint board meeting were approved as presented.
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
March 2023 Finance Summary
Chair Flowers asked Jana Gunter to provide updates from finance and administration. Ms. Gunter shared highlights from the check register for the month ending March 31, 2023, the third quarter financials, and the third quarter investment report. No one had questions or comments.
A motion to accept the (i) March check register, (ii) the third quarter financials, and (iii) the third quarter investment report was entertained by Chair Flowers; moved by Director Harrison and seconded by Director Hausman, and all three of the above items were accepted as presented.
CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL REBRANDING
Chair Flowers called on Executive Director Douglas to introduce this item. Executive Director Douglas shared a summary of the upcoming rebranding project and how it fits into the Authority’s inter organizational goals. Next, he asked Ann Taylor to provide additional details.
Ms. Taylor elaborated further on the project’s goals, notably to have one public facing company and brand. Next, she introduced the team from Street Sense. Donna Oetzel from Street Sense provided a short summary about Street Sense as a company and notable items on their portfolio. Next, Ms. Oetzel shared a presentation outlining milestones of the project and talking points for the board to consider and provide feedback.
Discussion ensued and questions were asked and answered. Ms. Taylor closed by asking the Board to participate in a survey developed in conjunction with Street Sense. No further action was required.
PRESENTATION AND UPDATE ON THE COTSWOLD FOUNTAINS
Next, Chair Flowers invited Brett DeBord and Dusty McCartney to share an update and slide show highlighting the restoration work on the Cotswold Fountains. Mr. DeBord began by going over the history of the Cotswold fountains. Next, Mr. McCartney shared several before and after images of fountains that have been restored. Questions were asked and answered. No further action was needed at this time.
PRESENTATION OF BLOCK-FACE STUDY TO CONNECT DOWNTOWN
Lastly, Chair Flowers called on Executive Director Douglas to talk about the block-face study to connect downtown. Executive Director Douglas shared information about the project’s purpose, and introduced Varun Cidambi and Jacque Gonzalez. Mr. Cidambi and Ms. Gonzalez shared a presentation of their findings while walking through certain streets of downtown. They explained how a scoring system developed, the criteria used in the scoring system, and how this information helps illustrate which areas are considered walkable, and which areas need improvement to become walkable. Questions were asked and answered, and discussion ensued. No further action was required.
OTHER BUSINESS
Goal-Based Updates
Executive Director Douglas referred to the Goal-Based updates in the materials previously provided, which contained notable items and updates based on each company wide goal for the month of April. No further action was needed.
NEXT MEETINGS
Chair Flowers announced the dates and times of the upcoming Collaborative Committee and Board meetings as follows:
• Enhance Downtown – Monday, April 17th at 12:00 PM
• Connect Downtown – Tuesday, April 18th at 9:00 AM
• Thrive Downtown – Wednesday, April 19th at 12:00 PM
• Engage Downtown – Thursday, April 20th at 12:00 PM
• Board of Directors – Tuesday, May 9th at 12:00 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was called to adjourn at 1:30 PM.
https://downtowntirz.com/downtownhouston/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/230509-DRA-TIRZ3-Board-Materials-1.pdf