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Houston First Corporation Board of Directors met July 11.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Board of Directors ("Board") of Houston First Corporation (the "Corporation" or "HFC"), a Texas local corporation created and organized by the City of Houston as a local government corporation pursuant to TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. §431.101 et seq. and TEX LOC. GOV'T. CODE ANN. §394.001 et seq., held a meeting at George R. Brown Convention Center, 1101 Avenida de las Americas, 3rd Floor Executive Boardroom, Houston, Harris County, Texas 77010 on Tuesday, July 11th, 2023, commencing at 2:00 p.m.
Written notice of the meeting including the date, hour, place, and agenda for the meeting was posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The following Committee Members participated in the meeting: David Mincberg (Chair), Desrye Morgan (Vice-Chair), Elizabeth Brock, Nicki Keenan, Reginald Martin, Ryan Martin, Alex Brennan-Martin, Paul Puente, Bobby Singh, Tom Segesta, Gerald Womack, and Mayor Pro- Tem Dave Martin, Ex-officio.
I. Call to Order. The Chairman of the Board called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m. and a quorum was established.
II. Public Comments. Mark Grady, a Business Agent for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 51 ("Local 51"), which manages backstage workers in many HFC facilities, illuminated his concerns. Mr. Grady explained that Local 51 had contract negotiation issues with Staging Solutions for work in the George R. Brown Convention Center. He added that the current negotiation was not going well. Mr. Grady highlighted that Local 51's primary concern pertained to minimal or nonexistent wage increases, loss of benefits, reduced work, the growth of non-local competitors, and the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
Jim Capfer, Secretary and Treasurer for Local 51, stated that Local 51 workers were returning from an eighteen-month layoff due to the pandemic. He added that Local 51 workers anticipated a slow return concerning the availability of work and pay. Similarly, Mr. Capfer noted that Local 51 workers were willing to work while business improved; however, Mr. Capfer emphasized that Staging Solutions was unwilling to bargain in good faith. He highlighted that Local 51 extended its current contract due to the ongoing negotiations. He stated that he sought to ensure that HFC knew of the situation since it was the decision-maker on awarding contracts.
III. Executive Session.
Executive (closed) session under Texas Government Code Section 551.074 to review and evaluate the performance of the President & CEO of the Corporation.
The Board meeting went into Executive Session at 2:16 p.m. with David Mincberg (Chair), Desrye Morgan (Vice-Chair), Elizabeth Brock, Nicki Keenan, Reginald Martin, Ryan Martin, Alex Brennan-Martin, Paul Puente, Bobby Singh, Tom Segesta, Gerald Womack, and Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martin, Ex-officio in attendance. Janice K. Swatloski, President of Chase Source, LP, was also in attendance.
IV. Adjourn. Executive Session ended at 3:23 p.m. and the meeting was adjourned.
https://www.houstonfirst.com/static/media/uploads/attachments/bod_minutes_07.11.23.pdf