Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met Sept. 12

Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met Sept. 12.

Here is the agenda 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, inside the Large Conference Room at the Authority’s office, located at 1221 McKinney Street, Suite 4250, Houston, TX 77010, on the 12th of September 2023, and the roll was called of the duly constituted officers and members of the Board, to wit:

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Curtis Flowers Chair

Michele Sabino Vice Chair

Barry Mandel Secretary

Keith Hamm Treasurer

Regina Garcia Director

James Harrison Director

Sherman Lewis Director

Tiko Reynolds-Hausman Director

William Taylor Director

and all of said persons were present except for Chair Flowers, Secretary Mandel, and Director Lewis. Also present were Allen Douglas, Executive Director (“ED”); Kris Larson, President; Jana Gunter, Director of Finance; and staff members Brett DeBord, Jamie Perkins, Albert Sanchez, Ann Taylor and Candace Williams, all with the Authority; Algenita Davis and Ryan LeVessuer, consultants to the Authority; and Clark Lord, outside counsel to the Authority.

Also in attendance were guests and presenters Cmdr. Paula Read and Lt. Jennifer Kennedy with HPD; Council Member Abbie Kamin with Houston City Council District C; Ginger Baldwin and Paul Lock with CenterPoint Energy. Andrew Busker with the City of Houston’s Office of Economic Development attended from the public.

DETERMINE QUORUM; CALL TO ORDER

Vice Chair Sabino conducted a roll call and quorum was established. The meeting was called to order at 12:07 PM.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS

Vice Chair Sabino invited meeting attendees to introduce themselves and welcomed all. Next, she 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 June 13, 2023 regular joint board meeting. Hearing no questions or need for discussion; Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion, moved by Director Harrison, and seconded by Treasurer Hamm, and the minutes of the June 13, 2023 regular joint board meeting were approved as presented.

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Personnel Announcements

ED Douglas updated the Board on recent personnel changes. He began by announcing Lonnie Hoogeboom’s resignation, which happened over the summer. Next, he introduced Luis Nunez, who recently came onboard as Director of Urban Strategy & Design. Finally, he announced Cassie Hoeprich will join the team beginning September 18th as Director of Planning & Economic Development.

Check Registers - June, July & August 2023

Vice Chair Sabino asked Jana Gunter to provide updates from finance and administration. Ms. Gunter shared highlights from the check registers for the months ending June 30, July 31 and August 31, 2023. She then asked if there were any questions or comments. There were no questions or comments.

A motion to accept the June, July and August check registers was entertained by Vice Chair Sabino; moved by Director Taylor, seconded by Treasurer Hamm, and check registers for the months June, July and August were accepted as presented.

Financial Statements – 4Q / FY23

Vice Chair Sabino asked Jana Gunter to continue by providing updates on the 4Q / FY23 Financial Statements. Ms. Gunter shared statement highlights, then asked if there were any questions or comments. There were no questions or comments.

A motion was called by Vice Chair Sabino to accept the 4Q / FY23 Financial Statements; moved by Treasurer Hamm, and seconded by Director Garcia, and 4Q / FY23 Financial Statements were accepted as presented.

Investment Report – 4Q / FY23

Ms. Gunter continued providing updates from the 4Q / FY23 Investment Report. She announced the auditors, while conducting the annual audit, discovered $500,000 of interest income will be paid to Authority from the City. Questions were asked and answered, and discussion ensued over how the interest income would be spent. It was noted the Board has sole discretion on how the interest income will be spent.

A motion was called to accept the 4Q / FY23 Investment Report; moved by Treasurer Hamm, seconded by Director Garcia, and the 4Q / FY23 Investment Report was accepted as presented.

DBE Report – 4Q / FY23

Lastly, Ms. Gunter concluded the Finance & Administration updates by providing highlights from the 4Q / FY23 DBE Report. Director Taylor suggested the idea of providing additional detail in the DBE Reports. Discussion ensued and questions were asked and answered. It was noted that going forward, additional details will be added to the DBE Reports.

A motion was called to accept the 4Q / FY23 DBE Report; moved by Director Taylor, seconded by Director Garcia, and the 4Q / FY23 DBE Report was accepted as presented.

MUNICIPAL SERVICE INITIATIVES

ED Douglas opened discussion and invited Cmdr. Read and Lt. Kennedy to share a presentation about recent municipal service initiatives. Cmdr. Read and Lt. Kennedy shared details on HPD’s focus in the following areas have shaped the overall safety and reduction of criminal activity in downtown: (i) civility enforcement efforts; (ii) BMV auto thefts, notably the dismantlement of a large group targeting theft of high end vehicles; and (iii) the efforts to increase education and safety of electric scooter use and the reduction of street racing. Discussion ensued about the recent opening of the satellite security station near the Beacon, how success is measured with the focused initiatives discussed, and the outlook of new recruits joining the police force. Questions were asked and answered. No action was required.

REQUEST TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS

Vice Chair Sabino asked ED Douglas to continue with the next topic. He introduced the team behind the electric vehicle charging station project; namely Abbie Kamin, Houston City Council Member – District C; and CenterPoint Energy representatives Ginger Baldwin and Paul Lock. ED Douglas then invited CM Kamin to share a presentation. CM Kamin gave a detailed overview of the project, emphasizing the opportunity and need for the charging stations along Allen Parkway.

Discussion ensued, questions were asked and answered. Ms. Baldwin answered questions about the use of solar energy to power the charging stations. CM Kamin noted District C will contribute $100,000 toward the project. Questions were raised on whether or not the agreement itself would be brought to the Board for consideration once the terms were negotiated. ED Douglas affirmed it would.

Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion; moved by Director Garcia, seconded by Director Harrison, and the Board approved the request authorizing staff to negotiate an agreement for further Board approval with a chosen vendor/supplier to operate, maintain and charge for the use of two electric vehicle charging stations along Allen Parkway.

DISCUSS UPDATES WITH DOWNTOWN LAUNCHPAD 2.0

Vice Chair Sabino invited ED Douglas to share an update on Downtown Launchpad 2.0. He began by announcing the recent grant award from the highly competitive MBDA Capital Access Program administered by the Department of Commerce to a collaborative group of central city focused organizations who applied under the umbrella name of the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individual Entrepreneurs (SEDIE) Support Stack and which will be able to utilize space in the Downtown Launchpad under licensee agreements for Board consideration. Next, he shared a presentation and talked about how receiving this grant will help shape the best use of space within the Launchpad. No questions were asked and discussion did not occur. No action was necessary.

REVIEW TIRZ POLICIES RECENTLY ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL

ED Douglas continued and referred to a summary of policies recently adopted by City Council in the materials previously provided. He stated the purpose behind City Council adopting these policies was to create a uniform set of guidelines and best practices for all 27 of the City’s TIRZ to follow. ED Douglas noted prior to City Council’s formal adoption, the Authority was already complying with a majority of these

policies through the internal adoption and annual review of the Authority’s Administrative Policies & Procedures Manual. Questions were asked and answered. No action was required.

REVIEW AND ADOPT UPDATED DRA/TIRZ #3 POLICIES & PROCEDURES MANUAL

Vice Chair Sabino asked ED Douglas to continue. He referred to the draft Administrative Policies & Procedures Manual in the materials previously provided. ED Douglas noted a majority of the changes in the redline draft were necessary in order to align with the updated Central Houston Employee Handbook. Questions were asked and answered, and discussion ensued.

A motion was made; moved by Director Garcia and seconded by Treasurer Hamm, and the Board approved the revisions made in the draft Administrative Policies & Procedures Manual, and adopted the Manual as proposed, recognizing that the Manual comes before the Board on an annual basis for consideration and approval.

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT UPDATES

President Larson provided an overview of the prior month’s progress on cross-organizational Strategic Initiatives. No action was needed.

OTHER BUSINESS

No further business was brought forth before the Board.

NEXT MEETINGS

Vice Chair Sabino announced the next Board meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 12:00 PM.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was called to adjourn at 1:47 PM.

https://ctycms.com/tx-houston/docs/231010-dra-tirz3-board-packet.pdf