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Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met Jan. 9.
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, inside the H-Town Conference Room at the Authority’s office, located at 1221 McKinney Street, Suite 4250, Houston, TX 77010, on January 9, 2024, 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
Keith Hamm Treasurer
Regina Garcia Director
James Harrison Director
Kirby Liu Director
Tiko Reynolds-Hausman Director
William Taylor Director
and all of said persons were present except for Secretary Mandel and Director Garcia. Also attending were Allen Douglas, Executive Director (“ED”) of the Authority; Kris Larson, President of the Authority; Jana Gunter, Director of Finance; and staff members Brett DeBord, Luis Nunez, Jamie Perkins, Ann Taylor and Candace Williams, all with the Authority; Algenita Davis, consultant to the Authority; and Clark Lord, outside counsel to the Authority.
In addition, Lieutenant Jennifer Kennedy with the Houston Police Department was invited to share updates and present a presentation. Andrew Busker with the City of Houston’s Office of Economic Development; and Anthony D’Souza? with Air Alliance Houston attended from the public.
DETERMINE QUORUM; CALL TO ORDER
Chair Flowers conducted a roll call and quorum was established. The meeting was called to order at 12:10 p.m.
INTRODUCTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chair Flowers invited meeting attendees to introduce themselves and welcomed all. Next, he asked if there were any comments from the public. There were no comments from the public.
WELCOME NEW BOARD DIRECTOR KIRBY LIU
Chair Flowers introduced and welcomed Kirby Liu to the Board of Directors. ED Douglas stated Director Liu was recently appointed to the Authority Board by the City of Houston Boards and Commissions. Each of the Board Members and staff who were present introduced themselves to Director Liu and expressed their excitement of his appointment to the Board. Then, Director Liu thanked everyone and reciprocated his excitement of joining the Board.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The Board considered approving the minutes of the December 12, 2023 regular joint board meeting. Chair Flowers asked the Board for questions or revisions.
Hearing none, Chair Flowers called for a motion, moved by Director Harrison; seconded by Director Treasurer Hamm; and the minutes of the December 12, 2023 regular board meeting were approved as presented.
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Check Register – December 2023
Chair Flowers invited Jana Gunter to provide the finance and administration updates. Ms. Gunter shared highlights from the check register for the month of December 2023, then called for questions. No discussion occurred or questions were asked.
A motion to accept the December 2023 check register was made; moved by Director Harrison, seconded by Director Taylor; and the Board accepted the December 2023 check register as presented.
Financial Statements – Second Quarter
Chair Flowers asked Ms. Gunter to continue, and she shared details from the Second Quarter Financial Statements. Chair Flowers called for questions or comments.
Hearing none, he then called for a motion to accept the Second Quarter Financial Statements; moved by Director Taylor; seconded by Director Harrison; and the Board accepted the Second Quarter Financial Statements as presented.
MUNICIPAL SERVICES - INITIATIVES
Chair Flowers asked ED Douglas to open the discussion. ED Douglas opened with a brief statement and invited Lieutenant Kennedy to share updates on the fourth quarter 2023 initiatives and share a presentation. Lieutenant Kennedy gave a brief summary of the actions taken in the fourth quarter, which included highlights from civil enforcement initiatives around The Beacon, Fannin and Prairie, and 400 Bagby.
Next, she shared updates on efforts taken to reduce auto theft, increase traffic patrols, reduce illegal vendors and other safety measures in downtown. Lieutenant Kennedy also commented on how the addition of the flock cameras, funded through the District, will be a tremendous asset for patrolling downtown and thanked the Authority Board. No further action was required.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS UPDATE
ED Douglas invited Brett DeBord to share an update on the electric vehicle charging station project. Mr. DeBord began by giving a brief summary of the project. He then reported an issue encountered with CenterPoint over the location and placement of the power source that will provide electricity to the charging stations. Mr. DeBord concluded by noting other site locations are being explored and the team will continue to work with CenterPoint. Questions asked and answered, and discussion ensued. No action was required.
MORE SPACE MAIN STREET 2.0 BASIS OF DESIGN
Chair Flowers asked ED Douglas to open topic on the More Space Main Street 2.0 project. ED Douglas gave a brief recap and reviewed the project timeline. He noted the design phase of the project, funded by the District, was complete. ED Douglas announced the next phase of the project would involve the engineering component, and that an RFQ seeking an engineer was released in January. He invited Board members to participate in the RFQ review process and concluded by stating an authorization will be presented in April to hire an engineer. President Larson stated an aggressive outreach was done with Main Street businesses and residents for their input on the project. Questions were asked and answered. No further action was required.
DOWNTOWN HOUSTON+ WEB DESIGN WALK THROUGH
Chair Flowers invited Jordan Cutler to share a tour of the newly consolidated Downtown Houston+ website. Ms. Cutler gave the Board a detailed walk through of the website, showcasing new features and sharing the content geared to help people navigate and create a draw to downtown. Questions were asked and answered, a suggestion was given, and comments of praise were made. No further action was required.
SCI AGREEMENT
ED Douglas opened discussion and referred to the fully executed agreement between the Authority, City of Houston, and SCI. Questions were asked and answered. A correction to the contract was requested in reference to the timeline of the project, to replace the word “completion” to “commencement” of the project. He concluded by announcement ribbon cutting event to kick off the project would occur in late January or early February. No further action was required.
AFFORDABILITY DISCUSSION
ED Douglas opened the topic and invited Luis Nunez to engage in discussion with the Board over the affordability of residential housing in downtown. Mr. Nunez raised suggestions on what has worked in other cities and requested feedback from the Board on their views on the potential avenues to move forward. Discussion ensued and questions were asked and answered. It was suggested a workshop be held dedicated solely to this topic. No further action was required.
UPDATE ON POTENTIAL PURCHASE NEGOTIATIONS
ED Douglas updated the Board with the potential purchase negotiation discussion held in December. He stated the commercial property in consideration has been sold. Discussion ensued and questions were asked and answered. No further action was required.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT UPDATES
President Larson noted that the Strategic Initiatives were included in the materials previously provided. No action was needed.
OTHER BUSINESS
President Larson invited the Board to the CHI Outlook Breakfast on Thursday, January 25th from 8:00 - 9:15 AM at 1550 on the Green, where the CHI Top 20 for 2024 will be revealed. No further business was brought forth before the Board.
NEXT MEETINGS
Chair Flowers announced dates for upcoming Board and Collaborative Committee meetings as follows:
• Connect, Enhance, & Thrive Downtown – Tuesday, January 16th at 12:00 PM
• Engage Downtown – Thursday, January 18th at 12:00 PM
• Board of Directors – Tuesday, February 13th at 12:00 PM
ADJOURNMENT
https://ctycms.com/tx-houston/docs/dra-agenda---2/13/24