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Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met April 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 April 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 Chair Flowers, Secretary Mandel, Directors Garcia and Hamm. 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, Jacque Gonzalez, Cassie Hoeprich, Luis Nunez, Jamie Perkins, Albert Sanchez, Ann Taylor and Candace Williams, all with the Authority; Algenita Davis, consultant to the Authority; and Clark Lord with Bracewell, outside counsel to the Authority.
In addition, guests attending from the public included Leroy Wilson, Executive Director of TIRZ #25; Russel Etherton, Chief of Staff for Houston City Council Member Mario Castillo; and Catherine Sdao, contractor for special projects at Central Houston, Inc.
DETERMINE QUORUM; CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chair Sabino conducted a roll call and quorum was established. The meeting was called to order at 12:05 PM.
INTRODUCTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
Vice Chair Sabino asked if anyone attending from the public wished to make a comment. There were no comments from the public.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The Board considered approving the minutes of the March 12, 2024 regular joint board meeting. Vice Chair Sabino asked the Board for questions or revisions.
Hearing none, Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion, moved by Director Harrison; seconded by Director Liu; and the minutes of the March 12, 2024 regular joint board meeting were approved as presented.
FINANCE MATTERS
March 2024 Check Register
Vice Chair Sabino asked Jana Gunter to provide updates on behalf of the finance and administration team. Ms. Gunter shared highlights from the check register for the month ending March 31, 2024. No questions were raised. A motion to accept the March check register was entertained by Vice Chair Sabino; moved by Director Liu; and seconded by Director Harrison; and the March Check Register was accepted as presented.
Third Quarter Financial Statements
Ms. Gunter continued and reviewed a summary of the Third Quarter Financial Statements with the Board. She called for questions and discussion. Hearing none, Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion; moved by Director Taylor; and seconded by Director Harrison; and the Third Quarter Financial Statements were accepted as presented.
Third Quarter Investment Report
Finally, Ms. Gunter concluded the finance updates with a review of the Third Quarter Investment Report. No questions were raised. Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion; moved by Director Harrison; and seconded by Director Renyolds-Hausman; and the Third Quarter Investment Report was accepted as presented.
MORE SPACE MAIN STREET 2.0
Vice Chair Sabino invited Cassie Hoeprich, Director of Planning & Economic Development, to share a presentation, recommendation, and request on the More Space Main Street 2.0 project. Ms. Hoeprich provided a summary of activities from the March 13th RFQ Committee interviews. She noted of the three firms invited to interview with the RFQ Committee, the Committee recommended partnering with Walter P. Moore on this project.
She then shared a presentation that illustrated Walter P. Moore’s work on prior projects and an overview of the More Space Main Street 2.0 project timeline. Ms. Hoeprich concluded with a request for the Authority Board to authorize a $2.3 million dollar expenditure and for the Authority to enter into an agreement with Walter P. Moore to advance the design and engineering of the More Space Main Street 2.0 project. Questions were asked and answered, and discussion ensued.
Vice Chair Sabino called for a motion; moved by Director Harrison; and seconded by Director Liu; and the $2.3 million dollar expenditure and authorization for the Authority to enter into an agreement with Walter P. Moore to advance the More Space Main Street 2.0 project was approved by the Board as presented.
PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING PILOT PROJECTS
Vice Chair Sabino asked Ms. Hoeprich to continue by opening discussion about the Pedestrian Lighting Pilot projects. Ms. Hoeprich shared a visual rendering of the targeted areas and underpasses proposed to have lighting installed, a recap of the ARUP study, and preliminary phases of the pilot project. She noted funding for this project is accounted for in the current budget and meetings with TxDot are scheduled to discuss details on how to move forward. Discussion ensued, and questions were asked and answered. No further action was required at this time.
PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION OF 2025 BUDGET
ED Douglas opened discussion on the preliminary 2025 budget. He began by reminding the Board of the budget review and submittal timeline, a final draft of which will be presented to City Council for review and approval in June.
Next, ED Douglas asked Directors to consider what the priorities should be for 2025 and invited them to participate in an interactive activity. All Directors who were present participated, discussion ensued, and questions were asked and answered. From the discussion, four proposed areas were identified: (i) advancing residential opportunities; (ii) creating and improving public spaces; (iii) connecting communities; and (iv) placemaking enhancements. ED Douglas concluded by thanking the Directors for their valuable input. No further action was needed at this time.
DRA HOUSING FINANCE WORKSHOP
Vice Chair Sabino asked President Larson to open discussion about the DRA Housing Finance Workshop. President Larson provided additional detail about the upcoming workshop, discussed topics that will appear on the agenda, and noted several esteemed experts in the field will be there to present and answer questions. Discussion ensued and questions were asked and answered. He closed by inviting the Board to attend the workshop scheduled for Wednesday, April 24th. No further action was taken.
UPDATE ON ORGANIZATIONAL METRICS
Albert Sanchez, Director of Strategic Planning, shared updates and an interactive activity to gauge the Board’s opinion over the Authority’s organizational metrics. Discussion ensued, and questions were asked and answered. No further action was needed.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT UPDATES
President Larson was invited to share the latest updates on the cross-organizational Strategic Alignment goals. Questions were asked and answered. No further action was taken.
OTHER BUSINESS & ADJOURN
Vice Chair Sabino asked if there was any further business to be discussed. No further business was brought forth to the Board. She then called for a motion to adjourn, moved by Director Harrison; seconded by Director Taylor; and the meeting was adjourned at 1:35 PM.
https://ctycms.com/tx-houston/docs/240514-dra-tirznum3-board-packet.pdf