Houston Daily

Downtown Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors met May 13.

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 May 13, 2025, 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 Treasurer Hamm, Director Garcia and Director Harrison. Also present were Allen Douglas, Executive Director (“ED”); Kris Larson, President; Jana Gunter, Director of Finance; and staff members Brett DeBord, David Cisneros, Marlon Connley, Andy Corbin, Cassie Hoeprich, Alyssa Mason, Jamie Perkins, Albert Sanchez, Ann Taylor and Candace Williams, all with the Authority; Algenita Davis, consultant to the Authority.

Additional attendees included Clark Lord with Bracewell, outside counsel to the Authority; Andrew Busker with the City of Houston; Mantasin Manuf with RRP Engineers; Leah Chambers with Outside Voices; and Margo Fendrick, resident of Midtown, attended on behalf of the public.

INTRODUCTIONS, QUORUM & CALL TO ORDER

Board Members, staff, and attendees conducted a round-room introduction of themselves. Curtis Flowers chaired the meeting, and Barry Mandel served as Secretary. A quorum was established, and the meeting was called to order at 12:04 PM.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Chair Flowers called for public comment. Margo Fendrick indicated she had commentary to share with the Board. Pursuant to the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chair Flowers recited the required statement regarding public comments, then invited Ms. Fendrick to address the Board.

Ms. Fendrick introduced herself and began by stating her opposition to the closure of six streets near the George R. Brown Convention Center (“GRB”), which serve as connectors between the East End, Midtown, and Downtown. She then expressed concerns about the lack of communication and warnings to residents regarding the street closures, as well as the loss of connectivity between the three neighborhoods.

Ms. Fendrick concluded by asking questions about the Authority’s role in the street closures and stated that more transparency is needed from the City and GRB regarding this project. The Board noted Ms. Fendrick’s concerns and thanked her for sharing her commentary.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The Board considered approving the minutes of the April 8, 2025, regular joint board meeting. Chair Flowers called for comments or changes. Hearing none, he then called for a motion, moved by Secretary Mandel, seconded by Vice Chair Sabino, and the minutes of the April 8, 2025, regular joint board meeting were approved as presented.

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Check Register – April 2025

Chair Flowers called on Jana Gunter to provide a summary of the April check register. Ms. Gunter shared highlights from the check register as of April 30, 2025, then called for questions. No questions were raised, and no discussion occurred. A motion was called to accept the April 2025 check register. It was moved by Secretary Mandel and seconded by Vice Chair Sabino, and the Board accepted the April 2025 check register as presented.

MUNICIPAL SERVICES & INITIATIVES UPDATE

ED Douglas opened this topic and began by introducing Captain Melissa Countryman, who had been recently promoted to the rank of captain over HPD’s downtown division. Next, Captain Countryman shared an overview of her professional background with HPD and expressed her enthusiasm for working with the Board and in downtown.

Officer Deitch Lawrence was invited to give a presentation with updates on the third quarter downtown initiatives. He shared highlights from each initiative, noting that the Nightlife initiative had been consolidated into the Civility Enforcement initiative, resulting in a new total of five initiatives: Bike Patrol, Civility Enforcement, Crime Suppression, Traffic Enforcement, and Scooter & Street Racing. A discussion ensued over the remaining dollars in HPD’s current budget year. Questions were asked and answered. No further action was required.

RETENTION OF CARR, RIGGS & INGRAM FOR DRA FY25 AUDIT

Chair Flowers asked Jana Gunter to present an action item, authorizing staff to engage with and enter into any necessary agreements with the audit firm Carr, Riggs and Ingram to conduct the FY25 DRA/TIRZ #3 audit, in an amount not to exceed $30,000. No questions were raised, and no discussion occurred.

Chair Flowers called for a motion, moved by Director Taylor and seconded by Director Liu, and the Board approved the request to engage Carr, Riggs, and Ingram to conduct the FY25 DRA/TIRZ #3 annual audit, as presented.

MAIN STREET PROMENADE UPDATES

Chair Flowers invited Cassie Hoeprich and Brett DeBord to present a slide deck on the Main Street Promenade Project. Ms. Hoeprich began by sharing information regarding construction mitigation plans and updates on the City of Houston Ordinance to close portions of Main Street to accommodate the Promenade permanently.

Next, Mr. DeBord provided updates on the construction timeline. He then delved into the details of the request brought before the Board to consider approving additional expenditures to cover construction contingencies and project expenses. Questions were asked and answered, and discussion ensued.

Chair Flowers called for a motion for the Board to authorize the execution of necessary agreements by the appropriate officers of the Authority in an amount not to exceed $2,500,000 for construction contingency and miscellaneous project expenses related to the Main Street Promenade Project. The motion was moved by Secretary Mandel, seconded by Vice Chair Sabino, and the Authority Board approved this request as presented.

AUTHORIZE SUPPLEMENTAL EXPENDITURES FOR THE TREBLY PROJECT

Chair Flowers asked Mr. DeBord to continue by presenting a request for supplemental expenditures for the Trebly Shade Structure Project. Mr. DeBord summarized the need for the additional funds and called for questions.

Hearing none, Chair Flowers called for a motion to approve additional construction financing in an amount not to exceed $200,000 for the completion of the Trebly Park Shade Structure Project. The motion was made by Secretary Mandel, seconded by Vice Chair Sabino, and the request was approved as presented.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT: COMPLIANCE DISCUSSION + ACTION ITEM

Chair Flowers pulled this item from the agenda, as additional information will be presented on this topic in June.

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT UPDATES

Due to time constraints, the Strategic Alignment updates were not presented or discussed. ED Douglas encouraged Board members to review the updates and reach out if there were any questions.

OTHER BUSINESS

No further business was brought forth to the Board.

NEXT MEETINGS

Chair Flowers announced dates for the upcoming Board and Collaborative Committee meetings:

• Enhance, Connect & Engage Committee –Tuesday, May 20th at 12:00 PM

• Board of Directors – Tuesday, June 10th at 12:00 PM

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business to come before the Board, a motion was called to adjourn at 1:34 PM.

https://ctycms.com/tx-houston/docs/dra-board-packet---6/10/25