[00:00:04]
COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHA GARCIA HERE.
CAN WE PLEASE HAVE THE, UM, OUR FIRST
[1. 21-3519 Approval of the minutes from the Economic and Workforce Development Committee meeting on April 6, 2021.]
ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 6TH, 2021 AT ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING.I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR.
WAS THERE A SECOND? I DIDN'T HEAR IT.
OKAY, SO I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 6TH, 2021.
UH, AND YES, WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR E W D C MEETING, THIS MAY 4TH, 2021.
UM, WE HAVE A VERY, VERY BIG AND PACKED AGENDA WITH SOME GREAT ITEMS. SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED, UH, WITH A VERY GOOD ONE.
UH, AND I APPRECIATE THIS, ALEX.
IT IS, UM, WELL ACTUALLY, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS FIRST? NO, NO.
MADAM CHAIR, NO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[2. 21-3310 Briefing on the status of updates to the City’s economic development incentive guidelines and timeline for City Council consideration and approval. [Alejandra Lopez; Assistant City Manager and Interim Director, Economic Development]]
OUR SECOND ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A BRIEFING ON THE STATUS OF UPDATES TO THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE GUIDELINES AND TIMELINE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL.WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO, UM, ALEX.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM CHAIR.
GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE PROVIDED BY OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, JUSTINA TATE.
BUT JUST A TINY LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
I WANTED TO JUST REMIND THE, THE COMMITTEE THAT THE FULL CITY COUNCIL DID EXTEND OUR CURRENT TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES IN DECEMBER.
UM, AND THE INTENT WAS THAT WE WOULD GO THROUGH A MORE THOROUGH REVIEW PROCESS, UM, BETWEEN THESE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
SO WE WANTED THIS, THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S BRIEFING IS TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE.
UM, OUR INTENT IS TO COME BACK AGAIN NEXT MONTH WITH SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT JUSTINA'S GONNA SHARE WITH THE GROUP WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'VE DONE DATE.
SO, WITH THAT, JUSTINA, THANK YOU, ALEX.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT, AND TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE STATUS ON THE CITY'S UPDATE TO THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
THIS UPDATE WILL INCLUDE A SUMMARY OF THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS COMPLETED, AS WELL AS A SUMMARY OF PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS AND STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH.
AND BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, THE CITY HAS TWO MAIN TOOLS THAT WE USE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES.
THE FIRST BEING A CHAPTER THREE 12 TAX ABATEMENT.
SO AS PART OF THE TEXAS TAX CODE, CHAPTER THREE 12 GRANTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THE AUTHORITY TO EVADE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF PROPERTY TAXES UP TO 10 YEARS.
HOWEVER, THE GOVERNING BODY MUST HAVE ESTABLISHED GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA THAT GOVERN THESE TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS.
OUR SECOND TOOL IS A CHAPTER THREE 80 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
THESE ARE ALSO GOVERNED BY THE TEXAS TAX CODE.
HOWEVER, THE CODE PROVIDES MORE FLEXIBILITY IN USING THESE AGREEMENTS.
PROJECTS THAT DO RECEIVE, UH, A CHAPTER THREE 80 STILL MUST MEET THE GUIDELINES THAT ARE SET FORTH IN OUR TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CURRENT GUIDELINES QUICKLY.
SO, FOR A PROJECT, UH, IT CAN BE ELIGIBLE UNDER A TRADITIONAL PROJECT IF A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE JOBS MEETS A LIVING WAGE AND 70% MEET THE ALL INDUSTRY WAGE.
ADDITIONALLY, PROJECTS MUST EITHER HAVE AN INVESTMENT OF $10 MILLION OR CREATE 50 JOBS REGARDING THE TERM OF THE, IN THE INCENTIVE.
IF THE PROJECT IS LOCATED INSIDE THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA, THEY CAN RECEIVE UP TO A 10 YEAR TERM.
IF IT'S, UH, IF IT'S IN THE OUTSIDE, IF IT'S OUTSIDE THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA, THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A SIX YEAR TERM.
AND FINALLY, AS PART OF OUR CURRENT GUIDELINES, IT SETS FORTH FIVE QUALIFYING PRIORITIES.
IF A PROJECT MEETS TWO OF THOSE PRIORITIES, THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A 50% ABATEMENT.
IF THEY MEET THREE, THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT ABATEMENT.
[00:05:02]
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WANTED TO, UM, PROVIDE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIONS DATE.SO, AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE CURRENT TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES WERE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL IN DECEMBER, 2020, WITH THE PLAN TO PROVIDE UPDATED GUIDELINES IN 2021.
SO IN FEBRUARY, WE DID ENGAGE, UH, WITH CONSULTANTS TO ASSIST US WITH UPDATING GUIDELINES.
AND OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, MARCH AND APRIL, WE'VE CONDUCTED RESEARCH ON WHAT OTHER INCENTIVES AND STRUCTURES OTHER CITIES USE.
WE'VE CONDUCTED IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS, PRACTITIONERS, AND FINALLY HAVE CONDUCTED FOCUS GROUPS WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE GIVES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE CITIES THAT WE, WE LOOKED AT.
SO THEY'RE 12 CITIES IN TOTAL.
10 OF THESE CITIES ARE INCLUDED IN, IN, IN ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE 10 OF THESE CITIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE COMPARISON CITIES THAT ARE PART OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGIONAL STRATEGY.
ADDITIONALLY, WE INCLUDED PORTLAND AND HOUSTON FOR ADDITIONAL COMPARISON.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE FOUND, AND THERE ARE THREE OVERARCHING THEMES.
THE FIRST THEME THAT SAN ANTONIO'S EXISTING GUIDELINES ARE COMPARABLE TO OTHER MUNICIPAL, MUNICIPAL INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. IN MOST CASES, INCENTIVE PROGRAMS OUTLINE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS THAT A PROJECT MUST BE MEET TO BE ELIGIBLE, AND PROJECTS ARE EVALUATED BASED ON A SET OF CRITERIA.
SECOND, BEYOND THE MINIMUM INVESTMENT AND JOB THRESHOLD, TARGET INDUSTRIES AND TARGET GEOGRAPHIES ARE THE MOST COMMON EVALUATION CRITERIA USED BY COMPARISON CITIES.
AND FINALLY, WE FOUND THAT CITIES WITH BROAD ECONOMIC GOALS FOR RECRUITMENT, SUCH AS CREATING JOBS AND INCREASING TAX BASE, TEND TO BE MORE GENEROUS IN OFFERING, IN OFFERING INCENTIVES, INCLUDING EXECUTING HIGHER NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS WITH HIGHER DOLLAR VALUES.
CITIES THAT ARE MORE TARGETED, THAT HAVE MORE TARGETED GOALS, SUCH AS ONLY DEVELOPING THE DOWNTOWN AREA OR CREATING MIDDLE SKILLED JOBS FOR TARGETED POPULATIONS, TEND TO, UM, TEND TO BE MORE CONSERVATIVE AND EXECUTE FEWER AGREEMENTS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE FOUND FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES OF INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. THE FIRST BEING THE USE OF PROPERTY TAXES, TAX, ABATEMENTS, AND REBATES.
SO WITH THIS, THERE ARE 10 OF THE 12 CITIES THAT OFFER FIRM SPECIFIC INCENTIVES, MEANING THAT COMPANIES INTERESTED IN AN INCENTIVE ARE INDIVIDUALLY EVALUATED BY THE CITY TO DETERMINE IF INCENTIVES SHOULD BE AWARDED.
SECOND MOST COMMON USE WAS INCENTIVE FUNDS OR GRANT OR GRANT PROGRAMS. SO THESE WERE A COMMON RECRUITMENT TOOL THAT WE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE CITIES.
ONE PROGRAM THAT WE DID SEE, OR WAS A TAX CREDIT PROGRAM, WE HAD TWO CITIES THAT IMPLEMENTED THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM, UH, DENVER, AS WELL AS WASHINGTON D C.
NOW, THESE PROGRAMS REDUCED THE PROPERTY TAX BURDEN.
HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF A PROJECT BEING EVALUATED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS BASIS, ALL COMPANIES WHO MEET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA RECEIVE THE TAX BENEFIT.
AND FINALLY, WE FOUND OTHER COMMON PROGRAMS THAT WERE USED, UH, TO INCLUDE REVENUE BOND FINANCING, WHICH IS TYPICALLY, UH, PROVIDES FOR GAP FINANCING FOR PROJECT TAX, AND, UH, INCENTIVE TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, AND ALSO RELIANCE ON STATE INCENTIVES, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY LARGER THAN LOCAL INCENTIVES OUTSIDE OF TEXAS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE FOUND SEVERAL PROJECT EVALUATION METHODS THAT WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE COMMITTEE.
THE FIRST IS, WE WROTE THESE DOWN INTO THREE DIFFERENT BUCKETS.
THE FIRST BEING A CASE BY CASE BUCKET, UH, CASE BY CASE.
THIS EVALUATION, UH, TYPE MAY INCLUDE MINIMUMS FOR JOBS AND INVESTMENTS AND CLAUSES THAT THE, THAT REQUIRE THE PROJECT TO STATE THAT IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN.
HOWEVER, WHEN THE CITY CONSIDERS THE PROJECTS ON A, ON ONLY A CASE BY CASE BASIS, THE DECISION FACTORS BEYOND THOSE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TENDED NOT TO BE CODIFIED OR ADOPTED INTO A SET OF GUIDELINES.
WE FOUND THAT WITH A SECOND METHODOLOGY, UM, PROJECTS HAD TO MEET A MINIMUM CRITERIA.
HOWEVER, THOSE PROJECTS NEEDED TO MEET ADDITIONAL, ADDITIONAL CRITERIA TO RECEIVE A TAX INCENTIVE.
THE MOST COMMON ADDITIONAL CRITERIA WERE BASED ON GEO, GEO, UH, GEOGRAPHY, AS WELL AS TARGETED INDUSTRIES.
AND WITH THIS TYPE OF EVALUATION, WE FOUND THAT PROJECTS MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE IF ADDITIONAL CRITERIA ARE MET.
AND FINALLY, THERE WERE SEVERAL CITIES THAT USED A POINTS MATRIX OR SCORECARD.
SO UNDER THIS METHODOLOGY, PROJECTS ARE ASSIGNED POINTS
[00:10:01]
IF THEY MEET STATED CRITERIA.SINCE PROJECT RECEIVED MORE POINTS, THE MORE CRITERIA ARE MET.
THESE KINDS OF EVALUATIONS TYPICALLY INCLUDED MORE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FACTORS IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE WANTED TO SHARE, UM, ADDITIONAL CRITERIA THAT WE HAD FOUND.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE TARGETED INDUSTRIES AND TARGETED GEOGRAPHIES, CITIES CONSIDERED EQUITY ORIENTED CRITERIA IN THEIR EVALUATION.
THESE INCLUDED WAGES, COMMUNITY BUILDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TARGETED POPULATION.
SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE KINDS OF REQUIREMENTS ARE IMPLEMENTED ARE INCLUDED IN THIS IN THE CHART.
ON THE SLIDE, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT POLICIES THAT WE HAD FOUND.
SO IN ADDITIONAL, IN ADDITION TO OTHER PROJECTS, EVALUATION CRITERIA, WE DID IDENTIFY CITIES THAT HAD ADOPTED A RETURN ON INVESTMENT POLICY.
SO CITIES USE THESE POLICIES TO DETERMINE WHETHER TO AWARD AN INCENTIVE AND HOW MUCH THAT INCENTIVE SHOULD BE VALUED AT A SUMMARY OF THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT POLICIES THAT WE HAD IDENTIFIED ARE INCLUDED ON THIS CHART.
HOWEVER, I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE, UM, INCLUDING DENVER.
SO DENVER'S BUSINESS INCENTIVE FUND, IT'S REQUIRED THAT A PROJECT PROVIDE A DIRECT FISCAL BENEFIT, TWO TIMES LARGER THAN THE INCENTIVE VALUE OVER 10 YEARS.
HOWEVER, WITH JACKSONVILLE, IT REQUIRED THAT THE DIRECT FISCAL BENEFIT TO THE CITY MUST AT LEAST EXCEED THE INCENTIVE VALUE OVER 10 YEARS.
AND FINALLY, AUSTIN, UM, AUSTIN REQUIRES THAT THE PROJECT IS REVENUE NEUTRAL TO THE CITY, BUT HAS A POSITIVE RETURN ON INVESTMENT TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY, WHICH AUSTIN EVALUATES THROUGH A SET OF ESTABLISHED CRITERIA.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS GIVES A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THIS AND, AND A SUMMARY OF OUR FINDINGS.
SO WE INCLUDED THE CITY AND WHAT TYPE OF INCENTIVE TOOL IS USED AS WELL AS THE MAXIMUM INCENTIVE.
WE ALSO LISTED OUT THE MOST COMMON CRITERIA FOR EACH OF THE CITIES.
AND IN THIS CHART, WE INDICATED IF THE CRITERIA WAS A MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OR IF IT WAS USED AS A NON-REQUIRED EVALUATION CRITERIA.
SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART THAT WHILE CERTAIN TYPES OF REQUIREMENTS ARE COMMON, SUCH AS TARGETED INDUSTRY, TARGETED GEOGRAPHY, WAGES, AND TARGETED POPULATIONS, CITIES ARE DIVERSE IN THE CRITERIA THAT THEY EMPHASIZE AND CONSIDER FOR IMPLEMENTING SPECIFIC INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. SO THAT GIVES YOU A SUMMARY OF OUR, OUR RESEARCH, UM, WITH REGARDS TO CITIES.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HAD RECEIVED FROM PRACTITIONERS.
SO AS PART OF THE INFORMATION GATHERING, AS I MENTIONED, PRACTITIONERS WERE INTERVIEWED TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK ON THE CITY'S CURRENT GUIDELINES.
AND SO WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THOSE KEY TAKEAWAYS.
SO ONE, UM, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED, FEW WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE GUIDELINES THAT THE CITY HAD ADOPTED.
SECOND, MANY FELT THAT THE WORLD HAS PERMANENTLY CHANGED AS A RESULT OF COVID AND IN TERMS OF EQUITY.
UM, THEY FELT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY INCENTIVES WOULD BE EFFECTIVE IF THEY WERE FOCUSED ON A FEW AREAS WITH PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
MANY ASSERTED THAT TAX INCENTIVES WOULD NOT CREATE GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY OR OVERCOME INFRASTRUCTURE BROADBAND AND WORKFORCE DEFICIENCIES OF A PARTICULAR AREA.
AND FINALLY, IN TERMS OF WORKFORCE, UH, DEVELOPMENT, THEY FELT THAT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS CAN COMPLEMENT INCENTIVES, BUT SHOULDN'T COMPLICATE THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
AND WANTED TO MENTION THAT WHILE MANY COULD NOT POINT TO A PROJECT WHERE INCENTIVES DROVE DECISIONS, INCENTIVES, GET A COMPANY TO LOOK AT SAN ANTONIO, WE WOULD ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT THE LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH OUR GUIDELINES TO COINCIDE WITH THE LACK OF FAMILIARITY FOR PAST COMPETITIVE PRO INCENTIVE PROJECT.
SO NOW WANTED TO MOVE ON TO OUR STAKEHOLDER INPUT.
SO DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL, WE HELD SIX STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT WERE, THAT WERE VERY FOCUSED, UM, ON, ON GROUPS, ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUPS.
UM, ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDED CHAMBERS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENTAL AND TAXING AGENCIES, AS WELL AS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS.
WE HAD, UM, OVER 21 PARTICIPANTS REPRESENTING 18 ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THE QUESTIONS WERE CATEGORIZED INTO WAGES, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS, EQUITY INFRASTRUCTURE, AND OTHER.
SO ON THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, WE WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU THE INPUT THAT WAS, UM, PROVIDED TO US.
[00:15:01]
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE WAY WE'VE ORGANIZED THIS IS WE'RE SHOWING THE, UM, THE GRAPH ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE ITEMS OR SOME OF THE KEY POINTS.SO STARTING WITH WAGES AND BENEFITS, MOST AGREED OR WERE NEUTRAL TOWARD MAINTAINING THE CURRENT WAGE, WAGE STRUCTURE.
SOME DID SAY TO KEEP, WE NEEDED TO KEEP A MINIMUM.
THE, THE $15 WAGE WAS DISCUSSED, HOWEVER, SEVERAL INDICATED THEY WEREN'T SURE WHAT THAT MINIMUM SHOULD BE.
ON THE NEXT QUESTION, PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED ON IF THE HIGH WAGE SALARY SHOULD BE INCREASED.
SOME FELT THAT IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE INDUSTRY AS WELL AS REQUIREMENTS OF THE POSITION.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WE FOUND THAT MOST FAVORED LARGER INCENTIVES FOR COMPANIES THAT CREATED HIGH WAGE JOBS AND MOST FAVORED ALSO INCLUDING A SICK LEAVE REQUIREMENT, OR THEY WERE UNSURE.
UM, SOME AGREED BUT FELT THAT THE CITY SHOULD NOT FORCE IT AS THERE WAS A PERCEPTION THAT MOST LARGE COMPANIES ALREADY HAD THIS BENEFIT PACKAGE.
AND OUR FINAL WAGE, OUR FINAL WAGE QUESTION, UH, PARTICIPANTS WERE SPLIT ON IF CORPORATE BENEFITS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE HOURLY RATE.
THERE WAS CONCERN THAT IT WOULD INFLATE, UH, BASE PAY AS WELL AS CONCERN THAT THOSE THESE TYPES OF WAGES AREN'T NECESSARILY GUARANTEED.
SO THEY DID NOT FEEL THAT IT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE HOURLY RATE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'RE MOVING INTO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UNDER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, MOST WERE IN FAVOR OR UNSURE ABOUT INCLUDING READY TO WORK REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE CONCERN WAS THAT THE, THAT IT INCLUDED INTERVIEWING AND HIRING, THEY FELT THAT IT CAME ACROSS AS TOO RESTRICTIVE.
HOWEVER, UM, THERE WAS ALSO A CONCERN THAT THIS MAY LIMIT COMPANY'S TALENT POOL.
WE DID TALK ABOUT SOME WAYS TO INCLUDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES AND TRAINING CAME ACROSS LIKE THE BEST WAY TO INCORPORATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GUIDELINES.
MOVING ON TO SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, MOST FAVORED DIFFERENT CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND JOBS, JOB REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND MOST DID NOT FEEL THAT SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET THE SAME WAGE AND BENEFITS AS LARGER BUSINESSES DO.
ON OUR LAST QUESTION, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, MOST FAVORED INCORPORATING A REQUIREMENT TO CONTRACT WITH LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES, THERE WAS A CONCERN ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION THAT IT MAY BE TOO RESTRICTED AS COMPANIES MAY ALREADY HAVE CONTRACTING OBLIGATIONS OR LOCAL COMPANIES MAY NOT MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS.
MOVING ON TO EQUITY, UM, WE ASKED A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON EQUITY.
THE FIRST, UM, MOST DISAGREED WITH OFFERING INCENTIVES ONLY TO UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED AREAS.
THE WORD ONLY REALLY CAME ACROSS, UH, AS TOO HARSH OR TOO RESTRICTIVE.
IN THIS REQUIREMENT, MOST DID AGREE OR WERE NEUTRAL TO HIRING A HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREA.
HOWEVER, PARTICI PARTICIPANTS DID VALUE THE CITY WANTING TO INCLUDE THESE AREAS IN THE TAX INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
BUT THEY HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EXECUTION AND THE RIGHT WAY TO INCORPORATE THIS AGREEMENT OR THIS REQUIREMENT.
ON THE NEXT COUPLE EQUITY QUESTIONS, MOST WERE AGAINST ADDING DIGITAL ACCESS TO THE TAX INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
THEY FELT THAT THIS REALLY WASN'T THE ROLE OF THE COMPANIES, AND THEY DID EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION.
AND FINALLY, THEY DID FEEL THAT COMPANIES SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO, UH, TO PROMOTE GENDER PAY PRACTICES, BUT WE NEEDED TO DEFINE THOSE BEST PRACTICES.
AND FINALLY, OUR NEXT, UH, COUPLE QUESTIONS WERE BASED ON INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL AS COMPLIANCE.
UH, PARTICIPANTS WERE SPLIT ON INCLUDING PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.
AND FOR ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UNDER COMPLIANCE, MOST DISAGREED WITH COMPANY SHARING IN THE COST OF A COMPLIANCE REVIEW.
SO THIS PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF OUR STAKEHOLDER INPUT.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED TODAY, THE AREAS THAT WE WOULD FOCUS ON IN TERMS OF UPDATING OUR, OUR INCENTIVE GUIDELINES WOULD BE OUR WAGE REQUIREMENTS AND HIGH WAGE JOBS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS, ADDRESSING EQUITY, EITHER THROUGH USING THE EQUITY MATRIX, UH, SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, AND A USE OF A POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENTING A USE OF A SCORING MATRIX.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS SHOWS THE TIMELINE MOVING FORWARD.
SO BASED ON OUR FEEDBACK TO DATE, IN THE NEXT
[00:20:01]
MONTH, WE'LL BE DRAFTING AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE INCENTIVE GUIDELINES.AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE E W D C AS WELL AS THE, AS WELL AS THE FULL CITY COUNCIL AT B SESSION IN JUNE, DURING JULY, WE WOULD FINALIZE THOSE TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES AND INCENTIVE GUIDELINES, AND THEN PRESENT THEM TO FULL CITY COUNCIL IN AUGUST.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, JUSTINA, FOR THE UPDATE.
UM, I'M GONNA GO DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL.
UH, COMMENT, UH, WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CAVEDA.
UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE FOUND WAS THE LONGEST STANDING AND MOST RELIABLE ECONOMIC TREND THAT WE CAN MEASURABLY MEASURABLY IMPACT.
SORRY, I'M TRYING COUNCIL MEMBER BY TREND, DO YOU MEAN THE TYPE OF HIRING OR THE TYPE OF JOB OR THE INDUSTRY? I, I THINK COULD YOU EXPLAIN IT A BIT MORE ACROSS ANY OF THOSE? WHAT, WHAT, WHERE CAN WE MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE? UM, WHERE, WHERE ARE YOU SEEING THAT WE CAN MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE IF IT'S, IF IT'S IN ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES AND, UM, WHICHEVER CATEGORY THAT IS.
I THINK, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE BACKGROUND RESEARCH WAS ACTUALLY DONE BY SOME OF OUR CONSULTANTS, UM, AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY THE ONES THAT DID A LOT OF THE RESEARCH INTO THE TRENDS AND HOW COVID MIGHT BE IMPACTING SOME OF THOSE TRENDS.
SO, UM, JOHN OR TREY, IF Y'ALL ARE ON THE LINE, WOULD YOU MIND SHARING A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON THIS ONE? ABSOLUTELY.
THIS IS JOHN HAWKIN, YOU KNOW, HI, COUNCIL MEMBER.
IT'S NICE TO, UH, UH, YOU GUYS, I GUESS YOU GUYS CAN'T SEE ME.
SO I THINK THE, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, IS THAT IT DOES CHANGE SOMEWHAT SITUATIONALLY AS WE ARE IN THE WAKE OF COVID RIGHT NOW.
SAN ANTONIO HAS ALWAYS BEEN FACED WITH CERTAIN CHALLENGES AROUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RECRUITMENT.
HISTORICALLY, IT WAS VERY MUCH A COMMUNITY THAT RELIED ON COST AS AN ADVANTAGE, AND THAT'S STILL AN ADVANTAGE THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS.
IT'S A LOT CHEAPER THAN A LOT OF ITS COMPETITORS.
BUT AS WE TRANSITION TOWARD MORE OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY, AS WE TRANSITION AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, ONE OF THE INTERESTING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE FOUND IN TALKING TO PEOPLE ACTUALLY OUT IN, IN THE PRACTITIONER WORLD IS NOW, BECAUSE NOT ALL COMPANIES AND PEOPLE HAVE TO NECESSARILY BE IN ANY GIVEN PLACE, PEOPLE SOMETIMES CAN CHOOSE TO LIVE WHEREVER THEY WANT.
PEOPLE SOMETIMES CAN CHOOSE AS A COMPANY TO BE LOCATED WHEREVER THEY WANT 'CAUSE OF THEIR WORKFORCE MAY OR MAY NOT BE LOCAL.
SAN ANTONIO IS BEGINNING TO BE MORE AND MORE COMPETITIVE FOR KIND OF MODERN ECONOMY COMPANIES.
AND THAT'S ONE RELATED TO SOME OF THE DI DIGITAL NOMAD STUFF THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT TOO.
SOME OF IT IS RELATED TO THE EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE MARKET WHERE I AM, WHICH IS AUSTIN, UH, AND SAN ANTONIO IS LOOKING MORE AND MORE LIKE A VALUE PROPOSITION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF A, A LONG CONTEXTUAL ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF INCENTIVES IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT ATTRACTING AND RETAINING FAIRLY LARGE EMPLOYERS MOST OF THE TIME.
THE THEORY BEHIND THAT IS THEY THEN INJECT INCOME INTO THE COMMUNITY.
THEY THEN CREATE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PROCESS, CREATING JOBS, CREATING PROCUREMENT, AND THEN CREATE SORT OF THESE RIPPLE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND SO IF YOU TALK TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS IN SAN ANTONIO, THE JENNA, AND PEOPLE, THE CHAMBERS, AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT, THEY SAY, WE'RE COMPETING WITH PHOENIX, WE'RE COMPETING WITH FLORIDA.
TO SOME DEGREE, WE ARE COMPETING WITH NASHVILLE TO SOME DEGREE, WE'RE COMPETING WITH MEMPHIS, SOME OF THE CALIFORNIA MARKETS.
AND OUR INCENTIVES TYPICALLY HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH THOSE.
THE IDEA BEING THAT WE WOULD ALWAYS WANT TO GET MORE THAN WE GAVE, AND WE'D ALWAYS WANNA DO JUST ANOTHER PROJECT THAT'S PROBABLY EASIER THAN YOU WANTED.
THE PART OF THE BACKGROUND AND, UM, MATERIALS THAT WE RECEIVED TALKED ABOUT OUTREACH EFFORTS AT, UM, INTERVIEWS WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS, LIKE THE ONES YOU MENTIONED MM-HMM.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THE BACKGROUND MATERIALS NOTED THAT, UM, THE INTERVIEWS WERE GIVING INSIGHT INTO TRENDS AFFECTING YEAH.
SO I, I GUESS WHAT I'M, I, I APPRECIATE THE ANSWER AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT MORE INFORMATION THAN I WAS LOOKING FOR, BUT OKAY.
I'M SORT OF LOOKING AT THE OTHER END OF IT TOO.
WHAT, WHERE CAN WE MEASURE, GIVEN THIS ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, HOW CAN WE,
[00:25:02]
I GUESS HOW CAN WE MAKE AN IMPACT? I'M, I'M, I'M VERY RESULTS ORIENTED, RIGHT? SURE.I WANNA GET TO HOW CAN WE, UM, HELP THE TRAJECTORY, HOW CAN WE MAKE AN IMPACT ON, GIVEN ALL THAT INFORMATION, ALL THIS DATA YEAH.
HOW, WHERE CAN WE GO WITH IT? WELL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK THE PRACTITIONERS WILL TELL YOU, AND AND SATAP WILL TOO, THAT, THAT THE ULTIMATE MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS IS WERE WE ABLE TO OFFER INCENTIVE PACKAGES THAT CONTRIBUTED TO WINNING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELOCATIONS, RIGHT? AND SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN COMPANY X COMES, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE THE GIANT, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THE NAME ESCAPES ME, BUT THE GIANT FOOD MANUFACTURING FIRM DOWN AT BROOKS COMES IN, THAT'S A WIN, RIGHT? AND SO, AT WHAT, I THINK THAT'S REALLY THE ULTIMATE MEASURE OF SUCCESS, AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS BETTER ALIGN WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE FRONT LINES OUT THERE TALKING TO COMPANIES ARE HEARING IN TERMS OF WHAT SAN ANTONIO NEEDS TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH CITY POLICY.
SO THAT IN FACT, IT DOES REFLECT MARKET CONDITIONS THAT, UH, FOLKS ARE BEING, ARE, ARE FACING WHEN WE ARE COMPETING WITH THE PHOENIXES AND THE JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDAS AND THE MEMPHIS, YOU KNOW, AND THE FOLKS IN CALIFORNIA.
I, I THINK I, I APPRECIATE THAT.
I THINK I'D LIKE TO SEE, I'D LIKE, WE CAN FOLLOW UP ANOTHER TIME, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, WHERE WE LAND ON THIS, WHAT WHAT WE'RE TAKING AND, AND IMPLEMENTING BECAUSE OF THIS.
THAT'S, THAT'S COMING AS WE, WE, THERE, THERE ARE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS COMING AS TO HOW WE THINK, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE FOLKS ON STAFF, HOW WE THINK WE CAN IMPROVE.
WE THINK WE CAN IMPROVE THE POLICY TO GET TO THAT OUTCOME.
AND, AND THIS ISN'T A CRITICISM AT ALL.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS, BUT I, I THINK WHAT WE HEAR A LOT, UM, A LOT OF THESE COMMITTEES IS, UM, THE, THE PROCUREMENT OF THE DATA AND, AND COLLECTION AND, AND, AND EVEN USING THE DATA, BUT I DON'T DATA, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE, THE, THE PROGRAM I'D LIKE TO SEE IT IMPLEMENTED.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, LIKE YOU SAID.
DO YOU WANNA ADD ON TO THAT? MAYBE? UM, WELL, I WOULD JUST SAY WE GOT A LOT OF GREAT FEEDBACK, UM, AND THEN, AND JUSTINA HINTED AT IT IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE PRACTITIONER FEEDBACK.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MINDFUL IS, AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF GEOGRAPHICAL EQUITY, HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OCCURRING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, THAT, THAT, THAT THERE MIGHT NEED TO BE A FOCUS IN SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE CITY.
AND, AND MAYBE THERE'S EVEN SOME COUPLING WITH INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE OR BROADBAND OR OTHER ELEMENTS THAT MIGHT HELP LIFT THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS OF, OF THE CITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU USE A SHOTGUN APPROACH, IT, IT, IT'S HARD TO REALLY DISCERN WHETHER YOU'RE MAKING AN IMPACT IF YOU'RE FOCUSING ON PARTICULAR AREAS.
SOMETIMES IT, IT, IT'S MORE VISIBLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MADE, THIS COMMUNITY HAS MADE OVER THE DECADES REALLY, UM, SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN PLACES LIKE DOWNTOWN, UH, BROOKS, PORT SAN ANTONIO, AND THE OTHERS.
AND WE'RE SEEING MEANINGFUL JOB CREATION AND INVESTMENT IN THOSE, THOSE AREAS.
THOSE ARE REGIONAL CENTERS THAT THE CITIES HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED.
I, I, I FAILED TO MENTION, THE MEDICAL CENTER IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE WE'VE, UH, THROUGH IN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, YOU'VE SEEN A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE THINK AND, AND THE PRACTITIONERS THINK WOULD BE A CONTINUING STRATEGY TO FOCUS ON.
AND, UH, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE COUPLED WITH THE RIGHT INCENTIVE POLICIES.
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT STAFF AND, AND, AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH.
I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THE REGIONAL CENTERS TREA.
I, I, UM, I, UH, WE HAVE ONE IN DISTRICT SIX OFF LEBANON 1604.
BUT, UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT, MAYBE THIS IS FOR ANOTHER TIME, BUT I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT, UM, KIND OF OPPORTUNITY AREAS THAT, THAT ARE NOT KIND OF FOLLOWING ALREADY WHERE GROWTH IS HAPPENING.
I WANT TO, UH, LIKE KIND OF START A NEW OPPORTUNITY AREA.
AND IN MY DISTRICT, IT'S, IT'S THE EDGEWOOD IT AREA RIGHT AROUND 1 51, UM, OLD HIGHWAY 90, AND WE CAN BY THE PARKWAY THAT, THAT'S AN AREA WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE.
AND IT'S, IT'S, I FEEL LIKE WITH OPPORTUNITY ZONES, WE'RE FOLLOWING THE OPPORTUNITY AND, AND WHERE IT'S HAPPENING AND WHERE IT'S, IT'S JUST ABOUT TO BURGEON AND WE'RE GONNA KIND OF GO WITH IT AND, AND MAKE IT BETTER.
BUT I'D LIKE TO KIND OF START ONE FROM SCRATCH, NOT JUST ONE.
I MEAN, THROUGHOUT THE CITY WE HAVE THESE, I THINK, THESE AREAS.
BUT, BUT ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE THE, THE CONVERSATION.
UM, LET'S GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER VI GARCIA, YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, JUSTINA.
I JUST HAVE A, A FEW QUESTIONS.
THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PARTICIPATED, IT SAYS THERE WAS CHAMBERS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUPS.
CAN YOU NAME A FEW OF THEM? SURE.
[00:30:01]
ON THE FOCUS GROUP, WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM THE PORT, SAN ANTONIO, UH, BROOKS NORTH, SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.UM, WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM THE SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UM, THE SAN ANTONIO LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER, UH, CHAMBER, AFRICAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
WE ALSO HAD SOUTH SIDE FIRST, UM, CENTRO, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, BAYER COUNTY, OUR U T S A SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, UH, C P S, SAS, W SS A, UM, LAUNCH SA, COST, METRO AND SAGE.
I CAN ALSO GIVE YOU THE LIST OF THE PRACTITIONERS WE SPOKE TO, WHICH IN SOME RESPECTS THEY ARE SIMILAR IN INSOFAR AS WE HAD A NUMBER OF THE CHAMBERS.
BUT WE SPOKE WITH THE SAN ANTONIO, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, SAN ANTONIO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SOUTH SIDE, NORTH SIDE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.
AND WE ALSO SPOKE WITH SAGE, UH, WEST SIDE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UH, BROOKS, UH, PORT SAN ANTONIO.
UH, BUT WE ALSO SPOKE WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY INVOLVED IN HELPING ATTRACT AND BUILD, UH, THE TECH SECTOR HERE LOCALLY AS WELL AS THE BIOSCIENCE SECTOR.
AND THEN WE ALSO SPOKE WITH SOME BROKERS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN, AND HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE NATIONAL SITE SELECTION PROCESS FOR SOME COMPANIES.
SO WHEN WE TALK TO THE, WHEN WE MENTION THE PRACTITIONERS, THOSE ARE USUALLY PROMOTING A PARTICULAR AREA OR INDUSTRY.
UM, I NOTICED THERE WAS 21 REPRESENTATIVES REPRESENTING 18 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, BUT IN SOME OF THE ANSWERS, YOU ALL HAD 22 RESPONSES.
SO I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAS THERE MULTIPLE ONES FROM MULTIPLE RESPONSES.
AND THEN I ALSO NOTICED IN SOME OF THE ANSWERS, ONLY 19 HAD RESPONDED, BUT THE RECOMMENDATION WAS, WELL MOST SAID, BUT IF WE ARE, ARE MISSING, YOU KNOW, ONE PERSON, I, I, I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET AN ACCURATE PICTURE, AND THEN ALSO I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, BUT SOMEBODY RIGHT NOW JUST MENTIONED FOCUS GROUPS.
AND SO I WAS JUST CONCERNED BECAUSE IF THERE WAS SIX STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS THAT WE RECEIVED, THE, I'M, I'M GONNA GO WITH THE 21 PARTICIPANT ANSWERS.
LIKE, WERE THEY RE WERE, WERE THEY MORE ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS INSTEAD OF FOCUS GROUPS? AND THEN WERE THEY ALSO GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE ANY INPUT OR IDEAS ON OTHER INCENTIVES, OR WERE THEY JUST ASKED THE QUESTIONS? SO THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT, UM, COMPONENTS.
SO TREY AND, AND JOHN REALLY DID THOSE IN-DEPTH ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH THE PARTICIPANTS, WITH THE PROTECTION PRACTITIONERS THAT, UM, TREY MENTIONED ADDITIONALLY, WE CALLED THEM STAKEHOLDER, INTER STAKEHOLDER, UM, FOCUS GROUPS.
UM, SO WE HELD THOSE, WE HAD SIX MEETINGS.
THERE WAS ABOUT THREE TO SIX PEOPLE IN EACH MEETING.
WE CONSCIOUSLY KEPT IT SMALL SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A LOT OF DIALOGUE.
UM, SO THE WAY THEY WERE CONDUCTED, WHERE THEY WOULD BE ASKED A QUESTION, AND THEN WE WOULD PROBE, UM, PROBE THE PARTICIPANTS ON WHY THEY VOTED CERTAIN WAY.
AND THEN WE HAD OTHER QUESTIONS THAT WERE MORE OPEN-ENDED.
WE HAD OPEN-ENDED DISCUSSION ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OTHER IDEAS FOR INCORPORATING SMALL BUSINESSES INTO, OR SMALL BUSINESS COMPONENTS INTO OUR INCENTIVE AGREEMENTS, UM, AS WELL AS IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING EQUITY.
SO WE HAD A COUPLE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE WOULD PROBE THEM ON THOSE POLLING QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.
I, I FIND MORE INSIGHT INTO THE QUALITATIVE ASPECT OF SOME OF THESE THINGS.
SO I WAS TRYING TO SEE LIKE, WHEN DO WE SEE THAT FEEDBACK? AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKED, WERE THEY ABLE TO SHARE SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, MAYBE RECOMMENDATIONS AS TO HOW WE COULD IMPROVE THE CURRENT INCENTIVES RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, YES OR NO QUESTION.
UM, BUT, BUT WE CAN, SO, SO MAYBE FOR A LATER CONVERSATION, I'D LOVE TO SEE IF MAYBE THERE WAS THIS, THIS GOLD NUGGET, RIGHT, THAT MAYBE GAVE YOU ALL SOME IDEAS TO GO AND LOOK AT A CITY THAT MAYBE WE HADN'T CONSIDERED LIKE PORTLAND, RIGHT.
SO, SO THAT'S REALLY THE, THE REASON FOR MY ASK.
I'M, UM, HAPPY ON PAGE 22 OF THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THE, UM, PAY EQUITY, UM, SPECIFICALLY AND SO TO, IN, IN LOOKING AT, UM, UH, THE, UH, GENDER PAY PARITY, UM, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT 19 OF THEM RESPONDED.
AND SO I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY WOULD WANT SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
OUR Y W C A HERE IN TOWN IS DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB.
THEY HAVE GREAT INFORMATION THAT I'M SURE THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO SHARE.
UM, THEY HAVE, UM, I MEAN, JUST A, A WHOLE LOT OF RESEARCH.
SO THEN I WOULD JUST OFFER THAT, AND I JUST HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THEM A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO.
UM, OFFER THAT UP FOR, UH, INFORMATION FOR ANYONE LOOKING FOR THAT.
THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH,
[00:35:01]
UH, CHAIR.THAT'S GREAT INSIGHT, UH, TO GET WITH Y W C A AND THEIR WORK COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
UH, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE, TO THE SLIDE THAT SHOWS, UM, KIND OF WHERE WE LANDED? UH, I, I CAN'T FIND IT IN MY DECK.
UM, THE ONE THAT I, I THINK IT WAS THE VERY LAST ONE.
I THINK IT'S SLIDE 24 THAT KIND OF SHOWS WHERE WE LANDED WITH, UM, WAGES AND TAX ABATEMENTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
UM, UH, I THINK RIGHT, RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED, UH, UPDATES.
SO WAGE REQUIREMENTS, WORKFORCE COMPONENT ADDRESS EQUITY, SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANT.
SO I, I HAVE TO ADMIT, I FEEL VERY DISAPPOINTED.
I MEAN, IN ALL THESE YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IN THE EIGHT YEARS I'VE BEEN HERE, UM, I FEEL LIKE IT'S KIND OF THE SAME OLD THING.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, OTHER THAN THE EQUITY ISSUES THAT WE'VE ADDRESSED, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, YOU SHOWED THAT, THAT WE FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENT'S CHANGED BECAUSE OF COVID, BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY SEE THAT REFLECTED IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS OTHER THAN THE EQUITY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
BUT, UM, IT'S AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT.
I JUST, UM, I MEAN, THE SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, AND I'LL JUST, I'LL SAY SPEAKING FROM, YOU KNOW, MY, FROM MY DISTRICT, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE NOT DISTRICT SPECIFIC, UM, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
BUT I ALWAYS FELT LIKE MY DISTRICT DOESN'T BENEFIT FROM ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS BECAUSE WE DON'T MEET THESE CRITERIA.
I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE A ROOM FOR ANY LARGE EMPLOYERS.
UH, WE DON'T, UM, WE, WE'VE NEVER HAD A LARGE EMPLOYER.
AND IN FACT, WE CONTINUE TO LOSE LARGE EMPLOYERS, UH, BECAUSE AS THEY GROW, THEY REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO MOVE OUT OF THE DISTRICT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ROOM.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT I HAVE.
UM, AND AS A RESULT, I FEEL LIKE MY COMMUNITY HASN'T BENEFITED VERY MUCH FROM THESE TYPES OF INVESTMENTS.
I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW ANY, NOTHING ELSE CAME UP, LIKE, NOTHING ABOUT, I MEAN, AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT LIKE, UH, I'M, I'M KIND OF JUST, UH, EMPHASIZING IT.
I MEAN, SO ONE REASON THAT I KNOW WE HAVE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN, IN COMMUNITIES LIKE MINE IS BECAUSE OF THE BROADBAND LIMITATION.
AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH C P S ENERGY OVER THE YEARS, LIKE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS TO, TO, UM, WELL, I'M SORRY.
IT'S, THEY'RE TWO SEPARATE ISSUES.
SO ONE OF THEM IS REGARDING C P S ENERGY THAT IS TOO HARD TO CONVERT SOME OF MY EXISTING SPACES TO COMMERCIAL SPACES.
UM, BECAUSE OF THE, OF THE ENERGY REQUIREMENT OF, YOU KNOW, GOING FROM A SILO OR GOING FROM A, A VACANT BUILDING, UH, INTO SOMETHING THAT IS PERHAPS, UM, UH, EVEN SMALL SCALE MANUFACTURING, UH, REQUIRES, UH, UH, TOO MUCH INVESTMENT, UM, ON THE, UM, POWER SIDE.
UH, AND THEN, UM, JUST THE LIMITATIONS IN BROADBAND.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE LARGE, UM, I MEAN, THERE WAS SO MUCH OF THE AREA THAT WAS NOT COVERED BY BROADBAND THAT WE COULDN'T TAKE, UH, ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES EITHER.
AND I DON'T SEE THAT ADDRESSED HERE.
UM, I, I, YOU TALKED ABOUT SOME SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, BUT I DIDN'T REALLY SEE ANYTHING THAT WAS ROBUST IN THERE.
I MEAN, DID ANYTHING ELSE RISE THAT MIGHT INSPIRE ME? I JUST, I, I'M SORRY THAT I FEEL VERY DISAPPOINTED.
SO, COUNCIL MEMBER, THIS IS ALEX.
AND I WAS JUST GONNA JUMP IN REAL QUICK BECAUSE I, I, UM, WOULD AGREE THAT SOME OF THIS STUFF IS NOT NECESSARILY, UH, DIFFERENT OR REV REVOLUTIONARY IN ANY WAY.
YOU KNOW, THE WAGES WE'VE ACTUALLY LED, UM, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY HAS REALLY BEEN, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FEW THAT STARTED THE EXPECTATION THAT THERE'D BE WAGE REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY KIND OF INCENTIVE.
SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, WE WERE ALREADY LEADING.
I THINK SOME OF THE NEW THINGS THAT WE ARE TRYING, THAT WE WANTED TO INCORPORATE AND GET MORE RESEARCH AND GET MORE FEEDBACK ON WERE SOME OF THE THINGS AS FAR AS SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, BECAUSE
[00:40:01]
TO YOUR POINT, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE, THE ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL.AND THE WAY THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED GUIDELINES, IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY, UM, ALLOW FOR THE FLEXIBILITY, UM, SO THAT SMALL BUSINESSES COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S WHY WE ASKED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT JUSTINA MENTIONED ABOUT SHOULD THERE BE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS, SHOULD THERE BE DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS? BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF OUR SMALLER BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOOKING TO REINVEST AND GROW, UM, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
I THINK USING A SCORING MATRIX IS ALSO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT WE'RE SEEING OTHER COMMUNITIES DO THAT WE THINK WE, WE WE'RE GONNA LOOK INTO AND SEE IF WE WANNA RECOMMEND SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
BECAUSE IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS MORE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, WHICH WE STARTED DOING WITH THE LAST SET OF GUIDELINES.
UM, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY PUT MORE FOCUS ON THIS.
UM, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT BROADBAND, ABSOLUTELY THAT IS A LIMITING FACTOR TO A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE LOOK AT, UNFORTUNATELY, IN PARTICULAR AREAS WHERE THAT'S MORE OF A CHALLENGE.
AND THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING WE WANNA LOOK AT FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, BUT MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY AS PART OF THE GUIDELINES, THE INCENTIVE GUIDELINES, UM, PORTION OF OUR WORK.
UM, SO CAN YOU GO BACK TO, UH, AND I THINK, UM, UH, ONE OF THE GENTLEMEN MENTIONED IT, UM, IN HIS KIND OF OPENING STATEMENT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS THE DEMOGRAPHIC, THE, THE LANDSCAPE CHANGING BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN WORK REMOTELY.
UM, I, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I, I, I STILL KIND OF FEEL LIKE I DON'T REALLY SEE THAT REFLECTED HERE EITHER, LIKE IN YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SO I DON'T KNOW.
COULD MAYBE YOU COULD ELABORATE ON THAT.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, I DUNNO IF IT WAS TREY OR THE OTHER GENTLEMAN, I THINK JOHN, UH, I THINK THEY BOTH MENTIONED SOMETHING, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER, SOMETHING ELSE THAT I WANNA JUST CLARIFY IS WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY SHARING ANY RECOMMENDATIONS YET.
WE'RE, WE'RE JUST SHARING THE FEEDBACK AND THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE BECOME COMPLETED AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE NOT, WE, WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY DRAFTED THE GUIDELINES OR THE RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES YET.
WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU NEXT MONTH.
WE WANTED TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED AND THEN GET YOUR FEEDBACK SO WE COULD COME BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS IN JUNE.
BUT WITH THAT, I THINK TREY AND JOHN HAD SOME DETAILS TO SHARE.
WELL, I, I'LL JUST ADD THAT THE, UH, WHAT JOHN WAS MENTIONING EARLIER IS THIS NOTION, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE NOT HEARD ABOUT IT, IS REALLY THE CONCEPT OF THE DIGITAL NOMAD.
'CAUSE WE ARE ON, AS ON THIS MEETING, WE'RE ALL, MANY OF US ARE WORKING FROM OUR VARIOUS HOMES.
AND WHAT THAT'S, THAT IS A TREND, WHICH I THINK THERE'S A CONSENSUS VIEW IS GOING TO STICK, AND THAT THEY'LL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF PEOPLE'S WORKFORCES THAT WON'T BE COMING INTO THE OFFICE.
AND WHEN THAT'S THE CASE, THEN THAT ALLOWS, IN MANY CASES, PEOPLE TO WORK FROM ANYWHERE.
AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A NEW TREND, PARTICULARLY IN SOME OF TECH, BUT ALSO IN, IN WHITE COLLAR AND OFFICE WORK, WHERE PEOPLE CAN WORK FROM ANYWHERE.
AND COMPANIES LIKE SAY FACEBOOK ARE HIRING PEOPLE IN OMAHA TO QUOTE WORK TO THE, THE, THE BAY AREA.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU THERE ARE TECH COMPANIES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT ARE HIRING EMPLOYEES OUTSIDE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS WHO REPORT TO THE SAN ANTONIO OFFICE.
SO WE'RE SEEING THIS, PERHAPS IT'S A PERMANENT TREND WHERE THERE'S ALMOST A SEPARATION OF WORKERS FROM COMPANIES, FROM CITIES.
AND THAT OPPORTUNITY NOW IS TWOFOLD.
ONE IS WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTRACT YOU.
IDEALLY YOU WANT TO ATTRACT PEOPLE AND THEIR PAYCHECKS INTO SAN ANTONIO.
'CAUSE THAT GROWS THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
BY THE SAME TOKEN, THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO WHO SHOULD BE ABLE NOW TO GO COMPETE FOR JOBS AT SOME OF THOSE OTHER COMPANIES.
THE, THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT, IF YOU'RE A REMOTE WORKER NOW CAN EXPAND.
BUT FUNDAMENTALLY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE GOOD BROADBAND TO, FOR THAT TO FUNCTION.
NOW, THAT IS A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, IS ONE THAT I KNOW E D F IS LOOKING AT.
BUT THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE INCENTIVE POLICIES, WHICH ARE HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO ATTRACT OR GROW COMPANIES HERE? SO IF WE'RE ATTRACTING A NAVISTAR, OR AS YOU MENTIONED, IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A GROWING SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE THAT'S ON, IN, IN DISTRICT FIVE, AND YOU WANT TO GROW THAT, HOW CAN WE HELP THAT COMPANY GROW? AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE PARTICULAR TOOLS THAT WE'RE TWEAKING WITH SOME OF THE FEEDBACK.
BUT, BUT THERE ARE FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIC CHANGES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE GOING ON BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS, AS WELL AS CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY, ROBOTICS AND PROCESS AUTOMATION AND ELECTRIC ELECTRIFICATION OF VEHICLES ARE ALL GONNA FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE OUR WORLD.
AND WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW THOSE INDUSTRY DISRUPTIONS OCCUR.
AND SO THAT, THOSE ARE, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY ALL RELATED TO TAX INCENTIVE STRATEGIES, BUT IT'S REALLY BROUGHT MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY'S OVERALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
[00:45:01]
STRATEGY.UM, WELL, HOPEFULLY BY THE TIME WE MEET AGAIN, I'LL HAVE A BETTER RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT I CAN SHARE.
I MEAN, I, THE TRUTH IS, I, I CAN'T, MY, MY, UM, MY SENSE, OF COURSE, I CAN, UH, WHAT I'M THINKING OF TENDS TO, UM, BE VERY DISTRICT SPECIFIC.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE POLICY CITYWIDE, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT EVERY TIME WE CREATE THESE KIND OF INCENTIVES, AND I THINK MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD, BUT IT ALSO DOES ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LEAVE MY DISTRICT BUSINESSES TO LEAVE PEOPLE TO LEAVE, UH, BECAUSE WE DON'T OFFER ANYTHING.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO OFFER, UM, THAT IS BEING REPRESENTED HERE.
SO YOU TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M NOT, UH, I MEAN, I, I, I SORT OF MENTIONED IT BEFORE IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE GIVE A TAX INCENTIVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LARGE BUSINESS THAT COMES IN, WHY CAN'T WE GIVE THE SAME TAX INCENTIVE TO, YOU KNOW, COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME, UM, WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEIR RISING PROPERTY VALUES, UM, AND ARE AFRAID THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO LEAVE, UM, THEIR, THEIR BUSINESS BECAUSE THE TAXES ARE TOO HIGH.
AND NOW YOU CAN WORK REMOTELY.
SO YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A BUSINESS, A BUILDING ANYMORE.
SO MAYBE THEY SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THE TAXES ARE GOING UP TOO MUCH.
I CAN DO THIS JOB FROM ANYWHERE.
SO I MEAN, I, WE, I, I THINK WE, WE'VE HAD SOME LOOSE DISCUSSIONS, UM, MOSTLY INTERNALLY, UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY TO GIVE A TAX, INCENT A TAX BREAK TO SMALL COMPANIES OR TO SMALL, LIKE AN AREA, UM, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN A LEGACY BUSINESS FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
UH, YOU KNOW, CAN WE PROVIDE SOME SORT OF TAX INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO ALLOW THEM CONTINUE TO GROW, UM, AND, AND NOT HAVE TO LEAVE THE AREA? SO, I DON'T KNOW.
I WAS HOPING TO SAY SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE CREATIVE.
UM, SO I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST LEAVE IT THERE.
UM, AND, AND SOMETHING THAT REALLY STILL CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON OUR EXISTING CONSTITUENTS, OUR EXISTING COMMUNITY, UM, WHICH I STILL, I, I, I MEAN, I STILL, I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE TO BRING IN COMPANIES, UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING THAT WOULD PERHAPS PREVENT OUR EXISTING COMPANIES FROM LEAVING.
SO I'LL, I'LL, I'LL NEXT TIME, I'LL HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER PER, UM, JOHN HOCKEN.
IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE, UH, I, I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO YOU AND, UH, I THINK YOU GUYS, UH, DID A GOOD JOB TODAY AT, AT GIVING US SOME OPTIONS.
UH, I'LL, I'LL THROW THIS OUT.
I WAS AT, UH, THE PORT OF SAN ANTONIO YESTERDAY, A MEETING WITH, UM, C A C I, THE PORT BOARD, AND WITH, UH, THE CYBER PROVING GROUND.
AND I FORGET WHICH NUMBER OF THE AIR FORCE AND WHICH NUMBER OF THE ARMY THAT WAS OUT THERE, BUT IT WAS THEIR CYBERSECURITY TEAM.
AND WHAT STRUCK ME ISN'T HOW AMAZING AN OPERATION THEY HAVE OUT THERE.
WHAT STRUCK ME IS THE NUMBER OF U T S A STUDENTS THAT, UM, I BUMPED, YOU KNOW, THAT I CAME ACROSS WHO STARTED OFF AS INTERNS AT THESE COMPANIES ARE NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, EARNING A REALLY NICE LIVING.
AND I GOT TO TALK TO, UM, A BUNCH OF THEM.
AND, UM, THEY'RE FROM JUDSON, THEY'RE FROM SOUTH SIDE, THEY'RE FROM HARLEM, DALE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, I WAS TELLING JIM SBA OUT THERE THAT THAT'S A STORY THAT'S NOT GETTING TOLD, RIGHT? BECAUSE HERE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PULLING KIDS OUT.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE KIDS ARE NOW DOING SOME PRETTY AMAZING THINGS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE INVENTING, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO, UH, PROTECT OUR GRID.
UM, THEY'RE INVENTING WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, UH, PAINT AND STRIP AIRPLANES USING ROBOTICS.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S REALLY FANTASTIC.
AND, UM, I MEAN, THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE MAKING THESE COMPANIES A TON OF MONEY.
UM, AND THAT MONEY IS STAYING HOME IN MANY, IN MANY INSTANCES.
AND SO THE, THE SECOND MOST FASCINATING THING ABOUT THAT PHONE, UH, ABOUT THAT, SORRY, THAT VISIT WAS THAT, UM, THEY'VE GOT AN OCEAN OF CUBICLES OUT THERE THAT ARE EMPTY MM-HMM.
UM, AND YET THEY'RE OUTPERFORMING, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR PRE PANDEMIC NUMBERS MM-HMM.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WAY WE'RE DOING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRE COVID, THAT'S JUST NEVER COMING BACK.
UM, AND EVERY CITY RIGHT NOW IS, UH, IS WRESTLING WITH HOW DO YOU DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT IS, UH, RELEVANT TO THE FACTS ON THE GROUND? AND THE FACTS ON THE GROUND ARE THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE
[00:50:01]
ENORMOUS COMPANIES THAT USED TO HAVE THESE BIG LEASES, UM, AREN'T GONNA BE BRINGING ALL THOSE WORKERS BACK TO WORK, RIGHT? UM, THESE ENORMOUS COMPANIES AREN'T GONNA RE-UPPING, THEY'RE NOT RE-UPPING ON THEIR LEASES.UH, I WAS, I WAS TALKING TO BOB WIRTH, HE OWNS THE BUILDING THAT I'M CURRENTLY IN RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, HE'S GOT COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ALL OVER TOWN, AND HE'S TELLING ME THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THEY'RE HAVING TO SIT DOWN WITH ALL THEIR LAND WITH, WITH OTHER TENANTS TO RENEGOTIATE, UM, LEASES IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? UH, MM-HMM.
SO WE'RE, UM, UH, I MEAN, ALEX, I, I FEEL FOR YOU, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU CAN'T USE THE COLOR BY NUMBER STRATEGY THAT WE'VE USED IN THE PAST.
IT HAS WORKED FOR US REALLY QUITE WELL.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AREN'T MANUFACTURING THINGS ANYMORE.
PEOPLE AREN'T, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY'RE NOT PROVIDING INTERFACE SERVICES.
AMAZON IS KILLED ALMOST ALL RETAIL.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, I, WE'RE EITHER GONNA ADAPT OR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GO THE WAY OF THE DODO.
SO I LIKE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE LAYING OUT.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING, UM, MORE OF THAT.
UM, AND, UM, ANYWAY, THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELIAS, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS UPDATE, JUSTINA AND ALEX, I THINK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN WANTING, UH, TO PUSH UP, TO PUSH FORWARD BECAUSE IT IS EVERY TWO YEARS, AND WE KNOW, UH, BACK WHEN WE DID THE LITTLE CHANGES WE DID BACK IN DECEMBER, WE KNEW THAT THE 10 YEARS A HUNDRED PERCENT COULD NOT BE SUSTAINABLE ANYMORE, PERIOD.
AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE SEEING THESE DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS AND, UM, YEAH, MANUFACTURING HAS CHANGED, UH, BUT I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAVE NAVISTAR AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING IN, UH, THAT'S CONTINUING TO GROW AND EXPAND IN DISTRICT THREE.
AND, UH, THAT IS GOING TO BE SIGNIFICANT AS, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW.
AND WITH, JOHN DID MENTION IT, BUT DID MENTION IT, BUT IT'S CUISINE SOLUTIONS THAT IS OUT THERE AS WELL.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO GROW IN DISTRICT THREE.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOWED ME, YOU SHOWED US THE SLIDES WITH ALL OF OUR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, JUSTINA, BUT WHERE WERE WE? WHERE DID SAN ANTONIO FALL IN THE CHECKS CHECK PLUS CHECK THINGS THERE? WHERE WERE WE ALONG, ALONG THAT? DID I HAVE, DID I MISS THAT SLIDE? NO.
UM, WE DID NOT INCLUDE SAN ANTONIO, BUT OUR REQUIREMENTS, UM, SIMILAR TO OTHER CITIES, THEY MUST MEET CERTAIN HOURLY WAGES.
UM, SO WE HAD, THERE ARE SEVERAL CITIES THAT REQUIRE AN, AN HOURLY WAGE BE MET.
ADDITIONALLY, INVESTMENTS, A LEVEL OF INVESTMENT OR JOB CREATION ARE REQUIREMENTS THAT A COMPANY OR A PROJECT WOULD HAVE TO MEET EVEN TO BE ELIGIBLE.
AND THEN FROM THERE, LIKE SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES, WE LOOK AT, UM, OTHER CRITERIA TO DETERMINE OUR, OUR LENGTH OF A POTENTIAL AGREEMENT.
AND ALSO THOSE, UM, QUALIFYING PRIORITIES LIKE TARGETED POPULATIONS OR, OR TARGETED INDUSTRIES, PROVIDE, UM, CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING THE PERCENT OF THE, THE INVESTMENT OR THE PERCENT OF THE ABATEMENT.
AND THIS, WE SAW THAT IS A COMMON, UM, THEME WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES.
SO ALL OF WHAT WE ARE DOING, THEY ARE DOING SOME OR A COMBINATION.
IS THAT, IS THAT CORRECT THEN? CORRECT.
UH, WELL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT IT UP.
UM, JUST WHAT IS, WHAT IS, WHO DEFINES HIGH WAGE? SO RIGHT NOW OUR, OUR GUIDELINES ARE DEFINED BY $50,000 IS THE HIGH WAGE THRESHOLD, RIGHT? SO WE, WHO DEFINES IT? THE CITY DOES, OR IS IT A FEDERAL, IT'S DEFINED BY THE CITY AT THIS TIME.
SO WE CAN CHANGE THAT AND HAVE HIGH WAGE, HIGHER INCREASE THE HIGH WAGE, LIKE THE QUESTION WAS THAT YOU POSED? CORRECT.
AND SO, UM, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT GOOD AT MATT, SO I'M GONNA LOOK AT YOU ALL.
HOW MUCH IS, UH, $50,000 A YEAR? UM, LIKE AN HOUR.
WE'LL JUST SAY THAT IT'S ABOUT $24 PER HOUR.
AND, UM, SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDERS OR THE PRACTITIONERS SAY THAT THAT'S, THAT WE SHOULDN'T INCREASE THAT? CORRECT? THERE WAS, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT WAS POTENTIALLY TYING IT TO AN INDUSTRY, LIKE THE INDUSTRY WAGE,
[00:55:01]
UM, OR LOOKING AT THE JOB REQUIREMENTS.UH, BUT THAT WAS THE FEEDBACK THAT WE, THAT WE RECEIVED.
UM, THEY WERE, THEY WERE VERY SPLIT ON THEIR RESPONSES.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE INDUSTRY AS WELL, UM, BECAUSE IT COULD INCREASE IN SOME TARGETED INDUSTRIES, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE LOOKING AROUND THE STATE.
AND, AND SO THOSE CITIES, DALLAS, HOUSTON, WE WON'T INCLUDE AUSTIN, BUT THOSE CITIES OF COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, UM, WHAT IS THEIR DEFINITION OF HIGH WAGE AGE? MOST OF 'EM HAD A, A MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENT, OR NOT MOST OF 'EM, BUT THEY HAD A $15, WAS USED A LIVING WAGE OR IT HAD TO BE HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE.
WHAT IS THE STATE AVERAGE FOR? UH, FLORIDA? IT'S, UH, $21 PER HOUR.
SO MY QUESTION IS, DOES DALLAS HAVE $50,000 AS THEIR HIGH WAGE IN DALLAS? THEY LOOK, WAGES IS A CRITERIA OF EVALUATION, BUT THEY DON'T DEFINE THE LEVEL OF A HIGH WAGE.
THE CITY OF DALLAS DOESN'T DO THAT.
WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WOULD TO BE, TO GIVE THAT, UM, FLEXIBILITY FOR THE CITY TO, UH, MAKE THOSE CHANGES TO HIGH WAGE INCREASES IN CERTAIN TARGETED INDUSTRIES.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL OR HURTFUL, BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO ADJUST BECAUSE IT'S STILL NOT EASY TO BUY A HOUSE WITH $50,000 A YEAR, UM, IN ANY CITY, I THINK RIGHT NOW.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UH, IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT.
AND THEN, UM, YES, ABSOLUTELY ADDRESS EQUITY AND LOOKING AT THOSE OTHER THINGS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, UM, AREA, THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA, I THINK WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT THAT.
THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO DO THAT INCLUSIVE GROWTH STRATEGY.
AND I THINK, UM, JUST LIKE WE DID WITH SOME, LIKE WITH T J X, LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE GET TRANSPORTATION INVOLVED? HOW CAN WE DO, UM, MOBILITY ACCESS OR TRANSPORTATION ACCESS, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ACCESS OUT THERE, AND CONTINUE TO, TO LOOK AT THAT AS A, IF THEY'RE GOING TO PARTNER WITH VIA OUR LOCAL, UM, YOU KNOW, GROUP, THEN MAYBE WE CAN LOOK AT SOME INCENTIVES IF IT'S IN A TARGETED, UH, IN AN INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA OF TOWN.
I'LL CONTINUE TO, UH, ADVOCATE FOR THAT.
BUT, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE PRESENTING NEXT MONTH AND, UH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK EVERYONE.
UH, COUNCILOR ELA, DO YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION OR YOUR HEAD WAS JUST STILL UP? NO, NO, NO, I WAS JUST, UH, IT'S STILL UP.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, UH, FOR
[3. 21-3317 Briefing of the Lone Star District Project generally located at 500 and 600 Lone Star Blvd. within the Inner City TIRZ in Council District 5. [Lori Houston, Assistant City Manager; Verónica R. Soto, FAICP, Director, Neighborhood and Housing Services]]
THAT.NOW LET'S MOVE TO OUR SECOND, OUR THIRD, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
IT'S A BRIEFING ON THE LONE STAR DISTRICT PROJECT, GENERALLY LOCATED 500 600 LONE STAR BOULEVARD WITHIN THE INNER CITY TURS OF COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE.
UM, THIS IS VERONICA SOTO WITH NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES.
I WILL BE THE ONE PRESENTING THIS ITEM FOR YOU.
UM, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND START THE PRESENTATION FOR THIS ITEM, PLEASE.
UM, I'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND THEN JUST VERY BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT TAX INCREMENT FINANCING.
UM, THE REASON I'M TALKING ABOUT IT IS BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT A PROJECT THAT IS WITHIN A TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE.
I THINK ALL OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR THE WAY, UH, T DISTRICT, UH, WHEN A TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE IS CREATED.
THE BASE HERE IS WHAT CONTINUES TO FLOW INTO THE GENERAL FUND, BUT ANY INCREMENT IS UTILIZED FOR PROJECTS WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
BUT THESE TERMS, UM, DO NOT HAVE AN INFINITE LIFE.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT UTILIZING SOME TRUST FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT NEXT IN THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE I HAVE THE PROJECT INFORMATION.
SO, UH, THIS, THIS MAP SHOWS IN GENERAL THE BOUNDARIES OF THE INNER CITY TURF AND THE SMALL RED ARROW SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE LONE STAR DISTRICT PROJECT.
IT IS LOCATED WITHIN COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE.
THE DEVELOPER THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH IS GRAY STREET WITH MIDWAY, AND I AM GRATEFUL THAT WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM GRAY STREET AND MIDWAY ON THIS CALL, WE HAVE FROM MIDWAY, MR. DON QUIGLEY WHO CAN HELP ANSWER QUESTION.
AND MR. PETER FRENCH WITH GRAY STREET IS AVAILABLE VIA PHONE AS WELL.
SO THE PROJECT TYPE IS A MIXED USE,
[01:00:01]
UH, DEVELOPMENT.IT WILL INCLUDE COMMERCIAL RETAIL SPACE, AS WELL AS MULTI-FAMILY, UH, HOUSING.
AND THE SITE ITSELF IS 32 ACRES.
THE TOTAL PROJECT COST FOR THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IS GONNA BE OVER $709 MILLION.
AND THE CURRENT LAND, LAND USE IS I D C.
THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS A BETTER MAP OF THE INNER CITY TOURISTS, INCLUDING THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
SO AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS SCREEN WHERE THE LONE STAR DISTRICT BOUNDARY IS WITHIN COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS US THE EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE SITE.
I THINK ALL OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, 32 ACRES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UH, YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP HERE, LONE STAR BOULEVARD AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN WHERE THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER, UH, FLOWS, WHERE, UH, THE MUSEUM REACH IMPROVEMENTS HAVE ENHANCED THAT AREA OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
SO THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT IS SLATED TO BE COMPLETED IN PHASE.
AND SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THAT SHOWING THE DIFFERENT FACING, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE, UM, PROPOSED USES AND MASSING FOR THIS MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT.
THE FIRST PHASE WOULD BE A ALONG LONE STAR BOULEVARD.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT ADJACENT TO LONE STAR BOULEVARD ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE.
THE RIGHT, THE PHASE JUST NEXT TO IT IS PHASE TWO, AND THEN THE LAST PHASE WOULD BE THE SOUTHERNMOST PORTION.
THAT'S PHASE THREE, BUT HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW IT ABUTS THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER AND THE BOUNDARY OF LONE STAR BOULEVARD.
WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE I WILL SHARE WITH YOU WHAT IS PROPOSED IN TERMS OF THE USES.
SO I MENTIONED THAT THERE'S HOUSING PROPOSED.
SO 1,280 RENTAL UNITS PROPOSED.
20% OF THOSE ARE TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES AT OR BELOW 80% OF THE AREA, MEDIAN INCOME.
THESE WOULD BE SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE THREE PHASES OF THE PROJECT.
THERE'LL BE HOTEL DEVELOPMENT, SO WE EXPECT 186 HOTEL ROOMS. AND I MENTIONED THE COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL SPACE.
WE HAVE, UH, OFFICE SPACE OVER 359 SQUARE, UH, 300 5900 SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE SPACE, RETAIL, FOOD AND BEVERAGE ESTABLISHMENTS TOTALING AROUND 6500, 60 5,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND THEN MARKET SPACE AS WELL.
IN PHASE ONE, WE EXPECT 301 MULTI-FAMILY UNITS, SEVERAL PARKING SPACES CREATED IN A COMBINATION OF GARAGE PARKING, SURFACE PARKING, AND STREET PARKING.
OFFICE SPACE IS GONNA BE OVER 133,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND AGAIN, RETAIL, FOOD AND BEVERAGE SPACE, RESTAURANTS ESSENTIALLY AND COMMERCIAL SPACES.
ROUNDING IT OUT, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER ABOUT THE TIMING OF THE FACES, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A PICTURE OF THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT DOES INCLUDE COMMERCIAL AND HOUSING IN IT.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THIS, UH, DEVELOPMENT.
SO CONSTRUCTION JOBS ARE TO BE CREATED OVER THE FACING PERIOD.
IT'LL BE ABOUT A 10 YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND THE FACES COVER THAT 10 YEAR, UH, OR SO PERIOD.
DURING CONSTRUCTION, WE EXPECT 3,900 JOBS TO BE CREATED DIRECTLY.
AND OF COURSE, THERE'LL BE INDIRECT JOBS CREATED AS WELL.
WE EXPECT THAT THE NEW RETAIL SPACE, OFFICE SPACE, HOSPITALITY SPACE, WILL ALSO CREATE JOBS WITH AROUND 1,500 JOBS CREATED ACROSS THE DIFFERENT, UH, USES AT THE SITE.
AND OF COURSE, I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT HOUSING, BUT AFTER COMPLETION, UH, 1200 HOUSING UNITS CREATED WITH 20% OF THOSE AFFORDABLE.
THERE IS A, A FOOTNOTE, I MUST EMPHASIZE THAT AS PART OF THIS AGREEMENT THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, THE DEVELOPER WILL CONTRIBUTE TO OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND OVER THE 10 YEARS, UM, ABOUT $818,000 TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUND, WHICH GOES TO CREATE ADDITIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THE CURRENT ASSESSED VALUE OF THIS PRO OF THIS SITE IS JUST OVER 10.5 MILLION.
AND AFTER COMPLETION, THE PROJECTED ASSESSED VALUE IS GONNA BE OVER $700 MILLION.
SO A BIG ECONOMIC IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY.
THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY IMPACT AS WELL.
[01:05:01]
ALL OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE SITE, WHICH IS, UH, AN INDUSTRIAL SITE THAT HAS BEEN VACANT.SO THIS INVESTMENT WOULD REACTIVATE A DORMANT FORMER INDUSTRIAL SITE.
IT WILL HELP US ACCELERATE THE TRANSFORMATION OF LONE STAR BOULEVARD, ONE OF THE BOUNDARY STREETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT THAT WOULD HAVE NEW WIDENED SIDEWALKS, BIKE LANES.
AND, UH, THE C P S LINES WOULD BE VARIED.
THE DEVELOPMENT ITSELF WOULD CREATE AN ADDITIONAL NORTH SOUTH CONNECTION BETWEEN LONE STAR BOULEVARD AND STEVES AVENUE AS WELL.
AND THE DEVELOPMENT, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE RENDERING HERE, WOULD HAVE NEW PUBLIC GREEN SPACES AND ADDITIONAL WAYS IN WHICH TO ACCESS THE MISSION REACH TRAILS, PROVIDE COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACES, AND A LAUNCHING POINT FOR EXPLORING THE ADDITIONAL CULTURAL AMENITIES IN THE AREA, INCLUDING THE RIVER, THE MISSIONS, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS IN THIS PART OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THAT IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF SHOWING THE FACING, AND THIS ONE DOES TALK ABOUT THE TIMING OF EACH PHASE.
SO SHOULD THIS PROJECT MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DIFFERENT SETS OF APPROVALS THIS MONTH, IT COULD COMMENCE IN 2021.
PHASE ONE WOULD COMMENCE IN THAT TIME AND WOULD CONTINUE FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
PHASE TWO OVERLAPS A LITTLE BIT.
WOULD, WOULD COMMENCE IN AROUND 2024, AND WOULD TAKE ABOUT THREE YEARS, UM, TO HAVE PHASE TWO FINISHED OUT.
AND THEN THE FINAL PHASE WOULD COMMENCE AGAIN WITH SOME OVERLAP AROUND 2025 AND BE COMPLETED AROUND 2030.
SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A 10 YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
AND WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED IS TO INCENTIVIZE THIS DEVELOPMENT WITH $24 MILLION IN TAX REBATES OVER THE 10 YEARS.
AND SO THE FACING REIMBURSEMENT WOULD BE WHAT YOU SEE HERE, PHASE ONE, UM, WOULD BE AROUND 11.5 MILLION, SECOND PHASE 10 MILLION, AND THE LAST PHASE AROUND 2.5 MILLION.
SO WHAT WOULD BE PAID WITH THIS, UH, INCENTIVE FOR REIMBURSEMENT? THE NEXT SLIDE HAS A LIST OF THAT.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A CURRENT, UH, SITE THAT DOES NEED SOME DEMOLITION FOR SOME STRUCTURES THAT WOULD NOT BE USED.
THERE'S SOME SOIL REMEDIATION AND SITE CLEANUP THAT WOULD BE NEEDED, AND THESE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UH, IN ADDITION, THE UTILITY WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE, UM, DEVELOPED TO ACCOMMODATE THE USES I MENTIONED, WATER, STORM, STORMWATER, UH, SEWER, THE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, ALL OF THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT ON SITE TO SERVE THE PROPOSED COMMERCIAL RETAIL AND HOUSING.
AND SO ALL OF THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND OF COURSE, ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO LONE STAR BOULEVARD, WHICH BY THE WAY, IS A BOND PROJECT IN THE 20 17 20 22 DEVELOPMENT.
SO I KNOW WE HAVE SOMEONE, UH, DAVID MACBETH FROM PUBLIC WORKS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT PROJECT, IF THERE ARE ANY, WHETHER THERE BE ENHANCEMENTS TO THAT THROUGH THIS PARTICULAR INCENTIVE, THE IMPROVEMENT, I MENTIONED THAT ADDITIONAL CONNECTION NORTH SOUTH WOULD ALSO BE ELIGIBLE AND THE ACTUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN LONE STAR AND STEVE AVENUE.
UM, THE CONNECTION TO STEVES AVENUE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AS WELL.
SO THIS IS THE LIST OF ITEMS THAT WOULD BE PAID FOR WITH THAT 24 MILLION, UH, INVESTMENT.
SO LET'S MOVE ON TO TALK ABOUT THE DETAILS IN THE TERM.
UM, FOR THIS $24 MILLION, UM, THE AGREEMENT TYPE WOULD BE A CHAPTER THREE 80 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT AGREEMENT.
YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT SINCE WE JUST HEARD ABOUT THOSE, UH, TYPE OF AGREEMENTS FROM THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION.
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS THAT THIS WOULD BE A REIMBURSEMENT TYPE OF AGREEMENT WITH REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE TAX INCREMENT REIMBURSEMENT ZONE AND THEN, UH, THROUGH TAX REBATES.
UM, IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, THE DURATION OF THE AGREEMENT WOULD BE FOR 15 YEARS OR 24 MILLION, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.
AND, UH, I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION THAT WHEN WE DESIGNATE A THIRD, IT'S NOT, UM, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, AN AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT THAT WE HAVE LIMITATIONS ON THOSE.
SO THE TERM OF THE CURRENT INNER CITY T IS SET TO EXPIRE IN 2025.
SO THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, UH, RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE BEYOND THAT TERMINATION TIME.
SO THE STRUCTURE OF THE REIMBURSEMENT WOULD BE THAT FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS, 2022 AND 2023, THE INNER CITY, THE INNER CITY TURS, WOULD REIMBURSE UP TO $2 MILLION
[01:10:02]
TO THE PROJECT.AND AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE FOR THOSE ELIGIBLE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, AND THAT WOULD BE THE INNER CITY CONTRIBUTION.
AFTER THAT, THE INNER CITY TURF FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR UNTIL ITS EXPIRATION, WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO BE REIMBURSED BACK AT 100% OF THE, UM, TAX, UM, THAT IS GAINED FROM THAT.
SO THE INNER CITY TUR RIGHT, RIGHT NOW IS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT PARTICIPATION FOR THE CITY.
SO THAT ONE YEAR WOULD BE, UM, WHAT THE DEVELOPER COULD GET REIMBURSED BACK AFTER THE INNER CITY TUR EXPIRES AFTER 2025.
THEN THE REIMBURSEMENT WOULD ONLY BE FROM THE O AND M COSTS THAT ARE GARNERED FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
SO THE CITY WOULD REAP THE BENEFITS OF THE INCREASED ASSESSMENT VALUE, BUT NOT THE O AND M.
CURRENTLY, THAT RATE IS 62.15.
AND SO AGAIN, UP TO THE 15 YEARS OR 24 MILLION, THIS IS HOW THE REIMBURSEMENT WOULD FUNCTION, AND THAT'S HOW THE REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT, THIS CHAPTER THREE 80 AGREEMENT IS BEING STRUCTURED RIGHT NOW.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE PROJECT TIMELINE AND TO GET TO FINAL APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT, OF COURSE, WE ARE COMING TO YOU FIRST WITH THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
THAT'S A BIG INVESTMENT IN THIS PART OF THE CITY.
WE ARE GOING TO THE INNER CITY TOURS, UH, THIS FRIDAY AS WELL.
'CAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE THEIR PORTION OF THE, UH, INCENTIVE AS WELL.
AND SHOULD THAT, UH, AND TODAY GO WELL, WE ARE PROPOSING TO TAKE THIS ITEM TO CITY COUNCIL ON MAY 20TH.
IF THIS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THIS APPROVED THIS MONTH, DEMOLITION AND PHASE ONE OF THE PROJECT WOULD COMMENCE AT THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR IN 2021, THAT IS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, AGAIN, I MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE DEVELOPER TEAM ON THE CALL TO ANSWER QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.
AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PUBLIC WORKS, UH, LONE STAR BOULEVARD PROJECT, WE HAVE, UH, STAFF FROM PUBLIC WORKS ON THE CALL AS WELL.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
LET ME QUICKLY TURN THIS OVER TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ.
UM, THANK YOU, MY CO COLLEAGUES.
UM, AND I'M SO VERY HOPEFUL, UH, FOR THIS ITERATION OF LONE STAR.
UM, I CAN REMEMBER, UH, WHEN I VERY FIRST GOT TO THE COUNCIL, HAVING A MEETING WITH LORI, AND AT THAT TIME, A GROUP OF DEVELOPERS.
UH, IT WAS MY VERY FIRST APPOINTMENT FOR MY VERY FIRST, UH, ULTRASOUND WHEN I FOUND OUT WHETHER OR NOT, UM, IAN WAS A BOY OR A GIRL.
SO THIS PROJECT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, BUT IT ALSO TELLS YOU HOW LONG, UH, WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOME DEVELOPMENT AT LONE STAR BECAUSE IAN, UH, IS, UM, NOW SEVEN YEARS OLD.
SO, UM, AND IT'S BEEN ALMOST THE ENTIRE TERM OF MY TIME HERE ON THE COUNCIL TO, UM, TO SEE THIS REATION OF LONE STAR, WHICH IS, HAS BEEN DIFFERENT FROM THE PREVIOUS ONES.
UH, AND THE REASON THAT I AM HOPEFUL THAT THIS ONE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IS BECAUSE THE FIRST PHASE IS ACTUALLY, UM, QUITE SMALL.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO START SMALL.
I THINK THAT, UM, MY EXPERIENCE, UH, OVER THE YEARS HAS BEEN THE DEVELOPMENTS ARE A LITTLE BIT SMALLER.
THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED.
UM, AND I KNOW WE HAVE THE, THE DEVELOPERS HERE, UM, AT THE TABLE.
AND, AND I WOULD LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GUYS WANT, WELL, LET ME JUST START WITH A QUESTION AND THEN MAYBE I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR, FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A PRESENTATION FOR ANYBODY, UH, THE VIEWING PUBLIC WHO HASN'T SEEN THIS ITERATION OF LONE STAR.
BUT, UM, I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT, THAT WE COULD NOT USE TOURS, FUNDING, OR ANY OTHER FUNDING FOR DEMOLITION PURPOSES.
AND I'M SHOWING THAT THAT'S THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS.
SO COULD YOU ADDRESS THAT ISSUE? SO, YES.
UM, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST UTILIZING THE TURS FUNDING, THIS IS A COMBINATION OF TS THE FIRST FEW YEARS, BUT THEN TAX REBATES THROUGHOUT THE CHAPTER THREE 80, UM, IT IS, UM, ELIGIBLE BECAUSE OF THAT.
SO IT'S NOT SOLELY THE TTTS FUNDING THAT'S BEING UTILIZED.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A COMBINATION OF TAX REBATES AFTER, UM, THE TSS EXPIRES AS WELL.
AND SO WITH THAT ADDITIONAL TAX REBATE, YOU CAN HAVE ADDITIONAL, UH, ITEMS BE PART OF THAT.
BUT THE REST OF IT IS THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, AND IT'S THE DEMOLITION TO HAVE THE, THE SITE CLEARED AND PREPPED FOR THE, THE NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT IS NEEDED.
[01:15:02]
UM, SO BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ITERATION OF LONE STAR, MOST, UH, UH, ISSUES HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED, LIKE, UM, THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THE SITE, UM, HAS, IS CONTAMINATED AND, AND NEEDS TO BE REMEDIATED.UM, WE'VE HAD LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS OVER THE YEARS ABOUT LONE STAR BOULEVARD, ROOSEVELT, UH, AND PROBAND.
WERE ALSO, UM, ON THE BOND, UH, IN 2017.
AND WE HAVE A PRO A PLAN FOR PROBAND AS WELL, WHICH IS ON, UM, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE THE WEST SIDE OF THE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, BUT THIS PLAN ALSO HAS A CONNECTION THROUGH STEVE'S, UM, WHICH I THINK WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IF WE HAVE, UM, MORE, UH, HOUSING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, SO WE'RE GONNA NEED ADDITIONAL ACCESS POINTS.
UM, AND I THINK ALL THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN THIS SO MANY TIMES, UH, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THIS VERSION, UM, THAT WE'RE BEING PRESENTED.
SO PERHAPS I'LL LET, UM, EITHER, UH, PETER FRENCH OR DON QUIGLEY, UM, GIVE A VERY BRIEF DESCRIPTION.
'CAUSE I KNOW WE STILL HAVE OTHER ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA, BUT THIS IS A VERY LARGE, UM, REQUEST FROM THE TOURS.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO A VERY LONG TERM, UM, AS WELL.
SO, I'LL, I'LL, UM, IF YOU GUYS WANNA GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION BEFORE, UM, I I, I JUST CLOSE OUT WITH A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA LET, UH, JOHN DO THE, DO THE BULK OF THE TALKING.
THIS IS PETER FRENCH WITH GRACE PARTNERS, AND, UH, JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON, SHIRLEY, FOR YOUR FAITH AND PATIENCE.
UM, ULTIMATELY, UH, LONESTAR WOULD BE A REALITY.
AND, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS, UH, THIS TIME'S THE TIME, UM, THIRD, FOURTH TIME, WHATEVER IT IS, IS THE CHARM.
AND, UH, AND WE'RE GOING TO SEE THIS THROUGH, UM, REALLY EXCITED.
WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN, UH, ACTIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, ONE OF THE OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON, UH, IS A MASSIVE PUBLIC ART INITIATIVE.
A WAY TO GET FOLKS BACK ON THE SITE QUICKLY AND SAFELY, UH, TO HELP CONTINUE SOME OF THE INFORMAL, UH, ART, UH, THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN, UH, DECORATING THE SITE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND, UM, SO AT ANY RATE, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA, UH, STEP TO THE BACK HERE AND LET DON, UH, TAKE IT AWAY.
BUT JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU.
I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S TIME TODAY TO, TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, THIS PLAN.
AND AS, UH, COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ MENTIONED, UM, IT IS CONTEMPLATED AS A, AS A LONG-TERM PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY WITH THE SITE, UM, YOU KNOW, MIDWAY AND GRAY STREET TEAMED UP A YEAR AGO, UM, TO HELP ACQUIRE THIS, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT SINCE THEN.
UM, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR HISTORY WITH THIS SITE IS MUCH SHORTER LIVED THAN A LOT OF Y'ALL.
SO WE, UM, ARE DOING OUR BEST TO, TO TAKE THE HISTORY INTO CONTEXT AND LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS.
UM, AS COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR, UH, OUR IDEAL TARGET FOR OUR FIRST PHASE IS A LITTLE BIT SMALLER THAN EVERYBODY ELSE'S FIRST TARGET.
UM, AND WHAT THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR HISTORY, UM, I'M SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY TO MIDWAY'S EXPERIENCE, UM, EXPERIENCE, WHEN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SIZED FIRST PHASE, IT CREATES MOMENTUM FOR THE LATER PHASES, BUT IT ALLOWS YOU TO ACTUALLY GET STARTED WHEN YOU ARE STARTING WITH SOMETHING TOO LARGE.
IT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO GET OFF THE GROUND.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ARE BEING VERY PRACTICAL ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO OUT THERE IN THE FIRST PHASE, BUT IT IS STILL, UM, VERY SIGNIFICANT.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE SEEN IN SOME OF THE PRESS RELEASES PERHAPS, BUT ALSO IN THE PRESENTATION MATERIALS PRESENTED TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, ROUND NUMBERS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE.
UM, THAT'LL BE A MIXTURE OF BOTH NEW ANDRE REPURPOSED SPACES IN THOSE HISTORICAL BUILDINGS.
UM, SOMEWHERE AROUND 50 TO 75,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL.
AND ONCE AGAIN, THAT'LL BE A COMBINATION OF NEW, NEW BUILDINGS AND EXISTING BUILDINGS.
UM, AND THEN WE DO WANT TO DO SOME MULTI-FAMILY ONSITE DAY ONE.
WE THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, CREATING A, UH, THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE ARE SHOWING IN THESE PLANS WILL ATTRACT PEOPLE TO WANT TO LIVE HERE.
AND IT'S A GREAT SITE ALONG THE RIVER WITH GREAT ACCESS TO ALL THE AMENITIES THE RIVER OFFERS.
SO WE THINK ALL OF THAT KIND OF COMES TOGETHER TO OFFER A REALLY UNIQUE PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE LARGEST PORTION OF THIS, UM, REQUESTED INCENTIVE PACKAGE IS RIGHT UP HERE IN THE FIRST PHASE.
AND, UM, THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON SITE.
WE DO HAVE, UM, QUITE A BIT OF CLEANUP TO DO.
UH, WE HAVE SOME DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, WHICH WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH BOTH O H P AND THE H D R C, UH, GROUP TO, TO EFFECT UTILIZE.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY MEETING WITH THEM AGAIN, UH, NEXT WEEK.
THIS WILL BE OUR, I THINK OUR SECOND OR OUR THIRD TIME IN FRONT OF THEM TO SHOW SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILED PLANS, UM,
[01:20:01]
FOR WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO IN THE FIRST PHASE.SO THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD THERE.
UH, AS PETER MENTIONED, WE'VE SAT DOWN, UH, WHETHER IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY WITH, UH, ALMOST EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AROUND HERE.
UM, AND EVERYONE HAS JUST EXPRESSED CONTINUED EXCITEMENT FOR WHAT WE'RE PLANNING HERE.
UM, AND WE'VE, WE'VE TAKEN SOME OF THE FEEDBACK FROM THOSE MEETINGS AND, AND ALTERED OUR PLANS AS WELL.
SO WE REALLY DO, UM, WANT TO APPROACH THIS FROM A COMMUNITY OUTREACH STANDPOINT.
UM, SO I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO, TO DETAIL, UM, ANYTHING FURTHER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE ABOUT THE PHASING OF THIS, ABOUT THE TIMING.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, THE, THE FIRST PHASE HERE IS THE BIGGEST ASK, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE THE MOST WORK TO DO TO GET THIS SITE READY.
UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH FROM A, UH, ACCESS STANDPOINT AND FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO, UH, MAKING SURE THE SITE ITSELF IS SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO BE BACK ON SITE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE WE'RE GONNA GET QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INCIDENT THAT WE'RE ON SITE, UM, UH, THE LAST, IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, BUT THERE ARE JUST A LOT OF HAZARDS ON THAT SITE TODAY.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS, AND, AND OUR PLAN IS TO SELECTIVELY DEMO THE BUILDINGS THAT DON'T HAVE ANY HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, THAT DON'T HAVE ANY REAL UTILITY LONG TERM SO THAT WE CAN EXPOSE THE HISTORY THAT IS THERE.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT BUILDINGS THERE THAT ARE GONNA BE REALLY EXCITINGLY FEATURED IN OUR PLANS, UM, AND CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PEOPLE CAN COME INTO VERY QUICKLY HERE AND GET PEOPLE BACK ON SITE AT MONSTAR AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UH, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DON.
AND, AND, UM, SO I I, I'M INCREDIBLY ENTHUSIASTIC, UH, ABOUT THIS PROJECT.
I KNOW THE COMMUNITY'S REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
UM, THEY'VE, THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO IT VERY LONG TIME.
THE, THE, THE SITE HAS BEEN VACANT FOR 25 YEARS.
UM, AND EVEN STILL, IT'S GONNA TAKE MANY, MANY YEARS TO GET THIS PROJECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO WHERE EVEN IF WE APPROVE THIS TODAY AND WE MOVE FORWARD, WE KNOW IT'S GONNA BE A COUPLE OF YEARS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY HAVE A BUILDING OR A SITE THAT PEOPLE CAN WALK INTO AND ENJOY.
SO, UM, I, I, I ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO PLEASE SUPPORT, UH, UH, ME ON THIS ONE.
LET'S MOVE IT FORWARD, UH, SO WE CAN SEE SOME PROGRESS, UH, ON THIS SITE THAT'S BEEN ABANDONED FOR SO LONG.
SO I THINK WE NEED A MOTION, A VETO OR, UH, CHAIR.
WE NEED A MOTION, UH, TO APPROVE, UM, THIS AGREEMENT.
SO I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, GONZALEZ.
AND YES, HERE'S HOPING THAT THIS IS GOING TO GET THROUGH THE FINISH LINE JUST TO GRACE STREET AND MIDWAY, PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU, UM, YOU HAVE PEOPLE, UH, HOPING THAT YOU CAN STAY WITH IT.
I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, THOUGH.
UM, THE STREETS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO STEVE'S AND THE, THE CONNECTION TO STEVE'S ARE THOSE, IS IT GONNA RUN THROUGH FROM LONE STAR TO STEVE'S IS AND IT CUT THROUGH THE PROPERTY, AND ARE THESE STREETS GOING TO BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC? SO YES, THAT IS THE PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
UM, W G I ENGINEERS, UM, HAS BEEN HIRED BY OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM, UH, TO WORK ON THIS SITE.
SO THEY HAVE BEEN DOING SO SINCE, REALLY SINCE WE PURCHASED THE SITE A YEAR AGO.
UM, SO THEY HAVE HAD A DIRECT HAND IN ALL OF THE MASTER PLANNING FOR EVERYTHING THAT'S ON SITE.
UM, I KNOW THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY ON THE PLANS FOR LONE STAR BOULEVARD.
SO THOSE ARE FULLY COORDINATED EFFORTS THERE.
UM, WHAT WE ARE HOPING, UM, TO ACHIEVE IS A, IS WHEN YOU SEE THE PLAN, AND I, I, I DON'T HAVE ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IT'S THAT MAJOR ROAD THAT GOES ALL THE WAY FROM LONE STAR THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF OUR SITE GOING NORTH TO SOUTH.
CAN WE, IT DOES CROSS SLIDE 10.
SORRY, DON, SLIDE 10 HAS A PICTURE OFFICE, SO YOU CAN, UH, YEAH.
AND WE HAVE BEEN IN ACTIVE DISCUSSIONS WITH C P S ON NEGOTIATING AN ACCESS EASEMENT.
UM, WE ARE MEETING AGAIN WITH THEM.
I BELIEVE THE PLAN IS ON THE 18TH.
UM, AND SO YEAH, THIS IS A GREAT V THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VERONICA.
UM, THAT'S A MAJOR, UM, MAJOR ROAD THAT WE'RE PLANNING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE SITE.
UM, WE WOULD, WE WOULD BE SEARCHING FOR THIS TO BE A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE A PUBLIC, UM, AND THAT IT GOES ALL THE WAY TO STEVES AT AVENUE STREET.
WELL, I MEAN, MY QUESTION, MY QUESTION THEN IS, UM, IF THIS IS, IF WE'RE GONNA USE TURS DOLLARS FOR THIS, THEN IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, CORRECT.
AND NOW THE BIG, BIG, VERY BIG QUESTION IS
[01:25:01]
WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VERY STORIED AREA, A LOT OF HISTORY HERE, AS YOU MENTIONED, SOME WITH SOME WITHOUT.SO WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE POOL AND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO, UM, AND, AND HOW ARE YOU INCORPORATING THE HISTORY INTO THE WHOLE PROJECT? I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE BIT BEYOND JUST, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I'M SAYING I OKAY, DON, YOU'RE BREAKING UP A LOT.
UM, WELL, IS THAT ANY BETTER? OKAY.
UH, SO I, I MISSED PART OF WHAT
SO MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE SWIMMING POOL, AND MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT HOW YOU ARE INCORPORATING HISTORY INTO THE, THE HISTORY OF, OF LONE STAR INTO THIS.
OH, DON, LET, JUST TRY JUST IN CASE YOUR AUDIO DOESN'T WORK AGAIN, AT LEAST I CAN GET THIS OUT.
UM, SO THEY, THEY WILL NOT BE RESTORING THE POOL, BUT THEY WILL BE PAYING HOMAGE TO ITS, UH, HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE ON THE SITE.
UH, THEY'LL BE OUTLINING IT AND THEY WILL HAVE WATER FEATURES TO IDENTIFY IT.
UM, AND THEN THEY WILL ALSO BE WORKING WITH THE ROOSEVELT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR LOCAL SWIMMING POOL.
SO, UH, IT WILL BE VISIBLE FROM, FROM THE SITE IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO PAY RESPECT TO THE HISTORY THAT IT PLAYED ON SITE.
UM, BUT IT WILL NOT BE RESTORED.
SO, I DON'T KNOW, DON, IF YOU WANNA TRY AGAIN? UH, AT LEAST I SURE.
UM, AND ONE, WE WORKED BOTH WITH H D R C AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ON, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE'S MEMORY OF THAT SITE WAS SPENDING TIME BY THAT POOL AND THE POND.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO, UM, IS, IS, IS ACCOMPLISH A COUPLE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, GOALS.
THERE IS ONE, CREATING SOMEPLACE SAFE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ON SITE AS IT SITS RIGHT NOW.
THE POOL IN ITS EXISTING CONDITION, UM, IS VERY DANGEROUS, OBVIOUSLY.
AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WOULD QUESTION THAT.
UM, THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, NATURE OF THE SITE, I MEAN, THAT WAS FED BY A VERY LARGE AQUIFER, UM, THAT LONE STAR HAD AQUIFER WELL, UM, THAT TAPPED DIRECTLY INTO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER THAT'S THERE.
UM, THOSE WATER RIGHTS ARE LONG GONE, SO WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO, TO PUMP WATER FROM THE GROUND.
AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, THERE WILL BE NO WAY FOR US TO FILL UP THAT POOL OR THAT POND IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO, AS IAN MENTIONED, UM, WOULD BE TO, TO PARTNER WITH THE ROOSEVELT PARK ASSOCIATION TO HELP MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR POOL.
UM, GIVEN THAT IT IS ALREADY A NEIGHBORHOOD AMENITY THAT EXISTS TODAY.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE PROVIDED SOME PRELIMINARY PLANS TO IAN AND OTHER PEOPLE ON THE TEAM ALONG WITH H D R C.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY THE ONES THAT HAVE WORKED WITH US, UM, TO CREATE THE HARDSCAPE PLAN THAT WE HAVE TODAY, WHICH HELPS HIGHLIGHT THE SHAPE OF THE POOL.
UM, NOT SPECIFICALLY THE POND, BUT THE POOL ITSELF.
IF YOU CAN RECALL, THE POOL IS KIND OF THE OVAL SHAPED SPOT.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHTING SEVERAL ELEMENTS OF THAT THAT ARE STILL THERE.
SO PRESERVING THAT STATUE THAT SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE POND, TRYING TO RECREATE THE AMPHITHEATER, UM, THAT IS THERE.
ONE OF THE OTHER GOALS THOUGH, IS THAT POND AND THAT POOL AREA WE'RE VERY INWARD FACING.
THEY FACED AWAY FROM THE RIVER.
THEY ACTUALLY SERVE AS A VISUAL BARRIER TO THE SITE TODAY BECAUSE OF THE ELEVATION AND THE LOCATION OF IT.
SO WE ACTUALLY WANT TO REMOVE THAT GRANDSTAND AREA AND RECREATE SOMETHING SIMILAR ACTUALLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF WHAT WOULD BE THE POOL TODAY.
UM, THAT POOL AREA THAT I MENTIONED IS GONNA BE PROBABLY OUR, OUR BEST AND LARGEST PHASE TWO PARK.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE A PHASE TWO IMPROVEMENT, BUT IT WILL BE A GREEN SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND CONGREGATE IN THAT WILL PAY, UM, PAY HISTORY AND PAY HOMAGE TO THAT POOL AND THAT POND AND THAT EXPERIENCE.
AND PETER TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS ON HOW WE CAN DO THAT BOTH, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY AND CREATIVELY, UM, WITH MURALS AND, UM, WITH DISPLAYS AND INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS THAT HELP TELL PEOPLE WHAT HAPPENED THERE.
[01:30:01]
UM, AND THE GOAL IS FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN ON SITE BEFORE WHEN THEY WERE A KID OR WHEN THEY WERE, UM, BRINGING THEIR FAMILY THERE, UM, TO WALK OVER THAT AREA, SEE THE OUTLINE OF THE POOL AND THE GROUND, AND THE HARDSCAPE ELEMENTS THAT KIND OF RECREATE THAT IN A FUN WAY AND SAY, I REMEMBER SWIMMING IN THAT POOL BEFORE, UM, AND HAVING THAT IMMEDIATE TIE TO HISTORY.SO I, I, I BELIEVE WE ARE, YOU KNOW, DOING OUR BEST TO, TO PAY HOMAGE TO IT, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, ONE, BASICALLY ONE STEP SHORT OF JUST PUTTING A POOL BACK THERE TOMORROW.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT, AND I APPRECIATE IT.
AND I KNOW THE RESIDENTS DO I KNOW, UM, ROOSEVELT PARK.
UM, WE SHARED THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AND THEY WERE VERY EXCITED WHEN THEY WERE HEARING ALL OF THE UPDATES.
AND, UH, JUST IT MEANS THAT THAT PLACE MEANS SO MUCH TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALL THE BEAUTIFUL TREES THAT ARE THERE, EVEN THE PECAN TREES THAT PEOPLE STILL GO IN THERE, NOT THAT THEY SHOULD OR NOT, I'M JUST SAYING THEY GO AND PICK PECANS STILL FOR THANKSGIVING.
UM, BUT IT, IT HAS A REALLY TIGHT, UH, CONNECTION TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU ALL TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND PROTECTING AS MANY TREES AND THOSE BEAUTIFUL TREES THAT WE CAN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MY COLLEAGUES? IF NOT, I'M GOING TO TAKE IT BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ, AND THEN WE'LL VOTE.
I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE, ON THE RECORD COMMITMENT FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF ROOSEVELT SWIMMING POOL, UH, FOR ALL OF MY FUTURE COLLEAGUES AND FOR STAFF AND EVERYBODY WHO SAID THAT THEY WOULD REDO THE ROOSEVELT OR THEY WOULD HELP TO REDO THE ROOSEVELT POOL.
UM, SO THOSE OF YOU ALL HAVE SEEN IT, KNOW THAT IT'S A VERY HARSH ENVIRONMENT.
IT WAS BUILT PROBABLY IN THE 1950S, UH, ACTUALLY I HEARD IT WAS BUILT DURING THE, UM, PERIOD OF, UM, OR OF RENEWAL OF, UM, IN THE 1950S.
UH, IT WAS A WORK PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM IN THE 1950S, AND, UH, IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE A 1950S POOL AND IS A DESPERATE NEED OF REHABILITATION.
SO, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT, UH, FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO THE REDEVELOPMENT OF ROOSEVELT POOL.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, UH, ON, ON THE FLOOR FOR APPROVAL OF THIS, UH, LONE STAR TOURS ACTION AS IT GOES TO THE TS COMMITTEE.
[5. 21-3306 Briefing and update on the Southside Opportunity Zones Strategic Plan. [Alejandra Lopez; Assistant City Manager and Interim Director, Economic Development]]
WE'RE GONNA GO A LITTLE BIT OF OUT OF ORDER RIGHT NOW, UM, BECAUSE I WANNA TALK.WE ARE GONNA MOVE ITEM ON THE SOUTH, THE SOUTH SIDE OPPORTUNITY ZONE'S STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'RE GONNA GET ITEM NUMBER FIVE, A BRIEFING AND UPDATE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OPPORTUNITY ZONE'S STRATEGIC PLAN, PLEASE.
SO, ALEX, IF YOU WANNA KICK US OFF YES, MA'AM.
AND WE HAVE ANN EATON, WHICH IS OUR OPPORTUNITY ZONE MANAGER FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE'VE GOT COLLEEN SWAIN, WHO IS OUR WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE DIRECTOR.
WE'VE GOT JUDY CANALES WITH
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MATT CROSSER, WHO IS WITH E P S, AND THEY ARE THE CONSULTANT, THE FIRM THAT'S BEEN HELPING US IN DEVELOPMENT OF THIS STRATEGY.
UH, IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE WITH ALL OF YOU TODAY.
UM, YES, AS ALEX SAID, MY NAME IS MATT PROSSER.
I'M WITH ECONOMIC AND PLANNING SYSTEMS OR E P S FOR SHORT.
WE, AND, UH, M I G ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP DEVELOP THE SOUTH SIDE OPPORTUNITY ZONE STRATEGY, UM, REPORT.
UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, THIS EFFORT IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, THE WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE AND THEN SOUTH SIDE FIRST.
UM, AND THE FOCUS OF IT IS ON FOUR CENSUS TRACKS TO MAKE UP WHAT WE'RE KIND OF CALLING TWO DIFFERENT AREAS THAT ARE DESIGNATED OPPORTUNITY ZONE.
SO THE FIRST IS THE CANTANA ROAD OPPORTUNITY ZONE, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE OR THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MAP HERE.
THAT INCLUDES THE CANTANA COMMUNITY AND ALSO THE EAST KELLY RAIL PORT PORTION OF PORT SAN ANTONIO.
UH, THE OTHER AREA IS THE MISSION, SAN JOSE BROOKS OPPORTUNITY ZONE.
SO THE CENSUS TRACKS THAT, UM, ARE ALONG OR ENCOMPASS, I SHOULD SAY, THE MISSION SAN JOSE AREA, AS WELL AS THE BROOKS DEVELOPMENTS, UM, TO THE SOUTH AND ALSO STINSON AIRPORT.
UM, AND THE EFFORTS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS EFFORT IS TO GUIDE, UM, FUTURE ACTIVE, OR SORRY, GUIDE FUTURE ACTIONS, INVESTMENTS, UM, BY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE CITY AND SOUTH SIDE FIRST IN TERMS OF TRYING TO LEVERAGE THIS DESIGNATION, BUT ALSO TO ALSO ATTRACT CAPITAL INVESTMENT TO THESE AREAS THROUGH OTHER MEANS.
AND SO OUR MAJOR TASKS WERE TO FIRST OVER, OVER PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM AND EXAMPLES OF USE, UM, COMPLETED MARKET AND OP MARKETS, DEMAND AND OPPORTUNITIES ANALYSIS.
[01:35:01]
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT EFFORT, UM, IDENTIFIED INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND THEN STRATEGIES.LASTLY, STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF INVESTMENT.
SO HOW CAN WE MITIGATE RISKS OF DISPLACEMENT AND OTHER NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT MAY COME FROM NEW PRIVATE INVESTMENT.
AND OUR DELIVERABLES ARE FIRST AN OVERVIEW MEMO ON THE OPPORTUNITY ZONES PROGRAM, UH, A STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WE HAVE PROVIDED A DRAFT TO STAFF, AND THEY'RE PROVIDING COMMENTS CURRENTLY.
AND THEN LASTLY, AN INVESTMENT PERSPECTIVES, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UM, PROMOTIONAL DOCUMENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY EMBEDDED IN THE OVERALL STRATEGY THAT CAN BE USED AS SORT OF PULLOUT SECTIONS OR PULLOUT HANDOUTS TO HIGHLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE THINK WORK WELL WITH OPPORTUNITY ZONES AND ARE DESIRED BY THE COMMUNITY.
SO OUR OUTREACH PROCESS, UM, UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO BE DONE ALL VIRTUALLY DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS.
UM, BUT WE TRIED, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT MEANS TO TRY TO GET ENGAGEMENT.
FIRST WE HAD TWO ROUNDS OF STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, UM, WHICH INCLUDED RESIDENTS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, BUSINESS OWNERS, BUSINESS GROUPS, DEVELOPERS, AND THEN COMMUNITY PARTNERS SUCH AS, UH, SARAH AND, AND OTHER SORT OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, IN THOSE TWO ROUNDS OF MEETINGS, WE DISCUSSED OPPORTUNITIES IN THESE AREAS, AND THEN CHALLENGES WITH ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS.
WE ALSO HAD AN ONLINE SURVEY, WHICH HAD OVER 200 RESPONSES.
UM, AND WE SAW KIND OF MIDWAY THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE NEEDING MORE ROBUST INPUT FROM CERTAIN AREAS, SPECIFICALLY THE ANA ROAD AREA, AND ACTUALLY ENGAGED TO TEXAS A AND M, SAN ANTONIO, M B A CANDIDATES, UM, TO HELP US HOST THE PHONE BANK WHERE THEY, THEY REACHED OUT TO, I BELIEVE, OVER 50 DIFFERENT FOLKS DIRECTLY TO HAVE THEM, UM, MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE OR THE SURVEY, AND THEN ALSO TAKE THEM.
UM, AND WE ALSO PROVIDED, UH, HARD, HARD COPY HANDOUTS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PARTICIPATED IN VARIOUS COMMUNITY OR NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION MEETINGS AS INVITED OR DESIRED BY THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO IN TERMS OF OUR FEEDBACK FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS, WE, WE IDENTIFIED FOUR OUR OVERARCHING THEMES, UM, THAT REALLY WERE PRESENT, UM, IN BOTH AREAS.
UM, MOSTLY FIRST IS THE NEED TO BUILD ON THE WORLD HERITAGE DESIGNATION ALONG THE MISSION REACH AND, AND, AND OF THE MISSIONS IN, IN SAN ANTONIO.
OBVIOUSLY THIS IS MORE GERMANE TO THE MISSION, SAN JOSE BROOKS OPPORTUNITY ZONE, NOT NECESSARILY DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, THE OTHER ONES ARE, I THINK, PERTINENT TO BOTH.
SO THE DESIRE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS, UM, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE MAINTAIN CHARACTER AND CULTURE, UH, IN BOTH OF THESE COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, HOW DO WE ATTRACT QUALITY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES? NEXT SLIDE.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A HIGHLIGHT OF THE SURVEY RESULTS.
WE HAVE THEM FULLY DETAILED IN THE REPORT AND IN THE APPENDIX.
UM, FIRST, OR NOT FIRST, BUT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED WAS, WHAT TYPES OF PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS ARE DESIRED IN THE CANTANA ROAD AREA? AND A LARGE PORTION OF THE FOLKS SAID, UM, SOME FORM OF SORT OF COMMERCIAL OR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT.
SO A LOT OF THE MOST PROMINENT ANSWER WAS A NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL, SO SMALL BUSINESSES, RESTAURANTS THAT ORIENTED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THERE'S ALSO A DESIRE FOR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT THAT HAD HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL WITHIN IT, UM, BUT ALSO SUPPORT FOR VARIETY OF DIFFERENT HOUSING TYPES AND NEW INVESTMENT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THE RESULTS WERE PRETTY SIMILAR.
WHEN WE ASKED ABOUT THE MISSION SAN JOSE AND BROOKS AREA, UH, AGAIN, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, COMMERCIAL SMALL BUSINESS KIND OF INVESTMENTS IS WHAT WAS MOST DESIRED, ALONG WITH MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, UH, INTERESTING, MORE, MORE DESIRE FOR MORE TOURISM SERVICES OR HOTELS IN THIS AREA.
OBVIOUSLY WITH THE MISSION, THE MISSIONS AND THEIR MAJOR ATTRACTION THAT THEY ARE.
UM, BUT ALSO A DESIRE FOR VIC, A MIX OF HOUSING.
UM, I SHOULD NOTE IN BOTH AREAS, SINGLE FAMILY MARKET RATE, SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING WAS THE MOST POPULAR ANSWER, BUT WE DID GET SUPPORT FOR VARIETY OF DIFFERENT HOUSING TYPES.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION WE ASKED WAS ABOUT THE TYPES OF COMMUNITY AMENITIES OR ASSETS THAT ARE DESIRED.
UM, WE'VE HEARD THINGS LIKE HEALTHY FOOD STORES, RESTAURANTS, HOW DO WE INCREASE JOB DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, UM, WAYS TO GET KIDS INVOLVED.
UM, SO A A DESIRE FOR A LOT OF THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND A LOT OF THINGS DO EXIST ALREADY, UM, ESPECIALLY GIVEN RECENT INVESTMENTS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO ASKED ABOUT CONCERNS.
UM, WHAT CONCERNS DO YOU HAVE FROM NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AREA? UM, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF USUALS TRAFFIC, UM, POTENTIAL OF INCREASED TAXES AND THOSE IMPACTS THAT MAY CREATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE PUSHED OUT WAS A BIG CONCERN THAT WE'VE HEARD.
[01:40:01]
UH, ANOTHER QUESTION WAS, WHAT BARRIERS OR ISSUES EXIST CURRENTLY THAT ARE PREVENTING DEVELOPMENTS OR INVESTMENT INTO THE COMMUNITY FOR THE TYPES OF USE YOU'D LIKE TO SEE? AND THE TOP TWO ARE REALLY INTERESTING ONES, AND I THINK REALLY HELP DRIVE SOMEWHAT OF OUR STRATEGY IS THE IDEA OF, UM, QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE.SO IF WE HAVE AREAS THAT HAVE QUALITY PUBLIC INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC SPACES, UM, THAT'S MORE LIKELY TO ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT.
AND SO THAT WAS SORT OF THE COMMENT THAT THEY NEED TO GO HAND IN HAND.
THE SECOND WAS THE IDEA OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL, WHICH IS REALLY THE HEART OF WHAT, WHAT OUR STUDY WAS ABOUT, DESIRE TO ATTRACT CAPITAL TO THESE OPPORTUNITY ZONES, WHICH ARE SORT OF HISTORICALLY UNDER INVESTED IN.
UM, AND THE POINT OF THE FEDERAL PROGRAM BEING TO TRY TO ATTRACT, UH, OUTSIDE INVESTMENT INTO THESE AREAS.
UM, AND WHAT WE FOUND, AND WE'LL GET INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT, IS THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM DOESN'T NECESSARILY DO THAT ALL THAT WELL.
AND SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED SOME OPPORTUNITIES WHERE IT DOES, BUT ALSO THE NEED FOR OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT INVESTMENT IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UM, WE ASKED ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS OR QUALITIES, UH, FUTURE PROJECTS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU.
UM, AND SO THERE WAS A, A WHOLE VARIETY OF ANSWERS IN TERMS OF CONNECTION TO PUBLIC TRANSITS, SOCIAL COMMUNITY SPACES, PUBLIC ARTS, UH, BUT AGAIN, THOSE COMMON THEMES OF BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, AND MORE NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, REAL COMMON THEMES THAT WE HEARD A LOT.
UH, LASTLY, WE ASKED ABOUT SOME SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE THEY'D LIKE TO SEE SOME COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OR REDEVELOPMENTS.
UH, SPECIFICALLY THE ROOSEVELT CORRIDOR, WHICH WE KNOW HAS BEEN, IS AN ONGOING INVESTMENT PROJECT FOR THE BOND, BOTH IN THIS, THIS ROUND OF BOND FUNDING AND, UH, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT ROUND.
AND THEN, UH, THE SOUTH CROSS AND R UM, SORRY, THE SOUTH CROSS AND QUINTANA ROAD INTERSECTIONS WAS ANOTHER LOCATION WHERE PEOPLE WANTED TO SEE INVESTMENT, BUT ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR THE CREATION OF SOME SORT OF CENTER FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, FOR EACH AREA, WE IDENTIFIED BOTH NEXT SLIDE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES, AND THEN HAVE DEVELOPED SOME INITIAL HIGH LEVEL STRATEGIES.
SO FOR THE ANA ROAD AREA, UM, OPPORTUNITIES WERE A LOT OF DESIRE FOR QUALITY NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL.
UH, WE KNOW WE'RE RIGHT NEXT TO PORT SAN ANTONIO, SO THERE'S A STRONG EMPLOYMENT BASE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF STRONG COMMUNITY ASSETS IN THIS COMMUNITY OR IN THIS AREA.
A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE LIVED THERE A LONG TIME, SOME BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS.
UM, AND SO A LOT OF HISTORIC ROOTS THAT I THINK IS AN ASSET.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'VE SEEN SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO BOTH NU AVENUE AND PORTIONS OF KENTANA ROAD, UM, THAT THE, THE RESIDENTS AND THE STAKEHOLDERS REALLY FELT WERE A POSITIVE SIGN.
UM, CHALLENGES, UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL VACANT BUILDINGS, UM, BOTH RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, UH, A LACK GENERALLY OF RECENT MARKET ACTIVITY.
UM, AND THEN REALLY THE BIG BARRIER HERE HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY THOSE PHYSICAL BARRIERS, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO THE RAILROAD THAT HAVE SEPARATED THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FROM, SAY, THE PORT OR PREVIOUSLY THE AIR FORCE BASE AND OTHER AREAS.
SO HOW DO WE TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE PHYSICAL BARRIERS, WHICH OFTENTIMES CREATE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BARRIERS AS WELL.
AND THEN THE LAST POINT, WHICH IS TRUE FOR BOTH AREAS IS REALLY DESIRE FOR ACCESS OF CAP ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OR EXISTING PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, THAT THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM REALLY DOESN'T NECESSARILY ADDRESS.
SO IN TERMS OF THIS AREA, OUR STRATEGY THEMES WERE CAN WE CREATE A COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE, WHETHER THAT'S SORT OF A COLLECTION OF PRIVATE USES OR SOME SORT OF PUBLIC USE.
UM, HOW CAN WE BETTER CONNECT RESIDENTS TO OPPORTUNITIES AT PORT SAN ANTONIO, UH, ST.
PHILIPS COLLEGE AND THEIR SOUTHWEST CAMPUS BEING A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT CONNECTION.
HOW DO WE ATTRACT MORE BUSINESS TO EAST KELLY? UM, WE KNOW THE PORT HAS BEEN DOING A LOT OF EFFORTS TO BUILD OUT THEIR INNOVATION AREA AND SORT OF THE CORE OF THE PORT, BUT HOW CAN WE HELP FOCUS MORE ATTENTION AND MORE INVESTMENT INTO THAT EAST KELLY PORTION AS WELL? AND THEN HOW DO WE SUPPORT REINVESTMENT IN EXISTING BUILDINGS, WHETHER THEY BE VACANT OR UNDERUTILIZED OR OTHER.
IN TERMS OF MISSION, SAN JOSE AND THE BROOKS AREA, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A, A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION, UM, FOR CULTURAL TOURISM.
UM, ESPECIALLY COUPLED WITH THE DESIGNATION OF THE CITY AS A CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY, UH, REALLY OPPORTUNITIES TO DRIVE DIFFERENT INVESTMENTS IN THIS AREA.
WE HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF GREEN SPACE WITH THE, THE MISSION REACH TRAIL, AND OTHER PARKS IN THE AREA.
UM, BROOKS HAS REALLY BEEN GROWING INTO A PRETTY PHENOMENAL EXAMPLE OF A LIVE WORKPLACE CENTER.
UH, REALLY THE, THE EMBODIMENT OF THE REGIONAL CENTER IDEA THAT WE HAVE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE ALL THE TOOLS REALLY IN OUR OPINION NEEDED IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND CAPITAL ATTRACTION TOOLS IN PLACE IN THIS OPPORTUNITY ZONE AREA.
UM, WE HAVE THE INCLUSIVE GROWTH AREA DESIGNATION.
[01:45:01]
HAVE AN EXISTING TOURS OR TWO EXISTING TOURS.UM, WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY ZONE DESIGNATION.
SO IT'S REALLY THE, THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON TRACKING THOSE USES THAT WE WANT THERE.
UM, AND WHILE WE DO THAT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COGNIZANT OF THE RISK OF DISPLACEMENT, UM, MAKING SURE WE PRESERVE HISTORIC ASSETS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE, UM, AS WELL AS CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND EXISTING PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, THROUGH INCREASED ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
UM, SO STRATEGIES WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING FOR THIS AREA.
UM, HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OUR INCENTIVE DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, WHETHER THAT'S TRAIL CONNECTIONS, UM, OR THINGS OF THOSE NATURE.
UM, HOW DO WE ATTRACT THOSE DESIRED USES THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, THOSE BEING THAT NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL USES, UH, POTENTIALLY A HOTEL THAT'S ORIENTED TO CULTURAL TOUR, HERITAGE TOURISM AND NEW HOUSING, SPECIFICALLY NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING WAS REALLY DESIRED IN THE AREA.
UM, OTHER STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS BEING THAT ADDRESSING VACANT NEGLIGENT OWNERS.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, A TOOLKIT FOR ADDRESSING DISPLACEMENT RISK.
SO NEXT I'LL GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGY THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN OUR REPORT.
UM, IT'S OUTLINED WITH A FEW DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
SO FIRST IS WHAT WE CALL DESIRED COMMUNITY INVESTMENT IN PRO INVESTMENTS IN PROJECTS.
SO REALLY THESE ARE SECTIONS THAT HIGHLIGHT, UH, CURRENTS AND DESIRED FUTURE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE PUBLIC PROJECTS, WHETHER THOSE BE POTENTIAL OR EXISTING BOND PROJECTS OR OTHER PROGRAMS, UM, THAT WOULD SUPPORT THE DESIRED INVESTMENTS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE STAKEHOLDERS.
THE NEXT SECTION IS WHAT WE CALL AN INVESTMENT IN DEVELOPMENT ATTRACTION SECTION.
THIS IS WHERE WE HIGHLIGHT THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT WE THINK WORK WELL WITH OPPORTUNITY ZONES AND THE ONES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY, I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A SECOND.
UM, THEN THERE'S DISPLACEMENT MITIGATION TOOLKIT.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE AN ACTION MATRIX TO HELP GUIDE THE EFFORTS OF E D D SOUTHSIDE FIRST AND THE WORLD HERITAGE OFFICE GOING FORWARD.
SO WHAT WE FOUND WAS THERE ARE CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT WE THINK ARE DESIRED IN THE SOUTH SIDE AND WORK WELL WITH THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM.
SO THOSE THREE TYPES WERE AN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING, UH, A MULTI-FAMILY PROJECT, APARTMENT PROJECT, AND A BOUTIQUE HOTEL.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE CREATED THESE PROFILES OF EACH OF THESE TYPES.
YOU CAN SEE A SAMPLE OF ONE OF THEM ON THE RIGHT THERE TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM WORKS WELL FOR THEM, WHAT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED ABOUT THESE USES, UM, WHAT MARKET TRENDS OR INDICATORS WE SEE THAT WOULD INDICATE THIS IS A GOOD INVESTMENT IN THESE AREAS, WHAT EXISTING SUPPORT TOOLS THE COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY.
AND THEN WE IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE'VE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT, AND FROM, UM, OUR RESEARCH THAT WOULD BE GREAT PLACES IN THE SOUTH SIDE FOR THIS TYPE OF USE.
SO INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS SPECIFICALLY WOULD BE THE EAST KELLY RAPE RAIL PORT AREA OR WITHIN THE BROOKS DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING WHAT USES WE WANT AND WHERE DO WE WANT 'EM, AND TRYING TO USE THAT AS A WAY TO PROMOTE THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO INVESTORS OR DEVELOPERS THAT MIGHT BE USING OR LOOKING FOR INVESTMENTS IN OPPORTUNITY ZONES.
WE ALSO IDENTIFIED PROJECTS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
SO THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THE COMMUNITY WANTS BUT DON'T REALLY WORK WELL WITH OPPORTUNITY ZONE.
THERE'S NOT REALLY A, A TIE OR THEY'RE NOT SIZABLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE INCENTIVE A POSSIBLE OR FEASIBLE.
UM, SO THE THING, THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS BEING NEW, SMALL BUSINESSES, NEW SINGLE, NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOME DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN RENOVATION OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, UH, THESE TYPES OF INVESTMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY ARE NOT SOMETHING THAT THE OPPORTUNITY ZONE PROGRAM WILL REALLY HELP WITH.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS HIGHLIGHTED WHAT THE CHALLENGES ARE WITH THE OZ PROGRAM, UM, WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THOSE ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND STRATEGIES THAT YOU GUYS CAN CONSIDER TO HELP, UH, SUPPORT THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
UM, WE, WE GOT CONNECTED WITH NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING SERVICES AND OTHERS AND LEARNED ABOUT THE, THE ONGOING ANTI DISPLACEMENT AGENDA EFFORTS AND FELT IT MADE MOST SENSE FOR US TO BUILD UPON THAT RECENTLY REPEAT, RE UH, RELEASED DRAFT REPORT.
AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IS TAKEN A LOT OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN THIS ANTI DISPLACEMENT AGENDA STRATEGY AND HIGHLIGHTED THE ONES THAT WE THINK WORK WELL FOR THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO, UH, SUPPORT FOR MAINTAINING NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND REINVESTMENT EXISTING HOMES, UH, RAMPING UP ESTATE PLANNING AND TITLE CLEARANCE SUPPORT FOR RESIDENTS.
UM, HOW DO WE ADDRESS VACANT BUILDINGS AND CODE VIOLATIONS? AND THEN LASTLY, THE IDEA OF A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST OR LAND BANKING.
HOW IS, THAT'S A TOOL WE THINK WOULD BE VERY, UM, SUPPORTIVE IN TRYING TO MAINTAIN, UH, RESIDENTS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, I'LL END ON HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT
[01:50:01]
WE HAVE, AND THEN I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT TO COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL.SO, UH, THESE ARE SORT OF GENERALLY ORGANIZED UNDER THOSE FOUR MAJOR THEMES THAT WE IDENTIFIED EARLY ON.
SO IN TERMS OF INCREASING ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR PROPERTY OWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES, SOME RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD BE TO, UH, PROVIDE A FACADE IMPROVEMENT OR BUILDING IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
I KNOW THIS HAD STARTED TO OCCUR IN THIS AREA SOMEWHAT.
UM, AND THERE IS CURRENTLY A, A PRETTY SUCCESSFUL MODEL OPERATED BY SAGE.
SO HOW CAN WE KIND OF REPLICATE THAT PROGRAM IN THIS THIS AREA? UM, HOW CAN WE EXPAND RESOURCES AND ACCESS TO THE CITY'S EXISTING FEE WAIVER PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND LEGACY BUSINESSES? UM, AND THEN POTENTIALLY, HOW DO WE SEED A, A REVOLVING LOAN OR MICROLOAN FUND FOR SMALL BUSINESSES SPECIFIC TO THE SOUTH SIDE? UM, OTHER IDEAS WOULD BE HOW DO WE CREATE POTENTIALLY SOME INCUBATION SPACE OR, UM, STARTUP SUPPORT SPACES FOR NEW BUSINESS FORMATION AND PROVIDING GRANTS REVENUES OR GRANTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE NEW BUSINESSES.
UM, IN TERMS OF NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT, UM, WE THINK CONTINUING INVESTMENTS ALONG KING TOWN ROAD, UH, IS A NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS, UM, SUPPORTING THE, THE CREATION OR THE GROWTH, I SHOULD SAY, OF A NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT AT THE INTERSECTION IN CANTANA IN SOUTH CROSS.
SOMETHING THAT'S HISTORICALLY BEEN PLANNED IN THAT AREA AND, UH, BEEN DESIRED BY THE COMMUNITY.
HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THROUGH BOTH, UM, GRANT PROGRAMS, BUT ALSO SOME PUBLIC INVESTMENTS TO MAKE THAT, UH, MORE LIKELY OR HELP KIND OF NUDGE ALONG THE EXISTING BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE AREA.
UM, SCALING UP ESTATE PLANNING AND TITLE CLEARANCE, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT.
UH, LEVERAGING THE VACANT BUILDING PROGRAM.
YOU GUYS HAVE AN AMAZING MODEL FOR A VACANT BUILDING PROGRAM.
IT'S, IT'S REALLY, I THINK A, A GREAT AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAM THAT YOU GUYS OPERATE.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND IT, TO CONNECT THE OUTREACH EFFORTS THAT YOU GUYS DO TO THOSE VACANT PROPERTY OWNERS, TO MAKE THEM MORE AWARE OF POTENTIAL CAPITAL, UM, PROGRAMS THAT THEY COULD USE TO REINVEST IN THEIR PROPERTIES OR CONNECT THEM WITH SELLERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OR CONNECT THEM TO INTERESTED BUYERS, UM, WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT MAY BE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, WHETHER THOSE DEVELOPERS, NONPROFITS, ENTREPRENEURS THAT WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THAT BUILDING THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
UM, AND NEEDS TO SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WE NEED, NEED TO SUPPORT THE, THE TRANSFER OF THAT PROPERTY FROM SOMEBODY THAT JUST IS HOLDING IT AS OPPOSED TO SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO DO SOMETHING AND INVEST INTO IT.
AND THEN LASTLY, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT FUND? THERE'S SOME GREAT, GREAT NATIONAL MODELS FOR HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE FUNDING, UM, IN VARIOUS WAYS, WHETHER IT'S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, TO CREATE A POOL OF FUNDS THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS COULD COLLECTIVELY USE TO FUND PROJECTS THAT THEY WANT, UM, AT A SORT OF A GRASSROOTS SCALE.
AND SO WE TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE REPORT.
LAST SLIDE TALKS ABOUT HOW DO WE SUPPORT WORLD HERITAGE DESIGNATION, UM, SO, UH, DESIRE AND THE NEED FOR A, AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY RELATED TO TOURISM, SPECIFIC TO THIS AREA.
UM, SOMETHING THAT WE WE'RE SUGGESTING CAN OCCUR DURING THE SA TOMORROW SOUTH COMMUNITY AREA PLAN EFFORT, WHICH IS ABOUT TO START THIS YEAR.
UM, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE ATTRACTION, OR I'M SORRY, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE, THE ATTRACTION OR EXPANSION OF HOSPITALITY OFFERINGS SPECIFICALLY.
CAN WE ATTRACT THE BOUTIQUE HOTEL THAT'S ORIENTED TO CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM AND OR OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN USE OPPORTUNITY FUNDS, UH, QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY FUNDS TO PROVIDE, UH, ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR EXISTING ROADSIDE MOTEL OWNERS IN THE AREA? THERE'S A, THERE'S A HANDFUL OF THEM THAT OWN, UH, ROADSIDE MOTELS THAT WE THINK COULD BE REALLY UNIQUE HOSPITALITY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AREA, UM, IF THEY'RE REINVESTED IN AND ARE ORIENTED TOWARDS THE TOURISTS THAT ARE VISITING THE MISSIONS CURRENTLY.
UH, NEXT WOULD BE IDENTIFYING AND FUNDING PROJECTS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MISSION DRIVE INSIGHTS.
UM, THERE ARE ABOUT 3.3 ACRES THAT HAVEN'T SPECIFICALLY BEEN DESIGNATED FOR USE.
SO HOW CAN WE AS A COMMUNITY IDENTIFY THE USES WE WANT AND THEN TRY TO DRIVE, CREATE THOSE PROJECTS.
AND WE SPECIFICALLY THINK PROJECTS THAT WOULD DRIVE REGULAR VISITATION TO THE AREA, UM, MORE ACTIVITY COULD REALLY HELP ADD TO THE VIBRANCY OF THE AREA.
AND THEN LASTLY, HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE THE CITY OF GASTRONOMY, UH, DESIGNATION? AND WE THINK POTENTIALLY THERE'S AN IDEA THERE AROUND FOOD INCUBATION IN RELATION TO THE MISSION DRIVE IN SITES AS WELL AS THE CURRENT ARTISAN AND FARMER'S MARKET THAT'S OPERATED AT THE MISSION MARQUE PLAZA.
SO I, I JUST THREW AT YOU A LOT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE THE REPORT WITH YOU AS SOON AS WE GET STAFF COMMENTS, SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT YOU HAVE NOW.
[01:55:02]
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MATT FOR THE PRESENTATION AND IT WAS A LOT OF STUFF, BUT I THINK WE'VE BEEN WAITING A WHILE, UH, FOR THIS AS WELL FOR THE SOUTH SIDE, UH, OPPORTUNITY ZONE.UM, JUDITH, THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO'S BEEN A PART OF THIS AND ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN IN THIS.
UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANTED TO, UH, MENTION IS, UH, YES, I THINK I MENTIONED IT LAST TIME, THE LOOK AT, UH, RENOVATION OF THESE CURRENT ROADSIDE MOTELS.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM WITH THAT.
I DO LOVE THE IDEA AS WELL AS A NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT FUND.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I KNOW IN THESE PARTICULAR AREAS THERE'S, UH, AND THROUGHOUT SAN ANTONIO, BUT, BUT IN THESE AREAS IN PARTICULAR, THERE'S A LARGE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND I KNOW THAT THEY ARE READY TO GO AND HAVE GREAT IDEAS IF ONLY THEY HAD THE CAPITAL, UM, FOR THAT INVESTMENT.
SO I THINK THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, UM, YES TO THE, UH, LEGACY, UH, TO THE LEGACY BUSINESSES AND SOME EXPANDING OUR CITY FEE WAIVER PROGRAM FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES AND OUR LEGACY BUSINESSES WITHIN BOTH OF THESE AREAS.
AS WELL AS REALLY, REALLY, UM, WORKING IF WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT FUND, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN HAVE AN, UM, ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND, UH, FOR PROTECTION OF OUR LEGACY HOMEOWNERS AND OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW, AND, AND YOU KNOW, I FORGOT TO SAY THIS AT THE LAST, UM, CONVERSATION BECAUSE WE KNOW THE PROPERTY APPRAISALS IN THESE ENTIRE AREAS ARE GONNA START INCREASING.
THE CITY TAXES WON'T, BUT THE APPRAISALS WILL ONCE WE CONTINUE TO PUT IN THIS INVESTMENT AND WE SEE IT GROW.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO DO DOUBLE FOCUS ON PROTECTING OUR LEGACY HOMEOWNERS IN THAT AREA.
HOWEVER WE CAN, CAN, AS WE SEE APPRAISALS, UM, INCREASE.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO OFFSET THAT AND PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY? UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
AND THEN, UM, UH, LASTLY, SO, SO THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND THEN LASTLY, AS WE CONTINUE TO, UM, HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS, AND I MENTIONED THIS IN THE LAST MEETING, WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART AS A CITY TO CONTINUE TO INFORM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE LOCAL VOICES IN TO THE, UM, INTO THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES NOW, BECAUSE THEY DON'T, ORIGINALLY THEY DID NOT, UH, THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO COME TO US.
AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING IS A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WOULD BE COMPATIBLE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, NOT NECESSARILY, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO.
SO WHAT WE CAN, CAN WE DO AS A CITY TO INFORM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO GIVE LOCALS SOME VOICE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, SOME VOICE WHEN IT COMES TO OPPORTUNITY ZONE OF THE, UM, THE TAXES.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ.
UM, I THINK THIS WAS, UM, YEAH, GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS.
IT'S NICE TO SEE JUDY AND THAT SO MANY OF Y'ALL, IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME, UM, THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN Y'ALL IN PERSON.
BUT I GUESS, UM, JUST TO, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE SLIDE THAT YOU SAY, UM, THINGS THAT WOULD DO WELL IN AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE AND THEN THOSE THAT DO NOT, THERE WERE BOUTIQUE HOTELS, THERE WAS MULTIFAMILY AND I THINK YOU HAD MANUFACTURING OR MAYBE ACCESS RETAIL, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I THINK IT'S SLIDE 20, WHOEVER, I'M NOT RUNNING THE SHOW, SO WHOEVER'S RUNNING THE SHOW, SLIDE 20
SO, UM, THREE PROJECTS THAT WE IDENTIFIED, UM, WERE THE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING, WHICH I THINK COULD HOUSE MANUFACTURING USES FOR SURE.
UH, A MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENTS AND THEN A HOTEL.
UM, AND SO I, I GUESS THE REASON WHY I, I I, I, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ON THIS, UM, SO WE KNOW THAT AS A COUNCILMAN MENTIONED, THERE ARE A LOT OF EXISTING SORT OF SMALL HOTELS, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, DURING THE, UM, DURING THE COVID ALL THIS TIME, I HAPPEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THAT SHIP'S CREEK.
I'M SURE MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES DID TOO,
[02:00:01]
AND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, IN THAT WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, I I I, I CAN'T IMAGINE I'M THE ONLY PERSON WHO'S EVER THOUGHT OF THIS.
I'M SURE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE AS WELL, BUT THE REASON WHY I WONDER THAT IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET, EVEN THOUGH THE POTENTIAL IS THERE, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF CAPITAL, AND IT SEEMS LIKE AN OBVIOUS, UM, LIKE, BUT YET WHEN WE TALK TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DON'T WANT TO INVEST IN THAT KIND OF THING.
SO, UH, AND THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR BANK.
SO IS THERE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THAT? I MEAN, IS THERE, I MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE COULD DO SOME BRIDGE FINANCING OR WORKING WITH OUR S B A TO DO, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILDING, UM, UH, REINVESTMENT, UH, AND, AND PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, REDUCING THE TAX BURDEN FOR SOME AMOUNT OF TIME.
UH, WAS THAT, UM, ADDRESSED AT ALL? YES, UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A COUPLE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO SPECIFICALLY THE ROADSIDE MOTELS AND THEN SOME FUNDING TOOLS OR PROGRAMS THAT WE COULD DO.
I THINK WE COULD MAKE THAT A LITTLE MORE ROBUST THAN THE, THE FINAL DRAFT.
UM, SPECIFICALLY I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO COLLECTIVELY WORK, WORK WITH ALL THE, UH, THE OWNERS IN THE AREA OR OWNERS THAT WANT TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AS A WAY TO POTENTIALLY POOL FUNDS COLLECTIVELY FOR ALL OF THEM TO ACCESS.
AND THAT'S A WAY POTENTIALLY THAT THEY COULD ACCESS INTO INVESTORS INTO, UM, OPPORTUNITY ZONE, UH, QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY ZONE FUNDS.
UM, WHEREAS IF, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY THEM ALL INVESTING IN MULTIPLE HOTELS CREATES A, AT LEAST A SIZABLE ENOUGH OF A INVESTMENT PROJECT, UM, THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO ATTRACT INVESTMENTS AND THEN GIVEN SORT OF THE LONG-TERM HOLD POTENTIAL, UM, OR REQUIREMENTS, UM, USES LIKE A HOTEL OR AN APARTMENT BUILDING OR INDUSTRIAL BUILDING THAT HAVE RENTERS, OR IN THAT, IN A HOTEL CASE, YOU KNOW, VISITORS STAYING THERE, THOSE TYPES OF, UH, ASSETS THAT CREATE ONGOING REVENUE STREAMS ARE ONES THAT WORK WELL WITH OPPORTUNITY ZONE FUNDS.
UM, AND SO I THINK TO YOUR POINT, COUNCILWOMAN, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO, ONE, TRY TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT FROM THESE OPPORTUNITY ZONE FUNDS, BUT ALSO ARE THERE WAYS WE CAN USE THE FEE WAIVER PROGRAM, OR EVEN TO YOUR POINT, TAX ABATEMENTS OR TAX, UH, REBATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENCOURAGE THESE OWNERS TO REINVEST IN THEIR PROPERTIES, UM, AND TRY TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF ORIENT THEM MORE TOWARDS THE VISITORS THAT WE HAVE AT THE MISSION.
SO I, AND I, I THINK THAT I DON'T, I'M, I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO'S HAD THAT IDEA.
UM, AND I THINK THERE IS JUST GREAT POTENTIAL THERE.
UH, AND THEN EVEN FOR SOME SMALL SCALE MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER, I FEEL LIKE, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A LARGE SCALE MULTIFAMILY, THAT CAN BE INTIMIDATING.
BUT YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IF YOU DID A SMALL PROJECT, SOMETHING THAT HAD 12 UNITS.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS ONE, UM, BOUTIQUE HOTEL, UH, WELL, LET ME REPHRASE.
THERE WAS A MOTEL IN DISTRICT FIVE, UH, THAT GOT CONVERTED TO, UM, RENTAL UNITS, UM, SORT OF EFFICIENCY RENTAL UNITS AND, AND IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, THE PROBLEM, THEY ENDED UP HAVING TO SELL IT BECAUSE THE TAXES WERE THEN BECAME MORE THAN THAT THEY COULD SUPPORT.
SO IT WAS A SMALL SCALE GROUP.
A COUPLE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT LOCAL GUYS, YOU KNOW, GOT TOGETHER AND DID THIS REHAB.
UH, BUT THEN THEY HAD TO SELL IT BECAUSE, UH, UH, OF THE TAX BURDEN.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ANYWAY, I I, I, I THINK THAT, UM, THERE'S JUST GREAT POTENTIAL HERE AND, UH, OF COURSE, UM, THE, UM, UH, I JUST, I REALLY LIKE WHAT YOU'VE PRESENTED, SO I, I HOPE THAT WE CAN SEE SOME OF THESE THINGS COME TO FRUITION BECAUSE THAT IS ALWAYS THE, THE, THE PROBLEM WITH SOME OF THE PLANS THAT WE HAVE, UM, IS THAT IT, IT'S DIFFICULT TO SEE THEM COME TO FRUITION BECAUSE SO MANY, SO MUCH OF IT IS DEPENDENT ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND, AND WE'RE NOT.
UH, AND, AND WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW, UM, FIRST OF ALL, YOU GET THE EXISTING OWNERS TO INVEST IN THEIR OWN PROPERTIES, UM, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT THE TAX BURDEN SO IT DOESN'T GO SO HIGH THAT THEN THEY HAVE TO SELL IT AFTER THEY'VE DONE ALL OF THIS, UM, INVESTMENT TO, TO BRING IT UP TO CODE AND, AND TO BRING IT UP TO, UH, MODERN STANDARDS.
SO ANYWAY, IT'S A GREAT, GREAT PRESENTATION.
[02:05:02]
THANK YOU.COUNCIL MEMBER ROCHE GARCIA, YOU CHAIR, AND UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION, MATT.
I, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE REPORT, SO I'M SURE I'LL HAVE, UM, LOTS MORE QUESTIONS AFTER I, I SEE THE RE REPORT.
UM, I, I WAS WONDERING HOW DOES THIS RELATE, I KNOW THERE WAS A STUDY BEING DONE BY U T SS A A FEW YEARS AGO.
UM, HOW DID YOU LEVERAGE MAYBE SOME OF THE FINDINGS IN THAT REPORT, OR DID YOU, UM, INTO WHAT YOU'RE PRESENTING TODAY? UM, SPECIFIC TO, TO WHAT, UM, FROM U T S A IN TOP CHAIN ZONES OR INTO DISPLACEMENT? OR DISPLACEMENT, SORRY, SPECIFICALLY DISPLACEMENT.
WE, WE DID INTEGRATE SOME OF THAT.
UM, SO WE, WE LOOKED AT THAT, I'M, I'M SPACING THE TERM OF THE STUDY THAT THEY'VE DONE.
SO WE, IN THE REPORT, THERE'S A SECTION THAT DESCRIBES WHAT THEY FOUND.
WE ALSO, SUBSEQUENTLY, E P SS HAVE DONE SOME WORK WITH, UH, VERO AND IAN WITH NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES ABOUT SORT OF SIMILAR ISSUES.
SO WE FOLDED IN SOME SUMMARIES OF THAT AS WELL.
AND SO IT REALLY PAINTS SORT OF THE PICTURE OF AREAS THAT ARE AT RISK FOR DISPLACEMENT OR POPULATIONS THAT ARE VULNERABLE TO DISPLACEMENT, AND THEN WHERE WE IDENTIFY THOSE AND HOW THOSE OVERLAP WITH THE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND THEN LASTLY, FOLDING IN THAT ANTI DISPLACEMENT AGENDA, UM, THOSE STRATEGIES AND HIGHLIGHTING THE ONES WE THINK WORK WELL ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY A SUMMARY OF THAT SECTION OF THE STRATEGY.
UM, I, I TOO, LIKE COUNCILMAN OR LIKE TRIVIA GRANT, UM, I LOVE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD INVESTMENT FUND, AND I THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE, UM, FOLKS THAT ARE READY TO, TO, UM, MAKE THE COMMITMENT AND, AND SAY THIS IS A PUBLIC INVESTMENT THAT WOULD BENEFIT THE ENTIRE CITY.
SO, UM, UH, PORT SAN ANTONIO, I, I THINK IS DOING SOME WONDERFUL THINGS WITH OUR INNOVATION CENTER, WITH ALL OF THE GROWTH THAT THEY'VE HAD.
AND, UM, I KNOW COUNCILMAN ELIAS WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE CITY.
UH, BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, ABOUT 15% OF, UH, THE FOLKS WHO ARE EMPLOYED ON THE CAMPUS COME FROM DISTRICT FOUR.
UM, THERE'S ONLY ONE DISTRICT MEETING US, AND THAT'S DISTRICT SIX, AND THEY HAVE ABOUT 22% I, I BELIEVE.
AND SO WE MIGHT BE THE HEAVIEST ONCE AS FAR AS, UH, PERCENTAGES, BUT THERE'S PEOPLE FROM EVERYWHERE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT HAS EVEN CHANGED AS THE NEW EMPLOYERS HAVE COME ABOUT.
SO, UM, I MENTIONED A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT WE NEEDED TO, TO LOOK AT THIS, UM, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR CONNECTING.
UM, AND SO FOR EXPANDING, FOR LEVERAGING, UH, OTHER FEDERAL RESOURCES.
SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, SOME, SOME MONEY OUT THERE NOW THAT THEY, THEY, THEY WERE THINKING OF RELEASING, I DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS BEEN, UM, BUT TO TRANSFORM THE NATION'S, UH, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY WITH THE TRAILS AND CONNECTING THE TRAILS AT PORT SAN ANTONIO, LEVERAGING THE FACT THAT WE HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE, ARE ACTIVELY USING THAT AND, AND, AND WORKING TOGETHER TO SHOW THAT THIS WOULD BE A, A MULTI UM, APPROACH, RIGHT? SO IT'S EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN GET BUY-IN FOR.
UM, UH, I, I THINK THAT, UM, SECRETARY, UM, PETE HAS USED GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY BEFORE, AND I DO THINK THAT THIS IS, UH, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO LEVERAGE EVERYTHING AS A PART OF A, A PLAN.
AND SO, UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD JUST TO, TO BRINGING THE REPORT, LIKE I SAID, AND TO JUST GIVING SOME ADDITIONAL INPUT.
I HAVE HEARD FROM THE RESIDENTS, IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU ALL PRESENTED, THEY WANT RESTAURANTS.
UM, THE ONE THING THAT I SAW ON THERE, AND MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION, AND SO MAYBE I'LL, I'LL, I'LL CHECK WITH ALEX OFFLINE, BUT IT WAS INDUSTRY.
AND SO, UM, UM, IT, THAT, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT OFF, BUT MAYBE I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT PART OF IT.
SO I, I'LL GET WITH, UH, ALEX OFFLINE ON THAT.
BUT EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMED CONSISTENT, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, TO, TO MORE CONVERSATIONS.
SEEING NO OTHER HANDS UP IN THE AIR.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
I THINK THIS WILL HELP THEM AS THEY'RE GIVING COMMENTS TO THE REPORT SO WE CAN SEE THE FINAL REPORT AND MOVE FORWARD.
[4. 21-3208 Briefing on the FY 2020 Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) Annual Report. [Alejandra Lopez; Assistant City Manager and Interim Director, Economic Development]]
WE ARE GOING TO, UM, PUSH THE ITEM FOR THE SE BETA ANNUAL REPORT.IF YOU COULD GIVE THAT, MAYBE WE CAN HAVE ONE-ON-ONES, UM, ALEX OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT JUST TO GET AN UPDATE.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR TIME AND HANGING IN THERE.
WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF THESE LEFT, WELL NOW COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ AND I HAVE A COUPLE LEFT, SO, OR ONE LEFT.
BUT, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, UH, WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THE EDTA.
[02:10:01]
BUT WITH THAT, ANYTHING ELSE, ALEX, I'M LOOKING AT YOU, YOU MAY NOT KNOW THAT, BUT I'M LOOKING AT YOU RIGHT NOW.YOU, YOU STILL HAVE THE SLIDES? I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION FOR THE
UM, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO Y'ALL IF Y'ALL WOULD, WOULD LIKE A ONE-ON-ONE BRIEFING AS WELL.