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[Economic Development on January 9, 2024.]
WE CALL THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE TO ORDER.CAN I GET A MOTION FOR THE MINUTES? SO MOVED. SECOND.
SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED.
FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY WILL BE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES MONTHLY TECHNOLOGY AND METRIC REVIEW.
SO WE'RE GOING. IT'S GOING TO.
GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS ANDREW ESPINOZA DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UH, WITH ME TODAY I HAVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR VERNON YOUNG.
AND TODAY WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR MONTHLY TECHNOLOGY AND METRICS REVIEW.
NEXT SLIDE. SO HERE'S OUR OUTLINE FOR TOPICS OF DISCUSSION TODAY.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OUR DALLAS NOW PROJECT.
WE'RE SEVEN MONTHS IN AND AS OF DECEMBER 18TH, WE'RE MEETING OUR MILESTONES AND ARE ON TIME.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH ITS TO STRATEGIZE HOW WE POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENT AND UPDATE OUR FEES INTO OUR EXISTING PERMITTING SOFTWARE, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CURRENT VENDOR TO SEE WHAT THOSE COSTS ARE AND WHAT THE PROGRAMING TIMELINE LOOKS LIKE.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE WAS A DECREASE IN NEW SINGLE FAMILY PERMITS.
REPRESENTS ABOUT A 35% DECREASE.
HOWEVER, WE WERE ABLE TO ISSUE 186 PERMITS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
54 OF THOSE WERE ISSUED THE SAME DAY.
UM, AND WHEN YOU COMPARE, UM, THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 20TH 23 TO 2022, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE DEPARTMENT ISSUED PERMITS IN FOUR DAYS COMPARED TO 43 DAYS LAST YEAR.
SO THAT REPRESENTS A 91% DECREASE IN PERMITTING TIMES AS IT COMES TO, UM, COMMERCIAL PROJECTS.
WE HAD TEN NEW COMMERCIAL COMPLEX PROJECTS, 14 ADDITIONS, 222 REMODELS.
SO WE SEE THAT INDUSTRY CONTINUING TO BE VERY ROBUST.
11 COMPLEX COMMERCIAL PROJECTS AND 53 MINOR COMMERCIAL KUTTEEM PERMITS ISSUED THE SAME DAY.
AND SO I WANT TO REEMPHASIZE THOSE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS WERE ISSUED THE SAME DAY THEY WERE SUBMITTED.
OVERALL, OUR TURNAROUND TIME FOR INITIAL REVIEWS FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS IS 11 DAYS.
NEXT SLIDE. A COMMERCIAL DASHBOARD UPDATE.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING TO TO CLEAN OUT STALE PERMITS.
UH, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A LARGE AMOUNT OF PERMITS THAT ARE IN THERE THAT ARE BEYOND 180 DAYS.
AND SO OUR GOAL WAS TO LAUNCH THAT THIS MONTH, AND TO GIVE EACH ONE OF YOU AN INVITE TO REVIEW THAT IN ADVANCE IN A DEMO FORMAT. HOWEVER, WE'RE STILL GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE TO CLEANSE THAT DATA BEFORE WE MEET WITH YOU.
SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
SO OUR COMMITTEES HAVE SAID THAT AS AS A WHOLE, DSD NEEDS TO HIRE AND RECRUIT SMARTER AND FASTER.
AND HOW DO WE RETRAIN, EXCUSE ME, RETAIN, ATTRACT AND BRING ON NEW TALENT? AND SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
VERY HARD CERTIFICATION PAY, QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE, PAY, UH, SIGN ON BONUSES, REFERRAL BONUSES, OF COURSE, OUR ENGINEERING INTERNS AND PART TIME INSPECTORS.
UH, THE RECRUITMENT INCENTIVES, THOSE ARE ONLY OFFERED TO THOSE HARD TO FILL POSITIONS.
UH, THESE ARE THE POSITIONS THAT HAVE A HIGH VACANCY RATE THAT ARE CRITICAL TO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS AND OVERALL HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY SHORT IN THE MARKET. UH, AND SO REALLY, THAT'S HOW WE CLASSIFY THOSE AS HARD TO FILL.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE FOLKS WE'RE TRYING TO INCENTIVIZE IN THOSE POSITIONS.
NEXT SLIDE. SO WHAT ARE THE SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE.
IF NOW THEY BECOME CERTIFIED IN PLUMBING MECHANICAL ELECTRICAL OR FIRE.
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THAT WAS THAT WILL BE FINALIZED THIS MONTH.PERFORMANCE PAY. THESE ARE BASED UPON QUARTERLY REVIEW.
WE SET SOME PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS BASED ON METRICS, TURNAROUND TIMES, CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND IF THE TEAM MEMBER MEETS THEM, THEY WILL RECEIVE A SMALL PERFORMANCE ALLOWANCE.
SIGN ON PAY. THAT'S RELATIVELY SELF-EXPLANATORY.
UH, IF SOMEONE COMES ON WHO'S AN ENGINEER, AN ARCHITECT OR A LEAD INSPECTOR, WE'LL GIVE THEM THAT SIGN ON BONUS. WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT ROLLED OUT SPRING OF 2024.
AGAIN WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THESE HARD TO FILL POSITIONS, IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO'S A FRIEND OF YOURS WHO'S AN ENGINEER OR ARCHITECT OR A LEAD INSPECTOR, HOW DO WE BRING THEM TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES? REFER THEM TO US AND YOU TOO WILL RECEIVE A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY IN YOUR PAYCHECK.
THAT WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS PRESENTED BY OUR COMMITTEE.
AND SO AGAIN, IN OCTOBER, YOU GAVE US SOME POSITIONS, 15 OF THEM, SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO ATTRACT SOME OF THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE RETIRED AND CAN KIND OF HELP US WHEN THE SEASON BECOMES VERY BUSY.
AND HERE IS THE TABLE FOR THE POSITIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY VACANT.
AND SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO HIRE AND FILL POSITIONS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
SO FOLLOW UP TO OUR FEE STUDY DISCUSSION.
UH, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED WAS, ANDREW, YOU'RE COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER CITIES.
UH, BUT HOW DO WE COMPARE WITH OURSELVES? PROPOSED FEE.
AND WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? AND SO AS WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT FOR A NEW SINGLE FAMILY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BASED ON 700FT², 1500 TO 2000 503,500, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE CURRENT FEE IN YELLOW INCREASES TO THE PROPOSED FEE IN BLUE.
UH, AND THAT FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S IT'S MARGINAL.
CONTINUING WITH NEW SINGLE FAMILY CONSTRUCTION.
UH, AGAIN, THIS SLIDE DEMONSTRATES SQUARE FOOTAGE AT 5000, 7500, 10,000 AND 15 THOUSAND.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE BIGGER THE HOME THE THE SMALLER THE INCREASE IN PERMIT FEES.
FOR MULTIFAMILY UM, MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS ARE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF DOORS.
UM, THE CURRENT FEES ASSESSED IN THAT FORMAT.
AND YOU CAN TELL THAT THAT INCREASE IS MORE SUBSTANTIAL.
AND IT'S BECAUSE HISTORICALLY THAT, UM, COST HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LOW.
WE CONTINUE WITH MULTIFAMILY CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FEES.
UM, YOU'LL NOTICE IT'S AT 150 DOOR UNITS, 250, 300 AND 500.
NEXT SLIDE. THIS SLIDE DEMONSTRATES THE FEE COMPARISON.
AGAIN, OUR CURRENT FEE AND PROPOSED FEE FOR NEW COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS BASED ON VALUATION AT 30,050 5100 501 MILLION.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE LAST GRAPH DEMONSTRATES THAT SAME TALKING POINT RELATED TO NEW COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION FROM 2 MILLION ALL THE WAY UP TO 15 MILLION. NEXT SLIDE.
AND OF COURSE YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE AGAIN, JUST A KIND REMINDER ON WHERE WE'RE FALLING SHORT WHEN IT COMES TO COLLECTING FULL COST RECOVERY. AND THE 22 MILLION.
NEXT SLIDE. SO OUR NEXT STEPS IS CONTINUE TO MEET AND OUTREACH WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
COMMUNICATE WITH THEM, ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS, BE SENSITIVE TO THEIR FEEDBACK.
THAT'S GOING TO BE ONGOING UNTIL THIS TOPIC COMES TO VOTE AGAIN IN FRONT OF YOU.
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WE WILL CONTINUE THAT ENGAGEMENT.WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR COMMERCIAL PERMITTING DASHBOARD AND LAUNCH IT THIS MONTH.
THAT IS A SMALL MINI HIRING EVENT AT OUR FACILITIES TO ADVERTISE AND PROMOTE FOLKS TO COME JOIN US.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO HOST LUNCH AND LEARN SESSIONS AND OUTREACH SESSIONS TO TRAIN OUR CUSTOMERS ON HOW TO USE THE ONLINE PLATFORM AND THEN THE APPENDIX IF YOU WANT TO REVIEW.
AND SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
UH, MYSELF AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR YOUNG ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
OKAY. I WANT TO ASK A COUPLE THINGS.
UH, WE HAD NINA ONLINE WITH H.R.
ARE YOU THERE NINA? I AM HERE.
UM, ON PAGE NINE OF THE HIRING AND RECRUITING RECRUITMENT.
UH, ARE WE STILL HAVING A TIMELINE? ARE WE GETTING PEOPLE HIRED FASTER? ARE WE SLOWING EVERYTHING DOWN IN HR? IF SO, WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF HIRING, UH, THESE, UH, UM, EMPLOYEES WHO ARE TRYING TO APPLY FOR, UH, IN THE DEPARTMENT? TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STAFF TO AND CIVIL SERVICE AS THIS IS A DEPARTMENT THAT IS RECRUITED MAINLY THROUGH CIVIL SERVICE TO BRING EMPLOYEES IN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANTICIPATE THAT NOW WITH THE START OF THE YEAR, THAT WILL ACCELERATE AGAIN.
UM, WE ALSO ARE GOING TO BE MOVING TO WORKDAY AS A RECRUITMENT PLATFORM THAT IS GOING TO GIVE US NOT ONLY, UM, A BETTER, A BETTER MEANS AND BETTER SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT QUICKER, FASTER, BUT ALSO THE DATA, UH, TO SHOW, UH, COUNCIL AND MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL.
HOW ARE WE DOING? WHERE ARE THE AREAS IN WHICH WE NEED TO IMPROVE? BUT WE CONTINUE TO RECRUIT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FILL POSITIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND AGAIN, WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
OKAY. AND THE NEXT QUESTION ARE ON THE SAME NOTE IS ENGINEERS.
UM, IF WE HIRE, UM, A ENGINEER, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN WE RAISE THEIR SALARIES? UH, UH, ACCORDING TO SCALE, ACCORDING TO THE MARKET IS.
SO WHAT IS THE ISSUE OF TRYING TO PAY ENGINEERS, UH, SKILLED POSITION MORE MONEY WITHOUT WAITING? YEAH, THERE'S THERE'S NO ISSUE.
NOT ALL ENGINEERS ARE, UM, EQUAL.
AND IN TERMS OF THEIR SKILL SET OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY FOCUS ON OR THE INDUSTRY THEY FOCUS ON.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ENGINEERS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, LABELED AS SUCH SO THAT WE CAN RECRUIT APPROPRIATELY AND WE CAN PAY APPROPRIATELY.
UM, CURRENTLY IN THE LIST THAT WE HAVE FOR HIRING FOR VACANCIES, WE HAVE VERY FEW ENGINEERS THERE WHICH ATTEST TO THE DEPARTMENT'S EFFORTS TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS.
OKAY, COLLEAGUES, I'LL OPEN UP TO THE FLOOR.
ACTUALLY, THE PROPOSED FEES ARE LOWER THAN THE CURRENT FEES.
AM I READING THAT CORRECTLY? COUNCIL MEMBER, IN SOME CASES, THE VENDOR DID COME BACK WITH A LARGER INCREASE THAT WE JUST COULD NOT SUPPORT.
AND SO IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE IT AS EQUITABLE AS POSSIBLE, THERE WERE VERY FEW FEES THAT DECREASED.
BUT THERE WERE WERE SOME THAT WE RECOMMENDED THAT WE JUST NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE A REALLY ADVERSE IMPACT ON, I BELIEVE, SOME OF OUR DEVELOPERS, SMALLER DEVELOPERS. OKAY.
AND WITH REGARD TO SLIDE 17, YOUR FEE STUDY, STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT, I NOTICED
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THE APPENDIX SHOWS SOME DATES IN THE FUTURE WHERE YOU'RE PROPOSING MEETINGS, WHICH I WANT TO APPLAUD YOU FOR REACHING OUT TO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO HOLD THOSE FORMAL MEETINGS, TO GET THEIR INPUT.UM, ARE YOU STILL ON SCHEDULE TO IMPLEMENT THIS NEW FEE SCHEDULE BY FEBRUARY 1ST? COUNCIL MEMBER.
UH, BASED UPON THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW THIS GOVERNING BODY VOTES, WE WILL BE READY FEBRUARY 1ST TO IMPLEMENT THE HIGHEST VOLUME AND MOST POPULAR PERMITTING FEES WE'RE PARTNERING WITH.
BECAUSE REMEMBER, WE HAVE 40 NEW PROPOSED FEES THAT WE'VE NEVER CHARGED BEFORE.
OKAY. UM, SUBJECT TO COUNCIL'S APPROVAL.
SO IS THAT SET FOR, UH, ONE OF OUR AGENDA MEETINGS THIS MONTH? COUNCIL MEMBER. THAT IS ON THE JANUARY 24TH AGENDA.
VERY GOOD. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. ANYONE ELSE ON.
UM, DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE FOR US THAT YOU CAN SEND TO US THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND? AND THEN ALSO, UM, AS THAT TIMELINE WORKS OUT, CAN YOU MAKE SURE THAT OUR STAKEHOLDERS, UM, THAT YOU'LL TALK TO THEM SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS IN AGREEMENT TO THE ROLLOUT SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME EPISODE HAPPEN THAT HAPPENED AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THOSE NEW FEES ROLLED OUT BY THE END OF MARCH.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO TRAIN STAFF, DEVELOP THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES BECAUSE AGAIN, THESE ARE NEW FEES, THE QUALITY CONTROL, THE AUDITING PROCESSES AND CONTINUE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH OUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE WE ROLL THEM OUT.
OKAY. SO SO ROLL OUT TO ME IS LIKE IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME.
UM, AND SO IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL ARE GOING TO BE READY AT THE END OF MARCH.
SO WHY DON'T WE JUST DO EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME AT THE END OF MARCH INSTEAD OF SOME HERE, SOME OVER THERE? UM, SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ON AT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ONE MENU INSTEAD OF THE MENU CHANGING EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS OR WHATEVER.
COULD THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE COUNCIL MEMBER.
THAT'S STRICTLY, UH, THIS GOVERNING BODY'S DECISION ON WHEN WE ROLL THEM OUT.
UH, THE ONLY REASON WE DID IT STRATEGICALLY THIS WAY IS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PARTNER WITH ITS.
AND THE VENDOR WHO ACTUALLY HAS TO GO IN AND MAKE THE UPDATES.
OKAY, SO CAN YOU GET US, UM, WHAT IT'S HAS GIVEN YOU ALL SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST KNOW AND SEE.
UM, BECAUSE IF IT'S IF IT'S A TECHNOLOGY ISSUE, THEN THAT'S ONE THING.
UM, INSTEAD OF WHAT WE JUST SAID.
YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
SO THEREFORE IT MAY BE 40 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
IT MAY BE A GROUP IN PHASE ONE.
IT MAY BE A GROUP IN PHASE TWO.
IT MAY BE GROUPS IN PHASE 3 TO 1 YOU CAN ROLL OUT FIRST.
YOU CAN GET THOSE FEES DONE NOW.
AND WE GOT TO ADD IT TO TO RECAPTURE THOSE FEES.
BUT IF WE WAIT UNTIL MARCH WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOSS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MORE MONEY THAT WE HAVE NOT BE RECOUPED IF WE DO EVERYTHING NOW, BUT THEY TRY TO DO A PHASE OF, WE'LL LET EVERYBODY KNOW, THESE ARE THE FIRST IN GROUP ONE PHASE. WE WILL GET THOSE FEES FIRST, THEN ENCOURAGE GROUP TWO.
AND SO THEREFORE WE GOT TO ROLL IN INCOME COMING IN.
WE'RE NOT HAVING A BIG LOSS THAT HOPEFULLY WE HAD TO GO TO THE GENERAL TO THE GENERAL FUND.
NO. AND I APPRECIATE THAT THAT THAT MUCH CLEARER CONTEXT.
SO THAT THAT'S WHY I SAID IF WE CAN GET A TIMELINE OR BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE DIDN'T GET ANY OF THAT.
SO I NEED TO KNOW WHO'S TELLING TELLING ME RIGHT, MY CHAIRMAN OR STAFF.
I KNOW THE CHAIRMAN IS ALWAYS RIGHT.
NO, HE SO BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
HE JUST DID A BETTER JOB AT EXPLAINING IT AND AND 30S THEN I GOT FROM YOU ALL.
THAT'S THE ISSUE RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE'RE HEARING JUST SURFACE FROM YOU GUYS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SEE IS DETAIL, BECAUSE THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING ISSUES HERE AT UM, IN THIS DEPARTMENT, ACROSS THE BOARD WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND WITH EVERYONE ELSE IS WE'RE JUST GETTING SURFACE DETAILS.
AND AND THAT'S WHY I WAS REALLY GOOD JUST NOW UNTIL, UM, UNTIL YOU ALL STARTED TO, UM, PUSH BACK AT
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ME ABOUT THIS WHEN IT'S LIKE, NO, I'M HERE.I'M SITTING HERE, I'M LISTENING.
SO WHEN YOU TELL ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND OPPOSITE OF MY CHAIRMAN, OR NOT ENOUGH DETAIL, THEN I SEE THAT AS, UM, THAT YOU THINK THAT WE'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION AND WE'RE NOT LISTENING, I AM LISTENING.
AND SO YOU ALL KNOW I DON'T LIKE TO DO THIS.
AND IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF DETAIL, THEN WHO IS THAT ON? IS THAT ON US OR IS THAT ON THE PRESENTERS? IT'S ON THE PRESENTERS.
Y'ALL USED TO DO THAT IN THE PAST AND WE DON'T ANYMORE.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
YEAH, I YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M DONE.
UM, BUT I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE.
JUST GIVE ME THE INFORMATION THAT I ASKED FOR.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ.
I THANK WHAT CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ SAYS, NUMBER ONE, UH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING ON THE 24TH.
I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE A SCHEDULE.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 40 DIFFERENT PERMITS, WHICH ONE YOU ROLL OUT FIRST, AND WHAT IS THAT SCHEDULE GOING TO BE AND WHAT IS THE WHAT IS THE COST OF THOSE FEES GOING TO BE? THEN YOU SAY, HERE'S THE NUMBER TWO, PART TWO.
THIS WILL ROLL OUT. GOING TO BE WHAT IS GOING TO BE IN THOSE FEES.
THEN NUMBER THREE THAT WOULD BE THE THIRD ONE.
BECAUSE NUMBER ONE YOU ARE LOOKING AT YOU WILL START CHARGING FEES ON FEBRUARY THE 1ST.
SO CAN WE GET THAT DONE? HOPEFULLY SOMETIME BY FRIDAY.
THE NEXT MONDAY, I MEAN NEXT TUESDAY.
THANK YOU. UH COUNCILWOMAN STEWART.
I'M GOING TO VIRTUAL, UH, CHAIRMAN WEST ANY QUESTIONS? CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA, ANY QUESTION.
OKAY, NOW I HAVE SOME, UH, NUMBER ONE, THE FEES.
THAT WE NOT RECOUPING RIGHT NOW ON PAGE UH PAGE FOR THAT, PAGE 16.
OKAY, SO HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE HAVE IN RESERVE IN ACCOUNT? NOW, IF IT'S RIGHT AROUND 12 MILLION.
BUT IF YOU WANT, I CAN DOUBLE CHECK AND SEND THAT TO YOU AS WELL.
SO WE'VE GOT ABOUT 12 MILLION IN RESERVE, RIGHT.
SO ARE WE TAKING THE NEGATIVE AS A NOUN UNTIL WE INCREASE FEES? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER.
WE'RE NOT RECOVERING OUR COSTS, SO? SO WE DON'T. SO WE ARE TAKING THE NEGATIVE RIGHT NOW? YES. UH, IN TECHNOLOGY, UM, ARE HIRING.
IF WE GOT 12 MILLION RESERVES RIGHT NOW, HOW MUCH FUTURE EXPENSE THAT WE'RE GOING TO ACCRUE UH, IN FEBRUARY, THE 1ST OF MARCH.
SO IF YOU GOT TO HIRE EVERYONE, THAT'S AN EXPENSE.
YOU GOT TO HAVE MORE TECHNOLOGY OR WHATEVER.
THAT'S EXPENSE. SO HAVE YOU CALCULATE THOSE NUMBERS? IT WAS NOT CALCULATED BY MONTH.
IT WAS CALCULATED FOR AN ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR.
OKAY. SO THEREFORE WE ARE WORKING ON THE BUDGET.
WE STARTED WORKING ON THE BUDGET. NOW IT'S CORRECT.
IN THE PAST THEY HAD THE BUDGET.
SO ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY IF WE INCREASE FEES, IF WE DON'T INCREASE FEES, WE'RE HOLDING THE FEES BACK. WHAT IS OUR DELTA? ARE WE GOING TO BE AT A LOSS AS FEBRUARY 1ST? OF MARCH 2ND WHEN WE INCREASE THE FEES? BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT HERE BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE IT OUT.
YOU KNOW WHAT? WE DON'T HAVE THIS DEBT.
UH, WE STILL GOT TO HIRE, WE'RE 40 SOME EMPLOYEES SHORT.
SO WE HIRED THEM 40 SOME EMPLOYEES.
DEPENDS ON HOW FAST WE HIRE THEM.
YOU KNOW, BY BY THE 24TH ABOUT WHEN WE INCREASE THE FEES.
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SO IS THAT A POSSIBILITY? YES, SIR.UH, VERNON YOUNG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT PROJECTIONS WITH OUR, UH, BUDGET BUDGET TEAM.
AND SO, UH, EACH MONTH THAT WE DON'T RECOUP 100%, UH, THERE ARE SCENARIOS THAT PLAY OUT THAT, THAT LEAD US TOWARD, UH, GOING IN THE RED IN THE FUTURE.
SO THEREFORE WE'RE GOING TO BE WE'RE GOING TO LOSE SOME MONEY.
IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT? YES.
OKAY. HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING TO LOSE? AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND.
HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE LOSING PER MONTH BECAUSE WE'RE NOT INCREASING FEES? IT'S ROUGHLY THE 22 MIL DIVIDED BY BY 12.
AND I CAN GET YOU THE SPECIFICS.
WE'VE WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT.
SO EACH MONTH. AND SO THE ORIGINAL PROJECTION WAS THAT WE WOULD, UH, WOULD SHORE UP OR, OR BALANCE OUT AND BE 100%, UH, AND SO EACH MONTH THEN IT WOULD BE THE, UH, 22, UH, 22 MILLION, UH, DIVIDED BY 12.
COUNCIL MEMBER. WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL FORECASTING MODELS IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, THE INITIAL STUDY INDICATES THAT IF WE DON'T RAISE FEES, THAT WE WILL BE OPERATING IN THE RED IN THE NEGATIVE BY FISCAL YEAR 25.
OKAY. SO AND THAT'S WHAT DO WE GOT BUDGET COMING UP.
SO THEREFORE IF WE'RE IN THE NEGATIVE HOW DO WE UM PAY FOR THAT.
DO THEY COME OUT OF GENERAL FUND.
IS THAT A MAGIC. IS THAT A MAGIC QUESTION? UH, SO ONE QUESTION.
SO IF WE'RE IN A NEGATIVE IN THE ENTERPRISE FUND, HOW HOW DO WE MAKE IT UP? HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AS AS ANDREW MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FUND IS NOT IN THE RED YET.
UH, AND SO ANY TIME WE WE DO NOT COLLECT 100% OF THE FEES, OF COURSE, THE, THE RESERVE FUND AND SO ON GETS DECREASED. AND SO AT A CERTAIN POINT WE WILL BE IN THE RED AND WE HAVE TO EITHER CUT SERVICES OR HAVE THE GENERAL FUND SUBSIDIZE THAT.
AND SO, UM, AS, AS VERNON MENTIONED, THERE'S ABOUT $22 MILLION OF A DIFFERENCE.
UH, ANNUALLY THAT EQUATES TO ROUGHLY ABOUT 1.7 $1.8 MILLION MONTHLY.
UH, THAT WE THE THOSE ARE FEES THAT WE'RE NOT COLLECTING.
AND SO, UH, IT'S FOR US, IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THE FUND ITSELF, UH, PAYS FOR THE SERVICES OR, UH, COLLECTS FOR THE SERVICES.
UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE STAFFING, WE HAVE, UH, EQUIPMENT, WE HAVE TECHNOLOGY UPDATES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OTHER SERVICES THAT SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR.
AND THAT FUND, THE ENTERPRISE FUND IS SUPPOSED TO BE 100%, UH, EFFICIENT.
AND WHAT I HEAR YOU MENTIONED NOT TO COMBAT IT.
THAT MEANS US, THE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE GOT TO FIGURE THAT OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN OUR BUDGET TO DO THAT.
AND WE NEED TO KNOW THAT NOW WHEN WE START LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, IF WE GOT TO HIRE MORE, YOU KNOW WHAT? THE FEE IS NOT RECOUPING THAT.
WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE RED. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW SOON WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE RED.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO MAINTAIN THAT WE CAN HAVE A QUARTER TO WORK.
WE CAN DO AND GET THESE FEES OUT IF WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE RED, IF WE THE COUNCILMAN KNOW THAT WE NEED A BUDGET, ANOTHER $2 MILLION TO, TO TO LOAN OR PUT BACK WHATEVER. WE NEED TO KNOW THAT IN RESERVE.
WE NEED TO KNOW THAT NOW BEFORE WE START WORKING ON THE BUDGET.
SO THAT'S HOW I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW THE NUMBERS.
UH, CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ, THANK YOU.
IMAGINE YOU JUST MENTIONED, UM, THE 22 MILLION, THE 1.7 MILLION.
AND I HEARD THIS LAST MONTH, AND NOW I'M HEARING IT AGAIN.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M GETTING IT CLEAR BECAUSE, UM, WE KEEP SAYING NOT COLLECTED.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE PROVIDED SERVICES AND THEN THE PERMITS DIDN'T GET PAID OR WHAT'S WHAT DOES IT MEAN BY NOT COLLECTED? UH, SO THE PERMITS, THE PERMITS ARE SET AT SPECIFIC FEES, MEANING THAT LET'S SAY WE CHARGE $100 FOR A RESIDENTIAL FEE FOR SOMETHING WHERE WE SHOULD BE CHARGING $150.
SO BECAUSE WE COLLECT $100, THERE'S STILL $50 THAT WE ARE NOT COLLECTING.
GOTCHA, GOTCHA. OKAY. SO IT'S NOT AND BECAUSE OF THE FEES ARE NOT UPDATED.
SO ONCE THE FEES ARE UPDATED, WE WILL BE ABLE TO COLLECT THAT FULL COST.
[00:30:04]
AND THEN WE WENT AHEAD AND ISSUED THE PERMIT AND I WAS GOING TO GO A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO ASK QUESTIONS.CORRECT. THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE OF THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT.
LET'S JUST DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT DELINQUENT ON THIS.
YES, SIR. LET'S JUST DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT.
BUT I'M PRETTY SURE WE'RE NOT.
BUT, UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE BECAUSE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. OKAY.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, VERNON.
IF I MAY ADD JUST ONE, ONE THING.
WE'RE DEFINITELY WORKING WITH DATA ANALYTICS.
THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB WITH US.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO BRING IN THE DASHBOARDS FOR RESIDENTIAL.
COMMERCIAL. THERE'S STILL SOME CLEANING UP TO DO.
AND I DIDN'T FEEL THAT THEY, UH, THOSE NUMBERS ARE THERE YET.
HOW MANY OF THOSE DIFFERENT ASSOCIATIONS HAVE YOU NOT REACHED OUT TO AND HOW MANY HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO? THEY HAVE NOT RESPONDED BACK TO YOU.
SO SO WE IN THE, IN THE LAST, IN THE LAST MONTH OR SINCE OUR LAST COUNCIL UH, BRIEFING, WE'VE, WE'VE MET WITH FIVE WITH FOUR OF THE ASSOCIATIONS WE ARE REMAINING UH, TWO MORE.
UH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF FOLKS WE, WE, WE HADN'T HEARD, HEARD BACK FROM AND AND SO AGAIN, WE WANT TO KEEP IT MOVING AND WE'VE LET THEM KNOW OUR DOOR IS OPEN AND THAT IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE, UH, FEE STUDY, THAT WE'RE THERE FOR THEM.
AND SO WE, WE HAVE TWO MORE, UM, ASSOCIATIONS REMAINING, UH, PRIOR TO OUR, UH, COUNCIL MEETING.
OKAY. WHAT WHAT I WANT TO DO, BE TRANSPARENT.
YOU HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE TWO ASSOCIATIONS.
THEY CANNOT RESPOND BACK TO YOU.
IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT? SO, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WHAT VERNON WAS TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT IS WE EXTENDED RE INVITATIONS TO EVERYONE.
UH, AND THE ONES THAT HAVE CONFERRED BACK TO US WAS THE FOLKS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF SLIDE NUMBER 19, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS, REGIONAL BLACK CONTRACTORS, TREK, AIA, REGIONAL HISPANIC CONTRACTORS, AND DALLAS HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
SO EVERYBODY ELSE THAT WE MET WITH, UM, DID NOT ELECT TO MEET WITH US AGAIN.
HOWEVER, AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR YOUNG MENTIONED, IT IS AN OPEN DOOR.
UH, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO, UH, WELCOME ANYONE TO TO MEET WITH US.
OKAY. SO COULD YOU GIVE US A LIST OF, OF THOSE, UM, ORGANIZATION HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO AND HAVE YOU THEY HAVE NOT RETURNED TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS, SO WE'LL KNOW THAT.
CAN YOU GET US THAT BY FRIDAY? YES, SIR. THANK YOU.
UH, NEXT ITEM, UM, WOULD BE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY.
ROBIN BENTLEY, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WELL, TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN.
WE'RE ONE YEAR INTO THE TEN YEAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY.
AND SO HEATHER HERE HAS BEEN TALLYING WHERE EVERYONE IS.
AND AND WE'LL HAVE A REPORT ON THAT.
THANK YOU. I'M HEATHER LOPEZ, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
[00:35:05]
UM, THE EDP PROACTIVELY ADDRESSES ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES AND OUTCOMES IN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS.IT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.
IT GIVES SPECIFIC GOALS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.
IT CREATES PRACTICES TO ADDRESS DISPARITIES IN TARGET AREAS, AND THE GOALS INCLUDE INCLUSIVE PROSPERITY, EQUITABLE ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, EQUITABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AND HOUSING. NEXT SLIDE.
AS ROBIN MENTIONED, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE REVISED EDP, COMMITTING TO A VISION FOR EQUITABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS POLICY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 2032.
SO WE'RE AT THE FRONT END OF THIS.
NEXT SLIDE. UM, THE POLICY IDENTIFIED EIGHT NEAR TERM PRIORITIES TO ADDRESS IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS, TWO ITEMS TO ACCOMPLISH AS PRIORITIES OR AS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE FIRST YEAR.
BUT THERE ARE EIGHT PRIORITY AREAS.
NEXT SLIDE. UM, IN TERMS OF JUST A GENERAL OVERVIEW, THE EDP, AS ROBIN MENTIONED, HAS 86 ACTION ITEMS THAT FALL INTO 12 FOCUS AREAS.
UM, OF THESE ACTION ITEMS, SIX ARE ADOPTED.
ALMOST 70%, 66% ARE ADOPTED, ALMOST 70% ARE IN PROGRESS, AND 22% ARE CONTINUAL AND ONGOING EFFORTS.
SO THE DEPARTMENTS REPORTED BACK TO US AND WE TRACK IT THAT WAY.
WE HAVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE POLICY.
WE HAVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY.
UM, PROGRESS CONTINUES ON THE HISTORIC AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION MASTER PLAN.
UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UH, IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY.
THEY'VE WORKED ON IDENTIFYING FUNDING TO LEVERAGE BROWNFIELD AND OTHER FUNDING FOR CLEANUP.
UH, WE'VE SMALL BUSINESS AND MWBE.
THERE'S AN UPDATED MWBE POLICY AND PROGRAM IN DEVELOPMENT.
AND UNDER THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOCUS AREA, THERE IS PARTNERSHIPS ONGOING WITH THE SBC NONPROFITS AND DALLAS COLLEGE TO PROVIDE ENTRY AND MIDDLE SKILLS JOB WORKFORCE TRAINING. NEXT SLIDE.
FOR EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS AND RETRACTION, BUSINESS ATTRACTION AND RETENTION STRATEGY IS PENDING THE HIRING OF THE EDC CORPORATE CEO, WHICH WILL HAPPEN IN EARLY 2024.
UH HOUSING IDENTIFIED EQUITY STRATEGY TARGET AREAS IN 2023.
UM, TO ADDRESS MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION GAPS.
A CO DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT WAS SELECTED IN JUNE OF 2023.
THERE'S A VARIETY OF ITEMS THAT ARE CONTINUAL EFFORT, NO END DATE THAT INCLUDES ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT, AND INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AMONG OTHERS.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, THAT DEPARTMENTS WILL CONTINUE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS OVER THE NEXT NINE YEARS FROM NOW, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING AN EDP DASHBOARD FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE'RE WORKING WITH DBE, WITH THE GOAL OF THE DASHBOARD BEING AVAILABLE BY THE END OF THIS QUARTER, AND IT WILL BE SEARCHABLE BY STATUS, FOCUS AREA, AND OR LEAD DEPARTMENT. WE WILL GET A MID-YEAR PROGRESS UPDATE FROM THE DEPARTMENTS AND EARLY SUMMER OF 2024, AND THEN WE WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER UPDATE ON WHAT HAPPENED IN 2024 TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IN JANUARY OF 2025.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE READY FOR QUESTIONS IN THE QUESTION.
[00:40:07]
SO MAYBE I SHOULD SCHEDULE A MEETING AND WE CAN WORK AND WORK ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.BUT, UM, ON THE EQUITY STRATEGY, TARGET AREAS.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND? WHAT? WHERE COULD I SEE A MAP OF WHAT THOSE TARGET AREAS ARE? YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER STEWART, I BELIEVE THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT IS NOT ACTUALLY ANNOUNCING THOSE UNTIL THIS MONTH.
SO WHILE THE DATA WORK WAS ALL COMPLETED.
OH, CYNTHIA'S THERE, SO, YEAH, I THINK THEY'LL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE HOUSING COMMITTEE THIS MONTH.
SO WE WE WERE GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF CYNTHIA THERE.
ALL RIGHT. WELL I WILL SHOW UP FOR HOUSING MAYBE THEN.
AND CHAIRMAN STEWART, IT'S KIND OF IRONIC THAT YOU ASK A QUESTION.
THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN THE HOUSING POLICY, WE'VE DONE THE SAME TIME.
AND I WILL CHAIR OVER HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT THE SAME TIME.
AND THE HOUSING POLICY WENT BEFORE THE ECONOMIC POLICY IS A WORK IN PROCESS.
SO WE NOW NOW WE'RE STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP.
SO COUNCILMAN REALLY THANK YOU, MISTER CHAIR.
WITH RESPECT TO SLIDE TEN, YOU MENTIONED PENDING HIRE OF THE CEO IN EARLY THIS YEAR.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE STATUS OF THAT RECRUITMENT PROCESS AND HOW CLOSE YOU ARE? SURE, HAPPY TO. SO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CREATED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, THE BOARD SELECTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, HAS HIRED A SEARCH FIRM, KORN FERRY.
THEY HAVE SOLICITED A POOL OF CANDIDATES.
THE FIRST ROUND HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
SO THEY'RE ALMOST AT THE END POINT OF THAT DECISION.
SO ARE THERE ANY FINALISTS IDENTIFIED YET? NO. NOT YET.
AND. WHO MAKES THE ULTIMATE HIRING DECISION.
UM, ON THE SAME PAGE YOU MENTIONED THE REIMAGINING DOWNTOWN.
GRANT, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? WHO GRANTED IT? WHAT AMOUNT? WHAT'S IT FOR? THAT WAS A TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT ITEM.
SO I'M GOING TO SEE IF GUS OR SOMEONE ELSE FROM TRANSPORTATION IS ON TO ANSWER THAT.
AND IF NOT, I'LL GET YOU A RESPONSE AFTER THE COMMITTEE.
CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS BECAUSE, AS CHAIRMAN ATKINS, UM, ALLUDED TO EARLIER, IS THAT, UM, IT TOOK US A LONG TIME TO EVEN GET THIS POLICY DONE, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'D LOVE TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC ALL THE TIME.
BUT WHEN THEY ASK QUESTIONS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHY THAT TAKE SO LONG? OR, YOU KNOW, WHY IS THIS MOVING FASTER? IT'S LIKE WE'RE THE GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, BUT SOME THINGS JUST TAKE A LONG TIME TO PUT TOGETHER BECAUSE THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT LAWS OR DEPARTMENTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TO GET EVERYBODY'S OPINION, THE PUBLIC AND, AND THEN SOME THINGS WE CAN IMPLEMENT, YOU KNOW, OR PASS VERY QUICKLY BECAUSE IT'S A SIMPLE THING, RIGHT? THAT DOESN'T TAKE ALL OF THAT.
BUT THIS WAS, UM, A LABOR OF LOVE, HATE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.
UM, BUT WE GOT IT ACROSS THE FINISH LINE, AND, AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME TO IMPLEMENT IT.
SO ONE OF MY QUESTIONS, UM, AND IS, UM, WHEN WE DID C-CAP AND WE'VE DONE A FEW OTHER PLANS.
AND, AND, UM, JUST SO THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS AND KNOWS.
SO WE'LL BE FOLLOWING UP THIS BRIEFING BY LAUNCHING A DASHBOARD.
IT'S READY TO LAUNCH. WE'RE JUST WAITING ON A LITTLE IT CONNECTION TO TO MAKE IT LIVE.
SO YES, THERE WILL BE A SIMILAR DASHBOARD TRACKING THESE 86 ITEMS GOING LIVE SHORTLY.
AND THAT'S FANTASTIC BECAUSE I, I, UM, LET ME TELL YOU THE GREATEST THING.
AND TO SEE THAT THAT GRAPH AND THAT SCALE JUST CHANGING, RIGHT, GOING OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
UM, BUT THE BEST THING IS WHEN YOU GO TO A PUBLIC MEETING OR WHATEVER IT IS AND IT'S LIKE YOU JUST POP THAT ON THE SCREEN AND ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYBODY'S LIKE, OH, BECAUSE, UM, THERE'S THE DATA, THERE'S THE PROOF.
AND SO THAT'S WHY, UM, AND THEN WE'VE DONE IT WITH SOME OTHER THINGS, AND I LOVE IT BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE TO SEE THINGS IN VERSUS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE JUST SAY IT, NOT EVERYBODY GETS IT VERSUS WHEN THEY SEE LIKE A GRAPH OR A CHART OR A PICTURE, UM, BECAUSE THEN THEY, THEIR BRAIN JUST GOES, OH, OKAY.
IT'S WORKING. UM, IT LOOKS LIKE Y'ALL WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE ON THAT.
OR I WAS GONNA SAY, I TOTALLY AGREE.
THE POLICIES ARE NOT MEANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, SILENT DOCUMENTS.
SO WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT ACTIONS ARE TAKING PLACE AND WHERE WE ARE.
AND SO, YES, THAT'LL BE UP AND LAUNCHED VERY SOON.
AWESOME. THANK YOU. AND, UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY, UM, I WAS GOING TO DO A JOKE AT THE BEGINNING AND BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHY HAVEN'T YOU GOTTEN ALL 80, UM, DONE YET IN THIS PAST YEAR? BUT I WAS LIKE, I DIDN'T WANT TO GO THERE.
SO, UM, BUT, UM, Y'ALL HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB.
[00:45:04]
UM, IT'S JUST LIKE NIGHT AND DAY FROM WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE IN 2017.AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF.
AND, UM, KEEP UP THAT AMAZING WORK, BECAUSE.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THOSE, UM, REALLY IMPACTFUL CHANGES HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY, UM, WITH, WITH, WITH THIS POLICY THAT, UM, ACTUALLY GIVES YOU, I THINK, THE BACKING AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS YOUR DOCUMENT, RIGHT, THAT YOU CAN GO BACK TO AND GO, THIS IS WHAT WE APPROVED.
THIS IS WHAT THE CITY'S BELIEFS VALUES ARE.
AND, UM, WHEN YOU GET TO DO THAT, I THINK IT MAKES THINGS A LOT EASIER AND BETTER FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, VERSUS THE OLD WAY THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR DECADES, UM, THAT OLD BROKEN SYSTEM.
SO THANK YOU. UM, Y'ALL KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND I LOOK FORWARD TO IMPLEMENT.
I MEAN, UH, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, THE DAY THAT THE GRAPH GOES UP.
GRAPH, GRAPH A GRAPH LAUNCH DAY SO THAT PEOPLE CAN START TO SEE EVERYTHING WORKING.
SURE. TO ANNOUNCE THAT IN A FRIDAY MEMO.
SO YOU'RE ALL AWARE. SOUNDS GREAT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
YOU WANT TO COME BACK? YES. UH, FROM THE VIRTUAL WORLD, UH, CHAIRMAN WEST.
CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA. COUNCILWOMAN RESENDEZ.
I GO, I ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU LOOK AT PAGE FIVE, IT'S KIND OF TELL YOU, UM, WHAT WE WENT THROUGH.
UM, THE PRIORITIES, YOU KNOW? UM. OVERALL, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROCUREMENT, THE AUDIT, THE EMPOWERMENT, THE DEDICATION, CREATE ALL THESE THINGS RIGHT HERE IN THIS BOX WILL TELL YOU THE ALL THE WORK THAT WE DONE, THOSE THREE YEARS TO TAKE CARE TO DO THIS ONE THING THAT I WANT TO TRY TO MAKE CLEAR THAT WE UNDERSTAND, WE KNEW WE NEED AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
AND THANK YOU, ROBIN, FOR SHARING THAT.
YOU KNOW, IT LAYS ON THERE UNTIL THEY GET THEIR FOOT ON THE GROUND.
AND TO DO THAT YOU REALLY HAD TO BITE AT THE APPLE WITH CORPORATE AMERICA.
SO WE GOT A GREAT BOARD, BUT ALSO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT BOARD IS WELL FUNDED.
WE ALSO MADE SURE THAT BOARD DO HAVE A DIRECTOR AND MAINTAIN IT.
WE WANTED THEM TO BE INDEPENDENT, SEPARATE, TO BRING PROJECT IN, TO GIVE US TWO BITE AT THE APPLE.
WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR METRIC, WHAT THEY WANT AND WHAT THEY NEED.
AND TO DO THAT. ROBIN, I THINK AT FIRST EVERYBODY WOULD KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UNBALANCED.
BUT I THINK WE'RE GROWING RIGHT NOW.
WE BECOME A GLOBAL, UH, CITY AND A NATIONAL CITY.
SO THEREFORE WE ARE DISADVANTAGED IN TRYING TO NEGOTIATE DEALS BECAUSE THEY GOT MORE MONEY IN THAT $0.01 SALES TAX, BECAUSE IT'S AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, SO WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO BALANCE OUT.
BUT COLLEAGUES, BUT WE AS POLICY MAKERS, WE NEED TO STAY ABREAST ON THERE.
AND CHAIRMAN STEWART, I THINK THAT, UH, UH, ROBIN AND MAJID SHOULD GET WITH YOU ONE ON ONE TO BRING YOU UP TO DATE, BECAUSE IT'S THREE YEARS PUTTING IT TOGETHER BECAUSE IT WAS NOT EASY.
AND I LOVE YOUR, YOUR, YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOUR QUESTION THAT YOU'RE ASKED RIGHT NOW.
BUT YOU NEED TO BE UP TO DATE SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE FULL THE FULL VISION OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
WE CAN DO ECONOMIC DEVELOP ON THE POLICY SIDE AND ON THE PRIVATE SIDE.
UH, WITH THAT, UM, DEVIN MAYOR PRO TEM ARNOLD.
AND THOSE HIGH, UM, THOSE AREAS THAT WE'RE GOING TO IDENTIFY, UM, VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.
I CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR, UM, JUST A MORE AGGRESSIVE, UH, DEPARTMENT, MAINLY BECAUSE WHERE WE SERVE TRADITIONALLY, WHAT I'VE SEEN, I'VE HEARD COUNCIL MEMBER OMAR NAVARRO SAY THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE HE GOT HERE.
I THINK I'VE SHARED WITH WITH THIS TEAM.
AND I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE'VE GOT TO COME UP WITH A STRATEGY WHERE WE ARE.
[00:50:09]
INCENTIVES, BUT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT TO FIND OUT WHO ELSE WE CAN HELP, THAT MAY NOT KNOW THAT THEY CAN COME TO US, OR THAT WE'RE WILLING TO TALK TO THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT, EXCUSE ME, THE BIGGEST PEACH IN THE BASKET.SO THAT'S MY CONCERN, IS ADDING, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WILL BE THE ANSWER TO THAT OR NOT, BUT IF INDEED THEY PLAN ON BRINGING ANY REVOLUTIONARY, UH, ATTRIBUTES TO THIS CITY IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC OUTREACH, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT, UH, CHAIRMAN.
AND I'VE AND I'M VERY STRONG IN THIS POSITION.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO BEG A GROCER TO COME TO OUR COMMUNITIES TO FEED US HEALTHY FOOD.
YOU KNOW, WE EVERYBODY LOVES H-E-B.
I GREW UP ON H-E-B IN SAFEWAY, BUT WHAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IS BEG THEM TO COME.
SO THEY'RE CHOOSING NOT TO COME COOL IN THE GAME.
BUT WHAT WE WANT IS A TEAM THAT CAN GO OUT AND FIND A GROCER THAT WANTS TO FEED PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT GOING TO DISCRIMINATE BECAUSE OF WHATEVER THEIR DISCRIMINATORY DATA IS.
OUR PEOPLE WANT TO EAT FRESH FOOD, THEY WANT FRESH SELECTIONS, AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS WANT THE STORES THAT COME UP WITH THE NAMES THAT ARE BASICALLY INDICATIVE OF YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TYPE NAMES.
SO I JUST KEEP PUSHING FOR AN AGGRESSIVE HUSTLE NUMBER ONE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE HAVE, UH, TO GO OUT AND FIND WHAT WE NEED.
AND SO WE NEED THE HOUSING WE NEED.
UH, BUT IT'S HOUSING AND IT'S FEEDING OUR PEOPLE, SO THEY'LL HAVE QUALITY OF LIFE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, ROBIN, YOU KNOW, IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM.
DEPARTMENT AND WITH GEORGE WILLIAMS OVER THERE.
THEY ARE GOING OUT. I KNOW Y'ALL GOING OUT, NOT INSIDE THE CITY OF DALLAS.
YOU'RE GOING TO THE EAST COAST. YOU'RE GOING TO WEST COAST.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT FOOD MARKET.
THAT'S WHY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY IS GREAT TO BUILD HOUSING, THE HOUSING POLICY, THE INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY, BECAUSE WE LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE, PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO GO YOU GOT BAD INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND NOW OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS, THEIR CHALLENGE HERE TO PUT ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PARTS WORKING TOGETHER, SANITATION, PICKING UP THE TRASH TO MAKE SURE THE CLEAN CITY, MAKE SURE YOUR SIDEWALKS ARE REPAIR ALL THOSE STUFF, WORK TOGETHER.
OUR JOB AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE PAY THE BILL.
AND I SAY THAT OVERALL MY RESPONSIBILITY ON THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE PAY THE BILL BECAUSE IF WE DON'T BRING BUSINESSES HERE, THEY CAN'T GET PROPERTY TAX, WE CAN'T PAY THE BILL, WE CAN'T RUN THE CITY.
AND THAT'S WHY I THINK THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMMITTEE WE GOT.
I'M GLAD WE GOT, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN YOU GOT, UH, FIELD REALTORS HERE.
WHO? THE FIELD. REALLY? IN A WAY.
CALVIN. THE COWBOYS WIN SUNDAY THAT MICHIGAN YOU GOT A MISSION CHURCH ON.
THAT'S WHY THROUGH IT ALL LOOK AT IT MISSION I DIDN'T SEE THE DALLAS COWBOYS I SAW MICHIGAN.
YOU THREW ME OUT. BUT BUT ANYWAY WE GOT A GREAT COMMITTEE.
I MEAN WE GOT A I THINK WE GOT A BEST COMMITTEE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE OUR FULL RESPONSIBILITY IS TO LOOK OUT FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS, TO LOOK OUT FOR THE JOB, TO LOOK OUT FOR THE PEOPLE, LOOK OUT FOR THE BUSINESS.
AND ANYBODY WANT TO COME HERE, WE DID 14 BILLION NEW PROPERTY VALUE LAST THREE YEARS, $14 BILLION.
AND NO ONE CAN BRAG THAT, BETTER THAN ANY OTHER CITY IN AMERICA.
AND WE SAID HOW BAD WE ARE, WE'RE DOING GREAT.
[00:55:01]
AND PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO THIS REGION BECAUSE OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, NOT BECAUSE OF THE SUBURBS, BECAUSE WHAT WE DO GREAT IS CITY OF DALLAS.THANK YOU. UH, WITH THAT SAID, NO OTHER QUESTION.
WE GOT BRIEFING MEMO D, E AND F AND G ROBINSON.
ALL RIGHT. SO ITEM D IS OUR QUARTERLY UPDATE ON ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION APPROVALS.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE ONE DEAL THAT WAS APPROVED BY ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION LAST MONTH.
IT WAS THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER AT BONTON FARMS, WHICH IS AN 11,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY WITH HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDED BY METHODIST AND FINANCIAL EDUCATION SERVICES PROVIDED BY A CONSORTIUM OF EIGHT LOCAL BANKS, AND AS INTENDED BY THE COUNCIL AND THE APPROVAL OF THE POLICY.
THIS WAS THE FIRST DEAL UNDER OUR NEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT POLICY FOR NONPROFIT DEVELOPERS, AND YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT IT WAS APPROVED IN ORDER TO HELP THESE DEALS MOVE MORE QUICKLY. AND WITHIN A WEEK OF SIGNING OFF ON THE DEAL, THEY HAD THEIR GROUNDBREAKING.
SO IT WORKED. THEY WERE THERE MOVING QUICKLY, AND WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE.
BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE THE COUNCIL AWARE OF THAT AWARD.
I KNOW YOU WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE GREAT PROJECT SINCE YOU GOT IN THE COMMENT.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR Y'ALL'S QUICK DUE DILIGENCE.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE A LOT OF QUALITY OF LIFE, AND I THINK IT'S A GOOD, UM, FRAMEWORK FOR WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO COME FROM THIS PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE.
I JUST WANT TO SAY, MR. CHAIRMAN, REALLY QUICKLY, THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS.
UM, ARNOLD, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM ARNOLD WAS KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THE HEALTH CARE, UM, IS HOW DO WE LOOK DIFFERENTLY AT CERTAIN THINGS AND BRING IN THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DO IT AND WANT TO BE THERE? AND, UM, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, WITH WITH THIS AND IT'S NO, IT'S NOT SOME BIG NAME, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT THE BIG NAMES ARE PART OF IT, RIGHT? AND THE NONPROFITS AND IT'S PROBABLY THE PEOPLE THAT, UM, THE COMMUNITY ALREADY TRUSTS AND KNOWS THAT THEY CAN COUNT ON, UM, VERSUS, UM, SOMEBODY WHO'S JUST MOVING IN ON THEIR OWN AND MAYBE DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO BE THERE OR WANTS TO PUSH THEIR, UM, NOT BEING A GOOD PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND I LOVE SEEING THIS AND WANT TO SEE MORE OF IT AND MORE OF, LIKE, EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING LATELY, UM, BECAUSE IT'S STARTING TO WORK, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IT AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THE IMPACT.
SO AGAIN, UM, GREAT JOB IN THIS AREA BECAUSE THEY DESPERATELY NEEDED IT.
AND I CAN'T WAIT TILL IT OPENS SO THAT, UM, THE RESIDENTS IN THAT AREA WILL START GETTING SOME QUALITY HEALTH CARE, UM, SERVICES THAT THEY'VE BEEN ASKING FOR A VERY LONG TIME. EXCELLENT WORK, CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA.
AND EXCELLENT WORK TO YOU ALL.
YEAH. I JUST WANT TO SAY, UH, CONGRATULATIONS.
UM. YOU KNOW, I WENT OUT THERE TO THE GROUNDBREAKING.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE KIND OF REMIND YOU OF THE COUNTRY.
THEN YOU ALSO, YOU KNOW, GOT A MEXICAN HOSPITAL OUT THERE WITH HEALTH CARE.
AND IT WAS IT WAS A GREAT UPDATE.
YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK LIKE, HEY, IT'S 21ST CENTURY.
I MEAN, THIS COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T HAVE HEALTH CARE, YOU KNOW, THE FARMS OF THE FRESH VEGETABLES AND STUFF AND [INAUDIBLE] I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA, UH, HATS OFF TO YOU, MAN.
EVERYBODY WAS WAS VERY EXCITED.
BUT THE POINT IS THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, I SAID, WE ARE THE CHAPTER.
SHE WAS A HEALTH CARE FANATIC.
CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP OVER THERE.
WITH THAT. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. UH, ITEM E AND F AND I THINK THAT'S JOYCE WILLIAM IS ANY QUESTION ON E AND E OR F.
UM, I AIN'T GOING TO CALL YOU FEEL REALLY.
BUT I THOUGHT I WAS TALKING ABOUT TI SAID FEEL REALLY? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
UM. I DON'T OH, UH, IS SOMEONE HERE ON ITEM F? UH, JUST A QUESTION.
[01:00:01]
THIS IS BEING THE SMALL MICRO GRANT PROGRAM IS BEING FUNDED BY A 250,000 ALLOCATION FROM ARPA FUNDS.AND I'M JUST WONDERING, SINCE WE'RE YEAR AND A HALF PAST THE SERIOUS IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC, IF YOU ANTICIPATE THERE BEING ENOUGH DEAL FLOW TO UTILIZE THIS ENTIRE ALLOCATION, OR DO YOU SEE IT TRAILING OFF AS THE NEEDS DIMINISH? THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN, FOR THE QUESTION.
JOYCE WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER.
YES, I DO SEE THAT THERE WILL BE ENOUGH.
WHAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SERVE BUSINESSES A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE, UM, SDF SOUTHERN DALLAS INVESTMENT FUND, WHICH WOULD THEN COVER AREAS OF DOWNTOWN FOR THOSE CENSUS TRACT, AS WELL AS HARRY HINES.
AND LOOKING AT THAT AREA, THE SKILLMAN ABRAMS AREA.
THIS 250,000 MICRO GRANT WILL SERVE A MAXIMUM OF 50 OF THOSE.
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE A, UM, BACKLOG OF APPLICATIONS FOR THIS KIND OF A GRANT THAT WOULD BE QUALIFYING? WE DO NOT HAVE A BACKLOG AS OF YET BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT OPENED AN APPLICATION PROCESS.
BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE IS A LIST OF INQUIRIES.
AS YOU WELL KNOW, THERE WERE A SERIES OF CALLS FROM THE DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN, SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ESPECIALLY THOSE BUSINESSES THAT WERE POSED FOR NIGHTLIFE, RESTAURANTS THAT NEEDED HELP DURING COVID TIME.
AND SO ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS WAS NOT JUST ABOUT CONSTRUCTION OR REVITALIZATION, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE UTILITIES, UH, RENTAL, UH, BEING ABLE TO SAVE THEIR BUSINESSES BECAUSE OF EMPLOYMENT, WAGES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
THAT'S WHAT A MICRO GRANT IS TO DO, IS TO HELP THEM SUSTAIN.
AND IS THERE A LIMIT ON THE SIZE OF EACH MICRO GRANT, OR DO YOU ANTICIPATE AN AVERAGE SIZE? THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT WILL BE $5,000.
OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. ANYONE ELSE FROM THE VIRTUAL WORLD? OKAY. UH, G, UH, I GUESS THAT'S ME, RIGHT? UH, LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING? LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. LET'S START WITH PAUL RIDLEY.
UM, YOU CIRCULATED TO US A DRAFT IN OR ABOUT DECEMBER 20TH OF LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AND SOLICITED OUR INPUT, AND I AGREED WITH THOSE, SO I DIDN'T PROVIDE ANY SPECIFIC INPUT.
NOW, TODAY, WE'VE RECEIVED A REVISED LIST WHICH ADDS A SIGNIFICANT ITEM WHICH WE HAVE NOT DISCUSSED, UH, WHICH IS THE SECOND BULLET POINT ABOUT, UH, THE AUTHORIZATION, LICENSING AND REGULATION OF CASINO GAMBLING AND SPORTS WAGERING IN THE STATE. UH, I THINK WE WOULD ALL RECOGNIZE THAT THAT'S A VERY CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE.
UM, AND THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE ADDED LIGHTLY TO OUR LIST OF LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
I PERSONALLY HAVE A POSITION OPPOSING THAT BECAUSE I THINK IT RESULTS IN A TAX ON THE POOR.
AND SO I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF ENCOURAGING OUR LEGISLATURE TO LEGALIZE CASINO GAMBLING.
UM, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR US TO CONSIDER THE OPINIONS OF OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABOUT THE ADDITION OF THIS ITEM? OKAY. WHAT WE DID WAS, UM, UH, CARRY MISS ROGERS.
SO IT IS COMING TO OUR COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYTHING OFF OF THE RECOMMENDATION UNLESS THEY HEAR FROM US.
SO I BELIEVE WE HAVE MAYBE WE HAVE SOMEONE ON VIRTUAL OUT THERE, I DON'T KNOW.
SO THAT'S HOW THEY SHOWED UP FOR IT.
[01:05:03]
OKAY. WELL, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE PREAMBLE OF THAT BULLET POINT, WHICH IS SIMPLY TO EXPAND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW THE TAX BASE, GENERATE REVENUE STREAMS FOR CITY PRIORITIES.I THINK IT'S FAIR TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO COMMENT ON THAT.
UM, UH, LET'S GO TO, UH, CHAIRMAN ALAN BAZALDUA.
HE WANT A COMMENT. SO LET'S STAY ON TOPIC.
WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE COMMENT THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN RIDLEY IS REFERRING TO IN THAT DEBATE.
OKAY. UM, CHAIRMAN ALAN BAZALDUA.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT IT'D BE GREAT TO HEAR FROM THE BODY.
I KNOW THAT GAMBLING HAS COME UP WITH OTHER PRIORITIES AS WELL.
UM, I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE FOR US TO HAVE SOME SORT OF GUIDANCE TO OUR DELEGATION ON ALTERNATIVE REVENUE SOURCES FOR OUR, UH, PENSION, UH, BOND OBLIGATIONS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT A NEW STATEWIDE REVENUE SOURCE WOULD AFFORD, NOT JUST THE CITY OF DALLAS, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT AN ANOMALY, BUT IT WOULD MAKE OUR POLICE AND FIRE PENSION SYSTEMS MORE SUSTAINABLE STATEWIDE.
SO I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE LANGUAGE IN.
WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH JURISDICTION ON LOBBYING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO URGE OUR DELEGATION WITH SOME SORT OF SPECIFIC DIRECTION ON WHERE WE CAN BE TAPPING INTO THESE NEW REVENUE SOURCES AND ECONOMIC GENERATORS.
OKAY WITH THAT? UM, CHAIRMAN WEST, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENT? YEAH. THANK YOU. CHAIR.
I JUST WANT TO SECOND WHAT CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA HAS SAID.
WILL YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT, CHAIRMAN WEST, WE CAN HEAR YOU.
YEAH. I'LL JUST SECOND WHAT CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA WAS SAYING.
COUNCILWOMAN RESENDEZ YOU HAD A QUESTION, ANY COMMENTS.
UH, YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO, UM, TO SAY THAT I'M NOT OPPOSED TO KEEPING THAT LANGUAGE IN THERE.
UH, ANYONE HERE? UH, CHAIRMAN NAVAREZ? UH, YES, MISTER CHAIR.
AND I APPRECIATE, UM, MISTER RIDLEY'S COMMENTS.
UM, I, I AM IN FAVOR OF APPROVING STATEWIDE GAMBLING.
I THINK I TURNED IT IN ON MY, UM, VERY MIXED UP BAD LIST OF, UM, POSSIBLE PRIORITIES.
UM, THIS IS A HARD ONE BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT LOWER INCOME PEOPLE.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO LOWER INCOME FOLKS, UM, OR EVEN THE VAST WEALTHY FOLKS, IT'S, UM, YOUR MONEY.
YOU DO WITH THAT WHAT YOU WANT.
UM, BUT I DO I THINK I DID PUT IN MIND THAT, UM, A RESTRICTION AS FAR AS, LIKE, ONLY FOR MAJOR CITIES TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT BECAUSE OF THAT, UM, REVENUE SOURCE.
UM, NOW, IF THAT MADE IT IN THERE, GREAT.
UM, AND THE REASON THAT I DID THAT IS BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT IT'S LARGE CITIES LIKE HOUSTON, DALLAS, UM, SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN, UM, THAT COULD ACTUALLY SUPPORT THIS TYPE OF, UM, UM, ENTITY AND BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS SAFE.
AND, UM, FOR EVERYONE THAT ATTENDS, I MEAN, WE HAVE CHOCTAW JUST NORTH OF US, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT, UM, IT WOULDN'T HELP THE CITY OF DALLAS IN THE SAME RESPECT IF IT'S NOT INSIDE OF OUR CITY LIMITS.
THE OTHER THING IS, UM, WITH IT IS THAT, UM, WHATEVER THE STATE PASSES, IF WE CAN MAKE SURE IF THE STATE PASSES SOMETHING, UM, THAT THERE ARE, IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO ADD ANY TYPE OF SAFEGUARDS, UM, ON TOP OF THE STATE LAW WITHOUT GETTING PREEMPTED.
UM, AND THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO IMPLEMENT AS WELL.
UM, STATEWIDE THAT, UM, ISN'T PART OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH GAMBLING.
UM, CARD ROOMS AND OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DOING THAT ARE ALREADY, QUOTE UNQUOTE, LEGALIZED, UM, IN OUR CITY, THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN WE SAID, YOU CAN'T DO IT. UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU.
[01:10:02]
HIGH STAKES GAMES BEING PLAYED INSIDE OF THOSE, UM, COUNTRY CLUBS.BUT WE DIDN'T TAKE THOSE AWAY AS A CITY.
WE JUST DID THE ONES THAT WERE ACTUALLY GIVING US A TAX REVENUE SOURCE.
UM, WHICH I HIGHLY DISAGREE WITH.
SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT PARTS TO THIS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY, UM, BRING IN REVENUE SOURCES TO OUR CITY THAT WILL HELP US FOR THINGS LIKE FIXING ROADS AND, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING ARTS AND CULTURE FACILITIES AND MAKING SURE OUR PARKS HAVE WHAT THEY NEED.
AND THAT'S WHY THESE REVENUE SOURCES ARE SO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WE HAVE NO OTHER REVENUE SOURCES, LIKE OTHER CITIES THAT OWN AN ELECTRIC OR GAS UTILITY THAT ARE ABLE TO BRING IN, LIKE WHAT CHAIRMAN SAID, THEY'RE ONE PENNY SALES TAX.
YEAH. SO, UM, IT'S LIKE, WHAT CAN WE DO? SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS IT LOOKS GOOD.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'M GOING TO GO BY THE WILL OF THE BODY.
SO THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN STEWART.
I WOULD SAY AT THIS POINT, IT SEEMS PREMATURE TO HAVE THIS AS A LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY.
UM, I MY THINKING IS MORE IN LINE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY.
UM, I HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION I WOULD LIKE TO SEE BEFORE I WOULD WANT TO MOVE FORWARD.
I UNDERSTAND THE REVENUE SOURCE AND THAT ALL SOUNDS LOVELY, BUT I JUST HAVE A HUNCH THERE ARE SOME DOWNSIDES TO IT, AND I WOULD I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A STUDY THAT LOOKS AT THAT AND HELPS US UNDERSTAND PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES OR PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES OR, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S JUST A LOT OUT THERE WE DON'T KNOW, OR AT LEAST I DON'T KNOW.
I ALSO BELIEVE THIS PROBABLY SHOULD BE DEBATED BY, UM, THE LARGER BODY AND NOT JUST A COMMITTEE.
AND SO THAT'S THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS.
OH. DID SOMEONE HAVE SOMETHING ON LINE? IT WAS YOU. OH.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. WELL, I'M ALSO OF THE POSITION.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHAT GAMBLING IS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT OF WHAT I'VE SEEN ON TELEVISION.
IF I IF I LOSE. SO I'M NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT REALLY THE ONE WHO.
SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THE TICKETS ARE STILL A DOLLAR.
BUT THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE IS I KNOW IT IS A FUN, IT'S AN ENTERTAINMENT PIECE FOR SOME.
BUT AS COUNCILWOMAN STATED, WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHAT WE ASK FOR.
HERE NOW WE'RE JUST ONLY IT'S EXCITED.
BUT WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE NOW WITH TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS, TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR PENSION AND TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OTHER RESOURCES.
NOW YOU'RE GIVING THEM ANOTHER LAYER OF RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, CHIEF BROWN SAID IT BEST.
YOU KNOW, YOU ASK, WE ASK THE POLICE TO WEAR AT LEAST 13 DIFFERENT HATS.
AND SO NOW WE'RE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS GREAT NEW ENTERTAINMENT VENUE.
AND WE'VE GOT TO PUT PUBLIC SAFETY HERE.
SO IT'S THE PUBLIC SAFETY PIECE.
IT'S THE HEALTH. IT'S THE LOCATION, IT'S THE EDUCATION.
AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO CAMPAIGN SEASON.
SO FOLKS ARE TRYING TO LURE US IN SO WE CAN GIVE A SOLID POSITION.
I CAN'T GIVE A A SOLID POSITION JUST AS COUNCIL MEMBER NAVARRO SAID.
AND SO FOR ME, I THINK IT IS NOT WISE TO PUT IT ON A COUNCIL AGENDA AND RUSH TO ON THE COMMITTEE AGENDA AND JUST RUSH TO TO PUT IT A PRIORITY. SOMEONE TOLD ME THIS AND IT JUST KIND OF MADE ME WAKE UP.
THEY SAID, ARNOLD, VERY SELDOM DO YOU SEE TONS OF MILLIONAIRES GOING TO GAMBLING CASINOS.
[01:15:02]
THE VERY PEOPLE WHO ARE PUTTING MONEY INTO OUR COFFERS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD PUT THAT ON THE BACK OF POOR PEOPLE TO CREATE AN ENTITY THAT IS NOT GOING TO PUT MONEY BACK INTO THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED.OUR FOLKS ARE SAYING, LOOK, I'M PAYING PROPERTY TAXES AND AT LEAST GIVE ME THE INFRASTRUCTURE, AT LEAST PUT MONEY IN THE COFFERS SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, EFFECTS ON MY HOUSE.
I CAN'T EVEN GET SUFFICIENT FUNDS FOR ALL THESE SENIORS WHO ARE TURNING 85, 86, AND 90 YEARS OLD WITH A HOLE IN THE ROOF PROPERTY THAT'S SHIFTING BECAUSE THEY'RE ON A CREEK WE CAN'T EVEN GET WE CAN'T EVEN GET A DECENT FUNDS FOR THAT.
SO IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE GAMBLING AND WE MAY NOT BE IN OFFICE WHEN IT HAPPENS SOME KIND OF WAY, SOMEONE WHO'S SMART ENOUGH SHOULD KNOW HOW TO PUT CONFIGURE SOME PROGRAM WHERE WE ACTUALLY GET BENEFIT FROM THAT INSTITUTION, AND IT GOES DIRECTLY TO HELP THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN THE GREATEST NEED, WHICH IS OUR CONSTITUENTS WHO NEED THE HEALTH CARE, WHO NEED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, WHO NEED THE HOUSING, WHO NEEDS THE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT IN TERMS OF THEIR SCHOOLS, WHO NEED BASICS.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I AM, UH, IN THIS.
WE ALREADY BEEN BEING COURTED RIGHT NOW BY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE THAT INTEREST AT STAKE.
I JUST THINK WE WOULD BE, UH, IT WOULD BE DISRESPECTFUL TO OUR TAXPAYERS TO JUMP UP WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, AND WE CAN'T EVEN HAVE A LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY THAT PUTS THE STATE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH US TO SAY, LET'S TRY TO FEED THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE TAXING.
WELL, WE CAN FEED FOLKS WITH HEALTHY AND UH, UH, STORES.
UH, SUCH AS I JUST GOT THROUGH TALKING ABOUT A FEW MINUTES AGO, BUT CAN WE FEED THE PEOPLE HEALTHY FOOD? AND THAT WOULD BE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP AND A GREAT PRIORITY.
I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT I DEFINITELY DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS THE RIGHT STEP, UH, CHAIRMAN, THAT WE RUSH INTO JUST SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A HEADLINE IN THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS OR OTHER PAPER. THANK YOU.
AND WE ARE THE COMMITTEE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, ON OUR LETTER, SAY THIS JUST CAME UP.
UH, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
IT'S NOT A PRIORITY RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE NOT VOTING ON THIS RIGHT NOW.
SO EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT BE NEGATIVE, IT MIGHT BE POSITIVE.
WE'RE NOT MAKING A DECISION TODAY.
IT'S NOT GOING TO THE LEGISLATOR TODAY.
BUT BUT WE SHOULD GET ALL COLLEAGUES THE PROPER RIGHT.
IF THEY SAY WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.
LET US BE GROWN AND SAY WE ARE GOING TO LISTEN TO IT.
WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT.
WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE OPEN MINDED.
WHAT RESPECT OF ANOTHER COLLEAGUES WHO MAY WANT TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
BUT WE ARE NOT WE ARE NOT VOTING ON THIS TODAY.
YEAH, I'M CONFUSED BY THAT BECAUSE I..
NO, NO, NO, I WAS ASKED TO GIVE I THOUGHT PRIORITIES THAT WERE WOULD END UP ON THE PRIORITY.
WE. NO ADDITIONAL ITEM MAY BE ARRIVED BETWEEN NOW AND THE START OF THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
WE ARE NOT WE HAVE NOT WENT TO THE FULL COUNCILS AND SAID WE GOT TO DO THIS.
WE ARE THIS IS NOT A VOTING AGENDA.
WE ARE NOT WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
AND I'VE BEEN A LEGISLATOR, CHAIRMAN, WE ARE NOT MAKING A RECOMMENDATION.
WE ARE DISCUSSING THIS AND THIS IS NOT A VOTING ITEM ON THIS AGENDA TODAY.
CHAIRMAN KERRY ROGERS, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
THAT IS CORRECT. IT'S NOT A VOTING ITEM TODAY.
WHAT THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR HAD REQUESTED WAS THAT EACH COMMITTEE SUBMIT PRIORITIES, UM, TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE BEFORE THOSE CAME FORWARD TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
AND SO WHAT MR. ATKINS HAS IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY IS THE MEMO OF PROPOSED PRIORITIES THAT WOULD BE SUBMITTED FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND THEN ULTIMATELY THE FULL COUNCIL.
[01:20:01]
AND WOULD YOU WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS ITEM TO BE CONSIDERED ON THAT PARTICULAR AGENDA OR.NO. YOU CAN SPEAK FIRST AND SPEAK AFTER YOU.
I'M JUST GOING TO MAKE IT PLAIN.
JUST GOING TO BRING IT OUT HERE.
UH, AND I WANT TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE ARE YES BEING COURTED.
UH, I WAS ONE OF THOSE DURING OUR INTERVIEWS THIS LAST SESSION, I THINK FROM, FROM ONE OF OUR INTERVIEWS MIGHT HAVE COME FROM FROM THE, FROM THAT, UH, DALLAS MORNING NEWS INTERVIEWING TEAM. AND WE WERE ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT OUR POSITION ON GAMBLING, AND I DIDN'T TAKE A POSITION.
AND SO THEY JUMPED ALL OVER ME BECAUSE I TAKE ONE AT THIS TIME, SIR, I NEED MORE INFORMATION.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TELLING YOU.
I WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT, OKAY? I DON'T THINK WE'RE BEING COURTED.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE BEING COURTED.
WE ARE NOT VOTING ON WHAT CAN BE ON THE AGENDA.
THERE'S A PROCESS AND A PROCEDURE.
HOW IS GOING TO BE RULED OUT? UM, UH, AND BEFORE I FINISH, IN CLOSING, UH, CLOSING CONCLUSION, UH, I SEE, UH, CHAIRMAN WEST HAD HIS HAND RAISED UP AND CHAIRMAN OMAR, SO I WANT TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR, IS EVEN THOUGH THE CHAIR OF THE LEGISLATURE MIGHT SAY, WE WANT YOU, MISS ROGER, TO BRING US UP TO ALL THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, IT'S NOT A NECESSARILY WE AGREE TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE LEGISLATURE TO DO THAT.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PERFECT CLEAR.
IF WE DON'T AGREE WITH IT, WE DON'T AGREE WITH IT.
SO I WANT TO MAKE THAT SURE THAT PERFECTLY CLEAR.
THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. I THINK THIS IS A GOOD, HEALTHY DISCUSSION TO HAVE.
UM, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE ON THE FENCE OR WHO WANT MORE INFORMATION.
UM, I WANT TO JUST POINT OUT TWO FACTS.
ONE, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS RECENTLY DID A SURVEY IN MARCH, UM, ALONG WITH UT TYLER, THAT INDICATED THAT 57% OF TEXANS DO SUPPORT CASINO GAMBLING.
SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S GROWING IN POPULARITY AMONGST THE STATE AND MOST LIKELY IN DALLAS AS WELL.
AND THEN SECONDLY, OF THE BILLS THAT WERE THE BILLS THAT WERE PROPOSED, UM, IN THE LAST TERM THERE, UM, BOTH OF THEM WERE GOING TO ALLOCATE 80% OF TAX REVENUE FROM THE CASINOS HAVE PASSED INTO OUR TEXAS UNIVERSITY FUND TO FUND ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, TO TRY TO HELP OTHER PUBLIC UNIVERSITY RANKINGS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE IT'S A LOT OF THE COMMENTS I'VE HEARD HAVE SOUNDED REALLY KIND OF FOCUSED ON THE NEGATIVES, WHICH IS A LOT OF THE SORT OF MORAL POLICING THAT WE HEAR SOMETIMES UP HERE AT THE HORSESHOE.
BUT THERE IS A POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS AS WELL THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT.
UM, AND THIS MAY NEED ITS OWN BRIEFING.
SO I JUST WANT TO POINT THIS OUT.
SO CAN WE AMEND THE LANGUAGE THERE? AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT MY WORDS WILL BE, BUT AND MAYBE WE CAN JUST WORK ON THAT.
BUT THAT SAYS SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF WE WILL WE WANT TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON THIS.
LOOK AT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS AND OTHER CITIES.
IT'S I DON'T KNOW HOW WHO'S ITEM THAT IS IF WE HAVE TO GO IS IS IS AN ITEM.
IF THERE'S A REQUEST OF THIS COMMITTEE, WE CAN ORDER HER TO DO THAT IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE THE COUNCIL MEMBER AND YOU ARE THE POLICY MAKER.
SO IF THAT'S WHAT YOU REQUEST, THEY WILL ADHERE TO THE REQUEST.
SO LET'S LET THE BILL REQUEST.
SO RECEIVED RECEIVED OKAY THEN I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY THE PARTICULARS OF IT.
WHAT IS THAT IN THE 19TH? YES, SIR. WE HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 19TH.
RIGHT. AND I BELIEVE ANOTHER MEETING IS SCHEDULED FEBRUARY 8TH.
RIGHT. SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MEETINGS ON THE DATE TO BEGIN WORKING THROUGH THESE IN OPEN SESSION WITH THE COMMITTEE BEFORE ANYTHING GOES TO THE FULL COUNCIL FOR A FULL COUNCIL DISCUSSION. OKAY.
SO THAT I HAVE SOME TIME TO WORK ON LANGUAGE THAT I THEN JUST FORWARD TO YOU OR TO CHAIR ATKINS, YOU CAN FORWARD IT TO ME AND CC THE CHAIRMAN THERE, RIGHT? YES, MA'AM.
[01:25:01]
AND WE'LL WORK WITH THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS.YOU WANT TO DO IT CC IT'S OPEN RECORD.
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY ALL TO THAT EMAIL THOUGH.
THANK YOU. SO, UH, CHAIRMAN NARVAEZ.
UM, BUT I ALSO CAN, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I LIKE THAT YOU REFERENCED, UM, UM, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS QUESTIONNAIRE WHEN WE WERE RUNNING FOR OFFICE UM, DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT GAMBLING AND IN THERE I DID PUT THAT IT WAS PREMATURE BECAUSE I HADN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO SPEAK WITH MY CONSTITUENTS AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT.
UM, DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UM, THAT DID COME UP DURING TOWN HALLS AND MEETINGS AND, UM, FOR ME ANYWAY, JUST AND AGAIN, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY POLL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT JUST FROM THE CONSTITUENTS I SPOKE WITH, THERE WAS SUPPORT.
UM, BUT THEY DID HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
SO I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO MAYBE IT'S I COULD ALSO BE ON THE FENCE AS FAR AS, LIKE, NOT MAKING IT A PRIORITY BECAUSE THE WORD PRIORITY IS VERY STRONG. UM, WHERE? I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S LIKE IN OUR, IN OUR LEGISLATIVE, UM, PRIORITY LIST, WHERE THEN WE HAVE A LIKE NOT A PRIORITY, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY LIKE THAT WE, WE ARE IN FAVOR OF OR WE, UM, RESPECT OR WE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE.
AND I WANT TO RESPECT THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A BALANCED APPROACH.
SO, UM, AND I DO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS BRIEFING AS WELL, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO BE FROM STAFF, IF THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK Y'ALL ARE THE CONTENT EXPERTS AS FAR AS, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T WANT IT TO APPEAR THAT STAFF IS, UM, IN FAVOR OR OPPOSED, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY ORGANIZATIONS OR, UM, UM, UM, GROUPS OUT THERE THAT ACTUALLY DO THIS TYPE OF WORK THAT CAN GIVE A BALANCED APPROACH THAT AREN'T, YOU KNOW, UM, THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD AND OWN A CASINO, AND THEY'RE ALSO NOT THE PEOPLE WHO HATE AND DON'T WANT CASINOS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T EASILY I MEAN, I CAN EASILY ARGUE, UM, THE POINT WHY THEY'RE HORRIBLE AND TERRIBLE AWFUL.
AND I CAN EASILY ARGUE THE POINT WHY THESE ARE GREAT AND, YOU KNOW, AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, BECAUSE IT WILL GET POLITICAL, IT'S GOING TO GET POLITICAL PERIOD ON THIS ISSUE. BUT, UM, IF WE CAN HAVE A REALLY BALANCED, UM, DATA DRIVEN, EDUCATIONAL, UM, BRIEFING, UM, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
I WOULD, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN, UM, MORE EDUCATION ON THE ON THE TOPIC.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. MR. CHAIRMAN, AND WE'LL GET WITH, UM, UH, THE CITY MANAGER TO YOUR COMMENT, IF I MAY SAY WE DO WE I BELIEVE WE RECEIVED 133 ITEMS SUBMITTED ACROSS COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THOSE TO, UM, TO PARE THOSE DOWN.
AND WHAT ARE THE NEEDS, THE WANTS.
UH, WITH THAT, UH CARA, UM, COLLEAGUES AND, AND CHAIRMAN STEWART AND OMAR AND DEVIN, MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, ARNHEM AND CHAD AND ALAN TO THE COMMITTEE.
UM, WHEN YOU PUT SOMETHING ON A LEGISLATOR, IT'S NOT JUST FOR US TO PUT SOMETHING ON THERE.
AND SO WE DON'T HAVE THE FEEL OF THE LEGISLATOR IN THOSE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES THAT WHAT THEY FEELING IS, WE MIGHT HAVE THE SAME FEELING HERE WHEN WE GO DOWN THERE, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OUR NOSE BLOODIED BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT TIME.
SO THEY'RE STILL GIVING US A LITTLE TIME IN THE LEGISLATIVE TIME TO REACH OUT TO THAT LEGISLATOR, TO THAT, TO YOUR SENATOR, TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES THERE AND SEE WHAT THEY FEEL IN THAT. IT'S NOT JUST US SAYING, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT.
WE STILL GOT TO DO A LITTLE POLITICKING DOWN IN AUSTIN.
YOU KNOW, WE GOT A POLITIC DINNER AND SEE WHO IS TRYING TO CARRY THE BILL, WHETHER THEIR DECISION OR THIS SOMETHING GOING TO 89 LEGISLATOR, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ONE MAYBE TO THE 90 I DON'T KNOW. BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE A DECISION TODAY.
[01:30:01]
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING HERE IS NUMBER ONE WE GOT THE SIX THE 19 AND THE 24TH TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN.AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO LET UH, UH, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM ARNOLD'S GOT ASSESSED SOME.
AND I THANK CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA GOT HIS HAND UP.
ALL RIGHT. SO DO I HAVE I HAVE THE MIC NOW.
DPD NEEDS TO WEIGH IN ON THIS.
YOUR MARSHALS, YOUR FBI, THE CIA, EVERYONE THAT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY OR A HAND IN THIS CITY WHEN IT COMES TO CERTAIN, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY MATTERS. AND I THINK THEY WILL BE ABLE TO TELL US BECAUSE WE WANT TO SAVE NO MATTER WHAT WE PUT HERE, WE WANT IT TO BE SAFE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND SO SOME KIND OF WAY WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT.
AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER UH, NARVAEZ FOR SPEAKING IN TERMS OF JUST, UH, THE STRENGTH AND EXPERTISE IN THESE MATTERS, BECAUSE I KNOW I DON'T HAVE IT, UH, BUT I DO KNOW IT WILL HELP US TO GET A BETTER PRODUCT.
SO THAT IS REALLY MY POINT HERE.
AND THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN, FOR JUST PUTTING THAT ON THE RECORD.
UH, IT'S SOME IDEAS GOING ON HERE AND BEING PRESENTED.
BUT WHEN WE REP OURSELVES AS A CITY, IT SHOULD BE NO MATTER WHAT WE PUT ON PAPER SHOULD BE ULTIMATELY WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR CITY AND WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THAT COMMUNITY INCLUDES MANY MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE AT A LEVEL IN TERMS OF INCOME, WHO DEPEND ON US TO CREATE A PROGRAM AND AGENDA THAT SUPPORTS OR ENHANCES THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE.
THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE SHOULD NOT GO DOWN BECAUSE OF ACTIONS WE MAKE AROUND THE HORSESHOE.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I WILL JUST SAY THAT, UM, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD DISCUSSION TO HAVE.
I THINK THAT IT'S KIND OF GONE ASTRAY A BIT, AND THERE HAS BEEN COMMENTS THAT ARE INSINUATING THAT THERE'S ACTUAL LEGISLATION THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, AND THAT'S WHAT COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE WHAT YOU SAID, MR. CHAIR, AND I APPRECIATE IT, IS THAT THERE'S A LONG PROCESS, UM, THAT HAS TO GO ON HERE.
UH, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN AND UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, UM, THROUGH THE PAST, UH, LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WAS VERY CLEAR ON THE DIRECTION THAT THE LEGISLATURE AS A WHOLE IS GOING.
UM, AND WE CAN EITHER BE AT THE TABLE, UM, OR NOT.
UM, IF THAT WAS THE CASE, THEN WE WOULD HAVE JURISDICTION TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
IF THIS IS PASSED AT THE STATE, IT'S PASSED TO THE STATE.
AND IF WE DON'T GET TO THE TABLE AND MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE OR CONCERNS FROM CONSTITUENTS OR SET ASIDES FOR CERTAIN REVENUE GENERATION, THEN WE ARE GOING TO BE A MISSTEP.
BUT REGARDLESS OF WHERE WE FEEL ON THE MORAL ASPECT OF THIS, UM, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DEBATING THIS AND THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DEBATE IT SESSION AFTER SESSION UNTIL IT GETS PASSED. UH, AND THAT'S THE REALITY.
AND I HAVE SPOKEN WITH OUR, UM, UH, POLICE.
IF WE DO NOT TAP INTO A STATEWIDE, UH, NEW SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR OUR POLICE AND FIRE PENSION.
AND IF WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE OUR DELEGATION TO BE A PART OF THESE CONVERSATIONS DURING SESSION, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T GET MISSED, UH, WOULD BE A BIG MISSTEP FOR OUR CITY.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS NOT DEBATING THE MORALITY OF GAMBLING OR NOT.
AND WE AS A CITY DON'T HAVE ANY SAY ON WHETHER OR NOT THE STATE IS GOING TO PASS THAT STATEWIDE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, NOW IS THIS 2:42 I CALL THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADJOURN.
THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.