[Economic Development on May 6, 2024] [00:00:04] GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. IT IS NOW 1:06. WE CALL IT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE TO ORDER. FIRST THING ON THE AGENDA. CAN I GET A MOTION FOR THE MINUTES? SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. ANY OPPOSED? AYE IS CARRIED. THE FIRST ITEM WE'RE GOING TO GET TO WILL BE THE FIRST BRIEFING ITEM. YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE BUDGET BRIEFING ON THE CONVENTION EVENT SERVICE PLAN AND URBAN DESIGN, ROSA FLEMING. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M ROSA FLEMING, DIRECTOR OF CONVENTION AND EVENTS SERVICES. LET ME START. SO BEFORE ROSA GOES, IF I MAY, JACK IRELAND, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE THE TOPIC OF THE BUDGETS. SO THE MAYOR AND CHAIRMAN WEST FROM GPFM AND SOME OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAD ASKED FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUDGET EARLIER IN THE PROCESS. AND SO MISS TOLBERT REQUESTED THAT WE ALIGN EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO THE EIGHT COMMITTEES. AND SO EACH DEPARTMENT'S GOING BEFORE COMMITTEES DURING MAY AND JUNE, BEFORE YOUR JULY RECESS. SO YOU HAVE CONVENTION CENTER AND PLANNING TODAY. AND THEN NEXT MONTH YOU'LL HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COME BEFORE THE COMMITTEE WITH THEIR BUDGETS. NOW THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION FOR NEXT YEAR. WHAT YOU'LL BE SEEING IS OUR CURRENT BIENNIAL BUDGET. SO YOU'LL SEE OUR CURRENT YEAR BUDGET AND GET AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE IN OUR CURRENT YEAR, AS WELL AS OUR PLANNED YEAR. NOW, OUR PLANNED YEAR WAS PART OF THE BIENNIAL THAT WE PRESENTED LAST SUMMER, BUT OF COURSE, THROUGH THIS SUMMER WE'LL BE WORKING TO UPDATE OUR REVENUE FORECAST, OUR EXPENSE FORECAST, AND BRING THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION TO YOU IN AUGUST. BUT JUST AS A INFORMATIONAL EXERCISE TO SHARE WITH YOU THE SERVICES THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE AND GIVE YOU SOME OVERVIEW SO YOU ARE REFAMILIARIZED, IF YOU WILL, WITH THE DEPARTMENTS BEFORE WE GO INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS IN AUGUST. SO THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF IT, AND I'M GOING TO STEP AWAY AND LET THEM DO THEIR DEPARTMENTAL PRESENTATIONS. BUT I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THE BACKGROUND OF WHY WE ARE DOING THIS AT EACH COMMITTEE THIS YEAR, WHICH IS IS A NEW INITIATIVE ON OUR PART, THANKS TO MISS TOLBERT. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO WE'LL START ON PAGE TWO, AND I'LL GO THROUGH QUICKLY TO LEAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS. SO A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE REFER TO OUR DEPARTMENT AS THE CONVENTION CENTER, BUT OUR PORTFOLIO IS LARGER THAN THAT. WE MANAGE THE CONTRACTS AND SOME OF THE CAPITAL NEEDS AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE FOR A LOT OF OUR TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE CONVENTION CENTER, OBVIOUSLY, THE OMNI DALLAS HOTEL, THE AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, SHED ONE AT FARMER'S MARKET, PIONEER PLAZA AND CEMETERY AND THEN WE MANAGE SOME OF THE ENTITIES THAT ACTUALLY DO OUR TOURISM PROMOTION. SO VISIT DALLAS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO ALSO INTERACTS WITH THE TPID, WHICH IS THE DOWNTOWN TOURIST PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, WHICH IS MANAGED BY ECHO. THEN WE MANAGE THE OMNI LGC, WHICH IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO, BUT THAT IS THE ENTITY THAT LOOKS AT THE CONTRACTS ETC. RELATED TO THE OMNI HOTEL. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE KBHCCD MASTER PLAN IS PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO AS WELL AS THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX ORDINANCE AND THE AND WORKING WITH COUNCIL ON HOW THAT IS DISTRIBUTED. NEXT PAGE. THE OTHER PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO HAS A LOT TO DO WITH REGULATORY AND PERMITTING AUTHORITY. SO WE HAVE THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS UNDER OUR PORTFOLIO AS WELL AS THE PROMOTERS ORDINANCE. AND THEN RECENTLY AS OF LAST YEAR, WE PARTNERED WITH TRANSPORTATION TO START TO ISSUE THE TEMPORARY PARKING PERMITS AND LICENSES AROUND FAIR PARK. AND AS OF THIS YEAR, WE ENACTED AND CREATED THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY AND RESPONSIBLE HOSPITALITY UNIT, WHICH LOOKS AT HOW WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS ACROSS THE CITY. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE'RE AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT. AND SO OUR MISSION REALLY THROUGH ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I JUST MENTIONED, IS TO SERVE AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS. SO A LOT OF OUR GOALS, ETC. REALLY ARE TIED IN CURRENTLY TO THE MASTER PLAN AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD AS WE WORK THROUGH THAT. AND ON THE PAGE, IT KIND OF TELLS YOU SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE AROUND THAT, ESPECIALLY AFTER OUR LAST PRESENTATION TO YOU IN MARCH. AND THEN ONE OF OUR FOCUSES AND GOALS THIS YEAR IS TO FULLY STAFF THE NIGHTTIME ECONOMY AND RESPONSIBLE HOSPITALITY UNIT. NEXT SLIDE. SO ON THIS WE'VE CREATED AN ORG CHART THAT KIND OF LAYS OUT ALL OF THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT I SPOKE TO EARLIER. [00:05:05] WE ARE REALLY IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF A DEPARTMENT A HEAVY FINANCE AND CONTRACT COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT. WE ARE A CAPITAL DEPARTMENT, WHICH MEANS THAT WE WORK WITH PROCUREMENT ON THINGS THAT ARE GENERAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE RELATED. BUT FOR CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING AND DESIGN, WE STILL WORK WITH THEM FOR GENERAL GUIDANCE, BUT WE ACTUALLY RUN THAT PROCESS OURSELVES, AS DO OTHER CAPITAL DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY. A BIG FOCUS FOR US THIS YEAR IS ENSURING THAT WE ALSO FULLY STAFF A UNIT THAT WE ESTABLISHED LAST YEAR, THE KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON MASTER PLAN UNIT, WHICH WILL HELP US AS WE GO INTO ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. WE HAVE ALREADY HIRED OUR ENGAGEMENT POSITIONS AND THOSE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US AS WE WENT INTO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PHASE. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT LATER. AND THEN OUR OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS. WE'VE BRIEFED THESE BEFORE, BUT LAST YEAR WE ISSUED ABOUT 496 PERMITS FOR LARGE MOVING EVENTS. WE ISSUED BANNERS, ABOUT 128 PERMITS FOR THOSE. 109 FILM PERMITS AND THEN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS, NOT THOSE THAT OCCUR AT FARMER'S MARKET, BUT THOSE THAT OCCUR IN OTHER SECTORS AROUND THE CITY. 14 OF THOSE, AND IN OUR INITIAL YEAR OF THE PEAR PARK LICENSING, WE ISSUED 312. NEXT SLIDE. SO YOU'LL SEE FROM THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE WE ARE A VERY HEAVY DEPARTMENT IN TERMS OF CONTRACTS. A LOT OF WHAT WE'LL SEE ON THIS PAGE ARE OUR BUDGET OVERALL IS ABOUT $137.9 MILLION A YEAR. THAT'S WHAT'S PROPOSED FOR 2024. AND AS WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, IT KIND OF BREAKS OUT FOR YOU WHERE OUR POSITIONS ARE LANE. SO WHERE, AS I SAID, IN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT, THIS TIES BACK TO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART. WE'VE GOT 40.2 EMPLOYEES. AND I'LL EXPLAIN THAT A BIT. WE'VE GOT 26 THAT ARE FILLED. WE'VE GOT FIVE CURRENTLY POSTED. AND WE STARTED AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. SO THE TOURISM, HOSPITALITY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT LAUNCHED THIS YEAR HAS FOUR INTERNS IN ITS INITIAL YEAR TOGETHER, THOSE FOUR, BECAUSE THEY WORK TEN WEEKS PER INTERN OR ABOUT 80% OF A POSITION. AND SO THAT'S HOW WE GET TO THE 40.2. NEXT SLIDE. ON THIS ONE YOU'LL SEE UNDER OUR BUDGET BY SERVICE, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE VERY DISTRIBUTED HIGHLY ON HOW WE MANAGE OUR BUDGET. WE'RE VERY HOT IN TERMS OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX CENTERED. AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT OUR FORECAST, YOU CAN SEE HOW WE ALIGN. THIS YEAR, AS WITH PAST YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO EXCEED OUR BUDGET. YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'LL ASK FOR A MID-YEAR APPROPRIATION ADJUSTMENT AGAIN TO KIND OF MOVE SOME FUNDS FROM OUR FUND BALANCE INTO OUR OPERATING FOR THE OVERALL OPERATING BUDGET OF OUR DEPARTMENT. YOU'LL SEE ON THE CONVENTION CENTER MASTER PLAN, WE FORECASTED ABOUT $100,000 LESS THAN WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO SPEND. THAT 100,000 IS THAT HVS STUDY THAT WE'RE DOING. AND SO THAT HVS STUDY TIES INTO THE REVENUE BONDS THAT WE'RE GOING TO ISSUE THROUGH JACK IRELAND'S TEAM LATER ON, EITHER LATE THIS YEAR OR EARLY IN CALENDAR YEAR NEXT YEAR. AND SO THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THAT THAT STUDY SHOULD BE DONE IN ABOUT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS. WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE ON OUR OPERATING AND EXPENSE REVENUE. YOU CAN TIE IN AGAIN TO OUR ORG CHART. IF YOU LOOK AT CONTRACTUAL AND OTHER SERVICES THAT'S VERY HEAVY ON CONTRACTS WITH, VISIT DALLAS. OUR TRANSFER TO THE OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE, BECAUSE WE TRANSFER A 12% TO 12.5% OF OUR HOT BUDGET TO THE OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE, WE HAVE OUR CONTRACT WITH OVG, WHO MANAGES OUR CONVENTION CENTER, AND THEN WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE CITY. SO WE HAVE INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS WHO WORK WITH US TO HELP US DELIVER THINGS ACROSS THE CITY. WE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH DALLAS FIRE AND RESCUE. WE PARTNER WITH TRANSPORTATION. WE PAY A PORTION OF THE SALARY THERE. THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE WORKS WITH US IN THE DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OF OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX AND OUR PFC AND BRIMER. AND SO WE WE PARTNER WITH THEM AND WE PAY PORTIONS OF THEIR SALARY. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HELPS US AS WE MANAGE THE PFC OR PROJECT FINANCING ZONE PROCESS. [00:10:07] AND THEN WE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH PARK AND RECREATION WHO MAINTAIN OUR GROUNDS AT SEVERAL FACILITIES, INCLUDING UNION STATION, INCLUDING CONVENTION CENTER. AND THEN THEY HELP US. WE HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH CITY HALL, WHERE WE MAINTAIN PART OF THE PLAZA. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY BUILDING SERVICES HELPS US AS NEEDED. WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM AS WELL, ALL RELATED TO THE PLAZA AND TO THE GARAGE HERE IN THE, IN CITY HALL. NEXT SLIDE. SO OUR REVENUES COME FROM THESE SOURCES RIGHT HERE. OBVIOUSLY OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX IS 13% FOR LOCAL HOT. THEN WE HAVE OUR ALCOHOL AND MIXED BEVERAGE. IT AVERAGES BETWEEN 14 AND 15 MILLION A YEAR. WE COLLECT THOSE EVENT REVENUES TYPICALLY ARE EITHER FLAT OR IN THE RED. IN PAST YEARS WE'VE WORKING WITH OBG AND WITH VISIT DALLAS. WE ARE NOW AT ABOUT A 4 TO $5 MILLION PROFIT PER YEAR IN POSITIVE REVENUE AND THEN OUR OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS, BECAUSE WE REDID CHAPTER 42 A, WHICH IS THE CODE THAT REGULATES HOW WE DO THE DAY TO DAY WORK IN THERE. IT'S ABOUT 142,000 THAT WE TAKE FROM THAT. NOW OUR DEBT SERVICE IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. THAT'S THE BRIMER BILL WE TALK ABOUT. SO WE HAVE THE 2% THAT WAS VOTED ON BY THE VOTERS AND APPROVED. WE'VE COLLECTED ABOUT A YEAR OF THAT NOW, AND IT'S AN 80%, 20% SPLIT WITH FAIR PARK. AND THEN THE PROJECT FINANCING ZONE AGAIN MANAGED WITH THE WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND SO THE COLLECTION OF THOSE REVENUES WILL SHOW YOU THAT THE NEXT TIME WE COME TO COUNCIL, FOR UM TO SHOW ANY OF OUR FINANCIALS RELATED TO THE MASTER PLAN ARE TRULY OVER PERFORMING. THEY WERE FORECASTED AT 15%, AVERAGING ABOUT 40 TO 43 MILLION A YEAR. NEXT SLIDE. SO ALL OF OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE TIED TO ONE OF THREE THINGS EITHER REVENUE GENERATION, THE MASTER PLAN OR CUSTOMER SERVICE. AND I WON'T READ ALL OF THESE TO YOU, BUT WE PERFORM WELL ON THESE A LOT OF OUR A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF THESE MEASURES INVOLVES CUSTOMER SERVICE RELATED SURVEYS OR PERFORMANCE RELATED SURVEYS THAT WE CONDUCT AFTER AND DURING EVENTS THAT WE HAVE AT THE CENTER, AND THEN WE TRACK VERY CLOSELY THE REVENUES THAT ARE COMING IN, IN PARTICULAR FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER, SO THAT WE CAN TRACK THAT TO THE REPORTS WE'RE DOING WITH HVS, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN THE FUNDS NECESSARY TO BRING ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN. NEXT SLIDE. SO THE NEXT FOUR SLIDES ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO WITH OUR SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS. AND SO WE CONSIDER THE EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON UNION STATION ONE OF THOSE. WE'VE INTEGRATED THAT FACILITY INTO THE MASTER PLAN. IT WILL BE HIGHLY INTEGRATED INTO WHATEVER THE DECISION IS ABOUT THE ORIENTATION OF THE HIGH SPEED RAIL, AND WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM DOWNTOWN. AS WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT THE TRANSPORTATION COMPONENTS OF THE MASTER PLAN. AND YOU CAN READ THERE HOW WE ALIGN WITH VARIOUS PLANS ACROSS THE CITY. THE NEXT IS THE INTERNSHIP THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT. WE CONCEIVED OF THIS APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS AGO, AND WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH PARTNERS LIKE VISIT DALLAS, AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER AND OTHERS TO ACTUALLY CREATE A TEN WEEK ROUND ROBIN PROCESS WHERE OUR INTERNS WILL START TO LOOK AT REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE IN HOSPITALITY. THE NEXT SLIDE IS OUR NIGHT TIME ECONOMY UNIT, AND THAT IS TIED TO RESPONSIBLE HOSPITALITY TO REALLY LOOKING AT HOW FUNCTIONAL OUR ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS ARE. AND FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE, ALTHOUGH THEY GENERATE. WE JUST FINISHED A STUDY ABOUT $24 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT. THAT'S ALL IN HOTELS, RESTAURANT, RETAIL, ETC. NOT MONEY THAT COMES TO THE CITY, BUT MONEY THAT IS EARNED AND USED FOR THE WORKFORCE, ETC.. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT A NEXT STEP OF LOOKING AT HOW WE WORK WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS LIKE FIRE, LIKE CODE AND OUR OTHER PARTNERS IN DPD TO LOOK AT REDUCING SOME OF THE IMPACT TO THE CITY ON THE SERVICES THAT ARE REQUIRED AT NIGHT. AND SO THAT'S THE NEXT STEP OF THAT PROGRAM. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE MASTER PLAN AND I WON'T READ YOU THIS SLIDE, BUT OBVIOUSLY CONTINUING TO MOVE FROM CONCEPT TO IMPLEMENTATION WITH THAT PLAN. AND THEN THE LAST PART IS REALLY AGAIN TIED TO OUR MASTER PLAN, AS I SAID EARLIER, WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF STEPS WITH THAT PLAN, GOING FROM CONCEPT TO [00:15:03] IMPLEMENTATION AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS LIKE RISK WITH THE RECENTLY PASSED OCIP AND RO CIP PROGRAM, AND THEN ANCHORING SOME OF OUR OTHER PROJECTS, SOME OF OUR OTHER COMPONENTS OF THAT SEVEN COMPONENT PLAN BY ANCHORING THE WINGS IN A RECENT AGREEMENT. AND THE LAST IS A SLIDE THAT KIND OF SHOWS YOU HOW OUR STAFFING HAS GONE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND THAT HAS IF WE'LL GO TO THE SLIDE 19, THAT SLIDE SHOWS YOU THAT IN 2019, WE HAD ABOUT 140 EMPLOYEES. WE TRANSITIONED ALL THOSE TO OBG AND HAVE KIND OF MAINTAINED A STEADY PACE OF BETWEEN 30 AND 40 EMPLOYEES. THE ONLY INCREASE ALONG THE WAY HAS REALLY BEEN THE ADDITION OF THE MASTER PLAN AND THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY UNIT. AND SO WITH THAT, I'M WAITING FOR QUESTIONS OR WE CAN TURN IT OVER TO TO ANDREA, AND SHE CAN GIVE HER PRESENTATION. ARE YOU THROUGH WITH THOSE [INAUDIBLE] YES, SIR. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY ONE. MR. RIDLEY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. JUST A COUPLE, ROSA. SURE. YOU REFERRED IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY AND RESPONSIBLE HOSPITALITY UNIT. CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THE OPERATIONS THAT UNIT WILL ENTAIL? SURE. SO IT'S THREE POSITIONS. IT WILL BE A MANAGER AND TWO COORDINATORS. AND THEIR JOB IS REALLY TO WORK WITH THE BUSINESSES IN OUR ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS. TO DO EVALUATION, TO LOOK AT HOW THE CITY IS SPENDING ITS FUNDS IN TERMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND OTHER SERVICES, AND TO LOOK AT MODELING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN OTHER CITIES, SOME STREET CLOSURES, ETC., THAT MAY REDUCE THE IMPACT AND THE NEED FOR AS MUCH CODE ENFORCEMENT AND DPD INTERACTION AS THEY HAVE NOW. IT'S ALSO WORKING WITH THE TABC TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE, BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL INDICATORS, PARTICULARLY IN DEEP ELLUM AND OTHERS WHERE THERE'S A NEED TO TO LOOK AT THAT AND TO STUDY THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, REALLY, OF WHAT HAPPENS AFTER 5 P.M.. TYPICALLY, WHAT WE'VE DONE AS A CITY IS COMBINE ALL OF IT. WE LOOK AT OUR ECONOMIC IMPACT AS JUST ONE NUMBER, BUT IN ORDER FOR VISIT DALLAS TO BE ABLE TO SELL THE CITY BETTER FOR US TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE SPENDING CITY FUNDS WISELY IN THESE AREAS, ETC., WE NEEDED TO BIFURCATE THAT NUMBER AND SO WE JUST COMPLETED A STUDY THAT WILL BRING AS A DRAFT TO COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT AND LOOK AT AND GET SOME GENERAL POLICY GUIDANCE ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD AND TALK ABOUT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW WE INTEGRATE THAT. BUT A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH REDUCING THE IMPACT ON THE CITY IN TERMS OF GENERAL FUND DOLLARS AND THE NEED TO GO OUT SO THAT THOSE DOLLARS CAN BETTER BE USED TO FOR CONSTITUENTS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, ETC.. SO IT'S BEEN A MODELED PROGRAM THAT WE STUDIED OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, SAW REAL GREAT EFFECTIVENESS, PARTICULARLY IN CITIES OF, OF OUR SIZE, ON HOW IT HELPED TO REDUCE, AND SO WE WANT TO BUILD SOME OF THOSE. OBVIOUSLY, WE'LL BRING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY LEADERSHIP AND TO CITY COUNCIL BEFORE WE IMPLEMENT ANYTHING. DO YOU ANTICIPATE ASKING FOR ANY FUNDING FOR INCENTIVES FOR NIGHTTIME BUSINESSES? NOT AT THIS TIME. I THINK WE NEED TO EXPLORE A LITTLE BETTER THE INTERACTIONS, I THINK SOME OF OUR NOT NECESSARILY PROBLEMS, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS WHERE WE COULD DO BETTER IS REALLY JUST TALKING AND EXPLAINING CODES, ETC., TO THESE BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE SOME OF THE HICCUPS ARE. I THINK THE RELATIONSHIPS WEREN'T AS ROBUST AS THEY NEEDED TO BE. AND IT'S NOT JUST OUR DEPARTMENT WORKING. WE HAVE A GREAT COMMITTEE THAT IS WORKING TOGETHER. SO WE BROUGHT IN DFR, DPD, CODE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, ETC. SO THAT WE CAN, AS A TEAM, EXPLAIN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PARAMETERS THAT GO INTO OPERATING A NIGHTTIME BUSINESS. SO THIS IS MORE ABOUT OBTAINING COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING CITY ORDINANCES. THAT AND EDUCATION, BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF TIMES, WHAT WE'VE FOUND SO FAR IN THE SURVEYS THAT WE'VE ADMINISTERED IS THAT THERE'S JUST A THE KNOWLEDGE BASE ISN'T THERE FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE REQUIRED AND CORRECTED HAS PROVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL. [00:20:01] AND ON SLIDE TEN, UNDER EVENT REVENUES, YOU MENTIONED 4 TO $5 MILLION PROFIT. IS THAT THE PROFIT FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER? ON THAT ONE, IT'S THE CONVENTION CENTER. THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE ACTUALLY KEEP TO OPERATE. AND SO TYPICALLY CONVENTION CENTERS ARE IN THE RED ON THEIR EVENT REVENUES. THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE FOOD AND BEVERAGE USE AGREEMENTS, ETC. TYPICALLY BECAUSE THERE YOU HAVE TO INCENTIVIZE SO HIGHLY TO GET THEM TO STAY HERE. AND I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY SMALL RETURN ON INVESTMENT. IF OUR FORECAST COST FOR RUNNING THE CONVENTION CENTER FOR THIS YEAR IS 126 MILLION, AND WE'RE ONLY MAKING 4 OR 5 ON THAT. SO WHERE WE GET WHERE CONVENTION CENTERS AND OTHER ARENAS, ETC. TYPICALLY MAKE THEIR PROFIT. AND HOW THE FORMULAS WORK IS KIND OF A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP. SO WE'RE DRIVING THE HOT, WE'RE DRIVING THE ALCOHOL AND BEVERAGE. WE'RE DRIVING THAT. AND SO YOU TYPICALLY EITHER BREAK EVEN, WHICH IS WHAT WE WERE DOING FOR SEVERAL YEARS OR YOU MAKE A PROFIT. I THINK ONCE WE RETIRE SOME OF OUR EXISTING DEBT SERVICE ON THE CONVENTION CENTER, THE EXISTING DEBT IS ABOUT RETIRES IN LIKE 20. 38, I BELIEVE. WE'LL SEE AN EVEN BIGGER PROFIT AS WE GO INTO THE NEXT SET OF DEBT SERVICE. BUT IT'S NOT UNCOMMON ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IN FACT, WE'RE RIGHT NOW THE ONLY ONE TURNING A PROFIT ON OUR EVENT REVENUES. THE REST OF THE PROFIT COMES FROM HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, FROM ALCOHOL AND BEVERAGE AND FROM THINGS LIKE THAT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. COUNCILWOMAN STEWART. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I'M GOING TO SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD. SURE. BUT ON THE NIGHT TIME ECONOMY, I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU WORK WITH UPTOWN DALLAS INC AND DOWNTOWN DALLAS INC, AND OBVIOUSLY THE DEEP ELLUM FOUNDATION AND AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, STEPHANIE THERE. THEY ARE WORKING ON MANAGING THOSE ISSUES AND THEY RELY HEAVILY, OBVIOUSLY, ON DPD, DFR AND CODE FOR MANAGING SOME OF THE CRAZINESS. WE'LL JUST SAY THAT CAN HAPPEN IN THE LATE NIGHT HOURS. BUT I THINK THEY HAVE PROBABLY SOME VERY STRONG INSIGHTS INTO WHERE THEY'RE SEEING ISSUES AND MAYBE IF THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME EDUCATION, SOMETIMES THEY'RE ABLE TO PULL TOGETHER SOME OF THOSE JUST MANAGERS OF THE BUSINESSES. SOMETIMES THE OWNERS ARE EDUCATED, BUT MAYBE IT HASN'T TRICKLED DOWN TO THE MANAGEMENT. SO ANYWAY, I THINK YOU CAN PUT TOGETHER THAT PERSON COULD POTENTIALLY PUT TOGETHER SOME, I THINK GOOD CONVERSATION AND SHARING AND NOT ACCUSATIONS AND FINGER POINTING, BUT ACTUALLY COLLABORATION AND HOW WE CAN TRY TO MANAGE THAT SITUATION AND, AND IMPROVE IT BECAUSE I WORKED IN THAT SPACE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THOSE PEOPLE COULD BE A REAL RESOURCE, I THINK, TO YOUR NIGHT TIME ECONOMY PERSON. YEAH. AND TO YOUR POINT, WE JUST COMPLETED WE WERE THE HOST CITY FOR THE SOCIABLE CITY SUMMIT, AND ALL OF THEM CAME TO THAT CONFERENCE AND OFFERED INSIGHT AS WELL AS POURED INTO THE STUDY THAT WE JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED AS A DRAFT. AND SO THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT US ACTUALLY DOING THIS, WE'RE ONE OF THE LAST OF THE LARGER CITIES TO DO IT. SO THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. YES. THANK YOU FOR GETTING INTO THAT SPACE. IT NEEDED SOME COORDINATION. WE'LL JUST SAY, SO THANK YOU. ANYONE IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD. CHAIRMAN WEST, OR CHAIRMAN BAZALDUA. CHAIRMAN WEST. CHAIR, I'LL JUST DO A QUICK COMMENT. I WANTED TO THANK YOU AND THANK STAFF FOR BRINGING THIS BRIEFING TO THE COMMITTEE. THIS WAS, AS I THINK JACK SAID IT PRETTY WELL AT THE BEGINNING. BUT ALL OF THE COMMITTEES ARE GOING TO BE HEARING FROM ALL THE DEPARTMENTS, THAT REPORT TO THOSE COMMITTEES. AND THIS HAD COME OUT OF A GOAL BY MANY OF US. SOME OF WHOM ARE ON THIS COMMITTEE TO REDUCE WHAT WE CALL THE HUNGER GAMES, THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS, AND START WORKING THROUGH THE DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS PRIOR TO THAT TIME. SO MY HOPE IS THAT AS THESE BUDGETS ARE DISCUSSED IN COMMITTEES, PEOPLE ARE ASKING QUESTIONS AND WE GET THOSE ANSWERS OUT HERE SO THAT IT MAKES THE BUDGET PROCESS IN THE FALL EASIER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT HAS ANY QUESTIONS FOR ROSA FLEMING? ALL RIGHT. I THINK YOU'RE FREE TO GO NOW. NEXT. THANK YOU. CHAIR. AND WHENEVER YOU'RE READY. ANDREA GILLIS, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, URBAN DESIGN. I WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH OUR BUDGET AND OUR DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT THAN ROSA'S DEPARTMENT. [00:25:08] JUST AT SCOPE AND SCALE AND THE WORK BEING DONE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OH, AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT AS WELL, I'M ALSO HERE WITH ANDREA ODRIA, WHO IS ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTORS WITHIN PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO JUST TO GO OVER A FEW OF OUR VERY HIGH LEVEL DEPARTMENT GOALS. MIKE, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF I DON'T KNOW, I'M LOSING YOU. BRING IT CLOSER. THERE YOU GO. YEAH. OKAY. SO AS ALL OF YOU ARE VERY WELL AWARE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ONE OF OUR BIGGEST DEPARTMENTAL GOALS IS TO REALLY PULL TOGETHER AN EQUITABLE FORWARD DALLAS. WE'RE VERY MUCH IN THE HEAT OF THAT. ANOTHER BIG ITEM TIED TO IN SOMEWHAT TO FORWARD DALLAS. BUT, YOU KNOW, SEPARATE AND APART SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE HANDLED IN OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE CITY AS WELL, CITY WIDE AS WELL. IS DEVELOPMENT CODE UPDATE REALLY TO HANDLE TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY, ACCESSIBILITY? WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED, THE HISTORIC AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION STRATEGY. A BIG PART OF OUR WORK IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT AT LEAST 50% OF OUR ENGAGEMENT FOR FORWARD DALLAS WAS WITHIN PARTICULAR CENSUS TRACTS THAT HAD HIGH MAJORITY BLACK AND HISPANIC RESIDENTS. AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE ARE WELL ABOVE THE 50% MARK FOR THAT. WHICH WE'LL SEE IN SOME OF OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES LATER ON IN THE PROCESS. AND THEN ALSO REALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AUTOMATING OUR WORK. THIS GOES BACK INTO E PLANS AND TRYING TO MOVE AWAY FROM MORE OF OUR PAPER BEING SO DEPENDENT ON PAPER AND MOVING INTO AN E PROCESS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES WITHIN PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN. A LOT OF IT'S JUST SORT OF MOVING SOME THINGS AROUND TO MAKE IT. WE'RE COMING OUT OF A ABOUT TWO YEARS NOW OF AFTER A REORG, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT REORGANIZATION WHERE ZONING STAFF CAME INTO PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN. SO A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS AND YOU'LL SEE IN A LITTLE BIT IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HAD AN INCREASE IN STAFFING. AND A LOT OF THAT IS NOT JUST IT'S NOT NEW POSITIONS PER SE. IT IS THE REORGANIZATION THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND THAT DIFFERENT UNITS OR NEW UNITS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN. SO AT THIS POINT IN ONE OF OUR NEWEST SORT OF SHIFTS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT IS WE NOW HAVE A THIRD UNIT WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THOSE DESIGN, CONSERVATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AND FOR USE ACROSS THE CITY. SO WE HAVE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, CURRENT PLANNING, WHICH IS ZONING AND THEN PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN. AND ARTURO DEL CASTILLO IS OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN. WITHIN COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, WE HAVE COMMUNITY PLANNING AND NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING, WHICH ARE THE LONG RANGE PLANNING. YOU KNOW, ONCE WE GET OUT OF FORWARD DALLAS, WHICH WE SORT OF HAVE ALL HANDS ON DECK WITH OUR PLANNERS RIGHT NOW ONCE WE GET OUT OF FORWARD DALLAS, WE'LL GO BACK TO BEING ABLE TO FOCUS MORE ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL PLANNING, WHICH IS STILL LONG RANGE, BUT IT IS MORE ON THE PROPERTY BY PROPERTY, LOOKING AT CORRIDORS, LOOKING AT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES. THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM, WHICH IS CODE AMENDMENTS AND AUTHORIZED HEARINGS. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND POLICY TEAM. REALLY LOOKING AT RAMPING THAT UP FROM A DATA PERSPECTIVE, A RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE AND A MAPPING PERSPECTIVE, AND ALSO A GRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE, SO THAT MOVING FORWARD THAT OUR MATERIAL IS MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE BECAUSE AS WE HEAR FROM YOU ALL, MANY TIMES OUR STUFF IS TENDS TO BE CAN GET VERY TECHNICAL. SO HOW DO WE HELP MAKE THAT MORE USER FRIENDLY THROUGH THAT TEAM? AND THEN THE ZONING TEAM, WE ALSO HAVE JUST YOUR STRAIGHT ZONING APPLICATIONS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SPECIAL PROJECTS AND SOMEONE WHO'S ALSO WORKING ON IMPROVEMENTS TO STRATEGY AND PROCESS. AND THEN AS I SAID, OUR THIRD GROUP, WHICH IS PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN, ARE NOW LUMPED IN WITH HISTORIC PRESERVATION, CONSERVATION DISTRICTS AND URBAN DESIGN. AND WE'RE HOPING THAT THOSE TEAMS CAN REALLY SHARE FROM EACH OTHER AND THE EXPERIENCES AND REALLY HELP AMPLIFY THE WORK BEING DONE WITHIN THOSE PROGRAMS. AND I FAILED TO HAVE ON THIS SLIDE. ALSO, WE ALSO HAVE OUR BUSINESS, BUSINESS GROUP, WHICH IS SO HELPFUL TO THE DEPARTMENT. AND THEY'RE GROWING AND WE ADMINISTER A LOT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT. SO THEY'RE REALLY KEY IN THAT PROCESS AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THIS IS OUR TOTAL BUDGET. THIS IS WHERE WE ARE A COMBINATION OF GENERAL FUND AND ENTERPRISE FUND. SO THE ENTERPRISE FUND IS LARGELY, WELL, PRIMARILY THE ZONING FUNCTIONS. SO WHEN THEY CAME INTO OUR DEPARTMENT, PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN ORIGINALLY HAD JUST BEEN GENERAL FUND WHEN ZONING CAME INTO OUR DEPARTMENT. AND ALSO PORTIONS OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS. THEY ARE THROUGH THE ENTERPRISE FUND. [00:30:01] SO IT'S ALL REIMBURSABLE MONEY THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL SEE SOME OF IN THE UPCOMING SLIDES. THERE ARE ZEROED OUT THAT JUST REFLECTS THE REIMBURSEMENT NATURE OF THE PROGRAM. BUT WE ALSO HAVE. SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AND THEN THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME ADJUSTMENTS BETWEEN WHAT WE SEE AS WHAT WAS ADOPTED, BUDGET AND PLANNED. THERE'S JUST A LOT OF IT GOING THROUGH SORT OF SALARY SAVINGS AND HOW WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH SOME OF THE HIRING PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE AND LOOKING FOR SOME OF OUR NICHE POSITIONS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. CURRENTLY WE HAVE 72 POSITIONS. AS I SAID, LARGELY THAT IS FROM THE ZONING STAFF THAT WAS BROUGHT IN CONSERVATION DISTRICTS AS WELL AS HISTORIC PRESERVATION PLAN AND THAT OR THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION STAFF. AND THEN WE'VE ALSO ADDED SOME ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF TO HELP MANAGE A GROWING DEPARTMENT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY BY SERVICE OVER COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, CURRENT PLANNING, PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN. YOU'LL SEE SORT OF SOME SHIFTING IN THE NUMBERS IN PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN. THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE IT STARTED OUT JUST AS A BUDGET OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION. AND NOW WHEN WE LUMPED THE THREE TOGETHER, HISTORIC PRESERVATION CONSERVATION DISTRICTS AND URBAN DESIGN, OBVIOUSLY THAT SHIFTED THE NUMBERS. THERE WAS ALSO WE I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. WE ALSO HAD A ONE TIME FEE THAT WAS IN THERE. SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL SEE THE PLAN. BUDGET IS LOWER. FOR THAT GROUP. FOR THE CURRENT PLANNING, YOU'LL SEE THOSE OUT AS ZEROED. BUT THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS A REIMBURSABLE PROGRAM. AND THEN COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING HAS STAYED RELATIVELY STABLE. IT'S JUST SOME ADJUSTMENTS DUE TO SOME POSITION FLUCTUATIONS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN SO WE'RE LARGELY A DEPARTMENT THAT HAS IT WE JUST INTRODUCED THROUGH HISTORIC PRESERVATION, SORT OF A REVENUE MECHANISM OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS. SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET THOSE HISTORICAL NUMBERS SO THAT WE CAN SHOW MORE ACCURATELY AND REFLECT MORE ACCURATELY WHAT THE REVENUE NUMBERS WILL BE. BUT HERE YOU CAN SEE THE FORECASTED IN THE PLANNED FOR OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, OR ACTUALLY THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO REALLY. SO WHAT HISTORIC PRESERVATION WILL BE IN TAKING IS DEMOLITION PERMITS, CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS, AND THE UNAUTHORIZED COVER UP FEE. IT'S A VERY TECHNICAL PIECE IN THIS. SO AGAIN, THE LAST TIME THERE WAS A STUDY IN THIS, IT WAS 2019. BUT WE JUST RECENTLY STARTED COLLECTING THOSE FEES. SO AGAIN, AS WE GET A COUPLE MORE YEARS UNDER OUR BELT, WE'LL HAVE MORE ACCURATE INFORMATION TO REFLECT THE REVENUE SOURCE WITHIN HISTORIC PRESERVATION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THROUGH CURRENT PLANNING AGAIN ENTERPRISE FUND. BUT WE DO HAVE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ZONING APPLICATION FEES, DEVELOPMENT PLANS, MINOR AMENDMENT FEES, ZONING SIGNS AND THEN MAPS AND AND PRINTING FEES. I WILL SAY THIS AS WELL, THAT WE WILL BE TAKING PART IN A FEE STUDY IN THE UPCOMING FEAST, ON THE NEXT FEE STUDY THAT COMES AROUND TO DO AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FEES. BECAUSE THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. SO WE'LL BE UPDATING THAT IN THE NEXT ROUND AND LARGELY TYING IT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO SOME OF OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND I WILL SAY SOME OF THESE ARE INHERITED PERFORMANCE MEASURES. I KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT SORT OF ACROSS THE BOARD FROM A CITY WIDE, HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND MAYBE DOING SOME UPDATES TO BETTER REFLECT THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AND WHAT WE WANT TO MEASURE ACROSS THE CITY. AND I WOULD SAY SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THE ZONING REALM. SO THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THESE ARE IN PROGRESS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE PERCENTAGE OF ZONING REQUESTS FOLLOWING THE CPC SCHEDULE, WHICH MEANS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOW MANY CASES WERE HELD, HOW MANY CASES, YOU KNOW, DID WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY TIMES WERE THEY HELD, HOW MANY CASES WENT DIRECTLY FROM, YOU KNOW, STAFF RECOMMENDATION, CPC AND THEN TO CITY COUNCIL. SO TRYING TO START TRACKING THAT TO BE MORE REALISTIC ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THE PROCESS COMPONENTS TO THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES TO GET THROUGH A CASE? I WILL SAY TO THE, THE ONE THAT'S DIFFICULT FOR ME, THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN DIFFICULT TO ME AS A PERFORMANCE MEASURE IS THE PERCENTAGE DECREASE OF AVERAGE PROCESS TIME. WELL, ACTUALLY, NO, I'M SORRY, NOT THAT ONE. BUT THE PERCENTAGE DECREASE IN ZONING CHANGE REQUESTS BECAUSE THEY'RE MARKET DRIVEN, RIGHT? SO IN MANY WAYS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A GOOD THING THAT WE HAVE A DECREASED NUMBER OF CHANGE REQUESTS. BECAUSE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ABOUT THE MARKET? IF WE LOOK AT IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, OBVIOUSLY IT MAYBE MEANS THAT WE'VE STREAMLINED THE CODE A LITTLE BIT MORE AND IT IS EASIER TO GO RIGHT INTO PERMITTING. [00:35:03] SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT A LITTLE BIT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID WANT TO POINT OUT AS WELL IS THAT, AGAIN, WE HAD YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PERCENTAGE OF ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MAJORITY BLACK AND HISPANIC NEIGHBORHOODS. I DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE ARE FORECASTED AT 90% THAT WE DO HAVE. SO WE'RE ON TRACK FOR THAT AND THAT WE'RE ABOVE OUR 50% MARK. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THIS. I'M JUST GOING TO GO OVER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SERVICES, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I THINK EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT WE DO ZONING AND WE DO FORWARD DALLAS. BUT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW OTHER PIECES THAT WE DO IN THERE AND SORT OF THE SCALE AT WHICH WE WORK ON THOSE. SO WE DO HAVE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, THE LONG RANGE PLANNING, WHERE WE'RE GOING OUT WITH A COMMUNITY AND WALKING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. WHAT YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE FOR THE NEXT FIVE, TEN, 15, 20 YEARS. WE'VE GOT TWO IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW, THE CITY WIDE, OBVIOUSLY. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE AN AREA PLAN. WE HAVEN'T HAD AN AREA PLAN FOR A WHILE. THE LAST ONE THAT WAS ADOPTED WAS THE WEST OAK CLIFF AREA PLAN. THE MOST THE ONE THAT WE HAVE PENDING RIGHT NOW IS THE SOUTH DALLAS FAIR PARK AREA PLAN, WHICH HAS SHIFTED INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. SO I THINK THERE'S BEEN, THERE'S WELL, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK WITH COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S AN EXCITING PROJECT. AND THIS ISN'T IN THE FUTURE LAND USE PLANNING. THAT'S WHERE WE'LL GO INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING AND CORRIDOR PLANNING AS WE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY. SO OUR CODE AMENDMENTS RIGHT NOW. SO WE HAVE A CODE AMENDMENT TEAM THAT PULLS TOGETHER SORT OF ON THE SPOT CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ANYONE BRINGS UP. IT COULD BE STAFF, IT COULD BE CITY COUNCIL, IT COULD BE CPC, IT COULD BE THE COMMUNITY THAT RAISES THAT ISSUE. IT COULD BE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT RAISE AN ISSUE. SO LARGELY, WE TAKE THE LEAD ON WRITING THOSE CODE AMENDMENTS WITH THE CITY'S ATTORNEYS, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. BUT IT COULD ALSO BE THAT WE'RE ALSO HELPING OTHER DEPARTMENTS GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF HOW YOU GET ON TO ZOAC, THE ZONING ORDINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. WE CURRENTLY HAVE SIX OF THOSE IN PROCESS. WE ALSO, AS YOU ALL ARE, KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR CITY INITIATED REZONINGS OR AUTHORIZED HEARINGS. WE'RE REALLY DEDICATING A LOT OF TIME AND FOCUS ON GETTING THOSE TO A MANAGEABLE LEVEL. BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME THAT COME IN AFTER FORWARD DALLAS GETS ADOPTED. SO WE CAN ALIGN SOME OF THE THE LAND USE WITH THE ZONING ON THE GROUND. BUT CURRENTLY WE HAVE FIVE IN PROCESS. OUR MOST THE ONE THAT JUST PASSED OR GOT RECOMMENDED THROUGH CPC WAS THE FLORAL FARMS AREA. AND WE HAVE FOUR IN THE WEST OAK CLIFF AREA PLAN. THOSE ARE COMING OUT OF THE ADOPTED AREA PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED TWO YEARS AGO. ONE WAS ALREADY APPROVED OR ADOPTED FOR THAT AREA. AND THEN WE DO A LOT OF MANAGEMENT AND PROVIDE A LOT OF SUPPORT TO COMMITTEES AND DIFFERENT YOU KNOW, OUR COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS. SO THAT TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFFORT FROM STAFF TO MANAGE ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION THAT'S FLOWING THROUGH. AND THEN AGAIN, OUR GIS MAPPING TECHNOLOGY AND DATA ANALYTICS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN WITH THAT, OUR CURRENT PLANNING, ZONING. WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS. YOU KNOW, WE REVIEW AND LOOK AT A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FROM BASE REZONING TO PDS TO SUPS TO, YOU KNOW, JUST A VERY A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY 350 APPLICATIONS PER YEAR. SUPPORTING ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF CPC. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARD MAKING SURE THAT THE PROCESS IS SIMPLIFIED, WHERE WE CAN MAKE IT SIMPLIFIED, AND IN OTHER WORDS, SO IT'S SIMPLIFIED FOR THE AVERAGE USER. AND THAT LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DECREASE THE REVIEW TIME, I WILL SAY ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE HAVE AND SORT OF ONE OF THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES IS REALLY THAT WE'VE REALLY ANDREA'S TEAM HAS REALLY WORKED VERY BEEN VERY DEDICATED OVER THE PAST YEAR. AND WE'RE BACK NOW DOWN TO REGULAR PROCESS TIMES AND OUR BACKLOG HAS BEEN CLEARED OUT. SO ALL OF OUR ZONING APPLICATIONS ARE JUST ALMOST VERY CLOSE TO BEING WITHIN STANDARD TIME. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN PRESERVATION URBAN DESIGN, OUR CONSERVATION DISTRICTS. THIS IS A LOT OF WORK. SO AND IT'S NOT IT'S BOTH NEW AND EXPANDED DISTRICTS CURRENTLY HAVE 18 CONSERVATION DISTRICTS THAT ARE ADOPTED WITHIN THE CITY. WE HAVE ONE THAT WAS JUST RECENTLY ADOPTED ON THE 24TH IN APRIL. WE HAVE TWO IN PROCESS AND WE HAVE FOUR IN QUEUE. WE ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT THERE MAY BE QUITE A FEW MORE COMING, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW PEOPLE ARE SEEING THIS AS A WAY TO HELP STABILIZE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. THERE'S CONCERN ABOUT THE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THEY'RE SHOWING A LOT OF INTEREST IN OUR OUR CONSERVATION DISTRICTS. BUT NOT ONLY DO THEY HELP AT THE FRONT END AND DEVELOP THE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, BUT THEN THEY'RE ALSO ON THE BACK END TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S COMPLIANCE WITHIN THOSE [00:40:03] DISTRICTS ONCE THEY'RE ADOPTED. AND THEN WE HAVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION. WE HAVE 21 DISTRICTS, 132 BUILDINGS. WE HAVE TEN POTENTIAL CASES IN PROGRESS. I BELIEVE ONE IS BEING HEARD TODAY AT LANDMARK COMMISSION. QUEEN CITY, IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOODS IN A LONG TIME THAT'S COME THROUGH. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TON OF WORK BEING DONE IN THIS, LARGELY A LOT OF CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS. TAX INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE STRATEGY THAT WAS JUST ADOPTED IN APRIL AS WELL, AND WHAT THAT WILL MEAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND ALSO FOR THAT UNIT AS WELL. AND THE WORK THAT WE'LL BE DOING AS PART OF THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR URBAN DESIGN GROUP, WHICH HAS BEEN ONE OF THE PILLARS OF PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN SINCE SOME, YOU KNOW, FOR PROBABLY ABOUT 15 YEARS. AND REALLY LOOKING AT THE CITY'S URBAN DESIGN STRATEGY AND HOW THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE RELATE TO EACH OTHER. IT ALSO PROVIDES URBAN DESIGN GUIDANCE TO CITY DEPARTMENTS AND TAX INCREMENT FINANCING BOARDS. SO IF A PROJECT IS GOING TO GET FUNDING THROUGH A TAX INCREMENT FINANCING BOARD, IT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH THE URBAN DESIGN REVIEW. WHERE THIS YOU KNOW, THIS GROUPING OF STAFF SUPPORTS THE URBAN DESIGN PEER REVIEW PANEL. THEY REVIEW APPROXIMATELY 16 PROJECTS PER YEAR. THEY'RE VERY INTRICATE PROJECTS. AND I WILL SAY THAT THIS GROUPING OF STAFF HAS REALLY IS CHARGED WITH MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PROUD OF THE DESIGN THAT COMES OUT OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE WITHIN THE CITY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN JUST A LITTLE BIT ON OUR BUDGETING FOR EQUITY. AGAIN, THIS GOES BACK TO THE DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND WE WANT TO MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND TRANSPARENT FOR A BROADER RANGE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND NOT JUST ALWAYS HAVE TO DEFAULT TO FINDING AN ATTORNEY TO HELP YOU MANAGE AND UNDERSTAND THE DEVELOPMENT CODE. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HAS BEEN A BIG TOPIC OF CONVERSATION THROUGHOUT THE WORK IN OUR DEPARTMENT. AND HOW DO WE ALIGN OUR WORK WITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES AND ALSO C CAP. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS, TOO, IS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO AND WE'VE STARTED THIS. WE'VE PROVIDED TRAININGS FOR OUR CPC MEMBERS AND SOME OF OUR OTHER BOARDS THAT WE WORK WITH AS WELL, AND REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW EQUITY PLAYS A ROLE IN THE WORK THAT WE DO, SO THAT EQUITY CAN BE A BIGGER PART OF THE OUTCOMES. AS CASES ARE REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED THROUGH THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WE WORKED WITH. AND THEN AGAIN, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE MORE ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION AND IT'S MORE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND EASIER TO ACCESS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE. SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE SUCCESSES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF WORK BEING DONE. I MENTIONED YOU KNOW MOST OF THESE AT THIS POINT IT'S CONSERVATION DISTRICTS. IT'S PLANS AGAIN HIGHLIGHTING THAT ZONING STAFF IS ALMOST FULLY STAFFED AND REALLY HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON, YOU KNOW, STAFF RETENTION BECAUSE THAT WAS A BIG PART OF IT AS WELL, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST WE, YOU KNOW, HAD STAFF DEPARTING ON A RELATIVELY REGULAR BASIS. AND THEN IT JUST TAKES SO MUCH TIME TO TRAIN. SO WE'VE REALLY MADE STRIDES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT AREA. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING EXCITING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PART OF THE SLA PROCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO YOU KNOW, SORT OF MOVE AWAY FROM OUR PAPER DEPENDENCE AND, AND BE ABLE TO REVIEW THROUGH ELECTRONIC PLATFORMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WE STILL HAVE SOME CHALLENGES. WE STILL ARE ON A PAPER BASED APPLICATIONS. WE STILL GOT AN OLD CODE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH. YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF STUFF IN PROCESS. BUT WE IT ALSO TAKES TIME. SO WE'RE SORT OF IN THAT MIDDLE GROUND OF TRYING TO BALANCE THAT OUT. I WILL SAY ON THIS LAST BULLET WE'VE BEEN UPDATED THAT THANKFULLY THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO ROLL THAT FUNDING OVER SO WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME CONCERN ON THAT BULLET ABOUT THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION RESOURCES. I WILL SAY WE ALSO ARE AND I KNOW THIS IS ACROSS THE CITY AND ACROSS THE NATION. WE ARE STILL WE HAVE A LOT OF CHALLENGES WITH STAFF RECRUITMENT, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR SENIOR PLANNER POSITIONS. WE ARE HAVING MORE LUCK WITH OUR PLANNER ONE AND PLANNER TWO POSITIONS, BUT IT'S HARD WITH THE SENIOR PLANNER POSITIONS BECAUSE OUR POSITIONS, OUR WORK IS SO NICHE ORIENTED. AND AT THE SENIOR PLANNER LEVEL, WE REALLY NEED PEOPLE WITH THE EXPERIENCE TO IDEALLY JUMP IN. BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC ATTITUDE AND ARE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE CAN PUT THE TIME IN AND TRAIN AS WELL. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO ONBOARD MORE STAFF. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND I THINK WITH THAT, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. [00:45:05] ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTION? COUNCIL MEMBER. REALLY? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. ANDREA. SO THE $2.5 MILLION REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE ENTERPRISE FUND, THAT'S STRICTLY A PASS THROUGH. THOSE REPRESENT ALL OF THE FEES THAT YOU COLLECT FROM APPLICANTS FOR ZONING CASES. CORRECT. AND I NOTICED THAT OF YOUR TOTAL EXPENDITURES, COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING IS OVER 75%. I WOULD GUESS, WITHOUT DOING THE CALCULATION THAT 5.6 MILLION FORECAST THIS YEAR OUT OF A TOTAL OF 7.7 MILLION. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS WHY THAT IS SO MUCH HIGHER THAN THE OTHER. THE CURRENT PLANNING FUNCTION AND THE PRESERVATION AND URBAN DESIGN IS JUST A MATTER OF THE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL WORKING IN THAT IN THAT SECTION. IT'S THE MAJORITY OF STAFF THAT FALLS WITHIN THAT GROUPING. AND THAT'S ALL OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING FUNCTIONS, THAT'S AUTHORIZED HEARINGS, THAT'S AREA PLANS, AS WELL AS FORWARD DALLAS AUTHORIZED HEARINGS, CODE AMENDMENTS, AND ALSO THE THE BUSINESS OFFICE. IT FALLS WITHIN THAT AS WELL. SO ALL THE STAFFING AND THE ADMIN PERSONNEL FALLS. THE SUPPORT STAFF FALLS UNDER THAT TOO. OKAY. AND WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT PERSONNEL AND STAFFING, I DIDN'T SEE MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT AUTHORIZED HEARINGS. WHERE ARE YOU IN STAFFING THAT OPERATION? WE ARE ACTUALLY WE'RE UNDERGOING CURRENTLY INTERVIEWS. AND I WILL SAY I REVIEWED THE APPLICANTS AND I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT OUR, YOU KNOW, FROM THE APPLICANT POOL THAT WE HAVE. SO IT'S WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO POSITIONS. WE JUST FOUND OUT A STAFF PERSON IS RETIRING. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THREE POSITIONS IN THE AUTHORIZED HEARING. BUT WE ALSO ARE HAVE STARTED DISCUSSIONS WITH FREESE AND NICHOLS TO SEE HOW THEY CAN HELP SUPPORT IN THE INTERIM SOME OF THE AUTHORIZED HEARING WORK, BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE THAT ABILITY TO USE THOSE CONTRACT SERVICES. SO IS THAT THE ON CALL CONTRACT REFERENCED ON SLIDE 19? YES. SO THAT HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY? IF YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT NEEDS STAFFING AND YOU DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT IN-HOUSE STAFF, YOU JUST CALL THEM UP AND SAY, HEY, CAN YOU COME WORK ON THIS FOR US? YEAH, I MEAN, WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE A SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH THEM BECAUSE IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN JUST HANDING THEM OVER AN APPLICATION. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SO MUCH OF THE WORK UP FRONT IN AUTHORIZED HEARINGS IS DOING THE ON THE GROUND ANALYSIS OF WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. SO I THINK WE COULD UTILIZE THEM WITH THAT AND MAYBE HAVE SOME OF THE INITIAL COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO KICK OFF. WHAT IS AN AUTHORIZED HEARING? WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT WITH THE PROCESS? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT YOU'RE HEARING? AND THEN REALLY, IF THEY CAN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, LOOK INTO THE CODE, DOING THE ON THE GROUND ANALYSIS AND THEN LOOKING IN THE CODE WITH, IF WE DO HAVE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ZONES THAT WILL WORK TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES IN THAT AREA. SO HAVE YOU USED FREESE AND NICHOLS OR ANY OTHER CONTRACTOR TO DO ANY OF THESE AUTHORIZED HEARING FUNCTIONS, OR THAT'S JUST YOUR PLAN TO USE THEM FOR THAT? NOT YET, BECAUSE WE JUST I THINK IT WAS EARLY APRIL. WE JUST IT JUST BECAME AVAILABLE TO US TO USE THEM FOR AUTHORIZED HEARINGS. OKAY. DO YOU PLAN ON USING THEM THIS FISCAL YEAR OR WHAT'S YOUR EXPECTATION? YES, WE ARE, I HOPE SO. THAT IS THE PLAN. WE'RE MEETING IN STAFF IS MEETING INTERNALLY TO GO THROUGH THE UPCOMING AUTHORIZED HEARINGS AND WHICH ONES MAY MAKE SENSE TO USE FREESE AND NICHOLS AND THEIR SUPPORT ON THOSE TO GET SOME OF THEM IN PROCESS AND STAGED IN A WAY THAT STAFF CAN THEN SEAMLESSLY SORT OF MOVE INTO THE THE FINAL STAGES. AS I KNOW YOU'RE AWARE, WE HAVE A SERIOUS BACKLOG OF AUTHORIZED HEARINGS, AND IT'S BEEN A PARTICULAR CONCERN OF MINE THAT WE'RE CAUSING APPLICATION APPLICANTS TO WAIT TWO YEARS, SOMETIMES TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE LIST. SO DO YOU ANTICIPATE USING THIS ON CALL CONTRACT AFTER YOU FILL THESE TWO OPEN POSITIONS, OR ARE THEY JUST A STOPGAP WHILE THOSE POSITIONS ARE OPEN? I'D. I'D LIKE TO USE EVERYTHING AT OUR DISPOSAL. AND NOT JUST WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS. GOOD. I'D CERTAINLY LIKE TO BE IN FAVOR OF YOU UTILIZING FREESE AND NICHOLS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO CATCH UP ON THIS BACKLOG. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. ANYONE ELSE? VIRTUAL WORLD, MISS WEST. [00:50:02] GREAT JOB. I JUST WANT TO SECOND WHAT MR. RIDLEY SAID ABOUT THE AUTHORIZED HEARINGS AND USE OF REESE AND NICHOLS. LET'S GET THESE AUTHORIZED HEARINGS. THE BACKLOG CLEARED OUT, PLEASE. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE WITH THAT? AND LET'S GO TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM. AND I KNOW WE KIND OF RUNNING OVER OVERTIME. WE SPENT A WHOLE LOT OF TIME ON THIS BUDGET. LET'S TRY TO SPEED IT UP A LITTLE BIT. WE'RE GOING TO SEE HEATHER. SOUTH SIDE DALLAS. STUDIO, LLC. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. HI. HEATHER LOPEZ. I'M AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OVER BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. I'M HERE TO WALK THROUGH A REQUEST FROM SOUTH SIDE STUDIOS DALLAS UNDER THE STATE'S MEDIA PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT ZONE PROGRAM. AND THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM FOR US. AND ULTIMATELY, APPROVAL IS DECIDED BY THE STATE. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO THE MEDIA PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT ZONE WAS APPROVED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS IN 2009. IT'S ADMINISTERED BY THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION, AND IT ALLOWS FOR A TWO YEAR SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, EXPANSION, IMPROVEMENT, RENOVATION OF A MEDIA PRODUCTION FACILITY AT A QUALIFIED LOCATION WITHIN THE ZONE. THE ACT REQUIRES CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE BOTH THE ZONE AND THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE STATE DESIGNATION. NEXT SLIDE. YOU MIGHT SAY IT'S MY BACKWARDS. ALL RIGHT. IT'S SLIDE FOUR. NEXT ONE. THERE WE GO. AND AT ANY ONE TIME, THE LEGISLATION ALLOWS FOR THE DESIGNATION OF. TEN STATEWIDE ZONES, FIVE REGIONAL ZONES. AND THEN WITHIN THE ZONE, THERE'S THREE LOCATIONS THAT CAN BE DESIGNATED. THE ZONE IS TEMPORARY. IT EXPIRES FIVE YEARS AFTER THE DATE, AND THERE ARE ABOUT THREE ZONES RIGHT NOW. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY, SO CITY COUNCIL WILL BE ASKED TO DESIGNATE BOTH THE MEDIA PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT ZONE AND THE QUALIFIED MEDIA PRODUCTION LOCATION. AND WE ARE PROPOSING A CITY WIDE ZONE. AND THE SECOND THE LOCATION WOULD BE FOR SOUTH SIDE STUDIOS, DALLAS SPECIFICALLY. NEXT SLIDE. IN TERMS OF THE PROCESS THE FIRST THING IS THE APPLICANT SUBMITS THE PROJECT TO THE CITY THAT'S HAPPENED. NEXT, CITY COUNCIL WOULD MAKE A DETERMINATION ON THE NOMINATION TO THE STATE. THEN THE PROJECT WOULD GO TO THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION. AND THE COMPTROLLER. THE COMPTROLLER CERTIFIES THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT. THE MEDIA PRODUCTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THE PROJECT. AND THEN THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION DESIGNATES THE LOCATION, CERTIFIES THE PROJECT, AND THEN THE THE LOCATION GETS THE EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE FOR THE SALES TAX EXEMPTION. NEXT SLIDE. A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT. SPECIFICALLY. IT'S LOCATED AT 2901 BOTTOM JOHN. SOUTHSIDE STUDIOS HAS BEEN USED FOR NUMEROUS PRODUCTIONS AND IS DALLAS LEADING FILM SPACE FOR MOVIES AND TV. THE EXISTING FACILITIES CONSIST OF THE WEST STAGE BUILDING, WHICH HAS AMPLE OR SIGNIFICANT STAGE SPACE AND PRODUCTION OFFICES, AND ALSO THE FOREST BUILDING, WHICH HAS ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SPACE. THE TOTAL SIZE IS ABOUT 120,000FT². NEXT SLIDE. THE PROJECT OWNER FOR THIS IS SOUTHSIDE STUDIOS DALLAS. IT'S A JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN MATTHEWS HOLDINGS SOUTHWEST AND TALON ENTERTAINMENT FINANCE. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL RENOVATE THE WEST BUILDING AND THE FOREST BUILDING BY CREATING OR PUTTING ON A NEW ROOF AND HVAC IN BOTH BUILDINGS, AND THE PRIMARY IMPROVEMENT IS BEING TO CREATE THREE SEPARATE SOUNDSTAGE SPACES IN THE WEST BUILDING, AND THAT WILL INCLUDE AN LED VIRTUAL PRODUCTION WALL. NEXT SLIDE. TOTAL PROJECT COST IS ABOUT 8.7 MILLION. 6.275 IS CONSTRUCTION RENOVATION AND 1.53 MILLION IS FFA AND EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. AND HERE'S A RENDERING. THERE'S A COUPLE MORE RENDERINGS. ONE MORE NEXT SLIDE. THIS ONE'S A 3D RENDERING. ONE MORE AND HERE'S SOME OF THE SUPPORT SPACE. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO IF THE IF THE PROJECT IS QUALIFIED AS A MEDIA PRODUCTION LOCATION, THE STATE WILL ISSUE THE PROJECT A SALES TAX EXEMPTION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FACILITY. THE ESTIMATED SALES TAX FOREGONE TO THE CITY IS $150,000. OVER THE TWO YEAR PERIOD, THE ESTIMATED STATE PORTION OF THE SALES TAX FOREGONE IS JUST OVER $450,000, AND THEN THE ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR THE PROJECT REGIONALLY IS [00:55:04] ABOUT 13.6 MILLION, THE LABOR INCOME IS ESTIMATED TO BE 4.7 MILLION, AND THERE IS EXPECTED TO BE AN INCREASED EMPLOYMENT OF A MINIMUM OF 86 JOBS FOR THE THE EXPANSION OF THE FACILITY. NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, ON MAY 22ND, THERE WILL BE TWO SEPARATE COUNCIL ITEMS. ONE WOULD BE TO AUTHORIZE THE DESIGNATION OF THE CITY OF DALLAS AS A MEDIA PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT ZONE. THE WHOLE CITY. AND THEN THE SECOND WOULD BE TO AUTHORIZE THE NOMINATION OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECT LOCATED AT 2901 BOTHAM JEAN AS A QUALIFIED MEDIA PRODUCTION LOCATION. AND THEN UPON COUNCIL APPROVAL, THE CITY WOULD SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION TO THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION AND THEY WOULD CONTINUE ON ITS WAY. NEXT SLIDE. ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THE QUESTION COUNCIL. OKAY. LET ME GO TO VIRTUAL. ALAN BAZALDUA, CAN I COME BACK WITH YOU PAUL. MR. RIDLEY GONNA GIVE HIM. HE HADN'T SPOKE. COUNCILMAN BAZALDUA. I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU. COUNCILMAN. THAT'S IT. ARE YOU TALKING? AM TALKING. YEAH. WE HEAR YOU NOW. WE CAN'T HEAR HIM. YOU CAN HEAR ME NOW. YES. OKAY, PERFECT. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. AND THANK YOU, HEATHER. THANK YOU ALL FOR Y'ALL'S WORK ON THIS. THIS IS EXCITING FOR MANY REASONS. I THINK WE HAVE SOME STATES THAT ARE, ARE KIND OF GETTING AHEAD OF US IN TAPPING INTO AN INDUSTRY THAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE INDUSTRY ITSELF. WE ARE A MAJOR PLAYER. I THINK THE DESIGNATION OF THIS ZONE IS GOING TO BE A HUGE STEP IN THE DIRECTION THAT THESE OTHER CITIES LIKE ATLANTA OR NEW ORLEANS, HAVE LEVERAGED STATE TAX CREDIT AND INCENTIVES TO TAP INTO THIS INDUSTRY. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF REASON TO TO BE DESIRABLE FOR THE INDUSTRY. I WANT TO ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THREE PRODUCTION LOCATIONS WITHIN THE ZONE THAT'S DESIGNATED. SO IF WE HAVE A CITYWIDE DESIGNATION, WHICH IS SOMETHING I WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT. HOW OFTEN CAN WE ADD THE REQUEST TO BRING IN THE OFFICIAL PRODUCTION SITES? IF THE PASSAGE IS JUST GOING TO BE ONE, DOES THAT GIVE US THE FLEXIBILITY OF POTENTIALLY RECRUITING OR WORKING TOWARDS OTHER OFFICIAL SITES? AND IS IT ALSO SOMETHING TO CONSIDER WITH THE TECHNOLOGY AND FACILITY THAT WE HAVE AT FAIR PARK TO ALSO BE A POTENTIAL BROADCASTING LOCATION AS WELL? YEAH. SO THANKS FOR THE QUESTION. SO WITHIN OUR ZONE, IF WE DECLARE A CITYWIDE ZONE, WE CAN HAVE UP TO THREE LOCATIONS AT A TIME. THE DESIGNATION FOR THE SITE LASTS FOR TWO YEARS. AND SO THE BENEFIT IS REALLY ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE REDEVELOPMENT OF IT. SO THE IDEA IS THAT AS THEY FINISH THAT BUILD OUT, IT EXPIRES IN THE NEXT ONE COMES IN, AND THEN THERE'S A ROLLING BASIS TO DO MORE. OKAY. OKAY. AND WAS IT AT ALL A TALK OR CONSIDERATION IN UTILIZING THE FACILITY AT FAIR PARK AND LEVERAGING ANY POTENTIAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY THERE. OR HAS THAT HAD ALL BEEN LOOKED AT? TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT HAS NOT BEEN DISCUSSED AT ALL. OKAY, I LOVE I LOVE LEVERAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR. I THINK THAT THERE IS GREAT THINGS HAPPENING DOWN THERE'S HUGE MOMENTUM AND GREAT CHANGE HAPPENING DOWN IN SOUTH SIDE. I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO NOT PUT ALL OF OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET, IF YOU WILL. I KNOW THAT WE HAVE HENSLEY FIELD THAT IS BEING ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATED ENVIRONMENTALLY REMEDIATED. I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME YEARS UNTIL WE SEE THAT MOVE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE POTENTIAL WITHIN THIS CITYWIDE ZONE TO LOOK ON A LARGER SCALE. I RECENTLY TOURED THE THE TYLER PERRY STUDIOS IN ATLANTA IN ADDITION TO PARAMOUNT IN LOS ANGELES SPECIFICALLY ON OUR CAPABILITY. AND I WOULD JUST LOVE TO US TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE TO TAP INTO THIS. AND I THINK THAT WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH WHAT Y'ALL ARE PROPOSING. SO I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE IF THERE COULD BE ANY CONVERSATION TO LEVERAGING POTENTIAL TAX CREDIT THAT COULD BE UTILIZED ON THE FAIRGROUNDS AND UTILIZE THE FACILITY THAT WE ALREADY HAVE AND THE INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE TOWARDS THE PRODUCTION CENTER THAT WE HAVE THERE. WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT. [01:00:06] THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? MR. RIDLEY? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SO, HEATHER WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA THAT THE FILM COMMISSION APPLIES TO APPLICATIONS FOR APPROVAL OF MEDIA PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT ZONES? SO THEY LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL PICTURE OF IT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS BENEFIT, FINANCIAL BENEFIT TO BOTH THE STATE, WELL, MOSTLY TO THE STATE BECAUSE THEY'RE AWARDING IT FOR THE STATE. ON THE CITY LEVEL, WE ARE MAKING A CERTIFICATION THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE LABOR FORCE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE FACILITIES AND RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THAT HERE. SO WE DO SOME SORT OF UNDERWRITING TO SHOW THE FILM COMMISSION THAT IN EXCHANGE FOR THESE TAX EXEMPTIONS, THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE MORE INCOME IN TERMS OF FUTURE TAX REVENUE THAN WE'RE FOREGOING NOW. CORRECT. WE INCLUDE AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE TO THE STATE APPLICATION. I SEE. AND WITH REGARD TO THE SOUTH SIDE STUDIOS THOSE STRUCTURES ARE CURRENTLY THERE. ARE THEY OPERATING? IS SOMEONE ACTUALLY WORKING THERE? YES. SO THE THE PRIMARY BUILDING IS USED AS ONE BIG SOUNDSTAGE RIGHT NOW. AND WHAT THIS WILL DO IS IT WILL CREATE INSTEAD OF THAT ONE FACILITY, IT'LL HAVE THREE STAGES AT THE SAME TIME SO THAT THEY CAN CONDUCT MULTIPLE FILMING AT THE SAME TIME INSTEAD OF HAVING TO STAGE IT ONE BY ONE. SO PAGE NINE OF THE PRESENTATION TALKS ABOUT THE COSTS, WHICH TOTAL ALMOST $8.8 MILLION. WHERE WILL THAT MONEY COME FROM? SO THAT'S ALL PRIVATELY FUNDED BY THE THE SOUTH SIDE STUDIOS TEAM. OH, OKAY. SO THEY FUND IT THROUGH EITHER EQUITY OR DEBT INVESTMENTS. YEAH. CORRECT. OKAY. NO CITY MONEY. THERE WAS NO THERE WAS NO CITY MONEY IN IT OTHER THAN THE FORGONE TAX REVENUE. CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ITEM. ITEM D. ITEM D. SOME OF THIS MAY BE REDUNDANT, SO YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP SOME OF THE SLIDES THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO HEAR FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS. GOOD AFTERNOON. COMMITTEE CHAIR ANDREW ESPINOZA, DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. WITH ME TODAY, I HAVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR VERNON YOUNG, AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING YOU WITH A MONTHLY TECHNOLOGY AND METRICS REVIEW. NEXT SLIDE. HERE ARE TODAY'S TALKING POINTS AND CONVERSATIONS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. TECHNOLOGY. AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH DBI, WE'VE MET WITH SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVE ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION TO KIND OF PREVIEW THE COMMERCIAL DASHBOARD, AND WE'VE RECEIVED FEEDBACK, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO ADD THE FINE TUNED REQUEST THAT YOU HAVE MADE. OUR GOAL IS TO MEET WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS NOW THIS MONTH AND ROLL IT OUT IN JUNE SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. OUR DALLAS NOW PROJECT IS MEETING. WE'RE MEETING OUR CURRENT MILESTONES AND SCHEDULING TIMELINES. SO NEXT SLIDE. AS IT RELATES TO METRICS. WE WANTED TO KIND OF SHARE A LITTLE HISTORICAL INFORMATION WITH YOU ON THE FAR LEFT YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IN 2021, IT WAS TAKEN AS 78 DAYS, JUST CITY TIME TO ISSUE ONE AND TWO FAMILY BUILDING PERMITS. YOU'VE SEEN THAT STEADILY DECREASE. AND FOR THE YEAR OF 2024, WE'RE AVERAGING FOUR DAYS. SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY ABOUT OUR PERFORMANCE. ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL NOTICE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW ONE AND TWO FAMILY DWELLINGS BY YEAR. AND DOWN AT THE BOTTOM BY YEAR, THE VALUE ESTIMATED VALUATION OVER THE FISCAL YEAR, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IT'S APPROXIMATELY $2.8 BILLION SINCE 2021. NEXT SLIDE. OUR METRICS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. WE SAW AN INCREASE IN RESIDENTIAL PERMITS FROM 136 TO 207. THAT'S ABOUT A 52% INCREASE. WE ISSUED 154 NEW SINGLE FAMILY PERMITS, 43 RSVP PERMITS, WHICH ARE PERMITS THAT ARE ISSUED THE SAME DAY FOR THE MONTH. WE AVERAGED THREE DAYS. AND FOR COMMERCIAL, WE HAD 15 NEW COMMERCIAL, 23 COMMERCIAL EDITIONS AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF COMMERCIAL REMODELS, 233 TO BE EXACT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO IN 2022 AND 23, WE ESTABLISHED SOME SPECIFIC GOALS. [01:05:03] AND AS A COUNCIL BODY, YOU HEARD US THAT WE WERE GOING TO REDUCE RESIDENTIAL PERMITTING TIMES BY 50% BY MARCH OF 2023. THAT WE WERE GOING TO HIT OUR TARGET OF 3 TO 5 BUSINESS DAYS FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY. THAT WE WERE GOING TO PERFORM ALL OF OUR INITIAL PLAN REVIEWS WITHIN 15 DAYS. VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE HIT ALL OF THOSE TARGETS. AND ON THE FAR RIGHT, YOU'LL NOTICE AGAIN HOW WE GOT THERE WITH THOSE STRATEGIC PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS OUR NEW SINGLE FAMILY PERMITS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. YOU'LL SEE THAT INCREASE FROM 136 TO 207. NEXT SLIDE. OUR RESIDENTIAL PERMIT TURNAROUND TIMES FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY REMAINED SIGNIFICANTLY LOW FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. IT WAS AT THREE DAYS. NEXT SLIDE. COMMERCIAL REMODEL PERMIT VOLUME. YOU'LL NOTICE THERE THAT IT JUMPED UP FROM 216 TO 233. NEXT SLIDE. NEW COMMERCIAL PERMIT VOLUME. THESE ARE OUR COMPLEX LARGE PROJECTS. IT INCREASED FROM 11 TO 15 IN THE MONTH OF MARCH. NEXT SLIDE. HIRING AND RECRUITMENT. YOU'LL HEAR YOU'LL NOTICE ON THIS TABLE THE CURRENT JOBS, THE TOTAL OF JOBS THAT ARE CURRENTLY VACANT, WE HAVE 40 VACANCIES. 16 OF THOSE ARE PART TIME POSITIONS. THREE ARE BEING RECLASSED FOR A TOTAL OF 59 VACANT POSITIONS. NEXT SLIDE. AS WE REPORTED LAST MONTH, WE WERE GOING TO HOST A HIRING FAIR AT THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY, AND THAT WAS A COMPLETE SUCCESS. I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAD 171 FOLKS WALK IN. WE RECEIVED 124 APPLICATIONS. WE CONDUCTED 71 INTERVIEWS, 29 OFFERED LETTERS WERE GIVEN OUT ON THE SPOT. SO DALLAS RESIDENTS WANT TO JOIN OUR TEAM. WE HAD 42 STAFF MEMBERS, AND I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK THE LIBRARY, CIVIL SERVICE, HR AND COMPENSATION FOR ALL BEING THERE SUPPORTING US. IT WAS A GREAT TURNOUT. NEXT SLIDE. IN JULY OF 2023, WE SET UP A TRAINING TEAM. AND THE TRAINING TEAM WAS DESIGNED TO SPECIFICALLY EMPOWER AND EQUIP OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS INFORMATIVE DECISIONS, AND ISSUE PERMITS IN A TIMELY AND CONSISTENT MANNER. THOSE GUIDING PRINCIPLES ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE, CONSISTENCY, TEAMWORK, INTEGRITY AND RESPONSIVENESS. AND ON THE LEFT YOU'LL NOTICE SOME OF THOSE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED WHICH ARE PAYING HANDSOMELY IN DIVIDENDS AS WE ISSUE PERMITS FASTER AND MORE CONSISTENTLY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO FOR THE MONTH OR FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024, SECOND QUARTER, PARDON ME, FROM JANUARY TO MARCH. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE HELD A TOTAL OF 28 TRAININGS, 186 ATTENDEES, 375 CLOCK HOURS WITH A SATISFACTION RATING OF 4.5, WITH FIVE BEING THE HIGHEST. AND SO ON THE LEFT AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE THE WORKSHOPS AND THE STUDY SESSIONS AND THE AND THE TRAINING THAT WE'RE DOING FOR OUR FOR OUR TEAM MEMBERS. NEXT SLIDE. COMMUNICATION UPDATES. AS YOU KNOW WE WE'VE REALLY WORKED HARD TO BE OPEN TRANSPARENT SHARE THE GREAT WORK WE'RE DOING. WE HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AN OUTREACH SPECIALIST. WE'RE WORKING OUR PERMITTING QUICK GUIDES LUNCH AND LEARNS. HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN OUR ANNUAL REPORT. OUR WEBSITE AND STAKEHOLDER SESSIONS CONTINUE TO BE VERY ROBUST. ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL NOTICE A TABLE OF THOSE METRICS AND HOW MANY TIMES WE'RE REACHING OUT TO TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND TRYING TO ENGAGE AND CONNECT WITH THEM. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HOW WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE OUR PERMITTING TIMES. WE'VE LEVERAGED OUR THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS. WE'VE PARTNERED WITH CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE. AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR LEFT, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE SPENT ON THIRD PARTY HAS ACTUALLY DECREASED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN FILLING OUR VACANCIES AND WORKING AT A MORE CONSISTENT AND PERFORMANCE BASED PROCESSES. ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT BECAUSE OF YOUR HELP, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RECEIVE THESE RESOURCES AND IMPLEMENT INITIATIVES TO REDUCE THOSE PERMITTING TIMES. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 7800 NORTH STEMMONS. WE BRIEFED YOU LAST WEEK ABOUT STEMMONS. AS YOU KNOW, APPROXIMATELY 70 OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS WERE REINTEGRATED BACK TO 320 EAST JEFFERSON. WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE BOND OFFICE AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON FIGURING OUT HOW WE REOCCUPY. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I WANT TO ASSURE EVERYONE THAT OUR PERFORMANCE HAS NOT DECREASED BECAUSE OF THIS. [01:10:06] THE FOLKS THAT WERE ACTUALLY AT STEMMONS WERE WORKING REMOTELY. THEY WERE NOT FORWARD FACING TEAM MEMBERS. AND THE OPERATIONS AT OCMOC STAYED UNCHANGED. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO OUR NEXT STEPS, AS I'VE JUST PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE BOND OFFICE. THAT WILL BE AN ONGOING INITIATIVE TILL WE REOCCUPY. WE WANT TO ONBOARD THE FOLKS THAT WE MADE OFFER LETTERS TO AT THE HIRING FAIR, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON THAT THIS MONTH. CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH HUMAN RESOURCES AND COMPENSATION TO TAKE A GOOD, HARD LOOK AT OUR PLUMBING INSPECTOR POSITIONS. AS WE MENTIONED, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING COMPETITIVE AND ABLE TO RETAIN THOSE CRITICAL POSITIONS AND THEN, OF COURSE, LAUNCH OUR COMMERCIAL PERMITTING DASHBOARD IN IN THE MONTH OF JUNE. AT THIS TIME, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION. AND MYSELF AND AD YOUNG ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. MR. RIDLEY? YOU FAST ON THE GUN NOW. FIRST TIME YOU'VE BEEN FIRST, NUMBER ONE. I'M JUST GOING TO SAY PASS IT TO THE THE COUNCILMAN FROM DISTRICT 14. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MISTER CHAIR. SO ON SLIDE 33, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE DALLAS NOW PROJECT IS IN ITS 11TH MONTH. YOU'RE STILL ANTICIPATING A 24 MONTH COMPLETION. COUNCIL MEMBER I BELIEVE IT WAS 26 MONTHS. BUT YES, THAT'S THAT'S OUR OUR GOAL. AND IT'S ON SCHEDULE. IT'S ON SCHEDULE. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH IT TO MAKE SURE WE MEET THOSE DEADLINES. OKAY. WITH REGARD TO THE COMMERCIAL METRICS, YOU'RE DOING WELL, FIRST, ON RESIDENTIAL, YOU'RE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB. YOU'RE CONSISTENTLY GETTING THE PERMIT TURNAROUND TIME DOWN TO THREE, FOUR DAYS THIS YEAR. SO YOU'RE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB THERE. I DIDN'T SEE AN EQUIVALENT TO SLIDE EIGHT FOR COMMERCIAL PERMITS. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE AVERAGE TIME TO ISSUE THOSE IS? COUNCIL MEMBER I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION. AS SOON AS WE FINALIZE ROLLING OUT OUR DASHBOARD, WE WILL BE PROVIDING THAT TO YOU IN THIS PARTICULAR UPDATE AS WELL. AND I JUST WANT WILL THAT INFORMATION BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THE DASHBOARD? YES. THE FORWARD FACING DASHBOARD WILL HOST THAT INFORMATION. OKAY. I THINK JUST ABOUT EVERY MONTH I ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION ABOUT THE STAFFING LEVELS. AND SLIDE 11 ONCE AGAIN SHOWS 40 TOTAL VACANCIES. IT SEEMS TO BE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT AT THAT LEVEL A MONTH AFTER MONTH. AND WHEN I'VE ASKED IT BEFORE, YOU'VE RESPONDED THAT, WELL, WE'RE HIRING A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IT'S THE RETENTION THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE STAYING AT ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL. IS THAT STILL THE CASE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT RETENTION, INCREASING RETENTION? COUNCIL MEMBER. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. IT WE HAVE NOT SEEN A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE VACANCIES. I THINK WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS SOME OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS, BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE CHANGES, RELOCATION SOME OF OUR OPERATIONAL DECISIONS HAVE, HAVE ENCOURAGED FOLKS TO FIND SOMETHING CLOSER TO HOME OR FIND SALARIES IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE EITHER COMPARABLE OR BETTER. SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO TRY TO RETAIN TEAM MEMBERS, ONE IS TO INCENTIVIZE THEM THROUGH AN INCENTIVE PAY PROGRAM. TWO IS THROUGH A RECRUITMENT AND KIND OF REFERRAL INCENTIVE PAY PROGRAM. AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS JUST TO TRY TO PROVIDE A GOOD WORKING ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU INVEST IN TEAM MEMBERS, SHOW THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THEM SO THAT THEY'LL WANT TO BE THERE. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE THE VERY LAST PIECE OF THAT IS ASSESSING THEIR SALARIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING COMPETITIVE AND ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH SURROUNDING CITIES. WELL, THERE'S ONE OTHER POTENTIAL ISSUE THAT YOU HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT WITH REGARD TO RETENTION, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE A FACTOR. I NOTICED THAT YOU HAD 124 TOTAL APPLICATIONS IN YOUR APRIL HIRING EVENT, AND YOU HIRED A LOT OF THOSE 29 ON THE SPOT. SO THERE'S INTEREST IN WORKING FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT. I'M WONDERING IF ONCE THEY START TO WORK THERE, SOMEHOW DISAPPOINTED IN, I DON'T KNOW, WORKING CONDITIONS, RESPONSIBILITY, POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT? IS THERE ENOUGH FOCUS BEING PLACED ON INFORMING THE APPLICANTS ABOUT JUST WHAT THE JOB ENTAILS? SO SO COUNCIL MEMBER I AGREE, WE CAN DEFINITELY DO A BETTER JOB UP FRONT OF LETTING APPLICANTS KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY COME ON. [01:15:05] WE KIND OF ASSUME THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE SIGNING UP FOR. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT. SOMETIMES NOT HAVING THAT CLEAR PICTURE COULD IMPACT THEIR DECISION TO REMAIN. SO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE NOT RETAINING, ARE THEY SHORT TIME EMPLOYEES WHO THAT MAY REFLECT A DISAPPOINTMENT FROM THEIR EXPECTATIONS, OR ARE THEY LONGER TERM EMPLOYEES? DO YOU HAVE A STAT ON THAT? COUNCIL MEMBER I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH EXIT INTERVIEWS. I'LL BE HONEST. I THINK THAT DATA SHOULD BE COLLECTED AND AND WE CAN DEFINITELY EXPLORE THAT OPPORTUNITY. I'M NOT SURE IF THEY'RE EVEN MANDATED. SO IF AN EMPLOYEE DOES NOT WANT TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION, THEY MAY NOT BE REQUIRED TO. WE CAN DEFINITELY ASK, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD STARTING POINT TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE REASON FOR THE EXIT AND THEN ALSO FIND OUT WHAT THOSE HOW WE ADJUST TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN THEM A LITTLE BIT LONGER. WELL, GIVEN THE TURNOVER IN YOUR DEPARTMENT, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA TO CONDUCT EXIT INTERVIEWS TO FIND OUT WHY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING, AS WELL AS FOCUS ON EDUCATING THEM UP FRONT, WHAT TO EXPECT. AND THEN FINALLY, WITH REGARD TO [INAUDIBLE] SO THEY HAVE CONTINUED TO HAVE THE FORWARD FACING PERMIT INTAKE OFFICE AT [INAUDIBLE] THAT NEVER MOVED TO STEMMONS. THAT'S CORRECT. COUNCIL MEMBER AND THE FOLKS THAT WERE AT STEMMONS, IN ESSENCE, THEY WERE WORKING REMOTELY ASSISTING CUSTOMERS ONLINE, WHETHER APPLICATIONS WERE COMING IN OR REVIEWS OR OR PERMITTING QUESTIONS, ALL OF THAT WAS BEING DONE ELECTRONICALLY. HOWEVER, WALK IN CUSTOMERS ALWAYS REMAINED AT 320 EAST JEFFERSON. OKAY, SO I DON'T WANT TO GO OVER ALREADY PLOWED GROUND ABOUT THE MOVE BACK, BUT WAS IT ALWAYS THE PLAN TO TRANSFER THE PERMIT INTAKE OPERATION TO STEMMONS EVENTUALLY? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER. OKAY. AND WHEN WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH THAT? WELL, I'M TRYING TO THINK I KIND OF RECALL MAYBE WE WERE TRYING TO SHOOT FOR FEBRUARY TO HAVE THE ENTIRE TEAM THERE. OH, OKAY. SO WE'VE WE'VE MISSED THAT TARGET BY A COUPLE OF MONTHS. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. ANYONE ELSE? OH, YEAH. CHAIRMAN STEWART, THANK YOU. JUST A QUICK CLARIFICATION. SO WE HAVE 40 OPENINGS AND 29 PEOPLE WHO WERE GIVEN AN OFFER LETTER. SO I'M GOING TO ASSUME, HOPEFULLY A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THEM WILL BECOME ACTUAL HIRES. SO HOW DOES THAT 29 IMPACT THE 40? SO IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I BELIEVE AT LAST MONTH'S PRESENTATION THAT BOTTOM NUMBER WAS CLOSER TO 80. AND SO IT'S GONE DOWN TO 50. SO IT'S REFLECTED. YES IT IS. GOT IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YES, MA'AM. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. QUESTION TO WILL NOT CONSIDER. ARE WE? SINCE WE BACK AT JEFFERSON, ARE WE DOING A CONSIDER COMING IN NOW OR WHAT ARE WE DOING? THANK YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM ATKINS VERNON YOUNG, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. YES, SIR. WE HAVE TWO, TWO GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE CONCIERGES AT OUR FRONT DESK. 118 THAT WALKS THE CUSTOMERS TO THE APPROPRIATE AREAS. IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ASSIST THEM WITH IN ROOM 118 OR THE PERMIT CENTER. AND WE ALSO HAVE PROJECT COORDINATORS IN EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM THAT CAN ASSIST HIGHER LEVEL SCENARIOS OR ISSUES THAT COME UP. OKAY. SO THEREFORE OUT IS THAT ON THE DASHBOARD YOU SEE THAT, YOU KNOW WHEN SOMEONE COME IN YOU KNOW, AND THEY HAD AN ISSUE. DO Y'ALL SHOW IT ON THE DASHBOARD. WOULD THAT BE ON THE DASHBOARD? COUNCIL MEMBER. THE DASHBOARD IS STRICTLY FOR PERMITTING TURNAROUND TIMES. BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE A DASHBOARD SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE THE REQUESTS, WE'RE GETTING HOW MANY WE'RE GETTING, WE CAN DEFINITELY EXPLORE HOW WE CAPTURE THAT DATA FOR YOU. AND I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. CUSTOMER SERVICE, NUMBER ONE, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW HOW THE CUSTOMERS GET TREATED AND AND WHAT'S GOING ON. HOW DO YOU GATHER THAT DATA SO PEOPLE KNOW, YOU KNOW. YES, SIR. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND, WE'VE TRIED A DIFFERENT A FEW DIFFERENT TAKES ON THAT. BUT AS YOU GUYS KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THE CUSTOMER'S IN THE WRONG PLACE OR IN THE RUSH, THEY DON'T, THEY REALLY JUST WANT TO GET TO THAT SPOT. AND SO WE'VE TRIED TO KIND OF TAKE THEIR INFORMATION, BUT THEN I'M TAKING THEIR INFORMATION TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. AND SO AGAIN, WE'VE TRIED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE HOW WE CAN DOCUMENT. IF THEY COME IN TO 118 AND WE GET A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE COUNTY BUSINESS, THEY KIND OF GET THE TWO MIXED UP. [01:20:06] AND SO DOCUMENTING THEM AFTER WE'VE GIVEN THEM THE DIRECTIONS, IT TAKES MORE TIME TO DOCUMENT THEM RIGHT NOW THAN IT WOULD TO GIVE THEM DIRECTIONS TO THE COUNTY. AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE WAYS THAT WE DOCUMENT THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE ASSIST OR REDIRECT. WELL, YOU KNOW, AND I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER SERVICE, NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN THE BIGGEST ISSUE, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENT, CUSTOMER SERVICE, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE'RE GOING THE WRONG DEPARTMENT AND TAKE TOO MUCH TIME. SO WE I THINK THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WE'RE DOING A BETTER JOB. SO WHAT'S BETTER GIVE THAT OUT SO ONE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. NOW IN OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS, SO RIGHT NOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS OUR BALANCE OF OUR ENTERPRISE FUND ACCOUNT? SO COUNCIL MEMBER, I BELIEVE THAT OUR CURRENT FORECAST IS ABOUT $6.5 MILLION AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT'S THAT'S OUR RESERVES RIGHT NOW. SO SO RIGHT NOW YOU CAN SAY THAT RIGHT NOW WE GOT, WE FORECAST 6.5 MILLION IN A YEAR. ARE WE FORECAST THAT AS A BUDGET AS OCTOBER 31ST? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT DECEMBER 31ST? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET YEAR WHICH STARTED NOVEMBER 1ST? IT WOULD BE THE BUDGET YEAR. COUNCIL MEMBER. SO 6,000,006, ABOUT RIGHT AROUND 6.5 MILLION. THAT WAS THE LAST REPORT I RECEIVED. BUT IF YOU WANT AN EXACT AMOUNT, I CAN DEFINITELY RESEARCH AND COLLECT THAT DATA AND REPORT IT BACK TO THE AND BACK AND BACK TO MR. RIDLEY THE QUESTION ABOUT RETAINING EMPLOYEES IS I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH HR. YOU KNOW, THE RATE OR THE SALARY PRICE OF SERVICE, THE PRICE, THE INCREASE IN WAGES. DO WE FEEL LIKE THAT WE ARE COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER CITIES? COUNCIL MEMBER. I THINK THAT WE ARE COMPARABLE TO OTHER CITIES, BUT BUT REALLY HAVING THAT FULL ASSESSMENT DONE SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR PLUMBING INSPECTORS IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY DO PLUMBING INSPECTIONS AND MECHANICAL INSPECTIONS. AND WHILE OTHER CITIES MAY HAVE THE COMBINATION INSPECTOR CLASSIFICATION RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE THAT THAT PARTICULAR SEGMENT MAY BE UNDERPAID. OKAY. SO SO THEREFORE I THINK WE NEED TO GET HR. I THINK WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT WE DO HAVE MONEY, BUT WE ALL LOOK AT COST RECOVERY. SO THEREFORE IF WE CAN'T RETAIN THE EMPLOYEES THEN BECAUSE OF PAY THAT'S SOMETHING WE TO LOOK AT. AND I THINK THAT THE QUESTION THAT COUNCILMAN RIDLEY WAS ASKING, YOU KNOW, WE DO HIRE AND DO WE KEEP THEM? WHY? YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF PAY OR WHATEVER. I THINK THAT THAT COMPARISON, IF YOU COMPARE THEM TO OTHER CITIES, THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE ISSUE. SO IS THAT AN ISSUE? WE NEED THAT SINCE THE ENTERPRISE FUND THAT WE NEED TO GET WITH HR AND MAKE SURE THAT THE PAY SCALE IS BASICALLY ALIGNED WITH EVERYONE ELSE. OKAY. WITH THAT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN RIDLEY. YES, AS A FOLLOW UP TO ONE OF YOUR QUESTIONS, MR. CHAIR, HAVE WE NOW THAT WE'RE IN MAY FULLY IMPLEMENTED THE 100% COST RECOVERY FEES APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL? THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY. GREAT QUESTION. SO MAY 1ST WE WENT LIVE WITH THEIR FEES. WE WORK WITH OUR LEGACY SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS UPDATED PROPERLY IN IT. AND THEY DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB. AND SO ON MAY 1ST WE STARTED TAKING IN THE NEW APPROVED FEES, THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH. AND SO, SO FAR, SO GOOD. WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD ANY PUSHBACKS OR ANY SCENARIOS PLAY OUT. AND SO WE ARE IMPLEMENTING FULL COST RECOVERY. WELL, I NOTICED THAT BOTH YOUR RESIDENTIAL AND. WELL, I GUESS WE DON'T HAVE STATS YET. WITH THE NEW FEES LAST MONTH, BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL WERE UP. BUT THAT'S WHERE THE OLD FEES. RIGHT? RIGHT. AND I BELIEVE APRIL, YOU'LL SEE THE NUMBERS SKYROCKET, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THERE WAS A LOT OF FOLKS SUBMITTING PRIOR TO THE FEES GOING UP. I DIDN'T NOTICE THE NUMBERS WERE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER IN MARCH FOR IT WAS THE HIGHEST VOLUME IN MARCH FOR SINGLE FAMILY, FOR COMMERCIAL, FOR COMMERCIAL AND FOR COMMERCIAL REMODEL. AND THAT'S THAT'S NORMALLY NOT THE CASE IN MARCH. AND SO I EXPECT TO SEE THOSE SAME NUMBERS IN APRIL AND THEN A PLATEAU THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY SEE FOR MAY. SO ANDREW, IS YOUR $6.5 MILLION PROJECTION OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE HIGHER FEE STRUCTURE THAT WENT INTO EFFECT THIS MONTH? YES, COUNCIL MEMBER, IT DID. OKAY. AND I PRESUME THAT BALANCE HAS BEEN DECLINING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE WE WEREN'T AT FULL COST RECOVERY. SO DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THIS IS NOW GOING TO LEVEL OFF THIS MONTH SO THAT WE'RE NO LONGER LOSING MONEY? WELL, THERE DEFINITELY ARE A LOT OF VARIABLES INVOLVED. I THINK PART OF THAT'S ALSO OUR VACANCY RATE. [01:25:02] BUT YEAH, I DEFINITELY ANTICIPATE THAT IT WILL EITHER LEVEL OFF OR ACTUALLY INCREASE DEPENDING ON. THE PERMIT VOLUME AND ASSUMING THAT THE PERMIT VOLUME STAYS CONSISTENT. SO WHAT IS THE CURRENT BALANCE OF THE ENTERPRISE FUND? THE EXACT BALANCE. TODAY I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA. I DON'T NEED THE LAST DOLLARS AND CENTS, JUST APPROXIMATE. ABOUT 6.5 MILLION. OH, SO YOU'RE PROJECTING IT'S GOING TO REMAIN THE SAME UNTIL OCTOBER? VERNON. NO, I'LL THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY FOR THAT. AND SO SIX, 6.5 MILLION IS PROJECTED. BUT WE IT'S KIND OF LIKE A CHECKING ACCOUNT. WE'VE SEEN IT JUST KIND OF FLUCTUATING DEPENDING ON THE MONEY WE SPEND PAYING FOR OUR LEGACY SYSTEM REPLACEMENT. AND SO RIGHT NOW I WANT TO SAY IN THIS STEMMONS FURNITURE. AND SO I BELIEVE WE CAN GET YOU THAT EXACT NUMBER OF WHAT IT IS TODAY. YEAH, I'D LIKE THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES. ANYONE ELSE. OKAY WITH THAT? LET'S GO TO ITEM E, SMALL BUSINESS. JOYCE WILLIAMS. GOOD AFTERNOON. JOYCE WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF SMALL BUSINESS CENTER. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. TODAY, I AM HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU THE COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP THAT THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER HAS WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. WITH ME, I HAVE AS GUESTS AHMAD GORI AND HERB AUSTIN. WHAT THE PRESENTATION OVERVIEW WILL GO BY PURPOSE, BACKGROUND, HISTORY, PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, OF COURSE, AND A PRESENTATION BY SMALL BUSINESS CENTER. THAT'S THE PURPOSE, OF COURSE, IS TO PROVIDE THIS UPDATE OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES, THE BACKGROUND, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN THE CITY OF DALLAS. THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER, OF COURSE, BEGAN IN 2022. THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER WAS JUST OPENED IN 2021. IT WAS INTENTIONALLY TO BUILD AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TRUST AND SERVE SMALL BUSINESSES. CAN YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE, PLEASE? THIS STARTED WITH HOSTING A BANKERS ROUNDTABLE, IN WHICH THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER BROUGHT IN LOCAL BANKS PARTNERS THAT PARTNERED WITH BOTH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER. WE WERE CALLED IN BOTH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND FOR SBA WAS CALLED IN, AS WELL AS THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER TO HELP AND WORK WITH SOUTH DALLAS FAIR PARK COMMUNITIES AND NEED FOR A SMALL BUSINESS THAT HAVE A COALITION THAT CALLED US BOTH TO THE TABLE TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH A SMALL BUSINESS, TO FIND OUT WHAT COULD WE DO AS A CITY OF DALLAS AND ALSO AS SBA, TO BE ABLE TO HELP THIS PARTICULAR SMALL BUSINESS AND AS A COALITION THAT WE MET AT ONE OF THE COMMUNITY CHURCHES THAT IS A PART OF WHO CHAIRS THE COALITION. AND SO WE HAD A PRESENTATION THAT WE DID TOGETHER. WE SIT DOWN AND LOOKED AT SOME STRATEGIES IN WHICH WE COULD NOT ONLY WORK WITH THAT SMALL BUSINESS, BUT ALSO HOW WE COULD WORK WITH OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE SOUTH DALLAS FAIR PARK AREA AS PART OF WHAT THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER ALSO DOES, IS THAT WE TRY TO CAPITALIZE ON OTHER RESOURCES THAT WE CAN ALSO PROVIDE TO PEOPLE, TO SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE WANTING TO START THEIR BUSINESSES, TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OR SBA DOES VERY, VERY WELL. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE STRENGTH OF THIS PARTNERSHIP, OF COURSE, INCLUDES ONE OF THE MOST, I THINK OUTSTANDING THINGS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXTEND THE REACH OF THE CITY, TO BE ABLE TO EXTEND IT INTO THE COMMUNITIES OF DALLAS THAT NEED OUR SUPPORT, THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE INCENTIVE DOLLARS, INCENTIVE TOOLS IN OUR BUCKET TO BE ABLE TO DO TO BRING THE SBA TO THE TABLE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF INCENTIVES, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP. THE OTHER PART OF THAT, OF COURSE, IS THAT BOTH ENTITIES ARE LOOKING AT HOW DO WE EARN TRUST INTO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES THAT FELT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN INEQUITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORIC? HOW DO WE DO THAT WELL, TOGETHER? THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO. [01:30:01] WE BRING NOT ONLY INCENTIVES, WE BRING NOT ONLY EXPERIENCE, WE BRING NOT ONLY THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, BUT THEN WE BRING THE POWER OF BEING ABLE TO DO IT TOGETHER. THE OTHER THING THAT WE ALSO SEE IS AN OPPORTUNITY OF STRENGTH, OF THE PARTNERSHIP, IS TO LEAN ON NEW AND NEW PROGRAMS THAT ARE OFFERED BY THE SBA. WE'VE BEEN RECENTLY INFORMED OF THE SBA'S INCENTIVES TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE WHO ARE FORMERLY INCARCERATED, OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS, AND FOR THE SBA TO BE ABLE TO STEP UP IN THE POCKET AND FUND THOSE. AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE A FRESH START PROGRAM HERE AT THE CITY OF DALLAS. SOMETIMES WHEN THAT FRESH START, WHEN WE START OUR FRESH START PROGRAM, NOT ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS RIGHT AWAY, AND THEY FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO BE ABLE TO BE EMPLOYED, TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF BEING ABLE TO HAVE REENTRY HOUSING, TO BE ABLE TO PAY RESTITUTION, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND THEY WANT TO PUT THEIR PAST SKILLS TO WORK BY BEING ABLE TO OWN THEIR OWN BUSINESS. SO BEING ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THE SBA ON THIS NEW INITIATIVES GIVES US AN INCENTIVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMING TO US THAT WANT TO BE EMPLOYED WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO, BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT WE HAVE BASED ON THE OFFENSES THAT THEY HAVE, BUT THEN GIVING THEM THE ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY THAT THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES. ONE, IT IS ALSO AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO POUR INTO SMALL BUSINESSES, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT WANT TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM BY HIRING OTHER EX-OFFENDERS AS THEY START THEIR OWN BUSINESS. FOR THAT, I'LL GIVE YOU OVER TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MR. GOREE, IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR WILLIAMS. AND THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, FOR HAVING US TODAY. JOINING ME, I AM AHMAD GOREE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FOR THE OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS FOR THE US SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S HEADQUARTERS, BUT BASED HERE IN DALLAS. AND JOINING ME IS HERBERT AUSTIN, WHO IS OUR DALLAS FORT WORTH DISTRICT DIRECTOR OVERSEEING ALL OF SBA PROGRAMS HERE IN THE NORTH TEXAS AREA. SO JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, WE ARE A FEDERAL AGENCY, SO WE'RE FUNDED BY THE TAXPAYERS OF THE UNITED STATES. THE HEAD OF OUR AGENCY SERVES ON THE PRESIDENT'S CABINET. SO IT GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPORTANT SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS ARE TO STIMULATING OUR ECONOMIES ACROSS THE NATION. THE WAY THAT WE HELP SMALL BUSINESSES GROW IS BASED OFF OF WHAT WE CALL OUR THREE CS, OUR CAPITAL PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE LOAN PROGRAMS, OUR COUNSELING PROGRAMS TO GIVE INDIVIDUALS THE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE AND MENTORSHIPS ON HOW TO START AND GROW BUSINESSES. AND THEN WE HAVE CONTRACTING PROGRAMS TO HELP BUSINESSES GET ACCESS TO 23% OF ALL SPENDING DOLLARS THAT EVERY FEDERAL AGENCY IS REQUIRED TO SET ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. NEXT SLIDE. SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR ACCESS TO CAPITAL PROGRAMS AND HOW THE FUNDS CAN BE USED, WHICH IS OUR LOAN PROGRAMS. SO THEY'RE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE ABLE TO PURCHASE ANY TYPE OF EQUIPMENT FOR THEIR BUSINESSES, RENOVATE FACILITIES CONSTRUCT COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, REFINANCE DEBT CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP PURCHASE BUSINESSES FUND START UP OPERATIONS, AND OF COURSE, USE IT FOR OPERATING CAPITAL SUCH AS LIKE PAYING THEIR EMPLOYEES. NEXT SLIDE. ONE OF OUR SMALL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAMS IS OUR 504 LOAN PROGRAM IS KIND OF KNOWN AS OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDING MECHANISM. THE 504 LOAN PROGRAM IS A LONG TERM, FIXED RATE FINANCIAL FINANCING FOR MAJOR FIXED ASSETS THAT PROMOTE BUSINESS GROWTH AND JOB CREATION. THESE PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED THROUGH CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES OR CDCS. THE MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNT FOR A 504 LOAN IS 5.5 MILLION. FOR CERTAIN ENERGY PROJECTS, THE BORROWER CAN RECEIVE A 504 LOAN FOR UP TO 5.5 MILLION PER PROJECT, OR FOR UP TO THREE PROJECTS NOT TO EXCEED 16.5 MILLION IN TOTAL. NEXT SLIDE. WE HAVE OUR MICROLOAN PROGRAM. THIS IS ADMINISTERED BY INTERMEDIARIES OR NONPROFITS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HERE IN THE DFW AREA, WE HAVE THREE LIFT FUND BC OF TEXAS AND PEOPLE FUND. WE HAVE OTHERS THAT ARE COMING TO THE MARKET AS WELL. BUT THIS IS OUR MISSION BASED LOAN PROGRAM. SO THESE LENDERS HAVE A MISSION TO LEND TO UNDERSERVED MARKETS LIKE MINORITIES, WOMEN'S VETERANS SO FORTH AND SO ON. THESE LOANS RANGE FROM ABOUT 100 TO ABOUT 350,000. NEXT SLIDE. OUR SEVEN EIGHT LOAN PROGRAM IS OUR FLAGSHIP LOAN PROGRAM. THIS IS WHAT SBA IS REALLY KNOWN FOR. THESE LOANS GO UP TO A 5 MILLION. WE ARE NOT THE GUARANTEE. WE'RE NOT THE DIRECT LENDER ON THESE LOANS. SO WE WORK WITH BANKING INSTITUTIONS HERE IN THE DALLAS AREA. WE HAVE ABOUT 200 OR SO WE GUARANTEE THE LOANS DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT. [01:35:02] SO WE'RE TAKING ON THE RISK FOR THE BANKS, AND THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO LEND THROUGH THE SBA LOAN PROGRAM, WHERE A DEAL PROPERTY DOESN'T WORK THROUGH THEIR TRADITIONAL LOANS. INTEREST RATES RANGE OF ABOUT 2.75 ON TOP OF PRIME WHICH IS DETERMINED BY THE STOCK MARKET. NEXT SLIDE. HERE'S A LOCAL SUCCESS STORY THAT I'M SURE MAYBE ALL OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH, BUT KEVIN AM AND MIKE HOKE, WHO STARTED THE DALLAS FISH MARKET IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS ACTUALLY GOT AN SBA LOAN TO EXPAND THEIR RESTAURANT BUSINESS. AS YOU KNOW, THEY NOW OWN THE DALLAS RESTAURANT GROUP. BUT FROM THAT LOAN, THEY WERE ABLE TO CREATE ABOUT FIVE RESTAURANTS IN THE DALLAS AREA AND SEEING, SAW REVENUES OF ABOUT 10 MILLION. SO LOCAL SUCCESS STORY THAT WE'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT HERE THAT USED SBA LOANS TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS. NEXT SLIDE. SO THIS IS HOW WE PERFORMED IN THE DFW MARKET THAT HERB AUSTIN OVERSEES. HE COVERS 72 TEXAS COUNTIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF HIS DISTRICT WHEN HE MOVED HERE FROM NEW YORK. WE HIT OVER $1 BILLION IN 2015. AND EVERY YEAR SINCE THEN IN THE DFW AREA THE SBA DALLAS FORT WORTH DISTRICT HAS DONE OVER A BILLION. SO LAST FISCAL YEAR, THEY DID ABOUT 1.3 BILLION TO ABOUT 1700 SMALL BUSINESSES. NEXT SLIDE. AND WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SBA LOANS. SO HERE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS LAST YEAR, WE DID 252 LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES WORTH ABOUT 170 MILLION. BUT LOOK AT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT RIGHT HERE IN YOUR CITY. 3500 JOBS WERE SUPPORTED THAT OTHERWISE PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SBA LOAN PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE. ANOTHER LOCAL SUCCESS STORY OF RECENT LOCAL SUCCESS STORY OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS. THE SBA HAS AN EQUITY PLAN WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE EQUITY ACROSS THE BOARD AS IT RELATES TO OUR LENDING. SO WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING MINORITIES SPECIFICALLY WOMEN, MINORITY WOMEN OWNED MINORITY BUSINESSES. SO WESLEY WELLNESS RECEIVED A SBA LOAN FOR ABOUT 1.6 MILLION. OPENED THEIR DOORS IN 2023. AND SHE IS DOING A LOT OF GREAT WORK OVER THERE OFF OF ROSS AVENUE PROVIDING WELLNESS TO WOMEN IN THE CITY OF DALLAS. NEXT SLIDE. A SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANIES WHERE IT MAY NOT BE IDEAL FOR A BUSINESS TO GET AN ACTUAL LOAN. WE DO HAVE WHAT WE CALL VENTURE CAPITALIST FIRMS THAT ARE LICENSED BY SBA TO BE SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANIES, WHERE THEY MAY PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF EQUITY INTO THE BUSINESS, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE YOUR SHARK TANK SITUATION. THE SBA OFFERS COMPANIES THAT BENEFITED FROM THIS PROGRAM WHEN THEY WERE SMALL, WERE COMPANIES LIKE APPLE, INTEL, STAPLES AND OTHERS. NEXT SLIDE. WE HAVE SEVERAL VENTURE CAPITALIST FIRMS OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE SPIKES. BUT RIGHT HERE IN THE DFW AREA, RIGHT HERE IN DALLAS, ACTUALLY IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS, WE HAVE VELASCO INDUSTRIES, WHICH WAS OUR TOP SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY IN THE NATION BACK IN 2021. AND THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE IDEAL TYPE OF BUSINESSES THAT THEY LIKE TO INVEST INTO. NEXT SLIDE. COVID RELIEF. WE DID A LOT OF COVID RELIEF HERE IN DALLAS. PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM. WE DID ABOUT 11,000 LOANS TO BUSINESSES DURING COVID WORTH ABOUT 6.6 BILLION. AVERAGE LOAN SIZE WAS ABOUT 588,000 BUT WAS ABLE TO SAVE ABOUT 646,000 JOBS RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, JUST OFF OF THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION PROGRAM, WHICH IS A GRANT FOR RESTAURANTS DURING COVID. ABOUT A THOUSAND RESTAURANTS IN DALLAS GOT COVID GRANTS FOR THEIR THEIR RESTAURANT BUSINESSES TOTALING ABOUT 281 MILLION IN AN AVERAGE GRANT SIZE WAS ABOUT $280,000. RIGHT HERE IN DALLAS, THE SHUTTERED VENUE OPERATORS GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH WAS FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT OR ARTS INDUSTRY AS 135 VENUES GOT GRANTS FOR THAT WORTH ABOUT 313 MILLION. AND THE AVERAGE GRANT SIZE WAS ABOUT 2.3 MILLION. SOME OF YOUR NOTABLE GRANTEES WERE T BALL, THE BLACK ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS THE BLACK DANCE THEATER, THE BISHOP ARTS THEATER SO FORTH AND SO ON WERE GRANTEES OF THAT PROGRAM. NEXT SLIDE. COUNCILMAN PORTION. WE HAVE VARIOUS RESOURCE PARTNERS THAT WE FUND DIRECTLY SCORE, WHICH IS A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT OFFERS MENTORSHIPS TO INDIVIDUALS LOOKING TO START BUSINESSES. SCORE. DALLAS IS RIGHT HERE IN YOUR BACKYARD. THEY'RE HERE TO HELP MENTOR INDIVIDUALS GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS. AND THEN WE HAVE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. THE CLOSEST ONE IS THE DALLAS METROPOLITAN SBDC, WHICH IS LOCATED AT THE PRIEST INSTITUTE. THAT CAN PROVIDE COUNSELING AND CONSULTING TO SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL. ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE COMPLETELY FREE THROUGH THE SBA'S RESOURCE PARTNER PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE. WE HAVE OUR VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER, WHICH IS FOR VETERANS THAT ARE LOOKING TO START AND GROW BUSINESSES. IT'S LOCATED AT UTA. AND IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO VETERANS. NEXT SLIDE. CONTRACTING IS A BIG PORTION. [01:40:02] AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, EVERY FEDERAL AGENCY IS REQUIRED TO SPEND 23% OF ALL OF THEIR CONTRACTING DOLLARS WITH SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. WE'VE DONE QUITE WELL. TOTAL SMALL BUSINESS FUNDING ABOUT $1.7 BILLION IN THE DFW AREA IN FISCAL YEAR 2023. AND SO FAR, WE'VE DONE ABOUT 789 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 2024 WHEN IT COMES TO SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING HERE LOCALLY. NEXT SLIDE. AND AS DIRECTOR WILLIAMS MENTIONED, WE'VE DONE SEVERAL THINGS WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS. SHE MENTIONED THE ROUND TABLE IN FY 2022. WHERE WE BROUGHT BANKERS TO TALK ABOUT HOW CAN WE DO MORE LENDING IN UNDERSERVED MARKETS, SPECIFICALLY IN SOUTHERN DALLAS. BASED OFF OF THAT ROUND TABLE, WE HAD ABOUT 20 BANKERS IN THE ROOM AND ABOUT FOUR BUSINESSES GOT ABOUT $2 MILLION WORTH OF LOANS BASED OFF OF THAT ROUND TABLE THAT WE DID. SO THANK YOU, DIRECTOR WILLIAMS, TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN. AS DIRECTOR WILLIAMS ALSO MENTIONED AT SALIMAN INSTITUTIONAL BAPTIST CHURCH WE WERE CALLED THERE TO HELP A SMALL BUSINESS THAT EXPERIENCED A FIRE ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR BOULEVARD AND COMING TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT WAYS HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THAT BUSINESS TO RECOVER. NEXT SLIDE. AND SO FAR IN FY 2024, WE HAVE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER AND DIRECTOR WILLIAMS TEAM. SO IN APRIL WE PARTICIPATED IN THEIR SECOND CHANCE. SECOND CHANCE ROUNDTABLE WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT SBA'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO HELP THOSE INDIVIDUALS SEEKING A SECOND CHANCE. AND THEN IN MAY LAST WEEK DURING NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, DIRECTOR WILLIAMS AND HER TEAM PARTICIPATED IN OUR REGULATORY FINANCE FAIRNESS ROUNDTABLE WHERE WE BROUGHT TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS FROM OUR DC HEADQUARTERS TO TALK ABOUT HOW CAN WE CLOSE THE GAP WHEN IT COMES TO REGULATORY ISSUES THAT SMALL BUSINESSES FACE HERE LOCALLY? NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS MY INFORMATION IN DIRECTOR AUSTIN'S INFORMATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES OR ANYTHING RELATED TO INDIVIDUAL STARTING OR WANTING TO GROW BUSINESSES, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US. WE'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO GET THEM CONNECTED WITH THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCE. AND I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OR DO I TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, DIRECTOR WILLIAMS, TO ME FOR NEXT STEPS AND I'LL CLOSE IT OUT. NEXT STEPS. THE NEXT STEPS IS TO IMPLEMENT A KEY STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LOANS AND GRANTS THAT ARE PROVIDED TO SMALL BUSINESSES IN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS. WE SEE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, TO LEVERAGE THE RESOURCES THAT THE SBA HAS, LIKE THE INVESTMENT INCENTIVES FROM BUSINESSES FOR VENTURE CAPITAL. ALSO, AS YOU KNOW, THE TOOL, THE INCENTIVE TOOLS THAT CURRENTLY HAVE THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER ARE MOSTLY FOCUSED. THE DOLLARS ARE MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THE SOUTHERN SECTOR. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE IS A NEED WHEN WE START TO LOOK AT WEST DALLAS, EAST DALLAS, NORTHEAST DALLAS, NORTHWEST DALLAS AS WELL. AND SO BEING ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND WORKING WITH SBA AND THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE GIVES US THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL, WORKING WITH THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES NOT ONLY TO WORK WITH AND LEVERAGE THE DOLLARS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE THROUGH GRANTS AND LOAN OPPORTUNITIES IN SOUTHERN SECTOR, BUT ALSO ALL OVER THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. SO THE OTHER PART, OF COURSE THE NEXT STEP IS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE AN IMPACT OF TRACKING REPORTS THAT ADDRESS THE SYSTEMATIC SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES THAT SOME OF THESE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES ALSO SERVE. SO WITH THAT, I'M WE'LL OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTION, MR. CHAIRMAN STUART BEACHER POWELL I KNOW I HAD TO GO QUICK. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. AND A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON THE SBA PRESENTATION. SO FIRST OF ALL, I JUST HAVE TO HAVE A SHOUT OUT FOR MY MOTHER. SHE'S A VOLUNTEER WITH SCORE AND HAS BEEN FOR YEARS. WHEN SHE RETIRED FROM WORKING WITH LUCI BAINES JOHNSON AND IAN TURPIN, SHE BECAME INVOLVED IN SCORE AND HAS PUT MANY YEARS IN. SHE IS A DISTRICT DIRECTOR FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AND I THINK NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. AND IT'S JUST IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR HER. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT THIS SHE ALWAYS ASKED ME AND I NEVER KNOW THE ANSWER. SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU ALL, HOW DOES THE CITY OF DALLAS WORK WITH SCORE DALLAS OR HOW? I GUESS I WOULD JUST LOVE TO KNOW HOW THAT OR, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS DOCTOR WILLIAMS, DO YOU WORK WITH SCORE? YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS ACTUALLY HAVE A HIGHER PARTICIPATION IN CONNECTING THOSE WHO NEED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DIRECTLY WITH SCORE BECAUSE OF NOT ONLY THEIR EXPERIENCE THAT THEY BRING, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT THEY WANT TO MENTOR THEM DOWN, THAT THAT ENTIRE PROCESS OF BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THEIR BUSINESSES. SO WE ARE ACTUALLY INCREASING THAT. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO LEVERAGE A PARTNERSHIP AND ACTUALLY HAVE HOST. WE HAVE HOST HOSTED SEVERAL EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY. BUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO NOW IS GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER. [01:45:01] OKAY. WELL, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU SUPPORT YOU IN THAT IN ANY WAY. SO LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO TO ASSIST. AND THAT MAY JUST BE SHOWING UP FOR SOME OF YOUR EVENTS AND, YOU KNOW, JUST CONNECTING PEOPLE. BECAUSE THAT MENTORING RELATIONSHIP I THINK HAS BEEN VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES. I'M EXCITED TO HEAR THAT. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN OF NARVAEZ. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND I WAS ABLE TO HIT MY FAMILY FEUD BUTTON FAST ENOUGH TO BEAT PAUL RIDLEY TODAY, SO. JUST KIDDING. WE HAVE FUN UP HERE. WE TELL A LOT OF JOKES. SO NOT ALWAYS GOOD JOKES, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE TELL A LOT OF JOKES. BUT FIRST, I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. MR. GOREE AND OUR FRIEND FROM FORT WORTH. AND, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THIS BA IS SO IMPORTANT. MY FIRST INTRODUCTION WAS THE PANDEMIC WHEN THINGS WERE GOING DOWN AND THEN YOU KNOW, WE HAD A BIG WINDSTORM, I THINK MAYBE FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THAT. THEN WE HAD A PANDEMIC, AND THEN WE HAD A TORNADO, AND THEN WE HAD AND WE HAD AND WE HAD AND IT WAS SBA THAT REALLY SAVED A LOT OF BUSINESSES BECAUSE THAT WAS THE PLACE THAT THEY COULD GO. THEY COULD GET ANSWERS YOU KNOW, BUT IT WAS ALSO CONFUSING BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A CITY RESOURCE. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WEREN'T EXACTLY SURE, YOU KNOW DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. AND NOW IT'S LIKE WE WE'RE MUCH MORE EDUCATED ON IT AS FAR AS ME IN MY OFFICE GOES. BUT I WILL SAY THAT YOU ALL DO AN EXCELLENT JOB. AND I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH AND OR OUTREACH FOR OTHER LANGUAGES. HOW DO Y'ALL DEAL WITH THAT OR PROCESS THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT OTHER BUSINESSES HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AS WELL? YEAH, WE DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRANSLATING IN LANGUAGES THAT ARE SUPPORTED IN VARIOUS TERRITORIES WHERE WE SERVE WE ACTUALLY GIVE GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE GOING INTO UNTAPPED, UNDERSERVED AREAS HERE IN THE DALLAS AREA. THE DECK AT RED BIRD WAS OUR GRANTEE FOR THAT. SO THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING INTO AREAS WHERE THERE'S BARRIERS LANGUAGE BARRIERS, CULTURAL BARRIERS AND PROVIDING SUPPORT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. SO AS IT RELATES TO THE SBA, DALLAS-FORT WORTH DISTRICT OFFICE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO HERB. YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED. HE SPEAKS THREE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. SO HE'S ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S.. GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE. BESIDES THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF HEADQUARTERS IS TRANSLATED IN SPANISH AND IN OUR OFFICE LOCALLY AND WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE TWO PERSONS WHO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. A YOUNG LADY WHO IS FROM PUERTO RICO WHO SPEAKS PERFECT. AND I ALWAYS HAITIAN FROM HAITI, WHO ALSO SPEAK PERFECT SPANISH AND FRENCH. SO WE VERY WELL, VERY MUCH COVERED. OH, WONDERFUL. SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T HAVE THE HONOR OF SPEAKING SPANISH AS WELL AND THE PRIVILEGE OF IT I TELL THEM IT'S WONDERFUL THAT HE SPEAKS SPANISH AS WELL, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED. AND AND THANK YOU FOR TELLING US THAT. SO AND THAT THAT'S MY BIG ONE IS HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE, LIKE, MORE BUSINESSES IN THE BACHMAN AREA? BECAUSE IT'S A LOT OF IMMIGRANT SPANISH MULTILINGUAL BUSINESSES IN THAT AREA THAT ARE DOING WELL AND, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY MAY NOT KNOW THAT THESE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE. AND THEN WHEN YOU GO A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH YOU HIT, YOU GO UP TO A LITTLE BIT UPPER HARRY HINES, AND THEN HARRY HINES, UPPER HARRY HINES AND THE BUSINESSES ARE ON ROYAL. IT'S ALL KOREAN, SO IT'S KOREATOWN AND THEN FAR, FAR NORTH OF THERE FAR, FAR NORTH FROM HERE. BUT FROM THERE IT'S JUST THE NEXT CORNER. RIGHT. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYTHING IS THAT'S THE ASIAN TRADE DISTRICT AND IT BECOMES PAKISTANI IRAQI IRANIAN INDIAN. JUST IT'S A PLETHORA OF OTHER SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES JAPANESE AND A FEW OTHERS, BUT THAT'S THE REST OF THE CORRIDOR. SO HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THAT? OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M ASKING. HOW CAN WE HELP YOU AND YOUR OUTREACH? BECAUSE I KNOW WE KEEP WE KEEP OUR CITY STAFF PEOPLE BUSY IN THE SMALL BUSINESS CENTER SOON. WELL, COUNCILMAN NARVAEZ I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IMPORTANT POINT. WE ARE ABLE TO GO OUT TO ANY COMMUNITY AND MAKE PRESENTATIONS AND GET INTRODUCED TO VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS TO SHARE FROM SBA INFORMATION. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY PLATFORMS OR ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO BE PRESENT AND TALK TO THESE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, WE WOULD LOVE TO DO IT. OKAY. AS IT RELATES TO CONNECTING WITH THOSE COMMUNITIES, WE HAVE GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE VARIOUS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE THAT CATER TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I THINK HERB IS SPEAKING WITH THE.. [01:50:05] TANZANIAN, YES. CHAMBER TODAY. SO WE DEFINITELY HAVE REALLY GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE US INDIA CHAMBER. AS IT RELATES TO THE ASIAN COMMUNITY. WE ARE THEY HAVE A GRANTEE OF THE GRANT THAT OUR A SUB GRANT OF THE GRANTEE THAT THE DECK HAS WHERE THEY'RE TAPPING INTO UNDERSERVED MARKETS. BUT THIS PARTICULAR SPECIFIC GRANT THEY'RE TAPPING INTO THE ASIAN COMMUNITY HERE AS WELL. SO WE HAVE A WHAT WE CALL A SPOKE, WHICH IS A SUB GRANTEE OF THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR PROGRAM THAT CATERS TO THE ASIAN COMMUNITY HERE IN DALLAS. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, NON-STAFF CITY STAFF COME AND PRESENT AS WELL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL ARE ABLE TO EXPLAIN SOME THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN THEY CAN OR AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE SBA. SO LET'S CONTINUE THAT. BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND OUR SMALL BUSINESS CENTER IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND WE'VE PUT IN A LOT OF RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SUCCESSFUL AND WE WANT IT TO CONTINUE BEING A SUCCESS. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO DALLAS. WELCOME ANYTIME YOU WANT TO COME OVER. ALL RIGHT. AND IF I MAY ADD TO WHAT AHMAD JUST SAID, YOU MAY BE AWARE THAT IMMIGRANT GROUPS, THEY NEVER REALLY INTEGRATED 100%. YOU KNOW, AND WHILE WE ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO BE WHERE THE SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT MANY TIMES IT'S HARD FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, TO CREATE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT RELATIONSHIP, YOU KNOW, AND I LIVED IT. SO I KNOW IT VERY, VERY WELL. BUT AGAIN, TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN HELP US GET ACCESS, WE ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO DO SO. SOUNDS GREAT AND ABSOLUTELY, I THINK WE CAN GO TO THE OUR FIRST OUR CONSULAR GENERAL OF MEXICO IS HERE. SO THAT'S A PLACE. AND THEN ALSO THE CONSULAR GENERAL OF PERU, I THINK IS IN COLLIN COUNTY, BUT VERY CLOSE BY. SO THOSE ARE AT LEAST TWO THAT WE CAN MAYBE HELP YOU ALL GET CONNECTED WITH. BECAUSE WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE. SO AND, BUT ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP, PLEASE LET US KNOW. THANK YOU, MISTER CHAIR. MISTER RIDLEY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISTER CHAIR. SO THANK YOU, MISTER GOREE AND MISTER AUSTIN FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR NO DOUBT BUSY SCHEDULES TO INFORM THIS BODY OF YOUR WORK, WHICH IS VERY IMPRESSIVE, I MUST SAY. CAN YOU START BY EDUCATING US ON THE DEFINITION OF SMALL IN YOUR AGENCY'S NAME? SO OUR DEFINITION OF SMALL IS IF YOU MANUFACTURE 500 PEOPLE OR LESS. SO AS LONG AS YOU MANUFACTURE WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES. SO THAT WOULD BE 500 OR LESS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A SMALL BUSINESS BY SBA DEFINITION. ANY OTHER CATEGORY. WELL YES, CORRECT. ANY OTHER CATEGORY, WE LOOK AT THE REVENUE. SO FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS, YOU KNOW WE CHECK THE NEXT CODE AND IT MAY SAY WELL UP TO 31 MILLION. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE A RETAILER IT MAY SAY 5.6 MILLION, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. BUT IT'S YES, IT DEPENDS ON THE INDUSTRY. EXACTLY. OKAY. AND ON SLIDE, WELL YOURS ARE NOT NUMBERED. BUT THE SLIDE SHOWING THE CITY OF DALLAS LOANS. I NOTICED THAT THE NUMBER OF LOANS REPRESENTS ONLY 14% OF THE DALLAS FORT WORTH DISTRICT AND THE TOTAL VOLUME OF THOSE LOANS ONLY 13%. AND GIVEN THAT MANY OF YOUR PROGRAMS ARE DIRECTED TO UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, TO VETERANS AND TO FORMERLY INCARCERATED, WHICH I WOULD SUSPECT ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN THE DALLAS CITY POPULATION I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THOSE PERCENTAGES OF YOUR DISTRICT TO BE HIGHER, SINCE DALLAS IS THE PRIMARY BUSINESS CENTER IN YOUR DISTRICT. CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT? IT'S A GOOD QUESTION, BUT LET ME LET ME FIRST EXPLAIN TO YOU HOW WE FUNCTION. OUR JOB IS TO BE AGAIN WHERE YOU ARE SO WE CAN REACH OUT AND TELL YOU WHAT IS AVAILABLE. NOW, WHAT WE DO AT THE SBA, WE PROVIDE GUARANTEES ON LOANS MADE BY YOUR LENDING INSTITUTION. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU GO TO SOUTH DALLAS AND YOU'RE A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WANTING TO START A BUSINESS, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A BANK THERE. I DON'T THINK SO. THOSE ARE THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE FACED WITH. YOU GO TO TO TO TO AREAS WHERE YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A BANK WILLING TO MAKE A LOAN TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS. [01:55:07] SO THAT'S, A HARD PROBLEM FOR US WHEN AHMAD WITH US NOW, HE JUST GOT PROMOTED TO A HIGHER POSITION. HE USED TO SPEND MOST OF HIS TIME, ALL OF HIS TIME IN SOUTH DALLAS TRYING TO MARKET SBA AND THE LENDING COMMUNITY TO THE PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE. SO WE REALLY WE TRY VERY, VERY HARD IN WORKING AT HOME IN DALLAS. BUT WE MAKE A LOT OF WE HAVE A LOT OF THE BANKS WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO MAKE SAFE SMALL LOANS OF 150,000. SO THEY WOULD CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR 150,000 FROM ONE OF OUR CONSTITUENTS, VERY LOW, VERY SMALL LOAN THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO TOUCH. OUR AVERAGE LOAN SIZE HERE IS 865,000, THE LARGEST IN THE UNITED STATES OUT OF 68 OFFICES. IT'S NOT BY CHOICE. IT IS. WE RELY ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON THE LENDING COMMUNITY. SO SO WE HAVE OUR HANDS A LITTLE BIT TIGHT. SO WE HAVE PROGRAMS LIKE WITH THE MICRO LENDERS, THE CDFIS, WHO ARE WILLING TO LEND TO THE MINORITY GROUP, 25,000, 30,000, UP TO 50,000 ON THEIR MICRO LOAN PROGRAM. AND THIS IS WORKING VERY, VERY HARD IN MANY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES HERE. BUT AGAIN, THEY ARE VERY LIMITED BY THE BY THE NUMBER OF DOLLARS THAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT AS THAT WE WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER. BUT IT'S NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING, JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE IN OUR OFFICE, IT'S IT'S LESS THAN TEN PEOPLE COVERING 72 COUNTIES, 915,000 SMALL BUSINESSES. SO IT AGAIN MAKES IT VERY HARD FOR US. AND OF COURSE, WE ARE LIMITED. WE CANNOT EVEN MARKET SBA. WE CANNOT SAY TO THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, WE ARE WILLING TO PAY YOU FIRST PAGE TO TALK ABOUT SBA. SBA SEES IT AS NOT SO MUCH ILLEGAL, BUT IT'S NOT ALLOWED. SO WE ARE LIMITED. WE CAN DO SO MUCH MORE. AND PPP REALLY HELP US A LOT. YOU KNOW, PPP GIVE US A LOT OF VISIBILITY THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE THE PPP. SO WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF CUSTOMERS IF THEY NEED LENDING. WE HAVE 210 BANKS THAT ARE MAKING LOANS, BUT WE KNOW WHICH BANKS ARE WILLING TO MAKE A LOAN OF 150,000 OR 50,000 OR $4 MILLION. SO WE KNOW VERY MUCH HOW TO WORK IT WITH THE LENDING COMMUNITY AND THE CONSTITUENTS. SO WE WERE WORKING VERY HARD. WE RECOGNIZED THAT WE CAN DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER. AS I CAME TO THIS MARKET AGAIN IN 2011, I WAS I HAD DECIDED THAT THIS IS A MARKET OF $1 BILLION IN LENDING. WHEN I CAME, WE WERE DOING 400 MILLION, YOU KNOW, AND I SAID, NO, THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT. EVERY PERSON OUT OF NEW YORK IS MOVING HERE TO OPEN UP BUSINESSES. PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY OPEN UP. SO WE NEED TO SERVE THESE PEOPLE. THEREFORE WE SHOULD WE SHOULD THINK OF HIGHER NUMBERS. AND I SAID TO MY STAFF, AGAIN, VERY FEW PEOPLE, THIS IS A $1 BILLION MARKET. AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO EVERY YEAR. UNFORTUNATELY, THE AVERAGE LOAN SIZE IS A PROBLEM FOR US. WASHINGTON SAYS, WELL, I LOVE DALLAS FORT WORTH. THE NUMBER 3 OR 4 OUT OF 68 OFFICES IN THE UNITED STATES. I DON'T AGREE WITH THAT. I'M SAYING I'M ONLY SERVING 1800 PEOPLE. AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE LIST, I DON'T REALLY SEE TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME EITHER. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE TO DO MORE STUFF, AND WASHINGTON IS WILLING TO ASSIST AND HELP. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. OKAY. WITH THAT, ANY OTHER QUESTION. I KNOW WE'RE KIND OF RUNNING. I DO, I JUST WANT MR. BASS, SO. YEAH. CHAIRMAN. GO AHEAD. I CAN HEAR YOU. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANT TO CORRECT ONE THING. AS OF TODAY, WE CUT A RIBBON, AND SOUTH DALLAS DOES HAVE A BANK VISTA. AND IT WAS A HUGE DEVELOPMENT. AND WE NOW HAVE FINANCIAL INSTITUTE THAT IS WILLING TO INVEST AND GIVE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO A COMMUNITY THAT HAS FOR A LONG TIME NOT HAD THAT. SO VISTA BANK OFFICIALLY CUT THEIR RIBBON TODAY ON MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD IN SUNNY SOUTH DALLAS. AND OF COURSE, WE WERE THERE THIS MORNING. AHMAD WAS THERE AT THE OPENING SESSION, AND EVEN BEFORE THE OPENING SESSION, WE HAD ALREADY MET WITH SOME OF THE LENDERS. [02:00:07] SO WE VERY MUCH AWARE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU BAZ. I MET WITH THE OWNER OF VISTA MANY YEARS, MANY, MANY MONTHS AGO. BUT IT'S GREAT THAT THE FIRST BANK BEEN OPEN 30 YEARS. BUT WE DO HAVE A BANK IN SOUTHERN IN SOUTH DALLAS I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE DO HAVE A MORE IN ONE BANK IN SOUTH DALLAS. WE DO. THANK YOU. WITH THAT WE HAVE SOME BRIEFING FG AND H. SO DO ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTION ON ANY OF THOSE ITEMS F, G AND H? IF NOT, WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS COMMITTEE TO THE END. SO I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTION ON FG AND H. SO IT'S NOW 3:06. THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.