[(EDC) Board Meeting/(CDC) Board Meeting on April 14, 2025.]
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THE TIME IS NOW SIX THIRTY THREE AND I CALL THIS HEAD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, TYPE A AND TYPE B BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING INTO ORDER.
MAY I GET A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? CHAIR CLANCY.
SECRETARY OWENS TREASURER GIDEON.
PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEASURE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AND TWO REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD.
FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? NO.
MOVING ON TO ITEM FIVE, PRESENTATIONS 5.1.
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER A PRESENTATION FROM S FEDRA LLC REGARDING UPDATES ON THE HOOKY ENTERTAINMENT FACILITY.
CHRIS, IS THE CLICKER UP THERE? IT IS.
IT'S BEEN A MONTH AND WE'RE SUPER EXCITED OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH THIS TODAY AND, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, I WAS TRYING TO PICK, I ALWAYS TRY TO PICK THE, THE FRONT PICTURE AS SOMETHING UNIQUE, RIGHT? AND, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE IMAX AUDITORIUM.
SO IT SHOWS THE, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WHERE THE SCREEN IS GONNA BE AND ALL THE IMAX EQUIPMENT ARRIVED TODAY.
I'LL GO INTO THAT IN A LITTLE, IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PERTINENT FIRST PICTURE TO SHOW ACTUALLY WHAT IS COMING TO HUDU.
AND I DID WANT TO EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT 'CAUSE I, I WAS TALKING TO SOME PEOPLE EARLIER THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NICE THING ABOUT THE IMAX THAT WE'RE BRINGING HERE IS IT'S A TRUE IMAX, IT'S DESIGNED BY IMAX.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A BUILT IMAX FOR IMAX.
SO IT'S, UH, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, I'LL GET INTO THE PRESENTATION HERE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE A MONTH LATER.
EXTERIOR'S PAINTING IF HAS BEEN PAINTED.
IF YOU GUYS GO BY AND LOOK AT THAT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH DONE.
OF COURSE, WE'RE PUTTING IN, UH, LIGHT POLES NOW.
UH, SO ALL THAT'S GOING GREAT.
THE LOBBY, IT'S COMING ALONG NICELY.
THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS REALLY OF THE BAR AREA.
UM, BUT I WENT AHEAD AND THREW THAT IN THERE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CENTER PICTURE, YOU CAN SORT OF SEE THAT, THAT ROUND ELEMENT KIND OF BEHIND YOU.
AND THEN THE PICTURE ON THE RIDE IS BASICALLY THE GRAB AND GO AND THE, UH, AND THE CONCESSION AREA THAT WE HAVE THERE.
BOWLING INSTALLATIONS GOING ALONG GREAT.
I THINK LAST TIME WHEN I WAS HERE, WE HAD AN EMPTY PIT THERE.
THE BOWLING GUYS ARE THERE IN, IN, IN FORCE.
I THINK THEY'RE GONNA BE DONE IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
UM, GETTING THE LANES DOWN, WE JUST GOT, WE LITERALLY JUST CLIMATIZED THE BUILDING TODAY.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE, FOR THE LANES IS FOR THAT TO GO DOWN.
WE'VE BEEN HOLDING ON VINYL, UH, BASED ON THAT, UM, ON ALL THE FINISHES.
SO WE, WE, IT WAS LITERALLY COOL IN THERE TODAY, AND THE, THE PAINT AND VINYL GUY WAS THERE, SO WE'RE READY TO GO THERE AS WELL.
KITCHEN, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE HERE WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT THE KITCHEN EQUIPMENT IS THERE.
UM, THE KITCHEN EQUIPMENT GUYS ARE CONTINUING TO WORK, GETTING EVERYTHING SET UP AND GOING CENTER.
THE COOLERS ARE ALL IN AND RUNNING.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS PICTURE.
THE RESTROOMS ARE, YOU KNOW, THE REASON THAT TOP AREA IS NOT DONE ON THE PICTURE ON THE FAR LEFT WAS 'CAUSE OF THE CLIMATIZATION.
WE NEEDED THAT FOR THE VINYL, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ALL DONE NOW.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, FLOORS, WALLS AND PARTITIONS ARE, ARE IN PICTURE IN THE MIDDLE, SHOWS THE SINK WALL.
THE SINKS COME IN WITH THE MILLWORK, WHICH COMES IN STARTING THIS WEEK ON WEDNESDAY.
A PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS NOT A RESTROOM, BUT I THREW IT IN HERE BECAUSE I JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE IT.
IT'S JUST THE BAR LINE, THE MAIN BAR LINE, HOW IT'S COMING TOGETHER.
YOU'VE GOT THE FINISHES ON THE WALL FLOOR.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE, UH, THE, UH, BEVERAGE TUBES COMING OUT THROUGH THE FLOOR.
THE REGULAR AUDITORIUMS, THEY'RE ABOUT 95% COMPLETE HERE.
REALLY, THE ONLY THING THAT'S NOT, UH, COMPLETED IN THESE AUDITORIUMS IS, UH, THE SPEAKER PACKAGES.
THE SPEAKERS ARE ACTUALLY, THE STAGE SPEAKERS ARE ACTUALLY BEHIND THE SCREENS ALREADY AS THE SCREENS ARE UP.
THOSE BOXES THAT YOU'RE SEEING, THERE ARE ACTUALLY SURROUNDS THAT YOU SEE THAT'LL GO ON THE WALL.
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IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT DOLBY THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE CENTER.SUPERIOR, SUPERIOR DIGITAL EXPERIENCE SCREEN.
THE SDX, THE DOLBY ATMOS AUDITORIUM.
IT'S REALLY THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS THE PICTURE OF IT.
UH, UM, IN ITS CURRENT STATE, IT'S GOT THE SCREEN.
YOU CAN SEE THE STAGE SPEAKER SITTING UP ON THE FAR LEFT PICTURE THERE, THE STAGE SPEAKERS SITTING UP THERE, SCREEN'S ACTUALLY GOING UP TOMORROW ON THE SDX.
THE OTHER TWO PICTURES ARE JUST KIND OF, UH, CORRIDOR PICTURES THAT I JUST WANTED TO SHOW KIND OF THE STAGE OF THE CORRIDOR.
IT'S JUST READY FOR VINYL, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
YEAH, IMAX AUDITORIUM WE TALKED ABOUT.
I THINK THIS KIND OF EXPANDS EVEN MORE OF WHERE IT'S AT.
UM, IMAX EQUIPMENT, AS YOU CAN SEE, THOSE BOXES ON THE LEFT ACTUALLY ARRIVED TODAY.
UM, SO THE IMAX PROJECTOR IS IN THE MEZZANINE.
UM, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T, UH, ELABORATE ON THE AUDITORIUMS ON THE PREVIOUS PICTURE, BUT ALL THE, ALL THE PROJECTORS ARE ALSO IN PLACE IN ALL THE OTHER AUDITORIUMS TOO.
SO ALL THE PROJECTION IS IN PLACE TODAY.
SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, JUST ONE MOMENT.
I'D LIKE TO MENTION THAT BRIAN THOMPSON, BOARD MEMBER, UH, JOINED US AT 6:38 PM OKAY.
UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S JUST GREAT, RIGHT? LOVE THE IMAX
UM, JUST REALLY, IT'S, IT'S FINISHING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A, WE'RE A MONTH FROM, WE'RE LESS THAN THAT FROM OPENING.
AND, UH, WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY THAT THAT GOES BY, WE JUST GET MORE AND MORE DONE.
THE SEATS, LIKE I SAID, THE SEATS ARRIVE, UH, LITERALLY WEDNESDAY OF THIS WEEK.
SO THAT REALLY FINISHES THOSE AUDITORIUMS. THAT'S TYPICALLY ON, ON ONE OF THESE, ON ONE OF THESE VENUES IS THE AUDITORIUMS KIND OF FINISH OUT FIRST BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOUND AND EQ THAT HAPPENS IN THERE.
AND IT KIND OF, UM, ALL THE, ALL THE TRADES GET OUT OF THERE AND THEN DRAG INTO THAT, UH, INTO THE, INTO YOUR MAIN, MAIN PUBLIC AREAS AND FINISH THOSE OUT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY ARE RIGHT NOW.
UM, BOEING TO FINISH IN 10 DAYS.
UH, KITCHEN STARTUP, OF COURSE, MILLWORK DELIVERS, LIKE I SAID, AND INSTALLS THIS WEEK.
IT'LL COMPLETE WITHIN, UH, WITHIN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS, I BELIEVE IS WHERE THEY'RE AT.
COMPLETE WALL AND FOUR FINISHES.
AND THEN, UH, AND THEN WE'RE, YOU'RE, WE'RE SHOOTING TO OPEN END OF MAY, SO SUPER EXCITED.
ANY QUESTIONS? ARE YOU ON TRACK TO HAVE YOUR CERTIFICATE FOR THE OCCUPANCY READY TO GO WHEN THIS IS ALL DONE? YES, SIR.
ANY ISSUES THERE? I DON'T FORESEE ANY ISSUES.
I TALKED TO THE, I WAS ACTUALLY ON SITE TODAY ALL DAY, AND I TALKED TO THE HEAD BUILDING OFFICIALS.
SO WE WALKED THROUGH ACTUALLY WHAT THE TCO PROCESSES WERE, WHAT HE WANTED TO SEE, AND IT'S LIFE SAFETY, RIGHT? AND WE'RE CONCERNED WITH LIFE SAFETY TOO.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE.
ANYBODY ELSE? CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE CAPACITY OF THE THEATER THEATER IS? YOU KNOW, THE, THE TOTAL CAPACITY, I THINK IS, UM, JUST UNDER 2000.
I THINK WE HAVE JUST UNDER A THOUSAND SEATS, BUT TOTAL CAPACITY.
UM, BUT, UH, THE SEATS ARE AROUND 900, BUT YOUR TOTAL BUILDING CAPACITY IS, IS PUSHING THE 2000 MARK UHHUH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL SEE.
I WAS JUST GONNA, I COMPLIMENTED YOU EARLIER, BUT THANK YOU AND, AND YOUR TEAM FOR COMING OUT ON SATURDAY AND SUPPORTING THE, THE CHAMBER AND THE, THE EVENT DOWNTOWN.
I'VE, WE'VE BROUGHT OUR, OUR MANAGER JIMMY MCQUAID, SO HE'S GONNA SPEAK TO THAT TOO.
AND WE ARE, WE KNOW THAT WE JUST, WE HAD A GREAT TIME AND A, AND A SUPER TURNOUT, AND WE'LL LET HIM EXPAND ON THAT.
UH, JUST REAL QUICK, WHAT'S THE CAPACITY ON THE IMAX THEATER SPECIFICALLY? I THINK IT'S AT TWO 30.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME JIMMY MCQUAID, OUR MANAGER.
WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO INTRODUCE HIM TO THE, TO YOU GUYS ALL TONIGHT.
AND, UH, I'LL LET HIM TAKE IT.
UH, WELL, MY NAME'S JIMMY MCQUAID.
I'M GONNA BE THE GENERAL MANAGER HERE AT, UH, HOOKY HU UH, VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT.
I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF MY BACKGROUND.
UH, I'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO INCLUDE NOT ONLY FOOD AND BEVERAGE AS A BIG PART OF MY CAREER, BUT ALSO HAVING ENTERTAINMENT INVOLVED, RIGHT? WHETHER IT'S BEEN THEME PARKS WITH THE URCHIN FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT WITH, UH, KENTUCKY KEENUM, OR THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY DOWN IN DISNEY WORLD.
UH, I'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT TO EVEN THE SPORTS WORLD WHERE I'VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP, UH, ASSIST GUESTS, WHETHER IT COMES TO THE NFL, THE N-B-A-M-L-B OR NCAA, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO BE A PART OF HOSTING, UH, DOWN IN THE FINAL FOUR IN SAN ANTONIO, NOT THIS YEAR, BUT, UH, OVER FOUR YEARS AGO.
SO, UH, GREAT EXPERIENCE DOWN THERE.
UM, COMING TO OUR TEAM HERE AT THIS VERA HAS MADE ME SUPER EXCITED BECAUSE OF WHAT WE ARE BRINGING TO
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THE TABLE AND WHAT WE ARE BRINGING TO THE CITY OF HUDU.UM, TO BE HONEST, MY WIFE IS ALREADY LOOKING FOR OUR HIPPO TO BE PUT IN OUR FRONT YARD.
SO, UH, LOVE WHAT WE SEE WHEN WE WALK AROUND.
WE LOVE THE PRIDE THAT WE SEE HERE.
UH, YESTERDAY WE CAME IN AND, UH, HAD OURSELVES SOME, UH, BREAKFAST SLASH LUNCH.
I'M MORE OF A LUNCH GUY, I'LL BE HONEST, AT THE HIPPO CAFE JUST DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, THAT'S A BIG PART TO ME AND MY, MY FAMILY, NOT JUST MYSELF, YOU KNOW, AS A BUSINESS OWNER, BUT AS BEING A PART OF THE COMMUNITY, BEING BOUGHT INTO WHAT WE DO, RIGHT? AND WITH HUDU, UH, RECEIVING A MOVIE THEATER, AN ENTERTAINMENT SPECTACLE, REALLY, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, BEING ABLE TO HAVE YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH US, HAVE YOUR BUSINESSES COME, HAVE A GOOD TIME WITH US, BEING ABLE TO JUST CELEBRATE IN GENERAL HERE AT HOME VERSUS HAVING TO GO TAKE THE 35, THAT'S GONNA BE HUGE, RIGHT? I RATHER STAY ON THIS SIDE VERSUS HAVING TO GO DOWN AND MAKE ANOTHER HOUR DRIVE BASED ON JUST TRAFFIC OR CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT? UH, SO THAT IS KIND OF OUR GOAL, RIGHT? IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT WALK IN ENJOY THEMSELVES, THAT THEY HAVE A PLACE TO GO TO, NOT SOMEBODY ELSE'S.
THAT'S WHAT MAKES US HAPPY AND PROUD ABOUT WHAT WE ARE BRINGING HERE TO THE CITY OF HU.
AND, UH, HONESTLY, OUR TEAM'S READY TO GO.
UH, I WAS VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HIRED OUR FINAL PIECE OF THE TEAM TODAY.
SO, UH, I'LL BE HEADED OFF TO TYLER TOMORROW, UH, WHICH IS WHERE ONE OF OUR SISTER LOCATIONS IS AT WITH OUR HOSPITALITY MANAGER, UH, WILL BE DOING SOME TRAINING THERE.
AND THEN MY KITCHEN, CINEMA MANAGER, FACILITY MANAGER, FEC MANAGER AND SALES MANAGER, WILL ALL BE JOINING US THE FOLLOWING WEEK UP IN SOUTHLAKE, UH, JUST NORTH DALLAS, UH, WHERE WE'LL BE STARTING OUR TRAINING THERE TOGETHER AS A TEAM.
UH, THEN WE'LL COME BACK ON THE 28TH WHERE WE'LL, AT THE HAMPTON BE DOING OUR HIRING, UH, AND INTERVIEW PROCESS WITH OUR GUEST THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ONE, MEET UP WITH HERE AT THE CRAWFISH FESTIVAL, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC, BY THE WAY.
MY DAUGHTER, MY DAUGHTERS LOVE CR FISH.
FIRST TIME FOR THEM, THEY ACTUALLY HAVE IT.
UH, SO THAT WAS KIND OF AN EXPERIENCE, LEMME TELL YOU.
MY KIDS ARE VERY, UH, ECLECTIC WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS.
THEY COULD PUT AWAY ACU, THEY COULD PUT AWAY A CHARCUTERIE BOARD PRETTY EASILY
MY WIFE HAD A GREAT TIME BEING ABLE TO KIND OF BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
BUT, UH, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, REALLY, OUR TEAM'S READY TO GET OUT THERE AND START MEETING THE PEOPLE.
AND AGAIN, APRIL 28TH THROUGH MAY 3RD, WE'LL BE DOING OUR INTERVIEWING PROCESS.
AND THEN THE FOLLOWING WEEK, I'LL BE ALL HANDS ON DECK AND WE'LL START TRAINING INSIDE THE LOCATION.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANYONE? I, I HAVE A QUESTION.
ABOUT YOUR, YOUR BUSINESS CONFERENCE ROOMS? MM-HMM
WHAT ARE THOSE? WHAT, WHAT IS THE CAPACITY FOR THOSE? SURE.
SO I, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO HAVE TWO EVENT SPACES, RIGHT? UH, THE TWO EVENT SPACES CAN BE TURNED INTO ONE BIGGER EVENT SPACE.
THEY'RE EACH EQUAL ABOUT 25 TO 30.
BUT THEN WHEN WE O WHEN WE OPEN UP THE ONE WALL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET UP TO ABOUT 60, 70.
THAT BEING SAID, IF WE ARE LOOKING TO NEED A BIGGER SPACE, HEY, WE GOT BIG THEATERS,
WHAT ELSE CAN I HELP WITH? HOW MANY EMPLOYEES ARE YOU LOOKING TO HIRE, AND ARE YOU LOOKING TO HIRE MORE LOCAL, OR ARE YOU SOURCING FROM OTHER CITIES? UM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A BIG FOCUS ON THE HU UH, CITY OF HUDU.
UH, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO OUR CHEF, HE'S COMING FROM HUDU.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, HE'S LIVED HERE FOR 20 YEARS.
UM, AND WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, HONESTLY, THE CRAWFISH CRAWFISH FESTIVAL WAS GREAT BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO PUT OUR QR CODE OUT THERE WITH THE 26 DIFFERENT POSITIONS WHERE WE WERE, UH, WE GONNA BE HIRING FOR.
AND WE SAW A PRETTY GOOD RETURN ON IT.
I MEAN, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I MEAN, CONSIDERING IT'S SATURDAY AND A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WE ALREADY GOT, WE ALREADY GOT 23 RESPONSES, LESS THAN 48 HOURS.
THAT'S HONESTLY HUGE, RIGHT? FIRST, UH, THE FESTIVAL THAT WE WERE AT, AND THAT'S ALL THEY KNOW, RIGHT? UM, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE 135 POSITION, UH, POSITIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HIRING.
UM, BUT IN THE END OF IT, WE ALWAYS KNOW ATTRITION WILL HAPPEN.
WE EXPECT IT PROBABLY END AT ABOUT 90 WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE.
ANYTHING ELSE? BACK TO THE BUSINESS CENTERS? YES, MA'AM.
OR THOSE NETWORKING GROUPS, UH, ROOMS, UH, IS THE CON WILL THE KITCHEN BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, UH, REFRESHMENTS OR FOOD OR THAT SORT OF THING? ABSOLUTELY.
I'M A ICED TEA GUY, SO I'M ALWAYS GONNA MAKE SURE THERE'S ICED TEA FOR YOU.
THANKS AGAIN FOR DOING THAT, AND JUST PUTTING YOURSELF IN FRONT OF THE COMMUNITY EVEN BEFORE OPENING.
NOW, I WANNA, I WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHEN THEY COME IN, THERE'S A RECOGNIZABLE FACE.
THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT, YOU KNOW? AND AS WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUR TEAM WITH THE CITY OF HU, UM, I, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG FOCUS OF IT.
YOU KNOW, VERY MUCH HITTING ON WHAT YOU SAID, CHAIR, UH, CHAIR CLANCY, I WANNA MAKE SURE I GET THAT RIGHT.
UM, IS REALLY HAVING THAT FOCUS AROUND THE CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THIS ISN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER SPOT THAT IS A TOURIST TRAP.
NOW THIS IS REALLY BEING BUILT FOR THE CITY OF HUDU AND HAVING SOMETHING OF OUR OWN VERSUS AGAIN, GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN LITERALLY JUST DRIVE DOWN THE STREET.
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NICER, A LOT EASIER, A LOT MORE WELCOMING FOR EVERYBODY COMING IN, FOR LACK OF BETTER WAY.I WANNA SOUND SO CLICHE, BUT HAVE THE CHEERS WAY OF WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS THEIR NAME, YOU KNOW,
SO YOU SAID THAT YOUR WIFE IS ALREADY LOOKING AT HIPPOS, AND CHRIS MIGHT BE ABLE TO TALK TO THIS.
HOW MANY, OR HOW BIG IS THE HIPPO GONNA BE AT HOOKY? HAVE YOU ORDERED IT AND WHO'S PAINTING IT? CHRIS, I BELIEVE IT'S THREE HIPPOS, RIGHT? THREE
OH, THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE, THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE IN THE WATER.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S A MAMA AND A BABY, AND THEN ANOTHER ADULT THAT'S WITH ITS HEAD, KIND OF UP AND OUT, AND WE'RE GONNA PUT 'EM OUT THERE BY THE PAVILION.
SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THE PROOFS ARE DONE.
THEY'RE MADE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY ON A BOAT RIGHT NOW, AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE EXPECTING THEM RIGHT BEFORE WE OPEN MM-HMM
SO WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THE HIPPOS, ACTUALLY.
SO IS THE COMMUNITY PRETTY QUICK? AND WE WERE ALL PRETTY EXCITED, LIKE, OH, WE'RE GETTING OUR OWN HIPPOS, THIS'S GONNA BE GREAT.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING UP.
LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE GUYS PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO IT, AND YOU'RE GONNA HIT THE DEADLINE, SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND PRESENTING.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AGAIN, YOUR TIME.
UH, 5.2, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF REGARDING THE HU EDC WEBSITE AND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR A CORPORATION.
JENNIFER, YOU'RE GONNA PLUG IN, RIGHT? SO I DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING.
DO WE NEED TO, WE KNOW WE CAN'T OPEN THIS, BUT I JUST DID IT FOR YOU.
JENNIFER JAR, OAK MARKETING ANALYST.
I'M HERE THIS EVENING TO TALK TO YOU GUYS ABOUT THE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WEBSITE OVERVIEW.
ACTUALLY, I HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE, UM, STRATEGY FOR OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
BUT I'M GONNA START WITH THE WEBSITE.
HAVE YOU ALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT? JUST BRIEFLY? WONDERFUL.
SO I, I WAS GOING TO SAY, I HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET MANY OF YOU, BUT I GOT TO MEET MOST OF YOU THIS EVENING WHEN WE WERE TAKING PICTURES.
UH, I WANTED TO JUST GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY, THOUGH, TO GET TO, TO KNOW ME A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AND I'VE SPOKEN A LITTLE BIT TO SOME OF YOU ABOUT MY BACKGROUND.
UH, I DO HAVE A BACKGROUND IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND I HAVE A PASSION FOR STRATEGIC DESIGN AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION THROUGH STORYTELLING, WHICH IS WHY I AM IN THIS POSITION.
UH, I BEGAN MY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY OVER A DECADE AGO AT THE ROUND ROCK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UH, MANAGING A FULL PORTFOLIO OF CHAMBER EVENTS.
BUT BECAUSE OF THAT TITLE, I WAS ASKED TO HELP LAUNCH AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATED EVENT CALLED SPARK, WHICH WAS A FIRESIDE CHAT, UM, WITH SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS AND THEY, WITH ADVISING, UM, UPCOMING AND RISING ENTREPRENEURS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I ALSO SERVED ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE THAT BOUGHT, THAT BROUGHT 1 MILLION CUPS TO ROUND ROCK, WHICH IS BASICALLY A LOCAL SHARK TANK.
IF YOU'VE EVER ATTENDED A 1 MILLION CUPS EVENT, IT'S PRETTY GREAT.
IT IS MORE REGIONALLY, IT'S NOT JUST FOR ROUND ROCK, IT IS IN ROUND ROCK, THOUGH.
UM, AND SO THAT'S HOW I GOT MY FOOT IN THE DOOR WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, MORE RECENTLY, I SPENT SIX YEARS WITH THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT LEADING THEIR MARKETING EFFORTS AND SUPPORTING RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES.
DURING MY TIME THERE, I SERVED ON THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PART, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP BOARD, THE ONE THAT CHENEY CURRENTLY SERVES ON.
THAT'S ACTUALLY HOW I MET HER, UM, AND INCLUDING A TERM AS AN OFFICER, AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN BRINGING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPER DAVE PORTER TO THE, UM, PARTNERSHIP.
ON MY TIME ON THE BOARD, I CO-PLANNED AND EXECUTED AN INAUGURAL SITE SELECTOR TOUR, AND HELPED BRING TWO MORE ADDITIONAL TOURS TO THE REGION.
I REPRESENTED GEORGETOWN AT MAJOR RECRUITMENT EVENTS, INCLUDING M, MD AND M AND, AND, UH, NEW YORK CITY.
AND I JOINED THE OPPORTUNITY AUSTIN MARKETING AND RECRUITMENT TRIPS TO CHICAGO AND LOS ANGELES, WHICH DEVELOPED DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE REGIONAL ASSETS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY'S ECONOMIC ECONOMIC SUCCESS.
ALSO, WHILE IN GEORGETOWN, I, UH, ATTENDED THE OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, OR O-U-E-D-I, AND GRADUATED FROM THAT PROGRAM.
IT'S A THREE YEAR ADVANCED PROGRAM AND AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
UH, WHICH NOW BRINGS ME TO HU.
I'VE BEEN HERE FOR NINE MONTHS, UM, AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE.
I BEAMED WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE, UM, HOOKY HOW TO, UH, THE HIPPOS THAT THEY'RE BRINGING, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT REACTION WAS GONNA COME OUTTA ME, BUT IT, I'VE, I'M STARTING TO REALLY UNDERSTAND, UM, THE HIPPO THEME, AND I'M GETTING BEHIND IT, AND I LOVE IT.
AND I THINK IT'S SUCH A GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY ASSET THAT WE HAVE AND REALLY SETS US APART.
AND IT'S BEEN SO FUN MARKETING, UM,
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THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, UH, EFFORTS HERE WITH OUR HIPPOS.UM, DURING MY TIME HERE, SO FAR, I'VE ASSISTED IN PLANNING AND EXECUTING THE HOLIDAYS AND HUDDLE EVENTS, DEVELOP MARKETING MATERIALS FOR THE BIZ THRIVE PROGRAM, SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, AND RECRUITMENT MATERIALS FOR SITE, UH, SITE VISITS JUST RECENTLY.
UH, AND AS YOU ALL ARE ABOUT TO KNOW, MY MOST RECENT PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED IS THE WEBSITE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THAT.
I AM GONNA KICK THIS OVER TO CHENEY JUST TO KIND OF START US OFF WITH THE, THE CHALLENGE THAT PRESENTED ITSELF ORIGINALLY.
SO, JUST TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THE WEBSITE SPECIFICALLY.
SO OUR PREVIOUS WEBSITE FOR THE EDC WAS OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY'S IT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THAT TIMING ACTUALLY ALIGNED WITH WHEN THAT CONTRACT WAS UP FOR RENEWAL.
AND SO, RATHER THAN JUST RENEWING, UM, WE WANTED TO EXPLORE SOME OTHER OPTIONS THAT WOULD ALIGN WITH THE CITY'S IT SECURITY BECAUSE, UM, RENEWING WITH THAT VENDOR, THEY WERE NOT WILLING TO MAKE THOSE NECESSARY UPDATES.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO PIVOT, WE COLLABORATED WITH THE COMMS TEAM AS WELL AS IT, UM, TO GO TO A NEW PLATFORM, UH, THAT RESULTED IN A LOT MORE CONTROL OVER CONTENT UPDATES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT COMPLIES WITH THE IT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITY.
UM, AND IT ALSO IS A HUGE COST SAVINGS.
SO IT WAS KIND OF A THREE FOR THREE, UH, NO BRAINER ON THAT.
UM, AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'VE BECO OR HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF RECREATE THE SITE BECAUSE WE PIVOTED THOSE, UH, THE PLATFORM FOR THAT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT BACKGROUND.
AND AS SHE ALLUDED TO, WITH EVERY CHALLENGE DOES COME AN OPPORTUNITY.
SO WITH THAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, I WAS ABLE TO GAIN ANY SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO LEARN A NEW SKILL.
I HAVE NEVER DEVELOPED A WEBSITE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
I HAVE UPDATED HERE AND THERE ON THE BACKEND RECENTLY, AND WHILE IN GEORGETOWN, VERY LITTLE.
BUT, UH, DEVELOPING A WEBSITE FROM THE GROUND UP IS A BRAND NEW SKILL THAT, UM, I HAVE DEVELOPED WHILE HERE.
SO THAT HAS BEEN, UM, A PHENOMENAL FEATHER IN MY CAP, I GUESS I COULD SAY.
UM, TO ADD TO ALL OF THE THINGS I JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU AS IN MY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE, UM, IT WAS A TRULY A COLLABORATIVE TEAM EFFORT AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, AS YOU PROBABLY SAW ON THE WEBSITE, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY, UH, PARTNERS THAT ARE, UH, HIGHLIGHTED ON THERE AS WELL AS INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO THEM AND SAY, HEY, MAKING SURE THAT THEY, UM, EVERYTHING IS UPDATED TO WHAT THEY WANNA SHOWCASE.
THAT INVOLVES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR WORKFORCE.
UM, SAME WITH OUR, UM, INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS, OUR LIBRARY, OUR PARKS AND REC, MAKING SURE WE'RE REALLY SHOWCASING THAT, UM, AND ALIGNING IT TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I WAS ALSO, UH, ABLE TO GAIN JUST A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO, LIKE I MENTIONED, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE ABOUT NINE MONTHS, UM, STARTING, I KNEW THE, THE REGION.
I KNOW WALT WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
BUT, UM, NOW I HAVE A REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE ASSETS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN HURO.
UM, THAT CAN ALSO ADD TO SELLING POINTS FOR RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES.
UH, IT HAS BEEN A TRUE LABOR OF LOVE
IT, IT TOOK, IT TOOK TRULY NINE MONTHS TO GET THIS STARTED FROM START TO FINISH, AS SHE KIND OF MENTIONED THE CHALLENGE THAT PRESENTED ITSELF.
UM, SO ALL OF THE CONTENT PIECES, UH, THE PHOTOS, WHICH AGAIN, I WANNA SPEAK TO THAT AS WELL.
THERE ARE STILL PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES BEING MADE.
YOU ALL MET KATIE THIS EVENING, WHO TOOK YOUR PICTURE.
HER TEAM AND THE COMMS DEPARTMENT TEAM WILL HAVE A SHOT LIST.
WE'RE GONNA SEND THEM OUT, GET SOME REALLY GREAT PHOTOS OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, PARKS, AS WELL AS SOME VIDEO TO REALLY CONTINUE TO SHOWCASE AND TELL THE STORY OF, OF, UM, THE ECONOMIC GROWTH HERE IN HUDU.
UM, BEFORE WE KIND OF GO THROUGH THE, UH, THE WEBSITE, I WANT TO JUST REMIND YOU OF WHAT THE AUDIENCE IS FOR OUR WEBSITE.
THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT WEBSITES THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY, AND OURS SPECIFICALLY IS REALLY GEARED TOWARDS SITE SELECTORS, DEVELOPERS, BROKERS, BUSINESSES, AND FUTURE RESIDENTS THAT WILL BE BROUGHT HERE BECAUSE BUSINESSES ARE, ARE MOVING TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE YOU TO THE WEBSITE.
I WONDER IF I HAVE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
CAN YOU, UM, EXIT OUT OF THAT FOR ME FROM YOUR END, AND THEN I'LL OPEN IT ON.
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO A MAGIC TRICK AND TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE WEBSITE, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
[00:25:01]
IN ALL HER GLORY.ALL RIGHT, SO I'M GOING TO KIND OF JUST TALK ABOUT A FEW STRATEGIC POINTS OF THE WEBSITE.
UM, THERE ARE, AS YOU CAN SEE, LOTS OF DIFFERENT PAGES, AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE KIND OF TAKEN A, A LOOK AT THAT.
SO I'M JUST GONNA KEEP IT A LITTLE BRIEF AND WE CAN, OBVIOUSLY, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY, UH, PAGES YOU WANNA LOOK AT, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO.
UM, ONE THING I DO WANNA NOTE IS THERE ARE STILL A FEW BUGS WE'RE WORKING OUT.
UM, IF YOU'VE LOOKED AT THE CALENDAR, UM, THAT IS GONNA BE SHIFTING AND, AND THAT WILL FIX ITSELF OUT.
OUR COMMS DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON THAT, BUT I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT IT'S, WE'RE OKAY WITH THAT.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE GONNA GET THOSE FIXED.
SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH THIS SITE SELECTORS TAB AND GO TO LOCATION AND MAPS.
AND THE STRATEGY HERE IS REALLY TO SHOWCASE THE REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE HAVE A NEW IDEA FOR THIS VIDEO, BUT RIGHT NOW THIS IS JUST, IT'S FUN AND ENGAGING.
SO I REALLY ENJOY PUTTING THESE, THESE VIDEOS FROM OUR COMMS DEPARTMENT ON THERE.
AND WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE OF THOSE THAT REALLY TELL A HU STORY IN THE LOCATION.
UH, BUT WE HAVE SOME MAPS HERE.
WE HAVE INFORMATION ON POPULATION, UM, REALLY JUST SHOWCASING THE STRATEGY OF, OF, OF OUR CONNECTIVITY AND LOCATION.
AND THEN NEXT WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT WORKFORCE.
AS YOU ALL MAY BE AWARE, WORKFORCE IS THE ONE THING, THE TOP THING.
IT, IT CONTINUES TO BE THE TOP ITEM THAT SITE SELECTORS ARE, UM, LOOKING AT FIRST BEFORE CHOOSING A SITE, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE WORKFORCE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT WE, IF THEY BRING A BUSINESS HERE, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO HIRE.
SO ONE GREAT THING ABOUT OUR AREA IS THAT WE HAVE 1.1 MILLION WORKERS WITHIN A 45 MINUTE DRIVE TIME THAT SHOWS THAT HERE, THAT'S RIGHT OFF THE BAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S LETTING THEM KNOW, HEY, WE HAVE THE WORKFORCE.
AND THEN WE JUST KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORKFORCE ON THIS PAGE.
THE STRATEGY HERE WAS REALLY TO EMPHASIZE LOCAL TALENT PIPELINE AND REGIONAL ACCESS.
WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS HERE, UM, THAT ARE WORKFORCE BASED, SOME STATS, AND OF COURSE THE ISD, LOTS OF ISD THAT YOU'LL SEE IN HERE.
AND ONE, THE REASON FOR THAT BEING ON THIS PAGE IS IT HAS STARTED IN THE ISD WORKFORCES, STARTING IN THE ISD THROUGH THE CTE PROGRAMS, UM, THROUGH THE ADVANCED ACADEMICS PROGRAMS. THEY HAVE THE REACH PROGRAM.
THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT PROGRAMS THAT ARE HERE IN HUDU ALREADY STARTING TO BUILD A WORKFORCE THAT'S BUILT FOR THE GROWTH THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR REGION WITH MANUFACTURING, WITH, UH, BIOTECHNOLOGY, UM, ALL OF THE TARGET INDUSTRIES THAT WE ARE SEEKING.
WHICH LEADS ME TO THE NEXT ONE, ACTUALLY, WE'RE GOING TO DEMOGRAPHICS NEXT.
THE DEMOGRAPHICS PAGE, UH, IS TO PROVIDE DATA RICH OVERVIEW TO SUPPORT INVESTMENT.
SO WE HAVE HIGH LEVEL DEMOGRAPHICS RIGHT HERE FOR PEOPLE TO KIND OF QUICK LOOK AT.
WE ALSO HAVE THIS LINK HERE THAT GOES TO THE RETAIL COACH.
VERY INTUITIVE, VERY, UM, IN DEPTH, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS FOR OUR SITE, SELECTORS TO LOOK AT, FOR THOSE BUSINESSES TO LOOK AT RIGHT THEN AND THERE, RIGHT HERE ON OUR WEBSITE.
THAT'S HOW WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THIS WEBSITE REALLY IS, IT'S A, IT'S AN EXTENDED MARKETING PIECE.
LOTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT HOUSING.
I WOULD SAY IN MY, IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE TOP TWO, AND THIS IS CHANGING, THE TOP TWO AND THREE, UM, ITEMS THAT SITE SELECTORS LOOK AT ARE WORKFORCE HOUSING AND WATER.
WATER IS THE NEWEST ONE, UM, IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
SO WE COVER A LOT OF THAT ON THIS PAGE AND THROUGHOUT THE SITE.
AND THEN I'M GONNA JUMP OVER TO TARGET INDUSTRIES.
THE STRATEGY HERE IS TO ALIGN WITH THE HU'S STRENGTHS AND FUTURE GROWTH.
SO WE HAVE THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, A LITTLE BLURB THERE ABOUT SAMSUNG AND ITS LOCATION NEAR US, THE TESLA GIGA FACTORY NEARBY.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THE FUTURE COMMAND CENTER.
WE HAVE, UM, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF GREAT R AND D AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, UM, REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION COME THROUGH.
SO THIS IS A NEWER ONE, LIFE SCIENCES AS WELL.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT RETAIL HERE.
SO, AND WE, I BELIEVE WE PUT MENTION IN, UM, IN THE DESTINATION RETAIL.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH, UM, BLURB OF THAT.
AND WE HAVE HOOKY LISTED IN THERE.
AGAIN, MORE INFORMATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS HERE WITH THE HOW TO WORKFORCE AND RETAIL ASSESSMENTS.
SO THAT'S JUST LIKE THAT PAGE WE JUST SHOWED YOU THROUGH THE RETAIL COACH.
SO THAT IS THE, THAT IS THE STRATEGY BEHIND THE SITE SELECTOR TAB.
UM, IT'S A ONE TAB WITH ALL THE REASONS THAT HETO HAS IT ALL RIGHT HERE FOR A SITE SELECTOR.
UM, IF THEY NEED MORE INFORMATION, THERE'S PLENTY OF WAYS TO REACH OUT.
THERE'S, UM, IN OUR BOTTOM BAR HERE, EMAIL OUR TEAM.
THEN I'M GONNA JUMP OVER TO THE BUSINESS PAGE,
[00:30:01]
AND THIS IS OUR BIZ THRIVE.YOU ALL MET EMILY, UH, AT YOUR LAST BOARD MEETING.
SO THIS IS HER AREA, HER PROGRAM THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO, UM, PROMOTE.
AND, UH, THESE TWO PAGES ARE REALLY TO POSITION HATO AS, UH, ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESS FRIENDLY.
UM, JUST LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT THE BIZ THRIVE PROGRAM IS, UM, LETTING THEM ADD THEIR, UM, BUSINESS TO THE BUSINESS DIRECTORY.
WE HAVE A GREAT, UM, TESTIMONIAL FROM HAPPY PANINI.
THIS WAS AN EXPANSION PROJECT.
UM, SO CHRIS AND GINA WERE ABLE TO SEND US KIND OF THEIR STORY.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO DO MORE OF THAT, WE'D LOVE TO ADD MORE.
SO THIS WOULD BE A SCROLLING BAR OF DIFFERENT, UM, STORIES OF EXPANSION PROJECTS OR JUST BUSINESSES THAT ARE, UM, UTILIZING THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN OUR BUSINESS SURVEY, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND THEN I'LL POP OVER TO THE BUSINESS.
THIS IS A VERY THOROUGH PAGE WITH ALL OF THE RESOURCES, UM, NEEDED FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT, UH, TOOLS FOR ALL STAGES OF BUSINESS.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS CENTRALIZE IT HERE.
WE HAVE WORKFORCE INITIATIVES, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, THE SCORE AUSTIN PROGRAM, WHICH IS A MENTORING PROGRAM FOR BUSINESSES, UM, GETTING STARTED, THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, OR SBA AND THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, AS WELL AS LINKEDIN LEARNING, WHICH IS, UM, SOMETHING THAT CHENEY REALLY BROUGHT INTO OUR DEPARTMENT.
BUSINESSES CAN UTILIZE THIS TO LEARN.
IF THEY, IF THEY WANNA LEARN HOW TO USE CANVA, AND THEY'RE HAVING ISSUES WITH MARKETING, THEY CAN TAKE A COURSE FOR FREE, FOR FREE THROUGH OUR LIBRARY, UM, TO LEARN HOW TO, HOW TO USE CANVA AND BE A BETTER MARKETER FOR THEIR BUSINESS.
AND NOW IN THAT WAY, IT'S A RESOURCE FOR THIS BUSINESS TO NOW THRIVE, UM, BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
WE ALSO HAVE THE HU YES, 50 PROGRAM AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THIS IS THAT CALENDAR SITUATION I WAS LETTING YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT.
THIS WILL, UM, FIX ITSELF OUT, BUT THIS IS A GREAT CALENDAR PIECE THAT I'LL TALK ON A LITTLE BIT LATER AS A FUTURE ENHANCEMENT.
CURRENTLY, IT SHOWS THAT WE HAVE OUR BOARD MEETING HAPPENING, UH, AS WELL AS NEXT MONTH.
IT HAS OUR RISE, RISE AND THRIVE EVENTS.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADD MORE EVENTS TO THAT CALENDAR ON THE COMMUNITY SIDE.
WHY HU, WHY NOT HURO? UH, THIS, WHY HU IS PAGE IS REALLY JUST TO SHOWCASE EVERYTHING IN ONE SPOT.
IF ONE PERSON, AND THIS IS ON OUR HOMEPAGE AS A QUICK PIECE TO JUST CLICK ON AND IT'LL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THIS PAGE.
THIS IS EVERYTHING SOMEBODY NEEDED TO KNOW, TO KNOW.
UM, IN A QUICK MOMENT, IT TALKS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
IT TALKS ABOUT OUR HISTORY, IT TALKS ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE INITIATIVES WHERE WE'RE LOCATED.
IT REALLY COVERS THE WHOLE GAMBIT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NUMBERS, UM, AND THEN DOWNTOWN AND THE CO-OP DISTRICT, THERE'S HIGH LEVEL Y HUDDLE.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT THE LIFESTYLE, MOMENTUM AND UNIQUE IDENTITY THERE.
AND THEN ON THE COMMUNITY PAGE, THIS IS REALLY TO CELEBRATE THE AUTH AUTHENTICITY AND PRIDE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THIS IS OUR LIBRARY, OUR PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT, UM, RETAIL AND ENTERTAINMENT WITH THIS IS INCLUDING HOOKY.
UM, AND IT SHOWS ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF RETAIL, NOT JUST HERE IN THE CO-OP, UM, NOT JUST DOWNTOWN.
THIS TALKS ABOUT THE HEB SHOPPING CENTER.
UM, AND ANY FUTURE RETAIL THAT WE HAVE COMING ONLINE WILL BE ADDED IN THIS AREA AS WELL.
AND THEN WE HAVE ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS.
AND AGAIN, IT LEADS RIGHT INTO THE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
AGAIN, SPONSORSHIPS ARE GREAT FOR ALL, UM, BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOOKING TO REALLY, IT'S ANOTHER RESOURCE FOR BUSINESSES TO REALLY GET INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT HERE.
AND THEN THE ABOUT US, WE HAVE ABOUT THE EDC AND THIS, THE IMAGES THAT YOU ALL TOOK THIS EVENING WILL NOW BE UPLOADED ONTO HERE.
YOU'LL HAVE YOUR FACES RIGHT HERE, SO EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO YOU ARE.
HAVE YOUR TERMS LISTED ON HERE AS WELL.
UM, HAVE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR VISION STATEMENT AND MISSION STATEMENT.
AND AS THAT EVOLVES, SHOULD IT EVOLVE, WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE THOSE EDITS.
THIS IS A, AS ALL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ARE, THIS IS GONNA CONTINUE TO BE SOMETHING WE WORK AND GROW ON.
SO, AND THEN WE HAVE THE MEET THE TEAM.
SO WE'LL HAVE OUR TEAM HERE, UH, EASY TO CONTACT ANY OF US FOR ANY RELATED ITEMS. UM, AND THAT THE GOAL HERE WAS TO ENCOURAGE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT, UM, BUILD TRUST AND CREDIBILITY AND HUMANIZE THE ORGANIZATION WITH TEAM AND MISSION VISIBILITY.
I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE, AND THEN IF WE NEED TO COME BACK, WE CAN, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU ALL.
[00:35:08]
ALL RIGHT, I'M JUST GONNA, THERE WE GO.SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS OF THE WEBSITE, ASIDE FROM THE MINOR CHANGES THAT WE'LL BE MAKING WITH THE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS THAT I'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED, AS WELL AS THOSE BUGS THAT WE'LL FIX WITH THE CALENDAR.
UM, WE WANT TO ADD DYNAMIC NEWS AND UPDATES.
AND WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IS, AS, UM, THE AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL OR COMMUNITY IMPACT PUT OUT STORIES ABOUT, UM, E ANYTHING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATED, BUSINESS RELATED, WORKFORCE RELATED THAT INVOLVES HURO, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE A SPOT ON THE WEBSITE TO HAVE THAT AS A ONE-STOP PLACE TO GO READ ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN HURO.
UM, SO THAT'S AN UPDATE THAT I'D LIKE TO ADD.
WE ALSO WANNA DO AN INTERACTIVE SITE MAP.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WERE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE SITE PAGE ON THE WEBSITE.
IT WAS, UH, IT HAD ALL OF THE CURRENT, UM, MARKETING MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE FOR BUILD TO SUIT, UM, GREENFIELD, UM, DIFFERENT PAD SITES.
ANYTHING THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO SEND US, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT IT ON OUR WEBSITE AND IT'S JUST LISTED AND THEY CAN CLICK AND EASILY GRAB, UM, THE INFORMATION THEY NEED IN A MARKETING MATERIAL.
BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS CREATE AN INTER INTERACTIVE SITE MAP.
SO I'VE SET UP A TIME ALREADY WITH OUR GIS ANALYSTS.
WE HAVE A MEETING THIS, UH, THIS WEEK ACTUALLY TO CREATE A STORYBOARD THROUGH THE GIS PROGRAM WHERE, UM, IT'LL BE A MAP AND, UM, OF HURO.
SO IT WILL BE, UM, COLOR CODED AND PEOPLE CAN SEE, OH, WELL THIS IS A GREENFIELD SITE, OR THIS IS THE COTTONWOOD PROPERTIES, OR THIS IS WITHIN HANSEN'S CORNER OR PHASE TWO.
THIS IS A PAD SITE THEY CAN CLICK ON THAT.
THEY CAN SEE VISUALLY WHERE THESE SITES ARE, UM, IN REGARDS TO CONNECTIVITY, UM, BETTER THAN JUST HAVING TO CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
SO REALLY JUST GIVING THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT THEY NEED TO SEE ALL IN ONE SPOT.
ABLE TO ADD FILTERS FOR OUR DEVELOPERS AS WELL, SO THEY CAN SEE WHERE THE WATER LINES ARE, UM, AND WHERE, WHERE THINGS ARE ZONED FOR ADDING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP LAYER ON THERE.
SO REALLY GIVING THEM ALL THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED TO REALLY MAKE GOOD DECISIONS AND DEVELOP HERE IN HUTTO.
AND THEN, UM, THE COMMUNITY POWER EVENT CALENDAR.
THIS IS SOMETHING I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT AND I THINK ACTUALLY TOUCHES ON, UM, A FEW QUESTIONS YOU ALL HAD FOR EMILY LAST TIME SHE PRESENTED.
SO YOU SAW THE CALENDAR ON THE WEBSITE MINUS THE BUGS.
UH, IN JULY, THE COMMUNITY WILL BE ABLE TO SUBMIT CALENDAR REQUESTS TO THIS CALENDAR AND CHOOSE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, TAG.
AND IF IT IS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATED, WORKFORCE RELATED, ENTREPRENEURSHIP RELATED, ANY OF THOSE AREAS, IT WILL THEN ALSO BE PUT ON OUR CALENDAR ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO IMAGINE THE ISD, UH, MAYBE THEY HAVE A CTE EVENT, A MANUFACTURING DAY, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT THE SCHOOL, AND THEY WANT BUSINESSES TO KNOW ABOUT IT, IT'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RELATED.
THEY CAN GO AND PUT THAT INFORMATION ON OUR CALENDAR.
WE APPROVE IT, AND THEN IT'LL BE THERE, UM, FOR THE BUSINESSES TO SEE.
AND WE CAN DIRECT PEOPLE TO THAT CALENDAR.
OR LET'S SAY HU DO WINE BAR IS HAVING A MANTRA MOMPRENEUR EVENING WINE EVENT, AND IT'S VERY ENTREPRENEUR CENTRIC FOR MOMS. UM, I'M NOT SURE THEY DO THIS.
THIS IS JUST A, THIS IS JUST A GUESS IDEA.
UM, MAYBE THEY'RE, THEY DO THAT AND THEY HOST THAT, AND IT DOES FALL IN LINE WITH THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTRIC TYPE EVENT THAT WOULD BE ON THERE.
UM, OUR, UM, TSTC OR, UM, THE WORKFORCE AIR AT RURAL CAP, UH, WORKFORCE, MAYBE THEY'RE HAVING SOME, UM, SESSIONS OR TRAININGS THAT THEY WANNA PUT ON THERE, RATHER THAN HAVING A CONVOLUTED SPACE OF A BUNCH OF EVENT CALENDARS THAT YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON.
AND SO WE'LL WORK WITH THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS TO, UM, HOW TO SET THAT UP AND WALK THEM THROUGH IT AND REALLY PROMOTE THAT AS A WAY FOR THEM TO PROMOTE THEIR EVENTS THAT ARE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTRIC ON OUR WEBSITE.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, ANOTHER, UM, AUDIENCE TO OUR WEBSITE IS WHEN BUSINESSES DECIDE TO RELOCATE TO HURO, THEY'LL BE BRINGING, UM, EMPLOYERS WITH THEM.
SO WE WANNA HAVE A DIGITAL RELOCATION GUIDE FOR THOSE FUTURE RESIDENTS HERE IN HURO.
UM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS SHOWING THEM, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WE HAVE THAT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED IN MAPS, UM, AMENITIES HERE IN HURO, UH, PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE, THE MAP OF WHERE ALL THE HUS, UH, HIPPOS ARE LOCATED.
REALLY JUST A GREAT GUIDE FOR IF YOU'RE, IF YOU LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY AND YOU'RE COMING TO MOVE TO HURO, TEXAS, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY? UM, AND THEN, UH, THE, UM, SURVEY THAT EMILY'S BIZ THRIVE EVENT OR BIZ THRIVE PAGE HAS, UH, SHE'LL BE CONTINUING TO SEND
[00:40:01]
OUT BUSINESS SURVEYS AND AS WE RECEIVE THOSE RESPONSES, UM, WE'D LIKE TO MAKE BUSINESS FEEDBACK DRIVEN FEATURES TO THE WEBSITE AS WELL.THAT CONCLUDES THE WEBSITE DISCUSSION.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I'D LOVE TO HEAR 'EM.
I WAS GONNA ASK A QUICK QUESTION.
CHENEY, HAVE, I LIKE THE IDEA THAT LINKEDIN AND THEN ACCESSING THE LIBRARY'S RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY FOR ENTREPRENEURS, WHERE, WHERE'S THE CHAMBER AS FAR, YOU KNOW, THE CHAMBER HAS LOTS OF BUSINESS COACHING AND, AND COULD BE A PARTNER THAT WOULD WALK ALONGSIDE AND POTENTIALLY PROVIDE, I REALIZE THEY'RE THEIR OWN ENTITY, HOWEVER, THEY ARE A RESOURCE FOR HELPING, ESPECIALLY SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE Y'ALLS THOUGHTS? HAVE Y'ALL HAD ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHAMBER ABOUT SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER, THEIR PARTNERSHIP AS A COMMUNITY PARTNER BEING A, A RESOURCE FOR GUIDING BUSINESSES TO, CAN I, I APOLOGIZE.
THE THEY ARE ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE.
I'LL BRING THAT PART UP AT THE BOTTOM.
WE HAVE THE CITY OF HUDU HU INDEPENDENT SCHOOL JUDGE AND HUDU AIR CHAMBER.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU KNEW THAT.
THEY WERE DEFINITELY ON OUR WEBSITE AS UM, A A, THESE ARE LIKE OUR TOP PARTNERS HERE, HERE, YOU KNOW, SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I COMMUNICATED THAT.
AND THEN THEY WOULD ALSO, AND I'M SORRY IF I'M JUMPING IN, FEEL FREE TO SPEAK UP TOO.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA SAY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY.
UM, ALSO THEY WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD ALL OF THOSE EVENTS TO THAT CALENDAR THAT I SPOKE OF.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY.
AND THEY'LL PROBABLY HAVE A, AND AS YOU SAW THE DIFFERENT, UM, LOGOS.
SO THEY, THEY CAN PROVIDE A LOGO.
THERE'S GREAT FEATURES WITH THIS CALENDAR.
SO IF THEY WANTED TO DO THEIR HU CHAMBER LOGO AS THAT, UM, MINI MARK ON THE CHAMBER ON THE CALENDAR, OR THEY COULD DO, IF THEY HAVE A BRANDED EVENT LIKE THE CRAWFISH EVENT THAT JUST HAPPENED, THEY COULD USE THAT.
SO PEOPLE CAN FIND THAT BRAND AWARENESS AS WELL.
I THINK IT'S, UM, IT BRINGS A LOT OF TRANSPARENCY.
UH, UNDER THE WORKFORCE, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMS, UM, AND WITH THOSE PROGRAMS BE LISTED FOR PEOPLE TO ACCESS UNDER WORKFORCE, YOU WERE MENTIONING JUST, UM, OUTSIDE THE PROGRAMS FOR THE ISD NO, YOU WERE JUST MENTIONING, UH, LIKE OUTSIDE OR PEOPLE, BUSINESSES OUTSIDE WERE WORKING ON, UM, PROGRAMS AND JUST WONDERING IF THOSE WERE THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY WERE USING TO, FOR HIRING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, ON THIS WEBSITE, SO THE PARTNERS THAT I, THAT I ADDED HERE IS WORK IN TEXAS, THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION AND THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS RURAL CAPITAL AREA.
THESE DO LINK TO THOSE, THOSE ENTITIES, AND THEY HAVE VERY ROBUST PROGRAMMING FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE MADE SURE TO PUT THAT HERE.
AND USUALLY, UM, SITE SELECTORS DEVELOPERS AND, UH, USUALLY HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF THESE TYPE OF ENTITIES.
AND, UM, AS WELL AS, AS WE'RE CONT AS WE USE THIS, AS CHANEY GOES OUT AND DOES SITE VISITS, SHE'LL BE ABLE TO POINT BACK TO THIS AND SHE'LL BE ABLE TO USE, UH, THESE LINKS, UM, WHEN BUILDING FOLLOW UP INFORMATION FOR WORKFORCE COMMUNICATION AS WELL.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
SO, UM, THERE WAS A FEEDBACK OPTION FOR THE BUSINESSES, AND SO I'M IMAGINING, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN CLARIFY THAT THAT WILL BE COUPLED WITH WHAT EMILY IS DOING.
SHE'S VISITING ALL THE BUSINESSES IN PERSON, AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW THAT WOULD BE EXECUTED.
SO ARE YOU, UM, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE BUSINESS SURVEY? YEAH, IT SAID FEEDBACK, I THOUGHT.
SO THE, THERE'S A BUSINESS SURVEY HERE THAT DOES GIVE FEEDBACK THAT WE WOULD MAKE.
UM, WHEN I WAS MENTIONING THAT WE WOULD MAKE CHANGES TO THE WHITE WEBSITE BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK.
NO, IT'S A FEEDBACK JUST TO CHECK IN WITH THE BUSINESSES TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING.
YOU, YOU FLIPPED BY IT REAL VERY QUICKLY.
AND YOU'LL HAVE A LONG NIGHT
I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW, HOW, IF MY THINKING IS CORRECT, UH, I'M SURE THE IDEA IS ABOUT RETENTION AND ATTRACTION AND ALL OF THAT.
SO IF WE'RE GETTING THAT FEEDBACK WHEN WE VISIT WITH THEM IN PERSON, OR ARE WE SENDING THEM AN ONLINE LINK OR IS IT A COMBINATION OF THE TWO? I WOULD GO WITH THE LATTER.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I THINK, THINK WE CAN ALL RELATE TO TIMES WHERE WE'VE HAD A CONVERSATION IN PERSON AND WE GLEAN SO MUCH MORE FROM IT, OR JUST DIFFERENT THINGS THAN WHEN SOMEONE IS FILLING OUT A SURVEY.
THE OTHER THING IS WITH OUR SURVEYS, WE CAN'T ALWAYS GUARANTEE THAT THAT'S THE BUSINESS OWNER.
IT MIGHT BE THE MANAGER, IT MIGHT BE A SUPERVISOR, SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
UM, SO WHEN WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THE BUSINESS, WE'RE TYPICALLY TALKING TO THE OWNER OF THE BUSINESS, THE OWNER OPERATOR OF THE BUSINESS.
SO KIND OF THE DEC THE KEY DECISION MAKER.
SO WE GET FEEDBACK AT DIFFERENT LEVELS, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE THEN WE'RE
[00:45:01]
ABLE TO ADDRESS CONCERNS AND NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE BUSINESS.NOT JUST, THIS IS MY PERSPECTIVE AND THIS, THIS IS WHAT I THINK, BUT IT'S ALSO A VOICE FOR SOMETIMES THAT MIDDLE MANAGEMENT GROUP AND THOSE SURVEYS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK THAT MAYBE ISN'T ALWAYS VISIBLE TO THE OWNER THEMSELVES.
SO IT'S, IT'LL BE ALL A COMBINATION.
BUT THE END GOAL IS TO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO CONTINUE TO STAY, TO EXPAND MM-HMM
TO GROW, RIGHT? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS STAY HU, SUCCESS THEY'VE HAD IN HURO AND YEP.
ATTRACT OTHER BUSINESSES JUST LIKE HAPPY PANINIS QUOTE ON THERE.
AND MORE TO COME A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
WE NEED TO GET THE HU HU WINE BARGE TO DO ONE TOO.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I LOVE THE DESIGN, I LOVE THE WHITE SPACE.
THE FONT IS BEAUTIFUL, THE WAY IT'S ALL LAID OUT.
YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THAT THIS IS THE FIRST WEBSITE YOU'VE EVER DONE.
UM, AND I JUST HAVE A, UH, ONE QUICK QUESTION ABOUT A PRESS KITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, EDC GETS ASKED FOR MUCH, YOU KNOW, LOGOS AND JUST STUFF LIKE THAT? SOMETIMES IT'S KIND OF BURIED DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, A PRESS KIT IF SOMEONE'S DOING A RELEASE AND THEY WANNA USE THE LOGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UH, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE RELOCATION GUIDE, A QUESTION THAT I GET A LOT IS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ELECTRICITY PROVIDERS.
BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE RELOCATING TO THE AREA DON'T UNDER REALLY UNDERSTAND LIKE THE DEREGULATED, UM, UTILITY SERVICES.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHO DO I, YOU KNOW, CALL OR WHATEVER.
MAYBE SOMETHING ALONG ALONG THOSE LINES.
THAT'S WHAT, YES, THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE IN THERE.
AND AS WE PLAN THAT OUT, THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING, WE'LL, WE'LL CREATE AN ENTIRE LIST AND WE'LL PROBABLY DO A PRESENTATION VERY SIMILAR TO THIS.
UM, OR WE'LL SEND IT OUT TO YOU AND, AND MAYBE REQUEST SOME FEEDBACK ON, UM, ANY OF THOSE ITEMS THAT I, 'CAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I THINK IT'S A VERY COLLABORATIVE, WHEN IT'S, WHEN IT'S INVOLVING RESIDENTS MOVING TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, TAKES A LOT OF DIFFERENT HANDS TO REALLY MAKE SURE WE SPEAK TO, TO ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT I, I HAVE EXPERIENCE BUILDING A RELOCATION GUIDE WHEN I WAS IN GEORGETOWN.
UM, SO I DO HAVE SOME UNDERSTANDING THERE AND I'LL BRING THAT TO THE TABLE HERE AND THEN THAT, BUT WE AREN'T GEORGETOWN, SO WE'LL DEFINITELY MAKE IT HATO.
AND THEN THE PRESS KIT THING, DO YOU, DID YOU EVER HAVE DEMAND FOR THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION? YEAH, SO MY ANSWER TO THAT, AND I'LL, I'LL TAG TEAM WITH CHENEY ON THIS JUST TO DOUBLE CHECK, BUT, UM, TYPICALLY ANYTHING PRESS RELATED DOES STILL GO THROUGH OUR COMMS DEPARTMENT AND THEY HAVE ALL OF THOSE ITEMS UNNECESSARY, UM, TO SUBMIT TO THEM.
BUT THIS IS MY HANDOFF TO CHENEY TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO OTHER INFORMATION THERE.
SO MAYBE JUST A LINK TO THE COMMS, YOU KNOW, THE COMMS PAGE OR YEAH, MAYBE I CAN, OUR PAGE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, UM, SOMETHING USEFUL SO THAT IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO TO A DIFFERENT SITE TO SEARCH FOR FOR THE COMMS DEPARTMENT.
AND I'LL CHECK TOO TO SEE HOW OFTEN, UM, THEY MAY BE REACHED OUT TO AND SEE IF IT'S WORTHY OF PUTTING A, UH, LIKE YOU MENTIONED A LINK TO AN EMAIL.
YEAH, A LITTLE BUTTON
YEAH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ECHO THE SAME SENTIMENTS.
I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY, UM, INFORMATIONAL.
I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY WELL LAID OUT.
UM, LOVE THE FONT AND, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE PROVIDING.
THE ONLY THING THAT I, AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVING A MARKETER'S EYE, THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS ON OUR FIRST PAGE, ON OUR HOMEPAGE, WE HAVE THE SCHEDULE A MEETING AT THE BOTTOM.
I WOULD, SINCE THAT'S KIND OF THE CALL TO ACTION FROM THIS ENTIRE, UH, ASSET, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT IN THE TOP RIGHT OR TOP LEFT ON ALL THE PAGES BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DRIVING PEOPLE TO WANT TO SCHEDULE THAT MEETING WITH US.
UM, EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, NOTHING COMES OUT OF IT, JUST HAVING THAT PRESENCE, UM, TO BE MEETING WITH THE CITY, MEETING WITH THE EDC, UM, MEETING WITH, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT I BELIEVE CARRIES SOME WEIGHT.
AND SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE PROMINENT ON ALL THE PAGES.
BUT AGAIN, I MEAN, THAT'S JUST NEITHER HERE NOR THERE, JUST HAVING A MARKETER'S EYE.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WOULD LOOK FOR.
I, I KNEW YOU HAD THAT MARKETING BACKGROUND, SO I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR THOUGHTS.
UM, I DO HAVE IT, I JUST WANNA KNOW, WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS IS THE, THE FOOTER OF EVERY PAGE.
SO ARE YOU MEETING THIS ONE HERE OR THE EMAIL? OKAY, YOU'RE MEETING THIS ONE HERE? YEAH.
THE SCHEDULE INFORMATION, THE SCHEDULE, YEP.
OR MAYBE HAVE IT AT THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM.
THEN I'LL JUST SCROLL BACK UP AND FORTH, BACK AND FORTH.
AND THE STRATEGY THERE FOR ME WAS, AND, AND THIS DOESN'T MEAN IT'S THE RIGHT STRATEGY, THE STRATEGY THERE FOR ME WAS TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER AND THEN REACH OUT TO US.
BUT I THINK THAT A CALL TO ACTION IN THE FRONT END AND THE BACK END WOULD BE GREAT.
AND EVEN IF IT'S A BUTTON HERE, HOW TO HAS IT FIND OUT MORE, YOU KNOW? YEAH, FOR SURE.
JUST A COUPLE MINOR, MINOR TECHNICAL THINGS, RIGHT? I KNOW THAT THIS IS THE, THE WEBSITE IS, IS ENABLED FOR, FOR MOBILE AND IT LOOKS GREAT ON AN IPHONE.
AND I MEANT TO, I MEANT TO LEAD WITH
[00:50:01]
THAT.I I HIT ALL THE OTHER AREAS, BUT I DID NOT LEAD WITH THAT ONE.
SO DUE TO THIS, UH, PLATFORM THAT WE ARE USING IT, IT DOES ALLOW ME TO GO IN ON THE BACKEND AND CHANGE IT.
UM, SO THIS IS PROBABLY WHY IT TOOK QUITE A WHILE.
UH, IT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY DO IT FOR YOU.
SO AS YOU BUILD THE WEBSITE, YOU BUILD A PAGE AND THEN YOU GO TO THE MOBILE SIDE AND THINGS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SO WHAT WAS MAYBE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE TOP IS NOW AT THE BOTTOM AND YOU'RE REORGANIZING IT.
THE UNFORTUNATE THING IS, UH, AND YOU'LL EVEN NOTICE IT ON VERSUS MAC VERSUS PCS, THERE'S LITTLE TINY CHANGES HERE AND THERE.
I THINK IT'S THE TYPE OF, UM, USER THAT WE ARE USE THE PLATFORM WE ARE USING.
AND BECAUSE WE, WE, UM, HAVE A, UM, COST EFFICIENT PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM, I THINK IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE ITEMS THAT MAY MAYBE WE CAN LOOK INTO, SEE IF THERE IS A COST THAT CAN HELP ELEVATE THAT AND USE IT ACROSS ALL CELL PHONES, ALL PCS VERSUS MAX.
IT'S JUST AS AT THIS LEVEL THAT WE'RE AT, IT DOES NOT HAVE THAT CAPABILITY.
SO I MEANT TO SPEAK TO THAT AHEAD OF TIME.
LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S REALLY MINOR.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, ONCE, ONCE THIS GOES LIVE, YOU DON'T WANT, YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT A PROFESSIONAL LOOKING PRODUCT, RIGHT? MM-HMM
AND, UH, LIKE I SAID, ON THE IPHONE IT LOOKS FANTASTIC, BUT ON THE IPAD THERE'S A COUPLE OF LITTLE LIKE WIGGLY TEXTS AND THINGS.
AND LIKE I SAID, MINOR, MINOR STUFF.
UH, YOU KNOW, THEY LINE UP WITH, UH, WHAT THE, IS D IS DOING FOR THEIR COLORS FOR, FOR THE TWO HIGH SCHOOLS.
I MEAN, EVERYTHING LOOKS GREAT.
SO THIS IS YOUR, AND THIS IS YOUR, YOUR BRANDING.
SO THIS, THESE, THESE FONTS ARE YOUR BRANDING.
SO I USED EVERYTHING THAT'S ALREADY BEEN CREATED THROUGH YOUR BRANDING AND BROUGHT IT TO LIFE IN THE WEBSITE.
SO I HAVE ANOTHER COMMENT JUST LOOKING AT THE VIDEO RIGHT NOW.
WHEN IT FIRST STARTED, THERE'S A FLAG THAT SAYS HURO, BUT IT'S, IT'S BACKWARDS.
THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT WAS WAVING WHEN THEY DID IT.
AND THAT'S, THIS IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER WITH THOSE VIDEOS.
UM, LIKE AS I MENTIONED, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO REVERSE IT, RIGHT? I THINK IT JUST DEPE, UH, I COULD ASK.
I WAS JUST, I THINK IT'S DEPENDENT ON THE WIND BLOWING, BUT THEY MAY BE, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SOME TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE, SO I BET THEY COULD DO SOME I THINK SO.
I'LL, I'LL, SO I'LL ASK OUR COMMS TEAM.
THEY'RE REALLY GOOD AT THAT STUFF.
SO THEN, UH, MY OTHER QUESTION IS REGARDING THE CALENDAR.
I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD SOME WORK, UH, TO DO YET ON IT? NO, NOT MYSELF.
UM, THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT HAS, UM, RECENTLY ROLLED OUT THIS CALENDAR THROUGHOUT THE CITY WEBSITE AS WELL.
UM, SO WHEN WE GOT, UH, THE, THE BACKEND CODING, UH, WHEN THEY SENT THAT OVER TO ME, WE PLACED IT INTO THE WEBSITE.
AND THERE'S JUST SOME PADDING THAT IS CAUSING IT TO REALLY SHIFT OVER TOO FAR.
SO THEY ALREADY HAVE A WORK TICKET IN WITH THAT, UH, COMPANY THAT WE'RE USING FOR THE CALENDAR TO HELP US REWRITE SOME COATING, TO ADJUST THE PADDING SO THAT IT MOVES OVER TO A NORMAL SPOT, UH, BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT SOME OF THE ALIGNMENT IN SOME AREAS.
YEAH, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT WAS GONNA BE TOTALLY REVAMPED TO MATCH THE QUALITY OF THE WEBSITE THAT YOU, THE CALENDAR IS A WIDGET, SO IT IS BASED ON, IT'S A, IT'S MORE OF A CONTINUITY OF WHAT THE CITY HAS VERSUS, AND THEN WE WILL BRING IT IN INTO OUR WEBSITE.
UM, IT DOESN'T HAVE, IT PROBABLY DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME FONTS AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THAT, BUT I CAN MAKE A NOTE AND SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THEY CAN CHANGE FONTS ON TO ALIGN WITH OUR FONTS.
UM, BECAUSE IT'S THE FLOW, THE, IT FLOWS REALLY WELL.
AND I THINK THAT ACTION ON THE SCREEN IS, IS VERY EYE CATCHING.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
I REALLY ENJOY, UH, UH, ADDING THOSE IN.
WHEN I LEARNED HOW TO DO THAT, I, I GOT A LITTLE EXCITED AND ADDED ON QUITE A BIT OF PAGES,
SO WHAT'S THE PROJECTED GO LIVE DATE FOR THIS? SO ACTUALLY WE ARE LIVE, THIS IS LIVE.
WE HAVE NOT, UH, ANNOUNCED IT.
WE ARE WAITING FOR THINGS TO GET CLEANED UP BEFORE.
BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE LIVE SAID IT HAD TAKE IT OFF NICE.
IF WE TO, I, I FELT IT WAS, UM, WAY MORE INFORMATIVE EVEN WITH THE BUGS AND THE MINOR THINGS BEFORE THAN IT WAS THERE BEFORE.
SO I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPERATIVE FOR US TO GET IT OUT THERE.
EVEN WITH THOSE MINOR CHANGES, BETTER TO HAVE 90% DONE NOW.
THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT DONE IN SOME THREE MONTHS FROM NOW.
FUTURE TIME THAT NOBODY KNOWS.
AND WE'RE NOT SLOWING DOWN, AS YOU ALL KNOW.
SO THE MORE FASTER WE CAN GET OUR MARKETING PIECES OUT THERE AND ALLOW THESE BUSINESSES AND SITE SELECTORS TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER AND THAT WE MEAN BUSINESS, UM, THAT WAS KIND OF THE STRATEGY BEHIND THAT.
SO WE ARE LIVE, I'LL SPEAK TO THE TIMING ON THAT TOO.
SO WE HAVE ICSE COMING UP NEXT MONTH.
AND SO A LOT OF THE REGISTRANTS FOR THAT TRADE SHOW WILL START TO DO RESEARCH ON THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE GONNA BE REPRESENTED THERE.
AND SO HAVING OUR WEBSITE UP AND LIVE AND HAVE THIS MUCH CONTENT AVAILABLE,
[00:55:01]
WE'LL JUST INCREASE THE QUALITY OF MEETING REQUESTS THAT WE GET.UM, IT'LL INCREASE THE PREPARATION ON THEIR SIDE ABOUT KNOWING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY RATHER THAN US HAVING TO SELL OUR COMMUNITY WHEN WE GET THERE.
THIS GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY, IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, HEY, WE HAVE A BRAND NEW WEBSITE.
UM, AHEAD OF, OF BEING THERE AND ENGAGING WITH THEM IN PERSON.
I DUNNO IF THIS IS LIKE THE RIGHT TIME TO BRING THIS UP, BUT, UM, IF IT'S NOT JUST, WE CAN MOVE IT TO A DIFFERENT TIME.
UH, BUT THE, FOR THAT TRIP, UH, LIKE AN ELEVATOR PITCH CARD WITH A QR CODE THAT GOES TO THE WEBSITE JUST WITH CONTACT INFORMATION, SOMETHING MORE THAN A BUSINESS CARD THAT'S A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, UH, DESIGNED AND WITH OUR BRANDING ON IT THAT WE CAN HAND OUT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL, I THINK FOR THAT TOO.
CHANEY JUST, YEAH, WE'RE WORKING ON THE COLLATERAL, BUT THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
I LOVE THAT ESPECIALLY MM-HMM
THAT'S WHAT WE WERE HOPING TO HAVE IT READY FOR.
SO THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND GREAT CALL OUT, ESPECIALLY QR CODES QUICK AND FAST TO GET STRAIGHT TO THE INFORMATION, RIGHT? MM-HMM
WELL, JENNIFER, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU A PART OF OUR TEAM.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A TON OF EXPERIENCE, SO JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
IT BRINGS A LOT OF TRANSPARENCY AND WE COULD REALLY USE THAT IN OUR CITY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE CONTINUE TO HOPE TO BRING.
AND YOU'RE NOT DONE WITH ME YET.
YOU HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION TO HEAR FROM ME.
SO IF, IF Y'ALL ARE GOOD WITH THE WEBSITE, I CAN MOVE ON TO THE STRATEGIC, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA.
STRATEGIC USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALIGNING LINKEDIN AND META PLATFORMS WITH HU'S, ECONOMIC VISION.
AND JUST AS A, UM, JUST FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES, META, UH, IS THE OVERARCHING COMPANY FOR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK.
SO I'M GONNA USE THAT INTERCHANGEABLY THROUGHOUT THIS, THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT TO THE FOREFRONT.
SO WHEN I'M TALKING ABOUT META, I AM TALKING ABOUT FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
SO I'M GONNA, UH, TALK ABOUT THE, THE WHY, THE WHAT AND THE HOW OF A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY AND WHY IT'S NEEDED.
WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY IS NEEDED, UH, TO AMPLIFY OUR MESSAGING TO A BROADER AUDIENCE.
CURRENTLY, THE PLATFORMS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, UH, CURRENTLY ARE THE CITY OF HU, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES, THE DOWNTOWN HU PAGE, UM, FOR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
AND THEN THE CITY OF HU LINKEDIN, WE'LL START WITH THE CITY OF HU, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
THEIR CURRENT AUDIENCE AND FOCUS IS MA, UH, MAINLY RESIDENTS.
UM, AND THEIR FOCUS IS TO REALLY PUT OUT PUBLIC INFORMATION, CITY SERVICES, SAFETY ALERTS AND UPDATES.
AND THAT CURRENT OWNERSHIP IS UNDER THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, THE DOWNTOWN HU FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
UH, THEIR CURRENT AUDIENCE AND FOCUS IS VISITORS AND RESIDENTS, AND THEY'RE FOCUSING ON EVENTS, SMALL BUSINESS, QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND THAT HAS, UH, BECOME, UM, UNDER OWNERSHIP OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
IT WAS FORMERLY UNDER THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH DEPARTMENT, WHICH HAVE SINCE BEEN ABSORBED.
AND THEN THE CITY OF HU LINKEDIN, THE CURRENT AUDIENCE OF FOCUSES, UH, GENERAL UPDATES AND VERY MUCH MIRRORS, UH, THE FACEBOOK FOCUS.
THERE IS SOME RECRUITMENT IN THERE FOR, FOR JOBS, UM, AS WE, AS WE HAVE THEM COME ONLINE.
AND THAT IS, UM, CURRENTLY RUN BY THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
SO THE, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE THINKING FOR A STRATEGY WITH, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA? SO WE HAVE THE LINKEDIN VERSUS META OREGON.
THAT'S FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
SO WITH THE LINKEDIN PLATFORM, THE TARGET AUDIENCE, UH, SHOULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH A STRATEGY WOULD BE, UH, THE BUSINESS LEADERS, SITE SELECTORS, DEVELOPERS.
UH, THE STRENGTHS OF THIS PLATFORM IS IT'S VERY PROFESSIONAL INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS NETWORKING.
AND THE PURPOSE FOR THIS PLATFORM WOULD BE TO RECRUIT AND BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION.
THAT'S WHAT OUR FOCUS WOULD BE.
UM, AND THEN WITH META OR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK, THAT TARGET AUDIENCE IS OUR RESIDENTS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND VISITORS.
THE STRENGTHS THERE WITH THIS, UH, PLATFORM WOULD BE COMMUNITY REACH, TOURISM, AND ENGAGEMENT.
AND, UH, THE PURPOSE FOR THIS WOULD REALLY BE FOCUSING ON QUALITY OF LIFE, SOCIAL, UM, SORRY, SHOP, LOCAL AND OTHER EVENTS.
SO THE, HOW, HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? WE CAN INCREASE VISIBILITY OF HOW TO STRENGTHS.
WE CAN FACILITATE ONGOING ENGAGEMENT WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES, SUPPORT CAMPAIGNS FOR SHOP LOCAL, UM, YFD PROGRAM, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, AND OTHER EVENTS.
AND THEN ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES, VISITORS, AND FUTURE RESIDENTS.
SO I WANNA TELL A LITTLE BIT, UM, BRING YOU SOME ANALYTICS SINCE THAT IS IN MY TITLE, UH, AND HELP YOU HELP TELL A STORY.
[01:00:01]
CURRENTLY THE CITY OF HODO HAS 3000 LINKEDIN FOLLOWERS, UH, AND BY THE AUDIENCE BY INDUSTRY WEEK.I WENT TO A CONFERENCE AND I LEARNED THAT THE BIGGEST, SORRY.
SO THE AUDIENCE BY INDUSTRY, YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE, THIS IS THE MAJORITY OF WHAT IT'S MADE UP OF.
IT'S GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, CIVIL ENGINEERING, REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION.
AND THE AUDIENCE BY LOCATION IS VERY MUCH HERE IN THE TEXAS TRIANGLE, THE AUSTIN METROPOLITAN AREA, THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPLEX IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
IF WE WERE TO HAVE A, IF WE WERE TO HAVE OUR OWN, UH, LINKEDIN PAGE, THESE, THESE INDUSTRIES WOULD NOT BE WHAT WE FOCUS ON.
WE WOULD WANNA SEE MORE OF THOSE DEVELOPERS, THOSE SITE SELECTORS, THOSE BUSINESSES, UM, THAT, UH, ARE LOOKING IN OUR TARGET INDUSTRIES.
UM, REAL ESTATE WOULD STAY IN THERE, BUT WE'D LOVE TO SEE THAT NUMBER JUMP UP.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF, UH, AUDIENCE BY INDUSTRY THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE ON THIS PAGE.
AND THEN THE AUDIENCE BY LOCATION, WE WOULD WANT, WANT A MUCH BROADER REACH.
TEXAS IS GREAT, BUT WE WANNA SEE, UM, NEW YORK, WE WANNA SEE CALIFORNIA.
WE WANNA SEE WHERE THESE INDUSTRIES THAT WE ARE TARGETING, WE WANNA SEE THEM FOLLOWING HATO, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO WE'D LOVE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS JUMP UP.
AND THEN EVEN MORE, WE HAVE, UH, CHENEY GOING TO KOREA IN A FEW WEEKS.
UM, SEEING SOME OF THOSE, UM, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES FOLLOWING US, YOU KNOW, WITH SAMSUNG HERE.
UM, AS WE START GETTING THOSE, UM, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT SAMSUNG, THAT SUPPORT TESLA, THAT SUPPORT MORE LARGER BUSINESSES THAT ARE COMING INTO TOWN, UM, WE WANNA SEE THE, THAT KIND OF FOLLOWING.
SO THIS, THIS IS TELLING ME THAT, UH, UTILIZING THE CITY OF HURO LINKEDIN, UM, WOULD NOT SERVE US.
SO THE STRATEGY THERE WOULD BE, UM, THE LINKEDIN STRATEGY WOULD BE TO TELLING THE BUSINESS STORY.
SO THE PURPOSE WOULD BE TO SHOW GROWTH TO A BROADER AUDIENCE.
AS I MENTIONED, DRIVE INVE INVESTMENT AND SUPPORT THE BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION EFFORTS.
WE COULD DO THIS BY BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTS.
UM, BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT POSTS, WHICH LOOK LIKE, UM, EXPANSIONS, ANY EXPANSIONS THAT WE HAVE COMING.
UM, ANNIVERSARIES, UH, WHEN, WHEN HOOKY HAS THEIR FIRST ANNIVERSARY, OR, UM, SKYBOX HAS THEIR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, REALLY PUTTING THOSE OUT THERE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, PROJECT WINS AS WE BRING NEW, AS CHENEY BRINGS NEW PROJECTS TO THE COMMUNITY, REALLY AMPLIFYING THAT.
UM, SHARE INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT UPDATES.
ENGAGE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AND SITE SELECTORS, AND THEN PROMOTES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENTS.
NOW I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE META ANALYTICS.
CURRENTLY, CITY OF HURO HAS 16,000 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS, AND OUR DOWNTOWN HU PAGE HAS 9,900 FOLLOWERS.
WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON THE DOWNTOWN HU HURO PAGE.
UM, OUT OF THAT 9,900, UH, ABOUT HALF OF THEM ARE HERE IN OUR LOCAL AND NEIGHBORING AREAS.
WE HAVE OVER 3000 HU RESIDENTS.
AND THEN, AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT NUMBER KIND OF TRICKLES DOWN FOR THE NEIGHBORING AREA, BUT THE NUMBER YOU DON'T SEE UP THERE, BUT I MENTIONED HERE IN THE 50 50 IS THE REST OF THAT NUMBER.
IT'S ABOUT HALF, UM, OF EXTENDED REGIONAL AREA, WHICH TELLS US A STORY THAT THERE IS, UH, TOURISM, THERE IS, PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN COMING TO OUR AREA.
THEY'RE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING OUR DOWNTOWN.
THEY'RE SEEING OUR EVENTS THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT THERE.
THEY'RE SEEING A HISTORY THAT WE'RE PROMOTING ON THIS PAGE.
THEY'RE FOLLOWING US, UM, FROM AFAR.
AND SO MAYBE THEY'RE INTERESTED IN COMING TO THE AREA WHEN THEY'RE DRIVING BY AND STOPPING AND HAVING SOMETHING AT, UM, THE HU CAFE OR, UM, ANY OF OUR LOCAL, LOCAL RESTAURANTS.
YOU'LL SEE ACROSS BOTH ME, UH, BOTH META PLATFORMS. THE AVERAGE AGE AND FOLLOWING ARE VERY SIMILAR.
SO I'LL, UM, I'LL CLICK ON THAT NEXT.
AGAIN, THAT 35 TO 45 AVERAGE AGE.
UM, ABOUT 75% ARE FEMALE FOLLOWERS.
BUT AGAIN, WHAT YOU'LL ALSO SEE IS ABOUT HALF OF THE FOLLOWING HERE ON INSTAGRAM IS THE LOCAL NEIGHBORING, UH, COMMUNITY VERSUS THE EXTENDED REGIONAL AREA.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE NUMBERS THERE.
AND WHAT I ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THE CITY OF HUDU HAS A 3000 FOLLOWER, AND THE DOWNTOWN HU HAS OVER HALF.
THAT WAS THE SAME ON FACEBOOK.
AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY, BLESS YOU.
AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UM, FACEBOOK PAGE, AND THEN A DOWNTOWN THAT HAS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, HALF THAT FOLLOWING, WHICH IS PRETTY, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY POWERFUL.
SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE META STRATEGY AGAIN, INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK.
THIS WOULD BE ELEVATING THE LOCAL EXPERIENCE.
SO THE PO THE PURPOSE WOULD BE TO DRIVE OUTSIDE TOURISM SUPPORT BUSINESS, UH, LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORT, AND ELEVATE COMMUNITY PRIDE.
[01:05:01]
DO THIS BY PROMOTING SHOP SMALL, UH, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, UM, AND LOCAL RETAIL HIGHLIGHT, UFD GIFT CARD PROGRAM, WHERE TO BUY USE AND THE BENEFITS OF THAT PROGRAM.SHARE PARKS AND REC EVENTS, CITY HAPPENINGS AND WEEKEND GUIDES FEATURE A LOCAL BUSINESS.
TESTIMONIALS AND CUSTOMER APPRECIATION POSTS.
BUILD A SENSE OF PLACE AND ENCOURAGE LOCAL AND REGIONAL ATTENDANCE.
SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UH, AS FAR AS AS CONTENT GOES, LINKEDIN VERSUS THE META.
AND I JUST WANNA, UM, LET YOU KNOW, LINKEDIN IS VERY MUCH PROJECT FOCUSED.
IT'S, UM, VERSUS META HAS THAT EXPERIENCE FOCUS AND HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A CASUAL FEEL.
SO, UH, IN, UH, MAYBE ONE DAY ON LINKEDIN, WE'RE POSTING INFRASTRUCTURE GROWTH FROM AN A BJ OR AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL ARTICLE DIRECTLY ABOUT HOWTO.
AND THAT SAME DAY ON META ON OUR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PLATFORMS, WE'RE SHARING THE LOCAL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHT.
MAYBE THERE'S A LOCAL BUSINESS THAT, UM, JUST OPENED, HAD THEIR GRAND OPENING, AND WE'RE DOING A LITTLE HIGHLIGHT REEL.
AS YOU, IF YOU ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH REELS, VERY ENGAGING, VERY EXPERIENCED FOCUSED VERSUS THE, THE FACTUAL, UM, ARTICLE FROM AN A BJ FROM AN AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL.
UH, OR AGAIN, WE MIGHT DO WORKFORCE AND TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS WITH THE EAST WILLIAMSON COUNTY HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER.
AND THEN ON META PLATFORMS, WE WOULD PROMOTE THE SUNSET BLOCK PARTY FOR OUR, UM, PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT.
VERY DIFFERENT STORYTELLING, BUT STILL VERY ENGAGING TO ALL AUDIENCE, THAT BROADER LOCAL AUDIENCE.
AND ALSO THAT BROADER AUDIENCE THAT IS WONDERING WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S GOING ON IN HUDU ON THAT LINKEDIN PLATFORM.
NOW, THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THE SAME STORY ON BOTH PLATFORMS. SO, UM, MAYBE ON LINKEDIN, ONCE FRITZ PARK COMES ONLINE AFTER IT'S BEEN ASLEEP FOR A LITTLE BIT, HAVING ALL OF ITS RENOVATIONS, WE BRING THAT, UH, BACK WITH, UM, A PRESS RELEASE OF ALL THE RENOVATIONS ARE COMPLETE, AND ALL THE DETAILS.
VERY PROJECT FOCUSED, UM, ABOUT THAT PROJECT BEING COMPLETE.
WE'RE ON META ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
WE SEND OUR CO UH, COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OUT.
WE HAVE THEM SHOOT SOME VIDEO AND WE HAVE THEM DO A REEL OF THE NEW ADDITIONS TO PRINCE PARK.
SO WHAT DOES THE PARK LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE NEW AMENITIES? REALLY PAINT THE PICTURE AND TELL THE STORY OF THIS GREAT PARK.
SO IT'S HITTING ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS, AND MAYBE THEY CROSS OVER, IF THAT'S OKAY, TOO.
BUT IT'S REALLY JUST THE PROJECT FOCUS WITH LINKEDIN VERSUS THE META, WHICH IS VERY EXPERIENCE FOCUSED.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS MOVING FORWARD IS TO COORDINATE WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS FOR COLLABORATIVE CONTENT, BUILD AND LAUNCH OUR CAMPAIGNS.
WORK WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO BUILD AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY, DEVELOP INTERNAL WORKFLOW FOR CONTENT CREATION AND APPROVALS, DEVELOP A REPORT TO COMMUNICATE RESULTS TO THE EDC BOARD.
AS I WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR NEW MISSIONS AND VISION STATEMENTS, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS STRATEGY REALLY DID ALIGN WITH WHAT YOU ALL ARE PROPOSING, UM, AS THE EDC BOARD.
SO, SOME OF THE WORDS THAT I TOOK OUT OF YOUR VISION AND MISSIONS WERE INNOVATE AND SUSTAINABLE AND INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH.
CELEBRATE SMALL TOWN CHARM, EMBRACE DIVERSE, EDUCATED POPULATION, CULTIVATE OPPORTUNITY, HONOR, HERITAGE, ADVANCE, STRATEGIC AND INNOVATION.
ADVANCED STRATEGIC INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION.
A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY WILL PUT OUR VALUES INTO ACTION BY PROMOTING THE BUSINESSES, PARTNERSHIPS, AND CULTURE THAT MAKE HUTTO UNIQUE.
AND HUTTO HAS IT IN ACTION THROUGH A BALANCED SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY, WE'LL ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES, SUPPORT LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS, AND CELEBRATE HUDA'S UNIQUE CHARM, DELIVERING INNOVATION AND INCLUSION THE HIPAA WAY.
THAT IS MY PRESENTATION ON OUR STRATEGY.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I DO.
I, UH, HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE CHAMBER.
THEY, THEY POST A LOT ON LINKEDIN.
I WOULD THINK YOU WOULD WANT TO MAYBE, UM, SOMEHOW PARTNER UP WHERE IT MAKES SENSE WITH THEM.
'CAUSE THEY POST QUITE FREQUENTLY.
AND THAT'S THE GREAT THING ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO POST OUR OWN, SO WE CAN POST OUR OWN STUFF, BUT A LOT OF TIMES IT'S GONNA BE RESHARING AND ELEVATING OUR OTHER PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO DEFINING WITH OUR STRATEGIES, ONCE WE KIND OF LAY THAT OUT AS FAR AS, UM, CONTENT UNDERSTANDING WHICH ONE WOULD BE A GOOD ELEVATION ON LINKEDIN AND WHICH ONE WOULD BE A GOOD ELEVATION ON OUR META PLATFORMS. BUT YES, ABSOLUTELY ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, IT FITS ALIGNING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT WOULD REALLY BE MORE OF THAT STORYTELLING EXPERIENCE.
AND WE WOULD, UH, ELEVATE THAT ON OUR FACEBOOK PLATFORMS. AND THEN ANYTHING THAT IS REALLY BUSINESS, UM, FOCUSED,
[01:10:01]
FACTUAL FOCUSED, THAT WOULD BE ELEVATED ON THOSE LINKEDIN PLATFORMS. WHO HANDLES THAT MAGAZINE THAT THEY POST? THE ISD? NO, IT'S A MAGAZINE THAT SHOWS ALL THE EVENTS, ALL THE NEW BUSINESSES ARE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FLIP BOOK? YES.YEAH, THAT'S DONE BY THE, BY THE CHAMBERS MARKETING DEPARTMENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A MYRIAD OF THINGS ON THERE THAT COULD BE RELEVANT TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TOO.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING MAKES SENSE.
ALSO, I WAS CURIOUS, HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO COMMUNITY IMPACT TO SEE THAT THEY ALSO PUBLISH THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN HATO? YES.
AND WE HAVE A MONTHLY MEETING WITH COMMUNITY IMPACT.
THAT STANDING AND PEOPLE LIKE TO READ ABOUT THEM, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, THE AUSTIN OR THE BUSINESS JOURNALS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONE IN EVERY CITY AND WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND BEYOND TEXAS.
WELL, WE CAN PICK AND CHOOSE TOO ON WHERE WE WANT TO ANNOUNCE WHAT'S GOING ON IN HURO IF WE'RE TRYING TO PULL IN NEW COMPANIES FROM OTHER STATES.
AND THEN ALSO, IN LOOKING AT SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE EAST OF US, THEY POST A LOT TOO.
ROCKDALE DOES A LOT OF POSTING, AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY PROPOSE A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD ENTAIL TO BRING A BUSINESS TO ROCKDALE.
AND SO IT'S VERY INTRIGUING TO OFFER, UM, PODCASTS ONLINE.
SO PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED, THEY CAN FIND OUT WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS, WHAT'S THE LEGISLATIVE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS OR THE, UM, UH, PROCESSES TO ESTABLISH BUSINESSES.
THERE ALL RELEVANT QUESTIONS, RIGHT.
OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, ANSWER FOR NEW COMPANIES TO COME TO OUR AREA.
UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS.
I KNOW, UM, JIM GIBSON PRETTY WELL, I VISITED OUT IN ROCKDALE BEFORE MM-HMM
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE WE, ARE WE TRYING TO TAP INTO BEST PRACTICES? ABSOLUTELY.
AND FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN AS WELL.
WE, WE ARE, AND THAT'S THE PART OF THE REALLY BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY.
SO WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS, LIKE YOU MENTIONED THE CHAMBER.
UM, ALSO THOSE WORKFORCE PARTNERS.
UM, ANY, ANY ENTITY THAT IS INVOLVED WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, THOSE PIECES, THEY WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS STRATEGY PIECE AS WE BUILD IT OUT.
AND YOU MENTIONED AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL AND COMMUNITY IMPACT, AND AS, AS CHANEY MENTIONED, SHE, SHE ACTUALLY HAS HER FINGER ON THE PULSE OF BOTH OF THOSE PUBLICATIONS.
UM, THEY ARE OFTEN CALLING AND ASKING, WHAT'S, WHAT'S IN THE NEWS? WHAT CAN WE REPORT ON? SO WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO TELL THAT STORY FROM THO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
AND THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE TOO, UM, UH, GOVERNOR ABBOTT HAS A GAL THERE THAT SHE DOES FEATURE SPECIFIC CITIES AND TALKS ABOUT IN SOME, UH, DETAIL WHAT'S GOING ON IN THOSE CITIES AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME SORT OF, MAYBE EVEN A PANEL DISCUSSION OR A PRESENTATION OF SOME SORT.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING ON THE RADAR, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BRING A LOT OF PRESS TO HUDDLE.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE HAD, UH, THAT INITIATIVE GOING ON.
UM, ONE THING I DID WANNA SPEAK TO JUST BRIEFLY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WILL NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF IS WHAT'S MEASURABLE AND WHAT'S IMPACTFUL, BECAUSE WE ARE A SMALL DEPARTMENT, AND IF WE ARE, WE'RE SORT OF TAKING LEAD ON MARKETING.
AND THAT HAS NOT BEEN DONE PREVIOUSLY.
MARKETING HAD ALWAYS BEEN DONE WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT INSIDE THE CITY.
SO WE ARE TAKING A LOT OF MORE OWNERSHIP OF THAT.
HOWEVER, THAT'S A BIG UNDERTAKING BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH GREAT STUFF GOING ON JUST ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
UM, SO WE WANNA BE REALLY MINDFUL OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE HIGH ENGAGEMENT.
WHAT IS THAT, THAT, THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING AND RESPONDING TO.
SO I WANNA BE CAREFUL THAT WE'RE NOT KIND OF TAKING A SHOTGUN APPROACH TO THINGS.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT SO MANY THINGS GOING ON THAT WE CAN'T REALLY MEASURE THE IMPACT OF THINGS.
SO I KNOW WE'RE ALL REALLY EXCITED TO TELL ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS, BUT I JUST WANNA BE REALLY INTENTIONAL WITH HOW WE DO THAT AND HOW WE EXPAND THE DIFFERENT, UH, INITIATIVES SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO MEASURE SUCCESS AND PIVOT ACCORDINGLY BEFORE WE LAYER IN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT I LOVE SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS YOU HAD, IRMA.
WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE HERE, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY TO INCLUDE THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.
I KNOW ADRIANA CRUZ, AND SHE'S THE ONE THAT WHO'S SHE? SHE IS, I'M JUST KIDDING.
IF YOU HAVEN'T MET HER, YOU NEED TO.
AND, UM, SHE WOULD BE THE ONE TO HELP US, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, EXPAND AND YOU REALLY GET THE SPOTLIGHT
[01:15:01]
ON HU TO MM-HMMI WAS GONNA ASK A QUESTION ABOUT WILL.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, THE CITY'S COMMS DEPARTMENT DOES, BUT, AND AGAIN, I WANNA BE CAREFUL OF A FREE SPEECH ISSUE, BUT OBVIOUSLY FACEBOOK META IS, IS ABOUT ENGAGEMENT, AND YOU WANT THE SHARES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT HOW DO WE KEEP INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT FROM HOPPING UP ON THOSE PAGES? WHAT ARE WE ALLOWED TO DO AS FAR AS CENSORING, UH, INAPPROPRIATE VULGARITY OR PORNOGRAPHIC STUFF THAT PEOPLE WILL THROW OUT THERE? BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT SOME OF FACEBOOK'S MAGIC, WHICH IS TO DRIVE REACTION, ALSO ALGORITHMS DRIVE THINGS THAT WE ARE FINDING TASTELESS IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY.
SO WHAT IS, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE SAFEGUARDS, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA BE OWNING THIS AND THEN YOU GET THIS WHOLE FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUE THAT MIGHT COME INTO PLAY? YEAH.
I BELIEVE, UM, IN LOOKING INTO THAT, JUST, I JUST BRIEFLY DIPPED MY TONE AT, WITH THE COMMS DEPARTMENT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TAKING OVER SOCIAL MEDIA AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE ARE PROTECTIONS ON THERE FOR GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AND SITES TO WHERE YOU CAN DELETE THOSE THINGS.
AND IT DOES NOT VIOLATE ANY SORT OF, UM, STATUTES OR REQUIREMENTS AS FAR AS, YEAH.
SCHOOL DISTRICT HAD THE ABILITY TO REGULATE SOME OF THAT.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
UM, AND I KNOW META HAS THE INSTAGRAM TOOL AND YOUNG PEOPLE ARE MORE DRIVEN TO THAT.
AND TIKTOK, OF COURSE, I GUESS TIKTOKS NOT, IS IT LEGAL ANYMORE OR NOT? NOT FOR IT.
WELL, AND ALSO IN CITY GOVERNMENT, I DON'T BELIEVE IT IS LEGAL FOR US TO, TO PARTICIPATE.
GOVERNMENT'S NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE TIKTOK, BECAUSE I THINK FACEBOOK'S GONNA BECOME MYSPACE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE OR FOUR MONTHS.
BUT A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE THAT I, THAT I MEET AND RUN INTO, THEY DON'T CARE FOR FACEBOOK AT ALL.
BUT SO THAT, I'M NOT SAYING YOU DO ANYTHING NOW, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOTTA MARKET.
YOU'VE GOT SOME DATA AND IT'S, AND, AND WHAT'S NICE ABOUT FACEBOOK IS YOU GET SOME, SOME REALLY USEFUL INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN USE TO BUILD YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM, BUT I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE SOME CHANGES IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS.
TO QUOTE MY KIDS, FACEBOOK IS FOR BOOMERS.
I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING, UM, DIFFERENT PLATFORMS TO TELL OUR STORY.
UM, I DO THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DON'T OVERLAP, AND LIKE YOU HAVE IN HERE THAT DEVELOP INTERNAL WORKFLOW FOR CONTENT CREATION APPROVAL.
SO I'M SURE YOU'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE CITY AND WHAT THEY'RE PROVIDING THE PUBLIC AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT IT'S EDC FOCUSED.
AND I REALLY LIKE THIS IDEA OF HAVING IT ON DIFFERENT PLATFORMS. SO THE THING ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS IT REALLY DOES, IT'S FAR REACHING.
SO IT'S NOT JUST BUSINESS WORKFORCE, BUT THAT QUALITY OF LIFE PIECE, I THINK WILL BE THE OVERLAPPING THAT YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE THE MOST OF.
SO, PARKS IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HIGHLIGHT AND THESE EVENTS TO SHOW THAT HUTTO IS A THRIVING COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, ALERTS OR WAYS TO REPORT, UM, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS IN THE CITY THAT THEY JUST WITH THE HU SOLVE IT APP THAT THEY JUST PUT OUT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HIGHLIGHT ON OUR PAGES.
STILL A VERY IMPORTANT NECESSARY THING TO HIGHLIGHT ON THE CITY OF HU PAGE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING WE WOULD HIGHLIGHT.
BUT AS FAR AS LIKE PARKS AND ELEVATING SOME EVENTS, THAT IS SOME OF THAT CROSSOVER THAT WE WOULD DO.
AND IF THEY'VE ALREADY POSTED IT, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF US ELEVATING IT BY RESHARING IT, WE WON'T KIND OF RE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA RECREATE THE WHEEL OR TAKE, TAKE PRECEDENCE ON A PARKS AND REC EVENT, BUT STILL WANNA HIGHLIGHT IT.
UH, THE, WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE STATISTICS AND IT HAD LIKE SOME PEOPLE BEING OUT OF TOWN, ET CETERA, UM, THAT ARE FOLLOWERS, IS THERE ANY WAY TO SORT OF GET IN THE WEEDS AND DIG INTO IF ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE LIKE, PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVE OUT OF TOWN BUT ARE WORKING HERE? YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MANY CONTRACTORS THAT ARE TEMPORARY RESIDENTS, UM, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY WANT TO BE, TO DO ENTERTAINMENT AND GO EAT AT RESTAURANTS AND, AND SOMETIMES STAY IN TOWN FOR WEEKEND EVENTS.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO KNOW IF IT'S ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE OR, I'M NOT SURE WITH, UH, THE FACEBOOK ANALYTICS, THEY DON'T REALLY DO A DEEP, AS DEEP OF A DIVE.
BUT WE DO HAVE OUR PLACER AI PLATFORM THAT WE USE, AND THAT CAN REALLY TELL US WHO'S COMING TO THE COMMUNITY AND STAYING FOR DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME, WHETHER IT'S IF THEY LIVE HERE LOCALLY OR IF THEY'RE HERE JUST AS A SHORT TERM OR IF THEY'RE JUST COMING FOR THE DAY.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO PULL DIFFERENT ANALYTICS THROUGH THAT PLATFORM.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS WHETHER THEY'RE FOLLOWING US ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM, I CAN LOOK TO SEE,
[01:20:01]
I DON'T FEEL LIKE THEIR ANALYTICS ARE AS DEEP.HOWEVER, WITH THAT BEING SAID, AND THIS KIND OF TAGS ON TO, UM, MR. GIDEON'S QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE, THE META PLATFORMS AND HOW WE CENSOR IT, THE COMMS DEPARTMENT ALSO JUST LAUNCHED THE HOOTSUITE, WHICH IS A PLATFORM THAT REALLY, UM, INTEGRATES ALL SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND OUR TEAM IS GONNA BE DOING A TRAINING ON THAT THIS WEEK.
IT'S EITHER THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK, GETTING MY CALENDAR ALL MIXED UP.
UM, BUT THAT WILL ALL, THAT MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO GIVE US SOME DIFFERENT ANALYTICS.
UM, SO I'LL SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO THROUGH THE HOOTSUITE PROGRAM.
YEAH, IT'S INTERESTING 'CAUSE IF YOU DID HAVE A LOT OF THAT, THAT'D BE A KIND OF A COOL WAY TO, YOU KNOW, PUT SOME INFORMATION OUT THERE.
SPECIFICALLY TARGETING THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE TEMPORARILY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO MAYBE, UH, ALSO I WAS JUST THINKING, UM, YOU KNOW, SHORT SNIPPETS OF DEVELOPERS LIKE LENNAR OR OTHERS THAT ARE PLANNING TO, UM, UH, BUILD COMMUNITIES ABOUT WHY THEY'RE DOING THAT AND WHAT THE VALUE PROPOSITION IS FOR PEOPLE TO CONSIDER BUYING IN HURO, THAT MIGHT ALSO BE GOOD.
AND THEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BOUGHT HOMES AND WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN SNIPPETS, PEOPLE'S ATTENTION SPAN IS PRETTY SHORT.
EVEN THOUGH I LIKE TO LISTEN TO TWO HOUR PODCASTS, NOT EVERYONE DOES
THAT IS THE, THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA THESE DAYS IS VERY QUICK AND TO THE POINT, LINKEDIN AS WELL.
UM, THAT WOULD BE OUR, THAT WOULD BE PART OF OUR STRATEGY.
SOMETHING VERY QUICK AND CONCISE.
BECAUSE IT'S A SCROLLING, IT'S A SCROLLING GAME THESE DAYS.
IT'S NO LONGER, LET ME READ THIS TWO PARAGRAPH EXPLANATION OF THIS PICTURE.
IT'S SCROLL BRIEF, AND THE SAME THING WITH HOOKY.
I MEAN, LET'S NOT LOSE THE MOMENTUM.
THEY'RE LAUNCHING PRETTY SOON.
THAT'S HOT NEWS, RIGHT? WE ARE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS BLEEDING EDGE.
SO WE WANNA SHARE, SHARE THE NEWS ABOUT THAT, HOW EXCITING THAT IS, RIGHT? THAT'S WHY WE'RE WANTING TO GET THIS STRATEGY IN PLACE, FOR SURE, NEIL.
I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK.
I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WILL BE.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
I WAS GONNA SAY, WHEN ARE YOU DONE
CAN WE MOVE UP SO CHRISTINE CAN TALK? WHAT'S THAT? CAN WE MOVE CHRISTINE? 7.2? YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE.
WELL, THE LOT OF TIME I'D LIKE TO MOVE, UM, 7.2 UP.
IS THAT 7 1, 7 2 AND SEVEN THREE.
OKAY, LET'S DO THAT AS A TECT.
SO BEFORE THE ECONOMIC DIRECTOR'S REPORT, WE'LL DO GO TO AGENDA ITEMS 7.1, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION TO APPROVE THE CORPORATION'S MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR MARCH 20, 25.
CHRISTINA BISHOP, CITY CONTROLLER.
UH, THIS AGENDA ITEM IS THE MONTHLY FINANCIALS FOR THE MONTH ENDED MARCH 31ST, 31ST, 2025.
UM, IT'S THE FIRST OF THREE AGENDA ITEMS, SO I'LL TRY AND GET THROUGH THIS RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
I KNOW EVERYONE DOESN'T LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT FINANCE AS MUCH AS I LOVE TALKING ABOUT IT.
UM, SO AS USUAL, I EMAILED THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OUT, UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY FRIDAY, SO YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW BEFOREHAND.
UM, MARCH 31ST REPRESENTS THE 50%, UH, MARK THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, AS OF RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE, UH, REVENUES OVER EXPENSES AT ABOUT $1 MILLION.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, SOME OF YOUR MORE SUBSTANTIAL, UM, FINANCIAL ACTIVITY IS STILL YET TO OCCUR THIS YEAR.
UM, YOUR, THAT BEING, UM, THOSE ITEMS BEING THE, UM, LAND SALES THAT ARE BUDGETED IN REVENUES.
AND THEN ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, IT'S ANY CORRESPONDING EXPENSES, UM, WITH THOSE LAND SALES, MEANING, UH, DEBT PAYMENTS, PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS WITH ALLIANCE BANK.
AND YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF SUBSTANTIAL INCENTIVE PAYMENTS STILL YET TO OCCUR THIS YEAR.
SO A LOT OF YOUR LINE ITEMS ARE NOT GONNA LOOK LIKE THEY'RE AT 50% RIGHT NOW FOR GOOD REASON.
UH, THE ONLY THING I WANNA, UH, SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON IS YOUR SALES TAX.
UM, THAT IS JUST OVER 50%, UH, MIDWAY THROUGH THE YEAR, SO THAT'S TRACKING REALLY NICELY WITH BUDGET.
LAST MEETING, WE TOUCHED ON THAT, UH, THE FEBRUARY RECEIPTS, WHERE THE HIGHEST AT, UH, THE CITY HAS EVER RECEIVED.
UM, AFTER LOOKING INTO IT A LITTLE BIT, UH, IT KIND OF MAKES SENSE.
[01:25:01]
REVENUES RECEIVED IN FEBRUARY ARE DECEMBER'S FINANCIAL ACTIVITY, WHICH IS WHEN EVERYONE DOES THEIR HOLIDAY SPENDING.UM, ON THAT NOTE, UM, THIS MONTH, UH, MARCH'S RECEIPTS, UH, ARE JANUARY'S ACTIVITIES THAT WAS THE LOWEST OF THE FISCAL YEAR SO FAR, WHICH ALSO MAKES SENSE BECAUSE EVERYONE'S GOT A LITTLE BIT OF FATIGUE FROM SHOPPING AND SPENDING MONEY.
UM, SO, UH, REVENUES AT 50 OR SALES TAX AT 50% LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.
TRACKING WELL, AND THERE'S NO, UH, COST FOR CONCERN THAT THIS MONTH WAS A LITTLE BIT LOW.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THE MARCH FINANCIALS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE NOW, MS. BISHOP, WERE WE, I'M SORRY, I'M NO, PLEASE.
WERE, WE WAS ACADEMY OPEN CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR, AND IS THERE A YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON? UH, I COULDN'T REMEMBER WHEN THEY CAME ONLINE.
YEAH, THEY CAME ON AT THE END OF NOVEMBER LAST YEAR.
UM, AND I CAN GET THE BOARD THE, UM, YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, DECEMBER ACADEMY, UH, FROM 2024, UH, 2023 AND 2024.
I JUST WASN'T SURE IF THAT MIGHT HAVE ALSO BEEN AN UPTICK IN SOME OF THE SALES TAX THAT YOU SAW IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY.
UM, SOMETHING THAT JUMPED OUT ON ME AS A CAPITAL OUTLAY, UM, IT SAYS PERIOD ACTIVITY AND IT SAYS A NEGATIVE 7 MILLION.
JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT NUMBER IS ALL ABOUT.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE TOUCHED ON IN THE BUDGET AMENDMENT ON 7.3.
SO WHAT WE DID, UM, JUST TO KIND OF EXIST, SNEAK PEEK, IS WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ACCOUNTING FOR, UM, THE EAST, WEST PINE ROAD CAPITAL OUTLAY IS AN EXPENSE ANYMORE, UH, AS RESULTS OF AN AUDIT ADJUSTMENT.
SO WHAT THAT WAS, IS KIND OF ZEROING OUT THE EXPENSES, AND YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO SEE A BIG NEGATIVE IN CONTRIBUTION FROM CITI, AND THAT'S ZEROING OUT THE ACTIVITY THERE AS WELL.
AND I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE ACCOUNTING BEHIND THAT ON 7.3 MM-HMM
ANYTHING ELSE? I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, UH, CORPORATION'S MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR MARCH 20, 25.
I HAVE A MO MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN.
AND SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
CAN YOU CALL VOTE PLEASE? TREASURER GIDEON AYE.
MOTION PASSES 6 0 7 0.2, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING THE CORPORATION'S ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024.
GOOD EVENING AGAIN, CHRISTINA BISHOP, CITY CONTROLLER.
UM, THIS IS THE ITEM ON OUR ANNUAL AUDIT AND ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS.
UH, THE EDC IS A COMPONENT UNIT OF THE CITY, SO THEY ARE AUDITED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY.
UH, THE CITY AND EDC ARE AUDITED BY BROOKS WATSON AND COMPANY.
UH, THIS IS, I BELIEVE, THEIR FOURTH YEAR AUDITING THE CITY.
THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB SO FAR, AND WE, WE ARE, UM, UNDER CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR ANOTHER FEW YEARS STILL.
UM, THE AUDIT CONCLUDED TOWARDS THE END OF MARCH AND WAS PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL ON MARCH 27TH.
UH, THE CITY AND EDC RECEIVED AN UNMODIFIED AUDIT OPINION, WHICH IS THE BEST OPINION YOU CAN RECEIVE.
IT GIVES THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ASSURANCE ON YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
UM, THE EDC IS TRUTHFULLY IN THE WHOLE FINANCIAL REPORT, A VERY, VERY, VERY SMALL SECTION.
YOU CAN FIND THEIR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ON PAGES 154 THROUGH 157.
UM, REALLY THE HIGHLIGHTS ON THE FINANCIALS ARE THAT, UM, REVENUES EXCEEDED EXPENSES BY 1.2 MILLION, AND YOU HAD AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF $6.7 MILLION.
UH, THE OTHER THING I WANNA NOTE IS PART OF THE AUDIT.
UM, YOU, THE AUDITORS MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING.
UH, THIS YEAR, THE CITY RECEIVED, UM, NINE MANAGEMENT COMMENTS.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE CALLED, RECOMMENDATIONS, MANAGEMENT COMMENTS IN TWO OF THEM, UM, AFFECT THE EDC TWO.
THOSE SPECIFICALLY HAVE TO DO WITH THE EDCS PURCHASING PROCESS.
THE FIRST COMMENT IS BASICALLY SAYING, HEY, THE EDC JUST DOESN'T HAVE A PURCHASING POLICY AT ALL.
THEY RECOMMENDED THAT, UH, THE EDC CREATE A PURCHASING POLICY SOMEWHAT IN LINE WITH THE CITY.
UM, MANY OF US KNOW, UM, WHO WERE HERE FOR CERTAIN PROCUREMENT, THAT THE EDC DOES NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW ALL THE SAME STATE LAWS, UH, AT THE, THAT THE CITY DOES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO DECIDE TO CREATE A POLICY, WE CAN KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE JUST A LOT OF STATE LAWS THAT DON'T APPLY TO THE EDC.
UM, THE SECOND, UH, COMMENT ON
[01:30:01]
THE EDCS PURCHASING IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW WE'VE RECEIVED THIS COMMENT, AND THAT IS THAT THE EDC DOES NOT USE PURCHASE ORDERS.SO THE AUDITORS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, HEY, WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY, UM, PURCHASE BEING EXECUTED IS SORT OF PRE-APPROVED IN THE ADOPTED BUDGET.
AND WE GO TO THE EDC BOARD TO PHYSICALLY SIGN OFF ON ALL CHECKS BEFORE PAYMENT IS ISSUED.
BUT WHAT THEY POINT OUT IS THAT THERE IS OPPORTUNITY FOR A STAFF MEMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, TO INITIATE A PURPOSE THAT, OR A PURCHASE THAT MAY NOT BE IN THE BUDGET.
SERVICES HAVE BEEN RENDERED, UH, GOODS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED, AND NOW WE ARE ASKING YOU TO SIGN A CHECK FOR IT.
AND IT'S KIND OF, UM, NOT, THAT WOULDN'T BE IDEAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, STAFF I THINK, DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF ADHERING TO THE BUDGET AND, UM, PREAUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES, BUT THEY DO RECOGNIZE THAT THAT OPPORTUNITY EXISTS.
UM, SO AS WE JUST, SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO, AT SOME POINT THIS FISCAL YEAR, LOOK AT MAYBE, UH, ITS PURCHASING PROCEDURES AND POLICIES AND SEEING WHAT OPPORTUNITY THERE IS TO STRENGTHEN THEM AND, UM, GET RID OF THESE AUDIT COMMENTS GOING FORWARD.
MS. BISHOP, CAN, CAN WE DO SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, UH, LET'S SAY A REQUISITION, A PURCHASE ORDER IS A CONTRACT AT THE END OF THE DAY MM-HMM
AND I GET IT UNDER STATE LAW PROCUREMENT CITIES, ISDS, ESDS, YOU'RE, YOU'RE COMMITTING THAT DO THOSE DOLLARS, BUT IS THERE A WAY TO PUT INTO PLACE MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE A SIMPLE REQUISITION PROCESS THAT WOULD THEN REQUIRE SOME TYPE OF APPROVAL? IT MAY NOT COME TO US.
IT MAY BE INSIDE THE ADMINISTRATIVE REALM.
THAT WOULD PUT A LITTLE, A LITTLE SAFETY NET IN THERE.
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF THAT FROM OTHER CITIES, UH, UH, AROUND THE STATE THAT WE CAN LOOK AT? SURE.
FROM OTHER EDCS? I DON'T RIGHT NOW, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE CITY, WE DO DO THE REQUISITION PROCESS.
UM, AND WE DO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REQUIRE THEM FOR, YOU KNOW, A REAM OF PAPER FOR $20.
ANYTHING OVER $3,000, YOU HAVE TO GET QUOTES FOR YOU, UM, HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SIGN OFF BEFORE THAT PURCHASE CAN BE INITIATED.
SO I THINK A GOOD PLACE TO START WOULD BE MAYBE, UM, AT A CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNT, WE HAVE PRE-APPROVALS IN PLACE BEFORE A PURCHASE IS MADE.
PROBABLY NEED TO SEE SOME EXAMPLES.
AND MAYBE CERTAIN ITEMS WITHIN THE BUDGET, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO MOVE QUICKER THAN A, UH, CITY WOULD UNDER CERTAIN SITUATIONS FOR PURCHASING.
BUT TO PROTECT STAFF AND ALSO OUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES.
WHAT WOULD BE THE, WHAT WILL BE THE APPROVAL PROCESS THAT THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED? YEAH.
AND WE ARE GOING OVER OUR PROCESSES TODAY, SO, OH, YEAH.
THAT WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO DISCUSS.
I WAS GONNA COMMENT, I KNOW POLICIES ARE LATER IN THE AGENDA, SO I DIDN'T WANNA GET TOO, TOO IN THE WEEDS ON THIS ITEM, BUT YEAH.
AND MAYBE I'LL SAVE MY COMMENT THEN I, FOR THAT, I WAS JUST GONNA, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK TO KEEP IN MIND TOO, THE TIMING.
SO EVEN THOUGH WE DO A REC PROCESS ON THE CITY, ALL OF OUR SIGNERS ARE RIGHT THERE.
SO WHEN I SUBMIT SOMETHING FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT THAT REQUIRES A REQUISITION, I CAN DO THAT AND GET IT DONE IN THE SAME DAY.
WHEREAS IF WE TRY TO DO THAT HERE, I HAVE TO WAIT A WHOLE MONTH MM-HMM
NO, I WASN'T SAYING EX EXCLUDING, EXCLUDING WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE.
SO YOU, WHEN YOU GO TO MAKE PURCHASES ON BEHALF OF US MM-HMM
YOU'RE DOING THAT THROUGH THE, THROUGH A REQUISITION SYSTEM NOW? NO, NO, NO.
BUT NOT NECESSARILY COMING TO US FOR AUTHORIZATION.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO HASH OUT.
AND, AND WE'VE GOT AN ITEM IN LATER ON FOR THAT, TO DISCUSS THAT IN MORE DETAIL.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THE AUDITED FINANCIALS? MM-HMM.
DO YOU NEED A, YOU DON'T NEED AUTHOR OR AN APPROVAL FOR ANYTHING ON THAT, DO YOU? IT WAS JUST A REPORT.
THERE'S NOTHING WE HAVE TO ACCEPT, THERE'S NO ACTION NEEDED ON THAT.
SOMETHING TO MAKE SURE CONSIDER ACTION.
BUT THERE'S, SO THE CITY'S ALREADY WE'RE NOT TAKING ANY ACTION ON THAT REPORT'S DONE.
SO WE'LL GO ON TO 7.3, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 87 REGARDING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE CORPORATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2025, TO MOVE THE REVENUES AND EXPENSES RELATED TO THIS SPINE ROAD PROJECT FROM THE IN INCOME STATEMENT TO THE BALANCE SHEET, AS PER THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2024.
UM, CHRISTINA BISHOP, CITY CONTROLLER, AGAIN, UH, THIS BUDGET AMENDMENT WAS TOUCHED ON VERY, VERY BRIEFLY.
I KIND OF MENTIONED THAT THIS ADJUSTMENT WAS COMING.
UM, SO WHAT A RECOMMENDATION OF OUR OTTERS, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY HOW IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUDGETED, UM, OR WAS GOING TO BE HANDLED, UH, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO.
BUT, UH, CERTAIN THINGS UNFOLDED THAT, UH, IT WAS ENCOURAGED
[01:35:01]
TO HAVE THE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, UM, OUTLINED SEPARATELY IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.BUT OUR AUDITORS HAVE CONCLUDED, UM, THAT THIS IS AN INAPPROPRIATE METHOD OF ACCOUNTING.
UM, SO WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THIS CONTRIBUTION FROM CITY AND CAPITAL OUTLAY, LINE ITEM WAS ALL OF THE EXPENDITURES RELATED TO EAST WEST SPINE ROAD WERE COMING OUT OF AN EXPENSE LINE.
AND ALL THE REIMBURSEMENTS FROM THE CITY WERE COMING FROM A REVENUE LINE ITEM.
UH, SO WHAT THAT DOES ESSENTIALLY IS IT CREATES AN, UH, THE CAPITAL OUTLAY CREATES AN ASSET ON THE EDCS BOOKS.
BUT WHEN THE CITY IS REIMBURSING THESE FUNDS, IT'S CREATING AN ASSET ON THE CITY'S BOOKS.
THERE'S ONLY ONE ASSET, NOT TWO.
UH, SO HOW THIS IS, UH, GOING TO BE HANDLED GOING FORWARD IS JUST ON THE BALANCE SHEET AS STAFF HAD ORIGINALLY SUGGESTED.
UM, SO THERE'S GONNA BE A LINE ON YOUR ASSET SAYING, UH, DUE FROM CITY FOR EAST, WEST PINE ROAD, AND THAT LINE IS JUST GOING.
SO ALL OF THE INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS WILL BE WASHING OUT THERE.
AND THAT WILL KIND OF SAY, THIS IS HOW MUCH THE CITY OWES THE EDC RIGHT NOW FOR EAST WEST PINE ROAD CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN WHEN THIS PROJECT IS RESOLVED AND COMPLETELY FINISHED, UH, THAT WILL BE AT ZERO.
I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THAT RECOMMENDA OR THAT RESOLUTION.
WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE BOARD BY TREASURER HENRY GIAN AND SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? BOARD MEMBER GONZALEZ.
WE'LL GO BACK TO ECONOMIC DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
STAFF WILL PROVIDE UPDATES ON CRITICAL PROJECTS INCLUDING THE MEGASITE SPINE ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, HIGHWAY 79, AND COUNTY ROAD 1 32, INTERSECTION PROJECT, WILLIAMSON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS, EVENT RECAPS AND UPCOMING EVENTS.
UM, SO REAL QUICKLY, JUST A FEW THINGS, UM, TO UPDATE YOU ON SPINE ROAD.
I WAS OUT THERE LAST WEEK FOR A SITE VISIT AND ALL THE CURBS HAD BEEN POURED, UH, AND CURED.
SO IN PREPARATION FOR ASPHALT THIS WEEK.
SO THEY WILL START PUTTING THE ASPHALT OR LAYING ASPHALT, I DON'T KNOW THE APPROPRIATE TERM.
I'M SURE IF JORDAN FOSTER'S WATCHING, THEY'RE PROBABLY CHUCKLING.
UM,
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE IT TURN INTO A REAL ROAD.
UM, SO I'LL HAVE SOME UPDATED PICTURES FOR Y'ALL AT THE MAY MEETING.
IT SHOULD BE NEAR COMPLETION BY THAT TIME.
UH, COUNCIL DID TAKE ACTION AT THEIR APRIL 3RD MEETING TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL CLARITY AROUND THE INTENT OF THAT INTERSECTION.
UH, I'VE NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH MIDWAY AFTER, UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO VIEW THAT MOTION, UM, TO SEE IF THAT SATISFIES OUR RETAIL PARTNERS THAT ARE ASKING FOR CLARITY AROUND THAT INTERSECTION.
UM, BUT I'LL GET CLARIFICATION ON THAT AND SEE IF WE NEED TO TAKE ANY FURTHER ACTION.
I DO HAVE SOME UPDATES IN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO WE HAD OUR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING ON LAST FRIDAY THE 11TH.
WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION FROM A PACE PROGRAM.
UH, I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
SO IT'S A FUNDING PROGRAM, UM, FOR EFFECTIVELY, UM, SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICES.
AND I THOUGHT THERE COULD BE SOME GOOD APPLICATIONS FOR OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT WHEN THEY DO RENOVATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO REPLACE WINDOWS OR INSTALLATION, OR THEY HAVE TO DO, UH, FIRE SAFETY OR THEY'RE PUTTING IN SOLAR ON THE ROOF, OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE WHERE THERE'S SOME ENERGY SAVING, UH, MEASURES.
SO I HAVE THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THOSE PRESENTERS, AND I'LL BE REACHING OUT AND SEE HOW BEST TO CONNECT THEM, UM, AND MAYBE PUT THEM ON OUR WEBSITE AS AN ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR OUR BUSINESSES AS WELL.
UM, SO THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
UM, ALSO, UH, THE WILCO EDP IS CONCLUDING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE DOING STRATEGIC PLANS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
UM, SO HOPING TO HAVE THAT WRAPPED UP AT OUR JUNE MEETING.
UM, THERE'S ALSO SOME PLANNING FOR SELECT USA, UH, SPINOFF EVENT THAT IS, UH, HAPPENING AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY.
UH, SO WE TALKED ABOUT SOME PREPARATIONS FOR THAT.
UH, I PRESENTED TO THE JUDO CITIZENS UNIVERSITY ON APRIL 25TH.
I GOT TO PRESENT WITH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM, AND I'VE NOT HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE.
USUALLY I'M PAIRED WITH, UM, COMMUNITY AND CULTURE.
SO IT WAS FUN TO GET TO HEAR FROM ANOTHER DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY.
[01:40:01]
AND THEN ALSO HAD A STAKEHOLDER LUNCHEON AT JACK ALLEN'S KITCHEN HUDDLE ON, UM, THE 26TH OF MARCH.UM, SORRY, THAT WAS 3 25, NOT 4 25 ON HCU.
I'M LIKE, THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET.
SO THE LUNCHEON WAS ON MARCH 26TH.
UM, SOME REALLY GREAT KIND OF MOVERS AND SHAKERS AND KEY COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, HERE AND IN SOME NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES.
UH, ISD HAD REPRESENTATION AS DID THE CHAMBER, UH, AND SOME, UH, OTHER BUSINESSES, UH, IN THE AREA.
SO THAT WAS A REALLY GREAT WAY TO CONNECT WITH SOME FOLKS AND, UH, GET TO EXPERIENCE THE MEETING SPACE, THE PRIVATE DINING SPACE RATHER, AT JACK ALLEN'S.
SO, UH, GOT TO EXPERIENCE THAT FIRSTHAND.
UM, THEN ON, UH, MARCH 29TH, WE HAD OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP.
AND, UM, SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY CAME OUT AND PRIORITIZED SOME THINGS THAT WERE, UM, GLEANED FROM THE BUDGET SURVEY THAT WAS CONDUCTED.
SO WE'LL BE USING THAT FEEDBACK IN OUR BUDGET PREP.
SO WHEN I BRING YOU A PROPOSED BUDGET IN MAY, I'LL BE REFERRING TO SOME THINGS SPECIFIC FROM THESE WORKSHOPS AND THE BUDGET SURVEY, AS WELL AS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, KIND OF ALL THE DIFFERENT LAYERS.
SO REALLY TRYING TO MAKE IMPACTFUL, UM, USE OF OUR RESOURCES THERE.
SO WE HAVE, UM, THIS WEEK ON WEDNESDAY, WE HAVE A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING, UH, WITH MIDWAY TO TALK ABOUT THEIR DRAFT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
SO I'M EXCITED TO HAVE THAT, GET THAT PROCESS MOVING.
UM, I'M PRESENTING TO THE HU LEAD PROGRAM THAT'S PUT ON BY THE CHAMBER ON THE 23RD.
UH, I WILL BE AT OU, EDI, THE PROGRAM THAT JENNIFER MENTIONED ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE THROUGH OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY BOOMER.
AND SO THAT IS MY FIRST OF THREE IN THE SERIES, UH, TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE COURSEWORK NECESSARY TO SIT FOR THE CERTIFIED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL EXAM.
I LIKE TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERACHIEVER WHEN IT COMES TO TRAINING.
I'M GONNA TRY AND CONDENSE IT INTO TWO AND SIT, UH, IMMEDIATELY.
BUT KICKING THAT OFF LATER THIS MONTH.
UH, I ALSO HAVE A PRESENTATION AT THE EAST WILCO, UM, REALTY GR UM, ASSOCIATION, DOING THEIR PROPERTY INFORMATION EXCHANGE EVENT ON MAY 6TH.
WE HAVE THAT SELECT USA SPINOFF EVENT THAT I MENTIONED IN THE WILCO EDP UPDATE.
THAT'S MAY, UH, EIGHTH AND NINTH.
WE ALSO HAVE SMALL BUSINESS BUSINESS WEEK EVENTS, UH, RISE AND THRIVE EVENTS.
UH, I THOUGHT THAT WAS SUCH A CUTE PLAY ON WORDS FROM OUR BIZ THRIVE PROGRAM THAT'S HAPPENING ON MAY 6TH AND MAY 8TH.
UH, WE'LL BE HOSTING AT LAMPPOST AND BAKED AND SCON, AND WE'RE OFFERING FREE COFFEE AND A PASTRY FOR ALL OF OUR BUSINESS OWNERS SO THEY CAN COME BY AND CONNECT WITH STAFF AND GET A LITTLE, UH, PICK ME UP TO START THEIR MORNING OF APPRECIATION.
UM, THAT'S ALSO GONNA BE ON THE CALENDAR ON OUR WEBSITE, TOO.
THEN WE HAVE ICSC IN MAY THE 17TH THROUGH THE 20TH.
WE HAVE THE TDC MID-YEAR CONFERENCE COMING UP IN JUNE.
UH, I'LL BE GOING TO SOUTH KOREA IN JUNE FOR THE NEXT RISE CONFERENCE.
SO WE'LL BE THERE FOR A DAY AND A HALF.
AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF THE TIME WE HAVE MEETINGS SET WITH, UM, VARIOUS COMPANIES, UH, BOTH NEW AND SOME THAT HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN THE AREA OR HAVE ACTUALLY SET UP HERE IN HURO.
UM, AND FOLLOW UP FROM THE SELECT USA SPINOFF EVENT FROM EARLIER OR FROM MAY.
AND THEN ALSO THE, UH, VARIETY OF EVENTS THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP IN PERSON.
AND THAT CONCLUDES MY COMMENTS.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR CHANEY? OKAY.
GOING TO 7.4, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE CORPORATION'S REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 10TH, 2025, AND THEIR QUARTERLY JOINT MEETING WITH HUDU CITY COUNCIL ON APRIL 3RD, 2025.
WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES, UH, FROM THE PREVIOUS REGULAR MEETING AND THE QUARTERLY JOINT MEETING.
UH, I HAVE, I HAVE A, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, UH, 7.8 ITEM, 7.8.
UH, THE DATES ARE, ARE WRONG ON THAT FROM WHAT I COULD SEE.
UM, IT SAYS, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION TO APPROVE THE CORPORATION'S MINUTES FROM THEIR REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 10TH.
AND I BELIEVE THAT, THAT THAT SHOULD BE THE JANUARY 9TH MEETING.
LET, LET, LET'S GET TO THE TWO MOTIONS AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION.
SO I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY CHAIRPERSON OR VICE CHAIR MATTMAN, SECONDED BY A BOARD MEMBER, IRMA GONZALEZ.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE ITEM? THIS ITEM? SO YOU'RE SAYING THE AGENDA LANGUAGE ON THIS
[01:45:01]
AGENDA IS WRONG ON THE, NO, ON THE MINUTES.AND YOU GO BACK TO SEVEN EIGHT AND IT HAS DISCUSSED AND CONSIDER ACTION TO APPROVE THE CORPORATION'S MINUTES FROM THEIR REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 10TH, 2025, AND THEIR QUARTERLY JOINT MEETING WITH IDAHO CITY COUNCIL ON APRIL 3RD.
I BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE JANUARY 9TH AND FEBRUARY 3RD.
THAT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT I SAW THAT WAS IN DISCREPANCY THAT I, FROM MY NOTES,
UM, I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN AND SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER IRMA GONZALEZ.
UM, TO JUST TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE CORPORATION'S REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 10TH, 2025 IN THE QUARTERLY JOINT MEETING WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY HUDDLE CITY COUNCIL, APRIL 3RD, 2025, INCLUDING, UM, THE UPDATED DATES.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? OKAY.
CAN YOU CALL A VOTE, PLEASE? SURE.
SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO MOVE 7.5 AND 7.7 AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION AND MOVE TO, UM, ITEM 7.6, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE CORPORATION.
UH, SO I TOOK A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM Y'ALL AND IMPLEMENTED HERE.
SO I REMOVED THE SLIDES THAT SHOWED ALL OF OUR HISTORY.
'CAUSE I, UH, RECEIVED THE MESSAGE THAT WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING.
SO FOR, I DID NOT DELETE THEM ENTIRELY.
THEY'RE JUST NOT IN THIS PRESENTATION.
SO WE HAVE THE HISTORY IF WE NEED IT, BUT IT'S MORE CONCISE HERE.
SO WE HAVE OUR VISION AND MISSION THAT HAVE REMAINED STEADFAST FOR A FEW MONTHS.
NOW, OUR UPDATED CORE VALUES, THE PILLARS, THIS IS ALL REPEAT FROM LAST TIME.
SO I ALSO WENT AHEAD AND CONDENSED.
I BELIEVE BOARD MEMBER MCLAUGHLIN HAD, UM, INDICATED THAT KIND OF HAVING IT DISJOINTED IN MULTIPLE SLIDES KIND OF AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER WAS NOT AS HELPFUL AS MAKING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCISE.
SO I REFERENCED THE PILLAR AND THEN THE OBJECTIVES ARE CALLED OUT, AND THEN THE GOALS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.
AND SO EACH PILLAR HAS ITS OWN SLIDE AND IT CLEARLY STATES THAT THAT INFORMATION, UH, PERTINENT TO THAT SPECIFIC PILLAR.
SO FOR PILLAR ONE, UH, THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO LEVERAGE DATA TO ASSESS ECONOMIC TRENDS, GUIDE STRATEGIC USE OF INCENTIVES, TRACK, TRACK, PROGRESS, AND INFORM POLICY DECISIONS.
GOALS RELATED TO THAT OBJECTIVE ARE TO PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORTING ON RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES AND RETAIL TRENDS TO GUIDE MARKETING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND INVESTMENT, MEANING WHAT YOU GUYS WANNA FUND.
SO THAT MIGHT INFORM OUR INCENTIVE POLICY OR THE TYPES OF, UH, RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES THAT WE DO, UM, FOR, TO CORRESPOND WITH THAT.
UH, THE SECOND GOAL IS TO COMPLETE FOUR STRATEGIC MARKETING INITIATIVES FOR KEY INDUSTRY SECTORS AS IDENTIFIED FROM THE QUARTERLY REPORT.
THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO BUILD STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH DEVELOPERS, INVESTORS, AND INDUSTRY LEADERS TO FACILITATE IMPACTFUL PROJECTS.
THE GOAL HERE IS TO ATTEND FIVE RECRUITMENT EVENTS IN EFFORTS TO ATTRACT 10 SITE VISITS FROM COMPANIES AND TARGET INDUSTRIES.
AND I PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT THOSE, UM, RECRUITMENT EVENTS COULD ENTAIL.
THE THIRD OBJECTIVE IS TO POSITION HUDA AS A PREMIER DESTINATION FOR BUSINESS THROUGH TARGETED MARKETING AND BRANDING.
THE GOALS HERE ARE EXECUTE FOUR PUBLIC RELATIONS INITIATIVES, INCLUDING ADVERTISING AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS THAT HIGHLIGHT HUDA'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES, AVAILABLE SITES, WORKFORCE STRENGTHS AND QUALITY OF LIFE TO ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES AND INVESTMENT FROM DIVERSE INDUSTRIES.
GOAL NUMBER TWO IS TO UPDATE THE EDC WEBSITE MONTHLY TO ENSURE ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.
GOAL THREE IS DEVELOP AND EXECUTE A
[01:50:01]
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN TO INCLUDE KEY INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY FOCUSED INITIATIVES, LEVERAGING PRINT AND DIGITAL MEDIA TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT IN PUBLIC RELATIONS.AND I'LL JUST GO SLIDE BY SLIDE.
I THINK THAT'S EASIER 'CAUSE THEY'RE PRETTY MM-HMM
SO IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK, WE'LL JUST PAUSE AT THE END OF EACH SLIDE.
ANYTHING ON PILLAR ONE? I THINK IT'S GREAT.
ACHIEVABLE IN LINE WITH OUR GOALS IN LINE WITH THE DEPARTMENT IN LINE WITH FUNDING.
I THINK IT AND YOU'VE GOT MEASURABLE AND THEY'RE MEASURABLE.
THERE'S COUPLE THAT ARE A LITTLE OPEN-END.
NO, NO, THAT WAS GONNA BE MY COMMENT.
I WAS GONNA HOLD OFF UNTIL THE END.
THEN MAKE A GENERAL COMMENT, BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
SO FOR PILLAR TWO IS BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION.
THE OBJECT FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO COLLABORATE WITH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT WORKFORCE TRAINING AND CAREER PATHWAYS IN HIGH DEMAND FIELDS TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN LOCAL TALENT.
THE GOALS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OBJECTIVE ARE CONNECT 10 BUSINESSES WITH WORKFORCE PARTNERS TO LEVERAGE AVAILABLE RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF BUSINESS GROWTH OR TO ADDRESS WORKFORCE CHALLENGES.
THE SECOND GOAL IS TO PROMOTE FOUR WORKFORCE INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS, OR EVENTS TO SUPPORT WORK RECRUITMENT OF LOCAL WORKFORCE AND ADDRESS WORKFORCE NEEDS OF LOCAL BUSINESSES.
OBJECTIVE TWO IS TO PROMOTE LOCAL BUSINESS GROWTH THROUGH TARGETED RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS.
THE GOALS ARE TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RETENTION VISITS WITH 50 BUSINESSES.
AND I, I WANTED TO CLARIFY HERE TOO, THESE WOULD BE 50 UNIQUE BUSINESSES, NOT JUST 50 VISITS TOTAL, BUT 50 UNIQUE BUSINESSES.
SO IT MAY BE 150 VISITS, BUT 50 BUSINESSES IS THE GOAL THERE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT'S VERY CLEAR AND ASSIST AT LEAST THREE LOCAL BUSINESSES IN EXPANDING OPERATIONS OR WORKFORCE THROUGH INCENTIVES, GRANTS, OR SUPPORT SERVICES.
SECOND GOAL IS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION AT QUARTERLY BIZ THRIVE EVENTS BY 25%.
THE THIRD GOAL IS TO INCREASE INVESTMENT IN HU DO SMALL BUSINESSES BY 50%.
THIS COULD BE QUANTITY OF BUSINESSES AND OR THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING.
IT WILL JUST DEPEND ON THE OPPORTUNITIES.
I DIDN'T WANT TO EXCLUDE ONE OR THE OTHER BECAUSE IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE MARKET AND WE CAN'T CONTROL A WHOLE LOT OF THAT.
SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO KIND OF DOUBLE DIP THERE A LITTLE BIT ON ACHIEVING THAT GOAL.
ANY FEEDBACK ON PILLAR TWO? SO, UM, I REALLY LIKE THIS, THE GOAL, UM, FOR INCREASED INVESTMENT IN HOW DO SMALL BUSINESSES BY 50%, HOW WOULD YOU DO THAT WITH A, A LIMITED, LIKE SORT OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, WE HAVE A NUMBER RIGHT, THAT WE CAN GIVE TO OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
ARE YOU THINKING OUTSIDE THAT BOX? WELL, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE REASON FOR HAVING BOTH.
EITHER WE'RE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING BY 50%, OR WE'RE INCREASING THE FUNDING THAT WE PROVIDE BY 50%.
SO IT COULD BE A COMBINATION OF THE TWO.
SO, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, WE SUPPORTED TWO LOCAL BUSINESSES WITH INCENTIVES.
SO, AND WE SPENT, WE'LL JUST SAY, WE'LL JUST KEEP IT REALLY, THIS IS NOT REAL.
SO THEN IN FY 26, OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO EITHER SUPPORT FOUR BUSINESSES OR SPEND THE FULL A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THAT'S SET ASIDE IN SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS.
AND IF WE DO MORE THAN THAT, GREAT.
BUT THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO, TO DO ONE OR THE OTHER.
ANYTHING ELSE ON PILLAR TWO? ALL RIGHT.
SO PILLAR THREE IS INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
OBJECTIVE ONE IS TO HARNESS DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS AND STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE, EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT FOSTERS ECONOMIC GROWTH, MINIMIZES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, AND ENHANCES COMMUNITY WELLBEING.
THE GOAL HERE IS TO DEVELOP DATA-DRIVEN INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT TOOL IN COLLABORATION WITH AT LEAST FIVE STAKEHOLDERS.
THESE COULD BE CITY PLANNING, DEPARTMENT UTILITY PROVIDERS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, ET CETERA, WITH THE GOAL OF IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING THREE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT BALANCE ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS.
OBJECTIVE TWO IS DEVELOP RESILIENT, FUTURE READY INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT GROWTH AND CONNECTIVITY.
GOAL ONE, SUPPORT THE INITIATIVE FOR DOWNTOWN PARKING AND STREETS.
IMPROVEMENTS THAT INCLUDE PATHWAYS FOR PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLIST TRAFFIC AND ADDITIONAL SAFETY.
AND A DA CONSIDERATIONS GOAL TWO, INVEST IN TRANSPORTATION, BROADBAND, UTILITIES, AND MULTIMODAL NETWORKS THAT ENHANCE MOBILITY.
MEET THE NEEDS OF TARGETED INDUSTRIES AND POSITION THE COMMUNITY FOR LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH.
THIS COULD BE CIP PROJECTS, THE DOWNTOWN STREETS, SIDEWALKS, BIKE LANES, TRAILS, ET CETERA.
SELECT, OR, SORRY, GOAL THREE, SELECT THREE MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO SUPPORT THAT COULD BE ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS, SOMETHING WITH BROADBAND OR FIBER, UH, WATER SEWER UPGRADES, ET CETERA, THAT INCORPORATE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PRACTICES AND EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES AND COLLABORATIVE FUNDING EFFORTS.
OBJECTIVE THREE, PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
[01:55:01]
PRACTICES.GOAL ONE, ENSURE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE COTTONWOOD PROPERTIES INCLUDES SUSTAINABLE FEATURES AND PRACTICES THAT ENCOURAGE ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS LAND EFFICIENCY, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, AND A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS.
GOAL TWO, INCLUDE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN EVERY INCENTIVE AWARDED OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS READING THROUGH SOME OLD URBAN PLANNING BOOKS THAT I HAVE FUTURE READY VERSUS FUTURE PROOF.
AND WHEN I THINK FUTURE PROOF, FUTURE PROOF IMPLIES THAT WE'RE MITIGATING FUTURE IMPACT.
BUT, BUT, BUT IT'S ALSO BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT ALL THESE GREAT THINGS IN HERE THAT ARE RESILIENT, FUTURE READY, KIND OF ASSUMES ADAPTABILITY.
SO I, I'M NOT GONNA TRY TO PRESS THE ISSUE, BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT FUTURE PROOF THAT STUCK OUT IN MY MIND AS IT RELATES TO THAT SECOND OBJECTIVE THAT I'M JUST GONNA THROW OUT THERE.
BUT Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB WITH THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE.
I'VE, I'VE NEVER LIKED THE PHRASE FUTURE PROOF EITHER.
CERTAINLY NOT IN THE SOFTWARE WORLD,
UM, I LIKE FUTURE READY, BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAY, IT PRESUMES A CERTAIN LEVEL OF RESILIENCE TOWARDS THE UNKNOWN, THE ADAPTABLE, AND IT'S ADAPTABLE.
WHICH, WHICH IS WHY I, I LOVE THIS OVER FUTURE PROOF.
WHOEVER, WHOEVER WROTE FUTURE READY IN THERE DESERVES THEIR PAY FOR THE MONTH.
I HAVE A, A QUESTION, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IF IT'S APPROPRIATE HERE, BUT I KNOW I NOTICED IT, IT MENTIONS UPGRADES TO, UM, WATER AND SEWER.
BUT WHAT ABOUT SOURCES FOR WATER? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS BEING, UM, EVALUATED? IT IS.
AND YOUR, YOUR TIMING IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD.
I WAS TALKING WITH THE CITY ENGINEER HMM.
I THINK AFTER A, A LEADERSHIP MEETING, UM, TALKING ABOUT SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK AT OTHER SOURCES OF WATER.
I JUST THINK FOR THIS STRATEGIC PLAN, THESE ARE ALL MEANT TO BE AT LEAST PROGRESSED, IF NOT COMPLETELY EXECUTED BY THE TIME FY 26 IS DONE.
AND I, THAT IS A MUCH BIGGER FISH AND FURTHER OUT, BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY ON OUR MINDS AND NOT JUST MINE.
UH, CITY ENGINEER AS WELL, AND PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
WE'RE ALL PUTTING OUR HEADS TOGETHER TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT OPTIONS ARE THERE.
AND WATER, UM, IS A TOPIC AT ALMOST EVERY CONFERENCE AND TRAINING EVENT THAT I GO TO.
THAT'S A TOPIC ALL ACROSS TEXAS.
ASSUMING LARGE, IT IS JUST ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND RECENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO HAS AGREED TO OPEN UP THE FLOOD GATES TO LET THE FARMERS IN TEXAS HAVE WATER.
WATER FROM THE RIO GRANDE DOWN THERE.
BUT WHAT ABOUT UP HERE? YOU KNOW, THAT'S, YEAH.
OUR WATER, OUR WATER DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA COME FROM THE EAST.
UH, IT'S, I MEAN, WE COULD SPEND THE MONEY AND GO DOWN IN THE TRINITY, BUT IT'S GONNA COME OUT AT 112 DEGREES.
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE DEVELOPING WELLS, BUT OUR WATER'S GONNA COME FROM THE RA, THE, THE BRAZO RIVER VALLEY BASIN, AND PROBABLY THROUGH SOME VERY DIFFICULT PARTNERSHIPS AND, AND AND WHATNOT.
LEE MILAM COUNTY, YOU GOTTA GET INTO THE CARRIZO WILCOX FORMATION TO GET SUSTAINABLE WATER FOR CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND I'VE ALSO READ RECENTLY THAT EL PASO HAS DEVELOPED A NEW PROCESS TO, UM, REPROCESS, UH, SEWAGE WATER.
THERE'S A LOT OF, I DON'T KNOW THAT I WANT ANY OF THAT, BUT
WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF, IT'S GOOD USES FOR NON-POTABLE.
LOT OF RECLAMATION DON'T WANT PROJECTS THAT COULD COME INTO PLAY FOR CONSERVATION, BUT MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY MAKE POTABLE WATER MM-HMM
BUT IF WE'RE GONNA BUILD GOLF COURSES ALL THE TIME, RIGHT.
WHY NOT RECLAIM GOLF COURSE? RECLAIM WATER FOR THAT.
AND NOT USE IT FOR AGRICULTURAL LIKE THEY USE SLUDGE YET.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON PILLAR THREE OR COMMENTS? THE SLIDE FOUR.
ROUND AND THIRD, COMING INTO HOME, Y'ALL.
PILLAR FOUR, ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND DIVERSIFICATION.
MONITORED AND ANALYZE ECONOMIC TRENDS TO INFORM ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES.
GOAL ONE, CREATE AND MAINTAIN A DYNAMIC DATABASE OF KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS SUCH AS EMPLOYMENT, INDUSTRY, DIVERSITY, BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, AND REVENUE TRENDS TO PROACTIVELY IDENTIFY, IDENTIFY VULNERABILITY,
[02:00:01]
GEEZ LOUISE.VULNERABILITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIVERSIFICATION.
GOAL TWO, IDENTIFY ONE NEW SECTOR TO ATTRACT TO HUDU AND AT LEAST THREE BUSINESSES WITHIN THAT SECTOR TO FOCUS RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.
OBJECTIVE TWO, EVALUATE AND EVOLVE PROGRAMS TO STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC RESILIENCE GOAL.
DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR A BUSINESS ACCELERATOR INCUBATOR PROGRAM.
OBJECTIVE THREE, ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS TO DRIVE INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSIFIED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOAL.
IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH IN EMERGING AND UNDERREPRESENTED SECTORS BY COLLABORATING WITH A VAR VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDER GROUPS TO ENSURE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, FOSTER A DIVERSE AND RESILIENT LOCAL ECONOMY.
THESE ARE NOT QUITE AS MEASURABLE
I WAS LIKE, WELL, THE LESS MEASURABLES COMING.
SO HOW DID I BLEND THOUGH? OVERALL? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS GOOD.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, UM, THIS IS ESPECIALLY OBJECTIVE NUMBER THREE, THE ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS AND, YOU KNOW, DRIVING INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSIFIED ECONOMIC.
LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S JUST GONNA BE AN ONGOING THING, RIGHT? AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO THAT IT'S OBVIOUS THAT IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE FOCUSING ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, BUT YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY A HARDER THING TO PUT A MEASUREMENT ON.
I WOULD SAY THOUGH, OVERALL, YOU KNOW, THE CITY'S BEEN WORKING TO HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
THEY'VE DEVELOPED PILLARS, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING, BUT THIS IS VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT I WOULD EXPECT TO SEE OUT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN FROM THE DIRECTOR'S LEVEL.
AND THAT IS HOW DO WE ALIGN SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES, SPECIFIC STRATEGIES THAT ARE MEASURABLE.
BUT KEEP IN MIND, I THINK A STRATEGIC PLAN ALSO IS KIND OF A BREATHING, LIVING DOCUMENT.
AND THIS MAY, PILLAR FOUR MAY REVEAL ITSELF AS WE GO FORWARD IN SOME OF OUR OTHER PROJECTS.
AND THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES TO KIND OF ALONG THE WAY, THROW IN A MEASUREMENT MM-HMM
BUT THE FIRST THREE SLIDES OUT OF THE PARK.
'CAUSE NOW EVERY YEAR YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO NOT ONLY COME TO US WITH A PRESENTATION FOR THE YEAR END, BUT YOU CAN ALSO TAKE IT TO THE CITY, UH, COUNCIL FOR, FOR PRE PRESENTATION AND SHOW THE MEASUREMENTS.
AND IN THAT, AND I, WHEN WE HAVE OUR POLICY DISCUSSION, UM, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING WHERE THIS IS A REGULAR OCCURRENCE.
SO HOW MANY, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OBJECTIVES TOTAL UNDER, IN TOTAL WITH ALL THE PILLARS? WELL, I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS DOWN 'CAUSE I WROTE DOWN THE TOTAL NUMBER OBJECTIVES AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS.
BUT I THINK THERE'S LIKE 16, WE CAN JUST COUNT REAL QUICK.
AND ARE WE CONSIDERING SOME OF THESE GOALS TO BE ABLE TO OVERLAP? 10, 11.
SO THERE'S 11 OBJECTIVES AND 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, AND 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 GOALS.
YOU THINK THAT'S TOO MANY? I'M JUST, YEAH, I'M JUST ASKING, UM, BECAUSE I LIKE ALL OF IT.
BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UM, PER LIKE, PERFORM ALL OF THESE WITHIN, ARE WE, ARE WE, WHAT'S OUR TIMELINE WITH THIS? IS THIS LIKE A WORKING DOCUMENT OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS? OR IS THIS OVER LIKE ONE YEAR THAT YOU'RE GONNA HIT ALL OF THESE, THESE 21 GOALS? LIKE I DON'T WANNA HOLD THE STANDARD UP HERE, 26, THEN BE LIKE, WELL, YOU DIDN'T HIT ALL LIKE 10, YOU KNOW, SO, OH, UNDER, HOW ARE WE GOING TO READ THROUGH THIS? WELL, THANK YOU.
I APPRECIATE THAT CONSIDERATION.
UM, I ACTUALLY, THIS IS LESS THAN WHAT I WAS ORIGINALLY GONNA PROPOSE.
UM, I THINK GIVEN THE STAFF AND THE LEVEL OF TALENT DRIVE YEAH.
TALENT, THANK YOU AND PROFESSIONALISM THAT YOU HAVE, THAT WE HAVE, I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE ALL OF THESE.
NOW SOME OF THEM OBVIOUSLY ARE A, A LITTLE LESS TANGIBLE, AND SO THAT LEAVES SOME ROOM, RIGHT? FOR US TO BE LIKE, WELL, THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE HERE.
BUT TO TREASURE GIDEON'S POINT, THERE MAY COME OUT OF THAT SORT OF EXPLORATORY EFFORT, SOME REAL DELIVERABLES AS WELL.
SO THAT, THAT'S SOME ROOM FOR THIS TO, TO SHIFT A LITTLE BIT.
BUT I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT MY TEAM CAN HIT ALL OF THIS IN A YEARLY, UM, BY THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS TO BE CONSIDERED TO, TO FURTHER ADDRESS YOUR PART OF YOUR QUESTION, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO INFORM OUR FY 26 BUDGET.
WE WILL START EXECUTING ON THIS IMMEDIATELY IF YOU GUYS APPROVE IT, BECAUSE WE HAVE IT.
AND WE CAN GO AND WE HAVE RESOURCES AVAILABLE NOW TO START TO IMPLEMENT.
BUT THIS WILL BE TAKEN UNDER CONSIDERATION WHEN I BRING YOU THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND I'LL TIE IT TO THESE THINGS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THESE ARE THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE REQUESTING FROM THIS CORPORATION IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THIS OBJECTIVE AND THIS GOAL.
THAT'S HOW IT'S, THAT'S THE PLAN.
THAT'S HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK.
SO YOUR, YOUR MISSION VISION OBJECTIVES, AND THEN YOUR
[02:05:01]
CITY COUNCIL ESTABLISHES GOALS OR THE PILLARS.THE OBJECTIVES, AND THEN THE STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT THE OBJECTIVES.
SO THERE, I DON'T KNOW, HOW MANY PILLARS DID Y'ALL COME UP WITH AT COUNCIL? I THINK WE HAVE FOUR.
SO THAT'S WHERE, IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS THAT I'M USED TO, UM, YOU HAVE FOUR GOALS, AND THEN DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER ON ANNUAL OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES TO MEET THOSE GOALS.
AND IF IT'S A STRATEGIC PLAN, LIKE A LOT OF 'EM THAT I'M USED TO, IT GOES OUT FIVE, SEVEN YEARS MM-HMM
AND, AND, AND SO I, I THINK IF YOU, 'CAUSE WE GET LOST IN THE NOMENCLATURE, UM, IT DOES SOUND HEADY THAT IT'S 11 GOALS, BUT WHEN I THINK OF IT AS STRATEGIES, THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKABLE.
THAT'S JUST THE WAY I'M USED TO SEEING.
AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THIS CORPORATION HAS EVER HAD A STRATEGIC PLAN IN PLACE.
AND SO I THINK THAT WE AS A BOARD, YEAH, WE NEED TO BE MALLEABLE, RIGHT? WE NEED TO, TO HAVE THIS THING WITH US AND MEMORIZE IT AND WORK, WORK WITH IT, AND LET IT BE THE, YOU KNOW, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CHANGE OR, OR WE NEED TO MAKE A LONGER ONE NEXT TIME OR, OR HAVE LESS OBJECTIVES NEXT TIME, WHATEVER IT IS, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CERTAINLY CROSS THOSE BRIDGES WHEN WE GET TO THEM, YOU KNOW? BUT THAT WE'VE NEVER HAD ONE BEFORE.
SO, SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF JUST COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS.
UM, I WOULD THINK THAT INSTEAD OF REINVENTING THE WHEEL, THERE ARE, THERE'S ALREADY SOME SOFTWARE THAT CAN HELP US, UH, HELP Y'ALL DO THE DYNAMIC DATABASE OF KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS.
MANY MUNICIPALITIES USE IT, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU MAY ALREADY BE FAMILIAR WITH SOME THAT SHOULD, ARE USING SOME, I DON'T KNOW.
IS THAT THE CASE? DO YOU YEAH.
SO I DID A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH ONTO WHAT CONSTITUTES A TOOL THAT WE WOULD BE USING.
SO THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS, BUT WE AREN'T NECESSARILY USING THEM, UM, RIGHT NOW.
SO A LOT OF THIS ISN'T LIKE US MAKING OUR OWN THING.
IT'S LET'S, LET'S IDENTIFY SOMETHING, LET'S MAKE A DECISION OF WHAT WE WANNA BRING ON TO, RIGHT, RIGHT.
'CAUSE IT'LL MAKE YOUR JOB A LOT EASIER.
AND GIVE US THE, WE HAVE THE RESOURCE, THE TOP LAYER LAYER TO MAKE DECISIONS ON, WELL, COME ON, JENNIFER'S DONE WITH THE WEBSITE.
SHE'S GOT ALL THIS AVAILABLE TIME.
SHE'S GONNA KEEP NOW KEEP EXPANDING HER.
AND THEN THE NEXT POINT WAS ABOUT THE INCUBATOR ACCELERATOR.
I KNOW THAT, UM, I KNOW OF ONE PERSONALLY THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A DECADE MM-HMM.
AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES HAVE THAT.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY FOR RETENTION OR TO CREATE NEW BUSINESSES.
I THINK BUSINESSES, PEOPLE WANT TO START BUSINESSES, BUT THEY NEED A LITTLE HANDHOLDING.
UH, I'VE PERSONALLY WORKED WITH, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN PEOPLE VERY, VERY HELPFUL.
THEY REALLY DO HOLD YOUR HAND TO FRUITION WHERE YOU ACTUALLY LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS.
AND THEN, UH, THE FELLOW THAT CAME FROM TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, HE'S WITH A SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, HIS GROUP, THEY, HE HAS HELPED PEOPLE WHO HAVE DEVELOPED, I THINK IT WAS A NEW YOGURT MM-HMM
SO SHE WANTED, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, MORTAR AND BRICK, UH, LOCATION.
BUT HE CONVINCED HER, HIS TEAM CONVINCED HER TO TAKE IT TO LIKE A COSTCO.
SO IT'S THAT SORT OF, I THINK, RESOURCE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE, UH, INSTITUTED.
AND, UM, WAS THERE ANOTHER ONE? I THINK THAT WAS IT PRIMARILY JUST, I THINK THAT WOULD HELP US ATTRACT BUSINESSES, CREATE NEW BUSINESSES, AND ALSO RETAIN THE BUSINESSES.
UM, MY MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE 21 GOALS OUT HERE.
SO, UM, ARE, ARE YOU, ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT HAVING SOME OVERLAP? LIKE THEY'RE OKAY, IT'S OKAY TO OVERLAP SOME OF THESE, LIKE WHEN YOU'RE HITTING WITH THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM, IT'S ALSO HITTING THIS GOAL OR TRYING TO, OR YOU'RE GONNA HIT EVERY SINGLE GOAL INDIVIDUALLY ON ITS OWN.
WELL, I THINK IF THERE'S ROOM, WE WANNA BE EFFICIENT, RIGHT? SO IF WE'RE DOING SOMETHING LIKE WE TAKE UP AN INCUBATOR, UM, PROGRAM, WE START PUTTING RESOURCES TOGETHER, AND THAT BECOMES A PROGRAM, WELL, HOW DOES THAT FEED INTO OUR SMALL BUSINESS INCENTIVE? SO IS THAT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THINGS TO JUST KIND OF NATURALLY, NOT NECESSARILY OVERLAP, BUT FUNNEL INTO ONE ANOTHER TO HELP INCREASE OUR SUCCESS? YEAH, WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR THOSE EFFICIENCIES AND OPPORTUNITIES TOO.
UM, I AM, I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED.
I'VE SEEN A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WORK PRODUCT, UM, AND I FROM JENNIFER AND THEN THIS.
[02:10:01]
AND YOUR TEAM, AND I THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC JOB.AND, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEEN ROLLING AROUND IN MY HEAD TODAY IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE WEBSITE IS NOT JENNIFER'S WEBSITE, IT'S THE MARKETING ANALYST'S WEBSITE, OR THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN ISN'T CHENEY'S STRATEGIC PLAN, IT'S THE ECONOMIC DIRECTOR'S STRATEGIC PLAN, SO THAT WE PROVIDE SOME LONG-TERM CONTINUITY.
LIKE WE'VE, AT SOME POINT, AND MAYBE YOU DO THIS ALREADY, AND I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, VOICING IT SOME, SOME WAY TO DEVELOP, YOU KNOW, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DOES THE ECONOMIC DIRECTOR FOR THE HU EDC DO? LIKE, WHAT ARE THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT, THAT THAT ROLE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR? RIGHT.
WHAT DOES THE MARKETING ANALYST DO? I MEAN, IS, IS SHE OUR WEBSITE DEVELOPER? I MEAN, SHE IS GREAT, RIGHT? I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING THAT SHE SHOULDN'T BE, OR THAT THAT ROLE SHOULDN'T BE, HAVE THAT AS A LINE ITEM UNDERNEATH THAT JOB TITLE.
UM, BUT MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF SHE DECIDES THAT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THAT SHE DOESN'T WANNA BE THE MARKETING ANALYST FOR HU EDC ANYMORE, WHOEVER MOVES INTO THAT ROLE, OH, I GET IT.
BUT WE'RE TALKING HYPOTHETICALS HERE.
WHOEVER MOVES INTO THAT ROLE UNDERSTANDS, OH, BY THE WAY, IN ADDITION TO BEING A MARKETING ANALYST, I HAVE GOT TO MAINTAIN THIS WEBSITE.
I'VE GOT TO MAINTAIN THIS DATABASE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT REQUIRE ONGOING INPUT AND WORK TOWARDS THAT.
IF THEY'RE TIED TO AN INDIVIDUAL MM-HMM
I THINK THAT THAT WILL BE HELPFUL IN OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DISCUSSION.
IT'LL BE AN ONGOING, SORRY, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY IS THAT'S DEFINITELY PART OF SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE INTO THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND WE CAN MAKE SURE ALL THAT'S LAID OUT TO YOUR SATISFACTION.
I WAS ALSO GONNA OFFER, WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING AN EXERCISE, UH, AT, ON THE CITY SIDE OF CREATING SUCCESS MATRICES.
SO EVERY EMPLOYEE WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.
SO WE'RE TAKING THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION AND WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, THIS IS THE DUTY OR RESPONSIBILITY OR ROLE, BUT THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE.
LIKE, THESE ARE THE ACTUAL THINGS THAT CORRESPOND TO THAT ROLE OR RESPONSIBILITY, AND HERE'S WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS A TEAM MEMBER, THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES FOR ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE OR IN THIS RESPONSIBILITY AND WRITE DOWN THE LIST.
SO I THINK THAT'LL BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF TIMES JOB DESCRIPTIONS CAN BE, UM, VAGUE OR SOMETIMES NOT REALLY WRITTEN FOR THE PERSON THAT YOU ACTUALLY END UP HIRING BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THAT PERSON'S GONNA BE.
TO YOUR POINT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE NEXT PERSON'S GONNA BE.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE A JOB DESCRIPTION THAT IS SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO GET THE SKILLSET YOU WANT, BUT NOT SO EXCLUSIVE OR VAGUE THAT YOU DON'T GET THE CANDIDATE THAT YOU WANT THE QUALITY.
SO THE SUCCESS MATRIX IS MEANT TO KIND OF BE THE, THE COMPATIBLE OR COMPANION TO THAT.
UM, SO ONCE WE HAVE THE PERSON, THEN WE SAY, HERE'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN THE ACTUAL ROLE SO THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
SO THINGS LIKE THE WEBSITE WOULD DEFINITELY BE SOMETHING ON JENNIFER'S SUCCESS MATRIX.
SOMETHING LIKE MAKING SURE THAT THE EDC HAS THEIR ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN REVIEW OR WHATEVER WE DECIDE TO DO THE, THE FIVE YEAR PLAN, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE IS DEVELOPED AND MAINTAINED.
THAT WOULD BE ON MY SUCCESS MATRIX.
SO SOMETHING LIKE THAT I THINK WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AND ADDRESS, I THINK WHAT YOUR CONCERNS ARE.
WHEREAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS JUST LIKE, IT'S MORE HIGH LEVEL FOR US AS A BOARD, RIGHT.
SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GET IN THE WAY OR IN THE WEEDS, BUT WE KNOW AT LEAST WE KNOW WHERE OUR FOCUS IS.
SO, UM, DO WE WANT TO CONSIDER ACTION ON THIS ITEM? UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE STRATEGIC PLAN AS PRESENTED.
I HAVE A MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN AND SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER IRMA GONZALEZ.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
MAY I GET A ROLL CALL PLEASE? CHARGER GIDEON.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT, YOUR PARTICIPATION, YOUR SUGGESTIONS, YOUR TIME,
BUT I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH THE END RESULT AND HOPEFULLY FROM THE COMMENTS THAT I'M ASSUMING THAT THIS BOARD IS TOO.
AND I'M EXCITED TO GET THE TEAM GOING ON THIS AND, UH, INCORPORATE INTO THE, THE FUTURE PLANNING, INCLUDING BUDGET COMING UP.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
[02:15:01]
UH, HERDING THE CATSTHAT WILL BE IN MY SUCCESS MATRIX ALSO.
SO, UM, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE DOWN TO EIGHT ITEM EIGHT EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, 8.1 EXECUTIVE SESSION ATTENDANCE.
THE BOARD WILL CONSIDER ANY REQUESTS FROM ELIGIBLE PARTIES TO ATTEND ALL OUR PORTION OF THE FOLLOWING EXECUTIVE SESSION OTHER THAN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO BE ELIGIBLE.
A PERSON ATTENDING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, ONE MUST HAVE INTEREST THAT ARE NOT ADVERSE TO THE CORPORATION.
AND TWO, THEIR PARTICIPATION IS NECESSARY TO DELIBERATE ON THE MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED.
IF THE ITEM IS TO, IS TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE.
THE BOARD MUST ALSO FIND THE PERSON'S PRESENCE WILL NOT WAIVE THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE.
THE BOARD WILL NOW ENTERTAIN ANY QUEST FOR CONSIDERATION AND ACTION.
UH, CHAIR, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND EXECUTIVE SESSION, PLEASE.
WELL, IT'S NOT LISTED ON THERE, SO I'M JUST FOLLOWING THE AGENDA LANGUAGE.
NO, I THINK THAT FOLLOWS THE AGENDA LANGUAGE.
WE CAN PUT IN A POLICY, HAVE ANY, ANY TO AVOID THAT DISCUSSION STEP IN THE FUTURE, BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, NO.
NO, I THINK, I THINK DO WE HAVE TO HAVE AN ACTION OR WE HAVE TO VOTE ON YOU ATTENDING ARE MEETING? I THINK WE DO.
THEN, UH, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE EDC TOWARDS ATTENDS OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SECOND, I'D LIKE TO MODIFY THE MOTION.
IS THERE FOOD
I, I HAVE A CHARCUTERIE JOINT AM RULES.
I HAVE A MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN AND SECONDED BY, UM, VICE CHAIR MATT MITON.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DISTRACTED ON OUR DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM.
UH, BOARD MEMBER THOMPSON AYE.
THE BOARD WILL NOW RECESS THE OPEN MEETING AND RECONVENE IN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 1 ATTORNEY CONSULTATION 5 5 1 0 8 7 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND 5 5 1 0 7 2 REAL PROPERTY TO DELIBERATE UPON AND SEEK LEGAL VICE REGARDING ONE ROVA VERSUS HATO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, PENNING AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY DISTRICT COURT.
TWO, AMENDING THE CORPORATIONS TYPE A AND TYPE B BYLAWS.
COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT BY BOARD MEMBERS.
THE RELEASE OF EXECUTIVE SESSION CERTIFIED AGENDAS OR RECORDINGS.
THE CREATION AND ADOPTION OF CORPORATE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND THE FOLLOWING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS PROJECT MY ASTRO, THE SPINE ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
THE, UH, MEGASITE PROJECT, PROJECT TITAN PROJECT FLEX PROJECT STRAT THREE PROJECT, SQL, THE HURO, UH, HOSPITALITY INITIATIVE AGREEMENT, THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COTTONWOOD PROPERTIES AND ANY RELATED INCENTIVES, CONSIDERATION OF THE ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY BY THE TYPE B CORPORATION AND THE EVALUATION OF AVAILABLE CORPORATE FUNDS FOR INCENTIVES.
OKAY, THE TIME IS NOW 1119 AND WE'RE BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.
WE ARE GOING TO ITEM 7.5, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING THE CREATION OF POLICIES FOR THE CORPORATION.
7.7, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 0 8 8 REGARDING AN EXTENSION TO THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CORPORATION AND MEN MIDWAY DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC CHAIR, AND TO PASS RESOLUTION R 2 0 2 5 DASH 88 AS WRITTEN.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN AND SECONDED BY TREASURER HENRY GIDEON.
ANY OTHER QUESTION OR ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
CAN YOU CALL, VOTE PLEASE? VICE CHAIRMAN MITON AYE.
ACTION RELATIVE TO EXECUTIVE SE SESSION 9.1.
UM, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 89 REGARDING AN EXTENSION TO HU HOSPITALITY INCENTIVE AGREEMENT AND THERE IS NO ACTION.
[02:20:03]
MOVING ALONG TO 9.2, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 0 9 0 REGARDING CONSIDERATION OF THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT FEE FOR PROJECT STRAT THREE AS ASSESSED BY THE CITY OF HEDO.MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE TO REJECT RESOLUTION R DASH 2 0 2 5 DASH NINE.
I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY TREASURER HENRY GIDEON AND SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER BRIAN THOMPSON.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? JUST TO CLARIFY, WE ARE VOTING TO BASICALLY A, A YES VOTE HERE IS TO DENY THE RESOLUTION.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? CAN YOU CALL A VOTE PLEASE? BOARD MEMBER MCLAUGHLIN AYE.
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 0 9 1 REGARDING AN EXTENSION TO THE PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT FOR PROJECT FLEX.
WE ACCEPT RESOLUTION R 2025 DASH OH NINE ONE WITH AN EXTENSION DATE TO OCTOBER 18TH, 2025.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? CAN YOU CALL A VOTE PLEASE? BOARD MEMBER THOMPSON AYE.
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 0 9 2 REGARDING AMENDMENTS TO THE CORPORATIONS TYPE A AND TYPE B BYLAWS, THERE IS NO ACTION.
9.5 DISCUSS, CONSIDER AND CONSIDER ACTION ON A REQUEST BY FORMER BOARD MEMBER AND MAYOR MIKE SNYDER TO LISTEN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION RECORDINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
WE ACCEPT RESOLUTION R 2025 DASH 115 DENYING MAYOR MIKE SNYDER, UH, ACCESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION RECORDINGS PER STATE LAW.
I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY, UH, VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
MAY I CALL A VOTE PLEASE? CHAIR CLANCY AYE.
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION R DASH 2025 DASH 0 9 3 DIRECTING THE BOARD'S DESIGNEE TO FILE AN ETHICS COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF THE CORPORATION AGAINST MAYOR MIKE SNYDER.
FOR ACTIONS TAKEN WHICH ARE ADVERSE TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, THERE IS NO ACTION.
9.7 MADAM CHAIR? YES, I MOVE, UH, TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS FOR ACQUISITIONS RELATED TO THE SPINE ROAD PROJECT AS DIRECTED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
OKAY, SO THAT, AND THEN THAT'S PART A AND THEN YOU WOULD WE VOTE ON THAT A VOTE MOTION? ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? I MEAN, UM, WE HAVE A, A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY TREASURER HENRY GIDEON SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NO.
MAY I GET A ROLL CALL PLEASE? CHAIR CLANCY AYE.
AND THEN WE HAD, UH, UH, CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE AN, MAKE A MOTION THAT WE PASS OUR A RESOLUTION DASH R DASH 2025 DASH ZERO NINE FOUR.
UM, THAT WE RECALL THAT ITEM FROM E EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THAT IS THE RESOLUTION OF THE HU ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS TYPE A AND TYPE B BOARDS OF DIRECTORS REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, PROVIDING FOR REPEAL, PROVIDING
[02:25:01]
FOR SEVERABILITY, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.I HAVE A FLOAT, UH, MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY BOARD MEMBER KELLY MCLAUGHLIN.
I SECOND AND SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR MATT MITTEN.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? MADAM CHAIR? I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN SINCE I'M A CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE OF MAYOR, I DON'T WANT TO POLITICIZE THIS BOARD AND I'M GOING TO HONOR MY FIDUCIARY DUTIES TO THIS BOARD.
SO TREASURER HENRY GIDEON IS ABSTAINING.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? I HAVE A LEGAL QUESTION.
DO I NEED TO STILL CALL HIM TO SAY ABSTAIN DURING THE VOTE OR DOES HIS, HE ABSTAINED.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M PROCEDURALLY CORRECT ON THAT.
UM, CAN YOU CALL VOTE PLEASE? YEP.
OH, ANY UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? UH, YEAH.
WE AMEND WHERE DID IT GO? UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM EIGHT ONE APPEARS TO ME TO BE WHAT'S GOING TO BE A PERMANENT ADDITION TO THIS AGENDA.
UH, I WANNA AMEND THAT TO INCLUDE, UH, THE EDC DIRECTOR AND COUNSEL.
DO YOU WANT TO HAVE THAT AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM? I MEAN, IS THAT, IS THAT A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM OR IS THAT JUST AN HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE AMEND THIS SO THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING TO, WE CAN DO IT VOTE TO ALLOW CHENEY IN EXECUTIVE SESSION EVERY TIME WE ARE IN THIS? WE CAN DO IT A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.
ONE, WE CAN JUST PUT THE SENTENCE ON THE AGENDA.
SO THAT IT SAYS IT, IT STATES THAT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IS, IS ALLOWED.
THE OTHER WAY IS THAT WHEN WE'RE DRAFTING POLICIES, WE CAN PUT IN THE POLICY, WE CAN MAKE A POLICY REGARDING THE PROCESS AND JUST IDENTIFY IN THE POLICY SO THAT, THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ON THE AGENDA EVERY TIME.
I WOULD, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE JUST ADJUST THE AGENDA ITEM LANGUAGE.
'CAUSE WHAT I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT IS THAT THE AGENDA ITEM LANGUAGE SAYS ONE THING AS FAR AS A PROCEDURE THAT ANY ELIGIBLE PERSON IS SUPPOSED TO REQUEST.
BUT THEN WE HAVE THIS POLICY OVER HERE, RIGHT.
THAT SAYS THAT MYSELF AND LEGAL COUNSEL IS INCLUDED.
I THINK IT'S CLEARER JUST TO PUT IT ON THE AGENDA ITEM.
THAT WAY IT'S CONSISTENT EVERY TIME.
DOES THAT NEED TO BE FORMAL MOTION OR CAN THAT JUST BE DIRECTION? NO, WE CAN JUST CORRECT THE AGENDA.
ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? NO.
THE TIME IS NOW 1129 AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.