WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.560 Good morning, everyone. My name is John Baines, CPA, and I have the pleasure of presiding 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:18.800 over the November 11, 2020 Economic Development Partnership Board meeting. We'd like to welcome 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:27.360 the listening audience as well as all of the attendees today. We do have a decent-sized 00:00:27.360 --> 00:00:38.520 agenda. So, the first item on the agenda is EDP 20-51, consider the approval of the minutes 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:44.160 of October 14, 2020. And before we do that, there is one procedural item I did need to 00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:50.720 mention. We do have a board member that will need to abstain from one of the items that 00:00:50.720 --> 00:00:57.040 are on the agenda for today. And the procedure for that will be he will turn off his screen, 00:00:57.040 --> 00:01:02.920 his microphone, and then he will rejoin us once that particular item has been covered 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:09.000 and addressed appropriately. So, with that being said, let us all turn our attention 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:31.360 to the minutes that were presented to everyone in advance, and see if we have any feedback 00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:44.280 on that item. John, Keely is – you may not be able to see her. 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:52.520 I can't see. Let's see. The view is. It's okay. It's everyone's really, really small 00:01:52.520 --> 00:01:59.920 on some screen. Keely, you have a – I do not have a clarification or comment. I was 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:04.440 just going to move approval if there were no other comments on the minutes. 00:02:04.440 --> 00:02:11.240 Okay. We have a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Do we have a second? 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:17.080 Second. Okay. We have a second by Mark McClellan. 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:27.600 Do we have any discussion? Hearing none, I believe the procedure is that we do a visual 00:02:27.600 --> 00:02:34.600 confirmation or approval. So, all in favor of approving the minutes as presented, we're 00:02:34.600 --> 00:02:37.600 going to go through and do a roll call. Keely? 00:02:37.600 --> 00:02:41.160 Yes. Let's see. Mark? 00:02:41.160 --> 00:02:47.320 Okay. Mark is yes. Yes. Sorry. 00:02:47.320 --> 00:03:02.120 Thank you. Jason Tomlinson? Yes. Jimmy? Yes. Jessie? Aye. Jill Jester? Aye. 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:10.200 Let's see. Lee Ramsey? Aye. Okay. Did I miss anyone? 00:03:10.200 --> 00:03:15.640 Yourself. Okay. John Baines approves the minutes as presented. 00:03:15.640 --> 00:03:24.000 Are there any extension? I guess we're unanimous. There's no nos and no extensions then. Okay. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:35.280 Excellent. So, that moves us then to the next agenda item. EDP 20-052, receive a report, 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:41.160 hold a discussion, and appoint or reappoint members of the Downtown Economic Development 00:03:41.160 --> 00:03:46.360 Committee. And who will be responsible for that presentation? 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:52.160 That's me. And luckily, there's no presentation for this item. I just wanted to remind the 00:03:52.160 --> 00:03:59.640 board at our last meeting, we did not appoint the EDPB representative that serves on the 00:03:59.640 --> 00:04:06.200 Downtown Economic Development Committee. Included in your packet is the policy that outlines 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:13.120 the selection of an EDP member to serve as the chair of the Downtown Economic Development 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:20.320 Committee. And just as a reminder, that board meets on the first Thursday of every month 00:04:20.320 --> 00:04:26.040 at 830 in the morning. Meetings typically last about 30 to 45 minutes, sometimes an 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:32.640 hour if there's downtown grant applications to review. But typically, they're focused 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:39.560 on those downtown items and have a great diverse group of people that serve on that and give 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:46.880 us wonderful input when we need it. And so, we are asking for a representative from the 00:04:46.880 --> 00:04:55.720 EDP to serve on that board for the policy. And I sent out an email earlier this month 00:04:55.720 --> 00:05:02.440 or maybe even in October, gauging interest. And I only had one kind of respond back, but 00:05:02.440 --> 00:05:08.400 I'll leave it up to the board certainly to talk about what interests you might have or 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:19.360 what other board members might be interested in serving. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:32.800 Do we have any volunteers? So procedurally, Jessica, if we have no one that has either 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:38.120 the time or the interest, how will we handle that? 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:45.240 I think at this point, if there is no interest for someone to serve on the EDP board, the 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:52.320 vice chair of that board could continue to serve as the acting chair. I would just point 00:05:52.320 --> 00:05:56.440 out that the policy as adopted does state that the EDP would appoint the chair. So that 00:05:56.440 --> 00:06:00.640 board would simply operate without a chair until one would be appointed. So we would 00:06:00.640 --> 00:06:05.720 likely want to bring this back to the board in the future. And I'm sorry, Council Member 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:11.280 Davis is raising his hand. Okay. I'm sorry, I can't see everybody at the 00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:19.920 same time. So please forgive my lack of dexterity here. Let's see. Councilman Davis. Yes, sir. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:26.040 Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there's really nobody from the board who wants to do it, I'm happy 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.840 to fill the role. My preference would be that a council member not kind of do double duty 00:06:30.840 --> 00:06:35.440 in that way, that a member of the community do that. But if there's really nobody else 00:06:35.440 --> 00:06:41.240 on the EDP board who's got the time or inclination to do it, I'm happy to fill the role until 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:51.400 someone comes along. It's whatever the board would like to do. 00:06:51.400 --> 00:06:58.560 I would appreciate Councilman Davis stepping up to the plate. Thank you very, very much. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:04.640 I have filled this role in the past. It's a great discussion of a lot of intelligent, 00:07:04.640 --> 00:07:10.480 knowledgeable people in the area. Unfortunately, I do not have the time at this time, but I 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:14.800 know everyone would appreciate it. Thank you, Councilperson Davis. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:23.480 So procedurally, how will we handle that, Jessica, since we have Councilman Davis interested 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:29.720 in filling that role temporarily? If it's the board's will, I think we would 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:37.280 be looking for a motion to nominate Councilmember Davis to serve as the EDP representative. 00:07:37.280 --> 00:07:44.000 Okay. Do we want to put the term temporary there or just as the representative? 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.880 There's no requirement that the board doesn't -- we could revisit this at any point. 00:07:48.880 --> 00:07:52.560 Okay. Thank you. Jill, were you going to make a motion? 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:54.640 Yes. Please go ahead. 00:07:54.640 --> 00:07:56.840 Please go ahead. Thank you very much. 00:07:56.840 --> 00:08:05.600 We have a motion on the floor to appoint Councilman Davis to the chair of the downtown economic 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:12.200 development board and -- I'll second. 00:08:12.200 --> 00:08:23.880 We have Councilwoman Briggs as second. Then we need to -- do we have any discussion? 00:08:23.880 --> 00:08:26.840 Just a point of clarification. This is Mack from the city attorney's office. 00:08:26.840 --> 00:08:32.360 This is a motion to nominate Councilmember Davis to the DEDC, but not necessarily as 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:37.800 chair. The DEDC selects their own chair. In fact, it will have to be someone from this 00:08:37.800 --> 00:08:42.000 board that serves as the chair. So if he's the only person by default, he will become 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.640 the chair. But this is just an appointment to him to 00:08:44.640 --> 00:08:52.200 the board, not necessarily naming him the chair. The DEDC will select their own chair. 00:08:52.200 --> 00:09:03.000 Thank you, Mack. So we have a motion and a second, and we need to take a roll call. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:05.280 Let's see. Councilwoman Briggs? 00:09:05.280 --> 00:09:08.160 Yes. Councilman Davis? 00:09:08.160 --> 00:09:11.440 Aye. Councilor Jester? 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:17.280 Aye. Let's see. Jason Tomlinson? 00:09:17.280 --> 00:09:22.400 Aye. Jimmy Mejia? 00:09:22.400 --> 00:09:25.240 Yes. Mark McClellan? 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.000 Aye. Lee Ramsey? 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:33.080 Aye. Okay. Did I miss anyone other than myself? 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:38.120 I'm going to say aye. Did we get everyone? 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:45.960 Yes, sir. That's everyone. Okay. All right. So I believe we have an unanimous 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:55.120 appointment there for Councilman Davis. No need to nose nays or extensions. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:08.280 Okay. So we completed EDP 20-053. Now we'll go to EDP 20-054, receive a report, hold a 00:10:08.280 --> 00:10:13.280 discussion and give staff direction regarding a program agreement with Hickory and Rail 00:10:13.280 --> 00:10:19.520 Ventures LLC for the management and operation of Stoke Denton, and this is the particular 00:10:19.520 --> 00:10:24.440 item where -- I'm sorry, Chair. We skipped an item. 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:32.360 Did we skip one? Yes. We should have 20-053, which is the business 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:37.840 retention and expansion plan. Excuse me. My mistake. Thank you. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.020 EDP 20-053, receive a report, hold a discussion and give staff direction regarding a business 00:10:44.020 --> 00:10:50.280 retention and expansion program plan for economic development. And who might be the presenter 00:10:50.280 --> 00:10:54.480 on that? On this one, we have Kay Patrick, who is our 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:59.240 wonderful business development administrator. Okay. Ms. Patrick? 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:05.480 Let me expand your faces so I can see your reactions as I read the presentation. 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:12.200 This program is a build out to the outline that was presented to you all back in October 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:16.360 based on the questions and feedback that we received, and we received few, so we're hoping 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:21.240 that that was a sign that you all were happy with what we presented in regards to the outline, 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:27.760 because this program -- the final draft of the program is a build out of that outline 00:11:27.760 --> 00:11:32.560 that was presented, and you all received the actual document in your packet. 00:11:32.560 --> 00:11:38.360 The presentation is going to follow that document, but there's some items in the presentation. 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.560 I mean, in the document, they're not in the presentation, so if you have any questions 00:11:41.560 --> 00:11:47.000 regarding the actual document, we're prepared to answer those questions as well. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:53.120 So the program goals did not change from the outline. Just focusing on building relationships 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:58.720 with our local businesses and employers in order to provide better information to our 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:04.560 stakeholders and local leaders on our business climate in the city of Denton, as well as 00:12:04.560 --> 00:12:10.560 fostering more employment opportunities through expansion and job growth, and building a more 00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:17.800 cohesive approach to providing business support to the businesses in our community, and then 00:12:17.800 --> 00:12:23.160 being intentional about supporting minority and historically underutilized businesses. 00:12:23.160 --> 00:12:28.920 The short-term objectives and long-term objectives also did not change. We're still focusing 00:12:28.920 --> 00:12:33.800 on the businesses and efforts. One of the things that we're working on currently is 00:12:33.800 --> 00:12:39.160 building that inventory of existing businesses. We're going to utilize that database not to 00:12:39.160 --> 00:12:46.560 just make contact with the businesses for our visits, but to also contact them -- and 00:12:46.560 --> 00:12:50.720 Dan, our economic development analyst, is doing a great job, and one of the columns 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:55.240 in that information is the area of the city that those businesses are in. So if there's 00:12:55.240 --> 00:13:00.320 an issue, a road closure that may affect their business, a water main break, or anything 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:05.720 that may be pertaining to their area, we will also make contact with them. So this database 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:11.480 is going to be useful in us communicating to our businesses in the long-term currently. 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:16.520 And then also our long-term objectives, just one, positioning our businesses to be more 00:13:16.520 --> 00:13:22.640 competitive, not just locally, but regionally, and then establishing a plan that allows them 00:13:22.640 --> 00:13:29.700 to grow, not just in the now, but in the future, especially if they are a startup business. 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:34.920 For the business visit, we have a process in place, and we will take that business and 00:13:34.920 --> 00:13:39.600 we're going to discuss on the next slide the selection process, but we want to initially 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:44.960 make an introductory contact once we determine what businesses we're going to visit, and 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:50.680 just making contact, my name is Kaye, Jessica, this is what we're doing, and then what we 00:13:50.680 --> 00:13:58.360 want to do is reach out to approximately 20 to 25 businesses per size, and hope that the 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:04.760 response rate will get us to the 10 to 15 targeted number, and then after that we will 00:14:04.760 --> 00:14:09.800 provide them with a pre-survey. That pre-survey will provide us with the information that 00:14:09.800 --> 00:14:15.520 will assist us in determining what organizations or other business industry partners we should 00:14:15.520 --> 00:14:20.560 bring on the visit. If they are having workforce issues, we will bring in a workforce partner. 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:25.520 If it's a startup and they are wanting some information to expanding their business or 00:14:25.520 --> 00:14:30.760 regarding training, we may bring in, you know, maybe a Stoke or T.W. or the Chamber or someone, 00:14:30.760 --> 00:14:37.160 so that pre-survey is going to assist us in preparing for our actual visit. In your packet, 00:14:37.160 --> 00:14:44.400 you received a copy of the Exhibit A in the program plan is the actual survey form that 00:14:44.400 --> 00:14:50.360 we have, and then the follow-up will be not just for the businesses that presented a concern 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:55.280 or a red flag, but also as a thank you to participating and providing the information 00:14:55.280 --> 00:15:00.520 that they do. A lot of businesses are very guarded with the information and sometimes 00:15:00.520 --> 00:15:06.080 reluctant to participate, so we will definitely thank them for their participation. The visit 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:11.560 cycle and based on the timeline that will be presented to you all shortly will start 00:15:11.560 --> 00:15:17.480 in January, and so, of course, initially the visits will be virtually, and I think that's 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:23.260 really going to open up an opportunity for us to bring in some other individuals that 00:15:23.260 --> 00:15:28.200 are part of those businesses that may not necessarily be local, so if there's an opportunity 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:32.080 for expansion in regards to a headquarter relocation or something, we can possibly bring 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:36.920 in someone from corporate on their virtual meeting, and that's an opportunity that we 00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:43.640 may not have if we were conducting them face-to-face, so just looking at the virtual need right 00:15:43.640 --> 00:15:49.400 now and the position that we're in in a positive way. And then in regards to who will be attending 00:15:49.400 --> 00:15:55.640 those visits, someone from our team, I will be attending every visit, and then per Jessica, 00:15:55.640 --> 00:16:00.920 if you want someone else to attend those visits, they will attend as well, and then determining, 00:16:00.920 --> 00:16:06.120 like I said from the pre-survey, what other industry partners in the community and organizations 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:11.800 that provide resources to our businesses should we bring in on those visits. The selection 00:16:11.800 --> 00:16:18.200 process is going to be based on a variety of goals and targets, goals of the council, 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:23.800 goals of this board, goals in the strategic plan, but we're going to base the visitations 00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:31.080 and those who are selected on those goals, and then using the NAICS code to ensure that 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:37.320 we have adequate representation in diversity, not just by size, but also industry and business 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:43.120 type in our business selections. As I mentioned earlier, there's a timeline in that visitation 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:49.280 cycle. Our goal is to do the visits from January to August, and in that visitation cycle, that's 00:16:49.280 --> 00:16:54.760 going to include any follow-up to any of the businesses that had a concern that we need 00:16:54.760 --> 00:17:00.720 to and we may need to bring a resource to the table or introduce them to an organization 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:05.560 that can assist them, and then the evaluation period is going to allow us time away from 00:17:05.560 --> 00:17:10.920 the visits to focus on evaluating not just the program and what was working, but also 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:17.960 the data that's collected during those visits. In the outline, when I presented in October, 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:22.520 I outlined some of the quantitative and qualitative measures that we're going to utilize to collect 00:17:22.520 --> 00:17:27.680 that data, so the evaluation period is going to allow us to evaluate that data, and then 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.200 look and see what is this information telling us? Are there any trends that we need to be 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:36.120 paying attention to or aware of that we may not have been aware of, but those surveys 00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:41.760 provided us with that information. Here's a list of some of the partners and local resources 00:17:41.760 --> 00:17:47.160 that I mentioned, and some of the individuals that may be participating in our visits based 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:53.240 on that pre-survey or the need of those businesses. This list is not a period. It can be as long 00:17:53.240 --> 00:18:00.480 as it needs to be just to ensure that we are aware of all the resources so that we can 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:05.560 make our businesses aware of those resources as well. So if you all see, know of someone 00:18:05.560 --> 00:18:10.000 you think that should be added to the list, please let me know, and we'll be glad to add 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:16.840 them to this resource list. Here is the activities and initiatives list. When we presented in 00:18:16.840 --> 00:18:24.520 October, this list did not change. I did add disaster recovery assistance to this, and 00:18:24.520 --> 00:18:31.020 that is going to be not just assisting the business once they're in the middle of a disaster 00:18:31.020 --> 00:18:37.320 like COVID, but to prepare them in advance for that and build some resiliency. So if 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:44.080 they happen to go through this type of pandemic or knock on wood or tornado hits or something 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:50.000 in the nature, we are equipped to assist them, but they also are aware of what they should 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:55.820 do in the instance that they are, we actually are in the middle of a disaster in order to 00:18:55.820 --> 00:19:01.640 sustain their business. Again, here is some information that we're going to be collecting 00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:08.160 to measure the success of our program, but also again to visit what the business climate 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:13.200 is in Denton and to determine if there's any trends or anything that we should be paying 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:20.560 attention to that we may not be aware of in the community. And then during the evaluation 00:19:20.560 --> 00:19:24.200 period, like I mentioned, we're going to be collecting that data, but that data is going 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.720 to provide us with the information, and then what we're going to do is we're going to put 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:32.520 together some periodic reports and report those back to you all and to City Council 00:19:32.520 --> 00:19:38.440 and other stakeholders and investors in the public that may need to be aware of what's 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:42.640 taking place and be privy to the information that we've collected during that visitation 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:50.440 cycle and what we've discovered during the evaluation, during the evaluation period. 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:55.880 So that is all I have in regards to the presentation. Again, you already see the actual plan in 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:59.840 your packet, so if you have any questions on the presentation or the actual document 00:19:59.840 --> 00:20:07.840 and plan that you receive, we are prepared to answer those questions. 00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:12.720 I do have several questions, but I wanted to defer to any of the other committee members 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:18.360 to see if they had questions. I did not want to dominate the conversation. 00:20:18.360 --> 00:20:22.640 Okay. I see Councilwoman Briggs. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:31.280 Yes, sir. Thank you. Just two questions. One on who could attend before there were invites 00:20:31.280 --> 00:20:38.360 to the council members in each district to attend. Is that still going to be a policy 00:20:38.360 --> 00:20:43.720 or something that we're going to do? I know that it was helpful for the council member 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:48.840 of that district to learn about the business and also for the business to know who their 00:20:48.840 --> 00:20:55.560 representative is. Right. I think that that's important. A great 00:20:55.560 --> 00:21:02.160 question. We did make a shift kind of away from those council member visits. For the 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:07.880 bulk of these visits, our goal is kind of information gathering, really focused on business 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:12.360 climate. Our staff is always here to help facilitate those business as the council members 00:21:12.360 --> 00:21:18.000 are available, but certainly sometimes trying to schedule four or five people schedules 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:22.800 plus the business schedules gets very difficult. We want to make sure that these visits that 00:21:22.800 --> 00:21:28.560 Kay is discussing are focused on those resources and making sure that those kind of resource 00:21:28.560 --> 00:21:34.880 visits are happening. We'll continue to facilitate visits for council members sort of as part 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:39.380 of this process, but not necessarily every single one of these visits. We're definitely 00:21:39.380 --> 00:21:44.900 expanding and really going to have a robust meeting schedule. It will probably take all 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:51.960 of our team dividing and conquering to get the visits done that we want to get done. 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:55.760 It's a little bit of a change, but we're certainly here to still help facilitate those. 00:21:55.760 --> 00:22:02.320 Okay. Thank you. And just one more question. Under activities and initiatives, I think it's 00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:12.800 page five, there's an item here. It says establishing a MWBE vendor policy within the city. Is that 00:22:12.800 --> 00:22:18.240 a vendor policy? How I read it for local businesses and other businesses within the city to do 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:24.040 business with a city. Is that how I'm reading that? Yes, ma'am. That's correct. I think 00:22:24.040 --> 00:22:32.680 that's fantastic. That's a good idea. Thank you. Do we have any other questions before 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:38.880 I ask mine? I did not want to dominate the conversation. I think we have Lee raising 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:45.360 his hand. Okay. Lee Ramsey. Yes. Thank you. Just one thought. I think this is a good step 00:22:45.360 --> 00:22:50.920 to start engaging, but one thought we may think about is maybe doing business sector 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:56.320 meetings so that we don't get a specific, because if you just meet with one business 00:22:56.320 --> 00:23:00.720 and get feedback from that one business in that sector, that could be a very well-run 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:07.120 business in the sector or very poorly run business in that sector. So we may not get 00:23:07.120 --> 00:23:12.480 the feedback we need from one specific business. So maybe not as part of this, but as part 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:17.520 of as you step this plan after you get through the first year, something we may need to think 00:23:17.520 --> 00:23:25.800 about is getting sectors like our manufacturing sector, our technology sector, construction 00:23:25.800 --> 00:23:30.280 sector, whatever that may be, real estate, banking, and seeing if we can get some of 00:23:30.280 --> 00:23:35.360 those meetings and round tables. And then we could kind of dial down from those sector 00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:42.040 meetings to say, okay, who needs the help? And could there be a mentor program within 00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:47.960 the city that we could hook up so that somehow it may be a little close, right? But where 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:52.960 a business can mentor another business within the city. But I think that would give you 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:58.000 more of what's going on in that sector rather than just one business saying, because what 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:05.120 we struggle with in our business may be different than what Kinky or somebody or John or somebody 00:24:05.120 --> 00:24:11.720 that struggles with in their business. So just a thought of trying to gather the sectors 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:13.960 to get more feedback. 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:17.760 And that's a that's a great that's great input. And that is definitely something we will add 00:24:17.760 --> 00:24:22.440 on the activities and initiatives on there. And actually in the document, when it speaks 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:27.100 to the networking opportunities, we wanted to actually do exactly what you're talking 00:24:27.100 --> 00:24:32.280 about and sector those networking opportunities out. But the round table that you mentioned 00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:40.880 is a great component to add to that. So thank you for that. 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:55.320 Any other questions? Okay, I have several. Okay. When I saw the survey, my my I like 00:24:55.320 --> 00:25:02.960 the survey. But my question is, you've got small businesses, medium sized businesses 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:10.680 and large businesses. Then you also have like Lee was saying some businesses that are successful 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:18.400 and some that have been impacted by COVID-19. So, you know, trying to get a good feel for 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:25.040 what's going on in the areas for assistance, I think it's going to take a little work to 00:25:25.040 --> 00:25:33.960 make sure that we get a good representation of the business community. And, you know, 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:38.560 not all the businesses are necessarily registered, you have a lot of unregistered businesses 00:25:38.560 --> 00:25:47.200 here in town people that how would you say I've not taken the step from shade tree to 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:53.160 to help me Jessica, what's the proper term when you go from shade tree? What's the next 00:25:53.160 --> 00:26:04.440 step? Okay. No tree established. Okay. You catch me. You catch my drill. There's a lot 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:12.780 of my tree knowledge is limited. I apologize. That's okay. Anyway, I just was concerned 00:26:12.780 --> 00:26:19.680 that when I see this survey, I think then a little bit bigger than it used to be when 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:25.240 I first moved here. And there's a lot of variety here. And so, you know, when you're talking 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:33.800 about doing a good cross sampling, cross section sample, and then who's gonna who's gonna say 00:26:33.800 --> 00:26:37.680 this is enough? Or, you know, is it going to be just city? Are you going to bring it 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.600 back to who you're gonna who you're gonna who you're gonna confer with and say, these 00:26:41.600 --> 00:26:47.840 are the results we found. So where's that conversation going to be held? 00:26:47.840 --> 00:26:55.480 What we when we when we do the findings from the surveys? Yes. Yeah, that's what those 00:26:55.480 --> 00:27:00.760 periodic reports that I mentioned will be conducted and provided to the board and to 00:27:00.760 --> 00:27:06.320 council and other stakeholders to say this is the information that we found. And we that 00:27:06.320 --> 00:27:10.840 information can come in the variety. It can come in paper. It can come in presentation 00:27:10.840 --> 00:27:18.440 based on the information that we gather. So when does the start date? So our goal. So 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:24.720 the visitation cycle is January to August, but we're already currently working to establish 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:31.040 that we had planned to bring it to Council just to workshop to Council in December. But 00:27:31.040 --> 00:27:35.480 now that's looking like it's going to take place in January. But because we don't think 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:41.280 too much of the plan is going to change, we're going to already start working, working towards 00:27:41.280 --> 00:27:47.360 towards that. Okay. So my next question then is this. So let's say for example, you go 00:27:47.360 --> 00:27:54.240 out and you begin to compile your information. Have we thought about maybe a a continual 00:27:54.240 --> 00:28:01.720 presentation versus a wait until we get everything kind of a presentation. So if you bring it 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:06.880 to us all at once, it may be a little bit much to absorb. But if we had it where we 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:11.800 could kind of digest it, you know, let's say for example, we do the large businesses and 00:28:11.800 --> 00:28:16.520 then we evaluate that we do the medium sized businesses. And then we sit down and evaluate 00:28:16.520 --> 00:28:22.600 that small businesses are kind of off the radar businesses, COVID businesses, kind of 00:28:22.600 --> 00:28:29.680 that way we're having a chance to kind of digest them as we go along rather than perhaps 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:36.320 having too large a sample size to really evaluate the effectiveness of what's been done. So 00:28:36.320 --> 00:28:40.840 anyway, those are just some thoughts. Yeah, great point. And Jessica and I actually discussed 00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:47.080 and we use the term periodic there, but it's it's probably going to be geared more toward 00:28:47.080 --> 00:28:54.600 like quarterly, which until with it being four quarters, and there being four sizes 00:28:54.600 --> 00:29:01.380 that we have a target, we have large, medium, small startup, we may do those presentations 00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:07.120 quarterly by size, like you mentioned, but we we didn't want to necessarily nail that 00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:12.680 nail that down because we hadn't had necessarily had our approach to determine, but we had 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:17.360 already determined that periodic was going to mean quarterly, but we still use the term 00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:23.520 periodic. Yeah, I think to answer it a little bit differently is that we intend fully to 00:29:23.520 --> 00:29:28.840 provide regular updates and quarterly reports to this board. I'll mention it a little bit 00:29:28.840 --> 00:29:34.680 in more detail when we get to the report item. I'll explain kind of what's changing. But 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:41.120 our goal is to provide as much information, you know, as we can without overburdening 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:46.240 the staff with preparing reports versus trying to execute on the strategy. And so we thought 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:54.400 quarterly is probably that happy medium. Our goal is not to withhold results. But I also 00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:59.880 want to make everyone aware of scheduling these meetings, you know, scheduling 70 meetings, 00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:06.080 we may not get everyone we want when we want them. And so sometimes we can't get to the 00:30:06.080 --> 00:30:12.720 final answer until maybe later than what we intended. Sometimes I had to go off to anyone 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:17.760 in their career who has served as a scheduler, because let me tell you, trying to get a meeting 00:30:17.760 --> 00:30:23.320 together is one of the most challenging things. And everyone has very important things and 00:30:23.320 --> 00:30:27.680 they're trying to run their business. And we don't want to be an impediment to that. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:33.760 And so that that's kind of our that's why we were hoping quarterly would be a good middle 00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:39.840 of the road. Certainly, if something came up, if we got a red flag from a business that, 00:30:39.840 --> 00:30:43.880 you know, gave us feedback that needed to be addressed immediately, we would have that 00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:47.960 flexibility to bring it forward to this board or to counsel sooner. 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:53.920 Okay, excellent. Excellent. Lee Ramsey, have you ever had any scheduling issues? 00:30:53.920 --> 00:31:05.040 I don't think so. Thank you. Thank you so much. So I had to take the chance just to 00:31:05.040 --> 00:31:08.600 kind of tease you a little bit. I mean, when you talk about scheduling, I can't imagine 00:31:08.600 --> 00:31:14.120 a business like yours, man, you got so many hands and feet and things flying trying to 00:31:14.120 --> 00:31:21.320 get things done. So thank you for letting me pick on you just a little bit. Okay. Thank 00:31:21.320 --> 00:31:26.120 you, Jessica. Thank you, Kay. Do we have any more questions or comments before we move 00:31:26.120 --> 00:31:33.120 on to the next item? Well, thank you all. That was some great, 00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:37.280 great questions and great feedback. This was definitely helpful. 00:31:37.280 --> 00:31:42.920 And we would be looking for a motion to approve if it's the board's pleasure. 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:51.680 Okay. We're looking for a motion. So moved. Okay, that was Mark McClellan made the motion. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:58.800 Okay. And then who made the second? Jill Jester made a second. Thank you. Are there any questions 00:31:58.800 --> 00:32:06.360 before we take the vote? Okay. Hearing none, we're going to do the visual 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:20.080 once again. Roll call, excuse me. Keely Briggs. Yes. Mark McClellan. Yes. Lee Ramsey. Yes. 00:32:20.080 --> 00:32:33.320 Jason Tomlinson. Yes. Jimmy Mejia. Yes. Jesse Davis. Aye. Let's see. Jill Jester. Aye. And 00:32:33.320 --> 00:32:39.840 I believe John Baines would be the last one. Is that correct? All right. And I'm in favor 00:32:39.840 --> 00:32:47.880 of the motion as presented. And once again, you know, this visual thing is a little hard 00:32:47.880 --> 00:33:03.160 for me, but I think we have a majority. So there's no need to do extensions or the nays. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:20.680 Okay. Let's see. Okay. EDP 20-54. Receive a report, hold a discussion and give staff 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:26.380 direction regarding a program agreement with Hickory and Rail Ventures LLC for the management 00:33:26.380 --> 00:33:35.080 and operation of Stoke Denton. And this is the one item where our board member Lee Ramsey 00:33:35.080 --> 00:33:42.520 will abstain from participation. So who will do the presentation? It will be me. And I 00:33:42.520 --> 00:33:48.880 apologize. Kay and I flipped on the positions on you guys so that I could be in the driver's 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:58.080 seat for the presentation. So I do apologize. But I think we have Lee ready and then I will 00:33:58.080 --> 00:34:02.760 let him know if he's not listening, I'll text him whenever we are finished and let him know 00:34:02.760 --> 00:34:08.760 when it's time to come back. But I'm really happy to be here and present this item this 00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:13.920 morning. We had a very exciting discussion with city council back in October about a 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:20.840 month ago and we've been working really diligently to bring this forward. So I'm going to share 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:29.400 my screen here and start the presentation. So today I want to present to the board a 00:34:29.400 --> 00:34:34.560 bit of an overview of Stoke and management under Hickory and Rail Ventures. That's the 00:34:34.560 --> 00:34:39.080 name of the management company. From those of you who are new, this will be a little 00:34:39.080 --> 00:34:43.640 bit of good background to help you understand how we got here and then give you a little 00:34:43.640 --> 00:34:50.680 bit of an overview of a proposed partnership agreement with Hickory and Rail Ventures. 00:34:50.680 --> 00:34:56.640 So in terms of background, the city actually holds a lease with the rail yard partners 00:34:56.640 --> 00:35:02.880 for space at 608 East Hickory. That's where Stoke Ditten, our entrepreneurial coworking 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:10.280 space is located. The city's lease for that space ends on June 30th, 2021. So believe 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:18.840 it or not, we're already getting ready for the end of that lease in 2021. With that, 00:35:18.840 --> 00:35:25.000 for a few years now, we have been operating a coworking space. So the original contract 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.480 for that space, we actually worked with the Dallas Entrepreneur Center and they ran a 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:38.160 coworking space there on our behalf. The agreement with DAC was terminated in 2017 and a local 00:35:38.160 --> 00:35:44.680 company Hickory and Rail Ventures run by Marshall Culpepper and Heather Gregory took over operation 00:35:44.680 --> 00:35:52.280 in December of 2017 and they've been operating it since. Recently, like I said, back in October, 00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:57.040 we had two discussions with city council. One was about aligning the end dates of the 00:35:57.040 --> 00:36:00.400 management agreement and sublease that we have with Hickory and Rail Ventures. And so 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:05.520 we went ahead and moved that forward and that's been executed. And so now Hickory and Rail 00:36:05.520 --> 00:36:14.240 Ventures will continue to be the sublease holder and operate STOKE to June 30th, 2021. 00:36:14.240 --> 00:36:20.880 So before I jump into the forward looking things, I wanted to remind everyone on what 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:26.600 has been happening at STOKE because I think it's very important, but essentially under 00:36:26.600 --> 00:36:34.200 the management of HRV, STOKE has really become a hub for our tech enabled businesses, our 00:36:34.200 --> 00:36:39.460 tech focused businesses, our entrepreneurs, our remote workers, and really small business 00:36:39.460 --> 00:36:45.480 development. There's great partnerships there with the chamber, the city, the universities, 00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:52.600 the school district, really supporting entrepreneurship and small business development. And just beyond 00:36:52.600 --> 00:36:59.400 managing the day to day operation of the coworking space, STOKE's programming has grown to include 00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:06.360 conferences, things like the Flint Conference, which is focused on, it's the best tagline 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:12.960 I've ever heard, hipsters, hustlers, and hackers. But really those creative startups that really 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:21.100 thrive here in Denton. They also host the Big Ideas Mixer, the Startup Crawl. Heather 00:37:21.100 --> 00:37:26.260 and Marshall started the Denton Innovation Group, which is a group that is working towards 00:37:26.260 --> 00:37:36.600 strategically positioning Denton to be more attractive into in both recruiting and keeping 00:37:36.600 --> 00:37:42.240 local startups here and how we can build an entrepreneurial ecosystem. They're also leading 00:37:42.240 --> 00:37:47.400 the Denton Angels, which is our angel investor network here locally. And they're also doing 00:37:47.400 --> 00:37:55.280 a great job to promote local entrepreneurs and connecting our local startups with mentors 00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:59.480 through things like the Making Denton podcast and the coffee and combos. And if you haven't 00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:04.980 set in on one of those, those are also incredibly wonderful and powerful conversations that 00:38:04.980 --> 00:38:09.760 happen where so many of our great leaders are sharing information with startups. And 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:15.280 then most recently, launching the Accelerate Her Startup Incubator program in partnership 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:19.720 with the TWA Center for Women Entrepreneurs. So I think that's probably an abbreviated 00:38:19.720 --> 00:38:23.920 list of all the great things that they're doing over there. But we wanted to bring that 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:29.520 to the board's attention. So the next few slides just highlight some of the kind of 00:38:29.520 --> 00:38:35.560 metrics and great things that have been happening. 200 events have been hosted at Stoke with 00:38:35.560 --> 00:38:42.640 more than 2100 attendees. HRV has been operating the center. That's an incredible amount of 00:38:42.640 --> 00:38:48.560 people that are coming and getting engaged in our startup community. Lots of social media 00:38:48.560 --> 00:38:56.520 outreach, lots of engagement in those programs and events. We're seeing almost 60% of co-working 00:38:56.520 --> 00:39:01.400 members, co-working space members, they're tech or tech enabled. That was a key component 00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:07.760 of when the transfer from the Dallas Entrepreneur Center to HRV happens. But really when you 00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:12.320 look at that number, 126 people with tech or tech enabled jobs have had membership at 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:17.920 Stoke. A lot of those being remote workers, they could work anywhere. And Heather's on 00:39:17.920 --> 00:39:21.120 the line with us today, and I'm sure she can give us more stats about that. But we do have 00:39:21.120 --> 00:39:26.800 remote workers, workers who are employed by large tech companies, but they work here in 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:33.880 Denton remotely. And so that's a really powerful tool to have at our disposal. And again, back 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:39.920 to the, oh, there's the mentor remote worker number, about 38% are remote workers or freelancers, 00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:44.240 which is incredibly powerful when you think about it. And especially as we're moving into 00:39:44.240 --> 00:39:51.680 a time where remote work is even more possible than ever. Most of our team, the economic 00:39:51.680 --> 00:39:55.560 development team, as you can see, some of our members today are working remotely. And 00:39:55.560 --> 00:40:01.600 so the need for spaces that enable people to do that is growing. But also in terms of 00:40:01.600 --> 00:40:07.800 member satisfaction, we've seen a lot of positive feedback in both programming and support and 00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:14.400 events and just having the availability of the support of support of community at Stoke. 00:40:14.400 --> 00:40:18.840 So 85% members saying they've experienced growth and then reporting high satisfaction 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:24.160 rates in what's being offered. So this is a little bit more detail, and I'm not going 00:40:24.160 --> 00:40:28.200 to go over all of this. These on the left where it says contractor duties, those were 00:40:28.200 --> 00:40:34.640 the items that were required by HRV and the contract. And there's a number of them. There's 00:40:34.640 --> 00:40:39.160 two pages of them here. They're in your backup if you want to read all of them. But the short 00:40:39.160 --> 00:40:45.640 story and all of that is that HRV has met or exceeded any of the program goals that 00:40:45.640 --> 00:40:52.200 were outlined in the contract. And we meet monthly, if not as often as we need to go 00:40:52.200 --> 00:40:58.640 over kind of progress and what's happening in that area. So the agreement as it exists 00:40:58.640 --> 00:41:04.480 today was with council's direction previously was that as the agreements were coming to 00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:11.040 an end that Stoke would be transferred and become independently operated by HRV. And 00:41:11.040 --> 00:41:19.320 so the goal was to transition the space brand and the Stoke operation in 2021. And what 00:41:19.320 --> 00:41:26.920 we have found is that like most businesses, COVID has had an impact on their financials 00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:33.760 and on their kind of goal to take over that full operation. And I'm going to go ahead 00:41:33.760 --> 00:41:40.040 and go to the next slide. And what we've really been seeing is that not only has it changed 00:41:40.040 --> 00:41:45.600 kind of their operations and how they've had to respond to members, but at the same time, 00:41:45.600 --> 00:41:51.360 they've significantly increased their programming above and beyond what was contracted. And 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:56.720 they came to the city and asking for a desire to continue to assist the city's efforts to 00:41:56.720 --> 00:42:01.880 support creation of that entrepreneurial ecosystem. And if you'll remember back to those discussions 00:42:01.880 --> 00:42:07.320 we had in the strategic plan, there's really a large section of our strategic plan that's 00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:15.680 focused on technology, creativity, entrepreneurship. And so they approached us wanting to be partners 00:42:15.680 --> 00:42:22.040 and helping us execute on that strategy. And so with that, we started discussions with 00:42:22.040 --> 00:42:29.600 Heather and Marshall and how we could kind of develop a partnership that moved the needle 00:42:29.600 --> 00:42:36.560 in those areas. And so they presented us with a proposal that they would take over the lease 00:42:36.560 --> 00:42:43.960 at the existing location as of July 1, 2021. We would develop together a partnership agreement 00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:52.880 that really enables HRV to focus on our strategic efforts in the areas of entrepreneurship, 00:42:52.880 --> 00:42:58.640 technology, and small business support. Right now, the proposal is for a one-year agreement. 00:42:58.640 --> 00:43:03.960 That is what the staff recommended option was. Knowing that both the city and Stoke 00:43:03.960 --> 00:43:08.460 have been greatly impacted by COVID, we thought it was most appropriate to have a shorter 00:43:08.460 --> 00:43:14.520 term in the contract and then reevaluate as we kind of move out of this kind of different 00:43:14.520 --> 00:43:22.940 time that we're going through right now. The request is for financial support of $133,000. 00:43:22.940 --> 00:43:28.400 And that's outlined in your backup kind of the breakdown of what specific programs that's 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:34.000 tied to, but a summary is on the screen right now. In four key areas, it would include event 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:39.800 support for conferences, for those events that we talked about, Global Entrepreneurship 00:43:39.800 --> 00:43:45.560 Week that's coming up this year. And so continuing that support next year, program support, marketing 00:43:45.560 --> 00:43:52.960 support, and ecosystem support. So really just a continuation and beyond that, growing 00:43:52.960 --> 00:44:00.720 our efforts in these areas to really market Denton as a great place if you're a small 00:44:00.720 --> 00:44:05.920 business or you're an entrepreneur to make Denton more attractive for those types of 00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:13.600 businesses. And so we are in right in the kind of thick of it of developing that formal 00:44:13.600 --> 00:44:18.760 partnership agreement. It's very similar to partnership agreements that we have with Main 00:44:18.760 --> 00:44:24.280 Street and the Chamber where we say, you know, we have these strategic goals and we were 00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:31.720 going to rely on sort of an expert in another area to focus on executing on those strategies. 00:44:31.720 --> 00:44:36.320 Under that agreement, HRV would continue to operate Stoke Denton and would actually provide 00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:42.240 support to the economic development staff in those particular functional areas that 00:44:42.240 --> 00:44:48.160 we talked about. Back in October, we presented this almost identical presentation to City 00:44:48.160 --> 00:44:54.880 Council and we got direction to move forward. And so we anticipate that partnership agreement 00:44:54.880 --> 00:45:01.320 will be moving forward to Council either in December or January pending kind of scheduling 00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:05.440 changes that are happening at the Council level. But we wanted this board to be aware 00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:12.800 of what was happening and what negotiations were ongoing and really exciting about the 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:19.440 possibilities of growing in that key area. And that is all I have. And I will say Heather 00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:25.720 is with us. So you should be able to see Heather now and she's waving, coming all the way from 00:45:25.720 --> 00:45:30.760 Stoke, I believe. She's down the street, but here to answer any questions if the board 00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:32.720 has them. 00:45:32.720 --> 00:45:39.440 See, I have questions. Who else has questions? Let's see your hands, please. 00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:43.200 We have Mark. 00:45:43.200 --> 00:45:52.600 Jessica, that was a great presentation. And holy cow, what a great set of programs. Really 00:45:52.600 --> 00:46:02.200 impressive. I just want to compliment Stokes and the entire team. And your overview was 00:46:02.200 --> 00:46:11.320 just perfect. We're lucky to have this for sure. 00:46:11.320 --> 00:46:15.200 Thank you, Mark. Any other questions? 00:46:15.200 --> 00:46:20.320 Chair, no questions. Just a comment. I said quite a bit at the Council meeting. I just 00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:26.400 wanted to just say that I'm in favor of this as I have been and look forward to it. It's 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:29.760 really great. Thank you. 00:46:29.760 --> 00:46:36.920 Jessica, so we have a -- is the request coming to this board or you're just being -- we're 00:46:36.920 --> 00:46:40.540 just being notified of the financial request? 00:46:40.540 --> 00:46:47.240 So our goal is if this board supports this initiative, would be for a motion in favor. 00:46:47.240 --> 00:46:53.080 And that way we could report that to the City Council when we bring it forward. This is 00:46:53.080 --> 00:46:56.840 a little bit outside of what this board typically sees. And I know we've been trying to keep 00:46:56.840 --> 00:47:03.840 you updated, but I want to mention kind of strategically Stoke, the Chamber, the City, 00:47:03.840 --> 00:47:08.920 Main Street, all of those kind of groups that are working together, we are building one 00:47:08.920 --> 00:47:15.440 team. And so our intention is to bring information as we're working with those key partners in 00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:21.260 different areas of economic development that are maybe a little bit different than as we're 00:47:21.260 --> 00:47:25.620 kind of growing and evolving. We want to make sure that this board knows what we're working 00:47:25.620 --> 00:47:30.680 on, what the whole team is working on and stays engaged in that process. And Cory and 00:47:30.680 --> 00:47:35.760 I have actually already started discussions on what type of strategic efforts we might 00:47:35.760 --> 00:47:40.240 need to kind of help support these types of businesses because it's a little bit different 00:47:40.240 --> 00:47:47.360 than what we've seen in the past. So we're really excited to be putting together a team, 00:47:47.360 --> 00:47:51.600 a comprehensive team that's looking at a really holistic view of economic development. 00:47:51.600 --> 00:47:56.240 So I'm really thankful to have some great partners in the city. 00:47:56.240 --> 00:48:04.440 Thank you, Jessica. Heather, if you don't mind, I do have a few questions. This is not 00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:10.480 just an avid interest for me, this is a passion for me, small business, and then the high 00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:16.440 tech area. So please indulge me. This is just like I get to meet a rock star and I want 00:48:16.440 --> 00:48:25.560 your signature. I mean, this is an interview, okay? We're going to spend a little time here. 00:48:25.560 --> 00:48:30.960 Tell me how COVID-19 has affected your city. What's going on there now that? 00:48:30.960 --> 00:48:43.240 Yeah, it's been significant. You know, we, a year ago, we were holding probably five 00:48:43.240 --> 00:48:52.240 to six in-person events every month. The goal for the coworking space was ultimately density. 00:48:52.240 --> 00:48:58.840 And so pretty much everything about our membership, the way that we operate, the way that we do 00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:05.040 all of our events has just been turned on its head. You know, financially there was 00:49:05.040 --> 00:49:13.320 a significant impact in terms of our membership numbers. And we've, you know, as every business 00:49:13.320 --> 00:49:20.200 has, people have been impacted either in a really positive way or in a really negative 00:49:20.200 --> 00:49:25.800 way, but pretty much everybody has had to pivot. And so we started doing all of our 00:49:25.800 --> 00:49:31.700 events and programs online. You know, Zoom is everybody's best friend. We started a YouTube 00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:37.320 channel. So we were able to start recording the coffee and conversations, the lunch and 00:49:37.320 --> 00:49:43.520 learns that we do. And for people that weren't able to attend live, we have a YouTube channel 00:49:43.520 --> 00:49:52.960 now where all of that lives so people can get access to it whenever. And, you know, 00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:59.320 our operations are really focused on safety. And so, you know, we're really trying to make 00:49:59.320 --> 00:50:07.760 sure that we are a safe environment for everybody that's coming in. So again, you know, we've 00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:13.400 closed desks, we've spread people apart, done all of those things. So we've been trying 00:50:13.400 --> 00:50:19.320 to be creative. You know, we mentioned global entrepreneurship week is next week. And so 00:50:19.320 --> 00:50:23.660 I'm actually working on my state of entrepreneurship talk, which I'm going to deliver. I'm going 00:50:23.660 --> 00:50:32.160 to record on zoom and we'll put out on Facebook live, we do a startup call. My team here is, 00:50:32.160 --> 00:50:39.280 has taught themselves how to be basically video production people with their iPhones, 00:50:39.280 --> 00:50:46.520 and the help of a $16 app. And so there's going to be a virtual startup call where we 00:50:46.520 --> 00:50:53.400 get to see the inside of a handful of companies that are based here in Denton. So yeah, we've 00:50:53.400 --> 00:51:00.720 just had to get really creative to do what we do and to continue to build community and 00:51:00.720 --> 00:51:04.360 try to help people continue to be successful with their business. 00:51:04.360 --> 00:51:09.960 And we still get to come to the office because my office is large enough for us to do social 00:51:09.960 --> 00:51:18.080 distancing. So are you are you still full as far as capacity or people are not coming 00:51:18.080 --> 00:51:28.440 or talk tell us about that demographic. It is it has grown over the last few months. 00:51:28.440 --> 00:51:33.520 A year ago, we would see probably four to five dozen people in and out of the space 00:51:33.520 --> 00:51:38.760 on any given day, including visitors and drop ins and you know, for the events that we would 00:51:38.760 --> 00:51:47.920 have. Now, we're probably up to about two dozen people a day. Our overall membership 00:51:47.920 --> 00:52:00.320 is down by a lot by about 40%. And we, like I said, we've closed desks, we have, we're 00:52:00.320 --> 00:52:05.800 physically distancing people. So we have, we have over 9000 square feet. So really, there's 00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:12.720 a lot of space, we turned our event space into additional workspace, we just moved tables 00:52:12.720 --> 00:52:19.720 around. And so yeah, we you know, we're doing all of the safety things requiring masks when 00:52:19.720 --> 00:52:26.520 people are moving throughout the space. And and our limiting capacity and conference rooms, 00:52:26.520 --> 00:52:33.320 things like that. So it we are operating very differently. But yeah, we track everybody 00:52:33.320 --> 00:52:39.440 that's in the space every day, and we're at about two dozen people in and out of the space. 00:52:39.440 --> 00:52:42.840 At least half of those probably are in private offices. 00:52:42.840 --> 00:52:49.920 I have two more questions, and I'll release her to the rest of the committee to have questions. 00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:55.000 And thank you, by the way, Heather. Sure. So tell me about the demographics, you describe 00:52:55.000 --> 00:53:03.560 who's there. You know, old, young, you know, what kind of businesses are there, I realize 00:53:03.560 --> 00:53:09.000 we have all these statistics, but I kind of wanted to a little thumbnail. And then, then 00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:13.600 you can also talk about minorities and women and high tech, I'd kind of like to hear what's 00:53:13.600 --> 00:53:21.560 going on there. Sure. So I think our population actually skews older than one would guess 00:53:21.560 --> 00:53:28.600 for coworking space. And I don't I haven't done an average age, but I would say most 00:53:28.600 --> 00:53:39.760 of our members fall between late 20s, and early 50s. That's where most of our membership 00:53:39.760 --> 00:53:45.800 falls. So a significant portion in people in their 30s and 40s make up the bulk of our 00:53:45.800 --> 00:53:56.880 membership. I we skew a little heavier male than females. But we and we also skew as you 00:53:56.880 --> 00:54:01.840 saw we skew heavier in terms of tech and tech enabled companies. And we define that in terms 00:54:01.840 --> 00:54:12.160 of basically if it's a STEM industry, so we include engineers. And, you know, like not 00:54:12.160 --> 00:54:16.720 just web developers and things like that, but people that are doing digital marketing, 00:54:16.720 --> 00:54:22.960 people that are using technology is in a significant way to deliver their business or they're actually 00:54:22.960 --> 00:54:31.000 creating the technology themselves. And then in terms of minorities and females, that's 00:54:31.000 --> 00:54:41.520 something that we are really working hard to make sure that our programming has an impact 00:54:41.520 --> 00:54:51.000 has a positive impact to increase the the access to people. So in the accelerate her 00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:59.520 up incubator that we just launched with Texas Women's University, there are six female founded 00:54:59.520 --> 00:55:05.180 companies that are all using technology to deliver their businesses, and half of them 00:55:05.180 --> 00:55:11.080 are minority population. And so, you know, again, it's just something we it's something 00:55:11.080 --> 00:55:18.300 that's at top of mind to make sure that we are being inclusive and try to help narrow 00:55:18.300 --> 00:55:23.880 the gaps in terms of access. Thank you so much for answering my questions. 00:55:23.880 --> 00:55:29.840 Like I said, this is more than just an interest for me. It's a passion. So do we have any 00:55:29.840 --> 00:55:38.680 more questions from the board or the committee before we take a vote? I'm looking around. 00:55:38.680 --> 00:55:45.600 I don't see any. And so Jessica, help me with the with the with with the structure of the 00:55:45.600 --> 00:55:54.680 of language on this on this vote. I think we would be looking for a motion to recommend 00:55:54.680 --> 00:56:01.840 City Council adopt a program agreement with Hickory and rail ventures with the programs 00:56:01.840 --> 00:56:09.720 as outlined. We have someone who would make that motion. So moved. Is that Mark? Okay, 00:56:09.720 --> 00:56:18.160 Mark makes the motion. Okay, a second. Second. Okay, Jason, thank you very much. Okay, we 00:56:18.160 --> 00:56:26.600 have a motion and a second. Do we have any more discussion before we take the vote? Okay, 00:56:26.600 --> 00:56:36.040 seeing none, we'll do a roll call once again. I'm all in favor of adopting this motion as 00:56:36.040 --> 00:56:57.160 presented. Mark? Aye. Let's see. Jimmy? Aye. Jessie? Aye. Let's see. Jill? Aye. Thank you. 00:56:57.160 --> 00:57:07.400 Yes. And John Bain says yes. Did I get everyone, Jessica? Jason says yes. Okay. All right. 00:57:07.400 --> 00:57:17.120 I'm sorry, Jason. I'm sorry. I'm doing my best, man. It's back. That's okay. And John 00:57:17.120 --> 00:57:23.440 Bain says yes. And so I don't think we have anyone to abstain. Yes, Lee. Lee Ramsey has 00:57:23.440 --> 00:57:31.680 abstained. Well, yes, I'm sorry. Lee has abstained. That's correct. So I believe we're done with 00:57:31.680 --> 00:57:38.760 this particular program item. Thank you, everybody. Thank you for the time. And Jessica, I always 00:57:38.760 --> 00:57:46.840 love hearing you talk about what we're doing. So I appreciate it. And let me notify Lee 00:57:46.840 --> 00:57:53.500 that to turn everything back on. So give me one second. Certainly. Thank you. And John, 00:57:53.500 --> 00:57:59.040 my apologies. I need to leave for a 12 o'clock, but I enjoyed the hour with you. Thank you 00:57:59.040 --> 00:58:07.360 so much, Mark, for all your participation. Read the Chancellor for us. You bet. Okay. 00:58:07.360 --> 00:58:23.760 All right. I've texted Lee. So hopefully he will be rejoining us shortly. And Mark just 00:58:23.760 --> 00:58:41.640 had to leave. Mark McClellan had to leave for a 12 o'clock meeting. See if we can give 00:58:41.640 --> 00:59:03.060 him a quick second to get back on. We do only have staff reports, I believe, left. There's 00:59:03.060 --> 00:59:14.040 Lee. Welcome back, Lee. Okay. So now that Lee's back, we can go to the next agenda item, 00:59:14.040 --> 00:59:23.960 which is EDP 20-055. And Jessica, I'll give you the option on how much we need to present 00:59:23.960 --> 00:59:31.560 and how much we do not need to present. Sure. Well, two things for the staff reports. First 00:59:31.560 --> 00:59:38.800 is this is Cory's, I believe, first official meeting and staff reports. And I'll let Cory 00:59:38.800 --> 00:59:43.480 kind of talk about what he's been working on. And you guys hear from me enough. But 00:59:43.480 --> 00:59:48.400 I just want to point out one thing is this will be the last time that you see the staff 00:59:48.400 --> 00:59:56.520 reports in the format that you see them. Cory and I are working on a consolidated quarterly 00:59:56.520 --> 01:00:01.360 report. Like I said, there are many partners that work in economic development between 01:00:01.360 --> 01:00:07.920 the city chamber and other partners that we have. And our goal is to be more inclusive 01:00:07.920 --> 01:00:13.600 of our reporting and keep you guys up to date on all of the activities that are happening 01:00:13.600 --> 01:00:18.560 kind of around kind of the global team that's working here. And so we are actively working 01:00:18.560 --> 01:00:26.760 on that. And so we'll be rolling that out probably at the January meeting. So you may 01:00:26.760 --> 01:00:33.040 not see a full staff report in December. But with that, I'm going to turn it over to Cory 01:00:33.040 --> 01:00:38.440 and let him say hi to everybody and let you know what's been going on. 01:00:38.440 --> 01:00:46.920 Thank you, Jessica. For those of you I haven't met in person or virtually yet, I'm ecstatic 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:51.960 to be here. Just a little bit about me. I'm a second generation economic development professional. 01:00:51.960 --> 01:00:59.240 Been in the industry for about 25 years. Worked previously on the city and county side as 01:00:59.240 --> 01:01:04.880 well as in economic development consulting and through the private sector. So I've kind 01:01:04.880 --> 01:01:10.560 of seen the economic development lens from all different sides. I think it's a great 01:01:10.560 --> 01:01:16.720 time to be here in Denton. Just with everything that's going on with all the advantages that 01:01:16.720 --> 01:01:26.160 the community has in regards to transportation, education, and just an involved business community, 01:01:26.160 --> 01:01:32.920 I just think it's a great time to be here. You know, I guess for my report what haven't 01:01:32.920 --> 01:01:40.960 I done is kind of a better way to put it. Since I've been here, I started October 26. 01:01:40.960 --> 01:01:50.680 And since that time, we've had several RFIs come in, about five or six, that we've answered 01:01:50.680 --> 01:02:00.120 the majority of. We've had a site visit. I've had several meetings with real estate brokers 01:02:00.120 --> 01:02:07.600 both here in Denton as well as some in Dallas that I've known through previous stops. Just 01:02:07.600 --> 01:02:14.440 trying to get my feet on the ground and understand and learn the sites and the information and 01:02:14.440 --> 01:02:23.360 the processes and work with Jessica to develop some new processes to help y'all stay more 01:02:23.360 --> 01:02:35.040 informed and active as well as just trying to meet and understand and get advice from 01:02:35.040 --> 01:02:40.040 as many people here in Denton as possible. And I want to let everybody know that I plan 01:02:40.040 --> 01:02:45.120 to reach out to y'all individually. I'd like to sit down either virtually or in person with 01:02:45.120 --> 01:02:51.440 everybody and just try and get your take on where we're at, where you see us going forward. 01:02:51.440 --> 01:02:57.120 Your involvement and your historical knowledge will be important to our success going forward. 01:02:57.120 --> 01:03:06.480 So that's kind of what I plan to do within the next 30 days, as long as we don't have 01:03:06.480 --> 01:03:09.160 too many RFIs to keep us busy. 01:03:09.160 --> 01:03:12.600 Thank you, Corey. 01:03:12.600 --> 01:03:26.220 And I'd be happy to answer any questions. 01:03:26.220 --> 01:03:33.600 So Corey, as far as your meetings, if you could do this, I think it would be helpful. 01:03:33.600 --> 01:03:38.800 I'm sure you've got an executive summary of your experiences and perhaps you could just 01:03:38.800 --> 01:03:45.400 email that to the various people you'd like to meet with. That way I'll know a little 01:03:45.400 --> 01:03:50.280 bit about you and we can possibly do the same for you. We can send you an executive summary 01:03:50.280 --> 01:03:56.720 about ourselves and our experiences. So that way we can spend our time, not just getting 01:03:56.720 --> 01:04:02.680 familiar with one another, but really jumping into the mud and kind of getting in there 01:04:02.680 --> 01:04:04.400 and getting after it. 01:04:04.400 --> 01:04:05.400 Absolutely. 01:04:05.400 --> 01:04:06.400 Thank you. 01:04:06.400 --> 01:04:07.400 Yes, sir. 01:04:07.400 --> 01:04:08.400 Jessica? 01:04:08.400 --> 01:04:20.520 That's all we have from the staff side. 01:04:20.520 --> 01:04:25.920 And I really want to thank everyone for your indulgence. I'm getting used to the big chair. 01:04:25.920 --> 01:04:35.800 This is different. I hope that one day each of you gets a chance to be the chair and you 01:04:35.800 --> 01:04:42.480 get the chance to experience this. So thank you for your time, your volunteer and your 01:04:42.480 --> 01:04:49.760 commitment to make a difference in our community. And do we need to entertain a motion to conclude 01:04:49.760 --> 01:04:57.960 the meeting? Okay. Do we have a motion to end the meeting? 01:04:57.960 --> 01:04:58.960 Mr. Baines? 01:04:58.960 --> 01:04:59.960 Yes. 01:04:59.960 --> 01:05:07.680 Is there an item for concluding items or where we can just ask a question at the end of the 01:05:07.680 --> 01:05:11.320 meeting? I don't have the agenda in front of me. 01:05:11.320 --> 01:05:19.280 Yes. There is concluding items are posted. So if there is a request that we can take 01:05:19.280 --> 01:05:20.640 back and prepare. 01:05:20.640 --> 01:05:22.760 Yeah. May I chair? 01:05:22.760 --> 01:05:23.760 Please. 01:05:23.760 --> 01:05:29.920 Okay. Well, on yesterday or Tuesday, whenever that was, it feels like forever. We had an 01:05:29.920 --> 01:05:36.320 update on the CDBG and home funds. And in that we learned that those funds can be used 01:05:36.320 --> 01:05:41.240 for economic development. And I don't know if this board has ever looked at that to see 01:05:41.240 --> 01:05:47.680 what they can be used for or have been used for in other communities. But on our economic 01:05:47.680 --> 01:05:55.080 strategic plan, there is a goal three is strengthen community inclusion. And so I don't know if 01:05:55.080 --> 01:05:59.560 that would be correlated or not. So I just wanted to put that out here to see if that 01:05:59.560 --> 01:06:12.960 was something the board wanted to look into. That's all. 01:06:12.960 --> 01:06:21.240 And kind of in line with that, Councilwoman, I know in the minority community, there's 01:06:21.240 --> 01:06:30.920 a real need for access to capital. So I don't know if -- how this board could help kind 01:06:30.920 --> 01:06:44.200 of do some research and to help those businesses that are limited in their capital access and 01:06:44.200 --> 01:06:53.200 accumulation perhaps have some meaningful meetings and meaningful information for helping 01:06:53.200 --> 01:06:59.520 startup businesses and businesses that, let's say, are recovering. So I don't know, Jessica, 01:06:59.520 --> 01:07:05.560 if that's part of the purview of this board. But if it's economic development, I would 01:07:05.560 --> 01:07:11.940 think we would need to possibly take a look and see if we can help that particular segment 01:07:11.940 --> 01:07:16.640 of the community as well. Absolutely. So this board doesn't typically 01:07:16.640 --> 01:07:21.200 do concluding items. So I'll just remind everyone of the process. I'm taking notes because these 01:07:21.200 --> 01:07:27.680 aren't posted for deliberation. And so what I will do is go back and talk to the team, 01:07:27.680 --> 01:07:32.680 maybe do some initial research, and then we'll bring it back as agenda items to kind of maybe 01:07:32.680 --> 01:07:38.560 have some preliminary discussions with the board. But I don't want Mack to get mad at 01:07:38.560 --> 01:07:46.640 me. So I'm taking notes, and I'll make sure that we're duly posted to have these types 01:07:46.640 --> 01:07:54.960 of conversations. All right. Thank you. 01:07:54.960 --> 01:08:05.760 Do we have a motion to conclude? Okay. Lee Ramsey has a motion. Do we have a second? 01:08:05.760 --> 01:08:12.880 Okay. Who did the second? Jimmy. Jimmy. All right. Thank you, Jimmy. We're going to go 01:08:12.880 --> 01:08:26.720 through and do the roll call. John Bain says yes. Keely? Uh, yes. Let's see. Jesse? Yes. 01:08:26.720 --> 01:08:34.160 Jason Tomlinson? Yes. Lee? And I believe Jill. Is Jill still with us? 01:08:34.160 --> 01:08:40.160 I think Jill had to leave. She had to leave. Okay. I think there being 01:08:40.160 --> 01:08:45.080 no other people involved, we're going to conclude the meeting. And once again, thank you for 01:08:45.080 --> 01:08:49.600 your time and your participation and your commitment to making a difference. Thank you 01:08:49.600 --> 01:08:50.880 so much. Thank you.