Odessa Development Corporation

ODESSA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MINUTES CITY OF ODESSA, TEXAS January 12, 2023 A regular meeting of the Odessa Development Corporation (ODC) was held on January 12, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 5th floor, City Hall, 411 W. 8th St. Odessa, Texas. Members present: Melanie Hollmann, David Boutin, Larry Robinson, Kris Crow, James Kirk, Jeff Russell, and Ismael “Mikky” Navarrete. Others present: City Staff: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, City Secretary; Dan Jones, Interim City Attorney; Larry Fry, Director of Finance; Seth Boyles, Controller; Casey Hallmark, Downtown Odessa Executive Director; Christina Buhnerkempe, Legal Assistant; and ODC Contractors: Tom Manskey, Chamber of Commerce; Tyler Patton, UPTB- SBDC; James Beauchamp, MOTRAN, Renee Earls, Chamber of Commerce; Christi Callicoatte, Current Media Partners; Chris Walker, Black Chamber of Commerce; and Others: Council member Steven Thompson and others. A quorum being present, Mr. Crow called the meeting to order, and the following proceedings were held: Mr. Boutin gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance and Texas Pledge were recited. Presentation to outgoing board members Chris Cole and Tim Edgmon. Mr. Crow acknowledged the service to outgoing board members with plaques Tim Edgmon and Chris Cole who were not present. December 8, 2022 minutes. Motion was made by Mr. Boutin and seconded by Mr. Navarrete to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Contractors’ reports: Economic Development Department - Odessa Chamber, Current Media Partners, Black Chamber of Commerce, UTPB-America’s SBDC, MOTRAN, and City administrative support - financials. Mr. Manskey provided updates on projects. Project Pump was on hold. Project Lithium representatives visited Odessa and toured a site in Penwell. Nacero was moving forward. Ms. Callicoatte thanked the board for the opportunity to work for ODC. She introduced Brittney Mann, her partner at Current Media Partners. She met with the advertising committee and the economic development staff. The direction was to target and provide analytics. She was attending a show to market Odessa. She was looking at the website and new trends. Mr. Russell stated it was a great meeting with Current Media Partners. ODC Minutes January 12, 2023 Page 2 Ms. Callicoatte stated that an updated budget was resubmitted for nine months at a cost of $375,000. Mr. Walker reported that the Black Chamber of Commerce helped with a future nail and eyelash salon for its business to open. A food truck/restaurant owner was working on its financing. The Black Chamber hosted its last workshop for the 2022 year. Food boxes were handed out with the St. James Baptist Church. A ribbon cutting for the book vending machine was held at the Woodson Boys and Girls Club. Mr. Patton reviewed SBDC’s December report. He reported that there were 210 counseling sessions with 175 counseling hours. One seminar was presented with 17 attendees. There was one new Odessa business. Odessa’s capitalization was $582,550. There were 15 full time employees. Five seminars would be held in January. Mr. Beauchamp stated that MOTRAN had the opportunity to work with TCEQ which encouraged MOTRAN to apply for the grants of the Texas Emissions Reduction Program. An I-14 implementation kick off meeting will be held on February 3. The timeline for I-14 was over the next 20 years. Mr. Fry reviewed the November financial report. The reported had an explanatory notes sheet. He reviewed the notes with revenues and investments. Mr. Russell stated it was very helpful. The January sales tax was $1,160,894. The year to date sales tax was $4,601,063. Motion was made by Mr. Russell and seconded by Ms. Hollmann to approve the November financial report. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. There were two RFPs submitted from Whitley Penn and Weaver. Mr. Crow stated that the board could accept, reject, or reissue the RFP or renew the current Weaver contract that was on a month to month basis. Mr. Boutin asked that the board be given the time to review the RFPs for discussion at another meeting. ODC Committee and officer reports: Partnership, Tax Incentive, Compliance, Advertising and DOI Grants Design review Board. Mr. Robinson reported that the Downtown Design Review Board discussed the ICON grant on the fire system. He stated more bids were needed. Discuss and consider amendment to Downtown Infrastructure Improvement grant with Icon Sports and Entertainment dba Patrick Clay’s Icon Tavern. Ms. Hallmark stated it was requested to amend the Icon grant that was issued in 2021. There was a request to add the fire suppression as it was not included in the grant request. Ms. Hollmann stated she would abstain from the Icon agenda item and not deliberate on the matter. Ms. Hallmark stated one quote was received for the fire suppression for a total of $78,790. The infrastructure grant would be for $39,395 and the owner would be responsible for $39,395. She stated that the grant requirements were changed after the 2021 grant was awarded. The current requirements required three bids. Anthony Rios, Par II, explained the fire system phases. Mr. Robinson stated with the amendment there needed to be more bids. Shawn Rodriguez, Icon owner, stated that in 2021 bids were submitted to Downtown Odessa but were not submitted for the original grant, an error from Downtown Odessa. A bid could be updated as there were two bids. ODC Minutes January 12, 2023 Page 3 Motion was made by Mr. Robinson and seconded by Mr. Boutin. to table the grant for an updated bid. The motion was approved by 6-0 with Ms. Hollman abstention. ODC Committee Report Legal Services Committee. Ms. Hollmann stated the committee met and calls to attorneys were made. She stated that there was one attorney out of Austin, Steven Moore with Jackson Walker with experience and has represented companies in economic development contracts. The senior attorney rate was $1,120 and the younger attorney had a rate of $865 an hour. She stated that it was unlikely there would be an attorney with both economic development and Open Meetings Act experience. The senior attorney would reduce the rate to $950 an hour. She was impressed with his experience. Mr. Boutin suggested for an outside firm to create a contract template. Discuss and consider committee appointments. Mr. Crow stated five members had their terms up with one member termed out. Mr. Robinson stated that there was a conflict of interest with Gaven Norris with his City lawsuit. Motion was made by Mr. Russell and seconded by Ms. Hollmann to reappoint Mike Withrow and Peggy Dean to the Compliance Committee. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Motion was made by Ms. Hollmann and seconded by Mr. Boutin to reappoint Gaven Norris to the Compliance Committee. The motion failed by a 2 - 5 vote with Mr. Crow, Mr. Russell, Mr. Navarrete, Mr. Robinson, and Dr. Kirk casting the nay votes. Motion was made by Mr. Boutin and seconded by Ms. Hollmann to appoint Kaylie Banda to the Compliance Committee. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Motion was made by Mr. Russell to appoint Jamie Foreman to the Compliance Committee. Ms. Hollmann questioned the conflict of interest with the Odesa Accountability Project. Mr. Boutin stated it was possible information would be shared and was concerned with the circumstances. Ms. Hollmann stated Ms. Foreman has her page to publish information on things to be newsworthy. She stated that the Compliance Committee was confidential in its information and deliberations. Mr. Russell withdrew Ms. Foreman’s nomination. Motion was made by Mr. Russell and seconded by Mr. Robinson to appoint Tim Harry to the Compliance Committee. Tim Harry served on boards, active in scouting and nonprofits. He formally owned an advertising agency. He stated he would not discuss deliberations and understood the boundaries. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Motion was made by Mr. Boutin and seconded by Ms. Hollmann to appoint Julie Prentice to the Compliance Committee. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Discuss and consider grant application for Project Big Red/Taylor Service Solutions. Peggy Dean thanked the board for the reappointment to the Compliance Committee. She stated that stated that the project was brought forward in December 2021 but explored other options. Project Big Red returned to the Compliance Committee to move forward with the request. Taylor Sudden Services would have 55 full time employees and the recommended grant was for $862,579. The payout was for five annual payments. ODC Minutes January 12, 2023 Page 4 Motion was made by Ms. Hollmann and seconded by Mr. Robinson to process the grant as recommended to Taylor Service Solutions and the draft contract to be prepared. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Discuss and consider Apergy/Champion X Compliance Report. Ms. Dean stated that Apergy qualified for its second payment of $200,0000. Motion was made by Dr. Kirk and seconded by Mr. Boutin to approve the second annual payout for $200,000. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Discuss and consider contract for marketing services from Current Media Partners. Mr. Russell asked that the bill be sent to the advertising committee and include in the ODC packet. Ms. Callicoatte stated that there was a show scheduled and there were would expenses approximately $2,000. Mr. Manskey stated that the Chamber could incur the cost for reimbursement. Mr. Boutin stated that a special meeting could be held to consider the Current Media Partners contract. Discuss and consider donation agreement amendment between ODC and TxDOT (I-20 and Faudree interchange). Motion was made by Mr. Boutin and seconded by Mr. Robinson to approve the donation agreement with TxDOT. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Citizen comments on non-agenda items. None. Motion was made by Dr. Kirk and seconded by Ms. Hollmann to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 3:39 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, TRMC, CMC Kris Crow City Secretary President