Economic Development Committee Meeting Summary - December 17, 2025
Economic Development Committee Meeting Summary - December 17, 2025
The Economic Development Committee convened on December 17, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., presided over by Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex Tatum. The meeting focused on two primary presentations: an update on the development and achievements of Municipal Utility District (MUD) 390 within the City Park area, and a first-quarter update from the Mayor's Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) regarding the Minority and Women's Small Business Program (MWSBE), contract compliance, and upcoming initiatives following a recent disparity study.
Consent Calendar
- No routine consent calendar items were presented; the meeting proceeded directly to presentation items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak prior to the meeting.
- Councilmember Martinez raised concerns regarding trash accumulation and homelessness under the 288 and Almeda Genoa corridor, feeling the area is neglected compared to West Oram. He requested assistance from the District D office and the "hot team" to address these issues.
- Assistant Director Curley acknowledged the concern and agreed to work with the Councilmember to address the garbage and homeless situation.
Discussion Items
MUD 390 Development Update (Chair D. Rasheed)
- Project Description & Achievements: Speaker presented the progress of MUD 390, a partnership with the City of Houston stemming from a 2016 agreement. The district serves over 31,000 residents in approximately 3,000 housing units plus apartment complexes across City Park, City Oaks, and City Gates.
- Infrastructure & Safety: The district replaced a historic food desert with commercial anchors including McDonald's, Starbucks, H-E-B, and others. Speaker expressed concern about crime stemming from the adjacent Hiram Clark and Brunswick Meadows areas and explained that the MUD partnered with HOAs to hire private constables, resulting in a significant reduction in crime.
- Facilities: Plans for a 10,000-square-foot Sheila Jackson Lee Administration Building were presented, featuring after-school care, small business hubs, and a police substation, with a projected completion of Fall 2026.
- Funding Context: Speaker clarified that the administration building and park improvements were funded by a November 2021 bond election (unlimited tax bonds for water/sewer and parks) approved by MUD 390 taxpayers. Assistant Director Curley confirmed the City Park 380 agreement (2016) and the MUD bond funds are separate financial streams.
OBO Q1 Update & Program Overview (Director C. Horde)
- MWSBE Participation: Speaker reported a 39% participation rate for MWSBE contracts in Q1, exceeding the 34% annual projection. Of the $487 million in awards, $191 million went to minority and women-owned small businesses (MWSBE), with specific breakdowns by race and ethnicity.
- Barriers Addressed: Speaker emphasized intentional efforts to dismantle barriers identified in the disparity study, including streamlining certification, eliminating backlogs, and launching programs like Bonding 2.0 and the Future Founders program.
- Certification Process: The team reduced the certification backlog from 358 to zero by September and reset the queue to 15 pending applications by November, aiming for a 90-day processing timeline via a two-tier system.
- Disparity Study & Goals: Speaker detailed the adoption of new participation caps based on market availability following the disparity study.
- Legal Context: Speaker clarified that a federal lawsuit challenges MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) goals, while WBE (Women's Business Enterprise) and SBE (Small Business Enterprise) programs are not part of the current complaint.
- Upcoming Initiatives: Plans were outlined for a new website dashboard for transparency, the rollout of a Veteran-Owned Small Business program (targeted for March 1), and the reactivation of the DBE program following state-level recertification processes managed by the Texas Unified Certification Program.
Councilmember Questions & Clarifications:
- Councilmember Alcorn: Inquired about the cost and funding mechanism for the MUD 390 administrative building. Speaker confirmed the cost is approximately $7.3 million (excluding land), funded by a voter-approved tax bond for water/sewer and parks. She confirmed the 67 cents per $100 tax rate for the MUD.
- Councilmember Davis: Expressed strong support for the OBO's work in alleviating barriers for vendors and emphasized the need to communicate the Q1 success metrics (39% participation) to the business community. He also discussed the upcoming Veteran disability program rollout.
- Councilmember Ramirez: Clarified the status of the federal lawsuit, confirming the judge has not yet ruled on MBE caps, while WBE and SBE caps remain intact. He also asked about the timeline for DBE recertification, learning that Texas is managing the process through the TUCP and no specific timeline exists yet.
- Councilmember Flickinger: Asked about the difficulty of replacing non-performing MWBE subcontractors. Speaker explained that deviations require approval to ensure commercially useful function and that the process typically takes two to three days.
- Councilmember Elk & Mayor Pro Tem Castex Tatum: Addressed community confusion regarding whether the new participation caps (Slide 13) were voted on. Director Horde and Assistant Director Curley clarified that the numbers were presented as a report back to the committee per the ordinance requirements, not as a separate vote, to guide court proceedings and future implementation.
Key Outcomes
- MUD 390 Transparency: The committee received a detailed overview of MUD 390's infrastructure investments, safety improvements, and the separation between the 2016 City Park Agreement funds and the 2021 MUD voter-approved tax bonds.
- OBO Performance Metrics: The committee noted the exceeded Q1 MWSBE participation goals (39% vs. 34%) and received confirmation that the OBO has successfully cleared its certification backlog.
- DBE & Veteran Programs: It was established that the DBE program remains paused pending state-wide recertification by the TUCP, with a target to resume operations in early spring. The Veteran-Owned Small Business program is scheduled to launch by March 1, 2026.
- Communication Strategy: The OBO committed to increasing transparency by publishing quarterly reports and compliance data via a new website dashboard and disseminating success metrics to chambers and business owners to counter narratives of exclusion.
- Community Issues: The committee acknowledged the specific sanitation and homeless concerns in the Almeda Genoa corridor and pledged administrative follow-up.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. It is Wednesday, December the 17th. And the time is 2 p.m. I'm Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex Tatum, the chair of our economic development committee, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. Say. We're gonna go ahead and call the meeting to order. Um I do want to welcome the council members and staff that are in attendance. Um our vice chair Fred Flinkinger is here, Councilmember Julian Ramirez, um, councilmember Joaquin Martinez, and staff from Councilmember Thomas's office, Cayman's office is here. Uh thank you for being in attendance. We also have staff from Councilmember Castillo's office joining us. Uh we will um this meeting is open to the public. It's being held in person and virtually. So we are also broadcasting on HTV. Council members and staff, if you hold your questions until the end, uh, council members that may be on virtually, if you'll use the chat pod. Um there were no members of the public signed up to speak before today. However, if there are any public speakers present here in the chamber that would like to speak, there is a sign-up sheet at the front table on your right. Uh public speakers will have a chance to speak after the conclusion of the presentations. Um, and any additional questions after the meeting can be emailed to the district K office at District K at Houston TX.gov, and we'll forward those to the respective departments for your responses. Uh, our first presentation today, council members. Um, I see Director Horde has joined us. I'm gonna give her a chance to calm down and uh get a get herself together from her last meeting. I know she was running to and fro. We'll start with the municipal utility district, uh 390 board chair. Um I think I think assistant director is gonna make comments first. We'll start off with assistant director Curly, um, and then we'll have a presentation by um the utility district 390 board chair Deedra Rasheed. So um, Director, Assistant Director Curley, if you are ready, we are ready to hear from you. And before you get started, let me also welcome uh our colleague, Councilmember Sally Alcorn to the meeting. We're ready for you. Thanks so much, Mayor Pro Tem for this opportunity. Good afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem, Vice Chair, City Council members. Ms. Deedra Rashid, President of the Municipal Utility District 390 board, is here to present a very exciting and informative presentation regarding the development within the boundaries of the district. Before she begins, I would like to remind the committee of the financial policies presentation that I shared in October that included the City Park 380 agreement. At that time, I provided the update of the agreement as required by the policies, but I wanted to let the committee know that the City Park Agreement, City Council approved in 2016, provided for the critical infrastructure that resulted in the development that Ms. Rashid will discuss during her presentation. The City Park 380 agreement, just to remind everyone, has two parts. Part one is the City Park Agreement, which supported residential and commercial improvements, necessary roadway improvements, which included the extension of City Park Central Lane, and related drainage utilities. A bridge over Sims Bayou, four lanes east of Orm Drive from Highway 288 east or the proposed collector road, two lanes of East Orham Drive from the Collector Road towards Cullen Drive, and a proposed North South Collector Road. The agreement was recommended by the administration and improved by and approved by City Council to generate a positive economic impact and public benefit that's now being realized. Ms. Rashid will now talk about the great job she and her team have done implementing these plans and the impact on the community that we all serve. Assistant directing, you said we did that in 2016. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. I like to stand. Hi, Council members are here. If you'll stand behind the microphone, we want to make sure that the folks that may be watching can hear. Yes, perfect. All right.
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