I'm Councilmember Fred Flickinger, presiding chair of the Economic Development Committee.

Call this meeting to order.

Wanted to welcome all of the council members and staff, Councilwoman Alcorn, and we have staff from Councilwoman Salinas, Councilman Castillo, Councilmember Cayman, Councilmember Ramirez, and the Mayor Pro Tem staff as well.

And uh Didi's promise to make me not make too many stakes, so we should be good.

The meeting is open to the public and is being held in person and virtually.

We are also broadcasting via Houston HTV.

Uh Council members and staff, please hold your questions until the end of the presentation.

If you would like to ask a question and are present in the chamber, request to speak, or if you're joining virtually, type request to speak in the chat pod, and you will be recognized in order.

You will be advised when the two minutes have expired.

Council members attending virtually, please please use the chat pod to communicate.

There was one member of the public who is signed up to speak today.

If there are any public speakers present here in the chamber who wish to uh sign up to speak, there's a sign-up sheet at the front table on your right.

Public speakers will have a chance to speak after the conclusion of the presentations.

Any questions can be emailed to District K at Houston TX.gov and will be forwarded to the respective department entities for responses.

Okay.

Um the first on the agenda have uh Director Horde, uh Director of the Mayor's Office of Business Opportunity will present on expanding economic opportunity LGBTQ.

Director Hord, thank you for being here.

Please proceed.

Let it down a little bit.

Thank you.

I'm very little.

Thank you guys for having me once again.

Um we are here today to present on the expanding economic opportunity project that we've partnered with with Councilmember Castillo.

This is our LGBTQ plus economic empowerment initiative.

Um we start out, of course, with our mission uh representing equal represent equal representation and advocacy for all small businesses by providing pathways to partnerships, capacity expansion and growth.

Um we are looking for our vision.

We've changed our vision a little bit.

In the small business community, we will foster partnerships by driving equitable economic growth across the Houston region.

Um let's talk about our Houston LGBT plus economic snapshot.

We have approximately a hundred and ninety-four thousand LGBTQ plus adults that live in Houston in our metropolitan area.

And we have 71 LGBT BE certified firms currently registered with the City of Houston in our certified directory.

The Greater Houston Chamber, the LGBTQ Plus Chamber of Commerce has more than 500 registered members, and that includes their business partners, organizations, and other partners, and individual members.

They have a monthly chamber breakfast.

It draws about 125 individuals to sometimes 150.

Um it provides a strong engagement opportunity and outreach for program participation.

Next slide.

How do we get here?

Uh Councilmember Castillo proposed, as you recall last year, to have an LGBTQ plus community engagement coordinator uh located at the Office of Business Opportunity.

It was approved for funding last fiscal year.

I offer $30,000, 10,000 of which came from Councilmember Ramirez and the other 20,000 from Councilmember Castillo.

The areas of focus for this project was to connect the LGBTQ plus job seekers with the workforce development resources and career readiness programs.

We want to support the community that owns small businesses and entrepreneurs with the business development guidance, increasing the awareness of OBO in our certification with the small business community, and expanding the participation of the LGBTQ plus community in our business directory.

LG Houston's LGBTQ Plus community includes thousands of residents who are job seekers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who contribute to our city's economic growth and our workforce.

This role that we hired is part-time, and they connect the LGBTQ plus residents and job seekers with workforce development resources.

We've been connecting with small business support programs, certification opportunities, as well as our city contracting pathways.

Next slide.

We have job fair collaborations with Texas Workforce Commission.

And we're expanding those into the LGBTQ plus community with Montrose Center and with the Council members' office.

We want to increase the awareness of city contracting opportunities.

As you're aware, with the new goals, we do we have incorporated the LTT Plus BE, that business enterprise certification to be counted for up to 4% of a goal in lieu of the shortfall of the M and the W.

And so in the past we had the certification.

It was to be identifiable in a directory, but there was no count to our participation.

Now those businesses are able to count to our participation.

We also want to grow our engagement with the entrepreneurs in the community.

Next slide.

At those two workshops, we've had 30 job seekers who've been supported.

Two job seekers secured employment, and seven were employed and they're pursuing advancement.

We have 10 job seekers who are receiving ongoing support from our office.

We have 15 community events, 10 businesses connected to city resources, two businesses that apply for the certification in addition to the current certified firms.

Five businesses express interest in the certification.

And then we have ongoing engagement with the Chamber of Commerce as well as meetings and coordinating with community partners.

And so our part-time individual has been the person who's done all of this work.

And so we think that in the first six months, they've accomplished a lot in the community by connecting with job seekers as well as connecting with small business.

Next slide.

So JAWA is one of our participating business enterprises that we want to highlight today.

Next slide.

We have resume writing workshops and workforce planning with our community partners.

This is ongoing.

We also have April 6th.

We had our LGBT certified firms mixer and business engagement event.

This was an opportunity for businesses to come out and network with one another to hear about opportunities with the city of Houston and to present themselves in front of the Chamber of Commerce as well.

We did have attendance from Councilmember Ramirez and representation from Council Member Castillo at that event.

We also have a continued outreach with the community with business events.

Strategic partnerships and coordination.

Um again, we're partnering with the LGBTQ plus chamber, but we also have a collaboration with Montro Center uh for workforce and entrepreneurship programming, a coordination with the Thrive Smile Business Summit and Chamber.

Um February 2026, they had a great event that was a day-long event.

Um we were able to coordinate and table there, so we had a resource table.

Um I was a part of their panel discussion, and it was a really nice event for us to connect as a city with the community for a full day.

Um, I don't know what the attendance was, it was is quite full.

Um, and it was all day they had breakout sessions, and I think this is a great opportunity for the city to connect.

We also have coordination with um other job fairs and youth entrepreneurship programs as well.

Um, one of the things that we're looking to do is more program development around a dashboard so that we can show um the growth over the whole entire year.

Um uh Kel Victor is our community engagement coordinator, has been on since October.

So we haven't had a full year yet, but we're looking forward to see what the end of the year holds.

The summer is extremely busy for us.

Um Kel will lead our future founders initiative and a couple of our other programs, and so we'll get to see how much of an impact this is as we look toward the end of the one-year engagement.

Um, and we're also exploring other grants um along with the council member um to support this program and the initiative as well as the position.

That's it.

Uh any questions.

Councilmember Castillo is in the queue.

Councilmember Castillo, if you're speaking, we can't hear you.

Okay, maybe we can go back to that.

Okay, I I've got a couple questions.

Um, you said that uh the LGBTQ community represents three and a half percent of the citizens.

What uh are our existing contractors that we have with the city?

How many of those were part of the LGBTQ community?

So we have 71 certified firms, and currently none of those are prime contractors.

Okay, no, I I mean the certifications, but I assume since we had no LGBTQ certification previously, right?

No, we had we had previously, we had 71 previously.

Okay, when did we start the certification for um the LGBT uh certification began in 2013?

2013?

Yes, so we've been slow 2015, I'm sorry, so we've been slowly adding to.

Okay, okay.

Good enough.

That was all I had.

Did we ever try and get Councilman Castillo again?

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Director.

I want to extend uh a big appreciation to you and your team for the willingness to work on this pilot and get it established and off the ground.

It is so great to hear the progress that has been made in a short amount of time.

Um, you know, this was something that I funded using council service funds in the last budget cycle.

Um, because really it's it's about extending economic opportunities to Houstonians and particularly a vulnerable population.

Uh we're talking about uh LGBTQ economic empowerment uh absolutely aligns with your department.

You know, you mentioned getting uh more certifications, the resume workshops, the job placements.

Um so I think it's it's been a successful partnership thus far.

Um this pilot was really designed to prove a concept uh get the data, study it, and then explore potential options for expansion, um, which I think you know the data you've shown presents a strong case for that.

And so uh as the time continues to move forward, um I want to reaffirm my commitment to continuing to work with you and your department uh on expansion for this because this is about removing barriers to workforce participation and entrepreneurship, uh, which is gonna strengthen our overall um economic outlook as a city, but also again connect uh vulnerable residents to skills, jobs, and economic opportunity that will help keep them uh afloat uh in our Houston economy.

So thank you again for your partnership and your support.

Thank you so much, Councilmember.

I also want to acknowledge my team that's here.

Um Kel Victor, who is our outreach coordinator is here.

They are present today as well.

Thank you very much, Director.

I appreciate it.

And next up, we will have Director Sesniak from the department uh or director of aviation and Houston Airport system.

All right, great to be here today.

Um, so I want to share some updates on what's going on at the Houston Airport system so that we can make sure that you're informed.

So next slide, please.

Um, we're gonna again cover some new air service development, um, some updates for 2026 that we've already completed, um, our World Cup preparations.

So I'm gonna touch on that, some of our construction projects, uh, an item that's gonna be coming forward at some point this summer on United Airlines um uh uh agreement, and then some passenger feedback that you've funded for us, and we want to give you a little bit of feedback of what we're using that funding for.

So, next slide, please.

Um, so new air service, next slide.

Uh great thing is we're very excited that uh as of May 1st, we will have a non-stop flight between uh Houston and Rome on Eda Airlines.

Uh we'd like to make sure that we are uh, you know, uh uh you know, Houstonians are aware of that.

It's gonna start off at three times a week and then go to five times a week.

Um so that'll really put us in in touch with the capital of Rome and then connecting the business and the culture of our cities together.

So we're very excited about that, and we would like to make a special mention to thank you to uh the mayor and and and to uh Ambassador Fertita that really helped us with uh securing that flight.

So very thankful on that.

Next slide, please.

Also, we're seeing an expansion uh internationally uh with Volaris.

Um so they are again starting with two new destinations for Valaris at the airport.

So again, very excited to continue to see uh more destinations uh and and again more competition on routes too offered um for the markets south of us.

Next slide, please.

Uh and then also United Airlines is going to be uh operating a couple additional uh markets for us.

So we're excited about this because again, these are send tend to be some of the smaller markets, and so uh it's exciting for us because it gives us nonstop market access to these markets, but then also particularly for those markets, it gives them access to Houston where they can really get business done.

And so we're very excited about being able to add these additional markets domestically.

Next slide, please.

Uh next slide.

So first quarter, um, a couple things that you know, since I visited you last, we've opened some new dining options at the airports.

Next slide.

Um, so importantly in terminal A, uh, we've got our new Simone Biles Taste of Gold restaurant that's opened, and also a jumba juice that we've opened in there.

So the the good thing about those two restaurants, they both offer a lot of healthy options.

Um so if you want to feel healthy walking through the airport, you've got some options now on terminal A.

Next slide, please.

Uh Terminal D, we opened the Velvet Taco.

Um, so that's the kind of last piece of that um food court that was over there.

This is my personal um kind of favorite over there.

So I spend a lot of time eating tacos over there because they're delicious.

Um next slide, please.

Uh now opened uh Chili's to go uh and sorry and the Chili's uh at Terminal E.

So once you pass through the main security checkpoint right now, that's there.

Um so that's the the new Chili's that's there, very popular.

That's happens to be next to the Chick-fil-A.

Uh that Chick-fil-A right now is on on pace to be the second busiest Chick-fil-A on the entire planet.

Um, so yeah, it's a it's quite popular over there.

Um next slide, please.

Uh and then Terminal E uh coming soon, which is good, is we're also gonna have a satellite chilies location in the arrivals hall there, and then a Starbucks, which is good for us because of the fact that our our at most airports land side concessions options options are limited.

Um, and this is gonna give us some landside options over there.

So, traditionally, right now today we've got our subway in terminal A and our touch of glass and Terminal A, and then also the Marriott Hotel are kind of the only options for for folks to eat if before security.

These new concepts will be in the new facility and give you some more options there, which is important too from the international terminal perspective because when international flights will arrive, usually everybody comes to meet grandma, so you get a lot more meter and greeter activity in there.

So this will be a great option for the folks that are coming there to meet international flights.

Next slide, please.

Uh exciting news for the airport system, also.

Uh, we recently uh SkyTracks was completed with our award ceremonies.

IAH was rated one of the top best dining uh airports in the world.

And then recently we had a kind of uh add-on to that where uh food and wine magazine named uh IAH one of the top uh 10 in the United States, too.

So a little bit of love from two different organizations on the dining program at IAH.

Next slide, please.

Um, at hobby, uh they are also doing very well.

Um so AXN, um that's the the industry's um trade group for concessions uh for airports.

Uh Hobby was named the best overall concessions program uh in the United States.

Next slide, please.

Um and then from a hobby perspective, we're also excited that we're gonna be opening two new uh local concepts pretty soon.

So this again prior to World Cup.

Uh we'll have the common bond opening up, and then also is the Landry Seafood.

Next slide, please.

Um so we've also again commissioned a brand new fire station there.

So next slide at uh IAH.

So this kind of shows you the facility here.

Um good thing, it's a nice new bright facility there for the firefighters.

Uh it also allows us to bring the the district chief that was there, um, was in the terminals, and so we actually got to be able to move the facility there and collate the co-locate them with the fire uh house, so they're a little closer to their their team, and uh again, a very nice facility for them.

Um very excited again.

We got this uh a lot of a large part of it grant funded from a federal perspective, so we're excited about that.

But it's a much nicer facility uh compared to the old one.

The old one was kind of original the airport, so it was nice to be able to get the firefighters out of there into this new facility.

Next slide, please.

Uh next slide, please.

So I'm gonna give you some ground transportation updates.

Um so again, uh we're very excited about Metro's uh non-stop service from IAH uh via the Metro 500.

Uh Metro has now expanded that operation from uh to also service hobby.

Um so now you have the ability to have hobby downtown nonstop and then also bush nonstop.

The bus actually runs between the two airports, so it happens, but every once in a while you'll find somebody up a bush that says, hey, where is Southwest Airlines?

And we say it's about 22 miles south of here.

Um and now we can give them an option to be able to take the bus to be able to make their flight.

And vice versa, you'll end up folks at hobby looking for United.

So you know this this but we're excited because it again really helps that the ability to get um the traveling public, um, you know, particularly tourists, and then also the conventiers right into downtown uh very quick and efficiently.

Next slide, please.

Uh one of the things again, when we when we take customer service feedback, um the the garage central garage at IH is it can be a little confusing.

It's actually three garages that are kind of you know been cobbled together cobbled together.

Um and so we are in the process right now of doing a complete sign upgrade in there so that it makes it much more clear for folks about where they're going and where they're parked.

Um and so we should have that hopefully completed by the end of June.

Um and that's again again one of the things that we see on our surveys, and hopefully that we'll be able to put that to rest.

Next slide, please.

Uh the subway tunnel.

So we're also gonna be doing some renovations of the Sunway subway tunnel.

Unfortunately, our subway tunnel did get a lot of press lately with the with the government shutdown and people happen to put people down there.

Uh, but we're gonna really spruce that up.

Um if we go to the next slide, please.

Um first off, we started with the cars.

Um so if you look on the left, you'll see kind of the cars have been you know used and abused.

Um and to the right, we've basically refurbished the interior of them.

So we've wrapped the interior, put new seats in there, and so they're much nicer.

Um and we're we're working to get all the car train sets um redone prior to FIFA uh rolling into town, so a much better experience on the on the cars themselves.

Next slide, please.

And then we're also uh later in the summer, probably or early fall, we'll be coming forward with a package uh for your approval to really upgrade the subway itself.

So you've got some pretty old carpet down there, and we want to give it a little bit more life down there.

So we're gonna be uh redoing the flooring in there and then also the the station.

So if we go to the next slide here, um each of our terminals kind of has a color code, and so we're working with the Houston flora and fauna to kind of define the the to match the color schemes in there to and then and bribe but uh and uh um brighten it up a little bit there.

And next slide, please.

And so that'll kind of show you what you know we would have down there and in the um subway, and so it's a much better environment when we can we can make it much uh look much nicer compared to what it is today with that dated carping uh carpeting.

Next slide, please.

Um so 33 million dollars has been approved by this council.

We thank you very much for it.

And the travelers really are gonna thank you for it for our uh restrooms that we're opening.

So as you can see, we've made some significant upgrades to the restrooms there, particularly that that the passengers like is that the stall doors now kind of go almost uh full length, and then again the seams are kind of sealed in there, so you don't have to worry about people peeking in there.

Um we've got a lot new facilities, and it's it's a thing.

I walk I walked into one and it's you know the old ones, people had toilet paper along the seams.

It's like it's it's uh it's a thing.

So these are much, much nicer over here.

They've also got this occupancy sensor too.

So if you know if somebody's in there or not, so you don't have to guess.

Um and then again, a lot of amenities in the in there, and particularly in the women's room, we've got our ant flow products um and stations in there and new hand washes, it's just much nicer.

And and I fortunately we probably should have put a before picture on here because they're pretty bad.

But um uh this is we're very excited.

Next slide, please.

Um, so again, with that project, um, Terminal A, we're in the process.

Actually, I'm very excited on Friday.

We're gonna open our first setup on the on the concourse level for passengers.

So uh that's over by where Delta Airlines is on Friday, those will be opening up, and then we're gonna open a set uh by the American Airlines, like about a week later, um, and and then uh getting the baggage claim ones by uh FIFA.

And then getting the baggage claim ones by FIFA.

And then Terminal D, we've already completed one set.

We've got another set under under construction hobby.

Again, we've completed two sets there.

We've got another that's under construction right now.

And then Terminal E.

So again, United Airlines, they control the restrooms in their build, sorry, their terminals, so that's C and E.

And so they are starting their process of re-updry upgrading when so again, United's Terminal E is currently under construction, and they're telling me that they'll have that open sometime right around FIFA time.

So very excited to be able to get new restrooms for the folks at the airports.

Next slide, please.

We'll go next slide.

So operational challenges.

So I just want to thank you because I think the last time I was here, I was about you guys got me out of here early because I had to run back to the airport because we were having that freeze in January.

And so just very proud of the team on how far um and how well they performed during that event.

Um but unfortunately we've been testing our team a little bit too much for my liking.

Uh we go to the next slide, please.

Um, you know, we had that uh government shutdown, and from a hobby perspective, that kind of the hobby team really responded very well to be able to to handle that situation because it popped up pretty quickly.

Um and in day one and day two look completely different.

You know, day one we handled it.

Uh, we've made some changes at nighttime, and then by day two, it was a much better experience for folks.

Um and it kind of decongested the terminal itself.

Uh next slide, please.

Um from a Bush perspective, again, uh great having that new facility to be able to spread people out, but unfortunately, we had to put people in the tunnel and we had to put people outside.

We tried to again minimize that to the best that we could, but uh again, from a from a TSA capacity perspective, the math just does didn't work at that point.

We had um, you know, we just didn't have the we had spring break loads with with you know less than 50% of our TSA lanes open, and that that just didn't work for us.

Uh next slide, please.

Uh but we did do our best to help the TSA because they are in a they were in a really bad situation because that was the second time within about four months that they hadn't been paid um you know for three pay periods, and so that's just you know, it's just not uh very good situation for the TSA workers.

So we did again help them with um, you know, the food bank was out there to help them.

Um the charity for the airport was there to help them with food and gas.

Uh if you look at that photo right there in the center bottom, you will see uh council member uh Flickinger there after he completed his race, and then count Councilmember Alkorn after she completed her race where we raised uh over $30,000 for the charity.

And congratulations, you came in second for your age group.

Um, there was more than two of you, so don't take take your take your pride.

So very proud of that.

Next slide, please.

Uh so 2026 World Cup, so I just want to give you a little heads up what we're looking at here.

So if we go to the next slide, this is kind of um we've we're very excited to have kind of our integrated coordination center.

It's a project that we've been working on for quite some time.

We got it, we got to exercise it very well during the the government shutdown.

Um but this basically brings a lot of the airport work groups together.

Um traditionally we had the airport operations center, and it was kind of in at the basement of Terminal A, and they would kind of do their thing, but um this now is a nuke center where the operations center is now coordinated, and they are sitting next to gate control, which is sitting next to maintenance management, which is sitting next to our terminal operations group, which is in the same room with HPD in the same room with the TSA operations center there.

So bringing a lot of those organizations together to be able to work that and so that's gonna help us from a World Cup perspective, be able to tactically manage the airports better.

Next slide, please.

Um again, we're building we've been building excitement for the World Cup uh at the airport with some of our activations that are currently going on.

So the left we've seen the the foosball tables, um, we've got some of the materials in there, we've been marketing because again, our goal is to try and get people to stay in Houston and then fly out to go see games at other places because we'd like to you know again host them here.

And on the right, you'll kind of see some of the activations that our maintenance team themselves are building, so that when folks show up here, we can give them a little welcome and they'll be able to take the kind of obligatory photos of when they arrive in Houston to be able to experience World Cup.

Next slide.

So this is kind of really what we're we're focusing on.

This is the the kind of our calendar of what's happening at the airport.

And so we've already kind of mapped out our peak inbound days, our peak outbound days, um, the match days that we've got.

We've we're we're overlaid with two holidays there with the 4th of July and Juneteenth, so a lot of coordination is going on over there, and then we've got these potential playoff games where we're gonna see you know an added influx of folks because of the fact that we'll definitely see the folks that are coming to the game, but then you'll have the general fan that may come into town just to experience it.

And you've got some pretty big big markets that are potentially on there.

So you've got the uh Brazil, the Netherlands, Japan, um, we've got flights to all those markets, so it's easy for those folks to be able to get here, and then you've got Canada and Mexico potentially on there.

So again, another big fan base potential with where we have nonstop flights too.

Next slide.

Um, but one of the other things that we as the airport are concerned about too is is that we have we don't have one World Cup, we have two.

Um so we have the World Cup that is happening in Houston, and then we've got the World the Cup that's happening through Houston.

And because of the fact that we've got three major destinations down in Mexico that are hosting games, and then you've got all the Latin American teams and Caribbean teams that are there.

A lot of people may flow through our airports on days when they're going between markets, and so we have to be prepared for not only what's happening in Houston, but what's happening potentially through Houston.

Next slide, please.

Um one of the good things that we've got right now is we've been working it and we are uh very happy with with the with the results.

Um as we did it did uh earlier this uh couple months ago roll out enhanced passenger processing with the CBP folks.

And what that is is that CBP has a process now where it takes the biometrics off of your passport, and we use uh CBP officers are using these kiosks to clear you.

Um so you don't have to go to the desk anymore.

You'll kind of basically walk to these kiosks in if your biometrics match match.

Um CBP officers have the option to interview if you you if you do if if they if they so choose, but if not, they're generally you get a green light and you'll just continue on your journey.

Um and so with that, we're we're processing, and this is only open right now to US um citizens, um, but that's processing folks a lot faster.

And then that frees up resources to be able to help more foreigners um as they get run through the airport.

Uh and then again, that's in complement to our existing suite of of enhancements there.

So we do have mobile passport and we do have global entry at the airport.

So again, it's a way for us to kind of speed people through the customs process the best that we can.

Next slide, please.

Um I'm gonna give you some major construction projects updates.

So if we go to the next slide, uh the West Concourse at Hobby is really coming together.

Next slide.

Um, so I've got a little video here.

Um, so we'll play the video and I'll talk over it.

So this is the West Concourse as you can see.

It's making significant progress right now.

You can see a lot of the windows and glazing are in.

Um you can see the large concrete, so they're they're paving a lot of the ramp over there.

Um, and then again, just a reminder this is gonna be again a seven-gate expansion to that concourse uh with those seven gates.

Again, and we're gonna get uh six of them are kind of dedicated to Southwest Airlines operations, and we've got one of them that are reserved as a city gate that we can uh market to other airlines, and then we're also getting it makes uh hobby an additional uh international gate capable there.

Um so again, making very good progress on there.

But the good thing is we'll get that glassed in and then the interior work uh can move.

The photos right now you'll see is that um connector between the garage and the terminal is is basically in where they've got to do a lot of the fine finishing there, and that tent right there is covering the area where we're putting the skylights in that are gonna get into the baggage claim there.

So a lot of progress being made down at hobby.

Again, we've got new restrooms in the in the in the um baggage hall, new baggage claims are starting to go in there, so so we're making a lot of progress at hobby.

Next slide, please.

Uh Terminal AB.

So uh next slide, please.

Um, we're starting to see a lot of the the construction there kind of starting to finish on the outside and move more to the inside.

So you'll see uh again the United has the signs out there.

They are opening the fall, uh fall of this year, so it's uh coming up pretty quick.

Um and they're they're committing to it by putting it on the windows there.

So next slide, please.

Um so this is just kind of a quick little snapshot uh of basically what happened in two years.

Um so you can see that they basically tore down terminal B.

Um and now you see those big white piers that are out there.

You'll actually see they've got jet bright jet bridges hung on them.

Um so again, making a lot of progress.

It's a little harder to make out on the top, but you can see that the processor itself, the building, the ticket hall, um, is also expanded out there, and we've got a lot of the roadway canopy being built over that right now.

So um a lot of construction progress.

The great thing about this is that we've had very little interaction uh between the the construction and anything that a passenger would experience, though.

From a con you know, again, traffic-wise, the traffic flows there.

Um so again, it's a it's a great project where we're getting it done and we're not really impacting anybody.

Um so we're we're excited about that because nobody's calling me about it.

Thanks.

Um so next slide, please.

Um again, just some photos here.

Again, you can see that large canopy that's gonna extend over the roadway systems there.

And then the photo on the right, that is the entrance to the world's largest United Club that they're building there.

Um so the people are very excited about that.

It's gonna have great views in it.

It can be very popular.

Next slide, please.

Um, iTrip just want to give you a little uh you know, kind of refresh on that because we're closing that off so that again if we all remember the the whole uh entirety of that project, it was the the D West Pier, it was the refresh of the existing D, it was the processor, and then it was the garage expansion.

Um so next slide, please.

Um just you know, D West Pier, we've been living in that since October in 2024.

It still looks good.

Passengers still love it.

I think again, a lot of the folks really come in there and they see that that's a really world-class experience when they when they get off a plane, particularly the international folks.

It it looks like a really um one of those high-class international airports that we're always compared to.

Next slide, please.

Uh again, we're very excited because also it gave us the curb capacity to make the traffic disappear.

And so very excited that you know, again, we systematically, you know, open that building in phases.

Uh, because again, our discussions originally with the mayor was like he wanted us to solve the traffic at the airport and get the bathrooms done.

And so we're we're the bathrooms are in the process of being done, but the traffic was one of those things that we instead of having a building closed for quite long time and then do some grand ribbon cutting at one point, we're like, no, no, no, we need to get the pieces open as quickly as possible to solve that.

So um that has made a significant intro in impact on the passenger experience there from helping us solve the traffic.

Next slide, please.

E-ticketing lobby.

So again, very excited to have that open.

And you know, United was in there as of uh January 2025.

So again, help that help decongest C.

Um, so but uh very excited to have that opened and it's been you know again looking very good.

Next slide, please.

And then the baggage handling system.

So that was the kind of the last piece in there that is up and running, and it's been running fantastic.

So we're very happy about that.

Uh but it's very complex if you go in that building, the amount of stuff that you look at that's going on in there.

Um, you can understand why it takes a little while to build baggage systems.

Next slide, please.

Um, foreign flag carriers now are starting to move in there.

We're almost complete with that.

Actually, British Airways uh moved into the building today.

Um so very excited to have you know multiple airlines in there.

We've just basically got the uh two Middle East carriers that need to remain that to go over there, and then also the Canadian Airlines are gonna be moving to the building very shortly, too.

So um, but you know, getting a lot of good positive feedback from the the traveling public on it.

Next slide, please.

Uh they're very excited too about uh we've added a lot of technology in there, so a lot of the self-service kiosks um have been very popular with the traveling public to be able to just go in there and get their ticketing done instead of trying to have it to wait in lines um to see the desk agent.

Next slide, please.

And with that, you know, the great thing is we actually did get substantial completion on the building on March 10th.

Um so we're very excited about having that milestone.

But from a council action perspective, just FYI, we will be asking for a little bit of additional money for the executive program management program and the PMSS support.

So that's the architects engineers, because of the fact that we've got to continue with you know completing the warranty items, our punch list items that we're completing for their um closeout wise.

We've got to close out the contracts of all the contractors that are there.

Um we've got to do document transportation, you know, from the contractors into our systems.

Um we've got to close out our MBEWBE uh MWE paperwork, and then we've got a transition to the to the new um EPM.

So it's again it's a much smaller request because of the fact that there's you know, we're basically done with the construction work, um, but there's a lot of back of the house paperwork stuff that we're gonna have to still complete.

Next slide, please.

Um and then also for an upcoming council action uh to kind of mirror that um the executive program management pro um the way that it worked actually was very successful for that project, and because of the fact that we've got a significant amount of capital program to continue to go forward, we are gonna have uh continue with a new executive program management program.

Um and so that's gonna you know cover the the remainder of the terminal B expansion.

Uh again, we're working with the airlines and a terminal A project.

Um our central utility plant is getting upgraded and we're in the middle of that.

Uh we've just kicked off the Skyway uh re refresh.

Um we're working on the subway and then also the finishing up of the Hobby West Concourse.

So we've got a lot of major projects, and we need to have that expertise to be able to help us just make sure we manage all the projects correctly.

Next slide, please.

Um we also are gonna be bringing before you uh a pro uh a program that we're gonna work with United Airlines to help us complete um on additional capital improvements for IAH to match some of the growth.

So next slide, please.

And so it's a MOA that will be coming for you.

Um so if we remember back when we did the United Airlines project originally, we were asking for a little over 600 million dollars to work on it with United's budget for the enabling projects for that that terminal.

Um with that, we're not gonna use the full 600 million and change.

And so what we want to do is take some of that money um and bring it back to be able to do new projects, uh, and then we're gonna add a little extra.

So we're gonna cap it at 229 million.

Um, but again, we're gonna be using up to 150 million of that 600 million that we originally told you about.

Um, and that's gonna be able to do um again aircraft holding uh improvements at the airport, um, our remote employee parking lot, um, some stormwater detention work that we need to do there, um, A B garage entrance, our north terminal road.

We've got some utility work that we need to do there.

We've got to expand the checkpoints for vehicles inside the airport and then the terminal C pedestrian bridge.

And so I I put a couple of the higher level projects on here on the next slides, just so I can kind of explain it to you.

So this is our hold pad that we're going to do.

So it's over by the car cargo complex.

And so when we've got um thunderstorms in the area, um right now we're holding airplanes on the active you know, taxiways.

And so this is gonna give us the ability to hold aircraft in its own major holding pad, and that allows the the traffic to move much better on the airfield.

Um we also have this problem when Dallas has problems or Austin has problems or San Antonio has problems, we'll get a lot of those planes will divert to our airport, and so we may have sunshine and blue skies.

But if Dallas has thunderstorms, we get a bunch of their planes that come down here, and now this will give us a place to park those planes out of the way of and keep our operation running versus uh getting you know clogging up the taxiways here.

Uh and then at nighttime it'll allow us to park additional narrow body airplanes there for overnight parking.

Uh we are also gonna be doing a airport uh employee terminal employee parking lot expansion, and so what that's gonna do is allow us to free up uh well, it's gonna create about 80, 8100 additional spaces for employee parking at the airport to continue with our growth.

Uh, but then it's also going to free up new parking spots in the terminals that are currently uh and also the remote lot that are currently being used by employees.

So that's about a little over 6,000 spots that basically get freed up for the general public by opening this uh new employee consolidated employee lot.

So it's important for us as we continue to grow.

Next slide, please.

Uh and then the A B garage.

Um, the A B garage itself right now currently has two entrances uh two entrance lanes, and then with the terminal B opening over there, um, we want to make sure that we can get people in the garage and not clog the roadway.

And so it will be going from two lanes to four lanes of entrance that we can get people into the garage much quicker.

Next slide, please.

Um, passenger feedback.

So a couple councils ago, you guys uh voted for our uh ASQ.

Um so that's air service quality.

That's um our airport trade group, uh ACI does this survey at multiple airports, and so we have some data here we'd like to share with you.

So next slide, please.

Um, so this is uh our general over set uh overall satisfaction at both airports.

So we do intercept surveys with customers that are in the terminals uh at different terminals, different locations, different um, you know, where they're arriving, where they're departing, and we consolidate that all over all the things that we've asked.

We kind of boil it down into these benchmarks.

And you can see um on the left is IAH, and obviously the the bad times there, uh, you know, it was it was that was when our traffic was at its worst, and obviously that leaves a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth.

Um, but we've been working on on improving a lot of things, and you can see that we've really risen the airport up to where we were where we're in the with our benchmarks, and the benchmarks are the other peer large airports um because large airports are a little different um animal than the medium-size hub uh airports.

And if you look at from a hobby perspective, uh very similar situation there.

So with the improvements that we've been focused on and making in there, we're we're at you know, uh with our our peers again.

So uh, but you can see also the improvement that we've made um in the experience at both airports is is significant here.

Next slide, please.

Uh again, this is just uh kind of a of the the things that we just spoke about on the overall ones.

We can drill down into the actual like individual segments of that.

And so this is just the airport arrival experience, and it kind of shows you the difference that we've got here about when traffic was terrible and what that did to the airport from a reputation and a and a feel perspective.

And now that we've kind of uh solved that, um, we've really increased that and really, you know, again, the passengers are really uh appreciating the fact that we've gotten that and that that that craziness on the roads at the airport is not an expectation anymore.

It's kind of uh it's a it's uh it's the no normal traffic is the kind of thing that people should expect now.

If you want to go next slide, please.

Um and then again, this kind of just highlights, you know, not only do we get the the feedback from the passengers, but we've got the technical data here.

And so the technical data, this is how we monitor the roadway traffic on a daily basis, and it kind of just shows you that when we were in our peak of our construction woes um to where we are now, our severe traffic is down 99%.

Um so we don't have severe traffic at the airport unless we have basically a traffic accident or a thunderstorm parks over the airport for you know a couple hours uh you know, or it's crazy peak holiday period.

But in general, severe traffic has been reduced 99 percent, heavy traffic's down 92 percent, and our moderate traffic's down almost 80 percent there.

So, you know, again, very excited about the traffic improvements there.

And then the restrooms, we always monitor the restrooms.

We've got the the smiley face, frowny face there.

And and from Bush perspective, again, we've got some of those old restaurants and those old restrooms, and those old restrooms do not score in the 92.

Uh but when we open new ones, we get a lot of positive on that, and so that really drives that number up a lot.

And so we're very excited about the ability to open new restrooms at Bush uh again Friday, and then the following week, it's it's gonna make the travel experience much better there.

Next slide, please.

Um and then from a parking perspective, you know, we get uh feedback on the parking operation there.

So uh we've added 36 new shuttles there, so we're very excited about that.

They've been up and running with those shuttles come now a new GPS system that that tracks where the the shuttle bus is, and now we have that map there, so you know about how much time it's gonna take before the shuttle bus shows there.

And then on the bottom left, you'll kind of see the reservations traffic.

So again, we always talk about the fact that we message and message and messages about making reservations at the airport, and you can see that our numbers continue to go up and up and up and up and up.

Um and the fact that the reservations are becoming very, very popular.

And we've also added the um we've dropped the 12-hour uh reservations window down to two hours now.

So that's a uh recent addition.

Next slide, please.

And that helps us again on our post-parking survey.

So for the folks that park with us, we send them uh an email and and then they'll respond to us.

Uh again, it's a significant amount of responses that we get, and we've had a really good response uh from a parking perspective, and that's based on two things.

Um, number one, it was the fixing the traffic, so you don't get trapped in the garage anymore.

And then number two is is that uh the council funded us with a new parking system at um at both airports and that new parking system with the um the barcode readers and the fancy license plate readers and the ability to use Apple Pay and all the advancements that they're um we've uh it's been able to get people in and out of the facility very quickly.

And so we've had a significant if you know these are our NPS scores.

Um and so if you look at that now, and particularly the CDE garage in Bush, um that is a you know net 30 positive right now.

That used to be negative.

Um and so you'd never want to have a negative NPS if you can.

And so we're very excited about the fact that by solving the traffic and then putting in the new systems in there, we've really increased the the satisfaction of parking at the airport.

And once we're done with the signage, we're anticipating that that's that number is gonna continue to go north.

Next slide, please.

Uh and then I'm very excited, it's kind of got lost in the whole government shutdown.

Um but when we were at Sky, you know, the SkyTracks Awards were announced.

Um Hobby Airport was chosen by passengers through the SkyTracks rating system as the cleanest airport in North America.

So we're very excited and very proud of the team at Hobby.

Um that's a great accomplishment.

I told them when I met with them, it's like you're essentially the national champions.

And we know how hard it works, whether it's basketball or football or wherever you're trying to win a national championship, it's a lot of work.

Um and so our hobby team is the national champions there, so we're very excited for them and very proud of them.

So next slide, please.

Um that's my kind of prepared remarks, so I'm always ready to take questions uh from the folks.

Thank you.

And uh Council Ramair has joined us and is also in the queue.

Councilman.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Chair.

And Jim, I I walked in in the middle of this, so I apologize for that.

But I do want to um uh commend you guys for participating in the human trafficking event yesterday.

Uh huge problem uh everywhere, but in especially here in Houston.

So I'm glad the airport is aware of that and taking steps to to do what we can to to prevent that from happening.

So thank you.

Uh I just uh quick question about the age of the fleet, uh the parking shuttles there at the airport that have been replaced.

I'm just curious to know uh how how long we used those before we replace them, if you know.

Yeah, I don't off the top of my head, um, but we couldn't get that into answered if you need it.

But they they they were a little bit worn down.

They weren't they weren't in terrible shape, but they weren't, you know, the the the the new ones look much better, um, you know, and then obviously having the GPS technology in there to be able to track them is a is a much bigger enhancement for us.

What happens to the old ones?

Do we sell them and get some?

So we're gonna salvage salvage some of them, and then some of them we're actually gonna use for our own airport um functions.

So we'll we'll strip them of the stickers and and those and be able to use them to shuttle employees around, or sometimes we do tours and those kind of things.

So we'll we'll repurpose some of them and then some of them will salvage.

And and again, I apologize for walking in late, but uh you discussed a new parking parking lot for employees.

What are the current arrangements and how are they changing with the new So we have a collection we have a uh there's a uh it's a mishmash of employee parking all over the place.

Um and then we actually have some of the employees that are parked in the garage, and that's a legacy of you know uh COVID 9-11, so passengers weren't showing up and parking, and so decisions were made to allow employees to park there, and then traffic returned and they were never removed from the central core.

And by the time it was time to remove them, like we had no place to put them.

Um and then also we have some uh group of folks that are parked in our economy lot, and so by building this new lot, this gives it gets them into a consolidated area where we can put this one uh airport bus uh and then be able to again reclaim those uh parking spots for the general public.

And and has the overall number of employee spots changed as it increased or there's gonna be an increase there.

Right now we've got uh about six thousand employees that are kind of spots that are dedicated to that, and we'll we'll be going up to 8100 um in the new lot, so there's about a 2,000 additional parking spots in that that lot.

And is that parking free for employees?

Uh it's not free, but it we we charge a de minimis amount on a monthly basis for the employees to park there.

Okay.

Thank you.

That's all I've got.

Councilwoman Alcorn.

When did you say the hobby will be done, the new gates?

So uh for the the the expansion?

Yep.

So right now we're putting putting it in the first half of 2027.

Okay.

And is there are there going to be concessions there too?

Uh yes.

Is that going to be a different package or just existing existing ones will just expand into there?

Correct, yes.

Okay.

Okay.

And on the employee parking thing, is that just um airport employees, or is it like United Employees and airline's employees?

So it'll be it'll be airline employees, it will be concessionaires, it will be some of the ground handlers, it will be, you know, it's it's a mix of everybody there.

I flew into D, I don't know, a few weeks ago.

God, it looks great.

It just looks great.

You all have done amazing work out there.

It's gonna be so nice.

Yeah.

No, it's uh it's uh yeah, it's uh it it puts us on par with a lot of those internet.

You know, like if you ever been to like these fancy airports in in Asia, those kind of places, D would fit right in at those places.

It's definitely very nice.

Well, thanks for everything you can get out there.

Staff from Councilwoman Salinas.

Excuse me.

Uh good afternoon, direct.

I want to make sure I get your name right.

Is it Director Cessnia?

Correct.

All right, Direct Pattern on the first drive.

I thought it was Smith.

So not Smith.

Well, I uh you know I do my Smith joke and and you know uh that but I I would he's new, so I don't want to pull this bit.

But it is one of those things that keep the telemarketers away.

They don't call it.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Uh well Director Sesniak, I wanted to circle back uh to something that you were telling us about earlier with the FIFA uh preparations um in regards to making travel a little bit more efficient uh for international arrivals.

Um earlier you mentioned the devices that scan for the biometric data and then matches it with people's uh passports.

Uh my question for you on that one is do you know the name of the entity or the contractor that we're working with for who is providing those devices?

So it's it's um it's customs and border protections product, so uh I we'd have to get it from federal.

Yes, right, right.

Yeah.

So so yeah, we as the airport generally don't we I think we you know that that's a customs and border protection kind of project.

So it might be their own internal uh IT that's the kind of the guts of it, um, but not necessarily anything that the airport would be controlling.

I understood, I understood.

I just had some questions about whether or not that biometric data is actually being stored and for how long it's being stored.

So uh those are questions that I can kind of.

I know that they have that data on their, I think on their website that explains it.

And if I remember correctly, um it is one of those things that it's at like a one-time, you know, like it matches your passport with your biometrics, and then after that it kind of forgets about you because it's it's got the you know they customs knows who is supposed to be coming in that day, and so that it knows okay, I'm expecting Joe blow and Joe shows up and it's like all right, checked it, yep, he's good, and then it it kind of disappears.

But um, that's how that's you know, kind of I think uh pr presented to work.

That is uh thank you so much.

That's all I had on my side.

Thank you.

Director, I got a couple uh comments more than anything.

Um first of all, thank you for the job y'all did uh during the issues with the TSA agents not getting paid.

Uh sorry that that problem was dumped in your lap and has not of your making and you're the ones that had to deal with it.

And just really appreciate everything you did with that to try and get it through.

Uh I recently went through hobby and uh I actually saw the lights on the bathroom that you were talking to.

I'd never seen those before and wasn't sure those were new, and I just you know, or whether I just missed them before or or whatever, that was kind of interesting.

Uh I also saw where uh in the area like between the uh terminals in hobby or the the the wings, I guess.

Um there was some large chairs uh that looked very comfortable.

And that was really nice.

Uh also saw a bunch of new art that was in there that looked really great as well, some large paintings.

So I I thought the whole experience at Hobby was was very good.

Well, it's your five-star airport.

So I I thought you've done a great job and just wanted to thank you on it.

So thank you very much, sir.

And I think with that, we've got uh lost my place here.

Um managing principal at Halls Hill.

May I Mike on the United States?

You'll be presenting on the Southwest Redevelopment Authority, TURS 20's Club Creek Park in Vietnam Memorial, winner of ULI.

Houston's development of distinction awards.

Yes, good afternoon, Council Members, staff.

Nina Megan, I'm representing the board of directors today for um Tours 20, um Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority.

And we wanted to come with you this afternoon to share uh one of I will say our Crown Jewel projects and a project that we're really proud of, and just wanted to share with you all today.

Tours 20, for those of you that don't know, is Southwest Houston, um centered around I would say the Sharpstown area.

And we've been doing a lot of uh wonderful infrastructure projects over the years.

We always say that we're sort of the meats and potatoes.

We've been doing a lot of drainage, roadway, um, sidewalk, concrete panel replacements.

But today we want to share a project that I know that is really the board's favorite um project that we've been working on.

Like I said, we call it the Crown Jewel, and it's Club Creek Park and Basin.

And this was a piece of land, 14 acres, that we bought um over 10 years ago, and it was meant to be for drainage for City of Houston Roadway projects.

It was just going to be a hole in the ground, it was bought along Brays Bayou.

Um, and it turned into over the years something so much more and something really special for the community.

We were able to multipurpose this site into a wonderful community asset that I'm gonna share with you today that serves as active and passive recreation opportunities and so much more.

What really makes this special is the area that it's located in.

This is in one of the most densely areas of Houston.

It is very underserved.

In fact, 70% of the residents in the area live in apartments.

They don't have the privilege of having a backyard or green space.

This site is actually surrounded by apartments.

So what we were able to do beyond just the infrastructure in bringing um recreation, a green space, a place to connect for this community, um, was really just a pretty amazing um concept and idea, and it was really amazing for this community and for what this board was able to do.

Next slide.

So we weren't the only ones that were really proud of this project this past year.

We got a lot of attention.

Um we won ULI's Distinction Awards for green space this past year, and what was even more important and truly special was winning the People's Choice Award because that wasn't just about open space.

It was we were competing against all projects in all categories, and to win that award, I know our board chairman felt like he won the Oscars that night.

So we were really excited.

We were also recognized this past year by HGAC for their open space awards in that category.

So we got a lot of attention, including national attention on this project.

Um next slide.

So just at a high level, I wanted to kind of explain some of the key concepts of it.

Um there's 120 acre feet of detention, um, which was a lot more than we actually needed for those projects.

So we started to be more forward thinking of what could we need, and we still have over half of that capacity is still available for future projects to serve detention in the area.

But when we first bought this land, it was really like I said, it was going to be just a hole in the ground.

And as that board at that time, and in particular the board chair, we sat around and we said we've got this opportunity.

This is a long Brays Bayou, and it's where Bissinette and 59 kind of intersect along Club Creek Drive.

He said, We've got this opportunity to do something a little more special.

So we thought let's amenitize it as other people do with their detention, and it was just gonna be more of a natural area.

But what ended up happening is we ended up not only amenitizing it with detention, we added a park in coordination with Houston Parks and Recreation Department.

We added a Vietnam Memorial, and we were also able to connect this to the Bray Um along Brays Bayou to the Greenways Bayou system.

Next slide.

So I'm gonna go in a little more details by sharing some of these pictures and outline of some of the amenities of how we got there.

So originally, 14-acre site, it was really just gonna be natural areas with a trail.

And it does have the 1.5 mile trail around it.

As we started to look at it, you can see in the uh diagram, you can see Brays Bayou and the Greenway, the Bayou Greenway was actually going to go on the north side of that trail, um, north side of the bayou.

The trail was actually programmed there by um parks board.

So one of the first things we did is if we're gonna build this park and amenitize this area and serve all these residents in the communities.

We did go to the parks board and ask them to move that trail to the south part of the bayou, which they did so that our trail could connect into them and they would have access to the greater Houston Trail system and other destinations in Houston.

We also started looking at amenities and and looking at how we could um put passive and active recreation opportunities here.

We did add some parking, but like I said, this really serves the community.

This is surrounded by hundreds of apartments and people in apartments.

So they really are walking and coming to use this as their backyard and their place to connect.

So Meditize we wanted the water.

Everybody wanted the water instead of a dry pond, and to menatize that.

Next slide.

You can go in to see that we wanted natural areas to be very prominent.

So there are meadows, there are wetlands that were been restored.

There's lower and upper basins.

It truly is a natural area and trails that meander throughout.

There's bird watching.

There's signage, again, a very diverse area.

It's interactive.

All the signage is actually in four languages to accommodate the community around there.

So it is a very peaceful and serene area.

As we started to develop the design, the design was developed over two years.

We also wanted to add some active components.

And if you go to the next slide.

So we were able to add all these features.

There was security lighting throughout as well, so it could be very secure.

And then in 2018, um the parks department realized that this was well didn't just realize, they always knew that this was a park desert and it was a very underserved area.

So they partnered with us and contributed funds to let's build a park and playground for the community.

So next slide.

So we were able to put in a playground.

We were able to put in shade structures and benches, picnic tables, a water fountain, and create a park there that was opened in 2021 in partnership with them.

As we were finishing up this design, um District J came to us with another idea, and that was building a Vietnam veterans memorial at this site to honor those that had served.

Next slide.

So that was the last component that we did add on to this was the memorial, which is beautiful if you've not been out there.

It's got the names etched in the black stone of all those that served.

It also has a beautiful welcome home sign.

And this has really served as a place where we can honor them, reflect, and honor that history.

It's also served as a place for events as well.

So this was the last component that really combined this entire park together.

And I will say we garnered it was a little hidden gem again in between all these um neighborhoods and uh apartment complexes is a hidden gem there, but it garnered a lot of attention.

Um it was so well used and so well needed that there was a point in time where we could actually not keep up with the trash pickup.

We were hauling off tons of trash because people were coming out there to use it to have their festivals to picnic, and and it was just it was amazing, but it was it was a lot.

It was it was definitely a need, and you could see that need.

I will say I was personally there when I got to tour with the ULI judges, and these were three real estate um folks that came from across the country, and actually one came from Canada.

And to see their faces when they heard the story when they drove through the area to see what this actually did.

I probably could not have picked a better day to tour them.

It was a perfect 70 degrees in Houston, no humidity.

But when we got to the park, it was in the early evenings, and there were families in the playground picnicking with her friends and other family members.

There was adults running the trails, adolescents on the workstations, there were some elderly folks bird watching by the lower basin.

It was pretty amazing, and we toured and they walked the whole park to see how this community utilizes it and what we were able to do with an infrastructure project that turned into a true community place.

And it we always say it was a park by the people for the people.

And it was amazing to see how we could turn infrastructure into connectivity, placemaking, passive and active recreation for generations and give folks not only protect them from flooding, but give them a place to gather and connect and come together.

So it was it was it was really amazing to see that and the awards reflect that.

Next slide.

We had worked with flood control.

We got 1.5 million dollars from flood control to help with the project.

We also, City of Houston contributed, both District J for the Vietnam Memorial and the Parks Department for creating that park.

So it was a combination of all this effort and then working with the community and our partners to create this wonderful gem and hidden gem.

And if you haven't gone out there, I would highly recommend everyone to go see it.

Um it is really beautiful.

These pictures don't do justice, but it is a really great example of what the TERS was able to do in partnership and leveraging funds and what they were able to do with a little bit of innovation and creativity to multi-purpose this site and create something special for Houston and that community surrounding it.

Thank you.

Councilman Mayors.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, uh Nina, for the presentation and for your work on this and the work that Hawes Hill did.

Curious to know the property use before this uh this project.

It was vacant.

It was vacant.

Yes.

Yes.

So we bought it back in 2015 for about 1.6 million because we knew we had to um support some city of Houston uh roadway projects.

So it was vacant and it was really just meant to be a hole in the ground.

Yeah.

Okay.

So uh was it anything was anything on the land before it was uh no as far back as we can remember then?

Yes, as far as back as when we had it.

Yes, yeah.

Got it, got it.

And um, is it or was it in a flood zone?

So yes, it was right along Bray's Bayou.

Uh huh.

Yeah, so it is right on the bayou.

All right, and so this will obviously help.

Yes.

Yes, and detention was beyond like 120 acre feet is a lot of detention.

So we sort of forward thinking, it was beyond what was even needed at that time, um, because there were some city of Houston roadway projects, and there was a certain amount of detention that was needed.

That was the original purpose, but as it's evolved, it was like let's be forward thinking, and it's got more detention um than that was needed to serve those projects that we could utilize to you for future projects.

Right.

I've been out there a few times, and it is huge.

And I think you did say there's there's room for uh uh other things as well.

Yes, this is and and this plan evolved over time, and it was really gonna just be a natural area with the trails, but yes, I mean you've seen it, there's plenty of room if there was additional amenities that needed to be added on.

Right.

And um, I was at the Vietnam Memorial recently, and uh it is really really nice.

So uh uh great addition to that uh that area.

Anyway, thank you again for your work.

Thank you.

Okay, uh we have one speaker that signed up and uh they have two minutes to speak.

Um and if uh they're on virtually hit star six to unmute.

But now chair recognizes Mo Sen Abbas.

Have two minutes.

Okay.

Uh with that, before we adjourn, I would like to let everyone know the next scheduled economic development committee meeting is to be determined due to the budget workshop schedule.

If you're interested in receiving information on the economic development committee meetings, please contact the district K office at District K at Houston TX.gov.

Uh the time is 3.08, and we are now adjourned.

I'm sorry.

Yes.

One one minute.

No, please, I'm sorry.

Um, um, so I have been coming here uh to these meetings uh for the whole year.

If you could check your name for the record, please sir.

Uh my name is Gerardo Vejrano.

Um I just wanted to take a brief moment.

Uh I wrote this uh uh brief um these words to recognize the work that you guys are doing.

I have uh worked and invested almost my whole life in another country.

And since I have been working and investing here in the city of Houston, talking and and doing um back and forth uh ideas with Mr.

Busker, who's who's right here.

Now I understand why this is the greatest economy in the world.

So I mean you guys for all your hard work with your commitment, you're making the city and this community better every day.

And I just feel blessed to be here to contribute and really to to provide value to the city.

And uh I just want to ask you guys uh just uh uh one thing.

So today on your way home, please just feel proud and be grateful uh for the country, the city, and the place that you all with with your hard work and your dedication are building and and have earned.

Really believe me, and and I can say from from my own experience, it's not the same in in other parts of the world.

So I just uh congratulations also to Mayor Woodmore and everyone in his office, and really you're uh an amazing group of people and well I just um feel blessed to be here uh providing value and and to try to to to keep investing here.

So thank you for your valuable time.

Thank you for the kind words.

No, sir.

Thank you guys.

And and uh with that, we are now adjourned.