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Record of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Special Session - September 3, 2026: Midtown TIRZ Board Composition Amendments

City Council — Thursday, September 3, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, September 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:57

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Let's go.

0:21

That's good.

0:24

Satisfaction.

0:27

Good life to the chat of body but a battery.

0:34

I've been opened and so the best by it makes me.

0:52

Good afternoon.

0:53

The time is 12.05 p.m.

0:55

on Thursday, September 3rd, 2026, and the City of San Antonio special session is called to order.

1:00

Madam Clerk, please call roll.

1:03

Councilmember Corps.

1:05

Councilmember McKee Rodriguez.

1:07

Present.

1:08

Councilmember Vietnam.

1:10

Councilmember Mungia.

1:12

Councilmember Castillo.

1:13

Here.

1:13

Councilmember Galvane.

1:15

Councilmember Alderete Gavito.

1:17

Here.

1:18

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

1:20

Councilmember Spears.

1:22

Councilmember White.

1:23

Mayor Jones.

1:24

Here.

1:25

Mayor we have corn.

1:26

Great, thank you.

1:26

I called today a special meeting to amend the board composition for the Midtown Tours.

1:30

There are some major changes happening there.

1:32

So I want to make sure there was sufficient elected representation.

1:36

Given uh Councilman McKee Rodriguez's district is impacted.

1:39

I know this approach may impact other ones in the future.

1:42

We can certainly revisit that.

1:43

Uh given this one, though, has um some major decisions coming up on it.

1:46

I wanted to make sure uh he was able to participate in a formal capacity.

1:51

Um there folks that would like a staff presentation on this.

1:55

Okay, hearing none.

1:57

We've got two members of the uh public that are signed up to speak.

2:01

Sorry?

2:03

One person, okay.

2:03

Yeah, thank you.

2:05

Um individual that is signed up to speak.

2:07

Madam Clerk, if you please read the caption.

2:13

Item number one is an ordinance approving an increase in the composition of the the tax increment reinvestment zone number 31, midtown board of directors to 11.

2:26

Thank you.

2:30

Got it.

2:31

Okay.

2:35

Um, I'm gonna call her up right now.

2:37

Um Seema Karam, please.

2:43

Um three minutes, thank you.

2:46

Um I'll make this short.

2:47

Uh good morning, Mayor and Council.

2:49

My name is Seema Kyram.

2:50

I'm a member of the Midtown Tours Advisory Board, and I wanted to speak in support of both uh items in today's session, expanding the Tours Board, um, as well as appointing uh Councilman McKee Rodriguez.

3:02

My standing on the board arises from being uh River Road resident, uh a neighbor, um a neighborhood directly impacted by the TURS.

3:10

Um I strongly support the Midtown Tours to have greater representation from our elected officials uh who have accountability to the public.

3:18

Uh the TERRS tool is a powerful one, one that allows for the public to be first actors to invest in areas that that are blighted or under-resourced.

3:26

Many would argue that the Midtown TURS, which includes the Pearl and the surrounding developments, is one of San Antonio's greatest tours success stories.

3:34

We actually now face the opposite problem that the investment is now driving gentrification and displacement.

3:40

And moving forward, we must ensure that the board is aligned with the values of San Antonio, one where we prioritize public dollars to invest in our neighbors who need um greater opportunity and investment, not just the developers and institutions who know how to navigate the tour system.

3:56

This is especially relevant given that this body is considering extending the TURS to 2060, which is estimated to divert an additional 500 million dollars of money from the general fund into the Midtown Tours over the next 40 years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tax Increment Financing█████████████████████████████████████████████53%
Procedural████████████████████████████████████████47%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Special Session - September 3, 2026: Amendments to Midtown TIRZ Board Composition

The City of San Antonio held a special session at 12:05 p.m. on Thursday, September 3, 2026, called to order by Mayor Jones. The sole purpose was to amend the board composition of the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) Number 31, with two related ordinances: increasing the board size to 11 and appointing the District 2 council member as an ex officio member.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Seema Kyram (member of the Midtown TIRZ Advisory Board, River Road resident): Spoke in support of both agenda items. She noted that the Midtown TIRZ (which includes the Pearl and surrounding developments) is one of San Antonio's greatest TIRZ success stories, but that investment is now driving gentrification and displacement. She emphasized the need for board alignment with city values to prioritize public dollars for neighbors in need over developers. She highlighted that the body is considering extending the TIRZ to 2060, which she stated could divert an additional $500 million from the general fund over the next 40 years. She argued that appointing Councilman McKee Rodriguez would provide additional accountability and alignment.

Discussion Items

  • Item 1: Ordinance to increase the composition of the Midtown TIRZ board to 11 members.
    • Mayor Jones noted that the change allows the impacted District 2 council member to participate in a formal capacity, given upcoming major decisions. No staff presentation was requested. The motion was moved and seconded; no further council discussion occurred.
  • Item 2: Ordinance appointing the District 2 council member (Councilman McKee Rodriguez) as an ex officio member of the Midtown TIRZ board.
    • The motion was moved and seconded; no council discussion occurred beyond a brief joke exchange.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 1 passed (motion carried) – The board size was increased to 11 members, enabling inclusion of the District 2 council member.
  • Item 2 passed (motion carried) – Councilman McKee Rodriguez was appointed as an ex officio member of the Midtown TIRZ board.
  • Both votes were unanimous (no opposition noted). The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Let's go. That's good. Satisfaction. Good life to the chat of body but a battery. I've been opened and so the best by it makes me. Good afternoon. The time is 12.05 p.m. on Thursday, September 3rd, 2026, and the City of San Antonio special session is called to order. Madam Clerk, please call roll. Councilmember Corps. Councilmember McKee Rodriguez. Present. Councilmember Vietnam. Councilmember Mungia. Councilmember Castillo. Here. Councilmember Galvane. Councilmember Alderete Gavito. Here. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Councilmember Spears. Councilmember White. Mayor Jones. Here. Mayor we have corn. Great, thank you. I called today a special meeting to amend the board composition for the Midtown Tours. There are some major changes happening there. So I want to make sure there was sufficient elected representation. Given uh Councilman McKee Rodriguez's district is impacted. I know this approach may impact other ones in the future. We can certainly revisit that. Uh given this one, though, has um some major decisions coming up on it. I wanted to make sure uh he was able to participate in a formal capacity. Um there folks that would like a staff presentation on this. Okay, hearing none. We've got two members of the uh public that are signed up to speak. Sorry? One person, okay. Yeah, thank you. Um individual that is signed up to speak. Madam Clerk, if you please read the caption. Item number one is an ordinance approving an increase in the composition of the the tax increment reinvestment zone number 31, midtown board of directors to 11. Thank you. Got it. Okay. Um, I'm gonna call her up right now. Um Seema Karam, please. Um three minutes, thank you. Um I'll make this short.

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