* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] GOOD EVENING. TODAY [1. Open Meeting.] IS TUESDAY, JULY 1ST, 2025, AND THE TIME IS 6:01 PM AND THIS IS THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP OF THE LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL. UH, DEPUTY CITY [2. Roll Call.] SECRETARY PEMBRO. WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER CHANG. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER HERRA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER MCDONALD HERE. MAYOR PROAM THOMPSON. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER . HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS. MARY LYLE HERE. QUORUM IS PRESENT. COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO DO BUSINESS. I AM NUMBER THREE [3. Laluna Fields Public Improvement District] L. LUNA FIELDS PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CITY MANAGER. PARDON? WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, INTRODUCE THIS WORKSHOP? SORRY, MY, UH, MIC IS WELDED TO THE TABLETOP HERE. SO, ? YES, WE DO HAVE, UH, MR. UH, KIRK WILLIAMS HERE WITH US TO REALLY, UH, PRESENT THE CONCEPT FOR THE PROJECT. UH, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT DOES HAVE A APPROVED PRELIMINARY PLAT ON IT LOCATED IN THE NORTH WESTERN PORTION OF THE CITY. SO, UH, THEY WANTED TO PRESENT THE PROJECT TO YOU AND THEN TALK ABOUT AN OPTION THAT THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE FOR SOME, UH, CREATION OF A PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT TO, UH, PROVIDE FINANCING FOR SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT'S THERE SO I CAN TURN IT TO YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, TODD. MAYOR COUNCIL, MY NAME IS KIRK WILSON. I, I'M WITH WESTERN FRONTIER DEVELOPMENT AND ONE MARK. AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION TONIGHT. AND BRIAN LANDRY FROM KFM, WHO'S OUR PLANNER. HE'LL KIND OF GO OVER THE PROJECT PLAN AND KIND OF WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN APPROVED WITH ZONING. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FINANCING OF IT. AND THEN FOLLOWING, UH, THERE'LL BE A PRESENTATION FROM FMS BONDS, WHO IS THE MAJOR UNDERWRITER IN TEXAS ON PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS. AND WITH THAT, I'LL ALLOW BRIAN TO COME UP AND MAKE HIS PRESENTATION. I'M SORRY, I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS IN THE CITY, SO WE ARE FAMILIAR. YES. OKAY. WE, WE WERE TOLD BY THE MANAGER. YEAH, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF MEETINGS WITH STAFF AND WE REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROJECT. WE THINK IT, WE THINK THAT THIS PROJECT WOULD BE A GOOD ONE TO DO A PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ON, AND WE'RE GONNA KIND OF SHOW YOU THAT THERE'S REALLY NOT FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY FOR IT WITHOUT THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. HI, GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU, COUNSEL. UH, MY NAME'S BRIAN LANDRY. I'M A CIVIL ENGINEER WITH KFM ENGINEERING AND, UH, I'M GONNA GO OVER SOME OF THE, UH, PROJECT OVERVIEW AND, UH, INTRODUCE YOU TO LA LUNA FIELDS. ALRIGHT, UH, SO THIS IS A 308 ACRE PROPERTY, UH, WEST OF 180 3 OFF OF BAGHDAD ROAD. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, IT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE AND I CAN, THERE IT IS. UM, THIS IS THE SITE CONCEPT PLAN THAT WE HAVE, UH, GENERATED. THIS IS BASED OFF OF AN APPROVED PRELIMINARY PLAT, UM, DONE BY ANOTHER FIRM THERE. UM, WE ARE KEEPING THE SAME GENERAL LAYOUT WITH THE PARKS, UH, COMMERCIAL SPACE, UH, SINGLE FAMILY LOTS, UH, ALL ONE ACRE AND SIMILAR ROAD LAYOUT TO WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED BEFORE. UM, THERE IS A PROPOSED EMERGENCY SERVICES FIRE STATION, UH, OFF OF, UM, THE EAST SIDE OF THE PROPERTY. AND SPEAKING WITH THE, UH, FIRE CHIEF THERE, HE MENTIONED THAT THE PREFERRED LOCATION MAY ACTUALLY BE FURTHER WEST OF THAT. UH, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH WITH HIM, UM, AND KIND OF NEGOTIATE WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE. UH, INCORPORATE THAT WITH ANY AMENDED PRELIMINARY PLAT. UH, THE SITE PLAN ALSO INCLUDES AN 11 ACRE CITY PARK, UH, THAT WE CAN GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, GO OVER THE AMENITIES THERE. SO WE ARE GOING TO REQUEST AN AMENDMENT TO THE PRELIMINARY PLAT. UH, IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. UH, HERE IS THE PARK AMENITY. AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT'S ABOUT 11 ACRES. IT'S GONNA HAVE ONSITE PARKING WITH WALKING TRAILS, PICKLEBALL, COURTS, UH, PLAYGROUND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY LANDSCAPING AND, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THERE. UH, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT LAKELINE BOULEVARD, UH, IS GOING TO BE IMPROVED. SO, UH, WITH THE PROJECT AS IT STANDS, UH, WITH THE DEVELOPER WOULD BE IMPROVING AND CONSTRUCTING 50 FOOT OUT OF THE FUTURE A HUNDRED FOOT RIGHT OF WAY, UH, ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY THERE, UH, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ON THE SCREEN, BUT THERE ARE ACTUALLY THREE SECTIONS HERE. ONE THAT BORDERS THE PROPERTY, UH, WHICH WE CALL SEGMENT ONE, SEGMENT TWO, WHICH GOES TO COUNTY ROAD, UH, 2 81 ON THE NORTH SIDE, AND THEN SEGMENT THREE THAT GOES TO TWO 80 ON THE SOUTH SIDE. UH, SO WITH COORDINATION, WITH PLANNING, UH, AND ENGINEERING, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT ROAD [00:05:01] COULD BE EXTENDED TO PROVIDE IN, UH, IMPROVED ACCESS TO THE SITE. UH, SHOWN ON THE SCREEN HERE IS THE APPROVED PRELIM PLAT, AS YOU CAN SEE, IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO THE LAND PLAN THAT I WAS SHOWING EARLIER. UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS PLAN WORK, UH, WHICH IT IS CURRENTLY ENTITLED, UH, AS WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE SCREEN, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THE PIT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. UM, PENDING PIT APPROVAL AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, UH, WHICH WE ANTICIPATE TAKING SIX MONTHS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PRELIM PLAT AMENDMENT. UH, WE ARE TARGETING JANUARY OF 2026 FOR GROUNDBREAKING ON THE PROPERTY. THERE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, TWO BUILDERS, UM, THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH. THE FIRST IS DREES. UH, THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING IN LEANDER AND THEIR PLANS FOR LA LUNA, UM, THEY WOULD HAVE HOMES RANGING FROM 3,500 TO 5,100 SQUARE FEET WITH A PRICE TAG OF 1 MILLION TO 1.3 MILLION WITH SOME CONCEPTS SHOWN HERE ON THE, UH, ON THE SCREEN. UH, WE ARE ALSO EXCITED TO HAVE TOLL BROTHERS, UM, WHO WE HAVE, UH, SOME TOLL BROTHERS REPRESENTED IN THE ROOM. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE FINAL PRODUCT LOOKS LIKE, UM, THEY WOULD BE LOOKING AT HOMES RANGING FROM 3,700 TO 6,100 SQUARE FEET, UH, WITH A SIMILAR PRICE RANGE OF 1 MILLION TO 1.3 MILLION FOR THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. UH, THE PI WOULD PROVIDE FINANCING FOR ANY ELIGIBLE IMPROVEMENTS THAT INCLUDE ROAD WATER, SEWER, AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT, UH, TO SERVE THE HOMES. UM, THE UPFRONT PI PROCEEDS WOULD BE, UH, APPROXIMATELY $15.8 MILLION TO BE ISSUED, UH, IN 2026. AND THERE'S A BREAKDOWN BY QUARTER JUST BELOW THAT. IF YOU CAN SEE, UH, IN THIS SLIDE HERE, UH, WITH ABOUT 2.3 MILLION IN QUARTER ONE, 3.1 MILLION IN QUARTER TWO, 4.7 IN Q3 AND FIVE AND A HALF IN Q4, UH, THERE WOULD ALSO BE A TRAILING REIMBURSEMENT OF 3.2 MILLION TO BE AVAILABLE AT 40% BUILD OUT. UM, SO IN TOTAL THE PIT IS ANTICIPATED TO PROVIDE, OH, EXCUSE ME, TAPPING BUTTONS. UM, AN APPROXIMATE TOTAL FOUND OF 19 MILLION TO HELP OFFSET THE 24 MILLION IN TOTAL DEVELOPMENT COSTS. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THE PID UH, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS PROJECT IS NOT GONNA GET OFF THE GROUND AND MAYBE WHY THE, UM, THE PREVIOUS PRELIM PLAT HAS NOT GOTTEN ANY LEGS UNDERNEATH IT SO FAR. UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND FIND THE RIGHT PERSON TO ANSWER 'EM FOR YOU. THANK YOU. COUNSEL. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, SO QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT, UH, THE LAND USE SO FAR? OKAY, SO IF I, SO THIS IS RIGHT, SO EVERY PERSON THAT BUYS A HOUSE IN THERE WOULD HAVE A LIABILITY OF WHAT, $73,000? IS THAT ABOUT RIGHT? 15 MILLION DIVIDED BY 207 HOUSES. UM, I DO NOT HAVE THAT NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UH, THAT SOUNDS SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT. OKAY. AND THEN, SO ON THE, ON THE ROADS THERE, WHAT ROAD, WHAT IS LAKELINE RIGHT THERE? ISN'T THAT JUST A TWO LANE ROAD? AND DOES IT EXTEND DOWN AND DELETE TOWARD LEAN OR IT STATES OR IS THIS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO BRING UP THAT STUFF OR? SURE, WHY NOT? UH, THIS IS WAY NORTH, LIKE THIS IS NORTH OF TWO 80. THAT'S RIGHT. SO LIKE WHERE THAT, I'M JUST, SO, SO THIS WOULD ACTUALLY, 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T BUILT, WE WE'RE CALLING IT LAKELINE UP THERE, RIGHT? SOMEDAY THEORETICAL LAKELINE. YES. YEAH. YES SIR. WE WENT WITH STAFF A FEW TIMES AND ON LAKELINE, WE ORIGINALLY HAD, YOU KNOW, JUST THOUGHT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUILD THE ROAD NEXT DOOR. BUT WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WITH STAFF WAS IF WE WERE ABLE TO GET THIS PIT, WE WOULD TALK ABOUT EXTENDING THE ROAD ALL THE WAY. AND THAT'S WHAT THE REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT'S ABOUT. SO THE PIT WOULD PAY FOR WATER, SEWER DRAINS AND ROADS THE EXTENT THAT IT COULD, BUT THE DEVELOPERS AGREED TO EXTEND THE ROAD. THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE PROPOSED TO STAFF WHEN WE WERE IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PIT IS SORT OF A, THAT WAS AN OBJECTIVE OF STAFF. SO THAT'S WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE MEETING. I'M SORRY, CAN YOU SHOW US ON THE MAP WHAT PORTION OF LAKELINE YOU'D BE REQUIRED TO DO AND WHAT PORTION YOU'RE SUGGESTING WOULD BE OVER AND ABOVE THE REQUIREMENT? SORRY TO JUMP IN. OH, THAT'S FINE. IS THERE A LASER POINTER? YES. THAT TOP BUTTON POINTED AT THE SCREEN THERE. THE TOP ONE CHANGED IT. [00:10:01] OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO THE ROAD FROM HERE TO HERE AND FROM HERE TO HERE IS WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR, OUR PIT BUDGET, CORRECT. JUST, JUST THE RIGHT WAY IN FRONT OF OUR PROPERTY. SEGMENT ONE IN THE MIDDLE AT THE RIGHT, THAT'S WHAT'S ADJACENT TO THE, TO THE PINK LAYOUT THERE, CONNECTED TO 2 81 NORTH SIDE, TWO 80 DOWN SOUTH SIDE. SO THE ENTIRETY FROM HERE TO HERE AND FROM HERE TO HERE, DO YOU OWN ALL THAT LAND PRIORITY OF THE ROAD? YOU OWN ALL OF THAT LAND ALREADY? NO, WE, WE WILL ONLY OWN WHAT IS SHOWN IN OUR EXHIBIT. WE'RE ASSUMING THE THE CITY HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY FROM THE SOUTH SIDE. YES. NOT THE, THE MASTER TRANSPORTATION PLAN, UH, HAS LAKELINE EXTENDING ALONG THAT ALIGNMENT THERE. THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WAS BROUGHT UP WITH US AS FAR AS THE CITY REALLY WANTED TO SEE THAT ROAD DONE. SO THAT'S WHY WE, THAT'S WHY WE, SO JUST FOR MY OWN UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU HAVE LABELED IN THIS, UH, PRESENTATION AS SEGMENT ONE, WAS THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT OR RESPONSIBILITY AS FAR AS ANY KIND OF LAKE LINE OR, YEAH, LAKE LINE CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE. AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT YOU WOULD GO AHEAD AND DO SEGMENT TWO AND SEGMENT THREE CONNECTING TO, WHAT IS THAT COUNTY ROAD, MAKE IT SIDE 2 81 AND 2 81 NORTH SIDE, AND THEN TWO 80 ON, ON THE SOUTH SIDE. MY QUESTION TO YOU AS FAR AS WHAT YOU ARE PROPOSING FOR LAKE LINE WOULD IS TWO-FACED, UM, FIRST WOULD THIS BE, UH, ONE LANE, UH, NORTH AND SOUTH? IN OTHER WORDS, A TWO LANE ROAD THERE. UM, AND WHAT IS THE REMAINING DI DISTANCE BETWEEN WHERE LAKELINE WOULD END HERE AND HERO WAY WHERE LAKELINE CURRENTLY ENDS? HOW FAR IS THAT? I AM NOT SURE HOW FAR IT IS TO HERO WAY. UM, BUT IN ORDER TO EXTEND DOWN TO SOUTH TO TWO 80, IT WOULD BE, UH, 3,700 FEET. SO THANK YOU. MM-HMM . COUNSEL, DID ANYBODY HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? AND JUST TO BACK UP ONE MORE QUESTION, ONE MORE MOMENT. WHEN WE FIRST MET WITH THE MANAGER, THE FIRST THRESHOLD QUESTION WAS, WHY DO YOU NEED THE DISTRICT? AND WE WERE ASKED, HEY, SHOW US YOUR FINANCIALS. SO WE SENT THE MANAGEMENT A MEMO ON JUST BASICALLY HOW THIS LOST AROUND $4.8 MILLION, ABSENT A REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT. THEN WHEN WE HAD FURTHER DISCUSSIONS, THE ROAD ISSUE WAS BROUGHT UP, BUT WE SAID, OKAY, WE CAN ADD MORE TO THE BUDGET, BUT WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT. SO THAT'S HOW THIS KIND OF DIALOGUE WENT. AND WE ALSO SAID THERE WERE GONNA BE TWO NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL NOW TO BRIEF, BUT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS A LITTLE WHILE. WE'RE JUST WAITING UNTIL NOW. AND, AND IN THOSE MEETINGS, WAS IT MADE CLEAR TO YOU THAT COUNCIL HAS HAD A NO P POLICY FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS? IT, WHAT WAS BROUGHT UP WAS THAT THERE HAD BEEN DISCUSSIONS OF PITTS AND THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN LOOKED ON FAVORABLY UP TO NOW. AND WE SAID WE THOUGHT WE HAD A GOOD CASE TO COME AND SHOW WHY THIS ONE COULD BE DIFFERENT. AND OUR, OUR FIRM HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN PITTS SINCE 2007 IN THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA. AND I THINK WE DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY, WHEREAS WE TRAIN THE MODEL HOME PEOPLE ON HOW TO SHOW DISCLOSURE. AND THE DISCLOSURE LAWS HAVE CHANGED TOO OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. I THINK FMS BONDS WILL GO OVER THAT PROCESS WITH YOU, BUT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE TRY TO TRAIN THE MODEL HOME SALESPEOPLE TO SHOW THEM HOW TO EXPLAIN THE DISCLOSURE. AND IN ALL OF OUR DEALS THAT WE DO IN THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AREA, WE DON'T HAVE THE KIND OF PROBLEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THE THINGS. I'VE HEARD STORIES DOWN HERE. AND WE WANNA DO IT RIGHT, AND WE'D LIKE TO BE THE FIRST PIT HERE THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF HAVING DONE, AND I'LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT HAPPENS. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. WE DID ACTUALLY PASS AN ORDINANCE BACK IN 2018 THAT REQUIRES ALL PIS TO DISCLOSE UPFRONT WHEN ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN BUYING. UM, AND THEY HAVE TO POST IT INSIDE. UM, I THINK WE WERE PROBABLY THE FIRST TO DO THAT. UM, BUT, UM, THE REAL PROBLEM THAT HAPPENS IS EVERY FALL PEOPLE GET THEIR PIT ASSESSMENT IN THE MAIL, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE YOUR NAME ON IT. IT HAS OUR NAME ON IT. AND SO FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, I COME IN HERE AND HAVE PEOPLE CRY, BE ANGRY, TELL US THEIR FINANCIAL WOES, AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR. AND THAT IS THE BIG PROBLEM WITH PITS. THERE'S, THERE'S CONSUMER CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT IT IS, AND THERE'S CONSUMER CONFUSION OF EVERY SINGLE YEAR. AND IT'S, IT'S HARD. IT'S HARD ON THE BUYERS AND, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO HEAR THOSE THINGS. AND THE PIT ADMINISTRATOR THAT YOU WOULD HIRE, WHOEVER THAT [00:15:01] ADMINISTRATOR, THAT WOULD BE THEIR NUMBER, SHOULD BE ON ALL OF THOSE TOP BILLINGS. AND FOR AN EXAMPLE, UNICAP IN THE DALLAS WORTH AREA, THEY HAVE A ONE 800 NUMBER THAT'S ON ALL OF THE DISCLOSURE. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T GET THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO WHOEVER YOU HIRE IS YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR, WHICH WOULD NOT BE US. THAT ADMINISTRATOR SHOULD HAVE THEIR PHONE NUMBER ON THE DISCLOSURE AND ON ALL NOTICES THAT ARE RECEIVED. AND THEY SHOULD REALLY BE TAKING THOSE QUESTIONS. YOUR CITY STAFF AND YOU AS ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. AND I THINK THAT IF YOU DO THE KIND OF APPROACH WE'RE GONNA DO HERE, MY FIRM WILL TAKE A LOT MORE ROLE IN THIS BECAUSE WE'RE THE ACTUAL DEVELOPER HERE AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN ON OUR DEAL. THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE A WAY OF DOING PITS THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE THE ANNUAL HEARING? WELL, YOU, YOU HAVE AN ANNUAL REPORT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD HEAR EVERY YEAR. AND IT SHOULD BE PRETTY PERFORMER THOUGH. LET'S TAKE GRAND PRAIRIE, FOR INSTANCE. GRAND PRAIRIE HAS LIKE 21 PIS. THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY CAPITAL, BUT THEY HAVE ONE MEETING A YEAR WHERE THEY HAVE THESE 21 MEETING HEARINGS AND I'M LIKE ON SIX OF THEM. AND CITIZENS COME, THOSE PIS ARE DOING MAINTENANCE ON THEIR PROJECTS, SUCH THINGS OF THAT NATURE. THAT'S WHY THERE'S A LOT MORE CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT. BUT IN CITIES WHERE YOU'RE JUST FINANCING CAPITAL, THAT OUGHT TO BE PRETTY MUCH A, AN AGENDA ITEM THAT COULD EVEN BE ON YOUR CONSENT AGENDA, HEY, HERE'S THE REPORT, THERE WERE A HUNDRED BILLS, THERE WERE A HUNDRED PAID. IT OUGHT TO BE THAT PERFORM THAT, THAT AUTOMATIC. BUT EVEN IF YOU DO HAVE PEOPLE HERE TO SPEAK, YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR OUGHT TO BE HERE TO FIELD THOSE QUESTIONS. AND YOU REALLY, THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE OCCURRING, YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR CAN DECREASE A LOT OF THAT, OF THOSE CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE. THAT WOULD BE MY, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT THEY TEND TO COME AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? THEY DIDN'T DELIVER WHAT THEY PROMISED AND WHY DIDN'T YOU HOLD 'EM ACCOUNTABLE TO DELIVER WHAT THEY PROMISED? AND I'M PAYING FOR A BUNCH OF CRAPPY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT, THAT WE DIDN'T GET THE VALUE FROM. AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF WHAT ALSO GOES ON. I THINK I'D LIKE TO SWITCH BACK TO LIKE, SO LET'S GO BACK TO THE WHY YOU NEED THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IN ORDER TO FUND MILLION DOLLAR HOUSES. I MEAN, SO, SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLION DOLLAR HOUSES, MILLION DOLLAR PLUS HOUSES BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA START AT A MILLION AND THEN I'M GONNA WANT DIFFERENT CABINETS, OR NO, I'M NOT, MY WIFE IS GONNA WANT DIFFERENT CABINETS, SHE'S GONNA WANT THINGS, I WANT THE EXTRA CAR GARAGE IN MY GARAGE, SO I'M GONNA END UP WITH 1.5 TO $2 MILLION HOUSE. RIGHT? AND SO FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S GONNA BUY THAT HOUSE, THE EXTRA $73,000 OF LIABILITY REALLY IS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL, BUT WHY CAN'T IT BE? AND SO THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN EDUCATE ME ON WHY CAN'T IT PENCIL, UM, ON THAT. AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, AS A CITY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PLANS FOR THOSE ROADS AND ALL THAT. AND IT SOUNDS LIKE PART OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS WE'RE GONNA BUILD A ROAD THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TEAR OUT AND BUILD A NEW ROAD AT SOME POINT BECAUSE WE'LL PROBABLY NEED A THREE LANE ROAD THERE WITH THE TWO LANES GOING EACH WAY WITH ONE WOULD BE MY GUESS. I DON'T, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE MASTER PLAN TO, TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHAT ACTUAL ROAD IS GONNA GO THERE, BUT BASED ON HOW EVERYTHING'S GONNA CIRCULATE IN THAT AREA, THAT PROBABLY IS WHAT THAT'LL BE AT SOME POINT. YEAH. UM, SO THE INITIAL CONSTRUCTION YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REFERRING TO LAKELINE IN THIS? YEAH. OKAY. UM, YEAH, SO THE INITIAL CONSTRUCTION OF LAKELINE WOULD BE FOR HALF OF THAT RIGHT OF WAY, WHICH WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE RIPPED OUT. IT WOULD BE THE FIRST HALF OF THAT CONSTRUCTION. SO STARTING OUT AT THAT TWO LANE THAT, THAT WE, UH, TALKED ABOUT AND THEN ADDING ONTO THE WESTERN SIDE IN ORDER TO EXPAND THAT RIGHT OF WAY, YOU KNOW, HOW, WHY YOU NEED THE PIT, WHY IT CAN'T BE ROLLED INTO THE PRICE AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. I'LL, I'LL TACKLE THAT ONE. SO WHEN WE'RE FINANCING ANY OF THESE KIND OF MASTER PLAN PROJECTS, IDEALLY WE'D HAVE A LOT MORE DENSITY HERE. WE WOULD WANT SMALLER LOTS AND MORE DENSITY AND THEN WE'D PROBABLY MAKE THE THING WORK DIFFERENTLY. BUT THE WAY IT ZONED, WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK THE WAY YOU GUYS HAVE ZONED IT, THE WAY THE NEIGHBORS HAVE SAID THEY WANT AND THE PRODUCT THEY WANT. THAT'S WHY WE BROUGHT TOLL BROTHERS AND DRE ONTO THE PROJECT AND WE THINK THE QUALITY OF THIS PROJECT IS GONNA BE REALLY, REALLY GOOD. BUT WHEN WE DID THE FINANCIALS, WE'RE LOSING ABOUT FIVE, $4.9 MILLION ABSENT A REIMBURSEMENT DISTRICT. AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO JUST CHARGE 73,000 MORE A LOT. IT JUST DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY. WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO MAKE THE DEAL WORK. AND THESE TYPE OF ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS, 28 STATES HAVE THESE KIND OF DISTRICTS. AND DOWN IN THE HOUSTON AREA, THERE'S ABOUT 3000 OF THESE TYPE DISTRICTS IN THE DALLAS AREA, THERE'S PROBABLY MAYBE 2000 ASSESSMENT AND TAXING DISTRICTS. IT'S PRETTY COMMON IN HOUSTON AND DALLAS. AND IT'S CHANGING IN OTHER MAJOR MARKETS TOO. HERE IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS, THERE HADN'T BEEN AS MANY OF THESE DEALS DONE. AND WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THE EXECUTION OF THEM GOING TO WHAT THE MAYOR'S COMMENT WAS EARLIER, THEY JUST HADN'T BEEN EXECUTED WELL HERE. AND I THINK THAT YOU'RE GONNA FIND, IF YOU MAKE THIS YOUR TEST SUBJECT, WE'RE GONNA EXECUTE THIS WELL. AND IT'S [00:20:01] GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE COULD COME BACK AND YOU CAN SAY, OKAY, IT WORKS IF YOU DO IT RIGHT AND WE WANT TO DO IT RIGHT, AND WE DON'T THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THE KIND OF PROBLEMS THAT YOU'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST. IF YOU LET US EXECUTE THIS AND WE END UP WITH THE PROJECT THAT YOU GUYS ZONED AND YOU SAID, HEY, THIS IS THE PRODUCT WE WANT, WE COULD PRODUCE THAT, BUT WE NEED THIS TOOL IN ORDER TO DO IT. AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION WOULD BE, SO ON THESE LOTS, ARE THEY ALL GONNA BE SEPTIC? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. AND THEN THE WATER'S GONNA COME FROM US AND WE HAVE A LINE OF WHAT A BAGHDAD AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD PULL OFF OF? THAT'S CORRECT. UH, THEY'RE ALSO SMALLER WATER LINES IN THE ADJACENT SUBDIVISIONS THAT WE WOULD CONNECT TO, TO LOOP THE SYSTEM. AND WE'RE WE'RE ALSO, AS FAR AS THIS, THE ROAD EXTENSION THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, 3,760 FEET AND ANOTHER 1150 ON THE OTHER SIDE, THAT'S SOMETHING OVER AND BEYOND WHAT WE WOULD NORMALLY HAVE TO DO. BUT WE'RE SAYING, HEY, IF WE CAN GET THIS DEAL DONE THIS WAY, WE'LL HAVE THIS REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT AND UNDER THE REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT WE'LL BE ABLE TO ASSESS TO A PROPER LEVEL TO FINANCE THAT, FINANCE THAT ROAD AS WELL. 'CAUSE WE E EVEN UNDER THIS PLAN, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO FINANCE EVERYTHING WITH THOSE ROAD EXTENSIONS. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO COME BACK AND DO THE SECONDARY THING. BUT WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL, JUST THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY. AND SO ON THE PROPERTY THAT'S ADJACENT WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING TO PUT THE PARK, SO WHAT'S WHAT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE, I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, MAYBE YOU DO KNOW, WHAT ARE THEIR PLANS NEXT DOOR AND ALL THAT, AND COULD THAT TURN INTO A BIGGER PARK OR IS IT GOING TO, WOULD IT BE 11 ACRES AND YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S ON THE SIDE OF YOUR PROPERTY, RIGHT? MM-HMM . AND THERE'S ANOTHER PROPERTY ADJACENT TO IT, I THINK WITH CITY STAFF. WE WERE TOLD THIS 11 ACRES WAS DESIGNATED AS A CITY PARK. AND SO WE HAD PUT IT IN OUR SITE PLAN AS A CITY PARK. IF IT'S PREFERRED TO BE PRIVATE, WE CAN MAKE IT A PRIVATE AMENITY WITHIN THE HOA. NO, WHAT I WAS ASKING IS NEXT TO IT. 'CAUSE IT'S ON THE EDGE OF THE PROPERTY AND THERE'S OTHER PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THAT. RIGHT. AND AND I'M, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE ZONING FOR THAT. UM, 'CAUSE YOU'RE BASICALLY, YOU'RE THE PARK'S ON THE BOTTOM CORNER THERE, RIGHT? AND THEN YOU HAVE A WHOLE RECTANGLE THERE BEFORE YOU GET TO OVER TO BAGHDAD. THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, CORRECT? CURRENTLY. SO THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN THERE. YES, SIR. OKAY. AND SO THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO AREA FOR EXPANSION AND THEN ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO USE THAT PARK HAS TO DRIVE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET THERE, RIGHT? UH, THAT'S CORRECT. UH, WE'LL CONFIRM IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF CONNECTIVITY FROM THE SUBDIVISION TO THE EAST. UM, THERE IS, YEAH. WE CAN COME FROM BAGHDAD ROAD, RIGHT? AND FROM WHAT WE WERE TOLD, THE PRIOR PARTY THAT HAD THIS AND GOT THE ZONING APPROVED, THERE WAS A LEVEL OF SENSITIVITY WITH THE NEIGHBORS HERE AND THEY CAREFULLY NEGOTIATED WHAT THE ZONING WAS. AND THAT'S WHY WE CAME IN OUR FIRST MEETING AND OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD'VE ALLOWED TO HAVE A DIFFERENT PLAN, BUT THIS, THE CITY WAS PRETTY STIFF, STIFF THAT, HEY, THIS IS THE ZONING YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT DONE THE WAY THE CITY WANTS. AND THAT'S WHAT WE CAME BACK WITH A PLAN TO DO THAT. I'VE GOT A QUESTION. HAVE YOU GUYS DONE ANY MORE OUTREACH? LIKE WITH OUR, UH, THERE'S A WILLIAMSON COUNTY REALTORS ASSOCIATION, I THINK THEY ACTUALLY CHANGED THE NAME TO FIVE POINTS REALTY. HAVE YOU GUYS REACHED OUT TO THEM AT ALL? BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY GIVE US A LOT OF GUIDANCE ON WHAT PEOPLE LIKE AND WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE AND THEY'RE VEHEMENTLY AGAINST PS AS YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE WE ARE BECAUSE OF ALL THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD. SO HAVE YOU DONE ANY OUTREACH OTHER THAN JUST WITH STAFF? NO, NO, WE HAVEN'T. BUT I WILL SAY THIS, THAT IF WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, IT'S KINDA LIKE I SAID EARLIER, LET THIS BE YOUR TEST CASE AND LET ME COME BACK HERE A FEW YEARS FROM NOW AND YOU TELL ME WHETHER WE DID IT RIGHT. I THINK THAT WE HAVE A VERY GOOD TRACK RECORD RECORD IN THE DFW AREA. AND FMS BONDS ARE HERE TONIGHT. THEY PROBABLY DO 95% OF THE BOND ISSUES ACROSS THE STATE. AND I THINK THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU TOO THAT THERE'S A WAY TO DO THIS, RIGHT. AND IF WE EXECUTE IT PROPERLY, YOU'RE GONNA BE GLAD THAT YOU ALLOWED IT TO BE DONE AS WELL. AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, LET YOU GUYS BE THE TEST CASE FOR SOMEONE ELSE. BUT I FEEL LIKE THOSE PIS THAT WHERE DO YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH ARE THE TEST CASE AND IT'S LIKE, IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA. WELL, I THINK THAT THOSE WEREN'T EXECUTED PROPERLY AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE'RE SAYING GIVE US A CHANCE TO SHOW YOU HOW IT'S DONE PROPERLY. SO MAYBE ONCE THEIR PRESENTATION'S OVER, WE CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT LEVERAGE THE CITY MAY HAVE IF, IF THIS IS DONE. BECAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME, SOME TYPE OF LEVERAGE TO PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS IF THIS WERE TO MOVE FORWARD. AND I, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TOO, COUNSEL, IS I KNOW THERE'S TWO MEMBERS THAT ARE NEW AND WE INVITED FFS BONDS HERE AND I'D LIKE TO LET THEM TALK TOO, BECAUSE THEY DON'T REPRESENT THE DEVELOPER. THEY REPRESENT BOND HOLDERS THAT PURCHASE. AND EVERY YEAR, THIS IS, HE'LL GO OVER THE NUMBERS, BUT IT'S A STAGGERING AMOUNT OF DOLLARS THAT ARE VESTED IN THIS STATE THROUGH THESE TYPE DISTRICTS. AND TO, TO, TO FINANCE SUBDIVISIONS AND MASTER PLAN COMMUNITIES. NOW [00:25:01] WE REALLY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DRAW ON INVESTORS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. AND WE'RE UNABLE TO JUST DO STANDARD BANK LOANS AND NUMBERS ARE SO LARGE NOW THAT WE REALLY NEED THIS TOOL TO MAKE THESE PROJECTS WORK. AND ESPECIALLY TO DELIVER WHAT YOU GUYS ARE WANTING HERE, THERE'D BE A LOT MORE OPTIONS IF ADD MORE DENSITY, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE THIS PROJECT AND I THINK THAT THIS PLAN WOULD DO THAT. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU WANNA BRING HIM UP? GOT IT. GOOD EVENING. HI. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS ROBERT RIVERA. I AM WITH FMS BONDS. UH, MY ASSOCIATE TRIP DAVENPORT WILL ALSO, UH, VISIT, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR BACKGROUND. UH, WE'VE BEEN DOING PUBLIC FINANCE WORK FOR LITERALLY CLOSE TO 20 YEARS. UH, TRIP WAS THE BANKER ON THE VERY FIRST PIT PROJECT IN NORTH TEXAS, UH, BACK IN OH SEVEN. AND WE'LL SPEAK AND DISCUSS ALL OF THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL WOULD WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TO VISIT ABOUT. UM, MYSELF, I WAS ON THE ARLINGTON TEXAS CITY COUNCIL FOR 12 YEARS, AND SO I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND YOU, YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I BRING. AND ALSO TRIP TRIPS, THE FORMER BOND COUNCIL AND ALSO FORMER CHAIR OF THE, UH, ETHICS COMMISSION FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS. AND SO OUR APPROACH THAT WE BRING TO BANKING IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. WHAT ARE THINGS THAT YOU, THE DECISION MAKERS IN YOUR SEATS, WHAT ARE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND MAKE SURE IS, IS PROPER FOR YOUR COMMUNITIES? SO, UH, AS KURT MENTIONED, WE HAVE ABOUT 95% MARKET SHARE OF ALL THE, THE PIT BONDS THAT ARE DONE HERE IN THE STATE. UH, WE LITERALLY TURN DOWN PROJECTS PRETTY FREQUENTLY FROM DEVELOPERS OR, OR CITIES THAT POTENTIALLY MAY WANT TO DO A PROJECT, BUT WE FEEL IT DOESN'T REALLY MEET THE THRESHOLD THAT INVESTORS, UH, SHOULD, SHOULD WANT TO, UH, TO PARTICIPATE WITH. UM, ON THE DISCUSSION OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE BEFORE, WE WERE NOT YOUR UNDERWRITER. SO WE HAVE NEVER PARTICIPATED WITH ANYTHING HERE IN THE, IN, UH, IN THE GREAT CITY OF LEANDER. BUT WE HAVE, UH, UNDERWRITTEN FOR A LOT OF YOUR NEIGHBORS, LIBERTY HILL, GEORGETOWN MANOR, UH, TO, UH, TO NAME A FEW. UM, BUT WE HAVE LITERALLY DONE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY UP IN NORTH TEXAS NEAR THE OKLAHOMA BORDER, ALL THE WAY, UH, INTO, TO BEXAR COUNTY. SO, UM, WE WOULD WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TRIP DAVENPORT AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT WE SEE HERE IN, IN LEANDER. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. I'M MAYOR TRIP DAVENPORT WITH FMS BONDS, FRISCO, TEXAS. UM, I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE FAMILIARITY WITH PIS. I'LL GO THROUGH THIS RELATIVELY QUICK. UM, I DON'T WANT TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE. WE APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, YEAR TO DATE, 98%, UH, SINCE 20 15, 20 19 90 5%. UH, MR. RIVERA'S CORRECT. WE'VE NEVER UNDERWRITTEN ANY OF YOUR PIT BONDS, THOUGH WE WERE SELECTED TO BE IN THE POOL OF YOUR PIT UNDERWRITERS, BUT WE HAVE NOT, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO EVER WORK ON A, ON A PIT HERE IN LAND. UM, GO THROUGH THIS. SO YOU ALL KNOW A PIT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LINE ON A MAP, UH, GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY. UNLIKE A MUD, A MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT, WHICH IS A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE, THE CITY ULTIMATELY IS IN CONTROL OF THE PI. THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE MOST CITIES PREFER PIS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO A MUD BECAUSE THE CITY COUNCILS STILL GET THE SAME CALLS WANTING TO KNOW WHY MY TAXES ARE GOING UP, EVEN THOUGH IT CLEARLY STATES IT'S MUD NUMBER, WHATEVER. AND, UH, THE COUNCIL HAS ZERO CONTROL IN THAT PROCESS. TO BE FAIR. WE DON'T LIKE MUDS EITHER, BUT WE DISLIKE THEM LESS THAN PITS . UNDERSTOOD, UNDERSTOOD. AND THEN ALSO WITH PIDS, MOST OF THE CITIES HAVE PIT POLICIES. THEY HAVE A GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS LIKE YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR, YOUR BOND COUNCIL, YOUR CITY ATTORNEY, THAT TO KIRK'S POINT, IN MOST INSTANCES FIELD, MOST OF THE, UH, CALLS AND, AND THE DISCUSSIONS, UM, AS AN UNDERWRITING METRIC, AND AGAIN, I DON'T NEED TO GET INTO TO THE WEEDS ON THIS, UH, THERE'S NEVER BEEN A PIT THAT'S EVER FAILED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS SINCE ITS INCEPTION. UM, ONE OF THE REASONS IS BECAUSE WHENEVER WE UNDERWRITE THESE, WE PUT IN VERY STRINGENT, UH, UH, GUARDRAILS. UM, UNLIKE WHEN YOU DO A GEO BOND WHERE YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND YOUR BOND COUNSEL AND CITY [00:30:01] ATTORNEY PUT TOGETHER THE OFFERING DOCUMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY. AND I'M GOVERNED BY SEC. UM, AS MUCH AS I LOVE DEVELOPMENT AND THE CITIES, NOTHING'S WORTH ENDING UP IN AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT. SO WE'RE VERY, VERY ADAMANT THAT WE, UM, SCRUTINIZE THE DEVELOPER, THE DEVELOPER PLANS AND, AND THE CITY AS WELL. THIS IS JUST A PIT OVERVIEW. AGAIN, I WANNA BE CRYSTAL CLEAR. I'M NOT YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR. UH, I DO NOT HAVE A FIDUCIARY TO YOU ALL. UM, YOU HAVE A WHOLE TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS THAT WILL GOVERN THIS PROCESS. THE DEVELOPER HAS THEIR TEAM, AND THEN I HAVE A, AN ATTORNEY AND, UM, WORK WITH YOUR CITY ON PICKING A TRUSTEE. UM, HERE, HERE'S KIND OF THE SLIDE THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT. SO THIS ACTUALLY POPPED UP IN NORTH TEXAS A LONG TIME AGO, AND THEN IT POPPED UP HERE. UM, HOMEOWNER DISCLOSURE IS THE BIGGEST THING NOW IN NORTH TEXAS. IT'S REALLY YOUR SECOND AND THIRD HOMEOWNER THAT, THAT HAD ISSUES. YOUR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD THE PROCESS AND WHAT WAS GOING, WHAT THEY WERE GETTING INTO, UH, TO FIX THAT. THE LEGISLATURE, THE LAST TWO SESSIONS HAVE ADOPTED POLICIES VERY SIMILAR TO YOURS, MAYOR, UH, THAT Y'ALL HAVE ADOPTED. BUT, UH, WHERE, WHERE IT'S MUCH MORE CLEAR WHENEVER, UH, A HOMEOWNER IS GOING THROUGH THE DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS AND PURCHASING THEIR HOME, IT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT THEY'RE IN THE PI, THAT THERE'S THE MAX ASSESSMENT. SOME OF THE EARLY PIS DIDN'T SHOW THE MAX ASSESSMENT, THEY JUST SHOWED THE ANNUAL ASSESSMENT. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, IT LOOKS LIKE $1,200. WE'LL MULTIPLY THAT TIMES 30 YEARS, AND THAT'S YOUR REAL MAX ASSESSMENT. AND WE ALSO, AS PART, AS OUR DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS, SCRUTINIZE ALL OF THOSE DOCUMENTS AND REVIEW IT AND KEEP IT IN OUR FILES. AND WE ACTUALLY PROVIDE INPUT BECAUSE OUR NUMBERS ARE WHAT ARE RELIED UPON TO GO INTO THOSE DISCLOSURES. I'LL ALSO SAY THAT THE PIT ADMINISTRATORS HAVE EVOLVED QUITE A BIT AND HAVE GOTTEN MUCH BETTER AT THIS. THE LEGISLATURE NOW REQUIRES IT, BUT BEFORE, UH, MUNI CAP, UH, P THREE, THEY STARTED PUTTING ONTO THEIR WEBSITES AND SENDING OUT ANNUAL MAILERS AND ALSO GOING TO HOAS AND LETTING THEM KNOW, PUT IN YOUR ADDRESS, HERE'S YOUR PIT ASSESSMENT. THIS IS YOUR MAX ASSESSMENT, HERE'S YOUR ANNUAL INSTALLMENT. AGAIN, THE LEGISLATURE, THIS PAST SESSION HAS REQUIRED THAT. SO, UM, THEY REQUIRE A CITY, BUT IF YOU JUST USE YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR'S WEBSITE, THAT SUFFICES UNDER THE LAW, UH, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. AND THEN THE SESSION BEFORE THAT, AGAIN, IT'S VERY CLEAR IN, IN TITLE SEARCHES AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'RE IN A PIT. AND, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THE REASONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT THEY'VE ADOPTED SOME OF THESE. AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE RECOMMEND, AND I WILL COMMEND KIRK'S FIRM WHO REPRESENTS, UH, DEVELOPERS. THEY'RE VERY, VERY MONOTONOUS ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO THEM IS THAT A BUILDER CALLS AND SAYS, WHY AREN'T YOU DISCLOSING THIS PROPERLY? UH, THE HOMEOWNER IS, IS SCREAMING AT ME RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T, DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE IN A PIT. HIS FIRM SINCE 2007 HAS BEEN THE LEADER AS FAR AS DEVELOPER REPS GO, AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT THE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. AND WE LOOK OVER ALL OF THAT BEFORE WE GO INTO THE MARKET ON A PIT BOND TO MAKE SURE ALL OF THOSE PROCEDURES ARE PUT IN PLACE. NOW, I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE BONDS GET ISSUED, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE MY INVESTORS DON'T WANT TO BE HOLDING ONTO LEANDER CITY OF LANDER BONDS, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A BUNCH OF HEADLINE RISK POPS UP. IT, IT'S DOESN'T DO GOOD FOR ANYBODY IN THE PROCESS. UM, THE OTHER THING IS SUITABILITY. WE SELF-IMPOSED WHEN WE ISSUE PIT BONDS THAT IT ONLY GOES TO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS. SO WE SELF-IMPOSE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS D NOMS. THESE ARE VERY SOPHISTICATED INVESTORS. NUVEEN, GOLDMAN SACHS, SOME OF THE LARGEST FIRMS IN THE WORLD BUY THESE BONDS. UH, SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS TRY TO SELL 'EM TO RETAIL, AND WE JUST DON'T DO THAT. WE, WE STRICTLY SELL 'EM TO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS AT VERY LARGE DENOMINATIONS. WE ALSO, UM, IN THE OFFERING DOCUMENT, YOU'LL SEE RESTRICT THE INITIAL PURCHASE TO INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS. UM, THE OTHER ITEM IS ADMINISTRATIVE RISK AND CONTINUING DISCLOSURE. THIS IS ALIGNED WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT Y'ALL ARE CONCERNED ABOUT. THE CITY'S FULL FAITH AND CREDIT IS NOT PLEDGED TO THESE BONDS. THE SOLE RECOURSE IS THE LAND THAT THE ASSESSMENT IS PUT ON. THAT STATED, IF YOU HIRE A SHODDY ADMINISTRATOR OR YOU ALL DECIDE TO TRY TO ADMINISTRATE IT YOURSELF AND, AND MESS UP A RATING AGENCY COULD COME IN AND LOOK AT THAT AND SAY, OKAY, WELL WE HAVE A IRRESPONSIBLE CITY THAT WANTS TO DO THIS DEVELOPMENT, BUT THEY'RE NOT ADMINISTERING IT CORRECTLY. UM, SO I JUST, IT'S A RISK. SOME PEOPLE WILL COME IN HERE AND TELL YOU THESE ARE RISKLESS THINGS, BUT THEY'RE NOT. [00:35:01] THEY JUST AREN'T. UM, THE OTHER THING IS CONTINUING DISCLOSURE. SO ON THE DEVELOPER ON A QUARTERLY BASIS FOR THE, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE NEW, MY FIRM REQUIRES THAT THEY DISCLOSE TO THE SEC OR THROUGH EMMA TO THE INVESTOR WORLD, THE STATUS OF THE DEVELOPMENT. SO WE KNOW VERY EARLY ON, ON A QUARTERLY BASIS WHETHER OR NOT THIS PROJECT IS MEETING ITS GOALS. AND IF IT ISN'T, I'M ROLLING UP MY SLEEVES AND MY ATTORNEY AND WE'RE TALKING AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A PROBLEM. AND IF THERE IS THAT I'M CONTACTING STAFF, I'M CONTACTING YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR. SO WE COULD COME UP WITH A SOLUTION BEFORE IT EVER GETS TO A POINT WHERE, UH, WE HAVE A, A FAILED PROJECT. AND AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT SCRUTINY IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'VE JUST NEVER HAD A FAILED PIT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. UM, LASTLY, UM, YOUR PIT ADMINISTRATOR WILL DO A, AN ANNUAL, UH, DISCLOSURE, WORK WITH YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND LET THE INVESTOR COMMUNITY KNOW THAT THIS PROJECT'S BUILT OUT. EVERYTHING'S GOING GOOD, YOU'RE FILING YOUR FINANCIAL AUDITS, THAT TYPE OF THING. UM, THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A PIT OVER A MUD. EFFECTIVELY, AS TIME GOES ON, LET'S SAY YOUR, UH, HOMEOWNER PAYS YEAR ONE IN A PA $2,000, UH, INSTALLMENT BY YEAR 30, AT THE END OF YEAR 30, THEY'RE PAYING ZERO. SO YOUR EFFECTIVE TAX RATE AS A HOMEOWNER GOES DOWN OVER TIME. SO STARTING OFF HERE, WE'RE AT 80 CENTS. AS THE VALUE IS CREATED, THAT NET EFFECTIVE TAX RATE GOES DOWN, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON WHY CITIES LIKE THIS OVER MUDS IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE A FINAL END DATE. IT ENDS IN 30 YEARS WITH A MUD, YOU CAN CONTINUE ISSUING BONDS AND THE MUD CAN BE OUT THERE FOR 50, 70 YEARS. UH, AND THE HOMEOWNERS ARE, AND THEIR TAXES NEVER GO DOWN. IT STAYS ELEVATED. SO ONE OF THE REASONS CITIES CHOOSE THIS OVER A A MUD IS BECAUSE THEY CAN POINT TO THE HOMEOWNER AND TELL 'EM WE HAVE AN END DATE AND WE NO LONGER HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS POLITICAL SUBDIVISION IN, IN OUR CITY. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST ANOTHER REFLECTION. UH, I ACTUALLY STOLE THIS FROM A PUBLICLY TRADED, UM, BUILDER WHO HAD IT. HE HAS A PIT AND THEN DEAR HORTON WAS IN A PIT, A MUD NEXT TO HIM. SO WHEN YOU WALK INTO THEIR SALES OFFICE, THIS WAS THE FIRST SHEET YOU SAW. IF YOU GO MOVE INTO THAT MUD, YOU'RE GONNA PAY OVER $56,000. I THINK THAT'S RIGHT, $53,000 MORE IN TAXES OVER THE LIFE OF YOUR MUD THAN IF YOU JUST STAYED IN A PIT. UM, SO IT WAS A EFFECTIVE SALES PIECE. I STOLE IT FROM A PUT IT IN MY BOOK, BUT I HAD THEIR PERMISSION. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST PIT AND MUD. UH, AND WE UNDERWRITE MUDS TOO, BY THE WAY. SO WE'RE, I'M NOT DIRECTING YOU IN ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER, JUST WITH MY EXPERIENCES AND AND SO FORTH. BUT AGAIN, MANY OF THE CITIES, PARTICULARLY IN THE HOUSTON AND, AND DALLAS MARKET AND, AND INCREASINGLY IN THIS MARKET PREFER PIT BECAUSE THE CITY'S IN CONTROL. IT'S LESS GOVERNMENT, UH, LESS DEBT. ONCE YOU ISSUE PIT BONDS, IT'S ONE AND DONE. YOU DON'T ISSUE PERPETUALLY EXCEPT FOR YOU WILL ON A NEW PHASE, BUT YOU DON'T ISSUE IT PERPETUALLY. UM, YOU HAVE THE LOW, LOWER ANNUAL HOMEOWNER PAYMENT, UH, FLEXIBILITY. THE HOMEOWNER CAN PAY IT OFF AT ANY TIME, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, A LOT OF FOLKS DO THAT. UM, IN FACT, WHEN RATES GET MISMATCHED, THEY'LL, UH, REFI THEIR MORTGAGE AND ROLL THE PIT ASSESSMENTS INTO IT AT A LOWER INTEREST RATE. UM, THERE'S ALSO THE MANAGEMENT OF IT, AGAIN, TO KIRK'S POINT EARLIER, MOST OF THE FOLKS THAT WE WORK WITH OR PIT ADMINISTRATOR IS THE FIRST, UH, LINE OF DEFENSE AND TAKES ALL THE COMPLAINTS AND EDUCATES AND SO FORTH, BUT INEVITABLY THEY CAN'T SOLVE ALL THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS. AND YOU'LL HAVE FOLKS END UP AT COUNCIL. UM, AND THEN SERVICES THE CITY ACTUALLY PROVIDES THE SERVICES HERE, DEPENDING ON THE MUD, THE CITY WON'T PROVIDE THE SERVICE PER DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE MUD ARE KNOCKING ON THE CITY COUNCIL'S DOORS WANTING TO KNOW WHY MY, UH, DILAPIDATED STREETS HAVE NOT BEEN REPAIRED, WHY MY WATER SEWER IS, UH, IS IN DIGRESS. AND THEN TERMINATION EVENT, AGAIN, THE CITY HAS THE ULTIMATE, UM, TERMINATION OF THE PIT IN A MUD. YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY OFF THE MUD'S DEBT BEFORE YOU EVER TAKE IT OVER. SO YOU'RE KIND OF BEHOLDEN TO HOW MUCH THAT MUD ULTIMATELY ISSUES. AND THESE ARE JUST, UM, COMMERCIALS. SO I'LL SHUT UP AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MAY HAVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNSEL. YES, MA'AM. SO LOOKING AT THE DOCUMENT HERE, YOU HAVE A, A, I THINK IT'S CALLED THE TAX STACK, RIGHT? AND SO BASICALLY YOU TAKE THE COUNTY, CITY OF LEANDER, IT COMES OUT TO I THINK 76 CENTS. YOU PUT IN LIBERTY HILL, THAT'S A DOLLAR 16. AND THEN YOU PUT IN THE PIT, IF I'M READING THIS RIGHT, IT'S A DOLLAR TWO. [00:40:02] AND SO BASICALLY 33% OF WHAT THEY PERCEIVE AS A TAX WOULD BE GOING TO PAY FOR THE PIT, RIGHT? IS THAT, I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THAT'S, THAT SOUNDS, UM, ABOUT RIGHT. YEAH, THAT SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT. JUST LEMME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MAXIMUM TAX SENSITIVITY. AND THAT'S REALLY A PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH AS THE DEVELOPER AND AS AS BUILDERS AS WELL. WE HAVE TO PUT A TAX STACK TOGETHER THAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD TO PAY IN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPLEX 3.09, THAT'S ABOUT WHERE THE TAX STACK STOPS IN THE NORTHERN AREA AS YOU GO OUT TOWARDS ROCKWALL, TEXAS AND OUT TOWARDS HUNT COUNTY OR, UM, YEAH, HUNT COUNTY. THEIR RATES AROUND 3.32. THE HOUSTON MARKET'S AROUND THREE POINT 50 AS FAR AS TOTAL TAX STACK. WHEN YOU ADD ALL YOUR TAXES TOGETHER HERE IN THIS AREA, 2.99 IS WHERE WE THINK THE SENSITIVITY LEVEL, UH, HITS THE TOP. SO WE WOULDN'T WANT TO EVER HAVE A DISTRICT ABOVE THAT AT THIS POINT IN THE MAR IN, IN THE MATURITY OF THE MARKET. 2.99 IS ABOUT WHERE WE WE WOULD BE, BUT RIGHT NOW MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR AREA ARE PAYING TWO. YEAH. CORRECT. AND SO WHEN A PERSON COMES TO OUR SUBDIVISION, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION AND IT'S A MARKET DECISION THAT THEY MAKE AND THEY'LL GET A NOTICE AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO DECIDE, HEY, DO I WANNA BUY IN THIS SUBDIVISION OR DO I WANNA BUY NEXT DOOR? AND THAT'S OUR SALES ISSUE. AND THAT'S, THAT'S OUR ISSUE. MM-HMM . FOR US TO DEAL WITH MARKET WISE. YEAH. SO I WANNA GO BACK TO THE, THE ACTUAL, THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE PIT. SO THIS IS NOT, THIS WOULD BE MORE FOR YOU. YES, SIR. UH, TRIP, RIGHT? YES, SIR. SO, UM, SO IN 2008, I KNOW TEXAS, I DON'T KNOW HOW HARD HIT TEXAS GOT, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WALKING AWAY FROM THEIR PROPERTIES, WALKING AWAY FROM THINGS. IF YOU HAD A DEVELOPMENT HERE THAT WAS SOLD OUT AT 50%, SO IT'S NOT SO, SO BASICALLY THE BURDEN, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT REALLY PAYING FOR ITSELF. AND SOMETHING, AN EVENT LIKE THAT HAPPENED, HOW WOULD THAT GET SOLVED? I MEAN, WOULD THAT ALL COME BACK TO THE CITY AS A A LIABILITY? NO, SIR. NO SIR. SO IF YOU'RE 50% VERTICAL, LET'S SAY THAT RIGHT. MORE THAN LIKELY YOU'RE PHASE TWO. GOOD EVENING. TODAY IS TUESDAY, JULY 1ST, 2025, [4. Open Meeting, Invocation and Pledges of Allegiance.] AND THE TIME IS 7:16 PM SORRY FOR THE DELAY. UH, VICTORIA CHUR OF LEANDER BAJA COMMUNITY IS GOING TO PROVIDE THE INVOCATION FOR THIS REGULAR MEETING OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL FOLLOWING INVOCATION, PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR THE PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE. GOOD EVENING. OH GOD, MY GOD. VERILY I INVOKE THEE AND SUPPLICATE BEFORE THY THRESHOLD ASKING THEE THAT ALL THY MERCIES MAY DESCEND UPON THESE SOULS. SPECIALIZE THEM FOR THY FAVOR AND THY TRUTH. OH LORD, UNITE AND BIND TOGETHER THE HEARTS JOIN IN ACCORD ALL SOULS AND EXHILARATE THE SPIRITS THROUGH THE SIGNS OF THY SANCTITY AND ONENESS. OH LORD, MAKE THESE FACES RADIANT THROUGH THE LIGHT OF THY ONENESS. STRENGTHEN THE LOINS OF THY SERVANTS IN THE SERVICE OF THY KINGDOM. OH LORD, THOU POSSESSOR OF INFINITE MERCY, OH LORD OF FORGIVENESS AND PARDON, FORGIVE OUR SINS, PARDON OUR SHORTCOMINGS AND CAUSE US TO TURN TO THE KINGDOM OF THY CLEMENCY, INVOKING THE KINGDOM OF MIGHT AND POWER HUMBLE AT THY SHRINE AND SUBMISSIVE BEFORE THE GLORY OF THINE EVIDENCES, OH LORD GOD, MAKE US AS THE WAVES OF THE SEA, AS FLOWERS OF THE GARDEN UNITED AGREED THROUGH THE BOUNTIES OF THY LOVE. OH LORD, DILATE THE BREASTS THROUGH THE SIGNS OF THY ONENESS AND MAKE ALL MANKIND AS STARS SHINING FROM THE SAME HEIGHT OF GLORY AS PERFECT FRUITS GROWING UPON THY TREE OF LIFE. VERILY THOU ART THE ALMIGHTY, THE SELF SUBSISTENT THE GIVER, THE FOR GIVING. THE PARTNER, THE OMNISCIENT, THE ONE CREATOR. AH AMEN. TO THE FLAG [00:45:01] OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE FLAG SCIENCE ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. I'M A TEXAS FLAG. TEXAS ONE STATE ONE. EHOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WAS LOVELY. I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT LAST MINUTE. UH, ITEM FIVE, [5. Roll Call.] SENIOR DEPUTY CITY SECRETARY PEMBRO, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL COUNCIL. MEMBER CHANG PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER HERRERA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER MCDONALD HERE, MAYOR PRO TIMM THOMPSON. PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER NODEN HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS. MAYOR DELLY HERE. ITEM NUMBER SIX IS NON AGENDA ITEM, PUBLIC COMMENTS. FOR ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT, I'LL CALL UP SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THAT ITEM. WHEN WE GO TO DISCUSS IT, UM, THIS IS A TIME THAT IS FOR ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA. IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISHES TO SPEAK ON SOMETHING THAT IS NOT POSTED ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA? ALL RIGHT, WE'RE [7. Recognitions/Proclamations/Visitors.City of Leander New Hires and Promotions] GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, RECOGNITIONS PROCLAMATIONS AND VISITORS. UH, TONIGHT WE HAVE OUR HR DIRECTOR, MS. DAVIS, IN THE HOUSE TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEW HIRES AND PROMOTIONS. GOOD EVENING, MS. DAVIS. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR. GOOD EVENING. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY MANAGER PARTNER. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I AM EXCITED TO SAY THAT, UH, FOR THE PROMOTIONS, WE HAVE 18 PROMOTIONS OVER THE PAST THREE MONTHS AND WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO ALWAYS BE ABLE TO PROMOTE FROM WITHIN. AND SOMETIMES THAT'S IN ONE DEPARTMENT AND SOMETIMES IT'S CROSS DEPARTMENTS. SO WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. UH, SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE LIST. SO FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE HAVE CLARA CARLE AND SHE ACTUALLY CAME OVER FROM LIBRARY TO WORK IN COMMUNICATIONS, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, MIKELA, LYNN ENGINEERING, ALEX MARTINEZ, THE LIBRARY, CARRIE GRIFFIN. SHE WENT FROM PART-TIME TO FULL-TIME. PARKS AND RECREATION. DOUG JOINER BECAME THE CREW LEADER. JOSH LITNER, SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER SPECIALIST. HUMBERTO REYES PARKS MAINTENANCE PUBLIC WORKS. WE HAVE CUTTER ALEXANDER AS THE FIELD FOREMAN, A FIRE DEPARTMENT. BRANDON SANCHEZ, DRIVER PUMP OPERATOR POLICE, ALEXANDRIA AGUIRE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER. WE'VE GOT ALSO CONNOR ALVAREZ, SYLVIA BLACK, GIOVANNI HOSA, BRYCE AZAR, JETTA SLATER, SAM WEATHERLY, SHELLY WHITE, RODERICK ROBINSON. THAT'S FANTASTIC. THAT'S JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS. THAT'S IN JUST, UH, THROUGH APRIL. THROUGH JUNE. THAT'S GREAT. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR PROMOTIONS. YES, DEFINITELY. AND THEN THE NEW HIRES FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE MICHAEL CANO, TRISTAN CHILDERS, ZACH INGRAM, ADAM RA, DYLAN SUMNER CARTER, WAYNES POLICE, BILL WOODWARD, JORDAN TAYLOR, CATHERINE VOLES, UH, TASIA JONES DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. CHRIS SANCHEZ GOLF COURSE. WE HAVE JOSELLE DIAZ, CAMDEN COGGAN, RIDER HULLING, LUKE WORLEY, PUBLIC WORKS, ANTONIO SALAZAR, RICHARD HAMILL, SEAN CANNON, MARTIN HERNANDEZ, AUSTIN TREVINO. NOLAN EARNHARDT. AND THEN MUNICIPAL COURT. WE HAVE NORMA HAMO, CHRISTIE, LINDSAY ENGINEERING, JOAN MARTIN LIBRARY, NATALIE CANTU, FINANCE, OTIS WILLIAMS, VICTOR CASTILLO, LOUIS MENDOZA. KIRSTEN SEWARD. AND THE NAME THAT MAY LOOK FAMILIAR IS ALLISON MCGREW. ALLISON HAS BEEN A CONTRACT EMPLOYEE WORKING WITH FINANCE AND HR FOR 12 YEARS AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY AND SUPER EXCITED THAT SHE IS NOW AN EMPLOYEE. YAY. SO THAT IS WELCOME OFFICIALLY ALLISON . SO THAT WAS 30 NEW HIRES AND THEN WE HAD THE 18 PROMOTIONS. THAT'S FANTASTIC. Y'ALL ARE BUSY. YES, DEFINITELY. AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF 'EM ARE HERE TONIGHT, RIGHT? NO. OKAY. THEY'RE NOT. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT TO US. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Y'ALL HAVE A SAFE 4TH OF JULY. THANKS. YOU TOO. ALRIGHT, [8. Leander Chamber of Commerce mid-year update.] ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, LEAN OR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MIDYEAR UPDATE WITH CHAMBER PRESIDENT BRIDGET BRAND. WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON THE ROLL OF GOOD NEWS. I KNOW, RIGHT? I WAS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW. I WAS THINKING HOW BUSY WE WERE, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE, ALTHOUGH I'M ABUNDANTLY AWARE OF THAT. SO, UM, I I FORGET HOW TO OH, HE'S JUST GONNA DO IT. EXCELLENT. PERFECT. UH, LOTS OF GREAT UPDATES. UH, SO THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM OUR PREVIOUS UPDATES AND THAT WE HAVE SLIDES TO GO WITH ALL OF IT BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN DOING SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS AND I REALLY WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SOME OF THE PICTURES OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR THIS YEAR. BUT ALSO THINGS THAT ARE COMING. BIGGEST AND MOST EXCITING FOR US, OF COURSE, IS OUR NEW HOME. UH, WE ARE WORKING ON THE CIVIL RIGHT NOW FOR, UH, OUR FUTURE OFFICE, UH, [00:50:01] COMMUNITY SPACE COLLABORATION SPACE AND ALL OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT IS THE EXTERIOR OF OUR BUILDING, BUT IT WILL OF COURSE HOUSE OUR OFFICES, HOUSE, THE VISITOR CENTER, A TRAINING ROOM HA THAT IS SO DESPERATELY NEEDED FOR OUR COMMUNITY ALONG WITH, UH, BOARD SPACE AND ALSO COMMUNITY OFFICES. AND SO TO YOUR, UM, FROM OUR PREVIOUS BUSINESS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR WAS THE ABILITY TO HAVE DROP IN SPACE. AND SO, UH, WE'LL HAVE EIGHT DROP IN SPACES IN THIS BUILDING AS WELL. SO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT. UH, ONCE WE GET A LITTLE BIT CLOSER, I'LL BRING THE INTERIOR AND SHOW Y'ALL ALL OF THOSE THINGS. SO REALLY EXCITED. UH, WE HAVE HAD A VERY BUSY YEAR. UM, OF COURSE THE VERY FIRST THING I'LL HIGHLIGHT IS WE'VE HAD A MAJOR CHANGE IN OUR LUNCHES, REALLY FOCUSING ON LEANDER BUSINESSES, LEANDER SPEAKERS, AND PEOPLE THAT ARE REALLY IN OUR COMMUNITY DOING GREAT THINGS. AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY WELL RECEIVED. UH, WE JUST DID THE NET PROMOTER SCORE FOR THE NEW FORMAT OF THE LUNCHES AND RECEIVE BASICALLY ALMOST PERFECT SCORES ACROSS THE BOARD. SO, UH, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY. UH, WE'VE BEEN DOING OUT OF THE BLUE VISITS, WE'VE BEEN DOING THESE FOREVER, BUT THIS YEAR IS KIND OF A STELLAR YEAR IN THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE 102 VISITS, WHICH ARE BASICALLY VISITS INTO SMALL BUSINESSES IN LEANDER ALSO. THEY COULD BE LARGE BUSINESSES TOO, UH, BUT INTO THE BUSINESSES IN LEANDER TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING, SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING, SEE IF THEY NEED HELP, ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. WE'VE DONE 248. UH, BASICALLY THEY'RE SURVEY CALLS, SO THEY'RE NOT JUST CALLS, BUT THEY ARE SURVEY IN DEPTH CALLS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND ACTUALLY WE DID ANOTHER ONE THIS MORNING. SO 45 RIBBON CUTTINGS THIS YEAR ALREADY, WHICH IS KIND OF INSANE. UH, 45 RIBBON CUTTINGS FOR A CHAMBER IN ANY OTHER COMMUNITY REALLY IN THE WORLD IN A YEAR WOULD BE LIKE SOMETHING PEOPLE WOULD REALLY BE CELEBRATING. UH, AND SO WE'VE DONE THOSE AS OF TODAY, WHICH IS PRETTY COOL. SO, UM, WE'VE GOT, ALSO SPEAKING OF TRAINING SPACES, UH, WE JUST HOSTED A SOLD OUT WORKSHOP. UM, AND WE'VE GOT TWO MORE OF THOSE, BUT WE'RE PUTTING WORKSHOPS ON ESSENTIALLY EVERY BASICALLY, UH, TWO TO THREE EVERY SINGLE MONTH. AND SO YES. OH NO, GO AHEAD. WITH YOUR WORKSHOPS. OH, THEY'RE REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR BUSINESS OWNERS TO GROW WITHOUT HAVING TO LEAVE THE COMMUNITY, GET TRAINING WITHOUT IT HAVING TO HAVE A HUGE PRICE TAG EITHER. MOST OF THESE CLASSES ARE, THESE ARE $25, SO MOST OF 'EM ARE ANYWHERE FROM, THEY COULD BE $0. AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE CLASS WE DO IS USUALLY AROUND $40. SO, UH, REALLY VERY AFFORDABLE WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS ACUMEN LOCALLY. NICE MICRO GROUPS. AGAIN, ANOTHER JUST STELLAR OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESSES TO CONNECT, GROW, LEARN. WE DO TWO SESSIONS OF MICRO GROUPS AND ESSENTIALLY MICRO GROUPS ARE, UH, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER IN A SMALL GROUP ENVIRONMENT. SO MAYBE YOU'RE NOT, MAYBE YOU DON'T EXCEL IN THE NORMAL CHAMBER LUNCH BECAUSE THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE AND MAYBE YOU HATE NETWORKING, UH, BUT YOU STILL WANT TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS AND YOU STILL WANNA LEARN. MAYBE YOU'RE A NEW BUSINESS, MAYBE YOU'RE IN HEALTHCARE, MAYBE YOU'RE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, NON-PROFIT. AND SO WE PUT THESE GROUPS TOGETHER TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER BASED ON DIFFERENT CATEGORIES AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF BUSINESSES. AND SO THEY CHANGE EVERY SINGLE SESSION. IN OUR FIRST SESSION WE HAD 54 AND WE ALREADY HAVE 55 SIGNED UP FOR SESSION TWO THAT'S STARTING ON AUGUST 5TH. AND ALL OF THEM, EXCEPT FOR MARKETING, ARE ALREADY FULL. WE'VE GOT TWO THINGS HAPPENING, UH, FOR THOSE. I DID BRING, UH, OUR VISIT LEANDER, UH, I'M SORRY, OUR LIVING LAND MAGAZINES AND THEY'RE OUTSIDE OF THE COUNCIL CHAMBER. SO IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO GRAB ONE, WE'VE GOT THEM OUTSIDE, UH, ON YOUR WAY OUT. BUT THIS YEAR WE ACTUALLY ARE GOING TO BE SEPARATING OUR LIVING LEANDER INTO TWO PUBLICATIONS. AND SO HISTORICALLY WE'VE DONE, UH, ONE LARGE LIVING LEANDER DIRECTORY THAT BASICALLY IS FOR ANYBODY THAT MOVES, VISITS, WORKS, ALL THE THINGS. AND SO IT ESSENTIALLY GIVES YOU ALL THE THINGS WHEN YOU MOVE HERE. SO THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED PREDOMINANTLY TO PEOPLE WHO MOVE CURRENT BUSINESS OWNERS, ANYBODY THAT COMES INTO THE VISITOR CENTER, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. THIS YEAR WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA SEPARATE THOSE MAGAZINES SO THAT WE'VE GOT ONE THAT'S FOCUSED BECAUSE WE HAVE A GROWING VISIT POPULATION. UH, ONE, WE'RE GONNA SEPARATE THOSE SO THAT THERE WILL BE A SPECIFIC MAGAZINE FOR PEOPLE LOOKING JUST TO VISIT, THINGS TO DO FOR A WEEKEND, THINGS TO DO FOR A WEEK, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE VERSUS IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT ACTUALLY MOVING HERE. AND SO, UH, THAT IS COMING UP SOON. AGAIN, ADS IN THOSE ARE START AT $425 FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. SO AGAIN, HELPING OUR BUSINESSES REALLY GET AFFORDABLE ADVERTISING TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS. AND SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE PUBLICATION. UM, AND THEY DO GET DISTRIBUTED EVERYWHERE. THE VISIT ONES. WE WILL THEN BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE IN HIGH TRAFFIC VISITORS CENTER AS AS WELL TO HELP DRAW PEOPLE TO LEANDER FROM THIS AREA. SO FOR EXAMPLE, FREDERICKSBURG, [00:55:01] LET'S SAY YOU'RE IN FREDERICKSBURG, BUT YOU MIGHT BE A WINTER TEXAN AND YOU'RE TRAVELING ALL AROUND THE AREA. SO WE ARE ABLE TO THEN DISTRIBUTE OUR VISIT GUIDES IN THEIR VISITOR CENTER TO TRY TO START ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO COME TO LEANDER FROM OTHER REALLY HIGH VISIBILITY VISITOR CENTERS. AND SO THAT'S SORT OF THE STRATEGIC DECISION BEHIND THAT. UH, THIS YEAR WE'VE DONE A TON OF EVENTS, AS YOU ALL KNOW. UM, I'M GONNA JUST GO THROUGH A COUPLE OF THEM. UH, OF COURSE OUR EXPO WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WE HAD 26 NONPROFITS PARTICIPATE IN OUR, UH, COMMUNITY AND NONPROFIT EXPO. WE HAD 71 SMALL BUSINESSES, 1200 ATTENDEES, AND WE GAVE BAND OF THE HILLS A THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, FOR BRINGING IN THE MOST GUESTS. SO THEY WERE SUPER EXCITED. WE HOSTED THE FIRST AND CREATED REALLY THE FIRST WOMEN OF WILCO AND ASKED ALL OF THE OTHER CHAMBERS AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY TO JOIN US IN HOSTING THAT EVENT. AND THEY LOVED THE IDEA. UH, IT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL IN FACT THAT WE HAVE DECIDED OBVIOUSLY, THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A TRADITION THAT CONTINUES. SO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY. AND FOR HELP , WE HOSTED OUR, UH, GOLF TOURNAMENT IN MAY. WE'VE GOT ANOTHER ONE COMING UP IN OCTOBER. UH, OF COURSE THE OLD TOWN STREET FESTIVAL, WHICH I KNOW MOST OF YOU ALREADY HAVE SEEN THAT REPORT, BUT I CAN'T NOT MENTION IT HERE. AND ADDED TO, WE, UH, HAD 73 LOCAL BUSINESSES PARTICIPATE IN BOOST IN THAT AND 137 TOTAL. SO YOU CAN SEE THE ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE BASED ON FIVE ACTUAL COUNTS THAT WE DID ON SITE THAT DAY. UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THE ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THAT FESTIVAL. SO PRETTY EXCITING. LEANDER SUMMIT. THESE ARE EVENTS THAT ARE COMING UP SOON. UH, LEANDER SUMMIT, WHICH IS OUR REAL ESTATE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, BOTH UPDATES AND TOUR OF THE COMMUNITY. SO IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING OR IN THE AUDIENCE THAT REALLY WANNA KNOW FOR THE PEOPLE WHO SAY, WHAT'S THIS? WHERE'S THIS GOING? WHAT'S THAT? THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO FIND OUT ABOUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN ONE DAY. SO WE DO THIS IN PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HERE AT THE CITY. UM, AND THEY ACTUALLY GUIDE THE TOUR. UM, AND IT JUST REALLY IS A GREAT DAY TO HEAR ABOUT ALL OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY. SPIRITS OF BAGHDAD, TICKETS ACTUALLY JUST WENT ON SALE MONDAY, AND SO DID YOU SEE ? IT'S REALLY, THIS YEAR'S GONNA BE, WELL, LAST YEAR WAS AMAZING TOO. SO SPIRITS OF BAGHDAD IS A HISTORICAL TOUR AGAIN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LEANDER HISTORICAL COMMISSION OF THE BAGHDAD CEMETERY. AND SO WE BASICALLY BRING FIVE HISTORICAL FIGURES THAT ARE BURIED IN THE CEMETERY BACK TO LIFE TO TELL THEIR STORY. AND SO IT'S A GREAT WAY TO LEARN THE HISTORY, UH, OF LEANDER WHILE CELEBRATING ALL OF THE IMPACT THAT THOSE PEOPLE HAVE HAD. AND IT'S JUST ACTUALLY REALLY COOL. SO EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A HISTORY BUFF, WHICH I AM NOT, I ACTUALLY THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS. AND SO WE ARE ADDING AN ENTIRE FLIGHT TO, UH, THE SPIRITS OF BAGHDAD BECAUSE OF ITS POPULARITY. SO GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY IF YOU WANNA GO. AND THEN OF COURSE, THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL WILL BE HERE. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, WE ARE ALREADY, UH, PLANNING, WE'VE ALREADY, UM, OPENED UP THE, UM, REGISTRATION FOR THE BOOTHS AND WE HAD, AGAIN, OUR HIGHEST NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS ON DAY ONE EVER. SO REALLY EXCITING. UH, THIS YEAR NEW, WE ARE, UM, GONNA BE HOSTING OUR GALA ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. AND SO WE ARE ADDING, I KNOW, A REALLY EXCITING EVENT, THE GRAND GALA, UM, THE GRAND GALA'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN THAT IT, IT IS AN EVENT HOSTED BY OUR FOUNDATION. UM, AND SO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE PROCEEDS WILL GO BACK TO THE FOUNDATION TO DO PROJECTS IN LEANDER. AND SO IT'S A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY. IF YOU ENJOY GOING OUT ON NEW YEAR'S, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO GO TO A REALLY FUN PARTY, UH, AND MAKE THAT BE A GREAT DONATION TO A REALLY GREAT CAUSE LOCALLY. SO, AND OUTSIDE OF THAT, I AM NOT GONNA READ THE SLIDE TO YOU BECAUSE I LOATH WHEN PEOPLE READ SLIDES TO ME, . THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON IT THOUGH, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT YES, WE GET A LOT OF NOTABILITY FOR ALL OF THE EVENTS THAT WE DO AND FOR THE NETWORKING AND FOR ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BUT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF WORK THAT WE DO BEHIND THE SCENES. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE KENT WORKING AT THE LEGISLATOR PROVIDING NEW WORK FOR US, , UH, WHICH IS GREAT ACTUALLY. UH, BUT IT DOES, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE DO BEHIND THE SCENES IN ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY, IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM, HELPING BUSINESSES GET STARTED, HELPING BRING BUSINESSES HERE, ANSWERING QUESTIONS, UM, DOING ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. GETTING INFORMATION AND LOGISTICS AND DOING SURVEYS AND DOING ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT ALSO HELP BUSINESSES CHOOSE LEANDER. AND SO, UM, THAT'S MY UPDATE QUESTIONS. THAT WAS FANTASTIC. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I HAD TO DO THE MATH REALLY QUICKLY. YOU HAD HOW MANY RIBBON CUTTING SO FAR? 45. [01:00:01] I, I LOOKED IT UP AND GOOGLE SAYS WE'RE ON WEEK NUMBER 27 OF THE YEAR. YEAH. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. YEAH. THERE'S MORE THAN ONE. PRETTY MUCH EVERY WEEK. YEAH. SOME WEEKS WE'LL HAVE THREE. I MIKE GOES TO A LOT OF THEM. IT'S, IT'S CRAZY TO KEEP UP. WE HAD SOMEBODY ASK, THEY WERE LIKE, I'D LIKE TO GO TO ALL THE RIBBON CUTTINGS. I WAS LIKE, I DON'T MAKE IT TO ALL THE RIBBON CUTTINGS. HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT? LIKE, THAT'S NOT EVEN, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. MIKE DOES A FAIRLY GOOD JOB, THOUGH. UH, BUT YEAH. UH, IT'S AMAZING. IT'S, IT'S KIND OF AMAZING. IT'S A WONDERFUL TIME TO BE IN LEANDER, TEXAS. . YEAH. COUNCIL, ANYTHING? I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND ALSO FOR, UH, THE, THE WORK YOU DO BEHIND THE SCENES FOR BUSINESSES AND ADVOCATING FOR 'EM WITH THE CITY. THANK YOU. MICHAEL, ANYTHING ELSE? QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. THIS IS INCREDIBLE. WE'RE SO LUCKY. AS ALWAYS, WE, IF YOU DO HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO ME. UH, LOTS OF MORE THINGS TO COME FOR NEXT YEAR, SO THANKS GUYS. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL. MOVING [ CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION] INTO OUR CONSENT AGENDA. UH, ITEMS 13 AND 14 HAVE BEEN POSTPONED AT THE REQUEST OF THE APPLICANT UNTIL JULY 17TH, 2025, UM, AT OUR REGULAR MEETING. SO WE'LL BE CONSIDERING CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS NINE THROUGH 12 AS WELL AS 15. MOVE TO APPROVE SECOND MOTION. AND SECOND, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU. MOVING INTO OUR REGULAR AGENDA, ITEM 16 IS POSTPONED UNTIL JULY 17TH, 2025, REGULAR MEETING ITEM 17. THIS ITEM HAS ALSO BEEN POSTPONED AT THE REQUEST OF THE APPLICANT UNTIL THE JULY 17TH, 2025, REGULAR MEETING. ITEM 18, [18. Discuss and consider action regarding Ordinance Case OR-25-0032 to amend the Sign Ordinance to update Sections 3.08.006 and 3.08.012 (1) to allow for Fence Wraps and modify the requirements for Building Scrim Signs, and to provide for related matters; Leander, Williamson & Travis Counties, Texas.] DISCUSSING, CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING ORDINANCE CASE OR DASH 25 DASH 0 3 2 TO AMEND THE SIGN ORDINANCE TO UPDATE SECTIONS 3.0, 8.006, AND 3.0 8.02. UH, SECTION ONE TO ALLOW FOR FENCE WRAPS AND MODIFY THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING SCRIM SIGNS AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. LEANDER WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS COUNTIES, TEXAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. GRIFFIN, I THINK THIS IS THE ONLY TIME WE SEE YOU TONIGHT. SO EXCITING, . WELL, GOOD EVENING. SO THIS IS, UH, A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE SIGN ORDINANCE. UM, OVER TIME WE, WE SEE NEW TYPES OF SIGNAGE COME INTO THE CITY AND, UM, RECENTLY WE'VE HAD A LOT OF REQUESTS FOR FENCE WRAPS. SO FENCE WRAPS ARE PROVIDED AS PART OF YOUR CONSTRUCTION, UM, OF A PROJECT. AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO IS ADVERTISE THE FUTURE BUSINESS THAT'S, UM, BEING DEVELOPED SO PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S COMING. UM, CURRENTLY IT'S NOT ALLOWED BY OUR ORDINANCE AND, UM, WE SAW A NEED TO ADD IT. UM, SO THIS WOULD ALLOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING IT TODAY TO CONTINUE WITHOUT, UM, CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTION, UM, AND ALSO ADD A NEW OPTION IN OUR CODE. UM, WITH THAT, WE ALSO UPDATED THE BUILDING SCRIM SIGN. UM, THIS SIGN, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY REQUESTS. WE DON'T REALLY HAVE BUILDINGS THAT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SIGN. UM, BUT WE DID GET FEEDBACK THAT, UH, THE PROPORTIONS DIDN'T MATCH, SO WE CHANGED OUR ORDINANCE TO MIRROR ROUND ROCK AND THEY'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH THEIRS. UM, SO WE WANTED TO UPDATE OURS TO MATCH. AND I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COUNSEL. QUESTIONS QUICK. SO PENDING APPROVAL OF THIS, UM, AFTER THAT, WILL YOU GET A HOLD OF ALL THOSE BUSINESSES THEY'RE BUILDING AND GET 'EM TO PUT THEIR NAMES ON ALL THE FENCES? ? I MEAN, WE'RE NOT GONNA REQUIRE 'CAUSE IT COSTS MONEY TO PRINT THOSE SIGNS. I'M JUST YEAH. TELL 'EM IT'S POSSIBLE. SURE. YEAH. WELL THEY, THEY DID IT ANYWAY, SO WE JUST HAVEN'T ENFORCED IT. I DID HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE BUILDING SCRIM SIGN THAT YOU SAID YOU'RE MARRYING ROUND ROCK, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T HAVE ANY BUILDINGS THAT MEET THAT REQUIREMENT YET. THIS IS A PREEMPTIVE THING SO THAT WE COULD BE READY. WE JUST SAW OPPORTUNITY WITH A AND THEN THAT WE THOUGHT WE'D PUT IT IN THERE. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, SO ON THE SCRIM SIGNS, UM, SECTION TWO, IT SAYS A BUILDING SCRIM SIGN SHALL NOT BE DISPLAYED FOR A PERIOD EXCEEDING 30 CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR DAYS WITH A MAXIMUM OF THREE PERMITS ISSUED IN ANY CONSECUTIVE 12 MONTHS PERIOD. I JUST WANTED TO CHECK THAT 90 DAYS WAS TYPICAL FOR CONSTRUCTION TO START AND FINISH. UH, BUILDING SCRIMS SIGNS ARE NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION. THEY'RE ADVERTISING AN EVENT. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. YEAH, I'M SLOW. MM-HMM. THANK YOU. IT'S OKAY. UM, OKAY, SO THEN I KNEW I HIGHLIGHTED THAT FOR A REASON. UM, SO THEN DO WE THINK THAT THAT IS, IS 90 DAYS ENOUGH FOR SOME OF THESE PLACES THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO IT? I WOULD IMAGINE IT'S A BIG INVESTMENT TO DO THOSE. IS THIS WHAT ROUND ROCK IS DOING THE 90 DAYS, CORRECT. RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT WE BORROWED FROM AND THEY'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH IT. AND UM, THE BUILDINGS I WOULD SEE USING IT WOULD PROBABLY BE, UM, IN NORTHLINE. THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING. SMALLER BUILDINGS, BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN FACED WITH THAT YET. UM, THEY ALSO HAVE A MASTER SIGN PLAN THAT WOULD PROBABLY ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL FOR THEM. OKAY. SO A MASTER SIGN PLAN COULD BYPASS THIS? YES. OH, OKAY. THAT'S PERFECT. THEN'S WHAT I NEEDED. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, ON THE FENCE WRAPS, SECTION TWO, THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF THE FENCE WRAP IS SIX FEET. UM, AREN'T SOME OF THE FENCES HIGHER THAN SIX FEET? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY HIGHER, [01:05:01] BUT WE COULD CHANGE IT TO MATCH THE HEIGHT OF THE FENCE AROUND THE SITE. WELL, YEAH, I WONDER WHY, WHY I HAVE A HEIGHT RESTRICTION AT ALL. SURE. OKAY. AND THEN MAYBE WANNA BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT 'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO BUILD A REALLY LARGE FENCE. HOW HIGH COULD THEY BUILD A FENCE YOU THINK FOR CONSTRUCTION CHALLENGE ACCEPTED ? YEAH, IT'S, IT'S NOT A DEAL BREAKER. YEAH. I JUST KNOW SOMETIMES WHEN I'M WALKING AROUND, NOT THAT THE CONSTRUCTION SITES AROUND HERE ARE VERY WALKABLE, BUT LIKE IN IN CITIES, WHENEVER I'M AROUND CONSTRUCTION SITES, I FEEL LIKE THE FENCES ARE WAY TALLER THAN ME. YEAH. UM, SO IT'S GOTTA BE HIGHER THAN SIX, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF OUT HERE MAYBE IT'S DIFFERENT. UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING ON THE FENCE WRAP SECTION ONE, UM, IT SAYS THAT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE SHALL BE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT. LET'S SEE, MAXIMUM SIGN AREA SHALL NOT EXCEED THE LIMITS OF THE CONSTRUCTION FENCING INSTALLED TO SCREEN AND ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE. THE CONSTRUCTION SITE SHALL BE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF A SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT, CONSTRUCTION PLAN PERMIT OR BUILDING PERMIT. WE DON'T FORESEE ANY SITUATION WHERE LIKE SOMEBODY COMES IN LATER AND WANTS TO ADD IT. IS THERE LIKE A BACKUP PLAN? I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS WORKS. WORKS. THEY WOULD NEED TO BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO DO IT. SO YOU'D HAVE TO HAVE A PERMIT FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION. SO THOSE ARE THE THREE PERMITS YOU COULD GET. BUT ONCE THEY HAVE THE PERMIT, IF THEY DIDN'T PUT THIS IN, THEY CAN'T ASK FOR IT. UM, ALL THE PROJECTS HAVE A LIMIT OF CONSTRUCTION AS PART OF THE APPLICATION. IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAVE A FENCE AROUND IT. OKAY. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A, A SITE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION WITHOUT A LIMITS OF CONSTRUCTION. OKAY. OKAY. THAT WAS ALL I HAD THEN. UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? UH, ALL RIGHT. SO I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE, BUT CHANGING, UM, SECTION D TWO, THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT TO EIGHT FEET. SOUND GOOD? OKAY. ALRIGHT. SECOND, SECOND MOTION. AND SECOND, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. ITEM 19, [19. Discuss and consider action on a Resolution in support of the construction of the Hero Way (formerly RM 2243) East Phase 2 Eastbound Frontage Road Project from 183A to just east of Ronald Reagan Boulevard.] DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HERO WAY, FORMERLY RM 2243 EAST PHASE TWO EASTBOUND FRONTAGE ROAD PROJECT FROM 180 3 A TO JUST EAST OF RONALD REAGAN BOULEVARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS ELLISON. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. UH, THIS ITEM IS TO CONSIDER A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE HERO WAY EAST PHASE TWO PROJECT FROM 180 3 A TO RONALD REAGAN. UM, THIS ITEM IS A RESULT OF OUR TRANSPORTATION WORKSHOP HELD HERE, UH, LAST FRIDAY, WHERE STAFF PRESENTED THREE OPTIONS FOR EXPANDING, UM, THAT HERO WAY CORRIDOR, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COUNTY'S ONGOING PROJECT, THEIR PHASE ONE A PROJECT. OH, I'M SO SORRY. IS IT NOT ON? SORRY. THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU. UM, SO THIS ITEM IS A RESULT OF OUR TRANSPORTATION WORKSHOP LAST FRIDAY, UM, WHERE STAFF PRESENTED THREE OPTIONS FOR EXPANDING THIS CORRIDOR. IN ADDITION TO THE COUNTY'S PHASE ONE, A PROJECT, UH, PHASE ONE A IS SHOWN HERE IN GREEN. OOPS, WHAT DID I DO? IT'S VIBRATED AT ME. UM, PHASE ONE A IS IN GREEN, UM, GOES, IT CONSTRUCTS THIS, UH, NORTHERN PORTION, WHICH WILL BE THE FUTURE WESTBOUND FRONTAGE ROAD. AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY TO GARY PARK. UM, IT WOULD INCLUDE TWO-WAY TRAFFIC, SO ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION WITH THE CENTER TURN LANE, AND, AND THAT WOULD REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THE OTHER FRONTAGE ROAD IS COMPLETE. UH, DUE TO GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THIS CORRIDOR, UH, THE CITY DESIRES TO FUND AND PROCEED WITH CONSTRUCTION OF THAT PHASE TWO SOUTHERN, UH, PORTION, WHICH IS SHOWN IN THIS LIGHT BLUE, UH, FROM RONALD REAGAN TO 180 3 A, UH, WITH THE CONSTRUCTION COST, UH, TO BE BORN BY THE CITY. RIGHT NOW THEY'RE ESTIMATING CONSTRUCTION COSTS AT ABOUT $28 MILLION. SO AFTER PHASE ONE A AND PHASE TWO ARE COMPLETE, THE EXISTING TWO LANE ROAD WILL BE, UM, REPLACED WITH A SIX LANE ROAD WITHIN THAT SECTION. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COUNSEL. I'M JUST GLAD WE'RE DOING THIS FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE OVER THERE. AND EVERYTHING IS COMING WITH TITAN HARMONY SCHOOL AND ALL THE THINGS WILL MISS OUT OTHER ROAD. SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD DEAL FOR OUR RESIDENTS. YEP. IS THAT A MOTION? THEN? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. I'LL SECOND. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. UH, ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL. UH, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A 10 MINUTE RECESS BECAUSE ITEM 20 IS GOING TO TAKE QUITE A BIT OF TIME. SO WE'RE GONNA RECESS AT 7:43 PM PLEASE BE BACK AT 8 55 7 7 7 55. ALL RIGHT, WE ARE RECONVENING INTO REGULAR SESSION AT 7:59 PM MOVING INTO [20. Receive presentations and evaluate the finalists selected for the Request for Proposal for Community Brand Strategy.] ITEM 20, RECEIVE PRESENTATIONS AND EVALUATE THE FINALISTS SELECTED FOR THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR COMMUNITY BRAND STRATEGY, PURCHASING MANAGER CASTILLO AND ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER, SAK. YOU GUYS ARE UP. GOOD EVENING, EVENING MAYOR [01:10:01] AND COUNCIL. UM, SO JUST A QUICK RECAP. BACK IN MAY, WE RELEASED A RFP FOR A COMMUNITY BRAND STRATEGY, UM, THAT RFP CLOSED AT THE END OF MAY. AND IN JUNE, UM, STAFF FORMED A EVALUATION COMMITTEE AND WE WENT THROUGH AND LOOKED AT THE SEVEN TOTAL PROPOSALS WE RECEIVED. AND, UM, FROM THAT EVALUATION, UM, IT WAS CLEAR THERE WAS A THREE TOP FINALISTS FROM THAT JUST BASED ON THE INITIAL SCORING. UM, AND FROM THERE WE INVITED THE TOP THREE FINALISTS HERE TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS TO YOU ALL AND GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS. UM, AND SO FOR HERE WE HAVE CIVIC BRAND, UH, RYAN SHORT, UM, WITH GUY STUDIOS, UH, GINA GERKIN, UH, LOCALITY STUDIOS, UH, KATIE MCLOUGHLIN. UM, AND JUST TO GIVE A QUICK, UM, RUNDOWN OF HOW THE PROCESS WILL GO TONIGHT IS, UM, EACH FIRM WILL HAVE 15 MINUTES TO PRESENT. UM, AFTER ALL THE FIRMS HAVE PRESENTED, THEY WILL EACH BE GIVEN FIVE MINUTES, UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL. UM, AFTER ALL THE PRESENTATIONS AND COUNCIL AND QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED, UM, EACH COUNCIL MEMBER WILL RANK THE FIRMS, AND WE HAVE STEPHANIE HERE TO HAND OUT THE FORMS FOR Y'ALL. UM, AS YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, LISTEN THROUGH THE PRESENTATIONS AND, UM, ASK ANY QUESTIONS. UM, AND WITH THAT MAYOR, UM, WHENEVER Y'ALL ARE READY, YOU CAN INVITE THE, UM, FIRMS UP IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. HEY, MAYOR. HEY COUNCIL. UH, APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S TIME TONIGHT. UM, FIRST OF ALL, YOU GUYS HAVE THREE GREAT FIRMS HERE. UM, WE'VE BEEN CHATTING IN THE BACK. IT'S A PRETTY SMALL NICHE GROUP OF FOLKS THAT SPECIALIZE IN CITY AND PLACE BRANDING. SO YOU, I DON'T THINK YOU GUYS CAN GO WRONG EITHER WAY. WE'VE ALL TRAVELED FROM OUTTA STATE TO BE HERE AND TALK TO YOU GUYS TONIGHT. UM, JUST SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR FIRM. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 15 YEARS. UM, WE WORK ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UM, WE HAVE TEAM MEMBERS IN DALLAS. I DROVE IN FROM COLORADO. WE HAVE TEAM MEMBERS IN NEW MEXICO, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. UM, BUT OUR FIRM WAS BASED IN DALLAS. SO WE HAVE A TON OF TEXAS EXPERIENCE, UH, WORKING WITH TOWNS LIKE BURLESON, TEXAS, LUBBOCK, GEORGETOWN, UH, BUT WE WORK ACROSS THE COUNTRY TOWNS LIKE BRECKENRIDGE, COLORADO, MONTCLAIR, UM, WE WORK WITH CITIES, WE WORK WITH VISIT DESTINATIONS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO A REALLY WIDE RANGE OF PLACE BRANDING. UM, WHEN WE DO ANY PROJECT, WHETHER IT'S CITY BRANDING, PLACEMAKING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OR DESTINATION MARKETING FOR US, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH ENGAGEMENT. UM, IT'S A BIG, REALLY BIG IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PROCESS. UM, AS I WAS LISTENING, UM, I KNOW YOU GUYS CURRENTLY HAVE A RFP OUT FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. UM, WE ARE ON A TEAM THAT'S DOING THAT WOULD BE DOING ENGAGEMENT IT AS ONE OF THE FINALISTS IN THAT PROCESS. UM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE KEY REASONS WHY WE RESPONDED TO THIS RFP, THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A COMP PLAN AND A BRANDING PROJECT THAT SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE GONNA BE HAPPENING AROUND SIMILAR TIMES. BECAUSE THE WAY A CITY RESPONDS TO PIS, THE WAY A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GROWS IN VISIT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE JUST AS MUCH ABOUT THE BRAND AS THE CITY LOGO AND STAFF CORE VALUES AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND SO FOR US, THAT REALLY NEEDS TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY. AND SO WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY IF WE HAPPEN TO BE ON BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS, BEING ABLE TO REALLY GO DEEP IN ENGAGEMENT. UH, BECAUSE THAT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, IT'S NOT JUST LAND USE, THAT IS THE BRAND OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE BRANDING PROJECT, REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU GUYS HIRE FOR THE COMP PLAN OR THIS PROJECT, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT BE HIGHLY COORDINATED ENGAGEMENT PROCESS ACROSS THOSE PROJECTS. UM, BUT SO FOR US, EVERYTHING STARTS WITH ENGAGEMENT. UM, A KEY DELIVERABLE IS GONNA BE THAT BRAND AUDIT. WE LOOK ACROSS, I THINK IT'S 18 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF THINGS THAT WE GO SUPER DEEP INTO. UM, IT'S NOT JUST LOOK AT YOUR CURRENT BRAND. IT'S, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT PLACEMAKING, CONNECTIONS, WALKABILITY, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, ALL OF THOSE IMPACT TO YOUR BRAND. SOME OF THE THINGS THE CITY CONTROLS, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THE CITY DOESN'T CONTROL, BUT THAT STILL IMPACT YOUR BRAND. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AS WELL. UM, SO ON THAT ENGAGEMENT, JUST KIND OF GO THROUGH SOME OF THE PROJECTS. UM, ONE, IT STARTS WITH STAFF STAFF'S, KIND OF THE FRONT LINE. SO, UM, THIS IS JUST SHOWING SOME CORE VALUES WORK THAT WE DID WITH THE TOWN OF BRECKENRIDGE AND COLORADO. UM, WE WILL GET STAFF TOGETHER. THIS IS A WORKSHOP WE DID WITH THE CITY OF SANTA FE, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT STAFF IS ON BOARD WITH HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT TALKING ABOUT LEANDER AND THE BRAND. UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST AN ORGANIZATION BRAND. IT'S NOT JUST THE CITY OF LEANDER THAT'S LEANDER THE PLACE AS WELL. AND THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE CITY GOVERNMENT. UM, SO THIS IS SHOWING SOME OF THE ENGAGEMENT WE WORK THAT WE DID. UM, THIS IS ON THE MIT CAMPUS ENGAGING STUDENTS. AND SO WE WANT TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST EXPECT PEOPLE TO COME TO PUBLIC MEETINGS, BUT MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE, TALK TO THEM, UNDERSTAND THEIR INPUT. SO THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS REALLY ABOUT GETTING OUT [01:15:01] THERE AND MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. UM, WE TAKE A PERSONA BASED APPROACH. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, IF YOU GOOGLE EQUITY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, THIS FORBES ARTICLE THAT I WROTE SEVERAL YEARS AGO WILL COME UP, UM, KIND OF TALKS A LITTLE BIT JUST MORE ABOUT THAT PROCESS. AND WE DO A LOT OF DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT. UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE ALL TRAVELED HERE TO DO THIS IN PERSON, THAT IS ALWAYS OFTEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING, I THINK FOR CONSULTANTS, IS GETTING PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, RUN WORKSHOPS COME IN. AND SO WE WANT TO SUPPLEMENT THAT IN-PERSON STUFF WITH A LOT OF REALLY ROBUST DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT. SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM PEOPLE. AND ALSO, UM, IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENT DOESN'T WORK FOR EVERYONE, RIGHT? THEY MIGHT BE WORKING OR HOME WITH KIDS OR IT JUST DOESN'T SOUND THAT FUN, BUT THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, DO SOME QUICK ENGAGEMENT ONLINE. UM, WE BELIEVE THAT THAT BRAND, IT'S NOT JUST, AGAIN, THE LOGO, IT'S NOT JUST GONNA BE A SEAL, BUT THAT IT IS THAT NORTH STAR THAT IS GOING TO ALIGN ALL OF THE PROJECTS. SO, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IT SHAPES HOW YOU RESPOND TO PIS. IT SHAPES HOW YOU KNOW THE CHAMBER IS SELLING FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, HOW THE CHAMBER IS ACTIVELY MARKETING TO VISITORS. IT'S THAT NORTH STAR THAT TIES ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT THE CITY'S WORKING ON TOGETHER SO THAT YOU'RE WORKING TOWARDS SOMETHING INSTEAD OF JUST MAKING PROGRESS, BUT ON A LOT OF DIS DISJOINTED INITIATIVES. UM, SO IT'S JUST SHOWING SOME BRAND GUIDELINES FROM SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE RECENTLY. UH, THIS WAS IN TWO RIVERS, WISCONSIN. UM, THE CITY OF HIGH POINT I THINK WAS A REALLY INTERESTING PROJECT. THEY HAVE A LOT OF DEPARTMENT SUB-BRANDS. THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERTISE IN IS GETTING DOWN INTO THE, YOU KNOW, EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS A DIFFERENT LOGO WITH, YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S KIND OF NOT REALLY A BRAND SYSTEM. UM, SO HELPING NOT JUST DEFINE THAT, THAT CITY LEVEL BRAND, BUT REALLY GETTING INTO HOW CAN THAT BE A THREAT ACROSS DEPARTMENTS. UM, ANOTHER WISCONSIN PROJECT, CITY OF ALPACA, HOW DOES THAT BRAND FIND ITS WAY, UM, INTO WAY FINDING, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE DO A LOT OF WAY FINDING DESIGN. AND THIS ONE, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY TWO MARKS THERE. THERE'S THE CITY OF, AND THEN THERE'S THEIR VISIT GROUP, WHICH THE WAA CHAIN OF LAKES. AND SO, UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT THE CITY GOVERNMENT BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE VIEW LEANDER, THEY'RE NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT THE LEANDER CITY GOVERNMENT, THEY'RE JUST THINKING LEANDER THE PLACE. SO WE NEED TO BE UNDER, WE NEED TO BE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CHAMBER'S DOING, WHAT DIFFERENT GROUPS ARE DOING. UM, ON THAT HIGH POINT, UM, PROJECT, AND THIS WAS SOMETHING YOU GUYS MENTIONED AND YOUR RFP, WAS THAT CIVIC PRIDE ASPECT. UM, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PLACES THAT PEOPLE WEAR THE CITY GOVERNMENT LOGO ON THEIR SHIRT UNLESS THEY WORK FOR CITY GOVERNMENT. AND, BUT WE TRY TO CREATE BRANDS THAT PEOPLE ARE PROUD TO WEAR THE CITY GOVERNMENT LOGO. UM, AND SO WITH THAT CITY OF HIGH POINT, WE KIND OF CREATED THIS H DOT MARK THAT IS KIND OF THAT CIVIC PRIDE ELEMENT. AND SO THAT THAT LOGO AND THAT CAMPAIGN AND MESSAGING FINDS ITS WAY INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. UM, THROUGH THIS PLACEMAKING ACTIVATION WE DID, UM, STREET MURALS REALLY INFUSING AND BRINGING THAT BRAND INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. UM, THE CONSTRUCTION FENCING LIKE YOU GUYS JUST APPROVED, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO A LOT OF DESIGN WORK ON, IS IN INFUSING THAT BRAND INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THIS IS WHAT'S COMING. UM, IF THERE'S STOREFRONT VACANCIES, THAT'S ALSO A GOOD, UM, WAY TO INFUSE THAT BRAND INTO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THEIR RESIDENTS VERY ACTIVELY BUYING UP MERCH AND EXCITED AND HAVING THAT CIVIC PRIDE THAT THEY'VE JUST NEVER HAD BEFORE. UH, BURLESON TEXAS, UM, THEIR OLD TOWN KIND OF REMINDS ME A LITTLE BIT OF Y'ALL'S OLD TOWN WALKING AROUND BEFORE THE MEETING. UM, SO THIS IS THE BRANDING WORK THAT WE DID. AND AGAIN, A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE CREATING THIS KIND OF WHOLE SYSTEM OF BRANDS. SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S LIKE A-B-T-X-B-T-X MADE THAT GETS INTO THE SOME LICENSING THAT LOCAL BUSINESSES CAN PUT ON THEIR PACKAGING AND PRODUCTS AND REALLY SHOW THEIR CIVIC PRIDE FOR BEING IN THAT COMMUNITY. UM, AND HOW SOME OF THAT BRANDING HAS FOUND ITS WAY INTO THEIR REDEVELOPED, UM, OLD TOWN, WHICH THEY REDID ABOUT 3, 2, 3 YEARS AGO. UM, AGAIN, JUST SOME MORE WORK. THIS WAS AT A, A COUNTY LEVEL, SO PINE COUNTY, MINNESOTA. UM, AND AGAIN, JUST WANTING TO SHOW THAT A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE NOT JUST CREATING THIS SINGULAR MARK, BUT THIS BRAND SYSTEM. SO THERE'S KIND OF THIS PROUDLY PINE COUNTY CIVIC, CIVIC PRIDE CAMPAIGN. THERE'S THE MAIDEN, UM, PIECE, AND THEN THEIR VISIT IS VERY UNIQUE FROM A COUNTY LEVEL. NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE VISIT COUNTIES. THEY TYPICALLY THINK OF CITIES THEY WANT TO VISIT. UM, SO THE CITIES ARE KIND OF THE CENTER, UM, OF THE STRATEGY THERE IN THAT MIDDLE IMAGE WITH DISCOVER SANDSTONE, HINKLEY AND PINE CITY. I, UM, SO YEAH, THAT WAS, UM, JUST WANTED TO ELABORATE ON SOME OF THE WORK AND, UM, REALLY PUT THE EMPHASIS ON PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU HIRE, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT AS YOU GUYS ARE DOING THAT COMP PLAN, MAKE SURE THOSE DON'T FEEL LIKE TWO SEPARATE INITIATIVES. THEY NEED TO REALLY BE ONE IN THE SAME, AT LEAST FROM AN ENGAGEMENT STANDPOINT. SO THIS IS KIND OF THE OVERVIEW OF HOW WE'D APPROACH, UM, BREAK IT DOWN INTO TASKS. UM, AND THEN THE ROUGH TIMELINE. WE SEE THIS BEING ABOUT A FIVE MONTH PROJECT, UM, WITH THE BIG KIND OF ASTERISK BEING WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT COMP PLAN, IF THERE ARE CERTAIN PHASING DELAYS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T WANT ONE PROJECT TO GET TOO AHEAD OF THE OTHER ONE. SO, [01:20:01] AND I'LL SECEDE MY, THE REST OF MY TIME TO THE OTHER GROUPS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. APPRECIATE THANKS. OH, NO, YOU CAN STAY UP FOR, I THINK WE'RE DOING Q AND A AFTER. OH, AFTER AT THE END. SORRY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT IS GUIDE STUDIO. GOOD EVENING. EVENING. HELLO. ALL RIGHT, LET'S, ALL RIGHT, LET ME JUST, OKAY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I KNEW HOW TO WORK THIS. ALL RIGHT. I AM ERICA DEUTSCH AND YOU . HI, I AM GINA KIN. UH, WE ARE BOTH FROM GUIDE STUDIO. WE ARE A MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN FIRM THAT HELPS COMMUNITIES AND PUBLIC PLACES ENGAGE PEOPLE, MANAGE IMAGE, AND ENHANCE EXPERIENCE. UM, WE WERE FOUNDED IN 1997. WE EXCLUSIVELY WORK WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATIONS, PARKS AND TRAILS AND UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES. UM, WE SPECIALIZE IN PLACE BRANDING, COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES, AND WAY FINDING PROGRAMS. UM, THE, WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 28 YEARS. WE'VE WORKED WITH, I THINK THIS IS A LITTLE OUTDATED, ACTUALLY. I THINK IT'S MORE CITIES, , BUT, UM, WE JUST LIKE TO SHOW THAT. SO I WANNA INTRODUCE OUR WHOLE TEAM 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T BRING EVERYBODY HERE 'CAUSE WE ARE FROM CLEVELAND, OHIO. BUT GINA AND I, I'LL BE OUR PROJECT MANAGER. UM, WE ALSO HAVE BRIAN AND DAY, SO THESE ARE YOUR GUIDES. WE ARE GOING TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH OUR PROCESS. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS. SO NOT UNSIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM ALL THREE OF US TONIGHT. UM, WE ALSO START WITH RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT, THEN THE ASSESSMENT AND THE PLAN AND DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO RESEARCH IS, UM, SURVEYS. IT'S UM, US DOING OUR OWN RESEARCH, US IMMERSING OURSELVES INTO YOUR COMMUNITY. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DO ENGAGEMENT. SO WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO PUT TOGETHER A STEERING COMMITTEE AND STAKEHOLDER GROUP. AND WITHIN THAT IT'S GOING TO BE CITY FOLKS. IT'S GOING TO BE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY. ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE GOING, GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. SO WE WANNA HEAR FROM THEM BECAUSE THIS BRAND IS FOR THE PEOPLE OF YOUR PLACE. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THEM. UM, AND THEN FROM ALL OF THAT, WE COLLECT ALL OF THAT AND WE CREATE WHAT WE CALL A STRATEGY, A BRAND FRAMEWORK. UM, AND SO THIS IS THAT DOCUMENT THAT, UM, IS GOING TO LIVE WITH YOU AND YOU ARE, IT'S GONNA HELP YOU ENSURE THAT YOUR BRAND REFLECTS YOUR CITY'S LONG-TERM VISION AND GOALS. THEN WE GET TO THE FUN STUFF, RIGHT? THEY DESIGN THAT IDENTITY. AND VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT RYAN SAID, IT IS NOT JUST A LOGO. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN YOUR IDENTITY. UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO EXPAND YOUR PALETTE AND TYPOGRAPHY AND COLORS AND ALL OF THE THINGS, UM, SO THAT YOU, AGAIN, SO YOU CAN HAVE SOME OF THAT PRIDE AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION. AND WE FIND THIS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU A BRAND STRATEGY AND THEN ALSO GIVE YOU A BEAUTIFUL DESIGN AND SAY, SEE YOU LATER. NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT. WE ARE GOING TO HELP YOU WITH A ROLLOUT PLAN AND FIGURE OUT HOW DO YOU GET THIS OUT INTO THE PUBLIC AND WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT ONCE YOU DO THAT. AND THEN I'M GONNA HAVE GINA TAKE OVER. ALRIGHT. QUICKER, RIGHT? HELLO, ALL TOO SHORT FOR THAT. , THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE. UM, I'M GINA GERKIN, UH, DIRECTOR OF BRANDED GUIDE. AND I'M JUST GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH A COUPLE OF CASE STUDIES THAT WILL, UM, REALLY SHOW YOU OUR PROCESS THROUGH EXAMPLE, UM, SOME EXAMPLES THAT WE THOUGHT RELATED TO THE CITY OF LEANDER. SO THE FIRST ONE WE'LL SHARE IS LONGMONT. UM, THE CITY OF LONGMONT IS IN COLORADO. THEY'RE APPROACHING, I THINK, A HUNDRED THOUSAND IN POPULATION. KINDA A SIMILAR, UH, INFLECTION POINT THAT YOU ARE AT WITH THIS, THIS SITUATION WHERE THEY HAVE A, THEY HAD A HUGE GROWTH PERIOD CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM, BUT YOU KNOW, ALSO PRESSURE. SO WE HELP THEM BUILD A BRAND THAT HONOR THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT DREW PEOPLE THERE, BUT ALSO REFLECTED WHERE THEY WERE GOING. SO THE FIRST THING WE START WITH AS, AS PART OF OUR KEY DELIVERABLES IS DEFINING YOUR AUDIENCE GROUPS. SO REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHO YOUR AUDIENCES ARE AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IS THE FIRST PIECE OF OUR BRAND STRATEGY. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT SEEMS STRAIGHTFORWARD. YOU'VE GOT RESIDENTS, YOU'VE GOT BUSINESSES, YOU'VE GOT VISITORS, BUT THERE'S REALLY NUANCE IN THERE THAT WILL DEFINE, UH, IN ENGAGING WITH YOUR STEERING COMMITTEE, YOUR STAKEHOLDERS. WE'LL, YOU KNOW, TALK, WE PROBABLY WILL MEET WITH FOCUS GROUPS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS AS WE KIND OF WORK WITH YOU ALL TO IDENTIFY, UM, [01:25:01] YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO BEST CAN, CAN REALLY HELP US DIG INTO UNDERSTANDING WHO YOUR AUDIENCES ARE. SO THAT GIVES US A REAL SOLID BASE TO CRAFT TARGETED MESSAGES IN A WAY THAT'S MEANING AND RELEVANT TO YOUR AUDIENCES. SO THE NEXT BIG DELIVERABLE, AND I CAN SEE FROM JUST DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH AND FROM DRIVING AROUND AND FROM HERE, FROM YOUR CHAMBER, THAT YOUR CITY HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER. OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE WANNA MOVE HERE, , BUT WE WANNA DIG IN AND TO FIND OUT WHAT'S REALLY MAKES YOU SPECIAL AND UNIQUE AND DEFINE THOSE DISTINCT ADVANTAGES FOR YOU. REALLY ARTICULATE THEM. UM, WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE AND ATTRACTIVE. UM, SO THESE ADVANTAGES REALLY HELP NOT ONLY FROM A MESSAGING PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO HELP INFORM WHAT TO HIGHLIGHT WITHIN YOUR VISUAL BRAND. THEY'RE VERY INSPIRING AS WE GET INTO DESIGN. THE OTHER KEY TAKEAWAY THAT YOU'LL RECEIVE IN OUR BRAND STRATEGY IS YOUR POSITIONING STATEMENT. SO THIS IS AN INTERNAL STATEMENT THAT IS JUST WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE. UM, IT DEFINES WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU OFFER, AND WHERE YOU'RE GOING. SO IT REALLY COMBINES YOUR AUDIENCES, YOUR ADVANTAGES, YOUR END GOAL, AND DEVELOP BENEFITS. AND IT CAN BE USED GOING FORWARD AS A DECISION MAKING TOOL AND A TOUCH POINT TO GO BACK TO AT EACH MILESTONE IN THE PROCESS TO KEEP EVERYONE ON TRACK. AND THEN BEYOND THE, THE BRAND STRATEGY AND THE BRAND WORK AS YOU'RE MAKING DECISIONS, UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE IN ALIGNMENT WITH, WITH YOUR POSITIONING. SO JUST SPEAKING A LITTLE TO OUR DESIGN PROCESS, UM, SO IT'S A VERY ITERATIVE ONE. WE TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALIGNMENT ALONG THE WAY. WE ARE VERY ACCUSTOMED TO WORKING WITH BIG GROUPS OF STAKEHOLDERS AND, AND, UM, MAKING SURE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, GUIDING EVERYBODY THROUGH THE PROCESS. SO BEFORE WE CREATE ANY BRAND ELEMENTS FOR YOU, WE START BY PUTTING MOOD BOARDS TOGETHER AND HERE'S SOME LONGMONT EXAMPLES. SO THESE ARE SHARED, UM, GRAPHICS, VISUAL ELEMENTS, COLORS AND PHOTOS THAT REPRESENT DIFFERENT THEMES THAT KIND OF SURFACE DURING THE DISCOVERY PROCESS. SO THIS REALLY GIVES YOUR STEERING COMMITTEE AND OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT FEELS RIGHT AND WRONG TO THEM BEFORE WE MOVE INTO DESIGN. SO IT REALLY HELPS MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM WORDS TO VISUALS MORE TARGETED AND EFFECTIVE. THE EXAMPLE I LIKE TO USE IS LIKE THE WORDS MODERN AND TRADITIONAL OR VERY KIND OF TRIGGERING FOR PEOPLE. LIKE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, ? HOW DO, HOW DOES, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO, YOU KNOW, DOING THIS EXERCISE HELPS GET US IN THE RIGHT PLACE BEFORE WE MOVE INTO ACTUAL DESIGN. AND SO AFTER THAT WE'LL MOVE INTO THE DESIGN PROCESS. WE PROVIDE OPTIONS FOR YOUR LOGO, YOUR COLOR PALETTE. UM, WE START TO LOOK AT PIECES, PARTS THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, RELATED, LIKE IF OLD TOWN IS IMPORTANT, IF YOUR DEPARTMENTS ARE, UM, NEED SOMETHING UNIQUE, WE MIGHT START THINKING ABOUT THEM AT THIS POINT. BUT WHAT'S UM, IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE IS THAT WHEN WE PRESENT THE OPTIONS, THEY'RE REALLY FOR CONSIDERATION. THEY'RE NOT FINAL AT THAT POINT. WE GIVE, UM, CHECK SHEETS TO YOUR GROUPS TO GAUGE THEIR GUT REACTION VERSUS ARE WE MEETING YOUR SPECIFIC GOALS. SO IT REALLY FACILITATES GOOD CONVERSATION ON MOVING FORWARD AND GETTING YOU TO THE NEXT PHASE. UM, BRAND FAMILY. SO WE KNOW THAT YOUR BRAND DOESN'T ALWAYS LIVE IN A BOX. SO WE ARE MINDFUL TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS AND VERSIONS OF YOUR LOCAL FAMILY TO FIT DIFFERENT SPACE AND APPLICATION NEEDS. SO YOU CAN SEE FOR LONG AMOUNT WE'VE GOT HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL FORMATS. WE'VE GOT, UM, YOUR DEPARTMENT LOGO FAMILY IN THE CASE OF LONGMONT, WE ALSO WORKED ON SUB-BRAND LOGO FAMILIES FOR THEM, FOR THEIR MUSEUM AND GIG INTERNET. AND EVEN IN THAT INITIAL BRAND PRESENTATION, WE'LL BE PROVIDING YOU CONTEXTUAL EXAMPLES OF HOW THINGS LOOK, UM, WHEN THEY COME TO LIFE IN BOTH PRINT AND DIGITAL FORMATS. AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE APPAREL AND BAG HERE, AND WITH THESE, THESE EXAMPLES ARE ACTUALLY EXAMPLES OF THE CLIENT TAKING OUR BRAND, UM, ELEMENTS AND USING THEM ON THEIR OWN TO CREATE SOCIAL MEDIA. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKE US US MOST EXCITED WHEN WE HAND THINGS OVER AND OUR CLIENTS KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. SO BEYOND THAT LOGO FAMILY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST DELIVERABLES THAT COMES OUT OF VISUAL BRAND IS A STYLE GUIDE. SO WE'LL OUTLINE THE RULES AND TOOLS TO BE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO WORK [01:30:01] WITH YOUR BRAND CONSISTENTLY. WE'LL BUILD OUT TEMPLATES FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARD LETTERHEAD, TYPICAL APPLICATIONS, AND WE ALSO TRAIN YOUR STAFF ON HOW TO USE THE BRAND. SO WE'LL HAVE SESSIONS WITH KEY STAFF MEMBERS SHOWING THEM HOW, WHERE ALL THE FILES ARE, WALK THEM THROUGH THE STYLE GUIDE, WHO TO TALK TO IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, WHAT KIND OF THINGS NEED APPROVAL. SO REALLY HELPING HAND THINGS OVER IN A WAY WHERE YOU CAN HAVE SUCCESS. AND JUST SHOWING YOU HOW LONG ON HAD SOME FUN WITH THEIR LOGO . AND ALSO, UM, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH LONGMONT ON THEIR SIGNAGE PROGRAM. WE WORK WITH THEM ON THEIR DOWNTOWN LOGO AND SIGNAGE THERE TOO. AND THEN ANOTHER CASE STUDY WE WANTED TO SHARE WAS FROM, FROM CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, UH, OR UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS IS A COMMUNITY IN THE CLEVELAND AREA THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR, UH, TO YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, HAVE HAD TO FIND A WAY TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF FROM ITS NEIGHBORS AND TO INSPIRE COMMUNITY PRIDE. SO COMMUNITY PRI PRIDE WAS A BIG DEAL WITH THEM. AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS BREAKDOWN, KIND OF PICTORIAL BREAKDOWN OF HOW WE GOT TO THE END LOGO SOLUTION. THOSE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP THE LOGO ARE ACTUALLY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DISTINCT ADVANTAGES. SO WE KIND OF USE THAT TO BUILD THE MARK AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM OVER THE YEARS. WE WORKED WITH THEM ON SEVERAL PROJECTS, MOST RECENTLY SIGNAGE, BUT YOU CAN SEE IN THIS EXAMPLE OF SWAG THAT THEY PRODUCED ON THEIR OWN, HOW THEY'RE VERY EXCITED TO WHERE THEIR BRAND AND CONTINUE TO USE IT. THEY CREATED THIS LOGO ON THEIR OWN, DID A GREAT JOB. AND ALSO , YOU CAN RAISE CHICKENS IN UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS. SO THERE WAS A DIFFERENT DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR FOR THEM, AND THEY, UM, BRANDED THEIR CHICKEN. SO IT'S FUN STUFF. , I'LL TRY TURN BACK OVER TO ERICA. SO WE'LL LOOK QUICKLY, GO OVER WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS. SO IN THE FIRST 30 DAYS, WE'RE GOING TO DO A KICKOFF MEETING WITH THE CLIENT TEAM. AND IN THAT MEETING WE'RE SETTING THE PARAMETERS FOR EVERYTHING. SO, UM, WE ARE ESTABLISHING THE TIMELINE, ESTABLISHING MILESTONE MEETINGS, TAKING CARE OF ALL THE KIND OF NITTY GRITTY DETAILS AT THAT TIME SO THAT WE CAN STAY ON TIME AND ON BUDGET FOR YOU. UM, SO WHY ARE WE A GOOD FIT? SO WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BALANCE RAPID GROWTH, UM, WITH UNDERSTANDING AND PRESERVING IDENTITY. UM, THIS IS WHAT WE DO. WE ONLY WORK WITH PLACE-BASED CLIENTS. WE WORK ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, UM, NOT UNLIKE OUR COMPETITOR FRIENDS IN THE ROOM. UM, WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF BRAND AND WHAT IT DOES TO A COMMUNITY WITH COMMUNITY PRIDE, AND I THINK GINA SHOWED THAT IN SOME OF THE AN, UH, EXAMPLES. AND THEN OUR OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE. UM, ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS IS GOING AND MEETING PEOPLE AND THEN FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOUR PLACE LIKE YOU GUYS DO. UM, IT, IT'S ONE OF THE FAVORITE THINGS THAT WE LOVE IS TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE YOU GUYS LOVE IT SO MUCH. YOU GIVE THAT TO US AND WE FALL IN LOVE AS WELL. SO JUST, UH, ENDING ON SOME OF OUR FOUR UNIQUES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT YOUR, YOUR BRAND IS. AND SO CREATIVE DESIGN THAT TAPS INTO THE HEART OF WHAT MAKES YOUR COMMUNITY TRULY UNIQUE. SO WE REALLY ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY TO FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE TO GET TO THAT, UM, AND A PRAGMATIC AND RESPONSIBLE APPROACH. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DESIGNING YOU A BEAUTIFUL THINGS, BUT THAT THEY'RE ALSO IMPLEMENTABLE THAT YOU, YOU CAN HANDLE THEM. AND LIKE GINA SHOWED WITH SOME OF THOSE EXAMPLES, YOU CAN TAKE THIS AND, AND WORK WITH IT ON YOUR OWN. AND THEN THOUGHTFUL GUIDANCE. UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF EXPERIENCE. MOST OF OUR TEAM HAS OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS NEAR 30 YEARS NOW. GINA WAS OUR FIRST EVER EMPLOYEE HIRED, SO SHE HAS BEEN THERE, UM, A VERY LONG TIME. AND ACTUALLY OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM HAS ALL BEEN WITH THE STUDIO FOR OVER 15 YEARS. UM, EACH, UM, AND THEN PROVEN, PROVEN EXPERIENCE OVER 25 YEARS, PUSHING 30 . THAT'S IT. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LOCALITY STUDIO. THANK YOU. BRING ALONG SOME PRINTED, UH, PROPOSALS SO I CAN HAND THOSE OUT TO YOU ALL, SOME EXAMPLES AT THE BOTTOM THERE. GOOD EVENING. HELLO? HELLO. CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YEP. [01:35:01] ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL OF MY KIND OF COLLEAGUES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, I THINK WE ALL, YOU KNOW, ARE EXCITED TO BE HERE AND WE ALL TRAVELED, SO IT'S BEEN NICE TO ACTUALLY GET TO SEE LEANDER, UH, ON OUR, OUR QUICK MINI TRIP THAT WE ALL HAVE HERE. SO MY NAME'S KATIE MCLAUGHLIN. I'M THE OWNER OF LOCALITY STUDIO. WE ARE LOCATED IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. UH, AND A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE PRESENTATION. I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF AND THEN TALK ABOUT YOU ALL AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS FOR EVERYBODY. SO FIRSTLY, MY STUDIO IS OPENED IN 2017. WE ARE CREATIVES FOR PLACES AND WE PROVIDE BRANDING, GRAPHIC DESIGN, WEB DESIGN, AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. UH, I'M THE OWNER AND WILL BE THE PROJECT MANAGER AS WELL AS THE LEAD DESIGNER WORKING WITH EMMA BANGS AND LAURA WOLF. SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT LOCALITY STUDIO IS THAT WE'RE ROOTED IN URBAN PLANNING. UM, SO I AM AN URBAN PLANNER. I'VE STOOD HERE, UH, TALKING ABOUT MANY OF THE THINGS YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT EARLIER AT THIS, THIS, UH, THIS MEETING HERE. AND I'VE WORKED BOTH INTERNALLY AT CITIES AND EXTERNALLY AS A CONSULTANT, BOTH, UH, PLANNING WISE AND NOW WITH WHAT I DO MORE, MORE ON THE CREATIVE SIDE THESE DAYS. UH, MY COLLEAGUE EMMA, IS ALSO AN URBAN PLANNER. SO WE COME AT THINGS THROUGH A VERY UNIQUE LENS. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, LOOKING AT DATA, LOOKING AT LAND USE AND ZONING, ALL THE KIND OF CLASSIC THINGS THAT MAKE UP A CITY. THERE'S A COUPLE PICTURES, UH, AT THE BOTTOM THERE OF SOME OF OUR RECENT WORK. WE RECENTLY REBRANDED THE CITY OF BELCHERTOWN IN MASSACHUSETTS, UM, AND DID A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THEM. UH, I'LL GET INTO GEORGETOWN, TEXAS IN A BIT, BUT THEY'VE BEEN A LONG TIME CLIENT OF OURS AS WELL. AND LIKE I SAID, WE WORK ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, BUT WE ARE LOCATED PRIMARILY IN ST. LOUIS. UH, EMMA BANGS IS REMOTE OVER IN DENVER. SO HERE'S JUST A HANDFUL OF OUR CLIENTS. UM, MANY MUNICIPAL, BUT MANY KIND OF QUASI QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL OR NON-PROFIT. UH, WE RECENTLY KICKED OFF A NEW PROJECT IN UNION MISSOURI TO DO THEIR REBRAND, AND I WILL ACTUALLY BE GOING TO THEIR FIREWORKS DISPLAY IN TWO DAYS TO DO A POPUP EVENT THERE AND GET PEOPLE, UH, EXCITED, HOPEFULLY ABOUT THE PROJECT. UM, WE'VE BEEN LONGTIME CLIENTS WITH GEORGETOWN, VIRGINIA BEACH, UH, HAVE WORKED KIND OF ACROSS, ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS. SO I THINK THAT GIVES US UNIQUE BACKGROUND. I'LL QUICKLY CLICK THROUGH A COUPLE OF OUR BRANDS I'LL DIG INTO A FEW LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT THESE ARE A COUPLE WE'VE DONE RECENTLY. EVERYTHING FROM, UH, A HIGH SCHOOL MASCOT TO A FULL BRAND FOR A PRESERVATION PLAN IN HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, TO, UH, SOME, SOME STUFF FOR CONFERENCES IN GEORGETOWN, TEXAS. AND, AND LIKE I'VE MENTIONED BELCHERTOWN A COUPLE MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE PLANNING SIDE, SMALL BUSINESS SIDE. SO WE HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF, OF CREATIVE BACKGROUND AND, AND CLIENTELE. SO DIGGING INTO YOU ALL, WE SURPRISINGLY KNOW TEXAS HILL COUNTRY. WE'VE BEEN A LONG TIME, UH, OR GEORGETOWN HAS BEEN A LONG TIME CLIENT OF OURS SINCE 2021 AS WELL AS LIBERTY INDEPENDENT, UM, OVER IN LIBERTY HILL SINCE 2022. WE ARE THE ON-CALL GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR GEORGETOWN AND WE'VE BEEN RENEWING IT EVER SINCE. SO WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP AND WE'RE GRABBING COFFEE TOMORROW. , UH, THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS, WE WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP THEIR HUNDRED 75TH, UH, BRAND THAT THEY HAD BIG CELEBRATION AND WE'VE REALLY HELPED WITH THE MARKETING SIDE OF THAT. UM, ENTIRE FESTIVITY, LIBERTY HILL, WE DESIGN A LOT OF THE ADS AND VARIOUS NEEDS THAT THEY NEED FOR THE MAGAZINE. UM, SO WE GOT TO KNOW A LOT OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE AREA, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF LIBERTY HILL, AND WE ARE GRABBING LUNCH WITH THEM AS WELL TOMORROW, . SO LIKE MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, I'LL PROBABLY GO THROUGH A LOT OF THE SAME STUFF, BUT I WANT TO FOCUS ON WHAT MAKES MYSELF AND LOCALITY STUDIO UNIQUE. SO AFTER THE KICKOFF MEETING, UM, IN KICKOFF PHASE OF THE PROCESS, WHICH YOU CAN SEE, UM, IN FRONT OF YOU, WE WILL GO INTO THAT RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY PHASE FOR ABOUT TWO, TWO AND A HALF MONTHS. THIS IS THE LONGEST AND TO ME THE, THE MOST FUN PART OF THE, THE PROCESS. SO, UH, LIKE EARLIER YOUR, YOUR CHAMBER PERSON SAID, READING SLIDES IS BORING, SO I'LL PULL OUT THE, THE IMPORTANT STUFF YOU HAVE THE DETAILS IN FRONT OF YOU. UM, BUT ONE OF OUR BIG THING WHEN WE DO SURVEYS IS TO OFFER PRINTED SURVEYS, WHETHER THAT'S PRINTED AND LEFT AT LOCAL HUBS, UM, THAT STAFF THEN GIVE TO US, WHETHER THAT'S MAILING IN SOME WAY, DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE AND BUDGET. UH, THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT WAYS TO GET TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ONLINE OR THEY ARE NOT, UH, SCANNING QR CODES OR GOING TO URLS ON THEIR PHONE TO GET INVOLVED. WE'RE ALSO VERY STAFF FOCUSED. UH, AS I MENTIONED, I'VE WORKED INTERNALLY WITHIN CITIES AS A PLANNER AND THEN NOW EXTERNALLY AS A CONSULTANT AS WELL. [01:40:01] AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WHEN WE DO THIS BRAND AND HANDED OVER, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH IT. WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO BE LEFT QUESTIONING WHAT COLORS OR NOT HAVE A TEMPLATE IN PLACE THAT THEY MIGHT NEED. UM, SO WE, WE HAVE A STAFF DROP-IN SESSION, UH, SET FOR THIS PROJECT WHERE WE CAN TALK TO ANYBODY, GET ALL OF STAFF'S, YOU KNOW, IDEAS, BUT REALLY HONE IN ON WHAT YOU NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN YOU IMPLEMENT THE BRAND. UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I'M GOING TO A POPUP AT A FIREWORKS DISPLAY SOON. UH, SO WE'D LIKE TO GO WHERE YOUR COMMUNITY IS ALREADY AT. SO WE WOULD DO A POPUP EVENT TO GET PEOPLE ENGAGED, GET THEM, YOU KNOW, LEARNING ABOUT THE, THE PROJECT AND HOPEFULLY FILLING OUT THE SURVEY AS WELL. UH, AND LASTLY, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF YOUR MATERIALS FROM YOUR OLD PLANS, WE SAW THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF DUPLICATE MATERIALS IN SPANISH AS WELL. UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE PROVIDING THOSE MATERIALS AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, ALL ENGAGEMENT IS ACCESSIBLE. THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF OUR PLANNING BACKGROUND THAT, UM, CONTRIBUTED TO THE BELCHERTOWN REBRANDING THAT WE JUST WRAPPED UP. SO WE LOOK AT, UH, LEANDER REGIONALLY WITHIN HILL, THE, THE HILL COUNTRY WITHIN TEXAS AS A WHOLE. AND WE REALLY TRY AND SEE WHAT YOUR STORY IS WITHIN THE REGION AND WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOU. WE LOOK INTERNALLY AT LEANDER ITSELF AND ITS ASSETS. AND LASTLY, ON THE RIGHT, THE MAP SHOWS THE SURVEY REACH OF BELCHERTOWN. THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT ONLY PEOPLE IN TOWN WOULD BE INVOLVED AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RURAL AREAS OF THE TOWN ALSO GOT THE SURVEY AND GOT TO BE INVOLVED. SO WE WERE PRETTY HAPPY WITH THAT SPREAD. MOVING ON TO THE BRAND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT, THIS IS A SHORTER ONE MONTH INTERNAL PHASE THAT WE WOULD DO WITH YOU ALL. REALLY, WE GET HERE WITHOUT ANY PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OR OPINIONS. UH, THE FIRST PHASE OR SECOND PHASE TECHNICALLY IS WHERE WE REALLY LEARN EVERYTHING. WE DON'T COME AT THIS ALREADY KNOWING THE AREA OR KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. AND I THINK BEING FAR AWAY CAN, CAN KIND OF THAT, AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, SOMETIMES THIS IS THE MOST FUN PART, THE VISUAL IDENTITY. UH, YOU CAN SEE SOME EARLY SKETCHES THERE FROM BELCHERTOWN. UH, WE PROVIDE YOU WITH A BUNCH OF OPTIONS AND A BUNCH OF REVISIONS, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE DID WITH THE MOST RECENT PROJECT. UH, WE START VERY SIMPLY, VERY, VERY SIMPLY. AND SOMETIMES I SAY UGLY, UH, BECAUSE WE JUST WANNA GET A VIBE. WHAT ARE PEOPLE FEELING? WHAT ROUTE ARE THEY GOING BEFORE WE ALL SPEND TOO MUCH TIME GOING DOWN ONE DIRECTION. SO YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP WE HAD A COUPLE VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY SIMPLE, UH, IDEAS, BUT THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT. WE THEN MOVE INTO THE THREE FOR BELCHERTOWN, THREE FULL LOGO AND BRAND DESIGNS THAT HAVE FULL TYPOGRAPHY, COLOR PALETTES, UM, IMAGERY, MOCKUPS, KIND OF EVERYTHING YOU WOULD NEED TO FEEL THE TRUE BRAND. AND FROM THERE, UH, WE WORKED WITH THEIR COMMITTEE TO REALLY HONE IN AND NARROW DOWN AND WORK THROUGH REVISIONS TO FINALLY GET TO THE ALMOST LAST ROW, THE SECOND TO LAST, WHERE WE PUT THOSE OUT TO THE PUBLIC FOR A VOTE. AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO GET 300 VOTES TOTAL WITH AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FOR THE ONE YOU SEE AT THE VERY BOTTOM THERE. SO WE'RE GONNA BE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, AND WE'RE OPEN TO REVISING AND FINDING THOSE EXACT QUALITIES THAT WE NEED TO TRANSLATE CORRECTLY THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. LASTLY, IMPLEMENTATION. WE GIVE YOU EVERYTHING. WE, WE DON'T HOLD BACK, NO COPYRIGHT, NO NATIVE FILES. YOU GET EVERYTHING HOWEVER YOU NEED TO USE IT, WHEREVER YOU NEED TO USE IT. UM, BUT WE OBVIOUSLY PROVIDE YOU WITH THE BRAND GUIDELINES, ANY TEMPLATES YOU WOULD NEED, UM, AND JUST, UH, A GENERAL KICKOFF TO PUT THE BRAND IN PLACE, REALLY. SO NOW A BIT ABOUT YOU, . YOU GUYS ARE GROWING LIKE CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY, AND YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS. UM, AND SO WE'RE, WE APPLAUD YOU FOR DOING THIS PROJECT NOW, UM, AS IT WAS MENTIONED TOO, ALONG WITH YOUR COMP PLAN THAT WILL BE STARTING SOMEWHAT SOON. UM, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN VERY ADAPTABLE. UH, YOU HAVE YOUR COMMUNITY SURVEY OUT RIGHT NOW, WHICH I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE RESULTS TO HELP INFORM THIS PROCESS. UH, OF COURSE. AND, YOU KNOW, YOUR YOUR PLANS FOR THE CORRIDORS FOR OLD TOWN, THESE ARE ALL THINGS WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BECAUSE YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THE WORK TO FIND THOSE GOALS AND THOSE OBJECTIVES AND TALK TO YOUR COMMUNITY. SO WE TRY AND BRING ALL OF THAT PAST WORK AND PUT IT INTO THE BRAND AS WELL AS THE FUTURE WORK, LIKE THE COMP PLAN AND THINGS YOU HAVE GOING ON NOW YOU'VE ALREADY KIND OF DECIDED YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU WANNA BE, BUT LIKE WE SAID, THE, WE'VE ALL KIND OF SAID THE COMP PLAN IS COMING UP, SO THAT MIGHT BE CHANGING. UM, YOU'RE GROWING, YOU HAVE A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE, UH, [01:45:01] SO THAT WILL BE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS ON TOP OF YOU ALL GROWING. YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST DRIVING AROUND TODAY, SUCH A WIDE VARIETY OF HOUSING STOCK AND SUBDIVISIONS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, AND WE HAVE, UH, A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH HOAS AND OR NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS. AND WE COULD SEE THAT BEING REALLY IMPORTANT IN A COMMUNITY LIKE LEANDER BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE MAKEUP OF, OF YOUR, YOUR CITY. SO WE SEE THAT BEING A KEY PART OF THE FOCUS GROUPS, UH, MOVING FORWARD. SO WE'VE, WE'VE DONE WHAT WE CAN FROM AFAR. UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, WE'VE LOOKED AT YOUR PLANS, WE'VE LOOKED AT YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, YOUR HISTORY, THE COLLEGE. SO WE'VE REALLY GOTTEN TO KNOW A LOT AND WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE FLOCKING HERE FOR EXCITING REASONS AND FOR MEANINGFUL REASONS. SO I WILL TURN IT BACK TO YOU ALL, UM, TO TELL US WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT LEANDER, BUT MORE SO TO ASK US ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO NOW WE GO INTO QUESTIONS JUST BROADLY TO EVERYBODY. UM, YOU COULD, UM, INVITE THEM OUT SO YOU COULD START WITH CIVIC BRAND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR CIVIC BRAND. OKAY, COUNSEL, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR CIVIC BRAND? RYAN? I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GO A LITTLE BIT INTO YOUR PROJECT METHODOLOGY, LIKE THE, THE OVERALL LIKE EXPLORATION PROCESS, THE POLLING PROCESS, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS? YEAH, SO, UM, ON THE, ON THE RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THE ENGAGEMENT, LIKE I SAID, IS, IS ABOUT GOING TO MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. UM, WE TAKE VERY MUCH WHAT WE CALL LIKE A VIEWPOINTS VERSUS VOTING APPROACH TO ENGAGEMENT. UM, A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO ARMOR OURSELF WITH DATA AND HAVE THAT LIKE QUANTITATIVE DATA OF X PERCENT SAID THIS. BUT I THINK IN A BRANDING PROJECT, THE BEAUTY REALLY COMES IN THAT QUALITATIVE DATA, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU HAVE WITH PEOPLE. UM, SO WE'RE REALLY SURFACING THOSE LIKE VIEWPOINTS AND THOSE NUGGETS THAT REALLY JUST KIND OF CAN CAPTURE A LOT OF THINGS. UM, WE ALSO USE A LOT OF, UM, RGIS DATA JUST TO UNDERSTAND YOUR COMMUNITY AND HOW IT'S GROWING. UM, USE THOSE DIFFERENT TAPESTRY PROFILES, UM, TO REALLY JUST KINDA LIKE ROUND OUT WHAT RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE. UM, AND THEN WHEN WE GET INTO THE ACTUAL DEVELOPING THE BRAND PROJECT, UM, OUR PROCESS IS CENTERED AROUND A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE APPROACH, WHICH IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT TERM, YOU KNOW, A BUSINESS THAT TAKES A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE APPROACH MEANS THEY DON'T JUST JUDGE THE SUCCESS OF THE BUSINESS BY PROFIT ALONE, BUT THEY JUDGE IT BY HOW IT ALSO IMPACTS PEOPLE AND THE PLANET. UM, WE CHANGED THAT LAST ONE TO PLACE. UM, AND WE THINK, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE A PLACE BRAND CAN DRIVE A TON OF PEOPLE HERE, IT CAN BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL AT A PROFIT METRIC, BUT IF IT DEGRADES THE QUALITY OF LIFE OR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE, OR IF IT, IF IT CHANGES WHAT PEOPLE LOVED ABOUT IT. SO WE TAKE THAT TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE LENS APPROACH TO HOW WE'RE CRAFTING THE BRAND AND THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T JUST, YOU KNOW, COUNT HEADS AND BEDS OR, OR PURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS, BUT REALLY MAKING SURE IT'S THAT KIND OF QUALITY OF LIFE PROCESS. SO THAT'S KIND OF SOME GENERAL PHILOSOPHY THINGS ON ENGAGEMENT. AND THEN IN THE ACTUAL BRANDING PART. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO, SO HOW DO YOU, SO, YOU KNOW, ONE THING WITH LEANERS, WE HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY MM-HMM . WE DON'T REALLY EMBRACE OUR HISTORY PER SE IN MOST OF WHAT DO. SO HOW, CAN YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE WHERE YOU'VE WORKED WITH A CITY WHERE THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF, IT'S IT'S RELATIVELY NEW, BUT IT'S BEEN HERE A LONG TIME. SURE. SO MOST OF THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE MOVED HERE IN THE LAST, WHAT, 15 YEARS, 16 YEARS. AND, AND SO WE DON'T REALLY IDENTIFY WITH THE PLACE, BUT THE PLACE HAS A STRONG HISTORY. AND HAVE YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF THAT IN YOUR, IN YOUR WORK? YEAH, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S A, IT'S A PROBLEM AND CHALLENGE THAT WE SEE IN A LOT OF COMMUNITIES. UM, SO I CAN THINK OF A NUMBER OF, OF PROJECTS. ONE THAT COMES TO MIND IS IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A VERY PROUD KIND OF LIKE WEST TEXAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, OLD SCHOOL HERITAGE, BUT THEN THEY HAVE A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE THAT COME IN FROM THE UNIVERSITY AND, AND THERE'S KIND OF THIS MANY OF THEM, THEY, THEY WANNA LEAVE, UM, THEY WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL THERE AND THEN THEY LEAVE, RIGHT? AND, AND THAT'S, THAT COMMUNITY WAS STRUGGLING WITH LIKE, HOW DO WE MAINTAIN THIS LIKE, HISTORIC CHARACTER THAT WE LOVE? BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THEY RECOGNIZED THEY NEED TO RETAIN TALENT AND, AND, AND GROW AND ACHIEVE SOME OF THOSE THINGS. AND SO THE BRAND STRATEGY REALLY TAPPED INTO THOSE DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, SEEING EACH OTHER SO THAT THOSE, THOSE OLD, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE OLD, UM, YOU KNOW, MERLE HAGGARD AND THE OLD LIKE BUDDY HOLLY AND THE OLD LIKE WESTERN GUYS, THEY WERE KIND OF THE RENEGADES OF THEIR TIME. UM, AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THESE LIKE NEWCOMERS OF LIKE, THESE ARE RENEGADES, THESE YOUNG PUNKS THAT ARE COMING IN HERE. AND WE, THE BRAND STRATEGY REALLY HELPED THEM SEE THAT LIKE, ACTUALLY YOU GUYS ARE PRETTY SIMILAR. UM, YOU GUYS AREN'T REALLY THAT DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER. YOU'RE JUST DIFFERENT GENERATIONS. YOU MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT. UM, AND SO THE LAST JUST EXAMPLE THAT I'VE, I'VE GIVEN THIS EXAMPLE ON ALMOST EVERY PROJECT IS A CORPORATE EXAMPLE BECAUSE OF, WE HEAR SO MANY TIMES COMMUNITIES ARE DIVIDED. THERE'S SOME THAT WANT IT TO GROW, SOME THAT WISH IT COULD GO BACK 50 YEARS. UM, IF YOU TAKE A BRAND LIKE TOYOTA AND YOU THINK ABOUT THEIR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, YOU HAVE A MINIVAN AUDIENCE THAT WANTS THINGS TO BE SAFE, YOU [01:50:01] HAVE A TRUCK AUDIENCE WANTS THINGS TO BE RUGGED, TOUGH, DRIVING THROUGH THE MUD, THE PRIUS AUDIENCE WANTS IT TO BE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY. THEY HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT AUDIENCES. HOW DO THEY BUILD A BRAND THAT SPEAKS TO ALL OF THEM WHEN THEY FEEL VERY DIFFERENT? UM, CITIES ARE VERY SIMILAR, LIKE I SAID, YOUNG, OLD, NEW TO THE COMMUNITY, BEEN HERE FOREVER. AND WHAT WE DO, AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT UNIQUE, I'M SURE THE OTHER FIRMS DO IT AS WELL, BUT WE BUILD THE BRAND AROUND THOSE SHARED VALUES. SO IN TOYOTA'S CASE, IT'S QUALITY AND DEPENDABILITY. WHETHER YOU WANT THE TRUCK OR THE PRIUS, YOU WANT QUALITY AND DEPENDABILITY. THAT'S WHAT, AND YOU BUILD THE BRAND AROUND THAT. AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BRAND AND THE MARKETING. UM, SO, SO YEAH, WE, WE WILL SURFACE THOSE SHARED VALUES AND BUILD AROUND THAT. AND THAT'S HOW WE ADDRESS THE HISTORY PIECE BECAUSE PEOPLE CREATED HISTORY, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO PEOPLE THAT ARE ATTRACTED TO THAT AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T, THEY DON'T LOSE THAT. UH, MS. , DID I SEE YOU? YES. THANK YOU. UM, MY QUESTION WAS REALLY ABOUT THE DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT. I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING UP THE CORRELATION BETWEEN OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. AND I'M REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN THAT'S IN PROCESS FOR OUR PUBLIC ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSION. AND SO WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT AND PAPER ENGAGEMENT, OR WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, WHAT IS ACTUALLY ACCEPTABLE IN Y'ALL'S MIND AS FAR AS PEOPLE RESPONDING? I KNOW THEY PRESENTED SOMETHING AND IT WAS VERY LITTLE RESPONSE, SO SOME PEOPLE FELT LIKE IT REALLY WASN'T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AND IT REALLY DIDN'T ADD VALUE TO THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING, UM, ABOUT THAT MASTER PLAN. SO WHAT IS Y'ALL OR YOUR COMPANY'S VIEWPOINT ON THAT? YEAH, SO, UM, BRISA WHO'S NOT HERE AS THE LEAD STRATEGIST FOR OUR TEAM, SHE'S THE NUMBERS PERSON. UM, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS, WE'RE ABLE TO DEFINE WHAT IS A STATISTICALLY RELEVANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE. UM, AND THEN YOU CAN WEIGHT THAT ACROSS DIFFERENT SEGMENTS. UM, AND IF THERE ARE CERTAIN SEGMENTS THAT WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM, THAT'S WHERE IT'S REALLY BIG ABOUT GOING AND MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. AND, AND THE TERMS KIND OF OVERSAMPLING, RIGHT? YOU'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE HITTING THOSE NUMBERS WITH THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS. 'CAUSE WE DON'T JUST LOOK AT A TOP LINE OF LIKE, OH, WE GOT 400 RESPONSES. WELL IF THOSE 400 RESPONSES ARE ALL IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD, SAME AGE, SAME DEMOGRAPHIC, THAT DOESN'T REALLY MEAN THAT MUCH. UM, AND SO WE NEED TO BREAK THAT DOWN AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT IT'S REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY. AND SO THAT FORBES ARTICLE, UM, THAT I MENTIONED TALKS ABOUT AS WE'RE TRACKING, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHO HAVE WE NOT HEARD FROM AND SPECIFICALLY GOING OUT. AND SO A COMMON ONE WE HEAR IS, YOU KNOW, A HISPANIC POPULATION IS OFTENTIMES A HARD TO REACH GROUP. SO WHAT PARTNERS DO YOU GUYS HAVE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN TAP INTO AND REACH THAT GROUP, UM, AND, AND HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST COMING FROM THE CITY OR FROM ME, BUT FROM THEIR COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO THEY TRUST. UM, AND HELPING THEM UNDERSTAND WHY IS THIS THIS IMPORTANT? WHY SHOULD YOU TAKE THIS SURVEY? WHY SHOULD YOU PARTICIPATE? SO, UM, I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, BUT WE COULD, SHE CAN INSTANTLY DO THE MATH OF LIKE, A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE IS X FOR THESE DEMOGRAPHICS. YEAH. I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE ONE, IF WE WANT IT TO BE REPRESENTATIVE ALSO, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO DELAY THE PROJECT FURTHER BY WAITING ON RESPONSES TO COME IN. SO REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT Y'ALL'S PROCESS IS AND WHAT YOU DO UPFRONT TO MAKE SURE YOU ELICIT ALL THOSE RESPONSES. YEAH. UM, IN A TIMELY FASHION IS IMPORTANT. YEAH. AND THAT'S WHERE THE FIRST THING WE DO IS WE START TO SURFACE THOSE CHAMPIONS OF THE COMMUNITY SO THAT WHEN WE DO ENGAGEMENT, WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND WE CAN REACH THEM. UM, 'CAUSE SADLY THE WORST THING THAT I SEE HAPPEN THAT SOME FIRMS DO ON THE PLANNING SIDE IS THE LEAVE ENGAGEMENT UP THE WHOLE PROCESS. MM-HMM . REALLY BOTHERS ME BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY MOVING AHEAD WITH DECISIONS AND DESIGNS AND THEY'RE JUST LEAVING THAT UP TO BUILD THE NUMBERS UP AND THEN DO PULL QUOTES AND DATA TO SAY, SUPPORT THIS. WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE. RIGHT. UM, 'CAUSE YOU DO HAVE TO CLOSE ENGAGEMENT BEFORE YOU START DESIGNING OR PLANNING OR DOING ANYTHING OTHERWISE, IT'S KIND OF, UH, I DON'T KNOW. IT'S PERFORMATIVE AT THAT POINT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? JUST A FOLLOW UP AS IT RELATES TO, UH, NICOLE'S QUESTION ON ENGAGEMENT AND HOW YOU'RE REACHING OUT TO THOSE, WE'LL CALL 'EM UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES FOR CONVERSATIONAL SAKE. DO YOU RELY ON YOUR OWN METHODOLOGY TO IDENTIFY THOSE COMMUNITY LEADERS? OR ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE CITY TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE IN THAT PARTICULAR REGARD? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH, IT'S A COMBINATION. I MEAN, WE, BECAUSE WE DO THIS IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, WE SEE REGULAR PATTERNS OF, YOU KNOW, UM, WHEN WE SAY MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, WE'RE NOT ALWAYS JUST TALKING ABOUT PHYSICALLY. UM, IT'S A BIG PART OF IT, BUT WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT LIKE PSYCHOLOGICALLY, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF SOMEBODY IS, UM, STRUCK THEIR, THEIR BIGGEST WORRY IS PAYING RENT, THEY'RE NOT SUPER FOCUSED ON TAKING YOUR SURVEY. RIGHT? AND SO WE TAKE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO MEET THE, LIKE RENTERS AND, AND LOWER INCOME AND AREAS. UM, AND SO PART OF IT'S THAT WE GO IN AND WE KNOW CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHICS AND WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO REACH THEM AND WHAT ARE THE TOOLS AND CHANNELS. SOME OF THOSE ARE DIGITAL TOOLS THAT WE'VE BUILT. [01:55:01] UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE JUST COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT, HEY, DOES YOUR COMMUNITY HAVE THIS TYPE OF ORGANIZATION? AND TAPPING INTO THOSE. BUT THEN WE ALSO ARE DEFINITELY GONNA RELY ON STAFF, BUT THEN ALSO THAT BRAND COMMITTEE, UM, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WOULD ALSO LIKELY HAVE A STEERING COMMITTEE. AND WE WANT TO, WE DON'T WANT THOSE PEOPLE TO JUST CHIME IN FROM THE BACKSEAT. WE WANT THEM TO BE LIKE BRAND CHAMPIONS AND GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. AND SO WE'LL BE LIKE, HEY, WE ARE STRUGGLING TO REACH HISPANICS 18 TO 24, WHAT CONTACTS WITH CERTAIN CHURCHES, NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN REACH THIS AUDIENCE? AND IT'S BECOMES A TEAM EFFORT AT THAT POINT. THANK YOU. YEP. COUNCIL. OKAY. UM, I WENT, I REALLY LIKED, UH, WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER ABOUT CORRELATING WITH THE COMP PLAN SO THAT THESE ARE HAND IN HAND. UM, BUT YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU ARE ALREADY WORKING WITH ONE OF THE APPLICANTS. ARE YOU WILLING TO WORK WITH ANYBODY THAT WE HIRE FOR THE COMP PLAN? YEAH. I MEAN, WE WORK WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT FIRMS. I MEAN, WE'RE ON A PROJECT TEAM, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD RELATE TO THE OTHER FIRMS YOU'RE INTERVIEWING. OKAY. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE GET PULLED IN ON VARIOUS PROJECTS ALL THE TIME, SO. FANTASTIC. THANK YOU. UM, AND THEN ON TASK TWO, RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT AND AUDIT, UM, WHERE IS COUNCIL ON THAT? LIKE WHEN DO YOU TALK TO US? YEAH, SO WE TYPICALLY, UM, SO THAT IT'S NOT A PUBLIC MEETING, WE'LL DO ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, IN THAT VERY FIRST PHASE OF THAT PROJECT. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT ALLOWS US TO KIND OF JUST REALLY UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHY DID YOU RUN FROM COUNCIL? WHAT ARE YOUR BIG INITIATIVES? WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS? HOW ARE YOU GONNA MEASURE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT? UM, REALLY GET A FEEL FOR WHERE YOU GUYS ARE. UM, AND THEN AT THAT AUDIT, THE, THE BIG DELIVERABLES IS THE BRAND AUDIT. WE CHECK IN WITH COUNCIL, YOU GUYS WOULD GET UPDATED, BE ABLE TO ASK US QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. THE NEXT BIG DELIVERABLE IS THE STRATEGY. SO IT'S KIND OF THE NARRATIVE VERSION OF THE BRAND CHECK IN WITH SET COUNCIL THERE. AND THEN THE FINAL DELIVERABLY ON THE APPROVAL ON DESIGN, UM, REALLY JUST COMES DOWN TO, UM, THIS IS PROBABLY A CITY MANAGER QUESTION OR LIKE HOW YOU GUYS ARE HANDLING APPROVAL OR ADOPTION. UM, SOMETIMES STEERING COMMITTEES ARE MAKING THE FINAL APPROVAL AND SOMETIMES COUNCIL IS DOING LIKE A FORMAL ADOPTION. SO SINCE YOU GUYS WOULD BE DOING A FORMAL ADOPTION, WE OF COURSE WOULD BE RIGHT BACK HERE FOR THAT. SO. AWESOME. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YEP. YOU BET. ALL RIGHT. GUIDE STUDIO COUNCIL QUESTIONS. ALL RIGHT. WHERE IS COUNCIL IN YOUR PROCESS? COUNSEL? UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT RYAN SAID, UH, WE, WE INCLUDE COUNSEL IN INTERVIEW. SO WE WOULD IN INDIVIDUALLY INTERVIEW YOU AT THE, IN THE RESEARCH AND DISCRE PROCESS, BUT WE OFTENTIMES WILL HAVE A COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND ALSO ON THE STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE. SO THERE'S SOME PRESENCE THERE. IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU ALL ARE UP FOR, BUT WE MAKE SURE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL, UM, DURING THAT INITIAL DISCOVERY PHASE. OKAY. YEAH. I DID HAVE A QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO THE, I NOTED THAT IN YOUR, IN YOUR PACKET, UH, YOU INCLUDED SOME MONUMENT PLANNING. UH, THERE WAS AT LEAST A COUPLE OF IMAGES THAT SEEMED TO BE MONUMENT TYPE, UH, IDENTIFIERS. OH, RIGHT. GATEWAY SIGNAGE. YEAH. GATEWAY SIGNAGE. MM-HMM . YEAH. UM, CAN YOU EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON THAT AND WHERE YOU'VE SEEN THAT UTILIZED? SURE. ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNAGE IS THE OTHER KIND OF HALF OF OUR, OUR FOCUS AREA, AND WE DO THAT FOR COMMUNITIES A LOT. SO, UM, WE SEE SIGNAGE AS A KIND OF EXTENSION OF YOUR BRAND. SO I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON THE BRAND FIRST, AND WHEN THAT'S ESTABLISHED AND AS YOU'RE GROWING AND, AND THINGS LOCK INTO PLACE WITH YOUR COMP PLAN AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THEN THAT'S A GOOD TIME TO START LOOKING AT SIGNAGE. UM, ERICA, YOU CAN CHIME IN AS WELL, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE VERY, UM, EXPERIENCED IN DOING THAT. AND EVEN JUST DRIVING AROUND TOWN TODAY, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY THERE TO DEFINE YOUR ENTRIES AND TO HELP PEOPLE AROUND, ESPECIALLY AS YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING ALL THESE NEW PLACES AND, YOU KNOW, UM, DEFINING DISTRICTS LIKE OLD TOWN AND YOU, YOU'RE ALREADY USING BANNERS AND YOU'RE IN YOUR NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CONSIDER WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING OF, BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF, I MEAN, A BIG PART OF WHAT WE DO. UM, SO WHERE THIS MIGHT COME INTO YOUR PROCESS IS WHEN WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE, WE MIGHT SUGGEST TO YOU, UM, HERE'S WHAT WE OBSERVED ABOUT HOW THIS COULD HELP WITH YOUR KIND OF BRAND EXECUTION. AND, UM, WHEN WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO DO THAT. THANK YOU. SO [02:00:01] I, I WOULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION, BUT I'D PROBABLY GET THE SAME ANSWER ON THE HISTORY CONNECTION PART. SO, UM, COULD YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU WOULD APPROACH POSITIONING IN THIS AREA? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF CITIES AROUND US, THEY'RE DOING DIFFERENT THINGS AND ALL THAT. AND HOW WOULD, HOW WOULD WE GET POSITIONED IN THAT? I KNOW, AND A LOT OF THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY COME OUT OF ABOUT COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS. THAT'S MORE OF MAYBE A CITY THING OR HOW, HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT THAT? REALLY, EVERYTHING THAT WE HEAR IN OUR DISCOVERY PROCESS FEEDS INTO THAT POSITIONING. SO ALL OF EVERYTHING THAT WE HEAR FROM YOUR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, FROM, FROM YOUR STEERING COMMITTEE, FROM OUR OWN RESEARCH, AND WE WILL DO, YOU KNOW, THE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS AND LOOKING AT OTHER COMMUNITIES AND SEEING WHAT THEY'RE DOING. BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE THAT IN THE BACK OF OUR MIND. BUT REALLY THAT POSITIONING IS BORN OUT OF WHO ARE YOUR AUDIENCES? WHAT ARE YOUR DISTINCT ADVANTAGES? WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SPECIAL, AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING? SO WE FIND THAT IN FOCUSING IN ON THOSE THINGS, IT REALLY HELPS DEFINE THAT STATEMENT AND GIVES YOU A NICE TOOL TO WORK WITH MOVING FORWARD TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING FROM THE SAME PLAYBOOK. YOU KNOW, IT WORKS PART AND PARCEL WITH YOUR VISION STATEMENT AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH YOUR COMP PLAN. AS RYAN SAID, QUESTION I HAD IS, UH, SO DO YOU, DO YOU EVER UNCOVER THINGS THAT THE CITY REALLY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT ITSELF AND THEN THEY USE THAT AS A CATAPULT? AND DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT? CAN YOU THINK OF A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT? OH, I'M SURE THERE ARE GOOD EXAMPLES. YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON. THE, THE BAD RECALL GOOD WITH VISUALS, . UM HMM. CAN YOU THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE GOOGLE QUESTIONS? WHAT? I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE EVER REAL, LIKE C OUR CLIENTS ARE EVER REALLY SURPRISED BY THINGS. I THINK, YOU KNOW, A BRAND IS THERE, SO THERE'S ALWAYS LIKE AN INHERENT THERE MM-HMM . AND THEN DISCOVER BRINGING IT TO THE SURFACE. SO I DON'T KNOW THAT, I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYWHERE, LIKE THERE WAS A SHOCK , YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE SEEING IT ALL TOGETHER, LIKE WRITTEN OUT, LIKE, OH WOW, THIS IS US. I THINK THAT THAT'S MORE OF THAT MOMENT LIKE, OKAY, WOW. AND, AND THEN UNDERSTANDING HOW YOU TAKE THOSE ADVANTAGES, THOSE SPECIAL THINGS, AND TALK TO EACH OF YOUR AUDIENCE GROUPS LIKE, OKAY, NOW, NOW THIS IS RELEVANT TO THIS GROUP IN THIS WAY, AND THIS IS RELEVANT TO THIS GROUP IN THIS WAY AND RELEVANT TO EVERYBODY IN, IN, IN, IN THIS WAY. SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY SEEING HOW IT APPLIES ACROSS THE BOARD. UM, WE FIND INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT EVERY CLIENT THAT WE, THAT WE WORK WITH. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S THAT KIND OF COLLECTION OF UNIQUES THAT REALLY, UM, MAKES THEM SPECIAL. . ANYTHING ELSE? COUNSEL, UM, CAN YOU RECALL, SORRY, I HAVE THE SAME THING WHERE IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER, BUT CAN YOU RECALL A TIME WHERE YOU JUST FOUND IT VERY DIFFICULT, UM, TO DISCOVER THE ESSENCE OF A CITY AND WHAT YOU DID ABOUT IT? THE, I THINK GETTING TO THE ESSENCE OF THE CITY IS NOT THE HARD PART. SOMETIMES THE HARD PART IS THE VISUAL PART, I THINK, AND GETTING PEOPLE TO AGREE. SO CONSENSUS ON THAT IS, I THINK A, A TOUGHER SELL. AND THAT'S WHY OVER TIME DOING THIS FOR AS MANY YEARS AS WE HAVE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW TO TAKE PEOPLE THROUGH IT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ALIGNMENT FROM ONE STEP TO THE NEXT STEP, TO THE NEXT STEP. UM, AND THAT, THAT WE ARE THERE TO WORK WITH YOU, NOT AGAINST YOU. WE'RE NOT TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING. WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO GET YOU SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTS YOU ALL AND YOUR COMMUNITY, AND IT'S GOTTA BE RIGHT. SO WE'LL, WE'LL WORK THROUGH IT WITH YOU. AWESOME. I WOULD JUST ADD, LIKE UNCOVER, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING, UNCOVER CAME TO MY MIND. WE ALWAYS SAY THAT WE UN WE'RE UNCOVERING THINGS. SO IF WE ARE DOING OUR JOB, THAT PART ISN'T HARD BECAUSE IT'S ALL THERE. IT JUST NEEDS TO BE UNCOVERED AND BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, WITH THE DESIGN, GETTING CONSENSUS, LIKE THAT'S PART OF OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL FEEL AND RESONATE WITH THE LOOK AND FEEL. I DON'T THINK ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE VERY OPINIONATED, , NEVER. IT'S GOTTA BE A HARD SELL. IT'S, IT HELPS THAT YOU, THAT YOU ALL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND ARE PART OF THE, THE PROCESS. AND TOO, LIKE, I'LL, I WILL GIVE AN EXAMPLE. THE CITY OF KEANA, WISCONSIN, UM, IS HISTORY EXAMPLE FOR YOU. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY HAVE EVOLVED OVER TIME AND THEY'RE MOVING IN A DIRECTION. UM, BUT THEY HAD ALL OF THESE THINGS AND, AND YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE THINGS, RIGHT? THESE SPECIAL THINGS ABOUT [02:05:01] YOUR COMMUNITY THAT YOU WANNA CALL OUT, BUT YOU CAN'T CRAM THAT ALL INTO THE MARK, RIGHT? , RIGHT. UM, THE MARK NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, SIMPLE ISH AND SOMETHING THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME. SO FOR THEM, WE CREATED THESE, UM, STORY BADGES THAT CELEBRATED SOME OF THOSE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THE CITY OF KAUNA AND COULD HELP TELL THAT STORY. AND IN DOING SO, YOU KNOW, WE WALK AWAY FROM HAVING TO TRY TO PUT EVERYTHING ALL TOGETHER IN ONE MARK AND CREATE A WHOLE SYSTEM OF ELEMENTS IN WHICH YOU CAN START AND HAVE A PLATFORM TO TELL YOUR STORY. THAT'S NEAT STORIES, . THAT'S NEAT. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE, COUNSEL? I REALIZE I'M, I'M GOING OUTTA ORDER HERE AND I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE STARTED OFF BY ASKING RYAN THIS, BUT, UM, THIS IS AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. UH, I THINK WHEN WE THINK OF, YOU KNOW, DETROIT, WE THINK OF MOTOR CITY, WE THINK OF HOUSTON, WE THINK OF SPACE, SAN FRANCISCO, WE'VE GOT TECH. UM, I'M CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, AHEAD OF THIS MEETING WHEN Y'ALL WERE, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER YOUR PRESENTATIONS FOR LEANDER, IF YOU COULD JUST OFF THE SURFACE, TELL ME, UM, MAYBE A THOUGHT OR TWO THAT YOU HAVE ABOUT WHAT REPRESENTS LEANDER AT THE SURFACE. I, I WON, I I NEED TO DIG INTO YOUR COMMUNITY MORE TO GIVE YOU NOT FAIR A GOOD ANSWER TO THAT. FAIR. IT'S NOT FAIR, BUT I MEAN, I'M VERY EXCITED BY WHAT I READ ABOUT YOU ALL, YOU KNOW, AS BEING KNOW YOU'RE FAMILY FRIENDLY, , EDUCATION, YOU'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON WITH EVENTS THAT THERE, THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT I, I COULDN'T GIVE YOU ONE THING WITHOUT. I THINK THE ANSWER IS THEY NEED A CONTRACT TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. . WE DO. YES. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, LOCALITY STUDIO, WELCOME BACK. COUNCIL QUESTIONS. GO AHEAD. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND I APPRECIATE YOUR CONVERSATION ABOUT LOOKING AT LEANDER REGIONALLY. UM, I THINK THAT'S HUGELY IMPORTANT TO US AS WE THINK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ATTRACTING OTHER BUSINESS HERE. SO HAVING THAT APPROACH FROM THE ONSET IS IMPORTANT FOR ME. UM, I DID WANNA KNOW THOUGH, WHAT IS CONSIDERED VIABLE SAMPLING FOR YOU GUYS? I SEE YOU'VE WORKED WITH GEORGETOWN AND YOU'VE WORKED WITH OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, WHICH IS HUGE, BUT WHAT IS GONNA BE CONSIDERED A VIABLE SAMPLE? WHEN YOU LOOK AT US, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO REPEAT SOME THINGS THAT YOU'VE HEARD. I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE COMMUNITY ITSELF. UM, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION IS WHAT YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST AND WHAT HAS WORKED AND WHAT HASN'T. SO I BROUGHT UP THAT COMMUNITY SURVEY YOU'RE DOING NOW. LET'S SEE, WHAT, WHAT GREAT COME FROM THAT AND WHAT WAYS WE CAN NAVIGATE AROUND IT TO FIX ANY TROUBLES WITH REACHING CERTAIN COMMUNITIES. UM, YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH ONE, THE TOWN WASN'T COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH THE, THE SURVEY RESULTS, SO WE DID EXTEND IT, BUT WE PUSHED OUR WHOLE TIMELINE, UM, TO GATHER MORE OF THOSE AND FILL THAT TIME, JUST MORE RESEARCH. SO WE'RE FLEXIBLE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AND, AND GET THINGS IN PLACE WHERE THEY NEED TO GO. GOTCHA. AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE LOOKING AT US FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND YOU'VE LOOKED AT CITIES AROUND US, THAT WE DON'T EXACTLY MIMIC THE THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE? HOW DO WE REMAIN UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL? YEAH. EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE IN OUR AREA AND SOME WE MIGHT HAVE OVERLAP IN SOME THINGS, RIGHT? YEAH. WELL, THAT WOULD BE NO FUN. FIRST OFF, . UM, I THINK IT WHAT, ECHOING WHAT THE OTHERS HAVE SAID, IT, IT COMES OUT OF THE WOODWORK. IT COMES OUTTA THE PEOPLE HERE, THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LIVED HERE FOREVER, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NEW HERE, THEY HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT IS UNIQUE TO THIS PLACE. I THINK, UM, SOMETHING WE'VE FOUND IS, UH, YOU, YOU KIND OF ASKED THIS EARLIER, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY THINKS ALREADY IS A REPRESENTATION, AND THAT WILL PROBABLY INFORM THE BRAND. UM, A RECENT ONE THOUGHT, OH, OUR, OUR RURAL, OUR AGRICULTURE, OUR HISTORY, IT WILL BE VERY HISTORIC LOOKING. AND THEN THE, THE PUBLIC SAID, MM-HMM. , THE PUBLIC SAID, NO, WE ARE RECREATIONAL. WE LOVE OUR HIKES, WE LOVE OUR WATERWAYS, WE LOVE, YOU KNOW, SO WE, OUR INITIAL CONVERSATIONS WE'RE LEANING THAT WAY AND WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT GO THAT WAY. SO I THINK EACH CITY WILL HAVE ITS OWN PATH. AND WE, WE LOOK AT THE SURROUNDING CITIES KIND OF AS CASE STUDIES, UM, SO TO SEE WHAT SUCCESSES AND, AND POSSIBLE FAILURES, UH, WE WANT TO STAY AWAY FROM. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, YOU DO SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT, UH, YOUR EXPERIENCE AS AN URBAN PLANNER AS PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION. MM-HMM . UM, I'D ASK YOU TO EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AS TO WHERE YOU FIND THE STRENGTHS OF THAT PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE, HELP [02:10:01] YOU DETERMINE SOME OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT YOU MIGHT APPROACH TO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT. FOR SURE. I THINK THERE'S, UH, A BUNCH OF FACETS OF THAT. UH, SPECIFICALLY JUST HAVING THE, UH, EXPERIENCE LOOKING AT THE, THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC AND MARKET DATA. UM, LOOKING AT THE RGIS, UH, TAPESTRY SEGMENTS, LOOKING AT ANY DATA YOU ALREADY HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT. WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS. UM, AND THEN THERE'S KIND OF THE, I'VE BEEN YELLED AT A LOT, SO I'M VERY USED TO, UH, MORE IN THE PLANNING SINCE THEN THESE PROJECTS OF COURSE. BUT, UM, THERE WILL PEOPLE THAT, THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THAT WILL BE FRUSTRATED THAT COME TO MEETINGS AND SAY, WHY IS THE CITY SPENDING MONEY ON THIS? THIS, THAT'S ALWAYS THE NUMBER ONE, UM, THING THAT I HEAR OR CRITICISM I HEAR WITH THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS. SO ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE READY TO RESPOND TO THAT CORRECTLY AND WE'VE WORKED WITH YOU ALL, OR THE COMMITTEE TO COME UP WITH THE CORRECT NARRATIVE, UM, AND REALLY FOCUS ON EDUCATION AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF WHY A CITI BRAND IS IMPORTANT, WHAT IT CAN DO FOR A CITY. UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR GOAL IS TO BRING COMMUNITY PRIDE TO CONTINUE BRINGING THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TO BRING TOURISM, TO CREATE MONEY FOR MORE THINGS THAT THE PEOPLE WANT IN THE CITY. UH, SO IT'S KIND OF THAT ROUNDABOUT PROCESS. AND, UH, WITH EACH PROJECT I DO, I ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, AT A PUBLIC MEETING, HAVE A BOARD THAT IS PURELY EDUCATIONAL, UM, PURELY THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN, PURELY, YOU KNOW, WE GO INTO ALL THESE, THESE FACETS THAT I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST USED TO DOING AS A PLANNER, UM, DOING COMP PLAN OR TOD OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE. THANK YOU. YOU QUESTION. SO, SO ON THE, UM, THE COLLATERAL IS THAT STANDARD TO GIVE ALL THE COLLATERAL, YOU KNOW, ALL THE STUFF THAT YOU CREATED AFTER THINK I, IN MY BUSINESS, WE DID A LOGO ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO AND WE GOT 15 LOGOS BACK. AND SO WE, WE PICKED UP, WE WOULD'VE NEVER PICKED, I WOULD'VE NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD'VE PICKED WHAT WE PICKED WHEN WE STARTED THE PROCESS. THIS WHOLE BRAND THING. I NEVER THOUGHT I'M TOO SYMMETRICAL, ALL THIS STUFF, BUT WE GOT ALL THESE LOGOS AND EVERYTHING, WHICH WAS AWESOME, AND I HUNG THEM ON THE WALL AND THE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS IN THE COMPANY. BUT I THINK THAT'S GREAT THAT, THAT YOU'RE OFFERING THAT. UH, KIND OF GOING TO THE NEXT THING, SO ON YOUR PRESENTATION, I LIKE THE CLIFF NOTES, BUT YOU ALSO WROTE THAT TAGLINES. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT REALLY, I DON'T THINK THAT REALLY CAME UP IN ANY OF THE PRE CAN YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THAT WORKS? YOU KNOW, IN THIS BRAND STRATEGY, I THINK THOSE CAN BE, I'VE HAD TOWNS THAT WE OFFER IT TO AND THEY'RE JUST NOT FEELING THE NEED FOR IT. UM, BUT IF IT COMES OUT AGAIN, OF THE WOODWORK OF WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM PEOPLE, UM, AND THEN GOING TO THE FOCUS GROUPS, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, THE TOURISM, THE CHAMBER AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS SPOKEN ABOUT EARLIER, I THINK WHAT A TAGLINE CAN DO IS KIND OF GIVE THAT, REALLY SPEAK THAT NARRATIVE. IT'S KIND OF ANOTHER, UH, ADVERTISING PIECE THAT YOU ALL CAN PLAY WITH, UM, THAT YOU COULD BUILD OFF OF, WHETHER THAT'S, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, A SUB LOGO SOMEWHERE OR, UH, TO DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF IN THE REGION. UM, IT GIVES YOU JUST THAT LITTLE EXTRA PUSH, UH, THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOUND HELPFUL, BUT SOME DON'T SEE A NEED FOR IT. SO IT'S KIND OF UP TO YOU ALL IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. AND THEN IF IT, IF SOMETHING COMES THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT REALLY RESONATES, THEN WE GO WITH IT. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? WHERE IS COUNCIL IN YOUR PROCESS? THE QUICK ANSWER IS, IT'S UP TO YOU. UM, BUT IN RECENT PROJECTS, COUNCIL HAS BEEN, UH, KIND OF A, A VIEWING MEMBER OF THE BRANDING COMMITTEE. SO WE'LL HAVE KIND OF ONE OR TWO THAT ARE THERE NOT REALLY TO VOTE, PER SE, ON THINGS, UM, WITHIN THAT CONTEXT, BUT TO STAY INFORMED, TO INFORM THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND TO JUST KIND OF HELP GUIDE THE PROCESS AS WELL. UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE APPROVED BY YOU ALL, UH, IF THAT'S AT THE VERY END, IF THAT'S KIND OF THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WHATEVER YOUR STANDARDS ARE. AND THEN OF COURSE, THROUGH THE FOCUS GROUPS AS THE OTHER OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED, I DO, UH, LIKE TO, I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE YOU ALL TOGETHER BECAUSE I THINK IT CAN CREATE MORE CONVERSATION. BUT SAYING THAT I WOULD ALSO HAVE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS WITHOUT COUNCIL OR WITHOUT ANY C CITY STAFF, SO THAT THEY'RE NOT WORRIED THAT THEY MIGHT SAY SOMETHING WRONG OR THAT THEY CAN'T BE HONEST. UH, THAT'S KIND OF HOW I GO ABOUT THOSE MEETINGS. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO WE JUST MARK THESE FIRST PLACE, SECOND PLACE, THIRD PLACE IN OUR MINDS. YES, MAYOR. UM, AND THEN STEPHANIE, WE'LL GO AROUND AND PICK UP THEIR SOURCE SHEETS AND WE'LL GIVE THAT TO PURCHASING AND NO ACTION IS NEEDED TODAY, AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK AT A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM. GREAT. YEP. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT AND STAYING [02:15:01] WITH US AND PRESENTING. WE REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE SUBMITTED AND PUTTING UP WITH OUR QUESTIONS AND, AND ALL OF IT. WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. YOU GOT 'EM ALL? YES. AWESOME. ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE JUST MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. IS THAT RIGHT? I HEARD THAT CORRECTLY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT WAS OUR BRAND PRESENTATIONS. ALRIGHT, ITEM 21, COUNCIL MEMBER, FUTURE [21. Council Member Future Agenda Items  [Any deliberation of or decision about the subject of the inquiry shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.]] AGENDA ITEMS. ANY DELIBERATION OF OR DECISION ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF THE INQUIRY SHALL BE LIMITED TO A PROPOSAL TO PLACE THE SUBJECT ON THE AGENDA FOR A SUBSEQUENT MEETING. ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING? I HAVE A FUTURE ITEM THAT IS NOT REALLY FOR THE AGENDA. I WANT TO REMOVE THESE FROM OUR AGENDAS IN THE FUTURE. UM, WHEN WE STARTED IT, WE HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT WERE SPARKING THINGS, BUT MOST OF THE TIME NOW WHEN WE'RE ASKING FOR THINGS ON THE AGENDA, IT'S REALLY STUFF THAT CAN BE DONE IN REPORTS. SO, UH, GOING FORWARD, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE THE COUNCIL MEMBER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND IF WE HAVE TO MAKE THAT AGENDA ITEM TO REMOVE IT, WE'LL DO IT . ALL RIGHT, ITEM 22, COUNCIL [22. Council Member Closing Statements.] MEMBER CLOSING COMMENTS. PLACE ONE GOOD NIGHT AND PLEASE TWO, UH, JOIN US AT DIVINE WORK ON JULY 3RD FOR FIREWORKS. IT'S GONNA BE GREAT. I HEAR THERE'S A GREAT BAND. I DON'T KNOW WHO, BUT IT'S GONNA BE GREAT. PLEASE, WELL PLACE TWO STILL AS THUNDER. SO MIKE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE OUT AT LIBERTY FEST THIS THURSDAY, JULY 3RD. REMEMBER, IT'S JULY 3RD, NOT JULY 4TH. WE WANT OUR STAFF TO ENJOY THE DAY OFF. THANK YOU. PLEASE BYE. GOOD NIGHT. NICE PUTIN. I MEAN, YOU HESITATED ARE . OH, YOU GOT, I WANT YOU GUYS GET TOO USED TO WHAT WE WANNA DO. LIKE IS THERE MORE? IS THERE MORE? WELL SEE Y'ALL AT LIBERTY FEST. GOODNIGHT. ALRIGHT, AS ALWAYS, UH, WE'VE BEEN SHOPPING LOCAL AND WE HOPE THAT YOU DO TOO. TONIGHT WE PICKED UP DINNER FROM SOUTHERN'S PIZZA, WHICH I PROMISE YOU HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS IN LEANDER LONGER THAN MOST OF YOU HAVE LIVED HERE. YOU SHOULD PATRONIZE IT AS YOU DO ALL OF OUR OTHER LEANDER BUSINESSES. UM, AS WE'VE BEEN SAYING IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, IF YOU CAN'T FIND SOMETHING IN LEANDER, YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED IT. SO PLEASE THINK OF LEANDER FIRST WHENEVER YOU'RE GOING OUT DINING, SHOPPING, ALL THE THINGS BECAUSE WE ARE BOOMING AND FULL OF SHOPS. UM, ALSO WE DID A VERY SPECIAL PROCLAMATION EARLIER TODAY. SOME OF US WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT SOMEWHERE, SOMEWHERE WE'RE HOLDING FOR SUSPENSE. I DON'T THINK , I WAS TOLD, I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A GREAT PHOTO IN THERE. WELL, ANYWAY, WE ISSUED A PROCLAMATION FOR, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION MONTH AND UH, WE LOVE OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT. THEY DO SO MANY AWESOME DIVERSE THINGS FOR OUR RESIDENTS. WE'VE GOT THE GOLF COURSE, WE'VE GOT THE SWIMMING POOL, SPLASH PAD, ALL THE VARIOUS PARKS. UM, ALL OF OUR PARKS ARE DIFFERENT. AND, UM, JUST REALLY CONTRIBUTING TO OUR COMMUNITY. I THINK, UM, WE JUST HEARD ONE OF THE PRESENTERS SAY THAT, UH, WHAT THEY HEARD FROM RESIDENTS SOMEWHERE WAS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT INTO HISTORY. WE'RE INTO OUR OUTDOOR SPACE. AND I THINK, UM, THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT PARKS AND REC PROVIDES FOR OUR RESIDENTS IS THAT ABILITY TO BE IN THE OUTDOOR SPACE. AND I THINK WE ALL REALLY, REALLY ENJOY THAT. UM, SO THANK YOU. PARKS AND REC. AND THEN OF COURSE LIBERTY FEST IS THIS THURSDAY, JULY 3RD. IT IS THE THIRD. IT IS NOT THE FOURTH. WE'VE BEEN DOING THE THIRD FOR I THINK THREE YEARS NOW. AND IT IS FANTASTIC BECAUSE WE GET WAY BETTER VENDORS. WE GET TO SLEEP IN ON THE FOURTH AND, UH, WE GET TO DO OTHER THINGS ON THE FOURTH. THIS YEAR I AM TAKING MY DAUGHTER ON A ROAD TRIP AND IT'S GONNA BE GREAT. UM, SO MEET US THURSDAY THE THIRD AT DIVINE LAKE PARK AT AFTER 6:00 PM SOMETIME FIREWORKS AROUND 9, 9 30. YOU CAN PARK AT GLEN HIGH SCHOOL AND WE WILL SHUTTLE YOU OVER. AND WITH THAT ITEM 23 IS NOT NEEDED. AND SO ITEM 24 COUNCIL'S ADJOURNED AT 9:09 PM GOODNIGHT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.