DEPARTMENT: Office of the City Clerk
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Tina J. Flores, City Clerk
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Districts 1, 5, 6, and 7
SUBJECT:
Consideration of Applicants to the Westside Development Corporation Board of Directors
SUMMARY:
The Economic and Workforce Development Council (EWDC) Committee will review and consider applicants to the Westside Development Corporation (WDC) Board of Directors.
Five of the six (6) current Board seats are vacant due to amendments made to WDC By-laws in 2019, which included Board composition changes. The remaining vacancy is for the UTSA representative. Dr. Jesse Zapata retired from UTSA, therefore, the board seat for the UTSA category was vacated.
Available categories are Community At-Large - one (1) seat; Real Estate Developer - one (1) seat; Small Business representative - one (1) seat; Resident - one (1) seat; San Antonio ISD representative - one (1) seat; and UTSA representative (1 seat).
A total of nine (9) applications were submitted for five (5) of the six (6) categories with vacancies. The nine (9) applications includes two (2) applications submitted for the Non-Profit category and one (1) for the Large Business category; categories for which there are no available seats at this time. The three (3) qualified applicants are eligible for consideration for the Community At-Large seat.
Listed below are the qualified applicants by eligible Category.
|
Category |
Five (5) Applicants for one (1) available seat |
|
Community At-Large |
John Ray Canales Tiffany Jenkins Larissa Martinez Richard Vasquez Raquel Zapata |
|
Category |
One (1) Applicant per Category with one (1) available seat per Category |
|
Real Estate Developer |
John Hernden |
|
Resident |
Juan Valdez |
|
Small Business |
Louis Escareno |
|
UTSA representative |
Shawn “Rod” McSherry (nominated by UTSA to serve as university representative) |
|
Category |
Applicants - None |
|
SAISD representative |
NO applications were submitted for the one (1) available seat. |
The Office of the City Clerk in coordination with the Economic Development Department (EDD) will continue to promote the submission of applications for SAISD representative.
Appointees will serve a term of office to be begin upon approval by the City Council and end two (2) years thereafter.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of San Antonio Westside Development Corporation, known as the Westside Development Corporation ("WDC") was established in 2006 for the purpose of supporting the City's community revitalization and economic development efforts within the near West Side of San Antonio. The WDC's current scope of work includes small business retention and attraction; small business technical assistance; WDC loan program targeting small businesses and entities involved in the revitalization of the West sector of the city; WDC grant program; and, the Legacy Corridor Business Alliance program.
The WDC Board of Directors consists of 18 positions. Members represent a wide range of interests pertaining to the West Side, including: owners or employees of private and nonprofit businesses located within the WDC Target Area; executives representing institutes of higher education located within the Target Area; executives representing public school districts located within the Target Area; an executive from the University Health System; a representative of a financial institution; a real estate developer; and residents living in the Target Area.
The Board of Directors is comprised of 18 (eighteen) members with 12 (twelve) seats occupied and six (6) vacancies. Of the 12 (twelve) sitting Directors, seven (7) identify as male and five (5) as female while six (6) identify as Hispanic and six (6) as non-Hispanic White.
The WDC By-laws were amended per Ordinance 2019-09-19-0752 on September 19, 2019. As part of the amendments, the composition of the Board was revised, which increased the number of seats for specific categories and imposed a limit of eighteen (18) Directors. Five of the six (6) current vacancies are due to the 2019 By-law amendments. The remaining vacancy is due to the retirement of Dr. Jesse Zapata, UTSA representative.
The WDC By-laws were amended per Ordinance 2019-09-19-0752 on September 19, 2019. As part of the amendments, the composition of the Board was revised which increased the number of seats for specific categories and imposed a limit of eighteen (18) Directors. Five of the six (6) current vacancies are due to the 2019 By-law amendments. The remaining vacancy is due to the retirement of Dr. Jesse Zapata, UTSA representative.
The six (6) current vacancies represent the following six (6) categories: Community At-Large (1 available seat), Real Estate Developer (1 available seat), Small Business representative (1 available seat), Resident (1 available seat), SAISD representative (1 available seat), and UTSA representative (1 available seat).
ISSUE:
Consideration of appointments to the Westside Development Corporation Board of Directors for six (6) available seats, five (5) which had applications submitted.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Committee can reject all or some of the applicants. This would require the application process to start over, potentially delaying the work of the WDC Board of Directors without a full membership.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact.
RECOMMENDATION:
The recommendation of the Economic and Workforce Development Council Committee will be presented to the full City Council for approval in October 2020.