[00:00:01] ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. 4:06 P.M. [CALL TO ORDER] THIS WILL BEGIN OUR SPECIAL SESSION FOR TONIGHT. TODAY IS JUNE 20TH, 2023. THIS IS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR THE CITY OF PRINCETON. WE WILL BEGIN WITH A CALL TO ORDER MYSELF. THANK YOU. IF YOU'LL JOIN ME WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. THIS WILL TAKE US INTO OUR SPECIAL AGENDA. [SPECIAL AGENDA] WE WILL BEGIN WITH AGENDA ITEM 2023-128 FOR GENERAL COUNSEL. RECEIVE INFORMATION, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO SELECT A GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE CITY. SO, GENTLEMEN, AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, WE ARE CURRENTLY WITHOUT COUNSEL AND WE ARE SEEKING NEW COUNSEL. MR. BORG HAS EMAILED US. I HOPE YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO READ OVER THE STAFF REPORT. HE INITIALLY DID SEND OVER RECOMMENDATION FOR WOLFF, TIDWELL AND MCCOY. NO, I'M SORRY. THAT IS OUR PREVIOUS ONE FOR MR. FORT MACDONALD. AND THEN MR. OBERA ALSO MADE A RECOMMENDATION FOR BOYLE LOWRY IN OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION. I ALSO DID SEND YOU INFORMATION I'M SORRY, GIVE YOU INFORMATION ABOUT ANOTHER LAW FIRM THAT I HAD LOOKED AT AS WELL. AND I DID SEND YOU THAT INFORMATION TODAY IN YOUR EMAIL TO REVIEW. SO IF WE JUST WANT TO GO AHEAD AND START THAT DISCUSSION TONIGHT, MR. OBERA, WERE YOU ABLE TO HAVE ANYONE HERE TONIGHT FROM BOYLE? LOWRY YEAH. BOYLE AND LOWRY IS HERE IN PRESENT. OKAY. COME UP TO THE PODIUM, PLEASE. THIS IS MISS SARAH WALSH FROM BOYLE LOWRY GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US. IF YOU DON'T MIND, JUST GIVING US AN OVERVIEW, PLEASE. ABSOLUTELY. I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OF COURSE. AND I'M SORRY, THAT IS REALLY LOUD. SO I'M GOING TO TAKE A STEP BACK. MY FIRM, BOYLE AND LOWRY, IS A SMALL FIRM. WE SPECIALIZE IN MUNICIPAL LAW AND ONLY MUNICIPAL LAW. WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 26 YEARS. STAN LOWRY AND MATTHEW BOYLE ARE HEADS OF OUR FIRM. THEY'VE BEEN PRACTICING FOR THAT TIME PERIOD. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU WILL COME ACROSS THAT THEY HAVE NOT HANDLED IN THE PAST. I BELIEVE YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE OUR WEBSITE PROFILE AND EVERYTHING SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE VERY WELL VERSED WITH ECONOMIC, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, REALLY JUST ANY AND ALL THINGS THAT THAT THE CITY COMES ACROSS. WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU IN ANY WAY WE CAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, GENTLEMEN. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PREPARED FOR HER TONIGHT? YES, MA'AM. HOW MANY OTHER MUNICIPALITIES DO YOU THINK THERE IS A LIST, I BELIEVE. I WANT TO SAY LIKE 14 OR 15. AND THEN WE DO A SPECIAL DISTRICTS AS WELL. SO LIKE THE DECKARD FLOODS, THAT SORT OF THING. WE'RE ALSO GENERAL COUNSEL FOR UPPER TRINITY WATER DISTRICT. MR. WALSH, WOULD YOU MIND KIND OF GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FIRMS EXPERIENCES AND SOME OF THE DEALS THAT YOU MADE YOUR FIRMS MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN? BECAUSE CITY OF PRINCETON IS REALLY ON A GROWING, GROWING PATTERN AND THERE'S A LOT OF FOCUS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND AND I'M SURE THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT ASPECT. SURE. MY FIRM ASSISTED GRAPEVINE WITH A NUMBER OF OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS SUCH AS THE GRAPEVINE MILLS MALL, THE GAYLORD TEXAN, THE HOTEL VINE. WE'VE HELPED WITH THE COWBOYS GOLF COURSE. GOLF COURSE, THE CARROLL GOLF CLUB IN WESTLAKE. AND THERE WAS AN INTERESTING ONE WHERE WE DID WE HELPED JPMORGAN CHASE RELOCATE FROM NEW YORK TO FARMERS BRANCH. SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF VARIETY OVER THE YEARS. THANK YOU. AND MR. UNDERWOOD ON THEIR WEBSITE. THEIR MUNICIPALITIES CURRENTLY ARE GRAPEVINE, HIGHLAND PARK, KELLER, HURST, JUSTIN, LONE STAR, MT. VERNON, PONDER, WESTLAKE, WESTOVER HILLS AND WINNSBORO. HELP IF I COULD SEE. WE ALSO JUST BECAME COUNSEL FOR THE CITY OF AURORA, TEXAS, AS WELL. AURORA, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I DID SEE WHEN I ACTUALLY COUNCILMAN DEFFIBAUGH HAD THAT UP TOO, AND I SCROLLED DOWN. THERE'S SPECIAL LITIGATION FOR SEVERAL LARGE CITIES, TOO, LIKE ARLINGTON, MESQUITE, GRAND PRAIRIE. [00:05:01] VERY NICE. VERY NICE. WE ARE WELL VERSED IN LITIGATION. I'M SORRY. NO, I WAS GOING TO SAY WHEN I TALKED TO MR. BOYLE, HE MENTIONED THAT YOU DO QUITE A BIT OF WORK ALONGSIDE TCQ, CCN WORK. WATER DISTRICT LAW. CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE? WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE THOSE SITUATIONS COME UP FROM TIME TO TIME. YEAH, THEY COME UP PRETTY FREQUENTLY, MOST RECENTLY. BELIEVE THE CITY OF JUSTIN. HAD WE ESTABLISHED A DEVELOPER FUNDED SEWER SOLUTION FOR THEIR WESTERN EDGE THAT I THINK WE JUST TIED THAT UP LIKE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. WE'VE DONE STUFF WITH PONDER COMING UP WITH CCN ISSUES, BELMONT AND CANYON FALLS. FOR ARGYLE, WE DID A, WE ACCOMPLISHED A REGIONAL REGIONALIZED SEWER SOLUTION FOR SIGNIFICANT SECTION OF THE TOWN, WORKING WITH NEIGHBORING CITIES AND THE TRINITY RIVER AUTHORITY. SO SOMETHING COMES UP A LOT. WE'VE DEALT WITH IT VERY SUCCESSFULLY IN THE PAST. WE COULD DO THAT FOR YOU AS WELL. PRIOR TO COMING TONIGHT, DID YOU HAPPEN TO SEE ANY RESEARCH OR DO ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO THE LAWSUIT THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN? I DID NOT ACTUALLY KNOW THAT YOU'RE IN A LAWSUIT, SO I APOLOGIZE. I WAS NOT AWARE. I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF YOU WERE AWARE OF THAT. I WAS NOT. OKAY. WERE YOU ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT AT ALL JUST TO KIND OF GIVE HER A BRIEF OF THAT SO THAT SHE KNOWS POTENTIALLY WHAT THEY WOULD BE WALKING INTO AND TO POSSIBLY SPEAK ON THAT? WELL, MAYOR, I'M PREPARED TO TO DISCUSS THOSE ISSUES AS SOON AS WE HAVE A SOUND LEGAL COUNSEL. BUT I'M SORT OF AT A POSITION WHERE I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THOSE ISSUES OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN GROUP RIGHT NOW. SO I'M IF THEY ARE THE ONE CHOSEN, I DO BELIEVE WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE, THEY WOULD BE A VERY GOOD TEAM MEMBER THAT WOULD COME ALONGSIDE OUR FOLKS THAT ARE ALREADY WORKING THAT FROM THE TML PERSPECTIVE? AND OFFER A GREAT AMOUNT OF INSIGHT. MR. BOYLE TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE ON. DISCUSSIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS FROM BOTH PERSPECTIVES, DISTRICT PERSPECTIVES AND MUNICIPAL PERSPECTIVES. AND I THINK THAT FITS VERY FIRMLY IN IN THE IN THE REALM OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. AND WE ALSO AT A PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETING, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT WE WE WERE DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO GO OUT FOR A ADDITIONAL COUNCIL AFTER DOING THIS RESEARCH WITH MR. BOYLE AND THEIR FIRM, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THIS MAY BE IF WE DO CHOOSE THIS FIRM, IT MAY BE A SITUATION WHERE WE MAY BE ABLE TO FOREGO THAT PIECE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A VERY EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THAT. AND MISTER BOYLE TOLD ME HE IS VERY CLOSE WITH FOLKS THAT WALK THE HALLS WITH THE PUC AND ALL THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS. YEAH. THANK YOU. AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, GENTLEMEN. OKAY. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND AS I MENTIONED IN YOUR EMAIL, I SENT IT OVER TO YOU EARLIER, THERE SHOULD BE A LINK PROVIDED TO THE OTHER LAW FIRM THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IN EXECUTIVE SESSION IN OUR PREVIOUS MEETING FOR BROWN AND HOFMEISTER. THIS IS THE GROUP, AND I APOLOGIZE. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT. WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIME FRAMES IN WHICH WE COULD DO THIS, AND SO THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO DO IT TONIGHT. HOWEVER, THIS WAS WHO I HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT DO REPRESENT ACTUALLY MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORING NOT DIRECT NEIGHBORING, BUT JUST LOCAL CITIES HERE OF OUR SIZE AND QUITE BIGGER. ONE THING THAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THEM IS THEY ACTUALLY DO HAVE A PARTNER ON STAFF WITH THEM THAT DOES SPECIALIZE IN EDC DEVELOPMENT AND HAS ALSO JUST RECENTLY HELPED WRITE SEVERAL LEGISLATIVE PIECES IN REGARDS TO EDC. SO I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE VERY WISE FOR US TO CONSIDER SINCE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE TRYING TO RAMP UP AND REALLY DIVE INTO AND MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING WELL AS OUR EDC AND THEY COULD PROVIDE GREAT INSIGHT INTO THAT. THAT IS REALLY ALL I HAD TO ADD ON THAT, OTHER THAN WHAT I'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY WITH YOU. ACTUALLY, I THINK BOTH OPTIONS, WHETHER IT IS BROWN AND HOFFMEISTER OR THE ONE THAT MR. OBERA FOUND, THE BOYLE LOWRY I THINK THAT THEY ARE BOTH INDIVIDUALLY CAN BRING GREAT THINGS TO THE TABLE, AND I THINK THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY BOTH GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS. WELL, IF NO OTHER. YOUR HONOR, ARE WE READY TO MAKE A DECISION OR. [00:10:03] BECAUSE. SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO TO HAVE BOYLE AND LOWRY LLP AS OUR GENERAL COUNSEL. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. WITH THAT, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL VOTE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. AND I APOLOGIZE. MY PAPER IS, LIKE, OFF FROM WHAT I NORMALLY READ. SO THANK YOU. BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP AND RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU AND BUILDING THAT. SO WE'RE HAPPY TO DO GREAT THINGS WITH YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. THAT IS ALL THAT WE HAVE FOR TONIGHT. GENTLEMEN, IF I COULD GET A MOTION TO ADJOURN. YEAH, I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION TO ADJOURN. OKAY. DO HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.