Apr 20, 2026 Economic Development Corporation (Type A Board)

[00:00:02]

CALL TO ORDER.

[ A.1 CALL TO ORDER, QUORUM DETERMINED, MEETING DECLARED OPEN.]

ALL RIGHT, A2 PUBLIC COMMENTS.

DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS? OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

MOVING ON.

[B.1 Report on Economic Development Department Activities. (Arthur Jackson, Chief Economic Development Officer & Scott Smith, Assistant Director Economic Development)]

REPORT ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES.

ARTHUR.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN REDUNDANT FOR REALLY THE PAST TWO YEARS, I GUESS.

BUT IT WAS A VERY BUSY MARCH FOR OUR TEAM.

ON TOP OF TWO MULTI-DAY CONFERENCES, THE TEAM ALSO HOSTED SIX COMPANIES AND FOR SITE VISITS, AS YOU SEE ON SCREEN NOW.

NOW THESE COMPANIES STRETCH ACROSS SEVERAL DIFFERENT INDUSTRY CLUSTERS, INCLUDING ROBOTICS AS WELL AS BIOTECH.

NOW, THE BIGGEST JUMP THAT I'LL POINT YOU TO AND YOU'LL NOTICE IS IN OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT NUMBER.

SO YOU'LL REMEMBER WE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED PROJECT FIREHOUSE AFTER THAT PROJECT PASSED COUNCIL IN MARCH AFTER PASSING THE BOARD IN FEBRUARY.

AND SO YOU'LL REMEMBER, THIS PROJECT IS THE LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT GOING ON RIGHT OFF OF FRONTAGE ROAD 183, WHICH IS GOING TO BE CONNECTING LITTLE ELM FROM BELL BOULEVARD TO THE FRONT EDGE OF 1838.

AND THIS WILL GIVE OUR TEAM AN ADDITIONAL ALMOST 300,000FT² OF SPACE.

AND SO THIS ADDED ROUGHLY ABOUT $36 MILLION TO OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS.

AND SO YOU'VE SEEN THAT JUMP UP.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE 161% ATTAINMENT FOR THAT GOAL.

SO CONGRATULATIONS TEAM HITTING THAT NUMBER EARLY.

THIS PROJECT ALSO ADDED TEN JOBS BASED ON OUR AGREEMENT THAT WE LINED OUT WITH HEADWATER.

AND SO AGAIN WE'RE ALSO OVER OUR JOBS ATTAINMENT GOAL FOR THE YEAR.

NOW JUST A REMINDER TO COVER EVERYTHING BELOW THAT YOU SEE ANNOUNCEMENTS IN PROJECT ONES BELOW.

THOSE ARE THE METRICS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HIT.

AND SO WHILE WE MAY BE A LITTLE OFFER, A LITTLE BEHIND ON SOME OF WHAT I CALL THOSE KPIS OR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, THAT'S EVERYTHING ABOVE THAT LINE, RIGHT? SO THOSE ARE THE BEHAVIORS, THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO THAT WILL DRIVE US TO HIT THE ANNOUNCEMENTS, THE JOB NUMBERS, THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT.

RIGHT.

AND SO WHILE THOSE ARE LAGGING BEHIND, THE IMPORTANT NUMBERS WERE SPOT ON.

YOU'LL SEE WE'RE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT OFF FROM 100% FOR PROJECT WINS.

AND WE'RE RIGHT AT THE HALFWAY MARK HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR FOR OUR NUMBERS.

AND I KNOW THAT VICTORIA WILL CONTINUE TO HIT HER NUMBERS EVERY MONTH AND EXCEED THAT GOAL.

SO THANK YOU, TEAM, FOR OUR WONDERFUL MARCH AND GREAT WORK.

SO THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES WILL HIGHLIGHT OUR MARKETING EFFORTS.

I MENTIONED THAT WE HAD TWO MULTI-DAY CONFERENCES IN TOWN.

SO YOU KNOW, WE ACTIVELY GO OUT AND TAKE OUT OF REGION TRIPS.

BUT I THINK MORE IMPORTANTLY, HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE IN-MARKET TRIPS THAT WE TAKE, WHICH ARE EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT.

AND SO SCOTT HAD A CHANCE TO REPRESENT US AT WHAT IS CALLED THE TECTONIC DEFENSE SUMMIT.

AND I BELIEVE, SCOTT, THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE INAUGURAL SUMMIT FOR THEM RIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND SO HE MET WITH OVER 50 COMPANIES.

SO YOU HAD TO REALLY BE WORKING OVER THOSE 2 OR 3 DAYS.

SO I APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK FOR THAT.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SEVERAL OF THOSE COMPANIES WERE ACTIVE IN EXISTING PROJECTS, AND ONE OF WHICH WILL ACTUALLY BE TALKING ABOUT THIS EVENING IN OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION.

SO VICTORIA AND I ALSO ATTENDED, OF COURSE, THE 2026 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE.

WE MET WITH DOZENS OF COMPANIES.

THAT CONFERENCE IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT'S SO SPREAD OUT.

AND SO BEING ABLE TO HIT DIFFERENT EVENTS, DIFFERENT NETWORKING EVENTS, DIFFERENT SESSIONS, AND KNOWING REALLY HOW TO TARGET SPECIFIC FOLKS THAT YOU WANT TO SPEAK WITH IS VERY STRATEGIC ON OUR PART TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE MAKING THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF YOUR TIME.

AND SO WHILE WE MET WITH DOZENS AND DOZENS OF COMPANIES, SEVERAL OF WHICH I THINK FOR TO BE EXACT, TURNED INTO PRELIMINARY PROJECTS, AND THOSE THREATS FROM AI TO ROBOTICS COMPANIES AS WELL.

SO THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AND UPDATES FOR STAFF, AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE BREAK FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION.

ARTHUR, IF YOU WILL, IF YOU DON'T MIND INCORPORATING VICTORIA INTO YOUR COMMENTS, LETTING HER HAVE A PIECE FROM TIME TO TIME ON WHAT SHE'S HEARING IN HER VISITS SO THAT WE GET KIND OF AN UPDATE ON WHAT SHE'S HEARING.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HAVING MORE THAN AN ANNUAL BREW REPORT, BUT RIGHT NOW AN OPEN TO BOARD INTERPRETATION.

AND WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND FIGURE THAT OUT.

HOW WE PRESENT, YOU KNOW, 5 OR 6 COMPANIES THAT SHE'S MET WITH PREVIOUS IN A MONTH.

IF YOU THINK THAT'S WORTHWHILE, THEN WE CAN HAVE HER CREATE A MONTHLY REPORT MOVING FORWARD OR EVEN A QUARTERLY REPORT.

[00:05:02]

IF IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT'S MEANINGFUL AND JUST PERIODIC SHARING, IT'D BE FINE.

ABSOLUTELY.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, ANYTHING THE BOARD NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF FROM A PERSPECTIVE OR ANY TRENDS YOU'VE UNCOVERED FROM A PERSPECTIVE.

OH, I DIDN'T MEAN TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.

NO, IT'S MY FAULT. I'LL TAKE THE BLAME.

OKAY. HELLO.

SOMETHING NEW ACTUALLY IS I'M INCORPORATING BERRIES OR AI, SO I'M ASKING A LOT OF EMPLOYERS HOW THEY'RE USING AI.

IF THEY'RE TAKING AWAY JOBS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE ABOUT LIKE 80% OF OUR EMPLOYERS HERE ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES HAVEN'T HAD ANY CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT.

THERE HAS BEEN A COUPLE OF EMPLOYERS SAYING THAT, LIKE THEY'RE NOT USING INTERNS AS MUCH BECAUSE OF AI PLATFORMS. A LOT OF OUR UNIVERSITY PARTNERS ARE ASKING ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE A LOT OF THEIR STUDENTS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS.

AND SO I'M TRYING TO GET A BIG GROUP OF EMPLOYERS TO GIVE ME THAT DATA SO I CAN SHARE WITH OUR UNIVERSITY PARTNERS.

AND ANOTHER THING I DO WANT TO START INCORPORATING IS ABOUT CHILDCARE, BECAUSE WE HAD A WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS REGIONAL KIND OF MEETING LAST WEEK ON CHILDCARE AND HOW IT'S AFFECTING PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE AND WITH EMPLOYERS.

AND SO I THINK IN WE NEED TO START ASKING OUR EMPLOYERS IF THAT'S AN ISSUE WITH THEIR EMPLOYEES AND IF SO, LIKE WHAT TYPE OF RESOURCES DO THEY NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY SHARE THROUGH PWC OR WHAT RESOURCES DO THEY ALREADY HAVE? SO I'M EXCITED TO ADD THOSE TO THE PLATE.

BUT YEAH, I'D LOVE TO TALK THROUGH ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU GUYS NEED.

SO WE'RE TRACKING STATS AND IT'S JUST GOOD TO HEAR THE STORIES BEHIND THE STATS.

SOMETIMES. YEAH OF COURSE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

QUESTIONS FOR EITHER.

I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHEN WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE THE GOALS.

I SAID THAT LAST MONTH. AND WE'RE THE SAME GOALS.

WE'RE ALREADY HITTING THEM SO WELL WE DID IN MY OFFICE.

I HAVE TO INCREASE MY GOAL TO BUY THEM.

WE UPDATED A LOT OF OUR GOALS IN THERE, IN OUR METRICS AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

SO NICE JOB Y'ALL.

JUST KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK.

LOVE IT.

ALL RIGHT.

[ EXECUTIVE SESSION]

BACK TO REGULAR AGENDA

[D.1 Consideration of Minutes from the March 23, 2026 Board Meeting]

DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MOVE APPROVAL.

ALL IN FAVOR? THAT PASSES AND D2.

[D.2 Consideration of A Resolution Authorizing a Performance Based Economic Development Agreement Between the Economic Development Sales Tax Corporation of Cedar Park and Plug and Play, LLC (Arthur Jackson, Chief Economic Development Officer)]

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, AS YOU KNOW, BOARD, WE HAVE ENJOYED A PARTNERSHIP WITH PLUG AND PLAY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

PLUG AND PLAY IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ACTIVE VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTORS, INVESTING IN OVER 200 STARTUPS PER YEAR SINCE 2008.

PLUG AND PLAY HAS DEPLOYED MORE THAN $110 MILLION IN OVER 1000 STARTUPS, AND THE SUCCESS OF WHICH HAS BROUGHT THE ATTENTION OF LARGE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS AND MAJOR CORPORATIONS LOOKING TO BE A PART OF PLUG IN PLAYS, INVESTMENTS, PLUG AND PLAYS PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN CEDAR PARK HAS DRIVEN NEW TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND INNOVATION ACROSS OUR CITY AND REGION.

THESE INCLUDE COMPANIES SUCH AS CREATIVE 3D TECHNOLOGIES AND AI, BOTH ANNOUNCING SIGNIFICANT HEADQUARTER RELOCATIONS AND JOB CREATION IN OUR CITY RECENTLY.

THIS IS ALSO BEEN A BIG PART OF NOT ONLY OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN FOR TYPE A, BUT ALSO OUR CITY STRATEGIC PLAN AS IT RELATES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION PERTAINING TO A PROSPEROUS CITY.

SO UNDER THIS NEW AGREEMENT, PLUG AND PLAY WILL CONTINUE BUILDING ON THE STRONG FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED OVER THE PAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS, MAINTAINING AND EXPANDING THE HIGH IMPACT WORK ALREADY UNDERWAY.

NOW ON SCREEN ARE SEVERAL OF THE KEY COMMITMENTS INCLUDED IN THE UPDATED AGREEMENT.

ADDITIONAL MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES ARE OUTLINED IN YOUR BACKUP MATERIALS IF YOU NEED TO REVIEW.

BUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVOLUTION IN THIS NEW AGREEMENT I WANT TO HONE IN ON IS THE ADDITION OF A SECOND INDUSTRY VERTICAL, POSITIONING CEDAR PARK AS THE TEXAS HUB FOR AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE.

[00:10:03]

NOW, IF APPROVED, THE EXPENDITURE WILL CONTINUE THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ACCELERATOR.

SO WE'RE NOT LOSING THAT PROGRAM AT AN ANNUAL PAYMENT OF $500,000 A YEAR, CONTINUING TO SERVE AS THE CORE ELEMENT OF OUR INNOVATION HUB.

NOW, THE NEW DEVELOPMENT OF OUR NEW AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE VERTICAL WILL YIELD AN ANNUAL PAYMENT TO PLUG AND PLAY OF 1 MILLION, FOR A TOTAL OF A $1.5 MILLION ANNUAL INCENTIVE TO TO PLUG AND PLAY.

THIS WILL INCLUDE MENTORSHIP, WORKSHOPS, ACCESS TO FUNDING, AND CONNECTIONS TO CORPORATE PARTNERS.

THE PROGRAM IS ALSO TAILORED TO MEET THE NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS OF STARTUPS AND CORPORATIONS OF BOTH THE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING IN THE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE SECTORS.

NOW, MADAM CHAIR, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS TO THE BOARD.

BEFORE YOU TAKE A MOTION QUESTIONS.

WE SHOW A MULTIYEAR PROGRAM.

ARE WE COMMITTING MONEY FOR ONE YEAR AT A TIME? HOW DO WE HOW WE HANDLE THAT? SO IT IS A THREE YEAR AGREEMENT, BUT THE $1.5 MILLION IS PAID OUT ANNUALLY.

SO THE WAY IT BREAKS DOWN IS THE FIRST YEAR WILL PAY UP FRONT THE 1 MILLION TO BRING ON THE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE VERTICAL.

AND THAT'LL BE FOLLOWED BY TWO PAYMENTS OF $250,000, EQUALING THAT HALF A MILLION SPECIFICALLY TO CONTINUE OUR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING GROUP.

OKAY.

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTEE.

IS THAT A NEW DEVELOPMENT THING THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE? NO. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE ALWAYS DONE.

AGAIN, MOST OF THE AGREEMENT IN THE NUTS AND BOLTS WILL BE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THE PREVIOUS AGREEMENT.

SO AGAIN, THE BIGGEST CHANGE IS GOING TO BE THAT AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE VERTICAL THAT WE'RE GETTING, WHICH IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.

SO CORRECT.

DO YOU THINK WOULD BE A SUCCESSFUL RESULT OF THAT AEROSPACE INVESTMENT? YEAH.

YOU KNOW, AS WE HAVE MORE AND MORE SPACE COMING ONLINE, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CENTRAL TEXAS SPACEPORT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO ESTABLISH A SPACE AND DEFENSE PORT HERE AROUND TESTING AROUND A SECURE COMPARTMENTED FACILITY, WHICH IS A SKIFF THAT WORKING WITH START UPS IN THIS SPACE, WILL CONTINUE TO HELP US GROW.

COMPANIES LIKE PROJECT ZEUS, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND CONTINUING TO RELOCATE THOSE COMPANIES HERE THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.

WHERE ARE THE OTHER THE DETAILS, YOU SAID ANOTHER AEROSPACE VERTICAL WOULD NOT BE FORMED IN TEXAS OTHER THAN WHAT'S ALREADY HERE.

CORRECT.

SO WE HAVE TO BE SPECIFIC VERY ON THE LANGUAGE.

AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY THIS TOOK SO LONG.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALL ALIGNED.

AND SO IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE FIRST AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT HERE AND END UP GOING TO TEXAS A&M.

AND BOTH THE MAYOR AND I WERE PRESENT FOR THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.

AND SO, OF COURSE, IT WAS A SAD DAY, RIGHT? WE WERE HOPING IT WAS GOING TO COME HERE.

HE HAS LAID A GREAT FOUNDATION FOR BRINGING THAT ON.

HE HAD ALREADY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH VERY LARGE CORPORATE PARTNERS AND THE DEFENSE SECTOR.

I WON'T NAME ANY PUBLICLY HERE.

AND SO WE LAID ALL THE FOUNDATION IN, IN AND UP ANNOUNCING AT A&M.

AND SO BECAUSE THAT VERTICAL IS ALREADY THERE, THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS LANGUAGE AND WORDING IN THERE THAT DIDN'T PROHIBIT THEM FROM CONTINUING TO WORK WITH COLLEGE STATION, BUT OUTSIDE OF COLLEGE STATION.

TO YOUR POINT, THEY CANNOT ESTABLISH ANOTHER SPACE OR AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE VERTICAL PROGRAM WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR THE DURATION OF THIS AGREEMENT.

AND THIS WILL ACTUALLY BE THE HUB.

SO THEY'RE KIND OF SHIFTING SOME OF THAT AWAY FROM TEXAS A&M.

AND THIS WILL BE THE MAIN OFFICE AT THAT VERTICALS RUN OUT OF.

THE HUB PART OF THE AGREEMENT.

THAT'S THE WHAT YOU SEE AS QUOTE UNQUOTE THE PROGRAM IN THERE.

SO THE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE VERTICAL PROGRAM IS WHAT IS WHAT I'M CALLING THE HUB, ESSENTIALLY.

BUT IT WOULD BE ALMOST LIKE THE HEADQUARTERS IF YOU WILL.

SO THEY HAVE FIVE LOCATIONS RIGHT NOW IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, FIVE PLUG AND PLAY OFFICES WITH SOME, I THINK, HAVING THE SAME VERTICAL.

[00:15:03]

THAT MAKES SENSE.

HOW WILL IT WORK WITH THE A&M LOCATION? SO FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A GREAT SOME GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE WITH RELICS AND WHAT THEY CAN DO AROUND TESTING THERE.

AND SO THERE WILL BE A LOT OF COMPANIES THAT GO OUT THERE TEST DRONES AND CERTAIN OTHER KIND OF LAUNCH VEHICLES, IF YOU WILL.

BUT LONG TERM, AND THIS IS JUST WHAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM PLUG AND PLAY FROM KEVIN AND EVEN IHAB.

A LOT OF THE CORPORATE PARTNERS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO AND INTRODUCED TO THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO BRING ON BOARD WITH THIS INDUSTRY VERTICAL.

THEY WANT TO BE IN AUSTIN.

AND SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF YOUR TECHNOLOGY GROWTH.

A LOT OF YOUR DEFENSE AND SPACE RELATED GROWTH ARE HAPPENING HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.

AND I THINK THEY SENSE THAT LONG TERM TO ACTUALLY HELP COMPANIES NOT ONLY GO THROUGH AN ACCELERATOR THERE, BUT LONG TERM STAY THERE AND GROW IN SCALE IS A HARD ASK, RIGHT? GREAT COLLEGE TOWN NOT KNOCKING COLLEGE STATION O'BRIEN.

BUT TYPICALLY COMPANIES DON'T TEND TO STAY THERE AS THEY GROW.

GOOD ANSWER.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE ARTHUR AND THE TEAM TO EXTEND AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PERFORMANCE BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN 88 DEVELOPMENT SALES TAX CORPORATION, CEDAR PARK AND PLUG AND PLAY DEPENDENT D2.

SOMEDAY.

GOT IT. ALL RIGHT.

ALL IN FAVOR? PASSES.

BOARD MEMBER CLOSING COMMENTS.

[E.1 Board Member Closing Comments.]

HOW ARE YOU DOING? EXCITING TO HAVE YOU HERE.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS. IT REALLY IS.

IT SEEMS LONGER.

IN A GOOD WAY.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

I THINK, SCOTT, YOU JUST CELEBRATED THREE YEARS LAST MONTH, AND VICTORIA, HER ONE YEAR.

YEAH. AND JOE DOES THAT.

OH. MY BIRTHDAY.

OH, WELL.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY.

MARCH.

SWEET SPOTS.

IT'S PRETTY.

A COUPLE COMMENTS.

YOU NEED GREAT SUCCESS.

YOU GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH.

APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK AND THE FORESIGHT AND THE VISION THE CHILD CARRYING FORWARD FOR US.

IT'S EXCITING.

YEAH, I ECHO THAT.

REALLY EXCITED ABOUT JUST THE STRATEGY BEHIND WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW MUCH OPPORTUNITY THERE IS WITHIN THAT STRATEGY.

AND, YOU KNOW, MAKING OUR COMMITMENT TO THESE BUSINESSES.

SO THANK YOU ALL OF YOU. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.