2026-10-22 - City Council Budget Hearings

05:20All

05:34right, y'all. We uh are at 9:31.

05:39Love this for us. Good morning. First up

05:42is the Office of the Inspector General

05:44and the Ethics Review Board.

05:52Good morning,

05:53>> Brandy. You got your green on, too?

06:22The floor is yours.

06:24>> Thank you and good morning.

06:26The New Orleans Office of Inspector

06:28General has a history of mitigating

06:31fraud, waste, and abuse at unprecedented

06:34levels. Um, since our inception, UIG has

06:37identified approximately $196 million in

06:40city funds that were spent in a

06:42fraudulent and/or wasteful manner. We

06:44are continuing and will continue to

06:46identify and mitigate fraud, waste, and

06:49abuse. It's important to note um that as

06:52city council members, your support and

06:54partnerships are central to our work to

06:56eradicate fraud, waste, and abuse. Last

06:59year, for example, DOI identified the

07:02increased need for oversight of about

07:03$122 million in taxpayer allocated

07:06funds.

07:07>> Ed, can you pull the microphone closer

07:09to you?

07:09>> Sure. Last year, for example, the OIG

07:12identified the need for increased

07:13oversight and about $122 million in

07:16taxpayer allocated funds to offices like

07:20the sheriff's office and the Orleans

07:21Parish Communications District.

07:23Following our recommendations, the city

07:25council began drafting an ordinance

07:27requiring these outside agencies to

07:28track expenditures in city brass,

07:30thereby allowing for greater oversight

07:33of taxpayer money. Um this year alone

07:36we've identified about $16 million in

07:39potential economic loss prevented and

07:42given our budget that gives us a rate of

07:44return on the city's investment in us at

07:46about 369% which is a pretty good

07:48investment. Um, at this time I'd like to

07:50introduce my staff. My, um, deputy

07:53inspector general Alli Burls, Chief of

07:55Investigations, uh, Chuck Williams, uh,

07:59Chief Evaluator Patrice, uh, Rose, and,

08:02um, we can go ahead and get started.

08:06>> Good morning. The Office of Inspector

08:08General has four overarching goals. They

08:11cover nine objectives. Goal one is to

08:14prevent and detect fraud, waste, and

08:16abuse. We do this by providing a

08:18citizens academy and departmentwide

08:20trainings to citizens, department

08:23managers and legislators where we

08:25discuss our work and how we can help to

08:27prevent fraud, waste and abuse. We also

08:29investigate allegations of fraud, issue

08:33best practice recommendations, monitor

08:35high-risisk procurements, and work

08:37collaboratively with the Bureau of

08:39Purchasing. Goal two is to focus our

08:42activities on the right issues at the

08:44right time. Our objective here is to

08:47make sure we're directing the

08:49appropriate resources on issues that

08:52have the greatest impact to the city and

08:54its citizens. To this end, we conduct a

08:57risk assessment, develop an annual work

08:59plan, and strive to provide timely

09:02recommendations for positive

09:04improvements. Part of our goal is to be

09:06timely and relative. Part of our goal to

09:09be timely and relative involves making

09:12sure we monitor current event and

09:14emerging trends and maintain

09:16relationships with external partners who

09:18can provide us with critical

09:20information.

09:22>> Morning council. Uh I'll be providing

09:24our goals on providing credible and

09:26accurate reports and communication of

09:27those reports to governance and the

09:29citizens. Our goal three is to provide

09:31credible and accurate reports. We will

09:34uh do so by ensuring that our projects

09:36are performed by independent staff

09:38members. That is they're free of both

09:39professional and personal uh conflict.

09:42We will do that by uh maintaining

09:44organizational independence as required

09:46by the city council or excuse me by the

09:48uh city ordinance and city charter.

09:51We will require our staffs to obtain uh

09:54continuing professional education and

09:55maintain their certifications uh and uh

09:59which would include receiving advanced

10:00degrees and obtaining prior work

10:02experience uh and and then earning

10:04national nationally recognized

10:06certifications. We'll also ensure that

10:08our OIG develops and implements

10:11methodology in accordance with

10:12professional standards to maintain high

10:15degree of quality control by developing

10:17policies and procedures and ensuring

10:19that our personnel understands those

10:21policies and procedures. Then finally,

10:23we will communicate those reports to the

10:25citizens of New Orleans. We will uh

10:28communicate our findings and other

10:29informations with managers and those

10:30charged with governance and uh inform

10:33decision makers of findings, identify

10:35causes of reported problems and work

10:37with decision makers to develop

10:39recommendations that serve as a basis of

10:41improvement. Finally, we will publish

10:43those uh reports and findings to city

10:46governance department managers and those

10:48charged with governance and then finally

10:50to the public.

10:53>> And as you can see here, our office has

10:55grown significantly. We now have 25

10:57employees.

10:59This is our org chart. Um we have four

11:01departments. Audit, inspections and

11:03evaluations, investigations, and IT and

11:06intelligence analysis.

11:15No, I

11:17>> Okay. Um this

11:20>> Oh, yes. So, so we have several projects

11:23underway. Um and we're going to continue

11:24to ensure the city's limited resources

11:27are used in in efficient and effective

11:29manner. Um you know we we just don't

11:32have the money uh to not ensure that our

11:36limited resources are being used in the

11:38most efficient and effective manner. Uh

11:40for instance our recent review of

11:41equipment maintenance division fleet

11:43operations revealed that the uh city

11:45purchased software to the tune of about

11:47$500,000 and uh that software was never

11:50installed on about 60% of city vehicles.

11:53So, we can't spend $500,000 and not have

11:56that money put to good use. And, you

11:58know, as as an aside to that, the 64% of

12:01the vehicles that weren't installed on

12:03were police vehicles. And as you know,

12:05we have multiple police investigations

12:09um involving where the the police

12:11officers themselves are the subjects of

12:12payroll fraud. So we cannot continue uh

12:17to we we we we must continue to ensure

12:20that the city's limited resources are

12:21used in the most efficient and effective

12:23manner. Um

12:26sometimes um our reports hit on

12:28financial operational as well as

12:30organizational risk. Um sometimes they

12:32hit on one, sometimes they hit on all

12:34three. Um recently we produced a report

12:36on Nord um which identified that Nord

12:39was not consistently conducting proper

12:41background checks to ensure the safety

12:43of our biggest resource, our children.

12:45Um UIG will continue to aggressively

12:49identify fraud, waste, and abuse and

12:50hold public officials accountable uh

12:52whenever we find them abusing their

12:54office for personal gain. Um we have any

12:57other slides? One more.

12:59>> And um this is our budget with the

13:01original numbers we were given. Since

13:02you all know our budget is actually

13:04fixed and it will be going down by about

13:06200,000 this year.

13:10>> Certain questions you may have.

13:12>> Yeah, there's a disparity between the

13:14budget book and your presentation.

13:16Brandy, you might be able to explain

13:17this. On page 358, the 2026 adopted

13:22budget total is 3.9 million, but the

13:25presentation notes that it's 4.4

13:27million. And the same for the 2027

13:30proposed budget. The budget book is 4.2

13:33whereas the presentation is 4.4.

13:36>> So I didn't complete the presentation.

13:37I'll start with that. The adopted budget

13:40is correct for adopted. Their budget was

13:42amended because if you recall the um

13:45revenues went up for general fund and so

13:48these agencies, the OIG independent

13:50police monitor, they get a certain

13:51percentage of the budget. So we had to

13:52increase their budget. So their amended

13:54budget did change for 2026 but the

13:56adopted budget did not um change. I

14:00cannot speak on why the proposed budgets

14:02taste this in their presentation. I

14:03defer to the department.

14:06>> Do you have any insight on that?

14:08>> Those were the number we were told I

14:10think from budget to put it.

14:13>> I we don't this but who did you speak to

14:15about your presentation? I can talk to

14:17you offline but the budget book is the

14:20factor and you all should have access to

14:21Qua to pull your data.

14:23>> Okay.

14:24>> This is this is for many of the agencies

14:26appearing today. the ethics review board

14:29um office of independent police monitor.

14:32>> So those offices we don't work directly

14:34with them because they're external from

14:35the um administration and so like the

14:38other agencies who came yesterday they

14:39get their data should come from the

14:40budget book.

14:41>> They always give us the number to use

14:43for this is the previous year's budget.

14:46>> Okay, y'all figure it out. What but what

14:49number are we working with?

14:51>> Our budget went down 200,000. We had we

14:54did not have a budget number until after

14:57the powerpoints were due.

14:58>> Yes. So I will say that the request that

15:00goes to the outside agencies is before

15:02the budget book is out and the budget is

15:05finalized. So some departments are using

15:08past numbers because the request from

15:10council comes a little earlier.

15:11>> I mean the good news about many of the

15:13agencies you guys are a percentage of

15:15the general fund budget. So

15:17>> it is what it is. Do you have a surplus

15:20that you're running? So um in the past

15:23years we have had a surplus and we've

15:25returned that surplus but as we um in in

15:28the past couple of years we have hired

15:30to our capacity. So um in the last

15:32couple of years we've given back

15:34anywhere from 500,000 to 2.5 million. Um

15:37but for the coming year we won't be

15:39giving back as much because we've hired

15:41more employees and we are operating

15:44within our budget. So the numbers that

15:45we're given we are continually ensuring

15:47that we obviously are not overspending.

15:50>> Okay. Well, let's stay in touch on your

15:52surplus because we might have to sweep

15:53that. Council member Willard.

15:56>> Thanks, Madam Chair. Just a couple of

15:58questions. Uh, thank you guys for being

16:00here today. Um, I noticed that there's a

16:0335,000 budgeted for conventions and

16:05travel. Um, could you touch on that?

16:08We're really trying to limit that across

16:10the city.

16:11>> Yeah, sure. So, um, the Office of

16:12Inspector General is unlike any other

16:15city employee.

16:16>> Sure. Um, so when we produce reports,

16:19our reports are highly technical. Um,

16:21and when we produce reports, they are

16:23never disputed because the people that

16:26write our reports are JDs, PhDs, um,

16:30accountants, CPAs. They're either CIGA,

16:33CIG, um, or myself, um, CIGA and and CIG

16:37certified. So, um, it takes an

16:39inordinate amount of training and

16:42subject matter expertise to continue on

16:44in those professional design. continuing

16:46education to Okay.

16:48>> And and and if we don't have those

16:50continuing education credits, um we um

16:54it impacts our certification.

16:55>> Sure. And then um 100,000 for outside

16:59legal services. Is that in preparation

17:02to write the reports or

17:04>> No. So So we have a general counsel. We

17:07we haven't spent that. We don't

17:08anticipate on spending that, but

17:10>> Okay.

17:10>> But it's a retainer in case we need it.

17:13>> Okay. cuz I it looked like the last

17:15couple of years you you didn't have

17:16that.

17:17>> Um well, we had it but we didn't I think

17:20the last year we used 20,000 in outside

17:23services. So it's what happens at the

17:25end of the year. We just give the money

17:27back. We don't need it. But I'd rather

17:29have it and and designate it um cuz

17:32people like to question our activity

17:35mainly the the the people that are we

17:37are holding accountable for their bad

17:39behavior. So, I need to make sure that I

17:41have fees and money for legal

17:43representation to ensure it through.

17:45>> Okay, sounds good. Um, like I said, we

17:48we frequently give enormous amounts of

17:50money back in identified about 20

17:53million so far this year. So, our rate

17:55of return is about 360%.

17:57And that doesn't include all the people

17:58that have been arrested, indicted, and

18:00convicted of using their public office

18:01for personal gain. So, we continue to be

18:03a really good asset for the

18:04>> Okay. Um, and then how do you guys

18:06decide where where you go next? what

18:09departments to look into, what

18:11contracts, services.

18:14>> Yeah. So, um, does somebody like um give

18:18you a lead or

18:20>> So, so we have a um and and I'll let um

18:23the deputy talk about it a little bit

18:25more, but we have a um a risk assessment

18:27process. And our risk assessment process

18:30focuses on operational, organizational,

18:33um reputational, and now more than ever,

18:37financial risk

18:38>> because every dollar counts.

18:40>> Absolutely. Um, we used to do every year

18:43we'd select 25 entities and we'd have

18:46them fill like a survey and we'd go do a

18:48deep dive. We'd meet with them. We'd

18:50kind of do like an analysis and give

18:53them a risk score, but now we dedicated

18:55one employee to do that full time. So,

18:57we're going to be hitting up all the big

18:58departments every year.

19:00>> We also rely on tips that come in as

19:01well.

19:02>> Okay. Awesome. Well, keep up the great

19:04work. Thank you.

19:05>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

19:06>> I do have one more question. And I see

19:07you have in the queue a 2027 report on

19:10recycling services. Given the fact that

19:13that might be in dispute during this

19:15budget season, is there any way to

19:17expedite that report?

19:18>> Yes, it should be coming out soon.

19:20>> Okay. Soon as in before budget season's

19:23over. Can we get a preliminary

19:24>> budget season over?

19:26>> November 9th. Soon. November 19th.

19:29>> We'll try. Okay.

19:41Um,

19:42>> will it come out before 2027?

19:45>> Yes.

19:45>> What was the question?

19:47>> Recycling.

19:47>> Recycling

19:49>> that Adam is doing.

19:50>> Oh, Adam is he's we have an evaluator

19:53who's working on sanitation and it will

19:56include a little about recycling, but

19:58it's it will not be out before the end

20:00of this year.

20:01>> It will not be

20:02>> not the end of this year. Is there any

20:04way, my question is, is there any way to

20:06expedite that given the fact that we are

20:08in the middle of

20:10>> deciding on budget and that might be

20:12some important information to have.

20:14>> Well, it it's possible we can pull that

20:16particular issue out maybe and uh pre

20:20present a letter just specifically on

20:23recycling. I'm natural to speak with him

20:25about we may be able to pull some of the

20:27information out into an expedited

20:29letter, but please keep in mind when we

20:32write these reports, we have standards

20:33for the GAO that have to be completed.

20:35>> We have to have a comment period and all

20:37that, but we will have a letter out soon

20:39and recycling.

20:40>> Thank you.

20:41>> Thank you.

20:41>> All right, Ashley.

20:44Up next is the office of the independent

20:46police monitor.

20:50Heat.

21:03Heat.

21:28Yeah, that one.

21:36>> Oh, the keyboard.

21:47Good morning.

21:48>> Good morning. Thank you for this

21:50opportunity to address the council and

21:53the public on the office of the

21:54independent police monitors budget for

21:562027. I'm Stella Cement, the independent

22:00police monitor for the city of New

22:02Orleans. And I'm joined today with

22:04Cricelle Williams, our deputy police

22:06monitor, and Renee Livius, our office

22:09and budget manager. She's sitting right

22:11there.

22:17There we go. Our presentation today

22:20starts with the status of our stated

22:22goals for 2026.

22:30In 2026, the Office of the Independent

22:32Police Monitor expanded our mediation

22:35programming and services. We increased

22:37our community district pilot program,

22:40which provides mediation services to the

22:42community to resolve disputes that would

22:45otherwise demand police officers time

22:47and attention. Similarly, we expanded

22:50the post investigation mediation program

22:53to include cleared by body camera cases

22:57and we've received over 40 referrals to

23:00this program so far this year. Due to

23:03budgetary issues that we faced in 2026,

23:06we did elect to push our recruitment and

23:09training of our new class of mediators

23:11to 2027

23:13when we will be able to accommodate this

23:15in our operational budget. The

23:17recruitment of a new cohort of mediators

23:20occurs every two years, but in light of

23:22our budget in 2026, we elected to do

23:25this um on a three-year um interval, and

23:30we will be providing that in-depth

23:31training to the new mediators in 2027 as

23:35well. In 2026, the OIPM completed the

23:39virtual public archive, which is now

23:41available on our website. We continue to

23:44make significant progress with our

23:46public facing database with officer

23:49force award and discipline data and the

23:52beta is now done. We're trying to

23:54finalize this um this interface before

23:58the end of the year so it could be

23:59publicly released. We're working with

24:01NOPD on that goal. In 2026, due to

24:05budgetary issues, we ended the monitors

24:07mic radio show. The monitor's mic was

24:10designed to provide more transparency

24:12and information to the public about the

24:15way that they're policed and give the

24:17and give them a platform to engage with

24:19leadership and stakeholders making

24:21policing decisions. Our final show was

24:24an interview with Chief Kurt Patrick. We

24:27thank all of the partners, elected

24:29leaders, stakeholders, NOPD, and

24:33community members for coming on to the

24:35show and all of our listeners for tuning

24:37in. you can now access the shows

24:39effectively as podcasts on our website

24:41and on Spotify. So that way we're adding

24:45to um institutional memory regarding

24:47policing.

24:49We're happy to report that the majority

24:51of our goals were completed or are

24:52currently in process and we anticipate

24:55that we will um be done with some of

24:57those goals by the beginning of next

24:58year.

25:00There are some goals that will be

25:02carrying into 2027 and we'll discuss

25:04that later.

25:07Sorry.

25:10Come on.

25:13Next, I will provide a brief overview of

25:15our personnel.

25:17This chart, this chart provides an

25:19overview of OIPM's personnel. Um, these

25:23are our full-time employees. We do have

25:26some vacancies, but we will not be doing

25:28any hiring in 2027.

25:34Looking to our organizational chart in

25:362026, we have our full-time staffing was

25:39consistent. However, our general

25:41counsel, who is a contractor, left and

25:44we've been unable to replace her through

25:46the RFP process. It is a goal to replace

25:49this contractor position in 2027.

25:52Um, and I believe that RFP is still live

25:55right now. So, if anybody is watching,

25:57please apply. In 2027, if we do lose a

26:01full-time employee, we will seek to

26:03replace them if our budget allows and

26:05the hiring freeze is lifted. I will flag

26:08for the council that the OIPM does carry

26:10a $100,000 wage reserve in our personnel

26:13budget. And if we're required to, as we

26:16were in 2026, we may tap into some of

26:18that personnel fund to supplement our

26:20operational budget if needed.

26:27Now looking to our 2027 OIPM goals,

26:33we will pivot to more report and audit

26:36based goals for the next year, such as

26:38prioritizing reports that we started in

26:412026, but will finish and release this

26:43next year. That includes reports on

26:46facial recognition, technology, criminal

26:48investigations, lawsuits, and claims.

26:52For example, in 2026, we submitted our

26:54first truncated case review to the NOPD.

26:58In that, we critically reviewed a use of

27:00force investigation regarding an arrest

27:02that occurred in the French Quarter

27:03where strikes against the individual

27:05being arrested were not recorded in the

27:07force statement. This case review will

27:10be eligible to be released to the public

27:11at the end of October. But in 2027, we

27:15will continue to expand these case

27:17reviews in order to provide more timely

27:19reviews of NOPD's formal disciplinary

27:22investigations and use of force

27:24investigations.

27:28As mentioned earlier, in 2027, the OIPM

27:31will recruit and train a new cohort of

27:34mediators for the community police

27:36mediation program. All selected

27:38mediators from the community will

27:40participate in an intensive 50-hour

27:43training that will help prepare them to

27:45mediate the three types of mediation

27:47that our office currently provides,

27:50which includes the traditional police

27:52community mediations,

27:55mediation between community members, and

27:58mediation between NOPD employees and

28:01NOPD employees and supervisors.

28:05On that note, in 2026, the OIPM started

28:08drafting the process and the policy for

28:11the expansion of the mediation program

28:13to include these mediations between NOPD

28:16employees and NOPD supervisors and

28:19subordinates. This draft policy is

28:22currently under review at NOPD and will

28:24be provided to stakeholders in the city

28:26attorney for review before being

28:28implemented in 2027. We look forward to

28:32formally adopting and launching this

28:34program in 2027. Though I will flag that

28:36in 2026, the OIPM informally led two of

28:40these mediations for the NOPD already.

28:49In 2027, the OIPM will be completing an

28:52audit into public integrity bureau

28:55classifications of formal disciplinary

28:57investigations that we started this

28:59year. Additionally, we will audit case

29:01refusals and evidence exclusion that is

29:04recorded under chapter 1.2, paragraph 16

29:07of NOPD's policy to determine if there's

29:10officer misconduct or illegal searches

29:13and seizures that are threatening the

29:14ability for successful prosecutions to

29:17occur in criminal district court. And as

29:20we do each year, we intend to continue

29:22to expand our community engagement. And

29:25this includes our work with the police

29:27community advisory boards, which I will

29:30highlight we are still very interested

29:32in coordinating and would love to work

29:34with the council and with city

29:36leadership on um on that endeavor.

29:40All of these goals that we listed are

29:42budget dependent. However, we will

29:44continue to be responsible stewards of

29:46taxpayer dollars that we are funded with

29:49and make necessary decisions to pivot or

29:52cut costs as needed while still

29:54achieving our mission and serving the

29:56public.

30:04So moving on to our budget summary and

30:06our proposed budget for 2027.

30:11The OIPM receives.16%

30:14of the general fund each year pursuant

30:16to statute. Additionally, in the coming

30:19year, the OIPM intends to explore grant

30:21opportunities. I anticipate that we will

30:24be able to address this more in our

30:26publicly released 2027 work plan by the

30:29end of the year.

30:35Thank you for hearing from the office of

30:37the independent police monitor and we

30:39welcome any questions.

30:41>> Thank you. Any questions? No. Thank you

30:43for your presentation. Thank you so

30:45much. Thank you.

30:46>> Up next is the French Market

30:48Corporation.

31:05Thank you.

31:17That's okay.

31:34Heat. Heat.

31:52Y'all ready for us? Okay. Good morning,

31:54Hudat. I know everyone's minds are in

31:57Paris right now, but we're going to keep

31:58it here for a few minutes.

32:04All right. So, I'm going to start with a

32:05review of our goals from 2026.

32:08Completing building E was one of the

32:10biggest goals that we had. So, some of

32:12you are not as well versed in this um

32:15haven't been through the trenches. So,

32:16we'll bring you in a little bit. So,

32:18after during IDA, there was major damage

32:20to building E, which is our main

32:21administrative building. What was found

32:24was that it wasn't specifically IDA

32:26related damage. It was building issues

32:28from when the building was built in in

32:30the 1970s. And so, French Market had to

32:32go into our coffers, into our reserves

32:34to rebuild that building. So, there was

32:36a big push to get us back into that

32:38building. It ended up being about a $7

32:40million project. So that all came from

32:43French Market reserves. Typically

32:45speaking, French Market, as you all

32:46know, has a franchise agreement with the

32:48city. And so we give $100,000 in rent

32:51payment or 20% of our um net revenue,

32:54the greater of. We've always loved to

32:56give money back to the city given given

32:58this situation and the upper pentalaba.

33:01We haven't been able to give as much

33:02recently. So one of our kind of

33:03overarching goals is let's get back to

33:05that place. Let's get back to the place

33:06where uh we can be giving money back.

33:08So, with building E, there was a huge

33:11push to get that project done, to get it

33:13done right so that we could get back in.

33:15A couple highlights I just want to say.

33:17Uh, we moved back in in August and we

33:19already have had some community meetings

33:21hosted in the building. Uh, FQMD has

33:23hosted some of their meetings in the

33:24building. So, we really take it

33:26seriously that it is a public asset and

33:28we're always looking for ways to share

33:29that with the community. So, we're

33:30excited and we also think that that can

33:32drive down costs for other community

33:34agencies who may be paying rent

33:35somewhere to uh to host a meeting.

33:41the Upper Pentala project. So, as you

33:43all know, graciously city council

33:45assisted FMC in using 8 million uh

33:47dollars in bond funds for this project.

33:49So, this was a long-standing project. It

33:51had been out bid out several times. All

33:53these projects kind of came together. Uh

33:55there was balcony repairs that were

33:57needed. There was roofing work that was

33:58needed. There were there were water

34:00intrusion issues that were a problem.

34:02And it was costing us a tremendous

34:04amount in maintenance. And so, uh,

34:06Leslie Ally, the former director, really

34:08worked with city council. We're super

34:10grateful, um, to get that $8 million.

34:12Does not cover the cost. Uh, it's going

34:13to be about a $12 million project all

34:15in. But, um, again, we're working really

34:18hard. We have about a million dollars in

34:20revenue from residential tenants in that

34:23building annually. So, having them out

34:24of the building is hurting our bottom

34:27line. But, that's something that you're

34:28going to see in the budget as we move

34:30into 2027. We're anticipating

34:32reoccupying that building about halfway

34:34through. And so we'll be able to start

34:36bringing that residential rent back

34:37online. We're already working with

34:39people. Um the the board just approved

34:41the appraisal for the um to set the

34:44baseline from for market rents. That

34:46appraisal or the RFP should be going out

34:48next week and then we'll start we'll get

34:50that the board will approve those rents

34:52and then we'll start sending those out

34:54to people. We have a waiting list for

34:55that building. So we're confident that

34:57once we can get through this project uh

35:00we can move forward.

35:02Um

35:03it's a historic building, so we know

35:05there's exposure. We've had a few things

35:07come up along the way, but we're holding

35:09things pretty tight. Uh we anticipated

35:11kind of a a larger amount for change

35:12orders on that project. Um so we're

35:14continuing to move through and we're

35:16pleased with the progress. Tuna was a

35:17low bid on that and we've been really

35:19pleased with their work on this. They've

35:20really been working with us. They've um

35:22dealt with some hurdles. The the mill

35:24work operator went out of business in

35:26the middle of it and they stepped up and

35:27they're making it happen. So very

35:29grateful. We're really excited to bring

35:31this building back online uh in its true

35:33glory of what it should be as a historic

35:35asset for the city.

35:38One of our big goals for 2026 was just

35:40really increasing local engagement

35:42specifically in the French Quarter. And

35:44so as we've stepped back and we've

35:45looked at kind of changing market needs

35:47and retail and just kind of how people

35:49are engaging with the city, what we

35:51realized in interviewing people was that

35:53there was a disconnect and that people

35:56had once really felt a connection to the

35:58French market and we're not seeing that

35:59as much. And so we wanted to start close

36:02and kind of build our way out, you know,

36:03and so I'm a firm believer that every

36:06resident of the city of New Orleans um

36:08is a part owner of the French Quarter

36:11and that we all, you know, it belongs to

36:12all of us and that everyone should feel

36:14that way. So it was really important for

36:16us to start close. And what that meant

36:17was we've done a lot of survey work with

36:19our with our vendors and our tenants and

36:21the people who visit the market. uh we

36:23we've worked on a strategic plan for the

36:26market itself where we had uh Truckwise

36:28who does great work in the city uh

36:30literally come table and just talk to

36:32people who are moving through the market

36:33and ask them what they're looking for.

36:35And so as one of our goals um or one of

36:39one of the things we heard was that the

36:40the kind of big festivals that we were

36:42doing were actually taking away from the

36:44market and not adding to it. So

36:45obviously Creole Tomato we're going to

36:47keep that. Uh that's our signature

36:49event. So we had our 40th annual this

36:50year and it was amazing. We did um a

36:53Miss Creole Tomato contest at Oz. And so

36:56the winner um got to be Miss Creel

36:58Tomato and was the MC for the festival.

37:00It was really fun. It engaged a totally

37:02different population that we than we've

37:04usually usually engaged with. Um we

37:07engaged with some influencers and then

37:08what we saw is because it was June, it

37:11was kind of a slow news week and so we

37:13had a lot of influencers coming who just

37:15needed to generate some content. And

37:16then day two of the festival we had all

37:18these college kids come which was great

37:21because you know we've been talking a

37:22lot with Tulain about the fact that

37:24there's a real disconnect between our

37:25you know between Xavier Lyola Tolane you

37:29have these kids who are coming here and

37:30they're getting this great education and

37:32they're not getting that investment in

37:33the city. So we've been really excited

37:34to see some of these projects that we've

37:36been working on are actually working. Um

37:39I will note the bouquet is this weekend.

37:41So if you're you know watching um or you

37:45guys here. So this is really an event

37:47for locals. So um on Saturday 11:00 to

37:514:00 it's a free event. Kids come in

37:53costume. We had 700 kids show up last

37:56year which is typically all local kids.

37:58And we do free trick-or-treating. We do

38:00face painting. Um there's a petting zoo.

38:03It it's just a really fun local event.

38:06Our vendors love it. They all have a

38:08balloon on their store. If you have a

38:09balloon on your store, that means

38:10there's trick-or-treating inside the

38:11store. So, it's just it's one of those

38:13things that it's nice to see the

38:15community come together and show up.

38:21So, the shift in marketing efforts when

38:23when I came to French Market, most of

38:25our marketing was print advertising.

38:28And not to not to disparage print

38:31advertising, but what we recognize is

38:33there's a real shift to online

38:35engagement. And so we've worked really

38:37hard with both local influencers, media,

38:40and media companies to start to move

38:43that online. And so we've worked with um

38:45some locals like Quinn Bishop on

38:47Orleans, Diane Honory, uh Buku Local to

38:51really get our messaging out and hit

38:53people that we haven't been hitting to

38:55say, "Hey, there's something for you

38:56here as well."

39:00Um, and so just kind of by the numbers,

39:02so one of one of the partnerships that

39:04we've had is with NextStar Media, and

39:06they are very data techsavvy. And so

39:09what we did with them is really looked

39:11at targeting specific audiences to see

39:14who is engaging with our advertising.

39:17And so we kind of broke it up into

39:18different advertising campaigns. So

39:20you'll see here we did a 50 plus, 20some

39:23family audience. And then this Houston

39:25Atlanta. So, the Houston Atlanta was

39:26actually a secondary campaign that we

39:29ran. And I'll just draw your attention

39:31to the fact that we had almost a million

39:33impressions on social media. And so,

39:35when we're talking about, you know,

39:36we're hearing a lot in these in these

39:37budget hearings and just across the

39:39board of like how do we sustain and we

39:41have to create a great city for our

39:44citizens, but we also know that bringing

39:47in outside dollars is really useful to

39:49us. And so that's why we knew that those

39:51were two groups that are regional

39:53travelers who like to come to New

39:55Orleans. And so that's why we targeted

39:57those so that when they're coming,

39:58they're knowing, oh, hey, I can come. I

40:00can spend money here. Here we're telling

40:02them how to engage with our city. And so

40:04we're really proud of that. Uh the other

40:06thing I want to point out is just

40:07between July and September, we had um

40:10over 2 million views on our Facebook

40:12page, which is a huge increase. And I uh

40:14credit that a lot to you know our

40:17marketing team has working been working

40:18really hard and that's something that

40:20we'll be working more on in the future.

40:25So

40:27excuse me one of our other major goals

40:30was to fill vacancies. Right? So I

40:31talked about building E. When we were in

40:33building E, what that meant is that

40:35French market offices were occupying two

40:37groundf flooror retail spaces in the

40:39upper pentala which is critical retail

40:41space. And so it was really important to

40:44us to get out of that building so we

40:45could get retailers into those spaces.

40:47Um and so and then there was also a

40:50vacancy in the farmers market. So we've

40:51had some of these vacancies come up and

40:53so we we've been really excited to

40:55engage and to get people into these

40:57spaces. Um and so I kind I just put this

41:00chart together for you guys cuz I

41:01thought sometimes just easier to see

41:03kind of the the totals and the numbers.

41:05These are the 2026 leases that we have

41:07executed. And so we have um the

41:10collective shop which at 528 St. Peter

41:12was vacant and so we were able to

41:15activate that space. Um only coffee in

41:18the farmers market and so that space was

41:20formerly um French market produce and so

41:23we've been able to to move forward in

41:25that as well. The soul study which is

41:29kind of a a personal favorite just

41:31because it really hits what we were

41:32trying to do. So um Christian Davenport

41:35is a poet and he's also an artist. And

41:37so you go in and he writes a custom poem

41:39for you, but it's in this very immersive

41:41environment. And what we've done is we

41:43realized through this strategic leasing

41:45process that we've been in since 2023.

41:48People are looking for something more

41:50than they can just do Google Lens and

41:52buy it on Amazon. They're looking for an

41:54experience. They're looking for a

41:55one-of-a-kind moment. And so that's what

41:57we're trying to get to is, yeah, you're

41:58still going to have your stores. People

42:00still want to buy stuff. You know, the

42:01sock store uh does about $1,000 a square

42:04foot in sales. I mean, they they're just

42:06it's amazing. But people are looking

42:08for, hey, I can't get this anywhere

42:10else. So, we're really excited about

42:12some of these. And so, that was one,

42:14too. There was a vacant space. Actually,

42:15an RFP was done on that space. The lease

42:18fell through on that RFP before I

42:20started. Um, and so it was vacant and we

42:22went back out, we put it on the market,

42:23we were able to to do this lease. Um,

42:26Paradise Garden, it was actually, and

42:28I'm sorry, there's a typo here, that

42:29should say 16200, not zero. Apologies,

42:32but the numbers on the bottom are

42:33correct. um she was actually in a larger

42:36space in the district and really

42:38couldn't handle it and was paying well

42:40below market rent. And so we said, "Hey,

42:43your space is going out, but there's

42:45other spaces available." And so I I

42:47talked to her yesterday and she's like,

42:48"Casey, it's so great. I didn't even

42:50realize how good it was going to be." So

42:52it's it's nice to see like yes, some of

42:54this change is uncomfortable, but then

42:56to see people who are succeeding in it

42:58is really exciting. So, we're making

43:00more, you know, we're doing more in

43:02revenue, but she's also doing more in

43:04sales. And so, everybody is winning.

43:06It's uncomfortable at the beginning.

43:07I'll I'll admit that. You know, we're

43:09making big changes, but is exciting to

43:11see that, hey, we were trying to make

43:12these changes and now we're seeing them

43:14work. Um, Home Studios is that is a a

43:18local artist. He has a book he does. And

43:21so, again, kind of same. And then

43:23Pelican is one of the newer leases. That

43:25space was vacant in the ground floor of

43:27our administrative building. So that

43:30that space has been vacant since 2015.

43:33So to put that space back online at over

43:36$100,000 a year is something for us all

43:38to be really proud of. Um Southern Paw,

43:41which is has decided they wanted to put

43:43their flagship store, they closed their

43:45Riverwalk store because they wanted

43:46people and neighbors to be able to walk

43:48their dog into the store. So really

43:50enhancing that neighborhood feel in the

43:52upper Pentala. Um and then Cinjun

43:54Collectibles, which is a is a jewelry

43:56store. again, you know, that was one

43:57that had gone out for RFP. We couldn't

43:59get responses. We put it on the public

44:01market. We were able to use broker sites

44:03to really advertise it and and bring it

44:05online and and, you know, increase our

44:07our revenue. So, we're really excited to

44:09present this to you. And part of why we

44:11present this to you is because, again,

44:13with that goal of we want to start

44:15turning money back over to the city,

44:17these increased rents are making a

44:19difference.

44:25So on our personnel um you know we are

44:29kind of tightening things up. We have a

44:31total of 44 folks. You know it's largely

44:34laborers and maintenance team for us. Uh

44:37we have a pretty small administrative

44:39staff. Uh we are working to fill some

44:41positions right now. We had a ton of

44:42exposure with upper pentalaba building E

44:44under construction. And so we held off

44:46on some hiring. Um, but now that we're

44:49starting to ramp back up, we are

44:50starting to do some of those interviews

44:52and hire people into these positions.

44:55Um, and you can see from our org chart,

44:56you know, there have been some some

44:58changes where we've brought in kind of

44:59outside consultants where we realize

45:01there's a significant savings and using

45:02a consultant that maybe it's a position

45:04that doesn't need a 5 day a week person.

45:06Maybe it's something where we just kind

45:08of need one off. Um, I will note that

45:10you'll see that with uh the real estate

45:12brokerage services. So, right now we

45:14have several leases on monthtomonth,

45:15which has been one of the goals is to

45:17get those off monthto- monthth and into

45:18longer term deals. Um, so you'll see in

45:22in the budget for this year that those

45:24services are higher. I think we have a

45:25budget about $135,000 for commissions.

45:29That'll drop in the next year cuz once

45:30those are signed, then you don't need,

45:33you know, you don't need a budget for

45:34that as much. Um, but that gives us that

45:37flexibility. We're not just holding

45:38someone on payroll for no reason.

45:43Okay, so our 2027 goals, it's just a

45:46quick review of our 26. So I'll just um

45:48move into 27.

45:52So again, completing upper pentala,

45:53right, building was that was the big

45:55goal for this year. Upper pentala is the

45:56big goal for next year. Um we're

45:59confident that we can get it done and

46:00and get people moved back into the

46:02building. Um restoring that residential

46:04occupancy, you know, it's just immediate

46:06revenue back into the pocket of the

46:08ultimately the city. um strengthening

46:11the public market. So, as I noted, we

46:13did this strategic planning effort for

46:16the market specifically, and so now

46:18we're working on um really advertising

46:20and getting new vendors in and getting a

46:23stronger vendor population.

46:25Um advancing strategic leasing

46:27initiatives. So, like I said, you know,

46:29we've been on this journey for some time

46:31now and continuing that so that we can

46:33move into getting those spaces under

46:35longerterm leases um so that we can kind

46:37of scale back on the need for that

46:39intense leasing effort. Um expanding

46:42digital marketing efforts, taking what

46:44we've done and moving it forward and

46:47then um strengthening our cultural

46:48partnerships. So, we've been meeting a

46:50lot with the French Quarter locals and,

46:51you know, the cultural partners in the

46:53French Quarter to really say, "Hey,

46:55let's all tell our story together and

46:56not be telling it individually.

47:05So, I'll just kind of go over the quick

47:07highlights. So, on our personnel

47:09services, um, there is a decrease of

47:1282,000 that is actually attributed to

47:14the grounds patrol. So, we have, uh, I

47:17think they were here yesterday." So

47:19ground we use grounds patrol officers

47:20and what we did is we really looked at

47:22the actuals from last year and so this

47:24is more in line with what it should have

47:26been. So that's it's the same budget.

47:27It's just we it wasn't we didn't need as

47:30much as we thought we needed. Um so the

47:32same amount of we're not cutting

47:33officers I guess I should say. And then

47:35um on the operating the biggest change

47:37you'll see is that there you know we are

47:40constantly kind of going through and

47:41looking at everything and making sure

47:43things are being accounted for the way

47:45that they need to be. And so there was a

47:47$ 1.1 million correction um related to

47:51depreciation. And I will let you know

47:53that that is not fully my strength. So

47:54if you have further questions on that,

47:56I'll let Robbie answer it. Um but it

47:58just it it's not actually a change. It's

48:01just how we were accounting for it and

48:02and making sure that it's accounted for

48:04properly. Um,

48:07and then I will note too that

48:12there was a precedent set in the

48:14recovery school district with the tax

48:16credits for historic tax credits because

48:18we're a corporation and we're not a

48:20political subdivision. We have the

48:22ability to get tax credits in the in the

48:25project that we're doing for Upper

48:26Pental. And so this was part of the

48:27conversation back when Leslie was here.

48:29Um, and I have the benefit of kind of

48:31carrying that through. But we've been

48:32working with Shipo, which is a state

48:34historic preservation office, um, to

48:36make sure that those tax credits are

48:38reserved. Um, and so that's going to be

48:40about $2.5 million in tax credits.

48:43French Market will receive those, we

48:44will sell them off, and then that money

48:46will be given back as an extraordinary

48:48contribution to the city. So that'll

48:50kind of be our little partial repayment

48:52for the bond funds, but we're excited to

48:54I mean, you know, we think it's a good

48:56thing. So, uh, we're excited to be able

48:58to turn that back over to the city next

49:00year. Any questions? Council member

49:02Willard.

49:03>> All right. Thank you, Madam Chair.

49:05Casey, thank you for coming down and

49:07walking us through all of this. Uh, I

49:09had a couple of questions just on the

49:10rent side. Um, and we, you know, you

49:13presented some stuff about, uh, getting

49:16closer to market rate rents. When's the

49:18last time French Market Corporation

49:20actually adjusted rents?

49:23So to my knowledge so we have CPI

49:26increases annually but at least not

49:29since 2015 if not before then. So I

49:33think what happened is you know French

49:35market can have a high turnover rate in

49:37executive directors um which can mean

49:39that there's kind of a starting up every

49:41time. Leslie Ally was incredible. She

49:43came from a a a lifelong service in in

49:46city government and came in ready to go

49:48and I think what the next day the city

49:49shut down for CO. So literally um so you

49:54know a lot was put on hold and then it

49:57was co you know we were they French

50:00market worked with tenants during co so

50:02that they weren't having to pay rent

50:03during that time so it was actually a

50:04loss for French market um and then Ida

50:06right this is a story we all know um and

50:09so as we kind of climbed our way out of

50:11that in 2023 and again this is kind of

50:13right before I started you know she went

50:15to the board there were a lot of

50:16discussions about setting market rate

50:18rent so that new rents going forward

50:20would be based on that market rate. And

50:22so that process started in 2023. Uh the

50:25board, you know, the the appraisal was

50:27brought to the board. It was put on the

50:29website for review. There was public

50:31comment. Um it was presented again the

50:32real estate committee meeting and then

50:34it was adopted by the board, I want to

50:35say May 2024. Um and so that was kind of

50:38that setting of a baseline and then to

50:40move forward into this process. I will

50:42note though, if it if I may, um

50:46some of those rent increases were so

50:48significant that the question became how

50:50do you do this, right? Like you can't

50:52just take people and say by the way

50:53you're going to start paying double.

50:55Which is why when I came on board um

50:57April 2024, we really looked at how do

51:00we do this? And so that's when we went

51:02to the board and asked to do this RFP

51:04for a strategic leasing consultant and

51:07broker so that we could then have a

51:08professional come in who understood the

51:10market and say, "All right, here's this

51:12baseline that the board has voted on.

51:14Here's how we get get there." And it and

51:16it wasn't necessarily about existing. It

51:18was about when we move into new leases.

51:20Now, as I noted, a lot of our leases

51:22were on monthtomonth. And so we've had

51:24to um kind of you can't do them all at

51:27once because people would think that

51:29something was really wrong if all of a

51:31sudden the whole district went out to

51:32lease at the same time. So that's a

51:34process that we've been moving through

51:35for the past couple years. Um but I

51:37think the evidence shows that it's

51:39making a difference.

51:40>> What did you guys do um I guess to

51:42mitigate with that sticker shock for the

51:45huge spikes? Did was there like a phase

51:48in plan or

51:48>> Yeah. So what so what we did is we and

51:51again so um corporate realy was selected

51:53through our RFP process just so you know

51:55who the um broker of record is um

51:57they've done a lot of work in the city

51:59so what they did is the strate so that

52:01first couple months they were on board

52:03they took the mckenry study which was

52:05the appraisal they reviewed it they did

52:07a blockby-block review in the French

52:09quarter of market rates and they said

52:10okay this is like this is what the study

52:13says this is what the rents the and then

52:16the the next piece of that was they took

52:17the effective rent. So, what the current

52:19tenant and it's our leases, we're trying

52:22to streamline them because you have a

52:24CAM component, there's CPI, there's

52:26percent rent, there's advertising.

52:27People don't know at the end of the day

52:28what they're supposed to be paying.

52:30>> So, we took all of those numbers to look

52:32at them to then say, "Okay, here's what

52:33we're advertising." And so, when it's

52:35advertised on the market, it's

52:36advertised total cost.

52:38>> Yeah. As a set rent and then um

52:43you know, you see what the market does.

52:44And what we've seen is that the market's

52:46responding and people are willing to pay

52:48the rents that we're putting on the

52:49market.

52:50>> Okay. And then on the slide you showed

52:52when they had zero that means that was

52:54an empty space.

52:55>> Correct. So filling vacancies was one of

52:57our biggest goals. We should never have

52:58vacant spaces in the French corner. So

53:01um we're really excited. But when people

53:03see vacant spaces, they get a little

53:05nervous. So those were our our top

53:07priority to get those built. And how do

53:09the um the new leases compare to other

53:13facilities in the French Quarter other

53:14office space?

53:16>> So the French Quarter is really unique

53:18in that it's truly a block by block. I

53:20mean you'll see on one block of Royal is

53:22going to look different than another.

53:23And so these are we believe fair market

53:26rate based on what we've seen what we've

53:29which is why it's not just looking at

53:30the rest of the French Quarter. It's

53:32looking at our existing tenants, what

53:34their sales are, what their neighbors

53:36are doing, and and there's a lot of kind

53:38of number crunching that goes into it to

53:40make sure that it feels appropriate.

53:42>> Okay. So, you looked at all of that when

53:44you were setting anyway. Okay, that

53:46sounds good.

53:46>> All right. Thanks, Casey.

53:48>> All right. Thank you.

53:49>> Hey, Casey, I have a quite a few

53:51questions. um first is walk us through

53:53how uh FMC will evaluate the results of

53:55its leasing strategy.

53:58What additional rent has been actually

54:00collected to date and how have vacancies

54:02changed and how have the cost of tenant

54:05turnover? How are those accounted for?

54:07>> So I I mean I think that's what we're

54:09looking at, right? So when we when we

54:11put it out when we put these things out,

54:13we're looking at a baseline. So we look

54:14at lease years. So we say okay in this

54:16lease year and then we're able to look

54:18at the next one and see um where those

54:21changes are. So when

54:23the intent of getting people on

54:25longerterm leases is when we're

54:27presenting it to the board we're

54:28presenting a 5 10 15 year term. So once

54:31they're signing on that typically we

54:33don't have people who aren't paying rent

54:35right like once once if you're coming to

54:37the table and you're agreeing to these

54:38terms people are willing to pay these.

54:41The variable there that you'll see is on

54:43percentage rent. So, all of these leases

54:45do still, so we we've simplified, right?

54:48Like it's all a base rent. You don't

54:49have CAM, you don't have CPI, you don't

54:51have all these things, but what you do

54:53have is typically 8% um of sales over a

54:58break point. And so there's the only

55:00kind of variable is the additional rent

55:02we could be receiving, but that baseline

55:04is understood from the time that we're

55:05signing the lease.

55:06>> Okay. And so for the people that you're

55:09transitioning from month-to-month leases

55:11into long-term agreements, how do you

55:13promote stability there? And how do you

55:16manage those commitments to get uh to

55:20protect existing tenants and give them a

55:22fair opportunity to remain those

55:24month-to-month tenants as you're

55:26transitioning them into uh long-term

55:30rents? So, I want to be clear that we

55:32are not necessarily transitioning

55:35month-to-month tenants into long-term

55:36leases. We have and I think what had

55:40happened for a long time is that there

55:41were kind of these like renegotiations

55:43that were quietly happening. What we've

55:45heard from the community is I didn't

55:46know I had even an opportunity to

55:48propose on these spaces. So, we've put

55:50it out on a very open market, which is I

55:52mean I've done public bidding for a long

55:54time, so that has always been my

55:56training in the public sector is that

55:58everyone should have a shot. Um we

56:00certainly we have a rubric that we've

56:02developed where we when if an existing

56:05tenant is looking to propose on the

56:08space right their term is up they're on

56:09monthtomonth uh we always go to the

56:11existing tenant first and say hey your

56:13space is you're on monthtomonth you're

56:15no longer under term which they know

56:17already but we go meet with them and we

56:19say hey it's going to be going on the

56:20market we just want to let you know and

56:23you're going to be as long as you're

56:24relatively right and we've been very

56:27loose on this um in good standing

56:30then you're welcome to propose on it.

56:32And so I don't think that we've had

56:33anyone we've told couldn't propose on

56:35this space. Um that rubric that I talked

56:37about, that's where we we have several

56:39things we're looking at. And so one of

56:41the things we look at is is this an

56:43existing tenant in the French market

56:45district and how have they performed. So

56:47out of the gate, they're already going

56:49to get a leg up because they can show

56:50that they can perform in the space. Uh

56:52we look at are you someone who's oper a

56:55French Quarter operator, right? like are

56:56you able because it's a unique uh

56:59landscape to be in the French Quarter.

57:00So that's one of the things that we look

57:01at. We look at is your storefront here

57:04generating additional jobs in the city

57:05of New Orleans. So I use a coffee shop

57:07for example. If you're coming to us and

57:09you're proposing a coffee shop, but

57:10you're going to use locally sourced

57:11beans, well then you're generating more

57:13jobs because it's not just this

57:15storefront. So those are so we're not

57:17we're looking at rent, right? Like

57:19that's one component, but we're also

57:21looking at um we're looking at have you

57:25been here for a long time? Have you been

57:27successful? You know, are you is this

57:30how does this fit in the tenant mix?

57:31Like do we already have a lot of this

57:33item or you know, like do we need

57:35another t-shirt shop? Some would argue

57:37no. So those are the kind we're looking

57:39at that whole mix. And the way it works

57:41is it's put on the market. Um

57:45staff gathers all of the proposals. We,

57:48you know, get the best and final. We

57:50review them and then we make a

57:51recommendation to our board of directors

57:53and, excuse me, our real estate

57:55committee. Our real estate committee

57:57then has the opportunity to take a vote

58:00and decide what they want to do based on

58:01our re and they might not agree, right?

58:03Like, but but that's our job is to give

58:05them that recommendation and then they

58:07vote to advance that to the full board

58:08of directors for consideration.

58:10>> Yeah. I I think the concern is uh making

58:14sure that existing month-to-month

58:16tenants have the opportunity to compete.

58:18>> They do

58:20through that rubric. Is that what you're

58:22saying?

58:22>> They Well, they do in several ways,

58:24right? So, it's an LOI process. And so,

58:27we meet the existing tenant. We meet

58:29with them before we we put it on the

58:30market. So, they're the first person

58:32that knows, okay, you're next in line

58:34for this to go out. and corporate realy

58:37recognizing that

58:40not everyone has maybe the expertise in

58:43submitting an LOI. So they actually have

58:44a word document that they give to people

58:46that they walk through with them. They

58:48talk to them, meet with them if there's

58:49questions. The difference between this

58:51and an RFP is in an RFP system, you fill

58:54out one form wrong and you're out. So

58:57this is we've had a lot more back and

58:59forth doing it like this than and

59:01created a more competitive market than

59:03in the traditional RFP. What we saw when

59:05we did the traditional RFP is that only

59:08people who were in the no got the

59:10spaces. So, and and it's evidenced in

59:12our district. So, we have I think Chapel

59:14Hats has three stores, Cellas has two

59:17stores. Um,

59:20who I mean, we have a couple folks who

59:23have Captain Demon has two. So, we have

59:25people who kind of knew how to get in

59:27and so now they're in the know. And so

59:29it's it's maintaining that balance of

59:32protecting people who have been there

59:34giving them you know like yet Latin's

59:36hand for example they same process we

59:39met with them talked to them put it on

59:41the market there's some other interest

59:43they submitted an L theirs was the most

59:45competitive LOI we presented it to the

59:47board we said this has been an amazing

59:48tenant they're still an amazing tenant

59:50and the board voted to move it forward

59:52because they have that evidence of being

59:53a strong tenant. Okay, I want to turn to

59:56the upper Pontabla renovation. Um, what

59:59milestones support the reopening date?