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A
A
It's
gonna
take
about
26
minutes
to
to
ask
13
questions
and
we
will
open
up
to
the
Eid,
a
committee
I
guess
we'll
go
from
from
right
to
left
as
far
as
questions
each
one
can
ask
each
one
of
us
can
ask
one
question
and
that
will
go
back
around
and
the
next
time
if
they
start
from
left
to
right.
So
with
that
we
can
start
the
interview
process
with
the
first
applicant.
B
C
E
D
F
D
Yeah
I
think
so
I'm
a
little
more
in
just
now.
Just
a
moment
you
can
see
me:
okay,
yeah.
E
G
Name
is
Benina
Ben
Willis
I
am
the
Human
Resources
Director
for
the
city
of
Laredo,
so
we
want
to
thank
you,
first
of
all
for
taking
the
time
to
meet
with
us
today.
Just
to
give
you
an
idea
of
how
the
process
is
going
to
work
today,
I
will
have
about
20
to
25
minutes,
and
the
questions
will
be
led
by
myself.
After
that
portion.
G
The
economic
development,
Advisory
Committee
will
be
leading
and
have
individual
questions
for
you,
and
so
during
that
section
they
will
be
asking
you
questions
directly,
it's
possible
that
they
ask
you
to
revisit
some
of
the
answers
that
you
provided
during
the
questions
that
you
provided
when
I
was
leaving
them
at
the
end
of
it.
Of
course,
there
will
be
some
time
for
you
to
ask
any
questions
or
anything
that
you
need,
or
you
feel
you
need
to
clarify.
D
D
D
Broadly
speaking,
I've
worked
on
many
different
projects,
starting
first
with
seven
years
of
experience
in
the
investment
industry
in
Northern,
California
and
I,
translated
that,
after
a
graduate
degree
in
economic
development
into
international
development
work,
my
projects
focused
broadly
in
three
categories:
polymers
services
focused
on
marginal
communities
and
marginal
populations
within
communities
in
different
emerging
markets.
Usually
the
programming
is
at
the
national
level.
I
also
have
an
impact
investments
focus
with
an
orientation
to
improve
company
access
to
blooded
finance
offers.
D
You
know,
timing
in
government
support
in
the
form
of
grants
with
financial
institution
support
from
banks
and
investment
support
from
the
private
investment
community
in
developing
markets.
Where
I
feature
you
don't
have
a
secondary
market
to
speak
up,
so
we
have
to
develop
first,
a
primary
market
in
private
investment
in
order
to
cultivate
the
development
of
a
formal
stock
market
and
then
last
developing
the
capacity
of
small
companies.
You
know
so
it's
a
different
mentioned
grant
program
or
evaluated
them
to
improve
their
operations.
D
D
Also
they
put
in
a
plug
for
about
place-based
development,
not
just
incubation
programs,
but
science
parks
and
industrial
parks.
That
feature
often
in
my
programming,
so
I'm
I've
tried
to
carry
a
set
of
experiences.
They
give
me
as
broader
perspectives
as
possible
on
how
to
do
economic
development,
from
understanding
how
universities
can
teacher
to
government
to
how
private
investors
can
be
unlocked
with
grant
programs
but
tutoring
in
different
times.
We
university
infrastructure
to
make
it
a
more
comprehensive
solution.
D
D
G
D
H
D
I've
read
through
the
master
plan,
it's
a
comprehensive
document
and
that
studied
some
parts
more
than
other
parts,
but
sustainability
has
to
do
making
sure
that
the
government
is
creating
a
private
sector
driven
approach
led
by
the
private
sector
in
public.
Private
partnerships
feature
a
lot
in
how
you
conceive
the
most
sustainable
approaches.
So
it's
about
creating
markets.
You
gotta
improve
a
company's
access
to
partnerships
with
other
companies
within
their
cluster.
D
No,
in
my
experience,
I'm
very
pragmatic
and
practical
about
targeting
the
low-hanging
fruits
first,
yes,
so
trade
advantages
are
are
clearly
a
strengths
of
the
cities,
and
that
would
be
a
place
that
I'd
want
to
put
attention.
I
want
to
look
at
how
you
can
unlock
you,
know,
free
trade
zones
or
how
you
can
look
at
develop
a
whole
cluster
of
support
programs
and
collaborative
larger
project.
So
these
are
the
kinds
of
things
that
I
would
think
about.
I
see
healthcare
tourism
in
retail,
education
and
business
services
feature
largely
too
so.
D
My
current
achievement
well
I
think
that
what
I'm
most
proud
of
was
in
Pakistan,
where
I
created
3,000
jobs,
so
that
mention
grandson
was
a
seven
and
a
half
million
dollar
fund
in
u.s.
dollars
in
Pakistan,
which
in
local
terms,
gives
a
multiple
of
that.
You
could
conservatively
double
that
value
more
appropriately.
Maybe
quadruple
it
to
equate
to
what
it
might
feel
like
just
have
so
much
funding
to
put
into
that
kind
of
a
subsidy
program
in
Laredos.
D
D
Why
what
was
my
biggest
achievement,
and
why
was
it
important
to
me?
Well,
I,
come
from
a
very
large
Catholic
family
in
Illinois,
and
my
father
had
11
siblings.
I
am
36
cousins,
first
cousins,
only
four
of
us
out
of
those
36
and
none
of
my
my
aunts
and
uncles
had
achieved
colleges.
The
college
degrees
I
achieved
a
college
degree
and
then
went
on
to
get
an
international
master's
degree
I'm,
the
only
one
in
my
large
family.
It
has
a
master's
education.
D
I
D
Every
single
time
that
go
into
a
country
I'm
dropped
in
almost
like
by
helicopter
and
what
happened
you
got
to
become
conversational
conversational
about
the
opportunity
there's
only
a
few
weeks.
So
I
can
begin
to
talk
to
ministers
at
the
national
level
about
why
they
need
to
undertake
an
activity,
whether
it's
dinner,
just
in
a
private
equity
fund
in
Azerbaijan,
to
feature
oil
and
gas
less
because
it
affected
that
country's
decline
in
2013
so
severely
or
in
Kuwait,
or
in
Qatar
or,
conversely,
now
in
Kenya
they
discovered
oil
and
gas.
D
D
So
that's
going
to
mean
I'm
going
to
have
to
say
six
billion
dollars
of
funding
is
going
to
go
into
Kenya
oil
and
gas
sector
over
the
upcoming
years
and
I
consistent
with
each
and
every
one
of
those
companies
and
look
at
the
actual
plan
requirements
to
build
out
a
successful
pipeline
in
extraction
and
processing
facility.
In
the
country
you
know
so,
I
was
at
every
single
company.
I
will
workshop
with
them
looking
at
their
company
as
it
is
today
what
their
competitive
advantages
in
terms
of
production.
D
You
know
a
part
of
that
can
be
harnessed
to
spark
the
new
industry
or
what
new
capacity
can
be
built
out
with
investment
to
make
it
the
new
product
set
more
compelling
for
from
the
individual
companies.
So
when
I'm
talking
with
stakeholders
at
the
firm
level,
the
community
level
or
the
national
level
I
have
to
train
the
statistics
accordingly
and
it's
gotta
be
fact-based
as
data
driven
approach
to
policy
development
that
doesn't
help.
Yes,.
G
D
So
one
of
the
primary
objectives
we
had
was
for
me
to
create
some
method
to
network
and
franchise.
The
assist
wheatley
a
set
up
entities
into
something
was
more
collective.
That
way,
I
could
talk
to
Apple
in
Walmart,
in
a
gap
in
other
large
corporate
buyers
and
help
them
understand
the
value
proposition
of
the
network
as
a
whole,
because
their
supply
chains
were
spread
across
the
entire
continent
of
Asia.
D
You
know
so
I
felt
like
that
was
a
great
accomplishment
for
which
I
will
be
remembered
and
then
particularly
happy
about
it,
because
it
has
such
a
large
network
benefit
not
sure
how
relevant
it
is
to
this
particular
setup
for
Laredo,
but
I
think
that
it
does
speak
to
my
confidence
dealing
with
formal
operations.
You
know
so
far
in
this
case
with
Laredo
I
might
have
in
nuevo
of
Laredo
a
relationship
or
in
cultivating
and
cross
programming
and
complimenting,
and
that
needs
to
be
to
my
ability
to
cultivate
that
kind
of
violent
opportunity.
D
B
D
G
D
Principle
of
logic
to
solve
a
problem,
I
smile
because
there's
something
that
has
to
do
everywhere-
I
go
I
mean
because
I
have
to
depend
on
culture.
I
can't
depend
on
culture
to
important.
I
can't
depend
upon
first-hand
experience
if
I
go
into
a
market
that
I'm
unfamiliar
with
I,
have
got
to
look
at
secondary
research.
D
I
got
to
talk
to
different
people,
I
have
got
to
deduce
and
understand
from
what
I
can
glean
from
what
I
can
see
and
that
informs
the
recommendations
that
I
make
either
improve
just
differently
or
even
to
implement,
and
that
kind
of
an
economic
development
program
or
strategy.
So
I
have
got
to
employ
logic.
It's
a
strength
of
mind,
I
suppose
from
the
very
logical
guy
and
very
sequential
and
my
thinking
and
if
I
have
two
sites.
One
particular
example
of
it,
I
might
say,
for
example,
develop
international
use
policy
for
the
country
Kuwait.
D
D
D
I
thought
a
need
to
have
harmonized
all
of
that
and
if
I
could
also
help
to
ensure
demands
for
the
products
and
services
for
the
companies
that
we
were
selecting
to
work
with,
it
will
be
an
even
better
win.
So
you,
the
corporate
purchases,
was
a
essential
part
of
an
overall
comprehensive
economic
development
program.
I
called
it
a
spire
by
the
way
so
I
received
over
the
years
that
followed
two
million
dollars
worth
of
funding
to
help
quite
a
fine.
D
With
that
proposition
was
we
had
the
European
Commission
fund,
a
feasibility
assessment
that
model
for
the
attack
for
Pakistan
I'm,
in
a
touch
of
that
the
government
of
Qatar
implemented
the
preferential
procurement
program
for
the
country,
so
I
think
it
reflects
multiple
things.
It
reflects
perseverance,
a
long
view
that
reflects
a
need
to
harmonize
multiple
stakeholders
for
collective
wins
at
the
firm
level,
but
harmonizing
the
need
for
improving
access
to
supply
in
improving
access
to
the
root
question.
It.
D
When
you're
allocating
national
resources,
there's
always
the
vulnerability
that
you're
going
to
be
approached
by
people
to
expect
preference,
you
know
whether
I'm
in
Pakistan
or
initialing
grants
or,
if
I'm
in
Qatar
and
moving
grants,
I
have
to
be
clear
and
I
am
clear
about.
You
know
where
my
friendship
ends
and
my
business
and
profession
has
to
prevail.
D
D
D
Timeline
had
to
take
a
very
important
and
difficult
decision
and
I
think
that
a
good
example
of
that
was
when
I
was
China
and
I
was
overseeing,
that
network
of
compliance,
training,
centers
and
India
Bangladesh
and
Pakistan
are
in.
In
China,
we
had
a
major
funder
leave
the
organization
that
effectively
cut
what
was
the
three
and
a
half
million
dollar
budget
down
to
one
and
a
half
million
dollars.
D
The
practical
consequence
of
that
would
be
that
we
would
have
to
either
layoff
the
majority
of
all
of
my
employees
in
China
or
I.
Couldn't
leave
and
save
those
jobs
and
I
took
I
elected
to
take
the
hit
instead
of
cost
all
of
the
employees
in
China
their
job.
That
meant
10
people
save
their
jobs
for
my
having
departed.
They
catch
them
for
another
12
months.
I
should
point
out,
so
I
sometimes
need
to
take
that
kind
of
a
hard
call.
D
D
I
won't
walk
in
with
a
couple
of
options
to
consider,
and
even
if
I
walk
in
with
an
idea
that
this
is
that
one
thing
that
I
want
to
be
walking
away
with
as
a
win
for
those
governors,
I
mean
still
need
to
respect
the
options
and
be
as
articulate
as
I
can
be
for
them.
Even
if
I
don't
want
those
relative
to
the
world.
I
do
in
fact
want
another
part
of
that
is:
I
have
to
have
the
proper
rapport
with
the
decision
makers.
D
So
what
I
learned
in
the
years
of
working
with
different
boards
of
directors
is
that
I
have
got
to
invest
on
the
board.
I
have
got
to
understand
who
they
are
individually
and
what
drives
them
even
personally,
and
where
I
haven't
done
so
it
has
hurt.
It
has
not
worked
when
I.
Do
it's
a
lot
more
effective?
You
know.
So
in
this
particular
case
it
means
need
to
say
Council.
You
know
now
becomes
an
important
and
a
peer
review
committee
that
I
have
got
to
cultivate
a
strong
relationship
with.
G
H
D
Would
say
that
I'm,
a
people
person,
you
know
logical
I
can
articulate,
but
first
and
foremost
I
care
about
the
people
I
talk
to.
So
if
I
can
invest
in
that
report,
that
makes
everything
else
easier.
So
I'm
widely
regarded
by
the
things
that
I've
read
to
be
a
nice
guy,
I
have
some
people
say
I'm
their
favorite,
employer
and
manager.
D
That's
more
true
in
different
countries,
perhaps
than
it
might
be
in
those
days
in
other
cultures,
they
might
bristle
at
the
prospect
of
working
for
our
Chinese
employer,
for
example,
and
for
the
first
time
they've
worked
with
an
American
company
and
an
American
boss,
and
they
find
that
to
have
qualities
that
there
may
be
mystical
compared
to
what
they
might
otherwise
have
in
China
by
itself.
But
I
do
try
to
walk
into
every
relationship
to
develop
a
personal
and
toilet
of
people.
D
D
D
D
It
can
become
a
more
obsessed
than
I
wanted
to
be.
You
know
so
come.
Let
me
explain
that
an
example
of
that
what
I
was
working
investment
finance
industry
in
the
asset
management
industry
when
I
was
working
in
investment
banking
I
found
myself
to
buggering
to
computer
memory.
My
presentations
are
relatively
beautiful.
I
put
a
lot
of
thought
into
the
ground.
Presentation
of
information,
and
sometimes
especially
early
in
my
career
I,
could
overweight
how
much
time
I
put
into
making
sure
something
was
pretty
then
practical.
D
G
D
D
D
Look
at
the
first
half
the
greatest
immediate
return
potential.
There
is
a
certain
need
to
establish
quick
wins
and
to
demonstrate
the
shareholders
that
stakeholders
that
is
possible
to
transform
so
I,
try
to
think
in
terms
of
near
term
and
longer
term
strategies
that
complement
one
another.
In
this
particular
case,
I
would
look
at
the
clusters
that
we
recomm
inside
my
health
care,
Logistics,
tourism,
education
and
business
services,
for
example.
Then
I
look
at
what
institutions
in
organizations
exist
within
those
ecosystems,
I
would
organize
around
those
strengths
at
the
ecosystem
level.
D
There
would
be
a
great
opportunity
to
tie
in
the
university
to
tie
in
new
technologies
to
maybe
help
to
deploy
the
technology
and
new
older
I
got
Loretta
and
make
a
bilateral
initiative
from
the
outset.
I
would
try
to
tie
in
what
assets
exists
within
the
border
city,
alongside
alluring
improper,
to
encourage
the
master
plans
aim
to
integrate
listening
in
the
common
framework.
So
when
I
see
the
let's
say
the
USI
loriel
to
be
the
economic
advantaged
side,
I
see
the
other
side
of
the
border
to
have
a
population
advantage
in
a
collective
approach.
A
My
name
is
John
via
Al
I'm,
the
chairman,
sir.
Thank
you
very
much
with
questions
now
we're
going
to
have
questions
from
the
actual
committee
like
I
mentioned
before
the
meeting
we're
gonna
each
one
of
us
can
answer,
can
ask
one
question:
we're
going
to
start
from
right
to
the
left
so
we'll
start
with
mr.
Domingues
and
ask
one
question
mr.
Dominguez
and
mr.
Dickey,
and
so
on.
Oh
good.
E
E
E
D
G
G
D
D
Well,
I'm
I'm,
a
big
fan
of
bad
business
and
business
is
often
concerned
about
tax
levels.
I,
don't
know
how
much
of
the
tax
burden
has
been
for
part
of
the
taxes
and
proposed
with
benefits,
border
towns
and
border
cities
and
communities.
If
I
understood
that
I
might
take
a
different
position
about
this.
D
But
my
inclination
is
to
say:
I
worry
about
how
it
might
affect
border
trade
and
given
the
prominence
of
the
report,
it
seems
like
we
want
to
make
sure
that
it's
the
city's
got
free
access
to
all
the
business
that
can
be
thrown
at
it
by
both
Mexico
and
the
United
States.
So
I
would
tend
to
be
a
little
concerned
about
that.
D
E
G
D
D
The
opportunity
would
be
to
see
what
can
be
built
upon
the
foundation.
Ok,
so
what
I
would
tend
to
do
is
I
would
think
of
I
would
be
constructed.
This
way,
I
would
look
at
the
15,000
transport
I.
Look
at
the
businesses
that
were
making
use
of
the
logistics
of
services.
I
would
look
at
what
the
gaps
in
services
are
to
support
the
logistics
trade
and
in
the
trade
industry,
and
then
I
would
look
at
the
points
of
weakness
and
I
would
try
to
turn
them
into
his
strengths.
D
For
example,
perhaps
I
might
look
at
warehousing
facilities
and
I
might
look
at
how
they're
to
the
onward
logistic
support.
I
might
look
at
different
kinds
of
custom
clearance
systems
to
facilitate
the
processing
to
improve.
You
know
how
profitable
that
trade
is.
You
know,
given
the
concentration
of
that
business
there
Laredo
I
I,
think
that
this
is
a
question
of
logic.
Just
like
we
were
talking
about
before
I
would
look
at
okay.
Well,
this
is
what
we've
got
Compton.
D
We
pinpoint
each
or
one
of
those
complementary
areas
that
are
logical
in
turn,
as
you
cultivate
that
and
then
I
wouldn't
make
it
a
community
development
approach.
So
then
what
I
would
do
is
I
would
look
at
one
of
the
culprits:
structures
that
we've
got
what
university
resources
can
we
leverage?
How
can
we
work
more
effectively
together
to
build
upon
addressing
those
gaps
or
to
leverage
the
amount
of
businesses
over
tea
in
the
in
the
city?
D
I
mean,
for
example,
in
the
application
of
services,
given
that
just
the
sheer
volume
of
people
that
are
going
in
and
out
of
the
border,
there's
complementary
business
opportunities
in
restaurants
in
retail
trade,
there
could
be
technologies,
they
haven't
been
considered,
yet
they
have
major
growth
potential
for
other
borders
across
the
United
States
and
around
the
world.
I
would
look
to
tie
any
new
or
existing
incubation
facility
within
that
community
to
other
centers
of
excellence
around
the
world,
and
there
are
such
things.
D
You
know
there
are
investing
class
logistics,
incubation
programs
and
those
would
be
affinities
and
affiliations.
I
would
try
and
cultivate
to
make
sure
that
we're
bringing
in
best
practice
I'm
a
big
fan
of
best
practice
as
well,
so
I'd
look
to
see
how
other
bore
areas
done
it.
How
can
we
learn
from
what
they've
done
I
would
look
at
the
gap
analysis
between
what
we've
gotten,
what
they
have
and
help
them
lead
or
inspiration
and
recommend
that
we
consider
approaching
them
a
very
logical
basis.
K
D
It's
antagonistic
you
know,
and
from
our
perspective
from
the
governmental
perspective,
it's
important
that
we
are
amplifying
and
they
are
encouraging
and
cultivating
and
also
a
lot
of
what
the
replica
of
the
report
building
that
I
would
look
to
accomplish
would
be
looking
at
okay,
who
has
the
largest
critical
mass,
who
has
the
best
capacity
to
champion
and
celebrate?
How
can
we
empower
them
to
be
the
most
effective
champion
and
leader
for
the
cluster
of
activity?
The
cluster
of
supports
is
required.
D
You
know
so
usually
I
have
to
landscape
all
of
those
three
domains:
civil
society,
maybe
academia-
maybe
the
investment
community
and
the
banking
community,
as
well
as
the
corporate
sector,
to
see
how
collectively
more
harmonized
in
our
approach
so
really
thought
between
emic
making
gosh
it's
about
explaining.
Thank.
K
L
This
is
Julian
Ratnam's
key
for
the
record,
so
you
have
mentioned
that
you've
read
the
comprehensive
plan,
and
so
my
question
is
pertaining
to
two
parts,
one.
This
is
actually
the
first
time
the
city
of
Laredos
have
ever
had
an
official
economic
development
director.
So
what
would
be
now
knowing
that
you
have
at
least
reviewed
the
comprehensive
plan?
Would
you
do
in
your
first
hundred
days
if
you
were
hired
by
the
city
of
Laredo.
D
L
L
D
Okay,
well,
I
would
create
a
business
plan.
You
should
think
of
it
from
that
perspective,
I
suppose
so
what
I
would
do
is
I
would
make
sure
that
I
had
a
clear,
let's
say,
approved
and
agreed
vision
for
how
we
would
be
relevant
to
the
other
departments.
Within
the
same
you
know,
so
whether
it's
looking
at
the
parts
initiative
or
historical
to
town,
districts
or
looking
at
you
know,
traffic
flow
and
the
the
portal
housing
crisis
or
the
homeless
problem.
D
D
I'd
want
to
look
at
how
does
it
tie
into
and
relate
and
leverage
what
other
departments
are
already
doing
and
extend
and
leveraging
those
activities
for
many
reasons,
one
of
which
I
will
be
a
lot
more
effective
in
building
stakeholder
buy-in
if
they
see
how
is
certain
so
many
different
purposes,
so
that's
what
I
would
look
to
do.
I
would
landscape
in
my
business
plan.
All
of
the
different
touch
points
for
economic
development
activity
and
then
I
would
say
based
on
these
implied
gaps.
L
D
Okay,
so
if
I
have,
if
I
have
captured
what
just
of
your
question
is
properly
in
most
of
the
economic
development
groups,
that
I
work
with,
you
have
rotate
concentric
circles
of
relevant
activities
that
support
economic
development
and
workforce
development
in
childhood.
Education
does
feature
in
the
more
comprehensive
economic
development
activities
or
departments
that
I
work
in
like
so,
for
example,
in
enterprise
Qatar,
we
have
a
Learning
and
Development
Department.
D
J
C
We
have
faculty
from
all
over
the
world
students
from
all
over
the
world.
It's
definitely
one
of
those
things.
A
lot
of
people
have
the
same.
Not
once
you
drink
the
larita
water,
you
will
never
leave
and
that's
because
we're
so
welcoming
to
any
population.
Any
party
that
wants
to
come
in
this
community
and,
of
course,
enhancing.
D
Okay,
very
good
I'm,
happy
to
hear
that.
Thank
you,
I
appreciate
that
and
then
a
second
thing
I
saw
in
the
job
description
and
I
have
applied
for
this
position
a
long
time
ago.
So
I
can't
recall
it's
just
within
the
job
that
I
saw
then
or
if
it's
just
something
that
I
noticed
now,
but
it
does
indicate
in
the
job
description.
I
must
be
bilingual
in
Spanish.
I
am
NOT.
I,
however,
have
a
formal
education
in
Spanish.
D
I
did
have
it
as
a
language
in
high
school
and
in
college,
and
if
I
have
the
opportunity.
I
think
that
there's
a
good
chance
I'll
be
able
to
make
use
of
that
education
and
become
more
conversational
with
time.
But
I
feel
like
it's
important,
that
you
know
that
I
am
NOT
currently
today.
Bilingual
no
I
feel
like
it's
important
I
mentioned,
but
on
the
other
hand,
I
should
also
say
that
I
have
working
for
the
last
20
years.
D
G
G
G
D
Very
good,
excellent,
okay,
that's
the
questions.
I
have
for
now
and
I'm
going
to
have
more
questions
when
I
meet
you
in
person
if
it
works.
That
way,
thank.
B
G
G
Okay,
hello,
mr.
Pierre,
how
are
you
once
again
good
morning?
My
name
is
Melina
Ben
Willis
I
am
the
Human
Resources
Director
for
the
city
of
Laredo
I
just
wanted
to
give
you
an
idea
of
how
today's
interview
will
be
structured,
so
I
I
have
about
13
questions.
That
I
will
ask
on
behalf
of
the
committee
and
that
will
take
about
22
to
26
minutes
after
that
time.
The
economic
development
advisory
committee
will
then
ask
you
individual
questions
that
they
have
for
you
after
that
time.
G
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Usually,
a
grocery
store
would
locate
and
couldn't
get
anything
going
on
the
east
side,
and
that
was
part
of
our
long-range
economic
development
plan
to
get
some
economic
activity
on
the
east
side.
But
I
was
talking
to
China
at
the
University
one
day
and
he
was
telling
me
that
the
university
was
becoming
too
crowded
and
too
needed
to
new
selectivity
from
the
campus.
O
All
right
told
him
what
I
suggested
to
him
that
he
able
to
do
so.
He
will
help
improve
the
East
Side
a
lot
I'm
sure
enough.
Well,
he
talked
today,
you
know
the
higher-ups
er
will
matter,
we
discussed
it
and
they
decided
first
to
move
fleet
management
because
that
didn't
have
to
be
on
campus,
and
that
was
mismanagement
and
they
don't
remove
human
resources
of
campus
over
til,
he
said
and
what
they
would
increase
the
amount
of
traffic
on
the
east
and.
O
The
east
side
could
grow
that
there
was
a
you
know.
There
was
the
potential,
no
one
was
taking
the
chance.
No
developer
was
taking
the
chance
to
stop
building
on
the
estate
and
sure
enough,
whether
the
university
moved
its
street
management
and
human
resources
or
worried
that
the
economy,
the
activity
on
the
east
side
just
took
off
because
we
did
the
underlying
data
would
be
in
fact.
Yes
before
I
left,
County.
O
Supercenter
I'm
sure
you
know,
does
not
do
anything
about
this
demographic
analysis
very
well.
So
when
I
decided
to
move
to
the
east
side
and
set
it
to
breadcrumb
debt,
it
sort
of
proved.
My
point
is
I
had
the
potential
all
that
was
for
somebody
to
take
the
first
step.
We
had
all
of
the
data
in
terms
of
the
amount
of
people
in
per
capita
income
and
everything
that
we
were
advertising
to
developers.
When
till
the
university
further
took
that
first
move
and.
O
B
M
O
O
You
can't
move
the
border
of
further
no
I
believe
improving
people's
capabilities
and
business
tend
to
gravitate,
and
the
skilled
workers
tend
to
gravitate
to
places
where
they
think
the
quality
of
life
is
is
better.
So
one
was
to
launch
a
program
to
improve
the
skill
of
the
workforce
is
a
lot
your
country
I
worked
with
the
Community
College,
the
businesses,
the
state
of
Florida
and
what
I
did
was
I,
looked
at
the
jobs
that
were
being
created
and
I
try
to
match
the
skill
of
the
workers
with
the
needs.
M
O
A
big
drivers
of
employment
a
and
it
means
constant
and
steady
stream
of
skilled
Android
engine
with
the
technology
of
with
people
in
in
government
is
to
obviously
letters.
We
need
to
create
more
jobs
and
I'd
say:
am
I
responsive?
Yes,
we
always
tried
to
create
more
jobs,
but
we
don't
just
want
to
create
jobs.
We
want
to
create
jobs
that
match
the
community,
and
so
you
have
to
keep
improving
the
human
capabilities,
improving
the
skills
of
the
workers
in
the
year
and
I
think
that
was
one
of
my
great
contributions
to
the
air.
Thank.
O
G
O
O
A
distribution
center
did
not
match
a
university
community,
they
say
we
are
a
university
community.
We
should
be
trying
to
create
jobs
that
were
that
would
use
the
talents
and
skills
of
the
University
and
a
distribution
center
would
not
do
that,
not
that
they
were
being
a
water
distribution
center.
Well,
if
they
wanted.
If
the
company
wanted
to
do
a
distribution
center,
it
should
put
it
within
low-income
people
with
no
skilled
workers
are
and
and
have
more
sets
to
do
it.
O
When
you're
adding
another
layer
of
bureaucracy-
and
it's
going
slow,
but
it
did
it
as
a
matter
of
fact,
it's
sped
up
the
process.
What
happened
was
when
businesses
came
to
the
cup
they
had
made
a
presentation
to
the
economic
development
advisory
committee
in
the
committee
made
a
positive
recommission.
They
sailed
through
the
County
Commission.
O
O
M
O
O
K
O
And
randomly
distributed
among
various
population,
so
you
have
two
inch
people
to
get
their
ideas
on
the
feedback
and
everything
and
that's
how
I
go
home.
Making
decisions
I
don't
make
decisions
just
on
my
own
thinking
that
I'm
the
smartest
man
to
zero
I
walk
out
and
make
a
decision
on
April
20
before
I
engage
them
to
see
what
their
response
would
be.
Okay,.
G
O
O
O
G
O
O
Problems
implementing
them
because
the
government,
most
of
those
plans,
have
to
be
implemented
by
private
individuals
when
the
government
really
doesn't
have
any
control
over
what
the
private
individual
does.
So
you
have
to
find
a
way
to
get
private
individuals
and
government
to
work
together
on
specific
projects
in
their
mutual
interest
and
I'm
trying
to
improve.
Thank.
O
O
O
Level
of
high
school,
graduation
and
I
think
that's
an
issue
because
notice
most
jobs
require
more
than
a
high
school
education.
It
requires
some
specialized
training.
So
if
I
say
to
some
stakeholder
I
think
this
is
a
problem
and
we
should
find
a
way
to
work
with
schools
and
all
these
stakeholders
together
to
work
on
I.
Think
that's
something
I
can
get
agreement
on
and
that's
something
we
can
work.
O
G
C
O
G
O
O
O
O
C
L
O
O
O
O
K
E
E
K
Okay,
the
city
has
different
economic
development
entities
within
the
city,
the
Laredo
Economic
Development,
Corporation,
being
one
of
them
the
college
itself.
The
Laredo
College
has
an
Economic
Development
Center
that
is
streamed
primarily
for
international
trade,
logistics,
short
term
industry,
certification
programs,
but
there's
other
entities
that
support
the
development
initiatives
of
the
cities,
such
as
the
Chamber
of
Commerce.
We
have
Workforce
Solutions
for
South
Texas.
We
have
organizations
such
as
the
logistics
manufacturing,
Association,
there's
an
array
of
different
entities
that
work
together
to
be
able
to
economic
development
in
the
city
of.
O
H
H
So
it's
the
Laredo
builder's
the
motor
carriers,
the
freight
forwarders,
the
brokers,
the
you
know,
it's
all
the
business
associations
and
we
have
come
together
as
private
sector
and
as
higher
education
to
create
a
more
unified
voice
and
understand
the
things
that
might
not
be
our
area
of
expertise,
for
example,
I'm,
more
affiliated
with
logistics
and
manufacturing
and
so
I'm,
having
a
better
understanding
of
the
issues
that
face
the
builders
and
when
it
comes
to
economic
development.
So
this
is
a
new
initiative.
A
I
think
miss
I,
said
Ellis
said
it
I
mean
as
far
as
collaborating
with
all
the
different
organizations,
the
the
early,
in
our
opinion,
the
Ellie's
seat,
the
Lorado
Economic
Development
Corporation,
trying
to
work
with
them,
trying
to
bring
private
business
to
to
the
city.
Also,
looking
at
all
the
tax
incentive
tools
that
are
available
sources,
you
mentioned
tips,
tresses
municipal
management
corporations
and
things
of
that
nature.
G
F
G
My
name
is
Melina
Ben
Willis
I
am
the
director
of
human
resources
for
the
city
of
Laredo
I
just
wanted
to
give
you
an
overview
about
how
this
interview
process
is
organized
this
morning,
so
there
will
be
about
13
questions
that
are
led
by
myself.
I
would
ask
that
you
keep
your
answers,
concise
to
about
two
to
two
and
a
half
minutes
per
question
at
that
time,
once
that
section
has
concluded,
I
will
turn
it
over
to
the
economic
development
Advisory
Committee,
and
they
have
individual
questions
that
they
will
be
asking
you
as
well.
F
G
G
M
F
Want
it
sentence
because
they
don't
want
some
of
the
strings
attached.
I've
tried
to
be
as
creative
within
the
bounds
of
the
rules
and
the
regulations
try
and
find
ways
to
bring
companies.
You
know
big
projects
work.
We
had
a
number
of
companies.
A
company
back
in
the
early
2000s
had
been
bought
out
by
another
company,
so
a
lot
of
their
headquarters.
Buildings
in
the
Harrisburg
Pennsylvania
area
were
left
vacant
as
they
didn't
need
to
headquarters.
M
F
For
most
of
my
career
I
administered
the
Community
Development
Block,
Grant
funds
and
the
program
funds,
so
when
you
use
those,
you
have
to
look
at
low
to
moderate
income,
businesses
or
households,
and
also
use
that
data
for
the
best
use
of
the
funds.
Because
many
times
you
have
projects
that
you
want
to
fund,
but
they
don't
want
to
fund
themselves
quickly.
So
I
think
having
to
look
at
whether
it's
a
housing
project
for
housing
development,
we're
looking
to
line
up
multiple
sources
of
funding,
federal
state,
local
levels.
F
I
know
we
had
a
shopping
mall,
it
was
kind
of
close
and
it
would
ended
up
being
basically
a
big
used-car
lot
if
it
is
only
closed
and
we
were
able
to
line
up
school
district
state,
county
and
municipal
money
where
they
could
give
an
abatement
and
freezes.
Taxes
at
a
certain
level.
So
I
think
in
terms
of
accomplishment,
is
basically
knowing
the
sources
of
funding
and
having
them
line
up.
F
How
to
earmarked
for
these
empty
buildings,
but
many
times
empty
buildings
would
be
a
good
thing
when
people
are
looking
for
ready-made
sites.
So
you
see
that
even
with
Amazon
today
they
they
want
to
know
everything's
in
place.
If
we're
going
to
look
at
a
new
headquarters
or
a
new
subject
quarters
so
I
think
I
was
able
much
like
in
where
you
have
multiple
interstates
flowing
through
your
town.
You
have
you
know
almost
300,000
of
population
I
would
similar
communities
and
take
advantage
of
our
location,
our
proximity
to
markets
and
utilize.
What
we
had.
G
F
F
F
Segment
within
that,
and
in
doing
so
there
was
a
company
that
was
trying
to
sell
their
building
for
years.
There
was
a
company
that
wanted
to
find
a
building
for
space
that
didn't
have
the
money
to
buy
the
building.
So
we
were
able
to
get
creative
and
I.
Had
the
company
donate
buildings
mayferd
for
pretty
much
the
asking
price
which
I
think
at
the
time
to
seven
hundred
thousand
so
I
took
the
building.
F
They
got
the
tax
credits
and
the
donation
of
that
and
after
one
day,
I
sold
it
to
the
company
that
committed
to
have
three
under
jobs
over
three
years
for
a
dollar,
so
that
the
main
problem
was
the
infrastructure
to
buy
the
building.
But
they
had
the
product
that
the
contracts
have
a
business
plan.
So
that
would
be
something
outside
the
box.
B
F
F
You
know,
there's
always
rules
that
they
don't
always
check
the
grant
after
the
grants
forgiven.
But
you
have
to
you
know,
take
the
challenge
that
all
these
things
aren't
audited.
All
these
things
need
to
be
compliant.
So,
yes,
there's
all
these
ways
to
find,
but
I
like
to
find
ways
to
make
things
easier,
but
I
don't
like
to
bend
rules
whatever
the
rules
are.
F
Sometimes
it
can
be
very
easy
by
knowing
the
rules
so
I
would
say:
there's
always
people
that
want
a
favor,
especially
if
they're
trendabl,
councilmen
air
mayor
or
a
developer
or
they're
creating
jobs.
But
the
rules
are
very
strict
and
working
in
government.
Obviously
you're
going
to
be
audited
you're
under
scrutiny,
there's
sunshine
laws
and
right-to-know
requests,
so
I
always
assume
everything.
I
do
will
be
street
knotch
so
enjoy
operate.
F
F
Not
where
I've
rounded
jobs
before
I
come
to
work
for
new
mayors
or
mayor's
only
had
two
years
left
their
term,
so
I
did
come
in
and
again
I
I
tried
to
shape
their
community.
Obviously,
if
I
would
be
selected
for
this
position,
I
wouldn't
be
coming
in
with
a
two-year
plan.
I
would
want
to
stay
there
a
while
I'm
going
to
relocate.
So
that
would
be
my
goal
to
try
and
you
know,
make
a
lasting
effect
on
the
area
and
do.
M
F
F
G
F
You
know
I
would
say
again
involving
a
staff
to
administer
programs
as
well
as
working
well
with
the
business
community.
You
can
always
continue
doing
that
and
when
you
come
into
a
new
area,
one
of
the
things
I
would
want
to
focus
on
is
getting
to
know
what
the
businesses
wants
are
getting
to
know
the
different
players
within
the
community,
so
that
you
know
so.
F
G
O
E
M
F
F
F
N
F
Yes,
certainly
I
mean
some
of
the
things
that
are
going
on
nationally
or
above
everybody's
pay
grade.
Where
we
can
have
thoughts,
we
can't
really
address
the
political
things
that
might
be
going
on,
certainly
where
you're,
okay,
where
I'm
located
I,
really
have
nothing
to
add
because
I
don't
see
what
you
see,
you
see
it
more
clearly
in
somebody
from
Pennsylvania
or
Maine.
So
You
certainly
have
a
voice
in
that
discussion,
but
I
would
think.
F
Obviously,
I'd
want
to
work
with
the
partnerships
that
have
been
created
separate
from
the
last
two
years
or
the
last
ten
years
that
there
has
been.
You
know,
alliances
on
workers
and
trade
and
who
buys
what
and
all
those
things
trickle
down
to.
You
know
real
numbers
because
of
your
location,
so
obviously
I
would
seize
upon
your
location,
all
the
way
south
from
Mexico
in
the
Central
America,
even
and
use
that
to
your
advantage.
K
F
L
F
Well,
hopefully,
I
get
on
the
calendar
of
everybody
on
this
phone
call
in
my
first
10
days
and
get
to
know
you
all
and
the
background
of
the
department
or
why
the
department
wasn't
created
before
I'd
want
to
know.
As
I
said,
the
major
employers
submit
your
employer's
decision-makers
and
then
also
deal
with
the
federal
state
and
local
contacts.
F
Again,
people
moving
into
your
town
and
business
is
locating
want
to
know
that
the
school
taxes
and
the
schools
are
doing
well
and
they're
not
going
to
be
something
that
is
inhibitor,
so
I
think
you
know
looking
at
that
funding.
Looking
at
maybe
issues
of
where
there
are
immigration
challenges,
you
certainly
want
to
find
ways
that
you
can
not
be
a
deterrent
to
businesses,
especially
the
businesses,
maybe
even
like
myself,
that
aren't
as
familiar
with
the
area.
Initially,
you
don't
want
to
have
a
roadblock.
F
N
Mr.
Robinson,
mrs.
Carolyn
kettle
for
the
record.
The
next
set
of
process
for
this
is
they're
gonna,
continue
interviews
for
this
position
and
make
a
recommendation
over
to
management
to
fill
this
position
as
soon
as
possible,
and
then
the
other
answers
to
the
delays.
We've
had
a
change
in
management
in
the
last
year
and
a
half,
and
so
that's
why
the
process
has
taken
a
little
bit.