Woodlands Online meets with Brad Bailey, newly elected Chair of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Brad Bailey has hit the second term of his tenure as a director on The Woodlands Township Board at full speed. Overcoming a challenge by local resident Dylan Gonzales, Bailey handily won the majority of the votes in the recent November elections. At the first public meeting of the newest slate of directors, Bailey was elected Chairman of The Township Board. Additionally, he was previously elected and continues to be Chairman of Visit The Woodlands, the local convention and visitors bureau.

Bailey took the chair with a list of issues in one hand and a strong group to help guide these issues to resolution in the other. Though the job of Township Director is a volunteer position and fraught with long hours, burdensome decisions, and split ideas and ideals, the boardmembers are all firm in their commitment to put The Woodlands first.

Woodlands Online had the opportunity to sit down with Bailey recently in a one-on-one interview to discuss the current state of the Township, the issues facing it, and the goals for its future.

Woodlands Online
Can you describe to me what exactly the Chairman of the Township Board of Directors does?

Bailey
The chairman is elected by the board. In this capacity, you basically run meetings and you act as a kind of liaison to different entities. It's not a mayor by any stretch of the imagination. It's just really kind of working together and kind of setting the agenda and making sure that we kind of push through it, and that's exciting, but a little humbling as well. It's a lot more work than I thought.

Woodlands Online
There has long been talk of a Performing Arts Center but no real forward momentum. Now we have learned a feasibility study has just been completed.

Bailey
Yes, in the first board meeting of the year, we just approved phase two of the Performing Arts Center study, which really kind of brings the financial forecast. They start dialing down on the number of nights that can be booked with entities like Live Nation or Broadway across America. So we're able to start putting the dates in to see the financial forecast of what it's going to cost and what kind of occupancy we think we need. That's kind of the debate right now; do we need 1,000 seats? 20,000? We don't know yet. We're also looking at the location and getting all the stakeholders organized.

However, we don't want to be in a situation that Conroe is in with their hotel. The Township staff and our CEO, Monique [Sharp], did such a great job at forecasting and looking at the financial viability of it. The great thing is, it's not going to be used with taxes from our residents. It will all be coming from hotel occupancy taxes. We just had our second month this year of $1,000,000 collected in one month for hotel occupancy taxes, and we're going to be over $10 million this year, which is a record. So we're seeing a lot of business travel come. We're seeing a lot of conferences and people coming to The Woodlands Resort and the Marriott. We’re seeing a lot of growth, so much so that we need an additional, higher-end hotel. So if we can do a Performing Arts Center with such a hotel, it would be really advantageous to us, just like the Marriott and the Conference Center feed off each other.

Woodlands Online
So is there a general feeling amongst the Township board that the arts are a good thing to have?

Bailey
Oh, absolutely. Everyone on the board is very interested in learning that it comes down to the math, but we've invested a lot of money in astroturf fields and sportsplexes and having the best park system in the world, and things like that are great. But we think the arts are something that have been in a little bit of a void that we see that we need to address.

Woodlands Online
What are the major challenges you think that The Woodlands might be facing during your tenure?

Bailey
I think the number one thing I see is the crime rate in front of our community. I’m seeing a lot of people come across from Harris County to the mall and elsewhere to commit crimes. We increased our public safety funding significantly and added nineteen officers to patrol for the Montgomery County Sheriff and the Montgomery County Constable, but it's also using smart technology. We've got a new sheriff coming in; literally a new sheriff in town. And people don't realize how hand in hand we work with the Sheriff’s Office. We pay almost $20 million a year to the Sheriff's Department for enhanced public safety services. We also funded drone technology that they have drones in the front of the neighborhood, in the front of our community, so that if something bad happens at the mall, those drones can launch and go right over the scene and get there a lot faster than if a police car or mounted patrol was going through.

Using smart technology like that I think is important. It makes us safe. It creates a safety net for our community and our visitors to see. We’ve also got to make sure that those officers are in the back of the villages. We also have a contract with the Harris County Constable's Office to patrol Creekside Park Village. We do a great job but working hand in hand with all of them, making sure that we are safe. But there's a criminal element coming from across from Harris County. There's no doubt and we've got to make sure we protect against that and do everything we can and let the police officers do a great job. I’m really excited about Sheriff [Wesley] Doolittle coming. I’ve met with him several times and he's been great to work with.

Woodlands Online
Wesley Doolittle won the Sheriff’s race in the recent elections, but he’s not the only newly elected local official.

Bailey
Additionally, Rich Wheeler is coming in as the new County Commissioner. The sheriff and commissioner are two positions we work so much with, and a great thing about our community is you've got to work with all the stakeholders and if you don't have relationships with them and work hand in hand in mutual respect, then problems exist and people get dug in and things don't get done. And I'm really excited about working with our new Commissioner, Rich Wheeler, and our new Sheriff, Wesley Dolittle.

Woodlands Online
Can you clarify or define the relationship between Howard Hughes Corporation and The Woodlands Township?

Bailey
When George Mitchell first conceived of The Woodlands, worked on the master plan, bought all the acreage and developed it, he owned it and had a principal role in it. Now that has changed hands and sold a few times. Howard Hughes bought it several years ago. They own a lot of the property, but there's also a lot of other property owners here in commercial districts that people don't realize. For example, all of our village centers – except for Grogan's Mill that Howard Hughes just recently bought – all of the other village centers are owned by Regency Commercial Properties, not Hughes. And addressing our aging village centers is very important. We've been working with them on how we can get the best retail or restaurants in those areas because some of them are vacant. Panther Creek is a perfect example; the Randall’s left, and now there's a huge void in that community for a grocery store.

Howard Hughes does have a tremendous amount of property, and most of it is developed, especially in the residential areas. There are some commercial areas that are still available and are being looked at, but I think overall we're about 95% totally built out. So the amount of growth that could come here is not tremendous. You're seeing some areas like the new Ritz Carlton property that are going up vertically. But our residential design committee does a great job at making sure that things are met, that things look like they we want them to here. It's working hand in hand since we became a township twelve years ago.

Woodlands Online
How carefully does the Township follow the vision? Frequently when Woodlands Online runs a story about new development, such as the Ritz property you mentioned, some people comment that George Mitchell is turning in his grave. Is he?

Bailey
Let me give you an example: reforestation. Nothing I think was more important to George Mitchell than maintaining the natural forest that we live in. Last year, the Township invested more than $1,000,000 in reforestation. More than 6,500 trees have been planted or are being planted over this last year. That plays right into George Mitchell's belief. I live in Cochran Crossing, and I feel like George Mitchell's fingerprints are on my community because he owned it when it was developed. But you can go to the Sterling Ridge area and you see some different design concepts, and that's okay because the developer changed hands when Mr. Mitchell sold to them.

But maintaining that vibrant community is important and we're seeing that all throughout here. I'm a big student of history. Actually, we’ve met with the Mitchell family several times. We recently went on a trip to their family ranch, 6,000 acres in Magnolia, and learned how they deal with reforestation and take care of the land they have there. They're experts on reforestation and taking care of the natural environment. We're taking some advice from them on how. We already have the George Mitchell Preserve here, but we’re also looking at areas and opportunities that we can get additional lands for for growth of needs of our community. This last year, we worked out a deal with Howard Hughes, and we got almost 200 acres of land on South Gosling in the Harris County side right on Spring Creek that we can do in parks and trails and things like that in that area. It could have been reserved for development, but instead they're being marked out as areas of reserve and natural habitat. So I think that's a win win for us when we look at things like that.

Woodlands Online
We’ve talked about performing arts, crime, and growth. What are some other issues facing the Township that you’d like to see addressed by your board?

Bailey
One priority of mine I think the Township board also is very interested in is addressing our aging village centers. If you look at them, you know George Mitchell developed them in the mid 1980s and ‘90s. Shopping has drastically changed since. We're shopping differently nowadays, and how we recreate these village centers for the next few years to be vibrant is something we’re working with Regency on. It's very important to us, and the Panther Creek Shopping Center is kind of priority number one. We've been working for two years now and I think there's going to be some exciting announcements coming very soon about possible tenants in that center, as well as remodeling and upgrading it. We can't let things get dilapidated and torn down and falling apart with rotten wood and things like that. We need to make sure they're well lit. But when we lose a tenant like a grocery store, that hurts our economy and hurts our residents. So we have to make sure that we work hand in hand and recruit the best and the brightest in today's retail world, which is very different from the past. These village centers are the homes for your dry cleaners and your nail salons and things like that. They’re hubs for commerce.

Woodlands Online
Does that include restaurants?

Bailey
Yes, and that is really, really important to me. I come from a restaurant family and background. Yeah, so I've worked my Rolodex of friends of mine in the business pretty hard trying to recruit them to The Woodlands.

Woodlands Online
We may have buried the lede here. You have a food background?

Bailey
Yeah, I grew up in the restaurant business. So my family owns a restaurant called Sudie's Catfish and Seafood House that’s been in Pasadena since 1983. We have a huge catering business. You know, hospitality is something that's in my DNA, and I've really enjoyed my two years of chairing Visit The Woodlands because I feel like I get to kind of use that side of my brain on some things.

Recruiting restaurants is really important. I’ve gotten very active in promoting a lot of our restaurants. You know Austin Simmons at Tris has gotten all kinds of accolades from people like Joe Rogan, and as a result we have all these people coming in to try them. But we've got a lot of other great restaurants that we're seeing and we're trying to help promote.

Woodlands Online
Do restaurants do much for the local economy?

Bailey
It's incredible to see that vibrant world that we live in right now, and how as a township we rely on sales taxes and use taxes that 60% of our budget comes from. That’s the exact opposite of what you see in places like Conroe; usually, 60% of their budget comes from property taxes and 20 to 40% comes from sales tax and use taxes like mixed beverage tax. Ours comes from sales tax and use taxes and making sure that we continue to promote our businesses and have a safe environment to do so. And bringing people here to visit and to eat is important. I think that's kind of where I come from; it's really, really important and something I believe in passionately. So yeah, in 2016 I was a 2006 sorry Greater Houston restaurateur of the year.

Woodlands Online
We see in your history that you were once restaurateur of the year?

Bailey
Yes, in 2006 I was voted the Greater Houston Restaurateur of the Year by the Texas Restaurant Association. As a result, I have a lot of friends in the industry. Russell Ybarra, owner of Gringo’s Mexican Restaurant, is a good friend and an incredible, incredible operator. I’ve reached out to these friends and introduced them to some of our developers and places that Howard Hughes doesn’t own, such as Market Street.

The Woodlands Mall is another major aspect. People don't realize the important role a mall plays. If you don't believe me, go ask Greenspoint. Now it's getting torn down and has changed that whole community. The mall is the front door of a lot of our retail area. We have an economic development zone that was created by the previous board. We support that economic development zone, and we're working hand in hand with the owner of the mall to determine how we reinvigorate it just like shopping or village centers. Malls have changed a lot since the 1980s. We need to make sure that we continue working hand in hand with them, which is going to be critically important for the future.

Woodlands Online
So, what prompted the shift from restaurant family to being on a de facto City Council?

Bailey
I've always been a little political. When I was like 10 years old, I loved watching politics and public policy. I was like that Michael J. Fox character, Alex, in the show Family Ties. I just have always enjoyed it, and I think the restaurant business has a lot of public policy issues that you face; immigration, taxes, things like that. I later got very involved with the Texas Restaurant Association and the Greater Houston Restaurant Association. It's where I met my friend Terry McBurney, founder of The Republic Grille. He was on the Greater Houston Restaurant Board with me, so I knew him before I even moved to this community. My wife grew up here her whole life and went off to the University of Texas in Austin, where we met. When she got pregnant, we felt raising kids in downtown Austin could constitute a criminal offense, so we came back to this area and just fell in love with it.

Next thing you know, I'm getting recruited to run and then I get elected to the Township board. It’s a demanding job that you don’t get paid for; you spend a lot of hours at it, but it's a great way to give back to the community, and I feel like all of us on the board have different skills and different strengths, and I think we really kind of play well off each other.

Woodlands Online
When you're not leading a Township board of directors, what do you do?

Bailey
Do you mean my ‘day’ job? I'm a vice president of S&B Engineering. I run our commercial and government relations and external relations. We design and build large refineries and chemical plants and do a lot in the midstream space.

Woodlands Online
And what about for fun?

Bailey
I'm a foodie. I love food. I love cooking. I. I do a lot of barbecuing and grilling. I have two little kids – 5 and 8 – and a 20-year-old. A. So I'm the oldest man at the PTA meeting. But they keep us young and vibrant. My kids dance and play soccer, so we're all over this community all the time. And then we're involved in our church, The Woodlands Methodist Church, which is just a great, incredible church that we love and are very involved in.

Woodlands Online
So it looks like restaurants and small- to mid-sized businesses are well represented here. What about the larger corporations, such as Exxon?

Bailey
I have four people that live on my cul de sac that work for Exxon, and they all came from somewhere else. Recently, in the last six months, Exxon bought Pioneer Resources out of Dallas, and a family came down and bought a home on our street. I would think if you did a research study behind Memorial Hermann, they're probably one of the largest employers that have employees that live here. Even the CEO of Exxon lives here. We have so many CEOs that live here, and one role I really want to play is to bring in some of those incredible talents to the table and start talking about what we're going to look like in our next 50 years. Because you know the George Mitchell card can be played over and over again. But the world is changing as we know it. And if we look at some of our business leaders and our community leaders and our faith leaders and academic leaders, having some of them around the table as an Advisory Council I think is really important as we look at what we look like in the future and having a sounding board to go to.

Woodlands Online
Can you compare your first term as a Township director to what you can expect in your second term?

Bailey
We were really successful in our first term. We did the mixed beverage tax, which is going to be over a million and a half dollars. Previously, $1,000,000 a year was being collected by TABC and in the state, but instead of getting reverted back to us it stayed in Austin. And we got that law changed. That's a game changer for our community; it’s a lot of money that now stays here. You know, we're blessed so much to have the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion here. I can tell you that every community in this entire nation would do everything they could to recruit a pavilion like ours to their community, and we work hand in hand with Jeff Young, the new CEO there, on all the different things that they do and how we can help.

Another important thing is Christmas lights on the Waterway. We invested $200,000 in that this year and each year we're going to add to it. Next year, we hope to have a Christmas concert with someone like a Harry Connick Jr. at the Pavilion in December because it shuts down in early November.

One thing I did want to add that I think is important: we're really working hard on the mobility and parking issues that we're seeing in our Town Center area, especially parking. The Pavilion is getting busier and busier, and we have to determine how we look at parking in a new way to make sure we have enough parking and have people around in a quick way. So that's going to be something that's really important as we embark on the future of The Woodlands is in our commercial district areas, how we can park and and get around in a quick, safe manner. So that's something to be on the lookout for. How we put our best and brightest forward and move our community forward to the next 50 years is important.