The Fulshear Development Corporation on Jan. 27 adopted a three-year retail recruitment agreement with Retail Strategies LLC after staff reported negotiations and legal review of the contract.

Staff told the board the contract’s first-year fee is $45,000 and that a partner board had approved covering 50 percent of that cost; the contract would therefore be split 50/50 between the two boards, the packet states. The agreement includes a 30-day termination provision with no penalty, staff said.

Board members pressed staff on performance monitoring and the schedule for payments. “I just think…once they deliver the retail recruitment plan would be our 2nd installment. So I would just ask that we pay attention and try to monitor…what do we think the performance will be in the first 90 days,” a board member said. Staff replied the firm agreed to “thorough reports every 30 days” so the board would see reports before the 90-day evaluation and the second installment is due, staff said.

On intellectual property and deliverables, a board member asked whether materials prepared by the consultant would remain the consultant’s property; staff said marketing materials typically bear the consultant’s logo and that continued use of labeled materials after termination would be handled accordingly.

A board member asked whether the entity entering the agreement — the Fulshear Development Corporation — was legally allowed to enter the contract; staff said yes and that the expense comes from the promotions budget.

A question also arose about decision-making if the partner board disagreed about continuing the contract; staff said the partner board had requested to be involved in decisions tied to its contribution and that staff would ask legal counsel to clarify how such disagreements have been handled previously.

After discussion, a motion to adopt the agreement was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff said it will meet Retail Strategies personnel at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) event that week and will bring prepared materials to the meeting to expedite outreach while the contract takes effect.

Next steps: staff will monitor 30-day reports, provide updates to the board, and follow up with legal counsel on any inter-board decision-making procedures related to the cost-share partner.