Odessa City Council will consider expanding the Odessa Development Corporation Board from 5 to 7 members during a 6 p.m. virtual council meeting Tuesday.
Increasing the number of board members would enable city council, which also has 7 members, to each be able to appoint one person to the ODC Board, said Wesley Burnett, director of Economic Development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce.
The council currently votes as a group to assign residents to the ODC board, Burnett said. Previously, the council’s five members, minus the Mayor and council member-at -large, each had the authority to assign one member to the board.
Council is expected to discuss whether to increase the board number and whether to continue voting as a group or return to the old practice of giving each council member the authority to assign one member, Burnett said.
“We have a strong board,” Burnett said. “We hope if council decides to increase the board’s size, they keep the strong board we already have and add to it. I’m sure they will.”
Mayor Javier Joven could not be reached for comment.
The ODC provides job creation grants, capital investment grants and other incentives for businesses seeking to expand in Odessa. The group also promotes and develops industrial and manufacturing enterprises in order to eliminate unemployment and bring in new jobs.
