Huntsville council hires consultant for 2026–2031 strategic plan and backs Huntsville Lofts tax-credit application

The Huntsville City Council voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to award RFP 26-2 for strategic planning consulting services to Mirasol Consulting, LLC and to support a 9% housing tax-credit application for the Huntsville Lofts project.

Council Member Strong moved to award the strategic planning contract “to provide facilitation and consultation for the City Council strategic planning retreat and the development of the City Of Huntsville Strategic Plan 2026 through 2031” for an amount not to exceed $27,750; Council Member Denman seconded. Council discussion included a question from a council member who raised concerns about companies the consultant had listed as past clients, saying the City of New Orleans “is not particularly known for its honesty in government” and that “the Southern Poverty Law Center has been a force for destruction in The United States for quite a number of years.” The mayor responded that the comment was not on point for the agenda item. City staff told the council an ad-hoc review committee evaluated nine proposals, checked references and ranked Mirasol as the top respondent. “All the evaluations unanimously had this consultant as the number 1 consultant in our rankings,” a staff member said.

On a separate agenda item the council approved Resolution 2026-03 to support an application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs for a 9% housing tax credit to help fund construction of the Huntsville Lofts at Heaton Avenue and State Highway 75 North. Staff clarified that the city’s support is one step in the state application process and is not itself a guarantee of state funds; staff noted the city may be asked to waive a $250 permit fee on behalf of applicants. When asked for project scale, staff cited an estimated $11 million to $13 million in construction investment and said the project would include roughly 39 to 49 units.

A summary of votes at the meeting: the consent agenda (minutes and quarterly investment report), the strategic planning contract award and Resolution 2026-03 were all approved unanimously.

What happens next: staff will finalize the consulting contract and schedule the council strategic planning retreat once Mirasol is onboard; the housing tax-credit application will proceed through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs review process, which staff said has no guaranteed outcome.

Sources and provenance: The reporting above is based on council discussion and motions recorded in the public meeting transcript.