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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/23/1998 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON JULY 23, 1998 A PUBLIC HEARING OF The Colony Municipal Economic Development Corporation (413 Board) was called to order at 7:05 p.m. with following members present: Don Goebel President Vicki Briggs Member Sue Walden Member Susan King Member and with Members Seay, Bullard, and Manser absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of the Parks & Recreation Dept. of The Colony. 1. PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING PROPOSED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. A. INTRODUCTION OF BOARD MEMBERS. President Goebel introduced himself. Members King, Walden and Briggs introduced themselves. President Goebel instructed citizens to fill out the form and turn it in if they wanted to speak. Everyone who speaks must state their name and address for the record. B. RECEIVE CITIZEN'S INPUT REGARDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES. 1) George Schmidt - Asked if he could wait until the end to present his ideas. He would like to hear what other ideas are going to be presented. 2) Rachel Robertson - 5260 Sherman - I would like to speak on behalf of the North Texas Arts Project. An Arts Center would have a positive impact on our community. There are too many sports facilities. The library would be a perfect place to establish an Arts Center. A local Arts Center is needed and would provide a variety of arts programs for all ages. Lori Hill has been a big influence on me and I feel she would be a great director for the facility. 3) Lori Hill - 5824 Madison - Since the library will soon be available, it is a great time to focus on the in The Colony. An Arts Center in The Colony would not only serve our city, but also the North Texas Region. I would like to ask whoever is in charge of the library for their support. I do support the sports project. I would hate to see the library used only for meetings; I think we should diversify the use of the building 4) Chris Kane - 5804 Poole - I am glad to hear residents talking about other projects besides the sports complex. When people come to our fields, they talk about the bad shape they are in. I applaud the city for passing the 4A and 413 sales tax. It's a great opportunity for the city to have focused revenue to develop community and economic development projects. We just have to be careful with having a lot of cash - we shouldn't throw all the money into one big sports park. We need to take care of the existing parks too. The purchase of the land could be good if we don't sacrifice what we have for what we want. It may be a good idea to have someone who is not convinced themself, as being a part of the JNC negotiating team. Maybe that would be a good thing for the cities bargaining position. 5) Tony Seiler - 5961 Carroll - We have a lot of opportunities to maintain the upkeep of our existing parks and we have city facilities that need to be maintained. Bill Allen Park is a good example of this. I lend my support to the previous speaker, (Chris Kane), he said a lot of what I wanted to say 6) Kyle King - 5013 Aztec - I have here, a petition signed by friends and kids from school in favor of the sports complex. We are encouraging the city council to consider this request 7) George Schmidt - 5637 Squires - I am opposed to the sports complex. I think the money could be better spent. I think the money is being spent too soon. There is a lot of development occurring around The Colony; the mall and the corporate development near Plano - The Colony will be a much more valuable site for a different use. We should set aside money for industry. President Goebel stated he appreciated all the input from both sides of the issue. There was only one side presented at the City Council meeting. I keep waiting to hear from the seniors, but haven't heard anything from them yet. 8) Mary Watts - I am speaking as Mayor Watts. I was reminded recently by John Sanders about a project that was presented about 18-24 months ago. It is the Wynnewood Peninsula Project. Lanny Lambert, myself, Pam Nelson, and Don Goebel met with Mr. House and Mr. Geyman and the project is something they would still like to see happen. On Wynnewood Peninsula, where the Tribute Golf Course is going in, the city leased land from the Corps of Engineers and then subleased it to Mathews/Southwest. Tim House has the active lease. Tim House - There is 600 acres of land at Wynnewood Peninsula. The first 18-hole golf course is built on 250 acres and scheduled to begin on August 1. There is another 18 hole golf course and a marina being planned after we go through the Lakeshore Study. There are some points I'd like to bring up: a. If the city is looking for a large parcel of land to build a sports complex, the location of the 100-150 acres of land we have available is not a good location. b. A positive - there is no cost. c. I have heard from a developer who wants to develop recreational facilities on a commercial basis to include baseball, softball, swimming, soccer, and tennis. This would be a public-private partnership. Member Walden asked Tim House if the land, 100 - 150 acres, was going to be given to us for free. Tim stated this land you leased from the Corps of Engineers and leased to us - we paid you according to revenues we bring in. We're open to discussion with the city about 100 - 150 acres if there's any revenue associated with that, we hope to be a part of it. If it's just a public park system that doesn't generate any revenue, there is still value to it to serve the city and the peninsula. I would be glad to talk to anyone about the possibility of using this land. George Schmidt, a citizen, asked Tim House if the portion of the revenues generated from the golf course and the marina could be put towards the sports complex. Tim said it is not only possible, but mandatory. Mayor Watts - As a purpose of clarity, Tim is saying he has 150 acres. If it goes to a private developer, who is going to run sports camps as a major source of revenue, and it becomes a for profit 150 acres, that would be an agreement between he and that person. If the 150 acres is used by the city alone for sports facilities, it would be non-profit and there are no profits for him to share. If there is some kind of public - private partnership, there would be some profits and Mathews/Southwest would realize some portion of that. So there are 3 options out there and he, Mathews/Southwest, is saying here is 150 acres, let's discuss how you want them used. Member Walden asked Tim House about the infrastructure - how will you get out to Wynnewood? Tim said Boyd Rd. needs improvements that will be addressed by Mathews/Southwest, the city, and Denton County. We're going to do a development there regardless, so we know we'll get parkway. Infrastructure is an opportunity to work on with the city. President Goebel asked Tim House if he had any timelines for what he was anticipating for this development. Tim said the start of the golf course will be the first of August and completion is set for October 1999. It is our intent to have an improved 2-lane road to serve the golf course. The peninsula is subject to flooding but I don't think that will prohibit the use of the property. President Goebel stated an area of concern is doing things for the youth of the city. It has been suggested to him to hold a forum for the youth. Rachel Robertson, a citizen who spoke earlier, said no one would come. Member Walden stated everyone keeps referring to this as a sports complex - we're hoping to have things for everyone, not just sports. 9) Margaret Schmidt - 5637 Squires - Why is everyone so concerned about sports? Why aren't we looking at industry? We should use the 4B money to tie into things that other cities like Plano and Allen, are developing. Member Walden explained that the 4B money could do upgrades, we can't go out for a business, that is 4A money. We are subject to very strict guidelines as to what we can spend our money on. President Goebel stated that any maintenance issues will be passed on to the Parks & Recreation Board. We can't spend our money on maintenance. We can do new development on existing parks and we can do new development for parks. 10) Robert Pointer - 5008 N. Colony Blvd. - I think we need to improve the facilities we have. They are not maintained. The cities record on upkeep is zilch. I am against the sports complex. A recreation complex should be there for everyone to enjoy now and not in 10 years. I would like to see 4B money go to existing facilities to make them better. The city is losing tax money if we buy this 113 acres plus infrastructure will have to be built around that plus extra police and fire personnel. 11) Eric Faucher - 7129 Longo - In regards to the Turner Soccer Fields, I have gotten many compliments on the great condition they are kept in. Parks & Rec. does a great job for the Turner fields. The CYSA likes the JNC Plan. For location, it will invite people into the city. If the CYSA can prove growth and expansion, the league will provide a matching grant. I have a problem with the Wynnewood Peninsula land. The JNC land is in the middle of the city and it's the best location. This will attract people. CYSA is completely behind the JNC proposal and we have 300 signatures on a petition to present to the Board 12) Bill Longo - 5012 Middleton Circle - I have heard people come up and tear down the Parks Dept. for the condition of the parks and fields. Pam has done a great job with what City Hall has given her. She has a lot of land to take care of. We lose employees because of the salaries we can't pay. Two years ago, the fire department had all junk for service, now they are a first rate fire department and the police were driving broken down vehicles, now they can get new ones each year. This complex will cause a lot of problems. 4B shouldn't focus on one thing, you need to focus on many things and try to utilize the land.. LISD has $165 million in bonds - the city needs to work with the school board. The city has some power over the school board because the city finances crossing guards and gives a lot of freebies to LISD. My overall concern is for the city. Past city councils have spent money foolishly, and I don't want 4A and 4B to do that also. 13) Gary McClure - 4925 Roberts - Pam has done a great job in taking care of the parks. Pam doesn't get enough credit for what she has done with what the citizens have given her through city council. I am for the sports complex. I think we should also look at the money we're spending for the complex. To get 100 acres of land for little money would lessen the burden - if we can build on Wynnewood Peninsula and not spend money on land, we should at least consider it. Has a feasibility study been done? Will the decision on the property be made in a short time? I think you need to look at the money corning in and look at the best use for it. A sports complex would be a great asset to the community, just proceed cautiously. Member King stated the Texas Department of Tourism has done an impact study on facilities in cities and it can support tourism. The purchase of the land will be from the Austin Ranch money, not 4B money. President Goebel stated the dates for the purchase of the land are flexible, but we don't like putting the land purchase before the study 14) Lisa Leary - 6821 Anderson - I think a multi-use complex would serve the city best. JNC will wait for us to get things in order. LISD has land. I think the 14-16 year olds will be left out. They will be looking for things to do. Can't we have a midnight basketball or have a drag or loitering place? 15) Lori Hill - 5824 Madison - I think we should take care of what we have first, then make some long range plans. Is anyone else trying to get the land? President Goebel stated we will not use all the money for this complex. We will be judicious in prioritizing and pro- rating distribution. He stressed we won't do just one project but we will do multiple projects. We have set aside percentages for administrative costs, existing enhancements, and new features. He asked Lori Hill who would control the library building. Lori stated she would love to oversee the operations. 16) James Althous - 5409 Sagers - I like Lori's speech. I'm glad to hear talk about everything. The complex will sit on the highway, people will come, and it will be pretty. I think the overall project is good, and I'm glad the city is considering it. 17) George Schmidt - 5637 Squires - It seems more practical to drag people through the city to get to the facility if our purpose is to create revenue from people who come to the city to use the facility. President Goebel stated bringing people through the community is a concern. Eventually there will be a bridge from Wynnewood into Lewisville and 121. 18) Margaret Schmidt - 5637 Squires - We have good facilities. I don't think we should burden the citizens for the maintenance costs. Member Walden stated 413 can provide funds for maintenance. Member Briggs stated she liked what Rachel Robertson and Lori Hill were saying. The Arts Center is an interesting project to the Board. We're looking at a complex for the community. I think the complex would be agreeable to the residents in the community. Everyone needs to understand that the existing parks will not be forgotten. We have tentative percentages on what our money is going to be spent on. Citizen's Input was completed and the meeting adjourned until 9:00 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:05 p.m. 2. ADDRESS ISSUES PERTAINING TO PUBLIC HEARING. This item was tabled. 3. ITEMS OF INTEREST TO BOARD MEMBERS. President Goebel introduced Richard Leisner of Wallace, Roberts & Todd urban design firm. Richard Leisner stated his firm does waterfront planning and land use planning. He is here to listen to the current issues. After hearing all the issues tonight, it would be more helpful to make a more accurate presentation in 2 weeks to review the comprehensive plan, thorofare plan, and the parks & recreation plan to understand what's currently in place and where the vision is currently defined. From that, we can see how the land use is related to the lake edge and issues regarding open space and the Parks & Rec. Centers. We will look at infrastructure systems, roads and utility systems timing is a concern. We need to make sure you have proper land use for the long term because it will pay dividends by increasing property values or it could decrease them if it's not done right. Member King stated we are having a work session with the Parks & Recreation Board. I have spoken to Scott Josloff in the Attorney General's office. I asked him if money that is spent on a study is a project and do we have to hold a public hearing to spend it. He said YES. We have to provide 60 days notice for a public hearing and specify what it is on, how much we are going to spend and what the project is. Then we have to hold a public hearing and then wait an additional 60 days before the money is spent to allow citizens to petition against it if that's their choice. This is bad news. I also asked if the 4B money can be used to subsidize fees as a for profit sport facility and Scott said no because it does not constitute a project. President Goebel told the Board members present about a workshop to be held in Paris, Texas from the Texas Department of Economic Development if anyone is interested. 4. NEW BUSINESS None. There being no fufher discus "ion, it w (sun~mmously decided to a o rn th a :20 p.m. 277 thy Neal, Recordin Secretary Don' oebel, President Ka