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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/09/04 EDC MINUTES THE COLONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REGULAR BOARD MEETING CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM JUNE 9, 2004 The Regular Session of The Colony Economic Development Corporation of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 9th day of June 2004, at the City Hall conference room with the following roll call: Board Members: Bob Norris, President Present A1 Garcia, Vice President Absent Kevin Greene, Treasurer Absent Rick White, Secretary Present Bo Trosper, Member Present Perry Schrag, Council Liaison Absent Staff Members Present: Tom Terrall, Director of Economic Development Cindi Lane, Economic Development Specialist And with three voting members present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: Item 1.1. Pledge of Allegiance: President Bob Norris led in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2.0. CONSENT AGENDA Item 2.1. Reports: a. Cash flow projection b. Monthly ½ Cent Sales Tax graph c. Tax Allocation Summary for May d. Summary of current activity regarding development e. Marketing update f. Weitzman/Cencor update g. DFW Allies Marketing Team update (a.) Tom Terrall reported that May sales tax came back slightly ahead of projection for the month and that we are almost $45,000 ahead for the fiscal year. (b) The sales tax graph shows each month this year higher than the past two years. (c) The tax allocation summary is there for the board members to compare our tax revenues with those of other cities. (d) Mr. Terrall said that Big Lots has filed plans with the planning department but has not received their permit because they have not hired a contractor. He also stated that a lease has not yet been negotiated. (e) Cindi Lane discussed a recent ad placed in the Dallas Business Journal, an ad being placed in the Greater Dallas Chamber 2005 Economic Development Guide, and explained that there were a higher number of visits to the website in May and the first nine days of June possibly due to the ICSC appointments and activity. (f) Mr. Terrall explained that the brokers doing the Weitzman development are having a difficult time finding interested retailers for The Colony project because the center is only three miles away from Stonebriar Mall and close to the Tollway and Preston Road. They are considering building a small strip to get some retailers in place and to create activity. (g) Mr. Terrall said that he was recently appointed to serve on the steering committee of the DFW Marketing Team. The next meeting with the committee will discuss the scope of work and the budget and operating guidelines were established at the last meeting. Mr. Terrall said that the main purpose for his participation in this committee is to make sure The Colony is well represented. Item 2.2. Approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting held May 12, 2004: President Norris asked if there were any corrections, changes or additions that anyone would like to make and there were none. President Norris proclaimed the minutes to be approved. 3.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS 3.1. Public Input: Mr. Dean Jones of 5909 Mages Drive, The Colony, said that he was interested in starting a business in The Colony and wanted to know what steps he needs to take to get started and find out about possible incentives. Mr. Terrall gave him his business card and told him to call the office to make an appointment. 4.0 REGULAR AGENDA Item 4.1. Discussion of May 23-26 International Council of Shopping Centers tradeshow: Mr. Terrall updated the board on the ICSC tradeshow. He said that 18 appointments were set and there were only one or two no-shows out of the group. Approximately 118 cold calls were made. Rick White and Joel Marks made most of the cold calls and the other two groups worked the cold calls in around their appointments. Many companies were eliminated for one reason or another, such as not doing any work in Texas or looking for demographic criteria that did not match The Colony. The largest obstacle for The Colony seemed to be with property ownership issues. Three of Mr. Terrall's cold calls have already followed up and made appointments to see The Colony. There were more than 35,000 attendees at this year's conference. Kelly Corer, the retail consultant with Cofer Haag & Thrasher, attended all the retail appointments with Cindi Lane and Perry EDC Minutes June 9 2004, Page 2 Schrag. They also attended a meeting with Robin Barrow and Eddie Liebman of The Weitzman Group to go through a list of possible retailers for their site. Item 4.2. Discussion of NAIOP golf tournament: The scheduled date for the golf tournament is September 14th. This will be the first golf tournament for NAIOP but they are moving forward. They have received The Colony EDC logo for advertisement purposes. Item 4.3 EXECUTIVE SESSION as authorized by section 551.086 of the Local Government Code regarding Economic Development, to-wit: A. To deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect. The board went into executive session at 7:30 p.m. Item 4.4: Consideration of appropriate action to be taken as a result of executive session: The board came out of executive session at 8:45 p.m. Bo Trosper made a motion to accept a proposal whereby the City refunds 25% of their portion of the sales tax and The Colony Economic Development Corporation refunds 50% of its portion of the sales tax on the Austin Ranch project subsequent to the approval of the final agreement. There was discussion concerning wording of the motion and Mr. Trosper restated his motion. He moved to accept the proposal whereby the City refunds 25% of their portion of the sales tax generated by the subject of the Austin Ranch project and The Colony Economic Development Corporation refunds 50% of its portion of the sales tax generated by the subject of the Austin Ranch project subsequent to approval of the final agreement. Rick White seconded the motion. There was further discussion regarding the wording of the motion. Mr. Trosper then restated the motion as follows: motion made to accept the proposal whereby the City refunds 25% of their portion of the sales tax generated by the subject reimbursed to the subject of the Austin Ranch project and The Colony Economic Development Corporation refunds 50% of its portion of the sales tax generated by the subject and reimbursed to the subject of the Austin Ranch project subsequent to approval of the final agreement. Mr. White seconded the motion and the motion passed with all members voted aye. President Norris adjourned the 4A board at 8:50 p.m. Cindi Eane 'Robert E. Norris Economic Development Specialist President EDC Minutes June 9 2004, Page 3