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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/08/04 EDC I MINUTES THE COLONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REGULAR BOARD MEETING CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM DECEMBER 8, 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 8th day of December 2004, at the City Hall conference room with the following roll call: Board Members: Bob Norris, President Present Al Garcia, Vice President Absent (business) Kevin Greene, Treasurer Present Rick White, Secretary Present Bo Trosper, Member Present Perry Schrag, Council Liaison Present Staff Members Present: I Tom Terrall, Director of Economic Development Cindi Lane, Economic Development Specialist And with four 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 ~ Cent Sales Tax graph c. Tax Allocation Summary for October and November d. Summary of current activity regarding development e. Marketing update f. Weitzman/Cencor update g. DFW Allies Marketing Team update h. Report of Economic Development Institute i. Report of ICSC November 18 in San Antonio I (a) Tom Terrall reported that the October and November sales were ahead of projections. (b) The sales tax graph reflects the sales tax revenue, which dropped slightly in November. (c) The tax allocation summary is there for the board members to compare our tax revenues with those of other cities. (d) Mr. Terrall reported that Edward Don is on schedule and a photo was taken that will be added to the website. Austin Ranch is building their Towncenter One which consists of multifamily units and 20,000 square feet of retail below the town homes. There is a 7,000 square foot upholstery building going in on north Main Street across from the Caldwell Banker building. Plans have been approved for 20,000 square feet of retail behind Bank One on S.H. 121 called The Colony Plaza. (e) Cindi Lane reported that ads were placed in Business Facilities Magazine, Shopping Center Business, Dallas Office Guide and Dallas Industrial Guide, and the Dallas Chamber 2005 Economic Development Guide. The Colony EDC is again sponsoring the quarterly NTCAR breakfasts and their Stemmons Service Award banquet. The advertising company is in the process of designing a web ad for the NTCAR website. Website hits have been less per month since September. (f) Mr. Terrall reported that Weitzman is still pursuing Kohl's and Yum Brands but attempts to recruit Sears and J.C. Penney failed. Mr. Terrall had a meeting in September with Jared Caplan, but since then nothing has progressed. He had a productive conversation with Mr. Caplan, the leader of The Colony development, and they decided to have a meeting with Mr. Caplan, Kelly Cofer, Robin Barrow and Eddie Liebman later this month or the first part of January so that they can communicate with each other and hopefully have a better focus to get the project up and running. (g) Mr. Terrall said that he would like to address this topic with Item 4.1. (h) Mr. Terrall reported that he attended the first of three sessions in October and that he found it very helpful especially in the area of strategic planning and website development ideas. He looks forward to the next session in March, he has been assigned a mentor, and he said the contacts were great. (i) Mr. Terrall attended the ICSC Texas Idea Exchange in November. He called on retailers with Robin Barrow of The Weitzman Group. There was a Retail Rodeo on Wednesday, which was something new this year but seemed productive because it served as another opportunity to meet retailers. There was also a Weitzman reception on Wednesday night. Item 2.2. Approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting held October 13, 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: There was no public input. 4.0 REGULAR AGENDA Item 4.1. Report and discussion of CoreNet in San Antonio: Mr. Terrall reported that this event took place on Tuesday, November 9th. He arrived on November 8th to EDC Minutes December 8 2004, Page 2 I set up the tent. The food was excellent and tours of the Alamo were given. Most of the guests were from out-of-state. Approximately 130 guests were invited and about 100 were in attendance. This was the first event of the DFW Marketing Team and Mr. Terrall thought they learned a lot. He was disappointed in the network opportunities because the set up was not ideal but he felt that the main goal of promoting the region was achieved. Mr. Terrall suggested hiring someone part-time to serve as an administrator to keep track of the databases and keep things organized. The next event that the DFW Marketing Team will participate in will be the 2005 CoreNet fall event taking place in Las Vegas. Item 4.2. Report and discussion on property development: Mr. Terrall said that there are still issues effecting the development of commercial properties in The Colony, mainly in terms of price. Three developers were very interested in some of the S.H. 121 properties but are getting discouraged because there is not a great interest to sell. Mr. Terrall is optimistic about the sale of the 100 acres at Standridge and Memorial to Crow Holdings. They are in the process of evaluating what to do with the property. Memorial Drive running through this property should make it more accessible and desirable. I Item 4.3. Discussion and appropriate action regarding marketing RFP: Mr. Terrall reminded the board that at their last meeting he was instructed to put out a marketing RFP. Unfortunately there was only one response and Mr. Terrall found out that the current marketing company never received the RFP because an old address was used. Mr. Terrall checked with the purchasing manager to make sure another RFP could be sent out and he was told that it would be okay to do so. Mr. Terrall said he wanted to check with the board first to make sure they were in favor. Kevin Greene made a motion to have Tom resend the RFP. Bo Trosper seconded the motion and all members voted in favor. Item 4.4 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. There was no executive session. Item 4.5: Consideration of appropriate action to be taken as a result of executive session: No action was taken. President Norris adjourned the 4A board at 7:44 p.m. ~'~ ,./.1' ¡ I /"/) /' ". ¿> '--<:"'1" ~--_/ Cindi Lane Robert E. Norris Economic Development Specialist President EDC Minutes December 8 2004, Page 3