HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/12/02 EDC MINUTES
THE COLONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
JUNE 12, 2002
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 12t~ day of June 2002, at City
Hall with the following roll call:
A1 Garcia, President Present
Bob Norris Present
Tia Hamlin Present
Norman Lang Present
Kevin Greene Present
And with five voting members present, a quorum was established and the following items
were addressed:
Item 1.1. Pledge of Allegiance: A1 Garcia led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
2.0. CONSENT AGENDA
Item 2.1. Reports:
a. Cash flow projection
b. Tax Allocation Summary for May
c. Monthly ½ Cent Sales Tax graph
d. Monthly report from May to City Manager
e. Website update
f. Shapiro marketing update
g. Allies Day update
h. Denton County Transportation Authority update
i. Summary of current activity regarding development
Tom Terrall mentioned that on the cash flow projection a couple of expenses have
been moved over a couple of months because payments had not been made. Sales
tax for May exceeded last year but not by much. The monthly graph shows a 31%
increase over the base year 2000 but it also shows a very small increase from last
year. Leapfrog Technologies has sent more revisions of the website but still needs
to fill in several blanks. Overall the website changes are progressing well. Shapiro
& Company has finished the brochures and the pocket folders and is now working
on the copy for the postcard mailers. Ads in the Dallas Business Journal have
been increased in size. Regarding Allies Day, the contact person for the National
Association of Industrial Properties (NAIOP), Doug Johnson, has been
corresponding with Mr. Terrall but has been out of town for the past couple of
weeks. The plan is for NAIOP to co-sponsor our Allies Day golf tournament. The
EDC would have access to their database as well as the North Texas Commercial
Association of Realtor's database. The tournament will be held the first part of
October at The Tribute. The exact date has not yet been determined. Mr. Terrall
gave the board an update of what's been happening with the Denton County
Transportation Authority's progression of public hearings and development of a
service plan for the future mass transit of Denton County. There have been two
public meetings in The Colony City Hall, one in April and one in May, and one
meeting at a Colony Chamber luncheon in April. Tomorrow there will be a
meeting in which the Interim Executive Committee will vote the on the proposed
service plan. Mr. Terrall explained what the council vote in August would mean
for our city. In November, all cities that do not collect the maximum state sales
tax will have a citizen vote on whether or not to participate in the plan. Mr. Terrall
explained to the board that there have been several brokers and developers who
have shown interest in The Colony. Mr. Terrall has met and talked with some of
them. He is seeing activity on other parcels, more serious activity than what has
been in the recent past. He attributes the recent activity to a combination of the
improved economy coupled with the increased marketing effort by The Colony
Economic Development Corporation.
Item 2.2. Approval of the minutes of the board meeting held May 8, 2002: Mr. Norris
made a motion to accept the minutes bom May 8, 2002 as written. Kevin Greene
seconded. The motion passed with all members voting in favor.
3.0 PUBLIC COMMENTS
3.1. Public Input: There was no public input.
4.0REGULAR AGENDA
Item 4.1. Discussion of International Council of Shopping Centers convention and
tradeshow: Mr. Terrall gave the board a summary of his and Cindi Lane's
activity at the tradeshow. He explained the strategy for calling on booths, showed
the board that the event fund was under the projected budget. He explained the
floor plan of the trade show and said that over 31,000 attendees had registered for
this event by the first day. He and Ms. Lane targeted between 55 and 60
companies starting with local Texas companies. The booths were divided between
himself and Ms. Lane. The municipalities were located in one specific area of the
trade show floor, which was in an out-of-the way location. He and Ms. Lane
determined that it would not be to our city's advantage to have a booth next year -
because of the location and because there would be limited opportunity to call on
potential clients. Mr. Terrall felt that the trade show was a success and very
EDC Minutes June 12, 2002, Page 2
productive for The Colony because he and Ms. Lane came back with at least 40
leads and are in the process of sending packets out and making follow-up phone
calls.
Item 4.2. Discussion and appropriate action regarding hiring Economic
Development Services to update our strategic plan:
Mr. Terrall explained that he was looking for an update of the demographic
information and called upon Jerry Conner of Economic Development Services to
aid him in obtaining new demographic information. Mr. Connor provided him
with the information and made a proposal to update the 1999-2005 strategic plan
with the price of the demographics included in the update. Mr. Terrall reviewed
the existing plan with the board to determine what has been accomplished so far.
There were four main goals and most of the items in each goal had been met. Mr.
Terrall said that he believes the board has a clear focus on which direction they
are heading and knows what kind of development they want for The Colony. His
recommendation is to wait until at least six months from now and take another
look at a possible update in the next fiscal year. President Garcia said that the
board should keep going on the path that it is going for now. The board was in
consensus.
Item 4.3. Discussion and appropriate action regarding hosting a new city council
member orientation of 4A policies and procedures: President Garcia explained
to the board that it would be very appropriate for the new council members to
receive an update from the 4A Board as an orientation to explain the purpose of
the board, what the board is involved in, and what decisions the board makes to
bring businesses to The Colony. He would like to set it up for Saturday, June 22
as a breakfast meeting at The Tribute. It would also serve as an opportunity for
the new members to meet the 4A Board members. Mr. Terrall added that it is
important for the 4A Board and the council to work as a team and he and Ms.
Lane could put together a small program including breakfast. The board thought it
was a good idea. Mr. Terrall said that the council would be contacted and the
board members would be called to make sure everything was in order.
Item 4.4. Discussion regarding sponsorship of NAIOP breakfast on June 27, 2002:
Mr. Terrall told the board of an opportunity to sponsor an NAIOP breakfast at the
Dallas Country Club. He said that the 4A booth would be set up with literature
and that he would give a five-minute presentation. Included as part of the
sponsorship would be a table reserved for eight. Mr. Terrall invited the board
members to come to the breakfast to represent The Colony along with himself,
Ms. Lane and the city manager. The majority of the board members said they
were available and would like to come to the meeting. President Garcia made a
comment that he is impressed with the dedication of the board and thanked them.
EDC Minutes June 12, 2002, Page 3
Presidem Garcia adjourned the meeting at 7:56 p.m.
Cindi Lane
Administrative Assistant l~sident
EDC Minutes June 12, 2002, Page 4