HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/26/01 EDC MINUTES
THE COLONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2001
Present: President Al Garcia
Vice President Steven Sims (arrived at 7:08 p.m.)
Secretary Bob Norris
Treasurer Delaina Hammock
Ex-officio Member Sue Walden
Staff.' Tom Terrall
Cindi Lane
Item 1.1. Call to Order: Being that a quorum was present, Al Garcia called the meeting
to order at 7:04 p.m. and led in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of
silence.
2.0 CONSENT AGENDA
Item 2.1. Reports:
a. Cash flow projection
b. Tax Allocation Summary for August and September
c. Monthly ½ Cent Sales Tax graph
d. Monthly report fi.om July and August to City Manager
Item 2.2. Approval of the minutes of the board meeting held July 25, 2001: A motion
was made by Delaina Hammock to approve the minutes as written. Bob Norris
seconded the motion and the motion carded with all members voting aye.
3.0 EX-OFFICIO MEMBER, PUBLIC COMMENTS
Item 3.1. Report of 4B meetings: Sue Walden gave an update of the August 16, 2001
meeting to the board. There was citizen input of a request for a skate park in the
new complex. Staff is in the process of researching to see where in The Colony
would be the most beneficial to put a skate park in. The design committee is
looking at other sports complexes in the area. The focus is on restroom facilities,
concession areas, storage rooms and entry designs. The baseball fields will have
terraced seating. They are trying to get corporate sponsors for a pavilion. They
need a large room to store the pump for irrigation. The plan is to go out for bids in
November and to start construction in January 2002. Ms. Walden answered a few
questions from the board.
Item 3.2. Report of Chamber of Commerce meetings: Ms. Walden reported the
progress of the Chamber of Commerce between September 8 and August 12. The
Chamber is hosting a network meeting every Friday at 8:00 a.m. and so far it has
been very successful. Matt Coppock resigned as the president-elect and Trong
Presley is the new president-elect. The Chamber has approved the business
visitation program questionnaire. Tom Ten'all, Loretta Hill, Ron Czarny and Sue
Walden are meeting next week to set up a business database. The Chamber gave a
health insurance seminar to help members get insurance. There will be a board
retreat on November 2, 2001.
Item 3.3. Public Input: There was no public input.
4.0 REGULAR AGENDA
Item 4.1. Discussion of NTCAR tradeshow on September 5, 2001: Tom Ten'all
informed the board that this year's tradeshow turned out very well. There were
fewer exhibitors, which turned out better because it was easier to talk to the
brokers. Staff is sending over 70 follow-up letters to the people who visited the
booth. A grand prize of a "Stay & Play" at The Tribute was given away.
Item 4.2. Discussion and appropriate action regarding a presentation from State
Comptroller, Bob Bearden, on the use of sales tax: Mr. Ten'all informed the
board of the importance of being well educated on how to use the sales tax dollars
legally. He explained that Bob Bearden travels to cities to speak on the proper use
of sales tax dollars and of the latest changes from the legislature. Mr. Ten'all
proposed that Mr. Bearden be invited to speak in The Colony to the 4A Board as
well as to the City Council and the 4B Board. President Gareia agreed to the
suggestion and that some of our citizens would also be interested in hearing this
information. Mr. Ten'all said that he would ask Mr. Bearden to come and get back
with the board and with the City Council and 4B Board on a date.
Item 4.3. Discussion and appropriate action regarding holding a public hearing on
the Denton County Transportation Authority's work: Mr. Terrall informed the
board that Judge Scott Armey is scheduled to speak on October 8, 2001 in the
City Hall Council chambers on this topic and invited the board to attend as well as
encouraging the City Council and 4B Board. He explained that Council Member
John Dillard has been assigned as the representative for The Colony and Mr.
Terrall is the alternate. They are attending the bi-weekly meetings. - -
EDC Minutes September 26, 2001, Page 2
Item 4.4. Discussion regarding establishing a work session date to review our bylaws
and incentive criteria: Mr. Terrall suggested to the board that it is time for the
board to have a work session to review the bylaws and update if necessary and to
review the current incentive criteria and make adjustments if needed. He
explained that Cindi Lane has put together information on incentives fi.om several
4A cities and all of the surrounding cities. Mr. Terrall would like to set up a time
to review these topics on a Saturday morning in October. There was discussion as
whether to update with the current board, or wait until the first of next year when
there will be new board members. The consensus was that the best time to review
this material would be now with a more experienced board to make the decisions.
The work session will be held on October 27, 2001 at 9:00 a.m. President Garda
made the board aware that the regular meetings in November and December
conflict with the holidays and that in November, the 14t~ would be the meeting
date and in December, the 19t~ would be the meeting date. There was discussion
and Ms. Hammock stated that she would not be available on November 14 or
December 19.
Item 4.5. Discussion of PowerPoint presentation to be used for taking to client
meetings: Mr. Terrall and Ms. Lane gave a demonstration of the PowerPoint
presentation that they will use for future presentations to prospects. This
presentation was also displayed at the NTCAR tradeshow. The board liked the
presentation and gave a few suggestions for the presentation.
Item 4.6. Discussion of a review of different types of brochures to be used in the
promotion of city hotels, restaurants and businesses: Ms. Hammock reviewed
several different types of city brochures, narrowed the group down to Athens and
Denton, and passed copies out to the board. She discussed several different ways
that a map for The Colony could display locations of restaurants, schools, golf
courses, shops and hotels to use for tourists or visitors. She met with Pam Nelson
to discuss a possible future tournament schedule and the need for these brochures.
There was discussion of how to categorize, what to include, and how much it
would cost depending on how many colors are used and how much time would be
spent creating the brochures. The board members gave suggestions of what should
be listed. Ms. Hammock would like to have a paragraph included describing the
history of The Colony. She has met with Steve Blethen of Lazerset Printing to
discuss costs and options. President Garcia thanked Ms. Hammock on her work
for this project and said that he would like for preliminary ideas to be given to Mr.
Blethen and get a drat~ of what can be done for the money the board has allocated
in a previous meeting and possibly get some assistance fi.om the 4B board if they
were in favor. Mr. Norris made a motion to allow Ms. Hammock to approach Mr.
Blethen to give the board a version of the map. Mr. Sims seconded the motion and
the motion carded with all members voting aye.
EDC Minutes September 26, 2001, Page 3
Item 4.7. Discussion and appropriate action regarding the structure of interviewing
marketing companies and attending presentations: Mr. Terrall informed the
board that there were three companies who responded to the RFP for marketing
within the time limit. He would like to set up a time for each company to make a
45-minute presentation to the board. The board would be provided with a copy of
the proposal prior to the presentations and would forward to Ms. Lane their list of
questions that will be asked to each company. The board discussed dates of
availability and decided they would like to meet on the next regular board
meeting date of October 24 at 6:30 p.m. and see all presentations first, then have a
quick review of monthly staff reports. Ms. Lane will give them the proposals
tonight and the board will have their questions turned in to Ms. Lane by October
12.
Item 4.8. Discussion of The Colony EDC participating in the IDRC Regional AHies
Host Lounge: Mr. Terrall explained to the board the importance of The Colony
participating in the IDRC Host Lounge October 20-21, 2001. He explained that
there would be many influential people from around the country at the World
Congress at the Loews Anatole Hotel. He described the room, the setting, the
theme, and the participating cities. The Colony EDC will receive a printout of all
companies who visited the lounge and will be able to follow up with sending them
a letter and an aerial map. President Garcia stated that it was a good opportunity
to branch out and let people know about The Colony. All board members were in
consensus to participate in the IDRC Host Lounge.
Item 4.9. Discussion and appropriate action of negotiating with NTCAR for next
year's golf tournament: Mr. Terrall told the board that he would like permission
to approach NTCAR and compete for next year's NTCAR golf tournament. He
said that he believes that having the tournament for two years in The Colony
would be a great benefit. It might take more money than was spent last year but it
would be worth it and he would like to start the process. Ms. Hammock made a
motion to allow Mr. Terrall to negotiate with NTCAR for having their annual golf
tournament next year. Mr. Sims seconded the motion and the motion carried with
all members voting in favor.
Item 4.10. Discussion and appropriate action regarding changing bylaws to
authorize the 4A Board to approve EDC incentives up to $100,000 per
project not to exceed in aggregate $$00,000 for fiscal year 2001-2002: Mr.
Ten-all informed the board that as part of the budget approval process with the
City Council, they approved the 4A Board to approve with a minimum of three
voting in favor a business incentive of up to $100,000 per project not to exceed in
aggregate $500,000 for the fiscal year 2001-2002 without having to go to Council
for approval. As a result, the bylaws were amended and presented to the 4A Board
for approval. Mr. Norris made a motion to accept the bylaws as amended. Mr.
Sims seconded and all members voted in favor.
EDC Minutes September 26, 2001, Page 4
Item 4.11. EXECUTIVE SESSION as authorized by section 550.086 of the Local
Government Code 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 8:35 p.m.
Item 4.12. Consideration of appropriate action to be taken as a result of executive
session: The board reconvened at 8:56 p.m. No action was taken.
President Gareia adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
Cindi Lane
Administrative Assistant President
EDC Minutes September 26, 2001, Page 5