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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/08/08 EDC MINUTES THE COLONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REGULAR BOARD MEETING CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM OCTOBER 8, 2008 The Regular Session of The Colony Economic Development Corporation of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:01 p.m. on the Sth day of October 200S, at City Hall, 6S00 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: Bob Norris Rick Casterline Tom Tvardzik Kevin Brady President Vice President Treasurer Member at Large Present Present (arrived at 7:04 p.m.) Present Present Perry Schrag Council Liaison Present And with three board members present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: [IQ] ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: Call To Order Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Announcement of upcoming events and activities1 - Mr. Terrall mentioned that consensus among board members of various city boards was that it would be better to hold the volunteer banquet in February rather than in November as it has been in the past. Citizen Input-none [IQJ CONSENT AGENDA 2.2 Monthly Yz cent sales tax graph (Terrall) 2.3 Tax allocation summary for September (Terrall) 2.4 Approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting September 10, 200S (Terra II) 2.5 Approval to hold November regular board meeting on November 5th instead of November 12th (Terra II) Motion to approve above consent agenda items - Tvardzik; second by Braby; motion passed with all ayes. 1 These items are strictly public service announcements. No action will be taken and no direction will be given regarding these items. Mr. Tvardzik requested this item to be pulled in order to make a correction to the Julv and August sales tax revenue totals on the bottom of the worksheet to match the revenue numbers along the top part. 2.1 Cash flow projection (Terrall) [ill REGULAR AGENDA 3.1 Summary of current activity regarding development (Terrall) Mr. Terrall learned that DBSI Development has closed the Dallas office. He does not know what they intend to do with the property on S.H. 121. He reported on an article was recently published in the Dallas Business Journal which said that DBSI most recently developed a project in The Colony scheduled for completion in October. Mr. Terrall does not know where that information came from. 3.2 Marketing update (Lane) Ms. Lane gave an update of the website statistics and recent print advertising. 3.3 CoreNet golf tournament September 26,2008 update (Terrall) Mr. Terrall said that this was the first year for The Colony EDC to sponsor this group's tournament. There were more than 144 golfers in attendance, a full house for the luncheon and awards, and Mr. Terrall was allowed to speak to the group to welcome them to The Colony and briefly discuss ongoing projects. He said that he did not notice much of a cross over with the NAIOP golfers. They were very complimentary of The Colony. The 2009 tournament is already booked for another location but Mr. Terrall is working on bringing them back to The Tribute in 2010. The other cities economic development representatives were low key and respectful of The Colony. Overall, Mr. Terrall felt like the exposure was worth money spent on the sponsorship. 3.4 Update and discussion regarding use of The Colony EDC funds for city projects (Terrall) Mr. Terrall gave an update on the status of the city projects that the EDC could possibly pay for. There is still no list completed, but Mr. Terrall had a meeting with the consultant the city hired to do the engineering work. His findings are based upon trip generation. When the list is completed, Mr. Terrall will have the consultant come to the board meeting to discuss it. Mr. Terrall decided that it would not be a wise move to go back to the council to see if they still are of the opinion that the EDC pay for the qualified city projects and Council member Perry Schrag agreed. Councilmember Schrag explained why even with the ad valorem revenue coming in higher than expected, the city has a larger margin in their budget but they still want the EDC to contribute because the extra funds have been spent on other things. 3.5 Update of relocation of utilities underground on Main Street (Terrall) Mr. Terrall said that since the last 4A board meeting he talked to Rich Krog with the TBE Group, a national company made up of experts experienced with the relocation of utilities. Mr. Terrall discussed with them the cost of relocating electricity underground. Mr. Krog concurred with Gordon Scruggs that it would cost $5-10 million to complete that project. One reason for the high cost is that additional easement would have to be EDC Minutes October 8, 2008, Page 2 acquired; also poles and towers on the south end create a lot of heat and would take extra money to locate and insulate them underground. Looking at amortization schedules, the annual payment on $5 million would be between $411,000 - $415,000; $7.5 million would be $617,500 - $622,750 per year; and for $10 million the annual payments would range from $824,000 - $829,500. Mr. Terrall said that his personal opinion is that this project is getting away from the EDC's mission; business recruitment and expansion. . Beautification, although a wonderful thing, is not why we are here and is not a deciding factor with a business when deciding whether or not to locate here. Council member Schrag asked another engineer and was told it could range between $12-15 million. 3.6 Report of TEDC annual conference (Terrall) Mr. Terrall reported that the annual conference was held in Austin this year, Ms. Lane also attended, and there were over 300 attendees. Most sessions consisted of alternative energy topics. A marketing session enforced what The Colony EDC is already doing with personal meetings and networking. Conferences, tradeshows, golf tournaments, and breakfasts will be focused for The Colony EDC even more in the future. In talking with colleagues, new projects have slowed down or stopped, and continuing projects are being continued. 3.7 Discussion and appropriate action on NAIOP memorandum of understanding to be their golf tournament title sponsor for years 2010-2014 (Terrall) Mr. Terrall said that there is a MOU in place that The Colony EDC is currently using and the new one is for five more years beginning with the year 2010. The terms and conditions are the same, the only changes are date changes and the price per golfer went from $65 to $70. Mr. Terral! recommended that the board authorize President Norris to sign the memorandum of understanding. Mr. Casterline made a motion to accept the MOU and the motion was seconded by Mr. Braby. All members voted in favor with the exception of Mr. Tvardzik who abstained. 3.8 Status of search for new board members (Terrall) Mr. Terrall said that board applications were still being accepted and that tentatively the 20th of October is when the current applicants will be interviewed by council. There are two former applicants plus two more who have recently submitted applications. Mr. Tvardzik asked who the applicants were so far and Mr. Terrall said that they are David Peerson, James Bullington, Daniel Mahle, and Femi Omaje. ~I EXECUTIVE SESSION 4.1 A. The Economic Development Corporation shall convene into closed executive session pursuant to Section 551.087 of the TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE to deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to business prospect to locate, stay or expand in The City of The Colony No executive session. EDC Minutes October 8, 2008, Page 3 Reconvene to Open Session 4.2 A. Any action to be taken as a result of executive session regarding financial or other incentive to business prospect to locate, stay or expand in The City of The Colony No action taken. ADJOURNMENT President Norris adjourned the 4A board at 7:50 p.m. &JYrl1'~ Cindi Lane Recording Secretary ~~ f~~ Robert E. Norris President EDC Minutes October 8, 2008, Page 4