Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/13/09 EDC CITY OF THE COLONY DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS MAY 13, 2009 The Regular Session of The Colony Economic Development Corporation of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 13th day of May 2009, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: Tom Tvardzik President Present Kevin Braby Vice President Present David Peerson Treasurer Present David Smith Secretary Present Femi Omonije Member at Large Present Perry Schrag Council Liaison Absent (Business) Tom Terrall Staff Present Cindi Lane Staff Present 1.0 ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS; RECOGNITIONS: Call To Order: - President Tom Tvardzik called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag: - President Tvardzik led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Announcement of upcoming events and activities' Update of CoreNet Global Summit April 26-28: Mr. Terrall said that the attendance was low, less than 1,000 attendees but the booth location was excellent so many people stopped by and he met a couple of out-of-state site selectors. Update of International Council of Shopping Center Recon Tradeshow May 17-20: Mr. Terrall announced that he and Ms. Lane are leaving Saturday, May 16th and returning on Wednesday, May 20th. He thought it would be difficult to obtain appointments due to a lower forecasted attendance, but he and Ms. Lane scheduled a total of 14 appointments. He said that previous companies will be visited plus some new ones. New Developments: There was nothing to report. Update on TEDC Conference: Mr. Terrall said that one of the main reasons he attends is to check on legislative issues that might affect the 4A incentive policies. This time he was very disappointed with the lobbyist presentation because the active bills were not addressed as usual. He did check the report on the TEDC website and there was nothing that should be a problem for the EDC. Citizen Input: There was no citizen input. 1 These items are strictly public service announcements. No action will be taken and no direction will be given regarding these items. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA 2.1 Acceptance of cash flow projection report (Terrall) 2.2 Acceptance of monthly % cent sales tax graph (Terrall) 2.3 Acceptance of tax allocation summary for April (Terrall) 2.4 Marketing update, website statistics, and print advertising (Lane) 2.5 Approval of the minutes of the regular board meeting April 8, 2009 (Terrall) David Peerson made a motion to accept the consent agenda as presented. David Smith seconded the motion and all members voted in favor. 3.0 REGULAR AGENDA 3.1 Discussion and appropriate action regarding pursuing vision document for S.H. 121 properties in The Colony (Board): Mr. Terrall said that since the April meeting, Mr. Peerson sent an email to him and asked Mr. Peerson to share his thoughts with the board. Mr. Peerson stated that although he thinks that the vision is a good idea but not a cost benefit to the EDC unless we partner with other groups like council, 4B and the chamber. He feels that it is a good idea for the community but not sure that The Colony _ EDC is the right venue to do it. Mr. Terrall did some research using the 2007 Comprehensive Plan and the Corridor Master Plan that states what the council's vision was at that time. These documents already spell out what the vision is, or was, for the city. Mr. Terrall also mentioned that the developers whom the EDC calls on already have their own products and when we step into their booth or office. They have their various projects on the wall so we can see if they are creating what we have envisioned and tell them that we would like for them to build that concept in our city. Mr. Terrall and Ms. Lane had a meeting with an architecture firm last week who they met at CoreNet and they gave a presentation of some of their projects. Mr. Omonije made a comment that what he has been hearing is that maybe it is time to make some changes from what the city currently has in place and that we might need to do something bold to overcome the challenges that we face as a city. He feels that this could be an opportunity to review the vision not just with council but also with the other boards and possibly get the Chamber involved. The board had several comments regarding having the city get the ball rolling, taking the lead with a new city hall or library and that it should be up to the city, not The Colony EDC. There was discussion if all the city buildings should be together and if so, what possible locations should they be. Mr. Terrall suggested waiting until the new council has a little time to settle in together and then have a joint meeting with them to discuss the vision, the money, and the location. President Tvardzik suggested having the joint meeting in July. Mr. Braby suggested that it would be important that if one specific property was selected for a project it would have to be fair so that one land owner is not getting preferential exposure over another. There was further discussion regarding current developments. Mr. Terrall said that he will talk with EDC Minutes May 13, 2009, Page 2 Mr. Cheatham about setting up a work session with council including vision direction for the city and discussion the 2007 Comprehensive Plan and the Corridor Master Plan. Mr. Terrall said he also looked at the most recent citizen survey and found nothing specific about what the residents wanted. He will make sure the agenda states that developers, council, 4A and staff can participate. He would also like to invite someone from the planning department to address zoning issues and also invite a developer, such as Jackson Shaw, as they perceive the city development process. President Tvardzik said that he would like to go over the procedures for working with a prospect since none of the current 4A board members have had that experience. Mr. Terrall suggested having the developer discuss what it takes to be a development-friendly city and then they could leave the meeting and leave the 4A Board and council to participate in the remainder of the work session. The board said that they would like for Mr. Terrall to put together the agenda with council, listen to the developer, and have discussions with the council and to have the meeting in a few months after the new council has an opportunity to get settled. ADJOURNMENT: President Tvardzik adjourned the meeting at 7:36 p.m. ",Ott: Cindi Lane Tom vardzik Recording Secretary President EDC Minutes May 13, 2009, Page 3