HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/28/1995 MEDC
MINUTES OF THE MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
:FIELD ON
FEBRUARY 213, 1995
A meeting of the Municipal Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors for
the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on the 28th day of
February, 1995, at the Chamber of Commerce. The following persons were in
attendance:
Dean Kindy, President
Gary McClure, Treasurer
Tommy Thompson, Executive Vice-President
Toby Pollard, Executive Vice-President
Lori Harlan, Staff Liaison, Economic Development Coordinator
Tony Johnston, Finance Director, City of The Colony
I . UPDATE ON UNDERWRITER FOR WYNNEWOOD PENINSULA GOLF
COURSE
On February 22, 1995, Matthews Southwest and Champions Golf informed the city that
they were no longer seeking the assistance of Rauscher Pierce for bond financing. They
introduced Mark Pressman Associates as the new underwriter for the project. Pressman
Associates has been involved in many projects of this type, particularly bond issues
financing municipal golf courses. Locally, Pressman Associates is the underwriter for the
recently opened golf course in Azle.
The group discussed the change in bond underwriters and any effect this might have on
the project. Questions were raised concerning the corporation's ability to limit the sale of
bonds only to financial institutions. This is the recommendation of the city's financial
advisor, Boyd London with First Southwest Company. However, the type of bond the
City Council has directed the EDC to consider - a special revenue bond - will likely attract
few institutional buyers because there is no financial history attached to such an offering
and therefore it is considered high risk.
Tony Johnston, city finance director, shared his perspective on types of bonds to be used
for the project and a time line for the future. Both Mr. Johnston and Ms. Harlan will be
visiting the Azle course and interviewing key players in the course development on
Monday, March 6. Azle should provide necessary information on a time frame for the
project and their perceptions of Mark Pressman Associates. Information gathered will be
presented to the board at its next scheduled meeting.
2. COMMISSION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR GOLF COURSE PROJECT
Before the financing can progress, it remains necessary to update the feasibility study for
the course. The existing study was completed in September, 1993. Matthews Southwest
is concerned that a feasibility study directly commissioned by their organization will be
perceived as biased by the financial community. Therefore, the EDC is working to identify
agencies that work in this field and determine the cost for commissioning such a study. A
portion of the funding for this study will be provided by Matthews Southwest Company,
the primary landowner on Wynnewood Peninsula.
After receiving quotes from two different firms on an update of the existing study, the
board decided to solicit actual proposals from these firms and additional information on
the type of feasibility study to be conducted. In order to ensure that the new study is
unbiased by any assumptions made by previous developers, the board decided to
investigate commissioning a new study that will not utilize the information found in the
existing study.
Staff is currently gathering quotes and information from several agencies and will present
this information to the board at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 7, 1995, at 7:00
p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lo ' Ha an, EDC ordinator