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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/10/1996 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1996 6:30 p.m. CITY HALL CLASS ROOM Present: Board Gary McClure, President Mary Watts, Council Member Jerry Sebastian Rick Manser Consultant Worth Blake, Worth Blake & Associates Staff Dennis Watson, Staff Liaison Others Leroy Grawunder, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Absent John Dillard Tommy Thompson Ronnie Fischer Since there was not a quorum present to begin the meeting Mr. Watson updated the Board members on his and Mr. Smith's meeting with the Corps of Engineers' representative. He informed the Board that the Corps seemed receptive to extending the Wynnewood Peninsula lease out to a minimum 50 years if the City and Matthews Southwest put together a solid proposal backing up this request. Mr. Watson stated that he and Mr. Smith will be meeting with representatives from Matthews Southwest in the near future to discuss assembling the necessary information to submit to the Corps. He stated that a Board member was welcome to sit in on the meeting. Discussion followed on extending the lease past 50 years. Ms. Watts stated that she would be in favor of the City attempting to secure a 99-year lease with the Corps and sub leasing 50 years out to the developer with the option of extending that out further. In this manner the developer has the financial security of knowing the City has the option of extending the lease out 49 additional years. The Board discussed working on a developer's agreement concerning the golf course. Ms. Watts stated that the Board had previously looked at a similar agreement that was utilized by the City of Plano, and had intended to use that as a model. She suggested the Board go through the document and extract what it considers to be pertinent to this project. Discussion followed on the developer's role in researching financing options and the issuance of revenue bonds. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. McClure called the meeting to order at 6:55 p.m. upon the arrival of Mr. Sebastian. 2. ROLL CALL 3. PRESENTATION ON RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL ON STAGGERED TERMS FOR EDC BOARD MEMBERS Mr. Grawunder presented the following options to the Board: (a) One-half of the Board members are removed by the City Council after one year is served, and the City Council appoints replacements for two-year terms (such replacements may be reappointments of the Board members that were `removed"). (b) One-half of the Board members could resign after one year, and the Council could fill those vacant seats for two-year terms. (c) Amend the Corporation's Articles of Incorporation and through this process establish staggered terms. Mr. Grawunder recommended amending the Articles of Incorporation because the Articles should reflect the proper composition and term limits of the governing body. Amending the Articles can only be done with Council approval. Mr. Grawunder advised the Board to request Council to allow for amendment of the Articles. If the request is granted he advised the Board to contact him to make the necessary changes. Mr. Grawunder estimated the cost of amending the Articles to be from $300-$500 dollars plus a $25 filing fee with the Secretary of State. The Board voted to have Mr. Watson request Council to amend the Articles of Incorporation. The vote passed unanimously. 4. DISCUSSION OF EDC BUDGET FOR UPCOMING FY 1997 Mr. Watson reviewed with the Board members each line item in the upcoming budget, explaining how the figures were calculated. Mr. McClure wanted to clarify that the budget was a General Administration City budget and not an Economic Development Corporation budget. Ms. Watts stated that the only time the EDC would be responsible for funds in the budget was if the Board generated the funds that were being spent, and that this budget consisted of money that was being allocated from the General Fund of the City budget to Economic Development. Mr. McClure stated that the reason he suggested this agenda item was that a Council Member had recently raised the question, "Why does the EDC even have a budget?" Mr. McClure stated that he just wanted to be clear on the issue himself. He reinforced to the Board that the budget was not under control of the EDC, but instead it fell under the City's control. Ms. Watts stated that she understood that the City has the authority to transfer funds from one fund to another, but her concern was that the Board was not made aware of a significant deficit in the budget. She felt that as a courtesy Board members should have been informed as to the status of the budget. Further discussion followed on this issue. 5. ELECTION OF NICE PRESIDENT OF THE EDC BOARD Since three Board members were not in attendance the Board decided to postpone the election of a vice president until the September 17th meeting. 6. PRESENTATION ON STATEMENT OF CURRENT CONDITION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE COLONY Mr. Blake reviewed with the Board his time frame for completing his portion of the plan. He informed the Board on the personal interviews he has been conducting with the individuals within the community. Mr. Blake continued his discussion on the statement of current condition of economic development in The Colony. This portion of the discussion included weaknesses and opportunities. Some of the weaknesses that were mentioned included: raw materials, no dedicated business/industrial park complex, no economic development incentive policy, lack of local job opportunities, lack of ally support, lack of ingress/egress to roadways, our name, residentially bound tax base, newspaper is not focused on The Colony, aesthetics, beautification (landscaping), Lewisville zip code, phone system listed under Frisco, undeveloped recreational opportunities, limited health care facilities, and outdated comprehensive plan. Following are some of the opportunities that were mentioned: retirement center, encourage development of industrial/business complex, coordinate efforts with Parks and Recreation on recreation projects, joint venture with a garden office park, 50% of land is undeveloped. Mr. Blake requested that the Board continue to think about opportunities and they would attempt to wrap up the statement of current condition portion of the process next week. 11, There being no further business McClure adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Dennis Watson, Staff Liaison