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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2004-08-04 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes August 4, 2004 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, August 4, 2004, at 8 a.m. in the second floor conference room of City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Chair James Gerland, Vice Chair Gregory Crinion, Tony Banfield, Gary Harris, and Zekie McVeigh. Also present were the following liaisons: Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Jones, City Council liaison Jerry Ericsson, and CCISD Representative Ron McPherson. Staff members present were Karen Capps and Ron Cox. Also present were Gwen Griffin and Christina Brodsley of Griffin Integrated Marketing. Absent from the meeting were Kevin Candee, Maurice Estlinbaum, Brent Goswick, Bob Bertrand, Trish Hanks, and Jim Reinhartsen. 1. Call to Order. Chair Gerland called the meeting to order at 8:07 a.m. with a quorum present. 2. Approval of Minutes. Greg Crinion made a motion to approve the July 7, 2004 meeting minutes. Gary Harris seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. 3. Discussion regarding committee membership and attendance. Chair Gerland encouraged members to attend as many committee and city council meetings as possible. He believes attendance at these meetings is critical now as there are many economic development projects and related issues being discussed. In addition, each member was also provided a volunteer application and was encouraged by Chair Gerland to seek new committee member candidates to fill the vacancy left by Andy Massicott's resignation. 4. Discussion regarding West property development. Chair Gerland led the discussion regarding the proposed West Ranch development and how it relates to Vision 2020. The committee reviewed Vision 2020 goals and how the West Ranch development moves toward achieving some of the goals. Goals include; developing the tax base, developing parks and open space, improving regional detention, and maintaining the overall quality of life in the community. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding economic development goals. The committee reviewed what had been accomplished toward the short and long-range goals that were established last year. Chair Gerland stated the committee stayed on track in addressing most of the committee's goals. He further remarked that the city is moving forward at warp speed with major development projects coming through. For that reason, he proposed that the committee hold a separate meeting for the CEDC's annual retreat in addition to their regular monthly meeting. Karen Capps reported on the status of pending or uncompleted committee goals. She stated that Planning and Zoning is updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Also, regarding items pending in long-range goals, funding is included in next year's budget to create a future financial picture for the city. A citizen survey will be done by telephone to gauge citizens' understanding of an economic development sales tax. 6. Discussion and possible action regarding the need for a planning retreat for economic development. Staff said the last CEDC retreat was held in July 2003. The committee proposed holding the retreat at the Friendswood Chamber on August 24 or August 26. Karen Capps will confirm these dates with the facilitator. 7. Reports: A. Main Street Implementation Plan Karen Capps reported on the completion of the Main Street Implementation Plan and provided a copy of the final report. The committee would like to further discuss the plan in the near future. B. Whitcomb development Ron Cox reported that the amendments to the zoning ordinance to allow mixed -use zoning through a planned -unit development were approved on August 2. The second and final reading of the Whitcomb mixed -use ordinance is scheduled for August 16, 2004. C. Broker Day event and agenda The committee discussed an agenda for the event that was prepared by Gwen Griffin. Carol Jones reported that, to date, only one sponsorship had been received. Christina Brodsley stated that an additional 75 letters were prepared from a list that Jim Reinhartsen had provided. The additional letters will be mailed today. D. CDC Rezoning Karen Capps reported that she had no update to report on this item. E. Marketing Gwen Griffin provided a copy of a marketing report with copies of recent articles that had been published and a list of work in progress. She stated the new web -based e- newsletter is ready and looks very clean with sharper images. The upcoming e- newsletter, featuring the Whitcomb mixed -use project, will be sent out the week of August 16 once zoning for the project is approved. Gwen also discussed collateral pieces being created. Project fact sheets are being created for Main Street and the Whitcomb development. Since postcards were an effective method for educational awareness, more are being designed. 8. Adiournment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:04 a.m.