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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2004-10-06 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes October 6, 2004 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, October 6, 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, Sr., Maurice Estlinbaum, Brent Goswick, Gary Harris, Kirk Lippert, and Zekie McVeigh. Also present were the following liaisons: Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Jones, City Council Member Jerry Ericsson, and Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President Jim Reinhartsen. Staff members present were Karen Capps and Ron Cox. Also present were Christina Brodsley of Griffin Integrated Marketing, and Brian Freedman of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. Absent from the meeting were Kevin Candee, Bob Bertrand, Trish Hanks, Ron McPherson, and Don Gartman. 1. Call to Order. Chair Gerland called the meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. with a quorum present. 2. Approval of Minutes. Greg Crinion made a motion to approve the September 1, 2004 meeting minutes. Gary Harris seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. 3. Discussion and possible action regarding incentive application for Project 2004-1. Karen Capps provided an overview of the project stating that she has been working with this business for more than a year to occupy a vacant building in the city referred to as Crafts, Etc. The prospective business is a general merchandise retailer who would completely renovate the vacant 22,800 square foot building located in the Captain's Corner Shopping Center on the corner of FM 518 and FM 2351. The business expects to employ 35 persons upon opening. The committee discussed the benefits of the project in that it will help revitalize an important intersection in the city, occupy a building that has been vacant for more than eight years, and bring in additional revenues to the city. Following considerable discussion, Brent Goswick made a motion to provide a Chapter 380 economic development incentive grant in the amount of $30,000 to Project 2004-1. Gary Harris seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. As stated in the grant guidelines, the funding can be utilized by the business to offset relocation costs, land and/or building acquisition costs, building improvements or renovations, utility line extension/connections, payment of water and sewer impact fees, extension of public roads, drainage improvements or any other purpose approved by City Council. The grant recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for their consideration and approval. 4. Report from sub -committees regarding 2004-2005 goals. Greg Crinion provided a report on the Corridor/Target Development subcommittee (Goal #2). He said that the subcommittee met on September 22, 2004, and much progress was made. At the subcommittee meeting, the main corridors were identified by segments, and then prioritized based on needs, opportunities, and timing for economic development. At this time, the highest priority for the subcommittee to address was identified as the panhandle area since there is available land already commercially zoned and infrastructure and street expansions are taking place or being planned in the area. Greg said the subcommittee would meet again later this month to work on this goal. Brent Goswick gave a report on Goals #3 and #4. Regarding Goal #3 - to create a development/redevelopment plan for the city - the subcommittee met on September 17 and worked further on the action steps of the plan. They identified land parcels and acreage that may need development/redevelopment assistance and planning of some kind. These parcels include the panhandle area, Hastings, Brio, CDC, and Bofysil properties. Brent stated that Main Street was not included since there is a separate Main Street committee addressing their specific needs and it would be a duplication of efforts. The other action steps are to evaluate, develop ability, explore highest and best use, recommend a development plan, and follow through on the development plan. Regarding Goal #4 — develop a plan for vacant buildings, Brent said that with Project 2004-1 occupying the Crafts, Etc. building, that would remove one more vacant building from the list. The subcommittee plans to meet again in November or December. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding CEDC liaisons. The committee discussed providing liaisons to only those committees that deliberate issues that could affect or have an impact on economic development. After discussion, Brent Goswick made a motion for the committee to provide a CEDC liaison to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Greg Crinion seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. The liaison would rotate on a monthly basis among the nine CEDC members. The role of the liaison would be to ensure communication between the two committees, provide information regarding CEDC goals and mission. The CEDC liaison should not interpret the position of the overall CEDC without bringing it back to the whole committee. Only the staff liaison or CEDC Chair shall be the spokespersons for the CEDC when communicating with groups outside the committee. The liaison shall coordinate with the CEDC Chair and CEDC staff liaison regarding next steps. CEDC staff liaison will provide the CEDC liaison copies of P&Z agendas and notify them of future meetings. The CEDC liaison will provide a monthly report back to the committee on related issues from the meetings. Greg Crinion volunteered to attend the October meetings. Karen Capps will create a list for volunteers to sign up. 6. Reports: Marketing: Griffin Marketing provided a marketing report for the month of September. The third issue of the e-newsletter was designed and released. Brochures are being finalized for the Whitcomb and Main Street projects. Invitations for the Broker / E.D. work shop were designed and mailed, and the event is being planned. Several E.D. related articles were released in local newspapers. Also, three educational awareness postcards are being designed. Broker event update: Committee members were reminded to attend the second annual economic development workshop along with Chamber golf tournament to be held at Timber Creek Golf Club on October 14. Karen Capps said there are approximately 25 reservations for the workshop. CDC Rezoning: It was reported that CDC's new representative would like a meeting with the City to discuss planning for their Friendswood properties proceeding with rezoning. Karen Capps stated that she has scheduled a meeting with CDC to further discuss this. 7. Adiournment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.