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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2006-10-04 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes October 4, 2006 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 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 Deirdre Brown, Vice Chair Kirk Lippert, Jamie Ballard, Karin Massicott, Pauline Moore, Jon Olansen, Bill Provenzano, and Hilmar Zeissig. Also present were Council Member liaison Laura Ewing, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President Jim Reinhartsen, Galveston County Economic Alliance President Don Gartman, and Gwen Griffin of Griffin Integrated Marketing. Staff members present were Karen Capps and Nick Haby. Absent from the meeting were Ed Sebesta, Kevin Holland, Trish Hanks, Carol Jones, and Michelle Arnold. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:03 a.m. with a quorum present. 2. Approval of Minutes. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to approve the September 8, 2006 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Bill Provenzano and it passed unanimously in the committee. 3. Discussion and bossible action regarding formation of subcommittees for financin community outreach, and strategic planning. Kirk Lippert made a motion to approve the formation of three CEDC subcommittees: Community Outreach, Finance, and Strategic Planning. The motion was seconded by Jon Olansen and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Elect subcommittee chairpersons. The CEDC elected Chairs for the three subcommittees. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to elect Karin Massicott as Chair of the Community Outreach subcommittee. The motion was seconded by Pauline Moore and it passed unanimously in the committee. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to elect Kirk Lippert as Chair of the Finance subcommittee. Jon Olansen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. Jon Olansen made a motion to elect Bill Provenzano as Chair of the Strategic Planning subcommittee. Pauline Moore seconded the motion and it passed unanimously in the committee. 5. Discussion regarding the Citv's infrastructure. including the Beamer sewer improvements project and the impact on economic development. Chair Brown reported on her speaking to City Council on two occasions, at the September 18 public hearing on the budget and again on September 25, regarding the need for sewer infrastructure in the industrial -zoned district of the city, also referred to as the panhandle area. It was discussed that City Council will workshop the CIP in early November. 6. Discussion rmardint! Vision 2020. Vision 2020 was discussed, along with the goals of the plan and the data associated with the study. The study was conducted in 1998 by Kenneth Balk and Associates. The CEDC reviewed the top 15 goals from Vision 2020 and found those goals to still be important priorities for the city, however, the data from the study is from 1996 and needs updating. For instance, current population, population projections, and percentages of land use for residential and commercial and its affect on the tax base at build -out needs to be updated and projected. Hilmar Zeissig and Jim Reinhartsen suggested contacting UHCL School of Business, MBA Program Dean Cummings to see if updating the data portion of Vision 2020 could be undertaken by his students as a project. Hilmar will contact Dean Cummings and report back at the next meeting. 7. Discussion re2ardin2 the CEDC retreat scheduled for November 8. 2006. at the offices of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. Chair Brown reminded all members of the CEDC annual goal setting retreat to be held at BAHEP's offices on Wednesday, November 8 from 8 a.m. until noon. BAHEP will provide breakfast and lunch at the retreat. 8. Reports. Kirk Lippert reported on a Planning and Zoning meeting that he attended. He said the meeting lasted only fifteen minutes and most of the items on the agenda were tabled until the next meeting. Gwen Griffin gave a marketing report and an overview of some of the collateral materials, articles, postcards, and opinion/editorial pieces that were previously created over the past few years. She stated that the third quarter e-newsletter was finalized and is presently working on the agenda for the Broker Day event. Laura Ewing announced several events including the October 28 CAB semi-annual clean-up, and a meeting on November 1 of the Clear Creek Nature and Tourism Council. Don Gartman spoke about the new Galveston County Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Don said that Susan Moore of the SBDC is currently working with about 52 small business clients. Karen Capps reported on the Broker event stating that about 500 invitations had been mailed out to Houston area brokers, developers, and prospects. So far, there were about thirteen RSVPs. A reminder will be sent out via email next week about the event. She also reported on the status of the Whitcomb property stating that the property is under contract by Eclipse Development Group, a development group from Irvine, California. Eclipse has hired an architect firm to theme and brand the 134-acre tract and hired a broker from The Woodlands to secure tenants for the project. Several prospective tenants have toured the city and the project site. The project is now being called "The Falls of Friendswood" by the development group. The developer is still negotiating with the Galloway School for the acquisition of the extension of Blackhawk Boulevard. Ms. Capps also reported on a 120-acre medical campus she is working on with a medical clinic prospect that wants to locate in the city. The medical campus could include a 60,000-80,000 sq. ft. clinic with various ancillary uses proposed such as a small community hospital, wellness clinic, and an independent senior living component. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 10 a.m.