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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2006-11-12 RegularCommunity and Economic Development Committee Minutes November 12, 2006 The Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, November 12, 2006, at 2 p.m., at 3354 Prince George Dr., Friendswood, Texas 77546, with the following members present: Deirdre Carey Brown, Chair; Kirk Lippert, Vice Chair; Karin Massicott, Jon Olansen, and Bill Provenzano. Absent from the meeting were Ed Sebesta, Jamie Ballard, Pauline Moore, Hilmar Zeissig, Karen Capps, CEcD; Hon. Laura Ewing, City Council Liaison; Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Liaison, City of Friendswood Planning and Zoning Liaison, CCISD Liaison, and FISD Liaison. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 2:15 p.m. 2. Discussion to prepare for meeting with City Council. This meeting was a working meeting to further outline specific objectives for the coming year and the workshop with City Council. The meeting was noticed out of an abundance of caution in the event that a quorum was present. The meeting was not a regularly scheduled meeting. Ms. Brown indicated that Mayor Smith requested the workshop be pushed from November 20, 2006 to December 4, 2006. A discussion was had outlining the accomplishments of the prior year; the current applicability of Vision 2020 and obtaining City Council's feedback on Vision 2020; and, specific objectives of each subcommittee. Ms. Brown and Mr. Olansen will work on reformatting the "Why Now" PowerPoint presentation and the PowerPoint presentation used at the Broker Event for a general overview of economic development which will be presented to City Council at the workshop. Mr. Olansen will work on designing a graphic of the "portfolio idea" in the design of a tree for use with the PowerPoint presentation. Ms. Brown stated she will provide a written report from the Chair to City Council with the focus at the workshop being to work with City Council to define short term goals and long term objectives. The emphasis of the workshop must recognize that the CEDC is to provide support for Karen Capps, City Council, and the public. Ms. Brown stated that she believed it advisable to recommend to City Council that a Town Hall meeting on economic development be scheduled. The Town Hall meeting idea was mentioned in the CEDC minutes from prior years, and there are multiple public comments in City Council minutes suggesting there is a disconnect with the public regarding economic development. Ms. Brown stated that she spoke with the Economic Development Coordinator from The City of Farmers Branch who would be willing to speak in Friendswood. The City of Farmers Branch received a number of awards for its tax structure whereby amounts collected in excess of the City's needs are returned to property owners. Friendswood's recent refund was patterned, in part, after the City of Farmers Branch. The City of Farmers Branch has a number of companies that helps diversify its tax base and has had little population growth over the past 20 years, as compared to Friendswood. Mr. Lippert stated he will review past records for a target list of businesses by NAICS codes and follow up with a contact that he has to obtain a list of "power brokers" in the Friendswood area in order to help identify spheres of influence. Mr. Lippert provided an overview of the past year. He also recommended a text he has on Texas Economic Development. He will provide a copy of the book. Ms. Massicott will follow up with Barbara Cutsinger, at BAHEP, to get information on the Bay Area Brokers meeting held monthly and any other events that CEDC members should attend to help market Friendswood, as well as to obtain a copy of the survey used by BAHEP to get feedback on the process of setting up their business. Ms. Massicott and/or Ms. Brown will discuss public relations efforts with Nick Haby, Assistant City Manager, in order not to duplicate efforts and/or recommendations. A copy of a preliminary map showing tax exempt land was viewed and Ms. Brown stated that some of the tax exempt parcels were not properly reflected on the map. Although tax exempt land was estimated to be 8%, it is believed that the actual percentage will be higher. Ms. Brown stated that she understood that the Planning & Zoning Committee will ask for the preliminary map to be reviewed and updated. A discussion was also had on the Beamer Sewer project and the best and highest use of the property in the panhandle. In addition, it was noted that there is some potential land that the City may want to annex. A discussion was had regarding annex issues, and the potential that a separate committee be established if that is an avenue the City Council wants to continue. 3. Adiournment. The meeting was concluded at 4:15 p.m.