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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2008-03-05 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes March 5, 2008 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 8:00 a.m., in the second floor conference room of City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Vice Chair Kirk Lippert, Brett Banfield, Claude McEwen, Bill Provenzano, Troy Waters, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were City Council liaison Andy Rivera, Planning and Zoning Chair Jim Gibson, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Mark McLean, Friendswood Chamber President Carol Jones, Griffin Integrated Marketing representative Deanna Wilke, and Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership representative Dan Seal. Also present were resident Brett Nichols, and Colleen O'Brien of the Friendswood Reporter News. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Absent from the meeting were Jamie Ballard and Ed Sebesta. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8: l 5 a.m. with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call and introductions were made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Brett Banfield moved to approve the January 9 and February 6, 2008 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Claude McEwen and passed unanimously by the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action regarding the following Action Item reports; including, but not limited to: A. Comprehensive Plan update Vice Chair Lippert reported on the February 18 joint work session with City Council and Planning and Zoning regarding the Comprehensive Plan. It was reported that the draft Comprehensive Plan lacks an economic development component with strategic goals. CEDC will work on creating an economic development strategic plan which will provide the framework for inclusion in other city decision making plans. B. Business visits No report. C. Annual Report from CEDC Chair to City Council Karen Capps reported that the CEDC retreat is scheduled for April 9 at BAHEP's offices. Suggestions were made regarding possible facilitators for the retreat. 5. Reports: A. Planning and Zoning — Jim Gibson reported on the changes made to the downtown district zoning requirements for sidewalks and a sidewalk fund alternative that is being implemented for streets that have no curb and gutter or cannot provide the sidewalks at the time of development. Also reported were recent changes made to the sign ordinance and at the March 13 P&Z meeting, FISD will discuss and present their school plans to P&Z. B. Liaisons — Dan Seal commended the Chamber on hosting Friendswood's annual State of the City luncheon. The Citizens for Space Exploration trip is scheduled for May 19-22 which advocates funding for NASA's budget. About 100 persons attend from different states. Councilmember Andy Rivera will attend. Dan said that about 300 visits with legislators are scheduled during the trip. Dan also reported on new activity in Ellington Field. The City of Houston has owned about 650 acres of undeveloped land since 1982 and is targeting aircraft manufacturers for the site. Harris County will be unrolling their five- year strategic plan they have been working on for two years. Domestic prospect activity has increased over the last few months along with more inquiries from China. Carol Jones reported that about 250 persons attended the State of the City luncheon the Chamber recently hosted. The date of the Chamber's monthly general membership luncheon is March 6. C. Marketing Deanna Wilke provided a marketing report. Articles regarding Jacob White's green building and the City's 3rd incentive grant press release were printed in several local and regional newspapers. Copies of articles regarding Buzbee's development and suspension of plans were also provided. D. City Staff No report. E. Project Status updates The committee discussed Buzbee Property Development's halting future development plans for downtown. Suggestions were made to interview investors/developers before, during and after the development process. Another suggestion was to appoint a senior staff member as a liaison for each project. Karen Capps reported that the city has a development coordinator position that is responsible for facilitating the prospect through the development process. Some committee members expressed concern regarding Buzbee's letter which stated that some City staff persons were rude. A suggestion was made to schedule a meeting with the City Manager to discuss the content in Buzbee's letter to address concerns regarding the development process and attitude of City staff. 9. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:55 am.