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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2008-08-06 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes August 6, 2008 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, August 6, 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: Chair Jamie Ballard, Vice Chair Brett Banfield, Claude McEwen, Bill Provenzano, and Troy Waters. Liaisons present were City Councilmember Mike Barker, Friendswood Chamber President Carol Jones, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership representative Dan Seal, Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Kevin Holland, and Griffin Integrated Marketing representative Deanna Wilke. Also present were Planning and Zoning Commission members David O'Farrell and Jim Gibson (arrived at 9:45 am). Staff member present was Karen Capps. Absent from the meeting were Kirk Lippert, Pauline Moore, Cody Owen and Hilmar Zeissig. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:13 with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Brett Banfield made a motion to approve the July 2, 2008 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Bill Provenzano and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action, but not limited to the following goals and action items to be included in the Community and Economic Development Committee's 2008-09 strategic plan. A. Mission statement — Chair Ballard reported that he has worked on several draft mission statements that would support economic development but also the quality of life services in the city. The committee asked that the current and proposed mission statements be emailed to the committee for review prior to next month's meeting. B. Business recruitment — Vice Chair Brett Banfield reported that he received another inquiry from a Friendswood resident about relocating their business to Friendswood. Brett stated that he is still researching the corporate relocation program and incentives offered in other cities and regions. Some marketing campaigns were discussed including billboards and post card mail outs to Friendswood residents. Deanna Wilke will research the cost of a billboard on FM 2351. C. Business retention and expansion — Troy Waters asked for clarification on the business survey as the scope seemed to change and expand from previous discussions. Troy explained the original intent was to mail the current business retention survey to all businesses in Friendswood. The desired result is to reach out to a broader audience than the monthly business visits that the committee would be able to do monthly. The committee discussed limiting the mail survey to one page and identifying which businesses to mail the survey to. The committee would like to continue with business visits. D. Retail business — Karen Capps stated that she had previously emailed a draft Retail Opportunity Analysis Report to committee members. The report will be finalized and placed on the City's website. The report will be included in the next economic development e-newsletter. E. Incentives — This item was discussed under #5 below. 5. Presentation by Dan Seal of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership regarding tax abatement incentives. Dan Seal gave a presentation regarding tax abatement titled "Incentives Drive Economic Growth." Dan's presentation gave an overview of how tax abatement is used by municipalities, counties, or regions to create jobs, expand the property tax base, and boost tax revenues. The creation of new primary jobs helps stimulate investment in the community through purchases, suppliers, indirect jobs, etc. Incentives help provide a pro -business image of the community. 6. Discussion and possible action regarding possible amendments to the City's tax abatement program. Chair Ballard reported that he met with Vice Chair Brett Banfield, Cody Owen, and Karen Capps to discuss possible amendments to the City's tax abatement program. Several possible changes were discussed: 1) extending the abatement period from seven to ten years as allowed by state law, and 2) changing the abatement terms of the current sliding scale. It was suggested in the previous month's meeting to abate inventory. Karen Capps reported that inventory was not eligible under state law for tax abatement since these are items that are transported in and out of a location. Business personal property can be eligible if it is fixed equipment or machinery that has an economic life longer than the abatement period. Ms. Capps reported that inventory can qualify for Freeport tax exemption incentives. This item will be reviewed and further discussed at next month's meeting. 7. Discussion and possible action regarding proposed economic development slides for the City's municipal channel. Due to time, this item will be discussed at next month's meeting. 8. Reports: A. Planning and Zoning — P&Z commissioner David O'Farrell suggested that there should be follow up with commercial prospects that have had DRC meetings. Jim Gibson briefly discussed the special study areas on the City's future proposed land use plan. Commissioner Gibson asked the CEDC for assistance to define the land use terms for the special study areas. B. Liaisons — Carol Jones reported on the 11th Annual "Swing Into Fall" Golf Tournament that will be held along with the City's Broker/Developer Day on Thursday, November 6 at Timber Creek Golf Club. The Chamber is seeking sponsors for the event. Karen Capps asked CEDC members to rsvp whether they will attend the broker/developer day workshop and play golf at the tournament. Ms. Jones also said there is space available for participants in the 2008-09 Leadership Friendswood Class that will commence in the fall of this year. C. Marketing Deanna Wilke provided a marketing report regarding recent print media coverage. Ms. Wilke is helping plan the Broker/Developer Day and is drafting the third quarter e- newsletter. D. City Staff — Karen Capps reported that approximately 230 letters were sent to downtown property and business owners with the purpose of informing them of the new downtown incentives. Three downtown businesses called to discuss the new incentives. E. Project Status updates — Karen Capps gave a status report on incentive grant projects that had been approved by Council. 8. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:50 am.