Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2009-03-04 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes March 4, 2009 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 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 Brett Banfield, Kirk Lippert, Donald "Skip" Evans, Bill Provenzano, Troy Waters, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were Planning and Zoning Commissioner David O'Farrell, Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Jones, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership representative Dan Seal, Friendswood Independent School District Superintendent Trish Hanks and School Board liaison Denise Ruiz, and Clear Creek Independent School District liaison Eva -Marie deCardenas. Also present was Friendswood resident and Community Appearance Board member Lisa Ramsey. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Absent from the meeting were Pauline Moore and Cody Owen. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:04 with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call and introductions were made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Kirk Lippert made a motion to approve the February 11, 2009 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Skip Evans and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action regarding amending the City's tax abatement program and guidelines. Bill Provenzano made a motion to approve the proposed tax abatement guidelines with new provisions for green building development. The motion was seconded by Kirk Lippert and passed unanimously in the committee. The next step will be for the City Attorney to review and proceed with a joint work session with City Council. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding planning for an annual goal setting retreat. The CEDC discussed changing the proposed date of the CEDC retreat in April to Wednesday, April 1 at the Friendswood Public Library. Friendswood resident, Suzie Fleming, will facilitate the meeting. 6. 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. Business Recruitment Karen Capps reported that if though there is an economic downturn, there continues to be strong business development interest in Friendswood. Most developments that are owner -occupied are moving forward. B. Business retention and expansion The CEDC toured Jacob White Construction Company on February 18 along with City senior staff. Some of the CEDC members also attended Jeff Mickler's open house on February 24. C. Incentives This was discussed under item 4 7. Reports: A. Planning and Zoning David O'Farrell said that things had slowed for P&Z resulting in scheduled meetings being cancelled. B. Liaisons Trish Hanks reported that Cole Cragin made the new national record at the state swim meet in Austin. FISD's Academic Decathalon team came in 3rd place in San Antonio. Concrete was poured at the new Junior High site and construction for the high school is currently being bid out. She also reported that students took the TAKS test yesterday and the Education Foundation sold out of tickets for the annual banquet that will b held on March 6. Eva -Marie Cardenas said that there were I I I legislative bills filed pertaining to education and CCISD are following many of the ills to see how they may affect future funding or possibly other mandates. There is a board election on May 9 with three seats open. Carol Jones announced that the Chamber's board room is available to members for a small fee. The Chamber's monthly luncheon will be held this Thursday. The speaker is from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Work is being done to prepare for the April 18 FIG Festival. The goal is to have entries from at least 200 classic cars. Dan Seal said that BAHEP has a full pipeline of projects. BAHEP is moving at the end of April into their temporary office space at UHCL. Their permanent offices will be ready this fall. Eighty-three travelers are in Austin this week for Space Week. The objective is to advocate NASA and the space program to be fully funded, and to advocate the Texas Aerospace Scholars Program and the Technology Outreach program. The next general membership meeting will feature Dr. David Callendar of UTMB. Oceaneering received the contract for space suits that will create about 300 new jobs and be a multi- year project. The average paying jobs are between $80-85,000. C. Marketing Karen Capps reported that a new billboard would be placed on FM 2351 close to Blackhawk Boulevard. The owners of the billboard are providing the billboard free of charge to the city, however there will be a cost for creative design for the billboard. Hilmar Zeissig stated that he voted against the first billboard and also opposes the second billboard because he believes all billboards should be removed since they are aesthetically unappealing and contribute to blight in a city. D. City Staff Karen Capps reported on the groundbreaking of Peterson Plantation Plaza, Parkwood Vision Center, and Park Plaza. She reported working with several businesses that are looking for property or lease space in the city. Several businesses have also come in through the weekly DRCs. Also reported was that a letter was received from EDA inviting the City to apply for a grant that she has been working on since late November to fund the FM 2351-Beamer Phase I water and sanitary sewer line project. A supplemental application is being prepared to submit to EDA. She also reported on Judge Yarbrough's recent report on the state of Galveston County at the Galveston County Economic Alliance's board meeting. 8. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:47 am.