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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2010-09-01 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes September 1, 2010 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, at 8:30 a.m., in the second floor conference room of City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Chair Skip Evans, Vice Chair Pauline Moore, Brett Banfield, Mark Conrad, Kirk Lippert, Jeremy Magnuson, Bill Provenzano, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Executive Director of Special Projects Dan Seal., Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jim Gibson, Clear Creek ISD's Coordinator of External Affairs Eva deCardenas, and Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Jones. Also present was Jeff Newpher of the Friendswood Journal. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Absent from the meeting was Cody Owen. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:30 with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call and introductions were made to new member Jeremy Magnuson. 3. Approval of Minutes. Bill Provenzano made a motion to approve the August 4, 2010 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Kirk Lippert and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action, but not limited to the Community and Economic Development Committee's 2009-10 goals and action items. A. Retail/Restaurant Attraction Kirk Lippert reported on a restaurant prospect that he and Karen Capps visited two weeks ago that has interest in Friendswood. Kirk also reported on a Greater Houston Restaurant Association event that he attended in Houston where he was able to network and provide information about restaurant opportunities in Friendswood to attendees. B. Communications and Marketing -Live Here Work Here campaign, community video, and business testimonials Karen Capps is working on the 3rd quarter's LHWH story which will feature Robin Hall, owner of VARC Solutions. Friendswood ISD's videographer, Joe Perez, will audiotape the featured business owner to use on the City's website and will also be embedded in the e- newsletter. -811 Annual Broker and Developer Day A "Save the Date" for the event was emailed and also announced at the Bay Area Commercial Real Estate Networking luncheon that was held on August 19. Shirts for CEDC members will be ordered for those who are new members or need a new one. Dr. Bill Gilmer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Bob Mitchell, President of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership will be the featured speakers. CenterPoint Energy will provide a $500 sponsorship for the event. Invitations will be printed and mailed. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding the City's business target market list. This item was not discussed due to time. 6. Reports: Liaisons Planning and Zoning Jim Gibson reported that P&Z denied the site plan for the proposed hotel. Also reported were the proposed changes to the site plan and platting process. Clear Creek ISD Eva deCardenas reported that CCISD's tax rate for the 2010-11 budget will remain at $1.36 but the average homeowner's tax bill will fall from $2,078 to $2,050. Operating expenditures have been reduced by $9 million with an adopted budget of $288 million. Gwen Cash, a teacher at Clear Creek High School was named Texas History Teacher of the Year. During the month of September, CCISD is celebrating its new Exemplary status that was earned by the TEA. CCISD is one of the largest districts in the state to earn the Exemplary rating. Eva also reported that the new Education Village just opened and invited everyone to tour the campuses. Friendswood Chamber Carol Jones reported that the Chamber's monthly luncheon will be held tomorrow at the Green Event Center in Friendswood and Jeff Mickler of Jacob White Construction Company will be the speaker. The Chamber will hold a barbecue fundraiser on September 21 and the 13th annual golf tournament will be held on October 19. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Dan Seal reported on the status of the NASA funding bill stating that Congress is on break and consideration of the companion House and Senate bills to reinstate NASA's funding might not be addressed until after the November election. This could result in more lay- offs for the short term basis. Dan also reported on the IEDC Federal Team visit that he and Karen Capps participated in. BAHEP will host an Economic Development 101 class in the afternoon on September 21 for elected officials. City Staff Karen Capps reported that the annual CEDC planning retreat will be held on Wednesday, November 3 and is still looking for a facilitator. She also reported that CC will consider the 2010-11 annual budget on their September 13 agenda. There is also an item on the agenda that includes a budget transfer from economic development contract services to the IT budget to update the City's website, which is something the CEDC has requested for the last two years. 7. Adiournment. The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 am.