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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2011-08-03 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes August 3, 2011 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 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, Tony Annan, Brett Banfield, Kirk Lippert, Jeremy Magnuson, Pauline Moore, Bill Provenzano, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Marcantel, Galveston County Economic Alliance President Don Gartman, and Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Marketing Director Barbara Cutsinger. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Absent from the meeting was Mark Conrad. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:37 with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Kirk Lippert made a motion to approve the August 3, 2011 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Brett Hilmar Zeissig and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action, but not limited to the Community and Economic Development Committee's 2010-11 goals and action items. After reviewing samples of other cities and EDC's Facebook pages, the CEDC would like to move forward with CEDC pages on both Facebook and Linkedin. The committee reviewed and discussed the draft 2011-12 Marketing and Strategic Plans for economic development. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to approve the plans. Tony Annan added two action items under the Diversify the Tax Base strategy: Seek feedback from commercial developers and brokers about the pros and cons of doing business in the city, and meet with brokers and developers who own or represent commercial sites in the city to seek feedback. Brett Banfield made a motion to approve with revisions. The motion was seconded by Bill Provenzano and it passed unanimously in the committee. Marketing and advertising was discussed. Karen Capps reported that the New Business Guide is in the proofreading stage. New banners for City Hall and also economic development tradeshow banners will be designed and purchased. Street pole banners were discussed. Karen Capps reported that she met with Keep Friendswood Beautiful about new street pole banners for the city and the downtown district that would replace the existing banners. Online ads are on the Friendswood and Pearland Journal and the Bay Area Citizen. The committee discussed having an economic development video done that could go on the website and facebook page. The 9ch Annual Broker and Developer Day will be held at Timber Creek Golf Course on Thursday, October 20. Texas A&M Research Economist, Dr. Harold Hunt, will be the featured speaker. A Save the date will be sent at the end of the month. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding the Chapter 380 Municipal Grant Program. The committee reviewed the target market list regarding NAICS Code 52 Finance and Insurance (Headquarters Only) and clarified that banks and insurance branches would not qualify for the municipal grant, only corporate headquarters of this industry. No action was necessary since the target market list already reflects this. 6. Reports: Planning and Zoning Jim Gibson reported that P&Z approved a new plat for Sterling Creek which includes 90 lots. The PUD process was also discussed regarding simplifying it with an initial step that would include the SUP request along with a conceptual plan. City Council Mike Barker said that City Council is currently working on the budget. Billy Enochs asked the committee about their thoughts about the recent rezoning applicant involving the soccer venue. The committee acknowledged that Friendswood's PUD process was no different than other cities, however there was consensus that a more simplified PUD process could prove helpful due to the time and expense incurred with PUDs. Chamber Carol Jones said the Chamber is looking for golfers for the October 20 golf tournament. Representative Larry Taylor will speak at the Chamber's general membership luncheon on Thursday, September 1. Galveston County Economic Alliance Don Gartman reported on the $60 million Simon Properties-Tanger Outlet Mall that will be located on I-45 at Hughes road in Texas City. When complete, there will be approximately 90 to 100 shops at the outlet mall. Construction should begin in the fall of this year. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Dan Seal reported that BAHEP will host an event on September 22 with the area school districts' superintendents to discuss the impact of the legislature on school districts. Dan also reported that he spoke at the Commercial Real Estate Network luncheon with the message that NASA-JSC is not closing. He said that NASA contractors have reported about 2,000 job losses and there could be another 1,800 to 2,000 more. However, if you look at the larger picture many of these engineers will be scooped up by the specialty chemical industries in this area. Ellington Field is now being called Ellington International Airport since it has a new status as a U.S. customs clearance center where international passengers and air cargo can be cleared. In 2005, Ellington only employed around 500 but this year the total will be approximately 7,000 employees. The CEDC thought this would be useful information to include at the broker event. City Staff Karen Capps reported that she and Bill Provenzano attended the Commercial Real Estate Network luncheon as guests of City Councilmember Brown. Next week, the Mayors of Pearland, Alvin, and Friendswood are speaking at the monthly PAF Realtor luncheon at Golf Crest Country Club. 7. Adiournment. The meeting was adjourned at 10:37 am.