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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2012-01-04 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes January 4, 2012 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 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, B r e tt B an f i e f d, M a rk C o n r a d, Kirk Lippert, Jeremy Magnuson, and Bill Provenzano. Liaisons present were Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Executive Director of Special Initiatives Dan Seal, Friendswood Chamber of Commerce President Carol Marcantel, Galveston County Economic Alliance President Don Gartman, and Clear Creek ISD representative Eva deCardenas. Absent from the meeting were Pauline Moore and Hilmar Zeissig. Staff member present was Karen Capps. Also present was Jeff Newpher of the Friendswood Journal. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:32 with a quorum present. 2. Roll Call. Roll call was made. 3. Approval of Minutes. Kirk Lippert made a motion to approve the December 7, 2011 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Brett Banfield and it passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action, but not limited to the Community and Economic Development Committee's strategic plan, goals, and action items. Karen Capps reported that the LHWH billboard was taken down and she will check on when the space will be available again. The new business guide and pocket folder were provided to all members. Copies of the new business guide have been provided to the Friendswood Chamber, Community Development Department, City Secretary's Office, and handed out to business prospects, and through Development Review Committee meetings. Karen Capps reported that she and Morad Kabiri are visiting businesses who have recently received their certificate of occupancy and have had commercial build -out, alteration, or new construction. The business owner is asked what the City could do better to improve their development process. So far, all feedback from business owners/reps has been positive. Starting this year, the e-news will be printed quarterly in a local newspaper. Committee goals were discussed. A committee member inquired about the applicability and validity of Vision 2020. The purpose and outcome of Vision 2020 and its update were discussed. The committee asked for staff to send out Vision 2020 and the UHCL update to review at next month's meeting. 5. Reports: CCISD Eva deCardenas reported that the CCISD board will hold a workshop to hear recommendations from an advisory committee regarding possible recommendations for changes to elementary and middle school boundaries. The 2012-13 new school year start date will be August 27, 2012. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Dan Seal reported that the Greater Houston Partnership reported that 85,000 new jobs were created in the Houston region in 2011. He also reported that 3,800 NASA -related positions were lost in the region, 800 of those jobs were from the shuttle retirement which left 3,000 jobs to be replaced, and 1,000 have already found jobs in the region. Keeping the intellectual capital and talent pool here is good news. BAHEP is celebrating 35 years of existence and is seeing the region much more diversified. BAHEP's annual banquet/gala will be held on January 20 and is honoring Senator John Comyn. NASA is looking at more ways to partners with businesses and received a $30 million grant for underwater helicopter crash training. Embry Riddle should open in Fall 2012. Galveston County Economic Alliance Don Gartman reported that he has been working with Eastman Chemical who recently purchased the old Sterling Chemical plant. He has also been working with Budweiser who is moving their plant to Texas City. Don also gave an update of Small business Development Center projects. City Staff Karen Capps gave an update on prospects. 6. Adjournment. Mark Conrad made a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Jeremy Magnuson. The meeting adjourned at 10:29 am.