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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2014-12-06 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes December 6, 2014 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 8:30 a.m., in the community room of the AMOCO Federal Credit Union, 235 E. Parkwood Avenue, Friendswood, Texas, with the following members present: Chair Pauline Moore, Brett Banfield, Mark Conrad, Skip Evans, Marcus Perry, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were City Councilmember Carl Gustafson, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Executive Director of Special Initiatives Dan Seal, and Galveston County Economic Alliance President, Bix Rathburn. Absent from the meeting were Tony Annan, Jeremy Magnuson, and Bill Provenzano. Staff members present were Karen Capps, Morad Kabiri, and Roger Roecker. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:36 a.m. 2. Discussion with City Council regarding planning, and goal setting for the City of Friendswood. The CEDC and City Council met to discuss economic development priorities in the city. The meeting was facilitated by Joe Gonzalez. The CEDC presented a draft economic development policy to City Council. Brett Banfield gave an overview of the proposed policy that includes six strategies: 1) diversify the tax base; 2) support for infrastructure; 3) marketing and communications; 4) incentives, funding and resources; 5) strengthen partnerships; and 6) economic development performance management. The committee stated that for the economic development plan to move forward and be successful, it needs to be resourced with revenue. It was reiterated that without a revenue stream, there is no way to advance the economic development plan. Funding sources for economic development were also discussed including the Type B sales tax to help spur economic development. Some of the funding needs were discussed such as downtown pedestrian and aesthetic improvements, roads, i.e. Brittany Bay and Blackhawk extension, water, sewer, regional detention, and incentives for project. The CEDC reminded City Council that in the 2013 Citizen Survey, residents stated they would support spending tax dollars to help renovate the city's downtown district. Residents also stated they supported diversifying the tax base and indicated they wanted to see more businesses and restaurants in the community. City Council inquired about barriers to economic development. Karen Capps stated the 77546 zip code is a barrier as it allows businesses outside the city limits to identify themselves as Friendswood, so when recruiting, some of these businesses think they are locating in Friendswood around Interstate 45. Other barriers cited were lack of infrastructure to commercial properties, land cost, size, zoning, and availability, location, and available buildings for lease or purchase. City Council asked for the economic development policy to be placed on their January 2015 agenda for consideration and approval. Councilmember McGinnis asked for a resolution to declare 2015 as the Year of the Business. 3. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11:12 a.m.