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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2015-02-04 RegularFriendswood Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes February 4, 2015 The Friendswood Community and Economic Development Committee met on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 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: Vice Chair Tony Annan, Brett Banfield, Mark Conrad, Jeremy Magnuson, Bill Provenzano, and Dr. Hilmar Zeissig. Liaisons present were City Councilmember Carl Gustafson, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Executive Director of Special Initiatives Dan Seal, Planning and Zoning Commissioner David O'Farrell, and President of the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce Carol Marcantel. Absent from the meeting were Skip Evans, Pauline Moore, and Marcus Perry. Staff member present was Karen Capps. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:34 a.m. 2. Roll call was made. There was a quorum. 3. Approval of Minutes. Hilmar Zeissig made a motion to approve the December 6, 2014 and January 7, 2015 meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Mark Conrad and passed unanimously in the committee. 4. Discussion and possible action regarding: CEDC Goals and Objectives for 2015 The CEDC will review the ED Policy and prioritize goals for this year. Implementation of the Economic Development Policy The committee discussed the joint work session with City Council that was held on February 2. Hilmar and Marcus will work on a process for CEDC to provide a recommendation on downzoning (rezoning from commercial to non-commercial use). Hilmar will work with Karen to draft a one page impact statement form. It was reported that Chair Pauline Moore attended a recent Planning and Zoning meeting to provide a report on the newly adopted ED Policy. A copy of the policy was emailed to planning staff to forward to the Commission. Prioritizing list of funding needs for economic development Karen will email the list for CEDC to prioritize. Tony Annan stated that he would like to review whether impact fees should be raised rather than an increase in sales tax. Year of the Business Karen reported that Bill Provenzano met with the Friendswood Chamber's board of directors and gave a report on the newly adopted ED Policy and Year of the Business. A joint City/Chamber business reception is being planned for April 23. 5. Reports: City Council Councilmember Gustafson said that it was great to see good attendance by committee members at Monday's work session with CEDC and thanked the volunteers for their hard work. Friendswood Chamber of Commerce Carol Marcantel stated there is a Chamber monthly luncheon this week with Chief Wieners as the speaker. The State of the City will be held on March 5 and the Annual Golf Tournament will be held on October 8. Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership BAHEP is entering the year with a full funnel of leads and prospects but they are assessing the effect of lower oil prices on current projects and how they may affect projects in the immediate future. With $50 per barrel of oil and the lower cost of natural gas, it should be a slight benefit to the specialty chemical companies in southeast Harris County which use lower cost natural gas as a feed stock. BAHEP is getting ready advocacy efforts in Austin during the 84th Texas State Legislature. The legislative agenda items include, but are not limited to education, transportation, franchise tax reform, maritime job preservation, storm surge protection, spaceport redevelopment authority, and Ellington join reserve base authorization. BAHEP enjoyed a successful Quasar Banquet in January which featured Dr. Bill Merrell, TAMU — Galveston, as the award recipient. Friendswood elected officials were in attendance and supported the event. 6. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:06 a.m.