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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDC Minutes 2021-02-03 RegularCITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021 - 3:30 PM Minutes MINUTES OF A FRIENDSWOOD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, STATE OF TEXAS CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS FEBRUARY 3, 2021 1. Call to Order MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE THAT WAS HELD ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021, AT 3:30 PM AT 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM; VICE CHAIR JENNIFER WHITLEY COMMITTEE MEMBER SUSAN ASIMAKIS COMMITTEE MEMBER PAULINE MOORE (VIA PHONE) COMMITTEE MEMBER BLAISE GUZZETTA (VIA PHONE) ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER STEVEN RHEA DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUBREY HARBIN 2. Communications from the Public None 3. Approval of Minutes A. January 6, 2021 Blaise Guzzetta motioned to approve the January 6, 2021, meeting minutes, seconded by Pauline Moore. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Discussion and Possible Actions A. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Motion to nominate Jennifer Whitley for Chair: Guzzetta Second: Moore Vote: 4 to 0 Motion to nominate Blaise Guzzetta for Vice Chair: Moore Second: Whitley Vote: 4 to 0 B. Pandemic Plan Steven Rhea provided a history explaining that when the pandemic first started, the mayor formed an ad hoc committee which was tasked with what could be done to assist businesses. Ultimately, it was determined that City resources were not adequate. Instead, the City would help funnel information from the state and federal levels. The ad hoc committee was disbanded shortly thereafter. Businesses have faired well. Susan stated that having dashboard of information at the beginning of the pandemic was helpful and necessary, but now we have a new normal; how do we deal with these issues? Jennifer asked about the population being capped at 50,000 population. Steven explained that is a threshold for cities that require a city to take over FM road traffic lights and other requirements. The city would need a tax base to support those services. Jennifer asked how we monitor thru traffic. Steven explained that we use TxDOT traffic counts and that intersections provide for retail opportunities. Jennifer asked for a map showing revenue per intersection. Susan suggested hubs and asked for a complete list of business and companies/sectors. She explained that knowing what types of businesses are here would help to identity strengths and weaknesses and also provide some insight as to what types of companies we need to attract such as tech companies. Jennifer stated that construction costs have increased and asked if they can develop a policy to help tenants and smaller businesses. Susan suggested disaster assistance, but Steven explained that there are other sources of funding for that. Jennifer suggested sponsoring celebrating national days on social media to help support local businesses. The first one will be Donut Day on the first Friday in June. Steven explained that a committee member who wants to coordinate marketing efforts can work with Katy Blanchard, City Manager's Office. Jennifer stated that it is beneficial for liaisons of other committees and boards to come to this meeting and beneficial for this committee to attend other meetings. 5. Reports 6. Comments Jennifer Whitley recommended moving meeting times to 4pm rather than 3pm. Staff will place this item on a future agenda for discussion and action. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 4:37 PM.