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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_GEDCO_11.01.2005Minutes Georgetown Economic Development Corporation City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, November 1, 2005 The Georgetown Economic Development Corporation met on Tuesday, November 1, 2005 at 2:00 p m in the City Council Chambers located at the northeast corner of Seventh and Main Streets, Georgetown, Texas. The Meeting was called to order at 2:00 p m Members Present: Ron Shelly, Henry Carr, Ben Oliver, Rick Smith, Farley Snell Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager, Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Administration, Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director, Shirley J. Rinn, Deputy City Secretary, Trish Carls, City Attorney A. Consideration and approval of the minutes from the Regular Board Meeting held Monday, July 18, 2005 - Farley Snell, Secretary Motion by Oliver, Second by Carr to approve the minutes from the Regular Board Meeting held Monday, July 18, 2005. Approved 5-0. B. Discussion and possible action with regard to the presentation and review of Bylaws for the Georgetown Economic Development Corporation -- Micki Rundell and Paul E. Brandenburg Shelly opened the item and went over some guidelines for approving the bylaws. Motion by Carr, Second by Oliver, to approve bylaws and to open discussion to go through the bylaws section by section for any recommendations for any amendments to the original motion. Rundell explained the draft bylaws. She told them that she started with the GI hC bylaws and took feedback from the board to come up with a draft. She told the board that she incorporated some things from bylaws from other 4A Corporations. There was clarification that if there were substantial changes to a section there would be a motion to amend the original motion. Each section of the proposed Bylaws were amended as follows: Article 1, Section 1.01 Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 1 of 9 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.01 There was discussion regarding when the lots can be drawn for board members. There were no substantial changes to this Section. In the first paragraph, the word "preferable" was changed to "preferably". In the second paragraph, the word "provide" was changed to "provided". Article II, Section 2.02 There was discussion regarding resignations and who needed to receive the official notification. There were no substantial changes to this Section. The words "of the Board" were added after "the secretary" in the second sentence of the paragraph. Article II, Section 2.03 There was discussion regarding the regular meeting time and place for the Board and whether or not the Board needed to meet every month. Motion by Carr, Second by Snell to amend the language of this section. Approved 4-1 (Snell opposed) Further discussion regarding meeting criteria. Motion by Oliver, Second by Carr to approve this section as amended. Approved 5-0. The Section was amended as follows: Section 2.03 REGULAR MEETING; PLACE OF MEETING Regular meetings of the Board shall be held on the third Monday of the month, at the City Council Chambers, starting at 2:00 PM. The President of the Board may cancel the meeting if there is no business to be conducted. All meetings shall be called and held in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, as amended. Article II, Section2.04 Discussion regarding criteria for calling a meeting. There were no substantial revisions to this Section. "City Secretary" was changed to ' Secretary of the Board". Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 2 of 9 Article II, Section 2.05 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.06 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.07 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.08 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.09 There were no changes in this section. Article II, Section 2.10 There was discussion regarding the Economic Development Corporation of 1979 and how it would most likely be amended by the Legislature in the future There was also a lengthy in depth discussion regarding the intent of this section, the purpose of the Corporation, and the definition of a project under the Act. The Board also discussed the need for the City to have a strategy for economic development. Rundell went over the changes outlined in the discussion. Motion by Carr, Second by Smith to approve the amendments as read. Approved 5-0 This Section was amended as follows: Section 2.10 PURPOSE AND POWERS The Corporation is incorporated as a non-profit Corporation for the purposes set forth in the Articles acting on behalf of the City of Georgetown, Texas (the "City') as its duly constituted authority and instrumentality in accordance with the Texas Development Corporation Act of 1979, Article 5190.6, Section 4A Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat., Ann., as amended, (the "Act" and as the Act may be amended from time to time), and all other applicable laws, from which it derives its powers. [The current "Act" as attached is Appendix A of these Bylaws.] The purpose of the Corporation is to consider requests and grant funds for projects authorized under Section 2 (11)(A) and Section 4A(i) of the Act, as amended by Texas House Bill 2912, 78th Legislature, Regular Session (2003) and as the Act may be amended from time to time. [See Appendix A of these By -Laws], and as delineated in Georgetown City Council Resolution 121404-JJ [Appendix B] All proposals shall be submitted to the General Manager for general and financial review prior to consideration by the Board. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 3 of 9 In addition to the powers conferred by these bylaws, the Board may exercise all powers of the Corporation and do all lawful acts and things that are not prohibited by statute, or the election held on May 7, 2005, or these bylaws including, but not limited to the following: 1. Develop policies and operating procedures that do not conflict with any City policy. 2. Undertake actions and projects which are determined by the Board to lead to the creation or retention of primary jobs and/or provide significant capital investment and which benefit the community of Georgetown. 3. The Corporation may, in pursuing its purposes as stated in this section: • Acquire or lease property (land or buildings) within the City or ETJ • Negotiate market discounted land agreements with developers or landowners • Plan, develop, improve and sell or lease land • Build or rehabilitate buildings • Provide funding for or to develop infrastructure • Make secured or unsecured loans or loan guarantees • Provide direct grants to businesses • Borrow funds and issue bonds • Develop and implement financial/incentive programs to attract and retain business • Market and promote the city and amenities consistent with the purposes and duties as set forth in the Bylaws 4. Develop long-range goals and programs for the Corporation. 5. Appoint standing or ad hoc committees, which may include City staff and/or individuals who are not members of the Board. The Corporation shall be a non-profit Corporation as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the applicable regulations of the United States prescribed and promulgated there under. Article III, Section 3.01 There were no changes in this section. Article III, Section 3.02 Discussion regarding what the term "annual meeting" indicated. It was clarified that the corporation has to meet at least once a year. There were no changes in this section. Article III, Section 3.03 There were no changes in this section. Article III, Section 3.04 There were no changes in this section. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 4 of 9 Article III, Section 3.05 There were no changes in this section. There was discussion among the Board that the Secretary should be sure to review the minutes prior to the meeting. Article III, Section 3.06 There were no substantial changes to this section. The word "Ethic" was changed to ` Ethics" in the first paragraph. Article III, Section 3.07 There were no substantial changes in this section. The word "request" was changed to ` requests" Article III, Section 3.08 Discussion regarding the City's budget process and how the City allocates 4A dollars to city staff and other resources. Further discussion regarding the Interlocal Agreement and clarification of its purpose. There were no changes in this section. Article III, Section 3.09 There were no changes m this section. Article IV Clarification whether or not a corporate seal is required. There were no changes in this section. Article V There were no changes in this section. Article VI, Section 6.01 There were no substantial changes to this Section. The word "general" in second line of first paragraph was removed. There was some discussion regarding paragraph 2 in this section and clarification as to who the Corporation can employ to carry out needed programs of the Corporation. Article VI, Section 6.02 Rundell described the duties of the Finance Manager. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 5 of 9 There were no changes in this section. Article VI, Section 6.03 Discussion regarding the purpose of an ex-officio member's, as well as discussion regarding whether or not the Economic Development Director should be an ex-officio member. Discussion regarding the setup on GTEC and how staff members are utilized by the Board. There were no changes in this section. Article VI, Section 6.04 Discussion as to how the Economic Development Director will participate in the meetings. There were no changes in this section. Additional discussion regarding who can attend executive sessions and it was clarified that the Board could meet in executive session without staff being present. Article VI, Section 6.05 There were no substantial changes to this Section. There was a clarification regarding the Annual Report process is prepared by an external auditor, and the word "financial" was inserted between the words "annual" and report" in subsection (2). Article VI, Section 6.06 Discussion regarding how the budget of the corporation will be set up, and how unanticipated projects will be accounted for in the budget. Additional discussion regarding how cash reserves can be spent each year on projects, as well as the procedure for borrowing money for projects. There was clarification that the amount of the debt service cannot exceed 50% of the Board's debt capacity. There was clarification that the Corporation's funding capacity will balance between the various types of projects, with none of the categories receiving more than 50% of the total bonding capacity. (*As corrected by Farley Snell) There was further discussion regarding the use of the Board's cash reserves vs. the Board's bonding capacity for funding both industrial and commercial projects. There was also clarification that the Board will report all of its recommendations to the City Council, both negative and positive. There was clarification that the City Council could not overrule a negative recommendation of the Board to expend 4A dollars on a project without Board approval. However, the City Council does have the ability to vote against a positive recommendation of the Board to expend 4A dollars on a project. There was additional discussion regarding the need to do strategic planning to make investments for future job creation. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 6 of 9 There was clarification the language in 6.06 is the same language that is in the City Council Resolution. There was also an in depth discussion about the limitations of the ballot language and the language in the Resolution. There was additional discussion regarding whether or not the City Council could m the future amend the Resolution to change the current language if it wanted to. There was also an in depth discussion regarding whether or not the redevelopment industrial or commercial projects could be funded through the 4A Board. There was additional discussion regarding the requirements under the Act with regard to the procedure for the Board to determine the eligibility of projects for funding. They also discussed whether or not "legal finding" was the proper verbiage for the bylaws. The words "legal finding" were deleted and replaced by the words "specific determination" in the last paragraph of this section. Also, in the second paragraph of this section, "121204-JJ" was replaced with "121404-JJ", which is the correct Resolution number. Article VI, Section 6.07 There was an extensive discussion regarding the difference between debt capacity and cash reserves and how they relate to each other, the City's Fiscal & Budgetary Policy and its requirements, and the need for Performance Agreements The words "as amended annually (as attached Appendix C)' were inserted in the first paragraph of this section after ' City's Fiscal & budgetary Policy". The words "in Section 6.061 & 2" were inserted in subsection (1) of this Section between ' opportunities described" and "above". The word "remaining' was deleted before the words "total bonding capacity" in subsection (1) of this Section. Article VI, Section 6.08 There were no changes in this section. There was discussion regarding open records and meetings and how they impact economic development negotiations, as well as discussion regarding how information is disseminated to the Board for Executive Session. Article VI, Section 6.09 There were no changes in this section. Article VI, Section 6.10 There were no changes in this section. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 7 of 9 Article VI, Section 6.11 There were no changes in this section. Article VII, Section 7.01 There were no changes in this section. Article VII, Section 7.02 There were no changes in this section. Article VII, Section 7.03 There were no changes in this section. Article VII, Section 7.04 There were no changes in this section. Article VIII There were no changes in this section. Article VIII There were no changes in this section. Motion by Carr, Second by Oliver to direct staff to make the recommended changes to the Bylaws and bring them to the next meeting for approval. Approved 5-0. C. Update regarding the 2005/2006 4A Budget --Micki Rundell Rundell addressed the Board and described how the Budget for the Board is formulated. There was additional discussion regarding the contingency funds that are required to be set aside by the Board, and the purpose of those contingency funds. F. Set date for next Corporation meeting. There was a discussion regarding the items that the Board would like to have on the next agenda, including the Bylaws, the Interlocal Agreement, Budget and Term limits. The Board also told staff that it would like to at some point have a presentation from Mark Thomas regarding the Economic Development Process, including items such as "Where we are", "What we have done", "Who has funded projects", historical aspects of Economic Development in Georgetown, a current update on current projects, as well a an overall briefing on Economic Development Activities, including the framework for making strategic decisions about the commitment of resources from the Economic Development Director and the Economic Development Commission. Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 8 of 9 The Board would like to have its next meeting in December. Attest: Adjourned at 4:55pm Shirley Rinn , Iputy City Secretary Farley Snell, Secretary Minutes November 1, 2005 Georgetown Economic Development Corporation Page 9 of 9