BASTROP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of Monthly Meeting, October 21, Main Street, Bastrop, Texas

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1 BASTROP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Minutes of Monthly Meeting, October 21, Main Street, Bastrop, Texas The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) met on Monday, October 21, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in the BEDC Boardroom at 903 Main Street for the Regular Monthly Meeting. Board members present were: Steve Mills, Gary Gutierrez, Gary Schiff, Pat Crawford, Dr. Neil Gurwitz, Mayor Terry Orr, and Mike Talbot (ex-officio). Board Member Willie DeLaRosa was absent. Staff members present: Dave Quinn, Angela Ryan, and JC Brown, BEDC Attorney. Others in attendance: Nancy Wood, Gene Kruppa, Merle Breiland, Carlos Liriano, Terry Hagerty, and Charisse Bodisch with the Austin Chamber of Commerce s Opportunity Austin. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Call to Order Steve Mills, Chairman of the Board, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Public Comments None. 3. Presentations Build it in Bastrop marketing video submitted to the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Mr. Quinn showed the three minute video that he had submitted to IEDC. BEDC won an award for best promotional video. 4. Announcements None. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S INFORMATIONAL UPDATE REPORT - Items for update, discussion and possible action: A. Meetings, Events and Travel attended/upcoming 1. Showcase Austin, October 10-12, 2013 Mr. Quinn attended Showcase Austin the previous weekend. He said there were about ten site selectors at the event, and he had the opportunity to speak with some of them at the networking events he attended. He said the two main things site selectors are looking for are how quickly businesses can get up and running in the region, and talent attraction/qualified workforce. 2. Texas Downtown Association, November 5-8, 2013 Mr. Quinn said the Texas Downtown Association Conference would be held at the Bastrop Convention Center. He will be doing a presentation, as will some other local businesses. 3. Connected Texas Broadband Assessment Event, November 13, 2013 Mr. Quinn said that the event has been scheduled for November 13 from 11:00 to 1:00 at the Bastrop Convention Center. B. Update on BEDC Projects and/or Business: 1. Main Street Program Update (Nancy Wood) Ms. Wood reported that the Entrepreneur Leadership Team will be hosting a business plan competition on November 14 th at the Performing Arts Center. There are currently six contestants registered. The prize is a winner-take-all, including training and a $5,000 guaranteed loan from Big Austin, $1,500 worth of CPA consulting services, and also a cash prize. One of the criteria is that the winner has to be able to open their business somewhere in Bastrop within 12 months. Ms. Wood said the Culinary District Project is working with the Community Health Coalition of Bastrop and Caldwell Counties to develop a restaurant survey and to encourage them to offer healthy menu options. 10/21/13 BEDC Board Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4

2 2. Update on JAMCo Project and Amended Agreements The JAMCo Project and related agreements were discussed under C2 and C3. 3. Update on Construction of Drainage System and other infrastructure in the Industrial Park Mr. Talbot reported that the City will begin work on November 1 st, and will be finished with their portion as soon as possible so that the JAMCo contractors can begin their work. Mrs. Crawford asked about the status of the Main Street Improvement Project, and Mr. Talbot said they were waiting to complete the bond process before moving forward. 4. Update on Strategic Plan implementation Mr. Quinn reported that he continues to work with BISD and the Bastrop Chamber to identify clusters for workforce development. BEDC has continued working with Bastrop County on their GIS project. Mr. Quinn stated he is working on an Instagram class for business owners as part of the Buy Local Campaign, and it will be followed by an Instagram walk in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. 5. Update on Construction Projects in the City of Bastrop Mr. Quinn said the list of projects is included in the board packets. Dr. Gurwitz asked about the property being cleared at Hwy 71 and Hwy 20. Mr. Talbot explained that the property is owned by Rox Covert, and at this time he is simply clearing the property for possible future development. A. CONSENT AGENDA A.1 Approval of meeting minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 16, Mr. Gutierrez made the motion to approve the minutes as submitted, Dr. Gurwitz seconded, and the motion passed. B. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. C. OLD BUSINESS C.1 Consideration, discussion and possible action regarding the review and recommendation by the RC task force and staff on possible amendments to the Bastrop Business and Industrial Park Restrictive Covenants. It was decided to consult with Ms. Brown about the Restrictive Covenants in Executive Session and take any necessary action afterward. C.2 Consideration, discussion and possible action on the amended Economic Development Agreement between the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation and JAMCo-JEMS, LLC. Ms. Brown explained she had increased the claw-back amounts to reflect the costs for the additional construction incurred by the City and BEDC and the final engineering numbers. Mr. Talbot commented that although the drainage had expanded to include extending it to Mr. Coghlan s property, the cost associated with that was subtracted and not included as part of this agreement. Mr. Schiff made the motion to approve executing the amended economic development agreement with JAMCo. Mrs. Crawford seconded, and the motion passed. C.3 Consideration, discussion and possible action on the amended Development Agreement between the City of Bastrop and the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation, concerning the JAMCo Project and related Business and Industrial Park infrastructure improvements. Ms. Brown went over the changes that had been made to the original agreement, including the consolidation of Phase A and Phase B, changes to the length of the road, and additional drainage improvements. Ms. Brown said there was an additional edit that needed to be made. 10/21/13 BEDC Board Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4

3 Mr. Schiff made the motion to approve execution of the amended development agreement after Ms. Brown made the additional edit. Mr. Gutierrez seconded, and the motion passed. D. NEW BUSINESS D.1 Consideration, discussion and possible action on acceptance of the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation s preliminary financial summary report for period ending September 30, Mrs. Ryan commented that this financial report was still preliminary, as the fiscal year had not completely been closed out yet. Mr. Quinn reported that the BEDC has collected 122% of budgeted revenue for the year, or $1.8 million. Expenses ended up at $1.5 million, which is 94% of what was budgeted. Mr. Schiff made the motion to accept the preliminary financial report as submitted, Mr. Gutierrez seconded, and the motion passed. D.2 Consideration, discussion and possible action on a possible Board recommendation to the Bastrop City Council concerning Texas Freeport Property Tax Exemptions. Mr. Quinn said that the Austin Chamber has been seeing an increase in the number of manufacturers looking to expand or relocate to the Central Texas region. Many of these companies are looking for Triple Freeport Exemptions, where the city, county, and school district each exempt freeport goods from being taxed. Mr. Quinn said that Bastrop County and Bastrop ISD have already passed the Freeport Exemption, and if the City of Bastrop were to pass it, we would then be able to market Bastrop as having Triple Freeport Exemptions, making us more competitive. Mr. Quinn stated that without them, Bastrop is losing opportunities to bring some manufacturers here. Charisse Bodisch from the Austin Chamber explained that a freeport exemption is a property tax exemption that applies to certain goods being detained in Texas, for a period of 175 days or less, before being shipped out of Texas, such as the inventory used in manufacturing or assembly. She said Texas is one of only nine states in the country that still taxes goods in inventory, and the State has left it up to local jurisdictions whether or not to exempt this inventory from property taxes. Ms. Bodisch handed out a map that showed which communities in Central Texas offer Triple Freeport Exemptions, which included Cedar Park, Hutto, Jarrell, Leander, Lockhart, Manor, and Pflugerville. She gave some examples of manufacturers who have based their location decisions on cities with Triple Freeport Exemptions. Ms. Bodisch explained that without the City of Bastrop passing the exemption, we are unable to submit an application for certain projects, and we may be missing opportunities. The Board weighed the benefits of passing the exemption versus the disadvantages. Mr. Schiff commented that he doesn t believe many of our current companies, if any, would qualify for the exemption, so we would be losing very little in the way of tax revenues. However, if we could offer Triple Freeport Exemptions to a large manufacturer who decided to locate in Bastrop, the benefits of new jobs created and real estate and capital investment would far outweigh the loss in potential revenue on the exempted inventory, especially since without the exemption, those large manufacturers would probably choose to locate to a community who does offer Triple Freeport Exemptions. Ms. Brown pointed out that this exemption cannot be repealed once it has been passed, unlike the Super Freeport Exemption that had been discussed at a previous meeting. It was decided that Mr. Quinn would put together a presentation for the next Board Meeting, and at that time the Board will decide whether to make a recommendation to the City Council to approve passing the freeport exemption in the City of Bastrop. D.3 Consideration, discussion and possible action on awarding the bid for Dirt-work Improvements in the Bastrop Business and Industrial Park. Mr. Kruppa reported they had received a total of five bids, ranging from $476,000 to $620,000. His recommendation was to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder, Adam Meuth Construction, who has previously 10/21/13 BEDC Board Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4

4 successfully completed two other projects for the City. Mrs. Crawford made the motion to approve awarding the bid for the dirt work to Adam Meuth Construction, Mr. Gutierrez seconded, and the motion passed. D.4 Consideration, discussion and possible action on pre-approval for façade grant, in an amount of $4,500, for renovations to the building at 805 Spring Street, owned by Gary Rassner and leased by Matthew Lassen. Dr. Rassner sold his practice to Dr. Lassen, who is planning to do some painting and repair work to the outside of the building, at an estimated cost of $9,000. Ms. Wood said she would have the complete application ready by the next Board Meeting. Mr. Gutierrez made the motion to approve the preliminary application for the façade grant, Mrs. Crawford seconded, and the motion passed. E. EXECUTIVE SESSION E.1 At 7:40 p.m., Mr. Mills convened the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors into a closed/executive session pursuant to the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, to discuss the following: 1. Section (1)(A) and Section (2) - Consultations with Attorney: (1) threatened and/or contemplated litigation, and (2) matters upon which the Attorney has a duty and/or responsibility to report to the governmental body, i.e., BEDC policies and regulations. 2. Section Deliberation about real property: Project Crane, Project Duff, Project Blue Flame, and/or potential sales, acquisitions, exchanges, leases, dispositions or values of real property. 3. Section Deliberation regarding economic development negotiations: Project Crane, Project Duff, and/or Project Blue Flame. 4. Section Personnel Matters: Periodic evaluation of Executive Director / BEDC staffing and performance. E.2 The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors reconvened from Executive Session at 8:49 p.m. There was no action taken. F. BOARD INPUT ON FUTURE AGENDAS Inviting input from the Board of Directors related to issues for possible inclusion on future agendas, related to (but not limited to) issues such as BEDC projects, property, economic development prospects, community events, and BEDC business. G. ADJOURNMENT Gary Schiff moved to adjourn and Gary Gutierrez seconded. The BEDC Board of Directors adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m. 10/21/13 BEDC Board Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4

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