12-18-2009 (WEDC) Minutes mutes
Wylie Economic Development Corporation
oard of Directors Meeting
Friday, ecember 18, 2009- 6:30 ANL
Inwood National Bank - Conference Room
200 South Highway 78 -Wylie, Texas
CALL TO ORDE'
Announce the presence of a Quorum
President Fuller called the meeting to order at 6:30 a.m, Board Members present were: John
Ye ger, Todd Wintters, Mitch Herzog, and Chris Seely,
VEDC staff present was Executive Director Sam Satterwhite a d Administrative Assistant
Gerry Hanis,
Ex-Officio Board Members Mindy anso,„ Eric Hogue, Assistant City Manager Jeff Butters,
and City Engineer Chris Hoisted were present.
Board Member Mitch Herzog le the meeting at 7:53 a.m. Ex-Officio bard ember Eric
ogue left the meeting at 7:55.
CITIZEN ARTICI1 AT1ON
There being no citizen participatio , President Fuller proceeded to Action Items.
ACTION ITEMS
ITEM 0. 1 - Consider and act ilpOL approval of the November 20, 2009 Minutes of the
WEDC Board of Direct o rs Meeting.
MOTION: A motion was ade by Mitch erzog and seconded by John Yeager to
approve the ovember 20, 2009 Minutes of the WEDC board of Directors
Meeting. The WEDC Board voted 5 - F011 and 0 - AGAINST in favor of
the motion.
ITEM NO. 2 - Consider and act pon approval of the Novem er 2009 Treasurer's Report.
Staff reported that the October Treasurer's Report had an error in that the Current budget
nub bers on the '1 evenue and Expense Report were from FY 08-09 rather than the FY 09-10.
President Fuller asked staff to present a corrected Treasurer's report for October at the January
meeting as well as present a corrected report to the City Council at their January eeti g.
MOTION: A motion was made by Chris Seely and seconded by Mitch Herzog to
approve the November 2009 Treasurer's 'eport. The WEDC Board voted 5
- FOR ad 0 - AGAINST in favor of the otion.
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December 18, 2009
Page 2 of 6
ITEM NO. 3 — Consider issues surrounding the FY 2009 —2010 WEI C Budget.
As re oiled in the November WE IC financial state,lents, sales tax receipts were down 10.5°/0
from Pecei ber 2008. Assuming taxable sales at Target generated $10,000 in WEDC receipts,
staff is projecting a 22% reduction had Target not been in place. Staff commented that a
continued 20% reduction could result in a $300,000 shortfall in budgeted revenues
Icing that 90% of WEDC income is froi, sales tax receipts, staff believes that expenditures
should be monitored more closely. Should the downward trend continue, a more formal
reduction in revenue/expenses would take place i April during mid-year budget amendments.
Staff presented potential expense reductions which will informally applied until which time an
upward trend is established. Those in-house reductions were as follows: Office Supplies - 31%,
Special Services — 32%, Incentives — 11%, Streets & Alleys — 60%, Advertising 16%, Travel Sz
Training 38%, Audit & egal - 44%, Engineering & Architect — 30%, and Land - 25%.
This item was presented as an info ,-nation item only. No action was taken by the Board.
ITEM NO. 4 — {Motion tsr remove item from table}: Consider an. act upon issues
surrounding City of Wylie thoroughfare impact fees.
OTION: A motion was made by John Yeager to remove Action Item No, 4 from the table.
As a review, staff stated that he believes that there is a high level of co rrfidence that the fees are
Jrstifled to offset the cost of providir rrg infrastructure and are being calculated correctly. Staff
further stated that based upon previous discussions by the Board members, the only issue that
could possibly be addressed is the difference between fees chargel for the east zone and those
charged for the west zone (the east zone is 40% higher than the west zone), Staff provided all
possible options which could be recommended to the Cow cil and the repercussions of each.
1. No Change, While this is one of the top two options in staffs opinior, I do believe there
is the local perception that thoroughfare fees are too high. Also, there is the potential that
we are discourairrrrg new business development (specifically on the east side) prior to the
prospect even getting to the point of negotiating with the City for incentives. I believe to
assume that if this is the case one must consider the relatively high tax rate in place
combined with the fees.
2. No Fees. Staff believes this is not a realistic option. If no thoroughfare impact fees were
in place, new development would share an equal finarcial burden with the existing
taxpayer f r the increased demand pi ced upor the infrastructure created by the new
development. That fina cial burden would specifically be increased property taxes.
3. East and West Zones Charged Identical Unit costs. The only issue staff has with this
recommendation is that the fees charged within the west zone would be proportionately
higher than the east zone. If you will recall from previous presentations, both zones have
aporoximately the same amount o f cost attributed to growth per the Capital Improvement
'Ian currently adopted by the City Council. However, the east side has much less
opportunity for new growth (a smaller pool of new development) thus creating a higher
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December 18, 2009
Page 3 of 6
fee per new development Li' it to recoup the cost attributed to oN,vth. The restonse to
any developer raising that point (which is unlikely anyway) is that we want to encourage
development withi the east zone, thus charging a lower percentage fee. Should this
option be considered, the 'bard/Council would have to anticipate less fees within the east
zone to flu d future projects and rely on the use of General Find monies or tax rate
increases.
4. Lower Each Zone's Unit cost an Equal Percentage. Staff does not believe this is a
viable option because there is no real or perceived concern with Thoroughfare Fees
within the west zone, New business development is taking place, and will continue to
take place predominately within the west zone because of the infrastructure which has
been put in place or will be in place within the next two years.
Staffs recommendation was for the Board to evaluate the above options and make a
recommendatio, to the City Council, even if the WEDC recommendation is no change. If there
is a recot mended change by the WE DC Board and the Council directs City staff to address the
W DC recomme dation, a presentation will most likely be made to the Impact Fee Advisory
Committee which in turn will make a recommendation to the City Council during a work
session. Should the Council decide to proceed; a public heaL ng will take place on the issue
resulting in a change to the existing Ordinance assuming an affirmative vote by Council.
Staff commented that there currently is relief (in the form of incentives) available to any
teveloper bringing in a qualifying project to the City — east or west zone. If there is unanimous
agree]. ent with that positio , the only recommendation is no change. A no change
recommendation is 100% equitable. However, if a developer targets the east side and detet 'ines
that their financial model will not work, and further evaluates the fact that thoroughfare impact
fees in Wylie are higher than the communities we are come eting with, we may not get the
opportunity to address their concern, At that point equity between the zones has no bearing and
a perception of'the cost of doing business in Wylie is too high' is the deten-nining factor. Under
the second scenario a recommendation should be having identical unit cost within the east and
west zones.
Staff recommended that the WEDC Board of Directors make a recoiL me' dation to the Wylie
City Council to red ce Thoroughfare Impact Fees charged in the east zone to equal that of the
fee charged within the west zone.
President Fuller re-emphasized his opinion that the Thoroughfare Impact Fee difference from the
east side of Hwy. 78 to the west side of Hwy. 78 is perceived as excessive and arbitrary, Mr.
Fuller continued that even if the 'line' was moved 300' west even increasing fees by 40% on the
west side of the 78 corridor, that perception could be addressed.
Board members ' 'erzog, Seely, and Yeager did not see any reason to adjust the fees at all being
that any company has the opportunity to approach the City/WE IC for financial assista' ce
whether it be for infrastructure assistance, relocation grants, or fees,
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December 18, 2009
Page 4 of 6
MOTION: A motion was made by John Yeager and seconded by Mitch ' erzog to
recommend to Council that no change be Jade to the Thoroughfare In-r act
Fees. The WEDC '..,oard voted 5 FOR and 0 — AG1,,,J1 ST in favor of the
motion.
EM NO. 5 — Consider issues surrounding the 2009 Annual Report
Staff presented the first draft of the 2009 Annual Reeort for the oard to review, President
Fuller asked that staff bring the docume t back in January for further consideration being that the
Board has only had a short time to review the document. Staff commented that the final report
will be submitted to Council on January 22, 2010
o action was taken on this item.
EM NO. 6 — Staff Report: review issues surrounding the lease of WEDC facilities, the
2009 IE C Annual Conference, Applebee's, Wylie Senior Care, and regional housing
starts.
Lease o WEDC Facilities: While the Fen-ell property has been leased, a certificate of
occupancy (CO) has Jot been iss ed as of yet based upon difficulties with the hot water heater.
A CO shouli be issued no later than Friday, December 18th. The contract calls for $800 monthly
with no outside storage. The Contract also calls for the tenant to mow and maintain the adjacent
one acre fra ting F.M. 544,
210 Industrial Court has been leased. The WEDC had been seeking $2,000 per month. Staff
will be executing a 12-month lease for $1,500 per month. With the facility being vacant fOr 16
months, staff accepted a lesser lease rate. The lease is however AS IS with no responsibility for
plumbing, air conditioning/heat, and roof. That concession was accepted by the tenant in return
for the lease rate. The tenant is also required to maintain the premises and no outside storage is
allowed.
2009 IEDC Conference: Assistant City Manager. Butters presented issues surround 'green'
construction and regional cooperation in economic development that had been presented at the
Conference.
Applebee's: Staff indicated that Applebee's is nder contract for a site on State Highway 78.
Applebee's broker indicated that all site criteria fit within the required parameters.
ff1 lie Senior Care: A temporary CO ,as been issued for Wylie Senior Care (located behind
Brookshire's). After all equipment and furniture has been moved in and the Texas Department
of Health has approved the site, a final CO will be issued,
The owner contacted staff the week of December 7th and asked again if there was any financial
incentive the WEDC/City could provide. It was conveyed that staff believed that there was
support for any financial assistance.
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December 18, 2009
Page 5 of 6
Regional Housing Starts: Housing starts were p in ovember and will be up in December as
well with 21 permits already approvedibeing reviewed as of 12-16-09. it appears as though
Wylie will issue at least 250 permits for 2009 (down 39% from 2008). As stated in the past, staff
is pleased with 250 new homes in this market.
EXEC TIVE SiSSION
The WEDC Board of Directors convened into Executive Session at 7:30 a.m.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Butters and City Engineer Chris Hoisted were invited to stay for
Executive Session.
I, Consider issues surrounding an Amended and Restated Performance Agreement between
the WEDC and Woodbr dge Crossing, L.P. as authorized in Section 551.087 (Economic
Development egotiations) of the Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code
Annotated (Open Meetings Act).
IL Consider issues surrounding the purchase of property located near the intersection of
Regency Drive and Steel Road as authorized in Section 551.072 (real property) of the
Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code Annotated (Open Meetings Act).
III. Consider issues surrounding the purchase of property located near the intersection of F.M.
544 and Sanden 1 oulevard as authorized in Section 551.072 (real property) of the Local
Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code Annotated (Open Meetings Act).
IV, Consider issues surrounding Project Phoenix as authorized in Section 551.087 (Economic
Development Negotiations) of the Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code
Annotated (Open Meetings Act).
RECONVENE INTO OPEN HEETING
The WEDC Board of Directors reconvened into open session at 7:59 a.m. No action was taken
as a result of discussion held in Executive Session.
ADJOU * 'MENT
With no further business, President Fuller adjoined the WEDC Board meeting at 7:59 a.m.
vt,
Marvin Fuller, President
WE 10 C -Minutes
ecember 18, 2009
'age 6 of 6
ATTEST:
Samuel D. . Satterwhite
Executive Director