08-02-2013 (WEDC) Minutes Minutes
Wylie Economic Development Corporation
Board of Directors Meeting
Friday, August 2, 2013 6:30 A.M.
WEDC Offices—Conference Room
250 South Highway 78—Wylie, Texas
CALL TO ORDER
Announce the presence of a Quorum
President Marvin Fuller called the meeting to order 6:30 a.m. Board Members present were:
Todd Wintters, John Yeager, Demond Dawkins, and Mitch Herzog.
Ex-officio members Mindy Manson and Eric Hogue were present.
WEDC staff present was Executive Director Sam Satterwhite.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Ms. Lynn Grimes, Keller Williams Real Estate/The Wylie Art Gallery, was in attendance and
informed the Board that the Wylie Race Trac was#1 in revenue in the D/FW area.
With no further Citizen Participation,Mr. Fuller proceeded to Action Items.
ACTION ITEMS
ITEM NO. 1 — Consider and act upon approval of the July 19, 2013 Minutes of the Wylie
Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Board of Directors Meeting.
MOTION: A motion was made by John Yeager and seconded by Mitch Herzog to
approve the July 19, 2013 Minutes of the Wylie Economic Development
Corporation. The WEDC Board voted 5 —FOR and 0—AGAINST in favor
of the motion.
ITEM NO. 2 — Consider and act upon issues surrounding the expansion of Ascend Custom
Extrusion.
Ascend has informed the WEDC that it has secured financing for its 21,000 square foot
expansion ($1.5mm), purchase of a third press, and the purchase of WEDC real estate and
improvements located at 1405 Martinez Lane in Wylie. While Ascend anticipates breaking
ground on the expansion on August 9th, financing will not be finalized until±August 30th
Ascend has asserted that all construction prior to closing will be funded in cash and that their
proposed lender is aware that construction will begin prior to closing. While staff has urged
Ascend to avoid all construction prior to closing, Ascend has indicated that it is fully aware of
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August 2, 2013
Page 2 of 4
the potential repercussions (liens fines by subcontractors and lender shutting down the job), but
must stay on schedule to prepare for delivery of the third press.
Following discussions with WEDC counsel, staff stated his belief that the WEDC has no
significant exposure by allowing Ascend to begin construction. Staffs prior motivation was to
ensure that Ascend pays off the WEDC construction loan well prior to the pre-established 10
year period. Holding up Ascend construction to achieve that goal is not going to achieve the
desired end for staff but only delay completion. Under a worst case scenario should Ascend not
be able to secure financing, the WEDC will benefit from $1.5 million in additional equity in the
property. Further, Ascend/Highlander is much more motivated to secure third party financing so
that investors can receive a return on their equity position in personal property and any further
equity that can be borrowed against the real property."
Board Member Dawkins maintained his prior concern regarding starting construction prior to
financing. However, Mr. Dawkins believed that the WEDC could reduce its exposure by
requiring a commitment letter from the proposed lender in addition to Ascend's written
commitment to fund all improvements prior to the issuance of a building permit. Mr. Fuller
agreed with Mr. Dawkins position.
The Board took no formal action on the matter.
ITEM NO. 3 —Remove from Table—Consider and act upon issues surrounding the FY 2013 —
2014 Budget.
MOTION: A motion was made by Mitch Herzog and seconded by John Yeager to
remove Item 3 from the table. The WEDC Board voted 5 — FOR and 0 —
AGAINST in favor of the motion.
Staff informed the Board that the City of Wylie Finance Department notified the WEDC that
there was a significant difference between the WEDC's estimated Beginning Fund Balance (10-
1-13) and the Finance Department's estimate. The respective estimates were reported as
$1,443,605 and $1,219,418. More importantly, staff and Finance were not able to reconcile the
difference. Being that the WEDC budgets to spend 100% of its available resources, the
$224,187 difference represents a sizeable impact to the proposed budget.
While staff was confident in the process by which it developed the Beginning Fund Balance, the
$1,219,418 will be the figure reported to the Auditors, thus the figure that must be utilized in the
proposed budget. Staff proposed that the Board consider either reevaluating the entire budget
and reduce non-essential programs accordingly to make the $224,187 in reduced funding or
identify the shortfall in the Future Projects budget. President Fuller responded that the programs
(expenditures) presented represent existing needs with no immediate need to reevaluate the
same. Further, the availability of funds within the Future Projects budget further reduces the
need to reevaluate whether a program is essential or non-essential as staff suggested. Consensus
of the Board was to reduce Future Projects from $754,978 to $530,791. Further, the Board
directed staff to continue to evaluate the process by which the Beginning Fund Balance is
calculated so that the Board is not forced to make eleventh hour decisions like this in the future.
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August 2, 2013
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President Fuller requested that consideration of the FY 2013 —2014 Budget be tabled to discuss
any performance evaluations in Executive Session and any impact that process may have on the
proposed budget.
MOTION: A motion was made by John Yeager and seconded by Demond Dawkins to
table consideration of the FY 2013 — 2014 WEDC Budget. The WEDC
Board voted 5 —FOR and 0—AGAINST in favor of the motion.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The WEDC Board recessed into Closed Session at 7:01 a.m. in compliance with Section 551.001
et.seq. Texas Government Code to wit:
Section 551.087 (Economic Development) of the Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas
Code Annotated(Open Meetings Act).
• Project 2013-4a
• Project 2013-5c
• Project 2013-7a
Section 551.072 (Real Estate) of the Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code Annotated
(Open Meetings Act).
• F.M. 544 and Regency
• F.M. 544 & Commerce
Section 551.074 (Personnel Matters) of the Local Government Code, Vernon's Texas Code
Annotated (Open Meetings Act).
• Performance Evaluation-WEDC Executive Director
• Performance Evaluation - WEDC Senior Assistant
Staff left the meeting at 7:34 a.m.
RECONVENE INTO OPEN MEETING
The WEDC Board of Directors reconvened into open session at 8:29 a.m. and took the following
action.
The Board believed that even though last year may be considered less productive relative to prior
years, the WEDC has several projects nearing completion due to staffs persistence. To reflect
the Board's confidence in staff, President Fuller requested that Item No. 3 be removed from the
table.
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August 2, 2013
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MOTION: A motion was made by John Yeager and seconded by Mitch Herzog to
remove Item 3 from the table. The WEDC Board voted 5 —FOR and 0 —
AGAINST in favor of the motion.
The WEDC Board of Directors approved a 3% salary increase for the Executive Director and
Senior Assistant. In addition for the Executive Director, the Board reclassified the prior year
expense associated with the Cooper Clinic Executive Health Plan into Salary for FY 2013 -
2014, in addition to taxes and deductions,totaling $5,692.
MOTION: A motion was made by Demond Dawkins and seconded by John Yeager to
approve the WEDC FY 2013 — 2014 with amendments to salaries and
Incentives (Future Projects). The WEDC Board voted 5 — FOR and 0 —
AGAINST in favor of the motion.
No other action was taken as a result of discussion held in Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, President Fuller adjourned the WEDC Board meeting at 8:31 a.m.
a/Wh/t gRA,
Marvin Fuller,President
ATTEST:
Samuel Satterwhite,Director