08-19-1997 (WEDC) Minutes Minutes
WYLIE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Tuesday,August 19, 1997
Board Members Present:
Marvin Fuller
Kevin St. John
J.C. Worley
John Yeager
Merrill Young
Staff Present:
Samuel Satterwhite, Executive Director
Others Present:
Mike Collins, City Manager
Mindy Manson, Assistant to the City Manager
With notice of the meeting posted in time and manner required by law and a quorum of Board
members present, the Board of Directors of the Wylie Economic Development Corporation
(WEDC) met in Regular Session on August 19, 1997 in the Wylie Chamber of Commerce Board
Room at 108 W. Marble, Wylie, Texas.
The meeting was called to order by President John Yeager at 2:10 p.m.
ITEM NO. 1 - Discuss and Consider Approval of Minutes for the July 23, 1997 Regular
Board of Directors Meeting of the Wylie Economic Development Corporation.
MOTION: A motion was made by Marvin Fuller and seconded by Kevin St. John to
approve the Minutes for the July 23, 1997 Regular Meeting of the Wylie
Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. The WEDC
Board of Directors voted 5 - FOR and 0 - AGAINST in favor of the
motion.
ITEM NO. 2 - Discuss and Consider Approval of the July, 1997 Treasurer's Report for the
Wylie Economic Development Corporation.
MOTION: A motion was made by Kevin St. John and seconded by J.C. Worley to
approve the July, 1997 Treasurer's Report for the Wylie Economic
Development Corporation. The WEDC Board of Directors voted 5 - FOR
and 0 - AGAINST in favor of the motion.
WEDC - Minutes
August 19, 1997
Page 2
ITEM NO. 3 - Discuss and Consider Issues Surrounding a Study Prepared by Insight
Research Corporation Analyzing the Economic, Tax and Employment Impacts Created by
the Development of a Rail Manifest Yard, Intermodal Facility, and Associated Industrial
Activity.
Ms. Elizabeth Morris, President of Insight Research Corporation, presented the WEDC Board of
Directors with the findings of a study prepared to analyze the economic impact of the Kansas
City Southern Railway (KCS) proposal which includes a manifest yard, intermodal facility, and
associated industrial development. The direct and indirect tax impact for the applicable taxing
jurisdictions are as follows:
Direct Indirect Total Direct
and Indirect
Taxes
City of Wylie $1,564,000 $364,000 $1,928,000
Collin County 397,000 477,000 875,000
State of Texas 3,869,000 4,596,000 8,465,000
WISD 2,370,000 569,000 2,939,000
4A/4B Sales Tax 547,000 120,000 667,000
CCCC 151,000 181,000 332,000
Total $8,897,000 $6,308,000 $15,206,000
These taxes will be generated from the following economic impact at the site:
Manifest and Intermodal $164 Million
Warehouse/Distribution Facilities $150 Million
The Warehouse distribution impact was calculated with assistance from the Alliance
Development Company. Alliance has agreed to become the world-wide marketer of property
adjacent to the rail facilities which will be known as "Eastport Business Park". Alliance, with
assistance from WEDC staff, estimated that over the next ten years this business park should
attract 550,000 square feet of warehouse/distribution facilities, 220 full-time equivalent
positions, and an annual payroll of$6.1 million. The WEDC Board of Directors indicated that
with the catalyst of an intermodal facility, the above figures appear to be very conservative, but
hesitated to increase estimates wanting to over deliver rather than overestimate.
The WEDC Board of Directors believed the evaluation of related industrial development,
methodology of determining the economic and employment impact, and limitations of
assumptions are an accurate representation of the rail facility proposed by KCS.
WEDC - Minutes
August 19, 1997
Page 3
MOTION: A motion was made by Kevin St. John and seconded by Merrill Young to
accept the study prepared by Insight Research Corporation as a true and
accurate representation of the economic, tax, and employment impacts
created by the development of a Kansas City Southern rail manifest yard,
intermodal facility, and associated industrial activity The WEDC Board
of Directors voted 5 - FOR and 0 -AGAINST in favor of the motion.
ITEM NO. 4 - Discuss and Consider the Rezoning of Approximately 550 Acres Northeast of
the Wylie Municipal Complex with the Proposed Use Being a Rail Manifest Yard,
Intermodal Facility, and Associated Industrial Activity.
Staff informed the WEDC Board of Directors that a referendum has been called to allow the
registered voters in Wylie to officially voice their opinions regarding the proposed KCS
manifest/intermodal facility and associated industrial development. The referendum will be held
on September 20, 1997. Although the referendum is non-binding, the Wylie City Council
believes it to be necessary to gauge public opinion of the proposal. It has been suggested that the
citizens attending the recent public hearing on the issue have been the `vocal minority', but the
Council would like to determine the accuracy of this assertion prior to any formal proposal being
submitted.
The Board discussed economic issues as well as quality of life issues which are at stake in this
project and the difficulty surrounding the attempt to separate the two issues. For example,
removing the railroad track adjacent to Highway 75 will create a more aesthetically pleasing
downtown Wylie, but the increased tractor trailer traffic will be burdensome at times.
Board members believed that if the WEDC is to promote quality, economic development which
expands the Wylie tax base and increases jobs, the KCS proposal must be supported by this
organization. As well, if the Executive Director is to promote Wylie and the WEDC, the
authority must be granted to speak out for the KCS proposal. Board member Worley suggested
the Executive Director act in an advisory role to any group supporting the proposal while
responding to all questions and requests for information from the entire community. Board
member Worley also commented that while staff should support this project, the WEDC should
not directly fund activities furthering any political group formed to support the project.
MOTION: A motion was made by J.C. Worley and seconded by Merrill Young
authorizing staff to support the manifest/intermodal project proposed by
Kansas City Southern Railway Co. in an advisory capacity. The WEDC
Board of Directors voted 5 - FOR and 0 - AGAINST in favor of the
motion.
WEDC - Minutes
August 19, 1997
Page 4
ITEM NO. 5 - Discuss and Consider Issues Surrounding the FY 1997 - 1998 Budget for the
Wylie Economic Development Corporation.
Staff informed the WEDC Board of Directors that consideration of this issue was preliminary
due to the lack of finalized budget documents. The Board instructed staff to complete the budget
as soon as possible and present finalized figures to the Board within the week.
MOTION: A motion was made by J.C. Worley and seconded by Merrill Young to
table discussion and consideration of the FY 1997 - 1998 budget for the
WEDC. The WEDC Board of Directors voted 5 - FOR and 0 - AGAINST
in favor of the motion.
ITEM NO 6 - Staff Reports.
Staff discussed issues regarding Wylie Machine, Inc., Accurate Automatic, Extruders, the
WEDC promotional brochure, CPI Communications, Best Technologies, Inc., and the employee
evaluation of Administrative Assistant Vicky Cross.
ITEM NO 7- Adjourn.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:21 p.m.
ohn ager, President
Attest:
Samuel D.R. Satterwhite
Executive Director