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Regular Council Meeting <br />April 10, 2017 <br />Page 3 <br />Mayor Hashmi said Mr. Spain was correct in his comments. He also said the problem <br />they had was there was a company trying to do their best and if Council took the road of being <br />hard on them they might not be able to keep the current jobs or keep the plant open. Council <br />Members Clifford, Frierson, Drake, Trenado, and Jenkins spoke in favor of supporting Skinner. <br />Council Member Lancaster said this had been going on for some time and she felt they should <br />stay with what was originally set up. Council Member Clifford said generally he was for <br />enforcing the agreement, but this was an exception, because they had been experiencing a hard <br />time but had been making a good faith effort. He asked the City Attorney to review the <br />addendum with regard to language about the jobs because the memo she provided did not match <br />the addendum. Ms. Harris said the addendum was correct. Ms. Harris also said the last three <br />years of the addendum did reduce the tax abatement to 90 %. <br />Mayor Hashmi re- opened the public hearing. Mr. Spain wanted to know if they were <br />going to do this for other companies across the board. He questioned who was performing <br />inspections to determine if investments had been made according to the agreement. Mayor <br />Hashmi asked Mr. Spain for his suggestion. Mr. Spain said he would probably reduce the tax <br />abatement agreement to 80 or 90 %. Holland Harper, 1044 31st, he said two weeks before <br />Skinner became interested in the site, that another company wanted to buy the location, and <br />demolish the building. He said they were lucky to have Skinner here. Michael Paris, EDC <br />Director, said he recently toured and visited with J. Skinner. Mr. Paris informed Council Skinner <br />had gone through management changes; they did have set -backs but were moving forward. <br />Subject to Skinner being reviewed at the end of 2017 to ensure they met their numbers, a <br />Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member <br />Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. <br />10. Conduct a public hearing, discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2017 -010: AN <br />ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, <br />AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1710 OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, <br />AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO REZONE LOT PART 10 AND 11, CITY <br />BLOCK 178, BEING LOCATED AT 443 S.W. 1sT STREET, IN THE CITY OF PARIS, <br />LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM A CENTRAL AREA DISTRICT (CA) TO A <br />CENTRAL AREA DISTRICT (CA) WITH A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT (50) NEW OR <br />USED CAR (OPEN) LOT; DIRECTING A CHANGE ACCORDINGLY IN THE <br />OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A <br />SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND <br />PROVIDING AN ELECTIVE DATE. <br />Planning Director Alan Efrussy explained the applicant requested a zoning change from <br />Central Area to Central Area with a Specific Use Permit for a used car lot. He said the applicant <br />intended to use this property for automobile sales in addition to the bail bond business located on <br />the property. Mr. Efrussy further said that P &Z, as well as staff recommended approval with the <br />condition that the Specific Use Permit be limited to a period of five years with an opportunity to <br />request additional time through the SUP approval process. <br />