01/23/2018 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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PEDC Board Meeting Minutes January 23, 2018 Page 2 of 4 Postage — FedEx charges to ship documents to Campbell's to be signed; Miscellaneous — late payment charge because of holidays; Marketing — Red River Valley Authority Conference in Wichita Falls, hotel charges EAIC Conference in Frisco, bolt cutters from Gifford's, Project Wind Cave was Subway sandwiches for their lunch, Project Orange Fire was Subway for their lunch while touring Paris, Constant Contact we prepay for email marketing blasts; Depot Operations — paper towels for the Caddo Museum bathrooms. She also pointed out under Depot Operations it shows The Paris News which is the yearly cost of the newspaper. Advanced Alarm is also a yearly charge. Mr. Paris said that the Braun Intertec was the first wetlands study done for Project Orange Fire. Mr. Hughes made a motion to accept the financials for December 2017. Mr. Hamill seconded the motion. Vote was 4 -ayes to 0 -nays. Discuss the possibility of future Office Space. Mr. Paris asked for a discussion on the possibility of future office space for the PEDC. He went on to say that the PEDC and the Chamber were located in the Depot up until 2010 or 2011. When the Depot was established with the Historical Society, it was anchored by the Genealogy Library. The Chamber was helping by being a tenant of the Depot. It had a contract with the City for the space. A contract or memorandum of understanding between the PEDC and the City does not exist for what our responsibilities are. Mr. Paris stated that this instead has been a "gentleman's agreement". The Depot is a beautiful space, but there are drawbacks on a daily basis. The "why" of relocating the PEDC is a matter of how we are perceived in this community. As guests are coming into the community we would like them to see the hustle and bustle of downtown, Collegiate or Lamar. When guests arrive at our office their first request is to use the restroom. This is what we do at that request: go through a small hallway, unlock a door, disarm the alarm, and take them through the Museum to men's' and women's' restrooms, and then relock and rearm when they are finished. The PEDC staff does that every day, but when having guests in the office it is unappealing to go through that process. We need to consider what impression we give our external and internal guests and maybe think about relocating ourselves. It might be better to be in the areas of activity, downtown or close to the Loop. We have the Community Room for larger meetings, but for smaller meetings we have a make -shift board room that is located in the kitchen and copier area. The PEDC would like to be more in the public view and to have a central presence in the community. Mr. Manning stated that he agreed with Mr. Paris and felt that our office is located in an out of the way area. He also stated the PEDC at the Depot is the Depot being used for the wrong purpose. Mr. Paris mentioned that we are paying all the overhead for the building, but we do not pay any rent to the City. Mr. Hernandez asked if the other entities would have to share the cost if we relocated. Ms. Harris answered that the City would pay the utilities, since the other two entities are on one dollar leases. Mr. Hernandez suggested that the City could rent it out. Ms. Harris stated that it was unlikely that someone would want rent the offices and pay utilities for the entire building. The building has been used for non -profits that pay $1 a year and the PEDC pays no rent, but pays all utilities for the building. Mr. Manning said the Chamber probably had the same idea as the PEDC. They left to be in a more visible area. Mr. Paris expressed that the PEDC has been scrutinized on how we spend our money and in what way we can spend our money. The PEDC code could be read that the bills the PEDC pays should go specifically to PEDC expenses. Ms. Harris interjected "you are not paying rent". Mr. Paris stated that he talked to Peoples' Bank about the lobby downtown. We could rent the space for $300 a month which includes utilities. Other ideas would be areas around the Loop, Lamar or Collegiate. Ms. Harris mentioned a conference room space needs to be confidential. Mr. Hamill said a drawback to downtown is the parking. Mr. Paris asked for a two - person committee to look into our options. Mr. Hughes asked about the cost of moving the computer