02-08-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Regular Council Meeting February 8, 2021 Page 6 asked that she draft a resolution for Council consideration and possible adoption. Ms. Harris also said the conference was going to be outside the city limits, and the resolution reflects the City Council condemns the use of the name Paris, Texas in their promotional materials and requests the organizers remove same from their materials. Council Member Savage inquired if they could prohibit the conference from taking place. Ms. Harris said they could not prohibit a rally from taking place but if there was a problem at the rally, the appropriate jurisdiction would address it. Council Member Pilgrim asked about including all of the hate groups because they did not want any in Paris. Ms. Harris said they could do that, but the City Council was responding to this one before them. Council Member Pilgrim said he was happy to vote in favor of this, and he would like to see one in the future that addresses all hate groups. Council Member Savage said they needed to address this one now, and as a City they needed to stay on top of it. Council Member Hughes said it was important that the City Council be one voice. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Receive presentation, discuss and provide direction to staff regarding the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Act and Paris Lakes. Ms. Harris explained that PACE financing was an alternative to traditional financing for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy projects for privately -owned commercial and industrial properties. She said under PACE, commercial and industrial property owners could obtain low-cost, long-term financing. Ms. Harris also said the financing was secured by an assessment on the property that was secured by a senior priority lien on the property that runs with the property and could not be extinguished by a foreclosure of a mortgage or a property tax lien. She said it was designed to be risk and cost-free for the local government. Ms. Harris reported that the PACE Program could be administered by the local government itself, by implementing a program jointly with another local government, or by contract with a third -party administrator. She outlined the financing and project completion phase. Ms. Harris said that the City had been approached by representatives of Paris Lake developers about establishing a PACE program. Next, Ms. Harris said they had three options, which were creation of a pilot PACE financing program for the Paris Lakes Project and then assess if the City wanted to expand the program or decline to participate in the future, create a wider PACE financing program that would include other geographic areas or decline to participate in the PACE financing program. Mayor Clifford said he was in favor of doing a pilot project but would like to see it extended for other businesses, as did Council Member Pilgrim. Ms. Harris suggested to start with a pilot program. Council Member Knox wanted to know if this could be combined with other economic development incentives, and Ms. Harris said they could not be combined. Council Member Knox inquired about a timeline before they could make a decision to expand the program. Ms. Harris said her best guess would be a couple of months. Council Member Portugal said she was excited about energy saving steps taking place in Paris