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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING FOR <br />TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE (TIRZ) BOARD <br />PARIS, TEXAS <br />CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER, 107 E. KAUFMAN ST, PARIS TEXAS <br />THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2024 <br />3:00 O'CLOCK P.M. <br />Members present: Cody Head, Chairman; Rob Vine, Vice Chairman; <br />Thomas McMonagle, Secretary; and Maureen Hammond <br />Members absent: Reeves Hayter <br />City Staff: Osei Amo-Mensah, Director of Planning and Community <br />Development; Skylar Unger, Deputy City Clerk; and Cheri Bedford, <br />Main Street Coordinator <br />1. Call meeting to order. <br />Chairman Cody Head called the meeting to order at 3:00 P.M. <br />2. Citizens' input. <br />Mayor Mihir Pankaj spoke in favor of enlarging the members of the Board of Directors from five to seven <br />and removing the requirement that City employees must fill two seats. He stated that requiring City staff <br />to be on the board can give off a weird perception to citizens, and it might be best to eliminate any <br />speculation. <br />Council Member Alix Putnam also spoke in favor of enlarging the board from five to seven members. <br />PEDC Board Member, Mark Homer spoke in favor of enlarging the board and stated that while the law <br />does allow for the city employees to be on the board, he feels that the board should be filled with members <br />of the public and not city employees. <br />3. Approve minutes from the meeting on June 13, 2024. <br />A Motion to approve the minutes as presented was made by Mr. Vine and seconded by Mr. McMonigle. <br />Motion carried 4 ayes — 0 nays. <br />4. Discuss and possibly take action on a recommendation to City Council on one or both of the following: <br />A. Increase the number of members on the TIRZ Board of Directors from five (5) to seven (7). <br />Chairman Head stated that he had a couple concerns about expanding the board from five to seven <br />members. He said there were valid concerns with getting enough applicants each year, especially <br />once TIRZ isn't such a hot topic. Ms. Hammond agreed with Mr. Head and stated at this time <br />there is such great interest in serving on this board that she would be in support of increasing it to <br />7 members. She also agreed with Mr. Homer that there were several qualified applicants, and <br />maybe with the caveat that once they get through this process, the board might consider going <br />back to 5 members if it is warranted. Mr. Vine stated that there had not been a full board present <br />the entire time the TIRZ board had been meeting, and that he was neither opposed to expanding <br />the board, or for it. Mr. Vine also said that depending on how item `B" goes, if they decide to <br />remove the requirement or exclude city employees altogether, that might accomplish the same <br />