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Special City Council Meeting February 13, 2001 Page 9 Dr. Don Wikoff, 5120 Oak Creek Drive, stated that he was speaking on behalf of the development of the area. As a member of the school board of North Lamar, he stated that they are always in the process of trying to find dollars for needed public education funding. Dr. Wikoff said that comes from a tax base that we all feel in our pocket book as we find that the tax rate has to go up to support the infrastructure that is needed. He said we should look at the resources of Paris and see how can we attract more industry or more revenue to Paris and Lamar County. Dr. Wikoff said Lake Crook is a tremendous resource. He thinks one of the other resources is the health care industry in Paris. The people that have been talking about leaving Dallas and coming here embellishes what he would say and that is that the elderly are looking for a safe place to retire and they do not want to stay in the crime ridden areas of Dallas. He said they want to come to areas that are accessible to the big cities but are still safe and have ready access to health care. Dr. Wikoff said the Lake Crook area could be developed to become a very important drawing card for Lamar County if developers were to come and master plan it to a facility that will attract seniors like Hot Springs, Arkansas has developed over the years. He said he would like to see the city move in that direction for Lake Crook. Larry Fendley, 635 42"d S. E., appeared before the City Council stating that Cooper Industries has been a rumor or fact for the last two years and he would like to see it drawn to a conclusion. Mr. Fendley said in doing so, he would like the City Council to answer a few questions for him. Does the Council support full valuation and the proposal of Cooper Industries? If so, who is the project manager? What is the progress on the project? When will you visit Cooper and when will Cooper visit us? What is the schedule for getting that proposal on the table so that we have an alternative to consider it with numbers? Mr. Fendley said if the answer to these question are negative, then you need someone to facilitate meetings between the Council and Cooper. Mr. Fendley said he volunteers to do the job at no charge, and he is qualified. Johnny Scroggins, 2515 Ballard, advised that he is for recreational development at Lake Crook. But it seems like we are thinking if there is not residential and commercial development done at Lake Crook, there will not be any in Paris. Mr. Scroggins pointed out that there are thousands of acres in Lamar County where there can still be commercial and residential developments if that is what we need. He encouraged the Council to keep Lake Crook for the people.