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Regular Council Meeting February 24, 2014 Page 5 City Manager John Godwin said the City currently had three programs to encourage downtown businesses and property owners to improve their buildings. He said other incentives that could be considered were increasing local grant amounts, Chapter 380 economic development agreements, creation of a TIF, modification of codes, flexibility with zoning regulations, and creation of a neighborhood empowerment zone. Council Member Frierson inquired if there was anything the Downtown Association, Main Street or the Council could do. Mr. Godwin said there needed to be more trees and art downtown. He also said the park that United Methodist was planning to build would be an asset and was an example of public and private partnerships. Council Member Frierson said he would like to look at modifying fire codes to attract new business and possibly look at a TIFF or 380 agreements. Mayor Hashmi said they might want to look at forgiving back taxes for those who agreed to rehabilitate the property within a specific timeframe. Mayor Hashmi favored review of the codes, because the process for owners was very expensive when rehabilitating a building. Mayor Hashmi inquired of Chief Wright about the fire code. Chief Wright said he did not propose changing the fire codes, but there was flexibility to work with property owners. Council Member Wright relayed he had spoken to some of the downtown owners who told him they could not get enough rent and that tax relief might help with the downtown area. Council Member Lancaster said she would like to give owners or potential owners time to bring buildings into code. Council Member Grossnickle said Mr. Godwin had some good ideals, but that it was up to the property owners to develop and he was not sure if the City had a lot of money to give for incentives. Council Member Drake said she liked number seven on the list, which was to expedite review of development and building plans and designating a staff person to walk them through the process from start to finish. Mayor Hashmi suggested that a meeting be scheduled with the bankers to discuss the possibility of loans for downtown business owners similar to the home savings program. Council Member Frierson inquired as to what they could do at that time, such as number 11 which was creation of a neighborhood empowerment zone. Council Member Wright favored a joint meeting with downtown owners. Mayor Hashmi said the Chamber wanted to meet with the City Council next Monday and they could discuss the incentives at that time. A Motion to move forward with numbers 4 and 11 listed above and table the remainder of the incentives was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Wright. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Receive and discuss annual report and plans for the Emergency Medical Services. EMS Director Kent Klinkerman announced that the Northeast Texas Emergency Management & Healthcare Conference scheduled for February 25 and 26 at the Love Civic Center. Mr. Klinkerman gave his annual report to City Council, which included staffing levels, number of calls, equipment and ambulance life cycles, requirement of ongoing education and licenses for paramedics, transporting of critical care patients, and transports between hospitals. In addition, he explained their community outreach, such as Fill the Boot and Kids Safe Saturday. He said it was difficult to attract and retain qualified people, because of compensation. Dr. Sharon Malone, Paris EMS Medical Director gave an outline detailing how emergency medical services had significantly changed in the last five years and stated excellent service was