05/12/1994 MINUTES 3
MINUTES OF THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
May 12, 1994
The Paris Economic Development Corporation met in a special
meeting on Thursday, May 12, 1994, at 4:00 P.M., in the City
Hall, City Council Chambers, Paris,Texas. Chairman Philip R.
Cecil called the meeting to order with the following board
members present: Curtis Fendley, Dick Amis, and Barney Bray
III. Also present were ex-officio board members, Mayor Don
Shelton, Bobby Walters, Ike Jewett (representing Gary
Cunningham), Michael E. Malone, City Manager, and T. K. Haynes,
City Attorney, as counselor.
Chairman Cecil made note that Board member Leon Williams was
not present at this time, but there was a quorum present.
Chairman Cecil recognized Mr. John Lovorn and Dr. Brenda Schull
of the Pace Group and welcomed them .to the meeting. He stated
that this special meeting was called in order to receive the
report from the Pace Group as it relates to the Flexible
Incentive Plan and the Business Retention Survey. He stated
the Pace Group has been working on this project for some period
of time and have been in contact by telephone with several
members of the Board regarding development of these plans. He
suggested that as they go through these plans it would be
appropriate to try to resolve any problems.
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Chairman Cecil asked Mr. John Lovorn to speak regarding the
Flexible Incentive Plan. Mr. Lovorn asked the board members to
look at the Flexible Incentive Plan. He said when they first
developed this proposal they felt this was important, but once
it was put together they would.only recommend some guidelines.
He said each industry that is considering expansion here
locally, and each company that is considering a location here
needs to be weighed on its own merit. Every corporate location
project is different. He said they have come up with the best
flexible guidelines and cost benefit analysis they could based
on comparisons of what other cities have done in Texas, and on
their experience working with companies around the country and
their experience in dealing with local industry. He said that
any type of company that applies for any type grants or loans
should fill out the recommended forms. Mr. Lovorn covered the
information reflected in the Flexible Incentive Plan. He
stated once an individual is hired full time by the Chamber of
Commerce they will recommend a software package that can track
the prospects.
Mr. Lovorn stated the next time any of the board members are in
Austin they strongly recommend going to see Lynn Brooks
Director of the Texas Leverage Fund Department at the Texas
Department of Commerce. He said she is very important for
projects be it first position or second position on a loan. He
stated she recently gave four million dollars to McKinney,
Texas. He said she has some good rates on loans and is
probably the most important person in Austin right now insofar
as expansions.
Mr. Lovorn stated they could not locate any type Flexible
Incentive Plan with any guidelines written in the State of
Texas at the present time. He said these are general
guidelines to help when a company requests loans or grants in
order to help the community can make intelligent decisions
based on facts. He advised in this plan to make sure all the
commitments are in writing to avoid misunderstanding and
establishing a time frame of six months. Mr. Lovorn stated in
this plan, once a loan or grant is made to announce it through
the Paris Economic Development Corporation, the City and the
Chamber of Commerce and make it a total community effort.
Chairman Cecil called for questions on the Flexible Incentive
Plan as it was presented by Dr. Lovorn. He said they will come
back and act on it later in the meeting.
Mr. Lovorn said Dr. Schull is going to speak regarding the
Business Retention Survey. He stated they interviewed twenty
firms. Dr. Schull said some of the information in the survey
is confidential and must be off the record. She said she
would defer to Chairman Cecil's Judgment as far as anything off
the record. She said in talking to the businesses in Paris she
found they are very happy and complimentary about their
relationship with the City and the City's responsiveness. She
stated a rule of thumb for economic development is to start
from the bottom which means mining possibilities, agricultural
possibilities, and then use manufacturing as a base and then go
to service and tourism. She said you make sure you have the
strong manufacturing base and then service and tourism follows
for your maximum dollars. She stated Paris has a strong
manufacturing base, better than Texas and also better than the
national average. She stated research has shown that most
expansions take place at existing locations. She stated she
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questioned the firms as to how new business could be recruited,
and they came up with 113 prospects. She said it is very
important to have celebrations about how the tax dollars are
being spent. She noted that this area is in a mode of
expansion, and this is very important when other businesses are
looking at this area. Mr. Lovorn said when the individual is
hired as the economic developer they. want to recommend some
strategies on how to take suppliers lists and contact, take
quotes, get pictures, put them in the slide presentations and
actually go out and sell your community to other corporate
people. He said they would recommend that the third phase be
held off until this person is hired to do the Strengths and
Weaknesses Analysis and Visioning which was part of their
contract. He said they would also work with this individual on
the selling strategies. Dr. Schull stated regarding expansion
and relocation that no firm she contacted was considering
relocation.
Chairman Cecil asked for any questions regarding the
presentations given. He said if no one has any questions
regarding the Business Retention Survey or the Flexible
Incentive Plan then he would entertain a motion to approve the
Flexible Incentive Plan and to be accepted by this Board.
Board member Curtis Fendley made a motion, seconded by Board
member Dick Amis, to approve the Flexible Incentive Plan and be
accepted by this Board which carried unanimously.
Chairman Cecil called for a motion regarding the Business
Retention .Survey Board member Dick Amis made a motion,
seconded by Board member Barney Bray to approve the Business
Retention Survey and to be accepted by this Board which carried
unanimously.
Chairman Cecil stated in talking with Mr. John Lovorn and Dr.
Brenda Schull earlier today regarding the Strategic Planning,
Strengths and Weaknesses, and Visioning being done after the
Chamber of Commerce has their new director and he feels this is
a good suggestion. He asked the Board members if they agreed
with this suggestion. It was the consensus of the Board members
that this was a good idea, and Mr. Cecil told Mr. Lovorn that
they would be kept informed and develop a time frame after the
individual is employed.
Mr. Lovorn advised the Board if they wanted the Pace Group to
make this presentation to the City Council, they would be happy
to do so at no extra charge. Mayor Don Shelton advised that it
would be nice to have a report to the council and there was a
meeting scheduled tonight at 6:00 P.M. if they could give a
brief synopsis of this presentation. City Attorney advised
they could make a report under citizens comments as this is a
workshop session.
Chairman Cecil asked if there was any other business and there
being none, he declared the board meeting recessed until the
regular meeting to be held on Thursday, May 26, 1994, at 4:00
P.M.
CHAIRMAN PHILIP R. CECIL
ATTEST:
ASSISTANT CITY, BARBARA DENNY