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1995-11-08-Minutes 203 MINUTES OF THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REGULAR MEETING November 8, 1995 The Paris Economic Development Corporation met in a regular meeting on Wednesday, November 8, 1995, at 4:00 P.M., in the City Hall North Amnex, Fire Training Room, Paris, Texas. President Philip Cecil called the meeting to order with the following boardmembers present: Dick Amis, Curtis Fendley, Leon Williams and Barney Bray. Also present were ex-officio board members, Bobby Ray Walters, Dr. Marshall Dougherty, Ike Jewett, Michael E. Malone , City Manager and T. K. Haynes, City Attorney as Counselor. President Cecil welcomed Dr. Marshall Dougherty as an ex-officio member since he is the new President of the Chamber of Commerce. President Cecil stated that the next item on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the previous meeting of the Paris Economic Development Corporation. He asked if there were any corrections er additions to the minutes of the previous meeting, and there being none the minutes stood approved as presented. President Cecil asked Boardmember Amis to give the financial report in the absence of Mr. Anderson. Mr. Amis gave the report. President Cecil called for questions and there was none. Boardmember Fend!ey made a motion, seconded by Boardmember Bray that the report be approved as presented. The motion carried unanimously. President Cecil passed out copies of the appraisal and survey in connection with tko site to be purchased from the Paris industrial Foundation. Mr. Cecil stated that he did not have a President's Report to give at this time. President Cecil stated he would like to move Item No. 7 forward at this time. He asked Mr. Amis to give his report on the purchase from the Paris Industrial Foundation. Mr. Amis stated that all the boardmembers should have a copy of the survey of the site and the coversheet of the appraisal in connection with the purckase from the Paris Industrial Foundation. Mr. Amis said these will be basis of negotiations with Paris Industrial Foundation on this tract. Mr. Cecil said the Paris Industrial Foundation has agreed to accept the appraised value on this property as the purchase price. President Cecil called for questions from the Board and there was none. President Cecil asked Mr. Vest to make his report. Mr. Vest advised the boardmembers that he had given each one of them a copy of our new community profile which is a marketing tool and will be updated every year at this time. Mr. Vest said that due to advertising they had received thirteen inquiries since the last meeting. He said he had just returned from a conference in Longview related to NAFTA. He said the Texas Department of Commerce has a program placing all the communities in Texas on the Internet, and in connection with this we have been asked to complete a community profile. He said he had received a request Tuesday from T.U. Electric for designation as our contact person through the Texas Department of Commerce. Mr. Vest said he would be discussing this with T.U. Electric and welcomed any suggestions that the board might have in relation to this designation. President Cecil said that T.U. Electric would have to demonstrate that this designation would be to our advantage. 204 Mr. Vest said he would like to discuss the Board of the Texas Workforce Commission. He said that Judge Loughmiller was considered to be the C.E.O. of Lamar County. He said all of the agencies, the Texas Employment Commission, the J.T.P.A. Program, all training funds and approximately twenty-nine State and Federal agencies have been merged into one under Senate Bill 642 and House Bill 1865. He said our nine county region is considering a plan to create a local workforce development board. He said he had several questions in connection with this board. He said if we go with this program as it is proposed by the Ark-Tex Council of Governments that it is very slanted towards Texarkana and Bowie County. He said this is a very important issue and these local workforce development boards determine whether the County can get the workforce funds. Mr. Vest said another very important item he needed to discuss with the Board at this meeting dealt with the BITCO operation. He said the Board had approved participation with BITCO to · build the building on this site and serve as their landlord for three years. He said the board has agreed to a participating loan with the Northeast Texas Economic Development District and asked the bank consortium to get S.B.A. 7(a) approval. Mr. Vest said that the S.B.A. 7(a) portion has not been denied, but we have not been able to obtain approval. He said Ridley Briggs is heading up the lending agency making the request, and he told Mr. Vest that approval may be six weeks away. Mr. Vest said that if they wait another six weeks they have taken BITCO out of a year's worth of business. Mr. Vest said that in looking at alternative methods to fund the project, he would like to suggest that the Economic Development Corporation step in and become the guarantor for that loan, much in the same way that the S.B.A. would have been the guarantor, so we can proceed with that project. Mr. Vest said that the Board would be guaranteeing $270,000.00. He said we will not actually be putting up the money, and we will not be expending the money unless the business fails. He said it was a guarantee situation. President Cecil said that in conversation with Mr. Briggs on this date, he said S.B.A. has not turned this down at this time, but there is going to be at best a substantial amount of remaining time involved in getting the approval through S.B.A. if it's done at all. Mr. Cecil said, with that in mind, a suggestion was made that perhaps the P.E.D.C. could step in, in the place of S.B.A. and simply guarantee the bank loan as S.B.A. would have done. He said if this Board felt that it was appropriate for us to step in with that guarantee, it would be the same as the S.B.A. guarantee of 75% of $360,000 which is $270,000.00. He said that is assuming that the banks would be agreeable to doing that with the P.E.D.C. guarantee. He said this has not been formally presented to the banks at this time. Mr. Cecil said the building funds are not at risk since the building could be used for other purposes. He said the other agreement was to front $62,500.00 to the Northeast Texas Economic Development Corporation as our part of that loan which was a second lien loan on the equipment. He said if the loan of $62,500.00 was repaid, then this amount would flow on through as credit that we have for additional loans in this area. Mr. Cecil said in the guarantee situation, we would have first lien position which would be secured by the assets of the corporation. He said our lien would be first and the second lien behind ours would be the Northeast Texas Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Cecil asked for comments from the boardmembers. After discussion, it was the consensus of the boardmembers to see the project through. Boardmember Bray said he was in agreement, but felt that the building design needs to be something that can be worked into someone else's plans. President Cecil said that was a point well taken and the building should be a multi-purpose building. 205 President Cecil said this was not an agenda item for this meeting, so the board could not take action at this time. It was the consensus of the Board that this was a matter that we needed to move forward on. President Cecil said he would call a special meeting for action to be taken on this item. Mr. Cecil said Mr. Briggs had suggested that one other thing they might consider is approving this assistance subject to S.B.A. not having fulfilled the commitment within the next week or so. He said that should the banks agree to do this it will have to be cleared with them. Mr. Cecil said he would call a special meeting for Monday, Novermber 13, 1995, which would include this item and the necessary resolution in connection with the land purchase item. President Cecil asked City Engineer Earl Smith to give his report at this time. City Engineer Smith said that he and City Attorney Haynes had met with Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Elrod from BITCO and advised them that until he is authorized by the Board or City Manager to proceed he will not pursue the work. He said he was still on hold on this project. Mr. Cecil said the Board will have the financing situation finalized shortly. President Cecil stated that agenda item no. 8 would have to be postponed until the financing option is finalized. Ex-Officio boardmexber Bobby Walters commented on the importance of the Workforce Development Program. He said it was extremely important that the people appointed to that board are committed to attending the meetings and setting the -- direction for the Workfcrce money. He said he was also concerned about making sure that Lamar County gets their fair share of this money. He said in the nine county area Lamar County has the largest industrial base. He said Lamar County should have as much funds coming to it, or more funds coming to it to make sure that the training is done for our industrial base. Mr. Walters said Judge Loughmilller is our main person on the board and that board will then be made up of individuals appointed by these nine ccunty judges. Mr. Vest said that the advisory board will be comprised of thirty-seven members. He said Lamar County will have six members and Bowie County will have eleven members on the board. Mr. Walter said the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board needs to be very supportive of training efforts and needs that our industries have and go on record of supporting these needs to make sure that they get the type training that is needed. President Cecil asked if there was any other business and there being none he declared the board meeting adjourned. -- PRESIDENT, PHILIP CECIL ATTEST: ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, BARBARA DENNY