1993-12-15-PEDC MINUTES OF THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
December 15, 1993
The Paris Economic Development Corporation met in the initial
meeting on Wednesday, December 15, 1993, 2:35 P.M., City Hall,
City Council Chambers, Paris, Texas. Chairman Philip R. Cecil
called the meeting to order with the following board members
present: Eric Clifford, Curtis Fendley, Leon Williams, Barney
Bray, III. Also present were ex-officio board members, Richard
Chamberlain (representing JoAnn Parkman), Bobby R. Walters,
Michael E. Malone, City Manager, Judge Deane Loughmiller, and
Gary Ownings (representing Gary Cunningham) and T. K. Haynes,
City Attorney, as counsellor.
Chairman Philip Cecil stated the first item on the agenda was
the administering of the oath of office for the newly elected
Board of Directors and Ex-Officio "Members" of the Paris
Economic Development Corporation. Municipal Judge Tom Hunt,
III, administered the oath of office of each of the newly
elected Board of Directors and Ex-Officio "Members" present at
this meeting.
Chairman Cecil stated the next item was the presentation of the
Paris Economic Development Corporation Resource Manual and
introduced Sissy Day , of Day and Associates to make the
presentation.
Ms. Day said the book in front of each board members was the
product they had been working on for the last couple months with
the City Council and Staff. The Council wanted to give the
Board a Resource Manual which would provide the resources needed
to get started and define what the Council sees as the Board's
responsibilities. All of the materials to be covered had been
developed as a result of interviews with the Board, the Council,
and with twenty-two community leaders. She stated the Council
had voted and passed on all of the materials contained in the
manual written by the consultants.
Ms. Day stated that she and Mr. Pothoff were going to go through
the book and would like for the board members to ask questions.
She stated the first item in the book was the consultants report
which reflects the specific scope of work given to them in
October. She stated the comments they received in their
interviews fell under the headings of communication, labor
development, minority participation, leadership, vision, quality
of life and education. Ms. Day stated the one top issue when
relocating is the quality of education. Therefore, this is an
issue which will always be coming to your attention.
Joe Pothoff briefly covered some of the study conclusions from
their interviews. He stated they had six or seven items they
felt would need follow-up by the P.E.D.C. He stated the first
being the strategic plan which gives the critical path of some
of the things that need to be accomplished in the first year.
He stated a good data base is essential to do an effective
strategic plan, and a creative marketing plan should be
encouraged. Mr. Pothoff stated business retention is a very
efficient method to use the money and maximizing the
effectiveness of the funds was very important. He stated the
board may find there are certain projects that may solve more
than one problem at a time and those should be given priority.
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Ms. Day stated the documents written in consultation with the
Council is the Council Charge to the Paris Economic Development
Corporation. Ms. Day reviewed this portion of the manual. She
stated this is the basis of the beginning of what the P.E.D.C.
is supposed to strive to achieve. City Attorney Haynes stated
the Council changed this at their last meeting to include Lamar
County. She stated the P.E.D.C. is to operate in a manner
consistent with all Federal, State and local laws and they have
included as much enabling legislation as possible in the
manual.
Ms. Day also mentioned the 501(C)(3) Operational Guidelines and
stated Mr. Pothoff was going to briefly discuss these with the
board members. Mr. Pothoff stated the purpose of the guidelines
was to act as a checklist and a reminder of some of the issues
to consider when operating a non-profit corporation.
Ms. Day stated the P.E.D.C. is to follow Council Policy
Directives in carrying out the charge which she briefly
discussed. She stated the rules for determining a conflict of
interest shall be consistent with the Bylaws and the City
Charter. If there is an appearance of a conflict of interest,
it should be treated as a conflict. All actions taken by the
Board shall be, and appear to be fair without favoritism. No
director shall accept gifts from any party seeking favorable
status or action from the Board. While conducting the business
of the Board, all directors shall conduct themselves in a
positive ethical professional manner. She stated all inquiries
made to the Board by individuals or organizations require
confidentiality and should be considered as privileged
information and handled accordingly. The President of the Board
shall be the key contact for all economic development. Ms. Day
stated State legislation has provided a method for
confidentiality which is very important.
Ms. Day reviewed the guidelines for developing criteria. She
stated the City Council and Staff feels very hopeful fewer tax
incentives will have to be offered in order to bring a new
business to town with the additional dollars available and the
incentives the Board has to bring someone to the Community.
Ms. Day stated in the reporting requirements the Board shall
make all reports to the City Council by the deadlines outlined
in the bylaws. Further, the Board shall develop a method to
communicate with the citizens of Paris the work of the P.E.D.C.
Chairman Cecil questioned what was meant by this? He wanted to
know if this was through the report to the Council. Ms. Day
felt the Council was hopeful there would established by the
Board an ongoing method of communicating those things
necessary. Mr. Pothoff stated there are a lot of different
methods which can be developed in creating the sense of
accountability for the public and to celebrate the successes.
Ms. Day discussed Council approval and stated items requiring
Council approval included Strategic Plan, Annual Board Budget
and Work Plan, Administrative Policies such as the Incentives
Programs and Project Approval Criteria, changes to the Bylaws,
Articles of Incorporation, Policy Directives, the Mission
Statement, and commitments to cause expenditure of City funds
sought under Board jurisdiction.
Ms. Day pointed out that under the Council Charge the Board is
to complete a Strategic Plan following the guidelines of the
Strategic Plan Process by May 31, 1994.
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Ms. Day stated the Board is to develop a comprehensive business
incentive package and project approval criteria for the Paris
City Council, and to follow the guidelines set out once these
are established.
Mr. Pothoff went over the bylaws and how they relate to the
enabling legislation with the board members. He stated that
most of the legislation is covered by Vernon's Civil Statutes
5190.6, Chapter 10. He stated the thing emphasized to Mr.
Pothoff by Mr. Bearden, with the State Comptroller's Office, is
to keep in mind the intent when making the interpretation is to
try and create Jobs for the people who live in the jurisdiction
adopting the tax. He stated in connection with the 10%
promotion issue which was discussed the last time Mr. Bearden
was strictly looking at advertising, such as direct, trade shows
or exploratory trips. He said in a discussion with Mr. Bearden
about exactly what could be done in the County, and he said to
go back to the intent to create jobs.
Mr. Pothoff stated one of the changes that has occurred and is
not reflected in the Vernon's Statutes in your book is 4A cities
can also elect to come under Section 4B. The primary purpose is
to allow a 4A city, which are your smaller size cities to use
economic development funds for a specific project to enable
certain types of specialized community projects. He stated if
at some point the board wants to get into that you will need to
talk with your Council. If you wanted to hold a election for
becoming a 4B city then you have that capability. He stated
that was the most significant change that has occurred.
Mr. Pothoff stated the Texas Department of Commerce has also
provided a great deal of material which the consultants feel
will be useful in looking at financial incentives and as you
develop financial incentives as well as opportunities for
leveraging money with monies raised through the sales tax
revenue.
Mr. Pothoff asked if there were any questions about what was in
the contents of the Resource Manual or its purpose or any of the
issues raised or Council directives. He stated he would like to
close by going through the Strategic Plan Process. He said this
will be the next thing for you to do to get the strategic
planning process started. He said strategic planning is
basically going through a process of figuring out what you want
to be, where you think you want to go, and to come up with some
specific action steps to reach your goal. He said once you have
put those into action and start implementing then you have to
monitor what you are doing and adjust. He stated they have
broken the strategic plans down into stages which are economic
audit, analysis of opportunities and constraints, and developing
an action plan.
Mr. Pothoff stated the Council Charge indicated that by the end
of May the Board needs to have a Strategic Planning Process done
and Day and Associates would like to work in helping you do
this. Ms. Day and Mrs. Pothoff related their areas of
experience related to economic development.
Board member Curtis Fendley stated they had outlined some things
on the Strategic Plan, and how long would it take for a proposal
to come back as far as cost and time to put it together. Ms.
Day they would be able to put together a proposal on the entire
process and it would not take very long to accomplish this based
on the fact they had already been involved in the process.
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Chairman Philip Cecil complimented the consultants on the job
they had done on developing this Resource Manual. He stated at
the Board meeting in January they will be considering exactly
how the Board wants to proceed as related to the Strategic Plan
and development of Program Criteria and parameters. He stated
-- the Board would give the consultants consideration at that point
and may ask for a proposal in connection with that.
Chairman Cecil stated regarding the meeting in January he felt
the initial business would be to commence the process of
developing the Strategic Plan and formulation of the Program
Criteria. He stated he would be in touch through the City Staff
as January approaches to identify the meeting date.
Chairman Cecil asked if there was any other business and there
being none he declared the board meeting adjourned.
CHAIRMAN PHILIP R. CECIL
ATTEST:
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, BARBARA DENNY