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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - Economic Development Corporation - 2010 - 04/28 - Special CalledCall to Order and Announce a Quorum Present With a quorum of the Board present, the Regular Meeting of the Allen Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) was called to order by President Tim Wood at 6:04 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at the AEDC Office. 1. Approval of Minutes of the March 24 2010 Regular Meetin On a motion by Maxine Sweet, seconded by Gary Caplinger, the Board unanimously approved the Minutes of the March 24, 2010 Regular Meeting as presented. 2. Approval of Minutes of the April l2 2010 Special Called Meeting Tim Wood noted that the Minutes should be amended to state that the Board convened into closed executive session at 7 13 a.m. on April 12, 2010. On a motion by Gary Caplinger, seconded by Maxine Sweet, the Board unanimously approved the Minutes of the April 12, 2010 Special Called Meeting with the change noted above. 3. Approval of Second Amended and Restated Economic Development Agreement with Graphic Converting Inc At the March AEDC Board meeting, the Board directed AEDC staff to negotiate an amendment to the economic development agreement with Graphic Converting, Inc. The purpose of the amendment was to eliminate the final installment of the incentive grant and adjust the requirements stated in the agreement. ALLEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (AEDC) BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2S, 2010 Board Staff Guests Tim Wood Robert Winningham David Hicks Susan Bartlemay Daniel Bowman Andy Messer Gary Caplinger Pete Smith Lee Battle Maxine Sweet Peter Vargas Carl Clemencich Joey Herald — Ex -Officio Member Call to Order and Announce a Quorum Present With a quorum of the Board present, the Regular Meeting of the Allen Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) was called to order by President Tim Wood at 6:04 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at the AEDC Office. 1. Approval of Minutes of the March 24 2010 Regular Meetin On a motion by Maxine Sweet, seconded by Gary Caplinger, the Board unanimously approved the Minutes of the March 24, 2010 Regular Meeting as presented. 2. Approval of Minutes of the April l2 2010 Special Called Meeting Tim Wood noted that the Minutes should be amended to state that the Board convened into closed executive session at 7 13 a.m. on April 12, 2010. On a motion by Gary Caplinger, seconded by Maxine Sweet, the Board unanimously approved the Minutes of the April 12, 2010 Special Called Meeting with the change noted above. 3. Approval of Second Amended and Restated Economic Development Agreement with Graphic Converting Inc At the March AEDC Board meeting, the Board directed AEDC staff to negotiate an amendment to the economic development agreement with Graphic Converting, Inc. The purpose of the amendment was to eliminate the final installment of the incentive grant and adjust the requirements stated in the agreement. April 28, 2010 - Page 2 Staff negotiated an amended economic development agreement that would provide the following: • Eliminate the final $200,000 payment • Adjust the annual taxable value requirement to $3.5 million • Adjust the annual employment requirement to 55 • Require that Graphic Converting, Inc. retain majority ownership of GC Packaging, LLC Dan Bowman explained that Graphic Converting, Inc. transferred assets related to its collectable card business in Allen to GC Packaging, LLC (GCP) in exchange for 70% ownership in GCP ColorDynamics, a commercial printing company located in Allen, owns the remaining 30% of GCP Wood remarked that this is a situation where the company has achieved roughly two-thirds of their required taxable value and employment, and the AEDC has provided roughly two-thirds of the grant funds originally stated in the economic development agreement. On a motion by Maxine Sweet, seconded by Susan Bartlemay, the Board unammously approved the Second Amended and Restated Economic Development Agreement with Graphic Converting, Inc. 4 Approval of Mutual Termination Agreement with Green Shield Financial LLC At the March AEDC Board meeting, the Board directed AEDC staff to negotiate a Mutual Termination Agreement to terminate the economic development agreement between the AEDC and Green Shield Financial, LLC. This termination agreement would eliminate the payment of any future installments of the AEDC incentive grant to Green Shield. Robert Winningham updated the Board on the company's situation, explaining that Green Shield vacated 60,000 -square feet in Allen in 2009, bringing its total footprint in Allen to approximately 22,000 -square feet. The company has approximately 100 employees in Allen, but has not grown its employment base to the extent originally projected. Sweet inquired if the buildings originally leased by Green Shield, at the corner of Ridgemont Drive and US 75, are currently vacant. Bowman indicated that the 60,000 -square foot building is completely vacant, but the 50,000 -square foot building is almost completely leased by Green Shield and a variety of smaller tenants. On a motion by Gary Caplinger, seconded by Maxine Sweet, the Board unanimously approved the Mutual Termination Agreement with Green Shield Financial, LLC. I April 28, 2010 - Page 3 5. Aooroval of Economic Development Agreement Between the City of Allen and the Allen Economic Development Corporation Winningham updated the Board on the Economic Development Agreement, explaining that the AEDC is providing funding to assist with infrastructure projects that will benefit important economic development -related projects in Allen. On a motion by Susan Bartlemay, seconded by Maxine Sweet, the AEDC Board unanimously approved the Economic Development Agreement between the City of Allen and the Allen Economic Development Corporation, 6. Convene into Closed_ Executive Session The Board convened into closed executive session at 6:12 p in. pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 551, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, Section 551.071 to seek legal advice of its Attorney about a pending or contemplated litigation or settlement offer, regarding: • ]in Mei Investment, Inc v Bank of America, N.A., et al., Cause No. 380-00650-2010, 380th Judicial District, Collin County, Texas Reconvene in Open Session 1 The Board reconvened into regular session 6.52 p.m. 7 Actions Resulting from Executive Session No actions taken. 8. Approval of AEDC Financial Reports Bowman presented the AEDC Financial Reports. On a motion by Susan Bartlemay, seconded by Gary Caplinger, the Board unanimously approved the AEDC Financial Reports as presented. 9. Discussion of AEDC's Collaborative Efforts to Achieve Goals as Outlined in the City Council 2010 Strategic Plan Wood noted that the purpose of this discussion is to evaluate AEDC Board efforts to support the Allen City Council Strategic Plan, identify areas on which the Board may need to increase its focus, and identify areas where the Board is doing well. Wood would like the AEDC Board to have clarity on its objectives. Winningham stated that AEDC staff participates in the City strategic planning process each year. The City of Allen undertakes a very unique and effective strategic planning process. April 28. 2010 - Page 4 City and AEDC staff works in unison to further the strategic plan and help secure important projects, such as the Allen Event Center, the Cisco data center and Cabela's. Peter Vargas indicated that development along SH 121 continues to be a high priority for the City of Allen and remains a primary focus for staff The Council gave staff four new directives, and SH 121 was one of them. Wood indicated that the economy has impacted the ability of the City to pursue certain types of goals and priorities. Bardemay indicated that in past years, there was a lack of communication and coordination between the efforts of the AEDC and the efforts of the City That disconnect no longer exists, she stated. Vargas noted that there has been significant communication between the AEDC and the City of Allen, which has been helpful to the economic development process. Clemencich thanked Wood for initiating this discussion, since vision and cooperation are very important to the success of any city Wood noted that alignment on these types of issues has contributed to Allen's success in recruiting commercial projects. Winningham indicated that he has contemplated having a public forum to discuss potential AEDC projects, but instead decided to use the City Council as a window to the desires of the public. Bartlemay indicated that it would not be appropriate to discuss sensitive economic development projects in a public foram due to many projects being under nondisclosure agreements. Clemencich agreed, noting that sometimes companies do not want certain types of information to be released. Winningham stated that the AEDC office helps to facilitate economic efforts, such as working with Cisco and Experian to get these companies involved with the AISD Career -Tech Center. AEDC efforts to support workforce development are very important. Wood noted that the AEDC has a much better partnership with the AND now Wood thanked Winningham for improving communication with the AISD. Sweet stated that the AEDC should work to persuade businesses to become more involved in the community. David Hicks indicated that Allen has emerged as a city with a unified vision among the City Council, AEDC Board, and staff. This unified vision gives the real estate community the impression that Allen is an easy place to do business. 10. AEDC Executive Director's Report Regarding Office Industrial Data Center, and Retail Projects, and Local Partnerships Winningham did not report on any additional projects 11. Discuss Administrative and Marketing Activities of the AEDC and Upcoming Local Events Winningham updated the Board on the administrative and marketing activities of the AEDC, thanking Clemencich and Mayor Steve Terrell for participating in the Dallas Business April 28, 2010 - Page 5 �! Journal Heavy Hitters Breakfast recently. The Collin County Marketing Team, of which the ® AEDC is a participant, sponsored the event. AEDC staff will be sending congratulatory notes to brokers that received Heavy Hitters awards. Winningham noted that the AEDC recently redesigned its logo and printed stationery items. The new logo points directly to the AEDC website, AllenTx.com. The NTCAR Expo is coming up in August of 2010, and Dan Bowman will be attending the Bio -Tech Expo in Chicago in May. Winningham noted that he monitors the AEDC conference list on an ongoing basis and ensures that AFDC staff only attends conferences and meetings that are worthwhile. For example, Winningham did not go to Denver recently because he did not find the trip worthwhile due to meeting participant cancellations. Winningham would like to create a scoring system to rate the success of AEDC recruitment trips. This would help ensure that marketing dollars are spent effectively. Staff is also working on an entertainment policy Winningham also noted that the AEDC is a sponsor of Allen USA and will be providing an inexpensive marketing item at the event. AEDC staff recently ordered USB drives, and engaged with a local website design firm to help integrate social media into the AEDC website. Allen has received significant press from the recent Cabela's announcement. Bowman updated the Board on data center projects, indicating that there has been serious interest in the Ball Semiconductor building. 12. Scheduling of Next AFDC Board of Directors Meetine The next AEDC Board meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 19, 2010 13. Adjourn The meeting was officially adjourned on a motion by Cart Clemencich, seconded by Gary Caplinger, at 7:20 p.m. These minutes approved this 19'" day of May 2010. �tJ Tim Wood, President Carl Clemencich, Secretary/Treasurer lI