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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-12-12 Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors RICHARD WARREN,PRESIDENT MIKE CLAUSEN, BOARD MEMBER BOB PIZZITOLA, VICE PRESIDENTRANDY WOODARD, BOARD MEMBER JOHN ZEMANEK, BOARD MEMBERNANCY OJEDA, BOARD MEMBER CHUCK ENGELKEN, BOARD MEMBER CITY OF LA PORTE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEETING AGENDA March Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the City of La Porte Development Corporation to be held on 12,2012,5:15p.m at the City Hall Council Chambers, 604 West Fairmont Parkway, La Porte, Texas, at .to consider the followingitems of business: 1. Call to order 2. Consider approval ofminutesof the meeting of La Porte Development CorporationBoard held on February 27, 2012–P. Fogarty 3. Consider approval or other action awarding a grant amount not to exceed $25,000 for Curtis Paskey and Paskey Incorporated for the Main Street Overlay District enhancement program to be awarded at the completion of the project –S. Osborne 4. Receive presentation on incentive projects and direct staff how to proceed with future incentive requests–S. Osborne 5. Set date for next meeting–S. Osborne 6. Board member commentsregarding matters appearing on agenda; recognition of community members, city employees, and upcoming events; inquiry of staff regarding specific factual information or existing policies. 7. Executive Session–The La Porte Development Corporation reserves the right to meet in executive session on any agenda item should the need arise and if authorized by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Title 5, Chapter 551, of the Texas Government Code. 8. Reconveneinto regular session and consider action, if any, on items discussed in executive session. 9. Adjourn In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of La Porte City will provide for reasonable accommodations for persons attending publicmeetings. To better serve attendees, requests should be received 24 hours prior to the meetings. Please contact Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary, at 281.470.5019. CERTIFICATION I certify that a copy of the March 12, 2012, agenda of items to be considered by the Board of the La Porte Development Corporation was posted on the City Hall bulletin Boardon March 6, 2012. _________________________________ Patrice Fogarty,City Secretary Page 1of 1 March 12, 2012, La Porte Development Corporation Agenda RICHARD WARREN,PRESIDENT MIKE CLAUSEN, BOARD MEMBER BOB PIZZITOLA, VICE PRESIDENTRANDY WOODARD,BOARDMEMBER JOHN ZEMANEK, BOARD MEMBERNANCY OJEDA, BOARD MEMBER CHUCK ENGELKEN, BOARD MEMBER MINUTES OF LA PORTE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY27, 2012 Monday,February 27,2012, The City of La Porte Development Corporation Board met onat the City Hall 5:00p.m Council Chambers, 604 West Fairmont Parkway, La Porte, Texas, at .to consider the following items of business: 1.Call to Order President Warren called the meeting to order at 5:00p.m. The following members of the La Porte Development Corporation Boardwere present: Board members Ojeda, Zemanek,Engelken and Clausen. Members of the La Porte Development Corporation Board absent: Vice President Pizzitola andBoard member Woodard. Staff Present:Steve Gillett, Traci Leach,StaceyOsborne,Patrice Fogarty,Michael Dolby, and Assistant City Attorney Clark Askins. 2.Consider approval of Minutes of the La Porte Development Corporation Boardheld on February 13, 2012 –P. Fogarty BoardmemberClausen moved to approve the minutes as presented. Board memberZemanek MOTION PASSED. seconded. Ayes:President Warren, Board membersOjeda, Engelken, Clausen and Zemanek Nays:None Absent:Vice President Pizzitola and Board member Woodard 3.Discussion or other action regarding proposed alternative for disposition of real property owned by the City of La Porte–T.Leach Assistant City Manager Traci Leachpresented a power point presentation regarding proposed alternative for disposition of real property owned by the City of La Porte. No action was taken. 4.Set date for next meeting –S. Osborne Board members set the next meeting date for March 12, 2012,at 5:15 p.m. 5.Board Comments There were no comments from the board. 6.Executive Session There was no executive session. 7.Reconvene There was no executive session. Page 1of 2 February 27, 2012, La Porte Development Corporation Board Minutes 8.Adjournment There being no further business, Board member Zemanek moved to adjourn the meeting.Board memberEngelken seconded.The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________________ Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary th Passed and approved on this12dayofMarch,2012. ____________________________________ President RichardWarren Page 2of 2 February 27, 2012, La Porte Development Corporation Board Minutes REQUEST FOR LA PORTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AGENDA ITEM Agenda Date Requested:3/12/12 Appropriation Requested By:Stacey Osborne Source of Funds: Department:CMO Account Number:15-9892-993-1100 Report:XResolution:Ordinance: Amount Budgeted:$200,000 Amount Requested:$25,000 Exhibits:A.Application YESNO Budgeted Item: B.Evaluation Summary SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION In the 2008-09 budget year, the La Porte Economic Development Corporationagreed to fund an enhancement grant program for the Main Street Overlay District. The program offered matching grants of up to $25,000 for businesses in the Main Street District to improve building facades. The project was allotted $200,000. The goals ofthe project were to beautify Main Street, to enhance Main Street’s appeal to new businesses and visitors, and to add value to the City of La Porte. Curtis W. Paskeyhas submitted a grant application for Paskey Incorporated,whose new building th will be located at 128South 8Street.The Enhancement Grant Application Committee met to discuss the application, and agreed that it should be approved for an amount not to exceed $25,000. The actual award will be one-half of the amount Mr. Paskeyspends on approved expenses for the project up to $25,000, and will be contingent upon the project being completed as indicated in this grant application. Attached is the application that Mr. Paskeysubmitted, as well as an evaluation summary. The committee recommends that the Board conditionally award a grant in an amount not to exceed $25,000, based on receipts and completion of work as indicated. Action Required by Economic Development Corporation: Consider approvinga grant amount not to exceed $25,000forMr. Paskeyand Paskey Incorporated, to be awarded at the completion of the project, conditional upon receipts and completion of work as indicated. Approved for La Porte Development Corporation Agenda Steve Gillett,Interim City Managerdate REQUEST FOR LA PORTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AGENDA ITEM Appropriation Agenda Date Requested:3/12/12 Source of Funds: Requested By:Stacey Osborne Account Number: Department:CMO Amount Budgeted: Report:Resolution:Ordinance: Amount Requested: Exhibits:A.Commonly Requested Incentives Budgeted Item:YES NO B.City of La Porte Incentives SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION The City of La Porte has been short-listed for a large project in the Battleground Industrial District. The consultant for the project, Eric Geisler, has requested to meet with the EDC to present a proposal for additional incentives beyond the standard Industrial District Agreement (IDA) that the Cityoffersto all projects locating in the Industrial Districts. While not every consultant asks to present, the Cityisoften asked to provide additional incentives for larger projects, particularly within the industrial districts. Staffwanted to discuss some of these incentives prior to Mr. Geisler’s presentation so the Board can be aware of the types of incentives often requested, and have the opportunity to weigh in on whether to offer additional incentives above and beyond what the City already has in place. Attached is a list of incentives that are commonly requested by site selectors who are doing due diligence for economic development projects.Thestandard response up to now has been to stick with the incentives already in place, which in the Industrial Districts means onlythe IDA. The IDA and the other incentive we have in place areexcellent incentives, but some EDC’s offer additional incentives as standard procedure, and staffwanted to give the Boardthe opportunity to do the same. There are several options available to the Board: 1.Continue to allow staff to offer only the incentives that are in place today; or 2.Consider expanding the types of incentives that can be authorized at the staff level; or 3.Continue offering only the incentives that are in place todaybut allow the Board to consider additional requestson a case-by-case basis; or 4.Other action desired by the Board. Staff is seekingdirection from the Board on how to proceed forward with future incentive requests. Action Required by Economic Development Corporation: No action required Approved for La Porte Development Corporation Agenda Steve Gillett, City ManagerDate Commonly Requested Economic Development Incentives Presented to the La Porte Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors March 12, 2012 The City of La Porte currently offers abatements on ad-valorem property taxes for new construction in the city limits, as well as an Industrial District Agreement for properties located in the Bayport and Battleground Industrial Districts. Following is alist of additional economic development incentives that are commonly requested for economic development projects: Cash Grants Personal Property Tax Abatements Training Grants Training Assistance Recruiting Assistance Land and/or Facility Grants Site Infrastructure Improvements Utility Rebates Project Financing Employee Relocation Grants or Incentives University Scholarships and Grants Priority Permitting Competition Restrictions Press Coverage Local Incentives Tax Abatements The City of La Porte offers ad valorem tax abatements for new construction of the following qualifying facilities within the City’s corporate limits: • Regional Distribution/Service (up to 10%) • Manufacturing/Other Basic Industry (up to 10%) • Retail/Commercial Office/Regional Entertainment (up to 50%) To be eligible to apply for an abatement, a company must meet the following criteria: • Minimum Capital Investment: $3 million • Minimum Job Creation: 10 • Term of abatement: averaged over five (5) years For further information about our tax abatement program, please contact Stacey Osborne in the Economic Development Department at (281) 470-5017 or osbornes@laportetx.gov. Industrial District Agreements To attract a business into an area, a city may choose to encourage the business to locate in the city’s Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (“ETJ”).If the business locates in the city’s ETJ, the City Council may enter into an agreement not to annex the business property for a set periodof time. The agreement may call for the business to pay the city an annual fee in lieu of taxes for the use of city facilities.The city may also provide certain contractual services (i.e. firefighting services) to the business during the non-annexation period. Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Developers of business property within a defined area (i.e. business parks, service centers) may receive municipal financing assistance through the use of tax increment financing. The City Council may create a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) where construction of public improvements using tax increment funds is likely to result in significant commercial investment. The cost of improvements within the zone is repaid by the contribution of future tax revenues by each taxing unit that levies taxes on the affected properties. Once the city initiates tax increment financing, counties and school districts may also participate in the tax increment financing program. Public Improvement Districts A Public Improvement District (“PID”) enables a commercial area to make improvements benefiting the area and spread the cost equally among all properties.Property owners are assessed based on benefit. These assessments may be used to pay the debt service on bonds or they may be used to pay for services directly if no bonds are issued. PID funds may be used to purchase real property in connection with improvements.Improvements include a wide variety of enhancements such as water and wastewater, streets, drainage, parking, landscaping, etc. Foreign Trade Zone The City of La Porte supports companies applying for thisfederal exemption from state and local ad valorem taxes on tangible personal property imported from outside the United States, and held in a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) for the purpose of storage, sale, exhibition, repackaging, assembly, distribution, sorting, grading, cleaning, mixing, display, manufacturing or processing and tangible personal property produced in the United States.Property must beheld in a Foreign Trade Zone for exportation, either in its original form or as altered by any of the above processes. This program is managed by the Port of Houston Authority. Freeport Exemption (La Porte ISD) The Freeport Exemption exempts personal property consisting of inventory goods or ores, other than oil, natural gas and petroleum. Eligible property must be transported out of the state within 175 days of acquisition but may first be assembled, stored, manufactured, processed or fabricated locally. Currently, Freeport Exemptions are offered bythe LPISD. Municipal Grants–Chapter 380 The City Council of the City of La Porte may provide loans and grants of city funds as well as city employees and equipment to promote economic development projects within the city. Eligible projects involving significant investment may contract with the City to receive sales tax grants, franchise fee grants, water or sewer line extensions, building permit fee waivers and grants for capital recovery fees.