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BM 1990-07-11 EcDevMinutes of the Economic and Business Development Board July 111 1994 The Economic and Business Development Board met in regular session on Wednesday, July 11, 1990, at 7:34 p.m., in the Executive Conference Room of Coppell Town Center. The following Board members were present: Lee Richardson, Chairman David Greer Richard Johnson Angelo Vacarro City staff members present were: Alan Ratliff, City Manager Guests present were: Gary Kennedy, TU Electric Kirk King, TU Electric Tom Parsons, TU Electric Deborah Penn, Zenith Data Systems John Prickett, TU Electric Rusty Roberts, Carrollton Bicycle Exchange Item 1: Call to Ord -.r: The meeting was called to order by Chairman Richardson, noting a quorum was present. Item 2: Review and Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June 6, 1990, meeting were reviewed. Richard Johnson noted one correction to the minutes: The vote on the Metrocrest ad was four members approving, and one against (R. Johnson ). David Greer made a motion that the minutes be approved with the correction. Angelo Vacarro seconded the motion. The motion carried and the minutes were approved. Bicycle Race - Angelo Vacarro presented a report and critique of the bicycle race and called upon Rusty Roberts and Deborah Penn to present their comments and talk about the event. Rusty informed the Board that the feedback he received indicated that all the participants loved the course and felt it was a close to perfect course for a bicycle race. He reported that officials of the state bike racing association are considering holding the state championship here in Coppell next June. Ms. Penn reported that Zenith Data Systems spent $7,000 on the race and its promotion. They felt the media coverage was excellent. however, they would have liked to see greater participation from the metroplex citizens. They recommend joining this event with another community event to increase metroplex participation. Ms. Penn felt that the mention of joining the event with Founder's Day was highly desirable. Lee Richardson suggested that sports figures with high profiles could also be involved in the event. Lee stated he had spoken with representatives of the Rotary Club and they expressed interest in affiliating with the bike race. Founder's Day is held the last weekend in April, and Lee will have further discussions with the Rotary Club concerning this matter. Angelo Vacarro suggested that a meeting be set up with John Hill of the Rotary Club, and the president of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce to discuss improving and joining these events. Richard Johnson suggested that a major media be contacted and requested to sponsor the event. This would, according to Richard, ensure more publicity. Rusty Roberts also suggested the need for a sponsor to contribute prize money for the participants in the race. Lee Richardson summarized discussions and stated that we should continue to work on this project as was discussed. Item 4: Presentation by TU Electric: Lee Richardson called upon Tom Parsons of TU Electric to present and introduce the program. John Prickett, who heads economic development for TU in this area, presented his thoughts and comments. He serves an area including 87 counties and stated that the metroplex and DFW Airport are the hottest spots in his territory. TU economic development primarily serves industrial development, community development, and agribusiness. Agribusiness is the backbone of Texas' economic development, producing $70+ billion in raw products. Most of the value added occurs in out-of-state locations where the raw products are processed. They are therefore concentrating on the agribusiness. Angelo Vacarro asked what TU was able to do in the way of community development. Mr. Prickett responded that they could put on a training program for an economic development team, assist in gathering demographics, and make the data for industrial prospects available. He futher stated that TU representatives have leads from the Texas Department of commerce and Dallas Partnership as well as developing their own leads. Alan Ratliff asked what items were of most importance to industry prospects. Gary Kennedy responded by providing the following: 1) Labor - concerned about availability of an educated labor force. 2) Transportation, particularly in and out of the airport. 3) Telecommunications network. 4) Quality of life, which includes educational opportunities, cultural amenities, and housing. Mr. Kennedy stated that most decisions about relocation are made by a plant manager or CEO based on friendships formed with local persons as well as personal opinion of the city being considered. Mr. Kennedy stated that Coppell's major strengths are its highways and its proximity to the airport. Lee Richardson requested that TU consider assisting Coppell in developing a response team. Mr. Kennedy said that he would be happy to conduct a training program consisting of two hours per week for three to four weeks, during which time a notebook would be prepared containing information needed to work with industrial prospects. The response team should Consist of members of the Economic Development Board, City Council, City staff,, and other community leaders. Lee Richardson suggested that we should consider conducting such a training effort in the early fall. TU representatives indicated they would assist Coppell with the video project; if we want them to do so, we should contact Tom Parsons who will arrange for this assistance. They stated they could assist with the development of the Coppell brochure and would provide camera-ready work if the City would undertake the cost of printing the brochure. This concluded discussion of items with, TU and TU representatives excused themselves from the meeting. Item 5: Video Production: The video was discussed by Richard Johnson who related that he had gotten an estimate from Bob Krysak of $2,600 for preparing the Coppell video. Mr. Johnson stated that Mr. Krysak said he would provide the video footage of many Coppell events free of charge if we needed it. The bid of $2,600 does not include voice or music, which are estimated at an additional $2,000. Lee Richardson stated he had discussed the video with the Mayor and related the Mayor's suggestion that the Economic Development Board present their proposal to the City Council. Lee also suggested that based on the comments made by the TU representatives, we need to make some changes to the script to incorporate regional attractions into the program. Richard Johnson stated he could do this and would make those changes. Richard also agreed to present the video concept to the City Council at the next meeting. Angelo Vacarro moved to adjourn the meeting and the motion was seconded by David Greer. The motion received unanimous approval and the meeting was adjourned at 10 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Economic and Business Development Board will be Wednesday, August 1, 1990, at Coppell Town Center, RespectfU;V Alan D. Acting Recording Secretary Economic and Business Development Board City of Coppell Deborah Penn ZEN,ry Spec a tVefitS -Coordinator 0,,�Iqqpl data systems Groupe Bull Zenith Data Systems 1501 Luna Road Suite 102 Carrollton, Texas 75006 Ph.(214)323-1010 Ext. 250 FAX (214) 245-1769 FAX (214)245-0863 Jlrl — —j", '?,,S 61 s - PY'i 4e- eq�- L t -c_ '--Ftk-, C �� vz� r cz-4-