BM 2000-12-06 EcDevCOPPELL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
December 6, 2000
MINUTES
The Coppell Economic Development Committee met at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6,
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2000 at Coppell Town Center, 2 Floor Conference Room, 255 Parkway Boulevard, Coppell,
Texas 75019. The following were present: Chairman Bill Rohloff, Vice-Chairman Gary Roden,
Jay Thompson, Dennis Onalaja, Bill Herries, Tim Brancheau, Karen Hunt, Mohamed Elmougy,
Robert Key, Gary Sieb, Andrea Roy, and City Manager Jim Witt.
1. Call to Order
Chairman Bill Rohloff called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Bill Herries and seconded by Dennis Onalaja that the minutes of the
November 1, 2000 meeting be approved as recorded. The motion passed unanimously.
*Item #4 was placed in front of #3 for discussion.
4. Discussion regarding acknowledgement of Triple Freeport Participants.
The Committee resumed discussion on the manner in which to acknowledge the Triple
Freeport Participants and contributors. Staff indicated that the donation of $2,000 to the
CISD Education Foundation was approved by the City Attorney and Manager and ready
to be forwarded to the CISD. The monies will be given to the CISD prior to or at their
December 18, 2000 meeting. Staff also indicated that the price for the ad placement in
the Dallas Business Journal would increase in January; the month in which in the ad was
to run. The ad price increased from $2,970 to $3,270. The Committee did not object to
the increase and agreed to proceed with the ad to acknowledge the Triple Freeport
Participants. Mr. Witt also discussed that the City had received the necessary monies
from all contributing participants and it is estimated that the amount received will
actually exceed the level needed by the CISD. As previously discussed, any excess
monies will be refunded to the contributors.
It was moved by Bill Herries and seconded by Jay Thompson to pay the increased rate of
$3,270 for a ½ page ad in the Dallas Business Journal. It was passed unanimously.
3.Presentation by Andrew Bardach, Chairman of the Telecommunications Board
regarding Co-location center.
Andy Bardach and Kerrin Garrick-Foltyn of the Coppell Telecommunications Board
were present to present a proposal for a shared business services center in the City of
Coppell. Mr. Bardach made the presentation regarding the shared business services
center, also known as a “co-location center.” Mr. Bardach indicated that the co-location
center would provide professional office solutions on a fee basis for Coppell
residents/businesses, targeting home-based businesses and telecommuters. He expressed
that there is a need here in Coppell to serve the growing tech population. Such a center
would offer a wide variety of community information, videoconferencing, high speed
internet access, varied communications devices, reception and secretarial services, private
lounges, interview/meeting rooms, plug in workstations, training opportunities, and
community job sourcing. Mr. Bardach indicated that the City would benefit from this
due to new sales tax revenue, reduction in traffic congestion by having more people work
from home, and promoting work to local businesses, etc. Finally, Mr. Bardach expressed
the desire to the Committee that a research study by an outside consulting firm be
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conducted to determine the need and feasibility of such a facility. Discussion followed
among Committee members and Mr. Bardach and Ms. Garrick-Foltyn. The Committee
expressed concerns regarding the cost-benefit of this type of facility and Mr. Elmougy
was aware that Farmer’s Branch had recently undergone a study for a similar type of
facility. Mohammed was asked to see if he could obtain a copy of the Farmer’s Branch
study for the conference facility, to get a better idea of the area’s demands. The
Committee will continue discussions on this matter.
Adjournment
With no further business to discuss, it was moved by Mary Ann Kellam and seconded by
Karen Hunt that the meeting adjourn. By unanimous vote, the meeting was adjourned at
8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea L. Roy
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