BM 2001-01-03 EcDevCOPPELL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
January 3, 2001
MINUTES
The Coppell Economic Development Committee met at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 3,
2001 at Coppell Town Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 255 Parkway Boulevard, Coppell,
Texas 75019. The following were present: Chairman Bill Rohloff, Vice-Chairman Gary Roden,
Bruce Bradford, Jay Thompson, Dennis Onalaja, Bill Herries, Tim Brancheau, Karen Hunt,
Mohamed Elmougy, Mary Ann Kellam, Councilmember Marsha Tunnell, Chad Beach, Gary
Sieb, and Andrea Roy.
Call to Order
Chairman Bill Rohloff called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
It was moved by Bill Herries and seconded by Tim Brancheau that the minutes of the
December 6, 2000 meeting be approved as recorded. The motion passed unanimously.
Request by Koll Corporate Development for tax abatement for 19.3-acre parcel
Walter Mountford with Koll Corporate presented. Koll plans to construct three-76,797
square foot office/warehouse buildings along Freeport Parkway, on the north side of
Bums Street. The project is scheduled to be heard by City Council next week. Mr.
Mountford expressed that Koll expects to begin construction on the site in mid-to-late
January, with an expected completion date six months later. Mr. Mountford indicated that
the buildings have been designed as spec buildings, with the flexibility to provide a range
of office area from 50% to 100% of the buildings. Mr. Mountford also indicated that all
three buildings are expected to be constructed at the same time. There was some concern
regarding the completion of all three buildings; Chad Beach indicated that even if only
two buildings were constructed, the applicant would continue to comply with the
minimum $5.5 million required for the tax abatement. Mr. Beach also indicated that
many concerns are addressed within the abatement agreement as standard conditions,
such as a completion date, the kind of uses permitted, etc.
Chad Beach followed with the review of a summary of the results of the econometric
model, indicating that this is a standard abatement-Koll Corporate Development is
requesting a 5-year, 75% tax abatement.
It was moved by Karen Hunt and seconded by Bill Herries that the Duke-Weeks Realty
Corp. be granted a 5-year, 75% tax abatement. It was passed unanimously.
Discussion regarding Shared Business Services Center.
Staff discussed Mr. Bardach's proposal for the Shared Business Services Center. Staff
reviewed the Regus.com web site, a company that has shared business services centers
located all over the world and several in the Dallas Metro Area. Mr. Herries indicated
that the Chamber of Commerce had estimated that approximately 100 home occupation
businesses operate from Coppell. Discussion followed on the manner in which to address
and follow-up on this issue. It was suggested that City staff draft a request letter with
advisement from Mr. Bardach to be signed by the Economic Development Committee
Chairman and then forwarded to Regus.com. The 2-3-page letter shall include Coppell's
demographics, our interest in this type of facility, etc.
It was moved by Bill Herries and seconded by Karen Hunt that City staff,
including the City's ICS Director Rick Moore, initiate a request letter to
Regus.com. It was passed unanimously.
o
Discussion regarding acknowledgement of Triple Freeport Participants
Staff indicated to the Committee that the CISD had been presented a check in the
amount of $2,000 for the Education Foundation at their December 18, 2000
meeting. It was also discussed that the "thank you" advertisement in the Dallas
Business Journal is being drafted by staff and set to run in the January 26, 2001
advertisement. Staff asked the Committee if they wanted the four developers
who financially contributed to Triple Freeport to be included in the ad -the
Committee confirmed that the developers should be included. It was
recommended that City staff check with all developers to ensure their approval of
the mentioning of their business name in the article.
o
Update on development in the City (Planning)
City staff briefed the Committee on all new development items within the City.
Staff mentioned to the Committee that there was prior interest from the members
in conducting some of the Committee meetings at various businesses in the
community. Mr. Herries had expressed an interest in the Darryl Flood facility
and several others, including PSINet, Quill, Mannatech, Craftmade, and Cici's
Pizza. The Committee determined that an attempt would be made to meet once a
quarter at an outside business location. City staff will draft a letter to all
businesses in the area to see if they would like to participate and open their
facility to us for our meetings. Staff will begin with Darryl Flood and attempt to
finalize details in order to conduct our next meeting at their offices. Staff will
note this change in the next agenda and provide directions to these facilities.
It was moved by Bill Herries and seconded by Mohammed Elmougy that
Committee meetings be held at an outside business location once a quarter. It
was passed unanimously.
Additionally, Bill Herries informed the Committee that he had recently met with
a representative of the new Sam's Club/Wal-Mart on MacArthur Boulevard.
Sam's Club/wal-Mart gives away approximately $3,000,000 in grants every
year, including some economic development grants in amounts of $1,000-
$4,000. Mr. Herries indicated that Sam's Club/wal-Mart has expressed interest
in giving the City a grant and that a short proposal should be written on City
letterhead from the Committee with City and Chamber letters in support. Sam's
Club/wal-Mart would like to present this check to the City at the January 31st
Chamber Luncheon. Mr. Herries outlined the requirements of the grant. The
grant must be used for the following: existing businesses, new business
development, business education programs, community development, and
community awareness tools. Mr. Herries also indicated that the proposal needs
to be in writing and no presentation necessary. Sam's Club/wal-mart wishes to
be a part of our community, even though they are physically located outside
Coppell City limits.
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