HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA 2008-11-03 MinutesCity of North Richland Hills Economic Development
Advisory Committee
City Hall Pre-Council Room
Monday, November 3, 2008
MINUTES
Board Members Present:
Mr. Jim Makens, the Makens Company
Mr. Dan Quinto, Roaring Brook Development
Mr. John Hunter, HealthMarkets
Ms. Janet Golightly, Golightly's Gallery
Mr. Randy Moresi, North Hills Hospital
Mr. Mike Rigby, Liberty Bank
Ms. Cindy Brewington, Edward Jones
Mr. Mark Sanders, Bates Container
Mr. Kevin Sutherland, Home Depot
Ms. Trish Myers, Alan Young Pontiac-Buick-GMC Trucks
Staff Present:
Mr. Jared Miller, Assistant City Manager, City of NRH
Mr. Jimmy Perdue, Assistant City Manager, City of NRH
Mr. Mike Curtis, Managing Director, City of NRH
Mr. John Pitstick, Director of Development, City of NRH
Mr. Craig Hulse, Economic Development Director, City of NRH
Ms. Kristin Weegar, Marketing and Research Coordinator, City of NRH
Ms. Phyl Baloga, Administrative Secretary, City of NRH
• Craig Hulse, new Director of Economic Development, called the meeting to order at 11:32.
• Previous minutes approved unanimously.
• Mr. Hulse welcomed new members and asked them to introduce themselves. Mr. Hulse began
and introduced himself to the Committee and then introduced the new EDAC members. They are;
Mark Sanders, Chairman of Bates Container, Kevin Sutherland, General Manager of the NE Loop
Home Depot and Trish Myers, Fixed Operations Director of Alan Young Buick
• All EDAC members introduced themselves to the new members.
• The next order of business was electing a new Chairman. Nominations were made and voting
resulted in a unanimous vote for Jim Makens as the new EDAC Chairman.
• Mike Rigby was unanimously voted in as Vice-Chairman of the EDAC
Mr. Hulse proceeded to present the national and local economic update with a PowerPoint
presentation:
o Mortgage Bankers Association, is the preeminent association representing the real
estate finance industry. Slides showing personal consumption expenditures,
unemployment, Federal fund rate, and housing starts were viewed
° % of household foreclosure in NRH is 1.2% compared to U.S. at 2.75%
o New residential has slowed down considerably with public buying pre-existing homes
o Wholesale discounters bring in the most profit with a growth of 5.6%. 20% of NRH
sales tax base comes from Sam's, Wal-Mart (2), Target and Kohl's
o Northeast Tarrant County continues to hold on strong
o Unemployment in NRH in June was 4.5% while overall Nationwide is 6.1%
o With NRH being the third largest city in Tarrant County, the NRH house foreclosures
rate is above most cities in NE Tarrant County however we are under the national level
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o Personal bankruptcies peaked in March of 2008 and appears to have plateaud
o The sales tax generated in NRH in 2007 was good. This assists the City overall since
the City is preparing for a decrease in sales tax for 2008
o Without growth, licensing and permits fees will also drop
An interest in the number of empty buildings was brought up and the question was asked about what
the City was doing to fill some of that space. Mr. Hulse advised the committee that the City is looking
at expanding the current TIF which would invest money and encourage businesses to come back into
these vacant buildings. The City has been focusing on these blighted areas and this can be placed
on our agenda to discuss at the next regular meeting.
New interest in the Crossroads Villa a located at the 5198 Rufe Snow Drive was the next to is of
discussion. Crossroads Villa a is the 212 110 s ware feet retail s ace at the corner of Rufe Snow
Drive and N.E. Loop 820 Items discussed•
o The owner, Texas Investors LLC also AG Financial, has plans to update the current
facade
o Appraised at over $10,000,000 this is an outdated looking development
o The City would like to offer a tax abatement to the owners for redevelopment and
renovation
o Proposed improvements would be to the facade, parking lot, access, signage and
visibility
o The City would offer a tax abatement on real/personal property of 100% over five years
since this is in a redevelopment zone
o The City would also offer a discount on permitting fees by 50%
o Texas Investors would invest 3 to 4 million dollars
o City would receive the same property tax but the benefit would be more sales tax
revenues
o Very viable piece of property that could add considerable value
Mr. Hulse asked the Committee to consider a resolution supporting the redevelopment of Crossroads
Village. Randy Moresi made a motion and Janet Golightly seconded the motion and the EDAC
committee unanimously supported a resolution regarding a tax abatement for the Crossroads Village.
Next discussion was made by Mike Curtis regarding TxDOT's preliminary plan of the expansion of
Loop 820. Maps are available through the Public Works department. Exhibits discussed:
o City had consultants form an access plan
o The City is working with TxDOT regarding access management and hoping they
include the access plan the City has been working on
0 10 lanes of traffic, six general purpose lanes (free) and four managed lanes which will
be (toll)
o Once in NRH, Iron Horse Boulevard will be the entrance and exit to the managed lanes
o The same thing when heading West you would exit through the managed lanes
o Actual lanes; 10 lanes on freeway, six of which are free lanes, four are toll lanes and
then six frontage road lanes, three on each side
o Thru NRH both the toll lanes and the free lanes are at the same elevation
o When at the interchange the managed lanes will go over the interchange lanes
o This will be a multi phased project
o Managed lanes run the length of the project (Texas Stadium and get off past Mark IV)
o Total of 16 lanes
o Regarding funding, the State has 70 million dollars and the remainder will come from
private companies
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Mike Curtis also mentioned other projects the City was working on. They are;
o Section of Rufe Snow from Mid-Cities to Hightower (this project is currently being
designed) Time wise it will be three to four years before turning dirt
o Davis Boulevard has recently been restriped to seven lanes. Will continue to 1709
o Davis-Mid Cities intersection will have dual left turn lanes on Davis
o The Boulevard 26 intersection project will not deal with traffic but aesthetics
John Pitstick spoke next regarding transit oriented development and history of rail in NRH
0 2002-NRH City Council goals; address traffic congestion. Council decided to support
the region regarding mass transit
0 2003-Council of Governments had a Regional Rail Corridor Study done
0 2004-City of North Richland Hills submitted a few rail sites, and the Council of
Governments said there was enough demand to place two stops in NRH
0 2005-NRH City Council hired a firm to do a study called the Loop 820 Corridor Study.
The widening of Loop 820 will change the area and those needs to be addressed
0 2006-The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (T) did their study on how to move
traffic Southwest to Northeast and a Corridor Study was created to move traffic (should
it be buses, widening roads, rail ?)
o 2007-The Iron Horse and Smithfield Study identified two locations as possible rail
stops. Those being; Iron Horse Station and Smithfield Station. The City did not drive
these two rail stations but the need promoted these stations
0 2008-The T is saying they want to be at the airport by 2013. They are committed to
getting a commuter rail line before Dart. Funding is unsure at this time but there will be
an operating line.
o The Planning department continues to plan for the future with more options for the
movement of traffic and protecting our businesses
o Colleyville is still unsure whether or not they want a stop
o Richland Hills is currently buying up more land for parking and should have done more
planning from the beginning but was more concerned with the rail site than parking
o Strategic planning areas have been created which is essential to plan ahead for
investment and expansion
o Environmentally the rail stations will happen and it will be a regional decision. The City
is trying to move forward economically with a concept plan
Mr. Pitstick proceeded to show different concept plans for rail stations, such as Richland Hills, Hurst
Park, and the downtown Plano Park. The City is preparing by planning now so that the land will be
fully utilized the best way possible.
Regarding Transit Oriented Development the City is aware that the Council of Government has a 40
million dollar pool for the whole region potentially to be used around these railroad sites where public
improvements can be made. A transit development code needs to be put into place to regulate these
areas for redevelopment and for mixed use. The codes will take into consideration what the best use
of the land surrounding the station should be, demographics, and all around best development.
Due to the time, Mr. Hulse briefly mentioned the significant business openings in 2008 and also the
significant business closings in NRH. The City remains strong.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30.
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