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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA 2012-03-21 Minutes (4) City of North Richl Hills Economic Development Advisory Committee City of North Richland Hills Council Workroom Wednesday, March 21, 2012 MINUTES Board Members Present: Mr. Jim Makens, The Makens Company Ms. Cindy Brewington, Edward Jones Mr. Ben Gayton, Home Depot Mr. Mike Rigby, Liberty Bank Ms. Janet Golightly, Golightly's Gallery Board Members Absent: Mr. Randy Moresi, North Hills Hospital Mr. Mark Sanders, Bates Container Mr. Mark Wood, Howe/Wood & Company Mr. Thomas Hervey, Allen Samuels Dodge Hyundai Representatives for Absent Board Members: Mr. Bill Sailer for North Hills Hospital Mr. Bob Brown for Bates Container Mr. Mark Howe for Howe/Wood & Company Mr. Kevin Coder for Allen Samuels Dodge Hyundai Guests: Ms. Meg Pelzel with St. John's Catholic Church Mr. Bill Bailey with Richland Hills United Methodist Church Steve Koons with the Community Improvement Task Force Staff Present: Mr. Mark Hindman, City Manager, City of NRH Mr. Jared Miller, Assistant City Manager, City of NRH Mr. Craig Hulse, Economic Development Director, City of NRH Mr. Robert Lung, Economic Development Specialist, City of NRH Ms. Phyl Baloga, Administrative Secretary, City of NRH The Economic Development Advisory Committee was called to order at 11:54 a.m. by President Jim Makens. Minutes from our May 20 2011 were approved unanimously. President Makens turned the meeting over to Mr. Hulse. Mr. Hulse asked everyone in the room to state their name since we had four representatives sitting in for our absent board members. There were also three guests attending this specific meeting. After introductions, Mr. Hulse asked Mr. Miller to begin his presentation. Mr. Miller stated that during the May election the City will place on the ballot a Bond Election for a new Municipal Complex. The price of this bond package will be $48 million dollars. Due to the widening of the freeway, the City decided to select and form 1 a task force to discuss infrastructure needs. This task force was made up of home owners, retirees, pastors and others from the community. After much consideration to the existing City facility, the impact of Loop 820, opportunities for redevelopment/ revitalization and financial consideration, the task force recommended in February that the number one priority would be to build a new complex at the old mall site. This new site would house Public Safety which includes the Police Dept., Police Property, Crime Scene Investigators, SWAT, Traffic, Fire Administration and Emergency Management, the Municipal Court, City Hall, all current City Hall Departments, Parks Administration, Citicable, Neighborhood Services and Code Compliance. Their second selection was to update the current City Hall location but that cost could reach $70 million. The third possibility was vacant City land in the Smithfield area facing Davis Blvd. After many meetings considering locations and costs the Task Force choose the Mall site first. The City will request a tax increase of no more than 4 cents, possibly 3 cents on property taxes. This change in taxes would not impact senior citizens 65 and older or disabled homeowners. The City's tax has remained at the same tax level for years which has kept NRH in the middle in comparison to other cities locally. The history of the municipal buildings goes back to 1968 when the evacuated Recreation Center was City Hall. Our current City Hall was built in 1975. The addition of the police department was added in 1987. The final addition and the new entrance to City Hall were built in 1995. Three fourths of City facilities are over 25 years old. City employee growth has expanded from 93 employees to over 500 employees which dictate the need for more space. After Mr. Miller's presentation, questions were asked at which point Mr. Miller and Mr. Hindman answered accordingly. The timing for a new complex is appropriate since; • The City is losing so much parking at the City Hall Location • The City is in a good position since retirement of existing debt • The move will help revitalize the old mall site property and properties south of Loop 820. The proposed municipal complex would have 180,000 sf as compared to the current 143,669. Financing of the new building would come through; • Sale of current City Facilities • Compensation from TxDot for damages to current City Hall property • Designated Capital Reserves (gas leases) Mr. Miller turned the meeting back to Mr. Hulse. Mr. Hulse made mention of the task force and what a great job they performed. North Tarrant Express Clearly the North Tarrant Express is under construction as seen in our City. Because of this construction, the NRH Mobility Team has been meeting every two months to provide feedback to Bluebonnet contractors and to NTemp. The NRH Mobility Team is made up of NRH businesses along the Loop 820 corridor that has and will be impacted the most because of the current construction. Those businesses are; WaI -Mart, Sam's, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, 5 Star Ford, Garden Ridge, Applebee's, Don Pablo's, etc. 2 For the next two years there will be on and off ramp closures and since 35% of taxable sales are made from this 820 corridor this team is making sure we mitigate as much as possible. It is imperative to voice concerns on ramp closures and make modifications. Sequencing of ramp closure in NRH can be found on the nrhed.com website. NRH has three west off ramps and three west on ramps. In Bedford they have two consecutive off ramps closed. The NRH Mobility Team has told Bluebonnet that was unacceptable in our City. The Iron Horse Bridge will be closed down for six to nine months due to a total reconstruction of the bridge. The Rufe Snow Bridge will be a minor inconvenience. The bridge will be off center with the new construction and so will have to be moved. Since the bridge is built in two halves, in order to move the bridge each half section will take approximately two days to move. While work is being done on the east side of the bridge the west side will be open and vice versa. A question was asked if we would still have flyover toll lanes. Yes, NRH will still have fly over lanes while other cities will not be elevated. The City is pleased that the new owners will be more involved and local. Hometown Hometown is strategic to the City as is the Smithfield area. On April 14 the City had a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the new NRH Centre located in Hometown. Office Depot will be moving next door to Kroger and the City is pleased they have decided to relocate and remain in NRH. The Crossing, known as the business corridor to Hometown was owned by an absentee owner out of New York. A local group will purchase the 50% vacant shopping center and has plans of revitalization. In the process of Health Markets downsizing, Conway Transportation will be relocating their business from Rufe Snow to the 2 floor of the Health Markets building. In so doing Conway transportation will be moving 290 employees to the HomeTown area. eMortgage Logic, a web based property appraisal system will be moving into the Health Markets building. They are actually moving into the City from Watauga with this move. Smithfield The Smithfield area has been targeted by the T as a future rail stop and the City supports that plan. The 14 acre area that fronts Davis Boulevard was under consideration by the task force for the relocation of City facilities. The possible usage of the Smithfield area is a great catalyst for quality redevelopment. NRH Business Growth The growth of the City has been very healthy in year 2011. Some of the new and improved businesses are; Quiktrip, eMortgage Logic, Bosses Pizza, Olive Garden, etc. The City is preparing for new growth in 2012 while at the same time being cognoscente of the 820 road construction and the effect it will have on our business. So far in 2012 some of our new and improved businesses are; Zonga's, Office Depot, My Dentist, Dickey's, etc. To date, 181 commercial permits were issued in FY2011 and 101 permit issued in FY2012 which is a 60% increase over the same period of FY2011. 3 Residential Development Residential development is very healthy with 122 single family starts in FY 2011 which is an increase of 84% over FY2010 and a 121% increase over 2009. The City has over 400 single family lots for sale with over 30 lots just added by Meritage Homes. Ordinance Discussion Masonry Requirements - -The City has an ordinance that defines masonry requirements of which stucco is not allowed. Our neighboring cities do allow stucco. Mr. Hulse showed different examples of stucco on commercial buildings in neighboring cities and wanted to get the committees impression. The thought behind that is whether or not to lower the masonry requirement if the secondary material is stucco. Digital Monument Signs — Digital signs are prohibited except for institutional zoning. Once again Mr. Hulse projected different monument signs. Some digital and some not. The question was asked if the City should investigate digital capabilities if safety and quality concerns were addressed. Opinions were expressed. Jim Makens adjourned the meeting at 1:19 p.m. 4