* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] IT'S NOW SIX [(EDC) Board Meeting/(CDC) Board Meeting] ONE. I'LL BRING THE MEETING OF THE, HOW DO ECONOMIC GOVERNMENT CORPORATION TO ORDER WE ENROLL CALL PLEASE. MENDEZ PRESENT LAST YEAR, DON CARLSON BOARD MEMBER, SEAN LUCAS, BOARD MEMBER, VICTOR HENRY BOARD MEMBER, MIKE SNYDER, BOARD MEMBER RANDALL CLARK BOARD MEMBER CHAINING GAMBOA. WE DO HAVE A QUESTION, A QUORUM PRESENT. MAKE SURE MY WORDS. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT. SO MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE PLEDGE WITH AGENTS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD INDIVIDUALLY. WELL NOW GO INTO ITEM FOUR PUBLIC HEARING. ANYONE IS HERE. PRESIDENT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BEFORE THE, THE, UH, HOW DO WE GET ON QUANTUM CORPORATION, PLEASE COME FORWARD. THERE BEING NONE. LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVE, ONE, IT SAYS CONSIDER EXPONENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP WITH WILLIAMSON COUNTY ESD NUMBER THREE, HUDDLE FIRE RESCUE TO SUPPORT AND IMPROVE FIRE SAFETY THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. THIS AGENDA ITEM THAT I HAVE, IS THIS THE CORRECT AGENDA? I THOUGHT WE HAD MODIFIED IT. I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT AN AGENDA ITEM FIVE, TWO, AND FIVE, THREE ON MINE. I DO TOO. I HAVE 5, 2, 5, 3 AS WELL. SO I THINK WE ONLY HAVE FIVE, ONE THAT'S BEEN POSTED THAT'S CORRECT. RIGHT. OKAY. SO I WOULD JUST INFORM THE BOARD. WE DO NOT HAVE A 5, 2, 5, 3. IT WAS NOT POSTED. SO, UH, BUT WE DO HAVE FIVE ONE. IT JUST THREW ME OFF WHEN I SAW THAT, BUT I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW. SO SIX, FOUR IS ALSO NOT, IT SHOULDN'T BE ON THERE EITHER WITH 63, RIGHT? SO WE SHOULD NOT HAVE A SIX, THREE, SORRY. YES. SIX FOUR WITH AT 63, WITH SIX, THREE WAS NOT POSTED EITHER, BUT SIX TO 64 WERE POSTED. UH, 61 WAS NOT. SO, UM, EVERYTHING ELSE LOOKS FINE. SO 1 72 LOOK FINE. SO JUST CLARIFICATION, JUST SO EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THE POSTING THAT'S ON THE THAT'S BEEN OUT THERE IS CORRECT. WE HAPPEN TO HAVE THE WRONG COPY. SO, BUT W WE GOT IT ALL CLARIFIED. UM, OUT OF FIVE, ONE HAS TO DO WITH ANY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE, UH, WHAT AREN'T YOU COUNTING ESD? NUMBER THREE HAS AN AGREEMENT OUT AT THE MEGA SITE AREA THAT KIND OF GOES AROUND. AND I THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT HAVING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THEM, UH, CONCERNING THE SALES TAX THAT'S DERIVED IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. I'M NOT SURE IF HAS MORE INFORMATION THAT BOB OR GEORGE HAD MORE INFORMATION ON THIS. DO WE KNOW PROBABLY ME? SO, UM, WHEN EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICTS WERE CREATED, THEY WERE, THEY WERE CREATED AS A TAXING ENTITY, AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT KIND OF VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHT FIGHTERS BECAME A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD GET MONEY TO SUPPORT THE RURAL FIRE PREVENTION. UM, SO THE TWO THINGS THEY HAVE AS THEY CAN, UM, ASSESS UP TO 10 CENTS PER A HUNDRED DOLLARS ON REAL PROPERTY WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION, WITHIN THEIR BOUNDARIES. AND THEN THEY CAN ASSESS UP TO 2 CENTS OF SALES TAX IN THEIR AREA. UM, AS LONG AS THE SALES TAX HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN CONSUMED BY OTHER SALES TAX, UM, UH, RECEIVERS LIKE THE CITY, THE COUNTY CAN BE A SALES TAX RECEIVER, ET CETERA. UM, IN, I GUESS IT WAS ABOUT 20 15, 20 14. UM, THEY HAD AN ELECTION HERE AND THEY TOOK ALL THE AREA OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF HUDDLE IN THEIR DISTRICT. AND THE ELECTION PASSED FOR THEM TO BE A TAXING ENTITY AND THEY HAVE ASSESSED A 2 CENT TAX, UH, INCOME TAX OR A SALES TAX OVER THEIR DISTRICT. AND SO ANY SALES TAX, WHICH IS DERIVED WITHIN THAT DISTRICT, WHICH IS THE AREA THAT WAS NOT THE CITY OF HADOW, UM, UH, WITHIN THE DISTRICT AT THE TIME OF THE ELECTION, UM, THEY'RE ENTITLED TO THE, TO THE ENTIRE 2 CENTS OF LOCAL SALES TAX. SO THE CITY AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, REGARDLESS OF THEIR STATUS, WHETHER ANNEXED OR NOT THEIR, THEIR SALES TAX WON'T APPLY. AND SO WHAT THE, UH, UH, THE LEGISLATION LEGISLATURE DID IN 2015 IS THAT THEY, UM, CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A SALES TAX SHARING AGREEMENT BETWEEN [00:05:01] THE LOCAL ENTITIES AND THE, UM, FIRE DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE WE'RE BASICALLY LOCKED OUT OF OUR, OF ANY SALES TAX OR, UM, ON THOSE SPACES AS WE ANNEX. UH, AND SO THAT AGREEMENT IS VERY KIND OF OPEN-ENDED, UM, THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT THE CITY AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPED CORPORATION DOES, UH, WHICH SUPPORTS, UM, UH, FIRE, FIRE SAFETY. UH, UH, ONE THING IS OUR WATER SYSTEM IS A CRUCIAL PART OF, OF THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF WATER AND WASTEWATER IS A CRUCIAL PART OF FIREFIGHTING. UH, AND SO, UH, WE'VE AND I'VE NEGOTIATED FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, AGREEMENTS THAT ARE ALLOWED UNDER LAW TO, UM, SHARE THAT, UM, THAT PORTION. AND YOU COULD DO IT BY PROJECT, BY PARCEL, BY BOUNDARY, BUT, OR HOWEVER, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO DO IT. UH, AND YOU, ONCE THAT AGREEMENTS IN PLACE, YOU FILE IT WITH THE TEXAS COMPTROLLER, AND THEN THEY APPLY IT TO THE SALES TAX AND THEN THAT, SO THEY'RE THE ONES THAT SPLIT IT UP BASED ON THE, HOW THE AGREEMENT'S DONE. AND THEN IT'S JUST ISSUED TO YOU AS A COMBO SALES TAX FROM THE CONTROLLER. UH, AND, AND IF IT, IF IT ENDS, TYPICALLY WE'VE DONE THESE FOR, UH, 20 YEARS AND HAVING THEM AUTO RENEW. UM, BUT THE, UH, IF THERE IS A, A TIME OF WHICH IT ENDS, THEN THEY STOPPED DOING THAT AND THAT, AND IT SPLITS BACK TO WHERE IT NORMALLY ISN'T TILL ANOTHER SHARING AGREEMENT IS PUT IN PLACE. ANY QUESTIONS FOR GEORGE. THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY A VOTING ITEM, BUT I THINK WE BROUGHT IT BEFORE THE BOARD BECAUSE, UM, THE APPROACH THAT WE'D LIKE TO TAKE, AND MY DISCUSSION WITH GEORGE AND BOB ON THIS IS TO APPROACH THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY ESD NUMBER THREE, TO BEGIN, TO START A DISCUSSION WITH THEM, TO SEE IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO DO A SHARING AGREEMENT WITH US, UH, FOR THE MEGA SITE AREA TO, UH, LOOK FROM A SALES TAX STANDPOINT. SO, UH, THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE HAVE ROOM FOR YOU IS NOT TO REACH INTO ANY AGREEMENT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, AT LEAST TO START DISCUSSION WITH THEM, RIGHT. AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY THE ISSUE BECAUSE IN ALL OF THOSE AREAS, IF THERE IS NO SALES TAX THAT WE HAVE ANY AUTHORITY OR CONTROL OVER, THEN WE HAVE VERY LITTLE, UH, INCENTIVES THAT WE CAN OFFER IN THE SALES TAX, UH, REGION, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE PROJECT SITE IS FOR TAXES FOR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS. SO IF THEY SPEND A HALF, A MILLION OR $500 MILLION IN BUILDING SOME BIG MANUFACTURING PLATE, UM, YOU CAN IDENTIFY THAT LOCATION AS THE TAX SIDE IS FOR THOSE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS. SO THE TAXI AGENT ENTITY GETS, YOU KNOW, THE SALES TAX OFF OF $500 MILLION OF BUILDING MATERIALS. SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE REALLY BENEFICIAL TO BOTH US AND OUR POTENTIAL PROSPECTS. AND SO I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY, UM, UM, YOU, YOU WOULD BE, UH, KIND OF HOBBLING ON ONE FOOT WITHOUT THAT, IN THE SIGNIFICANT AREAS. NOW THERE THAT ARE, HAVE BECOME VERY, UM, ACTIVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE, GEORGE, IS THAT LIKE ROADS OR IS THAT WATER LINES? LIKE WHAT, WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE DOES THAT DESSERT CATEGORY THAT FITS? YEAH, I MEAN, EVERYTHING WROTE DOWN, UM, AND, UH, AS WELL AS ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS, WATER, YOU KNOW, WATER FEATURES, UM, ROADS BECAUSE FIRE TRUCKS NEED SPECIAL, SPECIAL WITS. SO, YOU KNOW, BUILD WIDER ROADS SO THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS ROAD CONSTRUCTION, THEY CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS WATER WASTEWATER, UM, ALL OF THOSE, UM, THOSE AS WELL AS PARTICIPATE AS A ACTIVE, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, PARTY, AND COULD BE, AGAIN, WE COULD COORDINATE WITH THEM WITH REGARD TO SALES, TAX INCENTIVES AND REBATES. THANK YOU ALSO, JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE LAND THAT EDC CURRENTLY CONTROLS, THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE. SO THE SUBSEQUENT AREAS AROUND, SO WHY IS THAT NOT AN ISSUE? WHY IS THAT NOT AN ISSUE? THE R THE MEGASITE OWNED BY THE, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WAS ACQUIRED AND THEN ANNEXED INTO THE CITY. AND SO IT WAS NOT PART OF THE ELECTION, UM, THE AREA THAT THE ESD ACQUIRED WHEN THEY HAD THEIR ELECTION. OKAY. BECAUSE IT WAS ANNEXED INTO THE CITY JUST A YEAR OR SO AGO. AND I JUST THINK THE DIFFERENCE JUST THE PROPERTY WE OWN, OR IS IT THE ENTIRE RIGHT? I'LL HAVE TO DOUBLE-CHECK NOW. WELL, IT, THE 455 ACRES, AT LEAST ON THE TAX MAP. I, I SAW, UM, YEAH, IT'S IN THE CITY NOW. I THINK WE NX THAT IN JUST A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO AS PART OF THE, WE WERE GETTING READY FOR, UM, [00:10:02] UH, WELL, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE PERFECT GAME IDEAS, THE COMPTROLLER'S WEBSITE, AND PULL UP A TAX MAP BASED ON A LOCATION, YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF MAPPING SOFTWARE TO LET US KNOW, BECAUSE THE WAY I'M HEARING THIS IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC WHO THINK IF WE GET CERTAIN RETAILERS TO COME AND CERTAIN BUSINESS COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, THAT THE SALES TAX WILL HELP DRIVE DOWN PROPERTY TAXES. BUT WHAT I'M HEARING IS, IF WE DON'T COME TO SOME KIND OF REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT IN THE FUTURE, YOU COULD DRIVE AND SAY A MAJOR COMMERCIAL NODE WITH MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF SALES TAX DOLLARS. AND IT WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO HELP GET ON CITY BECAUSE ALL THAT MONEY IS NOT GOING TO THE CITY ANYWAY. AND SO DO WE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING. DO WE KNOW, LIKE, HAVE A, A BOUNDARY, LIKE WHICH AGREEMENTS GO, WHERE, WHICH, CAUSE I GUESS IN CASE NEGOTIATIONS DON'T WORK, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO BE, UM, PERHAPS TALKING TO RETAILERS ABOUT, HEY, GO OVER HERE TO THIS AREA. CAUSE THAT ACTUALLY WON'T HELP THE CITY. WE MAY NEED YOU. WE MAY WANT TO PUSH, INCENTIVIZE THEM TO COME TO A DIFFERENT PART OF THE CITY THAT MAYBE DOES HAVE SOME SORT OF TAXI. CAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT I REALLY KNOW WHAT, WHAT PART OF THE CITY IS THE SHORT ANSWER IS WE DON'T HAVE THAT BAD. AND I WOULD SAY, WE NEED TO DO THIS QUICKLY BECAUSE WHEN WE'RE DOING THE 20, 40 COMP PLAN, THE AREAS WHERE WE WANT TO DIVVY UP AND SAY COMMERCIAL, IT NEEDS TO BE AN AREAS THAT IF WE CAN'T GET DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND DO FUTURE LAND USE MAP AND SAY, WELL, THEN THOSE CAN STAY RESIDENTIAL BECAUSE WE DON'T CARE IF THEN YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE THE SALES TAX. YEAH. HE BRINGS A VERY GOOD POINT BECAUSE YEAH, LET'S SAY, I MEAN, I ALWAYS THINK WORST CASE IF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IS ESD SAYS POUND SAND, WELL THEN WHEN WE'RE WORKING ON A PLAN, WE CAN JUST SAY, WELL, ALL THAT AREA IS NOW RESIDENTIAL. AND THE RESIDENTIAL WE HAVE IN PARTS IN THE CITY, WE'RE NOW MOVED THAT TO COMMERCIAL AND WE'LL START DRIVING COMMERCIAL GROWTH TO WHERE WE NEED IT TO WHERE IT'S GOING TO HELP US. WE WANT TO HELP EVERYBODY TO WORK TOGETHER, BUT WE ALSO HAVE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS. SO IF YOU HAVE A, UM, A MANUFACTURER THAT DOESN'T HAVE A SIGNIFICANT SALES TAX, UH, RECOVERY IN THAT BUSINESS, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO CREATE A, YOU KNOW, $1 BILLION MANUFACTURING PLANT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEN EVERYONE GETS THE BENEFIT OF THE SALE OF THE REAL ESTATE TAXES ON THE REAL PROPERTY. SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES, EVEN IF IT'S IN THE ESD, BUT IF YOU PUT A HIGH SALES TAX, UM, UH, QUOTIENT INTO THE ESD ONLY SPACE WITHOUT A SHARING AGREEMENT, WE CAN'T OFFER SALES TAX SHARING OR SALES TAX REBATES AS AN INCENTIVE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER AND THE CITY CAN'T COME BACK AND TELL PEOPLE HOW THIS IS GOING TO HELP THIS GROWTH HELPS LOWER YOUR TAXES BECAUSE THAT ONE, THERE MAY NOT DO IT. UM, VERY INTERESTING TO YOU. THE ONLY, I GUESS THE ONLY THING IS IF THAT, IF YOU JUST GOT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF SALES TAX TO THE ESD, THIS THE ESD COULD REDUCE ITS PROPERTY TAX, BUT THAT'S ONLY 10 CENTS. WHERE IN THE, IN THE LONG RUN, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RE REMOVE YOUR SALES YOURSELF. YOUR SALES TAX MAY BE ABLE TO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL ESTATE FOR A LOT MORE THAN 10 CENTS OF A BENEFIT TO THE PUBLIC. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR GEORGIA BOB ON THE CENTER? AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST SIMPLY TRYING TO GET SOME INFORMATION TO THE BOARD TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT, UH, UH, IN DISCUSSION WITH GEORGE AND BOB WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT APPROACHING, UH, WILLIAMSON COUNTY ESD IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO START HAVING THIS DISCUSSION WITH THEM. OUTFIELD BRINGS SOMETHING BACK TO US FAIRLY SOON THAT WE CAN TRY AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED, WE NOW HAVE A SHARING AGREEMENT THAT WE'VE AGREED TO, UH, AND BRING BACK TO THE, UH, THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE DIRECTION THAT I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET TO IN THAT. SO MR. CHAIR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONSIDER WHETHER TO APPOINT A TWO PERSON COMMITTEE TO BE THAT? YEAH, I'M NOT SURE IF ANYBODY HAS THE BANDWIDTH TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, UH, TO, UH, TO HELP WITH THAT, UH, COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AND MY SHOW, IF WE HAVE ANY VOLUNTEERS TO DO THAT AGAIN, IT'S GOING TO TAKE OUT SOME TIME BECAUSE I MEAN, IT'S GOING TO BE A KIND OF A, A NEGOTIATION PIECE THAT WE HAVE TO WORK ON. SO I MEAN, AS IT'S GOING TO INVOLVE THE CITY TOO, I DON'T MIND VOLUNTEERING TO HELP OUT WITH THAT. I CAN TAKE CARE OF IT TOO. I'M SORRY. I SAID I, I CAN DO IT TOO. OKAY. THEN WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL GO IN AND HAVE A MAYOR SNYDER AND A VICE CHAIR TO BE ABLE TO, TO WORK WITH GEORGE AND BOB TO GET THAT NEGOTIATED OUT. YEAH. WE'LL TRY TO SET UP A MEETING WITH THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR BOARD CHAIR OR ANOTHER MEMBER AND MAYBE THEIR LEGAL COUNSEL AS WELL TO SEE IF WE CAN WORK SOMETHING OUT. PERFECT. THANK YOU, DON. THANK YOU, MAYOR. ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM [00:15:01] 61. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE NOW BREACHED OPEN SESSION. I'M SORRY. NO POSSESSION. WE'RE NOT GOING TO RECONVENE. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. I'M SORRY. UH, TWO PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5, 5, 1 0 7 1 TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE FROM HIS GENERAL COUNSEL TO DEE AND DELIBERATE UPON HOW EDC TYPE B VERSUS BCO AUSTIN RULE 2 0 2 PETITION FOR DISCOVERY IN THE DISTRICT COURT, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS, AND 6.3, UH, PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5, 5, 1 0 7 1, UM, AND 5, 5, 1 0 7 2 TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE FROM HIS GENERAL COUNSEL AND TO DELIBERATE REGARDING THE ACQUISITION OR SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN AND AROUND THE MEGA SITE, INCLUDING THE COLUMN ROUNDING OPTION TO PURCHASE LAND AGREEMENT. THE TIME IS NOW SIX 17. WE'LL ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. OKAY. NOW 7 38 AND YOU'RE RECONVENING INTO OPEN SESSION. UH, LET'S GO INTO ITEM SEVEN ONE BECAUSE THERE ANY MATTER IDENTIFY FOR DURATION EXECUTIVE SESSION IN SECTION SEVEN ABOVE FOR OPEN SESSION, DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION, AND POSSIBLE FINAL ACTION. UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THAT. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO SEVEN TWO, CORRECT GEORGE. YES, SIR. UH, DISCUSS YOUR CONSIDERATION ON THE CORNER BROWNIE AND OPTION TO PURCHASE LAND AGREEMENT. UH, I MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, HAVE AUTHORIZED BOB TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT AS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. SORRY WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, MY BOARD MEMBER CLARK SECOND BY VICE CHAIR, CARLSON. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, CALL THE ROLL PLEASE. AND VICE-CHAIR DON CARLSON BOARD MEMBER, MIKE SNYDER, BOARD MEMBER, RANDALL CLARK BOARD MEMBERS, SEAN LUCAS, BOARD MEMBER CHAINING, GAMBOA AND CHAIRMAN MIKE EDISON. MENDEZ MOTION CARRIES SEVEN. OH, THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD. UH, IT IS NOW S HENRY. OH, I'M SORRY. SIX OUT MY APOLOGIES. SIX OH CARRIES. UH, THERE'LL BE NO FURTHER ACTION. IT IS NOW 7 39, 7 40. AND THIS MEANS ENDED, ANNOUNCED THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO A. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.