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4A Wichita Falls Economic Development Minutes - 07/21/2022 t / MINUTES OF THE WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION July 21, 2022 Present: Leo Lane, President § WFEDC Members David Toogood, Vice President § Phyllis Cowling, Secretary-Treasurer § Darron Leiker § Stephen Santellana, Mayor § Mayor& Council Paul Menzies,Assistant City Manager § City Administration R. Kinley Hegglund, Jr., City Attorney § Russell Schreiber, Director of Public Works § Jessica Williams, Chief Financial Officer § John Burrus, Director of AT&T § Terry Floyd, Director of Development Svcs § Chris Horgen, Public Information Officer § Paige Lessor, Recording Secretary § Henry Florsheim, President and CEO § WFCCI Katie Britt, VP of Marketing § Ryan McGowan, Director of Bus Intelligence § Jana Schmader, Executive Director § DWFD Jeanette Charos, Marketing Director § Rodney Case, Treasurer § Kerry Maroney,, President § Biggs &Matthews Lynn Walker, Writer § Times Record News Absent: Brent Hillary § WFEDC Member 1. Call to Order Mr. Leo Lane called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. 2. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes (June 6, 2022) ' b. Financial Report WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 1of8 C Mr. Menzies stated that sales tax is up and running consistently with inflation. And the WFEDC's healthy bottom line is about $8.6 million and is reflective of the Land O'Lakes deal ratified by council since the last meeting. Mr. Leiker moved to approve the consent agenda. Seconded by Mr. Toogood, the motion carried 4-0. 3. Discussion and possible action related to 2023 Budget Presentations: Mr. Barham was not present to begin the SMAC presentation, so Mr. Lane skipped to the next presentation on the agenda, i.d.e.a.WF. b. i.d.e.a.WF 1, Dr. Jeff Stambaugh addressed the Board and explained that he represented Dr. Scott Manley because Dr. Manley was out of the state in Georgia. Dr. Stambaugh reminded the Board that i.d.e.a.WF had undergone several changes. One significant change brought about was to try to leverage the assets of the 4A Board to increase the amount of prizes significantly. But that has not worked as well as has been intended. In this year's budget request, i.d.e.a.WF is returning to its roots. The proposal is for a simple $50,000 to support administrative support and advertising. i.d.e.a.WF will commit to raising an equal amount to provide prizes for,the winners.And that will allow the focus to be on the traditional startups rather than the businesses ready to scale and engage in more of a cash-for-jobs arrangement. If companies enter the contest and it becomes apparent that they would be great candidates for cash-for-jobs,they would be referred to the 4A Board and The Chamber. Dr. Stambaugh asked the Board if they had any questions. Mr. Lane noted that there is an amount of money that was allocated for last year that is being returned. The money was never used. Ms. Cowling asked for clarification and asked if i.d.e.a. WF's plan was for the budget to have a private sector campaign, but that did not occur this past year. But that was the intention. Dr. Stambaugh answered yes, and the reason it didn't happen this`year was that only one entity applied,and it didn't qualify for a cash-for-jobs type of position,which was the prize package.Ms. Cowling clarified that the funding would revert to the way it was before the past two years. Dr. Stambaugh confirmed that was correct. Mr. Lane added that he had a couple of discussions with Dr. Manley, who stated that he had seen other organizations going through the same turmoil through COVID, which included lower participation. Still,hopefully,everyone will get past this.Dr. Stambaugh stated that this was a long-term investment, and they want a community that supports entrepreneurship, which is one of the ways to support it.He further noted that if you want a vibrant startup community, you have to have a mechanism to support it, and i.d.e.a. WF is one of the ways to do that. Sometimes it's a lumpier process than we would like it to be. But if you abandon it, your results will be horribly disappointing for-the community's long-term viability. Ms.Cowling asked what the other components of a vibrant community are.Dr. Stambaugh said that the Lalani Center also has the idea of an investment mechanism in which promising ideas can obtain funding, like an angel investment. The angel investor group became a casualty of COVID, but they are trying to resurrect it. He said that he started and ran the group for several WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 2 of 8 � I years, and they funded some large local deals. Mr.Leo stated that he had a note that Glenn Barham was on his way. So the meeting would move on to Downtown Development. c. Downtown Wichita Falls Development Ms. Schmader addressed the Board and thanked them for creating this year's process. She said it was very beneficial to have a procedure and directive on what to present and what reporting mechanisms were needed. She described some of DWFD's key accomplishments for the year. She stated that they helped put together several 4B incentive packages, which resulted in over $1.24 million in funding. The most notable is The Kate, the creation of 170 residential units in the downtown area. DWFD had 60 property platform information requests, which often resulted in tours of the specific properties,ten redevelopment meetings with the City of Wichita Falls, which put all of those projects into development, 20 businesses opened, and eight under construction.By DWFD's estimate, the services in the organization touched over 350,000 square feet downtown. Another significant accomplishment is the creation of the Indiana historic district,located between 96 and 10th Streets. Buildings within that particular boundary will now be eligible for federal and state historic tax credits. Ms. Schmader further explained that the services of DWFD are broken down into two parts. She is in charge of real estate, from property listings to property tours. She also helps to create the WF4BSTC proposals. She also is in charge of project facilitation, customer relationship management, and retention programs. The marketing director, Jeanette, is in charge of all grand openings, sneak peeks,photography, and website and social media content. She presented a list of all the stakeholders they represent. She stated that DWFD furthers WFEDC's strategy by continuing to establish relationships with the private sector to leverage primarily Type B funding. They convene resources and identify strategies with the vacant structure registry to update storefronts to make them more marketable. They continue to advocate and educate the downtown property owners about the benefits of the public improvement district and support the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan. They support and endorse opportunities for state and federal resources. For example,they just endorsed the $2 million worth of ARPA funds approved by Council for Downtown Streetscapes improvement.And they continue to research other grants to complete the downtown master plan. Ms. Schmader went on to list the goals of DWFD for the upcoming year. They aim to have 40% of all available properties for sale or lease go into development status, meaning they have capital and adequate funding. She stated that even through rough times,Downtown has maintained a high retention rate, having very few businesses move out of the area or shut down, and they believe they can keep the retention rate static. They are adapting some promotional programs with new technology and algorithms over their platforms. They are working with Crane West on different ideas to project into other regional areas to attract investors. She stated that 95% of downtown real estate is not listed with a real estate agency. It is for sale by the owner. So this is when contacts become important because DWFD might know the building owner personally and can start working towards a deal. (Ms. Schmader stated that DWFD's request is for$125,000,which encompasses operations, salaries,and liabilities for her and Janette and all of the economic development activities that have been done for the last couple of years. She asked the Board if they had any questions. Mr. Lane asked about DWFD's program for making contacts outside Wichita Falls. She WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 3 of 8 1 stated that they did a lot of search engine optimization marketing. However, sometimes it does go back to relationships.'For example, someone may know someone in Metroplex or Abilene that is looking to invest in property in Wichita Falls. Mr. Lane asked if they were making cold calls to developers outside the community. She said no, that it was all digital. Ms. Cowling stated that she appreciated the metrics provided by DWFD'and the goal of reducing the number of available properties by 40%. She asked about the starting point. She were goingbythe number of available properties or square footage and the wondered if they p p q g starting number.Ms. Schmader said they measure off what properties they know people are willing to sell right now. Ms. Cowling asked how many precisely that was. Ms. Schmader stated that DWFD has 25 properties currently on its website. Ms. Cowling commented that she thought the history of their three-year metrics accomplished was very admirable but tended to be pretty process oriented. She suggested providing outcome measures in the future. For example, what is the percentage of non-vacancy,of the amount of square footage that gets renovated or expanded in a year? She asked if there was a way to(quantify the sales tax or ad lorem that comes\straight out of Downtown. That would be another way to show the impact of Downtown and DWFD. Mr. Leiker explained that sales tax gets difficult because the comptroller keeps that confidential. Then, Ms. Schmader explained that DWFD posted a graphic on their website showing the Central Business District property values over the last twenty years. Ms. Cowling said she would use that as a metric because she thinks it will continue to grow.Ms. Schmader noted the creation of the vacant structure registry would help them track the vacancy rate closer. Finally, Ms. Cowling clarified that the $18,000 increase in salaries was not for additional people but an increase in salary structure. Ms. Schmader confirmed that clarification. d. Chamber of Commerce 'Mr. Florsheim addressed the Board and explained that the Chamber's proposal was for $981,500, a decrease from last year. He stated that they have decided not to fund a,downtown development position,which causes a reduction in salaries and related expenses. As with the past couple of years, he asked that WFEDC include $24,000 in its own budget for the'relocation assistance program for existing businesses to recruit people from out of town.Mr.Florsheim stated that he would walk the Board through activities projected for this next year and give a staffing update. The executive committee is in the process of negotiating with the candidate for interim CEO at the Chamber.At the next,chamber board meeting,that should be finalized within a couple of weeks. So the Chamber will have an experienced that cannot developer on Board for the next 3 to 4 months while they conduct a national search for Mr. Florsheim's replacement. The Board has already hired Todd Jorgensen's firm to perform the CEO search. The Chamber will pause the search for the business attraction position until a CEO is hired. Some duties have been transitioned internally to ensure none of the current activities stop. Summaries Business Attraction • Site selector outreach=the Chamber had an excellent database of site selectors and good relationships with them. They will continue to conduct outreach in person, by phone calls, zoom WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 4 of 8 calls, and email campaigns. • Continue to participate in Team Texas mission trips. Katie Britt participated in one last month in Washington, DC. \, • Katie also manages a complete email and digital marketing campaign aimed at all of the site,selectors and corporate executives that are prospects. • Ryan McGowan handles research and will be managing the Chamber site and building database. Business Retention and Expansion • Taylor Davis transitioned into this position. She is conducting a regular visitation program and all the expansion assistance. • The Chamber also assists local businesses to help them get their story out and identify more potential customers and employees. Talent Development • A new director of the Chamber's talent initiative will start in two weeks. Taylor will be able to provide training to get the new person up to speed quickly. • The Chamber will continue to assist companies, helping them figure out how to recruit better,train, screen, and retain their employees. • The Chamber will continue to add to the catalog of military programs, work on the young professionals program, and rollout an internships campaign. • The Chamber will continue to package and augment its existing relocation support efforts. Mr. Floresheim also mentioned Karen Bivona, the Chamber's office manager, handles project oversight and reconciliation for all the contracts between EDC and companies. Falls Future Strategy They just wrapped up the new strategy's development and will be speaking with Matt Deveau tomorrow to discuss an implementation plan. Discussion about international talent arose. There is a large group of international students at MSU and a--large group,of people at Sheppard AFB that would like to stay in Wichita Falls, but they have VISA issues. They plan to develop a program to assist companies in understanding the process of helping someone through the sponsorship process. They have plans to develop better pathways into the industrial trades that are hurting to find labor right now. The Chamber will be working to develop more public-private partnerships with Sheppard Air Force Base. It is another ambitious strategy; they accomplished about 85 to 90%of the last. Ms. Cowling asked how many expansion and attraction programs were done this past year. Mr. Florsheim did not have a number. Ms. Cowling stated that this was a critical metric and how the number of jobs is tracked. Mr. Florsheim and Ms. Cowling discussed compiling workforce data to calculate the number of people working in Wichita Falls.Ms.Cowling said a goal of where Wichita Falls is headed needs to be set. Ms. Cowling then asked about the budget and how the net decrease adds up to around $25,000. Mr. Florsheim explained that the key programming changes are $10,000. Additionally, for Lead Generation, that's our business attraction efforts, $5000 added to the military WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 5 of 8 r I i { and $2500 to the talent partnership. The $20,000 for relocation is not what was programming mentioned earlier. This is to provide-the Chamber with more tools to develop a marketing campaign aimed at companies and to provide other resources, relocation guide, and other things that can be done internally to help those companies. Then an additional $5,000 for Intern Wichita Falls. Ms. Cowling clarified that these increases are tied to the economic development strategy that is in development. Mr. Florsheim agreed. Mr. Lane made a final comment about the/jobs metric that unless the average pay of the job is known and how it matches up with the cost of living, no progress is being made. Many very low-paying jobs are just the opposite of what is needed. a. SMAC Mr. Barham addressed the Board and apologized for being late. He said he inadvertently left off two columns on the budget request spreadsheet. He handed the Board the additional information that had been omitted.He stated that SMAC was again asking for$150,000,which is the same level the Board has funded for the last five years. The investment will be used to support the Shepherd Military Affairs Committee's mission of protecting the future of Sheppard Air Force Base. One of the issues SMAC has worked on this past year is acquiring funding to construct a new child development center at Sheppard Air Force Base. He stated that Sheppard would receive approximately $27 million to build that new facility. This past December, Governor Abbott toured Sheppard and met with the installation commander, Brigadier General Lyle Drew, and the Second Air Force commander,Major General Michelle Edmondson. Mr. Barham was told it was a worthwhile discussion, and many things had been cleared up. SMAC continues to work on low-level Military Training Routes. Mr. Barham stated that wind farms continue to be an issue. The heights of the turbines and blades reach 680 to 700 feet. The low-level MTRs areat 500 feet.It is an obvious hazard to student pilots dealing with windmills in their flight paths. Early notification from the developers to the military is key to this process. James Frank and Drew Springer will be introducing legislation next spring that will define early notification, which will force the wind farm developers to notify the military very early in the processthey p where want to establish a development. SMAC will continue to focus efforts in the upcoming holiday season by assisting low- income Sheppard families. In FY2023, SMAC will host two dinners. The first one will be held in October. The guest speaker is General Charles Q Brown, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. The second dinner will be held in the spring when the steering committee returns to Sheppard. They went to Canada for the spring meeting and return to Sheppard in March. Mr. Barham stated,that the WFEDC Investment in SMAC operations would help protect the future of Sheppard AFB's largest employer in the area. Losing Sheppard or either of its two wings would have a monumental and devastating impact on the local economy, not only Wichita Falls economy but the entire metropolitan statistical area.Mr.Barham said he looks forward to the continued partnership with the 4A Board. Ms. Cowling asked if BRAC was a threat or an opportunity. Mr. Barham explained that it is actually both. In 2005 Sheppard lost the medical training, and it moved to San Antonio. However, Sheppard is well positioned at this point for a BRAC. The likelihood of Sheppard is low because of its unique training mission.Many international folks come through Sheppard AFB.The WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 6 of 8 C majority of airmen in training come to Sheppard AFB. He stated that everyone needs to be prepared, and he always keeps his ear to the ground on whether a BRAC will happen or-pot. - Ms. Cowlingasked if there was a waytoprotect Sheppard and expand it in'terms of pp P mission. She wondered if expansion only happens during a BRAC. Mr. Barham explained that it could happen outside of a BRAC. 4. Consider and take action to approve Change Order#1 to the contract for the Wichita Falls Business Park Fisher Road & Midwestern Parkway Improvements (Project A), in the amount of$21,110.00,and authorizing the Board president to execute all related documents Mr. Schreiber addressed the Board and reminded it of the improvements funded for the business park to make it more attractive for businesses to come to Wichita Falls. The current project under construction is the Phase A project(Midwestern Parkway Feature Road Expansion). The contractor has begun that work. However, the Board is well aware of the new development attempting to locate in the business park on lot six. This lot does not have a roadway in front of it, so the contractor has been asked to reschedule his phasing of the project and begin on the Midwestern Parkway portion because Land O'Lakes needs that roadway in front of their lot by October. This has resulted in a change order. Realignment and adjustment of some storm sewer also resulted in about$3,600 added to the project. 5. Discussion and possible action related to Incentive Policy Development proposal from Boyette Strategic Advisors _ Mr. Florsheim explained that this had been discussed multiple times. He wondered if they were doing things competitively and using their incentive dollars appropriately. Are there other best practices they can impose, and how do they standardize a policy? Mr. Floresheim spoke to Alicia Cook, who referred him to'Boyette Strategic Advisors. They forwarded a proposal to him that yvould help develop,a true incentive policy. They said they could start in late August or early September if the Board chooses to move forward. It would be a three-month process, and the fee would be $22,850. Section four of the proposal states that the potential expense is capped at 15% of the fee. Mr.Toogood asked if their work for their representative client list was similar or a different type of economic development consulting. Mr. Florsheim said the work did include some look at incentives. Mr. Florsheim said that Alisha Cook told him that this company was the best in the business for this task. Mr.Lane asked if they represent both manufacturers and chambers.Mr. Florsheim did not believe they did that sort of thing. For all the communities listed in their proposal, they have done strategic planning, incentive review, and assembling incentive packages. Ms. Cowling clarified that they have negotiated on both sides. 6. Executive Session Mr. Lane adjourned the meeting into executive session at 3:25 p.m. pursuant to Texas Government Code §§ 551.087 and 551.071. He announced the meeting back into regular session at 4:46 p.m.The subjects posted in the Notice of Meeting were deliberated, and no votes or further actions were taken on the items in executive session. WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 7 of 8 7. Motions 2023 Budget Presentations Ms. Cowling moved to approve the 2023 budget funding as follows: SMAC - $150,000; i.d.e.a. Wichita Falls - $50,000; Downtown Development - $115,000; Chamber of Commerce - $981,500. Seconded by Mr. Toogood, the motion carried 4-0. Change Order#1 to the contract for the Wichita Falls Business Park Fisher Road & Midwestern Parkway Improvements Project A), in the amount of$21,110.00 Mr. Leiker moved to approve the change order as presented in the amount of $21,110. Seconded by Mr. Toogood,the motion carried 4-0. Incentive Policy Development proposal from Boyette Strategic Advisors Ms. Cowling moved to approve the incentive policy development proposal for Boyette Strategic Advisors in an amount not to exceed $28,000. Seconded by Mr. Toogood, the motion % carried 4-0. On behalf of the Board, Mr. Toogood thanked Mr. Florsheim for his service to Wichita Falls and wished him good luck. 7. Adjourned. The meeting adjourned at 4:5 0 p.m. r, Leo Lane, President' WFEDC Minutes 07/21/2022 Page 8 of 8