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4A Wichita Falls Economic Development Minutes - 10/27/2000W J g. F. RECEIVED IN CITY CLE1RK' Date (� K'S OFFICE MINUTES OF THE By Time a' WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Meeting of October 27, 2000 Present. Members: Gary Shores, President Ron Bullock, Secretary- Treasurer Bo Stahler Lou Rodriguez City Staff: Jim Berzina, City Manager Robert Powers, Assistant City Manager Greg Humbach, City Attorney Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary Guests: Tim Chase, BCI Blue Cross /Blue Shield of Texas Dan Jones Absent. Member: Ray Clymer I. Call to Order. President Gary Shores called the meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. II. Approval of Minutes (August 24, 2000). Bo Stahler moved that the August 24, 2000 minutes be approved as written. The motion was seconded by Lou Rodriguez, and unanimously approved. Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation October 27, 2000 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 III. Consider Memorandum of Understanding between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas and the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation. (Before the 4A Board is a proposed Memorandum of Understanding, authorizing $136,000 of 4A sales tax revenues be paid to Blue Cross -Blue Shield of Texas (Blue Cross). This payment would be contingent upon Blue Cross's creation of 68 new jobs and a minimum investment of $1 million no later than March 31, 2001.) President Gary Shores noted that the primary purpose of today's meeting is to discuss the above - referenced proposal. He gave the floor to Dan Jones of Blue Cross -Blue Shield of Texas. Mr. Jones then gave an informal presentation on his company's proposal to the 4A Board members, beginning with expressing his appreciation to Tim Chase of the BCI for arranging this meeting. He then reminded the Board that Blue Cross -Blue Shield began its operations in Wichita Falls approximately three years ago. He believes it has been a very successful venture for the Company, and he hopes for the City, as well. In the beginning, they held a job fair at MPEC, interviewed nearly 2,000 individuals, and hired around 200 on the spot. The Company has experienced some turnovers since that time, but that is to be expected. In August of 1997, the Company hired another 30 employees. In 1999, they added another 50 employees due to the Company's growth. Blue Cross contributes $8 million annually in payroll to this region. Creating a job involves an investment by Blue Cross of approximately $25,000 in office space, training, and infrastructure. They have made a significant employee investments of $12 -$15 million thus far. The Company's original line of business in Wichita Falls was customer service and claims operations for individual and small accounts. However, Mr. Jones noted that due to the quality and speed of their employees here, Blue Cross made this operation responsible for major and national accounts, and moved the smaller accounts to Marshall, Texas. This growth and expanded operation calls for more employees. Mr. Jones noted the Company's proposal is to build out the unfinished office space in the Wichita Falls office at 2215 Southwest Parkway, to expand office space into the existing storage area, and to create an additional 65 jobs at staff level, and 3 at supervisory management positions. This project could be accomplished utilizing existing management staff and facility support staff. Blue Cross -Blue Shield is happy with Wichita Falls and the quality of employees here. There have been a lot of changes in terms of competition in the past 3 years. Mr. Jones states he believes Blue Cross opened the door for operations such as Budget Group and Southwestern Bell. In order to stay competitive, Blue Cross will work to improve its benefit package. r , Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation October 27, 2000 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 Southwestern Bell has taken about 6% to 8% of their employees, but Blue Cross is fortunately able to hire quality replacements for those vacancies. Mr. Jones stated the Company will expand their base of customers in Texas by 15,000 sold contracts, and approximately 22,000 projected new sales for 2001. This proposed project would provide workspace to accommodate the move of Membership functions to the Full Service Unit from the Richardson, Texas office. The Company wants to grow as a player in the marketplace. He informed the Board that in any given week, one or two visitors come to the Wichita Falls facility from all over the state. Without the additional build out, Mr. Jones told the Board the Company could not assume the additional workload. If he can demonstrate to the Company that Wichita Falls is committed to this operation, future expansion here would be considered. It is not unusual to have two facilities in one city, depending upon the competitive environment. The project would require finishing out the vacant space, additional wiring, additional raised flooring, ceiling installation, walls, additional furniture and expansion of the Local Area Network. The estimated cost of the project totals $906,585, broken down as follows: PC /Monitors $163,800 Telephones $ 5,785 Furniture $229,000 Construction $508,000 Mr. Jones anticipates the completion date would occur in the second quarter of 2001. Ron Bullock expressed his excitement about this project, which he considers to be a continuation of the original vision. He commends Blue Cross -Blue Shield for the aesthetic improvements they have made to the City, as well. Mr. Jones thanked Mr. Bullock for his comments, and remarked that he tells his employees to look at the growth that has occurred around their building since Blue Cross began their operations here to see the impact the Company has made upon the city. Mr. Rodriguez questioned what level of qualifications Blue Cross is seeking in their employees. Mr. Jones stated the basic qualifications for an entry -level position are a high school diploma and some experience with a PC. Beyond that, he would like to see some college or even a college degree. A medical background is a plus. Part of the reason they were so successful in the initial hiring is due to the merger of the two hospitals, which left several individuals with medical backgrounds available for hire. Even at this point, while the high quality of the job seekers may not be as apparent as they initially found, the criteria is to determine whether the applicant wants the job, is willing to learn, and willing to work. f � • • . Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation October 27, 2000 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 President Shores thanked Mr. Jones for his presentation. He stated that he and the other Board members point to Blue Cross -Blue Shield as an example to other potential companies. One of the tenets of the BCI and the 4A Board is that it is just as important to assist existing business expand as to bring in new business. Discussion ensued on the Memorandum of Understanding, and the need to make a few adjustments to its wording. Bo Stahler commented that it would be appropriate to change 3.A. to require a minimum investment of $900,000, rather than $1,000,000. (Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas will create 68 new jobs in addition to their average base employment of 350 and make a minimum investment of $900,000.00 no later than March 31, 2001.) Mr. Jones expressed his concern that this section could be interpreted to mean Blue Cross would be expected to have the 68 people hired by March 31, 2001. He is not confident that goal could be met, and would prefer not to tie the number of employees to the date of the expansion. He is confident, however, the number of employees could be met by December 2001. There was then discussion about removing the date entirely from this section. Tim Chase suggested, rather than delete the date, move it back. Section 3.A. was therefore amended to read as follows: "Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas will create 68 new jobs in addition to their average base employment of 350 and make a minimum investment of $900,000.00 no later than December 31, 2001. " Mr. Stahler moved, seconded by Mr. Bullock, that the Memorandum of Understanding be approved as amended. This motion was unanimously approved. Robert Powers stated this item would be presented to the City Council for consideration at its November 7 meeting. He advised Mr. Jones the Council would like for him to be in attendance at that meeting. Moving on, President Shores noted that, although this is not formally on the agenda, he wanted to remark upon information presented by Robert Powers. The sales tax receipts for 11 months are 8.8% above last year. The FY 2000 allocation is at $2.3 million thus far. The total for last year was $2.4 million. The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 a.m. ,�&V��Ct, , ",Xx� Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary Ron Bullock, Secretary- Treasurer