Loading...
4B Sales Tax Corporation Minutes - 08/06/2026 MINUTES OF THE WICHITA FALLS 4B SALES TAX CORPORATION (WF4BSTC) AUGUST 6, 2026 PRESENT: Glenn Barham, President § WF4BSTC Members Nick Schreiber, Secretary-Treasurer § Darrell Coleman § Stephen Santellana § Steve Garner § Craig Reynolds § Tim Short, Mayor § Mayor & City Councilors Mike Battaglino, Councilor, District 4 § Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager § City Staff Blake Jurecek, Assistant City Manager § Kinley Hegglund, City Attorney § Stephen Calvert, CFO & Finance Director § Fabian Medellin, Dir. Development Serv. § Kevin Scanlan, Exec. L. AsstiRec Secretary § § Members of the Public Donna Adams § Miniature Wonders Jana Schmader § Miniature Wonders Bret Hanes § Miniature Wonders Damian Mount § Pro Insulation and Fencing Cindy Shafer § CEO, Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce Brad Rogers § Exec. Comm. Chair, Chamber of Commerce Pam Hughes § Exec. Committee, Chamber of Commerce Prior to the meeting, Glenn Barham and Steve Garner, having been reappointed, were administered the Oath of Office for their new terms. 1. Call to Order. Mr. Glenn Barham called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m., noting that a quorum was present. 2. Report of Financial Condition. Mr. Paul Menzies reviewed the financial report and stated that the bottom-line number of $7.35 million was available free and clear for new projects. He reminded the Board that, as will be seen in the budget for next year which will be addressed at the next meeting, that number does not consider the $1.4 million debt service payment that will be starting next year. The net is about $6 million. The two recent projects approved, the overhaul of the siren warning system and WF4BSTC Minutes Page 1 of 5 7/2/2026 the money for O. G. Cellars is shown on the financials. Mr. Menzies continued, noting that the sales tax was continuing to do well and was more than 10% over this point last year. If that trend continues it means that the Board will receive $500,000 to $600,000 in additional sales tax revenue that was not in the budget. Mr. Barham sought further questions from the Board on the financial report. With no questions from the Board, Mr. Barham asked for questions from the public. There were none. Stephen Santellana moved to accept the financials as presented, seconded by Darrell Coleman, the motion passed unanimously, 6-0. 3. Consent Agenda: a) Approval of Minutes of July 2, 2026. Approval of the minutes of the meeting of July 2, 2026 was not addressed by the Board and no action was taken. The minutes will be taken up at the next meeting. 4. Public hearing regarding a funding request from the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce to assist in the organization's Military Liaison Program. Mr. Barham opened the public hearing at 3:03 p.m. Cindy Shafer, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce thanked the Board for the opportunity to present their request. She then introduced other members of her team. Ms. Shafer noted that the Chamber has been the main liaison organization with SAFB for a long time. When Forward Wichita Falls split from the Chamber last fall, that military liaison position stayed with Forward Wichita Falls. The person that was filling that position relocated overseas, and the position became open. At that point they began discussions about the quality of life programs. It was realized that the quality of life programs fit in best with the mission of the chamber. Since May when the position became open, Forward Wichita Falls has contracted with the Chamber to perform that position's function on the quality of life programs. Tiffany Campbell, the Chamber's Office Administrator, has been doing much of this work. The Chamber wants to make this a full-time position. Ms. Shafer noted that the most visible of the programs is the AIT Bus Tours. They go around in the trolleys and stop at all the Sheppard bus stops and other sites. There are 6 tours per week and they last 45 minutes. There are 2,000 to 3,000 servicemembers participating per year which is only about 5% of the 60,000 AIT trainees that come through Sheppard each year. With only 5% participating they started talking with the base about different options that would be more cost effective and reach more servicemembers. One option is to replace the tours with briefings. In these, the participants will receive the same information and still get goodie bags with additional information and coupons. Recently they have been giving surveys to the tour participants to get their opinion of the tours. Ms. Shafer went through the survey responses and noted that overall satisfaction was very high and that they were likely or very likely to use the Sheppard Express. Recreation and entertainment were consistently the highest rated parts of the tour, so that focus will be brought into the briefings. A greater emphasis will be on permanent parties and their families to assist them in getting better integrated into the community. There will be monthly community tours that include spouses and families. They will have separate tours for single and families as they are likely to be interested in different businesses and activities. This will help with spouses that feel uncomfortable leaving the base become more comfortable with the City. The aim is to reach 1000 riders on the tours. WF4BSTC Minutes Page 2 of 5 7/2/2026 Ms. Shafer described the Hidden Gems program and its goals to provide high quality events and activities for families. The Home Away from Home program matches servicemembers with local families. However, they have just 5 families participating. Details were provided about contacts made and resources available from a successful similar program at Tinker Air Force Base. The Blue Star Families program has numerous events and activities but that it could be greatly expanded by becoming a Blue Star Outpost. There is currently no Blue Star Outpost in North Texas or Oklahoma. An outpost could submit for grants and receive funding for first year operations and up to two grant renewals. Ms. Shafer describe the current We Support Sheppard program and its benefits. She added that they are wanting to increase the number of participating businesses from 212 to 300. She provided further comments concerning additional military events and job fairs, and ways they do impact the Sheppard portion of the community. She also mentioned obtaining software for an expanded job board and detailed her desire to have the main go-to listing of job opportunities and become the job board for the community. Ms. Shafer detailed the breakdown of the budget for this position and related program costs. The request from the Board is for$82,160. The total budget is $102,700 and the Chamber will cover 20% of that figure ($20,540). Mr. Schreiber asked if this was a one-time request or an annual request. Ms. Shafer responded that she was requesting this as a onetime request and hopes to make the position self-sustaining. This next year they want to apply for their 501(c)(3) certification so they can get donations and sustain this program through donations and grants. It is a onetime request and if she were to be here again next year that would depend on how much success they have this year. Mr. Reynolds asked what the details were on the prior funding. Mr. Menzies replied that the money was split 50/50 with 4A. That it was a two-year program and it is set to terminate this year. Mr. Menzies confirmed that those monies were for the buses. Mr. Barham asked for further comments or questions from the Board, there were none. He asked for questions or comments from the public and there were none. With no further comments or discussion, Mr. Barham declared the public hearing closed at 3:22 p.m. 5. Public hearing regarding a request from Miniature Wonders to amend certain terms and conditions of the Board's previously approved funding award for the organization's planned destination and tourism project in Kiwanis Park. Mr. Barham opened the public hearing at 3:23 p.m. Mr. Menzies addressed the board to provide background. He noted that in May the Board approved $360,000 for the security fencing around the front 15 acres at Kiwanis Park. It was subsequently approved by the City Council. Since that time the Miniature Wonders Board has had an opportunity to improve upon the quality of the fence and the warranty and save the Board some money. Bret Hanes addressed the Board, apologized for any confusion and explained why he was present. When he left the meeting, he thought they had approval for $360,000 for a fence but did not realize that it was tied to a single vendor. For that reason, he did not present it to his board with that limitation. The Miniature Wonders Board, to be good stewards, further evaluated the bids of the two bidders and adopted the bid of Pro Insulation and Fencing. WF48STC Minutes Page 3 of 5 7/2/2026 The bids are for identical fences except for two things. The first difference is that the Burn Shop fence was to be built on site, one panel at a time with unknown hired welders. It would then be sealed and painted onsite. The Pro Insulation bid is for a factory-built fence with known workers and a factory finish. Additionally, the warranties were not the same. The Burn Shop warranty is a one-year warranty and the Pro Insulation fence has a 20-year warranty. Since the two fences were basically identical Miniature Wonders went with the 20- year warranty. The paperwork from the City provided for the Burn Shop fence so we are here to amend what was previously awarded and recognize that we were going to use the other contractor because it is a better product with a better warranty. Mr. Barham asked for questions from the Board. Mr. Reynolds asked Damian Mounts, installation contractor, if the pickets were identical in gauge and other specs to those in the Burn Shop bid. Mr. Mounts stated that he did not know what the Burn Shop had specified, but he knew that an onsite fence will not be zinc coated or powder coated. He provided a detailed description of the fence panels and installation differences and additional benefits to his product. Mr. Barham asked if anyone else wished to speak. Mr. Hanes introduced Jana Schmader as the new Executive Director of Miniature Wonders. Donna Adams commented that they had gotten two $100,000 donations and provided detail on the status of the construction of many of the features. Mr. Garner noted that what had been previously approved was very specific and asked Mr. Hanes if he was confident that the new selection is comparable to the original Burn Shop bid. Mr. Hanes replied that he felt that not only was it comparable, but we think it is better. Mr. Hanes said that he knew it was probably going to cost more, but we recognized as an organization that we have to foot the difference, and we are prepared to do that. Mr. Barham asked for any final questions or comments. With no further questions or comments, Mr. Barham declared the public hearing closed at 3:28 p.m. 6. Executive Session. Mr. Barham adjourned the meeting into executive session at 3:28 p.m. pursuant to Texas Government Code sections 551.087, 551.071 and 551.072. He announced the meeting back into regular session at 4:12 p.m. The subjects posted in the Notice of Meeting were deliberated, and no votes or further action were taken on these items in executive session. 7. Motions Mr. Santellana moved to fund the request from the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce to assist in the organization's Military Liaison Program in the amount of$82,160 with the request of a six-month review to assess progress with the 4B Sales Tax Corporation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Coleman. Mr. Barham asked for discussion and there being none, the motion carried unanimously (6-0). Mr. Schreiber moved to approve an amount not to exceed $350,000 to Miniature Wonders for their perimeter fencing at Kiwanis Park to the level of specification as shown in the proposal, with payment after the approval and review of receipts. The motion was seconded by Mr. Garner, with no further discussion the motion carried unanimously, 6-0. WF4BSTC Minutes Page 4 of 5 7/2/2026 • 8. Adjourn. No further discussions took place, nor actions taken. Mr. Barham adjourned the meeting at 4:14 p.m. Glenn Barham, President Wichita Falls 4B Sales Tax Corporation WF4BSTC Minutes Page 5 of 5 7/2/2026