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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 04/22/2003 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council of April 22, 2003, which were approved by the City Council on April 29, 2003. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 29th day of April 2003. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS JOINT MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND THE CORPUS CHRISTI REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION April 22, 2003 - 12:00 p.m. CITY COUNCIL * Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Henry Garrett ** Brent Chesney *** Melody Cooper Bill Kelly Rex A. Kinnison Jesse Noyola Mark Scott Javier Colmenero * Arrived at 12:45 p.m. ** Arrived at 12:20 p.m. *** Arrived at 12:15 p.m. City Staff Present City Manager George K. Noe Acting City Attorney Jay Reining City Secretary Armando Chapa Recording Secretary Rebecca Huerta EDC BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF Ray Hayes, Chairman Ted Puckett Gene Guernsey Joe Elizondo Bill Dodge Jim Barnette Ron Kitchens, President/CEO Mayor Pro Tem Henry Garrett called the meeting to order on the Sixth Floor Conference Room of City Hall. City Secretary Chapa checked the roll and verified that a quorum of the Council was present to conduct the meeting. Mr. Ron Kitchens, President and CEO of the EDC, said that today's report would provide information on the roles of staff and the corporation itself. He said that the philosophy of the EDC is to provide meaningful employment to the area. Mr. John Plotnik, Vice President of the EDC, reported on his activities working directly with businesses who have expressed an interest in locating their business in the Corpus Christi area. He said that when the EDC was being developed, they interviewed successful companies who were located here and asked them why they chose Corpus Christi. They developed a recruitment program focusing on target industries like petrochemical, marine, aerospace and distribution centers. He said that the top two questions he hears from potential companies is if the city has a site available and what the labor force is like. He said the EDC makes 4,000 phone calls annually and travel%extensively to make contacts and educate companies on what Corpus Christi has to offer. Mr. Omar Garcia, Vice President, said that he leads the EDC's retention and expansion program. He reported that the EDC identifies companies in three different categories: core, primary and non -primary. A core company is defined as one that is a larger employer that has a base potential to increase a number of new jobs, such as Citgo and Flint Hills. Mr. Garcia said that the EDC visits with these companies at least six times a year. Primary companies are medium-sized Minutes - Joint Meeting with EDC April 22, 2003 - Page 2 companies that create jobs incrementally and non -primary companies are smaller, mom-and-pop organizations. A primary employer produces goods and services for customers predominantly outside the local area and create new wealth. Mr. Garcia said that the EDC also provides job training assistance, impediment removal, access to state programs and networking between programs to promote companies. Mr. Kitchens added that the main objective for making visits to each industry is to ask for referrals. Ms. Jill McKay, Vice President, said that she leads the human relocation program at the EDC. She reported that the goal of the human relocation program is to bring new residents to the area. The program addresses three primary concern: shortage of skilled labor, military families and difficult employment search for trailing spouses. Ms. McKay said that they send out a relocation packet to relocating families to provide them with timely and accurate information. For military families, they provide welcome briefings four times a year at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. She said their resume distribution service and awareness program have been very successful. Mr. Kitchens also mentioned staff members Gabriela Torres and Sarita Martinez. Mr. Kitchens reported on several trends in the economic development arena. There has been more competition as of late, as cities are offering free buildings, cash grants and a pretrained workforce as incentives. He said that Corpus Christi's competitive niche is not that it is low cost but a high value. He announced that the Corpus Christi EDC has been named one of the top ten EDCs in North America. In response to Council Member Scott's question, Mr. Kitchens confirmed that there were 23,000 jobs created in the Corpus Christi area over the past three years. Council Member Chesney asked if this information was on the EDC's website and Mr. Kitchens responded affirmatively. Council Member Kelly asked if the relocation packets included information on schools, housing and daycare. Mr. Kitchens said that relocators don't usually focus on these things until after they move to the community. Council Member Chesney asked Mr. Kitchens to address concerns that the data he uses does not make sense. Mr. Kitchens replied that the population data he uses is complied by Claritas agency, a well respected agency. Chairman Ray Hayes commented that during a recent visit to Austin, he was pleased by the positive feelings about Corpus Christi, which has been doing relatively better economically than most cities in the state. He said that the board members and staff are committed to working very closely with the city. Council Member Scott asked Mr. Kitchens for a status on the Bollinger project. Mr. Kitchens said they have leased two ships to the Navy and they are working very well. He said funding for the project is in the President's budget and that Bollinger will probably select a site soon. Council Member Colmenero commented that there was a lack of awareness in the community about positive developments being expressed at today's meeting. Mr. Gene Guernsey, EDC board member, said that Al Jones, an EDC board member, was scheduling a meeting with the new business editor of the Caller Times and other media to help spread the word about the EDC's accomplishments. Council Member Chesney asked that the EDC continue to provide the informational e-mails they were sending out. Mr. Kitchens said he would do so. There being no further business, Mayor Pro Tem Garrett adjourned the meeting at 1:05 p.m. on April 22, 2003.