1.       Approve Minutes of previous meeting of May 4, 2009.

 

 2.       Public Hearing on 4-B Economic Development Tax Corporation’s intention to undertake a park and recreation project involving the acquisition, construction, renovation, equipping, improvement, operation and maintenance of park and recreation facilities and related infrastructure, including the acquisition of Oakdale Park, the cost of which is not to exceed $4 million ($4,000,000).

 

 3.       Nominate a committee to assist with the concept plan for Oakdale Park.

 

 4.       Discuss terms of Advisory Board members.

 

 5.       New Business.

 

Mr. Miller changed the order of the agenda to accommodate speakers who needed to leave, and opened the Public Hearing at 6:15 PM. He asked everyone to pick up copies of the handouts that were available on the front table. The first packet included time-lines and debt load assumptions that were generated by the bond counsel and advisors, as well as their estimates of the projected income generated by the 4B sales tax. The second set was a letter from Mike Shaw, who works for the TML Risk Pool, covering his walk-through of Oakdale Park, and indicating repairs that are needed immediately. The remainder of the handout information were two spreadsheets showing 4B income and expenditures to date.

 

Billy Huckaby first addressed tourism in Glen Rose. He recalled a letter that was printed in the newspaper about a week ago from someone who had recently moved here from Granbury. That writer basically asked to shut everything down and quit - and that’s not going to happen, he said. Tourism in Glen Rose is a $17 million a year industry. And that is in direct spending, i.e., people come into Glen Rose and spend $17 million a year of their money and go home. The tourism multiplier (a conservative 1.8X) makes it a $32 million income producer. We need to develop our infrastructure, he said, and grow those tourism dollars. Dinosaur World has done a great job, and even now we hear that we need more, more, more for people to do while in Glen Rose. We have so much, but we need to expand and improve as much as we can.

 

It took three times for the 4B tax to pass, Mr. Huckaby said. During that time, the City asked him to prepare a brochure indicating how it could benefit the City. At that point Glen Rose was the only municipality in the area that was not collecting 4B tax. He took a map of the state and picked out cities comparable in size to Glen Rose and looked at their retail sales. What he was looking for, he said, was how much of the 4B tax was coming from local residents and how much was coming from visitors. He found that the average retail sales in a community the size of Glen Rose was $1,500 to $2,500 per person. Glen Rose, on the other hand, was over $8,000 per person. That indicates that $5-6,000 of those dollars spent are coming from the people who stay in our hotels, shop at our stores and visit our attractions, so probably 2/3 of the 4B tax comes from outside the community. That makes it even more important for us to grow our tourism product.

 

To turn Oakdale Park into a residential area, Mr. Huckaby said, would be a tragedy. People have come here for years and years just for the giant swimming pool. There is a big dulcimer festival every year; bluegrass festivals and family reunions are huge there; and with Tres Rios going private and now a timeshare, we lost a huge facility for family reunions. We get calls every day, he said, from people who are scrambling, trying to find a place to have their family reunion.

 

What he envisions for Oakdale, he continued, is first of all, to clean it up. Decrease the number of RV spaces and upgrade the ones that are kept. The intent is not to get into the RV business, although it would be done to a certain extent. In addition to an event center, what the CVB would focus on would be family reunions and small festivals and events like the Dulcimer Festival. Three to four basic metal buildings of approximately 2-3,000 sq.ft. with kitchen and bathroom facilities would serve family reunions and small meetings. Three to four pavilions could be utilized for the same thing. A facelift, he said, would do it a world of good. This doesn’t necessarily have to be done at once, but could be done in phases. Consideration was given to updating the stage, but it could be that an investment in a portable stage would be better utilized.

 

One other thing, he added. Hotel Occupancy Tax funds can be used on this type of project. CVB money can go to event centers, conference centers, and convention centers, so it is possible that the CVB can offer financial assistance.

 

Mr. Huckaby opened the floor for questions, but none were forthcoming.

 

Dan Sefko and Daniel Harrison of the Sefko Planning Group of Freese & Nichols introduced themselves as constructors of the Glen Rose Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Harrison explained the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan. One of the most important elements, he said, is the Future Land Use Map. It is important because it is one of the things on which you base zoning, to ensure that it is done in an orderly manner. One of the key components of the Land Use chapter is called the “Paluxy River District.” One of the things that came out of the Public Input meeting was the value of the river and the uniqueness of the community. Having this Land Use District lets it be known that it will be a Mixed Use District, with a variety of zoning, which could involve a number of variances to accommodate what is already there (shorter setbacks, etc.). Another thing that came out of the input meeting is the ability to have a trail system throughout the community, to take advantage of the wonderful topography and the natural environment of the river. The goal of the Paluxy River District is to help create a dynamic environment where people will be drawn to the District and they can enjoy their time as tourists, or attending functions, etc. Creation of this environment is an effort to support some of those functions that are currently going on there.

 

Mr. Harrison added that they are proposing an entryway feature at Northeast Barnard and Hwy. 67 to help people who are traveling down Highway 67 to know that this is the gateway to our Paluxy River District, and to create the feeling of “You have arrived,” which is not found in any of the neighboring cities or anywhere else in the region.

 

How Oakdale Park will fit is simply supplementing the dynamic environment that we currently have around the Square and continuing the types of developments that we see there. Additionally, a park would help the district serve as being the draw that would bring tourists in.

 

Mr. Sefko again said that they were just recently made aware of the City’s interest in Oakdale Park, and they wanted to stress that whether it is owned privately or by the City, the park will fit into their concept. He did want to stress, however, the need for a feasibility study prior to purchase. At least, he said, have someone look at it, tell you how much it will cost and what it could possibly do for you. Mr. Harrison offered to answer any questions, but there were none.

 

Jimmy Pierce said he has lived here about 3 years. He grew up in a small town near Austin, and saw it “grow and go crazy.” What the people say they want here, he said, is not what happened there. In order to keep it from happening, once the growth starts, the City is going to have to spend money now. He said he understands that a feasibility study is needed, but the City needs to buy Oakdale Park no matter what they end up doing with it, and then do a study and see what is the best thing to do with it. Buy any house that comes up for sale along the Paluxy. Don’t let it sit there and deteriorate. Buy them up and lease them out to artisans. That will give you that small town, home town appeal, whereas if you let people do it on their own you end up with a conglomeration and nobody knows what is going on. If the City controls what is coming in as it comes in, you end up with more of what you want.

 

Ricky Villa said he has an appointment on June 10 with ‘Dennis’ of Sefko Planning Group to discuss a feasibility study. The study should be done quickly enough that it will be completed before Oakdale is purchased. Mr. Miller pointed out that there is an item later in the agenda to appoint a planning group that will work with a design group to get a concept design for the park. He said that his goal is for that committee to talk to a design firm by the middle of August and have a plan before Council by the first of September. 

 

Craig Dodson asked if it wouldn’t be better to have a broader use for 4B funds than just parks and park projects. Mr. Miller replied that bond counsel is hesitant to write it any broader than it already is, and usually writes it much more specifically. Mr. Miller added that it obviously could not be spent on a multi-million dollar project, but if it were $1-200,000 it could possibly be considered. 

 

Chris Bryant asked Mr. Miller if he had intended to state that bond funds could be spent on something other than parks and recreation, because that is not what he understood. Mr. Miller agreed that the agreement is written that way; however, it is a broad category and could include recreation centers, for example, certainly more than just Oakdale and the Riverwalk. 

 

Mr. Villa asked if we got the full $4 million and didn’t use it all, could we pay part of it back (early pay-off). Mr. Miller said he did not recall the answer to that question. Mayor Miller said she seemed to recall that it could be paid early without incurring a penalty. In answer to a question from the audience, Mr. Miller said that land may be purchased with the intention of putting it in the park system, whether it is incorporated into the system or not. Asked how many parks the City owns, Mayor Miller replied that the little strip of land behind Town Hall is the City’s only park. Big Rocks is leased on a 99-year lease from Glen Lake Camp.

 

Mike Jones asked, since there has historically been problems with what entity maintains the baseball fields, would it be possible to purchase the baseball fields with 4B funds. The answer from Mr. Miller was yes, legally and in theory.

 

The Public Hearing was closed at approximately 6:55 PM.

 

 1.       Minutes: Mr. Bryant moved to approve the minutes of the May 4, 2009 meeting. Mr. Roffino seconded the motion, and it passed 4/0.

 

 4.       Terms of Board: Mr. Miller announced that the terms of Mayor Miller, Mr. Roffino, Mr. Villa and Mr. Wilson all expired May 31. He added that Mr. Roffino and Mr. Wilson have indicated that they do not wish to continue to serve on the board, and he expressed his thanks to them for their two years of service. Mayor Miller and Mr. Villa both indicated a willingness to continue to serve. Mr. Bryant asked if anyone present would be willing to serve on the 4B Board, and Mr. Pierce indicated that he would. Mr. Miller said he had already spoken with Sue Oldenburg, who has agreed to serve.

 

 3.       Concept Committee: Mr. Miller said that Billy Huckaby has said he would serve on this committee. He added that he spoke with Mike Shaw, and he also suggested Jenny Gearhardt. He noted that Darrell Webb is in the process of walking through Oakdale with his notebook, making notations on what does not meet City Code specifications; however, Mr. Webb has said he does not want to be on the committee itself. Several nominations were received from the audience, including Mitchell George, someone from the Preservation Board, Jimmy Pierce, Patrick Oldenburg, Darrell Best, and Craig Dodson.

 

 5.       New Business: There was no new business to discuss.

 

Mayor Miller made a motion to dismiss. Mr. Bruce seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM.