An article about the FreeFlight contract

Above is a link to an article about the FreeFlight contract. Thanks go to an anonymous reader who called my attention to it. It appeared the day of the city council meeting and it answers some of the questions my friends and I have...and brings up others.

The loan has a term of seven years. $250,000 of that can be converted to a grant if the company meets certain requirements. They must maintain an employment level of 42 employees during the period of the loan. They must pay employees at least $12 per hour and provide (at company expense) health insurance and other benefits at a level approved by the economic development corporation.

The comments bring to light other information. Of course, these have not gone through any kind of fact checking but these are things to look into and think about.

One commenter talked about a multiplier effect. Another said that this effect only works when the employees LIVE in the area. The commenter said that 25% of the employees do not live in Waco, but did not say whether they lived in McLennan county. S/he also said that only one of the managers lives in Waco. Again, that manager may (probably does) live in the county if not Waco proper.

There also seems to be a question as to whether the systems they produce and sell are obsolete.

One commenter opined (and several joined in - add my voice to that chorus) that if they had such a bright future, why didn't a bank or investor (who are the pros at knowing when something can be paid back) put up the money?

This prompts more questions in my mind:

• Did they seek funding from private sources before coming to the economic development corporation?
  Did they have trouble paying the rent and their landlord (Councilman Jim Bush) suggest that they go to the economic development corporation?
• How many local companies are being turned down for loans or grants from the corporation?
• Are records application available to the public?
• How can I see them?
  

NOTE: I need to learn more about our local economic development corporations.

NOTE: I need people to help research this stuff and come to the city council meetings.

EDITORIAL: New ordinance is needed but shouldn't hamper Waco pubs and restaurants

EDITORIAL: New ordinance is needed but shouldn't hamper Waco pubs and restaurants



Here is another perspective on the smoking ordinance from the editorials on today's Waco Trib.

Personally, I'm against taking away any more personal freedom. Let the market decide. If people want smoke-free bars, then someone should open one and not allow smoking. I just don't see that happening.

Whatever side you are on, the BEST (and only, really) way to have your voice heard is to GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL meeting and address the council. You fill out a card. They call you up and you have three minutes to say what you want. There won't be discussion, but you will make your voice heard. Come in groups so they can see what the people want.

Don't forget you can also write and call your council members. The email addresses and phone numbers are easy to find on the city's website. I believe there is also a central number where they take suggestions and questions from citizens.



When a government dictates behavior, it takes away a person's responsibility and accountability. Once the majority of people have lost that, they will become effectively slaves of the state - unable to make decisions for themselves. Worse yet, blaming others for their failures. You can already see it happening.

Individuals need to be free and responsible. Communities and society should dictate the "rules" for living - not the government. When governments and economies collapse (and they do) all that will be left are the PEOPLE to rebuild. The PEOPLE need to be free and strong and have the ability to MAKE their own decisions and live with the CONSEQUENCES of their own decisions.



The Waco City Council needs to take NO further action on smoking bans. In fact, I believe that they should take a stand and say that in Waco, TX, we value the rights of the individual and respect their ability to make their own decisions. We value and protect the rights of property owners to manage and use their property the way they see fit.

EDITORIAL: City, county leaders owe it to taxpayers to fully discuss loans for hard-hit businesses

EDITORIAL: City, county leaders owe it to taxpayers to fully discuss loans for hard-hit businesses

My friend brought this to my attention since I was at the meeting on Tuesday. I'm ashamed to admit that it went right over my head.

When I look back at the minutes, it's in there. I didn't fully understand what it was. All the more reason to have representation at the 3:00 pm meeting and to do research ahead of time. I didn't even clue into what this was.

They approved the entire consent agenda in one vote - BUT, they excepted 585 (this item). They did a separate vote on item 585. I noticed that Bush abstained (and had an odd look on his face) and there were glances around the council. There was NO discussion about it, as there usually isn't in the executive session. My head was still spinning looking through what they did with one vote.

I need to pay more attention to my intuition. There were four men who seemed to not "belong" at the meeting and I wondered who they were. They sat behind me. Larry Groth spoke with a couple of them before the meeting and came down after the meeting and shook hands with all of them. I try not to overhear conversations, but I heard one guy introduce another saying, "This is [name]. He's our [job]." I didn't take note of the name and job, but I would bet they were from FreeFlight.

Did citizens really ever have a chance to say anything about this? It was on the agenda the night before. (NOTE: Need to find out when the agenda is published.) They do not allow public comments at their work session and there was no invitation to comment at the executive session. It seems that it was submitted to the council, discussed at the work session, and approved in the executive session all in one day. Staff had been working it for a long time, I suppose, but what they are working on is not made public.

NOTE: I need to learn more about the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. Where does the money come from? What is it REALLY intended for?)

Summary of City Council Meeting - 10/20/2009

Tonight's meeting did not reveal anything earth-shattering. It was a relatively short meeting. There were a lot of people there because proclamations were given to German exchange students. More on that below. I learned that the seats in the Bosque Theater have writing desks. That's MUCH more convenient. I'm left-handed, so I just used the one on the seat to the left of me.

Mayor DuPuy proclaimed today "German American Partnership Program Day". A German teacher from Waco High came with his German exchange students. This program has been in place for 24 years and is very successful.

This is the kind of community activity that I would like to hear and know more about. These are the things that make a city into a community.

There was a bit of a discussion about PH-568. Apparently, some platting requirements had not been met. A speaker from the development company came and wanted it noted that some requirements had been met. The council explained that they use the wording, "disapproved until all platting requirements are met" instead of a flat disapproval to speed up the process. Several years ago, they would have had to disapprove the request and it would have to be submitted again when the requirements were met. This way, they in effect approved it. The company will not have to come back before the city council. Once the planning commission finds that the requirements have been met it will be automatically approved. They said that this should not create any delays for occupancy of the properties.

When they asked if citizens wished to address the council, Marsha Fountain, an oncology nurse from Smoke-Free Waco stepped up. She provided some of the same information that was provided at the last meeting. Essentially saying that 83% of Waco citizens do not smoke. That smoking ordinances have no effect on sales of food or alcohol when looking at sales tax information. She also mentioned the costs of second-hand smoke regarding health and safety.

These guys are pushing really hard for this. No one is speaking up for the personal freedom of citizens. As much as I hate cigarette smoke, I hate governments eroding our personal freedoms even more. That's a blog for another time, I think. I'm considering writing a 3-minute speech of my own. It scares me....what do you guys think? Leave it in comments.

They saved a LOT of time by approving many items from the consent agenda with one motion. Very efficient. These things are listed on the agenda and nothing was out of the ordinary. Just normal routine business.

The City Manager report was very interesting. Apparently, this has been in the works for some time, but I had no clue. I pay attention to this stuff, too! The City is inviting citizens to participate in generating ideas for how downtown can be revitalized. There will be two sessions next Monday and Tuesday. They would like for citizens to register beforehand because space is limited. Larry Groth said there is a lot of space, but it is limited. We are invited to participate in one or both of the conferences. Click here to sign up and learn more about the project. There is also a link in "Helpful Links" on the right.

City Council Meeting Tonight (and a few random thoughts)

Tonight is the Waco City Council meeting. I certainly wish I could attend the work session at 3pm. They do not allow public comment during the work session, but there is a lot of discussion in that session that would help me understand the topics being discussed. Maybe I can work something out with my boss.

But for now, I will have to go off the agenda provided and what I hear in the formal evening meeting.

I haven't set up a meeting with Councilman Bush, but I still think that's a good idea.

I have not yet read about TIF, but on my last blog you can see that I found some good, helpful information.

Speaking of good, helpful information.....does everyone know that the entire municipal code is available online. Click here to see it. There is also a link in the "Helpful Links" list on the right of this page. This code talks about the procedures they go through. My specific question was about first and second readings. A new ordinance is submitted for consideration. The measure must be voted on two separate dates and pass each time. So, when you see that something has passed on "second reading" that means it's a new ordinance or that the measure passes. That's a high level view. It's what I thought it was, but I wanted to be sure.

The agenda is prepared and on the city website. There's a link on the "Helpful Links" to the right that will take you the meetings page.

I am SO impressed by the City of Waco website. I'm also impressed by how open the council seems to be with what they are planning and doing. They TELEVISE their meetings. I had the opportunity to watch the work session last Friday night. I got the impression that the council members are generally concerned with getting value for the taxpayers money. Not everyone likes how much money they spend or the way they spend it. My view on city government is different than that of federal government. It is the job of local governments to provide education, libraries, parks, public safety, as well as create an environment to attract people and job to the area. The federal government should only do what people and local governments cannot do for themselves.

One more note: I NEED comments. I need to know this is getting out there. If no one is reading it, I'll have a hard time keeping it up. Writing the blog makes me accountable to my readers. Please help me keep up the good fight!

Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

I found an explanation on a State of Texas website that will be helpful in understanding TIF zones. They talk about this ALL the time during the city council meetings and I believe it is important to understand what this is all about.

It's pretty dense stuff. Later, I'll read through this and try to come up with a "working man's" explanation of what all this means.

Until then.....dig in!!! It's not for the faint of heart.

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/registry04/zone.html

City Council Meeting - October 7, 2009

Mike Hoover and I attended the 6:00 pm Waco City Council meeting. It was FAST and furious. They have a 3:00 pm Work Session where most of the discussion is done and the agenda for the evening meeting is set. It seemed they had pretty much decided how everything was going to go.

There were two proclamations made. That was nice. There were two public hearings to give the public the opportunity to make comments. No one had any comments.

There is a process by which citizens can be heard on any topic. Apparently, a card is to be filled out and submitted to the council. I didn't see where the cards were. The citizen will called upon to make a 3-minute presentation. No action is taken by the council on these items. I believe that these will be taken into consideration and that council members may take the issue up in the future...or not.

Mike and I agree that attending the 3:00 pm session will be more fruitful so that the discussions can be observed. After looking at the minutes of the meeting, it seems that not everything makes it to the evening session.

It's also obvious that I need to learn more about the process. It would be nice to fully understand what is meant by "first reading" and "second reading".

Minutes of the meeting are available on the city website the day after the meeting. Click HERE to view the minutes of yesterday's meeting and meetings for the past six months.

I find myself wanting more information about some of these items. Many items seem a bit cryptic not having been to the meeting.

COMMENTS ON SOME OF THE ITEMS
09-538 - This is about spending TIF funds for two projects: $150,176.00 for Brazos River clean-up, $300,108.00 to TexasFirmHoldings, LLC (Beard, Kultgen, Brophy, Bostwick, Dickson & Squires, LLC) for renovations at 220 S. 4th St.

I read in the Trib that the Brazos River clean-up was to purchase and renovate a boat that will clean-up the river. I would like to understand the TIF process better. There was a comment on a story in the Trib yesterday from an attorney saying that the TIF money cannot simply be used on "something else." There is an outstanding question about the $300k to a law firm to renovate a building. Does anyone have input on this?

Several items related to continuation of existing agreements. These all seem pretty much normal. 09-543 does not have a dollar amount. I'm curious to know who much it costs to operate the impound lot.

09-549 is for the purchase of 10 police cars for $307,789.50.

09-550 awards a contract for renovation of the Hoover Library in an amount not to exceed $1,914,140.00. I believe this was part of a bond election a few years ago.

09-557 adds an additional pedestrian trail to an existing project for renovations to Cameron Park. The new trail will add an amount not to exceed $57,274.00 bringing the total contract
amount to $4,226,762.00.

Personally, I have a lot to learn about the process. I'm considering requesting a meeting with my councilman to discuss the general workflow. I've found a considerable amount of information online, such as all the city ordinances. It's possible there is a document explaining the process.

Comments and questions are welcome. We'll find the answers together!!!