Brownfield Industrial Development met on Monday, June 19 for their regular monthly meeting. A short agenda led to a longer-than-usual meeting, due to a lengthy Executive Session.
Outgoing board members – Steve Carter and Pam Brock were recognized for their service to the community as board members. Following this recognition, new board members Diana Jaramillo and Randy Anthony were introduced. Anthony has served on the board previously, while Jaramillo is a newcomer to the board.
New officers were then elected, with Dr. Kelly Riley being named President and Micheal Franke being named Vice President. Jaramillo was elected as Secretary. With the new officers and board members in place, the board got down to the regular business of the month.
The BIDCorp Sales Tax receipts for June were $43,480. This is down from the previous month’s total of $56,000. But is up from last year’s June total of $41,000. For the year, BIDCorp’s Sales Tax receipts are up about $21,000. Executive Director of BIDCorp, Gina Kelly stated, “This is good. This shows that we are becoming more intentional about shopping local and seeing what a difference it can make for our community.” The Sales Tax report lags a month behind, so the June report is actually April. The May report was March, and likely reflected Spring Break and Easter spending.
Aron Guenter, owner of Brownfield Floral presented a request for an incentive for infrastructure designed to create new jobs to the board. He has recently purchased the business and his business sales tax report shows business has increased for the first quarter of the year. After going into Executive Session, the board approved an incentive of $25,000 to cover some of the costs of improvements done to the business. He has added two employees as a result of his work at the business.
An item on the agenda to hear from 7B Construction was tabled until more information was gained.
Another item on the agenda, the development of the Sunset Heights Addition, was addressed in a closed session. More information on this addition should come later.
No action was taken on possible changes in the bylaws. The BIDCorp bylaws have not been updated since 1996, and were originally drafted in the early 80s. The board members are to review the bylaws and they will be discussed at a later meeting.
In way of announcements, BIDCorp, along with Brownfield Federal Credit Union, will be sponsoring a Lemonade Day on July 15. Sign-up sheets will be available at the Credit Union starting on Monday, June 26, during regular business hours. Kelly stated, “The goal of our Lemonade Day is to get our kiddos thinking like entrepreneurs. We will have worksheets for them to see the cost of all their products and to figure what it will take to make a profit. We will be going around and taking pictures and posting them to encourage business. We are hoping local businesses will allow these kids to set up in front of high-traffic areas to draw more business. We are looking forward to a fun day.”
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. BIDCorp will have its next regular meeting on Monday, July 17 at 4 pm in the Council Chambers.
