The Brownfield Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCorp) had a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 20, 2022, and this was the first meeting held with the new Executive Director Gina Kelly.
One of the agenda items was to discuss the property inventory BIDCorp owns. Kelly asked Terry County Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Eddie Olivas to gather the inventory of the properties BIDCorp owns and present it to the Board of the amount of property BIDCorp owns which there are 10 pieces of property, which equals 80.385 acres.
Prior to Kelly’s hiring, BIDCorp had already purchased some buildings and properties on West Main Street. BIDCorp owns 418 W. Main (Rialto), 610 W. Main, and 620 W. Main. The purpose of these purchases is to get them prepared for future businesses to come in. However, funds that are spent on remodels and refurbishing have to be voted on by the citizens of Brownfield.
In Texas there are two types of Economic Development Corporations (EDCs), Type A and Type B. BIDCorp is a Type A EDC. Type A EDCs are typically created to fund industrial development projects such as business infrastructure, manufacturing, and research & development. Type A EDCs can also fund military base realignment, job training classes, and public transportation. Type B EDCs can fund all projects eligible for Type A, as well as parks, museums, sports facilities, and affordable housing. However, Type B EDCs are subject to more administrative restrictions than Type A.
However, when a Type A EDC wants to do a Type B project, it must go to the voters. According to the Texas Comptrollers Office, it states,
“With voter approval, Type A EDCs may fund projects eligible under Type B without voting to abolish the Type A tax and impose the Type B tax. In this situation, a Type A EDC must publish notice of its intent to fund a Type B project, hold at least one public hearing and conduct a special election.”
Kelly was asked by the Board to begin the steps necessary to place the funding for the remodel and refurbishing on the November 8, 2022, ballot (Mid-term elections) so the citizens of Brownfield can vote on the funding for the Type B project. During the discussion, Board President Steve Carter said,
“This is not raising taxes… the funds are through sales tax accumulated in the City of Brownfield. The funds are already there and BIDCorp does not have the authority to raise taxes anyway.”
Also in the meeting, the Board discussed possibly helping the new restaurant The Lone Star Cajun with its parking lot. According to Kelly, the parking lot had a cost of $97,000 and owners were asking for $49,000. The Board was reluctant to give any funding because there was not enough information on how many the restaurant employs and what the future might look like. Board Member Michael Franke suggested they ger more information before making a decision and Board Members Pam Brock and Kelly Riley agreed. This item was tabled till the next meeting.
Next, the Board would hear from Carlos Vasquez and Crystal Garza about possible funding for their new eatery The BBQ Barn located at 201 E. Legion St. here in Brownfield. The BBQ Barn just recently had their grand opening on June 7, 2022. According to Kelly, Vasquez and Garza have put their own money into the restaurant to get it up to code for the health dept. However, the building does not have an air conditioner. Vasquez stated that they have found a water cooler unit locally and would be $2,499.00 for the size they need for the building. They also asked for reimbursement for the plumbing that was done to get the building up to code which had a cost of $1,875. Franke made the motion to grant The BBQ Barn $4,500 for the cost of the plumbing, water cooler, and tax. The Board unanimously approved the $4,500.
Moving on during the meeting, the board went over the financials. The beginning balance from April 30, 2022, to May 31, 2022, was $1,477,407.91 and an ending balance of $1,522,438.53. The total expenses for May 2022 were $11,259.17 and $56,289.79 was brought in from sales tax and interest. BIDCorp received $55,838.83 in sales tax for the month of May 2022, however, this was down 19.09% from this time last year. Year-to-date (Oct. 2021- Sept. 2022), BIDCorp has received $337,916.15.
The meeting went into an executive session, however, there was no action taken. The next BIDCorp meeting is slated for July 18, 2022, at 4:00 pm.
