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City council split on task force lead
Published November 28, 2009
City council members may agree that local economic development efforts need revamping, but what they don’t seem to agree on is who should lead the charge.
Mayor Todd Bock was selected to be the city’s representative on a proposed 10-member economic development task force by a 4-1 vote of the city council Tuesday. Councilwoman Stacie Keeble, the newest member of the council and a former member of the Kerrville Economic Development Foundation board, was the lone holdout.
“I think desire to serve on this should count for something. And whatever I don’t know I’ll learn,” said Keeble, a former English professor and licensed attorney.
Before Bock accepted the nomination to the proposed task force, Keeble had asked to be the city’s representative. She made a motion to nominate herself, but it died after no other council member would second the motion.
Councilman Chuck Coleman, a long-time advocate for change to local economic development efforts, suggested that Councilman Bruce Motheral might serve the city better on the task force because of his business experience and tried to explain why he felt Keeble wasn’t best for the job.
“Y’all aren’t supporting me, that’s clear. Let’s move on,” Keeble said. “I don’t need to be placated. I know how y’all feel about me and that’s fine.”
In the wake of push back from members of the Kerrville Economic Development Foundation and Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce after city council members suggested the foundation should become a city department, staff members came back with a proposal for a 10-member task force. City Manager Todd Parton said the task force would recommend ways to revamp the economic development foundation board.
“I think it delves down into the weeds. It looks at everything from terms of the board, how board members are selected to staff members and performance objectives,” Parton said.
The proposed task force will be presented to the other agencies including the KEDF and chamber for their approval and selection of a representative. If it gets approved, Parton said the group could start meeting as early as January.
Other members of the proposed task force include Kerrville Economic Development Corp., Kerrville Public Utility Board, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kerrville Independent School District, Kerr County, a large employer selected by the city staff and a small employer also selected by the city staff.
“This could be a very difficult situation because each of these groups has it’s own agenda, it’s own needs. It’s kind of like herding cats,” Motheral said.
Motheral said he thought it would be better if he did not serve on the task force, and Councilman T. Scott Gross made a motion nominating Bock. That motion was seconded by Coleman and approved with only Keeble dissenting.
If the proposed task force is approved by all of the entities, the task force as envisioned by the city would work on restructuring the current 40-member KEDF board.
If the proposed task force is approved by all of the entities, the task force as envisioned by the city would work on restructuring the current 40-member EDF board, create job positions for the foundation and submit an operational budget to the EIC with a funding request by March.
Although the foundation receives some public funding, it operates as an independent entity and does not answer directly to the city or the county. The foundation’s total budget this year is $177,500.
Of that funding, $25,000 comes from the county, $25,000 from the city, $25,000 from KPUB, $40,000 is contributed from the private sector and the remaining $62,500 is from the EIC, which is funded through 4B sales tax and approved by the city council.
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