According to their website, half of their last eight meetings have been cancelled.  Their meetings that did actually take place in the last 8 months were on December 15, 2010, and January 19, March 16, and May 18, 2011.  The cancelled meetings had been scheduled for November 17, 2010, and February 16, April 20, and June 15, 2011.

I also saw a notice on their website that they are seeking new Board members.  They are currently accepting applications for appointment to the HEDC Board of Directors, which are, of course, non-paid positions.

The HEDC’s mission is to promote, encourage, and enhance the creation of jobs, the expansion of the local tax base, and our quality of life through projects that assist in the retention and expansion of existing employers and which attract new employers and aid in their development and growth.

For more information on these Board positions, you can contact the City Secretary, Grace Tamez, at 695-5911 or 695-8877.

Just in case you are interested in the HEDC and are wondering what they do at their meetings, their last agenda (for their meeting on May 18, 2011) was:

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding the Old Town Helotes Special District Public Parking Lot and improvements made thereto near the intersection of Old Bandera and Riggs Roads.

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding the creating of new incentive programs to assist existing businesses in the City.

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding a contract with WebQA to host a community business portal for all Helotes businesses, authorizing Board President Ardie Garner to negotiate and execute a WebQA service agreement.

- Hear report from the EDC Specialist, Glenn Goolsby, on:

a.  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Recreational Trails Grant Application;
b.  HAMBA Business Fair and Mixer;
c.  Current commercial developments within the City; and
d.  2011 Helotes Phonebook.

Monthly meetings of the Helotes Economic Development Corporation Board are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at City Hall (unless they are cancelled, of course).

The members present were Ardie Garner, president, Lad Herold, Billy Barker, Cynthia Massey, and Keith Muhlestein.  The members absent were Drue Helms and Paul Friedrichs.  Also present were Rick Schroder, the Board’s Executive Director, Glenn Goolsby, the interim Economic Development Specialist, and Mayor Tom Schoolcraft.

The Board unanimously approved the minutes of their June meeting and the monthly Revenue and Expenditure Report.

Consultants were present to update the Board on Phase One capital improvement projects in the Old Town Helotes Special District, including the design of the primary and secondary gateways and signage.  The Board also discussed the installation of electrical outlets throughout Old Town Helotes and ultimately unanimously approved this project NTE $10,000.

They also discussed the funding and construction of water and sewer lines along the north side of Bandera Road from Cedar Trail to Scenic Loop Road.  There was to be a meeting of the “partnering group” at City Hall at 7 p.m. on July 16.  There are apparently 40 members of this group which consists of people who own land and/or businesses along this stretch of Bandera Road.  As of Wednesday night, only five had confirmed that they would come.  Apparently the EDC is preparing a petition to be signed by the landowners and submitted to SAWS requesting the construction of these water and sewer lines.  According to Rick Schroder, Balous Miller, the owner of the land at Bandera Road and Scenic Loop Road, has agreed to sign the petition, but he was not going to be able to attend the meeting on Thursday.  After SAWS accepts the petition, they can begin to look into ways to fund the $3 million project.

There were no new commercial development projects to report on; however, the Board was told that the contractor would be breaking ground for a commercial development next to the CVS currently under construction at Bandera Road and Circle A Trail.

The Board approved the submission of the Helotes Phonebook for the final corrections.  Ardie Garner asked that the staff make sure that all the paid advertising is in the book and is correct.  The Board wants to see the final version before it goes for printing.

Another item on their agenda was the recruitment, selection, and hiring of an Economic Development Specialist.  This is a full-time position to be filled before October 1, 2009.  It has been advertised in the Express-News among other places.  They have received 14 applications.  The main function of this individual is to sell Helotes and bring more retail and personal services to the City.  They decided that each Board member will review the applications and forward their comments to Rick Schroder.  He will then discuss these recommendations and/or comments with Ardie Garner, and they will narrow the applicants down from 14 to five.  After these five have been  interviewed, Rick and Ardie will select one of the applicants for the position and make that recommendation to the Board.

Lad Herold has resigned from the Board effective September 30, 2009, and he wants to help select his replacement.  So far, they have received three applications for the upcoming vacancy.  They have advertised in the Echo asking citizens to submit their applications.  If you are interested in applying to serve on the EDC Board of Directors, you can go to the City’s website (www.helotes-tx.gov) to fill out a volunteer application or you can go by City Hall.  These applications will be discussed at future Board meetings.

The next item on the agenda was the discussion of the EDC’s FY 2010 operating and capital budgets.  At this point, they are apparently over about $46,000 on expenditures.  Sales tax revenue is coming in lower than they expected, and they will probably have to transfer funds from the general fund to balance the budget.  There will be two public hearings held on this budget.   They all agreed to publish the proposed budget as presented at this meeting knowing that the final figures will probably not be the same as they discussed that night.  Rick said that the bottom line is that the budget will probably zero out by the end of this FY – no deficit; no surplus.  The budget will be discussed again at the next meeting.

Mr. Goolsby briefed the Board on the recent UTSA/small business development classes held at City Hall.  He is also working on a database of all available commercial property in Helotes, because as they repeated several times that night, the EDC is here to encourage growth in our business community.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.