Déjà vu all over again (CCEDC)

More about Tuesday night’s upcoming Copperas Cove city council meeting, where the EDC is concerned. In case you missed the first deja vu, it's here.

Curmudgeon will refrain from making any more predictions this time around, as one has already come true – that the council (via Charlie Youngs) will talk about “bringing the EDC out from under the city.”

Let’s just hash over the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation goings-on, especially where the next Copperas Cove city council meeting is concerned.

TWO – count ‘em – TWO performance agreements between the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation and businesses are to be discussed and possibly voted on by the council tonight.

Behind closed doors, they’ll have a chit-chat before they decide what to do about these agreements.

The EDC board already gave its stamp of approval for them.

The deets on the first agreement, as outlined in the city council agenda:

A business in Cove is expanding. They requested $300,000 initially from the EDC. Welp, the EDC board approved a performance agreement for $50,000. Which will be paid in two yearly payments. The business must create at least 15 full-time equivalent jobs and meet a bunch of other criteria. Looks like the money is to help with infrastructure at the construction site. The business will spend $940,000 on their facility (which I believe is currently under construction).

Deets on the second agreement:

This is another infrastructure assistance agreement, for $75,000 to a business that will spend about $2 million altogether to build a facility in Copperas Cove, and part of those requirements is to create and maintain at least 20 full-time equivalent jobs for each year of the agreement.  This company requested $75,000 and is getting it.

Does anyone see this?

Do the math. Almost $3 million in new/expanded business in our city, with the help of the EDC.

THREE MILLION DOLLARS. 

This is the most action the EDC has taken with providing tangible financial assistance to businesses since before its former director Polo Enriquez left in 2015, and even earlier than that. It’s been years since they’ve done anything like this.

Since we’re talking EDC here, this is the same EDC that Councilman Charlie Youngs called INEFFECTIVE at the last meeting (Curmudgeon’s commentary: because of the actions of that mean ole prior collective city council whom Mr. Youngs is constantly swinging his axe at to get rid of).

This INEFFECTIVE economic development corporation still, somehow, has approved TWO performance agreements with TWO local businesses. Such a “disaster” as Mr. Youngs said the EDC has operated “under” the city.

(Sorry, snark leak. I really do try to watch those.)

But, Curmudgeon sez: Mr. Youngs, you can’t have it both ways – how can the EDC have been entirely ineffective, a "DISASTER", under the city if these latest developments have resulted, which are relatively NEW prospects?

Things that make Curmudgeon go hmmmm….

OH, and look at another item on the agenda – the EDC is bringing a request to approve a bid from TTG Utilities to clear/grub The Narrows Business & Technology Park. This clearing is one of the goals that was set by a previous interim director, and I bet prior EDC exec director Mr. Marc Salesman Farmer would approve of this move, too!

But yes, the EDC is soooo, soooo ineffective at the moment. (Darn, ‘nother snark leak. Sorry.)

Y’all, hold onto your armrests for this next one, but I don’t totally DISagree with Mr. Youngs. Our EDC could have done more in the past couple of years.

PART of the problem has been a passive-aggressive and also new board, with most of the current new members an exception to the passive-aggresive part. The EDC has had NO marketing plan, save a website. As if companies are going to randomly visit a website and see what a swell place Copperas Cove is to do business.

(Ah, it could happen, just like Curmudgeon could win the lottery.)

The entire perceived fiasco by some of the EDC “LOSING” its building (as Mr. Youngs put it) had NOTHING to do with a building somehow being transported off its  foundation overnight and leaving a slab behind, but more to do with a board to not collectively voice its wishes. They could have said NO to the proposal before it went so far, but no one did until the 11th hour during which they speculated if they could have gotten more money from the county for the building.

Ah, there I go rabbit-trailing again.

Peace, love, and bunnies, y’all.

It’s going to be quite a meeting.

Curmudgeon out.