We had a council strategic planning session on Monday.
Thought I'd summarize where I'm at from Place 5. I didn't get to all of this yesterday but colleagues and staff read this so…and you bosses tell me if I'm on the right or wrong track:
Property taxes. Keep rate low, address spiraling valuations. (See Housing below.)
Public Safety & City Staff: be a destination employer. Hire the best and keep em.
Housing crisis: Fix it. Or at least help. Since it's a challenge to gain agreement on eliminating or lowering development/building fees, move those fees up to jumbo customs and student towers for now. Remove or eliminate fees for attainable housing. Revenue neutral approach. Colleagues didn't balk. Didn't agree, either. Must lower fees on attainable.
Establish student housing district. West side. Go vertical. Gig 'Em District. Need retail, dining, entertainment there.
Econ Dev: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Get busy recruiting and incentivizing. (CoB has 67 Chapter 380 Econ Dev deals on comptroller's website. Waco has 68. CSTX = 6) We have work to do.
Drop goal of a "consumer based economy." Diversify it. Professional. Tech. Light mfg. Emerging, but established firms yet to reach apogee.
Business Park. Must have one. Don't anymore. Fundamental need.
Entertainment & Tourism. Been doing well. Make it the norm. More high profile concerts. More family entertainment. Better use of HOT tax to make it happen.
Baseball. Yes.
Midtown. Yes.
Midtown branding and district. Yes.
Wolf Pen enhancements and popular artists via P3. Yes.
Multi-Use / Convention Center. No. CoB is ready. County is ready. We're ready. Until TAMU is, I'm a no. It'll take all of us.
Hensel Park re-imagined? Probably not. Need an answer first- respectfully. What is Hensel beyond a park? I need to understand a multi-use event center first. Land is too strategically located to be a park only.
Northgate: protect and enhance. Maintain!
Public Works HQ. Qualified "yes." What's the plan for current location if we build new. I loathe empty buildings.
Intergovernmental Relationships: Good, but need work. With CoB. With County. With TAMU/S.
Strategic plan to grow the city's footprint via voluntary annexation through acquisition. Even though we have enough land for my lifetime, what about 2050? Smart growth demands smart moves.
That doesn't scratch it but it's the broad-strokes. Questions? Comments? Fire away, and/or enjoy the week!
Be safe out there! Respectfully,
Yancy '95
Thought I'd summarize where I'm at from Place 5. I didn't get to all of this yesterday but colleagues and staff read this so…and you bosses tell me if I'm on the right or wrong track:
Property taxes. Keep rate low, address spiraling valuations. (See Housing below.)
Public Safety & City Staff: be a destination employer. Hire the best and keep em.
Housing crisis: Fix it. Or at least help. Since it's a challenge to gain agreement on eliminating or lowering development/building fees, move those fees up to jumbo customs and student towers for now. Remove or eliminate fees for attainable housing. Revenue neutral approach. Colleagues didn't balk. Didn't agree, either. Must lower fees on attainable.
Establish student housing district. West side. Go vertical. Gig 'Em District. Need retail, dining, entertainment there.
Econ Dev: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Get busy recruiting and incentivizing. (CoB has 67 Chapter 380 Econ Dev deals on comptroller's website. Waco has 68. CSTX = 6) We have work to do.
Drop goal of a "consumer based economy." Diversify it. Professional. Tech. Light mfg. Emerging, but established firms yet to reach apogee.
Business Park. Must have one. Don't anymore. Fundamental need.
Entertainment & Tourism. Been doing well. Make it the norm. More high profile concerts. More family entertainment. Better use of HOT tax to make it happen.
Baseball. Yes.
Midtown. Yes.
Midtown branding and district. Yes.
Wolf Pen enhancements and popular artists via P3. Yes.
Multi-Use / Convention Center. No. CoB is ready. County is ready. We're ready. Until TAMU is, I'm a no. It'll take all of us.
Hensel Park re-imagined? Probably not. Need an answer first- respectfully. What is Hensel beyond a park? I need to understand a multi-use event center first. Land is too strategically located to be a park only.
Northgate: protect and enhance. Maintain!
Public Works HQ. Qualified "yes." What's the plan for current location if we build new. I loathe empty buildings.
Intergovernmental Relationships: Good, but need work. With CoB. With County. With TAMU/S.
Strategic plan to grow the city's footprint via voluntary annexation through acquisition. Even though we have enough land for my lifetime, what about 2050? Smart growth demands smart moves.
That doesn't scratch it but it's the broad-strokes. Questions? Comments? Fire away, and/or enjoy the week!
Be safe out there! Respectfully,
Yancy '95