Note:
Items of discussion in this recap include links indexed to that portion of the
City Council meeting replay. Click on the bold headers that are linked to view
that portion of the video.
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / July 29, 2014)
— The Stillwater City Council met for its regular meeting Monday, July 28,
2014. (View
agenda here.)
Council discussion of City of Stillwater economic development guidelines (The Mayor will facilitate discussions of Council regarding establishment of economic development guidelines, but no action will be taken.)
Mayor John Bartley
asked what areas the councilors felt Stillwater should be focusing on.
Councilor Miguel Najera
said he would like to see development on the west side of town and sort of outdoor
community meeting venue.
Councilor Pat
Darlington suggested looking into a sports and/or aquatic center
Councilor Gina
Nobles said she would like to look into adding entertainment, recreation and
high-end shopping.
Bartley suggested a
leakage study to see what money is leaving Stillwater to determine what to add,
and a convention/conference center.
Noble reiterated the
need for more restaurants.
Darlington wanted
to see development east of town.
Darlington said age
structure, number of jobs and corporate citizenship were important factors.
Vice Mayor Joe
Weaver suggested results-based constraints on incentives.
Noble said respect
for businesses here and helping them expand is important (internal growth).
Bartley said uniqueness
of the business to Stillwater and location are important elements of possible
incentives.
Weaver said to ask
what the college students want in town.
Darlington
suggested possible incentives for businesses filling empty or historic
buildings instead of building a new one.
Weaver suggested
selling city owned land at a discounted price or a fast track process.
Bartley said
utilities rate structure is an option to consider.
Weaver suggested
tying the rate structure to job creation, and a way to measure return on
investment (ROI). Weaver also suggested the idea of long-term leases for
security. Also sales/auctions.
Bartley asked how
to make sure the city offers enough jobs for people at all skill levels.
Weaver asked about
possibility of the City of Stillwater acquiring dilapidated housing and
offering incentives for businesses or housing to redevelop the areas.
Darlington
discussed public communication options to get the public to buy in and
neighborhood grants.
Noble also
suggested highlighting neighborhoods when talking with businesses considering
coming to Stillwater.
Darlington said
accountability was important.
Weaver said the
deal needs to be simple and easily understood.
Noble highlighted
fairness.
Bartley said there
needs to be a determinant of return on investment, and business plans need to
be critically reviewed.
Noble said a short-term
limit span was also important in cases when it was feasible for a business to
do so.
Bartley suggested a
rebate over time instead of all up front.
Najera said negative
company history would be an important factor.
Darlington said we
don’t want bad corporate citizens or lack of a commitment to the community.
Noble and
Darlington also said predatory companies would be negatives, and Weaver added
not to provide these companies with incentives.
Darlington said to
look at cities who have done this before to determine how the City of
Stillwater should develop its guidelines.
Weaver highlighted
Stillwater’s low unemployment rate, but wanted to focus on how to get workers
and get them trained.
City
Council is adjourned
-END-
Written by Zach
Kinder, Marketing and Public Relations
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