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<br />153. <br />Regular Meeting <br /> <br />August 1, 2005 <br /> <br />Page 6 <br /> <br />Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding update on State <br />Legislature. Mr. Stulka, of Winstead Consulting Associates, and Mr. Mark <br />Taylor provided a presentation overview on State Legislation. Mr. Taylor <br />inquired as to the HB 914 Conflict of Interest. Mr. Mark Taylor stated he <br />would take a closer look at this House Bill and advise the Council. He <br />stated he will also get a City vendor list for the Council. <br />Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding economic development <br />request for proposal, interview proponents and direction to Staff. Mayor <br />Narvaiz stated during the interview, proponents will each give a 10 minute <br />opening speech and then the Council will have 40 minutes to ask questions <br />and the proponents will have 3 minutes to give their responses to each <br />question. She also stated each proponent will have 10 minutes to give a <br />closing speech. She stated each interview will be given no more than 1 <br />hour. Mr. O'Leary stated one of the proponents Miguel Lecuona has <br />decided to withdraw from the process and would like to address the Council. <br />Miguel Lecuona thanked the Council and Staff for providing a fair and <br />informational process. He also stated he appreciates the opportunity to <br />participate in this process. He stated he was a corporate marketing <br />director in the Las Vegas area and now owns his own marketing business. He <br />stated he feels the economic development contract would be best served by <br />an organization who can provide the day to day operations. He also offered <br />his marketing services in planning for economic development for the City. <br />Mayor Narvaiz thanked Mr. Lecuona for his RFP and inquired why he had <br />responded to the RFP. Mr. Lecuona stated he felt going public was a good <br />sign that the Council wanted to move forward with economic development. <br />Mr. Thomaides thanked Mr. Lecuona for bidding and providing a professional <br />RFP. The two proponents drew lots for order of interviews. The Chamber of <br />Commerce Economic Development Council will be interviewed first and Global <br />Marketing Group will be interviewed last. The Economic Development <br />Council: Dan Rogers, Director of Economic Development, stated he has <br />resided in Hays County for 10 years and in the Austin area for 38 years. <br />Phil Neighbors, Director of San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, stated he <br />has resided in San Marcos for 12 years. John Schott, Chairman of the <br />Economic Development Council, stated he has resided in San Marcos for 28 <br />years. Mr. Neighbors reviewed the organizational chart provided in the RFP <br />packet. He stated he feels networking with other associations is an <br />important part of Economic Development. He provided a list of professional <br />organizations in the RFP. The Economic Development Council partners with <br />Opportunity Austin, Government Office of Economic Development, the <br />Manufacturers Association and surrounding cities. He stated in Section H <br />of the RFP is a list of the Economic Development Council achievements in <br />the last 10 years. Mr. Schott stated he feels the strength of the Economic <br />Development Council is the 11 voting members on the Council. Mr. Diaz <br />inquired as to any weakness the Chamber of Commerce has and needs to change <br />in the future. Mr. Rogers stated he feels the weakness is in communicating <br />with the City Council and knowing when to bring a prospect to the City <br />Council. He also stated he feels another weakness is with the economic <br />