Serving You Issue 5-2

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ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDS EXPANSION

The Mayor’s Higher Education Task Force met this morning in Honors Hall. Members of the task force reviewed various options as they moved toward final recommendations to the City in early June. The Central Texas Technology Center (CTTC) Advisory Board approved a unanimous resolution April 19 that recommends expansion of the current facility. The resolution recommends that the task force continue to provide workforce development training to the regional area at the CTTC as well as to continue to offer a wide range of academic and technical programs to include the granting of associate degrees through the colleges of Alamo Colleges. Lastly, the Advisory Board recommended the hiring of a grant writer to seek funding for the expansion.

LOCAL BOARD IN ELITE CLASS

The New Braunfels Industrial Development Corporation (NBIDC) received the Economic Excellence Award at the Texas Economic Development Council’s (TEDC) spring conference last week in Sugarland. Only twenty-four of the states over 600 economic development corporations qualified. A point system is utilized by the TEDC to determine recipients that includes professional standards met by board members and staff. Last year, over 1,000 new primary jobs were announced locally in a diverse number of industry sectors with the NBIDC playing a key role.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETS TUESDAY

The Arrangements Committee of the Texas Legislative Conference will hold their annual critique meeting tomorrow at 7:30 am at Granzin’s BBQ . Arrangements Committee Chair Joe Guinn will preside at the meeting. New members will be recognized and those rotating off the committee will be thanked for their service. The 46th annual conference is set for March 22 – 23, 2011 in the New Braunfels Civic Convention Center . Guinn will repeat as Arrangements Committee Chair and Sara Tays will repeat as Advisory Committee Chair. Senator Jeff Wentworth is the Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee and Fred Aus of LCRA is the Vice Chair of the Arrangements Committee.

2011 LNB CLASS GRADUATES MAY 10

A graduation luncheon will be held May 10 at T Bar M to honor the Leadership New Braunfels Class of 2011. Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, President of Texas A&M University-San Antonio, will provide the keynote address to the graduates and guests. The Class of 2011 will bring the total graduates from the Leadership New Braunfels Program to 450. Leadership New Braunfels was introduced into the Chamber’s Plan of Action in 1992 and graduated its first class in 1993. Applications for the Class of 2012 will be available soon. Time to lead!

PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS WITH SEMINAR INFO

The Chamber’s New Braunfels Business University presents “Theft, Fraud Prevention and Detection” Thursday, May 12 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Representatives from the District Attorney’s Office as well as local law enforcement officers will be on hand to train attendees on how to recognize counterfeit money, learning check and balance systems to protect your business, heading off credit card fraud and more. The seminar includes lunch with a cost of $40 for Chamber members and $55 for non-members. Registration is available on the Chamber’s website at www.nbcham.org/seminar .

GET STRATEGIC – ASSIST COUNTY WITH PLANNING

Comal County officials are asking your help in identifying priorities for their planning purposes. With the assistance of the Lower Colorado River Authority’s Economic Development Department, Comal County is developing a strategic plan to identify priorities for community action. Please take a few minutes to fill out the attached survey to let them know what is important to you and what you want to see happen in your county in the future. Click here to take the survey. Your opinion counts! In addition, a town hall meeting on the Comal County Strategic Plan is set for May 10. Click here for more information.

LEGENDS EVENT FOR “HISTORY MAKERS”

The Living Legends of New Braunfels Arrangements Committee, headed by Ann Kuehler, met last week in advance of the October 11 event. The theme for this year’s Legends event will be “History Makers”. The Braunfels Foundation Trust, sponsor of the event, would like your help in identifying the next class of “Living Legends”. Copies of the nomination form are available on the Chamber’s website Calendar Events Section or at 390 South Seguin Street’s main office lobby. Previous Living Legends include Elliott Knox, Tom Purdum, Stanley Woodward, Tom Burrus, S.D. David Jr., Doyle Krueger, Lyndon Anderson, Joe Rogers, Merritt Schumann, Wib Amacher, Carroll “Udo” Hoffmann, Herb Skoog, Arno Becker, Roxolin Krueger, Jack Ohlrich, Janelle Berger, Milton Kaderli, and Bobbie Purdum. Kuehler has a talented and active committee assisting her and attendees this year will like what they experience!

CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING TODAY

The New Braunfels City Council will meet for a special meeting today beginning at 4:30 pm at 424 S. Castell Avenue. The meeting will be in workshop format to discuss and update storm water program elements and associated flow chart. Council will then convene in closed session on four items including personal matters, pending/contemplated litigation, settlement offers, economic development negotiations, and considering the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Council will take place on Monday, May 9 at 6:00 pm.

CHAMBER BENCHMARKS NATIONALLY GIVE INSIGHT

The American Chamber of Commerce Executives has recently published the 2010 – 11 Chamber Operations Survey, consisting of results of extensive data gathered from chambers of commerce across the country. For chambers in budget categories similar to ours, the average of the ten lowest membership dues investments was $315 annually. Our Chamber’s average was $290. The average in the country was $838 per year. The average of the ten lowest chambers regarding personnel expenses per FTE was $52,031. Our Chamber’s average is $53,000. The average in the nation was $74,843. The average of personnel expense to total expenses was 51.4% with our Chamber coming in at 43%. The average occupancy expense for a chamber was 7.66% of their annual budget with ours coming in at 3.5%. The national average employee turnover rate was 15.5% with ours at 10%. The average employee tenure of the ten highest in the country was 12.1 years and an average of 7.1 years. Your Chamber came in at 12 years!

MESSAGE FROM NBU AND THE CHAMBER’S NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

The Edwards Aquifer has continued to decline and it could be just a matter of weeks or even days before NBU water customers are faced with Stage II watering restrictions. The aquifer has been dropping rapidly in the past week and unless a significant rain event occurs, it is expected to continue to decline to the 650 foot trigger level for Stage II watering restrictions. If Stage II watering restrictions go into place, the use of water for non-essential purposes becomes even more limited than the current requirements. During Stage II watering restrictions, landscape watering using a sprinkler or irrigation system will only be permitted one day per week according to the last digit of the customer’s address. NBU water customers can learn any changes in water restrictions through the local media, by visiting www.nbutexas.com ,by going to the NBU Facebook page , or by calling the NBU Information Line at (830) 608-8925.