Economic Development

LARGEST PRIVATE EMPLOYER SET FOR EXPANSION HERE

THE SCOOTER STORE, the city’s largest private employer, announced April 8 that it would expand their operations in New Braunfels. The company plans to add 500 high-wage jobs paying 25% above the county average wage. They will improve the former Kroger property now known as Comal Plaza Shopping Center to house approximately 400-450 of their workforce, standing at over 1,200 at the beginning of the year. SCOOTER STORE founder and CEO DOUG HARRISON participated in KGNB’s "Inside the Chamber" show last Wednesday. HARRISON credited the CHAMBER, CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, and their 4B board for their assistance in the project. Neighboring communities vied for the expansion aggressively.

CHAMBER UPDATES ECONOMY TO CITY AND 4B BOARD

The Chamber delivered the required quarterly report to the New Braunfels Industrial Development Corporation (4B board) on April 16 and a semi-annual report to the city council on April 27. New leads received since January 1 totaled 229. Web-based exposure totaled 319,789 including visits to the NB Prospector site and via our partnership with Seguin and San Marcos. New primary jobs the first six months of the city fiscal year totaled 265. The goal established by the 4B board is 350 for the 12 month fiscal year.

TALENT PROJECT SURVEY DELIVERED

Several local organizations - including CHRISTUS SANTA ROSA, the City of New Braunfels, the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation, Comal County and the Chamber - are supporting the New Braunfels Talent Project, an important project that will assess how people relate to living and working in the New Braunfels area. With the help of TIP Strategies, an online survey was drafted and seven area employers were asked to participate. The information gathered from this online questionnaire will help our community and business leaders as they make decisions on critical issues, from keeping and attracting workers and businesses to devoting resources to entertainment and recreation options. Knowing what people value most - at work and at play - ultimately will help shape the future of our community. Results of the survey will be discussed at the for June 11, at the Mayor's Talent Forum.

NBAA REGIONAL FORUM WRAPS UP

Marketing missions and trade shows continue with Holly Covington and Lenny Llerena recently returning from the NBAA Regional Forum in Dallas, TX on April 9th. Exhibiting on behalf of EDPCT, they highlighted the new developments on both the San Marcos and New Braunfels Municipal Airport and unveiled a new marketing white paper titled "Airport Industry" that in-depthly discusses the airport industry within our region. The brochure details that the two airports together generate $73.5 million in total economic output and boasts more than 32,890 general aviation visitors a year. General aviation businesses employ approximately 550 full-time positions and support an estimated $20.9 million in payroll. The report helps to push our aviation regional efforts in attracting business by showing strength with greater numbers. EDPCT is looking to again attend the NBAA National Convention in Orlando, FL later this year.

Holly Covington will next travel to SAE in Detroit, Michigan with the Texas Department of Economic Development and Tourism (TOEDT) to attract Tier Levels 1-3 suppliers within the automotive industry to our region. The area is prime for attracting such industry due to its location on IH-35 and within a 1/2 day's drive from large automotive suppliers in Katy and Ft. Worth, TX, as well as suppliers located in Mexico.

OUTERLOOP TASK FORCE HOLDS FIRST MEETING

In an effort to answer old questions and correct misconceptions from 2008 about the New Braunfels Outer Loop, TxDOT has reconvened an Outer Loop Task Force. The kick-off meeting for this effort was held at the CIVIC CENTER on Thursday, April 2, from 6-8 pm. TxDOT District Engineer Mario Medina opened the meeting with welcoming comments and challenged the community and Task Force to work closely and with open minds as information is provided and misinformation is corrected about the previous New Braunfels Outer Loop plans. Mayor BRUCE BOYER and County Judge DANNY SCHEEL both welcomed attendees and encouraged everyone to understand the importance of forward planning and smart growth and development. The future of Comal County, the City of New Braunfels and our families depends on what we do as responsible citizens today.

RJ Rivera Associates, Inc. and Kennedy Consulting, LTD. will continue to be the consulting teams, as they were in the previous study done in 2007-2008. Linda Ximenes of Ximenes & Associates, Inc. in San Antonio, will act as a third part facilitator. Her role will be to organize and conduct the task force meetings. One of her goals will be for all members of the Task Force to be encouraged to participate and contribute to the process of evaluating the current information and present ways to move the project forward in a way that the community can support.

The Task Force was given direction on the process for meeting discussions and decision making. Although that process got bogged down, there is hope that the next meeting will move forward in a productive way. The April 2, meeting was the first of nine possible meetings set to take place between now and December 21. Task Force members expressed concern over the number of meetings and how long this is planned throughout all of 2009.

Chamber members that serve on the Transportation Committee and chosen to be on the Task Force are past Committee Chairman ROD SMITH with PATE ENGINEERS, ROY LINNARTZ with COMAL ISD, BENNIE BOCK a local attorney and businessman, and SHARON LEVETT. RUSTY BROCKMAN, Director of Economic Development, is also serving on the Task Force.

All meetings are open to the public and will provide time for public comment. The April 2, meeting was no different. More than 10 people signed up to make comments and each person was given 3 minutes to complete their statements. Everyone making comments were in opposition to the Outer Loop project as it stands at this time.

The next meeting of the Task Force will be on Monday, May 18. The location and times have not been formally set, but will be announced well in advance for the community to make plans to attend. To get more information contact Yobana Diaz at 866-704-1114 or by e-mail at info@nbolstudy.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA "ABUZZ"

Social Media is front and center these days for Build NB with the newly created Twitter and Facebook accounts. Followers of Twitter and fans of Buildnb.org on Facebook can now get up-to-date information on the daily activities of your local economic development staff as they work to attract prospects and retain business in New Braunfels. Comments on these pages range from welcoming the much needed rain, to a call out to Realtors with 50 or more acres for a prospect, or an exciting post about the TLC Conference and meeting Governor Rick Perry to updates on news items you never knew existed. Sign on now to follow our daily “tweets” to see what’s happening in your local economic development world.

NEW BRAUNFELS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY MEETING

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