OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Kerrville, Texas/City Council & associated boards
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kerrville Economic and Industrial Development (EIC) Board Meeting - October 19, 2026

City Council & associated boards — Monday, October 19, 2026
BodyKerrville, Texas
SessionCity Council & associated boards
DateMonday, October 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:46:23

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

2:02

Ethan,

Speaker 2

2:02

I'm calling the uh economic and criminal corporation board to uh order.

2:10

It's like what is what is it that I call you to?

2:13

Orderly.

2:15

All right, and Gil.

2:23

Oh no, we don't be down here.

2:25

Okay.

Speaker 3

2:27

Sorry.

2:28

We've got screwed in the church.

Unassigned speaker

2:30

We

Speaker 3

2:30

think we're gonna get lost.

Speaker 4

2:33

I might forget who I am.

Speaker 3

2:35

That's the really really scary thing.

2:37

I think I don't know if you got the motive or what.

2:41

I think it's promoted, I didn't.

Speaker 4

2:42

Could be, could be.

2:44

I

Speaker 3

2:44

like our side of town over here.

Speaker 2

2:46

Just in time, did you get my time for the invitation?

Speaker 4

2:49

That's me.

2:51

Yes.

Speaker 2

2:55

Look at this.

2:59

All righty.

3:00

So Gil is not to go to give our invitation as well.

Unassigned speaker

3:05

In

Speaker 4

3:05

the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we thank you for bringing us together to today to contemplate the decisions in front of us.

3:13

We ask that you guide our decision making process that we make the best decisions for all the people of Kerr County.

3:20

We especially pray for those that are suffering

Unassigned speaker

3:22

and

Speaker 4

3:22

are hurting and are still recovering from the devastating floods we've had.

3:26

Your name we pray.

3:27

Amen.

3:29

Thank you.

Speaker 2

3:36

We have no speakers.

3:38

And uh we're gonna move on to number three, we're gonna have approval of minutes.

3:42

We're looking at the September twenty-first meeting.

3:45

And um, does anybody have any changes or or uh corrections or to the minutes from September?

Speaker 3

3:53

I move we approve them.

Speaker 2

3:58

All those in favor.

4:01

Okay.

4:02

And uh we're moving to number four on the agenda, our monthly report.

4:06

And we're gonna start out with Todd Beck giving us uh uh a report from the KEDC.

Speaker 5

4:13

Thank you, Madam Chair and board.

4:15

Uh we will give the Ker EDC update.

4:21

Uh the first slide here is our financial status for this is uh month ending August first.

4:27

Uh all of our funding has uh been uh funded.

4:31

Uh thank you guys for that as well.

4:33

And we are funded uh fully of the four seventy-five.

Unassigned speaker

4:37

Uh the other revenue and interest is funds that we are holding uh in an interest bearing account uh as funds related to the current uh recovery that we are fiscal sponsors for and our fiscal activity uh year to date of 270 842 and a balance of 2041 58, and this is through August 31st.

Speaker 5

5:00

Any questions on the financials.

5:06

Moving on to our business retention and expansion what you'll see in front of you here is an employer round table and workforce development meeting that Kerr EDC partnered with Dr.

5:18

Melissa Allen

Unassigned speaker

5:19

at

Speaker 5

5:19

Shriner University.

5:20

We are very grateful that they provided us the opportunity to use their space and partner with CTWD to host a series of what we will continue to do throughout the remainder of this year and next year on round tables.

5:36

This round table happened to

Unassigned speaker

5:37

be

Speaker 5

5:37

our top employer round table and primary employer round table.

5:42

The tables were broken up we had workforce solutions Alamo with us attending helping to give ideas to those employers that were struggling with some potential workforce development issues.

5:55

We also at the round tables was very interesting we had a very pointed uh agenda and what I found was very interesting was all the employers talking with employers about additional challenges that they had that we were able to solve sitting there at the table by exchanging uh numbers or what whose services this for them or oh we've had that problem we can take care of that so it was actually a great meeting and what was what was really nice about it was is that the employers were asking when the next one was going to be because they found it very helpful.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Workforce Development████████████████19%
Fiscal Sustainability███████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████5%
Technology and Innovation███4%
Public Engagement███4%
Procedural███3%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Water And Wastewater Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Kerrville Economic and Industrial Development (EIC) Board Meeting - October 19, 2026

The EIC Board of Kerrville met on October 19, 2026, at 4:00 PM (actual start time not specified). The meeting opened with prayer and included approvals, reports on economic development activities, infrastructure projects, financial updates, a presentation from Shriner University's Center for Talent and Workforce Development, and discussion of a new cash-back incentive program to encourage local shopping.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the September 21 meeting without changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lewis Amstoy (Business Owner): Spoke about his experience with the 'Love Where You Live' flood recovery program and noted that after the flood he offered free promotions to 78 local businesses, many of whom were unaware of available resources. He proposed that the EIC fund a voucher program for small business advertising through local media, emphasizing frequency and reach, and suggested it could be a cost-effective alternative to a cash-back program.

Discussion Items

  1. KEDC Monthly Report (Todd Beck):

    • Financial Status (Month Ending August 31): KEDC is fully funded at $475,000. Other revenue and interest held for flood recovery fiscal sponsorship. Year-to-date fiscal activity: $270,842; balance: $204,158.
    • Business Retention and Expansion: Hosted an employer roundtable with Shriner University and Workforce Solutions Alamo, focused on workforce development. Employers found the peer networking valuable. Additional retail roundtables scheduled for October 26 and 27. This programming will continue regularly.
    • Project Updates: Most active projects include Wolf Creek, K2, and Save (no major updates). Recruitment projects: RiverPaddle and Granite (site selection). Many business startups are coming through the EDC from various partners.
    • Kerr Together: EDC remains fiscal sponsor for flood recovery grants managed with the City of Kerrville Finance Department. Remaining grant funds approximately $1.23 million. Application for nonprofit status in process.

  2. City Project Status Update (Michael):

    • Olympic Pool: Substantial completion punch walk set for November 9. The bulkhead for competition swimming will be installed a month later; it is mobile but requires a crane for repositioning.
    • Travis Street Pump Station: Designed; construction anticipated for summer 2027, opening capacity for east side developments.
    • Granger McDonald Park: Scheduled for council discussion to divest to UGRC. This will save approximately $1.8 million in bond proceeds, which can be used for other park-related projects (river trail top priority). Total savings from completed projects is approximately $2.8 million.
    • Quinlan Creek Sewer Expansion: Approximately 7,000 linear feet of sewer line will open development opportunities. Federal grant review expected in November; engineering is underway with a target completion of summer 2027.
    • James Avery Traffic Signal: Public hearing scheduled for November. The city is requesting the state legislature change the notice requirement from 30 days to 20 days to better align with meeting schedules.
    • Golf Course Management: Council approved a contract with Southern Golf Management (local group) who also manages the baseball complex—reported positive results.
    • FEMA Projects: High-priority projects include river trail, Town Creek road/sewer/water, and a major water transmission line. Each has multi-million-dollar price tags; FEMA has a team in the area assisting.
    • Kerrville-Schreiner Park: Only preliminary conversations with Texas Parks & Wildlife; nothing concrete.

  3. Financial Report (Trina):

    • Revenue Bonds: September interest revenue $21,577. Main project expense was Olympic pool improvements ($548,000). Remaining bond proceeds $4,284,000; interest earnings minus arbitrage liability $1,521,000. Cash balance investments shown.
    • Operational Fund: September sales tax revenue $452,342 (down 3% year-over-year). Fiscal year-to-date sales tax $5,286,000 (better than budget by $156,000). Interest income $23,226 for month (better than budget by $68,000).
    • Expenditures: City contract transfer $23,000, debt service $213,000, project payments $54,000 (Travis Street) and Quinlan Creek interceptor. Total expenses $321,455. Net change in position for year negative $17,000, tracking to budget.
    • Cash Balance: $5,380,000. Remaining commitments on operational projects $4,975,000.
    • Sales Tax Analysis: 12-month rolling average held at 4%. Budget set at 3% over estimate, resulting in a slight surplus. Investment rates: current yield 3.90%, expected to rise.

  4. Shriner University – Center for Talent and Workforce Development (Dr. Melissa Allen):

    • Enrollment Growth: First year 86, second year 131, current year first quarter 40 (several programs enroll only at specific times). On track to meet EIC goal of 171 enrollments this year.
    • Programs: Over 20 healthcare, 6 additional (Spanish, LVN), 5 IT, 8 business. New programs include sales certificate (by school year end), hospitality (introductory course with local video content), automotive (launching June 2027, with hands-on Saturdays with master mechanics), and 'Bona Fide Texan' (in partnership with the Texas Center, targeted at newcomers).
    • Career Fair: Regional Career Fair attracted over 40 employers, 10 nonprofits, 400 attendees. Held 8 on-site interviews and generated 22 follow-up interviews.
    • Alignment with Employer Needs: Participating in EDC roundtables; employers identified need for middle management training, which the Center is exploring.
    • Community Partnerships: Collaborating with Northwest Vista College to ensure complementary program offerings and student pathways.

  5. Proposed Cash-Back Program (Staff Presentation):

    • Staff outlined a pilot program using the 'Open Rewards' platform (integrated with the Blue Dot CRM) that would provide cash back to shoppers at local businesses.
    • Examples: Leban (population approx. 7,000) started with $5,000 and saw 27x return; El Paso invested $200,000 generating $5.4 million in local spending; South Lake invested $75,000 and measured 20x ROI with 90% of spending from locals.
    • Mechanics: Residents earn points via receipts, redeemable at other local businesses. City can set caps (e.g., $100 per person per year) and exclude certain business types (e.g., national chains, news organizations).
    • Cost: Platform fee estimated $2,000–$5,000 depending on population; additional funding would be allocated for the actual rewards.
    • Legal Authority: Under state law, 4B corporations may spend up to 10% of revenues on promotional activities. Staff will coordinate with the city attorney to confirm eligibility.
    • Concerns Raised: Board members questioned the reliability of the shown ROI figures (not adjusted for existing sales), requested before/after comparisons from other cities, and asked for data distinguishing new vs. redirected spending.
    • Integration: Lewis Amstoy suggested complementing the cash-back program with an advertising voucher program for small businesses via local media, which could also fall within promotional spending authority.
    • Next Steps: Board directed staff to gather more detailed information, consult with the city attorney, survey local businesses (possibly via the Chamber of Commerce), and prepare a complete proposal for the November meeting with a target launch in January 2027.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: Unanimous approval of September 21 minutes.
  • Project Updates Received: No board action required on reports; board acknowledged the status of projects and expressed interest in future river trail and park projects.
  • Cash-Back Program Direction: The board did not take a vote but clearly directed staff to refine the Open Rewards proposal. They requested more robust ROI data, legal clarification, and a structured implementation plan. A consensus emerged to consider a small pilot investment (e.g., $10,000 initially) and to link any new program with existing efforts like 'Love Where You Live' if appropriate.
  • Small Business Voucher Concept: The board asked staff to also explore the possibility of an advertising voucher program for small businesses, with the city attorney's guidance on legal authority.
  • Next Meeting: Staff to return with a comprehensive recommendation at the next board meeting (date not specified but presumably November).

Meeting Transcript

Ethan, I'm calling the uh economic and criminal corporation board to uh order. It's like what is what is it that I call you to? Orderly. All right, and Gil. Oh no, we don't be down here. Okay. Sorry. We've got screwed in the church. We think we're gonna get lost. I might forget who I am. That's the really really scary thing. I think I don't know if you got the motive or what. I think it's promoted, I didn't. Could be, could be. I like our side of town over here. Just in time, did you get my time for the invitation? That's me. Yes. Look at this. All righty. So Gil is not to go to give our invitation as well. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we thank you for bringing us together to today to contemplate the decisions in front of us. We ask that you guide our decision making process that we make the best decisions for all the people of Kerr County. We especially pray for those that are suffering and are hurting and are still recovering from the devastating floods we've had. Your name we pray. Amen. Thank you. We have no speakers. And uh we're gonna move on to number three, we're gonna have approval of minutes. We're looking at the September twenty-first meeting. And um, does anybody have any changes or or uh corrections or to the minutes from September? I move we approve them. All those in favor. Okay. And uh we're moving to number four on the agenda, our monthly report. And we're gonna start out with Todd Beck giving us uh uh a report from the KEDC. Thank you, Madam Chair and board. Uh we will give the Ker EDC update. Uh the first slide here is our financial status for this is uh month ending August first. Uh all of our funding has uh been uh funded. Uh thank you guys for that as well. And we are funded uh fully of the four seventy-five. Uh the other revenue and interest is funds that we are holding uh in an interest bearing account uh as funds related to the current uh recovery that we are fiscal sponsors for and our fiscal activity uh year to date of 270 842 and a balance of 2041 58, and this is through August 31st. Any questions on the financials.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com