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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

New Braunfels EDC Regular Meeting - March 19, 2026

City Council & Boards — Thursday, March 19, 2026

BodyNew Braunfels, Texas

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateThursday, March 19, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 22:23

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:03

We will call to order the City of New Bromfels Economic Development Corporation meeting Thursday, March 19th at 5 p.m.

Unassigned speaker

0:12

Ms.

Speaker 1

0:12

Boggs, we please call roll.

Speaker 2

0:14

Director Elrod.

0:16

Director Campos.

0:18

Director Austin.

Speaker 1

0:19

Here.

Speaker 2

0:20

Director Thompson here.

0:21

Director Hines.

0:23

Here.

0:23

I'm sorry, President Hines.

0:26

Director Hammonds.

Speaker 1

0:29

Never would have noticed.

0:31

Also, thank you, uh, Mayor Mayor Neil Leonards for joining us this evening.

Unassigned speaker

0:35

Of course.

Speaker 1

0:36

And uh we move on to item three approval of the February 19th, 2026 regular meeting minutes.

0:44

I've had a chance to review the minutes.

0:46

I'll move to approve.

0:49

I have a motion from Director Austin and a second director Campos.

0:53

All those in favor?

Unassigned speaker

0:54

Aye.

Speaker 1

0:55

Aye.

0:55

Aye.

0:56

All those opposed.

0:57

Minutes passed unanimously.

0:59

On to citizens communication.

Unassigned speaker

1:03

This

Speaker 1

1:03

is time for citizens to address the board on issues and items of concerns not on this agenda.

1:08

There will be no board action at this

Unassigned speaker

1:10

time.

Speaker 1

1:11

Seeing none, we will move on to item five, Treasurer's report.

Unassigned speaker

1:16

Mr.

Speaker 1

1:16

Werner.

Unassigned speaker

1:20

Thank

Speaker 3

1:20

you, President Hines.

1:22

Um, the sales tax data for the month of January as we begin the calendar year is off to a very promising start, as the graph illustrates, to drill down into that a little bit more.

1:31

Um again, as we've been talking about, we'll have kind of a bifurcated analysis of our sales taxes for the next year or so.

1:38

Um overall sales taxes increased by 32.9%.

1:42

Again, massive number.

1:43

We expect that as the HT supply revenue comes on board again, starting in mid-November.

1:49

When however, though, when you remove that HE supply revenue and look at the net for uh January, we still had a growth rate of about 11.4%.

1:57

So uh one of the largest Januaries on record for us.

2:00

And so again, like I said, uh certainly a positive start uh to the calendar year and uh fourth month of this fiscal year.

2:10

Again, your updated uh revenue projections through fiscal year 30.

2:14

Again, reflective of the last month of sales tax revenue.

Unassigned speaker

2:18

Um

Speaker 3

2:18

you're gonna start to see some changes, or you should um notice some changes on your current commitment slide.

2:24

We went ahead and modified all of your approved commitments, project expenditures to align to your recently adopted strategic priorities, and so that is the way that we will reflect this moving forward.

2:37

Um again, you can see that there is and just as a reminder, this only includes those projects that have been formally approved by the EDC and the City Council.

2:47

And then a new um addition to your treasure report, which we will update on a monthly basis, and you'll see this every single month.

2:54

Um, we'll uh reconcile the projected expenditures for the current fiscal year, but we'll also illustrate it for you on a project by project basis.

3:05

And so again, um as we get closer to the end of the fiscal year, that's when we start to see these numbers shift as maybe some of these costs get pushed out to the next fiscal year.

3:13

But um, I really felt that it was important that we kind of go back to y'all seeing some project by project detail, um, even though we are really looking at it from a five-year horizon, but just to have a good handle on what are we expected to spend this fiscal year and on what?

3:27

So, hopefully, this is a value to you, and we'll certainly be able to answer any questions that you may have about these expenditures.

3:33

But again, the only time you should really see these shift is when either we

Unassigned speaker

3:37

um

Speaker 3

3:37

either when a project is uh is over, um when we expect a project expense to shift to the next fiscal year um or when a new project comes on board.

Unassigned speaker

3:48

And

Speaker 3

3:48

again, of course, the graph that kind of ties it all together your revenues expenditures and forecast it uh um expenditures through fiscal year 30.

3:56

With that, happy to take any questions

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████53%

Procedural███████████████████████27%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████6%

Tourism████5%

Airport Funding████5%

Public Safety███4%

Summary of Proceedings

New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation Regular Meeting - March 19, 2026

The New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation (EDC) held its regular meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. The board reviewed a strong sales tax report, discussed potential projects aligned with newly adopted strategic priorities, and entered executive session for economic development negotiations. No formal votes were taken on the presentations.

Consent Calendar

Approval of February 19, 2026, Regular Meeting Minutes – Approved unanimously by a motion from Director Austin and second from Director Campos.

Public Comments & Testimony

No comments were made during Citizens' Communications or after the presentation.

Discussion Items

Treasurer's Report (March 2026) – Jared Werner, Assistant City Manager, reported that January 2026 sales tax data showed a 32.9% increase overall (boosted by HEB Supply revenue) and an 11.4% net increase when excluding that revenue. He noted this was one of the largest January collections on record. Projected revenues through fiscal year 2030 were updated, and approved commitments were reorganized to align with the EDC's recently adopted strategic priorities. A new monthly detail of projected expenditures by individual project was introduced to improve transparency.
Presentation on Potential Projects – Jeff Jewell, Economic & Community Development Director, presented project ideas for two strategic priorities:
- Enhancing Sense of Place / Quality of Life (Priority 3): Included a Comal River Master Plan (feasibility and master plan for the Spring-Fed Pool and Landa House, with potential river corridor enhancements), downtown placemaking initiatives (intentional design of public spaces as economic infrastructure), HEB Soccer Fields / Camp Comal Athletic Fields renovations (next phase after recent athletic field improvements), and the Zink Street Gateway intersection project (converting Zink Bridge and Seguin to a roundabout to improve safety and create a distinct downtown entry). Jewell reported that stakeholders (St. Peter and Paul Catholic School, county tax office, local businesses, and TxDOT) have been consulted and are supportive; a grant application for the roundabout was unsuccessful but will be resubmitted. Director Campos raised a question about maintenance responsibility for a dam on the Wurstfest grounds (potentially NBU’s obligation) and suggested it be addressed in the river master plan. Campos also noted that the Plaza uses St. Augustine grass, which is water-intensive, and requested consideration of alternatives – staff noted a committee is already reviewing Plaza improvements.
- Business Recruitment & Retention (Priority 4): Included forgiving the remaining ~$700,000 balance of the airport loan (to free up annual $129,000 payment for airport investments), a targeted incentive plan for redevelopment of Rivermill and the West End (to coincide with private investment), an Industrial Site Readiness Study to accelerate site development, the Gener8tor Accelerator Project to support startups, and continued support for existing business expansions/relocations (Continental Almovio, DTEX, Lefco). No action was requested; the presentation was for discussion.

Key Outcomes

The board heard presentations and asked clarifying questions but took no action on the treasurer’s report or project proposals.
Executive Session: The board adjourned to closed session at 5:22 PM (opened at 5:26 PM) under Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 and 551.087 to discuss economic development negotiations for seven projects: Project Casa, Project Shoot, Gruene 16, Project Thread, Gener8tor, Project Icon, and Texas State Technical College. The board returned to open session at 5:58 PM with no action taken.
The meeting adjourned at 5:59 PM.

Meeting Transcript

We will call to order the City of New Bromfels Economic Development Corporation meeting Thursday, March 19th at 5 p.m. Ms. Boggs, we please call roll. Director Elrod. Director Campos. Director Austin. Here. Director Thompson here. Director Hines. Here. I'm sorry, President Hines. Director Hammonds. Never would have noticed. Also, thank you, uh, Mayor Mayor Neil Leonards for joining us this evening. Of course. And uh we move on to item three approval of the February 19th, 2026 regular meeting minutes. I've had a chance to review the minutes. I'll move to approve. I have a motion from Director Austin and a second director Campos. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. Minutes passed unanimously. On to citizens communication. This is time for citizens to address the board on issues and items of concerns not on this agenda. There will be no board action at this time. Seeing none, we will move on to item five, Treasurer's report. Mr. Werner. Thank you, President Hines. Um, the sales tax data for the month of January as we begin the calendar year is off to a very promising start, as the graph illustrates, to drill down into that a little bit more. Um again, as we've been talking about, we'll have kind of a bifurcated analysis of our sales taxes for the next year or so. Um overall sales taxes increased by 32.9%. Again, massive number. We expect that as the HT supply revenue comes on board again, starting in mid-November. When however, though, when you remove that HE supply revenue and look at the net for uh January, we still had a growth rate of about 11.4%. So uh one of the largest Januaries on record for us. And so again, like I said, uh certainly a positive start uh to the calendar year and uh fourth month of this fiscal year. Again, your updated uh revenue projections through fiscal year 30. Again, reflective of the last month of sales tax revenue. Um you're gonna start to see some changes, or you should um notice some changes on your current commitment slide. We went ahead and modified all of your approved commitments, project expenditures to align to your recently adopted strategic priorities, and so that is the way that we will reflect this moving forward. Um again, you can see that there is and just as a reminder, this only includes those projects that have been formally approved by the EDC and the City Council. And then a new um addition to your treasure report, which we will update on a monthly basis, and you'll see this every single month.

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