Joint meeting may or may not shed light
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
10 Comments
- •
Favorite- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
IF YOU GOWHAT: Joint meeting of city council, commissioners court and sales tax board
WHEN: 9 a.m. Thursday
WHERE: Victoria Preservation Inc. building at 205 W. Goodwin Ave.
It is open to the public.
Up to $1 million in sales tax money could be approved for improvements to the Lone Tree Business Center, but the public may have to wait to hear the details.
The city council, commissioners court and sales tax board have a joint meeting scheduled for Thursday. However, officials are being mum.
Dale Fowler, with the Victoria Economic Development Corp., said he could not shed light on the $1 million being sought from the sales tax corporation. He referred questions about tax abatement wording on the agenda to City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz, who is out of town.
"We've always got projects and we're just trying to get people up to speed," Fowler said. "It's not much different than most of the projects we work on."
He said he would make public and private presentations at the public meeting, but would not say if the public will know more at that time.
Lewis Neitsch, president of the sales tax board, said he hadn't heard the joint meeting had been called. But he said he had been out of town and hadn't returned phone calls.
"I knew Dale has been working on getting some company in there," he said. "I have no idea what."
Mayor Will Armstrong had even less to say, noting he is bound by an agreement to not divulge information.
-
Print
- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
10 Comments
- •
- Favorite
- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
Comments
David &
EdithAnn
I have checked also and the VPI pays no rent to the county in fact it does not have a lease agreement and who pays their expenses such as phone mailing costs.
Maybe county auditor can show rent payments and expense payments
August 11, 2010 at 7:13 a.m.Thank you, David for the correction on the rental payments. I had information that said they didn't, and I didn't find it in the County budget as income (of course that was sifting through a jillion pages...)
Appreciate it David.
August 10, 2010 at 3:10 p.m.EdithAnn, you are correct about that being the Victoria County Archives building. It was listed on the city council and sales tax board agendas as the "Victoria Preservation Inc./Archives Building." The commissioners court agenda listed it as just the archives building, hence my confusion.
You are also correct that Gary Dunnam serves as Victoria County Heritage director and the executive director of Victoria Preservation Inc.
However, VPI does rent space in the archives building and pays the county $13,160 a year.
Sorry for the long explanation.
August 10, 2010 at 2:46 p.m.onestar--
From my comment on the county budget story:
By the way, the Victoria County Archives are housed in the older Bell Telephone Building. Victoria Preservation, Inc. has an office in that building. They do not pay rent to the county for this space.
Oh, the Victoria County Heritage Director, and the Executive Director of Victoria Preservation Inc. are the same person.
August 10, 2010 at 9:06 a.m.EdithAnn
Perhaps the VICAD or Ocker will find out why the County allows a private company to use county property.
The Texas Constitution prohibits such conduct and the Texas Penal Code makes it a violation of law for any public employee to use county property for private purposes
August 10, 2010 at 7:57 a.m.This is an example of why tax abatements should not be awarded to businesses. The ONLY recourse to recoup the lost tax monies on this real property is via the courts--at taxpayer expense.
August 10, 2010 at 6:43 a.m.There is no Victoria Preservation Inc. building.
VPI uses space in a COUNTY building at no charge to VPI.
August 9, 2010 at 6:33 p.m.