Denton Business Chronicle

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2 Denton Business Chronicle Nov. 2013 Business Spotlight Corinth pursues business incentives By John D. Harden Business Mixers Denton Chamber of Commerce Many local and area women attended the annual Women in Commerce event Oct. 18. The Denton Chamber of Commerce, along with partners Texas Woman's University School of Management and Sally Beauty, developed the initiative to provide women with the tools for professional and personal success including important resources, education/training, and networking opportunities. CORINTH — City officials hope that tax abatements and other economic development incentives will increase the number of new businesses lured to Corinth. The city recently approved a resolution to adopt guidelines and criteria. Officials say that the abatements act as incentives to attract high-quality businesses by granting full or partial exemption from property taxes, and the policy must be approved every two years. Guy Brown, the Corinth Economic Development Corporation director, said there are no pending tax abatements, but he said he hopes to see that change next year. “We hope to use tax abatements and other incentives, including the city’s Economic Development Fund, to attract new business to Corinth during the next year,” he said. According to a city staff report, there is no immediate impact on city revenue, but the city could “receive significant financial benefits from projects performed under the policy.” When cities undertake tax abatement, the two primary things they look at are the length of the abatement and the percentage of tax that would be abated, Brown said. “One thing to know is that for every $1 million of taxable value, the city collects about $6,000 in revenue,” Brown said in a recent council meeting. “So, if you had a $10 million project, that would be $60,000 in your revenue in the city’s general fund. If you were to abate 50 percent of that, the city would then collect $30,000.” Brown added that the Economic Development Corporation takes its responsibility seriously. The city and the corporation cannot gift property, grants or tax abatements without taking the necessary steps, he said. “There is a process we have to go through,” he said. “There are economic qualifications, and tax abatements can be complicated and require a lot of resources from the staff and they directly affect the city’s general fund, so we want to be very judicious with tax abatements, even more so than some of the other incentives that we might provide.” Under the guidelines, there are several qualifications that a business must meet to receive a tax abatement. For a new business, it’s expected that no less than $2 million will be invested into the facility within three years of construction. The business will also be expected to create at least 10 full-time positions in the city. “Our goal going in was to have a formalized process that was flexible so that we could apply common sense - we never want rules so rigid that we can’t apply common sense,” Brown said. Mayor Paul Ruggiere said the approved guidelines were thorough and will aid city officials in their decision-making. And other council members praised Brown’s work and the guidelines, saying that they’re exactly what the city needs. As a component of the adopted tax abatement policy, the city and Economic Development Corporation will offer a beautification program in which the corporation provides grants to local businesses looking to improve the physical appearance of their buildings. There are two types of grants under this beautification program, Brown said. One would be a general beautification grant where businesses would be eligible for up to $10,000 in matching funds for improvements that they make to the exterior of their facilities. The second would be a signage matching grant for up to $6,000, which is designed to help a business replace an existing pole sign with a monument sign. A business may apply for both grants, but the maximum is $12,000 for both projects total. Brown said the grants can be used for landscaping, tree planting, paint, brick and similar building improvements, removal of unsightly debris and improved parking and signage. “If they were going to do paint, façade or parking lot improvements, the EDC would provide a grant to help them do that,” he said. The tax abatements and grants are some of the tools that the city uses to attract business. Earlier this year, the City Council agreed to invest in a marketing campaign that also seeks to attract businesses. City officials said the marketing campaign serves several purposes, including developing an identity for the city and also identifying businesses that are a good fit for the city’s demographic. They added that it’s their plan for each incentive to complement the others to help stimulate the local economy. JOHN D. HARDEN can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @JDHarden. Courtesy photos Mix with us Tell about your event or send photos E-mail photos (200 DPI or higher) to drc@dentonrc.com
Contents | November 2013 | Vol. 9, No. 9 Publisher: Bill Patterson The contents of this free publication are copyrighted by Denton Publishing Company, 2008, a subsidiary of A.H. Belo Corp. (www.ahbelo.com, NYSE symbol: AHC), with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Denton Business Chronicle is published monthly by Denton Publishing Company, 314 E. Hickory St., Denton, TX 76201. E-mail: drc@dentonrc.com Photo by David Minton November 2013 Index Who to contact Jonathon Fite | 4 Other Enterprising Voices | 4, 9 Mixers | 2, 11 Ribbon Cuttings | 14, 15 Business Spotlight | 2, 6, 10 Monthly News Roundup | 11 Vital Statistics | 20-23 On the cover: Construction continues on one of the new entrances at Golden Triangle Mall. Dawn Cobb Managing Editor 940-566-6879 | dcobb@dentonrc.com Sandra Hammond Advertising Director 940-566-6820 | shammond@dentonrc.com Shawn Reneau Advertising Manager 940-566-6843 | sreneau@dentonrc.com Calendar of Events Altrusa International Inc. of Denton meets for its monthly dinner and program at Cartwright’s Ranch House at 111 N. Elm St. on the Denton Square. Cost is $12 per person. Call 940-387-5031 for reservations. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 6:30 p.m. American Association of University Women, Denton Branch meets at The Chestnut Tree, 107 W. Hickory St. on the Denton Square. Call 940-898-3797. Visit http:// denton-tx.aauw.net or e-mail scompotonaauw@gmail.com. Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. Association of Business Contingency Planners, North Texas Chapter has its monthly luncheon at H5 Colo at 12712 Park Central in Dallas. Cost is $35 per person. Visit http://northtx.acp-international. com/index.php/events. Tuesday, Dec. 3, noon Aubrey 380 Area Chamber of Commerce meets at the Prairie House Restaurant at 10001 E. Highway 380 in Cross Roads. Cost is $12 per person, reservations required. Call 940-365-9781 or e-mail chamber@aubreycoc.org. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 11:30 a.m. Denton Black Chamber of Commerce meets at the Denton Housing Authority, 1225 Wilson St. Tuesday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m. Denton Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meets at Quality Inn & Suites, 1500 Dallas Drive. Friday, Dec. 6, 7:30 a.m. Denton League of United Latin American Citizens No. 4366 meets at the Denton Senior Center, 509 N. Bell Ave. Saturday, Nov. 16, 9:30 a.m. Denton Planning and Zoning Commission meets in the council chambers at City Hall, 215 E. McKinney St. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m. Electronics Recycling will take place at The Cupboard Natural Foods and Café, 200 W. Congress St. Drop off any computer-related equipment. For a list of accepted items and for more information, visit computercrusher.com. Saturday, Dec. 14, 8 a.m. Hickory Creek Planning and Zoning Commission meets at Hickory Creek Town Hall, 1075 Ronald Reagan Ave. Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas, Greater Denton Division has its monthly meeting and luncheon at the Prairie House located at Texas Land & Cattle, 8398 S. Stemmons Freeway. Cost is $18 for associates and builders with reservations and $20 for walkins. Call 940-383-0853. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 11:30 a.m. International Institute of Business Analysis, Dallas Chapter, meets at BravoTech, 4835 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1000 in Dallas. Visit http:// dallas.iiba.org/index.php/home. Thursday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. Investment Perspective Seminar hosted by financial adviser Kathy R. Bauer of Edward Jones at 2925 Country Club Road, Suite 101A, in Denton. Call 940-482-0280. Thursday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. Krum Chamber of Commerce hosts its monthly meeting at Northstar Bank, 1101 E. McCart St. in Krum. Call 940-482-6093. Thursday, Dec. 5, 6:30 p.m. Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce meets for coffee at Corinth City Hall, 3300 Corinth Parkway and at the Re/Max Lake Cities at 3960 FM2181, Suite 100 in Hickory Creek. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7:15 a.m. in Corinth Wednesday, Nov. 27, 7:15 a.m. in Hickory Creek Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7:15 a.m. in Corinth Lake Cities Netweavers business networking group meets every Thursday at Sidewalk Bistro off Interstate 35E at 2900 Wind River Ln. For more information e-mail info@lcnetweavers.com. Thursday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. Lake Dallas 4A Economic Development Corp. meets at Lake Dallas Municipal Complex. Monday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m. Lake Dallas 4B Community Development Corp. meets at Lake Dallas Municipal Complex. Monday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. NAACP, Denton County Chapter meets at the Denton Housing Authority, 1225 Wilson St. Thursday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m. Oakmont Women’s Club meets at St. Andrews Room at Oakmont Drive in Corinth. Annual membership is $25. Call 940-321- 5599 or visit, http://oakmontwomensclub.org. Tuesday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m. North Texas Society for Human Resource Management meets at Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 1434 Centre Place Drive in Denton. Cost to attend is $18 for members and first-time guests and $23 for returning non-members. Visit www.northtexasshrm.org. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 11:30 a.m. SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free management counseling for prospective new business owners or existing business in trouble. Confidential, one-hour counseling sessions are available by appointment every Wednesday at Denton South Branch Library, 3228 Teasley Lane. Call 940-349-8752 to make an appointment. Wednesday, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, 9 a.m. Small-Business Breakfast meeting sponsored by the North Central Texas College Small Business Development Center at the Denton Chamber of Commerce, 414 W. Parkway St. Call 940- 380-1849. Tuesday, Dec. 10, 7:15 a.m. Women Business Owners of Denton County will hold its monthly luncheon at Los Toreros, 2900 Wind River Lane, Suite 134. Tuesday, Dec. 3, 11:30 a.m. Please tell us about your event or meeting by e-mailing Dawn Cobb at dcobb@dentonrc.com; by fax at 940- 566-6888; or by mail to DBC Calendar, Denton Record-Chronicle, 314 E. Hickory St., Denton, TX 76201. She also can be reached at 940-566-6879. 3 Denton Business Chronicle Nov. 2013
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