Bonham -- As a promising new year gets underway in Bonham with hopes that negotiations to secure a flagship hotel signal a brighter future for the city and surrounding community, board members of Bonham Economic Development Corporation met Friday to map out goals and priorities.
The three-hour session was facilitated by Terry Preuninger of Oncor Electric Delivery and Janie Havel, a Regional Representative of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
All seven members of the BEDCo board attended the meeting, along with Bonham Mayor Roy Floyd, Bonham City Manager Bill Shipp, Judy Teller of the Heritage Day Committee and local businessman Stephen Murden, the driving force behind Bonham's recent Festival of Flight.
The discussion ranged from the need to create high-paying jobs and revitalize downtown retail, two strategies with the potential to expand the tax base, to the triple freeport concept, a designation that allows cities, schools and counties to exempt business inventory from taxes if goods will be shipped out of state within 175 days. Plano, Grapevine and Irving are examples of North Texas cities that have adopted triple freeport tax exemptions in an effort to attract businesses. The triple freeport exemption can provide a greater incentive than tax abatement for companies with high-value inventories.
The meeting also included a discussion about nearby cities such as Sherman and Trenton that recently voted wet and experienced a boost in sales tax revenue. That decision could also attract restaurants and enhance festivals.
As Steve Filipowicz settles in as Executive Director of BEDCo, the comprehensive goals and priorities workshop will most likely assist as the new man at the helm charts a course for the near future.
“As a new member of Bonham & BEDCO’s economic development team I was well pleased with the tone and tenor of the discussion throughout Friday’s workshop," Mr. Filipowicz remarked after the meeting. "Our facilitators did an excellent job teeing-up the topics for the board to deliberate and discuss in a casual – yet structured - atmosphere. The board expressed a willingness to continue these sorts of sessions in the future. This format serves as a venue to both educate and spark thoughtful reflect on what we/BEDCO are doing and how that directly related to our economic development mission."
“I was also extremely gratified that so many of our partners [city, chamber, TCOG, utility providers, and state economic development staff] were present with us during the entire sessions,” added Filipowicz.