Board member Jessy T. Garza informed the board Thursday that he had spoken with attorney Jeff Moore concerning funds for the scholarship program and Moore explained that the 4B sales tax money managed by the board could not legally be used for scholarships.
“Why doesn’t it qualify if our goal is to provide new jobs and this helps create those jobs?” asked EIC Board President Jim Crumrine.
Garza explained that Moore simply said that scholarships do not qualify as a legal expense for the 4B money.
“Also, we aren’t allowed to reimburse the college if they pay the direct costs of the scholarships,” Garza said.
Then Garza explained that it would be within the law for the EIC to provide $50,000 for the construction of “barn” in which the aircraft training could be offered.
Raymond Carroll, CBC aviation instructor, said he had looked into the situation and had learned that if the college builds a 50-by-110-foot building with floors, walls and a roof, it could qualify for a $1.9 million grant “to finish it out.”
“It’s a barn, that’s all it is,” Carroll told the board. “We’ll put the guts in.”
Glynis Strause, continuing education coordinator at CBC, said she had been told that Greg Kay of Kay and Associates would guarantee that every graduate of the CBC program would be hired by his company or Sikorsky Support Services to work at their facility at the Chase Field Industrial Airport Complex.
“They still have to go through an application process,” she said.
After some discussion regarding whether there might be a facility at Chase Field that could qualify for the training, Carroll and Strause both said the college would prefer that the facility be erected on its property. Carroll said the location would have to be chosen carefully because of the noise level of the engines used in the training. But he assured the board that the college has land available away from the campus for that purpose.
Crumrine said he wanted to send the idea to the same subcommittee which had studied the scholarship proposal and he wanted Molly Young to begin getting the college, Bee Development Authority board members and the EIC together to discuss the idea of providing the barn for the training.
“Let’s get some training for these people if we can,” Crumrine said.
Subcommittee member Jody Alaniz said he had been informed of the prospect of building a barn for the college during a meeting of the group.
“I left that meeting excited,” Alaniz said.
Before adjourning, board members voted to amend their bylaws to allow the EIC board to approve a grant request from a local business through the city’s business improvement grant program.
The program is designed to provide a $6,000 matching grant to businesses within the city limits but outside of the Beeville Main Street Program area downtown.
However, board members could see no reason to require the City Council to give a project final approval if the cost of a grant is less than $10,000. But to do that the council will have to amend the bylaws that govern the EIC board.
In other business, board members discussed an earlier decision to provide administrative costs for the Main Street Program and for its business grant program before approving an amendment for its financial report.
There has been some discussion among some of the boards providing $69,000 a year for the programs and for Molly Young’s role in managing them. Young has been told she is to manage both Main Street and the business grant program while also serving as a grant writer for the funding agencies and as a liaison between them.
The funding agencies include the BDA, EIC, Beeville Tax Increment Finance District and City of Beeville. Young is to serve as an economic development director for the EIC.
Post a Comment