San Angelo's Chamber of Commerce must be shaking their head. Their hard work on behalf of the City's economic development arm has been the subject of numerous City Council debates since September 2022. Council considered a three year contract with the Chamber with the opportunity for several one year renewals.
Mayor Brenda Gunter gutted the proposal by calling it "unrealistic" and said the arrangement needed to wait for a new Development Corporation Executive Director. Councilman Tommy Hiebert tried to bring it back to the arrangement is simply "business as usual."
Assistant City Manager Michael Dane said recruitment for an Economic Development Executive Director had to start over after the top four candidates either were eliminated or withdrew. That is indicative of the unsettled situation.
Chamber President Walt Koenig spoke on behalf of his team in public comment. Koenig said his staff are pawns in the conflict between two boards (City Council and the Development Corporation). I thought Council won that fight after it attempted to discipline First Vice President John Bariou (October 2022) before replacing him in the 2023 board reappointment process.
Koenig highlighted his staff's dedication and talent. He lamented the lack of respect shown to his team and closed with his being appalled by the process.
This City Council has gotten crossed with two boards, the Development Corporation and the TIRZ board. Open government rules make it difficult for mediation to happen between Council and the two boards, but clearly something different needs to be done.
Citizens appointed to these boards have expertise that may be worth Council actually hearing. City Council direction is important but the annual strategic planning process is not rigorous or robust enough for every city board to have clarity regarding Council's mindset.
Dialogue needs to occur but it appears the majority of one party may not be listening.
Update 5-7-23: The TIRZ board is yet to announce their next meeting. The Development Corporation board declared their interest in having a more collaborative relationship with City Council. It meets next on Wednesday, May 24th at 8:30 am.
Update 5-12-23: The minutes state:
"Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Walt Koenig asked Council to approve the agreement as presented."
He said lots more than that. Not writing, not listening.
Update 5-20-23: The Development Corporation background packet for 5-24-23 makes no mention of last week's City Council meeting. It does not include Mayor Gunter's statement that the list of services is "unrealistic." City staff refer to direction given back in November 2022, not Council feedback given in the May 4 meeting. City Council members shared their ideas/direction after denying the amendment.
The Development Corporation took up the agreement in Closed Session during their April 26, 2023 meeting but had no report to the public after executive session.
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