Economic development plan on go

Groundwork was laid at Tuesday night’s Clinton City Council meeting for the hiring of an economic development director, including designation of funds to pay his or her salary for the first five years and establishment of a Clinton Economic Development Authority to which he or she will be responsible.
Russ Meacham, who served as spokesman for a 10-member group appointed by the City Council in January to find an economic development director, said the authority will be similar to the half dozen or so existing trust authorities the city already has to oversee specific functions. He said it will be comparable to the Clinton Airport Authority, the Clinton Hospital Authority, the Clinton Recreational Authority, etc. 
Six people also were appointed Tuesday to serve as trustees of the authority. Five of them apparently will have power to fire the person selected as economic development director and name a successor, if they feel it’s warranted.
The sixth trustee will be Mayor David Berrong who will serve as an ex-officio member without voting authority.
Initial voting members of the authority will be Russ Meacham, Keith Ventris, Max McKinsey, Canda Dupree and Ken Baker. They will serve staggered terms so they don’t all leave at once; one term will end in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2024. Nothing was said at Tuesday’s meeting about who gets which spot.
Councilman Don Rodolph made the motion to appoint the six trustees, and Bobby Stewart seconded. The other council members – Jason Hulin, Chuy Rosales and Mayor Berrong – also voted yes.
Meacham gave a presentation on what the 10-member group appointed in January is recommending, but not yet whom it’s recommending as economic development director.
The council appeared to go along with everything he suggested.
Meacham said the group feels the creation of a new trust authority is necessary because the city is actually doing something that’s “revolutionary” for Clinton by hiring an economic development director and it’s essential that everybody moves in the same direction. He said it’s also essential that whoever is hired knows to whom he or she is supposed to answer.
It was indicated that the city has a private partner in the search – the long-established Clinton Industrial Foundation. Apparently a “headhunter” has been hired to recommend one or more candidates for the director’s position, and the CIF has footed all those expenses to date.
“The city has paid nothing so far,” said Meacham.
While the five appointed trustees will have control over hiring, firing and the conduct of their own meetings, he said the council will have eventual control because it will appoint the trustees. He said it will take a two-thirds vote to remove any of the trustees.
Meetings of the trust will be separate from the City Council but all will be subject to the state’s Open Meetings Law, he said. That means, of course, that notices of the meetings must be posted in advance and the public may attend.
Meacham said creation of the trust will assure that councilmen have one less thing they “have to be experts in.” Rather, he said things pertaining to economic development will be “put in the hands of a committee of five.”
In conversations with other economic development people, he said funding of the position appeared to be a priority. He said the committee wanted to be able to assure all candidates that the money would be available to pay them.
As a result, he said, “We’re asking for $500,000 to be available to pay salaries and wages.” He asked that the council set aside $500,000 from the $1.2 million the city presently has in its Economic Development Fund.
Once Meacham paused for breath, City Councilman Jason Hulin asked what responsibility the city is going to have for bonds the authority might issue.
“Zero,” replied Meacham’s brother, City Attorney Ryan Meacham. “The debt of the authority will be the authority’s.”
However, Russ Meacham said it could not borrow money without the council agreeing. “When we pledge, potentially we could lose,” he said. However, he said that’s no different from any of the city’s other authorities, mentioning the Public Works Authority, the Airport Authority and the Recreational Authority. “It’s the same with every authority,” he said.
Councilman Rodolph told Mayor Berrong he’d done a good job in bringing this all together.
“It’s the committee,” replied Berrong. “We only have one chance to do this right, and we’ve been very deliberate.” He said one of the first people the committee consulted was “one of the finest economic development directors in Oklahoma.” 
It was Berrong, who also was one of the 10 people named in January to help find an economic development director, that mentioned the headhunter.
“We want someone with a proven track record to bring us candidates,” he said. “That expense has been completely taken care of by private business dollars. The future is one of cooperation.”
Councilman Stewart wanted to know if the council could commit for five years, since some government organizations have indicated they’re limited to one-year contracts.
Russ Meacham told him the council could commit for the next 100 years if it has the money available today. He said if there’s zero in the bank but the council knew in one year it would have $100,000, it could commit only $100,000.
Berrong said since 2005, the part of the city sales tax devoted to the Economic Development Fund has been bringing in almost $100,000 annually.
“I’ve been to the Mayors’ Round Table,” he said. “Elk City wants to know how we have this money available.” The answer, he said, is “because the citizens decided to do it.”
Rodolph then asked for the names of those the search committee was recommending to serve as trustees of the new authority. After Berrong read off the five nominees, Rodolph said, “I think it’s a good plan, along with David Berrong as the council representative.” (The guidelines had stipulated that the ex-officio trustee had to be a member of the council.)
Stewart seconded, and the council’s 5-0 vote made it official.
Next item on the agenda was an “encumbrance agreement” setting aside the $500,000.
“I make a motion we accept that,” said Stewart. “We’ve already discussed it. I think it’s pretty clear.”
Again the vote was 5-0.