PRESENTER: Presenter
Jeff Jewell, Economic and Community Development Director
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SUBJECT: Title
Presentation, discussion, and possible action approving a proposed administrative support and professional services contract for FY25 with the City of New Braunfels
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DEPARTMENT: Economic and Community Development
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation (NBEDC) maintains an annual contract with the City of New Braunfels for administrative support and professional services in support of the NBEDC’s mission and business. Specifically, the contract requires the City to perform administrative and professional service tasks such as contract development and management, pay applications, company and incentive auditing services, fiscal impact analysis, financial auditing, board-directed and required reporting and record keeping. The contract also requires the city to provide for all legal services and facilities needed by the corporation in the normal course of its business. Additionally, the city manages feasibility, engineering, design and construction activities for all NBEDC-initiated projects. Currently, approximately $11.4 million in approved projects are in some phase of design and construction plan development.
The following modifications are proposed for the FY25 contract:
- $25,000 increase: earmarked to address operating and property management costs for NBEDC-owned properties
- $25,000 increase: earmarked for costs associated with additional planning and feasibility studies for future NBEDC-affiliated projects. This will provide some level of pre-approved funding for initiatives not specifically identified but that staff can undertake at the direction of the NBEDC as approved in the services agreement and adopted with the budget.
This $50,000 increase will be recognized as budget line increases to maintenance services and professional services in the Economic and Community Development Department’s 2024-2025 budget. Staff provided an initial presentation on this contract at the July 18, 2024 NBEDC regular meeting. If approved at this meeting, it will be incorporated into the City’s overall budget approval process.
Last year, the City presented a contract expansion that fully funded an Assistant Project Manager (APM) in the City’s Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI) department and the marginal cost of moving the ECD’s administrative assistant to full-time. These two position additions increased the amount of the contract by $115,413. The TCI department is staffed to manage the design and construction of projects within the City’s existing bond programs (2019 and 2023). The NBEDC’s investment in strategic capital projects first discussed in 2022 and approved for design and construction funding throughout 2023 and 2024 increased the department’s annual workload. The addition of an APM to TCI was presented to absorb the increased workload the department assumed given the expanded capital investments it was managing on behalf of the NBEDC. The addition of the Administrative Assistant to full-time reflected the expanded efforts of the Economic and Community Development department’s administration of the corporation’s business.
In FY 2022, there was a $122,500 increase to the contract to reflect the City’s cost for a housing and community development consultant and the additional costs to the City for an expanded work and increased staff demands.
ISSUE:
The City is proposing the FY25 contract be increased by $50,000 to provide funding for maintenance and property management costs of NBEDC-owned properties, and support planning and feasibility studies for future projects if directed by the NBEDC. The proposed FY25 contract with the City of New Braunfels is proposed to be a total amount of $455,386.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☐Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☐Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Up to $455,386; the NBEDC has funding available for this administrative support and professional services contract. The administrative and professional services agreement amount is divided into the following expenditure categories:
|
Item |
Amount |
|
General Fund Contribution (Staff - ECD, Legal, City Management, Finance, IT, TCI, consultant costs, facilities, security, materials, etc.) |
$405,386 |
|
Property Maintenance Costs |
$25,000 |
|
Feasibility/due diligence/other initiatives as directed by NBEDC |
$25,000 |
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
N/A