AUSTIN | Economic Development

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by We vs us

I'll be honest, I had the same reaction during the HQ2 competition. Yes, in the end HQ2 was ultimately a boondoggle and it was good that we didn't win.

?

It's working out great for Virginia. It would have been a big win for Austin (certainly more impactful than this Tesla deal).

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by Novacek

?

It's working out great for Virginia. It would have been a big win for Austin (certainly more impactful than this Tesla deal).

I was thinking of the the NYC portion of the search -- which was opaque and exorbitant and of course ultimately had to be abandoned.

Still, doesn't necessarily detract from my point, which is that our Electeds should publicly and eloquently advocate for us in these situations. And their silence on the Tesla deal -- regardless of whether or not it eventually goes through -- continues the tradition of doing the exact opposite.

[lonewolf]

are we sure that the new state law applies to ETJ zones as well? I was aware of the new restrictions of cities annexing property but I wouldn't automatically think it applies to ETJ.

And as someone who lives in the Austin ETJ I can very much assure you city business does go on out here. Schools and electricity off the top of my head, all our addresses say Austin even, not travis county

To think "city shouldn't weight in bc it's not their biz" is absurd

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

are we sure that the new state law applies to ETJ zones as well? I was aware of the new restrictions of cities annexing property but I wouldn't automatically think it applies to ETJ.

Considering that the only place the city could formerly unilaterally annex from (generally) was from its ETJ, yes the new laws apply to the ETJ. Absolutely, positively, 100%.

Originally Posted by lonewolf

And as someone who lives in the Austin ETJ I can very much assure you city business does go on out here. Schools and electricity off the top of my head, all our addresses say Austin even, not travis county

Schools have literally nothing to do with the city. That's AISD.

Austin energy service area is disjoint from the city. It covers (by my count) _14_ other cities.

https://austinenergy.com/ae/about/co...rvice-area-map

And of course, what the post office chooses to put on an address has 0 meaning. There's addresses that list one city that are legally in another city (much less ETJ).

https://communityimpact.com/austin/l...der-addresses/

[freerover]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Considering that the only place the city can annex from (generally) is from its ETJ, yes the new laws apply to the ETJ. Absolutely, positively, 100%.


Schools have literally nothing to do with the city. That's AISD.

Austin energy service area is disjoint from the city. It covers (by my count) _14_ other cities.

https://austinenergy.com/ae/about/co...rvice-area-map

And of course, what the post office chooses to put on an address has 0 meaning. There's addresses that list one city that are legally in another city (much less ETJ).

https://communityimpact.com/austin/l...der-addresses/

There's also like 5-6 different school districts that creep into the city limits. Not just AISD.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by freerover

There's also like 5-6 different school districts that creep into the city limits. Not just AISD.

Right, but since the OP was conflating CoA with schools I’m assuming they’re in AISD.

[undergroundman]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Considering that the only place the city could formerly unilaterally annex from (generally) was from its ETJ, yes the new laws apply to the ETJ. Absolutely, positively, 100%.


Schools have literally nothing to do with the city. That's AISD.

Austin energy service area is disjoint from the city. It covers (by my count) _14_ other cities.

https://austinenergy.com/ae/about/co...rvice-area-map

And of course, what the post office chooses to put on an address has 0 meaning. There's addresses that list one city that are legally in another city (much less ETJ).

https://communityimpact.com/austin/l...der-addresses/

It doesn't matter how you parse it. If you build something in the ETJ, you need city approval. I believe that permitting process qualifies as 'city business'. Now, here's where you try to convince us that city staff is not a part of the city. Go ahead.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

It doesn't matter how you parse it. If you build something in the ETJ, you need city approval. I believe that permitting process qualifies as 'city business'. Now, here's where you try to convince us that city staff is not a part of the city. Go ahead.

Staff approval , not council.

For a non-discretionary approval process.

One which if the council attempted to influence, they’d be setting themselves up for a quick lawsuit.

Staff are part of the city, but they’re explicitly not under council. That’s the entire point of the council-manager form of government.

[undergroundman]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Staff approval , not council.

For a non-discretionary approval process.

One which if the council attempted to influence, they’d be setting themselves up for a quick lawsuit.

Staff are part of the city, but they’re explicitly not under council. That’s the entire point of the council-manager form of government.

So are you saying that if someone requested a variance, council can't weigh?

[undergroundman]

Still no vote. Recessed until tomorrow and a possible vote then.

Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday took no action on granting economic incentives for a proposed $1 billion Tesla Gigafactory in the Austin area.

Following a closed executive session, the commissioners’ court heard again from callers in support and against the Tesla plant. Then they moved to recess its meeting until Wednesday at 1 p.m. to give its economic development personnel time to answer questions brought up in executive session.
...
For the past three weeks, Travis County Commissioners have heard testimony from residents in favor of and against the plant. The court could take action on the project tomorrow.

http://siliconhillsnews.com/2020/07/...a-gigafactory/

[the Genral]

I commend everyone posting on this subject for keeping it civil...so far...its an interesting debate as long as it stays this way. I'm too ignorant to add to the conversation, but perhaps I'm being educated from all sides of opinions. This does seem to carry a measure of deja vu imo, except its down to two possible outcomes with less drama and suspense. I think its an unevenly weighted coin toss heavy on the heads side with Austin calling tails at this point. Not having an official announcement made by now with a lofty goal of being up and operational by end of year, which is absolutely unrealistic at this point, removes any indication that Texas is a slam dunk. In fact, I used to think our ace in a hole was the cool factor here. Now it may come down to cunning strategies and silver tongue salesmanship and who wants it more and will deal higher incentives. I am completely removed from the table where talks are being made so I can't comment on the quality of the dialog, but I think Tulsa needs this more and will fight harder to get it. Advantage, Tulsa. But Austin is well....Austin, probably the first choice to begin with and its our's to lose...advantage Austin. And choice #2, Oklahoma, advantage...Austin. Ok, please resume your intelligent dialog and pardon the interruption.

[hookem]

You can see it here -

http://traviscountytx.iqm2.com/Citiz...Format=Minutes

The public part starts around 4:40pm. As mentioned they recessed the meeting until tomorrow 1pm for this agenda item. That indicates to me that they do intend to have a motion and a vote tomorrow. Otherwise they’d just take no action and adjourn to next week.

But it also sounded like the staff may not be finished with whatever revisions to the deal that they were requested to make today. So the vote might be contingent or preliminary.

[undergroundman]

Still no action or vote today. It started out with two public comments from the local manufacturers association and the local Workforce Solution. They've adjourned till next Tuesday. Apparently, staff needs additional time to "finalized" the agreement.

[urbancore]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

Still no action or vote today. It started out with two public comments from the local manufacturers association and the local Workforce Solution. They've adjourned till next Tuesday. Apparently, staff needs additional time to "finalized" the agreement.

Errr

[We vs us]

i'm guessing we'll start to hear rumblings if stuff's going south . . . . right about now.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by We vs us

i'm guessing we'll start to hear rumblings if stuff's going south . . . . right about now.

Should be ok if it passes by next Tuesday.

[undergroundman]

Precinct 3 Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, which is the precinct I'm in, was absent from the commission today. Seeing as though it's unlikely he's on a plane heading to a Hawaii vacation, I wonder if he's growing impatient with the delays, as he hinted as much last week when he publicly requested that County Judge Sam Biscoe give the community an indication of when a vote might take place. Biscoe replied that he was not ready to give a date.

Apparently like good cheese, you can't rush good old fashion government work.

[undergroundman]

Del Valle ISD passes the Tesla incentives with a vote of 7-1.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by undergroundman

Del Valle ISD passes the Tesla incentives with a vote of 7-1.

Might take some of the pressure off the Travis County folks.

[freerover]

So we should be all good as long as the Travis County vote goes YES tomorrow and expect things to go VERY fast after that.

I'm also really excited to see how pretty that area will look with a billion dollar upgrade. The Colorado River east of Longhorn dam is really under utilized. If you've been to Tillery Kitchen and Bar then you've seen how beautiful it can look.

Here is some info from the meeting packet for tomorrow.

The terms of the incentive, as negotiated, strike a balance between incentivizing the firm to both locate and expand in Travis County, securing significant community benefits, and ensuring protection of workers and the environment. Specifically:
1. Thestructureofthebaselineincentivehasbeenreworkedtoencouragegreater overall investment, to the mutual benefit of both parties. Originally, Tesla requested an 80% incentive for the first ten years and a 65% incentive for the second ten years on its Travis County Operations & Maintenance (O&M) tax liability related to incremental real and business personal property (there is no incentive related to the Interest & Sinking (I&S) tax liability). The restructured parameters drop the initial incentive amount to 70%, tied to approximately the first $1.1 billion invested, and then increase the incentive amount to 75% for second incremental billion and then to 80% of the increment past the $2 billion mark. If Tesla invests the original amount ($1.1 billion) the restructured deal is essentially a wash with the original proposal; above that amount is a net gain for the community, both in terms of jobs and economic activity, and fiscal gains for the County.
2. Teslaagreedtoaformulathatusesactualjobsandinvestmenttoreduce incentive amounts if targets are not met. This formula combines proportional ratios and hard minimums to create both flexibility and certainty for both parties. The formula also reduces the rebate if Tesla does not hire Travis County residents for at least 50% of their required annual jobs.
3. TheminimumwagetobepaidtoCompanyworkersissetat$15/hour(aligning with the current County baseline) but this minimum will grow over time. Beyond this initial threshold, Tesla has agreed to an annual escalator tied to the Consumer Price Index, specifically using the trailing 10-year compound annual growth rate. This rate strikes the balance between being market-responsive and mitigating the impact of unexpected short-term spikes in the Index. Construction workers working for contractors and subcontractors engaged directly by the Company or its Affiliates will be paid a minimum wage of $15/hour.
Revised 17-12-05
4. Teslawillcommittheequivalentof10%ofitspre-incentiveO&Mtaxliabilityto community not-for-profits and/or educational institutions. Over the course of the negotiations, Tesla consistently emphasized their desire to invest in the community, especially as it related to job training and workforce development (to include Huston-Tillotson University and Del Valle schools), public transportation, and affordable housing. Travis County had as its goal creating a long-term philanthropic partnership with Tesla, not just a transactional agreement to be reviewed once a year.
5. Teslacommittedtovariousprovisionsrelatedtogreenbuildingandworker safety. Specifically, the company committed to working with the Austin Energy Green Building Program or a similar entity to achieve zero emission energy ratings. The company also committed to implementing an Owner Controlled Insurance Plan (“OCIP”) for the construction of the Colorado River Project that
6. TeslacommittedtodevelopingaHUBprogramforbothconstructionandongoing procurement, using Travis County programs as a guideline. While the language in the contract remains largely based on “good-faith” efforts, the hiring of Cloteal Haynes by Tesla to develop the program’s parameters is an indication of a serious commitment to a substantive program.
7. TeslacommittedtopartnerwiththeCountytoconstructaroadthatservesasa flood evacuation route for the residents of Austin’s Colony, the Tesla site’s closest neighbor. Tesla will donate the right of way for the road and design and build a road that meets County standards. Any costs of design and construction beyond the amount to be paid by the County will be paid by the company. The construction of this road is critical to public safety for Austin’s Colony and satisfies federal fair housing requirements.