How Does Hutto Attract New Businesses?

How does Hutto attract business?  We as Council members are often asked this question as we visit with citizens.  With the overall economy picking up nationally and especially in Texas, Hutto is poised to see its fair share of growth in the coming years.  SH 130 and US 79 give Hutto the geographic advantage that real estate professionals espouse as “location, location, location.”  With the addition of Temple College/Texas State Technical College in 2013, Hutto quickly becomes a place of higher learning and a job training center.  With that said, I’d like to share some of the “how” of the economic development process to help answer the many questions we get on this topic.

One of the most common questions that Council and staff hear is “how come Hutto has not asked Company X to come to town?”  The City of Hutto’s land use is governed by zoning.  Zoning geographically defines areas and land uses within the City.  This is done to limit incompatible uses from locating adjacent to one another (i.e. a factory next to a residential neighborhood).  Many areas within Hutto are zoned “commercial” or “industrial” and allow for a variety of businesses.  Those lots that are zoned appropriately and are for sale by the private landowner are open for development.   Any business wishing to locate in an area zoned appropriately for that business can purchase a lot and construct their business.  Many businesses simply study the markets and choose to locate in Hutto.  With that said, Hutto does reach out to specific need areas, such as grocery stores, to attempt to attract them to our area.

The City can and will offer incentives for needed areas of retail.  The City does this through Chapter 380 and other type agreements.  In these agreements the City can offer rebates of property and/or sales taxes to commercial businesses.  The City has used incentives for commercial areas such as New Quest’s development (Lowes).

The Hutto Economic Development Corporation (EDC)  is responsible primarily for recruitment and retention of  industrial or manufacturing businesses in Hutto.  Voters, through an election in 1997, allocated half a cent of the sales tax collected in the city of Hutto to fund the Hutto Economic Development Corporation and its economic development program. Its sales tax portion is limited by the State of Texas to the types of businesses and activities it can support.  They play a big role in working with the City to develop Hutto based jobs and non-residential development.  A focal point of the Hutto
EDC for the past few years has been the development of water and wastewater to sites in Hutto that can support job creation. The Hutto EDC has committed over $2.1 million to water and wastewater projects in the past three years from its sales tax revenue. The Hutto EDC also provides comprehensive community information and data to businesses and citizens.

The City and Hutto EDC stand ready to attract and assist businesses that wish to locate in Hutto.  Our end goal is to provide more jobs, goods and services to our residents right here in Hutto so that they have to travel less to work or purchase the things they need.  In so doing we strengthen the City’s tax revenues which in turn allows us to maintain and grow the City’s infrastructure.  Hutto is poised for big things commercially!

2011 Year in Review

Greetings from Hutto, and happy New Year!  The New Year will bring new challenges and changes to Hutto, including a new City Manager as current manager Edward Broussard takes the helm of Missouri City, Texas.  I would like thank Mr. Broussard for his over six years of service to the Hutto community.  We wish you well in your new role.

As we transition into the New Year, let us pause and reflect on some of our accomplishments from 2011.  One that will bring significant resources to Hutto and impact future generations is the funding of the FM 685 improvements.  The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) pledged $13 million in funding that will help build a safer roadway for our residents and improve the traffic mobility between Williamson and Travis counties.  Sidewalks will be added to increase pedestrian mobility along the roadway, in-line with the Council’s Mobility Strategic Guide Policy.  Construction is expected to begin in late 2012.

Another major accomplishment is the community partnership that is bringing Temple College and Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to Hutto.  This project is a testament of the partnership that exists between the City, HISD, HEDC, and the support of the community in general.  Without it, this project would not have gotten off of the ground.  The campus is expected to open in 2013, giving our children the opportunity to get a quality education at a reasonable price.  By bringing the campus to Hutto and extending utilities to the site, other benefits are expected to soon follow including additional retail, housing, and job opportunities.  

The 1911 Foundation did a fantastic job of throwing the City a Centennial Celebration this summer in Fritz Park to mark 100 years since Hutto’s founding.  The community celebrated with concerts, a parade, hot air balloons, and much more. 

These are only a few of the accomplishments of the past year.  To learn more, view the 2011 State of the City pamphlet on the City’s website.

This next year is shaping up to be just as exciting as the last.  As I have said on a number of occasions, Hutto will be “under construction” in 2012.  Construction will begin on the college site.  Farley Street improvements will be completed, creating an area for expanded downtown events.  The City’s partnership with the YMCA will get off the ground with design and initial construction of the recreation center that was approved by the voters in 2009.  The City is currently evaluating development partners and hopes to break ground on the Co-Op site development.  FM 685 design will be finalized with construction soon to follow.  Mager Lane will be reworked to accommodate the higher traffic volume and sidewalks added to connect additional neighborhoods with the City’s trail system.

As you work on your new year’s resolutions, consider these as well:

–    Support your local businesses.  The only way to bring more businesses to Hutto is to support the ones that are here. 

–    Recycle more.  The City will be rolling out single stream recycling in February 2012.  Hutto has been selected to represent Texas in a national recycling contest.  The winner will receive a $100,000 grant for a project.  More information will be released this spring.

–    Join the “Let’s Move Hutto” initiative.  Get out and walk the City’s trails and play in the parks.  Get your whole family involved.

 Thank you for making Hutto the great community that it is.  Have a happy and safe new year!

Hutto – Home of Solution-Minded People

Thank you to everyone who came out to the CAMPO public hearing or signed the letters of support for our projects up for grant funding.  It was exciting to present the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Board of Directors with 703 signatures of support and have thirty-three Hutto supporters in the audience stand up during Monday’s public hearing.  The other communities with applications before CAMPO started using Hutto as their benchmark for their presentations, with statements such as “We believe that we are the next Hutto.”  In the words of one of my fellow council members, the support shown was “Awesome!”

The next major step for our applications will be consideration by the CAMPO Board in mid-October for which projects will be funded.  The main emphasis on our grant applications is FM 685 expansion and bridge improvement project.  This $13 million project will provide a safer roadway for our residents and improve the mobility for traffic between Williamson County and Travis County.  In addition, it will provide sidewalks along FM 685 to allow for pedestrian traffic between the neighborhoods and schools in the area.

With the growth we’ve seen in Hutto during the past decade, we have recognized that FM 685 was no longer able to accommodate the traffic being placed on it every day.  The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which has authority and ownership of the roadway, also has recognized this and even designed the needed improvements before their funding evaporated a few years ago.  The improvement project was shelved by TxDOT and we realized that we could not afford to pay for the needed improvements by ourselves.  By seeking grant funds through other governmental partners, we now have a real shot at fixing a problem for our community and future growth.

The support shown by the community for this project and others, such as the Temple College/TSTC campus, makes me proud to live in Hutto.  Our neighbors and friends work together to find solutions!

Council Manager Form of Government

In 2004, Hutto transitioned from a general law city to a home rule city as a result of a charter election.  State law allowed that once our city attained a population of 5000 we could exercise this option.  One result of that home rule election established the Council-Manager form of government. A frequent misunderstanding about the Council – Manager form of government that is present in most Texas cities is “who does the City Council hire or fire”.  For most cities, including Hutto, the City Council’s only hire is the city manager position.  Similar to a chief executive officer (CEO) position with a business, the City Manager manages the daily operations of the organization and is provided the ability to hire, discipline or fire employees of the City of Hutto in order to achieve the direction set forth by the Council.  This authority is shared downward to the supervisors of the organization, but the final authority for hiring or firing ends with the city manager.  It is the role of the City Council to provide direction to the City Manager and hire, coach, evaluate, discipline or fire this position when necessary.

The relationship between the City Manager and the City Council is similar to that of a board of directors and a CEO.  As municipal government moved from being organized on political favoritism to running more like a business over the past century, the organizational structure changed accordingly.  Instead of positions within the city organization being selected for political reasons, positions are filled in the organization based on qualifications and experience.

An important component of the City Council and City Manager interaction is open communication and keeping the Council informed about the City’s operations.  The Council receives regular updates from the City Manager on the activities of the City and major personnel issues.  This allows the City Manager to get feedback from members of the Council and the Council to have confidence in the work of the City Manager and City staff.

As to how the Council establishes the direction for the City, this is a blog in itself.  We’ll get more into our 2030 Strategic Guide in future blogs this year.

City Announces Passing of Mayor Begier

On the night of Thursday, March 3, Mayor David Begier passed away from complications related to heart bypass surgery.  During his time in Hutto and his service as mayor, David moved the community forward with his vision for a better tomorrow and a stronger today.  His initiatives will see a future of higher education in Hutto, a renewed downtown, more park opportunities, and feeling of safety and security for everyone.  He threw himself passionately into each endeavor, whether it was cooking hot dogs for volunteers at the annual Trash-Off or pushing the Council to think “out of the box” on their strategic plan.  To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, which is appropriate due to David’s connection with the aero-space industry, “We will never forget him, nor the last time we saw him, as he prepared for his journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bond of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”

 Mayor Begier was elected to the City Council in May 2007 as a council member. He had previously served on the Planning and Zoning Commission.  He was elected to the position of mayor in May 2009 to fill the unexpired seat of Mayor Ken Love.  He was again elected to the position of mayor in May 2010 for a full three-year term.  He was 69 years of age when he passed away last night.

Further information on Mayor Begier’s life and achievements, as well as information on pending funeral arrangements, will be announced throughout the next few days.  The City of Hutto invites the public to share their stories on how Mayor Begier touched their lives on the City’s FaceBook page in a special discussion area.

State of the City Address

Dear Citizens:

A special presentation of the City of Hutto “State of the City Address” will be delivered this coming Thursday, January 13, at 7:30 a.m. at the Hutto EDC Power Breakfast.   The City Manager, Ed Broussard, and I will present a comprehensive overview of the City’s progress and major projects from 2010, along with a glimpse of what to expect in the year ahead will be presented.  The EDC Power Breakfast is free, open to the public and is held at the Holiday Inn Express, located at  323 Ed Schmidt Blvd.  Please join us.  The breakfast is free and open to the public.  Hope to see you there!!!

Customer Service Feedback

Dear Citizens:

Have you had a great customer service experience with the City of Hutto?  Do you have suggestions for how we can improve?  Give us feedback so that we can provide the highest level of service possible.  It is your comments and suggestions that help us get better. 

Log onto www.HuttoTX.gov/customerservice to give us your thoughts.  Whether you want to recognize an employee for going beyond the call of duty or you want to log a complaint, we appreciate your comments.  Visit the site often as the questions will change as we strive for improvement.