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Home My WebLink AboutIR 9201 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9201 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 2 , 2010 Page 1 of 1 SUBJECT; TARRANT COUNTY UPDATE At its February 23 meeting, the Commissioners Court approved the nomination of Bell Helicopter as a Texas enterprise project and the submittal of the 2010 Enterprise Project Application. If the application is successful, Bell could receive State grants and incentives to assist with a business systems modernization project at its Fort Worth facility. Attached is a copy of the Commissioners Court Communication which outlines the project and the approval process. Additionally, regarding the H1 N1 issue, at the February 23 meeting, a briefing was provided to the Commissioners Court by Lou Brewer, Director of the Tarrant County Public Health Department. The details of that briefing are as follows: • The County is completing its H1 N1 vaccination clinics through the public schools within Tarrant County. In the month of March, clinics will be held at four Tarrant County College District campuses. • The County has been advised that the World Health Organization and the Federal Drug Administration are recommending including H1 N1 in future seasonal flu vaccination programs. • The February 23 Commissioners Court meeting will mark the last of the weekly H1 N1 reports. Future reports will be provided on an as needed basis in the event significant new developments occur. As noted above, regular H1 N1 reports will cease. Thus, in the future, the "Tarrant County Update" W11 be submitted only in the event County staff submits a special H1 N1 report to the Commissioners' Court or the Court undertakes an action of interest to the City of Fort Worth. Please forward your requests for detailed information regarding any specific Commissioner's Court agenda item, including the H1 N1 report, to Reid Rector � id.rector�fortworthov.org or at (31 7) 302-1296. J Dale A. F r, City Manager U i j AS �� `• REFERFNCE NUMBER COMMISSIONERS COURT PAGE I of 4 y COMMUNICATION DATE: 02/23/2010 SUBJECT APPROVAL OF NOMINATION OF BELL HELICOPTER AS AN ENTERPRISE PROJECT AND SUBMITTAL OF THE 2010 ENTERPRISE PROJECT APPLICATION *** CONSENT ** COMMISSIONERS COURT ACTION REQUESTED It is requested that Commissioner Court consider approval of a Resolution nominating Bell Helicopter as a Texas Enterprise Project and authorize submittal of the Enterprise Project Application. BACKGROUND: Bell Helicopter is embarking on a Business Systems Modernization initiative at its Fort Worth facility on Highway 10. This initiative will enable Bell to reduce cost and improve responsiveness by developing, implementing, and transitioning an enterprise-wide, COTS-based, end-to-end business system. The assets being purchased are software and hardware that are needed to modernize the �r current systems to be more competitive in the market. These assets will be located in various areas of the company as the systems are intended to be cross functional to obtain the most return for the investment. Bell has requested the County's nomination of this project as a Texas Enterprise Project. The Enterprise Project designation will enable Bell Helicopter to receive State grants and incentives based on specific hiring criteria and employment levels, as well as meeting certain new investment levels at the plant. Bell plans to make new capital investment in excess of$250 million over the next five years and is committing to retain over 3,600 employees. As a qualified enterprise project located outside of an enterprise zone, Bell must commit that at least thirty-hive (35%) percent of any new employees will be residents of an enterprise zone in this state or economically disadvantaged individuals. Bell Helicopter currently receives County tax abatement for improvements made in conjunction with the V-22 project. Bell is not requesting additional County incentives as it relates to this new investment at the facility. As required by the Texas Fnterp ize Zone Act, Tarrant County established its participation in the Texas Enterprise Project program throui& its approval of Court Order No, 98893 on September 12, 20011. Under the Act, set forth in Chapter 2303 of the Co Jem. nent Code and amended in June 2007, Tarrant County is eligible to designate nine ' ) enterprise projects per biennium, with a maximum of three 3) project designations allowed from within a single municipality. The State may designate an overall � maxi ur t of 105 projects per biennium. The new biennium began September 1, 21009. Because of the size of the project investment, Bell is eligible to request designation as a Triple Jumbo E t_-Tense .§§ 3 COMMISSIONERS COURT . 4 COMMUNICATION REFERENCE NLaM13FR. DA`rE. 02/23/2(}1() PAGE 2 of 4 Project, thereby receiving the maximum allowable State incentives. This designation will take three (3) of Tarrant County's nine (9) designations, and will take all of our designations available for a project within the City of Fort Worth for this biennium However, the City will still be able to nominate its own projects. Bell Helicopter has retained the Ryan, Inc. consulting company to complete the Enterprise Zone application and to assist the County with the steps necessary to gain the designation. The term of the Enterprise Project designation is five (5) years. Ryan, Inc. will continue to assist the County in completing the necessary annual reports to the State during the designation period. A resolution nominating Bell Helicopter as a Triple Jumbo Enterprise Project is attached for Commissioners Court consideration. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact to Tarrant County is anticipated. r f i I