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Tuesday
March 16, 2010 Since 1922 |
City OKs $45K for chamber tourism work
By Ryan Culver
Baytown Sun Published March 26, 2006 Baytown City Council approved $45,000 for the Baytown Chamber of Commerce Thursday so they could continue providing the city with visitor information and tourism services.
The chamber already provides visitor and tourist services, maps and hotel information, but not being paid for it. As tourist and visitor curiosity grew, the chamber could no longer afford to absorb the cost. Council in January to draw up a contract and start funding the efforts.
The hope is that the tourism will continue to increase, and if it does, council may allocate more money that growth. The goal could be establishing a visitor’s center and convention bureau in Baytown.
The chamber promotes Baytown in travel magazines, updating the Baytown quality of life video and creating a tourism Web site to entice more people to visit Baytown and stay in local hotels.
A report compiled by the chamber showed that the number of phone calls for tourist related questions in May and June of 2005 increased by 400 percent from the previous year. Community events like the Bayou Bowl and Long Neck Wildlife Festival could be responsible for the increased interest.
$20 mil tax deal approved
Baytown City Council approved a tax abatement agreement for Texas Petrochemicals LP Thursday.
The city’s industrial tax abatement policy requires a company to make an investment of at least $1 million as well as creating at least 15 full-timeobs. Texas Petrochemicals LP intends to invest $20 million for renovations of an old facility on West Baker Road near the Exxon Mobil complex.
The approval Thursday comes just a few weeks after council re-approved the city policy regarding industrial tax abatements.
Texas Petrochemical LP will not pay city property taxes on that facility for the first three years of the five-year cycle; then they will pay taxes on 20 percent of their property value in year 4 and 40 percent of their property value in year 5. After year 5, the property will be taxed at its full value. The company still has to pay property taxes to the school district because school districts cannot grant tax abatements.
Low-bidder gets contract
Baytown City Council approved the low bidder, Reytech Construction, for a Baytown Area Water Authority (BAWA) project to connect the city water system to a second major water line.
The project would install a 30-inch pipe along Wallisville Road from Thompson Road to North Main Street. The engineering firm who designed the project, Pate Engineering, recommended the BAWA board select the second low bidder rather than the true low bidder (Reytech) because that bidder has more experience installing large diameter pressurized pipe.
The $9 million project drew several bids and the Reytech bid was $400,000 less than the next bid. Council members decided, like the BAWA board, that the money saved by selecting the low bidder, especially considering that the low bidder has a good work record, was more compelling than their experience with this particular type of job.
Baytown Sun Published March 26, 2006 Baytown City Council approved $45,000 for the Baytown Chamber of Commerce Thursday so they could continue providing the city with visitor information and tourism services.
The chamber already provides visitor and tourist services, maps and hotel information, but not being paid for it. As tourist and visitor curiosity grew, the chamber could no longer afford to absorb the cost. Council in January to draw up a contract and start funding the efforts.
The hope is that the tourism will continue to increase, and if it does, council may allocate more money that growth. The goal could be establishing a visitor’s center and convention bureau in Baytown.
The chamber promotes Baytown in travel magazines, updating the Baytown quality of life video and creating a tourism Web site to entice more people to visit Baytown and stay in local hotels.
A report compiled by the chamber showed that the number of phone calls for tourist related questions in May and June of 2005 increased by 400 percent from the previous year. Community events like the Bayou Bowl and Long Neck Wildlife Festival could be responsible for the increased interest.
$20 mil tax deal approved
Baytown City Council approved a tax abatement agreement for Texas Petrochemicals LP Thursday.
The city’s industrial tax abatement policy requires a company to make an investment of at least $1 million as well as creating at least 15 full-timeobs. Texas Petrochemicals LP intends to invest $20 million for renovations of an old facility on West Baker Road near the Exxon Mobil complex.
The approval Thursday comes just a few weeks after council re-approved the city policy regarding industrial tax abatements.
Texas Petrochemical LP will not pay city property taxes on that facility for the first three years of the five-year cycle; then they will pay taxes on 20 percent of their property value in year 4 and 40 percent of their property value in year 5. After year 5, the property will be taxed at its full value. The company still has to pay property taxes to the school district because school districts cannot grant tax abatements.
Low-bidder gets contract
Baytown City Council approved the low bidder, Reytech Construction, for a Baytown Area Water Authority (BAWA) project to connect the city water system to a second major water line.
The project would install a 30-inch pipe along Wallisville Road from Thompson Road to North Main Street. The engineering firm who designed the project, Pate Engineering, recommended the BAWA board select the second low bidder rather than the true low bidder (Reytech) because that bidder has more experience installing large diameter pressurized pipe.
The $9 million project drew several bids and the Reytech bid was $400,000 less than the next bid. Council members decided, like the BAWA board, that the money saved by selecting the low bidder, especially considering that the low bidder has a good work record, was more compelling than their experience with this particular type of job.