Last night at the Paris City Council meeting, councilman Dr. Richard Grossnickle addressed Council members regarding the past successes of the Paris Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) as well as the desire to move on from the “forensic investigation.”
Grossnickle began, ” I would like to compare our PEDC with a fisherman. Both want to land a fish, especially a trophy specimen. The absolute number one requirement for both is that you must have some type of hook and it needs to be baited. The poorest man can use a cane pole, a short length of string and bend a nail into a hook, then use a worm for bait. That man’s cost to catch a fish is truly minimal. The avid more affluent bass fisherman might spend $50-100 thousand dollars on a fully equipped bass boat with all the latest electronic gear including a depth finder and GPS device to find his way back to his favorite fishing hole next to certain tree stump that looks exactly like all of the others around it, but it always has fish swimming around it. Instead of a cane pole, he might spend over $300 for a rod and reel, and over $15 for a certain single lure that is currently thought to guarantee a nice catch. What kind of fish do you think each man will catch? The poor man fishing on the bank will most likely catch a perch or a very small young fish. The wealthy well-equipped fisherman is more likely to land a large trophy bass. On any given day, it is possible but not probable that their luck might change and the reverse could happen.”
He continued, “Weather and water conditions paly a role in who catches fish and who doesn’t. Also skill and “lady luck” are important variables. This is also true of industrial recruitment. The poor man might land a fish while asleep, but the fish might steal his bait and move on to another spot. The better equipped fisherman might have the advantage but lack the skill it takes to set the hook and play the fish until it tires and can be netted. So in that case money might have been spent and considered wasteful, just as in our current situation with the PEDC. But if the man has the money and the skill and the conditions are good, he will more likely come back to shore with a fine catch. And this was the case we had in Paris with our PEDC until certain people decided to discredit and dismantle and even eliminate a very successful recruitment team.”
“So before we conclude that our EDC has been a total waste of money, let’s be honest and look at the catches that were brought in during the tenure of Steve Gilbert during his role as director. Paris was named a Top 5 Award of Excellence in food processing by Expansion Solutions trade magazine. Two of Governor Perry’s “Big Stories of 2012-13: The largest business expansions and relocation in food processing were the two new Campbell Soup lines and J. Skinner Baking Company. Paris was named the #6 Strongest Micropolitan area (cities with 10k-50k population) and #101 of 576 in the nation – Top 17% Micropolitan areas in the USA.”
“Additionally, while monies were spent we received $410,056,000 in leveraged funds as follows: TxDOT widening of hwy 19/24 $34 million; Texas enterprise fund $1.8 million; Texas Skills Development Fund $556,000; US Dept of Agriculture Revolving loan fund $50,000; private corporate capital investment $373,650,000.”
Grossnickle went on, “625 new jobs were created or are promised to be created. The two line expansions at Campbell’s Soup represent a total of $72 million dollars and 120 new jobs. J. Skinner Bakery saved the old Sara Lee plant from being gutted, the equipment sold off and a 90 acre facility empty and growing into disrepair and decay and becoming a huge eyesore on the loop. This project alone will bring over 400 jobs eventually and perhaps more. Over $27 million dollars invested with more likely to come. Potter Industries invested $17.7 million and will bring 25 new jobs. T&K Machine spent $4.3 million on a facility expansion and will bring 44 new jobs. BodyGuard truck accessories, which grew out of the much maligned R3BI, expanded into the city limits by purchasing and remodeling a building that was empty and then invested $2.5 million and created 43 new jobs. And don’t forget the Daisy Dairy which is improving the dairy science of milk production and could potentially manufacture its products here in Lamar County instead of in Garland, Texas.”
“As far as job retention and other expansions, Kimberly Clark, one of the two Fortune 500 plants that we in Paris are lucky enough to have in our city pledged to spend $150 million on a five year investment plan. Paris Regional Medical Center spent $29 million on North campus improvements and expansion. The Paris Lakes development, if it does come into fruition as recently promised, could bring a nearly $75 million investment and an estimated 395 jobs in just Phase 1 of several planned additions. Huhtamaki, an international company acquired Paris Packaging, WePack Logistics acquired the empty former Paris Industries building on the Loop. And with a $5 million match, we were finally able to get the TxDOT funding in the amount of $34 million to complete the last portion of hwy 19/24 so that Paris will be accessible via four land highway from Dallas north to connect with the Indian Nations Turnpike thus facilitating truck traffic through our town. And who is to say that Lamar County Days was a waste of money rather than a positive influence on those who decide which projects to green light? It got done.”
“So let us look at the PEDC as it stands now, following the resignation of Mr. Steve Gilbert and the unnecessary action taken because of an unsigned letter. $50,000 was wasted in an attempt to find blame. Several PEDC board members have resigned due to displeasure with the path chosen by new leadership and assaults by the City Council. Nothing of any economic significance has been announced by this organization which has been crippled by an agenda orchestrated by Dr. Hashmi and others who gave damning presentations to the public and the city council. After these presentation corrective measures were implemented so as to assure that the taxpayers monies were being spent and credit card usage was tightened up and policies were reformed. These were good changes, and it seemed that the course taken by the new PEDC board would now be returned toward its mission of creating economic and job growth while attracting new and retaining existing companies.”
“Instead, an unsigned letter alleging that one of our local industries had obtained a $5.5 million loan while pledging only a single lot valued on the tax roles for less than $40,000 was used to somehow convince four of our seven councilmen to vote for a “forensic audit” by someone outside Lamar County which somehow morphed into a criminal investigation and five year review of all the policies, expenses, and projects undertaken by the PEDC resulting in a $50,000 expense at a time that the PEDC coffers were nearly empty due to the remarkable success in economic development produced by the organization headed by Steve Gilbert. The unsigned letter was sent to Defenbaugh & Associates by the husband of one Councilwoman in February 2014, long before that firm was selected to do that sham of an investigation that was turned over to the FBI, Texas Attorney General’s office, local radio and even Byron Harris of investigative fame with WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas.”
“The report makes a lot of allegations of fraud, waste and abuse committed by our PEDC. However, the leading authority of Texas EDC law Jeff Moore, came and spoke to our council and stated that he found nothing illegal or conduct subject to prosecution in the very flawed Defenbaugh report. Instead he gave advice that we move forward, make changes in policies if needed and add spending limits if desired. The PEDC Board voted in a joint meeting with the city council to take no further action on the flawed report. Not satisfied with this advice and opinion, the report was forwarded by our council to the Attorney General’s Office which rejected it immediately as predicted by Mr. Moore.”
Dr. Grossnickle added, “Now tonight, Dr. Hashmi and others want us to once again ignore the recommendation of our PEDC Board and the learned Jeff Moore who has stated there were no laws broken because the expenses by Mr. Gilbert were approved by this then board and ratified by the City Council, which is the only requirement stated in the Texas law as to how money can be spent by an EDC. He now wants to find a District Attorney elsewhere that will prosecute our former director for fraud and attempt to get a refund from Mr. Gilbert for a few lunches, chewing gum, and Mountain Dew consumed in the middle of the night while driving from Paris to Austin for legitimate meetings.”
He concludes, “Folks, it is time to move on. Look at the astounding success in economic development made in the past few years, and see if we can achieve more of the same. We have become the laughing stock of NE Texas and it will be difficult to hire a competent new Director who will want to come to work in this environment of assessing blame and punishing someone for his success. Some of the finalists selected to be interviewed for the position have asked that their application be removed from consideration. Remember that Mr. Gilbert has not once been given the opportunity to defend charges made against him, many of which if not all are quite false; that is, unless you think that he could have and should have given an interview to former FBI agent who was hired to find fraud and who turned over his report to the FBI without council approval. I believe that most of us, if put in a similar situation, would have declined to speak to those trying to “get” him. So while many of you in this room believe that there was massive fraud, abuse and theft, none has been proven and no existing laws were broken. Let us move on and be thankful that while money was spent it was not squandered. In fact we had a hell of a successful PEDC for these past few years. While we can still afford a cane pole and a nail, let’s get back to fishing for new jobs and industries and development. Let’s try to focus on retaining those that we have now and add to them. We want to be known as being friendly toward business rather than as the city that wants to prosecute its business leaders and recruiters.”