I couldn't agree more. The notion that doing business in College Station is a privilege rather than a right is misguided. (Unless my information is outdated, the city has offered only one major incentive deal in recent years and that was with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies.)
Here's how I see it: Everything is interconnected. If we want families aged 3050 to stay and thrive here, they need more than just the ability to achieve homeownership. Attracting and supporting businesses signals to the country that College Station isn't just one of the best places to livewe actively want and welcome your success, especially when it happens in our community.
Pausing or reducing certain development fees would give us real, concrete data to evaluate their true impact, rather than relying on "what if" scenarios. We have the opportunity to approach this with precision like using a scalpel instead of TNT.
Practically speaking, we should start by pausing these fees, as Councilman Bob Yancy has advocated. But we need to go further: take a deeper look at how we attract businesses and help them thrive here.
The Texas Comptroller spoke at the Chamber's recent economic outlook event and noted that 99% of businesses in Texas (actually closer to 99.8%) are small businesses. That should excite and invigorate all of us we have the power to help people succeed!
It starts with fees, then moves to rethinking our incentive programs, and includes mending relationshipslike bringing back the 7-on-7 tournaments. Those events draw phenomenal visitors who experience our community's benefits firsthand and may later choose to invest here.
It's all connected. If we pretend otherwise, we're only failing ourselves and our future.
Here's how I see it: Everything is interconnected. If we want families aged 3050 to stay and thrive here, they need more than just the ability to achieve homeownership. Attracting and supporting businesses signals to the country that College Station isn't just one of the best places to livewe actively want and welcome your success, especially when it happens in our community.
Pausing or reducing certain development fees would give us real, concrete data to evaluate their true impact, rather than relying on "what if" scenarios. We have the opportunity to approach this with precision like using a scalpel instead of TNT.
Practically speaking, we should start by pausing these fees, as Councilman Bob Yancy has advocated. But we need to go further: take a deeper look at how we attract businesses and help them thrive here.
The Texas Comptroller spoke at the Chamber's recent economic outlook event and noted that 99% of businesses in Texas (actually closer to 99.8%) are small businesses. That should excite and invigorate all of us we have the power to help people succeed!
It starts with fees, then moves to rethinking our incentive programs, and includes mending relationshipslike bringing back the 7-on-7 tournaments. Those events draw phenomenal visitors who experience our community's benefits firsthand and may later choose to invest here.
It's all connected. If we pretend otherwise, we're only failing ourselves and our future.