Georgetown Economic Development

The next Breakfast Bites meeting on May 30 will feature Emily Koller, on the topic of New Ways of Connecting with Old Buildings. The informal meeting opens at 8 a.m. in the Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St. The talk will start at 8:30 a.m. Coffee and light breakfast snacks will be provided.

Koller will provide an overview of DowntownTX.org, a place-based real estate tool for historic downtowns. Georgetown was one of the first Main Street cities to be featured on the site. The website is designed as a statewide resource for investors, downtown developers, entrepreneurs, as well as community-minded individuals looking to be part of downtown’s transformation.

Koller works with the Texas Historical Commission as a planner to develop the Town Square Initiative and assist Texas Main Street cities with their downtown planning needs. She has worked as a Main Street director for an urban program on Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and as a city planner in Tulsa and San Marcos.

At the May 30 meeting, there will be updates from City staff on:

• Art Center and Public Library events
• Convention and Visitors Bureau updates
• City Hall campus project update

Also, learn about updates from downtown partner organizations and find out about new businesses in the downtown district that have opened or are under construction.

Breakfast Bites is a quarterly meeting of the Georgetown Main Street Program. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, to Kim McAuliffe, downtown development manager for the City of Georgetown, at (512) 930-2027 or at kim.mcauliffe@georgetown.org.

Holt Cat, a Caterpillar equipment and engine sales, rental, parts and service dealer, will build a regional Caterpillar facility at 2101 Airport Road near the intersection of Lakeway Drive and I-35.

The business is expected to create 129 new jobs and a net benefit to the City of more than $13 million over 10 years.

City Council approved an economic development agreement with the construction equipment company during its Jan. 24 meeting. Under the agreement, if the company meets its expectations, the City will rebate up to $1.5 million in sales taxes generated by the company over five years.

The City is also moving forward with infrastructure improvements in the area, including expanding Airport Road and extending a wastewater line along I-35 that will allow for future commercial development as well as the Holt Cat facility.

The council also approved a $185,000 Georgetown Economic Development Corp. grant to connect to the wastewater line extension.

“We’re excited that Holt Cat has chosen Georgetown to locate its newest regional sales hub. This facility will bring investment and jobs to a previously undeveloped area and initiate additional growth around it,” Mayor Dale Ross said. “This economic development agreement is another excellent example of what can get done when City departments work together. This is the direct result of various departments, such as economic development, utility services, planning and others, coming together to help bring another outstanding employer to Georgetown.”

The company expects to build an approximately 60,000-square-foot facility by the end of 2018, invest a minimum of $20 million in infrastructure and improvements by the end of 2018 and have a minimum of $27.5 million in sales per year for the first five full calendar years of operation.

“We appreciate the City of Georgetown’s decision, and are excited for Holt Cat to be a bigger part of the community,” said Tony Shedrock, Holt Cat vice president of general services. “Recognizing the growing need to support our customers and employees along the I-35 corridor, our new location in Georgetown will provide a great work environment that will assist in better serving our customers and will provide for a substantial positive economic impact for Georgetown and their citizens.”

The location will be the company’s largest retail location built in more than 30 years and will be a state-of-the-art facility, Shedrock said.

“We very much appreciate the way the staff and City Council made us feel welcome and worked with us to make this venture possible,” Shedrock said.

Holt Cat expects to hire specialized heavy-equipment mechanics as well as administrative, sales and marketing positions with an average salary of $48,500.

The San Antonio-based company sells, rents and services Caterpillar machines, engines, generator sets and trucks throughout a 118-county region in Texas.

The City of Georgetown Planning Department will be hosting office visiting hours for anybody interested in learning more about the amendments, running through specific development examples, and addressing any questions you may have. Dedicated office hours will be held Wednesday, January 4, 2017 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

To sign up for a specific appointment please email planning@georgetown.org. If a different time or day works better for you please do not hesitate to email us so we can arrange a separate time. UDC proposed changes can be found at https://udc.georgetown.org/udc-amendments/

The sale of a 154-megawatt photovoltaic solar project to NRG Energy last week moves the City of Georgetown electric utility a step closer to a 100 percent renewable energy supply. The PV solar electricity plant near Fort Stockton will supply energy to Georgetown through a 25-year purchased-power agreement that starts in July 2018.

The solar project, formerly known as Buckthorn, was acquired by NRG Energy from SunEdison, who owned the plant through a subsidiary corporation. The solar plant is one asset being sold by SunEdison under chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The acquisition of the solar plant by NRG Energy was completed last week after approvals by the Georgetown City Council and the respective boards of NRG Energy and SunEdison.

“The sale of this solar project to NRG Energy marks an important milestone in our plan to provide fixed, competitive costs to our utility customers for the next 20 years,” says Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross. “Securing this agreement for solar power and allowing Georgetown to become one of the first cities in the nation with 100 percent clean renewable energy is good for our customers, good for economic development, and good for the planet.”

Under the agreement with NRG Energy, Georgetown’s fixed cost for electricity from the solar plant is less than the cost under the original agreement with SunEdison.

Georgetown Utility Systems will be the sole wholesale customer for energy from the solar project under the agreement with NRG Energy. Electricity output from the solar plant that exceeds demand from Georgetown will be cleared to ERCOT for sale to other utilities. Construction on the solar farm, which began last year, will resume next year.

The NRG Energy solar project will be the second renewable energy plant to power Georgetown when it comes online. The Spinning Spur 3 wind project owned by EDF Renewable Energy has been supplying the city with energy from 97 wind turbines since it began operations in October 2015. The wind farm located 50 miles west of Amarillo is under a 20-year contract to supply 144 megawatts of energy to Georgetown.

While Spinning Spur 3 was projected to meet 90 percent of Georgetown’s energy needs, over the last 12 months, the electricity output from the wind plant has exceeded Georgetown’s consumption, making Georgetown 100 percent renewable for that period. The excess energy has been cleared into the ERCOT market.