Newsletter Summer 2010

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A PUBL ICATION OF THE PANHANDLE REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISS ION

TrailsTrailsSUMMER 2010

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Forum highlights “The State of Local Government in Texas”Planning Commission hosts event to educate leaders

early 100 local elected officials from across the region were on hand at the Amarillo College Business & Industry Center in May to attend the Panhandle Local Government Leadership

Forum. The half-day session, hosted by the PRPC, wasdesigned to provide insight regarding the issues andchallenges facing local government in Texas. TheForum also offered an opportunity for those attend-ing to exchange thoughts and ideas with oneanother, as well as with policy and staff leadersfrom the Texas Association of Counties (TAC)and Texas Municipal League (TML). “The Panhandle is very fortunate to have

individuals from our region serving in key

leadership positions with the two statewide local government organizations,” said PRPC Executive DirectorGary Pitner, referring to the Honorable Vernon Cook,Roberts County Judge, serving as President of the TAC,and the Honorable Debra McCartt, Mayor City ofAmarillo, heading the TML. “The Judge and the Mayor understand the importanceof keeping our Panhandle area local leaders informedso that they may effectively manage the difficulttasks and challenges facing our communities. TheForum was hosted at their request.”

Featured speakers at the Panhandle LocalGovernment Leadership Forum included Frank

Judge Gene TerryExecutive Director of TAC

Frank SturzlExecutive Director of TML

Panhandle Regional Planning Commission

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To assist the community in therevitalization of downtownAmarillo, seven local banks havecome together to create theDowntown Amarillo LoanConsortium. “This Consortium isdesigned to provide short-termcommercial loans for newconstruction and redevelopmentof vacant or underutilized realestate in the downtown Amarilloarea,” said Doug Nelson, the PRPCEconomic Development Director.The development and redevelop-

ment of downtown Amarillo is aninitiative that has received signifi-cant community interest for manyyears. During 2006, the AmarilloCity Commission appointed a 15-member Downtown DevelopmentCommittee tasked with developinga strategic action plan for theCity’s center. After a lengthyprocess involving downtown stake-holders and citizens, a plan wascreated and adopted by the

Amarillo City Commission in thespring of 2008.To assist in Amarillo’s downtown

development efforts, a tax incrementreinvestment zone (TIRZ) wasestablished as a public financingtool. In addition, a new non-profitcorporation – Downtown Amarillo,Inc. (DAI) – was created to lead,guide, and direct the implementa-tion of the strategic plan. Currentlythe TIRZ and DAI are engaged in abroad range of efforts to developthe downtown area. Such projectsinclude a potential conventionhotel adjacent to the AmarilloCivic Center, housing development,streetscape improvements,downtown design standards,parking/land use studies, andpublic infrastructure improvements.“The Downtown Loan

Consortium has asked the PRPC toprovide certain administrativefunctions related to the operationsof the Consortium,” said Nelson.

E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N TE C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T…a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) was established…

“Those tasks include:• Providing basic loan program

information to prospectiveborrowers,

• Meeting with prospectiveborrowers for the purpose ofdetermining eligibility,

• Creating a loan applicationand loan report to include areview of eligibility, creditwor-thiness, repayment ability,special conditions, and collat-eral requirements, and

• Providing the participatinglenders with a detailed loanfile for final credit decisions.

“The PRPC will play no rolerelated to decisions to approve orreject loan requests,” said Nelson.“Such decisions will be at the solediscretion of the participatinglending institutions.”For more details on the

Downtown Amarillo LoanConsortium, contact Doug Nelsonat [email protected]. �

Downtown Amarillo LoanConsortium formed

Trails Newsletteris published quarterly. To provide comments, make address changes or request additional copies, write or call the

PRPC office, 806-372-3381.

www.theprpc.org

Gary Pitner, Executive Director

Rebecca Rusk, Newsletter Coordinator

N E W S & N O T E SN E W S & N O T E SPRPC adds two new employees.

Workforce Board ChangesLong-time member Lilia Escajeda was

recently honored at a reception for herservice on the Panhandle WorkforceDevelopment Board. A resident ofAmarillo, Lilia served on the Board for 13years. She served as a Vice President andPublic Relations Officer for AmarilloNational Bank for over three decades,and still provides the bank consultingservices. Lilia has also dedicated manyadditional volunteer hours to thecommunity for groups such as theAmarillo Foundation, Amarillo CollegeBoard of Trustees, Amarillo HospitalDistrict Board, and Amarillo HispanicChamber of Commerce. Filling that Board seat is George

Veloz II, President and CEO of Taco G,Inc., George has operated Tacos Garcia,one of Amarillo’s largest and most suc -cessful restaurants, for two decades. �

City of Channing receives check

The City of Channing (pop. 356)received a check in the amount of$809.90 from the Panhandle Environ -mental Partnership as payment for theCity’s scrap metal processing. Holding

the check, from left, are ElizabethTrue, PRPC Regional Services ProgramSpecialist; Janie Ray, Commissioner forthe City of Channing; City of ChanningMayor Karen Schultz; and JimRentfro, Water Works Operator for the City of Channing. Earlier this year under the Regional

Services Solid Waste Program, the Cityof Channing was approved for a TexasCommission of Environmental Qualitygrant in the amount of $8761 topurchase a roll-off box. �

New LGS member joins PRPCJoining the Local Governement Services

(LGS) staff from McKinney, TX, where sheserved as the City’s Director of Planning,Melissa Henderson is the new LGSCoor di nator. Melissa holds a BS in PoliticalScience from Texas A&M University and a

Masters of Public Administration degreefrom Texas Tech University.

New 9-1-1 Director namedMike Peters has been named

Regional 9-1-1 Director. Peters hasserved 10 years with the PRPC, mostrecently as the Regional 9-1-1 NetworkOperations Coordinator. Peters bringsmany years of 9-1-1 program experi-ence and great technical skills to theDirector’s position. He replaces GregGreen, who has accepted theExecutive Director’s position with thePotter Randall Emergency Communica -tions District. Greg served 13 yearswith the PRPC, and his contributions tothe region’s 9-1-1 program have beensignificant. The PRPC staff wishes himsuccess in his new position. �

GIS Specialist joins 9-1-1To assist in the 9-1-1 Network, John

Schaumburg has just joined as theRegional 9-1-1 Network GeographicInformation Systems ProgramSpecialist. John holds a BA in PhysicalGeography from San Francisco StateUniversity. �

CDBG process underwayPRPC staff is busy this summer

assisting 35 Panhandle area cities andcounties in the preparation of applica-tions for 2011-2012 CommunityDevelopment Block Grant Funds. The program makes up to $250,000available for local water, sewer and drainage system improvementprojects. The application deadline is October 8th. �

Mike PetersMelissa HendersonLilia Escajeda John Schaumburg

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all-important law enforcementservices. The Academy’s curriculum isdesigned in accordance with theTexas Commission on LawEnforcement Officer Standards andEducation (TCLEOSE). The course-work provides aspiring peace officerswith the knowledge and understand-ing of the environment that anofficer might face upon graduation. On hand at the celebration was

TCLEOSE Special Agent JamesOswalt. “The Panhandle RegionalLaw Enforcement Academy is to becommended for reaching such amilestone,” he said. “Thanks to thededication and hard work ofeveryone associated with theAcademy, past and present, morethan 2,200 men and women haveseen their dreams of a career in lawenforcement become a reality.” �

Q U A R T E R Q U A R T E R “Thanks to the dedication and hard w

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PRLEA honors 100 PRLEA honors 100 arking a significant milestone in the organiza-

tion’s history, the Panhandle RegionalLaw Enforcement Academy (PRLEA)celebrated its 100th graduationceremony in March at a CelebrationLuncheon. According to Toni Gray,Director of Amarillo College’s CriminalJustice Program, the CelebrationLuncheon served as “our way ofrecognizing our graduates over theyears along with the instructors, lawenforcement agencies, and advisorycommittee members. This lunch wasto honor the many people, whatevertheir roles, who contributed to thehistory of a program that has touchedevery county in the Texas Panhandle.”For decades the PRLEA program

has done just that – sending trainedand certified men and women intoPanhandle communities to provide

PRLEA’s BeginningsOn July 8, 1970, a meeting of the newly formed

Panhandle Regional Planning Commission’s (PRPC) was heldat Wyatt’s Cafeteria in Amarillo’s Sunset Shopping Center.The PRPC’s first Executive Director recommended that “theTexas Panhandle should establish a Regional Police Academyas soon as possible.”Five months later, on November 4, a proposed contract

between the Planning Commission and Amarillo College(AC), which established the Academy, was presented andunanimously approved. One month later, in December ofthat year, Walter Eubanks, AC’s Director of Law EnforcementTraining and Police Science presented the PRPC Board withan overview of the training program and a description ofthe Academy sponsored by the PRPC. In January of 1971, thefirst class comprised of nine students graduated. Training for the PRLEA has been conducted in a variety of

locations, including the basement of the previous PRPC buildingon West 10th, the Washington Street and Polk Street campusesof AC, and its current home on the West Campus of AC. �

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Gary Pitner, PRPC Executive Director, and Toni Gray, Director ofAmarillo College’s Criminal Justice Program, view the photos ofthe Academy’s graduating classes.

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L Y F E A T U R EL Y F E A T U R E work of everyone associated with the Academy…”

While the first class completed 150hours of training, today’s Academyincorporates 700 clock hours oftraining, including defensive tactics,firearms, emergency vehicle operation,mental health, and the Texas penalcode. Training also includes traffic lawand arrest search and seizure. Thosesuccessfully completing the Academyreceive a certificate in Criminal JusticeLaw Enforcement, along with 24hours of academic credit, which canbe applied toward an Associate inApplied Science: Criminal Justice LawEnforcement degree.

0th Graduating Class th Graduating Class

Graduates of thePRLEA have beenemployed by justabout every locallaw enforcementagency in the TexasPanhandle. Thesemen and womenhave also becomeemployed at stateagencies such as the Texas Department of PublicSafety including the Texas Rangersand the Texas Alcoholic BeverageCommission, as well as federal

Graduate Training and Employment

100th Panhandle Regional Law Enforcement AcademyOctober 13, 2009 though March 17, 2010

Back Row (L-R): Sondra Beighle(Associate Director, PRLEA), Jarod Dill,Troyce Reeves, Tim Reeves, TyStubblefield, Nick Scott, Carl Collins,Landon Wingate, Ben Voorhees, CodyHinders, Drew Cox, Trae Gibbs, AlexChancia (Coordinator, PRLEA), andMichael Galvan. Middle Row (L-R): ChrisLopez, Tyson Tanner, Cody Jolly, JaymeSchlabs, Katie Skarke, Deena Jolly, ChrisMills, and Toni Gray (Director, PRLEA).First Row (L-R): Michael Serna, JohnWoodward, Anthony Gonzales, BobbyTagle, Travis Wiechec, and Cade Turner.

agencies such as the United StatesSecret Service, and Pantex as SpecialAgents with the Department of Energy. �

By A.J. Swope

The hottest topic in thefield of wind andrenewable energy isthat of electrical trans-mission infrastructure.While it may not soundvery thrilling, the implementation of additionalelectrical transmission is the first step in capitaliz-ing on our region’s world class wind resource.

Citizens within the PRPC region are probably mostfamiliar with the CREZ (Competitive RenewableEnergy Zone) lines that the State of Texas is in theprocess of planning/constructing in order to trans-port our wind energy generation to the growingmetropolitan areas of the state like Dallas, Austinand San Antonio. Thanks to this decision by stateleaders, the Texas Panhandle can expect roughly5,500 additional megawatts of wind farm devel-opment in the next several years.

These CREZ lines (scheduled to be completed in2013) are an excellent start to transmission expan-sion in our windy region, but this isn’t the onlyproject we can expect to spur wind developmentin the next few years.

Most of the Texas Panhandle is a part of an elec-trical grid called the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).SPP is a regional transmission organization,mandated by the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission to ensure reliable supplies of powerand adequate transmission infrastructure.

R E G I O N A R E G I O N A “This company plans to build

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A. J. Swope is the Executive Directorof Class 4 Winds, Inc. Established inAugust 2008, Class 4 Winds, Inc. is a 501(C)(3) dedicated to providingeducational opportunities and informa-tion to promote the region’s vast windenergy resources. The PanhandleRegional Planning Commission part-nered with a number of other localentities (WTAMU, Xcel Energy,Amarillo National Bank, theUnderwood Law Firm, Cielo WindPower, Owens Corning, Ditch Witch of West Texas, Sharyland Utilities,Cooke Electrical Contracting, WTAMU’sAlternative Energy Institute, TECOWestinghouse, Western Builders and Gene Scivally Cattle Company) as “Founding Members”. PRPCExecutive Director Gary Pitner serves as a member the corporation’s Boardand Executive Committee.

Wind Energy: W

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The question most frequently asked to those of usat Class 4 Winds & Renewables is, ‘Why aren’t morewind farms going up around the Panhandle?’

While we may not see too many bulldozers andcranes erecting turbines yet, thousands ofMegawatts of wind generation are beingplanned in the Texas Panhandle. In the nextdecade, I believe the amount of developmentthat happens because of our world class windswill put our region on the map and add moreeconomic diversification to the area, strengtheningmany of our communities for years to come. �

The SPP is in the process of planning additionaltransmission throughout the seven states it serves,including the Texas Panhandle. One of the goals inplanning for this additional infrastructure is to utilizethe wind resource of our area, and export that powerto other areas of the nation that need it.

Another transmission project that, if completed,could be a catalyst for more renewable energydevelopment is the Tres Amigas Superstation. Thisambitious project is a proposed DC tie near Clovis,New Mexico, that could connect all three grids inthe United States, and allow electric power to betransferred from grid to grid. For example, a windfarm in the Texas Panhandle, through Tres Amigas,could sell its power to a customer in Nevada. Ifthis project goes forward, it could potentiallyblow the door wide open for renewable energydevelopment in our region.

The most recent announcement regarding trans-mission that could affect the Texas Panhandlecomes from a company out of Houston, calledClean Line Energy. This company plans to build an 800-mile transmission line from Guymon,Oklahoma, to Tennessee in order to export windenergy generation from the Texas and OklahomaPanhandles to the Eastern part of the UnitedStates. All in all, the project is expected to be a $3.5 billion investment thatcould create up to 7,000 MW ofadditional renewable energy generation in our region.

A L N E W SA L N E W S d an 800-mile transmission line…”

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here We Are Now

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Class 4 Winds, Inc. is dedicated toproviding educationalopportunities andinformation tostakeholders as theyseek to capitalize onthe region’s vast windenergy resources. In April more than 200gathered at a Class 4Winds, Inc. seminar inAmarillo to discusstransmission issues.

TrailsTrailsSUMMER 2010

Panhandle Regional Planning CommissionP.O. Box 9257415 S.W. 8th Avenue, Amarillo, TX 79105806-372-3381

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDAMARILLO, TXPERMIT NO. 657

Panhandle Regional Planning Commission

For the fifth

consecutive year,

the PRPC’s

Contract

Procurement

Center (CPC)

assisted with the

5th Annual Make

the Connection:

Minority &

Women Business

Owners’ Forum. The goals of the day-long workshop, held at the Amarillo Civic

Center, included educating participants regarding the Texas Historically

Underutilized Business (HUB) certification program, providing information about

the HUB Mentor-Protégé program, presenting steps to the proposal process and

techniques for preparing acceptable HUB bids, and creating an environment for

previously certified HUB vendors to network with state agencies and contractors.

For more information about the CPC or the HUB certification program,

contact Edmond Esparza at [email protected]. �

CPC hosts 5th Annual Minority & Women Business Owner’s Forum

Sturzl, the longtime ExecutiveDirector of the TML, and Judge GeneTerry, the new Executive Director ofthe TAC. Theyoffered theirinsights regardingthe current statusof local governmentfrom the municipaland countyperspectives,respectively.Mr. Sturzl

also spoke aboutupcoming 2011 local governmentlegislative issues from the municipalviewpoint while TAC LegislativeLiaison Paul Sugg discussed countyissues facing the next session of theTexas Legislature. �

Forum highlights “The State of LocalGovernment in Texas”

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