Published: October 11, 2009 12:41 pm      

Keene tax boards aid business, develop city future

New stores and shopping areas are popping up in Keene, and the city’s Economic and Community Development Corporations have plans to keep the business coming.

Northside Suites, located near the corner of Farm-to-Market Road 2280 and County Road 805B, is scheduled to be complete by the first week in November, said Mark Miosi, developer and owner of New Day Development.

By then, he said, he expects the two tenants, Texas Royal Pizza and Neighborhood Fitness, to be open.

Miosi said his other company installs audio and video equipment, and he’s always wanted to try his hand at developing.

He said the Keene Economic Development Corporation helped him get his project off the ground.

“Basically, they helped extend city services out there like water and sewer. They came up with some funds to help with that because there was a good bit of expenditures needed to bring water down the road,” he said. “The line that was there was not large enough to add anything to. They’re also looking to extend gas service as well because the line is pretty well depleted there as well.”

David Patterson, president of the 4A board and former chairman of the 4B board for almost eight years, said the project was completed in cooperation with both boards, and it created a win-win situation for Miosi and Keene.

“We got a little over 1,000 feet of 12-inch sewer main, which can extend on out more without any problem,” Patterson said. “We also got him 1,000 feet of water line out there that wasn’t there before, not only for him to be able to develop more there, but we can develop more on down the line.”

Residents voted to approve the creation of both boards in 1998.

Each has access to money to help fund projects to bring businesses into Keene and create a higher quality of life for the residents.

“Each board receives one half of 1 percent, and that’s a total sales tax that the city receives from the state. By having the boards, our city is able to get a little bit more money,” said Jason Hodges, the Keene Community Development Corporation president.

Hodges said the money is used mostly for providing access to infrastructure such as water, sewer and gas lines to new businesses.

Another project on deck is the improvement and widening of County Road 318 from U.S. 67 back to the industrial park.

The project was approved five years ago and is expected to begin early November, Patterson said.

“We’ve done some small things around the city, with the city park, maintenance, city events and community development type things. Those would be participated by both type A and B boards,” he said. “If you understand the responsibilities of the corporations, you know that type B is also community development. Of course, the type A isn’t legally able to contribute to those types of projects.”

Patterson said state legislature has changed how the corporations work.

“Type A is geared more for economic development when it comes to industry and light commercial, where type B can do all of that but they can also go in to do things like community centers, park and recreation types of things if the voters have approved to do that under the election,” he said. “I was actually chairman of the Type B for seven and a half years, and we put the new Keene Park in. We contributed a lot and wound up taking about a $350,000 loan out to pay the rest of the park off because part of it was a matching grant from Texas Park and Wildlife to get the new ball fields and playgrounds.”

A gas line extending toward the north side of town is needed for Miosi’s shopping center and for future businesses.

Patterson said several other steps must be taken before new pipes hit the dirt.

“If he brings a tenant to the table that needs a large volume of gas out there, we have checked in and have gotten some rough estimates from Atmos Energy on what it would cost to get a gas main ran out there. We haven’t voted on it or put anything on the table on that, it’s just something that we have investigated,” he said. “Running gas out there would be fine, but we have to look at what benefit and retainment is it going to bring back into Keene in a dollar amount.”