Marble Falls EDC may install wireless ’net in city parks

The EDC board of directors discussed the proposed addition at Wednesday’s regular meeting, where officials also approved a budget amendment freeing up money to pay new EDC Special Projects Coordinator Olivia Cribbs.

Joey Proctor of Imagine Solutions advised the board that many cities opt to limit the range of their wireless Internet service.

“You don’t want to compete with your local wireless Internet providers,” Proctor told directors. “The service can be set up so that when people log on, they’re automatically redirected to your community portal, and that’s something that many cities are doing.”

Proctor said many cities offering free wireless service also limit users’ time to two hours per day, while filtering out inappropriate Web content.

While it’s not yet known how much the service would cost, EDC President Nona Fox said adding wireless Internet to Johnson Park and Lakeside Park would likely be a boon for the city.

“If you drive by Johnson Park during the day, you’ll see people sitting there having lunch,” she said. “This would give them something else to do there.”

EDC directors asked Proctor to study the cost and feasibility of the project before returning with a concrete proposal.

In other action, directors approved a budget amendment authorizing $73,283 be set aside for Cribbs’ salary and benefits.

Cribbs, a former Marble Falls city councilwoman and EDC board director, was named the corporation’s special projects coordinator in October.

According to the minutes from the EDC’s October meeting, Cribbs was offered the job after a closed-door session in which she did not participate. She immediately stepped down from her directors’ post after the job was offered.

As the EDC’s only full-time employee, Cribbs is responsible for coordinating EDC initiatives with local businesses, as well as keeping tabs on development of the city’s Business and Technology Park on U.S. 281 North.

Cribbs will also work with several organizations, including the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce, to attract new businesses and jobs to the area.

As part of her first official report, Cribbs advised directors to authorize the planting of eye-catching flowers near the business park’s entrance.

“Our entry (to the business park) is bad, really bad,” Cribbs said. “I think we need an entrance that people will notice. It just makes it look good.”

EDC directors authorized Cribbs to present a proposal for landscaping at a later meeting.

Directors also discussed a proposed expansion of Lakeside Pavilion. Parks and Recreation Director Robert Moss said the $2.5 million expansion — which would add a second building to the facility — would bring more business to the facility during the week.

“My experience is that we have plenty of business during the weekend, but not during the week,” Moss said. 

The new building will make more meeting space available for business-oriented functions such as training seminars, he added. Such functions would bring more traffic to local businesses, officials said.

“It won’t be a money-maker as far as the rentals are concerned, but it would have a huge impact on local businesses,” he said.

Fox said that added businesses is the proposal’s main attraction.

“I think it’s a win-win for everybody,” she said. 

The next EDC meeting is set for noon Dec. 3 in City Council chambers, 800 Third St.

chris@thepicayune.com