Carter resigns board position with Marble Falls EDC
MARBLE FALLS — Economic Development Corp. board member Karen Carter has announced her resignation, marking yet another departure from the city-sponsored nonprofit.
“She cited business reasons,” EDC President John Packer said Sept. 12.
Carter, who was not available for comment, owns The Business Center Printing & Office Supply, 3410 U.S. 281.
A replacement will have to be approved by City Council, but no one has been named this early in the process. Carter resigned late last week.
The council appointed Carter to the EDC board for a two-year term in June 2010.
Her resignation comes nine months before her term expires in June.
“I don’t know of any applicants for the position,” said Packer, who also is a member of the council.
The council also approves the budget for the EDC, a nonprofit organization funded by local sales taxes to attract and retain businesses in Marble Falls.
Carter recently dissented on two crucial decisions that have affected the EDC in recent weeks.
Both Carter and fellow board member Jane Marie Hurst, a developer, voted against allowing non-residents to serve on the EDC board. The measure passed, however.
Then, in a follow-up action, the City Council gave its stamp of approval to the idea, voting 6-1 Sept. 6 to allow non-residents to serve on the EDC board.
Any new board members must live in Burnet County within 10 miles of the Marble Falls city limits.
According to proponents, the change will help promote a more-favorable business climate.
Carter had argued that during the city charter election in 2002, voters rejected a proposed amendment to allow non-residents to serve on city boards and commissions, including the EDC board.
“The citizens didn’t want it,” Carter said.
Voters rejected the amendment 206-87, according to city officials.
And on Aug. 31, EDC board members voted 5-2 to offer the executive director position to Christian Fletcher, who plans to step down as the top administrator at the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce.
Both Carter and Hurst voted against offering Fletcher the job, which will pay $90,000-$100,000.
The EDC has seen two other departures this year.
In February, Christy Fath, a former Burnet City Council member, was contracted by the EDC to work as an administrative assistant at an annual salary of $35,000 plus benefits. She was first hired on a temporary basis last November, according to officials.
She resigned after only a few weeks to work for Municipal Court, marking the second departure of an employee from the EDC in just a short period of time.
Special Projects Coordinator Olivia Cribbs had previously stepped down in early January due to health reasons.