City reviews Gray Ghost roof repair request and OKs $25,000 Retail Coach extension

At a Gun Barrel City Council meeting (date not specified), staff presented economic development items including a first reading of Resolution R-2025-2 for a performance agreement between the Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Gray Ghost Inc., and the council approved a $25,000 first amendment to the city’s professional-services agreement with Retail Coach.

EDC director and city manager Dr. Smith explained that Gray Ghost initially agreed to replace a large metal roof as a contingency of its performance agreement with the EDC but later obtained repair quotes and requested to amend the agreement to permit a roof repair and a sealing/coating approach rather than a full replacement. Dr. Smith said Gray Ghost requested the change after replacement quotes proved “extremely expensive” for the large metal roof and that the Muirheads (Gray Ghost representatives) were working to secure a five-year warranty for the repair rather than a two-year warranty. Dr. Smith told the council, “they asked to come back to EDC and request an amendment to their performance agreement not to replace the roof, just to repair the roof.”

Dr. Smith read Resolution R-2025-2 into the record as “Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gunbarrel City, Texas approving a performance agreement by and between the Gunbarrel City Economic Development Corporation and Gray Ghost Inc., a Texas corporation authorized pursuant to sections 501.103 and 505.158 of the Texas Local Government Code and providing for an immediate effective date.” The item was presented as a first reading; Dr. Smith said the full terms of the performance agreement otherwise remain unchanged and that, “provided everything works out, it will be at the next meeting as a second reading.”

On a related EDC item, the council considered and approved a first amendment to the professional-services agreement with Retail Coach in the amount of $25,000. Dr. Smith described the amendment as a one-year extension of the city’s original one-year agreement; the funding pays for continued retail recruitment support and effectively provides a “partial employee” with existing retail contacts, attendance at conferences, and outreach work. Dr. Smith told the council the Retail Coach has contacts that helped bring some prospects — he cited “HTO” as one example — and that the EDC board approved the extension 6–1.

A councilmember moved to approve the $25,000 amendment, the motion was seconded, and the roll-call vote was recorded as: Barnes, yes; Evans, yes; Jacobs, yes; Edwards, yes. The presiding officer announced, “Motion passes.”

Clarifying details recorded to the council: the Gray Ghost performance agreement includes a matching grant component up to $12,500, broken down as $10,000 for a parking lot (conditional on the company spending $20,000) and $2,500 toward a sign (conditional on the company spending $5,000). Dr. Smith emphasized that other terms of Gray Ghost’s performance agreement were unchanged; the company is seeking a five-year warranty on the roof repair. Dr. Smith said the Retail Coach typically attends “3 or 4 conferences a year,” maintains a tracking log of outreach, and that the extension will help maintain recruitment efforts while a new in-house economic development hire acclimates.

Next steps: The Gray Ghost amendment was presented as a first reading and was expected to return for a second reading at the next council meeting if contingency items (including warranty terms) are resolved. The Retail Coach amendment was approved and will be executed as a first amendment to the professional-services agreement.