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Cibolo EDC creates historic-preservation, business-grant and public-art branding committees
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Summary
The Cibolo Economic Development Corporation voted to form and populate three subcommittees — Historic Preservation (to focus first on the Red Ball Cafe), a consolidated Small-Business/EDGE Grant Review committee, and a CDC Public Art Branding committee — and staff will schedule regular meetings and draft policies.
The Cibolo Economic Development Corporation voted Wednesday to form three subcommittees to oversee historic-preservation work on the Red Ball Cafe, administer a consolidated small-business grant program and develop guidelines for EDC-funded public art.
Staff introduced the proposal under agenda item 7a and recommended that the board decide whether the Red Ball Cafe subcommittee, the public-art subcommittee and the small-business subcommittee should remain active, be renamed or be sunsetted. "This is an item we had earlier in the year," a staff member (S4) said when presenting background and options.
Why it matters: the actions create permanent, small teams to shepherd projects and formalize how the EDC will fund or sponsor initiatives that intersect with city communications and private retail centers. The board emphasized both historic preservation and clear program rules before spending EDC funds.
Board discussion focused first on the Red Ball Cafe, a historic building the city has held with the intent to preserve. A staff speaker (S8) described the cafe’s origin and earlier agreements to protect it, saying the property "was here way back when the train ran through" and that the EDC wants to restore and possibly relocate or repurpose the structure so the public can see it. Chair (S1) warned of deterioration: "It's literally just riding away on that property and people keep breaking into it and degrading it," driving urgency to form a preservation committee.
On small-business support, staff (S8) proposed consolidating two existing grant tracks into a single EDGE grant open to all businesses within city limits to simplify marketing and administration. Staff explained the program is a matching reimbursement grant with a $15,000 cap and requires applicants to apply before starting work and to submit receipts for reimbursement: "The grants are maxed out at 15,000," the staff member said.
Directors also debated the scope of public-art funding. Some members advocated limiting EDC support to branded placemaking tied to commerce — for example, buffalo statues or retail-center icons — rather than funding art broadly across the city. Staff (S4) said a public-art policy and funding guidelines would be developed, including preservation and insurance requirements and coordination with the city communications department.
The board then nominated and approved committee memberships by voice vote. The Historic Preservation committee (to take on the Red Ball Cafe as its first project), the Small-Business/Grant Review committee (to steward EDGE grant changes), and the CDC Public Art Branding committee were all formed and members were appointed; staff will circulate Doodle polls and suggested monthly meeting schedules.
What’s next: staff will draft formal guidelines for grant administration and for EDC-funded public art and will schedule committee meetings. The board signaled it expects the committees to return recommendations and potential policy language for board consideration in future meetings.
