Tuesday, January 28, 2020: Industry Impacts on the Community
Jobs, Taxes, and Community Relations Programs
PCAC members often focus their meetings on environmental, safety, transportation, and emergency issues relating to the major industrial facilities in Pasadena. In January 2020, the group chose to look at positive aspects of the community’s plants, namely jobs, community relations programs, and taxes. Consideration of taxes led the group to ask about the industrial districts in which most PCAC plants are located.
The jobs discussion began with Chad Burke, President and CEO of the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region giving an overview of the organization’s founding, mission, and membership. His slides, posted on the PCAC website, show the impact of those members on the local, state and national economy.
Dennis Winkler, Interim Executive Director of East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA), described the employment picture for the petrochemical industry in the Pasadena area. In the North Pasadena Industrial District and the Bayport Industrial District, there are approximately 10,000 people directly employed in the petrochemical industry. PCAC plants, located north of SH 225, employ approximately 2800 of the 10,000.
Facilitator Diane Sheridan briefly discussed a September 2019 report on PCAC Plants Community Relations Programs. In it, each plant was asked to list three of the activities to benefit the community carried out in 2018 or 2019 year to date. The activities included volunteering in the community, donations, and leadership in community groups.
Rick Guerrero, Manager of the Pasadena Economic Development Corporation, shared information on the background of industrial districts, how they operate, and their locations in the city. Most cities with industrial areas have industrial districts. Industrial district agreements often began in the 1970s because cities did not want to have to provide full city services to the plants, and plants did not want to pay taxes for services they did not need or receive from the city. (Pasadena Independent School District (PISD) is not a part of the industrial district agreement. Plants located within PISD’s boundaries pay school taxes.)