A month after Hutto residents voted to fund the Hutto Type B Economic Development Corporation with sales tax funds, EDC chair members will meet with Hutto Chamber of Commerce and city council officials to discuss strategic coordination moving forward.

The potential merger was discussed at both the Hutto EDC meetings Nov. 13 and the Hutto City Council meeting Nov. 16. As a result, officials from the Hutto Chamber and Hutto EDC will hold preliminary discussions Dec. 4 on how to progress the city’s economic agenda, per city officials.

“More often than not we overlap with the Chamber and [the EDC] thinks it's a great opportunity to come together,” said Bill Gravell Jr., chairman of Hutto EDC.

Hutto Mayor Doug Gaul, Mayor Pro-tem Tom Hines and Council member Lucio Valdez were selected to a Hutto City Council subcommittee to coordinate discussions between the Chamber, city council and Hutto EDC at city council’s Nov. 16 meeting.

At its Nov. 13 meeting, EDC members passed a motion to designate board member Jason Wirth to initiate preliminary discussions with the Hutto Chamber of Commerce on the merger, which has since been described as a “strategic partnership”.

The Hutto Chamber of Commerce is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization focused on growing business interests in Hutto and connecting local business owners. Chamber officials declined to comment for this article.

Gravell echoed what city officials relayed at the Nov. 16 city council meeting, stating that the Hutto Chamber would remain a private organization under any partnership deal.

Chamber and city officials will meet in early December to discuss a strategic coordination between Hutto’s separate economic development and business efforts.

Gravell believes that the three bodies can work as a cohesive unit to approach prospective businesses to Hutto. In the past, Gravell said outside business interests would have to meet with Hutto City Council, Hutto EDC and Hutto Chamber separately.

“With a team approach, prospective business will come in and have one meeting. That's a benefit for the consumer,” Gravell said.

Though the Hutto Chamber, Hutto City Council and Hutto EDC will look into how multiple municipalities coordinate economic development efforts, both Hines and Gravell mentioned the partnership between the City of Round Rock and the Round Rock Chamber as a potential indicator of structure.

“What they’re doing is working well for them,” Hines said. “We’re not going to do exactly that, but I think it will look something like that.”

The three separate bodies still have to approach basic operating mechanisms, such as staffing, office space and other overhead concerns. In his comments at Hutto City Council’s Nov. 16 meeting, Valdez expressed a desire to clarify staffing at the EDC.

“In my opinion, the city staff is overworked. If [the EDC were to] merge with the Chamber, maybe [the EDC] could do staff coordination there,” Valdez said at the meeting.

Hutto City Attorney Mike Shaughnessy told council members at the Nov. 16 meeting that City of Hutto bylaws outlined EDC staffing be provided by the city, though the council would be within its power to rewrite those mandates.

Gaul said at that city council meeting that many of the logistics of any partnership will have to be ironed out in the next “3 to 4 months”. Gravell commented that he believes a strategic plan will be in place by the end of spring.

“I want to make sure we’re all on the same page, but what we’ve found in preliminary discussions is that we are in sync with [the City of Hutto] and we are in sync with the Chamber,” Gravell said.