One major move was creation of the Temple Health and Bioscience District.

Senate Bill 1944, written by state Sen. Troy Fraser, provided for the establishment of the district, subject to a local option election, in May of 2003.

Supporters gathered more than 500 signatures to put the matter to a vote. In an editorial supporting the district, the Temple Daily Telegram recalled when the city was at a similar economic crossroads in the 1950s and responded by creating the Temple Industrial Foundation.

“Temple grew and prospered in the last half of the 20th century in part because of the vision of business leaders who saw the wisdom of establishing the Temple Industrial Foundation,” the editorial began, noting that the foundation led to the hugely successful Temple Industrial Park, which “created an atmosphere for new companies and jobs to come to Temple.”

It continued:

“This year, Temple voters have the opportunity to create the 21st century equivalent of the Temple Industrial Foundation - the Temple Health and Bioscience Economic District …

“Temple already has a unique mix of private and public health and bioscience infrastructure within its confines. That makes creation of a district designed to promote those industries a natural.”

Voters approved the district, 560 for to 430 against.

The district can levy a property tax of up to 15 cents per $100 of valuation, but only if that authority is granted by another vote of the electorate.

Wendell Williams, chairman of the Health and Bioscience Task Force, said he was elated not only that the issue passed but passed in all four voting districts where it was on the ballot.

“The entire community of Temple is to be congratulated for taking a step forward in wanting the type of community in the future that will bring good jobs, that will give this community the opportunity to do things that other communities only dream about,” he said.

In January of 2004, the Temple City Council appointed a seven-member board of directors for the district. Williams was one of those appointed. He said being involved with the board after a long campaign to create the district was a little bit like the dog chasing the bus: “Now that we’ve caught it, what do we do with it?”

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” he told the Telegram. “This is a process that will hopefully go on for many years … I’m glad to see us at this point but I know we have a long way to go.”

The board received $300,000 from Scott & White, the money to be paid out over three years, and $50,000 a year from the Temple Economic Development Foundation and $25,000 a year for three years from King’s Daughters Hospital.

But the biggest news came in December of that year when Temple Health and Bioscience Economic District and Scott & White Healthcare System announced a sale and lease agreement for the former Texas Instruments building on the west side of the city to serve as the site of a new Cancer Research Institute.

Scott & White officials also announced that day that Dr. Art Frankel, a well-respected cancer researcher from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, would head the new research institute and the Oncology Department at Scott & White.

The city of Temple agreed to sell the 500,000 square-foot-TI building and 200 acres of the 500-acre site to Scott & White for $2.5 million. The agreement also called for the district and Scott & White to work on development of the facility into a research institute.

“The concept of having an academic research center with nationally renowned researchers attracts faculty who want to come and be a part of that,” Dr. Alfred Knight, CEO of Scott & White said. “It attracts students. It helps Scott & White in every possible way. There is no downside. At the same time it helps the community. It helps create jobs.”

The district received another big boost in April of 2006 when the city of Temple, Scott & White, Temple College and the development district announced an agreement to fund $2.5 million to build the Texas Bioscience Institute.

In March, the city had authorized $420,000 in tax increment funding to Temple College for purchases related to the institute, including lab equipment and furniture. Officials said that more than 80 local high school students would be among those enrolled that fall in the institute’s first classes

In October of 2006 the district named Dr. Walter P. Dyck, a former chief academic officer for Scott & White and executive associate dean for the Texas A&M System Health Science Center College of Medicine, as a senior advisor.

Another piece of big news came with passage of a law making a four-year medical school at Temple a reality and complementing a longtime affiliation with the A&M medical school that now has third- and fourth-year medical students receiving their training in Temple. The law also provided $4 million.

“This is not just a home run, it’s a home run with the bases loaded,” Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple, said. She noted that Temple is something of an anomaly in that it is not a major metropolitan area but has a significant health-care economic segment.

Temple city manager David Blackburn said expansion of the medical school was one of the most significant events in the city’s history.

Lee Peterson, president of Temple Economic Development Corp., hailed the legislation and the funding as a major step in helping to grow a Temple bioscience district cluster. An influx of professors, researchers and students will complement the city’s health and bioscience initiatives, he said. He called it “a natural fit.”

That natural fit came into play most recently when, on Nov. 2, Gov. Perry announced a $7.5 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant to Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Scott, Sherwood and Brindley Foundation to increase critical research initiatives in Bell County.

The grant is expected to generate more than 1,500 jobs during the next decade by expanding the Cancer Research Institute and other health-care programs.

“I strongly believe that not only are we moving closer to a cure for cancer, but it’s also going to be a real positive impact on the economics of this area,” Perry said.

“This will be the force that brings 21st century jobs to Temple, Texas, and helps put Texas on the leading edge of research in the nation,” Williams said.

ccoppedge@temple-telegram.com