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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/2017 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 4''.Floor Training Room 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Wednesday,November. 15,2017 The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the Roanoke County Administration Center. Members Present Vice Chairman-Woody Windley Greg Apostolou Max Beyer Kirtesh Patel Leon McGhee Kyle Richardson Jill.Loope, Secretary-Treasurer Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, Counsel Glenna Ratcliffe,Recording Clerk Members Absent Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Steve Anderson Ssunny Shah Guest Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance;Evan Malone,Financial Analyst;Ashley Anderson,Finance Manager and Anita McMillan, Town Of Vinton Planning Director CALL TO ORDER Vice-Chairman Woody Windley determined a quorum was established and called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. REQUEST TO POSTPONE, ADD TO, OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA ITEMS None APPROVAL OF JUNE 21,2017 MINUTES A motion was made by Max Beyer and second by Kirtesh Patel to approve the minutes of the June 21,2017 meeting as written. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. A' Page 2 November 15,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes FINANCE REPORT Evan Malone, Financial Analyst, reviewed the information provided on the new condensed financial report for four months ending October 31, 2017. Kirtesh Patel asked,if a balance sheet could be provided at the end of the year. Ms. Owens stated a balance sheet would be provided at the end of the year. She further stated the Roanoke County EDA annual audit is included in the Roanoke County Audit as a separate component and includes a balance sheet. Also, the audit for 2017 should be complete in the next few weeks and the EDA will receive a copy of that audit for FY 2017. After a motion by Kirtesh Patel, and second by Max Beyer, followed by a unanimous voice vote, the financial report was accepted as presented. NEW BUSINESS Introduction of New Economic Development Authority Member Ms. Loope introduced Kyle Richardson appointed to represent the Catawba Magisterial District. Mr. Richardson received a warm welcome by members present. TERM EXPIRATIONS Ms. Loope pointed out that four members have expired terms. She stated Ms. Kuhnel has ruled that these members will remain on the Authority until such time they are reappointed or replaced by the Board of Supervisors VINTON FACADE GRANTS The Conner Group Ms. Anita McMillan, Planning Director for the Town of Vinton, presented a grant request for The Conner Group. The building is located at the corner of E. Lee Avenue and North Maple Street. Mr. Conner recently moved his business from Washington Avenue to downtown Vinton. Facade improvements requested: a. Exterior painting of the entire building: Functional Grey(Trim) and Alpaca(Base of building) $3,460.00 b. Projecting sign: Two renderings of the proposed sign submitted- $1,402.22 (Cost includes sign permit fees). c. Roof flashing to divert water at the front wall of the building- $175.00 Estimated Total Cost of Improvements with 10%contingency: $5,540.94 Page 3 November 15,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes The Vinton Economic Development Committee reviewed the application and recommended that the improvements be approved as submitted for a total grant amount not to exceed$2,770.47. At this time, Leon McGhee questioned the purpose of the downtown Vinton grants; were they for revitalization or improvements/repairs. He felt that grants should not be approved for routine repairs but for capital improvements. He further stated he was not against the requests as presented, as they were in line with the existing guidelines. He felt the guidelines should be revised to cover capital improvements rather than routine repairs. Ms. Loope stated she shared his concern and pointed out that the guidelines have been in place for many years and are outdated. She stated the County currently has three areas with different guidelines;the Downtown Vinton Façade Grant,the Plantation Road Commercial Corridor Grant and the 460 West Commercial Corridor Grant. She stated her department is currently working with Community Development to update these guidelines, as well as the county-wide Change of Use Grant. After lengthy discussion, it was the consensus of the Board that the grants were important and • did spur reinvestment. Members felt it was time to-revamp the guidelines and keep the process simple. A motion was made by Greg Apostolou to approve the request not to exceed $2,770.47. The motion was seconded by Leon McGhee and carried by unanimous voice vote. Patrick and Annette Patterson,137, 139, 141 and 143 Gus Nicks Boulevard Ms. McMillan stated there are two buildings located on the property. The main building is comprised of two upper residential units and a lower office unit that will be occupied by a real estate office, Stratford Properties, Inc. There is also a smaller office building located on the site. Façade improvements request: a. Three landscape lights - $389.97 b. Four upward lights for signs and entries - $240.00 c. Lamp Post - $299.00 d. Landscaping-$578.00 e. Landscape and electrical installation costs- $300.00 f. Two signs: One facing Gus Nicks Boulevard and one facing the Vinton Farmers Market -$1,500. Estimated Total cost of Improvements: $3,008.56 Page 4 November 15,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes The Vinton Economic Development Committee reviewed the application and recommended approval of items b and fin an amount not to exceed$957. A motion was made by Max Beyer and seconded by Kirtesh Patel to approve the request for an amount not to exceed$957.00. After a unanimous voice vote,the motion was approved. Greenway Construction Greenway Construction, Inc./Tim Greenway, 118 E. Lee Avenue. The office is occupied by multiple businesses: Mountain View Real Estate, Greenway Construction, and a photographer's office. Façade improvements requested: a. Exterior painting of the entire building (beige) - $2,000.00 b. Canopies: Front awning and back porch canopy(navy blue) - $1,258.34 c. Signage on the glass windows facing E. Lee Avenue- $225.00 Estimated Total Cost of Improvements with 10% contingency: $3,831.67 F The Vinton Economic Development Committee reviewed the application and recommended that the improvements be approved as submitted for a total grant amount not to exceed $1,915.84. Leon McGhee made a motion to approve the request for an amount not to exceed $1,915.84. The G motion was seconded by Kyle Richardson and carried by unanimous voice vote. Max Beyer stated he felt it appropriate for the EDA to make a statement that the Guidelines include a F recommendation regarding Capital vs. Repair as part of the planning process for updating the Facade Grant Application Guidelines. BRIEFING Workforce Development Overview At this time, Jay Brenchick, Economic Development Manager, gave a power point presentation on Workforce Development initiatives the Economic Development Department has launched within the past year. He stated the Workforce Board is now Virginia's Blue Ridge Works. The footprint includes the counties of Roanoke,Botetourt,Franklin,the City of Salem and Roanoke and the Town of Vinton. F Mr. Brenchick reviewed business and education partnerships and programs including the Career Fair, Workshops, Virginia's Blue Ridge Works, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Department of Labor and Industry,Roanoke County Public Schools,and Higher Education. Page 5 November 15,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes (See Attached PowerPoint) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Ms. Loope gave an update on the following activities and projects: The Lewis Gale Emergency Room ribbon cutting is scheduled for November 30th and everyone should have received an invitation. She encouraged everyone to attend. Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation held an Annual Meeting and Preservation Awards on Tuesday, November 14,at the Roland E. Cook Lofts in Vinton (412 Poplar St.). The Lofts are 100 percent leased. The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to keep historic tax credits in place at their last meeting. Valley Star Credit Union held a grand opening November 14, 2017 for their new building on Buck Mountain Road. This is their first location in the Roanoke Market. Lidl Grocery Store has stopped construction at two Roanoke County locations. The company has provided no information regarding their intent with these projects and has not returned phone calls from the Economic Development Department. Tanglewood 419—She stated there is not a lot of change since the last meeting. The new owners are renegotiating tenant leases and marketing the vacant space to national tenants. Outparcel development should begin after the first of the year. The 419 Plan has not been adopted by the Board but should happen after the first of the year. Macado's construction is underway with a target of March for completion. The William Byrd project is also ongoing with a target completion date of the summer of 2018. She stated she is currently working on two prospect companies for CRT and hopes to have a performance agreement for the Board to consider soon. In response to a request from Greg Apostolou, regarding Novozymes purchase of property in Salem for an expansion, Ms. Loope shared that they are growing and investing in the region and it was more efficient to purchase multiple buildings in Salem rather than invest in one new facility within the CRT. They will continue to operate the facility in CRT. Pipeline - Ruth Ellen Kuhnel stated that Roanoke County joined the counties of Giles and Craig and filed a notice of Rehearing with FERC on November 13, 2017. She stated it was an extensive notice but would forward to all if interested. She stated it has to be heard within 30 days and no response means they are moving forward. Some of the concerns addressed were (1) water quality— have they done work necessary to know where watersheds and springs are located; (2) Historic Districts were not properly mitigated (3) Soil—review engineering plans so landslides could be avoided—engineering should be done properly. Page 6 November 15,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes Leon McGhee pointed out there would be tax benefits to localities. He stated he felt the EDA should have made a statement on the pipeline. Anita McMillan stated that David Hill of Hill Studio and Vinton Town Staff will be on hand at a public input meeting to share and discuss the conceptual plans for the preservation and redevelopment of Gish's Mill (former Holdren's Country Store). She asked members to please attend the meeting to share thoughts and ideas. The meeting is Tuesday, December 12, 2016, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Vinton War Memorial, 814 Washington Avenue. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled December 21, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in the 4th Floor Training Room of the Roanoke County Administration Building. ADJOURMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:52. py� Respectfully submitted, oope, Secretary-Treasurer is