The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About6/17/2015 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Wednesday,June 17,2015,2015,9:00 A.M. Members Present Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Woody Windley,Vice-Chair Ssunny Shah Steve Anderson Dan Toti Greg Apostolou - Bill Branch Kirtesh Patel Paul Henkel Secretary-Treasurer,Jill Loope Paul Mahoney, Counsel Recording Clerk, Glenna Ratcliffe Members Absent Kirtesh Patel Guest Ann Whitehurst,Financial Analyst Megan Cronise,Principal Planner Rebecca James,Planner II The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the Roanoke County Administration Center this being a regular meeting. CALL TO ORDER 1 Chairman, Steve Musselwhite called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MAY 20,2015 MINUTES After a motion by Bill Branch and second by Ssunny Shah,the minutes of May 20,2015 were approved by unanimous voice vote. FINANCE REPORT Anne Whitehurst, financial analyst,presented the financial report for the month ending May 31, 2015. She stated there was little activity to report with actual expenditures of$4,168.32, revenues of$19,293.64 a cash balance is$644,151.94. Page 2 June 17 2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes A motion was made by Paul Henkel and seconded by Steve Anderson,to accept the financial report as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR GRANT REQUEST Cobb Technologies—7562 Hitech Road Ms. Rebecca James, Planner II, presented the request on behalf of Robert Patterson, Regional Service Manager for Cobb Technologies. A PowerPoint was given to provide details of the project. The matching grant application submitted in May 2015 includes plans for enhancing the appearance of the building and upgrading signage and landscaping. The cost of the sign, landscaping and facade improvements totals between $6,633.67 and $25,121.67 based on the bids submitted. The matching grant is intended to cover 50%of the project cost. Ms. James stated the request is consistent with the intent of the Corridor Matching Grant Program, is in compliance with the Williamson Road/Hollins village Design Guidelines, and meets Roanoke County Zoning Ordinance requirements. Staff recommends a grant of not more than$3,500 which would include the sales tax on all proposed work. Greg Apostolou stated he was present at the Ribbon Cutting held May 16, 2015 and stated the building was completely transformed and felt the company had done a great job. A motion was made by Greg Apostolou, seconded by Bill Branch approving the request for a Commercial Corridor Matching Grant in the amount of $3,500. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. BRIEFINGS Brambleton Area Business Association Megan Cronise, Principal Planner, gave a summary of the work completed at this point regarding the implementation of the Brambleton Area Merchants Association (BABA). She stated the process began in the spring of 2014 following a recommendation from Gloria Fox, owner of Potentially Chic. Staff agreed to provide support to Brambleton Avenue businesses to assist with the creation of a Merchants Association. Ms. Cronise gave a timeline of activity regarding the process and stated that Bylaws have been adopted, and a logo and BABA Facebook Page have been created (public page and private group). Also,flyers to be used for outreach have been created. Page 3 June 17 2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes She stated media coverage has been provided by Gene Marrano with Roanoke Star and Rachel Lucas of WSLS. Greg Apostolou stated he was involved with the Williamson Road Area Business Association and they struggled in the beginning because they had a lot of small "mom and pop" businesses that found it difficult to be away from their business. He suggested they first have a,core group and then involve the smaller businesses. It was pointed out that the Brambleton area is not included in the Commercial Corridor Grant Program. Steve Musselwhite stated Brambleton Area was once referred to as the Main Street for Roanoke County and would encourage the Board of Supervisors to add that area to the Commercial Corridor Grant Program. Ssunny Shah stated this area is a very important business corridor and more people may be interested if the program could be extended to include this area. Ms. Cronise stated the meetings have been a great way to update and receive feedback from the business community regarding Economic Development, Police and Community Development activities. Ms. Loope stated the County has seen a lot of activity on that corridor lately. Indika, a new Indian Restaurant, just opened with a ribbon cutting. Also the Wellness Center housing. Runabout Sports, Crystal's Healing Hands, and Universal Physical Therapy, have opened in the former Trapezi building. Mr. Shah stated he attended the ribbon cutting for Indika and would like to thank everyone involved. He stated Ms. Loope and Ms. Cox did an excellent job, a very nice event. MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE Paul Mahoney, EDA Counsel, provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project to brief the Authority on the project. He provided Resolutions of the Board of Supervisors and reviewed the comments from the Pipeline Advisory Committee. (Copies attached) The Advisory Committee cited potential impacts to vegetation and wildlife, water resources and wetlands, geology and soils, cultural resources, socioeconomics, air quality and noise, cumulative impacts,public safety, as well as land use,recreating and visual resources. In response to a query by Steve Anderson regarding the role of the EDA, Mr. Mahoney stated this briefing was only to give a background regarding MVP's activities,%the County's response to date, as well as the Citizen Advisory Committee's comments. r., Page 4 June 17 2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes Mr.Mahoney stated a formal submittal of the project by Mountain Valley Pipeline is expected in October. After reviewing the potential impacts listed, Leon Mcghee stated he has not seen any positive data documentation and felt that should be presented by the Committee along with the negative concerns. He would like to see verification of the economic impact of the pipeline. Other. members also stated they would like to see information supported with facts to determine the true overall impact of the project. Greg Apostolou stated he felt this project should not be an emotional issue, but one driven by facts. Mr. Mahoney stated the FERC is a seeping process and the County will know more when the final application is submitted. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Ms. Loope stated another Roanoke County business, Enterprise Rent- A-Car, is scheduled to hold a ribbon cutting on June 24 at 2:00 p.m. She urged each member to attend if possible. She stated Enterprise has repurposed the old Texaco building on Williamson Road,which represented a significant renovation and improvement project along this corridor. Home Shopping Network. Ms. Loope stated approximately 350 jobs will be leaving the County as Home Shopping Network announced their relocation to Tennessee.- She stated that this was due to the limited expansion capability of the Roanoke site as compared to the Tennessee location. She also stated that the building owner is out of New Jersey and they have two years to work through the transition process, given their lease expiration of May 2017. She stated he is very interested in marketing the building and will begin that process in the near future. REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS None ADJOURNMENT Steve Musselwhite, Chairman, adjourned the meeting at 10:15 a.m. Page 5 June 17,2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING July 15,2015 Respectfully submitted, Jil oope, Secretary-Treasurer • 1 1 f' 1