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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/17/2016 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Wednesday,August 17,2016,9:00 A.M. Members Present Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Greg Apostolou Max Beyer Bill Branch Woody Windley Steve Anderson Leon McGhee Ssunny Shah Jill Loope, Secretary-Treasurer Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, Counsel Glenna Ratcliffe Members.Absent Kirtesh Patel Dan Toti Guest Richard.Peters,Vinton Assistant Town.Manager; Doug.Blount,Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism;Brian Carter,Finance Manager; Jessica Fintel, Economic Development Specialist and Evan Malone,Financial Analyst The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the Roanoke County Administration Center. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Steve Musselwhite,determined a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. REQUEST TO POSTPONE, ADD TO, OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA ITEMS No Change Requested Page 2 August 17,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes APPROVAL OF JULY 20,2016 MINUTES After a motion by Greg Apostolou and second by Steve Anderson,the minutes of July 20,2016 were approved by unanimous voice vote. FINANCE REPORT Brian Carter, Finance Manager, presented the Financial Report for the month ending July 31, 2016. He advised the Board that the County had recently gone to a new financial system and reviewed the new format. He stated the cash balance in the EDA account is $656,709.04. In response to a query,he stated that these funds do earn interest. After a motion by Greg Apostolou and second by Ssunny Shah,the financial report was accepted as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS Downtown Vinton Facade Grant Requests: Vinton Improvement Corp., (Twin Creek Brewing)Bruce Mayer,Owner Pete Peters, Assistant Town Manager for the Town of Vinton, presented a Façade Grant request for Vinton Improvement Corp. (Twin Creek Brewing) located at 111 S. Pollard Street. He gave a brief description of the work to include painting the side area facing the post office and back area of the building. This property received CDBG funds for façade renovations that would cover the addition of windows and removal of an air conditioning unit. Parking is available in the rear of the building as well as public parking near the Farmer's Market. A motion was made by Greg Apostolou and seconded by Woody Windley to approve the Façade Grant in the amount of$562.04. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Cornerstone Antiques—Richard Stone,Owner Pete Peters,Assistant Town Manager for the Town of Vinton, presented a Façade Grant request for TAS Design, for Cornerstone Antiques located at 123 W. Lee Avenue. He gave a brief description of the work to include renovation of the front façade and the addition of an ADA compliant entrance ramp. He added that the original application requested $5,000 and that amount has been amended to $4,000. This property also received CDBG funds and therefore, he requested the amended amount. A motion was made by Steve Anderson and seconded by Max Beyer to approve the Façade grant in the amount of$4,000. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Page 3 August 17,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes In response to a query by Greg Apostolou regarding the Ford Motor Building, Mr. Peters stated the Town is currently engaged with the owner as he has requested assistance with marketing that property. Also, Mr. Peters stated a total of five façade improvements have been funded through the CDBG program and those funds have been allocated. The program total was $700,000. Ssunny Shah stated he felt this façade program should be advertised better so that more businesses would be able to take advantage of the program. He felt this was a very business- friendly program and should be utilized. Ms. Loope stated the County has talked of expanding the program. Steve Musselwhite stated he felt that Brambleton Avenue should be incorporated into the program. Brian Carter stated the account had never been a line item as there had been sporadic activity in the past, therefore funding was provided on an as-needed basis. BRIEFING—EXPLORE PARK MASTER PLAN Doug Blount, Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, gave a PowerPoint presentation outlining the Explore Park Master Plan. He reviewed the different components of the plan and stated that a majority of the plan focuses on private development. He reviewed the vision and history of the park that was actually chartered by the Virginia General Assembly as a state park and administered by the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority (VRFA) in partnership with the River Foundation as a fundraising organization. That is when the land acquisition began. The key amenities of the plan includes an In-River Kayak Park, Roanoke River, Greenway, Overnight Accommodations, Food/Retail Operations, Zip-line/Aerial Park, Bike Skills Park, Disc Golf Course,Event Venuses,River Access and Equipment Rental. See Attached Brochure. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Ms. Loope stated Vinton Town Council approved the parking lot agreement for Macados and that property is now ready for closing. A community meeting and open house was held regarding the William Byrd property. The rezoning is moving forward and will go before the Planning Commission on September 8. The sale of Tanglewood Mall has been delayed for two weeks. Closing is now set for mid- September. September 15th is the launch date for the 419 Corridor Plan(from Route 220 at SouthPeak to Starkey Road). Page 4 August 17,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes Ssunny Shah stated the Festival of India was held in Downtown Roanoke and was a success. Greg Apostolou stated that the Greek Festival is scheduled for September 16, 17, and 18 and invited the EDA members to attend. REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS Max Beyer stated he felt that the Façade Grant should be promoted and that funds would be made available for this as it is pro-business. ADJOURNMENT Steve Musselwhite, Chairman, adjourned the meeting at 10:20 a.m. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING September 21,2016 Respectfully submitted, Aakt Loo e P , Secretary-Treasurer