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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/21/2017 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 4th Floor Training Room 5204 Bernard Drive • Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Wednesday,June 21,2017 Members.Present Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Vice Chairman-Woody Windley Greg Apostolou Max Beyer Kirtesh Patel Ssunny Shah Jill Loope, Secretary-Treasurer Ruth Ellen Kuhnel,Counsel Glenna Ratcliffe Members Absent Leon McGhee Steve Anderson Guest Rebecca Owens,Director of Finance;Evan Malone,Financial Analyst;Anita McMillan,Town Of Vinton Planning Director 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 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 APRIL 21,2017 MINUTES A motion was made by Ssunny Shah and seconded by Woody Windley to approve the minutes of the April 19, 2017 meeting as written. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Page 2 June 21,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes FINANCE REPORT Rebecca Owens,Director of Finance,presented a new financial report capturing financial transactions thru May 31, 2017. She stated the new report is a condensed report listing transactions from the computer-generated reports generally presented. She stated if the Board preferred, they could continue to provide this condensed report each month. By consensus,the Board stated they would like to continue to receive this report. Evan Malone,Financial Analyst,reviewed the information provided on the new report. The cash balance in the EDA account is$666,829. After a motion by Woody Windley and second by Ssunny Shah, the financial report was accepted as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS Resolution of Appreciation—Bill H.Branch At this time, Ms. Loope presented a Resolution expressing appreciation and gratitude to Bill Branch for his service to the County through the Economic Development Authority. Mr. Branch served approximately 40 years on the Economic Development Authority, providing exemplary service to the County. He served as Chairman for more than twenty years conducting meetings productively, efficiently and effectively. After a motion by Max Beyer, and a second by Kirtesh Patel, the Resolution was adopted by unanimous voice vote. Ms.Loope stated she would personally present the Resolution to Mr.Branch. Vinton Facade Grants-Vinton's Country Corner Ms. Anita McMillan, Planning Director for the Town of Vinton, presented the grant request for Vinton's Country Corner. She stated that Gregory Mitchell, owner of the property located at 537 S. Pollard Street is requesting business signage (vinyl window lettering) on the front of the building, installation of flower hangers and flag hangers as well as a sign on the side of•the building. After discussion regarding the nature of the flags, it was determined that the request for the installation of hangers be approved,but not the flags. After a motion by Ssunny Shah, and a second by Max Beyer, the request was unanimously approved in an amount not to exceed$823.65. Page 3 June 21,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes Vinton Facade Grant—Star City Playhouse Ms. Anita McMillan, Planning Director for the Town of Vinton, presented the grant request for Star City Playhouse located at 107 S. Pollard Street in Vinton. The request was for installation two signs installed, (each 3'x 8'). One sign would be on the front of the building and one on the side facing Gus Nicks Blvd. After a motion by Woody Windley and a second by Ssunny Shah,the request was unanimously approved in an amount not to exceed$754.75. William Byrd High School Properties Ms. Loope asked Ms. Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, EDA Attorney, to review the details of the three agenda items regarding the Assignment Agreements, the Development Agreement Amendment, and the Collateral Assignment of Development Agreement regarding incentive grant funds. Ms. Kuhnel stated the lender became involved five days prior to closing, and the Assignment Agreement had to be changed to WMBYRD,LLC,which is not uncommon at closing. The Performance Agreement completion date in the original document was December,2017. Given the closing date,it was requested that this date be changed to reflect December,2017 as the date the project would begin. The EDA Incentive grant to Waukeshaw Development,Inc. also had to be assigned to WMBYRD LLC to make it viable. Ms. Kuhnel stated the Board of Supervisors has approved their portion of the changes and the closing was not delayed. However, the funds would not be released until the EDA approved the changes. She stated nothing changed as for funds approved,only wordsmithing. The lender is satisfied with the changes. After a motion by Kirtesh Patel and second by Ssunny Shah, the requested changes were approved and authorization was given to the Chairman to sign the amended documents. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Ms.Loope gave updated on the following on-going projects: The William Byrd property has now received the Historic District Designation status. The project can now move forward. The County maintains ownership of the lower level property. The LewisGale Medical Center will hold a"Sign the Beam"ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. Members were given an agenda and invited to attend. The Glade Creek Greenway ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening is scheduled for July 22, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. Members were given an agenda and invited to attend. Page 4 June 21,2017 Economic Development Authority Minutes The Town of Vinton has applied for a Brownfield grant for the Holdren s Country Store(Old Vinton Feed Mill). Will keep members posted on this process. The County is accepting proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of a former dairy barn and site located i. within the Vinton Business Center. The deadline for proposals is July 31, 2017. The flyer is available on the county website. Construction began on a new hotel development located near the Gander Mountain in Hollins at the beginning of June. Billed as a revolutionary new brand in the Hilton portfolio, the new Tru by Hilton project makes its entry into the Roanoke market as the first hotel in the region for this corporate brand. The four-story hotel is expected to bring 82 new rooms to the County with an$8 million investment and more than 30 new jobs. A grand opening will be held at the Roland E. Cook Apartments in the near future. Hopefully, the date scheduled will be at a time when Jason Peters,Vinton District Board Member,will be able to attend. The Woodhaven Project is moving forward despite citizen concern. The rezoning hearing will be scheduled in the fall or after the first of the year. This is a gateway property for the region. The Board will consider adoption of the Route 419 Town Center Plan in late July. All project details are posted on the County Website. The County has received some very good proposals as a result of the Explore Park RFP. Some proposals were camping,cabins,etc. The proposals must be in line with the vision and mission of the Park. J.C.Penny located in Tanglewood Mall announced their closing in July. LCS Communications, located in Valley Tech Park will be closing in July. The state of the art, 270,000 square ft: building will be re-purposed. The Region's Rapid Response Team has been engaged to assist the affected 140 workers with new job placement or retraining programs. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled July 19,2017 at 9:00 a.m.in the 411`Floor Training Room. ADJOURNMENT After a motion by Max Beyer and second by Woody Windley,the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, r - VV J oope, Secretary-Treasurer