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Home My WebLink About10/21/2015 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Wednesday,October 21,2015,9:00 A.M. Members Present Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Woody Windley,Vice-Chair Ssunny Shah Dan Toti Greg Apostolou Leon McGhee Kirtesh Patel Secretary-Treasurer, Jill Loope Paul Mahoney, Counsel Recording;Clerk,Glenna Ratcliffe Members Absent Steve Anderson Bill Branch Max Beyer Guest Carmen Forman,Roanoke Times Brian Carter,Finance Manager Ruth Ellen Kuhnel Doug Blount Lindsay Blanksenship Curtis Thompson The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the Roanoke County Administration Center, a regular scheduled meeting of the Economic Development Authority CALL TO ORDER Chairman, Steve Musselwhite, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Page 2 October21,2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes REQUEST TO POSTPONE, ADD TO, OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE AGNDA ITEMS At this time Paul Mahoney, Counsel, advised of an additional agenda item to be added to New Business, that being to Authorize the Chairman to Execute a Performance Agreement between English Construction Company, Inc., the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County Virginia and the Economic Development Authority. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 11,2015 MINUTES After a motion by Ssunny Shah and second by Dan Toti,the minutes of August 11, 2015 were approved by unanimous voice vote. FINANCE REPORT Brian Carter, Finance Manager,presented the financial report for the month ending September 30,2015. The cash balance at the end of September was$644,466.56 (copies attached) A motion was made by Woody Windley and seconded by Kirtesh Patel to accept the financial report for September 30, 2015 as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS Introduction of Ruth Ellen Kuhnel,County Attorney Paul Mahoney introduced Ruth Ellen Kuhnel, Senior Assistant County Attorney. Mr. Mahoney stated Ms. Kuhnel was recently appointed County Attorney and will take over after his retirement in December. He stated Ms. Kuhnel served as Counsel for the Department of Social Services prior to coming to his office. There, Ms. Kuhnel had to deal with many tough social issues and she did so with hard work and dedication. The EDA welcomed Ms. Kuhnel as Counsel and stated they look forward to working with her. Introduction of Jay Brenchick,Economic Development Manager Jill Loope introduced Jay Brenhick, Economic Development Manager. Jay Brenchick joined the Roanoke County Department of Economic Development in October of 2015. His responsibilities include business retention, expansion, and attraction. He brings over twenty years of experience in economic and business development in the public and private sectors in Florida, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Prior to joining the Roanoke County Economic Development team, Brenchick served as the first economic development manager for Botetourt County Virginia. { Page 3 October 21,2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes While serving Botetourt County, Mr. Brenchick planned and implemented business expansion, retention, and recruitment strategies, as well as workforce initiatives. Everyone welcomed Mr. Brenchick to the County. Authorize EDA Chairman to Execute Agreement with English Construction Company, Inc., the Board of Supervisors of Roanoke County and the Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County. Paul Mahoney stated in 2007, an agreement was executed to reimburse English Construction Company to offset construction'and infrastructure costs at Valley Point. The County constructed a multi-generational facility on real estate acquired from the Developer. At the same time, the Developer constructed a commercial access road to serve this facility and the remaining property After execution of the Performance Agreement and after the facility was constructed, the economy changed and further Development plans were terminated. The future development of the property as outlined in the Performance Agreement never materialized. All parties now desire to resolve the issues remaining between the parties, to conclude the Performance Agreement and to adjust all remaining financial obligations. This means that, the County would reimburse English Construction approximately $980,000 for their cost (with supporting documentation) of the two lane road, and the Performance Agreement would be eliminated. Woody Windley questioned if there was any reason the EDA should not do this. Mr. Mahoney stated all the dates for completion have passed and he felt the County should go forward. Greg Apostolou asked if there should be a penalty attached. Mr. Mahoney stated actually the penalty is that English Construction Company is not getting opportunities that could have been available. After discussion, Greg Apostolou made a motion to authorize the Chairman to execute the Performance Agreement as presented. Woody Windley seconded the motion which carried by unanimous voice vote. BRIEFINGS TAP Business Programs Curtis Thompson,Vice President of Financial Services with TAP,was present and gave a brief overview of the services provided by Business Seed Capital. Business Seed Capital, Inc(BSCI) E�E Page 4 October 21,2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes was founded in 1996 to provide affordable financing for entrepreneurs,and businesses that cannot get commercial loans. Business Seed serves as Roanoke's premier Small Business Administration Lender and is a Treasury Department Certified Community Development Finance Institution. Mr. Thompson stated he is always happy to work with Roanoke County when possible. Staff commended Mr. Thompson on all the work that TAP does for the community. Explore Park Master Plan • Doug Blount, Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and Lindsey Blankenship, Greenway/Blueway Planner,were present and reviewed the Explore Park Master Plan. The Master Plan will establish a detailed framework, design development guidelines and strategic direction to guide the implementation and provision of Explore Park's open space, trails, facilities and amenities. The master plan is not a wish list, but an executable document. When completed, the plan will provide the following benefits as Explore Park is developed: f.. *Road Map *Alignment of local needs and national trends *Site Plan *Costing Model and Business Plan *Utilities Plan *Awareness and Advocacy Mr. Blount stated the plan is to be completed and taken to the Board of Supervisors by March 2016. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Ms. Loope stated redevelopment of Roland E. Cook continues. The rezoning request is currently in process. The next phase of Historic Designation is complete. AES just purchased the Vinton Roofing building in Vinton. First Citizens Bank held their grand opening recently, and Da Bellas bake shop and Bliss Studio will both have ribbon cuttings soon. The Strategic Planning Process is beginning after the first of the year and the EDA will be involved: (,. Fox 21/27 Studio's grand opening is December 15th at 5 pm. All are invited to attend. Invitations will go out to everyone with details regarding these activities. Page 5 October 21,2015 Economic Development Authority Minutes Ms. Loope stated the next EDA meeting is scheduled November 18 and is close to the Thanksgiving Holiday. She stated she will keep everyone informed regarding meeting during November and December as scheduling can be challenging then. REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS Leon McGhee stated he would like to make a statement regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline. He felt that as a board to promote economic development,the EDA should make a statement that the pipeline is needed to promote growth in the County. He stated he did plan to bring this to a vote at the next meeting. Steve Musselwhite stated he felt the economic impact should be quantified before taking a position on the pipeline. Ruth Ellen Kuhnel stated that MVP is to formally file an application in October. When they, file the formal application,then studies and impact statement will go forward. Greg Apostolou voiced his concern that the Commonwealth Games left the area as well as negative comments from Jim Smith, Founder of Smith/Packett,who also left the area. ADJOURNMENT Steve Musselwhite, Chairman, adjourned the meeting at 10:25 a.m. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING November 18,2015 Respectfully submitted, atvcs,..., ,. cJi oope, Secretary-Treasurer