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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/25/2016 - Minutes The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County Roanoke County Administration Center 5204 Bernard Drive Roanoke,Virginia 24018 Minutes Friday,March'25,2016,9:00 A.M. Members Present Chairman-Steve Musselwhite Greg Apostolou Leon McGhee Steve Anderson Ssunny Shah Bill Branch Jill Loope, Secretary-Treasurer Jay Brenchick,Economic Development Manager Ruth Ellen Kuhnel Counsel Recording Clerk,Glenna Ratcliffe Members Absent Kirtesh Patel Woody Windley Dan Toti Max Beyer Guest • Rebecca Owens,Director of Finance Phil Thompson, The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the Roanoke County Administration Center. CALL TO ORDER • Chairman, Steve Musselwhite, called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. REQUEST TO POSTPONE, ADD TO,'OR CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA ITEMS None APPROVAL OF JANUARY 20,2016 MINUTES After a motion by Greg Apostolou and second by Sunny Shah,the minutes of January 20, 2016 were approved by unanimous voice.vote. (i( Page March 25,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes FINANCE REPORT AND AUDIT REPORT Finance Report - Rebecca Owens, Director of Finance,presented the financial report for the month ending February 29,2016. She noted the first paymentrequest from Ardagh Group was processed in the amount of$606,967.82. She also stated the cash balance at the end of February was $649,954.49. (Copy attached) Ms. Owens stated her office would put together the EDA Budget before June and bring before the EDA for approval. A motion was made by Steve Anderson and seconded by Bill Branch to accept the financial report for February 2016 as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS Request for authorization to execute a Performance Agreement between the Town of Vinton, Old School Partners,LLC.,and the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority. Ms. Loope stated the Town of Vinton will match the incentive made by Roanoke County and therefore needed to execute a performance agreement thereby satisfying legal requirements. Ms.Loope stated construction activity on the building will begin soon. Leon McGhee stated he had concerns regarding water connection fees charged by the Town of Vinton. He stated the Town wanted $500,000 from an existing business in Vinton to connect to water service (water services is already there) and this was a concern to him. He stated that there should be dialogue with the Town regarding existing businesses and the requirement of large water connection fees as it is a hardship and makes it difficult or impossible for the small businesses to expand. After discussion, Bill Branch made a motion to authorize the Chairman to execute the Performance Agreement as presented. Ssunny Shah seconded the motion which carried by unanimous voice vote. - Request for authorization to execute a contract of sale and development agreement between the County of Roanoke, the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority and Waukeshaw Development,Inc. Ms. Loope reviewed the contract of sale as well as the development agreement. The purchase price of the William Byrd High School will be ten dollars ($10.00). She stated the buyer plans to convert the building to market rate apartments and will pursue approvals relating to the issuance of federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. -- i Page 3 March 25,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes The buyer's obligations to purchase the property are contingent upon these approvals. In response to a query by Bill Branch, Ms. Loope stated the school bus maintenance facility is not a part of the sale at this time. The County has identified a replacement site should the Department of Historic Resources require the garage be included as the property is reviewed for tax credits. If that should happen,the County may have to comply and transfer the garage to another site. It was suggested that the County lease back the garage from the developer should this happen. • Ms. Loope stated that parking for the main building has to be determined so that would have to be taken into consideration. In response to a query by Greg Apostolou, Ms. Loope stated there is a performance bond with the developer in the amount of$200,000. Steve Anderson made a motion to authorize the Chairman to execute the Contract of Sale and the Development Agreement as presented. Leon McGhee seconded the motion which carried by unanimous voice vote. BRIEFINGS 419 Corridor Planning Study/Activity Center Plan Philip Thompson gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Route 419 Urban Development Planning-Study. He reviewed the proposed study area - existing conditions including zoning, future land use, property ownership, transportation, existing and surrounding development and Tanglewood Mall. The presentation also included Previous Planning Studies and the Planning Study Proposal. Steve Musselwhite thanked Mr. Thompson for his presentation. (Copy of presentation attached) Site Selector Presentation Jay Brenchick, Economic Development Manager, gave a presentation on the Economic Development Department's new Site Selector Application. - The application replaces the former real estate database and leverages new technology to provide users with a one-stop-shopping experience when researching a property, and a tool to learn how to keep listings up-to-date with the Economic Development Office. Site Selector provides more advanced and comprehensive data on business properties than ever before and it also gave economic development staff an opportunity to schedule meetings with Commercial Realtors. Page 4 March 25,2016 Economic Development Authority Minutes The application was developed internally with the County GIS Department who also worked in conjunction with an outside vendor. The Economic Development staff is in contact with real estate firms and updates available properties routinely. Mr.'Brenchick stated this is a great marketing tool and having comprehensive data in one place is helpful to all users. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Ms. Loope read a "Thank You" note from Paul Mahoney to the EDA thanking everyone for the gift certificate in recognition of his retirement. Route 419 Library Ms. Loope stated the 419 Library has been sold to American Healthcare,for 1.5 million. The property transfer is scheduled for closing on May 20,2016. Vinton Library (old) She stated the old Vinton Library is currently being marketed for$850,000 and is listed with Poe and Cronk Real Estate. Strategic Planning Meetings Ms. Loope stated two strategic planning sessions have been held and two more sessions are planned. Economic Development has been the largest group with 50-60 attendees at each meeting. She stated the key topics were workforce development, infrastructure and regional cooperation and marketing. Ms. Loope stated that Friendship Rehab will conduct a grand"opening and ribbon cutting on March 26 at 6 p.m. The new facility will have 120 beds. REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS None ADJOURNMENT Steve Musselwhite, Chairman, adjourned the meeting at 10:10 a.m. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING April 20, 2016 Respectfully submitted, Jill Loope, Secretary-Treasurer