HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/18/2015 - Minutes The Economic Development Authorityof Roanoke Count
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Catawba Community Center
Catawba Creek Road
Catawba,Virginia 24070
Minutes
Wednesday,March°18, 2015
Members:Present...
Chairman-Steve Musselwhite
Woody Windley, Vice-Chair,
Greg Apostolou
Paul Henkel
Secretary-Treasurer, Jill Loope
Recording Clerk, Glenna Ratcliffe
Members Absent
Ssunny Shah
Steve Anderson :.
Leon McGhee:. .::
Bill Branch
Dan Toti
Kirtesh Patel
Guest
Kay Dunkley,Director,Virginia Tech Roanoke Center
Josh Nease, Manager, Catawba Sustainability Center
The Economic Development Authority of Roanoke County,Virginia met this day at the
Catawba Community Center.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman,Steve Musselwhite called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m.
APROVAL OF JANUARY 21,2015. MINUTES -_
It was determined that only four members were present and no quorum was established for
conducting business; therefore, no action was taken regarding approval of the January minutes.
FINANCIAL REPORT
No action was taken regarding acceptance of the financial report as there was not a quorum
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Economic Development Authority Minutes
NEW BUSINESS
Commercial Corridor Grant Waiver Request& Discussion
Ms. Loope advised that this item was pulled from the agenda as the business decided not to
pursue the grant.
AFID Planning Grant Report Presentation
Josh Nease,Manager of Catawba Sustainability Center, gave a presentation on the final report
"Linking the Catawba Sustainability Center to the Local Food System" funded by the
Governor's Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund (AFID) Grant.
In the spring of 2014 Roanoke County received a planning grant from the Governor's
Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund(AFID) to work with Virginia Tech's
Office of Economic Development and the Catawba Sustainability Center. The Governor's AFID
program is administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and
provides planning grants to communities as an economic development tool specifically tailored
for agriculture and forestry value-added.or processing projects.
The focus of the award was to explore strategies to increase the connectivity of the Catawba
Sustainability Center, a Virginia Tech property located in the Catawba Valley, with the local
food system. With the$7,500 grant, a series of focus groups (listed below)were conducted
resulting in opportunities for the County, the university, the Sustainability Center, and Virginia
Cooperative Extension to champion a community supported agricultural initiative:
Group 1 -Regional Producers/Catawba Valley Community,
Group 2-Institutional Consumers of Regional Agriculture Products,
Group 3 -Markets/other consumers of Regional Agriculture Products, a
Group 4—Organizations with interest in food-related initiatives and other regional
stakeholders (i.e.food related workforce training; food security/poverty alleviation;
community gardens; community health.
_ One of the primary goals of the grant was to support the local food system and strengthen the
local economy through planning and accessing the needs of the center and region. Knowing
what the needs are is an important first step in realizing the goal.
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Economic Development Authority Minutes
Mr. Nease provided a map of the property which consists of 378 acres. Approximately 40 to 50
acres are currently being utilized. He reviewed facility updates including the demolition of
tenant houses and outbuildings, updates to the barn and reviewed the water system upgrade. At
this time, Mr. Nease asked for questions and discussion of the center followed.
Ms. Loope and board members thanked Mr. Nease for the report on the AFIDS Grant.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATES
Ms. Loope stated the Regional Industrial Facilities Authority have narrowed the recommended
sites down from ten sites to three sites. She stated she was not at liberty to name the sites at the
present time due to the confidentiality of the site acquisition/negotiation process.
Ms. Loope stated that Mr. Gates, County Administrator and Jason Peters, Chairman of the Board
of Supervisors, wish to begin a strategic planning process and are discussing doing business
listening tours in an effort to obtain feedback from businesses. The Economic Development
Department will be developing a plan for implementation in the next several months, which will
include the Authority members.
Ms. Loope advised that negotiations are ongoing regarding the proposals the county received on
the William Byrd and Roland E. Cook Schools. Both contracts are complex and time
consuming. She stated she would keep the Board apprised of negotiations. Also, The 419
Library sale to Kissito Pace should close sometime in April.
REPORTS AND INQUIRIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
None
ADJOURNMENT
Steve Musselwhite, Chairman, adjourned the meeting at 10:15 a.m.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
April 15, 2015
R pectfully submitted,
Jill Loope,
Secretary-Treasurer