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EDAMinutes2023April6MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY THURSDAY,APRIL 6,2023 A meeting of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority was held on Thursday,April 6,2023,at 8:00 a.m.in the County Administration Building,First Floor Conference Room,107 North Kent Street,Winchester,Virginia. PRESENT:Rick Till,Karen Swecker,Diane Kearns,Judy McCann Slaughter,and Gary Lofton.Due to business reasons,Bryan Fairbanks participated by phone, which was approved by Board members present. STAFF:Patrick Barker,Shayla Rickard,Wendy May and Donna McIlwee,Frederick County Economic Development Authority;Michael Bryan,Attorney;and Jay Tibbs, Deputy County Administrator MEETING CALLED TO ORDER:Chairman Till called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the February 2,2023,meeting were presented. On motion duly made by Ms.McCann Slaughter and seconded by Mr.Lofton,the minutes were approved by the following recorded vote: J.Stanley Crockett Absent Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye TREASURER'S REPORTS Mr.Barker submitted the following reports: Checking Account Bank of Clarke County as of January 31,2023 40,423.06 Savings Account Scott Stringfellow as of January 31,2023 1,480,328.17 Checking Account Bank of Clarke County as of February 28,2023 5,022,980.56 Savings Account Scott Stringfellow as of February 28,2023 1,483,746.24 Page 2 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 On motion of Ms.McCann Slaughter,seconded by Mr.Lofton,the Treasurer’s Reports were approved by the following recorded vote: J.Stanley Crockett Absent Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye INVESTMENT OPTIONS FOR SCOTT STRINGFELLOW FUND BALANCE Mr.Tibbs distributed a spreadsheet showing investment alternatives with four local banks.The alternatives were discussed,and Mr.Tibbs was asked to further explore those shown for Truist Investment Services and the Bank of Clarke.This item will be brought back to the next meeting for further discussion. INCENTIVE POLICY Mr.Barker stated this document governs all aspects of the local economic development incentive grant process—i.e.,who qualifies,what is approval process,who conducts the audit of a company’s performance and who reviews performance agreements—and staff recommends the EDA Board review this document annually. The policy,with suggested revisions,was distributed to Board members prior to this meeting and Mr.Barker stated they chiefly center around eligible businesses and align with the State’s discretionary incentive.With the recently approved target industries,businesses receiving priority consideration have been modified to reflect those and details related to necessary wage levels to qualify have been updated.These updates align with current language within the State’s discretionary incentives.Other revisions are for clarity purposes.Staff is seeking EDA Board approval of the document. Following review and discussion,the updated Incentive Policy was approved by the following recorded vote: J.Stanley Crockett Absent Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye Page 3 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 JOINT MEETING WITH BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PREPARATION Mr.Barker stated that,the 2014 MOU between the EDA and the Board of Supervisors calls for an annual discussion and review of the Board of Supervisors’expectations for economic development,and the last joint meeting was held on April 27,2022. Last year’s agenda provided an overview of core EDA functions and recent projects and then gave an update to planned activities from the prior year as follows: General overview of the EDA’s mission Talent strategy implementation Targeted Business Analysis status update FredCo Eats Grocery store attraction status update Update to planned activities from last year This year,staff suggest structuring the agenda around the recently revised EDA strategy.Each of the four major goals would be defined and then a few activities from each goal would be highlighted along with measurements.Discussion would conclude by highlighting a few of the planned activities under each goal.Staff is seeking EDA Board feedback to this proposed agenda. A brief discussion of the proposed agenda followed. PRIORITY ACTIONS FOR TARGET INDUSTRY COMPETITIVENESS Mr.Barker reviewed that,at the EDA’s January meeting,staff provided an update to short term action plans for improving Frederick County’s competitiveness in attracting the approved Target Industry Sectors.The plan is focused on caveats related to talent and sites/buildings.The following provides an update on each item: TALENT Construct a listing of the Potential Candidates per Opening for Each Sector” which are low ratio red)to moderate ratio orange)results o Completed Identify necessary career pathways for those occupations o Completed.171 occupations were discovered,which required a wide array of education.Forty two 42)percent require a high school graduate and another 36%require a Bachelor’s degree.Less than 73% require moderate term on the job training. Verify infrastructure in place for those career pathways Page 4 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 o Completed.Eighty four,or 49%,were discovered to have no local career pathway.However,pathways for the vast majority of those could be found nearby. Discuss with key stakeholders engaged with career pathway development potential short=term solutions o Completed.Stakeholders were provided the listing of those occupations with no local career pathway.However,many of the occupations were highly specialized with demand likely insufficient at this time. Hold conversations with key employers on current hiring strategies o Partially complete.Eight employers were contacted.Central themes, thus far,were referral programs,Indeed postings and job fairs. Examine recommendations of DCI’s Talent Strategy for short term solutions o Completed. o Connecting young talent to internships through a major regional internship fair”over winter break to prepare for summer internships. o A public relations campaign to pitch region’s lifestyle stories to target market media and national media. o Marketing to existing visitors and reaching new visitors on the talent message.This activity would involve having a presence via branded booth)at major local events that draw visitors to our area.Promotional materials and someone on hand to answer questions about living and working in the region would be necessary.DCI suggested making sure to offer an incentive for visitors to stop by,like a chance to win a free return trip,free food/drink,or free photo opportunity in exchange for visitors’ phone or email.Cost will vary significantly depending on concept and partnerships. Develop recommendations with appropriate budget,if applicable o Under construction but need some guidance on the EDA Board’s preferred funding level and desired outcome/metrics from any expenditure. SITES/BUILDINGS Identify large acreage areas 100 acres or more)either zoned,comprehensively planned or otherwise with a focus on areas within proximity of major electric transmission lines o Completed—five areas identified. Discuss those identified areas with infrastructure providers to access service potential within 12 18 months with preliminary cost estimates,if applicable o Completed—four areas show reasonable potential to deliver in a short time period. Page 5 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 Contact property owners with industrially zoned properties of 50 acres or more and not actively marketed regarding their interest in listing their property on the EDA property database o Completed.Only a few properties discovered matching the criteria. Communication sent but no responses to date. Assess feasibility of future applications to the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program’s Site Development Fund o Application portal for 2023 should open in early summer.There is developing interest from two property owners to submit applications. Last year,VEDP advised localities to focus their application on their best site.However,if a locality had two unique properties size and targets),it may be appropriate to submit two. o Any site submitted must be currently zoned for industrial,or can be rezoned at the time of award,have a completed site characterization report,and be at least 100 acres.Potential funding could go toward due diligence studies,site improvements,engineering reports,road access or utility extensions. o EDA could submit 1)a property owner driven application or 2)their own for one of the three areas shown to have short term potential or 3)all sites.If the EDA desires to submit one of the four areas identified,then the EDA would contact the owners to gauge their willingness to partner. The EDA would need to lead and fund the rezoning process.Under this development process,the property owners would maintain ownership of the property but would have an agreement with the EDA that,at a minimum,would limit land sales to certain types of users,establish an agreed upon asking price upon rezoning,and pause accepting any contracts until after the grant process is complete.Rezoning costs engineering,etc.)and necessary studies for application could be 200,000 300,000. Collaborate with Planning Department and other applicable committees/parties to expand permitted uses with the Office/Industrial zoning district o Completed,BOS adopted revised OM zoning district on March 22,2023. STRATEGY MEASUREMENTS UPDATE Mr.Barker stated this was presented for information purposes only.The EDA Strategy,as approved by the EDA Board,helps guide staff as they pursue Frederick County’s economic development activities.Annually,the EDA Board reviews and adopts the Strategy to reaffirm and/or modify the overall goals and objectives.To ensure proper implementation,the staff provided an update on the plan’s performance measures. Page 6 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 FREDCO EATS Ms.May,Marketing Manager,reviewed results of the recent FredCo Eats event,the Agriculture Survey,and the Farm2Fork Affair held in Harrisonburg. AREA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATE AND CONSULTANT SURVEY Mr.Barker stated this was presented for information purposes only.Many of the EDA’s recent activities center around short term workforce needs and site readiness.These elements are constantly ranked as some of the top locally influenced factors used by corporate decision makers and site consultants per Area Development Magazine’s Annual Survey.County EDA staff routinely shapes its strategy based on this annual survey. Notable findings from the report show some continuing trends and some new entries to the top locally influenced factors.Availability of skilled labor remains a top factor 3 for corporate and 1 for consultants)and reinforces the EDA’s focus on short term workforce strategies. Same can be said for available land 10 for corporate and 7 for consultants).Quality of life rose sharply for corporate 2),up 9 spots from 2021.This highlights a need to continue to push the implementation of the Talent Strategy. CLOSED SESSION Upon Motion duly made by Ms.McCann Slaughter,seconded by Ms.Swecker,the Authority unanimously RESOLVED to go into a closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2 3711(A)(3)for the discussion and consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose,or of the disposition of publicly held real property,where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the Authority,and pursuant to Section 2.2 3711(A)(5)for discussion concerning a prospective business or industry where no previous announcement has been made of the business or industry’s interest in locating or expanding its facilities in the community. RETURN TO OPEN MEETING At the conclusion of the closed meeting concerning the discussion concerning the acquisition of real property for a public purpose,or of the disposition of publicly held real property,where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the Authority,and the discussion concerning a prospective business or industry where no previous announcement has been made of the business or industry’s interest in locating its facilities in the community,the following Resolution was unanimously adopted upon roll call vote as set forth below: WHEREAS,the Economic Development Authority of the County of Frederick,Virginia has concluded its closed meeting”at a meeting held on April 6,2023,and desires return to an open meeting”;and Page 7 of 7 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes April 6,2023 WHEREAS,the adoption of this Resolution is intended to serve as the Certificate”described in Section 2.2 3712(D)of the Code of Virginia 1950,as amended). NOW THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED that the Economic Development Authority of the County of Frederick,Virginia does hereby reconvene in an open meeting”at its meeting held on April 6,2023;and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each and every Member of said Authority who votes in the affirmative for this Resolution does thereby certify to the best of each Member’s knowledge that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act were heard,discussed or considered during the closed meeting,and that only such public business matters as were identified in the Motion which convened the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered during the course of said closed meeting by the Authority: Roll Call Vote J.Stanley Crockett Absent Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye ADJOURN There being no further business to come before this Authority,the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 a.m. Richard Till Jay Tibbs Chairman Secretary