EDAMinutes2023September7
MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
| THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 |
A meeting of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority was held on
Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. in the County Administration Building, First
Floor Conference Room, 107 North Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia.
PRESENT: Rick Till, Diane Kearns, Judy McCann-Slaughter, Stan Crockett, and Gary
L ofton.
STAFF: Patrick Barker, Shayla Rickard, and Wendy May, 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 July 6, 2023, meeting were presented.
On motion duly made by Mr. Lofton and seconded by Mr. Crockett, the minutes were approved
by the following recorded vote:
J. Stanley Crockett Aye
Bryan Fairbanks Absent
Diane Kearns Aye
Gary Lofton Aye
Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye
Karen Swecker Absent
Rick Till Aye
TREASURER'S REPORTS
Mr. Barker submitted the following reports:
Checking Account - Bank of Clarke as of June 30, 2023 - $31,699.56
Savings Account - Scott & Stringfellow as of June 30, 2023 - $588.60
Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of June 30, 2023 - $1,525,535.30
Checking Account - Bank of Clarke as of July 31, 2023 - $24,683.16
Savings Account - Scott & Stringfellow as of July 31, 2023 - $.06
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Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | September 7, 2023
Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of July 31, 2023 - $1,530,838.74
On motion of Ms. McCann-Slaughter, seconded by Mr. Crockett, the Treasurer’s
Reports were approved by the following recorded vote:
J. Stanley Crockett Aye
Bryan Fairbanks Absent
Diane Kearns Aye
Gary Lofton Aye
Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye
Karen Swecker Absent
Rick Till Aye
LAUREL RIDGE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Mr. Barker introduced Ms. Christine Kriz, Executive Director of the Laurel Ridge Small Business
Development Center, who provided an update on the Center’s activities and expressed
appreciation for the EDA’s support.
Diana Patterson, also from the Small Business Development Center, gave a presentation on the
bilingual services they provide with the financial support they have received from the EDA. She
was accompanied by one of their clients who gave a testimonial for this program.
BUSINESS RETENTION MANAGER PROJECT UPDATE
Shayla Rickard, Business Retention Manager, presented an update on her activities in this
position.
JOINT MEETING WITH BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Mr. Till asked each Board member their thoughts on the recent joint meeting with the BOS.
Ms. McCann-Slaughter stated she felt it went well and Mr. Barker had done a good job
reviewing the EDA’s activities and future goals.
Ms. Kearns remarked that feels there needs to be more conversation about targeted industry
jobs vs. jobs in general---i.e., how do they relate and what do we want to do on the BOS level.
Her hope was that the BOS would have dug into the subject more so there could have been
some discussion with them. She also stated there seems to be a perception in the community
that the EDA is trying to block some development.
Ms. McCann-Slaughter stated the BOS has confidence in the EDA Board and she believes
diversity in any community is imperative.
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Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | September 7, 2023
Mr. Lofton remarked that the BOS placed their confidence in the EDA when it was transitioned
from an IDA to an EDA. When looking at our targeted industries, the biggest is warehousing but
the EDA needs to be an advocate for our community to attract all industries. He also stated he
struggles with target industries as we move forward and the BOS looks at the EDA Board to give
them direction.
Mr. Crockett feels the EDA Board’s function is to act as a consultant for the BOS to advise what
we are doing and how the EDA is meeting its fiduciary responsibility.
Mr. Till stated he feels the BOS is supportive of the EDA and agrees with our direction.
PROPOSED EDA COMMENT AT PUBLIC HEARING FOR NORTHEAST LAND USE PLAN UPDATE
Board members were provided a copy of the comment that Mr. Till plans to make at the Public
Hearing on this topic and were asked for comments/suggestions.
Ms. McCann-Slaughter stated she feels there should be comments added about how the
County’s tax base would be affected by both plans (one plan vs. another).
After discussion, Mr. Barker agreed to explore the existence of more in-depth analytical data to
add to the EDA’s comment.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Till gave a brief report on the meetings he and Mr. Barker held with each EDA Board
member individually. There were interesting discussions with varying topics of importance to
Board members but everyone believes the EDA is on the right path. Some important issues
expressed were:
(1) Workforce---support for Laurel Ridge Community College and local schools, job fairs
(hold Expo twice a year), Widget Cup, Boot Camp for manufacturing jobs
(2) Sites---land acquisition, collaboration between Valley Health and Fisher Scientific,
manufacturing roundtable, support of airport, working with other regional EDAs
(3) Other ---share informational topics with EDA Board quarterly (utilities,
transportation, Federick County departments, Frederick Water, etc.), build on and
maximize what we are doing, grocery store attraction, self-promotion of
accomplishments
Mr. Lofton asked if Wendy May, Marketing Manager, had any data/comments from restaurants
who participated in the FredCo Eats program as to how successful their participation was---he
would be interested in knowing.
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Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | September 7, 2023
ADJOURN
There being no further business to come before this Authority, the meeting was adjourned at
9:15 a.m.
________________________________ ____________________________
Richard Till Jay Tibbs
Chairman Secretary