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EDAMinutes2024January4 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY | THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024 | A meeting of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority was held on Thursday, January 4, 2024, 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, Karen Swecker, Bryan Fairbanks and Gary Lofton. STAFF: Patrick Barker, Shayla Rickard, Wendy May, and Donna McIlwee Frederick County Economic Development Authority; Michael Bryan, EDA Attorney; and Rod Williams, County Attorney. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Chairman Till called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. AGENDA MODIFICATION Chairman Till stated that, due to a previous commitment of the County Attorney, agenda item #7 (Performance Agreements with Virginia Business Ready Site Program) needed to be moved to follow the Annual Meeting agenda item. On motion of Mr. Lofton, seconded by Ms. McCann-Slaughter, the agenda modification was approved by the following recorded vote: J. Stanley Crockett Aye Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from the October 24, 2023, meeting were presented. On motion duly made by Ms. McCann-Slaughter and seconded by Mr. Fairbanks, the minutes were approved by the following recorded vote: J. Stanley Crockett Aye Bryan Fairbanks Aye Page 2 of 5 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | January 4, 2024 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 as of October 31, 2023 - $38,648.00 Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of October 31, 2023 - $2,760,516.44 Checking Account - Bank of Clarke as of November 30, 2023 - $7,043.22 Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of November 30, 2023 - $2,888.123.68 On motion of Ms. McCann-Slaughter, seconded by Ms. Diane Kearns, the Treasurer’s Reports were approved by the following recorded vote: J. Stanley Crockett Aye Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye ANNUAL MEETING Mr. Bryan presided for this portion of the meeting. He announced the proposed slate of officers is Rick Till, Chairman; Stan Crockett, Vice Chairman; and Jay Tibbs, Secretary and Treasurer. There being no further nominations, he declared the officers, as presented, elected by acclimation. Following the election of officers, the first Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. at 107 N. Kent Street was established for regular monthly Board meetings. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS VIRGINIA BUSINESS READY SITE PROGRAM Mr. Barker stated the EDA Board approved the Agreements, with the inclusion of a proposed revision to Section 10 requested by the Board, at its October meeting. A representative agreement was provided to VEDP and the Peterson Companies for review and execution, if applicable. Recently, the Peterson Companies provided some additional suggested revisions. VEDP is aware of these revisions and they are currently undergoing legal review by the EDA Attorney and County Attorney. As a further update, he stated he had received word yesterday from the Peterson Companies that they will sign the Agreement as presented to them. He is Page 3 of 5 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | January 4, 2024 now waiting to receive the executed document from them and, once received, he will work with VEDP to finalize. EDA STRATEGY Mr. Barker stated that, at the October meeting, an updated draft Strategy was provided and it was requested that any suggested revisions be sent to him prior to the December Board meeting. An updated draft copy was distributed to Board members prior to this meeting, which incorporated pertinent Board revisions as well as updated economic statistics and miscellaneous staff suggestions. So that Board members would be aware of those suggestions received after the October meeting, he reviewed them. On motion of Mr. Crockett, seconded by Mr. Fairbanks, the Board voted to approve the Strategy as presented with the additional changes by the following recorded vote: J. Stanley Crockett Aye Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye EDA BUDGET FY 25 Mr. Barker reviewed the EDA’s draft budget for FY25. He stated approval of the budget request will permit the EDA to continue enhancing its role and staff is requesting the Authority’s comments and recommendation on forwarding the FY25 budget request, if appropriate. EDA’s FY25 request of Frederick County is $744,395 a decrease of 3.0% or $22,552. The balance of funds will come from the Frederick County Economic Development Authority and business sponsorships and partners. Ms. McCann-Slaughter commented that the $10,000 request for Social Media Management under the Career Pathway Programs and $10,000 requested for Social Media Management under the Talent Attraction/Retention section need to be carried over to the “Difference 24 & 25” column for each on page 1 since both are new budget requests. On motion of Mr. Lofton, seconded by Mr. Crockett, the Board voted to submit the draft budget, with the inclusion of Ms. McCann-Slaughter’s comment, by the following recorded vote: J. Stanley Crockett Aye Bryan Fairbanks Aye Diane Kearns Aye Page 4 of 5 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | January 4, 2024 Gary Lofton Aye Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye Karen Swecker Aye Rick Till Aye VIRGINIA BUSINESS READY SITE PROGRAM APPLICATION Mr. Barker reported a pre-application for the 2024 round of the Virginia Business Ready Site Grant was submitted, and subsequently approved, for One Logistics Park’s Phase B. The application will assist in providing a Tier 5 site consisting of 122.96 acres, which is currently not available in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. The requested funding will be directed toward the construction of an electric substation to provide a project-ready site option for our targeted industry sectors. Additional private monies will fund major earthwork, infrastructure and utility improvements. Comparable to the process for the Valley Innovation Park, the property owner would provide the local match and complete the work, if the application is successful. The agreement between the property owner and the EDA would include assurances/guarantees related to any VBRSP funding, ensure the current zoning for 10 years, and focus efforts for 10 years on EDA industry targets. The Site Development Application is due January 11, 2024, and staff will work with representatives of One Logistics Park’s Phase B to complete. Mr. Lofton suggested that a call to our State legislators might be helpful in securing the Grant. Mr. Barker stated he will make them aware of the application. Ms. Kearns inquired what percentage of localities in Virginia actually apply for these Grants. Mr. Barker will obtain the requested information. WORLDS OF WORK Ms. Shayla Rickard, Existing Business Manager, gave an overview of this event held in September 2023. There were 79 exhibitors with over 2000 students in attendance. A date for the 2024 event has not been established yet. Mr. Lofton asked how heavily local schools were involved with this event. Mr. Till stated that all have representatives serving on the Planning Committee. RESTAURANT WEEK & CULTIVATE YOUR AGRIBUSINESS CONFERENCE Ms. Wendy May, Marketing Manager, provided an update on these two upcoming events. The 3rd FredCo Eats Restaurant Week will be held January 29 through February 4, 2024. The agribusiness conference will be held on February 21, 2024, and the featured speaker will be Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. Lofton asked if we try to connect restaurants with local agriculture sources. Ms. May stated that is being worked on. Page 5 of 5 Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | January 4, 2024 ADJOURN There being no further business to come before this Authority, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 a.m. ________________________________ ____________________________ Richard Till Jay Tibbs Chairman Secretary