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MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
| THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 |
A meeting of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority was held on
Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. in the County Administration Building, 1st Floor
Conference Room, 107 N. Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia.
PRESENT: Judy McCann-Slaughter, Diane Kearns, Stan Crockett, Rick Till, Bryan
Fairbanks and Tina Murphy.
STAFF: Patrick Barker, Shayla Rickard, Wendy May and Donna McIlwee, Frederick
County Economic Development Authority; and Michael Bryan, EDA Attorney.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Chairman Till called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW BOARD MEMBER
Mr. Till introduced and welcomed Tina Murphy, new EDA Board member.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the March 6, 2025, meeting were presented. On motion duly made by Mr.
Crockett and seconded by Ms. McCann-Slaughter, the minutes were approved as presented by
the following recorded vote:
J. Stanley Crockett Aye
Bryan Fairbanks Absent (not arrived yet)
Diane Kearns Absent (not arrived yet)
Gary Lofton Absent
Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye
Tina Murphy Aye
Rick Till Aye
TREASURER'S REPORT
Mr. Barker submitted the following report:
Checking Account - Bank of Clarke as of March 31, 2025 - $6108.72
Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of March 31, 2025 - $3,168,164.34
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Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | May 1, 2025
On motion of Ms. McCann-Slaughter, seconded by Mr. Crockett, the Treasurer’s
Report was approved by the following recorded vote:
J. Stanley Crockett Aye
Bryan Fairbanks Absent (not arrived yet)
Diane Kearns Aye
Gary Lofton Absent
Judy McCann-Slaughter Aye
Tina Murphy Aye
Rick Till Aye
LARGE PROJECT READY SITES CONCEPT | NEXT STEPS
Mr. Barker reminded Board members that, at the January meeting, they endorsed proceeding
with a plan to expand the number of large project ready sites. This approach began with an
internal staff assessment to identify and prioritize potential sites. For our purposes, large sites
will be defined as 100 acres or more of contiguous property. Project ready will be defined as
having the necessary entitlements (industrially zoned) and infrastructure (roads, water,
wastewater, electric and natural gas) currently available or could be available within 12-18
months.
A critical component of the Large Project Ready Sites Plan involves assigning a priority level to
each identified site. This prioritization will be based on a calculated per acre cost, which
considers the asking price of the site and costs to bring infrastructure to the site.
Mr. Barker presented data he had researched that showed 550,000 gallons of water per 100
acre site and 30-60 megawatts of electricity could be needed depending on the kind of usage
for the property. The timeline for acquiring the necessary infrastructure could be 2-4 years for
electricity; 18-24 months for natural gas; and 24+ months for wastewater.
He reported that staff has contacted all infrastructure providers to acquire input for the Site
Evaluation Matrix. Only a few still need to provide the requested information. Once received,
staff will provide the completed Matrix and recommended next steps. For review and
discussion, he provided Board members with a table detailing the completion level for the 5
sites (all 200 or more acres) under consideration.
Ms. Kearns asked when the 5 sites could be identified to Board members. Mr. Barker replied
it’s too early in the process and, at this point, doing so would not add any value.
FREDCO EATS
Ms. May, Marketing Manager, presented a recap of the 2025 Restaurant Week and reviewed
survey results. She also reviewed the Cultivate Your Agri-Business Conference held on February
27 and other local food economy happenings.
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Frederick County EDA Meeting Minutes | May 1, 2025
WIDGET CUP RECAP
Ms. Rickard, Business Retention Manager, reviewed the Widget Cup 2025 competition held on
April 8. The winning team was from Clarke County.
WORLDS OF WORK
Ms. Rickard reported that this year’s Worlds of Work event will be held on Thursday, October 2.
She also reported that the Employer Expo is scheduled to be held on May 15.
AREA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATE AND CONSULTANT SURVEY
Mr. Barker stated that 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 local
factors used by corporate decision makers and site consultants, per Area Development
magazine’s Annual Survey. The EDA staff routinely shapes its strategy based on this survey.
Board members were provided a copy of this year’s survey results.
Notable findings show some continuing trends and some new entries to the top local factors.
Availability of skilled labor remains a top factor (#5 for corporate and #3 for consultants) and
reinforces our focus on short-term workforce strategies. Same can be said for available land
(#14 for corporate and #3 for consultants). Quality of life is very strong for corporate (#2). This
highlights a need to continue to push implementation of the Talent Strategy.
If any Board member wants more details, please contact Mr. Barker.
ADJOURN
There being no further business to come before this Authority, the meeting was adjourned at
8:45 a.m.
________________________________ ____________________________
Richard Till Jay Tibbs
Chairman Secretary