HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDAMinutes2025September4
MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
| THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 |
A meeting of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority was held on
Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. in the County Administration Building, 1st
Floor Conference Room, 107 N. Kent Street, Winchester, Virginia.
PRESENT: Diane Kearns, Rick Till, Gary Lofton, and Tina Murphy
STAFF: Patrick Barker, Shayla Rickard, Wendy May and Donna McIlwee, Frederick
County Economic Development Authority; Jay Tibbs, Assistant County Administrator;
and Michael Bryan, EDA Attorney.
MEETING CALLED TO ORDER: Chairman Till called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the August 7, 2025, meeting were presented. On motion duly made by Mr.
Lofton and seconded by Ms. Murphy, the minutes were approved as presented by the
following recorded vote:
Bryan Fairbanks Absent
Diane Kearns Aye
Gary Lofton Aye
Judy McCann-Slaughter Absent
Tina Murphy Aye
Rick Till Aye
TREASURER'S REPORT
Mr. Barker submitted the following report:
Checking Account - Bank of Clarke as of July 31, 2025 - $4705.72
Intrafi Account – Bank of Clarke as of July 31, 2025 - $3,205,245.84
On motion of Ms. Kearns, seconded by Mr. Lofton, the Treasurer’s Report was
approved by the following recorded vote:
Bryan Fairbanks Absent
Diane Kearns Aye
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Gary Lofton Aye
Judy McCann-Slaughter Absent
Tina Murphy Aye
Rick Till Aye
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR FAST FORWARD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Mr. Barker stated that, following last month’s presentation by the Laurel Ridge Community
College’s Workforce Solutions (LRCC-WS), staff was directed to develop a structure for a
scholarship program to address funding issues associated with their Fast Forward program. He
presented for review and approval a draft Scholarship Program Agreement between the EDA
and LRCC-WS.
The Agreement establishes a collaborative scholarship initiative that will provide $200,000 in
funding to support at least 50 Frederick County residents accessing select Fast Forward
workforce training programs during the September 4, 2025 – June 30, 2026 term. Through this
partnership, eligible County residents will gain critical skills in high-demand occupations in the
EDA Target Industry Sectors, such as CDL training, electrical trades, HVAC, mechatronics and
welding. LRCC-WS will administer the program, verify eligibility, and provide quarterly
reporting to the EDA on enrollment, completion and job placement outcomes.
Mr. Till stressed to Board members this is a scholarship program, not a grant.
Mr. Lofton stated he would like to see a report of how many enroll in Fast Forward programs.
On motion of Ms. Kearns, seconded by Mr. Lofton, the framework of the scholarship program
was approved by the following recorded vote:
Bryan Fairbanks Absent
Diane Kearns Aye
Gary Lofton Aye
Judy McCann-Slaughter Absent
Tina Murphy Aye
Rick Till Aye
Mr. Bryan will prepare the legal document.
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UPDATE ON BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ ACTION REGARDING DATA CENTERS
Mr. Barker reported that, at the BOS meeting on August 13, Planning staff and EDA staff were
directed to conduct two tasks related to data centers: (1) Planning staff will prepare and
present an impartial and objective explanation of the characteristics, concerns and
opportunities associated with data centers as a land use. This will be in the form of a report
and presentation to the Planning Commission and BOS at their regular meetings and (2) the
EDA will organize and conduct a Community Information Exchange initiative on data centers to
provide opportunities to provide residents, business owners, and civic leaders with clear,
accessible and fact-based information. This initiative will include representatives in the fields of
electrical power, public water, noise and other related matters and will commence after the
explanation document has been presented to the BOS. Current timing is later this fall.
Ms. Kearns stated speakers who can address this subject from an agriculture perspective are
also needed.
LARGE PROJECT READY SITES CONCEPT
Mr. Barker stated that, at its last meeting, the EDA Board directed staff to modify its strategy to
expand the number of large project ready sites by refining the definition of “large” to
properties less than 100 acres as one modification. The definition of “project ready” remained
the same.
Staff has identified properties and has begun the same internal assessment to identify and
prioritize candidate properties as in the previous analysis. At the end of the assessment, each
property will be assigned a priority level based on a calculated per-acre cost, which includes the
site’s asking price and estimated infrastructure costs to extend or upgrade utilities and access
within the defined timeframe. The goal is to have this completed by October.
Staff have also re-engaged the top priority sites to gauge interest in a revised agreement that
focuses exclusively on rezoning.
Mr. Till stressed the process has not changed, just changing the parameter to under 100 acres.
SUCH OTHER BUSINESS AS MAY COME BEFORE THIS AUTHORITY
Mr. Till reported that Stan Crockett has resigned from the EDA Board.
Ms. Rickard reported the Employer Expo will be held on September 11 at Laurel Ridge
Community College with 34 companies represented. Worlds of Work (WoW) will be October 2
at the James R. Wilkins Athletic & Events Center on the campus of Shenandoah University.
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Due to a conflict with Mr. Barker’s schedule, the next EDA Board meeting was rescheduled to
Thursday, October 9.
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