WYOMING COUNTY IDA BOARD MEETING MINUTES
The WCIDA Board of Directors met on April 25, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at the Wyoming County Business Services Center, 6470 Route 20A Perry, New York 14530.
1. Roll call was taken. In attendance were: Norb Fuest, Chairman; Amanda Parker, Vice Chair; Bruce Camp, Treasurer; James Morey, Secretary; Mark Merrill, Assistant Secretary; Jim Pierce, Executive Director; Robin Marschilok, Program Manager.
Also in attendance:
Art Buckley, Wyoming County Planning
Scott Gardner, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce
2. Administrative
Minutes of the March 28, 2013 Board meeting were reviewed. A motion was made by B. Camp and seconded by A. Parker to accept the minutes. The motion was unanimously approved. J. Morey and M. Merrill abstained.
The financial reports from March 2013 were reviewed and accepted on a motion made by M. Merrill, seconded by J. Morey. The motion was unanimously approved. The Board discussed past due accounts and concluded that more action is required by agency counsel regarding the status of Mest Packing Co.’s delinquent account.
3. 2012 Audit Final -
J. Pierce introduced Kathryn Barrett of Freed Maxick & Battaglia to present the final audit for 2012. Barrett reported that the simultaneous audits of both the IDA and BAC were completed and no major issues or concerns were sited. Barrett reviewed the combined financial statements of the agencies and concluded with stating that there were no audit adjustment for the IDA and only one adjustment in regards to the allowance account made on behalf of the BAC. After the conclusion of Barrett’s presentation the Board approved of the audited financials on a motion made by J. Morey. The motion was seconded by A. Parker and unanimously approved.
4. Executive Director’s Report
A. Economic Development Updates
· Continue discussions with representatives from American Classic Outfitters (Liebe) on the potential merger with Game Wear another manufacturer of athletic apparel that is interested in bring some work from El Salvador to Perry. If successful the project would bring 100 jobs to Perry and help retain 65 positions. Efforts are underway to raise $1 million in capital for this project, thus far $700,000 has been raised.
· After learning that an Arcade manufacturer was interested in buying a machine shop to be used in their finishing process, Jim P. led them to Devin Manufacturing where the potential buyer is doing their due diligence.
· A contractor from the Varysburg after partnership discussions with the folks from American Heritage Homes, both of whom have an interest in starting a modular home manufacturing operation, are parting and going their separate ways. American Heritage Homes is now considering leasing space in the Town of Bennington and the contractor is considering space in the Toy Storage building in Castile.
· Working with GenTech Scientific of Arcade who is proposing and expansion of their business into the recently vacated Hilec building next door. The expansion will be a sizable capital investment that will net 5 new jobs. Possible IDA incentives were discussed.
· Working with an existing agribusiness from Warsaw is making plans to build a new facility in the Warsaw Industrial Park. The business that currently employs 12 people will increase employment by 6 after the construction of a 10,000 sq. ft. building. They will be looking to the IDA for assistance.
· Working with an electronic manufacturer from Arcade which was recently purchased by a capital venture firm, is now in a strong position to look at some acquisitions that should result in some new job creation and need for additional space . IDA incentives were identified to the company
· Met with Katie Domes of Eagle to discuss some plans that would involve expanding her services of their Country Market and possibly the reopening of the building next door for nursery items for home and garden. They are putting together a business plan.
· Met with the owner of Maple Grove Enterprises from Arcade who is working on plans to construct a 7,000 sq. ft. building. The project will create 10 new jobs. Potential IDA incentives have been identified and the owner will discuss these over with his partners.
A & A Metal Site Update
· The DEC has awarded the bid for the cleanup of the petroleum contamination discovered at the former A & A Metal site. Within one week the site will be remediated and then the next steps can be taken on foreclosure and/or transfer ownership rights to a business prospect. Two businesses have expressed an interest in acquiring the site.
Other Activities
· As Co-Chair of the Agriculture and Food Processing Workgroup of the Regional Council we have continued to meet to identify regional projects that will benefit this industry group. One of those priority projects is the creation of an agriculture and food processing venture fund to support innovation and entrepreneurship. The fund would be low cost financing that can serve even the smallest of new business startups in agriculture and food processing, where there currently are not many options for assistance.
· The Regional Development Group has just recently discussed putting together and CFA on behalf of an Ag/Venture Fund for our region. In order to do this they are looking for an IDA to be the applicant for the grant and the Finger Lakes Regional council will administer the grant. After discussion the IDA Board expressed an interest in being applicant if there are funds available for the work the IDA staff will be responsible for. Pierce will look into this further.
B. Proposal For Real Estate Acquisition
Pierce informed the Board that the Village of Arcade had verbally accepted the WCIDA’s offer for the purchase of 4.2 acres of light industrial highway commercial property in Arcade. The Village is working on completing the official documents to move forward with the sale to the IDA.
C. Wyoming County Rail Initiative – Attica
Pierce then updated the board on the activity regarding the Attica Rail Project. Pierce met with the new Village Mayor and a trustee of the village to discuss the IDA’s proposed plan for moving forward with the project. The Village officials indicated that they were not in favor of the project location because it might be used by Hillcrest. Pierce has had conversation with R. Henry and N. Gardner of Clark Patterson Lee and they have agreed to seek out another possible site for the project that may involve looking at other communities. After discussion, the Board agreed to continue to look at other location options and also continue talks with Attica officials in hopes of coming to an agreement there.
5. Loan Request
R. Marschilok then presented a loan request from Caring Harts Transport. Caring Harts is looking for a $45,000 loan for roof repairs and an overhead door installation at their facility in Strykersville. The IDA holds 2 notes collateralized by property owned by the business and both are current and in good standing. The Board discussed the Company’s profitability and continued improvement to its bottom line. After review, the Board tabled its decision and requested Marschilok refer back to the Company for additional information and clarification concerning their need for the funding.
6. Marketing Items
A. Website- Pierce updated the Board on the progress of the website. Much of the content work has been completed and the web team is putting together pictures and final touches.
B. Tagline and Logo- Pierce, Marschilok and J. Morey met earlier this month to discuss a new tagline and logo for the WCIDA that would be something fresh and would identify what the IDA does. Jim Morey explained that the new tagline proposed is “Innovative Solutions for Business Growth” which to an outsider would indicate that the IDA is both innovative with its ideas and capable of providing solutions for business needs. Jim Morey also provided a proposed logo for consideration.
C. Marketing Plan – Business Attraction – Pierce discussed his proposed plans for utilizing the WCBC for the development of a business attraction marketing strategy, marketing materials and a campaign for Wyoming County. He informed the Board that now that the WCBC budget has been restored to the 2011 level resources are available to conduct what is a long overdue marketing plan for business attraction that for the most part was shelved because of lack of resources. If authorization is given by the WCBC Board an RFP for outside assistance will be prepared and a consultant brought on to complete this work in this calendar year.
7. Other Business / Correspondence – Update on the search for a part-time administrative support person.
Marschilok informed the Board that over 50 applications had been received to date in response to the help wanted ad posted earlier this month. The process of selecting the candidate for the position will hopefully be wrapped up by May’s meeting. Once Pierce and Marschilok have narrowed the choices down to a few prospects N. Fuest will participate in the final interviews and help pick the new Administrative / Program Assistant.
8. Guest Reports
S. Gardner addressed the Board as the new President of the Wyoming County Chamber. He informed the Board of upcoming Chamber events including the Annual Gala on May 8th and Agri-palooza on June 9th.
9. Executive Session The Board then moved into executive session on a motion made by M. Merrill, seconded by J. Morey and unanimously approved. Once in executive session the Board discussed the need for upgrading the role of R. Marschilok and a new title to more accurately reflect her responsibilities. Since M. Heftka has no longer been with the IDA Marschilok has shown her continued dedication and ability to carry out more of the IDA management functions. This would free up the Executive Director to concentrate more on identifying and harvesting new projects and developing new business leads for Wyoming County. The Board recommended that Marschilok’s new title be Director of Operations and with that an adjustment to compensation was agreed upon. The Board moved out of executive session. Once out of executive session A. Parker made a motion to approve the recommend promotion to Director of Operations with the increase in salary for R. Marschilok. The motion was seconded by M. Merrill and unanimously approved.
There being no other business the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. by unanimous consent.
The next regular scheduled WCIDA Board meeting will be May 23, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at the Wyoming County Business Services Center.
Minutes prepared by R. Marschilok
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