Loudoun County

Rural Economic Development Council

Meeting Minutes

Date: February 3, 2015 4:00pm- 6:00pm
Location: Ida Lee Recreation Center, Leesburg, VA
REDC Members
Kelly Allen (At-Large) / N / Tony Howard (Advisory) / Y
Brenda Allen-Toon (Direct Markets) / N / David Hubbuch (Horticulture) / Y
Malcolm Baldwin (At-Large) / Y / Destry Jarvis (Outdoor Recreation) / Y
Wendy Bebie (Historic Tourism Property) / Y / Alta Jones (Banking & Finance) / Y
Gem Bingol (Environmental Resources) / Y / Don Kinnan (Wine Industry) / Y
Jean Brown (Bed & Breakfast) / Y / Cindy Lowther (At-Large) / N
Jeff Browning (Agribusiness) / Y / John Magistro (At-Large) / Y
Jim Christian (SWCD) / Y / Chauvon McFadden (EDC) / Y
Theresa Davenport (Professional Services) / Y / Avis Renshaw (Rural-Based Business) / Y
Mark Depo (Building & Dev) / N / Beth Sastre (Advisory) / N
Doug Fabbioli (Education) / Y / Robin Suomi (Advisory) / N
Kelly Foltman (Equine) / Y / Ben Taylor (Visit Loudoun) / Y
Chris Hatch (Production Agriculture) / Y / Nathan Thomas (At-Large) / N
Jim Hilleary (Advisory) / N / Chris Van Vlack (Farm Bureau) / Y
Peter Holden (ADAC) / Y
Appointed, Advisory and Guests
Ted Lauer, Carolyn Reagle, Dennis Fuze, Dave Stegmaier
Terri Smithson, Susan VanEpps, Cassie Walls
Agenda: Welcome-Call To Order / Introductions / Adoption of December 2, 2014 Meeting Minutes; Library Services Presentation; SBA Loan Presentation; Viticulture and Enology Center Presentation; Election of Officers; PIC Update; ZOAG Update; REBDS Implementation Strategy Update; DED Update; Industry Clusters Reports; Old Business; New Business; Next Meeting; Adjournment.
Call to Order/Introductions: The meeting was called to order at 4:08 PM. Destry Jarvis welcomed the group and introductions began.
Adoption of December Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve the minutes as written Jeff Browning /2nd by Jean Brown. Motion Approved.
SBA Loan Presentation: Ted Lauer gave a presentation to the group on SBA Loans, specifically 7a loans for a variety of business needs. Ted gave the negatives and positives of an SBA loan to the group and ended the presentation with Q&A.
Library Services Presentation: Carolyn Reagle gave a brief presentation to the group about Loudoun County Libraries and what the library system in this county has to offer. Carolyn let the group know of the new technology at the Gum Springs library as well as the conference rooms that could be used by groups such as the REDC.
Election of Officers: Alta Jones let the group know that the nominating committees position on keeping the Chair and Vice Chair the same for 1 more year. The floor was open to nomination. Malcolm made a Motion to accept the nominating committees position of keeping the Chair as Destry Jarvis and Vice Chair as Cindy Lowther for one more year /2nd by Jean Brown. Motion Approved.
Policy Subcommittee Update: Jeff Browning updated the group on the PIC. For the past 2 meetings PIC has discussed ZOAG rural uses such as historic structures, meat processing and GAAP certification. LCEA will be looking at equestrian uses.
ZOAG Update: Dave Hubbuch updated the group on what has been happening since the last meeting in December with ZOAG. The Board of Supervisors passed the brewery legislation with a few last minute changes. There will now be a minimum acreage of 10 acres to have a brewery, sketch plan must be submitted, and there has to be a consultation with the health dept. and planning.
Implementation Strategy Update: Doug updated the group on the last meeting of the REBDS. Meeting notes are attached to this agenda packet. Alta and Avis gave an update on the Friends & Farms trip that REBDS took to Columbia, Md.
DED Update: Susan VanEpps gave an update on the Christmas Tree Growers season with results from the grower’s survey. The Blue Ridge Cattlemen are now up to 175 members, with 22 new members this year.
Industry Cluster Reports: Jean Brown let the group know that the B&B’s are doing great; the Purcellville Town Council viewed a presentation by Jean on the B&B industry that went very well. Don Kinnan introduced himself to the group and gave an update on the wine industry. Loudoun Wine Industry wants to launch a Loudoun County Wine Competition in the near future. Malcolm Baldwin let the group know the Lovettsville Grocery Co-op has moved forward with being the grocery store for the Town Center of Lovettsville. Kelly Foltman informed the group that the Equine Owners Survey final packet has been sent out to the public, and there have been over 800 responses to the surveys thus far. She also let everyone know that Libby Johnson will be presenting at the LCEA Annual Meeting, and the LCEA hopes that Supervisors as well as Purcellville Council members can make it to the meeting to see what there is out there for the equine industry. Wendy Bebie let the group know what is going on with the Rural Roads group that Mitch Diamond heads up. There will be a VDOT meeting in March to discuss the maintenance schedule for rural roads. Avis updated the group on CASA and the VA Biological Farming Conventions letting everyone know they both seem to be growing each year and gaining momentum. Chauvon let the group know that the EDAC has only had one administrative meeting so far this year; there are three strong committees in the EDAC. Doug let the group know about the VA Vineyards Association Meeting as well as the Brewers Craft Beverages Conference coming up. Doug also updated the group on the peer to peer network that he is working on with Jim Hilleary; Doug is also now the Education Sector rep for REDC. Pete Holden updated everyone on ADAC, letting the group know that there are 5 districts up for renewal this year and the committee will be keeping the same chair and vice chair as last year. Chris Hatch informed the group of an article in the Lancaster Farming newspaper that discussed a variety of grants available to farmers. Teresa Davenport introduced herself to the group as a new REDC member, and let the group know that she is the communications go to at Morven Park. Tony Howard let the group know about the Annual Chamber Valor Awards. Ben Taylor let the group know that the new Visit Loudoun visitors guide will be out this month. Visit Loudoun had a meeting at DED to discuss branding the new farm breweries in the County. Gem Bingol let everyone know that the Buy Fresh Buy Local is currently taking producer updates. She also let the group know of a Soil Science workshop that will be coming up as well as a PEC event for cow calf operators. The information will be distributed by email. Jeff Browning updated the group on the Cattlemen’s meeting letting everyone know how successful it was and how lucky we are to have Gary Hornbaker in the County. Chris VanVlack updated the group on the SWCD; there is a program for vineyards/orchards/farms that document time spent monitoring diseases to get 25% VA state tax credit. Farm Bureau was concerned about the Food Freedom amendment; however the legislation has been tabled. John Magistro informed the group of the new Conservation Easement proposal going to Senate; John will forward the information along electronically. Destry Jarvis updated the group on his trip to Beijing, the trip was a success. Destry also let the group know that on the recreation front, they are working to produce a map of trails in the County that includes amenities in the surrounding area.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 p.m.
Follow-up: None
Date, Time and Location of Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 from 4-6PM at Ida Lee Recreation