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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/04/25 EDA MinutesEconomic Development Authority Meeting Minutes February 4, 2025 Chairman Huttick called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. and asked for a roll call. Roger Bell- Aye Collette Hash- Aye Peter Huber- Aye Jeffery Worrell- Aye Robert Huttick- Aye Adoption of November 6, 2024 Minutes Chairman Huttick asked for an amendment stating the amount limitation in Article X of the bylaws was $1,500 not $15,000. The motion was made by Ms. Hash and seconded by Mr. Bell to adopt the minutes with the amendment. The motion passed unanimously. Financial Report Manager Day stated there wasn’t a lot of activity with the finances within the last two months outside of the payments from Bimmerworld and the project on Main Street. He reported there was a $12,500 start off with the EDA and both entities are making payments without any issues. Manager Day stated he would speak with Carrie at Bimmerworld and set up a tour of the facility for the board. The motion was made by Mr. Huber and seconded by Mr. Bell to approve the financial report. Roger Bell- Aye Collette Hash- Aye Peter Huber- Aye Jeffery Worrell- Aye Robert Huttick- Aye Discussion Blighted Properties Manager Day stated he has received questions regarding the difference of powers between the EDA and Housing Authority, they are alike in many manners but one exception being the EDA cannot work with housing. Manager Day reported there are sixteen homes that he’s targeting for condemnation and he has the Building Department, Code Enforcement, and Economic Development involved in a program with VOCA and DHCD to take those properties through the proper condemnation process, remove those structures and acquire the land. Typically, the land owners of the properties live far away and the town can continue to put liens on the property but liens are only as strong as the value of the property, and once you’ve exceeded the value of the property, it’s pure tax dollars and there’s no return on it. He gave the example of the town having built two homes and one under construction off of a grant from DHCD, and it has a $50,000 grant back from DHCD once the homes are bought and sold, the catch is that it has to be to a first-time home buyer along with other conditions but the program he’s working on wouldn’t be that way. He stated he could reach out to developers and/or contractors, have them put a structure there and sell it to the highest bidder, you now have a home there and tax revenue. Manager Day stated although there are incentives, like the enterprise zone, they are county initiated and EDAs through the county are more involved because of their level of funding but he would like to see this board be independent from the county, and it’s not for political reasons, he is wanting the town to have their own entity, their own identity with their own projects. Mr. Huber asked if we would be pursuing tax sales from the dilapidated structures. Manager Day reported yes, we typically do sheet sales but they won’t move if they’re condemned. He stated he is not trying to take away from someone who is less fortunate, may live out of town and has a home, they have to pay taxes and even if it’s structurally sound, after three years we have to chase it, it can still go to a sheet sale, so those are the homes he’s targeting. There is a lot of opportunity and the idea is to grow the community. Mr. Worrell asked if the sixteen properties he’s pursuing are abandoned structures. Manager Day stated they are abandoned with no life in them. The motion was made by Mr. Huber and seconded by Mr. Worrell to endorse the effort and offer whatever assistance the board can provide in addressing the dilapidated properties. Roger Bell- Nay Collette Hash- Aye Peter Huber- Aye Jeffery Worrell- Aye Robert Huttick- Aye MacGill Park Manager Day stated there was a letter written from the Planning Commission to Town Council a number of years ago about wanting to keep MacGill Park a green space that he’s looking into and working with a potential developer. He asked the board for their support to allow him to continue to procrastinate as MacGill Park is a good opportunity but he is still working on getting everything aligned there. Mr. Huber asked if it would be appropriate to ask the Planning Commission for specifics or if they have a vision for what they would like it to be whether it’s just that they don’t want any development there. Manager Day replied yes, absolutely. Mr. Huber stated it would seem reasonable to him if there could be a compromise, that there’d be some green space there but that there’d also be opportunities for probably additional housing because that’s in the middle of a residential area. Ms. Hash stated it would be nice to see a compromise of development and green space as there are a lot of children in that area and we need to be mindful of that. Mr. Bell expressed his concerns to see just how relevant a green space is in the greater span of time beyond 10, 15, 20 years. Compromising development and green space is great but only if we look at the long-term effect because once there’s housing on it, it’s done. Manager Day asked for an amendment to the agenda, adding a discussion topic regarding Vegg Inc. Vegg Inc. Cody Journell, CEO, stated he wanted to give the board an update as to where they are now versus a year ago, speak about the outstanding loans they have with the town, and plans moving forward with Vegg. Mr. Journell stated their plans with the Jefferson School is to use historic tax credits and some other kind of government, agriculture subsidized grant opportunities and turn it into a vertical farming facility that grows produce for the local and regional area. The building is 30,000 square feet and they would like to lease out classrooms or ancillary rooms to farmers or other like-minded agricultural companies and have an ag incubator type or co-op space, which would be the first in the country. He reported some big milestones that happened in 2024, one of bigger ones being the Department of Energy grant that they partnered with MOVA on, they were able to use MOVA’s direct air capture system, which pulls ambient air out of the room that the device is in, it captures the CO2 in a tank from the air, with lettuce growing in a tent in one of the classrooms, they could control the environment and every time the CO2 got below optimal levels for plant growth, it would kick on MOVA’s system that was already in the air of the building and facilitate the growth operation. Another milestone within Vegg, Mr. Journell stated was that they’ve built a team with different career backgrounds to build their management team and board. Along with building the management team, they have worked on the distribution system, they have met with Food City and Food Lion, have branched out to local schools, and looking into co-ops to get same sales started. Mr. Bell asked how long has Mr. Journell been in this endeavor. Mr. Journell stated a little over two years. Mr. Bell asked at what point does he believe that Vegg will be able to market and reach distributors. Mr. Journell stated the biggest hurdle right now and the biggest focus is getting money to do the construction of the farm, the building is broken into phases, the first phase being the two classrooms, which will be farming operations and then a third classroom, which will be office space, storage, distribution, and packaging. He reported they would need to raise about $200,000 to spend on construction which will lead into upfitting the rooms and getting the equipment in place. Fred Jeter, COO, reported the phase one is basically fundraising for the construction of two of the classrooms in the building, which will be in the second quarter, one of the classrooms is to be what they grew during the Department of Energy test and the second room being what their channel distribution partners are having problems sourcing, and what they want them to grow. Chairman Huttick commented that there was some asbestos in the building and asked if that has been removed. Mr. Jeter stated it hasn’t been completely removed but Mr. Journell commented stating it was about 60-70% remediated before it exchanged hands in 2024 and there’s an DEQ grant that they are applying for that will go towards remediation. Mr. Worrell asked who owned the title to the property. Mr. Jeter stated JSP, Jefferson School Properties, which is a four-person partnership which includes Steven Critchfield, Jeff Mitchell, Jonathan Fulmer, and Jamie Alford. Chairman Huttick stated he was at the Industrial Development Council in Richmond and while he was there, Joe Guthrie, Secretary of Agriculture gave a speech and, in his talk, he stated at the top of the governor’s list for this year’s grants were for farm-to-table production and indoor growing. Mr. Jeter ended the presentation with ‘why Pulaski’ stating geographically, they have access to various markets, economic growth, market access, and they are scalable through purchasing other schools. Mr. Jeter asked for a modification of the $37,500 loan to the town, he stated it was due in full on December 30, 2024 and the terms would be amended to $7,500 paid by February 28, 2025, $10,000 by March of each of the following three years, ultimately asking for a three-plus-year extension to pay off the loan. Mr. Journell stated they plan on paying off the loan quicker than what is noted but with being a startup, it has been increasingly more difficult as they build the team and operations and allowing the extension would help them move forward with the cash flow situation and accelerate into production. Manager Day reported this loan is with the town, the governing body being Town Council, and County EDA. Mr. Huber asked if a tour could be scheduled. Mr. Jeter stated a tour is possible, that they’d love to show them the building and the vision. With no further business, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 11:05 a.m.