Friday April 27, 2018

MINUTES of the MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

Friday – April 27, 2018 – 8:30 a.m. 34 West Fulton Street Gloversville, New York

Directors Present: Geoffrey Peck, Kent Kirch, Gregory Fagan, Ronald Olinsky, Grant Preston, Travis Mitchell, Terri Easterly and Timothy Beckett

Directors Absent: Leslie Ford

Staff Present: Ronald Peters, Jennifer Jennings, and Sarah Egan

Guests: Ashley Onyon, Leader Herald; John Blackmon, County Liaison; Vern Jackson, Mayor of Johnstown;

Public Session

Call to Order / Introductions/Meeting Minutes:
Chair Geoffrey Peck called the meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. He welcomed the Directors and guests to the meeting. Geoffrey asked for a motion to approve the meeting minutes from March 23, 2018. Kent Kirch made the motion to approve the minutes; Travis Mitchell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Geoffrey then asked for a motion to approve the Finance Committee Meeting Minutes from March 21, 2018. Kent Kirch made the motion to approve the minutes; Travis Mitchell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Geoffrey then asked for a motion to approve the resolution approving the 2017 Tax Returns- Form 990 and Char 500. Greg Fagan made the motion to approve the resolution, Kent Kirch seconded the motion and it passes unanimously.

Administrative Matters

Chair Report:

Vice Chair Kent Kirch had nothing to report at this meeting.

Committee Reports:

Executive Committee:

This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.

Governance Committee:

This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.

Finance Committee:

Ron Olinsky advised the Board that this Committee met the Wednesday prior to the Board Meeting. The Committee reviewed the cash position and financials, and Ron stated how happy he was on the turnaround of our financial position. Ron also discussed how clean the audit was, which shows our systems are working good and that we are filing correctly. The committee also reviewed the loan position and we are ready for business.

Audit Committee:

This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.

Building Committee:

This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.

Membership & Marketing Committee:

Grant Preston advised the Board that this Committee met Monday, April 16^th. Grant presented an updated Membership list to the Board and reported that we have achieved the 3 month goal of 75% membership renewal from 2017 to 2018. Becky will now be switching focus from renewing membership to acquiring new members. She asks that the Board contact her if there are any businesses they would like her to specifically reach out too.  Grant discussed that the committee reviewed their objectives, including: branding, goals, and marketing.

ABO Guidelines Review:

Sarah Egan reviewed ABO Policy number 09-01- Appropriate Use of Executive Session, with the Board.

Gloversville Downtown Development Specialist Report:

Jennifer Jennings:  provided a written report to the Board prior to the meeting. Jennifer discussed the Placemaking 101 event that took place April 18th and 19th. 74 attendees signed up for the conference with 65 to 70 attending the conference. Of those attendees, 1/3 were from Gloversville, 1/3 were from the county, and 1/3 were from outside of the county. Jennifer stated that the conference was extremely successful and has received wonderful feedback. She is shooting to hold this conference every other year. Geoff Peck suggested taking Placemaking 101 to other towns in the area and getting BID involved, the Board unanimously approved this. Jennifer reported that she is hosting an Art Pop-up show at the Chamber May 4th from 5pm to 7pm highlighting life in Gloversville, featuring work from Nicolina Schonfarber. Jennifer also briefly discussed the Spring Festival taking place May 5th at the Farmers Market Pavilion, which will kick-off the 2018 Gloversville Farmers Market season. Jennifer’s report also went over the Glove City Arts Festival, Artists in Residence Program, and Tactical Urbanism Installation.

County and City Reports:

Mayor Vern Jackson thanked the board for the invitation to the board meeting. He has been meeting with Ron Peters frequently. He stated there are a bunch of new businesses interested in opening businesses in Johnstown, including an Italian Restaurant, a cross fit studio, a barber shop, and a Puerto Rican/American Restaurant. He also state someone is interested in purchasing the Rainbow Building.

John Blackmon informed the Board that they are working on taking down 2 to 3 houses in Gloversville.

President and CEO Report

Current Projects: Ron Peters informed the Board of current projects that he has been working on. Ron reported that he attended a public hearing regarding Pioneer Windows last Monday, and that their expansion will create 75 new jobs in the industrial park. The next public hearing will be May 1st involving Benjamin Moore. He also stated he is working on 7 projects in the Industrial Park that will create 90 jobs in one to three years.

Microenterprise Grant Programs: Ron shared a summary of the 2016 program, which in 2017, 6 grants were approved and funded, with one more in the works. He also informed the Board that the state approved a 6 month extension.

Community Outreach Programs: Ron reported that the tour at William Coffey Studio was great! Ron stated that he wants to help them and more local artists get in the Architecture Design Show. Jennifer Jennings will be hosting the next business tour, May 16th. She will be taking everyone on a tour of Downtown Gloversville.

Ron has been working with Brian Correll, from the Village of Northville, on submitting a state Consolidated Funding Application for a Local Waterway Revitalization Initiative.

Ron stated we were not approved for the EPA Grant but we will try again next year. He also informed the Board that La Bella should be finalizing their presentation in the next 2 weeks.

Ron discussed that he’s been working with Mayor Vern Jackson on projects in Johnstown. Most of these projects are located in the industrial park but working on more Downtown.

On May 17th, Ron will be doing a presentation on Grant Funding and Loans, expanding our presence in Broadalbin.

Ron will be reaching out to Caroga Lake to set up a meeting and planning a presentation on expanding our presence in their area. Ron asked Kent for some guidance on setting up the meeting.

Business Marketing Inquiries: Ron state that he is still waiting to hear from the state regarding 310 Marketing and that he has had more hits for Gloversville and Johnstown.

Combined County Marketing Effort Update: Ron met with John Stead yesterday to go over sites. He also informed the Board the Scott Henze, Ron Olinsky, and Geoffrey Peck with be joining him at the Select USA Investment Summit June 20th to the 22nd.

Property Disposition Update: The only property that CIC owns is the 3.3 acre vacant lot along Prospect Street and Littauer Place. Ron informed the Board that we are still just waiting for the sale of property to be finalized. Ron stated that he is going to discuss this further in the executive session.

Loan Applicant Updates: Ron informed the Board that the Royal Mountain Inn Loan will close next week and Evolution Recycling should be closing in 30 to 45 days. Ron was very pleased to announce that Loan Committee just approved a loan to Goderies Tree Farm this past Wednesday, which should take 1 month to get everything ready. Ron stated that as of right now we have 7 loans in various stages and is looking to give out 23 loans this year. Ron also discussed a new round of CFA’s and how he may have a few applicants that may want to apply.

2018 Proposed Events: Ron reviewed the list of events on the agenda:

1. Grand Opening of The Center – To Be Announced
2. Joint Financing Symposium with MVEDD – May
3. Drum Corp International – July
4. Undetermined Business Symposium – October
5. Annual Event – November 15

2018 Events Attending / Participating in: Ron reviewed the list of events that he will either attending or CRG will participate in:

1. IAMC Spring Professional Forum – May 5-9
2. NYSEDC Annual Meeting – May 23-25
3. Southern Adirondack Wine & Food Festival – June 9
4. Select USA Investment Summit – June 20-22
5. IEDC Economic Future – June 24-26
6. Fancy Food Show – June 30 – July 2
7. Woodworking and Fine Arts Weekend in Northville – July 20-22
8. IAMC Fall Forum – September 15-19
9. Site Selector’s Guild Fall Conference – TBD

Events Attended

1. MVEDD Annual Meeting- January 29
2. Membership Kick-off Open House Event- January 30
3. NYSEDC- January 31-February 1
4. Site Selector’s Guild Conference – March 19-21
5. ICSC Table Setup- March 24-26
6. Placemaking 101 Conference – April

Other: Ron briefly discussed the DCI event, which will bring 1,500 to 2,000 visitors to Gloversville. He recently met with the school board and he feels that the board will approve this event. The decision should be made within the next week or two.

Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues

At 9:20 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting to Executive Session. Terri Easterly made the motion; it was seconded by Kent Kirch and unanimously approved. Geoffrey dismissed the guests and thanked them for their attendance at the Board meeting.

Legal and Staff Issues:

The Directors discussed several ongoing legal issues. These discussions were informational in nature. No action was needed.

Adjournment from Executive Session

At 9:30 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn from Executive Session. Greg Fagan made the motion; it was seconded by Kent Kirch and unanimously approved.

Ron Olinsky then discussed the contract for the 3 year Audit. He stated that West & Company was the preferred bidder and they are not as expensive as their competition. Kent Kirch suggested that we look into rotating our Auditor every 3 years.

Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues

At 9:47 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting to Executive Session. Greg Fagan made the motion; it was seconded by Terri Easterly and unanimously approved.

No further minutes were recorded.

Respectfully Submitted,

________________________________ _________________
Leslie Ford, Board Secretary Date