MINUTES of the MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Friday – May 18, 2018 – 8:30 a.m. 34 West Fulton Street Gloversville, New York
Directors Present: Geoffrey Peck, Kent Kirch, Gregory Fagan, Ronald Olinsky (via conference call), Grant Preston, Travis Mitchell, Terri Easterly and Timothy Beckett
Directors Absent:
Staff Present: Ronald Peters, Jennifer Jennings, and Sarah Egan
Guests: Ashley Onyon, Leader Herald; John Blackmon, County Liaison;
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 April 27, 2018. Kent Kirch made the motion to approve the minutes; Leslie Ford seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Geoffrey then asked for a motion to approve the Finance Committee Meeting Minutes from April 25, 2018. Kent Kirch made the motion to approve the minutes; Leslie Ford seconded the motion and it passed 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:
Geoffrey Peck advised the Board that this Committee met on May 7th. The Committee discussed the two open committee seats. Geoff Peck reached out to Timothy Beckett and invited him the join the Audit and Finance Committee. Tim accepted the invitation but said that since he is related to Phillip Beckett that he would not want to participate in any financial/audit decisions as it is a conflict of interest. Geoff Peck then reached out to Terri Easterly and invited her to join the Membership and Marketing Committee and she accepted the invitation. The Committee also reviewed Fulton County Center for Regional Growth’s Mission Statement and Performance Goals. They decided to revise the performance goals to set a higher standard for the organization by laying out 5 major categories that we need to be focusing on- Education, Growth, Finance, Collaboration, and Revitalization. Geoffrey asked for a motion to approve the revised Performance Goals. Timothy Beckett made the motion to approve the minutes; Grant Preston seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Finance Committee:
Ron Olinsky advised the Board that this Committee met the Wednesday prior to the Board Meeting. The Committee looked over the cash position and expenses for April through May and reported that everything looked good for the month. The Committee also reviewed the packet from Phil Beckett and were very pleased. Geoff asked for a motion to approve Phil Beckett’s report. Leslie Ford made the motion to approve the report; Kent Kirch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Lastly, Ron stated that he has a couple of questions regarding the EDC Loan Pool for the executive session.
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:
This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.
ABO Guidelines Review:
Sarah Egan reviewed ABO Policy number 11-02- Enforcement Powers of the Authorities Budget Office and supplied everyone a copy for their review. She briefly discussed that the ABO has the power to publicly warn and censure state and local authorities for non-compliance with the provisions of state law.
Gloversville Downtown Development Specialist Report:
Jennifer Jennings: provided a written report to the Board prior to the meeting. Jennifer stated that the pop up art show May 4th at the Chamber went great. Since these are affordable and cheap there will be more to come. She discussed the business tour she hosted the Wednesday prior to the meeting, where she gave a brief presentation of her year-end review and took everyone to tour the Glove Theater and the Carriage House. She wanted to show everyone her vision of Downtown and how a restaurant at the Carriage House would benefit not only the Glove Theater but Downtown as well. Jennifer also informed the Board that she and Ron were approached by a Downtown Organization for institutional help to restructure and rebrand their organization. Jennifer also briefly discussed the Southern Adirondack Wine and Food Festival, Twilight Market Sponsorship letters, and Artist in Residence Festival postcards. Lastly, Jennifer informed the Board that she has worked out a deal with Trevor Evans of the Leader Herald, to advertise Downtown Gloversville. Starting Memorial Day, we will be running a Full page ad in the paper with an event calendar, and sponsored businesses surrounding it.
County and City Reports:
John Blackmon had nothing to report for the County.
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 Benjamin Moore on May 1st, and that it went well. He also stated that he is working on the full application for Pioneer Windows, which will create 75 jobs. He briefly discussed how the State has been very helpful with this process. Lastly, Ron informed the Board that Evolution’s pre-application was approved by the State.
Microenterprise Grant Programs: Ron shared a summary of the 2016 program, which in 2017, 6 grants were approved and funded. Ron stated that we need to get one more applicant to dissolve the grant pool by June 30th. If we can get the grant pool dissolved, we are more likely to be considered for another round of grants.
Community Outreach Programs: As Jennifer Jennings already reviewed the business tour of Downtown Gloversville, Ron stated that the next business tour will be at Evolution Recycling on June 15th.
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 is also working on the Main Street project.
Ron stated that the Restore NY Grant is still in play and that Gloversville has also applied 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 he is meeting with La Bella June 7th to see the presentation.
Ron discussed that he’s been working with Mayor Vern Jackson very closely on 9 projects in Downtown Johnstown. He stated that this is a very good partnership.
On May 17th, Ron did a presentation in Broadalbin presenting grant and loan opportunities available to businesses in Fulton County. Ron stated that they had a good turnout of 8 to 9 businesses attend.
Ron stated that the meeting in Caroga Lake went good and he will be following up on the contacts he made there. Kent discussed the Caroga Lake Music Festival coming up featuring Sawyer, the 2015 winner of The Voice. This is a huge event for the area and can bring in a lot of people from all over.
Business Marketing Inquiries: Ron informed the Board that his presentation at the MVEDD meeting went great and that he met with developers from Johnstown and 2 local real estate agents. Also, Ron recently met with the Executive Director of the Community Loan fund and discussed expanding the pool for loans and grants, and getting help with The Center. 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, 2 restaurants, retailer, and coffee shop.
Combined County Marketing Effort Update: Ron stated he will be meeting with John Stead in the next couple of weeks.
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 he has resubmitted the financials and a new appraisal to the state. 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 closed May 14 and that the Goderie Tree Farm Loan has started the closing process and should hopefully close pretty quickly. Ron is also working on getting True Value and 391 closed. Lastly, Ron also stated that Deli Master’s Loan is under review and shouldn’t be much longer.
2018 Proposed Events: Ron reviewed the list of events on the agenda:
- Grand Opening of The Center – To Be Announced
- Joint Financing Symposium with MVEDD – June 12
- Drum Corp International – July
- Undetermined Business Symposium – October
- 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:
- NYSEDC Annual Meeting – May 23-25
- Southern Adirondack Wine & Food Festival – June 9
- Select USA Investment Summit – June 20-22
- IEDC Economic Future – June 24-26
- Fancy Food Show – June 30 – July 2
- Woodworking and Fine Arts Weekend in Northville – July 20-22
- IAMC Fall Forum – September 15-19
- Site Selector’s Guild Fall Conference – TBD
Events Attended
- MVEDD Annual Meeting- January 29
- Membership Kick-off Open House Event- January 30
- NYSEDC- January 31-February 1
- Site Selector’s Guild Conference – March 19-21
- ICSC Table Setup- March 24-26
- Placemaking 101 Conference – April
- IAMC Spring Professional Forum – May 5-9
Other: Ron state that there is a new tenant moving into some of the basement space today, Avanti Controls. They have signed a one year lease and will be using 1,600 square feet of the basement, which is great for CRG. Ron had Brandon Myers, City of Gloversville Building Inspector, come take a look at the basement and he stated that everything is up to code and ready to be used.
Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues
At 9:09 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting to Executive Session. Terri Easterly made the motion; it was seconded by Leslie Ford 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 10:10 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn from Executive Session. Grant Preston made the motion; it was seconded by Kent Kirch and unanimously approved.
Adjournment of the Board Meeting
At 10:10 a.m. Geoffrey Peck asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Grant Preston made the motion; it was seconded by Kent Kirch and unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
________________________________ _________________
Leslie Ford, Board Secretary Date
Board Meetings are held the Fourth Friday of the Month
at the CRG Main Office
at 8:30 AM
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