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Friday December 13th, 2019 Minutes

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MINUTES of the MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

Friday – December 13th, 2019 – 9:00 a.m.
34 West Fulton Street Gloversville, New York

Directors Present: Timothy Beckett, Gregory Fagan, Dr. Leslie Ford, Kent Kirch, Ronald Olinsky (conf. call), Travis Mitchell, Geoffrey Peck

Directors Absent: Terri Easterly, Grant Preston

Staff Present: Ronald Peters, Jennifer Jennings, James Hannahs, Ken Adamczyk, Desiree Perham

Other Attendees: Vern Jackson, Mayor Johnstown; Vince DeSantis, Mayor Gloversville; Scott Henze, Fulton County; John Blackmon, Fulton County Supervisor, Gloversville Ward 3; Ashley Onyon, Leader Herald; Betsy Emery, Emery Designs; Cedric Carter, T.D. Bank, Jim Senzio, Fulton County Electrical

Public Session

Call to Order: 9:07 a.m.

Welcome and Call to Order

Kent Kirch called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. following a brief break from the two earlier meetings.

Roll call was taken by Desirée Perham.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the November 22, 2019 Meeting Minutes was moved by Geoff Peck and seconded by Travis Mitchell. No additional comments. Dr. Leslie Ford, Ron Olinsky and Tim Beckett abstained, as they were not present for the November meeting. The motion passed.

Administrative Matters

Chair Report – Kent Kirch:

  • The Chair acknowledged the IDA meeting he attended with Ken Adamczyk. He thanked Dave D’Amore, Jim Mraz and Scott Henze for very positive exchange with good engagement. This type of interaction will help align the two organizations more strategically.  The IDA is also required to live stream their meetings as of January 2020.  Scott Henze let everyone know that on the IDA website you can select About Us>Meetings>live stream information will be listed and there will also be five years of recorded meetings maintained starting in 2020.
  • The Family Counseling Center bonds were issued by Montgomery County. New York State does not allow the IDA to issue bonds. Fulton County would need a County Resource Corporation and does not have one; there were liability concerns. IDA is pursuing establishing a CRC with Fulton County.
  • They also talked about Tryon and will clarify more going forward.

Conclusion of Chair Report

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 & Audit Committees – Ron Olinsky: Did not meet in December due to the early meeting time which took place before the periods financials were available. The meetings will be deferred to January and a year-end report will be available at that time. They did an audit of the loan pool and it was okay.
  • Building Committee This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting.
  • Membership & Marketing Committee – Ken Adamczyk: Will be meeting in early January 2020. Training programs, regular business and MicroEnterprise grant training, as well as business-to-business networking have been marketed. Pushes have gone out on social media.  New membership benefits for various levels have been approved and a flyer will go out in January.  The Incubator will be marketed next week.

Conclusion of Committee Reports.

Gloversville Downtown Development Specialist Report

Jennifer Jennings:  See attached report.

Organizational

  • James started on Monday and we are working in partnership to transitioning projects.

Placemaking Conference

  • This will be a two-day event. It will require about $20,000 to put on, so sponsors are needed! About 100 people participated last year.

Board Training

  • A training session was held for the Fulton County Historical Society and Museum with assistance from Leslie Ford. The training went well and policies are being developed to strengthen the organization.
  • Mohawk Harvest is going through intensive board training for four weeks this month. Next up is an in-depth session on fund raising.

Kent Kirch welcomed James Hannahs to the GDDS position and mentioned the big shoes he has to fill. Kent thanked Jennifer Jennings for her well planned and executed work. He enjoyed watching the Downtown Development Specialist position develop.  On behalf of the Board, he wished her the best on her future endeavors, noting that she started things that will exist beyond her tenure; the mark of leadership.

Conclusion of GDDS Report.

Chamber, Fulton County, IDA, and City Reports

Kent requested reports from the City and County members present.

Fulton County IDA –David D’Amore:

  • Focus for 2020: base mapping and availability of shovel ready sites. IDA is willing to make this happen.
  • There may be additional furniture and supplies at Tryon that would work for the Incubator space. Scott will talk to Jim Mraz about the IDA donating items.

 City

 Gloversville – John Blackmon:

  • Karpeles donated office desks to the Incubator in 2019.
  • He hopes to continue on the Economic Development Committee with the city.

 Johnstown – Vernon Jackson:

  • Business symposium was a huge success, good crowd and excellent presenters.
  • Would like to bring in Veteran Affairs representative to next symposium.
  • Have a safe and happy holiday everyone!

Conclusion of County and City Reports.

President and CEO Report

Ron Peters:

Current Projects

  • CFA’s we have five in play: one point four million for the Family Counseling Center expansion, seventy thousand for an adaptive sports center, an anchor project in Gloversville, a joint project with Dolgeville on a BOA and CRG’s incubator space renovations. If Mohawk Valley Region does well with performance level we will receive more award money from the state.
  • National Grid Lighting Program – Desirée Perham is looking into obtaining grant money to replace old fluorescent ballast fixtures with far more efficient LED panels in the 34 W Fulton St building. Two proposals are in the works.  The goal is to remain cost neutral by only replacing the fixtures in use so the savings generated would cover the portion not covered by the grant.  Additional fixtures can be submitted to the program as more of the building is utilized.

 MicroEnterprise Grant Program Update

  • Three MicroEnterprise grant applications were approved last week: Great Sacandaga Brewing Company, LaCocina and Woods Hollow Mining Company. Four more next week. Will look good for us to apply for another CFA grant next year.  Ken works hard, hand-holding businesses through the process and has been very successful.
  • Question about Woods Hollow Mining Company – They mine sand off route 30 and Turkey Farm Rd. In a great location. Have future plans for an 80 acre resort with beach and access to lake, campground and docks.

Community Outreach Programs

  • Business Tours for Elected Officials
    • Northville Five and Dime going well, planning for a Business Tour in February. Will be moving to a quarterly tour format in 2020; better fit for county leaders.
  • Community Assistance
    • Northville – (See above)
    • Gloversville – Has a couple of MicroEnterprise Grants, the Main St. Anchor project and the Burr St, Development project.
    • Johnstown – Held an excellent Business Symposium and we plan to do one again next year. There have been lots of inquiries.
    • Caroga Lake –We are continuing to be a resource for the Fire House financing. Polar Plunge fundraiser coming up. Ron and Kent will be participating; any takers?
    • Mayfield – Working to close on Great Sacandaga Brewing Company loan, hopefully this month.
    • Dolgeville – Waiting to hear on CFA for their BOA; may be announced next week.

Business Marketing Inquiries

  • Met last week on financing.
  • Cross Roads Industrial Park – Met with Taylor Made a week ago. Looking at expansion and common interests. Hopeful for 2020 projects.
  • Three leads in the works. Working on a 5-10 thousand sq.ft. woodworking shop; 15 person relocation to Fulton County. Third meeting today.
  • Two other developers; one looking at properties which takes time.

Loan Applicant Updates

  • The County Wide Loan Fund will be out by first quarter next year. We will be looking for additional funding from New York State.

34 West Fulton St.

  • The revitalization project has been on hold while looking for W/MBE contractors to fulfill the 30% state requirement, but have only been able to reach 22% after exhaustive search. Will apply for a waiver from the state.

Other

  • Resolutions: Kent introduced the two resolutions explaining how Board members sit on several committees and we want to be sure the entire Board is informed on actions being taken. This is a way to improve communications within our organization and keep the Board aware of decisions being made. The resolution is to acknowledge an action taken in a committee, not approve it and allows for time to talk through each for an understanding.  Geoff recommended punctuating key items that occur in committee using the committee meeting minutes – highlighting actions – and then attaching those to the BOD package which gets routed pre-BOD Meeting.  The BOD meeting notice email could be used to point out that a particular item needs special attention.  This could be put in place of the “acknowledgement” type of resolutions.
  1. Resolution to acknowledge the Gloversville Loan Fund Committee Meeting Minutes from November 15, 2019.

    Discussion
    :
    -This resolution refers to a $25,000 commitment from the Gloversville Loan Fund to the DDS position each year for the three years.
    -This is not City taxpayer money, but a loan fund controlled by the City.
    -It is not a loan to CRG; repayment is not necessary.
    -This amount is in addition to the budget.Motion: Gregory Fagan made a motion to accept the resolution and Dr. Leslie Ford seconded.Vote: The motion passed unanimously by all present.
  2. Resolution to acknowledge the Gloversville Loan Fund Committee decision made electronically and initiated via email on November 19, 2019

    Discussion
    :
    -This resolution refers to the $10,000 DDS shortfall in 2019 to cover overlap.
    -This amount is a loan and will be repaid.Motion: Geoffrey Peck made a motion to accept the resolution and Dr. Leslie Ford seconded.Vote: The motion passed unanimously by all present.
  • CIC Update – Moving forward with the bankruptcy which will take longer than expected. There is a court date in February that is a normal part of the process.
  • Ron would like to see CRG designated as the Economic Development Organization (EDO) for Fulton County. Look to consolidate activities and be a focal point for the County, starting with the IDA and consolidation of websites.  Leads would come in to one location and then be channeled to the correct locations.

Conclusion of the President and CEO Report.

Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues

At 9:38 a.m., Dr. Leslie Ford moved for a motion to adjourn to executive session, Geoffrey Peck seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by all present.

Gregory Fagan moved for a motion to return from executive session, Travis Mitchell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by all present. The Board returned from executive session at 10:04 a.m.

Action Taken:

  • None

Meeting Adjournment

At 10:04 a.m., Dr. Leslie Ford moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Timothy Beckett with unanimous passing by all present.

Respectfully Submitted,

________________________________                    _________________

Gregory Fagan, 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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