Friday November 22nd, 2019

MINUTES of the MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

Friday – November 22, 2019- 8:30 a.m.
34 West Fulton Street Gloversville, New York

Directors Present: Kent Kirch, Terri Easterly, Gregory Fagan, Travis Mitchell, Geoffrey Peck, Grant Preston

Directors Absent: Dr. Leslie Ford, Ronald Olinsky, Timothy Beckett

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

Other Attendees: Vernon Jackson, Mayor of Johnstown; Warren Greene, County Liaison; David D’Amore, Fulton County IDA; Ashley Onyon, Leader Herald

Public Session

8:30AM

Call to Order /Introductions/Meeting Minutes:

Kent Kirch called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. He welcomed the Directors and guests to the meeting.

Roll call was taken by Desiree Perham.

Motion to approve the October 25, 2019 Meeting Minutes was made by Gregory Fagan and seconded by Grant Preston. No additional comments. Kent Kirch abstained, as he was not present for the October meeting. The motion passed.

Administrative Matters

Chair Report:

Kent Kirch:

•  The Chair noted his appreciation for Dr. Leslie Ford taking over the previous Board meeting in his absence.

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: Geoffrey Peck reported on the committees’ November 20, 2019 meeting. The financial position of the organization looks good. The revenue issue is ongoing, and sources are being investigated. The cash position is in a little better shape. Ron is reviewing budget items and making adjustments. Loan funds are current; auto pay is helping with this.

Building Committee: This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting. David D’Amore updated the Board on the issue with scaling back the scope for the 34 W. Fulton St Revitalization Project.

The General contractor is endeavoring to meet the thirty percent M/WBE requirement, but as the end of the year approaches, the demand for subcontractors results in pricing increases. May need to reconsider timing.

Membership & Marketing Committee: This Committee has not met since the last Board meeting. Grant congratulated CRG on the success of the annual fund-raising event and opened the floor to Ken Adamczyk for a report on the Gala.

Ken reported that everyone had a good time and noted the new format resulted in active engagement between attendees with lots of mixing. Some money was made, final receipts are being followed up on.

He thanked Ashley Onyon of the Leader Herald for writing a positive article on the event. He noted that the Incubator is now up and running. There has been good feedback on the Incubator space. The next event goal is a Spring Fling. There is a slate of Incubator activities planned for next year (training and business mixers). Ken also noted that CRG Facebook numbers were up again.

Conclusion of Committee Reports.

Gloversville Downtown Development Specialist Report:

Jennifer Jennings:

•  Board Trainings
  •  A four-hour board basics training was conducted by Jennifer and Leslie on November 9, 2019 with a downtown organization. This same organization has a tactical plan scheduled for November 23. In addition, there will be a two-hour board basics training with an organization on December 2 with Ron and Leslie as co-facilitators.
•  Small Business Saturday
  •  Jessica is working with downtown businesses and the city clerk’s office to organize and promote local shopping events on November 30, 2019 in conjunction with the holiday parade. There has been good buy-in from businesses.
•  Gloversville Case Study (handout)
  •  The study will be on the downtown Gloversville website at the end of the year for
    developers and investors to see the city plan.
•  100 in 1 Day
  •  Little Falls is on tap to do 100 in 1 on the same day as Gloversville – May 2, 2020.
    Gloversville is spearheading and looking at others like Dolgeville, maybe have five to six across the region. Placemaking will be held on Wednesday and Thursday followed by 100 in 1 on Saturday.
•  Other:
  •  The downtown shopping guides are out (handout).
  •  Creating process steps and organizing office for handoff of the DDS position next year.

Conclusion of GODS Report.

County and City Reports:

Kent requested reports from the City and County members present.

Fulton County IDA
David D’Amore:

•  There is an improvement in electrical service understanding with National Grid regarding Tryon.
•  Work is ongoing for Vireo Health’s expansion on greenhouses and processing center.
•  Website work is underway with Betsy Emery. Developing a synergy between organizations with the design.
•  Putting 27 acres of real estate south of 107 (part of Old Tryon) on the market; some interest, a couple offers. Asking for a proposal to be submitted on what will be done with the property so this can be taken into consideration.
•  Johnstown Renewable had an auction; hoping to recapture some money for taxing jurisdictions. Still finalizing the tally.
•  Ron Peters requested David D’Amore meet with him regarding Tryon marketing.

City Gloversville

•  No report this month.

Johnstown – Vernon Jackson:

•  Really enjoyed the Gala format.
• On November 21, the NYS DOT held an open meeting. Briggs to Prindle corridor will be open next year. This will help with the traffic situation. There was good community buy-in.

Conclusion of County and City Reports.

President and CEO Report

Ron Peters:

• Current Projects
  • Five leads came in: one from the state wasn’t a good fit, a couple from Vern for the
    Johnstown Industrial Park – two look good, one individual looking for space in Fulton County – one would bring in 12 jobs the other about 8 jobs.
  •  Pioneer Windows ESD grant for expansion was reviewed.
  •  Received a couple of leads for Crossroads Industrial Park; large employers, additional 20 jobs, looking into 2020-2021.
  •  CFA results, have not heard yet. Six are in play.
  •  MicroEnterprise Grant will hold a committee meeting on November 26, 2019. Three or four will be ready to go; more ready in January. These should result in 15 jobs.
  • Community outreach – talking at a veterans program, holding a Downtown Business
    Symposium in Johnstown on December 4, 2019 (28 signed up). Plan to do more in 2020 with other communities.
  •  Northville Five and Dime going well, may be near completion by end of year. Planning to hold a business tour once open.
  •  Gloversville – Working on Burr St Project; phase I environmental is out/8-9 buildings. The new DDS will begin phasing in on December 9, 2019 and go full time on January 1, 2020. Five developers made inquiries, two making offers on properties in Gloversville.
  •  Johnstown – Working on an anchor project with Vern; CDBG program for the building.
  •  Caroga Lake – Contracts for construction of Fire Department signed. Still waiting on Dollar General. Polar Plunge fundraiser coming up. Ron and Kent will be participating.
  •  Mayfield – Closing on Great Sacandaga Brewing this month hopefully. Title search takes time. Second brewery has approached us for financing. May yet have a Brew Trail laid out by 2020!
  •  Dolgeville – Waiting to hear on CFA; maybe by February.
  •  We had three projects included in the MVEDC promotional video, Five and Dime, The Stitch, and Bright Futures Learning Center!
  •  National Grid Lighting Program – Desiree 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.

• Resolution to rescind the 09.27.19 resolution for consent to create a
  committee

1. Discussion: Kent introduced the resolution, explaining the background. A discussion took place at the October 25, 2019 BOD meeting and it was determined then that the Governance Committee could take on the Board Development piece and an additional committee was not required.
2.  Motion: Kent Kirch made a motion to accept the resolution and Greg
   Fagan seconded.
3.  Vote: The motion passed unanimously by all present.
   o CIC Update – November 20, 2019 attended Trustee meeting with lawyer,

• Other
  • CIC Update – November 20, 2019 attended Trustee meeting with lawyer, Frank Brennan. Judge reviewed all documents and requested one appraisal which Frank will handle. The Attorney General approval had already been given, so Judge was okay with proceeding on the bankruptcy. Tax returns will need to be completed one more time so the bankruptcy will not be completed this year.
  •  The Gloversville Loan Fund Committee met on November 15, 2019 to review options for funding a variety of projects downtown; contractorial in nature.
    o Terri Easterly passed on that Leslie Ford would like to discuss Non-profit Board
  • Training plan going forward. This will continue either by James Hannahs picking it up or Jennifer Jennings being brought in as needed.
  •  Timeline for using the Incubator space? Schedule of events has been set with monthly training sessions and quarterly meetings. Marketing will consist of emails being sent out and social media. Fees haven’t been set yet, but will be reasonable. 24/7 access will be needed. We have great momentum and need a formal marketing plan. Could possibly do a virtual tour on the website. Look in to co-working spaces locally

Conclusion of the President and CEO Report.

Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues

At 9:07 a.m., Greg Fagan moved for a motion to adjourn to executive session, Travis Mitchell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Greg Fagan moved for a motion to return from executive session, Terri Easterly seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Returned from executive session at 9:28 a.m.

Action Taken:

•  None

At 9:29 a.m., Grant Preston moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Geoff Peck with unanimous passing.

Respectfully Submitted,

________________________________                    _________________

Greg Fagan, Board Secretary                                                     Date