Friday October 25th, 2019

MINUTES of the MEETING
of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

Friday – October 25, 2019- 8:30 a.m.
34 West Fulton Street Gloversville, New York

Directors Present: Timothy Beckett, Terri Easterly, Gregory Fagan, Leslie Ford, Travis Mitchell, Ronald Olinsky, Geoffrey Peck, Grant Preston(called in, left at 8:48 a.m.)

Directors Absent: Kent Kirch

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

Other Attendees: Mike Albanese, Esq., Legal Counsel; Scott Henze, Planning Director Fulton
County; Vernon Jackson, Mayor of Johnstown; Vince DeSantis, Mayor of Gloversville; John Blackmon, Gloversville Supervisor Ward 3; Ashley Onyon, Leader Herald

Public Session

8:32AM

Call to Order /Introductions/Meeting Minutes:
Leslie Ford called the meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. She welcomed the Directors and guests to the meeting.

Roll call was taken by Desiree Perham.

Motion to approve the September 27, 2019 Meeting Minutes was made by Tim Beckett and seconded by Greg Fagan. No additional comments. Ron Olinsky and Leslie Ford abstained, as they were not present for the September meeting. The motion passed.

Administrative Matters

Chair Report:

Leslie Ford:

• The discussion at the CRG/IDA Joint Session was productive; there was good collaboration. Funding models are one of the key next steps and coordination with roles and responsibilities will be important.
• As we move forward on next steps we will need to revisit our plan as missions change over time. The communication relationships will be very important going forward.
• The first action item to be worked on was the website piece. A review meeting was held on October 18th with Betsy Emery of Emery Designs. The discussion was wide ranging at first and then solidified into a more focused idea. The initial concept was to have a “tool box” on a central page with all four entities (CRG, IDA, County and Chamber) displayed and each having links to resources as needed on the individual websites. Still working on a strategy to implement this concept, there will be a few iterations of discussions and clarification ahead of us.
• The November 14th Gala is approaching. Everyone needs to remember to sell their tickets. There are more available if needed.

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 Committee: Ron Olinsky reported on the committee’s October 23rd, 2019 meeting. The Committee reviewed the entire financial position of the organization and was given a copy of the budget for 2020. More discussion will be needed, no recommendation at this point.

• Expenses for 34 W. Fulton St were reviewed.
• Loan Pool reports – EDC loan pool has money available.
  There are some items to be reserved for Executive Session discussion.

Audit Committee: The Audit Committee has items to discuss in Executive Session.

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.

• Grant opened the floor to Ken Adamczyk for an update on the Gala.
• Ticket sales are about 50 to date, plenty more available to sell.
• Upstairs is nearly ready to go. Rick Ruby is helping with furniture needs.
• It will be setup somewhat like an incubator space for the event.
• Conference tables are ready to be delivered after this weekend.
• There will be a poster for the Annual Training for next year, along with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony for the Incubator space. Trevor, from the Leader Herald, will be there for coverage.
•  We have four sponsors and catering and bar is set with Sport Island Pub.
•  Volunteers will be available for operating the elevator.
•  Ticket blast will go out today via email, please share.
•  On Facebook, we are advertising the Gala and when Board is ready, can advertise the availability of shared workspace. The “Did You Know?” campaign is going well with Taylor Made, Townsend Leather, and the Family Counseling Center layouts complete along with a couple smaller businesses too.

Conclusion of Committee Reports.

Gloversville Downtown Development Specialist Report:

Jennifer Jennings:

• Social Media Report:
  •  Downtown Gloversville page numbers down from last month after Bacon Jam hype. Most popular was new blog post on Library.
    Post reach 980 I post engagement 385 I 4 new likes I reach 94 I engagement 19
  •  Gloversville Bacon Jam was a hit, highest beer garden sales and record attendance. Most popular post was the Daily Gazette article on the Bacon Jam event with a reach of 207.
  • Page views 447 I new page likes 31 I post reach 9,297 I post engagement 1,167.
• Project Backboard/Elk Street Park Project:
  •  Kick-off event was held at the park; banners are up on the court fence and have given it a bright face-lift.
  • A video game tournament was held on 10/12 at Fulton County Barber Shop with raffle, local vendors and more.
  •  A fund-raising Basketball Tournament is this weekend at Gloversville High School
  •  Will be looking for larger donors, >$1,000 or more, to cover projected costs of $45-$60K
  •  Over 70 votes are in for the court design – it’s a close race between E and B, one week until close of voting.
• Events this week:
  •  Spoke at Caroga Lake community meeting on arts as an economic driver
  •  Attended Fulton County Farm Bureau annual meeting
  •  Attended Local Waterfront Revitalization Program Open House at the Library.
  •  Board Trainings for Mohawk Harvest Co-Op and Fulton County Historical Society and Muse um were postponed.
• Projects in the Works:
  •  Three year Gloversville Case Study is nearly complete; ready to print by end of year.
  •  Finalizing the downtown shopping guide in advance of Small Business Saturday.
  •  Planning started for Place Making 101 for next year: financing, speakers, sponsors.
  •  Two other communities in Montgomery and Herkimer counties have reached out with interest in the 100 in 1 Day program. A regional partnership is being developed. Ron suggested Jen promote the event at an upcoming MVREDC meeting. The program is already trademarked so, organizations wanting to utilize the format need to approach the founding organization for training.
  •  Creating process steps and organizing office for handoff of the DDS position next year.

Conclusion of GODS Report.

County and City Reports:

Leslie requested reports from the City and County members present.

County:

• Scott Henze:
  •  Echoed Leslie’s comments on the joint CRG/IDA meeting; it was a great collaboration.
  • More sites are needed, as identified in joint meeting, and IDA is looking at very large sites over 200 acres). A few were lost to solar farms. Travis Mitchell is helping with site locating.

City:

• Gloversville – Vince DeSantis:
  •  Jennifer has kept Gloversville energized and the city really appreciates her efforts. She has been a plus for the community and there has been good synergy with CRG as well.
  • The City has upped their contribution to the DDS position and hopes to expand on it a bit. It has momentum and we want to build on the initial success. There are new initiatives for 2020. We are looking forward to future programs.
• Johnstown – Vernon Jackson:
  •  Main St. store has been filled with a fitness center and another new hair shop opened.
  •  Phase II of

Conclusion of County and City Reports.

President and CEO Report

Ron Peters:

• Current Projects
  •  Downtown business event in Johnstown on Dec 4th (flyer passed out). A Small Business Symposium offered jointly by CRG and Downtown Johnstown Business and Professional Association.
  •  Pioneer Windows has installed their equipment and we are reaching out to Eric for a possible tour of that location. Also working with him on financing for other projects.
  •  Evolution Loan was closed on – that is #18. May get one or two more loans by year-end.
  •  Still discussing opportunities with Taylor Made
  •  We should hear about CFA’s soon; one for downtown Gloversville and one for the Family Counseling Center.
  •  Six out of the ten DRI’s have been announced; still hopeful for Gloversville.
  •  Microenterprise Grants are going well. Next year we can apply for another CFA and focus on more downtown small businesses and farmers.
  •  The Goderie Tree Farm business tour went well. There were good demonstrations and interesting facts about their industry. Next year, business tours will take place quarterly.
  •  Met with the mayor of Northville and Groff, Northhampton town supervisor to review projects.
  •  Gloversville has a couple of projects to hit next year.
  •  Johnstown – Working projects with Vern, a new restaurant and coordinated conference call between two businesses. Good efforts by Vern; thank you.
  •  Caroga Lake – Contracts for construction of Fire Dept. signed.
  •  Mayfield – Two microbreweries in process, one closing on financing and one has financing underway.
  •  Dolgeville – good joint relationship.

• Resolution authorizing an application to and use of funds from Community
  Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Inc.

1. Review in Executive Session prior to vote.

• Other
  • John Blackmon – Karpeles Museum grand opening on Saturday, October 26 from 1-3p. Anyone interested can join us. It is a beautiful space and the event has good sponsors. In addition, the museum donated two desk system units to CRG for use in the Incubator.
  • The latest CRG 2020 budget revision will be sent out today for review. The ABO posting deadline is Nov. 1 so, any comments or concerns need to get back to Ron as soon as possible. A Doodle Poll will be routed for official Board voting on the final version.
  • Travis Mitchell demonstrated a technology for improved visuals of properties. Google Earth Pro is loaded on the stick-style device and uses an hdmi connection, a wireless mouse and keyboard. The cost is under $400 to implement and set-up. It can interface with a flat screen display for land development work, and can be loaded with tax maps, base maps, GIS information compiled from other agencies (state, county, EPA) to highlight and identify properties and associated details (wetlands, ag districts, opportunity zones, infrastructure … ) This can be useful in producing reports showing development potential of a piece of property. It was used to locate several large sites for the IDA. Image overlays can be used to demonstrate potential development ideas for anarea. You could also use it to highlight development potential on the CRG website. Everyone was in support of obtaining this technology for use at CRG.
  •  S. Main St properties 20-26 were transferred to NVP Development. There was a question as to where to deposit the check, in CRG’s operating budget or within FCCRG Projects, LLC. It was decided that the check will be divided and equal amounts deposited in each of the aforementioned locations.
  •  Volunteers were requested to populate the Board Development Committee. There was a brief discussion about whether a Board Development Committee was required in addition to the Governance Committee. It was decided to utilize the Governance Committeee and have Board Development included on that committee’s agenda. Leslie Ford, Kent Kirch and Geoff Peck are currently on the Governance Committee.

Conclusion of the President and CEO Report.

Adjournment to Executive Session to Discuss Legal Issues

At 9:04 a.m., Ron Olinsky moved for a motion to adjourn to executive session, Greg Fagan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Ron Peters invited John Blackmon to remain for the executive session. Return from executive session at 10:12 a.m.

Terri Easterly moved for a motion to return from executive session, Geoff Peck seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Action Taken:

• To be added to the aforementioned resolution: Finance Committee and Board approval will be obtained for all drawdowns to be taken on the aforementioned line of credit from Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Inc.

1. 1.  Motion to approve resolution with added statement – Geoff Peck
      Second – Ron Olinsky
   2. Discussion: What is needed to secure the loan? Collateral will be 34 W Fulton St.
      property. Recommend careful review of the terms before accepting.
   3. Vote: Resolution with stated addition passed by all members present.

•  The Building Committee is to provide a revised timeline and project cost projection for the 34 W. Fulton St. Revitalization project.

At 10:30 a.m., Terri Easterly moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Ron Olinsky with unanimous passing.

Respectfully Submitted,

________________________________                    _________________

Greg Fagan, Board Secretary                                                     Date