Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond, Virginia
Board Meeting
March 26, 2009
Members Present:
Richard Johnson, Chair
Anne Gordon Greever, Vice-chair
Helen Alli
Kelvin Hanson
Dennis Ryan
Tonya Scott-Hickman
Sally Wetzler
Others Present:
Carthan Currin, Director of Economic Development
Dara Glass, Deputy Director of Economic Development
Bonnie Ashley, Assistant City Attorney
Kyle Brackett, Department of Economic Development
Alan Reese, Reese and Associates
Ben McDearmon, Economic Development Authority
I. Call to Order
Mr. Johnson called the meeting to order at 4:08 pm in the boardroom on the eighth floor of the AdvanTech building at 501 E. Franklin Street.
II. Public Comment
No members of the public were present.
III. Approval of Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Ms. Wetzler moved that the Board approve the minutes as drafted. Ms. Alli seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
IV. Unfinished Business
A. Approval of Bond Fee Structure and Conflict of Interest Memo: Ms. Greever moved to set the administrative fee at one-eighth of one percent of the outstanding principal for entities that take advantage of tax-exempt bond financing through the Authority. Ms. Wetzler seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
Ms. Greever summarized the memo prepared by LeClairRyan regarding Mr. Ryans conflict of interest on matters of bond issuance represented by his firm on the Authoritys behalf. To avoid a conflict of interest, Mr. Ryan will generally recuse himself from all votes pertaining to bond issuances, barring rare circumstances. Mr. Ryans abstention from voting will not negatively affect the presence of a quorum for voting purposes. Ms. Wetzler moved to adopt the memo. Ms. Alli seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
Mr. Hanson entered the meeting at 4:17 pm.
B. Loan Administration: A job description for the position of Loan Manager which Ms. Alli and Denise Lawus had drafted, was circulated and reviewed by the Board members.
The Board discussed the sequence of the loan process, as follows: the Loan Manager would collect the necessary documentation from an applicant, review it and make a recommendation to the Loan Committee; the Loan Committee would then review and make a recommendation to the Board for approval.
The Board discussed the prudence of hiring a Loan Manager when the administration fees due from the City had not yet been paid. Ms. Greever recommended establishing the position, advertising the vacancy and selecting candidates for the job, but holding off on hiring until the fees are received from the City. Mr. Johnson asserted that while he supported the loan programs he did not believe the Authority should be obligated to continue to operate them without funding from the City. As such, he opposed creating the full-time Loan Manager position until the funding was provided by the City. He stated that he would support moving on with the job description provided it was not tied to full-time. Mr. Hanson suggested tying the position to the funding and making it conditional upon the continuation of the administration fees. He stressed the importance of the CARE program to small businesses based upon his own experience as a business owner. Mr. Johnson clarified that he supported the continuation of the loan programs as one of the Authoritys activities but that the Authority should not use its own funds to support operations.
Ms. Scott-Hickman arrived at 4:54 pm.
Ms. Alli moved that the Board endorse the job description as drafted for a full-time position. Mr. Hanson seconded the motion. Ms. Alli noted that the description incuded a salary limitation of no more than $40,000 per year. Ms. Greever proposed a second motion to authorize Mr. Reese, Ms. Ashley, and Ms. Lawus to draft the CARE and Extra CARE agreements for FY 2010 and go to the mayor to follow up on the outstanding agreements for FY 2008 and 2009. She suggested creating the Loan Manager position at this meeting and then filling the position when the funding from the City is in place. Mr. Johnson suggested fixing a few minor issues with the drafted job description and then voting at the next months meeting when the Board has more information about the funding.
Ms. Greever called for a vote and noted for the record that the position under consideration by the Board was an at-will position and that the Authority is under no obligation to continue employment for any guaranteed period of time and is contingent upon the availability of funding. Ms. Greever also suggested revising the duties listed in the description to include bond issues and other Authority business as assigned.
The motion on the floor was to authorize the creation of a full-time position as outlined in the description as written with corrections as noted, at a salary of no greater than $40,000 per year plus benefits to be determined, as well as an amendment to the description as proposed by Ms. Greever. The amendment to the motion carried unanimously. The motion carried 5-2, with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Ryan voting against it.
C. Jackson Center Lease Extension: Ms. Greever moved to authorize the Executive Director or his designee to execute an extension on Jackson Center Parkings lease of 75 spaces at the 2nd and Marshall lot on a month-to-month basis, pursuant to an amendment to the deed of lease prepared by Ms. Ashley. Ms. Wetzler seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
V. Financial Overview
The Board reviewed and discussed the monthly financial statements prepared by Mr. Reeses office.
Mr. Reese noted that he expected to have a loan report ready for the Board at the following months meeting.
Ms. Greever reported that the Authority had received a letter from the Federal Economic Development Administration terminating the Revolving Loan Fund due to unresponsiveness to a letter sent in July 2007. The Authority had appealed in writing for an extension and was compiling the data for a report to satisfy the request, as the original request had not come to the Boards attention at the time. Mr. Reese stated that reports had been filed with the Office of the Inspector General for an audit of the Federal EDA, but that the audit was dropped six months ago. No reports had been sent directly to the Federal EDA. The Authority planned to have all data through March 31, 2009 reported to the Federal EDA by April 3, 2009.
VI. New Business
A. CARE and Extra CARE Agreements FY 2010: Ms. Greever moved to instruct the Executive Director, in consultation with Mr. Reese and Ms. Lawus, to prepare CARE and Extra CARE agreements for FY 2010 to present to the City administration in advance of the beginning of that fiscal year. Ms. Wetzler seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
B. DED Workforce Development Division Lease: Ms. Greever moved to authorize the Incubator Committee to enter into negotiations with the Department of Economic Development on lease terms for space on the fourth floor of the AdvanTech building. Ms. Wetzler seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
VII. Reports of the Officers
A. Report of the Chairman: Mr. Johnson reported that the mayor had set up a real estate roundtable meeting, which Mr. Johnson had attended on behalf of the Authority. He noted that it is significant that the Authority is seen as a key real estate player in the city and that he looks forward to continued participation. He also reported that he had held initial talks about adding a line-item to the Authoritys budget to support the Department of Economic Development to allow for an entertainment budget for use in business attraction and retention efforts, which is not currently allowed under the City. He noted that surrounding localities are able to take advantage of budgeted funds for use with visiting potential clients. No action was needed at the time. Mr. Johnson also traveled to Fredericksburg with Mr. Currin to look at a hotel development by a group interested in working in Richmond in order to meet them and welcome them to pursue that project. He noted that while the purpose of the visit was not to discuss development at 2nd and Marshall, the group appeared to be a solid candidate for that project when it becomes ready to move forward.
B. Report of the Secretary: Mr. Currin left a written report, stating that he recommended hiring a potential candidate for Mr. McDearmons replacement after an interview and checking references. Mr. Johnson had recommended this candidate based on previous work experience. Ms. Scott-Hickman asked whether the job had been advertised. Mr. Johnson stated that the Authority had not gone through that process. Mr. Hanson suggested advertising the position to eliminate concerns of perceived nepotism and to allow any interested party to apply.
Mr. Hanson exited the meeting at 6:15 pm.
Ms. Greever moved to authorize Mr. Currin to fill the position now held by Mr. McDearmon to include the following steps: preparation of a job description to cover all duties currently assigned, pay range and benefits, and to advertise the position, receive applications, and form a search committee to interview applicants and make a recommendation to the Board. The motion was seconded by Ms. Alli, and it carried unanimously.
Ms. Wetzler reported that the Authority now owned the building at 501 E. Franklin Street outright, as the remainder of the mortgage had been paid off with the proceeds from the sale of 10th and Broad.
Ms. Ashley, Ms. Scott-Hickman, and Ms. Wetzler exited the meeting at 6:20 pm.
VIII. Committee Reports
A. Executive Committee: The minutes from the meeting stand as the committees report.
B. Development Committee: The minutes from the meeting stand as the committees report.
C. Finance Committee: As previously noted, the AdvanTech building note was paid off in full. The penalty for the early payoff was approximately $30,000 less than the total interest expense over the remaining life of the loan.
D. Incubator Committee: The committee recommended that the Board enter into an agreement with Madison + Main to provide website upgrades and search engine optimization marketing. The full Board would consider the proposal in April and would invite Mr. David Saunders, president of Madison + Main, to present his proposal at the April meeting.
E. Loan Committee: The items discussed by the Loan Committee were previously covered in the meeting.
IX. Announcements
Mr. Johnson noted that there had been some issues regarding Board member attendance and stressed to all members the importance of making as many scheduled meetings as possible.
X. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:38 pm.