HCDA May 2023 Board Meeting Minutes

Hampshire County Development Authority

Board Meeting Minutes – May 17, 2023

Taggart Hall Conference Room/Teleconference – 10:00 AM

 

Public is invited to attend by Teleconference:

Dial-In Number: (720) 843-2487

Passcode: 4034389#

 

Present: Greg Bohrer, Rebecca Hott, Beverly Keadle, David Mayfield, Brian Hott, Len McMaster, Tamitha Wilkins, Eileen Johnson, Jon Todd Hott, Cathy Simon.

 

Via Conference Call: Keith McIntosh

 

Guests: Sydney Maurer, Patricia Escoriaza, Jeff Pancione, Ed Morgan, Hoy Shingleton, Logan Mantz, Terry Lively.

 

Presenting-New Executive Director, Jon Todd Hott, was introduced by Beverly Keadle (Personnel Committee).

 

Approval of Agenda-David Mayfield made a motion to approve as presented. Len McMaster seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

Presentation:  Logan Mantz, Town of Capon Bridge utility transfer. Logan Mantz presented an update of the progress of the Transfer Agreement that HCDA executed prior to the meeting. The goal is to meet the conditions and get the Town of Capon Bridge ready to close on the utility transfer on time to not interfere with operations set up by Aquabanq, as they will be moving into the CBTP soon. Since signing the agreement, the Town of Capon Bridge has moved forward and has made positive progress on the two main things that needed to be done prior to going to close;

1. Town of Capon Bridge had to negotiate and solidify its water access rights with the Department of Natural Resources. A Memorandum of Intent was received and that form of the agreement was brought before the Town of Capon Bridge and was approved.
2. Resolution of the previous agreement with the CHPSD and the Town of Capon Bridge.

Mantz is on the agenda to present at the CHPSD to outline what the town is going to propose. This will be a two-line contract stating that the precious contract is rescinded in full and all assets received during and by the CHPSD in relation to this operation will be transferred to the Town of Capon Bridge and the precious contract will be severed. The contract agreement will be sent to CHPSD for review for the June 6^th meeting. After the meeting all of the conditions will be met and the Town of Capon Bridge can move forward to closing with the agreement with HC Development Authority.

Another point of discussion regarding the transfer of utilities was that Mantz said that part of the agreement was for the Development Authority is going to join the Town of Capon Bridge in an application to procure ARPA funds from the county. This application includes the capability to install a bulk water station in the Capon Bridge Tech Park, which is to help offset the costs of operation through water sales until the Tech Park gets more clients than it currently has. The second part was to do all things necessary to offset the cost and running of the utility for the town.  Also, the application included the purchase price as set forth by the HCDA. The application was presented to the County Commission

 

Page 1

last Tuesday, the 9^th. The response was to come back in two weeks to provide figures and will look at it again. Town of Capon Bridge’s plan is to work on the figures and include feedback from the County

Commission. Mantz is on the agenda for the next County Commission meeting on May 23^rd. New ideas and proposals will be presented at this next meeting. Mantz asks for the Development Authority’s input on the application. President Bohrer added that the asset value of the property was set forth by the Certified Public Accounting service and according to the liquidity.   Eileen Johnson pointed out the information on the CBTP Wastewater Treatment Plant Partial Expenses spreadsheet outlining the expenses the HCDA has expended so far for the plant.

 

Presentation: Jeff Pancione, Ed Morgan- Hampshire County Board of Education.

 

Secretary’s Report – Approval of Minutes –Beverly Keadle made a motion to approve with revision of Page 3 Executive Session instead of Special Session. Brian Hott seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

Treasurer’s Report – David Mayfield – Copy of the financial reports for reviewing. The reports were discussed with comments. Len McMaster made a motion to approve. Rebecca Hott seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

Marketing Committee Report – Rebecca Hott – Website training has been scheduled for Rebecca, Cathy and J.T. for June 1^st.   This training is for permissions to edit the website and maintain the Facebook and Instagram accounts. Currently Thad Reid is working on videos. He has just completed the agricultural video which includes Misty Cook and Alex Sowers and is currently working on P&P Creations. The final video will be with Logan Mantz. A.J. and Dominique Shapiro of Aquabanq are working on their video in house to submit for the website.   Rack cards were printed and utilized at SelectUSA Conference. These were popular with participants at the conference. Hott stated that the rack cards are a good way to advertise and market. There were nearly 5,000 participants at SelectUSA in Oxen Hill, Maryland. There was representation not only from the United States, but all over the world. Conferences included updates from different states on economic development and investors worldwide seeking opportunities to do business in the United States. Departments of Labor, Department of Economic Development stated the importance of starting early in the schools to prepare students for job and trade opportunities upon graduation. An emphasis on all entities having the same or similar goals was stated to be important. County entities, towns, and schools for example.  West Virginia wants to emphasize on aerospace, alternative fuels and tourism. Again, with all entities being in sync with the other and work together on these similar goals. Hott showed some of the materials used for the WV Booth at the conference. She shared information on Hampshire County and the Development Authority and what they had to offer for

future development.

 

Personnel Committee – Beverly Keadle – Welcome Jon Todd Hott to the Hampshire County Development Authority. Recommendation of salaries from the personnel committee for salary recommendations as presented.  Thanks to the County Commission for their attention to the request of supplemental funding. It was recommended that the supplemental funds be put into an account to be allocated to the new Executive Director for use in training and education. The personnel committee will be finalizing paperwork for Eileen Johnson’s retirement.

 

 

 

 

Page 2

Risk Management & Safety Committee – Tamitha Wilkins

• No COVID deaths for month of April.
• Reported from Office of Vital Statistics – Pandemic declared over as of May 11^th, 2023, but still keeping track based on COVID deaths.
• DHHR Dashboard is going to change. No weekly updates and color-coding of charts. In process of changing website.
• Started vaccinating again 65 or over. Also, at-risk population who are 6 months or over for Pfizer and Moderna.
• Vaccinating weekly upon request.
• Preparedness training and drills in Jefferson County. Hampshire County was well represented. Phase I of 3. EPA writes the scenario. Training continued in September for Phase II. Phase III will be a mock drill.
• Have 2 new prospects for nurse position.
• Through the CDC, the local Health Dept. received a 3-year grant. Will receive funds each year for three years for infrastructure. To strengthen workforce and salary needs.

 

President’s Report – Greg Bohrer – Asked the personnel committee to serve as the nomination committee for this next fiscal year. Thanks to Rebecca Hott for attending SelectUSA and welcome to J.T. Hott as Executive Director.

 

Former Hospital Abatement-DEP Loan Update – Former Hospital Demolition & Brownfield Remediation – CDBG Update – Eileen Johnson & Patricia Escoriaza.

Abatement – Eileen Johnson – Final draw was submitted and approved. Received notification from DEP, which means they have adjusted our final schedule and that means there will be a reimbursement and once received will pay the last pending payment to the contractor. Engineering has been paid in full at this point. That will leave some reserve to allow funds for installment loan payments on the loan to DEP beginning September of 2024. In the process of beginning the demolition, suspicious material was found and had to be tested. With this, demolition was stalled until testing was complete. A potential change order was tabled last month pending sampling. Engineer and contractor tested samples; Thrasher, and Reclaim. Discrepancies were reported. Because of the discrepancy and visibility of this project, and urgency of the project, we solicited costs to be able to address this. The costs were driven up to around the amount of $400,000. The DEP offered to come and resample everything at no cost to the project. These results would be binding. This was done last Tuesday and results are pending. During this time, funding sources were contacted asking for a budget amendment so we could tie into grant funds through CDBG/HUD.  Waiting for final results to move forward.

Patricia Escoriaza reported that there is a critical timeline to consider and has communicated with Jeff Pancione to keep lines of communication open. Everyone is doing everything possible to move forward and meet the timeline. It has been suggested that as soon abatement is completed on sections of the building, that demolition happen at that same area right away. Once word is received from the DEP and Senator Capito’s office, what is envisioned is to work consistently. The contractor is aware of what is happening and they are being very responsive. With the safety concerns on site, he continues to come in and do his environmental inspection according to his reports that have to be submitted. It is a process that has to happen to stay on task. Johnson stated that the HCDA has invested over $200,000 of funds for this project alone. Terry Lively (Planning and Development Council) stated that there are steps that have to be taken on a project like this one. Procurement process, select engineering, funding, contractor, etc.  It is really a long process.

Page 3

Erin Britton (DEP contact) sent a message saying that all samples from May 9^th are negative for ACM.  Now results are negative, how quickly can the contractor be onsite? Escoriaza stated the contractor has to put in for a 10-day notification. There are many other things that have to be removed but should not further delay the demolition. Ed Morgan (HC BOE) spoke on the frustration and impatience they feel with project but thanks the HCDA and those involved for all the work they are doing to complete the demolition.  He and Pancione spoke about the Slanesville Elementary and the BOE administration office.

 

Executive Director’s Report & Update – Activity report included for review.

• Fourth Amendment for Flowers Baking-Subject to Flowers by end of May.
• Audit – March 23^rd.
• WV Insurance – July 1^st – Propose policy regarding utility assets for the insurance policy and one without.
• Company vehicle – Repairs and maintenance. Renew registration? Currently mileage is 58.5 per mile reimbursement. Replace vehicle down the road. Capital expense within our budget.
• WVEDA – Angela reviewed park property for prospect of bio-oil or alternative energy company. WV is emphasizing to bring alternative energy to the state.
• Rail Spur – Meeting May 11^th with Rebecca Hott, Beverly Keadle, Eileen Johnson, with Commissioner of Transportation Cindi Butler and representatives, with Potomac Eagle and others. Next step will be to do a Business Cost Analysis. Completed in six months.

 

Old Business

CBTP Utility Transfer discussion – Next Step. Discussed.

Former HMH – Demolition Project – Next Step. Discussed.

New Business

Motion – Recommendation by HCDA Personnel Committee. Len McMaster made a motion to approve. Rebecca Hott seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Motion – Authorize ED to update WV Municipal Bond information in regards to Hampshire County EDA 22 Remediation Note – DEP BRF loan. Len McMaster made a motion to approve. Dave Cannon seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Motion-Fully execute the (revised) Exclusive Option to Purchase Agreement between Aquabanq Fish Farms, LLC Series 2 and the HCDA for Lot 6 in the Capon Bridge Technology Park adopted on October 19, 2022 with deferment.  (included). Dave Cannon made a motion to approve with future revisions suggested by Hoy Shingleton.  Len McMaster seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Resolution: HCDA FY 2024 Executive Committee Officers. Tabled.

 

Communications/Public Comments

HCDA Marketing-Rack Cards

Hampshire County Job Fair – 05/17/23 sponsored by Workforce 7.

Copy of HCC May 9^th agenda with notes as reference & HCC 2023 meeting schedule

HCDA CBTP WWTP Expense Spreadsheet

“Save the Date” email Aquabanq Groundbreaking Event – FYI – formal invitations in route.

Adjourn – The meeting adjourned at 11:56. Len McMaster made a motion to adjourn. Dave Cannon seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

Second quarter HC Infrastructure Committee Meeting will be held on June 28^st, 2023 in the Taggart Hall Conference Room at 10 AM.

Page 4