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03-28-2023 Agenda Packet EDCNOTES Regularly-Scheduled Meeting Agenda 4:00 Welcome Mr. G. Phillip Allen, Chairman Invocation Mr. Donald Long, Vice-Chairman 4:02 **Approval of Minutes Mayor Merilyn Newell, Secretary 4:03 Industry Visit LP Mike Thibault, Asst. Director 4:13 Director’s Report Brandy Lynch, Director 4:18 Member Comments Members and Ex Officios 4:28 Chairman’s Report Mr. G. Phillip Allen, Chairman 4:29 Next Meeting Mr. G. Phillip Allen, Chairman Set for May 23, 2022, 4:00pm, EDC Boardroom, 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 4:30 **Adjourn Mr. G. Phillip Allen, Chairman **Action Requested Meeting Location: EDC Boardroom, 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, North Carolina 27573 Meeting Date & Time: March 28, 2023; 4:00 p.m. Mission Statement: “To Create Opportunities for Families & Businesses to Prosper & Compete in a Global Economy” Takeaways: ED Specialist Job posted North Park Project NC 100, Kerr Tar Events Industry Visits Business Survey EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 Minutes of the PCEDC Regularly Scheduled Meeting Person County EDC Board Room 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 November 29, 2022 Voting Board Members Present: Mr. Phillip Allen-Chairman Mr. Kenneth Perry Mr. Donald Long-Vice Chairman Dr. Scott McKinney Mr. Jay Poindexter The Honorable Gordon Powell The Honorable Merilyn Newell Ms. Sherry Clayton Mr. Jody Blackwell Ex Officios Present: Ms. Katherine Cathey, County Manager Dr. Claudia Berryhill, Agricultural Representative Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager Ex Officios Absent: Dr. Pamela Senegal, PCC President Dr. Rodney Peterson, PCS Superintendent ED Staff Present: Others Present: Ms. Brandy Lynch, Interim Director Mr. George Willoughby Mr. Michael Thibault, Asst ED Director (Minutes) Mr. Bo Freeman The Honorable Derrick Sims Mr. David Newell EDC Welcome and Invocation: At 4:00p.m., Chairman Allen called the meeting to order and asked Mr. Donald Long to give the invocation. Interim Director’s Report: Interim Director Lynch’s presentation will be included in these minutes. To begin, Interim Director Lynch made the exciting announcement that the Raleigh Regional Airport website has 1 of 11 EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 “gone live” and that a link to the website has been included on the EDC website. There are also plans to work with Person County IT in adding the link to the Person County website as well. Lynch then brought the website up on the two EDC conference room monitors to give a brief review of the website for the Commissioners. The title opinion for the North Park has been received from Attorney Alan Hicks and forwarded to Golden Leaf for their review. Bids for the clearing and grading RFP’s for the site are expected to be received by 2:30 tomorrow, after which a bid will be accepted and the process moved to the next phase. Next, there was discussion surrounding advertising. Periodicals such as Site Selection Magazine and Expansion Solutions have sent quotes for various advertisement options which range between $750 and $1,800. Given the substantial cost of these ads, Lynch is recommending an alternative of re-engaging with Palace Pointe and running 30-second spots during the previews, highlighting Person County businesses, and workforce. This was a very popular venue prior to Covid and would be a more economical alternative to the print ads and perhaps provide a more direct local impact. Lynch notes the importance of workforce and the need to keep students in Person County and show them what opportunities are here. Assistant Director has been in contact with Palace Pointe and will be procuring a current quote for both production and actual run costs for the next EDC board meeting in January. The survey of the Mega Park has been completed and forwarded to County Manager Cathey for review. Pending the review, the document will then be forwarded to Person County Planning and Zoning for possible rezoning as discussed and recommended by the EDC Board. For ease of conversation, Planning & Zoning will come to the EDC office to meet with Interim Director Lynch for review of the docs and providing their recommendations. Interim Director Lynch mentioned that the contract for our Economic Development sales tracking software (known as Salesforce) is ending, but in light of the upcoming transition to a new Director, the company has agreed to an extension of that contract, which will potentially save the County money. In addition, extending the contract will allow for a smoother transition to the new EDC Director as there may be a learning curve for Salesforce, depending upon their previous experience level with Salesforce. Interim Director Lynch then mentioned an invitation from Mr. Loren Hill of the Piedmont Triad Partnership for either the Interim Director or the Assistant Director to attend an upcoming event at Pinehurst to introduce three of the incoming EDPNC Project Managers. As the Interim Director has an immediate deadline in place for the date of the event, Assistant Director Thibault will attend to meet the new Managers and represent Person County to both Carolina Core and EDPNC. 2 of 11 EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 Lynch then gave a summary of a meeting she attended regarding the ongoing Person County Government Pay Study, which is anticipated to be completed sometime in February for presentation to the County Commissioners. As there have been several inquiries regarding site visits, Interim Director Lynch related that yes, there are many ongoing Project requests including several that have been in the works for months. The volume is currently very steady and includes older, ongoing contacts as well as new referrals from EDPNC to work through. The department has received the “very detailed” final report from the Duke Site Readiness Program that was in preparation over the past several months. For our part, the Department was asked to present the Person County information as if it was a Site Visit request for the Mega Park location. A meeting is currently scheduled for Friday, December 2 to review the results of the report and an update to this Board will be provided at the January meeting. Next up, Interim Director Lynch mentioned a letter that she received on November 8th from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, pertaining to our Mega Site being certified under the NC Certified Sites Program. The NC Chamber now has a new Director for that program by the name of Will Best. As the Person County Mega Site was last certified in March 2020, it is currently up for renewal in March of this year. Lynch noted that as part of the re-certification process, some of the older assessments that were performed at an earlier time might need to be brought current in order for the re-certification to be approved. Lynch will be speaking with the new Director Best sometime in December to determine exactly what will need to be re- evaluated for the re-certification. An update will be provided at the January 2023 board meeting. Finally, Lynch provided details of an email that she received from JLL, which is a company engaged by EDPNC who has also engaged Timmons and Nexsen|Pruet, to identify viable mega sites within the state of North Carolina, especially in light of the interest that the Governor and the Legislature currently have in promoting mega sites. This effort by EDPNC would impact many communities and consultant agencies in the state and would involve each interested community submitting a proposal. From that collection of proposals, the top five communities will be chosen. Lynch has compiled the necessary data and will be submitting to the portal on behalf of Person County, tomorrow morning. A conversation then began regarding the current status of certification of the Person County Mega Park and it was determined that while it is currently certified, many of the studies to obtain that certification are coming up on anniversary dates. In that regard, there will be a review of those studies to determine which will need to be redone in order to renew Park certification. The final discussion point in this section has to do with the ongoing progression of the rezoning of the Mega Park as related to review of the new survey by Planning & Zoning and the review of the original landowner contract by both EDC and PCBIC Attorneys. 3 of 11 EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 Approval of the 2023 EDC Meeting Schedule: Chairman Allen called for a motion for approval of the 2023 Meeting Schedule. A motion was made seconded and unanimously passed for approval of the 2023 Meeting Schedule as presented. Motion: Dr. Scott McKinney Second: Mr. Jay Poindexter Approval of the October 25, 2022 Meeting Minutes: The Honorable Merilyn Newell requested a motion to approve the October 25, 2022 Meeting Minutes as presented. A motion was made seconded and unanimously passed for approval of the October 25, 2022 Meeting Minutes as presented. Motion: The Honorable Gordon Powell Second: Ms. Sherry Clayton Member Comments: Ms. Katherine Cathey, County Manager stated that the search for the next Economic Director has been placed on hold for the balance of 2022 and will be reopened in the new year as there is a lack of interested candidates to warrant a continuation of the interview process through the holidays. Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager mentioned that he and the County Manager met with representatives of LaBella Engineering that are the Engineers of Record with the City of Roxboro. The topic of discussion revolved around the Western Sewer Project. Mr. Lockhart also provided updates regarding the Federal ARP money and potential USDA funding pending completion of the City’s annual audit, which will be occurring in December. Mr. Lockhart then announced the repair to the oxidation ditch crack at the wastewater treatment plant will begin in January. Completion of all upgrades to the plant are anticipated for the October/November 2023 time frame. Finally, Mr. Lockhart shared that there was only one applicant for the Public Service Director opening, so the search is ongoing. Dr. Pamela Senegal, PCC President noted that the Campus Master Plan has been completed. The college is also starting two new academic programs, one for LPN (Licensed Practical Nursing) and one for Stenography. The College has also received a grant of $200,000 as part of their connection with the Carolina Cyber Security Network as well as an additional $500,000 grant from the College’s Foundation in support of the Pacer Promise Program. Dr. Senegal next announced the return of Mr. Jody Blackwell to the College in the role as Director of Customized 4 of 11 EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 Industry Training and finally, news that seven Community College Presidents within the Carolina Core have met to strategize their response to the upcoming need to fill the 15,000 new jobs being created by several new, large businesses locating in this area of North Carolina. Specifically, what the colleges will need to do in order to scale up to that level of need for new employees. Dr. Rodney Peterson, PCS Superintendent noted that Person County Schools is now a candidate for District Accreditation, which will go a long way in advertising our school system and reminded the group that currently, only our High School is Accredited, so this step is very important. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman reported that Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Reaves are now in their new home and have officially vacated the County owned property where they previously resided. Next Meeting: Due to holiday activity and various travel plans surrounding Christmas and the New Years holidays, the next meeting is proposed for Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. in the Person County EDC Board Room 303 S. Morgan St. Roxboro, NC. Citizen Input from the Floor: David Newell was allowed to speak as a concerned citizen regarding the proposed route of the Western Sewer Project. The point of Mr. Newell’s comments was a suggestion to utilize the $2,000,000 in Cares Act funding recently appointed to the City of Roxboro could most efficiently be used for construction of the line starting from the Wastewater Treatment Plant and put the first leg of the Project in from there. City Manager Brooks Lockhart then made the point that $900,000 of that money has already been appointed for repairs at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mr. Newell then pointed out that by first running the line to Chub Lake Road from the Plant, that approximately 900 acres could be opened up for development, which would lead to a positive impact upon the tax base for both the City and the County. 5 of 11 EDC Minutes for November 29, 2022 Adjournment: A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously passed to adjourn the meeting at approximately 4:51 p.m. Motion: The Honorable Merilyn Newell Second: Ms. Sherry Clayton _____________________________________ ______________________________________ Date Approved Secretary 6 of 11 EDC Regularly-Scheduled Meeting November 29, 2022 7 of 11 Interim Directors Report 8 of 11 Airport Website The Raleigh Regional Website is now live!!! A link to the website has been posted on the EDC website. Person County IT has updated the county website as well. http://raleighregional.com/ 9 of 11 Updates and Info •North Park RFP are due November 30 •Advertising •Survey of the PCMP •Meeting with Planning and Zoning •Director search information will be provided by the New County Manager later in the meeting •Salesforce agreed to extend the contract •Carolina Core Events •Person County Government Pay Study •Projects •Duke Site Readiness Report •NC Certified Sites •*****North Carolina Site Readiness*****10 of 11 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 11 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 Minutes of the PCEDC Regularly Scheduled Meeting Person County EDC Board Room 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 January 24, 2023 Voting Board Members Present: Mr. Phillip Allen-Chairman Mr. Kenneth Perry Mr. Donald Long-Vice Chairman Dr. Scott McKinney Mr. Jay Poindexter The Honorable Gordon Powell The Honorable Merilyn Newell Ms. Sherry Clayton Mr. Jody Blackwell Ex Officios Present: Ms. Katherine Cathey, County Manager Dr. Claudia Berryhill, Agricultural Representative Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager Dr. Pamela Senegal, PCC President Ex Officios Absent: Dr. Rodney Peterson, PCS Superintendent ED Staff Present: Others Present: Ms. Brandy Lynch, Interim Director Mr. George Willoughby Mr. Michael Thibault, Asst ED Director (Minutes) Mr. Bo Freeman EDC Welcome and Invocation: At 4:00p.m., Chairman Allen called the meeting to order and asked Mr. Donald Long to give the invocation. Chairman Allen also asked that his Chairman’s Report be moved to an earlier spot in the Agenda between the Election of Officers and the Advertising Options. Officer Nomination and Vote: ED Interim Director Brandy Lynch opens the floor for nominations for the Chairman position. Nomination of Phillip Allen, for the position of Chairman, was made by Mr. Kenneth Perry. 1 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for Phillip Allen as Chairman. Motion: Mr. Kenneth Perry Second: Mr. Jay Poindexter ED Interim Director Brandy Lynch opens the floor for nominations for the Vice Chairman position. Mr. Kenneth Perry nominates Mr. Donald Long for the position of Vice Chairman. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for Mr. Donald Long as Vice Chairman. Motion: Mr. Kenneth Perry Second: Chairman Phillip Allen ED Interim Director Brandy Lynch opens the floor for nominations for the Secretary position. Mr. Kenneth Perry nominates The Honorable Merilyn Newell for Secretary. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for The Honorable Merilyn Newell for Secretary. Motion: Mr. Kenneth Perry Second: Mr. Jay Poindexter Chairman’s Report: Chairman Allen began the next portion of regular business with his Chairman’s Report by stating that the number one priority of the EDC Board for 2023 is to attract a business to the Mega Park as we’ve never been closer to landing someone than we are right now due to so much recent activity. As we are entering into the final year of our land option for the Mega Park, 2023 is the year. Chairman Allen next stated that the second issue that will be top of mind for 2023 is the situation with Duke Energy and the continuation of power generation at our Person County power plants. The third item mentioned by Chairman Allen is the continued partnership between the EDC and the City of Roxboro, particularly with regard to the anticipated development at the Southern end of the County. The fourth priority mentioned by Chairman Allen is to continue the development of our Person County Airport and that he is thankful for the large corporate hanger and the funding in place for the extension off the runway. Finally, the critical elements needed for a vital community are strong elected leadership, a strong Economic Development Commission, a strong public education system, a strong Community College, a strong Health Care System and a strong Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Allen noted that Person County currently has all of those things. In wrapping up his Chairman’s Report, Chairman Allen conveyed his appreciation to the board for their confidence in voting back in the three positions and the entire Board’s continued support and dedication to meetings for “the cause” of Economic Development. 2 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 Advertising Options Discussion: Assistant Director Thibault brought to the attention of the Board two advertising options under consideration, one pertaining to existing Person County business retention in the form of Palace Pointe movie theatre on-screen advertising and the other, pertaining to outside Person County business attraction, in the form of Economic Development magazine advertising (both hard copy and digital formats). An older version of a 30-second on-screen ad that was run several years ago was played for the Board with the disclaimer that many of the featured businesses, locations and logos would need to be updated. In addition, decisions would need to be made regarding ad placement before the movie showing and the production of the updated version. Assistant Director Thibault then proceeded to outline various showing scenarios based upon the Palace Pointe tier system, in addition to several different production scenarios. Next, with regard to attracting businesses into the County, Assistant Director Thibault referenced several print and digital advertising options for consideration along with pricing for said options. General discussion ensued with many good questions and suggestions including a recommendation by Dr. Senegal to contact Beth Townsend at PCC for assistance with the ad production aspect for the Palace Pointe video. An update will be presented by Assistant Director Thibault at the next regular EDC meeting. Carbon Plan Update: Chairman Allen called on County Manager, Katherine Cathey to provide an update on the Carbon Plan. Manager Cathey distributed a Power Point presentation provided by the County’s Carbon Plan Advocacy Attorney, Patrick Buffkin and proceeded to review the presentation with the EDC Board. The presentation addressed such topics as Background, Description of Hyco and Mayo Plant Capabilities, a Summary of the impacts to Person County, a list of reactions from various parties and finally, a Summary of “What’s Next?”. A brief period of question and answer ensued including a description of the difference between the Legal Team versus the Lobbying Team that were both recently retained to represent the County in Duke’s Carbon Plan process. Interim Director’s Report: Interim Director Lynch’s presentation will be included in these minutes. The schedule for review of the North Park bids for the clearing and grading RFP’s for the site has been extended for another month, after which a bid will be accepted and the process moved to the next phase. Final bids would be expected sometime during the January timeframe with a recommendation forwarded to the Commissioners by sometime in early February. Interim Director Lynch next described the current status of the department and her observation that more of an emphasis needs to be placed on the youth of Person County from a Person 3 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 County employer advertising perspective. Given the substantial cost of print ads, Lynch is recommending the alternative of re-engaging with Palace Pointe and running 30-second spots during the previews, highlighting Person County businesses. This was a very popular venue prior to Covid and would be a more economical alternative to the print ads and perhaps provide a more direct local impact. Assistant Director has been in contact with Palace Pointe and has procured the necessary pricing information as detailed in the “Advertising Options Discussion” section above. The survey of the Person County Mega Park has been completed, reviewed and filed with the County. Interim Director Lynch provided a brief summary of her meeting with Person County Planning and Zoning to discuss possible rezoning as discussed and recommended by the EDC Board. At this time, although rezoning is allowed, Planning & Zoning recommends holding off any formal zoning changes until an occupant for the Mega park has been identified at which time, rezoning can be revisited. Interim Director Lynch mentioned that Assistant Director Thibault will be attending the NC Chamber government Affairs Reception at the Merrimon-Wynne House in Raleigh on Wednesday, February 22, beginning at 4:30. Dr. Senegal will also be attending from the EDC Board as well as Samantha Bagbey with the Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition, both the Interim Director and Assistant Director were able to attend the recent Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet at Palace Pointe. Interim Director next gave a brief summary of how the month of December from a volume of Projects perspective was extremely active and not at all customary for the month. The Department has been straight out with lining up Site Visits, utility, County and other partners for numerous meetings and visits to the Mega Site. The volume continues to be very steady and includes older, ongoing contacts as well as new referrals from EDPNC to work through. The department received the “very detailed” final report from the Duke Site Readiness Program last month and from that report, one of the conclusions regarding the PCMP is that more recent and easier to interpret maps are recommended. Currently, maps being used with prospective businesses were prepared by the Timmons Group back in 2017 and most refer to a particular Project that never materialized. The Mapping Department at Duke Energy has offered to assist with updating the maps for PCEDC and Interim Director Lynch will be meeting with John Nelms at Duke Energy sometime in the immediate future. Next up, Interim Director Lynch gave a brief update regarding the North Carolina Department of Commerce Mega Site re-certification under the NC Certified Sites Program. As the Person County Mega Site was last certified in March 2020, it is currently up for renewal in March of this year. After extensive research, the re-certification application was turned in today, 1/24/23. 4 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 Finally, Interim Director Lynch noted that she has received information regarding the 2023 State of the Region Sponsorship Opportunities. The event will be held again this year at the Angus Barn on Thursday, May 11 at 5:30 PM. Sponsorship opportunities include a table sponsorship at $5,000, which includes 10 people or a table sponsorship plus podium recognition for $7,500. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed to become a sponsor at the $5,000 level. Motion: The Honorable Merilyn Newell Second: Ms. Sherry Clayton Member Comments: Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager mentioned that he had met with Representative Ray Jeffers regarding three priority projects for the City of Roxboro, the Western Sewer, the Water Plant Lab Building and other needs. The intent was to hopefully, have these important items included in the Governor’s Budget. Requests were also sent to Senator Meyer and Secretary Flowers of the NC Rural Economic Development. Next, City Manager Lockhart updated the Commissioners on the project at 108 North Main, which has been visited by the Building Inspector and is nearing completion. Reopening Main Street is expected within the week pending safety inspection and removal of Contractor’s equipment. Mr Lockhart next mentioned some work being completed at 118 South Main Street, but this project will not close off traffic. For his Wastewater Treatment Plant update, the City Manager announced the repair to the oxidation ditch crack at the wastewater treatment plant was supposed to begin in January, but progress has been delayed due to “Attorneys”. Mr. Lockhart then shared that although there has been activity with regard to the Public Service Director opening, the search is ongoing as any applicants that rose to the top ended up taking positions elsewhere. Finally, for an update requested by Chairman Allen regarding the Long Avenue Extension, Mr. Lockhart again mentioned “Attorneys”. Ms. Katherine Cathey, County Manager stated that the search for the next Economic Director has been reopened and that the position has been posted in a variety of advertising resources and will remain open until February 12, 2023. The position of Public Information Officer will also be posted. The County Manager next mentioned that the position of Assistant County Manager has been filled by Brian Hart. Finally, a contractor has been appointed for the Broadband Project, but work has not yet begun due to waiting for the agreement being signed. However, conversations are in process with the State Office of Information Technology regarding Project Stopgap as well as Project CAB (Continuing Access to Broadband). Chairman Gordon Powell next related that he, like the City Manager, has been in contact with Congresswoman Foushee, Representative Jeffers and Senator Meyer as well, attempting to lure them to Person County for further conversations and to ensure that the County stays “on their minds”. 5 of 11 EDC Minutes for January 24, 2023 Next, Dr. Berryhill reminded the group that the Person County community is fortunate to have a thriving Agricultural economy as well as a growing Tourism economy. As for her Agricultural report, Dr. Berryhill informed the Board that North Carolina is ranked number three in swine production, just behind Iowa and Minnesota. Unfortunately, several years ago there were a number of lawsuits in North Carolina over the swine industry, some of which are still not settled. In relation to that, Dr. Berryhill recommended a screening of the film entitled “Hog Farmer – The Trials of Joey Carter” that is going to be shown at the County Office Building on February 10th. On the topic of Tourism, Dr. Berryhill announced that TDA has hired Julie Maybee as Executive Director and Katie Ann Oakley as Director of Communications and Marketing. Dr. Berryhill ended with a “save the date” of February 23rd for the 2nd annual Tourism Summit to be held at the Kirby. Finally, EDC was shown a newly-produced Tourism video highlighting Person County, which was very well received and applauded by the group. There was general discussion regarding the possibility of scheduling a Legislative Day for Person County once the newly elected officials have had time to acclimate to their offices, again, to stay in front of them regarding legislation which could positively effect Person County. A general conversation then progressed regarding the newly acquired Reaves property on the Mega Site and whether to sell what can be sold or to demolish the property and cap the well and septic. Finally, Chairman Allen expressed appreciation to Chairman Powell and the County Commissioners as well as County Manager Cathey for their tremendous support with regard to Economic Development in Person County. Next Meeting: The next meeting is proposed for Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. in the Person County EDC Board Room 303 S. Morgan St. Roxboro, NC. Adjournment: A motion was made, seconded, and unanimously passed to adjourn the meeting at approximately 5:57 p.m. Motion: The Honorable Gordon Powell Second: Mr. Jay Poindexter _____________________________________ ______________________________________ Date Approved Secretary 6 of 11 EDC Regularly-Scheduled Meeting January 24, 2023 7 of 11 Interim Directors Report 8 of 11 Updates and Info •North Park RFP are being reviewed •Advertising-Decisions •Survey of the PCMP is complete and filed •Meeting with Planning and Zoning and Attorney •Director search information will be provided by the New County Manager later in the meeting •Mike will be attending the NC Chamber Government Affairs Reception •Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet •Projects 9 of 11 Updates and Info •Duke Site Readiness Report Results •NC Certified Sites Recertification was turned in 1-24-2022 •North Carolina Site Readiness Results •2023 State of the Region Sponsorship Opportunities •Timmons Mapping 10 of 11 Thank You! 11 of 11