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01-25-2022 Meeting Minutes EDCEDC Minutes for January 25, 2022 Minutes of the PCEDC Meeting Kirby Cultural Arts Complex 213 North Main St., Roxboro, NC 27573 January 25, 2022 Voting Board Members Present: Mr. Phillip Allen-Chairman Mr. Kenneth Perry The Honorable Merilyn Newell-Secretary Mr. Donald Long Mr. Dale Reynolds-Vice Chairman The Honorable Gordon Powell Mr. Danny Talbert Mr. Ernie Wood Ex Officios Present: Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager Ms. Heidi York, County Manager Dr. Claudia Berryhill, Agricultural Representative Dr. Rodney Peterson, PCS Superintendent Dr. Pamela Senegal, PCC Representative ED Staff Present: Others Present: Ms. Sherry Wilborn, ED Director Mr. George Willoughby Ms. Brandy Lynch, ED Senior Ms. Marley Spencer Administrative Support Mr. Kelly Snow (Minutes) The Honorable PJ Gentry Ms. Sherry Clayton Ms. Samantha Bagbey The Honorable Derrick Sims EDC Welcome and Invocation: 1.At 4:20 p.m., Chairman Allen called the meeting to order. 2.Mr. Dale Reynolds gave the invocation. 1 of 41 EDC Minutes for January 25, 2022 Approval of the November 23, 2021 Meeting Minutes: 3.Mr. Allen request a motion to approve the November 23, 2021 Meeting Minutes. A motion was made seconded and unanimously passed for approval of the November 23, 2021 Meeting Minutes. Motion: The Honorable Gordon Powell Second: Dale Reynolds Officer Nominations: 4.ED Director Sherry Wilborn opens the floor for nominations for the Chairman position. Nomination of Phillip Allen, for the position of Chairman, was made by The Honorable Gordon Powell. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for Phillip Allen as Chairman. Motion: The Honorable Gordon Powell Second: Ernie Wood ED Director Sherry Wilborn opens the floor for nominations for the Vice Chairman position. Phillip Allen nominates Dale Reynolds for the position of Vice Chairman. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for Dale Reynolds as Vice Chairman. Motion: Phillip Allen Second: Donald Long ED Director Sherry Wilborn opens the floor for nominations for the Secretary position. Phillip Allen nominates The Honorable Merilyn Newell for Secretary. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed for The Honorable Merilyn Newell for Secretary. Motion: Phillip Allen Second: Dale Reynolds 2 of 41 EDC Minutes for January 25, 2022 Director’s Report: 5. Sherry Wilborn had a prepared statement to serve as the January Director’s Report, which is included as a part of the minutes. Member and Ex Officio Comments: 6. Chairman Allen calls on members for their comments at this time. Reference was made in Ms. Wilborn’s statement about the volume of public records requests the department had received in the preceding months. During member comments, Vice Chair Dale Reynolds stated that he believes access to public records is good, but he feels it is being used to create havoc. He would like the county government to look at charging for requests as well as requiring all public records request to be in writing. Ernie Wood states he would like to think we are all in this together. All the negativity hurts the county and perspective clients. He notes people need to try to work their issues out without making them public. The Honorable Gordon Powell noted the Person County Board of Commissioners has supported and stood behind the Person County Mega Park. He stated there has been mention of a sign on the property for advertisement. Commissioner Powell noted it is private property. He continued by stating the parcel of land gets about 650 cars of traffic a day. The county has spent advertising funds on circulations that can reach thousands. The county staff has also supported the development of the megasite. Dale Reynolds noted the EDC continues to support the site, using available public funding for the Person County Mega Park, as well. Chairman’s Report: 7. During the Chairman’s Report, Chairman Allen estimates that in the last 4-5 years, the EDC board has met over 100 times. The members have taken time away from their jobs, businesses and their families. Members are always prepared. Allen believes the EDC has gotten a lot of things done. He notes the EDC has not done everything it has set forth to do, but they have done a lot. The Person County Mega Park takes time. He stated Sherry Wilborn is always prepared, works long hours, and uses personal time. He wants everyone to keep working hard and finish strong. 3 of 41 Statement on Claims of Lack of Responsiveness from Person County EDC, from Sherry Wilborn, CEcD, Person County Economic Development Director For more than a year now, Chris Weaver, current Chairman of the Person County GOP, has been making claims that large corporations, which he has cited as Volvo and Siemens, and other “prospects” have been interested in bringing operations or development to Person County, but no one would call them back or agree to meet with them. Presumably to try to prove this, the County has received public records requests from Weaver, Person County GOP Vice Chair, John Seepe, and an unidentified group called “Election Freedom Fighters”, which Weaver seems to have linked himself to by a statement he made during the public comments time at the January 18th Board of Commissioners meeting. What follows is my response to the public claims that have in one way or another been hindering the work of the ED department and Commission for more than a year. Though I knew the source of the claim and what the falsehoods were based on, I would not be the first to put the information out in the public for the sake of the two firms that were involuntarily involved. But, soon after last Tuesday’s BOC meeting, Chris Weaver apparently posted an email exchange between me and Mike Solomon, formerly of Timmons Group, while Mike was the ED Director there. The contents of the email exchange are as follows. On March 11, 2020, Mike sent an email addressed to me and the EDC Chairman that read, Sherry & Phil Hope you are doing well. In the next thirty days I expect to be meeting with the Procurement Director with Volvo Trucks here in Greensboro. Timmons is a selected vendor for engineering services but I have not met the Director yet. Back in January I learned that Volvo buys their electric truck batteries from Samsung but they are considering building their own battery plant. Would you like for me to make a brief presentation to the Director on the Person County Megasite in regard to the potential for a battery plant and if they are interested set up a meeting for both of you? Michael Solomon PE Another exchange took place between Mike and me on May 8th that was not a part of the thread that was posted by Weaver where Mike asked me if I had seen his previous email, and I told him I didn’t recall seeing it. Mike forwarded the original request that same day, which read, Sherry Here is the memo I sent to you back in March. I haven’t met with Volvo yet due to the virus issue. 5 of 41 Let me know if you would like me to set up a meeting to introduce you to them. Sent from my iPhone Mike Solomon I responded, “Thanks; I’ll let you know.” That’s it. That email exchange was apparently supposed to be the smoking gun that proved that a major corporation wanted to come and build a plant in Roxboro but were prevented from doing so because the EDC Director was unresponsive. This was not a request from Volvo to Person County or even from them to Mike Solomon. No meeting had been requested other than from Mike to us. The fact that the follow-up request was 2 months later shows no urgency. If COVID prevented anyone’s willingness to meet, it was not a part of a site selection process as alleged by Weaver’s accusations. If you want to say that this was a very cool (as opposed to hot) lead that could have been followed up on and may have led to something down the road, then say that. In that case, it should be at the discretion of the ED Director and EDC Chairman to determine, based on their experience with the track record of the business developer making the request, their knowledge of how companies actually make location decisions, and their workload with a pipeline of more viable leads and projects to make the call as to whether to pursue this invitation, not people many degrees separated from any of it and without any economic development experience. What was that history of the relationship with Person County ED and Mike? We began working with Mike in 2014. By the time of the posted email thread, he was no longer considered as a credible source for leads. We (some EDC officers and I) had taken Mike up on his offers to meet with people in the past and did not consider the outcomes to be worth the time to arrange and prepare for the meetings when there were limited hours to go around and much more viable avenues for pursuing prospects. I had also traveled with Mike to California and Nevada, and had seen firsthand his business development approach, the level of people he engaged, their reactions and responses, versus the ways Mike perceived the interactions and reported those interactions to his employers and others. I was aware of at least three other partner organizations in North Carolina that had representatives that had called Mike out or contacted his boss about his going outside of the scope of his role, or “not staying in his lane”. Other EDC members will be aware of at least two of these. Furthermore, Mike had already shared with me in February who his contact was at Volvo in Greensboro. While Mike referred to him as the Procurement Director, his title was something different, but he did work in procurement. Despite the fact that procurement is far removed from operations, I had reached out to him (the contact) without including Mike, because Mike has no role in our ED organization. What public records requests will not show, is when phone calls take place, when marketing collateral is sent through 3rd party marketing tools, and when information that falls under confidentiality protections is exchanged. After so much was made of the Volvo topic and all the public records requests related to them, I called the person that Mike had said he wanted Phillip and me to meet with, and he told me that he met Mike 6 of 41 through a civic organization in the town they live in, and he told him that he had nothing to do with battery manufacturing operations. He also followed up in an email, with: Sherry, I hope this email finds you well. I just wanted to follow up on our conversation earlier today. I work in Retail Development with the Volvo Group. I am not involved in any discussions related to Person County or battery manufacturing and those issues would be outside my area of responsibility. Thank you. Regards, -- Derek I can share with you that a similar thing occurred with Mike and Siemens where he went to a conference and met one of the speakers who was the VP of Operations, then forwarded me his contact information and that of the Communications Manager who he said could tell me how to set up a facility tour in Charlotte. He forwarded me an email from her where she stated that they do tours for businesses and individuals “as long as it has some business case for [them]”. Similarly, I did follow up with the contact he shared for the VP of Operations as well as with another contact from Siemens that I had made by attending a conference in Raleigh. In fact, I have followed up with every contact Mike has ever provided to me in one way or another. I simply have not looped him into the follow-up, because he has no role in being a part of those conversations, and he has, at times, complicated several active projects through his involvement, to put it one way. Additional items are available here to reinforce what I am saying, but any way you want to look at it, there is a big difference between a business developer for an engineering firm wanting to arrange meetings between two parties where neither has requested it and stating that large corporations have wanted to locate here in Person County, but no one returned the call. Another attack was launched at me by Weaver over a claim that a “prospect” wanted to come to town and meet with me but all I did was send them a map and tell them to find it themselves. I understand that he even sent a text message to all five Commissioners after normal work hours to inform them of this. Interestingly enough, the timing and description of that allegation seem to align with another request by Mike Solomon in a role he acquired, after he was no longer with Timmons, as a business developer with a firm that does commercial and residential development. In his new role, Mike reached out to meet with me about any sites we may have that would be suitable projects for the firm. Even though Mike’s interactions with our organization and others in our community had me relieved that he was not a part of Timmons anymore, I always take time to meet with people in positions similar to the one Mike had acquired with the new firm. I met with him in person on October 15th. I brought my laptop with me to 7 of 41 show him the locations on GIS as I described them in order to be able to demonstrate features of the sites such as zoning, utilities, topography, etc. This is the same approach as with other developers, and they are always very appreciative. I have also followed up with giving personal tours for up to 5 hours at a time, and in the recent past; however, that was at a point that the investors/owners themselves had shown enough interest to participate in person. At the time that I met with Mike, he did not seem interested in looking at the sites virtually or physically. He talked about the NCEDA conference, and he did leave some business cards with me for Piedmont Lithium, who was the conference sponsor. He said that he was going to Danville next, because his firm had a project to look at there. He asked about activity on the megasite, and as we were parting, he asked me if I ever talked to Liz Bradsher. After my meeting with Mike on the previous Friday, on October 20th, I followed up via email with the division leaders at the firm Mike was representing, and whose names he gave me to contact, sharing about our sites, recent announcements and investments, and letting them know that I was eager to discuss further with them. I did not receive a response from any of them with respect to interest in exploring projects in Person County. On Tuesday, November 2rd, at 7:03pm, Mike emailed me with the subject line of “Toyota Battery Plant”. I knew that he was aware that there may be an active ED project with Toyota Battery, because he also sent me an article about it on October 21st. In the 11/3 email referencing the project, he said: Sherry Several people know that you have a great Megasite for a car battery plant. Many people have asked me if you are working on getting it to your Megasite. I hope so. If so could you tell me ? I will keep it confidential. Thanks my friend!!! Mike Solomon The next morning, on Wednesday, I responded, but growing more suspicious of Mike’s interaction, I copied the County Manager and the EDC Chairman on my reply, which was: Mike, We are certainly promoting the Person County Mega Park and working projects for it, as always. From your previous role with Timmons, you are very aware of the crucial need for confidentiality with the site selection process with any project. Perhaps if people are asking you about our site, they do not realize that you are now serving in a different capacity. Please feel free to point any inquiries to me. Best wishes in your semi-retirement, Sherry He replied right back at 9:53am to say: 8 of 41 Sure. And I will keep your plans confidential. I am also possibly coming up to Person County tomorrow to look at the sites you identified for [names his employers]. Thanks so much!!! Sent from my iPhone Mike Solomon So, on Wednesday morning at 9:53 a.m., Mike said that he was possibly coming to see the sites I told him about, and he made no mention of wanting to meet with me the very next day. At 2:13 p.m. that afternoon, he left me a voicemail, which I have available for anyone who would like to hear it, and he said that he was coming the next day around 1 – 1:30, after he did some other personal errands and asked if I could meet with him or provide maps if I could not. Even after leaving a message, he called my cell phone to say the same, and took the opportunity again to ask about the Toyota Battery project. I emailed Heidi and Phillip to relay this information and to let them know that no one would be available to accompany Mike and that I would be sending him the site location information later that afternoon and copying them and his employers. I shared that my response to Mike’s persistence in asking about the Toyota project was to tell him that he is not in a position for me to discuss project activity with him. I did follow up with an email to all those aforementioned and sent tax map and parcel numbers, latitude and longitude for easy gps location, aerial maps, and a description of the locations by landmarks. Only Mike replied, and he did not “reply all” such that his employers or the County Manager or EDC Chairman would remain in the conversation, yet he emailed me directly at 6:09 p.m. to ask if a board member or Heidi could join him in my place. At 10:03 p.m., I was informed that Chris Weaver had sent a text message to all five county commissioners that a “prospect” wanted to come to town and was told that I could not meet or send anyone in my place and instead sent a map. After speaking with Heidi, who felt it was warranted, at 10:55 p.m. on Wednesday, 11/3, I emailed Mike and copied his employers and Heidi and Phillip to say: Mike, When I met with you in person two weeks ago to explore our available commercial and residential sites with you, you did not seem to be interested in looking at them that day. You seemed to be more interested in talking about the Person County Mega Park and whether I ever talk to Liz Bradsher. Last night you sent me an inappropriate email requesting for me to disclose to you confidential information about project activity with the Person County Mega Park. 9 of 41 Today you called to ask me about coming to town tomorrow to see these sites as though it is an urgent request that must take place tomorrow, and again you seemed more interested in asking me about confidential information related to the Person County Mega Park before you got off the phone. I find it interesting that I sent a good deal of information to your current employers about our sites after our in person meeting on October 15 and they did not respond with interest, yet there is now such interest that the visit must take place tomorrow when I am out of the office. Someone you are speaking to in our community is telling all of our Commissioners that I am not doing my job, because I am unavailable to meet with [you] tomorrow, with less than 24 hours’ notice of your plans to visit. Tomorrow I will reach out directly to Tom and David and Buddy to assure them that if they have any interest to develop in Person County I will be available to meet with them at any time. Sherry I then forwarded the response to Mike and Brandy in the ED office as well as to the EDC Chair and Vice Chair to them know about the entire exchange, including the text from Weaver, and encouraged Mike and Brandy that if Mike Solomon showed up at the office the next day to not engage with him but to let him go across the street to see Heidi. First thing the next morning, when I was scheduled for annual leave, I was contacted by Mike’s employers, two by phone and one by email. They all confirmed that Mike was not being sent here related to interest from their firm for any impending development and one indicated that Person County was currently outside of their target market. He closed by saying, “Thank you for your time and consideration. Your detailed responses and the depth of information as provided in the correspondence I have received from you so far indicates nothing less than a professional, courteous and extremely capable representative for Person County.” By at least 1:27 p.m. on Thursday, November 4th, Liz Bradsher was in receipt of the email I sent to Mike and others on the night before and was requesting for the County Manager to send other emails between Mike and me. On Friday, November 5th, at 11:04 a.m., a public records request was received from Election Freedom Fighter requesting “any and all digital communications” within county departments within the last 3 years, that included the firm that Mike was working for at the time, Mike Solomon, Liz Bradsher, Sherry Wilborn, John Seepe, and any that mentioned Volvo or battery. On Friday, 11/5 at 2:22pm, Liz Bradsher emailed Heidi again and copied all five commissioners, Phillip Allen, Donald Long, John Seepe, the county attorney, her husband, presumably an attorney that is related to her, and me. This email informed Heidi that she had asked “other individuals” for the emails and had seen them but felt they should be shared with others for context. The full thread of this exchange is included in this statement. 10 of 41 Going back to Piedmont Lithium, Mike also emailed me while he was at the NCEDA conference to ask me if I wanted him to talk to them about the megasite. I thought it was an odd question, since he wouldn’t need permission from anyone to tell someone about the megasite. It’s publicly promoted through many avenues. Again, proceeding with caution in my interaction with Mike at this point, I began to type a response, but never completed it. I did call someone else who was at the conference who does regional ED in NC who confirmed that they were there as a sponsor and were not a candidate for brining battery operations to our megasite. Once again, I followed up on any chance of this being a lead by calling and emailing those whose business cards Mike gave me after the conference and by calling someone at the conference who is a trusted partner. The only other item that I am aware of that was presented by Weaver in his social media group in his defense of his statements was the timeline below. I have included comments in italics after each item. 1/2/2020 - Mike Solomon of Timmons sends an email to Sherry reaching out regarding a meeting with Siemens. No response. He reaches out again in March - no response. I have addressed this above. 3/11/2020 - Email sent to Phillip Allen and Sherry Wilborn about a possible Volvo battery plant at the Megasite from Timmons, Mike Solomon. Timmons was the selected vendor. There was no response to this email. This email has been included here and it is misstated at best. The email says Timmons is a preferred vendor for engineering services for Volvo in Greensboro. Organizations commonly have databases of approved vendors to call on as needed. The email does not say that Timmons is the selected vendor for a possible Volvo battery plant at the megasite. I have already explained why we did not work with Mike to meet with someone who works in procurement at the Greensboro facility. 5/7/2020 - Liz Bradsher receives a call from Mike Solomon regarding the matter of no response and asking if she can assist with setting up such a date and time. She calls Phillip Allen, Chair of the EDC. He finds this interesting and says he will get right on it. He was given Mike Solomon's #. No call ever made from Phillip Allen per Mike Solomon. I have already explained why we did not work with Mike to meet with someone who works in procurement at the Greensboro facility. 11 of 41 5/8/2020 - Liz Bradsher receives another call from Mike Solomon on the matter and recommends another email be sent, which is sent again on May 8. 2020. This email was sent again by Liz Bradsher to Kyle Puryear on 5/17/2020 at this BB&T email address for his FYI. I have already explained why we did not work with Mike to meet with someone who works in procurement at the Greensboro facility. 5/17/2020 - Liz Bradsher meets with Kyle Puryear and provides detailed information on the matter as well as David Newell's nonprofit. Kyle Puryear asks for it in writing to verify facts. He gives Liz Bradsher his BB&T email address. Can’t speak to this since I was not a part of the communication and have not seen it. 5/19/2020 - Liz Bradsher sends thorough documentation to Kyle Puryear (BB&T email) on the matters that took place. Eventually later Derrick Sims is given this same information. Nothing is done. Can’t speak to this since I was not a part of the communication and have not seen it. 5/27/2020 - Email sent to Derrick Sims, PJ Gentry and Kyle Puryear on the efficiencies of merging the Chamber and Tourism under one umbrella for organizational strength and purposes of working together to achieve goals to include ED while reducing capital outlay. Examples of such taking place through-out the state. Email demonstrated it was a good time to discuss because of transitions taking place at both organizations - no Directors. No response from Puryear or Sims --- (fast forward to the Task Force and their observations in 2021 of same issue.) Can’t speak to this since I was not a part of the communication and have not seen it; however, I am not aware of examples throughout the state of Chambers and TDAs merging, since most TDAs cover counties and most Chambers cover smaller target areas. I am also not aware of any vacancy in leadership at the Roxboro Chamber in May 2020. 6/23/2020 - Liz Bradsher (this date may be a few days later due to typo) calls Kyle Puryear about the detailed information given to him on 5/19. He states the information that was afforded to him was correct. Sherry never responded. Liz Bradsher asks what will he do 12 of 41 about such a situation he says "nothing" it is not in his purview to direct staff that is for Heidi York, the County Manager, to do. Nothing was ever done. Can’t speak to this since I was not a part of the communication and have not seen it, other than to say that I did respond, it was simply not the response Mike was looking for, which I have addressed. 9/29/2020 - PC received an Army Corps of Engineering permit from Timmons. ET Bradsher met with Timmons in June and learned PC had dropped the ball with following thru - per Timmons. Timmons then fast tracked the permit. Once permit was received Sherry Wilborn did a PSA announcement without acknowledging Timmons' support. PR and business wise a bad move that has had poor ramifications for Person County. This process took over two years. It was expected to take that long, which is why we pursued it as a step towards reducing risks and timeline to development for an end user. There are plenty of records to show the continual work on this, and none to show that “PC had dropped the ball with following thru (sic)”. . I would love to see or hear from anyone from Timmons who said otherwise. Both Timmons and I were accountable to the Board for updates. I was contacted by one of the Timmons project managers on the permit to say that Mike Solomon was asking questions about the progress because he was contacted by “concerned citizen Liz Bradsher”. It is very unconventional, to say the least, for contracted consulting or engineering firms to act directly as a liaison to citizens when working for a public body, which is why that project coordinator referred him to me and then called me. Typically, those who contribute financially or through in-kind services are considered as partners in projects and mentioned in press releases. We worked with Timmons on this through a paid contract. To say that it was a bad PR move with poor ramifications to not include them is subjective, and there is no evidence of it being true based on the current working relationship with Timmons and other engineering firms that gladly work with us in Person County. 1/11/2021 - Timmons/Mike Solomon and President of Coastal Credit Union Chuck Purvis ( resident in PC) noted interest in Fuji Film and location possibilities in PC. Mike Solomon tried again to get in contact with Sherry Wilborn and requested if Liz Bradsher could work to place it on the agenda for the EDC meeting in January. Liz Bradsher requested placement for discussion but was told that there were too many items to discuss and there was no time by Phillip Allen. 13 of 41 I have had to review my emails with Mike Solomon many times in the last year. I do not recall, nor have I found in the numerous public records requests and search of all emails related to Mike Solomon, any emails from Mike about Fujifilm. I do not know who Chuck Purvis is, so I am not sure where this interest was noted, but not with me. The only request that I am aware of from Liz Bradsher for items to be requested on an EDC January agenda are included in emails here and contain no mention of this topic. Fujifilm announced in March, so their site selection process was quite advanced in January. They were only willing to consider sites within a certain drivetime of RTP, which Person County was well outside of. 3/15/2021 - Liz Bradsher sent research to EDC members to include Gordon Powell and Sherry about Lithium Batteries and the need in the US for such manufacturing, suggested discussion. No response from the Director or Chair. Battery manufacturing has been a target sector of the megasite since early-on, as is reflected in the megasite promotional video that was produced and promoted well before Liz Bradsher was on the EDC. It was not a topic that we needed to be persuaded on or to have researched. I was carbon copied on the email, while it was sent “To” the voting members of the EDC. The email thread is included here and further demonstrates that there was a reluctance with the EDC to work with Timmons. I hope it is now evident that the concerns revolved around the actions of one employee who is no longer there, especially since we still work with Timmons on projects frequently. [End of timeline and response.] I was hesitant to respond to these statements, because they came from social media, and I would much prefer to discourage people from getting their information about county government or anything else exclusively from there, especially in a closed group where the administrator controls the narrative and where elected officials and county employees are not prone to engage. But, I am responding now and in this way, since the “proof” of Weaver’s statements that have been made in public meetings has been revealed to show that we can all agree that all this disinformation about Volvo, Siemens, and ignored prospect visits stems from information from one person - Mike Solomon – and from being disseminated by Liz Bradsher and Chris Weaver, who has never asked me anything about any of these or other topics. For anyone interested in learning more about how economic development is done in the county and across the state or more about decisions being made by the county, there are resources that may be utilized right from their living rooms with factual information if they are unable to attend the public meetings. 14 of 41 The site selection process for economic development projects requires confidentiality. To understand this, it should be as simple as thinking about your own personal business, banking, decisions, real estate transactions, and how much you would not want that to be in print during a deliberation process and how it might disadvantage you in competitive situations, and then think about how much more that might be true if you are a publicly-traded company with hundreds or thousands of employees and stockholders that can impact your bottom line significantly when reacting to a premature headline or social media post. They are most often not even comfortable seeing speculation when deals are in the works. Too much attention before it is appropriate and consensual can kill a project. Again, consider if you would want to move into a neighborhood if you knew you would have nosy and gossipy neighbors, or if you would want to conduct a large business transaction with someone who did not have the professionalism to be discrete and to keep confidentiality. This is why laws allow for exceptions to public records releases and open meetings law for economic development purposes. Anyone who does not believe this is standard, professional economic development practice can simply pick up the phone and start calling other ED organizations of any organizational structure and asking what companies they are working with to look at their sites or what active projects they have going on. Leaks from anonymous sources that end up in the media should not be construed as an ED organization sharing information about project activity. In closing, I have taken more than a full day of my personal time to prepare this statement in the hope that it will serve to set the record straight and allow us to focus all our time, effort, and taxpayer resources on what we’ve been hired or appointed to do. 15 of 41 1/22/22, 11:52 AM Mail - Sherry Wi born - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…1/2 EXTERNAL: TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION EDC Elizabeth Bradsher <etbradsher@gmail.com> Fri 2/19/2021 2:39 PM To: Phillip Allen <pallen@esinc.net> Cc: Dale Reynolds <dlr@cpcarwash.com>; Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Dear Phillip, In late December I asked for specific topics to be included in our January monthly meeting. At the time and still today I believe these remain important topics for discussion. Your email of 1/9 had mentioned these would be best discussed during our planning session. Due to the postponement of the session I would like these topics to be included for our meeting on Tue day. The e topic are timely. A a reminder they include: 1. Person County job trends 2. Duke Energy 3. The development of mea urable yearly ED/EDC goal and their corre ponding objective a they relate to economic growth in Person County. 4. Public Transparency Thank you and I look forward to our meeting on Tuesday. Liz Bradsher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email set twice, 12/31 and 1/5, see content below, Chair's response follows: Good Morning Phillip, Sherry and Gordon, Per my email of 12/31 and Sherry'r recent response to that email I would like to request the following be placed on the agenda for our meeting later this month: 1. Person County job trends 2. Duke Energy 3. The development of measurable yearly ED/EDC goals and their corresponding objectives as they relate to economic growth in Person County. 4. Public Transparency Regards, Liz Bradsher Good Afternoon Liz,   Hope you have been doing good and that your family has had a nice holiday season. I met with Vice Chairman Dale Reynolds and Director Sherry Wilborn yesterday to discuss and review  items for the January EDC and PCBIC agendas. With this being our annual EDC organizational meeting, there are some time consuming items that will need to be included in this meeting. We will also have a closed session in our PCBIC meeting that could take an hour or more. In an effort to being  respectful of everyone’s time , we will try to streamline the EDC meeting in order to get everyone out after both 16 of 41 1/22/22, 11:52 AM Mail - Sherry Wi born - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 meetings in as close to two hours as possible.  An EDC work session is proposed for February in addition to the regularly scheduled February meeting.  The EDC work session  would be an appropriate time and also could provide the adequate time  to take up topics such as EDC goals and objectives as well as current job trends in Person County. I have also requested that Sherry reach out to our Duke Energy representatives for them to come and present at a near future EDC meeting.  Looking forward to seeing all of you later this month at our January meeting and again thanks to all of you for your willingness to serve Person County!!!!      Best Regards,   Phillip Allen Elizabeth T. Bradsher (703) 609 0642 Cell Phone 17 of 41 18 of 41 1/22/22, 12:41 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 > Sherry > > -----Original Message----- > From: mikesolomon@ > Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 7:03 PM > To: Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> > Subject: EXTERNAL: Toyota battery plant > > ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** > > Sherry > > Several people know that you have a great Megasite for a car battery plant.  Many people have asked me if you are working on getting it to your Megasite.  I hope so.  If so could you tell me ?   I will keep it confidential.  Thanks my friend!!! > > Sent from my iPhone > > Mike Solomon > > > 19 of 41 20 of 41 1/22/22, 12:51 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 As far as residential development David there is certainly a need for more housing at all price points We have three site locations in particular that have been internally evaluated as excellent locations for proximity to amenities and access to infrastructure There  are different owners for each and they are willing to speak with developers but asked me not to advertise their sites broadly. I would love to meet with you and share more about these sites and connect you with the owners at your convenience They range in size from 27 100 acres This would also allow me to give you the most current update on the status of other projects that are proposed.   On our website, we have put together a story map that highlights growth and investment going on in Person County including a proposed e pansion of the POLYWOOD campus that will bring an additional $61 6M in investment and 300 jobs to the county. A second story map that may be of interest to you focuses on things happening in Uptown Ro boro   Hopefully you have noted the active weblinks that I have inserted throughout the email to afford you the opportunity to explore more at your convenience. Let me know when you’re ready to come up and do a deeper dive in Person In the meantime thank you for your interest and please let me know what other information I can send your way!   Looking forward to more discussion, Sherry Sherry Wilborn, CEcD Economic Development Director Person County Government 303 S Morgan St (Delivery) PO Box 1581 (USPS) Ro boro NC 27573 swilborn@personcountync.gov   336 330 2215 (ofc) 336.583.1033 (cell) www.personcountyedc.com ”Everything is Better in PERSON" 21 of 41 1/22/22, 1:31 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…1/2 EXTERNAL: RE: Megasite Lithium Batteries pallen@esinc.net Tue 3/16/2021 1:58 PM To: 'Merilyn Newell' <mpnewell14@gmail.com>; 'Dale Reynolds' <dlr@cpcarwash.com>; gap299@charter.net <gap299@charter.net> Cc: Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Good Aernoon All, There are appears to be a request to both reestablish a relaonship with Timmons and also to designate lithium baery manufacturing as a target industry for the Mega Park We should welcome conversaons about each of these important items. We already have a busy agenda with the presentaon from the Duke Energy representaves and but I am open to either trying to incorporate both of the items in the agenda for next week or doing a reschedule of the planning session dedicated now to these items and other development targets. Let us know your thoughts and we might need to wait unl tomorrow if needed to send out the agenda for the meeng next week. Look forward to hearing from each of you and we might need to look at conference call for later this aernoon Best Regards, Phillip From: Merilyn Newell <mpnewell14@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 9 45 AM To: Phillip Allen (pallen@esinc.net) <pallen@esinc.net>; Dale Reynolds <dlr@cpcarwash.com>; Gordon Powell gap299@charternet) gap299@charternet Subject: Fwd: Megasite Lithium Baeries Perhaps this is an item for our planning session? It would be my opinion that while we likely need to flesh out our experience to date with Timmons with all of our members and EDC staff, it would be premature to jump into this kind of discussion ahead of other projects and concepts already under development for the planning session, which may need to be longer than originally planned Thanks, Merilyn Forwarded message From: Elizabeth Bradsher <etbradsher@gmail.com> Date Mon, Mar 15, 2021, 2 57 PM Subject: Megasite Lithium Baeries To Dale Reynolds dlr@cpcarwash com , Gordon Powell gap299@charternet , Phillip Allen <pallen@esinc.net>, Danny Talbert <dt@talbertbuildingsupply.com>, Donald Long <drlongesq@gmail.com>, Ernie Wood (ebwoodjr@gmail com) ebwoodjr@gmail com , Merilyn Newell mpnewell14@gmail com Cc: PJGentry <pj@pjgentry.com>, Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> Dear Gordon and All; 22 of 41 1/22/22, 1:31 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 Soon after moving here I became acquainted with the Timmons Group. Apparently, an engineering and development firm that is is not considered an asset by several members on the EDC. Professionally, I do not agree with such a sentiment. Every prospect, every potential relationship may result in completing a defined goal or objective. I believe Timmons can assist with such goals as they relate to the EDC and economic development in Person County. For well over several months I have been in touch with key members of the Timmons Group on issues relating to economic growth and potential target industries for the Megasite. During the last 6 weeks I have been studying the Lithium Battery market and the need for manufacturing. Today at the BOC meeting Commissioner Gordon Powell spoke of the needs in this country to produce Lithium Batteries. His comments parallel all that I have researched. The manufacturing of lithium batteries is a prime target market industry for the Megasite. The following is an excerpt from one the emails I have received from Timmons sent to one of their clients regarding Lithium Batteries and Person County: "There is a wonderful arcle on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on the Lithium mining here in the Charloe area and what a great resource it is for electric car baeries. As you know we have shown the Person County Megasite to automove companies as a great locaon for a baery plant. Please let me know if you would like any addional informaon on the site..." Please also review the following link: https //www bizjournals com/triangle/news/2021/03/12/nc lithium operation paving way for electric-cars.html?ana=emailafriend Although certain people in the county may not approve of The Timmons Group it appears the Timmons Group approves of Person County and knows the Megasite has potential to "hit" if marketed correctly. My closing statement: To close the door on The Timmons Group diminishes the EDC, the potential of the Megasite and the need for economic growth in this county. I am recommending we reestablish our relationship with Timmons and begin a strategic target marketing effort for the Megasite. As always, your comments are appreciated. I am requesting this subject matter to be placed on our meeting agenda for further discussion. Liz Bradsher ____________________________________________________________ Elizabeth T. Bradsher (703) 609-0642 Cell Phone 23 of 41 1/22/22, 12:00 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…1/2 EXTERNAL: Re: EXTERNAL: Toyota battery plant mikesolomon@ Wed 11/3/2021 9:53 AM To: Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Sure.   And I will keep your plans confidential.  I am also possibly coming up to Person County tomorrow to look at the sites you identified for Windsor Development. Thanks so much!!! Sent from my iPhone Mike Solomon Nov 3, 2021, at 9:50 AM, Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> wrote: > > Mike, > > We are certainly promoting the Person County Mega Park and working projects for it, as always. From your previous role with Timmons, you are very aware of the crucial need for confidentiality with the site selection process with any project. Perhaps if people are asking you about our site, they do not realize that you are now serving in a different capacity. Please feel free to point any inquiries to me. > > Best wishes in your semi-retirement, > Sherry > > -----Original Message----- > From: mikesolomon@ > Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 7:03 PM > To: Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> > Subject: EXTERNAL: Toyota battery plant > > ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** > > Sherry > > Several people know that you have a great Megasite for a car battery plant.  Many people have asked me if you are working on getting it to your Megasite.  I hope so.  If so could you tell me ?   I will keep it confidential.  Thanks my friend!!! > > Sent from my iPhone > > Mike Solomon > > 24 of 41 1/22/22, 12:00 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 > 25 of 41 26 of 41 1/22/22, 2:44 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/2 Sincerely, Dave Bailey --- David E Bailey, PWS Regulatory Project Manager US Army Corps of Engineers We would appreciate your feedback on how we are performing our dues Our automated Customer Service Survey is located at: hp://corpsmapu.usace.army.mil/cm apex/f?p=136:4:0 Thank you for taking the me to visit this site and complete the survey 27 of 41 1/22/22, 6:07 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…1/1 Siemens Sherry Wilborn Tue 1/12/2021 9:31 AM To: Heidi York <hyork@personcountync.gov> Heidi   As I reflected on our conversation yesterday and the email you forwarded me about the social media post I do have evidence of my own outreach to the Director of Operations for Siemens where I went to an industry event where he was a speaker and followed up with him afterwards by email This was 3 months before Mike s contact to me that he was working on getting a facility tour scheduled under what I might consider to be pretense. I also shared with you yesterday a reminder of the conte t of our relationship with Mike at the time the he was suggesting this tour that would keep him in the center of the contact, as well as what happened in a similar situation with another industry that became an active project of its own accord that I was told was almost jeopardized by public comments by Mike that were picked up by the TBJ.  Cold calls are always meant to become active projects. The companies' identities still need to be guarded from becoming headlines no matter the stage of engagement   I am still interested in having a conversation with MIke's boss whom I know but I would want others on the call who agree with the perspective that his level of engagement has been outside of what we expect from the firms we engage with as well as troublesome   Mainly I am just providing all this to you as update and something for further consideration only as you see fit   Sherry  Sherry Wilborn, CEcD Economic Development Director Person County Government 303 S. Morgan St. (Delivery) PO Box 1581 (USPS) Roxboro, NC 27573 swilborn@personcountync.gov   336.330.2215 (ofc) 336.583.1033 (cell) www personcountyedc com ”Everything is Better in PERSON" 28 of 41 29 of 41 1/22/22, 12:13 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/3 Mike came up and met with me last week to share with me your firm s commercial and residential interest in our market. This is exciting to hear, and we are certainly seeing a heightened interest in these areas from all around   Buddy I am sure Mike has shared information with our about the Person County Mega Park our NC Certified site that is 1,350 acres and has very unique electric and water capacity, partly due to being located on a grid that interconnects our two Duke Energy power production plants The site has been permitted by the US Army Corps of Engineers for impacts related to large-scale development.   Over the last several months, Person County has also performed significant due diligence on a 26- acre county owned parcel we refer to as the North Park site This property is zoned industrial with all infrastructure onsite or adjacent, and located in a Federal Opportunity Zone. The county issued an RFP seeking a private partner for a P3 venture on a speculative industrial building but paused the project due to the increase in construction costs. Through that process, they demonstrated a willingness to creatively incentivize private development on the site   As far as residential development David there is certainly a need for more housing at all price points We have three site locations in particular that have been internally evaluated as excellent locations for pro imity to amenities and access to infrastructure There  are different owners for each and they are willing to speak with developers, but asked me not to advertise their sites broadly. I would love to meet with you and share more about these sites and connect you with the owners at your convenience. They range in size from 27 – 100 acres. This would also allow me to give you the most current update on the status of other projects that are proposed   On our website we have put together a story map that highlights growth and investment going on in Person County, including a proposed expansion of the POLYWOOD campus that will bring an additional $61 6M in investment and 300 jobs to the county A second story map that may be of interest to you focuses on things happening in Uptown Roxboro.   Hopefully, you have noted the active weblinks that I have inserted throughout the email to afford you the opportunity to e plore more at your convenience Let me know when you re ready to come up and do a deeper dive in Person. In the meantime, thank you for your interest, and please let me know what other information I can send your way!   Looking forward to more discussion Sherry Sherry Wilborn, CEcD Economic Development Director Person County Government 303 S. Morgan St. (Delivery) PO Bo 1581 (USPS) Roxboro, NC 27573 swilborn@personcountync gov   336.330.2215 (ofc) 336 583 1033 (cell) image001.png www.personcountyedc.com ”Everything is Better in PERSON" <image002.gif> <image003.png> 30 of 41 31 of 41 32 of 41 1/22/22, 9:00 AM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/deeplink?Print 2/2 Subject: Current Trends Shaping the Data Center Industry - Webinar May 19, 2020 @ 9 am <image001.jpg> With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many people to work from home and businesses to go online, internet u age and data center activity are at an all time high Prior to the COVID 19 outbreak, the data center industry already had an exponential growth curve with no end in sight. From tran atlantic fiber optic cable landing and data center ite earche to working on ome of the largest and most highly secure data centers in the world, Timmons Group has been involved in all a pect of ite election and data center con truction and can help you better understand what you can do to capitalize on this market. Please join Timmons Group on May 19, 2020 @ 9 a.m. to learn more about “Current Trends Shaping the Data Center Indu try” hp //www mmons com/news/webinars/ PS - Need some extra PDH’s of CEU’s or have an interest in any of the topics? Please feel free to sign up for any webinars you’d like to see! Joseph C. Hines, PE, MBA Senior Principal Director of Economic Development TIMMONS GROUP | www.timmons.com Office: 804.200.6380 | Cell: 804.615.2162 Fax: 804.560.1438 | joe hine @timmon com Your Vision Achieved Through Ours image002 jpg 33 of 41 1/22/22, 8:06 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…1/5 EXTERNAL: Re: EXTERNAL: Note ED Prospects Elizabeth Bradsher <etbradsher@gmail.com> Fri 11/5/2021 2:22 PM To: Heidi York <hyork@personcountync.gov> Cc: Phillip Allen <pallen@esinc.net>; Gordon Powell <g.powell@personcountync.gov>; commissionergentry@gmail.com <commissionergentry@gmail.com>; Kyle Puryear <kpuryear@personcountync.gov>; dsims100758@yahoo.com <dsims100758@yahoo.com>; Charlie Palmer <cpalmer@personcountync.gov>; hankins@broughlawfirm.com <hankins@broughlawfirm.com>; Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov>; Donald Long <drlongesq@gmail.com>; Donald Bradsher <jdbradsherjr@gmail.com>; john.seepe@gmail.com <john.seepe@gmail.com>; Stacey Torpey <storpey@benedict-torpey.com> ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Dear Heidi, I have seen all the emails as I also asked for them from other individuals in an attempt for full disclosure. Due to the fact you added additional recipients to this email Mr.Solomon's response should be shown in full context with all other email available during the dialogue he had with M . Wilborn on Tue day Wedne day . Thi would a i t others with a better understanding of the situation to include what took place during phone conversations. His "Megasite" reference can certainly be attributed to his question regarding a battery plant at the location. His que tion i more in line with would "we", Per on County, con ider uch a po ibility for the ite, while trying to a ure her his confidentiality of this answer. He never asked a direct question about a prospect and who that prospect was/is. Ms. Wilborn may have ruined Mr. Solomon's consulting opportunity with Windsor by her tone and attacks towards him within her very public email. Is that what the government is for, to attack people, to ruin them, their reputation and livelihood? However, this issue is not about Mr. Solomon, rather it is about your employee, Ms. Wilborn, and her lack of professionalism, her abrasive email, the tone of it and the fact it included Person County prospects and my name. Her re pon e to Mr. Solomon' reque t on Wedne day morning hould have been "I will not be able to assist you but my Assistant ED will do so in my place". If he was unavailable then she could have asked a member of the EDC to assist. I do recall I had to sign a document or I read a document agreeing to be available if such a situation should occur. I was even questioned about this when I first was being considered for the EDC. Bottom line in all this is Person County was shown in a poor light. Confidentiality meant nothing to Ms. Wilborn when she responded in the manner she did to the Windsor Group. This county will be a ward of the state as Mr. J. Donald Bradsher, Jr. stated on Monday evening if we do not change how we do economic development. I suppose a more po itive light in all of thi i Commi ioner Gentry wa given a gift by M . Wilborn' email and comment and I hope she uses this information in a public manner as the very reason why Person County needs a private entity to partner with for economic development. A private entity would not have given up on a prospect. In clo ing, a reminder, I will eek damage if my name continue to be u ed without my knowledge and con ent by Ms. Wilborn. Regards, Liz Bradsher On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 1:04 PM Heidi York <hyork@personcountync.gov> wrote: Hello Ms Bradsher and thank you for your email 34 of 41 1/22/22, 8:06 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…2/5 I am pasng below, the one email that I am able to find where Mike Solomon asks about the megasite in the most recent context in which you are referring to in your request below. Sherry Wilborn is presently out of the office, but I will ask her to provide any addional emails that she may have. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thanks, Heidi Heidi York County Manager Person County Government 336.597.1720 In keeping with the NC Public Records Law, e-mails, including aachments, may be released to others upon request for inspecon and copying. -----Original Message----- From: mikesolomon@ Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 7:03 PM To Sherry Wilborn swilborn@personcountync gov Subject: EXTERNAL: Toyota baery plant ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organizaon. Do not click links or open aachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Sherry 35 of 41 1/22/22, 8:06 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…3/5 Several people know that you have a great Megasite for a car baery plant. Many people have asked me if you are working on geng it to your Megasite. I hope so. If so could you tell me ? I will keep it confidenal. Thanks my friend!!! Sent from my iPhone Mike Solomon Elizabeth Bradsher <etbradsher@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, November 4, 2021 1:27 PM To: Heidi York <hyork@personcountync.gov>; Phillip Allen <pallen@esinc.net>; Gordon Powell <g.powell@personcountync.gov> Cc: commissionergentry@gmail.com Subject: EXTERNAL: Note - ED Prospects   ***CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.*** Dear Heidi, I am in receipt of this email below from what I gather are prospects for possible development initiatives here in Person County. Although I am pleased there is a firm interested in Person County I am not pleased my name has been used in such a manner in an email that is unprofessional and abrasive by your employee and Director, Ms. Sherry Wilborn. Additionally, I have no knowledge of this firm, the sites, etc. In response to the email Ms. Wilborn sent I am requesting to see all emails from Mr. Solomon concerning his "inappropriate requests" or mention of the MegaSite as stated in Ms. Wilborn's email below. Furthermore, if the use of my name, as a private citizen, continues in such emails by Ms. Wilborn without my knowledge or in such a way that that is considered damaging to my reputation to include my business reputation I will consider legal remedies. 36 of 41 1/22/22, 8:06 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…4/5 Regards, Elizabeth Torpey Bradsher From: Sherry Wilborn <swilborn@personcountync.gov> Date: November 3, 2021 at 10:55:41 PM EDT To: mikesolomon@northstate.net, Mike Solomon <msolomon@windsorcommercial.us> Cc: Phillip Allen <pallen@esinc.net>, Heidi York <hyork@personcountync.gov>, Gordon Powell <g.powell@personcountync.gov>, Buddy Seymour <BSeymour@windsorcommercial.us>, David Michaels <dmichaels@windsorcompanies.us>, Tom Hall <THall@windsorhomes.us> Subject: Re: EXTERNAL: Re: Person County development opportunities Mike, When I met with you in person two weeks ago to explore our available commercial and residential sites with you, you did not seem to be interested in looking at them that day. You seemed to be more interested in talking about the Person County Mega Park and whether I ever talk to Liz Bradsher. Last night you sent me an inappropriate email requesting for me to disclose to you confidential information about project activity with the Person County Mega Park. Today you called to ask me about coming to town tomorrow to see these sites as though it is an urgent request that must take place tomorrow, and again you seemed more interested in asking me about confidential information related to the Person County Mega Park before you got off the phone. I find it interesting that I sent a good deal of information to your current employers about our sites after our in person meeting on October 15 and they did not respond with interest, yet there is now such interest that the visit must take place tomorrow when I am out of the office. Someone you are speaking to in our community is telling all of our Commissioners that I am not doing my job, because I am 37 of 41 1/22/22, 8:06 PM Mail - Sherry Wilborn - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/id/AAMkADJlOGZiNjU3LTE3NTgtNGE0ZC1iMGViLTJmMzM2MmNhMjMzZgBGAAAAAADvhG%2FsS8gLTrwJvOXy…5/5 unavailable to meet with tomorrow, with less than 24 hours’ notice of your plans to visit. Tomorrow I will reach out directly to Tom and David and Buddy to assure them that if they have any interest to develop in Person County I will be available to meet with them at any time. Sherry -- Elizabeth T. Bradsher (703) 609-0642 Cell Phone -- Elizabeth T. Bradsher (703) 609-0642 Cell Phone 38 of 41 39 of 41 40 of 41 41 of 41