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04-22-2025 Meeting Minutes EDCEDC Minutes for April 22, 2025 Minutes of the PCEDC Regularly Scheduled Meeting Person County EDC Board Room 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 April 22, 2025 Voting Board Members Present: Dr. Scott McKinney- Chairman Mr. Jody Blackwell Mr. Phillip Allen- Vice-Chairman Mr. Kenneth Perry Dr. Claudia Berryhill, Agricultural Representative The Honorable Merilyn Newell Voting Board Members Absent: Mr. Donald Long The Honorable Sherry Wilborn Mr. Jay Poindexter Ex Officios Present: Ms. Katherine Cathey, County Manager Mr. Brooks Lockhart, City Manager Dr. Pamela Senegal, PCC President Dr. Rodney Peterson, PCS Superintendent Ex Officios Absent: ED Staff Present: Others Present: Ms. Brandy Lynch, Director Ms. Julie Maybee Mr. Bryan Eatmon, Existing Industry Specialist Mr. George Willoughby Ms. Dana Blackwell Ms. Kim Strickland Mr. Bo Freeman EDC Welcome and Invocation: At 4:01 p.m., Chairman Allen called the meeting to order. Dr. Scott McKinney gave the invocation. 1 of 91 of 9 EDC Minutes for April 22, 2025 Industry Visits: Mr. Eatmon began by discussing the BRE Program, which will involve both our small businesses and larger industries. He conducted 83 visits to different businesses and industries, including 20 sit-down meetings with larger manufacturers in the county. There are far more small businesses in the county than larger industries, and through my increased collaboration with the Uptown Roxboro Group and the Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce, and he has been engaging more with our small businesses. There are two ways Mr. Eatmon has been approaching them, each with its own pros and cons. One method is visiting our industries alone. This often involves me picking up the phone or sending an email to our plant managers, EHS (environment, health, and safety), or human resources, which is usually the best way to get my foot in the door. Then, it's just Mr. Eatmon going on his own to sit down with whoever is available at the time, whether that's human resources or the plant manager. Often, he tries to coordinate times when all departments are available simultaneously to meet with the company. This involves sitting down and discussing the current state of the company, the products they're producing, their current needs, their growth projections, and their concerns. It's generally an overview of what's going on in the company and how we can assist with their needs. Mr. Eatmon has led meetings with partner organizations in collaboration with EDPNC. They employ retention managers or, rather, regional expansion managers. For our region, that's Harry Swenson. known for his work with the North Carolina State University industry expansion solution. Additionally, Mitch Poteet is associated with NC State, specifically PCC. Jody is my primary contact at PCC. Lastly, Lisa Holland serves as our business service manager with NC Works. With a specific goal in mind, it is beneficial to involve a subject matter expert when facing challenges in filling a role or when employees need a customized training program. This approach demonstrates our willingness to collaborate as a county government. As a department, we demonstrate that we are open to collaborating with partners, conveying that we are not closed-minded. It is advantageous for us as a department to maintain good relationships with our partner organizations, allowing us to rely on their subject matter expertise when engaging with these businesses. So far, Mr. Eatmon has received positive feedback from our industry for this approach, whether he is working alone or with a partner organization. Additionally, we have established open channels of communication with our local industries. Industry Support, PCC: Training and support services for both new and expanding existing community colleges in North Carolina aim to serve all counties in our state. Training experts work closely in partnership with employers to tailor the program to meet specific needs. The goal is to foster and support all key aspects of a company's well-being. Most of our manufacturing companies do qualify, and it also 2 of 92 of 9 EDC Minutes for April 22, 2025 applies to others. We recognize that some developments may occur in that area in the near future. It certainly includes life sciences as well as regional or national warehouse and distribution centers, along with customer support centers. Additionally, national headquarters must meet certain criteria to qualify, which includes making a significant capital investment. The budget was approved last year for $58,422 for customer training, training dialogue, and other resources that are new to us. In the very first project, David received approval for $15,762 for Louisiana Pacific, which is undertaking quite a few more initiatives. With an expansion of $80,000 in Polywood, they obtained a total of $123,000 in investment incentives. Currently, in Person County, Polywood has opened up, and they will also approve around $1,000 in incentives from the state to customize training for the initial project. Therefore, this small area has over half a million dollars in training incentives for pilot programs, which is significant, as this training is set to become a campus driving an economic Academy. PCC also conducts leadership training. Polywood plays a significant role in that process. To illustrate how customized training works, they're running a leadership program at their Indiana facility in partnership with Purdue University. Purdue University collaborated with us on customized training. Additionally, we worked with NC State, which he mentioned is located at NC State. NC State developed the training program based on what Purdue University provided them. Our current program here is being taught at NC State, whereas Purdue does not operate in Indiana, so it somewhat mirrors their goal to expand to Spain. Some individuals do look back and forth for leadership and higher-level robotics training, which is the third item on the list and exists in a large environment. Most of our companies have some form of robotics integrated within their facilities, so we gain a lot of knowledge about that, as well as VLC training and similar programs. So, one thing Mr. Eatmon mentioned about their machines is that they come from Canada, Germany, and other places. The company can actually pay someone from those countries to provide training for one or two weeks. Mr. Eatmon stated, "A lot of times, I have no idea until I walk in the door or see them in person who they are." So, when he goes to meet with them, he doesn't know if it's a minority-owned business or not, but there are resources that are specific to minority-owned businesses, including private grant funding through nonprofit organizations. Mr. Eatmon conducts a good bit of research to find what is available. Leadership Summit: Mr. Allen and Dr. McKinney are attending a Golden Leaf meeting in early May. The Wake County Manager and grant writer, Ms. Lynch, has periodically received training. The Golden Leaf priorities include job creation, economic investment, workforce preparedness, and agriculture. These specific measures have consistently been utilized over the years to evaluate grant requests from gatherings, along with the data and site development. These are the main ongoing themes and how they want to measure impact or demonstrate how your project will positively influence your economically distressed community. There's a fourth category that 3 of 93 of 9 EDC Minutes for April 22, 2025 includes board-driven initiatives, such as the current prosperity zone cycle, but there have been others that focus on local food initiatives or help develop Mega sites and similar projects. What is the purpose of the summit? Of course, Commissioner Wilborn, part of her campaign was to advocate for something like this to happen. It's also mentioned in the comprehensive land use planning committee that was developed jointly by the city of Roxboro and the county. This body is indicated as a good example of a community advisory group; it has no real power, but we can gather the key influencers in our city and county who impact economic development. It is a team sport. Director Report: Ms. Lynch created a highlight sheet. One thing Ms. Lynch noted is that she just received from the chamber the Business After Hours for Small Business Week, which will be on Thursday night, May 8th at Tunnel Creek. Additionally, I want to thank Mr. Blackwell and Mr. Eatmon. They did a great job presenting and have also excelled with businesses. Ms. Lynch has received positive feedback. Ms. Lynch had a productive meeting with Dr. B and the interim president of PCC last week. Ms. Lynch, Mr. Blackwell, and Mr. Eatmon also had a wonderful discussion with an industry very interested in potentially partnering with us on future projects. It was truly gratifying to witness in action—what we can do, what PCC can accomplish, and what businesses require. Overall, it was a great meeting, and Ms. Lynch expressed her gratitude to them for joining her and meeting with that industry. Chairman Report: A lot of discussions are taking place, and we will be sharing information about the big elephant in the room, Microsoft. A couple of other items to appreciate briefly. Donald is sending all of us an email regarding the General Assembly update from a building group type perspective. I heard a significant update from one of the recent city council meetings, where things were shared with the council, saying, hey, we don't know what's going to happen, but it may affect us in a big way. So that kind of information has been trickling out to the average person like me, digging into understanding just how significantly the General Assembly is considering making changes that could affect zoning and planning activities in our communities. Dr. McKinney has received complaints about things not moving through the system as quickly as people would expect, and we try to share those in appropriate ways. I'm sure the manager's office receives many more of those complaints than Dr. McKinney has, and everyone is doing their best, but it's a really tough situation. They're searching for a permanent planning director, which could help. Even if we had a permanent planning director in place right now with 10 years of experience, it's still a tough time for them. As for staffing, other than the planning director, are we fully staffed in inspections? 4 of 94 of 9 5 of 9 ––––––– Date: April 22, 2025 Time: 4:00 pm Location: EDC Boardroom, 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 Regularly-Scheduled Meeting Agenda Time Item Leader 4:00 Welcome Dr. Scott McKinney, Chairman 4:02 Invocation Mr. Phillip Allen, Vice Chairman 4:05 Industry Visits Mr. Bryan Eatmon, Existing Industry Specialist 4:15 Industry Support, PCC Mr. Jody Blackwell, Dean PCC 4:25 Leadership Summit Dr. Scott McKinney, Chairman 4:45 Director’s Report Ms. Brandy Lynch, ED Director 4:50 President’s Report Dr. Scott McKinney, Chairman 5:00 Next Meeting Set for May 27, 2025, 4:00pm, EDC Boardroom, 303 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, NC 27573 Dr. Scott McKinney, Chairman 5:00 **Adjourn Dr. Scott McKinney, Chairman **Action Requested 6 of 96 of 9 Highlights March 2025 - April 2025 - Staff attended the NCEDA Legislative Breakfast and met with legislative representatives. - Conducted a meeting with Stokes Manufacturing. - Economic Development hosted the Civics Academy in April. - Collaborated with the Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce on a Small Business Week booklet. - Continued work with Kerr Tar on the Summit and Tourism project. - Made ongoing updates to the website. - Attended a Kerr Tar informational meeting regarding available grants. Upcoming Events of Interest - The Wall That Heals will be on display from May 1 to May 4 at the Rock Athletic Complex. - The Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development are collaborating on plans for Small Business Week, which will take place from May 4 to May 10. - The Kerr Tar Summit is scheduled for October 9, 2025. - The State of the Region presentation with RTRP is set for May 7, 2025. - The Person County Citizens Academy will graduate in May, and there is a waitlist for the Fall session. - Duke is scheduled to appear on the North Carolina Utility Commission agenda for May 5. 7 of 97 of 9 Information for the EDC Advisory Board Person County Updates - The County conducted interviews for the Planning Director position. - The Person County Board of Commissioners received the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) from the County Manager. 8 of 98 of 9 9 of 99 of 9