Board Members Present: Bill Stoops, Chairman Ed Vitalos, Vice Chairman William (Bill) Tumulty, Treasurer Eric Hoffman Helen Bennett Steven Donovan Jeremy Reynolds Don Gross Vicki Paulas Kate Gray Board Members Absent: None BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES September 23, 2015 Liasons Present: Robert Buckey, QAC Commissioner, District 3 Jenny Rhodes, University of Maryland (Agriculture) Linda Friday, QAC Chamber of Commerce Tom Rider, Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Georgeanna (Gigi) Windley, Kent Narrow Development Foundation Manager Guests Presents: George Smokey Sigler, Centreville Town Councilman Michael Bowell, Queenstown Town Commissioner Lucie Hughes, Chesapeake College Belinda Cook, QAC Arts Council Staff Present: Jamie Gilbert, Executive Director, Department of Economic Development Jean Fabi, Business and Economic Development Liaison Ashley Chenault, Department of Community Affairs, Tourism I. Call to Order: Chairman Stoops called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. at the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center, 425 Piney Narrows Road, Chester, MD 21619. A motion to approve the agenda was made by Ed Vitalos seconded by Helen Bennett, and unanimously carried by the Board members present.
Page 2 II. III. Secretary s Report: A motion to approve the minutes from the August 26, 2015 meeting was made by Don Gross seconded by Ed Vitalos, and unanimously carried by the Board members present. Treasurer s Report: Jean Fabi reported the current balance of the account is $4,355.00. This report was unanimously held by all members present. IV. Economic Development Director Report Jamie Gilbert, Executive Director, provided an update on the following topics: A. Gilbert is currently working on 14 new projects and 26 existing projects this will allow for a potential of 930 new jobs with 807 existing ones. B. The following prospective projects were briefly discussed: Dragon, Clean, Call, Greenhouse, and Bean. Mr. Gilbert is working with representatives on these projects which would all bring new businesses in the county. Project Dragon and Greenhouse are considering several locations, with QAC being a finalist. Representatives for projects Dragon and Greenhouse will make a location decision within the next two weeks. Mr. Gilbert will work meet again with representatives from Project Bean on September 29, 2015. Project Bean is small startup company specializing in retail sales. The company would create 10 jobs. C. Mr. Gilbert and Commissioner Robert Charles Buckey met with representatives on a project to site two new restaurants in the County. Commissioner Buckey plans to hold town Hall Meeting to present the projects to the community. D. Economic Development Incentive Fund (EDIF): Three new applications have been received and are in the process of being reviewed. These applications will be presented to the EDIF Commission at its October meeting. At the EDIF board meeting that occurred September 14, 2015 the application process was amended, allowing all qualifying businesses to submit an application at any time. Updates have been made to the website to assist with the application process including a frequently asked question section and a condition loan agreement sample. The sample agreement will provide businesses with timelines for job creation and repayment. E. Mr. Gilbert is actively working with Baltimore Economic Development Corporation to expand the foreign trade zone #74 to include Queen Anne s County. FTZ benefits were briefly discussed. Individual companies would be required to activate their FTZ areas through an application process with the Department of Commerce. F. Kent Narrows Tax Increment Financing District Proposal: There was a brief discussion by Mr. Gilbert outlining all of the prospective Kent Narrow Development Foundation (KNDF) projects including: new hotel and conference center, Bay East, Mears Point Marina and old outlet center redevelopment. Significant upgrades to the water and sewer systems would need to be made to allow for completion of said projects. Last year KNDF considered and discussed the potential to create a tax increment financing district; in which new tax generated from the projects would create revenue to help pay for the cost of infrastructure improvements.
Page 3 KNDF has agreed to pay for 50% of the costs for a feasibility study for projects and has requested that the County Commissioners pay the remaining 50%. Commissioner Moran will present the KNDF s proposal at the next Commissioner Meeting. G. Regulatory Reform Commission Meeting: Governor Hogan formed this commission to evaluate how polices of the state effect local businesses. Meetings will be held all over the state with county commissioners and economic development departments to uncover how Maryland regulation is impacting business Queen Anne s County was asked to participate along with Harford and Cecil Counties. Mr. Gilbert will attend meeting to address regulatory issues impact on businesses and will present any initiatives the county has implemented to address any regulatory reform issues at the local level H. Business Policies and Practices Review Committee: Commissioner Buckey and Mr. Gilbert want to head a committee consisting of business people to address the issues and complaints of local businesses (i.e. business sewer/water tax) The committee will also access fees charged in county, the permit process, and any/all other problematic county procedures and make recommendations for improvements. I. Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) Secretary Mike Gill QAC Listening Session: Mr. Mike Gill will be meeting with every county s economic development department, county commissioners and state senators to discuss developments with DBED and what is occurring at the local level with business development. Secretary Gill s Listening Session is October 19, 2015 beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the Chesapeake Heritage Visitor Center. V. Presentations A. Queen Anne s County Agricultural Update - Jenny Rhodes Jenny Rhodes reported The Hyatt in Cambridge, MD will host a Regulatory Reform meeting on October 13, 2015. The meeting is open to the public and will be a place to voice concerns on state regulation and offer solutions. Ms. Rhodes also stated that the two biggest threats to the agriculture industry are regulation and weather collectively accounting for 46% of the industry s threats B. Chesapeake Storytelling Festival Lucie Hughes of Chesapeake College introduced Belinda Cook, executive director of QAC Arts Council Ms. Cook reported on the following: Festival will be held at Chesapeake College on April 29 and 30, 2016. It is anticipated that 2,500 tickets will be sold. The event will include vendors, story tellers and entertainment $10,000 was raised last year for this year, however, sponsors are still needed. In addition to storytelling, another objective of the festival is to showcase and attract tourists to this region; there will be a section on the website featuring things to do and see in the county; this feature will go live on QAC Arts Council website October 1. Mr. Helfenbein, a county resident, gave his account of how mesmerizing the storytelling festival was that he attended in Jonesboro, KY; Jonesboro (similar in size to Centreville) began having the festival in 1973 and 60 people attended, their festival now attracts nearly 10,000 people. It was his experience at the Jonesboro event that led him request the QAC Arts Council bring the concept to QAC.
Page 4 C. Town of Centreville- George Smokey Sigler Mr. Sigler, Town Councilman, reported the following: Centreville is 1 of the 20 fastest growing communities in the county The Town has started steps to develop its own economic development commission Centreville s primary focus is to manage the town s growth while still meeting the demands of what is needed in the town A What s Happening! section is being designed for the website to keep residents informed of town events and activities. This section will feed into the county website Actively seeking businesses to occupy the business park D. Town of Queenstown Update- Mr. Michael Bowell, Town Commissioner, reported on the following: Old sewer treatment plant is outdated, new environment friendly sewer treatment plant is being constructed. Once new plant is completed, old plant will be demolished Communication Update: all contracts with major communication networks have been upgraded except, Verizon (as that contract is not due yet). As a result, the communication infrastructure is much better; this will allow for economic development Redevelopment for downtown- Firehouse wants to move as the area is restricted, this will create two projects, construction of new fire house and redeveloping existing firehouse facility Council of Government (COG) meetings, attended by representatives from the different municipalities, are open to the public and are held on the second Wednesday of every month. The location rotates among municipalities. The next meeting will be held in Centreville at the Liberty Building October 14, 2015 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. VI. Roundtable Reports A. County Commissioner: Commissioner Buckey reported on the following: The Jemal Property- the redevelopment of the old outlet center is one of the biggest redevelopment projects the county has ever seen. The project will be completed in three stages. One portion will be a modern movie theatre with six theatres and will include the option of being served dinner. Phase 1 proposes 133 apartments. New restaurant developments include: Denny s in Grasonville, Greene Turtle (no specific location identified), and Chipotle in Kent Island; Commissioner Buckey welcomes the thoughts and concerns of county residents and constituents on this topic at the next Town Hall Meeting. Go Apc - A theme park company that will bring 37 different types of rides and a camp site. Property designated for the project is the old Waterman Property in Grasonville. The company will attend the next county commissioners meeting to present proposal and development concepts before all commissioners. The goal is to have development begin on this project by summer 2016. Commissioners unanimously decided that Project Greenhouse, the medical marijuana manufacturing company, will only be permitted to manufacture marijuana, not dispense it. The company is not interested in dispensing marijuana. The county has decided to not allow marijuana to be sold at all, in the cases of this company of future companies. The state has mandated that
Page 5 fifteen dispensaries will be created in locations throughout the state; two per Senate District. After 2020 medical marijuana facilities will be able to open in any area within state (meaning possibly multiple per county.) QAC will allow Project Greenhouse, but will not permit further establishment of marijuana facilities to prevent multiple faculties from developing within county. B. Chamber of Commerce: Linda Friday, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce reported on the following: On September 24 the Regulatory Commission meeting occurs as well as the Upper Shore Regional Council will be holding an economic development and planning session in Fort Deposit, MD On October 9, The Gifted Crab, located in Kent Island will be hosting a River Plane at 2:00 p.m. There will also be a crab tasting contest in which local restaurants will participate. On October 14, at 11:30 a.m., Lunch & Learn meeting will be held at Fisherman s Inn to discuss the Chesapeake College Plan On October 19, there will be an Education Committee meeting at the Holiday Inn Express at 8:00 a.m. This committee consists of the District Superintendent, Dr. Williamson, the principals of the high schools, teachers and students that meet quarterly to discuss education. The upcoming meetings have been separated into the following clusters: 1. Workforce- will include presentation by Chris Garvey, representative of the Building Association, to speak on the challenges associated with workforce 2. Medical- ( will include representative of the medical community) 3. Financial Literary Program 4. Hospitality and Tourism The Chamber Expo at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club on October 22 is sold out for vendors. At this Expo there will be a segment designated to recognize local businesses excellence. 20,000 new county maps have been printed; they are currently available at the Chesapeake Heritage Visitor Center. Maps can be distributed to other departments upon request Electricity Purchasing Co- Op- Currently electric prices are low but rates are projected to increase next year. This program will help business stabilize electric bills. Interested business applicants should contact chamber to receive application, registration fee is $100 and contract will be valid for 2-3 years. Event homepage: towns can submit events to chamber to have them included on the website. 2016 Business Directory: All business interested in advertising or making correction to business information contact the chamber. C. Business Queen Anne s: Steve Donovan reported that BQA is continuing to support developing projects within the county. The status of the economy has tremendously hindered the growth of small sector businesses. BQA is optimistic for the future and continuing growth. D. Chesapeake College: Mike Dugan presented the following: Chesapeake College is partnering with Jenny Rhodes, of the University of Maryland Extension Service, to develop an Associates of Agriculture degree.
Page 6 New Electrician program: open house will be held on campus at the Economic Development Center on October 12 at 6:00 p.m. First class starts October 19. CDL Truck Driving Program: will now be offered November 2 January 19 in the evenings Monday through Thursday and on Saturday. E. Kent Narrows Development Foundation (KNDF): Chairman Stoops introduced Gigi Windley, the new KNDF Manager. Gigi Windley reported on the following: Ms. Windley has a background in economic development, downtown revitalization and international business development and is a former resident of Grasonville, so she is very familiar with this area. Her main objective is to manage KNDF affairs and collaborate with Mr. Gilbert among other board members to: establish healthy and secure tourism environment, develop/ improve infrastructure in the Kent Narrows area, and develop a business attraction and retention strategy. Her first project is creating a website for the foundation; is currently developing information/ content for it; expects website to go live soon. F. State Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR)- Tom Rider reported on the following: Of the five surrounding counties, QAC has the most businesses registered in the DLLR, on- the- job training program. QAC also has the highest number of residents utilize job placement services including persons that are looking for employment after military service, persons that have run out of unemployment, and persons that are obligated to pay unemployment insurance, and persons having difficulty obtaining a job. In the last 90 days 542 job orders have been submitted to DLLR. There are currently 1,040 available jobs in the system. VII. Old Business A. Nominating Subcommittee Discussion: 1. Members that will serve on the nominating committee are Helen Bennett, Steve Donovan and Kate Gray. 2. Andrew Hanson tendered his resignation; therefore committee will need to appoint a new member to fill his unexpired term. 3. The committee will also need to consult three members with expiring terms and recommend three replacements if expiring members no longer want to serve on board. Those members are Mr. Vitalos, Ms. Gray and Mr. Hoffman. B. By Law Review Subcommittee Discussion: The discussion of the review of the Bylaws and the proposal to increase the number of board members was tabled. VIII. New Business A. 10-Year Strategic Plan Implementation: Jean Fabi requested that all Chairs and Co- Chairs send information providing names of members on subcommittee, the organization that member represents, and contact information. B. Jean Fabi will reach out to all subcommittee members to inform them of the EDC Business meeting with Dr. Diriker occurring October 28, 2015. In this meeting Dr. Diriker will work with the six
Page 7 Driving Strategy Subcommittees to conduct discussions to develop action steps. After the meeting, BEACON will develop a draft for the action plan. C. Jean Fabi informed board another focus of meeting will be to develop key performing indicators. This includes a discussion to determine the measurable variables of the strategic plan that will help measure the action plan. D. Various concerns were voiced by board members about the EDC Business meeting timeframe. Jean Fabi adjusted the meeting timeframe from 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. The meeting will now begin at 8:30a.m. and conclude at Noon to accommodate the Board and subcommittee members. IX. Adjournment: A motion made by Mr. Tumulty and seconded by Ms. Gray, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Submitted by: Jean Fabi, Business and Economic Development Liaison Ashley Chenault, Administrative Specialist, Community Affairs