Town of Massena Business Development Corporation

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR A GREATER MASSENA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES February 16, 2016 Board Members: Paul Rufa, President Dave LaClair Ron Bacon Dan Pease Jeff Dobbins Anthony Viskovich Absent: Chris Herrick Staff: Tom Sullivan, Executive Director Linda Williams, Secretary Public: Sam Carbone, Town Steve O’Shaughnessy, Town Matt LeBier, Village Call to Order BDC President, Paul Rufa, called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm. Minutes of the December Regular Meetings A motion was made by Ron Bacon to approve the January 2017 Minutes, that motion was seconded by Jeff Dobbins and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. Financial Reports for December 2016 A motion was made by Dan Pease to approve the December 2016 Financial Reports, that motion was seconded by Dave LaClair and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. Financial Reports for January 2017 A motion was made by Dave LaClair to approve the January 2017 Financial Reports, that motion was seconded by Dan Pease and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. Comparative Budget for December 2016 and January 2017 No meeting was held this past month Internal Controls A motion was made by Dan Pease to approve the Internal Controls for the Board of Directors, required to be reviewed annually by the Governance Manual; that motion was seconded by Jeff Dobbins and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. Operations Committee No meeting was held this past month Infrastructure Committee No meeting was held this past month Marketing Committee Tom: The Committee did not meet this month Grasse River Blueway Corridor Tom: There was a meeting on January 30 with discussion about designing a logo and the group continues to work on how to implement improvements along the corridor. Industrial Park/Rail Spur Tom: Paul and I met with Pat Curran re the Rail Spur and the future. Also, we heard from Dennis Elias that we will be getting the full $12,000 reimbursement balance from the Norther Borders Regional Commission. Massena Core of the Community Tom: We had a kick-off meeting on February 6 with over twenty people attending; the was a lot of good discussion about the details of the program and interest in it was quite high. Forms have been e-mailed to everyone and the Review Committee has their first meeting scheduled for next week. Massena Moving Forward Community Coalition Tom: There was a meeting in January, and working groups are being formed. Theatre Tom: Paul and I met with the theater group and encouraged them to resubmit a Main Street application this year. BDC’s Budget The revisions to the 2017 Budget were reviewed and a motion was made by Dan Pease to approve the budget, that motion was seconded by Ron Bacon and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. Staff Report Tom: On February 9 I had a meeting with Swift Eyeware and they are progressing very well with the remodeling, have plans for business offices in their facility. One apartment has been remodeled and they will be working on others as the lease contracts come up for renewal. There has been discussion with Michael Wachs about housing behind the Harte Haven Shopping Plaza, the ramifications to the local housing situation and the villages expectations regarding maintenance. We have had a meeting with the new owners of the St. Lawrence Mall, they exploring several avenues of implementation of the space they have including both entertainment and housing. New and Other Business Trisha Wilson was at the meeting to discuss the Northern New York Power Proceeds and their distribution. Presently there is about $2M in the fund, and that amount will grow over time. Feb 16, 2017 Minutes - BDC Board Meeting Pg 2 of 3 Generally, the award will be about 20% of the total project costs, and is available to private business, not-for-profits and can be utilized for hard and soft costs and working capital. Liaison Reports No reports this month Questions from the Press No one was present this evening. Adjournment A motion was made by Dan Pease to adjourn at 5:45 pm, that motion was seconded by Ron Bacon and passed with all members present voting ‘Aye’. The next meeting of the Board of Directors of the Massena Business Development Corporation will be held on Thursday, March 16 at 4:30 pm, in Room 30 of the Town Hall. Respectfully Submitted, Linda Williams Feb 16, 2017 Minutes - BDC Board Meeting Pg 3 of 3