Town of Massena Business Development Corporation

Business Development Corporation for a Greater Massena Board Meeting Minutes January 16, 2020 Draft! Board Members: Dan Pease, Jeff Dobbins, Ron Bacon, Melanie Cunningham, Mike Besaw Excused: Ben Murtaugh, Dave LaClair Staff: Jim Murphy, Executive Director Public: Matt LaBire Call to Order President Ron Bacon called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm. Approval of Minutes o f the October 2019 Meeting A motion was made by Dan Pease and seconded by Jeff Dobbins to approve the minutes of the BDC’s November 21, 2019 Board of Directors meeting. (The BDC’s December meeting had been cancelled.) Motion passed unanimously. Financial Report s New Treasurer Jeff Dobbins provided information about prior financial reports, redistributed for this meeting, which cover the period through November 2019. Jeff said he is still seeking information from Jim/Chris to complete yearend financial reports. He noted that he was still working with Chris Herrick to refine the format of the P&L statements and the monthly checks detail sheet. He also noted changes related to accounts for the Massena Theater project. Jim also explained the process set up to handle the drawdown process for the theater grant. A motion was made by Dan Pease to approve the financial reports (Mike Besaw seconded). Motion was unanimously approved. Nomination of Board Officers Nominations Committee Chair Dan Pease moved to approve the following slate of officers for 2020: President – Ron Bacon Vice President – Dan Pease Secretary – David LaClair Treasurer – Jeff Dobbins BDC Meeting Minutes January 16, 2020 Pg. 1 The motion was seconded by Melanie Cunningham and unanimously approved. 2020 BDC Budget A motion was made by Dan Pease (second by Melanie) to formally approve the BDC’s budget for 2020. Because of the difference in fiscal years, the town has already approved the 2020 budget and the village will approve the budget in May. The budget reflects some internal adjustments, including a 3% pay increase for the executive director, but is overall the same total as last year. The motion passed unanimously. Committee Assignments Executive Director Jim Murphy noted that the BDC’s committee structure most likely would need to be adjusted to meet the requirements of the Authorities and Budget Office (ABO). The ABO requires three specific committees (Audit, Governance, Finance) and while the BDC currently has three committees (Operations, Marketing and Infrastructure), they are not the same as those required by ABO. Board members received a memo from Jim Murphy describing the duties and functions of all the committees (attached). Board members directed Jim Murphy to review the roles and functions of the committees and realign the committee structure as needed to meet the requirements of the BDC and ABO. The Board also asked Jim to begin the process of reviewing the BDC’s mission statement and to develop annual goals to support that mission. It was noted that the BDC’s mission statement was adopted in 2012 and the organization has changes considerably since that time, particularly in the last year. Jim noted that he has – and will continue – to seek input from the town and village Ron Bacon suggested that this might be something that a committee could work on and bring back to the board. Executive Director Report Jim Murphy provided the board with an overview of his activities over the past month. He also provided the board with an update on several “wins” for Massena as a result of the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process, including funding for a microenterprise grant program for small businesses, Water Street creamery project, a new elevator for Laurel Terrace apartments and feasibility studies for a business park at Arconic and a skilled trades training center downtown. The BDC (Jim) will play a role in each of these projects. Jim also provided updates on ABO training and board requirements, Massena Theater, East Massena water study and the BDC audit. Other Board Action Items None New Business/Other Business None BDC Meeting Minutes January 16, 2020 Pg. 2 Consultant and Liaison Reports None Questions from the Public/Press None Executive Session None Adjournment Dan Pease made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:45 pm, that motion was seconded by Melanie Cunningham and passed with all members voting ‘Aye”. Next Regular Meeting Date: February 20, 2020 BDC Meeting Minutes January 16, 2020 Pg. 3