Town of Massena Business Development Corporation

Business Development Corporation for a Greater Massena Board Meeting Minutes February 18, 2021 Approved at March 10, 2021 meeting Board Members: Dan Pease, Jeff Dobbins, Mike Besaw, Sherry Thompson, and Melanie Cunningham (later) Excused: Ben Murtaugh , Dave LaClair Staff: Jim Murphy, Executive Director Public: Sam Carbone, Sue Bellor Call to Order VP Dan Pease called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. Approval of Minutes of the Feb. 20,2020 Meeting The minutes of the January 21, 2021 Board of Directors meeting were approved after it was determined that there was a quorum of members at this meeting that had been present at the last meeting. (Motion by Jeff, Mike second) Financial Reports Treasurer Jeff Dobbins presented draft (pending audit results) balance sheet, profit and loss statement and financial reports to the board. The biggest items of note in the first month of this year was the receipt of the majority of the revenues which had been invoiced at the end of 2020, but not received by the end of the year. This included the town’s payment of $49,999. He also noted that the BDC had completed its financial obligations as Local Plan Administrator for the MATA grant and had made its final payment to MATA as part of that project. In response to a question from Dan Pease, Sherry noted that SeaComm had received everything that it had expected from the BDC for the project. Jim noted that he still needs to close out the BDC’s 2019 Core of the Community grant with the RVRDA, to receive final reimbursement from the St. Lawrence County IDA for the last two projects (Dr. Winter/M. Nicole), the paperwork for which is still with the auditor. Jeff noted that the money would be logged in as a revenue when the funds came in. Motion was made by Mike and seconded by Sherry to approve the financial reports. It was noted that no comparative budget was provided due to confusion over who was supposed to provide it to the board. Jim and Jeff will work it out. BDC Slate of. Officers for 2021 Dan P., as chair of the Board Officer Selection Subcommittee, presented the following slate of officers for 2021: BDC Meeting Minutes February 18, 2021 Pg. 1 President – Mike Besaw Vice President – Dan Pease Treasurer – Jeff Dobbins Secretary – Dave LaClair Dan’s motion to accept the 2021 slate of officers was. Seconded by Jeff and passed unanimously. Mike at this point took over the meeting. BDC Board Vacancies and committee Assignments Jim noted that, at the request of the Board, he had reached out to Deputy Mayor Matt LeBire to see if he could find out the status of board member Ben Murtaugh, who has not participated in board meetings or responded to messages for several months. Sam Carbone noted that he had spoken recently with Ben and that he said he had several conflicts preventing him from participating, suggesting that the village was working on a replacement if the situation continued. Board members expressed the hope that Ben could work his way through the conflicts, especially since the Board was changing its meeting schedule to accommodate the schedules of other board members. Dan also suggested that Mike take the time to review the various committee assignments as traditionally those assignments had been made by the president. Change of BDC Board’s Meeting Schedule After some discussion, a motion was made by Dan and seconded by Melanie to change the time and day of the BDC’s monthly meeting to 4:45 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month. The motion passed unanimously. ABO Board Reports Jim asked board members to review the ABO required reports and documents he had sent to the board and that he would work to develop a draft mission statement and performance goals for the board to review at their next meeting. He and Mike encouraged board members to offer their feedback on the desired future direction of the organization and some achievable tasks for the BDC in 2021. Village Budget Work Sessions Jim noted that he had received a memo from the village seeking the BDC’s budget request for 2021-2022 and inquiring about the. availability of board members to participate in budget workshops scheduled for March 22-April 9. Jim noted it was unclear at this point what the village might be willing to provide after dropping their contribution from $45,000 to $5,000 this past year. Mike indicated that he would make himself available for the village budget work sessions. Sam noted he had been in conversation with the village regarding possible funding alternatives for the BDC. The current annual budget is in the neighborhood of $140,000, but the budget would be reflective of the work plan that is ultimately developed for the organization. BDC Meeting Minutes February 18, 2021 Pg. 2 Executive Director’s Report The Board and Sam discussed the progress and potential of several economic development opportunities at Arconic (the industrial park feasibility study), the mall (light manufacturing) the airport (Boutique) as well as updates on several new business openings. Jim continues to work on the village LWRP project, the Town of Massena’s Microenterprise Grant Program, and the town’s Comprehensive Plan. The MATA project is essentially complete, pending final inspection and closeout. We are still awaiting word from our auditors… Mike asked about press coverage regarding the microenterprise program and discussed better telling our story through the press and social media. . Other Board Action Items None New Business/Other Business None Consultant and Liaison Reports Sue Bellor provided some good info from the Association of Towns training she attended. Questions from the Public/Press Executive Session None Adjournment Jeff made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:57 p.m., that motion was seconded by Dan and passed with all members voting ‘Aye”. Next Regular Meeting Date: March 10, 2021 at 4:45 p.m. BDC Meeting Minutes February 18, 2021 Pg. 3