Industrial Development Agency

Minutes of the City of Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency July 14, 2022 A meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) of the City of Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency (“Agency”) was held on Thursday, July 14, 2022 in the Mayor’s Conference Room, City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square, Mount Vernon, New York 10550 and via video conference. Present: Hon. Shawyn Patterson-Howard Darren M. Morton, Ed.D Brian Johnson Stephanie Vanderpool Excused: None Absent: None Also Present: Michael Curti, Esq., Harris Beach PLLC Julie Marshall, Harris Beach PLLC Robin Mack, Director of Business Development, City of Mt. Vernon Donna Crowley, CPA, RBT CPAs LLC Andrea Haynes, Director of Economic Development, City of Mt. Vernon The meeting was called to order at 10:19 AM by Chairwoman Patterson-Howard. A quorum of members was present. Minutes of the June 9, 2022 meeting were reviewed and unanimously approved. Financial Report Ms. Crowley reviewed the 2019 Audit Report. RBT gave a clean opinion on the Balance Sheet and no opinion on the Statement of Cash Flows. RBT had findings and recommendations to the financials which have been addressed. Chair Patterson-Howard acknowledged Rajendra Persaud and Treasurer Morton for their work toward completion of the audit. Recommendations made by RBT will be implemented. Chair Patterson-Howard further noted the state of the Agency in 2019; the board had been disbanded, files were disorganized and many records were missing, past due PILOT payments totaled some $3.2 million. It is expected that the Agency will complete all outstanding required Authority Budget Office filings by year end to move the Agency out of “revoked” status and enable new projects to be undertaken. D. Morton reviewed the financial statements for the period ending June 30, 2022. He stated that the Agency will be reviewing and amending the Uniform Tax Exemption Policy (UTEP). Business Development Report R. Mack reported that Atlantis Development Group, a gas distributor headquartered in Mt. Vernon, provided a discount to City residents on July 3rd. The discount was available only to residents of the city and for passenger vehicles (no diesel fuel). The City did not subsidize the discount. Board members discussed the status of cannabis licensing in the City. Retail licenses will be released by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. Two (2) processing companies are interested in locating in the City. Chair Patterson-Howard suggested that Ms. Mack and Ms. Haynes work together to schedule a job fair as many businesses are seeking employees. Resolutions Resolution 7/2022-1 Authorizing Payment of Invoices The resolution was reviewed and unanimously adopted. Resolution 7/2022-2 Approving the 2019 Fiscal Audit The resolution was reviewed and unanimously adopted. New Business None Report of Agency Counsel Mr. Curti stated that revisions to the UTEP will be discussed at the August meeting. The fiscal audit for years ending December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2021 are expected to be completed in September with required state compliance reports filed thereafter. Motion by B. Johnson, seconded by S. Patterson-Howard to enter into executive session at 11:22 AM to discuss the financial condition of the Agency and contract negotiations. The motion was unanimously approved. Motion by B. Johnson, seconded by S. Vanderpool to exit executive session and return to public session at 11:32 AM. The motion was unanimously approved. No action was taken during Executive Session. A motion was made by B. Johnson, seconded by D. Morton to adjourn the meeting. The motion was adopted by unanimous consent at 11:34 AM. Respectfully submitted by Julie Marshall