BC 2008 08 15 Recessed - Continuation of Incentives

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August 15, 2008 (Recessed Meeting) Page 925 The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met in recessed session in the Multipurpose Room at the Cabarrus County Governmental Center in Concord, North Carolina on Friday, August 15, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. Present - Chairman: H. Jay White, Sr. Vice Chairman: Joni D. Juba Commissioners: Robert W. Carruth Grace M. Mynatt Absent - Commissioner: Coy C. Privette Also present were John Day, County Manager; Richard M. Koch, County Attorney; Mike Downs, Deputy County Manager; Pam Dubois, Deputy County Manager; Kay Honeycutt, Clerk to the Board; and Lyndsay Hayes, Deputy Clerk to the Board. Additionally, the following employees from the Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation (EDC) were also present: John Cox, President and CEO; Ryan McDaniels, Vice President of Economic Development; Anna Lu Wilson, Vice President of Business Services; and Samantha Moose, Existing Industry Specialist. Call to Order Chairman White called the "Parking Lot" meeting to order at 8:37 a.m. and announced the purpose of this meeting is to conclude the "Parking Lot" meeting from June 26, 2008 on incentives. Economic Development Grants John Cox, President and CEO of Cabarrus EDC, provided updated information to the Board regarding Cabarrus County economic development and industry trends and industries targeted for economic development within the County. He also thoroughly reviewed a report entitled "Economic Development Grants" compiled by Nicole Arnold, MPA program student from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte, which compared economic development grant programs in 19 counties in North and South Carolinas. Key topics addressed included: the history of economic development (ED) grants; the objectives of ED grants; Cabarrus County's ED program as compared to other counties; Cabarrus County's competitive advantage; suggestions for future economic development within the county, etc. Mr. Cox, Ms. Arnold, and Ryan McDaniels also responded to various questions from the Board. Mr. Cox also mentioned the following issues and asked the Board to address them: the contract between the County and the EDC for FY 08-09 has not been executed; the withholding of funds from the EDC; the failure of the County Manager to execute an EDC Confidentiality Agreement; and untimely delays in executing the legal agreements for incentive grants. Additionally, he identified five ways the ED program could be enhanced: (1) expand the Concord Regional Airport; (2) allocate annual revenue to buy land for ED purposes; (3) adopt a flexible ED program; (4) provide political leadership that results in a transit system connecting downtown Charlotte to the N.C. Research Campus; and (5) to exploit unknown opportunities as a result of the N.C. Research Campus. In response to the issues raised by Mr. Cox, John Day, County Manager, provided the following explanations: at its retreat, the Board wanted to discuss economic development and a meeting was scheduled; subsequently, the execution of the contract with the EDC was delayed until the conclusion of said meetings to incorporate any modifications into the agreement; and he just learned that the EDC was not receiving its funding because the Finance Director will not release the money without a signed agreement. A lengthy discussion ensued with the following topics addressed: contractual obligations with the EDC; whether changing certain components of the grant program affects the services provided by the EDC; the execution of an interim agreement until a more formal contract is drafted and agreed upon; the EDC's accumulation of $400,000.00 in reserve funding since 2009; the message that is sent to the business community if an interim contract is executed; approving the contract now and working on possible modifications throughout the remainder of the year; directing staff to execute the contract and to release 1/12 of the payments on a monthly basis; this Board has not had an opportunity to review the contract; etc. Pam Dubois, Deputy County Manager, reported if the County does not have an executed contract with an agency, payment is not remitted. She also provided to the Board a copy of the recently expired contract with the EDC.