ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, February 5, 2024

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

Bolser, Cenova, Fennimore, Foster, Gaddis, King, Turner, Van Der Burgt,Zaleski

BOARD MEMBERS VIRTUAL:

Johnson, Robinson, Tanner

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Fisher, Lindsey, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:

Sowers, George – EDC Counsel
Emery, Millie – Western Wayne News
Saunders, Gary – Wayne County Council

1. CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Pete Zaleski called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Corporationof Wayne County, Indiana to order at 4:00 p.m. on February 5, 2024.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. 2024 January Minutes
Zaleski stated the minutes from the January 8, 2024, board meeting are on pages 2-4.
No corrections were noted.
Motion to approve January 8, 2024, minutes as presented by Van Der Burgt and seconded by Foster.
Roll Call.
Motion carried.
3. TREASURER’S REPORTa. 2024 January Financial Reports
King reported the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, IN is over budget for January
MTD and YTD by $3,112.53. He reviewed the January Income Statement and reported the following items
are over budget for the month 1367 Employee Health Insurance by $3,949.46 and 1369 Disability Insurance
by $273.61 due to paying two invoices in January; 1368 Unemployment Tax by $105.95 however, this will
even out by mid-year; 3312 Legal Services by $3,790 we paid George Sower’s retainer fee in January; 3389
Staff Education and Training an invoice was coded incorrectly and should have been listed under 3381 Dues
Subscription and Fees. We had our accountant create a general journal entry to correct this. 3392
Advertising & PR by $5,541.67 due to making 2 payments to Irongate for annual web hosting and Home inWayne rebranding, and we also paid the 2024 annual dues to East Central Indiana Development Council.
Fisher noted we will be over budget on 3374 Rent-Building, Structures for February as we will pay bothJanuary and February invoices in February.
Motion to approve January financials as presented by Turner, seconded by Fennimore. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
4. CHAIR’S REPORT
Zaleski reported the Executive Committee reviewed and approved 3 EDIT Grant Compliance closures for:• Hill’s Pet Nutrition EDIT Grant #21-206, Compliance #1

•••Richmond Baking Company EDIT Grant #22-210, Compliance #1
Taconic Biosciences EDIT Grant #22-211, Compliance #1
Grace Sales and Engineering EDIT Grant #18-193 that requires further action.

Zaleski also reported that Mitchell reviewed the Wayne County Blight Program in our Executive Committee
meeting, and she will recap the discussion during our meeting.
5. EDC STAFF REPORTS FOR December
Zaleski asked if the staff had any additional information they would like to share with the group.
Lindsey gave an update on the TOOTRiS childcare program stating we have 7 employers participating and wecurrently have 54 employees registered to participate. The 7 employers have a total of 1,700 combined employees.
Lindsey will be reaching out to the employers soon to verify if there are any new registrations.
Mitchell reported the demolition of structures in the Midwest Industrial Park is complete. She said there have been
discussions to determine eligibility for loan and grant programs for the water tower in the Gateway Industrial Parkand that Wessler will take the lead with assistance and follow-up items for the two funding entities. She also
reported she is now the 2nd Vice President for the Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors. She said she and several
chaperones took approximately 112 students from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County, Girls Inc., Richmond
Family YMCA, and the Townsend Center to the Grizzlies vs. Pacers game last weekend. Desmond Bane visited withthis group prior to the start of the game.
Shaffer reminded the board that last year we committed $10,000 for 6 separate park projects in the HELP program
in conjunction with the IHCDA’s CreatINg Places program. She told the group they can click on the link in thedocument to donate to East Germantown’s campaign to help them reach their goal of raising $50,000 for theirproject. As this program expands there will be other opportunities for you to donate/support the other projects aswell. Shaffer congratulated Mike Gaddis on the grand opening of the new Wayne Bank east side branch.
a. Strategic Plan Update: Goal 1
Shaffer stated Economic Development has changed over the years from focusing mostly on businessdevelopment activities to where we now must create quality of place to bring people to our community towork and live. That in turn helps to support the business community by enhancing our workforce. She said
Ady Advantage worked with us to pull this 5-year strategic plan together in 2020. The Executive Committee
agreed that we focus on updating the board on one of our four goals each month to complete our update.
This month she reviewed Goal 1: Alignment and shared strategies on how we completed this goal and aligned
our partners on economic development priorities, and the community engagement efforts through READI
1.0 and 2.0 along with HELP to assist us in reaching our goal through continuous engagement activities during
the past 3 years.
6. OTHER BUSINESSa. Wayne County Blight Program
Shaffer reported the EDC committed $390,000 of Consolidated EDIT funds through HELP for the blightelimination and this amount was matched by Wayne County Government for a total of $780,000 available
to create a program. Mitchell reported the blight program is designed to demolish blighted and abandoned
residential structures that are beyond repair with the hope it will help communities stabilize neighborhoods
and property values. Qualifying Wayne County units of government are listed in the program overview andmust apply by July 1, 2024, to request funding on a per property basis. The application submission does notguarantee that an application will receive an award. Communities must prioritize their projects. Property
eligibility for Wayne County includes residential homes and buildings however, they cannot be individuallylisted on any historic register (local, state, federal) or ranked Notable or Outstanding within a district. Eachcommunity must be working with a licensed and insured contractor.

The plan is to identify properties in a public process, and each must go through a bidding process. Eligible
communities are limited to those that participated in the 2023 HELP Program or participated in county-wide
economic development through the Consolidated EDIT. This includes Cambridge City, Centerville,Dublin, East Germantown, Economy, Hagerstown, Milton, Richmond, Spring Grove, and unincorporated
areas. Fennimore asked how many houses this funding will cover. Mitchell said it depends on the cost ofdemolition. We are currently using a trial amount of $15,000 per home which would cover approximately 39
properties. We are addressing the smaller communities first and will then open the program to Richmond.
Jim King suggested we add a note to the program stating each property must be left in a safe condition by
the contractor or state basements must be backfilled. We would like the board to approve the Wayne County
Blight program parameters as presented with an amended statement that basements must be backfilled orleft in a safe condition.
Motion by King and seconded by Bolser to approve the Blight Elimination Program parameters as presented
and include an amended statement stating basements must be backfilled or property left in a safe condition.
Roll Call.
Motion carried.
b. Wolverine Worldwide Lease Termination
Shaffer stated in December the board approved a Resolution authorizing her to sign the Wolverine
Worldwide lease over to Vandor, but this did not happen. She is now seeking authorization by the board
to terminate the sublease with Wolverine Worldwide in exchange for payment of $89,500 on the condition
that Wolverine Worldwide shall continue to maintain responsibility for the building until such time as asubsequent tenant has executed a new lease and is also subject to the execution of the termination of thelease agreement by the City of Richmond, Indiana.
Motion by Turner and seconded by King to authorize Shaffer to terminate the sublease with
Wolverine Worldwide as presented. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
c. Vandor Group Lease
Shaffer reviewed the Lease by and between The City of Richmond, IN and the Economic Development
Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana; and the Sublease by and between the Economic Development
Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana and Vandor Group, Inc. The term of this lease is 7 years andcommences on February 9, 2024, with Vandor receiving 2 months free rent. Starting with the 3rd monththrough the 48th month the basic rent shall be $14,850 per month representing an annualized rental rate of$178,200. The remaining 36 months of the Sublease Term increase if any will be based on the Consumer
Price Index for all Urban Consumers compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department ofLabor between the first month and the 45th month of the Sublease Term. Vandor can purchase the property
at any time at the purchase price of $1,556,500, if any improvements have been made the cost may bereduced. Shaffer is seeking authorization by the board to execute the Resolution for the Lease agreement byand between the City of Richmond (as Landlord) and Economic Development Corporation ofWayne County, Indiana (as Sublandlord) and Vandor Group, Inc. (as Subtenant) subject to any minor revisions
which do not significantly change the terms of the underlying agreement. The lease and sublease agreement
shall become binding and effective only after all parties to the agreement have executed it.
Motion by Cenova and seconded by Foster authorizing Shaffer to execute the Lease agreement mentionedabove. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Zaleski adjourned the meeting at 4:54 p.m.
NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, March 4, at 4:00 p.m.