ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, April 3, 2023
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

Bolser, Cenova, Foster, Gaddis, Johnson, King, Tanner, Turner

BOARD MEMBERS VIRTUAL:

Robinson, VanDerBurgt

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:

Fennimore, Zaleski

STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Fisher, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:

Corde, Brian – Atlas Insight
Wiebolt, Jeff – Atlas Insight
Sowers, George – EDC Counsel
Crist, Duane – Indiana American Water
Field, Beth – City of Richmond
Saunders, Gary – Wayne County Council
Emery, Millie – Hometown Media Group

1. CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Sherrilyn Johnson called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development
Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana to order at 4:03 p.m. on April 3, 2023, at Ivy Tech Community College.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. 2023 March Minutes
Johnson stated the minutes from the March 06, 2023, board meeting need to be approved. No corrections
were noted.
Motion to approve March 6, 2023, minutes as presented by Turner, seconded by Foster.
Motion carried.
3. TREASURER’S REPORTa. 2023 February Financial Reports
Jim Tanner reported the Economic Development Corporation is under budget MTD by $16,210.76 andunder YTD by $28,803.19. We had 4-line items over budget during March for a combined total of $147.42.
Motion to approve March financials as presented by Gaddis, seconded by Bolser.
Motion carried.
4. CHAIR’S REPORTJohnson stated the Executive Committee reviewed and approved EDIT Grant compliances for 3 local companies.
We also discussed several other items which will be addressed later in our meeting.
5. EDC STAFF REPORTSFisher – Fisher reminded the committee that our annual meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 8th at Reid Health– Lingle Hall at 11:30 a.m. We will be sending invitations out within a week. She said with all the changes in theMidwest Industrial Park, she has been updating our sites, acreage, maps, and photos provided by Mitchell on
ZoomProspector. She trained with MakeMyMove on their portal and will begin welcoming and engaging
candidates in the pipeline.

Lindsey – Lindsey stated she has been busy with EDIT Grant compliances. She participated in a site visit withShaffer and Mitchell. She and Shaffer met with a company regarding child care support and said we may be able
to utilize this company in our area. She worked with Ivy Tech on the expungement event. They had 77 attendees,
30 people talked with the attorneys that were present, and 10 people will have their records expunged. She said
14 others will meet with attorneys to try and get their records expunged, and we had 6 people attend virtually.
This program helps individuals with a criminal record to get their record expunged and enables them to apply forjobs that they otherwise would not have been eligible for.
Mitchell – Mitchell said we closed on the Talbot property, and we will take possession soon. We obtained a quote
for the pre-demo inspections for environmental hazards on these properties per IDEM requirements. The quote
was approved by the Industrial Park committee. She and Shaffer met with Norfolk Southern to discuss rail viability
in the remaining Midwest Industrial Park. She attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Blue Buffalo and hadlunch with Victoria from IMPA. She said housing conversations continue.
Shaffer – Shaffer thanked the board members who were able to attend the Blue Buffalo/General Mills
groundbreaking ceremony. Blue Buffalo will be adding 169,000 sq. ft. to their facility, with an investment of$200M, and will be creating 50 to 60 new jobs. Blue Buffalo is working with the City of Richmond on TIF bonds
and Beth Fields is present at this meeting if anyone has questions for her. Blue Buffalo will not be receiving anEDIT grant for this project. She reported Ivy Tech hosted the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s board
meeting where Mayor Snow and Trevor Friedeberg provided an update on the READI program. Shaffer said among
the Blue Buffalo, Viking Group, and Liberation Labs projects announced this year, we are looking at a total of$370M in investments and 206 new jobs. Our Jobs EQ portal is almost ready to use and will have the ability tosearch by company, job title, education, and full-time/part-time positions, etc. Bolser asked if companies will beable to link to this site? Shaffer said yes, they will be able to link to our site. We had 9 companies respond to oursurvey regarding the need for additional industrial space. We have had 4 remote workers move to Richmond, 4remote workers that have accepted our offers, and 5 more have offers pending.
6. OTHER BUSINESSa. Project Thomas
Shaffer said Project Thomas is a rail transloading project that will be purchasing land from Blue Buffalo fora new, independent operation. The city of Richmond is offering a $900K incentive for this project and has
asked the Economic Development Corporation to be a pass-through for this incentive. This is a $39M
investment and will create 30 jobs with an average wage of $27 per hour. Shaffer introduced Brian Cordeand Jeff Wieboldt with Atlas Insight and asked the group if they had any questions for them about theproject or the incentive. Corde said he appreciates the help with this project and worked with ouroutstanding team led by Shaffer. He said half of the cars will serve Blue Buffalo with enough excess space
to serve other companies in the area. We are asking the board to approve and authorize the Economic
Development Corporation to act as a pass-through for a financial incentive from the RichmondRedevelopment Commission for Project Thomas.
Motion to approve the resolution for Project Thomas authorizing the Economic Development Corporation
to be a pass through for a $900,000 financial incentive as presented by Turner and seconded by Bolser.
Roll call.
Motion carried.
b. Safety Zone / Supply Source EDIT Grant #23-214
Shaffer said Safety Zone / Supply Source applied for an EDIT Grant prior to us changing our EDIT Grant
guidelines. However, there was a 30-day delay in hearing back from the state therefore this EDIT grant
did not get processed prior to our new guidelines going into effect so the project does not meet the newwage requirement of $18/hour. Shaffer said Safety Zone / Supply Source is consolidating a facility fromToledo, Ohio to Richmond and is currently utilizing 4 different warehouse spaces including the former
Spartech building which has been empty for approximately 15 years. The EDIT grant is for $25,000 tosupport the creation of 49 new jobs that pay an average wage of $16.25/hour and an investment of $2M.
We are asking the board for approval to issue EDIT Grant #23-214 under our previous EDIT grantguidelines.

Motion to approve Safety Zone / Supply Source EDIT Grant #23-214 using our previous guidelines aspresented by Turner and seconded Bolser. Roll call.
Motion carried.
c. Taconic Biosciences, Inc. EDIT Grant #22-211
Shaffer stated the EDC board approved Taconic Biosciences original EDIT Grant #22-211 for $50,000 andthey have now revised their projections, reducing their headcount from 18 to 14 however, theirinvestment amount remains the same. We are asking the EDC board to re-approve Taconic’s $50,000 EDIT
Grant with the reduced headcount.
Motion to approve Taconic Biosciences, Inc. EDIT Grant #22-211 in the amount of $50,000 with a revised
headcount from 18 to 14 as presented by Turner and seconded King. Roll call.
Motion carried.
d. Environmental Review Proposal
Shaffer said Heartland submitted a quote for $1,950 to do a hazard material analysis on the 3 new sites in
the Midwest Industrial Park. If we need to remove any hazardous material or asbestos from these sites
there will be an additional contract to do that work. We will be reimbursed by the City of Richmond forthe environmental inspection. We would like the board’s approval to enter into a contract with Heartland
Environmental for a hazardous material analysis.
Motion to authorize the Economic Development Corporation to enter into a contract with Heartland
Environmental for a hazard analysis on the new properties in the Midwest Industrial Park as presented byCenova and seconded Turner. Roll call.
Motion carried.
e. EDC Vehicle Lease
Shaffer stated she is having a difficult time finding a vehicle within our budgeted amount. We currently
pay $512 per month and our lease agreement ends in May. She needs a vehicle with 4-wheel drive, and3rd row seating for taking guests on site visits. She has been working with Brad Robinson and otherdealerships to search for a vehicle that meets our needs, but all have been over our budget of $650 permonth. She asked the board how she should proceed. After much discussion, it was decided that Shaffer
should find a vehicle that suits her needs even if it is over budget but must receive approval by theexecutive committee.
Motion to approve an increased budget with executive committee approval for a 36-month lease aspresented by King and seconded by Bolser. Roll call. Robinson abstained.
Motion carried.
f.

Renew Richmond US 27 Bridge Project OverviewShaffer discussed the US 27 bridge construction project with the board. She mentioned our parking accessmay be limited and with noise from the work being done, the EDC staff may be working remotely during
the month of April.

7. ADJOURNMENT
Johnson adjourned the meeting at 5:02 p.m.

NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, June 5, 2023, at 4:00 p.m.