ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, April 5, 2021
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

Bolser, Cenova, Frame, Johnson, King, Parker, Robinson, Tanner, Templin,Turner, Zaleski

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:Salazar

STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Doty, Lindsey, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:

Sowers, George – EDC Counsel
Bell, AJ – EDC Intern
Saunders, Gary – Wayne County Council
Oler, Ronald – Richmond Common Council
Thurlow, Kim – Ivy Tech Community CollegeCrist, Duane – Indiana American Water

I. CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Randy Templin called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development
Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana to order at 4:02 p.m. on Monday, April 5, 2021 via Zoom meeting.
II. PRESENTATION OF IVY TECH’S CCEC PROGRAM
Bolser welcomed Sue Ream from Ivy Tech to discuss their new Career Coaching and Employer Connections(CCEC) program. Ream explain the program will focus on Ivy Tech connecting needs of both workforce andemployer. One on one coaching will include what the job is really like with real work experience. Job fairs will beheld where students can be interviewed and potentially hired that day. Students can work and learn withinternships and practicums. The program will work with employers and evaluating what skill sets they require.
She encouraged interested employers to contact her to get engaged with the program.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Bolser stated the minutes from the March 1, 2021 board meeting were on pages 2-4. There are no corrections
noted.
Motion to approve March 1st minutes as presented by Parker, second by Bolser. Motion carried.
IV. TREASURER’S REPORTa. March 2021 Financials Report
Zaleski reported we were under budget by $15,114.36 MTD and under budget by $27,018.74 YTD forMarch. Zaleski stated 1348-Temporary Help is the intern salary. 4441-Office Furniture was for new chairs
in Lindsey’s office and will even out by year-end. Zaleski asked Lindsey to explain the other income
difference. Lindsey stated it is due to reimbursement from Jay County for Hoosier Opportunity and it does
not usually align with Visa payments.
Motion to approve the March 2021 financials as presented by King, second by Parker. Motion carried.
V. COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Executive Committee

Bolser reported the Executive Committee met March 29th. The Ady Advantage proposals for moving thestrategic plan forward were discussed and we are collecting more information. The employee handbook
was last reviewed in 2014 and we are working to update where necessary. The Restaurant Subsidy
Program has ended. Val will have additional information on this in her report.
VI. EDC STAFF REPORTS
Lindsey – Lindsey introduced AJ Bell, an IU East student, who is serving as the EDC’s intern. Lindsey reported shecompleted normal financial work. She processed the final restaurant subsidy application packages, and she has
been working on employee handbook updates.
Doty – Doty reported she is working on putting the 2020 annual report together. AJ has been working on
updating the data on the EDC’s website. Marketing & Communication committee will meet on Wednesday tohear the Ady Advantage presentation reviewing their audit of the Home in Wayne (HiW) website and marketing
materials. The new testimonial videos are on the HiW website and Doty encouraged the group to view them.
Doty reported she is working with Roxie Deer of the Wayne County Chamber on a job fair, and it will utilize theHoosier Opportunity (HO) website. The job fair will focus on students with no plans after graduation. They canhave interviews and potentially hired that day. HO has increased to 250 companies listed on the site and wecurrently have 150 positions posted.
Mitchell – Mitchell reported work to repair field tiles to mitigate wetlands 2,5,6, and 7 is almost complete. They
need to do backfill and then Beals-Moore can complete the topo. Mitchell stated she will work with Little Riverto get completion paperwork to IDEM. Midwest Industrial Park (MIP) expansion is still waiting on Richmond
Sanitary District to complete the flow monitoring study to see what existing capacity remains. Mitchell indicatedthe work continues for the upgrade of Gaar Jackson Road. Mitchell had 3 virtual BR&E visits and 1 in-person.
Mitchell reported she is working with housing developers as well. Mitchell reported she met with James
Winters, the new representative for the Regional EDA.
Shaffer – Shaffer reported we funded 17 local restaurants through the COVID-19 Restaurant Subsidy Programfor a total of $50,180. The remaining funds of $80,192 will roll into OCRA’s third round of grant funding if weare successful in the application process. Wayne County will apply for $250,000 within the next two weeks
aimed at grants for small businesses. Shaffer reported we responded to two new attraction projects and BRE
2006 and BRE 2007 are local expansion projects. Shaffer reported the broadband survey is complete and only
2% of the Wayne County population responded so the task force is unsure how the results will work todetermine need for expansion and our ability secure state and federal funding for rural areas.
VII. OTHER BUSINESS
a. First Amendment to Sublease Agreement
Shaffer reported Project Bullseye is on hold for now. It removed 20.36 acres from the farm lease. Element
13 is also on hold and it removed 15.8 acres from the farm lease. Tom Hutchings is willing to farm theground, so this amendment adds 36.16 acres back for a total of 154.32 to be farmed in Spring 2021. Onceapproved by our board, Shaffer will present to the Board of Public Works.
Motion to approve First Amendment to Sublease Agreement by Zaleski, by second Tanner. Motion carriedb. Annual Meeting Update
Shaffer stated the annual meeting is scheduled for May 3rd at 11:30. Last year’s meeting was cancelled
due to COVID-19. The Executive committee is recommending we postpone the annual celebration untillate summer/early fall and just hold a regular meeting in May although we must refer to it as the annual
meeting to satisfy the by-laws. Shaffer asked the group if it would be better to move the May annual
meeting to our normal 4:00 p.m. time and the consensus was yes. Lindsey will send an updatedinvitation.
Tanner asked if elevated construction costs are the reason Project Bullseye is on hold and Shaffer
indicated it was. King indicated he feels construction costs will slow down in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.

Templin indicated they had the best week last week in the 10 years he has been at Dot Foods locally. He
also stated the restaurants are struggling for employees. Johnson indicated they will be adding anothershift, running 24/7, at Hills Pet Nutrition and struggle to find qualified candidates. They are considering
paying relocation to recruit employees. Shaffer stated we can put them in touch with Eastern IndianaWorks as they have been doing job fairs for SugarCreek.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Templin adjourned the meeting at 4:56 p.m.
NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, May 3, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.