ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, November 7, 2022
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

Cenova, Fennimore, Johnson, King, Robinson, Templin, Turner, Zaleski

BOARD MEMBERS VIRTUAL:
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:

Bolser, Frame, Salazar, Tanner

STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Doty, Fisher, Lindsey, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:

Butters, MaryAnne – Wayne County Commissioner
Crist, Duane – Indiana American Water
Emery, Millie – Hometown Media Group
Smoker, Pat – Richmond Sanitary District
VanDerBurgt, Marty – Belden Inc.
Welch, Elijah – Richmond Sanitary District

I. CALL TO ORDER
Board Chair Jim King called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Corporation ofWayne County, Indiana to order at 4:00 p.m. on November 7, 2022.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. 2022 October Minutes
King stated the minutes from the October 3, board meeting are on pages 2-5. No corrections were noted.
Motion to approve October 3, 2022, minutes as presented by Zaleski, seconded by Johnson.
Motion carried.
III. TREASURER’S REPORTa. 2022 October Financial Report
Zaleski reported the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, IN is under budget for
October MTD by $13,000.76 and is also under budget YTD by $92,698.15. He reviewed the October
Income Statement and stated 2249 In-House Supplies is over by $16.90 for the month; 3323 Travel
Lodging & Meals is over by $512.37 this is due to Shaffer’s increased travel; 3371 Rent-Equipment is overdue to paying our quarterly invoice for Quadient in the amount of $65.16, 3373 Programming andConsultation is over due to annual increase and will be over at year end; 4440 Office Equipment is overdue to purchasing a Ring Doorbell for security purposes but it has not been installed yet. Zaleski addedthat our accountant created a journal entry for last month’s “Uncategorized items” in the amount of$242.90 and this balance is now $0 and did not change financials. He also told the group we paid
Beals-Moore $1,460 from our 2021 encumbered funds in October, for preparation of topographic survey
showing area where subsurface tiles were installed, and grading plan for area south of Industries Road.
Motion to approve the October financials as presented by Turner, seconded by Robinson.
Motion carried.
b. 990 Tax ReturnZaleski told the board members we approved the 2021 Audit during our last meeting and now we havethe 2021 990 Tax Return to approve. Shaffer stated that she, Fisher, and Lindsey have all reviewed the990 Tax Return and have found no issues or concerns. We are recommending the board approve the 2021
990 Tax Return for filing.
Motion to approve the 2021 990 Tax Return as presented by Johnson and seconded by Templin.
Motion carried.
IV. Chair’s Report
King asked Shaffer to review the 2023 board appointments. She said the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce
has appointed Marty VanDerBurgt to complete Randy Templin’s remaining 1 year term. Marty will then beavailable to serve again if the Chamber so chooses and he agrees. The Chamber also appointed Tony Foster II toreplace Tim Frame who has served his two 3-year terms. Cambridge City Town Council will be reappointing Jim
King for another term during their November 14th meeting, Hagerstown Town Council will be reappointing BradRobinson for another 3-year term during their November 7th meeting, and Mayor Snow will be reappointing JimTanner for another term but have not yet decided who will be replacing Sayward Salazar on the board. The Mayor
has until the end of the year to make a selection.
a. 2023 Slate of Officers
King said the Nominating Committee has selected the 2023 Slate of Officers and they are as follows:
Chair – Sherrilyn Johnson
Vice Chair – Pete Zaleski
Treasurer – Jim Tanner
Secretary – Kyle Turner
He asked the board members if anyone had questions or concerns and if they would like to discuss thenominees. No questions were asked; therefore, King asked the board to close the nominations for the2023 Slate of Officers.
Motion to close the Nominations for 2023 Slate of Officers as presented by Robinson and seconded byCenova.
Motion carried.
Motion to approve the 2023 Slate of Officers as presented by Templin and seconded by Robinson.
Motion carried.
V. EDC STAFF REPORTS
Fisher – Fisher said she participated in Manufacturing Day with the students from Lincoln High School and they
toured Dot Foods, SugarCreek and Taconic Biosciences. She and Shaffer met with VanVleet regarding medical
plans for 2023 and will be meeting with them again this week. Fisher worked with Shaffer and Lindsey on 3 new
attraction projects. She completed her assessment and had her 1 on1 session with Scott Hutcheson. He will behere later this month to meet with the entire team. She and Lindsey attended a safety and security meeting forthe building with Tracie Robinson from Better Homes and Gardens. This information was prepared and presented
by Adam Blanton with Essential Elements. He discussed a few security measures we could implement fairly easysuch as, putting a one-way vinyl on windows at our east door into the grand hall of the building. Shaffer said theyalso suggested the Ring Doorbell which we have purchased but have not installed.
Lindsey – Lindsey said she worked with Shaffer on submitting required documents for 3 new attraction projects.
She currently has 6 active BR|E projects in the works. She stated it has been challenging to get the employers tomake time to meet with her because they are so busy and short staffed. She said our Manufacturing Day was asuccess this year! We had our largest turn-out with 150 students participating and all 5 school districts. The schoolsthat came to Richmond toured Ahaus, Blue Buffalo, Johns Manville, and Primex Plastics. She is working on Find A
Job Friday and they have decided to only offer this program in the Spring. She met with Jeb Reece from Ascend
Indiana about the Land Bank opportunities. She has started working on EDIT grant processes, instructions, andreview of guidelines for 2023.
Doty – Doty stated we have moved to the focus group stage of the Home in Wayne marketing and brand strategy.
We are starting with a class at Lincoln High School which is part of the Golden Eagle Industries program. Aftertalking with the instructor of this program, he thought it was a good tie-in to what they are currently working onwhich is the question of why high school students are determined to leave Wayne County after graduation. This
will also dovetail nicely with our Home in Wayne high school survey developed by Seton High School intern,Kendall Coyner. The survey has been sent to area high schools for student response. Doty had Ed DeLaPaz takephotos of the Manufacturing Day events and posted them on Facebook and Home in Wayne. We will also use
these photos for other marketing efforts.
Mitchell – Mitchell stated the wetland mitigation is complete, the topo work is finished, and the contractor has
been paid. We have discussed the lease with the Industrial Park Committee for Bob Toschlog to farm the Toschlog
ground for 1 year and what the lease amount should be. Shaffer will continue to do research on lease amounts.
Mitchell said the Fire Department is evaluating the site for a control burn of all structures once vacated. Sanitation
has evaluated proposals for sewer expansion engineering, and have accepted the proposal from CommonwealthEngineers, Inc. in the amount of $2,016,298. This project will increase capacity from 290,000 gallons per day to2,090,000 gallons per day. The city of Richmond will pay $1,016,298 and an additional $1,000,000 has beenrequested from the EDC to be paid from Consolidated EDIT. This has been approved by County Council andCommissioners and awaits a final approval from the EDC Board. Mitchell then shared SugarCreek’s plans toupgrade the employee drop off/pick-up lot, build an employee ride shelter, and will possibly be widening thesouthernmost entrance to 3 lanes for shipping and receiving. She also participated in Manufacturing Day and said
it was a good day. She attended several meetings this month including, the Starr and Olde Richmond
Neighborhood, Hagerstown community tour to discuss housing needs, CEDS plan reveal, Richmond Plan
Commission to support PUD zoning for 232 senior housing development on Garwood Road, and 3Rivers Federal
Credit Union ribbon cutting.
Shaffer – Shaffer said we continue to respond project requests. Richmond is a finalist in 2 new attraction projects;
Project Laboratory, a food processor which is a $73M investment with plans to create 45 jobs, and the other is
Project Delta, a metal fabrication company which is a $65M project with a headcount of 110 new jobs. We are stillworking on the details of a large expansion in the park as well. Shaffer traveled to Atlanta to present a site andour community to a company and their consultant. We were 1 of 36 communities in 22 states to present to thisgroup. She also attended the Area Development Women in Economic Development Conference in Chicago andsaid she met with 17 site selection consultants and attended educational sessions about various economic
development topics. She has released the 2022 Wage and Benefit Survey results to participating companies. Chair
Jim King asked Shaffer if she will do a comparison between last year and this year to see how rates of pay havechanged.
King mentioned that he has recently been out in the community and meeting with various groups and has heard
multiple compliments about the entire EDC staff and he thanked all of us for our efforts.
VI. Other Businessa. Midwest Industrial Park Sewer Upgrades
As we moved forward into the Midwest Industrial Park Phase III with the acquisition of the Toschlog andTalbot properties, we knew the sewer capacity would be an issue. The issue is not the wastewater
treatment plant, but more of the limitations of existing lift stations, gravity sewers and line sizes. We
currently have the capacity to add 290,000 gallons per day to what is already being discharged. The
table and corresponding map represent the 3 phases of upgrades needed to gain an additional 1.8 MGD
for a cumulative capacity available to Midwest Industrial Park (MIP) and the surrounding area of
2,090,000 gallons per day. She said the engineering work alone will be $2,016,298. Shaffer hopes theBoard will support the EDC in contributing $1,000,000 from Consolidated EDIT to assist with theseprojects. The city of Richmond and Sanitary District will be contributing $1,016,298.
MaryAnne Butters said the Commissioners did not follow protocol on this project and said there is a lotof support for these projects and time is of the essence. By taking action out of protocol, over normal
rules will show we are eager to support these projects and to have these companies to come toRichmond. Shaffer stated that Elijah Welch and Pat Smoker with Sanitary District are in attendance andasked if they had any additional comments. Welch said they spent a lot of time and research on places
to expand, and the MIP gives us the capacity to also expand to the south for future development.
Shaffer said this expansion also helps the Northwest Industrial Park which includes, SmithFoods, DAK
Americas, and the other companies in that area by expanding capacity for them.

Zaleski asked about the timeline for these projects. Welch said the design will take 1 year and theconstruction will take approximately 18 months for the first phase. Engineering is 1 year due toobtaining needed permits, and we will need easements as well. Welch said the cost is within range andwe are on the low end.
Shaffer said it is the recommendation of the EDC staff for the EDC Board to support and approve therequest for $1,000,000 from Consolidated EDIT to fund this project.
Motion was made to the Board to approve and authorize EDC to fund $1,000,000 from Consolidated
EDIT in support of the Midwest Industrial Park sewer upgrades as presented by Cenova and seconded byJohnson.
Motion carriedb. Dot Transportation, Inc. EDIT Grant #22-209
Shaffer stated Dot Transportation’s EDIT Grant was approved on October 15, 2022, for their expansion
project and the EDC had drafted an incentive based on the project scope. The EDC was then contacted
by Dot Transportation and due to some unforeseen circumstances, they needed to adjust their new
projected headcount from 43 to 16. The capital investment Dot Foods is making remains at $5.67M. The
reduction in headcount will reduce the incentive amount from $86,000 to $66,000. We are asking theboard’s approval for the EDC to amend the original incentive and reduce the EDIT grant award to Dot
Transportation to $66,000.
Motion was made to the Board to approve the requested amendment to Dot Transportation, Inc. EDIT
Grant from $88,000 to $66,000 due a reduction in headcount as presented by Johnson and seconded byTurner.
Motion carried.
c.

Knoll, Kolger, Sowers, and Metzger Engagement Letter
Shaffer stated the hourly rate and provisions remained the same as the previous year on Knoll, Kolger,Sowers, and Metzger’s engagement letter to renew our agreement with Sowers for legal services in2023. We pay him a $5,000 retainer in December and draw down from those funds before we receive
statements for legal services.
Motion by Robinson, seconded by Fennimore for Shaffer to enter into a one-year agreement with Knoll,
Kolger, Sowers & Metzger to provide legal services to the EDC of Wayne County for 2023.
Motion carried.

d. Burke & Schindler Engagement Letter
Shaffer stated our accountant of 20 years has left Webb and Associates and is now working for Burke &Schindler. The EDC reached to out Burke & Schindler for a quote for this accountant to provide monthly
financial duties and services starting in November 2022. We are currently paying $105 per hour forthese services from Webb & Associates and Burke & Schindler quoted a price of $120 per hour. Shaffer
said we would like to transfer our monthly accounting duties over to Burke & Schindler and feels we willsave money by making this change due to the hours it takes Webb & Associates’ accountant to now
complete these duties.
Motion by Turner and seconded by Zaleski to approve and recommend to the Board to have Burke &Schindler complete the Economic Development Corporation’s monthly accounting functions.
Motion carried.
VII. ADJOURNMENTKing adjourned the meeting at 4:54 p.m.
NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, December 5, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.