ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, September 11, 2023
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:

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

BOARD MEMBERS VIRTUAL:

Fennimore, Robinson

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:Johnson, VanDerBurgt

STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Doty, Fisher, Lindsey, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:Sowers, George – EDC Counsel
Crist, Duane – Indiana American Water
Emery, Millie – Western Wayne News
Thurlow, Kim – IVY Tech
Saunders, Gary – Wayne County Council

1. CALL TO ORDER
Pete Zaleski, Vice Chair called the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Corporation ofWayne County, Indiana to order at 4:06 p.m. on September 11, 2023.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. 2023 August Minutes
Zaleski stated the minutes from the August 7, 2023, board meeting need to be approved. No corrections
were noted.
Motion to approve August 7th, 2023, minutes as presented by King, seconded by Turner. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
3. TREASURER’S REPORTa. 2023 August Financial Reports
Jim Tanner reported the August financials are on pages 5-9 for the Economic Development Corporation.
We are under budget MTD by $20,318.12 and under budget YTD by $62,601.98. He noted Item 3320
Contractual/Professional Services is showing a -$1,694.46 due to reimbursement from the City ofRichmond in the amount of $1,950 for pre-demolition inspection on the Toschlog/Talbot properties in theMidwest Industrial Park; 3353 Maintenance-Building is over for the month due to installing vinyl on
windows between EDC and Better Homes and Gardens Grand Hall; and 3372 Public Education, Training isover budget for the month by $379.67 due to payment for OSHA training for RHS vocational students andsaid we should be under budget by year end on this line item. A few additional items were over budget,
totaling less than $130.
Motion to approve August financials as presented by Turner, seconded by Gaddis. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
b. 2022 Audit and Financial Statement Draft Review
Tanner stated that Jennifer North with Brady, Ware and Schoenfeld presented the Economic Development
Corporation’s 2022 Audit and Finance Statement Draft review to the Finance Committee last week. Tanner
said North did not find any deficiencies in the internal controls of the audit, there were no misstatements
found, and they were pleased to report there were no difficulties encountered with management during
the audit.

Shaffer reported on the Statement of Cash Receipts and Expenditures – Modified Cash Basis. We had an excess of
cash receipts over our expenditures in the amount of $62,777 in the Operating Fund, with an additional $2,548 in
our Grant Administration fund bringing the total to $65,325. She noted the Economic Development Corporation
is primarily funded through the Wayne County Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) on the adjusted grossincome of county taxpayers and are received through a contract with County Council of Wayne County, Indiana,
and the Board of Commissioners. We had no encumbrances from 2022. We returned funds in the amount of$165,550 paid to us on a “pass-through” basis for rent paid for Stride Rite, Elder Beerman, and land being farmed
in Industrial Parks. We have lease agreements for the 2023 Nissan, building and office space, Midwest Industrial
Park farm leases with Thomas Hutchings and Robert Toschlog, Stride Rite, Elder Beerman for the Wayne County
maintenance expenses, and we will be renewing our Gateway Industrial Park lease which the county.
Under the Analysis of Cash Accounts, it shows an itemized budget for the Economic Development for 2022.
Motion to approve 2022 Audit Draft as presented by Cenova, seconded by Bolser. Roll Call.
Motion carried.
4. CHAIR’S REPORTZaleski said Shaffer will discuss the Chair’s report during her comments since he was not at the last executive
committee meeting.
5. EDC STAFF REPORTS
Fisher – Fisher stated she attended the County Budget Workshop with Valerie as she presented the 2024 Budget
draft to Wayne County Council. She continues to work with MakeMyMove staff on new outreach messages to thecandidates. She worked with Brady, Ware & Schoenfeld in early August on our 2022 Audit items. With the help ofGIS staff, Mitchell, and Atkins the boundaries for the Certified Technical Park are correct in the Zoom Prospector.
Lindsey – Lindsey said she attended the Huddleston Farm Tour with Western Wayne School leadership andCambridge City community members. The new owners are engaged in the community and will be a great asset toWestern Wayne. She is hoping to connect the students of Lincoln Golden Eagle Industries with the new owners
and possibly create a building trade project for the students to complete on their farm. She has been working on
a schedule with local schools and employers for Manufacturing Day which is set for October 6. She said we havereceived the TOOTRiS childcare grant from Duke Energy and are now working with employers to officially sign up.
Doty – Doty said she has created a section on the Economic Development Corporation’s website with information
regarding Indiana’s Foreign Trade Zone. This information could be of benefit to our local employers who are
currently involved with import/export activities. She met with Jeff and Alisha from IronGate, and Lauralee Hites
from Stratavise to assist us in planning our first two branding workshops. The workshops will be two 4-hoursessions and we will send out invitations and will include our community ambassadors. Doty said she and Shaffer
met with Katie Kitchin with the Richmond High School Alumni Association in hopes that we can partner with themto promote Home in Wayne in RHS Alumni newsletter. She also worked with Alisha from Irongate on the Home inWayne newsletter template for Mailchimp.
Mitchell – Mitchell said we received two bids for the asbestos and environmental removal on the Toschlog andTalbot properties. This work must be done prior to the fire department doing a control burn on these properties.
She has been working with Atkins on Industrial Park maps. We have discussed the 2024 farm lease for Phase III
and Robert Toschlog has informed us that he is not interested in extending his lease to farm the land in theMidwest Industrial Park after 2023. We have reviewed the Blue Buffalo, Liberation Labs, and Anchor projects
with the Architectural Review Committee. She and Shaffer attended the IEDA Conference and met with Tracy
Cross and Associates regarding the housing study update.
Shaffer – Shaffer said there is a lot of work and activities happening in the Midwest Industrial Park. We currently
have a BRE 2304 project that will be moving forward. We need to discuss details with the company before we canshare their name publicly. She said Project Margarita’s site visit is cancelled and the project is on-hold for now.
Wayne County’s HELP program made a big step by finalizing the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP). Now we need topresent the SIP to each participating city and town at their council meetings. In our July Board meeting wementioned the Blight Elimination program in which the EDC and Wayne County government have allotted$390,000 each to work on the blight program. The City of Richmond has agreed to fund $343,776 for blightelimination through their unsafe building commission. The EDC’s remaining $110,000 of our $500,000

contribution will be split between 6 communities participating in the Creating Places program for park
improvements. The communities receiving funds are Richmond, Economy, Cambridge City, Dublin, East
Germantown, and Milton. The HELP program will result in a total of $25,445,366 invested in Wayne County. TheIEDC has released the READI 2.0 overview. The regional steering committee has been meeting and is in the processof engaging the community to help us set priorities and our regional vision. Our Regional Development Plan is duewith our application in February. The state wants to be part of the decision making for which projects receive
funding. On September 26th, a regional READI meeting will be held in Muncie so everyone around the state canlearn about new program details recently released.
6. OTHER BUSINESS
a. MIP Phase III Demolition Contract
Mitchell said Mikesell Excavating submitted a bid for $91,775 to remove asbestos and environmental items on
the Toschlog and Talbot properties along with removal of wells and septic systems. This must be done prior to
the fire department doing a control burn on these properties. She reviewed the work that is to be completedwith the board. She has worked with this contractor in the past and feels they will do a great job. Shaffer said
the City of Richmond will be funding this project and it is very important to get the sites shovel ready. Theremoval of 4 telephone poles is included in this bid, however, Tony Foster said RP&L will be removing thesefree of charge. Mitchell will discuss this change with the contractor to see if there will be a reduction in cost.
Motion to approve the Mikesell Excavating bid to perform services in connection with demolition and removalof structures from the former Toschlog/Talbot properties as presented by Turner and seconded by Bolser.
Roll call.
Motion carried.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Zaleski adjourned the meeting at 4:47 p.m.
NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, October 4, 2023, at 4:00 p.m.