ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
OF WAYNE COUNTY, INDIANA
Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, August 2, 2021
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:Bolser, Frame, Johnson, Parker Salazar, Tanner, Templin, Turner, Zaleski

BOARD MEMBERS VIRTUAL:

Cenova, King, Robinson

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:STAFF PRESENT:

Shaffer, Doty, Lindsey, Mitchell

GUESTS PRESENT:

Sowers, George – EDC Counsel
Butters, Mary Anne – Wayne County Commissioner (virtual)
Saunders, Gary – Wayne County Council
Crist, Duane – IAW (virtual)
Emery, Millie – Hometown Media Group (virtual)

I. CALL TO ORDERBoard 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, August 2, 2021.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Templin stated the minutes from the July 12, 2021 board meeting are on pages 2-4. No corrections are noted.
Motion to approve July 12th minutes as presented by Parker, second by Salazar. Roll call: Robinson-yes,Cenova-yes, King-yes. Motion carried.
III. TREASURER’S REPORT
July 2021 Financial Reports
Zaleski reported we were under budget $15,125.75 MTD and under budget $86,303.72 YTD for July. Zaleski stated
we are over budget for the month in Salaries due to 3 pay dates in July and Staff Education which will even out byyear-end. The appropriation from the County for $73,194 was added to the budget this month. Tanner asked if
we were always under budget and Zaleski replied yes, we return funds to the county at the end of the year. Shaffer
also stated we are down in Travel, Lodging and Meals as she hasn’t been travelling and Public Education andTraining as we were unable to be in the schools to do WorkKeys testing.
Motion to approve the July 2021 financials as presented by Frame, second by Tanner. Roll call: Robinson-yes,Cenova-yes, King-yes. Motion carried.
IV. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Templin reported we looked at other sources and had Opti-Vise review their quote for video conferencing
hardware for the board room. The board previously approved up to an $11,000 expenditure for equipment andinstallation. We were able to come in under $9,000 and the equipment was ordered today with Opti-Vise. The
committee discussed the READI program and Val will have an update on that. We also talked about the EDIT
grant guidelines, and we will be discussing that later as well.
V. EDC STAFF REPORTS

Lindsey – Lindsey reported she completed normal financial work. She stated she worked with the auditors on
the 2020 audit and tax return. Brady Ware has all necessary documentation and Lindsey will keep the board
apprised of the process.
Doty – Doty reported there is a copy of Livability for the board. She reminded the group we have an advertorial
in the magazine. Shaffer stated this was a project with the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership and thefocus is on Quality of Life in our area. Doty reported she is working on a Home in Wayne (HiW) viewbook toolkit
to get the book into employer’s hands. The box will include viewbooks and some other HiW branded items. Doty
stated they will be conducting employer roundtables to evaluate Hoosier Opportunity (HO). We will be look attheir usage of the site, if they find value in the service it provides and does it match their needs. Doty reported
the viewbook map will be used by the Chamber at their annual dinner and we hope it will bring increased
awareness for HiW. We worked with Earlham School of Religion to get HiW promo items into the hands ofstudents who will be on-campus and on-line for a 2-week training session.
Mitchell – Mitchell reported there was a spring on #7 wetland in Midwest Industrial Park (MIP). Once that work
is completed, we will be able to get the TOPO done. Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) work for theRichmond Sanitary District upgrade for MIP continues as 3 options for the intersection are evaluated. Those
options look at turn radius and railroad access. Mitchell reported Richmond Sanitary District is completing flow
monitoring for Phase II growth at MIP and hope to have complete by year-end. Mitchell reported thatCambridge City is looking at funding options for Phase II of the water project which includes a 750 gpd tower for
Gateway Industrial Park (GIP). The financing for the sewer project is almost finished and Ron Holbrook from
Sugar Creek Packing Co. is one appointment to the WWVRSD board from the Wayne County Commissioners.
Mitchell stated she attended a Desmond Bane/ Communities in Schools event and did her work on the boards ofRichmond Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity.
Shaffer – Shaffer reported work on two local expansion projects. We will be working with IEDC as the companies
complete their applications. Shaffer stated we had a foreign company tour an available local facility. Shafferreported Element 13 may again be moving forward. The City owns the land so we can extend the timeline.
Shaffer reported the housing study was sent to 18 developers and 2 are interested in development of the Elder
Beerman property. Shaffer reported work with the READI program continues and a 30-day extension has been
granted so final regional presentation will be due Sept 30th. Shaffer stated there were 137 project submissions inour region but the group is going to try to package some of the smaller projects so they will show a greater
impact. Shaffer reported she presented the EDC’s 2022 budget to Wayne County Council. The 2021 budget was$644,439 and the 2022 budget is $721,607 with the largest portion of the increase being attributed to thecreation of the new position. We are also looking at about $5,000 for BR|E software that will allow us to catalog
visits and then monitor trends in our area. We will also be able to use the data to create reports. We took
$10,000 from the marketing budget as we always have funding we are never able to use. We were instructed toaim high, and we have a month to refine the numbers. Shaffer reported we also allowed funding for the Japan
trip with Mayor Snow. That would take place in 2022 but we will see with COVID.
VI. OTHER BUSINESS
a. EDIT Grant Guideline Revisions
Shaffer reported the EDIT grant guidelines had not been reviewed since April 2019. They were notevaluated in 2020 due to COVID. Richmond Common Council just voted to increase the minimum wage
for tax abatements. They chose a tiered approach from $14.00 per hour to $15.00 per hour based on themetrics of the project such as dollars spent and job creation. Templin stated the Executive committee
decided to simplify with one rate at $15.00 per hour to make tracking of the projects easier for the EDC
and the company. This is for new or retained positions. Shaffer stated the IEDC requires $19.00 per hourwith benefits to fund projects. Shaffer stated if a company wants to pay under $15.00 per hour, we will
not incentivize those positions. Shaffer stated our program is incredibly unique. Templin asked if there
was any opinion on a different structure. Johnson asked about evaluating benefits. Shaffer stated it iscomplicated to track.
Motion by Bolser, second by Parker to approve changing the minimum hourly wage in the EDIT grant
guidelines to $15.00 per hour. Roll call: Robinson-abstain, Cenova-yes, King-yes. Motion carried.
Shaffer stated she will present to Commissioners and Council for their approval. Tanner asked if that was
the only change we needed to make, and Shaffer replied yes.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Templin adjourned the meeting at 4:45 p.m.
NEXT BOARD MEETING – Monday, September 13, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.