Economic Development Authority Meeting   2/18/2025

Alright, we'll call the meeting to order.

Can we go in?

Does anybody have any comments on the minutes?

None.

Financial report.

Thank you.

I did have one question, because how about we take some money out to see the central beginning, because we did last year.

Just some final details on that.

But I think it's in the right direction.

Yeah, thank you, Avery.

So I'm going to hand it over to Emily to make the introductions on the discussion on the innovation corridor.

Great.

They've got turned on as well.

We may have turned it off.

That was magic.

And that's great, but I think there's an opportunity for us to be a little bit more future thinking and forward-looking and thinking about what's around the corner and what might we not be seeing currently.

So all this is very exciting and we think is very conducive to being able to leverage our situation.

So we're just starting to get some of this data and feedback on the support you've given to the accelerator, but we're super excited to be launching this and thinking about it as part of a vision of something that's even greater.

And then I can't remember who it goes to.

Helen, do you want to say a few words?

So looking forward to it.

Just interested in any feedback you all would like to provide.

Is that, or is it bigger than that?

I think.

Local store, whatever.

Here's another term.

He has a good video on this.

Primary.

That's what I remember from like.

Versus a consulting.

And they use the word primary versus trade.

Like what do you?

So I think it's an important turn of events.

And all of those are wins for all of us because we're kind of continuing to build this ecosystem.

It's just, are you working within this strategic vision?

And we'll just all be on the same page a lot more.

You've definitely done well in that area, so.

We may never see those historic investments again, but shame on us if we can't get our act together and build a story and come up with a regional approach for whatever's next.

So we're teed up to look at federal funding opportunities much better than we have been.

Does anyone have any, has anyone been around long enough to comment?

Yeah, even if it's not me.

the Rivanna's Futures.

I think J.T., you might have been there.

It was $25,000.

So your $25,000 initial seed is now an $8 million bioxcellerator that you gave a very small percentage to.

Leading to a $20 million investment from the University of Virginia and the state that is in front of us right now.

And I think that's an important part to allow us to be successful.

But it gives you kind of de-risks the exploration work by bringing different stakeholders together to help be funding partners and seeing something through.

our young here with young children who want their kids to be able to work here and have nice lives here.

So that's our vision for this shared ecosystem that we might think would profit everybody in the long term.

I went to housing immediately because in Albemarle, it's an issue.

We hear a lot of people share that.

on housing in some regards, but we want to make sure that they can live where they want to live too.

So it'll be the right people at the table having those conversations for sure.

And then you can share that single same report to all those developers and school districts and everybody's understanding of the vision.

But people always inside tell me it has been.

One more quick question.

Have there been any other regions in Virginia who've done a similar study?

We're talking with thieves, a gentleman called Bruce Katz out of Philadelphia.

Danville's doing the same thing right now.

Danville?

And a follow up to that, what are the results of those?

I mean, I think it's hard to know what you've got when you're sitting in the middle of it.

Yeah, they are really changing from the transformers in the whole downtown.

It's been RPA 757, they came together and they, if any of you have driven to Virginia Beach in the last, I mean, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,

What's the best way to get there?

And then also affordability of homes.

Well, I think what we can do is bring you the information and then you all have to decide what to do with it.

and the development of affordable homes we could because we get so much pushback.

Okay.

That shouldn't be part of the process.

And so with the with the land that we have available, what's going to be the best fit, the best opportunity so that we don't accidentally make a decision today that's going to hurt us five years from now?

Well, I'm excited to be here and thank you for having us.

Thank you all for coming.

All right.

Do you find the information helpful?

That's right.

Any questions from anybody?

To me, I think any investment to help these

and things like that.

Prosper, I think we all need, probably benefits the region.

I appreciate you providing that.

Thank you.

There's a resolution to make a motion.

I move that the EDA adopt this resolution appropriating $20,000 to the County of Nelson as the lead applicant for a match to the implementation grant for Go Virginia Region 9, subject to the terms of the resolution and the terms of the Go Virginia grant guidelines and agreement, and to authorize the authorities chair and treasurer to execute all documents necessary to complete this match grant.

PDA approves of what we've got would be to take it to the Board of Supervisors for them to review and decide what they would call it.

I wasn't certain it was a comprehensive plan term.

Yeah, it's 2A1, business attraction with emphasis on identified targeted industries.

I just want to make sure that we meant that location

No, that's a great.

It should be a strategic plan.

I wonder if we should, should we change that to economic development strategic plan?

I guess the idea is so we get some type of biotech company, we want to put it where the comprehensive plan says a park should be.

Right, that part I got, I guess it was sort of the defining of targeted industry.

Within the county's comprehensive plan.

I've fallen behind.

the economic development, you know.

I get that, but it just wouldn't be definitional.

I mean, I don't think that the business attraction really is talking about where it's going to be.

And so target industries, I think, in 3B, we would change to the economic development strategic plan.

So is the notion to strike B?

I don't think so because I think that document is likely, should define what a part of the industry is.

Economic.

Economic development.

And we're striking, striking the rest of it to the zoning stuff.

Yeah.

That's what I'm hearing.

All right.

Is there a second?

I didn't even ask you if you had anything else to add to my description.

But so it would be essentially on a board agenda in April for their consideration.

So staff report, Emily and J.T.

So we'll know a lot more as we get into the summer about what our opportunities to do some pre-development work out there will look like.

So I really appreciate it.

to talk about our strategic plan.

So hopefully we'll get to see more and better understand that.

You tell them you have to use that term, target industry.

So I'm happy to answer any questions.

All right, anything else?

Of course, man.

Oh, all right.

All right, I'm going to ask Ashley to talk about BRE.

So I'm happy to ask your questions.

I think it sold out their space.

If anybody's interested in going, they said to reach out and contact, or we can, we can flip flop, I think, some, some staff positions if need be, if anybody wants to go.

And then we're looking at having a final draft of that report done with a presentation in August.

prior to the board of supervisors.

We can add that.

Is it like getting changed moment to moment, or is it kind of, is it dying more or less cast on that chapter?

I'll double check with the team that owns that document, but we'll get you one as soon as they've kind of said, OK, this is pencils down.

Did this go out by email?

This is in front of folks.

I mean, it might take a little bit of, it'll take the work to like come up with the new financing and there's a little bit of paperwork that needs to be done, but that's about it.

And now, you know, here today in 2025, there's an expectation that we may see more of these types of requests come forward in the commercial sector.

I think it's less to start with, but over the life of the loan, because I don't think it declines based on pay due.

Is that what I'm understanding?

Consistent basis, here's how we think about this particular type of financing and this is what we're going to charge based on the facts of this kind of finance.

So this is something that would be on the agenda for our next meeting?

Yeah, unless they came back to us and said, we absolutely have to do this faster, in which case we could have a special meeting just to prove that we'll put together a proposal.

I'm not run by the board because it's within our authority, but we want to maintain good terms with them.

I mean, share with them what we're going to do, but I don't think they care.

So I just wanted to make sure.

If the EDA was interested in doing more of this, that increases that bottom line number on the new financial report from the 1.3 where it's been, you know, it increases that rate of being able to capture some revenues to be able to program and do some of the other powers that are, you know, under state code have always been there and are more explicit in the MOU draft that you all will be advancing to the board of supervisors.

I think we kind of have a responsibility to be able to or to try to build essentially the pot that we can then move forward into the community you know if we have the opportunity we actually in my opinion would be negligent not to take advantage of that I mean even if we don't see it right now it's going to be you know further down the line and to me I think it's absolutely we should

Let's move forward.

We still have to make good decisions regardless.

And we are now adjourned.

Thanks, everybody.

I should say that the scouts are selling mulch.