INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
OF THE
COUNTY OF PRINCE WILLIAM
April 1, 2019
Approved Minutes
The Regular Meeting of the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Prince William was called to order by the Vice Chairman at 6:35pm in the Potomac Board Room of the Prince William County Government James J. McCoart Administration Building located at One County Complex Court, Prince William, Virginia 22192.
Present were: Lorna Wallen, Vice Chairman
Laurie Wieder, Secretary/Treasurer
Steve Dawson, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Paul O’Meara
Andrew Taylor
Doug Taggart
Absent was: Patrick O’Leary, Chairman
Donna Flory and Scarlett Barbee attended to provide administrative support.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
CITIZEN’S TIME: There were no citizens present.
MINUTES OF THE MARCH 4, 2019 IDA MEETING: Ms. Wallen confirmed that IDA members received the proposed Minutes and had an opportunity to review them. Laurie Wieder made a motion to approve the March 4, 2019 Minutes as presented, seconded by Steve Dawson. The motion passed with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, and Paul O’Meara each voting aye. Doug Taggart abstained from the vote as he was absent from the March 4, 2019 meeting. Andrew Taylor was absent from the vote.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Laurie Wieder noted that IDA members received the financial report, including the outstanding bonds and incentive grants update, prior to the meeting. Donna Flory distributed an updated copy of the bonds report that now contains the anticipated due dates of the bonds. American Water Bond Series 2006 was invoiced for $1,850 which completes invoicing for the 3rd quarter. Regarding 4th quarter fees, Ms. Flory has contacted Sentara and invoiced them for roughly $38,000. She has spoken with Glen Arbor’s representative and will invoice them this week. Ms. Wieder will be working with Ms. Flory to create an anticipated FY19-20 IDA budget. When formulating the budget, estimated administrative fees are purposely calculated very conservatively. In most cases, what is invoiced and received is slightly higher. Ms. Wieder noted that a fifth installment payment in the amount of $40,550.77 was passed through the IDA to Neabsco Creek, LLC. Information was provided to renew the IDA’s liability insurance and a bill is expected in the near future. The IRS mileage reimbursement for 2019 increased from 54.5 cents to 58 cents. There is not a collections report as no invoices are past due. Two CDs will mature in the coming weeks: Fauquier Bank (4444) for $103,703 and United Bank (0208) for $51,211. Ms. Wieder noted that the IDA prefers to keep a CD at its current bank as long as the bank will closely match the highest interest rate currently available. Moving CDs to another bank requires significant paperwork including obtaining new signature cards with four authorized signatures. The IDA’s banks have generally increased the interest rate to match a higher available rate. Ms. Wieder made a motion authorizing her, as Secretary/Treasurer of the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Prince William to roll over the IDA’s CDs coming due on April 21 at Fauquier Bank and on May 1 at United Bank, seeking to obtain the highest possible interest rate for the best term, including an escape clause if possible, within the IDA’s preference of maintaining each CD at its current bank. The motion was seconded by Doug Taggart. Ms. Flory noted that CD 5104 was recently rolled over at Fauquier Bank for a period of 37 months. Ms. Flory usually asks for a period of 18 to 24 months so that a higher rate can be obtained in the event that interest rates rise in the future. The 37-month term was selected because Fauquier Bank gave the IDA the highest available rate and also offered a one-time escape clause that allows the IDA to move the CD early. In this specific case, the IDA has not had a reason to move the CD but the possibility is there if it becomes desirable to move it before the end of the 37-month term. Mr. O’Meara noted that the two CDs coming due in the next month represent approximately $154,000 being reinvested. Given the recent conversations regarding the IDA’s future plans, he asked if there is adequate funding available in the event the IDA decides to put down a deposit or sign a commercial lease. Ms. Wieder noted that the IDA has $345,000 in the SWEEP account, and another $100,000 in the Business Money Market account so there is over $400,000 readily available. In addition, the funds in the Local Government Investment Pool are also fairly liquid. Approximately $750,000 is at the IDA’s disposal should it be needed. There was a brief discussion of the SWEEP account and the way in which it works by sweeping amounts over $100,000 into another bank belonging to the SWEEP consortium but not otherwise holding IDA funds. Following this discussion, Laurie Wieder called the question on her outstanding motion which passed unanimously with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, Paul O’Meara, Andrew Taylor, and Doug Taggart each voting aye.
Laurie Wieder made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented, seconded by Steve Dawson. The motion passed unanimously with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, Paul O’Meara, Andrew Taylor, and Doug Taggart each voting aye.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Neabsco Creek Dredging Project Update: Paul O’Meara spoke with Terry Hill and he reported that the buoys are in place at the mouth of Neabsco Creek. The Post-Dredge Survey has been completed. Mr. Hill is working on the closure process and expects to speak before the Board of Supervisors in the near future. He would also like to speak to the IDA. Ms. Wallen suggested that Mr. O’Meara invite Mr. Hill to speak during Citizen’s Time at the IDA’s May meeting. Ms. Flory reported that she attended a financial meeting related to the Neabsco Creek Project on March 15, 2019. Other participants included Tom Flynn (Department of Economic Development), Ben Eib (Department of Public Works), Frances Bridges (Department of Planning), and Terry Hill (Neabsco Creek, LLC). All of the landfill bills had been received at the time of the meeting. It is anticipated that there is approximately $20,000 remaining after all obligations are paid. This is optimum as some funds must be retained. The project is expected to come in under $1,000,000 but it will not be known for certain how much the Commonwealth will reimburse until it reviews all expenditures. Certain expenditures are not eligible for reimbursement. Ms. Flory noted that the project might have an additional $6,500 available to meet its retention goals as the IDA is willing to “forgive” repayment for the buoys it funded at the beginning of the project. Mr. Flynn stated that he appreciated the additional $6,500 in financial flexibility, should it be needed. Prior to the meeting, Ms. Flory prepared a PDF file of the five Neabsco Creek payments passed through the IDA as well as the $6,500 payment and provided it to Ben Eib, Tom Flynn, Laurie Wieder, and Frances Bridges.
Rules and Procedures Section 6.2 Report: Ms. Wieder noted that the IDA’s Rules and Procedures state that Chairman will report on outstanding IDA bonds and incentive grants at each of the IDA’s monthly meetings. This report is now given by the Secretary/Treasurer and is also included in the financial package IDA members receive prior to the meeting. Ms. Flory distributed an updated report at the meeting to clarify the correct due date for the Sentara bond and the Diocese of Arlington bond. The due date information can be found on the IRS 8038 form included in the CD and/or bond book that the IDA receives for each bond. Ms. Wieder noted that Mr. O’Meara was interested in knowing how long the IDA can expect to receive administrative fees on open bonds. She pointed out that the IDA’s largest bonds for Novant, Sentara, the George Mason University Science lab and Westminster will not come due until the 2040s. However, she cautioned that bonds can be called early or refinanced and therefore we cannot depend on the bonds and their administrative fees lasting until the stated due date. Ms. Wieder continued to note that the IDA has $306,180,000 in bonds on which is receives administrative fees outstanding, with original amounts let approximating $357,700,00. Reviewing the incentive grants that were approved more than a year ago, Ms. Wieder noted that the U.S. Foods grant is outstanding and will not likely be provided for another year or more when its building is complete. Current outstanding incentive grants for this year include $400,000 for the Brickyard project, the U.S. Tennis Association Project, ISOThrive, and the Medliminal project. She noted that most of the funds for Neabsco Creek have been disbursed.
Flory Small Business Center Update: Donna Flory stated that the report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission was filed listing the Flory Board as Pat O’Leary, Chairman, Lorna Wallen, Vice Chairman, and Frank Jones as Secretary/Treasurer. The report is good through April 30, 2020. There is just over $2,500 in the Flory Center’s bank account. Additional funding was received as a refund from the Workman’s Comp audit. The only monthly bills remaining are for the telephone, which includes the alarm system, and the electric bill.
Update on Pat O’Leary’s March 11, 2019 Meeting with Deputy County Executive Chris Price: Mr. O’Leary sent an email to IDA members summarizing his meeting with Mr. Price. Steve Dawson noted that he volunteered to move the IDA’s physical records from the Flory Center to the County’s storage location at the Department of Economic Development (DED). Mr. O’Leary stated in his email that some of the records will be stored at the County’s Archives and more recent records will be stored at DED. Mr. Dawson is concerned about the records being stored in two places. He asked Mr. O’Leary about the possibility of obtaining a public storage unit for the records. Mr. O’Leary was amenable to the idea and asked Mr. Dawson to discuss it with IDA members. Ms. Wieder noted that she has been interested in cloud storage to ensure that the IDA maintains and can access its electronic records. She agrees with protecting its physical records by obtaining a public storage unit. Mr. Dawson looked at pricing on a 5’ x 10’ unit for $75 a month. Ms. Wallen noted that climate-controlled units might be slightly higher. Ms. Wieder asked if the units are fire proof. Mr. Dawson does not think so, but he noted that the IDA’s attorney, Mike Graff, keeps copies of the bond books and the County’s Department of Economic Development keeps copies of the incentive grant documents. Mr. Dawson asked when the boxes must be moved from the Flory Center as he will be out of town for most of the month of April. Ms. Flory responded that the boxes do not need to be moved until sometime in May at the earliest as the Flory Center is still being utilized. Mr. O’Meara asked Mr. Dawson to clarify his reservation regarding storing documents at the County’s Archives. Mr. Dawson stated that he was concerned about losing track of the IDA’s documents. Ms. Wieder stated that she feels a responsibility to maintain a certain level of control over the IDA’s records. Mr. Taggart asked about how often the records need to be accessed. Ms. Flory noted that six years ago, when The Flory Center first provided the IDA with administrative records, she and Ms. Barbee frequently accessed the documents in order to assume their responsibilities. After that initial period, the physical boxes were rarely accessed. Ms. Wallen asked if any of the documents could be destroyed after ten years. Ms. Wieder noted that there are varying required periods of retention for varying kinds of information. Some records must be kept for a very long period. Ms. Flory noted that Ms. Barbee keeps a running list of the bonds approved by the IDA. Mr. O’Meara asked her to circulate a copy to IDA members. Mr. Taggart suggested utilizing the public storage space for a year and if it is never utilized then the need for it could be reassessed. Ms. Flory suggested using the public storage facility on Sudley Manor Drive near the Flory Center. Following this discussion, Steve Dawson made a motion authorizing him as Assistant Secretary Treasurer of the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Prince William to obtain a storage unit for the IDA’s physical records at an annual cost not to exceed $2,000. The motion was seconded by Doug Taggart and passed with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, Andrew Taylor, and Doug Taggart each voting aye. Paul O’Meara voted nay.
OLD BUSINESS: Update on IDA Cloud Storage: Ms. Wieder previously emailed information on cloud-based storage to IDA members. JTC, the provider of the services, is a locally owned company. Ms. Wieder did have discussions with Apptix, the company that Mr. Taggart utilizes, but it only provides a portion of the services needed by the IDA. Ms. Wieder is proposing that she meet once more with JTC to confirm that everything is as presented and sign the agreements. However, the conversion to the cloud system will not begin until after the IDA’s May meeting. There will be two separate services, one via Sky Drop for data in the Microsoft Office applications and one via 3dart for the QuickBooks data. Setting up the system will involve setting up accounts with Office 365, two complete accounts with access to the Microsoft Office suite and one email-only account, migrating the IDA’s three existing Gmail accounts to Microsoft Outlook accounts, and working with Ms. Flory and Ms. Barbee to set up their computers and provide access to the cloud storage. The set-up cost is estimated to be between $725 and $875, most likely toward the higher end as we will want JTC to guide us in all set-up areas. The annual maintenance will cost approximately $1,560. Ms. Wallen clarified that JTC will provide training on the new system. Ms. Wieder responded affirmatively. She also noted that she discussed the proposal with IDA Chairman, Pat O’Leary and he was supportive of it. Following this discussion, Laurie Wieder made a motion authorizing her as Secretary/Treasurer of the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Prince William to sign Cloud Configuration and other agreements with JTC for cloud-based storage as outlined and provided in her March 29, 2019 email to members of the IDA. The motion was seconded by Steve Dawson and passed unanimously with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, Paul O’Meara, Andrew Taylor, and Doug Taggart each voting aye.
Update on IDA’s Current Website: Ms. Barbee reported that Brian Gordon’s name and contact information have been removed from the IDA’s website. The IDA’s cell phone number, 703-362-3570 has been added to the website and it is also now included in the signature block for any correspondence from Ms. Barbee. To date, no phone calls have been received for the IDA outside of several telemarketing calls. The Flory Center’s prior phone number has been removed as the recovery number from the IDA’s Gmail accounts. Ms. Barbee will follow up with Pat O’Leary to ensure that the Chairman’s email utilizes the new recovery phone number.
Update on IDA Planned New Website: Regarding the IDA’s new website, Paul O’Meara provided each of the IDA members with a copy of the proposals from Imagine, Inc. and Sire Studios. Mr. O’Meara called attention to the proposal from Imagine, Inc., briefly reviewing each page. He noted that that the proposed cost of $8,750 exceeds the IDA’s original budget for its website development. He also noted that changes to the scope are broad and could easily reach a $10,000 budget. Turning to the proposal submitted by Joe Marshall of Sire Studios, Mr. O’Meara noted that it includes the unit cost and the time that Mr. Marshall expects to spend to develop the website. It includes $110 for stock photography but the IDA will be providing the photos and media that it wishes to have on the website so this amount will likely be saved rather than included in the final cost. His total is just under $1,500 which is within the IDA’s budget. Mr. O’Meara noted that this quote includes “uploading files/links/minutes/PDFs” but Mr. Marshall may not be aware of the volume of information that the IDA will want to have uploaded to the website. Mr. O’Meara suggests including a minimum of two years of these materials on the website. This could potentially add to the cost. Ms. Wieder asked if Mr. Marshall designed the Flory Center’s website and Mr. O’Meara responded affirmatively. He also noted that Mr. Marshall utilizes Squarespace which is easy to access and update. Ms. Wieder likes what Mr. Marshall did with the Flory Center website but wants to ensure that Mr. Marshall will meet with the IDA so that he can encompass its vision on the website. Mr. O’Meara thinks that it will be largely on the IDA to create the content, photos, and videos that it wants included. Mr. O’Meara noted that Mr. Marshall has provided other references as well. Mr. O’Meara furthermore stated that Pat O’Leary had suggested the IDA select a proposal tonight, but added that if members would prefer him to get additional information from Mr. Marshall, he will do so. Ms. Wieder would like Mr. Marshall to come to an IDA meeting and meet with members. She is in favor of going with the more cost-effective proposal submitted by Sire Studios. Mr. O’Meara noted that Mr. Marshall asked about a logo. With adequate funds left in the website budget, Mr. O’Meara suggests that the IDA contact graphic designers to obtain a logo that could be added to the website in the future. Mr. O’Meara is recommending that the IDA select the Sire Studios proposal as it is cost effective and the sample websites provided by Mr. Marshall are professional and well designed. Following this discussion, Paul O’Meara made a motion that the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Prince William accept the Website Design Proposal submitted by Joe Marshall of Sire Studios at a cost of $1,442. The motion was seconded by Laurie Wieder and passed unanimously with Lorna Wallen, Laurie Wieder, Steve Dawson, Paul O’Meara, Andrew Taylor, and Doug Taggart each voting aye.
NEW BUSINESS: IDA Vision and Mission: Ms. Wallen noted that several emails were circulated regarding May’s IDA meeting which will include presentations by Kathie Johnson, President of Sentara Northern Virginia, and Marion Wall, Sentara Healthcare Board of Directors and a former member of the IDA. Ms. Wieder asked Mr. O’Meara about a Potomac Local article that he emailed to IDA members. The article describes how the Manassas City EDA is providing gap financing for a planned Tru Hotel by Hilton that is under development in the City of Manassas. Mr. O’Meara noted that the hotel occupancy tax will be utilized to repay the EDA. The City wanted the commercial project to come to fruition and there was a gap in total funding, so the EDA stepped in to provide the remaining funding.
Mr. O’Meara noted that there is a robust agenda for the May meeting and the IDA will want to allow guest speakers adequate time for discussion. He suggested that members may wish to waive the IDA’s usual 8:00pm finish time for the May meeting. It was generally agreed that the 8:00pm time will be extended at the May 6, 2019 IDA meeting if necessary.
OTHER MATTERS TO COME BEFORE THE AUTHORITY/INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS TIME:
Doug Taggart expressed his apologies for missing the March IDA meeting.
The next regular meeting of the IDA is scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Potomac Conference Room.
There being no further business to come before the Authority, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm on the motion of Laurie Wieder, seconded by Andrew Taylor.
APPROVED May 6, 2019