* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] I HEREBY CALL TO ORDER AT FIVE THIRTY FOUR. SORRY FOR DELAY, THE AUGUST 20TH, 2025 MEETING OF THE GLAND ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. AND MADAM DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND SECRETARY, IF YOU'D PLEASE CALL THE ROLE FOR DETERMINATION OF COURT. YES, MR. SMITH HERE. UH, MS. SLAVE HERE, MR. SLO HERE, AND MS. DEDAY HERE. AND LISA IS ATTENDING REMOTELY DUE TO A SICKNESS. SHE IS AT HER HOME YES. RECOVERING FROM COVID, AND SHE'S, AND MR. COYER IS ON VACATION IN EUROPE. AND, UH, I'M GOING TO PROPOSE TO MODIFY THE AGENDA TO INCLUDE OUR ECONOMIC, UH, DIRECTOR AND PREVIOUS ECONOMIC, UH, DIRECTOR AND EDA SECRETARY TO ADDRESS HER NEW POSITION AND FOCUS UNDER, UH, THE, UH, SCHEDULED MATTERS. EXCUSE ME. UM, I HAVE IT ON THIS COUNTY THAT'S WEIRD, UNDER SCHEDULED MATTERS. AND SO THAT, UH, OR OTHER BUSINESS, I'M SORRY, AS ITEM A, SO IT'LL BE SEVEN A ALPHA, AND, UH, I'M GOING TO ADD CHAIRMAN, UPDATE ON OTHER BUSINESS ITEMS AS B UNDER, UH, UH, NUMBER SEVEN TO TALK ABOUT A FEW OF THE MEETINGS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE TIME AND, AND COMING UP. SO UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTION, I WILL MAKE THAT CHANGE TO THE, UH, AGENDA HERE. NO OBJECTION. UH, WE WILL MOVE FORTH. AND, UH, IT IS NOW TIME FOR CITIZEN COMMENT. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, UH, INDIVIDUALS HERE, CITIZENS. DOES ANYONE WISH TO MAKE A COMMENT BEFORE THE AUTHORITY? YEAH, I, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK, UH, SARAH FOR MEETING WITH OUR GROUP, UM, ON AUGUST THE FOURTH TO KIND OF EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, UH, TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT, UH, AND THE TECHNOLOGY ZONE. UM, AND THANKFUL TO DR. RAYLEY FOR, UM, HELPING TO REIGN US IN, UH, UH, A, A A A LITTLE BIT. UM, AS YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEARD, THE RUCKUS, UM, UH, AND THE NUMBER OF SIGNS THAT HAVE GONE UP ON, ON POCKET ROAD EVERY 10 FEET, , UM, IT, IT, IT HAS UNNERVED A LOT OF US WHO HAVE LIVED HERE FOR 40 TO 50 YEARS. UM, WE ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING. UM, AND SARAH, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU AND RAY FOR TRYING TO HELP US GET THERE AND FOR UPDATING THE WEBSITE WITH A, A NUMBER OF, OF, UM, OF ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. SO THAT I, ALL I GOTTA DO IS TELL PEOPLE WHEN THEY CALL THAT IT'S ALL AVAILABLE AND GIVE THEM YOUR, UM, WEBSITE ADDRESS, AND IT, IT HELPS THEM TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF, OF, OF THIS SO THAT THEY CAN KIND OF GET UP TO SPEED. BUT THERE'S JUST SO MUCH UNKNOWN. UM, AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IS FOR A CLEAR DEFINITION OF THE 85 15 AND A CLEAR DEFINITION OF THE 70 30, BECAUSE THOSE QUANTITATIVE NUMBERS, UH, NOBODY CAN GET THEIR, THEIR LITTLE, I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING LITTLE, BUT THEY JUST CANNOT CONCEPTUALIZE WHAT THOSE THINGS MEAN. IF THERE WAS A CLEAR DEFINITION, IT WOULD BE A LOT EASIER FOR CITIZENS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, WHO JUST REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND, TO UNDERSTAND THAT I'VE BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS. UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, 44, 44 YEARS LIVING IN THE AREA. AND I I, IN THE OLD SCHOOL WHERE, WHERE WE, WE WERE IN CENTERVILLE AND IT, IT WAS A VILLAGE, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE THAT VILLAGE FEEL ANYMORE. AND WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT WEST CREEK, BUT THANKFULLY, WE NOW KNOW WHAT, WHAT WAS IN THE PROFFERS FOR WEST CREEK, THANKS TO [00:05:01] SARAH GETTING THEM PUT ON THE, UM, IN THE ADDITIONAL THING SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE A LOOK FOR THEMSELVES. THIS WAS BACK IN LIKE 87 AND 1989. THAT'S AN AWFUL LONG TIME AGO. I MEAN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MY KIDS WERE VERY LITTLE THEN , I MEAN, REALLY, REALLY LITTLE. AND NOW THEY HAVE KIDS OF THEIR OWN. SO, UM, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY UNDERSTOOD THAT IN, IN 20, UM, 19 WHEN WE WROTE, WROTE, WE WROTE THE, UH, ZONING ORDINANCES TO MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT M1 AND M TWO TRULY WERE, THAT THEY CAN GO BACK AND SEE THAT IT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE. SO IT'S THERE, IT'S ALL THERE. THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE RECORD NAME AND OH, THAT, THAT'S OKAY. LINDA MOORE, 2164 PROFIT ROW MANNEQUIN SABBATH, VIRGINIA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. MOORE. I WAS GONNA ASK YOU THE SAME THING I KNOW YOU, BUT WANTED TO GET FOR THE RECORD AND APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND MAKING YOUR, YOUR STATEMENTS KNOWN TO THE, TO THE, WELL, I, I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK YOU DO. WE, WE, WE ARE NOT UNGRATEFUL. I MEAN, , SOME OF US MAY BE, BUT NOT MY WORK. ANYWAYS, THANKS. BUT THANK YOU. UH, AND I WILL NOTE THAT WE HAVE, UH, A NUMBER OF SUPERVISORS WITH US, AND I'LL START OFF WITH THE LOWEST NUMBER, UH, THAT BEING SUPERVISOR FROM DISTRICT TWO, NEIL SAUER, THEN FROM DISTRICT THREE, MR. TOM EY, WHO'S ALSO CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. AND FROM FIVE, MR. JONATHAN LYLE. WE WAS HERE AS A, AS A CITIZEN. WE'LL COMMENT, UH, UNDERSTAND. SO, UH, IT IS NOT A BOARD MEETING, AND THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE NOT SITTING TOGETHER. SO THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A BOARD MEETING. BUT PLEASE, IF YOU WOULD, SIR. YEAH, I JUST, UH, I, I ATTEMPT TO BE CONSISTENT IN ATTENDING, UH, AS MANY OF THESE MEETINGS BECAUSE OF WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THIS AUTHORITY DOES, UH, OR CAN DO AND OR ACTUALLY DOES. UH, THE ECONOMIC HEALTH OF THIS COUNTY IS DEPENDENT NOW GOING FORWARD TO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY, UH, EFFORTS THAT YOU ALL, UH, TACKLE. SO I WILL SPEAK FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL WHO DOES SIT ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THAT I WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF INITIATIVES THAT ARE WELL CRAFTED AS THEY HAVE BEEN, AND HAVE ROI PROJECTIONS, WHICH THEY HAVE HAD. SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING. UH, IT'S A SLOW SLOG. THERE ARE NO QUICK ONE PITCH CLOSES AND ARE SALES. THAT TAKES TIME. BUT, UH, PLEASE KEEP UP WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING, CONTINUE TO PROSPECT, UH, SOME OF THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'VE INSTITUTED, SUCH AS GETTING TO TIER FOUR WITH CERTAIN PLOTS OF LAND. AND ALSO, UH, I, I GUESS I WILL LAY AT THE AUTHORITY AND, AND MS. WORLEY'S DOORSTEP, THE, THE TOD INITIATIVE THAT WE ARE SENDING A CLEAR SIGNAL TO BUSINESSES THAT WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO LOCATE IN GLAND AND, AND BE PART OF OUR ECONOMIC COMMUNITY. UH, IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT I DID NOTICE THAT THE, UH, TOURISM, UH, DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE, UH, IS, IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY BE LOOKING AT, OR MAYBE JUST A BRIEF RECAP OF IT. UH, I REMAIN, UH, IN OPPOSITION TO THE AUTHORITY GIVING MONEY TO PRIVATE SECTOR WHO, UH, FROM ALL OF THE REPORTS THAT WERE AT THE BOARD SAY, THIS REALLY WORKS. MY BUSINESS WENT UP 33%. IT WAS A BUSINESS INVESTMENT. UM, I, I, I'M NEAR AND DEAR TO TOURISM. I SPENT 12 YEARS, 15 YEARS AS, AS A CONTRACTOR WITH, UH, VDOT IN VIRGINIA TOURISM. UH, I SIMPLY DON'T THINK THE WAY THIS IS STRUCTURED, WHERE SEVEN APPLIED THREE GOT IT. UH, THAT IT'S A GOOD EXPENDITURE OF LIMITED RESOURCES. I'D RATHER PUT IT INTO, UH, OTHER AREAS. SO AS YOU ARE CONSIDERING IT, IT'S IN YOUR PURVEY, BUT I, I THINK THAT, UH, THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE SEEING THAT THEY ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY WHEN THEY DO THIS, ALLOW THEM TO GO OUT AND MAKE MONEY AND DO IT. AND IF THEY'RE ALREADY DOING IT, THEY AREN'T ELIGIBLE FOR THIS. SO IT, IT'S, IT IS A INTERESTING SCENARIO. SO YOU GOT A FULL DOUBLE BARREL DOSE THERE. THANKS FOR LETTING ME, UH, UH, ADDRESS THE AUTHORITY, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. APPRECIATE IT. UH, BEING THAT WE HAVE TWO OTHER GENTLEMEN HERE. DO YOU, KEVIN? WELL, THANK YOU. WELL, MR. CHAIRMAN, TOO, MAY I ASK MR. MOORE QUESTION? UH, WE, WE WORK IN A COLLEGIATE MANNER, SO, OKAY, GOOD. NOT, I JUST WANNA, I WANNA TAKE AWAY, I WANT TO TAKE YOUR MESSAGE AWAY AND GET, GET IT CORRECTLY. YOUR, YOUR [00:10:01] MESSAGE WAS, LET'S CLARIFY WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE TECH, WITH THE TECHNICAL TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY SO THAT PEOPLE AREN'T CONFUSED AND THEY KNOW HOW TO PLAY 'EM AND GET ON THEIR LIVES. IS THAT ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? NO, I WAS TALKING ABOUT, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED, UH, UH, OVERLAY, UH, YOU KNOW, OF THE, THE 85 IS SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE TO BE RURAL, AND THE FIFTEENS SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, HIGHER DENSITY, YOU KNOW, UM, COMMERCIAL, COMMERCIAL, UM, HOMES, HIGHER DENSITY. OKAY. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE HAVE EVEN GRASPED WHAT THAT MEANS EVERY TIME, UH, SOME, ANY OF YOU ALL, AND SAY THAT EVERYBODY'S EYES GLAZE OVER, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DON'T REALLY, THEY HAVEN'T GRABBED THEIR HEAD AROUND WHAT THAT MEANS. AND THE 75 30 IS FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LIKE WEST CREEK, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 70% RESIDENTIAL AND 30% BUSINESSES. RIGHT. WE HAVE NEVER COME VERY CLOSE TO THAT 70 30. IT IS, IS MY ESTIMATION. YEAH. YOU KNOW, UM, SO, SO YOUR MESSAGE IS TO STICK TO THAT SEVEN 30? WELL, WE NEED TO, TO HELP QUANTIFY HOW, HOW CLOSE WE ARE. WE JUST APPROVED 138 MORE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. OKAY. UM, AND WE HAVE A BACKLOG, I UNDERSTAND, OF DEVELOPMENTS THAT WERE APPROVED, SOME OF 'EM AS MUCH AS 15, 20 YEARS AGO. OKAY. THAT HAVE NOT BEEN DEVELOPED YET, BUT THEY'RE STILL ON THE BOOKS AS, AS BEING ABLE TO, UH, TO BUILD ANY TIME THEY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, OR ANYTIME THEY CAN GET THEIR, UM, UH, PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT APPROVED. BUT DOES THAT CLARIFY? YEAH, I GOT YOU. WHAT I'M TALKING A ABOUT, UM, LIKE I SAID, WHEN WHEN PEOPLE MOVE TO THIS COUNTY, THEY, THEY DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT A RURAL ENHANCEMENT AREA IS, AND THEY DON'T LOOK AT THE SIGN THAT SAYS THAT THE LOGO THAT HAS AT THE VERY TOP, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND THE BELOW IT HAS WHAT YOU'VE SEEN, THE LOGO WHERE IT'S GOT COUNTRY, OKAY? MM-HMM . UM, THEY DON'T, THAT DOESN'T CONNECT WITH THEM. OKAY. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING FROM PEOPLE. AND WE, OUR GROUP, UH, GETS ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. IT WOULD BE JUST NICE FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SAY, HERE'S THE DEFINITION THAT THE COUNTY HAS FOR WHAT THIS IS. AND SO I DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, CALL SOMEBODY ELSE TO ASK THEM TO SPEAK TO THAT PERSON. SARAH, YOU'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH, YOU, YOU, YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND, UM, YOU A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM PEOPLE WHO, WHO DON'T GET IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. AND, UH, WE HAVE NO ONE ELSE LINE. I WILL CLOSE CITIZEN COMMENT, AND WE'LL MOVE AHEAD TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. IS THERE A MOTION TO EITHER APPROVE OR YE OR REVISE THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING? MOVE TO APPROVE SECOND. IS THERE A SECOND? THERE'S THIS FIRST AND A SECOND. IS THERE ANY COMMENT, HEARING? NO COMMENT. ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, PLEASE STATE AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO SCHEDULED MATTERS. WE HAVE FIRST UP THE TREASURER'S REPORT. MADAM TREASURER, IF YOU WOULD GIVE A REPORT, PLEASE. YEAH. SO WE ARE SITTING AT TOTAL CASH OF 1.2. WE DO HAVE ONE BILL TO BE PAID, AND THAT'S THE SECOND, IS THAT THE SECOND HALF OF THE, THE, THE BILL ACTUALLY REPRESENTS, UH, SEVERAL MONTHS WORTH OF WORK, ALMOST NINE MONTHS WORTH OF WORK FROM CHRISTIAN AND BARTON THAT I HAD TO HAVE THEM, UH, SEND OVER TO US SO WE COULD CLOSE OUT THE FISCAL YEAR. SO IT'S $2,408 AND 99 CENTS. OKAY. SO THE BILL TO BE PAID. AND THEN, UM, WE STILL HAVE ONE OUTSTANDING CHECK CURRENT, IS THAT YES. CORRECT. YES. OKAY. SO ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE TREASURER'S, UH, REGARDING TREASURER'S REPORT? HEARING [00:15:01] NONE. UH, LET ME POSE A QUESTION TO YOU, LISA. DID THE EMAIL THAT YOU ASKED WITH REGARDS TO FINANCE, DID THAT SATISFY YOUR, UH, YOUR QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, LISA, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE. . THANK YOU. UM, SO THEREFORE, WE HAVE A BILL TO BE PAID. IS THERE A MOTION TO PAY THAT BILL IN THE ORDER OF $2,408 AND 99 CENTS? SO MOVED. SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, HEARING, NO DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR OF THE BILL TO BE PAID TO CHRISTIAN BARTON AND THE AMOUNT OF $2,408 99 CENTS, PLEASE STATE AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? AYE. ABSTENTIONS. THANK YOU, LISA. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND, UM, DURING THE, UH, DISCUSSION, I WILL BRING UP SOME OTHER ISSUES. WHAT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE TIMING THAT, THAT I HAD PUT FORTH, UH, FROM THE EMAIL THAT CAME OUT FROM, UH, THROUGH SARAH FROM, UH, MR. DRUMRIGHT, WE DID HAVE A, UH, DEADLINE ON THE, UH, PHYSICIANS AND LEGISLATIVE REQUESTS TO HAVE INTO STAFF. UM, ARE THERE ANY, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, UH, THAT IS, UH, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MADAM, UH, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, IS THERE A NEED TO HAVE THIS CONSOLIDATED AS AN APPROVAL AT THIS MEETING TO MAKE OFFICIAL, OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT THIS FORWARD AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DA TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS? YES. OKAY. SO IS THERE, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR A DISCUSSION PRIOR TO THE MOTION. I'M SORRY, I NEED TO HAVE IT SUMMARIZED FOR ME AGAIN TO, TO WHAT THE, UH, WHAT THE REC WHAT, WHAT THE, UH, LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS GONNA DO. IS THAT IN OUR PACKAGE? UH, IT WAS OUT THERE, YES. THE DRAFT ON THE RIGHT SIDE? YEAH, THIS IS ABOUT THE, UH, OH, HERE LAND AND, OH, OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S IT. YEAH, THAT'S THE ONE. YES, THAT'S IT. I THINK, UM, NUMBER TWO AND THREE ARE, YEAH, MOOT, BUT BASED ON THE EMAIL LIKE THAT. SO YES, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY, IF WE WANT TO GO THROUGH THESE ONE BY ONE OR IF WE WANT TO, UH, DISSECT THEM AT ANY LEVEL. THESE, THESE ARE, UM, WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS SENT IN, IN DRAFT FORM PER THE DEADLINE TO, UH, MR. DRUMRIGHT. AND THE FIRST, UH, FIRST THREE ARE TRANSFER, TRANSFER OF THE, UH, CHASE HAR PROPERTY AND THE, AND THE WOMEN'S PRISON AND, UH, JAMES RIVER CORRECTIONAL CENTER. UH, AND THEN THE, UH, . YEAH. YEAH. WE, WE WENT OVER ALL OF THESE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I WAS, UH, CRYING OUT. UNDERSTAND. I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT NUMBER SIX. IS THAT, UM, FORMAL RESOLUTION FOR FEDERAL? WELL, I DON'T KNOW. THAT WAS A LATE COMER, AND THAT WAS JUST TO, UH, I DON'T, I DON'T LET THE LEGISLATURE NEED, HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS ACTUALLY MAKES RESOLUTIONS THAT GO TO THE FEDERAL. FEDERAL, OKAY. SO I, I WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO SCRATCH SIX WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION AT ALL. AND IT ALREADY IS ON THE MARKET. YES, IT IS ON THE MARKET. IT'S AT A JUST INTERESTING COST. , THE ONLY ONE I HAD MISGIVING WAS IT WAS THE, UH, TAKING OVER ITS OWN VOTES. AND I, BUT I, I DON'T, I WOULDN'T NOT OPPOSE THAT. I JUST, UH, I WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY CONSIDERS THE FACT THAT, UM, IF WE GO OUR OWN WAY AND ON RECORD VOTES THEIR OWN WAY AND WAS GONNA MEDIATE IT. I MEAN, I'M NOT THAT BE THAT MEDIATES ANYTHING NOW ANYWAY, BUT, UH, MAYBE THERE WOULD BE SOME, AT LEAST SOME OTHER AUTHORITY THAT WE COULD GO TO. BUT, UH, YOU, I WILL, I, I, I MEAN, I WON'T VOTE AGAINST THAT, BUT I JUST A FEDERALIST AT HEART AND I, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, I JUST THOUGHT THAT, UH, UH, WOULD BE BETTER ABLE TO MEDIATE DISPUTES BETWEEN COUNTIES [00:20:01] AND CITIES AND THAT TYPE OF THING. SO, UNDERSTOOD. THINKING OF THE HOE CREEK BRIDGE, WHICH I'M STILL FING OVER THE, UH, WELL BELOW THOSE MANY YEARS AGO. UM, UH, BUT, BUT I GUESS I'M JUST PROVING MY OWN POINT BECAUSE WE HAD TEND TO ATTEMPT FOR US THEN, SO YES. BUT I JUST WANTED TO RAISE THAT CONCERN. UM, CERTAINLY FOUND THIS JUROR. THANK YOU. AND LISA, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY DISCUSSION OR TALKING POINTS WITH REGARDS TO LEGISLATIVE AGENDA. WELL, WE'VE PRETTY MUCH GONE OVER MOST OF IT BEFORE. OKAY. NOW, I, I WAS GONNA PROPOSE ONE OTHER ITEM. ITEM, AND FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, THAT IS FOR THE LEGISLATURE AND THE COMMONWEALTH TO DEVELOP A ROBUST ENERGY POLICY TO ENABLE CONTINUOUS BASE LOAD SUPPLY AND GROWTH FOR VIRGINIA'S RAPIDLY GROWING BUSINESS NEEDS. BECAUSE THE MORE I STUDY THAT AND MORE I REALIZE THAT WE AS THE COMMONWEALTH, VIRGINIA, I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY THROUGH SEVERAL, UH, DISCUSSION POINTS OF REFERENCES ARTICLES, WE, VIRGINIA, ARE THE LARGEST IMPORTER OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN THE UNITED STATES NOW. AND, UH, FROM MY LIMITED UNDERSTANDING, UH, AND, AND JENNY, HOW YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THIS, ABOUT THE DATA CENTERS RECENTLY, WHAT THEY WERE MANDATED OR TOLD TO DO, WHEN WE HAD THE, UM, THE HEAT DOME WEEK, THEY, THE STATE ASKED, UH, DATA CENTERS TO GO ON BACKUP POWER TO ALLEVIATE THE STRESS ON THE GRID, REALLY. AND I THINK IT HAPPENED ALSO IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR AS WELL, UM, WAS ANOTHER TIME THAT THE STATE ASKED DATA CENTERS TO GO ON BACKUP POWER. YEAH. AND I'M STILL VERIFYING THAT, UH, WITH DOMINION AND, AND WHAT KIND OF IMPACTS THAT WAS. SO WE'LL HAVE FOLLOW UP INFORMATION. THE STATE DID THAT AND, AND THAT DOMINION STATE IT MADE, WAS IT THE STATE OR DOMINION, DO YOU KNOW SPECIFICALLY? RIGHT, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO FOLLOW UP. I KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHO THE ASK CAME FROM. OKAY. WHAT THE ASK WAS MADE AND IT HAPPENED THAT, YEAH. SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL VERIFYING THAT, UM, AROUND THAT AND, AND WHO MADE THOSE SPECIFIC REQUESTS AND, AND, AND WHAT THAT ACTUALLY LOOKED LIKE IN REALITY FOR, SO, SO IS THERE ANY INTEREST IN INCLUDING REPLACING THE CURRENT SIX WITH THIS, OR IS IT PREMATURE? SAY AGAIN, EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD PROPOSE. I QUICKLY WROTE DOWN, DEVELOP A ROBUST ENERGY POLICY TO ENABLE CONTINUOUS BASE LOAD SUPPLY AND GROWTH FOR VIRGINIA'S RAPIDLY GROWING BUSINESS NEEDS. NOW, ONE CAN ARGUE, UH, BASE LOAD IS NOT ENOUGH. 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T SATISFY PEAKS, BUT BASE LOAD IS WHAT IN GENERAL COMMERCIAL RUNS ON AS OPPOSED TO PEAKS. AND THINKING SPECIFICALLY, IF WE GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE ANALYTICS REPORT THAT, UH, PUT FORTH, UH, IT'S BASICALLY ALL DUE TO DATA CENTERS. I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT TO PUT ON FOR AWARENESS AND FOR, UH, RECOGNITION THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT S ARE CONSIDERING. IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE ON THAT. AND QUITE FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK A NUMBER OF THE THINGS WE HAVE WILL, BECAUSE IT'S UP TO THE BOARD, STAFF AND BOARD TO DECIDE ANYWAY. SO THIS MIGHT BE A NON, UH, BUT I, I THINK IT GIVES AT LEAST, UH, SOME TALKING POINTS FROM OUR STANDPOINT OF WHERE THINGS ARE. MM-HMM . LISA, DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY FINAL THOUGHTS? UH, UH, MY ONLY COMMENT IS THAT, LIKE, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ASKING THE STATE TO ASSIST WITH? OR IS THIS JUST AN INTERNAL POLICY THAT WE WANT AS AN EDA OR WITHIN THE COUNTY? WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS TO, UH, GO TO FIRST TO THE STAFF AND THEN TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE IS NEEDED. AND THAT WOULD BE, IT HAS TO BE A LEGISLATIVE ACTION BECAUSE OF THE PREVIOUS LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED WITHIN THE COMMONWEALTH. UM, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS WITHIN THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA THAT DOES NOT ALLOW CERTAIN THINGS TO OCCUR THAT WILL ENABLE US TO GET OUT OF THIS, UH, SPIRAL THAT WE'RE IN WITH REGARDS TO ELECTRIC LOAD GENERATION. WELL, I AGREE THAT IT PROBABLY SHOULD BE ON THE RADAR AND THE AGENDA, BUT IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA HAPPEN. YES. AND THIS TIME AROUND ANYWAY, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PUT ON THE AGENDA. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND SO IS THERE A MOTION TO, TO ENTERTAIN THE, UM, DRAFT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THAT, UM, WE HAVE [00:25:01] REVIEWED, UH, TAKING OUT NUMBER SIX AND REPLACING IT WITH THE, UH, ENERGY. I'LL, I'LL DEVELOP SOME MORE LANGUAGE FOR THAT AFTER THE MEETING AND PROVIDE THAT, AND THEN, UH, SEND IT THROUGH TO, UH, MR. DRUMRIGHT AND, UH, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND OUR, UM, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR. AND, UH, UM, BUT ONLY OTHER THING, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT, UM, TWO AND THREE, I JUST DON'T, I JUST WANNA SEE THE PURPOSE OF FRAMING ON THERE, THE PRIS ONLY. I'LL SEE IT ONLY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THERE ARE THINGS THAT, AS YOU WELL KNOW, THAT IN A MULTI-YEAR FACET HAVE TO JUST PRESUME, EXCUSE ME, UNLESS YOU, UH, KEEP GOING OUT THERE OR ELSE THEY DIE. AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON WHY. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT BASED ON YOUR, YOUR COMMUNICATION. BUT IF WE MAKE IT KNOWN AND, AND IT'S, IT'S UP TO THE BOARD TO DECIDE ANYWAYS. OKAY. AND THE BOARD MIGHT SAY, SO IS THERE A MOTION TO, UH, DO AS SUCH? I'LL MAKE A MOTION. I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. OKAY. THANK YOU, SIR. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? UM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE, UH, DRAFT 2026 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FROM THE EDA TO SEND TO STAFF AND THE BOARD, PLEASE STATE AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? HEARING NONE. WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TO MR. CHAIRMAN CLARIFICATION THAT WE ARE REMOVING NUMBER SIX AND ADDING THE NEW LANGUAGE ABOUT THE ROBUST ENERGY POLICY. YES, MA'AM. AND NOW WE MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS RECRUITMENT UPDATE. YES, THANK YOU. UM, A LOT OF MY TIME, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, HAS BEEN SPENT ON THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT AND TECHNOLOGY ZONE. SO, UM, UH, BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME THERE. AND, UM, JUST SO FOR THE PUBLIC THAT'S LISTENING AND FOR THE EDA, WE ARE NOT BRINGING FORWARD, UM, FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION TOMORROW NIGHT. THERE WILL NOT BE A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT TOMORROW NIGHT, WE HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE A PAUSE. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CITIZEN FEEDBACK AND, UM, CONCERN THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CAREFULLY CONSIDERING. AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE REQUESTING A DEFERRAL. SO TOMORROW NIGHT WE'RE GONNA GO BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION REQUEST A DEFERRAL, AND TO THE SEPTEMBER PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, WE'RE HOLDING A SECOND COMMUNITY MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 8TH AT 6:00 PM UM, WHERE WE ARE GONNA BRING BACK SOME, UM, THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL WITH SOME ADDITIONAL CHANGES THAT WE HOPE, UM, ARE, UM, KIND OF ADDRESS SOME OF THE CITIZENS' CONCERNS THAT WE'VE HEARD. SO THAT'LL BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 8TH WITH THE HOPE THAT IT'LL GO TO A SEPTEMBER 18TH, I BELIEVE IT IS, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. AND THEN, UM, FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD FROM THERE. SO, UM, JUST SO EVERYONE'S AWARE, NO PUBLIC HEARING TOMORROW NIGHT AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WE WILL BE REQUESTING DEFERRAL. AND WHERE IS THAT? SEPTEMBER 8TH MEETING AT THE, UH, COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ROOM TWO 50. SO THE BOARD ROOM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, WE DO ANTICIPATE LIVE STREAMING THAT FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE COURTHOUSE, UH, IS, IS IT AT SIX O'CLOCK? SIX O'CLOCK? OKAY. SORRY, IS THAT THE COMPLETION OF THE UPDATE? UM, THE ONLY OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO MENTION IS YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN THE RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH ARTICLE WHERE, UM, AMAZON DID, UH, MAKE THE, THE, THE NEWSPAPER THAT THEY ARE PUTTING ON DELIVERY STATION IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF WEST CREEK. UM, SO THAT IS STILL UNDER PLAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW OF BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW RIGHT NOW. UM, BUT THEY ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. AND THAT IS IT. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF THE DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR HERE? NONE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE EXISTING BUSINESS UPDATE. YEAH, JUST A FEW THINGS THIS EVENING. UH, ON MONDAY, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE HOSTING A BUSINESS ROUND TABLE WITH, UH, SECRETARY URA. UM, WE HAVE, UH, 26 BUSINESSES HAVE R-R-V-P-B-S, UM, WHICH IS A REALLY GOOD NUMBER. WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ATTENDEE COUNT BEING BETWEEN ABOUT 40 AND 50 PEOPLE. UM, IT'S OUR PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP. THEY'LL BE PROVIDING A, UH, BREAKFAST BUFFET BEFOREHAND, AND IT SHOULD BE A GREAT EVENT. SO VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. I KNOW SECRETARY IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HOSTING THAT CHANCE. IF I COULD BUTT IN HERE, UH, APOLOGIES. UM, SO WE DON'T WANNA RUN AMUCK OF FOIA LAWS, AND SO, UM, WE ARE REGULATING SELF-REGULATING TO TWO EDA MEMBERS TO ATTEND THAT. SO IF YOU GUYS WILL LET ME KNOW WHICH TWO OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND MONDAY MORNING AT EIGHT 30, RIGHT? CORRECT. WAIT, [00:30:01] MAY WE DIVERGE ON THAT QUESTION RIGHT NOW? UM, KENNY KENNY'S NOT GONNA BE THERE, SO IT'S UP TO US FOR WHO WILL BE, WHO PLANS TO BE IN ATTENDANCE. I HAVE IT ON MY CALENDAR, BUT THAT'S IT. I'M NOT AT YOUR DISPOSAL. CHAIRMAN, I, ON MY CALENDAR, UH, LISA, I MEAN, I'LL DEFER IF ONE OF YOU GUYS WANNA GO, UH, I'LL, I'LL DEFER AS WELL. YOU AND JANE WANNA GO? YOU WANT GO JANE? I MEAN, I LIKE IT. I'LL PLAY OKAY. IF THAT'S ACCEPTABLE, IF THAT'S ACCEPTABLE. LISA, JENNY, AND I'LL GO. YEAH, THAT'S FINE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR THAT CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. UM, SO THEN WE HAD OUR SECOND, UH, SPARK SUCCESS SERIES WORKSHOP LAST WEEK. UH, WE DO THOSE QUARTERLY PARTNERING WITH, UH, SCORE BEN TOYS AND, UH, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. IT WAS ON, UH, SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING. IT WAS ANOTHER FULL HOUSE, UM, WHICH WAS GREAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK I COULD FILL UP A ROOM ON, ON BASE, ON A TOPIC ABOUT ACCOUNTING, BUT I DID. SO THAT WAS GOOD. UH, WE HAD 18 ATTENDEES. UM, SO SINCE WE'VE LAUNCHED THAT, UH, WORKSHOP SERIES, WE'VE BEEN REALLY INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF ATTENDEES. I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF PARTNERING WITH SCORE AS WELL AS THE CHAMBERS, DOING A, DOING REALLY GOOD JOB AT GETTING IT OUT. AND, UM, IT'S ABOUT A 50 50 MIX OF, YOU KNOW, GOOSE BUSINESSES AND RICHMOND REGION BUSINESSES. UM, BUT I HAVE FOUND OUT THAT I HAVE SMALL BUSINESSES FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION, REGION BACK OUT TO ME AND ASK ABOUT SPACE AND GOOSE LAND AND DOING BUSINESS IN GLAND AND THINGS OF THAT. SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT ALL GOON BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD ENERGY AND MOMENTUM, UM, IN THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FIELD FOR US. UH, AS YOU KNOW, STARTING IN SEPTEMBER, WE'RE RUNNING THROUGH OCTOBER, I'LL BE DOING MY UPCOMING, UH, INDUSTRIAL PARK WALKTHROUGH. SO I'LL GO THROUGH ALL SIX INDUSTRIAL PARKS, KNOCKING ON DOORS, CHECKING ON BUSINESSES, UH, HAVING MEETINGS AS SHORT AS FIVE MINUTES TO 60 MINUTES, UH, WITH VARIOUS BUSINESSES. UM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET IN FRONT OF OVER A HUNDRED BUSINESSES IN THE COUNTY, UM, ESPECIALLY OUR STRONG INDUSTRIAL BASE. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR THIRD YEAR DOING THIS, AND I'VE BUILT SOME REALLY STRONG RELATIONSHIPS BY DOING, UM, BY THIS PRACTICE. AND SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S A SMART THING FOR ME TO CONTINUE TO DO. UM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE VISITS, DR. LEY AND I WILL BE, UH, VISITING WITH A HANDFUL OF BUSINESSES, UH, THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. UM, KIND OF FOCUSED ON A LOT OF OUR LARGER BUSINESSES AND EXPANDING BUSINESSES. UM, I, I'LL BE HAVING MY COUNTERPART AT BDP ATTEND SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES ARE ON THEIR TARGET LIST. SO THIS WILL BE ALSO A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR DR TO, UM, KIND OF SEE WHAT VDP OFFERS DURING THOSE, DURING THOSE VISITS, AND WHAT THE COMMONWEALTH OFFERS. UM, UH, NEXT FRIDAY, THE 29TH, UH, UH, TOM TALK, WHO'S THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND REC, AND I WILL BE DOING A COURTHOUSE BUSINESS WALK. UM, HE REACHED OUT TO ME LAST MONTH ASKING, HOW CAN WE ASK THESE? HOW CAN WE SURVEY THE BUSINESSES TO SEE HOW, HOW DO OUR EVENTS IMPACT THEIR BUSINESS? AND I SAID, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THEM TO RESPOND ONLINE, SO WE JUST NEED TO GO OUT, UH, PUT FEET ON THE GROUND AND GO, GO, JUST STOP 'EM BY. SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT NEXT FRIDAY. UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T GET TOO MUCH OPPORTUNITIES TO TALK TO OUR RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL BUSINESSES. SO EXCITED TO GET OUT WITH THEM. UH, NEXT MONTH, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH ARE, OUR FARM TOURS ARE SCHEDULED. THEY'RE STARTING TO GAIN TRACTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR FARM TOUR PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE, AND CHECKING THE GOOGLE ANALYTICS. AND THOSE VIEWS KEEP GOING UP. UM, AND VIRGINIA FARM BUREAU IS, UH, PRINTING OUT THE SIGNS AGAIN, THAT WILL, EACH FARM WILL GET TO PUT AT THEIR ENTRANCE, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE AT, UH, WHEN THEY STOP BY. UM, EARLIER THIS MONTH I HAD A BUSINESS MEETING WITH THE BUSINESSES IN THE GOLAND AND OLD DOMINION INDUSTRIAL PARK. THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN GETTING NEW SIGNAGE UP, UH, TO KIND OF, UH, DRIVE TRAFFIC AND JUST KIND OF HAVE SOME DRIVE BY MARKETING, UH, FOR THEM. UM, SO I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THOSE, UH, 20 OR SO BUSINESSES ON, ON MOVING THAT FORWARD. AND THEN NEXT MONTH, ON SEPTEMBER 23RD, UH, THE CHAMBER AND I ARE PARTNERING ON OUR, UH, NETWORKING EVENTS. UH, I THINK IT'S CALLED CONNECT AT FIVE. UH, THIS ONE WILL BE AT BIRD SELLERS. AND I'LL SEND INVITES TO ALL THE EDA MEMBERS, UM, TOMORROW WITH, WITH UH, TIMES. UH, HOPE YOU GUYS CAN MAKE, AND I'LL INCLUDE THE REGISTRATION. LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN REGISTER. UM, I THINK THAT'S EVERYTHING I HAVE FOR EXISTING BUSINESS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR EXISTING BUSINESS? ARE WE LIMITED TO JUST TWO OF THAT EVENT FOR SELLERS FILE? TWO EDA VENDORS? WE WILL, UH, CHECK WITH COUNTY ATTORNEY AND LET YOU KNOW. I, I, OKAY. I BELIEVE THAT OUR STANCE HAS BEEN, AS LONG AS WE DON'T DISCUSS ANY COUNTY BUSINESS OR EDA BUSINESS IN SP UH, PARTICULAR, [00:35:01] WE'RE FINE TO ALL BE THERE. MM-HMM . UM, AND I, LET'S JUST, JUST DOUBLE CHECKING. YES, I UNDERSTAND. WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK. WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU LISA. OKAY. SO THERE, MOVING ON TO TOURISM UPDATE. UH, ACTUALLY I BELIEVE THERE IS A CONSIDERATION TO REFUND OPEN REWARDS PROGRAM. CAN YOU READ MY AGENDA? CAN I APOLOGIZE? THANK YOU. SO WE, UH, CONSIDERATION TO REFUND THE OPEN REWARDS PROGRAM. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION, WE, WE DO, UH, SPREADSHEET SHEET. YEAH, IT'S RIGHT THERE. AWESOME. ALRIGHT. SO, UH, JUST A FEW TALKING POINTS ON THIS POPULATING AND USAGE OF THIS PROGRAM HAS SKYROCKETED THIS YEAR. UM, IF I, YES, UH, I THINK IT'S UNDER THE EDGE. OH, GOTCHA. UM, SO JUST SCROLLING DOWN, WHICH, THIS WAS ON A SHRINK, BUT WE'VE HAD A HUGE INCREASE IN REWARDS EARNED, UM, COMPARED TO 2024. WE'VE HAD A, A BIG INCREASE IN USERS. WE'RE UP TO OVER 560 USERS FOR THE PROGRAM. UM, AND SO I WENT AHEAD AND WE ARE AT, UH, WE ARE AT $77 LEFT, UH, THAT HIT LAST WEEK. AND I PUT A PAUSE ON IT 'CAUSE I DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE TO KEEP CLAIMING LLOYDS AND US RUN OUTTA MONEY. UM, AND SO WE, WE PAUSED IT FOR THE TIME BEING. PEOPLE CAN STILL REDEEM THEIR REWARDS. SO IF YOU HAVE EXISTING MONEY IN YOUR WALLET, YOU CAN STILL REDEEM THEM. UM, YOU JUST CAN'T CLAIM ANY, ANY NEW TRANSACTIONS. SO I WENT AHEAD AND JUST DID A QUICK CALCULATION AND I'LL PULL UP THE EXCEL SHEET AND THIS WILL ALSO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS A BETTER IDEA. UM, SO THIS TOP IS MONTHLY REWARDS ANNUAL IN 2025. BOTTOM IS 2024. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE MONTH TO MONTH COMPARISON, IT'S JUST BEEN A, A LOT HIGHER THIS YEAR. UM, WE FLEW THROUGH THE MONEY LAST YEAR. IT TOOK ABOUT A YEAR FOR US TO GO THROUGH AND WE'RE AT ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE MONTHS SINCE WE REFUNDED IT. AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY DOING WELL. UM, SO THE AVERAGE, UH, AMOUNT, THIS, UH, YEAR FOR REDEEMS, UH, REWARDS EARNED IS $658. UM, SO FAR THERE'S BEEN $279 IN AUGUST. UM, AND SO I'VE KIND OF RAN THESE CALCULATIONS, UM, AND JUST SO THAT IF YOU GUYS WANTED TO RUN IT TO THE END OF THE YEAR, IT WOULD BE, UH, AROUND $2,933 OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING BASED OFF THE AVERAGE OF THIS YEAR. AND THEN I PUT THOSE AVERAGE FOR THE FINAL FOUR MONTHS, UM, AS WELL AS THE REMAINING, UH, MONTH OF AUGUST OF WHAT'S IN THERE. VARIOUS, UH, COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD REALLY GOOD SUCCESS WITH THIS. I I ACTUALLY GET EMAILS ALL THE TIME FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ASKING ME ABOUT BEST PRACTICES BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN SUCH GOOD SUCCESS AND, AND BLUE DOT'S ALWAYS RECOMMENDING US TO, TO KIND OF TALK TO OTHER COMMUNITIES AND, AND TELL 'EM ABOUT WHAT WE'VE DONE TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS. AND SO THAT IS TO RUN IT TO THROUGH THE END OF 2025. THAT'S TAKEN THE AVERAGE. THE ONLY ISSUE I SEE WITH THAT IS IT, IS IT BEING TOO LOW IF, IF IN THE HOLIDAYS IT GOES ABOVE THE AVERAGE, WHICH, UH, CONSIDERING THE HOLIDAY SPENDING, I THINK THAT'S POSSIBLE. UM, AND, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, BE HAPPY TO TALK MORE ABOUT IT. UM, I WENT AHEAD AND TALK WITH BLUE DOC COVERED SOME OF THE THINGS, LIKE I SAID, PEOPLE CAN STILL REDEEM THEIR REWARDS. UM, WE CAN PUT A DEADLINE ON WHEN PEOPLE CAN REDEEM THEM. SO IF WE'RE RUNNING, IF WE DECIDE WE WANT TO RUN IT TO THE END OF THE YEAR, I CAN THEN PUSH OUT MESSAGE YOU AND SAY, MAKE SURE YOU REDEEM YOUR REWARDS BY 12 31 20 25. OR WE CAN EVEN PUT A MONTH OUT AND SAY 1 30, 1 20 25, UM, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO PEOPLE HAVE TIME TO REDEEM THEIR REWARDS. UM, WE CAN SEND OUT PUSH NOTIFICATIONS VIA THE APP, EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS, TEXT NOTIFICATIONS, UM, PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE TOO. AND SO, UH, I WOULD REALLY LIKE, IF, IF, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO WRAP IT UP, I'D BE, UH, I'D REALLY LIKE TO WRAP IT UP IN A WELL-MANAGED FASHION. AND WHAT HAPPENS WITH, UH, REWARDS THAT ARE LEFT OVER IS THAT WE CAN EITHER LEAVE 'EM IN THE ACCOUNT AND LET'S SAY NEXT HOLIDAY SEASON, WE WANNA RUN IT FOR TWO MONTHS. WE CAN USE THOSE AWARDS THAT ARE LEFT OVER. UM, WE CAN HAVE BLUE DOTS SEND US BACK A CHECK OF THE REMAINING [00:40:01] REWARDS TO GO BACK IN THE EDA ACCOUNT. UM, AND SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN DO THAT. UM, THE QUESTION FOR YOU, YES. DO YOU HAVE DATA ON HOW, UM, THESE REWARDS ARE SPLIT ACROSS BUSINESSES? YES, I DO. I FIGURED YOU WOULD. 'CAUSE YOU ALWAYS DO, IF YOU COME DOWN HERE AND THESE, SO ABOUT 50% GOES TO FOOD AND DRINK ESTABLISHMENTS, 20% SERVICE, 25 SHOPPING, 3% OTHER. UM, AND SO THAT'S THE SPLIT. AND IF YOU COME DOWN EVEN FURTHER, UM, TOTAL CUSTOMERS BY KIND OF THEIR, UH, ZIP CODES. AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE TOP 10 BUSINESSES THAT HAVE CURIOUS AND TOP 10 SOT AND ECHO TS HAD A HUGE PROVI. THEY WEREN'T THAT STRONG IN 2024, BUT 2025, THEY'VE BEEN JUST, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE REALLY CAPING THE REWARD THERE. SPORTS PAGE, BELLA, UM, WHAT ELSE IS THAT? COURTHOUSE MARKET? COURTHOUSE MARKET. VIRGINIA ARCHERY CENTER. UM, LOLA'S IS UP THERE, UH, RIVER ROAD COLLEGE. SO IT'S BEEN A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM OVERALL, ESPECIALLY SUPPORTING OUR RESTAURANTS, WHICH IS A TOUGHER INDUSTRY FOR US TO SUPPORT. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE FOCUS A LOT ON LIKE, TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES. UM, AND SO YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF THE BREAKDOWN OF THAT. UM, AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, ABOUT 76% OF USERS HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, IT DOES INFLUENCE 'EM, UH, TO SHOP LOCAL. AND THEN THERE'S, THERE'S SOME COMMENTS UP HERE, YOU KNOW, THAT BROUGHT OUR ATTENTION TO THE NEW FOR SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES. UM, AND THAT'S AFTER SHOPPING AT YOU'S, UH, LOLA'S. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL, UM, FOR US. AND, UM, YEAH. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS A FEW DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF HOW, HOW YOU GUYS WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT. THAT'S A TOTAL INCOME. YEAH. TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT, UH, UH, CALCULATED. SO THE TOTAL ECO ECONOMIC IMPACT IS BASED ON TOTAL SPENDING. UM, AND SO THE REASON, SO WE 5% BENEFITS. AND SO NATURALLY YOU THINK, ALL RIGHT, 5%, WE DID 5,000. SO 5,000, THAT WOULD EQUAL A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN SPENDING. UM, WE DID PUT A LIMIT ON HOW, HOW, HOW MUCH REWARD YOU COULD GET ON LIKE PURCHASES. 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME VERY EXPENSIVE STORES ON THERE. UH, ARCHERY STORE, WE HAD THE, UH, THE LOCAL, UH, GUN SHOP. WE HAVE ONE OF OUR LOCAL, UM, FURNITURE STORES ON THERE. SO WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE BUYING FIVE, 10, $20,000 WORTH OF STUFF SOMEWHERE AND REALLY USING UP THE REWARDS. UM, AND THEN ALSO THE REWARDS DISTRIBUTED IS HIGHER THAN THE 10,000 BECAUSE WE DO, UH, HAVE A 12 MONTH EXPIRATION DATE ON PEOPLE'S REWARDS TO, AND YOU DO GET A, UH, YOU GET A TEXT NOTIFICATION SAYING, HEY, AT THE END OF THIS MONTH YOU HAVE X AMOUNT OF REWARDS EXPIRING. SO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. AND THEN THOSE REWARDS, UH, THEY JUST GO BACK INTO THE, OUR FUNDING AND CAN BE REUSED AGAIN. SO THEY GET RECYCLED. WHAT ARE THE BUSINESSES SAYING ABOUT THIS? DO YOU GET ANY FEEDBACK? YEAH, I'VE HEARD GREAT THINGS, UM, FROM MULTIPLE BUSINESSES. THE ARCHERY SHOP, UM, WHEN I STOPPED IN THERE, THEY WERE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE LOVE SEEING THE COUNTY KIND OF SUPPORT AND TRY TO PUSH PEOPLE TO SPEND LOCAL MONEY. AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE TIMES I HEAR FROM BUSINESSES, THE REASON THEY LOVE IT IS, UM, WHEN THEY LOOK AT THEIR POS SYSTEMS, PEOPLE FROM OSELAND AREN'T EVEN IN THEIR TOP FIVE OF CUSTOMERS. IT'S, IT'S PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE REGION OUTSIDE OF THE REGION. UM, AND SO THEY LOVE SEEING THE COUNTY TRY TO PUSH IT OUT TO, TO PEOPLE TO GET, GET THEM TO SPEND THE MONEY IN GLAND. ANY NEGATIVES FROM THE I NO, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY NEGATIVES. LIKE, BUSINESSES DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. LIKE, IT'S, IT'S ALL CUSTOMER DRIVEN. UM, AND FROM THE CUSTOMER SIDE, I'VE HAD PEOPLE COME IN AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE LOVE THIS PROGRAM. UM, I'VE HAD A, AN OLDER, AN OLDER COUPLE COME IN AND SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS US TO GO EAT AT SOME OF THE MORE EXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS IN, IN THE COUNTY BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE UP OUR REWARDS AND THEN USE IT. UM, AND SO I'VE HEARD, I'VE HEARD OVERALL JUST POSITIVE THINGS AND REMARKS. SO THIS EVENING BEFORE YOU, WE WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST AT A, AT A MINIMUM, UH, TO REFUND IT FOR THE END OF THE YEAR. SO THAT WAY IT AT LEAST GETS US THROUGH THE YEAR. AND WE CAN CLOSE IT OUT IF YOU SO CHOOSE TO NOT REFUND IN 2026, WE COULD CLOSE THIS OUT WITH A, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE WRAPPING UP AND THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE, THE PROGRAM. AND WE CAN PUT OUT SOME OF THAT MESSAGING AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO USE THEIR, THEIR POINTS AND TO, UM, MAKE US THROUGH THE, THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON. WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF THE AUTHORITY, LISA? OR I ACCEPT REFUND $3,000. THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR. IS [00:45:01] THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT SECOND DISCUSSION. I FIRST, I, I THINK IF YOU'RE EVER FOR A D FOR A DOLLAR FOR THIS YEAR ANYWAY, AND, UH, STOPPING THE PROGRAM WOULD PROBABLY DO MORE DAMAGE THAN SPEND THE 3000. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE JUST REFUND IT NOW AND SEE WHERE WE STAND AT THE END OF THE YEAR. MM-HMM . IF WE NEED TO IN INJECT MORE MONEY, WE CAN DISCUSS IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. I AGREE. REVISIT IT MAYBE IN DECEMBER AND, UM, SEE WHAT WE WANNA DO FOR 26. YEP. SOUNDS GOOD. BECAUSE THEN WE'LL HAVE THE FULL DATA FOR THE YEAR. YEAH. FULL DAY FOR THE YEAR AND EVERYTHING. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO APPROVE $3,000 FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2025 CALENDAR YEAR, PLEASE STATE AYE. A AYE. ALL OPPOSED, ALL EXTENSIONS. IT APPRO, IT PASSES. IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THATS, NO, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL REACH OUT TO BLUE DO TOMORROW AND THEY WILL PUT THE MONEY IN AND I'LL SEND OUT TEXT MESSAGES TO ALL THE USERS LETTING 'EM KNOW IT'S, IT'S, UM, UNPAUSED AND EVERYTHING SO WE CAN KEEP THE MOMENTUM ENROLLMENT. BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I THINK THIS, THIS PROGRAM HAS, HAS DONE BETTER THAN I EXPECTED. I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH THAT. SO THANK YOU. NOW, TOURISM UPDATE? YES. AND I'M GONNA LET MR. ROBINSON HANDLE THE TOURISM UPDATE THIS EVENING. OKAY. UM, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND START, UH, ABOUT THE LOGO AND TODD SIGNAGE GRANT. UM, SO THAT OPENS UP IN MARCH. UM, AND JUST SO YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS THAT WILL BE, I WILL BE PUTTING IN FRONT OF YOU GUYS NEXT MONTH FOR APPROVAL. THEY STARTED THIS PROCESS IN FEBRUARY. 'CAUSE THEY KNEW THE PROGRAM WAS GONNA OPEN IN MARCH AND IT WASN'T UNTIL THIS MONTH THAT WE FINALLY WAS ABLE TO GET THE SIGNS UP AND GET THEM AND EVERYTHING. SO IT'S A LENGTHY PROCESS THAT THE BUSINESSES ALSO GO THROUGH, UM, TO GET THE LOGO SIGNS UP. UM, BUT SO YOU GUYS, UH, UH, APPROVED THIS PROGRAM LAST YEAR. WE OPENED IT UP IN MARCH. UM, AND WHAT IT IS, IS THAT, UH, IT'S A GRAND AMOUNT OF UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO COVER, UH, 50% OR UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL COST OF VDOT APPROVED SIGNAGE. UH, FOR THIS FIRST YEAR, WE ARE DOING JUST BUSINESSES THAT HAVEN'T DONE IT BEFORE TO KIND OF INCENTIVIZE 'EM TO GET MOVING BECAUSE I, AS I LOOKED AT THE, UM, INVOICES THAT THESE BUSINESSES RECEIVED, IT'S ABOUT $1,300 FOR, UH, BDOS SIGNAGE COMPANY TO CONSTRUCT THE SIGNS. UM, AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING THE YEARLY FEES THAT ARE REQUIRED OF THEM TO ALSO PAY. AND SO I THINK THIS HELPS KIND OF GET THEM OVER THE HUMP. UM, WE'VE HAD SEVEN APPLICATIONS SO FAR. THREE OF THEM HAVE CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD. UM, I'VE HAD ONE BUSINESS, UH, WHO WENT TO APPLIED FOR IT, WAS INTERESTED, AND THEN REALLY LOOKED AT THE VDOT PROGRAM. ONE JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T SEE THE ROI FOR OUR BUSINESS. IT'S, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE. UM, I HAVE ANOTHER BUSINESS APPLIED, BUT VDOT ALSO HAS STRICT REGULATIONS ON HOURS. SO THEY HAVE TO BE OPEN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HOURS AND DAYS AND EVERYTHING TO BE ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR THE, UH, SIGNAGE. UM, UH, AND THEN ANOTHER BUSINESS IS KIND OF WAITING ON THEIR BUSINESS EXPANSION TO BE COMPLETE WHEN THEY CAN PUT THOSE NEW SIGNS UP. UM, AND SO WE'VE HAD THREE GO THROUGH. THIS IS THE FIRST ONE THAT'S GOTTEN ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND IS GETTING THEIR SIGNED PUT UP. THEY RECEIVED THEIR ANNUAL INVOICE FROM DDOT. UM, AND THEY WILL BE HAVING, UH, THE TOTAL COST FOR THIS YEAR IS $2,000, 102,100 $187 AND 44 CENTS. UM, SO THAT MEANS THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR THE NEXT GRAND AMOUNT OF A THOUSAND DOLLARS. AND I'LL BE BRINGING THAT UP, UP TO YOU GUYS IN, UH, SEPTEMBER FOR APPROVAL. UM, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO JUST GIVE YOU GUYS A QUICK REMINDER SO YOU'RE NOT BLINDSIDED BY THIS, UH, NEXT MONTH, UM, AND, UH, THE SEPTEMBER 10TH EDA MEETING. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. AND THEN THE OTHER TOURISM UPDATE IS ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, WE ARE HOSTING OUR, UH, DRIVE TOURISM WORKSHOP WITH BTC. SO WE, IN THE SPRING WERE AWARDED A BTC, UH, GRANT FOR THEIR DRIVE TOURISM, UH, PROGRAM. UM, AND PART OF IT IS FIRST YOU GET TO HAVE A WORKSHOP WITH 'EM WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA LOOK AT KIND OF THE COMPETITORS WE KIND OF, UH, HIGHLIGHT IN OUR APPLICATION, UM, AND KIND OF STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE, UH, TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IN GARSON COUNTY [00:50:01] AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES. SO WE'LL HAVE THIS WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 11TH. WE'VE INVITED BUSINESSES. UM, UH, LISA WILL BE REPRESENTING THE EDA THERE, UM, GIVEN HER EXPERIENCE. AND THEN, UH, WE'VE ALSO INVITED MR. WILD TO BE AT THAT WORKSHOP, UM, GIVEN HIS EXPERIENCE IN TOYS AND WITH VTC. UM, AND SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY. AND THEN AFTER THAT, UM, WE'LL APPLY FOR A $10,000 GRANT. UM, HAVEN'T EXACTLY DECIDED HOW WE'RE GOING TO DIVVY UP THAT MONEY OR APPLY WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GONNA APPLY THAT $10,000 TO HAVE A FEW IDEAS, BUT KIND OF WANT TO GET THROUGH THE WORKSHOP AND KIND OF GET SOME IDEAS FROM THE BUSINESSES AS WELL, AS WELL AS SEE WHAT BTC SAYS. AND THEN WE WILL BE WORKING ON THAT GRANT, UM, SECOND HALF OF SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. SO, AND IT'S A FULLY COMMONWEALTH, A VIRGINIA GRANT. YEAH, IT'S A VIRGINIA TOYS CORPORATION GRANT. YES, SIR. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? AND DOES THAT CONCLUDE TOURISM? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, VICTORIA? NO, THANK YOU. SO WE'RE GOOD WITH TOURISM. LET'S MOVE ON TO OTHER BUSINESS AND AS WE MODIFY THE AGENDA, MADAM COUNTY, DEBBIE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, IT IS YOUR, YEAH, SO I JUST WANTED TO FORMALLY ANNOUNCE THAT I DID ACCEPT A POSITION, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW POSITION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THAT MEANS THAT I'LL BE SPENDING LESS TIME DIRECTLY WITH YOU ALL IN THE FUTURE. UH, THE COUNTY, WE ARE LOOKING AT BACK FILLING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR POSITION THAT IS ON THE STREET AS OF NOW. SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET SOME GOOD CANDIDATES. WE'LL GO THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. UM, SO MORE TO COME ON THAT. BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR, UM, ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND WE'LL STILL BE, YOU'LL STILL SEE ME. I'LL STILL BE ATTENDING, BUT MAYBE NOT DIRECTLY AS MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ARE SO YOU'LL NOT BE EFFECTIVE SECRETARY, OR YOU WILL CONTINUE THE SECRETARY. I WILL NOT. OKAY. SO CONTINUE THE SECRETARY DUTIES. WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE A ELECTION YES. SECRETARY, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY BE ECONOMIC DIRECTOR. YES. OKAY. SO WE'LL HAVE TO PUT THAT ON OUR AGENDA FOR A FUTURE MEETING. AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT DECISION WOULD BE MADE? NO, JUST HIT THE STREET TODAY, DIDN'T IT? IT DID, YEAH. YEAH. SO, AND IS 30 DAY TYPICAL? COOL. I THINK WE, WELL, I THINK WE HAD ABOUT TWO WEEKS AT A MINIMUM. OKAY. SO, SO PERHAPS BY THE NEXT MEETING WE MIGHT HAVE TO LIKE THE NEW SECRETARY. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS, UM, ONTO SOME NOTES THAT, UH, I WANT TO BRING FORTH. UH, FIRST OF ALL, ON JULY 23RD AT, UH, FIVE, AS I HAD MENTIONED IN THE EMAIL, KENNY AND I MET WITH THE BOARD CHAIRMAN MR. TOM WINFREY AND ALSO WITH, UH, VICE CHAIRMAN JONATHAN CHRISTIE AND OUR COUNTY MANAGER. AND WE HAD A TWO ON TWO, WHICH DISCUSSED A QUITE GREAT, UH, WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS THAT INCLUDED EVERYTHING FROM, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY OVERLAY DISTRICT TO PRIORITIES WE NEED TO ESTABLISH BETWEEN THE TWO, OUR TWO ENTITIES AND HOW WE CAN WORK BETTER TO SUPPORT BOTH THE BOARD AND THE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, DEPARTMENT. AND, UM, IF THERE'S ANY DETAILS ON THAT YOU CAN ASK ME QUESTIONS FROM, FROM THAT MEETING. BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY GOOD FIRST KICKOFF. AND AS FAR AS I KNOW, IT WAS THE FIRST MEETING IT'S EVER BEEN HELD BETWEEN TWO ON TWO ON THE, UH, BETWEEN THE BOARD AND THE EDA. SO, UM, MOVING FORWARD ON AUGUST 15TH, I MET WITH, AGAIN, CHAIRMAN TOM WINFREY, OUR COUNTY MANAGER, AND, UH, DR. IFF AND ALSO OUR ECONOMIC DIRECTOR. I THINK YOU WERE DIRECTOR AND A DA SECRETARY AT THE TIME, SARAH. AND WE DISCUSSED THE UPCOMING MEETING THAT WE HAD PLANNED FOR SEPTEMBER 17TH, UH, BETWEEN THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND ALSO THE EDA. AND WHAT THE REQUEST WAS IN THE DISCUSSION THAT ENSUED WAS THAT WE CHANGE THAT MEETING AND TO SOMETIME LATER IN THE YEAR SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION IS SO TIGHT RIGHT NOW WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT, UH, ARE GOING ON IN THE COUNTY WITH REGARDS TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POSITION CHANGES, THAT WE WILL MOVE THAT, UH, MEETING. AND TOM AND I BOTH AGREED, EXCUSE ME, CHAIRMAN AND I BOTH AGREED TO MOVE THE, THE MEETING TO EITHER LEAVE THIS YEAR OR BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR. SO WE WILL CHANGE THAT UNLESS THERE'S SOME STRONG OBJECTION FROM THE AUTHORITY UNTIL SOME [00:55:01] LATER POINT IN TIME IN THE YEAR. AND THIS AFTERNOON, UH, JENNY AND I MET, UH, NORMALLY, UH, AGAIN, KENNY WOULD BE HERE AS VICE CHAIR, BUT, UH, HE'S ON VACATION ALONG WITH, UH, CHAIRMAN WINFREY AND VICE CHAIRMAN JONATHAN CHRISTIE, ALONG WITH, UM, DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR SARAH WARLEY, AND ALSO, UM, OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, DR. RAIL, AND HAD THE SECOND TWO ON TWO TO DISCUSS PRIORITIES AND OTHER ASPECTS OF HOW THE EDA CAN BETTER SUIT, UM, THE NEEDS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND OF COURSE, THE CITIZENS OF THE COUNTY. I THINK AGAIN, IT WAS ANOTHER FORMULATION, UH, DISCUSSION, UH, NUMBER OF LONG, UH, RANGING TOPICS THAT INCLUDED, UH, EXCHANGES OF INFORMATION SO THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING TO THE SAME, UH, UH, GOALS, SAME OBJECTIVES, AND ALSO UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE GOALS AND DESIRES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ARE. AND, UH, PER OUR, UH, PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS, UH, THERE WOULD BE A VISIT TO THE GOWIN COUNTY COMPRESSOR STATION, WHICH IS PART OF, UH, COLUMBIA GAS. UH, AND IT'S ON 1436 MAGE ROAD ON SEPTEMBER 5TH AT 11:00 AM AND ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF THAT MEETING IS TO UNDERSTAND THE AVAILABILITY AND CAPABILITY OF THE LINES GOING THROUGH GOLIN, UH, FOR GAS. UH, AGAIN, SARAH WILL BE MEETING WITH ME AND, UH, THIS TIME CHAIRMAN WINFREY AND ALSO, UH, DISTRICT FIVE SUPERVISOR JONATHAN LYLE, SINCE IT IS IN HIS DISTRICT ALSO, UH, TO, UH, HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THEM ABOUT THE FACILITY AND WHAT THE CAPABILITIES OF, UH, GAS SUPPLY EVEN WITHIN THE COUNTY, UH, IS, ARE AND, UH, CAN BE SUPPLEMENTED WITH OTHER CONTRACTS. UH, THE MAIN, UH, PURPOSE IS THE VISIT THE FACILITY, UH, WHICH, UH, IF YOU REMEMBER THE, THE BOARD APPROVED THE MODIFICATION TO THE OFFICE COMPLEX. I BELIEVE IT WAS BACK IN MAY, UH, AT THAT SITE. I MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OFF ON THAT DATE. SO ARE THERE ANY DIS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NOTES THAT I JUST PUT FORTH WITH REGARD TO OUR MEETINGS AND THAT WE'VE HAD IN PROPOSED MEETINGS? SO WE TAKE, WOULD YOU TAKE A QUESTION ON THE PEOPLE INFORMATION? UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY COMING UP NEXT. OKAY. COMING UP. ADD US AFTER THE AMENDMENT TO MODIFY OUR BYLAWS. OKAY. IF THAT'S OKAY? SURE. YEAH. OKAY. JUST HAD A QUESTION. UH, SO MOVING ON TO CONSIDERATION TO AMEND THE BYLAWS. AND THIS IS, AND LISA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. AND IT WAS, UH, MODIFIED, UH, ALSO BY DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR SARAH WARLEY. UM, AND THIS IS, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE HAD A SITUATION WHERE THERE WAS REQUEST IN A VERY SHORT TIMEFRAME TO SUPPORT A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO ALLOCATE FUNDS TO SUPPORT A STUDY TO, UH, CHANGE THE STATUS OF SOME LAND WITHIN THE COUNTY. AND, UH, LISA HAS WRITTEN UP WHAT, UH, IS PROPOSED TO CHANGE OUR BYLAWS TO ENABLE THIS TO OCCUR IN A VERY FLUID MANNER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BYLAWS, WITHOUT, UH, HAVING TO JUMP THROUGH SOME OF THE HOOPS THAT WE HAD TO AT THE TIME. SO I WILL CONSIDER A MOTION, UH, IF ONE WOULD MAKE ONE WITH REGARDS TO ACCEPTANCE OF THE BYLAWS. AND I DON'T HAVE A COPY PRIOR. SWEET. THANK YOU. SHOULD BE ONE OF THE HANDOUTS ON THE TABLE OVER HERE. OVER HERE. YEAH. DO DISCUSSION AFTER THE MOTION? IT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE. YEAH. I'LL STOP JUST A SECOND. I'LL SECOND. YEAH. SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE CHANGE TO THE BYLAWS. AND IS THERE A DISCUSSION? YES. UH, SO ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS THE WORD SECRETARY, UM, BEING WHO IS AUTHORIZED CURRENTLY? YES. THE EDA DIRECTOR IS THE SECRETARY. HOWEVER, I DON'T BELIEVE ACCORDING TO THE BYLAWS, IT HAS TO BE THAT. AND SO THEREFORE, IF YOU JUST HAVE ANY OLD SECRETARY WITH THE AUTHORITY TO EXPEND $25,000 IS GONNA BE AN ISSUE. SO THE, THE, IN THE BYLAWS UNDER SECTION 2 0 5 DUTIES OF OFFICERS, THE SECRETARY IS AN OFFICER THAT IS DESIGNATED ANNUALLY BY THE EDA MM-HMM . WHEN THEY ELECT THEIR OFFICERS. SO IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, 2 0 5 C, UM, IT DOES HAVE, UH, THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. AND SO THAT PERSON IS AUTHORIZED AND ASSIGNED BY THE EDA ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, SO YOU WILL [01:00:01] KNOW WHO THAT PERSON IS AND WHETHER YOU WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY. RIGHT. HOWEVER, MOVING FORWARD, IF WE ARE NOT THE BOARD AND YOU'RE NOT THE STAFF, THEY COULD ELECT WHOEVER AS A SECRETARY. THEN THAT PERSON, DAY ONE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO EXPEND $25,000. IT DOESN'T SAY STAFF IS SECRETARY. SO THAT PERSON DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A STAFFER IN THE FUTURE. I I THINK THAT'S TRUE. YES. IT, IT, IT, THAT SECRETARY CAN BE A MEMBER OF, IN FACT IN A LOT OF CASES, IS A MEMBER OF THE EDA. RIGHT, RIGHT. WHICH, AND I MEAN IN THAT CASE IT'S UP TO THE EDA TO DECIDE IF THEY WANT, AND THEN IN THAT CASE, WHY WOULD IT BE A SECRETARY THAT WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO EXPEND AND NOT THE TREASURER? INTERESTING QUESTION. ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT, LISA? WELL, THE TREASURER IS NOT REALLY THE KEEPER OF THE CHECKBOOK. THE SECRETARY IS, BUT THERE'S, TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. THE WHOLE REASON FOR THIS LANGUAGE WAS, UH, TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S LITTLE OUTTA THE ORDINARY AND HAS TO BE DONE IN MORE OF A HURRY THAN PART OF THE EXPRESSION, MORE OF A HURRY THAN NORMAL. SO HE WANTED TO, IN THIS CASE, WANTED TO GIVE SARAH THAT APPROVAL BASED ON COMING TO THE CHAIRMAN AND, AND, AND GETTING, UH, AN OKAY LATER ON. I, I, I, I THINK I UNDERSTAND YOUR, YOUR CONCERN, BUT WE REALLY WANTED TO ADDRESS THE I I IDEA OF GETTING SOMETHING DONE QUICKLY RIGHT OUT NOR OUT OF NORMAL. YES. AND YOU CAN STILL DO THAT WITH AN AMENDMENT LIKE THIS, BUT SECRETARY, I DON'T THINK SHOULD BE THE WORD. AND YOU SAY, WHAT SHOULD BE THE WORD? UH, I, I MEAN, IF WE WANT THE EDA DIRECTOR TO HAVE THE AUTHORITY, IT SHOULD SAY EDA DIRECTOR, EA DIRECTOR. OH, I SEE. OKAY. I, I, I, I GET YOU. YEAH. NOW JUST SECRETARIES, THE AMBIGU AMBIGUITY THAT CAN GET YOU IN TROUBLE. OKAY. YEAH. SO YOU'RE SAYING IF THE ED DIRECTOR SAYS IT'S OKAY, THEN IT IS, THEN IT'S OKAY. WHAT THE, IF THE INTENT OF THE BOARD IS TO GIVE THE EDA DIRECTOR THE AUTHORITY TO EXPEND UP TO $25,000 IN CASES WHERE IT'S NECESSARY, THEN THAT WORDING WOULD NEED TO CHANGE. BECAUSE IN THE FUTURE, THE SECRETARY MAY NOT BE THE EDA DIRECTOR. RIGHT. IT COULD BE A, A BOARD MEMBER WHO IS, IT COULD BE A SECRETARY AND CORRECT. I GOTCHA. WOULD YOU PROPOSE A CHANGE? I WOULD PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO MY MOTION. OKAY. PLEASE. THE AMENDMENT BEING, I WOULD JUST CLARIFY THAT AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT EDA DIRECTOR. THANK YOU. . UM, I WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE CHANGE THE WORD SECRETARY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. DID I GET THAT RIGHT? MM-HMM . OKAY. WELL, YOU MADE THE MOTION. SO IT'S OBVIOUSLY A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT. DO YOU AGREE WITH THE AMENDMENT, THE MOTION? IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? I HAVE ONE MORE. UM, WHERE IT SAYS, UH, APPROVALS OBTAINED VIA PHONE CALL FROM EITHER THE CHAIR OR THE VICE CHAIR. IS THAT, DOES THAT, IS IT, IS THAT THE INTENT OF THE LANGUAGE FOR THE EDA DIRECTOR TO CHOOSE EITHER ONE OF THOSE TWO? OR IS IT IT WOULD BE, UH, A PHONE CALL WITH THE CHAIRMAN AND IN THE CHAIRMAN'S ABSENCE, THE, UH, VICE CHAIR, WHICH, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE I'M JUST MAKING TOO MUCH OUT. NOTHING, BUT IT SAYS OR SO THE CHAIRMAN OR VICE CHAIR. WELL, YOU PREFER TO ADD OR IN THE ABSENCE OF THE CHAIR. YEAH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. YEAH. YEAH. AND THEN I DO HAVE ONE MORE TECHNICAL QUESTION, . SO, SO DO YOU, DO YOU CONCUR WITH THAT? I DO, YES. IN THE ABSENCE OF THE CHAIR. AND YOU'VE MADE IT SO YOU I DO TOO. OKAY. UM, ONE MORE QUESTION, TECHNICAL QUESTION. THE BUILDING AND SITE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND, IS THAT AN ESTABLISHED FUND WITHIN THE EDAA SEPARATE ESTABLISHED FUND? YES. YES. OKAY. YES, IT IS. IT'S A SEPARATE, AND, AND WE ARE OKAY WITH THAT BEING THE ONLY FUND THAT THE DIRECTORS EVER ALLOWED TO DRAW OUT OF. UH, THAT'S WHAT THE ORIGINAL INTENT WAS FOR. OKAY. JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S ALL I GOT. THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A NEED FOR YOU TO PULL OUT OF A DIFFERENT FUND OR SOMEBODY TO PULL OUT OF A DIFFERENT FUND. UM, YEAH, I THINK, UM, I THINK MOST OTHER FUNDS, AT LEAST IN MY EXPERIENCE OVER [01:05:01] THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, THE ONLY FUND THAT WE NEED TO REALLY HAVE IMMEDIATE ACTION ON WOULD BE THAT FINE. OKAY. PERFECT. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? MM-HMM. HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I'LL CALL, UH, MOVE THAT WE VOTE AND AS AMENDED FROM THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO OUR BYLAWS. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE, THE, UH, MOTION, PLEASE STATE AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? WE HAVE NEW BYLAW BOARDS. DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THAT? YEAH. SO OUR NEXT, UM, POINT OF DISCUSSION IS THE E HOLE ANALYSIS. WILL YOU BE INSTIGATING THE, UH, YEAH. HAPPY TO DO THAT SINCE I PUT TOGETHER KIND OF THE, UH, RESEARCH AND EVERYTHING. SO, UM, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAD ASKED BACK, I BELIEVE AT THE JUNE, UH, EDA MEETING TO KIND OF SEE SOME BENCHMARKING ON, ON, UH, BPO COMPARED TO KIND OF THE, UH, REGION AND OTHER LOCALITIES AROUND US. SO I WENT AHEAD AND PULLED, UH, SEVERAL, UH, COMMUN, UH, COUNTIES AND CITIES AROUND US. UM, JUST TO KIND OF GET A QUICK LOOK, UH, THE FIRST THREE OR FOUR PAGES, UM, GO OVER OTHER COUNTIES AND I'VE ADDED A LITTLE GRAPH AND DATA ON OUR B REVENUE OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS THAT I GOT FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE. AND THEN I INCLUDED A, UH, UH, APPLICATION, A BUSINESS LICENSE APPLICATION FOR GOON COUNTY, SO YOU GUYS CAN SEE WHAT HOUSTON COUNTY'S, UH, RATES ARE. AND THEN AS WELL AS ON THE VERY BACK, THERE'S THE LICENSE FEES FOR CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. AND I DID THAT BECAUSE IT WAS VERY CONVOLUTED AND I COULDN'T FIT IT ALL ON A WORD DOCUMENT TO MAKE IT LOOK NICE. UM, SO I FIGURED IT WOULD JUST BE, JUST TO ADD IT AS A DETACHMENT FOR YOU ALL TO REVIEW. UM, AS YOU CAN TELL, IT VARIES. UH, I THINK ONE OF THE, UH, THINGS THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE HENRI HAS RECENTLY UP TO CHESTERFIELD, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, HIGHER THRESHOLDS IN FUTURE COUNTIES. WE'RE CURRENTLY AT $50,000, UM, IS THE THRESHOLD. SO, UH, BELOW $50,000, THERE'S, THERE'S NO, UH, TAX ABOVE IT. IT'S ON GROSS RECEIPTS, AND THE RATES VARY BY INDUSTRY. UM, AND AS, AS YOU CAN SEE, HENRI GOES UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS. CHESTERFIELD IS UP TO 500,000. UM, AND THEN OTHER COUNTIES HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE UP TO THIS AMOUNT, IT'S A $10 FLAT FEE. AND THEN ONCE THEY GET UP TO A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, SOME OF 'EM ARE 300,000, SOME OF 'EM ARE A HUNDRED THOUSAND. UM, THAT'S WHEN THE RATES KICK IN. AND SO I THOUGHT THIS WOULD KIND OF HELP YOU GUYS, UH, GET, GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHERE BEEF PULL IS IN THE REGION, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, JUST KIND OF WHERE WE ARE AS A COUNTY WITH IT, UM, HAVING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. UM, BUT YEAH. SO I FIGURED THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL TO YOU GUYS' DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT KIND OF THE EDA STANCE ON, ON ON PEOPLE TAX IN THE COUNTY. WHAT'S THE REASON FOR THE JUMP BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024? IT'S A BIG, IT'S BIGGER THAN THE MOST INCREASES ON THE YEAR BASIS, UH, FOR OUR REVENUE. UH, FOR YEAH, TAX REVENUE. YEAH. 23, 24. I DO NOT KNOW WHY, WHY THAT INCREASE? SEE, THAT'S ALL OF OUR HARD WORK BUSINESS. WELL, THAT'S WHAT I, I WANNA KNOW. TAKE A, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING. YEAH. WE'RE NOT SURE. IT COULD ALSO BE MORE ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT. YEAH. MORE ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT. UM, BUSINESS, MORE BUSINESS EXPANSIONS AND GROWTH. UM, YEAH, SO I THINK THERE'S A VARIETY OF FACTORS THAT COULD GO INTO THAT. AND THIS IS ALL BASED ON GROSS RECEIPTS. THAT'S PART OF THIS DISCUSSION, RIGHT? CORRECT. GROSS RECEIPTS VERSUS INCOME, CORRECT. ABSOLUTELY. UM, AND THEN IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A HANDOUT. UH, IT KIND, IT, IT'S ADJACENT TO IT. UM, YOU ALL HAD HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UH, SPECIFICALLY, UH, JEN AND LISA ABOUT THE CRAFT AND VENDOR PERMIT REQUIREMENTS. UM, AND SO I, I INCLUDED THE DOCUMENT I GAVE YOU LAST, UH, LAST MEETING, AS WELL AS THE QUESTIONS YOU GUYS HAVE WITH THE ANSWERS IN RED ATTACHED TO IT, UM, FROM THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE THAT I'VE WORKED WITH, WITH THEM TO GET, UM, KIND OF DETAILED RESPONSES FOR YOU ALL. AND IF YOU REMEMBER PART OF THIS, THE MOTIVATION FOR THIS DISCUSSION CAME ABOUT BECAUSE OF, UM, THE SERIOUS DISCUSSIONS, INCLUDING THE SUPERVISOR, UH, JONATHAN LYLE, UH, AND THE, [01:10:01] UH, DIRECTION TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION TO THE BOARD ABOUT OUR THOUGHTS ON TAXATION AND OTHER ISSUES WITHIN THE COUNTY. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE AND WHAT I SENT OUT LATE YESTERDAY ALSO WAS A WHOLE SERIES OF ARTICLES AND STUDIES DEALING WITH PEOPLE, UM, I BELIEVE PERSONALLY AND I THINK STATISTICALLY SHOW IT'S A DETRIMENT TO BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY TO BUSINESSES THAT HAVE NO REVENUE, UM, NO PROFITABILITY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, WHICH IS THE NEW STATUS QUO OF STARTUP BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY IN THE TECHNOLOGY FIELD. AND SO THEREFORE, UM, I THINK IT'S AN OUTDATED TAX THAT NEEDS TO BE PHASED OUT, BUT THAT AGAIN, IS A PERSONAL OPINION BASED ON IT. SO I'M TRYING TO DEVELOP A CONSENSUS BETWEEN US ON THE AUTHORITY TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR NOT, UH, IT'S A POSITION WE WANT TO PUT FORTH TO THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION, EITHER TO ELIMINATE OR PHASE OUT OR INCREASE THE CEILING, UH, FLOOR, EXCUSE ME, UH, UP ON IT, UH, JUST AS A PROPOSAL. UH, AND IN ADDITION, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT JUST FROM, YOU KNOW, MY OWN EXPERIENCE GOING OUT AND TALKING WITH BUSINESSES. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME BUSINESSES WHO ALWAYS BRING UP THE TAX AND, AND THAT, UM, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A NUMBER ONE ISSUE THAT I CONSISTENTLY HEAR ABOUT IN BUSINESSES. UM, WHEN THE ISSUE OF TAXES COME UP, UH, THE TAX RATES THAT THEY ARE MORE, UH, AFFECTED BY ARE THE KIND OF MACHINERY TOOLS AND BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY, BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY KIND OF A DEPRECIATION SCHEDULE WITH THOSE, UM, AND KIND OF NOT MATCHING WHAT THE MARKET VALUE OF THOSE. UM, WHETHER IT'S MICHIGAN CONTROL BUSINESS, PERSONAL COFFEE, THOSE ARE USUALLY THE BIGGER TAX ISSUES I HEAR FROM. BUT I DO HEAR A COUPLE. SO I, I MEAN WITH 67 BUSINESSES A YEAR, IT IS, THERE'S A HANDFUL THAT WILL BRING UP BOTH PEOPLE HERE. YEAH. I THINK, AND MY PERCEPTION IS, AND I DON'T CARRY THE DISCUSSION TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD, BUT I THINK A LOT OF, UH, BUSINESSES HAVE JUST GIVEN UP ON IT. AND BACK WHEN, I FORGET THE STATE SENATOR MAY 4TH, THE AMENDMENT TO CHANGE THE BILL, SUCH THAT, AND OUR COUNTY ADOPTED IT RIGHT AWAY, SUCH THAT ANY DUE BUSINESS, UH, UH, COULD BE, UM, PUT OUTSIDE OF BPO FOR TWO YEARS, UH, BASICALLY CHANGING THE LEGISLATION, UH, WITHIN THE TAX. UH, I, I THINK IT WAS QUICKLY ADOPTED, QUICKLY USED. AND THEN, SO I WILL COME BACK TO THE FACT, I DON'T KNOW A SINGLE HIGHTECH STARTUP IN PARTICULAR THAT HAS INTRODUCED ITSELF IN COMMONWEALTH VIRGINIA, THAT'S IN A B POLL AREA BECAUSE THEY, IT, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO PAY TAXES. CALIFORNIA DOESN'T EVEN HAVE IT. THERE'S ONLY 10 STATES IN THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE AN EQUIVALENT B POLL TAX. SO I, I THINK, AND I WAS IN A BIPARTISAN GROUP UH, SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS, HOW TO, UH, BRING VIRGINIA'S TAXATION LEVELS, ESPECIALLY THAT APPLIES TO BUSINESS UP TO DATE. 'CAUSE ON GROSS RECEIPTS, IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, ESPECIALLY THE HARD INDUSTRIES LIKE RESTAURANTS. SO YOU WANTED DEBUT QUESTION? YES. HOW DO WE REPLACE $1.8 MILLION IN INCOME GROWTH? HOW HAVE YOU REPLACED IT IMMEDIATELY SO THAT THE COUNTY DOESN'T SUFFER WHILE THE GROWTH HAPPENS? PHASE OUT. OKAY. FAIR. YOU KEEP RAISING THE FLOOR FAIR. AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT RIGHT NOW BY NOT DOING THAT OR BY, BY DOING THAT, THAT ALSO ALLOWS SMALLER BUSINESSES TO THRIVE, ESPECIALLY AT THE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR LIFE. BUT AGAIN, UH, A BIG START BUSINESS IS NOT GONNA COME TO GLAND COUNTY. OH, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU, ANDRO. THIS IS TERRIBLE TOO. BUT YEAH, GROSS. I ALWAYS HAVE TO THINK OF THAT. HOW DO WE REPLACE THE MONEY? 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA TAKE THE MONEY AWAY WITHOUT OH YEAH, I UNDERSTAND. YEAH. YOU CANNOT TAKE AWAY SOURCE OF MONEY. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A PROPOSAL TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR THE CONSIDERATION ANYWAY. RIGHT. AND I, I I BELIEVE THAT IT'S, UH, IT'S AN ONEROUS TAX, ESPECIALLY ON SMALL BUSINESSES. BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, IT IS SOMETHING WE'LL CONSIDER FOR THE FUTURE TO PUT FORTH TO THE BOARD. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON IT. AND ESPECIALLY THE GRAPH THAT THAT SHOWS, UH, THE, THE, THE RELATIVE INCREASE. YEAH. UH, 'CAUSE IT STARTED AT A VERY LOW LEVEL. AND WE ARE AT, AND CORRECT ME IF WRONG, THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW IS A HUNDRED THOUSAND, 50,000. 50,000. THAT'S RIGHT. I, THERE WAS ANOTHER PROPOSAL, I THINK, UH, PREVIOUSLY, SO I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO CONSIDER THIS AS SOMETHING WE PUT FORTH TO THE BOARD AS A RESOLUTION, AS A, UH, A VOTE AT THE NEXT MEETING. AND, AND LISA, YOU HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO ANY, I DUNNO IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON IT AT ALL, [01:15:02] JUST THAT I AGREE WITH YOU THAT IT IS AN ONEROUS TAX FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. I DO HEAR IT A LOT WITH SMALL BUSINESSES. MM-HMM . THANK YOU, . SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, WOULD WE CONSIDER THIS PART OF THAT OR THE, THE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR VENDORS? UH, I I THINK THAT FALLS WITHIN ANOTHER ITEM THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE BOARD, WHICH IS THE CONSIDERATION OF ALL REVIEW OF, UH, GENERAL COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND TAXATION. BECAUSE AGAIN, I, I THINK THERE, THERE'S A, I HEARD CONSENSUS BETWEEN, UH, DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ON THE FACT THAT, UH, VIRGINIA'S GOT A VERY OLD TAX SYSTEM AND IT NEEDS TO BE REFORMED. UM, AND I THINK WE COULD, WE CAN MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO THE BOARD. THE BOARD MIGHT MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, GROUP AND MAYBE SOME THINGS WILL HAPPEN. BUT I THINK, UH, SO IT, IT JUST SAYS AN OPTION THAT WE CAN DO AS A RESULT OF, UH, QUESTIONS OF WHAT, UH, HOW THE BOARD CAN HELP IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING BUSINESSES WITHIN THE ACCOUNT. SO WE'LL CONTINUE DISCUSSION AND TRY TO DEVELOP A, UH, TRY AND DEVELOP A, UH, CONSENSUS ON IT TO SEND FORTH TO THE BOARD AND STAFF ALSO. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY COMMENTS? WELL, WE'VE REACHED THAT POINT IN THE, UH, MEETING WHERE WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION. AND WHAT I WILL STATE IS, UM, IN HER DISCUSSION, WE'VE HAD, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S, THAT'S NOT A PROPER STATE, BUT I'M WILLING TO TAKE THE HIT ON THE FACT THAT THE TWO BOARD MEMBERS CAN BE HERE. I BELIEVE THAT THREE BOARD MEMBERS ARE HERE DURING A CLOSED SESSION. AND I MIGHT BE TALKING OFF THE CUFF, THEN IT BECOMES A BOARD, BOARD MEETING, UH, IN CLOSED SESSION. SO, UH, BECAUSE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HAS NOT CALLED A MEETING, UNFORTUNATELY, I'LL SUGGEST THAT ONE BOARD MEMBER WILL HAVE TO LEAVE. BUT, UM, AND THAT'S, SEE YA, . I'M DEFERRING, I'M DEFERRING THE FACT THAT, UH, TARA HA HAS NOT RULED ON ANYTHING WITH, WITH BOARD MEMBERS. UM, ATTENDING OUR SESSION. LOOKS LIKE YOU JUST TALKED TOO IN THE LATE SEVEN O'CLOCK ALREADY. OH, SEVEN O'CLOCK MEETING. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. DOWN ROAD, DOWN THE ROAD. OKAY. SO I'LL, I'LL TAKE THE GOOD. OKAY. , I, I CAN GO TO JAIL. I'VE BEEN THERE. WELL, UNLESS TO LEAVE. OKAY. AND LISA, UH, IS THERE A PROBABILITY, UH, BEFORE SIGNING OFF, IS THERE A PROBABILITY THAT WE WILL COME OUT OF A CLOSED SESSION WITH ANY VOTES? NO. NO PROBABILITY AT ALL? NO. OKAY. SO LISA, UH, WE WON'T NEED YOU ON THE BACKSIDE AND I'M SORRY, PER THE CODE OF VIRGINIA THAT WE CAN'T THAT'S FINE. SORRY, I'M GETTING HUNGRY. ANYWAY, . OH, THANKS. HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER. YEAH, GET BETTER. HEY, THANKS. I'M ON THE MED. I ONLY HAD IT FOR LIKE FOUR DAYS, FORTUNATELY. WOW. COOL. YEAH. DID YOU LOSE SMELL? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. DID I LOSE MY VOICE? YOUR SMELL S**T. IT'S HAD A COUGH. IT WAS JUST LIKE A COLD. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT WAS IT. WELL TAKE CARE. IT NOT TOO BAD. GET BETTER. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND ACCORD WITH PROVISIONS OF VIRGINIA CODE SECTIONS 2, 2, 3, 7, 1, 1 AND 2, 2, 3, 7, 1 2. I MOVE THAT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF C COUNTY CONVENED A CLOSED MEETING FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION CONCERNING PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY. , THE COMMITTEE WHERE NO PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT HIS PLANS HAS BEEN MADE IN DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION, ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC PURPOSE OR OF THE DISPOSITION OF PUBLICLY HELD REAL PROPERTY WHERE DISCUSSION AND OPEN MEETING WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION ON NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY AS PERMITTED BY VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 2.23711. PARAGRAPH A THREE AND A FIVE. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE STATE AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? WE ARE IN CLOSED SESSION. THANK YOU, MADAM COUNTY OR DEPUTY COUNTY. SORRY, I, I'LL GET TO IT EVENTUALLY. PURSUANT TO SECTION 2.23712 PARAGRAPH D OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA, I MOVE THAT DE UCHIN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY HEREBY CERTIFIED THAT TO THE BEST OF EACH MEMBERS' KNOWLEDGE, ONE, ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS, LAWFULLY EXEMPTED FROM OPEN MEETING REQUIREMENTS UNDER [01:20:01] THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. AND TWO, ONLY SUCH BUSINESS MATTERS AS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION CONVENING. THE CLO CLOSED MEETING WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED, OR CONSIDERED BY THE GOODLAND COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IN THE CLOSED MEETING OF THIS DATE. IS THERE A SECOND? SORRY. MADAM COUNTY. DEPUTY COUNTY. MR. CALL THE RULE. UH UH YES. YES. THIS IS SLIP. YES. ALL EYES. WE, IT PASSES. SO WE'RE GOOD. AND I WILL NOTE THAT OUR NEXT MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 10TH. IT'S THE SECOND WEDNESDAY, NOT THIRD BECAUSE THERE'S A CONFERENCE CONFLICT. THIRD THURSDAY. THIRD WEDNESDAY. SO IT'S SEPTEMBER 10TH. OUR CONFERENCE? NO, OUR CONFERENCE. OH, I HAVE TO ASK ABOUT, LET'S SEE. YOU'RE LEAVING, RIGHT? SHE'S LEAVING. I CAN ASK. I CAN ASK THIS. AND DO YOU KNOW THAT THE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.