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MINUTES
WILKES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
DECEMBER 1, 2009
The Wilkes County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 5:00 P. M. with the following members present: Chairman Zach Henderson, Vice Chairman Keith Elmore, Commissioner Gary Blevins, Commissioner Luther Parks, and Commissioner Charlie Sink.
Also present for the meeting were Tony Triplett, County Attorney; John Yates, County Manager; and Alene Faw, Clerk to the Board.
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Zach Henderson who welcomed those in attendance.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance were led by Commissioner Luther Parks.
MINUTES - Motion was made by Commissioner Charlie Sink seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and unanimously adopted to approve the Minutes of the Board Meeting held on November 17, 2009.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS - CHAIRMAN - County Attorney Tony Triplett stated a new Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected at the first Board meeting in December each year. He stated he will preside over the election of a Chairman and the Chairman will then preside over the election of a Vice Chairman. Mr. Triplett stated a nomination does not require a second. He stated if there is more than one nomination, voting will be in reverse order. He stated every nomination made is entitled to be voted on and should be voted on even if the outcome is determined by the first vote. He stated any Commissioner can make a motion to close nominations and elect a nominee by acclamation.
Mr. Triplett declared the floor open for nominations for Chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Charlie Sink nominated Commissioner Zach Henderson
Commissioner Gary Blevins made a motion that nominations be closed and Commissioner Henderson be elected Chairman by acclamation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved.
Mr. Triplett declared Commissioner Zach Henderson to be Chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners for the coming year.
Chairman Henderson thanked the Board of Commissioners saying it is an honor to serve.
VICE-CHAIRMAN – Chairman Zach Henderson declared the floor open for nominations for Vice Chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Keith Elmore nominated Commissioner Gary Blevins
Commissioner Luther Parks made a motion that nominations be closed and Commissioner Gary Blevins be elected Vice Chairman by acclamation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved.
Chairman Henderson declared Commissioner Gary Blevins to be Vice Chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners.
COMMISSIONER’S STAFF - Chairman Zach Henderson stated the next order of business is the appointment of the Commissioner’s staff. He stated he certainly has appreciated working with the staff this year, County Manager John Yates, County Clerk Alene Faw, and County Attorney Tony Triplett. He stated they have done an exemplary job and speaking for himself and probably the other Board members he appreciates the work they have done in a very difficult economic set of circumstances. He stated in the economic environment the County has been working in, they have done a superb job and there would have been a lot more difficulties without them and their guidance
Commissioner Luther Parks made a motion to reappoint John Yates as the County Manager, Alene Faw as County Clerk, and Vannoy, Colvard, Triplett and Vannoy as the law firm for legal counsel for Wilkes County. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved.
BUDGET AMENDMENTS & BUDGET TRANSFERS - County Manager John Yates stated on Budget Transfer No. 8 the County had a random audit by the IRS for the year 2007. He stated they came back and said the County owed them $74,879.84 and Finance Director Jerry Shepherd did some very good work and got that down to $45,081.96. Mr. Yates stated he is asking the Board to transfer money so that amount can be paid. He stated they only audited for 2007 and there are no penalties or interest. He stated they will not audit any other years. Mr. Yates stated he and Mr. Shepherd have discussed this and they are going to have to look at changing the policies on travel, cell phones, and how employees take vehicles home. He stated they may have to make some changes but they will be working on that.
Motion was made by Commissioner Luther Parks seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously adopted to approve Budget Amendments 20 (Social Services), No. 21 (Landfill) and No. 22 (General Fund); and Budget Transfers No. 7 (Animal Control), and No. 8 (General Fund).
HEALTH DEPARTMENT - BOARD APPOINTMENTS - Health Director Beth Lovette stated the Board of Health met on October 12th and have an item that needs Board of Commissioners approval. She stated that is related to the appointment of Board of Health members. She stated the Board of Health is made up of eleven members that are outlined in the General Statutes of North Carolina. She stated this is prescriptive members except for a couple of public members. She stated the Board of Health is recommending the reappointment of:
Eyda Bennett as a Public member for her second term
Zach Henderson as the Commissioner member with unlimited terms
Dr. Dariel Rathmell as the Physician member for a third and final term
Brenda Sales as a Public member for a second term
Neil Shepherd as a Professional Engineer for a third and final term
Dr. Robert Taylor as the Optometrist member for a second term
Commissioner Charlie Sink made a motion to approve the reappointments as recommended. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Gary Blevins and unanimously approved.
LIBRARY PROCLAMATION - Chairman Zach Henderson stated the Board has received a request from the Library Board to adopt a Proclamation concerning the Library. He read the Proclamation.
Commissioner Keith Elmore made a motion to adopt the Proclamation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and unanimously approved.
Chairman Henderson recognized Library staff members in attendance and thanked them for what they do and for the resources they provide for the citizens in this County.
A WILKES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PROCLAMATION
Whereas, libraries enable individuals to make informed decisions by promoting unrestricted access to information and by serving as community centers for lifelong learning.
Whereas, the expansion of electronic networks linking libraries and their resources makes possible better and more easily accessible information for library users around the world.
Whereas, libraries support a competitive workforce with computers and other resources to help children and adults learn to find, evaluate and use information they need for their jobs, health, education and other needs.
Whereas, libraries offer pre-school story time and summer reading programs to encourage children to begin a habit of reading that will serve to benefit them personally and professionally and
Whereas, 28,460 Wilkes County residents have library cards.
Now Therefore, Be It Resolved That the Wilkes County Commissioners proclaim 2010 a year of celebration for the Wilkes County Library. We pay tribute to the Board of Directors, Patrons, and Supporters of the Library, who 10 years ago had a dream and the vision to make a new library facility a reality. The people of Wilkes County have been the recipient of this dream. The Commissioners honor the Wilkes County Public Library and all the people who made possible the new facility on 10th Street, and urges everyone to visit the library and take advantage of its programs and materials.
Therefore, let us Celebrate 10 years on Tenth!
WILKES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
/s/ Zach Henderson, Chairman
/s/ Gary Blevins, Vice Chairman
/s/ Keith Elmore
/s/ Luther Parks
/s/ Charlie Sink
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION - Chairman Zach Henderson introduced Rick Kiernan with Convergent Non-Profit Solutions. He recognized the Mayor of Wilkesboro, the Wilkesboro Town Council, and the Wilkesboro Town Manager in attendance.
Mr. Kiernan stated Convergent Non-Profit Solutions specializes in working with community and economic development groups around the country conducting feasibility studies and planning studies like they have done here as well as capital campaign management. He stated most of their clients are economic development groups or Chambers of Commerce. He stated they are all around the country but right now the majority are right here in North Carolina. He stated they are working with economic development organizations in Thomasville, Lake Norman, Statesville, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, and Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Mr. Kiernan stated he is going to walk the Board through a presentation he gave the Wilkes County Economic Development Commission two weeks ago that is the result of a feasibility study his company conducted for them over the last couple of months. He stated he wants to give the Board an overview of how they conducted the feasibility study, the findings they found when they interviewed folks from the community, as well as some of their recommendations for the organization going forward in terms of taking its economic development activities to the next level.
Mr. Kiernan stated Wilkes EDC retained his company in September and they sat down and worked with them and helped develop some materials for this feasibility study. He stated the prospectus is a proposed five year plan of work. He stated it is just a draft and is a plan the Executive Committee came together and wanted to put out to the community to get some feedback to determine if they were heading in the right direction from an economic point of view to take Wilkes County to the next level. Mr. Kiernan stated along with that package a pave the way letter was mailed to about one hundred potential interviewees who are business and community leaders throughout Wilkes County and all its municipalities. He stated this was to try to get feedback from these folks and to let them know before the EDC is ready to go forward that it was critical to get their thoughts and input on the economic development draft plan. Mr. Kiernan stated they also developed a questionnaire to gauge opinions and got some real good candid honest feedback both qualitatively and quantitatively. He stated they conducted interviews in October. He stated their goal was forty to sixty interviews and they ended up seeing about seventy-one people so they went well over their target rate which they take as a pretty good sign that certainly shows there is a lot of interest in economic development within Wilkes County and certainly a lot of questions about some of the economic development activities and what has been proposed for the EDC. Mr. Kiernan stated when they met with the seventy-one individuals they assured everyone that everything they talked about was confidential. He stated they needed them to understand they would not run back to the EDC and report verbatim what they heard from somebody in particular. He stated they did let them know they would report everything back in aggregate but that nothing would be attributed to anybody in particular. Mr. Kiernan stated when they let folks know that they really opened up and it is critical they get good honest candid feedback before they give recommendations. He stated they are a lot more credible when people are very honest with them. He stated they looked for opinions on the organization itself, the staff, their Board of Directors, as well as their past accomplishments and their proposed program of work. He stated they do not talk about fund raising in terms of will they commit dollars to this but more or less what they might consider doing if there was a fund raising effort at some point in the future. He stated they made it very clear they are not trying to raise money through this process but truly looking for information. Mr. Kiernan stated the last thing they talked about was campaign leadership. He stated if the EDC is really going to take its activities to the next level, who in Wilkes County from a business and community point of view has got to be a part of that process.
Mr. Kiernan stated they always start off broadly and ask people what they think about the local economy would they rate it excellent, good, fair, or poor. He stated not surprisingly nobody rated the local economy as excellent. He stated about 94% to 95% rated it as either fair or poor. He stated that is not surprising but it is worth asking. He stated they have some communities especially folks in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, where this graph is exactly the opposite. He stated the majority of their folks are rating it good or great because of what is happening there with the movement of an Atlanta purchasing center to Fayetteville. Mr. Kiernan stated they like to ask folks what they think are probably the greatest obstacles or challenges to economic growth in their community. He stated the lack of four lane access to the North Wilkesboro Industrial Park was mentioned time and time again and tied with that was the lack of a skilled work force as well an entitlement attitude toward work from this new generation of workers in the work force. He stated they also heard that the EDC has a limited amount of financial resources to be competitive. He stated there has been a number of political disputes and lack of cooperation. He stated there has been a lack of a coordinated strategic plan for growth and who is leading the charge from an economic development point of view, is it the cities, is it the County, or the EDC. He stated folks did not see a coordinated effort happening. Mr. Kiernan stated they also noted lack of commercial industrial capacity for rural water systems as well as lack of suitable pad ready industrial sites. He stated those are some of the obstacles they heard toward economic growth.
Mr. Kiernan stated of the advantages that Wilkes County has to have in its arsenal the big one they heard time and time again is the Advanced Material Cluster at the College. He stated that was without a doubt cited as the number one advantage here as well as the excellent training afforded by the College Workforce Development Training. Mr. Kiernan stated also mentioned was the natural beauty of the area especially in terms of attracting retirees here. He stated there is also a strong work ethic of the existing workforce. He stated there was some mention of the up and coming workforce. He stated that is where some of the issues are with the lack of education and a sense of entitlement. He stated the existing workforce has a good work ethic but a lot of these folks are retiring over the next ten to fifteen years and employers are concerned about this next generation of workers coming into play. Mr. Kiernan stated also included are bright innovative business leaders, a very strong entrepreneurial heritage, and an abundant water supply but that water is not always where it needs to be. He stated there are largely untapped forestry resources and a number of retirees with financial resources. He stated these are some of the advantages folks perceived Wilkes County having as it grows it economy.
Mr. Kiernan stated once they talked fairly broadly about the economy itself and some of the advantages of economic growth in this area they talked about familiarity with the EDC itself. He stated this is all across the board. He stated one in five folks said yes they are very familiar with the organization whereas one third of the people said they were not familiar with the organization. He stated it depends on who their client is whether this is a surprising choice or not. He stated in a case like this when EDC does not have a lot of private sector involvement in the organization it is not surprising to see very few people who really understand the organization and are very familiar with it. Mr. Kiernan stated they ran a feasibility study with the Thomasville Chamber of Commerce. He stated there were about two hundred Chamber members and when they conducted the feasibility study a majority of folks knew them pretty well. He stated in a case like that only a very few people would not know the organization very well so this is not completely surprising to them. He stated this is a little bit more concerning. He stated they talked about the effectiveness of economic development in Wilkes County. He stated they talked about local government and that would include the County and the municipalities. He stated they talked about the organization itself and then they narrowed it down to the Board of Directors and they also talked about the staff. Mr. Kiernan stated probably not a lot of folks gave a very effective rating but also a lot of people were unsure or undecided. He stated a lot of people just do not know how effective these entities have been at economic development whether it is the public sector, the organization, EDC itself, their Board, or their staff. He stated the Board has the highest rating at 63% mostly because people for the most part did not know who was on the Board of Directors which indicated a lack of public relations, press, or communications with the public and private sector that probably should occur as the organization goes forward. Mr. Kiernan stated it was interesting as they met with these folks for forty-five minutes to an hour they had a Board list and talked about some of the people on the Board and obviously when they talked about them folks knew them, they are very visible, very credible, and very respected but most people did not know who they were until they brought it to their attention. Mr. Kiernan stated for an organization that is looking to taking its economic development activities to the next level that can be a concern. He stated this from a fund raising point of view is always going to be important because it really gets to the question does the organization have asking rights to get out and raise significant dollars to take its economic development activities to the next level. He stated there is also a lot of education in this question because they asked folks if they thought their particular business or organization has derived some sort of benefit from the efforts of Wilkes EDC. He stated 70% of folks did not believe they have benefitted directly. He stated the reason he mentioned this is there is also some education here and this is not only Wilkes County but they are doing a feasibility study in Statesville and there is a misconception out there that unless a new business comes to town and banks here or comes to them for the legal or accounting work, they do not benefit. He stated they have helped people to understand there is certainly direct benefit from the business itself but there is also benefit from the employees. He stated if ten jobs, fifty jobs, or one hundred jobs are recruited over a period of time those folks are buying newspapers, getting dry cleaning, buying a house, buying an automobile, paying their electric bill twelve months per year so there is some benefit there. He stated they have been able to quantify that and based on some of their other projects with similar sized economic development groups in communities around the country they have been able to show examples of how businesses have experienced impacts even when they have not worked directly with a new business in town but they have derived benefit from the employee expenditures and their payroll on an annual basis. He stated there was some education here but what is important to note is when they asked if they think they derived some sort of benefit from the organization 70% said no.
Mr. Kiernan stated they talked about five year goals and the EDC put together a proposed five year plan with three goals. He stated those goals are to create 1,000 jobs which could be through helping local businesses expand or it could be through helping new businesses come to town, paying an average of $21,000 per year on salary, and $15 million in new capital investment. He stated for 1,000 new jobs about two thirds of the folks they talked to said that was appropriate. He stated a lot of people did not doubt that 1,000 jobs would benefit the County’s economy but based on what has happened from an economic development point of view in the last five years probably the one comment they heard again and again was is it realistic. He stated they asked if this is shooting a little high and should it not be a goal that is a little more realistic based on what has happened here and taking into account we are in the worst economy since the great depression. Mr. Kiernan stated the $21,000 average wage without a doubt folks thought it was not aggressive enough. He stated over half the people said that is not a livable wage and it has to be higher. He stated they have done some research and certainly when you are looking at operations and processing centers, and manufacturing many of the jobs are paying more than that in western North Carolina. He stated people for the most part thought that was all right or is not aggressive enough. He stated their recommendation is to raise that number. Mr. Kiernan stated over half of the folks thought $15 million in capital investment is an appropriate number. He stated that is when a local company might expand, add a piece of equipment, or a new manufacturer be brought to town and the dollars are spent on the plant and equipment. He stated about 25% of the people thought that simply was not aggressive enough. He stated 20% of the people they talked to just do not know. He stated unless people are familiar with economic development some folks do not have enough information or awareness of economic development to venture an opinion. He stated when they did they thought it was either appropriate or not aggressive enough so they have also recommended this target be increased.
Mr. Kiernan stated they talked about the three goals of 1,000 new jobs, an average salary of $21,000, and $15 million in capital investment. He stated there are six components that comprise the proposed or draft economic development plan:
- Business retention and expansion which is helping local businesses expand and keeping them here. He stated there is an EDC in every community in the country and they are lobbing phone calls into Wilkes County and elsewhere to try to get your employers to their backyard just as Wilkes County is trying to get them here.
- Business attraction and recruitment is exactly what it sounds like.
- Entrepreneurial support is building on the entrepreneurial heritage that exits here in Wilkes County.
- Capacity building and product development. He stated they are seeing this in a lot of communities where they are looking at shell buildings and pad ready sites and trying to limit the timeline from when a new business says yes Wilkes County is going to be our home to the point they are shipping product out the backdoor because the shorter that timeline is the better the chances are to lure a business here.
- Investor relations and long term growth is getting the organization a little bit more financially sustainable.
- Investor driven action fund comes down to some dollars. He stated all of the folks they talked to see the need in twelve, eighteen, to twenty-four months from now but this is an action fund for the needs not perceived nor foreseen now that might surface three, four, or five years from now He stated this is making sure there are some dollars set aside to address that.
Mr. Kiernan stated business retention and expansion tested the best and they are seeing it test really well with most of their communities around the country. He stated 2/3 of the folks they talked to said that business retention and expansion is critical and the County has to keep what they have here and give them all the tools they need to succeed. He stated there was a lot of talk about this because the EDC is launching a Business Retention and Expansion Program. He stated they have seen some similar organizations launching BRE Programs around the country specifically right here in North Carolina to get out there and make sure their local employers are not only going to stay here but they have the tools they need to expand if that is something they are considering going forward. He stated if they hit certain employment thresholds what sort of incentives might be available to them. He stated a little over 1/4 on target needs refinement. He stated that means that yes they are pretty close to the draft plan but it needs some refinement but overwhelmingly 90% or so felt this component was right on the money.
Mr. Kiernan stated business attraction and recruitment was close to that. He stated surprisingly a number of folks were simply not sure about business attraction and recruitment. He stated certainly there has been limited success over the last five years of recruiting business here but there is no doubt people want to see it happen. He stated a number of the jobs goal can be attained through helping local business expand but it cannot all be done that way. He stated the County has to be able to bring new business to town and he thinks that is clearly why 60% of the folks interviewed said as the plan is written it is right on the money.
Mr. Kiernan stated the entrepreneurial support tested fairly well also. He stated a pretty common theme is the rating they got from folks was almost always right on the money, or pretty close but needs some refinement. He stated that is pretty encouraging. He stated about 1/3 of the folks they talked to said entrepreneurial support, the three or four line items describing that as right on the money, need some refinement as it went forward.
Mr. Kiernan stated capacity building product development generated significant discussion because there are a number of beliefs in terms of whether this is really needed or not in terms of how critical is it that communities have shell buildings ready and is that really going to knock the County out of the running when they are competing with a similar community whether it is in North Carolina, South Carolina, or some place in the southeast. He stated there are a variety of viewpoints in talking with Site Selection Consultants. He stated most of them will tell you that without a shell building you can certainly be successful but you limit your competitiveness when you are competing because all things being equal if they can get into a building and it shortens the timeline from signing the agreement to shipping the product they are typically going to go that direction all things being equal. Mr. Kiernan stated there certainly is a lot of discussion and less than 1/3 of the folks they talked to thought it was absolutely needed. He stated most thought it warranted additional discussion and if not shell buildings probably pad ready sites. He stated in terms of the EDC and taking the bar to the next level in terms of its image bringing in prospects from outside the community and looking at additional office space and state of the art technology, a number of EDC’s have invested in that asset themselves. He stated they heard loudly and clearly that new office space for the EDC is not needed right now and that the office space they have is adequate. Mr. Kiernan stated there are a variety of opinions about how competitive that can be in terms of bringing in prospects. He stated certainly that is their first impression of the community and there are some EDCs around here in Surry County, Rowan County, and in Hickory that have invested some pretty good dollars to make sure they have a really positive first impression. He stated that is based on community feedback whether or not it is warranted in any particular community.
Mr. Kiernan stated on investor relations and long term growth there were a few components within that. He stated without a doubt many people here, more than they expected, really did not know. He stated he thinks that goes back to the point there is not a lot of private sector involvement in the organization and they are not familiar with the financial resources available to the organization. He stated when described most folks thought the financial resources were low. Mr. Kiernan stated that is where they got the no opinion or not sure. He stated a little over 1/3 of the folks thought that some sort of investor driven fund raising campaign was required to take the organizations activities to the next level and provide the resources needed to adequately recruit business to the area. Mr. Kiernan stated that is the Investor Driven Action Fund he described before. He stated it is a fund that is set aside almost for a rainy day. He stated the County knows the needs for the next twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four months but might not know them for three, four, or five years out. He stated this is to make sure there are dollars available to capitalize on opportunities you are not aware of today that could surface over some time in the future. Mr. Kiernan stated they talked about investor driven because what they term to be investors are the folks that are underwriting the economic development activities here so the County, the municipalities, and the Chamber, as well as a variety of private sector funders step up to the plate to help support the organization.
Mr. Kiernan stated the five year plan itself carried a price tag of roughly $1.5 million which is above and beyond the funding the EDC currently receives. He stated to implement that in full would require an additional $300,000 per year over five years. He stated they asked folks if that was realistic and if they could raise that from the private sector going out to banks, the electric company, law firms, accounting firms, the hospital, car dealers, etc. He stated given the fact that 90+% of the people they talked to thought the economy was fair to poor, 60% of the people they talked to said they could raise $1.5 million. Mr. Kiernan stated he thinks most of the folks they talked to were familiar with some of the fund raising efforts that have taken place here and some of the ones that have been really successful. He stated Wilkes County has a history of stepping up and funding worthy efforts so a lot of folks thought that could be done here. He stated 1/4 of the people they talked to did not know if $1.5 million would be realistic. He stated about 15% did not see it as being realistic. He stated given the fact of the economy we are in and the fact that 90+% of the people thought the economy was fair to poor this jumped out.
Mr. Kiernan stated in summary they always talk about some of the negatives they heard as well as the positives. He stated some of the negatives they heard is if the organization is looking at a fund raising effort, to keep in mind there is a national recession with the worst economy since the great depression. He stated they also said the EDC has a limited track record of success. He stated 70% of the people they interviewed do not believe they have benefited. Mr. Kiernan stated there is a certain amount of skepticism and distrust of local government and there is the perception that the EDC is a government organization mostly because it derives roughly 90% to 95% of its funding from the County, the municipalities, and the Chamber. Mr. Kiernan stated there are certainly some negative opinions about the Executive Director as well as limited visibility of the Board of Directors. He stated individually everyone is well recognized but as a Board they are not and certainly that can impact any sort of fund raising initiative. Mr. Kiernan stated they do not believe that $300,000 per year for five years is realistic. He stated on the positive side it is clear there is a sense of urgency. He stated the economy is fair to poor with 90+% telling them that and yet 60% of the people said they need to get out and raise the $1.5 million. He stated they said if we do not take our own destiny in our own hands nobody will. He stated they say the economic development activity here has to be increased. Mr. Kiernan stated they did not ask anyone for a pledge. He stated in seventy-one interviews they did not ask a single person for a pledge but they ask them for a range of potential financial support they might consider should the organization go forward with the campaign. He stated out of seventy-one only two said they would not invest in an effort to go forward which again is very surprising from their point of view. He stated when 90+% of the people say the economy is fair to poor and yet only two out of seventy-one decline any sort of investment whatsoever that is pretty surprising. Mr. Kiernan stated the broad based support from a fund raising point of view typically will need a pretty healthy lead gift maybe 15% to 20% followed by a couple that are maybe 10% of the campaign goal. He stated this would be a fund raising pyramid. He stated they have found here there will not be a lead pledge of 15% to 20% and the pyramid is going to be really shallow and there is going to be really broad based support. He stated they heard a number of folks say a few years ago they might have been able to commit $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000 over a five year period of time but now they are looking at $5,000, $10,000, or $25,000. He stated when they added up all of those indications of support they added up to some pretty significant financial resources that the organization can raise through some sort of a fund raising effort. Mr. Kiernan stated they always ask people if a campaign goes forward would they be willing to be a part of it. He stated whether you are running a fund raising campaign for the Scouts, the Y or the United Way it inevitably comes down to those business and community leaders that volunteer campaign leadership that attach their name to it. He stated 80% of the people interviewed, who were business and community leaders, said they would be willing to help out in some way whether it is opening up a door or joining them in a presentation to a fellow business person. He stated they really thought on economic development the sense of urgency is here and they want to see it happen. Mr. Kiernan stated the EDC Board itself has limited visibility but the Board members themselves have very good visibility, respectability, and credibility.
Mr. Kiernan stated all six program components tested very well. He stated they certainly need some modifications. He stated they now have to get down to the nitty gritty details. He stated they bring a lot of the folks they interviewed to the table to help refine that plan. He stated without a doubt the interviewees want economic development. He stated surprisingly enough they have done some of these studies and have had some folks who are anti-growth and would prefer to knock out the interstate coming into town and everything is just right the way it is right now. Mr. Kiernan stated they did not experience that here. He stated everybody they talked to wanted economic development.
Mr. Kiernan stated there is a five year plan and it has a lot of details that need to be flushed out and to do that they create a Program Review Task Force to bring together some of the folks they interviewed that indicated fairly potential financial support for something like this to get their input in terms of fleshing this out and how a five year plan will look. He stated they recommend changing the goals somewhat from 1,000 jobs down to 750. He stated they believe that is more realistic from the feedback they received and increasing the targeted salary from $21,000 per year to something in the $26,000 to $28,000 range and increasing the capital investment from $15 million up to $25 million. Mr. Kiernan stated they also recommend going forward with a targeted industry analysis. He stated that is something they heard quite a bit. He stated when folks are talking about business recruitment to this area, what types of businesses are you trying to recruit to this area and what kinds of industry are you trying to recruit to this area. He stated it does not mean you are going to turn anything away. Mr. Kiernan stated if the North Carolina Department of Commerce shows up and they have a prospect by all means open up your doors and bring them in but when your dollars are limited and financial resources are limited you need to make sure it is not a shot gun approach but a rifle like approach and you are targeting the right trade shows and the right marketing initiatives to reach your targeted audience and which types of industries would thrive here. He stated that is step one. Mr. Kiernan stated when you have a Program Refinement Task Force they will finalize the five year plan with specific milestones along the way on a quarterly basis for the next sixty months.
Mr. Kiernan stated going forward with the capital campaign to underwrite this initiative a public relations effort is going to be absolutely critical. He stated most folks have not understood the organization, were not aware of what it had done, what its purpose was, or how its funding was set up. He stated that has to be changed and certainly through a campaign you end up doing that. He stated you take the communications to the next level with an Oversight and Governance Council comprised of some of the significant investors of which the County and municipalities are some of those. He stated a Return On Investment report will be critical making sure folks understand the direction correlation between a new business coming into town, a new payroll, and the benefit to a newspaper, to a hospital, to a bank, to a law firm, or to an accounting firm. He stated one of his partners is a chartered financial analyst and he puts together these ROI analysis. He stated that would be part of any sort of campaign to make sure that people understand what is in it for them. Mr. Kiernan stated they think a six month campaign should suffice based on the fact they were able to see seventy-one individuals over a three week period of time. He stated most economic development fund raising efforts are anywhere from eight to twelve months but the fact they saw that many people in such a short period of time they think they can knock that out considerably faster than normal.
Commissioner Luther Parks asked if the questions asked were balanced from all areas of the County. Mr. Kiernan stated they were. He stated they wanted to make sure they had public section, private sector, non-profit, and for profit throughout the County in municipalities and outside municipalities. He stated a list of all the interviewees are attached to their Executive Summary but their responses are not.
Chairman Henderson thanked Mr. Kiernan for his presentation. He stated this gives the Board a lot of information to consider over the coming weeks and how to proceed with some very demanding and serious economic development issues facing the County as do all communities across the State and the country. He stated this information was presented for informational purposes only this evening. He asked if there is anything the Wilkesboro Town Council would like to comment on right now. Sam Stroud stated he personally is in complete agreement with all of the conclusions he saw here tonight. He stated he is amazed they could get so much right being from out of town and not having local contacts. He stated this is a good summation of the situation. Chairman Henderson stated the Board will proceed and deliberate on this information. He stated there are things in the works to follow up on this process and try to take advantage of the information
CLOSED SESSION - Commissioner Charlie Sink made a motion to go into Closed Session to consult with the County Attorney to protect the attorney-client privilege; and to discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of business in Wilkes County. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Gary Blevins and unanimously approved.
Motion was made by Commissioner Luther Parks seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and by unanimous vote adopted to adjourn back into regular session.
MINOR’S PRINTING COMPANY – ECONOMIC INVESTMENT AGREEMENT - County Attorney Tony Triplett passed out a draft copy of an Economic Investment Agreement between Wilkes County and Minor’s Printing. He stated Minor’s Printing is a commercial printing business located in Boone. He stated the Board has been discussing this for sometime. He stated Minor’s Printing is proposing to relocate to Wilkes County and have started that process. Mr. Triplett stated the Board has talked about entering into an Economic Investment Agreement with them where the County basically pays a portion of their relocation expenses or reimburses them. He stated that will come in the form of two payments of $2,900 each. He stated one will be paid upon signing the contract and one a year from now if they meet certain investment and employment benchmarks.
Commissioner Luther Parks made a motion to set a Public Hearing on December 15, 2009 at 6:45 P. M. for consideration of an Economic Investment Agreement between Wilkes County and Minor’s Printing Company pursuant to General Statute 158-7.1. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Charlie Sink and unanimously approved.
ADJOURN - Motion was made by Commissioner Charlie Sink seconded by Commissioner Luther Parks and by unanimous vote adopted to adjourn the meeting of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners at 6:20 P. M.
Alene E. Faw, Clerk Zach Henderson, Chairman
WILKES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Approved:
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