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TO OUR JANUARY 8TH,[Economic Development Authority on January 8, 2024.]
UH, MEETING AND A CALL TO ORDER.HILLARY, CAN YOU DO A ROLL CALL COURSE? I'M RICHARD NOVAK.
I CAN HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE WHETHER WE WANNA DISCUSS ANY CHANGES OR ANYTHING.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THE MINUTES? ANYBODY? NO.
UM, SO ALL IN FAVOR OF, UH, THE, UH, APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 4TH.
WELL, NOW GET TO SEE WHO SITS UP HERE.
NOW,
BECAUSE IT'S A NEW YEAR ALSO WANTING TO BRING TO THE ATTENTION THAT, UM, THE LAST ELECTION WE COMBINED THE SECRETARY AND TREASURER TOGETHER.
UM, WE'RE TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH THIS YEAR.
WE'D MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD TO ACTUALLY NOMINATE HILLARY AS SECRETARY, BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT SHE IS DOING.
AND THE BYLAWS ALLOWS THAT DESIGNATION THE SIZE OF NON BOARD MEMBER.
SO, OKAY, SO THE, THE TREASURER, I MEAN, WHO IS IT? STILL ONE OF US, RIGHT? AT THE PRESENT TIME? SO, CURRENTLY, RICK, YOU'RE CHAIR.
AND I THINK NICK, YOU WERE SECRETARY AND TREASURER, SO WELL, UH, WE'LL ENTERTAIN ANY MOTIONS.
WE CAN HANDLE 'EM INDIVIDUALLY OR TOGETHER.
A MOTION FOR HILLARY TO BE SECRETARY.
ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
NEXT I MOTION FOR RICK TO BE CHAIRMAN.
A ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
VICE CHAIR, I'LL JUMP OFF AT ONE NOW.
ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY SAYING AYE.
ALRIGHT, SO WE NEED A TREASURER NOW.
WHO, WHAT WILL THOSE DUTIES BE? CAN I ASK QUESTION? GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK AT THIS POINT IT'S GONNA BE LIMITED UNTIL WE GET UP AND RUNNING AND GET OUR OWN FINANCIAL BANK ACCOUNT AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT THE, THE ROLE WE'LL TRANSITION INTO PROVIDING PROBABLY MONTHLY FINANCIALS TO THE BOARD AND ANYTHING OF THAT SORT.
BUT STAFF WOULD PUT THOSE TOGETHER.
STAFF WOULD BE THOSE TOGETHER.
THAT BOARD MEMBER WOULD JUST BASICALLY BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE AND, AND OVERSIGHT.
JONATHAN, I MOTION TO HAVE YOU AS A TREASURER.
I WAS AFRAID YOU WERE GONNA SAY THAT.
UM, I WAS GONNA RECOMMEND FRANK, UM, RECOMMEND WHO DO WE HAVE AS PAST EXPERIENCE OTHER THAN YOU TWO.
FRANK, HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE? YEAH, BUT I WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY PUT MYSELF AT THAT SPOT.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY NEW SHOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO STEP INTO THAT LEADERSHIP.
ALRIGHT, SO WHEN YOU NOT ATE TOM TREASURER SECOND IT.
ALL BUSINESS UPDATE ON THE MOU REVISIONS.
ALRIGHT, I'LL SANDY, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TALK ABOUT, FIRST IS THE MOU.
UM, MY OBJECTIVE TODAY'S MEETING IS TO GET A CONSENSUS FROM THE BOARD ON THE MOU OR THAT WE CAN MOVE IT FORWARD TO TOWN COUNCIL TO REVIEW AND GIVE US THEIR FEEDBACK FROM THE MOU.
UM, THE MOU WAS HANDED OUT AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING IN DECEMBER, AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T GET YOU A SOFT COPY UNTIL LAST WEEK WHEN THE AGENDA WENT OUT.
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TO THE, UH, MOU, UH, FROM THE FIRST TIME WAS HANDED OUT TO YOU WAS ACTUALLY A RECOMMENDATION FROM RICK DURING THE MEETING TO PROVIDE SOME, UH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORT.UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF GO OVER OVERVIEW OF THIS AGAIN REAL QUICK, UH, IF YOU GO TO THE SECOND PAGE UNDER NUMBER FOUR, APPROPRIATION AND DONATIONS OF PUBLIC FUNDS.
THIS BASICALLY STATES THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL WILL FUND FRIDA AND THAT, UM, THE WAY IT IS SET UP IS THAT THE, UM, STAFF REPRESENTATIVE AND POSSIBLY THE CHAIRMAN WOULD COME TO TOWN COUNCIL IN THE JANUARY FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME AND PRESENT AN UPCOMING BUDGET FOR THE FRIDA BOARD.
KIND OF BASICALLY STATES THAT IN THE FUNDING POLICY.
NUMBER FIVE IS DONATION OF OPERATIONAL SUPPORT BY THE TOWN.
THIS IS PROVIDING THE FACILITIES, THE MEETINGS, THE OFFICES PROVIDING STAFF SUPPORT.
UH, THAT WOULD BE, UH, LIZZIE LEWIS, THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM ACCOUNTING, PROVIDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT COMING FROM BJ WILSON, OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE MINUTES IN RECORD KEEPING THAT HILLARY, UH, IS NOW ACTUALLY THE OFFICIAL SECRETARY AND BE TAKING THAT, UH, THERE WILL BE SOME LEGAL SUPPORT FROM OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT, MR. SONNET.
AND THEN THERE'S THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AS WELL AS THE AUDIT.
AND THEN THE LAST PIECE IS THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORT.
UH, NUMBER SIX AGAIN, TALKS ABOUT FUTURE DONATIONS AND BASICALLY THAT THE BOARD WOULD NEED TO COME TO TOWN COUNCIL IN THAT BUDGET PROCESS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY TO PRESENT THEIR UPCOMING BUDGET AND FUNDS NEEDED.
BEYOND THAT, THIS MOU IS KIND OF SIMPLE, BUT, BUT SPECIFIC AND WHAT THE SUPPORT THAT THIS BOARD NEEDS FROM THE TOWN.
AND I'LL STOP THERE AND SEE IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
WELL, I MEAN, UH, SINCE WE GOT STARTED, YOU KNOW, UH, A WHILE AGO, WE'VE ALL TRIED TO WRAP OUR BRAINS AROUND WHAT OUR FINANCES MIGHT BE.
AND SO, UM, I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S NOT IN HERE, BUT WE'RE, I MEAN, WE CAN'T DO THIS JANUARY 15TH PRESENTATION.
AND SO MY THOUGHT WOULD BE AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE WILL PIECEMEAL THIS SO THAT WE NEED TO GET SOME FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO DO A STUDY OR DO ANYTHING OF THAT SORT.
WE'LL HAVE TO PIECEMEAL THAT FOR THIS FIRST YEAR.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY COMING INTO THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE, WE'LL HAVE A GOOD FOUNDATION OF WHAT OUR EXPENSES ARE, WHAT KIND OF MONEY WE NEED TO DO SOME FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND OF THAT SORT.
SO GOING INTO FEBRUARY, WE WON'T BE APPROACHING TOWN COUNCIL.
NO, NOT NOT THIS PHYSICAL YEAR.
SORT OF HAVE TO STILL GET OUR HANDS AROUND AROUND ALL OF THAT.
BUT THE IDEA IS THIS MOU KIND OF STIPULATES THAT, THAT THAT IS AN OBLIGATION ON THIS BOARD TO COME TO THEM TO SAY, HEY, WE NEED THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY.
SO BY NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE WILL NEED IN ORDER TO GO, WE'LL, WE'LL LINE ITEM CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE WANT TO TRY AND ACCOMPLISH AND THEN ASK FOR THOSE FUNDS FROM TOWN COUNCIL.
AT THAT TIME NEXT YEAR, I BELIEVE THAT WE'LL BE IN THAT POSITION A YEAR FROM NOW TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A GOOD IDEA WHERE WE'RE MOVING WHAT WE NEED.
IT WASN'T AN ORIGINAL BUDGET WHEN WE FIRST STARTED.
I THOUGHT I HAD SAW SOMETHING THAT SAID, I DON'T KNOW.
YEAH, I THINK WE WERE GETTING, GETTING READY TO TRY AND SPEND TOWN MONEY FOR ANY OF THESE STUDIES AND EVERYTHING JUST KIND OF FIZZLED OUT.
WELL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD.
I JUST THOUGHT WE'D ALREADY HAD LIKE, OUR OWN LITTLE PIECE OF THE PIE THAT WE WERE I DON'T THINK SO.
NO, THERE MONEY APPROPRIATED TO PAY THE MEETING FEES FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
UM, THERE IS PROBABLY STILL A LITTLE BIT OF SEED MONEY IN THERE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT WE CAN GO AFTER IF WE HAVE A SPECIFIC PROJECT OR A NEED.
AND THAT'S WHERE I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS YEAR IS HOW WE'LL HAVE TO DO THAT KIND OF PIECEMEAL THOSE TOGETHER UNTIL WE GET A BETTER FOOTING NEXT YEAR POSSIBLE TO SEE A LISTING OF UNUSED OR UNRESOURCED ASSETS THAT THE TOWN OWNS OR, RIGHT, YES.
YOU'RE TALKING LAND, UH, PARCELS, LAND BUILDING, WHATEVER.
WE, WE CAN GET THAT TOGETHER, UH, AND TRY TO PROVIDE THAT AT THE NEXT, UM, BOARD MEETING.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MOU? UM, THE MAIN, THE MAIN ADDITION WAS THE FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND CONFERENCES.
AND THERE'S, UH, ITEM D AND NUMBER FIVE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORT COUNCIL PROVIDES BOARD NECESSARY TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF
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AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES.KIND OF, IT'S VAGUE, SO I GUESS IT WOULD BE ASKING PERMISSION FOR CERTAIN ITEMS. RIGHT.
SO THIS WOULD BE MY HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR WHEN WE COME AND PRESENT A BUDGET DOWN COUNCIL, WE WOULD HAVE MONEY IN THERE ALLOCATED FOR FURTHER EDUCATION CONFERENCES AND OF THAT SORT.
SO ONCE AGAIN, IT'LL BE THIS YEAR THAT IF WE NEED TO DO ANY OF THAT, WE WILL HAVE TO KIND OF PIECEMEAL THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
BUT THE IDEA, THE OBJECTIVE WOULD BE TO BE IN A POSITION NEXT YEAR TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO LAY OUT A BUDGET OF WHAT WE NEED TO EXPENSE.
NOT JUST YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTOR FEES, BUT TRAINING AND, AND ACTUALLY GETTING ENGAGED IN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE COMMUNITY RELATED HERE.
A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THIS MOU PRESENTED.
DO YOU NEED A MOTION ON THAT OR IS IT MORE OF A JUST A OFFICIAL OR FORWARD FORWARD IT TO THE, I I WANTED TO FORWARD TO TOWN COUNCIL FOR A DRAFT.
DO I NEED A MOTION ON THAT, GEORGE? YES.
MAKE A MOTION THAT WE FORWARD THIS ONE TO TOWN.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY TO SAYING AYE.
NOW NEED TO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THE BYLAWS REAL QUICK.
WHILE I'M NOT GONNA ASK FOR NO ACTION TODAY, BUT I WANTED TO GO OVER A COUPLE OF THE CHANGES ON THE BYLAWS THAT, UM, ONCE WE GET THE FEEDBACK FROM TOWN COUNCIL ON THE MOUI WILL, MY NEXT, MY NEXT OBJECTIVE WILL BE TO MODIFY THE BYLAWS OF THIS, THIS, UM, ORGANIZATION.
AND THERE'S REALLY JUST A FEW CHANGES.
IF YOU GO TO THE SECOND PAGE, UH, NUMBER SEVEN ON THE BYLAWS, WE ARE REMOVING THE PACIFIC STIPEND FOR COMPENSATION.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE IT IN THERE PER RESOLUTION.
AND THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT, THE IDEA IS TO REMOVE THAT.
AND SO FOR THE SIMPLE FACT IS IF THAT STIPEND CHANGES NEXT YEAR, THEN YOU WOULD'VE TO GO BACK IN AND CHANGE THE BYLAWS.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE REMOVING THAT SPECIFIC COMPENSATION FOR STIPEND OUT OF NUMBER SEVEN.
AND THEN IF WE GO TO PAGE FIVE AND NUMBER FIVE, IT SPECIFICALLY TALKS ABOUT PREPARATION OF MINUTES AND RECORDS THAT IS ADDRESSED IN THE MOU AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE SPECIFICALLY IN THE BYLAWS.
SO WE'RE GONNA CLEAN THAT AND REMOVE THAT FROM THE BYLAWS.
IF WE GO DOWN TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, THERE'S A MENTION OF AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
WE'RE GONNA REMOVE THAT BECAUSE IT SHOULD BE TOWN MANAGER OR DESIGNEE IN THE DESIGNEE.
FOR ME AT THIS POINT MOVING FORWARD IS LIZZIE LEWIS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM.
AND THEN ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH ACTUALLY BECOMES NUMBER FIVE, IS THE REMOVAL OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, SUPPORT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.
THAT IS ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED IN THE MOU.
SO WHAT BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS JUST CLEANING UP THE BYLAWS A LITTLE BIT.
UH, BUT IT IS NOT CRITICAL TO OUR FUNCTION.
AND, UM, SO THOSE ARE THE PROPOSED CHANGES THAT I MAY SEEK THE BOARD TO RECOMMEND AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
SO YOU'RE NOT SEEKING OUR APPROVAL ON THIS AT THIS POINT? NOT AT THIS MOMENT.
UM, MY THOUGHT IS, MY THOUGHT IS NEXT MEETING AFTER WE GET SOME FEEDBACK ON THE MLU THAT WE CAN DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BYLAWS AND CHANGES? ONE QUESTION I WOULD HAVE IS, IS GOING BACK TO THE MOU, UH, WERE WE PREMATURE IN SENDING THAT FORWARD IF THERE IS A NAME CHANGE? 'CAUSE THE FRONT ROW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IS REFERENCED THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT.
UM, I'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS TODAY WITH LEGAL ON THIS AND WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT LEGALITIES OF CHANGING THAT NAME BECAUSE IT IS CODIFIED, I THINK, IN THE STATE LEGISLA OR IN THE STATE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REALLY LOOK AT THAT TO SEE WHAT OUR PARAMETERS ARE ON CHANGING THAT NAME.
WE MAY NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE FRONT ROW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
YEAH, I, SO I DEFER TO COUNSEL.
I MEAN, NOT COUNSEL, UH, LEGAL, LEGAL, LEGAL.
BUT, UM, MY RECOLLECTION IS WE CAN TRADE AS ANYTHING THAT WE WANT.
BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE CAN BE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FRONT ROYAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BY STATUTE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE ASKED TO DO.
YOU KNOW, COUNSEL ARE ASKED THE STATE TO DO THAT, BUT IT'S JUST LIKE A DOING BUSINESS AS OPINION DISCUSSED IT AS A REBRANDING.
THESE ARE LIKE LEGAL DOCUMENTS.
AND THEN THERE'S, THEN THERE'S THE PUBLIC FACE.
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KNOW, THAT'S JUST MY, I'M I'M TRYING TO, I MIGHT BE SIMPLIFYING THIS IS AS TRADE AS ALL THE TIME.SO, SO I, I, AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT CHANGE WOULD ACTUALLY BE INCORPORATED IN MOU OR IF THAT DBA WOULD BE IN THE BYLAWS THAT I DON'T KNOW YET.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO DO, DO A LITTLE BIT MORE RESEARCH WITH LEGAL ON WHAT OUR PARAMETERS ARE FOR NAME CHANGING OR D BS.
BUT ANYWAY, I SAID, I MEAN, DID I ANSWER THE QUESTION? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LOOKING BACK, OUR PREVIOUS REVISIONS THAT WE HAD TO THE BYLAWS, I THINK EVERYTHING WAS PUT IN THERE.
I THINK WE HAD FIRST VERSION IN JUNE OF 2022.
THEN WE WENT BACK AND DONE IT IN JULY OF 2022 WITH THE REVISIONS SORT OF GIVING US A LITTLE BIT MORE FREEDOM TO ACT WITHOUT HAVING TO COUNCIL WITH GET WITH TOWN COUNCIL EVERY SINGLE TIME WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING.
I THINK THAT WAS, THAT WAS I THINK, THE MAIN HOOK THAT WAS REMOVED FROM THESE.
SO THIS TIME, WE'LL, THIS IS STILL JUST IN A DRAFT FORM.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED WITH LEGAL BEFORE.
WELL, THE LEGAL LEGAL DEPARTMENT PRODUCED THE ORIGINAL DRAFT OF THIS MM-HMM.
UM, MY HOPE IS TO TAKE IT TO A WORK SESSION IN TOWN COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 5TH, SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY HEARTBURN OR ANY RECOMMENDATION TO CHANGES ON THAT.
UH, THE OBJECTIVE WOULD BE THAT, UM, THIS, UH, THIS BOARD WOULD APPROVE THE MOU AND THEN THE TOWN COUNCIL WOULD APPROVE THE MOU JUST AS WELL AS WHEN WE COME BACK TO DO THE BYLAWS, THIS BOARD APPROVES THE BYLAWS BEFORE TOWN COUNCIL APPROVES THE BYLAWS.
AND THAT WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF AT A LATER DATE.
SO MY OBJECTIVE TODAY IS TO FIND OUT IF THE BOARD IS COMFORTABLE WITH THE LANGUAGE IN THIS MOU OR THAT WE CAN TAKE IT TO TOWN COUNCIL AND SEE WHAT THEIR OPINION IS.
IF THEY OFFER ANY CHANGES, THEY MAY BE GOOD WITH THE MOU AS IT IS AND THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AFTER THAT.
I MEAN, SO WHEN I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE, UM, THE WARREN COUNTY OR THE, I'M JUST GONNA CALL IT THE EDA RIGHT.
WE REBRANDED IT FROM AN IDA, IT WAS AN IDA WHEN, WHEN I JOINED IT.
AND THEN WE REBRANDED IT TO AN EDA.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THAT, HOW THAT ALL, YOU KNOW, EVOLVED BY STATUTE AT THE STATE OR WHATEVER.
BUT, UM, ANYWAY, I I JUST FEEL LIKE THERE'S A PATH FOR US TO NAME OURSELVES ANYTHING THAT WE WANT TO, AND STILL OPERATE AS AN EDA BY STATUTE.
'CAUSE THERE ARE POWERS THAT EDS HAVE THAT OUR NEW NAMED ORGANIZATION WOULDN'T HAVE.
SO, SO WE WANT TO KEEP THOSE POWERS IN MY OPINION.
UM, SO THAT, SO THAT WE CAN OFFER MORE HELP TO ANYBODY AS FAR AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GOES.
BUT I, I AGREE THAT WE SHOULD REBRAND OURSELVES AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'LL GET INTO THAT LATER AFTER THE, YOU KNOW, MISSION.
SO, TO, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION SPECIFICALLY.
I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE NAME OR HAVE A DBA IF THAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED IN THE MOU.
I LOOK AT THE LEGALITIES OF THIS MOU AND I DON'T SEE ANY PROVISION FOR THAT.
BUT I, I HONESTLY, I WOULD HAVE TO GO AND TALK TO LEGAL MM-HMM.
AND SO IT'S THIS BOARD'S DECISION.
IF THEY WANT TO DEFER THIS MOU FOR ANOTHER MONTH UNTIL I GET THE LEGALITIES FIGURED OUT ON THE NAME CHANGE, I CAN DO THAT.
SO YOU NEED TO WITHDRAW THE FORWARDING OF THE MOU YEAH.
TO, TO EXTEND IT TO THE NEXT MEETING.
SO WE HAVE TIME TO, TO DO THAT.
SO THE MOU SPECIFICALLY SAYS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES.
SO WE ARE OPERATING AS CREDA UNDER THE NAME OF AN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES.
SO I GUESS IN TERMS OF LEGALITY, WE'VE ALREADY SORT OF BROKEN THAT RULE.
SO LET, LET, LET ME GO AHEAD AND ADDRESS THIS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, AS FAR AS LEGAL REPRESENTATION, LET ME REVISIT THAT.
UM, IF THIS BODY CHOOSES TO HAVE THE TOWN ATTORNEY AS LEGAL COUNSEL, YOU'D NEED TO, UM, PUT THAT ON YOUR AGENDA.
UM, AND THEN YOU, YOU'D HAVE TO VOTE.
AND THEN COUNT, UH, COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE IT BY VOTE.
SO THAT'S AS FAR AS LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
UM, AS FAR AS STATE LAW, 15.24903, CREATION OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES.
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UH, B THE NAME OF THE AUTHORITY SHALL BE THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF, AND THEN IN PEREN, UH, THE NAME OF THE LOCALITY.AND THEN PARAGRAPH C, STATES NOTWITHSTANDING B, UM, FOR ANY AUTHORITY, UH, AUTHORIZED BY THE SECTION, THE NAME OF THE AUTHORITY MAY BE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF, AND THEN IN PEREN FILL IN THE NAME OF THE LOCALITY.
SO OUTSIDE OF THAT PARAMETER, I, I'D, I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THIS BODY COULD BE INFORMALLY KNOWN AS BLANK, BUT IT, THIS IS, THIS BODY IS NOT A CORPORATION.
SO THAT IT IS NOT REALLY A DBA SITUATION LIKE FOR CORPORATIONS.
STATE LAW, IT SAYS WHAT IT SAYS.
SO AS FAR AS DEVIATING FROM EITHER OF THOSE TWO OPTIONS TO, TO IT BE INFORMALLY KNOWN AS BLANK.
I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT.
WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN REBRANDING AND WE NEED A PATH TO GET THERE IF POSSIBLE.
SO, SO WE WE HAVE TO, HE JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT I, THAT I, MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE MOU AND I THOUGHT IT SAID THAT WE WOULD USE THE TOWNS.
AND THAT IS THE SPECIFIC OF THE MOU UHHUH
WHICH THEN, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE, WE WOULD HAVE TO ENGAGE MR. SONNET AFTER WE GET COUNSEL'S APPROVAL, WHICH IS, WHICH IS THE INTENT OF THE MOU OKAY.
TO KIND OF PUT THEM ON THAT NOTICE AND THEN THEY WOULD THEN, RIGHT.
THIS IS, UM, THIS REALLY GETS INTO MORE OF MY PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
THIS BODY'S A SEPARATE POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.
SO THIS BODY WOULD HAVE TO AGREE, UM, TO APPOINT ME AS LEGAL COUNSEL AND, AND, AND WE'D HAVE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT POTENTIAL CLICKS.
AND I'D HAVE THAT SAME DISCUSSION WITH TOWN COUNCIL.
AND IF BOTH BODIES CONSENT, THEN UM, I CAN REPRESENT BOTH BODIES UNLESS AND UNTIL THERE'S AN, UH, AN ISSUE THAT PRESENTS A CONFLICT, AT WHICH POINT MY ALLEGIANCE WOULD HAVE TO BE THE TOWN COUNCIL.
RICK, DO YOU SEE ANYTHING THAT'S WITHIN THE MOU THAT WOULD KEEP US FROM MOVING IT FORWARD TO GO TO TOWN COUNCIL? I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE IT FORWARD AND THEN POSSIBLY AMEND IT BASED ON THE CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL.
I MEAN, IS THAT THE WAY TO GO, JOE? YEAH, I, I THINK THAT, I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE KIND OF LIKE STUCK, RIGHT? THE SOONER WE CAN GET THE MOU TO TO TOWN COUNSEL.
JUST WHILE THERE IS A MENTION OF LEGAL, THIS WILL ACTIVATE WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITH TOWN COUNSEL AND GEORGE AND WHAT THIS BOARD WILL NEED TO DO WITH GEORGE.
BUT WE FIRST NEED TO GET THIS MOU IN FRONT OF THEM FOR THEY UNDERSTAND THE COMMITMENT THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS BOARD.
SO I, MY ONLY CAVEAT TO ANY OF THAT DISCUSSION WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW, YOU KNOW, THIS BOARD FEELS ABOUT A REBRANDING AND WE'RE LOOKING TO DO THAT.
WE, WE AGREE TO FORWARD THIS MOU TO YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, FOR HOPEFULLY YOUR APPROVAL.
BUT WE MAY START CALLING OURSELVES SOMETHING ELSE IF OUR, YOU KNOW, IF LEGAL CAN COME UP WITH A PATH TO DO THAT.
'CAUSE THAT WAS NICK'S ORIGINAL QUESTION.
AND THAT'S ALL THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT.
AND HEARING WHAT THE LEGALESE THAT WAS GIVEN TO US WAS, IS EITHER AN IDA OR AN EDA TO BE UNOFFICIALLY CALLING OURSELVES SOMETHING ELSE.
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE E-M-O-U-M-O-U SPECIFICALLY SAYS WHAT THE, WHAT THE LANGUAGE HAS TO BE.
SO I GUESS WE HAVE MOVING THIS FORWARD I THINK IS PROBABLY IN OUR BEST INTEREST, JUST SO THAT WAY WE GET SOME FEEDBACK SOMEWHERE.
JUST GAIN SOME TRACTION FOR, AND FOR A LITTLE BACKGROUND, ROBERT WASN'T HERE.
I THINK DAVID MISSED THAT MEETING, BUT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR FIRST ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING, IT WAS PROPOSED TO LOOK AT REBRANDING OUR NAME SO AS NOT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME PAST NAMES THAT ARE EXISTING OUT THERE TO A NEW EFFORT, A NEW BRANDING OPPORTUNITY, FRESH STARTED FRESH.
WE, WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY WITH THE PARTIES IN PLACE THAT DAY TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND THAT WAS FOUR MEETINGS AGO.
THAT WAS THE ONLY MEETING WAS.
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ONE OF MY FIRST QUESTIONS WHEN WE GET INTO NEW BUSINESS WAS SORT OF THIS IDEA OF WHERE AND WHY.I MEAN, I CAN UNDERSTAND THE, THE, UH, THE DESIRE TO, TO MOVE AWAY FROM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I ALSO THINK THAT CAN BE DONE IN OUR WORK.
SO WHAT'S THE BOARD'S PLEASURE? DID AN OFFICIAL MOTION GET MADE BY FRANK? I, WE NEVER, IT WASN'T MADE, I DON'T THINK IT SECONDED.
'CAUSE I WASN'T TOTALLY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT DIRECTION WAS HEADED.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE WERE GOING TO PUT A MOTION ON WAS CLEAR BETWEEN NOT JUST US, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE LOOKING AT US AS WELL THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW? MM-HMM.
BECAUSE IF WE WERE GONNA START CALLING OURSELVES THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE, WE HAD MULTIPLE OPTIONS AT ONE POINT.
I DIDN'T WANT THEM TO, ALL OF A SUDDEN NOW, OH, NOW THEY'RE JUST REBRANDING, THEY'RE CHANGING.
WHEN WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO FORGO CHANGING AND THEN PRESENTING SO THAT THERE WASN'T CONFUSION.
THAT'S, THAT WAS ALL I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE OF.
SINCE OUR NAME'S JUST BOUNCING AROUND NOW, THAT'S HOW IT FEELS.
THE UNCERTAINTY OF WHAT FRIDA IS IS SUCH A BIG THING RIGHT NOW.
IT'S LIKE, NOW WE'RE GONNA CHANGE OUR NAME TO SOMETHING ELSE.
WHAT DOES THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO THE PUBLIC? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO THE, TO THE COUNCIL? I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW THAT WAS.
SO, BUT I'M GOOD WITH WITHDRAWING THAT AND MOTIONING TO MOVE FORWARD JUST SO WE CAN GET SOME, SOME WHEELS ON THE GROUND, YOU KNOW? ARE YOU SEEKING ANYTHING FROM MUSLIM FOR THE BYLAWS TO MOVE FORWARD? NO.
I MEAN, LISTEN, THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE IS THE ONE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MISSION AND, AND, AND, AND SO I, I THINK THAT'LL HELP CLARIFY, YOU KNOW, US GOING FORWARD, UM, OR AT LEAST START POINTING THIS IN THE DIRECTION.
UM, SO IF WE'RE GOOD, JOE, I, I WANTED TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT THAT'LL BE MY TAKEAWAY FROM TODAY'S MEETING, THAT BEFORE WE MEET AGAIN, I WILL PROVIDE THE LEGALITIES ON DOING A DBA OR WHATEVER THAT WILL TAKE AND WHAT THE PATH FORWARD IS ON THAT.
I MEAN, MY LEGAL NAME IS RICHARD MARTIN NOVAK, BUT EVERYBODY KNOWS ME AS RICK.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE AN INFORMAL NAME FOR THIS ORGANIZATION THAT WHEN I, WHEN WE SIGN PUBLIC AND IDENTIFY, WHEN WE SIGN, WHEN WE SIGN LEGAL DOCUMENTS, THEN GREAT.
WE CAN BE WHATEVER THE STATE OF VIRGINIA SAYS, GEORGE.
SORRY, I, I KNOW JUST ENOUGH LAW TO GET MYSELF IN TROUBLE.
BUT, UM, BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE MY GOAL FOR US IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE NEWSPAPER GOING TO COST? WELL, RIGHT.
THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PROPOSITION ON THIS.
SO TOWN CODE, WHICH IS WHAT, UM, CREATED THIS BODY WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH STATE LAW, UH, WHICH IS CHAPTER 16, UM, UH, 16 DASH THREE, TO BE KNOWN AS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF FRONT ROYAL VIRGINIA.
ALSO TO BE KNOWN AS THE, IN, IN QUOTES, FRONT ROYAL EDA.
NOW, JUST FOR PURPOSES OF, UH, DISCLAIMER, I DID NOT DRAFT THIS.
UM, SO, UM, I WOULD WANNA LOOK AT, AT THAT, AND I'M, UH, IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME THAT THAT'S, UM, I, I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT CAME ABOUT, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.
I, I WASN'T INVOLVED IN DRAFTING THE ORDINANCE WAS MANY, MANY TOWN COUNCILS AGO NOW, BUT THERE IT IS.
UM, SO THE INTENT AT THAT POINT, UM, WAS TO HAVE AN INFORMAL NAME FRONT, ROYAL, EDA, AND THAT'S WHERE FRIDA COMES FROM.
AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MOU AND YOU LOOK AT OUR BYLAWS, IT'S REALLY NOT, IT'S MENTIONED IN THE TOWN CODE.
SO TO CHANGE THE TOWN CODE, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO, WE'D HAVE TO HAVE PUBLIC HEARING, AND IT'D BE IN THE PAPER FOR TWO WEEKS.
IT WILL BE SOMEWHAT OF AN ORDEAL.
BUT IF YOU LET ME TAKE THAT BACK, AND THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, I CAN PROVIDE THAT.
IF IT IS JUST A CODE CHANGE IN OUR TOWN CHARTER OR IN OUR TOWN CODE TO HAVE A DBA, THEN, THEN I'LL KNOW THAT.
BUT THAT'LL BE MY TAKEAWAY FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
IF YOU COULD COME BACK TO THE NEXT MEETING WITH A SOLUTION OR A FINAL ANSWER, THEN THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
DAVE, YOU'RE DYING TO SAY SOMETHING.
UM, AGAIN, TO, TO TAKE A, UH, PAGE FROM WARREN COUNTY AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO THEY HAVE A SECONDARY COMMITTEE OR, OR GROUP THAT ARE LOOKING AT
[00:30:01]
THE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS TRYING TO DECIDE HOW THEY'RE GONNA SELL THEM OFF, ALL OF THAT.IT'S NAMED IN THE PAPER THAT WAY IT'S NOT NAMED WARREN COUNTY EDA, IT'S NAMED WHATEVER THAT IS.
SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS, CAN'T WE FORM A COMMITTEE THAT'S ACTIVELY DOING THIS ONE THING? AND THAT'S WHAT IT GOES BY WITHIN, THAT'S ANOTHER PATH.
I, AGAIN, IT'S SORT OF LIKE IF YOU, IF IF WE'RE, IF, IF YOU KNOW THIS NEW COMMITTEE THAT'S DOING, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OKAY.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
AND AGAIN, ONCE, I MEAN, MY, MY IDEA OF MARKETING AND A LOT OF THINGS IS VERY SIMPLE.
IT'S LIKE, UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY START DOING SOMETHING, THERE'S REALLY NO NEED TO MARKET ANYTHING.
I MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE A PRODUCT TO SELL.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANY, WHY ARE YOU MARKETING? YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S LIKE, I KEEP DRIVING BY THIS CAR WASH THING WHERE ELISEO USED TO BE.
THERE'S ANOTHER BLANK ONE UP IN, UH, ON THE WAY TO WINCHESTER.
IT'S STILL A VACANT LOT WITH A SIGN.
AND, AND UNTIL IT'S SORT OF LIKE, WHY DID YOU WASTE THE MONEY ON THE SIGNAGE, YOU KNOW, COMING SOON? WELL, THAT'S, THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, IT, IT JUST KIND OF BOGGLES MY MIND AGAIN.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE ONCE YOU START DOING SOMETHING AND ONCE YOU START ACTING IN A CERTAIN WAY OR MANNER AND MAKING NEWS, THAT'S WHO'S DOING.
YOU KNOW? SO IF YOU SAY, WE ARE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OF FRONT ROYAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, PEOPLE ARE GONNA START, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A LOT TO, SO THEY'LL SHRINK IT DOWN TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, WHATEVER IT IS.
AND THEN YOU, THAT'S HOW YOU BECOME KNOWN AS SOMETHING WE'VE NEVER LEGALLY DONE ANYTHING.
AND IT'S BEEN THERE FOR SEVEN YEARS AND IT'S NOT EVEN A LEGAL TRADING NAME.
SO I'M LIKE, WELL, IF YOU WANT ME TO PAY TAXES, YOU GOTTA CHANGE MONEY.
YOU KNOW, I STILL PAY THE TAXES.
BUT ANYWAY, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AGAIN, IT, IT'S, IT'S FUNNY HOW THE NEWSPAPER CAN START, CAN START THINGS GOING, YOU KNOW, OR EVEN JUST ONCE PEOPLE START TALKING AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, WOW, DID YOU SEE WHAT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, AND THEN IT'S, IT, IT TAKES LIFE.
YOU GUYS READY TO MOVE ON? YES.
ANY, ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO SAY ABOUT THIS? JOE? I GOT ONE THING AS FAR AS THE NAME CHANGE.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO DISTINGUISH OURSELVES FROM THE, I GUESS THE WARREN COUNTY EDA.
AND IT'S JUST THE IDEA, JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE.
UM, 'CAUSE ON THEIR WEBSITE THEY HAVE FRONT ROYAL IN THEIR NAME.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO, AND I, I IMAGINE THIS WOULD INVOLVE THE LEGAL TEAM TO REQUEST THAT THEY REMOVE FRONT ROYAL FROM THEIR NAME.
THAT WAY WE, YOU KNOW, BY GETTING THEM TO CHANGE THEIR NAME, THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, CREATE MORE OF A SEPARATION.
I MEAN, SO THE, OUR DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, IN OCTOBER CAME OUT OF, UH, ANECDOTAL CONVERSATIONS THAT PERCEPTIONS BY THE PUBLIC.
AND TO, I MEAN, TO DAVE'S POINT, I THINK ONCE WE START DOING SOMETHING, UM, THAT MAY TURN AROUND, BUT, BUT I, I, I AGREE THAT, UM, LIKE WE, LIKE WE WANT TO WORK WITH THE WARREN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
WE WANT TO BE WORK IN COOPERATION WITH THEM.
SO I'M NOT REALLY, I MEAN, FOR ME, I'M NOT TRYING TO DIS THEM.
I'M JUST TRYING TO PUT A LITTLE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM AT, IN, IN THIS SEAT.
UM, AND WE MAY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THAT HERE, BUT, UM, SO I, ANYWAY, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND.
AND, UM, AND LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
I MEAN, MAYBE THE SOLUTION IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION, YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, DAVE SUGGESTED, YOU KNOW, WITH COMMITTEES AND WHATNOT.
BUT LET'S TRY AND MOVE FORWARD AND FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR WORK IS.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE DON'T, I MEAN, AS A GROUP HERE, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT EVEN SURE WHY WE'RE HERE PROBABLY.
I MEAN, HOPEFULLY WE'RE GONNA FIGURE OUT SOME OF THAT, UH, HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.
[00:35:01]
IS, IS THAT, IS IT, CAN WE, ARE WE GOOD? CAN WE MOVE FORWARD? ALL RIGHT.DO WE NEED TO REMOTION TO MOVE THE, UH, MOU? WELL, I DON'T THINK WE RESCINDED IT, DID WE? NO, NO.
THERE WAS A MOTION TO RESEND, BUT I DON'T THINK WE GOT A SECOND.
THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I WITH IT.
IT WAS HILLARY'S JUST SCRATCHING STUFF OUT.
BUT YOU CAN SEE, JOE, IT'S IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, WE, AND WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND I WAS NOT DISCOUNTING THAT.
YEAH, NO, AND I'M, I'M NOT SAYING YOU WERE, I'M JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, JUST SHUT UP RICK, AND LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, VISION, MISSION, GOAL TACTIC SETTING.
UM, WHERE DO YOU GUYS WANT TO START? DO YOU WANT START WITH THIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
COMPONENT FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
NO, I'M ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA LET LIZZIE TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS 'CAUSE SHE'S BEEN NOODLING ON THIS ALL WEEKEND.
SO, UH, I THINK TALKING ABOUT THE COMP PLAN, GOAL RANKING IS GREAT.
UM, I'D KIND OF LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR VISION IS FIRST.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR EVERYBODY'S CLARIFICATION, YOU KNOW, A VISION IS OFTENTIMES THE PUBLIC STATEMENT OF THE FOUNDER'S INTENT OF WHY THE ORGANIZATION EXISTS.
A MISSION IS A DESCRIPTION OF THAT ROOT VISION, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, AND HOW THAT ORGANIZATION INTENDS TO CREATE THAT VISION.
SO THERE, THAT'S INTENTIONALLY WHY WE PUT VISION FIRST AND THEN MISSION, AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THERE.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOME THOUGHTS.
AND I EVEN BROUGHT MY COLORFUL MARKERS WHERE I CAN WRITE STUFF ON THE BOARD.
SO HOWEVER YOU WANNA HANDLE THAT CHAIRPERSON YOU ARE, I'M HAPPY TO WRITE, BUT YEAH, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.
I, I THINK YOU SHOULD WRITE, USE THE WHITEBOARD THERE.
AND, UM, SO I'M GONNA BE QUIET RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I HAVE SOME REALLY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT SOME OF THIS.
AND I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THIS.
ABOUT, UM, WHAT, WHAT'S LIKE, WHY DID YOU GET ON THIS BOARD? WHY DID YOU GET ON THIS BOARD? WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE GONNA ACCOMPLISH? IS THAT FAIR? ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, IS THAT, SO WHY ARE WE HERE? I'D SAY IT'D BE A PEOPLE OF ACTION.
LIKE, WHAT DO YOU, LIKE, WHAT DO YOU GUYS, LIZZIE, YOU CAN TELL ME TO SHUT UP.
YOU CAN SAY YOU'D RATHER LEAVE THIS, BUT LIKE, LIKE, LIKE WHAT? I DON'T, ALL RIGHT.
SO I MEAN, WHAT DO, WHAT'S PEOPLE OF ACTION MEAN? RIGHT? YEAH.
SO, SO LIKE, GIVE ME THREE THINGS, YOUR TOP THREE THINGS THAT YOU JOINED THIS BOARD FOR, BECAUSE YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THEM IMPLEMENTED BY THE TOWN.
YOU KNOW, THAT INITIATIVES, IF YOU WILL, NO PRESSURE ON ANYBODY IN PARTICULAR.
YOU WERE LOOKING RIGHT AT ME, SO I QUICK LOOKED AWAY SO THAT EVERYBODY KNEW HE WASN'T JUST LOOKING AT ME.
BUT NICK, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE READY.
I ACTUALLY WROTE DOWN TO PRO AS A VISION TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP NECESSARY FOR THE FRONT ROW COMMUNITY TO OPTIMIZE APPROPRIATE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES.
MAN, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A MISSION STATEMENT THERE.
I ALSO HAVE A MISSION STATEMENT,
AND I HAVE A MISSION STATEMENT.
LOYAL COMMUNITY, JUST A LOT OF WORDS.
AND THEN AS FAR AS A MISSION STATEMENT IS, UH, TO ACHIEVE AND SUSTAIN A HEALTHY ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE TO PROTECT THE CHARM AND CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE FRONT ROYAL A UNIQUE TOWN.
AND NICK, DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT I THINK YOUR MISSION AND YOUR VISION ARE FLIPPED.
SO THE MISSION STATEMENT WOULD BE THE, I I THINK, I THINK YOUR MISSION IS TO PROVIDE THAT NECESSARY LEADERSHIP AND YOUR VISIONS TO KEEP, ALLOW.
THAT'S, THAT'S MY INTERPRETATION OF THAT.
SO AS FAR AS JUST LIKE LIST OF, YOU KNOW, IDEAS, THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT, MAYBE JUST POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
SO COMING UP WITH POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, IDEAS
[00:40:01]
TO SUBMIT, I GUESS, THE TOWN COUNCIL FOR THINGS THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, UH, INSTIGATE ECONOMIC GROWTH WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, UH, VIA WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS, ENCOURAGING NEW BUSINESSES OR, OR WHAT HAVE YOU.ARE HE CHEATING?
WHAT WE COULD DO TO PREVENT FRONT ROYAL AS A POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING JUST A BEDROOM COMMUNITY OR A COMMUTER HUB FOR WINCHESTER IN THE NEXT 10 TO 15 YEARS.
KIND OF LIKE THIS ART SCENE STUFF.
LIKE A PLACE THAT PEOPLE DON'T JUST LIKE SLEEP HERE AND, YOU KNOW, GET A HOUSE HERE TO COMMUTE SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT LIKE, PEOPLE WANT TO COME HERE.
AND I, IT IS, THAT'S BROADER, BUT IT'S NOT JUST TOURISM.
IT'S ALSO LIKE THINGS FOR PEOPLE.
PEOPLE MOVE HERE TO DO THINGS AS WELL IN PLANNING.
CREATING A LIFELONG COMMUNITY.
DAVID, GUYS, YOUR THINKING FACE ON? I JUST, I, I, LET'S SEE HERE.
WHAT AM I THINKING? SO, WHEN I INTERVIEWED FOR THIS BOARD, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LOOK AT IN TERMS OF THE WAY YOU IMPROVE A COMMUNITY, UM, IS, WELL, A, UM, I HEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT I HEAR IN MY RESTAURANT, I HEAR PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER.
A LOT OF IT IS JUST GROSSLY MISGUIDED COMPLAINING.
UM, BUT THE, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, THE GOAL IS TO, I GUESS, INCREASE THE TAX BASE.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A VIBRANT ECONOMIC, UM, ENGINE, THINGS WILL START TO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE TOWN HAS LESS MONEY TO WORK WITH.
THE COUNTY HAS LESS MONEY TO WORK WITH.
AND SO ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE KIND OF SPURTS, SPIRALING AROUND, HOW DO THEY IMPROVE? HOW DO THEY GET BETTER? HOW DO YOU ATTRACT, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE BEEN WATCHING IT FOR YEARS.
VALLEY HEALTH, WHERE DO THEY BRING PEOPLE? WHERE DO THEY BRING A DOCTOR WHO THEY'RE TRYING TO RECRUIT? WHY DOES A DOCTOR MAKE A DECISION TO LIVE IN A SMALL TOWN AND, AND TAKE MAYBE A FINANCIAL HIT, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT THEIR REVENUE POSSIBILITIES ARE? WHY WOULD THEY WANNA DO THAT? WHAT, YOU KNOW, UM, SAME THING, ATTRACTING TALENT.
HOW DO WE ATTRACT TALENT? WHY DO THEY WANNA LIVE HERE? YOU KNOW? UM, SO IF YOU DON'T, IT, IT, IT, AND, AND I GUESS NUMBER ONE FOR ME IS SCHOOLS.
YOU KNOW, HOW, YOU KNOW, I HEAR PLENTY OF COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SCHOOLS.
WELL, I'VE JUST MOVED BOTH OF MY CHILDREN OUT OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS INTO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND I THINK THEY'RE BETTER THAN WHERE I WAS.
UM, PERSONALLY, SHE CALL CHRIS BALLER AND TELL HIM
I MEAN, I LOOK AT TEACHING AS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PRETTY NOBLE FIELD.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY, THE PEOPLE THAT DO IT DO IT BECAUSE THEY CARE.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT EITHER THE PARENTS OR THE CHILDREN DON'T CARE.
AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'VE LOST SIGHT OF A FUTURE FOR SOME REASON.
AND I DON'T THINK IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE REINVENTING GEOMETRY, STATISTICS.
NONE OF THIS STUFF IS HAPPENING LOCALLY.
IT'S REALLY NOT HAPPENING ANYWHERE.
I MEAN, YOU CAN, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU SEND YOUR CHILDREN ANYWHERE AND THEY'RE STILL JUST GONNA LEARN GEOMETRY.
THERE MAY BE SOME, YOU KNOW, THING OUT THERE THAT WE HAVEN'T, HAVEN'T STUMBLED UPON YET.
BUT MOST DISCOVERY IS, IS, YOU KNOW, IS PRETTY MUCH HAPPENED.
SO, AGAIN, TO ME, IT'S, IT'S SORT OF LIKE THIS IDEA WHERE THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF, OR AT LEAST WHAT I HEAR, IS THIS SORT OF NEGATIVE PUBLIC PERCEPTION ABOUT WHAT MARK ROYAL DOES.
WHAT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY, UM, THE RECENT WORK OF THE, THE FORMER, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR AT THE WARREN COUNTY, YOU
[00:45:01]
KNOW, THAT DOESN'T, OR WARREN COUNTY, EDA, EXCUSE ME, DIDN'T HELP US.YOU KNOW? AND IT, THERE'S STUFF THAT JUST KIND OF KEEPS HAPPENING.
AND IT, YOU KNOW, AND IT, IT, IT SPIT BALLS THAT HOLE OR SNOWBALLS, THAT WHOLE SORT OF IDEA.
AND IT, UM, SO AGAIN, TO ME, IT, IT IS SORT OF LIKE, HOW DO WE DO THAT? HOW, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE GOTTA GET IN THERE.
WE HAVE TO LIFT IT UP FROM THE BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SHORE IT UP.
YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T BUILD A HOUSE ON A, ON A FOUNDATION, ON A BAD FOUNDATION.
SO TO ME, THAT'S THE FOUNDATION IS HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE DO THAT? HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, I I I LOOK AT IT AS, UNTIL THAT ACTUALLY STARTS HAPPENING AND WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME ATTITUDES AND WHATEVER THAT NEED TO CHANGE.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IS EVER GONNA WORK.
I MEAN, I MEAN, I'VE, ALTHOUGH THIS IS THE SMALLEST TOWN I'VE EVER LIVED IN, IT'S JUST AMAZING HOW MUCH, HOW NEGATIVE THINGS SEEMED TO BE INSTEAD OF POSITIVE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT WAS INTERESTING, LIKE, I THINK IT WAS THE LAST MEETING OR WHAT, MAYBE THE MEETING PRIOR, YOU KNOW, WHEN TOM CAME IN, IT WAS THE FIRST MEETING.
I, I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM IN YEARS.
BUT AGAIN, YOU TWO HAD MADE PROBABLY THE LARGEST IMPRESSION ON ME IN FRONT ROYAL EVER.
AND IT WAS BACK WHEN IT WAS THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND YOU WERE THE ONLY TWO THERE THAT WERE LIKE, GUYS, YOU GOTTA LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T JUST SIT HERE AND SAY, WELL, I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SELL THIS ROCK AND NOBODY WANTS IT.
YOU KNOW? WELL, YOU GOTTA LOOK.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND, AND YOU TWO WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT SORT OF LIKE, TO ME GOT IT.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND, AND SO I'M GLAD TO, TO BE BACK IN THE FRAY WITH, WITH THE BOTH OF YOU, HONESTLY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, IT STILL STANDS OUT TO ME TODAY.
RICK SAID YEARS AGO, I WILL SHOW YOU RECEIPTS FROM SEVEN O'CLOCK MOVIE SHOWING, AND IT WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE WAITING TO GO DO SOMETHING DOWNTOWN.
AND IT'S ON THIS LIST RIGHT THERE, RIGHT? IT'S STILL ON THIS LIST.
WHAT? 20, ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER.
WELL, FOR ME, 20, YOU KNOW, 20 SOMETHING YEARS.
IT'S JUST ONE OF THESE THINGS WHERE IT'S LIKE, LIKE I, YOU KNOW, BACK THEN THERE'S A LOT OF BUSINESSES THAT HAVE, HAVE COME AND GONE AND CHANGED AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I THINK I, THE DYNAMIC HAS CHANGED QUITE A BIT.
UM, IT USED TO BE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE, UH, I GUESS JUST A LOT OF FOLKS THAT HAD RETIRED AND THIS WAS THEIR SORT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THEY DID TO ENTERTAIN THEMSELVES, BUT WHY WOULD THEY EVER WANNA BE THERE PAST 5:00 PM YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
UM, 'CAUSE JEOPARDY'S SO
WE NEED TO WORK ON HOW, HOW TO GET THESE BUSINESSES IN HERE, HOW TO COACH THEM, HOW TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND WHERE THE MARKET IS WHEN, WHEN IT IS, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A GUY LIKE YOU THAT CAN SAY, I HAVE TWO MOVIE SHOWINGS, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT, LOOK AT THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THIS, YOU KNOW, I, I WROTE DOWN, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS THAT MAYBE BJ COULD PROVIDE US.
I MEAN, HE HAS ALL THIS B POLE DATA, RIGHT? WHERE DOES IT GO? RIGHT.
DO WE HAVE ACCESS TO IT? CAN WE, CAN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE, SOME OF THESE GOALS BY ANALYZING THIS DATA? YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT IS SORT OF LIKE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF DIFFERENT, I GUESS, COMPONENTS OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO, TO, TO LOOK AT.
I'VE BEEN SAYING, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S INVENTORY THAT, UM, TOM JUST BROUGHT UP.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S WHAT DO WE HAVE? WHAT DO WE HAVE OUT THERE? WHAT IS THE TOWN OWNED? WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, WE, THERE'S STILL THAT GRAY AREA BETWEEN THE OLD FRONT ROYAL ECONOMIC, YOU KNOW, FRONT ROYAL ONE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WHERE THERE IS, THERE'S JOINT PROPERTIES THAT ARE OWNED.
WE MAY NEVER SEE 'EM, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAVE AN INTEREST IN 'EM.
WELL, AND TO BACKTRACK, I WOULD SAY THAT SOME OF YOU GUYS MAY NOT KNOW IT, BUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, THE WARREN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY DID USED TO BELONG TO FRONT ROYAL AND WARREN COUNTY.
AND THEY HAD JOINT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UM, IT WAS LIKE AN 80 20 SPONSORSHIP.
AND SO WHERE THERE WERE MEMBERS FROM THE TOWN REPRESENTS, YOU KNOW, THE TOWN COUNCIL APPOINTED PEOPLE AND THE COUNTY APPOINTED PEOPLE.
AND, AND THEN THEY JOINTLY FUNDED IT.
BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT CHANGED.
[00:50:01]
OF, I THINK THE SHOPPING CENTERS, WHAT CHANGED IT, THERE'S THAT TAXATION ISSUE.AND I THINK THEY SORT OF SAID, YOU KNOW, INSHORING THINGS UP.
I THINK THEY JUST TRIED TO LESSEN THE TOWN'S PERCEIVED LOSSES IN TERMS OF SALES TAX THAT THEY WOULDN'T RECEIVE FROM THE, FROM THE HANG UP THERE.
LIKE, FOR, LIKE, FOR ME, THAT'S MY RECOLLECTION.
IF, IF I COULD CIRCLE ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF WHAT YOU SAID.
AND THAT'S, I THINK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO BE IN THE BUSINESS OF RAISING TAX BASE SO THAT THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, OR COUNTY OR WHOEVER, BOTH, IN THIS CASE ANYWAY, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO RAISE TAX BASE.
WHETHER, WHETHER THAT'S BY HELPING BUSINESSES IMPROVE THEMSELVES OR WHETHER IT'S BY ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, WITH INITIATIVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND FILLING VACANT SPACES.
THAT'S WHAT I THINK, THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE TO DO.
IT COULD BE THROUGH ALL SORTS OF OTHER STUFF, AND I'LL SHUT UP SO THAT YOU GUYS CAN KEEP GOING.
BUT NO, AND THAT, I MEAN, AND I AGREE.
THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW YOU STARTED.
AND I THINK THE REASON I WAS CHOSEN WAS BECAUSE I DID IT.
I, I, YOU KNOW, I STARTED WITH WHAT I HAD AND I GREW IT TO WHAT IT IS.
AND YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S STILL THERE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE HARDHEAD, THERE'S FIVE BANKS THAT DIDN'T THINK I'D BE HERE.
I AM ONE STATEMENT WHEN I TALKED TO JOE ABOUT COMING ON, AND IT'S IN HERE IN, YOU'RE AN ECONOMIC SU SUSTAINABILITY, IDENTIFY TARGET SECTORS IN AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN, IDENTIFY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT WILL SUPPORT THOSE SECTORS AND MARKET FRONT WORLD TO 'EM.
I MEAN, TO ME, THAT'S A KEY INGREDIENT.
WE, WE'VE GOT TO DEVELOP OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE'VE GOT BUSINESSES THAT WE WANT TO ATTRACT HERE.
WE'VE GOT ENTITIES THAT WE'D LIKE TO BE HERE.
WE'VE JUST GOTTA MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE TO DO THAT.
I MEAN, AND BEING VAGUE ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, DON'T WANNA STUDY ABOUT PARKING ON, ON, ON COURT DATES.
PARKING IS A HUGE
UH, WE'VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL ENTRANCE ON ONE SIDE, BUT THE MORE POPULAR BUSIER ENTRANCE THAT OUR TOURISTS COME IN STILL NEEDS A LOT OF LOVE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THAT? IT'S NOT ON ANYBODY'S LIST.
IT'S NOT ON V DOC'S LIST FOR 10 YEARS.
UM, WE'VE GOT DOUBLE LANES TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL THERE AT THE UPS CENTER.
AND THEN AFTER THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TWO LANES TRAFFIC.
THERE IS UNBEARABLE, UH, IN THE AFTERNOONS BETWEEN QUARTER TO FOUR AND QUARTER TO FIVE.
AND, UH, YOU'LL SIT THROUGH THAT STOPLIGHT PROBABLY 20 TIMES.
AND, AND I JUST LOOK AT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT, YOU KNOW, ON TOURISM DAYS WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET INTO TOWN, UM, I, I SEE THAT AS HOW, HOW COULD WE POSSIBLY ENABLE IMPROVEMENT ON THAT? HOW COULD WE, I LOOK AT OUR CURRENT ASSETS AND HOW COULD WE IMPROVE UPON THE CURRENT ASSETS? MAYBE THERE'S A BETTER USE FOR 'EM AND A VACANT PARKING LOT OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
SO I LOOK AT LOOKING AT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND SEEING, MAKING SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE UPON THAT AND PAY FOR THOSE IMPROVEMENTS.
SO I FEEL LIKE THAT'S WHERE WE WERE AT A LOT WITH WHEN WE WERE TALKING LAST TIME WE WERE TOGETHER, IS WE WERE LOOKING AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
'CAUSE THAT IS, I MEAN, THAT IS THE BIGGEST, UH, TOPIC IS, IS HOW DO WE IMPROVE AND HOW DO WE KEEP OUR SMALL TOWN FEEL? AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE ENTRANCES.
AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT WITH THAT HOLIDAY INN, REMEMBER WE WENT TO THE DOUBLE TRAIL, WE TALKED WITH ALL THE COUNCIL, AND WE WERE LIKE, WHERE ARE WE GONNA DO ALL THIS POINT THE DOT THING? AND YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK FOR ME, THE BIGGEST THING I'VE ALWAYS HEARD IS, IS LIKE, IT TAKES GOOD PEOPLE TO DO GOOD CHANGE.
AND I THINK TO YOUR, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THIS AREA, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW FOR ME, LIKE IT WAS ABOUT COMING IN JUST TO BE AN ACTIVIST FOR, FOR GOOD CHANGE.
YOU KNOW, I STARTED MY BUSINESS IN 2019 AND IT WAS HARD TO START A BUSINESS HERE.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF KICKBACK.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE NOT FROM HERE, YOU DON'T GET ACCEPTED VERY WELL.
YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU GET OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW BUSINESSES THAT THEY CAN COME HERE AND START BUSINESSES, THAT THEY'LL BE ACCEPTED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE GROUP OR WHOEVER IT IS KEEPS YOU OUTTA HERE, KEEPS YOU OUTTA HERE.
AND WE GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITY AND WE CAN HARVEST THOSE BUSINESSES TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S EVERYTHING TO FARM WHEEL, YOU KNOW? UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T GET A STEAKHOUSE IN HERE BECAUSE WHY? YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T DO CERTAIN THINGS IN HERE.
WHY? YOU KNOW, DO YOU, WE CAN'T EVEN PILE 'EM IN.
YOU KNOW? I MEAN, WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, WHEN I SAY ACTION AND PEOPLE, THAT'S LIKE GOING OUT THERE AND TALKING TO THESE PEOPLE AND FIGURING OUT HOW DO WE MAKE CHANGE, YOU KNOW? UM, AND STILL KEEP THE SMALL TOWN FEEL.
[00:55:01]
UM, PREFACE.SO, UM, AND THEN THE TRADES, THAT WAS ANOTHER THING FOR ME IS I'M A TRADES, YOU KNOW, I, I FELT LIKE I BROUGHT THAT TO THIS GROUP WAS, IS, YOU KNOW, I COULD, YOU KNOW, FACILITATE OPPORTUNITIES OF EDUCATION FOR THE YOUNG, FOR THE YOUTH TO BE ABLE TO GROW INTO TRADESMEN SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD HAVE TECHNICIANS AND, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE AND, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY TO NOT HAVE TO BRING IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA ALL THE TIME TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE HAVE AND PRAY A HIGHER PRICE DOLLAR FOR SOMETHING THAT'S LOWER QUALITY.
YOU KNOW? UM, MOST OF OUR TRADESMEN GO THAT DIRECTION BECAUSE OF THEIR FINANCIAL NEEDS, YOU KNOW, AND IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE 'EM COME THIS DIRECTION, YOU KNOW? UH, VOCATIONAL TRAINING WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE HERE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT, LAUREL RIDGE DOES A GREAT JOB, BUT THEY NEED A LOT OF SUPPORT.
'CAUSE THEY'RE ALWAYS RECRUITING TEACHERS AND NOBODY WANTS TO GO THERE FROM THIS AREA.
UM, SO THEN THE LACK LUSTER OF, YOU KNOW, SUBPAR EDUCATION IS, IS HAPPENING.
AND SO I THINK WE REALLY GOTTA FOCUS ON HOW DO YOU KEEP THAT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IDEA GOING ON SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS.
YOU KNOW, NOT ALWAYS JUST AT A HIGH CORPORATE LEVEL, BUT FIGURE HOW, LIKE, HOW TO BRING THEM UP INTO IT.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY, THEN WHY TRY? THEN YOU'RE JUST A, LIKE HE SAID, A, YOU KNOW, A A STAY, STAY, STAY FOR THE NIGHT, STAY FOR THE WEEKEND.
AND, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE'S THE, I GUESS, WELL, NEVERMIND, I'LL LEAVE
SO I HEARD A LOT OF GOALS AND A LOT OF PERHAPS SOME TACTICS.
UM, BUT I THINK OVERALL EVERYONE'S VISION OF THIS IS PRESERVING THE SMALL TOWN CHARM THROUGH INTENTIONAL GROWTH, WHATEVER THAT MEANS.
THAT WAS MY HIGH LEVEL, SUPER FAST TAKEAWAY FROM THAT.
AM I CLOSE? AM I CLOSE TO THAT? YES.
SO IF THAT'S THE VISION YOU'RE TRYING TO ENACT AND THE MISSION OF YOU TRYING TO GET THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WHY YOU'RE TRYING TO GET THERE.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT GOALS.
I DO THINK THAT SOME OF THESE ARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE TOTALLY DOABLE BY THIS BODY, BUT I DO THINK THAT SOME OF THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE FAR DOWN RANGE FOR TODAY'S CONVERSATION OF HOW DO WE ENACT THESE THINGS.
BUT I'M, I'M GONNA ASK W TO KIND OF MAY, MAYBE WE SHOULD GO THROUGH THE COMP PLAN GOALS.
I MEAN, I, I KNOW YOU GUYS RANKED THEM, AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT'S GONNA RING TRUE TO WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY STATED.
UM, I DON'T WANNA DOMINATE YOUR CONVERSATION, BUT I DO WANNA FACILITATE IT.
AND I DID KEEP HEARING THIS WORD OVER AND OVER IMPROVEMENT.
UM, AND IF WE EVER DO GET TO CHANGE OUR NAME IMPROVEMENT SHOULD BE IN THERE, BUT THAT'S JUST MY BOOK.
SO, SO I WROTE DOWN A LOT OF STUFF.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM, LIKE TOM SAID, PARKING, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD STUDY PARKING AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE TOWN ABOUT WHAT WE THINK A PARKING IMPROVEMENT, IF IT'S NEEDED, SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
I MEAN, SO LIKE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US, YOU KNOW, DO THAT, UM, OR TRY ATTEMPT TO TACKLE THAT.
UM, THE TOWN DID FACADE GRANTS, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
AND IT COULD BE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, MIGHT WANT TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ONGOING FACADE GRANT OR A MICROLOAN PROGRAM FOR SOMEBODY WHO COULD, UM, IMPROVE, I DON'T KNOW, A SPACE THEY'RE TRYING TO MOVE INTO TO, TO DO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S NOT OUTFITTED FOR AT THAT TIME.
THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST BRAINSTORMING HERE, RIGHT? UM, THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO START A BUSINESS AND PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING, OR TRADESMEN POSSIBLY, AT LEAST I, I'VE HEARD IT OVER THE YEARS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S FAIR OR ACCURATE AT THIS POINT, BUT I THINK WE, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK INTO IT.
ARE WE ANTI-BUSINESS IN, AT THE TOWN LEVEL AND AT THE COUNTY LEVEL? AND IF, AND IF WE ARE, OR, OR MAYBE MAYBE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME IN AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, I WANT TO BUILD WIDGETS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'M DOING, AND CAN I DRAW THAT OUT A BIT? YEAH, PLEASE.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ANTI-BUSINESS? CAN YOU HELP ME DEFINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE TO YOU? UH, IT MAKES, JUST MAKES IT HARD.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU GOTTA GO FROM HERE,
[01:00:01]
THE CRAFT TO THERE AND THERE TO HERE.AND IT COULD BE THAT WE, WE COME UP WITH A, A DOCUMENT OUTLINING THAT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO YEAH, I HAVE THAT WRITTEN DOWN AS, AND I I HAVE A SIMILAR THING MADE NOTES.
ROADMAP, RIGHT? UM, WE DID ONE, WE DID ONE YEARS AGO, UH, WITH WARREN COUNTY, EDA AND I DON'T, I MEAN, THEY HAD, IT HAPPENED TO, I THINK THEY HAD IT ON A THUMB DRIVE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW WHATEVER HAPPENED TO IT, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, I HEARD THAT SAME COMPLAINT AND I, YOU KNOW, I, AND, AND NOT TO TEAR DOWN, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTING AND WHATEVER, BUT I'VE, I'VE HEARD IT FROM SOME CONTRACTORS TOO.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, THEY, THERE WAS YEARS AGO I WAS POSTER CHILD FOR, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, HOW TO DO SOMETHING WRONG WITHOUT A PERMIT AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF THAT I WAS NAMED IN THE PAPER AND ALL, AND I NEVER SAT, I, I WAS NAMED AS SOMEONE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS, AND I NEVER DID.
AND I REMEMBER MAKING PHONE CALLS AND SAYING, WOW, THIS IS INTERESTING.
I, YOU KNOW, I MADE A MISTAKE.
I'M I'M A BIG BOY AND I'M GONNA FIX IT.
BUT I NEVER SAID THAT IT WAS HARD TO DO.
YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT, THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, NO ONE WANTS TO GO GET A BUILDING PERMIT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, WHY, WHY DO I HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WHY THERE'S A REASON, YOU KNOW, MOST OF IT'S PROPERTY TAX, SOME OF IT'S TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T BURN YOURSELF DOWN OR, YOU KNOW, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S THIS AREA HAS SOME, UH, CHARACTERS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING IT THEIR WAY FOR, YOU KNOW, FROM THE HIP A LONG TIME.
AND THEN THERE'S THIS, YOU KNOW, BUILDING CODE, WHICH IS A, YOU KNOW, THING THAT ALL MUST COMPLY.
AND THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT LIKE TO TRY TO NOT DO THAT, YOU KNOW? AND SO THAT'S WHERE I THINK THAT PERCEPTION WAS BORN, BECAUSE I, I, I'VE NEVER, I MEAN, I'VE JUST WALKED RIGHT INTO THIS TOWN.
I WENT TO, YOU KNOW, THIS PERSON, THEY SAID, YOU NEVER, I NEVER EITHER.
AND, AND IT WAS LIKE THREE STOPS READY TO GO UP AND RUNNING.
BUT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW TO NO.
AND I, I, I REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT EVEN SAYING I, I KNEW HOW TO ASK THE QUESTIONS, BUT I WAS ALWAYS LED IN THE CORRECT DIRECTION BY THE TOWN STAFF.
AS LONG AS I WAS OPEN TO TAKING THAT DIRECTION, I RECOLLECT THE SAME THING.
I RECOLLECT THAT NO ONE GAVE ME ANY PUSHBACK.
NO ONE EVER, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST SAID, YOU JUST HAVE TO DO THIS, THIS, AND THIS.
I MIGHT NOT HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THE ANSWERS.
ME TOO,
BUT I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, I LIKE INDUSTRIAL PARKS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN THE TOWN, RIGHT? AND SO WE NEED TO GET A HANDLE ON THOSE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AND WE MAY NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER THEM, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE SOME INFLUENCE OVER THEM, IN MY OPINION.
YOU GOT THE HAPPY CREEK INDUSTRIAL PARK, YOU GOT AVTEC.
UM, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT LOOKS AT THAT AND LIKE, WELL, WHAT DO WE WANT? WHAT DO WE SEE FOR THAT AREA? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT'S ALLOWED, WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT'S ALLOWED? RIGHT.
WHO CAN WE RECRUIT? I MEAN, UH, HONESTLY, LIKE AT THE MOMENT I HEARD THE TRAN BUILDING AT APTEX, IT HAS SOME ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT HASN'T, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IT IS.
AND I JUST, PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT, OH, IT'S FLOODING IN THERE, OR IT DID FLOOD, OR, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S TRUE.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S TRUE.
BUT, BUT I COULD SEE HOW THAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS LAWSUIT AND, YOU KNOW, WHO'S GOT CONTROL OF THE BUILDING TO TURN THE HEAT ON SO THE PIPES DON'T FREEZE? RIGHT.
SO I'M, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S EXACTLY IN OUR AREA, BUT IT'S AN ISSUE POSSIBLY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT WANNA SAY, OH, DON'T LET THAT BUILDING, YOU KNOW, DETERIORATE ANY FURTHER.
AND I'M SURE THE WARREN COUNTY EDA IS PROBABLY ON THAT, YOU KNOW, AS BEST THEY CAN, BUT, WELL, YOU GOT ANOTHER ASSET RIGHT HERE AT THE END OF THE STREET, RICK, AFTER THEM.
THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON NOW FOR, LET'S SEE, MY KIDS ARE NOW 31 YEARS AGO.
I MOVED HERE 29 YEARS AGO, MOVED BACK HOME, AND THAT BUILDING HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS EVERY YEAR FOR 29 YEARS.
RIGHT, TOM, YOU MEAN LIKE, IT'S AN ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY, NOT A TOWN ASSET, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S NOT OWNED BY THE TOWN.
NO, BUT IT, IT'S UP IN THE AIR AND, AND THEIR LIES.
THE INTERTWINEMENT OF THE NAMES.
OUR NAME PEOPLE ASSOCIATE, Y'ALL WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT, ACTUALLY.
I MEAN, I WENT TO THREE TOWN COUNCILMEN.
ARE YOU SURE? GETTING RID OF THIS STONE BUILDING THAT WE
[01:05:01]
HAVE HERE, BESIDES THE CHURCH.THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE TITLE TO IT NOW ARE NOT THOSE PEOPLE.
BUT, BUT IT'S BEEN ONGOING RECOLLECTION IN EVERYBODY'S MIND.
THEY HAVEN'T FOLLOWED THE PAST.
THEY JUST THINK IT'S THE INABILITY OF PEOPLE TO GET THINGS DONE.
WHETHER, WHAT, WHAT, NO MATTER WHAT NAME.
WELL, AND THEY DO ASSOCIATE IT WITH ONE NAME.
I MEAN, AND THEY, THE, THE ACT IN FOLKS, I MEAN, THEY CAME TO US, BUT TO, TO DISCUSS SOME HELP, BUT IT COULDN'T MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE I MEAN, WE, LIKE RIGHT WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, THIS IS WHEN WE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH, YOU KNOW, THE ACT IN FOLKS.
WELL, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I'M SINGLING IN ON THAT JUST BECAUSE IT'S AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I MEAN, IT COULD, IT COULD BE TOM, IS IT, PUT THE A IN ON THERE AND SAY, HEY, LET'S, LET'S CIRCLE BACK WITH THEM AND, AND SEE WHAT THEY NEED AT THIS POINT.
AND, AND I DON'T EVEN THINK, I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN REALLY HELP WITH.
I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE, I THINK THE WARREN COUNTY EDA, THIS IS GONNA BE THEIR YEAR.
THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT IN THE NEWS ABOUT IT, ABOUT THEIR ASSETS, ABOUT THEIR PROPERTIES, THE FINANCES.
THERE'S GONNA BE A SENTENCING.
I THINK THAT ORGANIZATION'S GONNA BE IN THE NEWS.
AND I'M NOT SURE I EVEN WANT TO HAVE OUR NAME EVEN CLOSER TO PRESENT ONE.
THAT WAS THE REASON I BROUGHT IT UP.
YEAH, NO, I, BUT WE GET OFF TRACK.
I MEAN, ULTIMATELY, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US GET SOME THINGS ACCOMPLISHED AND, UH, IMPROVEMENT, I GUESS.
IT, IT KIND OF GOES ALL THE WAY AROUND THAT.
SO IF WE WERE GONNA GO THROUGH THE, UM, THIS, AND, UM, LIKE I USED THE RANKING ONE THROUGH 10.
DID YOU GUYS USE, WHAT DID YOU GUYS USE? OR DID YOU JUST THROUGH, WELL, I WENT THROUGH AND DID SOME CHECK MARKS ON THINGS THAT I GUESS WOULD BE A, I LIKE A ONE MORE OF A PRIORITY OR MORE OF WHAT I SAW, BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK IT WAS LIZZIE THAT, THAT SAID THAT THESE WERE JUST KIND OF, INITIALLY YOU TOOK COMP, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, I GUESS, IDEAS, AND THEN JUST SORT OF LIKE, UM, YEAH, THIS IS ALL FEEDBACK FROM THE COMP PLAN.
PUT SOME STUFF OVER HERE WITH THREE, PUT SOME STUFF OVER HERE WITH 'EM.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I WENT THROUGH AND PUT SOME CHECK MARKS ON THINGS THAT, THAT SEEMED TO BE ALONG THE LINES OF, OF THE BOARD I THOUGHT I, YOU KNOW, WAS ON MM-HMM.
UM, AND THEN I, I'VE MADE SOME, YOU KNOW, OTHER NOTES BECAUSE, UM, I THINK I SAID ON, YOU KNOW, OUR SECOND OR THIRD MEETING, IT'S LIKE, I, I LIKE TO DO STUFF.
I LIKE TO BE, YOU KNOW, A PART OF CHANGING THINGS AND MAKING STUFF GO RIGHT.
UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LISTENING TO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT OUR BYLAWS OVER A YEAR LATER, I'M LIKE, IT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, UGH.
UH, I KNOW IT'S NECESSARY, BUT IT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, NOT, I GUESS REALLY SOMETHING WE CAN SINK OUR, UH, TEETH INTO AND, AND GET SOME TRACTION ON.
SO, NICK, SO I MEAN, I HAD, I HAVE, TELL ME WHEN YOU CHECKED, I HAVE SOME CHECKS, YOU KNOW, I HAVE, I, AND THEN I HEARD YOU SORT OF LIKE ASKING FOR A RANKING.
I MEAN, TO ME, UM, GOING TO OUR, GOING TO OUR EXISTING BUSINESSES AND, AND ASKING THEM MORE OR LESS, I MEAN, THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ALREADY MADE THE INVESTMENT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE, HOW'S BUSINESS? IS THERE A CYCLE TO YOUR BUSINESS? IS THERE, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CHANGE TO MAKE IT BETTER? UM, OR THAT, THAT CAN GO ABOUT? UM, WHAT IS, WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT AS, AS, UM, YOU KNOW, DO YOU SELL CUPCAKES OR DO YOU SELL HAMBURGERS? YOU KNOW, DO YOU SELL ELECTRICAL SERVICES? YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO, SO WHAT IS IT YOU'RE DOING? HOW, YOU KNOW, DOES IT ALIGN WITH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING EVERY YEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, GO BACK TO THIS B POLL IDEA.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'VE, YOU HAVE TO KIND OF PIGEONHOLE YOURSELF INTO WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO CALL YOU.
I'M RETAIL TRADE, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
UM, SO IT, IT, IT IS INTERESTING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, DO THAT.
BUT AGAIN, KIND OF GETTING AN IDEA OF WHO'S HERE, WHAT THEY'RE DOING, ARE THEY SUCCESSFUL? DO THEY, SO YOU'RE GETTING TOO DEEP INTO LIKE THAT'S A WORK SESSION.
SO LET'S TRY AND GO THROUGH THESE IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY.
IT'S LIKE A QUICK LITTLE BULLET POINT ABOUT, HEY, I THINK THIS AND I SUPPORT THAT.
AND LET'S GET, LET'S HAVE A WORK SESSION OR, YOU KNOW, DEVELOP A POSSIBLE, CAN WE JUST SHARE OUR HIGHEST RANKING ONE? SURE.
LET'S SEE WHERE THE OVERLAP IS.
SO WHY DON'T YOU, WHY DON'T YOU SHARE? AND THEN NUMBER TWO WOULD BE IDENTIFY TARGET SECTORS AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
IDENTIFY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT WILL SUPPORT THESE.
UM, THOSE, THOSE WERE PROBABLY NUMBER ONE AND TWO FOR ME.
[01:10:01]
ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY.I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS GOT ANY RANKINGS OR NOT.
YEAH, I AGREE THAT I RANKED VERY HIGHLY.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM ONE IN THAT CATEGORY UTILIZE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
TOWN'S GONE TO A LOT OF EXPENSE TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO SUPPORTING A LINE OF DECISION MAKING.
TO ME, WE SHOULD TRY TO FOLLOW ALONG WITH THAT.
AND SO I HAD THAT AS NUMBER TWO.
I HAVE UTILIZED A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC DECISIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT WOULD ALIGN WITH WHAT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS.
UM, DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION, IT'S, UH, CREATED VIBRANT IN DOWNTOWN.
NUMBER ONE, IDENTIFY TARGET SECTORS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND INFRASTRUCTURE UNITS.
THOSE ARE MY THREE HIGHEST RANKING ONES.
I HAVE OTHER ONES THAT RANKED SIMILAR, BUT THOSE IN MY MIND, I THINK IS WHAT THIS TEAM HERE NEEDS TO TAKE FOCUS ON.
UM, SO, UH, YEAH, NO, I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF, OF, UM, THE THOUGHT OF THE RESTAURANTS AND DIVERSE CUISINES.
I THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG DEAL FOR WHAT'S COMING IN THIS DIRECTION.
I THINK WE NEED TO TRY TO ALSO KEEP THEM OPEN AFTER FIVE O'CLOCK.
AND MY NUMBER ONE WAS THE SAME NUMBER ONE, AS YOU GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN SAYING, BUT I LIKE TO STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX A LITTLE BIT AND TRY AND SEE ABOUT PEOPLE HANGING OUT HERE FOR A DAY.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S A, A BIG DEAL.
I THINK THAT THE LAST FEW WEEKS I'VE BEEN AROUND AND KIND OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, SEEING THE PEOPLE COME OUT HERE AND, AND THEN WATCHING PEOPLE LEAVE.
LIKE, NEW YEAR'S DAY WAS A REALLY WILD ONE.
I WAS AROUND HERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE, AND THERE'S ONLY LIKE ONE RESTAURANT OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S DAY.
UM, BUT LIKE, THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE OUT HERE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, JUST HAVING THE FORESIGHT TO KNOW LIKE THOSE ARE THE, THE HOT TIMES.
AND TRY TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SERVE THOSE MOMENTS, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I MEAN, TO YOUR POINT, I WILL SAY THAT PRE PANDEMIC ALL THE TRAFFIC THAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET NOW OR THAT WE, THAT, THAT WE WANTED TO GET, THEN IT IS HERE NOW.
THEY, THEY, PEOPLE DISCOVERED FRONT ROYAL AND RURAL COMMUNITIES POST PANDEMIC DURING THE PANDEMIC, AND THEY ARE COMING, THEY'RE STILL COMING.
WE NEED TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT.
GET 'EM TO STAY FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
AND THEN MY LAST ONE THAT I'M ALWAYS GONNA BRING UP IS, IS, UH, PARTNER WITH LOCAL EDUCATIONAL, VOCATIONAL RESOURCES TO PROVIDE FOR SKILLED LABOR FORCE.
I THINK THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.
I THINK A LOT OF THE, THE UP AND COMING LABOR FORCE NEEDS MORE DIRECTION THAN THE FORCE BEFORE THEN.
AND IT NEEDS TO BE A DIRECTIVE HANDBOOK, SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, A COURSE.
NOW, THE REASON I DIDN'T START OR CHECK IT WAS 'CAUSE IT, I, I VIEW IT AS IT'S KIND OF ALREADY HAPPENING, BUT, BUT YOU MIGHT, YOU'RE MORE EXPERIENCED WITH IT THAN I AM.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE BLUE RIDGE TECH CENTER.
YOU'VE GOT KIDS THAT ARE GETTING EXCITED ABOUT DIFFERENT TRADES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THEY'RE GETTING THEIR FEET WET, YOU KNOW, UM, TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY, THEY, I MEAN, IT'S INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, UM, SO THERE, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A CONNECTION FROM THERE TO LAUREL RIDGE.
I DON'T, YOU KNOW, AND THEN FROM THERE TO YOU, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT NEEDS TO BE CLOSER, BUT IT JUST SEEMED LIKE IT WAS ALREADY HAPPENING TO ME.
UM, WELL, I KNOW LIKE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS, UH, USED TO PARTNER WITH COLLEGES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA WHEN I WAS DOING MY TRADESMAN STUFF, AND, YOU KNOW, PUTTING IT IN BACK INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL AND MAKING IT SOMETHING THAT'S RELEVANT, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THEY HAVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT REALLY IS AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, OH, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, ONE ELECTIVE CLASS.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NO OTHER, NO OTHER VISION OF IT.
YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE THEN WE PUSH COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU? I'M SORRY.
YEAH, WITH BLUE RIDGE TECH, UH, A LITTLE BIT FAMILIAR, BUT WITH THEY, THE COMMUNICATION ISN'T AS OPEN AS I WISHED IT WOULD BE.
SO I THINK THEY'VE GOT SOME NEW LEADERSHIP IN PLACE.
YOU, UM, I'D LOVE TO, I LOVE CONNECT THAT.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN, SO MAYBE WE NEED TO HAVE A COME IN.
I, I THINK, I THINK THAT'D BE BENEFICIAL.
WE HAVE HIGH SCHOOL, WE ARE DOING THE SAME THING, YOU KNOW, WITH FOOD.
I'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, BLUE RIDGE TECH, THEY HAVE A CATERING PROGRAM.
CULINARY, CULINARY, CULINARY PROGRAM.
HOW MANY, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE I EVER COME ASKED FOR A JOB OR EVEN INQUIRE ZERO? I'VE REACHED OUT AND GOTTEN NOTHING IN RETURN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW DEVIN RUNS IT.
I'VE SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY, SEND HIM MY WAY.
AND THEN FOR WHATEVER REASON, WHETHER HE SEND YOU HAVE AN APPRENTICE.
[01:15:01]
ANYBODY? I'VE HAD PEOPLE, BUT NOT FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL.YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, AND HE MIGHT BE SEEING THE SAME, SAME THING.
IT'S LIKE, AND THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WHEN THEY, YOU KNOW, I, I, I HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS OF MY OWN CHILDREN, AND IT'S SORT OF LIKE, THERE'S MANY AVENUES.
AND IT'S LIKE, SO IF YOU FIND ONE YOU ENJOY, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU GET OUT THERE AND YOU WORK, WORK A DAY WITH AN ELECTRICIAN AND YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'RE SEEING WHAT, AND YOU'RE LIKE, WOW.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND THEN TALK TO YOU ABOUT HOW, HOW YOU CAN GROW IT INTO A BUSINESS AND BE YOUR OWN THING OR, OR THE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, WAYS.
I MEAN, I'VE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS WITH EMPLOYEES.
IT'S JUST THAT SOME, AGAIN, IT, IT, AND I REMEMBER I'VE ASKED SEVERAL PEOPLE, I'M LIKE, WHAT IS IT ABOUT? LIKE, WHY DOES NOT, WHY IS THIS THAT THE TOWN, THAT THE AURA OF THE TOWN SEEMS TO BE THAT THEY'RE TRAPPED HERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE CHILDREN IN THE CORNER OR SOMETHING, OR, OR
I'VE, I'VE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GET ON 'EM AND GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT.
YOU CAN TAKE YOURSELF ANYWHERE YOU WANT.
SO, YOU KNOW, DON'T, DON'T SAY THAT I'M FROM
YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU CAN BE AS BIG AS YOU WANNA BE.
WELL, IT'S PROBABLY HARD FOR US TO AFFECT IT, BUT NO POSITIVE PEOPLE WHO THINK POSITIVE GENERALLY GET POSITIVE RESULTS, IN MY OPINION.
PEOPLE THINK NEGATIVE GENERALLY GET NEGATIVE RESULTS, IN MY OPINION.
BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA AFFECT HERE.
ALL WE CAN DO IS LEAD FROM THE FRONT.
NO, AGAIN, BUT IT'S, IT'S AS A, TO MY POINT, IT'S THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
HAYDEN, DO YOU WANT ANYTHING YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, THE IDENTIFYING TARGET SECTORS WAS DEFINITELY UP THERE FOR ME.
UM, DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN, CONTINUING A VIBRANT DOWNTOWN BUILDING TOWARDS THAT.
UM, AND I THINK, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS SLOTS INTO THE DISCUSSION, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A MONTH BETWEEN NOW AND OUR NEXT MEETING, UM, WHAT ARE LIKE THE SMALL WINS WE CAN BUILD? WHAT ARE OUR ACTION ITEMS? WHAT ARE OUR MARCHING ORDERS? WE CAN WALK OUT IF SO, TO BUILD THEM.
SO PERHAPS THERE SHOULDN'T BE A MONTH.
JUST BECAUSE IT SAYS WE MEET MONTHLY DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE LIMITED TO THAT.
WE CAN, WE CAN MEET EVERY TWO WEEKS FOR A WHILE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND I THINK IT DOES MAKE SENSE.
UM, SO THAT, SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GET, IF WE MEET MONTHLY, WE'LL NEVER.
I MEAN, IT'S GONNA TAKE FOREVER.
OR, OR, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, SO ANYWAY.
UM, AND THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO DOWN HERE AND WE GET THE GOALS AND TACTICS, AND THEN WE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SET UP THESE COMMITTEES AND THEY START MEETING AND, AND, YOU KNOW, OR LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WE'RE ALL TOGETHER.
IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN, OR AS MANY OF US CAN GET TOGETHER, RIGHT? I MEAN, I KNOW WE SAY WE CAN MEET MONTHLY, BUT CAN'T IT BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH EMAIL? WE'RE JUST SPIT BALLING OUR IDEAS AND BACK AND FORTH THROUGH THAT.
AND INSTEAD OF HAVING TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM AT THE SAME TIME, WE CAN DO OUR HOMEWORK AHEAD OF TIME AND HAVE DAYS READY.
UM, I LIKE THAT IDEA JUST TO KEEP THE DIALOGUE GOING.
SO WHEN WE LEAVE HERE TODAY, WE CAN ALL EMAIL ONE ANOTHER AND THERE'S ANY IDEA THAT POP UP.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO RELATE TO ANYTHING SPECIFIC.
HEY, BY THE WAY, HAS, HAS ANYBODY COME ACROSS THIS GRANT THAT'S A POSSIBILITY TO HELP OUT THIS BUSINESS? THERE'S THINGS LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, AT THE MOMENT, WE NEED TO DECIDE WHAT COMMITTEES WE WANT TO HAVE OR WHAT AREAS WE WANNA WORK ON.
CAN WE PAUSE THAT AND HEAR FROM ROB AND THEN YEAH.
UM, SO POOR ROB, JUST GOING OVER THE WHOLE THING.
I THINK THE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY, UH, ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY PART IS LIKE, I WOULD SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
THE OTHER ONES ARE KIND OF GETTING TO MORE SPECIFIC STUFF.
UM, AND THEN A AGREEING WITH WHAT TOM SAID, I WOULD SAY THE IDENTITY TARGET SECTOR IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.
UM, DEVELOPING A PLAN, UM, AND THEN PAIRING THAT WITH MAYBE THE STUDY FEASIBILITY LINE, BUT A STUDY AS FAR AS MAYBE SEE WHAT KIND OF DATA WE CAN PULL FOR THE TOWN.
UH, I KNOW THERE'S PROBABLY NOT A LOT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WHATEVER FEDERAL WEBSITES, THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS OR HOUSING OR WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO AS FAR AS THAT STUFF GOES.
BUT THEN AS FAR AS WHAT DAVID SAID, UH, JUST FEET ON THE GROUND.
LIKE, UH, TALKING TO LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, SEE WHAT THEY NEED, SEE WHAT THEIR COMPLAINTS ARE AS FAR AS WHERE THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TOWN PROVIDES AND WHAT IT COULD DO BETTER.
AND I LIKE THE WHOLE PAIR WITH THE SCHOOLS, WHATEVER.
[01:20:01]
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD ENTAIL.UM, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TOO.
SO IN MY ESTIMATION, THE MOST POPULAR WAS IDENTIFYING THOSE TARGET SECTORS AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY, WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY USE THE COMP PLAN, PLANNING AND ZONING.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT, UM, LOCAL EDUCATION VOCATION, THERE'LL BE, UM, I, I THINK HAVING THAT, THAT LOCAL EDUCATION FOR TRADES, UM, WE WERE ALL KIND OF CIRCLING AROUND HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE YOUTH? HOW DO YOU, UM, HOW DO YOU MAKE THEM FEEL A SENSE OF PLACE THAT THEY BELONG HERE? PERHAPS MAYBE DOWN THE ROAD YOU CONSIDER SOME SORT OF YOUNG ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOMETHING, UM, VIBRANT DOWNTOWN AS A PERSON WHO WORKS DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND THEN THAT DIALOGUE WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES, I THINK THAT REALLY TIES IN ALONG WITH WHAT ROB AND SO MANY OF YOU ARE ASKING ABOUT, IS WHERE ARE WE AT CURRENTLY FIGURING OUT WHAT YOUR CURRENT STATUS IS, WHETHER IT'S BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT, WHETHER IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, AN INVENTORY OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
HAVING THAT DATA, UM, I THINK WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO YOU AS WELL.
BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S NECESSARILY LIKE A COMMITTEE THING.
I THINK THAT'S JUST A GATHERING OF INFORMATION THING.
SO I MEAN, I WILL SAY THAT THERE WAS A COMPANY THAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT ENGAGING, WHAT IS IT? STRATEGIC RETAIL STRATEGY, RETAIL STRATEGIES.
UM, WE MAY WANNA CIRCLE BACK WITH THEM AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEIR HEAD IS IN THIS AND IF THEY WANT TO GIVE US ANOTHER PRESENTATION, IF WE THINK THAT'S THE DIRECTION TO GO.
THAT WAS THE COMPANY WITH THE YORK PRESENTATION, RIGHT? I BELIEVE SO, YES.
THERE WAS ONE MORE RELIABLE UTILITIES AND SERVICES, JUST A HOT BUTTON.
COMMUNICATE ACROSS GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO FIND EFFICIENCIES OR INNOVATION WHERE POSSIBLE.
I THINK THAT GETS INCORPORATED INTO WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, UHHUH,
WHETHER IT'S HIGH-SPEED INTERNET, WHETHER IT'S RELOCATION OF ELECTRICAL SERVICES, WHETHER IT'S BURYING SOME STUFF UNDERGROUND.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA NEED TO WORK WITH THE TOWN.
WE NEED TO UTILIZE IT'S SMART PEOPLE TOO.
SO IN MY ESTIMATION, WE'VE GOT A, A RELATIVELY DECENT ROADMAP OF YOUR, YOUR CHOSEN SECTORS.
ARE YOU IDENTIFYING THESE AS GOALS AND TACTICS FOR NOW? I THINK SO.
IDENTIFYING THOSE TARGET SECTORS, THAT'S A BIG ONE.
HOW DO YOU WANNA GO ABOUT DOING THAT? IS THE QUESTION, IS MY QUESTION AT LEAST? YES.
AGAIN, SO I PUT SOME THOUGHT BEHIND THIS TOO, UH, EARLIER, UM, AGAIN, GOING BACK AND, AND PERHAPS I, BJ, IS, IS B PULL DATA AVAILABLE TO US? IS THAT SOMETHING WE HAVE TO FOIA? NO, IT'S, UM, IT'S, UH, UH, YOU CAN GIVE GENERALIZATIONS, BUT, UM, I CAN'T GIVE A WHOLE LOT OF THAT OUT.
IT'S NOT, UH, ABLE TO BE FO UH, GENERALIZATION I THINK WOULD BE OKAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A PIE CHART OF OF OF, YOU KNOW, THOSE, UH, HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAS IT 14 DIFFERENT BEEF PULLED? UM, THE, UM, I MEAN, MOSTLY EVERYTHING FALLS UNDER RETAIL.
RETAIL, PERSONAL SERVICES ARE YOUR TWO BIG TICKET ITEMS. UM, SO YEAH.
WE DO HAVE INDUSTRY WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS, SO OBVIOUSLY YEAH.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE.
A LOT OF IT'S GONE OUT, BUT, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST THINKING THAT THAT MIGHT BE ONE EASY PLACE TO, YOU KNOW, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
ARE WE BETTER OFF MAYBE TAKING, I MEAN, WE HAD SOME, WE HAD SOME DATA.
WE HAD SOME DATA IN THE, IN THE ACTUAL, UH, COMP PLAN AND, AND YOU KNOW, I DON'T NECESSARILY PARK SERVICES DATA.
UM, JUST BECAUSE HOW DO THEY KNOW, YOU KNOW, UNLESS YOU STOP EVERY CAR THAT GOES INTO THE PARK AND SAID, WHERE DID YOU EAT? YOU KNOW, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK? WHAT? THE NATIONAL PARK, I'M SORRY.
THAT, THAT DATA IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE, UM, IT, IT, IT'S HARD
[01:25:01]
TO, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK SOME OF THAT, UM, STATISTICAL DATA IS HARD TO COLLECT.IT'S HARD TO, UM, I THINK A LOT OF IT THEY'RE UTILIZING LIKE ARRIVAL LIST AND, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A GOOD BIT OF DIGITAL FOOTPRINT THAT PEOPLE LEAVE AND ARE WILLING TO, I GIVE ACCESS TO THESE DAYS.
TO ME, THEY JUST KIND OF GO, OKAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST GUESSTIMATE 25% OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THE NUMBER MM-HMM.
AND THEN THEY CAN SAY THAT, YOU KNOW? UM, BUT AGAIN, IT, IT, IT IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU DO THAT? THAT WAS ONE WAY THAT I THOUGHT OF IS THAT THERE, THERE HAS TO BE SOME DATA THAT, THAT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE TOWN IS COLLECTING IT THROUGH TAXES.
SO THEY KNOW ROUGHLY, AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION, HOW MUCH OF IT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ACCESS TO, OR, OR CAN, CAN GAIN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S JUST A ROUGH IDEA.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT, IT COULD ALSO BE TOO VAGUE WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, RETAIL, RETAIL, YOU KNOW, IS 99% AND THEN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T REALLY GIVE US A GOOD WINDOW.
UM, I MEAN, ROOM TAXES ARE, ARE PRETTY
BUT, BUT NOW A LOT OF THE PROPERTIES ARE OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN.
I THINK THERE'S A REALLY STRONG UNDERCURRENT AND WE WANNA DO SOMETHING THAT SOME, THAT'S GOOD.
UM, I THINK STARTING FROM THESE GOALS IS GOOD.
I DO THINK WE STILL NEED TO WORK THROUGH OUR VISION AND MISSION, BUT NOT TODAY.
WE'RE, WE'RE HITTING THE FATIGUE WALL.
IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER EVERYONE'S FACES.
UM, SO I DO THINK THAT WE MAYBE SUMMARIZE THIS AND, AND SEND THIS TO THE GROUP.
I'M STILL NAVIGATING THESE RULES AND THINGS, UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT MAYBE WE IDENTIFY WHO ON THE TEAM IS REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT ANY OF THESE SPECIFIC THINGS.
AND MAYBE THAT HELPS DRIVE YOUR COMMITTEE STRUCTURE SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO HAVE SUBCOMMITTEE.
UM, AND THESE WERE A COUPLE OF THE IDEAS THAT I HEARD.
AGAIN, PARKING STUDY THAT COMES BACK TO INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS IN MY OPINION.
UM, FACADE GRANTS THAT COULD, I MEAN, THAT'S NOT JUST DOWNTOWN, BUT THAT COULD CERTAINLY BE PART OF THAT.
UM, THIS NEW BUSINESS NAVIGATION TELLS ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, BUILDING THAT STRONG BASE FOR FOLKS TO GET STARTED OR GROW IN WHATEVER THEIR INDUSTRY IS.
AND THAT ACCOUNTING COMES BACK TO THOSE EXISTING BUSINESSES, RIGHT? SO I THINK A LOT OF THESE TIE TOGETHER, THEY'RE JUST USING DIFFERENT, SO ALMOST EVERYBODY SAID, AT LEAST I THINK EVERYBODY SAID IDENTIFY TARGET SECTORS YEAH.
LIKE, I FEEL LIKE
EITHER THAT WAY OR SOME OTHER WAY.
UM, I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE ALL LIKE, WE THINK WE KNOW THE TOWN BECAUSE WE LIVE HERE AND STUFF, BUT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE RETAIL STRATEGY FOLKS, I'M NOT PUSHING THAT AND IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE LOOKED AT IT.
BUT JUST TO, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE A, SEEMED LIKE AN UNBIASED REVIEW OF OUR INVENTORY.
GOING BACK TO WHAT LIZZIE SAID, THEY USE PEOPLE'S CELL DATA WHILE THEY'RE IN HERE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE PEOPLE GO, WHAT THEY DO, WHAT I DON'T, BUT OTHER PEOPLE DO.
RETAIL STRATEGIES COMPANY THAT WOULDN'T COME IN HERE, DO A STUDY AND PROVIDE US A YEAR'S WORTH OF DATA.
MAYBE TWO YEARS, THREE YEARS WORTH OF DATA.
WHEN PEOPLE VISIT HERE, WHAT ARE THEY DOING? WHEN ARE THEY LEAVING, WHEN ARE THEY ARRIVING? AND WHAT PORTIONS OF TOWN ARE THEY STAYING? WHAT, UH, RETAIL? WHERE ARE THE HOLES? THE HOLES? YEAH.
WHERE ARE THE HOLES? WHAT, WHAT IS 'CAUSE THEN SURVEY, WHAT, WHAT EXISTS HERE? RIGHT.
THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT GEARED MORE TOWARDS CHAIN RESTAURANTS AND CHAIN STORES.
UM, WHICH I MEAN ISN'T NECESSARILY A BAD THING, BUT I KNOW EVERYBODY WANTS TO PRESERVE THE LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS.
AND I THINK WHEN THIS IS BROUGHT UP TO TOWN COUNCIL, I THINK THAT WAS SORT OF LIKE, WELL, WHY WOULD WE WANNA SPEND THIS MONEY IF ALL THEY'RE GOING TO DO IS SORT OF PUSH CHAIN RESTAURANTS INTO FRONT ROYAL? I THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLY THE FEAR.
BUT GOING BACK TO THEN THAT WAS, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE WANT TO FIND OUT IS WHERE ARE THE ECONOMIC HOLES IN FRONT ROYAL THAT WE CAN FILL IN ALL THE WHILE TRYING TO IMPROVE EVERYTHING ELSE THAT, THAT IS CURRENTLY EXISTING HERE.
EITHER THE BLIGHTED PROPERTIES, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE ELECTRICAL WIRES THAT YOU KNOW ARE DONE UNSIGHTLY AS
[01:30:01]
YOU'RE MAKING YOUR ENTRANCE ON JOHN MARSHALL HIGHWAY.THINGS THAT EACH OF US COULD POINT OUT INDIVIDUALLY AND SAY, ALRIGHT, HERE'S A PROBLEM.
MAYBE HERE'S A SOLUTION THAT US AS BEING THE LEADERSHIP ECONOMIC PEOPLE THAT WE WERE APPOINTED TO BE AND POINT THAT OUT.
I THINK THERE'S ALSO SOME TOWN STAFF WHO ALREADY HAVE SOME PASSION ON SOME OF THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
I KNOW LIKE THE ENTRANCE CORRIDORS, I HAVE IDEAS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY YET, BUT I HAVE IDEAS.
SO I THINK THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO SAY, YOU KNOW, HERE'S WHAT THE EDA IS LOOKING AT.
WHAT'S, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? THE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS EVERY DAY, I THINK THEY'RE GONNA HAVE GREAT FRONTLINE FEEDBACK AS WELL.
SO HOW DOES EVERYBODY FEEL ABOUT MEETING TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY ON THE 22ND? JOE? I JUST WANTED TO INTERJECT ONE THING.
WHEN YOU STARTED TALKING ABOUT MEETINGS, I STARTED LOOKING AT OUR BYLAWS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR MONTHLY MEETING ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH.
I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE THAT, UH, CARE OF TODAY.
BUT ALSO READING THROUGH HERE, THE CHAIRMAN OR THREE BOARD MEMBERS CAN CALL A MEETING.
SO IT WOULD BE MORE, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AT THIS TIME IF THE CHAIR WANTED TO CALL A MEETING FOR TWO WEEKS TO DO THAT.
WELL, I'M, I'M ASKING FOR THAT THEN.
WELL, I, I DON'T, HE CAN'T MAKE, I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE HOLD OUR MONTHLY MEETING ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH.
I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ONE FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING.
WELL, BUT THAT'S, IT'S TWO STEP PROCESS.
SO YOU WANT A SECOND THAT, I'LL SECOND THAT ONE.
SO ALL IN FAVOR OF PUTTING THAT IN.
IT IS A ANNUAL VOTE THAT WE HAVE TO DO AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE YEAR.
IT'S KIND OF A PROCEDURAL THING AND, AND IT COULD CHANGE 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, OUR MEMBERSHIP WILL CHANGE.
YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE ALL OF A SUDDEN MONDAY'S AT NOON OR HORRIBLE FOR WHOEVER THE CHAIRMAN IS AT AT THE TIME.
YOU KNOW, OR JOE, OR NOW YOU'RE, NOW YOU'RE ON FOR THE MEETING.
SO NOW, UM, COULD I HAVE A MOTION TO MEET ON THE 22ND? PAUSE? YES.
YOU CAN'T DO THE 20? I CANNOT.
WELL, WHAT, WHEN CAN YOU DO IT? I, I'M MORE FLEXIBLE LATER IN THAT WEEK, BUT I JUST, I CAN'T DO THAT 22ND.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING I CAN MOVE 'EM OUT OF CHARGE, BUT I MEAN, MM-HMM.
I WHAT ABOUT TUESDAY? CORRECT? OR WEDNESDAY? THIS IS AN AD HOC, UH, MEETING I, TUESDAY.
SO IF IT WAS AT NIGHTTIME, DOES THAT WORK BETTER FOR DIET SUIT MONDAY? WAIT, ONE, ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME.
SAME FOR TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.
I HAVE DRIVE TO DC UHHUH, SO THAT WOULD BE A TOUGH ONE FOR ME.
WHEN DO YOU GET BACK INTO TOWN? UH, SEVEN 30 ISH.
SO WHAT ABOUT THURSDAY? I CAN BE THURSDAY.
AND IS ANYBODY OPPOSED TO AN EVENING BESIDES STAFF? I WOULD RATHER A MEETING EVENING IF COULD I COOK WRESTLING? HUH? I COOK WRESTLING AND, OKAY.
SO EVENING MEETINGS WOULD BE TOUGH FOR ME.
UH, BUT I'M FLEXIBLE EITHER AS FAR AS THE DAY, IF WE HAVE DAYTIME, ANYTHING FLEXIBLE THAT, IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC NIGHT THAT YOU WOULD BE AVAILABLE? UH, TUESDAY NIGHTS.
SO, SO FULL DISCLOSURE, I'M GETTING READY TO HAVE A CHILD IN THE NEXT LIKE FIVE DAYS, SO I PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO DO AN EVENING.
CAN THE WIFE COME IN YOUR PLACE? NO.
DAYTIME SHOULD BE THE MOST PREFERRED FOR ME FOR THE NEXT LIKE MONTH.
LOOK LIKE MY CALENDAR'S WIDE OPEN ON THURSDAY THE 25TH.
YEAH, I'M OPEN RIGHT NOW FOR THAT MORNING AND, AND I CAN ONLY DO, I CAN ONLY DO MORNINGS UP UNTIL, OKAY.
UM, SO SOLELY BECAUSE IS NINE O'CLOCK ON THURSDAY OKAY WITH EVERYBODY? 9:00 AM I'M JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE.
WHAT'S THE DATE FOR ROBERT? HE WON'T BE OVER ON MY LUNCH BREAK RIGHT NOW.
SO I'M, I'M LIKE, I SEE ME OVER HERE.
I'M LIKE, RESPOND TO TEAMS MESSAGES.
LIKE I'LL BE BACK IN A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, SO.
DOING IT LIKE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, DURING THE WORK WAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, UH, THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING, YOU KNOW, NIGHTS WOULD BE PREFERABLE, BUT I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A LOT OF CONFLICTS WITH THAT TOO.
UM, SO I MEAN, I COULD PROBABLY SHOW UP IF WE DID DURING LUNCHTIME.
I COULD PROBABLY SHOW UP FOR AN HOUR, YOU KNOW? UM, BUT I DON'T, 9:00 AM IS GONNA BE A TOUGH ONE FOR ME.
[01:35:03]
WELL, WE DON'T ALL HAVE TO BE HERE.I MEAN, IT'D BE BETTER IF WE WERE MM-HMM.
UM, SO DID WE TRY NOON ON THURSDAY THE 25TH? DAVID CAN'T MAKE TO, HE'S GOTTA MAKE
WE CAN ALWAYS AGAIN, I MEAN, THERE HAS TO BE THREE OF US.
WHAT, WHAT WAS THIS? UH, HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANY, THERE HAS TO BE THREE OF US TO HAVE A QUORUM PROMISE.
UM, SO LET'S, LET'S, LET'S JUST REAL QUICKLY.
SO WHO CAN DO NINE O'CLOCK ON THE 25TH? RAISE YOUR HAND.
NOW, AND WHO CAN DO 11 OR 12 O'CLOCK ON THE 25TH
YOU CAN DO ROCK PAPER, SCISSORS OR SOMETHING.
YOU GUYS GOTTA HAVE A CAGE MATCH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IT'S OKAY.
I'M, YOU KNOW, IT'S EITHER WAY.
I MEAN, I'M THE NEWER ONE, SO I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE YOU, YOUR SENIORITY, YOU KNOW, I CAN WATCH WE PUT GIVEN OH MY SENIORITY.
ALRIGHT, WELL LET'S DO NINE O'CLOCK ON THE 25TH AND UM, IF THAT'S OKAY.
SO, UH, NINE O'CLOCK ON THE 20 THAT, AND THAT'S A THURSDAY.
IT NEEDS TO MATCH WHAT TOWN COUNCIL JIM, THIS MEETING IS TO DISCUSS GOALS ONLY, RIGHT? IT'S NOT A REGULAR MEETING CORRECT WORKS.
AND THE ONE THAT'S GONNA TAKE THE MOST TIME IS THE SECOND ONE THERE.
WILL THIS ROOM BE AVAILABLE? I'LL MAKE SURE.
SO, UM, HOW LONG DO WE WANT FOR THAT MEETING? UH, I'D STILL ALLOW AN HOUR AND A HALF POSSIBLY.
I WOULD, JOE, IT'S OPEN ON THE SKI.
SO OUR NEXT MEETING NOW IS REALLY THE 25TH AND IT'S A WORK SESSION.
AND, UH, OUR FOLLOWING MONTHLY MEETING IS ON FEBRUARY 5TH.
UM, ANY FURTHER BUSINESS TODAY, I, UH, HEAR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
THANKS EVERYBODY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.