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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BOARD[ Economic Development Authority on August 4, 2025.]
TO ORDER.UM, HILLARY, CAN YOU DO A ROLL CALL? CHAIRMAN RICK NOVA.
DID YOU GUYS HAVE A CHANCE TO LOOK OVER THE MINUTES? NO.
ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE MINUTES? I THOUGHT THEY SEEM PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO ME, BUT MM-HMM.
CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED? SO MOVED.
ANY, GET ANOTHER CHANCE AT DISCUSSION HERE? 'CAUSE I DID THAT WRONG.
SO, EXISTING BUSINESS, LIZZIE, LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE, UH, USING SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS.
SO THE BUSINESS RETENTION PROJECT DISCUSSION, UM, WE HAD TALKED A LITTLE BIT LAST MONTH ABOUT IDENTIFYING BUSINESSES THAT WE WANTED TO GO AND CHIT CHAT WITH, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED WAS THE STARTING A BUSINESS GUIDE OR THE EXISTING BUSINESS KIND OF REFERENCE DOCUMENT.
DO YOU MIND TAKING ONE PASS? UM, I PRINTED THE OLD ONE.
THERE'S A REALLY FANTASTIC GROUP PICTURE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL AT THE TIME WHEN THEY MADE THIS ONE THAT'S ON THERE.
UM, SO THIS ONE'S JUST TO, JUST SO WEE IT DATED, BUT I WANTED YOU GUYS TO HAVE A REFERENCE DOCUMENT SO THAT WHEN WE'RE FIGURING OUT WHAT WE WANT TO PUT ON OUR VERSION OF THIS, WE HAVE A FRAMEWORK TO START.
I DID NOT RECEIVE ANY NOTES FROM ANYONE ABOUT BUSINESSES THAT THEY WANTED TO CHAT WITH FIRST, OR, UM, FOLKS THAT THEY FELT THEY NEEDED TO CHECK IN ON.
I DON'T THINK HILLARY RECEIVED ANY OF THOSE EITHER.
SO DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THIS OTHER THAN WE'LL BLOW IT UP AND MAKE IT BETTER? I'D LIKE IF SHE SCHEDULE SOME MEETINGS AND YEP.
INVITE A COUPLE OF US, OR, YOU KNOW, OPEN IT UP AND WHAT THE FIRST TWO THAT SAY WE WANNA GO ALONG, THEN IT'S FULL.
BECAUSE WE CAN'T GO WITH MORE THAN TWO.
UM, SO THIS IS THE, THE OLD VERSION, LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT CERTAIN WHO MADE THIS ONE, UM, BUT THIS IS WHAT STILL EXISTS ON OUR WEBSITE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
UM, WE HAVE, I HAVE HIDDEN IT BECAUSE MOST OF THOSE PHONE NUMBERS ARE WRONG AND ALL OF THAT, BUT, UM, BUT I DO WANNA MOVE FORWARD ON THAT RATHER QUICKLY.
SO, UM, IF YOU ALL WOULDN'T MIND TAKING A LOOK AT IT OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING AND SENDING ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THINGS YOU WANNA INCLUDE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
LIZZIE, THERE WAS ALSO, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE TIMEFRAME, BUT I WAS INVOLVED WITH, UM, TRYING TO DO SOME INDUSTRY SPECIFIC TYPE OF THINGS BECAUSE I, I'LL JUST SPEAK TO MY SECTOR BASICALLY, BUT, UM, THERE WAS A STORE THAT WAS TRYING TO GO IN SELLING KITCHEN WARES, AND THEY ALSO WANTED TO DO BAKING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO SETS OF BASICALLY REGS THAT YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH.
UM, AND IT'S A VERY MUCH RIGHT HAND, LEFT HAND SITUATION WHERE NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT THE RULES ARE EXCEPT FOR THE PRIMARY BODIES THAT ENFORCE THEM.
UM, AND SO THIS, THIS STORE WAS HA THEY WERE KIND OF RUNNING INTO, UM, ROADBLOCKS 'CAUSE THEY, THEY DIDN'T KNOW MM-HMM
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY EASY TO BE CONFUSED BECAUSE IT IS ESSENTIALLY, UH, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WHICH IS ONE IS UNDER THE OTHER MM-HMM
UM, BUT THEY DON'T, AGAIN, THEY DON'T SEEM TO TALK TO ONE ANOTHER.
SO, UM, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THERE WAS A, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WOULD BE, UM, BUT WE DEVELOPED KIND OF A ROADMAP THAT WAS MORE SPECIFIC FOR THE TYPE OF BUSINESS YOU WERE OPENING.
UM, BECAUSE DO YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU WORKED ON THAT WITH? DAVID? I, I AM TRYING TO REMEMBER WHO.
IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS A WHILE AGO.
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AGAIN, THESE WERE ISSUES THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE BASICALLY CHIMING IN THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN A BUSINESS IN FRONT ROYAL.THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER.
UM, I JUST, 'CAUSE I'VE HAD MY OWN, UH, STRUGGLES DOING IT.
LIKE I NEVER FOUND THAT IT WAS A GOVERNMENT ISSUE.
IT WAS MORE AN UNDERSTANDING ISSUE.
UM, AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO ADMIT THAT
THEY WERE, THEY WERE JUST NOT SORT OF LIKE, KIND OF GOING THROUGH SOME THINGS.
LIKE, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, ZONING, YOU ALMOST HAVE TO START THERE.
THEY JUST THINK AS SOON AS THEY SIGN A LEASE, THEY'RE GOOD TO GO.
DON'T SIGN A LEASE UNTIL YOU CHECK OUT THE ZONING BOARD.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR BUSINESS CAN GO.
BUT NO ONE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE, IS THERE, THERE IS, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S, IT'S REALLY BAD IN TERMS OF, UM, I THINK THE WAY PEOPLE ARE GOING INTO BUSINESS AND HOW, HOW QUICKLY THEY'RE JUMPING IN AND THEN THEY REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, OKAY, THERE'S A LOT, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IT PULLS A LITTLE DEEPER THAN I THOUGHT.
UM, SO I'LL TRY TO THINK BACK.
BUT I KNOW THAT WE DID KIND OF WORK ON THIS, THAT THE NUMBER ONE THING ON THIS THING,
DID YOU TALK TO DON'T SIGN A LEASE UNTIL YOU, BECAUSE I, I, I THOUGHT IT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE, BECAUSE I WAS ON THE, UH, EZA AT THE TIME.
AND, AND, UH, THERE WAS NO APPLICATION OR VARIANCE, YOU KNOW, AT THE TIME.
BUT WE WERE, IT WAS PART OF A DISCUSSION.
WAS THIS THE LIKE COOKING CLASSES? EXACTLY.
AND I, AND I DID SOME OF THOSE, OR MY WIFE AND I DID, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE DON'T, IT WAS THEM AND THEY WERE, THEY TRIED TO PUT IN AN OVEN.
UM, IT'S THE SAME SPACE THAT, UH, IT'S OUN NOW.
UM, BUT BACK WHEN IT WAS, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO, THE KNOW 1, 2, 3 OR WHATEVER IT WAS, AND THEN AFTER THAT IT WAS VINO SOMETHING.
ANYWAY, THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE THAT A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN COOK FOOD MM-HMM
UM, BUT TRYING TO DO IT WITHOUT SPENDING ANY MONEY IS, IS SORT OF BEEN A PROBLEM.
BECAUSE IN, IN A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU, WHEN AGAIN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE KIND OF LIKE WORKING ON DIFFERENT REGULATIONS.
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HAS THEIR OWN, AND THEN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IS MORE FOR THINGS THAT ARE LABELED TO TAKE HOME AND CONSUME.
UM, SO LIKE BAKED GOODS FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, IT HAS TO HAVE A NUTRITIONAL LABEL ON IT AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER THINGS.
I MEAN, THAT JUST HITS A IMMEDIATE LIKE HUH.
AND SO, UM, BUT WE DISCOVERED THAT THERE WERE OTHER KIND OF THINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING SIMILAR.
AND A LOT OF IT HAD TO DO WITH, THEY WERE DOING THINGS THAT THEY JUST NEVER CHECKED WITH ANYBODY TO SEE IF THEY COULD DO.
THEY JUST FIGURED, I SIGNED A LEASE, I'M GOOD TO GO.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.
UH, THAT DID MAKE ME THINK THAT MAYBE OUR FRIENDS IN REAL ESTATE WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD AUDIENCE FOR THIS FINAL DOCUMENT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO HERE YOU, YOU'RE LOOKING TO SIGN YOUR LEASE, YOU'RE LOOKING TO DO THIS.
LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING YOU ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE FEELS THE SAME.
I MEAN, THIS IS A, A NEAT THING, BUT IT, IT'S KIND OF GENERIC.
IT STILL DOESN'T REALLY, I, I MEAN, I'M ALMOST WONDERING IF THIS SHOULDN'T BE LIKE, BULLET POINTS.
FIRST OF ALL, CHECK WITH ZONING.
I, IT DOESN'T, THIS IS JUST THE ONE THAT EXISTS.
AND I MEAN, IT'S NICE, BUT I, I FIND THAT WOW, WHAT A GREAT TOOL TO SHARPEN THE PENCIL ON A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THAT'S BEEN EDITED TOO, BECAUSE THERE, THAT USED TO CONTAIN, UM, SOME THINGS BASED ON FUNDING AND OTHER STUFF THAT, THAT BOTH TOWN AND COUNTY.
WELL, I MEAN, WE CAN'T TELL PEOPLE HOW TO DO A BUSINESS PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT THE SMALL BUSINESS DIRECTIVE FOLKS ARE, BUT WE CAN'T GIVE 'EM GUIDANCE AS TO WHERE TO GO GET THAT SMALL BUSINESS PLAN.
IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS, HERE ARE OTHER FACTORS, I DON'T KNOW, KIND OF GENERIC.
I THINK WE COULD, I I MEAN, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO, UH, JUMP IN ON THAT.
AND IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE A TRIFOLD.
AND IT DOES, YOU KNOW, IT CAN, IT CAN LOOK VERY DIFFERENT THAN THIS.
I JUST WANTED YOU TO KIND OF HAVE, IN YOUR SENSE, IT COULD BE A WRAP CARD WITH A HYPERLINK.
IT COULD BE ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
BUT THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, LIKE, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF NARRATIVE IN HERE.
YOU KNOW, AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.
AND THE ZONING, THE ZONING MAP IS ESSENTIALLY USELESS AT THIS RESOLUTION TOO, IN TERMS OF YEAH.
THAT WAS A, WE HAVE A HOLE AND WE NEED TO FILL IT WITH SOMETHING GRAPHIC.
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YEAH.I THINK WE CAN ELEVATE THAT PARTICULAR DOCUMENT.
SO YOU WANNA SET UP A WORK SESSION FOR THAT? I DO.
OR WE CAN UTILIZE PART OF OUR NEXT MEETING.
UH, I'LL LEAVE THAT UP TO YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
SO I KNOW IT'S TOUGH TO GET PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE ONE MONTH.
WELL, LET'S PUT IT ON NEXT MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA.
ANYWAY, THANKS FOR FINDING THAT
SO, UH, WHAT PRESENCE? D YEAH.
CHARLES, CAN YOU DO ME A FAVOR? CAN YOU PULL UP THE EMAIL THAT I SENT TO EAST CONFERENCE THAT I HAVE A SUGGESTION ON WHAT YOU JUST SUGGESTED? YEP.
GETTING SEVEN OF US ON THE SAME PAGE WITH SOMETHING AS GENERIC AS SAYS, WHY DON'T YOU LET TWO OF US HAVE A MEETING BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT MEETING, KIND OF COME UP WITH AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING.
I THINK IT'LL KICK OUR DISCUSSION IN HERE A LITTLE QUICKER.
HANDING OUT A SOLUTION THAT WE EDIT IS A LOT BETTER THAN TRYING TO START WITH, SO THAT'S GREAT.
SO, I MEAN, I'LL VOLUNTEER EVERY ONE OF US.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO DO THAT? HUH? THAT I HAVE NOT STARTED A BUSINESS.
I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE CONTENT, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HELP WITH THE LAYOUT AND SOME OF THE GRAPHIC DESIGN STUFF.
THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH IT IS IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT STARTED OUT A BUSINESS, BUT HAVING SOMEONE WHO SAYS, OKAY, I WANNA START A BUSINESS.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? SO, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO HELP, RIGHT? WE'RE TRYING TO HELP SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO START A BUSINESS.
SO LET'S SCHEDULE A WORK SESSION FOR THIS BODY.
AND THERE'S MANY OF US THAT CAN MAKE THAT WORK SESSION.
LIKE FOR THE GUYS THAT CHIMED IN, WHEN WHAT WORKS WITH YOUR CALENDARS AND LIZ, WHAT WORKS WITH YOUR CALENDAR, YOU KNOW? IS THIS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA DO LIKE TWO WEEKS FROM NOW? MAYBE TWO WEEKS IS FAIR.
IF YOU GUYS ARE AROUND, YOU WANT TO DO IT ON, I MEAN, THIS TIME SEEMS TO WORK FOR MOST OF US.
SO IT'S MONDAY AT NOON, TWO WEEKS FROM NOW.
DOES THAT WORK? THAT SHOULD BE FINE.
WE'LL CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS ROOM IS AVAILABLE AND IF NOT, WE'LL PUT A DIFFERENT CONFERENCE ROOM, BUT I CAN MAKE THAT, DOES THAT WORK? THAT WOULD BE THE 18TH, RIGHT? YES.
THAT GIVE US ENOUGH TIME TO PUBLICIZE THAT.
THANKS FOR, UM, SUGGESTING, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THAT ON THE AGENDA.
THE RESULTS OF THAT STRUCTURE WOULD BE ON YOUR AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, DURING LAST MONTH'S MEETING, WE LOOKED AT THE FLOW CODE PAGE, THE LITTLE MICRO SITE THAT WE HAVE FOR TOURISM.
AND SO I MADE YOU ALL ONE FOR FRIDA THAT YOU COULD SEE THIS WAS JUST A, A DRAFT.
I MEAN, IT'S PUBLISHED, BUT NO ONE HAS DOING IT TO US.
UM, SO YOU WOULD SCAN THE QR CODE OR JUST ENTER IN THE URL.
AND THEN I THREW ON THERE THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE GROUP.
AND THIS OF COURSE TAKES YOU RIGHT TO THE FRIDA PAGE ON THE TOWN FOR WORLD'S WEBSITE THAT ALSO DOES THE SAME.
I THOUGHT WE COULD PUT WHATEVER OUR DOCUMENT LOOKS LIKE ON THIS BUTTON HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, OUR BUSINESS SURVEY, THESE ARE ALL LIVE LINKS.
WHY I LIKE USING THIS TOOL IS THAT IT, WE CAN CHANGE IT IN AN INSTANT.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE DESTINATIONS, YOU CAN ADD IMAGES, YOU CAN ADD DOWNLOADABLE PDFS, YOU CAN ADD SURVEY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
BUT THIS WOULD HOUSE ALL OF YOUR THINGS IN ONE PLACE THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR YOU AND FOR THE PEOPLE YOU WANNA SHARE IT WITH.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU THAT.
AND, UM, THE TOWN MANAGER TOOK THIS PICTURE.
HE'S REALLY TALL, SO HE TOOK IT.
THAT'S A HECK OF A HIGH CHERRY PICKER.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS OR, I CAN SEND YOU ALL THE LINK AND YOU CAN PLAY WITH IT.
I WONDER IF IT WOULD BE CLEAR TO SAY THE FRIDA IS A, UH, ADVISORY BODY FORMED, JUST BECAUSE AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW IF NEWLY REFORMED ADDS THAT MUCH.
YEAH, JUST SEND THAT TO US, THEN WE CAN MOVE AROUND.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I WANTED
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TO BRING UP BEFORE WE GO INTO NEW BUSINESS, UM, SORRY, I JUST HAD IT OPEN OF WORK.I NEED TO PULL UP A, OH, A SHEET.
CURRENTLY AS OF LAST WEEK, SO WE DISCUSSED THE WORLD OF WORK EVENT AT LAST MONTH'S MEETING, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS GO AND CHECK OUT ALL THESE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES, VERY HANDS ON.
UM, WE ARE ASSISTING WITH RECRUITING BUSINESSES FROM, FROM ROYAL AND WARREN COUNTY TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
CURRENTLY, THEY HAVE ALREADY RECRUITED CITY NATIONAL BANK, MARLOW AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, TORE PLASTICS, AND THE VIRGINIA STATE PARKS.
I WAS HOPING THAT YOU ALL COULD THROW OUT A COUPLE MORE NAMES THAT I COULD GO AND PERSONALLY INVITE TO PARTICIPATE.
WHAT WOULD THE ROLE BE? SO, UM, THE IDEA IS THAT THE KIDS CAN GO AND TRY THESE DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES HANDS ON.
SO THEY'VE GOT A TABLE, THEY'VE GOT INFORMATION.
UM, THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR THINGS IN A VARIETY OF, OF TRADES.
THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNICATION.
UM, THERE WERE, THERE ARE SEVERAL CRITERIA.
AGRICULTURE WAS ANOTHER ONE THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO FIND SOME FOLKS TO FIT IN.
UM, SO I THOUGHT I WOULD BRING IT TO THE GROUP.
OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER COUNTIES ARE PARTICIPATING AND HAVE OTHER PARTICIPANTS AS WELL, BUT I, I KNOW WE CAN DO MORE THAN FOUR.
SO, ANY THOUGHTS? WELL, TEACHING IS A PRETTY HUGE INDUSTRY HERE IN OUR TOWN.
I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER GROUPS ARE ALREADY FOCUSING ON THAT.
I THINK THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE OTHER COUNTIES HAS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
CAN YOU START MORE BACK AT THE BEGINNING AND REMIND ME OF WHAT WORLDS OF WORK IS, IS THIS IS A WORLDS OF WORK IS AN EVENT IN OCTOBER JOB FAIR.
UM, IT'S THE, IT'S DESIGNED FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO COME AND FROM ALL OF OUR SURROUNDING, NORTHERN VIRGINIA, NORTHERN ANO VALLEY COUNTIES MM-HMM
UM, THEY BUST THESE KIDS IN FOR, IT'S A FIELD TRIP, UM, TO CHECK OUT DIFFERENT JOBS, DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES TO HELP NAVIGATE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA CHOOSE FOR, WHAT THEY COULD CHOOSE FOR THEIR CAREER PATH, GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL.
SO IF THEY WANNA, AND THEY GO TO THE, THE BUSINESSES SITE? NO, IT'S ALL HELD AT NANDO UNIVERSITY, AT, AT, UH, THEIR EVENT CENTER.
UM, SO THEY, I KNOW VALLEY HEALTH IS A BIG PARTNER.
THERE'S A GOOD BIT OF, UM, BANKING INDUSTRY THAT'S ALREADY REPRESENTED.
UM, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AS MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF THINGS THAT THE KIDS CAN EXPERIENCE AS THEY CAN FIND.
UM, LIKE I SAID, BANKING IS ALREADY PRETTY HEAVILY REPRESENTED.
UM, FOLKS LIKE AMERICAN WOODMARK, UM, THE FBI, FREDERICK WATER, THOSE FOLKS HAVE ALL ENGAGED.
I KNOW IN THE PAST, THE TOWN OF FRONT ROYAL HAS ENGAGED, LIKE WITH, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THAT KIND OF THING.
SO, UM, BUT THE ONLY ONES WE HAVE AS OF LAST WEEK WHEN I GOT THE LIST FROM WARREN COUNTY, WE'RE CITY NATIONAL BANK, MARLOW'S, UH, TORAY PLASTICS IN THE STATE PARK AT THE CONSERVATION CENTER.
UM, SOMETHING VERY PREVALENT AROUND HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE OVER THEIR HEAD.
WELL, ANYTHING CAN BE MADE SIMPLE.
UM, THE WINE INDUSTRY ITSELF, SO IT'S FUNNY THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT.
UM, THERE ARE TWO WINERIES, ONE IN CLARK COUNTY AND ONE IN SHENANDOAH COUNTY WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST.
AND SO THEY WERE TAKING THAT TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO SEE IF THEY WERE OKAY WITH THAT, SINCE THEY'RE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.
BUT TO REALLY TALK ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE AGRICULTURE.
UM, YEAH, THAT'S A HUGE AGRICULTURE.
I HAVEN'T SEEN A RESPONSE ON THAT YET TO THE BIG GROUP EMAIL, BUT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR, OUR REGION.
ANYBODY IN PARTICULAR IN MIND AID? UH, YOU CAN ASK LARRY DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, LARRY, IS THAT ALL CLAIMS? ALL CLAIMS? YEAH.
UH, THEY, I MEAN, I THINK THEY HAVE A PRETTY BIG OPERATION.
NOT SOMETHING I WOULD'VE EVER THOUGHT OF, SO.
THAT'S, AND THAT'S WHY HE THREW IT OUT TO EXACTLY.
THERE'S A COUPLE OTHER PLACES.
ANY OTHERS? IS THERE ANY INVOLVEMENT FROM LIKE, FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT YET? GENERALLY, YES.
UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING FROM WARREN COUNTY'S PUBLIC SAFETY YET, BUT I I I WOULD IMAGINE PROBABLY.
ANY KIDS, THEY WOULD PROBABLY, I'D BE LIKE A GOOD RIGHT.
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I WILL CHECK IN WITH THOSE FOLKS AND SEE.ANY OTHERS WE CAN THINK OF? THAT'S, I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT START.
I'M SURE SHOCKEY IS PROBABLY SHOCKEY IS ON THE LIST.
SOMEONE ACTUALLY SENT ME ACOM.
YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD ONE.
YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING I DIDN'T SEE ON THEIR LIST.
UM, I WONDER IF ONE COUNTY THAT CLINIC WOULD DO, I MEAN, THEY HAVE 15 TO 20 EMPLOYEES.
THIS, THIS IS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL YOU SAID, RIGHT? YES.
THE IDEA IS TO GET TO 'EM, YOU KNOW, IN TIME TO REGISTER FOR THESE GREAT CLASSES AND STUFF THAT ARE OUT THERE, JUNIORS AND SENIORS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THAT SHIP HAS SAILED.
YOU KNOW, ANNA FROM BLUE RIDGE TECH CENTER SAID THE OTHER DAY, SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK TO THE AVERAGE KID ONLY KNOWS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT CAREERS.
THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR PARENTS DO.
THEY MIGHT KNOW WHAT THEIR FRIEND'S PARENTS DO.
THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR GRANDPARENTS DID, BUT THEY'RE NOT, AS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GETTING MORE EXPOSED, I GUESS, TO THESE THINGS.
BUT A LOT OF 'EM JUST DON'T, THEY DON'T THINK ABOUT THOSE OTHER THINGS.
SO THAT'S WHY THEY CREATE STUFF LIKE THIS.
SO THE KIDS CAN EXPERIENCE THIS.
I'M JUST LOOKING FOR SOME FOLKS.
IF YOU THINK OF SOMEBODY ELSE OR YOU'RE TALKING WITH SOMEONE ABOUT THIS AND THEY'RE INTERESTED, LET ME KNOW AND WE'LL GET 'EM SIGNED UP.
SO WE HAVE, UH, ANDY GYRISON HERE FROM LAUREL RIDGE DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
UM, LIZ, YOU WANNA, ANDY, I DIDN'T GET YOUR BIO BECAUSE I ALSO KNOW IT YOU REALLY LONG.
UM, ANDY GARRISON'S FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER THAT'S HOUSED AT LAUREL RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
UM, WHILE HE MAY BE NEW IN THE ROLE, HE IS CERTAINLY NOT NEW TO THE WORLD OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
UM, HE WAS REALLY EXCITED TO COME AND TALK WITH YOU GUYS, AND I PROMISED HIM THAT WE WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD AUDIENCE.
SO WE SHOULD BE ON OUR BEST BEHAVIORS TODAY, GUYS.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE STANDING SPOT IS.
YOU CAN STAND WHEREVER YOU WANT.
THE LITTLE OMINOUS RIGHT THERE.
YOU CAN STAND WHEREVER YOU WANT.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE A CHAIR IF YOU WANT.
UH, SO YES, ANDY WAS A SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
UH, WE PROVIDE FREE ONE-ON-ONE COUNSELING TO SMALL BUSINESSES WITHIN THE FOOTPRINT OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
SO MY TERRITORY THAT I COVER IS CLARK, UH, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO SHENANDOAH COUNTY, OVER TO FUNKY, UH, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
WE ARE FEDERALLY FUNDED GRANT PROGRAM, NERVE WRACKING, AS THAT MAY SOUND.
UH, AND WE ARE GOOD FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
SO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
UH, WHO HAS TO, FOR THE SAKE OF THE GRANT, HAS TO FIND LOCAL MATCH WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO EACH ONE OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS OR TOWNS OR OR CITIES SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER THROUGH SOME FORM OF FUNDING OR MATCH THAT WE GET.
AND THAT BASICALLY COVERS SALARY.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT OUR FUNDING, UH, COVERS.
UM, SO EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, UH, PARTICIPATES WITH US.
WE, UH, SEE A LITTLE OVER 400 CLIENTS A YEAR FROM OUR OFFICE.
OUR OFFICE CURRENTLY HAS MYSELF PLUS ANOTHER COUNSELOR BY THE NAME OF DALE MEZA.
WE'VE BEEN IN THIS COMMUNITY, UH, IN THAT FOOTPRINT FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS.
MANY OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW MY PREDECESSOR, PREDECESSOR, WHO WAS, UH, WITH US FOR A BIT OF TIME.
BILL SERAL IN THE AREA WAS, UH, A BIG, UH, UH, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
AND THEN, UH, CHRISTINE RIZZ JOINED US AND SHE WAS THERE.
AND THEN I WAS, UH, I TOOK OVER FROM CHRISTINE.
UH, WE HAVE 25 CENTERS ACROSS THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
EVERY TOWN MUNICIPALITY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
UH, I LIKE TO SAY THAT BECAUSE IF I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER FOR SOMETHING, WE HAVE THE NETWORK TO FIND THAT ANSWER.
SO WE HAVE WORKED WITH EVERY SMALL BUSINESS POSSIBLE, EVERY TYPE OF SMALL BUSINESS RANGING FROM THE TECH INDUSTRY, GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO A BOOKSTORE, SO TO SPEAK.
UH, UH, EVERYONE IN BETWEEN WE'VE SUPPORTED.
UH, WE ARE HERE TO HELP THAT ENTREPRENEUR, THAT PERSON WHO'S JUST STARTING OR THINKING ABOUT STARTING, GOING ALL THE WAY TO THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND OR GROW, GOING ALL THE WAY TO THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING TO SELL THEIR BUSINESS OR TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEIR SUCCESSION PLAN IS.
WE OFTEN THINK WITH SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS OFTEN THINK THEY'RE IN A SILO.
THEY HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES THAT THEY'VE GOT.
AND THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE THE MONEY
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FOR, UH, A COACH OR SOMEONE TO HELP THEM.UM, AGAIN, ABSOLUTELY NO COST.
UM, WE DO PROVIDE BUSINESS PLAN TOOLS, AS I HEARD AROUND THIS TABLE ALREADY.
CASH FLOW PROJECTION, I TEND TO SAY, UH, BEFORE YOU SIGN ANY LEASE, A BUSINESS PLAN WOULD BE GOOD TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S A VIABLE ENTITY.
CASH FLOW PLANNING, MARKETING PLANS RIGHT NOW, OUR CONVERSATIONS CIRCLE AROUND THE AI.
THAT IS THE BIGGEST CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD.
UM, PEOPLE JUST WANNA KNOW HOW TO USE THAT TOOL SMARTER THESE DAYS.
UM, GOING ALL THE WAY TO MAKING SURE INTO OUR AG BUSINESSES AND AG WORLD, UH, WHERE THEY CAN BE GROWING AND DEVELOPING NEW THINGS TO HELP THEIR FARM, HELP THEIR WINERY, HELP THEIR BREWERY, WHATEVER MAY END UP BEING.
UM, AND WHAT THAT NEW INDUSTRY LOOKS LIKE TODAY.
UM, LIKE I SAID, UH, JUST TWO OF US RIGHT NOW, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE THE WORKS FOR HIRING SOME FOLKS, UM, UH, TO, TO SUPPORT OUR BUSINESSES, UH, LITTLE OVER 400, WHICH IS PRETTY INCREDIBLE SMALL BUSINESS.
UM, DALE MEZA IS OUR OTHER COUNSELOR WHO HAS BEEN WITH US FOR ALMOST 16 YEARS.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE'VE BEEN 25 YEARS IN THIS AREA, WHICH IS PRETTY, WE ARE HOUSED AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
ALTHOUGH THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND I ARE JUST, UH, IN KIND FRIENDS, SO TO SPEAK, OF IF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE WERE TO DISAPPEAR, WE WOULD, UH, STILL BE AROUND IN THIS AREA.
OUR FUNDING IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
THEY JUST PROVIDE OUR HOUSING FOR US.
UH, BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE DO GET THE RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHICH MEANS ANYONE WHO COMES IN TO SEE US CAN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH ANYONE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS WELL.
UH, FROM OUR BUSINESS TEACHERS TO, UH, OUR WORKFORCE CREDENTIAL FOLKS TO, UH, JUST MAKING SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THEY COULD EARN THE BUSINESS OF THE COMMUNITY.
COLLEGE WAS WORKING, IN FACT TODAY WITH A, UH, DETAILER FROM, UH, FRONT ROYAL WHO WANTED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO EARN, UH, HOW TO DO THE FLINT CARDS FOR THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND HOW TO, UH, EARN THEIR BUSINESS.
AND SO WE WALKED THROUGH EVA SWAM HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE STATE AGENCIES.
AND WE ARE WORKING ON ALSO HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS WELL TO HELP 'EM OUT.
UH, WE ARE, UH, BOARDING QUITE A BIT OF, UH, WE, WE GET A LOT OF FUNDING NOW FROM, UH, FRONT ROW, WARREN COUNTY, WHICH WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
UH, THE WARREN COUNTY EDA SUPPORTS US, UH, FINANCIALLY.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT MAYBE A LITTLE FROM THE COUNTY.
WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THAT, UH, JOE.
WE'VE RECEIVED A LITTLE BIT OVER THE YEARS, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.
WITH THIS NEW INFLUX OF MONEY WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO EVEN MORE.
WE'RE MEETING FOLKS IN, UH, THE CHAMBER, UH, NIKKI'S OFFICE, UH, QUITE A BIT, ALMOST WEEKLY NOW.
UH, AND WITHIN THE FIRST, UH, SO WE RUN A CATALOG FISCAL YEAR, SO JULY THROUGH JUNE.
UH, WE HAVE SEEN 30 CLIENTS IN LAST MONTH ALREADY.
UH, IN FACT, THE NUMBERS SHOW, UM, 30 CLIENTS, UH, 3000 OR $30,000 OF NEW ECONOMIC IMPACT TO THE AREA THAT THEY'VE REPORTED BACK TO US.
WE'VE HAD SEVEN NEW JOBS START AND 31 JOBS RETAINED, UH, FROM JUST THOSE FOLKS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FOR THAT FIRST MONTH ALREADY.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED BY THE, UM, INFLUX OF NEW FUNDS THAT WE'VE GOT TO REALLY BE ABLE TO HELP AND SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES WITHIN THIS AREA.
UH, AND WE, IF THAT IS AN INDICATOR FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, WE SHOULD BE SEEING SOME REALLY BIG ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN THIS AREA.
WE, UH, ARE GRADED BY OUR ECONOMIC NUMBERS.
SO OBVIOUSLY, UM, A LOANS TAKEN OUT OR NEW, UM, MONEY THAT CAME IN FROM CREDIT CARDS OR FROM THEIR PERSONAL SAVINGS.
WE ARE REPORTING IT BACK OUT TO ALL OF OUR FUNDING PARTNERS AND THAT SORT OF THING AS WELL.
AS WELL AS JOBS CREATED, JOBS RETAINED, AND HOW MANY HOURS TO WORK WITH FOLKS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
WE DO A LITTLE BIT OF SEMINARS.
THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK ABOUT US WITH.
SO WE REALLY WORK TOWARDS, UH, WE WORK WITH OUR CHAMBERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE LISTENING TO WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S ASKING FOR, AND THEN WE CAN PROVIDE THE CLASSES THAT THEY'RE WANTING AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO WE'VE JUST DONE AN AI CLASS FOR NIKKI.
WE HAD ABOUT 13, 15 PEOPLE THAT CAME OUT TO THAT.
WE HAVE TWO MORE COMING AROUND THE BEND.
ONE WITH FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, AND ANOTHER ONE WITH HOW TO DO E-COMMERCE, UH, BUSINESSES AND THAT SORT OF THING AS WELL.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT COMING AROUND THE BEND.
UH, WE'VE RECENTLY JUST BEEN ON THE JANET MICHAEL SHOW, MIKE MCCOOL, UH, UH, MET WITH CRESCENDO COLLEGE AS WELL, JUST TO SORT OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR STUDENTS MAY NEED IN TERMS OF BUSINESS SUPPORT, BUSINESS HELP.
AND WE'RE GONNA START DOING SOME CLASSES OVER THERE TO, UH, SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE A REALLY BIG REACH IN TERMS OF THEIR ALUMNI IN THIS AREA.
SO WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH BOTH STUDENTS AND ALUMNI TO HELP THEIR BUSINESSES AND THAT SORT OF THING.
YEAH, SO REALLY KIND OF EXCITING THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, UH, IN THIS AREA.
UH, WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? WE JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED A LITTLE BIT OF STATE FUNDING.
SO MY COMMENTS ABOUT TRYING TO HIRE SOMEONE NEW COMES FROM THIS NEW STATE FUNDING.
[00:30:01]
EARLY IN THAT 25 YEARS AND THEN LOST IT UNDER, UH, UH, WARNER.UH, BUT NOW WE'VE, UH, GOTTEN IT BACK.
WE'VE RECEIVED $725,000 FOR THE STATE, WHICH ROUGHLY COMES TO ABOUT $20,000 FOR US.
SO WE HAVE A PART-TIME ACCOUNT FOR COMING INTO DO THAT.
OUR ROLE FOR THAT SAVE MONEY IS JUST TO GROW OUR RESOURCES AND TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO BRING IN PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR COUNSELOR WILL DO IS BE A BILINGUAL COUNSELOR TO HELP OUR, UH, OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE.
UH, BUSINESS OWNERS RIGHT NOW, UH, CITY OF WINCHESTER AND FEDERAL COUNTY ARE SEEING THAT AS AN ENORMOUS BOOM.
AND SO THEY ARE ASKING FOR THAT SUPPORT, THAT'S THING AS WELL.
SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP JUST ABOUT ANYONE THAT COMES INTO THE DOORS OF OUR BUSINESS.
AND, UH, THEY'RE COMING IN QUITE A BIT.
UH, IT'S REALLY BEEN EXCITING TO SEE.
UM, WE, UH, SAW A FLUX OF PEOPLE AFTER THE DOGE CUTS, PEOPLE WHO HAD, UH, SORT OF, NOT NECESSARILY EMERGENCY ENTREPRENEURS, BUT WE'RE LOOKING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEIR NEXT STEPS NEEDED TO BE.
UH, AND WE'VE BEEN HELPING QUITE A BIT OF THOSE FOLKS.
UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE CONSULTANTS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT ALL LOOKS.
BUT WE'RE STILL HELPING A LOT OF MOM AND POP AND MAINSTREAM BUSINESSES.
SO WE SEE SUCCESS IN TWO FORMS. ONE, SOMEONE, UH, COMES IN, THEY OPEN UP A BUSINESS AND IT DOES VERY WELL AND PROSPERS.
AND WE, UH, HAVE BEEN THERE TO SUPPORT THEM THE ENTIRE WAY.
SOMEONE WHO CHOOSES NOT TO OPEN, OPEN A BUSINESS IS STILL A SUCCESS.
SO IF THEY'RE NOT READY, WE DON'T NEED A BUSINESS OPENING ON MAIN STREET, UH, FRONT ROYAL AND THEN CLOSING TWO MONTHS LATER.
SO WE WANT MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DOING FINE.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT A BUSINESS LOOKS LIKE, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR PLANS SO THEY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND BE STRONG.
OFTENTIMES, THOSE FOLKS WILL COME BACK TO US A YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF LATER AND BE READY TO OPEN A DOWN POINT, BE A LITTLE STRONGER BUSINESS.
UM, QUESTIONS SO I CAN TALK ABOUT ME A LITTLE BIT.
THAT'S, SO, UM, MANY YEARS AGO I WENT TO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND THE COMMUNITY THAT I USED TO, YOU KNOW, LIVE IN.
AND BEFORE I EVER EVEN KNEW WHAT I WANTED TO DO, I TOOK LIKE CLASSES.
LIKE THERE WAS A CLASS, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING BUSINESS PLAN, YOU KNOW, AND, AND ON AND ON.
IT, IT'S, ARE YOU MOSTLY FOCUSED? LIKE, IS IT MORE EFFECTIVE TO DO LIKE THIS ONE-ON-ONES? IT IS.
SO IT'S A LOT LIKE FACEBOOK CLASSES.
SO WHEN WE DO A BIG ROOM FULL OF FACEBOOK PEOPLE, THE, WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS HOW YOU WOULD NEED TO WORK ON FACEBOOK.
NOTORIOUSLY, THE FIRST QUESTION WE ALWAYS HAVE IS, WHAT'S MY LOGIN? AND THE NEXT PERSON NEXT TO US IS LIKE, I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW TO POST.
AND SO WE FIND OURSELVES WORKING ONE-ON-ONE, BUT IN A GROUP SORT OF SETTING.
SO MANY OF OUR BUSINESS OWNERS ARE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS.
SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE STARTED A BUSINESS PLAN, SOME OF THEM MAY NOT HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT A BUSINESS PLAN IS IN WHAT THE BUSINESS PLAN IS.
SOME OF 'EM MAY BE OVERWHELMED BY A BUSINESS PLAN.
I PREFER TO WORK ONE-ON-ONE WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS ONLY BECAUSE EVERYONE WILL HAVE A SEPARATE SET OF QUESTIONS THEY'VE GOT BASED ON THE INDUSTRY THAT THEY'RE IN.
UM, AND I CAN REALLY FINE TUNE IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ANSWERING THEIR DIRECT QUESTION VERSUS A GENERALIZED QUESTION, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO OUR CLASSES TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC IN TERMS OF WHAT THE CHAMBER'S ASKING FOR.
AGAIN, AI TENDS TO BE THE BIG BUZZWORD RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT WILL IT BE IN THE NEXT YEAR? I'M NOT SURE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF FOLKS ARE ASKING FOR.
E-COMMERCE TENDS TO BE A BIG THING.
PEOPLE ASKING HOW THEY CAN SELL THEIR GROUPS AND SERVICES ONLINE, UH, HERE IN THIS AREA.
SO SOME OF THOSE YOU CAN JUST DO A GENERAL SORT OF CONVERSATION WITH AND THEN BE ABLE TO PULL PEOPLE SEPARATELY AND DO, UH, SESSIONS ONE ON ONE.
UH, SO I DON'T, I DON'T DO AS MANY LIKE, SO YOU WANT TO DO A BUSINESS PLAN AND THAT SORT OF THING, BUT WE DO DO BIG GROUP CLASSES ON LIKE, DOING BUSINESS WITH THE STATE OR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING AND THAT SORT OF THING AS WELL, BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE YOU CAN JUST DO BIG SORT OF QUESTIONS AND A LOT OF TIMES THOSE ANSWERS WILL HELP ANSWER SOMEONE ELSE'S QUESTIONS.
I'M GLAD THAT YOU DO SOME CLASSES.
UH, SO I, I GREW UP IN THIS AREA.
MY FAMILY MOVED HERE IN 1980 TO WINCHESTER.
UH, I, UH, WAS A HANLEY GRADUATE.
UH, I, UH, WAS ONE OF THOSE KIDS THAT WAS LIKE, I, I, I'M NEVER RETURNING.
I DON'T NEED TO COME BACK TO WINCHESTER.
I, I'VE DONE EVERYTHING THAT I NEEDED TO DO AND HERE I AM, RETURNING BACK, UH, MOVED BACK IN OH SIX TO BUY THE WINCHESTER BOOK GALLERY.
MY WIFE AND I, WE WERE LIVING IN ILLINOIS AT THE TIME.
UH, THAT'S A LOT OF FLAT LAND AND SOY FIELDS.
UH, I MISSED THE MOUNTAINS CONSIDERABLY.
SO WE OWNED THE BOOKSTORE FOR FIVE YEARS, GREW IT AND DEVELOPED IT.
I MOVED AFTER, UM, WE SOLD THE BOOKSTORE TO WORK WITH BILL SERAL AT THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
UH, WHILE I WAS DOING THAT, I STARTED THIS LITTLE FILM CLUB THAT WAS OVER AT THE ALMO DRAFT HOUSE.
I WAS ROOTED BY THE ES TO WORK FOR THEM AS THEIR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND SPECIALISTS FOR THE ALAMO.
IT WAS GREEN TURTLE AT THE TIME, AND A FEW OF THE HOTELS THAT THEY HAD.
UH, AND THEN COVID, I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU, IT WAS, WAS A TOUGH ONE FOR US.
AND SO I WANTED TO DO MORE AFTER THAT WAS DONE.
AND SO I WENT TO GO RAISE MONEY FOR THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
I WORKED FOR THE FOUNDATION AND THEN THE POSITION FOR CHRISTINE'S CAME OPEN.
SO I MOVED BACK HERE TO THE SMALL BUSINESS
[00:35:01]
YOU BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO REALIZE THAT I'M SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THIS COMMUNITY EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.I LOVE BEING IN THIS AREA AND LOVE SEEING THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAVE WORKED WITH OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
I'M ALSO SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES THAT THE CONNECTIONS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES ARE EXTREMELY STRONG.
MEANING THAT, UH, THE GENTLEMAN WHO CAME TODAY, THE DETAILER, WE WALKED OUR CAMPUS AND INTRODUCED PEOPLE TO SORT OF SEE WHERE HIS BUSINESS COULD FIT IN WITH DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR BUSINESSES.
I ALSO REACHED OUT TO A FEW FOLKS THAT I KNEW WITHIN FRONT ROYAL AND SAID, I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO MEET.
I'M ALSO A BIG PROPONENT OF THE CHAMBERS IN THE AREA IN TERMS OF IF YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THE CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA GET OUT OF THAT? YOU TALK THROUGH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, AND THEN I'M ALSO REALLY BIG ON JUST MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITY.
SO A LOT OF TIMES WE HAVE FOUND OURSELVES SAYING, ESPECIALLY IN THE TOURISM SIDE, HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA DOWN HERE TO SHOP AT OUR BUSINESSES? ONE OF MY BIG THINGS IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES KNOW THAT LOCAL PEOPLE KNOW WHAT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE? SO SPEAK OF, 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF ECHO.
WITH FREDERICK COUNTY BEING THE LARGEST GROWING COUNTY IN VIRGINIA RIGHT NOW, I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE FOLKS KNOW HOW GREAT THINGS ARE HERE AND FROM ONE COUNTY HAVE WHO WE PREVIOUS FOLKS DOWN HERE.
AND A LOT OF IT HAPPENS FROM INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
QUITE A BIT OF SOME AD CONFERENCES.
I DID AN AD CONFERENCE AT THE FIRST PART OF THIS YEAR.
WE HAD QUITE A BIT OF
UH, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT AGAIN.
AND WE TYPICALLY DO A BIG SMALL BUSINESS RETREAT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, UH, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.
ALRIGHT, WE'LL SAY THE MORE MONEY THE BETTER.
SO IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELVES WITH THIS LITTLE GROUP WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO ASK HOW YOU CAN HELP.
UH, WE CAN ALWAYS, UH, DO A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AND I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GROW, I MEAN, 400 PLUS PEOPLE OUT OF MY OFFICE.
WE'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP SUPPORTING MORE AND MORE TO COME TO OUR AREA.
AND JUST THIS NEW INFLUX OF CASH HAS ALREADY SHOWN US HOW MUCH MORE THE COMMUNITY CAN BE SERVED, UH, WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE FUNDING.
SO WHAT ELSE CAN I ANSWER? COVER QUESTIONS IF, IF THE LIZZIE'S OPEN TO IT.
I MEAN, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FORMING THIS COMMITTEE AND MEETING IN TWO WEEKS AND TRYING TO DESIGN THIS THING.
AND YOU WORK IN THAT SPACE ALL THE TIME.
YOU KNOW, UH, I MEAN, SO I DON'T KNOW.
YOU HAVE THE TIME OR YOU WANT TO COME INFLUENCE THE PROCESS, BUT YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO EITHER BE HERE OR, YOU KNOW, HELP LIZZIE DESIGN MAYBE WHAT WE WOULD TWEAK AT THAT MEETING.
I, I I, I, I DON'T WANNA OVERSTEP, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO CHECK OUT SOME OF WHAT THE OTHER, UH, ER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH THEIR WEBSITE AS WELL AND WHAT THEIR LANGUAGES LOOK.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TO TAKE THAT, BUT IT MAY GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS, SO TO SPEAK UP ON HOW THAT WOULD WORK, UM, AND WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.
BUT I COMPLETELY AGREE, NO ONE'S READING ANYMORE.
SO A NARRATIVE BASED, UH, SHEET IS NOT GONNA WORK FOR ANYTHING.
LIKE IT'S GOTTA BE BULLET POINTS.
IT'S GOTTA BE, THIS IS WHAT I'VE GOT.
AND IT SHOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WHEN THEY GO SOMEWHERE, THAT'S WHERE THEY GET THEIR ANSWERS.
LIKE, THE SHEET'S NOT GONNA DO IT.
AND I HATE TO SORT OF SAY IT, BUT THIS, A SHEET IS SORT OF LIKE 1990S ALREADY, LIKE DIGITAL.
I THINK THOSE PICTURES ARE FROM THE NINETIES
THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY THIS NEEDS TO BE BULLET POINTS.
YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS LAUGH, THERE WAS THIS MOVIE, THIS IS A COMPLETE ASIDE, BUT UH, UH, NEIGHBORS, YOU REMEMBER THAT MOVIE? THERE WAS A COMEDY OUT THERE WITH SETH ROGAN AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WANTED TO DO WAS GET BACK AT THE NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS WHO WERE FRONT GUYS.
AND SO THEY WENT AND PUT UP FLYERS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND I ALWAYS LAUGH AT THAT MOVIE 'CAUSE THE FRIEND WE'RE LIKE, WHO MAKES FLYERS ANYMORE?
BUT, BUT I MEAN, THAT'S THE SORT OF WORLD THAT WE'RE IN.
WHAT IS THAT NEXT STEP? HOW DO WE GET THOSE, ESPECIALLY YOUNGER ENTREPRENEURS, HOW DO THEY MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? AND I WILL, I WILL TELL YOU, WE SEE IT QUITE A BIT.
FOLKS DON'T UNDERSTAND BUSINESS AND NO ONE EVEN THINKS ABOUT BUSINESS PLAN ANYMORE.
UH, CASH FLOW IS RARELY CONSIDERED WHEN THEY'RE STARTING THEIR BUSINESS.
UM, IT'S JUST LIKE, I'VE GOT A GREAT IDEA, OR I'VE MADE A DRINK PASTA ALL MY LIFE.
THIS IS HOW I'M GONNA GET STARTED IT.
WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY SEE HOW THE BUSINESS CAN WORK AND HOW THE BUSINESS CAN STRUCTURED ON THAT AS WELL.
SO, UH, IT'S STILL RELEVANT, ESPECIALLY FOR FUNDING RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, BANKS ARE LENDING, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
THEY NEED TO HAVE, UH, THEIR OWN PERSONAL INVESTMENT INTO THEIR BUSINESS.
OFTENTIMES THAT'S 20 OR 30% WITH A LITTLE BIT OF COLLATERAL THAT THEY'LL LEAD AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS WHERE YOU COULD GO TO A BANK AND YOU COULD GET A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN QUESTION.
NEEDS A LITTLE BIT MORE TO BE, BUT WE'RE SEEING QUITE A BIT OF SUPPORT, UH, AT OUR BANKING INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, I I YOU MAKE SOME INTERESTING POINTS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, LIKE I WAS SITTING DOWN HERE, YOU KNOW, SO YOU WANT TO START A BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, WELL, FIRST THING YOU GOTTA CONSIDER IS LIKE YOU JUST SAID, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SKIN IN THE GAME, RIGHT?
[00:40:01]
REALLY, NOBODY'S GONNA LOAN YOU ALL THE MONEY THAT YOU NEED.HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE TO INVEST, RIGHT? AND CAN YOU SURVIVE FOR SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR WITHOUT MAKING ANY MONEY? YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL PART OF THAT BUSINESS.
SO POOLS OF CASH ALWAYS THAT I TELL FOLKS WHO DON'T NEED TO GET THE, UH, BUSINESS OPENED AND THEN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, THAT'S THEIR TWO POOLS OF CASH RIGHT THERE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE USED TO BE THAT GENTLEMAN, UH, MAYBE A FEW OF YOU, SOME OF YOU'RE MAYBE TOO YOUNG FOR THIS, BUT THERE WAS A GUY WHO USED TO RUN AROUND DC WITH QUESTION MARKS ALL OVER HIS SUIT.
SO THAT GENTLEMAN TOLD US ALL THAT WE COULD GET FREE MONEY TO OPEN OUR BUSINESS.
SO THE VERY FIRST QUESTION WE OFTEN GET IN OUR OFFICE IS, ARE THERE ANY GRANTS? START OUR BUSINESS EVEN.
SO FOR THE EMERGING ENTREPRENEUR, FOR SOMEONE STARTING THEIR BUSINESS FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHO WAS NEVER DONE BEFORE, THERE ARE NO GRANTS FOR THAT.
THERE ARE BARGAINING GRANTS, THERE ARE IMPROVEMENT FACADE GRANTS.
THERE ARE POTENTIALLY SMALL STARTUP GRANTS IN THE FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS.
BUT FOR SOMEONE TO ASK FOR A GRANT FOR A HUNDRED K PLUS JUST NOT HAPPENING, RIGHT? THROW THAT OUT THERE JUST BECAUSE TO PERPETUATE THE IDEA THAT THAT WAS GREAT.
EVERYONE THAT COMES IN LITERALLY 420, I'D SAY 4 25 PEOPLE, WE WERE ASKED THAT QUESTION BY 401 PEOPLE, MAYBE THEY WERE 24 THAT DIDN'T ASK THAT QUESTION BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAD GOTTEN THE GRANT.
SO ANYONE ELSE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'VE GOT? I'D LOVE FOR YOU TO COME VISIT OUR, MY OFFICE OR IF THERE'S EVER FOLKS THAT YOU KNOW THAT ARE IN BUSINESS THAT YOU WOULD WANNA REFER ME TO.
I, I HAVE THE BEST EMAIL AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
IT'S JUST ANDY AT LAUREL RIDGE.
SO WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN COMING IN LATELY? WHAT'S THE MAJORITY OF THE BUSINESSES THAT YOU SEE COMING INTO? YEAH, SO, UH, FOR A WHILE WE WERE DOING QUITE A BIT WITH THE HEMP INDUSTRY AND THAT SORT OF SIMMER DOWN A LITTLE BIT
UM, WE DO QUITE A BIT WITH WINERIES IN THE WINE INDUSTRY.
THAT'S STILL REALLY BIG FOR US.
UH, AGRICULTURE TENDS TO BE, UH, REALLY, REALLY BIG IN TERMS OF FARMING.
UH, WE WERE SEEING QUITE A BIT OF PEOPLE STRUGGLING FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR SLAUGHTER HOUSES, UH, IN THE AREA, UH, WHICH IS A BIG CHALLENGE.
UH, AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM.
WE'RE STILL LIKE, UH, A DETAILER OBVIOUSLY I WORK WITH, I WORK WITH SOMEONE WHO'S IN THE, UM, DOING SOME DROP SHIPPING, UH, OPTIONS ONLINE.
SOMEONE WHO'S IN THE GRAPHIC DESIGN BUSINESS, UH, WORKING WITH TWO ARTISTS RIGHT NOW.
SO THERE ARE RELATIVELY SORT OF SMALL, KEEP IN MIND THE SBA DEFINES SMALL BUSINESSES MAKING LESS THAN $500 MILLION AND OVER A HUNDRED EMPLOYEES OR SOMETHING, OR UNDER A HUNDRED EMPLOYEES.
SO SOME CRAZY AMOUNT OF NUMBER LIKE THAT.
SO WE CAN HELP EVEN THE LARGER ONES AND WE HAVE THAT AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE HELPED A FEW MANUFACTURING COMPANIES OVER THE YEARS JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY NEED TO TRAIN THE WORKFORCE AND GET THEIR WORKFORCE STRONGER.
UH, ALONG WITH, UH, HOW DO THEY KEEP THOSE FOLKS? BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT MANUFACTURING, I CAN TALK ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS NOW, SORT OF LIKE IDEA OF MANUFACTURING AND THE WALL OF LIKE, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 50 YEARS, IS NO LONGER THE CASE ANYMORE.
PEOPLE AREN'T STAYING AT PLACES FOR 50 YEARS.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN RETAIN THOSE FOLKS EVEN MORE.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A FEW FOLKS, UH, WITHIN MY FOOTPRINT TO HELP THEM.
SO I, I'M VERY VAGUE WITH WHO I WORK WITH BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS CONFIDENTIAL THAT WE DO.
UH, ALL OF OUR CLIENTS CAN UNDERSTAND THAT.
THEY CAN COME IN AND TALK ABOUT THEIR OWN BUSINESS AND THAT SORT OF THING, AND I WON'T TALK ABOUT IT OUT INTO THE WORLD AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY, THEY THEY ACTUALLY APPRECIATE IT.
SO, UH, BUT I CAN PROVIDE YOU NUMBERS.
SO ANYTIME THAT WE HAVE QUESTIONS ON HOW WE'RE DOING OR HOW THIS COMMUNITY'S DOING, YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO TRACK OF THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS.
SO THESE NUMBERS WERE FRESH AS OF LASTED.
ANYBODY ELSE? YOU TOUCHED ON EXISTING BUSINESS A LITTLE BIT.
LIKE WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS OR DO YOU WORK WITH EXISTING BUSINESSES WHERE KIND OF THE THINGS THAT YOU HEAR MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE? BUSINESS PLAN.
SO, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME THEY'LL DO THEIR BUSINESS PLAN TO GET THEIR INITIAL CASH INVESTMENT FROM THE BANK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THEN IT GOES INTO THE FILE, YOU KNOW, THE FILE BEING THE TRASH OR JUST OVER HERE TO THE SIDE, NEVER GONNA BE THOUGHT OF AGAIN.
AND SO WE REALLY TALK ABOUT LIKE, WELL, HOW THAT'S NEEDS TO BE A LIVING DOCUMENT.
ESPECIALLY WHEN I SIT DOWN WITH THE EXISTING BUSINESS AND SAY, WHO'S YOUR CUSTOMER? AND THEY SAY, EVERYONE AND I BRING A SWEAT
UM, OR THEY JUST WANNA TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY CAN GROW.
SO HOW CAN THEY EXPAND? THEY WANNA HIRE THEIR FIRST EMPLOYEE.
UH, THEY'VE NEVER DONE A MARKETING PLAN BEFORE.
THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA'S NOT WORKING.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP AND GROW THAT A LITTLE BIT FOR, FOR, SO, AND THEN SUCCESSION PLANNING IS A REALLY, I WOULD SAY, OUT OUTSIDE OF THE ENTREPRENEURS.
UH, SUCCESSION PLANNING IS BECOMING REALLY BIG IN THIS AREA, UH, IN TERMS OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE CHILDREN OR THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT INTERESTED IN TAKING OVER THE BUSINESS, HOW DO THEY SELL? AND SO
[00:45:01]
OFTEN WHAT WE ARE SEEING, AND THIS IS HORRIBLE, AND THEY'LL SAY, WE'RE READY TO SELL OUR BUSINESS, WE'RE GONNA, OR THEY'LL SAY LIKE, WE'RE GONNA SELL OUR BUSINESS IN TWO YEARS.AND THEN THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING FOR TWO YEARS.
AND SO THEIR VALUATION OF THEIR BUSINESS IS HERE WHEN THEY FIRST MENTION IT, AND THEN AFTER TWO YEARS IT'S DOWN HERE, BUT THEY'RE STILL ASKING FOR THE DOLLARS THAT ARE UP HERE.
AND SO HOW DO WE REALLY MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SELLING THEIR BUSINESS AT THE RIGHT TIME? THAT THEY'RE FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT WILL GROW AND DEVELOP IT AND IT WILL BE A, A BUSINESS THAT'S AROUND FOR EVEN LONGER AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO A LOT OF QUESTIONS CIRCLING OUT RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
SO YES, EXISTING BUSINESSES AND BUSINESSES THAT WANT TO, UH, PHASE OUT, UH, WE WORK WITH ON REGULAR BASIS.
AND ANY SORT OF BUSINESS, LIKE I SAID, SERVICE, INDUSTRY, RETAIL, MANUFACTURING, UH, TECH, UH, ANY OF THOSE WILL, YOU'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO RESTAURANTS.
I THOUGHT MAYBE THERE'D BE SOME HARD HITTING QUESTIONS.
I WAS READY BY THE WAY, I WARM MY HAIR UP FOR THIS.
SO
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AND WE'RE A PRETTY NEW GROUP
SO ANYTIME SOUNDS LIKE THIS COULD POTENTIALLY BE A, UH, REALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIP, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD.
I THINK YOU HAVE SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS AREA.
THERE'S A LOT OF UNIQUE BUSINESSES THAT ARE JUST HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY.
I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT AND SHOW OFF AND, UH, SUPPORT THOSE ENTREPRENEURS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF FORT ROYAL.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY AMAZING.
SO YEAH, ANYTIME YOU WANT TO ADD ME TO A MEETING LIST, I CAN JOIN.
IF I CAN'T JOIN, THERE'S A ZOOM OPTION, I CAN DO THAT.
BUT I, I'M 20 MINUTES AWAY, SO IT WAS EASY TO DRIVE DOWN HERE TODAY.
SO JUST KEEP ME POSTED ANYTHING I CAN HELP WITH YOU GUYS BEING WITH FOLKS JUST CONNECTING.
DID I DO 30 MINUTES? YOU DID GREAT.
ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING SUCH OH YEAH, WE'LL GET TO THAT.
UM, MAYBE, UM, SO IF I COULD ASK, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT, WE, WE SAY, UM, OH YEAH, WE'LL GET TO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME? BUT I THINK IF WE COULD HAVE AN AGENDA EVEN THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH THERE, SO I'LL PICK SOMETHING.
WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THAT? I DON'T KNOW.
IT NEEDS TO BE ON OUR AGENDA BECAUSE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT UNTIL WE GET IT DONE.
I MEAN, I, I THINK WE ALL WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.
SORRY, NOT JUST ME, BUT, UM, OR, UM, OR EVEN JUST SOMETHING ON HERE THAT'S SET, LIKE RETAIL STRATEGIES.
I HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT TODAY.
JUST SO, JUST SO WE ALL, YOU KNOW, KNOW, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE, IT'S STILL IN OUR PROGRAM OF WORK, BUT THERE'S NOTHING TO REPORT.
AND, AND MAYBE THE SECOND PART OF THAT IS, ALRIGHT, RETAIL STRATEGIES HASN'T GOTTEN ANYTHING, BUT I EXPECT, YOU KNOW SURE.
BY THE NEXT MEETING THEY'RE GONNA DELIVER SOMETHING FOR US TO TALK ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? JUST KIND OF CONSTANTLY KEEP IT IN FRONT OF US.
OTHERWISE I, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL FALL INTO THE CRACKS.
UM, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S SUPER, THERE'S NOBODY AT THIS TABLE THAT'S NOT BUSY.
SO ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT WE HAVEN'T RESOLVED OR MOVED FORWARD, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY PERMANENTLY ON OUR AGENDA, EVEN IF IT'S JUST AS THERE AS A REMINDER.
DOES ANYBODY OBJECT TO THAT SUGGESTION THERE? AN UPDATED ONE? ADD TO OH, YEAH.
DAVID HAS, SO INITIALLY WHEN WE DECIDED OUR FIVE CORE THINGS, AND WE TALKED ABOUT CREATING SUBGROUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT WE REALIZED THAT WITH THIS, WITH A GROUP THIS SIZE, IT, IT KIND OF WAS DIFFICULT.
AND GOING BACK TO SORT OF THE IDEA OF AN AGENDA, WE AT THAT TIME AGREED THAT WE WERE GOING TO GO 1, 1 1 AND THEN CYCLE BACK.
I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SAID, KEITH.
SO OUR AREAS OF FOCUS, OUR EXISTING BUSINESS, NEW BUSINESS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ASSET DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
RIGHT? SO MONTH ONE, EXISTING BUSINESS, MONTH TWO, NEW BUSINESS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, MONTH THREE, ASSET DEVELOPMENT, MONTH FOUR.
AND THEN WE COME BACK TO, WE WERE HAVING THAT DISCUSSION BECAUSE WE, WE WEREN'T ABLE, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THERE'S THINGS, THE FOCUS OF THE MEETING, THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE ON THE BACK
[00:50:01]
BURNER THAT ARE, THEY MIGHT REMAIN THERE FOREVER IF THEY DON'T COME, IF WE DON'T COME BACK AROUND TO IT.I MEAN, WE'RE, I, I THINK WE'RE JUMPING INTO THINGS RANDOMLY THAT AS THEY'RE COMING TO US VERSUS WE'RE SETTING THE AGENDA AND SAYING, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE, THAT WAY WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE'RE COMING TO.
I MEAN, YEAH, I, I WAS ABLE TO READ THIS ON WHATEVER DAY I, I OPENED IT UP TO, TO FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING TODAY.
BUT IF I ALREADY KNOW THAT THIS IS THE EXACT, YOU KNOW, I CAN GO BACK TO MY NOTEBOOK AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE DOING AND, AND WE'RE CARRYING ON WITH THAT.
AND THAT WAY WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS ON ALL FIVE.
MAYBE NOT AT THE SPEED WE HOPE, BUT ONCE A MONTH THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN DO.
SO, AND, AND I WANNA DO, BECAUSE I LIKE, LIKE THIS GROUP, I THOUGHT THERE WAS A, A POSTING REQUIREMENT AND OTHER THINGS TOO.
WHEN WE START DIVIDING OFF INTO SUBGROUPS, ONCE TWO OF US ARE IN A ROOM TOGETHER, THEN THERE'S, IT BECOMES A MEETING IF THERE'S MORE THAN TWO OF YOU.
SO THAT WAS ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE DISCUSSED AT THAT TIME BECAUSE IT JUST SEEMED LIKE, WELL, HOW LONG EARTH WE, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOT STUFF TO DO, BUT WHEN, YOU KNOW, IF I SEE TOM OUT ON THE STREET, WELL I GOTTA BE CAREFUL
LISTEN, THERE'S TWO OF US OUT THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, BUT I'M JUST TELLING YOU, WE NEED TO TALK TO EACH OTHER.
AND WE NEED TO TALK TO OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE I, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD EITHER SET UP SOME SORT OF, UM, DISCUSSION BOARD ON THERE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY DISCUSSING THESE THINGS.
IF WE CAN, IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING NEW THAT THAT'S HAPPENED INTRA MONTH THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT OR, OR IS WORTH CHASING DOWN BY SOMEONE ELSE THAT'S SAY, YEAH, I GOT SOME TIME, OR, OR I'M, I'M GOOD IN THAT AREA.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND THEN, AND THEN WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MOVE A A LITTLE BIT FASTER BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, WE LEAVE THIS ROOM AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH COMMUNICATION GOES ON, YOU KNOW, AMONGST ALL OF US OR, OR YOU KNOW, ONE OR TWO OF US OR WHATEVER.
BUT IT JUST, UM, IT, IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE JUST, UM, KIND OF JUMPING AROUND A LITTLE BIT AND WE'RE NOT STAYING ON, WE'RE NOT STAYING ON COURSE.
WE'RE MAKING, WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS, BUT IT'S, IT IS SORT OF LIKE, LIKE A PUPPY WOULD
DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? AND DOES THAT SPEAK TO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF TRYING TO KEEP THESE THINGS ON AN AGENDA AND SAYING, OKAY, THIS IS THE DATE WE'RE GONNA BE BACK ON THAT.
WE NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT WAY RETAIL STRATEGIES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THAT'S OUR BIGGEST INVESTMENT AT THIS POINT.
FINANCIALLY AND, AND OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, OKAY, WELL WE NEED SOME, WE NEED SOME DELIVERABLES NOW BECAUSE THIS IS THE DATE WE, WE HAD EXPECTED IT IN FAIRNESS TO, TO THAT WE, WE WENT INTO THAT UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WAS GONNA TAKE TIME FOR, FOR A BIT OF THAT TO, TO COOK.
UM, WE GOT SOME DECENT UPDATES FROM THEM LAST MONTH, MORE THAN I WOULD'VE ANTICIPATED.
BUT SOME OF THAT'S GONNA TAKE MONTHS AND MONTHS.
AND, AND YES, I'M FINE WITH THE TIMELINE OF THAT.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT WE UNDERSTAND IF WE HAVE IT ON, YOU KNOW, OKAY.
WELL WE EXPECT TO SEE SOMETHING AND, AND IF WE DON'T SEE SOMETHING AS YOU SAID, OKAY, MOVE, IT'S ALMOST LIKE A COMMITTEE REPORT.
YOU GOT ALL THESE DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT WE WANT TO DO THAT WE'VE MENTIONED AND YOU KNOW, IN ESSENCE IN, IN A MEETING THAT MIGHT BE A COMMITTEE REPORT.
WELL, WHAT DO WE HAVE? DO WE HAVE ANYTHING THIS MONTH FOR PARKING? YEAH.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING THIS MONTH FOR RETAIL, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT PARKING IS INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, BUT YOU KNOW, AT THAT SAME TIME, THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT ARE INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED.
TOM BROUGHT UP SOME STOPLIGHT ISSUES AND, AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
THEY MAY NEVER GET IT, IT WAS A DISCUSSION AT THE TIME, BUT, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'VE DECIDED TO COME BACK TO, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I THINK YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT THERE AT, UH, COMMERCE AND SIXTH STREET WITH, WITH SEMIS, AND THERE'S ANOTHER PLACE, UH, RIGHT IN FRONT OF, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOPPING CENTERS AND THAT TURNING, TURNING LEFT THERE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THE TRAFFIC ISSUES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT AGAIN, I MEAN, THESE ARE COMMENTS THAT ARE MADE, BUT IN THE GRAND SCOPE OF THINGS, THEY JUST KIND OF GET, YOU KNOW, TOSSED UNDER OR WHATEVER.
AND, AND, AND WE'RE NOT COMING BACK TO IT.
UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, THIS IDEA OF HAVING THIS AGENDA OR WHATEVER, AND THEN IT'S SAYING, OKAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE
[00:55:01]
JUST, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HEAR FROM RETAIL STRATEGIES.THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NEW FOR US.
AND WE JUST MOVE ALONG TO, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE IN THAT SPACE TO TALK ABOUT? IF NOT, WE'LL, WE'LL THEN WE'LL BUMP UP, UH, MEETING FIVES AGENDA TO, TO, YOU KNOW, THE MEETING FOUR TIMEFRAME AND THEN LET, LET MEETING FIVE COOK.
I, I HAVE TO BE CANDID WITH YOU, DAVID.
I DON'T REMEMBER US SETTING THAT PARTICULAR, I APOLOGIZE.
I DON'T HAVE THAT IN MY NOTES ANYWHERE.
I MEAN, I WAS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF, IF YOU WERE PART OF THIS AT THAT TIME OR NOT WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT IT, I FEEL LIKE IT WAS BECAUSE YOU WERE PART OF THAT.
WERE YOU NOT PART OF THAT PART? I WAS SETTING UP THE SPOT.
IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT AND, AND OKAY.
YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE ARE GONNA DO AND WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP KIND OF, UH, DEALING WITH THINGS AS THEY COME, THAT'S FINE TOO.
I JUST, I, I WAS HEARING WHAT HE SAID AND I THOUGHT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, AGAIN, WE COULD REVISIT AND POTENTIALLY BE MORE EFFICIENT.
SO A LOT OF THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAULT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE CONSULT ABOUT THE AGENDA MM-HMM
AND, AND I DON'T ASK YOU TO PUT THESE THINGS THAT I JUST ASKED YOU TO PUT ON, ON THE AGENDA JUST 'CAUSE, BUT I THINK JUST GOING FORWARD, I THINK IF WE HAVE THINGS LIKE THAT ON THE AGENDA AND, AND WE CAN START MEETING AS COMMITTEES, THAT'S A, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, DAVID, THAT WE SHOULD MEET, YOU KNOW, AS COMMITTEES.
UH, JUST LIKE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MEETING IN TWO WEEKS AND, AND HOPEFULLY IT'S ALL GONNA GET NOTICED AND, UH, AND THEN WE'LL ALL AS MANY OF US CAN COME TO THAT IS GREAT.
AND SO WE'RE, SO THAT'S GONNA BE LIKE WHAT YOUR VISION IS FOR YEAH.
AT LEAST WHAT I THINK YOU JUST SAID.
I MEAN, HONESTLY, WE CAME UP WITH A MISSION STATEMENT.
I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AT THE TOP OF OUR AGENDA, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WHEN WE'RE SITTING HERE TALKING ABOUT STUFF, I, I, I, WE LOOK AT THE MISSION STATEMENT, WE'RE LIKE, IS THAT OUR, IS THAT OUR MISSION STATEMENT? I MEAN, OR IS, IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN OUR PROGRAM OF WORK? 'CAUSE, 'CAUSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A PRETTY NARROW FOCUS.
IT'S ABOUT TAX BASED AND JOBS AND RETENTION AND THAT KIND OF THING, BUT THE BIGGER PICTURE STUFF THAT'S FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THEIR JOB.
I THINK IF THERE'S AN APPETITE FOR IT, KIND OF SYNTHESIZING WHAT BOTH OF YOU SAID.
I THINK STRUCTURALLY IN TERMS OF THE AGENDA, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
WE CAN, WE CAN DECIDE TO FOCUS ON EACH ONE OF THE PLANKS FOR EACH MEETING ON A ROTATING FIVE MONTH BASIS.
I THINK HAVING THAT OVERVIEW BUILT INTO SORT OF A COPY AND PASTE STRUCTURE EVERY SINGLE MEETING.
SO WE LAY OUT EACH PLANK, WE HAVE ALL THE KNOWN EXISTING PROJECTS UNDER EACH OF THEM.
THAT MAKES SETTING UP THE AGENDA MUCH EASIER.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, IF WE WANT TO HAVE ALL THAT ON THERE ANYWAY, THEN IT'S KIND OF LIKE A THOUGHTFUL COPY AND PASTE FROM MONTH TO MONTH.
WHAT ARE THE UPDATES? WHAT ARE THE NEW THINGS UNDER EACH OF THESE PLANKS, RIGHT? UM, AND I THINK ANOTHER THING TOO THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL PROCEDURALLY IS JUST GETTING IT OUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UM, IN GENERAL.
SO IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S A, UM, UNDERSTANDING IT'LL GO OUT, LET'S SAY A WEEK BEFORE, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A COMFORTABLE TIMELINE.
WE CAN REVIEW THAT AND SAY, HEY, I ACTUALLY WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS TOO.
I SAW THIS IN THE ROYAL EXAMINER.
HERE'S THIS COMING DOWN FROM THE COUNCIL.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ADD THIS TO THAT PART.
UM, SO TWO, TWO THOUGHTS THERE AS WELL.
I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT SUGGESTION.
I DUNNO WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE THINKS, BUT NO, I AGREE.
SO THE WHOLE ROAD, I AGREE WITH THE ADDING, ADDING STUFF TO THE AGENDA FOR CHECK IN, LIKE THE, UM, RETAIL STRATEGIES.
RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA.
BUT AS FAR AS THE ROTATING TOPICS, I CAN, MAYBE I JUST MISUNDERSTOOD OUR INITIAL, LAYING THAT OUT.
I DIDN'T EVER UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS AN INTENT TO ROTATE THOSE ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
UM, I'M JUST TRYING TO PICTURE HOW THAT WOULD WORK IN PRACTICE.
UM, AND DURING THE TIME, WE WERE ALL, WE WERE DISCUSSING SORT OF CREATING SUBCOMMITTEES, UM, AND DURING THAT CONVERSATION THERE WAS THE, CAN WE KEEP UP WITH THE POSTING REQUIREMENTS? AND THEN IT, IT BECAME ALSO ALL OF US ARE BUSY.
DO WE HAVE TIME FOR THESE INTER MEETINGS OR, OR SUBCOMMITTEES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S, IN ANY GROUP, THAT'S WHERE YOU START
[01:00:01]
TO LOSE RETENTION BECAUSE PEOPLE TRY TO OVER COMMIT.THEY CAN'T DO IT, YOU KNOW? AND SO REALISTICALLY, WE WERE, WE WERE KIND OF WORKING WITH OUR ONCE A MONTH TIMEFRAME.
AND THEN IT'S LIKE, OKAY, SO IF WE WORK ON THIS THIS MONTH AND WE ALL KNOW THAT'S WHAT WE'RE COMING TO, YOU KNOW, THEN YOU'VE HAD SOME TIME TO PREPARE.
IS THERE, DO YOU HAVE SOME IDEAS TO BRING IN, IN TERMS OF EXISTING BUSINESS OR, OR, YOU KNOW, IN THAT BULLET POINT.
UM, AND THEN YOU HAVE SOME TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT MEETING, SAY FOR NEW BUSINESS AND, AND NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF, AT THE CONCLUSION OF SAY, YOU KNOW, MEETING NUMBER ONE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, THESE, THESE ARE SOME BULLET POINTS OR THINGS WE NEED TO CONSIDER FOR MEETING NUMBER TWO, BECAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE OUR AGENDA OR OUR ROUGH SCOPE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
AND SO THAT WAY WE HAVE SOME TIME TO GATHER THOUGHTS AND COME A LITTLE BIT MORE PREPARED INSTEAD OF MAYBE JUST LISTENING TO, YOU KNOW, JUST THE PRESENTATION DAY.
UM, 'CAUSE I MEAN, HONESTLY, IN, IN TERMS OF BEING CANDID, I DON'T FEEL THAT WE'RE GETTING THE TRACTION.
I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING.
I WAS ONE OF THE INITIAL DIRECTORS HERE.
AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DISCUSSED IS WE ALL WANT TO DO SOMETHING.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, I THINK WE HAVE A COMMON GOAL THERE IN TERMS OF GETTING SOMETHING DONE.
IT'S JUST HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE GET THAT DONE? HOW DO, HOW DO WE, UM, HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND, AND WE NEED TO REMAIN FOCUSED ON IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I I, UH, I JUST THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE A WAY, I, I LOVE AIDEN'S IDEA ABOUT HAVING THESE THINGS IN A BULLET POINT.
SO WE ACTUALLY, THEY'RE IN FRONT OF US EVERY MEETING AND, AND YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT CAME UP, WE CAN GO BACK TO NEW BUSINESS PORTION AND, AND SAY, OKAY, LET'S DISCUSS THIS ONE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN CHANGE.
AND IF IT'S SOME, IF IT'S TOO BIG, WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT MEETING OR, OR YOU KNOW, THAT I'M NOT SAYING THAT, HA THAT STRUCTURE HAS TO BE SET IN STONE BECAUSE THERE'S THINGS ON THERE, LIKE RETAIL STRATEGIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE GONNA TAKE A WHILE TO, TO SIMMER, COOK, WHATEVER THE ANALOGY IS.
BUT, BUT YOU KNOW THAT, THAT'S OKAY TOO.
WE JUST, YOU KNOW, OKAY, THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE, UM, YOU KNOW, MEETING FOUR'S, UH, TOPIC INTO MEETING THREE BECAUSE MEETING THREE NEEDS SOME MORE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED MORE TIME ON THAT.
I FEEL THESE FIVE ARE OUR FOCUS, BUT FOR US TO CONCENTRATE, YOU KNOW, COME COMING BACK AND ANALYZING WHAT YOU SAID AND THINKING ABOUT IT, THEY'RE VERY BROAD TOPICS.
THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS THAT WE ATTACK THAT WE MENTIONED THAT WOULD FALL UNDER ONE HEADING.
UM, FOR INSTANCE, NEW BUSINESS WAS RETAIL STRATEGIES.
UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WE WENT AND TOURED, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE, THE BUILDING TRADES BUILDING WE, WE SAW NEEDS THAT WE NEED THERE.
MAYBE WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THAT NEXT STEP THERE FROM INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, THE PARKING GARAGE OR OUR PARKING SITUATION.
SO I'M FEELING THESE ARE OUR FIVE THINGS, WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING OR WHAT WE NEED TO HAVE ON OUR BULLET POINTS.
I FEEL LIKE AS LONG AS IT'S FOCUSED ON ONE OF THOSE FIVE ACTIVITIES, IT'S A PROJECT FOR US.
I MEAN, I LOOK AT THIS AS NEW BUSINESS.
IF I WANNA OPEN UP A NEW BUSINESS HERE, THIS IS AN EXPANSION OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH RETAIL STRATEGIES.
THIS IS A TOOL THAT, YOU KNOW, BULLET POINTS.
HAVE I, HAVE I GONE AND TALKED TO THE SMALL BUSINESS PEOPLE ABOUT DEVELOPING A BUSINESS PLAN? UM, OKAY, I'M GONNA SKIP THAT ONE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOTTA GO SEE A PLANNING AND ZONING.
I'VE GOT TO GO AND SEE WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO IN THE BUILDING, RIGHT? SO I THINK THESE ARE KIND OF BROAD TOPICS.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US LIST OUR PROJECTS, LIKE THE PARKING GARAGES ON THERE, OR IF OUR, IF OUR STARTING A NEW BUSINESS FORM THAT WOULD MORE TO WHAT AIDEN WAS JUST SAYING, HAVE THESE, YOU KNOW, UNDERNEATH THOSE FIVE, WE BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
AND SOME OF US, AND THESE ARE THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND THEN IF THERE'S A SUBCOMMITTEE THAT'S DRAWN UP THAT MEETS ON THE SECOND WEEK OR WHATEVER, THAT'S GREAT TOO.
AGAIN, IT'S JUST SHOWING THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DIGGING IN A LITTLE BIT MORE ON, ON THINGS INSTEAD OF, UM, SO WE'RE TAKING A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BY DOING THIS MEETING IN TWO WEEKS, RIGHT? YEAH.
I MEAN, WE'RE, EVERY STEP WE'RE DOING HAS BEEN IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
I'M JUST SAYING IN TERMS OF TRYING TO, I WOULD FIND IT DIFFICULT TO GO FROM EXISTING BUSINESS ONE MONTH TO NEW BUSINESS NEXT MONTH TO INFRASTRUCTURE NEXT.
I WOULD FIND THAT A LITTLE DIFFICULT, BUT I, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, IF SOME OF US ARE HIGH INTO ONE OF THOSE TOPICS, IF WE HAVE THIS MEETING, LIKE HAVING TWO, I MEAN, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, BY
[01:05:01]
NEXT MEETING THAT WE HAVE IN SEPTEMBER, THIS CAN BE A, A DOCUMENT THAT CAN BE PUT IN PLACE, BUT THEN PUT ON THE WEB FOR A TOOL FOR SOMEBODY TO USE IF THEY'RE GONNA START A BUSINESS, OF COURSE, RATHER THAN US, YOU KNOW, TAKING A LONG TIME.SO I SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS, BUT I, I FIND THOSE TO SWITCH MONTH AFTER MONTH TO BE KIND OF BROAD.
I'D LIKE TO, AS LONG AS WE STAY FOCUSED ON THOSE FIVE THINGS AND WE HAVE A TOPIC WITHIN EACH ONE OF THOSE FIVE.
I AGREE WITH A, THAT WAY WE CAN JUST DO A REPORT.
SO WHAT ARE THE FIVE THINGS? WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR FIVE HOT BUTTONS? AND MAYBE EACH ONE OF THOSE CHOOSES A HOT BUTTON AND WE LEAD THAT CRUSADE, UH, FOR THAT MOMENT AND THEN COME BACK AND REPORT ON IT, AND THEN MAKE DECISIONS AS A, AS A COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE, IS HOW WE WANNA REACT TO THAT.
SO I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
I'M TRYING TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING, BUT I AGREE.
I, I THINK WITH, WITH YOU, UH, I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE TOO BROAD OF A, WE NEVER REALLY SAID, NOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ONE OF THESE THINGS EACH EACH MONTH.
I MEAN, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE CERTAIN MARKS WE WOULD FOCUS ON MORE SPECIFICALLY.
I JUST THINK TO CREATE A STRICT TIMELINE OF, YOU KNOW, ONE, YOU KNOW, EACH MONTH WE CHANGE THE NEXT THING THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S LIKE TODAY, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A STRICT FOCUS LIKE THAT, BUT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE HAVING A PRODUCTIVE, YOU KNOW, IN THE THINGS THAT WE'VE GONE OVER.
I, I JUST FEEL LIKE IF WE, IF WE FORCE OUR FOCUS, THEN WE, I DON'T KNOW.
NO, I, I, I DISAGREEING AT ALL.
I JUST SAYING THAT I THINK THAT'S A GOOD, IN TERMS, LET'S, LET'S, THE WAY I WORK, I LIKE TO HAVE A TANGIBLE GOAL WORK TOWARDS IT, YOU KNOW, ARE WE'LL ITEMIZE THE THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO EACH CATEGORY.
IF WE NOTICE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S A CATEGORY, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, THEN WE CAN FOCUS MORE ON THAT.
I JUST THINK IF TO, TO DO THE ROTATION, I'M JUST, I DON'T KNOW.
I'M JUST TRYING TO PICTURE AND PRACTICE.
I FEEL LIKE WE IN MIGHT, I DON'T KNOW.
I JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, I DON'T KNOW.
WELL, IT'S NOT A SET ROTATION THAT IT'S, IT'S ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
IT'S JUST THAT, LIKE I SAID, IF, IF SOMETHING'S NOT WORKING OR SOMETHING, IF WE'VE GOT NOTHING GOING ON IN THIS ONE, IN THESE FIVE, OR EVEN WITHIN THOSE, YOU KNOW, BULLET POINTS UNDERNEATH THAT, THAT'S FINE.
THEN WE JUST, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HE CAN SAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THAT THIS MONTH.
WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO EITHER KEEP WORKING ON WHAT WE'VE, AND WE'VE GOT SOME TRACTION RIGHT NOW HERE.
YOU KNOW, AND, AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TRYING TO HONE FOCUS GOING, I MEAN, AIDEN, I'M PRETTY SURE YOU WERE SAYING WE'LL TAKE THESE THINGS AT THE TOP AND THOSE ARE OUR YEAH.
AND THAT PART, I MEAN, OUR AGENDA COULD BE BROKEN UP INTO THOSE.
LET US, LET US COME BACK TO YOU WITH A, WITH A NEW STRUCTURED AGENDA.
I, I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY OVERTALKING IT.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING TO BRING UP.
'CAUSE WE, IT IS OUR FOCUS AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE FOCUSING ON THOSE TENETS, YOU KNOW? ALL RIGHT.
LET'S, WE JUST GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
UM, SO I MEAN, IT'S 10 MINUTES AFTER ONE.
DO YOU GUYS WANT TO TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT THE, A REPORT THAT I SENT OUT, OR WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AT THE NEXT MEETING? JUST VERY INFORMATIVE, FOLLOW THE LEADER, BUT I MEAN, IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
I MEAN, IT STILL DOESN'T TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, DIRECT IMPACT ON ITEMS SUCH AS WATER AND, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT FROM AN ECONOMY STANDPOINT, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW.
I, I THINK I'M, MY OPINION THAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE.
IT'S, IT'S MY OPINION, IT'S HOW I FEEL.
BUT OUR, OUR CURRENT, WE HAVE NOTHING IN PLACE TO INCREASE OUR TAX BASE.
UM, WE'RE NOT BRINGING IN NEW INDUSTRY FROM PAR SE UH, MIDDLE, MIDDLE MANUFACTURING.
UH, WE'RE NOT ENCOURAGING BUILDING.
UH, WE MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR NEIGHBORHOODS TO START UP OUT ON THE EDGES OF OUR TOWN AND WE'RE NOT RAISING OUR TAXES.
AND YET THINGS CONTINUALLY COST MORE TO FIX, REPAIR, BUILD AND WHATEVER.
AND I THINK FROM AN ECONOMIC STANDPOINT, UH, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, IT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD INVESTIGATE FURTHER.
AND THESE FACTS AND FIGURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, I THINK THE BEST THING WE CAN LEARN ABOUT THE DATA CENTER, UH, SITUATION IS LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S THE CHARACTER THAT I'VE HEARD, EVEN WHEN I HEAR NEGATIVITY ABOUT IT, SO, WELL, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS? DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THAT? I SAID, YEAH, AND MAN, LET'S MAKE SURE WE DON'T MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE.
UM, BUT IT IS ENCOURAGING INFORMATION.
IT CAME FROM THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL.
UM, I FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE.
[01:10:01]
THANK YOU FOR FINDING IT AND SENDING IT OUT.I WANNA COMMEND, COMMEND YOU, RICK, FOR, FOR
AND YOU KNOW, THIS PROVIDES A DIFFERENT SORT OF PERSPECTIVE ON, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REVERSE POINT OF VIEW ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT POTENTIAL BENEFITS COULD BE.
SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY, IT'S DEFINITELY GOOD, YOU KNOW, MORE OF AN ECONOMICAL DATA PERSPECTIVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, GOOD, GOOD FIND, WELL, THEY'RE WORKING ON ONE FOR 2026.
I HAVE 2022 IN MY POSSESSION IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE THAT, TO SEE HOW IT CHANGED FROM 2022 TO 2024.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S JUST ANOTHER, IT IS A, IT'S A PIECE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THAT SEGMENT OF TAX REVENUE THAT MIGHT BE OUT THERE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT WE NEED TAX REVENUE IN OUR COMMUNITY SO THAT THE TOWN CAN TAKE ON THE PROJECTS THAT, UM, THE COUNCIL GO HAS, HAS GONE OUT AND, UM, THEY PARTICIPATED IN, UH, UH, TOURETTES OR VISIONING SESSIONS, AND THEN THEY GET TO THE BUDGET AND THEY SAY, WELL, ALL THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT, WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY FOR THAT.
SO WE'RE NOT GONNA DO ANY OF THOSE.
AND, AND I THINK WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO AFFORD TO DO THOSE.
AND WHETHER IT'S THROUGH A DATA CENTER OR SOMETHING ELSE, WE NEED TAX BASE, WE NEED, UH, OR, OR EVERYBODY'S TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP IN TOWN, PERIOD.
'CAUSE EVENTUALLY, UH, THINGS ARE GONNA HAVE TO GET DONE.
UM, I, I BET YOU COULD GO TO ANY DEPARTMENT IN TOWN AND YOU SAID, IF I GAVE YOU AN EXTRA 5% OF YOUR BUDGET, WOULD YOU KNOW HOW TO SPEND IT? AND I GUARANTEE YOU THEY ALL KNOW HOW TO SPEND IT EFFECTIVELY.
OUR JOB IS TO CREATE TAX REVENUE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE JUST, THIS IS JUST ONE OPTION.
SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR TAKING A LOOK AT IT.
ANYTHING ELSE? UM, LAUREN FROM PLANNING AND ZONING WANTED ME TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL WERE AWARE THAT, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, THERE WAS A TEXT AMENDMENT, I THINK THAT'S THE CORRECT TERM.
UM, THAT'S GOING BEFORE PLANNING COMMISSION.
IT'S GOING TO THE WORK SESSION THIS WEDNESDAY AT SIX O'CLOCK.
UM, YOU GUYS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND THAT, UM, AS MEMBERS AND HEAR WHAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TODAY.
UM, SHE SAID THAT, UM, THE EARLIEST THAT IT WOULD GO TO ANY SORT OF PUBLIC HEARING WOULD BE IN SEPTEMBER.
AND UM, THERE'LL BE MORE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT YOU KNOW, SHE WANTED YOU TO LET YOU ALL KNOW YOU WERE MORE THAN WELCOME TO TO ATTEND THAT IF YOU WANTED TO HEAR.
WHERE IS THAT AT? UH, IT SHOULD BE HERE.
YOU WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU GUYS KNEW THAT YOU'RE WELCOME TO JOIN IF YOU WANTED TO.
YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK AT THAT, JUST SO YOU KNOW.
SO THAT, THAT COULD BE, THAT'S NO PUBLIC COMMENT.
THAT COULD BE TOUGH FOR SOME OF US.
WELL, WE CAN GO IN THE HALLWAY.
UM, I CAN TALK AT THE LOCAL WATERING HOLE.
BUT NO, IF YOU WANNA HEAR, YOU'RE WELCOME TO.
SO OUR NEXT MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 1ST, BUT IT'S NOT NO LABOR DAY.
SO WE NEED TO SET A NEW DATE FOR THAT.
DOES THAT WORK FOR EVERYBODY? I, LET'S JUST FINE FOR ME.
DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT? UH, THE MEETING DATE CHANGE? I'M NOT SURE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO, BUT WE CAN MAKE A MOTION THAT THE MEETING BE MOVED TO MONDAY, SEPTEMBER THE EIGHTH AT 12TH NOON.
I SECOND IT ALL FAVOR SAY AN AYE AYE.
UM, THAT WAY THE I'S ARE DOTTED
AND, UM, ANYTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY BEFORE I ASK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN? OKAY.
UH, I, UM, CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY ATTORNEY.