* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] ALL RIGHT. SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA CALL [Economic Development Authority on February 2, 2026.] OUR MONDAY, UH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND MEETING OF THE, UH, FRONT WORLD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, UH, TO ORDER. UM, DO WE HAVE A ROLL CALL? ER CHAIRMAN AK HERE. AIDEN MILLER? HERE. I . HERE. HARPER ELLIOT. HERE. DAVID NEY. HERE. HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY MEETING. SO MOVED. NEED A SECOND? OKAY. GOT A COUPLE OF 'EM. UM, ANY DISCUSSION OR NO, I GUESS WELL, YEAH. ANY DISCUSSION, RIGHT? YEAH. WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT YOU CHANGE THE SPELLING OF YOUR LAST NAME TO WHAT HER COMPUTER AUTOCORRECTS THE SPELLING OF YOUR LAST NAME BECAUSE WE HAVE TO CHANGE IT EVERY TIME. REALLY. SO DOES IT WANT PUT A C IN? IT DOES, YEAH. YEAH, SO, SO WE'D LIKE FOR YOU TO GO AHEAD AND LEGALLY CHANGE THAT. SURE. THANK YOU. HAPPY TO DO THAT. WE APPRECIATE IT. WE APPRECIATE IT. I TAKE NO OFFENSE, , YOU CAN ADD THAT TO THE WORD PROCESSOR DICTIONARY. I KNOW. BUT WHAT'S ANY, UH, COMMENTS ABOUT THE MINUTES HEARING NONE, UH, ON DATE OF THE CITY? FIVE AYE AYE. ALRIGHT. RETAIL STRATEGIES. OKAY. SO WE ARE HAPPY TO BE ENSCONCED IN YEAR TWO OF RETAIL STRATEGIES. AIDEN, MYSELF AND THE VICE MAYOR HAVE A CALL WITH THEM TOMORROW. WE WERE GONNA TRY TO SQUEEZE THAT INTO BEFORE THIS MEETING TODAY, BUT SCHEDULE CHALLENGES, UM, THOSE GUYS WERE TRAVELING AND WITH THE SNOW AND ALL THINGS. SO WE'VE GOT A QUICK CHECK-IN CALL WITH THEM. THE INTENTION IS TO HAVE THAT ONCE A MONTH, UH, WITH EITHER, YOU KNOW, MICHAEL AND JIMMY, WHO WE'VE MET OR SOME FOLKS FROM THEIR TEAM. THEIR TEAM'S ACTUALLY KIND OF BIG, UM, TO SEE THE STATUS OF THINGS. AS OF RIGHT NOW, I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL UPDATES FROM WHEN THEY CAME TO SEE US IN DECEMBER. UM, UH, I DID SIT ON A CALL LAST WEEK HOSTED BY RETAIL STRATEGIES ON, UM, RETAIL TRENDS AND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT THEIR FORECAST FOR 2026 AND THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE RECORDING OUT OF THAT IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. AND I THOUGHT I'D FORWARD THAT OUT TO THE GROUPS TO TAKE A LOOK. UM, SOME OF IT WAS INTERESTING, SOME OF IT WAS WHATEVER YOUR LEVEL OF INTEREST IS. UM, BUT IT WAS KIND OF COOL TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE LOOKING, UM, GLOBALLY, I GUESS, AT AT WHERE THEY THINK RETAIL TRENDS ARE GONNA BE. THEY WERE TALKING MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE BRANDS THAT HAVE, THAT ARE PROJECTED TO CLOSE A NUMBER OF STORES. THERE WERE EVEN MORE THAN THAT, WHO WERE PROJECTED TO OPEN MORE STORES AND THEY WERE KIND OF EDUCATED GUESSTIMATING ON THE NUMBER OF STORES THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THESE DIFFERENT BRANDS THAT ARE GONNA OPEN. SO, UM, THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING TOO. SO AS SOON AS I HAD THAT RECORDING, I'LL SHOOT THAT OUT TO YOU ALL. SO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AT YOUR OWN TIME. UM, NOTHING SPECIFIC TO OUR MARKET OF COURSE, BUT IT WAS STILL INTERESTING. SO, UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I HAVE IS THAT THEY HAVE UPDATED OUR DATA FOR 2026 AND I MEANT TO GET THAT TO HILLARY TO PRINT FOR YOU GUYS. AND I FAILED AT . AND I WILL ALSO INCLUDE THAT IN MY EMAIL TO YOU AS WELL. THIS IS ABOUT 11 PAGES OF SOME DEMO PROFILE KIND OF THING. NOTHING TOO CRAZY, BUT IT WAS THEIR, UM, UPDATED DATA FOR THE MONTH OF, IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE AT THIS TIME. AND THAT'S A MONTHLY UPDATE OR LIKE AN UPDATE FROM 2025? IT'S AN UPDATE FROM 2025. OKAY. GOOD CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, ITEM FOUR, ONGOING BUSINESS. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW BUSINESS STUFF TO REPORT? I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THAT I SHARED THE NEW BUSINESS NAVIGATION TOOL THAT WE CREATED WITH THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE LAST MONTH AT THE CHAMBER. MM-HMM . AND THEY ALL REALLY LIKED IT AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY EDITS FOR US, WHICH I WAS KIND OF SHOCKED BY. SO I WENT AHEAD AND PUT IT UP. IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE. SO WE'RE, UM, ON MY LIST THIS WEEK IS TO GET PRINTED COPIES IN AS MANY LOCATIONS AS WE'D LIKE TO PUT THEM. UM, I FIGURED THE WEBSITE WAS A GOOD START, BUT MM-HMM . I KNOW WE WANNA HAVE THAT ON ON HAND. I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT PLANNING AND ANDI'S OFFICE AND UM, YOU KNOW, WE THOUGHT WE'D SHARE THAT WITH OUR FRIENDS AT THE COUNTY IF THEY'D LIKE TO USE IT. THE CHAMBER WOULD LIKE TO HAVE COPIES. UM, I THINK LESLIE CURLEY, DO YOU REMEMBER HER FROM PEOPLE INC. WHO CAME IN AND PRESENTED MM-HMM. SHE WANTED TO HAVE SOME COPIES AS WELL. SO, UM, THOSE ARE THE ONES OFF [00:05:01] THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I'LL TAKE ANYWHERE YOU WANT ME TO. I'LL TAKE 'EM ANYWHERE YOU WANT ME TO PUT 'EM. RIGHT? IS THERE STILL AN APPETITE TO DO SORT OF CASE STUDY WITH THAT, WITH BRINGING SOMEBODY IN? TALK ABOUT IT? 'CAUSE I, MY BUDDY AGREED TO REVIEW IT. OH, SURE. TALK ABOUT IT. SO I'LL, I'LL GET WITH HIM AND SEE SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT MEETING OR SO. MM-HMM . YOU CAN COME IN AND COOL. REVIEW THAT NOW. THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. SOUNDS GREAT. THANK YOU. UH, EXISTING BUSINESS WORKFORCE INFRASTRUCTURE. I, I HAVE A QUESTION. DID, UH, AS BIG AS THE SOUTH STREET PROJECT WAS ON MY AGENDA MM-HMM . UNFORTUNATELY I MISSED THE MEETING WHEN HE APPEARED HERE AT WORK ON A CRUISE. AND THEN I MISSED THE PRESENTATION ON THE 14TH ON A CRUISE. UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON THAT, THAT THEY CAN OFFER? DO YOU MIND IF I TAG IN THE TOWN MANAGER? I DID GO TO THE MEETING, BUT IT WAS A LITTLE OVER MY HEAD. I WILL, I WILL. ANY TYPES OF UPDATES THAT CAN BE OFFERED. I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED IT, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. I HAD IT IN MY PHONE FOR, UH, SIX TO EIGHT I THINK, AND IT WAS FOUR TO SIX AND IT WAS FOUR TO SIX. SO I GOT IN THERE JUST IN TIME BECAUSE I GOT THERE A LITTLE EARLY 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, BUT ANYWAY, APPARENTLY I WAS VERY LATE AND I MISSED, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE FOLKS BUT JOE, YEAH. SO IT WAS, UH, IT WAS ACTUALLY A GOOD TURNOUT AT THE BEGINNING AND I THINK THAT WAS VALUABLE FOR VDOT. WE'VE ALREADY HAD A FOLLOW UP CALL WITH VDOT AND TOWN STAFF AND THE OWN WELL, UH, TENANTS OF THE SHOPPING CENTER THERE. AND VDOT IS TAKING ALL THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, THEY'RE STILL DIGESTING ALL OF 'EM, AND THE ENGINEERS ARE LOOKING AT THEM. THEY'RE ALSO DOING SOME NEW TRAFFIC COUNTS TO SEE IF THEY CAN ACCOMMODATE A WESTBOUND TURN LANE INTO THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE PARKING LOT. SO THE ROLL KING GYM SIDE TO ALLEVIATE THE WESTERN ENTRANCE BY MARTIN'S. THEY ARE EXPLORING IT, BUT THEY ARE IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS ON THAT BECAUSE IT MAY REQUIRE SOME, YOU KNOW, ONSITE WORK AT THE PRIVATE PROPERTY TO ACCOMMODATE IT. BUT, UH, INITIAL DISCUSSIONS WERE POSITIVE AND I THINK THAT THEY CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT CAN WORK. UM, IT MAY CHANGE THE BUDGET A LITTLE BIT, NOT, YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE WISE, BUT, AND TIMELINE IF THEY HAVE TO DO SOME NEW ENGINEERING FOR THAT. BUT I THINK THE VDOT IS AWARE OF THE CONCERNS FROM THE PUBLIC, AND SO THEY ARE ASSESSING ALL OF THAT IN THE REVIEW. SO VDOT IS LISTENING AND THEY ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY TO SEE IF THEY CAN MAKE SOME DIFFERENT ACCOMMODATIONS TO THAT STRETCH. UM, SO WE WILL BE HAPPY TO UPDATE THE GROUP AS NECESSARY. BUT RIGHT NOW THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO EVALUATE THE COMMENTS AND THE ENGINEERING AND ALSO DOING UPDATED TRAFFIC ANALYSIS. SO, SO THE SOCIAL MEDIA PART OF IT HAS BEEN, I DON'T KNOW HOW THE ME YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP, WAS IT MORE POSITIVE, MORE NEGATIVE? WAS IT BOTH WAYS? I THINK IT WAS ALL THE SAME. I THINK EVERYBODY WAS CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATING A LEFT TURN HEADING WEST. UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLANS, THERE'S NO WAY TO ACCOMMODATE A LEFT TURN TRAFFIC OR A LEFT TURN LANE THERE NOW. UM, IT'S TOO CLOSE TO THE INTERSECTION CURRENTLY AT 55 AND 5 22, AND THEY CAN'T TAKE AWAY FROM THE LEFT TURN POCKET TO TURN NORTH ON COMMERCE 'CAUSE THAT BACKS UP. SO IT'S A, IT'S A CHALLENGING SPOT. UM, SO A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD CONCERN ABOUT THAT. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAD CONCERN ABOUT THEM DROPPING ONE OF THE THROUGH LANES BEFORE HEADING EAST ON BLUE RIDGE, WHICH THEY'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE BOTH OF THOSE ARE THROUGH LANES. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY LIKE THAT MARTIN'S PARKING LOT BOTTLENECK, I WOULD SAY WAS THE PRIMARY FOCUS. UM, I DO THINK THAT MOST OF THE COMMENTS WERE POSITIVE IN THE SENSE THEY DO FEEL THIS DOES MAKE THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BETTER BECAUSE I THINK THAT FLASHING SIGNAL THERE CLOSE TO THE MAJOR INTERSECTION, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S, THEY CAN'T SEE IT. SO NOW IF THERE WAS AN ISLAND AND PEOPLE HAD A SPOT FOR REFUGE IN BETWEEN THE TWO LANES WOULD WORK. I THINK PEOPLE DO FEEL LIKE IT'S STRESSING THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY GOAL. UM, BUT THEY JUST HAD SOME CONCERNS AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT VDO [00:10:01] T'S LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW. SO, UM, BUT I THINK EVERYBODY KIND OF HAD THE SAME OVERALL CONCERNS AND THAT THING, THIS WAS JUST PEOPLE CHATTING WITH THE ENGINEERS ON, IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO ONE OF THESE, THEY HAVE POSTER BOARDS AROUND. YOU CAN SPEAK WITH THE ENGINEERS AND THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION, THEN THEY HAVE A SOMEBODY THERE THAT CAN ALSO TAKE DOWN YOUR WRITTEN COMMENTS OR YOU CAN MAIL OR EMAIL THEM IN. AND I BELIEVE THAT DEADLINE WAS LAST WEEK, UM, TO GET THOSE COMMENTS IN. SO THEY'RE, THEY WERE STILL ACCEPTING COMMENTS AS OF LAST WEEK. SO THEY HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN ALL OF 'EM YET. BUT I THINK THE OVERALL RESPONSE, I MEAN, I'VE BEEN TO THESE MEETINGS BEFORE AND IT WAS PRETTY GOOD TURNOUT AT THE BEGINNING, UM, AND PEOPLE PROVIDING VALUABLE FEEDBACK. SO I MEAN, THERE WERE BUSINESS OWNERS ON SOUTH STREET PROPERTY OWNERS AND THEN JUST PEOPLE WHO DRIVE THROUGH THERE AND VISITORS. UM, SO IT WAS GOOD. THANK YOU. THANKS JOE. ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? DR. ALL RIGHT. UH, ASSET DEVELOPMENT. ALL RIGHT. OPEN DISCUSSION. . UH, I WANT TO JUST SEE IF THERE'S ANY, WHAT THE CURRENT STATUS IS ON FILLING OUR TWO VACANT SEATS. I THINK, UH, I MEAN, I CAN TOUCH ON THAT. I THINK RIGHT NOW, UM, WE'RE, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED HERE LAST MONTH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET AND YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT WE PLAN TO BUDGET FOR THIS. SO I THINK IT'S KIND OF ALSO TIED TO THAT, UM, ABOUT BEFORE BRINGING ON MORE PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVALUATING THE OVERALL. UH, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I DON'T MEAN TO CALL OUT MR. WOOD HERE NEXT TO ME. YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT, AT ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS ABOUT DO WE ADD A, A FUNDING TO IT? SO WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING THAT, I BELIEVE AT COUNCIL'S, UH, RETREAT AS WELL. UM, BUT WE DO WANT TO, YOU KNOW, GET THAT OPENING BACK OUT. WE STILL, THERE'S JUST A LOT BEEN GOING ON RECENTLY, BUT TO SEE ABOUT GETTING THESE SEATS FILLED, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S TO BE DOWN TO IS THIS PRETTY IMPORTANT? SO WE'RE JUST, IT'S JUST PART OF THE OVERALL STRATEGIC VIEW RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? WELL, HOW CAN I DELICATELY SAY THIS? I THINK THE FACT THAT THE, THE BUDGETING HAS TO BE DISCUSSED, UM, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO INVEST IN ASSETS OR TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY KIND OF MAJOR PROJECTS WHEN YOUR FUNDING IS LACKING. UH, WE'VE DONE WHAT WE CAN WITH SMALL THINGS. I THINK RETAIL STRATEGIES IS PROBABLY THE, THE BEST INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE. BUT IT WOULD TEND TO SAY THAT THEY'RE LOOKING, MY OPINION WOULD BE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE OF THIS ORGANIZATION, THE BUDGETING THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE GIVING TO IT. AND IT, IT, IT IS FRUSTRATING OBVIOUSLY TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, ONLY YOU, YOU'VE GOT ADAS WHERE THERE'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INVESTED AND FOR THEM TO CARRY OFF AND TO DO SOME THINGS AND CARRY ON INVESTMENTS OR ALLOW BUSINESSES TO, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT DOING THAT 'CAUSE WE JUST REALLY DON'T HAVE A BUDGET. SO IT IS FRUSTRATING AS A MEMBER OF THIS, OF THIS BOARD TO TO KNOW THAT IT'S KIND OF AMBIGUOUS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. FOR US. AT LEAST THAT'S THE WAY IT LOOKS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE TOWN'S NOT EAGER TO REPLACE THE TWO POSITIONS THAT ARE EMPTY RIGHT NOW. AT LEAST THAT'S THE WAY I READ IT. THAT'S THE SIGNAL IT SEEMS TO SEND. SO ANYWAY, SET MY PEACE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. A LOT OF US ARE THINKING. SO, UH, ANYBODY ELSE? I GOT, UM, JEFF JUST HEADS UP. SO THE CHAMBER'S HAVING THEIR COFFEE AND CONVERSATIONS THIS FRIDAY. UM, RYAN HALL FROM HINDO COMMUNITY CAPITAL FUND WILL BE THERE. UH, THAT ORGANIZATION WILL, I, I BELIEVE THEY'VE EXECUTED THE CONTRACT. IF THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE PRETTY CLOSE. BUT THE FRONT ROW, WARREN COUNTY EDA IS GOING TO BE CONTRACTING WITH SCCF TO MANAGE THEIR LONGSTANDING, UH, ROLE DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM. UM, AND I ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU'VE NEVER MET RYAN HALL WITH SECF, HE'S A GREAT CONTACT TO DISCUSS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY MAY BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH EDA. SO, UM, WHAT TIME DOES THAT START ON FRIDAY? 9:00 AM AT ON QUEUE. [00:15:05] THANKS. MM-HMM . I WONDER IF, UH, A DREAM CASTING SORT OF DISCUSSION WOULD BE USEFUL, UM, IF WE WERE TO BE FUNDED, UM, WHAT WOULD, WHAT KIND OF STUFF WOULD WE LOOK INTO IT? DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS ON THAT? BECAUSE I THINK SAYING, HEY, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT WE COULD DO FOR X AMOUNT. MM-HMM . TWO X AMOUNT COULD BE USEFUL. I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN MY BACK POCKET ON THAT MM-HMM . BUT JUST KIND OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD WANNA LOOK AT IF WE WERE, IF WE HAD FUNDING, UM, OPEN TO YEAH. TO THAT. SURE. UM, WHAT DID YOU CALL IT? OH, DREAM CASTING. DREAM CASTING. YEAH. OKAY. WHICH CASTING? YEAH, ANYWAY, THAT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A NEW TERM FOR THIS OLD DOG. SO . UH, BUT, UM, I MEAN, SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS I HAVE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK A TOUR OF, UH, OF THE VOCATIONAL CENTER. MM-HMM . WE SAW NEEDS, WE RECOGNIZED TRUE NEEDS, YOU KNOW, LIKE HVAC REPAIR, THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO, TO SOURCE SOMETHING THAT OUT. IMAGINE US BEING ABLE TO INVEST IN SOMETHING, HELP OUR SCHOOL, SCHOOL SYSTEM, COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM, WHATEVER, UH, BUSINESSES HERE IN TOWN. UM, THROUGH THAT, UH, INVESTING IN PROPERTY. UH, THERE, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, PROPERTIES THAT MAKE SENSE THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE ACT ACQUIRED THAT, UH, THEN COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATIONS THAT THEY'RE IN, WHETHER THEY'RE IN DISREPAIR, WHETHER IT BE ADDRESSED, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, REMARKETED, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, HELPING PEOPLE DO THINGS. I MEAN, NOT TOTALLY FUNDING IT, BUT IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, LOANING SOME MONEY TO PEOPLE THAT ARE WANTING TO REVERB THE BUILDING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S PROBABLY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL INVESTMENT I'VE WITNESSED IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. MM-HMM . AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE TOO, WHERE SOME CAPITAL WAS PROVIDED FOR BUSINESSES ON MAIN STREET AND IN TOWN TO IMPROVE THEIR FACADES AND THEIR REAR ENTRANCES. AND IT WAS WELL UTILIZED MM-HMM . AT LEAST IN MY OPINION. YEAH. AND I WAS ONE OF THE BENEFACTORS OF THAT. DON'T NEED TO BE THE BENEFACTOR OF IT IN FOR 'CAUSE WE'VE DONE THAT, BUT THERE ARE STILL PROPERTIES THAT COULD REALLY, REALLY PROBABLY USE THAT HELP. YEAH. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO DO ANY KIND OF PROJECT LIKE THAT. RIGHT. AND THAT'S, I SEE AN EDA INVESTING IN ITS COMMUNITY. AND, YOU KNOW, I, LIKE I SAID, I THINK WE COULD AFFORD TO DO RETAIL STRATEGIES. I HATE THAT IT WASN'T A UNANIMOUS DECISION BY OUR TOWN COUNCIL TO SUPPORT IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT DID GET PASSED AND, AND THAT'S ENCOURAGING. AND UH, SO I SEE POSITIVES, BUT THE MAJOR STEPS THAT WE COULD TAKE TO DO SOME MAJOR, TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. YOU KNOW, LIKE ASSISTING KIDS OR ASSISTING DEVELOPERS OR SOMETHING, OR ACQUIRING DERELICT PROPERTY. I JUST, I MEAN, THOSE ARE JUST HOT BUTTONS FOR ME. YEAH. UH, THAT'S NOT, MIGHT NOT BE THE OPINION OF THIS BOARD, BUT I JUST SEE US INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WE JUST DON'T REALLY HAVE THE CAPITAL TO DO THAT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL SOURCE FOR THE FACADE LOANS? WAS IT THE USDA? WAS IT S-D-A-D-H? PROBABLY DHCD. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT. OH, OKAY. SORRY, MISSPOKE. IT'S OKAY. SO WHAT WAS THE SIZING OF THOSE? IT WAS A PRETTY SIZABLE INVESTMENT PER PER GRANT. LIKE WHAT? WELL, IT WOULD, IT WAS IT INDIVIDUALS, SO I BASED ON SIZE AND NEED AND YEAH. AND SOME OF IT WAS USED I THINK ON THE, UM, PAVILION DOWN FOR THE RESTROOMS AND WHATNOT. I THINK. I THINK SO. YEAH. YEAH. YOU KNOW, SO I DON'T KNOW. I I, I HATE TO THROW A NUMBER OUT 'CAUSE I WOULD JUST BE PROBABLY WRONG, BUT, UM, I'M SURE IT WAS AT LEAST, NO, I'M NOT GONNA SAY , I'M JUST GONNA RESIST THAT. BUT, BUT YEAH, I, NO, I, I AGREE, TOM. I THOSE ARE ALL GREAT. YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN, UH, TO GO TO, YOU KNOW, THE VO-TECH CENTER AND GO, HEY, WE COULD TAKE WE, OR WE TURNED AWAY 50 KIDS FOR THIS PROGRAM, OR 25 KIDS OR WHATEVER IT WAS. RIGHT. I MEAN, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH CAPACITY FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HELP EVERY KID OUT THAT WANTS THIS, WANTS HELP. AND SOMEHOW WE NEED TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT AS A COMMUNITY. UM, ANYWAY. I AGREE WITH YOU. WELL, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE DONE BY US, IT CAN BE DONE BY PARTNERS. SURE. BUT WE ARE, I LOOK AS WE'RE THE KICKSTARTER OF IT. [00:20:01] UM, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, CAN WE FUND, UM, REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTIRE TOWN? OF COURSE NOT. BUT THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME PROJECTS THAT WE COULD DO, EVEN ACQUISITION OF LANDS THAT MAKE IT, WE COULD EVEN IMPROVE SOME TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS, UM, JUST BY ACQUIRING SOME LAND OR, OR, UH, REMOVING SOME OF THE, THE HINDRANCES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO ANYWAY, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE, I FEEL LIKE WE WERE PRETTY UNANIMOUS ON RENEWING THE CONTRACT AS FAR AS THE, OUR BOARD. I DIDN'T REALIZE THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT OPPOSITION FROM THE COUNCIL. IT WASN'T SIGNIFICANT, BUT THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE, AT THE TIME THERE WERE SIX INDIVIDUALS THAT MADE A, A RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A PROJECT THAT THEY FELT WAS VERY VALUABLE AND TO NOT HAVE THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE BOARD. AND YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET EVERYBODY, BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE WAS SOME OPPOSITION TO THAT. AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY THE MAJORITY WIND OUT ON THAT. AND YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE MOVING FORWARD. YOU CAN'T HAVE A MAJORITY A HUNDRED PERCENT EVERY TIME, BUT YOU'D LIKE TO BELIEVE IN THE SIX INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE APPOINTED TO TAKE ON A CERTAIN TASK. YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE BELIEF BY ALL THE INDIVIDUALS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THESE FOLKS ARE DOING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO. BUT ANYWAY. WELL, I THINK WE REACHED THE END OF OUR MEETING. CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY FOR SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? THANK YOU GUYS. OUR SHORTEST MEETING. NO, WE GOT ONE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.