Charlottesville Economic Development Authority (CEDA)
                         Meeting Minutes – February 12, 2019


Members Present            Staff Present         Others Present
Tara Boyd                 Chris Engel            Fran Lawrence – LCEC Board
Carolyn Shears            Jason Ness             Alex Searls – Lewis & Clark Exploratory Ctr
Ethan Dunstan
Ed Schmitz


A meeting of the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority occurred on Tuesday,
February 12, 2019 in the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. The chair, Ms. Boyd, called
the meeting to order at 4:02 PM.

Ms. Boyd opened the public comment period and there being no comments from the
public, she proceeded to the next agenda item.

Ms. Boyd called for a motion to approve the items on the Consent Agenda. Ms. Shears
moved, seconded by Mr. Dunstan and all present voted aye.

Mr. Engel provided an update on the City loan status with the Lewis and Clark Center. The
loan has not currently been paid back as the council approved loan forgiveness
contingent on the County of Albemarle doing the same.

Ms. Searls gave a history of the Center as well as background information on the
programming and support from the localities. The Center ran into construction cost issues
once unsuitable soils and a rock were discovered on the site. The City and County agreed
to immediate loans to keep the construction ongoing. To date, the Center has paid back
$50,000 of capital debt, half of the existing construction costs and paid nearly the full
balance of a $10,000 private loan. The Center is actively working with the County of
Albemarle and their EDA to address concerns and finalize payment solutions.

Mr. Lawrence, a Lewis and Clark board member outlined the current two options – loan
repayment or loan forgiveness. He also mentioned that issues with the construction
contractors caused the costs to go much higher than originally projected and the Center’s
close relationship to both localities was the basis for the original loan.

Mr. Engel stated that in 2015, the Charlottesville City Council approved the loan
forgiveness provided the County of Albemarle did the same with their loan.

Mr. Dunstan stated that CEDA has limited options but could ask Council to remove the
County of Albemarle contingency to have the City portion of the loan forgiven. CEDA is
responsible for recovering the loan, at the direction of Council.

Ms. Shears stated her support of the Center and their mission.
Mr. Engel pointed out that CEDA is not pressuring the Center to repay the outstanding
loan, but wants to understand what the plan is to do so.

Mr. Engel then moved into updates and reminded the CEDA board on the upcoming
Festival of the Book luncheon. He also indicated that there were approximately 10 days
remaining for applications to be submitted for the two upcoming open board positions.
He shared that staff is actively trying to recruit strong candidates with diverse backgrounds.

Mr. Dunstan brought up a letter that he received from the Tom Tom Founders Festival (TTFF)
advisory board, requesting CEDA’s support of the festival.

Mr. Engel discussed how CEDA and OED had supported the festival for the last several
years and planned to support again in 2019.

Ms. Boyd shared that she felt TTFF is a core economic development activity and CEDA
should consider ways to support the organization.

Mr. Engel stated he will review the proposal and look at ideas for core economic
development programming that could be incorporated into the FY 2020 CEDA budget.
These type of projects would need to have a deeper impact than just marketing and may
take some time to develop.

There being no further business, Ms. Boyd adjourned the meeting at 5:02 PM.




                                                      _______________
Chris Engel, Secretary                                   Date



Date Approved by CEDA