Jefferson Local Development Corporation
The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Vice President, Byron Stahly, at the Boulder City Hall. Joe Calnan made a motion to approve the November 28th meeting minutes as published, Pat Lewis seconded the motion. Motion passed. 2. Boulder South Campus a. Sewer Upgrades Tara reported the sewer study has been completed. Staff is working with Headwaters on funding and met with the EDA about possible funding opportunities for the sewer upgrade build out. A couple different options are being considered. One option is to roll over some of the money if and when buildings 7 and 8 on the south campus are sold. Staff prepared a letter to that effect and sent it to John Rogers at the EDA in Helena as, before that money can be rolled over, permission is needed from EDA since about $600,000 of the upgrade for the two buildings was EDA money. EDA has a lien on the buildings and staff spoke with them yesterday; they are not interested in funding projects such as infrastructure build outs because it's something they don't have a lien on. Bob asked what JLDC has for a commitment from the City of Boulder. Tara said JLDC has no financial commitment; however, the city did write a letter stating they were in support of the project and would take over the sewer once it was upgraded. Bob said there are two elements to that. One is to improve what's on the campus; the other is the extension and asked if they will become separate items for grant consideration. Tara said she thinks it will be one grant application, but did not have a firm answer on that. Byron said if there was some reason they needed to be considered separately, there would be nothing to prohibit that but it would make sense for the infrastructure to stay as one project and grant. Bob asked and wants the board to think about how much commitment JLDC has in using their own funds for a project that JLDC does not control. b. Subdivision Team Vivrette is moving along and still working on the subdivision. Staff has spoken with them and also with Harold Stepper, the County Planner, who confirmed he has heard from them and the subdivision is progressing. c. Youth Dynamics Lease Review Staff met with Peter Degel of YDI. One of the items discussed was the maintenance bills for the facility. Peter will review expenses for lawn care, etc. along with some of the items in the agreement made prior to Tara's arrival as to what was agreed AYA would take care of and what JLDC would take care of. Staff anticipates receiving a revised bill shortly. Another item discussed with Peter was a rent increase. Staff sent him a letter last week informing him of a five percent rent increase over last year effective February 1, 2008. Joe asked if YDI is still interested in purchasing the buildings. Tara said they are and, once the subdivision is set, it will be listed with a broker and YDI will have an opportunity to buy. Peter said the YDI board is well aware of the option to purchase the buildings. Tom L. asked if JLDC needs to list the buildings with a broker. Tara said that's what the board decided to do so it would be fair to all. Tom L. said he thinks that is unusual to list with a broker when JLDC already has a tenant who has been there for some time now and wants to purchase it; why not agree on a price and let YDI purchase it. Tom L. doesn't feel it has anything to do with transparency or fairness and said it's fair for YDI instead of going through the process. YDI/AYA's the one who stepped up and put a business there and it's leased to them. It just makes sense for JLDC to negotiate a price and sell it to them. Joe agrees with Tom L. He doesn't know why a broker would be needed. He said JLDC should look at the back minutes and see where we're at. Pat said YDI can submit an offer anytime if they are interested. Tara said the property has to go through the subdivision process before they can purchase. Byron said once it's subdivided, nothing is stopping YDI from coming forward with an offer. Dick said if JLDC decides to list with a broker, can name certain people, such as current tenants, etc., that would exclude the broker from receiving commission if the property is sold to them. Bob said JLDC is not ready to set a price on the property until it's known what the expenses will be for the subdivision. The board will then have to decide what kind of an appraisal price to put on it. He said JLDC may want to consider having an updated appraisal after the subdivision is completed. Tom H. agreed with Bob as the previous appraisal did not include the new roof or new boiler and real estates values have increased since then. Joe asked if there have been any shared resources between the Elkhorn Treatment Center and AYA. Tara said this was discussed at the Human Service quarterly meetings and there is potential for sharing resources but it has not yet happened. 3. Elkhorn Mine Community Group Tom H. said there was an Elkhorn Mine meeting this morning at the Boulder City Hall. Seventeen people were in attendance. The mine currently has about ten people on their payroll and plans to add a few more employees in the next month or two. The mine is in the process of working on their operating permit. All paperwork is at DEQ and are now working on their Environmental Assessment (EA). The mine hopes for a March-April completion timeframe for the EA and to start actual mining in August. The mine is clearing the entire Elkhorn Road; removing fences, taking out brush, etc. to increase the visibility of safety on the road. One of the areas up there is called Point of Rocks and is historical to people there. The excavator hit the Point of Rocks and busted a big chunk off. Elkhorn reacted quickly and sent a letter of apology out and also wrote a letter to the editor. The mine went back and reviewed procedures. Tom H. said the Elkhorn project is moving forward and they are doing quite a bit for the Elkhorn community; bought a new pump for the fire station, put a well in, and the medical people on site are upgrading EMT skills and offering training for CPR, etc. Byron said he read the response to the Point of Rocks mishap in the newspaper, said the mine got right on it and it sounded like they spoke with the road contractor upfront about the incident. Byron said it's unfortunate, but the mine did get right on it and he felt they handled the mishap well. 4. Golden Sunlight Mine/Community Transition Advisory Committee (CTAC) a. Court Filing on Backfill Tom H. said CTAC meeting is tomorrow morning and gave an update on what's happening. All are probably aware of the court order on the backfill. GSM asked the Supreme Court to vacate the appeal filings and that was done because of law changes. MEIC subsequently has filed a "Contempt of Court" charge against the Montana DEQ and GSM, and it's now back in Helena District Court since it started in that court. Tom H. said there is a good article on the mining website titled Golden Sunlight Mine Reclamation Controversy that explains in detail what's going on. As a result, the mine has their attorneys working on filing an appeal to the "Contempt of Court" charge and has asked the county to assist with the Friends of the Court brief on behalf of the citizens of Jefferson County. The brief needs to be submitted by December 21st and will be presented to the CTAC group tomorrow morning. Tom H. read a quote from Richard Opper, Director of the DEQ, that sums up where the whole process is at; "Clearly, clearly, backfilling the pit would create more water quality issues in the future. That's why I'm surprised, and a little disappointed, that the MEIC is pushing so hard for an option that, clearly, is not as protective of water quality." The mine's goal is to complete their 5-C feasibility study in January and get a decision from Barrick in February as to if they will continue mine life at GSM. b. Planning Grant Tara emailed information about the Planning Grant to board members yesterday. Staff is interested in applying for a Planning Grant through the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund (BSTF). The upper limit to apply for is $25,000. Tara said this is a great opportunity as some studies are needed to progress and said one need is a Master Plan and Strategic Implementation Plan. This is a living document that is used to manage Missoula's business park. It helps them decide what type of businesses would be good for the health of the park, where to take the park basically and how to make it happen. Staff would like to apply for the grant to refine the master plan JLDC now has, to validate it as it's been several years since initial thought of the idea, and to update and expand it to include more than the core ideas. Also included would be a marketing plan on how to market the park; to give the tools needed when someone calls saying they're interested in locating in the park. JLDC would have something comprehensive to send interested persons/businesses which would include detailed analysis of the area, the regional economy, the workforce, the housing, etc. informing them as to why they should locate here, this is what we have and this is what we don't have. Tara said another key piece is an organizational and management structure. Obviously staff is busy now, once the business park is ready, will need to develop a management structure to manage the infrastructure, market the park, take care of lease holders, etc. Tara said through discussions with EDA, it would be good to include a structure in the park to be a business incubator; a set building where a business could come in. The structure would have a front office and some space in the back for manufacturing, building, storage or whatever the business may need to come in, start, and grow. Right now, commercial space is simply not available in Whitehall. Tara said EDA is very interested in incubators; in fact, that is what they are interested in from discussions with them. Staff thinks that including an incubator would be beneficial for local businesses and for funding. Tara called and spoke with quite a few firms and people and discovered people that do this are hard to find. The cost is higher because JLDC would need to tap into a national firm that does analysis and development for business parks. Tara talked with a couple firms that work nationally. One firm quoted the cost to be $40,000-$50,000. Another firm quoted $35,000. Tara is recommending JLDC write the grant for $35,000. The highest amount available from BSTF would be $25,000; JLDC would need to put in $10,000. Tara said this is something that JLDC needs to have done as more tools are needed to make the business park happen. EDA won't grant money unless there are jobs and this kind of tool is needed to get jobs. There was discussion on the business incubator and who it would house. Tom L. asked if that would take JLDC from its present location to the business park to be more available to those in the park. Tara said one of the assets to the incubator is having JLDC right there as a neighbor, etc. to offer technical assistance to businesses as needed. Joe asked for a description of what incubators are for the board members so all are thinking alike. Tara said what staff is thinking of for an incubator is a broader concept description in that the building would be like a turn-key operation with affordable rates. Technical assistance would be available in close proximity when needed. A number of businesses have approached staff with great ideas but need help to make it happen. Tom L. asked if the businesses would grow out of the incubator building and eventually build in the business park and expand so another business could incubate there. Tara said it's a place with physical space for businesses to start and grow. It's not intended to be a permanent location for the business. She said it would be a condo-type building where there are offices and open space in the back; a large warehouse type place where businesses could store things, build things, etc. Joe again asked for a descriptive type paper for board members describing the business incubator. Byron said he's heard of the concept, but doesn't have any specifics. He's wondering what the facility would look like, square footage, space, etc. Tom H. said one of the deliverables on the A&E contract was to design a building for an incubator. A building is already designed and plans completed based on what Bozeman has successfully done. The incubator provides support to little businesses trying to get to the next level, whether it's financial, marketing, etc. Bob asked where the business park is at if somebody comes along today and wants to locate there. Tom H. said DEQ has been working on the discharge permit for almost a year now and staff is hopeful DEQ will give approval soon after the first of the year. After the discharge permit is awarded, the water, sewage and all other permits will fall into line and JLDC can go to final plat. There was further discussion on explaining the discharge permit. Tom H. said next will be the infrastructure, Phase 2 grant, to install water and sewer lines and what's needed to locate a business on site. Depending on funding, looking at probably summer or late summer for infrastructure. Tom H. said part of the challenge they're now facing is businesses asking for lease rates and when they can locate in the park and there are no answers as waiting on the legality part on getting the discharge permit, the funding issue and putting the actual infrastructure in place. Bob asked if a strategic plan was needed to help with the businesses who have already expressed interest in locating in the park. He also asked about the marketing plan. Tara said JLDC's plan would be tailored to what JLDC would need and want done. Tara feels we need a strategic plan as there is no full blown out plan and the park needs to have businesses to generate money. She did say the businesses that have expressed interest in locating in the park fit within the general guidelines of what is envisioned for the park; the businesses are clean, have decent paying jobs and some longevity. Tom H. said there isn't a plan as to what we're looking for and the first businesses locating there will probably set the tone for future businesses. He said letters of support are needed from developers committing to 20-30 jobs. Tom L. said the park is like a subdivision and asked about having covenants stating what is and is not allowed in the business park since there already is a concept of what type businesses JLDC wants to have locate in the park. Darrell said the board has a concept of the vision for the property but the same board and staff will not always be here to make the decisions. He feels there needs to be some guidelines and parameters set so somewhere down the line, whoever can look and say that this is what the vision always was for the park and does this specific business fit within that vision. He feels the lease has some of this identified, but is not very specific and has too broad of a perspective of what kind of businesses would be allowed. Joe understood the Big Sky Trust Fund grant applied for would be for $35,000 ($25,000 BSTF; $10,000 JLDC) and would be used for a more detailed implementation plan, marketing plan and a plan for a business incubator. He said the board will have plenty of time later to talk about technical issues and feels JLDC needs to move forward with this as a blueprint is needed. Jim said a management team or management element was mentioned and, before going further with the master plan, the management concept needs to be totally flushed out and those people on board as they are the carriers of the master plan. Tara said we may not need management for a year or possibly even five years and staff can probably handle it for the first while but, at some point, will need to have a management structure in place. Byron asked if a minimum match is required by JLDC for the grant. Tara confirmed this. Byron then asked if the match would be less if JLDC scaled down our part more specifically and kept in the realm of $20,000-$25,000. He said JLDC can have the best marketing plan, etc. but until we can tell someone when they can have infrastructure and can start building, we're spinning wheels. Bob had a question regarding Attachment C on the Planning Grant. He inquired about the May timeline to review bids and set up interviews and asked if staff envisioned having whoever from this organization sit down with them to talk about the scope of business at that time and negotiate the price. He asked if that was the time all the questions he's asked will be put to play and the project would be defined. Tara said this will happen when contacting the different contractors and talking with them more specifically as to where we're at and would be defined through the scope of work. Joe agreed with Bob and said the board will have an opportunity to hold the contractors to do it the way JLDC requests them to and adhere to timelines and goals. Jim asked what the next natural progression is. Does the board first approve the contractor for the master plan and then bring the rest of elements into place based on the outcome of the master plan and who will oversee the park. Tara said staff will manage the park until it's too much to handle. Bob moved that JLDC apply for the $25,000 Planning Grant from Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund and commit JLDC funds up to $10,000 for a total of $35,000. Joe seconded the motion. Motion passed. Tara will have Barbara sign the draft support letter from JLDC for the Planning Grant tomorrow. c. Tax Increment Finance Project Tara said staff met with Janet Cornish and Harold Stepper to talk about the work plan and what needs to be done to set up the Tax Increment Finance District for the Sunlight Business Park. They also talked about an urban renewal district in Boulder and Whitehall. The county needs to set up the district by statute and there needs to be a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the county and JLDC. JLDC would actually be doing the project but the county needs to formally ask us. There are also some other things the county needs to do to make the TIF district happen. A meeting is scheduled with the Janet, staff, and the Commissioners for January 14th at 1:00 p.m. to talk about TIF districts and what is needed to make this happen. Tom H. said the county actually owns the infrastructure. Tara said how Janet explained it, essentially the income from a TIF district is property tax, so in order for property tax to be spent on something, that something needs to be public. d. Wind Development Tom H. said Barrick is moving forward on wind development at GSM. The lease with the previous wind developer expired and Barrick is looking at doing the wind development themselves. A person at Barrick's Toronto corporate office does the wind development and all wind information has been sent to him. The GSM manager said he will be contacting JLDC staff after the first of the year. Staff received an email from the Mayor of Whitehall yesterday stating the town was notified by the engineering firm that submitted the CREB's application that their application apparently is going to be approved. The town is trying to verify this. Three CREB's applications were submitted; one for Jefferson County, one for Boulder and one for Whitehall. Joe said there was an article in the Great Falls paper today about wind development and NorthWestern Energy is scrambling to try to meet the requirements put on legislature that said NW Energy needs to buy a certain percentage of wind which is more than they can buy right now. The article mentioned four sites in Montana that are going forward with wind development. Whitehall was not mentioned and Joe was wondering why. Tom H. thought part of the reason is because Barrick is interjecting now as they have decided they want to develop wind and become the wind developer. 5. Community Development/Human Service a. Horizons Visioning and Community Action Tara said both Whitehall and Boulder are wrapping up their Action Plan. They had to have a Vision, an Action Plan on how to achieve that vision and a plan on how to spend the next round of funding, which is $7,000, in each community. The $7,000 is to be spent on building the capacity of the community; training to make the residents living there better able to achieve the vision. Whitehall formed a Community Development Board as part of the town and had a meeting where officers were appointed. They also had a working meeting to put their Action Plan together. Tom H. said at the last Whitehall Town Council meeting, they had more people sign up to be on the board than they had spaces for and had to decide who to put on the board. Dick said Boulder had a similar meeting. Boulder has a temporary, six-month group of ten people from around the Boulder area that were drafted to help set up the by-laws, etc. Their next meeting is January 8th. MSU employees Sarah Hamlen and Paul Lachapelle will attend and help with the set up. The group hopes to carry on the Horizons vision. Dick said there is a lot of interest; of all the people they asked to be on the board, only one person declined. b. Housing Update Tara said there was a housing meeting in Boulder on December 13th. A county commissioner and a city council member were in attendance. The project is waiting for a DEQ approval letter. They have bids lined up to build the alley and dig in the infrastructure and will execute the contract to build the alley upon receiving the approval letter. They are also working with AYA to do some volunteer work on the project. Bob asked why the project needed DEQ approval. Tara said it's a five acre parcel and needs to be subdivided, so it's because of subdivision process. Dick said a lot of minor technicalities are the hold up but a letter is expected from DEQ any day. NAHN is contemplating diving into a huge grant application to design a senior, independent living supportive housing design to be built first in Boulder, then in Whitehall. Jefferson County, because of the great cooperation from the county commission, the county planner, and from the folks that have stepped up to the plate, is getting two-thirds of all the self-help money in the region. A Joint Resolution between the County and the City has been developed as well as by-laws and the whole concept of the Boulder Housing Advisory Committee. NAHN is moving forward with the purchase of 11 acres west of the town of Whitehall. It's a big project and will take some time to get it going. Senior housing will be built first and the property will be available to all incomes. Five families in Boulder have picked out their houses and their lots are designed. They started with the basic house design and modified it for the needs of each family. 6. Web and Brand Identity Update Tara said all comments from the last meeting were submitted to the web developer and they are working on that now. The next step is working on the content and confirming the navigation and Tara will do that in January-February. 7. Review Mid-Year Planning Session Tara said she felt it was a good thing to have on the agenda because JLDC never had a mid-year review before and felt it beneficial to have a quick discussion on how things are working and how to make improvements if we do it again next year. The topic was tabled until next meeting to give the board president a chance for her input. 8. Update on JLDC Accounting a. QuickBooks Online Tom H. said the office did subscribe to QuickBooks Online and all board members and Bonnie Ramey should have received an invitation to enter the site and should be able to view all reports. b. Search for Auditor Tara said at the last JLDC meeting, she was asked to call the county auditor and check on the cost for an audit. The person has not returned Tara's call. Bonnie has talked with him about it. Tom L. said he'd mention it to Bonnie again and topic was tabled until next JLDC meeting. 9. "Elevator Speech" Discussion Tara distributed a sheet with four draft elevator speeches for discussion. Ed's initial idea was to have numbers in there as far as jobs created, loans made, and tax base added. Tara said it was hard to do that in the last couple years due to the projects being worked on. Tara then read the four draft speeches. Joe said this is really Ed's concept and feels Ed had something more in mind. Discussion followed. Joe said the elevator speeches do give him a clearer picture of what all JLDC does. Tom L. thought when JLDC has a new logo, board members should have business cards to distribute with the elevator speech on it. 10. Staff Reports a. Tara explained the advertisement that was released recently for a position in Jefferson County to work on community and economic development. Tom H. has been working on a temporary contract through MSU and they want to make this a permanent position so the job has been advertised and MSU is accepting all applications. Tom H. has submitted an application. Joe asked about the screening committee for the position and wondered if JLDC should approach MSU as he would want someone JLDC is comfortable with helping make the decision on the person getting that position. Joe asked Tara if Steve Siegelin was the person to contact. Tara doesn't think there would be a problem with a citizen representative on the screening committee. Tom L. said prior to going out, the whole process is usually established and the screening committee already identified. He said Tara could ask Steve but it may be too late. Tara said she is on the committee and she will also let Steve know JLDC is interested in having perhaps the JLDC president on the committee also. Bob asked if this is the only time Extension has went out for a proposal like this. He said if MSU Extension has seen fit to advertise for this particular position, he presumes it had to do with economic development and criteria and tells him MSU is moving a bit in their thinking about what Extension should do for folks and is pretty positive. b. Tara said Dave Kirsch called her regarding the copper issue in the Boulder water. He is very concerned about the copper issue and wondering if there is anything JLDC can do, whether it's talking to the Governor to get DEQ to ease off on the issue, work with the college in some way, etc. Tara said Dave may have called her before the settlement between Boulder and DEQ. c. Tom H. said there is an MTAG meeting tomorrow night. Tom H. spoke with John S. and sent an email out in reference to the ongoing EIS process. A camera ready version of the EIS was ready last week for review by DEQ Director Opper and BLM Director Hotaling. Tunnels is hoping they review the document and get the draft document out before Christmas so the 45-day public comment period can start the first of the year. Tom H. said he spoke with Tunnels about the BLM response and they are very happy with BLM and indicated a couple issues that came up that could have gotten bogged down in the process and BLM expedited it. Tom H. asked Tunnels where they were at with writing the Congressional letters of assistance and, based on the cooperation and working relationship with DEQ and BLM, they will not be writing any letters at this time. Tom H. said he sent board members an email regarding Apollo Gold and their repayment of all their Debentures, in cash, from when they had financial difficulties. This is a positive note for the financial health of Apollo Gold. They are doing good financially; quarterly reports show this is the first time since they've been in operation that they've made money for the year. There was concern with having to shut down the mine in March or April, depending on the EIS. John relayed to Tom H. that, based on some of the delays they've had and the process, they have enough ore to get them through June probably, so may be okay with continuing operations if things keep moving along. 11. Comments and Questions a. Barbara Reiter distributed Gold West Country membership brochures and talked about the benefits of becoming a member. Part of the reason for doing this, she said, is to invite JLDC to become a member of Gold West Country and, also, she has asked Dick Norden to be a member of their board. Each county has board representatives that attend the meetings. Dick has expressed interest in tourism and perhaps could be a representative of JLDC on the board. Gold West Country is a very active group doing a lot of good things and is the tourism entity for Southwestern Montana and distribution center or way that the bed tax/ accommodation tax money is distributed throughout the southwest region of Montana. She said tourism is the second largest economic industry in Montana and invited JLDC's membership in the organization. They have about six meetings per year with the next Gold West Country meeting being held in January. b. Jim said the Whitehall Chamber started a "Shop Whitehall First" campaign to increase shopping in Whitehall. The poem is being aired on Whitehall's public broadcast emergency radio station. They have received a lot of calls and plan to continue the campaign after the holidays. c. Dick said the Tourism Loop Project deadline is 12/31/07 for businesses or whoever would like to be included on the loop guide pamphlet. It will be published this spring and will have a website, etc. Dick has more information and applications if interested. d. Tara said she will leave tomorrow for Minnesota for the holidays and will fly to Texas from there to attend a Core Four Instructor Training in San Antonio. She will be back in the office January 10th. 12. Adjourn Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 23rd, at Marks Lumber in Clancy. A tour of Marks Lumber will start at 1:00 p.m. with the JLDC business meeting starting at 2:00 p.m. Meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Notetaker Close Window |