Powell Development Corporation Regular Meeting — July 22, 2025

The Powell Development Corporation (PDC) met in regular session on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers, 47 Hall Street, Powell, Ohio. The board approved the June 24, 2025, minutes, received the monthly treasurer's and economic development administrator's reports, and approved a performance-based Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) grant for Local Roots (Real Pit Barbecue).

Consent Calendar

• Roll Call: Members present included the presiding officer, Tom Counts, Sean Hughes, Jim Horivnik, and Andrew White; Nicole Scott was absent. (The transcription quotes the chair as saying "July 22nd, 2005"; the agenda confirms the date is July 22, 2025.)
• Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June 24, 2025, meeting were approved by voice vote with no additions or corrections.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public came forward to speak on non-agenda items, and the chair closed public participation.

Discussion Items

Report of the President

• The president reported no special items.

Treasurer's Report (Samantha)

• A new ChargePoint revenue line item was added; with the bank account switch complete, electric-vehicle charging revenue now flows directly to the PDC's account instead of being invoiced through the city.
• The city will still invoice the PDC for a few months of utility reimbursements for 44 North Liberty; going forward, the PDC will pay utilities directly and receive all ChargePoint revenue.
• A Downtown Façade Grant reimbursement to Kimberley's Diamond Corner was paid in June (approximately $18,187; the transcription's exact figure, "18,1873 six," is garbled).
• The 2025 remaining balance is negative. The monthly bill packet was sent to Nicole Scott for DocuSign.

Economic Development Administrator's Report (Sean)

• 245 projects year-to-date, a 33% increase over the same period last year.
• 16 new businesses or startups, a 267% increase over last year.
• $7.69 million in new payroll, generating an estimated $153,000–154,000 in new annual income tax revenue for the city.
• 101 Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) visits, a 77% increase over last year.
• New businesses highlighted included Sited To Smile (a dental office in Middle Bear Crossing) and Studio 614 Fitness.

City Council / Committee Reports

• The next Capital Improvements Program (CIP) meeting is scheduled for the following Tuesday.
• The city is closing out the first phase of the master planning effort with Bazootti; the second phase will provide the public additional information and feasibility analysis.
• Bennett Farm park reconfiguration: engineering is budgeting a design for a path connecting the west side of the property to downtown. A parcel owner west of the park is interested in working with the city to enable a full connection from Bennett Parkway to downtown; design would occur in 2025, with construction funding sought in 2026.

New Business: Local Roots BRE Grant

• Sean introduced the request from Local Roots (legal business name: Real Pit Barbecue), a longtime downtown anchor business with 45 full-time equivalent employees and $1.5 million in reported payroll.
• The application covers roughly $24,819 in equipment: a freezer unit, a refrigerated pizza prep table, and an emergency air-conditioning replacement that failed during the hottest part of the summer.
• Staff recommended a maximum grant of $24,818, based on one year of payroll taxes (the 2% formula on $1.5 million would have allowed $30,000), with reimbursement to occur in 2026 after the business reports actual 2025 payroll.
• Roughly $24,000 is already committed in BRE grants for 2026; the new grant would require an approximately $800 increase to that budget line item.
• Position — staff: Sean recommended approval, noting past BRE recipients generally reported slightly lower payrolls than in their applications, so actual payouts have come in below commitments.
• Position — board: A member expressed support, saying, "Local Roots has been a long-time business. It's important that they continue." Speakers also credited the program with strengthening local downtown restaurants, citing Local Table as an example.
• Andy raised the question of a clawback provision for the equipment if the business closed. A member supported including clawbacks for consistency with past practice (e.g., PDC retaining ownership of Monte Carlo's liquor licenses), and the board agreed to discuss a standardized approach with the law director. No policy change was adopted.
• A member requested a year-three report assessing the economic impact of grant recipients, stating, "I like to see the economic impact of how the programs are impacting our community."

Other Business

• Parking lot reconstruction at the Kroger-anchored center: Sean reported the full-depth grind and base repair stems from a failed asphalt base roughly 20–30 years old; the work has become very expensive (on the order of $750,000 or more) and extends to the Olentangy Street/SR 750 entrance. The developer (Dune) holds a broad common-area management contract that Sean described as "not well written," creating a substantial financial impact because not all outlot owners contribute their fair share.
• Logo/branding: The vendor accepted the board's work on the logo and is preparing a brand guide (colors, fonts); web templates and a new website will follow.

Key Outcomes

• Approved (passed by voice vote; no opposition noted): Motion to approve the Local Roots (Real Pit Barbecue) Business Retention and Expansion Grant, with grant payments to be made in 2026.
• Referred: Standardizing clawback provisions in future incentive grants was referred for further discussion with the law director.
• Requested: A year-three economic-impact assessment of the BRE grant program.
• Adjourned: The board adjourned by voice vote.