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Record of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting - October 28, 2025

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:05:15

Original source
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0:00

Okay, good evening.

0:02

I'd like to call the uh October 28, 2025 meeting of the Powell Development Corporate order.

0:11

First order business is to call the role.

0:15

Tom Counts?

0:16

Here.

0:16

John Hughes.

0:17

Here.

0:17

Jim Burnik.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Nicole Scott here.

0:20

Andrew White.

0:21

Aye.

0:22

Thank you.

0:23

Item two on the agenda this evening is approval of the minutes from the August 26th meeting.

0:30

Is there any additions or corrections to the minutes?

0:34

I've moved to approve.

0:35

Second.

0:36

You have a motion to second.

0:38

All in favor of the minutes say aye.

0:40

Aye.

0:41

Opposed, same side.

0:43

The minutes are approved.

0:45

Item three is a report of the president.

0:47

No special report this evening.

0:49

Let's move on to item four report of the treasurer.

0:54

Nicole.

0:58

Nothing too overly noteworthy for the September or August.

1:02

We do have one topic that I want to raise with regard to budgetary line items.

1:07

But before I raise that, Samantha, anything else that you'd call out?

1:13

I want to call out in September.

1:16

We had if you remember the city and the PDC kind of share costs in the utilities for a couple of the PDC buildings, as well as the city used to receive revenue for the charge point chargers at Riffrey Park.

1:34

In September, we kind of did like a final reconciliation of those costs, where I believe the PDC had to pay a small portion to the city.

1:43

The city had to actually pay the PDC for the charge point revenue that the city had received for the past six or seven months.

1:53

So that is the it's just under $7,500 in the revenue section in September.

2:00

That was kind of the final true up reconciliation of those costs between the two entities.

2:06

So now they PDC receives the charge point revenue in their account, and then they also pay all the utility costs.

2:15

So there's no kind of invoicing back and forth anymore for that.

2:25

Thanks, Samantha.

2:27

There is one invoice that's presented for payment in the month of September that will require a budgetary line discussion.

2:35

And that in particular is related to legal fees.

2:38

Currently, that line item allotted has $700 from a remaining balance.

2:43

However, there's also $10,000 left in contingent expenses.

2:47

So at this point, um the request is to allot budgetary funds from that contingent expense up to legal fees.

2:57

Before that, though I want to confirm there's one legal fee invoice that's presented for for the month uh for frostbound in the amount of 940 some dollars.

3:10

Um I don't know if there's anything else potentially pending a lot that higher at this point.

3:18

I would say maybe estimate like a thousand dollars a month for the end of the year.

3:25

I agree.

3:26

Okay, things that he has is working on.

3:28

A lot more activity now, so they're doing a lot more for I would just motion to transfer between those two accounts.

3:37

Yeah, in the amount of four thousand or somewhere, just do four to be safe.

3:51

Yeah.

3:54

So I'd like to present a motion to realot um four thousand dollars from contingent expense in the budget and shift it into the legal fees line item from the budget.

4:04

I'll second that.

4:06

We do have a motion and second any further discussion.

4:10

If not, uh Lynn, can you call a roll, please?

4:14

Jim Krivnik.

4:15

Yes, Nicole Scott, yes, Andrew White, yes, Tom Counts, yes, Sean Hughes.

4:20

Yes.

4:21

Motion passes.

4:23

Samantha, if you can make that change for us.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Grant Management███████████████████19%
Economic Development████████████████16%
Personnel Matters███████████████15%
Budget Review████████8%
Procedural██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Real Estate Development█████5%
Intergovernmental Cooperation█████5%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting - October 28, 2025

The Powell Development Corporation (PDC) met on October 28, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. The board approved minutes, received reports, and took action on several economic development items including a new business attraction grant, facade grant extensions, website redesign funding, and discussion on code of regulations revisions.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the August 26, 2025 meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote.
  • Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Nicole Scott presented the September 2025 financial report. A final reconciliation of utility costs and ChargePoint charger revenue between the PDC and the city resulted in a revenue adjustment of just under $7,500. Scott noted that moving forward, the PDC will receive ChargePoint revenue and pay all utility costs directly, eliminating future invoicing. She also requested a transfer of $4,000 from the contingent expenses line item to the legal fees line item to cover pending legal invoices (estimated at $1,000 per month through year-end). A motion to transfer passed unanimously (roll call: all five members yes).
  • Economic Development Administrator's Report: Sean reported year-to-date (through September 2025) activity: 341 projects (20% increase over prior year), 19 new businesses (111% increase), 247.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and $8.87 million in new payroll. He also reported 134 business visits (58% increase). Board members highlighted the return on investment from grant programs—noting that facade grants alone yielded $4.50 per $1 invested. Discussion included themes from business outreach: downtown foot traffic, employment challenges, and appreciation for the city's vision. The board requested a future summary of recurring business themes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

  • FOMO Pizza Performance Based Business Attraction Grant: Sean presented a grant request from FOMO Pizza, a sports bar/restaurant opening in the Middlebury Crossing plaza. The applicant is Chris Vince, co-owner of the restaurant and owner of the plaza. The project involves a $1.4 million investment, creation of 45 FTEs, and an estimated $750,000 annual payroll (yielding ~$15,000 in annual payroll taxes). Staff recommended a 50% performance-based attraction grant capped at $15,000 total, paid over two years (50% of estimated payroll taxes each year, with the first payment in 2027). The grant is tied specifically to $343,300 in kitchen equipment. A clawback provision applies after three years. Motion to approve as presented passed unanimously (roll call: 5-0).
  • 36 N. Liberty Facade Grant Extension to 2026: Sean reported that the owners of Cohiba Properties at 36 N. Liberty initially planned a simple renovation (siding, paint, gutters) but have since received HDAC approval for a much larger $2+ million renovation that expands the building footprint. A destination retail tenant is interested. The existing $25,000 facade grant was originally set to expire after 180 days; Sean recommended extending it to 2026 with the same terms. Motion to extend and carry over $25,000 into the 2026 budget passed unanimously (roll call: 5-0).
  • 5 S. Liberty Street Facade Grant Extension to 2026: The $22,500 grant for roof work at the Craft House building was delayed because the owner, Dan McClurg, prioritized a second-floor office renovation for Addison Properties (a Cleveland-based developer). That office now houses five employees with $750,000 in payroll. Roof work cannot proceed in cold weather, so extension to 2026 was recommended. Motion to extend and carry over $22,500 passed unanimously (roll call: 5-0).
  • Grant Tracking Sheets: Sean presented updated tracking spreadsheets for all grant programs (facade, PBAG, PBRE, small business impact mitigation, and Cohatch). He noted plans to implement CivicsServe, a grant and incentive tracking software, in the 2026 city budget. Board members praised the effort for improving budgeting and transparency.
  • Website Redesign/Development - Request for Additional Funds: The original $2,500 budget for rebranding and website redesign proved insufficient because the content management system (Wild Apricot) requires specialized coding that the current design firm cannot provide. A third-party partner is needed, adding $2,500. Staff requested an increase to $5,000 total, to be funded from the existing $10,000 contingency. Motion to increase the budget to $5,000 passed by voice vote.
  • PDC Code of Regulations: Sean reviewed a revised draft incorporating board feedback, prepared by attorney Emma Mulvaney. Key changes: nine board directors in two categories—five city council appointees (mayor or nominee, city manager or nominee, an LSD representative, a business director from a resource provider organization) and four directors nominated by a board-created recruitment/nominating committee (entrepreneurial, downtown business, tourism/convention, and real estate directors). Terms are staggered: initial two-year terms for three city appointees and one-year terms for two committee appointees. Removal requires a two-thirds vote of the full board. Board members discussed whether city council should retain removal power over its appointees; Mulvaney advised that as a separate corporation, removal must be done by the board. Some members expressed concern about potential conflicts if the board hesitates to remove a problematic member. The board decided to seek further clarification from counsel (possibly by email or phone) before a final vote. A typo in section B1 regarding "city manager appointee" was noted. Next steps: present the revised code to city council for input and aim for a board vote in November to allow reconstitution in January 2026.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved FOMO Pizza performance-based business attraction grant (unanimous).
  • Approved facade grant extensions for 36 N. Liberty and 5 S. Liberty (both unanimous).
  • Approved increase in website redesign budget from $2,500 to $5,000 (voice vote).
  • Approved transfer of $4,000 from contingency to legal fees (unanimous roll call).
  • Approved minutes and accepted treasurer's and economic development reports.
  • Code of regulations discussion continued; legal clarification sought; presentation to city council planned.
  • Next meeting scheduled: November 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM.
  • The board entered executive session under ORC 121.22(G)(8) to discuss confidential economic development matters.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, good evening. I'd like to call the uh October 28, 2025 meeting of the Powell Development Corporate order. First order business is to call the role. Tom Counts? Here. John Hughes. Here. Jim Burnik. Here. Nicole Scott here. Andrew White. Aye. Thank you. Item two on the agenda this evening is approval of the minutes from the August 26th meeting. Is there any additions or corrections to the minutes? I've moved to approve. Second. You have a motion to second. All in favor of the minutes say aye. Aye. Opposed, same side. The minutes are approved. Item three is a report of the president. No special report this evening. Let's move on to item four report of the treasurer. Nicole. Nothing too overly noteworthy for the September or August. We do have one topic that I want to raise with regard to budgetary line items. But before I raise that, Samantha, anything else that you'd call out? I want to call out in September. We had if you remember the city and the PDC kind of share costs in the utilities for a couple of the PDC buildings, as well as the city used to receive revenue for the charge point chargers at Riffrey Park. In September, we kind of did like a final reconciliation of those costs, where I believe the PDC had to pay a small portion to the city. The city had to actually pay the PDC for the charge point revenue that the city had received for the past six or seven months. So that is the it's just under $7,500 in the revenue section in September. That was kind of the final true up reconciliation of those costs between the two entities. So now they PDC receives the charge point revenue in their account, and then they also pay all the utility costs. So there's no kind of invoicing back and forth anymore for that. Thanks, Samantha. There is one invoice that's presented for payment in the month of September that will require a budgetary line discussion. And that in particular is related to legal fees. Currently, that line item allotted has $700 from a remaining balance. However, there's also $10,000 left in contingent expenses. So at this point, um the request is to allot budgetary funds from that contingent expense up to legal fees. Before that, though I want to confirm there's one legal fee invoice that's presented for for the month uh for frostbound in the amount of 940 some dollars. Um I don't know if there's anything else potentially pending a lot that higher at this point. I would say maybe estimate like a thousand dollars a month for the end of the year. I agree. Okay, things that he has is working on. A lot more activity now, so they're doing a lot more for I would just motion to transfer between those two accounts. Yeah, in the amount of four thousand or somewhere, just do four to be safe.

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