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Record of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting - January 27, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, January 27, 2026
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, January 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:00

Original source
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0:50

All right, good evening.

0:51

I'd like to call the Powell Development Corporation meeting of Tuesday, January 27 to order.

0:59

First order businesses to call the roll.

1:01

Elaine, if you would please.

1:03

Thank you.

1:03

Sean Hughes.

1:04

Here.

1:05

Jan Krivnik.

1:06

Here.

1:06

Heather Carr?

1:07

Here.

1:07

Nicole Scott.

1:08

Here.

1:09

Andrew Quite.

1:10

Here.

1:10

Thank you.

1:11

I will make note for the record that uh congratulations to Mayor Carr for being elected mayor and also for uh we were having you here on the Powell Development Corporation.

1:25

So uh thank you very much.

1:29

Next item on our agenda is item two approval of the minutes in the packets.

1:33

We've had a draft of the minutes from November 25th.

1:38

Is there any additions or corrections to the minutes?

1:41

I'll make a motion to move to adopt second.

1:45

I do have a motion and a second to adopt the minutes as written.

1:48

All those in favor say aye.

1:50

Aye.

1:51

Opposed, same sign.

1:53

The minutes are approved.

1:56

Uh no special report from the president this evening.

1:58

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

2:04

I'll ask the finance team.

2:05

Anything noteworthy to call out for today's meeting.

2:10

Umorthy.

2:12

Um we had a few grant payments in December.

2:15

Um we are kind of trying to tie those out before year end.

2:19

So we paid um espresso 22 and um CSD Powell RG, which is the LONE top the uh the trucks grant that was approved.

2:33

Um we also paid the final installment to um destination Delaware.

2:40

Um so larger payments in the month of December, but then we've got the normal um charging station utility cost, um, and then we also paid for our 2024 tax return uh preparation fees.

2:56

Um but yeah, with that um December net income was 481,278 dollars and thirty-one cents.

3:06

Um so that was quite a bit higher than what we budgeted.

3:10

Um we had several large payments that were budgeted that we ended up not paying out in 2025, but those will continue on into 2026.

3:19

So we'll go over that whenever we look at the the new 2026 budget as well.

3:25

Um but if you remember that's the co-hatch um incentive payment and then several of the grants payments that are rolling into the next year.

3:34

Those are the larger items creating that difference.

3:38

Okay.

3:52

Oh, did you want to look at the budget?

3:54

That's in the agenda.

3:56

Yeah, very good.

3:58

I see that, yes.

4:00

All right, let's uh break off the agenda for a second.

4:04

I noticed there was no uh is there anybody here who would like to speak on items are on the agenda.

4:11

Okay, hearing none, we'll close that portion of the meeting and move on to uh report of the economic development administrator.

4:20

Thank you, Jim.

4:21

Um in your packet you will see the annual report for 2025.

4:27

So it looks largely like one of your monthly reports that you're used to seeing, except it's summarizing a lot of the numbers and have some of the new business uh logos there off to the side of of new business that businesses that locate in the community.

4:43

Um but as you can see it was a a very successful year.

4:46

You saw that building up through um the year with the monthly reports.

4:51

Um, but we ended the year with 402 projects, which is 12.9% over uh the the previous year.

5:00

Um that again includes your your business retention expansion visits, which were 166, which is a 40.6% increase over the previous year.

5:07

Um we ended the year with 30 new businesses or startups uh coming into the community.

5:13

That's a 170% increase over the previous year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Review██████████████████████22%
Committee Reports███████████████████19%
Public Engagement███████████████████19%
Economic Development███████████11%
Grant Management██████████10%
Procedural███████7%
Public Infrastructure███████7%
Community Engagement█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting - January 27, 2026

The Powell Development Corporation met on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Hrivnak and adjourned at 7:20 PM. All votes during the meeting were unanimous (5-0). Key topics included approval of minutes, financial and annual reports, budget revisions, a façade grant adjustment, a board transition plan tabled until February, a new façade grant for Local Roots, and a professional services agreement with Visit Powell.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes from the November 25, 2025, meeting was made by Andrew White, seconded by Sean Hughes, and passed unanimously.

Reports

  • Report of the President: Chairman Hrivnak had no special report.
  • Report of the Treasurer: Finance Director Samantha Borchers reported that December had several grant payments (Espresso 22, CSD Powell RG, final installment to Destination Delaware), plus normal charging station utility costs and 2024 tax return preparation fees. December net income was $481,278.31, higher than budgeted due to several large payments not paid out in 2025 but continuing into 2026.
  • Report of the Economic Development Administrator: Sean Hughes reviewed the 2025 annual report. Key statistics: 402 projects (12.9% increase over 2024); 166 business retention and expansion visits (40.6% increase); 30 new businesses or startups (170% increase); 8 retained or expanded businesses; 496 full-time equivalent positions from new businesses; total payroll of $18.36 million from retained, expanded, and new businesses, generating approximately $367,200 in new income taxes annually. Over the past two years, $24.1 million of new payroll has been added. City Manager Andrew White noted the nearly $400,000 in realized income tax dollars from this payroll, and Hughes indicated the numbers can continue to grow, especially with redevelopment projects.
  • City Council/Commission/Committee Reports: Mayor Heather Karr announced the reorganization of City Council committees: Vice-Mayor Tom Counts chairs Finance, Councilmember Tyler Herrmann chairs Development, and Councilmember Leif Carlson chairs Operations. City Manager White acknowledged the Public Service Department for snow removal efforts.

Old Business

  • PDC Budget Adjustments: Finance Director Borchers presented a revised 2026 operational budget layout, reorganizing expense categories to match new committee structures and adding columns for prior years' budgets and actuals. Yellow-highlighted items indicated adjustments, including carryover grant payments and restoring the Powell Festival Sponsorship to $20,000. Discussion included requests for future commitment tracking (Hughes maintains a separate spreadsheet). A motion by Mayor Karr, seconded by White, to approve the revisions as presented passed unanimously.
  • Espresso 22/Huli Huli Facade Grant Adjustment Request: Sean Hughes explained that Mr. Sun, owner of both businesses, had two 2025 grants: $25,000 for Huli Huli patio enclosure and $12,500 for Espresso 22 patio. The Espresso 22 project was completed (actual cost ~$50,000 vs. $25,000 budgeted). Mr. Sun could not proceed with the Huli Huli patio and requested reallocation of those funds to Espresso 22. Staff recommended terminating the Huli Huli grant and creating a new $12,500 façade grant for Espresso 22 (bringing its total to the $25,000 per-project cap). After discussion about the precedent, two motions passed unanimously: (1) to terminate the Huli Huli façade grant at the owner's request, and (2) to reallocate $12,500 to approve a new façade grant for additional Espresso 22 patio work, with invoices paid.
  • PDC Board Transition Plan: Hughes presented a transition plan drafted by legal counsel Emma Mulvaney to implement the new Code of Regulations. The plan outlines council appointments before March, adoption of the Code at a March meeting, seating new board members, and forming a nominating committee for committee-based seats. Discussion centered on the effective date (originally March 1, but effectively the meeting date when adopted). A motion by White, seconded by Karr, to table consideration until the February PDC meeting passed unanimously.

New Business

  • Local Roots LLC Facade Grant: Hughes presented an application from Local Roots (15 E. Olentangy Street) for a $25,000 façade grant (50% of $47,125 in eligible work). Eligible improvements include repainting the rear patio dining area, updating outdoor patio heaters, purchasing new chairs, and refacing restaurant signs. Staff recommended $23,563 (50% of the estimated $47,125 work). The project was previously awarded a Business Retention Expansion grant for kitchen equipment. A motion by Hrivnak, seconded by Karr, to approve the $23,563 grant as part of the 2026 budget passed unanimously.
  • Visit Powell Professional Services Agreement: Hughes proposed replacing the previous grant to Visit Powell (the downtown merchants group) with a professional services agreement (PSA) to reflect new committee structure and the group's board seat on the PDC. The PSA is based on the previous grant agreement but adds detailed reporting and termination language. A discrepancy in compensation (document stated $35,000 but budget is $38,500) was addressed. A motion by Hughes, seconded by Hrivnak, to amend Section 2 (compensation) and Section 5 (deliverables) from $35,000 to $38,500 passed unanimously. A subsequent motion by Hughes, seconded by White, to approve the PSA for 2026 (quarterly payments of $38,500 divided by four) passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All five motions passed unanimously (5-0): approval of November 2025 minutes, approval of 2026 budget revisions, termination of Huli Huli façade grant, approval of new Espresso 22 façade grant ($12,500), tabling of board transition plan, approval of Local Roots façade grant ($23,563), amendment to Visit Powell PSA compensation ($38,500), and approval of the Visit Powell PSA.
  • The Huli Huli façade grant was terminated at the owner's request; $12,500 was reallocated to a new Espresso 22 patio grant.
  • The PDC Board Transition Plan was tabled until the February 2026 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good evening. I'd like to call the Powell Development Corporation meeting of Tuesday, January 27 to order. First order businesses to call the roll. Elaine, if you would please. Thank you. Sean Hughes. Here. Jan Krivnik. Here. Heather Carr? Here. Nicole Scott. Here. Andrew Quite. Here. Thank you. I will make note for the record that uh congratulations to Mayor Carr for being elected mayor and also for uh we were having you here on the Powell Development Corporation. So uh thank you very much. Next item on our agenda is item two approval of the minutes in the packets. We've had a draft of the minutes from November 25th. Is there any additions or corrections to the minutes? I'll make a motion to move to adopt second. I do have a motion and a second to adopt the minutes as written. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. The minutes are approved. Uh no special report from the president this evening. Let's move to item four report of the treasurer. I'll ask the finance team. Anything noteworthy to call out for today's meeting. Umorthy. Um we had a few grant payments in December. Um we are kind of trying to tie those out before year end. So we paid um espresso 22 and um CSD Powell RG, which is the LONE top the uh the trucks grant that was approved. Um we also paid the final installment to um destination Delaware. Um so larger payments in the month of December, but then we've got the normal um charging station utility cost, um, and then we also paid for our 2024 tax return uh preparation fees. Um but yeah, with that um December net income was 481,278 dollars and thirty-one cents. Um so that was quite a bit higher than what we budgeted. Um we had several large payments that were budgeted that we ended up not paying out in 2025, but those will continue on into 2026. So we'll go over that whenever we look at the the new 2026 budget as well. Um but if you remember that's the co-hatch um incentive payment and then several of the grants payments that are rolling into the next year. Those are the larger items creating that difference. Okay. Oh, did you want to look at the budget? That's in the agenda. Yeah, very good. I see that, yes. All right, let's uh break off the agenda for a second. I noticed there was no uh is there anybody here who would like to speak on items are on the agenda.

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