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Record of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting Summary – February 24, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 45:39

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:01

I will call the Hell Development Corporation meeting of February 24th, 2026 to order.

0:09

A lane would you please call the role?

0:11

Thank you.

0:12

Sean Hughes?

0:12

Yes.

0:13

Jim Karivnik is absent.

0:15

Heather Carr?

0:16

Here.

0:17

Nicole Scott?

0:18

Here.

0:18

Andrew White.

0:19

Here.

0:20

All right.

0:21

The next item on our agenda is citizen participation.

0:27

See no citizen participation.

0:30

We will move on to the next item: approval of the minutes.

0:33

Has everyone had a chance to.

0:35

Am I looking at the wrong thing?

0:36

No, I'm looking at the right thing.

0:38

Yeah.

0:38

You're correct.

0:39

Yes.

0:41

Has everyone had a chance to read the minutes?

0:45

Any additions, subtractions?

0:48

No.

0:49

Then we will approve it by consensus.

0:52

So the next item on the agenda is the report of the president.

0:58

Seeing as the president is absent and I was not apprised, we will move on to the next item on the agenda, which is the report of the treasurer.

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

So I'll lean on our finance team here and ask if there's anything noteworthy to call out.

1:14

Yeah, there are two noteworthy items.

1:18

Um within our um charging station utility costs for the month.

1:24

That's a bit higher than our typical 2,000 2500.

1:29

Um so that amount, the 32562 is actually the monthly AEP invoice.

1:36

That was about 2600.

1:38

Um, but then we also paid to reimburse the city for the electric chargers out here for 47 Hall Street.

1:49

Um so if you remember with that process, since that account is listed in the city's name, the city has to then invoice the electricity for those chargers to the PC.

2:00

Um so that was about $600.

2:03

Um for September 2025 through December of 2025.

2:09

So about four months.

2:12

Um and then the other notable item for the month is um within the real estate line, there's about 15,950 for the month.

2:23

Um 15,788.50 of that is our property taxes for the 4630 West Powell Road property.

2:33

That's a full year payment.

2:35

Um we had filed a tax exemption at the end of 2025 for that, but the timing it'll take a while for that exemption to be approved.

2:45

Um so we did check with the legal team before we paid this, they advised that we pay it so we don't hold up that payment at all.

2:53

Um and then they did say there might be like a reimbursement or a refund process once the exemption goes through that we would have to apply for.

3:03

Um so with that, the uh net loss for the month was 17,6848.

3:11

Um, and then we've got just under 500,000 in the bank for the end of the month.

3:20

Any questions?

3:22

Comments.

3:25

We did budget for that tax payment as well as it just items just in case.

3:33

Thank you, Sam.

3:36

All right, report of the economic administrator.

3:41

Thank you, Heather.

3:42

Uh, just so we can get through this uh meeting to the meat of the meeting.

3:46

Um I'm just gonna quickly go through this, and it was a January report, so a relatively generally slow month in terms of uh what's you can see um with a 94 prod uh 94 projects carrying over from 2025 into 2026.

4:03

We had an additional additional um uh 42 projects on top of that, so we're at 136 projects at the end of January 2026, which is a 33.3 percent increase over the same point in time.

4:17

Um yeah, it's picking up.

4:20

Um we have one new business over the course of that time period, three retained or expanded businesses, and 48,000 of new payroll and team new business retention expansion uh visits.

4:33

Thank you, Sean.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Budget Review███████████████15%
Community Engagement██████████████14%
Procedural████████8%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Arts And Culture████4%
Procurement Policy████4%
Public Schools███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell Development Corporation Meeting Summary – February 24, 2026

The Powell Development Corporation (PDC) met on February 24, 2026, at 6:31 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Heather Karr presided. Members present included Treasurer Nicole Scott, Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes, City Manager Andrew D. White, and Mayor Karr. Chairman Jim Hrivnak was absent. Staff present included City Clerk Elaine McCloskey, Accounting Specialist Jodi Reed, and Finance Director Samantha Borchers. The meeting adjourned at 7:17 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the January 27, 2026 PDC meeting were approved by consensus.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No citizen participation was offered.

Discussion Items

  • Treasurer's Report (January): Finance Director Samantha Borchers reported two notable items. The charging station utility cost was higher than typical: the monthly AEP invoice was $3,256.62 (about $2,600 in a typical month), plus an additional ~$600 to reimburse the City for electricity at 47 Hall Street (covering September–December 2025). Real estate line included $15,950, of which $15,788.50 was the full-year property tax payment for 4630 W. Powell Road; a tax exemption was filed but not yet approved, and legal advised paying it. Net loss for the month was $17,684.48, with just under $500,000 in the bank.
  • Economic Development Administrator's Report (January): Sean Hughes reported 94 projects carried over from 2025, with 42 new projects, totaling 136 projects at end of January 2026 – a 33.3% increase over the same time last year. There was one new business, three retained/expanded businesses, $40,000 of new payroll (transcript says $48,000; minutes say $40,000 – discrepancy noted), and 19 business/retention/expansion visits. City Manager White suggested prioritizing projects by significance; Hughes noted his tracking system categorizes by type but not time allocated.
  • Delaware Entrepreneurial Center Update: Steve Flaherty and OWU President Matt vandenBerg presented the strategic reset of the center (est. 2018). They introduced the "FounderU" brand, aiming to be a countywide hub for entrepreneurship beyond the physical space. Key initiatives include a 72-hour film festival (proof of launch) and FounderFest (replacing Kickstart Ohio) with a US entrepreneurship competition. Only 12% of small businesses use AI at scale, presenting opportunity. They emphasized founder-led ecosystem, reciprocity, and future capital funds (ETA Fund, Startup Fund). They seek a single financial partnership agreement across Delaware County cities (Sunbury, Powell, Delaware City). vandenBerg noted OWU's largest class in 17 years, record retention, and philanthropic investment.
  • PDC Budget Adjustments: Finance Director Borchers presented a new budget layout with columns for prior three years, current year, and projections for next four years (using 3–5% annual increases). Orange cells indicate approved/committed grants. Larger expenses (land acquisition, large grants) are falling off, allowing cash build-up. Discussion noted most grants are performance-based, needing flexibility.
  • PDC Code of Regulations: Hughes reviewed legal memo recommending adoption of amended and restated Code of Regulations with effective date March 1, 2026, allowing City Council to make appointments and form a nomination committee. Motion to adopt passed unanimously.
  • Sponsorships: Discussion on State of the City (requested $1,200, up from ~$1,000 last year) and Powell Festival (increase to $25,000 base tier for 2026). Two motions passed: one to increase budget amounts, one to approve the sponsorship payments.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes approved by consensus.
  • Motion adopted: City Manager White moved to adopt the amended and restated Powell Community Improvement Corporation (doing business as Powell Development Corporation) Code of Regulations with effective date March 1, 2026. Seconded by Treasurer Scott. Vote: Y-4, N-0, AB-0.
  • Motion passed: To increase Powell Festival sponsorship to $25,000 and State of the City to $1,200. Moved by White, seconded by Hughes. Vote: Y-4, N-0, AB-0.
  • Motion passed: To pay for the approved sponsorships. Moved by Hughes, seconded by White. Vote: Y-4, N-0, AB-0.
  • Motion passed: To adjourn at 7:17 PM. Moved by White, seconded by Scott. Vote: Y-4, N-0, AB-0.

Meeting Transcript

I will call the Hell Development Corporation meeting of February 24th, 2026 to order. A lane would you please call the role? Thank you. Sean Hughes? Yes. Jim Karivnik is absent. Heather Carr? Here. Nicole Scott? Here. Andrew White. Here. All right. The next item on our agenda is citizen participation. See no citizen participation. We will move on to the next item: approval of the minutes. Has everyone had a chance to. Am I looking at the wrong thing? No, I'm looking at the right thing. Yeah. You're correct. Yes. Has everyone had a chance to read the minutes? Any additions, subtractions? No. Then we will approve it by consensus. So the next item on the agenda is the report of the president. Seeing as the president is absent and I was not apprised, we will move on to the next item on the agenda, which is the report of the treasurer. Thank you. So I'll lean on our finance team here and ask if there's anything noteworthy to call out. Yeah, there are two noteworthy items. Um within our um charging station utility costs for the month. That's a bit higher than our typical 2,000 2500. Um so that amount, the 32562 is actually the monthly AEP invoice. That was about 2600. Um, but then we also paid to reimburse the city for the electric chargers out here for 47 Hall Street. Um so if you remember with that process, since that account is listed in the city's name, the city has to then invoice the electricity for those chargers to the PC. Um so that was about $600. Um for September 2025 through December of 2025. So about four months. Um and then the other notable item for the month is um within the real estate line, there's about 15,950 for the month. Um 15,788.50 of that is our property taxes for the 4630 West Powell Road property. That's a full year payment. Um we had filed a tax exemption at the end of 2025 for that, but the timing it'll take a while for that exemption to be approved. Um so we did check with the legal team before we paid this, they advised that we pay it so we don't hold up that payment at all. Um and then they did say there might be like a reimbursement or a refund process once the exemption goes through that we would have to apply for. Um so with that, the uh net loss for the month was 17,6848. Um, and then we've got just under 500,000 in the bank for the end of the month. Any questions? Comments.

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