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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD May 18, 2021 Orange County Economic Development Office 131 W. Margaret Lane Hillsborough, NC 27278 Minutes Members Present: Paige Zinn, Sharon Hill, Kristen Young, Jonna Foushee, James Watts, John Anderson, Tom Proctor, Barbara Jessie-Black Orange County Staff: Steve Brantley, Amanda Garner, Mike Ortosky, Lindsey Hirni Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Paige Zinn at 10:30 a.m. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Paige Zinn and seconded by Sharon Hill to approve the Minutes from both the January 201" and March 171" 2021 meetings. The motion passed unanimously. New Business Steve Brantley informed the board that the Manager has decided to realign Mike Ortosky's position within the County from the Economic Development department to Cooperative Extension. Mike discussed his transition and provided an overview of his new responsibilities within this role in addition to the existing programs and boards he will continue to be a part of. Steve spoke about the BOCC's decision regarding the board composition for next year. He shared they plan to approve a second three-year term for Johnny Morris and Barbara Jessie-Black, but did not go with the committee's recommendation to approve one-year term extension for three current members whose second terms are expiring June 30, 2021. The BOCC instead appointed new applicants to fill all four open seats with a term start date of July 1, 2021. These new members will include David Gephart, Estella Johnson, Jane Saiers, and Kevin Thomas. The Economic Development Board discussed the officer positions that needed to be filled for FY 2021 — 22 and held elections for Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary. A motion was made by Kristen Young and seconded by Jonna Foushee to nominate Johnny Morris as Chair, Sharon Hill as Vice-Chair and Barbara Jessie-Black as Secretary. The motion passed unanimously. Along with the current remaining members of the Small Business Grant Committee, Kristen Young and Jonna Foushee agreed to join the Subcommittee starting July 1, 2021. Old Business Amanda Garner gave an overview of the grant funding that was awarded 1 st quarter 2021 and provided the total amount of funding to date through the Small Business Investment Grant Program. Amanda also spoke with the board about the new software program, Submittable, that the grant committee will begin receiving and reviewing all applications through moving forward. Director's Report Steve provided a brief update on current project activity. Still experiencing very high interest for industrial needs. He also spoke to the board about the Buckhorn Area Plan and mentioned that the BOCC will continue to review comments and statements from the public. A motion was made by Paige Zinn and seconded by Tom Proctor that the board should compose a statement by June 1, 2021 to the BOCC with their concerns and recommendations for Economic Development in that area. The final topic discussed