OVRDC members, committee members, guests and OVRDC staff attending the meeting and picnic were:

Transcription

1 OHIO VALLEY REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISION Full Commission Meeting Minutes Chairman: Bob Proud Vice-Chairman: Shane Wilkin OSU Extension Office Treasurer Blaine Beekman Jackson, Ohio WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Bob Proud, Clermont County Commissioner and OVRDC Chairman, called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. He welcomed everyone to the Full Commission Appreciation Meeting and Picnic held in Jackson County on the grounds of The Ohio State University Extension Office. Mr. Proud introduced Jerry Hall, Jackson County Commissioner and Jackson Caucus Chair and Randy Heath, Mayor of the City of Jackson, who welcomed attendees on behalf of Jackson County and the City of Jackson. Mr. Proud led the group in the pledge and then asked Shane Wilkin, Highland County Commissioner and OVRDC Vice-Chairman to give the invocation. OVRDC members, committee members, guests and OVRDC staff attending the meeting and picnic were: Adams: Brown: Clermont: Fayette: Gallia: Highland: Jackson: Gladys Johnson, Adams County Minority Representative Paul Worley, Adams County Commissioner Kelly Cole, Brown County Economic Development Director Daryll Gray, Brown County Commissioner Bertha Thomas, Brown County Minority Representative Bob Proud, Clermont County Commissioner and OVRDC Chairman Andy Kuchta, Clermont County Community and Economic Development Mary Ann Lefker, Mayor of Williamsburg Godwin Apaliyah, Fayette County Economic Development Michael Brown, Gallipolis City Commissioner Tony Gallagher, Gallipolis City Commissioner Harold Montgomery, Gallia County Commissioner Jessie Payne, Gallia County Minority Representative Brent Saunders, Gallia County Commissioner Ron Coffey, Greenfield City Manager Betty Jackman, Chairwoman, Village of Greenfield Council Lynn Stevens, Highland County Private Sector Shane Wilkin, Highland County Commissioner and OVRDC Vice-Chairman Todd Wilkin, Director of Public Safety, City of Hillsboro Martha Cosby, Jackson County Minority Representative Jerry Hall, Jackson County Commissioner Randy Heath, Mayor of Jackson Jennifer Jacobs, Jackson County Economic Development Elma Johnson, Jackson County Minority Representative Alternate Rick McNelly, Private Sector Representative

2 Page 2 Jackson (cont.): Lawrence: Pike: Ross: Scioto: Vinton: Ex-Officio: Guests: Lori Michael, WesBanco Melissa Miller, Jackson County Engineer Martin Wallace, Jackson County Job & Family Services Doug Cade, Lawrence County Engineer Bill Dingus, Ex. Dir. Lawrence Economic Development Corporation Kristin Martin, Finance Director, City of Ironton Blaine Beekman, Pike County Commissioner, OVRDC Treasurer Sharon Manson, Director, Pike County Visitors Bureau Harry Rider, Pike County Commissioner Teddy West, Pike County Commissioner Joyce Atwood, Member at Large, OU Chillicothe Mal Payne, Ross County Minority Representative Kevin W. Johnson, City of Portsmouth Michele Throckmorton, Scioto County Commissioners Office Clyde Hall, Member at Large Jerry Zinn, Vinton County Commissioner Michael Bledsoe, Vinton County Commissioner Tim Eberts, Vinton County Commissioner Melissa Ayers, Ohio Department of Transportation Kaci Compton, Field Representative for Congressman Brad Wenstrup Kevin Hoggatt, Representative for Senator Portman s Office Greg Murphy, Ohio Department of Transportation, Chief of Staff Gordon Parker, USDA Rural Development Juli Stephens, Representative for Congressman Bill Johnson's Office Melissa Taylor, ODOT Jobs and Commerce Department Sam Brady, Jackson County Economic Development Erin Dailey, Jackson County OSU Extension Office Steve DeBolt, Administrator, Village of Williamsburg Greg DiDonato, Executive Director, OMEGA Adele Evans, Clermont County Community and Economic Development Katy Farber, Project Manager, APEG Larry Foster, Jackson County Water Hollie Hinton, DLZ Company Angie Jamison, Adams County OhioMeansJobs Kara Willis, University of Rio Grande Tom Worley, OSU South Centers, Pike County

3 Page 3 OVRDC Staff John Hemmings, Executive Director Juanita Bragg, Finance Director Kim Reynolds, Community Development Coordinator Jessica Purdon, Economic Development Specialist Stephanie Gilbert, Bookkeeper/Secretary Shannon Nichols, Program Secretary Sharon Clark, Administrative Assistant Vinny Xiao Wang, Research/Planning Specialist INTRODUCTION OF HEAD TABLE, SPECIAL GUESTS, AND OVRDC STAFF Mr. Proud introduced guests sitting at the head table, John Hemmings, OVRDC Executive Director; Shane Wilkin, Highland County Commissioner and OVRDC Vice-Chairman; Blaine Beekman, Pike County Commissioner and OVRDC Treasurer; Greg Murphy, Ohio Department of Transportation, Chief of Staff; Greg DiDonato, OMEGA Executive Director; Randy Heath, Mayor of the City of Jackson. Mr. Proud also introduced: Tom Worley, Director, OSU South Centers; Katy Farber, Project Manager, Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth; Juli Stephens, Representative for Congressman Bill Johnson; Melissa Taylor, ODOT Jobs & Commerce Department; Melissa Ayers, ODOT Director of Communications; Kaci Compton, Field Representative for Congressman Brad Wenstrup; Lori Michael, WesBanco, Inc.; and Gordon Parker, USDA Rural Development. Chairman Proud asked John Hemmings, OVRDC Executive Director to introduce the OVRDC staff. Mr. Proud thanked the staff for their dedication and service. Mr. Hemmings praised the OVRDC staff and asked each member to stand as they were introduced: Juanita Bragg, Finance Director; Kim Reynolds, Community Development Coordinator; Jessica Purdon, Economic Development Specialist; Shannon Nichols, Program Secretary; Sharon Clark, Administrative Assistant, Vinny Wang, Research/Planning Specialist; and Stephanie Gilbert, Bookkeeper/Secretary. SPEAKER Keynote speaker for the event was Greg Murphy, Chief of Staff for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Mr. Murphy provided an overview and update on activities at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). Mr. Murphy discussed the new Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) program that OVRDC is a part of and he also provided an update on the State Route 823 (Portsmouth By-pass) project advising that the bid opening for the project was taking place later in the day. Mr. Murphy took questions from the audience as well as some comments. Several people in attendance made very positive comments about the work that ODOT is doing and thanked Mr. Murphy for his leadership at ODOT.

4 Page 4 APPROVAL OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND FULL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Mr. Proud stated that copies of the draft meeting minutes had been mailed to Full Commission Members. He asked for a motion to waive the reading of the minutes and to adopt the minutes as listed on the Full Commission meeting agenda. A MOTION TO WAIVE THE READING OF THE MINUTES AND TO ADOPT THE FULL COMMISSION MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 2014 AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 20, 2014, APRIL 24, 2014, MAY 22, 2014 AND JUNE 26, 2014 WAS MADE BY RICK MCNELLY, JACKSON COUNTY. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED BY SHARON MANSON, PIKE COUNTY AND THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. FINANCIAL REPORT Mr. Proud asked Blaine Beekman, OVRDC Treasurer and Pike County Commissioner to present the Financial Report. Mr. Beekman advised that OVRDC has completed the single audit process in compliance with OMB Circular A-133 with the Independent Public Accounting (IPA) firm, Whited Seigneur Sams & Rahe, LLP. Mr. Beekman also advised the independent Auditor s Report for the audit period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013 has been accepted by the Auditor of State and a copy of the report can be found on their website. He also advised OVRDC has received the Ohio Auditor of State Award for This award is presented to agencies for their exemplary financial reporting in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). This is the second year in a row OVRDC has received the Auditor of State Award. He advised federal and state funding partnerships for 2014 are with: the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC); the US Dept. of Commerce under their Economic Development Administration (EDA) Program; the Ohio Department of Transportation under their Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) Pilot Program; the Governor s Office of Appalachia (GOA); the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA); and the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC). Mr. Beekman thanked our 12 member counties, for the continued investments for the operations of OVRDC. Mr. Proud then asked for a motion to accept the finance report as presented. MOTION WAS MADE BY RANDY HEATH AND SECONDED BY MARTHA COSBY TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL REPORT AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED NOMINATING COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Mr. Proud announced the appointment of members of the 2015 Nominating Committee: Jack DeWeese, Chairman-Fayette County, Harry Rider, Vice Chairman, Pike County, Debora Plymail, Adams County, Eugene Collins-Scioto County, and Bill Dingus, Lawrence County.

5 Page 5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BRIEFING Mr. Proud introduced, John Hemmings, OVRDC Executive Director. Mr. Hemmings thanked Jackson County for hosting the September 2014 Annual Full Commission Appreciation Meeting. Mr. Hemmings thanked the morning s featured speaker Greg Murphy. Mr. Hemmings advised this was the first Full Commission Meeting to be held outdoors and was appreciative of the great weather. Mr. Hemmings indicated two OVRDC employees Development Director, Kara Willis and GIS Coordinator Jason Gillow have resigned to take other employment and we will be replacing their positions. Mr. Hemmings stated work is progressing on completing requirements of the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) program. He said ODOT has been great to work with and thanked Bob Koehler from OKI Council of Governments out of Cincinnati for his assistance as mentor to OVRDC. He indicated the Public Participation Plan and the Existing Conditions portion of the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) were submitted ahead of schedule and work on the Future Conditions portion of the LRTP is on schedule. Mr. Hemmings advised members that OVRDC staff met with the Governor s Office of Appalachia on August 19th regarding the ARC project package and a letter of approval should be received from them shortly allowing OVRDC to notify applicants to begin work on Full Applications. Mr. Hemmings advised OVRDC s Revolving Loan Fund has money to lend if anyone knows of businesses needing assistance and to contact him. AWARDS/RECOGNITION Bob Proud, OVRDC Chairman and John Hemmings, OVRDC Executive Director presented the Area Leadership Award to Jerry Wray and the staff of the Ohio Department of Transportation for their foresight, willingness and commitment to establish a Regional Transportation Planning Organization Pilot Project in the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission region along with four other rural regions of the State of Ohio and for their innovation and commitment to financing the Ohio State Route 823 toward completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System in Ohio. Mr. Proud and Mr. Hemmings also presented the following awards: The OVRDC Outstanding Executive Committee Member Awards were presented to Jerry Zinn, Vinton County Commissioner and Jerry Hall, Jackson County Commissioner for their dedication and commitment to the OVRDC area. The OVRDC Outstanding Full Commission Member Award was presented to Jessie Payne, Gallia County Minority Representative, in grateful appreciation for her service to the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission. The Jackson County Commissioners were presented a certificate of appreciation for hosting the OVRDC September 2014 Full Commission Meeting. The certificate was accepted by Jerry Hall, Jackson County Commissioner and Jackson County Caucus Chair.

6 Page 6 OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Proud advised the next Full Commission Meeting and Election of Officers would be held in Gallia County in March 2015 and there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. John W. Hemmings III OVRDC Executive Director and Commission Secretary APPROVED: Bob Proud OVRDC Chairman