AGENDA DATE: 10/12/2016
TITLE:
Title
Memorandum of Understanding between the County and the Economic Development Authority
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consideration of a draft memorandum of understanding that describes the respective roles of the County and the Economic Development Authority
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Kamptner, McClintic
PRESENTER (S): Greg Kamptner
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: Under the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act (Virginia Code §15.2-4900 et seq.), an Economic Development Authority (EDA) is authorized to acquire, own, lease, and dispose of properties, to acquire, build, lease, or sell buildings and industrial parks, to provide financing for infrastructure such as roads and water and sewer lines, to provide financing for governmental facilities and a range of non-profit and other qualifying private facilities, and to make loans and grants and to provide other incentives to promote economic development. Since the EDA was created by the Board on May 12, 1976, its primary role has been to serve as a conduit issuer of bonds. More recently, it also has served as a conduit for providing grants to businesses (Route 29 Solutions, and those under the Board’s Economic Opportunity Fund in conjunction with State programs) and a loan to a non-profit organization (Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center).
The role of the EDA to date has been limited, a fact also reflected in the County’s current EDA regulations and the EDA’s own operating documents, which require prior Board approval of most, if not all, key EDA activities. However, the EDA is an independent political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the County Code and the EDA’s operating documents need to correctly reflect that status. A proposed ordinance to address this issue will be coming to the Board for its consideration in November which, if adopted, will also allow the EDA’s operating documents to be revised accordingly. Nonetheless, in order for economic development in Albemarle County to be successful, the EDA and the County need to ensure that they are pursuing the same economic development goals and objectives. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Board’s consideration is one of the tools available to achieve that purpose.
At its September 7 meeting, the Board decided to have two of its members meet with two members of the EDA to further discuss the draft MOU and to recommend changes to the MOU. The revised MOU is presented for the Board’s consideration.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Goal 4: Economic Prosperity: Foster an environment that stimulates diversified job creation, capital investments, and tax revenues that support community goals
DISCUSSION: The revised draft MOU is included as Attachment A, and the proposed changes are shown in track changes. Specifically, the members of the two boards who met on September 28 recommend that: (1) Subsection 1(L) be revised to state that the EDA’s emphasis be allocated as prioritized by the Board of Supervisors and the Economic Development Strategic Plan, with the allocated percentages deleted; (2) Section 4 be revised to replace “assist” with “advocate” and to expressly allow the EDA and its individual members to discuss potential economic development projects with potential applicants to gather information for the Board of Supervisors’ consideration; and (3) Section 5 be revised to expressly provide for amending the MOU by mutual agreement and to remove the automatic termination language and replace it with a requirement that termination be by mutual agreement.
BUDGET IMPACT: There is no budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board: 1) adopt the attached Resolution (Attachment C) approving the revised draft MOU and authorizing the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to execute the MOU once it has been approved as to form by the County Attorney; and 2) direct staff to forward the MOU to the EDA for its approval and signature prior to the Chair’s signature.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Revised draft MOU in track changes
B - Clean version of revised draft MOU
C - Resolution