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 docum...
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