The Montgomery Economic Development Corporation met via Zoom on January 19, 2021. Attending the meeting was Boardmember Huss, Boardmember Cronin, Boardmember Walker, Boardmember Angelo, Boardmember Easley, Boardmember Langley and Boardmember Londeen.
The EDC reviewed the City of Montgomery’s Sales and Use Tax Administration Report for December 2020.
The Board recognized outgoing MEDC Directors Amy Brown, Julie Hutchinson and Bob Kerr for their years of service which ended December 2020.
The EDC looked back at the goals set for 2020. There were five major goals set in January 2020 that were reviewed.
The first goal was to finalize the Historic Downtown Master Plan and identify funding sources and refine implementation plan. This has been a city goal for many years, but was not put on the front burner until the EDC began focusing on it. The first step of requesting qualifications and selecting a company to formalize the development plan was completed in 2020.
The second goal was to continue to anticipate utility extension projects to promote desirable downtown business development within the city. There have been no specific utility projects brought to the City during the pandemic of 2020. There will be projects coming with the new downtown revitalization project.
The third goal was to add a Marketing and Tourism Coordinator to staff. This position was created but eliminated after the pandemic hit and the EDC was concerned of the effect to sales tax revenue which was solely financing the position.
The fourth goal was to develop a calendar of events for 2020. Most 2020 events in the City were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Light Up the Park and the Christmas Parade were both held late in the year.
The fifth goal was miscellaneous items in which the EDC participated. These included purchasing radios to be used during events to assist the police department and event organization in communication, as well as the EDC growing a social media program which includes a social media icon.
The EDC also reviewed the Light up the Park 2020 and 2020 Christmas Parade. Both events were highly successful and received much positive feedback.
The EDC looked at future goals for 2021 which includes continued work on the Downtown Development Planning, participating in utility and road extensions, developing a calendar of events for 2021, creating a page on the City website explaining the relevance of the goat as a city icon, as well as responding to a changing environment in both attracting businesses and marketing/tourism.
The EDC annual financial report showed a surplus of $387,960. Largely this surplus comes from the decreased spending due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted in unspent revenue.
Boardmember Ryan Londeen was elected Secretary.
Boardmember Carol Langley was elected Treasurer.
Boardmember Arnette Easley was elected Vice President.
Boardmember Rebecca Huss was elected President.
A public hearing was called for two Economic Development Grant requests. The Public Hearing will take place on February 16, 2021 during the EDC’s regular monthly meeting.
One grant request is by Troy’s Donuts in which they are requesting the EDC fund three business signs. One sign would be a marquis plaza sign for all of the businesses in the recently constructed strip center on the corner of 1097 and Buffalo Springs Drive. This strip center consists of a total of five commercial retail spots available for lease.
The remaining signage funding requested by Troy’s Donuts is for the Troy’s Donuts business sign on their building and a drive-thru sign for their location.
The total amount requested is $20,000. Typically the EDC limits Economic Development Grants to 33.3% of the total cost up to a $5,000 maximum.
The second grant request is by the Montgomery Historical Society for new fencing around the Old Montgomery Cemetery located on Highway 105 at Pond Street.
The Montgomery Historical Society owns the land the cemetery occupies and wishes to remove the current chain link fencing and replace it with iron fencing, similar to the fencing around the New Montgomery Cemetery on Old Plantersville Drive.
The project, led by Kirk Jones, is expected to have a total cost of $16,766 in which they are requesting the EDC provide $9,500. As mentioned earlier, the EDC normally limits Economic Development Grants to 33.3% of the total cost up to a $5,000 maximum.
This is a basic summary of the events of the meeting. For a more detailed review of the meeting, the City of Montgomery posts the minutes of every meeting on the city website. The video recordings of City public meetings are available on the City of Montgomery’s YouTube channel.