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Home My WebLink About2. DRAFT-LDFA Meeting Minutes 10-23-24 f F� ! JOINT LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY (LDFA) City of Lansing, City of East Lansing&Ingham County Meeting Minutes October 23, 2024 Technology Innovation Center (TIC) Attendees: Charles Hasemann,Abigail Tykocki, Matt Apostle, Glenn Mitcham, Jon Laing, Nicole Millsap, Ben Bakken, Mark Meadows, Irene Cahill, Kris Klein and Dave Washburn Staff: Harrison Leffel-Jones,Angel Miller, Debbie Engel, Bob Trezise Recorded by: Debbie Engel of LEAP Call to Order&Roll Call Chair Charles Haseman called the meeting to order at 8:32 AM. Miller conducted roll call. Members Present: Members Absent: Charley Haseman Irene Cahill Traci Riehl Abigail Tykocki Kris Klein Christian Palasty Matt Apostle Dave Washburn Glenn Mitcham Jon Laing Nicole Millsap Ben Bakken Mark Meadows Approval of LDFA Minutes Approval of LDFA Minutes of June 18, 2024. MOTION: Dave Washburn moved, supported by Matt Apostle, to approve the June 18, 2024, minutes as presented. All in favor. Motion passed unanimously. Approval of Financials The LDFA/Regional SmartZone Draft financial documents were presented to the board for review. 1 MOTION: Mark Meadows moved, supported by Abigail Tykocki, to approve the June 30, 2024 Draft Financial Statement as presented. All in favor. Motion passed unanimously. SmartZone Updates Gateway Program Ryan Nelson provided an update on the Gateway Program. Ryan informed the group that the quality of the high-tech companies coming down the pipeline are very exciting. Approved LAFs are as follows: • 311 Pallets • Up On the Rocks • Taein E&D • Samani Bags • PharmaBlue Labs • Iora Nature Tech Upcoming BAF Submission expected: • LYM Design • Up on the Rocks • BRCE • Easy Annotator (LAF) • PharmaBlue Labs • QIVIR • Targets' Tip • LaparAssist • GenomicAI Small Business Support Network Harrison Leffer-Jones provided an update on the Small Business Support Network. • 335+ companies have completed the intake form • 30 are high-tech/high growth businesses • The most requested program is the Fund Your Acceleration where clients can access all forms of non-dilutive grant funds • $31K in funding has gone to hit-tech businesses since April 2024. • The programs are currently on pause but still are taking input. FYE 2024 Annual report Angel presented the Second Annual LDFA SmartZone 2024 Annual Report. Thank you to Moonsail North for putting this report together. She also thanked all of the SmartZone board members for their collaboration and support for a successful year. Miller encouraged everyone to share this report with each of their organizations to highlight the impact they've had together. PA 57 Annual Report Miller presented the PA 57 Annual Report on the Status of Tax Increment Financing Plan. East Lansing staff were helpful in looking over the accuracy of the numbers. Tax Increment Revenue for 2024 totaled $477,113. 2 Client Highlights Doug Salazar, co-founder of Mowr Technologies,gave a presentation on his business. Mowr is an on-demand lawn care needs application. With a tap of a button,a Mowr Partner can be at your doorstep mowing your yard,raking leaves or shoveling your driveway in no time. • Business launched in 2020 • Mowr operates on a 20% commission fee per job. • Doing business in 18 different states. • Lifetime jobs completed within the Mowr app is over 2,500 jobs across multiple states with a lifetime revenue of—$82,000 • Received $15k in grants from LEAP • The biggest hurdle is funding Capital Area Startup Studio Update Representatives from Gravity Works and Bold Growth gave a presentation of the Capital Area Startup Studio. • 16 Total Applicants 0 7 studio startups 0 5 selected to participate ■ Kristen Wager- Giving creators the tools to better engage their audience and leverage data to get more brand deals. ■ Aidan Gollan - Helping students create more efficient study materials and collaborate with each other. ■ Joshua and Alicia Southern - Media and streaming platform for local businesses and artists. ■ Melvin Mobley- Helping small businesses optimize their story layout to increase sales. ■ Amirika Richardson - Reshaping the way small sized corporations plan and manage events. • The program starts in late October Meridian Township Update Harrison Leffel-Jones discussed the possibility of Meridian Township joining the LDFA/SmartZone board. The SmartZone lawyer wrote a memo detailing the implications and options of adding members to the LDFA board of directors. Highlights of the attorney's opinion in the memo: • SmartZone amendments are required to be approved by the MEDC • Similar approval by the MEDC is needed for amendments to the TIF Plan • A written agreement between the cities, MEDC, and the LDFA would permit these changes to take place. This would suggest that an openness on the part of the MEDC to modify the terms and conditions of the agreement and TIF Plan if demonstrated by the LDFA that such amendment would be for the benefit of telecommunications 3 infrastructure in the SmartZone and would not jeopardize the LRSZ or LDFA's financial performance. • Conclusion: Once these two agreements have been ratified, The LDFA could amend the bylaws to increase the number of board members. A Look Ahead: January 2025 Board Meeting A preliminary 2025-26 budget will be presented at the January 2025 board meeting. TIC/Alliance Updates Gabby presented the TIC tenant report 8 Alliance physical tenants, 6 TIC physical tenants, 16 virtual tenants, and finally two international tenants will be coming online. TIF Extension Update Bob Trezise discussed the TIF extension options. This is a fairly complicated situation, but currently in the early stages of how to extend the TIF which will end June 30, 2027. History: The SmartZone was setup 20 years ago to capture tax funding for high-tech businesses. During the recession in 2008 the TIF was losing money due to declining property taxes. The TIC was given a fresh start with staffing help from LEAP. SmartZone has two options to extend the TIF - if they had a neighbor partner to help support this program then it could be extended 15 years, however, if no further support is shown then it will only be renewed for 5 years. In order to extend TIF, legislative changes are necessary. Sterling Heights and Lakeshore Advantage have reached out to LEAP to share their thoughts on our renewal process. Strategically we need to begin discussing this renewal. Primarily the City of East Lansing will play an integral role in this. 2025 should be the year that we really focus on this. A major conversation with the City of East Lansing is first and foremost, then the city of Lansing. Then,we need to engage all of our legislators to support this.Assuming the local municipalities are on board,what would be the process with state legislators? Trezise said both sides of the aisle have their opinions of TIF's, and it will take a lot of work to convince the majority of legislators across the state. A template for this approval process should be created to help all of the TIF's in the state and present it to a broader coalition. University support and community support will be vital. It was suggested that SmartZone staff should put together all of the accomplishments of the past 5 years to help with this effort. Public Comment Rachel Ochylski of Ingham County 4H reported they have two new, temporary, part-time on- call apple instructors who are working with East Lansing schools on programming/coding. These apple instructors are working hard to establish relations with various community organizations such as Boys and Girls Club, Capital Area District Library, East Lansing Public Library, Delta Township Public Library and the Hannah Center in East Lansing. A day camp was offered Aug. 12-15 to introduce basic coding skills instruction to about 20 kids.Also a 4 health instructor gave a presentation to the kids about healthy living and eating, stress reduction, etc. Election of LDFA Executive Committee Officers Chair Charley Hasemann thanked the group for serving as the chair of the SmartZone board for 2024. Kris Klein has been nominated as the Treasurer.After tabulating the votes, Kris Klein was elected as Treasurer. • Abbie Tykocki - Chair • Traci Riehl -Vice-Chair • Kris Klein - Treasurer Adjournment: Motion by Ben Bakken to adjourned,supported by Irene Cahill. There being no further business before the board, Chair Hasemann adjourned the meeting at 9:43 AM. Respectfully Submitted, 6?74 qpt" � Angel Miller Lansing Regional SmartZone Executive Director 5