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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 LDFA Minuteszyk. `Fi LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY (LDFA) City of Lansing, City of East Lansing & Ingham County Quarterly Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 25, 2017 — 3:30 PM MSU Technologies Conference Room East Lansing, MI Present: Douglas Jester Charles Hasemann, David Washburn, Mayor Mark Meadows, Ben Bakken, Carol Koenig Not Present: Baldomero 'Bo' Garcia, Chad Gamble, George Lahanas Guests: Jeffrey Smith, MSU Foundation Gabriela Allum, MSU Foundation Lori Mullins, City of East Lansing Tom Donaldson, Michigan Small Business Development Center (MISBDC) Staff: Tony Willis, Jerry Norris Recorded by: Siso Dhladhla, LEAP I. Call to Order Chair Jester called the LDFA Quarterly Meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. Rollcall was conducted by Dhladhla. Chair Jester thanked everyone for taking part in today's meeting. Willis noted amendments to the meeting agenda: Jerry Norris' speaking portion moved to the top of the que. II. Approval of LDFA Quarterly Meeting Minutes MOTION: Washburn moved to approve the LDFA Special Meeting Minutes of Tuesday, January 23, 2017, as presented. SECONDED by Treasurer Koenig. All in Favor. Motion passed unanimously. III. Financial/Treasurer's Report — Period Ending November 30, 2016 Willis provided a brief overview of the Financial/Treasurer's Report for the period ending February 28, 2017. He noted the following: • Overview of the Statements of Financial Position • Discussion ensued in order to clarify expenses • Inquiries were made in relation to the tax capture • Mr. Bakken inquired about fiscal year's end, and when payments need to be made. He proposed June. • Mr. Willis reviewed the for mentioned agreement and noted that the UCRP will provide quarterly reports, and that the LDFA will pay any additional sponsorship by September 30 of each year. • Mention was made of the Mentorship in residence program coming to a close once the current funds have been depleted. • Treasurer Koenig noted that a future meeting to work out budget specifics before the next LDFA meeting IV. 2017-2018 LDFA Budget Discussion • Property Tax Capture projection has increased, per report from Mullins. This will be reflected in the coming budget draft • Bakken noted that he was interested in the prospect of balancing the budget without exploiting the fund balance. • Bakken inquired about the possibility of changing the auditing process to reduce budget expense. Koenig agreed and provided more information. Willis noted that the auditing scope has changed, and actions will be taken to investigating best practices. • Removing facility management was proposed. • Considerations for adjusting means of calculating the TIF Capture adjustment line item were proposed • Group consensus was reached on using %10 of property tax capture as a measure for TIF capture adjustment line item to calculate capture. • Bakken mentioned the possibility of gaining higher interest rates on funds in PNC accounts due to lack of frequency in transactions made. • Next meeting has been slated to be where a formal budget will be adopted. V. Technology Innovation Center (TIC) Presentation • Mr. Smith proposed the need of a branding refresh for the TIC in order to differentiate the innovation center from other entities within the eco system. In addition, a website refresh in order to more concisely convey the effectiveness of the TIC • A switch has been made of internet provider. This has freed up some revenue that can be implemented for programing, and other advantageous endeavors with the newly available funds. • Effort has been made to improve the documentation of salesforce interactions. • TIC is currently operating at roughly a %20 rate of vacant offices. The last few months have shown these offices to be filled with upcoming companies. • TIC is exploring the possibility of corporate incubation. Their research has shown large corporations have interest in creating a footprint within innovation centers/incubators in collegiate areas. • Smith noted that vacancy rate for the Research Park is very low. VI. SmartZone Updates Norris provided an update on the LDFA Gatekeeper Report. The following noted the following during his presentation: • The Gate Keeping grant has been extended another year. • Company formations have been slower than desired, but still ahead of the MEDC semi-annual report expectations. Noting that the month of April shows trend in favor of company formations growing 2 • Company formations have been slower than desired, but still ahead of the MEDC semi-annual report expectations. Noting that the month of April shows trend in favor of company formations growing • Mr, Smith noted that current company formations declining agree with a national trend of company formations slightly decreasing. Donaldson also agreed and backed that point. • The objectives for new companies served are satisfactory • Norris noted that improvements can be made in tactics to acquire information on jobs created • BAF funding has remained semi -stagnant due to investigations of the quality of high tech companies making requests for funding. • Follow on funding is also ahead of previous expectations. Norris proposed possible new measures to more accurately track the relationship between BAF funding and follow on funding • AI / Robotic and Virtual Reality -themed companies are beginning to make a strong presence in companies seeking funding • A Health care -centered shift in companies seeking BAF Funding • Bakken inquired what business sectors prove to yield the strongest follow on funding. Norris noted manufacturing and Health care seem to yield the strongest return. • Chair Jester inquired about the MSU presence in BAF funds distributed. Norris noted there is strong and diverse presence, ranging from professors, students, tech transfer, and faculty. • Mr. Smith mentioned the increase in SBIR requests made within the region. • Prominent SBIR funding contributors have proved to be NIH Department of Defense VII. Other Business • None Presented VIII. Public Comment None presented. IX. Next Meeting (Quarterly Meeting) Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 3:30 PM, MSU Technologies Conference Room, East Lansing, MI X. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned the meeting at 5:00 PM. Tony Willis Director, New Economy Division c