COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION

OF THE STEUBENVILLE OHIO AREA

Meeting of the Board of Trustees – December 15, 2009

CALL TO ORDER   

President Kenneth Perkins called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.  The meeting was held at the I.B.E.W. hall on North Fourth Street, Steubenville

ROLL CALL              Present: President Kenneth R. Perkins; Vice-President David Skiviat; Secretary Alex Marshall; Treasurer Dr. Edward Florak; Immediate Past President William Blake; Trustees Jim Emmerling, Kyle Brown, Steve Bohach, Robert Chapman, John Riley, Lisa Quattrochi, Sam Shorac, Fred Brower, Billy Petrella, Chuck Robinson, Jon Rogers, Thomas Gentile, Dr. Thomas Graham, Domenick Mucci, David Lalich, Matt Parise, Geno Morelli, Susan Hershey

Absent but Represented:  Dr. Laura Meeks, represented by Tracee Joltes; Robert Gribben, represented by Patrick Hyer

Absent:  Trustees B.J. Smith, Karen D’Anniballe, Ross Patten, Geary Bates, Robert Hargrave, Richard Delatore, Derek Ferguson, Kristen Cantrell, Lou Petrozzi, Joseph Glaub, Huberta Siciliano, Tom Timmons, Thomas Minor, Reese Slater, Jay Phillipone, Jay Zatta, Don Snyder, David Hindman, David Maple, Ed Chanoski, John Geddis, Gary Folden, John Abdalla, Sam Grafton

Others in Attendance:  Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner; Ann Block, Regional Liaison to the Secretary of State; Phillip Bender, Jefferson County Airpark; Joe Miller and Jim Conrad, Organizers, Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters; Lisa Duvall, Governor’s Regional Representative; Frank Zangara, Region 10; Executive Director Ed Looman, Ruth Casey and Joanna Styczinski, Progress Alliance; Paul Giannamore, Steubenville Herald-Star

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS

09-12-01          Following the board’s review of the minutes of the CIC meeting of October 20, as amended, Trustee Graham made a motion that the minutes be approved.  Trustee Parise moved to second the motion; motion approved unanimously.

09-12-02          Following the board’s review of the minutes of the CIC meeting of November 17, Trustee Mucci made a motion that the minutes be approved.  Trustee Skiviat seconded the motion; motion approved unanimously.

REPORTS OF TRUSTEES AND COMMITTEES

President Perkins reported to the board that the fundraising committee met on December 10^th.  He said that the goal for 2009 was to increase private board membership to 50 members and the annual contributions to $100,000 per year.  Although the number of members is slightly below the goal the committee set, the contributions amount has been achieved.  Mr. Perkins thanked the fundraising committee for its efforts, and advised the board that the goal for 2010 is to achieve a membership of 60 dues-paying members.  The next meeting of the fundraising committee is scheduled for February 9^th at 8:30 a.m. at Progress Alliance, and Mr. Perkins encouraged anyone interested in assisting with fundraising to attend the meeting.

President Perkins said that the new members coming on board in 2010 are:  Priority Communi-cations, Key Radio Marketing, Apollo Professional Cleaning, D’Anniballe & Co. CPAs, Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority, Hauser Furniture and Cedar One Properties.

REPORT OF TREASURER

Treasurer Florak began his report by drawing the board’s attention to the fact that the funds listed in the balance sheet include EDA money which is earmarked for the Industrial Park Road Fund and the Revolving Loan Fund, specifically.  The actual amount of CIC unencumbered funds was provided on a second sheet.  Dr. Florak said that he reviewed the reconciled accounts and all expenditures were accounted for and all accounts balanced.  He said that the 2010 operating budget will be provided to the board at the January meeting.

09-12-03          Trustee Brown made a motion that the Treasurer’s report be accepted as presented.  Trustee Parise seconded the motion; motion approved unanimously.

PRESIDENT’S INTRODUCTION; MEETING HOST’S REMARKS

President Perkins thanked Trustee Kyle Brown for hosting today’s meeting and the Christmas party to follow, and said that this is the second time this year that the I.B.E.W. hall has served as host to a CIC event and the board deeply appreciates the use of the facility.

Trustee Brown welcomed everyone to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 246, a labor union representing 10 production technicians with WTOV-9, and 215 construction members in Brooke, Hancock, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison and Jefferson counties.  He said that Local 246 partners with the National Electrical Contractors Association to provide highly skilled electrical construction and maintenance services, competitively priced and quality installed, which supports fair wages and benefits which sustain professional electricians and their communities.

He said that in Jefferson County they provide services to over 50% of the residential and commercial facilities; they provide 100% of the electrical installation at the AEP Cardinal Plant, First Energy Sammis Plant, Severstal, Mittal and Titanium Metals.

The union serves their active members and 160 retirees through jointly administered benefit funds which include an $8.5 million health fund and a $19 million dc/annuity fund, and a $30 million db/pension fund.

Trustee Brown described the quarter-million dollar annually budgeted program which trains an average of 36 apprentices and numerous journeyman in the electrical trades each year.  In addition to the training classes and on-the-job training provided by the Apprenticeship Committee, apprentices are offered classes at EGCC through which they can achieve an Electrical Construction Associates degree.

He closed with a brief description of the I.B.E.W. facility.  The building was completed in 1967, and is currently fully leased to River Valley Health Care, S.R. Snodgrass, Tegano Investments, Bruce & Merrilee’s Electric and IBEW Local Union 246.  Originally the apprenticeship training was conducted in the building, but as the needs of the industry advanced, it became necessary to complete the nearby training center in 1982.  They have installed a 4 kw solar array and LED lighting for energy savings and training, and Mr. Brown said, “Don’t be surprised should you see a windmill on the property in the not too distant future.”  He concluded by saying, “Welcome to the IBEW, enjoy the party, please accept our gifts as you leave, and remember:  Hire the pro-fessionals, your electrical contractors and tradesmen – they are trained to electrify!”

President Perkins thanked Mr. Brown, both for hosting the meeting and Christmas party and for his highly informative welcoming remarks.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director Ed Looman said that the monthly reports prepared by the Progress Alliance staff were in the members’ packets and would serve as a portion of the meeting’s report.  He said that the “Best of the County” annual dinner will be held on Monday, March 29, 2010, at Florian Hall in Wintersville at 6:00 p.m.; more details will be forthcoming.  He has extended an offer to a possible speaker, but has received no response as yet.  Mr. Looman reminded those present that the nomination forms are available on the Progress Alliance website.  He said that he is developing an “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.  The dinner planning committee is holding its second meeting on December 16 at noon in the Progress Alliance conference room.

Mr. Looman said that a schedule of the 2010 board meetings was in each member’s packet, containing the dates and locations of the meetings.  He said that we still need a site for the September meeting, and asked for suggestions.  The July meeting will be held in Belleview Park, and will be followed by a cookout.  Mr. Looman commented that holding the board meetings in different locations has worked very well, and he thanked all those who have hosted the meetings in 2009 and who have spoken before each meeting.

Trustee Hershey distributed copies of a survey for the Jefferson County Airpark which will be used to provide planning information to use in a master plan study to determine future needs for the Airpark through 2029.  The board members were asked to complete the survey and return it to Richland Engineering Limited. 

Airpark Manager Philip Bender said that the survey is also available on the Airpark website at www.jeffersoncountyairpark.org and can be completed there; he will forward the responses to the engineer. 

Mr. Looman said that preliminary discussions are underway regarding a county port authority.  There is currently an inactive port authority in the city of Steubenville and possibly this could be made into a county organization.  A port authority has extensive powers which would be of great use in economic development.  Mr. Looman said that he would be meeting with the Steubenville city council after the CIC meeting to discuss the future of the city port authority.  On Thursday, Mr. Looman and Mr. Mucci, Regional Planning Commission Director, will be meeting with the Jefferson County Commissioners, who recently approved $24,000 to fund a feasibility study for broadband services.  Mr. Looman said that his thought process is that Progress Alliance and a county port authority could be one organization in the short term to avoid duplication of services, and cautioned that creation of a port authority would take time.

INTRODUCTION OF GUEST SPEAKER

Executive Director Looman introduced Ann Block, Regional Liaison for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.  He said that Ms. Block is a very valuable resource for Progress Alliance. 

Ms. Block said that it has been a pleasure to work with Progress Alliance in its efforts to reach out to new and existing businesses to provide services, one of which is access to the information available from the office of the Secretary of State.  She said that Secretary Brunner has deep roots in the state of Ohio as she is a native of the state and has been educated and raised her family in Ohio.  She has spent her career working to improve the quality of life for the state’s residents.  Ms. Brenner is an attorney in election law, and served as a judge in Franklin County where she instituted the process of permitting jurors to ask questions.  She is the first woman to be elected Secretary of State.  She has kept her promise to make elections accessible and fair to all and continues to work on improving the election process.  Secretary Brunner received the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones award, citing her passion for equal rights. 

Ms. Block then introduced Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

GUEST SPEAKER SECRETARY OF STATE JENNIFER BRUNNER

Ms. Brunner said that Ms. Block has spoken highly of Progress Alliance and that she was happy that her office could provide assistance in several areas.

Ms. Brunner said that her position is that of record keeper for the state.  Among the enormous amount of information which her office is responsible for is all the corporate records in Ohio.  She was fortunate enough to hire an IT director with the skills needed to pull together, in-house,  what she calls a social index data, which is available to all Ohioans, under a program called “Better Lives, Better Ohio” which is available on the Secretary of State’s website.  This information is available to communities, nonprofits, businesses, elected officials and private citizens, providing access to information about the quality of life in their communities.  For example, the information available on the website can assist anyone writing a grant proposal, and if the required information isn’t there, Ms. Brunner said to call her office.  If they don’t have the information needed, they will either find it or direct the applicant to the appropriate source for the information.  Ms. Brunner said that the information from “Better Lives, Better Ohio” can help define what is a thriving community, and what is a community in crisis.

Ms. Brunner said that her office began compiling data from 2001.  She said that one example of how the information on the site works is that they can look at a library system to see how many patrons there are at various facilities.  It is important to know the effect a cut in library funding would have on the library users and the library staff.

Ms. Brunner said that the accessibility of the information on the Secretary of State website is a powerful tool for the citizens of Ohio.  She commented that she hopes to work with the governor to convene a group to study social values and determine if our quality of life is improving over the next few years.  She also said that the data on the website will be updated as information becomes available from various reporting agencies.  In response to a question about the 2010 census information, she said her office will add the information it receives as quickly as possible; she said that she has one full-time person to manage and develop the website, who works with massive amounts of information.  She said there are only five states which have indexes similar to this, and Ohio’s is the only one which can be accessed on line.  The website address is www.sos.state.oh.us. 

President Perkins thanked Secretary of State Brunner for appearing at the meeting and bringing the message about “Better Lives, Better Ohio.”

He then introduced guests at the meeting:  Joe Miller and Jim Conrad, Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters, Lisa Duvall, Governor’s Regional Representative, and Frank Zangara, Region 10.

ADJOURNMENT

09-12-04          There being no further business to place before the board, Trustee Mucci made a motion to adjourn.  Motion seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote.

President Perkins declared the meeting adjourned at 4:23 p.m.

Minutes prepared by Ruth Casey