JDA Board Meeting: September 23, 2024

September 23, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes

Members present: John Carns, Aaron Pelton, Shilo Chavez, Joel Brown, Pete Edis, Matt Beard, Calli Thorne, Clint Wold, Rex Korslien
Members absent: Gene Veeder, Tyler Fixen
Others present: Daniel Stenberg, John Suter, Keith Olson, Vawnita Best, Aidan Pelton, Howdy Lawlar, Jason Leiseth, Cory Hepola (virtual), Sandee Kimpel, Dr. Wayne Heckaman

Chair John Carns called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. with quorum having been achieved.
The meeting was at the Missouri Room of the McKenzie County Courthouse and available remotely via zoom. Brown made a motion to approve the agenda, financial report and meeting minutes as presented, Chavez seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

No members reported a conflict of interest. ||

Aidan Pelton, a Watford City High School senior, introduced himself to the board and thanked members for approving his hiring. Pelton, as part of the CWE program at the high school, was hired by McKenzie County Economic Development and will be working for the department until the end of the school year. Pelton is a member on the VisionWest ND board and a member of ND Superintendent Kirsten Baesler’s Student Cabinet, along with playing a key role in Watford City High School’s Ambassador Program. ||

Howdy Lawlar and Jason Leiseth presented a funding request to the board regarding the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s new Headquarters building in Bismarck that was finished in January 2024. Lawlar and Leiseth requested $250,000 to go towards the project. The McKenzie County Commissioners has already identified and approved funds but needs the JDA to approve as the funding mechanism. The board believed this is a great opportunity to support the ND Stockmen’s Association and the agricultural industry in McKenzie County and North Dakota. Pelton made a motion to approve donating $250,000 towards the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association’s new HQ building, Korslien seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Cory Hepola, Vice President of Communications, Growth & Strategy at The Brookshire Company and an Emmy-Award winning documentarian, presented an opportunity to the board for McKenzie County to be one of his highlighted communities in his “My Town” video series. “My Town” is a documentary video series that showcases rural communities and tells stories of rural towns to clear the misconceptions and negative stereotypes of Rural America. If selected, Hepola would meet with community and business leaders from the community to explore the distinctive attributes, initiatives and relationships that make it a special place. The video would be a 22-27-minute episode for McKenzie County, set for release in Season 2 of “My Town” on YouTube and Facebook in 2025. The budget for this highlighted episode is $40,000 (due prior to filming) and Hepola and his team would begin the filming process in early Summer 2025. If approved, Stenberg recommends the board to release $20,000 from the Promotional Items bucket in the JDA budget and then eventually find a partner to match the JDA’s offer to equal $40,000. Pelton made a motion to approve the release of $20,000 for the “My Town” video series to feature McKenzie County, Beard seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Dr. Wayne Heckaman, the new Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) director, introduced himself to the board and noted that there are currently 377 students enrolled in classes at the BASC. Dr. Heckaman will start coming to future JDA meetings to give BASC updates. ||

Calli Thorne is looking for sponsors for the Live2Lead event that will be held in Watford City on October 26 and 28. Last year, the JDA sponsored $2,500 for the event. Calli is requesting the JDA sponsor at the gold level for $2,500 that will include 20 tickets and name recognition prior to and during the event. Brown made a motion to sponsor the Live2Lead conference at the gold level partnership ($2,500), Chavez seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Thorne abstained from voting on the motion.

Sandee Kimpel updated the board on the Brownfield site opportunity and noted that McKenzie County received an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant for an amount of $500,000 to support the Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), Hazardous Building Material Surveys, cleanup planning and a variety of property reuse planning activities. Members will share the Brownfields Site Nomination Form around and think of properties that would fit into this assessment. ||

Stenberg gave an update regarding the JDA Home Builder Construction Loan Program and noted that one of the houses as part of the program has sold, and three remain on the market. ||

Suter updated the board on the ongoing county website redesign process with ProudCity and noted they are on track to launch in late October. ||

Suter presented the August Technology and Communications report and the September Economy at a Glance. ||

Stenberg gave an update regarding the McKenzie County Community Orientation event that was held in September and said it was a success. The next Community Orientation event will be held on October 3 and Stenberg’s team is working on getting more community members to attend. ||

Board members shared items of interest. ||

Korslien made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Pelton seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.

Signed: ____________________ Date: __________