November 28, 2012 Advisory Council – McCall

by | Nov 28, 2012 | Meetings & Minutes

Time and Attendance

Meeting start and finish: 1:00 PM – 2:40 PM

Members Present (alphabetical order): Don Bailey (City of McCall), David Carey (McCall chamber), Dick Carter (City of Cascade), Scotty Davenport (Cascade Chamber), Ken Minshall (City of Donnelly), Ray Moore (unincorporated Valley County).

Non-members present (all or part of the time): Judy Anderson (project presenter), Michelle Groenevelt, Todd Hatfield, Tim O’Leary (project presenter), John Russel, Karla Miller, David Papiez, Bill Weida.

Facilitator (no voting rights): Willem Braak, UI Extension, Valley County

Decisions and notable points note

(1) Agenda

No agenda changes

(1)  Roundtable

Follow-up: At-large members

Per the original outcome of the community workshops (May 11, 2012 meeting in Donnelly), the council had asked for volunteers to fill two At-Large (non-government) member positions through public announcements in the local newspaper and email distributions. With the appointment of these members, the council would expand from the current 7 members to the intended council of 9 members.

The council voted to add Karla Miller and David Papiez as at-large members to the advisory council from a volunteer pool of three volunteers.

Member updates

Scotty Davenport:

  • The county approved funding for a feasibility study that could result in using waste-heat from the High-school geothermal installation to heat some of the county infrastructure, and possibly other buildings as well. This would be a financial advantage to all of the taxpayers.
  • The Southern Valley County Recreation District is progressing to make a geothermally heated pool to a reality.

Dick Carter:

  • Cascade approved the location of a Family Dollar Store on Hwy 55. Other nearby Family Dollar stores are in Weiser, Payette and Emmet.

(2)  Projects

Energy project with the Horsethief Reservoir Y-center

Presenter: Tim O’Leary
Presentation Purpose: informational
Council Sponsor: Scotty Davenport, Willem Braak
project summary: pdf document

 

Energy is a substantial cost to the Valley County economy at an estimated $10 million per year (household and business spending). Any change from energy import to local energy generation would divert a portion of this $10M into the local economy. Additionally, local energy generation may make the local economy more attractive for business relocation. This student-driven project is a small step into that direction and is about distributed energy generation at the scale of a campus or business compound (see the 2010 Taylor ranch report for a similar project). It brings together existing technologies to create a demonstration project of existing and feasible technology to:

  • assist local businesses and/or community groups in defining a project that would work for them;
  • identify needed local expertise and or jobs to install and support similar systems
  • demonstrate the economic feasibility (or trade-off) of local energy generation in Valley county.

The project’s first phase will be the 2013 spring semester. The council will be updated on the outcome of this first phase.

Business Plan contest

Presenter: Judy Anderson
Presentation Purpose: request for sponsoring/funding
Council Sponsor: Workshop proposal
project summary: pdf document

 

Business plan contests are a proven method to inspire local entrepreneurship and stimulate a stronger local economy. Judy Anderson researched contests around the country to tailor a proposal for the Valley County region (see project summary). She seeks sponsoring from the Valley County community to fund a new-business fair that would reward a prize to two winners, one representing the north of the region and one the south. Business plans are to be judged on their potential to generate local employment, use of renewable local resources and the extent of value-added labor or services involved, among others.
Judy’s contest design also calls for business mentoring and a matching start-up fund of up to $2,500 to help winners implement their plan.

Discussion: the council was very supportive of the business-plan contest. The discussion and Input from the audience added the following consideration to be resolved:

  • Can a cash prize be considered an investment of public funds in support of a company, in which case funding of the cash prizes should be through a non-government entity
  • Any (matching) start-up funds should come from private funds.
  • The contest should exclude business plans that provide an equivalent service as compared existing local businesses and thus result in an economic wash – that is, a potential shift from one local employer to a new employer without significant gain to the local economy.
  • The stipulation that the business plan should result in local (non-family) employment should allow for a grace period defined by a 3-year planning horizon.

Action items:

  1. Don Bailey will place funding of the Business Plan Contest on the December 13 City Council Meeting
  2. David Carey and David Papiez will attend the December 13 council meeting to represent the support of the Advisory Council
  3. Don Bailey will ask the City of McCall legal adviser whether or not a cash prize falls under the definition of funding, and will keep the council apprized by email.
  4. Ray Moore will add the project on the agenda of the county commissioners after we gain more clarity in (3).
  5. Judy Anderson and Bill Weida will start the process of assembling a task team to guide and implement the project. Vim offered to assist in establishing mentoring and/or educational programs, both in preparation of the fair and support for after the fair.

(3) Public input

A limited audience (8) displaying a very supportive meeting etiquette allowed for public input throughout the meeting.

(4) Meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM

Next meeting: January 23, 1:00 PM in Cascade; Mayor Carter will communicate the exact location early January.

 

NOTE: these minutes are a fair representation of the discussions and decisions of the meeting, but focus on the outcome of discussions and do not necessarily credit individuals for contributions. The discussions may be paraphrased or summarized fur purposes of clarity and accessibility.