Alva Review-Courier -

Avard Regional Rail Park Authority members met this past Tuesday, the first meeting of the new fiscal year. Stan Bixler, Todd Holder, and Allan Poe (who joined remotely) were present and enough to make a quorum. Woods County commissioner Randy McMurphy, NWTC superintendent Daren Slater, and Sonja Williams (former WCEDC executive director who still assists the committee) joined the three, along with Emblem Strategies' Josh McClintock and Brent Bates, the latter two connecting via satellite. 

Finances and Audit

Authority members looked over and approved the finance report. Holder said the park was in great financial shape but wasn't generating much income. In checking/savings, the balance sheet showed $417,101.81.

They approved the $3,145 property and liability insurance payment to ACCO-SIG for the new fiscal year and moved on to discuss the financial statement audit (for the year ending June 30, 2021) performed by Kimberlye R. Mayer, CPA, and Kristi Dobbins. 

Holder said there were no significant findings besides the same one of the lack of dual approvals and segregation of duties. However, he said he would probably question it down the road because they are actively working on the segregating of duties by having Sonja Williams on the payroll. Her services are provided separately from the Board. After approving the audit, Authority members approved the contract for Kimberlye R. Mayer and Kristi Dobbins to perform the audit for the year ending June 30, 2022.

TOP Grant

Under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, the U.S. Economic Development Administration was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities nationwide. The EDA made the funding available through six different programs, one being the Economic Adjustment Assistance program. Williams presented information about this grant to the board.

The mission is to help get "shovel-ready," or primed and ready for economic development. Shovel-ready generally refers to commercial and industrial sites with all the planning, zoning, surveys, title work, environmental studies, soil analysis, and public infrastructure engineering completed before putting the site up for sale and under the legal control of a community or other third party. This pre-certification speeds up the development cycle by cutting the red tape and lining up critical approvals before the site selection process.

Williams said the $24,000 grant could only be used for site assessment, and for that, the government has narrowed the options to three site consultant firms: one out of Texas and the other two in South Carolina. 

Bixler and Holder called on McClintock's expertise, and the board ultimately voted to have McClintock look over the three institutions and choose the one he best sees fit. 

BNSF Agreements

Before voting to convene in an executive session, Williams talked about existing contracts and business user agreements between BNSF and the Avard Regional Rail Park Authority. A phone call was scheduled for the previous Monday between the two entities to clear up the legal on track agreements. That call didn't take place due to a scheduling conflict. Holder said it was interesting that BNSF would deem things incomplete when the park is a BNSF-certified site. He said a comprehensive review was completed before becoming certified, and his subsequent motion to take no action carried.